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Abundance And Habitat Associations Of Birds Wintering In The Platte River Valley, Nebraska, Craig Davis Oct 2001

Abundance And Habitat Associations Of Birds Wintering In The Platte River Valley, Nebraska, Craig Davis

Great Plains Research: A Journal of Natural and Social Sciences

The abundance and habitat associations of overwintering birds in Platte River Valley of central Nebraska may influence their long-term survival. I observed a total of 51 species over a three-year period in shrub-grassland, forest, grassland, and cropland habitats during the winter. Grassland habitats had the lowest abundance of wintering birds, while abundances in shrub-grassland, forest, and cropland habitats were higher and similar. Species richness was highest in forests ( x= 2.97 species) and lowest in grasslands (x = 0.73 species) and croplands (x = 0.57 species). Overall, horned larks (Eremophila alpestris), American tree sparrows (Spizella arborea), …


Habitat Fragmentation Effects On Birds In Grasslands And Wetlands: A Critique Of Our Knowledge, Douglas Johnson Oct 2001

Habitat Fragmentation Effects On Birds In Grasslands And Wetlands: A Critique Of Our Knowledge, Douglas Johnson

Great Plains Research: A Journal of Natural and Social Sciences

Habitat fragmentation exacerbates the problem of habitat loss for grassland and wetland birds. Remaining patches of grasslands and wetlands may be too small, too isolated, and too influenced by edge effects to maintain viable populations of some breeding birds. Knowledge of the effects of fragmentation on bird populations is critically important for decisions about reserve design, grassland and wetland management, and implementation of cropland set-aside programs that benefit wildlife. In my review of research that has been conducted on habitat fragmentation, I found at least five common problems in the methodology used. The results of many studies are compromised by …


Review Of Standard Soil Methods For Long-Term Ecological Research Edited By G. Philip Robertson, David E. Coleman, Caroline S. Bledsoe, And Phillip Sollins, Mary Ann Vinton Oct 2001

Review Of Standard Soil Methods For Long-Term Ecological Research Edited By G. Philip Robertson, David E. Coleman, Caroline S. Bledsoe, And Phillip Sollins, Mary Ann Vinton

Great Plains Research: A Journal of Natural and Social Sciences

Standard Soil Methods for Long-Term Ecological Research is the second in a series of books dedicated to summarizing the research results and methods of ecological studies being conducted at sites around North America and Antarctica under the sponsorship of the National Science Foundation's Long-Term Ecological Research (LTER) program. The twenty-one sites range from arctic tundra to hot desert and from natural tropical rainforest to urban and suburban areas.


What The Past Can Provide: Contribution Of Prehistoric Bison Studies To Modern Bison Management, Kenneth Cannon Apr 2001

What The Past Can Provide: Contribution Of Prehistoric Bison Studies To Modern Bison Management, Kenneth Cannon

Great Plains Research: A Journal of Natural and Social Sciences

For over 100 years, bison in the Greater Yellowstone Area have been managed intensely. Even during the years of "natural regulation," bison herds have been heavily managed by culling. One of the fundamental goals of the plan for the Greater Yellowstone Area is to maintain the ecosystem's integrity using sound science. In order to reach this goal, it must be recognized that it is a dynamic system, continually undergoing change. However, our knowledge of such changes is extremely limited. In the case of bison, our knowledge is based on nonsystematically collected historic records and modern studies of small, isolated populations. …


Carbon And Nitrogen Isotopes In Archeological Bison Remains As Indicators Of Paleoenvironmental Change In Southern Alberta, Jeremy J. Leyden, Gerald Oetelaar Apr 2001

Carbon And Nitrogen Isotopes In Archeological Bison Remains As Indicators Of Paleoenvironmental Change In Southern Alberta, Jeremy J. Leyden, Gerald Oetelaar

Great Plains Research: A Journal of Natural and Social Sciences

Between 1995 and 1997, archeological excavations in northwest Calgary, Alberta, uncovered cultural materials from several occupations dating back 8,500 years. Samples of bison bone recovered at the sites were chemically prepared and analyzed for isotopic ratios. Using the resultant carbon and nitrogen isotope ratios, we reconstructed the diet of bison from four different cultural occupations spanning the last 8,500 years. Based on current and established models of bison subsistence behavior, this dietary information was used to infer large-scale environmental changes during this time interval in our study area. The inferred changes in vegetation and climate were compared with paleoenvironmental reconstructions …


