Terrestrial and Aquatic Ecology Commons^™

Early Post-Fire Recovery On A Heavily Visited Mojave Desert Burn: Red Rock Canyon Near Las Vegas, Nevada, Scott R. Abella, E. Cayenne Engel, Christina L. Lund, Jessica E. Spencer

Fire Science Presentations

Wildfire has become widespread in southwestern USA deserts. In a record 2005 fire season in the Mojave Desert, for example, more than 385,000 hectares burned (Brooks and Matchett 2006). This burned area is approximately 3% of the entire Mojave Desert. Fueled in large part by exotic annual grasses, these fires burned desert ecosystems thought to have only burned infrequently historically. Burns now occupy significant portions of desert landscapes, posing prominent management challenges. Improving our understanding of plant recovery on desert burns is important for evaluating future fire hazard, whether natural revegetation will meet management objectives, and for planning active revegetation …

Post-Fire Plant Recovery In The Mojave And Sonoran Deserts Of Western North America, Scott R. Abella, Public Lands Institute, Department Of Environmental Studies, University Of Nevada, Las Vegas

Fire Science Presentations

Fire is thought to have been generally rare historically in the Mojave and Sonoran Deserts. However, invasion by exotic grasses (e.g., Schismus spp.) has increased fuel continuity, promoting fire in these deserts. Succession and recovery are not well understood processes in deserts, nonetheless for a novel disturbance like fire. In addition to helping build theories of desert succession and recovery, information on post-fire recovery has numerous practical implications (e.g., determining whether active revegetation is needed). Systematic reviews provide a means for obtaining literature using reproducible search criteria. This approach facilitates a balanced appraisal of available information, synthesizes scattered literature, and …

Effects Of Olfactory And Visual Predators On Nest Success And Nest-Site Selection Of Waterfowl In North Dakota, Jennifer Borgo

Green Canyon Environmental Research Area, Logan Utah

No abstract provided.

Variations In Stomatal Traits Of 14 Bornean Tree Species Growing On Soils With Different Moisture Contents In Lambir Hills National Park, Whitney Logan Cannon

Department of Environmental Studies: Undergraduate Student Theses

The goal of this study was to look at variations in stomatal traits of tree species on soils with different moisture contents and fertility at Lambir Hills National Park. Stomates are important structures on the surface of leaves that mediate conduction of moisture and gassesin and out of the leaf. If stomatalt raits are important for regulation, then there should be variation in stomatal traits in regards to their soil specialization. The 14 Borneant ree speciess ampledi ncluded6 sandyl oam specialists6, clay specialistsa nd 2 generalistsfo und growing with equald istributionso n both sandyl oam and clay. Confocal microscopy was …

Joint Fire Science Program – Lake Mead National Recreation Area: Revegetating Burned Arid Lands: Identifying Successful Native Species Using Trait And Competition Analysis, Quarterly Progress Report, July 1 — September 30, 2008, Margaret N. Rees

Fire Science

• Cones monitored and reseeded to obtain plants for nursery study.

• Goodsprings revegetation studies monitored.

• Website developed for JFS study.

• Writing short communication for Journal of Arid Environments.

• Working on poster for NAA conference in October.

Joint Fire Science Program – Lake Mead National Recreation Area: Revegetating Burned Arid Lands: Identifying Successful Native Species Using Trait And Competition Analysis: Quarterly Progress Report, April 1— June 30, 2008, Margaret N. Rees

Fire Science

• Cones seeded for competition experiment at Lake Mead nursery.

• Cones monitored for seedling establishment.

• Goodsprings revegetation studies monitored.

• Invasibility data being entered and analyzed.

• Abstract for NAA conference submitted.

• Joint Fire Science update article submitted to Mojave Applied Ecology Notes newsletter.

Joint Fire Science Program – Lake Mead National Recreation Area: Revegetating Burned Arid Lands: Identifying Successful Native Species Using Trait And Competition Analysis: Quarterly Progress Report, January 1— March 31, 2008, Margaret N. Rees

Fire Science

• Fence built.

