Bill Kendall, Paul Doherty, and Chan Robbins were on Midway Atoll last week at the request of the Portland and Hawaii FWS offices. Drs Kendall and Doherty were giving advice on sample procedures for estimating populations of breeding Laysan and Black-footed Albatrosses, and Dr Robbins was revisiting his study plots of 1956-1972, noting changes in habitat and in bird populations, and recapturing birds he had banded 35 to 40 years ago. 1967 was the first year Dr Robbins had used monel bird bands, and he was pleased to find that these bands were still in excellent condition and the numbers very legible after 35 years of exposure to sand and salt water.

Patuxent's Whooping Cranes Featured on Wild Moments Television Show

Irene Trullinger, an Associate Producer of Wild Moments, has provided information regarding the airing of a television show featuring Patuxent's Whooping Cranes. In the Baltimore-Washington viewing area, the episode will air on Sunday, March 3 on the following stations and time:

Sunday, March 3 5:30 AM WBAL-TV Channel 11 (ABC)

Sunday, March 3 8:00 AM WBDC-TV Channel 50 (Warner)

Those outside of the Baltimore-Washington viewing area should consult local listings. Wild Moments is a 30-minute show which typically airs on the weekends, generally on Sundays and during the morning hours.

Meyers Attends National Meeting on Migratory Bird Mortality and Communication Towers in Arlington, VA

Migratory Bird Mortality and Communication Towers -National Meeting: Dr. Joe Meyers, USGS's representative on this issue, will be attending the Commination Tower Working Group meeting at U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's Headquarters in Arlington, VA on February 22, 2002. More than 55 representatives from private industry, NGO's, and government agencies will attend to discuss events since June 2000 and review proposed research for reducing migratory bird mortality at communication towers. Dr. Meyers is also a member of the research subcommittee. Low flying migratory birds become confused at night and circle lighted towers under certain weather conditions. Thousands of birds have died from collisions with towers and their guy wires during one night under foggy weather events, especially in the southeastern U.S. where most of the >1,000 foot towers are concentrated.

USGS-Patuxent scientist John Seginak of the Athens (Georgia) Field Station will present several lectures in University of Georgia Wildlife Management and Techniques classes during February, March, and April 2002. Subjects will include (1) physiological characteristics as an indicator of herd condition and habitat quality of ungulate species, and (2) Radio Telemetry uses, methods, and techniques. This will be the 8th year John has been requested to teach these classes. In March and April, John will give presentations at Madison County and Oglethorpe County High Schools, which will be the 7th year that John has been requested. Lecture subjects will include responsible deer management schemes and their influence on avian neotropical migrants and other wildlife species. John will also address 3 deer hunting clubs in Oglethorpe County in April. John feels these presentations are instrumental in maintaining a good rapport with state, Federal, and private groups, and believes cooperation with all other sectors is an important facet of the field station".

Shealer and Patuxent's Spendelow Author Paper concerning Roseate Tern Parental Care

The December 2001 issue of BBC Wildlife reports on a paper presented last summer at the ESA meeting. The paper was coauthored by Dave Shealer and USGS Scientist Jeff Spendelow.  Follow this link for more information.

Patuxent Staff Author 10 of 45 Papers at EURING 2000 Meeting Providing New Methods to Analyze Data

USGS Researchers Develop New Analytical Methods to Better Understand Aspects of Population Dynamics: Research from the USGS Patuxent Wildlife Research Center (PWRC) is well-represented in the soon-to-be published Volume 29 of the Journal of Applied Statistics.

Collectively, PWRC staff Jim Nichols, Jim Hines, Bill Link, Jeff Spendelow, USFWS affiliate Andy Royle, and former post-doc Emmanuelle Cam are authors/coauthors on 10 of the 45 papers based on presentations made at the EURING 2000 meeting. Several new methods to analyze data, particularly capture-recapture data, to help resource managers better understand various aspects of population dynamics are discussed in these proceedings. Topics range from Link et al. on "Model-based estimation of individual fitness" to Nichols and Hines on "Approaches for the direct estimation of lambda, and demographic contributions to lambda, using capture-recapture data", to Spendelow et al. on "Modelling postfledging survival and age-specific breeding probabilities in species with delayed maturity: a case study of Roseate Terns at Falkner Island, Connecticut", to Nisbet and Cam on "Test for age-specificity in survival of the Common Tern."

Contacts: Jim Nichols 301-497-5660, Jim Hines 301-497-5661, Bill Link 301-497-5631, Jeff Spendelow 301-497-5665

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
March 15, 2001
March 22, 2001
March 29, 2001

April 5, 2001
April 12, 2001
May 17, 2001
May 24, 2001
June 6, 2001
June 21, 2001
August 27, 2001
September 12, 2001
September 26, 2001
October 31, 2001
November 29, 2001
January 21, 2002
February 11, 2002