Ecology and Evolutionary Biology Commons^™

Bats Of The Antillean Island Of Grenada: A New Zoogeographic Perspective, Hugh H. Genoways, Carleton J. Phillips, Robert J. Baker

University of Nebraska State Museum: Mammalogy Papers

The island of Grenada is the southernmost of the Lesser Antilles, lying 130 km north of Trinidad and 135 km north of the Venezuelan mainland. It measures 34 km north to south and 19 km east to west and has an area of 312 square km. Grenada and the Grenadines northward to Bequia stand on the large submarine Grenada Bank. At 183 m depth, the bank is 179 km long. The Grenadines cover the bank to its northern end, but the bank extends for 39 km south of Grenada with no islands. During the last Ice Age, Grenada and the …

Flea News 56 (July 1998), Robert E. Lewis

Flea News

Miscellanea

Siphonaptera literature

Mailing list changes

The Prairie Naturalist Volume 30, No.2 June 1998

The Prairie Naturalist

REPRODUCTIVE SUCCESS OF SHARP-TAILED GROUSE IN CENTRAL MONTANA ▪ K. R. Bousquet and J. J. Rotella

EFFECTS OF DROUGHT ON RECLAIMED GRASSLANDS IN WESTERN NORTH DAKOTA ▪ D. R. Kirby, L. M. Stewart, K. D. Krabbenhoft, and D. J. Nilson

MALE COMMON NIGHTHAWK USE OF GRAVEL ROADS AT NIGHT ▪ R. G. Poulin, L. D. Todd, and R. M. Brigham

RESTORATION AND STATUS OF THE RUFFED GROUSE IN KANSAS ▪ R. D. Rodgers, R. W. Wells, K. E. Church, R. L. Whiteaker, M. T. McFadden, D. S. Lekie, R. A. Bergquist, H. J. Abel, and R. D. Applegate

PITFALL TRAPPING …

Wild Primate Populations In Emerging Infectious Disease Research: The Missing Link?, Nathan D. Wolfe, Ananias A. Escalante, William B. Karesh, Annelisa Kilbourn, Andrew Spielman, Altaf A. Lal

Harold W. Manter Laboratory of Parasitology: Library Materials

Wild primate populations, an unexplored source of information regarding emerging infectious disease, may hold valuable clues to the origins and evolution of some important pathogens. Primates can act as reservoirs for human pathogens. As members of biologically diverse habitats, they serve as sentinels for surveillance of emerging pathogens and provide models for basic research on natural transmission dynamics. Since emerging infectious diseases also pose serious threats to endangered and threatened primate species, studies of these diseases in primate populations can benefit conservation efforts and may provide the missing link between laboratory studies and the well-recognized needs of early disease detection, …

The Prairie Naturalist Volume 30, No.1 March 1998

The Prairie Naturalist

WATERFOWL FOODS OF CULTIVATED WILD RICE PADDIES IN NORTHWEST MINNESOTA ▪ J. T. Huseby, W. Po Cymbaluk, A. J. Melvie, W. D. Svedarsky, and R. D. Crawford

ICHTHYOFAUNA IN STREAMS OF THE MISSOURI RIVER DRAINAGE, WYOMING ▪ T. M. Patton, W. A. Hubert, and F. J. Rahel

Aphthona nigriscutis LARVAL DENSITIES IN CAMPBELL COUNTY, SOUTH DAKOTA ▪ M. A. Brinkman and S. A. Clay

DIETS OF BISON SOCIAL GROUPS ON TALLGRASS PRAIRIE IN OKLAHOMA ▪ B. R. Coppedge and J. H. Shaw

NUTRIENT AND ENERGETIC CHARACTERISTICS OF GRASSHOPPERS OF DIFFERENT LIFE STAGES ▪ R. J. Robel, C. A. Desjardins, and …

Natural History Of The Southern Short-Tailed Shrew, Blarina Carolinensis, Hugh H. Genoways, Jerry R. Choate

University of Nebraska State Museum: Mammalogy Papers

The southern short-tailed shrew, Blarina carolinensis, inhabits a broad range of ecological situations in the southeastern United States and, in many areas, is among the two or three most abundant species of small mammals. Nevertheless, its natural history is poorly known and much of what researchers assumed was fairly well understood about this species actually resulted from work on another species (Blarina brevicauda) and may not be correct in all instances. This problem resulted when modem systematic methods revealed that the wide-ranging and well-studied species known at that time as Blarina brevicauda actually consisted of three species …

