Digital Commons Network^™

Photosynthetic Response Of Soybean To Twospotted Spider Mite (Acari: Tetranychydae) Injury, Adeney De Freitas Bueno, Regiane Cristina Oliveira De Freitas Bueno, Paul David Nabity, Leon George Higley, Odair Aparecido Fernandes

School of Natural Resources: Faculty Publications

The twospotted spider mite Tetranychus urticae Koch is a common pest on soybean plants. To clarify plantarthropod interaction on mite-soybean system, leaf fluorescence, photosynthetic responses to variable carbon dioxide levels, and chlorophyll content were evaluated. Significant photosynthetic rate reduction was observed due to stomatal limitation. Stomatal closure was the major plant physiological response. As a consequence, there was reduction in photosynthetic rates. Surprisingly, plants did not show chlorophyll content reduction associated with photosynthetic impairment. No differences in fluorescence data indicate that T. urticae injury did not impair the function of light harvesting and photoelectron transport. These results showed that T. …

Hydrochemistry Of Wetlands Along The Platte River Near Ashland, Nebraska, Carrie L. Wiese

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

No abstract provided.

Measuring And Modeling Co2 And H2O Fluxes In Complex Terrain, Diego Andrés Riveros-Iregui, Brian L. Mcglynn

School of Natural Resources: Faculty Publications

The feedbacks between the water and the carbon cycles are of critical importance to global carbon balances. Forests and forest soils in northern latitudes are important carbon pools because of their potential as sinks for atmospheric carbon. However there are significant unknowns related to the effects of hydrologic variability, mountainous terrain, and landscape heterogeneity in controlling soil carbon dioxide (CO₂) efflux. Mountainous terrain imposes large spatial heterogeneity in the biophysical controls of soil CO₂ production and efflux, including soil temperature, soil water content, vegetation, substrate, and soil physical properties. Further complications are introduced by the superimposed temporal …

Isotopic Evidence Of Methane Oxidation Across The Surface Water–Ground Water Interface, Diego Andrés Riveros-Iregui, Jennifer Y. King

School of Natural Resources: Faculty Publications

Biogenic methane (CH₄) from wetlands plays a crucial role in the carbon cycle, but the dynamics of dissolved methane flux across the surface water-ground water interface remain poorly understood. This study focused on the effects of spatial transformation of dissolved methane and the role of ground-water recharge in the distribution of dissolved methane across the surface water-ground water interface. Here we present carbon isotopic measurements of biogenic methane and dissolved inorganic carbon (DIC) from the Sarita Wetland, on the St. Paul Campus of the University of Minnesota, and also in six monitoring wells located down gradient from the …

Comparison Of The Fuel Needed To Transport Plastic Recyclables Verses Aluminum Recyclables From Yellowstone National Park, Melissa Dejonge

Department of Environmental Studies: Undergraduate Student Theses

Research has provided no definitive answers on whether PET plastic bottles or aluminum cans are a more environmentally sustainable choice as soda containers. This paper researches the fuel used in recycling each of these materials from Yellowstone National Park to processing locations. The data is used to determine which of these alternatives use less fuel in this process. It was found that plastics use more fuel when transported from Yellowstone National Park to the processing center. Aluminum uses less fuel per ton to transport from Yellowstone to the processing center. The conclusions from this research may have implications on which …

Benchmarking Corn Water Productivity In Nebraska Irrigated Cropping Systems, Kenneth Cassman

Nebraska Center for Energy Sciences Research: White Papers and Presentations

Improving corn water productivity is the key to meet the challenge of ever tightening water resources for irrigation and greater demands for food, feed and fuel. Corn grain yield per unit of water supply must therefore be increased dramatically in Nebraska and globally. In Nebraska, ≈80% of the irrigated land is for corn production. At present, there is a substantial exploitable gap between actual farm yields and attainable yields. This reflects, in part, inefficient use of water supply, and/or other non‐water related yield constraints. Boundary functions define the relationship of yield with water supply and are used to benchmark crop …

Energy Conservation Through Improved Irrigation Pumping Plant Performance, William Kranz

Nebraska Center for Energy Sciences Research: White Papers and Presentations

Nebraska has approximately 90,000 active irrigation wells that are powered by electric motors or gasoline, natural gas, propane or diesel fueled engines. Pumping plant performance data collected prior to 1990 indicated an average performance rating of 77 percent of the Nebraska Pumping Plant Performance Criteria (NPPPC). More recent tests confirm that pumping plant performance remains well below the Nebraska Criteria. Though significant improvement has been made in the brake horsepower output per unit of fuel for internal combustion engines, recent increases in fuel costs have more than doubled pumping costs during the past 3 years. Efficient irrigation pumping plants could …

