Animal Sciences Commons^™

A Systematic Review Of The Olive-Backed Pocket Mouse, Perognathus Fasciatus (Rodentia, Heteromyidae), Daniel F. Williams, Hugh H. Genoways

University of Nebraska State Museum: Mammalogy Papers

Geographic variation in Perognathus fasciatus Wied and the identities of specimens of P. fasciatus and P. flavescens from areas of potential sympatry were investigated. Populations of P. fasciatus from the northern Great Plains, in areas with the highest amounts of precipitation, were the darkest colored and had proportionately the smallest auditory bullae. Size varied clinally in the Great Plains, with larger mice being found in the cooler, northern latitudes. Populations from the arid intermountain basins of Colorado, Utah, and Wyoming were largest in size, had the longest tails, were the palest in color, and had the largest bullae. Two races …

Wolf Howling And Its Role In Territory Maintenance, Fred H. Harrington, L. David Mech

United States Geological Survey, Northern Prairie Wildlife Research Center: Publications

The wolf (Canis lupus) is a wide-ranging social carnivore with a complex spatial organization (MECH, 1972; 1973). The precise manner in which this organization is maintained is unknown, but territory advertisement using olfactory and acoustic modes seems to be involved.

The acoustic mode includes primarily howling. Within a wolf pack, howling may be useful to reassemble separated members (MECH, 1966; THEBERGE & FALLS, 1967), and may communicate information on individual identity, location, and other behavioral and environmental contingencies (THEBERGE & FALLS, 1967). Between packs, however, howling may serve to advertise territory, communicating the locations of packs and thus …

Niobrara-Missouri River Fishery Investigations, Larry W. Hesse, Gene Zeurlein, Roger Vancil, Leonard Koziol, Brad Newcomb, Leigh Ann Retelsdorf

Nebraska Game and Parks Commission: Publications

The Niobrara River heads in the table lands of eastern Wyoming and flows 786 kilometers (km) eastward across Nebraska joining the Missouri River near the town of Niobrara, Nebraska. The Niobrara is the largest Missouri River tributary between the last two mainstem impoundments (Lake Francis Case and Lewis and Clark Lake). Fish movement up the Niobrara is prevented by Nebraska Public Power District's (NPPD's) Spencer Hydroelectric Dam, 63.3 km upstream from the river mouth. The lower reach of the river is turbid and carries a considerable load of sand, silt, and organic debris into the Missouri River. The mean annual …

Nebraska Rainbow Trout, Nebraska Game And Parks, G. Zeurlein, L. Hesse, J. Seeb, L. Wishard

Nebraska Game and Parks Commission: Publications

Chapter 1 Lethal and Preferred Temperatures of Lake McConaughy Rainbow Trout Versus Domestic Strain Rainbow Trout By R. Vancil, G. Zuerlein and L. Hesse

Chapter 2 A Nitrifying Filter-Cooling Condenser System for Total Water Re-use in Cold-Water Fish Holding or Rearing Applications By L. Hesse, G. Zuerlein and R. Vancil

Chapter 3 Biochemical Genetic Analysis of Two Strains of Nebraska Rainbow Trout By J. Seeb and L. Wishard

The self-sustaining rainbow trout population living in Lake Mcconaughy and the North Platte River tributaries is unique to the Great Plains region. The population spends most of its adult life in the …

Status Of The Endangered Bats, Myotis Sodalis, M. Grisescens, And Plecotus Townsendii Ingens, In Arkansas, Michael J. Harvey, John J. Cassidy, Gary G. O'Hagan

Journal of the Arkansas Academy of Science

No abstract provided.

