Anthropology Commons^™

Herpetofaunal Abundance And Distribution In Northern Minnesota: Contributions Of Ecological Land Units And Assessment Of Sampling Methodology, Gabrielle Yaunches, S. R. Winterstein, H. Campa Iii, B. J. Kernohan, J. B. Haufler

Journal of the Iowa Academy of Science: JIAS

Herpetofaunal species distributions need to be understood and mapped using landscape descriptions that incorporate important habitat features and ecological processes. An ecosystem management effort in northern Minnesota is characterizing a landscape as a coarse filter for ecological communities. The coarse filter approach involves looking at communities in different successional stages and habitat types in a region (Haufler et al. 1996). Documenting distributions and abundances of herpetofauna using this coarse filter approach will allow data about these species to be incorporated in landscape planning efforts.

Conclusions Drawn From The Malformity And Disease Session, Midwest Declining Amphibians Conference, 1998, Michael J. Lannoo

Journal of the Iowa Academy of Science: JIAS

While the general problem of amphibian declines is well known, no issue recently has engendered as much concern by the public as amphibian malformities (Ouellet et al. 1996, Tietge 1996, Gray 1998, Helgen et al. 1998a and 1998b, D. Johnson 1998, T. Johnson 1998, Meteyer and Converse 1998). As a result, Gary Casper, Chris Phillips and I decided to assemble this symposium. The session was open to anyone who wished to participate. Nineteen papers were presented (there was one cancellation) and a panel discussion followed. I will organize this summary of, and conclusions drawn from, our symposium into two sections: …

Back Cover

Journal of the Iowa Academy of Science: JIAS

No abstract provided.

Limits To Ice Thickness In Iowa During The Late Wisconsinan, Eric C. Brevik

Journal of the Iowa Academy of Science: JIAS

Minimum and maximum limits to Des Moines Lobe ice thickness in Iowa during the Late Wisconsinan glaciation are calculated. These limits are based on minimum and maximum ice thickness calculations for the Des Moines Lobe in eastern North Dakota using crustal depression indicated by Lake Agassiz strandlines. Minimum and maximum basal shear stresses for the Des Moines Lobe are calculated by projecting a flow line from the terminus of the Des Moines Lobe back up-ice to the study site in northeastern North Dakota. Ice thickness in Iowa is then calculated with a method that uses the basal shear stress values. …

Field Surveys Of Midwestern And Northeastern Fish And Wildlife Service Lands For The Presence Of Abnormal Frogs And Toads, Kathryn A. Converse, James Mattsson, Laura Eaton-Poole

Journal of the Iowa Academy of Science: JIAS

The national distribution of information on the discovery of malformations in Minnesota frogs in 1995 stimulated collection and examination of newly metamorphosed frogs during 1996. By late summer and early fall of 1996, malformed frogs and toads were reported on U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) lands in Vermont (Northeast, Region 5) and Minnesota (Midwest, Region 3). In response to these reports, biologists in USFWS Regions 3 and 5 conducted a survey, during the summer of 1997 to determine the distribution and type of malformations in frogs and toads on selected Federal lands. Region 3 personnel surveyed 38 field stations …

Editorial Board & Iowa Academy Of Science Officers And Directors

Journal of the Iowa Academy of Science: JIAS

No abstract provided.

Landscape Associations Of Frog And Toad Species In Iowa And Wisconsin, U.S.A., Melinda G. Knutson, John R. Sauer, Douglas A. Olsen, Michael J. Mossman, Lisa M. Hemesath, Michael J. Lannoo

Journal of the Iowa Academy of Science: JIAS

Landscape habitat associations of frogs and toads in Iowa and Wisconsin were tested to determine whether they support or refute previous general habitat classifications. We examined which Midwestern species shared similar habitats to see if these associations were consistent across large geographic areas (states). Rana sylvatica (wood frog), Hyla versicolor (eastern gray treefrog), Pseudacris crucifer (spring peeper), and Acris crepitans (cricket frog) were identified as forest species, P. triseriata (chorus frog), H. chrysoscelis (Cope's gray treefrog), R. pipiens (leopard frog), and Bufo americanus (American toad) as grassland species, and R. catesbeiana (bullfrog), R. clamitans (green frog), R. palustris (pickerel frog), …

Book Review: Iowa's Geological Past: Three Billion Years Of Change, Raymond R. Anderson

Journal of the Iowa Academy of Science: JIAS

Iowa's Geological Past: Three Billion Years of Change. Wayne Anderson, 1998. University of Iowa Press, Iowa City IA. xii + 424 pages. ISBN 0-87745-639-9, ISBN 0-87745-640-2 (pbk.).

