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At least 937 records · Page 52Linked to original sources
USGS1976

Some characteristics of fall migration of female woodcock

Nine female woodcock ( Philohela minor ) were radio-tagged in central Pennsylvania before fall migration to monitor premigratory and migratory movements. Within 15 days of departure, 5 of the birds moved 0.8 to 8.0 km from their normally used area, but the remaining 4 did not move. In 1973 five marked woodcock began migration between 30 November and 8 December. In 1974, four birds departed between 18 and 29 November. Departures coincided with high pressure centers approaching from the north and west or low pressure centers retreating to the north and east, or both. Eight of the 9 woodcock departed 2.5 or more hours after sunset and at least 7 left before midnight. Two hatching-year birds were tracked for up to 201 km SSW of the study area during 2 nights. Their air speeds (mean + SD) were 36 + 2 and 45 + 3 km/h.

Pennsylvania↗
USGS1976

Delayed molt of primary feathers of mourning doves during winter

During a study of the ecology of mourning doves ( Zenaida macroura ) in Jackson County, southwestern Oklahoma, we noted (Morrison and Lewis 1974) that the post juvenal molt of primary feathers progressed at a slower rate than is described in the literature (Jenkins 1955:23, Swank 1955, Southeastern Association of Game and Fish Commissioners 1957:102, Allen 1963, Hanson and Kossack 1963:82). This paper documents the existence of delayed molt patterns and discusses the implications.

Oklahoma↗
USGS1975

Disproportionate sex ratios of wolf pups

Males comprised 66 percent of wild wolf ( Canis lupus ) pups from a saturated, high-density wolf range in northeastern Minnesota, possibly reflecting disproportionate conception of males. Packs from areas of lower wolf density in other areas of Minnesota had equal sex ratios of pups or a disproportionate number of female pups. Captive wolves showed a slight preponderance of male pups.

Minnesota↗
USGS1975

Habitat use and home range of mallards breeding in Minnesota

Telemetry techniques were used to study habitat use and home range of 12 drake and 12 hen mallards ( Anas platyrhynchos ) in the forested region of north-central Minnesota during the 1968-72 breeding seasons. Circumneutral bogs and seasonal wetlands were the most frequently used communities; the lakeshore communities most used were sand-gravel, overhanging brush, and bog mat. Based on the availability of habitat, the highest preference shown was for the seasonal community and the least for the softwood swamp; however, all communities were used to some extent during the breeding season. Lakeshore was always among the habitats most frequently used by pairs. Twelve nest were found, nine in nonpermanent wetlands and three in upland forest sites. Mean home range was 210 ha for hens and 240 ha for drakes. The long axis of the home ranges of drakes and hens averaged 2.8 and 2.7 km, respectively. Hens had smaller home ranges during the laying period ( x̄ = 70 ha) than during prenesting ( x̄ = 135 ha).

Minnesota↗
USGS1975

Long-term effects of 4-aminopyridine exposure to birds and fish

The avian frightening agent, 4-aminopyridine (4AP), was tested on five avian and two fish species to assess the effects of long-term 4AP exposure to nontarget vertebrates. Adult bobwhites ( Colinus virginianus ), mourning doves ( Zenaida macroura ), and ring-necked pheasants ( Phasianus colchicus ) were fed diets containing 3 percent 4AP-treated cracked corn diluted with various ratios of untreated corn for 7 to 35 days. Minimum dilution ratios that produced more than 50 percent mortality were 1:29 for bobwhites and 1:99 for doves. Mortality caused by 4AP could not be determined for pheasants because of their inability to subsist only on corn during the test periods. LCso's were determined for doves (316 ppm) and coturnix quail ( Coturnix coturnix ) (479 ppm) fed exclusively on uniformly treated laboratory rations for 28 to 40 days. Starlings ( Sturnus vulgaris ) treated by gavage daily for 25 days with 1.78 mg/kg 4AP showed no intoxication symptoms. Mortality in all avian species appeared to be the result of acute poisoning, and no evidence of cumulative toxicity was noted in species fed uniformly-treated rations. In 96-hour static tests, channel catfish ( Ictalurus punctatus ) and bluegill (Lepomis macrochirus) showed increasing sensitivity to 4AP with time in test waters ranging from very soft to very hard and from 12 to 22 C. The 96-hour LC 50 's for both species ranged from 2.43 to 7.56 mg/liter (ppm). Toxicity appeared to decrease with increasing water temperatures but was generally unaffected by water hardness. On the basis of the data presented, and the currently registered application rate for 4AP in agricultural crops (0.34 g/ha), long-term hazards to nontarget wildlife were judged to be minimal.

