| blood parasites in wood storks (mycteria americana) from the southeastern united states. | wood storks (mycteria americana) are endangered throughout their breeding range in the united states. because of this, researchers have had little opportunity to thoroughly examine the continental wood stork population for endoparasites. the blood protozoan haemoproteus crumenium has been identified from several populations of wood storks in north america. however, there have been no reports of wood storks being infected with species of plasmodium or leucocytozoon. during 2003, 42 nestling wood ... | 2008 | 18576809 |
| ecological risk of methylmercury in everglades national park, florida, usa. | dramatic declines in mercury levels have been reported in everglades biota in recent years. yet, methylmercury (mehg) hot spots remain. this paper summarizes a risk assessment of mehg exposure to three piscivorous wildlife species (bald eagle, haliaeetus leucocephalus; wood stork, mycteria americana; and great egret, ardea albus) foraging at a mehg hot spot in northern everglades national park (enp). available data consisted of literature-derived life history parameters and tissue concentrations ... | 2008 | 18679795 |
| determining habitat quality for species that demonstrate dynamic habitat selection. | determining habitat quality for wildlife populations requires relating a species' habitat to its survival and reproduction. within a season, species occurrence and density can be disconnected from measures of habitat quality when resources are highly seasonal, unpredictable over time, and patchy. here we establish an explicit link among dynamic selection of changing resources, spatio-temporal species distributions, and fitness for predictive abundance and occurrence models that are used for shor ... | 2015 | 27069617 |
| linking dynamic habitat selection with wading bird foraging distributions across resource gradients. | species distribution models (sdm) link species occurrence with a suite of environmental predictors and provide an estimate of habitat quality when the variable set captures the biological requirements of the species. sdms are inherently more complex when they include components of a species' ecology such as conspecific attraction and behavioral flexibility to exploit resources that vary across time and space. wading birds are highly mobile, demonstrate flexible habitat selection, and respond qui ... | 2015 | 26107386 |
| reconstructing genetic mating systems in the absence of parental information in colonially breeding waterbirds. | dna-based studies have demonstrated that avian genetic mating systems vary widely, with many species deviating from long-assumed monogamy by practicing extra-pair paternity and conspecific brood parasitism. colonially breeding waterbirds provide interesting models in which to investigate this question because they show nesting habits proposed to promote alternative reproductive strategies. however, little is known about the genetic mating systems of this group of birds, mainly due to difficultie ... | 2011 | 21740559 |
| genetic status of the wood stork (mycteria americana) from the southeastern united states and the brazilian pantanal as revealed by mitochondrial dna analysis. | the wood stork (mycteria americana) is a colonial wading bird that inhabits the neotropical region from the southeastern united states (us) to northern argentina. the species is considered to be endangered in the us due to degradation of its foraging and breeding habitat. in other parts of its range, such as in the brazilian pantanal region, breeding populations of this species appear to be stable. we compared the levels of genetic variability and population structuring of the us and the pantana ... | 2011 | 21948753 |
| genetic diversity and evidence of recent demographic expansion in waterbird populations from the brazilian pantanal. | the present study determined nuclear and mitochondrial (mtdna) levels of genetic variability and phylogeographic patterns in breeding populations of roseate spoonbill (n=57), wood stork (n=89), and jabiru stork (n=30), sampled in the brazilian pantanal. these species were selected since they are bioindicators of wetlands health and are threatened in other parts of their distribution. as they are in close association with this ecosystem, they are appropriate for studying the effects of pleistocen ... | 2007 | 18278351 |
