Ecology and Evolutionary Biology Commons^™

Short Term Safety, Immunogenicity, And Reproductive Effects Of Combined Vaccination With Anti-Gnrh (Gonacon) And Rabies Vaccines In Female Feral Cats, Shiri Novak, Boris Yakobson, Shir Sorek, Liat Morgan, Smadar Tal, Ran Nivy, Roni King, Lauren Jaebker, Douglas C. Eckery, Tal Raz

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Overpopulation of free-roaming cats is a major problem leading to negative impacts on animal health and welfare, public nuisance, transmission of zoonotic diseases, and well-documented harm to wildlife. Surgical sterilization had failed to provide a practical solution to free-roaming cats’ overpopulation under field conditions; therefore, efficient and safe non-surgical immunocontraception methods are aspired. Rabies is a deadly virus that may infect people and animals. However, the safety and efficacy of combined vaccination with anti-GnRH and rabies vaccines in feral cats, which often suffer from disrupted health conditions and experienced high stress level, has never been studied. Therefore, our objective was …

Center For Grassland Studies, May 2021

Center for Grassland Studies: Newsletters

Contents

Prescribed Burn Associations by Brian Teeter

Center for Grassland Studies Policy Advisory Committee

Director's Column by Walt Schact (Interim Director)

Looking for a Career in Conservation – How to Apply in USAJOBS for NRCS Positions by Mary Reece

Monitoring Sandhills Rangelands: A Key Step in Understanding Plant Community Dynamics by Mitch Stephenson

Development of Novel Plant Fluorescence Based Techniques for Remote Assessment of Grasslands and Pastures Health and Resilience by Anastasios Mazis

UNL PGA Golf Management Alumni Among Nebraska Section Award Winners by Brad Goetsch

Nebraska’s Grassland Legacy by Walt Schacht

Nebraska Grazing Conference: Save the Date, August 9-11, …

Social Partners And Temperature Jointly Affect Morning Foraging Activity Of Small Birds In Winter, Anastasia E. Madsen, Laura N. Vander Meiden, Daizaburo Shizuka

Papers in Behavior in Biological Sciences

Daily foraging activity of small wintering birds is classically thought to be driven by the need to gather enough energy reserves to survive each night. A separate line of research has shown that sociality is a major driver in winter foraging activities in many species. Here, we used wintering birds as a study system to move toward an integrative understanding of the influence of energy requirements and sociality on foraging ecology. We used RFID-enabled feeders in Lincoln, Nebraska, USA in January–March 2019 to measure foraging activity in two species (downy woodpeckers, Dryobates pubescens, and white-breasted nuthatches, Sitta carolinensis). …

Gray Wolves, Eric Gese, John P. Hart, Patricia Terletzky

Wildlife Damage Management Technical Series

Wolf conflicts are primarily related to predation on livestock, pets and other domestic animals, as well as their direct and indirect impacts on native ungulates (i.e., big game). Economic losses vary widely with some livestock producers facing high levels of depredation in some areas. This publication focuses on wolf ecology, damage, and management, particularly as it relates to wolf depredation on livestock and other conflicts with people.

Wolves and people share the same environments more than people realize. In the U.S., wolves are not confined to wilderness areas. Though curious, wolves generally fear people and rarely pose a threat to …

Population Genomics Of Invasive Rodents On Islands: Genetic Consequences Of Colonization And Prospects For Localized Synthetic Gene Drive, Kevin P. Oh, Aaron B. Shiels, Laura Shiels, Dimitri V. Blondel, Karl J. Campbell, J. Royden Saah, Alun L. Lloyd, Paul Q. Thomas, Fred Gould, Zaid Abdo, John R. Godwin, Antoinette J. Piaggio

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Introduced rodent populations pose significant threats worldwide, with particularly severe impacts on islands. Advancements in genome editing have motivated interest in synthetic gene drives that could potentially provide efficient and localized suppression of invasive rodent populations. Application of such technologies will require rigorous population genomic surveys to evaluate population connectivity, taxonomic identification, and to inform design of gene drive localization mechanisms. One proposed approach leverages the predicted shifts in genetic variation that accompany island colonization, wherein founder effects, genetic drift, and island-specific selection are expected to result in locally fixed alleles (LFA) that are variable in neighboring nontarget populations. Engineering …

On Atrypanius Cretiger (White, 1855) And Atrypanius Punctatellus (Bates, 1872) (Coleoptera: Cerambycidae: Lamiinae: Acanthocinini), Antonio Santos-Silva, Juan Pablo Botero

Insecta Mundi

Atrypanius punctatellus (Bates, 1872) (Coleoptera: Cerambycidae: Lamiinae: Acanthocinini) is for­mally proposed as a junior synonym of A. cretiger (White, 1855). Atrypanius cretiger is redescribed and the type locality is confirmed as Colombia.

