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Conservation of biodiversity relies heavily on protected areas but their role and effectiveness under a warming climate is still debated. We estimated the climate‐driven changes in the temperature niche compositions of bird communities inside and outside protected areas in southern Canada. We hypothesized that communities inside protected areas include a higher proportion of cold‐dwelling species than communities outside protected areas. We also hypothesized that communities shift to warm‐dwelling species more slowly inside protected areas than outside. To study community changes, we used large‐scale and long‐term (1997–2019) data from the Breeding Bird Survey of Canada. To describe the temperature niche compositions of bird communities, we calculated the community temperature index (CTI) annually for each community inside and outside protected areas. Generally, warm‐dwelling species dominated communities with high CTI values. We modeled temporal changes in CTI as a function of protection status with linear mixed‐effect models. We also determined which species contributed most to the temporal changes in CTI with a jackknife approach. As anticipated, CTI was lower inside protected areas than outside. However, contrary to our expectation, CTI increased faster over time inside than outside protected areas and warm‐dwelling species contributed most to CTI change inside protected areas. These results highlight the ubiquitous impacts of climate warming. Currently, protected areas can aid cold‐dwelling species by providing habitat, but as the climate warms, the communities' temperature compositions inside protected areas quickly begin to resemble those outside protected areas, suggesting that protected areas delay the impacts of climate warming on cold‐dwelling species. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Grassland biomes in North America are threatened by agricultural intensification with implications for grassland‐associated bird populations via habitat loss, alteration, pesticide use, and declining landscape heterogeneity. Despite decades of conservation concern, steep declines of grassland birds continue. Key to optimizing conservation effort is understanding how land‐use practices, such as agriculture, across the annual cycle affect population status. Determining the relative influence of impacts on grassland bird declines is difficult given that the most robust estimate of trends, the North American Breeding Bird Survey (BBS), is conducted throughout agriculturally dominated regions. Our goal was to explore whether agriculture during the breeding season is a major driver of grassland bird declines, by evaluating population trends in regions with different amounts of agricultural development. We derived trends for 16 bird species spanning 23 years (1994–2016) at a large (459 km2), native prairie site, Suffield National Wildlife Area (SNWA) in Alberta, Canada. We compared those trends with the BBS across three spatial scales, a regional monitoring scheme with higher than average native grass cover (Grassland Bird Monitoring [GBM]), Bird Conservation Region 11 Canada (Canada), and all of Bird Conservation Region 11 (BCR 11). Trends measured as annual percent change and credible interval varied greatly among species and survey strata. Across all species, declines were greatest for Canada (−1.3%, CI: −2.8, 0.0) and BCR 11 (−1.9%, CI: −3.2, −0.6). This contrasts with positive trends for GBM routes (1.0%, CI: −0.4, 2.3) and the SNWA data (1.7%, CI: 0.3, 3.3). Six of 16 species at SNWA were increasing with one decreasing. Five species increased at GBM and four declined. Canada had 10 species declines and 3 increases and BCR 11 had 10 declines and no increases. None of the six grassland obligate species declined at SNWA, two declined at GBM, and all six declined over the two larger BBS strata. Our results showing fewer negative population trends at a large native grassland site compared with BBS at three spatial scales across the North American prairies support the prediction that agricultural intensification on breeding grounds may be driving population declines and protection of native grasslands is a key component of grassland bird conservation efforts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Wildlife biologists monitor the status and trends of American woodcock Scolopax minor populations in the eastern and central United States and Canada via a singing-ground survey, conducted just after sunset along roadsides in spring. Annual analyses of the survey produce estimates of trend and annual indexes of abundance for 25 states and provinces, management regions, and survey-wide. In recent years, researchers have used a log-linear hierarchical model that defines year effects as random effects in the context of a slope parameter (the S model) to model population change. Recently, researchers have proposed alternative models suitable for analysis of singing-ground survey data. Analysis of a similar roadside survey, the North American Breeding