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The Prairie Naturalist Volume 35, No.3 September 2003

The Prairie Naturalist

BROWN-HEADED COWBIRDS IN GRASSLANDS: THEIR HABITATS, HOSTS, AND RESPONSE TO MANAGEMENT ▪ J. A. Shaffer, C. M. Goldade, M. F. Dinkins, D. H. Johnson, L. D. Igl, and B. R. Euliss

LlGUMIA SUBROSTRATA (BIVALVIA: UNIONIDAE) IN MINNESOTA AND ITS STATUS IN THE UPPER MIDWEST ▪ B. E. Sietman, D. E. Kelner, R. A. Hart, and M. Davis

GUIDELINES FOR FINDING NESTS OF PASSERINE BIRDS IN TALLGRASS PRAIRIE ▪ M. Winter, S. E. Hawks, J. A. Shaffer, and D. H. Johnson

RESPONSE OF THE LEAST SHREW TO PREY OLFACTORY CUES ▪ F. Punzo and C. Gonzalez

Book Reviews

North Dakota's Butterflies …

Wpa News 71 (2003), World Pheasant Association

Galliformes Specialist Group and Affiliated Societies: Newsletters

WPA News (Summer 2003), number 71

Published by the World Pheasant Association

Endangered Species Bulletin, July/December 2003 - Vol. Xxviii No. 4

Endangered Species Bulletin

In this issue:
10 Species on the Brink of Recovery
12 Saving Species on the Brink of Extinction
14 Recovering a Prairie Orchid
16 From Cage to Rainforest
18 Partners for Running Buffalo Clover Recovery
20 Recovery Planning for the White Abalone
22 Recovery Champions
24 Dick Biggins, Recovery Hero
26 “Sea Otter” and the Geese
28 A Plan for Hawaiian Plants and Their Ecosystems
30 An Unconventional Approach to Habitat Conservation
32 Progress in Riparian Brush Rabbit Recovery
34 Stakeholders Unite for Flycatcher
36 CPR for Species
38 Partners in Butterfly Conservation
40 Listing Actions
44 Box Score

Vascular Plant Surveys Of The Winnebago And Omaha Indian Reservations, Steven B. Rolfsmeier

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

During the summer of 2000 the Nebraska Game and Parks Commission (NGPC) undertook a vascular plant survey of the Winnebago and Omaha Indian reservations in northeast Nebraska. All funding for the project was provided by the NGPC. The primary objective of the project was to identify all native and exotic plant species growing on the reservations and to identify traditional uses of these plants by the Winnebago, Omaha and HoChunk people. Secondary objectives of the project include: 1) identify rare plant populations, 2) identify high-quality examples of native plant communities and 3) document threats to rare plant populations and native …

Terrestrial Natural Communities Of Nebraska (Version Iii - June 30, 2005), Gerry Steinauer, Steven B. Rolfsmeier

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

For more than a decade, The Nature Conservancy (TNC) and state natural heritage programs, including the Nebraska Natural Heritage Program (NNHP), have used a “coarse filter/fine filter” approach to preserving biological diversity (The Nature Conservancy, 1994). This approach involves identification and protection of natural communities (coarse filter) as well as rare species (fine filter). Identifying and protecting representative examples of natural communities ensures conservation of most species, biotic interactions and ecological processes. Those species that “fall through” the community filters are generally the rare species. Identification and protection of viable occurrences of rare species serves as the fine filter for …

The Prairie Naturalist Volume 35, No.2 June 2003

The Prairie Naturalist

NEST PARASITISM ON CONSTRUCTED ISLANDS IN NORTHWESTERN NORTH DAKOTA ▪ A. L. Zimmerman, M. A. Sovada, T. K. Kessler, and R. K. Murphy

HISTORICAL AND RECENT RECORDS AND FIRST NEST RECORDS OF HENSLOW'S SPARROW IN NORTH DAKOTA ▪ J. A. Shaffer, L. D. Igl, and F. Vanhove

AMERICAN AVOCET NESTING ON CONSTRUCTED ISLANDS IN NORTH DAKOTA ▪ A. L. Dahl, D. H. Johnson, L. D. Igl, K. L. Baer, T. L. Shaffer, M. A. Johnson, and R. E. Reynolds