The Evolution Of Primate Malaria Parasites Based On The Gene Encoding Cytochrome B From The Linear Mitochondrial Genome, Ananias A. Escalante, Denise E. Freeland, William E. Collins, Altaf A. Lal

Harold W. Manter Laboratory of Parasitology: Library Materials

We report a phylogenetic analysis of primate malaria parasites based on the gene encoding the cytochrome b protein from the mitochondrial genome. We have studied 17 species of Plasmodium, including 14 parasitic in primates. In our analysis, four species were used for rooting the Plasmodium phylogenetic tree: two from closely related genera (Hepatocystis sp. and Haemoproteus columbae) and two other Apicomplexa (Toxoplasma gondii and Theileria parva). We found that primate malaria parasites form a monophyletic group, with the only exception being the Plasmodium falciparum–Plasmodium reichenowi lineage. Phylogenetic analyses that include two species …

Management Of Red Squirrel Feeding Damage To Lodgepole Pine By Stand Density Manipulation And Diversionary Food, Thomas P. Sullivan

Vertebrate Pest Conference Proceedings: 18th (1998)

The red squirrel (Tamiasciurus hudsonicus) feeds on the vascular tissues of sapling lodgepole pine (Pinus contorta) during spring periods in forests of interior British Columbia and Alberta, Canada. This damage may lead to mortality and reduced growth of crop trees in managed stands. Manipulation of stand density by pre-commercial thinning to densities < 1,000 stems/ha is an effective method to lower squirrel populations and feeding damage. Lowering stand density enhances the growth of crop trees, and understory herbs and shrubs as wildlife habitat, while protecting trees from squirrel feeding. This approach has been successful in several forest ecological zones. An alternative management tool is provision of diversionary food (sunflower seed) for those stands susceptible to feeding damage, and where stand thinning has already been completed. Diversionary food can be applied aerially and is very cost effective for protecting managed stands. These techniques may be used to maintain or even enhance species diversity of small mammal communities in those forest stands requiring protection.

Characterization And Improvement Of Eos Land Products Using Measurements At Ameriflux Grassland And Wheat Sites In The Arm/Cart Region: Research Annual Performance Report For Period March 1, 1998- January 8, 1999, E. A. Walter-Shea, S. B. Verma

School of Natural Resources: Documents and Reviews

No abstract provided.

Flea News 55 (January 1998), Robert E. Lewis

Flea News

Miscellanea

Flea species

Material request

Siphonaptera literature

The Ecology And Evolution Of Spatial Memory In Corvids Of The Southwestern Usa: The Perplexing Pinyon Jay, Russell P. Balda, Alan Kamil

Papers in Behavior in Biological Sciences

The corvids of the southwest possess many adaptations for the harvest, transport, caching and recovery of pine seeds. However, there is a large degree of between-species variation in the distribution of these traits. These corvids have a well-accepted phylogeny (Hope, 1989), live within close proximity to one another and have relatively well-known natural histories. They therefore present an excellent opportunity to apply the comparative method (Kamil, 1988) to the study of these species differences (Balda et al., 1997). The comparative method for the study of adaptation and evolution of behavioral traits begins with a careful study of the natural histories …

On The Proper Definition Of Cognitive Ethology, Alan Kamil

Papers in Behavior in Biological Sciences

The last 20-30 years have seen two “scientific revolutions” in the study of animal behavior: the cognitive revolution that originated in psychology, and the Darwinian, behavioral ecology revolution that originated in biology. Among psychologists, the cognitive revolution has had enormous impact. Similarly, among biologists, the Darwinian revolution has had enormous impact. The major theme of this chapter is that these two scientific research programs need to be combined into a single approach, simultaneously cognitive and Darwinian, and that this single approach is most appropriately called cognitive ethology.

