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Morphometry Of Growth In Hatchling Striped Plateau Lizards (Iguanidae: Sceloporus Virgatus), Geoffrey R. Smith

Transactions of the Nebraska Academy of Sciences and Affiliated Societies

I studied the ontogenetic development of body shape and the influence of food availability on the development of body shape in hatchling striped plateau lizards (Sceloporus virgatus) over the first seven to eight weeks of their life. Body mass showed positive growth relative to snout-vent length. Head width, head length, and femur length showed negative growth relative to snout-vent length. No sexual differences were evident in relative growth in any body part or trait. Food availability did not influence the relative growth of body parts or traits.

The Status Of Nebraska Fishes In The Missouri River. 6. Sauger (Percidae: Stizostedion Canadense), Larry W. Hesse

Transactions of the Nebraska Academy of Sciences and Affiliated Societies

Saugers were once common representatives of the Missouri River fish assemblage. Prior to channelization and impoundment, they comprised from 10 to 65% of the.main channel big-river fish group. They utilized the slower side channels and backwaters seasonally for feeding, resting, and maturing, but the main channel was important for breeding habitat. Since the onset of channelization and impoundment, saugers have been reduced by as much as 98% in some areas, and the trend toward extirpation continues unabated today. Recovery of native sauger stocks will require a complete cessation of harvest, recovery of the natural hydrograph, recovery of sediment transport, recovery …

An Ordination Of Niobrara Valley Plant Communities, Gail E. Kantak

Transactions of the Nebraska Academy of Sciences and Affiliated Societies

The middle Niobrara River Valley of north-central Nebraska is of significant biogeographic importance due to the interaction of geologic and hydrologic features which provide habitat for species of eastern, western, and boreal affinities. Vegetation data collected from 10 herbaceous and 13 woody sites within the Niobrara Valley Preserve and adjacent areas were ordinated using BCORD. Results corroborate a previous literature review and TWINSPAN classification analysis which described seven major community types for this region: Sandhill, Mixed Prairie, Tallgrass Meadow, Upland Pine, Juniper, Hardwood, and Streambank Communities.

Diversity Of Vascular Plants And Intensity Of Plant Collecting In Nebraska, Robert B. Kaul, Steven B. Rolfsmeier

Transactions of the Nebraska Academy of Sciences and Affiliated Societies

A computerized database of Nebraska's flora has been made from specimens in 20 herbaria. Almost 1,900 species of native and escaped-alien vascular plants have been collected in the state since the mid-1800s. The flora of some counties is very well known but that of many counties, especially southwestern and Sandhills counties, is poorly collected. More than 800 species (nearly 100% of the species that are likely to occur) have been collected from each of Cherry, Douglas, Lancaster, and Richardson counties, but fewer than 150 species are known from Fillmore and McPherson counties, less than 25% of the potential number species …

The Limnology Of Three Limestone Rock Quarries In East-Central Nebraska And Western Iowa, Christopher D. Mayne

Transactions of the Nebraska Academy of Sciences and Affiliated Societies

Rock-quarry lakes provide a unique environment. The aim of this study was to obtain baseline limnological data on quarries, one in Iowa and two in Nebraska, which have not been previously investigated. The results show the general limnological trends of the quarries' productivity. The mean oxygen, nutrient, pH, and phytoplankton-biomass values indicate the quarries are oligotrophic; however, one quarry has a profound depletion of oxygen in the summer and a large seasonal variation in alkalinity. A higher nitrogen concentration as well as more littoral plants suggests it to have more eutrophic potential than the other two quarries. Metal-ion analysis shows …

Floristic Analysis Of The C. Bertrand And Marian Othmer Schultz Prairie, A Mixed-Grass Prairie In South-Central Nebraska, Steven J. Rothenberger

Transactions of the Nebraska Academy of Sciences and Affiliated Societies

The C. Bertrand and Marian Othmer Schultz Prairie is a 259 ha/640 ac/1 mi² tract of mixed-grass prairie in a region of loess hills in south-central Nebraska. It is on the Kansas border in Webster County, 6.5 km south and 8.1 km east of Red Cloud. A floristic study of the prairie was made during the 1993 and 1994 growing seasons. The 1993 study was accompanied by an ecological survey which determined (1) plant species importance and (2) plant-community relationships using point-step and quadrat methods. Major plant community types are Andropogon scoparius- A. gerardii- Bouteloua gracilis on shallow limy …

Notes On The Biology And A Description Of The Egg, Third Instar Larva And Pupa Of Neobisnius Sobrinus (Coleoptera: Staphylinidae), Daniel A. Schmidt

Transactions of the Nebraska Academy of Sciences and Affiliated Societies

The egg, third instar larva and pupa of Neobisnius sobrinus (Erichson) are described and illustrations of structural features are provided. Both adults and larvae are cryptic and hygrophilous, living in moist organic debris along streams and ponds. The species appears to have a polyvoltine life cycle. Larval-rearing techniques are described and data presented on growth of immatures. This first detailed description of any Neobisnius larva indicates that the genus differs from related genera in having three stemmata on each side of the head, a mandible with seriations on the inner margin, and sharp cuticular spines on the inner surface ofthe …

