Digital Commons Network^™

Lines From A Map Carved Into The Landscape: The Border Wall’S Impact On South Texas’ Environment, Scott Nichol

Border Wall / Border Security Documents

No abstract provided.

Apocalypse In Two Senses: Mccarthy’S No Country And The Road, Mike Awalt

Belmont Humanities Symposium Journal

The work of Cormac McCarthy has always contained apocalyptic elements. These elements become dominant motifs in two novels produced in the early 21st century – No Country For Old Men and Th e Road. These two novels imagine the nature of the apocalypse in two tenses - the present and the future. No Country For Old Men is set in the current world of our experience. Though its time is in the recent past (1982), it is still the metaphorical time of our present. It is a world marked by border difficulties, drug wars, and a changing culture. The Road …

Family Level Phylogenies Reveal Modes Of Macroevolution In Rna Viruses, Andrew Kitchen, Laura Shackelton, Edward Holmes

United States Public Health Resources

Despite advances in understanding the patterns and processes of microevolution in RNA viruses, little is known about the determinants of viral diversification at the macroevolutionary scale. In particular, the processes by which viral lineages assigned as different “species” are generated remain largely uncharacterized. To address this issue, we use a robust phylogenetic approach to analyze patterns of lineage diversification in five representative families of RNA viruses. We ask whether the process of lineage diversification primarily occurs when viruses infect new host species, either through cross-species transmission or codivergence, and which are defined here as analogous to allopatric speciation in animals, …

Refuge Update – January/February 2010, Volume 7, Number 1

RefugeUpdate (USFWS-NWRS)

Table of Contents:
Encouraging Kids to Look Closely A falconer and a Friend connect young people with nature. Page 5
FOCUS: Citizen Science Citizens of all ages engage with refuges by collecting data about buds and birds or raising turtle hatchlings. Pages 8 to 13
Protected Stopovers Help Restore Shorebirds Monomoy National Wildlife Refuge, MA, plays a key role in researching and restoring red knots. Page 16
Leaders on the Move Relocation. Incentives. Motivations. Page 18

Investigating Rfid For Roadside Identification Involving Freight Commercial Vehicle Operators (Cvo), Erick C. Jones Ph.D., Judy Perkins Ph.D.

Mid-America Transportation Center: Final Reports and Technical Briefs

Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) is an emerging technology to track commercial vehicles. This transcript describes research that investigates the ability for RFID technologies to work in license plates. Mile markers are common fixtures on the roadside and may provide infrastructure to support identifying RFID to enabled Commercial Vehicle Operators (CVO). This research considers variables that affect the performance of a RFID License Plate System that uses a scanner located at the mile marker. Mile marker characteristics, such as horizontal distance and vertical height, were evaluated along with RFID tag characteristics, such tag type and license plate location.

From Energy Gradient And Natural Selection To Biodiversity And Stability Of Ecosystems, Bo Deng

Department of Mathematics: Faculty Publications

The purpose of this paper is to incorporate well-established ecological principles into a foodweb model consisting of four trophic levels --- abiotic resources, plants, herbivores, and carnivores. The underlining principles include Kimura's neutral theory of genetic evolution, Liebig's Law of the Minimum for plant growth, Holling's functionals for herbivore foraging and carnivore predation, the One-Life Rule for all organisms, and Lotka-Volterra's model for intraand interspecific competitions. Numerical simulations of the model led to the following statistical findings: (a) particular foodwebs can give contradicting observations on biodiversity and productivity, in particular, all known functional forms -- - positive, negative, sigmoidal, and …

Examining Attitudes On Organ Donation For Transplant: Amenability To Financial Incentives And Donor Benefits, Karise Carrillo

McNair Scholars Research Journal

The Uniform Anatomical Gift Act (UAGA) currently outlaws the sale of organs for transplant purposes, despite the technological advances since its inception in 1968 and the current disparity between the need for and availability of organs. Increasingly, research has been done to determine interest in and feasibility of financial incentives and donor benefits. The author of the current study developed a self-report survey gauging attitudes towards live and post-mortem donation in general, and towards potential alternatives to the organ donation system involving financial incentives and donor benefits. Students at a large Midwestern university were asked about their likelihood of use …

