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At least 1,009 records · Page 56Linked to original sources
USGS2000

Characterization of poxviruses from forest birds in Hawaii

Two strains of avian pox viruses were isolated from cutaneous lesions in Hawaiian crows ( Corvus hawaiiensis ) examined in 1994 and a third from a biopsy obtained in 1992 from an infected bird of the Apapane species ( Himatione sanguinea ) by inoculation of the chorioallantoic membranes (CAM) of developing chicken embryos. The resulting proliferative CAM lesions contained eosinophilic cytoplasmic inclusion bodies characteristic of pox virus infection. The pathogenicity of these three viruses in domestic chickens was mild as evidenced by the development of relatively minor lesions of short duration at the sites of inoculation. Their virulence in this host was similar to that of a fowlpox virus (FPV) vaccine strain and contrasted greatly with the ability of two field strains of FPV to produce extensive proliferative lesions. One of the Hawaiian crow pox virus isolates as well as the one originating from the Apapane species could be propagated in two secondary avian cell lines, QT-35 and LMH. A comparison of the restriction fragment length polymorphisms (RFLP) of the genomes of the two cell line-adapted viruses, generated by Eco RI digestion, revealed a limited degree of similarity. Moreover, neither profile was comparable to those of the two field isolates of FPV, which were almost indistinguishable from each other. Thus, based on the genetic distinctness of the two Hawaiian bird viruses, they appear to represent different strains of avipoxvirus.

Hawaii↗
USGS2009

Book review: Birds of Prey: Health & Disease, Third Edition

Even though this book is billed as the third edition it is, in the words of Patrick T. Redig, author of its Foreword, ‘‘a seriously reinvented book.’’ Originally published in 1978 under the title of Veterinary Aspects of Captive Birds of Prey, this new edition, with its new title, could stand alone and not have been tagged with the ‘‘third edition.’’ Much has changed in the world of avian medicine in the 30 yr since the publishing of the original tome, and this new volume brings the latest information on raptor medicine to the reader. Review info: Birds of Prey: Health & Disease, Third Edition. Edited by John E. Cooper. Blackwell Sciences, Ltd., Oxford, UK. 2002. 345 pp. ISBN 978-0-63205-115-1.

Journal of Wildlife Diseases↗
USGS2021

Poecivirus is present in individuals with beak deformities in seven species of North American birds

Avian keratin disorder (AKD), a disease of unknown etiology characterized by debilitating beak overgrowth, has increasingly affected wild bird populations since the 1990s. A novel picornavirus, poecivirus, is closely correlated with disease status in Black-capped Chickadees ( Poecile atricapillus ) in Alaska. However, our knowledge of the relationship between poecivirus and beak deformities in other species and other geographic areas remains limited. The growing geographic scope and number of species affected by AKD-like beak deformities require a better understanding of the causative agent to evaluate the population-level impacts of this epizootic. Here, we tested eight individuals from six avian species with AKD-consistent deformities for the presence of poecivirus: Mew Gull ( Larus canus ), Hairy Woodpecker ( Picoides villosus ), Black-billed Magpie ( Pica hudsonia ), American Crow ( Corvus brachyrhynchos ), Red-breasted Nuthatch ( Sitta canadensis ), and Blackpoll Warbler ( Setophaga striata ). The birds were sampled in Alaska and Maine (1999−2016). We used targeted PCR followed by Sanger sequencing to test for the presence of poecivirus in each specimen and to obtain viral genome sequence from virus-positive host individuals. We detected poecivirus in all individuals tested, but not in negative controls (water and tissue samples). Furthermore, we used unbiased metagenomic sequencing to test for the presence of other pathogens in six of these specimens (Hairy Woodpecker, two American Crows, two Red-breasted Nuthatches, Blackpoll Warbler). This analysis yielded additional viral sequences from several specimens, including the complete coding region of poecivirus from one Red-breasted Nuthatch, which we confirmed via targeted PCR followed by Sanger sequencing. This study demonstrates that poecivirus is present in individuals with AKD-consistent deformities from six avian species other than Black-capped Chickadee. While further investigation will be required to explore whether there exists a causal link between this virus and AKD, this study demonstrates that poecivirus is not geographically restricted to Alaska, but rather occurs elsewhere in North America.

