Kent P. McFarland

Vermont Center for Ecostudies | VCE · Vermont Atlas of Life

Many fundamental aspects of migration remain a mystery, largely due to our inability to follow small animals over vast spatial areas. For more than 50 years, it has been hypothesized that, during autumn migration, blackpoll warblers (Setophaga striata) depart northeastern North America and undertake a non-stop flight over the Atlantic Ocean to eith...

Conservation planning and implementation require identifying pertinent habitats and locations where protection and management may improve viability of targeted species. The winter range of Bicknell's Thrush (Catharus bicknelli), a threatened Nearctic-Neotropical migratory songbird, is restricted to the Greater Antilles. We analyzed winter records f...

Bicknell's Thrush (Catharus bicknelli) is a rare habitat specialist that breeds in dense balsam fir (Abies balsamea) and red spruce (Picea rubens) forests at high elevations in the northeastern United States. Ongoing and projected loss of this forest type has led to increased demand for information on the species' status throughout the region. We u...

We investigated mercury (Hg) concentrations in a terrestrial food web in high elevation forests in Vermont. Hg concentrations increased from autotrophic organisms to herbivores < detritivores < omnivores < carnivores. Within the carnivores studied, raptors had higher blood Hg concentrations than their songbird prey. The Hg concentration in the bloo...

Anthropogenic input of mercury (Hg) into the environment has elevated risk to fish and wildlife, particularly in northeastern North America. Investigations into the transfer and fate of Hg have focused on inhabitants of freshwater aquatic ecosystems, as these are the habitats at greatest risk for methylmercury (MeHg) biomagnification. Deviating fro...

Insects represent half of all global biodiversity, yet many of the world's insects are disappearing, with severe implications for ecosystems and agriculture. Despite this crisis, data on insect diversity and abundance remain woefully inadequate, due to the scarcity of human experts and the lack of scalable tools for monitoring. Ecologists have star...

Aim Spatiotemporal variation in resource availability is a strong driver of animal distributions. In the northern hardwood and boreal forests of the northeastern United States, tree mast events provide resource pulses that drive the population dynamics of small mammals, including the American red squirrel (Tamiasciurus hudsonicus), a primary songbi...

Automated sensors have potential to standardize and expand the monitoring of insects across the globe. As one of the most scalable and fastest developing sensor technologies, we describe a framework for automated, image-based monitoring of nocturnal insects—from sensor development and field deployment to workflows for data processing and publishing...

The worldwide decline of insects calls for understanding the conservation status of key insect groups at local and regional scales. Pollinators are widely recognized as especially important to native ecosystems and agriculture and their declines have been met with calls for inventory and monitoring. In New York State, we conducted a four-year surve...

Severe declines in the abundance of insects, including economically and ecologically important pollinators are alarming conservationists and the public. Yet despite these increasingly well documented declines, relatively few pollinating insects other than some butterflies and bumble bees have appeared as Species of Greatest Conservation Need (SGCN)...

This report showcases the power of coupling community and professional science to documenting Vermont’s biodiversity. Vermonters have risen to the conservation challenge: our community scientists lead the nation with more field observations per capita than any other state. We use nearly 8 million observations from almost 12,000 species reported fro...

Abstract: The first Vermont Butterfly Atlas (VBA1) took place from 2002-2007. The VBA1 sought to educate and involve people in the discovery and protection of Vermont’s natural heritage, determine the current and historic distribution of Vermont butterfly species, obtain baseline information on butterfly distribution and populations in Vermont, as...

For many avian species, spatial migration patterns remain largely undescribed, especially across hemispheric extents. Recent advancements in tracking technologies and high‐resolution species distribution models (i.e., eBird Status and Trends products) provide new insights into migratory bird movements and offer a promising opportunity for integrati...

With over 350 species in Vermont, wild bees are a diverse and ecologically important insect group. As one of the most important groups of pollinators, bees provide essential ecological and agricultural services. Documented declines of a few species have caused concern about a possible collapse of all bee populations. However, our understanding of t...

Abstract Data sharing has become an important issue in modern biodiversity research to address large scale questions and conserve species. Despite the steadily growing scientific and conservation demand, data are not always easily accessed. Worse, it may be lost forever if it is not properly archived. The Vermont Center for Ecostudies launched an...

The global lockdown to mitigate COVID-19 pandemic health risks has altered human interactions with nature. Here, we report immediate impacts of changes in human activities on wildlife and environmental threats during the early lockdown months of 2020, based on 877 qualitative reports and 332 quantitative assessments from 89 different studies. Hundr...

Species distributions, abundance, and interactions have always been influenced by human activity and are currently experiencing rapid change. Biodiversity benchmark surveys traditionally require intense human labor inputs to find, identify, and record organisms limiting the rate and impact of scientific enquiry and discovery. Recent emergence and a...

