Find research datasets worth reusing

Ocotea argyrophylla Ducke from Colombia collected by F. Moreno y C. Carvajal #1271

File Name: TOLI-25217-PER-01-P5-5.jpg CÓDIGO FOTO: TOLI-25217-PER-01-P5-5- Fotografía: SI Nº TOLI: TOLI-25217 PARCELA: PER-01 CÓDIGO: P5-5 Nº COLECTA: 1271 NUEVOS COLECTORES: Esteban Álvarez Dávila COLECTORES: F. Moreno y C. Carvajal Nº MUESTRAS MONTADAS: 1 Homologación: Homologado Nueva fecha del evento : 20/12/2018. Fecha del evento: 01/09/2012. Proyecto : Recursos Botánicos Disponibles en Línea (BRAVO) para la flora Colombiana Hábitat: Bosque húmedo tropical (bh-T) Comentario del evento: Bosque de tierra firme, dosel abierto, de 25-30 m, emergentes de 35 m, estrato medio de 15 m, sotobosque denso con alta regeneración natural, presencia de palmas como Lepidocaryum tenue, Oenocarpus bataua, Geonoma sp., capa de hojarazca de 15 cm, abundante materia orgánica. Pendientes pronunciadas. Poca intervención antrópica. Continente: SA Pais: Colombia Estado/Provincia: Amazonas Municipio: Puerto Santander Localidad: Resguardo indígena Nonuya de Villazul. Elevación minima en metros: 250 Elevación maxima en metros: 400 Latitud: -0.654 Longitud original: -72.072 datum geodésico: WGS 84 Latitud decimal: -0.654 Longitud decimal: -72.072 Identificado por: Diego Suescún Fecha de identificación: 25/01/2019. Nombre cientifico: Ocotea argyrophylla Ducke Reino: Plantae Filo: Magnoliophyta Clase: Equisetopsida Orden: Laurales Familia nueva: Lauraceae Género nuevo: Ocotea especie nueva: argyrophylla Autoría del nombre científico: Ducke : Lauraceae genero herbario: Ocotea especie herbario: argyrophylla Especie de herbario para TNRS: Ocotea argyrophylla Especie corregida herbario y desde TNRS: Ocotea argyrophylla Familia corregida desde TNRS: Lauraceae : 4232

Ocotea argyrophylla Ducke from Colombia collected by F. Moreno y C. Carvajal #2390

File Name: TOLI-25215-PER-01-V4<10-25.jpg CÓDIGO FOTO: TOLI-25215-PER-01-V4<10-25- Fotografía: SI Nº TOLI: TOLI-25215 PARCELA: PER-01 CÓDIGO: V4<10-25 Nº COLECTA: 2390 NUEVOS COLECTORES: Esteban Álvarez Dávila COLECTORES: F. Moreno y C. Carvajal Nº MUESTRAS MONTADAS: 1 Homologación: No homologado Nueva fecha del evento : 20/12/2018. Fecha del evento: 01/09/2012. Proyecto : Recursos Botánicos Disponibles en Línea (BRAVO) para la flora Colombiana Hábitat: Bosque húmedo tropical (bh-T) Comentario del evento: Bosque de tierra firme, dosel abierto, de 25-30 m, emergentes de 35 m, estrato medio de 15 m, sotobosque denso con alta regeneración natural, presencia de palmas como Lepidocaryum tenue, Oenocarpus bataua, Geonoma sp., capa de hojarazca de 15 cm, abundante materia orgánica. Pendientes pronunciadas. Poca intervención antrópica. Continente: SA Pais: Colombia Estado/Provincia: Amazonas Municipio: Puerto Santander Localidad: Resguardo indígena Nonuya de Villazul. Elevación minima en metros: 250 Elevación maxima en metros: 400 Latitud: -0.654 Longitud original: -72.072 datum geodésico: WGS 84 Latitud decimal: -0.654 Longitud decimal: -72.072 Nombre cientifico: Ocotea argyrophylla Ducke Reino: Plantae Filo: Magnoliophyta Clase: Equisetopsida Orden: Laurales Familia nueva: Lauraceae Género nuevo: Ocotea especie nueva: argyrophylla Autoría del nombre científico: Ducke : Lauraceae genero herbario: Ocotea especie herbario: argyrophylla Especie de herbario para TNRS: Ocotea argyrophylla Especie corregida herbario y desde TNRS: Ocotea argyrophylla Familia corregida desde TNRS: Lauraceae : 4230

opencc-by-4.0Oct 2018View details →

Vatairea cf. erythrocarpa (Ducke) Ducke. from Colombia collected by W. López #1992

