Life Sciences Commons^™

The Prairie Naturalist Volume 16, No. 4. December 1984

The Prairie Naturalist

Paul B. Kannowski, Editor

Nikki R. Seabloom, Assistant Editor

Douglas H. Johnson, Book Review Editor

TABLE OF CONTENTS

VEGETATION PATTERNS IN RELATION TO TOPOGRAPHY AND EDAPHIC VARIATIONS IN NEBRASKA SAND HILLS PRAIRIE ▪ P. W. Barnes, A. T. Harrison and S. P. Heinisch

GREAT BLUE HERON NESTING BIOLOGY ON THE JAMES RIVER IN SOUTH DAKOTA ▪ E. M. Dowd and L. D. Flake

OVENBIRDS AT THE PERIPHERY OF THEIR RANGE IN WESTERN NORTH DAKOTA ▪ R. B. Hopkins

BREEDING BIRD COMMUNITY COLONIZATION OF SOWN STANDS OF NATIVE GRASSES IN NORTH DAKOTA ▪ K. F. Higgins, T. W. Arnold and R. …

Benthic Diatom Community Dynamics In The Colorado River: Interactive Effects Of Periodic Dessication And Current Regime, Christopher Gerard Peterson

Publications (WR)

The response to periodic desiccation of periphyton communities developed in eddy environments or in areas exposed to variable, direct current was examined. Algal communities were incubated on clay tiles for between 2 and 12 weeks in the Colorado River, directly below Hoover Dam from October, 1983 - January, 1984. Mean daily discharge from the dam decreased over this period. To assess the influence of these discharge changes on community dynamics, samples collected over the first 12 weeks of the investigation were compared to samples of the same age collected over the final 8 weeks.

The small diatom taxon Achnahthes spp …

Vegetation Patterns In Relation To Topography And Edaphic Variation Nebraska Sandhills Prairie, P. W. Barnes, A. T. Harrison, S. P. Heinisch

School of Biological Sciences: Faculty Publications

Detailed studies on soil texture and moisture retention indicate a close association between edaphic features and the distribution and composition of plant communities along topographic gradients at Arapaho Prairie, a typical, semi-arid Nebraska Sandhills prairie. The vegetation characteristics of three major habitat types (ridge, slope, and valley) and several minor subtypes (swale, stable ridge, and eroding ridge) are recognized and quantitatively described. Texture analysis indicates that the soils of dune slopes and ridges are largely azonal and are very coarse with substantially lower fine fractions (silt-clay ~ 13-15%) than soils of the more lowland swale and valley sites where surfact …

Habitat Use By Black Bears In Relation To Forest Management In Pisgah National Forest, North Carolina, Allan Joseph Brody

Masters Theses

A total of 1310 locations was obtained on 18 radio collared black bears (Ursus americanus) in Pisgah National Forrest, North Carolina, during 1982 and 1983. Male home ranges averaged 3205 ha in summer and 6931 ha in fall. Female home ranges averaged 872 hectares in summer and 1712 hectares in fall. Nine of the collared animals were killed by hunters during the study, 4 of these illegally.

Bear habitat use was analyzed in relation to timber management parameters available in the U. S. Forrest Service "Continuous Inventory of Stand Condition" and other parameters derived from stand and topographic maps. Chi-square …

A Proposal To Fertilize The Overton Arm And Gregg Basin Areas Of Lake Mead, Larry J. Paulson

Publications (WR)

Several limnological studies have been conducted in Lake Mead during the past decade. The recent studies clearly show that most of Lake Mead is deficient in nutrients, especially phosphorus, and very low in productivity. The reservoir-wide average total phosphorus concentration for 1981 - 1982 was only 9 mg/m³. This is below levels found In most oligotrophic lakes and reservoirs. Algal biomass, as measured by chlorophyll-a, averaged only 1.5 mg/m³. That also places Lake Mead in the oligotrophic range. Transparency, as measured by a Secchi disc, averaged 9-5 m in Lake Mead during 1981-1982. That far exceeds …

Life History Patterns And The Comparative Social Ecology Of Carnivores, Marc Bekoff, Thomas J. Daniels, John L. Gittleman

Ethology Collection

No abstract provided.