Checklist of butterflies reported from Vermont, USA. The Vermont Butterfly Checklist is now comprised of 111 species in 5 families (Family:no. species= Hesperiidae 37, Lycaenidae 23, Nymphalidae 38, Papilionidae 6, Pieridae 7). Published at GBIF: https://www.gbif.org/dataset/73eb16f0-4b06-4347-8069-459bc2d96ddb#

Bees are the most important pollinators in both managed and natural ecosystems, and yet concerns about bee declines are growing. Unfortunately, only a fraction of the 20,000 known bee species has adequate data to assess the status of species and susceptibility of populations to decline. The iDigBees Thematic Collections Network (TCN), comprised of...

We investigated mercury (Hg) blood concentrations in Bicknell’s thrush (Catharus bicknelli) and Swainson’s thrush (C. ustulatus), congeneric long-distance migratory songbirds, from 2000−2017 at a montane forest site in north-central Vermont. We analyzed variation in blood Hg of both species using mixed-effects models, incorporating atmospheric wet...

Bumble bees are essential pollinators of crops and wildflowers in agricultural, urban, and natural ecosystems. Bombus pensylvanicus is widespread throughout the eastern and central United States and southern Canada, and in the Desert West and adjacent areas of California and Oregon (Williams et al. 2014). B. pensylvanicus is a grassland species ass...

Aims Species distributions result from both biotic and abiotic interactions across large spatial scales. The interplay of these interactions as climate changes quickly has been understudied, particularly in herbivorous insects. Here, we investigate the relative impacts these influences on the putative northern range expansion of the giant swallowta...

2019. Apparent survival of a range-restricted montane forest bird species is influenced by weather throughout the annual cycle. Avian Conservation and Ecology 14(2):16. https://doi. ABSTRACT. To conserve small and fragmented populations, we need an understanding of their population dynamics. With a global population estimate of < 120,000, Bicknell'...

Currently, the deployment of tracking devices is one of the most frequently used approaches to study movement ecology of birds. Recent miniaturization of light‐level geolocators enabled studying small bird species whose migratory patterns were widely unknown. However, geolocators may reduce vital rates in tagged birds and may bias obtained movement...

The soils and food webs associated with mid to high elevation, forested, headwater streams in northeastern North America are potential hotspots for mercury (Hg) methylation and bioaccumulation, but are not well studied. Our goals were to quantify total Hg (THg) and methyl Hg (MeHg) concentrations in soils and terrestrial food webs associated with h...

Bumble bees (Bombus) play key roles as pollinators in temperate ecosystems. Some North American species have declined due to factors that include habitat loss, parasites, pesticides, and climate change. In many regions conservation is hampered by lack of quantitative data on historical abundance and distribution, making status assessments difficult...

Insect migration is globally ubiquitous and can involve continental-scale movements and complex life histories. Apart from select species of migratory moths and butterflies, little is known about the structure of the annual cycle for migratory insects. Using stable-hydrogen isotope analysis of 852 wing samples from eight countries spanning 140 year...

Despite Hispaniola's high rates of avian endemism and its importance to supporting global biodiversity, relatively little information is available on the basic biology and ecology of its resident birds, particularly the 31 species endemic to the island. Here we describe the nesting ecology and nesting success (n = 643 nests) of species of resident...

The winter range of the Bicknell's Thrush (Catharus bicknelli), a globally vulnerable Nearctic-Neotropical migratory songbird, is restricted to the Greater Antilles. Most birds occur on Hispaniola, where the species exhibits sexual habitat segregation, and where the loss of its preferred wet broadleaf habitats has been severe. Conservation of femal...

Motivation: The BioTIME database contains raw data on species identities and abundances in ecological assemblages through time. These data enable users to calculate temporal trends in biodiversity within and amongst assemblages using a broad range of metrics. BioTIME is being developed as a community-led open-source database of biodiversity time se...

Motivation: The BioTIME database contains raw data on species identities and abundances in ecological assemblages through time. These data enable users to calculate temporal trends in biodiversity within and amongst assemblages using a broad range of metrics. BioTIME is being developed as a community-led open-source database of biodiversity time se...

Motivation: The BioTIME database contains raw data on species identities and abundances in ecological assemblages through time. These data enable users to calculate temporal trends in biodiversity within and amongst assemblages using a broad range of metrics. BioTIME is being developed as a community led open-source database of biodiversity time se...

Dragonfly migration has been observed on every continent except Antarctica, with some species performing spectacular long-distance mass movements. Like birds, in eastern North America millions of Common Green Darners migrate to the north in the spring and south in the fall. Where are they coming from and where do they go? In this study, we combine...

