Zoology Commons^™

A Molecular Phylogeny Of Living Primates, Polina L. Perelman, Warren E. Johnson, Christian Roos, Hector Seuanez, Julie E. Horvath, Miguel A. M. Moreira, Bailey Kessing, J. U. Pontius, Melody E. Roelke, Yves Rumpler, Maria P. C. Schneider, Artur Silva, Stephen J. O'Brien, Jill Pecon-Slattery

Biology Faculty Articles

Comparative genomic analyses of primates offer considerable potential to define and understand the processes that mold, shape, and transform the human genome. However, primate taxonomy is both complex and controversial, with marginal unifying consensus of the evolutionary hierarchy of extant primate species. Here we provide new genomic sequence (~8 Mb) from 186 primates representing 61 (~90%) of the described genera, and we include outgroup species from Dermoptera, Scandentia, and Lagomorpha. The resultant phylogeny is exceptionally robust and illuminates events in primate evolution from ancient to recent, clarifying numerous taxonomic controversies and providing new data on human evolution. Ongoing speciation, reticulate …

A Late-Season Breeding Record For The Summer Tanager In Nebraska, Eric C. Hopps

Nebraska Bird Review

The breeding range of the Summer Tanager (Piranga rubra) is well documented and expands across the southern U.S. extending northward to New Jersey and west along and south of the Great Lakes to the eastern edge of the Great Plains (Terres 1991; Robinson 1996). In Nebraska the species is generally confined to the Lower Missouri and Platte River Valleys where it occurs locally (Sharpe et al. 2001). Because the species exists in relatively low numbers across southeastern Nebraska, there are few breeding and nesting records for the state. Fewer than 10 breeding records, including one historical account have …

Nebraska Ornithologists’ Union Treasurer’S Report, December 31, 2010

Nebraska Bird Review

One-page spreadsheet constituting the Nebraska Ornithologists' Union treasurer's report at year end (December 31) of 2010. The grand total is $56,740.04.

Book Review [Of Wild Birding Colorado: The Big Year Of 2010], W. Ross Silcock

Nebraska Bird Review

Nebraska birders might remember seeing reports posted to NEBirds a few years back by Cole Wild, a native Coloradan whose mother's family is from Nebraska. Cole took up birding at age 19, spurred by an earlier high school environmental science class that required identification of 100 species of birds. As with many of us, a brightly plumaged bird, in this case a Western Tanager, resulted in "the birdwatching gene" in Cole suddenly being "switched to the ON position." Soon after, Cole went on a "what the heck, I'll try it" field trip to see a Kelp Gull at Loveland Reservoir …

2010–2011 Christmas Bird Counts, Don Paseka

Nebraska Bird Review

Fourteen Christmas Bird Counts were held in Nebraska in the 2010–2011 season. The Branched Oak–Seward count was canceled due to weather, but in comparison to last year, the weather was generally dry, mild, and cooperative. Even though open water was limited, the species associated with water were well represented, resulting in the highest total number of species (149) ever, easily topping the previous high count of 138 in 2001. In all, 17 species set new high counts, 5 tied previous highs, and the amazing Brown-headed Nuthatches stayed in Lincoln and were counted for the first time in Nebraska.

Twelve species …

Winter Field Report, December 2010 To February 2011, W. Ross Silcock

Nebraska Bird Review

This winter was pretty much a rerun of last, although perhaps not as severe; I could have used last winter's Introduction again. If there was an overall theme, it would be the widespread occurrences of species that would not be expected to linger into late December and January. Several species of waterbirds, notably Blue-winged Teal, scoters, Ruddy Duck, Common Loon, and Homed and Red-necked Grebes were in this category. Large numbers of Western Grebes were still at Lake McConaughy in early January, and surprisingly late individuals of Black-crowned Night-Heron and Plegadis ibis were located. Mourning Doves were in good numbers …

Nebraska Bird Review (March 2011) 79(1), Whole Issue

Nebraska Bird Review

Nebraska Ornithologists’ Union Treasurer’s Report, December 31, 2010 ... 2

Color Photo Section ... 3

Winter Field Report, December 2010 to February 2011 ... 7

2010–2011 Christmas Bird Counts ... 20

A Late-Season Breeding Record for the Summer Tanager in Nebraska ... 33

Book Review: Wild Birding Colorado: The Big Year of 2010 ... 37

Book Review: The Stokes Field Guide to the Birds of North America ... 38

Color Photo Section ... 39

Subscription and Organization Information ... 43

Color Photo Section [March 2011, Pp. 3–6]

