Life Sciences Commons^™

An Assessment Of The Nebraska City Power Station Impingement Effects Relative To The Fishery Dynamics Of The Missouri River, J. Patrick Rhone, I. Cherko, L. G. Harrow, Allen B. Schlesinger

Transactions of the Nebraska Academy of Sciences and Affiliated Societies

Pursuant to National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) Permit No. NE 0111635, the Omaha Public Power District conducted an environmental monitoring program at the Nebraska City station. This study was undertaken to assess the effects of the station's cooling-water intake structure upon the aquatic biota of the Missouri River as required by Section 316(b) of the Federal Water Pollution Control Act. It included a study of fishes impinged on the intake structure's six traveling screens. From 29 May 1979 to 31 May 1982, daily fish impingement sampling occurred at 1200 and 2400 ± 2 hr. One of the traveling screens, …

Inclusive Fitness And The Practice Of Polyandry Among The Skidi Pawnee, Thomas E. Mcginnis

Transactions of the Nebraska Academy of Sciences and Affiliated Societies

The ethnohistorical record of the practice of polyandry among the Skidi Pawnee of the 19th century is examined from the perspective of the inclusive fitness model. The practice of temporary polyandry may have allowed males to maximize their inclusive fitness by insuring high paternity certainty. Younger brothers and nephews may have guarded the wives of older male relatives to prevent the wives from bearing children of unrelated males.

Water Conservation Of The Kangaroo Rat, Dipodomys Ordii, W. Sue Fairbanks, David Greegor, Leonard Staudinger, Erik Bitterbaum

Transactions of the Nebraska Academy of Sciences and Affiliated Societies

Kangaroo rats (Dipodomys spp.) have long been known for their water-conserving abilities. Dipodomys ordii is the most widely distributed kangaroo rat in the United States and its range extends through many climates. Five D. ordii from the Nebraska Sand Hills were used in this experiment. The results of this study indicate that Dipodomys ordii is not independent of free water, but does have a urine concentrating ability comparable to D. merriami, a desert-dwelling species. The individuals showed variability in their response to water deprivation.

A Bryological Survey Of The Southern Panhandle Of Nebraska, Linda L. Spessard

Transactions of the Nebraska Academy of Sciences and Affiliated Societies

Moss collections made in Arthur, Banner, Cheyenne, Deuel, Garden, Grant, Keith, Kimball, Morrill, and Scotts Bluff counties of Nebraska during the summer of 1981 comprised 19 species. The number of moss species now known in the southern Panhandle of Nebraska is 34 in addition to three liverworts.

An Analysis Of Vegetation And Flora Of Field-Edges And Roadsides Of Agricultural Land In Eastern Nebraska, James E. Ducey, Catherine Wiederspan

Transactions of the Nebraska Academy of Sciences and Affiliated Societies

Five hundred sixty-seven hectares of agricultural cropland in east-central Nebraska were sampled during a vegetative analysis and botanical survey in the summer of 1979. One hundred eighteen species of plants in 39 families were recorded. The number of species recorded in the various edge-areas sampled ranged from six to 34. The differences noted were that species composition varied and some plants were present in small numbers in some areas and absent or undetected in others. Differences could be attributed to variations in slope, soil characteristics, and management of the areas sampled.

The Relationship Of Science To The North-South Dialogue, William N. Hubbard Jr.

Transactions of the Nebraska Academy of Sciences and Affiliated Societies

The dialogue between the Northern and Southern hemispheres of this one Earth is concerned with the issue of human equity. It is the dialogue between those in the north who have an abundance of goods and services, with a generally improving opportunity for self-fulfillment, as contrasted with those in the south who are deficient in even rudimentary goods and services and whose opportunity for self-fulfillment is not only smaller than their brothers' in the north but is probably diminishing.

The mind·numbing plight of the poorest of the poor in this world shall not be inventoried in any detail. The absolute …

Universal Determinism And Relative Dertermination, Leroy N. Meyer

Transactions of the Nebraska Academy of Sciences and Affiliated Societies

Recent works have shown that it is possible to devise a clear thesis of universal determinism. Two such theses are formulated. Apparently the motivations for universal determinism have been: (1) to account for the explanatory power of scientific laws, (2) to support the principle of sufficient reason, and (3) to provide a methodological criterion for scientific progress. Universal determinism is, however, unsatisfactory in view of its apparent conflict with important physical theories such as quantum mechanics. The question then arises whether there is a weaker thesis, compatible with contemporary physical theories, that satisfies the motivation for universal determinism. A thesis …

Geographical Distribution Of Acanthocephala In Nebraska Fishes, Brent B. Nickol, Nelson Samuel

Transactions of the Nebraska Academy of Sciences and Affiliated Societies

Examination of more than 2,700 fishes from 71 sites throughout Nebraska revealed the presence of nine species of Acanthocephala: Leptorhynchoides thecatus, Neoechinorhynchus cristatus, N. cylindratus, N. prolixus, N. rutili, Octospinifer macilentus, Paulisentis missouriensis, Pomphorhynchus bulbocolli, and Tanaorhamphus longirostris. fishes from the reservoir at the state recreation area at Atkinson were more frequently parasitized by Acanthocephala than those from any other site. At that reservoir fishes harbored four of the nine species known from the state. In general, fishes in lakes of the Sand Hills were more frequently and densely parasitized by …

Transactions Of The Nebraska Academy Of Sciences Volume Xi (1983): Table Of Contents

