Life Sciences Commons^™

Finding The Best Remaining Black Hills Montane Grasslands, The First Step In Conservation, Hollis Marriott, Don Faber-Langendoen, David J. Ode

The Prairie Naturalist

Black Hills Montane Grassland is a rare and endangered plant community endemic to the Black Hills of western South Dakota and northeastern Wyoming. It is restricted to higher elevations on the Limestone Plateau in the western part of the uplift. Early visitors to the Black Hills wrote glowing reports of flower-filled grasslands on the Limestone Plateau. Lieutenant Colonel George A. Custer and his soldiers reveled in lush grass, and decorated the headgear of their horses with flowers (Custer 1875). Expedition botanist A. B. Donaldson “estimated the number of flowers in bloom in Floral Valley at 50, while an equal number …

Review Of Estimation Of Parameters For Animal Populations: A Primer For The Rest Of Us By Larkin A. Powell And George A. Gale, Max Post Van Der Burg

The Prairie Naturalist

“Me? A modeler? Never!” This is the opening challenge of the book, Estimation of Parameters for Animal Populations: A Primer for the Rest of Us, by Larkin Powell and George Gale. I say “challenge” because I think this book attempts to challenge the misconception that quantitative methods are out of reach for most biologists and wildlife scientists. When many of us attend college or graduate school to study wildlife science there’s a sense that, at some point, there will be math. But it appears that the attitude of many students toward this reality is to simply suffer through the …

Spatial Variation In Germination Of Two Annual Brome Species In The Northern Great Plains, Erin K. Espeland, Jane M. Mangold, Natalie M. West

The Prairie Naturalist

Downy brome or cheat grass (Bromus tectorum L.) and field brome (B. arvensis L.; Synonym = Bromus japonicus Thunb. ex Murr.; Japanese brome) are two annual exotic species that have increased the intensity and frequency of fire cycles in the Intermountain West of the United States, with millions of dollars in associated costs (DiTomaso 2000). These invasive brome species have a different impact in the Northern Great Plains of North America where they commonly co-occur in disturbed sites (White and Currie 1983, Haferkamp et al. 1993). In these mixed-grass prairie rangelands, annual bromes compete against other forage species …

Changes In The Prairie Naturalist For 2017: Some Bumps In The Road During Transition, Christopher N. Jacques

The Prairie Naturalist

By now it is obvious to most of our members and authors that The Prairie Naturalist (TPN) has experienced some delays in conducting journal-related business over the past few months. Publication of the June 2016 issue was slightly delayed and the December 2016 was mailed much later than planned. So I wanted to update our members on the current status, and other aspects, of TPN. As most of you know, when I transitioned into the Editorship of TPN, one of my first orders of business was to secure a new publication venue for the journal. Fortunately, the Department …

Review Of Waterfowl Of North America, Europe, And Asia: An Identification Guide By Sébastien Reeber, William L. Hohman

The Prairie Naturalist

Ducks, geese and swans (Family Anatidae) are the most popular and best studied group of birds in the world. The group has been the subject of classical books by Kortright (1942), Delacour (1954-1964), Bellrose (1976), Palmer (1976), Johnsgard (1978), and, most recently, Kear (2005) and Baldassarre (2014). The latest contribution to this rich legacy is an impressively illustrated identification guide for waterfowl found in North America, Europe and Asia by author and artist, Sébastien Reeber. This is an English-language version of Canards, Cygnes et Oies d’Europe, d’Asie et d’Amérique du Nord, published by Delachaux and Niestlé in late 2015. …

Review Of Plants Have So Much To Give Us, All We Have To Do Is Ask: Anishinaabe Botanical Teachings By Mary Siisip Geniusz (Edited By Wendy Makoons Geniusz, Illustrated By Annmarie Geniusz), Natasha Myhal, Kelly Kindscher

