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Agenda: Endangered Species Act Congressional Field Tour, University Of Colorado Boulder. Natural Resources Law Center

Endangered Species Act Congressional Field Tour (August 17-19)

The Center sponsored its third annual field tour for staff members of the United States Congress, the United States Environmental Protection Agency, and the Colorado state legislature.

Day 1: Wednesday, 17 August 2005: Introduction, Mark Squillace

Endangered Species Act Congressional Field Tour (August 17-19)

5 pages.

Contains references.

Day 1: Wednesday, 17 August 2005: Science And The Esa, Joy Nicholopoulos, William Lewis

Endangered Species Act Congressional Field Tour (August 17-19)

43 pages (includes illustrations and map).

Contains references.

Day 1: Wednesday, 17 August 2005: Biodiversity And Critical Habitat, Charles Bedford, Federico Cheever, Tim Sullivan

Endangered Species Act Congressional Field Tour (August 17-19)

6 pages (includes color illustration).

Contains references.

Endangered Species Bulletin, August 2005 - Vol. Xxx No. 1

Endangered Species Bulletin

In this issue:
4 The Crucians are Coming!
7 How the Scanlans Got their Range Back
10 Banking on Gopher Tortoises
12 Rare Species are Welcome on Arizona Ranch
14 Cactus Comeback in the Caribbean
16 Meet the Beetles!
18 Bull River: A New Wildlife Haven
20 Sneezeweed Conservation Bears Fruit
22 Keeping Family Forests

Rainwater Basin Wetland Management District Bird List, U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service

United States Fish and Wildlife Service: Publications

The Rainwater Basin of south central Nebraska has attracted millions of migratory birds each spring for generations. During migration, millions of snow geese, Canada geese, white-fronted geese, ducks, and 1/2-million sandhill cranes use the Rainwater Basin and the adjacent Platte River. The shallow wetland basins and surrounding croplands of the area provide the birds with critical resting and feeding sites during their migration north. The Waterfowl Production Areas (WPAs) of the Rainwater Basin Wetland Management District (WMD) are managed as grassland-playa lake ecosystems. The Rainwater Basin WMO staff currently manages 59 WPAs in the Rainwater Basin. Most of the WPAs …

Bats Of Jamaica, Hugh H. Genoways, John W. Bickham, Robert J. Baker, Carleton J. Phillips

University of Nebraska State Museum: Mammalogy Papers

The modern history of Jamaica is entwined with European exploration of the New World beginning with the landing of Columbus at Discovery Bay on May 4, 1494, during his second voyage to the Americas. Since that time the word Jamaica has conjured thoughts of tropical beaches, trade winds, pleasant tropical nights, Spaniards, British navy, Empire, sugar, rum, plantations, slavery, revolt, maroons, pirates, Port Royal, disasters, hurricanes, and in more recent years independence, tourism, Reggae, and welcoming and happy residents. Our knowledge of Jamaican natural history begins with Browne (1789). He and other early naturalists displayed a broad interest in plants …

Bats Of Skydusky Hollow, Bland County, Virginia, Virgil Brack Jr., Richard J. Reynolds, Wil Orndorff, Joe Zokaites, Carol Zokaites

Virginia Journal of Science

During the period 22 November 1999 – 11 October 2001, winter hibernacula surveys, spring staging/autumn swarming surveys, and summer surveys for bats were completed in caves of Skydusky Hollow, Bland County, Virginia. During winter, 12 caves were entered and 16,185 bats counted: 235 Myotis sodalis (Indiana bat), 14,475 Myotis lucifugus (little brown myotis), 12 Myotis septentrionalis (northern myotis), 7 Myotis leibii (eastern small-footed myotis), 1,441 Pipistrellus subflavus (eastern pipistrelle), and 15 Eptesicus fuscus (big brown bat). Myotis sodalis hibernated in thermally stable areas of 7 -9 ̊C. The largest concentration of M. lucifugus (n = 4,280) hibernated in an area …

