Ecology and Evolutionary Biology Commons^™

Spatial And Temporal Differences In Giant Kidney Worm, Dictophyma Renale, Prevalence In Minnesota Mink, Mustela Vison, L. David Mech

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

Examination of 110 Mink (Mustela vison) carcasses from 1998 through 2007 indicated that the giant kidney worm, Dioctophyma renale, occurred in Pine and Kanabec Counties of eastern Minnesota with annual prevalences of 0-92%. Worm prevalence increased from 20% in 1999 to 92% in 2001 and decreased to 6% in 2005. During 2000 to 2007, no worms were found in Mink from Anoka and Chisago Counties (n = 54), and in 2000, none in 107 Mink from LeSeur, Freeborn, Redwood, Brown and Watonwan Counties. Changes in kidney worm prevalence were positively related to trapping success, considered an index …

Wolf Body Mass Cline Across Minnesota Related To Taxonomy?, L. David Mech, William J. Paul

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

Recent genetic studies suggest that in northern Minnesota two species of wolves (Canis lupus L., 1758 or western wolf and Canis lycaon Schreber, 1775 (= Canis rufus Audubon and Bachman, 1851) or eastern wolf) meet and hybridize. However, little morphological information is available about these two types of wolves in Minnesota. We analyzed the mass of 950 female wolves and 1006 males older than 1 year from across northern Minnesota and found that it increased from 26.30 ± 0.56 kg (mean ± SE) for females and 30.60 ± 0.72 kg for males in northeastern Minnesota to 30.01 ± 0.43 …

A Guide To The Tallgrass Prairies Of Eastern Nebraska And Adjacent States, Paul A. Johnsgard

Papers in Ornithology

Contents

Part 1: Ecology of the Tallgrass Prairie

Part 2: Plants of the Tallgrass Prairies:
Checklist of Prairie & Grassland Plants of Nebraska; Relative Frequencies of Grasses, Spring Creek and Nine-mile Prairies; Twenty Most Abundant Fall Forbs, Spring Creek and Nine-mile Prairies; Typical Shrubs, Forbs, Grasses & Sedges of Eastern Nebraska Tallgrass Prairies; English: Latin Name Equivalents of 370 Tallgrass Prairie Plants; Latin: English Name Equivalents of 370 Tallgrass Prairie Plants Identification Keys to Some Common Nebraska Grassland Forbs

Part 3: Animals of the Tallgrass Prairies
Greater Prairie-chickens and Native Prairies; Seasonal Checklist of Nebraska Tallgrass Ecoregion Birds (Gage County); …

Distribution Patterns Of Great Basin Conifers: Implications Of Extinction And Immigration, David A. Charlet

Aliso: A Journal of Systematic and Floristic Botany

Factors influencing the distribution of scattered montane conifers on mountaintops in the Great Basin of North America were investigated. The sources of data were collections and observations on more than 300 mountain ranges in the region. All mountains in the region with at least one montane conifer species and all adjacent source areas were included in the data set. In all, 164 montane island sites and 40 mainland sites were used in the analyses. Physical data for each site were compiled and regression analyses were conducted to test the predictions of three island biogeography models: immigration, extinction, and equilibrium. These …

Description Of The Tadpole Of Leptodactylus Pustulatus Peters, 1870 (Anura: Leptodactylidae), Rafael O. De Sá, Reuber Brandão, Lorena Dall'ara Guimarães

Biology Faculty Publications

The external morphology and oral disc of the tadpole of Leptodactylus pustulatus Peters, 1870, are described and illustrated for Gosner stage 39. The internal oral anatomy was analyzed with SEM at Gosner stage 36 whereas chondrocranial anatomy is reported for Gosner stage 35. The overall characteristics do not depart from those known for the genus Leptodactylus and they particularly agree for those of the melanonotus species group. The labial tooth row formula is 2(2)/3. Observations are presented that suggest that L. pustulatus engages in larval parental care.

Resumo

São descritas a morfologia externa e o disco oral do girino de …

The Prairie Naturalist, Volume 39, No. 2 June 2007

The Prairie Naturalist

USING DISTANCE SAMPLING TO ESTIMATE DENSITIES OF WHlTE-TAILED DEER IN SOUTH-CENTRAL MINNESOTA, M. A. LaRue, C. K. Nielsen, and M. D. Grund

BURROWING OWL ASSOCIATIONS WITH BLACK-TAILED PRAIRIE DOG COLONIES IN SOUTHWESTERN KANSAS AND SOUTHEASTERN COLORADO, S. L. Winter and J. F. Cully, Jr.

