Counting techniques are widely used to study and monitor terrestrial birds. To assess current applications of counting techniques, we reviewed landbird studies published 1989–1998 in nine major journals and one symposium. Commonly used techniques fell into two groups: procedures that used counts of bird detections as an index to abundance (index counts), and procedures that used empirical models of detectability to estimate density. Index counts rely upon assumptions concerning detectability that are difficult or impossible to meet in most field studies, but nonetheless remain the technique of choice among ornithologists; 95% of studies we reviewed relied upon point counts, strip transects, or other index procedures. Detectability-based density estimates were rarely used and deserve wider application in landbird studies. Distance sampling is a comprehensive extension of earlier detectability-based procedures (variable-width transects, variable circular plots) and a viable alternative to index counts. We provide a conceptual overview of distance sampling, specific recommendations for applying this technique to studies of landbirds, and an introduction to analysis of distance sampling data using the program DISTANCE.

Desert ungulates must contend with high solar radiation, high ambient temperatures, a lack of water and cover, unpredictable food resources, and the challenges these factors present for thermoregulation and water balance. To deal with the conflicting challenges of maintaining body temperature within acceptable limits and minimizing water loss, desert ungulates use a variety of physiological, morphological, and behavioral mechanisms. The mechanisms involved in thermoregulation and water balance have been studied in many domestic and wild African and Middle Eastern ungulates; studies involving ungulates inhabiting North American deserts are limited in comparison. Our objectives were to review available scientific literature on thermoregulation, water balance, and the effects of dehydration in desert ungulates. We discuss the physiological, morphological, and behavioral mechanisms used by ungulates to maintain temperature and water balance in arid environments, and the implications for research and management of desert ungulates in western North America.

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Resource managers in the western United States have long assumed that water was a key limiting factor on wildlife populations in arid habitats. Beginning in the 1940s-1950s, state and federal resource management agencies initiated water development programs intended to benefit game species and other wildlife. At least 5,859 such developments have been built in 11 western states. Most state wildlife management agencies in the western United States have ongoing wildlife water development programs that vary greatly in extent. Ranchers and range managers also have developed water sources for livestock, many of which also are used by wildlife. Recently, critics have suggested that wildlife water developments have not yielded expected benefits, and may negatively impact wildlife by increasing predation, competition, and disease transmission. Based upon a comprehensive review of scientific literature, we conclude that wildlife water developments have likely benefitted many game and non-game species, but not all water development projects have yielded expected increases in animal distribution and abundance. Hypothesized negative impacts of water developments on wildlife are not supported by data and remain largely speculative. However, our understanding of both positive and negative effects of wildlife water developments is incomplete, because of design limitations of previous research. Longterm, experimental studies are needed to address unanswered questions concerning the efficacy and ecological effects of water developments. We also recommend that resource managers apply more rigorous planning criteria to new developments, and expand monitoring efforts associated with water development programs.