Digital Commons Network^™

Variability Between Scales: Predictors Of Nomadism In Birds Of An Australian Mediterraneanclimate Ecosystem, Craig R. Allen, Denis A. Saunders

Nebraska Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit: Staff Publications

Nomadism in animals is a response to resource distributions that are highly variable in time and space. Using the avian fauna of the Mediterranean-climate region of southcentral Australia, we tested a number of variables to determine if they predicted nomadism. These variables were species body mass, the distance in body mass terms to the edge of a body mass aggregation, and diet (for example, seeds, invertebrates, nectar, or plants). We utilized two different classifications of the avifauna that diverged in their definition of nomadic to build two different predictive models. Using both classifications, distance to the edge of a body …

Cross-Scale Morphology, Craig R. Allen, C.S. Holling

Nebraska Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit: Staff Publications

The scaling of physical, biological, ecological and social phenomena has become a major focus of efforts to develop simple representations of complex systems. Much of the attention has been on discovering universal scaling laws that emerge from simple physical and geometric processes. But there are regular patterns of departures both from those scaling laws and from continuous distributions of attributes of systems; these departures often demonstrate the development of self-organized interactions between living systems and physical processes over narrower ranges of scale. Cross-scale morphology refers to morphological attributes of animals that are influenced by interaction with ecological structures and patterns …

Influence Of The Proximity And Amount Of Human Development And Roads On The Occurrence Of The Red Imported Fire Ant In The Lower Florida Keys, Elizabeth A. Forys, Craig R. Allen, Daniel P. Wojcik

Nebraska Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit: Staff Publications

We examined the influence of both the proximity and extent of human developments and paved roads on the presence of the predatory, non-indigenous, red imported fire ant (Solenopsis invicta). This species was inadvertently introduced into the United States at the port of Mobile, Alabama, around 1930 and rapidly spread to many southeastern states, including Florida. More recently, S. invicta colonized the Florida Keys, an area with a high proportion of rare and endemic vertebrate and invertebrate species. We placed bait transects in transitional salt-marsh, pineland, and hardwood hammocks on 13 of the lower Florida Keys and compared habitat …

Black Carp

National Invasive Species Council

What are black carp?

What do they look like?

Where are they from?

How Did They Get Here?

What impacts would they have on our aquatic habitats?

What is the Service doing about black carp?

What are the negative impacts of this ruling?

For More Information

Asian Carp

National Invasive Species Council

Four species of large Asian carps (grass, bighead, silver and black) have been imported into the U.S. for use in the aquaculture industry, and biologists are raising more and more concerns about their effect on native fish and shellfish when released or escaped to the wild. In fact, in the fall of 1999, fish kills in isolated ditches adjacent to the Upper Mississippi River on the Mark Twain National Wildlife Refuge in southern Illinois included large numbers (97%) of Asian carps, but only one individual each of four native fish species. After that incident, reports came in of commercial fishermen …

Implications Of Body Mass Patterns: Linking Ecological Structure And Process To Wildlife Conservation And Management, Jan P. Sendzimir, Craig R. Allen, Lance H. Gunderson, Craig A, Stow

Nebraska Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit: Staff Publications

The unprecedented scale of problems affecting wildlife ecology today overwhelms many managers. Challenges are no longer local in origin, but rather a tangle of local, regional and even global externalities often interacting in unpredictable ways. Previously isolated ecosystems have become increasingly connected at global, hemispheric and regional levels, eroding their integrity. Endocrine-disrupting compounds applied in Mexico have changed avian sexual development in the Great Lakes (Colborn et al. 1996). Chamois (Rupicapra rupicapra) reproduction in the Carpathian mountains falters when the color of newborns is no longer cryptic because climate change prematurely melts snow cover (K. Perzanowski, Polish Academy …

Assessing State-Wide Biodiversity In The Florida Gap Analysis Project, L. G. Pearlstine, S. E. Smith, L. A. Brandt, C. R. Allen, W. M. Kitchens, J. Stenberg

Nebraska Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit: Staff Publications

