Biodiversity Commons^™

Evaluation Of Three Nest Searching Methods For Ring-Necked Pheasant, Jeffery W. Stackhouse, Kevin K. Sedivec, Benjamin A. Geaumont

The Prairie Naturalist

Ring-necked pheasant (Phasianus colchicus) are a highly sought after game bird and as such, much research has been conducted regarding their ecology (Warner 1981, Trautman 1982, Johnson and Knue 1989). Perhaps the most investigated aspect of pheasant ecology is the species’ reproductive season (e.g. Linder et al. 1960, Dumke and Pils 1979, Leif 1994) with many studies focusing on nesting habitat (Baskett 1947, Clark et al. 1999). Results from previous research have acknowledged the difficulty associated with locating pheasant nests in their preferred cover types (Hanson 1970, Evrard 2000). Studies of pheasant nesting ecology have been based on …

Salamander Colonization Of Chase Lake, Stutsman County, North Dakota, David M. Mushet, Kyle I. Mclean, Craig A. Stockwell

The Prairie Naturalist

Salt concentrations in lakes are dynamic. In the western United States, water diversions have caused significant declines in lake levels resulting in increased salinity, placing many aquatic species at risk (Galat and Robinson 1983, Beutel et al. 2001). Severe droughts can have similar effects on salt concentrations and aquatic communities (Swanson et al. 2003). Conversely, large inputs of water can dilute salt concentrations and contribute to community shifts (Euliss et al. 2004).

Chase Lake is a large, shallow, alkaline lake in east-central North Dakota most famously known for supporting one of the largest breeding colonies of the American white pelican …

How Important Is A Quality Manuscript Review?, Christopher N. Jacques

The Prairie Naturalist

Temperatures are finally starting to cool a bit (for those of us in the northern Great Plains region) and Thanksgiving break is just around the corner.

I offer my reflections in the spirit of encouraging each of you to take a break from your professional obligations and spend time with friends and family enjoying nature and everything it has to offer this fall.

A Northward Range Extension Of The Hispid Cotton Rat (Sigmodon Hispidus) In Missouri, Cody W. Thompson, Elmer J. Finck

The Prairie Naturalist

The hispid cotton rat (Sigmodon hispidus) is a widely distributed rodent with a geographic range extending from north-central Mexico to southern Nebraska and central Virginia and from southeastern Arizona east to Florida (Carleton et al. 1999, Peppers and Bradley 2000, Wilson and Reeder 2005) with isolated populations in Arizona (Bradley et al. 2012) and California (Clark 1972). Range expansions for the species have been well documented (Clark 1972, Farney 1975, Benedict et al. 2000, Wright et al. 2010, Wills et al. 2011). The majority of these range expansions have occurred across the Central Plains during the 20th century …

Use Of Seeded Exotic Grasslands By Wintering Birds, Andrew D. George, Timothy J. O'Connell, Karen R. Hickman, David M. Lesliee Jr.

The Prairie Naturalist

Despite widespread population declines of North American grassland birds, effects of anthropogenic disturbance on wintering habitat of this guild remain poorly understood. We compared avian abundance and habitat structure in fields planted to the exotic grass Old World bluestem (Bothriochloa ischaemum; OWB) to that in native mixed-grass prairie. During winters of 2007–2008 and 2008–2009, we conducted bird and vegetation surveys in six native grass and six OWB fields in Garfield, Grant, and Alfalfa counties, Oklahoma. We recorded 24 species of wintering birds in native fields and 14 species in OWB monocultures. While vegetation structure was similar between field …

Whooping Cranes Consume Plains Leopard Frogs At Migratory Stopover Sites In Nebraska, Keith Geluso, Brad T. Krohn, Mary J. Harner, Michael J. Assenmacher

