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At least 1,261 records · Page 70Linked to original sources
USGS1984

Response of avian communities to herbicide-induced vegetation changes

The relationships between avian communities and herbicide modification of vegetation were analyzed on early-growth clear-cuts in western Oregon that had received phenoxy herbicide treatment 1 or 4 years previously. For both 1 and 4 years post-spray, vegetation development was greater in the third height interval (> 3.0 m) on untreated sites. All measures of vegetative diversity on untreated sites exceeded those on treated sites. Overall density and diversity of birds were similar between treated and untreated sites. Several bird species altered their foraging behavior on treated sites, i.e., birds using deciduous trees increased use of shrubs on treated sites. The primary effect of herbicide application was a reduction in the complexity of vegetation, a condition due primarity to the removal of deciduous trees. Small patches of deciduous trees scattered in clear-cuts treated with phenoxy herbicides can maintain an avian community similar to that on untreated sites.

Oregon↗
USGS1984

Geographic and temporal differences in band reporting rates for American black ducks

Recoveries of reward- and standard-banded American black ducks (Anas rubripes) were used to estimate band reporting rates and to investigate geographic and temporal variability in reporting rate for 1978-80. Reporting rates were higher close ( 20 km) to the parent banding site in 3 of 42 samples and were higher close to the nearest black duck banding site in 3 of 35 samples., Reporting rates were higher P 0.05) in Canada than in the Atlantic Flyway for the pre-huntIng season 1980-banded sample, but were otherwise similar among regions. Temporal differences over the duration of the study occurred, but there were no consistent trends over time. The small number of rejections suggests that there is little evidence of differences in band reporting rate by proximity to banding sites, geographic location, or over time. Thus, the best estimate of band reporting rate for black ducks is a constant 0.43. This estimate should be used with caution, because we believe that it overestimates reporting rate due to the unknown proportion of reward bands found that were not reported.

Journal of Wildlife Management↗
USGS1984

Midseason mapping of sunflowers using Landsat digital data

The mapping results suggest that for the midsummer Landsat data used, there was not a sufficiently reliable relationship between Landsat-derived spectral clusters and sunflowers to allow 'automated' production of useful sunflower location maps. The occurrence of sunflower pixels in all cluster classes was a consequence of the diversity in sunflower appearance at the point in the growing season when the Landsat image used for digital processing was acquired. -Authors

Journal of Wildlife Management↗
USGS1983

The relationship between harvest and survival rates of mallards: A straightforward approach with partitioned data sets

We randomly partitioned mallard ( Anas platyrhynchos ) bandings and recoveries from each of a number of selected reference areas into 2 groups and estimated survival and harvest rates for each area and group. This procedure produced independent vectors of survival- and harvest-rate estimates, which were used to test the general hypothesis that mallard survival and harvest rates were inversely related. We used Spearman rank correlation analysis and z-test contrasts between survival rates from years of high vs. low harvest rates. We also conducted computer simulation experiments to gain insight into the ability of these analyses to detect the relationship of interest. The data analyses suggested that survival and harvest rates of young females were inversely related, at least for the 5 areas included in the analysis. However, for young males and adults of both sexes, the analyses provided no evidence of an inverse relationship between survival and harvest rates, except possibly in a few specific areas.

Journal of Wildlife Management↗
USGS1982

Movements and wetland selection by brood-rearing black ducks

Movements and wetland selection by brood-rearing black ducks ( Anas rubripes ) were studied in Maine during 1977-80. Eight radio-marked hens moved their broods an average of 1.2 km from the nest to rearing pond, but only 1 hen initiated secondary brood movements. Half of the 85 broods reared in the study area used only 3 wetlands, and most rearing ponds contained active beaver ( Castor canadensis ) colonies. Brood-rearing hens preferred Emergent ponds over lakes and Evergreen Scrub-Shrub wetlands, and did not occupy Dead Scrub-Shrub, Unconsolidated Bottom, or Aquatic Bed wetlands. Rearing ponds were large and possessed extensive areas of flooded mountain alder ( Alnus incana ), willow ( Salix spp.), and herbaceous vegetation. Wetlands avoided by brood-rearing hens were those with large areas of open water, submergent aquatics, or ericaceous shrub vegetation.