File Name: TOLI-24938-CAU-01-A9-99.jpg CÓDIGO FOTO: TOLI-24938-CAU-01-A9-99- Fotografía: SI Nº TOLI: TOLI-24938 PARCELA: CAU-01 CÓDIGO: A9-99 Nº COLECTA: 1992 NUEVOS COLECTORES: Wilmar López Oviedo COLECTORES: W. López Nº MUESTRAS MONTADAS: 1 Homologación: Homologado Nueva fecha del evento : 15/12/2018. Fecha del evento: 30/10/2018. Proyecto : Recursos Botánicos Disponibles en Línea (BRAVO) para la flora Colombiana Hábitat: Bosque muy húmedo tropical (bmh-T) Continente: SA Pais: Colombia Estado/Provincia: Chocó Municipio: Acandí Localidad: Capurganá. A-Bosque Elevación minima en metros: 200 Elevación maxima en metros: 400 Latitud: 8.627 Longitud original: -77.366 datum geodésico: WGS 84 Latitud decimal: 8.627 Longitud decimal: -77.366 Identificado por: William Ariza Fecha de identificación: 25/01/2019. Familia antigua: NN Especie antigua: NN Nombre cientifico: Vatairea cf. erythrocarpa (Ducke) Ducke. Reino: Plantae Filo: Magnoliophyta Clase: Equisetopsida Orden: Fabales Familia nueva: Fabaceae Género nuevo: Vatairea especie nueva: erythrocarpa Autoría del nombre científico: (Ducke) Ducke. genero herbario: Vatairea especie herbario: erythrocarpa Especie de herbario para TNRS: Vatairea erythrocarpa Especie corregida herbario y desde TNRS: Vatairea erythrocarpa Familia corregida desde TNRS: Fabaceae : 3971

Scleronema praecox (Ducke) Ducke. from Colombia collected by F. Moreno y C. Carvajal #3392

File Name: TOLI-24710-PER-01-T4-15.jpg CÓDIGO FOTO: TOLI-24710-PER-01-T4-15- Fotografía: SI Nº TOLI: TOLI-24710 PARCELA: PER-01 CÓDIGO: T4-15 Nº COLECTA: 3392 NUEVOS COLECTORES: Esteban Álvarez Dávila COLECTORES: F. Moreno y C. Carvajal Nº MUESTRAS MONTADAS: 1 Homologación: Homologado Nueva fecha del evento : 20/12/2018. Fecha del evento: 01/09/2012. Proyecto : Recursos Botánicos Disponibles en Línea (BRAVO) para la flora Colombiana Hábitat: Bosque húmedo tropical (bh-T) Comentario del evento: Bosque de tierra firme, dosel abierto, de 25-30 m, emergentes de 35 m, estrato medio de 15 m, sotobosque denso con alta regeneración natural, presencia de palmas como Lepidocaryum tenue, Oenocarpus bataua, Geonoma sp., capa de hojarazca de 15 cm, abundante materia orgánica. Pendientes pronunciadas. Poca intervención antrópica. Continente: SA Pais: Colombia Estado/Provincia: Amazonas Municipio: Puerto Santander Localidad: Resguardo indígena Nonuya de Villazul. Elevación minima en metros: 250 Elevación maxima en metros: 400 Latitud: -0.654 Longitud original: -72.072 datum geodésico: WGS 84 Latitud decimal: -0.654 Longitud decimal: -72.072 Identificado por: James Richardson Fecha de identificación: 23/01/2019. Familia antigua: Malvaceae Especie antigua: NN Nombre cientifico: Scleronema praecox (Ducke) Ducke. Reino: Plantae Filo: Magnoliophyta Clase: Equisetopsida Orden: Malvales Familia nueva: Malvaceae Género nuevo: Scleronema especie nueva: praecox Autoría del nombre científico: (Ducke) Ducke : Malvaceae genero herbario: Scleronema especie herbario: praecox Especie de herbario para TNRS: Scleronema praecox Especie corregida herbario y desde TNRS: Scleronema praecox Familia corregida desde TNRS: Malvaceae : 3761

