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Abstracts For Poster Presentations

Proceedings of the North American Prairie Conferences

Abstracts for Poster Presentations pp. 1-10

Innovations In Undergraduate Research And Honors Education: Proceedings Of The Second Schreyer National Conference, Josephine M. Cambia, Renata S. Engel

National Collegiate Honors Council Monographs

Preface

I. Making the Case for Undergraduate Research

Introduction: Unpacking the Research Encyclopedia Josephine Carubia, Renata Engel

How (Or Whether?) To Integrate Research into Classroom Teaching for All Students and All Higher Education Institutions—Alan Jenkins

Why Involve Students in Research? —Rodney A. Erickson

II. Curriculum Models that Include Undergraduate Research The Maryland Gemstone Program — William W. Destler

Creating an Undergraduate Culture of Science by Integrating Inquiry, Project- based Learning and Research into the Curriculum — Richard A. Niesenbaum

THE INSIDERS: Undergraduates Critically Examine the Pros and Cons of a Team-based Marine Research Program — Traci J. Heincelman, EdwardJ. Majzlik, …

An Overview Of Shorebird Migration In The Eastern Rainwater Basin, Nebraska, Joel G. Jorgensen

Nebraska Game and Parks Commission: Staff Research Publications

The Rainwater Basin (RWB) has received limited attention as an important stopover area for migrant shorebirds because of an absence of basic survey data. Here I present the first comprehensive inventory of shorebird migration for the eastern Rainwater Basin (eRWB). These data document the importance of this region as a stopover site for migrants and will serve as a baseline for future monitoring efforts. During five years of spring and three years of fall surveys that covered a majority of wetlands in the eRWB, an average of 23,700 and 5,581 shorebirds were recorded in spring and fall, respectively. Of 38 …

Mute Swans And Their Chesapeake Bay Habitats:Proceedings Of A Symposium, Matthew C. Perry

United States Geological Survey: Publications

The symposium “Mute Swans and their Chesapeake Bay Habitats,” held on June 7, 2001, provided a forum for biologists and managers to share research findings and management ideas concerning the exotic and invasive mute swan (Cygnus olor). This species has been increasing in population size and is considered by many to be a problem in regard to natural food resources in the Bay that are used by native waterfowl during the winter months. Other persons, however, feel that resource managers are attempting to create a problem to justify more killing of waterfowl by hunters. Some persons also believe …

University Of Nebraska—Lincoln: Fact Book 2003—2004

University of Nebraska-Lincoln Administration: Reports, Papers, Publications, and Presentations

Role and Mission Statement

The Role of the University of Nebraska-Lincoln

The University of Nebraska-Lincoln, chartered by the Legislature in 1869, is that part of the University of Nebraska system which serves as both the land-grant and the comprehensive public University for the State of Nebraska. Those responsible for its origins recognized the value of combining the breadth of a comprehensive University with the professional and outreach orientation of the land grant University, thus establishing a campus which has evolved to become the flagship campus of the University of Nebraska. UNL works cooperatively with the other three campuses and Central …

An Analysis Of Simulated Long-Term Soil Moisture Data For Three Land Uses Under Contrasting Hydroclimatic Conditions In The Northern Great Plains, Rezaul Mahmood, Kenneth Hubbard

School of Natural Resources: Faculty Publications

Soil moisture (SM) plays an important role in land surface and atmosphere interactions. It modifies energy balance near the surface and the rate of water cycling between land and atmosphere. The lack of observed SM data prohibits understanding of SM variations at climate scales under varying land uses. However, with simulation models it is possible to develop a long-term SM dataset and study these issues.

In this paper a water balance model is used to provide a quantitative assessment of SM climatologies for three land uses, namely, irrigated corn, rain-fed corn, and grass, grown under three hydroclimatic regimes in Nebraska. …

Department Of Anthropology And Geography Self-Study Report To The Academic Planning Committee, Department Of Anthropology And Geography

Department of Anthropology: Faculty Publications

In January of 2001 the Department of Anthropology and the Department of Geography became the Department of Anthropology and Geography. This merger was not requested by members of either unit: it was imposed administratively. Under ideal circumstance, such mergers evolve organically through a history of collaborations from the bottom up. Nevertheless, faculty of each unit had collaborated in a variety of contexts so there was some basis for integration. As one may imagine, one of the first things we set out to accomplish as a newly formed unit was the establishment of a common set of by-laws. After about six …

A Review Of The Colonization Dynamics Of The Northern Curly-Tailed Lizard (Leiocephalus Carinatus Armouri) In Florida, Henry T. Smith, Richard M. Engeman

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

No abstract provided.

