Skip to main content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Publications

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

Filter Total Items: 16905

Improving inferences in population studies of rare species that are detected imperfectly Improving inferences in population studies of rare species that are detected imperfectly

For the vast majority of cases, it is highly unlikely that all the individuals of a population will be encountered during a study. Furthermore, it is unlikely that a constant fraction of the population is encountered over times, locations, or species to be compared. Hence, simple counts usually will not be good indices of population size. We recommend that detection probabilities (the...
Authors
Darry I. MacKenzie, James D. Nichols, N. Sutton, K. Kawanishi, Larissa Bailey

Forest management under uncertainty for multiple bird population objectives Forest management under uncertainty for multiple bird population objectives

We advocate adaptive programs of decision making and monitoring for the management of forest birds when responses by populations to management, and particularly management trade-offs among populations, are uncertain. Models are necessary components of adaptive management. Under this approach, uncertainty about the behavior of a managed system is explicitly captured in a set of...
Authors
C. T. Moore, W.T. Plummer, M.J. Conroy

A modified beam-to-earth transformation to measure short-wavelength internal waves with an acoustic Doppler current profiler A modified beam-to-earth transformation to measure short-wavelength internal waves with an acoustic Doppler current profiler

The algorithm used to transform velocity signals from beam coordinates to earth coordinates in an acoustic Doppler current profiler (ADCP) relies on the assumption that the currents are uniform over the horizontal distance separating the beams. This condition may be violated by (nonlinear) internal waves, which can have wavelengths as small as 100-200 m. In this case, the standard...
Authors
A. Scotti, B. Butman, R.C. Beardsley, P. S. Alexander, S. Anderson

Performance of four turbulence closure models implemented using a generic length scale method Performance of four turbulence closure models implemented using a generic length scale method

A two-equation turbulence model (one equation for turbulence kinetic energy and a second for a generic turbulence length-scale quantity) proposed by Umlauf and Burchard [J. Marine Research 61 (2003) 235] is implemented in a three-dimensional oceanographic model (Regional Oceanographic Modeling System; ROMS v2.0). These two equations, along with several stability functions, can represent...
Authors
J.C. Warner, C. R. Sherwood, H.G. Arango, R. P. Signell

Modeling seasonal interactions in the population dynamics of migratory birds Modeling seasonal interactions in the population dynamics of migratory birds

Understanding the population dynamics of migratory birds requires understanding the relevant biological events that occur during breeding, migratory, and overwintering periods. The few available population models for passerine birds focus on breeding-season events, disregard or oversimplify events during nonbreeding periods, and ignore interactions that occur between periods of the...
Authors
M.C. Runge, P.P. Marra

General constraints on sampling wildlife on FIA plots General constraints on sampling wildlife on FIA plots

This paper reviews the constraints to sampling wildlife populations at FIA points. Wildlife sampling programs must have well-defined goals and provide information adequate to meet those goals. Investigators should choose a State variable based on information needs and the spatial sampling scale. We discuss estimation-based methods for three State variables: species richness, abundance...
Authors
L.L. Bailey, J.R. Sauer, J.D. Nichols, P.H. Geissler

Methyl tert-butyl ether occurrence and related factors in public and private wells in southeast New Hampshire Methyl tert-butyl ether occurrence and related factors in public and private wells in southeast New Hampshire

The occurrence of methyl tert-butyl ether (MTBE) in water from public wells in New Hampshire has increased steadily over the past several years. Using a laboratory reporting level of 0.2 μg/L, 40% of samples from public wells and 21% from private wells in southeast New Hampshire have measurable concentrations of MTBE. The rate of occurrence of MTBE varied significantly for public wells...
Authors
Joseph D. Ayotte, Denise M. Argue, Frederick J. McGarry

Impact of special early harvest seasons on subarctic-nesting and temperate-nesting Canada geese Impact of special early harvest seasons on subarctic-nesting and temperate-nesting Canada geese

Dramatic changes in wintering distributions of Canada geese (Branta canadensis) have occurred over the past 50 years in eastern North America. Declines in numbers of subarctic-nesting geese wintering in southern states, and increases in numbers wintering in northern regions, have resulted in a northern shift in winter distributions. In contrast, numbers of temperate-nesting geese have...
Authors
S. E. Sheaffer, William L. Kendall, E. Frank Bowers

Fecal corticoid monitoring in whooping cranes trained to follow ultralight aircraft Fecal corticoid monitoring in whooping cranes trained to follow ultralight aircraft

The use of fecal corticoid assays to measure stress in North American cranes has been limited to laboratory validation and a single field project involving reintroduced sandhill cranes (Ludders et aI., 1998, 2001; Hartup et aI., 2004). In 2001, we documented trends in corticoid concentrations among a cohort of ten costume-reared whooping cranes subjected to ultralight aircraft training...
Authors
B.K. Hartup, Nancy M. Czekala, Glenn H. Olsen, J.A. Langenberg
Was this page helpful?