Wisconsin Osprey Nesting

According to the 2016 Wisconsin Bald Eagle and Osprey Survey Report, record number of occupied osprey nests were observed in the state during 2016.

Osprey nests were found in record numbers: 558 occupied osprey nests were observed in Wisconsin, up from 542 in 2014.

At present, 75 percent of Wisconsin osprey nests are built on artificial platforms erected on utility poles, cell phone towers, and other tall structures.

Osprey populations in Wisconsin declined dramatically from the 1950s to early 1970s.

The osprey is one of North America's most recognizable birds of prey. Adults feed almost exclusively on fish. Their shrill call is a familiar sound to birders, anglers, and outdoor explorers.

source: Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources

Oaxaca Cave Sleeper

Researchers from the U.S. Geological Survey and Louisiana State University have identified a new genus and species of cavefish from Mexico, the Oaxaca cave sleeper (Caecieleotris morrisi).

The species is the first cave-adapted sleeper goby to be found in the Western Hemisphere. The fish, identified from museum specimens, has not been seen alive in more than two decades and lives in a cave system threatened by damming.

The Oaxaca Cave Sleeper occurs in a single cave system beneath Presa Miguel Alemán reservoir, which is formed by a dam on the Tonto River, a tributary of Mexico’s second largest river.

There are only 13 known individuals, all collected at the same time. Thomas L. Morris, a renowned cave diver and cave biologist who works to protect caves and their inhabitants, collected the fish in 1995.

Morris gave the specimens to the Florida Museum of Natural History where Stephen Walsh, now a researcher with the USGS, recognized the distinctiveness of the new species while in the process of conducting taxonomic research and digitizing the museum’s fish collection.

Walsh and colleague Prosanta Chakrabarty of Louisiana State University compared the specimens to other sleepers, and determined that they represent a new genus and species.

The researchers gave the Oaxaca Cave Sleeper the scientific name Caecieleotris morrisi to honor Morris for his discovery and his dedication to conservation.

Discovery of the new species afforded an opportunity for the USGS to partner with the natural history museum community in designating a scientific name for this unique cavefish.

The paper, A new genus and species of blind sleeper (Teleostei: Eleotridae) from Oaxaca, Mexico: first obligate cave gobiiform in the western hemisphere, was recently published in the journal Copeia, a widely-cited journal that publishes original research on fishes, amphibians and reptiles.

source: U.S. Geological Survey

Connecticut Urban Waterfowl

Researchers found high numbers of mallards and other puddle ducks in urban sanctuaries during Connecticut’s annual Midwinter Waterfowl Survey. The presence of wild waterfowl in urban areas is often associated with supplemental feeding activities, according to the Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (DEEP).

“The Department discourages citizens from feeding waterfowl for a number of reasons, including increased risk of disease transmission, potential for poor nutrition, and a clouding of the real issue facing waterfowl and wildlife in general in Connecticut – loss of suitable habitat,” said Rick Jacobson, Director for the DEEP Wildlife Division.

DEEP conducted the annual Midwinter Waterfowl Survey on January 8 and 9, 2014. The survey is conducted throughout the Atlantic Flyway, and is used as an index of long-term wintering waterfowl trends.

The Connecticut survey is conducted from a helicopter and a census is obtained from the coast, the three major river systems, and selected inland lakes and reservoirs.

A brochure entitled, “Do Not Feed Waterfowl” outlines potential hazards of feeding waterfowl. The document is available on the DEEP website at: http://www.ct.gov/deep/lib/deep/wildlife/pdf_files/game/NoFeedWF.pdf.

source: Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection

USGS Stream Denitrification Study

Recent U.S. Geological Survey research has found that natural biochemical processes in water moving back and forth between a stream and its underlying sediment were significant in removing nitrate from streams in the Illinois River basin, one of the world’s most intensively farmed regions.

The USGS study in a nitrogen-polluted stream found that the flow of streamwater through a very thin zone of sediment enhances chemical reactions that decrease nitrate delivery to coastal areas where nitrogen fuels formation of hypoxic "dead zones." 

Beneath all streams and rivers is a shallow layer of sediment that is permeated by water exchange across the sediment surface. This boundary between the world of earth and water in streams is referred to by scientists as the "hyporheic" zone, from Greek words meaning "under the flow." The hyporheic zone can be thought of as the stream's "skin," since it serves vital functions such as the removal of dissolved and particulate contaminants being transported by the stream.

Previous research has established under laboratory conditions that hyporheic flow should be critical to sparking reactions that improve stream water quality, but field studies have generally been unable to reveal the contribution of hyporheic flow to decreasing the flow of contaminants to sensitive downstream waters.