OPTIMAL FORAGING IN EASTERN FOX SQUIRREL: FOOD SIZE MATTERS FOR A GENERALIST FORAGER, R. Tatina

IN MEMORIAM: ROBERT N. RANDALL. C. Talkington

Editor's Note regarding Christmas Bird Count

OCCURRENCES OF SMALL MAMMAL SPECIES IN A MIXEDGRASS PRAIRIE IN NORTHWESTERN NORTH DAKOTA, R. K. Murphy, R. A. Sweitzer, and J. D. Albertson

SILPHIDAE (INSECTA: COLEOPTERA) COLLECTED IN …

Editor's Note Regarding Christmas Bird Count, Elmer J. Finck

The Prairie Naturalist

Lawrence Igl has agreed to summarize the North Dakota Christmas Bird Counts for submission to The Prairie Naturalist. We plan to have a short biography for Larry when the first summary is published. Elmer J. Finck, Editor

Notes On Black-Footed Ferret Detectability And Behavior, David S. Jachowski

The Prairie Naturalist

Despite over two decades of recovery efforts, the black-footed ferret (Mustela nigripes) remains one of the least understood and most critically endangered mammals in North America. Once extinct in the wild, over 2,400 captive-born individuals of black-footed ferret (hereafter referred to as ferret) have been released at 13 reintroduction sites ranging from northern Montana to Chihuahua, Mexico, since 1991. However, ferret populations currently are considered to be self-sustaining at only two sites in South Dakota and a single site in Wyoming (United States Fish and Wildlife Service 2006). To understand why ferret recovery is not succeeding at a …

Optimal Foraging In Eastern Fox Squirrel: Food Size Matters For A Generalist Forager, Robert Tatina

The Prairie Naturalist

Classical optimal foraging theory (OFT) predicts that an animal forages optimally when it chooses foods with the highest energy benefit or minimizes time searching for and handling food. r evaluated OFT by presenting eastern fox squirrel (Sciurus niger) multiple food items (i.e., sunflower seeds and • fruits) in various density combinations. When the choice was between foods of equal energy benefits but different costs, they chose forage items with greater costs, seemingly not foraging optimally. However, individuals showed a partial preference for food items which minimized search time, but not handling time. The eastern fox squirrel also was …

Review Of Appreciating Your Feathered Neighbors, By Dana Gardner And Nancy Overcott, Melinda G. Knutson

The Prairie Naturalist

Fifty Common Birds of the Upper Midwest. Watercolors by Dana Gardner; text by Nancy Overcott. 2006. University of Iowa Press, Iowa City, Iowa. 106 pages. $34.95 (cloth).

What's the best way to interest a friend in bird watching? Buy them a field guide, a CD of bird songs, or take them out bird watching? All of these ideas might work, but another approach is to tell personal stories and draw pictures of common birds in yards, parks, and natural areas where they live; help them "get to know their neighbors with feathers." That's exactly what Dana Gardner and Nancy Overcott …

First Record Of Field Speedwell From South Dakota, Robert Tatina

The Prairie Naturalist

Veronica agrestis L. (field speedwell or green field speedwell), a member of the Scrophulariaceae, is a small, weedy, prostrate annual with blue or white flowers (Gleason and Cronquist 1991). Until recently, its distribution included most of the eastern half of the United States and the southern two-thirds of the Great Plains, but not South Dakota (http://plants.usda.gov/java/profile?symbol=VEAG &photoID=veag_001_avd.tif, accessed 5 February 2007). Neither the Great Plains Flora Association (1986) nor Van Bruggen (1996) includes this species in the flora of South Dakota; however, the former has it naturalized in southeastern Nebraska and in Iowa (Great Plains Flora Association 1986). In May, …

Occurrences Of Small Mammal Species In A Mixedgrass Prairie In Northwestern North Dakota,, Robert K. Murphy, Richard A. Sweitzer, John D. Albertson

The Prairie Naturalist

Documentation is limited for many species of vertebrates in the northern Great Plains, particularly northwestern North Dakota (Bailey 1926, Hall 1981). Here we report relative abundances of small « 450 g) species of mammals that were captured incidental to surveys of amphibians and reptiles at Lostwood National Wildlife Refuge (LNWR) in northwestern North Dakota from 1985 to 1987 and 1999 to 2000. Our records include a modest range extension for one species. We also comment on relationships of small mammals on the refuge to vegetation changes associated with fire and grazing disturbances.

