News from Scientists at the USGS Patuxent Wildlife Research Center
Wednesday, November 8, 2000
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Patuxent Researcher Rattner Sets Press Straight USGS Researcher Dr Barnett Rattner sets the Press straight about Rats. According to recently received information, Dr Rattner states: "Last Friday, while dining at a 5-star carryout in Annapolis, my wife Fran pointed out an article in The Sun, the renowned Baltimore Newspaper. The article described the future fate of Fort Carroll, a nesting site for migratory birds that we studied in great detail in 1998. Dan Rodrick, the author and a well-known satirist, referred to the Island as 'Rat Infested'. Well, Rattner (not to be mixed up with Rattus norvegicus) couldn't resist setting him straight...called him and informed him of our work...and mentioned 'that in our 24 visits to the site during the 1998 heron nesting season, we (Rattner and McGowan) never saw a single rat (Rattus sp., or for that matter any members of the Order Rodentia!)'. Sent him some information (a copy of a final report, a manuscript submitted to a journal and other miscellanea). Dan printed the following note and retraction in his column yesterday, November 1. We (and I!) got a byline....best wishes...Barnett" Dan
Rodricks--Excerpt from his Column Published on Nov 1 2000: A rattrap? I will soon launch an expedition to Fort Carroll to check for rats. There seems to be skepticism about the oft-repeated description of the abandoned 19th-century fort as "rat-infested." Several readers questioned the use of that adjective in this space last week. But the manmade island, which sits just south of the Key Bridge in the Patapsco River, has been "rat-infested" for years, if you believe its clippings. And unless my memory is playing tricks, I saw a rat crawling along the rocks at Fort Carroll in the late summer of 1996, during a fishing trip there. Joe Bruce, who owns Fishermen's Edge, a Catonsville tackle shop, has made many trips to the island. He's a veteran fly fishing guide and author of three books on the subject. I called him over the weekend and Joe said, "Yup, I've seen rats on the rocks at Fort Carroll." Joe's a trusty guy. But Barnett Rattner has an impressive resume, too: B.S., University of Maryland, zoology (1972); M.S., University of Maryland, zoology, developmental biology (1974); Ph.D., University of Maryland, zoology, environmental physiology (1977). As a staffer at the Patuxent Wildlife Research Center, Rattner has conducted several research projects and published his findings. (One report is titled, "Effects of organochlorine contaminants on reproductive success of black- crowned night-herons (Nycticorax nyticorax) nesting in Baltimore Harbor, Maryland.") Rattner visited Fort Carroll 24 times in 1998 and discovered "a fabulous nesting sight" for herons and egrets. He found hundreds of nests, including those of the black-crowned night-heron, and concluded that a large colony of the birds, previously nesting near the Riverside power plant, had moved to Fort Carroll. It's a great place to observe migratory birds, he says. "But," he says, "in all those visits to Fort Carroll we never saw one rat." Well, there it is. I'll have to check this out myself. I will go to Fort Carroll to look for evidence of rat infestation. I might have to make several trips. This could take time. The Ravens might even score a touchdown before I reach a conclusion. Watch this space. 'In a time of discovery' First Mariner Bank Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Ed Hale would like to see Fort Carroll restored, rigged with a dock and made a destination for tourists. Hale, who sits on the board of the Living Classrooms Foundation, thinks Fort Carroll, constructed in 1850 under the supervision of an Army Corps of Engineers officer named Robert E. Lee, should be included among the historic sites ringing the Inner Harbor and comprising the water-taxi tour known as the National Historic Seaport of Baltimore. That might be in the thinking of developer Bill Struever, a champion of Baltimore's resurging waterfront who recently signed a lease on the fort. "We're in a period of discovery," Struever says. "I really don't know what we're going to do. Right now, the prime focus is on stabilizing the structure and preserving what's there." And what's there, says Struever, is "spectacular." Rooms inside the fort have impressive brick work. "There are spectacular spaces," he says. Rats? "I haven't seen any," Struever says. "There's plenty of poison ivy, though. And trees growing through the roof." Struever, who has been studying the history of the fort, discovered that it was designed to be four stories tall. "It would be wonderful to use it in some way," he says. "I'd love to talk to the Chesapeake Bay Foundation or Living Classrooms about it. We're in a time of discovery still." And dreaming. Which is the
