Ecology and Evolutionary Biology Commons^™

The Prairie Naturalist Volume 14, No. 4. December 1982

The Prairie Naturalist

THE MICROBIAL AND VEGETATIONAL RESPONSE TO FIRE IN THE LYNX PRAIRIE PRESERVE, ADAMS COUNTY, OHIO ▪ A. E. Annala and L. A. Kapustka

ASPECTS OF BEHAVIOR IN FREE-RANGING BARBARY SHEEP (AMMOTRAGUS LERVIA) G. G. Gray and C. D. Simpson

HOME RANGES OF MULE DEER BUCKS IN THE TEXAS PANHANDLE ▪ B. H. Koerth and F. C. Bryant

DETERMINING SEX OF PLAINS POCKET GOPHERS BY INCISOR WIDTH ▪ R. M. Case and A. B. Sargeant

BOOK REVIEWS:

On Counting Birds ▪ S. A. Mikol

Freshwater Marshes ▪ R. M. Kaminiski

NOTICE TO AUTHORS ▪ Editor

INDEX TO VOLUME 14 …

Parental Foraging In Chipping Sparrows (Spizella Passerina), Dora Elisa Perez

Masters Theses

During the breeding season of 1982, the population of Chipping Sparrows ( Spizella passerina) that inhabits the Western Michigan University's campus was chosen to study the use of foliage and other foraging sites. Three pairs were selected to be observed intensively.

During the time the female is foraging and when the male is either foraging or in territorial advertisement activities both sexes choose needleleaf trees out of proportion to their availability.

It is also likely that in the later stages of caring for young, when food demands were highest, the birds become less selective and forage on needleleaf trees as …

Aquatic Feeding By Moose: Seasonal Variation In Relation To Plant Chemical Composition And Use Of Mineral Licks, D. Fraser, B. K. Thompson, D. Arthur

Feeding Behavior Collection

Activity of moose (Alces alces) was studied at aquatic feeding areas and at natural, sodium-rich licks during four periods covering late May to early September. Aquatic feeding increased from period 1 (late May and early June) to period 2 (late June and early July) and had declined by late July. Major activity at mineral licks occurred earlier in the season than aquatic feeding, especially for males. Chemical composition of aquatic plants showed no seasonal changes corresponding to the peak of aquatic feeding in period 2, although the sodium content of some species declined in period 3. We suggest that moose …

The Effect Of Dwarf Mistletoe (Arceuthobium Americanum) Upon A Portion Of The Carbon Budget Of Lodgepole Pine (Pinus Contorta), Nancy Ellen Broshot

Dissertations and Theses

Arceuthobium americanum is a vascular plant which is parasitic upon Pinus contorta var. murrayana. Its documented effects include reductions in host growth, vigor and wood quality. The specific physiological changes that occur in the host are, for the most part, unknown.

In an attempt to understand the manner in which the mistletoe alters its host's carbon budget, a model is proposed which states that the host plant has priorities for carbon allocation. The model proposes that the parasite will access the host's carbon initially in terms of carbon intended for storage, next, in terms of carbon intended for growth, …

Responses Of Estuarine Infauna To Disturbance. I. Spatial And Temporal Variation Of Initial Recolonization, Roman N. Zajac, Robert B. Whitlatch

Biology and Environmental Science Faculty Publications

Responses to disturbance of estuarine infauna were studied to test the hypothesis that seasonality, the estuarine environmental gradient and sediment composition would significantly affect recolonization. The study was conducted in a small estuary located in southeastern Connecticut, USA, using controlled disturbance experiments and sampling of the ambient infauna. Species composition in experimental plots and ambient sediments usually did not differ, either on a seasonal or areal basis. Numerically dominant species usually included the polychaetes Streblospio benedicti, Capitella spp. and Polydora ligni, and the oligochaete Peloscolex gabriellae. Other species included the polychaetes Scoloplos fragilis, Hobsonia florida and Nereis …

Responses Of Estuarine Infauna To Disturbance. Ii. Spatial And Temporal Variation Of Succession, Roman N. Zajac, Robert B. Whitlatch

