Vol. 7 (Fall 2002)

This Newsletter is not as extensive as some of the previous ones, but gives some current updates from 1) Tony Diamond and 2) News from the Lab including a New Student, Current Students and Former Students….See you all in Gros Morne!!

1. News from Tony
2. News from the Lab:
3. Alumni News
4. Publications

1) News from Tony:

I had knee surgery in May and as a result was unable to go into the field other than a couple of boat trips to seabird colonies in the Bay of Fundy (one of which, however, did result in confirmation of Atlantic Puffin breeding on White Horse Island, N.B), two days mist-netting at Fundy National Park, and one 24-hr visit to Machias Seal Island at the very end of the season. Otherwise the summer was devoted to manuscript reviews and catching up with literature. In the fall I took part in my last meeting as a (founding) Member of the National Council of Bird Studies Canada, and another last meeting as Board Member of the Nature Trust of New Brunswick. The second of two 3-month sabbatical stints this year will be devoted to writing (papers and proposals), the National Conference of COMERN (the Cooperative Mercury Research Network) immediately after the ACWERN meeting, and a meeting between Bird Studies Canada and Atlantic Region naturalist groups in November.

2) NEWS FROM THE LAB:

NEW STUDENT:

MATHIEU CHARETTE

After being close to starting a graduate project on terns a couple of times but having to abandon due to the ever-present funding dilemma- I got a lucky break and here I am. I started my first field season this spring on Country Island, NS. I will be comparing the Common and Arctic tern colonies on Country Island to the Common and Arctic tern colonies on Machias Seal Island, NB. I will spend the 2003 field season on Machias Seal Island. Starting the project in itself was a surprise this summer, but apart from getting pecked and defecated on, no big surprises or mishaps.

I presented the base of this project at the Gulf of Maine Seabird Working Group (GOMSWG) meeting in Maine. The presentation went well and received good constructive criticism. Interesting to see how the other seabird projects in the Gulf of Maine did this year. Some islands did very poorly due to the usual factors such a predation, etc. On other islands a strange "Disease" referred to as the "Funk" was found on a few of the islands, it killed or weakened many chicks. Although samples are being analyzed, still no clue what is may be. Let's hope whatever it is, that it doesn't reach our colonies...

CURRENT STUDENTS (not a complete list):

SARAH JAMIESON

I spent the summer on PMI working on terns. I discovered that they are actually quite mean and uninteresting and real ornithologists should study waterfowl ;-) I spent three weeks prior to my field season back in Greenland. This trip was much more exciting because the way flights have been changed around I got to go to Copenhagen and spend two days hiking in Kangerlussuaq and the ice cap. During this trip I got to both see and taste Muskox.

KATE DEVLIN

Last spring I had a great time teaching ornithology while Tony was on sabbatical and went on to spend another summer on Machias Seal Island. The field season went well and it was our best summer yet for re-sighting banded terns as well as our best summer catching and banding a record 530 puffin chicks!!! I tried to spread my enthusiasm for terns in our lab by convincing Sarah J. that real ornithologists enjoy terns and their quirky habits of hitting and squitting but she cannot be terned from her obsession with ducks and their innards. ;-) This fall I am working in the lab again (still searching for microsatellite DNA) and trying to make sense of banding data.

DEDREIC GRECIAN

My original plan was to be finished by Spring 2002. A nine-month contract with the provincial Fish and Wildlife Branch in October 2001 scuppered those plans, but, I do have a new plan. The new plan is to finish by Christmas 2002 (at least the writing stage, hopefully to defend early in the new year!) I am not quite in the homestretch but the excitement is building as I watch the thesis take shape. Some analyses are done and some figures and tables are built. For anyone who is interested in what I am putting together for my thesis, here is a brief Abstract:

Almost all of the North American population of razorbills breed in Canada where they are colonial and nest on islands. In Canada, razorbills have been cited as a species of concern since the 1980's (Nettleship and Evans 1985). Beginning in the late 1980's and continuing through the 1990's, estimates of razorbill populations in Canada have been growing (Chapdelaine et al.1999), including the breeding population on Machias Seal Island (MSI). Standard survey estimates have always had broad confidence intervals due to the imprecision of making corrections for birds that nest out of sight. The first step to understand how razorbills are using habitat on MSI is to develop an accurate survey method that can account for unseen nests. Razorbills nest in several different areas on MSI. Initial observations revealed differential reproductive success among these areas and nest site characteristics have been targeted for close study. Several environmental variables, temperature, humidity and physical characteristics will be documented for nests where success information will also be gathered. Other areas of interest in this study include detailed observations of Razorbill breeding biology parameters.

