Natural Resources and Conservation Commons^™

Hunters And Their Perceptions Of Public Access: A View From Afield, Joseph J. Fontaine, Alexis D. Fedele, Lyndsie S. Wszola, Lindsey N. Messinger, Christopher J. Chizinski, Jeffery J. Lusk, Karie L. Decker, J. Scott Taylor, Erica F. Stuber

Nebraska Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit: Staff Publications

Declining hunter participation threatens cultural traditions and public support for conservation, warranting examination of the forces behind the downward trajectory. Access to lands for hunting, an often-cited reason for non participation, may play a critical role in the retention and recruitment of hunters. Meeting the access needs of a diverse hunting constituency requires understanding how hunters use and perceive access opportunities, particularly public-access sites. Given that perceptions of access are entirely place based and degrade with time, traditional postseason survey methods may fail to adequately quantify the value of public access to the hunting constituency. To overcome the potential limitations …

Use Of Uav Imagery And Nutrient Analyses For Estimation Of The Spatial And Temporal Contributions Of Cattle Dung To Nutrient Cycling In Grazed Ecosystems, Amanda E. Shine

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

Nutrient inputs from cattle dung are crucial drivers of nutrient cycling processes in grazed ecosystems. These inputs are important both spatially and temporally and are affected by variables such as grazing strategy, water location, and the nutritional profile of forage being grazed. Past research has attempted to map dung deposition patterns in order to more accurately estimate nutrient input, but the large spatial extent of a typical pasture and the tedious nature of identifying and mapping individual dung pats has prohibited the development of a time- and cost-effective methodology. The first objective of this research was to develop and validate …

Monongahela River, Wv Channel Catfish Population Assessment, Kristen Lee Chestnut-Faull

Graduate Theses/Dissertations

Channel Catfish Ictalurus punctatus populations have been evaluated using many sampling gears in rivers. However, a consensus has not been reached on which gear or gears produce the most reliable population demographics. Specifically, this study compares population demographics of Channel Catfish throughout the Monongahela River, WV using multiple gear types. Fish were sampled seasonally during 2018 using baited hoop nets, low- frequency electrofishing, and trotlines. Firstly, too few fish were collected using electrofishing and were excluded from all analyses. In terms of relative abundance, fish sampled with hoop nets had higher catch rates (mean SCPUE = 5.8, SE = 0.4) …

Eastern Collared Lizard (Crotaphytus Collaris) Population Declines In Ozark Landscapes: An Assessment Of Environmental Constraints., Casey L. Brewster

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The Eastern Collared Lizard (Crotaphytus collaris) has experienced extensive population declines over the past half century in the Ozark Mountains. Previous research suggests that glade habitat degradation through woody vegetation encroachment is an important factor resulting in population declines. In this dissertation I used information on time-energy budgets to investigate the link between habitat degradation and shifts in life history traits likely resulting in population declines of Eastern Collared Lizards (Crotaphytus collaris) in the Ozarks. In chapter one, I addressed the influence of dense woody vegetation encroachment on age-specific growth, body size, body condition and reproduction of C. collaris in …

Modeling Waterfowl Hunter And Ducks Unlimited Member Behavior Using Mark–Recapture Methods, Katherine Graham

School of Natural Resources: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

The number of individuals actively participating in waterfowl hunting has substantially declined since the 1980s, despite relatively abundant waterfowl populations and hunting opportunities. To avoid further losses in political support for wildlife management, losses in habitat conservation revenue, and broaden the base of waterfowl and wetland conservation support, there has been an increased focus on growing the number of waterfowl hunters and waterfowl and wetland conservation supporters. The purpose of this study was to estimate resident waterfowl hunter and Ducks Unlimited (DU) member recruitment rates, retention probabilities, and license/membership purchase probabilities; provide a better understanding of the factors influencing these …