Zygia racemosa (Ducke) Barneby & J.W. Grimes from Colombia collected by F. Moreno y C. Carvajal #3544

File Name: TOLI-24726-PER-01-G4-2.jpg CÓDIGO FOTO: TOLI-24726-PER-01-G4-2- Fotografía: SI Nº TOLI: TOLI-24726 PARCELA: PER-01 CÓDIGO: G4-2 Nº COLECTA: 3544 NUEVOS COLECTORES: Esteban Álvarez Dávila COLECTORES: F. Moreno y C. Carvajal Nº MUESTRAS MONTADAS: 1 Homologación: Homologado Nueva fecha del evento : 20/12/2018. Fecha del evento: 01/09/2012. Proyecto : Recursos Botánicos Disponibles en Línea (BRAVO) para la flora Colombiana Hábitat: Bosque húmedo tropical (bh-T) Comentario del evento: Bosque de tierra firme, dosel abierto, de 25-30 m, emergentes de 35 m, estrato medio de 15 m, sotobosque denso con alta regeneración natural, presencia de palmas como Lepidocaryum tenue, Oenocarpus bataua, Geonoma sp., capa de hojarazca de 15 cm, abundante materia orgánica. Pendientes pronunciadas. Poca intervención antrópica. Continente: SA Pais: Colombia Estado/Provincia: Amazonas Municipio: Puerto Santander Localidad: Resguardo indígena Nonuya de Villazul. Elevación minima en metros: 250 Elevación maxima en metros: 400 Latitud: -0.654 Longitud original: -72.072 datum geodésico: WGS 84 Latitud decimal: -0.654 Longitud decimal: -72.072 Identificado por: Wilson Rodríguez Fecha de identificación: 25/01/2019. Familia antigua: Fabaceae Especie antigua: NN Nombre cientifico: Zygia racemosa (Ducke) Barneby & J.W. Grimes Reino: Plantae Filo: Magnoliophyta Clase: Equisetopsida Orden: Fabales Familia nueva: Fabaceae Género nuevo: Zygia especie nueva: racemosa Autoría del nombre científico: (Ducke) Barneby & J.W. Grimes : Fabaceae genero herbario: Zygia especie herbario: racemosa Especie de herbario para TNRS: Zygia racemosa Especie corregida herbario y desde TNRS: Zygia racemosa Familia corregida desde TNRS: Fabaceae : 3777

opencc-by-4.0Aug 2020View details →

Data: Assessing year-round habitat use by migratory sea ducks in a multi-species context reveals seasonal variation in habitat selection and partitioning

This data file consists of state-space model-derived locations and individual data used to analyze transmitter effects for sea ducks in Eastern North America and is associated with the manuscript "Assessing year-round habitat use by migratory sea ducks in a multi-species context reveals seasonal variation in habitat selection and partitioning" published in Ecography. Columns are organized as follows: id - unique identifier species - species from which the centroid was obtained (BLSC = black scoter, COEI = common eider, LTDU = long-tailed duck, SUSC = surf scoter, WWSC = white-winged scoter) date - date of location (mm/dd/yy) jday - Julian date of location year - calendar year of location lon - longitude of location lat - latitude of location b - average assignment of location to either migrant (1) or resident (2) across all runs of the state-space model b.5 - most probable behavioral category based on average state assignment (1 = b ≤ 1.5 ; 2 = b > 1.5) sex - sex of individual (M = male, F = female) age - age of individual (HY = hatch year, SY = second year, TY = third year, ASY = after second year, ATY = after third year, AHY = after hatch year capture_reg - general area where individual was captured capture_subreg - specific region within capture region where individual was captured stage - period of the annual cycle to which the centroid belongs (W = winter, B = breeding, S = spring staging, M = fall staging and molt, WM = winter migration, BM = breeding migration, MM = molt migration, SM = spring migration) site - position of centroid within season (i.e., W1 = first site occupied during winter, W2 = second site occupied, etc.) cycle - number of annual cycles following transmitter attachment (1 = first cycle after attachment, 2 = second cycle after attachment, etc.) season - season of annual cycle in which centroid occurred (W = winter, F = fall, B = breeding, S = spring)

opencc-zeroJan 2020View details →

Assessing changes in genomic divergence following a century of human mediated secondary contact among wild and captive-bred ducks