A Modelling Approach To Evaluate Potential Management Actions Designed To Increase Growth Of White Perch In A High-Density Population, Christopher J. Chizinski, Kevin L. Pope, G.R. Wilde

Nebraska Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit: Staff Publications

A deterministic, age-structured population model was developed to simulate potential management scenarios designed to increase growth of individuals (quantified by maximum length) in a hypothetical population of white perch, Morone americana (Gmelin). Four scenarios were developed that included non-selective mortality of adult white perch, increased mortality of age groups most influential on population growth, increased age-0 mortality and inhibiting recruitment after spawning. The greatest increase in maximum length occurred with nonselective adult mortality when population biomass was reduced by 97%; lesser increases in maximum length were achieved with the other management scenarios. Populations returned to their original state after control …

Nisc Newsletter: September 2010

National Invasive Species Council

Invasive Species In the News

Great Lakes: White House Names Asian Carp Czar (Paul Quinlan)

Experts testify in 5-state carp lawsuit

Snails seized at Dulles Airport

International News

National Invasive Species Strategy for Mexico

NISC Agencies News

Friends of Wild Amphibians

Federal/State News

Restoration for Aleutian Seabirds Brings New Life to Refuge “Rat” Island

Wasps Wage War on Behalf of Wiliwili Trees

Special Event!!

Winds of Change: Great Lakes, Great Oceans, Great Communities

Conferences

Nisc Newsletter: June-July 2010

National Invasive Species Council

Invasive Species In The News

Asian Carp Discovered Near Lake Michigan

International News

New: CBD - Subsidiary Body for Science, Technology and Technological Assistance (SBSTTA) meeting in Nairobi, Kenya

UK: Exploring Fish Invasion

Follow the money: wealth, population are key drivers of invasive species

NISC Agencies News

EPA

Climate Change Indicator Report

USDA

USDA/APHIS PPQ Moratorium for Biological Control of Saltcedar (Tamarix species) using the bilological control agent Diorhabda Spe-cies (Coleoptera: Chrytsomelidae)

APHIS

Risk Assessment of the Movement of Fire-wood within the United States

DOI

National Park Service

DOC

NOAA

State News

Research Project: Developing a Regional Risk-Assessment Model for …

Issue Overview

National Invasive Species Council

What are Invasive Species?

How do invasive species harm the environment?

What do invasive species cost?

Do invasive species harm humans?

Invasive Species

Recent Regulation Changes Regarding Invasive Species In Mexico And The Development Of Mexico’S National Strategy On Invasive Species, Francisco Abarca

National Invasive Species Council

Between November 2008 and February 2010, Mexico made several modifications to existing environmental and wildlife regulations regarding invasive species.

On November 2008, the Deputy Chamber made several modifications to the Ecological Equilibrium and Environmental Protection General Law (LGEEPA by its Spanish acronym; equivalent to NEPA), and the Wildlife General Law. These modifications were published in the Federal Register until February 2010.

The intent of these modifications was to strengthen existing regulations by incorporating more specific language dealing with invasive species and make these regulations more in tune with other regulations outside of the wildlife arena, such as the Forestry, …

Sitka National Historical Park The Archeology Of The Fort Unit: Volume I: Results Of The 2005-2008 Inventory, William J. Hunt Jr.

United States National Park Service: Publications

In 2005, SITK invited the National Park Service’s (NPS) Midwest Archeological Center (MWAC) to conduct a Systemwide Archeological Inventory Program (SAIP) parkwide inventory at the park’s Fort Site Unit. This unit incorporates 57 acres of rainforest and nearly 55 acres of wetlands, Indian River channel, and tidal flats. The SAIP’s (and the SITK project’s) goals are to conduct systematic, scientific research to locate, evaluate, and document archeological resources on National Park system lands. Its objectives are to: 1) determine the nature and extent of archeological resources in park areas; 2) record and evaluate those resources in the Archeological Sites Management …

