Aquaculture and Fisheries Commons^™

Giant Panda Ailuropoda Melanoleuca

United States Fish and Wildlife Service: Publications

What animal is black and white and loved all over the world? If you guessed the giant panda, you’re right! The giant panda is also known as the panda bear or bamboo bear, or in Chinese as Daxiongmao, the “large bear cat.” In fact, its scientific name means “black and white cat-footed animal.”

Giant pandas are found only in the mountains of central China—in small isolated areas of the north and central portions of the Sichuan Province, in the mountains bordering the southernmost part of Gansu Province and in the Qinling Mountains of the Shaanxi Province.

Giant pandas live …

Common Parasites, Diseases And Injuries Of Freshwater Fishes In The Northwest Territories And Nunavut, D. B. Stewart, L. M. J. Bernier

Zoonotics and Wildlife Disease: Publications

This booklet gives basic information on common parasites, diseases and injuries of fish harvested from fresh water in the Northwest Territories and Nunavut (Canada). It answers some of the more common questions asked by Aboriginal, domestic, sport and commercial harvesters, and by fisheries researchers. It is not an in depth treatment of fish health. Parasites that are uncommon or too small to be seen with the naked eye and diseases that are poorly known are not discussed. Relatively little research has been conducted on fish parasites in the region, less still on fish diseases and injuries.

1999 Nebraska Central Mixedgrass Prairie Rapid Ecological Assessment, Mike Bullerman

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

This document has been prepared in partial fulfillment of the 1999 Central Mixedgrass Prairie ecoregion [CMGP] Rapid Ecological Assessment [REA] contract between the Nebraska Chapter of The Nature Conservancy [TNC] and Michael J. Bullerman [“contractor”]. The contract provided for the survey of selected untilled landscapes within the Nebraska portion of the CMGP ecoregion, excluding the Sandhills. The objectives of this study were to:

1) Identify relatively intact CMGP landscapes within the state of Nebraska,

2) Determine the ecological condition, threats, unique features, and conservation potential of these landscapes,

3) Determine land use practices implemented by landowners,

4) Determine landowner attitudes …

1999 Wildlife Management Area Threatened And Endangered Species Inventory, Final Report, Robert F. Steinauer

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

This study was undertaken to determine the extent of threatened and endangered (T&E) species habitats and high-quality native plant communities on Nebraska Game and Parks Commission (NGPC) Wildlife Management Areas (WMAs). The Nebraska Natural Heritage Program (NHP) is responsible for environmental reviews of state projects that may impact threatened and endangered (T&E) species in Nebraska, including proposed management actions on state Wildlife Management Areas (WMA). These environmental reviews require a significant amount of NHP staff time, and frequently find no adverse impacts associated with the proposed management actions. This survey was undertaken to improve Nebraska Game and Parks Commissions (NGPC) …

Inventory Of The Central Mixed-Grass Prairie Ecoregion Of Kansas And Nebraska, Hillary Loring, Mike Bullerman, Kelly Kindscher

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

An inventory of potential high quality mixed-grass prairie ranches and large properties within the Central Mixed-Grass Prairie Ecoregion of Kansas and Nebraska was conducted in the spring and summer of 1999. Emphasis during the inventory was placed on identification of relatively intact landscapes. Significant ranches within those untilled landscapes were visited. An interview of the owners or managers of those properties was coupled with a survey of the vegetation. Assessments of quality were based on species composition, continuity of ground cover, observations of livestock impact, and viability of the community types present.

The objectives of this study were to:

1) …

An Analysis Of Differential Delayed Mortality Experienced By Stream-Type Chinook Salmon Of The Snake River, Nick Bouwes, Howard Schaller, Phaedra Budy, Charles Petrosky, Russ Kiefer, Paul Wilson, Olaf Langness, Earl Weber, Eric Tinus

United States Fish and Wildlife Service: Publications

In the Anadromous Fish Appendix of the US Army Corp of Engineers (USACE) Environmental Impact Statement on the Lower Snake River Hydrosystem Alternatives for recovery of Snake River salmon and steelhead (hereafter referred to as "A-Fish"), the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) suggested that transportation effectiveness of spring/summer chinook may have improved markedly in recent years. The NMFS conclusion was based on estimates of 'D'-values (the differential delayed survival rate between transported fish and fish that migrated in-river) for 1994-1995 (NMFS, 1999). NMFS suggested, if 'D' is high (estimated in A-Fish at 0.8) and extra mortality of in-river and transported …