fun of being Bill Struever. |
Patuxent's
Chandler Robbins to Appear on Maryland Public Television
One of the most renowned bird authorities in the world, Maryland native, Ornithologist, and noted author Chandler Robbins, is a living legend among birders. On Thursday, November 9 at 8 p.m. Maryland Public Television's weekly outdoors series, Maryland Outdoors, will feature Dr Robbins as he expresses his passion for birding and what he's gotten from it. Patuxent's Guntenspergen Invited to Serve on Convention of Wetlands Review Panel USGS Patuxent Wildlife Research Center's Glenn R Guntenspergen has been invited by Nick Davidson, RAMSAR's Deputy Secretary General, to serve on the Convention on Wetlands (RAMSAR, Iran 1971) Scientific and Technical Review Panel (STRP). The STRP provides scientific guidance to the conference of the Parties and to the RAMSAR Secretariat. Rattner and McGowan Receive Funding for New Contaminants Effects Study on Reproduction of Ospreys Barnett Rattner of the USGS Patuxent Wildlife Research Center and Peter McGowan of the FWS Chesapeake Bay Field Office were recently informed of the receipt of funding from the Fish and Wildlife Service to conduct a new environmental contaminants investigation entitled "Contaminant Exposure and Effects on Reproduction of Ospreys (Pandion haliatus) Nesting on the Elizabeth River, a Chesapeake Bay Region of Concern" for 2001-2002. Competition for funds was especially keen this year, with only 4 new starts in the Off-Refuge category funded by the Division of Environmental Quality of the Service. Patuxent Scientist Eisler, Science Advisor to American Fisheries Society, Attends Fisheries Congress in ChinaPatuxent scientist Ronald Eisler recently started a year-long mobility assignment as the senior science advisor to the executive director of the 9500-member American Fisheries Society (AFS). Dr. Eisler was part of the AFS delegation to the Third World Fisheries Congress in Beijing, China ,October 30-November 3, 2000. A poster was displayed at the Congress ("Contaminant Hazard Reviews 1-35 Now Available on Compact Disc") by Ronald Eisler, Robert Munro, Lois Loges, Kinard Boone, Mary Paul, and Lynda Garrett. Copies of the CD , first released in May 2000, were rapidly taken up by the Chinese delegates. Patuxent's Gee Attends S285 Regional Project on Turkey Reproduction USGS Patuxent Wildlife Research Center Scientist Dr. George Gee attended the S285 Regional Project on Turkey Reproduction as an invited guest of the group. The meeting was held on November 3-4, 2000 at the Beltsville Agricultural research Center. Members discussed recent discoveries and understandings of turkey and other avian reproductive systems. These discussions places special emphasis on isohormones, in vivo sperm storage and competition, broodiness and photorefractoriness. Dr. Gee gave a tour of the National Wildlife Visitor's Center and the Patuxent Wildlife Research Center to seven research scientists who attended the meetings. They spent considerable time discussing the Crane Restoration Ecology Team's program of photostimulation, incubation and release conditioning. Patuxent Scientist Hahn to Participate in Society for Conservation Biology Meeting USGS Patuxent Wildlife Research Center researcher, Dr Caldwell Hahn is a member of the Policy Committee of the Society for Conservation Biology and will participate in the upcoming meeting in Washington, DC, November 13-14, 2000. The policy committee is charged with taking the lead in several activities, including (1) developing informational materials consonant with the aims of the Society; (2) proposing and reviewing commissioned papers on science-related policy issues; (3) evaluating issues, recommending positions, and proposing Society actions on issues related to conservation biology and policy where the expertise of the Society is of value.
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