Digital Commons Network^™

Occurrence Of Native Colorado River Cutthroat Trout (Oncorhynchus Clarki Pleuriticus) In The Escalante River Drainage, Utah, Dale K. Hepworth, Michael J. Ottenbacher, Charles B. Chamberlain

Western North American Naturalist

Field surveys were conducted during 1997 and 1998 documenting the distribution and abundance of Colorado River cutthroat trout (Oncorhynchus clarki pleuriticus) in Escalante River tributaries. This documented occurrence of native trout in the Escalante River drainage of southern Utah represents an expansion of the known historic range of this subspecies as reported before the 1990s. We found 5 populations of native trout ranging in biomass from 3.0 to 104.2 kg ha⁻¹ and occupying 13.2 km of stream of 130 km of estimated historic habitat. Current distribution and abundance of Colorado River cutthroat trout were compared to early …

Nest Site Selection By Mountain Plovers (Charadrius Montanus) In A Shrub-Steppe Habitat, Ann E. Ellison Manning, Clayton M. White

Western North American Naturalist

Habitat use by Mountain Plovers was studied in Duchesne County, Utah, from 1996 to 1998. This area is a shrub-steppe habitat and is different from the shortgrass prairie where current Mountain Plover breeding densities are greatest. Mountain Plovers prefer areas of short, sparse vegetation. Habitat surveys quantified vegetation and open space composition at nest and randomly selected sites. Data gathered in 1998 showed significant differences between nest and random sites in maximum vegetation height (P = 0.0021) and percentage total rock cover (P = 0.0027). As percentage rock cover also reflects open space, these results are consistent with …

The Monogenean Haplocleidus Furcatus Mueller, 1937 (Phylum Platyhelminthes) On Lepomis Cyanellus Rafinesque, 1819 From Utah: A Range Extension, Michael N. Mcgee, Michael J. Whitney, Richard A. Heckmann

Western North American Naturalist

No abstract provided.

Relationship Between Home Range Characteristics And The Probability Of Obtaining Successful Global Positioning System (Gps) Collar Positions For Elk In New Mexico, James R. Biggs, Kathryn D. Bennett, Phil R. Fresquez

Western North American Naturalist

We compared the ability of global positioning system (GPS) radio collars deployed on elk (Cervus elaphus nelsoni) to obtain valid positions (position acquisition rate [PAR]) in seasonal home ranges with differing vegetation and topographical characteristics. We also compared GPS collar PARs under varying levels of cloud cover and within differing daily time periods. We recorded a mean PAR of 69% (n = 10 elk, s = 14%) for collared elk. Multiple regression analysis of seasonal home range characteristics indicated that vegetation cover type and slope, either as individual variables or in combination with one another, were not …

Catastrophic Wildfire And Number Of Populations As Factors Influencing Risk Of Extinction For Gila Trout (Oncorhynchus Gilae), D. Kendall Brown, Anthony A. Echelle, David L. Propst, James E. Brooks, William L. Fisher

Western North American Naturalist

We used the computer program RAMAS to explore the sensitivity of an extinction-risk model for the Gila trout (Oncorhynchus gilae) to management of wildfires and number of populations of the species. The Gila trout is an endangered salmonid presently restricted to very few headwaters of the Gila and San Francisco river tributaries in southwestern New Mexico. Life history data for 10 extant populations were used to examine sensitivity of the species viability to changes in a variety of factors including population size, fecundity, life stage structure, number of populations, severity and probability of forest fires, and a regulated …

Establishment, Growth, And Early Survival Of Woody Riparian Apecies At A Colorado Gravel Pit, James E. Roelle, Douglas N. Gladwin, Brian S. Cade

Western North American Naturalist

Presence of a wetted edge during the period of seedfall was an effective predictor of suitable establishment (defined as germination and survival to the 1st autumn) locations for Populus deltoides subsp. monilifera, Salix amygdaloides, S. exigua, and Tamarix ramosissima seedlings during 3 successive years of a gravel pit revegetation project in Fort Collins, Colorado. At locations predicted to be suitable for establishment, position within the pit (possibly reflecting additional moisture provided by seepage) was a significant factor in determining whether establishment actually occurred. Cover of herbaceous species, which became established at the same time as, or after, woody seedlings, was …

Fishtail Mesa: A Vegetation Resurvey Of Relict Area In Grand Canyon National Park, Arizona, Peter G. Rowlands, Nancy J. Brian