Background Contaminants Evaluation Of Fort Niobrara And Valentine National Wildlife Refuge, Karen J. Nelson, Brent J. Esmoil

United States Fish and Wildlife Service: Publications

The objectives of this study were to determine background concentrations of metals and organic compounds in biotic and abiotic components of the Fort NiobraralValentine National Wildlife Refuge (NWR) Complex and document these results to utilize as baseline information for future contaminants investigations. To establish this baseline, sediment, water, and biotic samples (fish, double crested cormorant eggs, and vegetation) were collected from Fort Niobrara and Valentine National Wildlife Refuge in 1995 and tested for inorganic and organic contaminants. lnorganics were determined by inductively coupled plasma atomic emission spectrophotometer (lCP) scans. Arsenic and selenium were analyzed by atomic absorption spectrophotometry (AAS). Mercury …

Monitoring Of Selenium Concentrations In Biota From The Kendrick Reclamation Project, Natrona County, Wyoming 1992 - 1996, Pedro Ramirez Jr., Kimberly Dickerson

United States Fish and Wildlife Service: Publications

Selenium is bioaccumulating in fish and aquatic birds inhabiting the Kendrick Reclamation Project (Kendrick) in Natrona County, Wyoming as a result of mobilization associated with irrigation return flows. Field studies conducted in the 1980’s by the U.S. Geological Survey (Survey) and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service) as part of the Department of Interior’s National Irrigation Water Quality Program (NIWQP) revealed elevated selenium concentrations in water, sediment and biota at Kendrick and immediately downstream in the North Platte River. Selenium concentrations found in biota exceeded levels known to cause mortality and embryonic deformities in birds and impaired reproduction in …

Inventory For Endangered, Threatened And Rare Plant And Animal Species Within The Floodplain Corridor Of The Middle Loup River Basin In Nebraska, Michael I. Fritz, Gerry Steinauer

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

This survey was conducted by Nebraska Natural Heritage Program of the Nebraska Game and Parks Commission with funding received from the U.S. Department of the Interior, Bureau of Reclamation, Grand Island office. This agreement was entered into on April 16, 1996. The objective of the agreement was to conduct a survey of a portion of the Loup River basin floodplain corridor for rare plant communities and plant and animal species. This is the final report of that survey. This report includes not only data collected directly as a result of field survey work associated with the project but also previous …

Trace Elements In The Aquatic Bird Food Chain At The North Ponds, Texaco Refinery Casper, Wyoming, Kimberly Dickerson, Pedro Ramirez Jr.

United States Fish and Wildlife Service: Publications

The objectives of this study were to determine nesting success of aquatic birds, trace element concentrations in the aquatic food chain, and whether trace elements were biomagnifying through the aquatic food chain of ponds at the inactive Texaco Refinery, in Evansville, Wyoming. Trace element concentrations in samples collected from the Texaco Refinery were compared to those found in samples collected from a background site, Pathfinder National Wildlife Refuge.

The ponds at the inactive refinery provided a source of water to aquatic birds in an otherwise arid landscape. Nesting success for shorebirds using an island in Pond 1 was greater than …

Contaminants Information Bulletin: Environmental Contaminants In Sedimente From Oilfield Produced Water Discharge Points, Pedro Ramirez Jr.

United States Fish and Wildlife Service: Publications

Oilfield produced water is generated from the extraction of oil mixed with groundwater. A separator is used to physically remove the water from the oil; however, the produced water can contain residual amounts of oil. Additionally, malfunction of the separator equipment can cause inefficient separation and result in higher amounts of oil in the water. The Wyoming Department of Environmental Quality (WY DEQ) regulates the discharge of produced waters under the National Pollution Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) .WY DEQ permits 10 µg/l of oil in produced water discharged into regulated waters of the state. Produced water discharges are not permitted …

Kirtland’S Warbler Dendroica Kirtlandii

United States Fish and Wildlife Service: Publications

The first Kirtland’s warbler in North America was identified in 1851 from a specimen collected on Dr. Jared Kirtland’s farm near Cleveland, Ohio. Biologists did not learn where it nested until 1903 when they found a warbler nest in Michigan. Today, Kirtland’s warbler faces two significant threats: lack of crucial young jack pine forest habitat and the parasitic cowbird.

