Ecology and Evolutionary Biology Commons^™

Multiple Trophic Levels In Soft-Bottom Communities, John A. Commito, William G. Ambrose Jr.

Environmental Studies Faculty Publications

In order to assess the general applicability of recent field experiments with predatory infauna, we searched the literature and found 48 well-documented cases of infaunal consumption by such predators. In 63 % of the cases detailed enough to make a determination, the predators ate other predators. Multiple trophic levels within the infauna are probably a common feature of many soft-bottom communities.

The Prairie Naturalist Volume 17, No. 3. September 1985

The Prairie Naturalist

Paul B. Kannowski, Editor

Nikki R. Seabloom, Assistant Editor

Douglas H. Johnson, Book Review Editor

TABLE OF CONTENTS

EFFECTS OF FIRE ON NUTRIENT AND ENERGY CONCENTRATION OF FIVE PRAIRIE GRASS SPECIES ▪ K. M. Ohr and T. B. Bragg

FOOD HABITS OF JUVENILE GIZZARD SHAD IN OPEN-WATER AND NEAR-SHORE HABITATS OF MELVERN RESERVOIR, KANSAS ▪ B. L. Todd and D. W. Willis

CHANGES IN BREEDING BLACKBIRD NUMBERS IN NORTH DAKOTA FROM 1967 TO 1981–82 ▪ J. F. Besser

RARE ANIMALS AND PLANTS OF SOUTH DAKOTA ▪ W. C. Houtcooper, D. J. Ode, J. A. Pearson, and G. M. Vandel III …

The Prairie Naturalist Volume 17, No. 2. June 1985

The Prairie Naturalist

Paul B. Kannowski, Editor

Nikki R. Seabloom, Assistant Editor

Douglas H. Johnson, Book Review Editor

TABLE OF CONTENTS

A CHECKLIST OF TEXAS ANTS ▪ G. C. Wheeler and J. Wheeler

HABITAT SELECTION BY SMALL MAMMALS OF THE TALL-GRASS PRAIRIE: EXPERIMENTAL PATCH CHOICE ▪ S. K. Peterson, G. A. Kaufman, and D. W. Kaufman

CORN CONSUMPTION BY WINTERING MALLARDS DURING MORNING FIELD-FLIGHTS ▪ R. J. Whyte and E. G. Bolen

CHRISTMAS BIRD COUNTS FOR NORTH DAKOTA - 1984 ▪ R. N. Randall

MOUNTAIN PLOVER FOOD ITEMS ON AND ADJACENT TO A PRAIRIE DOG TOWN ▪ S. L. Olson

ECOLOGICAL DISTURBANCE IN …

The Prairie Naturalist Volume 17, No. 1. March 1985

The Prairie Naturalist

Paul B. Kannowski, Editor

Nikki R. Seabloom, Assistant Editor

Douglas H. Johnson, Book Review Editor

TABLE OF CONTENTS

COMMUNITY ANALYSIS OF THE FOREST VEGETATION IN THE LOWER PLATTE RIVER VALLEY, EASTERN NEBRASKA ▪ S. J. Rothenberger

RECOLONIZATION OF A BURNED PRAIRIE BY MEADOW VOLES (Microtus pennsylvanicus) ▪ P. L. Vacanti and K. N. Geluso

AMERICAN COOT HABITAT IN NORTH DAKOTA ▪ H. A. Kantrud

OBSERVATIONS ON PRAIRIE DOG DISPERSAL IN MONTANA ▪ C. J. Knowles

WINTER FOOD HABITS OF THE SWIFT FOX ON THE CENTRAL HIGH PLAINS ▪ D. M. Zumbaugh and J. R. Choate

