News from Scientists at the USGS Patuxent Wildlife Research Center
Monday, November 10, 2003
Coastal
Georgia Birding Festival
Paul
Sykes co-led two field trips (Harris Neck NWR and Jekyll Island
State Park) at the first Coastal Georgia Birding Festival combined
with the Georgia Ornithological Society Annual Fall Meeting held
October 10-12, 2003. He
also presented a poster on the trapping technique for capturing
Painted Buntings for banding as part of the study on annual survival
of the eastern population of that species. The gathering also
included a National Wildlife Refuge Centennial Celebration.
The festival, celebration, and meeting were held at the
Jekyll Island Convention Center (near Brunswick, GA) and were
attended by 350 plus people. Guest
speakers were: Kenn
Kaufman, noted author of bird books and lecturer on North American
natural history; Dr. Peter Stangel, Director of the Southern
Partnership Program for the National Wildlife Refuge Foundation;
William S. Hartwig, Chief, National Wildlife Refuge System of the U.
S. Fish and Wildlife Service; and James Steven Criles, Deputy
Secretary for the U. S. Department of the Interior. Contact Paul Sykes, Athens, GA; 706-542-1237 Captive
Seaduck Colony Initiated at Patuxent for Physiological Studies After
extensive planning and field work an initial captive seaduck colony has been
established at USGS-Patuxent Wildlife Research Center.
During the spring of 2003, egg collection was conducted in the Lac
Malbaie area of Quebec and the Goose Bay area of Labrador for surf scoters
and at Redberry Lake, Saskatchewan for white-winged scoters.
Common eider eggs were collected from an island in the Penobscot
River of Maine. Members of the
Cree Nation assisted with egg collection in Quebec.
The Canadian Wildlife Service and provincial governments also
provided assistance. Incubation
of eggs and propagation of ducklings were conducted at Patuxent facilities. Numerous
measurements were taken on all ducklings at one day of age and weekly
thereafter to establish growth patterns of the two scoter species and
eiders. Mortality of young was
greater than expected and could have been related to the extremely wet and
humid conditions experienced in Maryland during the summer of 2003.
It is possible that seaducks that normally breed in more northern
areas may be more susceptible to fungal infections. Pen
studies dealing with nutrition, physiology, and behavior will be conducted
with the scoters. The eiders
will become part of a study of selenium contamination conducted by
researchers of the National Health Laboratory in collaboration with
contaminant scientists at Patuxent. Two
new dive tanks are located within the pen complex, and a building is being
constructed to enclose the tanks for research.
More egg collection is planned in the spring of 2004 in Quebec and
Saskatchewan.
Volunteer,
Leanne Elson, from Labrador, searching for surf scoter nests in dense
habitat near a pothole area about 15km southeast of Goose Bay, Labrador.
Research
Biologist, Alicia Wells, is assisted with egg collection by a Native
American from the Cree village of Chisasibi, Quebec while working near James
Bay. Contacts
Mathew Perry, Laurel, MD, 301-497-5622 and Alicia
Wells, Laurel, MD,
301-497-5730 |
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