Western North American Naturalist

Relict sites are geographically isolated areas that are undisturbed by direct and indirect human influences. These sites facilitate long-term ecological monitoring by providing a reference for gauging impacts occurring elsewhere. Knowledge gained through comparing vegetation change on matched relict and proximal disturbed areas can help partition the causes of change into natural and human-produced components. Fishtail Mesa in Grand Canyon National Park is a 439-ha relict site that is inaccessible to domestic livestock. Human visitation is infrequent and irregular, and fires have never been suppressed or managed. In 1958, U.S. Forest Service range scientists conducted a survey of Fishtail Mesa …

Natural Enemy Assemblages On Native And Reseeded Grasslands In Southwestern Montana: A Family-Level Analysis, Kevin M. O'Neill, William P. Kemp, Catherine Seibert, Marni G. Rolston, James A. Bess, T. Keith Philips

Western North American Naturalist

We conducted a 2-year survey, using sweep sampling and family-level taxon identification, of the predatory and parasitoid insects on grassland sites in the Gallatin Valley of southwestern Montana. The 25 sites were divided into 4 habitat classes: 2 native habitat types (Stipa comata/Bouteloua gracilisand Festuca idahoensis/Agropyron spicatum) and 2 that had been reseeded with either crested wheatgrass (Agropyron cristatum) or smooth brome (Bromus inermis). Our major goal was to make quantitative comparisons of the abundance of insects among native and reseeded habitats. Of 51 families in 5 insect orders identified, 7 Hymenoptera (Encyrtidae, …

Breeding Biology Of Mountain Plovers (Charadrius Montanus) In The Uinta Basin, Ann E. Ellison Manning, Clayton M. White

Western North American Naturalist

The known Mountain Plover population breeding on the Myton Bench, Duchesne County, Utah, is small, composed roughly of 30 adults and young after each breeding season. Currently, its location is peripheral to the species main range. This shrub-steppe breeding habitat differs from the shortgrass prairie habitat with which this bird is historically associated. Between 1996 and 1998 we made observations at nesting sites located consistently in 2 concentrated areas surrounded by large tracts of similar habitat. Activity may be focused in these specific areas because of breeding-site fidelity; this behavior is common among most shorebirds and has been documented for …

5 Marriage Myths, 6 Marriage Benefits , Linda J. Waite

Marriage and Families

No abstract provided.

“Cows To Milk Instead Of Novels To Read”: Brigham Young, Novel Reading, And Kingdom Building, Richard H. Cracroft

BYU Studies

To read true books in a true spirit, is a noble exercise.

—Henry David Thoreau

Read the true and the wise. The perusal of the rest is worse than time wasted, it is time abused.

—Brigham Young

How Humans Domesticated Themselves, Invented Agriculture And Became Civilized, Stedman B. Nobel

Comparative Civilizations Review

No abstract provided.

The Environmental Ethics Of Mormon Belief, George B. Handley

BYU Studies

The time has come to find common ground between environmentalism and Mormon belief. The perceived divide between the two has all but shut down the possibility of dialogue. Some Mormons dismiss the political causes of environmentalists as being the fears of faithless hedonists, just as otherwise responsible environmental scholars and activists sometimes perpetuate myths and inaccuracies about what they perceive to be the anti-ecological stance of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. But Mormon belief has more than enough in common with environmentalism to promote genuine and productive change in our environmental behavior. Not only is Mormon doctrine …

Jeremiah's Imprisonment And The Date Of Lehi's Departure, S. Kent Brown, David Rolph Seely

Religious Educator: Perspectives on the Restored Gospel

No abstract provided.

Simultaneous Capture And Mineralization Of Coal Combustion Flue Gas Carbon Dioxide (Co2), Morris D. Argyle, Katta J. Reddy, Sanil John, Hollis Weber, Pradip Bhattacharyya, David T. Taylor, Mikol Christensen, Thomas Foulke, Paul Fahlsing

Faculty Publications

The mineral carbonation, a process of converting CO2 into stable minerals (mineralization), has been studied extensively to capture and store CO2. However, most of the mineral carbonation studies have been largely investigated at lab scale. Preliminary and pilot scale studies for accelerated mineral carbonation (AMC) were conducted at one of the largest coal-fired power plants (2120 MW) in the USA by reacting flue gas with fly ash particles in a fluidized bed reactor. In the preliminary experiments, flue gas CO2 and SO2 concentrations decreased from 13.0 to 9.6% and from 107.8 to 15.1 ppmv, respectively during the first 2 min. …

Discourse Intonation And Speaking English As A Second Language, John P. Broderick

Deseret Language and Linguistic Society Symposium

No abstract provided.

