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Effect Of Observed Biological And Non-Biological Movement On Human Action And Coordination, Walter L. Campbell

Honors Theses

Recently, it has been demonstrated that an individual’s rhythmic limb movements exhibit greater variability when viewing spatially incongruent biological limb movements, but not when viewing spatially incongruent non-biological movements. Some researchers have concluded that a ‘mirror-neuron system’ might mediate the intrinsic bidirectional link between perception and action underlying interpersonal, but not environmental, coordination (e.g., Kilner et al., 2003; Tognoli et al., 2007). The current study aimed to: 1) contest this recent finding; and 2) demonstrate that the self-organized entrainment processes of coupled oscillators can explain the differing influences of biological and non-biological movements. In the first experiment, participants intentionally coordinated …

Phosphorus Primer For Maine’S Lakes, Lindsay B. Philips

Honors Theses

Phosphorus plays a major role in aquatic systems and the life that they support. It is a macronutrient that constitutes 0.5lf microorganisms and zooplankton by mass. Phosphorus is of great importance in terrestrial, agricultural, and plant systems as a macronutrient, and when it comes to aquatic systems, we tend to look at phosphorus in terms of its influence on lake primary productivity. Lakes are often phosphorus sinks because they are maintained by hydrological sources that are capable of causing nutrient influx. To understand phosphorus cycling in lake systems, it is important to consider the many sources and forms of phosphorus …

Determination Of Photochemically Produced Carbon Dioxide In Seawater, Emily M. White, David J. Kieber, Kenneth Mopper

Chemistry & Biochemistry Faculty Publications

An analytical system was developed to determine photochemically produced carbon dioxide in marine waters. Our system was designed to measure low levels of carbon dioxide by maintaining a closed system to prevent atmospheric contamination during sample preparation, irradiation, and analysis. To detect low levels of photoproduced carbon dioxide in seawater, background dissolved inorganic carbon (DIC) was removed before irradiation. To strip out DIC, samples were acidified to pH 3.0 (converting DIC to carbon dioxide) and bubbled with low carbon dioxide air. The pH was then readjusted back to the original value, and the resulting low-DIC seawater samples were transferred pneumatically …

Nesting And Brood-Rearing Success And Resource Selection Of Greater Sage-Grouse In Northwestern South Dakota, Nicholas W. Kaczor

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Understanding population dynamics and resource selection is crucial in developing wildlife resource management plans, particularly for sensitive species. Greater sage-grouse (Centrocercus urophasianus) populations have declined range-wide at a rate of 2% per year from 1965 to 2003. In South Dakota, populations have generally declined. Reasons for the decline are mostly attributed to human-induced factors such as sagebrush degradation and removal, improper range management practices, oil and gas exploration, and West Nile virus infection. Sage-grouse occupy habitats at the eastern edge of their range in western South Dakota. We conducted a 2-year study to investigate the nesting and brood-rearing ecology of …

Refuge Update – January/February 2008, Volume 5, Number 1

RefugeUpdate (USFWS-NWRS)

Table of Contents:
Forces of Nature Wreak Havoc, page 3
Focus on…Contaminants, pages 8-15
Volunteers Tell Their Stories, pages 18-19
Whatever Happened to . . ., page 22

Nebraska Cooperative Fish And Wildlife Research Unit—Usgs: Report Of Activities October 2007 – October 2008

Nebraska Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit: Annual Reports

CONTENTS
INTRODUCTION . 1
PERSONNEL AND COOPERATORS . 3
Unit Personnel . 3
Coordinating Committee Members . 5
Cooperators. 6
MILESTONES . 9
AWARDS AND RECOGNITIONS . 10
THESES AND DISERTATIONS . 10
PROJECTS IN FISHERY SCIENCE . 13
Geographic Trends in Contamination of Nebraska’s Surface Waters as Indexed by Sex Steroids of Common Carp . 15
Impact of White Perch on Walleye at Branched Oak and Pawnee Reservoirs . 16
Population Assessment of Channel Catfish in Nebraska . 17
Predators of White Perch at Branched Oak and Pawnee Reservoirs . 18
Recruitment of Walleye and White Bass in Irrigation …

The Communicator, Volume 4, Issue 2, October 2008

The Communicator: News from the Nebraska Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit

