UWM biologist leads county’s first-ever wildlife survey

Gary Casper, a biologist with the UWM Field Station, is in charge of conducting the first-ever comprehensive wildlife survey in Milwaukee County. The survey is one step toward restoring the quality of the Milwaukee Estuary and its associated rivers, which …

Wisconsin Life: A Walk through the Cedarburg Bog

European settlers to Wisconsin saw wetlands as wasted space to be drained. But that view changed over time, and in 1952, Wisconsin’s DNR made an intact wetland in Ozaukee County known as the Cedarburg Bog a Wisconsin State Natural Area, only the second piece of land to receive that designation at the time.

Isolation of Novel Microbes from Natural Environments

About 95-99% of the microbes cannot be isolated with conventional methods. In this study, we used culture-independent methods to isolate and identify microbes in natural environments. We collected soil samples from different locations at the Field Station. The r-DNA of the microbes were sequenced to study bacterial phylogeny and taxonomy. The potential natural compounds produced from the isolated microorganisms were evaluated.

Experimental Evidence that Brighter Males Sire More Extra-pair Young in Swallows

Across taxa, extra-pair mating is widespread among socially monogamous species, but few studies have identified male ornamental traits associated with extra-pair mating success, and even fewer studies have experimentally manipulated male traits to determine if they are related directly to paternity. As a consequence, there is little evidence to support the widespread hypothesis that females choose more ornamented males as extra-pair mates.

Bat Activity Surveillance Monitoring at Neda Mine Hibernaculum

White-Nose Syndrome (WNS) has spread across 26 states and 5 Canadian provinces. The fungus Psuedogymnoascus destructans (Pd) that causes the syndrome has been found in four other states (MN, MS, NE and OK). This deadly disease has and continues to cause massive bat mortality in eastern North America. Since the winter of 2006–2007, bat population declines ranging from 80–97% have been documented at surveyed hibernacula.

An Urban Cooper’s Hawk Nesting Study in the Metropolitan Milwaukee Area

The objectives of this study are to gather baseline data on the reproductive success of Cooper’s hawks (Accipiter cooperii) in the urban metropolitan Milwaukee area, to describe urban nesting habitat, and to compare these data with other Cooper’s hawk studies in Wisconsin. Long-term objectives are to determine Cooper’s hawk nest site fidelity, breeding population mortality and recruitment, population growth trends, immigration and emigration patterns, and natal dispersal patterns for the same urban population.