Bombus spp. (bumble bees) play key roles as pollinators in temperate ecosystems. Some North American species have declined due to factors that include habitat loss, parasites, pesticides, and climate change. In many regions, conservation is hampered by lack of quantitative data on historical abundance and distribution, making status assessments dif...

Methylmercury, the bioavailable form of mercury, is a neurotoxin with well-documented, adverse impacts on natural systems and wildlife populations. Most investigations of methylmercury bioavailability have focused on freshwater aquatic ecosystems; however, recent research has revealed widespread uptake and bioaccumulation in terrestrial biota, incl...

We combined data on morphology, behavior, and gene sequences to document the first known case of hybridization within the thrush genus Catharus. During June 2008 at a montane forest site in south-central Vermont, we observed a male bird that repeatedly exhibited song characteristics of both Bicknell's Thrush (C. bicknelli) and Veery (C. fuscescens)...

Motivation: The BioTIME database contains raw data on species identities and abundances in ecological assemblages through time. These data enable users to calculate temporal trends in biodiversity within and amongst assemblages using a broad range of metrics. BioTIME is being developed as a community-led open-source database of biodiversity time se...

Data collection, storage, analysis, visualization, and dissemination are changing rapidly due to advances in new technologies driven by computer science and universal access to the internet. These technologies and web connections place human observers front and center in citizen science-driven research and are critical in generating new discoveries...

Abstract: We conducted point counts in the alpine zone of the Presidential Range of the White Mountains, New Hampshire, USA, to estimate the distribution and density of the rare endemic White Mountain Fritillary (Boloria chariclea montinus). Incidence of occurrence and density of the endemic White Mountain Fritillary during surveys in 2012 and 2013...

Data collection, storage, analysis, visualization, and dissemination are changing rapidly due to advances in new technologies driven by computer science and universal access to the internet. These technologies and web connections place human observers front and center in citizen science-driven research and are critical in generating new discoveries...

A new effort that uses automated cameras and recording devices to track variation in the phenology of a mountain ecosystem and to understand how changes in the timing of key biological events affects the plants and animals.

From 2002-2007 citizen scientists helped to document the status of Vermont butterflies. Despite their lofty status among the insects, there was no atlas of their distribution and no conservation assessment for butterflies. Obtaining complete survey coverage of this rural and mountainous state was challenging. Participation generally followed Pareto...

Combining data on morphology, behavior, and gene sequences, we document the first known case of hybridization within the thrush genus Catharus. During June of 2008, we observed a male bird at a montane forest site in south-central Vermont that repeatedly exhibited song characteristics of both Bicknell’s Thrush (C. bicknelli) and Veery (C. fuscescen...

http://anr.vermont.gov/sites/anr/files/specialtopics/mark_kent_leif_ANR_presentation_compressed.pdf

We analyzed temporal trends in mist-net capture rates of resident (n = 8) and overwintering Nearctic-Neotropical migrant (n = 3) bird species at two sites in montane broadleaf forest of the Sierra de Bahoruco, Dominican Republic, with the goal of providing quantitative information on population trends that could inform conservation assessments. We...

The soils and foods webs associated with mid to high elevation, forested, headwater streams are potential hotspots for mercury methylation and bioaccumulation but are not well studied. We tested the hypothesis that spatial variation in mercury bioaccumulation in upland taxa associated with headwater streams can be explained by variation in soil con...

http://vtecostudies.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/NALCC_VPDC_Final-Report.25Jan2016.pdf

Species status report to the Vermont Endangered Species Committee recommending listing Bombus ashtoni as Endangered in Vermont.

Species status report to the Vermont Endangered Species Committee recommending listing Bombus terricola as Threatened in Vermont.

Species status report to the Vermont Endangered Species Committee recommending listing Bombus affinis as Endangered in Vermont.

We analyzed temporal trends in mist-net capture rates of resident (n = 8) and overwintering Nearctic-Neotropical migrant (n = 3) bird species at two sites in montane broadleaf forest of the Sierra de Bahoruco, Dominican Republic, with the goal of providing quantitative information on population trends that could inform conservation assessments. We...

We analyzed temporal trends in mist-net capture rates of resident (n = 8) and overwintering Nearctic-Neotropical migrant (n = 3) bird species at two sites in montane broadleaf forest of the Sierra de Bahoruco, Dominican Republic, with the goal of providing quantitative information on population trends that could inform conservation assessments. We...

See http://bna.birds.cornell.edu/bna/species/592/articles/introduction

Congress created the State and Tribal Wildlife Grants Program (SWG) in 2001. To receive SWG funds, each state and territory is required to develop a Wildlife Action Plan. The goal of both the State Wildlife Grants program and the Action Plan is to prevent wildlife from becoming endangered through early, strategic efforts to conserve wildlife and ha...

