Subject: Bird-Related Articles in Journal of Wildlife Mgmt - July 1996
Date: Aug 3 23:00:22 1996
From: "Jon. Anderson and Marty Chaney" - festuca at olywa.net


Hi folks,

Received Volume 40 Number 3 of the Journal of Wildlife Management, a =
quarterly journal of The Wildlife Society. Here's the bird-related =
articles.... Sorry about the double-post; my mailer's acting up again.

Jon. Anderson
Olympia, Washington
festuca at olywa.net


Predation on artificial nests in forested riparian buffer strips. W =
Matthew Vander Haegen and Richard M DeGraaf. pp 542-550. Authors used =
artificial nests to examine predation in riparian strips created by =
clear-cutting and in unharvested control areas in eastern Maine. Ground =
and shrub nests in riparian buffer strips were depredated more often =
than those in intact forests. Predations was mostly by Red Squirrels =
and Blue Jays. Suggested that managers leave wide buffer strips (>150m) =
to reduce edge-related effects.

Harvesting multiple stocks of ducks. Fred A Johnson and Clinton T =
Moore. pp 551-559. Banding recovery rates were influenced by species, =
age-sex cohorts, locations, and effects of hunting regulations. =
Regulatory changes affected some stocks differentially, even when it was =
not the intent of managers. The ability to control stock-specific =
harvest rates will be of little consequence if the effects of harvest on =
the status of bird stocks are poorly understood... can't use Mallard =
harvest rates as the standard by which to judge the appropriateness of =
harvest rates for other duck species.

Survival and philopatry of female dabbling ducks in southcentral =
Saskatchewan. Todd W Arnold and Robert G Clark. pp 560-568. =
Mark-resighting study from St. Denis National Wildlife Area, Sask. =
Juvenile waterfowl have markedly lower survival rates than adults of =
Gadwalls, Shovelers and teal, but this was barely perceptable among =
Mallards and Wigeon. Study addressed and recommended the use of =
mark-resighting data rather than band recovery data to estimate female =
survival rates.

Could the blood parasite Leucocytozoon deter Mallard range expansion? =
Dave Shutler, C Davison Ankney and Darrell G Dennis. pp 569-580. =
Hypothesis that, since Black Ducks coevolved with Leuococytozoon =
parasite and Mallards did not, the parasite should limit expansion into =
Black Duck range. Authors' results suggest that effects of =
Leucocytozoon on wild duck populations have been overestimated, and that =
Leucocytozoon will not prevent further range expansion of Mallards.

Flight behavior of Northern Bobwhites. Nicolaos I Kassinis and Fred S. =
Guthery. p 581-585. Knowledge of flight behavior is necessary for =
planning the layout of escape cover and other cover types subjected to =
'treatment' such as prescribed burning or mechanical brush management. =
Results from Texas study suggest escape cover should be <100m from any =
point in a management area.

Diet of Greater Rheas in an agroecosystem of central Argentina. Monica =
B Martella, Joaquin L Navarro, Jorge M Gonnet, and Susana A Monge. pp =
586-592. Microhistological analysis of feces; Green material composed =
over 90% of diet, followed by seeds (9%), fruits and insects, etc. In =
the south of Cordoba province, Wild and cultivated grasses were eaten in =
low quantity throughout the year. Alfalfa and wild dicots were frequent =
in diet and preferred in some seasons; alfalfa consumed in higher =
proportions during winter, when the plant is unavailable to cattle. =
Conservation of rheas compatable with traditional cattle ranching, but =
may conflict with sheep/goat grazing.

Acorn selection by female Wood Ducks. Scott C Barras, Richard M Kaminski =
and Leonard A Brennan. pp 592-602. When offered acorns from several =
southern bottomland red oaks, woodies preferred those of Willow Oak =
(Quercus phellos) in feeding trials. This species had smallest top =
width, thinnest shell and greatest meat:shell mass ratio.

Foods used by male Mallards wintering in southeastern Missouri. Daniel L =
Combs and Leigh H Fredrickson. pp 603-610. Habitat and annual variation =
were predominate factors in influencing diet. Seeds of moist soil plants =
composed 61 and 46% of diet of ducks in 1983-84 and 1984-85. =
Agricultural grain made up 34% of diet in 1984-85. and acorns made up =
64.5% of diet in 1985-86. Providing diversity of habitats and foods may =
be best management approach.

Habitat selection and breeding status of Swainson's Warblers in southern =
Missouri. Brian G Thomas, Ernie P Wiggers, and Richard L Clawson. pp =
611-616. Comparison of used and unused canebreaks (Arundinaria =
gigantea); did not reliably distinguish occupied from unoccupied =
canebreaks using the habitat structures measured; found no evidence that =
suitable habitat limited Swainson's Warbler abundance in Missouri. "We =
cannot yet recommend manipulating canebreaks to improve their =
suitability for Swainson's Warblers because specific habitat =
characteristics important to this species are no fully understood." =
(Should we? - J.A.)

Predation at Intermountain West fish hatcheries. William C Pitt and =
Michael R Conover. pp 616-624. Great Blue Herons, Black-crowned Night =
Herons, Ospreys and California Gulls were the most important predators =
at Midway and Springville trout hatcheries. Authors estimated losses to =
be 7.0 and 0.6% of annual production, in contrast to hatchery managers' =
estimates of 15% at each hatchery. Feral cats, raccoons and striped =
skunks had little effect on fish production, as they fed mostly on dead =
or moribund fish. Managers viewed netting to be the only effective =
nonlethal control measure.

Biases in diet study methods in the Bonelli's Eagle. Joan Real. pp =
632-638. Hieraaetus fasciatus in Catalonia (NE Spain); compared 3 =
methods of studying diet: Recent prey present in nest, Remains collected =
in nest after breeding, and Pellet contents, with the prey actually =
delivered by eagles to 2 nests. Remains collected after breeding was the =
only method that differed (underestimated) from delivered prey. Pellet =
analysis is the most efficient method of monitoring the diet of =
Bonelli's Eagle.

Microhabitat analysis using radiotelemetry locations and polytomous =
logistic regression. Malcom P North and Joel H Reynolds. pp 639-653. =
Microhabitat analyses using Discriminant Function Analysis comparing =
vegetative structures or environmental conditions between sites =
classified by study animal's presence or absence make questionable =
assumptions about the habitat value of the comparison sites and the =
microhabitat data often violate the DFA's assumptions of an equal =
covariance structure and multivariate normality. Authors used a =
"Polytomous Logistic Regression" analysis to correctly classify 78% of =
sample stands of Northern Spotted Owl foraging microhabitat in a =
jackknife evaluation.

Thermoregulatory effects of radiotelemetry transmitters on Mallard =
ducklings. George S Bakken, Penny S Reynolds, Kevin P Kenow, Carl E =
Korschgen and Andrew F Boysen. pp 669-678. Concerns about telemetry =
attachment disrupting downy insulation in ducklings was tested. =
Ducklings carrying external transmitters showed no biologically =
significant differences from non-radioed ducklings in total heat =
production, net heat production or short-term body mass loss.

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