Biology and Environmental Science Faculty Publications

Infaunal successional patterns in Alewife Cove, a small estuary in southeastern Connecticut, USA, varied significantly seasonally and along the estuarine environmental gradient. Each study site exhibited different patterns of change in species composition and abundance. However, suites of species found during succession did not differ greatly from those found in ambient sediments. Species which exhibited the most variable population changes during succession were numerically dominant tubiculous polychaetes (Streblospio benedicti, Capitella spp., Polydora ligni], and an oligochaete (Peloscolex gabriellae). Other species which exhibited significant activity were the polychaetes Scoloplos fragilis, Hobsonia florida and Nereis virens, the hemichordate Saccoglossus kowaleski, and the …

Karyotypic Relationships Within The Short-Tailed Shrews, Genus Blarina, Sarah B. George, Hugh H. Genoways, Jerry R. Choate, Robert J. Baker

University of Nebraska State Museum: Mammalogy Papers

Short-tailed shrews of the genus Blarina exhibit considerable geographic variation in both diploid number and fundamental number. Four chromosomal groups are recognized within the genus: Blarina brevicauda, FN = 48; 2N = 50, 49, or 48; B. carolinensis, FN = 45 or 44; 2N = 46, 39, 38, or 37; B. c. peninsulae, FN = 52; 2N = 52, 51, or 50; B. hylophaga, FN = 62, 61, or 60; 2N = 52. B. c. peninsulae also may be a distinct species, but exact determination must await location and analysis of a zone of contact with …

Moose-Vehicle Accidents In Ontario: Relation To Highway Salt, David Fraser, Evan R. Thomas

Anthropogenics and Population Decline Collection

No abstract provided.

San José Studies, Fall 1982, San José State University Foundation

San José Studies, 1980s

Volume 8, Issue 3

The Effects Of Varying Fresh Water Discharge On Dispersion In An Estuarine Hydraulic Model Of The Lafayette River, Norfolk, Virginia, Michael J. Jugan

OES Theses and Dissertations

Three experimental tests were conducted in the Lafayette River branch of the Chesapeake Bay Hydraulic Model, each successive test with an increase in the amount of fresh water discharged into the head of the river. This was done to study the response from varying river discharge on mixing parameters including the longitudinal dispersion coefficient (E).

The model generated a tide of constant range and period. Batch releases of Rhodamine WT dye were made in the model and sampled throughout the river for ten tidal cycles. Samples were taken simultaneously at selected high and low water slack.

The calculation of the …

Factors Effecting Phytoplankton Assemblages In The Lafayette River Estuary, Laurie Ann Kalenak

OES Theses and Dissertations

Chemical and physical parameters were measured with phytoplankton species composition and abundance in the Lafayette River from August to October 1981. Stations located in four distinct areas of the river were statistically analyzed to determine data relationships. Environmental factors considered as potentially influencing the presence and numbers of phytoplankton were salinity, temperature, Secchi depth, tidal phase, orthophosphate, combined nitrates and nitrites, ammonia, and reactive silicates.

The River mouth had higher salinity and nutrient values, with lower temperatures than the other river sections. Diatoms were the dominant cells in this section of the River. At mid-river, salinity and nutrient concentrations decreased, …

The Prairie Naturalist Volume 14, No. 3. September 1982

The Prairie Naturalist

FECAL pH OF DESERT AND EASTERN COTTONTAIL RABBITS IN TEXAS ▪ R. J. Warren and K. T. Scribner

NESTING OF THE AMERICAN AVOCET IN NORTH DAKOTA ▪ J. G. Sidle and P. M. Arnold

REVISED CHECKLIST OF NORTH DAKOTA BIRDS ▪ C. A. Fannes and R. E. Stewart

THE EFFECT OF WEATHER FACTORS ON AUDUBON CHRISTMAS BIRD COUNTS L. L. Falk

NOTES:

Additional Nest Record for Red-breasted Nuthatch in North Dakota ▪ R. Hopkins

A Henslow's Sparrow in North Dakota ▪ R. B. Renken and J. J. Dinsmore

First Documented Record of the Moose in South Dakota ▪ D. A. …

An Analysis Of Howling Response Parameters Useful For Wolf Pack Censusing, Fred H. Harrington, L. David Mech

USGS Northern Prairie Wildlife Research Center

Gray wolves (Canis lupus) were studied from April 1972 through April 1974 in National Forest in northeastern Minnesota by radio-tracking and simulated howling. Based during 217 of 456 howling sessions, the following recommendations were derived for using howling as a census technique: (1) the best times of day are dusk and night; (2) July, August, and are the best months; (3) precipitation and winds greater than 12 km/hour should be avoided; (of 5 single howls should be used, alternating "flat" and "breaking" howls; (5) trials should 3 times at about 2-minute intervals with the first trial at lower …