BOOK REVIEW

Ground …

The Green Movement: Implications For Animals, Ronnie Z. Hawkins

Environment Collection

The Green movement, a newly emerging political movement that is both global in scope and firmly anchored to each local region at the grassroots level, is destined to be of great import to those concerned with the status of nonhuman animals in our society. Closely allied with deep ecology and bioregionalism, Green thinking embodies an alteration in our perception of the human organism: no longer seen as separate from and superior to all the other components of the ecosystem, our species is placed in context as one among many interdependent forms of life, with the attainment of a sustainable balance …

Community Ecology, Robert K. Rose, Elmer C. Birney

Biological Sciences Faculty Publications

COMMUNITIES with Microtus tend to be structurally simple, usually grasslands or tundra, and to have no more than two species of Microtus and rarely more than six species of small mammals. Microtus often dominates both numerically and in total small mammal biomass, especially at higher latitudes. The small mammal community is most influenced by Microtus through its fluctuations in density, and thus also in biomass, by its relatively high level of diurnal activity, and by its year-round activity. Other species of small mammals may be adversely affected because Microtus usually is larger and behaviorally dominant and also because the mere …

Model To Predict Arkansas Gray Fox Fur Harvests, James H. Peck, Gary A. Heidt

Journal of the Arkansas Academy of Science

Linear regression analysis of total gray fox (Urocyon cinereoargenteus) fur harvests from 1954-1983 in Arkansas showed a high correlation with mean pelt values (r = 0.956). Single variable models using linear regression analyses of current season's pelt values (CSPV) and previous season's pelt values (PSPV) were designed to predict fur harvests. These models demonstrated high correlations for predicting harvests (r = 0.933 and r = 0.893 respectively). Regional analyses revealed a high correlation between mean pelt values and harvest for the Ozark Mountain region (r = 0.923), Ouachita Mountain region (r = 0.971 ), and Gulf Coastal Plain (r = …

Fluctuations And Relationships Of Selected Physiochemical Parameters In Dardanelle Reservoir, Arkansas, 1975-1982, John D. Rickett, Robert L. Watson

Journal of the Arkansas Academy of Science

Annual and seasonal fluctuations and relationships are described for discharge, turbidity, chloride, total hardness, conductivity and suspended solids over an eight-year period in Dardanelle Reservoir. The parameters fluctuated rather widely primarily in response to seasonal patterns of rainfall. Chloride and conductivity were related and generally fluctuated together as did turbidity and suspended solids. Hardness appeared to vary independently of the others prior to 1979 then varied more closely with chloride after March 1979. Inherent differences between the Illinois Bayou arm and the main Arkansas River sections complicated the precise identification of any overall impact of power plant operation. No significant …

The Prairie Naturalist Volume 16, No. 4. December 1984

The Prairie Naturalist

Paul B. Kannowski, Editor

Nikki R. Seabloom, Assistant Editor

Douglas H. Johnson, Book Review Editor

TABLE OF CONTENTS

VEGETATION PATTERNS IN RELATION TO TOPOGRAPHY AND EDAPHIC VARIATIONS IN NEBRASKA SAND HILLS PRAIRIE ▪ P. W. Barnes, A. T. Harrison and S. P. Heinisch

GREAT BLUE HERON NESTING BIOLOGY ON THE JAMES RIVER IN SOUTH DAKOTA ▪ E. M. Dowd and L. D. Flake

OVENBIRDS AT THE PERIPHERY OF THEIR RANGE IN WESTERN NORTH DAKOTA ▪ R. B. Hopkins

BREEDING BIRD COMMUNITY COLONIZATION OF SOWN STANDS OF NATIVE GRASSES IN NORTH DAKOTA ▪ K. F. Higgins, T. W. Arnold and R. …

Benthic Diatom Community Dynamics In The Colorado River: Interactive Effects Of Periodic Dessication And Current Regime, Christopher Gerard Peterson

Publications (WR)

The response to periodic desiccation of periphyton communities developed in eddy environments or in areas exposed to variable, direct current was examined. Algal communities were incubated on clay tiles for between 2 and 12 weeks in the Colorado River, directly below Hoover Dam from October, 1983 - January, 1984. Mean daily discharge from the dam decreased over this period. To assess the influence of these discharge changes on community dynamics, samples collected over the first 12 weeks of the investigation were compared to samples of the same age collected over the final 8 weeks.

