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Water Current, Volume 31, No. 1, February 1999

Water Current Newsletter

Celebrating Five Years of "Earth Wellness"
From the Director: Water Center Director Announces Resignation; Accepts Director's Post at University of Kentucky
Still Time to Pre-Register for "Nebraska Water 2000" Conference
"Awesome Aquifer Adventure" Coming to Grand Island
Lining Nebraska's Landscape
Groundwater Guardians Work to Improve Local Groundwater Protection Efforts
Water News Briefs
Community Resources Guide
Free Wetlands Tabloid
Becoming a Groundwater Guardian
Go Big Flush
Sink Your Feet In
Joint Research Aims to Reduce Blue River Basins Herbicide Runoff

The Probe, Issue 197 – February 1999

The Probe: Newsletter of the National Animal Damage Control Association

A History of the Wildlife Services Program -- Donald W. Hawthorne, Gary L. Nunley, and Vivian Prothro, USDA-APHIS-Wildlife Services, Oklahoma and Texas Message from the President

Abstracts from the 5th Annual Conference of The Wildlife Society

Diverse Applications of Sharpshooting to Manage Abundant Deer Populations -- A.J. DeNicola, H.C. Frost, and K.E. Gustad.
Wildlife on Airports: A Fatal Attraction! -- R.A. DolbeerandS.E. Wright
An Empirical Model for Predicting Deer Population Trends in Suburban Chicago, Illinois -- DM. Etter, TJt. VanDeelen,R.E. Warner, andB.M. Hannon
Oral Vaccination Programs Against Canine Rabies in Texas -- M.G. Fearneyhough
Public Health and Safety Significance of …

1999 Wildlife Management Area Threatened And Endangered Species Inventory, Final Report, Robert F. Steinauer

Nebraska Game and Parks Commission: White Papers, Conference Presentations, and Manuscripts

This study was undertaken to determine the extent of threatened and endangered (T&E) species habitats and high-quality native plant communities on Nebraska Game and Parks Commission (NGPC) Wildlife Management Areas (WMAs). The Nebraska Natural Heritage Program (NHP) is responsible for environmental reviews of state projects that may impact threatened and endangered (T&E) species in Nebraska, including proposed management actions on state Wildlife Management Areas (WMA). These environmental reviews require a significant amount of NHP staff time, and frequently find no adverse impacts associated with the proposed management actions. This survey was undertaken to improve Nebraska Game and Parks Commissions (NGPC) …

1999 Platte River Basin Ecosystem Symposium Proceedings

Water Current Newsletter

No abstract provided.

Data Fusion For Use Of Passive Microwave Data In Operational Sea-Ice Monitoring, Kim Partington, Mary-Ruth Keller, Paul Seymour, Cheryl Bertoia

United States Department of Commerce: Staff Publications

A new SSM/I algorithm is described that is based on near real-time data fusion with portions of operational ice charts derived from RADARSAT, OLS or AVHRR data. The aim of this is to enable parts of the ice chart where there is no cloud-free imagery or SAR data to be completed using an SSM/I algorithm that is tuned to the region and time associated with the ice chart. The algorithm is a linear combination of partial concentrations from the NASA Team and Bootstrap algorithms together with lower variance principal components of SSM/I data. The algorithm is designed for near real …

Hunting And Social Behaviour Of Leopard Seals (Hydrurga Leptonyx) At Seal Island, South Shetland Islands, Antarctica, Lisa M. Hiruki, Michael K. Schwartz, Peter L. Boveng

United States Department of Commerce: Staff Publications

The hunting behavior of leopard seals Hydrurga leptonyx was monitored opportunistically at Seal Island, South Shetland Islands, during the austral summers from 1986/87 to 1994/95. Leopard seals used several methods to catch Antarctic fur seal pups Arctocephalus gazella and chinstrap penguins Pygoscelis antarctica, and individuals showed different hunting styles and hunting success. One to two leopard seals per year were responsible for an average of 60% of observed captures of fur seal pups. Leopard seals preyed on penguins throughout the summer, but preyed on fur seal pups only between late December and mid-February. Hunting behavior differed significantly between different …