Despite the large amount of work on Acanthocinini published in the past fifty years, the tribe still has many problems. This is particularly true with regard to the limits and definition of the genera. Due to the large num­ber of species in this tribe, especially in the Neotropical region (146 genera and 1,138 species – Tavakilian and Chevillotte 2020; Roguet 2021), it is difficult to perceive eventual synonyms, …

First Record Of Palonica Viridia (Ball, 1903) (Hemiptera: Membracidae) In Utah, Lawrence Barringer

Insecta Mundi

Palonica viridia (Hemiptera: Membracidae) is reported from Utah for the first time. Ecological and trapping information is also provided.

The genus Palonica Ball, 1931 contains seven species, four of which occur in the United States (Deitz and Wal­lace 2012; Wallace 2015). Palonica nogalana Ball is found only in Arizona while P. pyramidata (Uhler) and P. tremulata (Ball) have wide distributions across much of the United States and parts of Canada (Deitz and Wallace 2012). Palonica viridia (Ball) ranges west from Arizona, north to British Columbia and east to Texas and New York into Quebec. Presented is the first record of …

A New Species Of Myrmecotypus Pickard-Cambridge Spider (Araneae: Corinnidae: Castianeirinae) From The Bolivian Orocline, Imitating One Of The World’S Most Aggressive Ants, Robert Perger, Gonzalo D. Rubio

Insecta Mundi

A new species of ant-mimicking spider of the subfamily Castianeirinae, Myrmecotypus rubrofemo­ratus Perger and Rubio, new species (Araneae: Corinnidae), is described from the Pre-Andean area of the Bolivian orocline. Adults of M. rubrofemoratus new species resemble the carpenter ant Camponotus femora­tus Forel, 1907, which is considered one of the most aggressive ants in the world.

The Neotropical castianeirine genus Myrmecotypus Pickard-Cambridge is a group of slender, fast-running spi­ders that includes 11 species (World Spider Catalog 2020). Four species are reported from South America and three from Bolivia: M. iguazu Rubio and Arbino, 2009, M. niger Chickering, 1937, and M. …

First Record Of Phaenops Obtusa (Horn) (Coleoptera: Buprestidae) In Massachusetts, Lawrence Barringer

Insecta Mundi

Phaenops obtusa (Coleoptera: Buprestidae) is reported from Massachusetts for the first time. Eco­logical and trapping information is also provided.

The genus Phaenops Dejean, 1833 (Coleoptera: Buprestidae), sometimes treated as a subgenus of Melanophila Eschscholtz (e.g. Bright 1987), contains 15 species in North America, five which occur in the northeast (Nelson et al. 2008; Paiero et al. 2012). Phaenops obtusa (Horn) is primarily distributed in southeastern United States from Louisiana to Florida and South Carolina, with a disjunct occurrence reported from New York (Nelson et al. 2008). Presented here is the first record of P. obtusa from Massachusetts, extending its disjunct …

The Lycaenid Butterfly Fauna (Lepidoptera) Of Cosñipata, Peru: Annotated Checklist, Elevational Patterns, And Rarity, Gerardo Lamas, Michael L. Mcinnis, Robert C. Busby, Robert K. Robbins

Insecta Mundi

Peru’s Cosñipata Region in Cuzco and Madre de Dios Departments is a valley between Manu National Park and the Amarakaeri Communal Reserve that ranges from 400 to 4,000 m elevation. A team of experienced lepidopterists sampled the butterfly fauna of this valley for more than a decade (7,440 field person-hours). We analyze the data for Lycaenidae (Lepidoptera: Papilionoidea), a family for which we have taxonomic expertise. After adding data on the fauna from museums and the literature, we present an annotated checklist of the 340 Lycaenidae species recorded from the Cosñipata Region with notes for each species on the elevations …

A New Genus Cicatrisphaerion, New Species, New Records, And Redescriptions Of Neotropical Cerambycidae (Coleoptera), Steven W. Lingafelter, Roy F. Morris Ii, Frederick W. Skillman Jr., Antonio Santos-Silva