Full Issue, Deseret Language And Linguistics Society

Deseret Language and Linguistic Society Symposium

No abstract provided.

Relationships Between Centaurea Maculosa And Indigenous Plant Assemblages, Susan A. Kedzie-Webb, Roger L. Sheley, John J. Borkowski, James S. Jacobs

Western North American Naturalist

Ecological impacts of invasive plants include displacement of indigenous species and declines in species richness and diversity. The objective of this study was to characterize the functional relationship between plant community composition and Centaurea maculosa Lam. (spotted knapweed) within a Festuca idahoensis / Pseudoroegneria spicatum habitat type in Montana. Density, cover, and biomass of all species were collected along a gradient of spotted knapweed cover ranging from 0% to about 100%. Step-down regression was used to determine the relationship among C. maculosa, indigenous species, species richness, and Shannon-Weavers diversity index. Regressions showed that indigenous perennial grass cover, species richness, …

Taphonomy And Significance Of Jefferson's Ground Sloth (Xenarthra: Megalonychidae) From Utah, H. Gregory Mcdonald, Wade E. Miller, Thomas H. Morris

Western North American Naturalist

While a variety of mammalian megafauna have been recovered from sediments associated with Lake Bonneville, Utah, sloths have been notably rare. Three species of ground sloth, Megalonyx jeffersonii, Paramylodon harlani, and Nothrotheriops shastensis, are known from the western United States during the Pleistocene. Yet all 3 are rare in the Great Basin, and the few existing records are from localities on the basin margin. The recent discovery of a partial skeleton of Megalonyx jeffersonii at Point-of-the-Mountain, Salt Lake County, Utah, fits this pattern and adds to our understanding of the distribution and ecology of this extinct species. Its occurrence …

Nitrogen Acquisition From Different Spatial Distributions By Six Great Basin Plant Species, Sara E. Duke, Martyn M. Caldwell

Western North American Naturalist

Plants of different growth form may utilize soil nutrients in various spatial distributions through different scales of foraging. In this study we evaluated the ability of 6 species commonly found in the Great Basin to utilize nitrogen (N) distributed in different patterns. Three growth forms were represented by these 6 species.

We applied ¹⁵N-labeled nitrogen in concentrated patches and over broader uniform areas (at approximately 1% the concentration of the patches) in large, outdoor sand-culture plots. Six weeks after N was applied, 2 plants adjacent to the patch (Patch Treatment) and 2 plants within the uniform application (Uniform Treatment) …

Shrews Of The La Sal Mountains, Southeastern Utah, Eric A. Rickart, Lawrence R. Heaney

Western North American Naturalist

We conducted a trapping survey of small mammals along an elevational gradient in the La Sal Mountains and documented 4 species of shrews (Sorex), the largest number inhabiting any mountain range in Utah. Sorex palustris was restricted to very moist microhabitats near open water at mid- to high elevations where it was relatively common. Occurring in nearly all habitats across the entire sampling gradient, S. monticolus was the numerically dominant small mammal at many sites. Sorex nanus, a new record for the La Sals, was found in areas of rockfall at high elevations and in a rocky …

Natural History And Invasion Of Russian Olive Along Eastern Montana Rivers, Peter Lesica, Scott Miles

Western North American Naturalist

Russian olive (Elaeagnus angustifolia) is an exotic tree considered invasive in the western U.S. There is concern it will replace native riparian forests, resulting in a loss of biological diversity. We studied the dynamics of Russian olive invasion on the Marias River in north central Montana and the lower Yellowstone River in southeastern Montana to determine where and in what habitats it occurs, how it is interacting with plains cottonwood (Populus deltoides) and green ash (Fraxinus pennsylvanica), the dominant native riparian trees, and how these interactions will alter future riparian forests. We measured size, …

Seed Banks Of Bromus Tectorum-Dominated Communities In The Great Basin, L. David Humphrey, Eugene W. Schupp

Western North American Naturalist

Many shrub-steppe communities of the Great Basin have been converted to Bromus tectorum–dominated communities. Seed production and seed bank traits of native perennials may be poorly suited to conditions of communities dominated by this introduced annual, and native perennials may be lost from the seed banks. Seed banks of former shrub-steppe communities now dominated by annuals were quantified on 3 sites in western Utah to determine if seeds of native perennials were present and to track changes in Bromus tectorum seed densities and species composition of seed banks after fire. Burned and unburned plots on 1 site were sampled …

