Digital Commons Network^™

Stable Isotopes In Early Eocene Mammals As Indicators Of Forest Canopy Structure And Resource Partitioning, Ross Secord, Scott L. Wing, Amy Chew

Department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences: Faculty Publications

The three dimensional structure of vegetation is an important component of ecosystems, yet it is difficult to reconstruct from the fossil record. Forests or woodlands prevailed at mid-latitudes in North America during the early Eocene but tree spacing and canopy structure are uncertain. Here we use stable carbon isotope values (δ¹³C) in early Eocene mammalian faunas to infer canopy structure. We compare δ¹³C values in two diverse fossil assemblages from the central Bighorn Basin to values predicted for mammals in a variety of open and closed habitats, based on modern floras and faunas. We conclude that …

Dental Health At Oakwood Mound, Will County, Illinois, Daniel L. Osborne

Department of Anthropology: Faculty Publications

Human dentitions from Oakwood Mound were examined to ascertain dental health in this population. Attrition rate, carious lesions, and antemortem tooth loss were scored for each adult. No significant differences were present between the aforementioned variables by age or sex. The attrition rate supports the hypothesis that the individuals interred in Oakwood Mound shared similar subsistence strategies. The prevalence of carious lesions suggests a dependence on carbohydrates as a major dietary resource. High rates of antemortem tooth loss also may have resulted from reliance on this food source, although this connection is not as direct as the caries data. These …

Nebraska Anthropologist Volume 23 : 2008 Table Of Contents

Nebraska Anthropologist

In Search of Blood-Stained Earth: A Consideration of Battlefield Archaeology's Applicability to Pre-Historic Conflict in the Eastern and Central Regions of North America (Andrew P. McFeaters)

Technological Introductions and Social Change: European Technology on the Great Plains (Andrew LaBounty)

Temporal Insanity: Woodland Archaeology and the Construction of Valid ChronologIies (Erin C. Dempsey)

Time Perspectivism, Temporal Dynamics, and Battlefield Archaeology: A Case Study from the Santiago Campaign of 1898 (William E. Altizer)

Collective Memory of the Prehistoric Past and the Archaeological Landscape (Cynthia J. Wiley)

Cultural Mentoring at Lincoln North Star High School: A Case Study (Stephen Damm)

The "How" of …

Geochemical Evidence For Airborne Dust Additions To Soils In Channel Islands National Park, California, Daniel R. Muhs, James R. Budahn, Donald L. Johnson, Marith Reheis, Jossh Beann, Gary Skipp, Eric Fischer, Julia A. Jones

United States Geological Survey: Staff Publications

There is an increasing awareness that dust plays important roles in climate change, biogeochemical cycles, nutrient supply to ecosystems, and soil formation. In Channel Islands National Park, California, soils are clay-rich Vertisols or Alfi sols and Mollisols with vertic properties. The soils are overlain by silt-rich mantles that contrast sharply with the underlying clay-rich horizons. Silt mantles contain minerals that are rare or absent in the volcanic rocks that dominate these islands. Immobile trace elements (Sc-Th-La and Ta-Nd-Cr) and rare-earth elements show that the basalt and andesite on the islands have a composition intermediate between upper-continental crust and oceanic crust. …

Origin And Paleoclimatic Significance Of Late Quaternary Loess In Nebraska: Evidence From Stratigraphy, Chronology, Sedimentology, And Geochemistry, Daniel R. Muhs, E. Arthur Bettis Iii, John N. Aleinikoff, John P. Mcgeehin, Jossh Beann, Gary Skipp, Brian D. Marshall, Helen M. Roberts, William C. Johnson, Rachel Benton

United States Geological Survey: Staff Publications

Loess is one of the most extensive surficial geologic deposits in mid-continental North America, particularly in the central Great Plains region of Nebraska. Last-glacial-age loess (Peoria Loess) reaches its greatest known thickness in the world in this area. New stratigraphic, geochronologic, mineralogic, and geochemical data yield information about the age and provenance of Peoria Loess, as well as evaluation of recent climate models.