High Phytoplankton Growth And Production Rates In Oligotrophic Hawaiian Coastal Waters, E. A. Laws, Dg Redalje, Larry W. Haas, P. K. Bienfang, Rw Eppley, W. G. Harrison, David Karl, J. Marra

VIMS Articles

Plankton biomass, material fluxes, e.g. 14C uptake, and specific growth rates are related quantities. In the course of comparing various methods of measuring these properties in September 1982 off Oahu, Hawaii, we found specific growth rates of 1–2·d−1. Such rates approach the maximum expected values observed in laboratory cultures.

Demographic Analysis And Microhabitat Relationships Of A Small Mammal Community In Clearings Of The Great Dismal Swamp, Jean Ferguson Stankavich

Biological Sciences Theses & Dissertations

Small mammals were trapped for 14 months on two grids located within a powerline right-of-way in the Great Dismal Swamp National Wildlife Refuge. During 12,354 trap nights, individuals of 10 different species were captured. They included, from highest to lowest density, Reithrodontomys humulis, Ochrotomys nuttalli, Peromyscus leucopus, Blarina brevicauda, Synaptomys cooperi, Microtus pennsylvanicus, Microtus pinetorum, Sigmodon hispidus, Mus musculus and Oryzomys palustris. The demography (densities, reproduction, home range and dispersal) of each species was analyzed when possible. Most of the species were present in relatively low densities, with a number being captured only during the latter months of the study. …

Catalog Of The Recent Scandentia And Primates In The Carnegie Museum Of Natural History, Suzanne B. Mclaren, Duane A. Schlitter, Hugh H. Genoways

University of Nebraska State Museum: Mammalogy Papers

The Section of Mammals, Carnegie Museum of Natural History, houses six specimens of Recent tree shrews and 611 specimens of Recent primates. The only family in the Order Scandentia is Tupaiidae. Primate families represented are Lemuridae, Lorisidae, Cebidae, Callitrichidae, Cercopithecidae, Pongidae, and Hominidae. For each specimen the following data are recorded: locality; date collected; catalog number; sex; age; nature of specimen; condition of specimen and comments. The latter category gives information on the condition of the skin and skeletal material, and gives information on the availability of the specimen.

The Prairie Naturalist Volume 16, No. 3. September 1984

The Prairie Naturalist

Paul B. Kannowski, Editor

Nikki R. Seabloom, Assistant Editor

Douglas H. Johnson, Book Review Editor

TABLE OF CONTENTS

GRASSLAND HABITAT MANAGEMENT USING PRESCRIBED BURNING IN WIND CAVE NATIONAL PARK, SOUTH DAKOTA ▪ J. D. Forde, N. F. Sloan and D. A. Shown

BODY TEMPERATURES AND BEHAVIORAL ACTIVITIES OF HIBERNATING

PRAIRIE RATTLESNAKES, Crotalus viridis, IN ARTIFICIAL DENS ▪ K. R. Marion and O. J. Sexton

NEW VASCULAR PLANT RECORDS FOR NORTH DAKOTA ▪ D. T. Disrud, W. T. Barker and R. H. Warner

CHRISTMAS BIRD COUNTS FOR NORTH DAKOTA - 1983 ▪ R. N. Randall

COMPARISON OF PLANKTON POPULATIONS IN THREE …

An Ecological Investigation Of Native Grassland In Southern Lower Michigan, Kim Alan Chapman

Masters Theses

Floristic and soil data from 50 relicts and other sources were analyzed using polar ordination of species presence. Historical and early scientific accounts were interpreted from the results.

The relicts ranged from wet to dry, on either sandy or loamy soil. Alkaline lakeplain sites added a third dimension of variability. Most upland remnants were interpreted as fragments of former savanna.

Floristic composition and distribution of the remnants were determined by these factors:

1. Edaphic: away from the Prairie Peninsula, only very dry or very wet sites support prairie vegetation;

2. Phytogeographic: the farther from the Prairie Peninsula, the fewer characteristics …

Fuel Levels In Forests Of The Great Smoky Mountains National Park, Niki Stephanie Nichols

Masters Theses

Forest fuel levels in western portions of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park were measured to determine community and site relationships. Data was collected from 93 permanent plots established in earlier studies of Uplands Field Research Laboratory, National Park Service. Dead and downed fuel volume was sampled using the planar intersect method. Other fuel variables included dead stem basal area and organic layer components. Community and site variables included elevation, topography, slope, aspect, site protection, distance from plot to nearest water, distance from plot to nearest ridgetop, disturbance history, live basal area, and community types.

