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The Prairie Naturalist, Volume 38, Number 2, June 2006, Elmer J. Finck, Hilary Gillock

The Prairie Naturalist

The Prairie Naturalist (June 2006) Volume 38, Issue 2, full issue.

Feeding Habitats of Spring-Migrating Blackbirds in East-central South Dakota, by Richard S. Sawin, George M. Linz, William J. Bleier, and H. Jeffrey Homan, pages 73-84.

Brood Break-up and Juvenile Dispersal of Lesser Prairie-chicken in Kansas, by James C. Pitman , Brent E. Jamison, Christian A. Hagen, Robert J. Robel, and Roger D. Applegate, pages 74-99.

Population Biology of Pumpkinseed in Enemy Swim Lake, South Dakota, by Eric J. Weimer and Michael L. Brown, pages 101-111.

Reproductive Development in the Sicklefin Chub in the Missouri and Lower Yellowstone Rivers, by …

An Assessment Model For Rating High-Threat Crop Pathogens, N. W. Schaad, J. Abrams, L. V. Madden, R. D. Frederick, D. G. Luster, V. D. Damsteegt, A. K. Vidaver

Department of Plant Pathology: Faculty Publications

Natural, accidental, and deliberate introductions of nonindigenous crop pathogens have become increasingly recognized as threats to the U.S. economy. Given the large number of pathogens that could be introduced, development of rapid detection methods and control strategies for every potential agent would be extremely difficult and costly. Thus, to ensure the most effective direction of resources a list of high-threat pathogens is needed. We address development of a pathogen threat assessment model based on the analytic hierarchy process (AHP) that can be applied worldwide, using the United States as an illustrative example. Previously, the AHP has been shown to work …

On The Origin And Functions Of Rna-Mediated Silencing: From Protists To Man, Heriberto D. Cerutti, Juan Casas-Mollano

Center for Plant Science Innovation: Faculty Publications

Double-stranded RNA has been shown to induce gene silencing in diverse eukaryotes and by a variety of pathways. We have examined the taxonomic distribution and the phylogenetic relationship of key components of the RNA interference (RNAi) machinery in members of five eukaryotic supergroups. On the basis of the parsimony principle, our analyses suggest that a relatively complex RNAi machinery was already present in the last common ancestor of eukaryotes and consisted, at a minimum, of one Argonaute-like polypeptide, one Piwi-like protein, one Dicer, and one RNA-dependent RNA polymerase. As proposed before, the ancestral (but non-essential) role of these components may …

Nitric Oxide Accelerates Seed Germination In Warm-Season Grasses, Gautam Sarath, Paul C. Bethke, Russell Jones, Lisa M. Baird, Guichuan Hou, Robert B. Mitchell

United States Department of Agriculture-Agricultural Research Service / University of Nebraska-Lincoln: Faculty Publications

The nitric oxide (NO) donor sodium nitroprusside (SNP) significantly promoted germination of switchgrass (Panicum virgatum L. cv Kanlow) in the light and in the dark at 25°C, across a broad range of concentrations. SNP also promoted seed germination in two other warm-season grasses. A chemical scavenger of NO inhibited germination and blocked SNP stimulation of seed germination. The phenolic (+)-catechin acted synergistically with SNP and nitrite in promoting seed germination. Acidified nitrite, an alternate NO donor also significantly stimulated seed germination. Interestingly, sodium cyanide, potassium ferricyanide and potassium ferrocyanide at 200 lM strongly enhanced seed germination as well, whereas …

Center For Grassland Studies Newsletter, Spring 2006, Volume 12, No. 2

Center for Grassland Studies: Newsletters

Evaluation of Two Grasses for Silvopasture Systems in the Great Plains by Michael E.L. Perry, Tala Awada, Walter Schacht, and Sue Ellen Pegg Department of Agronomy and Horticulture and School of Natural Resources, UNL

Research for the Birds: Sandhills Is the Target of Grassland Bird and Grazing Investigation by Larkin Powell, School of Natural Resources, UNL

UNL Professional Golf Management Program Scores a First

Program Set for 2006 Nebraska Grazing Conference

The Nebraska Range Shortcourse

Invasive Species Is Theme of Prairie Conference

Third National Conference on Grazing Lands

The Fate And Transport Of Nitrogen (N) And The Effect Of Emergent Plants On Natural Treatment Of N-Species At Las Vegas Wash, Nevada, Tanju Kiriscioglu

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

The purpose of this study is to analyze the effect of emergent plant communities at Las Vegas Wash (the System) using a system dynamics modeling approach. Understanding the dynamics of nitrogen (N —major polluting nutrient in the Wash) that enters the System is important because it occasionally causes algal blooms, choking Lake Mead through excessive eutrophication. Emergent plant communities are an integral part of wetland ecosystems and they play a crucial role in natural treatment of nutrients. This study is intended to test this hypothesis.

