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Nebraska Bird Review (December 2000) 68(4), Whole Issue

Nebraska Bird Review

Fall Field Report, August–November, 2000 ... 142

Species Accounts ... 144

First Record of an Arctic Tern for Nebraska ... 176

Mist Netting at Oliver State Recreation Area ... 177

Ecogeographic Aspects of Greater Prairie-Chicken Leks in Southeastern Nebraska ... 179

Index [for Volume 68: 1–4] ... 184

Ecogeographic Aspects Of Greater Prairie-Chicken Leks In Southeastern Nebraska, Paul A. Johnsgard

Nebraska Bird Review

An analysis of the distribution of 104 Greater Prairie-chicken leks in Pawnee and Johnson counties indicates that the birds favor using those mile-square sections having no more than two dwellings per section, ones that are located at least two miles from the nearest town, and at least a half-mile from the nearest lek. Relationships with the nearest water were not clear, but most leks were located at least a half-mile from it, perhaps reflecting a general avoidance of heavy cover during the display season.

Subscription And Organization Information [December 2000]

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): $14.00 in the United States; $18.00 for all foreign countries, payable in advance. Single copies are $4.00 each, postpaid, in the United States, and $5.00 elsewhere. Send orders for back issues to Mary Prichard, NOU Librarian, University of Nebraska State Museum, Lincoln, NE 68588-0514.

Memberships in NOU (on a calendar year basis only): Active, $15.00; Sustaining, $25.00; Student, $10.00; Family Active, $20.00; Family Sustaining, $30.00; …

Microsatellite Dna Diversity And Paternity Determination In A Captive Population Of Radiated Tortoises (Geochelone Radiata), Jennifer Leigh Mook

All Theses

In the present study, five microsatellite loci are used to examine genetic diversity and determine genetic similarities among 66 radiated tortoises (Geochelone radiata) located in ten different zoos and institutions in the United States. These tortoises, representatives of one of the world's most endangered species, were originally collected in Madagascar and are being used as founders in the development of an organized breeding program, the radiated tortoise Species Survival Plan (SSP). Parentage analysis was also conducted for 13 juvenile tortoises of uncertain parentage from two institutions. Founder tortoises demonstrated high levels of genetic diversity at the five loci …

Observations On Small Mammals Recovered From Owl Pellets From Nebraska, Jeffrey J. Huebschman, Hugh H. Genoways, Patricia W. Freeman, Joseph A. Gubanyi

University of Nebraska State Museum: Mammalogy Papers

Mammalian remains from owl pellet material collected in 24 Nebraska counties were examined. A total of 1262 individual mammals was identified from all owl pellet material and included 19 identifiable species and 21 total genera. The most commonly consumed prey by owls across the state were Microtus (41% of identifiable prey material), followed by Peromyscus (18%), and Reithrodontomys (11%). Significant locality information for the northern grasshopper mouse (Onychomys leucogaster), the southern bog lemming (Synaptomys cooperi), and the meadow vole (Microtus pennsylvanicus) are reported.

Obituary: Elmer Clea Birney, 1940-2000, Hugh H. Genoways, Carleton J. Phillips, Jerry R. Choate, Robert S. Sikes, Kristin M. Kramer

University of Nebraska State Museum: Mammalogy Papers

On 11 June 2000, Dr. Elmer C. Birney unexpectedly passed away from cardiac arrest suffered while outside caring for his cattle at his home in Blaine, Minnesota. One of his former students, Robert Timm, probably best expressed the immediate reaction of his family and many friends: ‘‘He was too young and in too good of health to be gone so soon.’’ At the time of his death, Elmer was Professor in the Department of Ecology, Evolution and Behavior, the Curator of Mammals at the Bell Museum of Natural History, and Director of Graduate Studies of the program in Ecology, Evolution …

Small Mammal Communities In Riparian And Upland Habitats On The Upper Coastal Plain Of Virginia, A. Scott Bellows, Joseph C. Mitchell

