Life Sciences Commons^™

The Prairie Naturalist Volume 32, No.4 December 2000

The Prairie Naturalist

LOCATING NESTS OF BIRDS IN GRASSLANDS FROM A MOBILE TOWER BLIND ▪ . T. F. Fondell, S. T. Hoekman, and L J. Ball

OBSERVATIONS ON SMALL MAMMALS RECOVERED FROM OWL PELLETS FROM NEBRASKA ▪ J J Huebschman, P. W Freeman, H. H. Genoways, and J A. Gubanyi

DlSTRIBUTION, HABITAT USE, AND NESTING SUCCESS OF HENSLOW'S SPARROW IN OKLAHOMA ▪ D. L. Reinking, D. A. Wiedenfeld, D. H. Wolfe, and R. W. Rohrbaugh, Jr.

REPRODUCTIVE SUCCESS OF PIPING PLOVERS ON ALKALI LAKES IN NORTH DAKOTA AND MONTANA ▪ R. K. Murphy, M. J. Rabenberg, M. L. Sondreal, B. R. Casler, and …

Horse Creek Fen, Birdwood Creek And Kelly Ranch Inventory, Robert F. Steinauer

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

Horse Creek Fen preserve is a complex of wetland communities (Sandhills fen, Sandhills freshwater marsh, and northern sedge wet meadow) associated with Horse Creek, a ditched stream that drains the Allen Valley fen. Fen vegetation on the preserve is limited to approximately 20 acres on the western boundary of the preserve where it abuts the eastern end of the Allen Valley fen (Steinauer et al. 1996). The fen vegetation is surrounded primarily by Sandhills freshwater marsh, which in turn is surrounded by northern sedge wet meadow. Additional Sandhills freshwater marsh occurs near the eastern boundary of the preserve. The eastern …

Phytosociological Analysis Of Restored And Managed Grassland Habitat Within An Urban National Park, Andrew M. Greller, Celestine Durando, Leslie F. Marcus, D. Siril A. Wijesundara, Michael D. Byer, Robert Cook, John T. Tanacredi Ph.D.

Faculty Works: CERCOM

Floyd Bennett Field (FBF), 579 ha in extent, is a division of Gateway National Recreation Area. It is the site of a former airfield, constructed by filling salt marshes with dredged materials. Except for the portion known locally as the “North Forty,” all sections of FBF have been cut over to maintain low vegetation. A grassland management plan (GRAMP) for 165 ha was initiated in 1986, to maintain habitats for open-country birds. Over the next few years, encroaching woody vegetation was removed manually and mechanically from the management area. Since then, it has been maintained as a grassland and receives …

A Review Of "Vanishing Borders: Protecting The Planet In The Age Of Globalization" By Hilary French: Implications For Peace, Ibpp Editor

International Bulletin of Political Psychology

This article reviews a recent book by Hilary French, vice president for research at the Worldwatch Institute.

The Prairie Naturalist Volume 32, No.3 September 2000

The Prairie Naturalist

SPECIAL FEATURE: LESSER PRAIRIE-CHICKEN

PREFACE ▪ C. E. Braun

NOTE ON SPECIAL FEATURES

POPULATION STATUS AND MANAGEMENT OF LESSER PRAIRIE-CHICKEN IN COLORADO ▪ K. M. Giesen

STATUS OF NESTING HABITAT FOR LESSER PRAIRIE-CHICKEN IN NEW MEXICO ▪ J. A. Bailey, J. Klingel, and C. A. Davis

STATUS OF THE LESSER PRAIRIE-CHICKEN IN NEW MEXICO, 1999 ▪ . J. A. Bailey, and S. O. Williams III

DISTRIBUTION AND POPULATION TREND OF LESSER PRAIRIE-CHICKEN IN KANSAS ▪ W. E. Jensen, D A. Robinson. Jr and R. D. Applegate

REVIEW OF THE HISTORICAL AND PRESENT STATUS OF THE LESSER PRAIRIE-CHICKEN (Tympanuchus pallidicinctus) IN …

Trophic Dynamics And Pollution Effects In Cave Springs Cave, Arkansas, G. O. Graening, Arthur V. Brown

Technical Reports

No abstract provided.

