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Full-Text Articles in Biology
Influences Of Grazing On Habitat Characteristics, Avian Community Composition And Nesting Bird Abundance Within Cheyenne Bottoms, Ks, Kirsten Granstrom-Arndt
Influences Of Grazing On Habitat Characteristics, Avian Community Composition And Nesting Bird Abundance Within Cheyenne Bottoms, Ks, Kirsten Granstrom-Arndt
Master's Theses
Cheyenne Bottoms is a 41,000-acre prairie-marsh ecosystem in central Kansas. Approximately 8,000 acres of mixed grassland are dedicated for the conservation of bird populations, but little is known about the status of bird communities within these areas. This study took place within grassland areas of Cheyenne Bottoms from May – July 2021. I investigated bird community composition, relative abundance of frequently observed bird species, vegetative characteristics, and similarity of sites across different grazing intensities (continuous, rotational, and non-grazed). The four most common bird species observed were dickcissel (Spiza americana), grasshopper sparrow (Ammodramus savannarum), meadowlark species ( …
Foraging Ecology Of Parrotfishes In The Greater Caribbean: Impacts Of Specialization And Dietary Preferences On Marine Benthic Communities, Madelyn V. Roycroft
Foraging Ecology Of Parrotfishes In The Greater Caribbean: Impacts Of Specialization And Dietary Preferences On Marine Benthic Communities, Madelyn V. Roycroft
Master's Theses
Coral reefs are one of the world’s most diverse yet heavily impacted marine ecosystems. As a result of many direct and indirect stressors, coral reefs have experienced major degradation over the last several decades. Declines in coral reefs in the Caribbean have been particularly acute and generally associated with the loss of key herbivores and an increase in algae. Herbivorous fishes such as parrotfishes can positively impact coral reefs by removing algae that compete with corals for light and space. However, many parrotfishes are also important coral predators. Predation on corals, known as corallivory, can adversely affect coral growth, reproduction …
Timing And Intensity Of Steer Use On Old World Bluestem (Bothriochloa Ischaemum) And Blue Grama (Bouteloua Gracilis) In Southern Mixed-Grass Prairie, Jessica Casey
Master's Theses
Yellow bluestem (Bothriochloa ischaemum), an invasive species, was introduced as a forage species and as a roadside grass for erosion control. Yellow bluestem can negatively interact with native grasslands and reduce biodiversity. Livestock tend to avoid yellow bluestem after accumulation of standing lignified tissue, particularly at the end of the growing season. Mowing has been used in pasture situations to remove excess grass for hay and over coarse grass left from the previous season. It is essential to understand the role livestock play as either a catalyst for control or preventing further invasion of yellow bluestem. Quantification of the timing …
Influence Of Habitat Heterogeneity On Small Mammals In The Central Platte River Valley, Nebraska, Justin D. Anderson
Influence Of Habitat Heterogeneity On Small Mammals In The Central Platte River Valley, Nebraska, Justin D. Anderson
Master's Theses
Although the loss of prairie is substantial across the extent of its historic range, large portions of native rangeland still remain throughout Nebraska. It is critical that resource managers and private landowners manage rangelands in a manner that will enhance ecosystem integrity by using techniques that provide disturbance regimes. Heterogeneity based management, such as patch-burn grazing and rest-rotation grazing, can be used as a conservation tool to increase biodiversity within management units and at a landscape level. Heterogeneity-based management has received much attention in the literature within the past decade, but there has been little focus on how these management …
Stem Anatomy Of Twelve Forbs Of The Family Compositae Growing Near Hays, Kansas, Cheng Lin
Stem Anatomy Of Twelve Forbs Of The Family Compositae Growing Near Hays, Kansas, Cheng Lin
Master's Theses
The importance of forbs to the livestock diet seems to come from their high percentage of calcium and phosphorus (Runyon, 1947). Furthermore, they also contain a higher amount of moisture (Savage and Heller, 1947) which makes them more succulent and therefore more palatable than the grasses during drought. This condition of greater succulence is due in part at least to _the more deeply penetrating roots of the forbs (Albertson, 1937). Observations also have indicated the possibility of a considerable amount of latex, oils and resins in the green forb plants. Because of the importance of these plants it was thought …
Effects On Different Intensities Of Utilization Upon The Underground Parts Of Short Grasses In West Central Kansas, Farrel Branson
Effects On Different Intensities Of Utilization Upon The Underground Parts Of Short Grasses In West Central Kansas, Farrel Branson
Master's Theses
Work on root systems of forage plants has indicated that a knowledge of root relationships is fully as important in determining the actual conditions of ranges or pastures as is knowledge of the effects of grazing upon aboveground portions of plants. This is especially true in arid or semiarid regions since plants of these areas are frequently subjected to long periods of drought, high temperatures, and high wind velocities. Some xeric plants have a thickened cuticular layer, stomates that open only at night, and other mechanisms that prevent loss of water that is absorbed by the roots. However, in plants …
Study Of Viable Seeds In Surface Soil From Various Habitats In Ellis County, Kansas., Robert D. Lippert
Study Of Viable Seeds In Surface Soil From Various Habitats In Ellis County, Kansas., Robert D. Lippert
Master's Theses
It is the purpose of this study to determine what species of plants emerge from samples of surface soil taken from various habitats after several years of favorable growing conditions.
