Roles and contributions of banding organizations to the North American Banding Program
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Book chapter↗
Geology topics
B. Dale
Publications and source records attributed to B. Dale.
Monitoring bird populations in small geographic areas
Numerous methods exist for monitoring bird populations, and there is a large literature describing them. There are few resources, however, that provide comprehensive advice on every step of organizing and carrying out a survey, from the early stages of planning to final use of the data. Even fewer resources are designed to meet the needs of a wide variety of potential users, from amateurs interested in change of bird life in a local study preserve to professionals testing hypotheses on the response of birds to habitat management, although much of the advice should be the same for every monitoring program. Whether survey objectives are very modest or rigorously scientific, samples must be sufficiently numerous and well distributed to provide meaningful results, and the survey should be well designed to ensure that the money and effort going into it are not wasted. This document is intended to be a complete resource for anyone planning to organize monitoring of noncolonial landbirds within a relatively small geographic area (e.g., from the size of a woodlot to a large park). The first of its two parts provides background explaining the importance of good study design and gives specific advice on all aspects of project planning and execution of high-quality data collection for the purpose of hypothesis testing. The second part is self-contained and nontechnical and describes complete plans for a site-specific checklist survey, suitable for addressing monitoring questions frequently asked by amateurs and for involvement of volunteers in data collection. Throughout are references to additional resources, from background literature to sources of existing survey protocols, analysis software, and tools for archiving data.
Occasional Paper of the Canadian Wildlife Service↗
Wolf predation on caribou calves in Denali National Park, Alaska
During 1987-1991, 29 to 45 radio-collared caribou cows were monitored daily during calving each year and their calves were radio-collared (n = 147 calves) to investigate calf production and survival. We determined characteristics of wolf predation on caribou calves and, utilizing information from a companion wolf study, evaluated the role of spacing by caribou cows in minimizing wolf predation on neonates (calves < 15 days old) during a period when wolf abundance doubled. On average, 49% of the neonates died, ranging from 30% in 1987 to 71% in 1991. Overall, wolves killed 22% of the neonates produced and were the most important mortality agent. Wolves preyed on calves primarily during six days following the peak of calving and usually killed calves five to 15 days old. The mortality rate for neonates was strongly inversely correlated with average birthweight. Neonatal losses to wolves were also correlated with birthweight but not spring wolf density or mean calving elevation. Caribou concentrated on a calving ground when spring snow conditions allowed and adjusted their distribution on the calving ground depending on snow conditions and wolf distribution and abundance. Even though the wolf population doubled, the exposure of caribou calves to wolf predation did not increase, when spacing by caribou at the wolf pack territory scale was accounted for.
Occasional Publication of the Canadian Circumpolar↗