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Bibliographic Summary Of Arkansas Field Botany, James H. Peck, Carol J. Peck

Journal of the Arkansas Academy of Science

Over 750 references, compiled over the past five years, are presented on floristics, taxonomy, autecology, synecology, species biology, habitat analysis, impact analysis, paleoenvironment, phytogeography, and history of field botany in Arkansas. This bibliography is reported to facilitate efforts to document and interpret the flora, the vegetation, and the natural heritage of Arkansas and to encourage others to participate in that collective effort.

Quantitative Studies On Nodulation Competition Of Two Strains Of Bradyrhizobium Japonicum And Its Biological Control With A Bacteriophage, Jin Xiong

Masters Theses

Interstrain competition of Bradyrhizobium japonicum for nodulation of soybean (Glycine max) presents a serious problem to the field commercial inoculation practice. The more efficient, introduced strains are often outcompeted by the less efficient, indigenous strains. This study was conducted to determine if the competition could be effectively controlled by the massive introduction of a more efficient strain and/or the large scale reduction of a indigenous strain by the application of a bacteriophage specific to the indigenous one.

B. japonicum strain 61A123, common in Midwestern U.S. soils, and strain USDA110, representative of the strains used in commercial inocula, were chosen for …

Sex Ratios In Bobcat Populations, C. Renn Tumlison, V. Rick Mcdaniel

Journal of the Arkansas Academy of Science

Reported sex ratios in bobcat populations have suggested great variation ranging from strong male bias to strong female bias. Explanations offered for these observations have included factors of mobility, activity, behavior, inaccurate data collection, hunting pressure, and population density. Ratios are probably most representative during the winter, when females are no longer under constraints of parental care. Sex determination should be made by experienced observers and preferably through internal examination. The most productive direction for interpretation of validated ratios appears to be in terms of population density, hunting pressure, and the timing of harvest.

The Effects Of Siltation On Recruitment Of Spiny Lobsters, Panulirus Argus, William F. Herrnkind, Mark J. Butler, Richard A. Tankersley

Biological Sciences Faculty Publications

Fewer juvenile pinry lobsters were found in areas of the Florida Keys where their primary habitat was heavily silted as compared with similar, less silted habitat. Several hypotheses explaining this relationship were tested, and the time-to-metamorphosis was compared for settling pueruli within silted and nonsilted algae stands. Limited postlarval settlement and avoidance of silted algal habitats by juveniles, probably accounts for the paucity of young lobsters in heavily silted sites. In addition, although juvenile lobsters are nonselective predators, lower prey availability in silted algae probably promotes transciency which, in turn, causes increased mortality by predation while juveniles are exposed.

The Vascular Flora And Plant Communities Of Seward County, Nebraska, Steven B. Rolfsmeier

Transactions of the Nebraska Academy of Sciences and Affiliated Societies

A recent botanical survey of Seward County in southeastern Nebraska recognizes ten representative plant communities including four major vegetation zones (tall-grass prairie, eastern deciduous forest, floodplain woodland and lowland [floodplain] prairie), and a total of 599 species of vascular plants representing 324 genera in 95 families. Three hundred seventy-five species were not previously reported for the county. Although the study area includes an interesting topographic and perhaps physiographic boundary formed by the terminal moraine of the Kansan glaciation, no evidence supporting an analogous floristic boundary was found.

Interpreting Modern And Paleo-Environments By Analysis Of Water-Stress In Xylem: Examples From Nebraska And Arkansas, James Landon

Transactions of the Nebraska Academy of Sciences and Affiliated Societies

Wood-anatomical responses to an environmental gradient were studied in trees of northwestern and southeastern Nebraska and northwestern Arkansas to determine between- and within-site variation and differential sensitivity of diverse anatomical patterns. These data were then used as a tool to try to reconstruct paleo-environments, using wood-fossil assemblages from the Crookston Bridge Member of the Valentine Formation. No significant within-site variation was found in living trees, but great differences in environmental sensitivity were detected among the anatomical types. Responses displayed by the fossils do not match those of my modern study areas.

Ecology And Interspecific Relationships Of The Painted Turtle, (Chrysemys Picta) In A Marsh-Fen Ecosystem, Eric S. Mcgee

Masters Theses

An ecological study of the painted turtle (Chrysemys picta) was conducted at the Fox River site in Chain O' Lakes State Park in northeastern Illinois from March to September in 1987. Findings were compared to two studies in 1986 concerning the common snapping turtle (Chelydra serpentina) and Blandings turtle (Emydoidea blandingi) also present in the area. Population densities and composition were evaluated to determine the degree of interspecific competition.

