Life Sciences Commons^™

Relationship Between Tissue Carotenoid Concentrations In The Pacific Mole Crab, Emerita Analoga, And Parasitism By The Acanthocephalan, Profilicollis Altmani, Whitney Melroy

Biological Sciences

Acanthocephalan worms infect two hosts to reach full development. Some species have been demonstrated to change their intermediate host’s behavior or coloration to increase the likelihood they will reach the final host. The pacific mole crab, Emerita analoga, is commonly parasitized by Profilicollis altmani along the Pacific coast of North and South America, but the impact of parasitism on the crab intermediate host is unclear. We investigated whether P. altmani alters the concentration of dietary carotenoids present in E. analoga tissues and if the parasite may also acquire pigments normally allocated to the host. Fifty eight gravid female crabs were …

The Fish Crow (Corvus Ossifragus) Reaches Nebraska, Joel G. Jorgensen, Melissa J. Panella, W. Ross Silcock, Kristal J. Stoner

Nebraska Bird Review

The Fish Crow (Corvus ossifragus) was formerly endemic to the southeastern United States where it inhabited coastal areas along the Atlantic and Gulf Coasts (McGowan 2001). Since the early 1900s, the species has steadily expanded north and west along major river systems (McGowan 2001). Fish Crow range expansion has followed a logical pattern, expanding along major rivers in regions close to established populations, in adjacent states to the south and east of Nebraska. The species was first recorded in Missouri in 1964 (Robbins and Easterla 1992). In 1984, Fish Crow was first reported in Kansas and by 1991 …

Index To Volume 77

Nebraska Bird Review

Albright, Andrew 139

Alcock, David 47

Alexander,

George 15

Irene 15

Allison, Scott 22

Alspaugh, Mack 166

American Ornithologists' Union 112, 116, 167

Andrews, R. 111, 158

Anhinga 120, 131

Ani, Groove-billed 124, 132

Armknecht, Henry 48

Avocet, American 28, 55, 72, 100, 122, 145

Fall Field Days At Valentine

Nebraska Bird Review

Fall Field Days were held in Valentine September 25–27, 2009, with 65 participants registered for the weekend. Dave Heidt organized the meeting and led field trips to Cherry County lakes and marshes. Trips to Smith Falls and along the Niobrara River in Keya Paha and Brown Counties were guided by Mark Brogie. Lanny Randolph led trips to the Ft. Niobrara NWR and the Valentine Fish Hatchery. A total of 133 species was tallied.

On Friday evening Dan Leger, Professor of Psychology at the University of Nebraska at Lincoln, gave an impromptu presentation on the microphones and recording equipment he uses …

2009 (21st) Report Of The Nou Records Committee, Mark A. Brogie

Nebraska Bird Review

The functions and methods of the Nebraska Ornithologists' Union (NOU) Records Committee are described in its bylaws (NOU Records Committee 1986). The committee's purpose is to provide a procedure for documenting unusual bird sightings and to establish a list of all documented birds for Nebraska. All records mentioned here are available to interested persons at the NOU archives at the University of Nebraska State Museum (UNSM), Lincoln, NE. Interested parties should contact the current NOU Librarian, whose address can be found in the latest issue of The Nebraska Bird Review (NBR).

The "Official List of the Birds of Nebraska'" was …

Subscription And Organization Information [December 2009]

Nebraska Bird Review

The Nebraska Bird Review is published quarterly by the Nebraska Ornithologists' Union, Inc., as its official journal, and is sent to members not in arrears of dues. Annual subscription rates (on a calendar-year basis only): $15 in the United States, $18 in Canada, and $30 in all other countries, payable in advance. Single copies are $4 each, postpaid, in the United States, $5 in Canada, and $8 elsewhere. Send orders for back issues to Anita Breckbill, NOU Librarian, c/o Music Library, WMB 30, University of Nebraska, Lincoln, NE 68588-0101.

Memberships in the NOU (on a calendar-year basis only): Active, $15; …

Hydrodynamics Of Freshwater Turtles: Maneuverability, Stability, And Effects Of Shell Shape, Gabriel Rivera

All Dissertations

Aquatic organisms exhibit tremendous diversity in body design and modes of propulsion that can strongly influence locomotor performance. Understanding how such differences affect locomotor performance is a major focus of research in integrative organismal biology and can provide insight into the evolutionary origins of such variation. Turtles are unique among extant tetrapods (i.e., amphibians, reptiles, birds, and mammals) in that they possess rigid bodies. In turtles, the vertebrae are fused dorsally with a bony carapace, precluding movement of the axial skeleton between the base of the neck and the tail. As a result of their immobilized axial skeleton and reduced …