Colorado↗
USGS1978

Petroleum: Effects on mallard egg hatchability

Effect on mallard embryos of eggshell applications of varying amounts of No. 2 fuel oil, South Louisiana crude oil, Kuwait crude oil, and a paraffin mixture. Measured survival and hatching weight.

Journal of Wildlife Management↗
USGS1973

Summer behavior of immature radio-equipped woodcock in central Maine

The behavior of 15 immature American woodcock ( Philohela minor ) was studied in central Maine during the summers of 1969 and 1970 using radiotelemetry. The monitored birds used a variety of nocturnal sites including old fields, bogs, powerlines, highway medians, woods roads, and fore clearings. Old fields were occupied more often than any other type of opening. Second growth-hardwoods, alders, hardwood-conifers, and conifers were utilized as diurnal cover. Diurnal locations of radio-equipped woodcock averaged 15 m from major breaks in the forest canopy. Four birds were monitored continuously during the day and night to determine periods of activity. Although the birds were active throughout the day, very little activity was recorded after they moved to nocturnal sites. No apparent difference was found in the daily patterns of movement between immature male and female woodcock. Crepuscular movements between diurnal covers and nocturnal areas averaged 332 m. A composite summer range for the 15 woodcock during 183 woodcock-days was 1060 hectares. The data suggest that immature woodcock are quite mobile during the summer and utilize most of the forest openings occurring within 1-3 km of good nesting habitat. Most of these openings are also used for singing grounds by males in the spring.

Maine↗
USGS1979

The composite dynamic method as evidence for age-specific waterfowl mortality

For the past 25 years estimation of mortality rates for waterfowl has been based almost entirely on the composite dynamic life table. We examined the specific assumptions for this method and derived a valid goodness of fit test. We performed this test on 45 data sets representing a cross section of banded sampled for various waterfowl species, geographic areas, banding periods, and age/sex classes. We found that: (1) the composite dynamic method was rejected (P <0.001) in 37 of the 45 data sets (in fact, 29 were rejected at P <0.00001) and (2) recovery and harvest rates are year-specific (a critical violation of the necessary assumptions). We conclude that the restrictive assumptions required for the composite dynamic method to produce valid estimates of mortality rates are not met in waterfowl data. Also we demonstrate that even when the required assumptions are met, the method produces very biased estimates of age-specific mortality rates. We believe the composite dynamic method should not be used in the analysis of waterfowl banding data. Furthermore, the composite dynamic method does not provide valid evidence for age-specific mortality rates in waterfowl.

Journal of Wildlife Management↗
USGS1979

Age determination of mallards

A technique for distinguishing adult from yearling wild mallards ( Anas platyrhynchos ), from late winter through the nesting season, was developed by applying discriminant analysis procedures to selected wing feather characters of 126 yearlings and 76 adults (2-year-olds) hand-reared from wild eggs during 1974, 1975, and 1977. Average values for feather characters generally increased as the birds advanced from yearlings to adults. Black-white surface area of greater secondary covert 2 was the single most reliable aging character identified during the study. The error rate was lowest in females (3%) when discriminant functions were used with measurements of primary 1 weight and black-white area of greater secondary covert 2 and in males (9%) when the functions were used with black-white area of greater secondary coverts 1, 2, and 3. Methodology precludes aging of birds in the field during capture operations.