| a new species of syncuaria gilbert, 1927 (nematoda: acuarioidea: acuariidae) in the wood stork, mycteria americana l. (aves: ciconiiformes: ciconiidae) from the area de conservacion guanacaste, costa rica. | syncuaria mycteriae n. sp. (nematoda: acuarioidea) was collected under the lining of the gizzard of a wood stork, mycteria americana l., from the area de conservacion guanacaste, costa rica. the new species can be distinguished from all known species of syncuaria by having irregular dotted ornamentations on the caudal alae of males, a complex distal end of the left spicule comprising 3 protuberances, and a spicule ratio of 1:9.3. preliminary phylogenetic analysis of 11 syncuaria spp. based on 9 ... | 2003 | 14627152 |
| hypopi (acari: hypoderatidae) of the wood stork (aves: ciconiiformes; ciconiidae). | a new species is described and additional host records are presented for 2 other species of deutonymphs of the family hypoderatidae from the subcutaneous adipose tissues of the wood stork, mycteria americana l. phalacrodectes (phalacrodectes) mycteria n. sp. appears to share affinities with species from both pelicaniform and ciconiiform hosts, but it most closely resembles p. (p.) punctatissimus (cerný) pence & courtney from pelicans in idiosomal chaetotaxy, cuticular sclerotization, and posteri ... | 1995 | 8551516 |
| cross-species amplification of microsatellite markers in mycteria leucocephala pennant 1769: molted feathers as successful dna source. | dna from molted feathers is being increasingly used for genetic studies on birds. however, the dna obtained from such non-invasive sources is often not of enough quantity and quality for isolation of new microsatellite markers. the present study examined the potential of shed feathers of near threatened painted stork as a source of its dna for cross-species amplification of microsatellites. thirty-one shed feathers of varying conditions ('good' and 'deteriorated') and sizes ('large', 'intermedia ... | 2014 | 25345251 |
| precipitation influences on uptake of a global pollutant by a coastal avian species. | climatic variation, including precipitation amounts and timing, has been linked to abundance and breeding success of many avian species. less studied, but also of significance, is the consequence of climatic variability on the exposure and uptake of nutrients and contaminants by wildlife. the authors examined mercury (hg) concentrations in nestling wood stork feathers in a coastal setting over a 16-yr period to understand the influence of rainfall amounts on hg transfer by parental provisioning ... | 2014 | 25242147 |
| blood parasites in nestlings of wood stork populations from three regions of the american continent. | this study documents the prevalences and lineages of hemoparasites in wood stork nestlings from 3 regions of the american continent: southeastern united states (n = 90), northern brazil (n = 74), and central-western brazil (n = 125). identification was based on pcr amplification of a mitochondrial small subunit ribosomal rna gene. a fragment of the hemoparasite cytochrome b gene in infected individuals was utilized for bayesian phylogenetic analysis. four wood stork nestlings were infected by ha ... | 2013 | 23259406 |
| sedentary nestlings of wood stork as monitors of mercury contamination in the gold mining region of the brazilian pantanal. | sedentary organisms that are at top trophic levels allow inference about the level of local mercury contamination. we evaluated mercury contamination in feather tissue of nestling wood storks (mycteria americana), sampled in different parts of the brazilian pantanal that were variably polluted by mercury releases from gold mining activities. levels of mercury in feathers sampled in seven breeding colonies were determined by atomic absorption spectroscopy, and the mean value of mercury concentrat ... | 2011 | 21851934 |
| concentrations of p,p'-dde in plasma of nestling wood storks from georgia. | we determined the concentrations of organochlorine pesticides and total pcbs in plasma of nestling wood storks (mycteria americana) from two colonies in georgia in 2000. of 20 compounds analyzed for, only p,p'-dde was quantified in reportable concentrations, ranging from <2.0-174.0 ng/g wet weight (ww). concentrations of p,p'-dde were significantly greater (p<0.0001) in plasma of nestlings from an inland colony, chew mill (x 16.9 ng/g,ww) than a coastal colony, harris neck (x 1.2 ng/g,ww). conce ... | 2007 | 17462700 |
| potential risk to wood storks (mycteria americana) from mercury in carolina bay fish. | carolina bays are freshwater wetlands that serve as important feeding habitats for the endangered wood stork (mycteria americana). water levels in these bays fluctuate greatly and tend to be acidic and rich in dissolved organic carbon (doc), factors that favor mercury (hg) methylation and bioaccumulation in fish. to assess potential risks to wood storks consuming mercury contaminated fish in bays, we sampled fish from 10 bays on the savannah river site (srs), south carolina, an area with documen ... | 2002 | 12395855 |
