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Proceedings Of The Ninth North American Crane Workshop, January 17–20, 2003, Table Of Contents

Proceedings of the North American Crane Workshop

No abstract provided.

Reintroduction Techniques: Post-Release Performance Of Sandhill Cranes (1) Released Into Wild Flocks And (2) Led On Migration By Ultralight Aircraft, Richard P. Urbanek, Joseph W. Duff, Scott R. Swengel, Lara E. A. Fondow

Proceedings of the North American Crane Workshop

Two methods of reintroducing a migratory population of whooping cranes (Grus americana) were tested with costume/ isolation-reared juvenile greater sandhill cranes (G. canadensis tabida): (1) release into wild flocks during autumn staging and (2) leading on autumn migration by ultralight aircraft. Birds in the first group were released singly, and all integrated quickly into the wild flocks and adopted similar behavioral patterns. Birds in the second group were led to winter on an inland site on the Gulf Coast of Florida. Most of the birds led by ultralight aircraft remained in their juvenile cohort through the …

Sandhill Crane Use Of Managed Chufa Wetlands In New Mexico, John P. Taylor, Loren M. Smith

Proceedings of the North American Crane Workshop

Natural wetland food plants help meet energetic requirements for sandhill cranes (Grus canadensis). Chufa (Cyperus esculentus) tubers were found to be a prominent item in the winter diet of cranes in New Mexico and Texas. In 1996 and 1997, chufa production was compared among mowing, discing, and sustained-flooding treatments intended to enhance chufa tuber growth. Sandhill crane numbers were monitored on wetlands during winter flooding to determine treatment preferences. No differences in sandhill crane use of treated wetlands were found in 1996, however in 1997, crane use was higher on disked field than sustained flood fields …

An Adaptive Approach To Channel Management On The Platte River, Kent Pfeiffer, Paul Currier

Proceedings of the North American Crane Workshop

The mission of the Platte River Whooping Crane Maintenance Trust is to protect and manage habitat in the Platte valley for whooping cranes, sandhill cranes, and other migratory birds. The plan for meeting this mission calls for the creation and maintenance of eleven habitat complexes distributed through the central Platte valley. Each habitat complex is intended to consist of 1,000 ha of wet meadows and adjacent roost habitat of open, unvegetated river channel. Reduced flows in the river have caused its channel to narrow with banks that are often heavily wooded. Formerly mobile sand bars have stabilized and support dense …

Migration Chronology, Routes, And Distribution Of Pacific Flyway Population Lesser Sandhill Cranes, Michael J. Petrula, Thomas C. Rothe

Proceedings of the North American Crane Workshop

Managers of migratory game birds require accurate information about bird movements to delineate populations, protect important habitats, and regulate harvest. Data describing movements of sandhill cranes (Grus canadensis) belonging to the Pacific Flyway Population (PFP) are lacking. We used satellite telemetry to monitor movements of PFP lesser sandhill cranes (Grus c. canadensis) captured in the upper Cook Inlet and Bristol Bay regions of Alaska. Satellite transmitters were deployed on 19 flightless young (colts) and 3 adults over 3-years (2000-2002). Chronology, routes, and stopover or staging areas were identified for fall and spring migration periods. On average, …

Plant Community Field Surveys In Eastern Nebraska Project Final Report, Alicia Admiraal

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

This project was completed as part of the Nebraska Game and Parks Commission’s (NGPC) State Wildlife Comprehensive Conservation Plan. As part of this project, inventory and assessment of native plant communities and at-risk habitats throughout the state of Nebraska is necessary. This report describes the field inventories of native grasslands and other plant communities conducted during the 2004 field season for the Elkhorn River valley in Madison, Stanton and Dodge counties, and the Platte River valley between the towns of Columbus and Schuyler, in Platte and Colfax counties. Funding for the project was provided by the US Fish and Wildlife …

2005 Plant Community Field Surveys In Western Nebraska, Robert F. Steinauer

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

These surveys were undertaken to provide biological data for the Nebraska Game and Parks Commission’s (NGPC) Nebraska Natural Legacy Action Plan. The specific intent was to identify, map, and give quality rankings to large blocks of privately-owned native plant communities within the survey area. In 2005, the surveys focused on Keith, Deuel, Cheyenne, Kimball, Banner, and Scotts Bluff counties, Sioux, Dawes and Sheridan counties north of the Pine Ridge, and Garden County south of the North Platte River.