Burrowing Owl Associations With Black-Tailed Prairie Dog Colonies In Southwestern Kansas And Southeastern Colorado, Stephen L. Winter, Jack F. Cully Jr.

The Prairie Naturalist

We quantified the use of black-tailed prairie dog (Cynomys ludovicianus) colonies as habitat for the burrowing owl (Athene cunicularia) in southwestern Kansas and southeastern Colorado. We used incidental sightings and breeding season avifauna surveys to document the presence of the burrowing owl on black-tailed prairie dog colonies, non-colonized rangeland, and cropland during the spring and early summer. Burrowing owl rarely was observed on noncolonized rangeland and cropland sites, and black-tailed prairie dog colonies appear to be used substantially as a habitat type for the burrowing owl in the region encompassing Cimarron and Commanche National Grasslands in …

Using Distance Sampling To Estimate Densities Of White-Tailed Deer In South-Central Minnesota, Michelle A. Larue, Clayton K. Nielsen, Marrett D. Grund

The Prairie Naturalist

Distance sampling is a method of estimating population abundance and density used by wildlife biologists for several species because of its advantages relative to other techniques. However, few wildlife biologists have used distance sampling to estimate abundance of white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus). We describe a distance sampling technique used to estimate prehunt and post-hunt population densities of deer in Watonwan County, Minnesota. Estimates of white-tailed deer density were compared between distance sampling versus population modeling, and costs for distance sampling versus aerial surveys were determined. We drove 2,704 km during 24 spotlight surveys conducted from 21 October to …

In Memoriam Robert N. Randall, October 26, 1915 - January 30, 2007, Clark Talkington

The Prairie Naturalist

Among his friends, Bob Randall will be remembered as a caring, gentle man. Bob was one of those rare individuals who had a keen awareness of everyone around him. In social settings, he would make sure that everyone was comfortable, and it was always clear that he was genuinely concerned about everyone. Those who knew him will greatly miss his gentle nature and enthusiasm for birds. He never got caught up in all of his achievements. He had a sense of balance to his life which was evident in his many interests including birding and bird banding, rocks and minerals, …

Marshes-In Photos And Words. Review Of Marshes: The Disappearing Edens By Bill Burt, Douglas H. Johnson

The Prairie Naturalist

Bill Burt has done it again. The author of two superbly illustrated books (Shadowbirds and Rare and Elusive Birds of North America) that were reviewed earlier in this journal, Burt has returned with another excellent book, this one focusing on marshes. Like his earlier books, Marshes features wonderful close-up views of many hard-to-photograph birds. Here, in addition, are grand images of marsh landscapes and other marsh denizens, especially plants. Burt best characterizes his own book, which he intends as "an evocation and exploration, rather than a catalog of marshland life." He tells of his 30 years spent prowling …

Silphidae (Insecta: Coleoptera) Collected In North Central North Dakota, Including New Occurrences Of Thanatophilus Sagax (Mannerheim),, Guy A. Hanley

The Prairie Naturalist

Members of the beetle family Silphidae are relatively large (10-35 mm) and often brightly colored insects. They usually are found in association with dead animal bodies (carrion), but some are phytophagous while others are predatory. Thirty endemic species are known to occur in North America north of Mexico (Ratcliffe 1996), and 17 species in North Dakota. (Hanley et aI., unpublished data). To date, there has been little to no silphid collection data available from north central North Dakota counties, due mostly to the lack of entomological research in the area.

Nine species of silphids were collected in a single season …

First Record Of Corisella Inscripta (Uhler) (Heteroptera: Corixidae) From North Dakota, Bruce A. Hanson, David M. Mushet, Ned A. Euliss Jr., Stephen Chordas Iii

The Prairie Naturalist

Corisella inscripta is a water boatman species that was reported in H. B. Hungerford's (1948) seminal monograph as occurring throughout Mexico and nine western states of the United States. Subsequently, additional records of C. inscripta have been reported for British Columbia in Canada (Maw et al. 2000) and for Montana (Roemhild 1976), Arkansas (Cochran and Harp 1990), Missouri (Polhemus et al. 1988), Ohio (Chordas and Armitage 1998), and Michigan (Chordas et al. 2002) in the United States. There have been no published records of C. inscripta from North Dakota (Fig. I). We collected one male C. inscripta at the Cottonwood …

Review Of Some Scarce Birds Of The Upper Midwest By Dana Gardner And Nancy Overcott, Stephen J. Dinsmore

The Prairie Naturalist

Fifty Uncommon Birds of the Upper Midwest. Watercolors by Dana Gardner; text by Nancy Overcott. 2007. University of Iowa Press, Iowa City, Iowa. 112 pages. $34.95 (cloth).