Population Growth Of Rhinocyllus Conicus (Coleoptera: Curculionidae) On Two Species Of Native Thistles In Prairie, Svata M. Louda

Svata M. Louda Publications

The insect Rhinocyllus conicus Froehlich is a flowerhead weevil deliberately introduced into the United States for the biological control of invasive exotic thistles in the genus Carduus. This study documents the course and magnitude of the weevil population expansion onto nontarget host plants. No weevils were reared from either Platte thistle, Cirsium canescens Nuttall, or wavyleaf thistle, C. undulatum (Nuttall) Sprengel, from 1977 to 1993 at 2 Sandhills prairie preserves: Arapaho Prairie and Niobrara Valley. For Platte thistle, the number of both R. conicus adults on plants and the number of larvae developing in flowerheads increased significantly from 1993 …

Population Biology Of Intraspecific Polyploidy In Grasses, Kathleen H. Keeler

School of Biological Sciences: Faculty Publications

Polyploidy is the duplication of an entire nuclear genome, whether diploid or higher level (Stebbins, 1971; Thompson and Lumaret, 1992) and a frequent occurrence in plants. Stebbins (1971) estimated that 30-35% of flowering plant species are polyploid, and that many more had a polyploid event in their evolutionary history, including all members of such important families as the Magnoliaceae, Salicaceae, and Ericaceae. Goldblatt (1980) estimated 55%, but probably up to 75%, of monocotyledons had at least one polyploid event in their history, using the criterion that if the species has a base number higher than n = 13 it is …

Geographical Variation In Male Courtship Behavior And Sexual Isolation In Wolf Spiders Of The Genus Schizocosa, Gary L. Miller, Gary L. Stratton, Patricia R. Miller, Eileen Hebets

Eileen Hebets Publications

We surveyed 12 populations of the wolf spider Schizocosa crassipes (Walckenaer) and S. nr. crassipes in Tennessee, Mississippi, Louisiana, and Florida, in the United States, to determine the extent of variation in male courtship behavior when observed in standard laboratory conditions. We observed variation in both the frequency of occurrence and the sequence of the four principal male courtship behaviors and, when compared statistically, most of these behaviors differed between populations. Although there was no clinal pattern in the frequency of courtship behavior, we observed geographically consistent patterns in the sequence in which male courtship behaviors are displayed. We conducted …

Declines In Benthic Macroinvertebrate Populations In Southern Lake Michigan, 1980–1993, Thomas F. Nalepa, David J. Hartson, David L. Fanslow, Gregory A. Lang, Stephen J. Lozano

United States Department of Commerce: Staff Publications

Densities of the major benthic macroinvertebrate groups declined dramatically at sites shallower than 50 m in southern Lake Michigan between 1980 and 1993. Declines in Diporeia, Oligochaeta, and Sphaeriidae ranged from 40 to 75% at these depths. Total densities declined from 16 800·m^–2 in 1980–1981 to 4,800·m^–2 in 1992–1993 at sites in the 16–30 m depth interval and from 21,300 to 11,300·m^–2 at sites in the 31–50 m depth interval. Changes at sites deeper than 50 m were minimal; only sphaeriids declined to any extent. Declines in oligochaetes and sphaeriids occurred uniformly throughout the nearshore region …

Preface: Animal Cognition In Nature, Russell P. Balda, Irene M. Pepperberg, Alan Kamil

Papers in Behavior in Biological Sciences

This volume, Animal Cognition in Nature, is the result of an ongoing synthesis of several ideas that were considered revolutionary, if not heretical, in the 1960s. At that time, animal behavior, whether studied in field or laboratory, by ethologists or psychologists, was generally interpreted as the result of simple processes relating specific stimuli to specific behaviors. Examples from that time include S–R models, sign stimuli, IRMs, etc. Theoretical constructs such as mental representations, memory or attention were avoided. Today, students of animal behavior work in an entirely different atmosphere. This is the result of several developments.

One of these developments …

Exercise Capacity Of House Wren Nestlings: Chicks Are Not Working As Hard As They Can, Mark A. Chappell, Gwendolyn C. Bachman

Papers in Behavior in Biological Sciences

We measured the aerobic capacity for exercise in house wren (Troglodytes aedon) nestlings from 3 to 10 days of age. Exercise data were compared with previous measurements of the energy cost of begging (E_beg) to determine if begging chicks are working at maximal exercise capacity. We also compared exercise with the peak metabolic rate during digestion and, in older chicks, with thermogenic heat production. Rates of oxygen consumption (VO₂) during exercise increased rapidly with age, but the factorial aerobic scope for exercise (exercise VO₂/resting VO₂) averaged only 1.4 (at three …

The Effect Of Background Cuing On Prey Detection, Henry Kono, Pamela J. Reid, Alan Kamil

