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Publications

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

Filter Total Items: 16757

A mechanism for decoupling within the oceanic lithosphere revealed in the Troodos ophiolite A mechanism for decoupling within the oceanic lithosphere revealed in the Troodos ophiolite

Contrasting kinematic histories recorded in the sheeted dykes and underlying plutonic rocks of the Troodos ophiolite provide a new perspective on the mechanical evolution of oceanic spreading centres. The kinematic framework of the decoupling zone that partitions deformation between the sheeted dykes and plutonics contrasts with low-angle detachment models for slow-spreading ridges based...
Authors
Susan M. Agar, Kim D. Klitgord

Remote monitoring of parental incubation conditions in the greater sandhill crane Remote monitoring of parental incubation conditions in the greater sandhill crane

To monitor incubation conditions in nests of greater sandhill cranes, a radiotrans-mitting egg was built using six temperature sensors, a position sensor, and a light sensor. Sensor readings were received, along with time of observations, and stored in a computer. The egg was used to monitor incubation in nests of six pairs of cranes during 1987 and 1988. Ambient temperature was also...
Authors
G.F. Gee, Jeffrey S. Hatfield, P.W. Howey

Quantitative assessment of pair formation behavior in captive whooping cranes (Grus americana) Quantitative assessment of pair formation behavior in captive whooping cranes (Grus americana)

Instantaneous scan sampling for mean distance and synchronous action patterns and all-occurrence sampling for unison call, dance, strut, and hoover-up behaviors were conducted for five potential whooping crane pairs at Patuxent Environmental Science Center, Laurel, Maryland. Dance, strut, and hoover-up differed among pairs, as did total frequency of social behaviors. It was unclear...
Authors
J.T. Nelson, C.R. Small, D. H. Ellis

Strontium Strontium

Part of the 1994 Industrial Minerals Review. The production, consumption, and applications of strontium are reviewed. Consumption for the year is estimated to have been about 35 kt for strontium contained in celestite, strontium carbonate, and strontium nitrate. Exports of strontium totaled only about 1.1 kt for the year. U.S. strontium imports and consumption increased about 30 percent...
Authors
J.A. Ober

Summer movements and behavior of an Arctic wolf, Canis lupus, pack without pups Summer movements and behavior of an Arctic wolf, Canis lupus, pack without pups

A pupless arctic Wolf pack (two adults, three yearlings) studied 5-30 July 1993 on Ellesmere Island, Northwest Territories, traveled nomadically around an area >381 km2 but the alpha pair sometimes left the yearlings at a rendezvous site. All pack members hunted Arctic hares. The alpha pair sometimes fed the yearlings, the alpha male doing so more than the alpha female.
Authors
L.D. Mech

Report from the banding lab Report from the banding lab

Mr. Tautin reported on the seemingly everchanging structure of biological science units within the Interior Department. Current Congressional proposals would either change the name of the Bird Banding Lab's parent agency or make it part of the Geological Survey. The current Congress has not looked favorably on science budgets within the Interior Department, and the Banding Lab's budget...
Authors
J. Tautin

Winter range arrival and departure of white-tailed deer in northeastern Minnesota Winter range arrival and departure of white-tailed deer in northeastern Minnesota

I analyzed 364 spring and 239 fall migrations by 194 white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) from 1975 to 1993 in northeastern Minnesota to determine the proximate cause of arrivals on and departures from winter ranges. The first autumn temperatures below -7?C initiated fall migrations for 14% (95% confidence interval (CI) = 0-30) of female deer prior to snowfall in three autumns, but...
Authors
M.E. Nelson

Effects of sampling strategy, detection probability, and independence of counts on the use of point counts Effects of sampling strategy, detection probability, and independence of counts on the use of point counts

Many factors affect the use of point counts for monitoring bird populations, including sampling strategies, variation in detection rates, and independence of sample points. The most commonly used sampling plans are stratified sampling, cluster sampling, and systematic sampling. Each of these might be most useful for different objectives or field situations. Variation in detection...
Authors
G.W. Pendleton

Puerto Rican parrots Puerto Rican parrots

Since the arrival of Columbus in Puerto Rico, the Taino Indian has disappeared and the parrot has just barely survived (Wadsworth 1949; Snyder et al. 1987). The Puerto Rican parrot (Amazona vittata) had shared its habitat with the peaceful Taino Indians for centuries before the arrival of European settlers in the Caribbean.
Authors
J. Michael Meyers
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