Transactions of the Nebraska Academy of Sciences and Affiliated Societies

Nebraska Academy of Sciences, Officers, Policy Committee .......... ii

Editorial Board, Instructions to Contributors .......... v

Membership Objectives and Friends of the Academy .......... vi

Science and society: The Gustavson Memorial Lectures (J. R. Girton) .......... 1

The relationship of science to the North-South dialogue (W. N. Hubbard, Jr.) .......... 3

Anthropology

Inclusive fitness and the practice of polyandry among the Skidi Pawnee ( T. E. McGinnis) .......... 9

American Indian artifacts from the Kansas River (R. A. Rogers and L. D. Martin) .......... 13

Biological and Medical Sciences

An analysis of the vegetation and flora of field-edges and roadsides …

Science And Society: The Gustavson Memorial Lectures, Jack R. Girton

Transactions of the Nebraska Academy of Sciences and Affiliated Societies

Reuben G. Gustavson was an eminent scientist, scholar, educator ,and administrator who served as Chancellor of the University of Nebraska from 1946 until 1953. In honor of his contributions to education and research, the Reuben G. Gustavson Memorial Lectures were established in 1975 under the sponsorship of Resources for the Future, Inc. and four of the universities Dr. Gustavson served. The general theme of the lectures, given annually at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, is "Science and Society."

The following article, "The relationship of science to the North-South dialogue," was written by Dr. William Neill Hubbard, Jr., President of Upjohn Company, …

Biographical Sketch And Contributions To Medicine Of Xavier Bichat, Anne J. Krush

Transactions of the Nebraska Academy of Sciences and Affiliated Societies

Xavier Bichat was born in Thoirette, France, on 11 November 1771, the oldest son of Jean-Baptiste Bichat, a physician. As a young man, Bichat went to the city of Lyon and became the pupil of a surgeon, M.-A. Petit. In 1793, he went to the Hôtel-Dieu Hospital and studied under the surgeon, P.-J. Desault; they became close friends. Desault died at age 47 in 1795 leaving unfinished a four-volume manuscript on surgery. Faithfully, Bichat completed this work. Bichat was named Physician of Hôtel-Dieu Hospital at 1ge 28. There, he continued his research on cadavers and treatment of patients; his writing …

Some Pennsylvanian Chondrichthyan Spines From Nebraska, John G. Maisey

Transactions of the Nebraska Academy of Sciences and Affiliated Societies

Fragmentary, dermal spines of Pennsylvanian chondrichthyans from Cass and Sarpy counties, Nebraska, are described. Forms that have been identified include the genera Acondylacanthus, Amelacanthus, Bythiacanthus, and "Physonemus" and an indeterminate hybodont. A diverse chondrichthyan fauna is therefore represented by these spines. The record of Amelacanthus is the first outside Great Britain and Northern Ireland.

The Harold W. Manter Laboratory A National Resource Center For Parasitology, Mary Hanson Pritchard

Transactions of the Nebraska Academy of Sciences and Affiliated Societies

On its tenth anniversary the Harold W. Manter Laboratory, Division of Parasitology, University of Nebraska State Museum, was designated by the American Society of Parasitologists as one of four National Resource Centers for Parasitology in the United States. Collections include more than 80,000 lots of animal parasites many of which are primary types, more than 40,000 reprints, 250 taxonomic notebooks containing original and emended morphological descriptions of digenetic trematodes, runs of 18 parasitological journals, and books of historical and contemporary interest. Collections are of state, regional, national, and international scope, with special emphasis on marine parasitology. The Laboratory is fulfilling …

Trox Hamatus Robinson (Troginae) Using A Canthon (Scarabaeinae) Brood Ball And New Records Of North American Trox (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae), Brett C. Ratcliffe

Transactions of the Nebraska Academy of Sciences and Affiliated Societies

Trox hamatus Robinson was observed feeding on an abandoned Canthon brood ball in southeastern Nebraska. Although some Aphodiinae and Scarabaeinae have been reported feeding on or stealing other scarabaeine dung balls, this represents the first reported observation of this behavior for a member of the Troginae. It is suggested that the brood ball was opportunistically used by the Trox, and the event is rare. In addition, new state records are provided for Trox aequalis Say, T. atrox LeConte, T. laticollis LeConte, and T. tesselatus (LeConte).

American Indian Artifacts From The Kansas River, Richard A. Rogers, Larry D. Martin

Transactions of the Nebraska Academy of Sciences and Affiliated Societies

American Indian artifacts recovered from the gravel bars of the Kansas River in northeastern Kansas consist of pot sherds and projectile points. The dating of artifacts on stylistic grounds suggests a relatively continuous archeological record from the Kansas River ranging from the end of the Wisconsin glaciation to the Late Holocene. The remains of Pleistocene and Holocene fauna are abundant on the same gravel bars that yielded the artifacts. The presence of woodland musk oxen and stagmoose indicates that northeastern Kansas was part of the Symbos-Cervalces faunal province during the Wisconsinan. By inference, the Late Wisconsinan human occupants must have …

Linguistic Competence, John Tienson

Transactions of the Nebraska Academy of Sciences and Affiliated Societies

The notion of linguistic competence as a cognitive system that produces knowledge not antecedently present in the mind of the subject, e.g., knowledge of grammatical relations in response to certain stimuli is an important contribution to philosophical understanding of linguistics, and of cognitive psychology in general. This notion has not been as well received as it should have been, in part because of certain false things that have been said about it. In particular, it has been said that a grammar of a language, conceived as a theory of linguistic competence, is an idealization, and that speakers know the …