Wpa News 75 (2005), World Pheasant Association

Galliformes Specialist Group and Affiliated Societies: Newsletters

WPA News (Summer 2005), number 75

Published by the World Pheasant Association

The Small Mammals Of Isle Of Wight County, Virginia, As Revealed By Pitfall Trapping, Robert K. Rose

Virginia Journal of Science

In a study conducted in mid-winter, pitfall traps were used to assess the small mammal communities on 14 grids set in open habitats in Isle of Wight County in eastern Virginia. In all, 136 shrews of three species and 103 rodents of five species were trapped. Least shrews (n=110) comprised 46 percent of small mammals and 80 percent of shrews. Eastern harvest mice (n=62) were the most common rodents. Reproduction was detected only in pine voles and southern bog lemmings. The majority of small mammals of the region were trapped during this month-long study.

Carbon Cycling In Lake Superior, N. R. Urban, M. T. Auer, Sarah A. Green, X. Lu, D. S. Apul, K. D. Powell, L. Bub

Department of Chemistry Publications

Carbon (C) cycling in Lake Superior was studied within the Keweenaw Interdisciplinary Transport Experiment in Superior (KITES) project to assess (1) whether the lake is net heterotrophic, (2) sources, sinks and residence time for dissolved organic carbon (DOC), (3) importance of terrigenous organic C subsidies, and (4) factors limiting C flow through bacteria. During 3 years of fieldwork, measurements were made of spatial and temporal distributions of C pools and rates of photosynthesis, community respiration, and bacterial production. Measurements were made of the composition of dissolved organic matter (DOM), rates of DOM photolysis, lability of DOM toward microbial consumption, and …

Influence Of Biocontrol Insects On Canada Thistle: Seed Production, Germinability, And Viability, Gary E. Larson, Tim A. Wittig, Kenneth F. Higgins, Brent Turnipseed, Dawn M. Gardner

The Prairie Naturalist

We conducted surveys of thistle-feeding insects on Canada thistle [Cirsium arvense (L.) Scop.] during the 2000 and 2001 growing seasons at Lacreek National Wildlife Refuge (LNWR), South Dakota, and analyzed their impact on thistle seed production, germination, and viability. Insects included Canada thistle stem weevil [Hadroplontus litura, formerly Ceurtorhynchus lilura, (Coleoptera: Curculionidae)], introduced at LNWR as a biocontrol agent, plus two seed head parasites, the thistle head weevil [Rhinocyllus conicus (Coleoptera: Curculionidae)] and the seed head fly [Terellia ruficauda (Diptera: Tephritidae)]. Infestation by these insects caused no significant reduction in per-head seed yield, with means ranging from 82.5 seeds per …

Christmas Bird Counts For North Dakota 2004, Robert N. Randall

The Prairie Naturalist

Christmas Bird Counts were made in 21 areas in North Dakota again in the year 2004. During the year a new count site was established in Pembina County and registered with the Audubon Society but an actual count was not made in the area this year. The location of the all areas in which counts were actually made is shown in Fig. 1. A relatively mild fall season leading up to the count period left much more open water than normal. Weather conditions during the count period varied widely with some areas reporting temperatures in the 40's and 50's of, …

Biological Notes On Ground-Nesting Digger Wasps From Western Nebraska, Robert W. Matthews, Janice R. Matthews

The Prairie Naturalist

Nine species of sphecid wasps nesting in sparsely vegetated sandy soils near Ogallala, Keith County, Nebraska were studied during June 2003. The first records of the nest and prey of Cerceris clypeata gnarina Banks and Tachysphex williamsi R. Bohart are presented. Two species of weevils, Baris striata Say and B. subsimilis Casey, were prey of C. clypeata gnarina, with 12 to 22 individuals stocked per cell. Because B. subsimilis is a biological control agent for thistle, this finding is a caution to researchers not to ignore the potential impact of predatory wasps on the community. The single nest of T …

Grazing Intensity Effects On Northern Plains Mixed-Grass Prairie, Wendi M. Rogers, Donald R. Kirby, Paul E. Nyren, Bob D. Patton, Edward S. Dekeyser