A pair of Kirtland’s warblers requires at least eight acres of young jack pine forest to nest, but usually needs 30 to 40 acres to raise a nest of young. Its exacting nesting habitat requirements, as well as cowbird parasitism, caused …

1997 Inventory For Spiranthes Diluvialis Sheviak In Western Nebraska: A Final Report, Volume I, Terri Hildebrand

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

This study resulted from an agreement between Nebraska Game and Parks Commission (NGPC) and the United States Fish and Wildlife Service (USFW). After the 1996 discovery of Spiranthes diluvialis, in western Nebraska, NGPC was seeking to determine the extent of the Nebraska population. Information on the wet meadow community of orchid occurrence in Nebraska and eastern Wyoming was needed. This report includes descriptions of communities inventoried, Spiranthes diluvialis populations, and additional species monitored by Nebraska and Wyoming Natural Heritage programs.

The 1996 discovery of Spiranthes diluvialis in Nebraska by Hazlett merited the need for further inventory for the species …

Desert Tortoise Gopherus Agassizii

United States Fish and Wildlife Service: Publications

Desert tortoises, also known as desert turtles or gopher tortoises, currently are found in Arizona, California, Nevada, and Utah, as well as parts of Mexico, and in the Mojave, Colorado, Sonoran and Sinaloan deserts.  As the result of various human activities over the past 150 years, tortoises have been eliminated or reduced in large portions of their range in California and in areas near Las Vegas and St. George, Utah.

Desert tortoise population densities range from just a few per square mile to more than 200 per square mile.  Although the number of desert tortoises in the world is unknown, …

Drought-Induced Shift Of A Forest–Woodland Ecotone: Rapid Landscape Response To Climate Variation, Craig Allen, David D. Breshears

Nebraska Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit: Staff Publications

In coming decades, global climate changes are expected to produce large shifts in vegetation distributions at unprecedented rates. These shifts are expected to be most rapid and extreme at ecotones, the boundaries between ecosystems, particularly those in semiarid landscapes. However, current models do not adequately provide for such rapid effects—particularly those caused by mortality—largely because of the lack of data from field studies. Here we report the most rapid landscape-scale shift of a woody ecotone ever documented: in northern New Mexico in the 1950s, the ecotone between semiarid ponderosa pine forest and pinon– juniper woodland shifted extensively (2 km or …

1998 Southeast Nebraska Tallgrass Praire Inventory: Johnson, Gage, And Jefferson Counties, Final Report, Robert F. Steinauer

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

This report is prepared as a requirement of the 1998 Southeast Nebraska Prairie Survey contract between the Platte/Rainwater Basin Project Office of the Nature Conservancy and Robert F. Steinauer. The original contract called for the examination of Johnson County south of Highway 136, and Gage County east of Beatrice. Due to the scarcity of prairies in these areas, the survey region was expanded to include northern Johnson County, and southern Jefferson County.

Prairies in these areas were identified using infrared and black and white photos, driving on county and within grassland roads, and conversations with landowners. Heritage Program “Site Survey …

1997 Inventory For Spiranthes Diluvialis Sheviak In Western Nebraska: A Final Report, Volume Ii, Terri Hildebrand

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

This study resulted from an agreement between Nebraska Game and Parks Commission (NGPC) and the United States Fish and Wildlife Service (USFW). After the 1996 discovery of Spiranthes diluvialis, in western Nebraska, NGPC was seeking to determine the extent of the Nebraska population. Information on the wet meadow community of orchid occurrence in Nebraska and eastern Wyoming was needed. This report includes descriptions of communities inventoried, Spiranthes diluvialis populations, and additional species monitored by Nebraska and Wyoming Natural Heritage programs.

Between May and September 1997, potential Spiranthes diluvialis habitat was inventoried for occurrences of the orchid. For all sites …

Caribou Rangifer Tarandus Caribou

United States Fish and Wildlife Service: Publications

Caribou are the largest members of the reindeer family (Rangifer tarandus) and are native to the arctic and sub-arctic regions of Siberia, North America and Greenland. Reindeer, which are traditionally herded in northern Europe and Eurasia, were introduced into Alaska in 1892. Although some herding of reindeer continues in Alaska today, many of the introduced reindeer interbred with caribou. The four caribou subspecies—barren ground, Peary’s, tundra and woodland—differ greatly in range, size, coloration, behavior, food habits and habitat use.