Bird Survey, has indicated that alternative models are preferable for almost all species analyzed in the Breeding Bird Survey. Here, we use leave-one-out cross-validation to compare model fit for the present singing-ground survey model to fits of three alternative models, including a model that describes population change as the difference in expected counts between successive years (the D model) and two models that include t-distributed extra-Poisson overdispersion effects (H models) as opposed to normally distributed extra-Poisson overdispersion. Leave-one-out cross-validation results indicate that the Bayesian predictive information criterion favored the D model, but a pairwise t-test indicated that the D model was not significantly better-fitting to singing-ground survey data than the S model. The H models are not preferable to the alternatives with normally distributed overdispersion. All models provided generally similar estimates of trend and annual indexes suggesting that, within this model set, choice of model will not lead to alternative conclusions regarding population change. However, as in Breeding Bird Survey analyses, we note a tendency for S model results to provide slightly more extreme estimates of trend relative to D models. We recommend use of the D model for future singing-ground survey analyses. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Canadian Arctic and subarctic are the primary breeding areas of many species of North American water and land birds. Because of the remote location and the logistical difficulties of working there, wildlife biologists have not systematically surveyed most important areas for wildlife, nor have they surveyed these areas very frequently. During the summers of 2005–2011, various Joint Ventures, and U.S., Canadian, and state wildlife agencies and other partners funded exploratory fixed-wing aircraft surveys of migratory birds (excluding passerines and shorebirds) in important habitats in Canada's western and central Arctic. Our objectives were to provide access to the complete survey dataset (all bird and mammal observations and associated location data) and summarize information on several species. Thus, we produced maps of average relative density and estimates of abundance in the survey area for cackling geese Branta hutchinsii, greater white-fronted geese Anser albifrons, tundra swans Cygnus columbianus, king eiders Somateria spectabilis, long-tailed ducks Clangula hyemalis, white-winged Melanitta fusca and surf Melanitta perspicillatas scoters, and yellow-billed Gavia adamsii, red-throated Gavia stellata, and Pacific Gavia pacifica loons. We reviewed previous survey efforts in the area and, where possible, compared them with our results. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

New breeding records for 10 species of tundra and boreal nesting birds were documented near the community of Kugluktuk (Nunavut, Canada) over the course of the 2015 and 2016 breeding seasons and incidentally in 2017 and 2018. These species include American Wigeon (Mareca americana), Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos), Northern Shoveler (Anas clypeata), Green-winged Teal (Anas carolinensis), Greater Scaup (Aythya marila), Say's Phoebe (Sayornis saya), Canada Jay (Perisoreus canadensis), Greycheeked Thrush (Catharus minimus), Yellow-rumped Warbler (Setophaga coronata), and Dark-eyed Junco (Junco hyemalis). Previously unpublished breeding evidence for Bald Eagle (Haliaeetus leucocephalus) is also discussed along with suspected breeding of Barn Swallow (Hirundo rustica), Bohemian Waxwing (Bombycilla garrulus), White-throated Sparrow (Zonotrichia albicollis), and Pine Grosbeak (Pinicola enucleator). These records represent the first described breeding occurrences for these species in the Kitikmeot region, or new records for the mainland of Nunavut. A lack of historical ornithological survey effort in this area has likely led to the diversity of these previously unrecorded breeding observations. These results highlight the need to increase geographic coverage of bird surveys in northern Canada to more accurately delineate the northern limit of breeding ranges and suggest that further formal survey effort will undoubtedly lead to additional new breeding records. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The vision of Chandler (Chan) S. Robbins for a continental-scale omnibus survey of breeding birds led to the development of the North American Breeding Bird Survey (BBS). Chan was uniquely suited to develop the BBS. His position as a government scientist had given him experience with designing and Implementing continental-scale surveys, his research background made him an effective advocate of the need for a survey to monitor pesticide effects on birds, and his prominence In the birding community gave him connections to Infrastructure--a network of qualified volunteer birders who could conduct roadside surveys with standardized point counts. Having started In the eastern United States and the Atlantic provinces of Canada In 1966, the BBS