The Prairie Naturalist

Whooping cranes (Grus americana) currently consist of a single, wild population that migrates annually from breeding grounds at Wood Buffalo National Park, Canada, to wintering grounds on and around the Aransas National Wildlife Refuge along the Texas coast, USA (NRC 2005). This population reached a low of less than 20 individuals in 1941 (Allen 1952) but has rebounded to over 250 individuals (Chavez-Ramirez and Wehtje 2012, Gil-Weir et al. 2012). Whooping cranes migrate approximately 4,000 km each spring and autumn, traversing much of the North American Great Plains (Lewis 1995) and periodically landing along rivers, wetlands, and other …

Relationships Among Walleye Mercury, Selenium, Stable Isotopes, Size And Age, Mark J. Fincel, Robert P. Hanten, Shannon Minerich

The Prairie Naturalist

Bioaccumulation of mercury is well-documented in aquatic ecosystems and occurs as mercury is accumulated and passed up food chains (Kidd et al. 1995, Atwell et al. 1998, Downs et al. 1998). Trophic level correlations have been widely reported for mercury (Snodgrass et al. 2000) and other metals (Barron 1995). Generally, within a system, carnivores have the highest mercury loadings, omnivores intermediate and herbivores the lowest (Phillips et al. 1980). However, little research has focused on the differences in mercury bioaccumulation for a single species that ranges across multiple trophic levels (Burger et al. 2001).

Stable isotope analysis has expanded the …

Dual Capture Of A Piñon Deer Mouse And A Silky Pocket Mouse Resulting In Consumption Of The Smaller Animal, Jon C. Pigage, Roger D. Peyton

The Prairie Naturalist

Intraspecific dual captures of rodents are uncommon, but not rare. There are several reports of brown rats (Rattus norvegicus), white-footed deer mice (Peromyscus leucopus), North American deer mice (P. maniculatus), western harvest mice (Reithrodontomys megalotis) and meadow voles (Microtus pennsylvanicus) caught simultaneously in the same trap (i.e. a door-closing live-trap; Davis 1955, Getz 1961, Blaustein and Rothstein 1978, Jenkins and Llewellyn 1981, Novak 1983). Some reports are incidental whereas others are interpreted as social associations or bonding between conspecifics. Interspecific dual captures are rarely reported in the literature. The earliest report of …

A Simple Device For Measuring The Minimum Current Velocity To Maintain Semi-Buoyant Fish Eggs In Suspension, Julias S. Mueller, Brandon D. Cheek, Qingman Chen, Jillian Groeschel, Shannok K. Brewer, Timothy B. Grabowski

The Prairie Naturalist

Pelagic broadcast spawning cyprinids are common to Great Plains rivers and streams. This reproductive guild produces non-adhesive semi-buoyant eggs that require sufficient current velocity to remain in suspension during development. Although studies have shown that there may be a minimum velocity needed to keep the eggs in suspension, this velocity has not been estimated directly nor has the influence of physicochemical factors on egg buoyancy been determined. We developed a simple, inexpensive flow chamber that allowed for evaluation of minimum current velocity needed to keep semi-buoyant eggs in suspension at any time frame during egg development. The device described here …

Associations Between Iron Concentration And Productivity In Montane Streams Of The Black Hills, South Dakota, Cari-Ann Hayer, Benjamin M. Holocmb, Steven R. Chipps

The Prairie Naturalist

Iron is an important micronutrient found in aquatic systems that can influence nutrient availability (e.g. phosphorus) and primary productivity. In streams, high iron concentrations often are associated with low pH as a result of acid mine drainage, which is known to affect fish and invertebrate communities. Streams in the Black Hills of South Dakota are generally circumneutral in pH, yet select streams exhibit high iron concentrations associated with natural iron deposits. In this study, we examined relationships among iron concentration, periphyton biomass, macroinvertebrate abundance, and fish assemblages in four Black Hills streams. The stream with the highest iron concentration (~5 …

Red-Tailed Hawk Nesting In Kansas: Influence Of Landscape Characteristics, William Langley