Vegetation Community Monitoring At Agate Fossil Beds National Monument, Nebraska, K. M. James

United States National Park Service: Publications

Vegetation community monitoring was conducted by the Heartland Inventory and Monitoring Network beginning in 1998 and concluded in 2009. During this period, eleven monitoring sites were established and sampled seven times. This report presents summary findings of that monitoring effort and concludes network vegetation monitoring efforts at Agate Fossil Beds National Monument. The Northern Great Plains Inventory and Monitoring Network will continue long-term vegetation monitoring at the park. The eleven monitoring sites were categorized into three community types: prairie sandreed – sand bluestem native prairie; needle-and-thread grass – blue grama – threadleaf sedge native prairie; and riparian community. A summary …

Aquatic Invertebrate Monitoring At Agate Fossil Beds National Monument, Lusha Tronstad

United States National Park Service: Publications

Aquatic invertebrates are excellent indicators of ecosystem quality, and these animals have been used to monitor ecosystems since the 1870s (Cairns and Pratt 1993). Growth, survival, and reproduction of aquatic invertebrates are sensitive to declines in environmental quality allowing analysis of assemblage structure to monitor lakes, streams, and wetlands (Johnson et al. 1993). Aquatic invertebrates are ideal indicator species, because they are ubiquitous, abundant, relatively long-lived, diverse, and typically sedentary (Rosenberg and Resh 1993b). In contrast, water samples can be directly analyzed for suspected pollutants, but such samples are snapshots of water quality only and can easily miss discrete discharges …

Methods For Assessing Fish Populations, Kevin L. Pope, Steve E. Lochmann, Michael K. Young

Nebraska Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit: Staff Publications

Fisheries managers are likely to assess fish populations at some point during the fisheries management process. Managers that follow the fisheries management process (see Chapter 5) might find their knowledge base insufficient during the steps of problem identification or management action and must assess a population before appropriate actions can be taken. Managers will implement some type of assessment during the evaluation step as a means of measuring progress relative to objectives. Choosing how to assess a population is an important decision because managers strive to maximize their knowledge of a population while minimizing the time and money expended to …

Understanding The Science Of Climate Change Talking Points – Impacts To Alaska Maritime And Transitional, Caroline Jezierski, Rachel Loehman, Amanda Schramm

Nebraska Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit: Staff Publications

Alaska is a huge state spanning 375 million acres and occupying nearly one-fifth of the land area for the contiguous 48 states. More than half of the coastline of the entire United States is in Alaska. Due to the great size and geographically diverse nature of Alaska, two bioregional documents were produced: “Boreal and Arctic” and “Alaska Maritime and Transitional.” In Alaska, the vast majority of the land is public; with approximately 222 million acres (approximately 60%) designated federal lands and another 90 million acres (approximately 24%) in state ownership. There are 17 National Park Service (NPS) areas in Alaska …

Understanding The Science Of Climate Change Talking Points – Impacts To Alaska Boreal And Arctic, Caroline Jezierski, Rachel Loehman, Amanda Schramm

Nebraska Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit: Staff Publications

Alaska is a huge state spanning 375 million acres and occupying nearly one-fifth of the land area of the contiguous 48 states. More than half of the coastline of the entire United States is in Alaska. Due to the great size and geographically diverse nature of Alaska, two bioregional documents were produced: “Boreal and Arctic” and “Alaska Maritime and Transitional.” In Alaska, the vast majority of the land is public; with approximately 222 million acres (approximately 60%) designated federal lands and another 90 million acres (approximately 24%) in state ownership. There are 17 National Park Service (NPS) areas in Alaska …

Novelty, Adaptive Capacity, And Resilience, Craig R. Allen, C. S. Holling

Nebraska Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit: Staff Publications

We present a conceptual framework that explores some of the forces creating innovation and novelty in complex systems. Understanding the sources of variability and novelty may help us better understand complex systems. Understanding complex phenomena such as invasions, migration, and nomadism may provide insight into the structure of ecosystems and other complex systems, and aid our attempts to cope with and mitigate these phenomena, in the case of invasions, and better understand and or predict them. Our model is broadly applicable to ecological theory, including community ecology, resilience, restoration, and policy. Characterizing the link between landscape change and the composition …

