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The Prairie Naturalist Volume 17, No. 1. March 1985

The Prairie Naturalist

Paul B. Kannowski, Editor

Nikki R. Seabloom, Assistant Editor

Douglas H. Johnson, Book Review Editor

TABLE OF CONTENTS

COMMUNITY ANALYSIS OF THE FOREST VEGETATION IN THE LOWER PLATTE RIVER VALLEY, EASTERN NEBRASKA ▪ S. J. Rothenberger

RECOLONIZATION OF A BURNED PRAIRIE BY MEADOW VOLES (Microtus pennsylvanicus) ▪ P. L. Vacanti and K. N. Geluso

AMERICAN COOT HABITAT IN NORTH DAKOTA ▪ H. A. Kantrud

OBSERVATIONS ON PRAIRIE DOG DISPERSAL IN MONTANA ▪ C. J. Knowles

WINTER FOOD HABITS OF THE SWIFT FOX ON THE CENTRAL HIGH PLAINS ▪ D. M. Zumbaugh and J. R. Choate

BOOK REVIEW

Ground …

Biochemical Evidence For Hybridization In Fire Ants, Robert K. Vander Meer, Clifford S. Lofgren, Francisco M. Alvarez

Entomology Papers from Other Sources

Hybridization in social insects has been predicted on a theoretical basis by Pearson (1983); however, it is not a commonly reported phenomenon among ants. We recently found support for this theory when we discovered unique biochemical evidence for hybridization between Solenopsis invicta Buren and Solenopsis richteri Forel, two South American fire ant species that were inadvertently introduced into the southeastern United States.

North American Vegetation Patterns Observed With The Noaa-7 Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer, Samuel N. Goward, Compton J. Tucker, Dennis G. Dye

United States National Aeronautics and Space Administration: Publications

Spectral vegetation index measurements derived from remotely sensed observations show great promise as a means to improve knowledge of land vegetation patterns. The daily, global observations acquired by the Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer, a sensor on the current series of U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration meteorological satellites, may be particularly well suited for global studies of vegetation. Preliminary results from analysis of North American observations, extending from April to November 1982, show that the vegetation index patterns observed correspond to the known seasonality of North American natural and cultivated vegetation. Integration of the observations over the growing season …

Success In Rat Control In Kuwait, K.S. Al-Sanei, T.M. Zaghloul, A.M. Salit, M.T. Omar, M.M. Balba

Vertebrate Pest Conference Proceedings: 11th (1984)

The preliminary rat survey prior to the actual attack phase of Rat Control Program in Kuwait revealed an infestation rate with the Norway rat, Rattus norveqicus, in buildings ranging between 32.7% and 70.7%. The comparatively high infestation was observed in 92.5% of Kuwait buildings. Moreover the infestation reached 99% in certain districts of the country. This high infestation was associated with an increase in rat-borne diseases particularly murine typhus, salmonellosis, rat-bite fever and certain parasitic diseases.

A programme for rodent control in Kuwait was initiated through a political decision by the cabinet which gave the full responsibility of rodent …

The Prairie Naturalist Volume 16, No. 2. June 1984

The Prairie Naturalist

Paul B. Kannowski, Editor

Nikki R. Sea bloom , Assistant Editor

Douglas H. Johnson, Book Review Editor

TABLE OF CONTENTS

AUTUMN WEIGHTS OF PLAINS SHARP-TAILED GROUSE IN MONTANA ▪ J. E. Swenson and R. L. Eng

VEGETATION PROFILE AND GRASSLAND BIRD RESPONSE TO SPRING BURNING ▪ G. E. Huber and A. A. Steuter

WETLAND PRESERVATION CONFLICTS IN NORTH DAKOTA: ECONOMIC INCENTIVES AND LANDOWNER ATTITUDES ▪ R. D. Saylor, R. A. Stromstad and M. E. Winger

COLLEMBOLA OF SOUTHWESTERN NORTH DAKOTA: SPECIES COMPOSITION AND HABITAT DISTRIBUTION ▪ B. L. Benner and P. B. Kannowski

NEW RECORDS OF EARTHWORMS FROM KANSAS (Oligochaeta: …

Current Status Of Research On The Blackbird-Sunflower Problem In North Dakota, Joseph L. Guarino

Vertebrate Pest Conference Proceedings: 11th (1984)

