The ability to accurately identify individuals is required for the detailed study of animals. Numerous artificial markers have been developed for this purpose. Negative effects on survival, reproductive success and behavior have been reported for most marking methods, significantly affecting the very parameters being studied. / Birds of prey have suffered the shortcomings of artificial marking methods. In light of the known and potential deleterious effects of marking, attention has been focused on developing new techniques to identify individual raptors without attaching artificial markers. / This study investigated the use of tarsal scale patterns as unique individual identifiers in birds of prey. The American kestrel (Falco sparverius) was chosen as a model. Both legs of seventy-five kestrels were photographed over a two-year period. / Photographic comparisons of 150 scale patterns demonstrated the uniqueness of each and therefore its ability to be used as an individual's natural identifier. Furthermore, patterns were found to remain unchanged from one year to the next. These findings support the hypotheses that tarsal scale patterns are unique to each bird and do not change over time. / A method of coding the tarsal scale patterns was developed. These codes can be used in a computerized data base to significantly enhance the speed of pattern searches.

The control of introduced mammalian predators in New Zealand forests is crucial for the protection of native species and essential ecosystem services. Possum control in the form of aerial 1080 applications is conducted by TbFree New Zealand to prevent the spread of bovine tuberculosis, and often has the added conservation benefit of temporarily reducing levels of other mammalian predators such as rodents and mustelids. However, native non-target species such as birds and weta can also be at risk of direct and secondary poisoning following 1080 applications, as well as increased predation risk through mesopredator release. To determine whether the benefits of 1080 applications outweigh the risks to non-target native species, both short and long-term monitoring of populations following aerial 1080 applications is needed. For this study, two forest regions in the South Island were selected for pre- and post-treatment monitoring of non-target species following an aerial 1080 application for possum control. Each region contained a treatment site and a paired non-treatment site. Relative indicies of possums, rodents and other mammalian predators were obtained using tracking tunnels and chew cards, indicies of birds were obtained using five-minute bird counts, and indicies of tree weta were obtained using tracking tunnels and artificial shelters. Monitoring was conducted before the aerial 1080 was applied in August 2012, and over the following 2012/13 and 2013/14 summer seasons. The aerial 1080 applications were successful at reducing possums to undetectable levels at both treatment sites for the two seasons following treatment. Mice were significantly reduced at one treatment site relative to the paired non-treatment site immediately following the 1080 operation, but had increased to pre-1080 levels by the second post-treatment monitoring season. Rats were detected at low levels, and showed no response to the treatment. Mustelids were not detected at either region throughout the monitoring period. No native species showed a decline in a treatment site that was not matched in the non-treatment site. Chaffinches significantly declined at both treatment sites relative to non-treatment sites, likely due to an indirect delayed effect such as competition for food resources. Tomtits showed a positive response to the treatment, significantly increasing in both treatment sites over the post-treatment monitoring periods. Tree weta showed no significant decline in response to the treatment. The reduction of possums to low levels, and the maintenance of possum control with ongoing 1080 operations, is likely to continue to provide an overall net benefit to native non-target species.

This study investigates the status and habitat characteristics of the Cooper's Hawk (Accipiter cooperi), the Red-shouldered Hawk (Buteo lineatus), the Broadwinged Hawk (Buteo platvpterus), and the Red-tailed Hawk (Buteo 'amaicensis) in East-central Indiana to provide information useful for the conservation of these species. Surveys of hawks were conducted using taped Great-horned Owl broadcasts at 350 points between April and July, 1995 and 1996. The relative abundance was estimated using the proportion of area occupied technique. Estimates of the proportion of area occupied by each species ranged from 4% to 34%. Red-tailed Hawks were estimated to occupy 34% of the area surveyed. Estimates of the area occupied by Cooper's Hawks was 8% and by Red-shouldered Hawks was 4%. Broad-winged Hawks only occupied two points, therefore no estimate of the area occupied was determined. Macro-habitat characteristics were quantified for each species within a 0.8-km radius of the center of each occupied area and were compared with randomly selected unoccupied areas. Large forested areas with less human development were most preferred by Red-shouldered and Broad-winged Hawks. Cooper's hawks and Red-tailed hawks were found in a wide variety of habitat types. / Department of Biology

Houses Finches became a breeding species in Indiana in 1981 and subsequently went through a rapid population increase. This study was an investigation of the growth of the House Finch population and its impact on House Sparrows, American Goldfinches and Purple Finches in Indiana. Data from the Annual Christmas Bird Counts of the National Audubon Society (CBC) were used to construct five winter range maps to show the expansion of the House Finch population since 1940. A population density map based on the CBCs of 1988 and 1989 was constructed using birds counted per party hour.CBC data collected during 1965 to 1989 at twelve locations in Indiana were used to track long-term changes in the populations of House Finches, House Sparrows, American Goldfinches and Purple Finches. The number of House Finches counted in Indiana since 1981 increased dramatically. The size of the House Sparrow population appears to have been in a long-term decline for the last 25 years. However, American Goldfinches have, in general, increased in abundance since 1979. The abundance of Purple Finches in Indiana in the winter varies erratically.Observations at backyard feeding stations frequented by House Finches and House Sparrows show that House Finches tend to displace other House Finches more often than would be expected if the displacements occurred in proportion to the frequency at which the birds appear in the population. House Sparrows were found to displace other House Sparrows at a rate which greatly exceeded the expected frequency based on their proportion of the population. Both species tend to avoid interspecific interactions.Field studies in Muncie, Indiana show that House Finches commonly nest in shrubbery and building decorations while House Sparrows often nest in crevices in old buildings and bird houses. No direct competition for nesting sites was observed.Banding studies indicate that during the fall and winter there is a constant turnover of House Finches in Muncie. Using banding data from the U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service it was found that House Finches in the Midwest tend to travel in a southern direction as the season changes from summer to winter and in a northern direction as the season changes from winter to summer. The study shows that House Finches have a strong propensity to return to the same general area each summer. / Department of Biology

Thesis (M.S.)--Oregon State University, 2009. / Printout. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 25-29). Also available on the World Wide Web.

Thesis (M.S.)--Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, 1992. / Vita. Abstract. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 114-119). Also available via the Internet.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Missouri-Columbia, 1999. / Typescript. Vita. Includes bibliographical references. Also available on the Internet.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Rutgers University, 2008. / "Graduate Program in Ecology and Evolution." Includes bibliographical references (p. 132-140).

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Missouri-Columbia, 1999. / Typescript. Vita. Includes bibliographical references. Also available on the Internet.

Thesis (M.S.)--Southern Oregon University, 2005. / "A thesis submitted to ... Southern Oregon University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science ..." Includes bibliographical references (leaves 70-73). Also available via Internet as PDF file through Southern Oregon Digital Archives: http://soda.sou.edu. Search Bioregion Collection.