Effects Of Management Practices On Grassland Birds: Bobolink, Jill A. Dechant, Marriah L. Sondreal, Douglas H. Johnson, Lawrence D. Igl, Christopher M. Goldade, Amy L. Zimmerman, Betty R. Euliss Jan 2001

Effects Of Management Practices On Grassland Birds: Bobolink, Jill A. Dechant, Marriah L. Sondreal, Douglas H. Johnson, Lawrence D. Igl, Christopher M. Goldade, Amy L. Zimmerman, Betty R. Euliss

USGS Northern Prairie Wildlife Research Center

Bobolink (Dolichonyx oryzivorus):
Breeding range
Suitable habitat
Area requirements
Brown-headed Cowbird brood parasitism
Breeding-season phenology and site fidelity
Species’ response to management
Management Recommendations
Characteristics


Effects Of Management Practices On Grassland Birds: Marbled Godwit, Jill A. Dechant, Marriah L. Sondreal, Douglas H. Johnson, Lawrence D. Igl, Christopher M. Goldade, Melvin P. Nenneman, Betty R. Euliss Jan 2001

Effects Of Management Practices On Grassland Birds: Marbled Godwit, Jill A. Dechant, Marriah L. Sondreal, Douglas H. Johnson, Lawrence D. Igl, Christopher M. Goldade, Melvin P. Nenneman, Betty R. Euliss

USGS Northern Prairie Wildlife Research Center

Marbled Godwit (Limosa fedoa):
Breeding range
Suitable habitat
Area requirements
Brown-headed Cowbird brood parasitism
Breeding-season phenology and site fidelity
Species’ response to management
Management Recommendations
Habitat Characteristics


Suggestions For Presenting The Results Of Data Analysis, David R. Anderson, William A. Link, Douglas H. Johnson, Kenneth P. Burnham Jan 2001

Suggestions For Presenting The Results Of Data Analysis, David R. Anderson, William A. Link, Douglas H. Johnson, Kenneth P. Burnham

USGS Northern Prairie Wildlife Research Center

We give suggestions for the presentation of research results from frequentist, information-theoretic, and Bayesian analysis paradigms, followed by several general suggestions. The information-theoretic and Bayesian methods offer alternative approaches to data analysis and inference compared to traditionally used methods. Guidance is lacking on the presentation of results under these alternative procedures and on nontesting aspects of classical frequentist methods of statistical analysis. Null hypothesis testing has come under intense criticism. We recommend less reporting of the results of statistical tests of null hypotheses in cases where the null is surely false anyway, or where the null hypothesis is of little …


Statistics For Wildlifers: How Much And What Kind?, Douglas H. Johnson, Terry L. Shaffer, Wesley E. Newton Jan 2001

Statistics For Wildlifers: How Much And What Kind?, Douglas H. Johnson, Terry L. Shaffer, Wesley E. Newton

USGS Northern Prairie Wildlife Research Center

Quantitative methods are playing increasingly important roles in wildlife ecology and, ultimately, management. This change poses a challenge for wildlife practitioners and students who are not well educated in mathematics and statistics. Here we give our opinions on what wildlife biologists should know about statistics, while recognizing that not everyone is inclined mathematically. For those who are, we recommend that they take mathematics coursework at least through calculus and linear algebra. They should take statistics courses that are focused conceptually, stressing the "why" rather than the "how" of doing statistics. For less mathematically oriented wildlifers, introductory classes in statistical techniques …


Area Requirements Of Grassland Birds: A Regional Perspective, Douglas Johnson, Lawrence Igl Jan 2001

Area Requirements Of Grassland Birds: A Regional Perspective, Douglas Johnson, Lawrence Igl

USGS Northern Prairie Wildlife Research Center

Area requirements of grassland birds ha ve not been studied except in tallgrass prairie. We studied the relation between both species-occurrence and density and patch size by conducting 699 fixed-radius point counts of 15 bird species on 303 restored grassland areas in nine counties in four northern Great Plains states. Northern Harrier (Circus cyaneus), Sedge Wren (Cistothorus platensis, Clay-colored Sparrow (Spizella pallida), Grasshopper Sparrow (Ammodramus savannarum), Baird’s Sparrow ( Ammodramus bairdii)), Le Conte’s Sparrow (Ammodramus leconteii), and Bobolink (Dolichonyx oryzivorus) were shown to favor larger grassland patches …