Transactions Of The Nebraska Academy Of Sciences Table Of Contents: Volume 21 (1994)

Transactions of the Nebraska Academy of Sciences and Affiliated Societies

Editorial Contents

Nebraska Academy of Sciences Officers, Policy Committee ................... ii

Editorial Board ................... iv

Membership Objectives and Friends of the Academy ................... v

Nebraska Association of Teachers of Science ................... vi

Preparation of manuscripts ................... inside back cover

Papers

The limnology of three limestone rock quarries in east-central Nebraska and western Iowa (Christopher D. Mayne) ................... 1

An ordination of Niobrara Valley plant communities (Gail E. Kantak) ................... 9

Diversity of vascular plants and intensity of plant collecting in Nebraska (Robert B. Kaul and Steven B. Rolfsmeier) ................... 13

Floristic analysis of the C. Bertrand and Marian Othmer Schultz …

Nectar-Seeking Visits By Butterflies In A Tallgrass Prairie Remnant In Eastern Nebraska, Tanya Bray

Transactions of the Nebraska Academy of Sciences and Affiliated Societies

Stolley Prairie, a tallgrass virgin prairie remnant in eastern Nebraska, was visited 20 times between May 25 and August 14, 1988. Fifty-two species of forbs were observed in bloom during this period. Twenty-seven species of butterflies were observed and 21 species made 262 nectar-seeking visits to 21 plant species. While numbers of forbs in bloom did not strongly correlate with numbers of butterflies present, peaks of butterfly occurrence appeared to follow peaks of blossom abundance. The number of plant species utilized by a species of butterfly ranged from one to nine. Plants with an abundance of nectar such as common …

Genetic Variation And Differentiation Of North American Waterfowl (Anatidae), David W. Oates, Joann D. Principato

Transactions of the Nebraska Academy of Sciences and Affiliated Societies

This study examines the genetic variation in 45 taxa of all tribes and most species of North American waterfowl (Anatidae) with a starch-gel electrophoretic survey of protein variation at 25 loci. Relationships were estimated using the resulting data from the patterns of allozyme variation and summarized in both phenetic and cladistic branching diagrams. The branching diagrams (phylogenetic trees) are employed to help compare and contrast phylogenetic relationships relative to other hypothesis. Although results of this study generally concur with classic phylogenetic trees and the taxonomic designations of the current American Ornithologists' Union (_AOU) Check-list, exceptions are noted. …

The Status Of Nebraska Fishes In The Missouri River, 3. Channel Catfish (Ictaluridae: Ictalurus Punctatus), Larry W. Hesse

Transactions of the Nebraska Academy of Sciences and Affiliated Societies

The average size of Missouri River channel catfish has declined. The percentage 10 years old or older is 4.8% compared with an unexploited population in which 32% are 10 years and older. From 1944 through 1988 commercial harvest declined as much as 64%. Total mortality was 37% at age 4 and 79% at age 5. The increased mortality occurred as they reached 13 inches and became fully recruited to the commercial fishery. Harvest statistics are not wholly reliable because reports are not verifiable and commercial fishers do not return fish tags. Harvest exceeded a reasonable limit for maximum sustained yield. …

A Survey And Analysis Of The Unionid Mollusks Of The Elkhorn River Basin, Nebraska, Ellet Hoke

Transactions of the Nebraska Academy of Sciences and Affiliated Societies

Surveys in the Elkhorn River Basin between 1972 and 1994 documented a unionid fauna of 28 taxa. Two additional taxa were documented by museum records, bringing the total to 30 confirmed for the region. In recent collections only eleven species were found as live specimens or fresh shells, suggesting the possible loss of as much as 63% of the documented fauna of the Basin. Biological diversity was once greatest in the eastern portion of the Basin, reflecting the greater variety of habitats in this region. At present, the greatest diversity appears to be found in the western portion. This reversal …

First Record Of Pipestoneomys (Mammalia: Rodentia) From The Orellan (Oligocene), Christopher M. West, William W. Korth

Transactions of the Nebraska Academy of Sciences and Affiliated Societies

The first record of the problematical rodent Pipestoneomys Donohoe is reported from the Orellan. Previously this genus was known only from the Chadronian, thus its range of occurrence is extended. The single Orellan specimen of Pipestoneomys cannot be readily referred to any previously described species of the genus.

The Status Of Nebraska Fishes In The Missouri River, 5. Selected Chubs And Minnows (Cyprinidae): Sicklefin Chub (Macrhybopsis Meekl), Sturgeon Chub (M. Geuda), Silver Chub (M. Storeriana), Speckled Chub (M. Aestivaus), Flathead Chub (Platygobio Gracilis), Plains Minnow (Hybognathus Placitus), And Western Silvery Minnow (H. Argyritis), Larry W. Hesse

Transactions of the Nebraska Academy of Sciences and Affiliated Societies

Seven species of native Missouri River cyprinids have been reduced in abundance by 70 to 98%. Several have been extirpated from the reach upstream from Gavins Point Dam. The reasons for the decline are most likely the alteration of sediment dynamics due to dam construction, the elimination of bankful discharge, and the elimination of critical habitats, such as sandbars and off-channel areas.