Wylie Barrow, Jr., Ph.D. (Former Employee)

Search behavior of arboreal insectivorous migrants was studied at three stopover sites along the northern coast of the Gulf of Mexico during spring migrations, 1993–1995. We examined if search behavior was affected by phylogeny, or by environmental factors. A sequence of search movements (hop, flutter, or flight) in a foraging bout was recorded for each migrant encountered. Search rate...

Avian conservation efforts must account for changes in vegetation composition and structure associated with climate change. We modeled vegetation change and the probability of occurrence of birds to project changes in winter bird distributions associated with climate change and fire management in the northern Chihuahuan Desert (southwestern U.S.A.). We simulated vegetation change in a...

Avian conservation efforts must account for changes in vegetation composition and structure associated with climate change. We modeled vegetation change and the probability of occurrence of birds to project changes in winter bird distributions associated with climate change and fire management in the northern Chihuahuan Desert (southwestern U.S.A.). We simulated vegetation change in a...

No abstract available.

1. Organism–environment models are used widely in conservation. The degree to which they are useful for informing conservation decisions – the conservation relevance of these relations – is important because lack of relevance may lead to misapplication of scarce conservation resources or failure to resolve important conservation dilemmas. Even when models perform well based on model fit...

We evaluated home-range size and site tenacity of Le Conte's Sparrows (Ammodramus lecontii) during winter 2002–2003 at Brazoria National Wildlife Refuge, Texas. Twenty-six wintering Le Conte's Sparrows were radiomarked in 1- and 2-year post-burn units, and monitored for ∼10 days. Additionally, 1-ha plots on each 1-, 2- and 3-year (n  =  15) post-burn units were flush-netted once monthly...

The Mississippi Alluvial Valley (MAV) is the Nation?s largest floodplain and this once predominantly forested ecosystem provided significant habitat for a diverse flora and fauna, sequestered carbon in trees and soil, and stored floodwater, sediments, and nutrients within the floodplain. This landscape has been substantially altered by the conversion of nearly 75% of the riparian forests

Understanding the consequences of hurricanes on the food resources available to neotropical-nearctic migrant songbirds may provide important insight into the effects of hurricanes on migratory populations. During autumn migration 2006 we investigated the foraging ecology of two species of insectivorous migrants, Blue-gray Gnatcatcher (Polioptila caerulea) and Yellow Warbler (Dendroica...

Given the abundance of non-native species invading wildland habitats, managers need to employ informed triage to focus control efforts on weeds with the greatest potential for negative impacts. Our objective here was to determine the level of threat Sahara mustard, Brassica tournefortii, represents to meeting regional goals for protecting biodiversity. Sahara mustard has spread...

The invasive exotic Chinese tallow tree (Triadica sebifera) produces an abundant fruit crop, which is primarily bird-dispersed. The fruit pulp of tallow is lipid-rich, high in saturated fatty acids, and consumed by many bird species. Long-chained fatty acids can be difficult for many birds to digest and we investigated the ability of tallow consumers to assimilate energy in the pulp. We...

1. Current understanding regarding the effects of boundaries on bird communities has originated largely from studies of forest-non-forest boundaries in mesic systems. To assess whether broad-scale boundary length can affect bird community structure in deserts, and to identify patterns and predictors of species' associations useful in avian conservation, we studied relations between birds...

Vegetation growth and community composition in semi-arid environments is determined by water availability and carbon assimilation mechanisms specific to different plant types. Disturbance also impacts vegetation productivity and composition dependent on area affected, intensity, and frequency factors. In this study, a new spatially explicit ecosystem model is presented for the purpose of