Natural Resources and Conservation Commons^™

The Prairie Naturalist Volume 13, Numbers 3 And 4. September - December 1981

The Prairie Naturalist

PROVISIONAL CHECKLIST OF MAMMALS OF SOUTH DAKOTA ▪ J. R. Choate and J. K. Jones, Jr.

LABORATORY FEEDING PREFERENCES OF THREE SMALL MAMMALS FOR FIVE TREE SPECIES ▪ T. G. Barnes and T. A. Schaid

NESTLING DIETS OF RED-WINGED AND YELLOW-HEADED BLACKBIRDS ON PLAYA LAKES OF WEST TEXAS ▪ D. H. Fischer and E. C. Bolen

COMPARISON OF FOUR NORTH DAKOTA IMPOUNDMENTS AND FACTORS AFFECTING

THE DEVELOPMENT OF IMPOUNDMENT PARASITOFAUNA ▪ H. L. Holloway, Jr. and N. T. Hagstrom

FIRST STATE RECORD OF RICHARDSON'S GROUND SQUIRREL IN IOWA ▪ R. P. Lampe, J. B. Bowles, and R. Spengler

THE EFFECT …

Geology Of Lake Mcconaughy Area, Keith County, Nebraska, Roger K. Pabian, Robert F. Diffendal Jr., Frankie Gould

School of Natural Resources: Faculty Publications

Rocks cropping out along the North Platte River valley at Lake McConaughy provide a glimpse into Nebraska's geologic past. Here are excellent exposures of the Ogallala Group, which consists of continental sedimentary rocks deposited during the Miocene epoch of the Tertiary period of geologic time. This group of rocks extends throughout much of Nebraska (see geologic bedrock map on outside back cover) but is overlain in most places by younger stream and wind deposits of Pliocene(?) and Pleistocene age. Easily accessible, the Ogallala outcrops contain locally abundant fossils of seeds, casts of pedotubules, and occasional fossils of vertebrate animals such …

Proceedings Of 14th Conference Prairie Grouse Technical Council. September 23-25, 1981: Halsey, Nebraska

Nebraska Game and Parks Commission: White Papers, Conference Presentations, and Manuscripts

HOST: Nebraska Game and Parks Commission

INTRODUCTION - Jim Mitchell, Upland Game Specialist, Nebraska Game and Parks Commission (Conference Coordinator)

WELCOME - Bill Bailey, Assistant Director, Nebraska Game and Parks Commission

IN MEMORIAM — This publication is dedicated to Ken Robertson

THE NEBRASKA SANDHILLS - AN OVERVIEW, Jon Farrar, Nebraska Game and Parks Commission

PRAIRIE GROUSE IN THE SANDHILLS, Carl W. Wolfe, Nebraska Game and Parks Commission

GROUSE ON fflE BESSEY DIVISION NEBRASKA NATIONAL FOREST, Steve Marquardt, U.S. Forest Service

EXPERIMENTAL SHARP-TAILED GROUSE INTRODUCTIONS IN PENNSYLVANIA, John J. Kriz, Pennsylvania Game Commission

ANALYSIS OF GREATER PRAIRIE CHICKEN POPULATION AND HARVEST …

A Test Of Macroevolutionary Problems With Neontological Data, Cliff A. Lemen, Patricia W. Freeman

School of Natural Resources: Faculty Publications

Ricklefs (1980) suggested the use of neontological data to distinguish between puncuated equilibrium and gradualism as modes of evolution. This paper investigates his model and finds it contains oversimplifications that make any test difficult. We modify his model slightly and use it as a limited test of punctuated equilibrium by large morphological shifts at speciation. This test is applied to a data set of 110 species from two families of bats, the Emballonuridae and the Molossidae. We find no evidence of consistently large morphological shifts at the formation of subspecies, species or genera.

Review Of Bartlett, Great Surveys Of The American West, And Schubert, Vanguard Of Expansion: Army Engineers In The Trans-Mississippi West, 1819-1879, Robert F. Diffendal Jr.