Sensitivity Of Fish Embryos To Weathered Crude Oil: Part Ii. Increased Mortality Of Pink Salmon (Oncorhynchus Gorbuscha) Embryos Incubating Downstream From Weathered Exxon Valdez Crude Oil, Ron A. Heintz, Jeffrey W. Short, Stanley D. Rice

United States Department of Commerce: Staff Publications

We incubated pink salmon embryos under three exposure conditions, direct contact with oil-coated gravel, effluent from oil-coated gravel, and direct contact with gravel coated with very weathered oil (VWO). Embryo mortalities and polynuclear aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) accumulation in embryo tissues during the direct-contact and effluent exposure experiments were not significantly different, indicating that PAH accumulation was mediated by aqueous transport. Mortality rates for embryos exposed initially to a total PAH concentration (TPAH) of 1.0 ppb were significantly higher than controls when the PAH were derived from VWO. The same aqueous TPAH concentration failed to increase mortality rates when the PAH …

Notes And Correspondence: The Effects Of Data Gaps On The Calculated Monthly Mean Maximum And Minimum Temperatures In The Continental United States: A Spatial And Temporal Study, David E. Stooksbury, Craig D. Idso, Kenneth G. Hubbard

School of Natural Resources: Faculty Publications

Gaps in otherwise regularly scheduled observations are often referred to as missing data. This paper explores the spatial and temporal impacts that data gaps in the recorded daily maximum and minimum temperatures have on the calculated monthly mean maximum and minimum temperatures. For this analysis 138 climate stations from the United States Historical Climatology Network Daily Temperature and Precipitation Data set were selected. The selected stations had no missing maximum or minimum temperature values during the period 1951–80. The monthly mean maximum and minimum temperatures were calculated for each station for each month. For each month 1–10 consecutive days of …

Filter Strip Performance And Processes For Different Vegetation, Widths, And Contaminants, T. J. Schmitt, M. G. Dosskey, K. D. Hoagland

School of Natural Resources: Faculty Publications

Filter strips are widely prescribed to reduce contaminants in surface runoff from agricultural fields. Tbis study compared performance of different filter strip designs on several contaminants and evaluated the contribnting processes. Different vegetation types and widths were investigated using simulated runoff event on large plots (3 m X 7.5 or 15 m) having fine-textured soil and a 6 to 7% slope. Filter strips 7.5 and 15 m wide downslope greatly reduced concentrations of sediment in runoff (76-93%) and contaminants strongly associated with sediment (total P, 55-79%; permethrin, 27-83% [(3-phenoxyphenyl) methyl (±)-cis, trans-3-(2,2-dichloroethenyl)-2,2-dimethylcyclopropane carboxylate ]). They had less effect on concentrations …

An Objective Method For Determining Principal Time Scales Of Coherent Eddy Structures Using Orthonormal Wavelets, Jozsef Szilagyi, Marc B. Parlange, Gabriel G. Katul, John D. Albertson

School of Natural Resources: Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Streamflow Depletion Investigations In The Republican River Basin: Colorado, Nebraska, And Kansas, Jozsef Szilagyi

School of Natural Resources: Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Global Rural Temperature Trends, Thomas C. Peterson, Kevin P. Gallo, Jay Lawrimore, Timothy W. Owen, Alex Huang, David A. Mckittrick

School of Natural Resources: Faculty Publications

Using rural/urban land surface classifications derived from maps and satellite observed nighttime surface lights, global mean land surface air temperature time series were created using data from all weather observing stations in a global temperature data base and from rural stations only. The global rural temperature time series and trends are very similar to those derived from the full data set. Therefore, the well-known global temperature time series from in situ stations is not significantly impacted by urban warming.

