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Ard News February 1996

Agricultural Research Division: News and Annual Reports

CONTENTS:
COMMENTS FROM THE DEAN
RECOGNITION OF JUNIOR FACULTY FOR EXCELLENCE IN RESEARCH
AVERAGE UNIT OUTPUTS EXCEED GOALS AGAIN IN FY 1995
NEW OR REVISED PROJECTS
PROPOSALS SUBMITTED FOR FEDERAL GRANTS
GRANTS AND CONTRACTS RECEIVED DECEMBER 1995 AND JANUARY 1996
WRITING RESEARCH PROJECT OBJECTIVES
GRANT AND CONTRACT INCOME OBTAINED BY ARD UNITS DURING THE LAST THREE CALENDAR YEARS
ARDC ADVISORY COMMITTEE CHANGES MEETING FORMAT
SPECIAL RESEARCH GRANT PROGRAM AWARDS
THE OUTLOOK FOR FEDERAL SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY FUNDING
RESEARCH SUPPORT ALLOCATION)

Behavioral Basis Of Second Intermediate Host Specificity Among Four Species Of Haematoloechus (Digenea: Haematoloechidae), Scott D. Snyder, John J. Janovy Jr.

John J. Janovy, Jr. Publications

Cercarial behavior patterns were examined in four species of frog lung flukes (Haematoloechus spp.). Cercariae of Haematoloechus complexus, Haematoloechus medioplexus, Haematoloechus longiplexus, and Haematoloechus varioplexus were exposed to three species of experimental arthropods and an inanimate control. The number of cercariae attached to an experimental host at 5 min postexposure was recorded. Haematoloechus longiplexus and H. complexus cercariae attached to experimental hosts at higher rates than cercariae of H. medioplexus and H. varioplexus. Cercariae of H. longiplexus attached to experimental hosts in approximately the same numbers as H. complexus, but H. longiplexus penetrated only damselfly naiads, …

Artificial Selection On Jhe Activity In Gryllus Assimilis: Nature Of Activity Differences Between Lines And Effect On Jh Binding And Metabolism, Anthony J. Zera, Jeffrey Sall, Robert Schwartz

Anthony Zera Publications

Genetic lines of the cricket Gryllus assimilis selected for elevated vs. decreased activity of hemolymph juvenile hormone esterase (JHE) exhibited a 6.8-fold difference in enzyme activity by the seventh generation of selection. This documents that hemolymph JHE activity has the capability for rapid evolutionary change. This is the only insect endocrine trait for which such data are currently available. The difference in hemolymph JHE activity between the lines was due, to an equivalent degree, to variation in whole-cricket enzyme activity and allocation of JHE activity to the hemolymph compartment. No differences in kinetic or thermostability characteristics were observed between JHEs …

Water Current, Volume 28, No. 1, February 1996

Water Current Newsletter

Teachers Downlink Water Lessons
From the Director: Missouri, Platte Rivers Focus of Spring Events
Two Best Management Practices May Be More Practical and Effective Than a Current Label Requirement
Zhang Stretches Potential of Tiny Organisms
Nebraska Water News
Kamble Receives National Award
Conference Flier Mailed to Readers
Program Pays to Enroll Pivot Corners for Habitat
Pesticides Plentiful in Gardening, Lawn Care
Nebraska Field Days Influence Participants
WEF Announces Speciality Conference
Research, Teaching Intersect as Student Design Sampler

Geologic History Of Ash Hollow State Historical Park, Nebraska, Robert F. Diffendal Jr., Roger K. Pabian, J. R. Thomasson

Conservation and Survey Division: Faculty and Staff Publications

Contents:

Introduction
Acknowledgments
Cautions
General Stratigraphy
Oligocene Series-White River Group-Brule Formation-Whitney Member
Miocene Series-Ogallala Group-Ash Hollow Formation
Pliocene Series-Broadwater Formation
Quaternary deposits
Older colluvium and loess
Younger colluvium and alluvium
General Paleontology
Evidence of past life: fossils and subfossils
Collecting fossils
Vertebrate fossils
Fossils from the Whitney Member of the Brule Formation
Plants
Invertebrates
Vertebrates
Fossils from the Ash Hollow Formation
Plants
Invertebrates
Vertebrates
Fossils from the Broadwater Formation
Plants
Vertebrates
Quaternary fossils
Plants
Invertebrates
Vertebrates
Additional studies of Nebraska fossils
Geologic History
Prehistory and History
References
Appendices I-IV

Paleolimnological Records Of Climatic Change In North America, Sherilyn C. Fritz

Department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences: Faculty Publications

