Publications

Concentrations of 14 metals were studied in the soft tissues of zebra mussels (Dreissena polymorpha) and sediments from 16 Great Lakes embayments and riverine environments. Samples were collected in 1993 and 1994 during the early and late autumn period when the body mass of mussels is least affected by reproductive activities. There was a significant difference in geometric mean...

Techniques for estimation of absolute abundance of wildlife populations have received a lot of attention in recent years. The statistical research has been focused on intensive small-scale studies. Recently, however, wildlife biologists have desired to study populations of animals at very large scales for monitoring purposes. Population indices are widely used in these extensive...

Markov chain Monte Carlo (MCMC) is a statistical innovation that allows researchers to fit far more complex models to data than is feasible using conventional methods. Despite its widespread use in a variety of scientific fields, MCMC appears to be underutilized in wildlife applications. This may be due to a misconception that MCMC requires the adoption of a subjective Bayesian analysis...

We initiated an inventory and a field test of a protocol that could be used for monitoring marsh birds at the Cape Cod National Seashore in eastern Massachusetts during 1999 and 2000, as part of a more comprehensive national effort. Using cassette tapes during call broadcast surveys, we visited a total of 78 survey points at freshwater, brackish, and salt marsh sites three times on the...

An adult Slaty-backed Gull (Larus schistisagus) was found and photographed at Neversink Reservoir, Sullivan Co., NY on 20 February 2002. A native of northeastern Eurasia and northern Japan, this species is rare along the Bering coast of Alaska, and there are only a handful of scattered records in the lower 48 state since the first in St Louis along the Mississippi River in late 1983...

We describe a study designed to evaluate the performance ofwetland condition indicators of the Prairie Pothole Region (PPR)of the north central United States. Basin and landscape scaleindicators were tested in 1992 and 1993 to determine theirability to discriminate between the influences of grasslanddominated and cropland dominated landscapes in the PPR. Pairedplots were selected from...

Tidal flow to salt marshes throughout the northeastern United States is often restricted by roads, dikes, impoundments, and inadequately sized culverts or bridge openings, resulting in altered ecological structure and function. In this study we evaluated the response of vegetation and nekton (fishes and decapod crustaceans) to restoration of full tidal flow to a portion of the Sachuest...

The purpose of this experiment was to determine the effects of Aroclor 1242, a mixture of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), on plumage characteristics and molt in the American kestrel, Falco sparverills. Several characteristics of plumage. including color and molt schedule, are modulated by hormonal signals and hence may be modified by endocrine-active contaminants. If so, the functions...

Determining patterns of change in species richness and the processes underlying the dynamics of biodiversity are of key interest within the field of ecology, but few studies have investigated the dynamics of vertebrate communities at a decadal temporal scale. Here, we report findings on the spado-temporal variability in the richness and composition of fish communities along the Norwegian

he breeding range of the Bay-breasted Warbler (Dendroica castanea) is thought to include only the northernmost portions of six northeastern and northcentral states in the United States. During a 10-year banding study of Kirtland's Warblers (Dendroica kirtlandii) in northern Lower Michigan, we caught 44 Bay-breasted Warblers outside of their reported migration dates during 9 of the 10...

Historical data have increasingly become appreciated for insight into the past conditions of ecosystems. Uses of such data include assessing the extent of ecosystem change; deriving ecological baselines for management, restoration, and modeling; and assessing the importance of past conditions on the composition and function of current systems. One historical data set of this type is the...

This study assessed campsite conditions and the effectiveness of campsite impact management strategies at Isle Royale National Park, USA. Protocols for assessing indicators of vegetation and soil conditions were developed and applied to 156 campsites and 88 shelters within 36 backcountry campgrounds. The average site was 68 m2 and 83% of sites lost vegetation over areas less than 47 m2...