• Seeds and plants obtained.

• Seeding experiment initiated at Goodsprings burn site.

• Three hundred twenty plants, comprising eight species, planted at the Goodsprings burn site on February 12, 2008.

• First of a series of Joint Fire Science update articles submitted to Mojave Applied Ecology Notes newsletter.

A Watershed Analysis Of Pattee Pond: Implications For Water Quality And Land Use Management, Problems In Environmental Science Course (Biology 493), Colby College, Colby Environmental Assessment Team, Colby College

Colby College Watershed Study: Pattee Pond (2008, 1992)

The Colby Environmental Assessment Team (CEAT) investigated the impact of land use patterns on the water quality of Pattee Pond in Winslow, Maine, during the summer and fall of 2008. Physical, chemical, and biological characteristics of water quality were analyzed to evaluate the current health of the lake. Data collected were compared with previous studies conducted by the Maine Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) and CEAT to examine changes in water quality and land use over time. Trends in Pattee Pond water quality suggest an improvement since the 1970s. However, the lake is still experiencing algal blooms resulting from phosphorus …

Terrestrial Habitat Use Of Marbled Salamanders Ambystoma Opacum: A Site Specific Approach, Frank Piccininni

Theses, Dissertations and Capstones

Habitat destruction, fragmentation and degradation have contributed heavily to the decline of amphibian populations such as Marbled Salamanders (Ambystoma opacum). Often, ambystomatid water resources are conserved without consideration for the equally important terrestrial habitat. This is partly due to a lack of information regarding the relationship between ecological succession, plant community composition, microhabitat and salamander abundance. Three sampling transects consisting of drift fence arrays, vegetation assessments and microhabitat surveys were extended 100 m into the terrestrial habitat surrounding a seasonal wetland at Beech Fork State Park in Wayne County, West Virginia. Principal components analysis was used to identify …

Floristic Records In The Platte And Loup River Bottomlands Of Platte County, Nebraska, Michael P. Gutzmer, Robert B. Kaul

Transactions of the Nebraska Academy of Sciences and Affiliated Societies

A recent inventory of vascular plants in the Loup and Platte riverbottoms in Platte County has greatly increased knowledge of the area's flora. Of the 542 species of vascular plants now known to grow in the county, 289 were discovered after 1977, with more than 100 of those after 1990. 425 native and 117 naturalized species are known so far. Nearly 700 native and naturalized alien species are expected to occur in the county, based upon totals from nearby counties. Thus, almost 150 years after European settlement, more than 20% of the species remain unverified; of those, many are undoubtedly …

Agricultural Systems: Agroecology And Rural Innovations For Development [Book Review], Charles A. Francis

Department of Agronomy and Horticulture: Faculty Publications

To welcome yet another book on sustainable development, a reviewer must look for what is unique and what adds value to the volumes already published. In Agricultural Systems, editors Sieglinde Snapp and Barry Pound have assembled a collection of chapters that goes beyond the usual praise and criticism of the green revolution and the focus on economic development. Their book provides a first-hand story by people with lengthy experiences in the field, especially in Africa, who have developed and tested grassroots, participatory development approaches. The result is a valuable set of principles, strategies and case studies that paint a new …

Seeding Effectiveness And Natural Regeneration Of Mojave Desert Plant Communities After 2005-2006 Wildland Fires, E. Cayenne Engel, Scott R. Abella, Christina L. Lund

Fire Science Presentations

1) Assessment of BLM seeding effectiveness in mid-elevation burn where pre-burn plant communities were dominated by blackbrush, Joshua trees, and creosote.

2) Patterns driving fire recovery at the landscape scale:

• Link initial vegetation, environment, and soils
• Are there patterns that can be gleaned that can then be applied to management prescriptions?