Nebraska Bird Review

Peregrine Falcon, Blue-gray Gnatcatcher, Sedge Wren, Spotted Towhee (p. 3); Northern Harrier, Long-eared Owl, Mississippi Kite (p. 4); Loggerhead Shrike, Snow Bunting, Piping Plover, Green Heron (p. 5), Ring-billed Gull with Ross’s Gull, Ross’s Gull, Black-legged Kittiwake, and Lesser Black-backed Gull (p. 6).

Subscription And Organization Information [March 2011]

Nebraska Bird Review

The Nebraska Bird Review is published quarterly by the Nebraska Ornithologists' Union, Inc., as its official journal, and is sent to members not in arrears of dues. Annual subscription rates (on a calendar-year basis only): $15 in the United States, $18 in Canada, and $30 in all other countries, payable in advance. Single copies are $4 each, postpaid, in the United States, $5 in Canada, and $8 elsewhere. Send orders for back issues to Anita Breckbill, NOU Librarian, c/o Music Library, WMB 30, University of Nebraska, Lincoln, NE 68588-0101.

Memberships in the NOU (on a calendar-year basis only): Active Household …

Color Photo Section [March 2011, Pp. 39–42]

Nebraska Bird Review

Whimbrel, Red-headed Woodpecker, Northern Cardinal, atypical Ring-necked Pheasants (p. 39); Brown-headed Nuthatch, Ruby-throated Hummingbird, Ruby-crowned Kinglet, Palm Warbler (p. 40); hybrid Black-headed/Rose-breasted Grosbeak, Scissor-tailed Flycatcher (on nest and on wire) (p. 41), Plegadis sp. Ibis, Cooper’s Hawk, and Black-crowned Night-Heron (p. 42).

Book Review [Of The Stokes Field Guide To The Birds Of North America], Tim Hajda

Nebraska Bird Review

Don and Lillian Stokes are well known for their nature guides that cover a variety of subjects, from hummingbirds and beginner shorebird identification to reptiles and amphibians. Their original pair of Stokes Field Guide to Birds: Eastern Region and Western Region have remained popular among North American birders since their appearance in 1995. They were illustrated with photographs instead of the traditional paintings used in most field guides. The authors' latest book, The Stokes Guide to Birds of North America is essentially an entirely new and much improved version of these two guides. Instead of being split into two books, …

Factors Affecting Space Use Overlap By White-Tailed Deer In An Urban Landscape, W. David Walter, Jeff Beringer, Lonnie P. Hansen, Justin W. Fischer, Joshua J. Millspaugh, Kurt C. Vercauteren

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Variation in the size and overlap of space use by white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) has broad implications for managing deer–human conflicts and disease spread and transmission in urban landscapes. Understanding which factors affect overlap of home range by various segments (i.e., age, sex) of an urban deer population has implications to direct contact between deer on disease epidemiology. We assessed size of home range and overlap of space use using the volume of intersection index (VI) for deer in an urban landscape by sex, age, season, and time of day. We found mean space use was larger for …

Contributions To Scorpion Systematics. Iv. Observations On The Hadrurus “Spadix” Subgroup With A Description Of A New Species (Scorpiones: Caraboctonidae), Michael E. Soleglad, Victor Fet, Graeme Lowe

Euscorpius

In this study new data are presented on the “spadix” subgroup of genus Hadrurus, including the description of a new species, H. anzaborrego, sp. nov., found primarily in the Anza-Borrego Desert State Park (ABDSP) in southern California, USA. This species is distinguished by its internal trichobothrial pattern of the chela and its unique carapace pattern. The status of Hadrurus obscurus Williams, 1970 is discussed and new locality data for this species are provided. A phylogenetic key to the genera, species, and subspecies of subfamily Hadrurinae is provided.