CHRISTMAS BIRD COUNTS FOR NORTH DAKOTA 2002 ▪ R. N. Randall

MATERNAL LIVER AND EGG THIAMINE CONCENTRATIONS IN CHINOOK SALMON FROM …

Comparative Genome Organization Of Human, Murine, And Feline Mhc Class Ii Region, Naoya Yuhki, Thomas W. Beck, Robert M. Stephens, Yoko Nishigaki, Kymberly Newmann, Stephen J. O'Brien

Biology Faculty Articles

To study comparative molecular dynamics in the genesis of the major histocompatibility complex (MHC), we determined a complete nucleotide sequence spanning 758,291 bp of the domestic cat (Felis catus) extended and classical class II region. The feline class II MHC includes 44 genes (31 predicted to be expressed) which display DNA sequence homology and ordered gene synteny with human HLA and mouse H2, in extended class II and centromere proximal regions (DM to DO) of the classical class II region. However, remarkable genomic alterations including gene gain and loss plus size differentials of 250 kb are …

Endangered Species Bulletin, May/June 2003 - Vol. Xxviii No. 3

Endangered Species Bulletin

In this issue:
4 Conserving Wildlife of the Americas: Mexico’s Strategic Role
6 Conservation Along the Border
7 The Kemp’s Ridley: Recovery in the Making
10 Conserving Cacti in México
12 Black-footed Ferrets Thrive in Mexico
14 California Condors Return to Mexico
16 Nightly Wings, Nectar Sips
18 California Red-legged Frog: Jumping to Survival
20 Binational Conservation Grows from the Ground Up
22 Aquatic Life in the Sonoran Desert
24 Jaguar Conservation in the Borderlands
26 Corridors for Migration
27 Pronghorn Races Against Extinction
30 The Masked Bobwhite at Buenos Aires NWR
31 Regional News and Recovery Updates
32 Box …

Sustainability Issues For Agriculture In Western Australia, Anne Bennett, Ross Kingwell, Ross George

Agriculture reports

This paper describes briefly the main challenges to the sustainability of agriculture in Western Australia and outlines some means of responding the the challenges: market-based approaches; agricultural and environmental research and development; accelerated adjustment; and global and national policy initiatives. Challenges include: land resource quality (salinity, soil acidity), biodiversity, greenhouse gas emissions, climate change, water availability, food safety, and pests and diseases.

Host Range Extension For Chlorochlamys Chloroleucaria (Geometrinae, Geometridae) To Include Eriogonum Alatum (Polygonaceae), Kathleen H. Keeler, George J. Balogh

School of Biological Sciences: Faculty Publications

In 2001 and 2002 we collected specimens of Chlorochlamys chloroleucaria from Eriogonum alatum Torr., winged false buckwheat. Eriogonum alatum occurs at elevations of 5000-10,000 feet on both sides of the Rocky Mountains, from Utah (Welsh et al. 1987) to western Nebraska, southeastern Wyoming (Dorn 1977) to western Oklahoma and the Texas panhandle to Arizona (Great Plains Flora Association 1986).

Endangered Species Bulletin, March/April 2003 - Vol. Xxviii No. 2

Endangered Species Bulletin

In this issue:
4 Jewels in our Waters
6 Conservation and Recovery of Southeastern Imperiled Fishes
8 Releasing Mussels into Recovering Waters
10 Crayfish: An Overlooked Fauna
12 The Urban Life of Darters
14 Forty-One Tons
16 Landowners Are Recognized for Conservation Work
18 In Memoriam: Tyler Alley Sykes
20 Down by the Green River
22 Sending Surrogates to the Rescue
24 Cryptic Biodiversity
27 Sturgeon Surveys in the Lower Mississippi
28 Chinese Biologists Compare Argali to Bighorn Departments
30 Regional News and Recovery Updates
31 Listing Actions
36 Box Score

The Prairie Naturalist Volume 35, No.1 March 2003

The Prairie Naturalist

PATTERNS OF IMPALING IN A MIGRATORY POPULATION OF THE LOGGERHEAD SHRIKE ▪ J. D. Esely and E. K. Bollinger

COMPARISON OF FEEDING IN TWO PHENOLOGICALLY DISTINCT GRASSHOPPERS ▪ K. J. Haynes

DISTRIBUTION AND TRENDS OF BANDED CANADA GEESE IN SOUTH DAKOTA ▪ J. S. Gleason, J. A. Jenks, and P. W. Mammenga

