scholarly journals Food Deliveries at Swallow-Tailed Kite Nests in Southern Florida

The Condor ◽  
2004 ◽  
Vol 106 (1) ◽  
pp. 171-176 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kenneth D. Meyer ◽  
Steven M. McGehee ◽  
Michael W. Collopy
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
The United States ◽  
Total Biomass ◽  
Incubation Stage ◽  
La Florida ◽  
Southern Florida ◽  
Insect Biomass ◽  
Prey Items

Abstract We studied the diets of nesting Swallow-tailed Kites (Elanoides forficatus) at eight nests in 1988–1989 in southern Florida, where the species reaches its greatest abundance in the United States. Males fed females during the incubation stage an average of 2.1 ± 0.8 times per day. The adults averaged 10.9 ± 4.5 deliveries daily during the nestling stage, and 10.3 ± 12.5 deliveries to young daily following nest departure. Vertebrates comprised 97% of the biomass for the 1092 identifiable prey items delivered to nests. Frogs accounted for 56%, birds 30%, and reptiles 11% of all prey. Numerically, frogs made up 83% of the reptile and amphibian prey. The relative proportions of prey types varied substantially among nests within years, and significantly more snakes and insects were delivered in 1989. Total biomass delivered in 1988 did not differ from that in 1989. Bird biomass, however, was greater in 1988 and insect biomass was greater in 1989. Anoles and snakes were brought to nests in larger numbers during the morning and evening hours; and birds were delivered mainly from midmorning to midafternoon. Entregas de Alimentos en Nidos de Elanoides forficatus en el Sur de Florida Resumen. Durante 1988 y 1989 estudiamos la dieta de los polluelos de Elanoides forficatus en ocho nidos localizados en el sur de la Florida, donde la especie alcanza su mayor abundancia de nidificacion dentro de los Estados Unidos. Durante la incubación, los machos alimentaron a las hembras un promedio de 2.1 ± 0.8 veces por día. Durante la etapa de polluelos, los adultos hicieron un promedio de 10.9 ± 4.5 entregas diarias y un promedio de 10.3 ± 12.5 entregas diarias después de abandonar el nido. Los vertebrados comprendieron el 97% de la biomasa de las 1092 presas identificables entregadas en los nidos. Las ranas constituyeron el 56%, las aves el 30% y los reptiles el 11% del total de las presas. Numéricamente, las ranas constituyeron el 83% de la herpetofauna depredada. Las proporciones relativas de los tipos de presa variaron substancialmente entre los nidos a través de los años, y considerablemente más serpientes e insectos fueron entregados en 1989. La biomasa total entregada durante 1988 no difirió de la observada en 1989. Sin embargo, la biomasa de las aves fue mayor en 1988, mientras que la de los insectos fue mayor en 1989. Las lagartijas y serpientes fueron entregadas a los nidos en mayor cantidad durante las horas de la mañana y de la tarde, mientras que las aves fueron entregadas principalmente desde la mitad de la mañana hasta la mitad de la tarde.

scholarly journals Genetic Structuring Among Migratory Populations of the Black-Whiskered Vireo, with a Comparison to the Red-Eyed Vireo

The Condor ◽  
2001 ◽  
Vol 103 (3) ◽  
pp. 439-448
Author(s):  
Patrick W. Zwartjes
Keyword(s):  
Puerto Rico ◽  
Gene Flow ◽  
Random Amplified Polymorphic Dna ◽  
Florida Keys ◽  
The United States ◽  
Genetic Structuring ◽  
Vireo Olivaceus ◽  
La Florida ◽  
Southern Florida ◽  
Los Grupos