Improving The Efficiency Of Water And Energy Use In Nebraska’S Irrigation Soybean Production Systems, James Specht

Nebraska Center for Energy Sciences Research: White Papers and Presentations

The use of irrigation in Nebraska’s soybean production systems has steadily increased to the extent that irrigated soybean acreage in recent years has accounts for about 45% of State total soybean acreage. Technological advances in irrigation equipment can greatly improve on‐farm water application efficiencies (with respect to both energy and water). However, producer adoption of these advances is very slow because of the capital expenditures required for irrigation system upgrades. An alternative approach is greater producer adoption and use of irrigation water management strategies that ensure that water is scheduled and applied in a just‐in‐time fashion, which also optimizes water …

Phylotyping And Functional Analysis Of Two Ancient Human Microbiomes, Raúl Y. Tito, Simone Macmil, Graham Wiley, Fares Najar, Lauren Cleeland, Chunmei Qu, Ping Wang, Frederic Romagne, Sylvain Leonard, Agustín Jiménez Ruiz, Karl Reinhard, Bruce A. Roe, Cecil M. Lewis, Jr.

School of Natural Resources: Faculty Publications

Background: The Human Microbiome Project (HMP) is one of the U.S. National Institutes of Health Roadmap for Medical Research. Primary interests of the HMP include the distinctiveness of different gut microbiomes, the factors influencing microbiome diversity, and the functional redundancies of the members of human microbiotas. In this present work, we contribute to these interests by characterizing two extinct human microbiotas.

Methodology/Principal Findings: We examine two paleofecal samples originating from cave deposits in Durango Mexico and dating to approximately 1300 years ago. Contamination control is a serious issue in ancient DNA research; we use a novel approach to control contamination. …

Refuge Update – November/December 2008, Volume 5, Number 6

RefugeUpdate (USFWS-NWRS)

Table of Contents:

Do-It-Yourself Project Makes Sparks, page 3 The Departments of the Interior and Energy spotlight San Andres Refuge’s innovative (and largely homemade) renewable energy program.

In Oregon, a Refuge Teaches Teachers, page 5 Tualatin River National Wildlife Refuge’s ambitious environmental education program acquires a solid reputation.

Focus on . . . International Conservation, pages 6-11 National resource managers around the world look to the Refuge System for on-the-scene advice and training.

Taking Pride, page 16 A former refuge complex project leader in Texas and a super-volunteer in Georgia win 2008 Take Pride in America Awards.

Lifestyle Of Shellmound Builders In Brazil (Galley Proofs), Sabine Eggers, C. C. Petronilho, K. Brandt, J. Filippini, Karl J. Reinhard

School of Natural Resources: Faculty Publications

The contact of inland and coastal prehistoric groups in Brazil is believed to have been restricted to regions with no geographical barrier, as is the case in the Ribeira de Iguape valley. The inland osteological collection from the riverine shellmound Moraes (5800–4500 BP) represents a unique opportunity to test this assumption for this region. Despite cultural similarities between riverine and coastal shellmounds, important ecological and site distribution differences are expected to impact on lifestyle. The purpose of this study is thus to document and interpret health and lifestyle indicators in Moraes in comparison to coastal shellmound groups. Specifically we test …

Some Significant Wildlife Strikes To Civil Aircraft In The United States, January 1990 – September 2008, Sandra Wright

Other Bird Strike and Aviation Materials

The U.S. Department of Agriculture, through an interagency agreement with the Federal Aviation Administration, compiles a database of all reported wildlife strikes to U.S. civil aircraft and to foreign carriers experiencing strikes in the USA. We have compiled over 82,057 strike reports from 1,418 USA airports and 207 foreign airports for January 1990 through December 2007 (7,666 strikes in 2007), but estimate that this represents only about 20% of the strikes that have occurred. The following examples from the database are presented to show the serious impacts that strikes by birds or other wildlife can have on aircraft. These examples, …

A Landowner’S Guide To Common North American Predators Of Upland-Nesting Birds, Terry A. Messmer, Michael R. Conover, Raymond D. Dueser, Paul W. Klimack, Charles E. Dixon

Other Publications in Wildlife Management

Predation has been identified as a key factor limiting upland-nesting bird reproductive success in many studies. These results suggest that the effects of predation could be reduced by establishing and maintaining suitable nesting habitats. In several studies, habitat management alone was able to maintain populations of upland-nesting birds at or slightly above threshold believed necessary to sustain populations. However, additional studies also have shown that avian populations increased substantially after predator populations were reduced or nesting birds were protected by restricting predator access through the use of electric fencing or creating nesting islands. These practices, however, need to be implemented …

