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Characterizing Rearing Habitat of American White Pelicans Using PIT Tags from Consumed Fish
Get PDFAvian predation on wild fish populations can create challenges for wildlife and fisheries managers. Frequently, managers locate and recover indigestible tags to estimate predation rates and inform decisions. We used a similar method to characterize rearing habitat for American white pelicans (Pelicanus erythrorhynchos). During summer 2017, we sought to discern the types of vegetation and substrate white pelicans use while nesting on breeding colonies in Canyon Ferry Reservoir, Montana. First, we located passive integrated transponder (PIT) tags from marked wild fish that had been deposited on the islands and recorded the vegetation or substrate type (cobble, mud, nettle, willow, water) for each tag. Most tags were found in cobble and willow (34.3% and 36.6%, respectively) and very few were in water (0.8%) and nettle (5.3%). Second, we sought to estimate detection probability of PIT tags, as some may go undetected, and determine what factors influence whether tags are found. We hid 200 PIT tags, 40 in each of the 5 vegetation/substrate types, and found 78, resulting in an overall detection probability of 0.39 (95% CI = 0.36 – 0.42). After accounting for detection probability, we estimate that pelicans deposited the most tags, and thus were most likely to use willow vegetation (59%), with all other vegetation/substrate types containing ≤17% of deposited tags. Increasing the proportion of PIT tags found will influence estimates of predation and could affect inferences regarding habitat use
Estimating Natal Origins of Migratory Juvenile Northern Goshawks Using Stable Hydrogen Isotopes
Get PDFFrom 2004 to 2007, we collected hatch-year feathers from 44 juvenile Northern Goshawks (Accipiter gentilis) captured at our Rocky Mountain Front banding station near Lincoln, Montana. Due to the relative scarcity and secretive nature of goshawks, little is understood about their migration patterns or the geographic origins of birds encountered at research sites. Most studies suggest goshawks are partial migrants, often moving <100km, but select band returns and radio and satellite telemetry have shown some individuals occasionally travel thousands of kilometers. We performed a stable hydrogen isotope analysis on the feathers we collected from young goshawks to determine their predicted natal origin. We found that 68% of goshawks had predicted natal origins relatively close to our capture site, 25% from areas in northwestern Canada and eastern Alaska, and 7% somewhere significantly south or east of our capture site. We did not find any significant patterns with sex and passage date or latitudinal origin, nor did we find a meaningful relationship between latitudinal origin and passage date. Our findings support the current understandings of goshawk migration, with a majority of individuals traveling short distances from their natal grounds and a few outliers traveling great distances, not always in a southerly direction
Call for Proposals: PNLA Annual Conference
Get PDFVisit http://www.pnla.org/conference_2018 by Feb. 17, 2018 to submit a proposal
PNLA Leads: An Attendee's Perspective
Get PDFAn attendee of the 2015 Leads Institute shares her experience
Media Misrepresentation of Academic Literature and Barriers to Verify Sources for Those Outside of Higher Education: An Example from Last Week Tonight with John Oliver
No full textAcademic librarians teach students to research using academic databases and peer-reviewed articles. Information literacy skills combat misinformation in a student’s academic career and beyond the classroom. However, once students leave campus and cross the border from student life to working life, they may not have access to peer-reviewed literature. Using a popular segment of Last Week Tonight with John Oliver about scientific studies, this article presents the importance of, and barriers to, students’ continued access to peer-reviewed research. How librarians might mitigate these obstacles are discussed
Long Term Study of an Undisturbed Cormorant Colony
No full textArboreal nesting by double-crested cormorants (Phalacrocorax auritus) has not been studied as intensively as ground-nesting populations, and there are little published data on tree colony initiation and development, as well as long-term use of trees for nesting. Cormorants established nesting in an existing great blue heron rookery at Ninepipe National Wildlife Refuge (NNWR) in Western Montana in 1974. The primary goal of this study was to record the initiation and growth of an arboreal cormorant colony under undisturbed natural circumstances. The colony has been intensively studied since its inception in 1974, and data on nest success, population dynamics, foraging sites and behavior were collected over the next 18 years, until 1992. Foraging sites and resource partitioning developed with the growing colony. Nest stratification changed over time in response to substrate condition and nest re-use. Areas where nests were concentrated moved within the colony, and nest success was correlated with weather patterns and natural events. Anti-predator response varied with the avian predator involved. Display behavior and fledging of young varied in some aspects from these behaviors in ground nesting populations.