School of Natural Resources: Faculty Publications

These two books outline the fascinating history of the exploration of the western United States by United States Army topographers and by civilian natural scientists from 1819 to 1879. These two groups, working either together under Army supervision or separately in military and civilian independent surveys, prepared topographic and geologic maps and natural history studies of most of the territory west of the Mississippi River. These maps and studies provided valuable information to settlers and to commercial and government groups involved in opening the west to development, and dispelled many myths concerning previously unexplored regions. They also helped lead to …

The Prairie Naturalist Volume 13, Number 2. June 1981

The Prairie Naturalist

HERPETOFAUNA OF MORMON ISLAND PRESERVE, HALL COUNTY, NEBRASKA ▪ S. M. Jones, R. E. Ballinger and J. W Nietfeldt

COYOTE USE OF PLAYAS IN THE TEXAS HIGH PLAINS ▪ R. W. Whiteside and F. S. Guthery

NEW RECORD OF THE LEAST WEASEL IN WYOMING ▪ M. R. Stromberg, D. E. Biggens and M. Bidwell

STATUS OF AMERICAN WOODCOCK IN NEBRASKA WITH NOTES ON A RECENT BREEDING RECORD ▪ G. R. Lingle

WINTER FOODS OF THE PINE GROSBEAK IN EASTERN NORTH DAKOTA ▪ R. C. Reigh

SEASONAL VARIATION IN HOME RANGE OF A FEMALE BADGER (Taxidea taxus) ▪ R. …

Elm Trees And Elm Leaf Beetles: Patterns Of Herbivory, Cliff A. Lemen

School of Natural Resources: Faculty Publications

The rate of attack on elm seedlings by the Elm Leaf Beetle is affected by the seedlings position relative to adult elms. Those seedlings directly under adult trees suffer 580 times the insect attack from the beetles as seedlings not directly under adult elms. Excluding seedlings under adult elms, the number of egg masses found on an elm plant is directly proportional to its size. It was found that below a certain size seedlings were completely free from beetle attack.

A Comparison Of Reproductive Strategies Among Marine Snakes, Cliff A. Lemen, Harold K. Voris

School of Natural Resources: Faculty Publications

(1) Gravid females representing fourteen species of marine snakes were collected from four localities along the coast of Malaysia in 1975. The average clutch size ranged from 2.9 to 17.8 but most species had between three and seven young. The number of young produced and the size of gravid Lapemis hardwickii differed significantly at two sites in the Straits of Malacca. Eight species showed a significantly positive relationship between the number of oviducal eggs and female weight. The rate of infertility among ten species ranged from 4.5 to 20%.

(2) Sex ratios in the collections varied significantly through time and …

The Prairie Naturalist Volume 13, Number 1. March 1981

The Prairie Naturalist

EDITOR: Dr. Paul B. Kannowski

BOOK REVIEW EDITOR: Douglas H. Johnson

TABLE OF CONTENTS

WATERFOWL USE OF A MUNICIPAL SEWAGE LAGOON ▪ G-A. D. Maxson

MASS MORTALITY OF MUSSELS FROM SLUMPING ALONG THE RED LAKE RIVER NEAR CROOKSTON, MINNESOTA ▪ A. M. Cvancara, D. J. Brown, D. K. Cudworth, and T. R. Klett

CHRISTMAS BIRD COUNTS FOR NORTH DAKOTA — 1980 ▪ R. N. Randall

BREEDING BIRDS ON WATERFOWL PRODUCTION AREAS IN NORTHEASTERN NORTH DAKOTA ▪ H. F. Duebbert

FURTHER EVIDENCE OF MARSH HAWKS FEEDING ON DUCKS ▪ R. A. Wishert, R. M. Kaminski, and D. W. Soprovich

FIRST NEST …

Influence Of Windbreak-Shelter On Soybean Production Under Rainfed Conditions, S.N. Ogbuehi, James R. Brandle