Virginia Journal of Science

We compared small mammal communities between riparian (stream corridor) and nearby upland habitats in a hardwood forest ecosystem on Fort A.P. Hill, Caroline County, Virginia. We used a combination of small-scale drift fence/pitfall trap arrays and snap traps to capture small mammals during April – October 1998, with an additional winter sample in January 1999. We captured seven small mammal species at 14 sites (7 pairs). Numbers of species were not significantly different between habitat types. Bray-Curtis polar ordinations showed that plant and small mammal community compositions were similar in upland sites and that these communities were most varied in …

Observations On Amphibians And Reptiles In Burned And Unburned Forests On The Upper Coastal Plain Of Virginia, Joseph C. Mitchell

Virginia Journal of Science

I evaluate the results of a short-term study on the effects of prescribed burning on terrestrial amphibians and reptiles on Fort A.P. Hill, Caroline County, Virginia. Six species of amphibians and reptiles were observed in unburned sites and eight species were observed in burned sites. More individual amphibians (46) were observed in unburned stands than in burned stands (15). Adults of two species (Bufo americanus, Plethodon cinereus) were found dead under logs in the still smoldering prescribed burn. The results of this study suggest that prescribed burning may have some negative effects on amphibians and reptiles. Because …

An Analysis Of Migratory Behavior Physiological Condition And Life History Strategy In The Salamanders Ambystoma Mabeei And A. Opacum In Southeastern Virginia, Michael W. Mccoy

Biological Sciences Theses & Dissertations

Ambystoma mabeei is listed as threatened in Virginia due to its rarity and susceptibility to urbanization and poor forestry practices. The goal of this study was to identify factors that may affect the persistence of A. mabeei in Virginia by studying the life history and ecology of A. mabeei and its syntopic congener A. opacum. This information will contribute to the knowledge of life history variation within Ambystomatidae and will be critical for the development of a comprehensive management plan for A. mabeei. Population sizes of the two species and the proximate factors responsible for initiating breeding migrations were determined …

Los Anfibios Del Monumento Natural Barro Colorado, Parque Nacional Soberania Y Areas Adyacentes, Rafael O. De Sá

Biology Faculty Publications

This book focuses on the batrachofauna of Barro Colorado Nature Monument. Soberania National Park and adjacent areas. It complements other recent publications on Neotropical amphibians such as those by Rodriguez and Duellman ( 1994) on Peru, Achaval and Olmos (1995) on Uruguay, and Meyer and Foster (1996) on Belize. The goal of these books is to reach a wider audience than the more technical batrachofaunal summaries-e.g., Frogs of Boracéia (Heyer 1990). Amphibians of Argentina (Cei 1985), and Frogs of the Genus Eleutherodactylus in Western Ecuador (Lynch and Duellman 1997). These geographically focused guides are especially useful to students, amateur biologists, …

Nebraska Bird Review (September 2000) 68(3), Whole Issue

Nebraska Bird Review

Summer Field Report ... 106

Species Accounts ... 107

Review of the Breeding Status of Pinyon Jay in Nebraska ... 126

Book Review [Birds of the Untamed West by James E. Ducey] ... 131

Historic Birds of Lincoln's Salt Basin Wetlands and Nine-Mile Prairie ... 132

Virginia's Warblers in Kimball County ... 137

Subscription And Organization Information [September 2000]

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): $14.00 in the United States; $18.00 for all foreign countries, payable in advance. Single copies are $4.00 each, postpaid, in the United States, and $5.00 elsewhere. Send orders for back issues to Mary Prichard, NOU Librarian, University of Nebraska State Museum, Lincoln, NE 68588-0514.

