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Great Plains Research Volume 22, Number 1 Spring 2012--Editorial Matter

Great Plains Research: A Journal of Natural and Social Sciences (through 2013)

Cover

Masthead

Table of contents

News and Notes

INSTRUCTIONS TO AUTHORS

inside this issue

Mapping Burned Areas In The Flint Hills Of Kansas And Oklahoma, 2000-2010, Rhett L. Mohler, Douglas G. Goodin

Great Plains Research: A Journal of Natural and Social Sciences (through 2013)

Prescribed burning is commonly used to prevent succession oftallgrass prairie to woody vegetation, which preserves the prairie's value to ranching and native wildlife. However, burning has negative effects as well, including potentially harming wildlife and releasing pollutants into the atmosphere. Research concerning the effects of fire on vegetation dynamics, wildlife, and air quality would benefit greatly from maps of burned areas in the Flint Hills, as no reliable quantification of burned areas currently exists. We used Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) satellite imagery to map burned areas in the Flint Hills for each year from 2000 to 2010. Our maps …

Review Of A White-Bearded Plainsman: The Memoirs Of Archaeologist W. Raymond Wood. By W. Raymond Wood., Peter Bleed

Great Plains Research: A Journal of Natural and Social Sciences (through 2013)

Over a period of more than 50 years, Ray Wood has published a string of major works on Great Plains culture history and other subjects. He has held important professional posts, interacted with a vast cohort, and trained a generation of midcontinent archaeologists. Beyond all that, Ray's memoir, A White-Bearded Plainsman, shows him to be a fine writer and terrific storyteller. Wood presents his story in chronological order, appropriate for a culture historian, but it happens that Ray came up at a time when Plains archaeology was blooming: his story describes the growth of Plains prehistory.

A Conceptual Model To Facilitate Amphibian Conservation In The Northern Great Plains, David M. Mushet, Ned H. Euliss Jr., Craig A. Stockwell

Great Plains Research: A Journal of Natural and Social Sciences (through 2013)

As pressures on agricultural landscapes to meet worldwide resource needs increase, amphibian populations face numerous threats including habitat destruction, chemical contaminants, disease outbreaks, wetland sedimentation, and synergistic effects of these perturbations. To facilitate conservation planning, we developed a conceptual model depicting elements critical for amphibian conservation in the northern Great Plains. First, we linked upland, wetland, and landscape features to specific ecological attributes. Ecological attributes included adult survival; reproduction and survival to metamorphosis; and successful dispersal and recolonization. Second, we linked ecosystem drivers, ecosystem stressors, and ecological effects of the region to each ecological attribute. Lastly, we summarized information on …

Parochlus Kiefferi (Garrett, 1925) In Nebraska (Diptera: Chironomidae), Barbara Hayford

Great Plains Research: A Journal of Natural and Social Sciences (through 2013)

A rare species of nonbiting aquatic midge, Parochlus kiefferi (Garrett, 1925), was discovered in Squaw Creek in the Pine Ridge of northwest Nebraska. Parochlus is a genus of midge found throughout the Southern Hemisphere and is only represented by this one species in the Northern Hemisphere. The typical North American species distribution of P. kiefferi includes high alpine and northern latitude streams, so the collection of P. kiefferi from a low elevation and low-latitude stream in Nebraska represents a range extension for the species. A survey for P. kiefferi from 83 samples from 53 stream sites in northern Nebraska yielded …

Review Of Lone Star Law: A Legal History Of Texas. By Michael Ariens. Foreword By Gordon Morris Bakken., David Anderson

Great Plains Research: A Journal of Natural and Social Sciences (through 2013)

The tidelands case is one of many examples of Ariens's success in weaving the narrative of a legal development into the state's political, economic, and social history. He meticulously analyzes scores of decisions and statutes, clearly and economically explains them, and locates them in the larger history of Texas. Some of Texas legal history is unique because of Texas's origins as a republic and its membership in the Confederacy, but other chapters, particularly those relating to land, minerals, water, and railroads, will resonate in the other Great Plains states. Ariens wisely declines to trumpet Texas exceptionalism. The infatuation with Texas …

