The accidental introduction of the brown tree snake Boiga irregularis to Guam has resulted in the extirpation of most of the island's native terrestrial vertebrates, has created a health hazard to infants and children, and has resulted in economic losses. The high brown tree snake population densities on Guam, the species' adaptations for successful dispersal, and Guam's position as a focal point for commercial and military cargo shipments have created a high level of concern that brown tree snakes could spread from Guam to colonize other vulnerable locations. Cargo inspections using teams of handlers and their detector dogs form the last line of defense for preventing brown tree snake dispersal from Guam. We assessed the efficacy of the teams of handlers and their dogs during 1998 and 1999 for locating stowed brown tree snakes by planting live brown tree snakes (in escape-proof containers) in cargo without the knowledge of the handlers inspecting the cargo. Many of these inspections were monitored by a concealed observer to determine the reason if a planted snake was not located by the dog teams. For 1998 and 1999, we found similar efficacies of 61% and 64%, respectively. When the snakes were not located by the dogs, we found that twice as many were missed because the dog did not change its behavior in response to the snake rather than because the handler did not conduct an adequate search pattern. During daytime inspections we found a greater efficacy for outdoor inspections than for indoor inspections. We found that the average efficacy of 62% for the 1998-99 period was lower than the baseline efficacy of 70% established in 1997. Sustained evaluation of the effectiveness of detector dogs for locating brown tree snakes in cargo outbound from Guam Richard M. E n g e m a n a . * , Daniel S. viceh, Darryl Yorka, Kenneth S. Gruver" AbstractThe accidental introduction of the brown tree snake Boiq<~ irr.c~qu1uri.s to Guam has resulted in the extirpation of most of the island's native terrestrial vertebrates, has created a health hazard to infants and children, and has resulted in economic losses. The high brown tree snake population densities on Guam, the species' adaptations for successful dispersal, and Guam's position as a focal point for commercial and military cargo shipments have created a high level of concern that brown tree snakes could spread from Guam to colonize other vulnerable locations. Cargo inspections using teams of handlers and their detector dogs form the last line of defense for preventing brown tree snake dispersal from Guam. We assessed the eficacy of the teams of handlers and their dogs during 1998 and 1999 for locating stowed brown tree snakes by planting live brown tree snakes (in escape-proof containers) in cargo without the knowledge of the handlers inspecting the cargo. Many of these inspections were monitored by a concealed observer to determine the reason if a planted snake was not located by the dog teams. For 1998 and 1999, we found similar efficacies of 6196 and 64'36, respe...

No abstract

We conducted enclosure trials near Huron, CA in the San Joaquirl Valley from 12 to 23 January 1999 to de-e the e $ b c y of Flight Controlm(50% anthraquinone) and Mesurol@ (75% methiocarb) in preventing horned lark damage to lettuce seedlings. Flight ControlM (FC) and Mesurolm were evaluated as foliar sprays at application ra-of 279 and 227 kg hauL, respectively. Homed lark

Bird strikes to aircraft are a serious economic and safety problem in the United States, annually causing millions of dollars in damage to civilian and military aircraft and the occasional loss of human life. We observed movements of 1236 neckbanded lesser Canada geese (Bvanta canadensis parvipes) to determine efficacy of hazing as a means to reduce goose presence at Elmendorf Air Force Base (EAFB), Anchorage, Alaska from August to October 1997. Emphasis was on movements of geese onto EAFB with additional data collected at the other two major airports in the area, Anchorage International Airport (AIA) and Merrill Field Airport (MFA). Daily observations indicated the presence of 208 individual neckbanded geese on EAFB, and 20% returned more than once after being hazed from EAFB. We identified three staging areas, geese utilized prior to entering EAFB, and three post-hazing dispersal sites. Collared geese began moving onto EAFB 30-40 days post-molt with the largest proportions moving onto EAFB 70-90 days post-molt. We observed 75 neckbanded geese on AIA from seven molting sites, and 23% returned more than once after being hazed from AIA. We observed 141 neckbanded geese on MFA from 14 molting sites, and 21% returned more than once after being hazed from MFA. Our data indicated that as long as local goose populations increase, large numbers of Anchorage area geese are likely to enter one of the airports creating a variety of management problems. Hazed geese returning to airports multiple times present a special hazard to aircraft safety because they appear to have become habituated to non-lethal scare tactics. We recommend an integrated management approach to limit the Anchorage area goose population utilizing various control techniques which are acceptable to Anchorage residents while continuing the hazing program at area airports.

No abstract