Along with manipulating habitat, the direct release of domesticated individuals into the wild is a practice used world-wide to augment wildlife populations. We test between possible outcomes of human-mediated secondary contact using genomic techniques at both historical and contemporary time scales for two iconic duck species. First, we sequence several thousand ddRAD-seq loci for contemporary mallards (Anas platyrhynchos) throughout North America, and two domestic mallard-types (i.e., known game-farm mallards and feral Khaki Campbell's). We show that North American mallards may well be becoming a hybrid swarm due to interbreeding with domesticated game-farm mallards released for hunting. Next, to attain a historical perspective, we applied a bait-capture array targeting thousands of loci in century-old (1842-1915) and contemporary (2009-2010) mallard and American black duck (A. rubripes) specimens. We conclude that American black ducks and mallards have always been closely related, with a divergence time of ~600,000 years before present, and likely evolved through prolonged isolation followed by limited bouts of gene flow (i.e., secondary contact). They continue to maintain genetic separation, a finding that overturns decades of prior research and speculation suggesting the genetic extinction of the American black duck due to contemporary interbreeding with mallards. Thus, despite having high rates of hybridization, actual gene flow is limited between mallards and American black ducks. Conversely, our historical and contemporary data confirm that the intensive stocking of game-farm mallards during the last ~100 years has fundamentally changed the genetic integrity of North America's wild mallard population, especially in the east. It thus becomes of great interest to ask whether the iconic North American mallard is declining in the wild due to introgression of maladaptive traits from domesticated forms. Moreover, we hypothesize that differential gene flow from domestic game-farm mallards into the wild mallard population may explain the overall temporal increase in differentiation between wild black ducks and mallards, as well as the uncoupling of genetic diversity and effective population size estimates across time in our results. Finally, our findings highlight how genomic methods can recover complex population histories by capturing DNA preserved in traditional museum specimens.

opencc-zeroNov 2023View details →

Blood and muscle O2 storage capacity in North American diving ducks

Breath-hold diving presents air-breathing vertebrates with the challenge of maintaining aerobic respiration while exercising underwater. Adaptive increases in the oxygen (O2) storage capacity in the lungs, blood, or muscle tissues can enhance these reserves and greatly extend aerobic foraging time underwater. Here, we report blood- and muscle-O2 storage parameters (blood hemoglobin concentration ([Hb]), hematocrit, and myoglobin concentration ([Mb]) in the pectoralis and gastrocnemius) for 16 species of diving and dabbling ducks found in North America, and investigate which parameters are correlated with the diving behaviors reported in both the sea ducks (Mergini) and the pochards (Aythini). Both [Hb] in the blood and [Mb] in the gastrocnemius, a major leg muscle used in propulsion for these predominantly leg-propelled divers, were significantly higher in the sea ducks compared to the dabblers (Anatini). The pochards also showed a significant increase in [Hb] and were intermediate between the sea ducks and the dabblers in hematocrit and [Mb] in the gastrocnemius. Among these four variables and total body mass, [Mb] in the gastrocnemius was the most significant predictor of mean species dive time, and these two variables were correlated across the phylogeny. Our results indicate that the observed changes in O2 storage capacity in the blood and muscles are positively correlated with diving behavior in two clades of ducks, such that larger increases are correlated with longer dive times.

opencc-by-4.0Nov 2023View details →

Data and code from Lamb et al., "Evaluating conservation units using network analysis: a sea duck case study"