Papers in Behavior in Biological Sciences

Studies of prey detection have typically focused on how search image affects the capture of cryptic items. This study also considers how background vegetation influences cryptic prey detection. Blue jays, Cyanocitta cristata, searched digitized images for two Catocala moths: C. ilia, which is cryptic on oak, and C. relicta, which is cryptic on birch. Some images contained moths while others did not. The ability of blue jays to detect prey during repeated presentations of one prey type within a session was compared with their performance during randomly alternating presentations of both prey types within a session to …

Human Dental Microwear Caused By Calcium Oxalate Phytoliths In Prehistoric Diet Of The Lower Pecos Region, Texas, Dennis Danielson, Karl Reinhard

Karl Reinhard Publications

Recent research demonstrates that silica phytoliths of dietary origin are associated with microwear of human teeth. Previous research has shown that severe enamel microwear and dental wear characterizes Archaic hunter-gatherers in the lower Pecos region of west Texas. Calcium oxalate crystals are especially common in Archaic coprolites. The vast majority are derived from prickly pear and agave, which were the dietary staples in west Texas for 6,000 years. The calcium oxalate phytoliths are harder than enamel. Therefore, calcium oxalate crystals are the most likely source of previously documented dental microwear and wear in the lower Pecos region.Am J Phys Anthropol …

Metazoan Parasites And Other Symbionts Of Cetaceans In The Caribbean, Antonio A. Mignucci-Giannoni, Eric P. Hoberg, Doug Siegel-Causey, Ernest H. Williams Jr.

Harold W. Manter Laboratory of Parasitology: Faculty Publications

The parasite fauna in cetaceans from Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, and the larger Caribbean region is poorly known. We provide the first records for parasite biodiversity among a diverse assemblage of cetaceans from the Caribbean Sea. Internal and external parasites and commensals were collected from stranded whales and dolphins salvaged in Puerto Rico, the United States and British Virgin Islands, Jamaica, and Venezuela between 1989 and 1997. A total of 47 individuals of 16 species of whales and dolphins (15 odontocetes and one mysticete) were examined. Overall, parasites and commensals were found in 34 (72.3%) animals, representing 13 species …

Mummies And Mummification Practices In The Southern And Southwestern United States, Mahmoud Y. El-Najjar, Thomas M. J. Mulinski, Karl Reinhard

Karl Reinhard Publications

Mummification was not intentional for most North American prehistoric cultures. Natural mummification occurred in the dry areas of North America, where mummies have been recovered from rock shelters, caves, and overhangs. In these places, corpses desiccated and spontaneously mummified. In North America, mummies are recovered from four main regions: the southern and southwestern United States, the Aleutian Islands, and the Ozark Mountains of Arkansas. This chapter is limited to a discussion of burial practices and a tabulation of the location of mummies in the southwestern United States with some comments on mummies of the southern United States, including the Ozarks.

Amphicyonidae, Robert Hunt

University of Nebraska State Museum: Mammalogy Papers

The Amphicyonidae occur in North America from late Eocene (~40 Ma) to early late Miocene (~9 Ma), a span of 31 million years. In the North American land mammal biochronology, this diverse family extends from the Duchesnean to the end of the Clarendonian and is especially well represented in the Miocene (~5-24 Ma). In the Old World, amphicyonids survive no longer than in North America: The last European records are Vallesian (Dinotheriensande, Mainz Basin, Germany, Kuss, 1965, Tobien, 1980; Vallés-Penédes Basin, Spain, Crusafont-Pairó and Kurten, 1976), and the last representative may occur at about 9 Ma at Kohfidisch, Austria (latest …

The Prairie Naturalist Volume 29, No.4. December 1997

The Prairie Naturalist

BUTTERFLY SPECIES IN NATIVE PRAIRIE AND RESTORED PRAIRIE ▪ D. M. Debinski and A. M. Babbit

BACK-CALCULATED LENGTH-AT-AGE ESTIMATES FROM TWO SCALE RADII ▪ K. L. Hurley, K. L. Pope, and D. W. Willis

DIET OF NORTH DAKOTA ELK DETERMINED FROM RUMEN AND FECAL ANALYSES ▪ R. G. Osborn, J. A. Jenks, and W. F. Jensen

INTERSPECIFIC COMPETITION FOR FOOD BETWEEN WHITE-FOOTED MICE AND EASTERN WOODRATS ▪ B. G. Aloiau, D. M. Post, and E. A. Home

NESTING PIPING PLOVER AND LEAST TERN ON THE KANSAS RIVER ▪ W. H. Busby, D. W. Mulhern, P. G. Kramos, and D. A. …