Insecta Mundi

A new genus, Cicatrisphaerion Lingafelter, Morris, Skillman, and Santos-Silva (Coleoptera: Cer­ambycidae), and three new species of the same authorship, C. wappesi from Quintana Roo, Mexico, C. rileyi from Chiapas, Mexico, and Eupogonius wappesi from Quintana Roo, Mexico, are described. New records and clarification on the distribution of Psyrassaforma janzeni Chemsak, 1991 and P. nitida Chemsak, 1991 are provided. Ameriphoderes amoena (Chemsak and Linsley, 1979) is redescribed based on four male specimens and a new country record from Guatemala is documented. New distributional records are provided for Estola flavobasalis Breuning, 1940 (including a new country record for Bolivia) and Estola …

How Do Vanhorniidae (Hymenoptera) Parasitize Eucnemidae (Coleoptera)?, Jyrki Muona

Insecta Mundi

The relationship between the beetle family Eucnemidae and the parasitic proctotrupoid family Vanhorniidae is discussed. The only proven host for Vanhornia eucnemidarum Crawford in North America is an undetermined species of the genus Isorhipis Boisduval and Lacordaire. In Europe, the only known host for Vanhornia leileri Hedqvist is Hylis cariniceps (Reitter). The biologies of the hosts differ radically and it ap­pears unlikely that they could be parasitized in a typical proctotrupoid fashion in which eggs are placed in or on the host larva. This supports the hypothesis that small Vanhorniidae larvae attach themselves to the newly hatched beetle larvae, before …

Using Enclosed Y-Mazes To Assess Chemosensory Behavior In Reptiles, M. Rockwell Parker, Andrea F. Currylow, Eric A. Tillman, Charlotte J. Robinson, Jilian M. Josimovich, Isabella M.G. Bukovich, Lauren A. Nazarian, Melia G. Nafus, Bryan M. Kluever, Amy A. Yackel Adams

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Reptiles utilize a variety of environmental cues to inform and drive animal behavior such as chemical scent trails produced by food or conspecifics. Decrypting the scent-trailing behavior of vertebrates, particularly invasive species, enables the discovery of cues that induce exploratory behavior and can aid in the development of valuable basic and applied biological tools. However, pinpointing behaviors dominantly driven by chemical cues versus other competing environmental cues can be challenging. Y-mazes are common tools used in animal behavior research that allow quantification of vertebrate chemosensory behavior across a range of taxa. By reducing external stimuli, Y-mazes remove confounding factors and …

S Is For Sandhill: A Crane Alphabet, Paul A. Johnsgard

Zea E-Books Collection

This is a book of cranes, from A to Z, written and illustrated by the world’s foremost authority on the 15 species of these wonderful and ancient birds. It is a book for all ages, and for all who love and marvel at the beauty, order, and variety of the natural world.

Cranes exhibit complex behavior, pair-bonding, and fascinating social interactions. They migrate huge distances, crossing continents, oceans, and mountains between their nesting and wintering areas. Seven of the world’s 15 crane species are listed as “vulnerable,” three as “endangered,” one as “critically endangered,” and only three as of “least …

Breeding Status Of Louisiana Waterthrush (Parkesia Motacilla) In The Niobrara River Valley, North-Central Nebraska, W. Ross Silcock

Nebraska Bird Review

An unexpected Louisiana Waterthrush breeding range extension of some 200 miles westward into the Niobrara River Valley was documented in 2021 when Renee Tressler photographed and recorded adults and two fledged young, as well as an adult carrying food, on Fort Falls Trail, Fort Niobrara NWR, Cherry County, 31 May-14 Jun 2021 (Tressler 2021a, 2021b). Around the same time, “at least two singing individual” Louisiana Waterthrushes were found by Paul Dougherty some eight miles to the east at Smith Falls State Park, Cherry County, 7 June 2021, one of which was recorded; no breeding evidence was reported, although the presence …

Seed Rain–Successional Feedbacks In Wet Tropical Forests, Nohemi Huanca Nuñez, Robin L. Chazdon, Sabrina E. Russo

School of Biological Sciences: Faculty Publications

Abstract

Tropical forest regeneration after abandonment of former agricultural land depends critically on the input of tree seeds, yet seed dispersal is increasingly disrupted in contemporary human-modified landscapes. Here, we introduce the concept of seed rain–successional feedbacks as a deterministic process in which seed rain is shaped by successional dynamics internal to a forest site and that acts to reinforce priority effects. We used a combination of time series and chronosequence approaches to investigate how the quantity and taxonomic and functional composition of seed rain change during succession and to evaluate the strength of seed rain–successional feedbacks, relative to other …