The Prairie Naturalist

We evaluated the effects of long-term (1988 to 2000) grazing on northern mixed-grass prairie at tI.e Central Grasslands Research Extension Center in south-central North Dakota. We did not detect a difference in herbaceous basal cover between grazing intensities following 12 consecutive years of season-long moderate (50% removal of annual above-ground standing crop) and heavy (80% removal of annual above-ground standing crop) grazing. However, both moderate and heavy grazing intensities reduced above-ground herbaceous standing crop, total root biomass, and soil organic carbon. Moderate grazing intensity maintained a greater amount of deep (10 to 20 cm) and total root biomass relative to …

The Prairie Naturalist: Volume 37, No. 2 June 2005

The Prairie Naturalist

BIOLOGICAL NOTES ON GROUND-NESTING DIGGER WASPS FROM WESTERN NEBRASKA R. W. Matthews, and J. R. Matthews 61

GRAZING INTENSITY EFFECTS ON NORTHERN PLAINS MIXED-GRASS PRAIRIE W. M. Rogers, D. R. Kirby, P. E. Nyren, B. D. Patton, and E. S. DeKeyser 73

INFLUENCE OF BIOCONTROL INSECTS ON CANADA THISTLE: SEED PRODUCTION.,GERMINABILITY, AND VIABILITY G. E. Larson, T. A. Wittig, K. F. Higgins, B. Turnipseed, and D. M Gardner 85

MAMMALS OF FORT LEAVENWORTH, KANSAS: A 6O-YEAR FOLLOW-UP TO BRUMWELL (1951) c. R. Davis, F. B. Stangl, Jr., and L. W. Robbins 101

CHRISTMAS BIRD COUNTS FOR NORTH DAKOTA 2004 R. …

Mammals Of Fort Leavenworth, Kansas: A 60-Year Followup To Brumwell (1951), Clay R. Davis, Frederick B. Stangl Jr., Lynn W. Robbins

The Prairie Naturalist

More than 60 years have elapsed since Brumwell's (1951) comprehensive assessment during 193911940 of resident terrestrial vertebrates from Fort Leavenworth Military Rooervation in northeastern Kansas. Subsequent studies have been accomplished for the amphibians, reptiles, and birds. Our study is the first to assess intervening changes in the mammalian composition of this diverse local fauna. Notable observations include: the decline or extirpation of the black-tailed jackrabbit (Lepus californicus), Franklin's ground squirrel (Spermophilus franklinii), muskrat (Ondatra zibethicus), long-tailed weasel (Mustela frenata) and eastern spotted skunk (Spilogale putorius); the return or recovery of locally extirpated gray fox (Urocyon cinereoargenteus), puma (Puma concolor), and …

A Genetic Analysis Of Variation For The Ability To Fly After Exposure Tothermal Stress In Drosophila Mojavensis, Robert A. Krebs, Kimberly A. Thompson

Biological, Geological, and Environmental Faculty Publications

To help us understand how adaptive tolerance to heat stress has evolved, we made F₁ hybrid crosses and backcrosses amongst populations of Drosophila mojavensis, and tested their ability to fly after exposure to a debilitating, but non-lethal, heat stress. Previous work identified that these populations vary in thermotolerance as measured for a variety of traits. Hybrid superiority was observed when crossing all four pairs of strains. Patterns of inheritance in flight ability after stress varied depending on which strains were used to set up complete reciprocal backcrosses, and, for both population pairs, results supported a multigenic model. This …

An Additional Record Of The Ornate Box Turtle From Western South Dakota, Steven G. Platt, Jennifer I. Stover, Edward J. Stover Iii

The Prairie Naturalist

On June 11, 2003, one of us (EJS) found an ornate box turtle crossing BIA Highway 2, approximately 7.2 km north of Sharps Comer on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation in Shannon County, South Dakota. The air temperature at the time of collection was approximately 30°C and the substrate was moist from light rain the previous day. The turtle was an adult female with a straight-line carapace length of 118 mm. Other straight-line measurements were: maximum carapace width = 100 mm; plastron length = 122 mm; maximum plastron width = 82 mm; and maximum shell depth = 64 mm. We …