Memberships in NOU (on a calendar year basis only): Active, $15.00; Sustaining, $25.00; Student, $10.00; Family Active, $20.00; Family Sustaining, $30.00; …

Nestling Tree Swallow (Tachycineta Bicolor) Diets In An Upland Old Field In Western Michigan, Matthew E. Johnson, Michael P. Lombardo

Peer Reviewed Publications

We collected and identified 1852 prey items from 89 boluses delivered to 62 nestling tree swallows (Tachycineta bicolor) at 14 nests in an upland old field in western Michigan. We found that 90.8% of nestling diets was insects from the Orders Diptera, Homoptera, Hymenoptera and Coleoptera. We also found clam and snail shells in boluses. Over the most common brood sizes of 4-6 nestlings, brood size was inversely proportional to the number of items per bolus delivered to nestlings although mean dry and mean organic weight of boluses did not differ. Bolus composition was not influenced by weather …

An Ultrastructural Survey Of The Nuchal Glands Of Rhabdophis Tigrinus (Serpentes: Colubridae), Kathleen A. Roberts

Biological Sciences Theses & Dissertations

Rhabdophis tigrinus, an Asian natricine snake, possesses a series of integumentary glands located in the nuchal skin. Previous studies indicated that the nuchal glands are of mesodermal origin, contain cardiac steroids analogous to bufotoxins found in the parotoid glands of toads, which are included in the snake's diet. The nuchal glands are defensive in function. Preliminary histological studies revealed differences in quality of the gland tissue compared to previous studies, and difference in fixation techniques were suspected. Seven specimens of R. tigrinus were fixed by perfusion using a conservative fixation process standard for electron microscopy. The nuchal gland series …

Comparative Systematics Of Subterranean Amphipod Crustaceans In The Families Crangonyctidae And Bogidiellidae, Stefan Koenemann

Biological Sciences Theses & Dissertations

The research project presented in this doctoral dissertation deals with the systematics of two different taxonomic groups of subterranean amphipods (Crustacea). Therefore, rather than being a single project, this study is divided into several sub-projects. Altogether, the chapters for the sub-projects are composed of five publications. An introductory chapter and a summarizing discussion are added to provide a structural unit for the collection of papers and to compare the results of the individual projects.

The thesis investigates the systematics of the amphipod families Bogidiellidae Hertzog, 1936, and Crangonyctidae Bousfield, 1973. Based on descriptive taxonomy according to modern standards, revisions are …

The Effects Of Silviculture And Prescribed Burning On Herpetofauna In Florida Sand-Pine Scrub, Stig Ravdal

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Florida sand pine scrub is among the most endangered habitats in the United States and much of the remaining scrub is heavily influenced by management for timber production. In this study the effects of timber management practices on herpetofaunal community diversity and composition were investigated on experimentally manipulated plots near Orlando, Florida. Plots at three sites were either harvested, burned, or treated as a control (unmanipulated). Herpetofauna were trapped using pit-fall drift-fence trapping arrays. Animals were counted, measured, marked and released from March 1996 to June 1998. During this time period 1489 reptiles and amphibians were caught from 31 different …

Subscription And Organization Information [June 2000]

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): $14.00 in the United States; $18.00 for all foreign countries, payable in advance. Single copies are $4.00 each, postpaid, in the United States, and $S.OO elsewhere. Send orders for back issues to Mary Prichard, NOU Librarian, University of Nebraska State Museum, Lincoln, NE 68588-0514. Memberships in NOU (on a calendar year basis only): Active, $15.00; Sustaining, $25.00; Student, $10.00; Family Active, $20.00; Family Sustaining, $30.00; …

Nebraska Bird Review (June 2000) 68(2), Whole Issue

Nebraska Bird Review

Review of the Breeding Status of Lewis's Woodpecker in Nebraska ... 50

Spring Field Report, March to May 2000 ... 55

Species Accounts ... 57

NOU Spring Count ... 81

Yellow-billed Loon at Lake McConaughy ... 88

A Century of Breeding Birds in Nebraska ... 89

Tufted Duck at Lake Ogallala: First Record for Nebraska ... 102

Macroevolution In Microchiroptera: Recoupling Morphology And Ecology With Phylogeny, Patricia W. Freeman

University of Nebraska State Museum: Mammalogy Papers

No family of mammals has undergone a greater adaptive radiation than phyllostomid bats. Phylogeny combined with eco-morphological considerations of trophic structures can help understand this adaptive radiation and the evolution of Microchiroptera. Microchiropteran bats are overwhelmingly insectivorous, and constraints within the morphospace of insectivory have produced a dynamic equilibrium in bat morphologies that has persisted for 60 million years. The ability to eat fruit may be the key synapomorphy that allowed phyllostomids to escape insectivore morphospace and diversify. Although many phyllostomids have changed greatly, others that have maintained insectivory have changed little, which is equally remarkable.