Hybridization Among Three Native North American Canis Species In A Region Of Natural Sympatry, Frank Hailer, Jennifer A. Leonard

Rocky Mountain Wolf Recovery: Annual Reports

Background: Population densities of many species throughout the world are changing due to direct persecution as well as anthropogenic habitat modification. These changes may induce or increase the frequency of hybridization among taxa. If extensive, hybridization can threaten the genetic integrity or survival of endangered species. Three native species of the genus Canis, coyote (C. latrans), Mexican wolf (C. lupus baileyi) and red wolf (C. rufus), were historically sympatric in Texas, United States. Human impacts caused the latter two to go extinct in the wild, although they survived in captive breeding programs. Morphological data demonstrate historic reproductive isolation between all …

Water Current, Volume 40, No. 4, Fall 2008

Water Current Newsletter

2009 Tour looks at San Francisco Bay-Delta Area
Meet the Faculty: Haishun Yang, Charles A. Shapiro
When Water Meets Money Topic of Conference
From the Director: Biofuels, Trends in Impacts on Water Demand, Supply and Quality
Nebraska Water Map Illustrates State Water Issues
Fourteen Lectures in UNL’s Spring Semester Water Series
How Human Pharmaceuticals Threaten Water Quality: A Primer on Emerging Contaminants, Part Two
Decommissioning Out-Of-Service Water Wells to Protect Water Quality
IANR/Extension Adopts “Water” Theme for 2008 Husker Harvest Days Show at Grand Island
2008 Water Colloquium, Oct. 16, 2008, UNL Hardin Hall, Lincoln
Water Resources Advisory Panel Updates …

North Pacific Right Whale (Eubalaena Japonica) Seasonal And Diel Calling Patterns From Long-Term Acoustic Recordings In The Southeastern Bering Sea, 2000–2006, Lisa Munger, Sean Wiggins, Sue Moore, John Hildebrand

United States Department of Commerce: Staff Publications

We assessed North Pacific right whale (Eubalaena japonica) seasonal and daily calling patterns in the southeastern Bering Sea (SEBS) using long-term hydrophone recordings from October 2000 through January 2006. We detected right whale calls on the SEBS middle shelf (<100 m depth) as early as May, intermittently throughout summer and fall, and as late as December. Calls also were detected on one day in June 2005 on the SEBS slope (>1,000 m), but were not detected near Kodiak Island from April to August 2003. In months with calls, detections occurred on more days in July–October (≥6 d/mo), than from May to June or November to December (≤3 d/mo). Calls were clustered in time and were usually detected on 1–3 consecutive days with a median interval of 6.5 d …

Familiarity With Breeding Habitat Improves Daily Survival In Colonial Cliff Swallows, Charles R. Brown, Mary Bomberger Brown, Kathleen R. Brazeal

School of Natural Resources: Faculty Publications

One probable cost of dispersing to a new breeding habitat is unfamiliarity with local conditions such as the whereabouts of food or the habits of local predators, and consequently immigrants may have lower probabilities of survival than more experienced residents. Within a breeding season, estimated daily survival probabilities of cliff swallows, Petrochelidon pyrrhonota, at colonies in southwestern Nebraska, USA, were highest for birds that had always nested at the same site, followed by those for birds that had nested there in some (but not all) past years. Daily survival probabilities were lowest for birds that were naive immigrants to …

Indiana Wildlife Disease News, Volume 3, Issue 4 – October 2008

Indiana Wildlife Disease News

Inside this issue:
• Leptospirosis
• BVD in Deer
• EHD update
• The Vector cross over stories
• New publication on lead and natural resources from The Wildlife Society
• The Vector and the IWDN
• TWS Technical Review on Lead
• Michigan Wildlife Disease Manual
• Upcoming Wildlife Disease Conf.
• EHD Update
• Dean Zimmerman Bio
• Midwest Wildlife Disease Update

Scwds Briefs: Volume 24, Number 3 (October 2008), Gary L. Doster , Editor, Scwds Briefs, Michael J. Yabsley

Southeastern Cooperative Wildlife Disease Study: Publications

Table of Contents:

Piroplasmosis in Florida Horses

Bovine TB Update

Newcastle Disease in Cormorants

Frog Virus in a Box Turtle

SCWDS Vesicular Stomatitis Research Update

Faculty and Staff Changes at SCWDS

Lead Study Results Reported

Lead Ammo and Tackle Review

Our Energizer Bunny

Demographics And Spatio-Temporal Signature Of The Biotoxin Domoic Acid In California Sea Lion (Zalophus Californianus) Stranding Records, Adriana Bejarano, Frances Gulland, Tracey Goldstein, Judy St. Leger, Michele Hunter, Lori Schwacke, Frances Vandolah, Teri Rowles

United States Department of Commerce: Staff Publications

California sea lions (Zalophus californianus) in otherwise good nutritional condition have been consistently affected by the marine biotoxin domoic acid since the late 1990s. In this study we evaluated the temporal and spatial stranding patterns of suspected and confirmed cases of domoic acid intoxicated sea lions from 1998 to 2006, using records of strandings along the California coast obtained from members of the California Marine Mammal Stranding Network. The majority of domoic acid cases were adult females (47%–82% of the total annual domoic acid cases), a contrast to strandings that were not related to domoic acid, which were …

Droughtscape- Fall 2008, Kelly Smith

Droughtscape, Quarterly Newsletter of NDMC, 2007-

Washington Workshops Scheduled for November

Look for Warm West, Rainy Gulf, Easing Drought

New Drought Monitor Authors Profiled

Drought Impact Awareness Growing: Weather Forecast Offices, Geographers Highlight Issue

NDMC Takes on New Projects

Hundreds+ See NDMC at Ag Trade Show

NDMC Welcomes New Employees

Droughtscape- Fall 2008, Kelly Smith

Droughtscape, Quarterly Newsletter of NDMC, 2007-

Washington Workshops Scheduled for November

Look for Warm West, Rainy Gulf, Easing Drought

New Drought Monitor Authors Profiled

Drought Impact Awareness Growing: Weather Forecast Offices, Geographers Highlight Issue

NDMC Takes on New Projects

Hundreds+ See NDMC at Ag Trade Show

NDMC Welcomes New Employees

Hybridization Among Three Native North American Canis Species In A Region Of Natural Sympatry, Frank Hailer, Jennifer A. Leonard

Other Publications in Wildlife Management

Background: Population densities of many species throughout the world are changing due to direct persecution as well as anthropogenic habitat modification. These changes may induce or increase the frequency of hybridization among taxa. If extensive, hybridization can threaten the genetic integrity or survival of endangered species. Three native species of the genus Canis, coyote (C. latrans), Mexican wolf (C. lupus baileyi) and red wolf (C. rufus), were historically sympatric in Texas, United States. Human impacts caused the latter two to go extinct in the wild, although they survived in captive breeding programs. Morphological data …

Arctic Report Card 2008: Tracking Recent Environmental Changes, J. Overland, J. Walsh, M. Wang, J. Richter-Menge, J. Comiso, W. Meier, S. Nghiem, D. Perovich, A. Proshutinsky, J. Morison, I. Ashik, E. Carmack, I. Frolov, J. C. Gascard, M. Itoh, R. Krishfield, F. Mclaughlin, I . Polyakov, B. Rudels, U. Schauer, K . Shimada, V. Sokolov, M. Steele, M.-L. Timmermans, J. Toole, V. Romanovsky, R. Armstrong, A. Shiklomanov, D. Walker, G. Jia, J. Box, J. Cappelen, D. Bromwich, L.-S. Bai, T. Mote, B. Veenhuis, N. Mikkelsen, A. Weidick, Michael Svoboda, D. Russell, M.J.J.E. Loonen, C. Zöckler, B. Ebbinge, M. Simpkins, C.D. Sawatzky, J.D. Reist

United States Department of Commerce: Staff Publications

There continues to be widespread and, in some cases, dramatic evidence of an overall warming of the Arctic system.

Atmosphere: 5° C temperature increases were recorded in autumn

Ocean: Observed increase in temperature of surface and deep ocean layers

Sea Ice: Near-record minimum summer sea ice extent

Greenland: Records set in both duration and extent of summer surface melt

Biology: Fisheries and marine mammals impacted by loss of sea ice

Land: Permafrost temperatures tend to increase, while snow extent tends to decrease The Arctic Report Card is introduced as a means of presenting clear, reliable and concise information on recent …

Florida Red Tide And Brevetoxins: Association And Exposure In Live Resident Bottlenose Dolphins (Tursiops Truncates) In The Eastern Gulf Of Mexico, U.S.A., Spencer Fire, Leanne Flewelling, Zhihong Wang, Jerome Naar, Michael Henry, Richard Pierce, Randall Wells

