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On The Notion That Insectivory Is A Specialized Condition, Patricia W. Freeman

University of Nebraska State Museum: Mammalogy Papers

Insectivory as a specialized feeding condition in mammals has not been explored as has been carnivory or herbivory. Insect-feeding, non-edentate mammals have dilambdodont teeth and modifications in the craniomandibular joint which distinguish them from other mammals such as carnivores, herbivores, and omnivores. Variation in a family of insectivorous bats, Molossidae, can be likened functionally to the kinetic-inertial and static-pressure jaw systems noted in rhipidistians, amphibians, and reptiles. Food data show that the bats with the kinetic-inertial system eat moths and ones with the static-pressure system eat beetles. Not only do these insectivorous mammals eat insects, they also are modified to …

Organizing And Motivating Public Groups To Support Rational And Positive Wildlife Management Efforts, Major L. Boddicker

Great Plains Wildlife Damage Control Workshop Proceedings

One of the privileges of working in wildlife management is working with positive people who still support the American dream of hope and opportunity. They call a spade a spade and fight adversity with enthusiasm. They genuinely express themselves.

Predation On Furbearers And Management Alternatives, Ronald D. Andrews

Great Plains Wildlife Damage Control Workshop Proceedings

Most of the presentations from other members of the panel have discussed direct predation of one animal upon another with evidence and data to support it. Their presentations indicate that in some instances, considerable data has been collected that substantiates the fact that predation has been and can be a limiting factor in sustaining certain local animal populations. Suggestions have also been made concerning management alternatives that might help to reduce this predatory impact when desirable. Predation on furbearers and its impact is considerably more ambiguous and abstract. Facts and data concerning significant predation on furbearers, except for mink on …

Agricultural Experiment Station News December 1977

Agricultural Research Division: News and Annual Reports

CONTENTS:
FROM THE DIRECTOR'S DESK
NEBRASKA WATER RESOURCES CENTER
PERSONNEL ACTIONS
GRANTS AND CONTRACTS
GENERAL NOTES
AGRICULTURAL EXPERIMENT STATION PUBLICATIONS – NOVEMBER 1977
BULLETINS PRINTED

1977 Fall Field Day

Nebraska Bird Review

1977 Fall Field Day

The 1977 Fall Field Day started Saturday night with a get-together at the home of the George W. Browns in Kearney. Sunday, 2 October, started out gray and chilly, but eventually developed into the fine fall day which had been ordered and promised. The trip started at the Newark Township building and went north on Nebraska 10 to the north bank of the Platte River and explored eastward along the river. After that area had been covered the group went to an area northeast of Fort Kearney. After the lunch at the Newark Township building, at …

Sixty-Five Years Of Whooping Crane Records In Nebraska, Paul A. Johnsgard, Richard Redfield

Nebraska Bird Review

In 1933, Myron Swenk determined the status of the Whooping Crane in Nebraska by summarizing all of the records then available to him, and established the general pattern of timing and geographic distribution of Whooping Crane occurrence in this state. Although the population of this species has remained very low since that time, a sufficient number of observations have been made to warrant updating his analysis and comparing the more recent records with these earlier ones. During the summer of 1977 the junior author undertook such a summary as a class project, by extracting such records from all of the …

Masthead From Nebraska Bird Review (December 1977) 45(4).

Nebraska Bird Review

Published quarterly in March, June, September, and December by the Nebraska Ornithologists' Union Inc. as its official journal and sent free to all members who are not in arrears for dues. Subscriptions (on a calendar year basis only) at $5.00 per year in the United States and $5.25 in all other counties, payable in advance. Single numbers $1.25 each.

Memberships (on a calendar year basis only): Student, $3.00; Active, $5.00; Sustaining, $7.00; Family Active, $7.00; Family Sustaining, $9.00; Life, $75.00.

All dues and subscriptions should be remitted to the Treasurer, A. W. Madison, Box 505, Sutherland, Nebraska 69165. Orders for …

Whole Issue Nebraska Bird Review (December 1977) 45(4)

Nebraska Bird Review

Table of Contents

Sixty-five Years of Whooping Crane Records in Nebraska .......... 54

1977 Fall Field Day ............................... 56

Notes ........................................................ 57

Index of Volume XXXXV ....................................... 58

Long-Term Education Program In Predator Damage And Damage Control, Major L. Boddicker

Great Plains Wildlife Damage Control Workshop Proceedings

The models for long-term education programs in predator damage and damage control are the Missouri and Kansas systems. We owe a great deal of gratitude to the founders and successors of these programs. most of the other efforts going today in the Extension animal damage control programs are modifications of those efforts.

