A5007969308- Avian ecology and behavior
- Animal Behavior and Reproduction
- Animal Vocal Communication and Behavior
- Wildlife Ecology and Conservation
- Marine animal studies overview
- COVID-19 epidemiological studies
- Bird parasitology and diseases
- Ecology and Vegetation Dynamics Studies
- Species Distribution and Climate Change
- Forest Ecology and Biodiversity Studies
- Plant and animal studies
- Zoonotic diseases and public health
- Study of Mite Species
- Viral Infections and Vectors
- Wildlife Conservation and Criminology Analyses
- Urban Transport and Accessibility
- COVID-19 impact on air quality
- Wildlife-Road Interactions and Conservation
University of Manitoba
2017-2022
Environment and Climate Change Canada
2021-2022
University of Guelph
2017
The COVID-19 pandemic resulted in extraordinary declines human mobility, which, turn, may affect wildlife. Using records of more than 4.3 million birds observed by volunteers from March to May 2017–2020 across Canada and the United States, we found that counts 66 (80%) 82 focal bird species changed pandemic-altered areas, usually increasing comparison prepandemic abundances urban habitat, near major roads airports, counties where lockdowns were pronounced or occurred at same time as peak...
Human activities may impact animal habitat and resource use, potentially influencing contemporary evolution in animals. In the United Kingdom, COVID-19 lockdown restrictions resulted sudden, drastic alterations to human activity. We hypothesized that short-term daily long-term seasonal changes mobility might result bird depending on type (home, parks grocery) extent of change. Using Google data 872 850 observations, we determined during lockdown, altered use 80% (20/25) our focal species....
Anthropogenic noise is a pervasive pollutant altering behaviour of wildlife that communicates acoustically. Some species adjust vocalisations to compensate for noise. However, we know little about whether signal adjustments improve communication in noise, the extent which effectiveness varies with source, or how individual variation physiology response capacity. We played noise-adjusted and unadjusted songs wild Passerculus sandwichensis (Savannah Sparrows) after measurements adrenocortical...
Organisms encounter noise naturally in the environment. However, increasing prevalence of human-caused seems to be resulting behavioural changes many animals that can affect survival and reproduction. Not all species react same way noise; some adjust their vocal signals while others do not. We hypothesized with more variability would better able audible over anthropogenic noise. tested this within a large-scale manipulative experiment by recording songs two grassland songbirds, Baird's...
Oil extraction may impact wildlife by altering habitat suitability and affecting stress levels behavior of individuals, but it can be challenging to disentangle the impacts infrastructure itself on from associated noise human activity at well sites. We evaluated whether demographic distribution corticosterone three grassland passerine species (Chestnut-collared Longspur, Calcarius ornatus; Baird's Sparrow, Centronyx bairdii; Savannah Sparrow Passerculus sandwichensis) were impacted oil...
Arthropods are the most diverse taxonomic group of terrestrial eukaryotes and sensitive to physical alterations in their environment such as those caused by forestry. With enormous diversity omnipresence, arthropods could be powerful indicators effects disturbance following When have been used measure disturbance, total some groups is often found increase However, these findings frequently derived using a coarse grain (family or order) accommodate for various impediments (including cryptic...
Abstract We compared support for 3 hypotheses that might explain observed morphological variation among islands of 4 species Caribbean land birds: ecological release from competition and predation pressure, pressure 1 novel predator (small Indian mongoose, Herpestes auropunctatus), climate. measured wing chord, tarsus length, bill mass Bananaquits (Coereba flaveola), Black-faced Grassquits (Tiaris bicolor), Lesser Antillean Bullfinches (Loxigilla noctis), Common Ground Doves (Columbina...
Abstract Grenada is a Caribbean island with volcanic origin and relatively low avian species diversity, which may result in location-specific evolutionary pressures thus locally adapted populations. Despite this, the morphology of most its has not been described. The aim this study was to identify differences resident land birds on compared other mainland areas. We collected morphological measurements Bananaquits (Coereba flaveola), Black-faced Grassquits (Melanospiza bicolor), Lesser...
We screened 103 Chestnut-collared Longspurs (Calcarius ornatus) and 69 Savannah Sparrows (Passerculus sandwichensis) captured in Alberta, Canada, for infections from 3 genera of hemosporidian parasites (Haemoproteus, Plasmodium, Leucocytozoon). used electrophoresis to visualize bands PCR product code the presence found no instances parasitemia among individuals we tested. To confirm that our method blood storage processing did not impede ability detect were present, 22 Swamp (Melospiza...