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Publications

These publications showcase the significant science conducted in our Science Centers.

Filter Total Items: 16743

Characterizing backcountry camping impacts in Great Smoky Mountains National Park Characterizing backcountry camping impacts in Great Smoky Mountains National Park

This investigates resource impacts on backcounty campsites in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, USA. Study objectives were to enhance our understanding of camping impacts and to improve campsite impact assessment procedures by means of multivariate techniques. Three-hundred and eight campsites at designated backcountry campgrounds, and 69 additional unofficial campsites were...
Authors
Y.-F. Leung, J. L. Marion

Forest area and distribution in the Mississippi alluvial valley: Implications for breeding bird conservation Forest area and distribution in the Mississippi alluvial valley: Implications for breeding bird conservation

Knowing the current forest distribution and patch size characteristics is integral to the development of geographically defined, habitat-based conservation objectives for breeding birds. Towards this end, we classified 2.6 million ha of forest cover within the Mississippi Alluvial Valley using 1992 thematic mapper satellite imagery. Although historically this area, from southern Illinois...
Authors
D.J. Twedt, C.R. Loesch

Husbandry and care of quail Husbandry and care of quail

Both the Japanese and Bobwhite quail are important species for biomedical, toxicological and basic biological research. In view of their rapid maturation, high reproductive rate in captivity, and other physiological characteristics, these species have been and will continue to be used successfully as model avian species. This short reviews describes caging, environmental, and feed...
Authors
M. A. Ottinger, Barnett A. Rattner

Waterfowl density on agricultural fields managed to retain water in winter Waterfowl density on agricultural fields managed to retain water in winter

Managed water on private and public land provides habitat for wintering waterfowl in the Mississippi Valley, where flood control projects have reduced the area of natural flooding. We compared waterfowl densities on rice, soybean, and moist-soil fields under cooperative agreements to retain water from 1 November through 28 February in Arkansas and Mississippi and assessed temporal...
Authors
D.J. Twedt, C.O. Nelms

A nonbreeding concentration of Roseate and Common Terns in Bahia, Brazil A nonbreeding concentration of Roseate and Common Terns in Bahia, Brazil

We report recoveries of banded Roseate (Sterna dougallii) and Common (S. hirundo) Terns netted at Mangue Seco, Bahia, Brazil (11? 27'S, 37? 21'W). Mangue Seco is the first reported South American location where large numbers of Roseate Terns concentrate December-March, and where members of both the North American and Caribbean populations occur together during these months. A Roseate...
Authors
H. Hays, P. Lima, L. Monteiro, J. DiConstanzo, G. Cormons, I.C.T. Nisbet, Jorge E. Saliva, J. A. Spendelow, J. Burger, J. Pierce, M. Gochfeld

Low abundance of microsatellite repeats in the genome of the brown-headed cowbird (Molothrus ater) Low abundance of microsatellite repeats in the genome of the brown-headed cowbird (Molothrus ater)

A cosmid library made from brown-headed cowbird (Molothrus ater) DNA was examined for representation of 17 distinct microsatellite motifs including all possible mono-, di-, and trinucleotide microsatellites, and the tetranucleotide repeat (GATA)n. The overall density of microsatellites within cowbird DNA was found to be one repeat per 89 kb and the frequency of the most abundant motif,...
Authors
Jonathan L. Longmire, D.C. Hahn, J.L. Roach

Organochlorine contaminants and reproductive success of double-crested cormorants from Green Bay, Wisconsin, USA Organochlorine contaminants and reproductive success of double-crested cormorants from Green Bay, Wisconsin, USA

In 1994 and 1995, nesting success of double-crested cormorants (Phalacrocorax auritus) was measured at Cat Island, in southern Green Bay, Lake Michigan, Wisconsin, USA. Sample eggs at pipping and unhatched eggs were collected and analyzed for organochlorines (including total polychlorinated biphenyls [PCBs] and DDE), hepatic microsomal ethoxyresorufin-O-dealkylase (EROD) activity in...
Authors
T. W. Custer, Christine M. Custer, R. K. Hines, S. Gutreuter, K. L. Stromborg, P. David Allen, M. J. Melancon

Program RDSURVIV: An estimation tool for capture-recapture data collected under Pollock's robust design Program RDSURVIV: An estimation tool for capture-recapture data collected under Pollock's robust design

Several papers have demonstrated the advantages of collecting capture- recapture data using subsamples (i.e. Pollock's robust design). Compared with a standard design (i.e. one sample per period), this approach (1) permits the estimation of more demographic parameters and (2) in many cases produces more efficient estimators. Program SURVIV is a powerful tool for computing parameter...
Authors
W. L. Kendall, J.E. Hines

May the forethought (and studies) be with your campsite-protection planning! May the forethought (and studies) be with your campsite-protection planning!

Visitation has reached record levels along the Appalachian Trail, a 2000+ mile footpath extending from Maine to Georgia along the crest of the Appalachian Mountains. Camping impacts associated with this use have also expanded rapidly in recent years, particularly in popular National Parks and at attraction features such as lakes and ponds. This article reviews recreation ecology research...
Authors
J. L. Marion, R. D. Proudman

Scrub-successional bird community dynamics in young and mature longleaf pine-wiregrass savannahs Scrub-successional bird community dynamics in young and mature longleaf pine-wiregrass savannahs

Public agencies are required to manage for threatened and endangered species and for biodiversity. However, at times, management for threatened and endangered species precludes consideration of other species. We investigated how managing for red-cockaded woodpeckers (Picoides borealis) and biodiversity at the Savannah River Site (SRS), South Carolina, affected communities of bird species...
Authors
D.G. Krementz, J.S. Christie
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