Treesearch

The ecology of Neotropical migrant landbirds in temperate farmland is reviewed to develop management recommendations for the conservation of migrants. Migrants constitute about 71% of bird species using farmland and 86% of bird species nesting there. The number and abundances of Neotropical migrants using farmland are greatest in uncultivated edges with trees and shrubless in uncultivated, grassed areas (grassed fencerows, waterways, terrace berms, road verges, and land set aside in the Conservation Reserve Program); and least in rowcrops. Causes of recent declines in abundance of farmland...

The USDA Forest Service (USFS) developed goals, objectives, and guidelines for monitoring neotropical migratory birds (NTMB) on National Forest System lands in response to the Neotropical Migratory Bird Conservation Program Partners in Flight. A USFS task group developed a hierarchical monitoring framework designed to define priorities for type of monitoring data. Three levels of monitoring were defined to provide options because funding levels typically vary from Forest to Forest, and monitoring standards were defined for each level of monitoring. In addition, responsibilities for each...

The U.S. Army is responsible for managing 5.0 million ha (12.4 million acres) of land on 186 major installations world-wide. The Land Condition Trend Analysis (LCTA) Program is the Army's integrated monitoring and data collection program designed to fulfill the Army's natural resource information and management needs. implementation of this program was initiated in 1987, and over 50 installations nationwide have begun or plan to implement LCTA. This paper describes the LCTA approach to natural resource monitoring and provides examples of LCTA applications for monitoring neotropical...

In 1991, the Bureau of Land Management wrote its Nongame Migratory Bird Habitat Conservation Plan to guide implementation of Partners In Flight objectives on 270 million acres of public land in the U.S. Inventory and monitoring of neotropical migrants are the most important program goals because few bird data are available over large expanses of sparsely populated western lands. Nongame bird activities will mesh nicely with ongoing initiatives such as the Riparian-Wetlands, Watchable Wildlife, and Ecosystem Management. Impediments to success are the remoteness of many important habitats...

Demographic processes (reproductive success, survival of young and adults, recruitment of young into the breeding population) are critical to monitoring and managing landbird populations. We discuss different techniques that have been used to monitor these demographic processes in landbird populations, focusing on constant-effort mist-netting (CEM). We assess whether CEM can provide valid measures of year-to-year variation in fecundity, by comparing fledgling production (determined from intensive nest-searching and -monitoring) with mist net captures of Hatching Year birds. In addition to...

The United States Fish and Wildlife Service coordinates several surveys that collect information on the population status of migratory birds in North America. The North American Breeding Bird Survey is the primary source of population information on nongame birds during the breeding season, and waterfowl surveys are conducted during breeding and wintering seasons. The surveys are international in scope, based upon research into sampling methods for birds, and used in management of migratory birds. The Service also maintains the Bird Banding Laboratory in cooperation with the Canada...

It is generally agreed that populations of many North American landbird species, especially forest-inhabiting Neotropical migratory species in eastern North America, are declining. Existing population-trend data, however, provide no information on primary demographic parameters (productivity and survivorship) and thus provide no means for determining at what point in the life cycle problems are occurring or to what extent observed population trends are driven by causal factors that affect avian birth rates (e.g., temperate forest fragmentation) or death rates (e.g., tropical deforestation),...

We describe research efforts that contribute to assessment and monitoring of neotropical migratory birds, including: I) use of neotropical migrants in the Environmental Monitoring and Assessment Program (EMAP) as potential indicators of general environmental condition and biodiversity; 2) EPA's Habitat/Biodiversity Research Initiative to assess comparative risks to biodiversity, including neotropical migrant birds; and 3) other EPA research to develop tools for assessing status and trends of neotropical migratory birds at various spatial scales.

This proceedings is the product of a National Training Workshop held at the Estes Park Center, Estes Park, Colorado, 21-25 September, 1992. Invited papers discuss all aspects of management, monitoring, and conservation of neotropical migratory birds on the breeding grounds. The proceedings is divided into seven sections that range from philosophical discussions to methods and solutions for managing migratory birds in concert with other wildlife.

Wild and domestic dark turkeys (Meleagris gallopavo) were fed experimental diets containing acorn (Quercus gambelli), ponderosa pine (Pinus ponderosa) seed, grasses, forbs, and arthropods. In fecal estimates of diet composition, acorn and ponderosa pine seed were underestimated and grass was overestimated. Regression of acorn and pine seed in experimental diets with microscopic fecal estimates indicated significant nonlinear relationships. Based on regression analyses, corrected acorn and pine seed composition in diets did not differ from experimental diets. Corrected estimates for grass...