Publications

Forest restoration has been undertaken on >200,000 ha of agricultural land in the Mississippi Alluvial Valley, USA, during the past few decades. Decisions on where and how to restore bottomland forests are complex and dependent upon landowner objectives, but for conservation of silvicolous (forest-dwelling) birds, ecologists have espoused restoration through planting a diverse mix of...

American kestrels (Falco sparverius) were fed diets containing methylmercury chloride (MeHg) at 0, 0.6, 1.7, 2.8, 3.9, or 5.0 µg/g (dry wt) starting approximately eight weeks before the onset of egg laying. Dietary treatment was terminated after 12 to 14 weeks, and unhatched eggs were collected for Hg analysis. Blood samples were collected after four weeks of treatment and the...

Spoonbills (genus Platalea) are a small group of wading birds, generally considered to constitute the subfamily Plataleinae (Aves: Threskiornithidae). We reconstructed phylogenetic relationships among the six species of spoonbills using variation in sequences of the mitochondrial genes ND2 and cytochrome b (total 1796 bp). Topologies of phylogenetic trees reconstructed using maximum...

The mosquito larvicide methoprene is a juvenile growth hormone mimic that is widely used to control mosquito larvae in stormwater catch basins. This study addresses two concerns pertaining to methoprene's use for mosquito control. First, measurements of methoprene concentrations were made from water in catch basins that had been treated with methoprene and from an adjoining salt pond...

Context: Reproduction is a critical component of fitness, and understanding factors that influence temporal and spatial dynamics in reproductive output is important for effective management and conservation. Although several indices of reproductive output for wide-ranging species, such as migratory birds, exist, there has been no theoretical justification for their estimators or...

On Earth Day of this year, the British Petroleum-operated Deepwater Horizon oil drilling rig exploded in the Gulf of Mexico, 41 miles off the Louisiana coast. The blast killed 11 workers, injured 17, launched a massive oil spill, and triggered an environmental catastrophe—the full impact of which may not be realized for years.

Phylogenetic analysis of the family Furnariidae (Aves: Passeriformes) indicates that the genus Asthenes is polyphyletic, consisting of two groups that are not sister taxa. Pseudasthenes, a new genus of ovenbird, is described for one of these groups. The four species included in the new genus, formerly placed in Asthenes, are P. humicola, P. patagonica, P. steinbachi, and P. cactorum.

Vegetation data collected at Catoctin Mountain Park, Maryland, in a split-panel rotation design during 2004-2009 were analyzed for differences among three regions within the park and among years. Six plots were paired with plots fenced to exclude white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus), and differences between open and exclosed plots were also investigated. Repeated measures analysis...

Herbivory has played a major role in dictating vegetation abundance and species composition at Kingman Marsh in Anacostia Park, Washington, D.C., since restoration of this tidal freshwater wetland was initiated in 2000. In June 2009 an herbivory study was established to document the impacts of resident Canada goose (Branta canadensis maxima) herbivory to vegetation at Kingman Marsh...

No abstract available.

The wetland complex is the functional ecological unit of the prairie pothole region (PPR) of central North America. Diverse complexes of wetlands contribute high spatial and temporal environmental heterogeneity, productivity, and biodiversity to these glaciated prairie landscapes. Climatewarming simulations using the new model WETLANDSCAPE (WLS) project major reductions in water volume...

1. Migratory birds are major candidates for long-distance dispersal of zoonotic pathogens. In recent years, wildfowl have been suspected of contributing to the rapid geographic spread of the highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) H5N1 virus. Experimental infection studies reveal that some wild ducks, geese and swans shed this virus asymptomatically and hence have the potential to...