The Comparative Ecology Of Two Populations Of The Troglobitic Isopod Crustacean Lirceus Usdagalun (Asellidae), James Alexander Estes

Biological Sciences Theses & Dissertations

Aquatic communities of two caves in Lee Co., Virginia, were compared, and an examination was made of the life history phenomena of the troglobitic isopod Lirceus usdagalun. Measurements of physical and biological parameters were made in Thompson Cedar Cave and Gallohan Cave No. l. A contagious distribution was exhibited by populations of L. usdagalun in both caves and also by the population of another troglobitic isopod, Caecidotea recurvata, in Gallohan Cave No. 1. This distribution was attributed to aggregations of individuals which were considered to occur in areas of preference or optimal habitat patches. Lirceus usdagalun exhibited a …

Revision Of The Antillean Bats Of The Genus Brachyphylla (Mammalia: Phyllostomatidae), Pierre Swanepoel, Hugh H. Genoways

University of Nebraska State Museum: Mammalogy Papers

Nongeographic and geographic variation have been analyzed in the genus Brachyphylla. which belongs to the Antillean endemic subfamily Phyllonycterinae of the family Phylloslomatidae. Males were found to be generally larger than females: therefore, the sexes were analyzed separately for geographic variation. External measurements except length of forearm were found to displaya high degree of individual variation. They were not used in subsequent analyses. Of cranial measurements, greatest length of skull and condylobasal length showed the least individual variation, whereas palatal length, postorbital breadth (in samples from west of the Mona Passage only), and rostral width at canines showed relatively …

Review Of The Desert Pocket Gopher, Geomys Arenarius (Mammalia: Rodentia), Stephen L. Williams, Hugh H. Genoways

University of Nebraska State Museum: Mammalogy Papers

The desert pocket gopher (Geomys arenarius), which occupies a restricted geographic range in Texas, New Mexico, and Chihuahua, was examined for morphological variation. Univariate and multivariate analyses were used to determine age, sexual, individual, and geographic variation. Significant differences were found among different age classes and between sexes. Males displayed higher individual variation than females and external measurements were more variable than cranial measurements. Two subspecies--G. a. arenarius and G. a. brevirostris--were recognized after analyses of geographic variation.

Bats Are Beautiful, Hugh H. Genoways, Robert J. Baker

University of Nebraska State Museum: Mammalogy Papers

The thought that "Bats are Beautiful" may bring a smile to your face as you think of these ugly little creatures hanging from the ceilings of haunted houses and flying around deserted bell towers at midnight. You may also remember old wives tales such as "all bats have rabies" or "bats try to fly into women's hair." None of these things is completely true, and some of the tales have no basis in fact whatsoever.

Actually, the 875 species of bats form a unique Order of mammals (those animals possessing hair at least somewhere on their bodies), since they are …

The Fall And Winter Food Habits Of The Black Bear (Ursus Americanus) In The Great Dismal Swamp Of Virginia, Francis Leonard Daniel

Biological Sciences Theses & Dissertations

A study was conducted on the food habits of the black bear (Ursus americanus) in the Great Dismal Swamp of Virginia. A total of four stomachs and 42 scats were analyzed. Four samples were collected from September and October of 1975, and the remainder of the samples were collected from September 1976 to February 1977. The study was conducted to obtain information vital to the management of this species in the Great Dismal Swamp. Vitis spp. was the primary food item during the fall comprising 43% of the total diet, followed by fruits of Diospyros virginiana and Asimina triloba, each …

A Mid-Continent Irruption Of Canada Lynx, 1962-63, Harvey L. Gunderson

University of Nebraska State Museum: Mammalogy Papers

There was a mid-continent irruption of the Canada lynx (Felis lynx) population and subsequent extensive movement into non-lynx habitats during the years 1962-1963. Lynx were found in the prairie provinces of Canada and the prairie areas of Minnesota, and North and South Dakota. They were also found in urban areas such as Minneapolis and St. Paul, Minnesota: Winnipeg, Manitoba: and Calgary, Saskatchewan, Canada. Causes for the irruption remain unknown but speculations include primarily a change in snowshoe hare population, disease, extensive forest fires and extensive spraying. Unusual behavior seemed to be most often reflected by a lack of …

Experiments In Attempted Interspecific And Interpopulational Hybridzation Of Grass Shrimp Of The Genus Palaemonetes (Caridea Palaemonidae), Mark Andrew Boston

