Feeding ecology of migrating Red-necked Phalaropes (Phalaropus lobatus) in the Quoddy region, New Brunswick, Canada

1985 ◽  
Vol 63 (5) ◽  
pp. 1062-1067 ◽  
Author(s):  
F. M. Mercier ◽  
D. E. Gaskin

During the summers of 1981 and 1982, feeding ecology was studied in migrating populations of Red-necked Phalaropes (Phalaropus lobatus) at their late summer – early fall staging ground in the Quoddy region of the Bay of Fundy (44°55′ – 45°00′ N, 66°54′–66°59′ W). This species was particularly abundant during August 1982 when 5 000 to 20 000/km2 were present in the study area at the peak of occupation. Calanus finmarchicus was both the major prey item and the most plentiful zooplankton species in the area in which the phalaropes fed (mean density, 117 individuals/m2). The birds were consistently found in sectors of the study area corresponding to maximum C. finmarchicus concentrations, made readily available at the surface by upwelling activity. The phalaropes fed almost exclusively on this species, which made up 88.6% of the total number of prey items found in the stomachs; smaller copepods, seeds, and insects made up the rest, with a size limit for ingested prey of 6 mm. The birds fed by pecking constantly at the surface of the water while swimming in a sinusoidal pattern; this differs markedly from the spinning behavior observed near the breeding grounds.

1979 ◽  
Vol 57 (1) ◽  
pp. 107-124 ◽  
Author(s):  
W. John Richardson

Shorebirds departed over the Atlantic intermittently by night and (in lesser numbers) day in late summer and early autumn. Migrations were broad-front and usually began inland (including Bay of Fundy), often 1–2 h before sunset. Tracks were straight, with daily means of 110–170° (overall mean 134°). About 69% were flying on tracks directed too far east to reach South America without a course change; the roles of wind drift and heading adjustments in effecting this course change are uncertain. Ground speeds were 74 ± SD 17 km/h; altitudes were often high (mean 2.0 km, 5% of flocks above 4.4 km, highest 6.65 km). Many departed with W–NW winds and fair weather behind cold fronts or E or N of high pressure areas, but some took off ahead of or caught up with and penetrated cold fronts. Mean tracks were correlated with wind direction, but were rarely downwind. Their deviation from downwind was unrelated to visibility, cloud, or magnetic disturbance (K index). Dispersion of tracks did not change consistently during nights or days and was unrelated to wind or K index. Dispersion at night was slightly greater in inclement than fair weather.


1989 ◽  
Vol 67 (11) ◽  
pp. 2725-2730 ◽  
Author(s):  
R. G. B. Brown ◽  
D. E. Gaskin

Copepods and cladocerans were collected, mainly in August, from the top 0.25 m of the water column in the outer Bay of Fundy, off Brier Island, Nova Scotia (ca. 44°15′N, 66°23′W) in 1975–1978, Deer Island, New Brunswick (ca. 45°00′N, 67°00′W) in 1977–1978, and Grand Manan Island, New Brunswick (ca. 44°40′N, 66°43′W) in 1981. In 1975–1977, the dominant species at the surface off Brier Island were stage CIV-I Calanus finmarchicus and CVI-V Pseudocalanus sp. The copepods Acartia spp., Anomalocera pattersonii, Centropages sp., Eurytemora spp., and Oithonia similis and the cladocerans Evadne sp. and Podon sp. also occurred regularly. The relative abundance of Calanus finmarchicus declined during the period July–October 1976, though the proportion of stages CVI-V increased. The relative proportions of Pseudocalanus sp., and of its stages CVI-V, both declined during the same period. The community at the surface was similar to that collected in other studies from subsurface tows in the Bay of Fundy as a whole, including Brier, Deer, and Grand Manan islands. This was not true of Brier Island in 1978: CVI-V Calanus finmarchicus predominated, and other species were scarce. Our samples from Deer and Grand Manan islands resembled those from Brier Island in 1978, though CVI-V Calanus finmarchicus predominated even more strongly. We discuss the differences between our samples from Brier Island in 1978 and 1975–1977, and between the latter and our New Brunswick data. However, there is no obvious explanation for most of these anomalies.