The small diatom taxon Achnahthes spp …

A Proposal To Fertilize The Overton Arm And Gregg Basin Areas Of Lake Mead, Larry J. Paulson

Publications (WR)

Several limnological studies have been conducted in Lake Mead during the past decade. The recent studies clearly show that most of Lake Mead is deficient in nutrients, especially phosphorus, and very low in productivity. The reservoir-wide average total phosphorus concentration for 1981 - 1982 was only 9 mg/m³. This is below levels found In most oligotrophic lakes and reservoirs. Algal biomass, as measured by chlorophyll-a, averaged only 1.5 mg/m³. That also places Lake Mead in the oligotrophic range. Transparency, as measured by a Secchi disc, averaged 9-5 m in Lake Mead during 1981-1982. That far exceeds …

The Prairie Naturalist Volume 16, No. 3. September 1984

The Prairie Naturalist

Paul B. Kannowski, Editor

Nikki R. Seabloom, Assistant Editor

Douglas H. Johnson, Book Review Editor

TABLE OF CONTENTS

GRASSLAND HABITAT MANAGEMENT USING PRESCRIBED BURNING IN WIND CAVE NATIONAL PARK, SOUTH DAKOTA ▪ J. D. Forde, N. F. Sloan and D. A. Shown

BODY TEMPERATURES AND BEHAVIORAL ACTIVITIES OF HIBERNATING

PRAIRIE RATTLESNAKES, Crotalus viridis, IN ARTIFICIAL DENS ▪ K. R. Marion and O. J. Sexton

NEW VASCULAR PLANT RECORDS FOR NORTH DAKOTA ▪ D. T. Disrud, W. T. Barker and R. H. Warner

CHRISTMAS BIRD COUNTS FOR NORTH DAKOTA - 1983 ▪ R. N. Randall

COMPARISON OF PLANKTON POPULATIONS IN THREE …

An Evaluation Of Naturally Occurring Populations Of Magnolia Tripetala L. In Indiana, Kemuel S. Badger

All-Inclusive List of Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Magnolia tripetala L. occurs in Indiana as a disjunct from the Appalachian mountains populations. Currently, the known distribution of ~· tripetala in Indiana is confined to seven sites in Crawford County. The current status of ~· tripetala and the surrounding plant community was evaluated to aid in the future study, protection and management of this species, which is endangered in Indiana. Systematic random sampling of the tree stratum was done with belt transects. The sapling and seeding strata were sampled with subplots, placed along the belt transects. Permanent plots were established to enable future monitoring of what is currently prime …

The Prairie Naturalist Volume 16, No. 2. June 1984

The Prairie Naturalist

Paul B. Kannowski, Editor

Nikki R. Sea bloom , Assistant Editor

Douglas H. Johnson, Book Review Editor

TABLE OF CONTENTS

AUTUMN WEIGHTS OF PLAINS SHARP-TAILED GROUSE IN MONTANA ▪ J. E. Swenson and R. L. Eng

VEGETATION PROFILE AND GRASSLAND BIRD RESPONSE TO SPRING BURNING ▪ G. E. Huber and A. A. Steuter

WETLAND PRESERVATION CONFLICTS IN NORTH DAKOTA: ECONOMIC INCENTIVES AND LANDOWNER ATTITUDES ▪ R. D. Saylor, R. A. Stromstad and M. E. Winger

COLLEMBOLA OF SOUTHWESTERN NORTH DAKOTA: SPECIES COMPOSITION AND HABITAT DISTRIBUTION ▪ B. L. Benner and P. B. Kannowski

NEW RECORDS OF EARTHWORMS FROM KANSAS (Oligochaeta: …

Seasonal And Spatial Heterogeneity In The Limnetic Zooplankton Community Of Lake Mead, Gene Robert Wilde

