Digital Commons Network^™

Development And Application Of Dna Techniques For Validating And Improving Pinniped Diet Estimates, Dominic J. Tollit, Angela D. Schulze, Andrew W. Trites, Peter F. Olesiuk, Susan J. Crockford, Thomas S. Gelatt, Rolf R. Ream, Kristina M. Miller

United States Department of Commerce: Staff Publications

Polymerase chain reaction techniques were developed and applied to identify DNA from .40 species of prey contained in fecal (scat) soft-part matrix collected at terrestrial sites used by Steller sea lions (Eumetopias jubatus) in British Columbia and the eastern Aleutian Islands, Alaska. Sixty percent more fish and cephalopod prey were identified by morphological analyses of hard parts compared with DNA analysis of soft parts (hard parts identified higher relative proportions of Ammodytes sp., Cottidae, and certain Gadidae). DNA identified 213 prey occurrences, of which 75 (35%) were undetected by hard parts (mainly Salmonidae, Pleuronectidae, Elasmobranchii, and Cephalopoda), and …

Biofuels: Cultivating Energy, Not Invasive Species

National Invasive Species Council

To provide alternatives to petroleum-based energy, the United States (U.S.) government has mandated a greater proportion of plant-based biofuels be integrated into its energy portfolio. However, certain plant species being proposed for biofuel production in the U.S. are invasive species or are likely to escape cultivation and become invasive.

U.S. Executive Order (E.O.) 13112¹ defines invasive species as “alien [non-native] species whose introduction does or is likely to cause economic or environmental harm or harm to human health” and states:

“Each Federal agency whose actions may affect the status of invasive species shall, to the extent practicable and permitted …

Avian Use Of Harvested Crop Fields In North Dakota During Spring Migration, Alegra M. Galle, George M. Linz, H. Jeffrey Homan, William J. Bleier

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Broad-spectrum herbicide applications and improved harvesting efficiency of crops have reduced the availability of weed seeds and waste grains for game and nongame wildlife. Over the last decade, corn and soybean plantings have steadily increased in the Prairie Pothole Region (PPR) of North Dakota, while sunflower plantings have declined. The PPR is an important corridor for migratory birds, and changes in food availabilities at stopover habitats may affect how food resources are used. In early spring 2003 and 2004, we compared bird use of harvested fields of sunflower, soybeans, small grains, and corn in the PPR of North Dakota. Across …

Causes And Impacts Of Salinization In The Lower Pecos River, Christopher W. Hoagstrom

Great Plains Research: A Journal of Natural and Social Sciences (through 2013)

River salinization is a byproduct of water resource development that results from cumulative impacts of flow-regime modifications and crop irrigation. However, historical salinization in the Lower Pecos River is often attributed to natural, high-salinity groundwater. Here, evidence from literature and U.S. Geological Survey gaging stations is reviewed to summarize historical changes associated with water development that potentially contributed to Pecos River salinization. A suite of hydrological changes, initiated in the 1880s, likely contributed to streamflow salinization: (1) reduced flood frequency and magnitude, (2) diminished streamflow, (3) increased evapotranspiration, and (4) increased prevalence of natural, high-salinity groundwater. Salinization is presently highest …

Birds Of The Rocky Mountains—References On Individual Species, Paul A. Johnsgard

Birds of the Rocky Mountains by Paul A. Johnsgard

Approximately 650 reference (through 1986). See "Supplement" for additional references to 2009.

"This Countries Ladies": Gender Negotiations At The Northwest Company, Grand Portage, Andrew E. Labounty

Nebraska Anthropologist

French interactions with Indians during the fur trade were characterized by intermarriage and cultural assimilation. Later, when Canadian traders took over, women were notably present at the Northwest Company s depot at Grand Portage, and participated in its affairs. Although the seasonal workings of Canadian fur trade depots are well-established, gender roles have been typically overlooked in the day-to-day recount of fur trade societies. This paper will thus investigate the aspect of gender at fur trade posts, and particularly at Grand Portage, as a study in cross-cultural negotiations for the fulfillment of gender roles.

