Winter 1975

Tall and Hard Fescues: Variety Trial Summary 1974-1975 (page 3) Red Fescue Variety Trial (4) Kentucky Bluegrass Variety Trial 1974 (4) Perennial Ryegrass Variety Trial (5) Kentucky Bluegrass Variety Trial (7) Lawn Specialists Find Liquids Fit the Bill for Urban Customers (8) Back and Beyond (10) Impact of Chemical and Mechanical Site Preparation on Wildlife Habitat (14) UMass Turfgrass Research Fund (20

Efficacy of an Acoustic Hailing Device as an Avian Dispersal Tool

Bird strikes are a major safety and financial concern for modern aviation. Audible stimuli are common bird dispersal techniques, but their effectiveness is limited by the saliency and relevance of the stimulus. Furthermore, high ambient sound levels present at airfields might require that effective audible stimuli rely more on total volume (i.e., exceeding physiological tolerances) than ecological relevance. Acoustic hailing devices (AHD) are capable of sound output with a narrow beamwidth and at volumes high enough to cause physical discomfort at long distances. We tested the effectiveness of anAHD as a dispersal tool on freeranging birds recognized as hazardous to aviation safety at the Savannah River Site and Phinizy Swamp Nature Park in South Carolina and Georgia, USA, respectively, between October 2013 and March 2015. Our study design included experimental trials with timed-interval counts of birds directly before and after AHD treatment. For most species, counts of birds associated with treatment periods (use of AHD) and control periods (no use of AHD) occurred on different days. Sound treatments yielded variable success at dispersing birds. Specifically, AHD treatment was effective for dispersing vultures (Coragyps atratus and Cathartes aura) and gulls (Laridae), but ineffective for dispersing blackbirds (Icteridae), diving ducks (Aythya spp., Bucephala spp., Oxyura spp.), and coots (Fulica americana). Trials were conducted in a relatively quiet environment with birds that were unhabituated to excessive noise; thus, we cannot unequivocally recommend an AHD as a universally effective avian dispersing tool. However, future research should consider AHD testing integrated with other methods, as well as investigation of treatments that might be salient to specific target species

Data from: Free‐moving artificial eggs containing temperature loggers reveal remarkable within‐clutch variance in incubation temperature

Incubation is a crucial aspect of avian parental care and measuring incubation temperature in the wild can improve our understanding of life history tradeoffs and inform conservation efforts. However, there are challenges associated with measuring the temperature of eggs in natural nests. Most studies to date have measured incubation temperature by using a single, stationary logger in each nest. However, real eggs are rotated and moved throughout the nest by the parent during the incubation period, and thus, a stationary logger may not accurately represent the temperature experienced by individual eggs within the entire clutch. We recorded incubation temperature in nests by using multiple, mobile artificial egg temperature loggers. We installed six mobile loggers and one stationary logger in wood duck (Aix sponsa) nests to compare the two logger types in the field. We found that at a given ambient temperature, mobile loggers recorded lower average and more variable temperatures than stationary loggers. Further, temperatures recorded by stationary loggers showed no relationship with clutch size, while mobile loggers captured temperatures that were lower and more variable as clutch size increased. Also, the multiple mobile loggers revealed that eggs within a nest experienced a substantial range of temperatures throughout the incubation period. We discuss potential limitations of this method, but believe that it is a promising way to collect biologically‐relevant incubation temperature data and provides an opportunity to advance our understanding of incubation temperature as a parental effect

Incubation temperature in wood ducks

Data were collected from incubating wood duck hens nesting in nest boxes at the Savannah River Site in Aiken, SC, USA in Spring-Summer 2014. Two types of temperature loggers (6 mobile and 1 stationary) were installed into nest boxes to record egg temperature when hens were incubating. Both logger types were modified and inserted into artificial eggs filled with wire-pulling lubricant to mimic the thermal properties of real eggs. We also recorded ambient temperature within the nest box, and measured hen body mass and tarsus length. Averages and standard deviations in temperature were calculated for each nest from the entire incubation period (~30 d). Averages and standard deviations for the mobile loggers are averages of the 6 loggers in each nest. Logger type: M = mobile; ST = stationary. Clutch size includes all fake eggs (i.e., temperature loggers). All average incubation temperatures and standard deviations in temperature reflect a correction for slight differences between temperature recording devices. In three nests, one or two mobile loggers were pushed to the side of the nest either in the middle or end of incubation. 'Excluding pushed loggers' indicates that these pushed eggs were removed from the mean and standard deviation in temperature calculations for their respective nests

Incubation temperature in wood ducks

Data were collected from incubating wood duck hens nesting in nest boxes at the Savannah River Site in Aiken, SC, USA in Spring-Summer 2014. Two types of temperature loggers (6 mobile and 1 stationary) were installed into nest boxes to record egg temperature when hens were incubating. Both logger types were modified and inserted into artificial eggs filled with wire-pulling lubricant to mimic the thermal properties of real eggs. We also recorded ambient temperature within the nest box, and measured hen body mass and tarsus length. Averages and standard deviations in temperature were calculated for each nest from the entire incubation period (~30 d). Averages and standard deviations for the mobile loggers are averages of the 6 loggers in each nest. Logger type: M = mobile; ST = stationary. Clutch size includes all fake eggs (i.e., temperature loggers). All average incubation temperatures and standard deviations in temperature reflect a correction for slight differences between temperature recording devices. In three nests, one or two mobile loggers were pushed to the side of the nest either in the middle or end of incubation. 'Excluding pushed loggers' indicates that these pushed eggs were removed from the mean and standard deviation in temperature calculations for their respective nests