Publications (WR)

Zooplankton samples collected from throughout Lake Mead, in 1981-1982, demonstrate the presence of a statistically significant seasonal and spatial heterogeneity in zooplankton densities. Seasonally, the major zooplankton groups were most abundant in the spring and fall, coincident with maxima in chlorophyll-a concentrations. Successions among the various rotifers, cladocerans and copepods present in the reservoir were influenced by food availability, diapause, predation by planktivorous fish and, possibly, water temperatures. Spatial heterogeneity in zooplankton densities was unrelated to water temperature, pH, conductivity and dissolved oxygen concentrations, but was related to the abundance of phytoplankton (chlorophyll-a concentrations) and fish. Statistical analyses indicate that …

The Role Of Nannoplankton In The Phytoplankton Dynamics Of Four Colorado River Reservoirs (Lakes Powell, Mead, Mohave, And Havasu), Jeffrey John Janik

Publications (WR)

Phytoplankton species composition and community size structure were studied in four warm-monomictic Colorado River reservoirs; lakes Powell, Mead, Mohave, and Havasu from March 1981 to February 1982. Sampling was done at approximately monthly intervals from several stations in each reservoir. The Utermohl technique was used to enumerate phytoplankton. The phytoplankton assemblage was divided into the following six size classes using microscopic techniques; netplankton (>64 um), and nannoplankton (>5, 5-11, 12-21, 22-44, and 45-64 um).

Total phytoplankton biomass and community size structure were different among these four reservoirs with considerable spatial and temporal variation present. Average reservoir-wide areal weighted …

The Hellbender, Cryptobranchus Alleganiensis, In Indiana, William H. Kern Jr.

All-Inclusive List of Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Very 1 ittle was previously known ubout the Hellbender, Crrp:t:£branchus alleganiensis alleganiensis, in Indiana. The purpose of this study was to determine its current range and status in Indiana and collect life history information. The hell benders were captured by hand from under rocks and 1d th hoopnets baited with cut fish. They were tagged, measured, wei~hed, examined for large external parasites, wounds, and reproductive cond:i - tion. Stoma ch contents were taken with a non-lethal, stomach-flushfog technique. The animals were then released at the site of capture. Al though they were originally found in the Ohio River, \\'hi tewater …

The Prairie Naturalist Volume 16, No. 1. March 1984

The Prairie Naturalist

Paul B. Kannowski, Editor

Nikki R. Seabloom, Assistant Editor

Douglas H. Johnson, Book Review Editor

TABLE OF CONTENTS

MORTALITY OF RACCOONS IN NORTH DAKOTA ▪ E. K. Fritzell and R. J. Greenwood

THE EFFECTS OF MOWING ON THE RODENT COMMUNITY OF A NATIVE TALL GRASS PRAIRIE IN EASTERN NEBRASKA ▪ C. A. Lemen and M. K. Clausen

PARASITES OF FISH FROM THE JAMES AND SHEYENNE RIVERS, JAMESTOWN RESERVOIR COMPLEX, AND LAKE ASHTABULA IN NORTH DAKOTA ▪ M. D. Forstie and H. L. Holloway

LEAD POISONING OF SANDHILL CRANES (Grus canadensis) ▪ R. M. Windingstad, S. M. Kerr, and …

Las Vegas Wash Multispectral Scanner Survey, T. H. Mace, M. V. Olsen, Environmental Protection Agency

Publications (WR)

At the request of the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation, Boulder City, Nevada, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's Environmental Monitoring Systems Laboratory at Las Vegas collected multispectral scanner imagery of Las Vegas Wash on October 1, 1982. A combined maximum likelihood classification and editing procedure was used to classify the multispectral scanner imagery into 12 categories of land cover. The classification identified four categories of marsh vegetation, one category of riparian, two categories of mixed scrub, and two desert categories. Turbid water and cultivated land formed an "other" category. Area tabulations were formed by georeferencing the classification to the Universal Transverse …

Research Objectives In Vertebrate Pest Control, A J. Oliver

Journal of the Department of Agriculture, Western Australia, Series 4

The European rabbit, introduced into Australia in 856 by an early settler for hunting, caused massive losses to agricultural production in Western Australia in 1940s and 1950s.