School of Natural Resources: Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Influence Of Windbreak-Shelter On Soybean Production Under Rainfed Conditions, S.N. Ogbuehi, James R. Brandle

School of Natural Resources: Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Forestry For Wildlife Habitat Improvement. Nebraska Cooperative Extension Service Ec 81-1747, Ec 80-1747, Frank A. Hershey, Howard L. Wiegers

School of Natural Resources: Faculty Publications

Wildlife cannot exist without food and protective cover. Natural and planted woodlands contribute significantly to these essentials. This circular describes habitat needs of wildlife, recommends forestry practices for habitat improvement, and gives examples of practices to improve habitat for pheasant, quail, and deer.

Variety, rather than uniformity of vegetation, benefits most wildlife species. Management which results in a diverse plant community with many stages of growth can increase the numbers and species of wildlife. Techniques which create improved conditions for woodland wildlife are fundamentally the same as those designed to grow good timber.

Plant And Air Temperatures In Differentially-Irrigated Corn, B. L. Blad

School of Natural Resources: Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Mass And Energy Exchanges Of A Soybean Canopy Under Various Environmental Regimes, S. B. Verma

School of Natural Resources: Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Limitations In The Use Of Leaf Dry Weight And Leaf Number For Predicting Leaf Area Of Soybeans, S.N. Ogbuehi, J.R. Brandle

School of Natural Resources: Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Vegetative Community Descriptions For The North Platte River In Wyoming And Nebraska, Lynn Fisher

Nebraska Game and Parks Commission: White Papers, Conference Presentations, and Manuscripts

A description of the vegetative communities in an area will provide an insight to wildlife potential and use of that area. Wildlife and its corresponding habitat are recognized as important for recreation and to the overall environmental quality of an area. The Water and Power Resources Service, Lower Missouri Region, is presently engaged in a study of the Platte River Basin, including an evaluation of wildlife habitat and associated environmental needs. Quantification of wildlife habitat along the South Platte River has been completed. Vegetation communities were described and habitat maps were prepared from color infrared aerial photographs (scale – 1:24,000). …

The Prairie Naturalist Volume 12, Numbers 3 And 4. September–December 1980

The Prairie Naturalist

THE FLORA AND SANDHILLS PRAIRIE COMMUNITIES OF ARAPAHO PRAIRIE, ARTHUR COUNTY, NEBRASKA ▪ K. H. Keeler, A. T. Harrison and L. S. Vescio

USE OF ULTRASONIC SOUND TO ESTIMATE BODY FAT DEPOTS IN THE MALLARD ▪ G. A. Baldassarre, R. J. Whyte and E. G. Bolen

NORTHERN MOCKINGBIRD BREEDING IN NORTH DAKOTA ▪ D. Child, J. Fontaine, T. Gatz, M. Johnson and J. Oswald

SPRING ARRIVAL OF BIRDS AT WOODWORTH, NORTH DAKOTA ▪ K. F. Higgins, L. M. Kirsch, and J. M. Callow

HYBRIDIZATION AND TAXONOMIC STATUS OF GREATER PRAIRIE CHICKENS AND SHARP-TAILED GROUSE (HYBRIDIZATION IN GROUSE) ▪ D. W. …

Irrigation Scheduling Of Corn Utilizing Infrared Thermometry, Kirk L. Clawson

School of Natural Resources: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

No abstract provided.