The Prairie Naturalist

Plants Have So Much to Give Us, All We Have to Do Is Ask offers a new look at Anishinaabe (Ojibwe) ethnobotany as told through traditional stories. Botanical teachings through stories are a way to pass down traditional knowledge from generation to generation. For example, Anishinaabe knowledge on plants was written and recorded in communities willing to share their knowledge with early scholars, such as Albert B. Reagan (1928), Huron H. Smith (1932), and Melvin R. Gilmore (1933). Each of these scholars spent time with an Anishinaabe community to learn about plants and primarily to provide written descriptions of plants …

Assessment Of Smallmouth Bass Growth And Mortality In Nebraska Waters, Benjamin J. Schall, Keith D. Koupal, Casey W. Schoenebeck, Keith L. Hurley

The Prairie Naturalist

Smallmouth bass (Micropterus dolomieu) have been introduced across Nebraska into a variety of waterbodies. However, an estimate of smallmouth bass growth and mortality in Nebraska waters has not been produced. The objectives of this study were to use historic sampling data to describe the growth of smallmouth bass in Nebraska lakes in relation to other regional models, growth among waterbody types (reservoirs, Interstate 80 [I-80] lakes, and rivers), estimates of age at quality, preferred, and memorable lengths, and mortality for Nebraska smallmouth bass populations. Mean length ± SE of Nebraska smallmouth bass at age 7 was 383 ± …

Review Of Booming From The Mists Of Nowhere: The Story Of The Greater Prairie-Chicken By Greg Hoch, Ross H. Hier

The Prairie Naturalist

The Greater Prairie-Chicken (Tympanuchus cupido pinnatus) is an iconic species inhabiting one of the most iconic and rarest habitats in the world—the tallgrass prairies of central North America. To tell the story of the Greater Prairie-Chicken is a monumental task. Its history is intricately woven into pre- and post-European settlement of the North American prairies in such a way that knowledge of the species is spread over several centuries. Thus, researching the “old and the new” regarding the Greater Prairie-Chicken requires a substantial literature review, much of which occurs in publications from the 1800s. Hoch has done a …

Reproductive Characteristics Of Landlocked Fall Chinook Salmon From Lake Oahe, South Dakota, Kelsen L. Young, Michael E. Barnes, Jeremy L. Kientz

The Prairie Naturalist

Lake Oahe, South Dakota, USA, landlocked fall Chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha) reproductive characteristics were examined over a 27 year period, from 1988 to 2015. Mean total lengths of spawning females ranged from 665 mm (1995) to 812 mm (2015) with considerable year-to-year variation. Post-spawn female weights varied, ranging from 2.02 kg (2000) to 5.55 kg (2015), with an overall mean of 3.04 kg. Fecundity peaked at 4,555 eggs per female in 2003, which was just 3 years after a low of 2,011 eggs per female in 2000. Relative fecundity based on female weight was greatest at 1,211 eggs/kg …

Review Of Birds Of Montana By Jeffrey S. Marks, Paul Hendricks, And Daniel Casey, Scott G. Somershoe

The Prairie Naturalist

The Birds of Montana is an impressive-looking tome, that includes 659 pages, 155 color range maps, 73 illustrations of species, and 16 color photos of Montana’s habitats. Upon the first bend of the binding, the reader will quickly realize the impressive depth of detail and research that went into writing and completing this book. Although Montana is the fourth largest state, one of the least populated states, and has few “binoculars on the ground,” the state has a fascinating and extensive ornithological history. The Birds of Montana is not a field guide, but rather it is an astonishingly comprehensive reference …

Fixed Versus Random Sampling Designs In Small South Dakota Glacial Lakes, Bradley J. Smith, Nathan S. Kruger, Nicholas S. Voss, Brian G. Blackwell

