Northern Prairie Wildlife Research Center
Highlights of Fiscal Year 1997
Scientific Highlights
Publications
Including manuscripts in press, NPWRC produced 77 peer-reviewed publications and 21 non-peer-reviewed publications, theses, and reports in FY 1997 (Appendix II). Center staff authored or coauthored 57 of the peer-reviewed and 16 of the non-peer-reviewed manuscripts; the remaining publications report results of cooperative research funded or otherwise supported by Center programs.
Classification of the 98 publications by primary focus, nature, geographical region, and type of study (Figure 2) reveals a broad-based program with emphasis on community and ecosystem biology of migratory birds and aquatic systems in the Great Plains. Publications dealing with climate change, primarily within the Ozark Plateau, are largely the product of the Center's Ozark Plateau/Central Plains Field Station in Columbia, Missouri.
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| Figure 2. Breakout of FY 97 publications by Northern Prairie staff. |
The FY 97 publication record substantially exceeded the 82 publications reported in the Center's 1996 Highlights Report, which covered a 15 month Performance Year (July 1, 1995-September 30, 1996). The breakout of publications in 1997 (Figure 2) is similar to the 1996 breakout in most respects. However, climate change publications increased from 8% of Center output in 1996 to 15% in 1997, and publications on aquatic biology increased from 21% of output in 1996 to 32% in 1997. Among publications dealing with avian species, those dealing with waterfowl increased from 38% in 1996 to 56% in 1997; this shift was largely at the expense of passerine publications, which declined from 23% of avian publications in 1996 to 8% in 1997.
In addition to published papers, Center staff reported 20 manuscripts in review and 51 in preparation at the close of FY 97 (Appendix III).
Presentations
Center staff disseminated research results or discussed Center programs in 59 presentations at 26 regional, national, and international symposia, conferences, and meetings of scientific societies. Staff also made 20 presentations at 13 workshops, gave nine class lectures or seminars at five universities, and were speakers for 10 civic organizations, elementary school groups, and amateur scientific organizations.
Additionally, one or more Center staff attended and interacted informally with colleagues in 43 scientific/technical meetings, workshops, and symposia during FY 97.
Symposia Involvement
In addition to presentations noted above, Center staff acted as session moderators or session chairs at nine symposia in FY 97. Staff also organized a session on Waterfowl and Wetlands for the Society of Wetland Scientists' Annual Conference, co-convened the First Annual North America Swift Fox Symposium, co-hosted the Virtual Meeting on the North American Reporting Center for Amphibian Malformations on the World Wide Web, organized and led a Workshop on Radio Telemetry and Marking at the First International Duck Symposium, and, with assistance of staff from three other BRD centers, organized and co-hosted the Forum on Wildlife Telemetry at the Annual Meeting of The Wildlife Society. The Forum attracted approximately 50 oral and 50 poster presentations and was attended by over 300 registrants from 44 states and 19 countries.
Participation In Professional Societies And Academia
In FY 97, Center staff held elective national offices in the Society of Wetland Scientists, The Wildlife Society, and the Ecological Society of America, chaired or served on national committees of the Society of Wetland Scientists and The Wildlife Society, and served in editorial capacities for the journals Wetlands, Ecology, Ecological Monographs, Prairie Naturalist, and Urban Ecosystems.
Center staff refereed 68 manuscripts for 26 journals during the year. The greatest number of manuscripts refereed was for Journal of Wildlife Management, followed in descending order by Wetlands, Auk, Urban Ecosytems, and American Midland Naturalist. Staff also reviewed 38 abstracts and manuscripts for proceedings of two symposia.
Six Center staff held nine adjunct professorships at the University of Arkansas-Fayetteville, University of Missouri-Columbia, Humboldt State University, North Dakota State University, University of Minnesota, and South Dakota State University, where they served on 11 graduate student committees. Under less formal agreements, staff also served as committee members or field research supervisors for four graduate students at University of Wisconsin, University of Montana, and Iowa State University. The Center is currently sponsoring one Ph.D. candidate in biology at South Dakota State University and one M.S. candidate in statistics at North Dakota State University under the Student Career Employment Program. Other academic involvement included the class lectures and seminars listed above under Presentations.