Changing Faces Adaptive Management New Research Geographic Trends in Contamination of Nebraska’s Surface Waters as Indexed by Sex Steroids of Common Carp Southeast Prairies BUL and Sandstone Prairies BUL Research Current Research Assessing the Relationship between Stable Isotopes and Grassland Bird Productivity on Great Plains National Park Service Properties Cross-Scale Structure in Ecosystems Diversity and Ecological Functions Impact of White Perch on Walleye; and Predators of White Perch at Branched Oak and Pawnee Reservoirs Conferences/Meetings/Workshops Graduate Student News (Aaron Alai; Nathan (Nate) Gosch; Christopher (Chris) Lewis; Aaron Lotz; Annabel Major; Dustin Martin; Thaddeus (Thad) Miller; Kristine Nemec; Sarah Rehme; Lindsey …

Development And Evaluation Of A Bioenergetics Model For The Inland Silverside In Freshwater Systems, Christopher J. Chizinski, Caleb G. Huber, Kevin L. Pope

Nebraska Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit: Staff Publications

Consumption and respiration parameters were fit for inclusion in a bioenergetics model developed to predict the growth of the inland silverside Menidia beryllina. Although this model accurately predicted inland silverside growth through the initiation of spawning, it failed to predict the growth of reproductively active inland silversides. Model simulations provided initial evidence that a single model cannot predict the lifetime growth patterns of this species. Instead, a two-stage model is probably necessary to account for the physiological differences between the prespawning and active-spawning stages. In addition, the bioenergetics models of short-lived (life span,< 2 years) fishes may need to include a better means for assessing the direct energy expenditure for reproduction.

Power Laws, Discontinuities And Regional City Size Distributions, Ahjond S. Garmestani, Craig R. Allen, Colin M. Gallagher

Nebraska Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit: Staff Publications

Urban systems are manifestations of human adaptation to the natural environment. City size distributions are the expression of hierarchical processes acting upon urban systems. In this paper, we test the entire city size distributions for the southeastern and southwestern United States (1990), as well as the size classes in these regions for power law behavior. We interpret the differences in the size of the regional city size distributions as the manifestation of variable growth dynamics dependent upon city size. Size classes in the city size distributions are snapshots of stable states within urban systems in flux.

Management Plan 2008-2012

National Invasive Species Council

The 2008–2012 National Invasive Species Management Plan (2008 Plan) is the first revision of the 2001 Plan, as mandated by EO 13112. This document will direct Federal efforts (including overall strategy and objectives) to prevent, control and minimize invasive species and their impacts within the next five fiscal years (2008 through 2012). If necessary, it may be updated more frequently to reflect changes in circumstances, agency plans and priorities. NISC member agencies, ISAC members, NISC staff, stakeholders and other experts have provided input in drafting this revision, which replaces the 2001 Plan.

The 2008 Plan is focused upon five “Strategic …

Remarks Of The Director, U.S. National Park Service, At The Plenary Session On North American Park Directors And Global Change, Mary A. Bomar

United States National Park Service: Publications

Thank you, Ernie [Ortega] for your kind introduction. I am honored to be here this evening and to share the microphone with my colleagues, Ernesto Enkerlin and Alan Latourelle. Global change is expansive, inescapable, and all encompassing—and central to the challenges and opportunities the three of us share with everyone in this room. It is our shared privilege to have this chance to address the George Wright Society, which collectively represents the thoughtful analysis of what we manage and where we are headed. Management of protected areas is impossible unless we recognize the need for anticipation of and reaction to …

Effective Resource Advising And Suppression Rehabilitation, Baer Teams, Planning, And Assessments, Sandee Dingman

United States National Park Service: Publications

During fire management activities, whether that management is suppression or wildland fire use (where natural ignitions are allowed to burn under specific conditions for resource benefit), it is essential that resource concerns are communicated to the incident commander. The most common approach is to assign one or more people from the resource management staff to the incident, in the role of resource advisor(s). The resource advisor provides daily input to the incident commander or his/her designee, often the plans chief, in the development of fire suppression strategies and tactics to minimize or mitigate the expected impacts of fire and fire …

Paleontological Parks And Global Change, Regan Dunn, Theodore Fremd, Matthew Smith