This file consists of data and code used to construct network models for scoters in North America and is associated with the manuscript "Evaluating conservation units using network analysis: a sea duck case study" published in Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment.  Continental scoter network mapping is the R script used to run analyses. duck_nodes is the main datafile. Columns are organized as follows:id - unique identifierspecies - species from which the centroid was obtained (BLSC = black scoter, SUSC = surf scoter, WWSC = white-winged scoter)stage - period of the annual cycle to which the centroid belongs (W = winter, B = breeding, S = spring staging, M = fall staging and molt, WM = winter migration, BM = breeding migration, MM = molt migration, SM = spring migration)site - position of centroid within season (i.e., W1 = first site occupied during winter, W2 = second site occupied, etc.)cycle - number of annual cycles following transmitter attachment (1 = first cycle after attachment, 2 = second cycle after attachment, etc.)sex - sex of individual (M = male, F = female)age - age of individual (HY = hatch year, SY = second year, TY = third year, ASY = after second year, ATY = after third year, AHY = after hatch yearcapture_reg - general area where individual was capturedcapture_subreg - specific region within capture region where individual was capturedlon - longitude of centroidlat - latitude of centroidduration - number of days spent at centroidstart - date of arrival at centroidend - date of departure from centroidjstart - Julian date of arrival at centroidjend - Julian date of departure from centroidseason - season of annual cycle in which centroid occurred (W = winter, F = fall, B = breeding, S = spring)year - calendar year in which centroid beganto - node in which centroid is groupedfrom - node in which previous centroid is grouped (i.e., node in which indiviual was located before moving to present node)to_sea - season of annual cycle in which centroid occurredfrom_sea - season of annual cycle in which previous centroid occurredtype - movement type to centroid; the first letter represents the season (coded as in "season" column), and the second represents the nature of the movement (WD = dispersal within a season, M = migration among seasons)type2 - same as "type", but with dispersal movements coded by the stage in which they occur (W = winter, B = breeding, SM = spring migration, WM = winter migration)ew - capture location in eastern (east; Atlantic and Great Lakes) or western (west; Pacific) North Americacount_ind_sp - total number of tracked individuals of the species represented by centroidwt - base centroid weight (all centroids equal, deployments excluded)wt_sp - species-adjusted centroid weight: for centroid x in species s, weightx = (N centroids) × (1 / (n centroids in s))wt_dur - duration-adjusted centroid weight: for centroid x, weightx = (days at centroid location) × 365-1wt_ind -  individual-adjusted centroid weight: for centroid x in individual j, weightx = 1 / (n centroids in j)wt_ind_sp - individual and species adjusted centroid weight: for centroid x, individual j, and species s, weightx = (N centroids / (N species * n individuals in s)) × (1 / (n centroids in j))wt_cap - capture location adjusted centroid weight: for centroid x and capture location c, weightx = (N centroids / N capture locations) / n centroids in cwt_ew - east-west adjusted centroid weight: for for centroid x and region r, weightx = (N centroids / N regions) / n centroids in rwt_spew - species and east-west adjusted centroid weight: for centroid x species s, and region r, weightx = (N centroids / (N species × N regions)) / n centroids for species s in region rwt_indspew - individual, species, and east-west adjusted centroid weight: for centroid x, individual j, species s, and region r, weightx = N centroids / (N species × N regions × n centroids for individual j × n individuals for species s in region r)wt_spewcap - species, east-west, and capture location adjusted centroid weight: for centroid x, species s, capture location c, and region r, weightx = N centroids / (N species × N regions × n centroids for species s in capture location c × n capture locations for species s in region r)

opencc-zeroJan 2022View details →

Above and belowground plant traits of dominant dune grasses from Duck, Outer Banks, USA

We examined above and belowground traits among four prominent dune grasses of the Atlantic and Gulf Coasts of North America: Ammophila breviligulata, Panicum amarum, Spartina patens, and Uniola paniculata. Whole plant samples of each species were collected from the foredune at the US Army Engineer Research and Development Center's Field Research Facility in Duck, North Carolina, USA and quantified for several above and belowground traits (e.g., stem height, rhizome number and length, root surface area by diameter class, root tensile strength, mycorrhizal percent infection).

opencc-by-4.0Feb 2022View details →

Aeolian Saltation Data at Duck, NC - 8 Nov 2021

Aeolian saltation data collected on the north property of the Field Research Facility (FRF) in Duck, NC associated with the passing of a Nor'Easter system. Time series data includes 1Hz measurements from a Sensit H14-LIN sensor, 1 Hz wind measurements from a horizontally mounted ZX TM doppler wind lidar sensor, and tidal measurements made from the end of the FRF pier. These time series data are provided as CSV files individually for each sensor, with headers of the CSV files indicating the variables of interest. Addititionally, a Sequoia LISST-Holo2 sensor was deployed to measure properties of the aeolian saltation layer at 10Hz. Particle grain size information exported from the HoloBatch program is additionally provided, with the raw reconstructed particle height relative to the sensor lens provided. More details regarding these measurements can be found in the following manuscript: Cohn, Dickhudt, and Marshall (2022). In-situ measurement of grain size characteristics within the aeolian saltation layer on a coastal beach. Earth Surface Processes and Landforms

opencc-zeroJul 2022View details →

Stable-isotopes (δ2H, δ13C) within feathers from harvested American black ducks (2017-2020)

