Our previous study demonstrated that avian species possesses two distinct aryl hydrocarbon receptors (AHR1 and AHR2). To elucidate the functional characterization of avian AHRs, 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin (TCDD) binding affinities and in vitro DRC-induced transcriptional activities of AHR isoforms from chicken (Gallus gallus), black-footed albatross (Phoebastria nigripes), common cormo...

Animal populations are frequently limited by the availability of food or of habitat. In central-place foragers, the cost of accessing these resources is distance-dependent rather than uniform in space. However, in seabirds, a widely studied exemplar of this paradigm, empirical population models have hitherto ignored this cost. In part, this is because non-independence among colonies makes it di...

BACKGROUND The spatiotemporal distribution of animals is dependent on a suite of factors, including the distribution of resources, interactions within and between species, physiological limitations, and requirements for reproduction, dispersal, or migration. During breeding, reproductive constraints play a major role in the distribution and behavior of central place foragers, such as pelagic se...

Marine megafauna such as seabirds, marine mammals and sea turtles are subject to high mortality from incidental capture or bycatch in fisheries. Recent research suggests that fishing effort is increasing worldwide, highlighting the need to evaluate strategies intended to reduce marine megafauna bycatch. Here, we use three focal species (i.e. leatherback turtle Dermochelys coriacea, black-footed...

The flight ability of animals is restricted by the scaling effects imposed by physical and physiological factors. In comparisons of the power available from muscle and the mechanical power required to fly, it is predicted that the margin between the powers should decrease with body size and that flying animals have a maximum body size. However, predicting the absolute value of this upper limit ...

Meta-analyses combine the results of multiple studies of a common question. Approaches based on effect size estimates from each study are generally regarded as the most informative. However, these methods can only be used if comparable effect sizes can be computed from each study, and this may not be the case due to variation in how the studies were done or limitations in how their results were...

Observations were made of birds and mammals on Adams Island and the southern end of the main Auckland Island between 2 November and 7 December 1989. Thirty-five bird species, fur seals and sealions were observed. Five Auckland Island rail were captured and many more heard on Adams Island. Counts of wandering and royal albatross, yellow-eyed penguins, Auckland Island teal and Auckland Island dot...

Dynamic soaring is a technique used the sea bird the Albatross. This technique allows for the bird to stay in the air for extended periods of time with very little effort. Dynamic soaring utilizes the wind gradient on the surface of the ocean to maintain its airspeed. A similar technique is used by RC glider pilots to achieve high speeds by using the shear wind layer on the leeward side of moun...

At-sea surveys facilitate the study of the distribution and abundance of marine birds along standardized transects, in relation to changes in the local environmental conditions and large-scale oceanographic forcing. We analyzed the form and the intensity of black-footed albatross (Phoebastria nigripes: BFAL) spatial dispersion off central California, using five years (2004-2008) of vessel-based...

Several activity-based transportation models are now becoming operational and are entering the stage of application for the modelling of travel demand. Some of these models use decision rules to support its decision making instead of principles of utility maximization. Decision rules can be derived from different modelling approaches. In a previous study, it was shown that Bayesian networks out...