Comparative Pollination Biology Of Sympatric And Allopatric Andean Iochroma (Solanaceae), Stacey Dewitt Smith, Steven J. Hall, Pablo R. Izquierdo, David A. Baum

School of Biological Sciences: Faculty Publications

Field studies were conducted for 15 species of Iochroma Benth, and the nested genus Acnistus Schott to quantify the diversity of pollination systems and to assess the potential contribution of pollinator behavior to the persistence of closely related species in sympatry. We combined measures of pollinator visitation and pollen deposition to estimate the importance of major groups of pollinators for each species, and we calculated proportional similarity in the pollinator assemblage among species. We found that 12 species of Iochroma, encompassing a range of flower colors and sizes, were principally pollinated by hummingbirds and, in many cases, by the …

Interspecific Demographic Trade-Offs And Soil-Related Habitat Associations Of Tree Species Along Resource Gradients, Sabrina E. Russo, Patrick Brown, Sylvester Tan, Stuart J. Davies

School of Biological Sciences: Faculty Publications

Summary

1. Interspecific relationships between fundamental demographic rates, often called demographic trade-offs, emerge from constraints within individuals related to morphology, physiology and resource allocation. Plant species that grow fast in high light usually have high mortality in shade, and this well-established relationship in part defines a species’ successional niche. More generally, this relationship represents a trade-off between a species’ ability to grow quickly to exploit abundant resources vs. avoiding mortality when resources are less plentiful, but few studies have described this demographic trade-off with respect to environmental factors other than light.

2. Using demographic data from 960 tree species in …

Muscleworms, Parelaphostrongylus Andersoni (Nematoda: Protostrongylidae), Discovered In Columbia White-Tailed Deer From Oregon And Washington: Implications For Biogeography And Host Associations, Ingrid M. Asmundsson, Jack A. Mortenson, Eric P. Hoberg

Harold W. Manter Laboratory of Parasitology: Faculty Publications

Parelaphostrongylus andersoni is considered a characteristic nematode infecting white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus). Host and geographic distribution for this parasite, however, remain poorly defined in the region of western North America. Fecal samples collected from Columbia white-tailed deer (O. v. leucurus) in a restricted range endemic to Oregon and Washington, USA, were examined for dorsal-spined larvae characteristic of many protostrongylid nematodes. Multilocus DNA sequence data (internal transcribed spacer 2 and cytochrome c oxidase subunit 1) established the identity and a new record for P. andersoni in a subspecies of white-tailed deer previously unrecognized as hosts. Populations of …

A Macroevolutionary Mosaic: Episodic Host-Switching, Geographical Colonization And Diversification In Complex Host–Parasite Systems [Special Paper], Eric P. Hoberg, Daniel R. Brooks

Harold W. Manter Laboratory of Parasitology: Faculty Publications

Aim: To integrate ecological fitting, the oscillation hypothesis and the taxon pulse hypothesis into a coherent null model for the evolution of complex host–parasite associations.

Location: Global.

Methods: This paper reviews and synthesizes literature that focuses on phylogenetic analyses and reciprocal mapping of a model system of hosts and their parasites to determine patterns of host–parasite associations and geographical distributions through time.

Results: Host-switching and geographical dispersal of parasites are common phenomena, occurring on many temporal and spatial scales. Diversification involving both co-evolution and colonization explains complex host–parasite associations. Across the expanse of Earth history, the major radiations in host– …

Geographic Patterns Of At-Risk Species, Curtis H. Flather, Michael S. Knowles, Jason Mcnees

United States Department of Agriculture, Forest Service / University of Nebraska-Lincoln: Faculty Publications

This technical document supports the Forest Service’s requirement to assess the status of renewable natural resources as mandated by the Forest and Rangeland Renewable Resources Planning Act of 1974. It updates past reports on the trends and geographic patterns of species formally listed as threatened or endangered under the Endangered Species Act of 1973. We compare the geographic occupancy of threatened and endangered species at the county-level against the geographic occupancy of a broader set of species thought to be at risk of extinction. This is done to determine if new areas where species rarity may be concentrated emerge. Here …