Since 1979, the Denver Wildlife Research Center, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, has conducted an accelerated research program on the blackbird-sunflower problem which occurs annually in the Dakotas and Minnesota. The objective is to develop effective, cost beneficial and environmentally safe methods for reducing blackbird damage to ripening sunflower. A multidisciplinary approach involving interrelated studies of problem definition, ecology, and control methods development is being used. Preliminary results are presented from several studies involving: state- and county-wide estimates of damage; frequency distribution and timing of damage; compensatory growth in early damaged sunflower heads; breeding male blackbird censuses; mass-marking migratory red-winged …

Research On Winter Roosting Blackbirds And Starlings In The Southeastern United States, Donald F. Mott

Vertebrate Pest Conference Proceedings: 11th (1984)

Each winter, more than 300 million blackbirds and starlings congregate in hundreds of roosting sites in the southeastern United States. In addition to nuisance problems involving odor and property damage from fecal material, and potential airport hazards, research studies to date suggest that the major problems with these birds and their roosts involve grain losses in feedlots, latent disease transmission to livestock, and public health concerns with histoplasmosis. Control methods development studies have shown the utility of Starlicide and nonchemical control methods in reducing starling feedlot problems. A sprinkler-irrigation delivery system for the surfactant, PA-14, has been developed that enhances …

The Prairie Naturalist Volume 16, No. 1. March 1984

The Prairie Naturalist

Paul B. Kannowski, Editor

Nikki R. Seabloom, Assistant Editor

Douglas H. Johnson, Book Review Editor

TABLE OF CONTENTS

MORTALITY OF RACCOONS IN NORTH DAKOTA ▪ E. K. Fritzell and R. J. Greenwood

THE EFFECTS OF MOWING ON THE RODENT COMMUNITY OF A NATIVE TALL GRASS PRAIRIE IN EASTERN NEBRASKA ▪ C. A. Lemen and M. K. Clausen

PARASITES OF FISH FROM THE JAMES AND SHEYENNE RIVERS, JAMESTOWN RESERVOIR COMPLEX, AND LAKE ASHTABULA IN NORTH DAKOTA ▪ M. D. Forstie and H. L. Holloway

LEAD POISONING OF SANDHILL CRANES (Grus canadensis) ▪ R. M. Windingstad, S. M. Kerr, and …

Vergleichend Biologisch-Ökologische Untersuchungen In Hochgebirgen Der Nordwest- Und Südmongolei: Allgemeiner Bericht, Werner Hilbig, Michael Stubbe, N. Dawaa, Z. Schamsran, M. Dorn, K. Helmecke, D. Bumžaa, K. Ulykpan

Erforschung biologischer Ressourcen der Mongolei / Exploration into the Biological Resources of Mongolia, ISSN 0440-1298

In den Jahren 1976 bis 1978 führten Biologen der Martin-Luther-Universität HalleWittenberg und der Staatlichen Mongolischen Universität Ulan-Bator Arbeiten zur Höhenstufenzonierung des Charchiraa-Gebirges in der Nordw estmongolei d urch. In der Steppen- (1340 m), Lärchenwald- (2150 m) und alpinen Zone (2375 m) wurden Meßstationen errichtet, in denen über mehrere Wochen der Monate Juni bis August gearbeitet wurde. Paralleluntersuchungen konnten im Juni/Juli 1979 in dem ariden Gebirgszug Ich-bogd im Gobi-Altai (Halbwüste 1300 m, Bergsteppe 2500 m, alpine Matte 2740 m) durchgeführt werden. Der allgemeine Bericht .informiert über Aufgabenstellung, Ablauf der Expeditionen, Untersuchungsmethoden, Lage, Geologie und Klima der Untersuchungsgebiete sowie über allgemeine Erkenntnisse …

Habitat Use By Migrant Sandhill Cranes In Nebraska, Gary Krapu, Douglas Facey, Erik Fritzell, Douglas Johnson

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

The principal spring staging areas of the midcontinent population of sandhill cranes (Grus canadensis) are along the Platte and North Platte rivers in south-central Nebraska. Most of these lands are privately owned and managed for corn and cattle production. Diurnal habitat use by radio-tagged cranes was primarily in cropland (55%), native grassland (28%), and tame hayland (15%). Ninety-nine percent of the cropland use was in cornfields; 55% as grazed stubble, 36% as disced, cultivated, and plowed stubble, 7% as ungrazed stubble, and 1% unclassified. Grazed pastures accounted for 93% of the grassland locations and mowed alfalfa fields 77% …

Wildlife Hazards To Aircraft, F. Nelson Swink

Bird Control Seminars Proceedings

I am not going to talk about the past history of bird problems and the aviation industry; we're pretty well aware of what has happened. It was in 1960 that the U.S. really got some awareness because of the crash at Boston's Logan Airport. Following that was the first Fish and Wildlife Service involvement in bird problems at airports. For a number of years thereafter, the Fish and Wildlife Service Center at Laurel, Maryland had at least one staff biologist working with the FAA and specific airports to try and resolve their problems. Following the 1975 Canada incident with a …

