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The Nebraska Bird Review, Volume 85 December 2017 Number 4

Nebraska Bird Review

Fall Field Report, August - November 2017, by W. Ross Silcock … 146-178

The Official List of the Birds of Nebraska, compiled by Mark A. Brogie …179-197

Ogallala Fall Field Days, Sept. 15 - 17, 2017, by Janis Paseka …198-203

Index to Volume 85 …204-218

Subscription and Organization Information … 219

Index To Volume 85

Nebraska Bird Review

Abreu, Shanin 58 ...

through

Ziegelbauer, Amanda 147

(15 pages)

Fall Field Report, August - November 2017, W. Ross Silcock

Nebraska Bird Review

This fall season will be remembered as the fall with the mega-rarities. There were five, one of which, Pacific Wren, is a first Nebraska record. Based on occurrence dates, Hurricane Irma appears to have influenced the appearance of two of the megas, Black Vulture and Magnificent Frigatebird, neither of which provided opportunities for observers to view them, but both well-documented with photographs. There were an extraordinary TWO sightings of Harris’s Hawk, which together with the presence as of this writing (December 19) of one in northeast Kansas and a view of the species map in eBird strongly suggest a single …

Ogallala Fall Field Days, Sept. 15 - 17, 2017, Janis Paseka

Nebraska Bird Review

The 2017 NOU Fall Field Days took place in and around Ogallala on Sept. 15 - 17 with 55 in attendance. The weather on Friday was hot and windy, making finding birds a challenge. Overnight a cold front came through causing birders to shiver on Saturday and Sunday mornings, but the payoff was easier birding and some interesting species. Field trips were led by William Flack, Clem Klaphake, Wayne Mollhoff, Don Paseka, Ross Silcock and T. J. Walker. Locations included Cedar Point Biological Station, Lake Ogallala SRA, various beaches along the shore of Lake McConaughy SRA, Ash Hollow State Historical …

The Development Of A Specific Pathogen Free (Spf) Barrier Colony Of Marmosets (Callithrix Jacchus) For Aging Research, Corinna N. Ross, Steven Austad, Kathy Brasky, Celeste J. Brown, Larry J. Forney, Jonathan A. Gelfond, Robert Lanford, Arlan Richardson, Suzette D. Tardif

Biology Faculty Publications (Archived)

A specific pathogen free (SPF) barrier colony of breeding marmosets (Callithrix jacchus) was established at the Barshop Institute for Longevity and Aging Studies. Rodent and other animal models maintained as SPF barrier colonies have demonstrated improved health and lengthened lifespans enhancing the quality and repeatability of aging research. The marmosets were screened for two viruses and several bacterial pathogens prior to establishing the new SPF colony. Twelve founding animals successfully established a breeding colony with increased reproductive success, improved health parameters, and increased median lifespan when compared to a conventionally housed, open colony. The improved health and longevity of marmosets …

Escorting Of Mother-Calf Pairs Of Humpback Whales (Megaptera Novaeangliae) In The Colombian Pacific During The Breeding Season, Natalia Botero Acosta

Dissertations

Humpback whales (Megaptera novaeangliae) belonging to the “breeding G-stock” annually migrate from the Antarctic Peninsula and southern Chile to the southeastern Pacific to reproduce. Associations between mother-calf pairs and escorts were examined in the Gulf of Tribugá, northern Colombian Pacific, using photo-identification and behavioral/spatial sampling. Research hypotheses included: 1. The association between cows and escorts is short-lived, consistent with a male reproductive strategy, 2. The presence of escort(s) elicits a behavioral response from mother-calf pairs and, 3. The patterns of spatial distribution reflect the spatial segregation of maternal females. Groups were classified as mother-calf pairs (Mc), mother, calf …

Evaluating Social Network Dynamics Of Bigg’S Killer Whales (Orcinus Orca) And Vessel Traffic Within A Transboundary Region: Implications For Conservation Management, Courtney Smith

Dissertations

The social lives of animals are defined by group dynamics based on the nature and strength of associations and movements between individuals, often resulting in highly complex and interconnected social networks. However, understanding of how environmental variables may shape this structure is poorly understood. Within the inland waters of Washington State and southern Vancouver Island, British Columbia, mammal-eating Bigg’s (transient) killer whales occur in relatively small, but stable social groups. Group size and occurrence in recent years has increased, coinciding with a growing whale watching industry. Given the central importance of the social network within killer whale population dynamics, such …

Evaluating The Impact Of Two Contrasting Tillage Practices On Soil Properties In Central Kentucky, Emily Cook

