| life history and host specificity of mediorhynchus centurorum nickol 1969 (acanthocephala: gigantorhynchidae). | examination of 1905 arthropods from a swamp and surrounding pasture in sothern louisiana revealed larval specimens of mediorhynchus centurorum in 8 of 228 woodroaches, parcoblatta pensylvanica, but in no other species. the life cycle was confirmed by feeding eggs of m. centurorum to laboratory-reared woodroaches. cystacanths later recovered from the woodroaches developed into mature worms when pipetted into esophaguses of red-bellied woodpeckers, centurus carolinius: red-headed woodpeckers, mela ... | 1977 | 845719 |
| cavity excavation and enlargement as mechanisms for indirect interactions in an avian community. | direct and indirect species interactions within ecological communities may play a strong role in influencing or maintaining community structure. complex community interactions pose a major challenge to predicting ecosystem responses to environmental change because predictive frameworks require identification of mechanisms by which community interactions arise. cavity-nesting communities are well suited for mechanistic studies of species interactions because cavity nesters interact through the cr ... | 2008 | 18409439 |
| mites of the subfamily harpirhynchinae (acariformes: harpirhynchidae) from north american birds. | three new harpirhynchid species of the subfamily harpirhynchinae (acariformes: harpirhynchidae) are described from north american birds: harpyrhynchoides aegolius sp. n. from aegolius acadicus (strigiformes: strigidae), harpyrhynchoides accipiter sp. n. from accipiter striatus (accipitriformes: accipitridae), and neharpyrhynchus icterus sp. n. from icterus galbula (passeriformes: icteridae). three species are recorded from new hosts from north america for the first time: harpyrhynchoides trachea ... | 2013 | 23802444 |
| a review of the mite subfamily harpirhynchinae (acariformes: harpirhynchidae)--parasites of new world birds (aves: neognathae). | mites of the subfamily harpirhynchinae (acariformes: cheyletoidea: harpirhynchidae) associated with neognathous birds (aves: neognathae) in the new world are revised. in all, 68 species in 8 genera are recorded. among them, 27 new species and 1 new genus are described as new for science: harpyrhynchoides gallowayi bochkov, oconnor and klompen sp. nov. from columba livia (columbiformes: columbidae) from canada (manitoba), h. zenaida bochkov, oconnor and klompen sp. nov. from zenaida macroura (col ... | 2015 | 26624161 |
| new harpirhynchinae dubinin (acariformes: harpirhynchidae)--intracutaneous and feather-base parasites of birds. | seven new species of intracutaneous parasites of the subfamily harpirhynchinae dubinin (acariformes: cheyletoidea: harpirhynchidae) are described: anharpyrhynchus elizae sp. nov. from cyanocitta cristata (type host), cyanocitta stelleri (passeriformes: corvidae), and colaptes auratus (piciformes: picidae) from the usa; anharpyrhynchus apodus sp. nov. from lichmera indistincta (type host) and phylidonyris novaehollandiae (passeriformes: meliphagidae) from australia; anharpyrhynchus lukoschusi sp. ... | 2014 | 25283209 |
| temporal dynamics of a commensal network of cavity-nesting vertebrates: increased diversity during an insect outbreak. | network analysis offers insight into the structure and function of ecological communities, but little is known about how empirical networks change over time during perturbations. "nest webs" are commensal networks that link secondary cavity-nesting vertebrates (e.g., bluebirds, ducks, and squirrels, which depend on tree cavities for nesting) with the excavators (e.g., woodpeckers) that produce cavities. in central british columbia, canada, northern flicker (colaptes auratus) is considered a keys ... | 2015 | 26230029 |
| males migrate farther than females in a differential migrant: an examination of the fasting endurance hypothesis. | patterns of migration including connectivity between breeding and non-breeding populations and intraspecific variation in the distance travelled are important to study because they can affect individual fitness and population dynamics. using data from 182 band recoveries across north america and 17 light-level geolocators, we examined the migration patterns of the northern flicker (colaptes auratus), a migratory woodpecker. this species is unusual among birds because males invest more in parenta ... | 2014 | 26064574 |
| plumage pigment differences underlying the yellow-red differentiation in the northern flicker (colaptes auratus). | elucidating the processes that create species differences is a central goal of evolutionary biology. the northern flicker (colaptes auratus) exists as two well-differentiated subspecies groups in north america, the yellow-shafted (auratus group) and red-shafted flickers (cafer group), which differ strikingly in the color of the underside and rachises of flight feathers, and of malar and nuchal patches. we investigated the physiological basis of these conspicuous phenotypic differences by identif ... | 2015 | 25575737 |
