Zoology Commons^™

Subscription And Organization Information [September 2013]

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): $25 in the United States and $35 in all other countries, payable in advance. Single copies are $7 each, postpaid, in the United States and $9 elsewhere. Send orders for back issues to Anita Breckbill, NOU Librarian, c/o Music Library, WMB 30, University of Nebraska, Lincoln, NE 68588-0101.

Memberships in the NOU (on a calendar-year basis only): Active Household (one or more people) $25; Sustaining …

Nebraska Bird Review (September 2013) 81(3), Whole Issue

Nebraska Bird Review

Summer Field Report, June–July 2013 ... 102

2012 (24th) Report of the NOU Records Committee ... 120

Subscription and Organization Information ... 131

The Genus Odontophrynus (Anura: Odontophrynidae): A Larval Perspective, Filipe Augusto C. Do Nascimento, Tamí Mott, José A. Langone, Christine A. Davis, Rafael O. De Sá

Biology Faculty Publications

The genus Odontophrynus consists of 11 species of medium-sized frogs distributed across south and east South America. This study examines and describes the chondrocrania and oral cavities of 0. americanus, 0. maisuma, 0. carvalhoi, and 0. cu/tripes, and reviews current knowledge about the larval external morphology of the genus. Twenty-one tadpoles were cleared and double-stained for chondrocranium description and five tadpoles were dissected for analysis in a scanning electron microscope. The presence of a tectum parientale may be considered here as a putative synapomorphy of the genus. The 0. americanus and 0. cu/tripes species groups were partially differentiated by the …

Big Babies, Big Mammas?: Relationship Of Leatherback Hatchling Size And Mother Size, Shane Morales, Violet Campbell, Kelly Stewart

STAR Program Research Presentations

Individual leatherback hatchlings vary in size when compared to individuals from other nests, as well as individuals from the same nest. It is thought that many factors affect hatchling size but that one of the most influential factors is maternal size. Of all the aspects of a mother which could affect hatchling size, evidence for question concerning influence of mother size is determinable within the field using minimal tools and basic statistical analysis. If a direct correlation exists between mother size and hatchling size then the claim can be made that larger mothers produce larger offspring while smaller mothers produce …

Behavioral Variation Between Two Clades Of Leptasterias Spp., Ashley N. Contreras

STAR Program Research Presentations

Leptasterias spp. are six-rayed sea stars found along the rocky intertidal of the northeast Pacific Alaska to Santa Catalina Island, southern California. In central California, three clades of Leptasterias are found in separate or mixed populations, in diverse habitats that range from shallow pools of seagrass and algae to bare rock exposed to crashing waves. Initial field observations of two clades from different locations suggested that behavioral variation may relate to habitat differences among clades. To measure differences in activity, the righting response was timed at both field sites. As a result of behavioral variation observed in the field, more …

Temporal Variation In Larval Release In Botrylloides Violaceous, Damion J. Delton, Sarah Cohen

STAR Program Research Presentations

Despite Botrylloides violaceous being a globally invasive species in temperate marine habitats, little is known about it’s natural dispersal behavior. Previous work (Delton et al, 2011) suggests behavioral inferences based on a related and much more commonly studied species may not be appropriate, potentially due to a large size difference between the non-feeding larvae of these two species. Here, we consider factors that may affect dispersal potential. To study how light affects larval release, we measured timing of larval release in the field and compared larval size and time of release. Colonies were collected from floating docks in Richmond, CA …

Bios 112l: Introduction To Zoology Lab, Fall 2013, University Of Nebraska-Lincoln, Scott Lyell Gardner, S. Elizabeth Rácz, Altangerel Tsogtsaikhan Dursahinhan

College of Arts and Science: Syllabi for Courses

Syllabus for BIOS 112L Introduction to Zoology Lab, Fall 2013, University of Nebraska-Lincoln.

Lab Instructor, S. (Sarah) Elizabeth Rácz. Teaching Assistants, Altangerel (Auggie) Tsogtsaikhan and Rachel Valenziano.

Goals

1. Give you hands on experience with some of the diverse animal taxa of the planet.

2. Gain a working knowledge of taxonomy, anatomy, and biological vocabulary.

3. Students should gain an understanding of how animals compare and contrast, and how they are adapted to their particular way of life.

