Raptor Research Center Publications and Presentations Copyright (c) 2013 Boise State University All rights reserved. http://scholarworks.boisestate.edu/rrc_facpubs Recent documents in Raptor Research Center Publications and Presentations en-us Mon, 20 May 2013 11:45:33 PDT 3600 Preening Behavior of Adult Gyrfalcons Tagged with Backpack Transmitters http://scholarworks.boisestate.edu/rrc_facpubs/8 http://scholarworks.boisestate.edu/rrc_facpubs/8 Tue, 27 Sep 2011 12:47:38 PDT Radio transmitters provide data that enhance understanding of raptor biology (Walls and Kenward 2007) and are now used to answer a multitude of research questions (Meyburg and Fuller 2007). However, transmitters affect the birds that carry them (Barron et al. 2010), and it is important to document and evaluate such effects (Casper 2009). For example, decreased survival has been documented in Prairie Falcons (Falco mexicanus; Steenhof et al. 2006), Northern Goshawks (Accipiter gentilis; Reynolds et al. 2004), and Spotted Owls (Strix occidentalis; Paton et al. 1991) tagged with radio transmitters. However, no such effects were reported for Peregrine Falcons (Falco peregrinus; Fuller et al. 1998, McGrady et al. 2002) and a number of other species (Kenward 2001). White and Garrott (1990) noted that in general, animals tagged with radio transmitters often altered their behaviors for 1–14 d after release during an adjustment period that included increased preening and grooming frequencies.

Although more than 90 Gyrfalcons (Falco rusticolus) have been tagged with radio transmitters (e.g., Burnham 2007, McIntyre et al. 2009, T. Booms unpubl. data), the effects of transmitters on this species are not well documented. Anecdotal information suggests some Gyrfalcons might be negatively affected by radio-tagging (Booms et al. 2008). As part of a study investigating Gyrfalcon breeding biology, we conducted opportunistic, focused observations on two radio-tagged adult female Gyrfalcons and their unmarked mates. We here describe and quantify preening behavior of Gyrfalcons shortly after radio-tagging.

]]> Travis L. Booms et al. A Comparison of Methods for Estimating Prey Biomass of Barn Owls http://scholarworks.boisestate.edu/rrc_facpubs/7 http://scholarworks.boisestate.edu/rrc_facpubs/7 Wed, 22 Jun 2011 13:05:22 PDT Examiné diferentes métodos utilizados para estimar la masa de las presas capturadas por la lechuza Tyto alba en el norte de Utah. La masa promedio de las presas cazadas por las lechuzas fue obtenida a partir de tres fuentes: (1) literatura publicada, (2) presas cazadas y almacenadas por las lechuzas, y (3) animales capturados con trampas en las cercanías del área de estudio. Utilizando las presas capturadas y almacenadas por las lechuzas para estimar la masa promedio estándar, el estimado basado en la masa de las presas capturadas en el área de estudio no difirió significativamente de la masa de las presas almacenadas. Sin embargo, los datos de masa obtenidos de la literatura resultaron en un estimado que fue significativamente menor que el de las presas almacenadas. La masa promedio de los roedores (Microtus spp.) capturados por T. alba fue significativamente menor que la masa promedio de los roedores capturados en el área de estudio, pero las masas promedio de Peromyscus maniculatus y de Mus musculus no difirieron significativamente entre las presas capturadas por las lechuzas y las capturadas en el sitio de estudio. En conclusión, el uso de las presas capturadas por las lechuzas como el método estándar sugirió que la captura con trampas de las presas en el área de estudio fue la mejor fuente de datos para estimar la masa de las presas de T. alba.

]]> Carl D. Marti Seasonal Change in Habitat Use in Steller's Sea Eagles http://scholarworks.boisestate.edu/rrc_facpubs/6 http://scholarworks.boisestate.edu/rrc_facpubs/6 Mon, 20 Jun 2011 15:36:01 PDT Habitat-use by Steller's sea eagle Haliaeetus pelagicus, categorized as Vulnerable on the 2002 IUCN Red List, was studied using satellite-tracking. This migratory species breeds in eastern Russia and mostly overwinters in Hokkaido, Japan, and the southern Kuzíl islands. Locations of eagles were classified as being river, sea, lake, or other habitat. In autumn, eagles mainly used river habitats, probably because of the availability of abundant post-spawn dead salmon. In winter about one third of eagles continued to be located on rivers, with others on sea coasts and lake sides. During the spring migration and breeding season habitat use by adult eagles probably reflected the variety of habitats in which breeding occurs. At that time, sub-adult eagles were located mainly on the sea coast, probably in places where food supply was sufficient and there were few territorial eagles. In Hokkaido 35% of overwintering eagles used mountain areas for at least some time. It is known that eagles using mountain areas in Japan in winter scavenge upon the carcasses of sika deer Cervus nippon killed by hunters, and are thus exposed to possible lead poisoning. The satellite tracking highlights the importance of several habitats within the range of this species, changes in which could affect its conservation status.