The Prairie Naturalist

Choice of sampling design is fundamental when planning surveys to monitor fisheries resources. However, little is known about the impact that different sampling designs may have on commonly collected fish population metrics used to index relative abundance, size structure, and diversity in small (<200 ha) glacial lakes. To address this issue, we sampled three small glacial lakes in eastern South Dakota with modified fyke nets and gill nets at fixed sites used by South Dakota Game, Fish and Parks and a complement of nets at randomized sites. Catch per unit effort (CPUE), proportional size distribution (PSD), and PSD-preferred (PSD-P) were compared between fixed and random designs for each species and gear by lake while Bray-Curtis distances were calculated between sample designs for each gear type in each lake. Precision of CPUE estimates for routinely indexed species were calculated for both gears used by each sampling design. No consistent bias in calculated population metrics was detected between sampling designs for any species collected with either gear type in the three lakes. Sampling precision of CPUE estimates were low for both gears and study designs; though randomized sites tended to yield lower precision. Power analyses indicated that current levels of sampling effort are insufficient to detect differences in CPUE or PSD/PSD-P between fixed and random sampling designs. In addition to being small, study lakes had relatively homogenous habitat allowing for effective sampling resulting in similar values of CPUE and PSD/PSD-P for both fixed and random study designs, and high assemblage overlap. We conclude that fixed sampling sites provide adequate representation of fish communities in small glacial lakes and are sufficient for monitoring temporal changes in these small, but numerous, systems.

Book Reviews: A Chorus Of Cranes: The Cranes Of North America And The World. Paul A. Johnsgard (With Photographs By Thomas D. Mangelsen, And Drawings And Maps By Paul A. Johnsgard)., John G. Sidle

The Prairie Naturalist

Once again, naturalist and author Paul A. Johnsgard invites us to dance and chorus with cranes, and to appreciate their beauty and links to another species, Homo sapiens. A Chorus of Cranes is about natural history but also is a plea for conservation, which is a common foreword, prologue, preface, and/or epilogue of many wildlife books. It is vintage Paul Johnsgard text from preface to epilogue, words that emerge after a long wade through countless papers and reports, and a prolonged career of observation and reflection in the field. He has beckoned us before to cherish cranes and the natural …

Keys To Lichens Of North America, Revised And Expand- Ed. Irwin M. Brodo (Photographs By Sylvia Duran Sharnoff And Stephen Sharnoff; Drawings By Susan Laurie-Bourque)., Caleb A. Morse

The Prairie Naturalist

It would be hard to overestimate the importance of the 2001 publication of Lichens of North America (hereafter LNA) by Irwin Brodo, Silvia Duran Sharnoff, and Stephen Sharnoff (Brodo et al. 2001). Beautifully illustrated, LNA included both an excellent overview to lichenology—including such diverse topics as chemistry, ecology, ethnolichenology, and specimen preparation—and descriptions of more than 800 of the common and charismatic lichens of North Ameri- ca. It is the rare book that provides a good introduction to the discipline, while serving as an essential tool for lichenologists. LNA is frequently cited in journals as an authoritative source on spot …

Resource Selection By Black-Backed Woodpeckers (Picoides Arcticus) And American Three-Toed Woodpeckers (P. Dorsalis) In South Dakota And Wyoming, Sean R. Mohren, Mark A. Rumble, Chadwick P. Lehman, Stanley H. Anderson

The Prairie Naturalist

Black-backed woodpeckers (Picoides arcticus, [BBWO]) and American three-toed woodpeckers (P. dorsalis, [ATTW]) are uncommon inhabitants of conifer forests and are sympatric in some areas, including the Black Hills. Both species exhibit genetic characteristics associated with isolated populations, are species of special management concern, and for which data are lacking concerning populations and habitats. We developed resource selection models of forest vegetation within 500 m radius plots (78.5 ha) for BBWOs and ATTWs to provide forest managers with stand-level information to estimate how forest management might affect habitat for these species in the Black Hills. Relative probability of selection by BBWOs …

Varmints And Victims: Predator Control In The Ameri- Can West. Frank Van Nuys., Phil Mastrangelo

The Prairie Naturalist

Having recently retired after 30+ years working in the field of human-wildlife conflicts, including predator conflicts with livestock, I looked forward to reading Varmints and Victims: Predator Control in the American West by Frank Van Nuys. As a wildlife biologist with an interest in the history of wildlife management in North America, I was further intrigued by the subject matter selected by Van Nuys.