Mammals Of The Cosigüina Peninsula Of Nicaragua, Hugh H. Genoways, Robert M. Timm

University of Nebraska State Museum: Mammalogy Papers

Nicaragua’s Cosigüina Peninsula, located at the northwestern tip of the country, is one of the most poorly studied biotic regions in Central America. The peninsula has been occupied for millennia because the climate of the region supported human habitation and because of its strategic position along the rich Pacific coast. The combination of long-term occupancy by humans and the cataclysmic eruptions of Volcán Cosigüina have produced a heavily impacted landscape. During the 1960s, the University of Kansas conducted multiyear field surveys of the terrestrial mammals on the peninsula and the adjacent mainland to quantify species diversity, relationships, abundances, habitat use, …

Fisheries Research Contract Report No. 12 - Mitigation Of The Negative Impacts On Biodiversity And Fisheries Values Of The Refurbishment Of Waroona Dam, South-Western Australia (Final Report For The Water Corporation Of Western Australia), Brett Molony, Stephen Beatty, Chris Bird, Vinh Nguyen

Fisheries Research Contract Reports

In addition to the supply of water for agriculture, irrigation dams of south-western Australia are important systems for recreational activities, including fishing (Molony & Bird 2002, Molony et al. 2002a). Lake Navarino (the reservoir created by Waroona Dam, figures 1 and 2, approx. 115° 55 E 32° 51 S) is the first major public access reservoir south of the Perth Metropolitan Area and is an important component of the Recreational Marron (Cherax tenuimanus') Fishery (RMF) (Molony 2001a, 2002a, 2003a, Molony & Bird 2002, Beatty et al. 2003a). Further, it is the most northerly irrigation dam that is regularly stocked with …

Ecological Studies Of Wolves On Isle Royale, 2004-2005, Rolf O. Peterson, John A. Vucetich

Ecological Studies of Wolves on Isle Royale

Annual Report 2004-2005

The Quintessential Companion For North American Birders: Review Of The Birdwatcher's Companion To North American Birdlife By Christopher W. Leahy, Lawrence Igl

The Prairie Naturalist

The Birdwatcher's Companion was revised in 2004 under a new title, The Birdwatcher's Companion to North American Birdlire, and by a new publisher, Princeton University Press. This substantial work builds on Leahy's previous edition published in 1982. Hailed by the publisher as the quintessential, alphabetically arranged guide to North American birdlife, the new edition of The Birdwatcher's Companion is over 100 pages longer than the first edition, but, overall, the style and format have not changed much between the two editions. The Companion begins with a brief chapter in which the author describes how to use the book, how it …

Factors Influencing Persistence Of White-Footed Mice, Brock R. Mcmillan, Glennis A. Kaufman, Donald W. Kaufman

The Prairie Naturalist

We examined factors that potentially influenced persistence of the white-footed mouse (Peromyscus leucopus) during 1981 to 1988 at Konza Prairie Biological Station, Kansas. We predicted that both abiotic (e.g., precipitation and temperature) and biotic (e.g., availability of food and density of conspecifics) factors would influence persisten~e of individuals at the study site. Persistence of individual white-footed mice on the study site differed among years and seasons. White-footed mice that were first captured in summer or in autumn persisted longer than those first captured in spring. Young females (less than 20 g) had greater persistence than young males, whereas …

Lack Of Brown-Headed Cowbird Nest Parasitism In A Short Grass Region, Stephen L. Winter, Jack F. Cully Jr.

The Prairie Naturalist

While conducting field work in Morton County, southwestern Kansas and Baca County, southeastern Colorado, during the period 27 May to 2 July 1997, we found 36 nests of seven bird species. Nests were not searched for systematically, but were found coincidentally as data were collected along transects during research investigating the breeding bird and plant communities of black-tailed prairie dog (Cynomys ludovicianus) colonies and noncolonized shortgrass prairie (Winter 1999).