Accounting For Uncertainty In Ecological Analysis: The Strengths And Limitations Of Hierarchical Statistical Modeling, Noel Cressie, Catherine A. Calder, James S. Clark, Jay M. Ver Hoef, Christopher K. Wikle

United States Department of Commerce: Staff Publications

Analyses of ecological data should account for the uncertainty in the process(es) that generated the data. However, accounting for these uncertainties is a difficult task, since ecology is known for its complexity. Measurement and/or process errors are often the only sources of uncertainty modeled when addressing complex ecological problems, yet analyses should also account for uncertainty in sampling design, in model specification, in parameters governing the specified model, and in initial and boundary conditions. Only then can we be confident in the scientific inferences and forecasts made from an analysis. Probability and statistics provide a framework that accounts for multiple …

Chapter 2: Long-Term Research On Wolves In The Superior National Forest, L. David Mech

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

The seeds for the blossoming of the wolf (Canis lupus) population throughout the upper Midwest were embodied in a long line of wolves that had persisted in the central part of the Superior National Forest (SNF) of northeastern Minnesota, probably since the retreat of the last glaciers. This line of wolves had withstood not only the various natural environmental factors that had shaped them through their evolution but also the logging, fires, market hunting of prey animals, and even the bounties, aerial hunting, and poisoning that had exterminated their ancestors and their dispersed offspring only a few wolf …

Soil Carbon And Nitrogen Accumulation In A Forested Debris Flow Chronosequence, California, Judith K. Turk, Robert C. Graham

Conservation and Survey Division: Faculty and Staff Publications

The role of forest soils in the biogeochemical cycling of C and N is most dynamic during the early stages of soil development. To define C and N trends that occur with soil development in a mixed coniferous forest, a chronosequence formed by debris flows was studied. The accumulation rates of total organic C (TOC) and total N (TN) were evaluated in soils on 10 debris flow deposits, ranging from depth, since this was the depth of the shallowest debris flows. Carbon was found to accumulate in the organic horizons at a rate of 26.5 g m⁻² yr^{−1 …}

Options For The Control Of Disease 3: Targeting The Environment, Alastair Ward, Kurt C. Vercauteren, W. David Walter, Emmanuellle Gilot-Fromont, Sophie Rossi, Gareth Edwards- Jones, Mark S. Lambert, Michael R. Hutchings, Richard J. Delahay

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Management of wildlife disease can be targeted at pathogens, hosts or vector populations, but may also focus on the environment. As constituent elements of any given environment, resident wildlife populations, and their pathogens, may be profoundly influenced by environmental change, in terms of their abundance, distribution and behavior. Hence, it is reasonable to expect that incorporation of environmental manipulation into a program to control wildlife diseases may potentially result in outcomes as effective as direct intervention aimed at hosts, pathogens and vectors.

Response Of Sandhill Crane (Grus Canadensis Riverine Roosting Habitat To Changes In Stage And Sandbar Morphology, Paul Kinzel, Jonathan Nelson, Ashley Heckman

United States Geological Survey: Staff Publications

Over the past century, flow regulation and vegetation encroachment have reduced active channel widths along the central Platte River, Nebraska. During the last two decades, an annual program of in-channel vegetation management has been implemented to stabilize or expand active channel widths. Vegetation management practices are intended to enhance riverine habitats which include nocturnal roosting habitat for sandhill cranes. Evaluating the success of other management treatments such as streamflow modification requires an understanding of how flow shapes the sandbars in the river and how sandbar morphology interacts with flow to create crane habitat. These linkages were investigated along a 1-km …

An Overview Of Systematics And Evolution Of Ticks, Santiago Nava, Alberto A. Guglielmone, Atilio J. Mangold

Harold W. Manter Laboratory of Parasitology: Library Materials

All species of ticks (Acari: Ixodida) are grouped into three families: Argasidae (186 species), Ixodidae (692 species), and Nuttalliellidae (monotypic). Molecular markers have been developed and applied for tick studies along with conventional techniques. The origin of ticks is during the pre-mid Cretaceous period (with both the Argasidae and Ixodidae being established in the middle Cretaceous). Primeval hosts were probably reptiles or amphibians. The Argasidae contains two to five subfamilies according to authors but relationships among its members are far from resolved. The Ixodidae were formed by the basal Prostriata group (genus Ixodes, subfamily Ixodinae) and the Metastriata group …

Intraspecific Comparison Of Population Structure, Genetic Diversity, And Dispersal Among Three Subspecies Of Townsend’S Big-Eared Bats, Corynorhinus Townsendii Townsendii, C. T. Pallescens, And The Endangered C. T. Birginianus, Antoinette J. Piaggio, Kirk W. Navo, Craig W. Stihler

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Townsend’s big-eared bat, Corynorhinus townsendii, is distributed broadly across western North America and in two isolated, endangered populations in central and eastern United States. There are five subspecies of C. townsendii; C. t. pallescens, C. t. australis, C. t. townsendii, C. t. ingens, and C. t. virginianus with varying degrees of concern over the conservation status of each. The aim of this study was to use mitochondrial and microsatellite DNA data to examine genetic diversity, population differentiation, and dispersal of three C. townsendii subspecies. C. t. virginianus is found in isolated populations in the eastern United States and …

