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Declines of numerous Neotropical migrant birds have been attributed to habitat destruction and alteration. Forest management activities may promote changes to habitat components and, with the increase in commercial forestry in the South, information on Neotropical migrants in managed forests is needed. We examined the avian communities and habitat characteristics of four forest age classes at Ben's Creek Wildlife Management Area, a managed loblolly pine (Pinus taeda) forest in eastern Louisiana during the 2003 and 2004 summer breeding seasons. Mean species richness and relative diversity in 4-5 and 13-23 y stands were similar and greater than 7-9 y stands, and similar in 1 y stands to other age classes. Of 17 guilds (habitat, foraging and nesting) examined, relative abundance was similar across stand age only for second growth inhabitants and ground gleaning foragers. Frequency of occurrence varied across stand age for 17 of 19 species analyzed. Late-successional bird species occurred with greater frequency in 13-23 y stands, whereas occurrence of early-successional bird species was greater in 1 y and 4-5 y stands. Birds of conservation concern detected included both early- and late-successional species. Mean bird community conservation value was similar across stand age. Effects of stand age appear to benefit certain species, but are potentially costly for others. Efforts to combine management of timber and conservation of songbirds must consider both species habitat requirements and the distribution of these requirements in the landscape.

Abstract: A trenching study was used to investigate above- and below-ground competition in a longleaf pine (Pinus palustris P. Mill.) woodland. Trenched and nontrenched plots were replicated in the woodland [...]

We established indices of mottled duck (Anas fulvigula) diurnal habitat use and densities in the agricultural areas of southwestern Louisiana during 9 aerial surveys, May 1984-April 1985. We identified 15 habitats on the area. Habitat composition of transects varied among months. We observed fewest ducks and smallest flocks (ducks observed/observation) in June, highest counts of ducks in August, and largest flocks in July. Flock size was greatest in July on ponds. Habitats used most frequently were fresh marsh, rice, and flooded harvested fields. Density indices stratified by habitats differed (P < 0.05) among surveys and varied from 0.23 [+ or -] 0.04 (SE)/[km.sup.2] during June to 2.65 [+ or -] 1.23/[km.sup.2] during August. The most precise density indices of mottled ducks were made during March, April, and June surveys.

86 high school students considering entering a health care profession indicated that they would not likely choose to work in a nursing home even though they found them in general to be more pleasant than expected.

Gender was associated with one type of fund used for financing nursing home care, assistance from children. Female nursing home residents were more likely to receive assistance from adult children than were male residents.

Few guidelines exist for the application of geostatistical methods to spatial counts and the prediction to unsampled areas is an important aspect of experimental field research. The prediction performances of kriging and a correlated errors Poisson model are compared through simulation. Counts with a known spatial covariance structure are generated in an investigation involving several factors: area size, overall mean, range of correlation, spatial covariance function, and the presence of trend. The correlated errors Poisson model generally gives superior prediction performance when an exponential covariance structure is used. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Studies the correlation between knowledge of nursing home state inspection and consumer satisfaction in the United States. Methodology of the research; Discussion on the results of the study.