TB117: Techniques for Using the Growth and Behavior of Imprinted Ducklings to Evaluate Habitat Quality

We developed a technique for evaluating duckling habitat quality that is based on two assumptions. In good habitat young birds (1) grow rapidly and thus are better able t o survive stresses such as inclement weather, and (2) spend relatively less time moving about in search of food and more time resting and thus are less conspicuous to predators. We imprinted artificially incubated and hatched ducklings by being present at the time of hatching; i.e., the ducklings thought we were their mother. Ducklings were split into broods and placed on ponds where their growth was measured and their behavior monitored for several days. Comparisons of growth rates and behavioral time budgets allowed us to determine which ponds were better habitat. This paper describes techniques for imprinting, duckling husbandry, and measurement of growth and behavior.https://digitalcommons.library.umaine.edu/aes_techbulletin/1077/thumbnail.jp

TB153: A Long-Term Study of an Oak Pine Forest Ecosystem: Techniques Manual for the Holt Research Forest

The manual is a compilation of the study techniques used for the long-term forest ecosystem research project at the Holt Research Forest in Arrowsic, Maine, plus brief evaluations of each method\u27s advantages and drawbacks. It is based on 12 years of work by a team of three university professors, an associate scientist who has lived on the forest since 1983, a research assistant, several graduate students, and numerous undergraduate field assistants. We hope this manual will be useful to other researchers planning, or already involved in, other forest ecosystem studies.https://digitalcommons.library.umaine.edu/aes_techbulletin/1053/thumbnail.jp

MP745: A Long-Term Study of an Oak Pine Forest Ecosystem: A Brief Overview of the Holt Research Forest

This publication provides an overview of the long-term forest ecosystem project at the Holt Research Forest in Arrowsic, Maine. It is based on nearly 16 years of work by an interdisciplinary team from the College of Natural Sciences, Forestry, and Agriculture, including faculty, professional staff, visiting scientists, University of Maine graduate students, and undergraduate field assistants. We hope this publication will be useful to other researchers, to our workshop participants, and to others interested in forest ecosystem science.https://digitalcommons.library.umaine.edu/aes_miscpubs/1029/thumbnail.jp

Appendix E. Frequency landscapes fit by the logistic regression models for 14 bird species breeding at the Holt Research Forest, 1983–1987.

Frequency landscapes fit by the logistic regression models for 14 bird species breeding at the Holt Research Forest, 1983–1987

Appendix A. Observed frequency landscapes for 14 bird species breeding at the Holt Research Forest, Arrowsic, Maine, USA, 1983–1987.

Observed frequency landscapes for 14 bird species breeding at the Holt Research Forest, Arrowsic, Maine, USA, 1983–1987

Appendix B. Frequency distributions of occupied quads based on observed data and various null models and P values from goodness-of-fit tests comparing each distribution to the observed distribution.

Frequency distributions of occupied quads based on observed data and various null models and P values from goodness-of-fit tests comparing each distribution to the observed distribution

Appendix C. Results of goodness-of-fit tests between average frequency distributions of quad occupancy generated by site fidelity models with varying strengths of site fidelity and the frequency distributions based on the observed data.

Results of goodness-of-fit tests between average frequency distributions of quad occupancy generated by site fidelity models with varying strengths of site fidelity and the frequency distributions based on the observed data

Emergence of Ixodes scapularis (Acari: Ixodidae) in a Small Mammal Population in a Coastal Oak-Pine Forest, Maine, USA

In the United States, surveillance has been key to tracking spatiotemporal emergence of blacklegged ticks [Ixodes scapularis Say (Ixodida:Ixodidae)] and their pathogens such as Borrelia burgdorferi Johnson, Schmid, Hyde, Steigerwalt & Brenner (Spirochaetales: Spirochaetaceae), the agent of Lyme disease. On the Holt Research Forest in midcoastal Maine, collection of feeding ticks from live-trapped small mammal hosts allowed us to track the emergence and establishment of I. scapularis, 1989-2019. From 1989-1995, we collected only I. angustus Neumann (Ixodida: Ixodidae)(vole tick), Dermacentor variabilis Say (Ixodida: Ixodidae) (American dog tick), and I. marxi Banks (Ixodida: Ixodidae) (squirrel tick) from seven species of small mammals. The most abundant tick host was the white-footed mouse [Peromyscus leucopus Rafinesque (Rodentia:Cricetidae)] followed by the red-backed vole (Myodes gapperi Vigors (Rodentia: Cricetidae)). Emergence of I. scapularis was signaled via the appearance of subadult I. scapularis in 1996. Emergence of B. burgdorferi was signaled through its appearance in I. scapularis feeding on mice in 2005. There was a substantial increase in I. scapularis prevalence (proportion of hosts parasitized) and burdens (ticks/host) on white-footed mice and red-backed voles in 2007. The ~11-yr time-to-establishment for I. scapularis was consistent with that seen in other studies. White-footed mice comprised 65.9% of all captures and hosted 94.1% of the total I. scapularis burden. The white-footed mouse population fluctuated interannually, but did not trend up as did I. scapularis prevalence and burdens. There were concurrent declines in I. angustus and D. variabilis. We discuss these results in the broader context of regional I. scapularis range expansion