Using Packrat Middens To Assess Grazing Effects On Vegetation Change, J. Fisher, Ken L. Cole, R.S. Anderson

United States Geological Survey: Staff Publications

Research on grazing effects usually compares the same sites through time or grazed and ungrazed sites over the same time period. Both approaches are complicated in arid environments where grazing can have a long undocumented history and landscapes can be spatially heterogenous. This work employs both approaches simultaneously by comparing grazed and ungrazed samples through both time and space using fossil plant macrofossils and pollen from packrat middens. A series of 27 middens, spanning from 995 yr BP to the present, were collected from Glen Canyon in southeastern Utah, USA. These middens detail vegetation change just prior to, and following, …

Response Of Adult Mosquitoes To Light-Emitting Diodes Placed In Resting Boxes And In The Field, Michael T. Bentley, Phillip E. Kaufman, Daniel L. Kline, Jerome A. Hogsette

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

The response of adult mosquitoes to 4 light-emitting diode (LED) wavelengths was evaluated using diode-equipped sticky cards (DESCs) and diode-equipped resting boxes at 2 sites in north central Florida. Wavelengths evaluated were blue (470 nm), green (502 nm), red (660 nm), and infrared (IR) (860 nm). When trapping with DESCs, 15 mosquito species from 7 genera (Aedes, Anopheles, Coquillettidia, Culex, Mansonia, Psorophora, and Uranotaenia) were captured. Overall, approximately 43.8% of all mosquitoes were trapped on DESCs fitted with green LEDs. Significantly more females of Aedes infirmatus, Aedes vexans, and Culex nigripalpus were captured on DESCs fitted with blue …

Hydrologic-Carbon Cycle Linkages In A Subalpine Catchment, Diego Andrés Riveros-Iregui

School of Natural Resources: Faculty Publications

The feedbacks between the water and the carbon cycles are of critical importance to global carbon balances. Forests and forest soils in northern latitudes are important carbon pools because of their potential as sinks for atmospheric carbon. However there are significant unknowns related to the effects of hydrologic variability, mountainous terrain, and landscape heterogeneity in controlling soil carbon dioxide (CO₂) efflux. Mountainous terrain imposes large spatial heterogeneity in the biophysical controls of soil CO₂ production and efflux, including soil temperature, soil water content, vegetation, substrate, and soil physical properties. Strong spatial and temporal variability in biophysical controls …

The Prairie Naturalist. Volume 40, No. 3/4 September/December 2008, The Great Plains Natural Science Society

The Prairie Naturalist

WINTERKILL AND BIOMASS OF THE PAINTED TURTLE IN A SOUTH DAKOTA WETLAND. S. G. Platt, Z. Fast Horse, W. Cross, S. Mannel, and T. R. Rainwater

NON-BLACKBIRD AVIAN OCCURRENCE AND ABUNDANCE IN NORTH DAKOTA SUNFLOWER FIELDS. O. A. Schaaf, G. M. Linz, C. Ooetkott, M. W. Lutman, and W. J. Bleier

USING LOCAL KNOWLEDGE AND REMOTE SENSING TO MAP KNOWN AND POTENTIAL PRAIRIE-CHICKEN DISTRIBUTION IN KANSAS. M. E. Houts, R. O. Rodgers, R. D. Applegate, and W. H. Busby

A CASE STUDY OF A SUCCESSFUL LAKE REHABILITATION PROJECT IN SOUTH-CENTRAL NEBRASKA. P. J. Spirk, B. A. Newcomb, and K. O. …

Non-Blackbird Avian Occurrence And Abundance In North Dakota Sunflower Fields, Dionn A. Schaaf, George M. Linz, Curt Doetkott, Mark W. Lutman, William J. Bleier

The Prairie Naturalist

Sunflower fields are well-documented as foraging habitat for fallmigrating blackbirds (Family Icteridae). There is, however, a paucity of information on the use of sunflower fields by non-blackbirds. We assessed non-blackbird use of 12 ripening sunflower fields in the Prairie Pothole Region of central North Dakota. From mid-August to mid-October 2000, we counted 4,129 individual birds, consisting of 22 families and 61 species, in the sample fields and within 5 m of the field edges. We saw the largest number of birds from 18 September to 27 September. The Family Emberizidae (sparrows) accounted for 26% of the species and 20% of …

Winterkill And Biomass Of The Painted Turtle In A South Dakota Wetland, Steven G. Platt, Zannita Fast Horse, Warren Cross, Sylvio Mannel, Thomas R. Rainwater