The Florida Gap (FI-Gap) project provides an assessment of the degree to which native animal species and natural communities are or are not represented in existing conservation lands. Those species and communities not adequately represented in areas being managed for native species constitute 'gaps' in the existing network of conservation lands. The United States Geological Survey Gap Analysis Program is a national effort and so, eventually, all 50 states will have completed it. The objective of FI-Gap was to provide broad geographic information on the status of terrestrial vertebrates, butterflies, skippers and ants and their respective habitats to address the …

Initial Mortality Of Black Bass In B.A.S.S. Fishing Tournaments, Gene R. Wilde, Calub E. Shavlik, Kevin L. Pope

Nebraska Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit: Staff Publications

We studied the initial mortality of black bass Micropterus spp. that were captured, weighed in, and released in fishing tournaments conducted by the Bass Anglers Sportsman Society between 1972 and 1998. Mean annual initial mortality (i.e., mortality before weigh-in and release) ranged from 1% to 30%. Initial mortality was greatest during the 1970s (15.2%) and decreased during the 1980s (5.7%) and 1990s (1.9%). Because initial mortality was uniformly low ( ≤5%) after 1982, we used results for 1983–1998 to assess relationships involving initial mortality. Initial mortality was correlated with bag size, mean fish weight per angler, and number of fish …

Functional Group Change Within And Across Scales Following Invasions And Extinctions In The Everglades Ecosystem, Elizabeth A. Forys, Craig R. Allen

Nebraska Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit: Staff Publications

Cross-scale resilience theory predicts that the combination of functional diversity within scales and functional redundancy across scales is an important attribute of ecosystems because it helps these systems resist minor ecological disruptions and regenerate after major disturbances such as hurricanes and fire. Using the vertebrate fauna of south Florida, we quantified how the loss of native species and invasion by nonnatives may alter functional group richness within and across scales. We found that despite large changes in species composition due to potential extinctions and successful invasions by nonnative species, functional group richness will not change significantly within scales, there will …

Effects Of Predation And Environment On Quality Of Yellow Perch And Bluegill Populations In Nebraska Sandhill Lakes, Craig P. Paukert, David W. Willis, Joel A. Klammer

Nebraska Game and Parks Commission: Staff Research Publications

We investigated factors that may influence the quality (e.g., high abundance, size structure, condition, and growth) of yellow perch Perca flavescens and bluegill Lepomis macrochirus populations in Nebraska sandhill lakes. Physical (e.g., lake depth, vegetation coverage), chemical (e.g., alkalinity, conductivity), and biological (e.g., chlorophyll a, invertebrate abundance) characteristics of 30 natural lakes were determined in 1998 and 1999. Growth, condition, and size structure were not density-dependent for bluegills or yellow perch in these shallow (,4mmaximum depth) lakes. However, bluegill abundance, size structure, and condition were positively related to yellow perch abundance, size structure, and condition. Bluegill quality tended to …

The Western Gray Whale: A Review Of Past Exploitation, Current Status And Potential Threats, David Weller, Alexander Burdin, Bernd Wursig, Barbara Taylor, Robert L. Brownell Jr.

United States Department of Commerce: Staff Publications

Gray whales (Eschrichtius robustus) occur along the eastern and western coastlines of the North Pacific as two geographically isolated populations and have traditionally been divided into the eastern (California-Chukchi) and western (Korean-Okhotsk) populations. Recent molecular comparisons confirm, based on differences in haplotypic frequencies, that these populations are genetically separated at the population-level. Both populations were commercially hunted, but only the eastern gray whale has returned to near pre-exploitation numbers. In contrast, the western population remains highly depleted, shows no apparent signs of recovery and its future survival remains uncertain. Research off Sakhalin Island, Russia between 1995 and 1999 …

Organochlorine Chemical Residues In Fish From The Mississippi River Basin, 1995, C.J. Schmitt