Water In Beaver Dam Wash And Lytle Preserve, Stanley L. Welsh

Books by Faculty of the Monte L. Bean Life Science Museum

This short work is derived from a manuscript prepared for presentation in a water adjudication hearing, following a proposal to pipe water from wells in Beaver Dam Wash for transfer across state lines to be used for culinary and other purposes in Mesquite, Nevada. The Wash is estimated to yield 2000 acre feet of water annually, mostly as subsurface flow, at the Arizona line. About a third of that amount is already appropriated by users along the Wash in Utah, but there are applications pending for more than 100,000 acre feet in Utah. Thus, the Wash is already oversubscribed by …

Vegetation Re-Establishment Of Mojave Desert Plant Communities After 2005-2006 Wildland Fires, E. Cayenne Engel, Scott R. Abella

Fire Science Presentations

Examine biotic and abiotic patterns that determine vegetative regrowth after wildfires to better inform land managers about what to expect after fires and how to manage restoration efforts.

Seeding Effectiveness For Eight Mojave Desert Perennials After A 2005 Wildfire, E. Cayenne Engel, Scott R. Abella, Christina L. Lund

Fire Science Presentations

To assess BLM seeding effectiveness in a mid-elevation burn where pre-burn plant communities were dominated by blackbrush, Joshua trees, and creosote.

Plant Reproductive Allocation Predicts Herbivore Dynamics Across Spatial And Temporal Scales, Tom E. X. Miller, Andrew J. Tyre, Svata M. Louda

School of Biological Sciences: Faculty Publications

Life-history theory suggests that iteroparous plants should be flexible in their allocation of resources toward growth and reproduction. Such plasticity could have consequences for herbivores that prefer or specialize on vegetative versus reproductive structures. To test this prediction, we studied the response of the cactus bug (Narnia pallidicornis) to meristem allocation by tree cholla cactus (Opuntia imbricata). We evaluated the explanatory power of demographic models that incorporated variation in cactus relative reproductive effort (RRE; the proportion of meristems allocated toward reproduction). Field data provided strong support for a single model that defined herbivore fecundity as a …

Ecophysiology Of Two Native Invasive Woody Species And Two Dominant Warm-Season Grasses In The Semiarid Grasslands Of The Nebraska Sandhills, Kathleen D. Eggemeyer, Tala Awada, David A. Wedin, F. Edwin Harvey, Xinhua Zhou

School of Natural Resources: Faculty Publications

Populations of Pinus ponderosa and Juniperus virginiana are expanding into semiarid Sandhills grasslands in Nebraska. To evaluate the physiological basis of their success, we measured the seasonal course of leaf gas exchange, plant water status, and carbon isotope discrimination in these two native trees and two native C₄ grasses (Schizachyrium scoparium and Panicum virgatum). Compared to the trees, grasses had higher net photosynthetic rates (A_net) and water use efficiency (WUE) and more negative predawn and midday water potentials (Ψ) in June and July. While leaf Ψ and rates of leaf gas exchange declined for all …

Artificial Burrows And The Deer Mouse: Do Number Of Entrances Influence Use?, Glennis A. Kaufman, Donald W. Kaufman

The Prairie Naturalist

We examined use of artificial burrows by the deer mouse (Peromyscus maniculatus) in mixed grass prairie in north central Kansas. We predicted differential use of burrows, such that the deer mouse would prefer two entrance burrows in non-winter months when predatory snakes were active, but prefer one entrance burrows in winter when cold, windy conditions existed. We installed 20 pairs of artificial burrows (one single entrance and one double entrance) in summer 1988. We examined these burrows on seven dates from autumn 1988 to autumn 1989. All mice (n = 70) used two entrance burrows at least …

Terpenes And Carbohydrate Source Influence Rumen Fermentation, Digestibility, Intake, And Preference In Sheep, J. J. Villalba, F. D. Provenza, K. C. Olson

Green Canyon Environmental Research Area, Logan Utah

We hypothesized that toxins and nutrients in foods interact to influence foraging behavior by herbivores. Based on this hypothesis we predicted that 1) terpenes in big sagebrush (Artemisia tridentata) influence intake and preference in sheep for diets varying in sources of nonstructural (barley grain) and structural (sugar beet pulp) carbohydrates, and 2) these effects are due to the differential effects of terpenes on fermentation products and apparent digestibility of each class of carbohydrates. Lambs were fed 2 isoenergetic and isonitrogenous diets with varying proportions of the same ingredients (beet pulp- and barley grain-based diet) or offered a choice between the …