Lacustrine fossil records provide long time series of data on limnological and climatic conditions; these data are useful for establishing natural patterns of climate variability and for generating testable hypotheses about atmospheric circulation and climate-ecosystem linkages. Shoreline features can indicate past lake-level fluctuations that may reflect changes in moisture balance, but often these records are discontinuous and are evidence of only extreme conditions. The organisms, geochemistry, and sedimentology of lake sediments may provide a more continuous sequence of direct and indirect lake-climate interactions in the past. The most clearly interpretable paleolimnnological records of climatic change are those that use several …

Century-Scale Paleoclimatic Reconstruction From Moon Lake, A Closed-Basin Lake In The Northern Great Plains, Kathleen R. Laird, Sherilyn C. Fritz, Eric C. Grimm, Pietra G. Mueller

Department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences: Faculty Publications

Estimates of past lake-water salinity from fossil diatom assemblages were used to infer past climatic conditions at Moon Lake, a climatically sensitive site in the northern Great Plains. A good correspondence between diatom-inferred salinity and historical records of mean annual precipitation minus evapotranspiration (P - ET) strongly suggests that the sedimentary record from Moon Lake can be used to reconstruct past climatic conditions. Century-scale analysis of the Holocene diatom record indicates four major hydrological periods: an early Holocene transition from an open freshwater system to a closed saline system by 7300 B.P., which corresponds with a transition from spruce forest …

Linking Planktonic Diatoms And Climate Change In The Large Lakes Of The Yellowstone Ecosystem Using Resource Theory, Susan S. Kilham, Edward C. Theriot, Sherilyn C. Fritz

Department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences: Faculty Publications

Resource-based physiology of the eight important planktonic diatom species in the large lakes of the Yellowstone region can be used to explain their relative abundances and seasonal changes. The diatoms are ranked along resource ratio gradients according to their relative abilities to grow under limitation by Si, N, P, and light. Hypotheses based on resource physiology can be integrated with observations on seasonal changes in diatom assemblages to explain the present distributions of diatoms and to test the causal factors proposed to explain diatom distributions over the Holocene. Knowledge of the limnology of these lakes and process-oriented physiology provide the …

Inducible Metabolism Of Fluoranthene By The Opportunistic Polychaete Capitella Sp. I, Valery E. Forbes, Thomas L. Forbes, Marianne Holmer

Valery Forbes Publications

The polychaete Capitella sp. I has been described as an enrichment opportunist and is one of very few species able to thrive in highly organic sediments heavily contaminated with polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH) and other organic pollutants. We examined 3 plausible explanations for the success of Capitella sp. 1: (1) worms prevent uptake of PAH across body surfaces, (2) worms take up PAH but metabolize them effectively to excretable forms, and (3) worms utilize PAH as a carbon source. We examined the uptake and depuration of sediment-associated fluoranthene by Capitella sp. 1 and measured the metabolic loss of ingested 3-[ …

Evaluating Bighorn Habitat: A Landscape Approach, William C. Dunn

United States Bureau of Land Management: Staff Publications

This technical note describes a method that incorporates a landscape approach with the use of Geographic Information Systems (GIs) to measure habitat and impacts for Rocky Mountain and desert bighorn sheep and to rank potential transplant sites. A landscape approach, in which habitat is viewed from a large-scale perspective as an assemblage of patches, is used because: (1) bighorn habitat is naturally patchy due to the affinity of bighorn for terrain that is both open and mountainous; (2) fragmentation (i.e., increased patchiness) often is the most severe consequence of human disturbance; and (3) the proximity and distribution of neighboring bighorn …

Novel Algorithms For Remote Sensing Of Chlorophyll Content In Higher Plant Leaves, Anatoly A. Gitelson, Mark N. Merzlyak, Yuri Grits

School of Natural Resources: Faculty Publications

The general features of reflectance spectra of higher plant leaves are considered with special reference to remote sensing of chlorophyll. Wavelengths with maximum sensitivity to chlorophyll content were found in the wide spectral range from 550 to 630 nm and near 700 nm. The wavelength of the red edge position of the reflectance spectrum correlated very closely with the reflectance at 550 and 700 nm. The ratios of reflectances in the near infra-red range of the spectrum (above 750 nm) to that at 700 nm R_NIR/R₇₀₀ and R_NIR/R₅₅₀ were directly proportional to the leaves' …

Wood Thrush Nestlings Fed Fruit By Single Parent, Larkin A. Powell, Kathleen Rangen, Jason Lang