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 …

Asm Archives [Comments And News], Hugh H. Genoways

University of Nebraska State Museum: Mammalogy Papers

Biographical blurb about American Society of Mammalogists founder, Hartley H.T. Jackson, and his wife, Anna M. Jackson. Includes photograph from the ASM Archives, donated by Victor B. Scheffer.

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 …

Los Coquís De Puerto Rico: Su Historia Natural Y Conservación, Rafael O. De Sá

Biology Faculty Publications

As the title indicates, this well-illustrated (115 photographs and 76 illustrations) book summarizes the current knowledge about the natural history of the 16 species of Eleutherodactylus inhabiting Puerto Rico. The book consists of eight chapters (including the epilogue) and it is clearly stated that it was written to serve both the scientific community and the nonspecialist reader. The goal of bridging these two audiences is ambitious and usually difficult; however, the book has probably accomplished this goal. The technical reader, i.e., students and professional herpetologists, will find a good summary of data and enough information to continue reading with interest. …

Subscription And Organization Information [March 2000]

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): $14.00 in the United States; $18.00 for all foreign countries, payable in advance. Single copies are $4.00 each, postpaid, in the United States, and $5.00 elsewhere. Send orders for back issues to Mary Prichard, NOU Librarian, University of Nebraska State Museum, Lincoln, NE 68588-0514. Memberships in NOU (on a calendar year basis only): Active, $15.00; Sustaining, $25.00; Student, $10.00; Family Active, $20.00; Family Sustaining, $30.00; …

Winter Field Report, December 1999 To February 2000, W. Ross Silcock

Nebraska Bird Review

This rather mild season stood out for its wintering waterfowl, most obviously at Keystone L, where Stephen Dinsmore counted an amazing 22 species of waterfowl on 29 January. Check the species accounts for the incredible wintering numbers; species were topped by Nebraska's first Tufted Duck, and assorted other goodies, such as 5 Barrow's Goldeneyes, Waterfowl, loons, and grebes also rewrote the midwinter record book, including no fewer than 3 Red-necked Grebes, Some interesting wintering birds also appeared at Harlan Co Res,

Other interesting winter records, some no doubt due to the mild fall, included Greater Yellowlegs at two locations, Franklin's …

Nebraska Bird Review (March 2000) 68(1), Whole Issue

Nebraska Bird Review

A Summer Survey of the Birds at Two Eastern Nebraska Wetlands ... 2

First Record of a Brambling for Nebraska ... 8

Winter Field Report, December 1999 to February 2000 ... 9

NOU Fall Field Days Count, 1999 ... 26

The 1999–2000 Nebraska Christmas Bird Count ... 30

Black-throated Gray Warbler at Oliver Reservoir ... 46

Gray Flycatcher at Oliver Reservoir ... 46

Helminthoxys Abrocomae N. Sp. (Nematoda: Oxyurida) From Abrocoma Cinerea In Bolivia, Jean-Pierre Hugot, Scott Lyell Gardner

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

A new pinworm parasite is described from Abrocoma cinerea, a caviomorph rodent of the superfamily Octodontoidea from the Andes of Bolivia. The new species, Helminthoxys abrocomae n. sp., possesses special secretory mamelons which we consider a synapomorphy of the genus Helminthoxys. Within Helminthoxys, the closest relatives are found in octodontoid rodents: H. gigantea occurs in Octodon degus in Chile and O. bridgesi in Argentina, and H. freitasi is a parasite of Thrichomys aperoides in Brazil. H. abrocomae n. sp. differs from both other species morphometrically in relation to different parts of the body in both sexes, particularly …

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 …

Index To Volume 68

Nebraska Bird Review

Index