Other International and Area Studies Commons^™

Wintering Canada Geese Along The Platte Rivers Of Nebraska, 1960-2000, Mark Vrtiska, Nick Lyman

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

The Platte rivers and associated habitats are major wintering areas for Canada geese (Branta Canadensis) in Nebraska. The objective of this study was to examine changes in abundance and distribution of Canada geese along the Platte River system during 1960-2000. We used counts of Canada geese based on aerial surveys from the annual Mid-Winter Survey (MWS). The entire lengths of the North and South Platte rivers and the Platte River were surveyed, and counts of Canada geese were made by visual estimation. We examined changes in goose numbers for the North and South Platte rivers, and divided the …

Review Of Fighting For The Farm: Rural America Transformed Edited By Jane Adams, John C. Allen

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

Fighting for the Family Farm brings together the contributions of scholars from several disciplines to provide an overview of political processes within North American agriculture.
Beginning in the Imperial Valley of California, Alan Rudy provides a well-documented snapshot of state and federal governments' roles in changing the face of agricultural support of industrial food and fiber production models. Rudy illustrates how ecological damage and state policies converge to shape new agricultural policies, arguing that a spatio-temporal construct is necessary for determining responses to the many forms of ecological, social, and infrastructural crisis as well as fir more fully understanding how …

Seed Dynamics Of Eastern Redcedar In The Mixed-Grass Prairie, Susan Tunnell, James L. Stubbendieck, Julie Huddle, Jennifer Brollier

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

We sampled the soil seed bank underneath and surrounding eastern redcedar (Juniperus virginiana L.) trees at two mixed-grass prairie sites in Nebraska. Our objectives were to investigate the seed bank for seed number and seed viability in various directions and distances from individual trees. Additionally, we planted seeds to determine seed longevity and viability in the soil seed bank. Six female trees were selected at each site. At each tree, 16 soil samples were collected using a lax 10 cm quadrant at four distances (inside the canopy and 0.5, 2, and 5 m from the canopy) in each of …

Matthew S. Weinert On Genocide In Cambodia: Documents From The Trial Of Pol Pot And Ieng Sary Edited By Howard Denike, John Quigley, And Kenneth Robinson. Philadelphia: University Of Pennsylvania Press, 2000. 559pp., Matthew S. Weinert

Human Rights & Human Welfare

A review of:

Genocide in Cambodia: Documents from the Trial of Pol Pot and Ieng Sary edited by Howard Denike, John Quigley, and Kenneth Robinson. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 2000. 559pp.

Nutritional Condition Of Northern Yellowstone Elk, Rachel Cook, John G. Cook, L. David Mech

United States Geological Survey, Northern Prairie Wildlife Research Center: Publications

We estimated nutritional condition for 96 female northern Yellowstone elk (Cervus elaphus nelson) during mid-to late winter 2000, 2001, and 2002. Neither year nor capture location significantly influenced any measure of condition (body fat, body mass, and longissimus dorsi thickness; P ≥ 0.14). Overall, age = 8.9 years ± 0.4 SE, body fat = 9.5% ± 0.4, body mass = 235.1 kg ± 2.2, and longissimus dorsi muscle thickness = 5.6 cm ± 0.1. Despite an age segregation pattern across the winter range (P = 0.016), we found no evidence of bias in our estimates of nutritional condition …

The Flora Of The Cottonwood Lake Study Area, Stutsman County, North Dakota, David M. Mushet, Ned H. Euliss Jr., Stephen P. Lane, Christopher M. Goldade

United States Geological Survey, Northern Prairie Wildlife Research Center: Publications

The 92 ha Cottonwood Lake Study Area is located in south-central North Dakota along the eastern edge of a glacial stagnation moraine known as the Missouri Coteau. The study area has been the focus of biological and hydrological research since the U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service purchased the site in 1963. We studied the plant communities of the Cottonwood Lake Study Area from 1992 to 2001. During this time period, the vascular flora of the study area consisted of 220 species representing 52 families. Over half of the species were perennial forbs (117 species). Perennial grasses (26 species) and …

