Digital Commons Network^™

Review Of Appreciating Your Feathered Neighbors, By Dana Gardner And Nancy Overcott, Melinda G. Knutson

The Prairie Naturalist

Fifty Common Birds of the Upper Midwest. Watercolors by Dana Gardner; text by Nancy Overcott. 2006. University of Iowa Press, Iowa City, Iowa. 106 pages. $34.95 (cloth).

What's the best way to interest a friend in bird watching? Buy them a field guide, a CD of bird songs, or take them out bird watching? All of these ideas might work, but another approach is to tell personal stories and draw pictures of common birds in yards, parks, and natural areas where they live; help them "get to know their neighbors with feathers." That's exactly what Dana Gardner and Nancy Overcott …

In Memoriam Robert N. Randall, October 26, 1915 - January 30, 2007, Clark Talkington

The Prairie Naturalist

Among his friends, Bob Randall will be remembered as a caring, gentle man. Bob was one of those rare individuals who had a keen awareness of everyone around him. In social settings, he would make sure that everyone was comfortable, and it was always clear that he was genuinely concerned about everyone. Those who knew him will greatly miss his gentle nature and enthusiasm for birds. He never got caught up in all of his achievements. He had a sense of balance to his life which was evident in his many interests including birding and bird banding, rocks and minerals, …

A 20-Year Plan For Hunter/Angler Recruitment, Development And Retention In Nebraska

Nebraska Game and Parks Commission: White Papers, Conference Presentations, and Manuscripts

Hunting and fishing are important parts of Nebraska’s rich heritage. These time-honored outdoor pursuits are important to overall lifestyle, well-being and natural resources of the citizens of Nebraska. The North American Model for Conservation was based primarily on the activism from our nation’s hunters and anglers. Their role helped develop and instill the seven basic premises of the model: Wildlife is to be held in public trust, there should be an elimination of market hunting, wildlife should be allocated by law, there should be hunting/angling opportunities for all citizens, wildlife should only be killed for legitimate reasons, wildlife should be …

Solutions Through Science: Economics Of Wildlife Damage Management

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Wildlife is a public resource greatly valued by all Americans. As the stewards of this valuable resource, wildlife managers plan management actions based upon the best biological information available. Often, though, they do not clearly explain the economic benefits of their actions. Thorough economic analyses can aid in the prioritization of management efforts. Additionally, as more citizens request increasing fiscal responsibility from government agencies, wildlife managers can turn to economics to provide information on the financial benefits and costs associated with their management activities.
Within the National Wildlife Research Center (NWRC)—the research arm of the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Wildlife …

First Record Of Field Speedwell From South Dakota, Robert Tatina

The Prairie Naturalist

Veronica agrestis L. (field speedwell or green field speedwell), a member of the Scrophulariaceae, is a small, weedy, prostrate annual with blue or white flowers (Gleason and Cronquist 1991). Until recently, its distribution included most of the eastern half of the United States and the southern two-thirds of the Great Plains, but not South Dakota (http://plants.usda.gov/java/profile?symbol=VEAG &photoID=veag_001_avd.tif, accessed 5 February 2007). Neither the Great Plains Flora Association (1986) nor Van Bruggen (1996) includes this species in the flora of South Dakota; however, the former has it naturalized in southeastern Nebraska and in Iowa (Great Plains Flora Association 1986). In May, …

Using Distance Sampling To Estimate Densities Of White-Tailed Deer In South-Central Minnesota, Michelle A. Larue, Clayton K. Nielsen, Marrett D. Grund

The Prairie Naturalist

Distance sampling is a method of estimating population abundance and density used by wildlife biologists for several species because of its advantages relative to other techniques. However, few wildlife biologists have used distance sampling to estimate abundance of white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus). We describe a distance sampling technique used to estimate prehunt and post-hunt population densities of deer in Watonwan County, Minnesota. Estimates of white-tailed deer density were compared between distance sampling versus population modeling, and costs for distance sampling versus aerial surveys were determined. We drove 2,704 km during 24 spotlight surveys conducted from 21 October to …

