Anthropology Commons^™

A Relationship Between Trematode Metacercariae And Bullfrog Limb Abnormalities, James L. Christiansen, Heather Feltman

Journal of the Iowa Academy of Science: JIAS

This study is the first report of statistically significant relationships between limb abnormalities and trematode metacercariae in natural populations of frogs. We examined only parasite associations and did not investigate numerous potential pollutants that have been suggested by others to be associated with frog limb abnormalities. Rana catesbeiana of varying ages with a variety of limb abnormalities were found during the flood of 1993. By June 1994, the receding flood waters had left four pools, each with newly metamorphosing bullfrogs. Only one of the pools contained abnormal individuals and histological examination revealed significantly greater prevalence of trematode metacercarial infection in …

Morphological Abnormalities In Illinois Cricket Frogs, Acris Crepitans, 1968-71, Robert H. Gray

Journal of the Iowa Academy of Science: JIAS

Reports of malformed amphibians have been increasing, including external deformities such as missing or extra arms and legs, missing eyes and mandibles, and internal abnormalities involving the bladder, digestive system, and testes. Natural phenomena such as limb amputations during predation attempts by other animals, parasitism, xenobiotic chemicals (herbicides, insecticides, fertilizers and others), and UV-B or other radiation (either directly or indirectly by triggering production of toxicants from nontoxic chemicals) have all been linked to amphibian abnormalities. From 1968-71, I studied the natural history, effective breeding size, and seasonal, annual, and geographic variation in color morph frequencies of cricket frogs (Acris …

Amphibian Use Of Constructed Ponds On Maryland's Eastern Shore, Catherine E. Merovich, James H. Howard

Journal of the Iowa Academy of Science: JIAS

Amphibian assemblages were sampled at nine constructed ponds (three in each age category: new ponds-age <1 yr, young ponds-age 4-5 yr, old ponds-age >30 yr) on Maryland's eastern shore (May-October 1994, March-August 1995) using a total of 27 drift fence and funnel trap arrays. The importance of habitat and landscape variables including pond age was considered in explaining amphibian use and distribution across ponds. Specifically, amphibian (1) abundance; (2) composition; (3) diversity; (4) richness; and (5) reproductive success were studied. During both years, we captured 1904 individuals comprising ten species. The most frequently collected species (species found in all treatments) were Bufo fowleri, Rana sphenocephala utricularius, and Rana …

A Winter/Spring Study Of Salamanders In A Disturbed, Fragmented Habitat Surrounded By Farm Land, James C. Ball

Journal of the Iowa Academy of Science: JIAS

The continued development of fragmented habitats contributes to the decline of amphibians species, and there needs to be a method for evaluating the potential of these habitats to sustain amphibian populations. The effect of fragmented and disturbed habitats among salamander species is difficult to assess because these caudates are difficult to find and enumerate. One approach for estimating the total population of salamanders is to sample them when they migrate to their winter/spring breeding ponds. One fragmented habitat in Southern Michigan was sampled for breeding salamanders during the winter/spring of 1997. Four species of salamanders were detected at this site; …

Amphibians And Reptiles Captured In Drift Fences In Northwest Wisconsin Pine Barrens, James O. Evrard, Steven R. Hoffman

Journal of the Iowa Academy of Science: JIAS

Drift fence surveys were initiated by the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (WDNR) in the Crex Meadows Wildlife Area (CMWA) in 1993. Systematic drift fence trapping of amphibians and reptiles in the northwest pine barrens was conducted in a 1996- 97 cooperative effort by the WDNR, the U.S. Forest Service (USFS), and the Great Lakes Indian Fish and Wildlife Commission (GLIFWC). Drift fences were operated in four managed barrens properties, the CMWA, Namekagon Barrens Wildlife Area (NBWA), the Douglas County Wildlife Area (DCWA), and the Moquah Barrens Wildlife Area (MBWA). Eighteen amphibian and reptile species (four salamanders, eight anurans, one …

Frog And Toad Population Monitoring In Michigan, Lori G. Sargent

Journal of the Iowa Academy of Science: JIAS

A volunteer-based monitoring project for frog and toad populations in Michigan was initiated in 1996. The survey protocols developed by the North American Amphibian Monitoring Program (NAAMP) were used and modified to suit the needs of the Michigan project and because of the highly variable Michigan spring weather. The modifications include route establishment, recommended dates during which surveys are conducted, and a more specific definition of population indices. Development of the project included training workshops for volunteers.

Differences Among The Spatial Distribution Of Sympatric Amphibians, Robert Brodman

Journal of the Iowa Academy of Science: JIAS

To assess amphibian declines, the factors that cause natural fluctuations in population size must be considered (Pechmann et al. 1991). Interspecific competition, predation and pond drying are known to influence patterns of distribution and composition of larval amphibian assemblages (Morin 1983, Brodman 1996, Skelly 1996). While a few studies have quantified amphibian patterns across a large number of ponds, most studies on breeding pond distributions have typically focused on pond characteristics associated with pairs of coexisting species (Thompson and Gates 1982, Skelly 1996). Little has been examined about the differences among the spatial distributions of all potentially interacting amphibian populations …

Editorial Board & Iowa Academy Of Science Officers And Directors

Journal of the Iowa Academy of Science: JIAS

No abstract provided.

