Botany Commons^™

Composition And Dispersal Dynamics Of Vegetation Communities In Urban Riparian Forests, Christa Von Behren

Dissertations and Theses

In urban riparian areas, vegetation composition may be affected by urban land use changes at both the stream reach and the watershed scale. Moreover, the mechanisms by which seeds disperse may be affected both by reduction in seed sources due to vegetation removal and by the urban stream syndrome that produces flashier hydrographs and incised channels. I hypothesized that vegetation communities with high cover of native and hydrophilic species would be found in watersheds with high forest cover, while more limited cover of these species would be found in highly developed watersheds. Additionally, to examine the dispersal mechanisms contributing to …

Lekking Behavior Of A Sharp-Tailed Grouse In South-Central Nebraska, Kelsey C. King, Andrew J. Caven, Keith Geluso

The Prairie Naturalist

Sharp-tailed grouse (Tympanuchus phasianellus; STGR) occur throughout much of the northern Great Plains, and historically were suspected to have ranged as far south as Kansas (Connelly et al. 1998). Sharp-tailed grouse were the dominant grouse in Nebraska 200 years ago, but early settlers and their associated agricultural practices extirpated STGR from much of their former range, including Kansas and southern Nebraska (Sisson 1976, Johnsgard 2016). During the period of initial land conversion, the greater prairie-chicken (T. cupido; GRPC) filled the void, benefiting from small plots of cropland providing winter forage, and outcompeting the STGR (Johnsgard and Wood 1968, Svedarsky et …

A Short Narrative For Writing For The Prairie Naturalist, Christopher N. Jacques

The Prairie Naturalist

The abstract should be written upon completion of the paper. A well-written abstract is a single short (≤1 line/page of text), concise, and includes 1) an introductory sentence justifying why the study was conducted, 2) a statement of the principal objectives or hypotheses tested during the study, 3) a brief description of pertinent methods, 4) a summary of significant results, 5) a punchy conclusion, and 6) management implications (i.e., utility of results explaining how, when, where, and by whom data or interpretations can be applied; Krausman and Cox 2017). Keep in mind that abstracts are read more than authors than …

The Prairie Naturalist: The Journal Of The Great Plains Natural Science Society Volume 50 No. 1

The Prairie Naturalist

TABLE OF CONTENTS

1 EDITOR’S NOTE

RESEARCH ARTICLES

3 Spatiotemporal Distribution of Waterfowl Disease Outbreaks in Kansas, USA Thomas A. Becker, Adam A. Ahlers, Shane Hesting, and David A. Haukos

14 Wild Turkey Occupancy in a Prairie Landscape Joshua C. Courlas and R. Scott Lutz

24 Age and Growth of Cottonwood Trees along the Missouri River, North Dakota Jonathan M. Friedman, Fisher R. Ankeny, and Marshall Wolf

NOTES

34 Hoary Bat Impaled on Barbed Wire Fence

37 Lekking Behavior of a Sharp-Tailed Grouse in South-Central Nebraska

BOOK REVIEWS

40 Force of Nature: George Fell, Founder of The Natural Areas Movement. …

Age And Growth Of Cottonwood Trees Along The Missouri River, North Dakota, Jonathan M. Friedman, Fisher R. Ankney, J. Marshall Wolf

The Prairie Naturalist

The relict plains cottonwood (Populus deltoides subsp. monilifera) forest along the Missouri River between Lakes Sakakawea and Oahe includes trees as large as two meters in diameter. We cored 24 of these trees to determine their age and suitability for flow reconstruction. Because most of the trees were rotten in the center, we developed a method to estimate the date of the center ring that accounts for the increase in ring width toward the center. Estimated center ring dates were as early as 1806. Cottonwood growth at a dry site was correlated with April–August flow prior to construction of Lake …

