Life Sciences Commons^™

Nebraska Natural Heritage Program Request For Help, Mary Kay Clausen

Nebraska Bird Review

The Nebraska Natural Heritage Program is a computer-assisted inventory of rare or uncommon plants, animals, and communities in Nebraska. This information is used to help establish protection priorities, land protection, species review, impact assessment, research, and for education. We are currently operating under a two-year contract between the Nature Conservancy and the Nebraska Game and Parks Commission. Our office is in the Nebraska Game and Parks building in Lincoln. We have a full-time staff consisting of a Botanist, Zoologist, and Community Ecologist,

As the Zoologist for the Program, I would like to solicit the help of NOU members. Currently, I …

Nesting Ecology Of Sedge Wrens In Hall County, Nebraska, Gary R. Lingle, Paul A. Bedell

Nebraska Bird Review

The status of the Sedge Wren (Cistothorus platensis) in Nebraska is not well known. Cink (1973) summarized summer records from 1867 to 1971 and described only a few nest records. One nest discovered on 28 August 1902 at Capitol Beach, Lancaster Co., was assumed empty, apparently because of the late date. Bedell (1987) recorded July and August sightings in south central Nebraska and raised the question of whether these birds were migrants or nesting.

Sedge Wrens are frequently polygynous (Crawford 1977, Burns 1982) and may exhibit two waves of nesting effort in some areas (Burns 1982). Nest initiation …

The Nebraska Natural Heritage Program: Two Year Progress Report, Mary Clausen, Mike Fritz, Gerry Steinauer

Nebraska Game and Parks Commission: White Papers, Conference Presentations, and Manuscripts

Since European settlement, human activities have totally eliminated the natural vegetation from approximately 50 percent of Nebraska’s landscape, and of that remaining most has been heavily impacted. As a result, numerous plants and animals have been extirpated from the state and many others are threatened.

The destruction of Nebraska’s natural diversity resulted in both public and private conservation groups recognizing the need for a centralized and accessible biological database for the state’s rare species and natural community types. Toward this end, the Nebraska Natural Heritage Program (NENHP) was established in August, 1987 through a cooperative effort between The Nature Conservancy …

Field Playback Of Male Display Attracts Females In Lek Breeding Sage Grouse, Robert M. Gibson

School of Biological Sciences: Faculty Publications

Recent correlational studies of lekking sage grouse suggest that male vocal display attracts females. To test this hypothesis further, the natural displays of a territorial male were supplemented with the tape-recorded display of another reproductively successful individual. Significantly, more females approached the speaker's location on days when the recording was played, and also on nonplayback days immediately following a playback, than on other nonplayback days. Analysis of male displays indicated that females were responding to the playback itself rather than to changes in male behavior. The "after-response" following a playback suggests that some females present during a playback remembered its …

Marine Fishery Population Trends Current And Emerging Natural Resource Issues, Herbert Austin

Reports

No abstract provided.

Estimation Of Genetic Parameters For Milk And Fat Yields Of Dairy Cattle In Spain And The United States, M. J. Carabano, L. Dale Van Vleck, G. R. Wiggans, R. Alenda

Department of Animal Science: Faculty Publications

Interaction of genotype with environment was studied with 10,780 Spanish production records (daughters of 210 Holstein-Friesian bulls) and two subsets of United States data (800,821 records with 1170 sires and 762,152 records with 1186 sires). Only 74 bulls had daughter records in both Spanish and United States data. Genetic and phenotypic (co)variances and correlations and heritability for milk and fat yields were estimated both within country and between countries with countries considered as separate traits (joint analysis). (Co)variance components were estimated with a REML procedure. Heritability estimates for milk and fat in the Spanish population (.16 and .14, within country; …

The Use Of Banding Recovery Data To Estimate Dispersal Rates And Gene Flow In Avian Species: Case Studies In The Red-Winged Blackbird And Common Grackle, William S. Moore, Richard A. Dolbeer