Status Survey Of Aquatic Cave Fauna In Arkansas, G. O. Graening, Arthur V. Brown

Technical Reports

No abstract provided.

Legume Logic Number 119

Legume Logic

Contents

Pulse production in Canada

Field pea sowings increase

Belara feedback

Coated seeds

UK lupins

Lupins in Egypt

Cucumber mosaic virus in lupins

Legume Logic Number 118

Legume Logic

Contents

Visual value of pulses

Why not Tanjil?

Regional service grows

Food for thought...

Belara and aphids

...And thoughts to consider

Extralimital Records Of The Mexican Free-Tailed Bat (Tadarida Brasilensis Mexicana) In The Central United States And Their Biological Significance, Hugh H. Genoways, Patricia W. Freeman, Cary Grell

School of Natural Resources: Faculty Publications

Two new records of Tadarida brasiliensis mexicana are reported from Nebraska. The literature records of this taxon from the central United States are summarized. In this region of North America, these bats occupy a “natal range” where the species carries on regular reproductive activities and the populations are relatively stable, including California, Arizona, New Mexico, Texas, and Oklahoma. To the north of the natal range of T. b. mexicana is a “pioneering zone” where, under favorable conditions, the species is capable of reproducing and conducting its normal activities. The pioneering zone of the Mexican free-tailed bat includes Barber and Comanche …

Shifting Distributional Patterns Of Mammals In Nebraska, Russell A. Benedict, Hugh H. Genoways, Patricia W. Freeman

School of Natural Resources: Faculty Publications

New distributional records are presented for 20 species of mammals in Nebraska. The majority of these records appear to represent changes in geographic distribution rather than just better sampling in poorly known areas. One group of mammals, including the opossum, northern myotis, evening bat, red bat, woodchuck, white-footed mouse, and gray fox, is expanding westward, probably in response to increasing woodlands along river systems. Another group, including the meadow vole, masked shrew, and least weasel, is expanding southward, possibly in response to new prey species and changing microclimates. The eastern woodrat appears to be expanding northward in eastern Nebraska. The …

A Radiation Hybrid Map Of The Cat Genome: Implications For Comparative Mapping, William J. Murphy, Shan Sun, Zhang-Qun Chen, Naoya Yuhki, Deborah Hirschmann, Marilyn Menotti-Raymond, Stephen J. O'Brien

Biology Faculty Articles

Ordered gene maps of mammalian species are becoming increasingly valued in assigning gene variants to function in human and animal models, as well as recapitulating the natural history of genome organization. To extend this power to the domestic cat, a radiation hybrid (RH) map of the cat was constructed integrating 424 Type I-coding genes with 176 microsatellite markers, providing coverage over all 20 feline chromosomes. Alignment of parallel RH maps of human and cat reveal 100 conserved segments ordered (CSOs) between the species, nearly three times the number observed with reciprocal chromosome painting analyses. The observed number is equivalent to …

The Prairie Naturalist Volume 32, No.2 June 2000

The Prairie Naturalist

EVALUATING MORNING AND AFTERNOON ELECTROFISHING CATCH RATES FOR LARGEMOUTH BASS IN KANSAS LAKES C. A. Cox, and R. D. Schultz

DYNAMICS OF GREEN ASH WOODLANDS IN THEODORE ROOSEVELT NATIONAL PARK ▪ L. R. Irby, J. E. Norland, M. G. Sullivan, J. A. Westfall, Jr., and P. Anderson