Possible Recent Range Expansion Of Alcataenia Longicervica (Eucestoda: Dilepididae) Parasitic In Murres Uria Spp. (Alcidae) Into The North Atlantic [Short Communications], Sabir B. Muzaffar, Eric P. Hoberg, Ian L. Jones

Harold W. Manter Laboratory of Parasitology: Faculty Publications

A wide range of helminths has been recorded from murres Uria spp. (Threlfall 1971, reviewed by Hoberg 1984a, Muzaffar & Jones 2004). Of the cyclophyllidean cestodes that parasitize murres, the genus Alcataenia Spasskaya 1971 (Dilepididae) is represented by ten species, eight of which are restricted and specific to the auks; the other two species occur in gulls (Laridae). The intermediate hosts of Alcataenia are euphausiid crustaceans such as species of Thysanoessa (Shimazu 1975), which also form an important dietary component of breeding and wintering murres, particularly Thick-billed Murres Uria lomvia (Gaston & Noble 1985, Birkhead & Nettleship 1987, Elliot et …

Periplasm Organization In Treponema Denticola As Studied By Cryo-Electron Tomography, Jacques Izard, C.-E. Hsieh, C. A. Mannella, Ronald J. Limberger, M. Marko

Department of Food Science and Technology: Faculty Publications

As a spirochete, the genus Treponema is one of the few major bacterial groups whose natural phylogenic relationships are evident at the level of gross phenotypic characteristics such as their morphology. Treponema spp. are highly invasive due to their unique motility in dense media, and their ability to penetrate cell layers. This feature is associated with the helical cell body and the presence of flagellar filaments in the periplasm. Treponema denticola is an oral pathogen involved in endodontic infections and periodontal diseases. The presence and quantity of T. denticola in the subgingival biofilm is correlated with the severity of periodontal …

Invertebrate Diversity In Taylor Valley Soils And Sediments, Amy M. Treonis, Diana H. Wall, Ross A. Virginia

Biology Faculty Publications

Explaining how ecosystems function across variable landscapes will require knowledge of biodiversity patterns. In particular, biodiversity studies of soils and sediments will help in understanding the linkages between ecosystem processes in both of these habitats (Freckman et al. 1997). Soils and sediments are domains for ecosystem processes such as decomposition and trace gas exchange. There are few studies, however, that have compared abundance and diversity of organisms in adjacent soils and sediments (Freckman et al. 1997). The goal of this study was to increase understanding of how the biotic communities involved in ecosystem processes are organized within an important feature …

Crisis Global De Biodiversidad: Importancia De La Diversidad Genética Y La Extinción De Anfibios, Rafael O. De Sá

Biology Faculty Publications

El mundo enfrenta, por primera vez desde el comienzo de la civilización, el declive y la extinción de una clase de vertebrados, los anfibios. Esta extinción aparenta ser un evento global y de la magnitud que llevó a la desaparición de los dinosaurios. Muchas son las posibles causas de esta extinción y el efecto combinado de estos factores agravan la situación. La pérdida de ambientes naturales permanece como el factor más crítico en el declive de anfibios, pero enfermedades infecciosas emergentes parecen ser responsables de mortalidades masivas en décadas recientes. El declive y extinción de anfibios representa una llamada urgente …

European Conference, Cynhadledd Ceiliog Y Rhos = 3rd International Black Grouse Conference (Llys Fasi Agricultural College, Ruthin, North Wales: March 20-25, 2005): Conference Review

Galliformes Specialist Group and Affiliated Societies: Conference Proceedings

The Countryside Council for Wales: The 2005 Black Grouse Conference, Roger Lovegrove

Spatially explicit modelling of black grouse (Tetrao tetrix L.) habitat quality evolution induced by green alder (Alnus alnobetula (Ehrh.) C. Koch) expansion on abandoned meadows in the northern French Alps, Samuel Decout, Philippe Delcros, and Jean-Jacques Brun

Factors affecting black grouse numbers: An overview of the part of predators [Short note], M. Loneux, Karl-Heinz Kolb, J.-C. Ruwet, and P. Poncin

Modelling the influence of climate on black grouse population dynamics in Lüneburger Heide (North Germany), Michèle Loneux, Manfred Lütkepohl, Jann Wübbenhorst, and James K. Lindsey

Modelling …

The Challenge Of Environmental Protection, Jennifer Mattei

Biology Faculty Publications

Connecticut is in the midst of a demographic transition to a period of lower population growth. These demographic changes will help check the pressures exerted on the state's natural resources by population growth. Water, air, soil, energy sources, food, fisheries, forests, and biodiversity are common pool resources upon which we depend in ways that transcend political boundaries. Those governing Connecticut should help turn the state into a model of how to manage natural resources by halting forest fragmentation, reducing pollution, and promoting environmental science education.