School of Natural Resources: Faculty Publications

The Wood Thrush (Hylocichla mustelina) diet consists of both insects and fruits. Insects provide birds with more crude protein (31-80 %, Robbins 1983) than fruit (e.g. cherry: 2%, Martin et al. 1951). Thus, Wood Thrushes eat little fruit material during spring (5% of diet) and summer months (35 %), but fruits comprise 77 % of the diet during the fall when insects are less available (Martin et al. 1951). Wood Thrush nestlings are fed largely on an insect diet and are not fed plant materials until they are well developed (Martin et al. 1951, Ehrlich et al. 1988). Of course, …

Homosexual Marriage And The Myth Of Tolerance: Is Cardinal O'Connor A "Homophobe"?, Richard F. Duncan

Nebraska College of Law: Faculty Publications

Duncan explains why he believes the heterosexual norm should be defended in what well may be the decisive moment of the sexual revolution--the battle over the meaning of marriage in human community. In particular, Duncan will focus on an aspect of this controversy that he notes often goes unnoticed--the impact of a paradigm shift on the "old order," on those who continue to affirm the conventional understanding of sexual morality and marriage.

Track Structure And Radiation Transport Model For Space Radiobiology Studies, F. A. Cucinotta, J. W. Wilson, Robert Katz, W. Atwell, G. D. Badhwar, M. R. Shavers

Robert Katz Publications

Radiobiology experiments performed in space are deemed necessary for validation of risk-assessment methods. The understanding of space radiobiology experiments must combine knowledge of the space radiation environment, radiation transport, and models of biological response. The heavy ion transport code HZETRN has recently been combined with improved models of the galactic cosmic rays (GCR) and extensive comparisons made to measurements on the space shuttle with a tissue equivalent, proportional counter. HZETRN was also coupled with track-structure models of biological damage from heavy ions. Track-structure calculations using improved models of the radial dose distribution around the path of heavy ions provide a …

Grouse News 11-20 (1996-2000), World Pheasant Association International, Diana Lovel

Galliformes Specialist Group and Affiliated Societies: Newsletters

Issue 11 (June 1996)

Editorial, Diana Lovel

Diary of David and Margaret's visit to the Pyrenees June 19-28, 1995

Adaptability of gamebirds, David Jenkins

Pheasants and grouse, Matt Ridley

Letter to the editor, Tim Lovel

Grouse Group founded, Rudi Suchant

Hybrids between capercaillie and black grouse and their characteristics, Jan Porkert

Does the occurrence of capercaillie-black grouse hybrids in Øvre Landvik, southern Norway signalize the coming extinction of capercaillies, as it did in Ostsudeten in the Czech Republic? Jan Porkert in cooperation with Arne Flor

Review of Naturschutz report

The effect of matrix on the occurrence of hazel grouse in …

Elimination Of The Chlamydomonas Gene Family That Encodes The Small Subunit Of Ribulose-1,5-Bisphosphate Carboxylaseyoxygenase, Irina Khrebtukova, Robert J. Spreitzer

Department of Biochemistry: Faculty Publications

Ribulose-1,5-bisphosphate carboxylasey oxygenase (EC 4.1.1.39) is the key photosynthetic enzyme that catalyzes the first step of CO₂ fixation. The chloroplastlocalized holoenzyme of plants and green algae contains eight nuclear-encoded small subunits and eight chloroplastencoded large subunits. Although much has been learned about the enzyme active site that resides within each large subunit, it has been difficult to assess the role of eukaryotic small subunits in holoenzyme function and expression. Small subunits are coded by a family of genes, precluding genetic screening or nuclear transformation approaches for the recovery of small-subunit mutants. In this study, the two small-subunit genes of …

Truncated Enterohemorrhagic Escherichia Coli (Ehec) O157:H7 Intimin (Eaea) Fusion Proteins Promote Adherence Of Ehec Strains To Hep-2 Cells, Marian L. Mckee, Alison D. O'Brien

Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences

Intimin, the product of the eaeA gene in enterohemorrhagic Escherichia coli O157:H7 (EHEC), is required for intimate adherence of these organisms to tissue culture cells and formation of the attaching and effacing lesion in the gnotobiotic pig. Because of the importance of intimin in the pathogenesis of EHEC O157:H7 infection in this animal model, we began a structure-function analysis of EaeA. For this purpose, we constructed amino-terminal fusions of the intimin protein with six histidine residues to form two independent fusions. The longer fusion, RIHisEae, contained 900 of the 935 predicted amino acids and included all but the extreme amino …