The Use Of Aversive Agents For Predator Control, M.P. Botkin

Great Plains Wildlife Damage Control Workshop Proceedings

The studies have continued in the search for potentially aversive compounds and mixtures. To date, undecenovanillylamide is the most effective substance found and is most effective in a mixture with p-dichlorobenzene. Three materials which have been tested actually appear to stimulate attack by coyotes on the treated animal. These are: Skatol (a fecal compound), Naphthalene and Thiomalic acid ( a foul sulpher-like odor).

Skunk Rabies Control And Surveillance In Central And Eastern Montana, Gary Nesse, Kenneth Seyler

Great Plains Wildlife Damage Control Workshop Proceedings

A skunk rabies control and surveillance program was initiated by the Department of Livestock, Vertebrate Pest Control Bureau, within designated areas of Fergus, Fallon and Richland counties between January 1, 1975 and July 30, 1975. The use of strychnine eggs employed by trained, licensed government pesticide applicators plus cooperation of local citizens proved to be a safe and selective method for conducting such a program. Of the 83 skunks diagnosed rabid by the Fluroescent Antibody Test as the Department of Livestock Diagnostic Laboratory in Bozeman, 72 percent were taken from control areas; however, of 284 skunks examined from control areas, …

The Effects Of Coyote Control Operations On Non-Target Species In New Mexico, Gary Lee Nunley

Great Plains Wildlife Damage Control Workshop Proceedings

In February of 1972 the use of compound 1080, sodium cyanide, and strychnine in Federal coyote control programs and on Federal lands was halted as directed by Executive Order 11643. Shortly thereafter, the Environmental Protection Agency cancelled the registration of these same toxicants as used in predator control. These actions were taken at the recommendation of the Advisory Committee on Predator Control in their report to the Council of Environmental Quality and to the Department of the Interior.

An Extension Trapper Program, Jerry Riedel

Great Plains Wildlife Damage Control Workshop Proceedings

South Dakota's Extension Trapping Program originated in July 1971 when the Department of Game, Fish and Parks initiated this type of animal damage control program for the eastern one-half of South Dakota. The funding for this program is derived by assessing a surtax on all farmers and ranchers at a rate of 1 cent per head on all cattle and 4 cent per head on all sheep. The monies gained here is then annually matched by the Game, Fish and Parks through hunting, fishing and trapping license by the Game, Fish and Parks. However, for the last two years a …

A Mammalogist's View Of Current Mammal Damage Control Trends, Sydney Anderson

Great Plains Wildlife Damage Control Workshop Proceedings

Different mammalogists have different views on this subject. The following are mine. Historically, there was considerable controversy in the American Society of Mammalogists around 1930 on the question of predator control. The primary reasons for these different views, then and also now, are different value judgements. Science without non-scientific value judgements is not sufficient to lead one to a single view or set of views. Science embodies certain value judgments such as honesty, the public value of human knowledge, objectivity, the desirability of formulating testable hypotheses, and the examination of all relevant and available evidence. Scientists are human beings and …

Prairie Dog Management: Educational Assistance To Local Governmental Units, Edward K. Boggess

Great Plains Wildlife Damage Control Workshop Proceedings

There is a long history of involvement between Kansas State University (formerly Kansas State Agricultural College) and township governmental units regarding control of prairie dogs. In 1901 and 1903, the Kansas legislature passed laws authorizing townships to conduct prairie dog control programs and providing funds for the College to conduct experiments on methods of controlling prairie dogs and gophers. The acts also directed the College to procure and furnish to the townships the proper prepared materials for prairie dog control. The Experiment Station began supplying strychnine baits in January of 1902 and continued this practice until 1970.

Predation On Big Game And Its Management, Samuel L. Beasom

Great Plains Wildlife Damage Control Workshop Proceedings

This paper summarizes information from the literature and personal observation to present an overview of the effects of predators on big game populations. Specifically it examines control of prey populations, culling of inferior prey, and stimulation of prey productivity. Food habit investigations were omitted because of the impossibility of evaluating the impact of predation by this approach because of a lack of population data.