Satellite-Based Adjustments For The Urban Heat Island Temperature Bias, Kevin P. Gallo, Timothy W. Owen

School of Natural Resources: Faculty Publications

Monthly and seasonal relationships between urban–rural differences in minimum, maximum, and average temperatures measured at surface-based observation stations were compared to satellite-derived Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer estimates of a normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) and surface radiant temperature.

Temperature Trends Of The U.S. Historical Climatology Network Based On Satellite-Designated Land Use/Land Cover, Kevin P. Gallo, Timothy W. Owen, David R. Easterling, Paul F. Jamason

School of Natural Resources: Faculty Publications

The 1221 weather observation stations that compose the U.S. Historical Climatology Network were designated as either urban, suburban, or rural based on data from the Defense Meteorological Satellite Program Operational Linescan System (OLS).

A Revised Measurement Methodology For Conifer Needles Spectral Optical Properties: Evaluating The Influence Of Gaps Between Elements, Mark A. Mesarch, Elizabeth Walter-Shea, Gregory P. Asner, Elizabeth M. Middleton, Stephen Chan

School of Natural Resources: Faculty Publications

Gaps are unavoidable when compositing small or narrow plant parts (e.g., conifer needles, twigs, narrow leaves, and leaflets) on sample holders in preparation for measuring spectral optical properties. The Daughtry et al. (1989) (A new technique to measure the spectral properties of conifer needles. Remote Sens. Environ. 27:81-91.) method of measuring conifer needle optical properties utilizes a relatively large gap fraction (approximately 0.3-0.6) and needles painted black on one surface of the sample from which the gap fraction of the sample is indirectly determined. Following this protocol typically results in distortions in optical properties, including underestimates in transmittance (sometimes negative …

The Relative Importance Of Patch Area And Perimeter–Area Ratio To Grassland Breeding Birds, Christopher J. Helzer, Dennis E. Jelinski

School of Natural Resources: Faculty Publications

Habitat fragmentation has been implicated as a major cause of population decline in grassland birds. We tested the hypothesis that a combination of area and shape determines the use of grassland patches by breeding birds. We compared both species richness and individual species presence in 45 wet meadow grasslands in the floodplain of the central Platte River, Nebraska. Bird data were collected through the use of belt transects and supplemented by walking and listening outside transects. Our data supported our primary hypothesis that perimeter–area ratio, which reflects both the area and shape of a patch, is the strongest predictor of …

Iron-Mediated Remediation Of Rdx-Contaminated Water And Soil Under Controlled Eh/Ph, J. Singh, Steven Comfort, Patrick Shea

School of Natural Resources: Faculty Publications

Soil and water contaminated with hexahydro-1,3,5-trinitro-1,3,5-triazine (RDX) is a serious environmental problem at several active and abandoned munitions production facilities. Zero-valent iron (Fe⁰) can effectively remediate RDX-contaminated soil and water. The objective of this study was to manipulate Eh and pH for enhanced Fe⁰-mediated destruction of RDX. This was accomplished by monitoring RDX destruction under controlled Eh-pH conditions (Eh: −300 to +150 mV; pH: 2−10). Decreasing Eh and pH increased RDX destruction in aqueous solution. Treating 20 mg of RDX L-1 (90 μM) under a static Eh of −150 mV and pH 7 with 20 g …

Classification Of Explosives Transformation Products In Plant Tissue, Steven L. Larson, Robert P. Jones, Lynn Escalon, Don Parker

US Army Corps of Engineers

Explosives contamination in surface or groundwater used for the irrigation of food crops and phytoremediation of explosives-contaminated soil or water using plant-assisted biodegradation have brought about concerns as to the fate of explosives in plants. Liquid scintillation counting, high-performance liquid chromatography, and gel permeation chromatography were utilized to characterize explosives (hexahydro-1,3,5-trinitro-1,3,5-triazine and trinitrotoluene) and their metabolites in plant tissues obtained from three separate studies. Analyzing tissues of yellow nutsedge (Cyperus esculentus), corn (Zea mays), lettuce (Lacuta sativa), tomato (Lyopersicum esculentum), radish (Raphanus sativus), and parrot feather (Myriophyllum aquaticum) …

