Botany Commons^™

Den Characteristics Of Upland And Low- Land Striped Skunks Along The Missouri River Floodplain, Dave Sempek, James A. Wilson

The Prairie Naturalist

Striped skunks (Mephitis mephitis) are opportunistic with respect to habitat use (Bixler and Gittleman 2000), inhabiting an array of landscapes in the proximity of a permanent water supply, such as forest borders, old-fields, fencerows, and open grassy fields broken by wooded ravines (Schwartz and Schwartz 1981, Larivière and Messier 2000). Food quantity and accessibility are major factors determining the quality of striped skunk habitat (Larivière et al. 1999) and are important in the den site selection.

Dens play an important role in skunk survival and reproduction due to the warmth, predator protection, and safe location for parturition they provide (Hwang …

Precipitation And Fire Impacts On Small Mammals In Shortgrass Prairie, Whitney J. Priesmeyer, Raymond S. Matlack, Richard T. Kazmair

The Prairie Naturalist

The southern Great Plains and the northern part of the Texas Panhandle have received less attention from a biological perspective than other parts of the state. Although there is substantial information on the effects of fire on small mammals in the tallgrass and mixed-grass prairies, there is a lack of understanding of fire influences in the shortgrass prairie, specifically on small mammals. We conducted our study on the Cross Bar Cooperative Management Area (CMA), a 4,856 ha shortgrass prairie within the Texas panhandle. Our objective was to determine the effect of three different fire return frequencies and precipitation on diversity …

Bobcat Predation On Bighorn Lamb In The Western Black Hills Of South Dakota, Brynn L. Parr, John Kanta, Joe Sandrini, Daniel J. Thompson, Jonathan A. Jenks

The Prairie Naturalist

Bighorn sheep (Ovis canadensis) are found throughout western North America (Krausman et al. 1993, Goodson 1994, Krausman et al. 1996, Besser et al. 2012). In their current range, commonly documented large predators of bighorn sheep include cougars (Puma concolor), gray foxes (Urocyon cinereoargenteus), wolves (Canis lupus), and coyotes (C. latrans; Ross et al. 1997, Neale et al. 1998, Corti and Shackleton 2002, Dekker 2009, Karsch et al. 2013). Bald eagles (Haliaeetus leucocephalus) and golden eagles (Aquila chrysaetos) also have been documented as predators to both wild and domestic sheep (Kennedy 1948, Cunningham 1970, Nette et al. 1984, Watte and Phillips …

The Role Of Reviewer Criticism And How To Keep It In Perspective, Christopher N. Jacques

The Prairie Naturalist

Greetings GPNSS members! Hopefully this editorial finds you well and gearing up for the summer field season. As I write this editorial, I find myself reflecting on my time as Editor-in-Chief of TPN over the past 5 years. The experience has been personally and professionally rewarding in many ways, and I want to spend some time discussing something that I have experienced not only as a fellow author and Associate Editor, but also as a journal Editor.

Reviewer criticism. Thinking back to when I was appointed Editor, how I viewed criticism then is very different than how I think about …

The Gamekeepers: Wisconsin Wildlife Conservation From Wcd To Cwd. David L. Gjeston., Carrol L. Henderson

The Prairie Naturalist

Author David L. Gjeston has done a masterful job of capturing the history of wildlife conservation and, in particular, the work of the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (formerly the Wisconsin Conservation Department or WCD) in protecting, restoring, and managing the wildlife resources of Wisconsin. Gjeston took on an incredibly complex task. He tells a fascinating story of wildlife conservation comprised of many layers of wildlife management from over a century and a half of evolving perceptions regarding wildlife uses, exploitation, restoration, problems, conflicts, and recreational opportunities that continue to the present.

Perhaps the most appealing part of this book …

Photosynthetic Thermal Tolerance And Recovery To Short Duration Temperature Stress In Desert And Montane Plants: A Comparative Study, David William Gallagher

Master's Theses

• Climate change models predict an increase in frequency and amplitude of extreme weather events, including heat waves. To better predict how the composition and distribution of plant assemblages might respond to these changes in temperature, it is important to understand how species currently respond to these extremes. Photosynthetic thermal tolerance (T₂₅)and photosynthetic recovery (RT₂₅) were quantified in 27 species. We also studied the relationships between T₂₅, RT₂₅ and leaf mass per area (LMA). Leaf temperature was also monitored in the field.
• Leaves used in this study were collected from two distinct …

Quantifying Differences In Habitat Use Between Anglers And Large Bluegills, Eric J. Weimer, Michael L. Brown, Brian G. Blackwell

