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Flora And Early Secondary Succession In Wetlands Of The Lower Kanawha River Floodplain, West Virginia, Brenda Kay West

Theses, Dissertations and Capstones

Vegetational and floristic analyses were performed on eight wetlands undergoing early secondary succession on the Kanawha River floodplain of' West Virginia. All sites have been cleared previously and have been revegetated for 30 years or less. Vegetation was classified into ten cover types according to species composition and physiognomy. Aquatic, graminoid dominated wet meadow, shrub-wet meadow, Spiraea tomentosa dominated, Comus amomum dominated, and various early forested wetlands were among the cover types classified and surveyed. Frequency, density, dominance, and importance values were established with random plot sampling for both herbaceous and woody species. A total of 262 species distributed among …

Minnesota's Response: The Mosquito Research Program, John Washburn, Nancy Read

Journal of the Minnesota Academy of Science

The Minnesota Mosquito Research Program (MMRP) was established in September 1984 in response to a request by Governor Perpich. The Minnesota Department of Health (MDH), as the lead agency, brought together a Working Group of distinguished North American experts to discuss the problems related to mosquito research and control. This Working Group- with advice from legislators and representatives from the community, environmental groups, and state and federal agencies- made recommendations for the development of a mosquito research and control program in Minnesota.

The Working Group divided its recommendations into two areas, research and administrative structure. An extensive research program in …

The Epiphytic Diatom Flora Of Two Sargassum Species, Robert S. Maples

Gulf and Caribbean Research

The epiphytic diatom flora on the brown algae Sargassum natans (L.) J. Meyer and S. fluitans Børgesen were investigated and compared. A total of 50 taxa representing 21 genera were identified. The most abundant taxa were Amphora exigua Greg., A. coffeiformis (Ag.) Kütz., Synedra fasciculata (Ag.) Kütz., Cocconeis pseudodiruptoides Foged, and Navicula ramosissima (Ag.) Cleve. Comparisons of the dominant species and diversity statistics characterizing the two samples indicated the two brown algal species supported nearly identical epiphytic diatom floras.

Distribution And Ecology Of The Synaphobranchidae Of The Gulf Of Mexico, Douglas M. Martin

Gulf and Caribbean Research

Synaphobranchid eels of the Gulf of Mexico are an important part of the upper continental slope ichthyofauna, occurring most frequently between 500 and 1,500 m. Two of the four known genera (Histiobranchus and Diastobranchus) have not been reported from the Gulf. Synaphobranchidae tend to occur within a narrow range of temperatures compared to the North Atlantic synaphobranchid eels. However, distribution of these eels in the deeper parts of the Gulf appears to be correlated more to change in depth than to temperature, salinity, or dissolved oxygen. The distribution at the shallower limits of their depth range appear to …

The Life History And Agricultural Importance Of The Small Lucerne Weevil, (Atrichonotus Taeniatulus (Coleoptera : Curculionidae) In Western Australia, Robert Emery

All other publications

The small lucerne weevil, Atrichonotus taeniatulus, has caused considerable damage to lucerne and subterranean clover in recent years. This study reviews the taxonomy of the insect, the damage it causes and the various stages of its life cycle

The Dynamics Of Animal Distribution: An Evolutionary/Ecological Model, Charles H. Smith

Faculty/Staff Personal Papers

Investigators have sometimes assumed that the factors underlying animal distribution are too complex to lend themselves to normative modelling. In this work, a model of environment and community interaction is constructed which lends itself to the latter kind of interpretation. It is posed that spatially-varying rates and magnitudes of availability of moisture at given locations act as stresses on the nature of community infrastructure, and secondarily on the rates at which new populations may become integrated into these. Populations are thereby viewed as tending to change range in common directions, though at overall rates remaining peculiar to each. This interpretation …

Seasonal Shifts Of Photosynthesis In Portulacaria Afra (L.) Jacq., Lonnie J. Guralnick, Patricia A. Rorabaugh, Zac Hanscom

