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Severe Drought Impacts Female Pheasant Physiology In Southwest Nebraska, Jessica A. Laskowski, Gwen C. Bachman, Joseph J. Fontaine
Severe Drought Impacts Female Pheasant Physiology In Southwest Nebraska, Jessica A. Laskowski, Gwen C. Bachman, Joseph J. Fontaine
The Prairie Naturalist
In 2012, Nebraska experienced one of the worst droughts since the 1930s, accompanied by abnormally high temperatures. We studied the impacts of the 2012 summer drought on female ring-necked pheasant (Phasianus colchicus) body condition and baseline and stress-induced corticosterone concentrations (CORT). We hypothesized that drought conditions would reduce pheasant body condition, increase chronic stress resulting in elevated baseline CORT levels, and down-regulate pheasant stress response to acute stressors, resulting in reduced stress-induced CORT concentrations. In southwestern Nebraska, we captured female pheasants in 2012 (pre-drought) and 2013 (post-drought). Pheasants had poorer body condition after the drought. Although female CORT measures were …
Morphometrics Of Six Turtle Species From South Dakota, Sarah J. Bandas, Kenneth F. Higgins
Morphometrics Of Six Turtle Species From South Dakota, Sarah J. Bandas, Kenneth F. Higgins
The Prairie Naturalist
During 2002 and 2003, morphometric measurements were recorded for 755 turtles representing six species in South Dakota. Turtles were captured in a wide variety of wetland habitats across the entire state. With few exceptions, morphometric measurements for South Dakota were near or within the range of measurements reported for all six species from studies in nearby states or provinces. We recommend that morphometric measurements be taken on turtles in future turtle studies and particularly for the less common and rare species.