Digital Commons Network^™

Historic Status Of Black-Footed Ferret Habitat In Montana, Dennis L. Flath, Tim W. Clark

Great Basin Naturalist Memoirs

Black-footed ferrets (Mustela nigripes) use prairie dogs (Cynomys spp.) for food and their burrows for shelter. Thus, prairie dog colonies are essential ferret habitat. Prairie dog control, which resulted in permanent loss of ferret habitat, is considered the primary reason for the ferret's endangered status today. Northern Pacific Railroad (presently Burlington Northern) lands were surveyed 1908–1914, just prior to the onset of widespread prairie dog control. In Montana the surveyed area included a belt about 483 km long and 192 km wide, from the Montana-North Dakota border westward to Livingston. In all, 6,661 sections (11.8%) of 22 …

Fecal Bile Acids Of Black-Footed Ferrets, Mark K. Johnson, Tim W. Clark, Max H. Schroeder, Louise Richardson

Great Basin Naturalist Memoirs

Fecal bile acid characteristics have been used to identify scats to species of origin. Fecal bile acids in scats from 20 known black-footed ferrets (Mustela nigripes), 7 other known small carnivores, and 72 of unknown origin were analyzed to determine if this procedure could be used as a tool to verify ferret presence in an area. Seventeen ferret scats were suitable for analysis and had a mean fecal bile acid index of 156 ± 9. This was significantly different from mean indices for the other carnivores; however, subtantial overlap among confidence intervals occurred for badgers, kit foxes, and …

Comparison Of Capture-Recapture And Visual Count Indices Of Prairie Dog Densities In Black-Footed Ferret Habitat, Kathleen A. Fagerstone, Dean E. Biggins

Great Basin Naturalist Memoirs

Black-footed ferrets (Mustela nigripes) are dependent on prairie dogs (Cynomys spp.) for food and on their burrows for shelter and rearing young. A stable prairie dog population may therefore be the most important factor determining the survival of ferrets. A rapid method of determining prairie dog density would be useful for assessing prairie dog density in colonies currently occupied by ferrets and for selecting prairie dog colonies in other areas for ferret translocation. This study showed that visual counts can provide a rapid density estimate. Visual counts of white-tailed prairie dogs (Cynomys leucurus) were significantly …

Determing Minimum Population Size For Recovery Of The Black-Footed Ferret, Craig R. Groves, Tim W. Clark

Great Basin Naturalist Memoirs

A minimum viable population (MVP) size is estimated for the critically endangered black-footed ferret by examining five basic methods: experiments, biogeographic patterns, theoretical models, simulation models, and genetic considerations. Each method is evaluated for its applicability to the feret and endangered species in general with two criteria in mind: (1) potential research impacts to target species and (2) the value of scientific accuracy and precision in relation to short-term conservation needs. For the black-footed ferret, the genetic method proved to be the most useful, resulting in an MVP estimate of about 200 ferrets for maintenance of short-term fitness. For most …

Activity Of Radio-Tagged Black-Footed Ferrets, Dean E. Biggins, Max H. Shroeder, Steven C. Forrest, Louise Richardson

Great Basin Naturalist Memoirs

Activity of two radio-tagged black-footed ferrets (Mustela nigripes) was investigated during October–November 1981 (an adult male monitored for 16 days), and during August–November 1982 (a young female monitored for 101 days). Aboveground activity of the male averaged 2.95 hr/night, 15% of the total time monitored. From 22 September to 5 November, aboveground activity of the female averaged 1.69 hours; 26% of the time she was stationary and 74% of the time she was moving. During August the juvenile female emerged at least once on 93% of the nights. She was least active in November. Both animals were primarily …

Dam-Raised Fawns, An Alternative To Bottle Feeding, Kathrin M. Olson-Rutz, Philip J. Urness, Laura A. Urness

Great Basin Naturalist

Rearing young ungulates for ecological studies is costly and time consuming. Doe-rearing mule deer (Odocoileus hemionus) fawns is a viable alternative to the common method of bottle-feeding. Fawns tamed while nurtured by their tractable dams showed no marked difference in tractability over bottle-reared orphans. The advantages of doe-rearing are better health for the young and convenience for the handler.

Feeding Habits Of Metamorphosed Ambystoma Tigrinum Melanostictum In Ponds Of High Ph (>9), Brian T. Miller, John H. Larsen Jr.

Great Basin Naturalist

During the spring breeding season throughout the channeled scablands of eastern Washington, metamorphosed male and female blotched tiger salamanders (Ambystoma tigrinum melanostictum) utilize oropharyngeal suction to capture large quantities of small aquatic invertebrates. Stomach content analysis on salamanders from three populations of this subspecies revealed that they consume the following taxa: Copepoda, Cladocera, Culicidae, Anostraca, and Chironomidae. Although the amount of energy obtained by adults via in-water feeding was not calculated, the large volume of aquatic invertebrate material flushed from salamander stomachs suggests that this feeding strategy should add significantly to their total annual nutrient consumption.