Turning Today’S Students Into Tomorrow’S Stars, Aleidine Kramer Moeller, Janine Theiler, Silvia Betta

Department of Teaching, Learning, and Teacher Education: Faculty Publications

Selected Papers from the 2008 Central States Conference

Adeiline J. Moeller, Editor

Janine Theiler, Assistant Editor

Silvia Betta, Assistant Editor

1 The Important Work of Engaging Our 21st Century Learners — Toni Theisen

2 A Model for Teaching Cross-Cultural Perspectives — Susan M. Knight

3 The Stealth Approach to Critical Thinking in Beginning Spanish Classes — Deanna H. Mihaly

4 Teaching About the French Heritage of the Midwest — Randa Duvick

5 Integrating Russian Cuisine with Russian Language and Culture Classes — Marat Sanatullov

6 Preparing a Fotonovela in the Foreign Language Classroom — Carol Eiber

7 Engaging Students through …

Fabric As A Narrative: Constructing A Global Quilting Tradition, Evan Bland, Laura Chapman, Ashley Ermel, Takako Iwatani, Tanna Kimmerling, Linsey Marshall, Audrey Pribnow, Antona Beckman, Metta Cederdahl, Madeline Donovan, Sara Lackey, Kristin Limoges, Alicia Roth, Maika Bauerle, Michaela Stevens, K. J. Hascall, Katie Nieland, Shannon Smith, Kirk Fellhoelter, Jill Havekost, Rick Alloway, Nancy Anderson, Timothy G. Anderson, Charlyne Berens, Stacy James, Marilyn Hahn, Anna Mostek, Bruce Thorson

College of Journalism and Mass Communications: Student Media

OVERVIEW – The tradition of quilting is engaging people of all ages, genders and classes around the globe
CULTURE – Quilting empowers women and provides them an outlet for expression
MUSEUMS – Museum exhibitions and academics have shown quilting in a different light
THE WHITNEY – The exhibition that changed it all
IQSC – A strong quilting tradition prompts a couple to let their 900-quilt collection establish a museum
AQSG – High standards in quilt-related studies
DOCUMENTATION – Preserving and cataloging quilts make sure information is not lost for future generations
ART QUILTS – As the perception of quilting changes, …

Yet Another George Washington Website: The Digital Edition And The Future Of Documentary Editing, Jennifer E. Stertzer

Documentary Editing: Journal of the Association for Documentary Editing (1979–2011)

In 2005, work commenced on what has become The Papers of George Washington Digital Edition. A small team was assembled, and the process of converting legacy volumes to XML began. For the past two years we have been busy entering corrections and changes, linking documents, tackling consistency issues, and correcting errors introduced by our conversion vendor. Though much of the work has been tedious, the resulting digital edition, released earlier this year, is an important milestone for the project. But it’s more than just another George Washington website. This site contains all the features of the print edition, but it …

Cultural Considerations In Adolescent Suicide Prevention And Psychosocial Treatment, David B. Goldston, Sherry Davis Molock, Les B. Whitbeck, Jessica L. Murakami, Luis H. Zayas, Gordon C. Nagayama Hall

Department of Sociology: Faculty Publications

Ethnic groups differ in rates of suicidal behaviors among youths, the context within which suicidal behavior occurs (e.g., different precipitants, vulnerability and protective factors, and reactions to suicidal behaviors), and patterns of help-seeking. In this article, the authors discuss the cultural context of suicidal behavior among African American, American Indian and Alaska Native, Asian American and Pacific Islander, and Latino adolescents, and the implications of these contexts for suicide prevention and treatment. Several cross-cutting issues are discussed, including acculturative stress and protective factors within cultures; the roles of religion and spirituality and the family in culturally sensitive interventions; different manifestations …

Power Laws, Discontinuities And Regional City Size Distributions, Ahjond S. Garmestan, Craig R. Allen, Colin M. Gallagher

School of Natural Resources: Faculty Publications

Urban systems are manifestations of human adaptation to the natural environment. City size distributions are the expression of hierarchical processes acting upon urban systems. In this paper, we test the entire city size distributions for the southeastern and southwestern United States (1990), as well as the size classes in these regions for power law behavior. We interpret the differences in the size of the regional city size distributions as the manifestation of variable growth dynamics dependent upon city size. Size classics in the city size distributions are snapshots of stable states within urban systems in flux.