Molecular Differentiation Of Two Sibling Species Of The Black Fly Simulium Vittatum (Diptera: Simuliidae) Based On Random Amplified Polymorphic Dna, G. A. Duncan, P. H. Alder, K. P. Pruess, T. O. Powers

Department of Entomology: Faculty Publications

Larvae of the black fly morphospecies Simulium vittatum from Colorado, Montana, Nebraska, and New Hampshire were cytologically identified as either the IS-7 or the IIIL-1 cytospecies. DNA was PCR amplified from cytotyped larvae using eight 10-mer primers, labeled with 33P, and run on pol-yacrylamide gels. The entire data set of 96 amplicons produced incomplete separation of the two cytospecies when subjected to neighbor-joining and maximum parsimony analyses. However, when analyzed within geographical regions, separate species status was supported. Bootstrap support for distinctness of the two cytospecies was best in Colorado where they were collected in true sympatry. The IS-7 cytospecies …

Diatom Biostratigraphy Of The Cenozoic Glaciomarine Pagodroma Group, Northern Prince Charles Mountains, East Antarctica, Jason M. Whitehead, David M. Harwood, Barrie Mckelvey, Andrew Mcminn

Department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences: Faculty Publications

In the northern Prince Charles Mountains glaciomarine sediments of the Pagodroma Group outcrop on Fisher Massif (Mt Johnston and Fisher Bench Formations) and at the Amery Oasis (Battye Glacier and Bardin Bluffs Formations), at locations 300 and 250 km south of the Amery Ice Shelf edge, respectively. Most of the Pagodroma Group consists of ice-proximal glaciomarine diamict, and a much subordinate (<2%) amount of more ice-distal mudstone. Microfossil biostratigraphy based upon in situ and glacially reworked diatoms constrains the ages of the four formations, and identifies at least six intervals of marine fjordal deposition. Sparse diatoms in Mt Johnston Formation diamicts indicate an Early Oligocene age. However, it is …

Genetic Diversity And Structure Of The Fisher (Martes Pennanti) In A Peninsular And Peripheral Metapopulation, Samantha M. Wisely, Steven W. Buskirk, Gregory A. Russell, Keith B. Aubry, William J. Zielinsky

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

Evolutionary processes can be strongly affected by landscape features. In vagile carnivores that disperse widely, however, genetic structure has been found to be minimal. Using microsatellite DNA primers developed for other mustelids, we found that populations of a vagile forest carnivore, the fisher (Martes pennanti), exhibit high genetic structure (F_ST = 0.45, SE = 0.07) and limited gene flow (Nm < 1) within a .1,600-km narrow strip of forested habitat; that genetic diversity decreases from core to periphery; and that populations do not show an equilibrium pattern of isolation-by-distance. Genetic structure was greater at the periphery than at the core of the distribution and our data fit a 1-dimensional model of stepping-stone range expansion. Multiple lines of paleontological and genetic evidence suggest that the fisher recently (<5,000 years ago) expanded into the mountain forests of the Pacific coast. The reduced dimensionality of the distribution of the fisher in western coastal forests appears to have contributed to the high levels of structure and decreasing diversity from north to south. These effects were likely exacerbated by human-caused changes to the environment. The low genetic diversity and high genetic structure of populations in the southern Sierra Nevada suggest that populations in this part of the geographic range are vulnerable to extinction.

