Botany Commons^™

Development Of Highly Variable Microsatellite Markers For The Tetraploid Silene Stellata (Caryophyllaceae), Juannan Zhou, Michele R. Dudash, Charles B. Fenster, Elizabeth A. Zimmer

Natural Resource Management Faculty Publications

Premise of the study:We designed and tested microsatellite markers for the North American native species Silene stellata (Caryophyllaceae) to investigate its population genetic structure and identify selection on floral design through male reproductive success.

Methods and Results: A total of 153 candidate microsatellite loci were isolated based on next-generation sequencing. We identified 18 polymorphic microsatellite loci in three populations of S. stellata, with di- or trinucleotide repeats. Genotyping results showed the number of alleles per locus ranged from six to 45 and expected heterozygosity ranged from 0.511 to 0.951. Five of these loci were successfully amplified in S. …

Spatial Variation In Germination Of Two Annual Brome Species In The Northern Great Plains, Erin K. Espeland, Jane M. Mangold, Natalie M. West

The Prairie Naturalist

Downy brome or cheat grass (Bromus tectorum L.) and field brome (B. arvensis L.; Synonym = Bromus japonicus Thunb. ex Murr.; Japanese brome) are two annual exotic species that have increased the intensity and frequency of fire cycles in the Intermountain West of the United States, with millions of dollars in associated costs (DiTomaso 2000). These invasive brome species have a different impact in the Northern Great Plains of North America where they commonly co-occur in disturbed sites (White and Currie 1983, Haferkamp et al. 1993). In these mixed-grass prairie rangelands, annual bromes compete against other forage species …

Review Of Waterfowl Of North America, Europe, And Asia: An Identification Guide By Sébastien Reeber, William L. Hohman

The Prairie Naturalist

Ducks, geese and swans (Family Anatidae) are the most popular and best studied group of birds in the world. The group has been the subject of classical books by Kortright (1942), Delacour (1954-1964), Bellrose (1976), Palmer (1976), Johnsgard (1978), and, most recently, Kear (2005) and Baldassarre (2014). The latest contribution to this rich legacy is an impressively illustrated identification guide for waterfowl found in North America, Europe and Asia by author and artist, Sébastien Reeber. This is an English-language version of Canards, Cygnes et Oies d’Europe, d’Asie et d’Amérique du Nord, published by Delachaux and Niestlé in late 2015. …

Review Of Birds Of Montana By Jeffrey S. Marks, Paul Hendricks, And Daniel Casey, Scott G. Somershoe

The Prairie Naturalist

The Birds of Montana is an impressive-looking tome, that includes 659 pages, 155 color range maps, 73 illustrations of species, and 16 color photos of Montana’s habitats. Upon the first bend of the binding, the reader will quickly realize the impressive depth of detail and research that went into writing and completing this book. Although Montana is the fourth largest state, one of the least populated states, and has few “binoculars on the ground,” the state has a fascinating and extensive ornithological history. The Birds of Montana is not a field guide, but rather it is an astonishingly comprehensive reference …

Review Of Estimation Of Parameters For Animal Populations: A Primer For The Rest Of Us By Larkin A. Powell And George A. Gale, Max Post Van Der Burg

The Prairie Naturalist

“Me? A modeler? Never!” This is the opening challenge of the book, Estimation of Parameters for Animal Populations: A Primer for the Rest of Us, by Larkin Powell and George Gale. I say “challenge” because I think this book attempts to challenge the misconception that quantitative methods are out of reach for most biologists and wildlife scientists. When many of us attend college or graduate school to study wildlife science there’s a sense that, at some point, there will be math. But it appears that the attitude of many students toward this reality is to simply suffer through the …

Arkansas Soybean Performance Tests 2016, R. D. Bond, J. A. Still, D. G. Dombek

Arkansas Agricultural Experiment Station Research Series

Soybean variety and strain performance tests are conducted each year in Arkansas by the University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture’s Arkansas Crop Variety Improvement Program. The tests provide information to companies developing varieties and/or marketing seed within the State, and aid the Arkansas Cooperative Extension Service in formulating variety recommendations for soybean producers.