Maine↗
USGS1982

Survival of juvenile black ducks during brood rearing

Duckling survival among broods reared by 8 radio-marked and 28 unmarked black ducks ( Anas rubripes ) was studied in Maine during 1977-80. The mean class III brood size of 5.26 yielded an apparent survival rate of 0.6152 from hatching to fledging. However, by using the method described by Mayfield (1961, 1975), survival was estimated as 0.4244, indicating that average class III brood size overestimated recruitment by 45%. Young ducklings (class Ia-IIa) had a survival rate of 0.6073, which was significantly lower than the 0.6988 rate for older ducklings. At least 1 unmarked and 5 radio-marked hens lost all their ducklings. Total-brood survival was estimated at 81%. The lower survival of ducklings of radio-marked hens (0.9517/day) compared with those from unmarked females (0.9895/day) was attributed to better documentation of total-brood loss for radio-equipped birds. Ducklings hatched after 14 June had lower survival (0.1007) than did young from earlier nests (0.3713). Our study showed a lower survival rate than usually is attributed to this species, with productivity approaching the low levels reported for black ducks breeding in estuarine habitats of the St. Lawrence River.

Maine↗
USGS1982

Responses of Siberian ferrets to secondary zinc phosphide poisoning

The hazard of operational-type applications of zinc phosphide (Zn 3 P 2 ) on a species closely related to the black-footed ferret ( Mustela nigripes ), was evaluated by feeding 16 Siberian ferrets ( M. eversmanni ) rats that had been killed by consumption of 2% zinc phosphide treated bait or by an oral dose of 40, 80, or 160 mg of Zn 3 P 2 . All ferrets accepted rats and a single emesis by each of 3 ferrets was the only evidence of acute intoxication. All ferrets learned to avoid eating gastrointestinal tracts of the rats. Subacute zinc phosphide toxicity in the ferrets was indicated by significant decreases (18-48%) in hemoglobin, increases of 35-91% in serum iron, and elevated levels of serum globulin, cholesterol, and triglycerides. Hemoglobin/iron, urea nitrogen/creatinine, and albumin/globulin ratios also were altered by the treatments. This study demonstrated that Siberian ferrets, or other species with a sensitive emetic reflex, are afforded a degree of protection from acute zinc phosphide poisoning due to its emetic action. The importance of toxicity associated with possible respiratory, liver, and kidney damage indicated by altered blood chemistries is not known.

Journal of Wildlife Management↗
USGS1982

An analysis of howling response parameters useful for wolf pack censusing

Gray wolves ( Canis lupus ) were studied from April-1972 through April 1974 in the Superior National Forest in northeastern Minnesota by radio-tracking and simulated howling. Based on replies during 217 of 456 howling sessions, the following recommendations were derived for using simulated howling as a census technique: (1) the best times of day are dusk and night; (2) July, August, and September are the best months; (3) precipitation and winds greater than 12 km/hour should be avoided; (4) a sequence of 5 single howls should be used, alternating 'flat' and 'breaking' howls; (5) trials should be repeated 3 times at about 2-minute intervals with the first trial at lower volume; and (6) the trial series should be repeated on 3 nights as close to each other as possible. Two censuses are described: a saturation census and a sampling census.

Minnesota↗
USGS1983

Blood indicators of seasonal metabolic patterns in captive adult gray wolves

Blood samples and physical data were collected weekly from a colony of gray wolves ( Canis lupus ) maintained under natural weather arid light conditions. Sampling over 33 continuous months indicated that hemoglobin, hematocrit, red blood cells, mean corpuscular hemoglobin concentration (MCHC), and thyroxine exhibited consistent circannual patterns of variation in both males and females. Hemoglobin levels peaked at 15-16 g/dl in January in females and at 16-17 g/dl in February in males, and were lowest in August at 10.5-11.5 g/dl (P < 0.00001). The cyclic patterns of hematocrit, red blood cells, and MCHC were similarly timed. Females also had a cyclic pattern of white blood cell counts and body weight; their weight peaked in early February and was lowest in August (P < 0.001). Body temperature, urea nitrogen, mean corpuscular volume (MCV), serum glucose, and cortisol did not follow a consistent seasonal pattern.