Review Of Oral History On Trial: Recognizing Aboriginal Narratives In The Courts. By Bruce Granville Miller, Drew Mildon

Great Plains Research: A Journal of Natural and Social Sciences (through 2013)

Anthropologist Bruce Miller's new treatise will prove an essential resource for historians, ethnographers, and anthropologists both inside and outside the academy and for lawyers working in the areas of Aboriginal law and Indigenous rights. Demonstrating the classic "iceberg" principle, Miller's broad and deep knowledge of the contemporary theoretical underpinnings that inform approaches to Indigenous oral history in academic practice and in the courtroom are immediately apparent. He gives us the tip ofthat iceberg in a readable, comprehensible exegesis backed by solid research and accessible references. Addressing the complex theoretical and teleological divisions among disciplines with remarkable lucidity and plain language, …

Adaptation Of Annual Forage Legumes In The Southern Great Plains, John A. Guretzky, Twain J. Butler, Jim P. Muir

Great Plains Research: A Journal of Natural and Social Sciences (through 2013)

Our objective was to evaluate adaptation and compatibility of cool-season annual legumes overseeded into perennial grasses in the southern Great Plains. Freeze damage, vigor, and standing crop of 14 annual legume species were evaluated during spring at three locations in Oklahoma and Texas from 2006 to 2008. Across locations and years, standing crop of hairy vetch (Vicia villosa Roth) and Austrian winter pea (Pisum sativum L. ssp. arvense (L.) Poir.] averaged 3,513 and 3,210 kg dry matter (DM) ha^-1, respectively. Standing crop of crimson clover (Trifolium incarnatum L.) and arrowleaf clover (T. vesiculosum Savi) averaged …

Review Of Gathering Places: Aboriginal And Fur Trade Histories. Edited By Carolyn Podruchny And Laura Peers., Frank D. Lewis

Great Plains Research: A Journal of Natural and Social Sciences (through 2013)

Gathering Places honors Jennifer S.H. Brown, a leading figure in the Aboriginal history of the Hudson Bay drainage basin. The ten essays and introduction deal with Natives and Native history in the region of Hudson Bay, and there is the influence of Professor Brown; otherwise the topics are diverse. The papers have been grouped into several themes, but broadly speaking there are two types of essays. Some use novel as well as more traditional approaches to shed light on aspects of the Aboriginal experience; the others are methodological, dealing with the writing of First Nations histories.

In an afterword, Jennifer …

Channel Width And Least Tern And Piping Plover Nesting Incidence On The Lower Platte River, Nebraska, Joel G. Jorgensen, Mary Bomberger Brown, Andrew J. Tyre

Great Plains Research: A Journal of Natural and Social Sciences (through 2013)

Endangered interior least terns (Sternula antillarum athalassos) and threatened northern Great Plains piping plovers (Charadrius melodus) nest together on midstream sandbars in large rivers in the interior of North America. We investigated the relationship between river channel width and tern and plover nesting incidence on the lower Platte River, Nebraska, using a model-based logistic regression analysis. Multiple channel width measurements and a long-term nesting data set were used in the analysis. Nesting incidence was positively associated with increasing river channel width proximal to the nesting site. At a greater distance, up to 802 m away from …

Review Of Storied Landscapes: Ethno-Religious Identity And The Canadian Prairies. By Frances Swyripa, Hans Werner

Great Plains Research: A Journal of Natural and Social Sciences (through 2013)

Frances Swyripa's study of the ethno-religious landscape of the Canadian prairies is a delightful painting of the visual legacy ofthe settlement landscape and at the same time a careful analysis of the nuances that undergirded the religious sensibilities of the particular groups she examines. Storied Landscapes pays most attention to Mennonites, Ukrainians, Doukhobors, and Icelanders, and less to other Scandinavians, other Europeans, and Mormons. Three single location settlements in Saskatchewan are also represented: the Esterhazy-Kaposvar Hungarian settlement, the English Barr Colony near Lloydminster, and the German St. Peter's Colony at Muenster.