Caribou are a medium-sized member of the deer family and stand about 31⁄2 feet tall at the shoulder. Females …

Florida Panther Puma [Felis] Concolor Coryi

United States Fish and Wildlife Service: Publications

There are only 30 to 50 adult Florida panthers left in the wild, making Florida's official state animal one of the most endangered mammals in the world.  At one time perhaps 3,000 or more Florida panthers ranged throughout Florida, northward through Georgia, parts of South Carolina, and Tennessee, and westward through Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, Arkansas, and possibly eastern Texas.  Today, the Florida panther's range is limited to parts of southern Florida, including the Big Cypress Swamp and the Everglades.

Initially, the Florida panter's decline was due to excessive hunting because of an unfounded fear for livestock and human safety.  More …

Sea Turtles

United States Fish and Wildlife Service: Publications

Of the six sea turtle species that are found in the U.S. waters or that nest on U.S. beaches, all are designated as either threatened or endangered under the Endangered Species Act.  Endangered status means a species is considered in danger of exinction throughout all or a significant portion of its range; threatened means it is likely to become endangered.

Six of the seven sea turtles species are listed as endangered or threatened: green, Kemp's ridley, olive ridley, hawksbill, loggerhead and leatherback sea turtles.  Only one species, the flatback sea turtle, is not considered threatened with extinction at this time. …

Terrestrial Natural Communities Of Nebraska - Version I, Gerry Steinauer, Steven B. Rolfsmeier

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

The Nebraska Natural Heritage Program has been collecting information and data including published literature, field observations and vegetation plot data over the last 10 years of development of Nebraska’s natural community classification. The classification contains 27 wetland and 36 upland communities including forest, woodland, shrubland, herbaceous, and sparsely vegetated (e.g. rock outcrop) types. The community types were distinguished primarily on plant species composition and to a lesser extent on soils, hydrology and geographic location. The classification contains descriptions of each community type that include dominant species, soils, range, and other ecological information. The classification is designed to be flexible enough …

Idealwise Algebraic Independence For Elements Of The Completion Of A Local Domain, William Heinzer, Christel Rotthaus, Sylvia Wiegand

Nebraska Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit: Staff Publications

Over the past forty years many examples in commutative algebra have been constructed using the following principle: Let k be a field, let S k[xl Xn]x,xn) be a localized polynomial ring over k, and let a be an ideal in the completion S of S such that the associated prims of a are in the generic formal fiber of S; that is, p N S (0) for each p Ass(S/a):. Then S embeds in S/a, the fraction field Q(S) of S embeds in the fraction ring of S/a, and for certain choices of a, the intersection D Q(S) f3 (S/a) …

Nesting Piping Plover And Least Tern On The Kansas River, William H. Busby, Daniel W. Mulhern, P. Gregory Kramos, David A. Rintoul, William C. Tuttle

United States Fish and Wildlife Service: Publications

A portion of the Kansas River in northeastern Kansas was surveyed by boat and air in 1996 and 1997 for nesting colonies of piping plover (Charadrius melodus) and least tern (Sterna antillarum). Both species were found breeding on sandbars at a total of five sites along a 30-km reach of the Kansas River. In 1996, at least two breeding pair of piping plovers and seven breeding pair of least terns were documented. In 1997, at least one pair of piping plovers and five pairs of least terns bred. These are the first known breeding records for …

Neotropical Migratory Birds, Stephanie L. Jones

United States Fish and Wildlife Service: Publications

This book is a follow-up synthesis to a meeting held in Estes Park, Colorado, in 1992, by Partners in Flight - Aves de Americas. An earlier volume, edited by Finch and P. W. Stangel (USDA Forest Service General Technical Report RM-229, 1993) included most of the papers presented at that meeting. This book is a carefully edited synthesis of some of the issues that arose from an increased interest in neotropical migratory birds. As …

1997 North American Conference On The Monarch Butterfly

United States Fish and Wildlife Service: Publications

The Monarch Butterfly has attracted much interest because it is unique not only among insects, but among all living things. The largest Monarch population emerges in the central and northeastern United States and Canada and flutters its way south several thousand kilometers to remote fir forests in the central mountains of Mexico. There they overwinter in about twenty compact colonies—sometimes numbering in the tens of millions—often within a stone’s throw of local subsistence farms sustaining Mexican campesinos (small-scale farmers) and indigenous peoples. In the spring, the northward trek begins, often with an additional generation being required to reach the northern …

Environmental Contaminants In The Aquatic Bird Food Chain Of An Oil Refinery Wastewater Pond, Pedro Ramirez Jr.