Journal of Wildlife Management↗
USGS1983

Concentrated nesting of mallards and gadwalls on Miller Lake Island, North Dakota

Island-nesting mallards ( Anas platyrhynchos ) and gadwalls ( A. strepera ) were studied on a 4.5-ha island in 385-ha Miller Lake in northwestern North Dakota during 1976-80. During the 5-year study, 2,561 duck nests of 9 species were found on Island A located 180 m offshore; 59% were mallard and 34% were gadwall. In patches of shrub cover, which contained the greatest concentrations of nests, densities ranged from 241 to 389 mallard nests/ha and from 139 to 237 gadwall nests/ha. Over 97% of the nests were placed in 4 patches of shrubs totaling about 1 ha of western snowberry ( Symphoricarpos occidentalis )--Woods rose ( Rosa woodsii ) cover, which composed about 30% of the island's vegetation. Average hatching success was 85% for clutches of all species. Abandonment averaged 14% (348 of 2,426 nests) and was the major cause of egg failure. Only 15 nests (<1%) were destroyed, primarily by ring-billed ( Larus delawarensis ) or California gulls ( L. californicus ). A minimum of 15,960 ducklings including 9,300 mallards and 5,150 gadwalls hatched on 4.5-ha Island A. Hatching rates of eggs in successful nests averaged 83% for mallards and 87% for gadwalls. Despite the close spacing of nests, most individual hens maintained normal nesting regimes. Eighty-one percent of the mallard clutches contained 7-13 eggs and 81% of the gadwall clutches contained 8-14 eggs. Island A in Miller Lake provides an outstanding example of the potential for high reproduction levels of mallards and gadwalls nesting in small areas of predator-free habitats.

North Dakota↗
USGS1983

Migration and winter distributions of canvasbacks staging on the Upper Mississippi River

Fall and winter distribution patterns of canvasbacks (Aythya valisineria) staging on the upper Mississippi River near LaCrosse, Wisconsin (navigational Pools 7 and 8) and Keokuk, Iowa (Pool 19) were studied during 1973-77. Sightings and recoveries obtained from 1,488 color-marked males during 1973-75 and 3,789 banded males and females during 1973-77 suggested 2 principal migration corridors: 1 extending eastward from Pools 7 and 8 to the eastern Great Lakes and southeast to the Mid-Atlantic Region and another southward from Pools 7 and 8 to the lower Mississippi Valley, Gulf Coast, and east Texas regions. These discrete populations stage concurrently on Pools 7 and 8 during the fall, but winter in different areas of the Atlantic, Mississippi, and Central flyways. Populations staging on Pool 19 were not discrete from those staging on Pools 7 and 8. A continual turnover of birds passing through these staging areas was indicated. Canvasbacks wintering in the Mississippi and Central flyways were widely dispersed among a variety of habitats, whereas canvasbacks wintering in the Atlantic Flyway were concentrated in a few traditional habitats. Canvasbacks exhibited strong fidelity to wintering areas. Distribution patterns and population attributes of canvasbacks during fall and winter may be explained by the predictability of natural foods and their ability to exploit these foods.

Journal of Wildlife Management↗
USGS1983

Woodcock singing-ground counts and habitat changes in the northeastern United States

Aerial photography from the late 1960's and the late 1970's was used to study habitat changes along 78 American woodcock ( Scolopax minor ) singing-ground routes in 9 northeastern states. The most noticeable changes were declines in the amount of abandoned field, cropland, shrubland, and field/pasture. The amount of land in the urban/industrial type increased 33.4% from the late 1960's to the late 1970's. We examined relationships between the woodcock call-count index and habitat variables using multiple-regression techniques. The abundance of calling male woodcock was positively correlated with the amount of abandoned field and alder ( Alnus sp.) and negatively correlated with the amount of urban/industrial type. However, only the change in the urban/industrial type was significantly (P < 0.05) related to the change in the call-count index. Urban/industrial area increased, whereas the call-count index declined on average in our sample of routes by 1.4 birds/route (40.5%).

Connecticut, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New H↗