now provides population change Information for ~546 species In the continental United States and Canada, and recently Initiated routes In Mexico promise to greatly expand the areas and species covered by the survey. Although survey protocols have remained unchanged for 50 years, the BBS remains relevant In a changing world. Several papers that follow In this Special Section of The Condor: Ornithological Advances review how the BBS has been applied to conservation assessments, especially In combination with other large-scale survey data. A critical feature of the BBS program Is an active research program Into field and analytical methods to enhance the quality of the count data and to control for factors that Influence detectability. Papers In the Special Section also present advances In BBS analyses that Improve the utility of this expanding and sometimes controversial survey. In this Perspective, we Introduce the Special Section by reviewing the history of the BBS, describing current analyses, and providing summary trend results for all species, highlighting 3 groups of conservation concern: grassland-breeding birds, arldland-breedlng birds, and aerial Insectivorous birds. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The North American Breeding Bird Survey (BBS) was established in 1966 in response to a lack of quantitative data on changes in the populations of many bird species at a continental scale, especially songbirds. The BBS now provides the most reliable regional and continental trends and annual indices of abundance available for >500 bird species. This paper reviews some of the ways in which BBS data have contributed to bird conservation in North America over the past 50 yr, and highlights future program enhancement opportunities. BBS data have contributed to the listing of species under the Canadian Species at Risk Act and, in a few cases, have informed species assessments under the U.S. Endangered Species Act. By raising awareness of population changes, the BBS has helped to motivate bird conservation efforts through the creation of Partners in Flight. BBS data have been used to determine priority species and locations for conservation action at regional and national scales through Bird Conservation Region strategies and Joint Ventures. Data from the BBS have provided the quantitative foundation for North American State of the Birds reports, and have informed the public with regard to environmental health through multiple indicators, such as the Canadian Environmental Sustainability Indicators and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's Report on the Environment. BBS data have been analyzed with other data (e.g., environmental, land cover, and demographic) to evaluate potential drivers of population change, which have then informed conservation actions. In a few cases, BBS data have contributed to the evaluation of management actions, including informing the management of Mourning Doves (Zenaida macroura}, Wood Ducks (Aix sponsa}, and Golden Eagles (Aquila chrysaetos}. Improving geographic coverage in northern Canada and in Mexico, improving the analytical approaches required to integrate data from other sources and to address variation in detectability, and completing the database, by adding historical bird data at each point count location and pinpointing the current point count locations would further enhance the survey's value. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Management interest in North American birds has increasingly focused on species that breed in Alaska, USA, and Canada, where habitats are changing rapidly in response to climatic and anthropogenic factors. We used a series of hierarchical models to estimate rates of population change in 2 forested Bird Conservation Regions (BCRs) in Alaska based on data from the roadside North American Breeding Bird Survey (BBS) and the Alaska Landbird Monitoring Survey, which samples off-road areas on public resource lands. We estimated long-term (1993-2015) population trends for 84 bird species from the BBS and short-term (2003-2015) trends for 31 species from both surveys. Among the 84 species with long-term estimates, 11 had positive trends and 17 had negative trends in 1 or both BCRs; negative trends were primarily found among aerial insectivores and wetland-associated species, confirming range-wide negative continental trends for many of these birds. Three species with negative trends in the contiguous United States and southern Canada had positive trends in Alaska, suggesting different population dynamics at the northern edges of their ranges. Regional population trends within Alaska differed for several species, particularly those represented by different subspecies in the 2 BCRs, which are separated by rugged, glaciated mountain ranges. Analysis of the roadside and off-road data in a joint hierarchical model with shared parameters resulted in improved precision of trend estimates and suggested a roadside-related difference in underlying population trends for several species, particularly within the Northwestern Interior Forest BCR. The combined analysis highlights the importance of considering population structure, physiographic barriers, and spatial heterogeneity in habitat change when assessing patterns of population change across a landscape as broad as Alaska. Combined analysis of roadside and off-road survey data in a hierarchical framework may be particularly useful for evaluating patterns of population change in relatively undeveloped regions with sparse roadside BBS coverage. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

