Terrestrial and Aquatic Ecology Commons^™

Weight Changes In Wild Wolves, Canis Lupus, From Ages 2 To 24 Months, L. David Mech

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

Weights of 118 female and 141 male Minnesota Wolves (Canis lupus) aged 2-24 months increased almost linearly from about 8 kg for females and 10 kg for males at 3 months to 30 kg for females and 32 kg for males at 10-12 months and then tended to increase much more slowly in an overall curvilinear trend. Considerable variation was apparent for both sexes during their first year.

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 …

Muscleworms, Parelaphostrongylus Andersoni (Nematoda: Protostrongylidae), Discovered In Columbia White-Tailed Deer From Oregon And Washington: Implications For Biogeography And Host Associations, Ingrid M. Asmundsson, Jack A. Mortenson, Eric P. Hoberg

Harold W. Manter Laboratory of Parasitology: Faculty Publications

Parelaphostrongylus andersoni is considered a characteristic nematode infecting white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus). Host and geographic distribution for this parasite, however, remain poorly defined in the region of western North America. Fecal samples collected from Columbia white-tailed deer (O. v. leucurus) in a restricted range endemic to Oregon and Washington, USA, were examined for dorsal-spined larvae characteristic of many protostrongylid nematodes. Multilocus DNA sequence data (internal transcribed spacer 2 and cytochrome c oxidase subunit 1) established the identity and a new record for P. andersoni in a subspecies of white-tailed deer previously unrecognized as hosts. Populations of …

Wind Through The Buffalo Grass: A Lakota Story Cycle, Paul A. Johnsgard

Paul Johnsgard Collection

Wind Through the Buffalo Grass: A Lakota Story Cycle is a narrative history of the Pine Ridge Lakota tribe of South Dakota, following its history from 1850 to the present day through actual historical events and through the stories of four fictional Lakota children, each related by descent and separated from one another by two generations.

The ecology of the Pine Ridge region, especially its mammalian and avian wildlife, is woven into the stories of the children. Illustrated by the author, the book includes drawings of Pine Ridge wildlife, regional maps, and Native American pictorial art. Appendices include a listing …

Waterhole Dynamics And Chemical Signals Of African Elephants ( Loxodonta Africana ), Stacie Marie Castelda

College of Graduate Studies: Theses & Dissertations

The distribution of mammals in a savanna environment is influenced by abiotic and biotic factors. The African savanna experiences distinct wet and dry seasons. Species become spatially restricted around water resources during the dry season, resulting in increased intraspecies and interspecies resource-based aggregation. A dominate species, such as the African elephant (Loxodonta africana), may influence this aggregation. I examined the influence of wet and dry seasons and ambient temperature on the use of a waterhole by elephants as well as the co-occurrence of elephants and other mammals at the waterhole. Biodiversity scans (October 2004-June 2007) and were performed at a …

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?

Interagency Science And Research Strategy, Limnological Assistance For Lake Mead National Recreation Area

Limnological Studies

Helping improve operational efficiency, enhance land stewardship, resource protection, and conservation on the shared public land.

Ecological Consequences Of Invasion Of The Quagga Mussel (Dreissena Bugensis Andrusov 1897) Into Lake Mead, David Wong, Shawn Gerstenberger, Todd Tietjen, Sara Ann Mueting, Eric Michael Loomis

Limnological Studies

Consequences of Invasion of the Quagga Mussel into Lake Mead

Project Limulus: What Long-Term Mark/Recapture Studies Reveal About Horseshow Crab Population Dynamics In Long Island Sound, Mark Beekey, Jennifer Mattei

Biology Faculty Publications

Project Limulus is a long-term study of the population dynamics of the horseshoe crab population in Long Island Sound (LIS). We have tagged over 20,000 spawning adults from >20 beaches ranging from Greenwich to Stonington, CT since 1997. Cumulative recapture rates have reached 9%. On average 90% of the crabs are recaptured within a few miles of their original tag site within the first season. Between seasons, on average, 45% of crabs are recaptured within the same locality of where they were tagged. Of all recaptures, 99% of recaptured individuals are found within LIS. This past year we expanded the …

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); …

Limnological Assistance For The Lake Mead National Recreation Area In Meeting The Challenge Of The Water 2025 Initiative: Quarterly Progress Report, Period Ending: December 31, 2007, Margaret N. Rees

Limnological Studies

• The limnologist position has been announced.
• Project 1: Review of the draft Boulder Basin Adaptive Management Plan is underway.
• Project 2: Development of a white paper expressing the joint needs of the entities involved in Water 2025 projects is being coordinated.
• Project 3: A bibliographic reference spreadsheet organizing literature citations related to quagga and zebra mussel research has been completed.
• Project 4: A comprehensive literature search of Lake Mead limnology is well underway; an Access database has been designed to organize reference citations; and a special collections library at UNLV is being established to house original rare documents and other …

Occurrence And Biological Effect Of Exogenous Steroids In The Elkhorn River, Nebraska, Usa, Alan S. Kolok, Daniel D. Snow, Satomi Kohno, Marlo K. Sellin, Louis J. Guillette Jr.