| habitat-mediated variation in the importance of ecosystem engineers for secondary cavity nesters in a nest web. | through physical state changes in biotic or abiotic materials, ecosystem engineers modulate resource availability to other organisms and are major drivers of evolutionary and ecological dynamics. understanding whether and how ecosystem engineers are interchangeable for resource users in different habitats is a largely neglected topic in ecosystem engineering research that can improve our understanding of the structure of communities. we addressed this issue in a cavity-nest web (1999-2011). in a ... | 2014 | 24587211 |
| determinants of parental care and offspring survival during the post-fledging period: males care more in a species with partially reversed sex roles. | sexual conflict is magnified during the post-fledging period of birds when the sexes face different trade-offs between continuing parental care or investing in self maintenance or other mating opportunities. species with reversed sex roles provide a unique opportunity to study the relationship between mating systems and investment in parental care. here, we provide the first detailed study of the length of care by males versus females (n = 24 pairs) during the post-fledging period, assessing fac ... | 2014 | 24496554 |
| survival analysis of a critical resource for cavity-nesting communities: patterns of tree cavity longevity. | tree cavities are a vital multi-annual resource used by cavity-nesting birds and mammals for nesting and shelter. the abundance of this resource will be influenced by the rates at which cavities are created and destroyed. we applied the demographic concepts of survival and longevity to populations of tree holes to investigate rates of loss for cavities in three tree species, as well as how characteristics of nest trees, habitat type, and species of excavator affected the persistence of tree cavi ... | 2012 | 23092011 |
| negotiation of parental care when the stakes are high: experimental handicapping of one partner during incubation leads to short-term generosity. | 1. most game theoretical models of biparental care predict that a reduction in care by one partner should not be fully compensated by increased work of its mate but this may not be true for incubating birds because a reduction in care could cause the entire brood to fail. 2. i performed the first handicapping experiment of both males and females during incubation, by placing small lead weights on the tails of male and female northern flickers colaptes auratus, a woodpecker in which males do most ... | 2010 | 19744253 |
| isolation and characterization of polymorphic microsatellite loci for the northern flicker (colaptes auratus; aves). | to investigate the mating system of northern flickers (colaptes auratus), we developed primers for 14 microsatellite loci and screened them in 68 unrelated adults and their offspring. all markers were highly polymorphic with 9 to +36 alleles per locus. one marker was z-chromosome linked; one marker exceeded the size standard range and could not be analysed further. we checked the other 12 markers for mendelian inheritance in 36 broods for which the social parents were known. seven markers showed ... | 2009 | 21564764 |
| detecting population declines over large areas with presence-absence, time-to-encounter, and count survey methods. | ecologists often discount presence-absence surveys as a poor way to gain insight into population dynamics, in part because these surveys are not amenable to many standard statistical tests. still, presence-absence surveys are sometimes the only feasible alternative for monitoring large areas when funds are limited, especially for sparse or difficult-to-detect species. i undertook a detailed simulation study to compare the power of presence-absence, count, and time-to-encounter surveys to detect ... | 2006 | 16909580 |
| nest site attributes and temporal patterns of northern flicker nest loss: effects of predation and competition. | to date, most studies of nest site selection have failed to take into account more than one source of nest loss (or have combined all sources in one analysis) when examining nest site characteristics, leaving us with an incomplete understanding of the potential trade-offs that individuals may face when selecting a nest site. our objectives were to determine whether northern flickers (colaptes auratus) may experience a trade-off in nest site selection in response to mammalian nest predation and n ... | 2006 | 16323016 |