In the book’s introduction, Van Nuys explains how the issue of mountain lion (Puma concolor) management in his home state of South Dakota sparked his interest in further exploring the history of predators and their management …

The Science Of Open Spaces: Theory And Practice For Conserving Large, Complex Systems. Charles G. Curtin., Michelle L. Hellman, Caleb P. Roberts, Hannah Birge, Zachary Warren, Craig R. Allen

The Prairie Naturalist

The phrase “open spaces,” may bring to mind expansive tracts of prairie, rangeland, or even desert, stretching lonely and unchanged to the horizon. Open spaces also could conjure open oceans or interstitial rural lands between urbanized hubs, dotted with farms, fields, and woodlands. In an abstract sense, open spaces could represent gaps in human understanding or blank spaces on a map. In his book The Science of Open Spaces, landscape ecologist Charles Curtin combines all these perspectives, expanding the definition of “open spaces” to multi-layered and multi-scaled complex systems that are “greater than the sum of their parts.” He populates …

Mink Predation Of Brown Trout In A Black Hills Stream, Jake Davis, Jerry W. Wilhite, Steven R. Chipps

The Prairie Naturalist

In the early 2000’s, declines in the brown trout (Salmo trutta) fishery in Rapid Creek, South Dakota, caused concern for anglers and fisheries managers. We conducted a radio telemetry study in 2010 and 2011 to identify predation mortality associated with mink, using hatchery-reared (2010) or wild (2011) brown trout. Estimated predation rates by mink (Mustela vison) on radio-tagged brown trout were 30% for hatchery fish and 32% for wild fish. Size frequency analysis revealed that the size distribution of brown trout lost to predation was similar to that of other, radio-tagged brown trout. In both years, a higher proportion of …

Book Review: Better Birding: Tips, Tools, And Concepts For The Field. George L. Armistead And Brian L. Sullivan., Stephen J. Dinsmore

The Prairie Naturalist

George Armistead and Brian Sullivan have written a book whose aim is to provide birders with a solid foundation upon which to develop better birding skills. They advocate a more holistic approach to bird identification than simply looking at a set of predetermined field marks. To that end, their approach combines traditional field identification approaches with behavioral and habitat cues, as well as natural history, to broaden bird identification skills. This is not the first book to make a case for looking at bird identification more broadly, although their specific approach seems unique. The authors offer constructive criticism of “traditional” …

Notes: Comparisons Of Catch Between Two Bait Types With An Emphasis On Pallid Stur- Geon, Thad W. Huenemann, Kirk D. Steffensen

The Prairie Naturalist

Trotline sampling has been a common practice used by commercial and recreational anglers to target specific fish species (e.g. Ictaluridae and Acipenseridae), while biologists have used them as a management tool to monitor and evaluate fish populations (Graham 1997, Vokoun and Rabeni 1999, Arterburn and Berry 2002, Steffensen et al. 2011). Different trotline configurations have been evaluated to determine which combination of hook type and bait produces higher catch rates for catfish species (Johnson 1987, Arterburn and Berry 2002) but this information is lacking for sturgeon species. For example, Arterburn and Berry (2002) concluded that channel catfish (Ictalurus punctatus) were …

Missing The Point, Christopher N. Jacques

The Prairie Naturalist

Greetings GPNSS members! I hope summer finds you well and enjoying the Great Plains in some way, whether that be getting your hands dirty with field work, a reprieve from the office, anxiously awaiting the crappie bite at your favorite lake, or taking a much needed vacation. For those who enjoy cooler temperatures, summer heat and humidity are challenging and even the most seasoned field biologists among us are tested when fighting the conditions doing what we are passionate about. I personally prefer the fall and winter seasons, though also look forward to summer because it offers me a break …