The Prairie Naturalist

Factors that affect nest site selection in red-tailed hawks (Buteo jamaicensis) include the physical features surrounding the nest and landscape characteristics. Features surrounding nests include: tree height, tree diameter (dbh), percent canopy cover, slope, nest openness, and density of woody plants or shrubs (Titus and Mosher 1981, Bechard et al. 1990, Tietje et al. 1997, Actkinson et al. 2007). Landscape characteristics that influence nest-site selection by red-tailed hawks vary across regions. In Georgia, red-tailed hawks selected nest site in areas with greater area of agriculture and open pasture (Moorman and Chapman 1996), whereas in Oklahoma prairies, the hawks …

Western Burrowing Owl (Athene Cunicularia Hypugaea): Species Conservation Assessment, Melissa J. Panella

Nebraska Game and Parks Commission: Publications

The primary goal in the development of at-risk species conservation assessments is to compile biological and ecological information that may assist conservation practitioners in making decisions regarding the conservation of species of interest. The Nebraska Natural Legacy Project recognizes the western subspecies of Burrowing Owl (Athene cunicularia hypugaea) as a Tier I at-risk species. Provided are some general management recommendations regarding Western Burrowing Owls (hereafter Burrowing Owls). Conservation practitioners will need to use professional judgment for specific management decisions based on objectives, location, and site-specific conditions. Based on a considerable body of literature, this particular species conservation assessment provides an …

Bailey’S Eastern Woodrat (Neotoma Floridana Baileyi): Species Conservation Assessment, Melissa J. Panella

Nebraska Game and Parks Commission: Publications

The primary goal in development of at-risk species conservation assessments is to compile biological and ecological information that may assist conservation practitioners in making decisions regarding the conservation of species of interest. The Nebraska Natural Legacy Project recognizes the Bailey’s eastern woodrat (Neotama floridana baileyi) as a Tier I at-risk species. Provided are some general management recommendations regarding Bailey’s eastern woodrats. Conservation practitioners will need to use professional judgment for specific management decisions based on objectives, location, and site-specific conditions. This resource was designed to provide an overview of our current knowledge of Bailey’s eastern woodrats and may aid in …

Evaluating The Efficacy Of Land Snail Survey Techniques In Hawaii: Implications For Conservation Throughout The Pacific, Torsten Durkan, Norine Yeung, Wallace Meyer, Kenneth Hayes, Robert Cowie

Department of Biology Faculty Publications

Terrestrial micromolluscs (snails with an adult maximum shell dimension <5 mm) constitute a considerable proportion of the land snail fauna of the Pacific. However, micromolluscs are often underestimated in biological surveys because of size bias. It has been argued that visual searches are preferable on Pacific islands because: (1) size biases are limited based on the understanding that most native Pacific island land snails are very small, and (2) amount of labor is less than other methods such as soil surveys and adequate for inventory purposes (though not for abundance assessments). To test whether visual surveys and soil surveys were accurately recording all taxa, land snail inventories were completed in three forest reserves (5 sampling sites in each) on the island of Oahu, Hawaii. Visual surveys involved 30-min visual search in a 10 m2 site; soil surveys involved sieving leaf litter and topsoil from four 0.3 m2 quadrats and extracting snails with the aid of a microscope. The data indicate a size and microhabitat bias associated with both techniques. Visual surveys consistently collected large arboreal and litter-dwelling species but missed a significant portion of micromolluscs, while soil surveys collected micromolluscs but missed larger snails. Because of such biases, employing both methods is critical for collecting all taxa at a survey location. As such, we recommend that future land snail surveys on Pacific Islands incorporate both survey techniques. Obtaining a complete inventory is critical if we are to understand species distributions and patterns of diversity and make well-informed conservation recommendations.