Marshes-In Photos And Words. Review Of Marshes: The Disappearing Edens By Bill Burt, Douglas H. Johnson

The Prairie Naturalist

Bill Burt has done it again. The author of two superbly illustrated books (Shadowbirds and Rare and Elusive Birds of North America) that were reviewed earlier in this journal, Burt has returned with another excellent book, this one focusing on marshes. Like his earlier books, Marshes features wonderful close-up views of many hard-to-photograph birds. Here, in addition, are grand images of marsh landscapes and other marsh denizens, especially plants. Burt best characterizes his own book, which he intends as "an evocation and exploration, rather than a catalog of marshland life." He tells of his 30 years spent prowling …

Occurrences Of Small Mammal Species In A Mixedgrass Prairie In Northwestern North Dakota,, Robert K. Murphy, Richard A. Sweitzer, John D. Albertson

The Prairie Naturalist

Documentation is limited for many species of vertebrates in the northern Great Plains, particularly northwestern North Dakota (Bailey 1926, Hall 1981). Here we report relative abundances of small « 450 g) species of mammals that were captured incidental to surveys of amphibians and reptiles at Lostwood National Wildlife Refuge (LNWR) in northwestern North Dakota from 1985 to 1987 and 1999 to 2000. Our records include a modest range extension for one species. We also comment on relationships of small mammals on the refuge to vegetation changes associated with fire and grazing disturbances.

Interactions Of Two Natural Enemies Of Tetranychus Evansi, The Fungal Pathogen Neozygites Floridana (Zygomycetes: Entomophthorales) And The Predatory Mite, Phytoseiulus Longipes (Acari: Phytoseiidae), V. W. Wekesa, G. J. Moraes, M. Knapp, I. Delalibera

All Peer-Reviewed Publications

Tetranychus evansi is an exotic pest of Solanaceous crops in Africa discovered in Zimbabwe in 1979. Two natural enemies, the predatory mite Phytoseiulus longipes and the fungal pathogen Neozygites floridana are important causes of mortality in T. evansi populations in Brazil. The first part of this study assessed the effects of N. floridana on predation and oviposition of P. longipes fed on N. floridana infected T. evansi and T. urticae. No N. floridana hyphal bodies were found in P. longipes after this feeding, demonstrating that N. floridana is not pathogenic to P. longipes and does not affect its oviposition. The …

Environmental Risk Assessment Of Groundwater Recharge In Liwa Aquifer, Entisar Salem Al-Katheeri

Theses

The Abu Dhabi Emirate has witnessed a remarkable development in the various aspects of life during the last three decades. Such rapid development imposes a tremendous pressure on natural resources including water. Conventional water resources in the Emirate are limited. The surface water is almost absent due to the scarcity and randomness of rainfall coupled with the prevailing arid conditions and high evaporation rates. In addition, groundwater is mostly brackish and non-renewable. Over-pumping practices have resulted into a severe decline in the groundwater levels and quality. A large portion of the freshwater demands in the Abu Dhabi Emirate is covered …

Aerobic Biodegradation Of Fuel Oxygenates, Adam M. Gutshall

Theses and Dissertations

Methyl tert-Butyl Ether (MTBE) is the most commonly used fuel oxygenate in the world. Its recalcitrant nature as well as its chemical properties have led to widespread groundwater contamination. Questions regarding its toxicity have spurred a search for viable oxygenate alternatives. Since biodegradability is a key indicator of a chemical’s environmental impact, this research used three different well-known methods, BOD₅, respirometry, and GC analysis, to examine the extent and rates of aerobic biodegradation of MTBE along with tert-butyl alcohol (TBA). The common fuel component toluene was added to some of the samples to determine if the presence of …

A Comprehensive Wetland Program For Fringing Salt Marshes In The York River, Maine, Pamela A. Morgan, Jeremy Miller, Christopher Cayce Dalton, Michele Dionne

Environmental Studies Faculty Publications

The overall goal of this project was to assist the Town of York, Maine, in its efforts to monitor and protect the fringing salt marshes along the York River. In particular, the project focused on potential impacts to the marshes due to shoreline development pressures. Specific objectives included (1) gathering baseline data about the marshes (2) developing a set of indicators to be used in future monitoring, and (3) generating management recommendations.

