Publications

helminth parasites of the black skimmer, rynchops nigra, from lake okeechobee, florida.		1972	5057231
mechanics of gliding in birds with special reference to the influence of the ground effect.	a model of the mechanics of gliding without loss of altitude (horizontal gliding) is developed. the model can be employed to assess the influence of the principal drag components (induced, profile and parasite drag), choice of initial and final glide velocities and height above the ground on glide distance. for birds gliding near to the ground the ground effect acts to decrease the induced drag and increase the lift to drag ratio of the wings. minimum drag speed is reduced for birds gliding near ...	1983	6643536
organochlorine concentrations, whole body weights, and lipid content of black skimmers wintering in mexico and in south texas, 1983.		1985	3986390
effects of mercury, selenium, and organochlorine contaminants on reproduction of forster's terns and black skimmers nesting in a contaminated texas bay.	mean mercury (0.40 micrograms/g), and geometric mean dde (1.6 micrograms/g) and polychlorinated biphenyl (pcb) (2.3 micrograms/g) concentrations in forster's tern (sterna forsteri) eggs from lavaca bay were higher than those in tern eggs from a reference area in san antonio bay, but residues were not correlated with hatching success. nest success was similar between bays. selenium levels in lavaca bay tern eggs (0.71 micrograms/g) were also comparable to those in eggs from the reference area (0. ...	1991	1899991
heavy metal and selenium concentrations in black skimmers (rynchops niger): gender differences.	most studies of heavy metals and selenium have not examined or have failed to find differences in concentrations in the tissues of birds as a function of size or sex. heavy metal and selenium concentrations were analyzed in breast feathers of adult black skimmers rynchops niger, a species with marked sexual size dimorphism in which males average 35% heavier than females. females had significantly higher concentrations of lead and cadmium than males, but there were no gender differences in mercur ...	1992	1444586
eggshell thickness in marine birds in the new york bight--1970s to 1990s.	maintaining eggshell thickness is critical for birds, as thin eggshells result in breakage during incubation, with subsequent hatching failure. beginning in the 1960s, eggshell thickness has been used as a biomarker of exposure to chlorinated hydrocarbon pesticides, as a measure of avian population health, and as a predictor of potential reproductive failures. in this study, eggs were collected from four coastal bird species nesting in the new york bight (cedar beach, ny to barnegat bay, nj) in ...	1995	7661628
aggression and nest spacing in single and mixed species groups of seabirds.	when heterospecific seabirds are part of a nesting colony, there may be less opportunity for conspecifics to come in direct contact with each other, resulting in lower intraspecific aggressiveness. to determine if individuals spend less time in aggressive behavior when nesting in conspecific rather than heterospecific groups, we compared the behavior of black skimmers (rhynchops niger) nesting with gull-billed terns (sterna nilotica) in three mixed species subcolonies to those of black skimmers ...	1997	28307500
risk, mercury levels, and birds: relating adverse laboratory effects to field biomonitoring.	there is an abundance of field data on levels of mercury in a variety of organisms and there are a number of studies that demonstrate the adverse effects of mercury on laboratory animals, but few studies examine the relationship between the two. thus it is often difficult to determine the ecological relevance of mercury concentrations found in nature, or to predict the ecosystem consequences of current levels. in this paper we review the levels in tissues that are associated with adverse effects ...	1997	9417847
food chain differences affect heavy metals in bird eggs in barnegat bay, new jersey.	there is an abundance of field data on levels of mercury in a wide variety of birds and on a suite of heavy metals in single species of birds, but few studies examine a suite of metals in a suite of birds that represent different trophic levels. thus it is often difficult to determine whether food chain differences exist and have ecological relevance for the birds. in this paper i examine the levels of seven metals in the eggs of five species of marine birds that nest in barnegat bay, new jersey ...	2002	12359188
waterbirds (other than laridae) nesting in the middle section of laguna cuyutlán, colima, méxico.	laguna de cuyutlán, in the state of colima, mexico, is the only large coastal wetland in a span of roughly 1150 km. despite this, the study of its birds has been largely neglected. between 2003 and 2006 we assessed the waterbirds nesting in the middle portion of laguna cuyutlán, a large tropical coastal lagoon, through field visits. we documented the nesting of 15 species of non-laridae waterbirds: neotropic cormorant (phalacrocorax brasilianus), tricolored egret (egretta tricolor), snowy egret ...	2008	18624252
evolution of ultraviolet vision in shorebirds (charadriiformes).	diurnal birds belong to one of two classes of colour vision. these are distinguished by the maximum absorbance wavelengths of the sws1 visual pigment sensitive to violet (vs) and ultraviolet (uvs). shifts between the classes have been rare events during avian evolution. gulls (laridae) are the only shorebirds (charadriiformes) previously reported to have the uvs type of opsin, but too few species have been sampled to infer that gulls are unique among shorebirds or that laridae is monomorphic for ...	2010	20015861
