Thomas Maier - Academia.edu (original) (raw)

Papers by Thomas Maier

Sustainability

High-volume hydraulic fracturing (“fracking”) for natural gas in the Marcellus Shale (underlying ... more High-volume hydraulic fracturing (“fracking”) for natural gas in the Marcellus Shale (underlying about 24 mil ha in New York, Pennsylvania, Maryland, West Virginia, Ohio, and Virginia) has become a politically charged issue, primarily because of concerns about drinking water safety and human health. This paper examines fracking in the Marcellus region, and the tradeoffs between the energy and economic potential of natural gas extraction and the environmental impacts on wildlife. Therefore, we introduce a new E3 analysis that combines the costs and benefits as regards energy, economics, and the environment. The Marcellus Shale has the most proven reserves of natural gas of any basin in the United States, at 129 trillion cubic feet. Income from natural gas development comes primarily from direct and indirect jobs, and induced jobs (those created when direct workers spend their earnings in a community), taxes and fees, and royalty and lease payments to rights holders. Fracking, however...

Wildlife Society Bulletin

Habitat fragmentation has raised concerns that populations of generalist predators have increased... more Habitat fragmentation has raised concerns that populations of generalist predators have increased and are affecting a diverse group of prey. Previous research has included the use of artificial nests to investigate the role of predation on birds that nest on or near the ground. Because predation also is a major factor limiting populations of freshwater turtles, we examined the potential of using artificial nests in identifying factors that limit recruitment. We buried eggs of northern bobwhites (Colinus virginianus) to simulate turtle nests and placed remotely triggered cameras at a sample of nests to identify predators. Twenty-two percent of all nests were either depredated or disturbed within 7 days of placement. The proportion of nests depredated decreased with increasing distance from the edge of ponds. Predation was greater on nests within 50 m of pond edges than nests farther from pond edges. Clumped nests were depredated at a greater rate than scattered nests. Remotely trigge...

Journal of Field Ornithology, 2001

House Sparrow (Passm domesticus) eggs are useful in artificial nest experiments because they are ... more House Sparrow (Passm domesticus) eggs are useful in artificial nest experiments because they are approximately the same size and shell thickness as those of many forest passerines. House Sparrow eggs can be readily collected in quantity by providing nest boxes in active livestock barns. We collected over 1200 eggs in three years (320-567 per year) from a colony of about 24 breeding pairs by providing 60 nest boxes. Eggs dry-refrigerated at 8-9°C lost mass after 2 weeks, whereas eggs submerged in sodium silicate solution at 8-9°C remained fresh for 2 months until deployment. Eggs stored in sodium silicate solution should be rinsed with clean water before use. OBTENCION Y m C E N M l E N T O DE HUEVOS DE PASSER DOh4ESTICC'S PARA EXPERIMENTOS DE DEPREDACION Sinopsis.-Los huevos del gorrion Passer domesticus son muy utiles para experimentos de depredacibn de nidos, porque son aproximadamente del mismo tamaiio y su cascarcin del mismo grosor que muchos paserinos de bosques. Los huevos de iste gorrion pueden ser coleccionados en lugares como establos. En tres aiios, coleccionamos 1200 huevos de una colonia de 24 parejas de istas aves, con tan solo proveerlas de 60 cajas de anidamiento. Los huevos que fueron refrigerados a temperaturas de 8-9"C, perdieron masa luego de dos semanas, mientras 10s que fueron sumergidos en una solucion de silicato de sodio a temperatura de 8-9°C se mantuvieron frescos por dos rneses. Los huevos alrnacenados en la solucion de sodio deben ser enjuagados con agua previo a ser utilizados.

Wildlife Society Bulletin, 2004

Although benefits of interdisciplinary studies are numerous, potential exists for data acquisitio... more Although benefits of interdisciplinary studies are numerous, potential exists for data acquisition for some aspects of such studies to impact data acquisition for other aspects. This may be particularly true in studies involving both trapping of small mammals and assessment of bird populations. We summarize the incidence of birds captured during 8 research projects in Massachusetts, Oregon, and Washington that used 5 types of smallmammal traps, and discuss possible impacts of small-mammal trapping on bird surveys and possible mitigation measures. In these studies, 867 birds representing 17 species were captured in 703,138 total trap-nights (TN). The song sparrow (Melospiza melodia), spotted towhee (Pipilo maculatus), Steller's jay (Cyanocitta steller~l, and gray jay (Perisoreus canadensis) accounted for 86% of all bird captures; ground-foraging species accounted for 54% of all bird captures. Relatively high capture rates were. observed in Sherman (H. B. Sherman Traps, Inc., Tallahassee, Flor.) and Tomahawk traps (Tomahawk Live Trap Co., Tomahawk, Wisc.) (4.1 and 9.8 birds/1,000 TN, respectively) in study 1, whereas pitfall 1 and Ugglan (Grahnab, Ekhaga Marieholm, Hillerstorp, Sweden) traps had negligible cap-i tures k0.1 and 0.0 birds/l,OOOTN, respectively) in 4 studies that used them. On 1 1 occa-I sions capture rates in 1 stand on 1 day in study 1 ranged from 50.0-1 00.0 birds/1,000 TN. Despite relatively high capture rates of birds in Tomahawk and Sherman traps in 2 studies, the 6 other studies had limited avian captures in both these and all other trap types used. Variability in avian capture rates within trap types across studies makes it difficult to predict the time of year when and habitats where avian captures could occur. Therefore, researchers should be mindful of potential negative impacts of small-mammal trapping on I avian aspects of research when designing interdisciplinary studies that include both avian and small-mammal components conducted simultaneously at the same sites.