United States Geological Survey: Staff Publications

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Fish were collected in late 1995 from 34 National Contaminant Biomonitoring Program (NCBP) stations and 13 National Water Quality Assessment Program (NAWQA) stations in the Mississippi River basin (MRB) and in late 1996 from a reference site in West Virginia. Four composite samples, each comprising (nominally) 10 adult common carp (Cyprinus carpio) or black bass (Micropterus spp.) of the same sex, were collected from each site and analyzed for organochlorine chemical residues by gas chromatography with electron capture detection. At the NCBP stations, which are located on relatively large rivers, concentrations of organochlorine chemical residues were generally lower than …

The Administration's Approach To The Esa: Building A Stewardship Ethic For The 21st Century, Amy Klee

United States Bureau of Land Management: Staff Publications

When President Nixon signed the Endangered Species Act (ESA) into law in 1973, it is unlikely that anyone imagined the pivotal role it would play in a wide range of land and water management decisions. There are now over 1,200 species of plants and animals listed as threatened or endangered in the United States. Certain areas of the country that historically have had a great diversity of species are now home to large numbers oflisted plants and animals. California, for example, has 292 listed species, and Alabama has 125. In some areas, every major land and water management decision or …

Ocean: An Integrated Curriculum Unit, Institute For The Development Of Gifted Education, Ricks Center For Gifted Children, University Of Denver

Ricks Curriculum Units Series

An integrated curriculum is an instructional approach that connects the disciplines to an underlying theme or topic. Immersing students in an integrated-thematic unit provides the backdrop for experiences to occur across the disciplines. Shaping coursework around integrated themes is especially appropriate for gifted students, however using an integrated-thematic curriculum is appropriate for all learners as it develops students' abilities to make connections, to solve problems by looking at multiple perspectives, and to integrate information from different fields of experience. An integrated-thematic curriculum permits students to be active participants in their own learning as they design their own explorations and take …

Biological Reduction Of Perchlorate In Ion Exchange Regenerant Solutions Containing High Salinity And Ammonium Levels, Tina M. Gingras, Jacimaria R. Batista

Civil and Environmental Engineering and Construction Faculty Research

The most promising technologies to remove perchlorate from water are ion exchange and biological reduction. Although successful, ion exchange only separates perchlorate from water; it does not eliminate it from the environment. The waste streams from these systems contain the caustic or saline regenerant solutions used in the process as well as high levels of perchlorate. Biological reduction could be used to treat the regenerant waste solutions from the ion exchange process. A treatment scheme, combining ion exchange and biodegradation, is proposed to completely remove perchlorate from the environment. Perchlorate-laden resins generate brines containing salt concentrations up to 6% or …

Algal Blooms Reduce The Uptake Of Toxic Methylmercury In Freshwater Food Webs, Paul C. Pickhardt, Carol L. Folt, Celia Y. Chen, Bjoern Klaue, Joel D. Blum

Dartmouth Scholarship

Mercury accumulation in fish is a global public health concern, because fish are the primary source of toxic methylmercury to humans. Fish from all lakes do not pose the same level of risk to consumers. One of the most intriguing patterns is that potentially dangerous mercury concentrations can be found in fish from clear, oligotrophic lakes whereas fish from greener, eutrophic lakes often carry less mercury. In this study, we experimentally tested the hypothesis that increasing algal biomass reduces mercury accumulation at higher trophic levels through the dilution of mercury in consumed algal cells. Under bloom dilution, as algal biomass …

Parameters Affecting Partitioning Of 6 Pcb Congeners In Natural Sediments, Eid A. Alkhatib, Carl Weigand

Chemistry & Physics Faculty Publications

Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) released by bottom sediments were determined by experiments in which the sediments were artificially resuspended using sediment contaminated with PCBs in a particle entrainment simulator (PES). Sediment cores, spiked with PCBs, were collected from the Housatonic River in Connecticut and run in the PES at simulated shear stresses from 0 to 0.6 N m(-2). Experimental results from these simulations have shown that mean concentration of PCBs in the solid phase for sites with high volatile organic carbon (VOC) were significantly greater than samples with low VOC; the reverse was true for the water phase. In addition, on …

Human Population And Freshwater Resources: U.S. Cases And International Perspectives, Karin M. Krchnak, Victoria Dompka Markham, Nancy Thorne

Yale School of the Environment Bulletin Series

No abstract provided.