Serradigitus Miscionei (Scorpiones: Vaejovidae), A New Species From Southern Arizona, Richard F. Ayrey

Euscorpius

A new scorpion species, Serradigitus miscionei, is described, placed in the genus Serradigitus Stahnke, 1974. These are small reddish-brown scorpions found on vertical surfaces, in the San Pedro River system and other river systems in southern, Arizona.

The Genus Chaerilus Simon, 1877 (Scorpiones, Chaerilidae) In The Indian Ocean Islands And Description Of A New Species, Wilson R. Lourenço, Bernard Duhem, Elise-Anne Leguin

Euscorpius

A new species is described belonging to the genus Chaerilus Simon, 1877. Chaerilus andamanensis sp. n. was discovered in the Island of Little Andaman in the Indian Ocean. The new species shows affinities with Chaerilus variegatus Simon, 1877 and Chaerilus borneensis Simon, 1880, respectively described from Java and Borneo. This s the first record of the genus Chaerilus in the Andaman Islands.

On Two Subspecies Of Mesobuthus Eupeus (C. L. Koch, 1839) In Turkey (Scorpiones: Buthidae), František Kovařík, Ersen Aydın Yağmur, Victor Fet, Shahrokh Navidpour

Euscorpius

Examination of 268 specimens of Mesobuthus eupeus eupeus (C. L. Koch, 1839) and 1765 specimens of M. eupeus phillipsii (Pocock, 1889) from 163 localities, 92 of them in Turkey, has enabled us to establish distribution of the two subspecies and limits of their ranges in southeastern Turkey. A map of distribution of these subspecies in Turkey and a key to Turkish Mesobuthus species and subspecies are provided. Buthus eupeus philippovitschi Birula, 1905 is synonymized with Mesobuthus eupeus eupeus, and Buthus eupaeus mesopotamicus Penther, 1912 is synonymized with Mesobuthus eupeus phillipsii.

A New Species Of Orthochirus Karsch, 1892 (Scorpiones: Buthidae) From Maharashtra, India, Amod M. Zambre, Zeeshan A. Mirza, Rajesh V. Sanap, Raman Upadhye, S. M. Maqsood Javed

Euscorpius

A new species of scorpions of the genus Orthochirus (Buthidae) is described from Jalna, Maharashtra, India. A key to Indian scorpion of the genus Orthochirus is provided.

Compsobuthus Sindicus Sp. N. From Pakistan (Scorpiones: Buthidae), František Kovařík, Zubair Ahmed

Euscorpius

Compsobuthus sindicus sp. n. of the werneri group is described from Pakistan, Sind Province, near the border with India. It is characterized chiefly by densely granulated carapace mesosoma, metasoma, telson, and femur and patella of pedipalps; the first to fourth metasomal segments bear 10 carinae. C. sindicus sp. n. is closest to C. rugosulus (Pocock, 1900) from India and Pakistan, from which it differs chiefly in having the first metasomal segment approximately as wide as long.

110 Years Of Avipoxvirus In The Galapagos Islands, Patricia Parker, Elizabeth Buckles, Heather Farrington, Kenneth Petren, Noah Whiteman, Robert Ricklefs, Jennifer Bollmer, Gustavo Jiménez-Uzcátegui

Biology Department Faculty Works

The role of disease in regulating populations is controversial, partly owing to the absence of good disease records in historic wildlife populations. We examined birds collected in the Galapagos Islands between 1891 and 1906 that are currently held at the California Academy of Sciences and the Zoologisches Staatssammlung Muenchen, including 3973 specimens representing species from two well-studied families of endemic passerine birds: finches and mockingbirds. Beginning with samples collected in 1899, we observed cutaneous lesions consistent with Avipoxvirus on 226 (6.3%) specimens. Histopathology and viral genotyping of 59 candidate tissue samples from six islands showed that 21 (35.6%) were positive …

Evidence Of Cowbird Parasitism On Yellow-Throated Warblers At Starved Rock State Park, Illinois, Usa, Joseph Traina

Faculty Publications & Research

An adult yellow-throated warbler (Dendroica dominica) was observed feeding a fledged brown-headed cowbird (Molothrus ater) on July 1, 2010 at the Beehive Overlook at Starved Rock State Park (LaSalle County, Illinois, USA). Food in the form of captured insects was brought to the young cowbird five times during a period of approximately 15 minutes.