Fringed Myotis (Myotis Thysanodes Pahasapensis): Species Conservation Assessment, Melissa J. Panella

Nebraska Game and Parks Commission: Publications

The primary goal in development of at-risk species conservation assessments is to compile biological and ecological information that may assist conservation practitioners in making decisions regarding the conservation of species of interest. The Nebraska Natural Legacy Project recognizes the fringed myotis (Myotis thysanodes pahasapensis) as a Tier I at-risk species. Provided are some general management recommendations regarding the fringed myotis. Conservation practitioners will need to use professional judgment to make specific management decisions based on objectives, location, and a multitude of variables. This resource was designed to share available knowledge of the fringed myotis that will aid in the decision-making …

Distribution Of Burrowing Owls In East- Central South Dakota, Jiill A. Shaffer, Jason P. Thiele

The Prairie Naturalist

Western burrowing owl (Athene cunicularia hypugaea) populations have declined across much of western North America, particularly at the northern and eastern edges of the species’ breeding range (Martell et al. 2001, Murphy et al. 2001, Shyry et al. 2001, Skeel et al. 2001, Klute et al. 2003). In South Dakota, the burrowing owl is a summer resident that historically was relatively common throughout the state, but its range has decreased in recent decades, especially in the eastern half of the state (Whitney et al. 1978, South Dakota Ornithologists’ Union [SDOU] 1991, Peterson 1995). Tallman et al. (2002) described the species …

Notes: Nesting Patterns Of Red-Tailed Hawks And Great-Horned Owls In South-Cen- Tral Kansas, William Langley

The Prairie Naturalist

Red-tailed hawks (Buteo jamaicensis) and great-horned owls (Bubo virginianus) can influence the nesting behavior of each other through direct competition for nesting sites. For instance, owls begin nesting before hawks and, thus, can use nests from the previous year and prevent hawks from occupying those sites (Orians and Kuhl- man 1956, Gilmer et al. 1983, Minor et al. 1993). However, both species sometimes kill the nestlings of the other (Craig- head and Craighead 1956, Bosakowski et al. 1989).

The objective of my study was to investigate nesting patterns of these two raptors at the edge of the tallgrass prairie over …

Research Notes Vs. Research Articles, Christopher N. Jacques

The Prairie Naturalist

Greetings GPNSS members! I hope this email finds you well, winding down another academic year, and looking forward to the summer field season. Warm temperatures, peak foliage, and heightened anticipation of the start of another field season are upon us following a long winter season and unusually wet spring for many of us across the Great Plains. Here in westcentral Illinois, wild turkeys are gobbling, neotropical migrants are singing and establishing breeding territories, and white-tailed deer are within days of giving birth to the next generation of fawns. Granted, there are many outdoor activities to participate in, though oppressive heat …

Contributions Of Stocked And Naturally Reproduced Rainbow Trout In The Deerfield Reservoir System, Jacob L. Davis, Jerry W. Wilhite, Greg Simpson, Michael E. Barnes, Kaite N. Bertrand, David W. Willis

The Prairie Naturalist

Deerfield Reservoir in the Black Hills of South Dakota and its tributary system are managed as hatchery supplemented rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) fisheries. Three genetically unique strains of rainbow trout (Shasta, Erwin and McConaughy) are stocked into the system. Recently, juvenile rainbow trout of unknown origin were collected in the tributary system above Deerfield Reservoir, indicating potential natural reproduction. Understanding the genetic origins and ability of these rainbow trout to contribute to the fishery is essential in determining the proper management strategy for these waters. Our objectives were to 1) evaluate the genetic origins of potentially naturally reproduced rainbow trout …

Pollinator Habitat Availability And Diversity In Various Tropical Agroforestry Management Systems Of Coffea Arabica In Santa Clara, Chiriqui, Julia Brokaw