Wetland Invasion By Typha×Glauca Increases Soil Methane Emissions, Beth A. Lawrence, Shane Lishawa, Nancy Tuchman, Nia Hurst, Buck T. Castillo

School of Environmental Sustainability: Faculty Publications and Other Works

Wetland invasion by monotypic dominant plants can alter the physicochemical and biological properties of soils that affect methane emissions, a potent greenhouse gas. We examined the effects of Typha × glauca invasion on soil methane using laboratory incubation and controlled mesocosm experiments. Typha-invaded soils collected from three Midwestern (USA) wetlands had greater methane production potential during laboratory incubation than soils dominated by native wet meadow vegetation. Ten years post-invasion of native plant-dominated mesocosms, Typha increased methane emissions at least three-fold (native: 15.0 ± 10.5 mg CH₄-C m⁻² h⁻¹, median: 6.1 mg CH₄-C …

2016 Bryophyte And Rare Vascular Plant Surveys In Western Nebraska, Robert F. Steinauer

Nebraska Game and Parks Commission: White Papers, Conference Presentations, and Manuscripts

The authors of the Flora of Nebraska (Bob Kaul, Dave Sutherland and Steve Rolfsmeier) are currently compiling data on bryophyte collections in Nebraska with the intent of publishing a Bryophyte Flora of Nebraska in the near future. The 2016 bryophyte and rare vascular plant surveys were conducted to provide additional information on bryophyte distributions in western Nebraska where bryophyte collection records are incomplete. Rare vascular plant occurrences noted during the bryophyte surveys were also documented to be included in the Nebraska Natural Heritage Program (NNHP) database.

Modeling Long-Term Corn Yield Response To Nitrogen Rate And Crop Rotation, Laila A. Puntel, John E. Sawyer, Daniel W. Barker, Ranae Dietzel, Hanna Poffenbarger, Michael J. Castellano, Kenneth J. Moore, Peter J. Thorburn, Sotirios V. Archontoulis

Department of Agronomy and Horticulture: Faculty Publications

Improved prediction of optimal N fertilizer rates for corn (Zea mays L.) can reduce N losses and increase profits. We tested the ability of the Agricultural Production Systems sIMulator (APSIM) to simulate corn and soybean (Glycine max L.) yields, the economic optimum N rate (EONR) using a 16-year field-experiment dataset from central Iowa, USA that included two crop sequences (continuous corn and soybean-corn) and five N fertilizer rates (0, 67, 134, 201, and 268 kg N ha^-1) applied to corn. Our objectives were to: (a) quantify model prediction accuracy before and after calibration, and report calibration steps; (b) …

Arkansas Corn And Grain Sorghum Peformance Tests 2016, R. D. Bond, J. A. Still, D. G. Dombek

Arkansas Agricultural Experiment Station Research Series

Corn and grain sorghum performance tests are conducted each year in Arkansas by the University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture. The tests provide information to companies marketing seed within the state, and aid the Arkansas Cooperative Extension Service in formulating recommendations for producers.

Characterization And Development Mechanism Of Apios Americana Tuber Starch, Hanyu Yangchen, Vikas Belamkar, Steven B. Cannon, Jay-Lin Jane

Department of Agronomy and Horticulture: Faculty Publications

Apios americana is a wild legume-bearing plant with edible tubers. Domestication of Apios is in progress because of the superior nutritional value and health benefits of the tuber. Objectives of this study were to: (1) characterize physicochemical properties of the Apios tuber starch; and (2) understand differences in starch structures and properties between the mother (seed) and child (progeny) tubers and the mechanism of starch development. Granules of the Apios tuber starch displayed ellipsoidal, rod, or kidney shape with diameter ranges of 1–30 m. The mother tuber starches displayed greater percentage crystallinity, larger gelatinization enthalpy-changes, longer branch-chain lengths of amylopectin, …

Genomics-Assisted Characterization Of A Breeding Collection Of Apios Americana, An Edible Tuberous Legume, Vikas Belamkar, Andrew Farmer, Nathan T. Weeks, Scott R. Kalberer, William J. Blackmon, Steven B. Cannon

Department of Agronomy and Horticulture: Faculty Publications

For species with potential as new crops, rapid improvement may be facilitated by new genomic methods. Apios (Apios americana Medik.), once a staple food source of Native American Indians, produces protein-rich tubers, tolerates a wide range of soils, and symbiotically fixes nitrogen. We report the first high-quality de novo transcriptome assembly, an expression atlas, and a set of 58,154 SNP and 39,609 gene expression markers (GEMs) for characterization of a breeding collection. Both SNPs and GEMs identify six genotypic clusters in the collection. Transcripts mapped to the Phaseolus vulgaris genome–another phaseoloid legume with the same chromosome number–provide provisional genetic …

Plants Having Increased Bomass And Methods For Making The Same, Aleel K. Grennan, Donald R. Ort, Stephen Patrick Moose, Damla D. Bilgin, Thomas Clemente, Fredy Altpeter, Stephen P. Long

Department of Agronomy and Horticulture: Faculty Publications

The impact of plastid size change in both monocot and dicot plants has been examined. In both, when plastid size is increased there is an increase in biomass relative to the parental lines. Thus, provided herein are methods for increasing the biomass of a plant, comprising decreasing the expression of at least one plastid division protein in a plant. Optionally, the level of chlorophyll in the plant is also reduced.