The Vascular Flora And Community Structure Of Little Calumet Headwaters Nature Preserve, Laporte Country, Indiana, Julia L. Angstmann, Paul E. Rothrock, Thomas W. Post

Scholarship and Professional Work - LAS

Little Calumet Headwaters Nature Preserve is a 108-acre tract of woodland and wetland areas that comprise the headwaters of the Little Calumet River in northwestern Indiana. The preserve, consisting of upland hardwood forests, groundwater seeps, and wetland complex, is an area of high diversity due to its topographical variation. A floristic inventory, plot sampling, and seed bank analysis were used to determine the structure and composition of the plant communities. The flora consists of 298 species (27 exotic) representing 188 genera and 84 families. Dominant vegetation of the forest includes Liriodendron tulipifera, Prunus serotina, Packera aurea and Podophyllum peltatum. …

Seagrass–Pathogen Interactions: ‘Pseudo-Induction’ Of Turtlegrass Phenolics Near Wasting Disease Lesions, Latina Steele, Melanie Caldwell, Anne Boettcher, Tom Arnold

Biology Faculty Publications

Marine protists of the genus Labyrinthula cause the seagrass wasting disease, which is associated with regional die-offs of eelgrass Zostera marina and also infects turtlegrass Thalassia testudinum . The ability of seagrasses to resist pathogen attack is determined by multiple factors, which are poorly understood. One factor hypothesized to influence seagrass disease resistance is the presence of (poly)phenolic natural products such as caffeic acid, which inhibits the growth of L. zosterae in in vitro laboratory bioassays. This hypothesis has been supported by reports of pathogen-induced phenolic accumulations in eelgrass Z. marina. To test the response of T. testudinum to …

An Inventory Of Rangelands In Part Of The Broome Shire, Western Australia, W E. Cotching

Technical Bulletins

The inventory of rangelands in part of the Broome Shire in Western Australia was undertaken by DAFWA between 1989 and 1990. It describes and maps the natural resources of the region’s pastoral leasehold land. This survey report provides a baseline record of the existence and condition of the natural area’s resources, to assist with the planning and implementation of land management practices. The report identified and described the condition of soils, landforms, vegetation, habitat, ecosystems, and declared plants and animals. It also assessed the impact of pastoralism and made land management recommendations. The survey of part of the Broome Shire …

Reproductive Ecology Of Two Common Woody Species, Juniperus Sabina And Artemisia Santolinifolia, In Mountain Steppes Of Southern Mongolia, Katrin Ronnenberg

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

The present study describes the reproductive ecology of the prostrate shrub Juniperus sabina and the dwarf shrub Artemisia santolinifolia in dry mountain steppes of southern Mongolia. Whereas stands of the juniper are located at the drought limit of the genus’ distributional range, the genus Artemisia is typical of central Asian drylands. Both species produce large numbers of reproductive organs. For Juniperus sabina, however, only 2.5% of the morphologically intact seeds were found to be viable. Correspondingly, neither seedlings nor saplings were found in the field, and recruitment by reseeding happens at most rarely under the present climatic conditions.

Instead, …

Effects Of Management Practicesmon Grassland Birds: Brewer’S Sparrow, Brett Walker

United States Geological Survey: Effects of Management Practices on Grassland Birds

Information on the habitat requirements and effects of habitat management on grassland birds were summarized from information in more than 5,500 published and unpublished papers. A range map is provided to indicate the relative densities of the species in North America, based on Breeding Bird Survey (BBS) data. Although birds frequently are observed outside the breeding range indicated, the maps are intended to show areas where managers might concentrate their attention. It may be ineffectual to manage habitat at a site for a species that rarely occurs in an area. The species account begins with a brief capsule statement, which …

Seed Bank Response To Fire And Successional Trajectory Of A Virginia Small Depression Pocosin, Jay F. Bolin