OES Theses and Dissertations

The present study investigates the interfertility of Palaemonetes populations, Interspecific crosses were attempted between representatives of sympatric :populations of P. pugio, P. vulgaris, and P. intermedius, Intraspecific crosses were undertaken between geographically separated :populations of P. pugio. Laboratory conditions of 25°c, 25°/oo, and 14.5 hour photoperiod per day were maintained for all breeding attempts, Under these conditions interspecific hybridization of Palaemonetes pugio and P. vulgaris was not feasible. P. intermedius could not be hybridized with P. pugio and P. vulgaris. At 40 days of age P. pugio juveniles were significantly larger than P. vulgaris juveniles of …

Bats From Southern Haiti, David Klingener, Hugh H. Genoways, Robert J. Baker

University of Nebraska State Museum: Mammalogy Papers

A collection of 450 specimens of bats from the Departement du Sud, Haiti, is described. Fifteen of the 17 species previously recorded from Hispaniola are represented, and Noctilio leporinus is reported from Haiti for the first time. Reproductive information for the months of January, May, June, August, and December is presented. Macrotus waterhousii is seasonally monoestrous, as on the mainland. The two species of stenodennines, Artibeus jamaicensis and Phyllops hailiensis, do not show bimodal seasonal polyestry as do stenodermines in Central America. Monophyllus redmani and the phyllonycterines may be seasonally monoestrous. Differences in reproductive biology between Haitian bats and …

Relating Wolf Scat Content To Prey Consumed, Theodore J. Floyd, L. David Mech, Peter A. Jordan

United States Geological Survey, Northern Prairie Wildlife Research Center: Publications

In 9 trials, captive wolves (Canis lupus) were fed prey varying in size from snowshoe (Lepus americanus) to adult deer (Odocoileus virginianus), and the resulting scats were counted. collectible scats were distinguished from liquid, noncollectible stools. In collectible scats, the small prey occurred in greater proportion relative to the prey's weight, and in lesser proportion to the prey's numbers, than did the remains of larger prey. A regression equation with an excellent the data (r² = 0.97) was derived to estimate the weight of prey eaten per collectible scat for With this information …

Zoogeography Of Antillean Bats, Robert J. Baker, Hugh H. Genoways

University of Nebraska State Museum: Mammalogy Papers

Analysis of the bat fauna of the Antillean Islands suggest that the most probable source of invasion of the islands by bats is by overwater dispersal. The bat fauna of ·the Greater Antilles is unique, a percentage of endemism on each island being over 50 percent except for the Virgin Islands which has 33 percent endemics.

The richest bat fauna in the Antilles is on Cuba (32 species) followed by Jamaica (23 species) then Hispaniola (17 species) and Puerto Rico (16 species). The number of species found on Cuba is probably the result of the island's proximity to Central and …

Productivity, Mortality, And Population Trends Of Wolves In Northeastern Minnesota, L. David Mech

United States Geological Survey, Northern Prairie Wildlife Research Center: Publications

Population parameters, mortality causes, and mechanisms of a population decline were studied in wolves (Canis lupus lycaon) from 1968 to 1976 in the Superior National Forest. The main method was aerial radio-tracking of 129 wolves and their packmates. Due to a decline in white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus), the wolf population decreased during most of the study. Average annual productivity varied from 1.5 to 3.3 pups per litter, and annual mortality rates from 7 to 65 percent. Malnutrition and intraspecific strife accounted equally for 58 percent of the mortality; human causes accounted for the remainder. As wolf …

Wolf-Pack Buffer Zones As Prey Reservoirs, L. David Mech

United States Geological Survey, Northern Prairie Wildlife Research Center: Publications

Abstract. In a declining herd, surviving deer inhabited overlapping edges of wolf- pack territories. There, wolves hunted little until desperate, in order to avoid fatal encounters with neighbors. Such encounters reduce wolf numbers and predation pressure and apparently allow surviving deer along territory edges to repopulate the area through dispersal of their prime, less vulnerable offspring into territory cores.