Posters-at-the-Capitol

Farming practices such as no tillage and plowing can institute change on soil physical and chemical characteristics. In this research, the effects of long-term conventional and no-tillage systems on the selected soil properties were determined in a continuous corn system on a farm with Maury silt loam soil. These samples were taken from University of Kentucky's Research Farm (Spindletop Farm). The field used was tilled in 1969 from bluegrass sod and the first time research was conduced was in 1970. Each plot is 20 ft. by 40 ft. and for many years each plot was split with winter cover crop …

Evaluating The Ecological Status Of The Introduced Nile Monitor (Varanus Niloticus) In Florida: Forecasting Presence And Population Expansion Using Computational Geographic Information Systems, Noah G. Cohen

HCNSO Student Theses and Dissertations

The Nile monitor (Varanus niloticus) is a large, carnivorous lizard that has become a notorious invasive species in Florida, USA. Initially released in the 1980s from the pet trade, the species has since established at least three breeding populations and spread throughout much of southern Florida. While current control efforts have failed to eradicate V. niloticus, it is important to attain a better understanding of its invasive dynamics to guide and inform better control strategies. In this study, available georeferenced records of V. niloticus in Florida were compiled and linked to a habitat classification map to evaluate ecotype preferences. Factored …

A Study Of The Urban Red Fox (Vulpes Vulpes) Population In Baton Rouge, Louisiana Using Social Media, Ahsennur Soysal

LSU Master's Theses

Foxes are timid yet resourceful animals that are integrated into many urban environments. Because they are elusive, collecting information about the number of urban foxes, their diet and spatial distribution, their interactions with the ecological community in their urban habitat, as well as residents’ response to them, is difficult. Involving stakeholders to participate in the data collection on wildlife via citizen science on social media is one way to overcome this complication, while simultaneously engaging residents in the ecology happening around them. Therefore, we used social media as the platform to engage the public to document and map the foxes …

Evaluation Of Reproductive Phenology And Ecology Of Eastern Wild Turkey (Meleagris Gallopavo Silvestris) In South Carolina, Patrick Wightman

LSU Master's Theses

Many southeastern states, including South Carolina, in the last 10 -15 years have seen a decline in Eastern wild turkey (Meleagris gallopavo silvestris) populations. Around 50,000 turkey hunters in South Carolina, result in approximately 35 million annually in revenue. Turkeys encounter a unique situation as environmental variation and hunter activity may impact behaviors as hunting occurs during the reproductive season. Mistimed hunting seasons could result in population declines. Timing of harvest requires managers to implement seasons that allow for hunter satisfaction (hearing gobbles) while ensuring no detriment to turkey populations through impacts to reproduction. To better understand factors influencing gobbling …

Cryptic Diversity And Discordance In Single‐Locus Species Delimitation Methods Within Horned Lizards (Phrynosomatidae: Phrynosoma), Christopher Blair, Robert W. Bryson Jr.

Publications and Research

Biodiversity reduction and loss continues to progress at an alarming rate, and thus there is widespread interest in utilizing rapid and efficient methods for quantifying and delimiting taxonomic diversity. Single-locus species-delimitation methods have become popular, in part due to the adoption of the DNA barcoding paradigm. These techniques can be broadly classified into tree-based and distance-based methods depending on whether species are delimited based on a constructed genealogy. Although the relative performance of these methods has been tested repeatedly with simulations, additional studies are needed to assess congruence with empirical data. We compiled a large data set of mitochondrial ND4 …

Catalinia, A New Scorpion Genus From Southern California, Usa And Northern Baja California, Mexico (Scorpiones: Vaejovidae), Michael E. Soleglad, Richard F. Ayrey, Matthew R. Graham, Victor Fet

Euscorpius

Genus Catalinia, gen. nov. (Scorpiones: Vaejovidae) is described from southern California, USA and Baja California, Mexico. The genus is composed of four species formerly placed in Pseudouroctonus: Catalinia minima (Kraepelin, 1911), comb. nov. (type species), C. andreas (Gertsch et Soleglad, 1972), comb. nov., C. castanea (Gertsch et Soleglad, 1972), comb. nov., and C. thompsoni, comb. nov. (Gertsch et Soleglad, 1972). Major diagnostic characters of Catalinia include a carapace with a very weak anterior indentation, a very stout metasoma with little or no tapering from segment I to V, and a mating plug with two partial bases. …

The North American Quails, Partridges, And Pheasants, Paul A. Johnsgard

Zea E-Books Collection

This book documents the biology of six species of New World quails that are native to North America north of Mexico (mountain, scaled, Gambel’s, California, and Montezuma quails, and the northern bobwhite), three introduced Old World partridges (chukar, Himalayan snowcock, and gray partridge), and the introduced common (ring-necked) pheasant. Collectively, quails, partridges, and pheasants range throughout all of the continental United States and the Canadian provinces. Two of the species, the northern bobwhite and ring-necked pheasant, are the most economically important of all North American upland game birds. All of the species are hunted extensively for sport and are highly …

Predation On Artificial Turkey Nests At Radford Army Ammunition Plant In Western Virginia, Shane Brandes, Karen E. Powers, Len L. Diioia Jr.