| genetic variability and level of differentiation among brazilian pantanal wood stork populations. | the wood stork (mycteria americana) is a colonial wading bird of the tropical and lower subtropical zones. we assessed genetic structure within and among five stork colonies from the brazilian pantanal and compared our data with those from north american populations. samples of 234 individuals were studied using protein electrophoresis to evaluate genetic variability and interpopulation differentiation. of 22 loci examined, 7 were polymorphic (mean heterozygosity = 0.068). the low fst value (0.0 ... | 2002 | 12017510 |
| annual and regional variation in mercury concentrations in wood stork nestlings. | mercury concentrations were measured in blood, down, and feathers from approximately 300 wood stork nestlings in one south carolina, usa, and four georgia, usa, colonies from 1996 to 1999. coastal nestlings generally had lower mercury concentrations than those from inland colonies. inter-year differences were also apparent, particularly for coastal colonies, where nestling mercury concentrations were higher in 1998 than in 1997 or 1999. in 1998, a wet winter followed by a dry spring and summer p ... | 2001 | 11434297 |
| foraging ecology of the endangered wood stork recorded in the stable isotope signature of feathers. | down feathers and regurgitant were collected from nestling wood storks (mycteria americana) from two inland and two coastal breeding colonies in georgia. the stable isotopic ratios of carbon ((13)c/(12)c) and nitrogen ((15)n/(14)n) in these materials were analyzed to gain insights into the natal origins of juvenile storks and the foraging activities of adults. down feathers differed in δ(13)c between inland and coastal colonies, having average isotopic values that reflected the sources of carbon ... | 2000 | 28547228 |
| dietary exposure to mercury in nestling wood storks (mycteria americana) in georgia | the united states breeding population of the wood stork (mycteria americana) was listed as endangered in 1984; the u.s. fish and wildlife service has listed the determination of potential contaminant hazards as a task important to the recovery of the species. storks nest in colonies and adult storks forage over wide areas and return with prey items to feed to nestlings. the most recently consumed prey items are usually regurgitated by nestlings when they are handled. in 1995, over 200 food items ... | 1998 | 9543511 |
| hematozoa in the endangered wood stork from georgia. | thin blood smears of 75 wood storks (mycteria americana) from georgia (usa) were made during the summers of 1994-96 and examined for blood parasites. haemoproteus crumenium was found in one of 71 juveniles and in two adults from a sample of two subadults and two adults. intensity of infection in the juvenile and in each of the two adults was 11, 3, and 2 parasites/5,000 erythrocytes, respectively. this is the first record of h. crumenium in the wood stork from georgia and the second published re ... | 1998 | 9476241 |
| heavy metal and selenium levels in endangered wood storks mycteria americana from nesting colonies in florida and costa rica. | colonially-nesting birds often nest in coastal areas, along rivers, or near other bodies of water that also are potentially polluted from industrial, agricultural or urban development. the levels of heavy metals and selenium were examined in the feathers of young wood storks mycteria americana nesting in northeastern florida and from adult and young storks nesting on the tempisque river on the west coast of costa rica. there were no significant yearly differences among the chicks from costa rica ... | 1993 | 8507097 |
| hypopi (acarina: hypoderidae) from the subcutaneous tissues of the wood ibis, mycteria americana l. | | 1973 | 4719286 |
| the bill-snap reflex: a feeding mechanism in the american wood stork. | | 1963 | 14058622 |
| potential of double-crested cormorants ( phalacrocorax auritus), american white pelicans ( pelecanus erythrorhynchos), and wood storks ( mycteria americana) to transmit a hypervirulent strain of aeromonas hydrophila between channel catfish culture ponds. | aeromonas hydrophila is a gram-negative bacterium ubiquitous to freshwater and brackish aquatic environments that can cause disease in fish, humans, reptiles, and birds. recent severe outbreaks of disease in commercial channel catfish ( ictalurus punctatus) aquaculture ponds have been associated with a hypervirulent aeromonas hydrophila strain (vah) that is genetically distinct from less virulent strains. the epidemiology of this disease has not been determined. given that research has shown tha ... | 2018 | 29671715 |