Notes On The Swainson's Hawk In Central Utah: Insectivory, Premigratory Aggregations, And Kleptoparasitism, Neil D. Woffinden

Great Basin Naturalist

A premigratory flock of Swainson's Hawks numbering at least 213 individuals was observed during July and August of 1984. Aerial feeding on grasshoppers was noted and kleptoparasitism was recorded between the Swainson's Hawk and the American Kestrel.

Turkey Vultures Decline At A Traditional Roosting Site, Daniel M. Taylor

Great Basin Naturalist

A population decline of about 50% from 1974 to 1981 for Turkey Vultures (Cathartes aura) was found at a traditional roosting site at Malheur National Wildlife Refuge in Oregon. This decline may have been due to a region-wide reduction in this species, to the possible but improbable formation of a new but undiscovered roost, or to a reduction in feeding opportunities caused by the decreased use of the refuge by cattle.

Three-Year Surveillance For Cestode Infections In Sheep Dogs In Central Utah, Ferron L. Andersen, Lauritz A. Jensen, H. Dennis Mccurdy, Craig R. Nichols

Great Basin Naturalist

During the summers of 1982, 1983, and 1984, 269 sheep dogs from an area endemic for hydatid disease were examined for cestodes (Echinococcus granulosus and Taenia spp.). Each dog was given an oral purge of arecoline hydrobromide and then following purgation received a subcutaneous injection of praziquantel (Droncit^®). During the three-year study period, 205 dogs were examined one time only, 48 dogs were examined two of the three years, and 16 dogs were examined each of the three years (= 349 separate examinations). In 1982, 45 of 91 dogs examined (49.5%) harbored at least one species of …

Two Aberrant Karyotypes In The Sagebrush Lizard (Sceloporus Graciosus): Triploidy And A "Supernumerary" Oddity, Pamela Thompson, Jack W. Sites Jr.

Great Basin Naturalist

Widespread karyotypic sampling in the lizard Sceloporus graciosus Baird & Girard has confirmed previous reports of chromosomal monotypy. Most individuals throughout the range have a diploid karyotype of 2N = 30 consisting of 12 biarmed macrochromosomes and 18 microchromosomes. A single female karyotyped from the vicinity of Riverside, California, was unmistakably triploid, showing 3N = 45 with 18 macrochromosomes and 27 microchromosomes. This female appeared phenotypically normal but appeared reproductively incompetent. A male from Zion National Park, Utah, showed an extra bivalent in some diakinesis arrays, which apparently represents a supernumerary chromosome.

End Matter, Vol. 46 No. 2

Great Basin Naturalist

No abstract provided.

Full Issue, Vol. 46 No. 2

Great Basin Naturalist

No abstract provided.

Energy And Protein Content Of Coyote Prey In Southeastern Idaho, James G. Maccracken, Richard M. Hansen

Great Basin Naturalist

Gross energy, digestible energy, crude protein, and digestible crude protein were estimated for two leporids and five rodents that were the primary prey of coyotes (Canis latrans) in southeastern Idaho. Digestible protein estimates differed (38%–54%) more than digestible energy (3.5–4.4 kcal), in the prey examined.

Tour Of Historic Laie, Mormon Pacific Historical Society

Mormon Pacific Historical Society

No abstract provided.

Laie Plantation Sugar Mill (1868-1900): Archaeology And History, Dale L. Berge

Mormon Pacific Historical Society

No abstract provided.

No. 07 Mormon Pacific Historical Society, Mormon Pacific Historical Society

Mormon Pacific Historical Society

No abstract provided.

Baxtin: The "Disputed" Texts, Susan Bennett-Matteo

Deseret Language and Linguistic Society Symposium

No abstract provided.

Effect Of Feedback On State Anxiety And Performance While Learning Arabic Vocabulary Through Computer Assisted Instruction, Aniseh Hanania

Deseret Language and Linguistic Society Symposium

No abstract provided.

Anaphoric Binding In Lexical-Functional Grammar, Dan W. Higinbotham

Deseret Language and Linguistic Society Symposium

No abstract provided.

Seasonal Phenology And Possible Migration Of The Mourning Cloak Butterfly, Nymphalis Antiopa (Lepidoptera: Nymphalidae) In California, Arthur M. Shapiro

Great Basin Naturalist

Circumstantial evidence is presented that suggests the Mourning Cloak undergoes regular seasonal up- and downslope movements in northern California. The species breeds at low elevations in spring and then disappears until autumn; its disappearance coincides with the appearance of fresh individuals in the Sierra Nevada alongside obvious hibernators.

