News from Scientists at the USGS Patuxent Wildlife Research Center
Monday, May 24, 2004
|
65th Anniversary of Patuxent Wildlife Research Center (PWRC) Although several conservation activities took place in the early 1900s, it was not until the 1930s that scientific wildlife management, and research to support it, was initiated. The formation of Patuxent was one of many wildlife conservation activities taking place in the mid-1930s. On December 16, 1936 , President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed Executive Order 7514, which transferred 2670 acres of land, which had been acquired (or would be acquired) by the United States , to the Department of Agriculture (USDA) as a wildlife experiment and research refuge. The area delineated in the Order was located in Anne Arundel and Prince George 's Counties, Maryland , and was created "to effectuate further the purposes of the Migratory Bird Conservation Act". By order of the President the area was to be known as "the Patuxent Research Refuge". Dedicated on June 3, 1939 , Secretary of Agriculture Henry A. Wallace, stated that "the chief purpose of this refuge is to assist in the restoration of wildlife - one of our greatest natural resources". Secretary Wallace recognized "the vision and foresight of Dr. Ira N. Gabrielson, Chief of the Biological Survey", and "the leadership of Dr. L. C. Morley, superintendent of the refuge". He further stated that the nation's first wildlife research station was "the manifestation of a national determination and a national ability to conserve and administer wisely the organic resources and products of the soil - a priceless heritage to the generations of Americans yet to come." Contact Matthew C. Perry, Laurel, MD, 301-497-5622 Kirtland's Warbler's Clarion Call Audubon, May 2004; This article starts by saying, “Today, thanks to the Endangered Species Act and a committed corps of professionals, the full-throated song of Kirtland’s warbler still echoes through the jack pine forest of Michigan . So why are scientists still concerned about the future of one of the world’s rarest birds?” Carol Bocetti, a biologist at PWRC and a member of the Kirtland’s Warbler Recovery Team contributed her expertise and concern towards a continued habitat management plan for a species tetering on the edge somewhere between threatened and endangered. You can see the article at http://magazine.audubon.org/features0405/bird-conservation.html. Contact Carol Bocetti , California, PA, 724-938-5967 Milestone Reached in Waterfowl Food Habits Analyses In April 2004, Peter Osenton, with assistance from numerous volunteers and interns, completed the analyses of the 1000th duck gullet and gizzard for food samples from a variety of seaduck species. This work has been accomplished over a four year period and involved extensive analyses with dissecting scopes in a laboratory. The ducks were collected from hunters from Atlantic coast areas ranging from Quebec to Florida , with most coming from Maine , Massachusetts , and 625 from the Chesapeake Bay . Species analyzed included scoters (black, surf, and white-winged), long-tailed ducks, common eiders, buffleheads, and goldeneyes. Other species including mergansers were also analyzed in lower numbers. This is believed to be the largest sample of seaduck analyzed for food habits since Clarence Cottam conducted the analyses of seaduck food habits, which he published in 1939 for the Bureau of Biological Survey. The current data is being compared to the historic data to see if food habits of seaduck have changed due to changing habitat conditions. Some of the data is available from the Seaduck Project website (http://www.pwrc.usgs.gov/resshow/perry/scoters/). Contact Peter Osenton about the food habits , Laurel, MD, 301-497-5622 Contact Matthew C. Perry regarding Atlantic Seaduck Project, Laurel, MD, 301-497-5622 |
Surf and Black Scoters Instrumented for Satellite Telemetry Tracking Four female surf scoters were captured in Chesapeake Bay and successfully instrumented with satellite transmitters during late March 2004. All four ducks migrated in April to the northern New Brunswick area and the Saint Lawrence River of Quebec , where these ducks traditionally stage during migration before moving further north into breeding habitat. In May 2004, 10 black scoters (6 females and 4 males) captured on the Restigouche River of New Brunswick were successfully instrumented with satellite transmitters. The 10 black scoters are presently on the Restigouche in preparation for migration into northern Quebec for nesting. Surf scoters on Chesapeake Bay were captured during the day from a fast moving boat with the use of a capture net gun, whereas, the black scoters on the Restigouche River were captured at night with night-lighting techniques. This is the fourth year that surf scoters have been instrumented from the Chesapeake Bay and the third year that black scoters from the Restigouche River have been instrumented for satellite tracking. All locations of the ducks are found on the Atlantic Seaduck Project website (http://www.pwrc.usgs.gov/resshow/perry/scoters/) maintained by Edward Lohnes as part of the Patuxent Wildlife Research Center website. Contact Matthew C. Perry, Laurel, MD, 301-497-5622 Biodiversity of Fungi On June 18, 2004 Elsevier Academic Press will release a book entitled “Biodiversity of Fungi: Inventory and Monitoring Methods,” co-edited by G. M. Mueller, G. F. Bills, and Mercedes S. Foster of Patuxent Wildlife Research Center ’s Biological Survey Unit. Fungi are among the most important organisms in the world; they play vital roles in ecosystem functions and have wide-ranging effects, both positive and negative, on humans and human-related activities. There are about 1.5 million species of fungi. The combination of fungal species and abundances in an ecosystem are often used as indicators of ecosystem health and as indicators of the effects of pollution and of different management and use plans. Because of their significance, it is important that these organisms be monitored. This book is the first comprehensive treatment of fungal inventory and monitoring, including standardized sampling protocols as well as information on study design, sample preservation, and data analysis.
Contact Mercedes Foster, Washington, DC 202-357-1931
|
|
|
See Previous HiLites: |
||
| May
23, 2003 |