Use Of The Chemosterilant Ornitrol In Feral Pigeon (Columba Livia) Control, William A. Erickson, William B. Jackson

Bird Control Seminars Proceedings

The chemosterilant ornitrol was tested as a means of reducing egg production in feral pigeons on the central campus of Bowling Green State University. Ornitrol (0.1 % by weight), coated on whole-kernel corn, was baited on building rooftops for 1 O-day periods in 1982 and 1983. Weekly post-treatment nest monitoring indicated that ornitrol does not inhibit egg-laying, but 16-29% of all eggs laid were infertile. This increase in egg infertility over the pre-treatment period was significant. However, because pigeons breed throughout the year on campus, it is estimated that this reduction in productivity would have no major impact on the …

Parakeet Damage To Sunflower In Pakistan, Abdul Aziz Khan, Shakeel Ahmad

Bird Control Seminars Proceedings

Rose-ringed parakeet (Psittacula krameri (Scopoli) damage to sunflower heads was estimated in two provinces of Pakistan during the spring of 1981. In seven districts of Punjab the damage ranged from 5.0-23.28 %, with an average of 11.72 %. In rainfed areas the damge was as high as 71.43%, with average of 38.29%. In Sind the damage was on the higher order. In nine districts the damage ranged from 6.98-26.09%, with an average of 16.61 % and as high as 55% at some locations. Majority of fields (47%) had 10% damage or less, while less than 10% of fields had …

Chemical Control Of Depredating Blackbirds In Ontario Field Corn, J. D. Somers, F. F. Gilbert, R. J. Brooks, D. E. Joyner

Bird Control Seminars Proceedings

Corn depredation by red·winged blackbirds (Agelaius phoeniceus) has been an agricultural problem in southwestern Ontario for many years. Large marsh areas along the shoreline of Lakes Erie and St. Clair provide ideal habitat for breeding and roosting. Concurrently, the vast monocultural field corn acreages in Kent and Essex Counties have over the years been the centers for blackbird depredation in the province. The expansion of corn production into other areas of Ontario has, however, resulted in a province·wide distribution of damage, and substantial crop losses for specific individual farmers (Tyler and Kannenberg, 1980). The Ontario Ministry of the …

The Influence Of Soil Moisture, Texture, And Temperature On Nest-Site Selection And Burrowing Activity By The Pine Vole, Microtus Plnetorum, Donald H. Rhodes, Milo E. Richmond

Eastern Pine and Meadow Vole Symposia

Pine voles (Microtus pinetorum) have long been recognized as a pest species in fruit orchards of the eastern United States (Hamilton 1935). These semifossorial rodents construct tunnel systems beneath apple trees where they eat entire roots or strip roots of bark and cambium. Hamilton (1938) reported numbers of pine voles within apple orchards as high as 200-300 voles per acre which is in sharp contrast to the relative scarcity of pine voles outside orchard situations (Crain and Packard 1966; Goertz 1971), These findings suggest that orchard habitat provides excellent conditions for pine vole growth and reproduction, although the specific components …

Comparison Of Old Field Succession On A Tallgrass Prairie And A Nebraska Sandhills Prairie, Mary Bomberger Brown, Shelly L. Shields, A. Tyrone Harrsion, Kathleen H. Keeler

School of Biological Sciences: Faculty Publications

Long held to be reasonably well understood, the process of ecological succession has recently come under attack. The predictability of successional changes has been doubted (Walker 1970), the mechanism of species replacement has been questioned (Connell and Slatyer 1977), and the reality of steady-state (climax) challenged (Botkin and Sobel 1975, Connell and Slatyer 1977, Connell 1978). In particular, several communities are presently recognized as having "cyclic succession" (Ricklefs 1973), in which the process is continually repeating. Such communities include heaths (Watt 1947), prairie pot-hole marshes (Vander Valk and Davis 1978), spruce-fir forests (Sprugel 1976, Sprugel and Bormann 1981), and intertidal …

Monoculture, Polyculture, And Polyvariety In Tropical Forest Swidden Cultivation, Raymond B. Hames

Department of Anthropology: Faculty Publications

A number of researchers have suggested that polyculture is characteristic of native tropical forest swiddens and have adduced theory from community ecology to account for its adaptiveness. Ye’kwana and Yąnomamö swidden cultivation is examined, and it is shown that polyculture is not practiced to any significant degree. Instead, the concept of polyvariety is introduced along with a number of other cultivation practices that more simply account for the adaptiveness of Ye’kwana and Yąnomamö gardening. In addition, comparative data from other parts of the tropical world indicate that polyculture is no more common than monoculture and recent advances in ecological research …