Comparison Of Coyote And Coyote × Dog Hybrid Food Habits In Southeastern Nebraska, Brian R. Mahan

University of Nebraska State Museum: Mammalogy Papers

The recent taxonomic study by Mahan et al. (1978) documented the occurrence of coyote (Canis latrans) x dog (c. familiaris) hybrids in Nebraska. This study, and those by Freeman (1976) in Oklahoma and Gipson et al. (1974) in Arkansas show coyote x dog hybrids, though not abundant, to be numerous in some areas. The purpose of the present study was to compare the stomach contents of coyote x dog hybrids collected by Mahan et al. (1978) from southeastern Nebraska with those of contemporary coyotes.

Stomachs of 12 coyote x dog hybrids and 16 coyotes collected November 1975 …

Continuation Of Spider Research In Arkansas: Ouachita Mountain Area, Peggy Rae Dorris, Fred L. Burnside Jr.

Journal of the Arkansas Academy of Science

No abstract provided.

Addendum To "Fishes Of The Fourche River" In North Central Arkansas, Steve M. Bounds

Journal of the Arkansas Academy of Science

No abstract provided.

Distribution, Habitat Notes, And The Status Of The Ironcolor Shiner, Notropis Chalybaeus Cope, In Arkansas, Henry W. Robison

Journal of the Arkansas Academy of Science

Field work throughout Arkansas since 1971 and a search of museum records have yielded 35 collections of the iron color shiner, Notropis chalybaeus Cope (Cyprinidae), not previously documented in Arkansas. From these data the iron color shiner is considered to be confined to the Coastal Plain physiographic province of Arkansas below the Fall Line, becoming most abundant in the Ouachita and Red River drainages of southern Arkansas. Notes on habitat preference, species associates, and current status of N. chalybaeus within Arkansas are presented.

Attraction Of Aerial Insects As A Fish Food Supplement, Andrew J. Merkowsky, Ambus J. Handcock, Scott H. Newton

Journal of the Arkansas Academy of Science

Insect populations over a 1.2 hectare southeast Arkansas livestock pond were sampled to consider the possibility of their use as a fish food supplement. A commercial insect attraction unit was suspended above the pond, and attracted insects were collected. Insect populations were sampled 3-4 nights each month, January-December, 1976. Insects collected were identified and analyses were performed to determine nutritional composition and pesticide content. Insect samples were variable, however, 62% of the insects identified were in the Order Diptera and 97% of these were in the Family Chironomidae. Nutritional analyses revealed insects were more than 60% crude protein. Pesticide analysis …

Cave Fauna Of Arkansas: Vertebrate Taxa, V. Rick Mcdaniel, James E. Gardner

Journal of the Arkansas Academy of Science

The second in a series of papers describing the fauna of Arkansas caves includes distributional records and ecological status (as a cavernicole) of 53 vertebrate taxa, including: 3 fishes, 7 salamanders, 6 frogs, 3 lizards, 7 snakes, one turtle, 3 birds, and 23 mammals. Several of the taxa occur on state lists of endangered species, but records accumulated during the past 5 years indicate the need for a reevaluation of the actual populational status of these organisms.

Growth, Mortality, Food Habits, And Fecundity Of The Buffalo River Smallmouth Bass, Raj V. Kilambi, Walter R. Robison, James C. Adams

Journal of the Arkansas Academy of Science

Total length-scale radius, and length-weight relationships were determined for smallmouth bass from the Buffalo River. The back calculated lengths were used in analyzing the age-length data by the Bertalanffy growth formula. Asymptotic length and weight were estimated as 58.3 cm and 4.6 lbs, respectively. Annual mortality of 36 percent was estimated by the catch curve method. Insects (54%), fishes (16%), and crayfish (14%) were the abundant food organisms by frequency of occurrence; while fishes (64%) and crayfish (29%) were the dominant food items by the gravimetric method. Based on the gonosomatic indices and frequency distribution of ovum diameter measurements, smallmouth …