Nancy Overcott has written series of short essays of birds found in the Upper Midwest and assembled them in an easy-to-read book. As an ornithologist and avid birder in this region, I'll admit that I didn't know what to expect when I opened the cover-would the focus be on rarities, would there be an identification component, are there tips for finding each species, and at what audience was the book aimed? Ultimately, I …

Sex Differentiation Pattern In The Annual Fish Austrolebias Charrua (Cyprinodontiformes: Rivulidae), M. J. Arezo, S. D. Alessandro, N. Papa, Rafael O. De Sá, N. Berois

Biology Faculty Publications

Sex differentiation process, determination of sexual strategy, and gametogenesis of the annual fish Austrolebias charrua are established. Evidence of histological sex differentiation in an antero-posterior gradient was observed in pre-hatching stages. Sexual strategy corresponds to the “differentiated gonochoric” pattern. Histological analyses of adult gonads showed an asynchronous spawning mode for females and continuous spawning for males. Mature oocytes presented fluid yolk. Testis organization corresponded to a restricted spermatogonial model. Herein, we report the ultrastructural organization of the vitelline envelope and the main features of the sperm of A. charrua. Taking together these results also contribute to phylogenetic studies and …

Vegetative Characteristics Of Pronghorn Bed Sites In Wind Cave National Park, South Dakota, Christopher N. Jacques, Jonathan A. Jenks, Jaret D. Sievers, Daniel E. Roddy

The Prairie Naturalist

Much of the previous literature on pronghorn (Antilocapra americana) fawns has focused on fawn mortality (Beale 1978, Barrett 1984, Gregg et al. 2001) and social behavior (Kitchen 1974, Autenrieth and Fichter 1975, Bromley 1977). Selection of bed sites by pronghorn fawns is a major factor affecting fawn survival (Bromley 1978, Barrett 1981, O'Gara et al. 1986, VanSchmus 1990) because adequate cover is a crucial component of fawn bed site selection (Autenrieth 1984). Alldredge et al. (1991) reported that fawns selected dense shrub cover but avoided the most-dense cover in sagebrush-steppe communities in southcentral Wyoming while Tucker and Gamer …

Intraspecific And Interspecific Territoriality In Microtus Ochrogaster And M. Pennsylvanicus, David J. Tazik, Lowell L. Getz

The Prairie Naturalist

Adult female Microtus ochrogaster and M. pennsylvanicus displayed interspecific territorial behavior in a bluegrass site in Illinois. We concluded that within a site, interspecific territorial behavior might be a factor in non-synchronous population fluctuations characteristic of the two species.

Woodland Bird Use Of In-Channel Islands In The Central Platte River, Nebraska, William C. Scharf

The Prairie Naturalist

Recapture data showed woodland obligate birds from riparian habitats made substantial use of thinly vegetated, adjacent small islands in the Platte River. During the bird nesting and spring migration seasons of 200 I through 2004, there were 4,360 individuals of 90 species captured on both mainland and in: hannel island sites. Island locafion captures totaled 595 individuals of 47 species )etween 2002 and 2004. Islands formerly were considered inconsequential for coraging and nesting of passerines. My study substantiated passerine use of Islands and provided a rationale for additional consideration of islands for migration and nesting management. Assemblages of bird species …

Mallard Brood Movements In The Canadian Prairie Parklands, Garnet H. Raven, Todd W. Arnold, David W. Howerter, Llwellyn M. Armstrong

The Prairie Naturalist

We radiotracked 308 mallard (Anas platyrhynchos) broods from hatching until 30 days of age Oij 15 study areas located throughout the Canadian Prairie Parklands to examine patterns of variation in movement frequency and distance. Broods moved an average of 350 m from nests to first wetlands (SO = 390), with 94% of broods moving less than I km. After leaving the nest, broods had a 23% probability of moving to a new wetland each day, but movement probability was a complex function of study area, hatch date, and ducking age, with younger and earlier-hatched broods exhibiting greater movement …

Partial Characterization Of Two Moderately Halophilic Bacteria From A Kansas Salt Marsh, Aileen M. Johnson, Lance R. Thurlow, Sam R. Zwenger, Eric T. Gillock