Biological Sciences Faculty Research Publications

Dispersal resulting in gene flow strongly affects the evolution of genetic structure in populations. This report describes statistical estimators of dispersal parameters based on USFWS banding recovery records. Finite-area studies of avian species yield estimates of root-mean-square (RMS) dispersal along a transect of about 1 km per generation. In contrast, estimates of RMS dispersal for the Red-winged Blackbird (Agelaius phoeniceus) and Common Grackle (Quiscalus quiscula), based on USFWS banding recovery records, are 94.6 and 111.4 km per generation, respectively. Distributions for both species are extremely leptokurtic, and confidence intervals based on jackknife statistics are large because the estimators are sensitive …

Management Of The Perth Metropolitan Purse-Seine Fishery., N. Moore

Fisheries management papers

This report outlines the management plan for the limited entry purse-seine fishery for small pelagic fish in coastal waters between Lancelin and Cape Bouvard and seaward to the 200 mile limit of the Australian Fishing Zone. The plan includes Cockburn Sound.

Kentucky Warbler (Vol. 65, No. 2), Kentucky Library Research Collections

Kentucky Warbler

No abstract provided.

Determination Of Marina Buffer Zones Using Simple Mixing And Transport Models : A Report To The Virginia State Dept. Of Health, Bureau Of Shellfish Sanitation As Part Of The Chesapeake Bay Initiatives Marine Pollution Abatement Initiative, John M. Hamrick, Bruce J. Neilson

Reports

This report describes the rationale, development and application of simple mixing and transport models for the determination of marina buffer zones and buffer zones for other point source discharges. Included in the report are two computer programs for implementation of the most general two dimensional transport model.

Habitat Use And Diet Analysis Of Breeding Common Barn-Owls In Western Nebraska, Joseph A. Gubanyi M.S.

School of Natural Resources: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

I studied barn owl (Tyto alba) breeding biology in western Nebraska 1984-1986. I had greatest success capturing males (56% success) at night using trap doors at nest sites and females (91 % success) using hoop nets at nest sites during the day. Barn owls removed 16 of 23 tail-mounted radios. Eight birds were radio-tracked for 7-14.5 hours. The mean foraging range was 198 ha (32- 299 ha, n = 8) with < 1 % overlap among birds from adjacent nest sites. Field-tested telemetry error was high (mean displacements of radio-locations for 2 birds were 208 and 241 m). I found no relationship between percent cover in foraging habitat and reproductive success. I identified 10,140 prey items from 15 nest sites and found both annual and seasonal variation in barn owl diets. Microtus ochrogaster occurred most frequently (32.7%) and increased in the diet from 17.6 to 27.2 to 43.5% 1984-1986. M. ochrogaster and Perognathus hispidus annual frequencies were …

A Review Of The Shark Bay Pearling Industry., D. A. Hancock

Fisheries management papers

While there are currently only two pearl culture leases in Shark Bay, two new applications for leases have already been received by the W.A. Fisheries Department. Increased interest is being generated about pearl culture in Shark Bay, which will need to be considered against the background of management plans designed to restrict further entry into other areas, notably the pearly industry of W.A from Exmouth Gulf northwards, and the pearling industry of the Northern Territory. Recent successes with pearl culture in both those areas, and the greatly increased revenues and high lease transfer values realised, must inevitably focus interest on …

Purple Loosestrife (Lythrum Salicaria L.) In A Southeastern Sedge Meadow, John L. Larson

Field Station Bulletins

Floristic and seed bank composition of a sedge meadow containing purple loosestrife was examined in 1987 and 1988. Eleocharis spp., Spiraea tomentosa, Triadenum vircrinicum, and Lycopus spp. were widespread while infrequent or absent in nearby sedge meadows without purple loosestrife, suggesting that these species have similar microsite requirements. Changes noted in some species over time probably resulted from changes in climatic and soil moisture conditions. The seed bank reflected the dominant herbaceous vegetation but lacked a few species having moderate frequencies in the established vegetation. Limited samples, unsuitable germination conditions in the greenhouse, autumn seed germination by some species and …

A Preliminary Survey Of The Fungi Of Sapa Spruce Bog, Alan D. Parker

Field Station Bulletins

An extensive study of the fungi of Sapa Spruce Bog was started during the summer of 1989. The site was divided into three collecting zones the swamp hardwoods surrounding the bog, the tamrac and black spruce zone, and the central, open sphagnum mat zone. Greatest species diversity has been observed in the swamp hardwoods; many fungi identified from this zone have also been recorded from the Field Station beech/maple woods (Parker, 1987 and 1988). Factors contributing to the greater diversity of fungi in this zone include the composition of leaf litter and humus, the larger amount of downed logs in …

A Discussion On Chaos, Anastasios A. Tsonis

Field Station Bulletins

In this paper I review some of the basis principles of the theory of dynamical systems. I introduce the reader to the definition of chaos and strange attractors and discuss their implications.

