Publications
These publications showcase the significant science conducted in our Science Centers.
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Effect of horseshoe crab spawning density on nest disturbance and exhumation of eggs: A simulation study Effect of horseshoe crab spawning density on nest disturbance and exhumation of eggs: A simulation study
Because the Delaware Bay horseshoe crab (Limulus polyphemus) population is managed to provide for dependent species, such as migratory shorebirds, there is a need to understand the process of egg exhumation and to predict eggs available to foraging shorebirds. A simple spatial model was used to simulate horseshoe crab spawning that would occur on a typical Delaware Bay beach during...
Authors
D. R. Smith
Vulnerability of National Park Service beaches to inundation during a direct hurricane landfall: Cumberland Island National Seashore Vulnerability of National Park Service beaches to inundation during a direct hurricane landfall: Cumberland Island National Seashore
Cumberland Island National Seashore, a barrier-island coastal park in Georgia, is vulnerable to the powerful, sand-moving forces of hurricanes. Waves and storm surge associated with these strong tropical storms are part of the natural process of barrier-island evolution and can cause extensive morphologic changes in coastal parks, leading to reduced visitor accessibility and enjoyment...
Authors
Hilary F. Stockdon, David M. Thompson, Laura A. Fauver
Vulnerability of National Park Service beaches to inundation during a direct hurricane landfall: Cape Lookout National Seashore Vulnerability of National Park Service beaches to inundation during a direct hurricane landfall: Cape Lookout National Seashore
Cape Lookout National Seashore, a barrier-island coastal park in North Carolina, is vulnerable to the powerful, sand-moving forces of hurricanes. Waves and storm surge associated with these strong tropical storms are part of a natural process in barrier-island evolution and can cause extensive morphologic changes in coastal parks, leading to road closures and reduced visitor...
Authors
Hilary F. Stockdon, David M. Thompson
Coastal change-potential assessment of Sleeping Bear Dunes, Indiana Dunes, and Apostle Islands National Lakeshores to lake-level changes Coastal change-potential assessment of Sleeping Bear Dunes, Indiana Dunes, and Apostle Islands National Lakeshores to lake-level changes
A change-potential index (CPI) was used to map the susceptibility of the shoreline to future lake-level change within Apostle Islands, Indiana Dunes, and Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshores (NL) along Lake Superior and Lake Michigan. The CPI in the Great Lakes setting ranks the following in terms of their physical contribution to lake-level related coastal change: geomorphology...
Authors
Elizabeth A. Pendleton, E. Robert Thieler, S. Jeffress Williams
Native grasses: Contributors to historical landscapes and grassland-bird habitat in the Northeast Native grasses: Contributors to historical landscapes and grassland-bird habitat in the Northeast
No abstract available.
Authors
B. Peterjohn, B. Eick, B. Blumberg
Yellow-throated and Red-eyed Vireos foraging on green anoles during migration Yellow-throated and Red-eyed Vireos foraging on green anoles during migration
Yellow-throated (Vireo flavifrons) and Red-eyed vireos (V. olivaceus) were observed feeding on green anoles (Anolis carolinensis carolinensis) at two localities in Florida and one in South Carolina. Vireos are long-distance migrants that require foods high in fatty acid content, especially when engaging in migration. It is not unlikely that vireos have an opportunistic foraging strategy...
Authors
P.W. Sykes, L.S. Atherton, R.L. Payne
Revision of the characters of Centrolenidae (Amphibia: Anura: Athesphatanura), with comments on its taxonomy and the description of new taxa of glassfrogs Revision of the characters of Centrolenidae (Amphibia: Anura: Athesphatanura), with comments on its taxonomy and the description of new taxa of glassfrogs
Anurans of the family Centrolenidae are a diverse clade of arboreal frogs distributed across tropical America. Knowledge of their taxonomy, systematics, ecology, behavior, morphology, and other evolutionary aspects of their biology is deficient. Relationships among centrolenid species remain largely unresolved, with no satisfactory phylogenetic hypothesis, and none of the current genera...
Authors
D.F. Cisneros-Heredia, Roy W. McDiarmid
Population influences on tornado reports in the United States Population influences on tornado reports in the United States
The number of tornadoes reported in the United States is believed to be less than the actual incidence of tornadoes, especially prior to the 1990s, because tornadoes may be undetectable by human witnesses in sparsely populated areas and areas in which obstructions limit the line of sight. A hierarchical Bayesian model is used to simultaneously correct for population-based sampling bias...
Authors
C.J. Anderson, C. K. Wikle, Q. Zhou, J. Andrew Royle
Analysis of multinomial models with unknown index using data augmentation Analysis of multinomial models with unknown index using data augmentation
Multinomial models with unknown index ('sample size') arise in many practical settings. In practice, Bayesian analysis of such models has proved difficult because the dimension of the parameter space is not fixed, being in some cases a function of the unknown index. We describe a data augmentation approach to the analysis of this class of models that provides for a generic and efficient...
Authors
J. Andrew Royle, R.M. Dorazio, W.A. Link
Comparison of immune responses of brown-headed cowbird and related blackbirds to West Nile and other mosquito-borne encephalitis viruses Comparison of immune responses of brown-headed cowbird and related blackbirds to West Nile and other mosquito-borne encephalitis viruses
The rapid geographic spread of West Nile virus (family Flaviviridae, genus Flavivirus, WNV) across the United States has stimulated interest in comparative host infection studies to delineate competent avian hosts critical for viral amplification. We compared the host competence of four taxonomically related blackbird species (Icteridae) after experimental infection with WNV and with two...
Authors
W.K. Reisen, D.C. Hahn
Spatial models of Northern Bobwhite populations for conservation planning Spatial models of Northern Bobwhite populations for conservation planning
Since 1980, northern bobwhite (Colinus virginianus) range-wide populations declined 3.9% annually. Within the West Gulf Coastal Plain Bird Conservation Region in the south-central United States, populations of this quail species have declined 6.8% annually. These declines sparked calls for land use change and prompted implementation of various conservation practices. However, to...
Authors
Daniel J. Twedt, R. Randy Wilson, Amy S. Keister
A sampling device for the fauna of storm water catch basins A sampling device for the fauna of storm water catch basins
Storm water drainage catch basins provide habitat to a variety of different aquatic organisms including arthropods, molluscs and annelid worms. Arthropods such as mosquitoes are known to use these environments as larval habitat. Because of health concerns, catch basins are often targeted for mosquito control exposing all inhabitants to pesticides such as methoprene or BTI. In this paper...
Authors
M. Butler, R. Casagrande, R. LeBrun, H. Ginsberg, A. Gettman