Doherty Bands Seabirds on Johnston Atoll in Collaboration with Smithsonian Scientist

Paul Doherty recently spent 10 days on Johnston Atoll banding seabirds in collaboration with Dr. Betty Anne Schreiber of the Smithsonian Museum of Natural History. Johnston Atoll is a National Wildlife Refuge located 800 miles west of Hawaii and has been a nuclear weapons test site as well as home to the Johnston Atoll Chemical Agent Disposal System (JACADS) in which 6% of the U.S. chemical weapons stockpile has been incinerated. Much of the focus of the research is how these military-related activities have affected the over 500,000 seabirds that use the atoll as a breeding ground. Editor's note: Paul seems to have returned in better condition than when he left.

Contact: Paul_Doherty@usgs.gov 

USGS Patuxent Ecologist Ginsberg to Survey Mosquitos and their Habitat in NE National Parks as part of Collaborative Effort

University of Rhode Island (URI) scientists will survey mosquitos for West Nile Virus at National Parks. The project will focus on 16 parks in the Northeast. Project to focus on 16 parks in Northeast. Two University of Rhode Island entomologists will spend the summer tracking mosquitos from Richmond National Battlefield Park in Virginia to Acadia National Park in Maine as part of a plan by the National Park Service to protect park visitors from West Nile Virus. Dr Howard Ginsberg, a research ecologist for the U.S. Geological Survey based at URI, and Dr Roger LeBrun, professor of plant sciences, have been selected to conduct a survey of mosquitos and potential mosquito habitat in sixteen national parks throughout the northeastern United States in an effort to track the expansion of West Nile Virus in the region. The project is a collaborative effort between URI and the University of Maryland/Eastern Shore. "The research will collect baseline information on the various species of mosquitos and mosquito habitats in the parks", explained Ginsberg. "They will then use the information to help them assess how big a problem West Nile Virus and other mosquito-borne diseases are so they can respond intelligently." Mosquitos and their larvae will be collected at each park using a variety of trapping and sampling methods, and then they will be brought to URI for identification and testing. The parks will be visited three times each between May and September. The scientists will then determine the distribution of the mosquito species found in the region. These data can then be compared with future surveys to determine the changes in mosquito populations and the distribution of diseases like West Nile Virus. There are 41 different species of mosquito found in Rhode Island, and many more in other parts of the country.

Contact: Howard_S_Ginsberg@usgs.gov

Patuxent Habitat Managment Team Sponsors "Birds and Buildings: A Fatal Combination"

A special program for the Habitat Management Team of Patuxent Wildlife Research Center was held on Friday March 2, 2001 in the Gabrielson Conference Room of PWRC. The talk was entitled "Birds and Buildings: A Fatal Combination" and was presented by Michael Mesure, Founder and Director of the Fatal Light Awareness Program (FLAP). Mr Mesure is from Toronto, Canada and was brought to the attention of Patuxent scientists by Dr. John Hadidian of the Humane Society of the United States, who introduced Mr. Mesure. Mr. Mesure, who professionally is an artist, became concerned about the number of birds striking buildings in Toronto and has lead an international program to educate the public on this problem. The meeting was well attended by Patuxent personnel and persons from off Center who are aware of Mr. Mesure's work, including personnel from the International Dark-Sky Association. A film crew from Brain Trust Productions, Inc. travelled from Putnam Valley, NY to film Mr. Mesure for a film documentary on the subject of bird strikes into buildings and other human-made objects. Persons desiring more info of this program or the Habitat Management Team should contact Dr. Matthew C. Perry at Matt_Perry@USGS.GOV .

Contact: Matt_Perry@USGS.GOV 

Purdy to Present Seminar at Patuxent entitled  "Perfluoroalkyl Anions: New Mechanism of Bioaccumulation"

Dr. Richard E. Purdy, a renowned ecotoxicologist, will present a seminar entitled "Perfluoroalkyl Anions: New Mechanism of Bioaccumulation" at 11 AM on March 28 in Room A-20 of Stickel Laboratory at the Patuxent Wildlife Research Center. He will be discussing perfluorinated compounds (including the active ingredient in 3M Scotch Guard) whose production has recently been curtailed. Many of these compounds are environmentally persistent, globally distributed, and readily bioaccumulate in tissues of vertebrates.

Contact: Barnett_Rattner@usgs.gov 

Patuxent's Meyers to Serve as Judge for Georgia State Junior Duck Stamp Contest

Joe Meyers has been tapped by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to serve as one of three judges for the State Junior Duck Stamp Contest in Georgia. The judges rate all art and select the state winner, who competes in the National Junior Duck Stamp Contest held in Washington, DC. Last year's winner from Georgia, a hooded merganser, was 10th in the National Contest.

Contact: Joe_Meyers@usgs.gov  

NAAMP Amphibian Calling Surveys Mentioned in Latest Edition of The World Watch Institute's "State of the World: 2001"

The North American Amphibian Monitoring Program (NAAMP) is mentioned in the latest edition of The World Watch Institute's "State of the World: 2001". Chapter 4 is devoted to "deciphering amphibian declines" it mentions the NAAMP amphibian calling surveys. It also mentions other USGS work - Dr. Fellers' work in Yosemite and chytrid fungus research. Unfortunately, the text does not specifically mention the USGS and despite inclusion of the proper USGS website address, an older version was used.

Patuxent Scientific Achievement Award Presented to Dr. Caldwell Hahn for Cowbird Work

The Patuxent Scientific Achievement Award, which recognizes competence and dedication was presented to Dr. Caldwell Hahn at the Patuxent Annual Science Meeting for her cutting-edge research and publications on cowbirds. Dr Hahn's work has received international recognition and was recently praised for its merit. In the June 2000 issue of The Wilson Bulletin, a review by Peter Lowther noted the merits of a book Dr. Hahn co-edited (Morrison et al. 1999 Studies in Avian Biology 18). Additionally, one of her papers was mentioned in the Bulletin book review section as one of "two papers worthy of attention". Dr. Hahn has published on her efforts to understand cowbird mating system, host selection, and cowbird fecundity and nest success by integrating results of radio-tracking adult cowbirds and genetic analysis of their young. One recent publication is especially noteworthy ("A spatial and genetic analysis of cowbird host selection" by DC Hahn, JA Sedgwick, IS Painter, and NJ Casna). This paper by Dr. Hahn and her coworkers comes close to answering the basic and pressing question of cowbird biology long not understood: by what criteria are host nests sought and selected?

Patuxent Art Show - 30 March through 1 April, National Visitor Center (more information)

Open House - 27-28 April, Reston National Center (more information)

See Previous HiLites:
August 31, 2000
September 21, 2000
September 28, 2000
October 5, 2000
October 16, 2000
October 30, 2000
November 8, 2000
November 16, 2000
November 22, 2000
November 30, 2000
January 4, 2001