Publications

The rapid geographic spread of West Nile Virus [WNV, Flaviviridae, Flavivirus] across the United States has stimulated interest in comparative host infection studies of avian species to delineate competent reservoir hosts critical for viral amplification. Striking taxonomic differences in avian susceptibility have been noted, offering the opportunity to strategically select species on...

In 2001 avi-fauna was added as a parameter to be monitored as an indicator of the status and relative success of the two reconstructed freshwater tidal wetlands residing in the Anacostia River estuary in Washington, D.C. at that time. They were Kenilworth Marsh which was reconstructed in 1993 and Kingman Marsh seven years later in 2000. Other studies were already underway looking at...

No abstract available.

To study survival in the eastern breeding population of the Painted Bunting (Passerina ciris), I developed a technique to capture a large sample of buntings for color marking with leg-bands. This involved the use of bird feeders and an array of three short mist nets located at 40 sites in four states, each site meeting five specific criteria. In five years of mist netting (1999-2003)...

The rock outcrops and cliffs of Shenandoah National Park provide habitat for several rare and endangered plant and animal species, including the federally endangered Shenandoah Salamander (Plethodon shenandoah; Ludwig et al., 1993). The location of the well-known park tour road, Skyline Drive, along the ridgeline provides exceptional access to many outcrops and cliffs throughout the park...

Although wide-ranging, elusive, large carnivore species, such as the tiger, are of scientific and conservation interest, rigorous inferences about their population dynamics are scarce because of methodological problems of sampling populations at the required spatial and temporal scales. We report the application of a rigorous, noninvasive method for assessing tiger population dynamics to...

Extremely high concentrations of cadmium (3.5 μg/g dry wgt.) and elevated concentrations of chromium (>10 μg/g dry wgt.) and mercury (1.6 μg/g dry wgt.) were reported in waterbird tissues at Agassiz National Wildlife Refuge in northwestern Minnesota in 1994. Tree swallows (Tachycineta bicolor) were studied during 1998–2001 at three drainages into the Refuge, two pools on the Refuge, and...

We describe a new species of Glassfrog, Centrolene mariaelenae n. sp., from the Contrafuerte de Tzunantza, southeastern Ecuador. The new species is assigned to the Centrolene gorzulai species group, a clade previously known only from the Guayana Shield region, because the parietal peritoneum is transparent and the hepatic peritoneum is covered by guanophores. We analyze the diversity...

Summary 1. For many species, when to begin reproduction is an important life-history decision that varies by individual and can have substantial implications for lifetime reproductive success and fitness. 2. We estimated age-specific probabilities of first-time breeding and modelled variation in these rates to determine age at first reproduction and understand why it varies in a...

Using radiotelemetry, we studied variation in home-range size of the Bachman's Sparrow (Aimophila aestivalis) at the Savannah River Site (SRS), South Carolina, during the 1995 breeding season. At SRS, sparrows occurred primarily in two habitats: mature pine habitats managed for Red-cockaded Woodpecker (Picoides borealis) and pine plantations 1 to 6 years of age. The mean 95% minimum...

The American Oystercatcher (Haematopus palliatus) is listed as a species of high priority by the U.S. Shorebird Conservation Plan and is state-listed as rare in Georgia; however, biologists have not focused on identifying the causes of egg and hatchling losses. In 2003 and 2004, continuous video monitoring was used to document reproductive success of American Oystercatchers and identify...

A new arboreal species of the Chaunus veraguensis group is described for the humid montane forest of Madidi National Park, in northern Bolivia. The new species differs from other species in the group by the combination small size, long and slender extremities, webbed hands, conspicuous tympanic membrane, well developed parotoid glands, absence of large glands on dorsum and extremities...