]]> Mutsuyuki Ueta et al. Dramatic Declines of DDE and Other Organochlorines in Spring Migrant Peregrine Falcons from Padre Island, Texas, 1978-2004 http://scholarworks.boisestate.edu/rrc_facpubs/5 http://scholarworks.boisestate.edu/rrc_facpubs/5 Wed, 01 Jun 2011 12:31:19 PDT Peregrine Falcons (Falco peregrinus) captured in the spring at Padre Island, Texas, nest across the arctic and subarctic from Alaska to Greenland and winter throughout Latin America. Padre Island, located immediately north of the Mexican border, is the peregrines’ first landfall in the U.S.A. after spending about 6 mo in Latin America. Blood plasma was collected from spring migrants at Padre Island between 1978 and 2004 to monitor trends in organochlorine (OC) pesticides and their metabolites. Geometric mean concentrations of p,p9-DDE (μg/g, ww) decreased throughout the study: 1978–1979 (0.879), 1980 (0.617), 1984 (0.551), 1994 (0.406) and 2004 (0.013). Most other OC pesticides, with detection limits used during the earlier portion of this study, were no longer detected during the last two sampling periods. The reduced concentrations of OC pesticides suggest that other pesticides (including carbamates, organophosphates and pyrethroids) are likely being used as replacements. These replacement compounds are not as persistent and cannot be readily evaluated at migration sites like Padre Island.However, concentrations of flame retardants (polybrominated diphenyl ethers; PBDEs) have recently increased in bird eggs in many regions and have been reported in blood plasma. Concentrations of PBDEs in peregrine plasma could be evaluated at Padre Island for assessment of trends in the Americas.

]]> Charles J. Henny et al. Global Positioning System and Associated Technologies in Animal Behaviour and Ecological Research http://scholarworks.boisestate.edu/rrc_facpubs/4 http://scholarworks.boisestate.edu/rrc_facpubs/4 Thu, 17 Mar 2011 16:15:45 PDT

Biologists can equip animals with global positioning system (GPS) technology to obtain accurate (less than or equal to 30 m) locations that can be combined with sensor data to study animal behaviour and ecology. We provide the background of GPS techniques that have been used to gather data for wildlife studies. We review how GPS has been integrated into functional systems with data storage, data transfer, power supplies, packaging and sensor technologies to collect temperature, activity, proximity and mortality data from terrestrial species and birds. GPS ‘rapid fixing’ technologies combined with sensors provide location, dive frequency and duration profiles, and underwater acoustic information for the study of marine species. We examine how these rapid fixing technologies may be applied to terrestrial and avian applications. We discuss positional data quality and the capability for high-frequency sampling associated with GPS locations. We present alternatives for storing and retrieving data by using dataloggers (biologging), radio-frequency download systems (e.g. very high frequency, spread spectrum), integration of GPS with other satellite systems (e.g. Argos, Globalstar) and potential new data recovery technologies (e.g. network nodes). GPS is one component among many rapidly evolving technologies. Therefore, we recommend that users and suppliers interact to ensure the availability of appropriate equipment to meet animal research objectives.

]]> Stanley M. Tomkiewicz et al. Population Structure, Diversity, and Phylogeography in the Near-Threatened Eurasian Black Vultures <em>Aegypius monachus</em> (Falconiformes; Accipitridae) in Europe: Insights from Microsatellite and Mitochondrial DNA Variation http://scholarworks.boisestate.edu/rrc_facpubs/3 http://scholarworks.boisestate.edu/rrc_facpubs/3 Thu, 10 Mar 2011 16:31:00 PST The Eurasian black vulture (Aegypius monachus) has experienced a severe decline during the last two centuries and is globally classified as near-threatened. This has led to the extinction of many traditional breeding areas in Europe and resulted in the present patchy distribution (Iberian and Balkan peninsulas) in the Western Palearctic. In the present study, we describe the current genetic status of the European populations using both mitochondrial cytochrome b sequences and nuclear microsatellite markers, comparing with those found in Asia (Mongolia and Caucasus region). Although, mitochondrial (mt)DNA revealed a relatively low genetic variability (haplotype diversity), no evidence of genome-wide genetic erosion exists because nuclear diversity exhibits normal levels and strong differentiation. A highly philopatric dispersal behaviour must be invoked to explain the existence of a clear pattern that revealed by the phylogeographic analysis, which indicates a sharp East–West clinal distribution and an allopatric differentiation. The distribution of mtDNA haplotypes one in the Iberian population and two in Balkan population and the significance divergence at nuclear loci fulfill the definitions of those populations as evolutionary significant units. We discuss how management strategies should aim at the maintenance (or increase) of current genetic variability levels, suggesting that independent conservation plans are urgently required to protect these two breeding European populations from extinction.

