Life Sciences Commons^™

Platte River Island Succession, Harold G. Nagel, Karen Geisler, John Cochran, Jon Fallesen, Barbara Hadenfeldt, Joy Mathews, John Nickel, Steven Stec, Alice Walters

Transactions of the Nebraska Academy of Sciences and Affiliated Societies

This study was designed to determine successional trends of soils and vegetation on Platte River islands in central Nebraska and to elucidate interactions between them through time.

Twenty study islands from five age-size classes were randomly selected in a 48 km stretch near Kearney, Nebraska. The age of islands wao determined by use of aerial photographs. Woody and herbaceous plant species were sampled systematically, and soil cores were analyzed for organic matter and texture at each island. Relative elevation at each sampling plot was determined.

There were 20 islands per linear kilometer in the study area larger than 0.04 ha …

Causality, Determinism, And The Mind-Brain Problem, Jeffrey C. Schank

Transactions of the Nebraska Academy of Sciences and Affiliated Societies

The problem of causality, determinism, and mind and brain are discussed, and new solutions are offered. To begin, a pragmatic structuralism is assumed, asserting the functional equivalence of mind and brain activity. A problem-solving model of mind-brain activity is defined, employing the mathematical theory of probablistic automata. With this model it can be determined whether mind-brain activity is deterministic. This is accomplished if an adequate definition of strict causality is developed. Logical models of strict causality which define the causal relation in terms of "material implication" or "strict implication" are rejected. Causal relativity is assumed, and certain systemtheoretical assumptions are …

Transactions Of The Nebraska Academy Of Sciences Volume Viii (1980): 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

Biological and Medical Sciences

The influence of winglessness on mating frequency in species of the Drosophila affinis subgroup (Alemdar, McIntyre, Chang, and Miller) .......... 1

Den and den-site characteristics of coyotes (Canis latrans) in southeastern Nebraska (D. P. Althoff) .......... 9

Floristic analysis of a natural area on the Lower Platte River Flood Plain (D. A. Becker) .......... 15

Observations on the life cycle of spurge hawkmoth (J. R. Forwood and M. K. …

The Rush Creek-Lisco Structural Basin, Garden And Morrill Counties, Nebraska, R. F. Diffendal Jr.

Transactions of the Nebraska Academy of Sciences and Affiliated Societies

Detailed field mapping of outcrops in southern Garden and Morrill counties, Nebraska, has revealed a drop of more than 60 m (200 ft) in 4.8 km (3 mi) in the elevation of the contact between the Brule Formation and the Ogallala Group as exposed on the east side of Rush Creek. Beds of silt, sand, siltstone, and volcanic ash locally dip to the northwest at angles up to 8.5°. The contact between the two formations cannot be seen on the west side of Rush Creek but beds in the Ogallala Group there dip to the north and northeast. Rocks north …

Ancient Soils And Climatic Changes In The Central Great Plains, C. Bertrand Schultz, Thompson Mylan Stout

Transactions of the Nebraska Academy of Sciences and Affiliated Societies

An exceptionally clear record of climatic changes has been preserved in the Quaternary and Tertiary soils and loess deposits of the central part of the United States. Major extinctions of mammals also coincide with regional breaks in sedimentation, perhaps at glacial maxima. The Quaternary stratigraphy is now well known in this region, with initial Quaternary glaciation succeeding end-Tertiary (Ogallala) alluviation and soil development.

The Quaternary ("Ice Age") succession of cutting-and-filling cycles that record episodes of glaciation and inter-glaciation begins just after the completion of the main calichecomplex of the end. Ogallala or end-Pliocene (circa 3.2 m.y. ago). The soils, …

The Fishes Of Salt Creek Basin, Nebraska, Terry R. Maret, Edward J. Peters

Transactions of the Nebraska Academy of Sciences and Affiliated Societies

During April through October 1977 we investigated the distribution of stream fishes from Salt Creek Basin in southeastern Nebraska. A total of 18,560 individuals representing 12 families and 34 species was taken from 125 collections at 102 different localities. Each collected species is reported in the form of an annotated list. Pimephales promelas, Notropis stramineus, N. lutrensis, Lepomis cyanellus. and Ictalurus melas were most frequently collected. The general low diversity of fish species at most collection sites indicates that the environment in these small streams is quite unstable. Comparisons with previous surveys of the fish fauna in …

Platte River Evapotranspiration: A Historical Perspective In Central Nebraska, Harold G. Nagel, M. Stanley Dart

Transactions of the Nebraska Academy of Sciences and Affiliated Societies

A computational model was developed to estimate evapotranspiration (ET) in the Platte River ecosystem of central Nebraska. Data used in the model were mostly derived from the literature, although leaftemperature data were collected to estimate species transpirationcoefficients.

