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At least 451 records · Page 25Linked to original sources

USGS1975

Effects of monocrotophos and fenthion on discrimination acquisition and reversal in northern bobwhite (Colinus virginianus)

Adult male northern bobwhite (Colinus virginianus) were fed diets containing organophosphorus pesticides, and the birds' discrimination acquisition and reversal performance was evaluated. The birds received the pesticide-laced diets continually, beginning 2 d before behavioral testing and ending after the birds completed the test series consisting of an acquisition and 10 reversals. Bobwhites fed a diet containing 0.18 ppm monocrotophos made 118% more errors (p < 0.05) than did controls during reversals but not during acquisition. The behavior of bobwhites fed diets containing 0.02 and 0.06 ppm monocrotophos was not different from that of controls. Acquisition performance of bobwhites fed a diet containing 7 ppm fenthion was not different (p > 0.05) from that of controls; however, bobwhites fed the fenthion diet made 48% fewer errors (p < 0.05) in the reversals. When retested after 18 (monocrotophos) and 73 (fenthion) d on clean diets, no residual behavioral effects were detected. Brain cholinesterase activity was inhibited in all treatment groups.

American Birds↗

USGS2018

Spatial and temporal patterns in population trends and burrow usage of burrowing owls in North America

Many researchers have suggested that abundance of Burrowing Owls ( Athene cunicularia ) has declined in many portions of their breeding range, but a thorough review of their population trends over time is lacking. Published population trends from the North American Breeding Bird Survey program suggested that Burrowing Owl populations in the US have declined over the past 60 yr, but the declines were not considered significant until 2014. However, accurate trend estimates and the statistical significance of those estimates were hampered by low relative abundance of owls. Moreover, many authors have suggested that eradication of burrowing animals is a major cause of Burrowing Owl declines, because burrows dug by burrowing animals are a critical resource for Western Burrowing Owls ( A. cunicularia hypugaea ). Despite this, we currently lack a range-wide summary of the burrowing animals on which Western Burrowing Owls depend. To help fill these two information gaps, my objectives were to: (1) use Breeding Bird Survey (BBS) data to examine geographic patterns in population trends of Burrowing Owls throughout their breeding range in the USA, and (2) use past studies to provide the first summary of the spatial extent to which Western Burrowing Owls rely on the suite of burrowing animals throughout their breeding range. Significantly more BBS routes in the US show declining counts of owls than show increasing or stable counts, and the declines were most apparent prior to 1995. Counts of Burrowing Owls declined most precipitously on the northern edge and southern edge of the owl's US breeding range. Western Burrowing Owls primarily use black-tailed prairie dog ( Cynomys ludovicianus ) burrows in the eastern portion of their breeding range, whereas the diversity of burrowing species on which the owls depend is much greater in the western and central portions of their breeding range. Burrowing owl declines have been most apparent in portions of their range where they rely primarily on Richardson's ground squirrels ( Urocitellus richardsonii ), California ground squirrels ( Otospermophilus beecheyi ), black-tailed prairie dogs, and American badgers ( Taxidea taxus ).

Journal of Raptor Research↗

USGS2007

Finding the Exotic Faucet Snail (Bithynia tentaculata): Investigation of Waterbird Die-Offs on the Upper Mississippi River National Wildlife and Fish Refuge

Beginning in 2002, there have been major waterbird die-offs every spring and fall in Lake Onalaska (Navigation Pool 7 of the Upper Mississippi River) located near La Crosse, Wisconsin. This area is part of the Upper Mississippi River National Wildlife and Fish Refuge (UMR Refuge) and lies within the Mississippi Flyway, through which an estimated 40 percent of the continent's waterfowl migrate. Through the 2006 spring migration, total mortality on the UMR Refuge was estimated at 22,000 to 26,000 birds, primarily American coots (Fulica americana) and lesser scaup (Aythya affinis). Two trematodes (Sphaeridiotrema globulus and Cyathocotyle bushiensis) that use the exotic faucet snail (Bithynia tentaculata) as an intermediate host were found to infect and kill the waterbirds. The faucet snail was introduced into the United States from Europe in the late 1800s. Because Lake Onalaska is a major spring and fall stop-over area for waterfowl in the Mississippi Flyway, concerns were raised that the snail and trematodes may be spreading to other waterfowl stop-over areas on the river. Exploratory sampling for faucet snails was conducted in 2005 and 2006 in navigation Pools 4-9 (excluding Pool 5a which is located between Pools 5 and 6), 11, and 13. Infected snails were found in all the sampled pools except Pool 6. To our knowledge, these are the first records of faucet snails and associated trematodes beyond those found in Pool 7, Lake Onalaska. Waterbird die-offs are becoming a UMR Refuge-wide problem. Information obtained through research and monitoring, including the identification of the origin of infections in snails and birds and the role various environmental factors have on this process, should help guide managers to develop effective mitigation and control measures.