North Dakota↗
USGS1979

Methylmercury: Reproductive and behavioral effects on three generations of mallard ducks

Three generations of mallard ducks ( Anas platyrhynchos ) were fed either a control diet or a diet containing 0.5 ppm mercury in the form of methylmercury. The levels of mercury in adult tissues and eggs remained about the same over 3 generations. The methylmercury diet had no effect on adult weights or weight changes during the reproductive season. Females fed a diet containing 0.5 ppm mercury laid a greater percentage of their eggs outside their nestboxes than did controls, and also laid fewer eggs and produced fewer ducklings. Methylmercury in the diet appeared to result in a small amount of eggshell thinning. Ducklings from parents fed methylmercury were less responsive than controls to tape-recorded maternal calls, but were hyper-responsive to a frightening stimulus in avoidance tests; there were no significant differences in locomotor activity in an open-field test.

Journal of Wildlife Management↗
USGS1979

Use of prairie pothole habitat by breeding mallards

Detailed information on the use by mallards ( Anas platyrhynchos ) of prairie pothole habitat during the nesting season is necessary to interpret habitat needs of the species during the breeding period. Many data have been collected and published relating pair counts to habitat use and water conditions (e.g., Evans and Black 1956; Smith 1971; Stoudt 1971; Stewart and Kantrud 1973, 1974). However, use of pair-count data to assess wetland use tends to emphasize individual wetland units and does not consider total wetland habitat required to sustain a breeding pair on a daily or seasonal basis. We therefore attempted to determine habitat use by individually radio marked mallards during the breeding period. This paper describes home range characteristics and habitat use of a radiomarked sample of mallard hens breeding in North Dakota during 1973-75. Time budget data are also presented for 2 marked pairs of mallard pairs of mallards.

North Dakota↗
USGS1979

Weights of lesser snow geese taken on their winter range

Geese are assumed to accumulate fat on the winter range (Bent 1962, Williams 1967) to sustain them through the long northward migration and early part of the nesting season. However, there are no weights given in the literature of lesser snow geese ( Anser c. caerulescens ) on their winter ranges to compare with weights on the breeding grounds. For many years biologists relied on Kortright (1942) for weights of lesser snow geese, and more recently on Bellrose (1976). In the present study, snow geese from the Garwood Prairie, a rice growing area in Colorado County, Texas, were weighed to determine if weights increased before northward migration. The Garwood Prairie is a segment of the snow goose winter range near the Gulf Coast of Texas.

Texas↗
USGS1975

Incidence of ingested lead shot in sora rails

Gizzards of 934 sora rails ( Porzana carolina ) collected in Maryland (767) and Missouri (167) were examined for ingested shot. Ingested shot were found in 12.3 percent of the Maryland sample and 1.8 percent of the Missouri birds. Individual Maryland birds had ingested up to 28 pellets. None of the lead pellets examined was larger than a No. 7 1/2 shot. Maryland ingestion rates did not differ by age or sex, but significant differences between collection areas, groups of years, and collection periods within years were indicated. This exploratory work points out a potential lead poisoning problem among sora rails.

Maryland↗
USGS1976

Organochlorine residues and reproduction in the big brown bat

Twenty-six pregnant big brown bats ( Eptesicus fuscus ) were collected at Montpelier Barn, Laurel, Maryland, and kept in individual cages until parturition. Seven young in 5 litters were born dead; 21 litters contained only living young. Polychlorinated bipbenyl (PCB, Aroclor 1260) crossed the placenta two to three times more readily than did DDE. Concentrations of PCB were significantly greater in litters with dead young than in litters where both young were born alive. The concentration of PCB in adult females plus their litters declined with increasing age of the female.

Maryland↗