STATUS OF THE ARKANSAS DARTER IN SOUTH-CENTRAL KANSAS AND ADJACENT OKLAHOMA ▪ M. E. Eberle, and W J. Stark

CHRISTMAS BIRD COUNTS FOR NORTH DAKOTA 1999 R. N. Randall

AN OBSERVATION OF POSSIBLE BROOD ADOPTION IN RUDDY DUCKS ▪ J. T. Pelayo

MAXILLARY CANINE TEETH IN A NORTH DAKOTA DEER ▪ W. F. …

The Prairie Naturalist Volume 32, No.1 March 2000

The Prairie Naturalist

FRESHWATER MUSSELS (BIVALVIA: UNIONOIDEA) IN STREAMS OF NORTHWESTERN KANSAS ▪ S. M. Bergman, M. E. Eberle, and B. K. Obenneyer

PISCIVOROUS BIRD DEPREDATION AT NORTHERN MINNESOTA AQUACULTURE FACILITIES ▪ G. K. Bridgman, E. H. Rave, and J. M. Rafferty 17

EFFECTS OF MOWED TRAILS ON DEPREDATION OF ARTIFICIAL NESTS IN GRASSLAND ▪ D. J. Rosenblatt, J. J. Newton, and E . J. Heske

PLANT COMMUNITY PATTERNS ON UPLAND PRAIRIE IN THE EASTERN NEBRASKA SANDHILLS ▪ W. H. Schacht, J. D. Volesky, D. Bauer, A. J. Smart, and E. M. Mousel

AMERICAN BITTERN DEPREDATES SORA ▪ J. E. Austin, and M. …

A Summer Survey Of The Birds At Two Eastern Nebraska Wetlands, Kristine T. Phipps

Biology Faculty Publications

This study compares the avian species diversity at two eastern Nebraska wetlands that differ in their relative isolation from an urban environment. Birds were surveyed by the point Count method twice weekly at each site during June of 1998. Diversity was measured using species richness and species evenness. The percentage of bird species observed that depend on wetlands for breeding was also compared. Results suggest that both species richness and evenness, as determined by the Shannon-Wiener index, were higher at the wetland located in a network of other marsh areas and agricultural land than at the suburban wetland. Immigration of …

A Phylogenetic Hypothesis For Species Of The Genus Taenia (Eucestoda: Taeniidae), Eric P. Hoberg, Arlene Jones, Robert L. Rausch, Keeseon S. Eom, Scott Lyell Gardner

Harold W. Manter Laboratory of Parasitology: Faculty and Staff Publications

Cladistic analysis of a numerical data matrix describing 27 characters for species of Taenia resulted in four most parsimonious phylogenetic trees (174 steps; consistency index = 0.28; homoplasy index = 0.72; retention index = 0.48). Monophyly for Taenia is diagnosed by the metacestode that is either a cysticercus or a form derived from a bladder-like larva; no other unequivocal synapomorphies are evident. Tree structure provides no support for recognition of a diversity of tribes or genera within the Taeniinae: Fimbriotaeniini and Taeniini have no phylogenetic basis. Hydatigera, Fimbriotaenia, Fossor, Monordotaenia, Multiceps, Taeniarhynchus, Tetratirotaenia must …

Salinity And Shade Preferences Result In Ovipositional Differences Between Sympatric Tiger Beetle Species, W. Wyatt Hoback, Douglas A. Golick, Tina Marie Svatos, Stephen M. Spomer, Leon G. Higley

Department of Entomology: Faculty Publications

1. Adult tiger beetles of the genus Cicindela often co-occur within a habitat but larvae do not. Larvae are sedentary and form usually permanent burrows at the site of oviposition where they require 1-3 years for development.

2. To test niche partitioning based on ovipositional preference, the behavior of two sympatric salt marsh tiger beetles, Cicindela circumpicta and C. togata (Coleoptera: Cicindelidae), were examined.