In those years most of the country's recources and efforts allocated to vertebrate pest problems were aimed at controlling this animal.

Research and control measures by Commonwealth and State agencies, including the introduction of myxomatosis, were largely responsible for reducing the rabbit problem to the comparatively minor one it is now.

Today, the Agricultural Protection Board is involved in the control of a much wider range of mammals and birds which cause losses …

Rabbit Kitten Survival In The South-West, D R. King

Journal of the Department of Agriculture, Western Australia, Series 4

In the South-West of Western Australis reliable winter rains allow the rabbit breeding season to extend through winter and spring, and thus a large number of kittens are produced each year.

Studies on the biology of rabbits at Cape Naturaliste (270 kilometres south-west of Perth) and Chidlow (40 kilometres east of Perth in the Datling Range) have shown that at these sites each doe produces about 30 and 27 kittens respectively a year. If all these youg rabbits survived, there would be a 15-fold increase in numbers. Within a short time the State would be covered "wall to wall" by …

Rabbits North Of Carnarvon, D R. King

Journal of the Department of Agriculture, Western Australia, Series 4

In Westeern Australia rabbits are mainly a pest along the south-western coastal parts of the State, but there are populations north of the Tropic of Capricorn. Rabbits after crossing the Nullarbour plain from South Australia and colonising the South-West of the State, were reported to have reached the west coast near Geraldton by 1912 and then spread northwards.

There is little information on the biologhy of rabbits in the northan parts of their range, but pastoralists in some areas are concerned about erosion and damage to vegetation on their stations when rabbits reach high numbers.

The Agricultural Protection Board undertook …

Algal Growth And The Phosphorus Cycle, Arthur J. Mccomb, K. S. Hamel, A. L. Huber, D. K. Kidby, R. J. Lukatelich

Journal of the Department of Agriculture, Western Australia, Series 4

Larger algae and microscopic phytoplankton foul the waters of the Peel-Harvey estuarine system, upsetting the fishery and polluting the beaches.

These aquatic plants grow in response to phosphorus runoff from drainage, trapping phosphorus in the estuary and using it in their growth. When they die this phosphorus remains in the system to be recycled for further plant growth.

Algal pollution in the estuary can be lessened by reducing the amount of phosphorus entering the system, increasing phosphorus losses to the ocean, or in some way blocking the trapping and recycling processes.

Tackling The Problem Off The Farm, C M. Croft

Journal of the Department of Agriculture, Western Australia, Series 4

Methods of redusing phosphorus losses from the catchment soils of the Peel-Harvey esturine system have been discussed in other articles in this Journal.

This article briefly discusses a range of 'off the farm' techniques to improve phosphorus flushing from Peel Inlet or Harvey Estuary to the sea and to treat the phosphorus and the algae. These techniques were among more than 100 management options evaluated by the Peel-Harvey Study Group.

Las Vegas Wash Advanced Water Quality Study: Final Report, Richard A. Roline, James J. Sartoris, U.S. Bureau Of Reclamation

Publications (WR)

The purpose of the Las Vegas Wash Advanced Water Quality Study is to determine the existence, extent, and mechanisms of nutrient and toxin stripping in Las Vegas Wash under present conditions and under future conditions, both with and without construction of the proposed salinity control unit as described by the Bureau of Reclamation (USBR, 1982b). This study was performed for the Lower Colorado Region Division of Planning by personnel of the Environmental Sciences Section of the Division of Research and Laboratory Services, E&R Center, Denver, Colorado. Work on the study began in February 1983. The general approach adopted for this …