Biology Faculty Publications

Recent studies of surface waters in North America, Japan, and Europe have reported the presence of steroidogenic agents as contaminants. The current study has three objectives: 1) to determine if steroidogenic compounds are present in the Elkhorn River, 2) to determine if sediments collected from the Elkhorn River can act as a source of steroidogenic compounds to aquatic organisms, and 3) to determine if site-specific biological effects are apparent in the hepatic gene expression of fathead minnows. Evidence was obtained using three approaches: 1) deployment of polar organic chemical integrative samplers (POCIS), 2) deployment of caged fathead minnows, and 3) …

Designation Of A Neotype For Leptodactylus Gracilis (Duméril And Bibron, 1840) (Amphibia: Leptodactylidae), Rafael O. De Sá, A. Dubois, A. Ohler

Biology Faculty Publications

The examination of the preserved specimens in the herpetological collection of the Museum National d'Histoire Naturelle, along with a review of the original literature, indicates that no extant specimen can be undoubtedly identified as the holotype of Leptodactylus gracilis (DumCri.l and Bibron, 1840). Furthermore, it revealed that the type locality recently assigned to this taxon is in error.

The International Lepidoptera Survey Newsletter, December 2007, International Lepidoptera Survey, Kenneth E. Davenport, Ray E. Stanford, Robert L. Langston

International Lepidoptera Survey Newsletter

Contents (pages 1-66)

Title

Flight Periods of California Butterflies for “Resident Species,” Subspecies and Most Strays to the State (2007)

Authors

Kenneth E. Davenport, Ray E. Stanford and Robert L. Langston

Abstract

Normal flight periods and early/late records for resident species, subspecies and regular strays of butterflies of California are presented below.. Many subspecies or populations in the state are distinctive and may prove to merit species recognition by specialists in the future.

Do The Size And Landscape Context Of Forest Openings Influence The Abundance And Breeding Success Of Shrubland Songbirds In Southern New England?, Robert A. Askins, Benjamin Zuckerberg, Leah Novak

Biology Faculty Publications

Early successional birds have declined in the northeastern United States due to the regeneration of forest on abandoned farm fields and the suppression of natural disturbances that once provided appropriate habitat. These species have become increasingly dependent on early successional habitats generated by such activities as timber harvesting. Recent approaches of timber harvesting, which range from single-tree harvesting to clearcutting, create forest openings of different sizes and configurations embedded in landscapes with different land use patterns. To assess the importance of forest openings created by timber harvesting for shrubland birds, we surveyed birds on 50m radius plots in 34 harvest …

Seasonal Variation In Diet Of The Cotton Rat (Sigmodon Hispidus) Based On Fecal Analysis, Lynn A. Walker

Biological Sciences Theses & Dissertations

Cotton rats, Sigmodon hispidus, live in oldfields, habitats with a variety of mostly herbaceous plants. Based on other studies, the hispid cotton rat eats predominantly grasses, but grasses rarely are the only food. Fecal samples were collected each month during an ongoing capture-mark-release demographic study of the rodent community at a location in southern Chesapeake, Virginia. In the lab, five fecal pellets per animal were stained, placed on a microscope slide, and covered with starch-gel medium and coverslip. Then a clear nail polish was applied to produce a semi-permanent slide. Using a microscope and a set of reference slides, plant …

Summer/Fall 2007, Nsu Oceanographic Center

Currents

No abstract provided.

Effect Of Wave Action On Movement In The Owl Limpet, Lottia Gigantea, In Santa Cruz, California, William G. Wright, James W. Nybakken

Biology, Chemistry, and Environmental Sciences Faculty Articles and Research

The critical role of wave energy in the ecology of nearshore organisms is widely accepted, based primarily on biotic correlations over large scales of time and space. Much less is known about how large waves impact the behavioral ecology of individual organisms. Theoretical considerations and measurements of tenacity predict that intertidal gastropods should minimize the chances of dislodgement during periods of high waves by remaining stationary. We tested this prediction by observing a population of the owl limpet, Lottia gigantea G. B. Sowerby I, 1834, in a range of sea conditions. We found the proportion of the population moving during …

Land Cover Types Of The Las Vegas Wash, Nevada, Seth A. Shanahan, Dave Silverman, Art Ehrenberg

Publications (WR)

Vegetation type, extent, continuity, and structure are some of the most important factors that determine wildlife diversity and distribution. Other contributing factors that shape wildlife communities include disturbance, competition, climate, and water availability. Because vegetation communities in the southwestern U.S. gradate sharply along zones of soil moisture, wildlife are often restricted to specific vegetation types. Along the Las Vegas Wash (Wash), Nevada, more than 250 wildlife species have been documented to occur in distinct wetland, riparian, and upland vegetation types. Recent studies have investigated the diversity and distribution of amphibians, birds, fishes, mammals, and reptiles (Shanahan 2005, 2005a, Van Dooremolen …

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 …

Climate. A Period Of Consequence: Environmental Literature Of 2006, Shaun O'Connell

New England Journal of Public Policy

The author talks about the consequences of not respecting the climate and understanding global warming will cause ecocide and our own extinction.