Fall Field Report, August-November 2009, W. Ross Silcock

Nebraska Bird Review

This was probably the most "normal" fall season in a while, as measured by the small number of late departure dates among summer residents and migrants, early arrival dates among winter residents and migrants, high counts, and rarities. In other words, very little of significance happened. Indeed, in order to provide a spark, I'll even mention three exotics that were reported: a Swan Goose at Fremont 26 November (JRo), a Common Peafowl in Dodge Co 5 August (JWe), and a White-faced Cockatiel caught in a Dixon Co yard 24 August (JJ). None is likely to be a threat to our …

Nebraska Bird Review (December 2009) 77(4), Whole Issue

Nebraska Bird Review

Fall Field Report, August–November 2009 ... 138

The Fish Crow (Corvus ossifragus) Reaches Nebraska ... 155

2009 (21st) Report of the NOU Records Committee ... 160

Fall Field Days at Valentine ... 169

Index to Volume 77 ... 173

Subscription and Organization Information ... 183

Where Are The Parasites? [Letters], Susan J. Kutz, Andy P. Dobson, Eric P. Hoberg

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

First paragraph:

The review by E. Post et al. ("Ecological dynamics across the Arctic associated with recent climate change," 11 September 2009, p. 1,355) paid little heed to parasites and other pathogens. The rapidly growing literature on parasites in arctic and subarctic ecosystems provides empirical and observational evidence that climate-linked changes have already occurred. The life cycle of the protostrongylid lungworm of muskoxen, Umingmakstrongylus pallikuukensis, has changed, and the range of that organism and the winter tick, Dermacentor albipictus, has expanded.

The Importance Of Fallback Foods In Primate Ecology And Evolution, Paul J. Constantino, Barth W. Wright

Biological Sciences Faculty Research

The role of fallback foods in shaping primate ranging, socioecology, and morphology has recently become a topic of particular interest to biological anthropologists. Although the use of fallback resources has been noted in the ecological and primatological literature for a number of decades, few attempts have been made to define fallback foods or to explore the utility of this concept for primate evolutionary biologists and ecologists. As a preface to this special issue of the American Journal of Physical Anthropology devoted to the topic of fallback foods in primate ecology and evolution, we discuss the development and use of the …

On The Zoological Geography Of The Malay Archipelago (1859), Alfred Russel Wallace

Alfred Russel Wallace Classic Writings

No abstract provided.

Encomium: Rolliin Harold Baker: 1916-2007, Carleton J. Phillips, Robert J. Baker, Hugh H. Genoways

University of Nebraska State Museum: Mammalogy Papers

Rollin H. Baker passed away on November 12, 2007, one day after reaching his 91st birthday. Rollin was a living legend, famous for his pioneering research on biogeography and natural history of Mexican mammals, especially rodents, for his contributions to the understanding of Michigan mammals, and for being a mentor and friend to all young, aspiring mammalogists. Rollin Baker’s career lasted way beyond his traditional retirement, and in his final months he was still active in the Texas Society of Mammalogists and in conservation issues in Texas. Indeed, when he was 89 years old he presented a guest lecture in …

Migration Dynamics Of The Northern Saw-Whet Owl In The Piedmont, Mountain, And Coastal Plain Provinces Of Virginia, Kyle E. Van Althuis

Senior Honors Theses

The Northern Saw-whet Owl (Aegolius acadicus) is a small common owl of which little is known. The saw-whet’s migration dynamics are particularly shrouded in mystery due to the secretive nature of this owl. This study examined data obtained by capturing owls with mist nets in order to better understand volume, timing, sex differences and age differences in migration in the Piedmont province of Virginia for 2002-2007. Comparative owl capture data from two other physiographic regions (Mountain and Coastal Plain) were also examined.

Migration flight volume was highest in the Mountain province and lowest in the Coastal Plain, while movements were …

Genetics And Pathogenesis Of Feline Infectious Peritonitis Virus, Meredith Brown, Jennifer L. Troyer, Jill Pecon-Slattery, M. Roelke-Parker, Stephen J. O'Brien

Biology Faculty Articles

Feline coronavirus (FCoV) is endemic in feral cat populations and cat colonies, frequently preceding outbreaks of fatal feline infectious peritonitis (FIP). FCoV exhibits 2 biotypes: the pathogenic disease and a benign infection with feline enteric coronavirus (FECV). Uncertainty remains regarding whether genetically distinctive avirulent and virulent forms coexist or whether an avirulent form mutates in vivo, causing FIP. To resolve these alternative hypotheses, we isolated viral sequences from FCoV-infected clinically healthy and sick cats (8 FIP cases and 48 FECV-asymptomatic animals); 735 sequences from 4 gene segments were generated and subjected to phylogenetic analyses. Viral sequences from healthy cats were …

Long-Tailed Jaegers In Western Nebraska, Stephen J. Dinsmore

Nebraska Bird Review

The Long-tailed Jaeger is an accidental migrant in Nebraska with just one accepted record through the mid-1990s. Based on records from adjacent states, especially Colorado (Andrews and Righter 1992) and Wyoming (Faulkner 2010), the species is probably more frequent than these records indicate, and its status is further complicated by possible confusion with Pomarine and Parasitic jaegers. In this article I report details of four records of Long-tailed Jaegers in western Nebraska and comment on the species' identification and status in the state.