Cranes Of The World: References, Paul A. Johnsgard

Cranes of the World by Paul A. Johnsgard

The following list of more than 400 references is by no means a complete bibliography of cranes, but does include a few titles that for various reasons were not specifically cited in the text. Walkinshaw's (1973) monograph contains a large number of citations not found in the present list, and he additionally has recently (1981c) updated and supplemented his earlier bibliography. All told, his two citation lists include nearly 2,500 citations. Nearly 40 percent of the 1973 list deals with the whooping crane, 20 percent with the sandhill crane, 15 percent with the Eurasian crane, and 8 percent with the …

The Prairie Naturalist Volume 14, No. 4. December 1982

The Prairie Naturalist

THE MICROBIAL AND VEGETATIONAL RESPONSE TO FIRE IN THE LYNX PRAIRIE PRESERVE, ADAMS COUNTY, OHIO ▪ A. E. Annala and L. A. Kapustka

ASPECTS OF BEHAVIOR IN FREE-RANGING BARBARY SHEEP (AMMOTRAGUS LERVIA) G. G. Gray and C. D. Simpson

HOME RANGES OF MULE DEER BUCKS IN THE TEXAS PANHANDLE ▪ B. H. Koerth and F. C. Bryant

DETERMINING SEX OF PLAINS POCKET GOPHERS BY INCISOR WIDTH ▪ R. M. Case and A. B. Sargeant

BOOK REVIEWS:

On Counting Birds ▪ S. A. Mikol

Freshwater Marshes ▪ R. M. Kaminiski

NOTICE TO AUTHORS ▪ Editor

INDEX TO VOLUME 14 …

Karyotypic Relationships Within The Short-Tailed Shrews, Genus Blarina, Sarah B. George, Hugh H. Genoways, Jerry R. Choate, Robert J. Baker

University of Nebraska State Museum: Mammalogy Papers

Short-tailed shrews of the genus Blarina exhibit considerable geographic variation in both diploid number and fundamental number. Four chromosomal groups are recognized within the genus: Blarina brevicauda, FN = 48; 2N = 50, 49, or 48; B. carolinensis, FN = 45 or 44; 2N = 46, 39, 38, or 37; B. c. peninsulae, FN = 52; 2N = 52, 51, or 50; B. hylophaga, FN = 62, 61, or 60; 2N = 52. B. c. peninsulae also may be a distinct species, but exact determination must await location and analysis of a zone of contact with …

Leeches (Annelida: Hirudinea) Of North America, Donald J. Klemm

Harold W. Manter Laboratory of Parasitology: Library Materials

The previous manual, "Freshwater Leeches (Annelida: Hirudinea) of North America," Identification Manual No. 8, Biota of Freshwater Ecosystems, published in 1972, was prepared under contract with the Oceanography and Limnology Program, Smithsonian Institution, with funds provided by the United States Environmental Protection Agency.

In the ten years that have elapsed since publication of the above manual, additional work has been done in North America on the ecology and systematics of the leeches. This publication serves to correct several errors found in the above manual, to make several desirable taxonomic changes, to add new sections and various relevant information to the …

Raptor-Mimicking Kites For Reducing Bird Damage To Wine Grapes, Roger L. Hothem, Richard W. Dehaven

Vertebrate Pest Conference Proceedings: 10th (1982)

Preliminary tests in California vineyards during 1979 and 1980 indicated that a raptor-mimicking kite suspended from a helium-filled balloon (kite-balloon or KB) could reduce bird damage to ripening wine grapes. Based on the results of both damage assessments and bird censuses, one KB per hectare, deployed for alternate 1-wk periods, reduced losses caused by birds by about 33% in 1979 and by an average of 48% in 1980 when compared with 1-wk control periods. Habituation by the birds to the KB appeared to reduce its effectiveness over time in 1979, but this problem was reduced in 1980 by regularly changing …

Sandhill Cranes And The Platte River, Gary L. Krapu, Kenneth J. Reinecke, Charles R. Frith

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

The waters of many western rivers have been diverted by man for irrigation and other consumptive uses (Ohmart et al. 1977, Johnson 1978). As flows in certain rivers diminished precipitously during this century, numerous conflicts have arisen brought on by changes affecting various interests. The Platte River is such an example. With approximately 69 percent of the annual flows destined for the Platte now removed upstream (Kroonemeyer 1979) and additional projects proposed that would utilize remaining flows, intense competition and widespread concern have developed among the factions relying on the river's flows to meet their needs.