EMU, 2003

We compared the predation rate on natural nests of the Eastern Yellow Robin, Eopsaltria australis... more We compared the predation rate on natural nests of the Eastern Yellow Robin, Eopsaltria australis, with the predation rates on four types of artificial nests in a woodland remnant in southern Victoria. The aims of this study were: to compare the overall rates of predation on artificial and natural nests; to determine whether artificial nests accurately reflect the effects of nest-site characteristics on the predation rate of natural nests; and to examine the effects of using different nest types and egg types for artificial nests. The predation rates on artificial nests were significantly greater than those on natural nests. The predation rate was significantly greater on artificially constructed nests than on real, disused Eastern Yellow Robin nests, but there was no difference in the predation rates on artificial nests containing plasticine or Canary, Serinus canarius, eggs. There were no effects of nest-site characteristics on the predation rates on either artificial or natural nests. These results showed that the method of construction of artificial nests can affect the rate of nest predation, and suggest that artificial nests should be made as realistic as possible in order to gain more accurate information on the predation rates on the natural nests they are meant to represent.

The Condor, 2000

Nest predation studies frequently use eggs such as Japanese Quail (Coturnix japonica) to identify... more Nest predation studies frequently use eggs such as Japanese Quail (Coturnix japonica) to identify potential predators of Neotropical migrants' eggs, but such eggs may be too large or thick-shelled to identify the full complement of potential predators. We compared predation events and predators of Japanese Quail and smaller House Sparrow (Passer domesticus) eggs in paired, camera-monitored ground nests within edges and interiors of 40 mixed-hardwood forest stands in central Massachusetts. House Sparrow eggs were depredated significantly more than Japanese Quail eggs at both forest edges and interiors. Eleven potential predator species disturbed nests, six of which were confirmed as predators. Our use of House Sparrow eggs revealed predation by eastern chipmunks (Tamias striatus) and Black-capped Chickadee (Poecile atricapillus), but not by white-footed mice (Peromyscus leucopus), the most abundant small mammal species in all 40 stands. Neither predator species composition (as detected by camera) nor the frequency of nest predation differed between forest edge and interior. We conclude that the egg type used in artificial nest studies affects both the predation rates and the predator species detected.

Herpetological …, 2002

... Keywords: View and Print this Publication (611 KB). Publication Notes: We recommend that you ... more ... Keywords: View and Print this Publication (611 KB). Publication Notes: We recommend that you also print this page and attach it to the printout of the article, to retain the full citation information. ... A Subterranean Camera Trigger for Identifying Predators Excavating Turtle Nests. ...

The Wilson Bulletin, 1999

After photographtc observations tn the field and laboratory tests indicated that small rodents mi... more After photographtc observations tn the field and laboratory tests indicated that small rodents might be significant predators on small eggs, we conducted a field study in central Massachusetts to compare predation of House Sparrow (Pu~~9c.r domesticus) eggs in artificial nests near to (5-15 m) and far from (100-120 m) forest edges and between ground and shrub nests. As In earlier studies in managed northeastern forest landscapes that used larger quail eggs, predation rates on small eggs in nests at the forest edge did not differ (P > 0.05) from those in the forest interior for either ground nests (edge = 0.80 vs interior = 0.90) or shrub nests (edge = 0.38 vs interior = 0.28) after 12 days of exposure. However, predation rates on eggs in ground nests were significantly higher (P < 0.001) than in shrub nests at both the edge and interior. There were no significant (P > 0.05) differences in the frequency of capture of the 6 most common small matnmal species between forest edge and interior. Logistic regression analyses indicated a highly significant (P < 0.001) nest placement effect but very little location or small mammal effect. Predation of small eggs by small-mouthed ground predators such as white-footed mice (Per-ornyscus leucopus) has not been documented as a major factor in egg predation studies, but use of appropriately-sized eggs and quantification of predator species presence and abundance seems essential to .future studies.

Journal of Field Ornithology, 2000

Photographs that clearly disclose avian-nest predators are difficult to obtain, particularly when... more Photographs that clearly disclose avian-nest predators are difficult to obtain, particularly when predators are small and exhibit subtle depredatory behavior. We exposed House Sparrow (Passer domesticus) eggs injected with Rhodamine B dye in camera-monitored ground nests for 1 2 4 periods at 76 sites within mixed-hardwood forest stands in central Massachusetts, June-July 1997. Dye-injected eggs enabled us to recognize with certainty when eggs were breached at the nest because their contents were fluorescent pink and readily detected photographically. Eleven potential predator species were identified disturbing nests, of which eight were confirmed as predators. Eastern chipmunks (Tamias striatus) were the most frequent predators detected, along with fisher (Martes pennanti), raccoon (Procyon lotor), Blue Jays (Cyanocitta cristata) , Black-capped Chickadees (Poecik atricapillus) , red squirrels (Tamiasciurus hudsonicus), an Eastern Towhee (Pipilo mythrophthalmus), and a whitefooted mouse (Peromyscus leucopus). White-footed mice were the most commonly detected species disturbing nests, but were photographed only once actually destroying an egg. The visual cue provided by dye-injected House Sparrow eggs confirmed depredatory behavior by eastern chipmunks, Black-capped Chickadees, an Eastern Towhee, and a white-footed mouse.

related mating behavior? Agrégation de musaraignes masquées (Sorex cinereus): accouplement rela... more related mating behavior? Agrégation de musaraignes masquées (Sorex cinereus): accouplement relatif a ̀ la densite ́ de la population?

Wildlife Society …, 2004