Recreation Visitor Attitudes Towards Management-Ignited Prescribed Fires In The Bob Marshall Wilderness Complex, Montana, Katie Knotek, Alan E. Watson, William T. Borrie, Joshua G. Whitmore, David Turner

United States Department of Agriculture, Forest Service / University of Nebraska-Lincoln: Faculty Publications

Research at the Bob Marshall Wilderness Complex in Montana explored differences in recreation visitors’ attitudes towards the use of management-ignited prescribed fires in the wilderness. A mail-back survey of visitors (n = 291) during the 2004 season revealed that over half of visitors would accept prescribed fires in wilderness. This support did not vary by ignition purpose: (a) to restore the natural role of fire or (b) to reduce hazardous fuels and potential for fire escaping to non-wilderness lands. Local visitors, however, were significantly more accepting of prescribed fires than non-local visitors across both ignition purposes. A smaller proportion …

Reliability-Based Stand-Alone Photovoltaic System Sizing Design- A Case Study, Haifeng Ge, Liqin Ni, Sohrab Asgarpoor

Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering: Faculty Publications

This paper introduces a method for designing a standalone photovoltaic system to improve the load point reliability, extend the operation life, and minimize the design cost. This approach examines the impacts of solar panel sizes, tilt angles and battery volumes toward load point reliability, as well as the expected system life, by using real insolation data in a given location and random load burdens. The reliability evaluation incorporating solar insolation variations and load point uncertainty is performed. Life evaluation of battery is included in this paper with consideration of the battery State of Charge (SoC) history. The Economical analysis to …

Table Of Contents- Winter 2008

Great Plains Quarterly (through 2013)

GREAT PLAINS QUARTERLY

Volume 28 / Number 1 / Winter 2008

THE PAGEANT OF PAHA SAPA: AN ORIGIN MYTH OF WHITE SETTLEMENT IN THE AMERICAN WEST

U.S. INDIAN POLICY, 1865-1890: AS ILLUMINATED THROUGH THE LIVES OF CHARLES A. EASTMAN AND ELAINE GOODALE EASTMAN

NAMING A PLACE NICODEMUS

REVIEW ESSAY: THE PERSISTENCE OF POPULAR MEMORY: THE CINEMATIC CONSTRUCTION OF THE AMERICAN INDIAN

BOOK REVIEWS

NOTES AND NEWS

Annual Index

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

ANNUAL INDEX

Investigating Psychosocial Well-Being Among Ethnically Diverse Rural Women: Expect The Unexpected, Rochelle L. Dalla, Catherine Huddleston-Casas, Maria León

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

The purpose of this study was to examine patterns of similarity and difference in psychosocial well-being among 42 first-generation, Spanish-speaking Latinas, 23 second-generation, English-speaking Latinas, and 25 English-speaking Caucasian women residing in five unique rural Nebraska communities. Participants completed a series of self-report survey instruments to assess indices of psychosocial health, including: marital satisfaction, marital communication, family communication, social support, and depression. Spanishspeaking Latinas and English-speaking Caucasians evidenced the greatest similarity in patterns of experience. Twenty-eight percent of the total sample (n = 25) scored above the clinical cutoff for depression. Implications and suggestions for future work are discussed.