Arts & Sciences Faculty Publications

Portulacaria afra (L.) Jacq., a perennial facultative Crassulacean acid metabolism (CAM) species, was studied under natural photoperiods and temperatures in San Diego, California. The plants were irrigated every fourth day throughout the study period. Measurements of ¹⁴CO₂ uptake, stomatal resistance, and titratable acidity were made periodically from July 1981 through May 1982. P. afra maintained C₃ photosynthesis during the winter and the spring. Diurnal acid fluctuations were low and maximal ¹⁴CO₂ uptake occurred during the day. The day/night ratio of carbon uptake varied from 5 to 10 and indicated little nocturnal CO₂ uptake. CAM …

Guralnick Lj, Pa Rorabaugh, Z Hanscom (1984) Influence Of Photoperiod And Leaf Age On Crassulacean Acid Metabolism In Portulacaria Afra (L.) Jacq., Lonnie J. Guralnick, Patricia A. Rorabaugh, Zac Hanscom

Arts & Sciences Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Changes In The Lower Chesapeake Bay Food-Chain In Presence Of The Sea Nettle Chrysaora-Quinquecirrha (Scyphomedusa), David Feigenbaum, Michael Kelly

OES Faculty Publications

The abundance of 4 levels of the lower Chesapeake Bay food chain (Chlorophyll a, herbivores, ctenophore Mnemiopsis leidyi, and Scyphomedusa Chrysaora quinquecirrha) were moni­tored twice weekly at 4 stations from May 10 through Sep 30, 1982 in the Lafayette and Elizabeth Rivers (Virginia). The herbivore standing stock, largely copepods, declined sharply in late May when M. Jeidyi appeared, but rebounded a month later when C. quinquecirrha medusae reduced the ctenophore population. Despite the additional presence of Aurelia aurita (Scyphomedusa) from Jul onward, herbivore abundance remained at moderate levels until the end of the study period. Phytoplankton abundance fluctuated …

The Effect Of Sea Nettle Abundance On The Food Chain Of The Lower Chesapeake Bay, Michael Glenn Kelly

OES Theses and Dissertations

The significance of sea nettle abundance on lower levels of the Chesapeake Bay food chain was examined in a field study and by the analysis of medusa gut contents. In the field study, the abundance of four levels of the food chain (Chlorophyll (a), copepods, the ctenophore Mnemiopsis leidyi, and the Schyphomedusa Chrysaora guinguecirrha) were monitored twice weekly at four stations from May 10 through September 30, 1982. The copepod standing stock declined sharply in late May when M. leidyi appeared, but rebounded a month later when C. guinguecirrha medusae reduced the ctenophore population. Despite the additional presence …

Ecology And Management Of Depredating Blackbirds In Ontario Field Corn, J. D. Somers, F. F. Gilbert, R. J. Brooks, D. E. Joyner

Wildlife Damage Management Conference

Blackbird damage to field corn in southwestern Ontario has been a problem for farmers for many years (Whitney 1954; Dyer 1968). Historically, Kent and Essex counties were the major corn-growing regions in Ontario, and the most significant centers of corn depredation by blackbirds were in these counties. However, the development of new short-season cultivars has afforded the expansion of field corn production and corn depredation problems throughout southern Ontario. The Ontario Ministry of the Environment (OME) provided funding commencing in 1976 in response to these increased instances of corn depredation for a 4-year research program on the importance, ecology and …

Evaluation Of Induced Sterility For Beaver (Castor Canadensis) Management Problems, J. J. Kennelly, P. J. Lyons

Wildlife Damage Management Conference

The concept of controlling animal damage problems by reducing fecundity of offending species through induced sterility first was proposed by Knipling (1955) for insect control and was applied successfully by that author (Knipling 1959) for eradication of the screw-worm fly. The potential application to vertebrate pest problems was recognized immediately by David (1961) and, subsequently, by many other workers for a variety of pests (e.g. Balser 1964; Kennelly et al. 1970: Murton et al. 1972; McDonald 1980; Potvin et al. 1982) including beaver (Arner 1964; Blanchard 1964; Nevers 1968; Hill 1977). Unfortunately, the method remains today largely unavailable for routine …

