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At least 271 records · Page 15Linked to original sources
USGS1999

The northern pintail in North America: status and conservation needs of a struggling population

The number of northern pintails (Anas acuta) in North America continues to be low despite sub- stantially improved wetland habitat conditions as recorded by the May Breeding Population and Habitat Survey (May Survey, United States Fish and Wildlife Service [USFWS] 1998; Figure 1). In 1993-97, following extended drought during the 1980s and early 1990s, favorable precipitation pat- terns returned to the critical waterfowl nesting areas of the northern Great Plains of the United States (U.S.) and Canada (USFWS 1997), the area known as the Prairie Pothole Region (PPR, Bellrose 1980). Historically, when the number of wetlands (May ponds) counted on the May Survey increased in the PPR, pintail breeding populations (BPOP) also increased (e.g., Smith 1970). However, even though May ponds attained record high levels 1996 and 1997, the expected increase in pintail populations did not occur (Figure 1). Even after a 30% increase in the BPOP between 1996 and 1997, pintails remained 19% below the long-term average and 36% below the North American Waterfowl Management Plan (NAWMP) goal of 5.6 million (USFWS et al. 1994); additionally, peaks and lows in pintail BPOP have been successively lower since 1955-56 (Figure 1). In contrast, all other PPR-nest- ing dabbling ducks (tribe Anatini) rebounded in the 1990s to levels that exceeded objectives set by NAWMP (USFWS 1997). The minimal recovery of pintails is perplexing, given the very large popula- tions attained during previous periods of abundant May ponds (Figure 1).

Wildlife Society Bulletin↗
USGS2003

Effects of backpack radiotags on female northern pintails wintering in California

To test whether backpack radiotags impacted the wintering biology of northern pintails (Anas acuta), I attached spear-suture (SSU, n=82 in 1993) or harness (HAR, n=337 in 1991-1993) backpack radiotags to female Hatch-Year (HY) and After-Hatch-Year (AHY) pintails after their autumn arrival in California. I evaluated impacts of radiotags on 1) wintering population distribution; 2) flock status, flock size, and body mass at harvest; and 3) August-March survival. I also compared retention of SSU and HAR following attachment. Distribution, flock status, and flock size at harvest of HAR, SSU, and unmarked (UMK) pintails were similar. However, harvest mass of HAR pintails averaged 1 33 g (SE=25 g) less than UMK pintails; loss tended to be greatest for heavier HY females in 1 993. Daily survival rates during 1 993-1 994 of HAR vs. SSU pintails were similar for both HY (0.9979 vs. 0.9974) and AHY (0.9988 vs. 0.9986) female pintails. Retention ranged from 30-1 58 days (x=81 d, SE=5 d) for the 37 SSU that I confirmed as being shed; all other SSU failed 1-month studies due to poor retention past a month.

Wildlife Society Bulletin↗
USGS1995

Estimating populations of nesting brant using aerial videography

We mounted a video camcorder in a single-engine aircraft to estimate nesting density along 10-m wide strip transects in black brant colonies on the Yukon Delta National Wildlife Refuge, Alaska during 1990-1992. A global positioning system (GPS) receiver was connected to the video recorder and a laptop computer to locate transects and annotate video tape with time and latitude-longitude at 1-second intervals. About 4-5 hours of flight time were required to record 30-40 minutes of video tape needed to survey large (>5,000 nests in > 10 km2)colonies. We conducted ground searches along transects to locate and identify nests for determining detection rates of nests in video images. Counts of nests from video transects were correlated with actual numbers of nests. Resolution of images was sufficient to detect 81% of known nests (with and without incubating females). Of these, 68% were correctly identified as brant nests. The most common misidentification of known nests was failure of viewers to see the nest that the detected bird was incubating. Unattended nests with exposed eggs, down-covered nests, and nesting brant, cackling Canada geese, and emperor geese were identified in video images. Flushing of incubating geese by survey aircraft was not significant. About 10% of known nests were unoccupied in video images compared to 16% unoccupied nests observed from tower blinds during periods without aircraft disturbance.