FLORISTIC ASSESSMENT OF SAND PRAIRIES AND SEDGE MEADOWS, LEE COUNTY, ILLINOIS ▪ W. C. Handel, L. R. Phillippe, and J. E. Ebinger

POULT PROTECTION BY MERRIAM'S TURKEY FEMALES TOWARDS A NORTHERN GOSHAWK ▪ C. P. Lehman

ADDITIONAL ECTOPARASITIC RECORDS OF BATS FROM KANSAS ▪ D. W. Sparks, K. …

Incorporating Local Knowledge Into Population And Habitat Viability Assessments: Landowners And Tree Kangaroos In Papua New Guinea, Philip J. Nyhus, J Williams, J Borovansky, O Byers, P Miller

Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

An Analysis Of Diversity In Freshwater Mussels (Bivalvia: Unionidae) Of The Cuyahoga And Rocky River Watersheds (Ohio, Usa) Based On The 16s Rrna Gene, Robert A. Krebs, Roxana N. Vlasceanu, Michael J.S. Tevesz

Biological, Geological, and Environmental Faculty Publications

The continued loss of freshwater unionid mussel species in the Great Lakes region, and particularly from Lake Erie, raises the question of how much phylogenetic and genetic variation remain in the watershed. The introduction of molecular markers into population biology offers one reproducible technique for assessing this variation. A fragment of the 16S rRNA gene of mitochondrial DNA has previously been used to infer phylogenetic relationships in the family Unionidae. Therefore, we reanalyzed these published molecular data with the addition of 12 species from the Cuyahoga and Rocky rivers in northeast Ohio. Both rivers drain to Lake Erie. The species …

Conservation And Restoration Of Pine Forest Genetic Resources In México, C. Sáenz-Romero, Amy E. Snively, R. Lindig-Cisneros

Student Published Works

Deforestation rates in México are about 670,000 ha/year. This threatens the richness of forest genetic resources in México, causing the disappearance of locally adapted populations and rare and endangered pine species. México is one of the six megadiverse countries in the world, with half of the world’s Pinus species. Pinus is one of the most economically and ecologically important forest genera in México. We suggest that delineation of seed zones and the establishment of a network of Forest Genetic Resource Conservation Units (FGRCUs), linked with forest management and ecological restoration programs will protect this valuable resource. We estimate that FGRCUs …

Restoration Of The Red Wolf, Michael K. Phillips, V. Gary Henry, Brian T. Kelly

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

"WOLFERS" IN NORTHEASTERN North Carolina were busy on February 5, 1768. Records from the Tyrrell County courthouse read:

Giles Long and Thomas Wilkinson awarded one pound for a certified wolf scalp; Jeremiah Norman awarded two pounds for certified wolf and wild-cat scalps; Davenport Smithwick awarded one pound for a certified wolf-scalp.

Such was the nature of the war on the wolf: people killed them for money. The belief of the time held that the war was necessary because it was humankind's manifest destiny to tame the wilderness. And for the wilderness to be tame, the wolf had to be exterminated. …

Wolf-Prey Relations, L. David Mech, Rolf O. Peterson

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

AS 1 (L. o. MECH) watched from a small ski plane while fifteen wolves surrounded a moose on snowy Isle Royale, I had no idea this encounter would typify observations I would make during 40 more years of studying wolf-prey interactions.

My usual routine while observing wolves hunting was to have my pilot keep circling broadly over the scene so I could watch the wolves' attacks without disturbing any of the animals. Only this time there was no attack. The moose held the wolves at bay for about 5 minutes (fig. p), and then the pack left.

