Renesting Decisions and Annual Fecundity of Female Dickcissels (Spiza Americana) in Illinois

T.-Renesting decisions and annual fecundity are crucial for interpreting other demographic information, yet are infrequently reported. We used radiotelemetry to monitor female Dickcissels (Spiza americana) throughout the 1999 and 2000 breeding seasons in south- eastern Illinois. Overall fecundity (regardless of whether females remained in the study area throughout the breeding season) was 0.61 ? 0.13 female fledglings per year. Of females that re- mained within the study area, 94% fledged young (1.25 ? 0.15 female fledglings per year). Most females (62%) that experienced nest failure emigrated from the study area (moved \u3e10 km) in 2.8 ? 0.6 days; others (36%) initiated subsequent nests in 8.5 ? 0.8 days. After fledging \u3e1 young, 95% of females ceased breeding for the season. Successful and failed nest sites were indistin- guishable on the basis of vegetative characteristics. Moreover, replacement nests had similar vegetative characteristics and were similar distances from habitat edges, compared with initial nests, which suggests that female Dickcissels do not or cannot improve nest-site characteris- tics in response to nest failure. We observed two behaviors unusual in female Dickcissels: one bird that fledged two broods in one season, and the return of five females banded in 1999 to the study site in 2000

Renesting Decisions and Annual Fecundity of Female Dickcissels (Spiza Americana) in Illinois

T.-Renesting decisions and annual fecundity are crucial for interpreting other demographic information, yet are infrequently reported. We used radiotelemetry to monitor female Dickcissels (Spiza americana) throughout the 1999 and 2000 breeding seasons in south- eastern Illinois. Overall fecundity (regardless of whether females remained in the study area throughout the breeding season) was 0.61 ? 0.13 female fledglings per year. Of females that re- mained within the study area, 94% fledged young (1.25 ? 0.15 female fledglings per year). Most females (62%) that experienced nest failure emigrated from the study area (moved \u3e10 km) in 2.8 ? 0.6 days; others (36%) initiated subsequent nests in 8.5 ? 0.8 days. After fledging \u3e1 young, 95% of females ceased breeding for the season. Successful and failed nest sites were indistin- guishable on the basis of vegetative characteristics. Moreover, replacement nests had similar vegetative characteristics and were similar distances from habitat edges, compared with initial nests, which suggests that female Dickcissels do not or cannot improve nest-site characteris- tics in response to nest failure. We observed two behaviors unusual in female Dickcissels: one bird that fledged two broods in one season, and the return of five females banded in 1999 to the study site in 2000

Renesting Decisions and Annual Fecundity of Female Dickcissels (Spiza americana) in Illinois

ABSTRACT.-Renesting decisions and annual fecundity are crucial for interpreting other demographic information, yet are infrequently reported. We used radiotelemetry to monitor female Dickcissels (Spiza americana) throughout the 1999 and 2000 breeding seasons in southeastern Illinois. Overall fecundity (regardless of whether females remained in the study area throughout the breeding season) was 0.61 ± 0.13 female fledglings per year. Of females that remained within the study area, 94% fledged young (1.25 ± 0.15 female fledglings per year). Most females (62%) that experienced nest failure emigrated from the study area (moved \u3e10 km) in 2.8 ± 0.6 days; others (36%) initiated subsequent nests in 8.5 ± 0.8 days. After fledging ~1 young, 95% of females ceased breeding for the season. Successful and failed nest sites were indistinguishable on the basis of vegetative characteristics. Moreover, replacement nests had similar vegetative characteristics and were similar distances from habitat edges, compared with initial nests, which suggests that female Dickcissels do not or cannot improve nest-site characteristics in response to nest failure. We observed two behaviors unusual in female Dickcissels: one bird that fledged two broods in one season, and the return of five females banded in 1999 to the study site in 2000

Correlation between Tick Density and Pathogen Endemicity, New Hampshire

To assess the endemicity of tick-borne pathogens in New Hampshire, we surveyed adult tick vectors. Pathogens were more prevalent in areas of high tick density, suggesting a correlation between tick establishment and pathogen endemicity. Infection rates in ticks correlated with disease frequency in humans

Certified Quantum Random Numbers from Untrusted Light

A remarkable aspect of quantum theory is that certain measurement outcomes are entirely unpredictable to all possible observers. Such quantum events can be harnessed to generate numbers whose randomness is asserted based upon the underlying physical processes. We formally introduce, design and experimentally demonstrate an ultrafast optical quantum random number generator that uses a totally untrusted photonic source. While considering completely general quantum attacks, we certify and generate in real-time random numbers at a rate of 8.05 Gb/s with a rigorous security parameter of 10^(−10). Our security proof is entirely composable, thereby allowing the generated randomness to be utilised for arbitrary applications in cryptography and beyond. To our knowledge, this represents the fastest composably secure source of quantum random numbers ever reported

Clostridium difficile ribotype diversity at six health care institutions in the United States

Capillary-based PCR ribotyping was used to quantify the presence/absence and relative abundance of 98 Clostridium difficile ribotypes from clinical cases of disease at health care institutions in six states of the United States. Regionally important ribotypes were identified, and institutions in close proximity did not necessarily share more ribotype diversity than institutions that were farther apart