AbstractThe Black-whiskered Vireo (Vireo altiloquus) breeds from coastal southern Florida in the United States through the islands of the West Indies, and thus consists of several populations separated by large regions of uninhabitable space. I examined genetic variation within and among six migratory populations in the Florida Keys, Jamaica, and Puerto Rico, using random amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD) markers and analysis of molecular variance (AMOVA). Calculations of variance components revealed that over 90% of the variance was among individuals; a significant portion also occurred among regional groups (Florida, Jamaica, and Puerto Rico). Variance between subpopulations within the regional groups was not significantly different from zero. This contrasts with the closely related Red-eyed Vireo (V. olivaceus) of continental North America, in which analyses of three widely separate geographic localities revealed that over 99% of the genetic variance was among individuals, with no significant variance detectable among localities. The greatest differences in V. altiloquus were detected between the Florida Keys populations and the populations from Jamaica and Puerto Rico; the latter two showed no significant differentiation. Estimates of gene flow from the AMOVA analog to Wright's F-statistics suggest that there is enough gene flow among regions to prevent differentiation by genetic drift. Although not strongly isolated, the Florida population of V. altiloquus is sufficiently differentiated to suggest reduced genetic exchange with the populations on Puerto Rico and Jamaica.Estructura Genética entre Poblaciones Migratorias de Vireo altiloquus con una Comparación con Vireo olivaceusResumen. Vireo altiloquus se reproduce desde la costa del sur de la Florida en los Estados Unidos hasta las islas de las Antillas, y por lo tanto presenta varias poblaciones separadas por extensas regiones de espacio no habitable. Examiné la variación genética dentro y entre seis poblaciones migratorias en los Cayos de la Florida, en Jamaica y en Puerto Rico, usando marcadores polimórficos de ADN amplificados al azar (RAPD) y análisis de varianza molecular (AMOVA). Los cálculos de los componentes de la varianza indicaron que más del 90% de la varianza se presentó entre individuos; una porción significativa también estuvo presente entre los grupos regionales (Florida, Jamaica y Puerto Rico). La varianza entre subpoblaciones dentro de grupos regionales no fue significativamente diferente de cero. Esto contrasta con los resultados para V. olivaceus de Norteamérica continental, donde los análisis de tres localidades alejadas revelaron que más del 99% de la varianza genética se registró entre individuos, sin varianza significativa detectable entre localidades. Las mayores diferencias en V. altiloquus fueron detectadas entre las poblaciones de los Cayos de la Florida y las poblaciones de Jamaica y Puerto Rico; las últimas dos no mostraron diferencias significativas. Las estimaciones de flujo génico a partir del AMOVA, análogo al estadístico F de Wright, sugieren que hay suficiente flujo génico entre las regiones para evitar diferenciación por deriva génica. Aunque no está muy aislada, la poblacion de V. altiloquus de la Florida se diferencia lo suficiente como para sugerir un intercambio génico reducido con las poblaciones de Puerto Rico y Jamaica.

Immigration and HIV among Migrant Workers in Rural Southern Florida

1997 ◽  
Vol 27 (1) ◽  
pp. 155-172 ◽  
Author(s):  
Norman L. Weatherby ◽  
H. Virginia McCoy ◽  
Keith V. Bletzer ◽  
Clyde B. McCoy ◽  
James A. Inciardi ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Drug Use ◽  
Migrant Workers ◽  
Crack Cocaine ◽  
The United States ◽  
Heterosexual Transmission ◽  
Hiv Positive ◽  
Hiv Seropositivity ◽  
The Caribbean ◽  
Southern Florida

We studied HIV seropositivity among a targeted sample of migrant workers who used drugs, primarily crack cocaine, and their sexual partners in rural southern Florida from 1993 to 1995. We enrolled men and women who were born in the United States (n = 369) or in other countries (n = 174). Overall, 11.2% of the sample were HIV positive, including 18% of Blacks from the United States, and about 8% of non-Hispanic whites from the United States, Blacks from the Caribbean, and persons from Central or South America. No Hispanics from the United States or the Caribbean, but 3.4% of Hispanics from Mexico, were HIV positive. In logistic regression analyses, race/ethnicity, gender, and age were most highly associated with HIV seropositivity. Immigration status, current drug use, and current sexual activity were not related to HIV seropositivity. HIV prevention programs must help reduce heterosexual transmission of HIV associated with drug use both locally and where migrants travel and work.

A synopsis of the milliped genus Abacion Rafinesque (Callipodida: Caspiopetalidae)

1984 ◽  
Vol 62 (5) ◽  
pp. 980-988 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rowland M. Shelley
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Great Lakes ◽  
Great Plains ◽  
The United States ◽  
Species Group ◽  
Valid Species ◽  
Species Ranges ◽  
Northeastern Mexico ◽  
Southern Florida ◽  
Eastern Half

The milliped genus Abacion is summarized, and tesselatum Rafinesque, lactarium (Say), magnum (Loomis), and texense (Loomis) are recognized as valid species even though a low level of gene interchange may be occurring between tesselatum and magnum in coastal Georgia and tesselatum and lactarium in Illinois. Geographic races do not appear to be developing in any species, and all other species group names are relegated to appropriate synonymies. Abacion occurs widely in the eastern half of the United States, from the Atlantic Ocean to the central Great Plains and from the Great Lakes to southern Florida and northeastern Mexico. Species ranges overlap broadly, and instances of sympatry and syntopy are common. The species are similar anatomically, and the most reliable taxonomic characters are found on the male gonopods, particularly the configurations of the coxal processes and the distal elements of the telopodites.

scholarly journals Multiple introductions of Zika virus into the United States revealed through genomic epidemiology