The Prairie Naturalist

We compared the habitat use of large (>200 mm) bluegills (Lepomis macrochirus) to the locations of anglers targeting bluegills in a South Dakota glacial lake to determine whether habitat use was similar between anglers and bluegills. Eighty- five bluegills (mean total length = 213 mm) collected in September 2002 and May 2003 were affixed with external radio transmitters and subsequently relocated three to four times per week from October 2002 through October 2003. Bluegill angler locations were recorded during bluegill tracking sessions and roving creel surveys. Habitat variables (water depth, vegetation density and height, and substrate type) were measured …

Mammals Of North Dakota. First Edition. Robert Seabloom., Erin H. Gillam

The Prairie Naturalist

As a mammalogist living in the Great Plains, I was excited to hear about the publication of The Mammals of North Dakota by Robert Seabloom. No such field guide has been compiled since the late 1920s, leaving nature lovers and researchers alike without a modern source of information about the mammals of the state. Despite my enthusiasm, I will admit that I was originally expecting a standard (i.e., boring) field guide with dry facts about the taxonomic groups of interest. Much to my surprise, this book was not a mere list of relevant information, but an engaging work providing extensive …

Diurnal Raptors Of Buffalo County, Nebraska, Thomas L. Freeman

The Prairie Naturalist

Diurnal birds of prey are apex predators, which often are utilized as indicators of potential environmental change (Newton 1979, Rodriguez-Estrella et al. 1998). While the Platte River Valley of Nebraska and the central plains are recognized as important winter habitat for numer- ous bird of prey species (United States Fish and Wildlife Service [USFWS] 1981, Root 1988), there are few published studies describing the distribution and abundance of raptors in Nebraska (Mathisen and Mathisen 1968, Craighead and Craighead 1969, USFWS 1981). In addition, studies summarizing the long-term distribution or density of Falconi- formes in Nebraska are limited due to the …

Book Review: The Iowa Lakeside Laboratory: A Century Of Discovering The Nature Of Nature. Michael J. Lannoo., Bonnie S. Bowen

The Prairie Naturalist

Iowa Lakeside Laboratory (a.k.a. Lakeside Lab) is one of several biological field stations that were established in the early 1900s and that have active educational and research programs today. Michael Lannoo’s account of the history of Lakeside Lab was initiated at the centennial celebration of the lab in 2009. Lannoo’s own connection with Iowa Lakeside Laboratory began as a student at Iowa State University and continues today as a member of the Lakeside Lab summer faculty and as Associate Director of Academics and Research. In his book, Lannoo describes field stations, and Lakeside Lab in particular, as educational institutions that …

Book Reviews: Video Surveillance Of Nesting Birds. Edited By Christine A. Ribic, Frank R. Thompson Iii, And Pamela J. Pietz., Marissa A. Ahlering

The Prairie Naturalist

Observations and studies of nests have been a central component of ornithology since its inception. Until recently, studies of nesting ecology were limited to human observation, making some types of information nearly impossible to obtain, such as nocturnal behavior, or difficult to study with adequate sample sizes, such as provisioning behaviors or cause of nest failure. The use of video photography to study the nesting biology of birds has exploded in the past decade, and the most recent volume of Studies in Avian Biology, Video Surveillance of Nesting Birds, has done a nice job of summarizing the history of camera …

Mate Replacement And Alloparental Care In Ferruginous Hawk (Buteo Regalis), Shubham Datta, Will M. Inselman, Jonathan A. Jenks, Kent C. Jensen, Christopher C. Swanson, Robert W. Klaver, Indrani Sasmal, Troy W. Grovenburg

The Prairie Naturalist

Alloparental care (i.e., care for unrelated offspring) has been documented in various avian species (Maxson 1978, Smith et al. 1996, Tella et al. 1997, Lislevand et al. 2001, Literak and Mraz 2011). A male replacement mate that encounters existing broods has options, which include alloparental care or infanticide. Infanticide may be beneficial in some species (Rohwer 1986, Kermott et al. 1990), but in long-lived avian species, like the ferruginous hawk (Buteo regalis) that do not renest within a season, infanticide might be detrimental. Adoption and rearing success likely provide direct evidence of competence of replacement mates as potential parents for …

Multi-Scale Habitat Use Of Male Ruffed Grouse In The Black Hills National Forest, Cassandra L. Mehls, Kent C. Jensen, Mark A. Rumble, Michael C. Wimberly

The Prairie Naturalist

Ruffed grouse (Bonasa umbellus) are native upland game birds and a management indicator species (MIS) for aspen (Populus tremuloides) in the Black Hills National Forest (Black Hills). Our objective was to assess resource selection of male ruffed grouse to identify the most appropriate scale to manage for aspen and ruffed grouse in the Black Hills. During spring 2007 and 2008, we conducted drumming surveys throughout the central and northern Black Hills to locate used and unused sites from which we compared habitat characteristics at increasing spatial scales. Aspen with >70% overstory canopy cover (OCC) was important to the occurrence of …

Making Nature Whole: A History Of Ecological Restoration. William R. Jordan Iii And George M. Lubick., Daryl D. Smith

The Prairie Naturalist

Ecological restoration—the process of assisting the recovery of ecosystems that have been degraded, damaged, or destroyed—is being incorporated into the fabric of our society. The practice of ecological restoration of natural areas developed and grew in the twentieth century in response to widespread human disturbance of natural communities. Undoubtedly, this type of restoration will continue to increase in importance in the coming decades given the extensive alteration of ecosystems that is occurring and that is showing no signs of abating.