Any helpful comments from ACWERN Thesis Club Members on any details of the thesis journey would be gladly received. Looking forward to what will come next after the thesis (though not thinking to far ahead yet - got to finish first!) I am more and more interested in a PhD, so keep your eyes peeled for me!

ACWERN's third (fourth?) baby Raena Corellei Machias Grecian is doing well. She has just turned 1 on the 29th of September. Truly her second middle name will take some living up to, but I think she will live up to the challenge!

JOE NOCERA

A paper written by Joe Nocera and Neil Burgess, entitled 'Diving schedules of common loons in varying environments' is currently in press with the Canadian Journal of Zoology. Publication is slated for the September 2002 issue (Volume 80). This paper is the product of what was the third chapter of my thesis at Acadia, and is the third paper to come from that M.Sc. project. See abstract below.

Following the successful completion of my Ph.D. Oral Qualifying Exam in late September, I am currently busy writing progress reports from a very productive 2002 field season. The project has grown and several new collaborations have developed with other newly initiated projects (two M.Sc.'s and one honours student).

Nocera, J.J. and N.M Burgess. In Press. Diving schedules of Common Loons in varying environments. Canadian Journal of Zoology, Vol. 80.

Abstract: Many species of diving birds adjust their foraging behaviour in response to variation in their environment. Common Loons (Gavia immer) are visually-oriented predators that are sensitive to environmental variation, yet little is known about the flexibility of their diving behaviour. We tested the hypothesis that loons adjust their diving schedules by increasing or decreasing the dive duration during foraging bouts, to accommodate environmental variation during the breeding season. The dive duration and dive-pause components of the loon dive cycle did not vary among lakes with different lake chemistry, lake morphometry, mercury levels in their blood, or fish abundance. We observed some variation among loons in different stages of breeding in mean dive-pause intervals. The dive-pause component of the diving cycle of Common Loons does not seem to be related to the amount of time spent underwater. To our knowledge, this is the first report of such a non-linear relationship in diving birds. We propose that loons vary the components of their diving behaviour independently and seem to alter their diving time budgets regardless of the external stimuli we addressed. This unresponsive diving schedule may make loons susceptible to catastrophic changes in prey densities within their foraging areas, as they are obliged to forage on one, or very few, lakes. Conversely, loons may only forage in lakes with fish abundance above a certain minimum threshold, and preferentially avoid lakes with reduced prey abundance.

MATT BETTS

Survived field season and managed to have a couple papers published this summer:

(1) Betts, M., J. Knox, and G. Forbes. 2002. A Landscape ecological approach to private woodlot planning in New Brunswick. Natural Areas Journal. 22(4): 311-317.

ABSTRACT: A large proportion of forest land in New Brunswick, Canada (C.A.
50%) and eastern North America as a whole exists in small private holdings. If biodiversity is to be conserved at the landscape and regional level, it will be critical to develop tools for involving these many landowners in large-scale conservation planning. The purpose of this project was to initiate a community forestry project for small private woodlots that encourages the implementation of landscape ecological objectives. To accomplish this, the Greater Fundy Ecosystem Research Group (GFERG) and the SNB Wood Coop Ltd. (SNB) cooperated with local communities in the Fundy Model Forest, New Brunswick, to create landscape ecological management plans for two watersheds. Initiation of this landscape-level project involved four steps: (1) developing criteria for selection of candidate watershed; (2) applying criteria to all watersheds of the FMF and select priority watershed(s); (3) organizing public meetings in candidate watersheds to develop community priorities for landscape planning; (4) and developing a landscape-level watershed management plan. Important components of this plan included the maintenance of large contiguous patches of mature forest, special management areas, steep slopes, sensitive soils, wildlife corridors, and ecologically significant areas. This landscape-level plan is being used as the context for finer scale woodlot management plans in two watersheds.