Two hundred-forty five turtles were captured in 1986 and 1987. Painted turtles comprised 75 percent of the chelonian population, while Blandings turtles and snapping turtles …

Depth Profiles And Soil Textures Of The Vernal Pools Of The Santa Rosa Plateau Preserve, Riverside County, California, Ralph Charles Workman Jr.

Loma Linda University Electronic Theses, Dissertations & Projects

The purpose of this project was to study the edaphic and topographic characteristics of the 13 vernal pools on the Santa Rosa Plateau Preserve, thus documenting the role soil texture plays in vernal pool formation.

Several field and laboratory procedures were used to demonstrate that there is a higher percentage of clay present within vernal pools than in soils outside the margin of the pools, for 11 out of the 13 pools. Statistical tests showed that the percentage of clay was highly significant within the center soil of the pool as compared to the soil outside the margin of the …

Use Of Drc 1339 To Control Crows In Three Roosts In Kentucky And Arkansas, Frank L. Boyd, Douglas I. Hall

Wildlife Damage Management Conference

Field tests utilizing DRC 1339 (3-chloro-4-methylbenzamine hydrochloride) 98% concentrate on whole kernel com for crow (Corvus brachyrhynchos) control were conducted in January and February 1981 in Lexington and Louisville, Kentucky, and in 1982 in Ashdown, Arkansas. Treated bait was placed in staging areas near the roosts after prebaiting indicated good acceptance at the sites. The rate of acceptance varied with bait placement. Best results were obtained when bait was placed on bare ground at habitually used staging areas close to the roost site. Population reductions of up to 25% were obtained with limited baiting. DRC 1339 appears to …

Leafcutting Ant Diet Selection: The Role Of Nutrients, Water, And Secondary Chemistry, Jerome J. Howard

Biological Sciences Faculty Publications

The relationship of plant secondary chemistry, water content, and nutrient content to the palatability of leaves to the leafcutting ant Atta cephalotes was determined in a study of individuals from 50 woody plant species in tropical dry forest of Costa Rica. The study took place during the yearly period of maximum leaf harvest, in the early rainy season. The palatability of plants was determined by presenting leaf disks to ants on active foraging trails of three ant colonies. The distribution of several classes of polar secondary compounds in leaf samples was determined using chemical spot tests, and that of ant- …

Behavioral Feeding Specialization In Pinaroloxias Inornata, The “Darwin's Finch” Of Cocos Island, Costa Rica, Tracey K. Werner, Thomas W. Sherry

Dartmouth Scholarship

As a population, Cocos Finches exhibit a broad range of feeding behaviors spanning those of several families of birds on the mainland, while individuals feed as specialists year-round. Although this extreme intraspecific variability occurs as predicted in a tropical oceanic island environment, these specializations challenge contemporary ecological theory in that they are not attributable to individual differences in age, sex, gross morphology, or opportunistic exploitation of patchy resources. Instead, they appear to originate and be maintained behaviorally, possibly via observational learning. This phenomenon adds another direction to the evolutionary radiation of the Darwin's Finches and underscores the necessity for detailed …

Diving Birds Of North America: Species Accounts — Grebes (Podicipedidae), Paul A. Johnsgard

Diving Birds of North America by Paul A. Johnsgard

Grebes are small to medium-sized diving birds having bills that vary from short and rather blunt tipped to long and acutely pointed, with bare lores and head feathers not extending to the linear or oval nostrils. There are 11 functional primaries and 17–22 secondaries, the inner secondaries longer than the primaries. Molting of the primaries is simultaneous; the wings are not used for underwater propulsion, which is provided by the feet. The rectrices are soft, rudimentary, and hidden. The body feathers are small, water-resistant, and shiny. Aftershafts and adult down feathers are present. The legs are set extremely far back …

Effect Of Changes In Regional Forest Abundance On The Decline And Recovery Of A Forest Bird Community, Robert A. Askins, Margarett J. Philbrick

Biology Faculty Publications

Bird populations were monitored for 32 years in a 23-ha tract of hemlock-hardwood forest. Between 1953 and 1976 the total abundance of long-distance migrants declined significantly and four species disappeared, but after 1976 both the total abundance and the number of species increased. Multiple regression analysis shows that the abundance of long-distance migrants was negatively related to abundance of bird species characteristic of suburban habitats and positively related to the amount of forest within 2 km of the study area. The decline in long-distance migrants before 1976 occurred when suburban species were increasing and nearby forest was destroyed. The increase …

Growth And Mortality Of Shoots In Three Populations Of Typha Glauca Godr., John Michael Penko, Douglas C. Pratt