Wayne Anderson, born in geode country in southeast Iowa, earned his Bachelors, Masters, and Ph.D. at the University of Iowa (writing a thesis and dissertation on Iowa geologic topics). He will complete a 37-year career teaching geology at the University of Northern Iowa with his retirement in the Spring of 2000. His research activities and the work of his students have added greatly to our understanding of the geology of eastern Iowa. In …

Higher Population And Twin Row Configuration Does Not Benefit Strip Intercropped Corn, M. M. Harbur, R. M. Cruse

Journal of the Iowa Academy of Science: JIAS

Increased corn (Zea mays L.) grain yield with strip intercropping, made possible because of increased edge effects, makes this soil-conserving crop production system appealing to farmers. The objective of this study was to determine the population and row configuration needed to optimize the additional yield potential in each outside corn row. Treatments 'included: 74, 99, and 124 thousand plants ha^-1 were grown in twin rows and 74 thousand plants ha^-1 grown in single rows. Single rows or twin row centers were spaced 0.76 m. The experiment was conducted at four central Iowa sites during 1996 and 1997. Grain …

Comparing Species Of Bees For Controlled Pollination Of Helianthus Petiolaris In Field Cages, R. L. Wilson, C. A. Abel, M. E. Brothers

Journal of the Iowa Academy of Science: JIAS

Honey bees, Apis mellifera, have been used for several years to pollinate caged plant species maintained at the USDA-ARS North Central Regional Plant Introduction Station (NCRPIS), Ames, Iowa. Because maintaining large numbers of honey bees is expensive and time consuming, we began looking in 1995 for other pollinator species that can be easily managed and less expensive to maintain than A. mellifera. One species we tested was the hornfaced bee, Osmia cornifrons, a solitary bee imported from Japan in the late 1970s. We also tested a mixture of native bumblebees, Bombus bimaculatus and B. impatiens, which are native to the …

Checklist Of Instructions For Authors

Journal of the Iowa Academy of Science: JIAS

No abstract provided.

Back Cover

Journal of the Iowa Academy of Science: JIAS

No abstract provided.

Density-Dependent Effects On Microhabitat Selection And Activity Of Two Species Of Larval Ambystoma Salamanders, Jeanette M. Jaskula, Robert Brodman

Journal of the Iowa Academy of Science: JIAS

To be able to distinguish unnatural amphibian declines from natural population fluctuations we need a better understanding of the mechanisms that affect amphibian community structure. Larval pond-breeding salamanders exhibit density-dependent effects on population parameters, but little is known of the effect of density on behaviors that mediate interactions. Two species, Amby1toma tigrinum (tiger salamander) and A. laterale (blue-spotted salamander), were evaluated in laboratory aquaria for intraspecific and interspecific interactions that affect microhabitat selection and activity. Microhabitat selection was studied by partitioning containers into microhabitats that either contained or lacked refuges, and movement was recorded over a hexagonal grid to determine …

Front Matter

Journal of the Iowa Academy of Science: JIAS

No abstract provided.

Weed Seedbanks And Seedling Emergence In A Two And Three Crop Narrow Strip Intercropping/Rotation System, Shawn R. Wright, Douglas D. Buhler, Keith A. Kohler, Richard M. Cruse

Journal of the Iowa Academy of Science: JIAS

Weed populations in agronomic settings are, in part, a reflection of the cropping system utilized. The goal of this project was to gain an understanding of the weed population dynamics in a narrow strip intercropping (NSI) rotation by assessing the weed seedbank, weed emergence, and seedling establishment over the growing season for a corn-soybean (two-crop), and a corn-soybean-oat+berseem clover (three-crop) system. Field research was conducted in 1994 and 1995, near Nashua, IA, and each crop was grown m 4.6 m wide strips. Giant foxtail and total weed seed densities were significantly lower in the three-crop NSI rotation system than in …

Announcements Of Upcoming Meetings And Symposia

Journal of the Iowa Academy of Science: JIAS

No abstract provided.