ABSTRACT In Québec, Canada, the American black duck ( Anas rubripes) breeds mainly in the boreal forest to the north, but a small segment of the population breeds in southern Québec in the densely populated agricultural areas surrounding the St. Lawrence River and Estuary. This agricultural breeding population faces increasing pressure from urbanization, competition with mallards ( A. platyrhynchos), landuse changes, and hunting. In Québec, approximately 69% of black ducks are harvested in agricultural landscapes. Most birds harvested in Québec are taken in September, during the first 3 weeks of the hunting season, when birds breeding in the boreal habitat are unlikely to have initiated their southbound fall migration. This additional pressure on the agricultural breeding population could be detrimental to its long-term sustainability. We measured carbon (δ13C), nitrogen (δ15N), hydrogen (δD), and sulfur (δ34S) isotopic compositions of feathers from hatching-year black ducks of known natal origin (banded birds) and used these to develop a multivariate logistic regression classification model based on habitat type. We then applied this model to feathers from birds harvested in Québec during the fall sport hunt in those same years to determine their natal origin. Sixty percent in 2004 and 17% in 2005 of black ducks harvested during the fall sport hunt in Québec originated from the agricultural segment of the population, compared to 36% and 72% in those same years originating from the boreal area. This is in stark contrast to the species' distribution in Québec, with only approximately 4% of the population breeding in the agricultural portion of the province. Our results suggest that this harvest bias toward the agricultural segment of the breeding population, which may be accentuated in years when migration is delayed, could compromise its long-term sustainability. We highlight the importance of existing regional survey programs, and the information gaps that exist concerning the natal origin of black ducks harvested in the northeastern United States, and the annual productivity of the agricultural black duck population in Québec. Stable isotopes from samples of known natal origin (banded birds) proved an effective tool to identify the natal origin of hunted birds. However, we caution against the use of published isotopic thresholds (δ13C, δ15N) to infer the origin of migrating organisms in small study areas. © 2014 The Wildlife Society. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Canada's Inter-agency Wild Bird Influenza Survey, which started in 2005, and is a collaborative effort among federal, provincial and territorial government agencies as well as non-governmental organizations and academic institutions, has two components: (i) a seasonal survey of live wild waterfowl species from selected geographic regions across Canada (to expand our understanding of the avian influenza viruses circulating in wild bird populations); and (ii) an ongoing survey of birds found dead that are submitted to a regional diagnostic laboratory (to enhance detection of highly pathogenic avian influenza strains). Combined swabs from the cloaca and oropharynx collected from each bird are screened using a real-time reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction (RRT-PCR) that targets a unique segment of the influenza A M1 gene. If the M1 result is positive or inconclusive, RRT-PCR for gene segments of the H5 and H7 hemagglutinin subtypes are performed. All samples that are RRT-PCR positive for H5 or H7 are sent immediately for test confirmation and further characterization. All field and laboratory data are entered into a database developed and maintained by the Canadian Cooperative Wildlife Health Centre. Since the survey commenced in 2005, on average, 30% of all live ducks sampled, 5% of other species of live birds and 3% of birds found dead have tested positive for avian influenza, all of North American lineage and of low pathogenicity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents a study which examines pelagic seabirds in different marine locations of the eastern Canadian Arctic and sub-Arctic in September and October 2005. Researchers initiated the bird survey during daylight starting on September 17, 2009 until October 24, 2009 under the 2005 Arctic Net research expedition aboard the Canadian Coast Guard icebreaker Amundsen. They found 588 individual marine birds of 10 different species in 132 transects in the Northwest Passage and East Coast of Baffin Island.

