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Articles 31 - 42 of 42

Full-Text Articles in Science and Mathematics Education

Perspectives On Iowa's Declining Amphibians And Reptiles, James L. Christiansen Jan 1998

Perspectives On Iowa's Declining Amphibians And Reptiles, James L. Christiansen

Journal of the Iowa Academy of Science: JIAS

Changes in range and abundance of Iowa's amphibians and reptiles can be deduced by comparing records from recent studies with excellent collections from Iowa by Professor R. M. Bailey made from 1938-1943 in addition to museum records accumulated before 1950. Additional recent data make necessary this updating of a similar study conducted in 1980. The current study finds many of our frogs to be in decline, some in a pattern from north to south, but most as a diffused loss of populations, probably as a result of habitat destruction. The crawfish frog, one of the two frogs considered threatened in …


Mammals Of Iowa: Holocene To The End Of The 20th Century, John B. Bowles, Daryl L. Howell, Richard P. Lampe, Howard P. Whidden Jan 1998

Mammals Of Iowa: Holocene To The End Of The 20th Century, John B. Bowles, Daryl L. Howell, Richard P. Lampe, Howard P. Whidden

Journal of the Iowa Academy of Science: JIAS

This review of Iowa's mammal fauna at the close of the 20th century summarizes changes in distributional patterns following Euroamerican settlement in the early 1800s. Data from historical records, museum specimens, and presettlement late Holocene fossils indicate presence of 69 resident mammals at that time. Hunting pressures and the conversion of prairie and forest to agricultural fields reduced the populations and ranges of many state mammals, and 14 species were extirpated by 1900. An additional 15 species are either uncommon or rare today, and the Iowa Department of Natural Resources lists four species as endangered, three as threatened and one …


Back Cover Jan 1998

Back Cover

Journal of the Iowa Academy of Science: JIAS

No abstract provided.


Carrion Beetles (Coleoptera: Silphidae) Of Northeastern Iowa: A Comparison Of Baits For Sampling, David R. Coyle, Kirk J. Larsen Jan 1998

Carrion Beetles (Coleoptera: Silphidae) Of Northeastern Iowa: A Comparison Of Baits For Sampling, David R. Coyle, Kirk J. Larsen

Journal of the Iowa Academy of Science: JIAS

Carrion beetles (Coleoptera: Silphidae) were inventoried over a 8-week period from June into August of 1996 at 10 sites in 4 counties of extreme northeastern Iowa. Carrion preference and relative abundance of carrion beetles were studied by use of non-lethal pitfall traps constructed from large plastic plant pots and baited with aged fish, beef liver, chicken, or piglets. A total of 3,183 carrion beetles were collected, representing 11 different species. The most commonly encountered species of carrion beetles in northeastern Iowa included Necrophila americana (71.5%) and Oiceoptoma novaboracense (18.5%). When comparing baits, chicken and fish attracted the greatest number of …


Decline Of Iowa Populations Of The Regal Fritillary (Speyeria Idalia) Drury, Diane M. Debinskl, Liesl Kelly Jan 1998

Decline Of Iowa Populations Of The Regal Fritillary (Speyeria Idalia) Drury, Diane M. Debinskl, Liesl Kelly

Journal of the Iowa Academy of Science: JIAS

The Regal Fritillary butterfly, Speyeria idalia Drury (Lepidoptera: Nymphalidae, Argynninae), is a prairie endemic species which has exhibited a dramatic decline in Iowa during the last few decades. Tallgrass prairie is the primary habitat of S. idalia and the butterfly's presence is correlated with the presence of violets (Violaceae). Due to the extensive habitat fragmentation of Iowa prairies, both the butterfly and its host plant populations are limited primarily to unplowed, relatively pristine prairies. Thus, S. idalia is an excellent case study of a prairie endemic species. Here, we report on the results of a two-year survey of the insect …


Front Matter Jan 1998

Front Matter

Journal of the Iowa Academy of Science: JIAS

No abstract provided.