Wild Turkey Occupancy In A Prairie Landscape, Joshua C. Courlas, R. Scott Lutz

The Prairie Naturalist

We investigated wild turkey (Meleagris gallopavo) distribution in prairie landscapes in North Dakota using occupancy modeling in two stages. In 2012, we extensively surveyed ecoregions across the state and in 2013, intensively surveyed the ecoregion with the highest probability of occupancy. Occupancy models from the statewide survey indicated wild turkeys were sparse in ecoregions with primarily agricultural landscapes, were found associated with wooded riparian cover, and found most frequently in the Missouri River Plateau ecoregion. In the Missouri River Plateau, our occupancy models identified that an additive model including mean patch area of cropland fields and spatial aggregation of forest …

Book Reviews: Force Of Nature: George Fell, Founder Of The Natural Areas Movement. Arthur Melville Pearson., James R. Herkert

The Prairie Naturalist

Arthur Melville Pearson’s Force of Nature is a book that tells two very interesting and intertwined stories. One is a story of how perseverance and determination can drive an individual to accomplish great things. And the other is a story of how the modern day natural areas movement came to be. Fortunately for those interested in conservation and natural areas protection, those two stories were combined in the life of George Fell (1916-1994). In Fell’s home state of Illinois, where his impact is widely known, his name is synonymous with conservation. In other places where his impact is less well …

Spatiotemporal Distribution Of Waterfowl Disease Outbreaks In Kansas, Usa, Thomas A. Becker, Adam A. Ahlers, Shane Hesting, David A. Haukos

The Prairie Naturalist

Causes and impacts of disease outbreaks in wild bird populations are rarely studied beyond documentation of large epizootic events. In Kansas, USA, a central disease surveillance and reporting protocol currently does not exist within the Kansas Department of Wildlife, Parks and Tourism, which has led to a lack of available knowledge of disease occurrences that could be used to predict and manage future outbreaks. We compiled historic records of documented waterbird disease outbreaks in Kansas from 1967–2014 and related the frequency of outbreaks with light geese (Ross’s goose [Anser rossii]; Snow goose [A. caerulescens]) populations from 1970–2014. We found 32 …

A Quantitative Analysis Of The Effects Of Urbanization, Mesophication And Prescribed Burns On Oak Woodlands In The Chicago Metropolitan Area, Chad Populorum

Celebration of Learning

Urban expansion has had devastating impacts on forest ecosystems, especially within the past century. Human attempts to dominate nature have diminished natural disturbance regimes, which have maintained the biodiversity and historic composition of these ecosystems. Fires have been a prominent force in maintaining the structure of oak, hickory and other heliophytic (sun loving and fire-adapted) forest systems. Human induced fire suppression has led to mesophication across North America. Mesophication is the transition from drier conditions with open canopies to wetter conditions with closed canopies. These new conditions decrease the survival rates of these important species and begin to favor mesophytic …

Herbaceous 2018, Julia I. Chapman, Margaret E. Maloney, Ryan W. Mcewan

Data Files: Drew Woods Permanent Plots

Herbaceous vegetation data collected in 2018 at Drew Woods State Nature Preserve in Darke County, OH. Data key is provided in a supplemental file.

Unravelling The Secret Of Seedbased Gels In Water: The Nanoscale 3d Network Formation, Malick Samateh, Neethu Pottackal, Setareh Manafirasi, Adiyala Vidyasagar, Charles Maldarelli, George John

Publications and Research

Chia (Salvia hispanica) and basil (Ocimum basilicum) seeds have the intrinsic ability to form a hydrogel concomitant with moisture-retention, slow releasing capability and proposed health benefits such as curbing diabetes and obesity by delaying digestion process. However, the underlying mode of gelation at nanoscopic level is not clearly explained or explored. The present study elucidates and corroborates the hypothesis that the gelling behavior of such seeds is due to their nanoscale 3D-network formation. The preliminary study revealed the influence of several conditions like polarity, pH and hydrophilicity/ hydrophobicity on fiber extrusion from the seeds which leads to gelation. Optical microscopic …

Determining The Light Requirements Of Various Turfgrass Systems And Investigating Techniques To Quantify Photosynthetically Active Radiation, Travis Russell