The study makes use of Wash data from reliable sources (Las Vegas Valley Water District, …

Phylogeny And Androecial Evolution In Schisandraceae, Inferred From Sequences Of Nuclear Ribosomal Dna Its And Chloroplast Dna TrnL-F Regions, Zhong Liu, Gang Hao, Yi-Bo Luo, Leonard B. Thien, Samuel W. Rosso, An-Ming Lu, Zhi-Duan Chen

Faculty Publications

Sequences of nuclear ribosomal DNA ITS and chloroplast trnL‐F regions were used to construct a phylogeny of Schisandraceae. The results show that there are two major clades in Schisandraceae. One is composed entirely of Schisandra species; the other contains a mixture of Schisandra and Kadsura species. Molecular data place Smith’s sect. Sphaerostema of Schisandra prominently within Kadsura, and thus neither Schisandra nor Kadsura is monophyletic, refuting the traditional division of the family into two genera based on morphological characters of mature fruits. The sister relationship between S. glabra (North America) and S. bicolor (China) and the monophyly of …

New Outbreaks Of Bacterial Wilt Of Dry Bean In Nebraska Observed From Field Infections, R. M. Harveson, H. F. Schwartz, A. K. Vidaver, Patricia A. Lambrecht, K. L. Otto

Department of Plant Pathology: Faculty Publications

Bacterial wilt caused by Curtobacterium flaccumfaciens pv. flaccumfaciens was one of the more problematic diseases of dry bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) throughout the irrigated High Plains (Colorado, Nebraska, and Wyoming) in the 1960s and early 1970s, but has not been observed since that time. However, in August of 2003, plants exhibiting wilting and irregular, interveinal necrotic foliar lesions surrounded by a bright yellow border were found in three dry bean fields (market class Great Northern) in Scotts Bluff County, Nebraska. During 2004, plants exhibiting identical symptoms were additionally found occurring in more than 40 dry bean fields in western …

Chemical Stabilization Of Soil Organic Nitrogen By Phenolic Lignin Residues In Anaerobic Agroecosystems, D.C. Olk, Kenneth G. Cassman, K. Schmidt-Rohr, M.M. Anders, J.-D. Mao, J.L. Deenik

Department of Agronomy and Horticulture: Faculty Publications

This review summarizes independent reports of yield decreases in several agricultural systems that are associated with repeated cropping under wet or submerged soil conditions. Crop and soil data from most of these agroecosystems have led researchers to attribute yield decreases to a reduction in crop uptake of N mineralized from soil organic matter (SOM). These trends are most evident in several long-term field experiments on continuous lowland rice systems in the Philippines, but similar trends are evident in a continuous rice rotation in Arkansas, USA and with no-till cropping systems in North American regions with cool, wet climatic conditions in …

Influence Of Soil Compaction On Nitrogen Volatilization In A Management Intensive Grazing System: Estimation Of Gaseous N Losses Using Mass Balance In Intact Soil Cores, Luke Alan Petersen

Undergraduate Honors Capstone Projects

Increasing concern about the environmental impacts of greenhouse gases and PM 2.5 particulates has prompted many researchers to examine the processes of gaseous loss of nitrogen (N) from agricultural land. As agricultural production becomes more competitive and producers strive to become more efficient by reducing input costs, they will increasingly employ practices such as the rotational stocking, also called Management Intensive Grazing (MIG). MIG utilizes high animal stocking rates for short periods of time to efficiently harvest pasture crops. Unfortunately, MIG also produces relatively high concentrations of livestock excreta. This has caused intensive grazing practices to become a focal point …

Vascular Plant Species Richness And Distribution In A Heterogeneous Landscape, Kelly J. Mccloskey

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The distribution of vascular plant species and species richness in a mid-elevation Rocky Mountain landscape can be attributed to a number of variables. The distribution of species with respect to physiognomic type, patch size, shape, and environmental heterogeneity was assessed for a mosaic landscape comprised of conifer forest, deciduous forest, and shrub-steppe physiognomic types in the southwest comer of Grand Teton National Park, Wyoming. This vegetation is representative of that found in other montane landscapes of the central Rocky Mountains. The vegetation was mapped to physiognomic type; distinct vegetation patches were sampled using one or more small (50 m^{2 …}