Microhabitat Partitioning By Two Chipmunk Species (Tamias) In Western Colorado, J. Jeffrey Root, Charles H. Calisher, Barry J. Beaty

Western North American Naturalist

We examined microhabitat use of sympatrically occurring Tamias minimus (least chipmunk) and T. rufus (Hopi chipmunk) in a piñon-juniper/sagebrush vegetative community near Molina, western Colorado, from October 1994 to June 1999. This community is dominated by 2 major microhabitat types: shrub (sage; Artemisia spp.) and tree (pine and juniper; Pinus edulis and Juniperus scopulorum). Small mammals were live-trapped, marked, and released throughout this study. When it was the most abundant Tamias species on the study plots (1994–1997), Tamias minimus captures were associated with trees. Tamias rufus also exhibited this association but was captured at very low abundances during this …

Experimental Manipulations Of Fertile Islands And Nurse Plant Effects In The Mojave Desert, Usa, Lawrence R. Walker, Daniel B. Thompson, Fredrick H. Landau

Western North American Naturalist

In a mixed desert shrub community we removed and added shrub canopies to examine above- and belowground influences of 3 species of shrubs on islands of soil fertility and the survival of transplanted Ambrosia dumosa seedlings. Soils sampled under shrubs in the wet season had higher pH, water content, organic matter, and both total and mineralizable nitrogen than soils in adjacent open areas, confirming a widely established pattern in arid lands. However, we also found species differences in soil parameters. Soils under Coleogyne ramosissima had highest pH, soils under A. dumosa had highest water content and nitrogen mineralization rates, and …

Branchinecta Hiberna, A New Species Of Fairy Shrimp (Crustacea: Anostraca) From Western North America, D. Christopher Rogers, Michael Fugate

Western North American Naturalist

Branchinecta hiberna, a new species of fairy shrimp, is described from temporary pools in the Great Basin region of south central Oregon, northeastern California, and adjacent Nevada. The new species shares several characters with Branchinecta cornigera Lynch, 1958: males bear a similar large patch of small spines on the basal segment of antenna 2, and females bear the similar robust antenna 2 with medial spur, brood pouch shape, and resting egg (cyst) morphology. The new species differs from B. cornigera in the shape of the distal segment of antenna 2 and the number and size of spines on the …

The Role Of Dietary Fiber In Dung Size Of Bushy-Tailed Woodrats, Neotoma Cinerea: Its Potential Application To Paleoclimatic Interpretation, Jennifer C. Hallett, Peter E. Wigand

Western North American Naturalist

A laboratory study was conducted to examine causes underlying variation in woodrat dung size. Eight bushy-tailed woodrats, Neotoma cinerea, were captured and sequentially fed 2 diets of 46% and 63% neutral detergent fiber (NDF). Dung pellets were collected for 2 days following 7 days of acclimation to each diet. Length and width of oven-dried pellets ranged, respectively, from 8.3 to 10.2 mm and 3.2 to 4.9 mm for diet 1, and 8.9 to 12.4 mm and 3.6 to 4.7 mm for diet 2. Body weight ranged from 232.0 to 504.5 g and did not significantly affect dung size. A …

Biology And Management Of Noxious Rangeland Weeds Roger L. Sheley And Janet K. Petroff, Editors, Larry D. Howery

Western North American Naturalist

No abstract provided.

Survival And Development Of Phoradendron Californicum And Acacia Greggii During A Drought, Simon A. Lei

Western North American Naturalist

Survival and development of parasitic and autoparasitic Phoradendron californicum (desert mistletoe) and their Acacia greggii (catclaw) hosts were quantitatively investigated during the 1997 drought in southern Nevada. Phoradendron californicum was parasitic on other individuals of the same species (autoparasitic), and these in turn were parasitic on A. greggii hosts. An extensive drought from February 1995 to mid-July 1997 was characterized by extremely low seasonal rainfall and high summer air temperatures. Extensively mistletoe-infested hosts had significantly less canopy volume and produced significantly fewer leaves, flowers, and fruits than uninfested (control) or lightly infested hosts. Mistletoe plants on A. greggii hosts with …

Accidental Mass Mortality Of Migrating Mule Deer, Vernon C. Bleich, Becky M. Pierce

Western North American Naturalist

No abstract provided.