Alaska, Maine↗
USGS2023

Accounting for spatial habitat and management boundaries when estimating forest bird population distribution and density: Inferences from a soap film smoother

Birds are often obligate to specific habitats which can result in study areas with complex boundaries due to sudden changes in vegetation or other features. This can result in study areas with concave arcs or that include holes of unsuitable habitat such as lakes or agricultural fields. Spatial models used to produce species’ distribution and density estimates need to respect such boundaries to make informed decisions for species conservation and management. The soap film smoother is one model for complex study regions which controls the boundary behaviour, ensuring realistic values at the edges of the region. We apply the soap film smoother to account for boundary effects and compare it with thin plate regression spline (TPRS) smooth and design-based conventional distance sampling methods to produce abundance estimates from point-transect distance sampling collected data on Hawai‘i ‘Ākepa Loxops coccineus in the Hakalau Forest Unit of the Big Island National Wildlife Refuge Complex, Hawai‘i Island, USA. The soap film smoother predicted zero or near zero densities in the northern part of the domain and two hotspots (in the southern and central parts of the domain). Along the boundary the soap film model predicted relatively high densities where ‘Ākepa occur in the adjacent forest and near zero elsewhere. The design-based and soap film abundance estimates were nearly identical. The width of the soap film confidence interval was 16.5% and 0.8% wider than the width of the TPRS smooth and design-based confidence intervals, respectively. The peaks in predicted densities along the boundary indicates leakage by the TPRS smooth. We provide a discussion of the statistical methods, biological findings and management implications of applying soap film smoothers to estimate forest bird population status.

Hawaii↗
USGS1993

Incidental catch of marine birds in the north pacific high seas driftnet fisheries in 1990

The incidental take of marine birds was estimated for the following North Pacific driftnet fisheries in 1990: Japanese squid, Japanese large-mesh, Korean squid, and Taiwanese squid and large-mesh combined. The take was estimated by assuming that the data represented a random sample from an unstratified population of all driftnet fisheries in the North Pacific. Estimates for 13 species or species groups are presented, along with some discussion of inadequacies of the design. About 416,000 marine birds were estimated to be taken incidentally during the 1990 season; 80% of these were in the Japanese squid fishery. Sooty Shearwaters, Short-tailed Shearwaters, and Laysan Albatrosses were the most common species in the bycatch.Regression models were also developed to explore the relations between bycatch rate of three groups--Black-footed Albatross, Laysan Albatross, and 'dark' shearwaters--and various explanatory variables, such as latitude, longitude, month, vessel, sea surface temperature, and net soak time (length of time nets were in the water). This was done for only the Japanese squid fishery, for which the most complete information was available. For modelling purposes, fishing operations for each vessel were grouped into 5-degree blocks of latitude and longitude.Results of model building indicated that vessel had a significant influence on bycatch rates of all three groups. This finding emphasizes the importance of the sample of vessels being representative of the entire fleet. In addition, bycatch rates of all three groups varied spatially and temporally. Bycatch rates for Laysan Albatrosses tended to decline during the fishing season, whereas those for Black-footed Albatrosses and dark shearwaters tended to increase as the season progressed. Bycatch rates were positively related to net soak time for Laysan Albatrosses and dark shearwaters. Bycatch rates of dark shearwaters were lower for higher sea surface temperatures.

International North Pacific Fisheries Commission B↗
USGS1993

The Conservation Reserve Program: habitat for grassland birds

The Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) has effected major changes to the landscape, especially in the northern Great Plains. Breeding birds have responded dramatically to habitat changes by colonizing CRP fields, often in large numbers. The vegetation in most CRP fields consists of introduced grasses and legumes, along with a variety of weedy species. This paper describes the bird populations found during three years of surveys on more than 300 CRP fields in western Minnesota, North Dakota, South Dakota, and eastern Montana. We relate densities of selected species to geographic location, annual effects, conservation practice adopted, and vegetation features.

Great Plains Research↗
USGS1995

Point counts of birds: what are we estimating?

Point counts of birds are made for many reasons, including estimating local densities, determining population trends, assessing habitat preferences, and exploiting the activities of recreational birdwatchers. Problems arise unless there is a clear understanding of what point counts mean in terms of actual populations of birds. Criteria for conducting point counts depend strongly on the purposes to which they will be put. This paper provides a simple mathematical conceptualization of point counts and illustrates graphically some of the influences on them.

General Technical Report↗
USGS1966

Birds of Isle Royale in Lake Superior

This report constitutes an annotated list of 197 species of birds reported from Isle Royale National Park, a 210-square-mile archipelago in northwestern Lake Superior including some 200 islets and rock outcrops. The island is 45 miles long and 8 miles wide at its widest point. Bird distribution and habitats are described, along with geography and vegetation; 62 species are known to have bred at least once, 26 are thought to be breeders, and the rest are migrants.