Effects Of Suspended Sediment On Leaf Processing By Hesperophylax Occidentalis (Trichoptera: Limnephilidae) And Pteronarcys Californica (Plecoptera: Pteronarcidae), C. Evan Hornig, Merlyn A. Brusven

Great Basin Naturalist

The effects of suspended sediments on stream invertebrate detrital processing were investigated under replicated conditions in light and temperature-controlled chambers in the laboratory. The leaf-shredding insects Pteronarcys californica and Hesperophylax occidentalis were studied. Mean daily ingestion rates were lower among insects subjected to suspended sediments (1.5 and 3.0 g/l) than insects held in suspended sediment-free environments for seven of the eight trials. In five of the eight trials, mean ingestion rates were suppressed by ≥41% when compared to insects held in suspended sediment-free environments. Feeding inhibition was typically greater at the end of the feeding trials (14 days) than at …

End Matter, Vol. 46 No. 1

Great Basin Naturalist

No abstract provided.

Fall Diet Of Blue Grouse In Oregon, John A. Crawford, Walt Van Dyke, S. Mark Meyers, Thomas F. Haensly

Great Basin Naturalist

The early fall diet of Oregon blue grouse (Dendragapus obscurus pallidus) from Wallowa County, Oregon, was determined from 145 crops obtained during 1981 and 1982. Of more than 50 plant and animal foods in the diet, short-horned grasshoppers (Acrididae), prickly lettuce (Lactuca serriola), yellow salsify (Tragopogon dubius), wild buck-wheat (Eriogonum spp.), and snowberry (Symphoricarpos albus) occurred in 30% or more of the crops and collectively amounted to 68% of the diet by weight. Seven of the 12 most common foods were consumed differentially by the four sex and age …

He Came, He Saw, He Conquered, Aase Bak

The Bridge

Every morning when President Reagan leaves the White House and casts worried glances to the left toward Capitol Hill where Congress sits and impedes life for him, he can hardly avoid seeing the equestrian statue in front of the Treasury Building. The statue is one of the great heroes of the United States, a victor from the Civil War, General William Tecumseh Sherman. He is shown mounted and surrounded by symbols of war and peace.

Sketches Of My Life, Karl Larsen

The Bridge

There will be a Christmas greeting card on the drawing board in Danish-born artist Karl Larsen's Detroit studio this fall, just as there has been every year since 1932 when he began the tradition. But today , at age 97, his Christmas list has grown to between 400 and 500 names and it takes longer to address and stamp all the specially designed cards than it does to make the original.

No Bird, John David Wolverton

Inscape

The pickup on the mud road behind us pings as it cools. "Do you want to shoot one, Stevey?" Dad says. "You can if you want to." Steam comes out of his mouth when he speaks, and he sniffs loudly. "No," I say, standing close to him so that I can bury my face in his warm flannel shirt. "I think he's just scared," Mike says, cracking the double-barrel open and inserting two shells. A kingfisher makes its laughing sound as it flies down the river channel on the other side of the brush.

In The Hands Of An Angry God, Wayne T. Taylor

Inscape

The set is dark and a congregation can be heard singing "Gloria Patri. " Shortly, however, whispers can be heard growing louder over the music. They are unintelligible, chaotic, and insistent. just as a word or two can be understood, a woman's voice rises above the intoning of the traditional Latin Mass.

The Wife Of Bath And The Scholastic Concept Of Operatio, Joseph E. Grennen

Quidditas

The loathly lady of Chaucer's Wife of Bath's Tale delivers a lecture to her reluctant swain which is remarkably gracious and persuasive, although hardly unconventional. Her sentiments, which find a parallel in Dante's Convivio, may be summed up in a phrase: Virtue is the true nobility. True virtue, furthermore, is a legacy from Christ, not an inheritance passed on with titles and wealth. The chief difficulty facing a reader is to find a way of reconciling this view with the cynical, maverick personality established for Alice of Bath in her own prologue. We might suppose that Chaucer is here …

The Sense Of An Ending In Shakespeare's Early Comedies, Deborah T. Curren Aquino

Quidditas

About Shakespeare's endings, Samuel Johnson wrote:

in many of his plays the latter part is evidently neglected. When he found himself near the end of his work, and in view of his reward, he shortened the labor to snatch the profit. He therefore remits his efforts where he should most vigorously exert them, and his catastrophe is improbably produced or imperfectly represented. (71-72)

In the twentieth century, Ernest Schanzer has echoed Dr. Johnson's opinion in his commentary on A Midsummer Night's Dream: "For sheer economy and multiplicity of effect it [the first scene] has no equal in any of …