Review of \u3ci\u3eAppreciating Your Feathered Neighbors\u3c/i\u3e, by Dana Gardner and Nancy Overcott

Fifty Common Birds of the Upper Midwest. Watercolors by Dana Gardner; text by Nancy Overcott. 2006. University of Iowa Press, Iowa City, Iowa. 106 pages. $34.95 (cloth). What\u27s the best way to interest a friend in bird watching? Buy them a field guide, a CD of bird songs, or take them out bird watching? All of these ideas might work, but another approach is to tell personal stories and draw pictures of common birds in yards, parks, and natural areas where they live; help them get to know their neighbors with feathers. That\u27s exactly what Dana Gardner and Nancy Overcott did in their recent book about common birds of the Upper Midwestern United States. The authors\u27 decision to focus on common birds will be appealing to people who feed or watch birds casually; they will likely be familiar with some of these birds. The book is a self-described set of stories and paintings about birds; the authors express their hope in the introduction that these stories will inspire interest in habitat preservation

A PRODUCTIVITY MODEL FOR PARASITIZED, MULTIBROODED SONGBIRDS

We present an enhancement of a simulation model to predict annual productivity for Wood Thrushes (Hylocichla mustelina) and American Redstarts (Setophaga ruticilla); the model includes effects of Brown-headed Cowbird (Molothrus ater) parasitism. We used species-specific data from the Driftless Area Ecoregion of Wisconsin, Minnesota, and Iowa to parameterize the model as a case study. The simulation model predicted annual productivity of 2.03 ± 1.60 SD for Wood Thrushes and 1.56 ± 1.31 SD for American Redstarts. Our sensitivity analysis showed that high parasitism lowered Wood Thrush annual productivity more than American Redstart productivity, even though parasitism affected individual nests of redstarts more severely. Annual productivity predictions are valuable for habitat managers, but productivity is not easily obtained from field studies. Our model provides a useful means of integrating complex life history parameters to predict productivity for songbirds that experience nest parasitism. Presentamos un modelo de simulaci6n mejorado para predecir la productividad anual de Hylocichla mustelina y Setophaga ruticilla que considera el efecto del parasitismo por Molothrus ater. Utilizamos datos especie-especificos de la ecorregi6n Driftless Area de Wisconsin, Minnesota y Iowa para determinar los panimetros del modelo como un caso de estudio. El modelo de simulaci6n predijo una productividad anual de 2.03 ± 1.60 DE para H. mustelina y de 1.56 ± 1.31 DE para S. ruticilla. El analisis de sensibilidad mostro que altos niveles de parasitismo disminuyeron la productividad anual de H. mustelina en un mayor grado que la de S. ruticilla, a pesar de que el parasitismo a nivel de cada nido afecto de forma mas severa a S. ruticilla. Las predicciones de productividad anual son valiosas para el manejo de habitats, pero las medidas de productividad no son obtenidas facilmente mediante estudios de campo. Nuestro modelo provee una herramienta util para integrar parametros de historia de vida para predecir la productividad de aves canoras que son parasitadas en sus nidos

Use of Artificial Enclosures to Determine the Survival of Rana pipiens Larvae in Upper Midwestern Agricultural Ponds

Amphibians in the upper Midwest use agricultural ponds for breeding. Unfortunately, the risks (both direct and indirect) associated with using these ponds are poorly understood in both amphibian adults and larvae. In order to quantify these risks, we performed a comparison of larval survival rates between agricultural and natural ponds in southeastern Minnesota during the spring and summer of 2001. During this time, larval survival was observed in Rana pipiens tadpoles raised through metamorphosis in enclosures placed in agricultural and natural ponds. In addition, we measured the levels of nutrients commonly linked with agricultural ponds (i.e., ammonia, total phosphorous, and total nitrogen), and whether or not nutrient concentration was associated with larval survival. No differences were detected in nutrient levels or survival of larvae reared in agricultural and natural ponds. Furthermore, neither nutrient levels nor pond type significantly predicted larval survival. Our data were highly variable, making the interpretation of our results difficult. The enclosures used to rear tadpoles were highly effective and can be easily incorporated into future studies

Flow Cytometry Used to Assess Genetic Damage in Frogs from Farm Ponds

Flow cytometry (FC) is a laboratory method used to detect genetic damage induced by environmental contaminants and other stressors in animals, including amphibians. We tested FC methods on three species of ranid frogs collected from farm ponds and natural wetlands in southeastern Minnesota. We compared FC metrics for Rana clamitans between ponds with direct exposure to agricultural contaminants and reference (unexposed) ponds. Concentrations of atrazine in water from our farm ponds ranged from 0.04 to 0.55 ppb. We found that R. clamitans from exposed ponds had DNA content similar to frogs from unexposed ponds. Pond-averaged C-values (a measure of DNA content) ranged from 6.53 to 7.08 for R. pipiens (n = 13), 6.55 to 6.60 for R. clamitans (n = 40) and 6.74 for R. palustris (n = 5). Among all species, the mean sample CVs ranged from 1.91 (R. palustris) to 6.31 (R. pipiens). Deformities were observed in only 2 of 796 individuals among all species and occurred in both reference and exposed ponds. Although we did not detect evidence of DNA damage associated with agriculture in our study, we demonstrated the potential of FC for screening amphibian populations for genetic damage. Metrics from a variety of amphibian species and locations as well as laboratory studies are needed to further assess the value of FC for monitoring amphibian genetic integrity in contaminated sites

Landscape Associations of Frog and Toad Species in Iowa and Wisconsin, U.S.A.