Effects Of Distance From Cattle Water Developments On Grassland Birds, Andrea L. Fontaine, Patricia L. Kennedy, Douglas H. Johnson

United States Geological Survey, Northern Prairie Wildlife Research Center: Publications

Many North American grassland bird populations appear to be declining, which may be due to changes in grazing regimes on their breeding areas. Establishment of water developments and confining cattle (Bos taurus L.) to small pastures often minimizes spatial heterogeneity of cattle forage consumption, which may lead to uniformity in vegetative structure. This increased uniformity may provide suitable habitat for some bird species but not others. We assessed how cattle use, vegetative structure, and bird population densities varied with increasing distance from water developments (0-800 m) on the Little Missouri National Grassland (LMNG) in North Dakota. Lark buntings ( …

What Hypothesis Tests Are Not: A Response To Colegrave And Ruxton, Douglas H. Johnson

United States Geological Survey, Northern Prairie Wildlife Research Center: Publications

It is always flattering to see one’s work cited by others. Not only does it boost the ego, but it provides a satisfying feeling that one’s efforts are both appreciated and contributing to the advance of science. So I was pleased when a colleague pointed out that Colegrave and Ruxton (2003) had cited a recent paper of mine, ‘‘The insignificance of statistical significance testing’’ ( Johnson, 1999). In that article I argued, as did Colegrave and Ruxton, that confidence intervals often are much more informative than are p values associated with hypothesis tests.

Guidelines For Managing Lesser Prairie-Chicken Populations And Their Habitats, Christian A. Hagen, Brent E. Jamison, Kenneth M. Giesen, Terry Z. Riley

United States Geological Survey, Northern Prairie Wildlife Research Center: Publications

Lesser prairie-chicken (Tympanuchus paidicinctus) populations have declined by >90% since the 1800s. These declines have concerned both biologists and private conservation groups and led to a petition to list the lesser prairie-chicken as threatened under the Endangered Species Act. Most of the land in the current range of the lesser prairie-chicken is privately owned, and declines have been primarily attributed to anthropogenic factors. Conversion of native rangeland to cropland and excessive grazing have been implicated as leading causes in the species' decline. Periodic drought probably has exacerbated these problems. Little research on habitat requirements was conducted prior to …

Patterns Of Variation In Clutch Sizes In A Guild Of Temperate-Nesting Dabbling Ducks, Gary Krapu, Ronald Reynolds, Glen Sargeant, Randy Renner

United States Geological Survey, Northern Prairie Wildlife Research Center: Publications

We investigated patterns and causes of variation in clutch sizes in a guild of five species of temperate-nesting dabbling ducks (Mallard [Anas platyrhynchos], Northern Pintail [“pintail,” A. acuta], Gadwall [A. strepera], Blue-winged Teal [“teal,” A. discors], and Northern Shoveler [“shoveler,” A. clypeata]) during 1993–1995 in the Prairie Pothole Region of midcontinental North America. Clutch sizes (mean ± SE) were largest for teal (10.80 ± 0.03), followed in descending order by those of shoveler (10.31 ± 0.05), Gadwall (9.92 ± 0.04), Mallard (8.91 ± 0.04), and pintail (7.66 ± 0.06). In Mallard, pintail, and …

Less Waste Corn, More Land In Soybeans, And The Switch To Genetically Modified Crops: Trends With Important Implications For Wildlife Management, Gary L. Krapu, David A. Brandt, Robert R. Cox Jr.

United States Geological Survey, Northern Prairie Wildlife Research Center: Publications

American agriculture has provided abundant high-energy foods for migratory and resident wildlife populations since the onset of modern wildlife management. Responding to anecdotal evidence that corn residues are declining in cropland, we remeasured waste corn postharvest in the Central Platte River Valley (CPRV) of Nebraska during 1997 and 1998 to compare with 1978. Post-harvest waste corn averaged 2.6% and 1.8% of yield in 1997 and 1998, respectively. After accounting for a 20% increase in yield, waste corn in 1997 and 1998 was reduced 24% and 47% from 1978. We also evaluated use of soybeans by spring-staging sandhill cranes ( Grus …