endocranial anatomy of the charadriiformes: sensory system variation and the evolution of wing-propelled diving.	just as skeletal characteristics provide clues regarding behavior of extinct vertebrates, phylogenetically-informed evaluation of endocranial morphology facilitates comparisons among extinct taxa and extant taxa with known behavioral characteristics. previous research has established that endocranial morphology varies across aves; however, variation of those systems among closely related species remains largely unexplored. the charadriiformes (shorebirds and allies) are an ecologically diverse c ...	2012	23209585
prevalence and diversity of avian malaria parasites in migratory black skimmers (rynchops niger, laridae, charadriiformes) from the brazilian amazon basin.	the medium solimões river region in the brazilian amazon basin is an area utilized for reproduction and nesting by a variety of species of migratory aquatic birds such as black skimmers (rynchops niger). these migratory birds form mixed-species reproductive colonies with high population densities and exhibit a large range of migration routes. this study aimed to describe the prevalence and diversity of the avian malaria parasites plasmodium and haemoproteus in black skimmers, on the basis of the ...	2015	26193823
identifying bioaccumulative halogenated organic compounds using a nontargeted analytical approach: seabirds as sentinels.	persistent organic pollutants (pops) are typically monitored via targeted mass spectrometry, which potentially identifies only a fraction of the contaminants actually present in environmental samples. with new anthropogenic compounds continuously introduced to the environment, novel and proactive approaches that provide a comprehensive alternative to targeted methods are needed in order to more completely characterize the diversity of known and unknown compounds likely to cause adverse effects. ...	2015	26020245
birds of two oceans? trans-andean and divergent migration of black skimmers (rynchops niger cinerascens) from the peruvian amazon.	seasonal flooding compels some birds that breed in aquatic habitats in amazonia to undertake annual migrations, yet we know little about how the complex landscape of the amazon region is used seasonally by these species. the possibility of trans-andes migration for amazonian breeding birds has largely been discounted given the high geographic barrier posed by the andean cordillera and the desert habitat along much of the pacific coast. here we demonstrate a trans-andes route for black skimmers ( ...	2016	26760301
stakeholder contributions to assessment, monitoring, and conservation of threatened species: black skimmer and red knot as case studies.	stakeholder contributions to conservation projects often occur during the problem formulation stage, yet the role of stakeholders throughout the process is seldom considered. we examine the diversity of state and federal agencies, conservation organizations, other non-governmental organizations, environmental justice communities, consultants, industry, and the general public in the conservation of red knot (calidris canutus rufa) and black skimmer (rynchops niger) in new jersey. we suggest that ...	2017	28097613
managing birds of conservation concern on sandy shores: how much room for future conservation actions is there?	resource limitations often prevent the active management required to maintain habitat quality in protected areas. because restrictions in access or allowable public activities are the sole conservation measure in these locations, an important question to consider is whether species of conservation concern truly benefit from parcels that are shielded from human disturbance. here, we assess the conservation benefit of protecting birds from human recreation on over 204 km of sandy beaches by (a) es ...	2018	30519421
hematological indices of injury to lightly oiled birds from the deepwater horizon oil spill.	avian mortality events are common following large-scale oil spills. however, the sublethal effects of oil on birds exposed to light external oiling are not clearly understood. we found that american oystercatchers (area of potential impact n = 42, reference n = 21), black skimmers (area of potential impact n = 121, reference n = 88), brown pelicans (area of potential impact n = 91, reference n = 48), and great egrets (area of potential impact n = 57, reference n = 47) captured between 20 june 20 ...	2018	29024020
optimizing conservation benefits for threatened beach fauna following severe natural disturbances.	wildlife on sandy beaches is often constrained by transformation of natural areas for human use, and opportunities for acquiring or restoring new habitat are rare. storms can often force changes in land use naturally by re-shaping coastal landforms, thereby creating high quality habitat; yet, wildlife requirements are seldom considered in post-storm recovery planning, and conservation practitioners lack suitable evidence to argue for the protection of habitats freshly formed by storms. here we u ...	2019	30176477
ultraviolet-assisted oiling assessment improves detection of oiled birds experiencing clinical signs of hemolytic anemia after exposure to the deepwater horizon oil spill.	while large-scale oil spills can cause acute mortality events in birds, there is increasing evidence that sublethal oil exposure can trigger physiological changes that have implications for individual performance and survival. therefore, improved methods for identifying small amounts of oil on birds are needed. because ultraviolet (uv) light can be used to identify thin crude oil films in water and on substrate that are not visually apparent under normal lighting conditions, we hypothesized that ...	2020	32785887