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Habitat loss due to increasing agricultural intensification and chemical use may result in the loss of biodiversity of bee species. This has implications for global economies and food security for people world wide. Focusing on coffee cultivation, an important cash crop in the tropics, this study aims to understand the availability for pollinator habitat resources in a management gradient from shade-grown coffee agroforestry to conventional farming systems that employ both organic and non-organic management practices. I examined the influence of farming and land-use practices on the availability and quality of habitats for social and solitary bee species through observations of …

Loggerhead Shrike (Lanius Ludovicianus): Species Conservation Assessment, Melissa J. Panella

Nebraska Game and Parks Commission: Publications

The primary goal in the development of at-risk species conservation assessments is to compile biological and ecological information that may assist conservation practitioners in making decisions regarding the conservation of species of interest. The Nebraska Natural Legacy Project recognizes the Loggerhead Shrike (Lanius ludovicianus) as a Tier I at-risk species. Here, I provide some general management recommendations regarding Loggerhead Shrikes. However, conservation practitioners will need to use professional judgment for specific management decisions based on objectives, location, and site-specific conditions. This resource provides available knowledge of Loggerhead Shrikes that may aid in the decision-making process or in identifying research needs …

American Burying Beetle (Nicrophorus Americanus): Species Conservation Assessment, Melissa J. Panella

Nebraska Game and Parks Commission: Publications

The primary goal in development of at-risk species conservation assessments is to compile biological and ecological information that may assist conservation practitioners in making decisions regarding the conservation of species of interest. The Nebraska Natural Legacy Project recognizes the American Burying Beetle (Nicrophorus americanus) as a Tier I at-risk species of high conservation priority. Indeed, the American Burying Beetle (ABB) is a species of conservation need throughout its range. Here, I provide some general management recommendations regarding ABB; however, conservation practitioners will need to use professional judgment for specific management decisions based on objectives, location, and site-specific conditions. This resource …

Maximizing A New Quantity In Sequential Reserve Selection, Adam W. Schapaugh, Andrew J. Tyre

School of Natural Resources: Faculty Publications

The fundamental goal of conservation planning is biodiversity persistence, yet most reserve selection methods prioritize sites using occurrence data. Numerous empirical studies support the notion that defining and measuring objectives in terms of species richness (where the value of a site is equal to the number of species it contains, or contributes to an existing reserve network) can be inadequate for maintaining biodiversity in the long term. An existing site-assessment framework that implicitly maximized the persistence probability of multiple species was integrated with a dynamic optimization model. The problem of sequential reserve selection as a Markov decision process was combined …

Heritable Melanism And Parasitic Infection Both Result In Black-Spotted Mosquitofish, Lisa Horth, David Gauthier, Wolfgang Vogelbein

Biological Sciences Faculty Publications

Male Gamhusia holhrooki (Eastern Mosquitofish) express a heritable pigmentation polymorphism approximate to 99% of males are silver, and only approximate to 1% have a melanic, black-spotted pattern. Sex-linkage, an autosomal modifier, and temperature control the expression of this heritable melanism. In many teleosts, melanin also accumulates around the site of parasitic invasion. We have identified black-spot disease in wild mosquitofish from their native habitat. Here, we demonstrate convergence upon the black-pigmented phenotype through two means: 1) heritable melanism, and 2) melanic spotting on the silver genotype that results from infection with immature encysted trematodes. Females are silver and express greater …

Does Pitcher Plant Morphology Affect Spider Residency?, Marc A. Milne, Deborah A. Waller

Biological Sciences Faculty Publications

Spiders are often found as residents in association with Sarracenia purpurea ( Purple Pitcher Plant). Many spiders choose web locations based on environmental cues such as vegetation structure and composition, prey density, temperature, and humidity. To determine if spiders use cues from the Purple Pitcher Plant to build their webs, we conducted a field study using variants of the plant that separated various morphological features: nectar, pigment, and the presence of prey. There was no difference in spider residency across all treatments and no difference in male/female or mature/immature residency. Linyphiids were the most common residents, possibly due to pitcher …