Unprecedented Migratory Bird Die-Off: A Citizen-Based Analysis On The Spatiotemporal Patterns Of Mass Mortality Events In The Western United States, Di Yang, Anni Yang, Jue Yang, Rongting Xu, Han Qiu

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Extensive, severe wildfires, and wildfire-induced smoke occurred across the western and central United States since August 2020. Wildfires resulting in the loss of habitats and emission of particulate matter and volatile organic compounds pose serious threatens to wildlife and human populations, especially for avian species, the respiratory system of which are sensitive to air pollutions. At the same time, the extreme weather (e.g., snowstorms) in late summer may also impact bird migration by cutting off their food supply and promoting their migration before they were physiologically ready. In this study, we investigated the environmental drivers of massive bird die-offs by …

Small Mammals Killed In Discarded Bottles Along Roadsides In Central Nebraska, Owen J. Johnson, Keith Geluso

Transactions of the Nebraska Academy of Sciences and Affiliated Societies

Littered debris along roadways traps and kills small vertebrates. In Nebraska, at least 20 species of small mammals are small enough to enter openings of discarded bottles and cans. We surveyed roadsides for littered bottles and cans containing vertebrate remains in central parts of the state. We observed 459 bottles and 278 aluminum cans along 17.6 km of roadsides in Nebraska. Littered bottles contained 41 vertebrate remains representing nine taxa of small mammals. Glass bottles contained the majority of individuals, plastic bottles had a few individuals, and no vertebrate remains were detected in aluminum cans. Harvest mice (Reithrodontomys spp.) …

Synopsis Of The Tribe Platynini In New Zealand (Coleoptera: Carabidae), André Larochelle, Marie-Claude Larivière

Insecta Mundi

The tribe Platynini (Coleoptera: Carabidae: Harpalinae) is revised for New Zealand. Eight genera and forty-three species are recognized.

Four genera and sixteen species are described as new: Ctenognathus davidsoni Larochelle and Larivière new species, Ctenognathus earlyi Larochelle and Larivière new species, Ctenognathus garnerae Larochelle and Larivière new species, Ctenognathus hoarei Larochelle and Larivière new species, Ctenognathus kaikoura Larochelle and Larivière new species, Ctenognathus marieclaudiae Larochelle new species, Ctenog­nathus perumalae Larochelle and Larivière new species, Ctenognathus takahe Larochelle and Larivière new species, Ctenognathus tawanui Larochelle and Larivière new species, Ctenognathus tepaki Larochelle …

Subsequent Spelling Ritchiei For Mnematium Ritchii Macleay, 1821 (Coleoptera: Scarabaeoidea: Scarabaeidae: Scarabaeini) To Be Maintained For Prevailing Usage, Stefano Ziani

Insecta Mundi

The specific name in Mnematium ritchiei Macleay, 1821 (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae: Scarabaeini) is an incorrect subsequent spelling—the original spelling is ritchii—but, because of its prevailing usage here documented, is to be preserved.

A Catalogue Of The Cybocephalidae (Coleoptera: Cucujoidea) Of The World, Trevor Randall Smith

Insecta Mundi

A world catalogue and bibliography of the family Cybocephalidae (Coleoptera) is presented. The catalogue contains 207 species within 16 genera. Each taxon is accompanied by a complete taxonomic his­tory, including a full annotated synonymy with original references cited. The reversal of the recent synonymy of Cybocephalus brevis Grouvelle over Cybocephalus minimus Grouvelle is proposed. Cybocephalus aeneus Reiche is removed from synonymy with Cybocephalus micans Reitter and considered incertae sedis.

The Cybocephalidae are a family of small predatory beetles found throughout the world (Smith 2020). While cybocephalids are typically extremely convex, shiny and dark in coloration, the defining characteristic of …

Two New Species Of Palm-Leaf Skeletonizers (Lepidoptera: Pterolonchidae: Homaledra Busck), James E. Hayden

Insecta Mundi

Two species of palm-leaf skeletonizers (Lepidoptera: Pterolonchidae: Homaledra Busck) that are invasive in Florida, USA are newly described. Homaledra howardi new species is described from Florida and the Dominican Republic. Homaledra knudsoni new species is described from Florida, southern Texas, and Mexico. A lectotype is designated for Homaledra sabalella (Chambers). The three are diagnosed and com­pared with other congeners, and Homaledra is compared with other Pterolonchidae. The larvae of the three common species feed on epidermis of palm foliage, causing significant damage.

