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An Evaluation Of Plant Community Structure, Fish And Benthic Meio- And Macrofauna As Success Criteria For Reclaimed Wetlands, Thomas Crisman, William J. Streever, John H. Kiefer, David L. Evans

School of Geosciences Faculty and Staff Publications

As a result of legislative action in 1975 (Florida Administrative Code Section 16C-16, 16C-17), landscape reclamation is required on all lands mined for phosphate in the State of Florida. Between 1975 and 1991, for example, approximately 40,000 ha of land in Florida were strip mined for phosphate and thus subject to provisions of this legislation. In excess of 2,700 ha of mitigation wetlands have been constructed as part of the land reclamation effort, but the degree to which these systems mimic both the structural and functional properties of natural wetlands is poorly known.

There has been a great diversity in …

Long Term Stability Of A Terrestrial Cave Community, Claudio Di Russo, Gianmaria Carchini, Mauro Rampini, Marco Lucarelli, Valerio Sbordoni

International Journal of Speleology

We report data on the spatial structure and seasonal variation of the community of Valmarino cave, a medium sized sandstone cave, located a few kilometres from the coast line, in Central Italy. Due to both its habitat features and its relatively recent geological history, Valmarino cave is only inhabited by terrestrial, troglophilic elements, i.e facultative cave dwellers. By means of monthly censuses and density plot estimates we have investigated species abundance, diversity and their spatial organization, by considering separately samples from different cave sectors. Homogeneous sampling design allowed to compare series of samplings performed in 1974 and 1994. On the …

Thermal Tolerances Of Platte River Fishes: Field And Laboratory Studies, Brett P. Fessell

School of Natural Resources: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

No abstract provided.

Century-Scale Paleoclimatic Reconstruction From Moon Lake, A Closed-Basin Lake In The Northern Great Plains, Kathleen R. Laird, Sherilyn C. Fritz, Eric C. Grimm, Pietra G. Mueller

Department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences: Faculty Publications

Estimates of past lake-water salinity from fossil diatom assemblages were used to infer past climatic conditions at Moon Lake, a climatically sensitive site in the northern Great Plains. A good correspondence between diatom-inferred salinity and historical records of mean annual precipitation minus evapotranspiration (P - ET) strongly suggests that the sedimentary record from Moon Lake can be used to reconstruct past climatic conditions. Century-scale analysis of the Holocene diatom record indicates four major hydrological periods: an early Holocene transition from an open freshwater system to a closed saline system by 7300 B.P., which corresponds with a transition from spruce forest …

A Recent Colonization Of Dolichopoda Cave Crickets In The Poscola Cave (Orthoptera, Rhaphidophoridae), Camilla Bernardini, Claudio Di Russo, Mauro Rampini, Donatella Cersaroni, Valerio Sbordoni

International Journal of Speleology

We report a series of investigations carried out on a Dolichopoda population recently discovered in the Poscola cave and in some small caves nearby (Lessini Mountains, Vicenza). This population is located north of Po river, outside the present known geographic range of this genus in Italy. Morphology of the epiphallus corroborated by chromosome and allozyme analysis indicated that this population belongs to D. laetitiae. Study of the genetic structure of population in the Poscola area revealed high gene flow levels between Poscola and the other minor caves, suggesting the occurrence of a single expanding population. This finding as well …

A Functional Group Approach To Detecting Shifts In Macroalgal Communities Along A Disturbance Gradient, J. C. Phillips

Theses : Honours

A recently proposed hypothesis argued that morphologically and functionally similar macroalgae could be grouped to study the structure of macroalgal communities. It was argued that these functional groups can be used to predict changes to community composition that result from disturbance. This study examined whether the functional group model held in detecting changes in macroalgal community structure within one bioregion, by applying it to a habitat exposed to different levels of physical disturbance associated with wave exposure. Results obtained using a functional group approach were compared to those obtained using a species level approach. Three parallel reef lines in Marmion …

Biological Processes: Relationships Between Earthworms And Soil Temperature, Edwin C. Berry, Jerry K. Radke

Journal of the Minnesota Academy of Science

Soil fauna play important roles in many soil processes and conditions which relate to agricultural systems. Earthworms are credited with enhancing soil fertility and soil physical properties by their feeding and burrowing activities. Most research on earthworms has focused on the warmer seasons of the year and relatively little is known about earthworm activity and survival during the portion of the year with frozen soils. Earthworms may survive winter by acclimatization, aestivation, or by burrowing to deeper depths where the soil is not frozen. More research is needed on the fate of earthworms in frozen soils. Suggested research areas include: …

The Paleoecologic Significance Of Paleocene Palynomorph Assemblages From The Ludow, Slope, And Cannonball Formations, Southwestern North Dakota, Timothy J. Kroeger

