Natural History of the Guam Rail
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Dietary Behavior of the Mangrove Monitor Lizard (Varanus Indicus)
DIETARY BEHAVIOR OF THE MANGROVE MONITOR LIZARD (VARANUS INDICUS) ON COCOS ISLAND, GUAM, AND STRATEGIES FOR VARANUS INDICUS ERADICATION A THESIS SUBMITTED TO THE GRADUATE DIVISION OF THE UNIVERSITY OF HAWAI’I AT HILO IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF MASTER OF SCIENCE IN TROPICAL CONSERVATION BIOLOGY AND ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE MAY 2016 By Seamus P. Ehrhard Thesis Committee: William Mautz, Chairperson Donald Price Patrick Hart Acknowledgements I would like to thank Guam’s Department of Agriculture, the Division of Aquatic and Wildlife Resources, and wildlife biologist, Diane Vice, for financial assistance, research materials, and for offering me additional staffing, which greatly aided my fieldwork on Guam. Additionally, I would like to thank Dr. William Mautz for his consistent help and effort, which exceeded all expectations of an advisor, and without which I surely would have not completed my research or been inspired to follow my passion of herpetology to the near ends of the earth. 2 Abstract The mangrove monitor lizard (Varanus indicus), a large invasive predator, can be found on all areas of the 38.6 ha Cocos Island at an estimated density, in October 2011, of 6 V. Indicus per hectare on the island. Plans for the release of the endangered Guam rail (Gallirallus owstoni) on Cocos Island required the culling of V. Indicus, because the lizards are known to consume birds and bird eggs. Cocos Island has 7 different habitats; resort/horticulture, Casuarina forest, mixed strand forest, Pemphis scrub, Scaevola scrub, sand/open area, and wetlands. I removed as many V. Indicus as possible from the three principal habitats; Casuarina forest, mixed scrub forest, and a garbage dump (resort/horticulture) using six different trapping methods. -
Telecrex Restudied: a Small Eocene Guineafowl
TELECREX RESTUDIED: A SMALL EOCENE GUINEAFOWL STORRS L. OLSON In reviewing a number of the fossil species presently placed in the Rallidae, I have had occasion to examine the unique type-an incomplete femur-of Telecrex grangeri Wetmore (1934)) described from the Upper Eocene (Irdin Manha Formation) at Chimney Butte, Shara Murun region, Inner Mongolia. Although Wetmore assigned this fossil to the Rallidae, he felt that the species was distinct enough to be placed in a separate subfamily (Telecrecinae) ; this he considered to be ancestral to the modern Rallinae. After apparently ex- amining the type, Cracraft (1973b:17) assessed it as “decidedly raillike in the shape of the bone but distinct in the antero-posterior flattening of the head and shaft.” However, he suggested that Wetmores’ conclusions about its relationships to the Rallinae would have to be re-evaluated. Actually, Tele- crex bears very little resemblance to rails, and the distinctive proximal flat- tening of the shaft (but not of the head, contra Cracraft) is a feature peculiar to certain of the Galliformes. Further, my comparisons show Telecrex to be closest to the guineafowls (Numididae), a family hitherto known only from Africa and Europe. DISCUSSION The type specimen of Telecrex grangeri (AMNH 2942) is a right femur, lacking the distal end and part of the trochanter (Fig. 1). Its measurements are: proximal width 11.6 mm, depth of head 4.2, width of shaft at midpoint 4.6, depth of shaft at midpoint 4.1, overall length (as preserved ) 46.1. Telecrex differs from all rails -
Tinamiformes – Falconiformes
LIST OF THE 2,008 BIRD SPECIES (WITH SCIENTIFIC AND ENGLISH NAMES) KNOWN FROM THE A.O.U. CHECK-LIST AREA. Notes: "(A)" = accidental/casualin A.O.U. area; "(H)" -- recordedin A.O.U. area only from Hawaii; "(I)" = introducedinto A.O.U. area; "(N)" = has not bred in A.O.U. area but occursregularly as nonbreedingvisitor; "?" precedingname = extinct. TINAMIFORMES TINAMIDAE Tinamus major Great Tinamou. Nothocercusbonapartei Highland Tinamou. Crypturellus soui Little Tinamou. Crypturelluscinnamomeus Thicket Tinamou. Crypturellusboucardi Slaty-breastedTinamou. Crypturellus kerriae Choco Tinamou. GAVIIFORMES GAVIIDAE Gavia stellata Red-throated Loon. Gavia arctica Arctic Loon. Gavia pacifica Pacific Loon. Gavia immer Common Loon. Gavia adamsii Yellow-billed Loon. PODICIPEDIFORMES PODICIPEDIDAE Tachybaptusdominicus Least Grebe. Podilymbuspodiceps Pied-billed Grebe. ?Podilymbusgigas Atitlan Grebe. Podicepsauritus Horned Grebe. Podicepsgrisegena Red-neckedGrebe. Podicepsnigricollis Eared Grebe. Aechmophorusoccidentalis Western Grebe. Aechmophorusclarkii Clark's Grebe. PROCELLARIIFORMES DIOMEDEIDAE Thalassarchechlororhynchos Yellow-nosed Albatross. (A) Thalassarchecauta Shy Albatross.