The Northern Goshawk has been a species of concern since its decline in the early 1990s, which has been attributed in part to loss of critical breeding and wintering habitat. Nest site selection of goshawks has been correlated with certain specific site characteristics including, but not limited to, forest species composition, forest stand size, diameter of nest tree, percent cover, tree height, site slope, and aspect. The goshawk holds the status of a Management Indicator Species (MIS) on all of the six national forests in Utah. This status requires annual monitoring to track goshawk numbers and to address any activities on the forests that may affect nest site activity. Findings from the annual nesting data showed that some territories have been more active than others. We summarized the data from the three national forests in southern Utah in order to understand differences in nesting habitat among the forests. We also analyzed the nesting habitat variables slope, elevation, and nest tree species statistically to determine if they could be used as predictors of nest activity. We found that slope and elevation were not good predictors while nest tree species was significant in its ability to predict nest activity. We concluded the nesting habitat variables we selected were insufficient in their ability to predict nest activity and other variables such as prey species availability, weather conditions in the spring, and forest cover type might be needed to create a model that more accurately predicts nest activity.

Les coûts de remise en forme que les macro et micro parasites imposent aux hôtes peuvent s'expliquer par trois facteurs principaux : (1) Les hôtes utilisent des réponses immunitaires contre les parasites pour prévenir ou contrôler l'infection. Les réponses immunitaires nécessitent de l'énergie et des nutriments pour produire et / ou activer les cellules immunitaires et les immunoglobulines, ce qui est coûteux, provoquant des compromis avec d'autres processus physiologiques comme la croissance ou la reproduction. (2) Le taux métabolique de l'hôte peut être augmenté parce que les dommages aux tissus et la réparation ultérieure de l'infection causée par le parasite peuvent être coûteux. (3) Le taux métabolique des hôtes peut augmenter et donc augmenter également leurs besoins en ressources. La compétition entre macro-parasites et hôtes peut priver les ressources de l'hôte. Les coûts de remise en forme que les macro et micro parasites imposent aux hôtes peuvent s'expliquer par trois facteurs principaux : (1) Les hôtes utilisent des réponses immunitaires contre les parasites pour prévenir ou contrôler l'infection. Les réponses immunitaires nécessitent de l'énergie et des nutriments pour produire et / ou activer les cellules immunitaires et les immunoglobulines, ce qui est coûteux, provoquant des compromis avec d'autres processus physiologiques comme la croissance ou la reproduction. (2) Le taux métabolique de l'hôte peut être augmenté parce que les dommages aux tissus et la réparation ultérieure de l'infection causée par le parasite peuvent être coûteux. (3) Le taux métabolique des hôtes peut augmenter et donc augmenter également leurs besoins en ressources. La compétition entre macro-parasites et hôtes peut priver les ressources de l'hôte. / The fitness costs that macro- and micro-parasites impose on hosts can be explained by three main factors: (1) Hosts use immune responses against parasites to prevent or control infection. Immune responses require energy and nutrients to produce and/or activate immune cells and immunoglobulins, and that is costly, causing trade-offs against other physiological processes like growth or reproduction. (2) The host’s metabolic rate can be increased because tissue damage and subsequent repair from the infection caused by parasite may be costly. (3) The metabolic rate of hosts may increase and hence also increase their resource requirements. Competition between macroparasites and hosts may deprive resources of host. Birds are hosts for many symbionts, some of them parasitic, that could decrease the fitness of their hosts. There is a huge diversity in potential parasites carried in a bird’s plumage and some can cause infection. Nest lining feathers are chosen and transported by adult birds including barn swallows Hirundo rustica to their nests, implying that any heterogeneity in abundance and diversity of microorganisms on feathers in nests must arise from feather preferences. we found that the effects of microorganisms on the behavior of birds may be a combination of positive and negative effects. There may be positive effects of antimicrobial activity on birds through the process of bacterial interference, consisting of certain bacteria impeding the establishment of competing bacterial strains by producing antibiotic substances. Meanwhile, the negative effects may imply that pathogenic or/and feather-degrading microorganisms may reduce fitness components of their hosts. These effects of microorganisms and hence the microbiome can be affected by the behavior of bird hosts.