An Ecological Analysis Of Relic Diatoms In Sediments Of Las Vegas Bay, Lake Mead, David Ross Hetzel

Publications (WR)

Relic diatoms in sediments of the inner Las Vegas Bay, near the Las Vegas Wash sewage inflow, were examined in order to assess historic trophic conditions in this area of Lake Mead. Diatom sedimentation rates and ratios of Araphidineae/Centrales (A/C) diatom groups were determined from sediment cores collected in the old wash channel 1.5 km from the sewage inflow (station 2), in a small cove 1.5 km further downstream (station 3) and in an adjacent embayment off Gypsum Wash (station 4). Diatom sedimentation rates generally increased from the bottom to the top of each core, but pronounced minima existed at …

An Ecological Study Of The Troglobitic Cirolanid Isopod Antrolana Lira Bowman From Madisons Saltpetre Cave And Stegers Fissure, Augusta Co., Virginia, T. Lynn Collins

Biological Sciences Theses & Dissertations

An ecological study of the troglobitic cirolanid isopod, Antrolana lira Bowman, was begun in August 1979 and continued through September 1980. The isopod is restricted to two phreatic lakes in Madisons Saltpetre Cave and one phreatic lake in nearby Stegers Fissure, Augusta Co., Virginia.

All three phreatic lakes were scuba dived and surveyed. No direct connections were found between the lakes. However, physical similarities suggest that the lakes are made up of the same body of phreatic water.

Random samples were taken monthly and seasonally from the east lake in Madisons Saltpetre Cave and the lake in Stegers Fissure. Specimens …

Determining The Uptake And Possible Assimilation Of The Plant Component Of Spartina Detritus By Palaemonetes Pugio Using A Rapid Radiolabeling Method, Michael Peter Crosby

Biological Sciences Theses & Dissertations

Assimilation of the plant components of Spartina alterniflora detritus by the grass shrimp, Palaemonetes pugio, was investigated in a laboratory feeding study. A new radiolabeling procedure was utilized to label the sterilized detritus with ¹⁴C. Organic carbon values were calculated for both S. alterniflora and P. pugio. The grass shrimp were found to assimilate significantly the detritus, with an assimilation efficiency of approximately 14%, and an approximate ingestion rate of 2.508 x l0^-4mg C detritus/mg C shrimp hour^-l occurred. It is hypothesized that coprophagous activity may be important to the completion of digestion of …

Feeding Behavior Of Three Species Of Spionid Polychaetes, Thomas Lane Stokes Jr.

Biological Sciences Theses & Dissertations

Observations of feeding behavior of three species of spionid polychaetes (Paraprionospio pinnata, Polydora ligni, and Streblospio benedicti) were performed in currents ranging from 0 to 10 cm/sec over fine and coarse sediments and in high and low suspended particle loads. These interface feeders may suspension feed, deposit feed, or both simultaneously using a pair of anterior tentaculate feeding palps. P. ligni and S. benedicti were found to alter their palp behaviors in response to experimental manipulations. P. ligni reacted strongly to currents by suspension feeding with coiled palps. S. benedicti reacted strongly and complexly to food particle type and availability. …

The Effects Of Kepone On The Estuarine Copepod Acartia Tonsa, Judith Marie Wilson

Biological Sciences Theses & Dissertations

Due to the contamination of a 113 km reach of the James River, Kepone poses a serious environmental threat to the Chesapeake Bay. The purpose of the study is to determine the acutely toxic and sublethal levels of kepone for the copepod Acartia tonsa, and to investigate what effects those levels may have on filtration rates.