4. Get you to think about the natural world.

Material needed for lab

Notebook - Bound, hardback, and unlined pages for sketches …

Reproductive Isolation And Cryptic Introgression In A Sky Island Enclave Of Appalachian Birds, Gene D. Sattler, Michael J. Braun

Faculty Publications and Presentations

Reproductive isolation is central to the speciation process, and cases where the strength of reproductive isolation varies geographically can inform our understanding of speciation mechanisms. Although generally treated as separate species, Black-capped chickadees (Poecile atricapillus) and Carolina chickadees (P. carolinensis) hybridize and undergo genetic introgression in many areas where they come into contact across the eastern United States and in the northern Appalachian Mountains. The Great Smoky Mountains harbor the last large breeding population of atricapillus in the southern Appalachians, isolated from the species’ main range by nearly 200 km. This population is believed to be reproductively isolated from local …

Oral Presentation Abstracts By Day And Symposium From The 11th International Mammalogical Congress (Belfast, Northern Ireland : August 11-16, 2013), International Mammalogical Congress

University of Nebraska State Museum: Mammalogy Papers

About IMC

IMC returns to Europe after 24 years at a time when IUCN has identified 25% mammal species as at risk. As a venue to share concerns, concepts and techniques among professional mammalogists, IMC has never been more relevant. IMC11 Organising Committee hopes to welcome colleagues with diverse interests in the biology, conservation and management of mammals from throughout the world. IMC11 will encourage active participation in the Congress program by maximising time for spoken papers and posters offered by delegates.

Queen's University Belfast is the venue and are pleased to host the 11th International Mammalogical Congress on behalf …

Coccidia Of Gerbils From Mongolia, Ethan Thomas Jensen

School of Biological Sciences: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

In this study, gerbils collected in the Mongolia over the summers of 2009-2012 were examined for coccidia. In total, 171 gerbils of three species from 22 localities were examined for coccidia. Coccidian oocysts were identified from 21 gerbils, but those found in 1 of those gerbils were probably pseudoparasites of the host from which they were recovered. From the remaining 20 gerbils, 7 morphotypes of Eimeria and 1 morphotype of Isospora were identified. Four of the 7 morphotypes of Eimeria were attributed to new species which were described in this study. In addition, 10 previously described species of Eimeria were …

Turpentine Creek: Arkansas' Refuge, Jacob Paul Bain

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The goal of this Master's thesis film project was twofold. First, I wanted to explore the problem, huge but relatively unknown, of the ownership of exotic pets in the United States of America. Second, in conjunction with that problem, I wanted to see how Turpentine Creek Wildlife Refuge (TCWR) approached it and what, as an organization, they do to help resolve this problem locally and nationally. In turn, the film also provides an in-depth look at a very unique refuge in the state of Arkansas. Using my own equipment, I shot and edited a short-form documentary about TCWR. The film …

Decades-Long Social Memory In Bottlenose Dolphins, Jason N. Bruck

Faculty Publications

Long-term social memory is important, because it is an ecologically relevant test of cognitive capacity, it helps us understand which social relationships are remembered and it relates two seemingly disparate disciplines: cognition and sociality. For dolphins, long-term memory for conspecifics could help assess social threats as well as potential social or hunting alliances in a very fluid and complex fission-fusion social system, yet we have no idea how long dolphins can remember each other. Through a playback study conducted within a multi-institution dolphin breeding consortium (where animals are moved between different facilities), recognition of unfamiliar versus familiar signature whistles of …

Comparative Approaches To Studying Strategy: Towards An Evolutionary Account Of Primate Decision Making, Sarah F. Brosnan, Michael J. Beran, Audrey E. Parrish, Sara A. Price, Bart J. Wilson

Economics Faculty Articles and Research

How do primates, humans included, deal with novel problems that arise in interactions with other group members? Despite much research regarding how animals and humans solve social problems, few studies have utilized comparable procedures, outcomes, or measures across different species. Thus, it is difficult to piece together the evolution of decision making, including the roots from which human economic decision making emerged. Recently, a comparative body of decision making research has emerged, relying largely on the methodology of experimental economics in order to address these questions in a cross-species fashion. Experimental economics is an ideal method of inquiry for this …

The Mayfly Newsletter, Peter M. Grant

The Mayfly Newsletter

The Mayfly Newsletter is the official newsletter of the Permanent Committee of the International Conferences on Ephemeroptera.

Ectoparasites Of The Virginia Opossum (Didelphis Virginiana), Raccoon (Procyon Lotor), And Striped Skunk (Mephitis Mephitis) From Keith County, Nebraska, Lance A. Durden, Dennis J. Richardson

Transactions of the Nebraska Academy of Sciences and Affiliated Societies

Six Virginia opossums (Didelphis virginiana), nine raccoons (Procyon lotor) and one striped skunk (Mephitis mephitis) collected from Keith County Nebraska were examined for ectoparasites. All three host species were parasitized by adults of the American dog tick, Dermacentor variabilis. Opossums were also parasitized by the flea Pulex simulans and the tiny fur mite Didelphilichus serri­fer; the latter species represents a new state record for Nebraska. Raccoons were also parasitized by P. simulans and by the lago­morph-associated flea Euhoplopsyllus glacialis affinis, whereas the skunk was also parasitized by the chewing louse Neotrichodectes …