Fishes Of The Eleven Point River Within Arkansas, Michael B. Johnson, John K. Beadles

Journal of the Arkansas Academy of Science

A survey of the fishes of the Eleven Point River and its tributaries was made between 31 January 1976 and 13 February 1977. Sixty-three collections, literature records and personal communications revealed 90 species distributed among 19 families. This study revealed 31 species previously not reported for this river system. The Eleven Point River is a clear, predominantly springfed Ozark stream which is located in western Randolph County. From the Arkansas-Missouri state line, the Eleven Point River flows south for approximately 64 km before joining the Spring River. Terrain in the Arkansas portion of this river is rugged as the river …

Fishes Of Crowley's Ridge In Arkansas, Robert F. Fulmer, George L. Harp

Journal of the Arkansas Academy of Science

Crowley's Ridge is one of the six natural geographic divisions of Arkansas which rises out of the Mississippi embayment as a relatively steep, uncultivated loessial mass. The ridge is drained by a network of headwater streams which are relatively clear with alkaline pH values and uniformly low alkalinity values. Carbon dioxide values were moderate and oxygen values were adequate. The fish species collected were basically headwater in composition. Isolated groups of characteristically upland species indicate that environmental quality of adjacent deltaic streams was better at one time.

Fishes Of Sylamore Creek, Stone County, Arkansas, George C. Frazier, John K. Beadles

Journal of the Arkansas Academy of Science

A survey of the fishes of Sylamore Creek in northcentral Arkansas yielded a total of 15,041 specimens representing 44 species, including one hybrid, distributed among 11 families. The three most abundant fishes collected were: Notropis pilsbryi Fowler, Dionda nubila (Forbes), and Notropis telescopus (Cope), respectively. Two species, Campostoma anomalum pullum (Agassiz), and N. pilsbryi, were collected at every station. Sylamore Creek is a clear predominantely spring-fed stream that originate in the Ozark Mountains of northcentral Arkansas and empties into the White River 72.3 km above Bates vilie. Sylamore Creek is composed of two branches, North and South Sylamore, which comprise …

Fishes Of Randolph County, Arkansas, Steve M. Bounds, John K. Beadles, Billy M. Johnson

Journal of the Arkansas Academy of Science

A survey of the fishes of Randolph County in northcentral Arkansas was made between June 1973 and March 1977. Field collections, literature records, and museum specimens revealed the ichthyofauna of Randolph County to be composed of 128 species distributed among 24 families. Cyprinidae was the largest family, being represented by 34 species while Percidae was represented by 24 species. Randolph County is composed of Ozark Uplands and Coastal Plain areas. All of the stream systems flow into the Black River system with the exception of Village Creek in the southeastern corner of the county which flows into White River. The …

Aspects Of The Ecology Of Fish And Commercial Crustaceans Of The Blackwood River Estuary, Western Australia, R.C. J. Lenanton

Fisheries Research Bulletins

Beach seine nets, set or mesh nets, otter trawls and plankton nets were used to sample fish and commercial crustaceans every two months over the period March 1974 to March 1975, and again in July 1975 at a number of stations throughout the Blackwood River estuary, Western Australia.

The Food Habits Of Ictalurus Natalis, Centrarchus Macropterus And Perca Flavescens In Lake Drummond In The Dismal Swamp Of Virginia, Steven C. Russell

Biological Sciences Theses & Dissertations

The food habits of yellow bullhead catfish (Ictalurus natalis), yellow perch (Perea flavescens), and fliers (Centrarchus macropterus) in Lake Drummond in the Dismal Swamp were examined. Seventy yellow bullheads (42 mm to 255 mm), 136 yellow perch (41 mm to 280 mm), and 110 fliers (81 mm to 140 mm), were collected with gill nets, traps, seins, and electro-fishing gear from June through November of 1975. Frequency of occurrence and volumentric data were used to evaluate the relative importance of food items. Spearman's rank correlation coef­ficient was determined from the data to test differences …