United States National Park Service: Publications

Paleontology, the study of organisms and processes preserved in a geologic context, can be practiced in over 180 units of the national park system. Much more than just the collecting of different kinds of fossils to be stored in a museum, the study of the fossil record is the only means by which we can understand past climatic changes and the effects of such changes on biotas (changes such as extinction, speciation, immigration, and evolutionary events). In combination with the fossil record, comprehensive studies of geological, sedimentological, and geochemical records can inform us about other aspects of major climatic perturbations …

The Science Of Large Dam Removal: Removing Dams On The Elwha River, Olympic National Park, Jerry Freilich

United States National Park Service: Publications

This paper centers on the development of a research consortium to study ecological effects of dam removal. Long-time public interest has centered on the National Park Service’s plan to remove two hydropower dams from the Elwha River in Olympic National Park. The Elwha is not only the largest dam removal ever attempted but is also unique in that land above the dams is within Olympic National Park, removing the confounding anthropogenic factors in other dam removals nationwide. I will provide a general update on the project to set the scene for the science part, which is actually the story I …

When It’S Better Not To Manage Nps Resources, Jerry Freilich, Phillip Cafaro

United States National Park Service: Publications

We believe that this means preserving the full complement of native flora and fauna, and allowing these species to live their lives without interference from humans. It also means preserving unruly, unpredictable processes such as fires, floods, and insect outbreaks that have shaped park landscapes and, over the eons, helped create wild species themselves.

Since its inception, the “leave nature alone” philosophy has had strong advocates within the Park Service and among its friends. In the 1920s, for example, George Wright (NPS scientist), Joseph Grinnell (Zoology professor at the University of California–Berkeley), and Charles C. Adams (at the College of …

Great Lakes Research And Education Center, Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore: Connecting Research, Education, And Outreach Through Research Internships, Joy Marburger

United States National Park Service: Publications

The National Park Service (NPS) initiated the Natural Resources Challenge in 1999. The Challenge resulted in the development of research learning centers (RLCs) throughout the country. The RLCs increase the effectiveness and communication of scientific research in national parks by (1) facilitating use of parks for scientific inquiry; (2) supporting sciencebased decision-making; (3) communicating current research information; and (4) promoting resource stewardship through partnerships. RLCs initiate, support, and implement a wide variety of research projects and provide opportunities for university students to work with researchers and park managers. The Great Lakes Research and Education Center initiated a university student research …

The Role Of Protected Areas As Bird Stop-Over Habitat: Ecology And Habitat Utilization By Migrating Land Birds Within Colorado River Riparian Forests Of Southwestern North America, Charles Van Riper Iii, Kristina L. Paxton, Carena J. Van Riper, Kimberly A. Van Riper, Laura Mcgrath, J. J. Fontaine

Nebraska Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit: Staff Publications

In southwestern North America, riparian habitats have declined precipitously in the last century both within and outside protected areas such as national parks,U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service refuges, and Bureau of Land Management and biosphere reserve lands. These declines are primarily due to anthropogenic perturbations such as alterations in river flow regimes, agricultural conversion, livestock grazing, and urban expansion (Webb et al. 2003). In the southwestern United States and northwestern Mexico the decline of riparian habitat and loss of native cottonwood (Populus fremontii), willow (Salix gooddingii) gallery forests, and adjacent mesquite (Prosopis sp.) bosques has …

A Simple Model For Predicting Survival Of Angler-Caught And Released Largemouth Bass, Gene R. Wilde, Kevin L. Pope

Nebraska Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit: Staff Publications

We conducted a controlled experiment in the laboratory to assess the influence of anatomical hooking location and water temperature on survival of angler-caught and released largemouth bass Micropterus salmoides. Survival was 98% (58 of 59 fish) among fish that were hand-hooked within the oral cavity (including the gills), whereas survival was 66% (33 of 50 fish) among fish that were hand-hooked in the esophagus. Survival of hooked fish was not significantly influenced by water temperature (7–27 °C) or the hooking location × water temperature interaction. We combined our results with prior research to develop a predictive model of largemouth bass …

Genetic Isolation And Morphological Divergence Of Black Sea Bottlenose Dolphins, Karine A. Viaud-Martineza, Robert L. Brownell Jr., Andrew J. Bohonak, Anastasia Komnenouc