Stable isotope data from American Black Duck feathers (n = 665) and associated harvest data. The first primary feather (P1) was collected from wings submitted to the Species Composition Survey in Canada and Parts Collection Survey in the United States. From available feathers, we selected individuals for stable-isotope analysis stratified by black duck conservation region, sex, age, and date of harvest, where possible. These data are those that were selected for stable-hydrogen isotope analysis. See Kusack et al. (in press) - 'Origins of harvested American black ducks: stable isotopes support the flyover hypothesis' for additional information on our use of this data.

opencc-zeroAug 2022View details →

Duck harvest and crippling in Illinois in 2018-19

Crippling loss (waterfowl downed, but not retrieved) is a recognized component of waterfowl harvest, but there are few contemporary estimates. We used a zero-inflated negative binomial model to account for false reporting of zeros and estimated true waterfowl crippling losses from harvest data reported in a 2018–19 survey of waterfowl hunters in Illinois, USA. We found that crippling rates declined rapidly with increasing harvest and moderately with increasing days afield. For the most active hunters (days afield), the probability of falsely reporting zero crippling loss increased with the number of ducks they reported harvesting, whereas for the least active hunters we found the reverse. We suggest that modest improvements in hunter skill could produce significant reductions in crippling loss.

opencc-byDec 2021View details →

Ancestral Hopi Duck Effigy (Replica)

This model represents technology in my work coming full circle. This was my first try at replicating ancient Southwesern ceramics. I made this vessel with clay from the Homol'ovi region, based upon a design published from the excavation of Awat'ovi, in 1988. For giggles, I used reality capture to model the object, and today I went on to print the vessel in PLA. Good fun on a Saturday afternoon. Source: Objaverse 1.0 / Sketchfab

opencc-zeroJun 2024View details →

Data from: Colorado aquatic macroinvertebrate samples and duck counts

Food availability varies considerably over space and time in wetland systems, and consumers must be able to track those changes during nutrient demanding points in the life cycle like breeding. Resource tracking has been studied frequently among herbivores, but receives less attention among consumers of macroinvertebrates. We evaluated the change in resource availability across habitat types and time, and the simultaneous density of waterfowl consumers throughout their breeding season in a high-elevation, flood-irrigated system. We also assessed whether the macroinvertebrate resource density better predicted waterfowl density across habitats, compared to consistency (i.e., temporal evenness) of the invertebrate resource or taxonomic richness. Resource density varied marginally across wetland types but was highest in basin wetlands (i.e., ponds) and peaked early in the breeding season, whereas it remained relatively low and stable in other wetland habitats. Breeding duck density was positively related to resource density, more so than temporal resource stability, for all species. Resource density was negatively related to duckling density, however. These results have the potential to not only elucidate mechanisms of habitat selection among breeding ducks in flood-irrigated landscapes, but also suggest there is not a consequential trade-off to selecting wetland sites based on energy density versus temporal resource stability and that good-quality wetland sites provide both.

opencc-by-4.0Jul 2015View details →

Fig. 15 in Notes on social wasps of the group of Mischocyttarus (Omega) punctatus (Ducke), with description of six new species (Hymenoptera, Vespidae, Polistinae)

Fig. 15. Map with distribution of the studied species of the M. punctatus group.

opencc-zeroMay 2019View details →

Data from: Gradual evolution towards flightlessness in Steamer-Ducks

Flightlessness in birds is the product of changes in suites of characters--including increased body size and reduced anterior limbs--that have evolved repeatedly and independently under similar ecological conditions (generally insularity). It remains unknown whether this phenotypic convergence extends to the genomic level, partially because many losses of flight occurred long ago (such as in penguins or ratites), thus complicating the study of the genetic pathways to flightlessness. Here we use genome sequencing to study the evolution of flightlessness in a group of ducks that are current and dynamic exemplars of this major functional transition. These recently diverged Tachyeres steamer-ducks differ in their ability to fly: one species is predominantly flighted and three are mainly flightless. Through a genome-wide association analysis we identify two narrow candidate genomic regions implicated in the morphological changes that led to flightlessness, and reconstruct the number of times flightnesses has evolved in Tachyeres. The strongest association is with DYRK1A, a gene that when knocked-out in mice leads to alterations in growth and bone morphogenesis. These findings, together with phylogenetic and demographic analyses, imply that the genomic changes leading to flightlessness in Tachyeres may have evolved once, and that this trait remains functionally polymorphic in two species.