The Fungi, Lichens, And Myxomycetes Of Iowa: A Literature Review And Evaluation, Lois H. Tiffany, George Knaphus Jan 1998

The Fungi, Lichens, And Myxomycetes Of Iowa: A Literature Review And Evaluation, Lois H. Tiffany, George Knaphus

Journal of the Iowa Academy of Science: JIAS

The fungi have been, and continue to be, a poorly documented portion of Iowa’s biological inheritance. Although many are perennially present in soil and plant debris and are crucially involved in the release and recycling of materials from organic residues or are partners with plant roots as mycorrhizae, they are not obvious until they produce fruiting structures such as mushrooms, boletes, brackets, puffballs, etc. The fungi causing plant disease are more obvious because of the reactions of their host plants; thus the earliest records of Iowa fungi are of ones causing plant diseases commonly referred to as mildews, rusts, and …


Iowa's Avifauna: Recent Changes And Prospects For The Future, James J. Dinsmore Jan 1998

Iowa's Avifauna: Recent Changes And Prospects For The Future, James J. Dinsmore

Journal of the Iowa Academy of Science: JIAS

Iowa's avifauna has changed dramatically since 1980. The state list now has 40 additional species and totals 398 species, the most of any vertebrate group. Four species that had not previously nested in Iowa (Ring-billed Gull, Great-tailed Grackle, House Finch, Eurasian Tree Sparrow) and four whose nesting populations had disappeared (Double-crested Cormorant, Sandhill Crane, Piping Plover, Least Tern) now breed regularly here. Little Blue Heron, Cattle Egret, White-faced Ibis, Mississippi Kite, Prairie Warbler, and Red Crossbill nested for the first time but do not have established nesting populations. Trumpeter Swan, Peregrine Falcon, Greater Prairie Chicken, and Sharp-tailed Grouse have been …


Front Matter Jan 1998

Front Matter

Journal of the Iowa Academy of Science: JIAS

No abstract provided.


Safety Issues And Iowa Science Teachers, Jack A. Gerlovich, Ed Wilson, Rahul Parsa Jan 1998

Safety Issues And Iowa Science Teachers, Jack A. Gerlovich, Ed Wilson, Rahul Parsa

Journal of the Iowa Academy of Science: JIAS

The National Science Education Standards are providing an excellent blue print for improving science teaching for all students. However, the Standards are placing serious demands on teachers attempts to make science activities inquiry-based, real-life, open-ended, and directly applicable to today's students. This situation is further aggravated when teachers do not know essential science safety information from both federal and state governing agencies, as well as professional organizations. With proper training and tools, however, this problem can be positively addressed.


Index For Volume 105 - Notice Of Rate Increase Jan 1998

Index For Volume 105 - Notice Of Rate Increase

Journal of the Iowa Academy of Science: JIAS

No abstract provided.


Lack Of Genetic Variation In Cytochrome Bin A Population Of Smooth Softshell Turtles, David W. Weisrock, Tamara S. Haselkorn, Fredric J. Janzen Jan 1998

Lack Of Genetic Variation In Cytochrome Bin A Population Of Smooth Softshell Turtles, David W. Weisrock, Tamara S. Haselkorn, Fredric J. Janzen

Journal of the Iowa Academy of Science: JIAS

An important issue in intraspecific molecular phylogenetic studies concerns distribution of genetic variation within and among populations and, hence, within-population sample sizes used in analyses. To address this sampling issue, we sequenced a 795 base pair (bp) segment of the mitochondrial cytochrome b gene from 19 unrelated individuals from a Louisiana population of the smooth softshell turtle (Apalone mutica LeSueur). We found a complete lack of within-population variation in this large segment of mtDNA. This result supports the use of minimal within-population sample sizes in intraspecific molecular phylogenetic studies of Apalone using cytochrome b.