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Terrestrial and Aquatic Ecology Commons

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Full-Text Articles in Terrestrial and Aquatic Ecology

Review Of Conspecific Attraction And Area Sensitivity Of Grassland Birds, David R.W. Bruinsma, Nicola Koper Oct 2012

Review Of Conspecific Attraction And Area Sensitivity Of Grassland Birds, David R.W. Bruinsma, Nicola Koper

Great Plains Research: A Journal of Natural and Social Sciences

Many species of grassland birds are area sensitive, which may exacerbate the ecological effects of the extensive loss and fragmentation of grasslands that has taken place across the northern Great Plains. However, the reasons for this area sensitivity are unclear, as vegetation structure, matrix composition, and restriction of movements among patches do not seem to provide viable explanations for species native to grasslands. Con specific attraction, whereby species are behaviorally stimulated to select habitat or establish territories near individuals of the same species, may help explain this area sensitivity. We review and discuss theoretical and empirical research on avian conspecific …


Channel Width And Least Tern And Piping Plover Nesting Incidence On The Lower Platte River, Nebraska, Joel G. Jorgensen, Mary Bomberger Brown, Andrew J. Tyre Apr 2012

Channel Width And Least Tern And Piping Plover Nesting Incidence On The Lower Platte River, Nebraska, Joel G. Jorgensen, Mary Bomberger Brown, Andrew J. Tyre

Great Plains Research: A Journal of Natural and Social Sciences

Endangered interior least terns (Sternula antillarum athalassos) and threatened northern Great Plains piping plovers (Charadrius melodus) nest together on midstream sandbars in large rivers in the interior of North America. We investigated the relationship between river channel width and tern and plover nesting incidence on the lower Platte River, Nebraska, using a model-based logistic regression analysis. Multiple channel width measurements and a long-term nesting data set were used in the analysis. Nesting incidence was positively associated with increasing river channel width proximal to the nesting site. At a greater distance, up to 802 m away from …


Availability Of Suitable Habitat For Northern River Otters In South Dakota, Alyssa M. Kiesow, Charles D. Dieter Apr 2005

Availability Of Suitable Habitat For Northern River Otters In South Dakota, Alyssa M. Kiesow, Charles D. Dieter

Great Plains Research: A Journal of Natural and Social Sciences

Currently, the northern river otter (Lontra canadensis) is listed as a threatened species in South Dakota. We determined whether adequate habitat was available for reintroducing river otters in South Dakota. The 17 rivers/creeks included in the analysis were selected according to stream size, water gradient, and water permanence. A vegetation transect was conducted and a water sample was collected at each study site, ranging from one to four per river. Rivers/creeks were rated (1 = least suitable to 5 = most suitable) according to habitat requirements of river otters in the following categories: stream characteristics, watershed features, water …


Review Of A Classification Of North American Biotic Communities By David E. Brown, Frank Reichenbacher, Susan E. Franson, Robert B. Kaul Oct 1999

Review Of A Classification Of North American Biotic Communities By David E. Brown, Frank Reichenbacher, Susan E. Franson, Robert B. Kaul

Great Plains Research: A Journal of Natural and Social Sciences

This is the latest of many efforts over the past century to classify North America's natural, undisturbed biological communities as they existed in pre-agrarian times and in many places continue to exist today. Its authors' stated objective is to integrate existing works into a hierarchical synthesis that can lead to a standardized system for researchers, land managers, conservation groups, and government agencies. To that end, the authors have modified and expanded David Brown's earlier classification for the Southwest to cover the continent, defined here as the area from the Panama Canal to the Arctic, including Greenland and some of the …