Journal of the Minnesota Academy of Science

A double sampling technique and permanent quadrats were used to monitor seasonal changes in shoot density and aboveground standing crop in three Minnesota Typha glauca populations. Shoot growth began several weeks later in stands located in floating mats (Boot Lake and Cedar Creek) relative to a nonfloating stand (Lauderdale). Mortality reduced shoot density by 10.8% at Boot Lake, 6.3% at Cedar Creek, and by 53% at Lauderdale. Shoot death was largely confined to smaller than average shoots at Boot Lake and Cedar Creek. At Lauderdale many relatively large shoots were killed by a lepidopteran stem borer (Archanara oblonga Grt.) or …

Western Spruce Budworm, M. H. Brooks, J. J. Colbert, R. G. Mitchell, R. W. Stark

The Bark Beetles, Fuels, and Fire Bibliography

No abstract provided.

The Demography Of Doublegee. Ecological Studies On Arum Lily., F. D. Panetta

Experimental Summaries - Plant Research

3.1 Growth of doublegees under summer irrigation. (87A40)

The weevil, Perapion antiquum is a potential biological control agent of doublegee. However, it exhibits large population crashes during the summer months in the summer-dry areas of the Western Caped of South Africa, where it is native. It has been suggested that one means of successfully establishing Perapion in Western Australia could be to maintain populations in 'oases' over the summer months. The aim of this experiment was to determine how readily doublegee could be maintained in a non-senescent phase under irrigated and shaded conditions.

3.2 Doublegee demography in cereal crops (87GE30) …

M–Q, Stephen L. Wood, Donald E. Bright Jr.

Great Basin Naturalist Memoirs

No abstract provided.

A Taxonomic Re-Evaluation Of Specimens Of The Genus Caloplaca In The E.L. Stover Herbarium Of Eastern Illinois University, Eric J. Cameron

Masters Theses

The genus Caloplaca is the largest genus in the family Teloschistaceae. The 103 species in the genus greatly outnumber any other in the family. Lichens of the genus Caloplaca are usually orange to orange-yellow in color, and range from crustose to subfoliose in form. The orange color is due to an anthraquinone, parietin, the location of which is taxonomically important in this genus of lichens. In some species it occurs only in the apothecia, while in others it is found in both the apothecia and thallus. The spores of this genus are polarilocular, and the width of the isthmus is …

Biological Features Of Saline Wetlands In Lancaster County, Nebraska, James E. Ducey

Transactions of the Nebraska Academy of Sciences and Affiliated Societies

The natural history of saline wetland areas near Lincoln, Lancaster County, was evaluated. Most remaining salt marshes occur on saline soils along Little Salt Creek. Numerous plant species of saline soils occur that are limited to this part of the State. The avifauna is diverse, with 67 species recorded during the breeding season, 47 of them breeding. Because wetlands are limited in distribution in Nebraska, key biological elements, potential threats to the areas, and management considerations are discussed.

The Characteristics And Phytogeographic Affinities Of The Flora Of Nine-Mile Prairie, A Western Tall-Grass Prairie In Nebraska, Robert B. Kaul, Steven B. Rolfsmeier

Transactions of the Nebraska Academy of Sciences and Affiliated Societies

Three hundred ninety-two species, subspecies, and varieties have been recorded at Nine-Mile Prairie, a relict tall-grass prairie that has been reduced from 323 to 97 ha in the past 50 years. There are 218 native and 17 introduced herbaceous perennial species, and 73 native and 24 introduced annuals. Analogous numbers for biennials are 15 and 11, for shrubs are 14 and one, for trees are ten and three, and for woody vines are six and none. One hundred twenty-one native species are of central and eastern North American phytogeographic affinity, and 109 are of transcontinental affinity. Seventy-nine of the Prairie's …

T–Z, Anonymous, Stephen L. Wood, Donald E. Bright Jr.

Great Basin Naturalist Memoirs

No abstract provided.

Proximity Nesting: The Great Horned Owl And Red-Tailed Hawk, Steve Shupe

Nebraska Bird Review

Introduction: Forty-two nests of the Great Horned Owl (Bubo virginianus) and 78 nests of the Red-tailed Hawk (Buteo jamaieensis) were surveyed during a three-year ecological study (1982–84). In 11 instances nests of the two species overlapped the hunting areas of the other. Home ranges, in which most hunting takes place, have been defined by various authors (Miller, 1930; Baumgartner, 1939; Hagar, 1967). For this study Hawks and Owls nesting within one-half mile of each other were compared. The proximity nesting of these two species seemed likely to increase the possibility of predation upon the young of …

A North Florida Ant Fauna (Hymenoptera: Formicidae), Clifford Johnson

Insecta Mundi

This paper updates and summarizes the ant fauna of Alachua County, Florida, with two basic objectives. The first objective is presentation of a current, documented check-list consistent with existing taxonomy and an insight on species groups where taxonomic changes are likely in subsequent revisions. The second objection objective seeks to identify changes in the fauna since Van Pelt’s pioneer survey of 1948, and provide a basis for similar comparisons in the future.