Invasive Species Definition Clarification And Guidance, Invasive Species Advisory Committee

National Invasive Species Council

Summary

Invasive species are those that are not native to the ecosystem under consideration and that cause or are likely to cause economic or environmental harm or harm to human, animal, or plant health. Plant and animal species under domestication or cultivation and under human control are not invasive species. Furthermore for policy purposes, to be considered invasive, the negative impacts caused by a non-native species will be deemed to outweigh the beneficial effects it provides. Finally, a non-native species might be considered invasive in one region but not in another. Whether or not a species is considered an invasive …

The Arabidopsis Homolog Of Trithorax, Atx1, Binds Phosphatidylinositol 5-Phosphate, And The Two Regulate A Common Set Of Target Genes, Raul Alvarez-Venegas, Monther Sadder, Andrej Hlavacka, Frantisek Baluska, Yuannan Xia, Guoqing Lu, Alexey Firsov, Gautam Sarath, Hideaki Moriyama, Joseph G. Dubrovsky, Zoya V. Avramova

United States Department of Agriculture-Agricultural Research Service / University of Nebraska-Lincoln: Faculty Publications

TheArabidopsis homolog of trithorax, ATX1, regulates numerous functions inArabidopsis beyond the homeotic genes. Here, we identified genome-wide targets of ATX1 and showed that ATX1 is a receptor for a lipid messenger, phosphatidylinositol 5-phosphate, PI5P. PI5P negatively affects ATX1 activity, suggesting a regulatory pathway connecting lipid-signaling with nuclear functions. We propose a model to illustrate how plants may respond to stimuli (external or internal) that elevate cellular PI5P levels by altering expression of ATX1-controlled genes.

Includes supplemental supporting information.

Low Leaf N And P Resorption Contributes To Nutrient Limitation In Two Desert Shrubs, Rebecca E. Drenovsky, J. H. Richards

Biology

Both water and nutrients are limiting in arid environments, and desert plants have adapted to these limitations through numerous developmental and physiological mechanisms. In the Mono Basin, California, USA, co-dominant Sarcobatus vermiculatus and Chrysothamnus nauseosus ssp. consimilis are differentially N and P limited. We hypothesized that low leaf N resorption contributes to N-limitation in Sarcobatus and that low leaf P resorption contributes to P-limitation in Chrysothamnus. As predicted, Sarcobatus resorbed proportionally 1.7-fold less N than Chrysothamnus, but reduced leaf P in senescent leaves to lower levels than Chrysothamnus (8.0–10.8-fold lower based on leaf area or mass, respectively), consistent with N, …

Fluorescent Flowers: A Long Road To Accomplishment, Lindsay Kendrick

Inquiry Journal 2006

No abstract provided.

Effects Of Smoke And Fire-Related Cues On Panstemon Barbatus Seeds, Scott R. Abella

Public Policy and Leadership Faculty Research

Previous research has found that exposure to fire-related cues enhances germination of some plant species, and such species may exist in frequent-fire southwestern United States Pinus ponderosa forests. I performed four greenhouse experiments with Penstemon barbatus, a perennial forb common in P. ponderosa forests, testing seed responses to liquid and air smoke, charred P. ponderosa wood and leachate, heat and emergence substrates. Liquid smoke increased P. barbatus emergence to as high as 63%, 44% greater than controls, and enhanced emergence in all 4 experiments. Air smoke produced by burning P. ponderosa litter for 15 min appeared to increase emergence similar …

Phycodnaviruses: A Peek At Genetic Diversity, David Dunigan, Lisa A. Fitzgerald, James L. Van Etten

Department of Plant Pathology: Faculty Publications

The family Phycodnaviridae encompasses a diverse collection of large icosahedral, dsDNA viruses infecting algae. These viruses have genomes ranging from 160 to 560 kb. The family consists of six genera based initially on host range and supported by sequence comparisons. The family is monophyletic with branches for each genus, but the phycodnaviruses have evolutionary roots that connect with several other families of large DNA viruses, referred to as the nucleocytoplasmic large DNA viruses (NCLDV). The genomes of members in three genera in the Phycodnaviridae have recently been sequenced and the purpose of this manuscript is to summarize these data. The …

Soil Fertility And Changes In Fertilizer Use For Intensive Rice Cultivation In The Red River Delta And Mekong Delta Of Vietnam, Jennifer Soong