Functional Feeding Responses Of Coyotes, Canis Latrans, To Fl Uctuating Prey Abundance Inthe Curlew Valley, Utah, 1977–1993 , Rebecca A. Bartel, Frederick F. Knowlton

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

We investigated interactions between coyotes (Canis latrans Say, 1823) and prey in the Curlew Valley, Utah, by comparing prey abundances with prey consumption rates. Previous studies reported a cyclic trend in black-tailed jackrabbit (Lepus californicus Gray, 1837) density with a period of 10 years and >150-fold amplitude, as well as short-term fl uctuations among some rodent species that exceeded an 8-fold difference in amplitude over 2 years. Our results suggest changes in coyote diets mainly refl ect the fl uctuations in jackrabbit abundance. Prey switching to rodents during periods of low jackrabbit abundance also was evident. We used the initial …

Federal Listing Of Prairie Grouse: Lessons From The Attwater’S Prairie Chicken, Michael Morrow, Terry A. Rossignol, Nova J. Silvy

United States Geological Survey: Staff Publications

Considerable controversy has often surrounded proposals to confer official status (i.e., list) species under the authority of the Endangered Species Act (ESA) of 1973 as amended or its precursors. Recent proposals to list the lesser prairie-chicken (Tympanuchus pallidicinctus), the western sage grouse (Centrocercus urophasianus phaios), and the Gunnison sage grouse (C. minimus) were met with strong opposition by those concerned with prospects of an increased regulatory environment associated with such an action. The Attwater's prairie-chicken (T. cupido attwateri) was one of the first species listed under The Endangered Species Conservation Act of …

Book Review: Los Mamíferos De La Provincia De Jujuy, Argentina, Federico G. Hoffmann

School of Biological Sciences: Faculty Publications

The province of Jujuy lies in the northwestern corner of Argentina, abutting Chile and Bolivia in the west and northeast, and ranging from 500 to 6,000 m in elevation. As a result of its location and topography, vegetation ranges from subtropical forests in the lowlands to high-altitude grasslands on the slopes of the Andes, and more than 130 mammalian species can be encountered in the province, from mice-eating bats to forest and pampas deer to llamas and guanacos. This book defies pigeonholing as a single-purpose guide, and contains a wider range of information than biogeographical and identification data. There is …

The Cultural Geographer's Interest In Regions, Robert Stoddard

Geography Program: Faculty Publications

Regions are important to cultural geographers. This is because regions help in understanding the spatial distributions of social phenomena. Like any classification scheme, a set of regions provides organisation to a large body of data. Although occasionally phenomena being studied may already be grouped into regions, this is not usually the case. Consequently, cultural geographers, whether engaged in research or teaching are frequently faced with the task of defining and delineating a set of meaningful regions. The purpose of this paper, therefore, is to discuss some of the methodological issues that confront geographers when they organize their data into regions.

Hinduism [In The Great Plains], Robert Stoddard

Geography Program: Faculty Publications

Hinduism is the Western name given to a religious tradition developed over thousands of years in India. Because it has no creed or major institutional structure, it is intricately intertwined with societal systems, and some scholars declare that it is impossible to separate Hinduism as a religion from other aspects of Indian society. This means it is virtually impossible to define precisely what constitutes the Hindu religion, especially when transferred into a different cultural setting such as the Great Plains.

Mark–Recapture And Behavioral Ecology: A Case Study Of Cliff Swallows, C. R. Brown, Mary Bomberger Brown

School of Biological Sciences: Faculty Publications

Mark–recapture and behavioral ecology: a case study of Cliff Swallows.— Mark–recapture and the statistical analysis methods associated with it offer great potential for investigating fitness components associated with particular behavioral traits. However, few behavioral ecologists have used these techniques. We illustrate the insights that have come from a long–term mark–recapture study of social behavior in Cliff Swallows (Petrochelidon pyrrhonota). The number of transient swallows passing through a colony per hour increased with colony size and was responsible in part for increased rates of ectoparasite introduction from outside the group into the larger colonies. Annual survival probabilities of …

Global Climate And The Evolution Of Large Mammalian Carnivores During The Later Cenozoic In North America, Robert Hunt Jr.