Storied Landscapes is a welcome and novel way of …

Review Of Federal Fathers And Mothers: A Social History Ofthe United States Indian Service, 1869-1933. By Cathleen D. Cahill., Stephen J. Rockwell

Great Plains Research: A Journal of Natural and Social Sciences (through 2013)

Cathleen Cahill's Federal Fathers and Mothers is an excellent contribution to the literature on social provision, American state development, and Indian affairs. It should be essential reading for scholars using Theda Skocpol's classic Protecting Soldiers and Mothers (1992), and it is a fine addition to the growing number of titles critiquing the traditional view of the 19th-century American state as simple, small, and unobtrusive. Cahill offers a social history of the u.s. Indian Service, especially the School Service, from Reconstruction to the New Deal, focusing on the lives and relationships of Indian and non-Indian men and women in the Service, …

Wetland Hydrodynamics And Long-Term Use Of Spring Migration Areas By Lesser Scaup In Eastern South Dakota, Sharon N. Kahara, Steven R. Chipps

Great Plains Research: A Journal of Natural and Social Sciences (through 2013)

Lesser scaup (Aythya affinis [Eyton]) populations remain below their long-term average despite improved habitat conditions along spring migration routes and at breeding grounds. Scaup are typically associated with large, semipermanent wetlands and exhibit regional preferences along migration routes. Identifying consistently used habitats for conservation and restoration is complicated by irregular wetland availability due to the dynamic climate. We modeled long-term wetland use by lesser scaup in eastern South Dakota based on surveys conducted during below-average (1987-1989) and above-average (1993-2002) water condition years. Wetland permanence, longitude, and physiographic region were all significant determinants of use (P < 0.01). Long-term use was best described by a quadratic equation including wetland surface area variability, an index of wetland hydrodynamics that is linked to productivity, biodiversity, and value to waterfowl. Contrary to previous findings, our study shows that over the long term, lesser scaup are more than twice as likely to use permanent wetlands as they are semipermanent wetlands. The northern region of South Dakota's Prairie Coteau, which holds the highest density of hydrologically dynamic permanent wetlands, should be considered an area of conservation concern for lesser scaup. The criteria we identified may be used to identify important lesser scaup habitats in other regions of the Prairie Pothole Region.

Review Of Energy Development And Wildlife Conservation In Western North America. Edited By David E. Naugle., Cameron L. Aldridge

Great Plains Research: A Journal of Natural and Social Sciences (through 2013)

Current and pending energy developments are likely to alter nearly 100 million hectares of wildlife habitat. David Naugle has compiled the inaugural synthesis of energy development impacts on wildlife populations across western grassland, shrub land, and forested systems. Part 1 sets the stage, characterizing energy development in the West. In part 2 ("Biological Responses"), Johnson and St-Laurent (chapter 3) propose a unifying experimental framework to monitor and assess consequences of energy development, urging proactive rather than reactionary science, conducted as experiments rather than observations, better informing both science and management. ... [Naugle et al.] eloquently conclude that "this book is …

Review Of Texas Bobwhites: A Guide To Their Foods And Habitat Management. By Jon A. Larson, Timothy E. Fulbright, Leonard A. Brennan, Fidel Hernandez, And Fred C. Bryant., Markus J. Peterson

Great Plains Research: A Journal of Natural and Social Sciences (through 2013)

Texas Bobwhites: A Guide to Their Foods and Habitat Management is a pictorial guide to the identification of seeds commonly consumed by northern bobwhites (Colinus virginianus)-- and the plants that produce them--in Texas. The authors "hope that interest in what constitutes good bobwhite habitat among hunters and nature enthusiasts will be enhanced by this guide to the identification of seeds eaten by quail." Targeting this lay audience leads to certain constraints regarding how the text, particularly, is presented. Regardless, because Texas includes much of the southern terminus of the Great Plains, this book is directly relevant to readers …

West Of Eden: Resource Wars And Nature-Cultures In The American West, Scout Calvert