Nine forest types were identified …

Results Of The Alcoa Foundation-Suriname Expeditions. Ix. Bats Of The Genus Tonatia (Mammalia: Chiroptera) In Suriname, Hugh H. Genoways, Stephen L. Williams

University of Nebraska State Museum: Mammalogy Papers

Five species of Tonatia (bidens, brasilense, carrikeri, schulzi, and silvicola) are known to occur in Suriname. Tonatia bidens and silvicola are the largest in overall size (forearm length over 50 mm and greatest length of skull over 27.0 mm). However, T. bidens has a broader postorbital region (5.0 mm or more) and narrower mastoid region (less than 13.0 mm). The lower incisors of T. bidens are also noticeably broader than those of T. silvicola. These two species were found throughout most of the forested areas of Suriname. T. bidens displayed no secondary sexual …

Determinants Of Variation In Avian Mobbing Behavior, Charles Ray Chandler Jr.

Biological Sciences Theses & Dissertations

Using three combinations of two experimental stimuli, I initiated mobbing behavior in various species of birds. The objectives of this research were to test the effects of stimuli on mobbing, the predictions of the hypothesis that mobbing functions to drive a predator away, and the effect of other species and individuals on the mobbing behavior of a bird. Mobbing experiments were conducted in a variety of habitats and locations from January 1983 through February 1984.

Only 6.5% of all trials with the mount-only stimulus were successful in attracting birds. Tape-only and mount-and-tape stimuli were equally effective in attracting birds, but …

Life History Aspects Of Reithrodontomys Humulis In Southeastern Virginia, Michelle Cawthorn Chandler

Biological Sciences Theses & Dissertations

Reithrodontomys humulis, the eastern harvest mouse, is a small cricetid rodent which is common in old field communities in the eastern U.S. A live-trapping study was conducted in Suffolk, Virginia from March 1983 through February 1984 in order to learn the details of its life history and the vegetational characteristics which best describe its microhabitat. Specifically, population densities, trap-revealed survival times, home ranges, plant species composition of the study area, and vegetational structure were examined. In order to trap as many Reithrodontomys as possible, special traps which excluded animals weighing over 20 g were constructed. Densities of harvest mice …

Activity Levels Of Arboreal Rodents Peromysus And Ochrotomys Evaluated With Nest Cans In Seasonally Flooded Forests, John W. Walke

Biological Sciences Theses & Dissertations

The diversity and density of small mammals in the Dismal Swamp are believed to be small. To test this, four 1.96 ha grids were established and operated in the Dismal Swamp National Wildlife Refuge, from September 1981 to November 1982. Number 10 metal cans covered with plastic lids were placed as nest boxes at 0.5 to 1.5 m height on trees. A 2.5 cm hole allowed access by arboreal rodents, to each nest can. The activity level of the two arboreal rodents, Peromyscus leucopus and Ochrotomys nuttalli, was evaluated by observing types of activity ranging from presence of mice to …

The Role Of Colonization Predation And Season In Determining Macroinvertebrate Community Structure In A Temperate Lake, Cheryl Lynn Frew

Biological Sciences Theses & Dissertations

Field experiments were conducted to examine the effects of distance from shore, vertebrate predation, and season on macroinvertebrate colonization dynamics in a temperate lake in Suffolk, VA. In a year-long colonization study, artificial plants, half of which were caged to exclude vertebrate predators, were deployed in patches at three distances from shore (2m, 15m, 50m). Artificial plant subsamples were removed at weekly intervals over 28 days during four seasons to monitor colonization by macroinvertebrates. Colonization of artificial plants occurred more quickly in the summer and spring than in fall and winter. The interactive effect of distance from shore and cage …

Aspects Of The Life History Of The Smoky Madtom, Noturus Baileyi Taylor, In Citico Creek, Gerald R. Dinkins

Masters Theses

A two-year study of certain aspects of the life history of the smoky madtom, Noturus baileyi Taylor, in Citico Creek was conducted from 1981 to 1983. This species was rheophilic in the summer and fall and a pool dweller during the winter and spring. Smoky madtoms occupied the undersides of palm-sized slabrocks to the exclusion of other species in both habitats. N. baileyi lives at least 2+ years and possibly 3+ years, with females attaining greater lengths than males. Individuals of both sexes generally matured at two years; however some one-year-old individuals showed adult characteristics. Nests were located under large, …