Preliminary estimates for ET are 35.5 in per yr during the April-tooctober growing season. Riparian forest accounted for 30% of the total ET, followed in order of importance by open-water evaporation, forested islands, herbaceous riparian-transpiration, sandbar evaporation, and then hcrbaceous island-vegetation, which accounted for only 10% of the total ET.

The Platte River has changed markedly during the last 40 years, with reduced …

The Fossil Insectivora Of Lemoyne Quarry (Ash Hollow Formation, Hemphillian), Keith County, Nebraska, Thomas M. Bown

Transactions of the Nebraska Academy of Sciences and Affiliated Societies

The insectivore fauna of Lemoyne Quarry is the most diverse and most cosmopolitan of any recorded from Hemphillian deposits of the Great Plains; four genera and six species of shrews and five genera and five species of moles are known. The soricinines Sorex edwardsi n. sp., Sorex yatkolai n. sp., and Sorex sp. most closely resemble Sorex hagermanensis and S. rexroadensis from the Hagerman and Rexroad local faunas of Idaho and Kansas, respectively. Lemoyne Alluvisorex (Soricini) is indistinguishable from A. arcadentes from Barstovian rocks of Oregon, and Lemoyne cf. Limnoecus (Limnoecinae) has larger teeth than Barstovian L. tricuspis (including L. …

The Structures Of Scientific Relativism, Charles J. Dougherty

Transactions of the Nebraska Academy of Sciences and Affiliated Societies

Few recent works have generated as much intellectual discussion as Thomas S. Kuhn's The Structure of Scientific Revolutions. Yet given the impact this book has had on our understanding of science-its role in the demise of logical positivism, in the current outpouring of interest in the history of science, and in changes in science education - perhaps it is time now, some ten years after Kuhn's provocative Postscript, for still another look at his thesis. That is the purpose of this study. First, those elements of Kuhn's book which committed him to a scientific relativism are reconstructed. Secondly, …

The Applicability Of Torgerson's Concept Of Fiat Measurement In Developmental Stages Of The Social Sciences, Christine V. Zavgren, S. J. Lambert

Transactions of the Nebraska Academy of Sciences and Affiliated Societies

The concept of "fiat measurement" is an alternative to fundamental and derived measurement. This concept is believed to be more descriptive of measurement in the social sciences, where in most cases theories as well-formed as those in the physical sciences do not exist. In fiat measurement an index or measurement of a concept is assumed to be representative of that concept. However, the representation between a measurement scale and the theoretical concept cannot be proven. Although fiat measurement is descriptive of much current work in social sciences, it is shown to be a problematic concept because of its arbitrariness, lack …

Functional Morphology And The Evolution Of Cats, Larry D. Martin

Transactions of the Nebraska Academy of Sciences and Affiliated Societies

Three basic morpho types are proposed for cats on the basis of their upper canines: 1) conical-toothed cats with short, unserrated canines having a round cross-section; 2) scimitar-toothed cats having short, broad canines, usually with very coarse serrations; and 3) dirktoothed cats having long, slender canines which usually have fine serrations. Commonly all three morphotypes occur together in the same fauna. The method of prey capture was probably different for each morphotype. Both types of saber-toothed cats appear to have specialized on large prey, but it seems unlikely that they utilized the same prey. Scimitar-toothed cats are long-limbed, and were …

The Influence Of Winglessness On Mating Frequency In Species Of The Drosophila Affinis Subgroup, Neriman Alemdar, Ronda Mcintyre, Ho-Chi Chang, Dwight D. Miller

Transactions of the Nebraska Academy of Sciences and Affiliated Societies

Certain Drosophila species that cannot mate in darkness have also been shown to be unable to mate in the light if their wings have been removed, perhaps due to the fact that wings provide visual signs and signals for courtship. To determine the influence of winglessness on mating in light-dependent Drosophila algonquin and its relatives, we determined mating frequencies in combinations of winged and wingless individuals of the six widespread American Drosophila affinis subgroup species D. affinis, D. algonquin, D. athabasca, D. azteca, D. narragansett, and D. tolteca. In no case did winglessness of …

Den And Den-Site Characteristics Of Coyotes (Canis Latrans) In Southeastern Nebraska, Donald P. Althoff

Transactions of the Nebraska Academy of Sciences and Affiliated Societies

Sixteen pup-rearing den-sites of coyotes (Canis latrans) were located in southeastern Nebraska from 1976-1978. Although there was no selection for sites close to water or away from roads, dens were always located 400 m or farther from occupied farmsteads. The mean distance between neighboring dens was 3.87 km. Twelve sites were located within 1 m of brome grass (Bromus inermis); 15 dens were located where two cover-types met. Twelve dens were dug in loam soil; four in clay. Mean number of entrances for 10 excavated dens was 1.4, with the majority opening to the east and …

Floristic Analysis Of A Natural Area On The Lower Platte River Flood Plain, Donald A. Becker