From this observation …

Annual Review Of The World Pheasant Association 2002/2003, 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 2002/2003 (including South Asia Office), Philip J. K. McGowan and Rahul Kaul

WPA around the world: Highlights from the chapters

Cracid Specialist Group report, Daniel M. Brooks

Grouse Specialist Group report, Ilse Storch

Megapode Specialist Group report, René Dekker

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

Pheasant Specialist Group report, Peter J. Garson

Galliformes in captivity: Results of the United Kingdom Galliformes Census 2002, Gary Robbins and John Corder

Cracids in coastal Alagoas State, northeastern Brazil, Luís Fábio Silveira and Fábio Olmos …

Endangered Species Bulletin, January/February 2003 - Vol. Xxviii No. 1

Endangered Species Bulletin

In this issue:
4 A Century of Conservation
9 Hakalau Forest National Wildlife Refuge
12 Refuges Are a Flight Path to Recovery
14 An Amphibious Assault
18 Community Helps Save Laguna Atascosa’s Wildlife
20 The Key Deer: Back From the Brink
22 Research on Fox Squirrel Reaps Rewards
24 Refuge for an Ice Age Survivor
27 “Habitats” Featured on Geography Action!
28 Bringing Tiger Beetles Together
30 Share the Beach: Teamwork for Turtles
32 The Treasures of the Ozark Plateau
34 The Dynamic Dunes
36 This Partnership is for the Birds!
38 Hard Work Brings Results at Chincoteague

Megapode Newsletter 17(1)-21(2) (2003-2008), World Pheasant Association, Birdlife International, Ssc Megapode Specialist Group

Galliformes Specialist Group and Affiliated Societies: Newsletters

Volume 17, Number 1 (April 2003)

Editors: René W. R. J. Dekker and Darryl N. Jones

Viable population of Bruijn's Brush-turkey Aepypodius bruijnii discovered, Iwein Mauro

A new, a forgotten and a lost specimen of Bruijn's Brush-turkey Aepypodius bruijnii, C. W. Moeliker, C. J. Heij, J. N. J. Post, and E. J. O. Kompanje

Successful synanthropy in an Australian megapode, Darryl N. Jones

Monitoring the Nicobar megapode Megapodius nicobariensis: Phase I, Current status and conservation of the Nicobar megapode Megapodius nicobariensis, K. Sivakumar

Megapode Genetics Project proposal, Gillian C. Baker

Polynesian megapode Megapodius pritchardii status survey on …

A Guide To Prairie And Wetland Restoration In Eastern Nebraska, Gerry Steinauer, Bill Whitney, Krista Adams, Mike Bullerman, Chris Helzer

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

This publication documents the restoration methods originally developed by Bill Whitney and later refined by himself and other ecologists from TNC, PRCT, NGPC and USFWS working in eastern Nebraska. Restoration of the following plant community types is covered in this document: tallgrass prairie, mixed-grass prairie, sand prairie, freshwater wet meadow and marsh, Rainwater Basin wet meadow and marsh, and saline wet meadow and marsh.

The methods we use are generally affordable and not complicated. To quickly summarize, we handpick and machine harvest seed, do little seed cleaning and broadcast plant with a fertilizer spreader. We do not mow annual weeds …

2003 Survey Of Priority Natural Communities In Jefferson County, Nebraska, Robert F. Steinauer

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

This survey was undertaken to update information on native plant communities and wildlife habitats in Nebraska to facilitate the development of the Nebraska Game and Parks Commission’s (NGPC) Comprehensive Wildlife Plan. The specific intent of the project was to identify and map all large blocks of privately owned native plant communities within the survey area. In 2003, the surveys focused on eastern Nebraska, specifically deciduous forest communities along the Missouri River, tallgrass prairies of southeastern Nebraska (Pawnee, Gage, Jefferson, and eastern Thayer counties), and loess mixed-grass prairies in central Nebraska. A brief survey of the Elkhorn River valley in Madison …

Wolves And Humans, Steven H. Fritts, Robert O. Stephenson, Robert D. Hayes, Luigi Boitani

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

TRY TO IMAGINE a small group of wolves sitting at a table engaged in vigorous debate. These wolves are from various parts of the globe and are perhaps a bit more scholarly than most. In fact, they are especially knowledgeable about the biology of that notorious two-legged species, Homo sapiens. They have been brought together to document their relationship with humans over the last several millennia. Pause for a few moments and consider what they might say ...