Biological Sciences Theses & Dissertations

Pocosins are depressional wetlands maintained by fire. Plants in fire adapted systems can use a variety of mechanisms for survival and recruitment. I examined the seed bank response to fire (500 to 700 °C) and wet heat treatments (50 and 75 °C) in a Virginia small depression pocosin. I quantified seedling abundance, richness, and Sphagnum density. Extant vegetation was sampled with a nested plot design at each seed bank sampling area. The seed flora was compared with the extant vegetation at three size classes with Sorenson similarity values. Data from the fire treatment indicates that a simulated drought burn may …

Effects Of Management Practices On Grassland Birds: Greater Sage-Grouse, Mary M. Rowland

United States Geological Survey: Effects of Management Practices on Grassland Birds

Information on the habitat requirements and effects of habitat management on Greater Sage-Grouse was summarized from information in more than 5,500 published and unpublished papers. A range map is provided to indicate the current range of Greater Sage-Grouse (adapted from Schroeder et al. 2004). Although birds may be observed outside the breeding range indicated, the maps are intended to show areas where managers might concentrate their attention. It may be ineffectual to manage habitat at a site for a species that rarely occurs in an area. The species account begins with a brief capsule statement, which provides the fundamental components …

Effects Of Management Practices On Grassland Birds: Prairie Falcon, John P. Delong, Karen Steenhof

United States Geological Survey: Effects of Management Practices on Grassland Birds

Information on the habitat requirements and effects of habitat management on grassland birds were summarized from information in more than 4,000 published and unpublished papers. A range map is provided to indicate the breeding, year-round, and nonbreeding ranges in the United States and southern Canada. Although birds frequently are observed outside the breeding range indicated, the maps are intended to show areas where managers might concentrate their attention. It may be ineffectual to manage habitat at a site for a species that rarely occurs in an area. The species account begins with a brief capsule statement, which provides the fundamental …

Effects Of Management Practices On Grassland Birds: Golden Eagle, John P. Delong

United States Geological Survey: Effects of Management Practices on Grassland Birds

Information on the habitat requirements and effects of habitat management on grassland birds were summarized from information in more than 4,000 published and unpublished papers. A range map is provided to the breeding, year-round, and nonbreeding ranges in the United States and southern Canada. Although birds frequently are observed outside the breeding range indicated, the maps are intended to show areas where managers might concentrate their attention. It may be ineffectual to manage habitat at a site for a species that rarely occurs in an area. The species account begins with a brief capsule statement, which provides the fundamental components …

Effects Of Management Practices On Grassland Birds: Merlin, Paul M. Konrad

United States Geological Survey: Effects of Management Practices on Grassland Birds

Information on the habitat requirements and effects of habitat management on grassland birds were summarized from information in more than 5,500 published and unpublished papers. A range map is provided to indicate the breeding, year-round, and nonbreeding ranges in the United States and southern Canada. Although birds frequently are observed outside the breeding range indicated, the maps are intended to show areas where managers might concentrate their attention. It may be ineffectual to manage habitat at a site for a species that rarely occurs in an area. The species account begins with a brief capsule statement, which provides the fundamental …

Microbial Biomass And Nitrogen Availability Under The Invasive Plant Species Lonicera Japonica And Native Grasses In Wetland Soil, Kimberly R. Payne, Mary C. Savin, Peter J. Tomlinson

Discovery, The Student Journal of Dale Bumpers College of Agricultural, Food and Life Sciences

Invasive plants decrease aboveground biodiversity and suitable wildlife habitat. Wetlands are especially valuable ecosystems because they provide habitat, floodwater control, and function as filters for urban runoff. Wetland soils also act as sinks for nutrients. This characteristic reduces levels of excess nutrients often found in adjacent aquatic systems. The importance of soil functions in wetlands necessitates further investigation of the effects of invasive species on belowground nutrient pools. Approximately 75% of a small neighborhood wetland located in Fayetteville, Ark., has been invaded by Lonicera japonica. The effects of L. japonica and its replacement with native grasses on soil microbial biomass …