Publications

From 1999–2002, we attached satellite-received platform transmitter terminals (PTTs) to 40 adult female prairie falcons (Falco mexicanus) on their nesting grounds in the Snake River Birds of Prey National Conservation Area (NCA) in southwest Idaho. We used 3 variations of a backpack harness design that had been used previously on raptors. Each radiomarked falcon also received a color leg...

We modeled yellow-billed loon (Gavia adamsii) habitat preferences in a 23,500 km2 area of northern Alaska using intensive aerial surveys and landscape-scale habitat descriptors. Of the 757 lakes censused, yellow-billed loons occupied 15% and Pacific loons (G. pacifica) 42%. Lake area, depth, proportion of shoreline in aquatic vegetation, shoreline complexity, hydrological connectivity...

Natural history and field ecology are essential building blocks for successful conservation and management of herpetofauna. Thus, natural history and field ecology merit major infusions of funding and increased recognition of their importance in science and management. Others have stated matters well: (1) Academic training in natural history should receive high priority; (2) we need to...

This review grew out of our realization that models play an increasingly important role in conservation but are rarely used in the research of most avian biologists. Modelers are creating models that are more complex and mechanistic and that can incorporate more of the knowledge acquired by field biologists. Such models require field biologists to provide more specific information...

We used occupancy and productivity data collected at 67 cliffs used for nesting from 1972 to 1999 to assess patterns of distribution and nest-site selection in an increasing population of Peregrine Falcons (Falco peregrinus) in central West Greenland. Peregrine Falcons breeding at traditionally occupied cliffs used for nesting had significantly lower variation in productivity and thus...

While it is widely understood that local abundance of benthic invertebrates can greatly influence the distribution and abundance of wetland birds, no studies have examined if wetland landscape context can mediate this relationship. We studied the influence of wetland food abundance and landscape context on use of agricultural wetlands by wintering dunlin (Calidris alpina) and killdeer...

Birds face challenges in how they allocate energy during the reproductive season. Most temperate zone species do not breed and molt at the same time, presumably because of the high energy demands of these two activities (Espie et al. 1996 and citations therein). However, representatives of at least four raptor genera are known to molt during the nesting season (Schmutz and Schmutz 1975...

Terrestrial behavior and habitat associations of post-metamorphic Taricha granulosa are poorly understood (Oliver and McCurdy 1974. Can. J. Zool. 52:541-545; Pimentel 1960. Amer. Midl. Nat. 63:470-496). Chandler (1918. Oregon Agric. Coll. Exper. Sta. Bull. 152:6) referenced Fall T granulosa aggregations in "cavities under stumps, logs, and stones," but does not present specific data...

The U.S. Endangered Species Act (ESA) allows listing of subspecies and other groupings below the rank of species. This provides the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the National Marine Fisheries Service with a means to target the most critical unit in need of conservation. Although roughly one-quarter of listed taxa are subspecies, these management agencies are hindered by...

We tested whether routes of raptors migrating over areas with homogeneous topography follow constant geomagnetic courses more or less closely than constant geographical courses. We analysed the routes taken over land of 45 individual raptors tracked by satellite-based radiotelemetry: 25 peregrine falcons, Falco peregrinus, on autumn migration between North and South America, and seven...

We evaluated the relationship between spatial variability in prey and food habits of eastern imperial eagles Aquila heliaca at a 90,000 ha national nature reserve in north-central Kazakhstan. Eagle diet varied greatly within the population and the spatial structure of eagle diet within the population varied according to the scale of measurement. Patterns in dietary response were...

[No abstract available]