Kepone was determined to be acutely toxic to A. tonsa, with a 96 hour LC50 of 4.96 ug/1. Dunaliella tertiolecta was selected as the food source for the grazing experiments. Kepone concentrations of 0.046 ug/1 significantly (0.05 level) reduced the flltering rate …

The Growth, Nutrient Absorption, And Moisture Status Of Selected Woody Species In Coal Mine Spoil In Response To An Induced Infection By The Ectomycorrhizal Fungus Pisolithus Tinctorius, Roger F. Walker

Doctoral Dissertations

The growth, nutrient absorption, and internal moisture status of selected woody species in coal mine spoil in response to an induced infection by the ectomycorrhizal fungus Pisolithus tinctorius was studied. Nursery grown loblolly and Virginia pine seedlings infected with Pisolithus and control seedlings were outplanted on a coal mine spoil in Tennessee which had been previously hydroseeded with a mixture of herbaceous ground cover species. Granular fertilizer was applied by broadcasting to one-half of the seedlings of each ectomycorrhizal treatment at the rate of 112 kg/ha NPK. After three years, the survival and growth of loblolly pine infected with Pisolithus …

Distributions, Densities, And Relative Abundances Of Grasshoppers (Orthoptera: Acrididae) In A Nebraska Sandhills Prairie, Anthony Joern

Entomology Papers from Other Sources

Grasshoppers (Orthoptera: Acrididae) represent a conspicuous and often important component of grassland systems (Odum et al. 1962, Smalley 1960, Sinclair 1975, Van Hook 1971, Wiegert 1965). Often, assemblages of grasshoppers are quite diverse and may, on occasion, consume a large fraction of the available vegetation (Hewitt 1977, Hewitt et al. 1976, Mitchell and pfadt 1974). As such, grasshoppers have the potential of being very important in the nutrient and energy flow in grassland ecosystems. However, to understand the impact of grasshoppers at the ecosystem level requires that the densities and fluctuations of populations as well as the species composition of …

Parallel-Arm Maze Performance Of Sighted And Blind Rats: Spatial Memory And Maze Structure, Robert H.I. Dale

Scholarship and Professional Work - LAS

Sighted and peripherally blinded groups of rats learned to obtain a small reward from each arm of an eight-arm parallel maze, and a sighted group was similarly trained on a radial maze. The parallel-sighted and parallel-blind groups were equally slow, and much slower than the radial-sighted group, to attain criterion performance. The three groups shared several response characteristics: selectively avoiding the most recently entered arms, frequently choosing adjacent arms, and an absence of 'spatial generalization' among the arms. The findings support a simple model proposing how subjects identify and choose among the maze-arms.

U.S. Declares War On Coyotes

Close Up Reports

The coyote has long been perceived as a threat by ranchers who graze their sheep on U.S. public lands. At the ranchers' insistence, U.S. government employees are paid to shoot coyotes from helicopters and airplanes, ambush them in cruel steel-jaw leghold traps, and plant cyanide guns that explode in the coyotes' faces. The Humane Society of the United States is irrevocably opposed to the unabated, cruel, and unnecessary practice of killing animals in the name of "predator control." The resumed use of denning and the threat of reinstituting 1080 makes our--and your--actions even more urgent.

The Prairie Naturalist Volume 14, No. 2. June 1982

The Prairie Naturalist

DISTRIBUTIONS, DENSITIES, AND RELATIVE ABUNDANCES OF GRASSHOPPERS (ORTHOPTERA: ACRIDIDAE) IN A NEBRASKA SAND HILLS PRAIRIE ▪ A. Joern

FLORA OF FOREST CLEARINGS CREATED BY LOGGING IN BELTRAMI COUNTY, MINNESOTA ▪ E. W. Devlin

CHRISTMAS BIRD COUNTS FOR NORTH DAKOTA - 1981 ▪ R. N. Randall

RAPTOR USE OF HARDWOOD DRAWS IN CENTRAL NORTH DAKOTA ▪ R. C. Gaines and S. C. Kohn

NOTES ON DUCK NEST STRUCTURES ▪ J. G. Sidle and P. M. Arnold

EFFECT OF SOIL MOISTURE OR SOIL TEMPERATURE ON REPRODUCTION OF INDIGENOUS NEMATODE POPULATIONS IN A MIXED PRAIRIE ▪ J. D. Smolik

CORRECTION: Replacement for Table …

Preliminary Report Of Colony Survivorship In The Western Harvetser Ant (Pogonomyrmex Occidentalis) In Western Nebraska, Kathleen H. Keeler

School of Biological Sciences: Faculty Publications

Colonies of Pogonomyrmex occidentalis Cresson (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) may live an average of 22 to 43 years. The population dynamics of individual colonies of P. occidentalis adjacent to the Univ. Nebraska's Cedar Point Biol. Sta., Keith Co., Nebraska, is the subject of an ongoing investigation. The habitat is a moderately grazed shortgrass prairie dominated by Bouteloua hirsuta, B. gracilis, and Buchloe dactyloides, with Stipa comata, Aristida spp., and various forbs. The colonies studied are in a triangular area about 400 m long and 100 m across at the widest point. The area appears to be at carrying …