Consultations and Technical Assistance
During FY 97, Center staff consulted with or otherwise provided technical assistance of note on 139 occasions. Of these efforts, 43% involved partner agencies within the Department of the Interior. Within Interior, 58% of the consultations were with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, followed by 18% each with the National Park Service and USGS. Other primary users included academia, several state game and fish agencies throughout the Great Plains, U.S. Department of Agriculture, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, and several nongovernmental conservation organizations in the U. S. and Canada. Both the number of consultations and the composition of consultees was very similar to that reported in 1996.
The Center's Waterfowl Nest File, a computerized database containing records on over 100,000 waterfowl nests in the northern Great Plains, from the mid 1960's to present, is a vital component of waterfowl modeling efforts by researchers and management agencies. Over 12,000 nest records, provided by more than 25 cooperators, were added to the database during the fiscal year, and the database was repeatedly accessed to provide technical assistance to cooperators.
Additionally, Center staff responded to approximately 500 requests for information and technical assistance from the public, educators, and other visitors to the Northern Prairie World-Wide-Web home page. This effort represents a 100% increase over information requests filled in the 15-month performance year covered in our 1996 Highlights report, and undoubtedly reflects an increasing role in public assistance and education for web sites such as ours.
Northern Prairie Home Page (http://www.npwrc.usgs.gov)
Initiated in September 1995, the Northern Prairie World-Wide Web home page presents a wide variety of information on the nation's biotic resources, with emphasis on the Great Plains. In FY 97 the staff added 78 new biological resources, updated a number of existing resources, and received an average of 15,000 visits per day, a 200% increase in usage compared to 1996. During the year the home page received special recognition from Bonus Network, Peterson Online, The Virtual Birder, The Supersite for Kids, The Education Index, NetGuide, and Birding at the Mining Company.
Competitive Research Awards and Other Monetary Support
Northern Prairie staff secured a total of $707,000 additional funding from USGS and a variety of nonagency sources to support the Center's mission in FY 97.
- Inventory and monitoring of 24 rare plant species. BRD: $30,000.
- Platte River Ecosystem Initiative. USGS: $218,000.
- Grays Lake wet meadow management study. BRD Quick Response Grant: $25,000.
- Baird's sparrow survey design. BRD: $7,000.
- North American butterflies and moths Web site. BRD/NBII: $17,000.
- Development of a presettlement forest land cover map for guiding landscape scale restoration in Wisconsin. BRD State Partnership Program: $20,000.
- Vegetation dynamics of the riparian corridor, Jacks Fork River, Ozark National Scenic Riverways, Missouri. National Park Service: $30,000.
- Resurvey of Turkey Mountain vegetation plots, Buffalo National River. National Park Service: $15,000.
- An evaluation of restored wetlands. Natural Resources Conservation Service, Wetland Science Institute: $35,000.
- Collect data for hydrogeomorphic wetland models from 240 prairie pothole wetlands in Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota, Minnesota, and Iowa. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers: $47,648.
- Herpetological studies of Buffalo Gap National Grassland, U.S. Forest Service: $14,000.
- Literature review of nongame birds. U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service: $29,413.
- Literature review of nongame birds. U.S. Forest Service: $4,000.
- North American Reporting Center for Amphibian Malformations. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency: $25,000.
- Northern Tallgrass Bird Conservation Area evaluation. U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service: $30,000.
- Prairie dog survey. U.S. Forest Service: $57,500.
- Evaluation of a technique to identify predators at nest sites of grassland passerines. U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service: $3,000.
- Analyses of air and water quality data from Lostwood National Wildlife Refuge. National Park Service and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service: $7,000.
- Maintenance and development of GPP/GPIDN World-Wide Web sites. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency: $92,500.
Studies Active in FY 97
Including those in the planning stage, staff reported 87 studies active in FY 97. Appendix IV provides a short title of each study and indicates its status at year's end. Studies are listed by organizational unit (Section and Team) primarily to identify a contact person to whom questions may readily be addressed; operationally, many of the Center's studies are cooperative efforts among Principal Investigators from two or more sections or teams.
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