The Prairie Naturalist, Vol. 51, Issue 2, December 2019

The Prairie Naturalist

45 EDITOR’S NOTE: Final Thoughts as Editor-in-Chief, by Christopher N. Jacques

RESEARCH ARTICLES

47 Bats of the Loess Hills Ecoregion of Southeast Nebraska, by Virgil Brack, Jr., Dale W. Sparks, and Darwin C. Brack

58 Serological Survey and Pathogen Exposure of Adult Female White-tailed Deer in the Western Dakotas, by Katherine L. Moratz, Bailey S. Gullikson, Eric S. Michel, Daniel M. Grove, Jonathan A. Jenks, and William F. Jensen

68 Factors Limting Reintroduced Plains Topminnow, Fundulus sciadicus, Populations in Central Great Plains Streams, by Joseph D. Thiessen, Keith D. Koupal, and Casey W. Schoenebeck

NOTES

77 Recent Observations of Water …

Factors Limiting Reintroduced Plains Topminnow, Fundulus Sciadicus, Populations In Central Great Plains Streams, Joseph Thiessen, Keith D. Koupal, Casey W. Schoenebeck

The Prairie Naturalist

The plains topminnow (Fundulus sciadicus) is an endemic Great Plains stream fish that has experienced declines in geographic range and local abundance. Due to these declines, the species has been considered for federal protection and designated with conservation status in states throughout its historic range. The reasons for declines are likely similar to hypothesized factors for other endemic stream fish declines in the Great Plains. To investigate potential limiting factors a suite of 17 historic sites with reintroduced plains topminnow populations across Nebraska were evaluated for current populations and if plains topminnow were absent, additional fish were introduced. …

Review Of Grasslands And Climate Change By David J. Gibson And Jonathan A. Newman, Neal D. Noemuth

The Prairie Naturalist

The last decade has seen an explosion of information about climate change, some of which is contradictory, much of which is confusing, and the entirety of which is too much for the typical biologist or scientist to assemble and comprehend. This is why reviews such as Grasslands and Climate Change, edited by David Gibson and Jonathan Newman, are so valuable. To produce this review of climate change issues and influences relative to grasslands, Gibson and Newman recruited 30 scientists—predominantly from Europe and North America—who wrote 19 chapters dealing with various aspects of grasslands and climate change. The chapters are grouped …

Cost Effectiveness Of Greenhouse Gas Reductions Through Afforestation Of Agricultural Land In The Arkansas Delta, Karli A. Moore

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Sequestration of atmospheric carbon in forested lands offsets carbon emissions from other industries. Conversion of private lands, particularly agricultural tracts in marginal areas, to forests can bolster carbon abatement. The United States government agencies administer some voluntary, incentive-based programs to encourage landowners to adopt production practices with positive environmental outcomes. This policy stream can be used to increase transition of marginal agricultural land to forests, thereby creating new carbon sinks. We analyze an eleven-county study area in the Arkansas Delta to determine feasibility for a subsidy focused on carbon abatement through afforestation. This study area is significant for two reasons: …

Strategies To Improve Forage Utilization By Sheep Offered Forage Mixtures, Valens Niyigena