Summer Field Report, June-July 2009, W. Ross Silcock

Nebraska Bird Review

This was an interesting summer, with range expansions of multiple species continuing in all directions, but predominantly northward. Exceptions to the northward trend were Trumpeter Swan, which bred south of its usual western Sandhills range, and Sedge Wren, which may be occurring in June in northeast Nebraska in greater numbers. Moving eastward are Western Wood-Pewee, which now overlaps with westward-moving Eastern Wood-Pewee in Lincoln Co, Cordilleran Flycatcher in the Pine Ridge, and Lesser Goldfinch in the west. Song Sparrow is also expanding south and west. No fewer than 16 species are moving north and/or northwestward. Several species were seen more …

Accidental And Casual Species For Which The Nebraska Ornithologists’ Union Records Committee Seeks Documentation

Nebraska Bird Review

A list of 117 species (Black-bellied Whistling Duck, Taiga Bean-Goose, Emperor Goose, Brant, Eurasian Wigeon, etc.) for which the Nebraska Ornithologists’ Union Records Committee seeks documentation.

The Official List Of The Birds Of Nebraska: 2009

Nebraska Bird Review

The “Official List of the Birds of Nebraska: 2009” contains 454 species.

The duties of NOU Records Committee (NOU Records Committee 1986) include:

A. The committee shall publish an official list of the birds of Nebraska.

B. The official list will include all those species whose occurrence has been reported in Nebraska.

C. The committee shall keep the official list current.

D. The committee shall publish a list of species for which details are requested with every sighting reported.

The 2009 NOU Records Committee has completed the above duties and the following is the result of its endeavors. This work …

Subscription And Organization Information [September 2009]

Nebraska Bird Review

The Nebraska Bird Review is published quarterly by the Nebraska Ornithologists' Union, Inc., as its official journal, and is sent to members not in arrears of dues. Annual subscription rates (on a calendar-year basis only): $15 in the United States, $18 in Canada, and $30 in all other countries, payable in advance. Single copies are $4 each, postpaid, in the United States, $5 in Canada, and $8 elsewhere. Send orders for back issues to Anita Breckbill, NOU Librarian, c/o Music Library, WMB 30, University of Nebraska, Lincoln, NE 68588-0101.

Memberships in the NOU (on a calendar-year basis only): Active, $15; …

Editorial Staff Change

Nebraska Bird Review

Steve Dinsmore has generously assisted the Nebraska Bird Review editors for nine years, and now he is bowing out. With this issue, Joe Gubanyi is the new technical editor of the NBR. Joe is a professor of biology in the Natural Science Department at Concordia University in Seward. He has a B.S. Ed. from Concordia, an M.S. and a Ph.D. in Wildlife Ecology from the University of Nebraska at Lincoln. He has taught biology, genetics, ecology, vertebrate zoology, and ornithology and has led study tours to Belize and Costa Rica. He is the compiler of the Branched Oak–Seward Christmas …

Nebraska Bird Review (September 2009) 77(3), Whole Issue

Nebraska Bird Review

Summer Field Report, June–July 2009 ... 94

Long-tailed Jaegers in Western Nebraska ... 110

The Official List of the Birds of Nebraska: 2009 ... 112

Accidental and Casual Species for Which the Nebraska Ornithologists’ Union Records Committee Seeks Documentation ... 131

Editorial Staff Change ... 133

Subscription and Organization Information ... 135

Impact Of Weed Management Practices On Grapevine Growth, Yield Components, Plant And Arthropod Abundance, And Carabid Seed Predation In Paso Robles Vineyard, Paolo Sanguankeo

Master's Theses

In the Central Coast of California, USA, wine grape growers are making efforts to identify weed control practices that promote biodiversity in their vineyards while maintaining yields. A field study was conducted in Paso Robles, CA in 2006 and 2007 evaluating the effect on Zinfandel grape-vine growth and production, groundcover plant, and ground dwelling arthropod communities of five weed control practices: 1) flumioxazin, 2) simazine, 3) cultivation, 4) cover crop, and 5) untreated control.