Spring Field Days And Annual Meeting At Central City

Nebraska Bird Review

The 114th Annual Meeting was held at the Covenant Cedars Bible Camp in Merrick County east of Central City on May 17–19, 2013. The 45+ members and friends in attendance found 163 species, including Eared Grebe, White-faced Ibis, Black-bellied and American Golden Plovers, Black-necked Stilt, American Avocet, Ruddy Turnstone, Buff-breasted Sandpiper, Laughing Gull, White-winged Dove, Yellow-throated Vireo, Wood Thrush, 16 warbler species, and 12 sparrow species.

Field trips went to Lakes North and Babcock, Wilkinson WMA, Don Dworak WMA, Headworks Park, Palmer sewage lagoon, Loup River north of Palmer, Loup Junction WMA, North Loup SRA, Kirkpatrick Basin South WMA, Farmer's …

Photo Documentation By Ron And Anne Kruse Of Black-Billed Magpie Nest Cycle In Hall County, Wayne J. Mollhoff

Nebraska Bird Review

Every once in a while a fortunate birder has a chance to witness the sequence of events that make up a breeding season. In May of 2004, NOU members Ron and Anne Kruse of Grand Island had that opportunity and made the most of it. While checking Eastern Bluebird nest boxes on the south side of the northernmost channel of the Platte River east of Locust Street in the City of Grand Island Wellfield property, they found a Black-billed Magpie nest. They returned with a camera and ladder and photographed the nest at two-day intervals for the next three weeks. …

Status Of Black-Billed Magpie In Nebraska, Wayne J. Mollhoff

Nebraska Bird Review

Black-billed Magpie is currently listed as a species of least concern by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN); however, it has been in abrupt decline in Nebraska with no evidence that it is beginning to recover. There appear to be at least two causes for this decline. The initial decline began at the end of the first atlas project and went unnoticed at the time. It began after the introduction of famphur (also known by its trade name Warbex), an insecticide introduced to control parasitic warble flies (Hypoderma sp.) in cattle. Die-offs of both magpies and hawks …

Spring Field Report, March 2013 To May 2013, W. Ross Silcock

Nebraska Bird Review

This spring season was notable for unusual migration patterns. Western birds are showing up in the east in greater numbers each year, with Lazuli Bunting the prime example. There were 17 Lazulis reported east of Grand Island. Black-headed Grosbeak has been a rare find east of Grand Island, with only 5 previous sightings; now there have been 9, including 3 in the extreme east. There were more Black-headeds east than Rose-breasteds west, the reverse of the usual situation. Western Grebes and Sandhill Cranes also came east in greater numbers, as did Cinnamon Teal. On the other hand, there was a …

The Junco Called Cassiar, Rick Wright

Nebraska Bird Review

A well-marked male Cassiar Junco is subtly distinctive. In its overall grayness, the bird closely recalls a Slate-colored Junco, but the darkness of the head, breast, and nape approaches that of a male Oregon Junco, creating a more striking contrast between the "hood" and the rest of the upperparts than is visible in any but the very blackest of male Slate-coloreds. More significant than the colors themselves is their distribution: the blackish nape is sharply set off from the grayer or brownish back, and the dark of the breast meets the paler gray of the flank and the white of …

Nebraska Bird Review (June 2013) 81(2), Whole Issue

Nebraska Bird Review

Spring Field Report, March–May 2013 ... 50

Status of Black-billed Magpie in Nebraska ... 79

Photo Documentation by Ron and Anne Kruse of Black-billed Magpie Nest Cycle in Hall County … 81

The Junco Called Cassiar … 87

NOU Spring Field Days and Annual Meeting at Central City, May 17–19, 2013 ... 94

Subscription and Organization Information ... 99

Subscription And Organization Information [June 2013]

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): $25 in the United States and $35 in all other countries, payable in advance. Single copies are $7 each, postpaid, in the United States and $9 elsewhere. Send orders for back issues to Anita Breckbill, NOU Librarian, c/o Music Library, WMB 30, University of Nebraska, Lincoln, NE .68588-0101.