Perhaps the wolves' discussion would chronicle the evils of the human species, including details of atrocities committed against lupine ancestors down …

Wolves: Behavior, Ecology, And Conservation: Photo Section I, Douglas W. Smith, Rolf Peterson, L. David Mech, Barron Crawford

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

Wolves in Yellowstone National Park's restored population often must compete with grizzly bears at the carcasses of their kills. Especially after their first feeding at a kill, wolves tend to relinquish their kills to bears. Photograph by Doug Smith.

Elk are one of the most common prey of wolves in the northern Rocky Mountains of North America, primarily because in most areas they tend to outnumber other prey. This large bull standing his ground escaped this pack. Photograph by Doug Smith.

Introduction, L. David Mech, Luigi Boitani

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

THE WOLF IS TRULY a special animal. As the most widely distributed of all land mammals, the wolf, formally the gray wolf (Canis lupus), is also one of the most adaptable. It inhabits all the vegetation types of the Northern Hemisphere and preys on all the large mammals living there. It also feeds on all the other animals in its environment, scavenges, and can even eat fruits and berries. Wolves frequent forests and prairies, tundra, barren ground, mountains, deserts, and swamps. Some wolves even visit large cities, and, of course, the wolf's domesticated version, the dog, thrives in …

Wolf Social Ecology, L. David Mech, Luigi Boitani

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

THE FIRST REAL BEGINNING to our understanding of wolf social ecology came from wolf 2204 on 23 May 1972. State depredation control trapper Lawrence Waino, of Duluth, Minnesota, had caught this female wolf 112 km ( 67 mi) south of where L. D. Mech had radio-collared her in the Superior National Forest 2 years earlier. A young lone wolf, nomadic over 100 km² (40 mi²) during the 9 months Mech had been able to keep track of her, she had then disappeared until Waino caught her. From her nipples it was apparent that she had just been …

References, L. David Mech, Luigi Boitani

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

Abrams, P. A. 2000. The evolution of predator-prey interactions. Annu. Rev. Ecol. Syst. 31:79-105.

Abuladze, K. I. 1964. Osnovy Tsestodologii. Vol. IV. Teniatylentochnye gel' minty zhivotnykh i cheloveka i vyzyvaevaniia. Nauka, Moscow. 530 pp.

Achuff, P. L., and R. Petocz. 1988. Preliminary resource inventory of the Arjin Mountains Nature Reserve, Xinjiang, People's Republic of China. World Wide Fund for Nature, Gland, Switzerland. 78 pp.

Ackerman, B. B., F. A. Leban, M. D. Samuel, and E. 0. Garton. 1990. User's manual for program Home Range. 2d ed. Technical Report no. 15. Forestry, Wildlife, and Range Experiment Station, University ofldaho, Moscow.

Acorn, …

Wolf Population Dynamics, Todd K. Fuller, L. David Mech, Jean Fitts Cochrane

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

A LARGE, DARK WOLF poked his nose out of the pines in Yellowstone National Park as he thrust a broad foot deep into the snow and plowed ahead. Soon a second animal appeared, then another, and a fourth. A few minutes later, a pack of thirteen lanky wolves had filed out of the pines and onto the open hillside.

Wolf packs are the main social units of a wolf population. As numbers of wolves in packs change, so too, then, does the wolf population (Rausch 1967). Trying to understand the factors and mechanisms that affect these changes is what the …

Wolves: Behavior, Ecology, And Conservation: Photo Section Ii, Douglas W. Smith, L. David Mech, Isaac Babcock, Melissa Mccaw

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

Adult wolves are very attentive to the pups. Both parents feed and care for them. Any older siblings similarly participate in pup care and feeding. Kin selection is probably the best explanation for the latter behavior. Top: Photograph by Isaac Babcock. Bottom: Photograph by L. David Mech.

Wolf Interactions With Non-Prey, Warren B. Ballard, Ludwig N. Carbyn, Douglas W. Smith

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

WOLVES SHARE THEIR ENVIRONMENT with many animals besides those that they prey on, and the nature of the interactions between wolves and these other creatures varies considerably. Some of these sympatric animals are fellow canids such as foxes, coyotes, and jackals. Others are large carnivores such as bears and cougars. In addition, ravens, eagles, wolverines, and a host of other birds and mammals interact with wolves, if only by feeding on the remains of their kills.