United States Department of Commerce: Staff Publications

The Black Sea is a semi-enclosed body of water that differs from the adjacent Mediterranean Sea in terms of its biodiversity, oceanographical and ecological characteristics. There is growing international concern about pollution in the Black Sea and other anthropogenic threats to its fauna. The bottlenose dolphin (Tursiops truncatus) is one of three species of cetaceans living in the Azov-Black Sea basin. Despite considerable research on bottlenose dolphins elsewhere, the extent of human impacts on the Black Sea populations is unknown. Previous attempts to award special conservation status to Black Sea cetaceans have failed specifically because policy makers have viewed their …

Spatial Methods For Plot-Based Sampling Of Wildlife Populations, Jay M. Ver Hoef

United States Department of Commerce: Staff Publications

Classical sampling methods can be used to estimate the mean of a finite or infinite population. Block kriging also estimates the mean, but of an infinite population in a continuous spatial domain. In this paper, I consider a finite population version of block kriging (FPBK) for plot-based sampling. The data are assumed to come from a spatial stochastic process. Minimizing mean-squared-prediction errors yields best linear unbiased predictions that are a finite population version of block kriging. FPBK has versions comparable to simple random sampling and stratified sampling, and includes the general linear model. This method has been tested for several …

An Animal Movement Model Incorporating Home Range And Habitat Selection, Aaron Christ, Jay Ver Hoef, Dale L. Zimmerman

United States Department of Commerce: Staff Publications

Wildlife biologists are often interested in how an animal uses space and the habitat resources within that space. We propose a single model that estimates an animal’s home range and habitat selection parameters within that range while accounting for the inherent autocorrelation in frequently sampled telemetry data. The model is applied to brown bear telemetry data in southeast Alaska.

Letter To The Editor: Comment On ‘‘Toxicity Of Weathered Exxon Valdez Crude Oil To Pink Salmon Embryos’’, Ron A. Heintz, Jeffrey W. Short, Stanley D. Rice, Mark G. Carls

United States Department of Commerce: Staff Publications

We take issue with an article by Brannon et al. in Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry questioning the validity of our work on the toxicity of petroleum-derived polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) to the early life stages of fish. Beginning in 1997, we published a series of articles demonstrating adverse effects in response to PAH exposure at concentrations in the low parts per billion. Based on their attempt to reproduce our results, Brannon et al. argue that the effects we described were an artifact caused by contact with PAH-laden oil microdroplets instead of dissolved PAHs and, therefore, that our results likely are …

Some Fungi And Water Molds In Waters Of Lake Michigan With Emphasis On Those Associated With The Benthic Amphipod Diporeia Spp., Bozena Kiziewicz, Thomas F. Nalepa

United States Department of Commerce: Staff Publications

To determine types of fungi in the water and associated with the benthic amphipod Diporeia spp., samples were collected at various depths in Lake Michigan in an area where the Diporeia population was in a severe state of decline. No fungi were found associated with living, freshly-dead, or dried Diporeia cultured separately from Lake Michigan water. When dead Diporeia and other organic substrates (snake skin and hemp seeds) were used to grow fungi in Lake Michigan water, a rich and diverse fungal and water mold community was revealed. A total of 31 species were found, with the most common genera …

Apparent Tolerance Of Turkey Vultures (Cathartes Aura) To The Non-Steroidal Anti-Inflammatory Drug Diclofenac, Barnett A. Rattner, Maria A. Whitehead, Grace Gasper, Carol U. Meteyer, William A. Link, Mark A. Taggart, Andrew A. Meharg, Oliver H. Pattee, Deborah J. Pain

United States Geological Survey: Staff Publications

The nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug diclofenac is extremely toxic to Old World Gyps vultures (median lethal dose ~0.1–0.2 mg/kg), evoking visceral gout, renal necrosis, and mortality within a few days of exposure. Unintentional secondary poisoning of vultures that fed upon carcasses of diclofenac-treated livestock decimated populations in the Indian subcontinent. Because of the widespread use of diclofenac and other cyclooxygenase-2 inhibiting drugs, a toxicological study was undertaken in turkey vultures (Cathartes aura) as an initial step in examining sensitivity of New World scavenging birds. Two trials were conducted entailing oral gavage of diclofenac at doses ranging from 0.08 to …

