Animal Sciences Commons^™

Subscription And Organization Information [March 2008]

Nebraska Bird Review

The Nebraska Bird Review is published quarterly by the Nebraska Ornithologists' Union, Inc., as its official journal, and is sent to members not in arrears of dues. Annual subscription rates (on a calendar-year basis only): $15 in the United States, $18 in Canada, and $30 in all other countries, payable in advance. Single copies are $4 each, postpaid, in the United States, $5 in Canada, and $8 elsewhere. Send orders for back issues to Mary Lou Pritchard, NOU Librarian, c/o University of Nebraska State Museum, W-436 Nebraska Hall, Lincoln, NE 68588-0514.

Memberships in the NOU (on a calendar-year basis only): …

Nebraska Bird Review (March 2008) 76(1), Whole Issue

Nebraska Bird Review

Editor's Note ... 2

Winter Field Report, Dec. 2007-Feb. 2008 by W. Ross Silcock ... 2

2007-2008 Christmas Bird Counts in Nebraska ... 16

First Report of Ash-throated Flycatcher (Myiarchus cinerascens) Breeding in the Nebraska Panhandle Region by Wayne J. Mollhoff, Joseph Gubanyi, and Mark A. Brogie ... 32

[Photographs page: Least Bittern, Pomarine Jaeger, Wood Stork, and White-winged Dove] ... 38

First Nebraska Record for the Royal Tern (Sterna maxima) and a Review of Regional Records by Sarah E. Rehme, Thomas E. Labedz, Don and Janis Paseka ... 39

NOU Annual Treasurer's Report for 2007 …

Nebraska Ornithologists' Union Treasurer's Report, December 31, 2007

Nebraska Bird Review

One-page spreadsheet constituting the Nebraska Ornithologists' Union treasurer's report at year end (December 31) of 2007. The grand total is $56,601.74.

First Nebraska Record For The Royal Tern (Sterna Maxima) And A Review Of Regional Records, Sarah E. Rehme, Thomas E. Labedz, Janis Paseka

Nebraska Bird Review

On the afternoon of 8 Sept 2007, Don and Janis Paseka discovered a large tern on the causeway that separates Lake North from Lake Babcock, north of Columbus, Platte County, Nebraska. The causeway consists of a road next to Lake North and a low cement wall next to Lake Babcock. They observed the tern at approximately 1630 CDT standing on the low wall, on the west side of the causeway. The tern remained standing on the wall as they drove to within 15 feet and photographed it. The tern was standing with its wings drooping (Photo 1), and the fact …

First Report Of Ash-Throated Flycatcher (Myiarchus Cinerascens) Breeding In The Nebraska Panhandle Region, Wayne J. Mollhoff, Joseph Gubanyi, Mark A. Brogie

Nebraska Bird Review

This report presents evidence of the breeding of Ash-throated Flycatcher (Myiarchus cinerascens) in mixed conifer woodland in the Nebraska Panhandle Region, 160 miles north of its nearest known breeding area. In addition, it presents the first photographic evidence and the second accepted record by the Nebraska Ornithologists' Union Records Committee (NOURC) of the presence of Ash-throated Flycatcher in Nebraska.

On 28 June 2007 Wayne Mollhoff observed an adult Ash-throated Flycatcher while conducting a survey in Priority Block K409 in Kimball County, Nebraska, for the Nebraska Breeding Bird Atlas Project II. The bird was observed on private property in …

2007–2008 Christmas Bird Counts In Nebraska

Nebraska Bird Review

The 2007-08 Christmas Bird Count (CBC) period will be remembered for snow cover and cold temperatures. More counts than usual were postponed due to weather. The average high temperature on count day this year was 28°F and the low was 12°F, both of which are 5-10° colder than any count day average since 2000-01. Only three counts made it above freezing during the course of the day. Snow was also a problem, and although only two circles recorded precipitation on the day of the count, snow cover and ice from earlier storms resulted in stuck vehicles, arduous walking, and inaccessible …

[Photographs: Least Bittern, Pomarine Jaeger, Wood Stork, And White-Winged Dove]

Nebraska Bird Review

Least Bittern, North Lake Basin WMA, Seward County, 9 June 2007. Photo by Joseph Gubanyi.

Pomarine Jaeger, Lake McConaughy, Keith County, 17 September 2005. Photo by Stephen J. Dinsmore.

Wood Stork, west of Ashland, Saunders County, 2 August 2006. Photo by Joel Jorgensen.

White-winged Dove, Johnson farm, 7 miles NW of Wakefield, Dixon County, 15 June 2008. Photo by Jan Johnson.