Low densities of the brown-headed cowbird in our study region, which is characterized by a semi-arid climate, might be a consequence of host populations that exhibit extreme temporal and …

Comparison Of Microclimate At Grassland Bird Nests With Different Substrates, Kimberly M. Suedkamp Wells, Samuel D. Fuhlendore

The Prairie Naturalist

We compared the effects of two different nest placement strategies (shrubs vs. bunchgrasses) on microclimate conditions for grasshopper sparrow (Ammodramus savannarum) and lark sparrow (Chondestes grammacus) in Oklahoma. We predicted that the intensity and duration of extreme temperatures (greater than 39° C) and their variability would be reduced at shrub nests compared to bunchgrass nests. A verage maximum temperatures were similar at nests of grasshopper sparrow and lark sparrow, but confidence intervals were more variable and included biologically detrimental temperatures at grasshopper sparrow nests compared to lark sparrow nests. The proportion of time greater than 39° …

The Sooner State Bird Atlas: Review Of Oklahoma Breeding Bird Atlas, Dan L. Reinking, Editor, Timothy J. O'Connell

The Prairie Naturalist

In Oklahoma, forest meets prairie, prairie meets mesa, and throughout, our native ecosystems are shaped by human land use. Across this shifting mosaic of habitats, animals find food, raise young, and disperse to find other members of their species. Management for these species is best informed when it springs from a common baseline of knowledge about distributions across the entire management area. For birds, that baseline can be effectively established with a breeding bird atlas. ... In sum, the Oklahoma Breeding Bird Atlas presents timely information on a fascinating statewide avifauna in a clear and attractive package. The text is …

Daphnia Lumholtzi, An Exotic Zooplankton, Invading A Nebraska Reservoir, Brian C. Peterson, Nicolas J. Fryda, Keith D. Koupal, Wyatt Hoback

The Prairie Naturalist

A limnological assessment project by the University of Nebraska at Kearney and the Nebraska Game and Parks Commission collected weekly vertical zooplankton tows during May through September 2002 at Harlan County Reservoir in Nebraska. Beginning on 5 August 2002, the exotic Daphnia lumholtzi (Cladocera: Daphniidae) appeared at a density of 0.04 1.1 in one of fifteen standardized sampling stations. By 6 September 2002, D. lumholtzi was found in all fifteen stations at an average density of 2.17 ± 3.10 1.1 with a site maximum density of 11.43 1.1 • Length measurements of D. lumholtzi ranged from 0.80 mm to 5.66 …

Electrocution Of An Adult White-Tailed Deer, Christopher S. Deperno, Benjamin J. Bigalke, Jonathan A. Jenks, Brian S. Haroldson, Robert G. Osborn

The Prairie Naturalist

On 16 May 2002, an adult female white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) died after becoming entangled in an electric fence in southeast Minnesota. The deer (#393) was captured 30 January 2000 as part of a cooperative, long-term deer mortality study being conducted in southern Minnesota (Bigalke et al. 2002, Brinkman 2003, Brinkman et al. 2002). Although fence entanglements occur, they do not account for significant losses in white-tailed deer populations (Matschke et al. 1984). Nixon et al. (1991) documented mortality of two fawns with broken cervical vertebrae that had collided with fences, but did not distinguish the type of …

Continued Range Expansion Ny The Cave Myotis, Shauna R. Marquardt, Jerry R. Choate, Stanley D. Roth Jr.

The Prairie Naturalist

The cave myotis (Myotis velifer) is a cavernicolous bat that ranges northward from Honduras to the southern Great Plains and southwestern United States. Its known range in the United States includes the states of Kansas, Oklahoma, Texas, Arizona, New Mexico, and small, southern portions of Nevada and California (Fitch et al. 1981, Hayward 1970). The cave Myotis inhabits caves, mines, and buildings, depending on time of year and specific roost requirements (Fitch et al. 1981, Hayward 1970, Kunz 1973, Sparks and Choate 2000). Before European settlement of areas within the range of the cave Myotis, it likely …