This field study determined that a very thin skin, a mere four centimeters (1.6 in.) of sediment, was effective in removing nitrate from streams of the Illinois River basin during late summer. The crucial investigative approach was labeling in-stream nitrate with an isotopic tracer that could be followed at very fine scales in the sediment and simultaneously tracked for kilometers downstream.

The study scientists found that hyporheic flow increased nitrate removal by renewing the supply of dissolved organic carbon and nitrate to specialized bacteria in the sediment that performed denitrification, a reaction that converts dissolved nitrate to gaseous nitrogen and so removes nitrate permanently from flowing water.

The top four centimeters of sediment had the greatest abundance of denitrifying bacteria, in addition to the highest levels of hyporheic flow. Sediment properties in this thin layer were also conducive to the formation of oxygen-free micro zones that are required for the reaction to take place.

The study was published in the October 2013 edition of Water Resources Research. The findings were presented December 11 at the fall meeting of the American Geophysical Union.

source: U.S. Geological Survey

USFWS Report - 2013 Trends in Duck Breeding Populations

Although many species of North American ducks declined in numbers from 2012, populations are in good condition, according to a recent U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) study.

The preliminary estimate of total duck populations provided in the 2013 Trends in Duck Breeding Populations report was 45.6 million birds.

The report provides estimated survey data from north-central United States, south-central and northern Canada, and Alaska. The total duck estimate excludes scoters, eiders, long-tailed ducks, mergansers and wood ducks.

Report Highlights:

mallard estimated abundance is 10.4 million birds

Blue-winged teal estimated abundance is 7.7 million

Green-winged teal estimated abundance is 3.1 million

Northern pintail estimated abundance is 3.3 million

Estimated abundance of American wigeon is 2.6 million

Combined lesser and greater scaup estimated abundance is 4.2 million

Canvasback estimated abundance is 787,000

The surveys are conducted by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and Canadian Wildlife Services’ Waterfowl Breeding Population and Habitat Survey, sampling more than 2 million square miles of waterfowl habitat across Alaska, the north-central and northeastern United States and south-central, eastern and northern Canada. Information is not included from surveys conducted by state or provincial agencies.

The annual survey guides the Service’s waterfowl conservation programs under authority of the 1918 Migratory Bird Treaty Act. The Service works in partnership with state biologists from the four flyways – the Atlantic, Mississippi, Central and Pacific – to establish regulatory frameworks for waterfowl hunting season lengths, dates and bag limits.

For more information about the surveyed areas, the survey methodology and the estimates, the Trends Report in Duck Breeding Populations, 1955-2013 report can be downloaded from the Service's Web site at www.fws.gov/migratorybirds.

source: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service

USA Wildlife-related Recreation

Wildlife-related outdoor recreation increased dramatically from 2006 to 2011, according to a recent study released by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

The data is contained in the the final report of the 2011 National Survey of Fishing, Hunting, and Wildlife-Associated Recreation. Included in the report are details about the types of activities and money spent for fishing, hunting, and wildlife watching.

More than 90 million U.S. residents 16 years old and older participated in some form of wildlife-related recreation in 2011 ( up 3 percent from 2006).

In 2011, wildlife recreationists spent $144.7 billion on their activities; $49.5 billion was trip-related, $70.4 billion was spent on equipment, and $24.8 billion was spent on items such as licenses and land leasing and ownership.

In 2011, 33.1 million people fished, 13.7 million hunted, and 71.8 million participated in at least one type of wildlife-watching activity such as observing, feeding and photographing wildlife.

71.8 million U.S. residents observed, fed, and/or photographed birds and other wildlife in 2011. Roughly 68.6 million people wildlife watched around their homes.

U.S. enthusiasts traveled extensively to observe wildlife in 2011. 22.5 million people took trips of at least one mile from home to primarily wildlife watch.

13.7 million people enjoyed watching land mammals; 4 million people watched marine mammals; 6.4 million enjoyed watching fish; and 10.1 million enjoyed watching other wildlife such as butterflies.

People spent $54.9 billion on their wildlife-watching trips, equipment, and other items in 2011.

source: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service

USGS Red Knot - Horseshoe Crab Research

According to a U.S. Geological Survey study, ecological links exist between
red knots and horseshoe crab populations

Population health of the red knot, a shorebird species whose population has plummeted over the last 15 years, has been directly tied to the number of egg-laying horseshoe crabs in Delaware Bay during the red knot’s northward migration each spring.