3. In laboratory studies, female C. circumpicta and C. togata distinguished between experimental salinities, with the former preferring 4 parts per thousand (ppt) and the latter preferring 12 ppt. In the field, C. circumpicta larvae were …

American Burying Beetle (Nicrophorus Americanus) Recovery Plan, Christopher Raithel

Endangered Species Bulletin

Current Species Status: Nicrophorus americanus, formerly distributed throughout temperate eastern North America, now persists in only two widely separated natural populations: a small but apparently stable population on Block Island off the coast of Rhode Island, and a lower-density but more widespread population in eastern Oklahoma. In addition, three laboratory colonies are being maintained, and in 1990 and 1991, about 90 N. americanus were reintroduced to historical habitat on Penikese Island, Massachusetts. Based on the drastic decline and extirpation of the species over nearly its entire historical range, the American burying beetle was listed as endangered in July 1989. …

The Dyke Marsh Preserve Ecosystem, David W. Johnston

Virginia Journal of Science

For over a century, Dyke marsh along the Potomac River just south of Alexandria, VA, has been a favorite site for natural history studies. Despite earlier attempts at diking to create agricultural land and dredging for sand and gravel, the remaining marsh represents the last major tidal freshwater wetland on the upper Potomac River, and is now owned and maintained by the National Park Service as the Dyke Marsh Preserve. In the present paper historical data on physical properties and biota are compared and contrasted with more recent biological investigations to show functioning ecosystem components, interrelationships among the flora and …

Life In A Pine Cone, David L. Kulhavy

Faculty Publications

This exercise focuses on a little-known microhabitat -- the pine cone. A pine cone's primary function is, of course, reproduction ... housing the seeds of the next generation of conifer trees. However, pine cones are also the basis of a food web that provides both resources and living space for a wide variety of small arthropod species. The procedure outlined below is designed to examine this microhabitat and compare its community diversity among different species of conifers and habitats.

The exercise is based on a 1985 paper, Life in a Pine Cone, by David L. Kulhavy, Robert S. Baldridge and …

Lack Of Reproduction In Muskoxen And Arctic Hares Caused By Early Winter?, L. David Mech

USGS Northern Prairie Wildlife Research Center

A lack of young muskoxen (Ovibos moschatus) and arctic hares (Lepus arcticus) in the Eureka area of Ellesmere Island, Northwest Territories (now Nunavut), Canada, was observed during summer 1998, in contrast to most other years since 1986. Evidence of malnourished muskoxen was also found. Early winter weather and a consequent 50% reduction of the 1997 summer replenishment period appeared to be the most likely cause, giving rise to a new hypothesis about conditions that might cause adverse demographic effects in arctic herbivores.

Durant l’été 1998, et ce, à la différence de la plupart des années depuis …

Do Wolves Affect White-Tailed Buck Harvest In Northeastern Minnesota?, L. David Mech, Michael E. Nelson

USGS Northern Prairie Wildlife Research Center

We used simple linear regression to analyze 8-23 years of data on a wolf (Canis lupus) population and human harvest of white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) bucks in northeastern Minnesota to determine any effects of wolves on buck harvesting. Over the long term, wolves accounted for at least 14-22% inter-year variation in buck harvest in the region, but an unknown amount of variation in hunter effort have obscured any more precise estimate. For part of the area with poorest habitat, we found strong relationships (r² = 0.66-0.84) between annual wolf numbers and buck harvests from 1988 …

Proximity Of White-Tailed Deer, Odocoileus Virginianus, Ranges To Wolf, Canis Lupus, Pack Homesites, Michael E. Nelson, L. David Mech

USGS Northern Prairie Wildlife Research Center

Seven adult female White-tailed Deer (Odocoileus virginianus) in northeastern Minnesota lived within 1.8 km of Wolf pack (Canis lupus) homesites without vacating their home ranges. Six of these deer and at least three of their fawns survived through the Wolf homesite period.

