Biennial Report
January 1995 - December 1996

This is the 4th biennial report produced by the MN Coop Unit and summarizes Unit activities during 1995 and 1996. The period from 1995-1996 was again a time of significant change for the MN Coop Unit. After being moved out of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to the National Biological Survey (Service) in 1993, the Unit Program was moved into the U.S. Geological Survey as part of the Biological Resources Division in 1996. This reorganization followed a period of uncertainty regarding the future of the U.S. National Biological Service and the Cooperative Research Units Program. Throughout this period, however, our program at the Minnesota Coop Unit has remained strong, and our ties with Cooperators remain intact. We continue to further our research mission, and were productive in terms of projects and publications over the past 2 years.

Table of Contents

COMPLETED RESEARCH

• CONTAMINANTS
  • Avian Exposure to Agricultural Chemicals in Minnesota
  • Effect of Bioturbation on the Bioavailability of Metals in Sediments: A Test of the Acid volatile Sulfide Approach for Determining Metal Bioavailability
  • Impact of Sedimentation and Agricultural Chemicals on Wetlands in the Prairie Pothole Region of the United States
• HUMAN ACTIVITIES, MANAGEMENT AND CONSERVATION
  • An Evaluation of the Indirect Effects of Fluridone (Sonar®) on two Minnesota Lakes
  • Conservation of the Loggerhead Shrike
  • Virtual Reality Interface for Landscape Visualization
• APPLIED ECOLOGY
  • Ecology of the Boreal Owl in Northeastern Minnesota
  • Population Dynamics of Paddlefish in the Lower Wisconsin River
  • Red-Shouldered Hawk Breeding Ecology and Habitat Use in Central Minnesota
  • Spawning Habitat and Summer Microhabitat Use of a Northern Population of Adult Smallmouth Bass

ONGOING RESEARCH

• CONTAMINANTS
  • PCB Congeners in Marsh Birds in Green Bay Coastal Wetlands
• HUMAN ACTIVITIES, MANAGEMENT AND CONSERVATION
  • Biodiversity Monitoring: Breeding Productivity, Habitat, and Winter Distribution of Nongame Birds
  • The Effect of Human Disturbance on the Endangered Great Lakes Piping Plover
  • Effects of Land Use, Sediment, and Temperature on the Distribution of Benthic Invertebrates and Fish in the Whitewater Watershed
  • Impact of Management Intensive Grazing Practices on the Stream Biota and Stream Habitat of Five Southeastern Minnesota Farms
  • Individual-Based Walleye Simulation Model
  • Status Assessment for the Great Lakes Population of Common Terns
  • Trophic ecology of young-of-the-year Walleye in Minnesota rearing ponds
• APPLIED ECOLOGY
  • Age and Growth of Lake Herring in Lake Superior
  • Assessing Ecological Structure, Function, and Dynamics of Undisturbed and Restored Northern Prairie Wetlands
  • Assessing Wolf Population Structure
  • Eastern Prairie Population Canada Goose Ecology
  • Foraging Behavior of California sea lions at San Miguel Island, California
  • Insects and Anurans as indicators of wetland condition in the Prairie Pothole Region of North Dakota
  • Paleolimnology: reconstructing the chronology of fish residency in alpine and subalpine lakes of Glacier National Park, Montana
  • Relating Behavior and Microhabitat Use to Growth in Stream Resident Trout
  • Winter Ecology of Ferruginous Hawks in Colorado

ACTIVITIES

• PUBLICATIONS
• COMPLETED THESES AND DISSERTATIONS
• PRESENTATIONS AND MEETING ATTENDANCE
• HONORS AND AWARDS

Minnesota Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit
University of Minnesota
Department of Fisheries, Wildlife, and Conservation Biology
1980 Folwell Avenue, 138 Hodson Hall
St. Paul, MN 55108
phone: 612-624-3421
fax: 612-625-5299
coopunit@tc.umn.edu