The Prairie Naturalist Volume 12, Number 2. June 1980

The Prairie Naturalist

COMPOSITION OF BEAVER CACHES ON THE TONGUE RIVER IN MONTANA ▪ J. E. Swenson and S. J. Knapp

GRAY PARTRIDGE WINTER MOVEMENTS AND HABITAT USE IN NORTH DAKOTA ▪ J. W. Schulz

ANNOTATED CHECKLIST OF MAMMALS OF NEBRASKA ▪ J. K. Jones, Jr. and J. R. Choate

OBSERVATIONS OF SEVERAL ARCTIC GULLS IN NORTH DAKOTA ▪ C. A. Faanes and T. A. Gatz

WINTER FOOD HABITS OF NEBRASKA BOBCATS (Felis rufus) C. J Mahan

NOTE

The Meadow Jumping Mouse in Southeastern Montana ▪ W. L. Matthews

Allocation Of Reproductive Effort To The Male And Female Strategies In Wind-Pollinated Plants, Cliff A. Lemen

School of Natural Resources: Faculty Publications

Amaranthus and several other wind-pollinated species of plants are used to test some of the theoretical models of relative reproductive effort towards the male and female sexes. Consistent with these models, in self-compatible, monoecious Amaranthus, Chenopodium, Digitaria, Setaria, and Lepidium, female effort represented over 90% of the total reproductive effort. Also consistent with predictions, Lolium, a self-incompatible wind-pollinated species, was found to have about equal male and female effort. A method is described here that should prove useful in quantifying male and female effort in both wind and insect-pollinated species of plants.

Relationship Between Relative Brain Size And Climbing Ability In Peromyscus, Cliff A. Lemen

School of Natural Resources: Faculty Publications

Eisenberg and Wilson (Evolution, 32:740-751, 1978) have documented an interesting relationship between the relative brain size of bats and the complexity of the habitat in which they forage. They found that bats that fly and forage through foliage have larger brains relative to their body size than those that forage in open air. Their explanation was that bats in the complex habitat must process more complex sonic information to navigate through the foliage. In order to do this a larger brain is required.

The Peromyscus of North America may offer a similar paradigm as far as habitat complexity …

Intrapopulational Morphological Variation As A Predictor Of Feedlng Behavior In Deermice, Richard A. Smartt, Cliff A. Lemen

School of Natural Resources: Faculty Publications

Within populations of animals that have determinate growth, all fully grown adults, even of one sex, are not identical. Both genetic and environmental factors are responsible for this variation. In recent years the importance of this variation has received much attention (Mayr 1963; Van Valen 1965; Fretwell 1969; Soule and Stewart 1970; Rothstein 1973). The important question asked has been, What effect does this morphological variation have on niche width and the ecology of a population? Implicit in many of these works is the concept that differences in the morphologies of population members can result in differences in their niches. …

The Prairie Naturalist Volume 12, Number 1. March, 1980

The Prairie Naturalist

RESIDUAL SEEDS AS POTENTIAL SPRING WATERFOWL FOODS IN SMALL, MAN-MADE IMPOUNDMENTS ▪ G. A. Baldassarre

NOTES ON THE NATURAL HISTORY OF BATS FROM BADLANDS NATIONAL MONUMENT, SOUTH DAKOTA ▪ J. P. Farney and J. K. Jones, Jr.

PRAIRIE CHICKEN DOMINATED SHARP-TAILED GROUSE INTERACTION ▪ R. A. Schmidt

CHRISTMAS BIRD COUNTS FOR NORTH DAKOTA— 1979 ▪ R. N. Randall

THIRD NESTING OF CATTLE EGRET IN NORTH DAKOTA ▪ R. A. Schmidt

FIRST BREEDING RECORDS OF THE WHITE-FACED IBIS IN NORTH DAKOTA ▪ R. A. Schmidt

NOTES

Pinon Jay in North Dakota ▪ R. N Randall, J. Swanick and O. Swanick

Gray-crowned …

Reflectorized Soybean Canopy In Relation To Transpiration And Herbicide Phytotoxicity, S.N. Ogbuehi, J.R.C. Leavitt, James R. Brandle

School of Natural Resources: Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Regional Tectonics And Seismicity Of Eastern Nebraska, Annual Report July 1980 - June 1981, R. R. Burchett

School of Natural Resources: Faculty Publications

This annual report presents and interprets the information obtained by the Conservation and Survey Division (Nebraska Geological Survey) during contract year July 1, 1980, to June 30, 1981, under contract NRC-04-76-3lS with the U. S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission. The information pertains to the geology, structure, tectonics, and seismicity of eastern Nebraska with emphasis on central Otoe County. Some of the information presented here results from a combination of studies begun in earlier years but the greater part results from studies begun during the contract year.