Open-File Report↗

USGS2015

Spatially explicit modeling of blackbird abundance in the Prairie Pothole Region

Knowledge of factors influencing animal abundance is important to wildlife biologists developing management plans. This is especially true for economically important species such as blackbirds (Icteridae), which cause more than $100 million in crop damages annually in the United States. Using data from the North American Breeding Bird Survey, the National Land Cover Dataset, and the National Climatic Data Center, we modeled effects of regional environmental variables on relative abundance of 3 blackbird species (red-winged blackbird, Agelaius phoeniceus ; yellow-headed blackbird, Xanthocephalus xanthocephalus ; common grackle, Quiscalus quiscula ) in the Prairie Pothole Region of the central United States. We evaluated landscape covariates at 3 logarithmically related spatial scales (1,000 ha, 10,000 ha, and 100,000 ha) and modeled weather variables at the 100,000-ha scale. We constructed models a priori using information from published habitat associations. We fit models with WinBUGS using Markov chain Monte Carlo techniques. Both landscape and weather variables contributed strongly to predicting blackbird relative abundance (95% credibility interval did not overlap 0). Variables with the strongest associations with blackbird relative abundance were the percentage of wetland area and precipitation amount from the year before bird surveys were conducted. The influence of spatial scale appeared small—models with the same variables expressed at different scales were often in the best model subset. This large-scale study elucidated regional effects of weather and landscape variables, suggesting that management strategies aimed at reducing damages caused by these species should consider the broader landscape, including weather effects, because such factors may outweigh the influence of localized conditions or site-specific management actions. The regional species distributional models we developed for blackbirds provide a tool for understanding these broader landscape effects and guiding wildlife management practices to areas that are optimally beneficial. Published 2015. This article is a U.S. Government work and is in the public domain in the USA.

Iowa, Minnesotta, Montana, Nebraska, North Dakota↗

USGS2004

The relationship between species detection probability and local extinction probability

In community-level ecological studies, generally not all species present in sampled areas are detected. Many authors have proposed the use of estimation methods that allow detection probabilities that are < 1 and that are heterogeneous among species. These methods can also be used to estimate community-dynamic parameters such as species local extinction probability and turnover rates (Nichols et al. Ecol Appl 8:1213-1225; Conserv Biol 12:1390-1398). Here, we present an ad hoc approach to estimating community-level vital rates in the presence of joint heterogeneity of detection probabilities and vital rates. The method consists of partitioning the number of species into two groups using the detection frequencies and then estimating vital rates (e.g., local extinction probabilities) for each group. Estimators from each group are combined in a weighted estimator of vital rates that accounts for the effect of heterogeneity. Using data from the North American Breeding Bird Survey, we computed such estimates and tested the hypothesis that detection probabilities and local extinction probabilities were negatively related. Our analyses support the hypothesis that species detection probability covaries negatively with local probability of extinction and turnover rates. A simulation study was conducted to assess the performance of vital parameter estimators as well as other estimators relevant to questions about heterogeneity, such as coefficient of variation of detection probabilities and proportion of species in each group. Both the weighted estimator suggested in this paper and the original unweighted estimator for local extinction probability performed fairly well and provided no basis for preferring one to the other.