Status And Trends In Water Quality And Living Resources In The Virginia Chesapeake Bay: 1985- 2000, Daniel M. Dauer, Michael F. Lane, Harold G. Marshall, Kent E. Carpenter, John R. Donat

Status and Trends for Virginia Chesapeake Bay

A detailed overview of the Chesapeake Bay's living resources, water quality, and its major Virginia tributaries.

Methods For Caculating The Chesapeake Bay Benthic Index Of Biotic Integrity, Roberto J. Llansó, Daniel M. Dauer

Benthic Applications

The Chesapeake Bay benthic index of biotic integrity (B-IBI) was developed to assess benthic community health and environmental quality in Chesapeake Bay. The B-IBI evaluates the ecological condition of a sample by comparing values of key benthic community attributes (“metrics”) to reference values expected under non-degraded conditions in similar habitat types. It is therefore a measure of deviation from reference conditions.

The B-IBI is used by the Chesapeake Bay Benthic Monitoring Program, which is conducted by the Maryland Department of Natural Resources (MD DNR) and by the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality (VA DEQ). The program contains two primary elements: …

Water Discharge Models, Seasonal Effluent Mass Loading, And Best Management Practices For Crawfish Ponds, Landon David Parr

LSU Master's Theses

Nearly 35,000 ha are used to grow crawfish in southwest and south-central Louisiana, and many of these ponds discharge into impaired water bodies. In 2002, proposed guidelines were published by the United States Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) assigning effluent limitations and standards for some aquaculture production systems and exempting others (e.g. crawfish ponds). This research had three objectives relative to crawfish ponds: develop water discharge models; final drawdown effluent quality and seasonal mass loading of solids and nutrients; and identification of Best Management Practices (BMPs) that could reduce effluent discharge and improve effluent quality. Models for south-central and southwest Louisiana …

Nutrient Reserves Of Lesser Scaup During Spring Migration In The Mississippi Flyway: A Test Of The Spring Condition Hypothesis, Michael J. Anteau

LSU Master's Theses

The continental scaup population (lesser [Aythya affinis] and greater scaup [A. marila] combined) has declined markedly during the past 20 years, and has remained below the population goal of the North American Waterfowl Management Plan since 1985. One hypothesis explaining the scaup population decline states that reproductive success has decreased because females presently are arriving on breeding areas in poorer condition than that historically (Spring Condition Hypothesis [SCH]). I tested the SCH by comparing fresh body masses (FBMs) and nutrient reserves (lipid, protein, and mineral) of lesser scaup at 4 locations (Louisiana, Illinois, Minnesota, and Manitoba) in the Mississippi Flyway …

Declared Plant Control Handbook Recommendations For The Control Of Declared Plants In Western Australia, John R. Peirce, Rachael A. Pratt

Biosecurity published reports

Sixth Edition.

Reviewed October 2005.

Plants may be "declared" by the Agriculture Protection Board under the Agriculture and Related Resources Protection Act 1976.If a plant is declared, all landholders are obliged to control that plant on their properties. Declarations specifies a category, or categories, for each plant according to the control strategies or objectives which the Agriculture Protection Board believes are appropriate in a particular place.

Among the factors considered in categorising declared plants are:

* the impact of the plant on individuals, agricultural production and the community in general,

* whether it is already established in the area, and …

Branch, Crown, Tree And Stand Water Flux In An 180-Year-Old Loblolly Pine Plantation After Thinning, Fertilization, And Throughfall Exclusion Treatments, Shufang Yu

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Branch and tree sap flux density (SFD) was measured to evaluate the effects of thinning, fertilization, and throughfall exclusion treatments on water use by loblolly pine (Pinus taeda L.) trees. Variations in SFD at different radial xylem depths were also examined to improve estimates of tree water use from sap flux density measured in the outer sapwood. This study was conducted in an 18-year-old loblolly pine plantation in central Louisiana in 1999. The results revealed that SFD was higher in the outer xylem than in the inner xylem and large trees had higher SFD than small trees. Thinning increased daily …