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

In the first experiment, alfalfa and novel endophyte-infected tall fescue (NE+) forages were harvested after a killing frost, then mixed to formulate 4 different treatments; alfalfa alone, 67% alfalfa +33% fescue, 33% alfalfa + 67% fescue, or 100% fescue. After 3 months of storage as silage, Dorper ewe lambs (n = 20; mean BW = 34.7 ± 6.65 kg) were fed silage for ad libitum consumption, using 5 animals per treatment. Increasing the proportion of NE+ tall fescue improved (P < 0.05) silage total acids and lactic acid concentrations and decreased silage ammonia concentration. Digestible dry matter and organic matter intake and nitrogen utilization parameters decreased with increasing inclusion of NE+ in diet. In the second experiment, 16 Dorper ewe lambs (41.8 ± 4.61 kg BW) were assigned to 4 different treatments; alfalfa silage alone (0 g/kg; CONT) or alfalfa silage mixed with chopped sericea lespedeza (SL) hay to provide 90 (LOW), 180 (MED), or 270 g/kg SL (HIGH) on a dry matter basis in a randomized complete block design experiment with 2 period to provide 4 observations per treatment for each experimental period. Increasing the proportion of sericea lespedeza in the diet decreased dry matter and organic matter digestibility but did not affect feed intake. Fecal nitrogen (g/kg N intake) increased linearly (P < 0.01) while urinary N (g/ day and g/ kg of N intake) tended to decreased linearly and quadratically (P ≤ 0.1) with increasing the proportion of SL in diet. In the third experiments, 16 gestating Dorper ewe lambs (49.1 ± 4.61 kg BW) were allocated to 4 treatments; alfalfa silage alone (0% g/kg; CONT) or alfalfa silage mixed with lablab purpureus(LP) hay to provide 90 (LOW), 180 (MED), or 270 g/kg LP (HIGH) on a dry matter (DM) basis, in a randomized complete block design experiment with a total 8 replication per treatment. Supplementation of LP in diet increased quadratically (P ≤ 0.04) forage dry matter, organic matter intake, digestible dry matter and digestible organic matter intake (P < 0.05). Nitrogen apparently absorbed and urinary N both decreased linearly (P < 0.01) with adding more LP hay in diet. Harvesting and mixing alfalfa and fescue after a killing frost improved silage fermentation characteristics and supplementation of tannins from SL and polyphenol from LP altered N excretion.

Key words: lablab, sericea lespedeza, alfalfa silage, nitrogen, sheep.

A Model Explaining Medusahead Invasion And Novel Targeted Grazing Approaches Of Control, Casey N. Spackman

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Medusahead (Taeniatherum caput-medusae (L.) Nevski) is currently one of the biggest threats to rangelands and livestock operations in the Western US. High silica concentrations in medusahead contribute to its invasiveness. I developed a model to explain how silica is involved in the invasion process, and attempted to manipulate silica to increase use of the grass by livestock. Experiments were conducted to determine: 1) whether rotational grazing on established forages of improved nutritional quality would provide supplemental nutrients to increase cattle use of medusahead; 2) evaluate intake of and preference for medusahead treated with a glyphosate herbicide at different rates …

Supplemental Material For Cotterill Et Al. 2020: Parsing The Effects Of Demography, Climate, And Management On Recurrent Brucellosis Outbreaks In Elk. Journal Of Applied Ecology., Gavin G. Coterill, Johan T. Du Toit, Paul C. Cross

Browse all Datasets

Zoonotic pathogens can harm human health and wellbeing directly or by impacting livestock. Pathogens that spillover from wildlife can also impair conservation efforts if humans perceive wildlife as pests. Brucellosis, caused by the bacterium Brucella abortus, circulates in elk and bison herds of the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem and poses a risk to cattle and humans. Our goal was to understand the relative effects of climatic drivers, host demography, and management control programs on disease dynamics.

Synthesis and applications: Positive serostatus is often weakly correlated with infectiousness but is nevertheless used to make management decisions including lethal removal in wildlife disease …

Using Paleosols To Reconstruct Past Environments Before, During And After Periods Of Anatomically Human Migration At Gona, Ethiopia, Kevin Takashita-Bynum

Steeplechase: An ORCA Student Journal

Environmental change is thought to have driven dispersals of Anatomically Modern Humans (AMH) out of Africa, yet the precise landscape context of these migrations remains unclear. Furthermore, river-based archives of paleoenvironment during periods of dispersal are scarce. Gona, an area in northeastern Ethiopia with one of the most continuous records of East African Paleolithic and Neolithic archaeology, contains abundant Middle to Late Pleistocene river deposits interbedded with volcanic ash. This study examines the physical and chemical changes of 11 fossilized soils (paleosols) extracted from Gona’s paleoanthropological sites that range in age from the Middle to the Late Pleistocene (~380-11 ka). …

