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Exploratory Sensitivity Analysis Of A Stream Ecosystem Model, Joseph H. Wlosinski

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The framework of a stream ecosystem simulation model is described. Using this framework and data from two different geographical areas, a cold desert stream and a generalized mountain stream, exploratory sensitivity analysis was performed on the model. This was accomplished by qualitatively comparing outputs of a series of simulations in which a different level of a driving variable was used in each simulation. Based on these results, recommendations are made for improving the structure of the model.

A New Subspecies Of Geomys Bursarius (Mammalia: Geomyidae) From Texas And New Mexico, Robert J. Baker, Hugh H. Genoways

University of Nebraska State Museum: Mammalogy Papers

As part of a study of the systematics and ecology of pocket gophers occurring on the high plains of Texas and eastern New Mexico, numerous populations of the plains pocket gopher, Geomys bursarius, were examined karyotypically. Four chromosomal races were described from this area by Baker et al. (1973). Additional studies lead us to believe that two of these races represent an undescribed subspecies of the plains pocket gopher. In addition to karyological evidence, specimens of this subspecies are morphologically distinct from those of all contiguous populations of Geomys bursarius major, the race to which they previously were assigned. …

Mammals Of The Guadalupe Mountains National Park, Texas, Hugh H. Genoways, Robert J. Baker, John E. Cornely

University of Nebraska State Museum: Mammalogy Papers

Our survey began in late May 1973 and continued through August 1975. The objectives of our study, which was supported by the National Park Service, were to survey the mammals occurring in the Guadalupe Mountains National Park, Texas, and to correlate their distribution with major plant associations. This inventory of the natural resources of the park is preliminary to the development of any serious management program. Therefore, we present the following accounts to serve as baseline data for future mammalian work in the park and development of the master plan for the park.

Editors' Note To Biological Investigations In The Guadalupe Mountains National Park, Texas., Hugh H. Genoways, Robert J. Baker

University of Nebraska State Museum: Mammalogy Papers

The Guadalupe Mountains National Park, which is located in TransPecos Texas between Carlsbad, New Mexico, and EI Paso, Texas, is one of the newest national parks being formed by the Congress in 1967. The Guadalupe Mountains and the associated Chihuahuan Desert included in the park represent a unique biological area in which a fragile biological equilibrium exists between the fauna and flora of the Chihuahuan Desert of the lowlands and the Rocky Mountains of the high elevations. The preservation of this area will depend upon sound management decisions. This volume is the result of a symposium held at The Museum …

Limnological Investigation Of The Muskegon County, Michigan, Wastewater Storage Lagoons, W. Randolph Frykberg

Masters Theses

No abstract provided.

A Comparative Study Of Some Population Characteristics Of Calyptraea Fastigiata Gould, Crepidula Lingulata Gould, And Crepidula Nummaria Gould (Gastropoda, Prosobranchia), Roger Harold Goodwill

Theses and Dissertations

A comparative study of the field populations of Crepidula lingulata, Crepidula nurnmaria, and Calyptraea fastigiata indicated all three preferred a rocky substrate but favored different size rocks. Their positions on the rocks varied but the greatest numbers were found attached to the undersides. Crepidula lingulata and C. nummaria preferred larger rocks and were found in intraspecific associations more often than C. fastigiata which preferred smaller rocks. These associations occurred with a 1:1 sex ratio; however, the overall population did not. Crepidula lingulata had a high female count and C. fastigiata a high male count. Males, of all three species, were …

Special Report On Zoo Reform

Special Reports

The Humane Society of the United States has taken the lead for the past 3 1/2 years in reforming American zoos. HSUS has awakened Americans to the fact that wild animals have been caged inhumanely for many decades in the nation's zoos and that major and drastic actions are necessary to correct these problems. While HSUS has continued to insist that no wild animal should be exploited simply to create an attraction or exhibit, such is not the state of the world as it exists today. Consequently, HSUS is determined to do everything in its power to alleviate the suffering …

A New Kimballian Peccary From Nebraska, C. Bertrand Schultz, Larry D. Martin

Bulletin of the University of Nebraska State Museum (1924–2023)

A new species of Pliocene peccary, Prosthennops (Macrogens) graffhami; is described from the Kimball Formation, Ogallala Group, Frontier County, Nebraska. This new species is the latest in geologic age and most advanced in the genus.