United States Department of Commerce: Staff Publications

Bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus) along the Gulf of Mexico are frequently exposed to blooms of the toxic alga, Karenia brevis, and brevetoxins associated with these blooms have been implicated in several dolphin mortality events. Studies on brevetoxin accumulation in dolphins have typically focused on analyses of carcasses from large-scale die-offs; however, data are scarce for brevetoxin loads in live individuals frequently exposed to K. brevis blooms. This study investigated in vivo brevetoxin exposure in free-ranging bottlenose dolphins resident to Sarasota Bay, Florida, utilizing samples collected during health assessments performed during multiple K. brevis blooms occurring from 2003 …

Acoustic Pingers Eliminate Beaked Whale Bycatch In A Gill Net Fishery, James Carretta, Jay Barlow, Lyle Enriquez

United States Department of Commerce: Staff Publications

Bycatch of beaked whales in gill net fisheries has been documented worldwide (Nicholson 1954, Di Natale 1994, Read 1994, Siliciliano 1994, Julian and Beeson 1998, Waring et al. 2006). Acoustic pingers have been successfully used to reduce bycatch of harbor porpoises (Phocoena phocoena) (Kraus et al. 1997, Trippel et al. 1999, Gearin et al. 2000) and common dolphins (Delphinus delphis) (Barlow and Cameron 2003), but pinger efficacy in reducing beaked whale bycatch has never been evaluated due to the rarity of beaked whale entanglements in fisheries.We report that bycatch of beaked whales in a California drift …

Mammalian Hazards At Small Airports In Indiana: Impact Of Perimeter Fencing, Travis Default, Jacob Kubel, David Glista, Olin E. Rhodes Jr.

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Fences are used at many airports and small airfields to exclude wildlife from entering critical areas. However, not all fences exclude hazardous mammals reliably, and effective fences can be too expensive for small airports to purchase and maintain. In this study, we evaluated fencing at 10 small airports in Indiana and documented the presence and relative abundance of wildlife within airport boundaries using remote cameras and spotlight surveys. Only 4 airports were completely fenced, and four were Odocoileus virginianus) or coyotes (Canis latrans) at nine of the airports with remote cameras and during spotlight surveys. There were fewer …

Historic And Recent Distributions Of Elk In Nebraska, Kent A. Fricke, Michael A. Cover, Scott E. Hygnstrom, Hugh H. Genoways, Scott R. Groepper, Kit Hams, Kurt C. Vercauteren

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Elk (Cervus elaphus) were historically found throughout North America but were extirpated from Nebraska and much of the Great Plains in the 1880s due to consumptive uses by settlers, miners, market hunters, and others. Elk began to reappear in Nebraska in the 1950s and 1960s, and established a stable, nonmigratory population that currently consists of seven herds and an estimated 1,400 individuals throughout western and central Nebraska. The reappearance and subsequent persistence of elk in Nebraska suggests there is adequate habitat to support a self-sustaining population. The general movement of elk eastward may lead to an eventual statewide …

Variations In Stomatal Traits Of 14 Bornean Tree Species Growing On Soils With Different Moisture Contents In Lambir Hills National Park, Whitney Logan Cannon

Department of Environmental Studies: Undergraduate Student Theses

The goal of this study was to look at variations in stomatal traits of tree species on soils with different moisture contents and fertility at Lambir Hills National Park. Stomates are important structures on the surface of leaves that mediate conduction of moisture and gassesin and out of the leaf. If stomatalt raits are important for regulation, then there should be variation in stomatal traits in regards to their soil specialization. The 14 Borneant ree speciess ampledi ncluded6 sandyl oam specialists6, clay specialistsa nd 2 generalistsfo und growing with equald istributionso n both sandyl oam and clay. Confocal microscopy was …

An Assessment Of Shore-Based Counts Of Gray Whales, David Rugh, Marcia Muto, Roderick Hobbs, James Lerczak

United States Department of Commerce: Staff Publications

Counts of migrating whales depend on accurate sightings data. In this study, teams of shore-based observers independently tracked whale pods during the southbound migration of gray whales (Eschrichtius robustus) while a routine (“standard watch”) census was underway. A comparison of sighting records showed that time and location accuracy was limited to 45 s, 3◦ (magnetic) horizontally, and 0.0057◦ (0.2 reticles) vertically. Of 242 attempts to track whale groups, 72 failed, 120 were “good tracks,” and 83 qualified as “best tracks” because they had ≥8 sightings/pod, ≥16-min observation time, and unequivocal matches to sightings in the standard watch during …