Benthic Biological Monitoring Program Of The Elizabeth River Watershed (2006), Daniel M. Dauer

Elizabeth River Reports

Executive Summary

Macrobenthic communities of the Elizabeth River watershed have been quantitatively sampled since summer 1999. This report presents the data from the eigth year of sampling in 2006. The three objectives of the Benthic Biological Monitoring Program of the Elizabeth River watershed are: (1) To characterize the health of the tidal waters of the Elizabeth River watershed as indicated by the structure of the benthic communities. (2) To conduct trend analyses on long-term data at 14 fixed-point stations to relate temporal trends in the benthic communities to changes in water and/or sediment quality. Trend analyses will be updated annually …

Green Crab Management: Reduction Of A Marine Invasive Population, Catherine E. De Rivera, Edwin D. Grosholz, Greg Ruiz, Amy A. Larson, Rebecca L. Kordas, Mark Sytsma

Environmental Science and Management Faculty Publications and Presentations

The overall goal of this study is to develop and demonstrate the capacity for local eradication of adult Carcinus maenas, European green crabs. This represents a conceptual shift in development of management options to address established invasions in marine systems, extending and exploring the application of terrestrial successes in this area. Specifically, this project tests the effects of removing green crabs from Bodega Harbor on the green crab population and on native shore crabs eaten by green crabs.

Resources And The Rise & Fall Of Civilizations, Fred Pearce

New England Journal of Public Policy

This article is about the world's climate and how it has changed from the beginning of time. The author contributes these changes to political moves, nature, and the effects of humanity.

Yosemite Butterflies (Text), 2nd Edition, Kenneth E. Davenport

The Taxonomic Report of the International Lepidoptera Survey

The author, Kenneth E, Davenport, has collected or observed butterflies extensively in the Yosemite region (at least 90 collecting or observation days) since August 1963. Information for this study began with Davenport obtaining a copy of Garth and Tilden’s 1963 Yosemite Butterflies in 1970. The annual Season Summaries for California published in the News of the Lepidopterists’ Society between 1975 and 2006 have been checked for records. The common English and scientific names used in this publication mostly follow the names used by the International Lepidoptera Survey (TILS) except in a few cases.

The following individuals contributed information: George T. …

The Valuation Of Nature: An Examination Of Benefits And Costs Associated With Duck Nesting Structures And The Marginal Duck Recruit, Tessa Haagenson

Honors Capstones

Capstone submitted as a graduation requirement for the BSU Honors Program.

Animal Welfare Perspectives On Recreational Angling, Steven J. Cooke, Lynne U. Sneddon

Animal Welfare Collection

Fish captured by recreational anglers are often released either voluntarily or because of harvest regulations in a process called ‘‘catch-and-release’’. Catch-and-release angling is thought to be beneficial for the conservation of fish stocks based on the premise that most of the fish that are released survive. However, expanding interest in animal welfare has promoted debate regarding the ethics of catch-and-release angling. There is a growing recognition that fish can consciously experience nociception and that they have some capacity to experience pain and fear. Indeed, empirical anatomical, physiological, and behavioural evidence supports the notion that fish could experience these two forms …

A Description Of A New Subspecies Of Lycaena Phlaeas (Lycaenidae: Lycaeninae) From Montana, United States, With A Comparative Study Of Old And New World Populations, Steve Kohler

The Taxonomic Report of the International Lepidoptera Survey

The Palaearctic, Oriental, and Ethiopian Region subspecies of Lycaena phlaeas are briefly discussed. A more detailed account of the North American subspecies is presented, and a new subspecies, L. p. weberi, from the Sweet Grass Hills, Montana is described. The possibility that the eastern United States subspecies hypophlaeas was introduced from the Old World is discussed; however no conclusion can be reached with certainty. The relationship between Old World and New World subspecies of L. phlaeas is discussed. Evidence presented supports the treatment of New World populations as subspecies of L. phlaeas.

The Tadpole Of Eupsophus Queulensis (Anura, Cycloramphidae), Diana R. Cárdenas-Rojas, Alberto Veloso, Rafael O. De Sá

Biology Faculty Publications

The genus Eupsophus is characterized by endotrophic larvae that inhabit water-filled cavities. The larvae feed from large yolk reserves during metamorphosis. The external morphology has been described for four of the ten known species and data on larval chondrocranial morphology are available only for one. We describe the extema1 morphology, oral disc and chondrocranial anatomy of the larvae of Eupsophus queulensis. The characteristics of E. queulensis tadpoles are compared with those of other Eupsophus larvae.