Physical Sciences and Mathematics Commons^™

Current Status Of The Plains Pocket Mouse, Perognathus Flavescens, In Iowa, Gregory M. Wilson, John B. Bowles, Justin W. Van Zee

Journal of the Iowa Academy of Science: JIAS

Published and unpublished accounts of the plains pocket mouse (Perognathus flavescens) were utilized to document the existence of extant populations and to summarize and report additional data about the biology of this state endangered Iowa species. Populations of P. flavescens exist in western (Harrison, Monona, and Plymouth counties) and extreme eastern (adjacent portions of Louisa and Muscatine counties) Iowa, the latter of which represents the eastern-most record for the species in North America. In addition, we document a new locality for P. flavescens from the interior of the state (Benton County). All known populations of P. flavescens in Iowa occur …

An Annotated Checklist Of The Spiders Of Northwestern Iowa And The Loess Hills Of Western Iowa, Barbara J. Abraham

Journal of the Iowa Academy of Science: JIAS

Spiders were collected by the author from various habitats in 16 counties of northwestern Iowa and the loess hills of western Iowa during the summers of 1985 and 1990-1992. Additional donated specimens from the same region in 1981and1989 were identified by the author. Twenty-three families, 92 genera and 184 species have been identified.

Editorial Board & Iowa Academy Of Science Officers And Directors

Journal of the Iowa Academy of Science: JIAS

No abstract provided.

Book Review - The Unnatural Nature Of Science: Why Science Does Not Make (Common) Sense, David Lopatto

Journal of the Iowa Academy of Science: JIAS

A distinguished psychologist once wrote that if you wished to understand the history of scientific thought you need a psychologist at your elbow. Lewis Wolpert, Professor of Biology at University College in London, has taken that sentiment further. It seems that if you wish to understand the difference between scientific and nonscientific thinking you should delve deeply into the literature of cognitive psychology. For natural thinking, "ordinary, day-to-day common sense will never give an understanding about the nature of science." Instead, the trained scientist engages in unnatural (i.e., counterintuitive) thinking about a word that defies ordinary experience. In order to …

A Relationship Between River Modification And Species Richness Of Freshwater Turtles In Iowa, Terry J. Vandewalle, James L. Christiansen

Journal of the Iowa Academy of Science: JIAS

Comparisons were made of turtle populations in Red Rock Reservoir and the major rivers of the Mississippi River and Missouri River damage systems in Iowa. Of the inland rivers of the Mississippi drainage examined in this study, the Des Moines River had the least amount of remaining turtle habitat. Number of turtle species ranged from five in the Des Moines River to 11 in the Mississippi River, but only three species were found in Red Rock Reservoir. In the Missouri drainage, number of turtle species ranged from three in both the Little Sioux and Nishnabotna rivers to five in the …

Life History And Status Classifications Of Birds Breeding In Iowa, Louis B. Best, Kathryn E. Freemark, Barbara S. Steiner, Timothy M. Bergin

Journal of the Iowa Academy of Science: JIAS

Life history and status classifications were compiled for 145 bird species that breed in Iowa. Species were classified by food type and substrate, nest substrate, susceptibility to cowbird parasitism, migratory status, predominant habitat use and habitat-use specialization, body mass (an index of home range/territory size), area sensitivity, population trend and vulnerability, and beneficial/harmful aspects in relation to agriculture. Such information may be used to make interspecific comparisons, evaluate interrelationships among life history and status characteristics, and provide insights into the interpretation of previous research. This synthesis also can aid those responsible for making conservation and management decisions about Iowa's avifauna.

Front Matter

Journal of the Iowa Academy of Science: JIAS

No abstract provided.

Back Cover

Journal of the Iowa Academy of Science: JIAS

No abstract provided.

Book Review - This Fragile Land. A Natural History Of The Nebraska Sandhills, Neil P. Bernstein

Journal of the Iowa Academy of Science: JIAS

Paul Johnsguard presents a highly enjoyable and readable introduction to the natural history of the Nebraska Sandhills in his "kind of love letter to the Nebraska Sandhills and especially to their inhabitants past and present." Johnsguard calls upon 30 years of research and teaching in the region to draw together a series of essays that cover geology, ecology, ethology, and environmental issues while offering his personal perspectives on the past, present and future.

Ribbons Of Blue, Martin Revell, Thelma Crook

Journal of the Department of Agriculture, Western Australia, Series 4

Ribbons of Blue is a water quality awareness program that involves schools and community groups in monitering local water bodies.

The concept originated in the Environmental Policy Planning section of the Office of Premier and Cabinet, in 1989. Martin Revell and Thelma cook outline the scope of the program and highlight some major achievements.