Keywords: Double-crested cormorant, Ninepipe National Wildlife Refuge, Montana, arboreal nesting, great blue heron, rookery, colonization, nest success, avian predators, foraging, migratio
Exploration of the Effect of Platelet Yield on 5-7 Day Storage
Get PDFPlatelets are a blood component essential for normal blood clotting. Donated platelets are critical for the survival of many patients, but the currently accepted shelf life of platelets is only 5 days. Thus, maintaining an adequate supply of lifesaving platelets is an ongoing concern. Platelet supply could be increased if data supported an increased shelf life. Previous studies revealed that increasing numbers of platelets in the storage bag (platelet yield) is negatively correlated to shelf life. This study explores the effect of platelet yield on the longevity of the units and examines donor differences with respect to their platelet storage profiles. We studied 12 donor units, split into 36 experimental bags, loaded at four yield levels. Our goal was to ascertain the maximum platelet yield that maintained a bag pH above 6.2 at day 7. A platelet bag is considered “failed” when the pH drops below 6.2. We found that higher platelet yields correlated with decreasing bag pH, while donor differences were related to the magnitude of the bag failure. No bags loaded at nominal yields (the most commonly used yield) failed by day 7. Of note, none of the 18 bags loaded at high-nominal yields (a less common current practice) failed at day 5, but 3 failed before day 7. These results confirm previous studies and support manufacturer determined yield limits and shelf life. Yields at and above manufacturer limits were associated with high failure rates, and are not recommended
Analysis of Antimicrobial Peptide Efficacy Against Chytridiomycosis from Skin Secretions of Columbia Spotted Frogs (Lithobates Luteiventris)
Get PDFAmphibian populations have been declining in size in recent years. A major contributing factor to this decline is the fungal disease chytridiomycosis. Chytridiomycosis occurs when the zoospores of the fungus Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis (Bd) imbed into amphibian skin and disrupt the homeostatic functions the skin provides, leading to death in most amphibians. Amphibian skin can produce antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) that inhibit Bd infection. The goal of this experiment was to determine whether or not the amount and type of AMPs a frog produces affects its ability to defend against chytridiomycosis. Columbia spotted frogs were chosen as a model organism because they vary in susceptibility to the disease, yet their populations have not been drastically affected by the fungus. AMP samples were collected from ten Columbia spotted frogs at four different locations in western Montana (40 samples total). The AMP concentration for each sample was determined using a micro BCS assay. The minimal inhibitory concentrations (MICs) were determined using 96 well plate growth inhibition assays. In the assay a set of ten AMP dilutions from each frog (ranging from 100-1000 μg/mL) were used. The Bd was grown in each dilution and growth was measured after four days as change in absorbance measured at 492 nm. Infection load of frogs was determined using Quantitative PCR analysis. From the data collected, there was no statistically significant correlation between the MIC observed and infection load
Ecological Evaluation of Reclamation Success of Mine Sites of The Sapphire Mountains
Get PDFSapphires and gems have been mined from the Sapphire range of southwest Montana for more than 150-years. Across this region and elsewhere, an unknown count of pits and tunnels and tailing piles lay abandoned while the local ecology reclaims the disturbed earth. A historical practice of reclamation for decommissioned mines was to bulldoze the site flat, removing physical hazards from the landscape. This process mixes the soil strata and alters the composition of the topsoil. Soil compaction is also a consequence of this process. Altered composition and significant increases in soil compaction often cause native plant speciesto struggle or fail to thrive in an area, causing opportunistic weedy species to proliferate. Our research investigated the species richness and coverage of three sites: a disturbed mine without reclamation, a mine site with bulldoze reclamation, and a third site in the vicinity which was not mined. Our multivariate analyses confirmed that species composition was different among the three sites. The natural site had higher plant cover, however, it was not significantly different from the other two sites due to the higher coverage of exotic weeds in the reclaimed sites. A greenhouse-controlled species competition supported this as soil from the reclaimed site was significantly better for knapweed test plants. Soils from the natural sites proved to be significantly better for native bluebunch wheatgrass growth. These results show that reclamation success does depend on initial site preparation, on the presence of exotic plant species that can be further spread by inappropriate site management. Also reclamation sites need to be managed if exotic invasion could be a potential