Oecologia↗

USGS2005

Efficient statistical mapping of avian count data

We develop a spatial modeling framework for count data that is efficient to implement in high-dimensional prediction problems. We consider spectral parameterizations for the spatially varying mean of a Poisson model. The spectral parameterization of the spatial process is very computationally efficient, enabling effective estimation and prediction in large problems using Markov chain Monte Carlo techniques. We apply this model to creating avian relative abundance maps from North American Breeding Bird Survey (BBS) data. Variation in the ability of observers to count birds is modeled as spatially independent noise, resulting in over-dispersion relative to the Poisson assumption. This approach represents an improvement over existing approaches used for spatial modeling of BBS data which are either inefficient for continental scale modeling and prediction or fail to accommodate important distributional features of count data thus leading to inaccurate accounting of prediction uncertainty.

Environmental and Ecological Statistics↗

USGS2016

Flexible risk metrics for identifying and monitoring conservation-priority species

Region-specific conservation programs should have objective, reliable metrics for species prioritization and progress evaluation that are customizable to the goals of a program, easy to comprehend and communicate, and standardized across time. Regional programs may have vastly different goals, spatial coverage, or management agendas, and one-size-fits-all schemes may not always be the best approach. We propose a quantitative and objective framework for generating metrics for prioritizing species that is straightforward to implement and update, customizable to different spatial resolutions, and based on readily available time-series data. This framework is also well-suited to handling missing-data and observer error. We demonstrate this approach using North American Breeding Bird Survey (NABBS) data to identify conservation priority species from a list of over 300 landbirds across 33 bird conservation regions (BCRs). To highlight the flexibility of the framework for different management goals and timeframes we calculate two different metrics. The first identifies species that may be inadequately monitored by NABBS protocols in the near future (TMT, time to monitoring threshold), and the other identifies species likely to decline significantly in the near future based on recent trends (TPD, time to percent decline). Within the individual BCRs we found up to 45% (mean 28%) of the species analyzed had overall declining population trajectories, which could result in up to 37 species declining below a minimum NABBS monitoring threshold in at least one currently occupied BCR within the next 50 years. Additionally, up to 26% (mean 8%) of the species analyzed within the individual BCRs may decline by 30% within the next decade. Conservation workers interested in conserving avian diversity and abundance within these BCRs can use these metrics to plan alternative monitoring schemes or highlight the urgency of those populations experiencing the fastest declines. However, this framework is adaptable to many taxa besides birds where abundance time-series data are available.

Ecological Indicators↗

USGS2013

Gonadal abnormalities in frogs (Lithobates spp.) collected from managed wetlands in an agricultural region of Nebraska, USA

Nebraska's Rainwater Basin (RWB) provides important wetland habitat for North American migratory birds. Concern exists that pesticide and nutrient runoff from surrounding row-crops enters wetlands degrading water quality and adversely affecting birds and wildlife. Frogs may be especially vulnerable. Plains leopard (Lithobates blairi) metamorphs from RWB wetlands with varying concentrations of pesticides were evaluated for a suite of biomarkers of exposure to endocrine active chemicals. Froglets had ovarian dysgenesis, high rates of testicular oocytes, and female-biased sex ratios however, there was no clear statistical association between pesticide concentrations and biomarkers. Data interpretation was hindered because timing and duration of exposures were unknown and due to an incomplete understanding of L. blairi sexual development. Emphasis is on describing the complex developmental biology of closely-related leopard frogs, how this understanding can explain RWB L. blairi anomalies, and the need for sampling at the appropriate life stage.

Nebraska↗

USGS2002

On the estimation of species richness based on the accumulation of previously unrecorded species

Estimation of species richness of local communities has become an important topic in community ecology and monitoring. Investigators can seldom enumerate all the species present in the area of interest during sampling sessions. If the location of interest is sampled repeatedly within a short time period, the number of new species recorded is typically largest in the initial sample and decreases as sampling proceeds, but new species may be detected if sampling sessions are added. The question is how to estimate the total number of species. The data collected by sampling the area of interest repeatedly can be used to build species-accumulation curves: the cumulative number of species recorded as a function of the number of sampling sessions (which we refer to as ?species-accumulation data?). A classic approach used to compute total species richness is to fit curves to the data on species accumulation with sampling effort. This approach does not rest on direct estimation of the probability of detecting species during sampling sessions and has no underlying basis regarding the sampling process that gave rise to the data. Here we recommend a probabilistic, nonparametric estimator for species richness for use with species-accumulation data. We use estimators of population size that were developed for capture-recapture data, but that can be used to estimate the size of species assemblages using species-accumulation data. Models of detection probability account for the underlying sampling process. They permit variation in detection probability among species. We illustrate this approach using data from the North American Breeding Bird Survey (BBS). We describe other situations where species accumulation data are collected under different designs (e.g., over longer periods of time, or over spatial replicates) and that lend themselves to use of capture-recapture models for estimating the size of the community of interest. We discuss the assumptions and interpretations corresponding to each situation.