Foraging Ecology Of Temperate-Zone And Tropical Woodpeckers, Robert A. Askins

Biology Faculty Publications

The foraging behavior of 11 species of woodpeckers in Guatemala, Maryland, and Minnesota was studied in order to test the seasonal stability hypothesis. This hypothesis predicts that specialization and species richness should be no greater for tropical wood-excavators than for those in the temperate zone because wood-excavators in both regions are buffered against seasonal change. Niche breadth values for six variables that describe foraging methods and perches were calculated by two methods. Unweighted niche breadth values were similar for tropical and temperate woodpeckers for all variables except foraging techniques; in this case the temperate species are more specialized. With weighted …

An Evaluation Of Small Rodents In Four Dismal Swamp Plant Communities, F. Elizabeth Breidling, Frank P. Day Jr., Robert K. Rose

Biological Sciences Faculty Publications

Diversity and density of small rodents in the Dismal Swamp are believed to be low. Reasons for this may be excessive predation, heavy interspecific pressure from large rodents, lack of suitable habitat, low food availability or flooding.

Rodent populations were evaluated using live-traps and pitfall traps in four different Dismal Swamp plant communities. Habitat was compared on the basis of phytomass studies previously reported. Flood levels were recorded during live-trapping sessions. Mast from trees was collected in modified mast collectors, and fed to Peromyscus leucopus in the laboratory.

Only two small rodent species were captured: Ochrotomys nuttalli and Peromyscus leucopus …

Comparison Of Old Field Succession On A Tallgrass Prairie And A Nebraska Sandhills Prairie, Mary Bomberger Brown, Shelly L. Shields, A. Tyrone Harrsion, Kathleen H. Keeler

School of Biological Sciences: Faculty Publications

Long held to be reasonably well understood, the process of ecological succession has recently come under attack. The predictability of successional changes has been doubted (Walker 1970), the mechanism of species replacement has been questioned (Connell and Slatyer 1977), and the reality of steady-state (climax) challenged (Botkin and Sobel 1975, Connell and Slatyer 1977, Connell 1978). In particular, several communities are presently recognized as having "cyclic succession" (Ricklefs 1973), in which the process is continually repeating. Such communities include heaths (Watt 1947), prairie pot-hole marshes (Vander Valk and Davis 1978), spruce-fir forests (Sprugel 1976, Sprugel and Bormann 1981), and intertidal …

The Distribution, Ecology And Growth Of The Chestnut Lamprey, Ichthyomyzon Castaneus, In The Clearwater River, Minnesota, Charles S. Holt, Paul A. Durkee

Journal of the Minnesota Academy of Science

This study dealt primarily with the ammocoete stage of the chestnut lamprey, lchthyamyzan castaneus (Girard). The population estimate for ammocoetes in the 25.5 m2 section studied was 540 individuals. The lengths of 452 ammocoetes collected ranged from 42 to 164 mm. A total of 213 chestnut lampreys were retained for laboratory study. Twenty of these were adults with an average length of 136.8 mm (range= 125 mm to 191 mm). Six age classes of ammocoetes were determined. An average increase in body length of recaptured ammocoetes of 2.9 mm was observed during the summers of 1980 and 1981. The habitat …

Cranes Of The World: References, Paul A. Johnsgard

Cranes of the World by Paul A. Johnsgard

The following list of more than 400 references is by no means a complete bibliography of cranes, but does include a few titles that for various reasons were not specifically cited in the text. Walkinshaw's (1973) monograph contains a large number of citations not found in the present list, and he additionally has recently (1981c) updated and supplemented his earlier bibliography. All told, his two citation lists include nearly 2,500 citations. Nearly 40 percent of the 1973 list deals with the whooping crane, 20 percent with the sandhill crane, 15 percent with the Eurasian crane, and 8 percent with the …

Saving Energy In Rural Maine : Or Who's Doing What On The Farm, Mane Department Of Agriculture

Maine Collection

Saving Energy In Rural Maine : Or Who's Doing What on the Farm

Compiled by Bettina M. Blanchard and Edited by Bill Seekins.

Maine Department of Agriculture, Food and Rural Resources, Division of Resources Development, Augusta, Maine, 1983.

