News from Scientists at the USGS Patuxent Wildlife Research Center
Thursday, May 30, 2002
| Patuxent's
Atlantic Flyway Seaduck Project Selected by "Signals of
Spring" as a Feature Project for Student Internet Interaction
The New York based organization "Signals of Spring" has selected the Atlantic Flyway Seaduck Project as a feature project for student internet interaction. This project is funded by NASA, and provides students with the opportunity to more fully understand both wildlife and technology. The students are using data generated by transmitters implanted into surf scoters in the Chesapeake Bay by USGS scientists. Seven ducks were successfully captured and instrumented during March-April, 2002, and these birds are currently being tracked by researchers at the Patuxent Wildlife Research Center (Laurel, MD). The surf scoter telemetry data is sent to Signals of Spring, where they track the birds, using the coordinate data they receive. Students and school groups can then log on to the SOS website, and obtain a variety of information concerning the bird's migration. Signals of Spring provides science curricula material for students and teachers, and this helps to integrate many different subjects allowing school students to develop skills in earth sciences, language arts, life sciences, geography, mathematics, and technology, etc. The information is presented by the school teachers, who incorporate these disciplines into their national curriculum system. During this time, the students also maintain journals and receive feedback from scientists from all over the country. Schools that partner in the program include: New York City, Newark, Jersey City, and Washington DC Public Schools, and Houston Independent School Districts. Over 250 Teachers from 125 Schools are involved in a variety of marine and terrestrial areas with Signals of Spring providing the appropriate teaching materials. Signals of Spring has won a number of national awards. Info on Signals of Spring: http://www.signalsofspring.com/2002fact.cfm Info on Patuxent seaduck studies: http://www.pwrc.usgs.gov/resshow/perry/scoters/ Contact: Dr. Matthew C. Perry 301-497-5622 New
Zealand Scientist Mackenzie Visits Patuxent and Presents Seminar
entitled "Open Models for Patch Occupancy"
Dr. Darryl Mackenzie
(Proteus Research & Consulting, Dunedin, NZ) will be visiting
Patuxent next week. At 11:00 AM on Thursday, June 6, in the
Gabrielson Conference Room, Dr. Mackenzie will present a seminar
on Open Models for Patch Occupancy, based on contract work
he is doing with Patuxent scientists. The seminar involves models
for estimating patch occupancy, as well as patch-level extinction
and colonization probabilities, from so-called
"presence-absence" data. The motivation for the work was
amphibian research and monitoring, but the potential applications
of these models are much broader. Contact: Marcia Holmes
301-497-5729 |
Patuxent
Scientists Host US Army's Colonel Korch as part of Collaboration
to Identify Rodent-Borne Health Threats to US and Allied Forces
On Friday 24 May, Neal Woodman and other members of the Biological Survey Unit at the National Museum of Natural History hosted Colonel George Korch, Ph.D., of the U.S. Army's 3rd Medical Command. This event was part of the continuing collaboration between the Biological Survey Unit and the U.S. Army to identify potential rodent-borne health threats to U.S. and allied forces during the current conflict in Afghanistan and surrounding countries. Contact: Neal Woodman 202-786-2483 Farnsworth and Patuxent Scientists Collaborate on Auk Paper The new issue of The Auk just came out, and featured a paper co-authored by several Patuxent scientists: Farnsworth, G. L. K. H. Pollock, J. D. Nichols, T. R. Simons, J.E. Hines, and J. R. Sauer. 2002. A Removal Model for Estimating Detection Probabilities from Point-Count Surveys. Auk 119:414-425. This is the most recent product of a long and very positive collaboration that Patuxent researchers have had with researchers at North Carolina State University. George Farnsworth (the first author) is now on the faculty of the University of Houston, and is working for Patuxent this summer as a post-doctoral fellow. Contact: Dr John Sauer 301-497-5662
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