Studying The Effects Of Serpentine Soil On Adapted And Non-Adapted Species Using Arduino Technology, Kiana Saniee, Edward Himelblau, Brian Paavo

STAR Program Research Presentations

Abstract: Serpentine soils are formed from ultramafic rocks and are represent an extreme environment for plants. Serpentine soils are unique in that they carry high concentrations of heavy metals, are nutrient deficient, particularly in calcium, and have poor water retention capabilities. Although these soils constitute harsh conditions for plant growth, there are a number of species that are adapted and even endemic to serpentine soil. Water retention by commercial potting mix was compared with serpentine soil. Also, serpentine adapted and non-adapted species were grown in both soil treatments and physiological data were collected. We used the Arduino electronic platform to …

Arboretum Annual Report 2015-2016, Glenn Dreyer

Annual Reports

No abstract provided.

Report Card On Sustainable Natural Resource Use In The Rangelands - Status Trend In The Pastoral Rangelands Of Western Australia, Department Of Agriculture And Food, Western Australia

Natural resources published reports

This report card provides a regional overview of the status and trend of the natural resource base of the pastoral rangelands in Western Australia (WA).

The overview information is intended for the use of pastoral lessees, other rangeland and pastoral managers, and industry and government decision-makers with an interest in pastoral areas.

This report covers the pastoral lease areas of the 2.2 million square kilometres of rangelands in WA (87% of the state). Pastoral leases cover 857 833km* or 40% of the rangelands, based on active leases as at June 2016. The rangelands and lease areas cover 20 Australian bioregions …

Traversing Swanton Road, 23rd Ed., James A. West

Academic, Government & Associated Organizational Research Resources

Situated at the northwest end of Santa Cruz County and occupying circa 30 square miles of sharply contrasted terrain, the Scott Creek Watershed concentrates within its geomorphological boundaries, at least 10-12% of California's flora, both native and introduced. Incorporated within this botanical overview but technically not part of the watershed sensustrictu, are the adjacent environs, ranging from the coastal strand up through the Western Terrace to the ocean draining ridge tops..... with the Arroyo de las Trancas/Last Chance Ridge defining the western/northwestern boundary and the Molino Creek divide, the southern demarcation. Paradoxically, the use/abuse that the watershed has sustained over …

Impacts Of Fog Drip On Survivorship And Growth Of Native Herb And Shrub Seedlings On Santa Rosa Island, Julianne Bradbury, Ken Niessen, Kathryn Mceachern

STAR Program Research Presentations

Overgrazing on Santa Rosa Island led to loss of topsoil in ridgeline groves of endemic island oaks (Quercus tomentella). Restoration specialists attempting to mitigate the impacts of wind and water erosion must determine efficient methods of reestablishing native vegetation. Planting pillows, burlap sacks filled with planting mix and attached to the bedrock substrate, may nurture seedlings long enough for their roots to penetrate the underlying sandstone. Since the island’s ridgeline habitat is often inaccessible during the rainy season, restoration efforts are largely confined to the dry summer months, during which condensed fog is an important source of moisture …

Summaries Of Arkansas Cotton Research 2015, Derrick M. Oosterhuis

Arkansas Agricultural Experiment Station Research Series

No abstract provided.

The Floral Charms Of Saint John’S: A Survey Of Botanical Communities, Stephen G. Saupe, Paul Melchior

Headwaters

Saint John’s is a “landscape paradise” in central Minnesota. Although no complete checklist of vegetation exists for the campus, various surveys reveal a diverse flora. This floral wealth is the result of several terrestrial biomes converging on campus — prairie, savanna, deciduous forest, and coniferous forest — as well as diverse aquatic habitats including both lakes and wetlands. A 56-acre restored prairie at the entrance of Saint John’s is dominated by big bluestem and little bluestem. A savanna has been restored to the north and east of the Gemini Lakes and is characterized by bur oaks scattered among prairie grasses …