University of Nebraska-Lincoln Libraries: Faculty Publications

The richness and variety of the western landscape is what is at stake in hot political contests for the resources of the West: much of this public land is available to economic activity, including for mining, grazing, logging, and recreation. These uses threaten to outpace the land’s ability to renew these resources along with others, like air and water. Now in the first decade of the millennium with a new environmental awareness emerging partly from media coverage of global warming and peak oil, The American West at Risk offers a wide-ranging look at the degradation of the environment in the …

Scotts Bluff National Monument, Plant Community Resource Brief, Isabel Ashton, Mike Prowatzke

United States National Park Service: Publications

2011 Monitoring Status

Overview

In 2011, the first year of vegetation monitoring by the Northern Great Plains Network Inventory and Monitoring staff at Scotts Bluff National Monument, efforts resulted in the documentation of 79 plant species. This was the lowest number of species among parks sampled in 2011. Graminoid (grass and grass-like plant) species accounted for only 21 (27%) of the total species, but graminoid cover was much higher than that of any other plant type. Forbs were much more diverse, but did not provide as much foliar cover.

The 5 most abundant native non-graminoids were winterfat (Krascheninnikovia lanata …

Plant Community Composition And Structure Monitoring Protocol For The Northern Great Plains I&M Network - Standard Operating Procedures, Version 1.01, Amy J. Symstad, Robert A. Gitzen, Cody L. Wienk, Michael R. Bynum, Daniel J. Swanson, Andy D. Thorstenson, Kara J. Paintner-Green

United States National Park Service: Publications

Introduction

The Northern Great Plains Inventory and Monitoring Network (NGPN) includes thirteen park units located in five northern Great Plains states across six ecoregions. Plant community composition and structure monitoring comprises the core of the vegetation monitoring effort for the NGPN, covering the “Riparian Lowland Plant Communities” and “Upland Plant Communities” vital signs (Gitzen et al. 2010). The narrative portion of the plant community protocol can be found in Symstad et al. 2012. The narrative includes the rationale for vegetation monitoring, an overview of sample design, field methods, data management, and program requirements. This document contains the standard operating procedures …

Magnitude And Structure Of Lymantria Dispar Asiatica Infestations Of Common Forest Steppe Tree Species In Northern Mongolia, Nina Tiralla, Kai Füldner, Stefan Schütz

Erforschung biologischer Ressourcen der Mongolei / Exploration into the Biological Resources of Mongolia, ISSN 0440-1298

Lymantria dispar L. is one of the most serious forest pests worldwide by infesting large forest areas involving massive tree dieback. Unlike outbreaks of Lymantria dispar L. in Germany that cause massive defoliation, observations of outbreaks of Lymantria dispar asiatica made in the research area Khonin Nuga, West Khentii, Mongolia during the past six years showed only punctual defoliation, and dieback was extremely scarce. However, information on the performance of Lymantria dispar asiatica and the corresponding reaction of host tree species in Khonin Nuga is rare. Therefore, this study concentrates on the examination of primarily affected tree species and the …

Bird Red List And Its Future Development In Mongolia, Sundev Gombobaatar, D. Samiya, Jonathan M. Baillie

Erforschung biologischer Ressourcen der Mongolei / Exploration into the Biological Resources of Mongolia, ISSN 0440-1298

With the involvement of the World Bank, Zoological Society of London, Dutch Government and National University of Mongolia, the volumes of Mongolian Red Lists of Fish, Amphibians and Reptiles, Birds and Mammals were completed, and Mongolia is now among the few nations that have up-to-date conservation assessments for all vertebrates. Of the 476 assessed native bird species of Mongolia, 10% were categorized as regionally threatened including Near Threatened. A further 0.6% were categorized as Critically Endangered (CR), 1.7% as Endangered (EN), 3.3% as Vulnerable (VU), and 4.4% as Near Threatened (NT). Almost 90% of Mongolian birds are categorized as Least …

Morphological Disparity Among Rock Voles Of The Genus Alticola From Mongolia, Kazakhstan And Russia (Rodentia, Cricetidae), V. N. Bolshakov, I. A. Vasilyeva, A. G. Vasilyev