Se describen dos especies de palomillas de hojas de palma (Lepidoptera: Pterolonchidae: Homale­dra Busck) que son invasivas en …

The Strange Case Of Colophotia Miranda Olivier, 1886 (Coleoptera: Lampyridae: Luciolinae), Lesley Ballantyne, Wan F.A. Jusoh

Insecta Mundi

A single male specimen identified as Colophotia miranda Olivier (Coleoptera: Lampyridae: Lucio­linae) by Blair and housed in the Natural History Museum, London, is redescribed, and its identification and affinities explored.

Ernest Olivier, who first described Colophotia miranda in 1886, was then curator of insects at the Muséum natio­nale d’Histoire naturelle, Paris (MNHN). Effectively for lampyridologists he was the first in a narrow line of firefly taxonomists. Thanks to Olivier we have our first subfamily classifications, keys, catalogues and species descrip­tions; work that has undergone much revision and expansion in the last 100 years.

One of Olivier’s strengths, for those of …

Evaluation Of The Taxonomic Status Of Eurytides Marcellus Form “Floridensis” (W. Holland, 1898) (Papilionoidea, Papilioninae, Leptocircini), Harry Pavulaan

The Taxonomic Report of the International Lepidoptera Survey

The purpose of this paper is to firmly identify subspecific authorship of the name floridensis for the Floridian population of Eurytides marcellus (Cramer, 1779), which I recognize as a distinct, though slightly differentiated, subspecies ranging north and west along the Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico coastal regions. Though the name has been in historical use by multiple authors since description by William J. Holland (1898), it has not been readily evident which, if any, published work to date clearly and validly elevated the name to subspecific rank. The name “floridensis” is not preoccupied by any other members of …

Pupal Polymorphism Of The Bog Copper Butterfly Lycaena (Epidemia) Epixanthe (Bsd. & Le C. [1835]) (Lycaenidae: Lycaeninae) In New Jersey, David M. Wright

The Taxonomic Report of the International Lepidoptera Survey

The immature stages of the Bog Copper butterfly, Lycaena epixanthe, were described in detail by the author nearly forty years ago. Two different pupal colors were interpreted to represent distinct separate morphs with genetically-fixed incidences. Reassessment of the data discloses a pattern of progressive color change of each individual pupa throughout the pupal period. This transforming strategy is adaptive and may reduce predator recognition.

Holocene Records Of Nebraska Mammals, Hugh H. Genoways

Zea E-Books Collection

A survey of the archeological and paleontological literature allowed a compilation of Holocene records of mammals in Nebraska. This survey identified Holocene records from 338 sites in 62 of the 93 Nebraska counties. These counties were located throughout state, but there was a concentration of sites in southwestern Nebraska where there were 27 fossil sites in Frontier County and 22 in Harlan County. Fossils sites were underrepresented in the Sand Hills region. Records of fossil mammals covered the entire Holocene period from 13,000 years ago until AD 1850. A minimum of 57 species (with eight additional species potentially present) representing …

Geographic Distribution: Eleutherodactylus Coqui (Common Coqui). Usa: Florida., Louis A. Somma

Papers in Herpetology

A geographic interception record for Eleutherodactylus coqui in Suwanee County, Florida.

Geographic Distribution: Iguana Iguana (Green Iguana): Usa: Florida., Louis A. Somma, Mark T. Bailey

Papers in Herpetology

A geographic distribution record for Iguana iguana in Marion County, Florida.

Winter Field Report, December 2020-February 2021, W. Ross Silcock

Nebraska Bird Review

Thanks to the increasing numbers of observers taking time to report to eBird, social media, and NEBIRDS, this season, as is true of recent seasons, turned up some fascinating trends. The 96 cited observers, as well as several not cited, all contributed to the firmness of the database that allows better-supported conclusions to be drawn than from our past reliance all too often on anecdotal supposition.

Overwhelmingly clear this winter was the large number of taxonomically diverse species found north and west of expected winter ranges, and a surprising number of passerines reported for the first time in mid-winter. It …

2021 Annual Color Photo Section

Nebraska Bird Review

Our photo theme this year is species with the word “red” in their common names. For this "Red Challenge", "red" must be used to mean the color red, but the birds don't actually have to display any red to qualify. Examples appear on the next five pages of photos.

Redheaded Woodpecker in Knox Co., 28 July 2020. Photo by Mark Brogie.

Rednaped Sapsucker male at Plum Creek Valley WMA, Brown Co., 16 Sept. 2018. Photo by Mary Clausen.

Redbellied Woodpecker female, photographer's yard, Wahoo, Saunders Co., 14 Feb. 2021. Photo by Joe Freeborn.

Northern Flicker male, western "redshafted" subspecies, Seward …