Ecology Of The Missouri River: Missouri River Creel Survey, Bellevue Bridge To Camp Creek, 31 March Through 12 October 2007. Supplement I, Gerald Mestl

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

This report describes Missouri River activities and results related to a channelized Missouri River creel survey conducted from 29 March through 10 October 2003. This is the fourth of a planned annual creel survey to be conducted on alternating sections of the channelized Missouri River to measure changes in recreational fishing activity, especially those changes due to large scale habitat restoration efforts. Future reports will contain additional analyses of these data.

Anglers spent over 30,000 hours fishing the Missouri River from Camp Creek (rk 883.5) to the Kansas state line (rk 790.2) during the survey period. Effort peaked during the …

Hybrid Zones, Genetic Isolation, And Systematics Of Pocket Gophers (Genus Geomys) In Nebraska., Hugh H. Genoways, Meredith J. Hamilton, Darin M. Bell, Ryan R. Chambers, Robert T. Bradley

University of Nebraska State Museum: Mammalogy Papers

Pocket gophers of the genus Geomys are common inhabitants of many habitats throughout most of the state of Nebraska. Because the taxonomic history of Geomys has undergone numerous changes through the years, these pocket gophers have been the subjects of ongoing taxonomic and distributional studies and in more recent years genetic studies to understand relationships among populations. In order to gain deeper insight into the relationships among these taxa of Geomys, we intensively collected specimens from areas where chromosomal races were thought to form contact zones. Results from examination of genetic (chromosomes, mitochondrial cytochrome-b gene sequences, and nuclear interphotoreceptor …

Terrapene Ornata (Ornate Box Turtle) Predation On Cliff Swallows, Mary Bomberger Brown, Charles R. Brown

School of Natural Resources: Faculty Publications

During a 25-year study of Cliff Swallows (Petrochelidon pyrrhonota) in southwestern Nebraska, we observed Terrapene ornata prey, or attempt to prey, on swallows. On one occasion as large numbers of birds flushed and hit the net, the weight of the birds pulled the net down to ground level. One T. ornata, which was seen regularly at the colony, approached one adult Cliff Swallow that was very low in the net and killed it by biting and eating its head. After killing the bird, the turtle walked away carrying the head.

Obituary: Terry Lamon Yates, 1950-2007., Robert J. Baker, David J. Schmidly, Joseph A. Cook, Jorge Salazar-Bravo, Hugh H. Genoways

University of Nebraska State Museum: Mammalogy Papers

On December 11, 2007, the science of mammalogy lost one of its most valued and influential leaders. Terry Lamon Yates succumbed to complications of treatments for an aggressive form of brain cancer after a brief but courageous fight. He was born on March 17, 1950, in Mayfield, Kentucky, the older son of Ellen Wanda Byrd and William Hanley Yates. Terry’s only sibling was a brother, Johnny. He is survived by his wife Nancy Fennell Yates, his two sons, Brian Christopher and Michael Ryan, and daughter-in-law Laura Manchéno Macia.

Engineer Cantonment, Missouri Territory, 1819-1820: America's First Biodiversity Ineventory, Hugh H. Genoways, Brett C. Ratcliffe

Great Plains Research: A Journal of Natural and Social Sciences

It is our thesis that members of the Stephen Long Expedition of 1819-20 completed the first biodiversity inventory undertaken in the United States at their winter quarters, Engineer Cantonment, Missouri Territory, in the modern state of Nebraska. This accomplishment has been overlooked both by biologists and historians, but it should rank among the most significant accomplishments of the expedition. The results of this inventory allow us to evaluate the environmental, faunal, and floral changes along the Missouri River in the intervening nearly 190 years. The historical records form a visual image of a dynamic riverine system in which a highly …

A Simple Morphological Predictor Of Bite Force In Rodents, Patricia W. Freeman, Cliff A. Lemen

University of Nebraska State Museum: Mammalogy Papers

Bite force was quantified for 13 species of North American rodents using a piezo-resistive sensor. Most of the species measured (11) formed a tight relationship between body mass and bite force (log 10(bite force) = 0.43(log 10(body mass)) + 0.416; R² > 0.98). This high correlation exists despite the ecological (omnivores, grazers and more carnivorous) and taxonomic (Cricetidae, Heteromyidae, Sciuridae and Zapodidae) diversity of species. Two additional species, Geomys bursarius (Geomyidae) and a Sciurus niger (Sciuridae), bit much harder for their size. We found a simple index of strength based on two measurements of the incisor at the level of …

Speciation Within Bonneted Bats (Genus Eumops): The Complexity Of Morphological, Mitochondrial, And Nuclear Data Sets In Systematics, Molly M. Mcdonough, Loren K. Ammerman, Robert M. Timm, Hugh H. Genoways, Peter A. Larsen, Robert J. Baker