Reliable estimates of species abundance, distribution, and population trajectories are critical in conservation and management. However, for many tropical species that information is missing. We conducted Sharp-shinned Hawk (SSHA) searches during the breeding seasons of 2013, 2014, and 2016 in eight montane forest reserves and their adjacent private lands of Puerto Rico. Further, we developed a maximum entropy model (MaxEnt) of the SSHA’s potential distribution using the following environmental variables: aspect, canopy closure, elevation, rainfall, slope, and terrain roughness. Elevation accounted for 89.8% of model fit, predicting the greatest probability of occurrence (> 60%) at elevations above 900 m. The model estimated 0.6% Puerto Rico (56.1 km2) has the greatest probability of occurrence. We developed a periodic population matrix model to describe influence of early life stages on population growth of the Red-tailed Hawk (RTHA) in eastern Puerto Rico. Our results suggest that the RTHA population has an average annual population increase of 5%, with rates differing between highlands (λh = 1.05) and 27% lowlands (λl = 1.27). Adult survival was the most important population growth parameter, with more effect in highlands (elasticity = 0.86) than in lowlands (elasticity = 0.53). Sensitivity of λ to changes in nestling survival was greater than for other life-stages (sensitivity lowlands = 0.46, sensitivity highlands = 0.48). I developed an open population N-mixture model to estimate abundance, availability, and detection probability of RTHA in the Luquillo Mountains and western Cordillera Central. The abundance estimates were 0.05 RTHA/ha, with an availability of (ϕ) = ~1 RTHA/per survey point and a detection probability (r) = ~0.25. In Luquillo Mountains, abundance was positively influenced by slope and elevation. In the western Cordillera Central, abundance of RTHA was constant across elevation, slope, and canopy closure. Detection probability decreased with increasing slope and wind conditions and showed a gradual small negative decrease with slope with reduced winds conditions. My findings are a contribution to our knowledge to how population traits and ecological constraints imposed by insular environments are influencing distribution, abundance, and population dynamics of raptors to propose management or conservation schemes.

Unambiguous gender identification (ID) is needed to assess parameters in studies of population dynamics, behavior, and evolutionary biology of Caribbean Flamingo (Phoenicopterus ruber ruber) and other birds. Due to its importance for management and conservation, molecular (DNA-based) avian gender ID assays targeting intron-size differences of the Chromosome Helicase ATPase DNA Binding (CHD) gene of males (CHD-Z) and females (CHD-W) have been developed. Male (ZZ) and female (WZ) genotypes are usually scored as size polymorphisms through agarose or acrylamide gels. For certain species, W-specific restriction sites or multiplex polymerase chain-reaction (PCR) involving CHD-W specific primers are needed. These approaches involve a minimum of three steps following DNA isolation: PCR, gel electrophoresis, and photo-documentation, which limit high throughput scoring and automation potential. In here, a short amplicon (SA) High-resolution Melting Analysis (HRMA) assay for avian gender ID is developed. SA-HRMA of an 81-Base Pair (bp) segment differentiates heteroduplex female (WZ) from homoduplex male (ZZ) genotypes by targeting Single-nucleotide Polymorphisms (SNPs) instead of intron-size differences between CHD-Z and CHD-W genes. To demonstrate the utility of the approach, the gender of Caribbean Flamingo (P. ruber ruber) (17 captive from the Dallas Zoo and 359 wild from Ria Lagartos, Yucatan, Mexico) was determined. The assay was also tested on specimens of Lesser Flamingo (P. minor), Chilean Flamingo (P. chilensis), Saddle-billed Stork (Ephippiorhynchus senegalensis), Scarlet Ibis (Eudocimus ruber), White-bellied Stork (Ciconia abdimii), Roseate Spoonbill (Platalea ajaja), Marabou Stork (Leptoptilos crumeniferus), Greater Roadrunner (Geococcyx californianus), and Attwater's Prairie Chicken (Tympanuchus cupido attwateri). Although the orthologous 81 bp segments of Z and W are highly conserved, sequence alignments with 50 avian species across 15 families revealed mismatches affecting one or more nucleotides within the SA-HRMA forward or reverse primers. Most mismatches were located along the CHD-Z gene that may generate heteroduplex curves and thus gender ID errors. For such cases, taxon and species-specific primer sets were designed. The SA-HRMA gender ID assay can be used in studies of avian ecology and behavior, to assess sex-associated demographics and migratory patterns, and as a proxy to determine the health of the flock and the degree by which conservation and captive breeding programs are functioning.