| analysis of movement recursions to detect reproductive events and estimate their fate in central place foragers. | recursive movement patterns have been used to detect behavioral structure within individual movement trajectories in the context of foraging ecology, home-ranging behavior, and predator avoidance. some animals exhibit movement recursions to locations that are tied to reproductive functions, including nests and dens; while existing literature recognizes that, no method is currently available to explicitly target different types of revisited locations. moreover, the temporal persistence of recursi ... | 2020 | 32518652 |
| parasitaemia data and molecular characterization of haemoproteus catharti from new world vultures (cathartidae) reveals a novel clade of haemosporida. | new world vultures (cathartiformes: cathartidae) are obligate scavengers comprised of seven species in five genera throughout the americas. of these, turkey vultures (cathartes aura) and black vultures (coragyps atratus) are the most widespread and, although ecologically similar, have evolved differences in morphology, physiology, and behaviour. three species of haemosporidians have been reported in new world vultures to date: haemoproteus catharti, leucocytozoon toddi and plasmodium elongatum, ... | 2018 | 29310650 |
| blood parasites infecting the hoatzin (opisthocomus hoazin), a unique neotropical folivorous bird. | the hoatzin (opisthocomus hoazin) is the only extant member of the order opisthocomiformes. this unique south american bird lives in the riparian lowland vegetation characteristic of the amazon and orinoco basins. hoatzins nest in communal social units close to water bodies; they are strictly folivores being the only bird with pregastric fermentation in the crop. because of the complex logistics involved in capturing this bird, there is a knowledge gap on its parasites. this study documents two ... | 2019 | 30740273 |
| urban food subsidies reduce natural food limitations and reproductive costs for a wetland bird. | there is a strong conservation need to understand traits of species that adapt to urban environments, but results have been equivocal. wetland birds exhibit a strong phylogenetic signal towards urban tolerance; however, they have largely been ignored in urban studies. in their historic ranges, wetland birds inhabit dynamic systems, traveling long distances to locate food. this ability to exploit dynamic resources may translate to success in urban environments, areas characterized by novel food o ... | 2020 | 32820182 |
| considerations for monitoring population trends of colonial waterbirds using the effective number of breeders and census estimates. | detecting trends in population size fluctuations is a major focus in ecology, evolution, and conservation biology. populations of colonial waterbirds have been monitored using demographic approaches to determine annual census size (na). we propose the addition of genetic estimates of the effective number of breeders (nb) as indirect measures of the risk of loss of genetic diversity to improve the evaluation of demographics and increase the accuracy of trend estimates in breeding colonies. here, ... | 2018 | 30250686 |
| effects of habitat suitability for vectors, environmental factors and host characteristics on the spatial distribution of the diversity and prevalence of haemosporidians in waterbirds from three brazilian wetlands. | wetlands are ecosystems in which vectors of avian haemosporidians live and reproduce and where waterbirds join to breed in colonies. brazil has wetlands at different latitudes, which enables testing the influence of the ecological factors on the prevalence and diversity of haemosporidians. we identified avian haemosporidians in waterbird species in three wetlands and investigated the effects of vector habitat suitability, landscape and host characteristics on the diversity and prevalence of thes ... | 2018 | 29716645 |
| a preliminary study of cross-amplified microsatellite loci using molted feathers from a near-threatened painted stork (mycteria leucocephala) population of north india as a dna source. | in continuation of an earlier study in which we reported the cross-amplification of wood stork microsatellites on the dna obtained from molted feathers of painted stork (mycteria leucocephala), here we investigated the nature of cross-amplified microsatellites and the effect of non-invasive samples on cross-amplification success. in a limited manner, we also addressed the genetic diversity and differentiation in a north indian population of the painted stork examined over three nesting seasons. | 2017 | 29162162 |