Virginia Journal of Science

Because ground-nesting wild turkeys (Meleagris gallopavo) may sustain high incidences of nest predation in western Virginia, determining their predators is essential to understanding risk and managing the birds.  Our study investigated potential predators of wild turkey nests at the Radford Army Ammunition Plant, New River Unit (RFAAP; Pulaski Co., in western Virginia). Here, we established 8 artificial nests during the breeding season for wild turkey (March-April, 2017), and documented predators via game cameras.  Thirty-one species of mammals and birds visited the nests over the 31-day study. Nest predation was verified 56 times across 6 species, including coyotes ( …

The Richness And Relative Abundance Of Small Mammals In Old Surface Coal-Mined Sites In Crawford And Cherokee Counties, Kansas, Fabio Giacomelli

Electronic Theses & Dissertations

Species richness and relative abundance (RA) of the small terrestrial mammals were accessed in 20 different unreclaimed old coal mined sites in Crawford and Cherokee counties, southeast Kansas in 2014. Lines of Victor™ wooden snap-traps were set in three habitat types in each area: grassy, brushy and forested during 3-days period in each of the four seasons.

Southeast Kansas was heavily surface-mined (strip-mined) between the 1930’s and the 1970’s and many of these sites were not reclaimed (restored to the appearance of its original landscape). This has resulted in many types of altered habitats in this region such as strip-pits …

Herpetological Collections At Pittsburg State University: Assessing Collecting Patterns And Analysis Of Spatial And Temporal Origin Of Specimens., Natalia Agostini Schneider

Electronic Theses & Dissertations

Natural History Collections are a rich source of biological data. Each specimen contains data for that species’ presence for a specific location and time, providing researchers with essential biological information. Importantly, this information can be preserved and re-evaluated for hundreds of years. To maintain specimens through time, good curation protocols are essential. The Herpetology Collection (henceforth HC) at Pittsburg State University houses 1,631 specimens, representing 181 species and subspecie collected from 23 U.S. states, Mexico and Manitoba, Canada. The majority of specimens (78.6%) were collected from the four-state area (Kansas, Missouri, Arkansas and Oklahoma). Specimens collected exclusively in Kansas comprise …

Prey Naïveté And Predator-Prey Interactions Between Pterois Volitans, Pomacentridae, And Tetraodontidae In Two Reefs In The Guna Yala Archipelago, Panama, Jesse Garrett-Larsen

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

The invasion of Pterois volitans along the Atlantic coast of the Americas is one of the top marine conservation issues of the century. Prey naïveté has been suggested as a mechanism for the success of P. volitans, but conclusive field observations have not been completed. This study tested for prey naïveté in situ by comparing time spent by Pomacentridae and Tetraodontidae in close proximity to P. volitans and a native predator, Cephalopholis cruentata. Difference in time spent by Pomacentridae and Tetraodontidae in the presence of the two predators was observed. The predators P. volitans and C. cruentata were sequentially observed …

A Study Of Reptile Community Diversity Related To Habitat Characteristics At Marojejy National Park, Julia Kowala

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Marojejy National Park is known for its diversity. Though it is home to the silky sifaka, it has extensive populations of herpetofauna. Seventy-seven species of reptiles have been documented in Marojejy National Park. This study aimed to evaluate the reptile community diversity and habitat characteristics in the park through systematic searches of ten-by-ten-meter plots, and inventory of species as they were found throughout the park. Systematic searches yielded the finding of 19 of the total 25 species identified. Some species that were found had not been previously seen at Marojejy before, most notably, Brookesia sp. “Nosy Hara”, Brookesia desperata, Furcifer …

Humans As Prey: Coping With Large Carnivore Attacks Using A Predator-Prey Interaction Perspective, Vincenzo Penteriani, Giulia Bombieri, José María Fedriani, José Vicente López-Bao, Pedro José Garrote, Luca Francesco Russo, María Del Mar Delgado

Human–Wildlife Interactions

The number of attacks on humans by large carnivores in North America is increasing. A better understanding the factors triggering such attacks is critical to mitigating the risk of future encounters in landscape where humans and large carnivore co-exist. Since 1955, of the 632 attacks on humans by large carnivores, 106 (17%) involved predation. We draw on concepts and empirical evidence from the Predator-Prey Interaction Theory to provide insights into how to reduce predatory attacks and, thus, improve human-large carnivore co-existence. Because large carnivore-caused mortality risks for humans are comparable to those shown by other mammal species in response to …