1985 ◽  
Vol 63 (12) ◽  
pp. 2810-2816 ◽  
Author(s):  
Francine M. Mercier

Arrival, length of stay, fat deposition, flight range, and migration strategy of Red-necked Phalaropes (Phalaropus lobatus) were studied during the 1981–1982 autumn migrations through the Quoddy region, New Brunswick, Canada. Arrivals at this staging ground reflected the sequence in departures from the Arctic breeding grounds reported in the literature. Females arrived first, followed by males and finally juveniles, based on overall population composition during the season and patterns of fat deposition. Fat was deposited at the rate of 1.0 g per day over a period of about 20 days and maximum fat reserves amounted to between 40 and 45% of fresh weight, yielding enough for potential flight ranges of 4300–5100 km. The probable wintering grounds for the Quoddy region population are the waters off Peru, with the most direct migration route from the Bay of Fundy being some 6000 km long. This distance considerably exceeds the calculated nonstop flight capacities of Red-necked Phalaropes, and precludes their arriving at the wintering grounds without making another feeding stop, possibly off Panama.


2021 ◽  
Vol 51 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Lou Van Guelpen ◽  
Claire Goodwin ◽  
Rebecca Milne ◽  
Gerhard Pohle ◽  
Simon Courtenay
Keyword(s):  

Author(s):  
Kami D Kies ◽  
Amber S Thomas ◽  
Matthew J Binnicker ◽  
Kelli L Bashynski ◽  
Robin Patel

Abstract Enteroviral meningitis is seasonal, typically exhibiting a rise in prevalence in late summer/early fall. Based on clinical microbiology laboratory testing data of cerebrospinal fluid, the expected August/September/October peak in enteroviral meningitis did not occur in 2020, possibly related to COVID-19 mitigation strategies.


2013 ◽  
Vol 280 (1768) ◽  
pp. 20131087 ◽  
Author(s):  
D. T. Tyler Flockhart ◽  
Leonard I. Wassenaar ◽  
Tara G. Martin ◽  
Keith A. Hobson ◽  
Michael B. Wunder ◽  
...  

Insect migration may involve movements over multiple breeding generations at continental scales, resulting in formidable challenges to their conservation and management. Using distribution models generated from citizen scientist occurrence data and stable-carbon and -hydrogen isotope measurements, we tracked multi-generational colonization of the breeding grounds of monarch butterflies ( Danaus plexippus ) in eastern North America. We found that monarch breeding occurrence was best modelled with geographical and climatic variables resulting in an annual breeding distribution of greater than 12 million km 2 that encompassed 99% occurrence probability. Combining occurrence models with stable isotope measurements to estimate natal origin, we show that butterflies which overwintered in Mexico came from a wide breeding distribution, including southern portions of the range. There was a clear northward progression of monarchs over successive generations from May until August when reproductive butterflies began to change direction and moved south. Fifth-generation individuals breeding in Texas in the late summer/autumn tended to originate from northern breeding areas rather than regions further south. Although the Midwest was the most productive area during the breeding season, monarchs that re-colonized the Midwest were produced largely in Texas, suggesting that conserving breeding habitat in the Midwest alone is insufficient to ensure long-term persistence of the monarch butterfly population in eastern North America.


1986 ◽  
Vol 43 (2) ◽  
pp. 444-456 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. C. H. Carter ◽  
W. D. Taylor ◽  
R. Chengalath ◽  
D. A. Scruton

Crustacean and rotifer plankton assemblages of 93 lakes in Labrador, 107 in Newfoundland, and 142 in New Brunswick – Nova Scotia were investigated for evidence of correlations with lake morphometric, chemical, or biological factors. Labrador assemblages were almost completely lacking in identifiable structure. Newfoundland species clustered into two groups of different body size, suggesting the influence of fish predation. Only one species in Labrador and Newfoundland was significantly correlated with a derived factor related to lake water buffering capacity. New Brunswick – Nova Scotia species clustered into two groups, one featuring significant positive and the other significant negative correlations with the buffering factor. From this we conclude that acidification is having an impact on the limnetic zooplankton of these two provinces. Multiple discriminant analysis was used to demonstrate that New Brunswick – Nova Scotia lakes differing in their buffering capacity were also distinct in zooplankton composition. Lakes with low factor scores (low pH, alkalinity, and calcium) were mainly located in the Bay of Fundy region; this area has above average fog and precipitation, and lies within the summer air flow carrying pollutants from the south.


1976 ◽  
Vol 13 (5) ◽  
pp. 661-667 ◽  
Author(s):  
Petr Vaníček

A surface depicting linear vertical movements in Maritime Canada was computed from sea-level data recorded by 8 tide guages and 308 mostly disjoint, relevelled segments of the first-order Canadian levelling network. Owing to the sparsity of the available data and their distribution, the velocity surface must be regarded as indicative of the crude features only. The indications are that there is a west-northwest trending belt of faster subsidence across the eastern end of the Bay of Fundy, and that there may be an area of uplift in northeastern New Brunswick. Although the faster subsidence around the eastern Bay of Fundy seems to be well established now, more data are needed to prove or dispel the existence of the indicated uplift.


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