Book Review: Swallow Summer, Peter E. Lowther

Journal of the Iowa Academy of Science: JIAS

Swallow Summer. Charles R. Brown. 1998. The University of Nebraska Press, Lincoln, NE. 371 pages. ISBN 0-8032-6145-4.

This book, Swallow Summer, is a popular account of the Browns fifteenth year at Cedar Point Biological Station in Keith County, Nebraska. Brown presents a daily log of the activities that he undertakes for the 1995 field season, describing the work supporting his research program. In the preface, Brown hopes Swallow Summer can explain his fascination with Cliff Swallows and why he enjoys his research. His intent is to describe "the challenges, thrills, and frustrations that come with studying wild animals in the …

Editorial Board & Iowa Academy Of Science Officers And Directors

Journal of the Iowa Academy of Science: JIAS

No abstract provided.

Morphology, Ultrastructure, And Function Of Extrafloral Nectaries In Three Species Of Caesalpiniaceae, Lenore T. Durkee, Matthew H. Haber, Lisa Dorn, Ann Remington

Journal of the Iowa Academy of Science: JIAS

Light and electron microscopy reveal that the morphologically well-differentiated petiolar nectaries of Chamaecrista fasciculata, Senna hepecarpa, and S. marilandica have an unusually simple anatomy consisting of an epidermis immediately subtended by a mass of small, loosely-packed parenchyma cells. Vascular strands from the petiolar bundles enter the nectary and terminate as phloem within or near this parenchyma. In mature, secreting nectaries, the cuticle of the epidermis extends between the epidermal cells and into the nectary parenchyma, where it occupies, but does not occlude, much of the free space of this tissue. The cutin is not found below the level …

Awards And Recognition, Iowa Academy Of Science, 1999

Journal of the Iowa Academy of Science: JIAS

No abstract provided.

Comparing Three Bee Species For Controlled Pollination Of Selected Brassicaceae, R. L. Wilson, C. A. Abel, R. L. Luhman

Journal of the Iowa Academy of Science: JIAS

Pollination of species of Brassicaceae for seed increase at the USDA-ARS North Central Regional Plant Introduction Station (NCRPIS) has been accomplished for several years by using nucleus hives of honey bees, Apis mellifera L., in field cages. Brassicaceae are cool season crops that need pollination from late April to early June in the north temperate zone. Overwintered hives of honey bees need time to strengthen (i.e., increase their numbers) and thus it is difficult to make enough nuclei to meet our early season pollinations needs. Purchasmg package bees from suppliers in the southern U.S. is an expensive alternative. In this …

Editorial Board & Iowa Academy Of Science Officers And Directors

Journal of the Iowa Academy of Science: JIAS

No abstract provided.

Cover - Table Of Contents

Journal of the Iowa Academy of Science: JIAS

No abstract provided.

Distribution And Persistence Of Phyllachora Species On Poaceae In Iowa, A. C. Gabel, L. H. Tiffany

Journal of the Iowa Academy of Science: JIAS

Phytlachora spp. on Poaceae were collected to determine species present, grass hosts and distribution in Iowa. From 1959-1996 the fungus was collected 240 times from 67 different sites in 35 counties. Seven species of Phytlachora were collected on 25 species from 13 genera of grasses. P. graminis was collected 89 times from 43 sites on four species of Agropyron, two species of Calamagrostis, three species of Elymus, Hystrix patula, Panicum virgatum, and Setaria glauca. Seventy-two specimens of P. luteo-maculata on Andropogon gerardii or Schiziichyrium scoparium were collected from 30 sites. The study included 20 collections of P. cynodontis on Bouteloua …

Characterization Of Central Iowa Forests With Permanent Plots, James W. Raich, Donald R. Farrar, Ruth A. Herzberg, Eenam Sin, Cindy L. Johnson-Groh

Journal of the Iowa Academy of Science: JIAS

We describe a standard methodology for establishing and inventorying the woody vegetation in 0.1-ha permanent forest plots and we utilize the data from 86 plots to characterize the mature forest vegetation of central Iowa. Obvious differences existed between bottomland hardwoods and upland forest stands, but disturbed uplands contained species typical of bottomlands. Little-disturbed upland forest plots included a variety of species associations, but variation among plots was continuous. The trees dominating the mature upland forests of central Iowa grow in a wide variety of habitats, with the result that predictability of stand structure at any location is limited. Stands on …

Cover - Table Of Contents

Journal of the Iowa Academy of Science: JIAS

No abstract provided.

Index For Volume 106

Journal of the Iowa Academy of Science: JIAS

No abstract provided.