Education In The Environment: A Hands-On Student Research And Outdoor Learning Experience: Final Project Report, Environmental Education Strategy For Nevada

Reports (PLI Education)

Education in the Environment: A Hands‐on Student Research and Outdoor Learning Experience is a Round 4 Southern Nevada Public Land Management Act (SNPLMA)‐funded project implemented by the University of Nevada, Las Vegas Public Lands Institute on behalf of and in cooperation with four Federal agencies in Southern Nevada. This project consisted of three components: (1) an Interagency Conservation Education and Interpretation Strategy; (2) Discover Mojave Forever Earth, an environmental laboratory and learning center; and (3) Southern Nevada Discover Mojave Outdoor World program.

Usda/Aphis/Wildlife Services Research Needs Assessment 2006, Larry Clark, David Nelson, Kirk Gustad

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Research Needs Assessment Report
Reassessment of WS Research Needs (NWRC Director memo)
WS Research Needs Assessment (WS Deputy Administrator memo to WS Program)
WS Research Needs Assessment (NWRC Director memo to WSNAC)
Current APHIS/WS Methods Development Research

A Hierarchical Analysis Of Habitat Selection By Raccoons In Northern Indiana, James C. Beasley, Travis L. Devault, Monica I. Retamosa, Olin E. Rhodes Jr.

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Although numerous studies have examined habitat use by raccoons (Procyon lotor), information regarding seasonal habitat selection related to resource availability in agricultural landscapes is lacking for this species. Additionally, few studies using radiotelemetry have investigated habitat selection at multiple spatial scales or core-use areas by raccoons. We examined seasonal habitat selection of 55 (31 M, 24 F) adult raccoons at 3 hierarchical orders defined by the movement behavior of this species (second-order home range, second-order core-use area, and third-order home range) in northern Indiana, USA, from May 2003 to June 2005. Using compositional analysis, we assessed whether habitat …

Stress Response Of Working African Elephants To Transportation And Safari Adventures, Joshua J. Millspaugh, Tarryne Burke, Gus Van Dyk, Rob Slotow, Brian E. Washburn, Rami J. Woods

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

African elephants (Loxodonta africana) are intensively managed in southern Africa and are routinely translocated between reserves. Domesticated elephants are used for elephant-back safaris and interactions with guests. Understanding how elephants respond to such activities is critical because of welfare issues associated with both humans and elephants. We investigated the stress response (i.e., fecal glucocorticoid metabolite secretion [FGM]) of working elephants in Letsatsing Game Reserve, South Africa, over 1 year to evaluate their response to transportation and ecotourism activities. We used free-ranging elephants in adjacent Pilanesburg National Park as controls. Fecal glucocorticoid metabolites were greatest prior to and during …

Comparative Patterns Of Predation By Cougars And Recolonizing Wolves In Montana’S Madison Range, Todd C. Atwood, Eric M. Gese, Kyran E. Kunkel

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Numerous studies have documented how prey may use antipredator strategies to reduce the risk of predation from a single predator. However, when a recolonizing predator enters an already complex predator–prey system, specific antipredator behaviors may conflict and avoidance of one predator may enhance vulnerability to another. We studied the patterns of prey selection by recolonizing wolves (Canis lupus) and cougars (Puma concolor) in response to prey resource selection in the northern Madison Range, Montana, USA. Elk (Cervus elaphus) were the primary prey for wolves, and mule deer (Odocoileus hemionus) were the primary …