Alabama, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, New Hampshire↗

USGS2003

Inferences about nested subsets structure when not all species are detected

Comparisons of species composition among ecological communities of different size have often provided evidence that the species in communities with lower species richness form nested subsets of the species in larger communities. In the vast majority of studies, the question of nested subsets has been addressed using information on presence-absence, where a '0' is interpreted as the absence of a given species from a given location. Most of the methodological discussion in earlier studies investigating nestedness concerns the approach to generation of model-based matrices. However, it is most likely that in many situations investigators cannot detect all the species present in the location sampled. The possibility that zeros in incidence matrices reflect nondetection rather than absence of species has not been considered in studies addressing nested subsets, even though the position of zeros in these matrices forms the basis of earlier inference methods. These sampling artifacts are likely to lead to erroneous conclusions about both variation over space in species richness and the degree of similarity of the various locations. Here we propose an approach to investigation of nestedness, based on statistical inference methods explicitly incorporating species detection probability, that take into account the probabilistic nature of the sampling process. We use presence-absence data collected under Pollock?s robust capture-recapture design, and resort to an estimator of species richness originally developed for closed populations to assess the proportion of species shared by different locations. We develop testable predictions corresponding to the null hypothesis of a nonnested pattern, and an alternative hypothesis of perfect nestedness. We also present an index for assessing the degree of nestedness of a system of ecological communities. We illustrate our approach using avian data from the North American Breeding Bird Survey collected in Florida Keys.

Florida↗

USGS2009

COMDYN: Software to study the dynamics of animal communities using a capture-recapture approach

COMDYN is a set of programs developed for estimation of parameters associated with community dynamics using count data from two locations or time periods. It is Internet-based, allowing remote users either to input their own data, or to use data from the North American Breeding Bird Survey for analysis. COMDYN allows probability of detection to vary among species and among locations and time periods. The basic estimator for species richness underlying all estimators is the jackknife estimator proposed by Burnham and Overton. Estimators are presented for quantities associated with temporal change in species richness, including rate of change in species richness over time, local extinction probability, local species turnover and number of local colonizing species. Estimators are also presented for quantities associated with spatial variation in species richness, including relative richness at two locations and proportion of species present in one location that are also present at a second location. Application of the estimators to species richness estimation has been previously described and justified. The potential applications of these programs are discussed.

Bird Study↗

USGS2014

Multiseason occupancy models for correlated replicate surveys

Occupancy surveys collecting data from adjacent (sometimes correlated) spatial replicates have become relatively popular for logistical reasons. Hines et al . ( 2010 ) presented one approach to modelling such data for single-season occupancy surveys. Here, we present a multiseason analogue of this model (with corresponding software) for inferences about occupancy dynamics. We include a new parameter to deal with the uncertainty associated with the first spatial replicate for both single-season and multiseason models. We use a case study, based on the brown-headed nuthatch, to assess the need for these models when analysing data from the North American Breeding Bird Survey (BBS), and we test various hypotheses about occupancy dynamics for this species in the south-eastern United States. The new model permits inference about local probabilities of extinction, colonization and occupancy for sampling conducted over multiple seasons. The model performs adequately, based on a small simulation study and on results of the case study analysis. The new model incorporating correlated replicates was strongly favoured by model selection for the BBS data for brown-headed nuthatch ( Sitta pusilla ). Latitude was found to be an important source of variation in local colonization and occupancy probabilities for brown-headed nuthatch, with both probabilities being higher near the centre of the species range, as opposed to more northern and southern areas. We recommend this new occupancy model for detection–nondetection studies that use potentially correlated replicates.