Theses and Dissertations

Paleoenvironment exerted control on the distribution of 133 palynomorph taxa from the Ludlow and Slope Formations and Boyce and Three V Tongues of the Cannonball Formation (Fort Union Group, I Paleocene) of southwestern North Dakota. The strata represent fluvial deltaic systems that prograded eastward into the Cannonball Sea. Depositional environments include distributary channels, crevasse splays, crevasse-splay feeder channels, lignite-producing swamps and/or marshes, lakes, brackish to slightly brackish bays, lake and bay fills, and marshes

Paleoenvironmentally sensitive palynomorph taxa were identified by subjective examination of pollen diagrams and objective analysis using detrended correspondence analysis. Two paleoenvironmentally restricted palynomorph associations were recognized. …

Paleobathymetric Interpretation Of Pleistocene Sediments In The South Padre Island Area, Northwestern Gulf Of Mexico, Using Benthic Foraminiferal Morphology, Karen Ianthe Kruebbe-Belwood

OES Theses and Dissertations

This study tested the validity of using intraspecific variation in benthic foraminifera as a means for determining Pleistocene paleobathymetry. Canonical variate analysis was used as a means for determining visually undetectable but statistically significant differences in the morphology of selected species. Two species, Cassidulina subglobosa and Uvigerina peregrina, were collected from Pleistocene well cuttings from the northwest Gulf of Mexico. The canonical analysis involved comparing the intraspecific variation of these Pleistocene species to their counterparts occurring in the modern Gulf of Mexico, where intraspecific variation was previously analyzed and found to be sufficient to allow detection of bathymetric differences …

Water-Quality Assessment Of The Central Nebraska Basins: Summary Of Data For Recent Conditions Through 1990, Ronald B. Zelt, P. R. Jordan

United States Geological Survey: Publications

Among the first activities undertaken in each National Water-Quality Assessment (NAWQA) investigation are the compilation, screening, and statistical summary of available data concerning recent water-quality conditions in the study unit. The water-quality conditions of interest in addressing the objectives of the NAWQA program are those that are representative of the general water quality of a given stream reach or area of an aquifer. This report (1) identifies which existing water-quality data are suitable for characterizing general conditions in a nationally consistent manner and (2) describes, to the extent possible, recent, general water-quality conditions in the Central Nebraska Basins. The study …

Nitrogen And Carbon Isotope Studies Of A Bat Guano Core From Eagle Creek Cave, Arizona, Usa, Hiroshi Mizutani, Donald A. Mcfarlane, Yuko Kabaya

WM Keck Science Faculty Papers

Nitrogen and carbon isotope ratios were studied in a stratified deposit of guano of Mexican Free-tailed bats in Eagle Creek Cave, Arizona, U.S.A. Little diagenetic change was observed over the 25-year time span of the guano deposit. High aridity and reduced circulation of air in the cave are hypothesized to have slowed the normally rapid decomposition of the excreta and the subsequent escape of resultant ammonia. The results suggest the high dependency of the speed of diagenetic change on specific physical and other conditions of the caves and indicate that great care need be exercised in the interpretation of the …

Carbon And Nitrogen Isotopic Signatures Of Bat Guanos As A Record Of Past Environments, Hiroshi Mizutani, Donald A. Mcfarlane, Yuko Kabaya

WM Keck Science Faculty Papers

Carbon and nitrogen isotope ratios were measured for various ecogeochemical samples relevant to bat guano ecosystems. In particular, ca. 800-year-old subfossil guano from Jackson's Bay Cave Compex, Jamaica, yielded ratios similar to the modern guano from other Jamaican bat caves but quite different from modern guano of the same area. Diagenetic change and differences in bat food habits were unlikely explanations for the observation. Instead, insects that feed on C4 and CAM plants were the main prey for the bats in present Jackson's Bay area, while the ultimate source of organic matter for bats in other Jamaican caves and for …

The First Documentation Of A Lower Middle Pennsylvanian Upland Flora From The Eastern Margin Of The Eastern Interior Basin (Illinois Basin), Vicki J. Comer

Masters Theses

The primary objective of this study is to reconstruct the paleofloristics of an unnamed shale of lower Middle Pennsylvanian age. The shale is periodically exposed in the highwall of the Ashboro Pit, Log Cabin Coal Company, Clay County, Indiana. This will be the first upland fossil flora to be described from the eastern margin of the Eastern Interior Basin (Illinois Basin). The gray shale containing the upland flora lies directly above the Upper Block Coal (SW 1/4, SE 1/4, sec. 17, T. 11N., R. 6W.)

Two collections, collected on three different occasions were made available for analysis: Smithsonian Natural …

Kings Park Soil Survey, J A. Bessell-Browne

Resource management technical reports

No abstract provided.