Major Issues Facing Agriculture As Our Nation Moves Toward A Domestic And International Food And Agricultural Policy, Clayton K. Yeutter

Clayton K. Yeutter, United States Secretary of Agriculture: Papers

It is a pleasure for me to speak this evening before such a distinguished group of agribusiness and academic representatives, all of whom have a common interest. Twenty years ago, that interest would have been denominated as "agricultural policy". Today it would be called "food policy", which presumably is a broader term. Food policy is usually defined to encompass the interests of everyone in the production and marketing process from producer to consumer. It is by no means limited geographically, but encompasses people and firms who are involved -- directly or indirectly, domestically and internationally - in the food business. …

Morphometric Variation In The Tropical Pocket Gopher (Geomys Tropicalis), Stephen L. Williams, Hugh H. Genoways

University of Nebraska State Museum: Mammalogy Papers

The tropical pocket gopher (Geomys tropicalis). which exhibits no chromosomal or genic variation, was examined for variability at the morphometrical level. Univariate and multivariate analyses were used to determine age, sexual, and geographical variation. Significant differences were found between different age classes and between sexes. The amount of individual variation was comparable with other rodents and did not exhibit the reduced variation expressed at the chromosomal and genic levels, G. tropicalis is considered to be a monotypic species.

Agricultural Experiment Station News November 1977

Agricultural Research Division: News and Annual Reports

CONTENTS:
FROM THE ACTING DIRECTOR'S DESK
PERSONNEL ACTIONS
GRANTS AND CONTRACTS
GENERAL NOTES
NEBRASKA AGRICULTURAL EXPERIMENT STATION PUBLICATIONS – October 1977
BULLETINS PRINTED

Reproductive And Testicular Characteristics Of Purebred And Crossbred Boars, E. R. Wilson, R. K. Johnson, R. P. Wettemann

Department of Animal Science: Faculty Publications

One-hundred-ninety-five Duroc (D), Hampshire (H), Duroc x Hampshire (D x H) and Hampshire x Duroc (H x D) boars were evaluated for reproductive performance. One-hundred- sixteen boars were castrated at approximately 225 days of age to evaluate testicular and epididymidal weights and sperm numbers. Testes from crossbred boars were 95.33 ± 22.81 g heavier (P<.01) and contained 14.41 ± 3.92 billion more sperm (P<.01) than those from purebred boars. Testes from Hampshire boars were 50.40 ± 31.75 g heavier with 6.27 ± 5.45 billion more sperm than those from Durocs. There were no significant differences between breeds for caput-corpus epididymidal measurements. Durocs had 24.55 ± 12.16 billion more sperm (P<.05) in the cauda epididymis than Hampshire boars. Testes weight and testes sperm numbers were significantly correlated with caput-corpus epididymidal and cauda epididymidal sperm numbers. Correlations of testicular and epididymidal characteristics with growth rate and backfat to 100 kg were small and nonsignificant. Twenty 7.5-month to 9-month-old D1 D x H and H x D boars and 19 H boars were each mated to two Yorkshire gilts to evaluate reproductive efficiency. Conception rates were: D, 63.2%; D x H, 67.5%; H x D, 60.0%; and H, 48.6%. Number of embryos 30-days postbreeding was 10.66 ± .49 and 11.25 ± .43 (P>.10) for gilts mated to purebred and crossbred sires, respectively. Twenty-eight of 36 crossbred boars mated each time they were exposed to an estrus gilt but only 11 of 36 of the purebred boars mated each time. None of the crossbred boars failed to mate …

Productivity, Mortality, And Population Trends Of Wolves In Northeastern Minnesota, L. David Mech

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

Population parameters, mortality causes, and mechanisms of a population decline were studied in wolves (Canis lupus lycaon) from 1968 to 1976 in the Superior National Forest. The main method was aerial radio-tracking of 129 wolves and their packmates. Due to a decline in white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus), the wolf population decreased during most of the study. Average annual productivity varied from 1.5 to 3.3 pups per litter, and annual mortality rates from 7 to 65 percent. Malnutrition and intraspecific strife accounted equally for 58 percent of the mortality; human causes accounted for the remainder. As wolf …

The Extrafloral Nectaries Of Ipomoea Carnea (Convolvulaceae), Kathleen H. Keeler

School of Biological Sciences: Faculty Publications

lpomoea carnea (Convolvulaceae) possesses two types of extrafloral nectaries, located on the petiole and on the pedicel. These secrete a complex nectar containing sugars and amino acids. The insects attracted to the extrafloral nectaries are predominantly ants and they are relatively abundant throughout the year. A number of incidents of plant defense as a result of the presence of extrafloral nectary visitors at the extrafloral nectaries of I. carnea were observed and are consistent with the ant-guard theory of the function of extrafloral nectaries.