Wolf Population Survival In An Area Of High Road Density, L. David Mech

USGS Northern Prairie Wildlife Research Center

Wolf mortality in a high-road-density area of Minnesota exceeds that in an adjacent wilderness, and is primarily human-caused. The wolf population there is maintained primarily by ingress from the adjacent wilderness areas. A road density of 0.58 km/km² can be exceeded and the area still support wolves if it is adjacent to extensive roadless areas.

Specificity Of The Cardiac Response To Conspecific Vocalizations In Chimpanzees, Gary G. Berntson, Sarah T. Boysen

Sentience Collection

Heart rate measures were used to examine the functional response of young chimpanzees and orangutans to acoustic stimuli, including white noise and chimpanzee vocalizations (threat, stress, and alarm). The initial response of the animals to all stimuli was characterized by a prominent cardiac deceleration and an increase in heart period variability. The deceleratory responses persisted with repeated presentations of the noise, stress, and alarm stimuli. In contrast, the response of chimpanzees to the conspecific threat stimulus reverted over trials to a notable cardiac acceleration. This acceleratory response was not attributable to potential patterns of evoked somatic responses. The features of …

Zinc Distributions In Sediments, The Common Mussel, Mytilus Edulis (L.), The American Oyster, Crassostrea Virginica (Gmelin), And The Commensal Pea Crab, Pinnotheres Ostreum (Say), Cheol Mo, Bruce Neilson

Reports

Oysters and mussels of varying sizes and sediment samples were collected from oyster beds with different salinity regimes of three Virginian coastal plain rivers: Rappahannock River. James River. and Piankatank River. Zinc concentrations of 1) soft tissues. gut contents. and shells of the oysters. 2) soft tissues of the mussels. 3) pea crabs. and 4) sediment samples were measured with a flame atomic absorption (Flame AA) spectrophotometer. Particulate organic carbon and nitrogen concentrations ·of the sediments were measured with a carbon-nitrogen analyzer. The contribution of extraneous materials. such as gut contents. faeces. and pea crabs. to the variability in oyster …

Red Swamp Crayfish Ecology In Lake Mead, Suzanne E. Leavitt, Jennifer Stephens Haley, Mikell Hager, Donald H. Baepler, Nevada Department Of Wildlife

Publications (WR)

Red swamp crayfish (Procambarus clarkii) were trapped in Flamingo Wash, an urban wash of Las Vegas, during four periods of 1988. Life history and reproductive success were determined. The trapped crayfish were marked and released into a study cove in Lake Mead as part of an experimental stocking program. Retrap data from the study cove were used to determine life history, habitat preferences, and movement patterns of the stocked crayfish. In addition, a literature search was done on red swamp crayfish ecology, including food preferences, life history, habitat preferences and fish predation.

1988 Christmas Count

Nebraska Bird Review

One hundred ten species were reported on the 1988 Christmas Counts, and two were seen in the count circles during the count week, but not recorded on any count. And there were eight "species" reported, some of which might have added to the count if they could have been identified. Last year the count, from the same locations, was 114 species, and one species seen during the period but not included on any count. The total individual count this year was 505,823; it was 408,096 last year. DeSoto NWR had a total count of 331,124 this year, compared to 77,842 …

1988 (Thirty-First) Fall Occurrence Report

Nebraska Bird Review

1988 (THIRTY-FIRST) FALL OCCURRENCE REPORT

Two hundred eight-two species were reported from fourteen "full time" locations. plus fourteen "spot check" locations, which included forty-nine counties. The figures for 1987 were 296. plus two possibilities. from fourteen "full time' and four "soot check" locations; 1986 293 and one possibility from thirteen "full time" and four "spot check" locations; and 1985 283 and one possibility from eleven "full time" and eight "spot check" locations.