United States Fish and Wildlife Service: Publications

Bird mortalities have been documented in oilfield waste pits in Wyoming and various other oil-producing states in the western United States. In the semi-arid West, migratory birds mistake wastewater ponds or pits for wetlands. Most refineries use large ponds to contain their wastewater. One refinery in Casper, Wyoming actively discharged refinery wastewater into a closed basin, Soda Lake. This created a wetland that attracts numerous aquatic birds, in particular, nesting colonies of gulls (Larus spp.), terns (Sterna spp.), double-crested cormorants (Phalacrocorax auritus), eared grebes (Podiceps nigricollis), dabbler ducks (Anas spp.) and American avocets ( …

Arsenic, Mercury, Selenium, And Organochlorine Compounds In Interior Least Tern Eggs In The Northern Great Plains States, 1992-1994, George T. Allen, Susan Humphreys Blackford

United States Fish and Wildlife Service: Publications

The purpose of this study was to evaluate concentrations of arsenic, mercury, selenium, and chlorinated hydrocarbon compounds in interior least tern eggs from the northern Great Plains states from 1992 through 1994. The Environmental Contaminants Specialists in Kansas, Nebraska, South Dakota, North Dakota, and Montana agreed on a standard protocol for collection and analyses of eggs during the study period.

Addled, fiooded, or abandoned eggs collected during the study period were submitted for chemical analysis by the Environmental Contaminants Specialist in each state.

A total of 104 eggs were analyzed for arsenic, mercury, and selenium; 78 of them also were …

An Investigation Of Irrigation-Related Contaminants In Water, Bottom Sediment, And Biota From Goshen County, Wyoming., Kimberly Dickerson, Pedro Ramirez Jr.

United States Fish and Wildlife Service: Publications

We conducted a comprehensive evaluation of trace element concentrations in water, sediment, aquatic vegetation, aquatic invertebrates, waterbird eggs, and fish resulting from irrigation drainwater during 1995 in Goshen County, Wyoming. We also analyzed waterbird eggs and fish from this area for organochlorine residues and attempted to determine the nesting success of various waterbirds.

Boron concentrations were elevated (>300 ug/g dry weight) in aquatic vegetation above concentrations shown to adversely affect sensitive waterfowl; however, these concentrations are similar to those found in aquatic vegetation sampled in other areas throughout Wyoming. Mercury concentrations in aquatic vegetation, aquatic invertebrates, and fish were …

Follow-Up Investigation Of Selenium And Other Trace Elements In Biota From The Riverton Reclamation Project, Fremont County, Wyoming, Pedro Ramirez Jr., Kim Dickerson

United States Fish and Wildlife Service: Publications

A reconnaissance study was completed for the Riverton Reclamation Project (Riverton Project) in 1989 by Peterson et al. (1991) showed slightly elevated selenium concentrations in biota at several wetland sites. A follow-up investigation was initiated for the Department of Interior's National Irrigation Water Quality Program in 1994 to verify that selenium concentrations in biota were elevated above levels that cause adverse effects to aquatic migratory birds. Pondweed (Potamogeton vaginatus), aquatic invertebrates, bird eggs, and fish were collected from several wetlands managed by the Wyoming Game and Fish Department and analyzed for selenium and other trace elements. Selenium concentrations …

1997 Rapid Ecological Assessment Northern Great Plains Steppe Ecoregion: Western And Central South Dakota, Northwestern Nebraska, Eastern Wyoming, A Final Report, Terri Hildebrand

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

In an effort to gain a more complete understanding of existing vegetative communities of the Northern Great Plains Steppe Ecoregion, rapid ecological assessment was undertaken throughout the ecoregion during the field season of 1997. Field office personnel of The Nature Conservancy and private contractors evaluated previously delineated regions in accordance with methodology determined in May of 1997. The following document presents results of the rapid ecological assessments performed by Hildebrand Contracting. The purpose of this document is to provide The Nature Conservancy with information to help determine the vegetative features of regions sampled. The specific areas and boundaries for evaluation …