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Light is one of the primary growth-limiting factors of turfgrass. Without sufficient quantities of photosynthetically active radiation (PAR; 400-700 nm wavelength), turfgrass quality will decline and could ultimately result in plant death. PAR light can be expressed in a daily quantity known as the daily light integral (DLI) and has been utilized to determine minimum light requirements for turfgrass as well as other plants. With an estimated 25% of all turfgrass being maintained under some level of shaded conditions, it is imperative to define minimum DLI requirements of various turfgrass systems to ensure acceptable turf quality. In addition, it is …

On The Maintained Significance Of Botanical Illustration In Modern Plant Identification Guides, Andi Kur

Honors Theses

This project began over 2.5 years ago when I, an artist by hobby, contacted Dr. Joey Shaw, the director of the Herbarium at the University of Tennessee Chattanooga, with a request to sketch from specimens in the UCHT collection. Dr. Shaw, fortuitously in need of an illustrator, prompted me with the opportunity to collaborate with him in the creation of illustrations for the second edition of the Guide to the Vascular Plants of Tennessee. From here, this project has grown as we have attempted to determine the most effective way to illustrate the guide, our questions manifesting in a myriad …

Soil Ecology Of The Exotic Dune Grass Leymus Arenarius., Matthew L. Reid

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Exotic plants can alter the structure and function of native communities both above- and belowground, which is particularly important in primary successional sand dune ecosystems where plant-soil interactions are critical drivers of successional dynamics. In Great Lakes sand dunes, the native foundation grass Ammophila breviligulata dominates early in succession until an accumulation of detrimental soil organisms causes its die-back of the grasses. Die-back of this native foundation species can be slowed by mutualistic interactions between plants and mycorrhizal fungi. Changes to the plant community resulting from invasion, and subsequent effects on the soil community have the potential to disrupt the …

Arkansas Soybean Research Studies 2016, Jeremy Ross

Arkansas Agricultural Experiment Station Research Series

Arkansas is the leading soybean-producing state in the mid-southern United States. Arkansas ranked 11th in soybean production in 2016 when compared to the other soybean-producing states in the U.S. The state represents 3.4% of the total U.S. soybean production and 3.8% of the total acres planted to soybean in 2016. The 2016 state soybean average was 47 bushels per acre, 2.5 bushels per acre less than the state record soybean yield set in 2014. The top five soybean-producing counties in 2016 were Mississippi, Phillips, Poinsett, Crittenden, Arkansas Counties. These five counties accounted for 34.7% of soybean production in Arkansas in …

A Contribution Toward A Global Monograph Of Gyroporus: Taxonomy, Phylogeny, Biogeography, Naveed Davoodian

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Gyroporus (Sclerodermatineae, Boletales, Agaricomycetes, Basidiomycota, Fungi) is a genus of ectomycorrhizal mushroom-forming fungi distributed throughout the world in suitable habitats. Previous attempts to untangle the diversity of this genus proved difficult due to the presence of semi-cryptic species and equivocal results from phylogenetic analysis of ribosomal RNA markers. To overcome these obstacles, a combined taxonomic and phylogenetic (emphasizing protein-coding genes) approach is used here to delimit species and elucidate geographic and evolutionary patterns of Gyroporus. Careful study of relevant literature and herbarium specimens was augmented by field work in North America, Australia, and East Asia for observation and collection …

Correcting For The Inconveniences Of Cultivation: Foraging As A Food Source In Southwestern Burkina Faso, Julia Deryn Morgan

Geography Honors Projects

Malnutrition is an important public health issue in Burkina Faso where 30 % of children are underweight for their age and 92% suffer from iron deficiency. Such statistics indicate that there is a significant lack of adequate nutrition in the country. With approximately 80% of the population employed in the agricultural sector, development projects have focused on increasing agricultural production and commercializing output to ameliorate poor nutrition. However, this strategy ignores the importance of local knowledge and food traditions, most notably by neglecting to acknowledge foraging as a significant source of food. To address this concern, I seek to understand …

Annotated Checklist Of The Vascular Plant Species Observed At The Gordon Natural Area (West Chester University, Pa) 1967-2018 - Version Xiii, Nur Ritter

Gordon Natural Area Baseline Plant Survey Documents

No abstract provided.