Introduction: A Perspective On Midwest Amphibian Declines, Gary S. Casper

Journal of the Iowa Academy of Science: JIAS

On March 21, 1998, approximately 300 scientists and students gathered at the Milwaukee Public Museum for two days of scientific presentations and intense discussion on amphibian declines and malformities. Never before had so many persons come together to address amphibian conservation in the Midwestern United States (Minnesota, Wisconsin, Michigan, Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, Iowa, and Missouri).

History Of Minnesota Frog Abnormalities: Do Recent Findings Represent A New Phenomenon?, David M. Hoppe

Journal of the Iowa Academy of Science: JIAS

Two lines of investigation were used to determine whether recent Minnesota reports of frog abnormalities differ from historical reports: (1) museum collection studies paired with follow-up field surveys, and (2) comparison of recent and earlier field surveys in west-central Minnesota. For the museum study I examined 2433 northern leopard frogs (Rana pipiens) in the Bell Museum of Natural History collections of the University of Minnesota, collected during 1958-63. 0.7% of frogs were found to have abnormalities, consisting of 0.5% predator amputations and 0.2% malformations. Three types of malformation were found: missing hindlimbs, vestigial feet, and fused digits. Conspicuously absent from …

Effects Of Pcb 126 And Ammonia, Alone And In Combination, On Green Frog (Rana Clamitans) And Leopard Frog (R. Pipiens) Hatching Success, Development, And Metamorphosis, Mariana Beatriz Jofre, Michele L. Rosenshield, William H. Karasov

Journal of the Iowa Academy of Science: JIAS

The Green Bay watershed in Wisconsin is polluted with polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), dioxin, heavy metals, ammonia, and over 100 organic contaminants. In this study we exposed embryos and larvae of two ranid species commonly occurring in the Green Bay ecosystem, the green frog (Rana clamitans) and the leopard frog (R. pipiens), to PCB 126 (3,3', 4,4', 5-Pentachlorobyphenil, nominal concentrations 0-50 μg/l, two control treatments: water plus 0.08% acetone as carrier for the PCB, water alone), unionized ammonia (0-2 mg/I), and mixtures of both contaminants. Exposure to PCB 126 did not cause significant mortality of embryos before hatching. However, exposure to …

Reduction In Road Mortality In A Northern Leopard Frog Population, Madeleine H. Linck

Journal of the Iowa Academy of Science: JIAS

Since spring of 1994, Hennepin Parks Natural Resources Management staff, assisted by numerous volunteers, has been working to reduce road mortality among migrating Northern Leopard Frogs (Rana pipiens) adjacent to Baker Park Reserve in Maple Plain, Hennepin County, Minnesota. A county road separates the overwintering site from breeding habitat within the park. With steadily increasing traffic over the years, this population of frogs was in serious decline. For the first two years (1994 and 1995) rescue efforts were limited to the spring collection of frogs as they migrated out of the overwintering lake coward the breeding wetlands, although the road …

Front Matter

Journal of the Iowa Academy of Science: JIAS

No abstract provided.

Book Review: An Illustrated Guide To Iowa Prairie Plants, Paul Weihe

Journal of the Iowa Academy of Science: JIAS

An Illustrated Guide to Iowa Prairie Plants. Paul Christiansen and Mark Müller. 1999. University of Iowa Press, Iowa City, Iowa. IX + 237 pages. ISBN 0-87745-660-7 hdbd., ISBN 0-87745- 661-5 pbk.

Iowans are increasingly aware of the significance of the tallgrass prairie, and efforts to preserve and protect this once-widespread ecosystem are ongoing. An obvious focus of these efforts 1s to conserve the native flora. When Bison and Elk disappeared from the landscape and row-crop agriculture appeared, a few of the native plants remained in old cemeteries, along roadsides, and in a few prairie remnants. Workers are now attempting to …

Front Matter

Journal of the Iowa Academy of Science: JIAS

No abstract provided.