The scope of the studies is summarized as follows:

1. Rock outcrops in Otoe County …

The Rush Creek – Lisco Structural Basin, Garden And Morrill Counties, Nebraska, Robert F. Diffendal Jr.

School of Natural Resources: Faculty Publications

Detailed field mapping of outcrops in southern Garden and Morrill counties, Nebraska, has revealed a drop of more than 60 m (200 ft) in 4.8 km (3 mi) in the elevation of the contact between the Brule Formation and the Ogallala Group as exposed on the east side of Rush Creek. Beds of silt, sand, siltstone, and volcanic ash locally dip to the northwest at angles up to 8.5'. The contact between the two formations cannot be seen on the west side of Rush Creek but beds in the Ogallala Group there dip to the north and northeast. Rocks north …

Bibliography Of J. E. Weaver

Papers of John E. Weaver (1884–1956)

1914-1963

(8 pages, typescript)

The Prairie Naturalist Volume 11, Number 4. December 1979

The Prairie Naturalist

THE STATUS OF HERONS, EGRETS AND IBISES IN NORTH DAKOTA ▪ J. T. Lokomoen

RANGE EXPANSION OF BAIRD'S SPARROW IN SOUTH DAKOTA ▪ H. A. Kantrud and C. A. Faanes

NESTING RECORDS OF THE WOOD THRUSH IN NORTH DAKOTA ▪ S. O. Lambeth and D. O. Lambeth

SOME ECOLOGICAL ASPECTS OF MARBLED GODWITS AND WILLETS IN NORTH DAKOTA ▪ K. F. Higgins, L. M. Kirsch, M. R. Ryan and R. B. Renken

NOTES ON THE INCUBATION BEHAVIOR OF BLACK-BELLIED WHISTLING DUCKS ▪ E G. Bolen and E. N. Smith

NOTES

Red Fox Captures Sharp-tailed Grouse at the Lek ▪ S. …

The Prairie Naturalist Volume 11, Number 3. September 1979

The Prairie Naturalist

DISTRIBUTION AND NATURAL HISTORY OF AMPHIBIANS AND REPTILES IN WESTERN NEBRASKA WITH ECOLOGICAL NOTES ON THE HERPETILES OF ARAPAHO PRAIRIE ▪ R. E. Ballinger, J. D. Lynch and P. H. Cole

AVIAN MORTALITY FROM A SEVERE HAIL STORM ▪ J. L. Piehl

EFFECTS OF A SUMMER STORM ON BIRD POPULATIONS ▪ D. H. Johnson

SEXING AND AGING CRITERIA FOR THE WHITE PELICAN ▪ G. R. Lingle and N. F. Sloan

CANVASBACK DUCK RECOVERS FROM COMPOUND LUXATION TO WING ▪ H. A. Doty

SECOND NORTH DAKOTA RECORD OF LOUISIANA WATERTHRUSH ▪ C. A. Faanes

FIRST NESTING RECORD OF A LOUISIANA HERON …

Mule Deer Habitat Guidelines, Richard M. Kerr

United States Bureau of Land Management: Staff Publications

The purpose of this Mule Deer (Odocoileus hemionus) Habitat Management Guide is principally to assist BLM managers and biologists in planning for and managing mule deer habitat on public lands administered by the Bureau of Land Management. For many years Federal land management agencies have made the distinction between the Federal responsibility for managing habitat and the State prerogatives of managing native wild ungulate populations. Certainly the two are inseparably linked. These responsibilities, and up to now "symbiotic relationships", are probably best described succinctly in Title 43 of the Code of Federal Regulations Part 24.

Outlook -- The …