Francisco J. Vilella

During 2002-2003, we trapped and banded 1870 mourning doves (Zenaida macroura) in Hell Creek Wildlife Management Area located in northern Mississippi. Of these, we recovered 152 banded doves and recorded 845 live recaptures. We calculated apparent weekly survival using live recaptures model in Program MARK. Best model yielded adult survival estimates of >0.90 through week 13, then declined to 0.88 by week 15. Juvenile survival estimates followed a similar trend with >0.90 through week 13, then dropping to 0.85 by week 15. Annual survival rate of mourning doves in northern...

Certain species of neotropical migrant songbirds have been decreasing in abundance throughout their breeding range for prolonged periods and a cause of immediate concern. Information on the extent of changes in habitats caused by land management practices and use of such habitats by forest bird communities is critical for management. This study was designed in order to establish a long-term system for avian population monitoring at Tombigbee National Forest and Noxubee National Wildlife Refuge located in north central Mississippi. Avian communities were used to evaluate the impact of...

Accurate nocturnal bird abundance and distribution data are necessary for managing nocturnal avian communities. We compared vocalization playback and silent methods for surveying 3 nocturnal avian species in Mississippi in 1997 and 1998. Playback elicited more responses from eastern screech-owls (Otus asio) than the silent method. Playback was more effective than the silent method at detecting habitat associations of eastern screech-owls, which were strongly associated with pine regeneration stands than pine sawtimber stands and pine-hardwood stands. Playback of broadcast vocalizations...

To facilitate recovery of the endangered red-cockaded woodpecker (RCW), management priorities and practices on >800,000 ha of Forest Service land in the Southeastern United States have been realigned to restore the pine-grassland system to which the RCW is adapted. Management regimes for RCW involve fire and mechanical suppression of hardwood understory and midstory. As such, RCW management practices might be expected to alter plant communities and associated wildlife populations. We examined differences in vegetation composition and structure between mature pine stands managed for red-...