Contents: List of Photographs and Diagrams / Introduction / Projects / 1. Wind / 2. Wood Heat Applications On the Farm / 3. Solar Applications / 4. Manure Handling and Waste Utilization / 5. Energy Efficient Cooling Methods / 6. Energy Saving In Field Operations / 7. Production and Use of Alternative Fuels / 8. Multi-Project Sites / Summary and Conclusions / …

Distribution Of The Marsh Periwinkle Littorina Irrorata (Say) In A Virginia Salt Marsh, R. Wyle Crist, William C. Banta

Gulf and Caribbean Research

Littorina irrorata varies over its geographic range in maximum size, preferred elevations relative to tidal datum planes, and in the type of vegetation it inhabits. On Wallops Island, Virginia, postlarvae of Littorina irrorata with shell lengths < 5 mm long live almost exclusively in dead, curled-up leaves of Spartina alterniflora at elevations near mean tide level, below elevations occupied by larger conspecifics. Snails longer than 5 mm in length increase in average size with decreasing elevation. This distribution is opposite to that found by Hamilton (1978) in a marsh in Florida. No difference was found in our study area in growth rate of marked snails at two different elevations, so the size-elevation …

Effects Of Saltwater Intrusion From The Inner Harbor Navigation Canal On The Benthos Of Lake Pontchartrain, Louisiana, Jane A. Junot, Michael A. Poirrier, Thomas M. Soniat

Gulf and Caribbean Research

A study of the benthos of southern Lake Pontchartrain, Louisiana, was conducted from July 1976 to July 1978. Seven offshore stations and three stations in the New Orleans Marina complex were sampled seasonally. Offshore stations formed a transect from the Lake Pontchartrain Causeway to the Inner Harbor Navigation Canal (I.H.N.C.). A west to east gradient of increasing salinity and salinity stratification was evident.

Faunal differences among stations were assessed using indices of diversity, biological dominance, pollution, and station homogeneity. The fauna of the marina stations had a low species diversity and was dominated by annelids, indicative of a stressed environment. …

An Ecological Succession Model Applied To Environmental Management, Diane Rosenberg

Master's Theses

No abstract provided.

Habitat Selection Related To Resource Availability Among Cavity-Nesting Birds, Timothy Brush

School of Integrative Biological & Chemical Sciences (Formerly Dept. of Biology)

Variation in snag species and abundance appeared to explain most of the habitat selection patterns observed in five cavity-nesting riparian species over a three-year period. All species except Ash-throated Flycatchers were most common in areas with cottonwood or willow snags, which have relatively soft wood and are preferred nest sites. Classification of habitats on the basis of nest-site characteristics was useful and should be considered in other habitat selection studies.

Parental Foraging In Chipping Sparrows (Spizella Passerina), Dora Elisa Perez

Masters Theses

During the breeding season of 1982, the population of Chipping Sparrows ( Spizella passerina) that inhabits the Western Michigan University's campus was chosen to study the use of foliage and other foraging sites. Three pairs were selected to be observed intensively.

During the time the female is foraging and when the male is either foraging or in territorial advertisement activities both sexes choose needleleaf trees out of proportion to their availability.

It is also likely that in the later stages of caring for young, when food demands were highest, the birds become less selective and forage on needleleaf trees as …

The Prairie Naturalist Volume 14, No. 4. December 1982

The Prairie Naturalist

THE MICROBIAL AND VEGETATIONAL RESPONSE TO FIRE IN THE LYNX PRAIRIE PRESERVE, ADAMS COUNTY, OHIO ▪ A. E. Annala and L. A. Kapustka

ASPECTS OF BEHAVIOR IN FREE-RANGING BARBARY SHEEP (AMMOTRAGUS LERVIA) G. G. Gray and C. D. Simpson

HOME RANGES OF MULE DEER BUCKS IN THE TEXAS PANHANDLE ▪ B. H. Koerth and F. C. Bryant

DETERMINING SEX OF PLAINS POCKET GOPHERS BY INCISOR WIDTH ▪ R. M. Case and A. B. Sargeant

BOOK REVIEWS:

On Counting Birds ▪ S. A. Mikol

Freshwater Marshes ▪ R. M. Kaminiski

NOTICE TO AUTHORS ▪ Editor

INDEX TO VOLUME 14 …

Karyotypic Relationships Within The Short-Tailed Shrews, Genus Blarina, Sarah B. George, Hugh H. Genoways, Jerry R. Choate, Robert J. Baker

University of Nebraska State Museum: Mammalogy Papers

Short-tailed shrews of the genus Blarina exhibit considerable geographic variation in both diploid number and fundamental number. Four chromosomal groups are recognized within the genus: Blarina brevicauda, FN = 48; 2N = 50, 49, or 48; B. carolinensis, FN = 45 or 44; 2N = 46, 39, 38, or 37; B. c. peninsulae, FN = 52; 2N = 52, 51, or 50; B. hylophaga, FN = 62, 61, or 60; 2N = 52. B. c. peninsulae also may be a distinct species, but exact determination must await location and analysis of a zone of contact with …

An Ecological Study Of The Troglobitic Cirolanid Isopod Antrolana Lira Bowman From Madisons Saltpetre Cave And Stegers Fissure, Augusta Co., Virginia, T. Lynn Collins

Biological Sciences Theses & Dissertations

An ecological study of the troglobitic cirolanid isopod, Antrolana lira Bowman, was begun in August 1979 and continued through September 1980. The isopod is restricted to two phreatic lakes in Madisons Saltpetre Cave and one phreatic lake in nearby Stegers Fissure, Augusta Co., Virginia.

All three phreatic lakes were scuba dived and surveyed. No direct connections were found between the lakes. However, physical similarities suggest that the lakes are made up of the same body of phreatic water.

Random samples were taken monthly and seasonally from the east lake in Madisons Saltpetre Cave and the lake in Stegers Fissure. Specimens …

Estimation Of Harvest Rate Of Black Bears From Age And Sex Data, David Fraser, James F. Gardner, George B. Kolenosky, Stewart Strathearn

Wildlife Population Management Collection

No abstract provided.

Differences Associated With Mating Type Alleles In Myxomycetes, Robert M. Queen

Retrospective Theses and Dissertations

Differences associated with the mating type alleles of Didymium iridis and Physarum polycephalum were examined with fluorescent antibody and sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. Heteroabsorption of each anti-myxamoebal serum followed by testing serum activity using immunofluorescence showed there is no strain-specific activity in any of the anti-myxamoebal sera, but the sera was shown, to be genera specific. Intergeneric differences and similarities were shown in the electrophoretic patterns of the myxamoebal protein extracts from P. polycephalum, D. iridis, and Dictyostelium discoideum when compared. Intraspecific differences were noted in D. iridis.

Leeches (Annelida: Hirudinea) Of North America, Donald J. Klemm

Harold W. Manter Laboratory of Parasitology: Library Materials

The previous manual, "Freshwater Leeches (Annelida: Hirudinea) of North America," Identification Manual No. 8, Biota of Freshwater Ecosystems, published in 1972, was prepared under contract with the Oceanography and Limnology Program, Smithsonian Institution, with funds provided by the United States Environmental Protection Agency.

In the ten years that have elapsed since publication of the above manual, additional work has been done in North America on the ecology and systematics of the leeches. This publication serves to correct several errors found in the above manual, to make several desirable taxonomic changes, to add new sections and various relevant information to the …

A Structural Analysis Of Phytoplankton In The Chesapeake Bay Plume And Adjacent Shelf Waters, Charles K. Rutledge

Biological Sciences Theses & Dissertations

Community structures of phytoplankton populations from the southern portion of the Chesapeake Bight were examined and associated to real and environmental spaces. The sampling design was specifically intended to examine the small scale three dimensional structure of the Chesapeake Bay plume as characterized by its phytoplankton populations. The phytoplankton were sampled at 101 stations, non-synoptically, over a five day period in mid-June, 1980.

Several multivariate numerical techniques were used to determine the relationships between the phytoplankton species distributions and pattern the low salinity plume distribution. A pattern of distribution which approximated the salinity plume resulted from several clustering procedures. Environmental …