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nathan D Grubaugh ◽  
Jason T Ladner ◽  
Moritz UG Kraemer ◽  
Gytis Dudas ◽  
Amanda L Tan ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Zika Virus ◽  
Direct Sequencing ◽  
The United States ◽  
Incidence Rates ◽  
Multiple Introductions ◽  
Mosquito Abundance ◽  
Genomic Epidemiology ◽  
Traffic Volumes ◽  
Southern Florida

Zika virus (ZIKV) is causing an unprecedented epidemic linked to severe congenital syndromes1,2. In July 2016, mosquito-borne ZIKV transmission was first reported in the continental United States and since then, hundreds of locally-acquired infections have been reported in Florida3. To gain insights into the timing, source, and likely route(s) of introduction of ZIKV into the continental United States, we tracked the virus from its first detection in Miami, Florida by direct sequencing of ZIKV genomes from infected patients and Aedes aegypti mosquitoes. We show that at least four distinct ZIKV introductions contributed to the outbreak in Florida and that local transmission likely started in the spring of 2016 - several months before its initial detection. By analyzing surveillance and genetic data, we discovered that ZIKV moved among transmission zones in Miami. Our analyses show that most introductions are phylogenetically linked to the Caribbean, a finding corroborated by the high incidence rates and traffic volumes from the region into the Miami area. By comparing mosquito abundance and travel flows, we describe the areas of southern Florida that are especially vulnerable to ZIKV introductions. Our study provides a deeper understanding of how ZIKV initiates and sustains transmission in new regions.

scholarly journals Cloud-to-Ground Lightning Flash Density and Thunderstorm Day Distributions over the Contiguous United States Derived from NLDN Measurements: 1993–2018

2019 ◽  
Vol 148 (1) ◽  
pp. 313-332 ◽  
Author(s):  
Thomas L. Koehler
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
The United States ◽  
Horizontal Resolution ◽  
Precipitation Anomaly ◽  
Lightning Flash ◽  
Southern Rocky Mountains ◽  
Weather Observations ◽  
Cloud To Ground Lightning ◽  
The Mean ◽  
Southern Florida

Abstract This study employs cloud-to-ground (CG) lightning flash data from the U.S. National Lightning Detection Network (NLDN) to examine temporal and spatial distributions of lightning flash and thunderstorm day (TD) occurrences over the contiguous United States from 1993 to 2018. TD distributions are estimated from NLDN CG flashes using 4 thunder audibility approximations: 5 and 10 nautical mile (n mi; 1 n mi = 1.852 km) audibility ranges, and minima of 1 and 2 flashes within the audibility range. The 26-yr period examined is longer than previous studies using NLDN data, and the TD results can be compared directly to climatologies derived from surface weather observations dating back to the late 1890s. Results based on the abundant NLDN data avoid limitations introduced by the coarse horizontal resolution of surface observations inherent in pre-NLDN TD climatologies. Annual mean flash density and annual and monthly mean TD distributions are derived from almost 568 million NLDN CG flashes. A mean annual maximum of more than 16 flashes km−2 is found near Tampa, Florida. The mean annual TD maximum of 113 days (from at least 2 flashes within 10 n mi) occurs in southern Florida. Regions exceeding 70 TDs are found from eastern Texas eastward into Florida, and over the southern Rocky Mountains. Large positive deviations from the mean number of TDs extend from Texas northwestward into Colorado during 2003–07, followed by large negative deviations over the same region during 2008–12. Both deviation patterns are similar to expected summertime precipitation anomaly patterns over the United States during El Niño and La Niña years, respectively.

scholarly journals Argentine Black and White Tegu (Salvator merianae) can survive the winter under semi-natural conditions well beyond their current invasive range

PLoS ONE ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 16 (3) ◽  
pp. e0245877
Author(s):  
Scott M. Goetz ◽  
David A. Steen ◽  
Melissa A. Miller ◽  
Craig Guyer ◽  
Jack Kottwitz ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Native Species ◽  
Average Length ◽  
The United States ◽  
Winter Dormancy ◽  
Invasive Range ◽  
Considerable Uncertainty ◽  
Black And White ◽  
Temperature Regimes ◽  
Southern Florida

The Argentine Black and White Tegu (Salvator merianae, formerly Tupinambis merianae) is a large lizard from South America. Now established and invasive in southern Florida, and it poses threats to populations of many native species. Models suggest much of the southern United States may contain suitable temperature regimes for this species, yet there is considerable uncertainty regarding either the potential for range expansion northward out of tropical and subtropical zones or the potential for the species establishing elsewhere following additional independent introductions. We evaluated survival, body temperature, duration and timing of winter dormancy, and health of wild-caught tegus from southern Florida held in semi-natural enclosures for over a year in Auburn, Alabama (> 900 km northwest of capture location). Nine of twelve lizards emerged from winter dormancy and seven survived the greater-than-one-year duration of the study. Average length of dormancy (176 d) was greater than that reported in the native range or for invasive populations in southern Florida and females remained dormant longer than males. Tegus grew rapidly throughout the study and the presence of sperm in the testes of males and previtellogenic or early vitellogenic follicles in female ovaries at the end of our study suggest the animals would have been capable of reproduction the following spring. The survival and overall health of the majority of adult tegus in our study suggests weather and climate patterns are unlikely to prevent survival following introduction in many areas of the United States far from their current invasive range.