Wildlife Society Bulletin↗
USGS1990

Computer-aided procedure for counting waterfowl on aerial photographs

Examination of 46 Canada goose goslings yielded 14 species of parasites, including five Protozoa, four Nematoda, two Cestoda, and three Trematoda. Evidence indicates that goslings acquired most of these infections during their first week of life. Some parasites, Prosthogonimus sp., occurred only in younger birds. Others, Leucocytozoon simondi, were evident only during the initial course of infection, while still others remained evident in older geese. Parasites with a direct life cycle appeared to be more prevalent than those requiring intermediate hosts. Among 29 birds from a refuge in Michigan, 14 species of parasites were found; while in 17 goslings from a Utah refuge, only five species occurred.

Wildlife Society Bulletin↗
USGS1995

GIS for mapping waterfowl density and distribution from aerial surveys

We modified standard aerial survey data collection to obtain the geographic location for each waterfowl observation on surveys in Alaska during 1987-1993. Using transect navigation with CPS (global positioning system), data recording on continuously running tapes, and a computer data input program, we located observations with an average deviation along transects of 214 m. The method provided flexibility in survey design and data analysis. Although developed for geese nesting near the coast of the Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta, the methods are widely applicable and were used on other waterfowl surveys in Alaska to map distribution and relative abundance of waterfowl. Accurate location data with GIS analysis and display may improve precision and usefulness of data from any aerial transect survey.

Wildlife Society Bulletin↗
USGS1995

Locating waterfowl observations on aerial surveys

We modified standard aerial survey data collection to obtain the geographic location for each waterfowl observation on surveys in Alaska during 1987-1993. Using transect navigation with CPS (global positioning system), data recording on continuously running tapes, and a computer data input program, we located observations with an average deviation along transects of 214 m. The method provided flexibility in survey design and data analysis. Although developed for geese nesting near the coast of the Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta, the methods are widely applicable and were used on other waterfowl surveys in Alaska to map distribution and relative abundance of waterfowl. Accurate location data with GIS analysis and display may improve precision and usefulness of data from any aerial transect survey.

Wildlife Society Bulletin↗
USGS1991

Mitochondrial DNA in wildlife forensic science: Species identification of tissues

A common problem in wildlife law enforcement is identifying the species of origin of carcasses, meat, or blood when morphological characters such as hair or bones are not available. Immunological and protein electrophoretic (allozyme or general protein) procedures have been used in species identification with considerable success (Bunch et al. 1976, McClymont et al. 1982, Wolfe 1983, Mardini 1984, Pex and Wolfe 1985, Dratch 1986), However, immunological tests often are not sensitive enough to distinguish closely related species. Furthermore, electrophoretically detectable protein polymorphisms may be lacking in certain populations or species and may not be species-specific. Analysis of DNA in human and wildlife forensics has been shown to be a potentially powerful tool for identification of individuals (Jeffreys et al. 1985, Vassartet al. 1987, Thommasen et al. 1989). Differences in copy number and nucleotide sequence of repetitive sequences in the nuclear (chromosomal) DNA result in hypervariability and individual-specific patterns which have been termed DNA "fingerprints." However, these patterns may be too variable for species identification necessitating analyses of more conservative parts of the genome. Mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) is haploid, maternally inherited, similar in nucleotide sequence among conspecifics from the same geographic region, and more suitable for species identification, in contrast to hypervariable DNA fingerprints. MtDNA has several characteristics which make it useful as a species-specific marker. In mammals, individuals have a single mtDNA genotype shared by all tissues. Because mtDNA is haploid and reflects only maternal ancestry, the mtDNA gene number in a population is 4 times less than the nuclear gene number (Birky et al. 1983). This can result in relatively rapid loss or fixation of mtDNA genotypes so that all individuals in a population may be descended from a single ancestral female in as few as 4N ( N = population size) generations (Avise et al., 1984). This suggests there is great potential for identification of species-specific or population-specific mtDNA genotypes, Within species, mtDNA genotypes are thought to be selectively neutral, i.e., there is little evidence that genotypes differ in fitness (Nigro and Prout 1990).