Erforschung biologischer Ressourcen der Mongolei / Exploration into the Biological Resources of Mongolia, ISSN 0440-1298

The Central Asian high-mountain or rock voles of the genus Alticola Blanford, 1881 are one of the least studied groups of rodents. Taxonomic status of various geographic forms is not yet established until our days. This genus is not enough examined by biochemical and molecular genetic methods. We analyzed morphological disparity among rock voles of the genus Alticola from 8 localities. The samples studied represent 7 nominal species: A. semicanus Allen, 1924 (East Mongolia), Alticola argentatus Severtzov, 1879 (East Kazakhstan), A. tuvinicus Ognev, 1950 (Russia: Tuva), A. olchonensis Litvinov, 1960 (Russia: Olchon Island), A. macrotis Radde, 1861 (Russia: Khamar-Daban ridge), …

Long-Term Research On Biodiversity In West Khentey, Northern Mongolia, Michael Mühlenberg

Erforschung biologischer Ressourcen der Mongolei / Exploration into the Biological Resources of Mongolia, ISSN 0440-1298

Biodiversity is studied at ecosystem, community, and species level around Khonin Nuga, where the University Goettingen supports a research station since 15 years (established 1997 in cooperation with the National University of Mongolia). In that period 39 scientists have been involved and 67 students graduated with theses (7 PhD) about field work at that station. Inventories started at 1998 for several taxa and are now compiled in a book, which will be printed 2012 in Ulaanbaatar. It covers fungi, lichens, plants, several insect groups, spiders, crustaceans, and all vertebrate classes. For all taxa adequate experts proved the species lists. Because …

Nestling Food In The Desert Wheatear Oenanthe Deserti In The Dzungarian Gobi, Mongolia, Ueli Rehsteiner

Erforschung biologischer Ressourcen der Mongolei / Exploration into the Biological Resources of Mongolia, ISSN 0440-1298

The quality and size of nestling food of the Desert Wheatear Oenanthe deserti ssp. atrogularis were investigated in the spring of 2001 in the Dzungarian Gobi in Mongolia. Data are based on observations of nine pairs. Nestling food consisted of several taxa caught on the ground and in the air. Diptera, Coleoptera larvae, and Hymenoptera were the most frequent prey, that is, they contributed 17 to 30% of all food items each. The food composition changed with nestling age and season.

Food item size decreased with date. A higher proportion of multiple prey loadings were brought to nestlings in the …

Protection Of The Natural And Cultural Heritage Of The Mongolian Altai, Ulikpan Beket, Hans D. Knapp

Erforschung biologischer Ressourcen der Mongolei / Exploration into the Biological Resources of Mongolia, ISSN 0440-1298

The Altai-Sayan Ecoregion is known as a hotspot of biodiversity with large wilderness landscapes and a high rate of endemism in Central Asia and Siberia. There are many large and important protected areas of different categories. Parts of the Russian Altai, the “Golden Mountains of Altai”, are inscribed as World Natural Heritage. Also the neighbouring countries contain pristine landscapes, which could be a potential for an extension to a transnational serial World Heritage Site.

The Mongolian part of the ecoregion is characterized by very diverse landscapes and vegetation complexes: Deserts, semi-deserts and desert steppes in arid basins, river floodplains, salt …

On The Importance Of Pollen Morphology In Classification Of Chenopodiaceae In Mongolia, Gaadan Punsalpaamuu, Frank Schluetz, Tserendorj Gegeensuvd, Davaadorj Saindovdon

Erforschung biologischer Ressourcen der Mongolei / Exploration into the Biological Resources of Mongolia, ISSN 0440-1298

The pollen morphology of 18 species from 12 genera of Chenopodiaceae native to Mongolia was studied. Plants were collected during field courses and research projects on useful plants and are deposited in the Herbarium of the Mongolian State University of Education. Chemical preparation was carried out in the Palynological Laboratories at the School of Natural Sciences of the Mongolian State University of Education and the Department of Palynology and Climate Dynamics of the University of Göttingen in Germany. The results show, that all investigated species are distinguishable in terms of pollen morphology bases on their pollen grain sizes, exine thickness …

