Mesocestoides spp. have a cosmopolitan distribution with zoonotic potential. Mesocestoides tetrathyridia were found under the pericardial sac, on the surface of the crop, and in the peritoneal cavity of a hunter-harvested Northern Bobwhite ( Colinus virginianus) and a Scaled Quail ( Callipepla squamata) collected during the 2016-17 quail hunting season in northwest and southern Texas, US respectively. Molecular analysis indicated that the tetrathyridia from the birds likely belonged to an undescribed species and are identical to pretetrathyridium stages recently found in Scincella lateralis skinks in Oklahoma. This is the first report of Mesocestoides from North American birds.

Disparate resource use originating from phenology of biotic resources, abiotic conditions, and life cycles of exploiting organisms underscores the importance of research across time and space to guide management practices. Our goal was to evaluate resource use of northern bobwhite (Colinus virginianus; bobwhite) at two spatial scales and across three age classes, from hatching through a period of the postjuvenile molt. Our study was conducted at Tall Timbers Research Station, Tallahassee, FL, USA—situated in a landscape subjected to small scale (<20 ha) prescribed fires on a 2‐year fire rotation. We predicted prescribed fire, disking, and supplemental feeding would dictate resource use, but effects would depend on time since fire, brood age, and time of day. We predicted vegetation and temperature would govern roost use by broods, but these effects would also depend on age. We radio‐tracked 62 broods 21–35 times / week during May–October 2018 and 2019. Broods were less likely to use areas with large proportions of hardwood drains but favored sites with greater proportions of burned uplands, regardless of the time of day. Broods were less likely to use areas at greater distances from supplemental feed; this relationship had no interaction with age but was stronger later in the nesting season (>July 15). Broods were more likely to use areas with greater proportions of fallow fields during the day than for roosting. Broods used roosts with more woody cover and visual obscurity than at available sites. Roosts consisted of less grass and bare ground. However, these effects interacted with age; broods used sparser cover at older ages. Neonate broods were more likely to use cooler roosts with greater thermal stability, but this effect was reversed for juveniles. Broods may alter resource use with changes in vulnerabilities to threats such as thermal risks and predation.

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BioOne Complete (complete.BioOne.org) is a full-text database of 200 subscribed and open-access titles in the biological, ecological, and environmental sciences published by nonprofit societies, associations, museums, institutions, and presses.

Northern bobwhite (Colinus virginianus) populations are monitored using 2 general approaches—population indices and abundance estimators. Due to their convenient sampling designs, indices are commonly used by land managers and researchers to predict or estimate hunting‐season populations. We evaluated the efficacy of 4 bobwhite indices (spring cock [adult male] call‐counts, autumn covey call‐counts, roadside surveys, and helicopter surveys) to predict hunting‐season population size by relating them to abundance estimators (minimum known population [no. unique trapped individuals each year], mark–recapture, helicopter‐based distance sampling). Data were collected at the Rolling Plains Quail Research Ranch in Fisher County, Texas, USA, during 2009–2018. Spring cock call‐counts and autumn covey call‐counts were analyzed at 2 spatial scales: ranch scale (1,781 ha) and point scale (i.e., within the presumed radius of audibility of listening points; 600 m or 113 ha). Roadside and helicopter surveys were conducted at the ranch scale along 31‐ and 90‐km transects, respectively. At the ranch scale, mean spring cock call‐counts were a modest predictor of minimum known populations (r2 = 0.54) and good predictor of mark–recapture estimates (r2 = 0.80). At the point scale, the mean number of cocks heard was a poor predictor of densities surrounding points (r2 = 0.0003) as estimated by distance sampling. The mean number of coveys heard during autumn counts was a significant predictor of both minimum known populations (r2 = 0.88) and mark–recapture estimates (r2 = 0.85) at the ranch scale but was a weak predictor of densities immediately surrounding listening points (r2 = 0.22). Helicopter surveys during November (individuals/km) were a significant predictor of minimum known populations (r2 = 0.98) and mark–recapture (r2 = 0.93). Overall, roadside surveys (individuals/km) conducted during September was the best index for predicting minimum known populations (r2 = 0.99) and mark–recapture estimates (r2 = 0.97). Our results suggest the linear relationship between indices and autumn–winter populations for bobwhite are stronger when conducted closer in time to hunting season and at larger scales. © 2019 The Wildlife Society.

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