Testing The Potential Of Novel Grain Crop Cultivation In Rural Malawi During The Dry Season Through Irrigation And Soil Modification, Jessica Truman

Undergraduate Honors Theses

This research project studied the germination and growth rates of oat and quinoa crops in Mtalimanja, Malawi. This project was part of a larger effort by General Mills and Brigham Young University researchers to increase the diversity and nutrient content of crops in impoverished countries worldwide. It was conducted from May to August 2017 during Malawi’s dry season. Tetraploid oats and quinoa, both modified to increase the protein content of harvested grains, were planted under three different soil conditions: unamended soil, soil mixed with composted chicken litter, and soil with surface-applied granular fertilizer. The research plots were watered daily except …

A New Species Of Cybianthus (Myrsinaceae) From The Cordillera Del Condor (Ecuador And Peru), John J. Pipoly Iii, Jon M. Ricketson

Marine & Environmental Sciences Faculty Articles

Cybianthus condorensis Pipoly & Ricketson, a new species from the Cordillera del Condor of Ecuador and Peru, is described herewith. Because of its alternate, coriaceous, and revolute leaves; scattered to densely appressed lepidote branchlets, inflorescence rachises, and calyces; subsessile pistillate flowers; and sandy habitat, this species is easily recognized.

Plant Poetics And Politics Of The West Usambaras: Power And Memory Of Narrative Botanical Science In Kizanda, Sagara, And The Mazumbai Forest Reserve, Cameron Daddis

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

This is a story about people and plants. About the power of relationships between floral organisms and human lives. Using narrative botanical science as a methodological framework, this study highlights the power of local people’s ecological knowledge from the villages of Kizanda and Sagara in the West Usambara Mountains. Building from semi-structured interviews and personal conservations with thirty residents of these villages—voices of local healers, farmers, and forest guides—this work unfolds through a series of vignettes. Its aim is to identify both the precise yet diverse ways in which these people have developed botanical knowledge of their local environment. From …

The Manuscript Works Of S. Fred Prince (1857-1949), Sarah Burke Cahalan, Jason W. Dean

Marian Library Faculty Publications

S. Fred Prince, a botanical illustrator and amateur scientist, is a largely unknown artist whose work on the American landscape demonstrates his eligibility to be considered in the lineage of self-taught illustrator-naturalists such as Mark Catesby and Genevieve Jones. In this article, we present a survey of extant Prince materials identified at time of writing, describing their contents and physical characteristics. Beyond this survey and description, we also provide a biographical sketch and timeline of Prince's life.

Impacts Of Cover Crop And Residue Removal On Soil Hydraulic And Thermal Properties, Michael T. Sindelar

Department of Agronomy and Horticulture: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Large-scale crop residue removal for livestock or biofuel production may negatively affect soil and water resources. A combination of management practices could be the key to manage such resources under increasingly variable climate. For instance, use of cover crops (CCs) could offset the negative impacts that corn (Zea mays L.) residue removal may have on soil water and energy balance. We studied: 1) the effect of corn residue removal (56%) with and without winter rye (Secale cereale L.) CC on soil hydraulic and thermal properties including water infiltration, water retention, pores-size distribution, thermal conductivity, specific heat capacity, and …

Vegetation And Soil Responses To Concrete Grinding Residue Application On Highway Roadsides Of Eastern Nebraska, Ana Wingeyer, Martha Mamo, Walter H. Schacht, Dennis L. Mccallister, Pamela Sutton

Department of Agronomy and Horticulture: Faculty Publications

As a precautionary principle, the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permit establishes that the primary pollutant in concrete grinding residue (CGR) is its alkalinity and restricts CGR roadside discharge to 11 Mg ha⁻¹ or the agronomic liming rate, whichever is lower. We evaluated the effect of CGR application on roadside soil chemical properties, existing vegetation, and rainfall runoff. Five CGR rates (0, 11, 22, 45, and 90 dry Mg ha⁻¹) were tested on roadsides slopes at two different locations in eastern Nebraska. Vegetation, soil, and runoff characteristics were evaluated before CGR application and 30 d and …