Landscape habitat associations of frogs and toads in Iowa and Wisconsin were tested to determine whether they support or refute previous general habitat classifications. We examined which Midwestern species shared similar habitats to see if these associations were consistent across large geographic areas (states). Rana sylvatica (wood frog), Hyla versicolor (eastern gray treefrog), Pseudacris crucifer (spring peeper), and Acris crepitans (cricket frog) were identified as forest species, P. triseriata (chorus frog), H. chrysoscelis (Cope\u27s gray treefrog), R. pipiens (leopard frog), and Bufo americanus (American toad) as grassland species, and R. catesbeiana (bullfrog), R. clamitans (green frog), R. palustris (pickerel frog), and R. septentrionalis (mink frog) as lake or stream species. The best candidates to serve as bioindicators of habitat quality were the forest species R. sylvatica, H. versicolor, and P. crucifer, the grassland species R. pipiens and P. triseriata, and a cold water wetland species, R. palustris. Declines of P. crucifer, R. pipiens, and R. palustris populations in one or both states may reflect changes in habitat quality. Habitat and community associations of some species differed between states, indicating that these relationships may change across the range of a species. Acris crepitans may have shifted its habitat affinities from open habitats, recorded historically, to the more forested habitat associations we recorded. We suggest contaminants deserve more investigation regarding the abrupt and widespread declines of this species. Interspersion of different habitat types was positively associated with several species. A larger number of wetland patches may increase breeding opportunities and increase the probability of at least one site being suitable. We noted consistently negative associations between anuran species and urban development. Given the current trend of urban growth and increasing density of the human population, declines of amphibian populations are likely to continue

Detecting spatial regimes in ecosystems

Research on early warning indicators has generally focused on assessing temporal transitions with limited application of these methods to detecting spatial regimes. Traditional spatial boundary detection procedures that result in ecoregion maps are typically based on ecological potential (i.e. potential vegetation), and often fail to account for ongoing changes due to stressors such as land use change and climate change and their effects on plant and animal communities. We use Fisher information, an information theory-based method, on both terrestrial and aquatic animal data (U.S. Breeding Bird Survey and marine zooplankton) to identify ecological boundaries, and compare our results to traditional early warning indicators, conventional ecoregion maps and multivariate analyses such as nMDS and cluster analysis. We successfully detected spatial regimes and transitions in both terrestrial and aquatic systems using Fisher information. Furthermore, Fisher information provided explicit spatial information about community change that is absent from other multivariate approaches. Our results suggest that defining spatial regimes based on animal communities may better reflect ecological reality than do traditional ecoregion maps, especially in our current era of rapid and unpredictable ecological change

A road map for designing and implementing a biological monitoring program

Designing and implementing natural resource monitoring is a challenging endeavor undertaken by many agencies, NGOs, and citizen groups worldwide. Yet many monitoring programs fail to deliver useful information for a variety of administrative (staffing, documentation, and funding) or technical (sampling design and data analysis) reasons. Programs risk failure if they lack a clear motivating problem or question, explicit objectives linked to this problem or question, and a comprehensive conceptual model of the system under study. Designers must consider what “success” looks like from a resource management perspective, how desired outcomes translate to appropriate attributes to monitor, and how they will be measured. All such efforts should be filtered through the question “Why is this important?” Failing to address these considerations will produce a program that fails to deliver the desired information. We addressed these issues through creation of a “road map” for designing and implementing a monitoring program, synthesizing multiple aspects of a monitoring program into a single, overarching framework. The road map emphasizes linkages among core decisions to ensure alignment of all components, from problem framing through technical details of data collection and analysis, to program administration. Following this framework will help avoid common pitfalls, keep projects on track and budgets realistic, and aid in program evaluations. The road map has proved useful for monitoring by individuals and teams, those planning new monitoring, and those reviewing existing monitoring and for staff with a wide range of technical and scientific skills

Birds of large floodplain forests: local and regional habitat associations on the Upper Mississippi River