1. Conversion of natural habitats to human use can affect the abundance and distribution of predators and parasites, create population sinks, and reduce the viability of valued prey and host species. We asked how the distribution of brown-headed cowbirds Molothrus ater, a generalist brood parasite, has influenced the source–sink dynamics of song sparrow Melospiza melodia populations and their regional population trends. 2. We intensively studied 17 host populations subject to varying levels of parasitism for 1–36 years. We linked these data to spatial and demographic models to predict growth rate in song sparrow populations in the Southern Gulf Islands, BC, Canada. 3. Patterns of growth in song sparrow populations were closely related to cowbird distribution, which in turn depended on land use patterns at landscape scales. Locally, sparrow populations were expected to increase in areas far from cowbird feeding areas, where parasitism was low, but to decline where parasitism exceeded 20%. The predicted population trends were similar to those recorded locally and via the North American Breeding Bird Survey. 4. Synthesis and applications. We show that the distribution of habitats favourable to brood parasites can affect whether host populations grow or decline regionally. In highly sedentary hosts like the sparrows in this study, density-dependent juvenile dispersal and marked spatial variation in the probability of parasitism can give rise to source-and-sink dynamics. Our results illustrate how the application of spatial models and empirical data can predict how land use decisions may influence host dynamics. We identify ways in which applied ecologists might influence land use to enhance the persistence of valued hosts, and suggest that our approach provides a promising framework for exploring regional-scale spatial dynamics of species in order to identify critical habitat and prioritize investments in conservation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

1. Anthropogenic noise is rapidly increasing in wilderness areas as a result of industrial expansion. While many road studies have attempted to assess the effects of industrial noise on birds, conflicting factors such as edge effects often inhibit the ability to draw strong conclusions. 2. We assessed pairing success and age distribution of male ovenbirds Seiurus aurocapilla in the boreal forest of Alberta, Canada, in areas around noise-generating compressor stations compared with areas around habitat-disturbed, but noiseless, wellpads. This allowed us to control for edge effects, human visitation and other factors that are not controlled for in studies of noise generated by roads. Generalized estimating equations (GEE) were used to assess the impacts of noise on ovenbird pairing success, age structure and body morphology. 3. We found a significant reduction in ovenbird pairing success at compressor sites (77%) compared with noiseless wellpads (92%). These differences were apparent regardless of territory quality or individual male quality. Significantly more inexperienced birds breeding for the first time were found near noise-generating compressor stations than noiseless wellpads (48% vs. 30%). 4. While there are multiple proximate explanations for these results, the ultimate cause of the changes seems to be noise pollution. We hypothesize that noise interferes with a male's song, such that females may not hear the male's song at greater distances and/or females may perceive males to be of lower quality because of distortion of song characteristics. 5. Synthesis and applications. This work demonstrates that chronic background noise could be an important factor affecting bird populations. It can impact upon pairing success and age structure of passerines; in boreal Alberta this could pose a problem for certain species as energy development expands rapidly. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We used infrared cameras to accurately record the circadian provisioning behaviors of nesting Burrowing Owls (Athene cunicularia) in southern Saskatchewan, Canada. We monitored 19 nests over three years and recorded 4675 prey deliveries. We found a sex-based difference in foraging behavior: males hunted vertebrates during crepuscular periods, and females hunted insects during diurnal periods. Males delivered between 82% and 96% of all vertebrate prey depending on the stage of the nest. Males delivered at least 90% of all insects during early nest stages, after which females delivered an average of 76% of the insects. The rate of vertebrate deliveries increased from 1.3 to 7.7 per 24 hr as the summer progressed, and the number of insect deliveries increased from less than 1 to 18.6 per 24 hr. Vertebrates comprised 98%–99% of prey biomass delivered until females began delivering insects, but even then vertebrates still comprised 94% of prey biomass. Insects were consistently delivered at the highest rate during the day and vertebrates were consistently delivered at the highest rates during the dusk and dawn periods. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Reliable estimates of trends in population size are critical to effective management of landbirds. We propose a standard for considering that landbird populations are adequately monitored: 80% power to detect a 50% decline occurring within 20 years, using a 2-tailed test and a significance level of 0.10, and incorporating effects of potential bias. Our standard also requires that at least two-thirds of the target region be covered by the monitoring program. We recommend that the standard be achieved for species' entire ranges or for any area one-third the size of the temperate portions of Canada and the United States, whichever is smaller. We applied our approach to North American Breeding Bird Survey (BBS) data. At present, potential annual bias for the BBS is estimated at ±0.008. Further, the BBS achieves the monitoring standard for only about 42% of landbirds for which the BBS is considered the most effective monitoring approach. Achieving the proposed monitoring target for ≥80% of these species would require increasing the number of BBS--or similar survey--routes by several-fold, a goal that probably is impractical. We suggest several methods for reducing potential bias and argue that if our methods are implemented, potential bias would fall to ±0.003. The required number of BBS or similar routes would then be 5,106, about 40% more than in the current BBS program. Most of the needed increases are in 15 states or provinces. Developing a comprehensive landbird monitoring program will require increased support for coordination of the BBS (currently 2 people) and new programs for species that are poorly covered at present. Our results provide a quantitative goal for long-term landbird monitoring and identify the sample sizes needed, within each state and province, to achieve the monitoring goal for most of the roughly 300 landbird species that are well suited to monitoring with the BBS and similar surveys. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Determines the contribution of peatlands to bird regional diversity in southern Quebec by measuring the difference between peatland and associated regional avifaunas. Evidence showing that peatland bird species contrasted increasingly with regional avifauna from north to south or from undisturbed to managed landscapes; Evidence showing that peatland avifaunas within regions were more similar to each other than to their regional avifauna.