A Systems Modeling Approach To Forecast Corn Economic Optimum Nitrogen Rate, Laila A. Puntel, John E. Sawyer, Daniel W. Barker, Peter J. Thorburn, Michael J. Castellano, Kenneth J. Moore, Andy Vanloocke, Emily A. Heaton, Sotirios V. Archontoulis

Department of Agronomy and Horticulture: Faculty Publications

Historically crop models have been used to evaluate crop yield responses to nitrogen (N) rates after harvest when it is too late for the farmers to make in-season adjustments. We hypothesize that the use of a crop model as an in-season forecast tool will improve current N decision-making. To explore this, we used the Agricultural Production Systems sIMulator (APSIM) calibrated with long-term experimental data for central Iowa, USA (16-years in continuous corn and 15-years in soybean-corn rotation) combined with actual weather data up to a specific crop stage and historical weather data thereafter. The objectives were to: (1) evaluate the …

Does The Fungal Pathogen (Botryosphaeria Dothidea) Exceed The Dehydration Tolerance Of Its Chaparral Host?, Cristian M. Garcia

Seaver College Research And Scholarly Achievement Symposium

We tested the hypothesis that an opportunistic endophytic fungus Botryosphaeria dothidea that frequently infects and causes dieback in several different species of chaparral shrubs in the Santa Monica Mountains continues to elongate and grow in host tissues at dehydration levels that exceed host survival. This was done by collecting several large branches from the field from three dominant species of co-occurring chaparral shrubs, Malosma laurina, Ceanothus spinosus, and Ceanothus megacarpus. We allowed branches to dehydrate at increasing lengths of time, from a few days to one week, in an air-conditioned laboratory, then sealed in plastic bags to allow tissuewater equilibration, …

The Effect Of Two Planting Dates And Methods On Snap Bean (Phaseolus Vulgaris) Production In A Tunnel House, Edward Sparks, Victor Khan, Ramble Ankumah, James E. Currington, Nathaniel Ellison, George X. Hunter Jr., Jeffery Moore

Professional Agricultural Workers Journal

The study was conducted to evaluate the impact of two planting dates and methods on snap bean yields in a tunnel house. The main plots included planting dates March 17 and 31, 2016 for first and second plantings. The sub-plots consisted of planting Method 1 where one seed per hill was planted every 4” apart, and planting Method 2 where three seeds per hill were planted every 12” apart; each treatment combination was replicated four times. The results of the study showed that it took 55 days for the snap beans to be ready for harvest for both planting dates. …

Review Of Genome-Wide Association Studies: From Polymorphism To Personalized Medicine, Jinliang Yang

Department of Agronomy and Horticulture: Faculty Publications

Genome-wide association studies (GWAS) has become a powerful tool in the area of quantitative genetics to map the relationship between trait and genomic variations. This volume provides a great resource for beginners to learn about the recent advances in GWAS and for domain experts to identify the gaps in the area. The first part of the volume lays out the statistical background of GWAS. I really liked the article by Yang et al., Introduction to Statistical Methods in Genome-Wide Association Studies. In this chapter, the authors talked about the missing heritability issue and introduced ways to calculate heritability using the …

Arkansas Cotton Variety Test 2017, Fred Bourland, W. Barnett, C. Kennedy, L. Martin, A. Rouse, B. Robertson

Arkansas Agricultural Experiment Station Research Series

The primary goal of the Arkansas Cotton Variety Test is to provide unbiased data regarding the agronomic performance of cotton varieties and advanced breeding lines in the major cotton-growing areas of Arkansas.

The Tensile Root Strength Of Emergent Coastal Macrophytes, Lauris Olivia Hollis

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Spartina patens is a dominant emergent macrophyte in fresh, intermediate, and brackish marshes along the Atlantic and Gulf coasts of United States where its biomechanical properties are a key component of wetland health and resilience. Its root biomass and tensile root strength are essential for anchorage, erosion protection, and are important determinants of soil strength. Nutrients and the herbicide atrazine are suspected of negatively impacting this wetland plant and others. The objectives of this study were to: 1) ascertain the tensile root strength of five emergent coastal macrophytes in coastal estuaries, and 2) test the effects of nutrient addition, atrazine …