Chlorophyll Meter Assessments Of Corn Response To Nitrogen Management Practices, M. M. Siambi, D. L. Karlen, R. M. Shibles

Journal of the Iowa Academy of Science: JIAS

Environmentally sound nitrogen (N) management is necessary to simultaneously achieve high crop yields and protect surface and groundwater quality. We evaluated a hand-held chlorophyll meter as a diagnostic tool for improving management for corn (Zea mays L.). Five N fertilizer rates (0, 67, 134, 201 and 280 kg N ha^-1) were evaluated in one study, and in a second study, the meter was used to evaluate the N status of corn plants grown under varying tillage (chisel plow vs no-till), crop rotation (continuous corn vs corn-soybean [Glycine max (L.) Merr.]), and N management treatments. Meter readings were …

Front Matter

Journal of the Iowa Academy of Science: JIAS

No abstract provided.

Back Cover

Journal of the Iowa Academy of Science: JIAS

No abstract provided.

Back Cover

Journal of the Iowa Academy of Science: JIAS

No abstract provided.

Book Review: Places Of Quiet Beauty: Parks, Preserves, And Environmentalism, Cornelia F. Mutel

Journal of the Iowa Academy of Science: JIAS

Places of Quiet Beauty: Parks, Preserves, and Environmentalism. Rebecca Conard. 1997. University of Iowa Press, Iowa City, Iowa. XV + 382 pages. ISBN 0-87745-558-9.

Well administered, parks become much more than havens for birds and flowers, much more than game-preserves, a refuge for life of every sort; even more than a play-ground for all the people ... [The well administered park] shall show us real democracy.

So began one of Iowa's preeminent natural historians, Thomas Macbride, in an early-20th-century (1922) address on the status of Iowa's parks. And so Rebecca Conard begins her late-20th-century analysis of the development of Iowa's …

Cover - Table Of Contents

Journal of the Iowa Academy of Science: JIAS

No abstract provided.

Planting Method And Fertilization Timing Effects On Ridge-Till Corn, Keith A. Kohler, Mohammadreza Ghaffarzadeh, Richard M. Cruse

Journal of the Iowa Academy of Science: JIAS

Fertilizer application technology has improved fertilizer use efficiency in ridge-till systems, but little work on planting methods and application timing within these systems has been done. A study was conducted to evaluate corn (Zea mays 1.) response to injected nitrogen (N) fertilizer applied to different planting methods at common application times. The performance of the late spring soil nitrate and the basal stalk nitrate tests was examined within these systems. A continuous corn and a corn-soybean [Glycine max (1) Merr.] rotation were used in 1989-1991 at two Iowa locations on Nicolett and Monona series soils, line-loamy, mixed, mesic Typic …

Cover - Table Of Contents

Journal of the Iowa Academy of Science: JIAS

No abstract provided.

The Species Richness Of Birds Visiting A Yard Is Influenced By The Feeders/Seeds Present, David Joseph Horn

Journal of the Iowa Academy of Science: JIAS

Although seed preferences of species that visit bird feeders have been well documented, we know little about feeder/seed combinations most appropriate for attracting highest species richness or increasing abundance of individual species. I studied how the species composition of birds visiting a feeding station was influenced by addition of feeders filled with mixed seed, thistle, and suet in a yard that previously contained only a feeder with sunflower seeds. Addition of a seed mixture consisting of hulled sunflower, hulled peanuts, hulled millet, and hulled "tree" nuts in an elevated platform feeder increased species richness and total number of birds visiting …

The Vascular Flora Of Doolittle Prairie State Preserve - A Prairie Pothole Wetland Complex, Paul R. Wetzel, William R. Norris, Kevin M. Lyles

Journal of the Iowa Academy of Science: JIAS

Doolittle Prairie State Preserve is a 10 ha prairie pothole wetland complex located in Story County, central Iowa. A vascular flora of Doolittle Prairie is compiled and the prominent vegetation communities and zones described based on field observations by the authors and several additional investigators from 1982 to 1997. The preserve contains 14 shallow wetlands comprised of low prairie, wet meadow, and shallow emergent plant communities, as well as a disturbed prairie community and fence rows. These communities support a diverse vascular flora of 223 native species, plus 42 non-natives, representing 59 families and 178 genera. The Asteraceae (40), Poaceae …

Book Review: Iowa's Minerals: Their Occurrence, Origins, Industries, And Lore, Raymond R. Anderson

Journal of the Iowa Academy of Science: JIAS

Iowa's Minerals: Their Occurrence, Origins, Industries, and Lore. Paul Garvin. 1998. University of Iowa Press, Iowa City IA. vii + 260 pages. ISBN 0-87745-626-7 hdbd., ISBN 0-87745-627-5 (pbk.).

A mineral is defined as a "naturally occurring, chemically homogeneous crystalline solid." Every mineral has a composition, structure, and characteristics that make it uniquely different from every other mineral. In his new book, Paul Garvin, Professor of Geology at Cornell College in Mount Vernon, Iowa, presents a uniquely different discussion of Iowa's Minerals. While this book does contain the requisite discussions of mineral origins, chemistry, crystallography, and other descriptive information, Garvin enhances …