The remains of fossil vertebrates are generally rare in the upper part of the Ogallala group, and some have maintained that Hemphillian faunas such as Coffee Ranch and Smith County, Kansas, represent the latest Ogallala faunas. Later faunas than are typically considered as Hemphillian, containing more advanced forms, occur in the Kimball Formation and deposits of equivalent age. Known faunas which may …

Cenozoic Mammals From The Central Great Plains, C. Bertrand Schultz, Larry D. Martin, R. George Corner, Lloyd G. Tanner

Bulletin of the University of Nebraska State Museum (1924–2023)

Includes:

Part 1. Middle and Late Cenozoic Tapirs from Nebraska. By C. Bertrand Schultz, Larry D. Martin, and R. George Corner.

Part 2. Stratigraphic Occurrences of Teleoceras, with a New Kimballian Species from Nebraska. By Lloyd G. Tanner.

Part 3. A New Kimballian Peccary from Nebraska. By C. Bertrand Schultz and Larry D. Martin.

Part 4. Bears (Ursidae) from the Late Cenozoic of Nebraska. By C. Bertrand Schultz and Larry D. Martin.

Part 5. Scimitar-toothed Cats, Machairodus and Nimravides, from the Pliocene of Kansas and Nebraska. By Larry D. Martin and C. Bertrand Schultz.

84 pp

Annotated Checklist Of Mammals Of The Yucatán Peninsula, México. Iv. Carnivora, Sirenia, Perissodactyla, Artiodactyla, Hugh H. Genoways, Robert J. Baker

University of Nebraska State Museum: Mammalogy Papers

This is the fourth in a series of papers by Jones, et al., dealing with the systematics and distributional status of mammals on the Yucatán Peninsula of México. The present contribution lists 24 native species belonging to the orders Carnivora (18 species), Sirenia (one), Perissodactyla (one), and Artiodactyla (four). Among the carnivores there are one canid, six procyonids, six mustelids, and five felids, whereas the Artiodactyla is represented by two families (Tayassuidae and Cervidae), each with two species.

The Yucatán Peninsula as treated in this series of papers includes the Mexican states of Campeche and Yucatan, and the Federal Territory …

The Primitive Hunter Culture, Pleistocene Extinction, And The Rise Of Agriculture, Vernon L. Smith

Economics Faculty Articles and Research

The hypothesis that megafauna extinction some 10,000 years ago was due to "overkill" by Paleolithic hunters is examined using an economic model of a replenishable resource. The large herding animals that became extinct, such as mammoth, bison, camel, and mastodon, presented low hunting cost and high kill value. The absence of appropriation provided incentives for the wastage killing evident in some kill sites, while the slow growth, long lives, and long maturation of large animals increased their vulnerability to extinction. Free-access hunting is compared with socially optimal hunting and used to interpret the development of conservationist ethics, and controls, in …

The Behaviour Of Swine, J. P. Signoret, B. A. Baldwin, D. Fraser, E. S. E. Hafez

Mammalogy Collection

The pig was a forest-dwelling animal from the beginning of its history. In some parts of the world it has been domesticated for at least 7000 years. The European breeds of domestic swine were derived from the local wild pig, Sus scrofa. Herds ranged in pastures and forests and kept indoors only for fattening. The breeds in the Far East were derived from another wild pig, Sus vittatus, a smaller animal with shorter legs and a higher reproductive ability (Mohr 1960; Zeuner 1963). The two types interbred readily. The modem breeds of pig evolved from different crossings between the two …

Special Report On Controlling America's Pet Population

Special Reports

HSUS estimates that public and private animal control programs cost the nation as much as $500 million a year. Much of this expense is required for the feeding and care of unwanted animals during the 5 to 10 days they are held for adoption, killing the 80% that are not adopted or redeemed, and disposing of the carcasses. The result is both an unconscionable waste of life and a needless drain on public and private money.

A large part of the blame for people undertaking pet ownership without having made a total commitment to the animal lies with the pet …

Middle And Late Cenozoic Tapirs From Nebraska, C. Bertrand Schultz, Larry D. Martin, R. George Corner

Bulletin of the University of Nebraska State Museum (1924–2023)

The distribution and evolution of Late Cenozoic tapirs are discussed and the forms present in Nebraska are reported. Two new species are described from the Ogallala Pliocene of Nebraska, ?Tapirus johnsoni and ?T. simpsoni. Tapirs are known in Nebraska from the Early Oligocene through the Middle Pleistocene. The northern limit of the distribution of the tapirs contracts gradually southward in North America throughout the Tertiary, and even during the Pleistocene interglacials Nebraska must have been near the northern limit of their range.