Index terms: Biodiversity, landscape ecology, watershed planning, woodlots

(2) Betts, M. and J. Loo. 2002. A comparison of pre-European settlement forest characterization methodologies. Forestry Chronicle. 78(3): 422-432.

Abstract: The characterization of 'natural' or 'presettlement' forest has become a relatively common practice in Canada as forest managers strive toward achieving conceptions of sustainable forest management. Various methods have been developed to undertake such characterizations, leading to confusion about how to define 'presettlement forest' and uncertainty over the approach that will best serve as a basis for management. We report on two methods of presettlement forest characterization: the 'Witness Tree' and the 'Potential Forests' approaches. We compare results from these approaches to the existing forest composition in the Fundy Model Forest, New Brunswick. Both approaches indicate a decline in the predominance of tolerant hardwood and eastern cedar since presettlement. However, the Potential Forests approach consistently suggests much higher presettlement frequencies of spruce (Picea spp.) and, in most cases, pine (Pinus spp.) than the Witness Tree method. Differences between frequencies of tree species estimated by the two methods probably result from biases associated with both methods and the different scales of reporting. If used critically, the combined use of both sets of presettlement forest information will allow managers to determine the historical frequency of individual tree species and forest communities. Such information will provide some guidance in maintaining the diversity of native species and community types.

Keywords: Presettlement forest, ecological land classification, Witness Tree method, Potential Forests, forest management, biodiversity.

3) ALUMNI NEWS:

CAM STEVENS is still working on his PhD at the University of Alberta. He writes: "I had a few problems during my last field season. I was running experiments when I pipeline upstream of my pond broke and leaked chemicals that killed my tadpoles, and about 1,000,000 others in the system. I'm currently negotiating a 'settlement' with the oil company."

JULIE PAQUET is still working for CWS in Sackville as a wildlife technician. The 2002 summer season involved banding songbirds in spring and fall, surveying salt marshes for Nelson's Sharp-tailed Sparrows and Willets, visiting shorebird survey sites throughout the Maritimes and searching for phalaropes and phalarope food in the Bay of Fundy. Out of the office/field, she was busy managing a small organic farm and hanging out to her new baby: Ozzy, the Golden Retriever. This winter, she is planning a trip to Nigeria, west Africa, to volunteer with a local development group in Cross River Valley State. Southern Nigeria is renowned worldwide as a hotspot for endemism, and she is definitely bringing her binoculars along!

DOROTHY MCFARLANE is still Editor of Picoides, bulletin of the Society of Canadian Ornithologists, and looking for Canadian Bird-Related Theses Abstracts to publish. Also looking for articles and book reviews - tell us what you liked or didn't like about that latest bird-or ecology-related book you are reading.

Work-wise: completed my contract with the International Centre for Air Quality and Health, at the NB Lung Assoc. in Fredericton. I put together an information package for use by community leaders, complete with background info, health statistics, a PowerPoint presentation, and tips on how to advocate for clean air.

Also I completed a 2.5 week breeding bird survey on contract, which spanned 40 Km and 1, 325 individuals of 80 species. A highlight of this year was my trip with Tony and Graham to Belize with students on a tropical field ecology course.

My MAPS stations had another good season and I am currently searching for science/bird related work in the region.

FORMER HONOURS THESIS STUDENTS

Former Honours Thesis Students Chantal Gagnon and Jean-Michel deVink are both heading to the University of Saskatoon to begin MSc programs in January. Chantal will be working with Keith Hobson and Jean-Michel will be working with Bob Clarke. Dan Mazerolle (another former Honours Thesis Student in the Diamond Lab) completed a M.Sc. and is currently working on a Ph.D. in Keith Hobson's lab. We wish them all the best and good luck in their continuing studies!