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Amphibians of Olympic National Park Amphibians of Olympic National Park

Amphibians evolved from fishes about 360 million years ago and were the first vertebrates adapted to life on land. The word amphibian means "double life." It refers to the life history of many amphibians, which spend part of their life in water and part on land. There are three major groups of amphibians: salamanders, frogs, and toads, and caecilians. Salamanders, frogs, and toads can be...
Authors
Water Resources Division U.S. Geological Survey

Space use of killdeer at a Great Basin breeding area Space use of killdeer at a Great Basin breeding area

Wetland conservation efforts require knowledge of space use by a diversity of waterbirds. However, determining space use of animals requires intensive monitoring of individual organisms. Often, activity patterns during much of the annual cycle are neglected in analyses of home range and habitat use. From 1995-97, we monitored space use in a population of individually marked killdeer...
Authors
Jonathan H. Plissner, L.W. Oring, Susan M. Haig

Analytical group decision making in natural resources: Methodology and application Analytical group decision making in natural resources: Methodology and application

Group decision making is becoming increasingly important in natural resource management and associated scientific applications, because multiple values are treated coincidentally in time and space, multiple resource specialists are needed, and multiple stakeholders must be included in the decision process. Decades of social science research on decision making in groups have provided...
Authors
D. L. Schmoldt, D. L. Peterson

Species richness and abundance of ectomycorrhizal basidiomycete sporocarps on a moisture gradient in the Tsuga heterophylla zone Species richness and abundance of ectomycorrhizal basidiomycete sporocarps on a moisture gradient in the Tsuga heterophylla zone

Sporocarps of epigeous ectomycorrhizal fungi and vegetation data were collected from eight Tsuga heterophylla (Raf.) Sarg. - Pseudotsuga menziesii (Mirb.) Franco stands along a wet to dry gradient in Olympic National Park, Washington, U.S.A. One hundred and fifty species of ectomycorrhizal fungi were collected from a total sample area of 2.08 ha. Over 2 years, fungal species richness...
Authors
Thomas E. O’Dell, Joseph F. Ammirati, Edward G. Schreiner

Postbreeding movements of American Avocets and implications for wetland connectivity in the western Great Basin Postbreeding movements of American Avocets and implications for wetland connectivity in the western Great Basin

Wetlands in the western Great Basin of the United States are patchily distributed and undergo extensive seasonal and annual variation in water levels. The American Avocet (Recurvirostra americana) is one of many shorebird species that use these wetlands as breeding and migratory stopover sites and must adjust to variable conditions. We used radio telemetry to determine postbreeding...
Authors
Jonathan H. Plissner, Susan M. Haig, L.W. Oring

Day-roosts of female long-eared myotis in western Oregon Day-roosts of female long-eared myotis in western Oregon

Roosts are a critical habitat component for bats and may influence their survival and fitness. We used radiotelemetry to investigate characteristics of day-roosts of female long-eared myotis (Myotis evotis) in watersheds characterized by different forest conditions and the spatial relationships between day-roosts and available water. We tracked 21 bats to 73 roosts (n = 102 occasions)...
Authors
David L. Waldien, J. P. Hayes, Edward B. Arnett

Pond permanence and the effects of exotic vertebrates on anurans Pond permanence and the effects of exotic vertebrates on anurans

In many permanent ponds throughout western North America, the introduction of a variety of exotic fish and bullfrogs (Rana catesbeiana) correlates with declines in native amphibians. Direct effects of exotics are suspected to be responsible for the rarity of some native amphibians and are one hypothesis to explain the prevalence of amphibian declines in western North America. However...
Authors
M. J. Adams

Monitoring air quality in mountains: Designing an effective network Monitoring air quality in mountains: Designing an effective network

A quantitatively robust yet parsimonious air-quality monitoring network in mountainous regions requires special attention to relevant spatial and temporal scales of measurement and inference. The design of monitoring networks should focus on the objectives required by public agencies, namely: 1) determine if some threshold has been exceeded (e.g., for regulatory purposes), and 2)...
Authors
D. L. Peterson

Seasonal variation in concentrations of fiber, crude protein, and phenolic compounds in leaves of red alder (Alnus rubra): Nutritional implications for cervids Seasonal variation in concentrations of fiber, crude protein, and phenolic compounds in leaves of red alder (Alnus rubra): Nutritional implications for cervids

We sought to determine whether changes in chemical composition could be a factor in increased utilization of red alder (Alnus rubra) by the two cervids, the Columbian black-tailed deer (Odocoileus hemionus columbianus) and Roosevelt elk (Cervus elaphus roosevelti), during the fall in parts of the Douglas fir region of the Pacific Northwest. We found that concentrations and astringency of...
Authors
M. P. Gonzalez-Hernandez, Edward E. Starkey, J. Karchesy

Application of a modified harness design for attachment of radio transmitters to shorebirds Application of a modified harness design for attachment of radio transmitters to shorebirds

Radio transmitter attachment methodology is important to the design of radio telemetry studies. In 1998, we attached 5 transmitters to a captive population of Western Sandpipers (Calidris mauri) and 7 transmitters to wild Killdeer (Charadriusv ociferus) using a modified version of the Rappole and Tipton (1991) figure-8 leg-loop harness. Captive birds fitted with harnesses did not exhibit
Authors
Peter M. Sanzenbacher, Susan M. Haig, Lewis W. Oring
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