California's Central Valley Wintering Waterfowl: Concerns And Challenges, David S. Gilmer, Michael R. Miller, Richard D. Bauer, John R. Ledonne

United States Fish and Wildlife Service: Publications

Few places on the North American continent can boast of the concentrations of migratory birds that winter in the Central Valley of California. Long before agriculture and industrialization came west, this great valley served as a major wintering ground for millions of migratory birds. Fall flights of waterfowl, shorebirds, waders, raptors, and passerines returned annually to inhabit the vast wetland, riparian, and grassland habitats which covered the valley floor (Dasmann 1966, Bakker 1971).
Major changes in the Central Valley during the last century have profoundly influenced its physical and biological features. Wetland, riparian, and grassland habitats have been devastated by …

Learning To Read The Pioneer Landscape: Braudel, Eliade, Turner, And Benton, John Opie

Great Plains Quarterly (through 2013)

Looking at different viewpoints about the landscape of middle America is like seeing the Japanese movie Rashomon: it all depends on who is telling the story. We tend to forget, for example, that American origins are intertwined with an agricultural world view. In the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries the United States was predominantly a nation of farmers, and to all appearances it would continue so indefinitely. (It was not until the early twentieth century that more Americans lived in cities than on farms.) The future successful course of America seemed to depend upon vast and open tracts of good …

The Plant Pathogenic Corynebacteria, Anne K. Vidaver

Department of Plant Pathology: Faculty Publications

The plant pathogenic corynebacteria are a fascinating group of bacteria that produce effects as diverse as any in the microbial world, ranging from wilts to abnormal growths. Several new pathogens have been discovered since this group was reviewed by Jensen (75), Starr (157), and Lelliott (96). Most subsequent reviews have dealt with taxonomy. The areas covered in this review necessarily reflect my biases and limitations. However, this review attempts to be comprehensive in some areas, and it calls attention to other areas that would benefit from more detailed investigation.

Resistance To The Rice Gall Midge Orseolia Oryzae In Rice, E. A. Heinrichs

Department of Entomology: Faculty Publications

Orseolia oryzae, the rice gall midge is a major pest of rice in many areas of tropical Asia and is becoming an important pest in Africa. A chronological review of the progress made in various national programs on varietal resistance, sources of resistance and breeding for resistance is given. Many resistant varieties have been identified and have been utilized in breeding programs to develop high yielding varieties with multiple resistance to the gall midge and other insect pests and diseases. Mechanisms and inheritance of resistance in rice varieties are discussed. Rice varieties resistant in various countries and sources of resistance …

A Bibliography Of Varietal Resistance To The Rice Gall Midge, Orseolia Oryzae (Wood-Mason), P. K. Pathak, E. A. Heinrichs

Department of Entomology: Faculty Publications

This bibliography contains 330 published and unpublished references for the period 1881-1981. References are arranged alphabetically by author and are also classified by country and by subjects (mass rearing, screening, evaluation and utilization of resistant varieties, breeding for and inheritance of resistance, and biotype variation). Tables list resistant varieties identified, varietal sources used in breeding programs, varieties which have been released for cultivation by farmers and biotype classification.

Sandhill Cranes And The Platte River, Gary L. Krapu, Kenneth J. Reinecke, Charles R. Frith

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

The waters of many western rivers have been diverted by man for irrigation and other consumptive uses (Ohmart et al. 1977, Johnson 1978). As flows in certain rivers diminished precipitously during this century, numerous conflicts have arisen brought on by changes affecting various interests. The Platte River is such an example. With approximately 69 percent of the annual flows destined for the Platte now removed upstream (Kroonemeyer 1979) and additional projects proposed that would utilize remaining flows, intense competition and widespread concern have developed among the factions relying on the river's flows to meet their needs.
One effect of the …

Intraisland And Interisland Variation In Antillean Populations Of Molossus Molossus (Mammalia: Molossidae), Hugh H. Genoways, Robert C. Dowler, Catherine H. Carter

University of Nebraska State Museum: Mammalogy Papers

Significant levels of secondary sexual variation and expected levels of individual variation were demonstrated in all samples of Molossus molossus from Jamaica, Guadeloupe, and Trinidad examined with univariate analyses. Significant morphometric differences were demonstrated among samples of Molossus molossus that originated from geographically close localities on the same island. Using multivariate techniques, broader patterns of geographic variation were demonstrated among the Antillean populations of M. molossus.