Stratigraphic Occurrences Of Teleoceras With A New Kimballianspecies From Nebraska, Lloyd G. Tanner

Bulletin of the University of Nebraska State Museum (1924–2023)

Study of Teleoceras remains in the University of Nebraska State Museum indicates that this specialized, short-limbed rhinoceros inhabited the Central Great Plains from Early through Late Pliocene. Previously thought to have become extinct at the end of the middle Pliocene, this genus is now known from the very latest Pliocene. A new species, Teleoceras schultzi, is described from the Kimball Formation, Ogallala Group, Frontier County, Nebraska.

Preliminary Dove Banding Studies In Clark County, Arkansas, Thurman Booth, Peggy Rae Dorris, William N. Hunter, Benny Mays

Journal of the Arkansas Academy of Science

In conjunction with the U.S. Department of Interior Fish and Wildlife Service, Henderson State University Biology Department made a preliminary study of mourning doves in Clark County, Arkansas, during June, July and August 1974. Three hundred seventy-one mourning doves were baited, trapped and banded to obtain information concerning age, sex, populations, retraps, deformities, effects on other animals, migrations and other behaviors.

Age And Growth Of Bluegill, Lepomis Macrochirus Rafinesque, From Lake Fort Smith, Arkansas, Jacob J. Hogue, Raj V. Kilambi

Journal of the Arkansas Academy of Science

A total of 337 bluegill from Lake Fort Smith were used for this study. Annuli were formed between late February and early June, the younger fish forming annuli earlier than older fish. Total length-scale radius and length-weight relationships were determined. Growth of bluegill was compared with that reported in other studies. Growth curves were analyzed by the Von Bertalanffy growth formula and the parameters were evaluated in terms of physical and biological factors.

A Statistical Approach To The Study Of The Ecosystems Of Seven Ponds In East-Central Illinois, Gregory Lee Orr

Masters Theses

Gross primary productivity, heterotrophic bacterial numbers, and net phytoplankton densities of seven ponds in Coles County, Illinois, were studied in relation to physical, chemical, and biological habitat variables (light intensity and duration, turbidity, water temperature, pH, dissolved oxygen, sulfur, nitrogen, phosphorus, production, bacteria, and phytoplankton). Ten observations were made for each pond (except where otherwise noted) from 17 June through 25 August 1974. Stepwise multiple linear regression analyses of the data were used in order to determine those environmental factors which were important in predicting (i.e., significantly correlated with) bacterial and phytoplankton densities, and production. A multiple linear regression equation …

Aquatic Plant Communities Of Vermilion County, Illinois, John A. Wiedman

Masters Theses

No abstract provided.

Raising Wood Ducks, Richard L. Nelson

Nebraska Game and Parks Commission: Publications

Numbered among Nature's most colorful creatures, wood ducks willingly accept a helping hand from man in establishing new homes. These birds adapt well to suitable habitat, and you can play an important part in bringing the wood duck to locations where they do not now nest. For groups or individuals who are willing to expend the effort necessary to undertake a wood duck restoration project anti see it to completion, it is an exceptional gift from today's generation to those of decades and centuries to come. Many areas in Nebraska provide suitable wood duck habitat, but do not have a …

Osteology Of Trypauchenichthys Sumatrensis Hardenburg, Christine Parrish Baer

Biological Sciences Theses & Dissertations

The osteology of a Malaysian goby was examined in detail and compared to other gobioids. Results indicated that Trypauaheniahthys sumatrensis is a specialized, but definite member of the Gobioidei. Some osteological characteristics of a related fish, Trypauchen vagina, were also discussed.

Aquatic Macroinvertebrate Fauna Of An Ozark And A Deltaic Stream, Mary R. Cather, George L. Harp

Journal of the Arkansas Academy of Science

An Ozark and a deltaic stream in northeastern Arkansas were studied to compare physicochemical and aquatic macroinvertebrate parameters and to determine whether the number and kind of organisms increase downstream. Janes Creek, the Ozark-type stream, is clear, spring-fed and alkaline with a steep gradient and high flow velocity; dissolved oxygen values are not limiting. Big Creek, the deltaic stream, is turbid, low in alkalinity and has a slight gradient and low stream velocity. These streams comprise distinct habitats created by differences in substrate, watershed and land use. A total of 122 taxa were collected in both streams, 62 of which …

New Distributional Records Of Fishes From The Lower Ouachita River System In Arkansas, Henry W. Robison

Journal of the Arkansas Academy of Science

Fishes collected from the lower Ouachita River system in Arkansas during 1971-1974 are reported. As a result of these collections six species were added to the Ouachita River system ichthyofauna of Arkansas including an undescribed species of Notropis, Hybopsis aestivalis (Girard), Ictiobus bubalus (Rafinesque), Fundulus chrysotus (Gunther), Lepomis symmetricus (Forbes) and Etheostoma fusiforme barratti (Holbrook). New distributional records for Ichthyomyzon gagei (Hubbs and Trautman), Notropis maculatus (Hay), N. lutrensis (Baird and Girard), Erimyzon sucetta (Lacepede), Fundulus notti (Agassiz) and Lepomis marginatus (Holbrook) within the system also are presented.