Laboratory Studies Of Predatory Behaviour In Two Subspecies Of The Carabid Cave Beetle: Neaphaenops Tellkampfi, David M. Griffith

International Journal of Speleology

Comparative studies on the foraging behaviour of Neaphaenops tellkampfi tellkampfi and N. t. meridionalis demonstrated adaptation to different environments. The southern subspecies N. t. meridionalis, which is found in wet muddy caves where cave cricket eggs are unlikely prey, did not locate buried cricket eggs and dug fewer and less accurate holes in the lab than the nominate subspecies. N. t. tellkampfi, which reaches high densities in sandy deep cave environments where cricket eggs are the only viable prey, gained significantly greater weight than meridionalis when presented buried cricket eggs as prey. There was no difference with respect …

Blackland Prairies Of Southwestern Arkansas, Thomas L. Foti

Journal of the Arkansas Academy of Science

The Blackland Prairie community type has been described in Texas; related communities exist in Alabama and Mississippi. The Arkansas variant of the community has not been described in detail. Since the Arkansas Natural Heritage Commission began a systematic inventory of the community in 1985, more than 36 remnants have been identified that retain substantial natural character. However, all show some degree of disturbance. Based on aerial photo interpretation, aerial inspection, and ground study, an initial description of the community is presented, including original distribution, soil, vegetation and relationship to similar communities of Texas, Mississippi, and Alabama.

Depth Profiles And Soil Textures Of The Vernal Pools Of The Santa Rosa Plateau Preserve, Riverside County, California, Ralph Charles Workman Jr.

Loma Linda University Electronic Theses, Dissertations & Projects

The purpose of this project was to study the edaphic and topographic characteristics of the 13 vernal pools on the Santa Rosa Plateau Preserve, thus documenting the role soil texture plays in vernal pool formation.

Several field and laboratory procedures were used to demonstrate that there is a higher percentage of clay present within vernal pools than in soils outside the margin of the pools, for 11 out of the 13 pools. Statistical tests showed that the percentage of clay was highly significant within the center soil of the pool as compared to the soil outside the margin of the …

The Demography Of Doublegee. Ecological Studies On Arum Lily., F. D. Panetta

Experimental Summaries - Plant Research

3.1 Growth of doublegees under summer irrigation. (87A40)

The weevil, Perapion antiquum is a potential biological control agent of doublegee. However, it exhibits large population crashes during the summer months in the summer-dry areas of the Western Caped of South Africa, where it is native. It has been suggested that one means of successfully establishing Perapion in Western Australia could be to maintain populations in 'oases' over the summer months. The aim of this experiment was to determine how readily doublegee could be maintained in a non-senescent phase under irrigated and shaded conditions.

3.2 Doublegee demography in cereal crops (87GE30) …

Paleoenvironmental Data For N. W. Georgia, U.S.A., From Fossils In Cave Speleothems, George A. Brook, Eugene P. Keferl, Rudy J. Nickmann

International Journal of Speleology

Pollen grains and gastropod shells in two speleothems from Red Spider Cave, Georgia indicate that ca. 10,000 yr B.P. the vegetation near the cave was Mixed Mesophytic Forest. Conditions were cooler and moister than today and a shallow pond existed in the doline above the cave. As these findings support palynologic evidence from nearby pond sites it is clear that cave speleothems are a potential source of paleoecological data to ca. 350,000 yr. B.P.

Middle And Late Wisconsinan (Pleistocene) Insect Assemblages From Illinois, Kristine D. Carter

Theses and Dissertations

Two highly organic sediment sequences from central and western Illinois (the Athens North Quarry and Biggsville sites, respectively) of Middle and Late Wisconsinan age were studied to gain knowledge about the environment and climate of this area during the time immediately prior to the maximum extent of the last glaciation. Paleoenvironmental and paleoclimatic inferences are based principally upon knowledge of the habitat preferences and geographic distributions of extant species of beetles that are represented as fossils. These data are supplemented by information from sedimentological and taphonomic studies and from previously published palynological and plant-macrofossil studies.

The Athens North Quarry site …

Observations On The Biology Of Cave Planarians Of The United States, Jerry H. Carpenter

International Journal of Speleology

Observations are made on the biology of several species of cave planarians (mostly of the family Kenkiidae) collected alive from over 50 caves in 14 states. Most of these species were maintained in laboratory cultures at 12°C±3°C. Food eaten was extremely variable. Functions of the anterior adhesive organ included food capture, locomotion, defence against predators, and probably chemoreception, mechanoreception, and as a holdfast in strong currents. Predators probably consist of fishes, crayfishes, and salamanders. Sporozoan and ciliated parasites were found occasionally. Cocoons were found in winter, spring, and summer; they hatched in about 3 months and contained 2 to 17 …

Variation Among Populations Of The Troglobitic Amphipod Crustacean Crangonyx Antennatus Packard (Crangonyctidae) Living In Different Habitats, Iii: Population Dynamics And Stability, Gary W. Dickson, John R. Holsinger