Detection, Occurrence And Fate Of Emerging Contaminants In Agricultural Environments (2008), Daniel D. Snow, Shannon L. Bartelt-Hunt, Samuel E. Saunders, Shannon L. Devivo, David A. Cassada

Nebraska Water Center: Faculty Publications

Agricultural settings are affected by a unique set of environmental contaminants typically associated with land use. Nutrients and sediments from run-off and erosion have historically been, and continue to be, studied and understood with respect to their impacts to aquatic environments. Studies involving newer classes of contaminants, such as pharmaceuticals and steroids, are becoming more prevalent as methods for measuring these compounds become available. These “emerging” contaminants clearly have potential to enter the environment and cause known or suspected adverse ecological or human health effects. Release of these contaminants to the environment has occurred for quite some time, but methods …

Newsletter Of The Wildlife Society Wildlife Damage Management Working Group Interactions: Volume 14 Issue 1 Winter 2008

TWS Wildlife Damage Management Working Group Newsletter

New Board Members Selected; Feel like You’ve Been There Before? Letters F Rom Art; New Publications: HWC Volume 2-1 Now Available; Call For Posters: 23rd Vertebrate Pest Conference; Decision 2007! Election Results - Meet the New Board Members; Calls From The Field (Or A House, Or A Farm, Or A…); 23rd Vertebrate Pest Conference San Diego California; 2008 National Conference On Feral Hogs; Call for Papers: 2008 National Conference on Feral Hogs; Call for Papers: Habitat and the Predation Process A Special Symposium at the 2008 TWS Meeting; Human-Wildlife Conflict In The News; Recent Wildlife Damage Management Research; The Wildlife …

Role Of Microtubules In Budding Yeast Cytokinesis, Su Young Park

Masters Theses

"Cytokinesis is an important step to finish cell cycle events and separate into two daughter cells. This event is driven by actomyosin ring contraction. In budding yeast, the mitotic exit network (MEN) controls completion of ana/telophase by signaling events. Bub2 is a mitotic exit network regulator and binds to Tem1p which is an important component in MEN. Mad2 is a component of a separate spindle checkpoint. Mad2 dependent pathway prevents the metaphase to anaphase transition under spindle damage. Because yeast cells have cell walls, septum formation follows actin ring contraction. Here it was investigated how microtubule defects affect cytokinesis in …

Impacts Of The Black Bear Supplemental Feeding Program On Ecology In Western Washington, Georg J. Ziegltrum

Human–Wildlife Interactions

Black bears (Ursus americanus) are opportunistic omnivores (Simpson 1945) that feed on grasses, grubs, insects, berries, human garbage, and they scavenge from animal carcasses (Cotton 2008, Thiemann et al. 2008). During the spring, they also girdle trees to feed on the newly forming phloem (Poelker and Hartwell 1973, Noble and Meslow 1998, Partridge et al. 2001). Extensive black bear damage to conifers coincided with the beginning of intensive forest management on industrial and smaller private lands in western Washington during the early 1940s; high-yield tree plantations (i.e., tree farms) required protection to reduce tree girdling by black bears. …

Sharpshooting Suburban White-Tailed Deer Reduces Deer–Vehicle Collisions, Anthony J. Denicola, Scott C. Williams

Human–Wildlife Interactions

Too many deer–vehicle collisions (DVCs) are one of the primary reasons local governments implement lethal deer management programs. However, there are limited data to demonstrate that a reduction in deer (Odocoileus spp.) densities will result in a decline in DVCs. We conducted sharpshooting programs in 3 suburban communities to reduce deer numbers and to address rising DVCs. Annual or periodic population estimates were conducted using both helicopter snow counts and aerial infrared counts to assess population trends. Management efforts were conducted from 3 to 7 years. Local deer herds were reduced by 54%, 72%, and 76%, with resulting reductions …

Factors Affecting Road Mortality Of Whitetailed Deer In Eastern South Dakota, Troy W. Grovenburg, Jonathan A. Jenks, Robert W. Klaver, Kevin L. Monteith, Dwight H. Galster, Ron J. Shauer, Wilbert W. Morlock, Joshua A. Delger

Human–Wildlife Interactions

White-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) mortalities (n = 4,433) caused by collisions with automobiles during 2003 were modeled in 35 counties in eastern South Dakota. Seventeen independent variables and 5 independent variable interactions were evaluated to explain deer mortalities.