I studied local and regional habitat associations of birds breeding in floodplain forests of the Upper Mississippi River (UMR) during 1992-94. Floodplain forests provide breeding season habitat for at least 84 bird species, including floodplain forest specialists, cavity-nesters, and some neotropical migrant birds that are experiencing regional population declines. Species richness overall and relative abundances of several groups of birds classified by management risk categories and guild associations declined in 1994. Lowered abundance and species richness in 1994 may have resulted from effects of the 1993 flood;Overall, vegetation (small scale) factors had a larger influence on bird abundances than landscape matrix (large scale) factors. Bird species richness, and the abundance and richness of hole-nesting and bark-gleaning bird guilds, are associated with a landscape matrix dominated by mature forests. Many species, identified by others as area-sensitive in uplands, do not show these patterns in the floodplain. If relative abundance is a reliable indicator of habitat quality, the UMR floodplain provides important habitat for some area-sensitive species such as the American redstart (Setophaga ruticilla), blue-gray gnatcatcher (Polioptila caerulea), yellow-throated vireo (Vireo flavifrons) and yellow-billed cuckoo (Coccyzus americanus);In an artificial nest study, I found large forest tracts had higher nest predation rates than small forest tracts (52.3% vs. 36.3%) and predation rates decreased over the nesting season. There was no significant difference in predation rates among nests placed 25, 50, 100 or 200 m from the forest edge. Calculated artificial nest "survival" derived from observed predation rates in 1993-94 were comparable with natural nest survival estimates from the same study area in 1992. Vegetation variables measured at the nest site did not differ between intact and depredated nests;Since we have only begun to study the role of floodplain forests as wildlife habitats on the UMR, the most prudent management recommendation is to conserve the existing forests in as close to their present state as possible, with no additional loss of forest. Restoration of higher-elevation terrace forests would increase tree species diversity and provide additional habitat for birds.</p

AN ASSESSMENT OF BIRD HABITAT QUALITY USING POPULATION GROWTH RATES

Survival and reproduction directly affect population growth rate (A.), making A. a fundamental parameter for assessing habitat quality. We used field data, literature review, and a computer simulation to predict annual productivity and A. for several species of landbirds breeding in floodplain and upland forests in the Midwestern United States. We monitored 1735 nests of 27 species; 760 nests were in the uplands and 975 were in the floodplain. Each type of forest habitat (upland and floodplain) was a source habitat for some species. Despite a relatively low proportion of regional forest cover, the majority of species had stable or increasing populations in all or some habitats, including six species of conservation concern. In our search for a simple analog for A., we found that only adult apparent survival, juvenile survival, and annual productivity were correlated with A.; daily nest survival and relative abundance estimated from point counts were not. Survival and annual productivity are among the most costly demographic parameters to measure and there does not seem to be a low-cost alternative. In addition, our literature search revealed that the demographic parameters needed to model annual productivity and A. were unavailable for several species. More collective effort across North America is needed to fill the gaps in our knowledge of demographic parameters necessary to model both annual productivity and A.. Managers can use habitat-specific predictions of annual productivity to compare habitat quality among species and habitats for purposes of evaluating management plans. La supervivencia y la reproduccion afectan directamente a la tasa de crecimiento poblacional (A.), 10 cual hace que A. sea un pan\u27tmetro fundamental para determinar la calidad del habitat. Utilizamos datos de campo, una revision de la literatura y una simulacion computacional para predecir la productividad anual y A. para varias especies de aves terrestres que se reproducen en los bosques de planicies de inundacion y de tierras altas en el centro-oeste de Estados Unidos. Monitoreamos 1735 nidos pertenecientes a 27 especies; 760 nidos estuvieron en las tierras altas y 975 en las planicies de inundacion. Cada tipo de habitat de bosque (tierras altas y planicies de inundacion) fue un habitat fuente para algunas especies. A pesar de una proporcion de cobertura de bosque relativamente baja a nivel regional, la mayoria de las especies (incluyendo seis con problemas de conservacion) tuvieron poblaciones estables 0 en crecimiento en todos 0 algunos habitats. En nuestra busqueda de un anaIogo simple de A., encontramos que solo la supervivencia aparente de los adultos, la supervivencia de los juveniles y la productividad anual se correlacionaron con A., mientras que la supervivencia diaria de los nidos y la abundancia relativa estimada a traves de puntos de conteo no se correlacionaron con A.. La supervivencia y la productividad anual son unos de los parametros demograficos mas costosos de medir y no parece existir una alternativa de bajo costo. Ademas, nuestra busqueda en la literatura revelo que los parametros demograficos necesarios para modelar productividad anual y A. no se encuentran disponibles para varias especies. Se requiere un esfuerzo colectivo mayor a traves de toda Norte America para poder llenar los vacios en nuestro conocimiento acerca de los panimetros demognificos necesarios para modelar la productividad anual y J... Es posible utilizar predicciones habitat-especificas de la productividad anual para comparar la calidad del habitat entre especies y habitats con el prop6sito de evaluar planes de manejo

Amphibian Research and Monitoring Initiative: Concepts and Implementation

This report provides the basis for discussion and subsequent articulation of a national plan for the Amphibian Research and Monitoring Initiative (ARMI). The authors were members of a task force formed from within the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) that included scientists with expertise in biology, cartography, hydrology, and statistics. The assignment of the task force was to extend work begun by the National Amphibian Leadership Group. This group, composed of senior USGS scientists, managers, and external authorities, met in Gainesville, Florida, in February 20001. The product of this meeting was a document outlining the framework for a national program to monitor amphibian populations and to conduct research into the causes of declines