High-elevation ecosystems of the northeastern United States are vulnerable to deposition and environmental accumulation of atmospheric pollutants, yet little work has been done to assess mercury (Hg) concentrations in organisms occupying montane ecosystems. The authors present data on Hg concentrations in ground-foraging insectivorous songbirds, a...

Research in alpine areas of northeastern North America has been poorly coordinated, with minimal communication among researchers, and it has rarely been multidisciplinary. A workshop was organized to review the state of alpine research in northeastern North America, to facilitate cooperation, and to encourage discussion about research priorities fo...

Despite growing concerns over mercury (Hg) exposure to humans and wildlife on a global scale, little is known about Hg bioaccumulation in the New World tropics. From 2005 to 2011, we monitored Hg concentrations in blood of nine avian species occupying a geographic range of tropical wet broadleaf sites on the island of Hispaniola, including eight pa...

Territorial social behavior of wintering Nearctic-Neotropic migrant songbirds places males and females in direct conflict over access to winter space and resources. Outcomes of this intersexual competition can vary by species and habitat, but information has been collected for only a small subset of migrant species. We investigated the available fo...

Studies of the effects of transmitters on passerines have provided mixed results, but many have revealed no negative impacts. Most such studies have been conducted during the breeding season and, as a result, little is known about the possible effects of transmitters on wintering birds. We examined the effects of transmitters on Bicknell's Thrushes...

Aim Measuring dispersal is crucial for estimating demographic rates that inform conservation plans for rare and threatened species. We evaluated natal dispersal patterns in Bicknell's thrush ( C atharus bicknelli ) across most of the breeding range using a 10‐year data set of stable‐hydrogen isotope ratios in feathers (δ ² H F ) grown on the natal...

Changes in site occupancy across habitat patches have often been attributed to landscape features in fragmented systems, particularly when considering metapopulations. However, failure to include habitat quality of individual patches can mask the relative importance of local scale features in determining distributional changes. We employed dynamic...

Little is known about mercury bioaccumulation in strictly terrestrial ecosystems that are remote from point-sources of contamination. Here we show that mercury concentrations in the leaf litter and organic soil layer increased with elevation in a densely forested watershed of New York’s Catskill Mountains. Closely-related forest thrushes (genus Cat...

Atmospheric mercury research began at the Underhill, Vermont Air Quality Site in 1992 sponsored by EPA and NOAA. The site, hosted by the University of Vermont Proctor Maple Research Center and the Vermont Monitoring Cooperative became a focus for research on the atmospheric chemistry, deposition and ecosystem cycling of mercury in New England. A co...

We investigated sex and age ratios of wintering Bicknell's Thrush (Catharus bicknelli) across a geographic gradient of sites on Hispaniola. The island-wide proportion male was 0.64 (n  =  127), which is comparable to the known male bias in breeding areas. The proportion male varied geographically on Hispaniola, suggesting some level of habitat segr...

We used radiotelemetry to investigate the spatial behavior of wintering Bicknell's Thrushes (Catharus bicknelli) at a mid-elevation rainforest site and a high-elevation cloud-forest site in the Dominican Republic. We also analyzed blood stable carbon isotopes and fecal samples to compare thrush diets at these two floristically and climatically dist...

We investigated mercury (Hg) concentrations in a terrestrial food web in high elevation forests in Vermont. Mercury concentrations increased from autotrophic organisms to herbivores < detritivores < omnivores < carnivores. Within the carnivores studied, raptors had higher blood mercury concentrations than their songbird prey. The Hg concentration i...

We banded a Bicknell's Thrush (Catharus bicknelli) on its Vermont breeding home range and recaptured the same bird less than six months later on its winter territory in the Dominican Republic. The encounter provides a rare link between known breeding and wintering sites for a Nearctic-Neotropical migratory passerine. This individual was documented...

Many studies have demonstrated the deleterious effects of introduced predators on resident populations of island birds, but few have quantified their effect on the survival and space-use behavior of migratory species. We used radio telemetry to investigate the winter survival and roosting patterns of Bicknell's Thrush (Catharus bicknelli) at two si...

Se hipotetiza que la disponibilidad y la distribución de recursos son los principales mecanismos ecológicos que determinan la variación en los sistemas de apareamiento de las aves. Aunque se han empleado experimentos en los que se suplementa alimento para examinar la plasticidad en los sistemas de apareamiento, la variación en las estrategias de ap...

Aunque la presencia de varios machos alimentadores y paternidad múltiple en una misma nidada está ampliamente distribuida taxonómicamente entre aves no migratorias, esto parece ser extremadamente raro entre las migratorias. Durante un estudio demográfico de Catharus bicknelli en Vermont, Estados Unidos, observamos grupos de 2–4 machos y una hembra...