Factors Affecting Reproductive Success Of Bonytail Chubs And Razorback Suckers In Lake Mohave, Michael A. Bozek, Larry J. Paulson, James E. Deacon, U.S. Department Of Interior, Fish And Wildlife Service

Publications (WR)

Razorback suckers (Xyrauchen texanus) and bonytail chubs (Gila elegans) were once widespread throughout the Colorado River system. The ranges and populations of these native species and others have declined in the past 50 years. Bonytail chubs appear to be extremely rare and possibly nearing extinction in the Upper Colorado River Basin. The razorback sucker is widely distributed in the upper river but is considered rare throughout most of that range and is also rare in the Grand Canyon. Razorback suckers are abundant only in a few habitats in the upper river. They congregate and spawn over …

Breeding Birds In Cedar Stands In The Great Dismal Swamp, Karen A. Terwilliger, Robert K. Rose

Biological Sciences Faculty Publications

The Great Dismal Swamp located in the coastal plain on the Virginia- North Carolina border, has long been recognized as a vegetationally distinctive region with many unusual geological and biological features. Formerly at least twice the currently estimated size of 85,000 hectares (Carter 1979), the Great Dismal Swamp is still shrinking because of a dropping water table caused by more than 200 years of logging, ditching, and other human activities. In 1973, the Union Camp Corporation donated a 19,871-hectare tract located near Suffolk, Virginia. to The Nature Conservancy, which transferred the land to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. This …

The Prairie Naturalist Volume 15, No. 4. December 1983

The Prairie Naturalist

Paul B. Kannowski, Editor

Nikki R. Seabloom, Assistant Editor

Douglas H. Johnson, Book Review Editor

TABLE OF CONTENTS

ASPECTS OF THE NESTING ECOLOGY OF LEAST TERNS AND PIPING PLOVERS IN CENTRAL NEBRASKA ▪ C. A. Faanes

LEAD SHOT INCIDENCE IN SANDHILL CRANES COLLECTED FROM ALASKA, CANADA, AND TEXAS ▪ B. M. Wallace, R. J. Warren and G. D. Gaines

LEAD SHOT INCIDENCE IN WATERFOWL COLLECTED FROM THE TEXAS HIGH PLAINS ▪ B. M. Wallace, R. J. Warren and R. J. Whyte

SMALL MAMMALS OF WINTER WHEAT AND GRAIN SORGHUM CROPLANDS IN WEST-CENTRAL KANSAS ▪ K. W. Navo and E. D. …

The Effects Of Dominant Species Removal On Subtidal Community Development, H. Russell Barker Jr.

Biological Sciences Theses & Dissertations

Acrylic panels were used to follow the development of the fouling community at Channel Points, Lynnhaven Bay, Virginia, from April through October 1979. The roles of Membranipora tenuis, an encrusting ectoproct, and Molgula manhattensis, a solitary tunicate, were studied by removing each species from the developing community on a weekly basis.

Early colonization was dominated by Membranipora followed by Corophium spp. (Amphipoda), Polydora ligni (Polychaeta), and Balanus eberneus (Arthropoda). Molgula colonized the panels later in the study and became a dominant occupier of primary space by the end of the study.

The removal of Membranipora and Molgula …

The Effects Of Dredged Materials On The Copeod, Acartia Tonsa, Renee Suzanne Crouch

Biological Sciences Theses & Dissertations

A study was conducted to determine the potential impact of open ocean disposal of sediments dredged from a highly industrialized seaport. Sediments from three potential dredge sites along the Southern Branch of the Elizabeth River, Hampton Roads, Virginia were evaluated for acute toxicity. The suspended particulate fractions of dredged materials were tested in a series of 96-hour, static bioassays using the calanoid copepod, Acartia tonsa Dana. Significant mortalities were observed for all three sites with the sediments from the most heavily industrialized site producing immediate and severe mortality. Analysis of results indicates that mortality was highly related to the volatile …