The Prairie Naturalist Volume 16, No. 2. June 1984

The Prairie Naturalist

Paul B. Kannowski, Editor

Nikki R. Sea bloom , Assistant Editor

Douglas H. Johnson, Book Review Editor

TABLE OF CONTENTS

AUTUMN WEIGHTS OF PLAINS SHARP-TAILED GROUSE IN MONTANA ▪ J. E. Swenson and R. L. Eng

VEGETATION PROFILE AND GRASSLAND BIRD RESPONSE TO SPRING BURNING ▪ G. E. Huber and A. A. Steuter

WETLAND PRESERVATION CONFLICTS IN NORTH DAKOTA: ECONOMIC INCENTIVES AND LANDOWNER ATTITUDES ▪ R. D. Saylor, R. A. Stromstad and M. E. Winger

COLLEMBOLA OF SOUTHWESTERN NORTH DAKOTA: SPECIES COMPOSITION AND HABITAT DISTRIBUTION ▪ B. L. Benner and P. B. Kannowski

NEW RECORDS OF EARTHWORMS FROM KANSAS (Oligochaeta: …

Seasonal And Spatial Heterogeneity In The Limnetic Zooplankton Community Of Lake Mead, Gene Robert Wilde

Publications (WR)

Zooplankton samples collected from throughout Lake Mead, in 1981-1982, demonstrate the presence of a statistically significant seasonal and spatial heterogeneity in zooplankton densities. Seasonally, the major zooplankton groups were most abundant in the spring and fall, coincident with maxima in chlorophyll-a concentrations. Successions among the various rotifers, cladocerans and copepods present in the reservoir were influenced by food availability, diapause, predation by planktivorous fish and, possibly, water temperatures.

Spatial heterogeneity in zooplankton densities was unrelated to water temperature, pH, conductivity and dissolved oxygen concentrations, but was related to the abundance of phytoplankton (chlorophyll-a concentrations) and fish. Statistical analyses indicate that …

The Role Of Nannoplankton In The Phytoplankton Dynamics Of Four Colorado River Reservoirs (Lakes Powell, Mead, Mohave, And Havasu), Jeffrey John Janik

Publications (WR)

Phytoplankton species composition and community size structure were studied in four warm-monomictic Colorado River reservoirs; lakes Powell, Mead, Mohave, and Havasu from March 1981 to February 1982. Sampling was done at approximately monthly intervals from several stations in each reservoir. The Utermohl technique was used to enumerate phytoplankton. The phytoplankton assemblage was divided into the following six size classes using microscopic techniques; netplankton (>64 um), and nannoplankton (>5, 5-11, 12-21, 22-44, and 45-64 um).

Total phytoplankton biomass and community size structure were different among these four reservoirs with considerable spatial and temporal variation present. Average reservoir-wide areal weighted …

Plant Gas Exchange Of Two Bunchgrasses In Relation To Herbivory Tolerance, Robert S. Nowak

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The occurrence of compensatory photosynthesis was examined in the field during the spring for all foliage elements on two Agropyron bunchgrass species that differ in their evolutionary history of grazing pressure. Compensatory photosynthesis did occur in many individual foliage elements during at least part of their ontogeny. For both species, compensatory photosynthesis was related primarily to delayed leaf senescence and increased soluble protein concentrations, but not to an improvement in the water status of clipped plants. Photosynthetic water use efficiency and photosynthetic rates per unit soluble protein of foliage on partially defoliated plants were not increased following the clipping treatments. …

Seed Reserves In Stockpiled Topsoil On A Coal Mine Near Kemmerer, Wyoming, Cynthia K. Johnson

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The objectives of this study were to determine how seed reserves varied with depth in topsoil stockpiles and to evaluate the effect of length of time of storage on the number of viable seeds and number of species of seeds.

Soil samples were taken from five topsoil piles representing zero to three years of storage on the Elkol-Sorenson mine near Kemmerer in southwestern Wyoming. Seeds were extracted using flotation/separation methods and were tested for viability using 2,3,5-triphenyl tetrazolium chloride solution. Data were analyzed using nonparametric statistical tests.