University of Nebraska State Museum: Mammalogy Papers

We phylogenetically analyze 705 base pairs of the cytochrome-b gene and 351 amplified fragment length polymorphism (AFLP) bands from populations of the karyotypically variable Wagner’s bonneted bat, Eumops glaucinus, and the Florida bonneted bat, Eumops floridanus (Chiroptera: Molossidae). Three karyotypes have been documented across the range of E. glaucinus, and we report that the karyotype from Cuba is morphologically similar to that from Jamaica. A 4th karyotype is present in specimens from western Ecuador. Three distinct lineages are present in both the cytochrome-b and AFLP trees. One lineage is restricted to western Ecuador and exhibits cytochrome-b …

Characterization Of A Contact Zone Between Two Subspecies Of The Big Brown Bat (Eptesicus Fuscus) In Nebraska, Justin D. Hoffman, Hugh H. Genoways

University of Nebraska State Museum: Mammalogy Papers

Two subspecies of the big brown bat (Eptesicus fuscus) are reported to occur in Nebraska. The eastern race, E. f. fuscus, is reportedly bigger and darker than its western counterpart E. f. pallidus. Where these 2 subspecies come in contact is the subject of debate. We used external, cranial, and colorimetric data to investigate geographic variation among populations of E. fuscus in Nebraska to determine the location of the zone of contact between E. f. fuscus and E. f. pallidus. We discovered significant variation in external, cranial, and colorimetric data, suggesting that E. fuscus is …

Historic And Recent Distributions Of Elk In Nebraska, Kent A. Fricke, Michael A. Cover, Scott E. Hygnstrom, Scott R. Groepper, Hugh H. Genoways, Kit M. Hams, Kurt C. Vercauteren

Great Plains Research: A Journal of Natural and Social Sciences

Elk (Cervus elaphus) were historically found throughout North America but were extirpated from Nebraska and much of the Great Plains in the 1880s due to consumptive uses by settlers, miners, market hunters, and others. Elk began to reappear in Nebraska in the 1950s and 1960s, and established a stable, nonmigratory population that currently consists of seven herds and an estimated 1,400 individuals throughout western and central Nebraska. The reappearance and subsequent persistence of elk in Nebraska suggests there is adequate habitat to support a self-sustaining population. The general movement of elk eastward may lead to an eventual statewide …

Muscleworms, Parelaphostrongylus Andersoni (Nematoda: Protostrongylidae), Discovered In Columbia White-Tailed Deer From Oregon And Washington: Implications For Biogeography And Host Associations, Ingrid M. Asmundsson, Jack A. Mortenson, Eric P. Hoberg

Harold W. Manter Laboratory of Parasitology: Faculty and Staff Publications

Parelaphostrongylus andersoni is considered a characteristic nematode infecting white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus). Host and geographic distribution for this parasite, however, remain poorly defined in the region of western North America. Fecal samples collected from Columbia white-tailed deer (O. v. leucurus) in a restricted range endemic to Oregon and Washington, USA, were examined for dorsal-spined larvae characteristic of many protostrongylid nematodes. Multilocus DNA sequence data (internal transcribed spacer 2 and cytochrome c oxidase subunit 1) established the identity and a new record for P. andersoni in a subspecies of white-tailed deer previously unrecognized as hosts. Populations of …

Geographic Distribution: Sphaerodactylus Elegans Elegans (Ashy Gecko). Usa: Florida: Broward Co, Louis A. Somma, Kenneth L. Krysko

Papers in Herpetology

FLORIDA: BRowARD Co.: Pembroke Pines: 1031 NW93rd Ave (26.0168833°N, 80.2695694°W; WGS84; elev. <1 m). 27 October 2007. Collected by Lisa A. Charlton. Verified by F. Wayne King, Florida Museum of Natural History, University of Florida. One neonate captured in Jackson sticky trap set to sample insects in an alee tree (Blighia sapida). UF 152418. New county record. Originally turned in to Division of Plant Industry (DPI), Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, Gainesville, Florida, on 31 October 2007; Entomology Log No. 8204. This nonindigenous gecko was flrst reported from Key West, Monroe County, Florida, more than 85 years ago (Stejneger 1922. Copeia [108]:56). Since that time the species has slowly expanded its range through other islands in the Florida Keys, and onto mainland Florida in Miami, Miami-Dade County (Carr 1940. Univ. Florida PubI. BioI. Sci. Ser. 3[1]:1-118; Krysko and Daniels 2005. Caribb. J. Sci.41:28-36.). On 11 September 1937, asingleSphaerodactylus e. elegans was collected in Port Everglades, Broward County, Florida (UF 183) and on 26 January 1963, another collected from inside a house in Miami, Miami-Dade County, Florida (UF 84234). This latest specimen is the third known mainland record in the continental U.S.