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Rice farmers in Vietnam’s Red River Delta and Mekong Delta are now fully addicted to using fertilizers to sustain intensive rice production. The introduction of high yielding rice varieties in the late 1960’s brought with it the ability to grow crops continuously throughout year, and the need to supplement natural soil conditions with both organic and inorganic fertilizers. Rice yields have increased rapidly in the past 40 years. If intensive agriculture is to continue producing the high yields that Vietnam has come to expect, however, proper management of fertilizer use must begin now. In this study, three intensive rice fields …

Lysine Residues In N-Terminal And C-Terminal Regions Of Human Histone H2a Are Targets For Biotinylation By Biotinidase, Yap Ching Chew, Gabreale Camporeale, Nagarama Kothapalli, Gautam Sarath, Janos Zempleni

United States Department of Agriculture-Agricultural Research Service / University of Nebraska-Lincoln: Faculty Publications

In eukaryotic cell nuclei, DNA associates with the core histones H2A, H2B, H3 and H4 to form nucleosomal core particles. DNA binding to histones is regulated by posttranslational modifications of N-terminal tails (e.g., acetylation and methylation of histones). These modifications play important roles in the epigenetic control of chromatin structure. Recently, evidence that biotinidase and holocarboxylase synthetase (HCS) catalyze the covalent binding of biotin to histones has been provided. The primary aim of this study was to identify biotinylation sites in histone H2A and its variant H2AX. Secondary aims were to determine whether acetylation and methylation of histone H2A affect …

Review Of Polarity In Plants, Annual Plant Reviews, Volume 12, Steven D. Harris

Center for Plant Science Innovation: Faculty Publications

Polarity is a fundamental property of all cells. The molecular mechanisms that underlies the establishment and maintenance of cellular polarity have been intensively studied in animal cells and yeast-like fungi. These studies reveal an emerging general principle whereby positional information is relayed to the cytoskeleton and other morphogenetic functions by conserved signaling pathways. Comparatively less attention has been directed toward the molecular basis of polarized growth in plant cells and tissues. This volume, Polarity in Plants, provides a comprehensive review of the topic that should satisfy both hardcore aficionados of plant cell and developmental biology as well as curious investigators …

Nebline, March 2006

NEBLINE Newsletter Archive from Nebraska Extension in Lancaster County

Nebraska 4-H Summer Camps Provide Ultimate Camping Experience for Youth
All-America Selection Vegetables for 2006
Shamrocks for St. Patrick’s Day
Hints for Starting Transplants
Red Flour Beetles
ewf needs volunteers
Household Hazardous Waste Collections for 2006
Don’t Get Trapped in a Smelly Situation
Pocket Gophers in Your Alfalfa? UNL Wildlife Researcher Needs Your Help!
Collection of Unwanted Pesticides, March 16
Diesel vs. Propane Irrigation Systems
Commercial Pesticide Applicator Training
Worried About the High Cost of Fertilizer?
Pollination Requirements for Tree and Small Fruits
Upcoming Acreage Insights Clinics
Type of Farm Enterprise and Crop(s) Produced
$tretch Your Food Dollar with Canned …

First Record Of The Spurge Hawkmoth As A Pollen Vector For The Western Prairie Fringed Orchid [Notes], Carla R. Jordan, Gerald M. Fauske, Mrion O. Harris, Darla Lenz

The Prairie Naturalist

Identification of pollen vectors is one step in refining management plans for a threatened plant such as the western prairie fringed orchid (Platanthera praeclara Sheviak and Bowles). Pollen vector bionomics, phenology, and ethology must be understood to assess this moth and other potential pollinators relative to orchid reproductive success. Also, the ability of spurge hawkmoth (Lepidoptera: Sphingidae), a recently introduced species, to act as a pollen vector for an obligate prairie plant, the western prairie fringed orchid, in theoretical terms, provides evidence which contradicts long held tenets of one-to-one correspondence between orchids and their pollinators. Further research might shed …

The Prairie Naturalist, Volume 38, Number 1, March 2006, Elmer J. Finck, Hilary Gillock

The Prairie Naturalist

Fire History, Passerine Abundance, and Habitat on a North Dakota Drift Plain Prairie by Timothy J. Ludwick and Robert T. Murphy, pages 1-11

Bats in a Human-made Forest of Central Nebraska by Keith Geluso, pages 13-23

Effects of Predator Removal on Upland Nesting Ducks in North Dakota Grassland Fragments by Kristen D. Chodachek and Michael J. Chamberlain, pages 25-37