As indicated in the promotional material for Making Nature Whole, Jordan and Lubick have provided a seminal publication for the …

Notes: Bed-Site Selection By Neonatal White-Tailed Deer In Central North Dakota, Brian A. Schaffer, Jonathan A. Jenks, Troy W. Grovenburg, William F. Jensen

The Prairie Naturalist

Understanding bed-site selection and vegetation characteristics provides valuable information for population management (Verme 1977, Huegel et al. 1985a, Nelson and Woolf 1987). Predation and other natural-caused mortalities of white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) neonates are most likely to occur within the first 60 days of life; a time period when selected habitat characteristics are vital to survival (Verme 1977, Hue- gel et al. 1985a, Nelson and Woolf 1987, Grovenburg et al. 2010). Prior to the study of Grovenburg et al. (2010), limited research had been completed on the bed-site selection of neonatal white-tailed deer in the grasslands of the Northern Great …

Grazing Method Effects On Forage Production, Utilization, And Animal Performance On Nebraska Sandhills Meadow, Miles D. Redden

Department of Agronomy and Horticulture: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Mob grazing using ultrahigh stocking densities is promoted as a tool to increase the health and productivity of grasslands by increasing nutrient cycling and soil organic matter. Mob grazing can be defined as a strategy in which area available to grazing animals is restricted to achieve stocking densities of 200,000 kg/ha or greater. Objectives were to determine herbage production, utilization, and cattle weight gains among ultrahigh stocking density grazing and more conventional grazing methods on a Sandhills subirrigated meadow. Treatments included two replications of each of the following: four-pasture rotational grazing with two occupations per pasture in an 80-day grazing …

Synthesis Of The Effect Of Fire On Lesser Prairie‐Chickens, Eric Thacker, Dirac L. Twidwell Jr

Department of Agronomy and Horticulture: Faculty Publications

In this synthesis, we reviewed the scientific literature pertaining to the effects of fire on lesser prairie‐chickens and their habitat. Overall, research is generally lacking that directly assesses relationships among fire, both as a regime and a discrete event, to its effect on lesser prairie‐chicken behavior and habitat value. Yet, research has quantified the effects of fire on vegetation throughout the distribution of the lesser prairie‐chicken, which has been linked to known metrics of habitat value and broad landscape‐level habitat requirements.

To summarize the literature, lesser prairie‐chickens require broad landscapes of fire‐dependent grass‐shrub vegetation. Changes in the eco‐evolutionary fire regime …

Herbaceous 2014, Julia I. Chapman, Keith E. Gilland, Ryan W. Mcewan

Data Files: Drew Woods Permanent Plots

Herbaceous vegetation data collected in 2014 at Drew Woods State Nature Preserve in Darke County, OH. Data key is provided in a supplemental file.

Plant Community Development Of Isle Royale's Moose-Spruce Savannas, Michael C. Rotter

All NMU Master's Theses

On Isle Royale National Park, heavy moose browsing over the past 100 years has suppressed the regeneration of many tree species, gradually resulting in a shift towards more open forests and savannas. By 1996, 16% of the forests at the southwest end of Isle Royale had become savanna and another 20% were starting to break-up. The changes in understory vegetation brought about by savanna formation have received little attention, even though the future of moose and wolf populations on Isle Royale are tied to these vegetation changes. This study examined the vegetation of savannas ranging in age (date since formation) …

Habitat Assessment Of Two Narrowly Endemic Plant Species, Ozark Spiderwort (Tradescantia Ozarkana) E. S. Anderson And Woods. And Newton's Larkspur (Delphinium Newtonianum) D. M. Moore, Autumn Lynn Coffey Olsen

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The threat of biodiversity loss is upon us with the onset of climate change and our ever-demanding needs of the Earth's resources for a rapidly growing human population. Species highly vulnerable to loss are those limited in abundance and distribution, or those with reduced genetic diversity. Efforts to actively conserve a sensitive species require effectual data on the probable causes of their vulnerability. Two species of concern, Delphinium newtonianum and Tradescantia ozarkana, are globally rare endemic vascular plant species found only in the Interior Highlands of North America. In an attempt to understand the causes for their endemism, habitat …