Red Imported Fire Ant Impacts On Upland Arthropods In Southern Mississippi, D. M. Epperson, C. R. Allen

Nebraska Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit: Staff Publications

Red imported fire ants (Solenopsis invicta) have negative impacts on a broad array of invertebrate species. We investigated the impacts of fire ants on the upland arthropod community on 20-40 ha study sites in southern Mississippi. Study sites were sampled from 1997–2000 before, during, and after fire ant bait treatments to reduce fire ant populations. Fire ant abundance was assessed with bait transects on all sites, and fire ant population indices were estimated on a subset of study sites. Species richness and diversity of other ant species was also assessed from bait transects. Insect biomass and diversity was determined …

Setting The Table For Diversity, Lisa L. Coleman, Jonathan D. Kotinek

National Collegiate Honors Council Monographs

Contents:

Acknowledgements. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5

Foreword . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9

Jonathan D. Kotinek

Introduction: Changing Our Selves, Changing …

2010 Spring Seed Book, Nebraska Crop Improvement Association

Nebraska Crop Improvement Association Seed Guides

FOUNDATION SEED

PLANT VARIETY PROTECTION ACT and HOW IT BENEFITS YOU!

TURFGRASSES

PERENNIAL FORAGE GRASSES

SPRING WHEAT

SPRING BARLEY

OAT VARIETY CHARACTERISTICS - 2010

OATS

MILLET

HYBRID SEED CORN

NEBRASKA SEED QUALITY ASSURANCE® PROGRAM

SOYBEANS BUYERS’ NOTICE

APPROVED SEED CONDITIONERS

CUSTOM CERTIFIED CONDITIONERS

2009 NCIA MEMBERS

Thirty Years Of Mortality Assessment In Whooping Crane Reintroductions: Patterns And Implications, Barry K. Hartup, Marilyn G. Spalding, Nancy J. Thomas, Gretchen A. Cole, Young Jun Kim

Proceedings of the North American Crane Workshop

We reviewed postmortem data to identify primary causes of mortality in reintroduced whooping cranes (Grus americana) and assess their potential for mitigation in future reintroduction efforts. In total, 240 cases from 3 populations were reviewed for causes of death, including the Rocky Mountain migratory population (n = 24, release dates 1975-1989), the Florida resident population (n = 186, 1993-2005), and the Wisconsin migratory population (n = 30, 2001-ongoing). Traumatic injury was the leading cause of mortality among the reintroduced whooping cranes, most commonly from predation (n = 120 or 50%, range 8-58% per project) or collision with fixed …

Morbidity And Mortality Of Captive Whooping Cranes At The International Crane Foundation 1976–2008, Barry K. Hartup, Jennifer N. Niemuth, Bridget Fitzpatrick, Maureen Fox, Cristin Kelley

Proceedings of the North American Crane Workshop

Tracking the incidence of morbidity and mortality in captive animal collections helps inform husbandry and preventive medicine programs aimed at improving population health and viability. Carpenter and Derrickson (1982) and Olsen et al. (1997) published summary reports of captive whooping crane (Grus americana) mortality that served to identify key problem areas for the primary breeding flock and potential reintroduction programs involving this endangered species. We expanded on this approach and conducted an initial evaluation of morbidity and mortality factors for whooping cranes at the International Crane Foundation (ICF). The purpose of our study was to identify overrepresented factors …

Endoparasites Of Greater Sandhill Cranes In South-Central Wisconsin, Somer Hartman, Betsy Reichenberg, Jane Fanke, Anne E. Lacy, Barry K. Hartup

Proceedings of the North American Crane Workshop

Windingstad and Trainer (1977) used both fecal sampling and postmortem examinations to document the occurrence of parasites in greater sandhill cranes (Grus canadensis tabida) from Wisconsin in the fall. We conducted repeated fecal sampling of a well-known population to expand on results of their study. Our objective was to determine whether seasonal differences exist in the prevalence of endoparasites of Wisconsin sandhill cranes. We collected 7 to 10 fecal samples approximately every other week from a consistent roost site on the Wisconsin River (43°34'52.99''N, 89°36'38.42''W) near Briggsville, Wisconsin, from 29 May through 25 September 2008. The sample size …