(A) Thalassarchemelanophris Black-browed Albatross. (A) Phoebetriapalpebrata Light-mantled Albatross. (A) Diomedea exulans WanderingAlbatross. (A) Phoebastriaimmutabilis Laysan Albatross. Phoebastrianigripes Black-lootedAlbatross. Phoebastriaalbatrus Short-tailedAlbatross. (N) PROCELLARIIDAE Fulmarus glacialis Northern Fulmar. Pterodroma neglecta KermadecPetrel. (A) Pterodroma -
South Africa Rallid Quest 15Th to 23Rd February 2019 (9 Days)
South Africa Rallid Quest 15th to 23rd February 2019 (9 days) Buff-spotted Flufftail by Adam Riley RBT Rallid Quest Itinerary 2 Never before in birding history has a trip been offered as unique and exotic as this Rallid Quest through Southern Africa. This exhilarating birding adventure targets every possible rallid and flufftail in the Southern African region! Included in this spectacular list of Crakes, Rails, Quails and Flufftails are near-mythical species such as Striped Crake, White-winged, Streaky-breasted, Chestnut-headed and Striped Flufftails and Blue Quail, along with a supporting cast of Buff-spotted and Red-chested Flufftails, African, Baillon’s, Spotted and Corn Crakes, African Rail, Allen’s Gallinule, Lesser Moorhen and Black-rumped Buttonquail. As if these once-in-a-lifetime target rallids and rail-like species aren’t enough, we’ll also be on the lookout for a number of the region’s endemics and specialties, especially those species restricted to the miombo woodland, mushitu forest and dambos of Zimbabwe and Zambia such as Chaplin’s and Anchieta’s Barbet, Black-cheeked Lovebird, Bar-winged Weaver, Bocage’s Akalat, Ross’s Turaco and Locust Finch to mention just a few. THE TOUR AT A GLANCE… THE MAIN TOUR ITINERARY Day 1 Arrival in Johannesburg and drive to Dullstroom Day 2 Dullstroom area Day 3 Dullstroom to Pietermaritzburg via Wakkerstroom Day 4 Pietermaritzburg and surrounds Day 5 Pietermaritzburg to Ntsikeni, Drakensberg Foothills Day 6 Ntsikeni, Drakensberg Foothills Day 7 Ntsikeni, Drakensberg Foothills to Johannesburg Day 8 Johannesburg to Zaagkuilsdrift via Marievale and Zonderwater Day 9 Zaagkuilsdrift to Johannesburg and departure RBT Rallid Quest Itinerary 3 TOUR ROUTE MAP… RBT Rallid Quest Itinerary 4 THE TOUR IN DETAIL… Day 1: Arrival in Johannesburg and drive to Dullstroom. -
Houde2009chap64.Pdf
Cranes, rails, and allies (Gruiformes) Peter Houde of these features are subject to allometric scaling. Cranes Department of Biology, New Mexico State University, Box 30001 are exceptional migrators. While most rails are generally MSC 3AF, Las Cruces, NM 88003-8001, USA ([email protected]) more sedentary, they are nevertheless good dispersers. Many have secondarily evolved P ightlessness aJ er col- onizing remote oceanic islands. Other members of the Abstract Grues are nonmigratory. 7 ey include the A nfoots and The cranes, rails, and allies (Order Gruiformes) form a mor- sungrebe (Heliornithidae), with three species in as many phologically eclectic group of bird families typifi ed by poor genera that are distributed pantropically and disjunctly. species diversity and disjunct distributions. Molecular data Finfoots are foot-propelled swimmers of rivers and lakes. indicate that Gruiformes is not a natural group, but that it 7 eir toes, like those of coots, are lobate rather than pal- includes a evolutionary clade of six “core gruiform” fam- mate. Adzebills (Aptornithidae) include two recently ilies (Suborder Grues) and a separate pair of closely related extinct species of P ightless, turkey-sized, rail-like birds families (Suborder Eurypygae). The basal split of Grues into from New Zealand. Other extant Grues resemble small rail-like and crane-like lineages (Ralloidea and Gruoidea, cranes or are morphologically intermediate between respectively) occurred sometime near the Mesozoic– cranes and rails, and are exclusively neotropical. 7 ey Cenozoic boundary (66 million years ago, Ma), possibly on include three species in one genus of forest-dwelling the southern continents. Interfamilial diversifi cation within trumpeters (Psophiidae) and the monotypic Limpkin each of the ralloids, gruoids, and Eurypygae occurred within (Aramidae) of both forested and open wetlands. -