Special Scientific Report - Wildlife↗
USGS2000

Grassland bird use of Conservation Reserve Program Fields in the Great Plains

The area enrolled in the Conservation Reserve Program in the Great Plains is enormous: nearly 18 million acres, or more than 7 million hectares, in Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota, Wyoming, Nebraska, Colorado, Kansas, Oklahoma, and Texas. This change in land use has had a huge influence on grassland bird populations. Many, but certainly not all, grassland species flourish in CRP habitats. Responses to the program vary not only by species, but by region, year, vegetation composition in a field, and whether or not a field was hayed or grazed. Further, the large scale of CRP has allowed researchers to begin to address other important conservation questions, such as the effect of the size of habitat patch and the influences of landscape features. Although the CRP provisions of farm bills have been beneficial to grassland birds, it is critical that gains in grassland habitat induced by the program not be offset by losses due to sodbusting.

Technical Report↗
USGS1975

A.B.A. Checklist: Birds of Continental United States and Canada

The purpose of this Checklist is to provide a complete up-to-date list of the bird species that have been recorded in the 49 continental United States and Canada. This list includes the native North American breeding species, the regular visitors, the accidentals from other countries that are believed to have strayed here without the direct aid of man, and those introduced species that have become well established and are now a true part of our avifauna. The A.B.A. Checklist will be revised at frequent intervals to keep up with changes in classification and additions to the avifauna. This edition includes a total of 794 species. For details of geographic range and for a complete list of re<;ognized subspecies the reader is referred to the latest (5th) edition of the A. O. U. Check-List of North American Birds, prepared by a committee of the American Ornithologists' Union, 1957, and to the 32nd Supplement published in April 1973 (Auk 90:411-419).

Book↗
USGS2001

The use of forward looking infrared to locate bird carcasses in agricultural areas

Helicopter-mounted Forward Looking Infrared has mainly been used for large animal censuses. I examined the use of this instrument in locating bird carcasses in agricultural fields to improve current carcass searching techniques. Mallard (Arias platyrhynchos) and northern bobwhite quail (Colinus virginianus) carcasses were measured with an infrared thermometer immediately following death and for 5 consecutive nights to determine the optimal time for detection. Preliminary flights were conducted to design a protocol that was used in test flights. Bird species (mallard versus quail) and cover type (bare ground versus short grass) were compared in the flights. Carcasses were recovered with the aid of Global Positioning Systems. Carcasses remained above ambient ground temperatures for all or part of night 1. Quail carcass temperatures decreased faster than mallard carcasses. In warmer weather, carcass temperatures increased 3-5 nights following death. In colder weather, carcasses were 1-2 C cooler than the ground after the first night. Mallard and quail carcasses were both detected on bare ground and short grass cover types with Forward Looking Infrared. The carcass recovery rates were 40% arid 30% on bare ground and short grass, respectively. There were no significant differences in detection for species or cover type. In warmer weather, carcasses could be detected for several hours following death and again 3-5 nights after death. Carcasses may be detected as objects cooler than the ground in colder weather. Forward Looking Infrared was successful in detecting mallard and quail carcasses. Further research should evaluate improved mapping techniques to enhance carcass recovery.

Book↗
USGS1979

Bird communities associated with succession and management of lowland conifer forests

Data from published bird censuses were used to determine changes in avian communities in relation to plant succession, fire, type conversion, and timber management practices in lowland conifer forests in the northeastern United States. With modifications in current logging practices, habitat for the bird species that nest in undisturbed stands can be provided. Management guidelines are recommended.

Book chapter↗
USGS1981

Estimates of avian population trends from the North American Breeding Bird Survey

One of the major purposes of bird population studies is to document changes in population size over a period of years. The traditional method used in Europe and North America to detect population change is to calculate annual ratios. However, this method can produce spurious results when ratios are accumulated over many years. Consequently, new methods of computing trends are needed. Several new methods of estimating population trends are developed and illustrated with data from the North American Breeding Bird Survey (BBS). Each method is compared in terms of its assumptions, biases, and limitations. On the basis of these comparisons we recommend one method that we feel most accurately detects true population trends. Both the biological and statistical justifications for the model selection are presented. Trends estimated with this model are then presented for two species.