The herbicide treatments had the lowest weed biomass followed by the cultivation, being approximately 10 and 2 times lower than the weed biomass of either the …

Mapping The Dorsal Skin Pigmentation Patterns Of Two Sympatric Populations Of Ambystomatid Salamanders, Ambystoma Opacum And A. Maculatum From Northeast Tennessee., Lok Raj Pokhrel

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Because of growing concern of habitat fragmentation and its adverse effects on salamander communities in Appalachian region, sympatric populations of ambystomatid salamanders A. opacum and A. maculatum were studied in Northeast Tennessee to address a number of questions: i) the extent of sexual size dimorphism (SSD) in both species, ii) what traits influence the dorsal skin pigmentation and how, iii) whether gender differences in developmental stability occur, and iv) the extent of phenotypic variation within each species. The findings of this study revealed SSD in both species of salamanders. The most parsimonious statistical model was developed that explained the influence …

Preliminary Analysis Of The Ecology And Geography Of The Asian Nuthatches (Aves: Sittidae), Shaily Menon, Zafar-Ul Islam, Jorge Soberon, A. Townsend Peterson

Shaily Menon

We explored distributions of Asian nuthatch species in ecological and geographic space using ecological niche modeling based on occurrence data associated with specimens and observations. Nuthatches represent a well-defined clade occurring throughout the Northern Hemisphere, but are most diverse in southern Asia where 15 of the 24 species occur and where the lineage is believed to have evolved. Species richness was focused in a narrow east-west band corresponding to the forested parts of the Himalayas with a maximum number of nine species predicted present in these foci. The distributional predictions have a mid-elevation focus with highest species diversity between 1,000 …

Predicting Leptodactylus (Amphibia, Anura, Leptodactylidae) Distributions: Broad-Ranging Versus Patchily Distributed Species Using A Presence-Only Environmental Niche Modeling Technique, Miguel Fernández, Daniel Cole, W. R. Heyer, Stephen Reichle, Rafael O. De Sá

Biology Faculty Publications

Locality data available for many, if not most, species of Neotropical frogs are based on written descriptions of the collecting sites, not on GPS device determined coordinate data. The pre-GPS device data are imprecise relative to GPS data. Niche modeling is a powerful technique for predicting geographic distributions that provides the best results when the locality data are precise. The purpose of this study is to determine whether imprecise historical locality data are sufficient such that niche modeling techniques can yield realistic new insights to species-level distributions. Two sets of frogs of the genus Leptodactylus that have known different kinds …

10th International Mammalogical Congress Abstracts: Mendoza, Argentina, 9-14 August 2009, Eviatar Nevo, Michael Mares, Christopher Johnson, Gabriel Marroig, Pablo A. Marquet

International Theriological Congress Abstracts of Papers

Abstracts of the 10th International Mammalogical Congress held in Mendoza, Argentina, August 9-14, 2009.

Odontometric Patterns In The Radiation Of Extant Ground-Dwelling Squirrels Within Marmotini (Sciuridae: Xjrini), H. Thomas Goodwin

Faculty Publications

I document odontometry variation across ground-dwelling squirrels of the Holarctic tribe Marmotini. Dental size, which correlates well with published average body mass values across species, accounts for most odontometric variation across the clade. Dental shape variation primarily reflects relative size of P3 (upper cheek teeth) and relative width of p4-ml + length of m3 (lower cheek teeth). Shape variables and relative tooth crown height covary significantly across species, suggesting a common functional complex or shared genetic control. When dental morphology is mapped on published DNA-based phytogenies, Sciurotamias (Chinese rock squirrels), Ammospermophilus (antelope squirrels), and basal subgenera within Spermophilus (ground squirrels …

Puncture-Resistance Of Gloves For Handling Bats, Patricia W. Freeman, Cliff A. Lemen

University of Nebraska State Museum: Mammalogy Papers

We quantified protection given by a variety of gloves against bat bites by using steel indenters to simulate teeth and measuring forces needed to puncture the gloves. Level of protection given by gloves was compared to expected bite forces and tooth sharpness of bats. Cotton, plastic-coated synthetic fabric, and proprietary materials advertised as puncture- and cut-resistant were easy to penetrate compared to leather gloves. Split leather gives the highest level of protection, but with reduced dexterity. These are best for handling larger bats (>40 g) or if higher safety is preferred. Deerskin gives reasonable protection without much loss in …

Road-Killed Bats, Highway Design, And The Commuting Ecology Of Bats, Amy L. Russell, Calvin M. Butchkoski, Leslie Saidak, Gary F. Mccracken

Amy L. Russell