scholarly journals Brazilian Red-Eyed Fly Ormia depleta (Wiedemann) (Diptera: Tachinidae)

EDIS ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 2018 (4) ◽  
Author(s):  
Haleigh Ray ◽  
Jennifer Lynn Gillett-Kaufman
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Biological Control ◽  
Life Cycle ◽  
South America ◽  
Pest Management ◽  
The United States ◽  
Mole Crickets ◽  
Southern Florida ◽  
Almost All ◽  
Ormia Depleta

The Brazilian red-eyed fly, Ormia depleta, is a tachinid fly that is a parasitoid of mole crickets in the genus Neoscapteriscus (Orthoptera: Gryllotalpidae). Originally from South America, it was brought to the United States for biological control of pest mole crickets. It is now established in almost all counties in central and southern Florida. Includes: Introduction - Distribution - Description - Life Cycle - Pest Management - Selected References. Available on EDIS at https://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/in1219 First published at http://entnemdept.ufl.edu/creatures/BENEFICIAL/FLIES/Ormia_depleta.html

Seasonal Biomass and Starch Allocation of Common Reed (Phragmites australis) (Haplotype I) in Southern Alabama, USA

2013 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
pp. 140-146 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ryan M. Wersal ◽  
John D. Madsen ◽  
Joshua C. Cheshier
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Life History ◽  
Phragmites Australis ◽  
Aboveground Biomass ◽  
Perennial Grass ◽  
Belowground Biomass ◽  
The United States ◽  
Common Reed ◽  
Total Biomass ◽  
Allocation Patterns

AbstractCommon reed (Phragmites australis) is a nonnative invasive perennial grass that is problematic in aquatic and riparian environments across the United States. Common reed often forms monotypic stands that displace native vegetation which provide food and cover for wildlife. To help maintain native habitats and manage populations of common reed in the United States, an understanding of its life history and starch allocation patterns are needed. Monthly biomass samples were harvested from sites throughout the Mobile River delta in southern Alabama, USA from January 2006 to December 2007 to quantify seasonal biomass and starch allocation patterns. Total biomass of common reed throughout the study was between 1375 and 3718 g m−2 depending on the season. Maximum aboveground biomass was 2200 ± 220 g m−2 in October of 2006 and 1302 ± 88 g m−2 in December of 2007. Maximum belowground biomass was seen in November of 2006 and 2007 with 1602 ± 233 and 1610 ± 517 g m−2 respectively. Biomass was related to ambient temperature, in that, as temperature decreased aboveground biomass (p = 0.05) decreased. Decreases in aboveground biomass were followed by an increase in belowground biomass (p < 0.01). Starch comprised 1 to 10% of aboveground biomass with peak temporary storage occurring in July and August 2006 and September to November of 2007. Belowground tissues stored the majority of starch for common reed regardless of the time of year. Overall, belowground tissues stored 5 to 20% of total starch for common reed with peak storage occurring in December 2006 and October 2007. Starch allocation to belowground tissues increased as temperatures decreased. Understanding seasonal life history patterns can provide information to guide management strategies by identifying the vulnerable points in biomass and starch reserves in common reed.

East Indian Hygrophila: Hygrophila polysperma (Roxb.) T. Anderson

EDIS ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 2017 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Lyn A. Gettys ◽  
Stephen F. Enloe
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Environmental Impacts ◽  
Aquatic Plant ◽  
The United States ◽  
Class Ii ◽  
Water Bodies ◽  
East Indian ◽  
Invasive Aquatic Plant ◽  
Noxious Weed ◽  
Southern Florida

East Indian hygrophila, also known as Miramar weed, Indian swampweed, and hygro, is an invasive aquatic plant that grows under submersed and emergent conditions. The species is a federally listed noxious weed and a Florida Class II prohibited aquatic plant. East Indian hygrophila was first introduced to the United States as an aquarium plant around 1945. The first recorded sighting of East Indian hygrophila in Florida occurred near Tampa in 1965; by 1980, it had become a weed problem in southern Florida canals, and by 1994 it had spread to 18 of Florida’s public water bodies. This paper outlines the biology, ecology, invasion characteristics and environmental impacts of  East Indian hygrophila and and management of this noxious weed.

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