Memberships in the NOU (on a calendar-year basis only): Active Household (one or more people) $25; Sustaining …

Room To Roam: Using Gps To Determine The Effect Of Exhibit Size And Herd Size On Zoo Elephant Movement, Matthew Holdgate, Deborah A. Duffield, David J. Shepherdson

Student Research Symposium

Asian and African elephants (Elephas maximus and Loxodonta spp.) are particularly susceptible to welfare concerns in zoological institutions due to their high intelligence, complex social structures, and sheer size. Zoo elephants are also limited by the space available to them, and the resulting lack of exercise may contribute to a host of health issues, including obesity and foot disease. Zoos rely largely on changes to the exhibit size and herd size to promote elephant movement, yet the effect of these factors on movement is unknown. Our study used GPS-equipped anklets to track the movement of 80 elephants at 43 zoos …

The Identity Of Rana Margaritifera Laurenti, 1768 (Anura, Bufonidae), Esteban O. Lavilla, Ulisses Caramaschi, José A. Langone, José P. Pombal Jr., Rafael O. De Sá

Biology Faculty Publications

Rana margaritifera was described by Laurenti in 1768 and currently is associated to the genus Rhinella, under the combination Rhinella margaritifera. Currently, the R. margaritifera species group consists of 16 recognized species. Further-more, many additional species have been suggested to exist in this group which highlights the ambiguity surrounding the identity of Rhinella margaritifera and impend further description of the species in this group. After an exhaustive bibliographic review, we concluded that the recent designation of a lectotype for R. margaritifera is invalid according with Art. 73, ICZN, 1999. Herein, we designate and provide the description of a …

Taking The Road Most Travelled: Understanding Patterns Of Snake (Colubridae; Storeria) Movement And Road Mortality In A State Park, Iwo P. Gross

Undergraduate Honors Theses

No abstract provided.

Integrating, Developing, And Testing Methods To Generate More Cohesive Approaches To Biogeographic Inference, Mallory Elizabeth Eckstut

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

As a fundamental component of the developing discipline of conservation biogeography, broadscale analyses of biotic assembly and disassembly across multiple temporal and spatial scales provide an enhanced understanding of how geologic transformations and climate oscillations have shaped extant patterns of biodiversity. As with any scientific field, there are limitations in the case of biogeographic historical reconstructions. Historical reconstructions are only as robust as the theoretical underpinnings of the methods of reconstruction (including data collection, quality, analysis, and interpretation). Nevertheless, historical reconstructions of species distributions can help inform our understanding of how species respond to environmental change.

My dissertation takes a …

Oregon State Ranking Assessment For Olive-Sided Flycatcher (Contopus Cooperi), Eleanor P. Gaines

Institute for Natural Resources Publications

Oregon state conservation status assessment for Olive-sided flycatcher (Contopus cooperi) using NatureServe methodology, 2013.

Etudes On Iurids, Vi. Further Revision Of Calchas Birula, 1899 (Scorpiones: Iuridae), With A Description Of A New Genus And Two New Species., Ersen Aydın Yağmur, Michael E. Soleglad, Victor Fet, František Kovařík

Euscorpius

Several new Calchas populations are studied from Turkey, including specimens from Hakkari Province, which borders the northern edge of Iraq. A new genus, Neocalchas, gen. nov., and two new species, Calchas anlasi, sp. nov. and C. kosswigi, sp. nov., are described. The two genera, Calchas and Neocalchas, are diagnosed by their hemispermatophore structure, chelal finger dentition, telson morphometrics and setation, and trichobothrial topology of the pedipalp chela. Genus Calchas Birula, 1899 includes four species: C. anlasi, sp. nov., C. birulai, C. kosswigi, sp. nov., and C. nordmanni; genus …

Taking The Road Most Travelled: Understanding Patterns Of Snake (Colubridae; Storeria) Movement And Road Mortality In A State Park, Iwo P. Gross

Student Honors Theses

Roadways negatively affect their surrounding ecosystems through the contamination of air, water, and soil resources, the dissection of populations and habitat areas, and the direct mortality of several fauna. My study assessed the significance of a number of variables that might influence the temporal and spatial patterns of road mortality in a population of Midland Brownsnakes (Storeria dekayi wrightorum). I utilized passive sampling techniques and roadwalking surveys to collect individual snakes from a road during their biannual migrations from lowland activity areas to upland forests where they hibernate. I discovered that sexually biased behavioral and natural history traits impacted an …

Relative Abundance Of Northern Flying Squireels And Red Squireels In Different Forest Types, Black Hills, South Dakota, Melissa Hough, Charles D. Dieter

Great Plains Research: A Journal of Natural and Social Sciences (through 2013)

Northern flying squirrels (Glaucomys sabrinus) and red squirrels (Tamiasciurus hudsonicus) in the Black Hills National Forest (BHNF) of South Dakota represent isolated populations. Because data on both species in the region are limited, and because the northern flying squirrel in South Dakota and the Black Hills National Forest has species of concern status, we trapped throughout BHNF to determine relative abundance in different forest types for both populations. For northern flying squirrels, capture rate was higher in the northern and western hills compared to the southern and eastern hills, whereas for red squirrels, capture rate was …