Wildlife Society Bulletin↗
USGS2002

Evaluation of 2-soft-release techniques to reintroduce black bears

Black bear ( Ursus americanus ) were extirpated from most of their range by the early 1900s by habitat destruction and unregulated hunting. Since then, bear habitat has recovered in many areas, but isolation may prevent natural recolonization. Black bear translocations often have limited success because of high mortality rates and low site fidelity. We tested 2 reintroduction techniques designed to overcome those problems. The first technique used a winter release whereby pre- or post-parturient female bears were removed from their dens and placed in new dens at the release area. The second technique involved translocating female bears to the reintroduction area during summer and holding them in pens for a 2-week acclimation period before release. We translocated 8 female bears with cubs with the winter-release technique and 6 female with the summer-release technique. After release, total distance moved, net distance moved, mean daily distance moved, and circuity for winter-released bears (x̄=18.3 km, 7.1 km, 1.4 km, and 0.36, respectively) were less than summer-released bears (x̄=97.6, 63.4 km 5.1 km, and 0.74; P =0.010, 0.040, 0.019, and 0.038, respectively). Also, survival of winter-released bears (0.88) was greater than that for summer-released bears (0.2, P=0.001). Population modeling indicated that the least one additional stocking of 6 adult females with 12 cubs would greatly increase chances of population reestablishment. the winter-release technique has distinct advantages over the summer-release technique, limiting post-release movements and increasing survival of translocated bears.

Kentucky, Tennessee↗
USGS2003

Planning for population viability on Northern Great Plains national grasslands

Broad-scale information in concert with conservation of individual species must be used to develop conservation priorities and a more integrated ecosystem protection strategy. In 1999 the United States Forest Service initiated an approach for the 1.2× 10 6 ha of national grasslands in the Northern Great Plains to fulfill the requirement to maintain viable populations of all native and desirable introduced vertebrate and plant species. The challenge was threefold: 1) develop basic building blocks in the conservation planning approach, 2) apply the approach to national grasslands, and 3) overcome differences that may exist in agency-specific legal and policy requirements. Key assessment components in the approach included a bioregional assessment, coarse-filter analysis, and fine-filter analysis aimed at species considered at-risk. A science team of agency, conservation organization, and university personnel was established to develop the guidelines and standards and other formal procedures for implementation of conservation strategies. Conservation strategies included coarse-filter recommendations to restore the tallgrass, mixed, and shortgrass prairies to conditions that approximate historical ecological processes and landscape patterns, and fine-filter recommendations to address viability needs of individual and multiple species of native animals and plants. Results include a cost-effective approach to conservation planning and recommendations for addressing population viability and biodiversity concerns on national grasslands in the Northern Great Plains.

Wildlife Society Bulletin↗
USGS2001

Bat use of a high-plains urban wildlife refuge

Bats are significant components of mammalian diversity and in many areas are of management concern. However, little attention has been given to bats in urban or prairie landscapes. In 1997 and 1998, we determined species richness, relative abundance, roosting habits, and echolocation activity of bats at Rocky Mountain Arsenal National Wildlife Refuge (RMA), the largest urban unit in the United States refuge system, located on the high plains near Denver, Colorado. An inventory using mist nets revealed 3 species foraging at this site: big brown bats ( Eptesicus fuscus ), hoary bats ( Lasiurus cinereus ), and silver-haired bats ( Lasionycteris noctivagans ). Big brown bats comprised 86% of captures (n=176). This pattern was consistent with continental-scale predictions of bat species richness and evenness based on availability of potential roosts. Relative abundance based on captures was similar to that revealed by echolocation detector surveys, except that the latter revealed the likely presence of at least 2 additional species ( Myotis spp. and red bats [Lasiurus borealis ]). Echolocation activity was significantly greater (P=0.009) in areas with tree or water habitat edges than in open prairie, suggesting that maintaining such features is important for bats. Big brown bats commuted greater distances (9.2-18.8 km) from roosts in urban core areas to foraging sites on the refuge than typically reported for this species elsewhere, emphasizing the value of the site to these bats. Urban refuges can provide habitat of importance to bat populations, but may be characterized by abundant bats that roost in buildings if a variety of other kinds of roosting habitats are unavailable.

Colorado↗