North Carolina, South Carolina, Florida, Georgia↗

USGS2015

A centroid model of species distribution with applications to the Carolina wren Thryothorus ludovicianus and house finch Haemorhous mexicanus in the United States

Drastic shifts in species distributions are a cause of concern for ecologists. Such shifts pose great threat to biodiversity especially under unprecedented anthropogenic and natural disturbances. Many studies have documented recent shifts in species distributions. However, most of these studies are limited to regional scales, and do not consider the abundance structure within species ranges. Developing methods to detect systematic changes in species distributions over their full ranges is critical for understanding the impact of changing environments and for successful conservation planning. Here, we demonstrate a centroid model for range-wide analysis of distribution shifts using the North American Breeding Bird Survey. The centroid model is based on a hierarchical Bayesian framework which models population change within physiographic strata while accounting for several factors affecting species detectability. Yearly abundance-weighted range centroids are estimated. As case studies, we derive annual centroids for the Carolina wren and house finch in their ranges in the U.S. We further evaluate the first-difference correlation between species’ centroid movement and changes in winter severity, total population abundance. We also examined associations of change in centroids from sub-ranges. Change in full-range centroid movements of Carolina wren significantly correlate with snow cover days (r = −0.58). For both species, the full-range centroid shifts also have strong correlation with total abundance (r = 0.65, and 0.51 respectively). The movements of the full-range centroids of the two species are correlated strongly (up to r = 0.76) with that of the sub-ranges with more drastic population changes. Our study demonstrates the usefulness of centroids for analyzing distribution changes in a two-dimensional spatial context. Particularly it highlights applications that associate the centroid with factors such as environmental stressors, population characteristics, and progression of invasive species. Routine monitoring of changes in centroid will provide useful insights into long-term avian responses to environmental changes.

Ecography↗

USGS2012

Likelihood analysis of species occurrence probability from presence-only data for modelling species distributions

1. Understanding the factors affecting species occurrence is a pre-eminent focus of applied ecological research. However, direct information about species occurrence is lacking for many species. Instead, researchers sometimes have to rely on so-called presence-only data (i.e. when no direct information about absences is available), which often results from opportunistic, unstructured sampling. MAXENT is a widely used software program designed to model and map species distribution using presence-only data. 2. We provide a critical review of MAXENT as applied to species distribution modelling and discuss how it can lead to inferential errors. A chief concern is that MAXENT produces a number of poorly defined indices that are not directly related to the actual parameter of interest – the probability of occurrence ( ψ ). This focus on an index was motivated by the belief that it is not possible to estimate ψ from presence-only data; however, we demonstrate that ψ is identifiable using conventional likelihood methods under the assumptions of random sampling and constant probability of species detection. 3. The model is implemented in a convenient r package which we use to apply the model to simulated data and data from the North American Breeding Bird Survey. We demonstrate that MAXENT produces extreme under-predictions when compared to estimates produced by logistic regression which uses the full (presence/absence) data set. We note that MAXENT predictions are extremely sensitive to specification of the background prevalence, which is not objectively estimated using the MAXENT method. 4. As with MAXENT, formal model-based inference requires a random sample of presence locations. Many presence-only data sets, such as those based on museum records and herbarium collections, may not satisfy this assumption. However, when sampling is random, we believe that inference should be based on formal methods that facilitate inference about interpretable ecological quantities instead of vaguely defined indices.

Methods in Ecology and Evolution↗

USGS2013

Validating predictions from climate envelope models

Climate envelope models are a potentially important conservation tool, but their ability to accurately forecast species’ distributional shifts using independent survey data has not been fully evaluated. We created climate envelope models for 12 species of North American breeding birds previously shown to have experienced poleward range shifts. For each species, we evaluated three different approaches to climate envelope modeling that differed in the way they treated climate-induced range expansion and contraction, using random forests and maximum entropy modeling algorithms. All models were calibrated using occurrence data from 1967–1971 (t1) and evaluated using occurrence data from 1998–2002 (t2). Model sensitivity (the ability to correctly classify species presences) was greater using the maximum entropy algorithm than the random forest algorithm. Although sensitivity did not differ significantly among approaches, for many species, sensitivity was maximized using a hybrid approach that assumed range expansion, but not contraction, in t2. Species for which the hybrid approach resulted in the greatest improvement in sensitivity have been reported from more land cover types than species for which there was little difference in sensitivity between hybrid and dynamic approaches, suggesting that habitat generalists may be buffered somewhat against climate-induced range contractions. Specificity (the ability to correctly classify species absences) was maximized using the random forest algorithm and was lowest using the hybrid approach. Overall, our results suggest cautious optimism for the use of climate envelope models to forecast range shifts, but also underscore the importance of considering non-climate drivers of species range limits. The use of alternative climate envelope models that make different assumptions about range expansion and contraction is a new and potentially useful way to help inform our understanding of climate change effects on species.