Geographical And Climatic Limits Of Needle Types Of One- And Two-Needled Pinyon Pines, Kenneth L. Cole, Jessica Fisher, Samantha T. Arundel, John Cannella, Sandra Swift

United States Geological Survey: Staff Publications

Aim The geographical extent and climatic tolerances of one- and two-needled pinyon pines (Pinus subsect. Cembroides) are the focus of questions in taxonomy, palaeoclimatology and modelling of future distributions. The identification of these pines, traditionally classified by one- versus two-needled fascicles, is complicated by populations with both one- and two-needled fascicles on the same tree, and the description of two more recently described one-needled varieties: the fallax-type and californiarum-type. Because previous studies have suggested correlations between needle anatomy and climate, including anatomical plasticity reflecting annual precipitation, we approached this study at the level of the anatomy …

Range-Wide Phylogeographic Analysis Of The Spotted Frog Complex (Rana Luteiventris And Rana Pretiosa) In Northwestern North America, W. Chris Funk, Christopher A. Pearl, Hope M. Draheim, Michael J. Adams, Thomas D. Mullins, Susan M. Haig

United States Geological Survey: Staff Publications

The dynamic geological and climatic history of northwestern North America has made it a focal region for phylogeography. We conducted a range-wide phylogeographic analysis of the spotted frog complex (Rana luteiventris and Rana pretiosa) across its range in northwestern North America to understand its evolutionary history and the distribution of clades to inform conservation of R. pretiosa and Great Basin R. luteiventris, candidates for listing under the US Endangered Species Act. Mitochondrial DNA sequence data from a segment of the cytochrome b gene were obtained from 308 R. luteiventris and R. pretiosa from 96 sites. Phylogenetic analysis …

Influence Of Fipronil Compounds And Rice-Cultivation Land-Use Intensity On Macroinvertebrate Communities In Streams Of Southwestern Louisiana, Usa, Scott V. Mize, Stephen D. Porter, Dennis K. Demcheck

United States Geological Survey: Staff Publications

Laboratory tests of fipronil and its degradation products have revealed acute lethal toxicity at very low concentrations (LC₅₀) of <0.5 μg/L to selected aquatic macroinvertebrates. In streams draining basins with intensive rice cultivation in southwestern Louisiana, USA, concentrations of fipronil compounds were an order of magnitude larger than the LC₅₀. The abundance (p=-0.64; p=0.015) and taxa richness (r²=0.515, p<0.005) of macroinvertebrate communities declined significantly with increases in concentrations of fipronil compounds and rice-cultivation land-use intensity. Macroinvertebrate community tolerance scores increased linearly (r²=0.442, p < 0.005) with increases in the percentage of rice cultivation in the basins, indicating increasingly degraded stream conditions. Similarly, macroinvertebrate community-tolerance scores increased rapidly as fipronil concentrations approached about 1 μg/L. Pesticide toxicity index determinations indicated that aquatic macroinvertebrates respond to a gradient of fipronil compounds in water although stream size and habitat cannot be ruled out as contributing influences.

Spatial Dynamics Of Overbank Sedimentation In Floodplain Systems, Aaron R. Pierce, Sammy L. King

United States Geological Survey: Staff Publications

Floodplains provide valuable social and ecological functions, and understanding the rates and patterns of overbank sedimentation is critical for river basin management and rehabilitation. Channelization of alluvial systems throughout the world has altered hydrological and sedimentation processes within floodplain ecosystems. In the loess belt region of the Lower Mississippi Alluvial Valley of the United States, channelization, the geology of the region, and past land-use practices have resulted in the formation of dozens of valley plugs in stream channels and the formation of shoals at the confluence of stream systems. Valley plugs completely block stream channels with sediment and debris and …

Isotopic Evidence For The Diversity Of Late Quaternary Loess In Nebraska: Glaciogenic And Nonglaciogenic Sources, John N. Aleinikoff, Daniel R. Muhs, E. Arthur Bettis Iii, William C. Johnson, C. Mark Fanning, Rachel Benton

United States Geological Survey: Staff Publications

Pb isotope compositions of detrital K-feldspars and U-Pb ages of detrital zircons are used as indicators for determining the sources of Peoria Loess deposited during the last glacial period (late Wisconsin, ca. 25–14 ka) in Nebraska and western Iowa. Our new data indicate that only loess adjacent to the Platte River has Pb isotopic characteristics suggesting derivation from this river. Most Peoria Loess in central Nebraska (up to 20 m thick) is non-glaciogenic, on the basis of Pb isotope ratios in K-feldspars and the presence of 34-Ma detrital zircons. These isotopic characteristics suggest derivation primarily from the Oligocene White River …