The county consists of 902 square miles in north-central Florida and embraces essentially all inland habitats of the northern peninsula. This rich habitat variability is reflected in its …

Kentucky Warbler (Vol. 62, No. 4), Kentucky Library Research Collections

The Kentucky Warbler

No abstract provided.

Mortality Of White-Tailed Deer In Northeastern Minnesota, Michael E. Nelson, L. David Mech

United States Geological Survey, Northern Prairie Wildlife Research Center: Publications

Abstract: Two hundred nine white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) were radiotracked in the central Superior National Forest, Minnesota, from 1973 through winter 1983-84; 85 deaths were recorded. Annual survival was 0.31 for fawns (<1.0 years old), 0.80 for yearling (1.0-2.0 years old) females, 0.41 for yearling males, 0.79 for adult (≥2.0 years old) females, and 0.47 for adult males. Monthly survival rates were high from May through December (0.94-1.00), except for yearling (0.60) and adult (0.69) bucks during the November hunting season. Most mortality occurred from January through April when gray wolf (Canis lupus) predation was an important mortality source for all cohorts. Yearlings males were most vulnerable to hunting and adult males to wolf predation.

Relationship Between Snow Depth And Gray Wolf Predation On White-Tailed Deer, Michael E. Nelson, L. David Mech

United States Geological Survey, Northern Prairie Wildlife Research Center: Publications

Abstract: Survival of 203 yearling and adult white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) was monitored for 23,441 deer days from January through April 1975-85 in northeastern Minnesota. Gray wolf (Canis lupus)predation was the primary mortality cause, and from year to year during this period, the mean predation rate ranged from 0.00 to 0.29. The sum of weekly snow depths/month explained 51% of the variation in annual wolf predation rate, with the highest predation during the deepest snow.

Blarina Brevicauda, Sarah B. George, Jerry R. Choate, Hugh H. Genoways

University of Nebraska State Museum: Mammalogy Papers

Blarina Gray, 1838
Blarina Gray, 1838: 124. Type species Corsira (Blarina) talpoides Gray (=Sorex talpoides Gapper = Sorex brevicaudus Say), by original designation. Elevated to generic rank by Lesson, 1842:89.
Brachysorex Duvernoy, 1842:37-41. Type species Brachysorex brevicaudus Duvernoy (=Sorex brevicaudus Say), by original designation.
Talposorex Pomel, 1848:248. Type species Talposorex platyurus Pomel (=Sorex brevicaudus Say), by original designation. Anotus Wagner, 1855:550-55 1. Type species Sorex carolinensis Bachman, by original designation.

Aspects Of The Feeding Ecology Of The Bonneville Cisco Of Bear Lake, Utah-Idaho, David C. Lentz

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The Bonneville cisco (Prospium gemmiferum), a small planktivorous whitefish, is an important part of the distinctive fish community of Bear Lake, Utah-Idaho. The Bonneville cisco plays a key role in the trophic structure by converting zooplankton to fish biomass and providing a major forage source for cutthroat and lake trout. Aspects of cisco feeding ecology studied include characterization of the zooplankton community composition and dynamics and cisco feeding habits and prey selection.

Composition and seasonal dynamics of the zooplankton community were determined for a fifteen month period during 1981-1982. The community was dominated by a calanoid copepod, Epischura …

The Redevelopment Of Plant Community Diversity On A Surface Coal Mine In Southwestern Wyoming, Thomas Joseph Hatton

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

A study was initiated in 1981 to investigate the redevelopment of plant communities on a recontoured, surface-mined site in southwestern Wyoming. The landscape pattern of vegetation was compared with topographic position, the initial topsoil pattern, and cultural practices including shrub planting density, shrub planting pattern and topsoil treatments for the years 1982-1985. In addition, differences in vascular plant species diversity within these various factors and treatments were determined, along with the trend in intracommunity (alpha), intercommunity (beta) and landscape (gamma) diversity for the entire study area.

The influence of site factors and tested cultural practices on the differentiation of the …

Wpa News 12 (1986), World Pheasant Association

Galliformes Specialist Group and Affiliated Societies: Newsletters

WPA News (April 1986), number 12

Published by the World Pheasant Association