Mitigation Strategies For The Removal Of Rinsate Organics And Lithium-Based Dyes From Textile Effluents, Kathryn W. Huddle

LSU Master's Theses

Governmental agencies have set regulatory values on the concentration of dye-related color that can be released in textile mill effluents. A proprietary biotic and abiotic technology treatment train was built at a candidate facility in northwestern Georgia to reduce the organic content and dye-related color content in the textile mill’s effluent. Laboratory experimentation began with bench scale 4 L immobilized microbe (IMBR) bioreactor tests to biologically treat primary wastewater streams, namely skein dye and space dye, from this candidate facility. The biological treatment reduced the organic content levels, expressed as chemical oxygen demand (COD), from 3185±30 to 290±20 mg/L (COD …

A Baiting System For Delivery Of An Oral Plague Vaccine To Black-Tailed Prairie Dogs, Terry E. Creekmore, Tonie E. Rocke, Jerry Hurley

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Laboratory and field studies were conducted between July and October 1999 to identify bait preference, biomarker efficacy, and bait acceptance rates for delivering an oral plague vaccine to black-tailed prairie dogs (Cynomys ludovicianus). Twenty juvenile captive prairie dogs were offered alfalfa baits containing either alfalfa, alfalfa and 5% molasses, or alfalfa, 5% molasses and 4% salt. Based on the results of these trials we selected a bait containing alfalfa, 7% molasses, and 1% salt for field trials to determine bait acceptance rates by free-ranging animals. The biomarkers DuPont Blue dye, iophenoxic acid, and tetracycline hydrochloride were orally administered …

Authentic Field Ecology Experiences For Teachers, Marion Dresner, Andrew Moldenke

Environmental Science and Management Faculty Publications and Presentations

This paper will focus on one teacher field research experience situated in the Pacific Northwest

Safety Of Brucella Abortus Strain Rb51 Vaccine In Non-Target Ungulates And Coyotes, Terry J. Kreeger, Thomas J. Deliberto, Steven C. Olsen, William H. Edwards, Walter E. Cook

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Brucellosis is endemic in free-ranging elk (Cervus elaphus) and bison (Bison bison) in the Greater Yellowstone Area (GYA; USA). It is possible that an oral brucellosis vaccine could be developed and disseminated in the GYA to reduce disease transmission. Should this occur, non-target species other than elk and bison may come in contact with the vaccine resulting in morbidity or mortality. To assess biosafety, bighorn sheep (Ovis canadensis; n=10), pronghorn (Antilocapra americana; n=9), mule deer (Odocoileus hemionus; n=11), moose (Alces alces shirasi; n=10), and …

Invasion Of Indigenous Vegetation In South-Western Australia By Leptospermum Laevigatum (Gaertn.) F. Muell. (Myrtaceae), Anya Lam

Theses : Honours

The current paradigm of biodiversity conservation requires the assessment of alien plant invaders, and their potential negative impacts on indigenous species and communities. Leptospermum laevigatum (Gaertn.) F. Muell. (Victorian tea tree/ Coast tea tree) is indigenous to eastern Australia. It has invaded ecosystems within its natural biogeographic range, within new ranges in Australia and overseas. The species is listed as a high priority weed in the Environmental Weed Strategy for Western Australia. However, the basis for its listing has been casual observation rather than focussed research. This study of L. laevigatum is unique in being the first to …

Spatial And Temporal Patterns Of Eastern White Pine Regeneration In The Northwestern Ohio Oak Stand, Scott R. Abella, Neil W. Macdonald

Public Policy and Leadership Faculty Research

Eastern white pine (Pinus strobus L.) was often associated with oaks (Quercus spp.) on upland sites in presettlement forests of the upper Great Lakes region, but widespread logging and subsequent fires in the late 1800s converted these upland sites to fire-tolerant oak forests. Although white pine regeneration is occurring in these second-growth oak forests, white pine regeneration patterns in oak forests of the Great Lakes region are not well documented. We examined white pine regeneration in the southern Great Lakes region in an oak stand within the Oak Openings region of northwestern Ohio, where white pine plantations established in the …