News from Scientists at the USGS Patuxent Wildlife Research Center
Monday, April 4, 2005
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"Wildlife Conservation" Reporter Visits Patuxent On March 17, a freelance reporter working on an article on the reestablishment of the whooping cranes to Wisconsin/Florida for "Wildlife Conservation" magazine came to Patuxent to learn more about our whooping crane recovery efforts. He toured the Intermediate Pen complex, met a few whoopers, and interviewed crane staff on Patuxent's current and historical efforts to restore the whooping crane. Contact Kathleen O’Malley, Laurel, MD, 301-497-5782 Washington Post "Kids' Post" Reporters Interview Staff Regarding the Crane Program On March 22, Ann Cameron Siegal and her daughter Rebecca came to Patuxent to learn more about our whooping crane recovery efforts. Ms. Siegal is submitting an article on whoopers and Patuxent to the Washington Post's Kids Post, their children's page that appears as a supplement to the Sunday comics. Ms. Siegal visited the Intermediate pens and photographed several of the whoopers and interviewed crane staff regarding Patuxent's current and historical efforts to restore the whooping crane. Ms. Siegal also asked for several USGS photos to be used in the article. Contact Kathleen O’Malley, Laurel, MD, 301-497-5782 USGS/PWRC Biological Survey Unit Showcased at Smithsonian’s “Mammals Live: A Free Family Festival”” Suzanne Peurach represented the USGS/PWRC Biological Survey Unit at the National Museum of Natural History’s public family festival on Saturday, April 2. Suzanne discussed different methods of capturing mammals, the research collections housed within the museum, and how those specimens are incorporated into research behind the scenes. Specifically she addressed how the collections support her research on identifying mammals based on the microscopic characteristics of the hair. The event took place in the newly opened Kenneth E. Behring Family Hall of Mammals and also featured exhibits, discussions with researchers, and book signings by Smithsonian authors. Contact: Suzanne C. Peurach, Washington, DC, 202-633-1277. Judge for GA Jr Duck Stamp Contest On 24 March 2005, Dr. J. Michael (Joe) Meyers will participate as a judge for the 8th annual Georgia Jr. Duck Stamp Contest sponsored by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Athens, GA. More 500 students from GA submit waterfowl art for the contest, which provides the winner with and a chance to have their art produced on the National Junior Duck Stamp for 2005. Joe has been a volunteer in the contest for three years. Although he enjoyed watercolor painting when he was younger, his art interest now are limited to collecting original watercolors of birds, plants, and landscape, especially those of Georgia and its artists. He is also the bird identification expert for the waterfowl art, which allows only native waterfowl to be depicted for the stamp. For information on the 2004 winner see this website. Contact: J. Michael (Joe) Meyers, Athens, GA, 706-542-1882 |
New Patuxent Tool for Wildlife Biologists and Managers: Manager's Monitoring Manual Following several years of development, Patuxent has released the Manager's Monitoring Manual web site at: http://www.pwrc.usgs.gov/monmanual. This new, public site provides a convenient planning tool for refuge, park, or other land managers who want to implement monitoring programs but who lack the statistical background, practical monitoring experience, or biological knowledge about the taxon of interest to do so in a scientifically rigorous manner. The manual can be used for either of the two common applications of monitoring in wildlife conservation: strategic, long-term screening of multiple taxa to determine population trends (a.k.a. “context” or “surveillance” monitoring); and more tactical, targeted monitoring to measure the response of sensitive species to specific management actions. The peer-reviewed manual leads the user through a series of questions related to objective-setting, selection of taxon, selection of counting technique, spatial and temporal sampling design, and sample size requirements. Additionally, a series of standardized narratives of commonly used survey techniques for various animal taxa are provided, along with assessments of their strengths, weaknesses, and limitations. Support for development of this tool was provided by the USGS Status and Trends Program. Contact Sam Droege, Laurel, MD 301-497-5840 Dr. Barnett Rattner speaker at Institute of Environmental and Human Health h The Institute of Environmental and Human Health of Texas Tech University recently hosted Dr. Barnett Rattner at their annual distinguished scientist lecture this month. Dr. Rattner presented a seminar entitled "Vanadium on the fly, ospreys around the bay, and contaminants in the United States: Ecotoxicological studies at different scales". While at the Institute, he met with faculty and graduate students to discuss ongoing ecotoxicological research projects. Dr. Ronald Kendall, Director of the Institute and Chairman of the Department of Environmental Toxicology, expressed his desire to develop a graduate student internship program with the Patuxent Wildlife Research Center. Contact Barnett Rattner, Laurel, MD 301-497-5671 PWRC Scientist Judge for Georgia Science and Engineering Fair On 7 April 2005, PWRC Scientist Dr. J. Michael (Joe) Meyers will participate as Tier II and Special Awards judge for the 59th Georgia Science and Engineering Fair at The University of Georgia, Athens. The Fair provides more than $60,000 in scholarships to winners from Junior and Senior Divisions. Students compete in more than 12 science categories from biochemistry to zoology. Dr. Meyers has participated as a Tier I and II judge at the Fair for nine years. He meets many outstanding young people who are interested in science while he conducts interviews about their project. He also judges the Special Award for the Warnell School of Forest Resources, The University of Georgia. For information on the fair see website. Contact: J. Michael (Joe) Meyers, Athens, GA, 706-542-1882 |
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