The research appears to support the hypothesis that managing horseshoe crab populations and their harvest may help conserve red knots. Horseshoe crabs are harvested for bait. They are also used in the pharmaceutical industry, which collects their blood for its clotting properties.

The study, which looked at data from more than 16,000 birds over a 12-year period, revealed that the chance of a red knot gaining significant weight after arriving at Delaware Bay is directly related to the estimated number of female horseshoe crabs that spawned during the shorebird stopover period each spring.

Birds that do not gain enough weight tend to have a lower chance of surviving the rest of the year, and in some years the difference between heavy and light bird survival can be large.

The research also found evidence that the annual survival of these birds is not only partly dependent on their body mass when they leave Delaware Bay but is also strongly related to snow conditions when the birds reach their arctic breeding grounds.

The research, Demographic consequences of migratory stopover: linking red knot survival to horseshoe crab spawning abundance, was authored by Conor McGowan (USGS), James Hines (USGS), James Nichols (USGS), James Lyons (U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service) and others.

It was published in this month’s edition of Ecosphere, a new open-access journal of the Ecological Society of America. The article is available online.

source: USGS

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Awards Tribal Wildlife Grants

Three Alaska tribes will receive a total of almost $600,000 in tribal wildlife grants, according to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

Tribal wildlife grants assist federally recognized tribes in carrying out activities that benefit fish and wildlife and their habitats.


Nationwide, tribal grants totaling more than $7 million were awarded to 37 Native American tribes in 16 states, including the 3 tribes in Alaska.

source: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service

Colorado River Basin Water Use Study

An April 2011 report from the National Parks Conservation Association analyzes the impacts of water management in the Colorado River Basin and five national parks that lie along the Colorado River and its tributaries.

According to the report, water management has altered the natural state of the river, including the long-term presence of major dams and non-native species, and changes in water flow in the system.

National parks examined in the study include Grand Canyon National Park, Glen Canyon National Recreation Area, Canyonlands National Park, Dinosaur National Monument, and Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park.

The report cites several factors which affect the rivers in these parks:

• Dams along the Colorado River have fundamentally changed ecological and environmental processes in these parks by  destroying natural habitats in some areas, creating highly unnatural flow regimes, trapping sediments that are critical for building and maintaining aquatic and riparian habitats and altering natural water temperatures that foster native fish communities.
• Reintroducing more natural water flows in the rivers can protect park resources. In addition, any further alterations to the natural flow of the river must not compromise these treasured parks, which receive a total of more than 8.5 visitors annually. . Recent proposals to divert water from the River for municipal and agricultural uses would likely be detrimental to the parks. 
• Climate change scenarios predict the western United States will become drier and warmer, which increases the likelihood that the volume of water in the river annually will decrease and releases from reservoirs like Lake Powell will be reduced.
• Non-native fish have been introduced; causing issues for native species through predatory and competitive behavior and the non-native tamarisk has altered the river channel, further restricting river flows.

The report outlines steps that can be taken to reverse or mitigate some of the challenges facing the river, including:

• Changes to dam operations to reduce impacts on endangered species and other resources, which would have relatively minor effects on hydropower revenues.
• Climate change research to clearly understand and ensure that its effects on the River are taken into account for all future policies and decisions impacting water flow in the river.
• Additional research on costs and benefits of restoring more natural flows so that the value of the parks along the River can be properly assessed.

To view a full copy of the report, please visit: http://www.npca.org/cpr/colorado_river_basin/

source: National Parks Conservation Association

USFWS National Survey of Fishing, Hunting, and Wildlife-Associated Recreation

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has announced that it will soon be conducting the 12th National Survey of Fishing, Hunting, and Wildlife-Associated Recreation.

The survey is conducted every five years, polling American hunters, anglers and other wildlife enthusiasts. The survey provides important statistics about hunting, fishing and wildlife-watching in all 50 states.

The information is collected by the U.S. Census Bureau, primarily through telephone interviews to be conducted April to June and September to October in 2011, and January to March in 2012.

As part of the survey, outdoor stakeholders will be asked about their participation and expenditures in several categories of wildlife-associated recreation. The results will be available in a national report and in 50 individual state reports.

According to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, participation is voluntary and all responses are strictly confidential. Data collected is used for statistical purposes only and no participant can be identified from information contained in the database and follow-up reports.

Sampling is to include 19,000 anglers and hunters and 10,000 wildlife watchers (wildlife photographers, feeders, and observers).

Preliminary survey findings will be available in the spring of 2012. Final reports will be issued beginning in the fall of 2012. The reports, when completed, will be available on the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service website.

source: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service