Assessing Genetic Variation Of Rocky Mountain Bighorn Sheep At Elk Mountain, Brynn L. Parr, Rebeca L. Juarez, Jonathan A. Jenks

The Prairie Naturalist

The bighorn sheep (Ovis canadensis canadensis) herd occupying the Elk Mountain Region of South Dakota and Wyoming was established in 2001 with 20 individuals. An additional 7 ewes were released in 2004. The population increased to approximately 120 individuals in 2009, but subsequently declined to an estimated 80 individuals. Because of the low population size used to establish the herd and relative isolation of the Elk Mountain Region, potential factors associated with the population decline included reduced genetic diversity. Our objectives were to: 1) assess genetic diversity, 2) measure effective population size (Ne), and 3) compare the genetic diversity of …

Distribution Of Short-Tailed Shrews (Mammalia: Soricidae: Blarina) In Missouri, Russell S. Pfau, Aaron P. Figueroa

The Prairie Naturalist

Three species of short-tailed shrews (genus Bla- rina) occur throughout the eastern one-half of the United States and southern Canada. B. brevicauda is the most widely distributed, ranging from the Atlantic ocean to the western Great Plains. B. carolinensis occurs throughout the southeastern U.S., and B. hylophaga is found in the southern plains states. The current understanding of the geographic distributions of these species is based primarily on morphol- ogy; size is the primary characteristic used for identifica- tion with B. brevicauda the largest and B. carolinensis the smallest.

The only states in which all three species have been reported …

Isotopes From Fecal Material Provides Evidence Of Recent Diet Of Prairie Deer Mice, John W. Doudna, Brent J. Danielson

The Prairie Naturalist

Prairie deer mice are important predators in many agricultural systems, and through their diet they can help to regulate pest insect and weed populations. Our objective was to test whether fecal material is an effective means of detailing the foraging ecology of small mammals. We conducted three studies to evaluate the efficacy of this technique: 1) field-collected fecal material from unknown deer mice from late winter to early spring, 2) fecal material collected in an enclosure with mice fed a mix of C3 and C4 plant seeds, and 3) fecal material from tagged female mice in the field. We detected …

Fidelity And Survival Of Breeding Mallards In The Nebraska Sandhills, Zachary J. Cunningham, Larkin Powell, Mark P. Vrtiska

The Prairie Naturalist

Assessment of demographic parameters of a population allows managers to better understand factors affecting populations and increase efficiency of conservation efforts. Few data on demographics exist for mallards (Anas platyrhynchos) breeding in the Nebraska Sandhills. Thus, we used banding data to estimate probabilities of fidelity, survival, band recovery, and recapture of mallards banded in the eastern Sandhills, 2005–2008. Our recapture probability estimate for mallards was 0.074 (95% CI: 0.033–0.158), and the recovery probability estimate was 0.300 (95% CI: 0.156–0.497). Mallard annual survival was 0.795 (95% CI: 0.609–0.906) with a fidelity probability of 0.618 (95% CI: 0.283–0.868). High annual …

Review Of Following The Wild Bees: The Craft And Science Of Bee Hunting By Thomas D. Seeley, Katrina Klett

The Prairie Naturalist

Since the media’s coverage of the sudden losses of worker bee populations in many honeybee colonies during the winter of 2006-07 (a phenomenon that was later termed the Colony Collapse Disorder or CCD), there have been increasingly high levels of popular interest in bees and beekeeping in the United States. While a number of books have followed this wave of interest, Following the Wild Bees: The Craft and Science of Bee Hunting by Thomas Seeley is a fundamentally unique contribution to popular honeybee literature. The focus of the book is not on the current synergy of effects that are leading …