Book chapter↗
USGS1986

Aquatic birds and selenium in the San Joaquin Valley

Kesterton Reservoir is a series of ponds comprising 1,200 acres sitting in the grasslands of the Kesterton National Wildlife Refuge. It is bounded on the east by the San Luis Drain, a concrete-lined canal that discharges agricultural drainage into the ponds at their southern end, from which point it then flows northward through the twelve ponds (see the map on the page following). Mike Saki and I studied several of these ponds to determine the concentrations of selenium and other contaminants in food-chain organisms. You'll hear more about this from Mike shortly. My portion of the study was to determine the reproductive success of birds nesting in the ponds and to collect birds so that we could find out what they were eating and what levels of selenium were in their tissues.

California↗
USGS1993

Forest to agriculture conversion in southern Belize: Implications for migrant land birds

Central America offers a suite of neotropical habitats vital to overwintering migrant land birds. The recent decline of many forest dwelling avian migrants is believed to be related in part to neotropical deforestation and land use change. However, spatio-temporal trends in neotropical habitat availability and avian migrant habitat use are largely unknown. Such information is needed to assess the impact of agriculture conversion on migrant land birds. In response, the USDI Fish and Wildlife Service and the University of Maine began a cooperative study in 1988 which applies remote sensing and field surveys to determine current habitat availability and avian migrant habitat use. Study sites include areas in Belize, Costa Rica, Guatemala and southern Mexico. Visual assessment of Landsat TM imagery indicates southern Belize forests are fragmented by various agricultural systems. Shifting agriculture is predominant in some areas, while permanent agriculture (citrus and mixed animal crops) is the primary system in others. This poster focuses on efforts to monitor forest to agriculture conversion in southern Belize using remote sensing, field surveys and GIS techniques. Procedures and avian migrant use of habitat are summarized.

Book chapter↗
USGS1990

Wood duck population trends from the North American Breeding Bird Survey

The North American Breeding Bird Survey (BBS) has been conducted yearly since 1966, and can be used to describe relative population density and trends of birds in North America north of Mexico. Wood ducks (Air sponsa) are difficult to survey using conventional waterfowl monitoring techniques, but a large portion of their range is surveyed by the BBS. Wood ducks are detected at low densities on many BBS routes, and population trends can be estimated for most regions. Populations have been increasing throughout North America since 1966, but statistically significant increases generally occurred only in the early (1966-78) part of the period. Roadside survey methodology used in the BBS has limitations that make it inefficient as a survey technique for wood ducks, and we recommend using modified methodologies that specifically survey wood duck habitat.

Book chapter↗
USGS1995

Delineating bird populations using ring recoveries

We delineate bird populations using cluster analysis to group ringing sites based on pairwise comparisons of recoveries. Clustering provides a quantitative (but non-unique) grouping that can be used to examine the relationships of bird distributions at both local and regional geographic scales. Clustering is based on similarity matrices composed of pairwise comparisons of recovery distributions from ringing sites. We demonstrate the method using mallard (Anas platyrhynchos) ring recoveries to group ringing sites in south-central Canada, and discuss the possibilities for these analyses for non-hunted species with few recoveries.

Book chapter↗
USGS1995

Artificial insemination and cryopreservation of semen from nondomestic birds

Studies of Al and cryopreservation of semen from nondomestic birds began because of the increased emphasis on conservation of avian species threatened with extinction. Over the years, aviculturists have developed techniques for Al and cryopreservation of semen obtained from a variety of birds ranging from passerines to Andean condors. Generally, for each new species, we develop a practical semen collection technique and then evaluate the semen. A commercial semen extender (Beltsville Poultry Semen Extender) is modified and used to dilute the semen and provide support for the sperm during the freezing process (the pH and osmolality of the extender is adjusted to reflect the pH and osmolality of the semen being frozen). We find that the freezing schedule developed by Sexton (1977), which utilizes dimethylsulfoxide (DMS0) as cryoprotectant, works well for many species. We cool the sample sequentially in an ethanol bath, in liquid nitrogen vapor, and lastly in liquid nitrogen. Although we have experimented with a variety of freezing protocols, we prefer a 15-min equilibration period in DMSO at 5 C. We begin the freezing process by cooling at -1 C/min from 5 to -20 C in the ethanol bath. The samples are transferred into a vapor tank at a location just above liquid nitrogen and frozen at -50 C/min to -80 C. To complete the freezing process, the samples are plunged into the liquid nitrogen in the bottom of the vapor tank. The samples remain in liquid nitrogen until they are thawed just before insemination. If necessary, the freezing equipment can be transported in a van to remote locations.

Book chapter↗