PLoS ONE↗

USGS2007

Population-specific demographic estimates provide insights into declines of Lark Buntings ( Calamospiza melanocorys )

Many North American prairie bird populations have recently declined, and the causes of these declines remain largely unknown. To determine whether population limitation occurs during breeding, we evaluated the stability of a population of prairie birds using population-specific values for fecundity and postfledging survival. During 2001-2003, we radiomarked 67 female Lark Buntings ( Calamospiza melanocorys ) to determine annual fecundity and evaluate contributing factors such as nest survival and breeding response (number of breeding attempts and dispersal). Collectively, 67 females built 112 nests (1.67 ± 0.07 nests female −1 season −1 ; range: 1–3); 34 were second nests and 11 were third nests. Daily nest survival estimates were similar for initial and later nests with overall nest survival (DSR 19 ) of 30.7% and 31.7%, respectively. Nest predation was the most common cause of failure (92%). Capture and radiomarking of females did not affect nest survival. Lark Bunting dispersal probabilities increased among females that fledged young from initial nests and females that lost their original nests late in the season. Conservative and liberal estimates of mean annual fecundity were 0.96 ±0.11 and 1.24 ± 0.09 female offspring per female, respectively. Given the fecundity and juvenile-survival estimates for this population, annual adult survival values of 71–77% are necessary to achieve a stable population. Because adult survival of prairie passerines ranges between 55% and 65%, this study area may not be capable of sustaining a stable population in the absence of immigration. We contrast our population assessment with one that assumes indirect values of fecundity and juvenile survival. To elucidate limiting factors, estimation of population-specific demographic parameters is desirable. We present an approach for selecting species and areas for evaluation of population stability.

The Auk↗

USGS2015

Morphological divergence in a continental adaptive radiation: South American ovenbirds of the genus Cinclodes

Cinclodes is an ecologically diverse genus of South American passerine birds and represents a case of continental adaptive radiation along multiple axes. We investigated morphological diversification in Cinclodes using a comprehensive set of morphometric measurements of study skins. Principal component analysis identified 2 primary axes of morphological variation: one describing body size and a second capturing differences in wing-tip shape and toe length. Phylogenetic analyses of the first principal component suggest an early divergence of Cinclodes into 2 main clades characterized by large and small body sizes. We suggest that 2 morphological outliers within these main clades ( C. antarcticus and C. palliatus ) may be cases of island gigantism and that a third ( C. patagonicus ) may reflect ecological character displacement. Despite its ecological and physiological diversity, the genus Cinclodes does not appear to show morphological diversity beyond what is typical of other avian genera.

The Auk↗

USGS2002

Assessing avian richness in remnant wetlands: Towards an improved methodology

Because the North American Breeding Bird Survey provides inadequate coverage of wetland habitat, the Wetland Breeding Bird Survey was recently established in Ohio, USA. This program relies on volunteers to conduct 3 counts at each monitored wetland. Currently, all counts are conducted during the morning. Under the premise that volunteer participation could be increased by allowing evening counts, we evaluated the potential for modifying the methodology. We evaluated the sampling efficiency of all 3-count combinations of morning and evening counts using data collected at 14 wetlands. Estimates of overall species richness decreased with increasing numbers of evening counts. However, this pattern did not hold when analyses were restricted to wetland-dependent species or those of conservation concern. Our findings suggest that it would be reasonable to permit evening counts, particularly if the data are to be used to monitor wetland dependent species and those of concern.

Wetlands↗