Conservation Strategy and Action Plan for the Great Bustard (Otis Tarda) in Morocco 2016–2025
Conservation Strategy and Action Plan for the Great Bustard (Otis tarda) in Morocco 2016–2025 IUCN Bustard Specialist Group About IUCN IUCN, International Union for Conservation of Nature, helps the world find pragmatic solutions to our most pressing environment and development challenges. IUCN’s work focuses on valuing and conserving nature, ensuring effective and equitable governance of its use, and deploying nature- based solutions to global challenges in climate, food and development. IUCN supports scientific research, manages field projects all over the world, and brings governments, NGOs, the UN and companies together to develop policy, laws and best practice. IUCN is the world’s oldest and largest global environmental organization, with more than 1,200 government and NGO Members and almost 11,000 volunteer experts in some 160 countries. IUCN’s work is supported by over 1,000 staff in 45 offices and hundreds of partners in public, NGO and private sectors around the world. www.iucn.org About the IUCN Centre for Mediterranean Cooperation The IUCN Centre for Mediterranean Cooperation was opened in October 2001 with the core support of the Spanish Ministry of Environment, the regional Government of Junta de Andalucía and the Spanish Agency for International Cooperation and Development (AECID). The mission of IUCN-Med is to influence, encourage and assist Mediterranean societies to conserve and sustainably use natural resources in the region, working with IUCN members and cooperating with all those sharing the same objectives of IUCN. www.iucn.org/mediterranean About the IUCN Species Survival Commission The Species Survival Commission (SSC) is the largest of IUCN’s six volunteer commissions with a global membership of 9,000 experts. -
A Classification of the Rallidae
A CLASSIFICATION OF THE RALLIDAE STARRY L. OLSON HE family Rallidae, containing over 150 living or recently extinct species T and having one of the widest distributions of any family of terrestrial vertebrates, has, in proportion to its size and interest, received less study than perhaps any other major group of birds. The only two attempts at a classifi- cation of all of the recent rallid genera are those of Sharpe (1894) and Peters (1934). Although each of these lists has some merit, neither is satisfactory in reflecting relationships between the genera and both often separate closely related groups. In the past, no attempt has been made to identify the more primitive members of the Rallidae or to illuminate evolutionary trends in the family. Lists almost invariably begin with the genus Rdus which is actually one of the most specialized genera of the family and does not represent an ancestral or primitive stock. One of the difficulties of rallid taxonomy arises from the relative homo- geneity of the family, rails for the most part being rather generalized birds with few groups having morphological modifications that clearly define them. As a consequence, particularly well-marked genera have been elevated to subfamily rank on the basis of characters that in more diverse families would not be considered as significant. Another weakness of former classifications of the family arose from what Mayr (194933) referred to as the “instability of the morphology of rails.” This “instability of morphology,” while seeming to belie what I have just said about homogeneity, refers only to the characteristics associated with flightlessness-a condition that appears with great regularity in island rails and which has evolved many times. -
Revised Recovery Plan for the Sihek Or Guam Micronesian Kingfisher (Halcyon Cinnamomina Cinnamomina)