The Prairie Naturalist

Winterkill occurs when drought conditions expose hibernating turtles to desiccation and lethaly cold temperatures. Winterkill is thought to represent a major source of mortality in northern populations of the painted turtle (Chrysemys picta), but few field observations are available. We herein reported on catastrophic winterkill among western painted turtle (C. pieta bellii) at Limestone Butte Lake (LBL) in western South Dakota during the winter of 2003-2004. Additionally, we used the carcasses of winterkilled turtles (n = 86) to estimate the standing crop biomass of the painted turtle at LBL (0.6 kg/ha). This was the only estimate …

Observation Of Hailstorm-Caused Mortality Of Least Terns And Piping Plovers On The Niobrara River, Nebraska, Mark M. Czaplewski, Mark Peyton, Jim Jenniges

Nebraska Bird Review

Hail has been documented to be a cause of mortality to adult Least Terns and Piping Plovers as well as to eggs and young (Boyd 1992, Lingle 1993, Schweitzer and Davis 2000, SD Dept. of Game, Fish and Parks 2005). While on an airboat survey to document Least Tern (Sternula antillarum) and Piping Plover (Charadrius melodus) use of a portion of the Niobrara River (from Highway 137 to the Spencer Dam, approximately 40 river miles), the authors observed the remnants of a Least Tern and Piping Plover colony that had been hit by an overnight rainstorm …

The Bees Of Greater Puerto Rico (Hymenoptera: Apoidea: Anthophila), Julio A. Genaro, Nico M. Franz

Insecta Mundi

The bee fauna of the Greater Puerto Rico area was studied. A review of the previous relevant studies is presented. An annotated catalog and information about the origin and distributional patterns are also provided. Thirty-nine species of bees occur in Puerto Rico and adjacent islands. This fauna is composed of four elements: exclusive Puerto Rican endemics (26.5%); Antillean endemics occurring on multiple islands (76.5%); continental species that have also colonized the Antilles (23.5%); and species introduced through human activity (12.8%). The bee fauna was both low in its diversity and showed the highest level of disharmony in relation to other …

Stoking A White Backlash: Race, Violence, And Yellow Journalism In Omaha, 1919, Nicolas Swiercek

James A. Rawley Graduate Conference in the Humanities

The “Red Summer of 1919” marked the nadir of interracial violence that characterized urban America during the post-World War I era. Of the more than twenty-five cities that experienced so-called “race riots” that year, Omaha, Nebraska on 28 September 1919 witnessed a vigilante mob of white youth and adults numbering in the thousands destroy the county courthouse, attempt to lynch Omaha’s mayor, and brutally execute an African American man named William Brown. The violence in Omaha and places as disparate as Chicago, Washington, D.C., and Longview, Texas occurred in communities coping with dramatic internal migrations, urban spatial tension, job competition, …

Synoptic Monitoring Of Gross Primary Productivity Of Maize Using Landsat Data, Anatoly A. Gitelson, Andrés Viña, Jeffrey G. Masek, Shashi Verma, Andrew E. Suyker

School of Natural Resources: Faculty Publications

There is a growing interest in monitoring the gross primary productivity (GPP) of crops due mostly to their carbon sequestration potential. Both within- and between-field variability are important components of crop GPP monitoring, particularly for the estimation of carbon budgets. In this letter, we present a new technique for daytime GPP estimation in maize based on the close and consistent relationship between GPP and crop chlorophyll content, and entirely on remotely sensed data. A recently proposed chlorophyll index (CI), which involves green and near-infrared spectral bands, was used to retrieve daytime GPP from Landsat Enhanced Thematic Mapper Plus (ETM+) data. …

Fish Distributions And Nutrient Cycling In Streams: Can Fish Create Biogeochemical Hotspots?, Peter B. Mcintyre, Alexander S. Flecker, Michael J. Vanni, James M. Hood, Brad W. Taylor, Steven A. Thomas

School of Natural Resources: Faculty Publications

Rates of biogeochemical processes often vary widely in space and time, and characterizing this variation is critical for understanding ecosystem functioning. In streams, spatial hotspots of nutrient transformations are generally attributed to physical and microbial processes. Here we examine the potential for heterogeneous distributions of fish to generate hotspots of nutrient recycling. We measured nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) excretion rates of 47 species of fish in an N-limited Neotropical stream, and we combined these data with population densities in each of 49 stream channel units to estimate unit- and reach-scale nutrient recycling. Species varied widely in rates of N …

Earth And Fire: Forests Rely On Healthy Soils For A Well-Rounded Diet, Elise Lequire

Joint Fire Science Program Briefs (2007-2012)