Linking Ecosystem Processes With Wetland Management Goals: Charting A Course For A Sustainable Future, Ned H. Euliss Jr., Loren M. Smith, Douglas A. Wilcox, Bryant A. Browne

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

Wetland management in the United States has never been as challenging as in today’s highly modified landscape. Initially, wetland science and management emerged as professions in response to widespread conversion of wetlands to other uses and concerns over negative impacts on wildlife populations, especially migratory birds. Consequently, wetland management was focused on wildlife, and the initial management technique was simply to protect wetlands. However, extensive conversion of lands for agricultural and urban expansion over the past 60 years has modified ecosystem processes at the landscape scale sufficiently to compromise wetland management activities on adjacent lands dedicated to conservation. Moreover, society …

Integrated Modelling Frameworks For Environmental Assessment And Decision Support, A. E. Rizzoli, G. Leavesley, J. C. Ascough Ii, R. M. Argent, I. N. Athanasiadis, V. Brilhante, F. H. A. Claeys, O. David, M. Donatelli, P. Gijsbers, D. Havlik, A. Kassahun, P. Krause, N. W. T. Quinn, H. Scholten, R. S. Sojda, F. Villa

United States Geological Survey: Staff Publications

As argued in Chapter 1, modern management of environmental resources defines problems from a holistic and integrated perspective, thereby imposing strong requirements on Environmental Decision Support Systems (EDSSs) and Integrated Assessment Tools (IATs). These systems and tools tend to be increasingly complex in terms of software architecture and computational power in order to cope with the type of problems they must solve. For instance, the discipline of Integrated Assessment (IA) needs tools that arc able to span a wide range of disciplines, from socio-economics to ecology to hydrology. Such tools must support a wide range of methodologies and techniques like …

Time Perspectivism, Temporal Dynamics, And Battlefield Archaeology: A Case Study From The Santiago Campaign Of 1898, William E. Altizer

Nebraska Anthropologist

Given the unique ability of archaeology to illuminate temporal processes, archaeologists have begun employing a number of theoretical models to understand the nature of these processes, and the ways in which the modern archaeological landscape retains their physical traces. Battlefields, as discrete temporal events taking place in physical settings with their own history, offer an intriguing avenue to explore archaeological temporality. This paper reviews the ways in which archaeologists have employed the Annales approach and time perspectivism, and considers a case study in battlefield archaeology - the 1898 battlefield of EI Caney, Cuba.

Pathoecology Of Two Ancestral Pueblo Villages, Karl Reinhard

Karl Reinhard Publications

Pathoecology is the study of the biotic, abiotic, and cultural environments of disease (Martinson et al. 2003). A parasitic infection is the result of the pathoecological interaction of host behavior, parasite life cycle, the environment in which both life forms live, the nutritional status of the host, and host physiological responses to all of these factors. Parasites contribute to anemia in many ways. Some, such as hookworm, actually consume blood and cause iron loss through their activities. For other parasites, symptoms such as profuse diarrhea reduce intestinal absorption of nutrients. Others, such as certain fish tapeworms, actually compete for absorption …

Low Reproductive Success Of Mallards In A Grassland-Dominated Landscape In The Sandhills Of Nebraska, Larkin A. Powell, Johann Walker, Zach Cunningham, Mark P. Vrtiska, Scott Stephens

School of Natural Resources: Faculty Publications

The Sandhills of Nebraska comprise approximately 5,000,000 ha of native grassland interspersed with numerous groundwater-fed wetlands. A substantial population of the mallard (Anas platyrhynchos) nests in this region. Previous investigations of nest survival probability of ducks in the Sandhills have estimated surprisingly low rates of nest survival for a grassland-dominated landscape. These investigations were conducted on public lands and most nest searching took place near wetlands where activity of nest predators might be highest. We predicted that mallards would nest at varying distances from wetlands and that survival probability of a representative sample of duck nests would increase with distance …