We used a digital camera to quantify the colour of the tail feathers of 245 northern flickers (Colaptes auratus) in central British Columbia and investigate the frequency of colour morphs in the population of hybrids. The colour values generated by the camera corresponded well to the conventional method of ranking colours by eye, but was advantageous because it provided finer discrimination and a continuous colour variable. Rectrix colour varied in a continuum from the yellow of C. a. auratus to the red of C. a. cafer. By experimentally exposing red and yellow feathers to sunlight we showed that the intermediate orange colours were not a result of secondary fading of the carotenoid pigments. The distribution of colours in the population was bimodal. A paucity of intermediate phenotypes (orange birds) could not be explained by their mortality because return rates of birds to our study area was not associated with colour. New immigrants into the population tended to resemble parental types more often than hybrids. Assortative mating by colour in this population may tend to keep the subspecies separate, contrary to the situation in more southerly areas of the hybrid zone.Nous avons utilisé une caméra digitale pour quantifier la couleur des plumes de la queue chez 245 Pics flamboyants (Colaptes auratus) dans le centre de la Colombie-Britannique ainsi que pour déterminer la fréquence des différentes formes au sein de la population d'hybrides. Les valeurs des couleurs générées par la caméra correspondent à celles obtenues par la méthode conventionnelle d'évaluation des couleurs à l'oeil, mais la digitalisation comporte des avantages puisqu'elle permet une discrimination plus raffinée et rend la palette de couleurs continue. La couleur des rectrices varie dans un continuum du jaune de C. a. auratus au rouge de C. a. cafer. En exposant des plumes jaunes et des plumes rouges à la lumière solaire, nous avons pu démontrer que les colorations orangées intermédiaires ne sont pas le résultat de la décoloration secondaire des pigments caroténoïdes. La distribution des couleurs dans la population est bimodale. Le petit nombre de phénotypes intermédiaires (oiseaux orangés) ne peut être attribuable à la mortalité, puisque les taux de retour à notre site d'étude ne sont pas reliés à la couleur. Les nouveaux immigrants dans la population ont tendance à ressembler davantage aux types parentaux que les hybrides. Le choix d'un partenaire basé sur la couleur dans cette population peut contribuer à maintenir le statut de cette sous-espèce, contrairement à la situation qui prévaut dans les régions plus australes de la zone d'hybridation.[Traduit par la Rédaction] [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Modern farm practices can vary in their emphasis on tillage versus chemicals to control weeds, and researchers know little about which emphasis has greater ecological benefits. We compared avifaunas of uplands and wetlands in four treatments: conventional farms, conservation farms (contrasting those that minimized frequency of tillage [minimum tillage] with those that eliminated chemical inputs [organic]), and restored or natural (wild) sites in Saskatchewan, Canada. Of 37 different upland bird species encountered during surveys, one made greater use of farms, four made greater use of wild sites, and the remaining species showed no preference. When all upland species were combined, higher relative abundance occurred on wild than on farm sites, and on minimum tillage than on conventional farms. Wild upland sites also had more species than did conventional farms. Of 79 different species encountered during surveys of wetlands and their margins, most had similar encounter probabilities among treatments, although seven were more common on either organic farms or wild sites. Higher relative abundances were documented in wetland habitat of wild sites and organic farms than of minimum tillage or conventional farms. Wetlands of wild sites had more species than did minimum tillage or conventional farms. Overall, in terms of both avifaunal density and diversity, small treatment effects could be ascribed to differences between conventional and conservation farms, whereas larger effects were due to differences between farms and wild sites. Wetlands were heavily used by birds in all treatments, suggesting high conservation priority regardless of context. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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