Annual Review Of The World Pheasant Association 2004/2005, World Pheasant Association

Galliformes Specialist Group and Affiliated Societies: Reports and Other Materials

Chairman of Trustees' report, Dick Potts

Treasurer's report and accounts, Ian Hoggarth

Conservation activities in 2004/2005, Philip J. K. McGowan

WPA around the world: Highlights from the chapters

Grouse Specialist Group report, Ilse Storch

Megapode Specialist Group report, Rene Dekker Darryl N. Jones, and Gillian C. Baker

Partridge, Quail and Francolin Specialist Group report, John P. Carroll

Pheasant Specialist Group report, Peter J. Garson

Species Survey 2004, Philip J. K. McGowan

Re-introduction of Green Peafowl into Peninsular Malaysia, Gary Robbins and John Corder

Ten years of WPA:s South Asian Field Office, Rahul Kaul

Range expansion of grey francolin in the …

Natural History And Karyology Of The Yucatán Vesper Mouse, Otonyctomys Hatti, Hugh H. Genoways, Robert M. Timm, Mark D. Engstrom

University of Nebraska State Museum: Mammalogy Papers

Seventeen specimens of the rare Yucatán vesper mouse, Otonyctomys hatti, are now known from Belize, Guatemala, and the Mexican states of Campeche, Quintana Roo, and Yucatán. We herein report a second specimen of O. hatti, from Belize, extending the known geographic range of the species 95 km to the southeast in the country. This is the first location at which O. hatti has been taken sympatrically with the Central American vesper mouse, Nyctomys sumichrasti. We also report data on three additional specimens of O. hatti from Campeche. Nyctomys and Otonyctomys share similar habits and habitat requirements, and …

Bears Remain Top Summer Predators, Shannon M. Barber, L. David Mech, P. J. White

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

In the ten years since wolves (Canis lupus) were restored to Yellowstone National Park (YNP), elk (Cervus elaphus) numbers have substantially decreased. The northern range elk herd is the largest elk herd in Yellowstone, and constitutes the majority of the park’s elk population. During 1994–2005, early winter counts of northern Yellowstone elk decreased from 19,045 to 9,545. Also, during winters 2000–2004, calf:cow ratios declined from 29:100 to 12:100, and were among the lowest recorded during the past several decades. Though many factors (e.g., predation, hunting, and drought) likely contributed to this decreasing abundance and low recruitment, …

Decline And Recovery Of A High Arctic Wolf-Prey System, L. David Mech

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

A long-existing system of wolves (Canis lupus), muskoxen (Ovibos moschatus), and arctic hares (Lepus arcticus) in a 2600 km² area of Canada’s High Arctic (80° N latitude) began collapsing in 1997 because of unusual adverse summer weather but recovered to a level at which all three species were reproducing by 2004. Recovery of wolf presence and reproduction appeared to be more dependent on muskox increase than on hare increase.

Un vieux système biologique composé de loups (Canis lupus), de boeufs musqués (Ovibos moschatus) et de lièvres arctiques (Lepus …

Population Dynamics Of Oryzomys Palustris And Microtus Pennsylvanicus In Virginia Tidal Marshes, Christopher P. Bloch, Robert K. Rose

Biological Sciences Faculty Publications

Oryzomys palustris (marsh rice rat) and Microtus pennsylvanicus (meadow vole) cohabit coastal marshes in the mid-Atlantic US. Both were live-trapped for 23 months at two tidal marsh sites in Virginia to assess their demography near the margins of their distributions. In the presence of dense vegetation, population dynamics of the two species were seasonal and positively correlated, with densities declining through the winter. At the more sparsely vegetated site, densities of both species were lower, and densities of M. pennsylvanicus were negatively correlated with those of O. palustris. Patterns of reproduction differed between the species. O. palustris was reproductively …

Biodiversity And Ecology Of Soil Oribatid Mites (Acari: Oribatida) In The Grassland Habitats Of Eastern Mongolia, Badamdorj Bayartogtokh

Erforschung biologischer Ressourcen der Mongolei / Exploration into the Biological Resources of Mongolia, ISSN 0440-1298

Composition, abundance, distribution, and diversity of oribatid mite communities were investigated at five study areas in Eastern Mongolia. A total of 88 species of oribatid mites were recorded from the studied areas. The largest number of species (51 spp.) was found in the habitats of river valleys, while the plain steppe which covers the largest area contained the lowest species richness (24 spp.). Three other sub-regions with similar landscape types show approximately the same species richness (39 to 45 spp.), although they are located relatively far from each other. The oribatid mite faunas of all sub-regions were essentially similar to …

Ecology Of Soil Microarthropods In Gobi Gurvan Saykhan Mountains, Southern Mongolia, Tsedev Bolortuya, Badamdorj Bayartogtokh

Erforschung biologischer Ressourcen der Mongolei / Exploration into the Biological Resources of Mongolia, ISSN 0440-1298

In the present paper, we describe the community structure, species diversity, population density, and the character of distribution of soil microarthropods of the Gobi Gurvan Saykhan mountains. In total 45 species of soil microarthropods belonging to 37 genera and 24 families were identified. Twenty-seven species of soil microarthropods belonging to 25 genera and 20 families were found in the Züün Saykhan, 31 species belonging to 27 genera and 19 families in the Dund Saykhan. Oribatid mites are the dominant group (35 species = 77.8% of total species richness), while mesostigmatid mites account for 7 species (15.6 %). Other groups are …