DISCLAIMER Recovery plans delineate actions which the best available science indicates are required to recover and protect listed species. Plans are published by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and sometimes prepared with the assistance of recovery teams, contractors, State agencies, and others. Recovery teams serve as independent advisors to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Recovery plans are reviewed by the public and submitted to additional peer review before they are approved and adopted by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Objectives will be attained and any necessary funds made available subject to budgetary and other constraints affecting the parties involved, as well as the need to address other priorities. Nothing in this plan should be construed as a commitment or requirement that any Federal agency obligate or pay funds in contravention of the Anti-Deficiency Act, 31 USC 1341, or any other law or regulation. Recovery plans do not necessarily represent the views nor the official positions or approval of any individuals or agencies involved in the plan formulation, other than the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Recovery plans represent the official position of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service only after they have been signed as approved by the Regional Director or Director. Approved recovery plans are subject to modification as dictated by new findings, changes in species status, and the completion of recovery actions. Please check for updates or revisions at the website addresses provided below before using this plan. Literature citation of this document should read as follows: U.S. -
The Challenges Surrounding Reintroduction Biology
The Challenges Surrounding Reintroduction Biology BY KATIE MORELL 22 www.aza.org | January 2016 January 2016 | www.aza.org 23 Listed as extinct in the wild by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), the bird has yet to be reintroduced to its native land, so a satellite home for the species has been created on the neighboring Pacific island of Rota— the place where Newland felt his faith in reintroduction falter, if just for a minute. “On my first trip to Rota, I remember stepping off the plane and seeing a rail dead on the ground at the airport,” he said. “Someone had run over it with their car.” The process of reintroducing a species into the wild can be tricky at best. There are hundreds of factors that go into the decision—environmental, political and © Sedgwick County Zoo, Yang Zhao Yang Zoo, © Sedgwick County sociological. When it works, the results are exhilarating for the public and environmentalists. That is what happened in the 1980s when biologists were alerted to the plight of the California condor, pushed to near extinction by a pesticide called DDT. By 1982, there were only 23 condors left; five years later, a robust breeding and reintroduction program was initiated to save the species. The program worked, condors were released, DDT was outlawed and, according to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS), as of 2008 there were t was a few years ago when Scott more condors flying in the wild than in Newland felt his heart drop to managed care. his feet. -
ACSR – Aluminum Conductor Steel Reinforced
ACSR – Aluminum Conductor Steel Reinforced APPLICATION: STANDARDS: ACSR – Aluminum Conductor Steel Reinforced is used as bare • B-230 Aluminum wire, 1350-H19 for Electrical Purposes overhead transmission cable and as primary and secondary • B-232 Aluminum Conductors, Concentric-Lay-Stranded, distribution cable. ACSR offers optimal strength for line design. Coated Steel Reinforced (ACSR) BARE ALUMINUM Variable steel core stranding for desired strength to be achieved • B-341 Aluminum-Coated Steel Core Wire for Aluminum without sacrificing ampacity. Conductors, Steel Reinforced (ACSR/AZ) • B-498 Zinc-Coated Steel Core Wire for Aluminum CONDUCTORS: Conductors, Steel Reinforced (ACSR) • B-500 Metallic Coated Stranded Steel Core for Aluminum • Aluminum alloy 1350-H119 wires, concentrically stranded Conductors, Steel Reinforced (ACSR) around a steel core available with Class A, B or C galvanizing; • RUS Accepted aluminum coated (AZ); or aluminum-clad steel core (AL). Additional corrosion protection is available through the application of grease to the core or infusion of the complete cable with grease. Also available with Non Specular surface finish. Resistance** Diameter(inch) Weight (lbs/kft) Content % Size Rated (Ohms/kft) Ampacity* Code (AWG Stranding Breaking Individual Wire Comp. (amps) Word or (AL/STL) Strength DC @ AC @ kcmil) Steel Cable AL STL Total AL STL (lbs.) AL STL 20ºC 75ºC Core OD Turkey 6 6/1 0.0661 0.0661 0.0664 0.198 24.5 11.6 36 67.90 32.10 1,190 0.6410 0.806 105 Swan 4 6/1 0.0834 0.0834 0.0834 0.250 39.0 18.4 57 67.90 32.10 -