Impacts Of Global And Regional Climate On Whooping Crane Demography: Trends And Extreme Events, Karine Gil, William Grant, R. Douglas Slack, Enrique Weir

Proceedings of the North American Crane Workshop

We analyzed long-term demographic and environmental data to understand the role of large scale climatic factors (the Pacific Decadal Oscillations [PDO]) and environmental factors in 3 regions of North America on natality and mortality of the remnant migratory whooping crane (Grus americana) population. This is an endangered species that spends winters at Aransas National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR) in Texas, breeds at Wood Buffalo National Park (WBNP) in Canada and “…uses Nebraska as a primary stopover”. Long term data (27 years) of demography and environmental factors (PDO index, temperature and precipitation at WBNP, Nebraska and ANWR, pond water depth …

Longevity Records Of Rocky Mountain Greater Sandhill Cranes Banded During 1969–1987 In Idaho, Montana, Utah, And Wyoming, Roderick C. Drewien, Wendy M. Brown, Kent R. Clegg

Proceedings of the North American Crane Workshop

Cranes species throughout the world are renowned for their longevity; however, most records are based on individuals in captivity. We compiled longevity records for wild Rocky Mountain greater sandhill cranes (Grus canadensis tabida) banded in Idaho, Montana, Utah, and Wyoming during 1969-1987. Our analysis was based on over 180 band recoveries and over 1,700 visual observations of known-age individually marked birds from 1969 to 2008. We present only those birds of age >20 years for this summary. Our results yielded 56 birds known to be >20 yrs of age when killed or last observed. Of 7 band recoveries, …

Demography Of Whooping Cranes In The Eastern Migratory Population, Sarah J. Converse, Richard P. Urbanek

Proceedings of the North American Crane Workshop

The ultimate success of the whooping crane (Grus americana) reintroduction to eastern North America rests on adequate demographic performance of the population. We are undertaking a population viability analysis (PVA) of the eastern migratory population in order to evaluate progress toward the fundamental population objective, to better understand the critical demographic thresholds that must be met to fulfill this objective, and, most importantly, to support management decision-making. The initial phase in the PVA development process involves estimation of demographic parameters to be used in later population modeling phases. Multi-state models provide an appropriate analytic framework for estimation, wherein …

Current Status Of Lesser Sandhill Cranes In Yakutia, Inga Bysykatova, Sergey Sleptsov, Nikolay Vasiliev

Proceedings of the North American Crane Workshop

In Yakutia, the sandhill crane (Grus canadensis canadensis) was considered a common bird in 1957 on the Primorie tundra from the Kolyma River to the Alazeya River. In 1980 the area of the species’ supposed breeding grounds within the Kolyma- Indigirka interfluve comprised 34,600 km2. In 1984-85, the breeding grounds extended west to the Sundrun River, with the total area reaching 49,400 km2. At present, the westernmost sandhill crane range is on the tundra along the lower reaches of the Berelekh River. This region joins the higher density Siberian crane (G. leucogeranus) range, so that the …

Summary Of Sandhill Crane Sport Harvest In Canada 1975–2006, Adrianna C. Araya, Kammie L. Kruse, Keith D. Warner

Proceedings of the North American Crane Workshop

Knowledge of harvest in all areas where the mid-continent population (MCP) of sandhill cranes (Grus canadensis) occurs is critical to managing the population in a sustainable manner. The harvest of MCP in the U.S. has been well documented; however, the harvest in Canada has received less attention. The Canadian Wildlife Service initiated a National Harvest Survey program in 1967, but all sampling variables were not directly comparable until 1975. In this paper, we summarize crane harvest in Canada during the 1975-2006 hunting seasons for Saskatchewan and Manitoba, the 2 provinces with significant sport hunting harvest of sandhill cranes. …