University of Nebraska State Museum: Mammalogy Papers

Taxon ranges of larger mammalian carnivores can be grouped into seven temporal intervals during the later Cenozoic. These intervals are of varied duration and seem to correspond to periodic faunal reorganizations that accompanied the progressive climatic deterioration occurring from the late Eocene to the Pleistocene. Recent oxygen isotope records from deep-sea cores serve as proxy for the pattern of global climate during the Cenozoic and compare reasonably well with the large carnivore intervals. Intervals A, B, and the early part of C characterize a time of cooler global climate (δ¹⁸O: +1.3 to +3.0‰) following the early Eocene climatic …

Subspecific Relationships And Genetic Structure In The Spotted Owl, Susan M. Haig, Thomas D. Mullins, Eric D. Forsman

United States Geological Survey: Staff Publications

Hierarchical genetic structure was examined in the three geographically-defined subspecies of spotted owl (Strix occidentalis) to define relationships among subspecies and quantify variation within and among regional and local populations. Sequences (522 bp) from domains I and II of the mitochondrial control region were analyzed for 213 individuals from 30 local breeding areas. Results confirmed significant differences between northern spotted owls and the other traditional geographically defined subspecies but did not provide support for subspecific level differences between California and Mexican spotted owls. Divergence times among subspecies estimated with a 936 bp portion of the cytochrome b gene …

A Holocene Pollen Record Of Persistent Droughts From Pyramid Lake, Nevada, Usa, Scott A. Mensing, Larry Benson, Michaele Kashgarian, Steve Lund

United States Geological Survey: Staff Publications

Pollen and algae microfossils preserved in sediments from Pyramid Lake, Nevada, provide evidence for periods of persistent drought during the Holocene age. We analyzed one hundred nineteen 1-cm-thick samples for pollen and algae from a set of cores that span the past 7630 years. The early middle Holocene, 7600 to 6300 cal yr B.P., was found to be the driest period, although it included one short but intense wet phase. We suggest that Lake Tahoe was below its rim for most of this period, greatly reducing the volume and depth of Pyramid Lake. Middle Holocene aridity eased between 5000 and …

Quaternary Sea-Level History Of The United States, Daniel R. Muhs, John F. Wehmiller, Kathleen R. Simmons, Linda L. York

United States Geological Survey: Staff Publications

In the past 30 years, there have been tremendous advances in our understanding of Quaternary sea-level history, due directly to developments in Quaternary dating methods, particularly uranium-series disequilibrium and amino acid racemization. Another reason for this progress is that coastline history can now be tied to the oxygen-isotope record of foraminifera in deep-sea cores. Furthermore, both records have been linked to climate change on the scale of glacial-interglacial cycles that are thought to be forced by changes in Earth-Sun geometry, or “orbital forcing” (Milankovitch, 1941).

In Memoriam: Professor Norman W. Thorson, Harvey S. Perlman, John H. Davidson, Keith G. Meyer, Richard S. Harnsberger

Nebraska Law Review

Eulogies for friend and colleague Professor Norman W. Thorson.

Modification Of Growing-Season Surface Temperature Records In The Northern Great Plains Due To Land-Use Transformation: Verification Of Modelling Results And Implication For Global Climate Change, Rezaul Mamood, Kenneth G. Hubbard, Christy Carlson

School of Natural Resources: Faculty Publications

Land-use and land-cover change can modify near-surface atmospheric condition. Mesoscale modelling studies have shown that modification in land use affects near-surface soil moisture storage and energy balance. Such a study in the Great Plains showed that changes in land use from natural grass to irrigated agriculture enhanced soil water storage in the root zone and increased latent energy flux. This increase in latent energy flux would correspond to a decrease in sensible heat flux and, therefore, modify near-surface temperature records. To verify this deduction, we have investigated the changes in the historical near-surface temperature records in Nebraska, USA. We have …

The Role Of Soil Water Availability In Potential Rainfed Rice Productivity In Bangladesh: Applications Of The Ceres-Rice Mode, Rezaul Mahmood, David R. Legates, Mark Meo

School of Natural Resources: Faculty Publications

Soil water stress and its impact on the monsoon season potential rainfed rice productivity in Bangladesh is investigated. A crop growth simulation model, CERES-Rice, is applied to 16 locations representative of the major rice growing regions of Bangladesh to determine the impact of soil water stress on the regional scale potential yield for four transplanting dates: 1 June, 1 July, 15 July, and 15 August. A quantified estimate of potential yield loss for four regions and for Bangladesh as a whole is calculated for water stress during flowering and maturing stages. For example, in Bangladesh, average potential yield for 1 …

The Dynastine Scarab Beetles Of Costa Rica And Panama (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae: Dynastinae), Brett C. Ratcliffe

Bulletin of the University of Nebraska State Museum (1924–2023)

The 157 species of dynastine scarab beetles that occur in Costa Rica and Panama are comprehensively reviewed. Keys, descriptions, distributions, and notes on biology are provided for all species as well as illustrations and maps. The larvae of Enema endymion, Heterogomphus chevrolati, and Dynastes hercules are described for the first time. Also included are synopses of the higher-level taxa, a glossary, a gazetteer of place names, and a species checklist.