opencc-zeroOct 2022View details →

Louisiana mottled duck telemetry summer survival data 2018-2020 and water level data from Hurricane Laura surge

Tropical cyclones are the most powerful storms on earth, causing catastrophic damage to human lives and infrastructure. Hurricanes also cause wildlife mortality when they make landfall, but the severity of these effects is difficult to quantify because data collection is either logistically impossible or deprioritized in the wake of human tragedy. On 27 August 2020, Hurricane Laura made landfall in southwestern Louisiana with maximum sustained winds of 241 kph (150 mph), making it one of the most powerful storms to strike the mainland United States. Hurricane Laura passed directly over the core breeding range of the Western Gulf Coast population of Mottled Duck (Anas fulvigula), during a time when many adult birds were undergoing a simultaneous wing feather molt and were flightless. We used GPS-GSM telemetry data to evaluate survival rates of adult female Mottled Ducks in late summer 2020 (bracketing 27 August by one month on either side) relative to the same period in 2018 and 2019. Mortality was lower in 2018 (12 out of 29; 41%) and 2019 (8 out of 28; 29%) than in 2020 (12 out of 18; 67%), and 7 out of 12 mortalities documented in 2020 occurred when Hurricane Laura made landfall. Survival analyses in Program MARK confirmed lower survival probability in 2020, but there was overlap in 85% confidence intervals in all years. This single storm resulted in the death of ~40% of all marked birds in our sample, suggesting that hurricanes have the potential to influence population demographics. In addition, Hurricane Laura resulted in widespread habitat loss and degradation that has reduced available nesting habitat in 2021, and possibly for years to come. The acute and chronic effects of hurricanes may exacerbate Mottled Duck population declines, which may worsen in the face of increasingly frequent and more severe tropical storms.

opencc-zeroNov 2022View details →

Louisiana black-bellied whistling-duck clutch characteristics in the presence of conspecific and interspecific brood parasitism

Black-bellied Whistling-Ducks (Dendrocygna autumnalis; hereafter Whistling-Duck) are undergoing a rapid range expansion northward and now breed throughout the southeastern United States. As a facultative cavity-nesting species, they have the potential to compete with Wood Ducks (Aix sponsa) and Hooded Mergansers (Lophodytes cucullatus) for nest sites. Little is known about Whistling-Duck breeding biology, and estimates of clutch characteristics and rates of conspecific and interspecific brood parasitism (hereafter, CBP and IBP respectively) are lacking. We monitored Whistling-Duck nests in Louisiana to describe nesting chronology, clutch size of parasitized and unparasitized (hereafter, normal) nests, and hatchability (i.e., the portion of eggs that hatched) for clutches of different sizes and types. We monitored a total of 558 nest boxes 2020–2021 and determined the presence of brood parasitism for 231 Whistling-Duck nests. CBP was detected in 73 (31.6%) nests, and IBP was observed in 51 (22.1%) nests parasitized by Wood Ducks, 2 (0.9%) nests parasitized by Hooded Mergansers, and 1 nest contained eggs from all three species. Normal clutches were smaller (15.4 ± 4.4 eggs) than CBP clutches (26.1 ± 8.8 eggs) and mixed clutches (22.2 ± 5.3 eggs; clutches containing Wood Duck or Hooded Merganser eggs; all pairwise P < 0.0001). However, within-clutch repeatability estimates for egg morphology data (i.e., length, width, and mass) were low (< 0.40) for normal clutches, suggesting CBP went undetected. Of 180 fated nests used to determine hatchability, 66 (36.7%) were successful, 49 (27.2%) were abandoned, 64 (35.6%) were depredated, and 1 (0.6%) was nonviable. Considering successful nests, hatchability was high for all clutch size bins ranging from 67.4% (41-45 eggs) to 81.6% (11-15 eggs). This study is the first to document Whistling-Ducks successfully hatching mixed-species broods, and such high productivity could be contributing to whistling-duck range expansion.