Expert: Roger Lederer - 4/9/2009

Question
I'm working on a research paper (Wildlife Measurements is the course) on the Northern Gannett and I am having trouble finding info required. Because this species is monomorphic are there indices to determine sex & age & maturity in the field or is capturing required for DNA testing? Also what is the preferred capturing method for them? Do you know of any recent studies on the population dynamics of this bird?

Answer
This is not the kind of information you can find on the web and it's too detailed for me to have any immediate knowledge. You need to go to your university library and check the journals - Condor, Ibis,Journal of Ecology, Ecology, and etc. See extensive list at http://www.nmnh.si.edu/BIRDNET/ornith/period.html There is also a monograph Nelson, B. 1997 BWP (Birds of the Western Pacific)Update 1:131-143  that you might check; also Mowbray, T. B. 2002. Northern Gannet (Morus bassanus). In The Birds of North America, No. 693 (A. Poole and F. Gill, eds.). The Birds of North America, Inc., Philadelphia, PA.In The Birds of North America. Good luck in your search.