Mountain Beaver: A Primitive Fossorial Rodent, Wendy M. Arjo

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

As the largest mammalian order, rodents are nearly cosmopolitan in distribution, can exploit a broad spectrum of foods, and can often reach high population densities. One sole representative of the most primitive family of rodents, Aplodontidae, does not share some of these common rodent characteristics. The aplodontoid rodents in the family Aplodontidae and Mylagsulidae radiated during the Miocene from the Allomyinae family (Carraway and Verts 1993). The extinct Mylagaulidae represents the earlier radiation of these rodents who exhibited great specialization (Carraway and Verts 1993). Unlike the other members of the rodent order, mountain beavers are not prolific breeders; nor are …

Subterranean Rodents As Pests: The Case Of The Pocket Gopher, Gary W. Witmer, Richard M. Engeman

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

With over 2000 species, the order Rodentia has more members than any other order of mammals (Nowak 1999). The distribution of rodents is nearly worldwide; their use of habitats is extensive and varied. Most rodent species are relatively small, secretive, prolific, and all have continuously growing incisors. Many rodent species have ecological, scientific, cultural, and/or economic importance.

A variety of economic and health problems result from rodent interactions with humans. These include damage to growing crops, trees, seeds, pastures; damage and contamination of stored foods; damage to structures and property; and disease transmission (Witmer et al. 1995a). Singleton et al. …

Pathophysiology Of White-Tailed Deer Vaccinated With Porcine Zona Pellucida Immunocontraceptive, Paul D. Curtis, Milo E. Richmond, Lowell A. Miller, Fred W. Quimby

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

White-tailed deer (n = 14 treated, n = 7 control) were examined postmortem to identify any possible pathophysiology resulting from PZP immunocontraception vaccination. Deer were treated twice in 1997; given a booster in 1998, with six being revaccinated in September 2000. Granulomas were found at injection sites of most deer, even 2 years post-treatment. Eosinophilic oophoritis occurred in 6 of 8 (75%) deer vaccinated in 1998, and 3 of 6 (50%) revaccinated in 2000. The 2000 revaccinates without oophoritis, had significantly fewer normal secondary follicles than control females (P = 0.03), and deer in the 1998 treatment group …

Microbial Biosignatures In High-Iron Thermal Springs, Mary Nichole Parenteau

Dissertations and Theses

Debate exists regarding whether abiotic or biotic mechanisms were responsible for the oxidation of Fe²+ and the subsequent accumulation of ferric (Fe³+) iron assemblages in Precambrian Banded Iron Formations (BIFs). Direct paleontological evidence for a microbial role in the deposition of BIFs has been sought in the occurrence of microfossils and lipid biomarkers in these structures.

This study has characterized the formation of such biosignatures in modern iron deposits. The metabolic impact of microbes on Fe2+ oxidation in this system has previously been described (Pierson et al., 1999; Pierson and Parenteau, 2000). Cyanobacterial and filamentous anoxygenic …

Is The Nemasket River Stressed Out?

Watershed Access Lab Projects

What is the effect of the waste water treatment plant on the water quality of the Nemasket River? Students chose three sites to study. These were located at the headwaters near Assawompset Pond, Route 105 (reference site), and Murdock Street (impact site). Murdock Street had a greater expanse of aquatic vegetation than the Route 105 site. The treatment plant is located between these two sites and deposits nitrates and phosphates into the river with its effluent. Phosphates are more readily removed from effluent via chemical reactions, while nitrates are more difficult to remove. Nitrates can be removed using BNR (biological …

Abbott Run River Study

Watershed Access Lab Projects

The purpose of our study was to make certain that the river met the Massachusetts water quality standards of a Class A river. We are concerned that the Abbott Run remains a Class A river because it is the source of the drinking water for Pawtucket, Rhode Island.

Abbott Run is located in the western section of North Attleboro within the Blackstone River Watershed. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the west, Plainville to the north and Attleboro to the south. The watershed section in North Attleboro is approximately four square miles.

