News from Scientists at the USGS Patuxent Wildlife Research Center
Monday, April 16, 2007
|
USGS Coyote Workshop - Laurel, Maryland on April 21, 2007 The USGS Patuxent Wildlife Research Center, the USFWS Patuxent Research Refuge, and the Human Society of the United States will host a workshop on "Living with Coyotes" at the National Wildlife Visitor Center in Laurel, Maryland. The workshop will include two guest speakers,
Dr. Stanley Gerht of the Ohio State University and Dr. Seth Riley of the National Park Service. Both will give presentations on the natural history of coyotes, review the role coyotes play in ecosystems surrounding the Chicago and Los Angeles areas, and answer questions from the audience. For more information, please contact Marilyn Whitehead at mwhitehead@usgs.gov or 301-497-5503. Coyote Workshop Contacts Dr. Allan O'Connell, a scientist with the USGS Patuxent Wildlife Research Center, was interviewed by telephone today by Alexandra Berman of WAMU - American University Radio. Dr. O'Connell answered basic questions regarding the upcoming "Living with Coyotes" at the National Wildlife Visitor Center in Laurel, Maryland on Saturday, April 21, 2007. The piece was to be aired on April 16 or 17, 2007. For more information, please contact Dr. Allan O'Connell at aoconnell@usgs.gov or 301-497-5525. Contact Allan O'Connell, 301-497-5525, Laurel, MD USGS Patuxent Wildlife Research Center scientist, Dr. J. Michael Meyers, assisted the Georgia Agricultural Extension program for Master Naturalists on April 16-17 with a bird mist net capture and banding techniques demonstration. A class on 18 persons met Dr. Meyers at Georgia's Botanical Garden on the Oconee River for the field trip. He covered all the bird guides and their strong points, why birds are banded, and capturing birds with mist nets. The class asked many questions, which he answered, but also followed up with information at www.pwrc.usgs.gov , Patuxent's web page. The class captured four resident birds, but heard six newly arrived migrants above the nets. Outreach education is a small but important part of Patuxent's mission. There may be future Breeding Bird Survey participates from this Master Naturalists class. USGS Scientists Receives Regional Director Conservation Award from US Fish and Wildlife Service, Region On May 1, 2007, Dr. Michael Runge, a research ecologist at the USGS Patuxent Wildlife Research Center, will receive the Regional Director's Conservation Award from Sam Hamilton, Director of USFWS Region 4. The Regional Director's Conservation Award recognizes individuals and their organizations for commitment to fish and wildlife conservation. This Award is being given as "a token of our appreciation for your contributions to and partnership in the science and recovery efforts of the Florida manatee." The Award will be presented at a ceremony in Atlanta, Georgia. For additional information, please contact Dr. Michael Runge at mrunge@usgs.gov or 301-497-5748. Contact Michael Runge, 301-497-5748, Laurel, MD |
First Whooping Crane Chick in Class of 2007 Contact Marilyn Whitehead, 301-497-5525, Laurel, MD USGS Satellite Telemetry Studies of Wild Waterfowl in China
USGS staff just returned from work on an international research project on wild birds and avian influenza in China. USGS is monitoring the movements of waterfowl marked with satellite-transmitters to better understand the role of waterfowl movements in the spread of the disease where it is endemic. USGS Patuxent Wildlife Research Center (Diann Prosser) and Western Ecological Research Center (John Takekawa) biologists partnered with the Chinese Academy of Sciences, State Forestry Administration’s Poyang and Qinghai Lake National Nature Reserves (NNR), University of New Hampshire, USGS Alaska Science Center, and United Nations Food and Agricultural Organization are conducting research to (1) determine how wild birds and poultry intermix in the rice agriculture region of Poyang Lake NNR near the epicenter of the disease; and (2) document how wild birds at Qinghai Lake NNR, site of the only large avian influenza wild bird epizootic but an area without poultry, may potentially spread the disease as they move among habitats at local and flyway scales across the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateaus. A total of 35 waterfowl were marked: 20 at Poyang Lake and 15 at Qinghai Lake, China. Capture and telemetry efforts occurred from 10 March to 07 April 2007 and additional efforts will continue in late-summer 2007. For more information, please contact: Diann Prosser, 301-497-5914.
|
|
|
See Previous HiLites: |
||