International Journal of Speleology

Populations of the troglobitic amphipod Crangonyx antennatus from caves in Lee Co., Virginia (U.S.A.) were investigated on both a short and long term basis. The dynamics of populations living in two distinct aquatic cave habitats (mud-bottom pools and gravel-bottom streams) were compared seasonably for one year. Sex ratios indicated a larger number of females in both pool and stream habitats. The majority of males in both habitats were found to be sexually mature throughout the year investigated. Seasonal fluctuations in female maturity were observed in both habitats, with larger numbers collected in June and August. In addition, a larger number …

Investigation Of The Mutual Influence Between A Polluted River And Its Hyporheic, Milan Meŝtrov, Romana Lattinger-Penko

International Journal of Speleology

This paper describes investigations of fundamental biological and pratical importance. Interstitial subterranean water (hyporheic) which is near a polluted river in a plain is the subject of the study. The water is becoming increasingly important as a source of drinking water. The relation of the hyporheic water to the physical, chemical, bacteriological and faunistic characteristics of the river is discussed.

Demography Of Termite Colonies As Related To Various Environmental Factors: Nutritional Biochemistry And Physiology Of Termites, W. L. Nutting, J. P. Lafage

Memorandum

No abstract provided.

Linear Measurement: A Method Of Estimating Fascicle Numbers For Larch Casebearer Population Sampling, United States Department Of Agriculture, Forest Service

Forestry

Branch samples collected from 23 plots in northern Idaho and western Montana in 1975 had a combined mean distribution of 3.13 fascicles/inch (1.23 fascicles/cm) of branch length. By subsampling, it is possible to determine cumulative lineal inches of branch necessary to obtain a sampling unit of 100 fascicles for a plot, eliminating the need for counting fascicles on each sample.

Ecological Investigations Of The Influence Of A Polluted River On Surrounding Interstitial Underground Waters, Milan Meštrov, Romana Lattinger-Penko

International Journal of Speleology

Because of the fundamental biological investigations and also of the practical importance, the authors investigated interstitial subterranean water (hyporheic) near a polluted river Sava in the plain where the underground waters are considered as potable. With the comparison of the physical, chemical, bacteriological, saprobiological and faunistic characteristics of the river and its hyporheic zone in different seasons their mutual relation is detected. The results show the influence of polluted river water on the hyporheic water within the river bed to at least 2 m depth.

Microflore Et Activité De Groupements Fonctionnels Dans Les Sédiments De Trois Grottes De I'Italie Centrale, A. Pasqualini, B. Fumanti, L. Visonà

International Journal of Speleology

A comparative study is presented of the microflora of sediments in three caves with different trophic characteristics. Quantitative and qualitative variations of microflora were investigated for one year by studying the total microflora and the activity of the nitrogen cycle functional groups. Data were compared with those of other works of previous authors. Results show that the quantity and kind of organic matter of sediment are most important factors regulating the abundance and activity of cavernicolous microflora. The experimental part of this paper is prefaced by a digest of investigations previously carried out on cavernicolous microflora and by a report …

An Analysis Of The Fresh Water Shell Recovered From Langlier Rock Shelter, Mary Reilly

Senior Honors Papers / Undergraduate Theses

No abstract provided.

Regeneration And Early Growth On Strip Clearcuts In Lodgepole Pine/Bitterbrush Habitat Type, United States Department Of Agriculture, Forest Service

Forestry

Establishment and growth of seedlings 13 years after strip clearcutting was investigated on a lodgepole pine/bitterbrush habitat type in southwestern Montana. Ingress of new seedlings (all from open-coned lodgepole pine) on areas that had been heavily bulldozer scarified was considerably better than on areas without bulldozer scarification. Seed:seedling ratios (established seedlings) ranged from 625:1 to 2,160:1 on scarified sites, and from 1,876:1 to 6,480:1 on unscarified sites. Only 3 years out of 13 resulted in significant numbers of seedlings being established. Advanced regeneration released by logging was growing as rapidly as seedlings established following logging.

Nitrobacter In Mammoth Cave, C. B. Fliermans, E. L. Schmidt

International Journal of Speleology

Mammoth Cave, a large limestone cavern in Mammoth Cave National Park in the Central Kentucky karst, was first mined for saltpetre in 1808 and was a major source of nitrates used in the manufacture of gunpowder during the War of 1812. The mechanism of saltpetre formation is unknown, although hypotheses encompassing both biotic and abiotic functions have been suggested. Present studies were conducted in various saltpetre caves using species specific fluorescent antibodies in order to determine if the chemoautotroph, Nitrobacter, were present. Population densities and species distribution of Nitrobacter were studied in relation to chemical and physical parameters for …