Sixty-Five Years Of Whooping Crane Records In Nebraska, Paul A. Johnsgard, Richard Redfield

Paul Johnsgard Collection

In 1933, Myron Swenk determined the status of the Whooping Crane in Nebraska by summarizing all of the records then available to him, and established the general pattern of timing and geographic distribution of Whooping Crane occurrence in this state. Although the population of this species has remained very low since that time, a sufficient number of observations have been made to warrant updating his analysis and comparing the more recent records with these earlier ones. During the summer of 1977 the junior author undertook such a summary as a class project, by extracting such records from all of the …

Habitat Use By Native Gambel' S And Scaled Quail And Released Masked Bobwhite Quail In Southern Arizona, John G. Goodwin Jr., C. Roger Hungerford

Galliformes Specialist Group and Affiliated Societies: Reports and Other Materials

Populations of both Gambel's and scaled quail surveyed in southern Arizona declined by 60% from October 1975 to June 1976. Masked bobwhite population density increased during the study because of additional releases, but survival patterns are uncertain. Raptors were efficient quail predators.

Gambel's quail were associated with a dense overstory of mesquite, hackberry, wolfberry, and catclaw. Understory species varied in density and appeared less essential to good habitat. Scaled quail preferred open, grass-shrub habitat, with few of the plants over 6 feet tall. Masked bobwhite selected dense, grass-weed habitat, with pigweed a characteristic species.

Green vegetation and insects were seasonally …

Wolf-Pack Buffer Zones As Prey Reservoirs, L. David Mech

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

Abstract. In a declining herd, surviving deer inhabited overlapping edges of wolf- pack territories. There, wolves hunted little until desperate, in order to avoid fatal encounters with neighbors. Such encounters reduce wolf numbers and predation pressure and apparently allow surviving deer along territory edges to repopulate the area through dispersal of their prime, less vulnerable offspring into territory cores.

Agricultural Experiment Station News October 1977

Agricultural Research Division: News and Annual Reports

CONTENTS:
IRRIGATION DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM
GRANTS AND CONTRACTS
GENERAL NOTES
AGRICULTURAL EXPERIMENT STATION PUBLICATIONS - September 1977

Myxosoma Funduli Kudo 1918 (Protozoa: Myxosporida) In Fundulus Kansae: Summer Epizootiology, Stephen A. Knight, John J. Janovy Jr., William L. Current

John J. Janovy, Jr. Publications

The occurrence and distribution of the myxosporidan Myxosoma funduli on the gills of the plains killifish (Fundulus kansae) were investigated; Fundulus kansae is reported as a new host. Host samples from various sites on the South Platte River, Nebraska, were collected during the summer months of 1975 and 1976. The protozoan parasite population was shown to be overdispersed within the host population, and this distribution was similar to that described by the negative binomial equation. Demographic characteristics of the infected fish subpopulation were virtually identical to those of the whole fish population. Infection intensity was independent of gill …

Monoecocestus Thomasi Sp. N. (Cestoda: Anoplocephalidae) From The Northern Flying Squirrel, Glaucomys Sabrinus (Shaw), In Oregon, Robert L. Rausch, C. Maser

Harold W. Manter Laboratory of Parasitology: Faculty Publications

Monoecocestus thomasi sp. n. (Cestoda: Anoplocephalidae), from the northern flying squirrel, Glaucomys sabrinus (Shaw), in Oregon, is described and distinguished from its congeners. Monoecocestus thomasi is the sixth species of Monoecocestus to be described from nearctic rodents, and the first from a member of the family Sciuridae. Our comparisons of taxonomic characters of the nominal species of Monoecocestus in North American rodents have shown that M. giganticus Buhler 1970 is a synonym of M. americanus (Stiles 1895), both from the porcupine, Erethizon dorsatum (Linnaeus). Insemination in Monoecocestus spp. is discussed, with the conclusion that it takes place only by way …

A Synthesis Of Modern Rail Transportation Engineering Practices, Donald D. Cook

Open Access Master's Theses (through 2010)

The 1970’s will go down in history as the decade in which the University of Nebraska – Civil Engineering Department expanded its academic interest to include the field of transportation. Railroad transportation and activities related to the instruction of planning, design and operation of railroads become a most important part of the transportation curriculum when viewed in the above context. Unfortunately, no modern comprehensive textbook exists for use in a rail transportation course.

The intent of this thesis is to provide a comprehensive source of data for use in the course of study in Railroad Transportation being developed by the …

Agricultural Experiment Station News September 1977

Agricultural Research Division: News and Annual Reports

CONTENTS:
LAND USE IN PROGRAMS OF THE AGRICULTURAL EXPERIMENT STATION, IANR
PERSONNEL ACTIONS
GRANTS AND CONTRACTS
GENERAL NOTES
AGRICULTURAL EXPERIMENT STATION PUBLICATIONS – August 1977