Estimates of Breeding Bird Populations in the Sheyenne National Grassland, North Dakota by Mary Ann Cunningham, Douglas H. Johnson, and Daniel N. Svingen, pages 39-56

Notes: First Record of the Spurge Hawkmoth as a Pollen Vector for the western Prairie Fringed …

Fire History, Passerine Abundance, And Habitat On A North Dakota Drift Plain Prairie, Timothy J. Ludwick, Robert K. Murphy

The Prairie Naturalist

Prescribed fire is among key tools for restoring and managing prairies in the northern Great Plains, yet there are no published reports of its impacts on grassland passerine birds on native prairie in the Drift Plain, a major physiographic subregion. We examined relationships between prescribed fire history and abundance and habitat of breeding passerines in Drift Plain prairie at Des Lacs National Wildlife National Refuge in northwestern North Dakota. In 2003, we used point counts (n = 79 75 m radius plots) to survey bird abundance on 16 management units that had been prescribe-burned one to three times each …

Suggestions For Contributors And Editorial Policy (The Prairie Naturalist), Elmer J. Finck, Hilary Gillock

The Prairie Naturalist

Suggestions for contributors and editorial policy for The Prairie Naturalist from March 2006, Volume 38, Issue 1.

Estimates Of Breeding Bird Populations In The Sheyenne National Grassland, North Dakota, Mary Ann Cunningham, Douglas Johnson, Daniel N. Svingen

The Prairie Naturalist

We conducted a two-year survey of breeding birds in the Sheyenne National Grassland, North Dakota, to estimate total populations of breeding birds. The Grassland is of interest because it provides wildlife habitat and recreational birding opportunities. Indicated breeding pairs were counted on 100-m wide belt transects during morning surveys from late May to early July in 2002 and 2003. We surveyed approximately 6 to 7% of the Grassland each year. The most abundant species in both years were grasshopper sparrow (Ammodramus savannarum), red-winged blackbird (Agelaius phoeniceus), claycolored sparrow (Spizella pallida), Savannah sparrow (Passerculus …

[Review Of] Stable Isotopes And Biosphere–Atmosphere Interactions: Processes And Biological Controls, Mark S. Coyne

Plant and Soil Sciences Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Potassium Ion Channels Of Chlorella Viruses Cause Rapid Depolarization Of Host Cells During Infection, Florian Frohns, Anja Kasmann, Detlef Kramer, Britta Schafer, Mario Mehmel, Ming Kang, James L. Van Etten, Sabrina Gazzarrini, Ana Morino, Gerhard Thiel

Department of Plant Pathology: Faculty Publications

revious studies have established that chlorella viruses encode K⁺ channels with different structural and functional properties. In the current study, we exploit the different sensitivities of these channels to Cs⁺ to determine if the membrane depolarization observed during virus infection is caused by the activities of these channels. Infection of Chlorella NC64A with four viruses caused rapid membrane depolarization of similar amplitudes, but with different kinetics. Depolarization was fastest after infection with virus SC-1A (half time [t_1/2], about 9 min) and slowest with virus NY-2A (t_1/2, about 12 min). Cs⁺ inhibited …

Polarity In Plants - Annual Plant Reviews, Volume 12, Steven D. Harris

Department of Plant Pathology: Faculty Publications

Polarity is a fundamental property of all cells. The molecular mechanisms that underlies the establishment and maintenance of cellular polarity have been intensively studied in animal cells and yeast-like fungi. These studies reveal an emerging general principle whereby positional information is relayed to the cytoskeleton and other morphogenetic functions by conserved signaling pathways. Comparatively less attention has been directed toward the molecular basis of polarized growth in plant cells and tissues. This volume, Polarity in Plants, provides a comprehensive review of the topic that should satisfy both hardcore aficionados of plant cell and developmental biology as well as curious investigators …

Effects Of Predator Removal On Upland Nesting Ducks In North Dakota Grassland Fragments, Kristen D. Chodachek, Michael J. Chamberlain

The Prairie Naturalist

Low nest success rates in the Prairie Pothole Region are attributed mainly to changes in the predator community coupled with reductions in availability of suitable nesting cover. We evaluated effects of removal of mammalian predators on pair density and nest success of ducks nesting on 259 ha sites in northeastern North Dakota during 2001 and 2002. We monitored pair density and duck nests on 10 sites with removal and 10 sites without removal. Overall nest success for both years was greater on trapped (53.4%) than nontrapped sites (28.7%). Pair densities were not affected by predator removal, but did increase across …