Survey Of Mollusks Of The Niobrara River: Final Report, Patricia W. Freeman, Keith Perkins

School of Natural Resources: Faculty Publications

We surveyed the mollusks of the Niobrara River in Nebraska from 1992–1996. We found two species of unionid clams and ten species of snails that either must live in water or near water. Both clams and snails are poorly sampled in the state, however we attribute the low number of species of unionid clams in the Niobrara to its cold, fast flow and rocky bottom. In contrast, the Platte River is slower moving with a muddy bottom and has at least 11 species of unionid clams. Each species has been mapped with latitude/longitude coordinates. Specimens have been curated and are …

The Prairie Naturalist Volume 29, No.3. September 1997

The Prairie Naturalist

FISHING STATISTICS IN KANSAS PUT-AND-TAKE RAINBOW TROUT FISHERIES ▪ R. D. Schultz and D. D. Nygren

DISTRIBUTIONAL STATUS Of UNCOMMON FISHES AND AN AMPHIBIAN FROM NORTHEASTERN MISSOURI ▪ R. A. Hrabik,

DIET OF A RELICT POPULATION OF THE EASTERN WOODRAT IN NEBRASKA ▪ H. H. Genoways, P. W Freeman, and M. K. Clausen

ANIMAL SPECIES MONITORED BY THE SOUTH DAKOTA NATURAL HERITAGE PROGRAM ▪ E. D. Stukel and D. C. Backlund

Dedication

Announcements

Ecological Effects Of An Insect Introduced For The Biological Control Of Weeds, Svata M. Louda , D. Kendall, J. Connor, D. Simberloff

Papers in Ecology

Few data exist on the environmental risks of biological control. The weevil Rhinocyllus conicus Froeh., introduced to control exotic thistles, has exhibited an increase in host range as well as continuing geographic expansion. Between 1992 and 1996, the frequency of weevil damage to native thistles consistently increased, reaching 16 to 77 percent of flowerheads per plant. Weevils significantly reduced the seed production of native thistle flowerheads. The density of native tephritid flies was significantly lower at high weevil density. Such ecological effects need to be better addressed in future evaluation and regulation of potential biological control agents.

Flea News 54 (June 1997), Robert E. Lewis

Flea News

Miscellanea

Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) update

Nomenclatural tidbits

Siphonaptera literature

The Prairie Naturalist Volume 29, No.2. June 1997

The Prairie Naturalist

CHRISTMAS BIRD COUNTS FOR NORTH DAKOTA - 1996 ▪ . R. N. Randall

BREEDING BIRD RICHNESS IN THE PRAIRIE POTHOLE REGION OF MINNESOTA ▪ . S. L. Niesar and D. E. Hubbard

UNUSUAL MIGRATION BY A WHITE-TAILED DEER FAWN IN SOUTH DAKOTA ▪ C. S. DePerno, S. L. Griffin, J. A. Jenks, and L. A. Rice

COYOTE FOOD HABITS AT DESOTO NATIONAL WILDLIFE REFUGE, NEBRASKA ▪ J. J. Huebschman, S. E. Hygnstrom, and J. A. Gubanyi

WHITE BASS GROWTH IN SOUTH DAKOTA WATERS ▪ D. W. Willis, H. D. Beck, C. A. Soupir, B. A. Johnson, G. D. Simpson, and …

The Prairie Naturalist Volume 29, No.1. March 1997

The Prairie Naturalist

UPDATED DISTRIBUTION OF THE LEAST WEASEL ON THE CENTRAL GREAT PLAINS ▪ S. R. Hoofer and J. R. Choate

ESTIMATING SURVIVAL OF SONG BIRD CARCASSES IN CROPS AND WOODLOTS ▪ G. M. Linz, D. L. Bergman, and W. J. Bleier

SEXUAL ALLOCATION IN Carex stricta, A MONOECIOUS, TUSSOCK-FORMING SEDGE ▪ D. M. Estrella and C. E. Umbanhowar, Jr.

ABUNDANCE OF THIRTEEN-LINED GROUND SQUIRRELS IN SHORTGRASS PRAIRIE ▪ L. C. Higgins and P. Stapp

BATS OF JEWEL CAVE NATIONAL MONUMENT, SOUTH DAKOTA ▪ J. R. Choate and J. M. Anderson

NOTES

Northern Harrier Builds Nest On Top Of Depredated Mallard …