Morphometric And Geographic Relationships Of Short-Tailed Shrews (Genus Blarina) In Kansas, Iowa, And Missouri, Nancy D. Moncrief, Jerry R. Choate, Hugh H. Genoways

University of Nebraska State Museum: Mammalogy Papers

Shrews of the genus Blarina from Iowa, Kansas, and Missouri were studied morphometrically and karyologically. The ranges of two species, B. brevicauda and B. hylophaga, overlap in a broad zone across southern Iowa and northern Missouri. Morphometric analyses revealed an unexpectedly large amount of cranial variation in B. brevicauda, and confirmed the presence of that species in the Kansas River Valley of northeastern Kansas. Considerable mensural overlap was found in geographic areas in which B. hylophaga and B. brevicauda are sympatric, evincing the need for further karyotypic and morphometric studies in those areas. No formal taxonomic changes are …

Muskrat Population Levels And Vegetation Utilization: A Basis For An Index, Thomas R. Mccabe

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Muskrats (Ondatra zibethicus) are associated with marshlands throughout North America. Their impact on marsh vegetation is well documented. In recent years, research pertaining to marsh ecosystems has emphasized the role of interspersion of marsh vegetation to higher faunal diversity and productivity. Muskrats can provide a natural control of aquatic emergents if managed properly. Experimentation at Fish Springs National Wildlife Refuge, Utah, has attempted to ascertain whether vegetation-utilization index could be used for determining muskrat population levels and to evaluate the impact of muskrats on their primary food resource, Olney's bulrush (Scirpus americanus).

Three known populations of …

The Influence Of Winter Social Behavior On The Habitat Selection And Reproductive Success Of The Black-Billed Magpie, Kerry P. Reese

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

This study examined the influence of winter social behavior, particularly dominance relationships, on the subsequent nesting habitat selection and reproductive success of Black-billed Magpies (Pica pica hudsonia) on 2 areas in northern Utah. Hierarchical cluster analysis ordinated the habitats available to breeding birds and Chi-square and Bonferoni-z statistics were used to determine those habitat types the magpies seemed to prefer. Social status was determined by observing color-banded birds engaged in agonistic encounters at winter bait stations. Social dominance was evaluated by % dyads won, not by total % victories. Relationships between winter social status of magpies and their …

Efficacy Of Denning In Alleviating Coyote Depredations Upon Domestic Sheep, James A. Till

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Bands of domestic sheep lambing on the open range in south central Wyoming were monitored for predator losses prior to and following coyote (Canis latrans) removals. Experimental treatments, including 1) no removal (control), 2) removal of 2 adults and their pups, and 3) removal of pups only, were replicated 15 times each. Number of predation incidents (events) was reduced 98.2% by removing adults and pups. The number of sheep killed was reduced by 98.8%. Removing only litters of pups resulted in a decrease of 87.7% total kills decreased 91.6%. in predation incidents, while Overall, 23 of 30 predation …

Influence Of Photosynthetic Photon Flux Density On Uv-Binduced Photoinhibition In Soybean Leaves: Comparison Of Preconditioning And Concomitant Light Treatments, Charles W. Warner

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Previous studies indicate that the degree of UV-Binduced photosynthetic inhibition may be highly dependent upon the photosynthetic photon flux density (PPFD, total quantum flux in the waveband 400-700 nm) incident on a plant. This study illustrates that Essex soybean leaves (Glycine max) preconditioned under high PPFD suffered less UV-B-induced photoinhibition than when preconditioned under low PPFD. However, sensitivity to UV-B increased when soybean leaves received high-PPFD as a concomitant treatment.

The relative msgnitude of UV-B-induced damage was similar for both light-limited and light-saturated photosynthesis. This probably indicates that UV-B is inhibiting fundamentally different photosynthetic processes.

Soybean leaves preconditioned …

Estimation Of Harvest Rate Of Black Bears From Age And Sex Data, David Fraser, James F. Gardner, George B. Kolenosky, Stewart Strathearn

Wildlife Population Management Collection

No abstract provided.