Category: North America

Review of the Status of American and Caribbean Coots in the United States Virgin Islands

American Coot (Fulica americana) Science Article 8 abstract Breeding (and non-breeding) American (Fulica americana) and Caribbean (F. caribaea) coots are generally rare to uncommon in the United States Virgin Islands where they have a restricted distribution at some brackish and freshwater sites. Their sympatric range includes St. Croix, where coots are most numerous at brackish […]

Carotenoids in the eggs of american coots: associations with size of eggs, local environment, and diet

American Coot (Fulica americana) Science Article 9 abstract I studied carotenoids in the eggs of American coots (Fulica americana) from 3 study sites in Saskatchewan, Canada. I supplemented two diet types designed to reduce carotenoids in the diet of laying coots to investigate the relationship of carotenoids and the size of eggs and to examine […]

Pacific and American Golden-Plovers: reflections on conservation needs

American Golden Plover (Pluvialis dominica) Science Article 3 abstract Much has been learned about the biology of Pacific and American Golden-Plovers (Pluvialis fulva and P. dominica)in recent years. However, most of this information does not address conservation-related questionsaffecting the future of these birds. We lack accurate demographic figures (guesstimates of world populationvary more than 30-fold […]

Time budgets and body temperatures of American Golden-Plover chicks in relation to ambient temperature

American Golden Plover (Pluvialis dominica) Science Article 1 abstract We studied time budgets of precocial chicks of American Golden-Plovers (Pluvialisdominica) on the tundra near Churchill, Manitoba, Canada, to assess how time budgetsare influenced by environmental and body temperatures. Foraging time per day increasedwith increasing ambient temperatures and levels of solar radiation, as well as with […]

Breeding range extensions for the Pacific Golden-Plover andBlack-bellied Plover on the Alaska Peninsula

American Golden Plover (Pluvialis dominica) Science Article 4 abstract To determine whether Pacific Golden-Plovers Pluvialis fulva and Black-bellied Plovers P. squatarola werenesting on the Alaska Peninsula, we conducted field surveys at several sites in 2004. We found both taxa breedingon the peninsula, with fulva in greater abundance. Our findings indicate that fulva nest from at […]

Epizootic Vacuolar Myelinopathy of the Central Nervous System of American Coots (Fulica americana) and Bald Eagles (Haliaeetus leucocephalus)

American Coot (Fulica americana) Science Article 10 abstract Unprecedented mortality occurred in bald eagles (Haliaeetus leucocephalus) at DeGray Lake, Arkansas, during the winters of 1994-1995 and 1996-1997. The first eagles were found dead during November, soon after arrival from fall migration, and deaths continued into January during both episodes. In total, 29 eagles died at […]

Paternity-parasitism trade-offs: a model and test of host-parasite cooperation in an avian conspecific brood parasite

American Coot (Fulica americana) Science Article 11 abstract Efforts to evaluate the evolutionary and ecological dynamics of conspecific brood parasitism in birds and other animals have focused on the fitness costs of parasitism to hosts and fitness benefits to parasites. However, it has been speculated recently that, in species with biparental care, host males might […]

Improving the reliability of molecular sexing of birds using a W-specific marker

American Coot (Fulica americana) Science Article 12 abstract Molecular techniques for identifying sex of birds utilize length differences between CHD-Z and CHD-W introns, but in some cases these methods can lead to sexing errors. Here we show that an additional W-specific primer can be used in conjunction with a pre-existing sexing primer pair to dramatically […]