Intraproblem Retention During Learning-Set Acquisition In Bluejays (Cyanocitta Eristata), Alan C. Kamil, John E. Maulden

Papers in Behavior in Biological Sciences

Recent experiments have shown that bluejays and rhesus monkeys experienced in object-discrimination learning set (ODLS) exhibit a rapid decline in performance when a retention interval is inserted between successive trials of individual ODLS problems (Bessemer & Stollnitz, 1971; Kamil, Lougee, & Shulman, 1973). This intraproblem retention loss (IRL), or forgetting, has been interpreted as reflecting the importance of relatively transient memory traces for events of previous trials of the ODLS problem as determinants of choice behavior on the current trial of the same problem. According to this model, these memory traces function as discriminative stimuli in a conditional discrimination which …

Marginal Learning-Set Formation By The Crow (Corvus Brachyrhynchos), Maxwell W. Hunter Iii, Alan C. Kamil

Papers in Behavior in Biological Sciences

Each of three hand raised crows received 300 learning set problems in a modified WGTA using three-dimensional stimuli. Consistent within-problem learning was obtained but learning set formation was minimal. An analysis of hypothesis behavior (Levine, 1959) revealed a strong tendency towards position and stimulus preferences. These results raise the possibility of large species differences in learning set formation within the family Corvid

Taxonomy And Zoogeography Of Lemmus Spp. (Rodentia: Arvicolinae), With Notes On Laboratory-Reared Lemmings, Robert L. Rausch, Virginia R. Rausch

Harold W. Manter Laboratory of Parasitology: Faculty Publications

Lemmings of the genus Lemmus Link, 1795, have long attracted interest because of the high numerical densities attained at intervals by their populations. In earlier times, in northern Europe, such events seemed so remarkable as to be explained by some as a consequence of the animals' having fallen from the sky (HaGSTROM 1749). During the last 25 years, lemmings have been the object of intensive ecological investigation in Eurasia and North America, although there has been no consensus concerning their taxonomic relationships. In 1959, a colony of brown lemmings from arctic Alaska was established in our laboratory, primarily to provide …

Karyotype Of Geomys Pinetis (Mammalia: Geomyidae), With A Discussion Of The Chromosomal Relationships Within The Genus, S. L. Williams, Hugh H. Genoways

University of Nebraska State Museum: Mammalogy Papers

Summary. Four of the five subspecies of Geomys pinetis were karyotyped. All specimens examined had a diploid number of 42 and a fundamental number of 80. This karyotype was compared with the described karyotypes of other species of Geomys and was considered to be derived from an ancestoral form having a karyotype of about 70 acrocentric elements.

Biological Inventory In Conjunction With The Las Vegas Wash Unit, Colorado River Basin Salinity Control Act Title Ii (P.L. 93-320), W. Glen Bradley, J. Scott Miller

Publications (WR)

The present report is a biological inventory in conjunction with the Las Vegas Wash Unit, Colorado River Basin Salinity Control Act, Title II. The boundaries of the project encompass sections of North Las Vegas, Las Vegas, East Las Vegas and areas along Las Vegas Wash extending to its drainage point in Las Vegas Bay in Lake Mead. Therefore, it encompasses a wide array of ecological situations and landscapes ranging from essentially natural to various stages of urban development. This biological inventory presents basic ecological classifications, descriptions of vegetation, lists of vascular plants and vertebrates known to occur in the area. …

Homing Studies Of Bank Swallows In Eastern Illinois, Jennifer Eileen Hagerstrom

Masters Theses

A series of homing experiments using 39 color-marked Bank Swallows (Riparia riparia) were carried out in eastern Illinois during the summer of 1975. The swallow colony was located four km east-northeast of Charleston, Illinois at the Charleston Stone Quarry. Eight release sites were located in the four compass directions from the home colony at distances of 14.4 to 32.3 km away.

The colony was approached before dawn and swallows were captured using tube traps. Birds were color-marked, banded, and taken in individual bags to the release site by automobile. Cloud cover, wind velocity, wind direction, and orientation behavior …

Breeding Bird Study On The Douglas-Hart Nature Preserve, An East-Central Illinois Modified Oldfield, Charles F. Zimmer

Masters Theses

No abstract provided.