| redescription of picidectes chapini and synonymy of picidectes and toucanectes (acari: hypoderatidae) from piciform birds. | a redescription of picidectes chapini (spurlock & emlen) fain is presented with particular attention to the underscribed details of idiosomal and leg chaetotaxy, solenidiotaxy, and size variation in the range of measured characters of the species. this is the second record of p. chapini from the northern flicker colaptes auratus (l.) in north america. aside from the mediolateral constriction just posterior to epimera iv, the morphology, chaetotaxy, and solenidiotaxy of p. chapini are very simila ... | 1995 | 7650711 |
| residues in common flicker and mountain bluebird eggs one year after a ddt application. | common flicker (colaptes auratus) and mountain bluebird (sialia currucoides) eggs were examined 1 year after ddt application and showed a marked difference. residue levels in mountain bluebird eggs were approximately 10 times higher than in common flicker eggs (5.29 to 0.58 ppm wet weight). these differences can be explained by disparate dietary habits. the mean level in american kestrel (falco sparverius) eggs collected in the spray area at the same time was 6.42 ppm wet weight. | 1977 | 890148 |
| resource quantity and quality determine the inter-specific associations between ecosystem engineers and resource users in a cavity-nest web. | while ecosystem engineering is a widespread structural force of ecological communities, the mechanisms underlying the inter-specific associations between ecosystem engineers and resource users are poorly understood. a proper knowledge of these mechanisms is, however, essential to understand how communities are structured. previous studies suggest that increasing the quantity of resources provided by ecosystem engineers enhances populations of resource users. in a long-term study (1995-2011), we ... | 2013 | 24040324 |
| mitochondrial dna based phylogeny of the woodpecker genera colaptes and piculus, and implications for the history of woodpecker diversification in south america. | the woodpecker genus colaptes (flickers) has its highest diversity in south america and the closely related genus piculus is restricted to south and central america. two species of flickers occur in north america, and one species is endemic to cuba. we conducted a bayesian phylogenetic analysis of three mitochondrial encoded genes (cyt b, coi, 12s rrna) and confirmed that the two genera are paraphyletic. three species historically classified as piculus are actually flickers. we found that the cu ... | 2011 | 20863898 |
| random mating in the northern flicker hybrid zone: implications for the evolution of bright and contrasting plumage patterns in birds. | the red-shafted and yellow-shafted flickers hybridize in a narrow zone on the western great plains of north america. the two subspecies are markedly different in six plumage traits. plumage phenotypes were scored for the male and female of 125 mated pairs from the hybrid zone. correlation analyses revealed no tendency towards pairing of similar phenotypes. a binomial test was performed to determine whether flickers that have parental phenotypes and are presumably immigrants rather than hybrids t ... | 1987 | 28563808 |
| stability of the northern flicker hybrid zone in historical times: implications for adaptive speciation theory. | the hybrid zone between the red- and yellow-shafted flickers has been stable on the united states great plains in historical times. this conclusion is based on multivariate comparisons of historical and contemporary collections from 18 locales. adaptive speciation theory predicts that the hybrid zone should either become broader or narrower as a result of introgressive hybridization or reinforcement of premating isolating mechanisms. neither of these predictions was borne out. despite 10,000-13, ... | 1985 | 28563641 |
| disruptions of feather carotenoid pigmentation in a subset of hybrid northern flickers (colaptes auratus) may be linked to genetic incompatibilities. | hybridization can bring in single individuals alleles that were never designed to work together, which can result in unexpected or transgressive phenotypes. the yellow-shafted (auratus group) and red-shafted (cafer group) subspecies groups of the northern flicker (colaptes auratus) differ conspicuously in the coloration of their flight feathers, but hybridize freely where their ranges overlap in western north america. the difference in color is largely the result of the red-shafted form harborin ... | 2021 | 33010421 |
| age-related improvements in fecundity are driven by the male in a bird with partially reversed sex roles in parental care. | age-related improvement in reproductive performance is widespread in vertebrates and constraints at young ages are a common cause. the sex that invests energetically more in reproduction, typically the female, is predicted to show stronger age-related performance but the effect of the male's age on reproduction has often been ignored. i studied age-related reproduction of both sexes in northern flickers, in which males invest more parental care than females, predicting that the effect of age wou ... | 2018 | 30368615 |