Transactions of the Nebraska Academy of Sciences and Affiliated Societies

The vascular flora of an extinct river-island and inactive northchannel of the Platte River was studied from 1972-1978. Within a variety of vegetation types, including seral and sub climax flood plain forests, 289 species were identified from 200 genera and 70 families. The flora is dominated by four families, the Poaceae, Asteraceae, Cyperaceae, and Fabaceae, which contribute 40% of the species. Forty-eight species of woody plants occur in the area, including 17 species not previously reported in Dodge County. While much of the flora is composed of forest species (36.1%), significant numbers of ruderal and marsh species (each 19.4%) are …

Observations On The Life Cycle Of Spurge Hawkmoth, J. R. Forwood, M. K. Mccarty

Transactions of the Nebraska Academy of Sciences and Affiliated Societies

Certain aspects of the life cycle of the spurge hawkmoth, Hyles euphorbiae L. (Sphingidae), were studied to evaluate it as a possible biological control agent for leafy spurge (Euphorbia esula L.) in Nebraska. There are five phases in the life cycle of this insect: egg, larva, prepupa, pupa, and adult. It is a foliage-feeding insect and consumes about 18 g fresh weight of leafy spurge during its larval life. About 80% of the leafy spurge consumption is by the fifth instar. A generation may be completed in a period of 42 to 72 days. The spurge hawkmoth overwinters as …

Distribution Of Fishes In Thirty-Two Mile Creek, Nebraska, Steven R. Walker

Transactions of the Nebraska Academy of Sciences and Affiliated Societies

Thirty-two Mile Creek drains a 276 km² area in south central Nebraska as a tributary to the Little Blue River. Fishes were collected during the summer of 1977 using a seine. Nine species were collected at the 16 stations sampled.

The fathead minnow (Pimephales promelas) was the most abundant species and present at every station. Black bullhead (lctalurus melas), carp (Cyprinus carpio), and red shiner (Notropis lutrensis) were widespread while other species had limited distributions. Species diversity was determined for each station and stream order. Fish distribution and abundance in the drainage were …

Some Crinoids From The Argentine Limestone (Late Pennsylvania-Missourian) Of Southeastern Nebraska And Southwestern Iowa, Roger K. Pabian, Harrell L. Strimple

Transactions of the Nebraska Academy of Sciences and Affiliated Societies

Familial diversity of crinoids is relatively constant throughout the Missourian Series of southeastern Nebraska and southwestern Iowa. Beginning with the deposition of the Argentine Limestone, there appears to be an important increase in the number of crinoid specimens. The abundance of crinoids in older Missourian strata in other areas to the south suggests the presence of a pre-Argentine east-west ecological barrier that prevented the establishment of successful crinoid colonies in the Nebraska-Iowa area.

The Argentine crinoids of Nebraska and Iowa are quite similar to the lower crinoid fauna in the coeval Wann Formation of northeastern Oklahoma. Samples of Delocrinus hemisphericus …

Paleoclimatic Implications Of Pleistocene Herpetofaunas Of Eastern And Central North America, J. Alan Holman

Transactions of the Nebraska Academy of Sciences and Affiliated Societies

A review of Pleistocene herpetofaunas of eastern and central North America does not support the classical concept of alternating cool-moist, warm-dry glacial and interglacial climates. On the contrary, herpetological evidence generally indicates Pleistocene climates south of the glacial boundaries were warmer or more equable than today until very Late Pleistocene time, when there is some evidence of cooling in the Ozark and Appalachian areas. On the other hand, there is evidence that climatic equability persisted in southern Texas, northeastern Mississippi, northwestern Georgia, and Florida, in very Late Pleistocene time. Since classical terms such as Nebraskan, Aftonian, Kansan, etc., reflect the …

The Classification Of Tumors By John Abernethy Early In The Nineteenth Century, Anne J. Krush

Transactions of the Nebraska Academy of Sciences and Affiliated Societies

John Abernethy was born in London on April 3, 1764, the second son of five children of John and Elizabeth (Weir) Abernethy, both from Northern Ireland and of Scottish descent. The father of our John Abernethy was a merchant in the firm of Abernethy and Donaldson in London. His father and grandfather before him, both named John Abernethy, had been "Protestant dissenting ministers in Northern Ireland." John's father decided on medicine and surgery as a career for him, although some biographers felt that with his extraordinarily retentive memory he would have succeeded equally well, or better, in a law career. …

The Idea Of Technological Progress And Its Problems, Eugene E. Selk

Transactions of the Nebraska Academy of Sciences and Affiliated Societies

Recently the problem of scientific progress has been one of the most widely discussed topics among historians and philosophers of science. But little has been said on the problem of technological progress. I suggest that theories of technological progress can be divided, first, into cognitive and non-cognitive; then cognitive can be subdivided into cumulative and problem-solving; non-cognitive can be divided into material well-being and moral and spiritual well-being. After examining different versions of the cumulative theory, I conclude that technology is not intrinsically cumulative; whether technology is cumulatively progressive is a matter of goals extrinsic to technology. I argue that …