The information is presented in a rough west (left) to east (right) order, with locations of about the same latitude listed with the northernmost first. Two dates indicate …

Nebraska Bird Review- Whole Issue March 1989

Nebraska Bird Review

TABLE OF CONTENTS

1988 Treasurer's Report ..................2
1988 Christmas Count..........................3
1988 (Thirty-first) Fall Occurrence Report..........9
Correction to 1988 Spring Occurrence Report............30
Williamson's Sapsucker in Omaha..................30
Notes.........................30

Williamson's Sapsucker In Omaha, Barbara L. Wilson

Nebraska Bird Review

On 13 May 1988 Dr. J. J. Baumel discovered a male Williamson's Sapsucker (Sphyrapicus thyroideus) lying dead below an elevated, glassed-in walkway between buildings on Creighton University's campus in downtown Omaha, Nebraska. The bird, beautiful in breeding plumage, was largely black from its awl-shaped bill to its stiff, acuminate central tail feathers. There was a white line beginning at the base of the lower mandible and extending over the face, while another ran back from the eye. The white wing coverts formed a broad white line on the wing. Also, there were white tips on the tertials, while …

Numerical Competence In A Chimpanzee (Pan Troglodytes), Sarah T. Boysen, Gary G. Berntson

Sentience Collection

A chimpanzee (Pan troglodytes), trained to count foods and objects by using Arabic numbers, demonstrated the ability to sum arrays of 0-4 food items placed in 2 of 3 possible sites. To address representational use of numbers, we next baited sites with Arabic numbers as stimuli. In both cases performance was significantly above chance from the first sessions, which suggests that without explicit training in combining arrays, the animal was able to select the correct arithmetic sum for arrays of foods or Arabic numbers under novel test conditions. These findings demonstrate that counting strategies and the representational use of numbers …

1988 Treasurer's Report

Nebraska Bird Review

1988 TREASURER'S REPORT

Correction To 1988 Spring Occurrence Report

Nebraska Bird Review

CORRECTION TO 1988 SPRING OCCURRENCE REPORT

The following corrections should be made in the Lancaster Co. column of the 1988 Spring Occurrence Report: Ring-billed Gull to W-S, Lark Bunting to Je 1 - Je 30.

Notes-Nebraska Bird Review March 1989

Nebraska Bird Review

KESTREL NEST BOX RESULTS. In 1986 the Game and Parks Commission obtained the consent of the Department of Roads to install nest boxes, intended for Kestrels, on the back of large highway signs on 1-80 between Lincoln and Omaha. Kestrels nested in old woodpecker holes, but trees, particularly dead trees, have been cut down, and the introductions of the European Starling increased the competition for such cavity nest holes. Since the highway right-of-way is a good hunting area for the Kestrels, it is a good place for nest boxes intended for their use. The Sierra Club worked with the Commission …

Laboratory And Field Studies Of Oyster Larvae Settlement On Three Substrates, Oyster Shell, Tire Chips, And Expanded Shale, And The Relative Mobility Of The Three Substrates, Mary C. Gibbons, Roger L. Mann, L. D. Wright

Reports

No abstract provided.

Variance Heterogeneity In Direct And Maternal Weight Traits By Sex And Percent Purebred For Simmental-Sired Calves, D. J. Garrick, E. J. Pollak, R. L. Quaas, L. Dale Van Vleck

Department of Animal Science: Faculty Publications

Phenotypic variances for linear and transformed weight traits were partitioned into residual, direct genetic (D) and maternal genetic (M) components using REML techniques with American Simmental Association data from calves born 1969 to 1985. Variance components were estimated separately from subclasses defined by sex (male, female) and percent Simmental (50, >75). The model included fixed effects of contemporary group and age-of-dam (5 yr). Additive relationships among sires and maternal grandsires were included. Results follow for a sire-maternal grandsire model for ≥ 75% Simmental untransformed data based on 143,280 male and 281,805 female weaning weights (WW) representing 4,763 and 7,406 sires, …

A Report On Marron Fishing In Western Australia., Doug Wenn

Fisheries management papers

The marroning experience is one enjoyed by many Western Australians. A rapid increase in fishing effort evidenced by the increase in number of recreational fishing licences issued, combined with low rainfall in the last few years resulted in a dramatic reduction of marron catch rates during 1986/87. In view of the state of marron stocks, the Minister for Fisheries considered it appropriate to close the 1987/88 marron season.