Tws Wildlife Damage Management Working Group Newsletter: Summer 1999 - Volume 6(3)

TWS Wildlife Damage Management Working Group Newsletter

Forward -- Scott Craven; Draft Agenda TWS Wildlife Damage Management Working Group; TWS 6th Annual Conference Working Group Sponsored Sessions; Preliminary Program 6th Annual Conference * September 7-11, 1999; TWS Nashville 2000 7th Annual Conference Of The Wildlife Society Nashville, Tennessee •September 12-16, 2000; An Empirical Model For Predicting Suburban Deer Populations; Application For Membership / The Wildlife Society

Center For Sustainable Agricultural Systems Newsletter, January/February 1999

Center for Sustainable Agricultural Systems -- Newsletters 1993-2000

A Question of Sustainability!

Highlights of Upcoming New Book: Under the Blade (Part 5)

Global Perspectives on Biotechnology (or) What's This Farm Boy Doing in Brussels?

NCR SARE Producer Grants Available

University Role in Biotechnology: How Do We Set Research Priorities?

Canadian Cooperative Wildlife Health Centre, Volume 6-2, Winter 1999

Canadian Cooperative Wildlife Health Centre: Newsletters and Publications

New Staff Member - Quebec Regional Centre
International Cooperation in Wildlife Forensics
Road Salt and Small Birds (request for specimens)
West Nile Virus and other Zoonotic Arboviruses in North America
Canada-wide epidemic of winter tick in moose
Mortality among great black-backed and herring gulls in the Maritime provinces
Intraspecific killing in common loons
Poxvirus and multiple tumors in a grey squirrel
Circovirus infection in a rock dove
Fatal Sphaeridiotrema sp infection in lesser scaup - part II
Botulism type E in fish-eating birds, Lake Erie and Lake Huron
Gull mortality - Kitchener
Pneumonia and Septicemia in Dall's sheep, Mackenzie Mountains, …

Development Of Regional Climate Scenarios Using A Downscaling Approach, David Easterling

United States Department of Commerce: Staff Publications

As the debate on potential climate change continues, it is becoming increasingly clear that the main concerns to the general public are the potential impacts of a change in the climate on societal and biophysical systems. In order to address these concerns researchers need realistic, plausible scenarios of climate change suitable for use in impacts analysis. It is the purpose of this paper to present a downscaling method useful for developing these types of scenarios that are grounded in both General Circulation Model simulations of climate change, and in situ station data. Free atmosphere variables for four gridpoints over the …

Evidence Of A Feeding Aggregation Of Humpback Whales (Megaptera Novaeangliae) Around Kodiak Island, Alaska, Janice Waite, Marilyn Dahlheim, Roderick Hobbs, Sally Mizroch

United States Department of Commerce: Staff Publications

The known summer feeding range of the North Pacific humpback whale (Megaptera novaeangliae) extends from California, along the coasts of Oregon, Washington, and Alaska, into the Bering Sea, along the Aleutian Islands, the Sea of Okhotsk (Tomilin 1957), and to northern Japan (Rice 1977). In feeding areas of the northeastern Pacific Ocean, humpback whale photoidentification research has been concentrated off California (Calambokidis et al. 1993), southeastern Alaska (Darling and McSweeney 1985, Baker et al. 1986, 1992; Perry et al. 1990), Prince William Sound in Alaska (von Ziegesar 1992), the Oregon and Washington coasts (Calambokidis et al. 1993), and …

Baleen Whales: Conservation Issues And The Status Of The Most Endangered Populations, Phillip Clapham, Sharon Young, Robert L. Brownell Jr.

