Publications

We used solar-powered time-lapse video photography to document nesting Gyrfalcon (Falco rusticolus) food habits in central West Greenland from May to July in 2000 and 2001. We collected 2677.25 h of videotape from three nests, representing 94, 87, and 49% of the nestling period at each nest. The video recorded 921 deliveries of 832 prey items. We placed 95% of the items into prey...

Degradation, fragmentation, and loss of native sagebrush (Artemisia spp.) landscapes have imperiled these habitats and their associated avifauna. Historically, this vast piece of the Western landscape has been undervalued: even though more than 70% of all remaining sagebrush habitat in the United States is publicly owned,

Large wood recruitment and redistribution mechanisms were investigated in a 3.9 km2 basin with an old-growth Pseudotsuga menziesii (Mirb.) Franco and Tsuga heterophylla (Raf.) Sarg. forest, located in the southern Coast Range of Oregon. Stream size and topographic setting strongly influenced processes that delivered wood to the channel network. In small colluvial channels draining steep...

We examined the differences in activity patterns and community structure of bats between low (

Development of effective trapping techniques is important for conservation efforts, as marking and subsequent monitoring of individuals is necessary to obtain accurate estimates of demography, movements, and habitat use. We describe a leg-hold noose-mat trap for capturing breeding and nonbreeding shorebirds. Using this method, we trapped 50 Piping Plovers (Charadrius melodus), 2258 Snowy...

The decline and range reduction of sage grouse populations are primarily due to permanent loss and degradation of sagebrush–grassland habitat. Several studies have shown that sage grouse productivity may be limited by the availability of certain preferred highly nutritious forb species that have also declined within sagebrush ecosystems of the Intermountain West, U.S.A. The purpose of...

In this article we present the first analysis of parentage and relatedness in a natural vertebrate population, using Intersimple Sequence Repeat (ISSR) markers. Thus, 28 ISSR markers were used in a study of a sex-role reversed, simultaneously polyandrous shorebird from northeastern Australia, the comb-crested jacana (Irediparra gallinacea). Assessment of parentage was based on comparison...

Population viability analysis is an important tool for conservation biologists, and matrix models that incorporate stochasticity are commonly used for this purpose. However, stochastic simulations may require assumptions about the distribution of matrix parameters, and modelers often select a statistical distribution that seems reasonable without sufficient data to test its fit. We used...

Our limited understanding of the short and long-term effects of fire on fish contributes to considerable uncertainty in assessments of the risks and benefits of fire management alternatives. A primary concern among the many potential effects of fire is the effects of fire and fire management on persistence of native fish populations. Limited evidence suggests vulnerability of fish to...

Background Humans have dramatically altered wildlands in the western United States over the past 100 years by using these lands and the resources they provide. Anthropogenic changes to the landscape, such as urban expansion and development of rural areas, influence the number and kinds of plants and wildlife that remain. In addition, western ecosystems are also affected by roads...

As a result of recent fire history and decades of even-aged forest management, many coniferous forests in western Oregon are composed of young (20-50 yrs), densely stocked Douglas-fir stands. Often these stands are structurally simple - a single canopy layer with one or two overstory tree species - and have a relatively sparse understory. The lack of structural complexity in these stands...

This report is the result of a five-year collaboration between scientists of the U.S. Geological Survey Forest and Rangeland Ecosystem Science Center, Olympic Field Station, and the natural resources staff of Olympic National Park to develop a comprehensive strategy for monitoring natural resources of Olympic National Park. Olympic National Park is the National Park Serviceʼs prototype...