The Calculation Of Radial Dose From Heavy Ions: Predictions Of Biological Action Cross Sections, Robert Katz, Francis A. Cucinotta, C. X. Zhang

Robert Katz Publications

The track structure model of heavy ion cross sections was developed by Katz and co-workers in the 1960s. In this model the action cross section is evaluated by mapping the dose-response of a detector to γ rays (modeled from biological target theory) onto the radial dose distribution from 6 rays about the path of the ion. This is taken to yield the radial distribution of probability for a "hit" (an interaction leading to an observable end-point). Radial integration of the probability yields the cross section. When different response from ions of different Z having the same stopping power is observed …

Western Meadowlark Impaled On Barbed-Wire Fence, Lawrence D. Igl

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

Recently, Allen and Ramirez (1990, Wilson Bull. 102:553-558) summarized known observations of bird mortality associated with barbed-wire fences. Most reported cases of bird mortality from barbed-wire fences were of non-passerine birds. On 16 June 1993 in Slope County in western North Dakota (NW 1/4, Sec. 10 T134N R103W), I found a dead western meadowlark (Sturnella neglecta) with its right wing impaled by a barb on the middle strand of a three-strand barbed-wire fence. Barbs on the wire were spaced about 12-15 cm apart. The bird was adult-sized, but plumage characteristics indicated that it was a young-of-the-year with well-developed …

Second Record Of White Ibis In North Dakota, Jennifer W. Marlow, Lawrence D. Igl, Melody R. Hartman

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

The breeding range of the white ibis (Eudocimus albus) in the United States is generally restricted to coastal regions along the Gulf of Mexico and the Atlantic Ocean north to Virginia (Frederick et al. 1996, Conserv. BioI. 10:203-216). During the breeding season, the white ibis is nomadic and highly opportunistic in its use of unpredictable food resources (Frederick et al. 1996; Bildstein 1993, White ibis: wetland wanderer. Smithsonian Inst. Press, Washington, D.C.). There is one previous record of a white ibis in North Dakota on 4 August 1954 (Gammell and Huenecke 1955, Audubon Field Notes 9:34-36; Lokemoen 1979, …

Overhead Wires Reduce Roof-Nesting By Ring-Billed Gulls And Herring Gulls, Jerrold L. Belant, Sheri K. Ickes

Vertebrate Pest Conference Proceedings: 17th (1996)

The authors evaluated the effectiveness of overhead wires in reducing roof-nesting by ring-billed gulls (Larus delawarensis) and herring gulls (L. argentatus) at a 7.2 ha food warehouse in Bedford Heights, Ohio during 1994-1995. In 1994, stainless steel wires (0.8 mm diameter) were attached generally in spoke-like configurations between 2.4 m upright metal poles spaced at 33.7 m intervals over the main portion of roof. The 6 to 14 wires radiating from each pole created a mean maximum spacing between wires of about 16 m. Nesting by ring-billed and herring gulls was reduced by 76% and 100% …

Towards "Best Practice" Vertebrate Pest Management In Australia, Mike Braysher, Peter O'Brien, Mary Bomford

Vertebrate Pest Conference Proceedings: 17th (1996)

Australia has 26 species of introduced pest mammals that cause extensive damage to agriculture and the conservation of native wildlife. Past efforts tried to eradicate them. This focus on reducing pest numbers rather than the outcome, reduced damage, has had limited success. Under its Vertebrate Pest Program, the Bureau of Resource Sciences has developed principles and a strategic approach to managing pest damage. Close cooperation with land managers as co-researchers and co-learners is an essential element, as is a coordinated group approach to pest management. The approaches are illustrated with an example.

An Overview Of Animal Damage Control (Adc) Assistance To The Vertebrate Pest Management Industry, William H. Clay

Vertebrate Pest Conference Proceedings: 17th (1996)

The Animal Damage Control (ADC) program has had a long history dating back to 1885. ADC was officially established in 1931 under the United States Department of Agriculture. In 1939, the program was moved to the United States Department of Interior's Fish and Wildlife Service. In 1996, ADC was transferred back to the USDA and placed under the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service. The mission of the Animal Damage Control program is to provide federal leadership in managing problems caused by wildlife. Current program assistance includes: a) technical assistance in wildlife management; b) conducting research and development activities related …

Impacts Of A Daily Trap Check Law On The California Adc Program, Craig Coolahan

Vertebrate Pest Conference Proceedings: 17th (1996)