The Prairie Naturalist

Two bacterial species were isolated from a salt marsh located on privately owned land in Russell County, Kansas. Water samples from the saIt marsh were streaked for isolation on tryptic soy agar supplemented with 12 % NaCI. Visual scanning of the plates revealed two prominent colony types. The two colony types were subcultured repeatedly until axenic cultures were obtained. 80th of these organisms were shown to be moderately halophilic. The organisms were characterized partially by fatty acid methyl ester analysis, 16S rRNA sequencing, and scanning electron microscopy. These studies revealed that the bacteria previously were unreported members of genera Marinococcus …

The Prairie Naturalist, Volume 39, No.1, March 2007

The Prairie Naturalist

CONTENTS

MALLARD BROOD MOVEMENTS IN THE CANADIAN PRAIRIE PARKLANDS G. H. Raven, T. W. Arnold, D. W. Howerter, and L. M. Armstrong

WOODLAND BIRD USE OF IN-CHANNEL ISLANDS IN THE CENTRAL PLATTE RIVER, NEBRASKA, W. C. Scharf

PARTIAL CHARACTERIZATION OF TWO MODERATELY HALOPHILIC BACTERIA FROM A KANSAS SALT MARSH, A. M. Johnson, L. R. Thurlow, S. R. Zwenger, and E. T. Gillock

INTRASPECIFIC AND INTERSPECIFIC TERRITORIALITY IN MICROTUS OCHROGASTER AND M. PENNSYLVANICUS, D. J. Tazik and L. L. Getz

VEGETATIVE CHARACTERISTICS OF PRONGHORN BED SITES IN WIND CAVE NATIONAL PARK, SOUTH DAKOTA, C. N. Jacques, J. A. Jenks, J. D. …

The Cynipoid Genus Paramblynotus: Revision, Phylogeny, And Historical Biogeography (Hymenoptera, Liopteridae), Zhiwei Liu, Fredrik Ronquist, Goeran Nordlander

Faculty Research & Creative Activity

The genus Paramblynotus is the most species-rich genus of the so-called macrocynipoids, the large cynipoid parasitoids of wood-boring and cone-boring insect larvae. The species range in size from some of the largest to the smallest macrocynipoids, comparable in size to microcynipoids. Paramblynotus members occur on all continents except Europe and Australia, with most species being tropical or subtropical. The biology is poorly known but a few observations indicate that the species are parasitoids of beetle larvae. In this monographic revision of the genus, we present a species-level cladistic analysis based on qualitative and quantitative features of the external morphology. For …

Morphology, Reproduction And Mortality Of Equus Hemionus Hemionus In Mongolia, Annegret Stubbe, Michael Stubbe, Nyamsuren Batsaikhan

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

There are collected materials on morphology, reproduction rate, and mortality of Dschiggetajs Equus h. hemionus between 2001 and 2006 in the South Gobi of Mongolia. It were found 794 skeletons of wild asses, 95% of these were pouched, ⅔ of them in winter coat. Pouching was also located in the protected areas of this region. The main living resources of Equus hemionus are registered in the South eastern Gobi. For the first time statistical data on morphology measurements of body length, tail and tuft, ear length, and hoofs are given. There are no significant differences between the sexes. The reproduction …

Up-Date On The Behaviour And Status Of The Critically Endangered Onager, Equus Hemionus Onager, From Iran, Laurent Tatin, Bijan F. Darreh-Shoori, Christophe Tourenq, David Tatin, Bijan Azmayesh

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

The onager, Equus hemionus onager, an Asiatic wild ass endemic to Iran, is categorized as Critically Endangered on the IUCN Red List. Its biology and conservation requirements are poorly documented. We report some observations made in 1997 and 2000 on the behavior and ecology of the two remaining populations, located in the Touran Protected Area and the Bahram-e-Goor Reserve. Recent population counts by the Department of Environment of Iran (471 in the Protected Area, and 96 in the Reserve) are markedly lower than the count of 600-770 made in the 1970s in the Touran Protected Area. We observed social …

Asiatic Wild Ass In Israel, David A. Blank

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

The Syrian wild ass (Equus hemionus hemippus) lived in Israel in historic times until the 1930s, when it disappeared from the entire Middle East region. Khulans from other subspecies (E. h. onager - six individulas and E. h. kulan - five individuals) were brought to Israel from European zoos during 1968-69 (the authors of project considered that onager and kulan were the same subspecies) and these animals bred together in the semi-captivity conditions of the Haibar Yotvata Reserve. Later, during a 12-year period from 1982 through 1993, six groups totalling 38 khulans (17 males and 21 females) …