United States Department of Commerce: Staff Publications

Most species of baleen whales were subject to intensive overexploitation by commercial whaling in this and previous centuries, and many populations were reduced to small fractions of their original sizes. Here, we review the status of baleen whale stocks, with an emphasis on those that are known or thought to be critically endangered. Current data suggest that, of the various threats potentially affecting baleen whales, only entanglement in fishing gear and ship strikes may be significant at the population level, and then only in those populations which are already at critically low abundance. The impact of some problems (vessel harassment, …

Development And Evaluation Of A Standard Weight (WS) Equation For Blue Catfish, Maurice I. Muoneke, Kevin L. Pope

Nebraska Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit: Staff Publications

Using a data set composed of 33 populations from six states, we employed the regression-linepercentile technique to develop a standard weight equation for blue catfish Ictalurus furcatus and validated it with an independent data set composed of 43 populations from 10 states. The equation is log₁₀W_s=-6.067+ 3.400 log₁₀TL, where W_s is standard weight in grams and TL is total length in millimeters. The English-unit equivalent (pounds and inches) is log₁₀W_s=-3.950+ 3.400 log₁₀TL. The equation is valid for blue catfish 160 mm (approximately 6 in) TL and longer. …

Body Mass Patterns Predict Invasions And Extinctions In Transforming Landscapes, Craig R. Allen, Elizabeth A. Forys, C. S. Holling

Nebraska Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit: Staff Publications

Scale-specific patterns of resource distribution on landscapes entrain attributes of resident animal communities such that species body-mass distributions are organized into distinct aggregations. Species within each aggregation respond to resources over the same range of scale. This discontinuous pattern has predictive power: invasive species and extinct or declining species in landscapes subject to human transformation tend to be located at the edge of body-mass aggregations (P < 0.01), which may be transition zones between distinct ranges of scale. Location at scale breaks affords species great opportunity, but also potential crisis.

How To Design A Pheasant Management Area, Steven P. Riley

Nebraska Game and Parks Commission: Publications

Content:
Escape, Travel and Displaying Cover
Minimizing Predator Problems with Habitat
General Rules of Thumb
Putting it All Together
Pheasant Habitat Basics
Netting and Roosting Cover
Examples: Based on 40 Acre Blocks

Scwds Briefs: Volume 14, Number 4 (January 1999)

Southeastern Cooperative Wildlife Disease Study: Publications

SCWDS BRIEFS
January 1999
Wildlife Health Alert on Neurologic Disease in Ducks and Eagles
National Wildlife Health Center of the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS)
Vacuolar myelinopathy
Michigan TB Update
Bovine tuberculosis (TB)
Liberalization of hunting regulations
TB Regs Finalized for Cervids
USDA's Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service
Captive cervid herds in regard to TB status
Eastern and Western Regional Emergency Animal Disease Eradication Organizations (READEO)
"Nimby" Test Exercise
Arkansas Elk Hunt
Model Health Protocol for Importation of Wild Elk for Restoration
Diseases of major concern, i.e., chronic wasting disease, bovine tuberculosis, brucellosis, Johne's disease, and Pasteurella pneumonia
Sarcocystis
Anaplasma …

Evaluation Of Special Sensor Microwave / Imager Sea-Ice Products, Kim Partington, Cheryl Bertoia

United States Department of Commerce: Staff Publications

Existing SSM/I algorithms are imperfect at mapping total and partial ice concentrations. This paper reviews recent findings based on comparisons of sea-ice products against other satellite data and U.S. National Ice Center (NIC) ice charts.

Inventory Of The Central Mixed-Grass Prairie Ecoregion Of Kansas And Nebraska, Hillary Loring, Mike Bullerman, Kelly Kindscher

Nebraska Game and Parks Commission: White Papers, Conference Presentations, and Manuscripts

An inventory of potential high quality mixed-grass prairie ranches and large properties within the Central Mixed-Grass Prairie Ecoregion of Kansas and Nebraska was conducted in the spring and summer of 1999. Emphasis during the inventory was placed on identification of relatively intact landscapes. Significant ranches within those untilled landscapes were visited. An interview of the owners or managers of those properties was coupled with a survey of the vegetation. Assessments of quality were based on species composition, continuity of ground cover, observations of livestock impact, and viability of the community types present.

The objectives of this study were to:

1) …