TRANSACTIONS of the Fifty-Seventh North American Wildlife and Natural Resources Conference
TRANSACTIONS of the Fifty-seventh North American Wildlife and Natural Resources Conference Conference theme— Crossroads of Conservation: 500 Years After Columbus Marc/, 27-Apr;V 7. 7992 Radisson Plaza Hotel Charlotte and Charlotte Convention Center Charlotte, North Carolina Edited by Richard E. McCabe i w Published by the Wildlife Management Institute, Washington, DC, 1992 Johnson, M. L. and M, S. Gaines. 1988. Demography of the western harvest mouse, Reithrodon- Managing Genetic Diversity in Captive Breeding tomys megalotis, in eastern Kansas. Oecologia 75:405-411. Kareiva, P. and M, Anderson. 1988. Spatial aspects of .species interactions'. The wedding of models and Reproduction Programs and experiments. In A. Hasting, ed., Community Ecology. Springer-Verlag. New York, NY. Lande, R. 1988. Genetics and demography in biological conservation. Science 241; 1,455-1,460. Levins, R. A. 1980. Extinction. Am. Mathematical Soc. 2:77-107... Katherine Rails and Jonathan D. Ballon Lovejoy, T. B. 1985. Forest fragmentation in the Amazon: A case study. Pages 243-252 in H. Department of Zoological Research Messel, ed., The Study of Populations. Pergamon Press, Sydney, Australia. National Zoological Park Lovejoy, T. E., J. M. Rankin, R. O. Bierregaard, K. S. Brown, L. H. Emmons, and M. E. Van Smithsonian Institution der Voort. 1984. Ecosystem decay of Amazon Forest fragments. Pages 295-325 in M. H. Washington, D.C. Nitecki, ed., Extinctions. Univ. Chicago Press. Chicago, IL. Lovejoy, T. E., R. O. Bierregaard, Jr., A. B. Rylands, J. R. Malcolm, C. E. Quintela, L. H. Harper, K. S. Brown, Jr., A. H. Powell, G. V. N. Powell, H. 0, R. -
Notes on the Birds Peculiar to Laysan Island, Hawaiian Group
3S4 V'lS,•ER,Birds of La),san Island. FL AukOct. NOTES ON THE BIRDS PECULIAR TO LAYSAN ISLAND, HAWAIIAN GROUP. 1 BY WALTER K. FISHER. •ølates x_,r_,r-x WE DOnot naturally associateland birds with tiny coral atolls in tropicalseas. It is thereforea strangefact that sucha diminu- tive island as Laysan, and one so remote from continentalshores, should harbor no less than five peculiar species: the Laysan Finch (]klespiza cantans) and Honey-eater (I-Iima•ione freethi), both • drepanidid' birds, the Miller Bird (.4crocefihalusfamiliaris), the LaysanRail (?orzanulapalmeri),and lastly the LaysanTeal (•tnas laysanensis).I usethe term ' land birds' loosely,in con- tradistinctionto sea-fowl,multitudes of which breed here through- out the year. The presenceof these speciesis all the more remarkablebecause none appear on neighboringislands, more or less distant, someof which are very similar to Laysan in structure and flora. Reachingout towardJapan from the main Hawaiian group is a long chainof volcanicrocks, atolls,sand-bars• and sunkenreefs, all insignificantin size and widely separated. The last islet is fully two thousandmiles from Honolulu and about half-way to Yokohama. Beginningat the east,the more importantmembers of this chain are: Bird Island and Necker (tall volcanicrocks), French Frigate Shoals, Gardner Rock, Laysan, Lisiansky, Mid- way, Cure, and Motell. Laysanis eighthundred miles northwest- by-westfrom Honolulu,and is perhapsbest knownas beingthe home of countless albatrosses. We sightedthe island early one morning in May, lying low on the horizon,with a great cloud of sea-birdshovering over it. On all sides the air was lively with terns, albatrosses,and boobies, •These notes were made during a visit of the Fish Commissionsteamer ' Albatross' to Laysan, May 17 to 23, 19o2, and are abridged from a more extendedreport on the avifauna of the i•land• to appearin the Bulletin of the U.S.