Prolonged Winter Undernutrition And The Interpretation Of Urinary Allantoin:Creatinine Ratios In White-Tailed Deer, Glenn D. Delgiudice, Ken D. Kerr, L. David Mech, Ulysses S. Seal

USGS Northern Prairie Wildlife Research Center

The urinary allantoin:creatinine (A:C) ratio (expressed in micromoles of allantoin to micromoles of creatinine) has shown potential as an index of recent winter energy intake in preliminary controlled studies of elk (Cervus elaphus) involving mild condition deterioration (up to 11% loss of body mass). To ensure reliable nutritional assessments of free-ranging cervids by measuring A:C ratios of urine in snow, it is essential to extend this work. We assessed the effect of moderate and severe winter nutritional restriction on urinary A:C ratios of captive white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) that lost up to 32% body mass and …

Accuracy And Precision Of Estimating Age Of Gray Wolves By Tooth Wear, Philip S. Gipson, Warren B. Ballard, Ronald M. Nowak, L. David Mech

USGS Northern Prairie Wildlife Research Center

We evaluated the accuracy and precision of tooth wear for aging gray wolves (Canis lupus) from Alaska, Minnesota, and Ontario based on 47 known-age or known-minimum-age skuIIs. Estimates of age using tooth wear and a commercial cementum annuli-aging service were useful for wolves up to 14 years old. The precision of estimates from cementum annuli was greater than estimates from tooth wear, but tooth wear estimates are more applicable in the field. We tended to overestimate age by 1-2 years and occasionaIIy by 3 or 4 years. The commercial service aged young wolves with cementum annuli to within …

Protein-Coding Genes As Molecular Markers For Ecologically Distinct Populations: The Case Of Two Bacillus Species, T. Palys, E. Berger, I. Mitrica, L. Nakamura, Frederick Cohan

Frederick M. Cohan

No abstract provided.

Biodiversity And Ecosystem Functioning: Importance Of Species Evenness In An Old Field, Brian J. Wilsey, Catherine Potvin

Brian J. Wilsey

Changes in land use, habitat fragmentation, nutrient enrichment, and environmental stress often lead to reduced plant diversity in ecosystems. However, it remains controversial whether these reductions in diversity will affect energy flow and nutrient cycling. Diversity has two components: species richness, or the number of plant species in a given area, and species evenness, or how well distributed abundance or biomass is among species within a community. We experimentally varied species evenness and the identity of the dominant plant species in an old field of Quebec to test whether plant productivity would increase with increasing levels of evenness, and whether …

Field Maps 2000, Grace K. Attea, Ryan W. Mcewan, John L. Vankat

Data Files

Historical field map scans (2000) for the permanent 100m x 105m research plot in Hueston Woods State Nature Preserve.

Maps were digitized in 2022.

Elaeophorosis In Red Deer From Spain, Mónica Santín-Durán, J. M. Alunda, J. M. San Miguel, Eric P. Hoberg, C. De La Fuente

Harold W. Manter Laboratory of Parasitology: Faculty and Staff Publications

Elaeophorosis, caused by Elaeophora elaphi, was observed in red deer (Cervus elaphus) from Toledo Province (Spain) for the first time. Adult specimens of Elaeophora elaphi were found in the hepatic vessels of nine of 151 red deer between October 1994 and September 1995; intensity of infection was two to 18 nematodes per host. Adult nematodes were only found during the period from fall through early spring. No differences were present between sex or age groups. Parasites were not found in a limited sample from fallow deer (Dama dama). Blood samples were negative for the presence of …

A Record Large Wolf, Canis Lupus, Pack In Minnesota, L. David Mech

USGS Northern Prairie Wildlife Research Center

This report documents a pack of 22-23 Wolves (Canis lupus) in central Minnesota. This is larger than the largest pack previously observed on the mainland in the midwestern U.s. during 650 wolf pack-years. Because this record-large pack preyed on White-tailed Deer (Odocoileus virginianus), one of the Wolfs smaller prey, it is evidence that pack size and prey size are not tightly related. It also indicates the size that Wolf packs can attain in the area if fully protected from human persecution.