The following new species are described: Cyclocephala alazona, C. enigma, C. labidion, C. marylizae, C. mustacha, C. stockwelli, C. una mas (all Cyclocephalini); Irazua dilicra (Oryctini); Amblyoproctus centroamericanus, Hemiphileurus curoei, …

Where Are The Women Geoscientist Professors?, Mary Anne Holmes, Suzanne O'Connell

Department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences: Faculty Publications

Nearly 50 geo- and social scientists recently gathered for a workshop on women in the geosciences. The two-fold purpose was to compile data on the status of women in the geosciences, and to arrive at a consensus on strategies to increase the proportion of women and their diversity in the field. The Workshop on Women in the Geosciences was held September 25-27, 2003, in Washington, D.C.

"Fine Designs" From Italy: Montessori Education And The Reggio Approach, Carolyn P. Edwards

Department of Child, Youth, and Family Studies: Faculty Publications

Italy is not a huge country, nor one that dominates research in scientific areas like biotechnology or computer science; but in the particular field of early childhood, it can be described as a kind of gifted, creative giant. Italians have always revered beauty, architecture, painting, cuisine, and creative design. In a similar fusion of art and science, they have produced two of the 20th century's most innovative and influential leaders in early education, along with their methods of pedagogy and philosophies of education. The two figures were Maria Montessori (1 870-1952) and Loris Malaguzzi (1920-1994).

Both Montessori education and the …

Body Mass Of Late Quaternary Mammals (Data Set), Felisa A. Smith, S. Kathleen Lyons, S.K. Morgan Ernest, Kate E. Jones, Kansas State University, Tamar Dayan, Pablo A. Marquet, James H. Brown, John P. Haskell

School of Biological Sciences: Faculty Publications

The purpose of this data set was to compile body mass information for all mammals on Earth so that we could investigate the patterns of body mass seen across geographic and taxonomic space and evolutionary time. We were interested in the heritability of body size across taxonomic groups (How conserved is body mass within a genus, family, and order?), in the overall pattern of body mass across continents (Do the moments and other descriptive statistics remain the same across geographic space?), and over evolutionary time (How quickly did body mass patterns iterate on the patterns seen today? Were the Pleistocene …

Molecular Phylogeny Of Haematoloechus Looss, 1899 (Digenea: Plagiorchiidae), With Emphasis On North American Species, Daniel R. Brooks, Virginia León-Règagnon

Harold W. Manter Laboratory of Parasitology: Faculty Publications

Phylogenetic hypothesis of 23 populations corresponding to 18 species of the digenean Haematoloechus from America, Europe, and Africa, based on ribosomal DNA 28S partial sequences (~890 bp), is presented. Genetic divergence between the in-group and the out-groups ranged from 9.7 to 14.5% and within the in-group, from 0.9 to 12.2%. Eight most parsimonious trees 569 steps long were obtained, with a consistency index of 72%. Groups in the tree are not congruent with those in previous classification schemes of species in the genus, based on a small number of morphological characters. For this subset of Haematoloechus,/i> species, plesiomorphic hosts are …

Service-Learning With Native American Communities, Valerian Three Irons

Different Perspectives on Majority Rules: 8th Annual National Conference (2003)

The International Partnership for Service-Learning along with South Dakota State University engages North and South Dakota Native American Communities with service learning. College students from the United States as well as foreign countries participate in 2-13 week sessions in service learning. Students have a two week orientation session on Native American Culture. Students meet with SDSU Faculty as well as Native American Cultural Presenters. Orientation concludes with a one week academic field trip visiting historical sites and SD Reservations. Students then spend up to 10 weeks living and serving in Native American communities. Students may earn up to 15 credits …