Effective January 1, 1990 California law required that all steel-jawed leghold traps be inspected at least daily and all animals in such traps be removed. The inspection and removal could be performed by the individual who set the traps, the landowner, or an agent of either. Prior to the passage of this law, California Animal Damage Control (ADC) personnel were exempt from Department of Fish and Game trap checking regulations. The data suggest that a decrease in trap use occurred after the implementation of the daily trap check. Where the program could effectively substitute other control tools or methods for …

Analysis Of Vertebrate Pest Research, Jim Hone

Vertebrate Pest Conference Proceedings: 17th (1996)

Research on vertebrate pest control is mostly empirical, focusing on control of species X in location Y using method Z. Such an approach is needed. The science of vertebrate pest research is developing some generalizations across species, locations, and methods. This paper further explores such generalizations by discussing six questions asked by Hone (1994), the answers to which are relevant to vertebrate pest research world-wide. Several case studies are examined, with emphasis on control of damage by small mammals and predation control. Suggestions are made for future research.

Operational Control Of The Brown Tree Snake On Guam, Thomas C. Hall

Vertebrate Pest Conference Proceedings: 17th (1996)

An operational control program for brown tree snakes (Boiga irregularis) on Guam began in April 1993. The program focused on minimizing the dispersal of brown tree snakes to other Pacific islands and the U.S. mainland. During the first year of operation, more than 3,000 snakes were caught within a kilometer of high risk port facilities using traps, detector dogs, and spotlighting. Additionally, habitat modifications and prey-base removal were used to reduce the attractiveness of these facilities to brown tree snakes. Public awareness was also an important part of the program such as the education of cargo packers, shippers, …

Rodents And Cover Crops—A Review, Gregory A. Giusti, Desley A. Whisson, W. Paul Gorenzel

Vertebrate Pest Conference Proceedings: 17th (1996)

Inter-row plantings of herbaceous cover crops has become a widely accepted practice by orchard and vineyard managers. Cover crops, used as part of a production management system, are not considered a cash crop and are therefore selected by individual growers for various reasons. Little is written regarding the relationship of cover crop management and the impact on rodent populations. This paper reviews the recent literature and examines how cover crop species and cultivar selection along with management procedures may be influential in limiting rodent populations and their damage to cropping systems.

The Persistence And Secondary Poisoning Risks Of Sodium Monofluoroacetate (1080), Brodifacoum, And Cholecalciferol In Possums, C. T. Eason, G. R. Wright, L. Meikle, P. Elder

Vertebrate Pest Conference Proceedings: 17th (1996)

To determine the risk of secondary poisoning for animals preying on sub-lethally poisoned brushtail possums, captive possums were treated with near-lethal doses of sodium monofluoroacetate (1080) or brodifacoum, and toxicant concentrations in blood and tissue were monitored over time. Sodium monofluoroacetate was rapidly eliminated from the blood (within three days). Brodifacoum was retained in the liver and, to a lesser extent, the muscle of possums for eight months after dosing. To determine the potential risk for animals scavenging on the carcasses of possums poisoned with cholecalciferol, cats were fed poisoned carcasses for six days. No changes in behavior, appetite, or …

The Use Of Tip Traps To Control Rabbit Damage In Scotland, Robert M. E. Fuchs, W. Kenneth Maclean, Caroline A. Mackintosh, Iain M. Allan

Vertebrate Pest Conference Proceedings: 17th (1996)

The factors affecting efficient use of tip traps to control rabbit populations were investigated in a series of field experiments. It was found that continual trapping at the same location was much less effective than periodic trapping. Night-time trapping operations produced larger catches of rabbits than day-time trapping. Traps were equally effective whether sited on existing runs through rabbit proof fences or on previously unbreached sections of fence. The sex ratio of rabbits caught was examined at four different locations and, in each instance, more females were caught than males. The installation of a network of tip traps and associated …

Perceptions Of Wildlife Damage By Conservation Reserve Program Contract Holders In Riley County, Kansas, John P. Hughes, Philip S. Gipson

Vertebrate Pest Conference Proceedings: 17th (1996)

Twenty-five Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) contract holders in Riley County, Kansas were surveyed by telephone to assess their perceptions of wildlife damage relative to CRP plantings. Sixty-four percent experienced wildlife damage on their farm or ranch. Respondents felt that five species causing damage on their farm or ranch had become more common due to enrollment of lands in the CRP. White-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) accounted for 64.3% of these observations, followed by wild turkey (Meleagris gallopavo), eastern cottontail (Sylvilagus floridanus), striped skunk (Mephitis mephitis), and Virginia opossum (Didelphis virginiana), which accounted for …