Corn (Zea Mays L.) Yield Response To Nitrogen Fertilizer In Conventional And Alternative Rotations, M. M. Harbur, M. Ghaffarzadeh, R. M. Cruse

Journal of the Iowa Academy of Science: JIAS

Nitrogen (N) fertilization recommendations are not available for corn in rotation with small grains or forages despite the possibility that the N response may differ from that of more conventional corn-soybean rotations. Rotations of corn with soybean (CS), corn with soybean and oat (CSO) and corn with soybean and an oat/berseem clover intercrop (CSOB) were established in 1991 and studied from 1993 through 1998 to determine the optimal N fertilization level for corn produced in each rotation. Corn in each rotation received NH4N03 applied at the rates of 0, 56, 112, or 168 kg N ha^-1. Significant differences …

Photo-Enhanced Toxicity In Amphibians: Synergistic Interactions Of Solar Ultraviolet Radiation And Aquatic Contaminants, Edward E. Little, Robin Calfee, Richard Skinker, Angela Zaga-Parkhurst, Mace G. Barron

Journal of the Iowa Academy of Science: JIAS

Amphibians experience a broad range of multiple environmental stressors that occur in natural systems. However, the impact of combinations of these stressors on amphibians are rarely examined. The effect of two stressors on amphibians, solar ultraviolet radiation (SUV) and environmental contamination, was investigated. To examine the interactive effects of SUV and environmental contaminants, Hyla venicolor and Rana sphenocephala were exposed in the laboratory to a carbamate insecticide and the water soluble fraction of a weathered petroleum in combination with various intensities of simulated solar radiation (SSR). The contaminants were tested at environmentally relevant concentrations. Synergistic interactions between SSR and these …

Effects Of Altosid And Abate-4e On Deformities And Survival In Southern Leopard Frogs Under Semi-Natural Conditions, Donald W. Sparling

Journal of the Iowa Academy of Science: JIAS

Since 1995 when a group of school children in Minnesota found frogs with supernumerary limbs and missing limbs, there has been widespread interest in the amphibian malformation issue. Despite considerable effort to understand this problem, its extent and seriousness as well as direct causes of these malformations remain unclear. Progress on this issue has been hampered by a scarcity of scientifically reliable information on historical rates of abnormalities under undisturbed conditions and by the normal turnaround times of data collection, sample analysis and publication. One of the very few peer-reviewed publications with field-collected data showed that an average of 12% …

Field Investigations Of Malformed Frogs In Minnesota 1993-97, Judy C. Helgen, Mark C. Gernes, Susan M. Kersten, Joel W. Chirhart, Jeff T. Canfield, Dorothy Bowers, Jon Haferman, Robert G. Mckinnell, David M. Hoppe

Journal of the Iowa Academy of Science: JIAS

Reports of malformed frogs were made to the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA) from different parts of Minnesota in 1993, 1995, 1996, and 1997 and one, nine, 190, and 172 reports were received, respectively. MPCA field crews and Drs. Hoppe and McKinnell documented malformed frog locations starting in 1993. By 1997, MPCA field crews documented malformed frogs at 62 locations in Minnesota, in 29 of 87 counties. Most malformations were in young metamorphs of Rana pipiens but they were observed also in R. clamitans, R. septentrionalis, R. sylvatica, Bufo americanus, and Hyla spp. Frequencies of malformations varied by time of …

Revitalization Of Ephemeral Pools As Frog Breeding Habitat In An Illinois Forest Preserve, Denins Nyberg, Irene Lerner

Journal of the Iowa Academy of Science: JIAS

Almost all land in the eastern United States that has been acquired to preserve nature was once in agricultural usage, and because of this, alterations of ephemeral pool hydrology are common in forest preserves and parks. These ephemeral pools are an important breeding resource for many amphibian species. We hypothesized that filling drainage ditches and recreating a more natural topography at eroded berms would enhance amphibian populations in the forest preserve. Restoration of the hydrology was begun by volunteers in 1993 and was associated with management to reduce non-native woody vegetation. Three ephemeral pools have had maximum water levels raised …

Amphibian And Reptile Surveys In The Kaskaskia River Drainage Of Illinois During 1997 And 1998, Allan K. Wilson

Journal of the Iowa Academy of Science: JIAS

Currently there is little doubt among the scientific community of the decline of amphibians on an international scale (Berger et al. 1998, Kuzmin 1994, Laurance et al. 1996, Lips 1998) and across North America (Delis et al. 1996, Drost and Fellers 1996, Lannoo 1994). In light of these widespread declines it is essential that current populations be inventoried and evaluated so that future population changes can be detected and hopefully correlated with possible causes. Critical baseline information is lost when monitoring is not implemented until after a problem is detected. The effectiveness of long-term studies in detecting amphibian declines (Beebee …

Index For Volume 107

Journal of the Iowa Academy of Science: JIAS

No abstract provided.