Pastures Of Western Kansas In Relation To Intensity Of Utilization In Past Years, Gerald W. Tomanek
Pastures Of Western Kansas In Relation To Intensity Of Utilization In Past Years, Gerald W. Tomanek
Master's Theses
Short grass pastures vary in their ability to produce forage for livestock consumption. One of the reasons for this difference is a variation in the degree of utilization in past years. Forage production of short grass ranges has been reduced to about one-half after only a few decades of improper grazing; therefore the problem of proper utilization is becoming more important every year (Forest Service, 1936). When the settlers first came to western Kansas they found an almost complete cover of native vegetation and during the first few years only a small portion of the range land was cultivated. With …
Bio-Ecology On A Mixed Prairie Near Hays, Kansas, H. Leo Brown
Bio-Ecology On A Mixed Prairie Near Hays, Kansas, H. Leo Brown
Master's Theses
A survey of the activity of wild animals in connection with range conditions and range management is greatly needed in western Kansas. To have a well-managed range one should have an understanding of the ecological factors which benefit or deplete the native vegetation that is essential for production of livestock. The impact of grazing, and the effect of changes in edaphic and atmospheric environment on the prairie have further emphasized the importance of a cover of grass in preventing erosion.
The Utilization Of Grasses And Forbs In Relation To The Intensity Of Grazing In The Mixed Prairie Near Hays, Kansas, Noel Runyon
The Utilization Of Grasses And Forbs In Relation To The Intensity Of Grazing In The Mixed Prairie Near Hays, Kansas, Noel Runyon
Master's Theses
The principal occupation of the inhabitants in the Great Plains Region is livestock farming. The problems confronting the farmers and ranchers of this large area are many and varied. Not the least of these problems is the one of a proper stocking rate for the various types of ranges in order to secure a maximum production with the least in capital outlay and range deterioration. Another problem that has presented itself in recent years is the one of revegetating thousands of acres of marginal and semi-marginal land so that mother nature may again heal the marks of erosion and bring …
The Effect Of Climate And Different Grazing And Dusting Intensities Upon The Yield Of The Short Grass Prairies In West Central Kansas., Marvin L. Lacey
The Effect Of Climate And Different Grazing And Dusting Intensities Upon The Yield Of The Short Grass Prairies In West Central Kansas., Marvin L. Lacey
Master's Theses
The purpose of this problem was to determine the effect of climate, amount of dusting, and degree of grazing by livestock and grasshoppers upon the quantity and quality of forage produced by various short grass pastures in west-central Kansas.
Studies In Breaking The Rest Period Of Grass Plants By Treatments With Potassium Thiocyante And In Stimulating Growth With Artificial Light, Harold R. Shepherd
Studies In Breaking The Rest Period Of Grass Plants By Treatments With Potassium Thiocyante And In Stimulating Growth With Artificial Light, Harold R. Shepherd
Master's Theses
There has developed a need for a practical means of artificially breaking the rest period and of stimulating the growth of grasses so that sods can be procured early in the fall before freezing weather, brought into the greenhouse, and forced early to make an abundant vegetative growth. This need suggested the study of which this paper is the report, namely to discover whether or not the rest period of native grasses can be broken by treatment with potassium thiocyanate and their growth stimulated by artificial light supplemental to winter daylight.