Overall density of seeds in topsoil piles was low. No relationship was found …

Initial Assessment Of The Introduction Of Spottail Shiner (Notropis Hudsonius) And Delta Smelt (Hypomesus Transpacificus) Into Willard Bay Reservoir, Utah., Thomas E. Sommerfeldt

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Spottail shiner (Notropis hudsonius) and delta smelt (Hypomesus transpacificus) were introduced into Willard Reservoir to improve the forage base for walleye (Stizostedion vitreum vitreum) and black crappie (Pomoxis nigromaculatus). Spottail shiners were stocked in early spring in 1981, 1982, and 1983. Hauling mortality was generally great and an estimated 34,500 live fish were stocked in the 3-year period. Spottail shiner reproduction occurred each year of stocking. Delta smelt were introduced in 1982 with the stocking of 15,000 adult spawning fish. Stocking survival was estimated at 99%. Freshly spawned eggs were also obtained …

Effects Of Clearcutting On Forage Production, Quality And Decomposition In The Caatinga Woodland Of Northeast Brazil: Implications To Goat And Sheep Nutrition, Robert D. Kirmse

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Clearing of trees from the so-called caatinga woodland that characterizes the vegetation of the semi-arid region of northeast Brazil offers possibilities for increasing forage production. This research analyzed the first-year effects of clearing caatinga on dry season forage for goats and sheep. In addition, factors affecting litter decomposition on cleared and uncleared caatinga were assessed to evaluate the viability of deferring grazing of forages during the wet season for use later in the dry season.

Removing the trees resulted in a sixfold increase in production of herbaceous vegetation, however, 88 percent of the increased yield on the cleared areas was …

Social Play Behavior, Marc Bekoff

Ethology Collection

Recent studies clearly indicate that animal play is an important behavioral phenotype, and that detailed analyses of the phenomenon are useful for furthering our understanding of the evolution of social behavior and the interaction of phylogeny, ecology, and behavioral development. This article is concerned mainly with evolutionary, ecological, and developmental aspects of social play behavior in mammals.

Inland Seawalls In Southwestern- Michigan: A Limnological Approach, Jeroen Wagendorp

Masters Theses

This research retrospectively evaluates the development of inland lake seawalls in southwestern Michigan. The objective was to look at physically induced phenomena and human induced phenomena, to determine which was most responsible for the need, and large numbers of inland lake seawalls in this region. In addition, the role of the Department of Natural Resources in inland lake seawall development was evaluated.

The findings, obtained through questionnaires, were compared to data from seawalls installed along the eastern shore of Lake Michigan, and showed that man's activity in the littoral zone was the fundamental rationale behind the installation on inland lake …

Phytoplankton Ecology And Dynamics In The James River Estuary Virginia, U. S. A., Margaret J. Filardo

OES Theses and Dissertations

Autotrophic biomass and productivity as well as nutrient distributions and phytoplankton cell populations in the James River estuary, Virginia, from Newport News Shipyard to the 0 o/oo isohaline, were sampled on a monthly basis from August of 1981 to December of 1982. Particular emphasis was placed on the very low salinity region (defined as the location where surface salinity measured between 0.0 and 0.75 o/oo based on conductivity) in order to determine the fate of fresh water phytoplankters upon being advected into the estuary because of their suspected role in the biogeochemical cycling that occurs there.

Both chlorophyll a and …

A Molecular Phylogeny Of The Grunts (Perciformes: Haemulidae) Inferred From Nuclear Rag1 Gene Sequences, Millicent D. Sanciangco

Biological Sciences Theses & Dissertations

Species and genera of Haemulidae have undergone various taxonomic revisions, however, there is no study that infers the phylogeny of the haemulid genera using morphological or molecular data. The purpose of this study was to use approximately 1386 base pairs of the nuclear Recombination Activation Gene-I (RAG1) from 35 haemulid species representing 13 genera, one species of the closely related Inermiidae, and two species of the outgroup Sparidae to infer an intrafamilial phylogeny of Haemulidae. This analysis is corroborated using approximately 650 base pairs of the mitochondrial Cytochrome Oxidase I (COI) gene and RAG I-COI combined gene analyses of27 haemulids, …

Growth, Yield, And Enfor, Imre Bella

Aspen Bibliography

Increasing public awareness about the state of forestry and concerns about present and future wood supplies are bringing about an intensification of forest management across the country.