]]> Mark Fuller The Use of Genetics for the Management of a Recovering Population: Temporal Assessment of Migratory Peregrine Falcons in North America http://scholarworks.boisestate.edu/rrc_facpubs/2 http://scholarworks.boisestate.edu/rrc_facpubs/2 Mon, 20 Dec 2010 09:52:08 PST Background: Our ability to monitor populations or species that were once threatened or endangered and in the process of recovery is enhanced by using genetic methods to assess overall population stability and size over time. This can be accomplished most directly by obtaining genetic measures from temporally-spaced samples that reflect the overall stability of the population as given by changes in genetic diversity levels (allelic richness and heterozygosity), degree of population differentiation (FST and DEST), and effective population size (Ne). The primary goal of any recovery effort is to produce a longterm self-sustaining population, and these genetic measures provide a metric by which we can gauge our progress and help make important management decisions.

Methodology/Principal Findings: The peregrine falcon in North America (Falco peregrinus tundrius and anatum) was delisted in 1994 and 1999, respectively, and its abundance will be monitored by the species Recovery Team every three years until 2015. Although the United States Fish and Wildlife Service makes a distinction between tundrius and anatum subspecies, our genetic results based on eleven microsatellite loci suggest limited differentiation that can be attributed to an isolation by distance relationship and warrant no delineation of these two subspecies in its northern latitudinal distribution from Alaska through Canada into Greenland. Using temporal samples collected at Padre Island, Texas during migration (seven temporal time periods between 1985–2007), no significant differences in genetic diversity or significant population differentiation in allele frequencies between time periods were observed and were indistinguishable from those obtained from tundrius/anatum breeding locations throughout their northern distribution. Estimates of harmonic mean Ne were variable and imprecise, but always greater than 500 when employing multiple temporal genetic methods.

Conclusions/Significance: These results, including those from simulations to assess the power of each method to estimate Ne, suggest a stable or growing population, which is consistent with ongoing field-based monitoring surveys. Therefore, historic and continuing efforts to prevent the extinction of the peregrine falcon in North America appear successful with no indication of recent decline, at least from the northern latitude range-wide perspective. The results also further highlight the importance of archiving samples and their use for continual assessment of population recovery and long-term viability.

]]> Jeff A. Johnson et al. Wintering Area DDE Source to Migratory White-Faced Ibis Revealed by Satellite Telemetry and Prey Sampling http://scholarworks.boisestate.edu/rrc_facpubs/1 http://scholarworks.boisestate.edu/rrc_facpubs/1 Mon, 16 Aug 2010 13:23:47 PDT Locations of contaminant exposure for nesting migratory species are difficult to fully understand because of possible additional sources encountered during migration or on the wintering grounds. A portion of the migratory white-faced ibis (Plegadis chihi) nesting at Carson Lake, Nevada continues to be exposed to dichloro-diphenyl-dichloroethylene (DDE) with no change, which is unusual, observed in egg concentrations between 1985 and 2000. About 45 to 63% of the earliest nesting segment shows reduced reproductive success correlated with elevated egg concentrations of > 4 µg/g wet weight (ww). Local prey (primarily earthworms) near nests contained little DDE so we tracked the migration and wintering movements of 20 adult males during 2000-2004 to determine the possible source. At various wintering sites, we found a correlation (r2 = 0.518, P = 0.0125, N = 11) between DDE in earthworm composites and DDE in blood plasma of white-faced ibis wintering there, although the plasma was collected on their breeding grounds soon after arrival. The main source of DDE was wintering areas in the Mexicali Valley of Baja California Norte, Mexico, and probably the adjacent Imperial Valley, California, USA. This unusual continuing DDE problem for white-face ibis is associated with: the long-term persistence in soil of DDE; the earthworms’ ability to bioconcentrate DDE from soil; the proclivity of white-faced ibis to feed on earthworms in agricultural fields; the species extreme sensitivity to DDE in their eggs; and perhaps its life history strategy of being a “capital breeder”. We suggest surveying and sampling white-faced ibis eggs at nesting colonies, especially at Carson Lake, to monitor the continuing influence of DDE.

]]> Michael A. Yates et al.