Home Range Characteristics Of Corsac And Red Foxes In Mongolia, Tserendorjiin Munkhzul, J. D. Murdoch, R. P. Reading

Erforschung biologischer Ressourcen der Mongolei / Exploration into the Biological Resources of Mongolia, ISSN 0440-1298

Red (Vulpes vulpes) and corsac foxes (V. corsac) live sympatrically throughout most of Mongolia, but few details of their home range characteristics exist. We captured and radio-tagged 13 red fox (♂ = 5, ♀ = 8) and 15 corsac foxes (♂ = 8, ♀ = 7) between 2004 and 2008. We tracked their movements to estimate home range sizes and examined the effects of four factors on home range size, including sex, age, season, and year. We determined mean home range size for 12 red and 10 corsac foxes that had sufficient data using fixed kernel …

Pleistocene Faunal Fossils From Bayangol I Site, Bulgan Aimag, Mongolia, Takao Sato, Fedora Khenzykhenova, Toshiaki Tsurumaru, Masao Ambiru, Jun Takakura, Yoshiaki Otsuka, Shigeo Iida, Natalya Schepina, Batmunkh Tsogtbaatar

Erforschung biologischer Ressourcen der Mongolei / Exploration into the Biological Resources of Mongolia, ISSN 0440-1298

During excavation of the Bayan-gol I Palaeolithic site in the Bulgan Aimak, Mongolia, some faunistic remains were recovered attributable to Aves (two species), Anura (two species), and mammals (three species). The fossil remains bear a considerable similarity to the corresponding species of today in Mongolia.

Ochotona Daurica Pallas, 1776: Modern And Past Distribution Area In Mongolia And The Transbaikal Region, M. A. Erbjeva, N. V. Alexeeva, T. V. Kisloschaeva

Erforschung biologischer Ressourcen der Mongolei / Exploration into the Biological Resources of Mongolia, ISSN 0440-1298

Ochotona daurica Pallas, 1776 is one of the ancient species among modern taxa having an origination in Transbaikalia possible at the end of Pleistocene. Review on the Late Pleistocene- Holocene-Recent area of distribution of this species is given on the base of new evidences and detail analysis of the previous data.

Ecology And Behaviour Of The Black-Billed Capercaillie (Tetrao Urogalloides Stegmanni) In The Khentej Mountains, Mongolia, Siegfried Klaus, Karl-Heniz Schindlatz, Alexander V. Andreev, Hans-Heiner Bergmann

Erforschung biologischer Ressourcen der Mongolei / Exploration into the Biological Resources of Mongolia, ISSN 0440-1298

Introduction

A common inhabitant of East Siberian larch forests, the Siberian or black-billed capercaillie (Tetrao urogalloides) ranges south to the limits of the boreal forests in the northern Mongolian mountains and east to the very coast of the Asian continent (KLAUS et al. 1989). Tetrao urogalloides MIDDENDORF (1851) has priority over T. parvirostris BONAPARTE (1856). Therefore, we prefer the T. urogalloides.

The subspecies T.u. stegmanni was first described on the basis of morphological differences by POTAPOV (1985) using specimens collected during Russian expeditions by KOZLOVA (1930). This description was based on 18 males in the collection at …

Recruitment Of Larix Sibirica Ledeb. In Closed Forest Stands, On Clear-Felling Sites And At Fire-Sites In The Forests Of Mongolia, Vasiliy T. Yarmishko, Nikolay N. Slemnev

Erforschung biologischer Ressourcen der Mongolei / Exploration into the Biological Resources of Mongolia, ISSN 0440-1298

The paper deals with recruitment patterns in larch forests of Mongolia following anthropogenic impacts (felling, fires), and describes successional trends in highland forest communities. It is established that mass seed recruitment of Larix sibirica Ledeb. took place during anomalous combinations of hydrothermal conditions supposedly occurring at periods of about 100 years. During the last decades, frequent fires of various intensities put serious constraints on reforestation of the larch, and induced successional trends in disturbed forests.