Tracking Of White-Tailed Deer Migration By Global Positioning System, Michael Nelson, L. David Mech, Paul F. Frame

United States Geological Survey, Northern Prairie Wildlife Research Center: Publications

We used global positioning system (GPS) radiocollars on female white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) to document details of onsets of migrations, rates of travel, patterns of travel, durations of migrations, and distances traveled by 8 deer in spring and 4 deer in autumn in northeastern Minnesota in 1998, 1999, and 2001. In spring, deer migrated 23–45 km during 31–356 h, deviating a maximum 1.6–4.0 km perpendicular from a straight line of travel between their seasonal ranges. They migrated a minimum of 2.1–18.6 km/day over 11–56 h during 2–14 periods of travel. Minimum travel during 1-h intervals averaged 1.5 km/h …

Is Climate Change Affecting Wolf Populations In The High Artic?, L. David Mech

United States Geological Survey, Northern Prairie Wildlife Research Center: Publications

Gobal climate change may affect wolves in Canada’s High Arctic (80◦ N) acting through three trophic levels (vegetation, herbivores, and wolves). A wolf pack dependent on muskoxen and arctic hares in the Eureka area of Ellesmere Island denned and produced pups most years from at least 1986 through 1997. However, when summer snow covered vegetation in 1997 and 2000 for the first time since records were kept, halving the herbivore nutrition-replenishment period, muskox and hare numbers dropped drastically, and the area stopped supporting denning wolves through 2003. The unusual weather triggering these events was consistent with global-climate-change phenomena.

Temporal Dynamics Of Leafy Sspurge (Euphorbia Esula) And Two Species Of Flea Beetles (Aphthona Spp.) Used As Biological Control Agents, Diane L. Larson, James B. Grace

United States Geological Survey, Northern Prairie Wildlife Research Center: Publications

The goal of this study was to evaluate the biological control program of leafy spurge (Euphorbia esula) in a large natural area, Theodore Roosevelt National Park, western North Dakota, USA. Aphthona lacertosa and Aphthona nigriscutis have been released at more than 1800 points in the 18,600-ha South Unit of the park beginning in 1989; most releases have occurred since 1994. We established permanent vegetation plots throughout the infested area of the park and determined stem counts and biomass of leafy spurge and abundance of the two flea beetle species at these plots each year from 1999 to 2001. …

Effects Of Management Practices On Grassland Birds: American Bittern, Jill A. Dechant, Marriah L. Sondreal, Douglas H. Johnson, Lawrence D. Igl, Christopher M. Goldade, Amy L. Zimmerman, Betty R. Euliss

United States Geological Survey, Northern Prairie Wildlife Research Center: Publications

Information on the habitat requirements and effects of habitat management on grassland birds were summarized from information in more than 4,000 published and unpublished papers. A range map is provided to indicate the relative densities of the species in North America, based on Breeding Bird Survey (BBS) data. Although birds frequently are observed outside the breeding range indicated, the maps are intended to show areas where managers might concentrate their attention. It may be ineffectual to manage habitat at a site for a species that rarely occurs in an area. The species account begins with a brief capsule statement, which …

Pinochet’S Chile: The United States, Human Rights, And International Terrorism, Todd Landman

Human Rights & Human Welfare

A review of:

International Human Rights and Authoritarian Rule in Chile by Darren Hawkins. Lincoln and London: University of Nebraska Press, 2002. 259 pp.

and

The Pinochet File: A Declassified Dossier of Atrocity and Accountability by Peter Kornbluh. New York and London: The New Press, 2003. 551 pp.

and

The Condor Years: How Pinochet and His Allies Brought Terrorism to Three Continents by John Dinges. New York: The New Press, 2004. 322 pp.

Global Economic Forces And Individual Labor Rights: An Uneasy Coexistence, Alice De Jonge

Human Rights & Human Welfare

A review of:

Workers’ Rights as Human Rights edited by James A. Gross. Ithaca: Cornell University Press, 2003. 272pp.

and

International Labor Standards: Globalization, Trade, and Public Policy edited by Robert J. Flanagan and William B. Gould IV. Palo Alto: Stanford University Press, 2003. 275pp.