Historically, frequent low-intensity, dormant-season fire shaped the landscape across a variety of forests in the United States, from eastern hardwood and hardwood/conifer mixtures to western coniferous forests. Decades of fire exclusion have resulted in heavy fuel loads and increased threat of severe wildfire compared to historic conditions in most forest types and also resulted in changes in forest composition compared to historic conditions. The Fire and Fire Surrogates Study (FFS) is the first to apply a standard experimental design to compare thinning, thinning followed by prescribed fire, and prescribed fire alone across a wide spectrum of ecological and economic variables. …

Factors Influencing Predation On Juvenile Ungulates And Natural Selection Implications, S. M. Barber-Meyer, L. D. Mech

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

Juvenile ungulates are generally more vulnerable to predation than are adult ungulates other than senescent individuals, not only because of their relative youth, fragility, and inexperience, but also because of congenital factors. Linnell et al.’s (Wildl. Biol. 1: 209-223) extensive review of predation on juvenile ungulates concluded that research was needed to determine the predisposition of these juveniles to predation. Since then, various characteristics that potentially predispose juvenile ungulates have emerged including blood characteristics, morphometric and other condition factors, and other factors such as birth period, the mother’s experience, and spatial and habitat aspects. To the extent that any of …

Linkage Of The Us National Health Interview Survey To Air Monitoring Data: An Evaluation Of Different Strategies, Jennifer D. Parker, Tracey Woodruff, Lara J. Akinbami, Natalyia Kravets

United States Environmental Protection Agency: Publications

The goal of this study is to describe linkages between the National Health Interview Survey (NHIS) and Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) air monitoring data, specifically how the linkage method affects characteristics and exposure estimates of study samples and estimated associations between exposure and health. In the USA, nationally representative health data are collected in the NHIS and annual air quality data are collected by the EPA. The linkage of these data for research is not straightforward and the choices made may introduce bias into results. The 2000–2003 NHIS and air quality data for six air pollutants were linked by residential …

Management Of Lands Along The Platte River From Elm Creek To Lexington, Nebraska, As Crane Habitat, James J. Jenniges, Mark M. Peyton

Proceedings of the North American Crane Workshop

To meet Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) license requirements for the operation of 5 hydroelectric power plants on the North Platte and Platte Rivers in Nebraska, the Nebraska Public Power District (NPPD) and The Central Nebraska Public Power and Irrigation District (Central) together have become the second largest owners and managers of lands for the conservation of endangered species and migratory waterbirds along the central reach of the Platte River. We describe here the management activities on the properties, success of the management in achieving objectives, and the response of sandhill (Grus canadensis) and whooping cranes (G. …

A Biotic Survey And Inventory Of The Dynastine Scarab Beetles Of Mesoamerica, North America, And The West Indies: Review Of A Long-Term, Multicountry Project, Brett C. Ratcliffe, Ronald D. Cave

University of Nebraska State Museum: Entomology Papers

This biotic inventory will document the species-level diversity of dynastine scarabs, their spatial and temporal distributions, ecological preferences, and biology. The long term, multi-country research project explores a biotically megadiverse region that is seriously at risk from deforestation, environmental homogenization, invasive species, and urban sprawl. Objectives of this survey are: 1) to understand the biodiversity of dynastine scarab beetles in Mesoamerica; 2) disseminate this information in print and electronic forms; 3) train students, parataxonomists, and collection managers in the study area about dynastine taxonomy and identification, care of collections, dissemination of information, and conservation; and 4) assemble authoritatively identified voucher …

Animal-Side Serologic Assay For Rapid Detection Of Mycobacterium Bovis Infection In Multiple Species Of Free-Ranging Wildlife, K.P. Lyashchenko, R. Greenwald, J. Esfandiari, M.A. Chambers, J. Vicente, C. Gortazar, N. Santos, M. Correia-Neves, B.M. Buddle, R. Jackson, D.J. O’Brien, S. Schmitt, M. V. Palmer, R.J. Delahay, W.R. Waters

Michigan Bovine Tuberculosis Bibliography and Database

Numerous species of mammals are susceptible to Mycobacterium bovis, the causative agent of bovine tuberculosis (TB). Several wildlife hosts have emerged as reservoirs of M. bovis infection for domestic livestock in different countries. In the present study, blood samples were collected from Eurasian badgers (n = 1532), white-tailed deer (n = 463), brushtail possums (n = 129), and wild boar (n = 177) for evaluation of antibody responses to M. bovis infection by a lateral-flow rapid test (RT) and multiantigen print immunoassay (MAPIA). Magnitude of the antibody responses and antigen recognition patterns varied among the animals as determined by …