Publications

Vernal pool wetlands are at risk of destruction across the northeast United States, due in part to their diminutive size and short hydroperiolds. These characteristics make it difficult to locate vernal pool habitats in the landscape during much of the year, and no efficient method exists for predicting their occurrence. A logistic regression procedure was used to identify large-scale...

Interest in seasonally flooded pools, and the status of associated amphibian populations, has initiated programs in the northeastern United States to document and monitor these habitats. Counting egg masses is an effective way to determine the population size of pool-breeding amphibians, such as wood frogs (Rana sylvatica) and spotted salamanders (Ambystoma maculatum). However, bias is...

No abstract available.

Effectiveness of the entomopathogenic fungus Metarhizium anisopliae, for controlling nymphal Ixodes scapularis, was tested in laboratory and field trials. In the laboratory, M. anisopliae (Metschnikoff) Sorokin strain ESC1 was moderately pathogenic, with an LC50 of 107 spores/ml and induced 70% mortality at 109 spores/ml. In a field study, however, 109 spores/ml M. anisopliae did not...

We conducted two studies of Se exposure in captive common eiders (Somateria mollissima). In Study 1, eiders were fed diets with added Se (as L-selenomethionine) in concentrations increasing from 10 ppm to 80 ppm. In Study 2, eiders received control, low exposure (20 ppm Se), and high exposure (60 ppm Se) diets. One duck in the high exposure group in Study 2 died after 36 days. Remaining...

Due to the difficulty of conducting range-wide surveys of either breeding or wintering populations, few data are available to assess the population trends of sea ducks with confidence. We analyze sea duck data from the Audubon Christmas Bird Count (CBC) using hierarchical modeling methods that control for varying effort among circles and over time. These procedures allow us to assess...

Survey design for wintering scoters (Melanitta sp.) and other sea ducks that occur in offshore waters is challenging because these species have large ranges, are subject to distributional shifts among years and within a season, and can occur in aggregations. Interest in winter sea duck population abundance surveys has grown in recent years. This interest stems from concern over the...

Of the forested wetlands that once covered the Mississippi Alluvial Valley, only -25% remain due to large-scale conversion to agriculture. Reforestation efforts are currently underway, but tracts planted with slow-growing oaks maintain the structure of a grassland for 5 yr or longer, and will require at least 40 yr to resemble a mature forest. Nonetheless, it is hoped that reforestation...

Thousands of ha of cleared wetlands are being reforested annually in the Mississippi Alluvial Valley (MAV). Despite the expansive and long-term impacts of reforestation on the biological communities of the MAV, there is generally a lack of landscape level planning in its implementation. To address this deficiency we used raster-based digital data to assess the value of forest restoration...

The Alabama River system, comprising the Alabama, Coosa, and Tallapoosa subsystems, forms the eastern portion of the Mobile River drainage. Physiographic diversity and geologic history have fostered development in the Alabama River system of globally significant levels of aquatic faunal diversity and endemism. At least 184 fishes are native to the system, including at least 33 endemic...

No abstract available.

No abstract available.