Land use is predominately single-family, residential except …

The Estuarine Killifish, Fundulus Heteroclitus, As A Model System For Developmental Immunotoxicology , Laura Hunt

All Dissertations

Little is known about the development of the immune system in estuarine teleosts. The aim of this study was to describe the disappearance of maternally-derived immune components of immunity and the development of the immune system in the estuarine killifish, Fundulus heteroclitus, also known as the mummichog. Maternal-derived IgM was measured by ELISA and whole body lysozyme levels were determined by both enzymatic and immunological methods. Recombination activation gene-1 (Rag-1) expression was quantified using real time quantitative PCR and organ development was monitored using histological techniques. Rag-1 was cloned from F.heteroclitus and a recombinant Rag-1 protein was expressed for the …

Continuation Of Water Quality Monitoring Of The Osage Creek Above The Highway 112 Bridge Near Cave Springs, Arkansas, Marc Nelson, Luanna Diffin

Arkansas Water Resources Center Technical Reports

The City of Rogers is one of the fastest growing communities in Arkansas. Located in Northwest Arkansas, Rogers lies in two primary watersheds; the Illinois River Watershed and Beaver Lake Watershed. The Illinois River Watershed receives municipal wastewater discharge from most of the metropolitan communities in Northwest Arkansas, along with nonpoint source urban and agricultural runoff. The Illinois River originates in Arkansas and flows west into Oklahoma where it is classified as a scenic river. The river has been a source of interstate disputes for a number of years. A federal interstate compact commission was established to mediate these disputes, …

Agricultural Contaminant Source And Transport In A Karst Groundwater Basin, Patricia Kambesis

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

Agricultural land use in areas that are located in karst groundwater basins negatively impact groundwater quality because karst terrains provide multiple, direct hydrologic connections from the surface into karst aquifers. The connections and rapid velocities associated with surface and subsurface flow in karst aquifers allow for contaminants to move quickly into and through a groundwater basin. When groundwater returns to the surface via a spring or springs, any contaminants within the water become part of surface streams and rivers. These in turn, impact water quality in areas located downstream of the spring or springs. The purpose of this study was …

Modeling Of Culicidae Population Capacity Using Remote Sensing, Gis, And Fractal Geometry, Daniel Patrick Johnson

All-Inclusive List of Electronic Theses and Dissertations

A remote sensing and fractal geometric approach is proposed for the surveillance of mosquito population. The spread of vector-borne pathogens is becoming increasingly important with recent discussions of extensive human urbanization and global climate change. To date most studies dealing with mosquito transmitted disease surveyed by remote sensing and Geographic Information Systems have been conducted in tropical homogenous locales. This study approached the issue in a rapidly suburbanizing county in the Midwestern portion of the United States. Adult mosquitoes were trapped over a several year period and the landscape of the surrounding patches analyzed via remote sensing, fractal geometry, and …

Wmi Outdoor News Bulletin * May 2007, Volume 61, No. 5

Wildlife Management Institute Outdoor News Bulletin

Contents:

• WMI's path forward

• Special Sessions Announced for 73rd North American Conference

• Public hearings conclude on Northern Rockies gray wolf delisting proposal

• CWD Alliance announces new on-line bibliography

• Coyotes not dissuaded by Chicago politics or its perpetual road construction

• New addition to WMI family

• Worth reading: The White Cascade

Airport Wildlife Mitigation – ‘Birdstrike News You Can Use’ Volume 1, Issue 1, Spring 2007

Other Bird Strike and Aviation Materials

Inside this issue:

Welcome

T-38 Crash

Air France accident in Pau

YVR radar

Bad Days in Canada

Next training courses

Refuge Update – May/June 2007, Volume 4, Number 3

RefugeUpdate (USFWS-NWRS)

Table of Contents:
Fighting a Fern in Florida, page 6
Focus on Urban Refuges, pages 10-17
Seals and Swamps: Collaborating with NOAA, page 20