Male Burmese Pythons Follow Female Scent Trails And Show Sex-Specific Behaviors, Shannon A. Richard, Eric A. Tillman, John S. Humphrey, Michael L. Avery, M. Rockwell Parker

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Animals communicate with potential mates using species-specific signals, and pheromones are powerful sexual signals that modify conspecific behavior to facilitate mate location. Among the vertebrates, snakes are especially adept in mate searching via chemical trailing, which is particularly relevant given that many snake species are invasive outside their native ranges. Chemical signals used in mate choice are, thus, potentially valuable tools for management of invasive snake species. The Burmese python (Python bivittatus) is an invasive snake in the Florida Everglades where it is negatively impacting native fauna. In this study, we sought to: (i) determine if males can follow conspecific …

Variation In Host Home Range Size Decreases Rabies Vaccination Effectiveness By Increasing The Spatial Spread Of Rabies Virus, Katherine M. Mcclure, Amy T. Gilbert, Richard B. Chipman, Erin E. Rees, Kim M. Pepin

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

1. Animal movement influences the spatial spread of directly transmitted wildlife disease through host-host contact structure. Wildlife disease hosts vary in home range- associated foraging and social behaviours, which may increase the spread and intensity of disease outbreaks. The consequences of variation in host home range movement and space use on wildlife disease dynamics are poorly understood, but could help to predict disease spread and determine more effective disease management strategies.
2. We developed a spatially explicit individual-based model to examine the effect of spatiotemporal variation in host home range size on the spatial spread rate, persistence and incidence of rabies virus …

Influence Of Land Cover And Soil Moisture Based Brown Ocean Effect On An Extreme Rainfall Event From A Louisiana Gulf Coast Tropical System, Udaysankar S. Nair, Eric Rappin, Emily Foshee, Warren Smith, Roger A. Pielke Sr., Rezaul Mamood, Jonathan L. Case, Clay B. Blankenship, Marshall Shepherd, Joseph A. Santanello, Dev Niyogi

School of Natural Resources: Faculty Publications

Extreme flooding over southern Louisiana in mid-August of 2016 resulted from an unusual tropical low that formed and intensified over land. We used numerical experiments to highlight the role of the ‘Brown Ocean’ effect (where saturated soils function similar to a warm ocean surface) on intensification and it’s modulation by land cover change. A numerical modeling experiment that successfully captured the flood event (control) was modified to alter moisture availability by converting wetlands to open water, wet croplands, and dry croplands. Storm evolution in the control experiment with wet antecedent soils most resembles tropical lows that form and intensify over …

Changes In Students’ Mental Models From Computational Modeling Of Gene Regulatory Networks, Joseph Dauer, Heather E. Bergan-Roller, Gretchen P. King, Mckenzie Kjose, Nicholas J. Galt, Tomáš Helikar

School of Natural Resources: Faculty Publications

Background: Computational modeling is an increasingly common practice for disciplinary experts and therefore necessitates integration into science curricula. Computational models afford an opportunity for students to investigate the dynamics of biological systems, but there is significant gap in our knowledge of how these activities impact student knowledge of the structures, relationships, and dynamics of the system. We investigated how a computational modeling activity affected introductory biology students’ mental models of a prokaryotic gene regulatory system (lac operon) by analyzing conceptual models created before and after the activity.

Results: Students’ pre-lesson conceptual models consisted of provided, system-general structures (e.g., activator, repressor) …

Food Habits Of Coyotes (Canis Latrans) In The Valles Caldera National Preserve, New Mexico, Suzanne J. Gifford, Eric M. Gese, Robert R. Parmenter

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Wildlife managers needed to understand coyote (Canis latrans) ecology in order to develop management plans on the nascent Valles Caldera National Preserve in northern New Mexico. Managers concerned about low elk (Cervus elaphus) recruitment had observed an increase in sightings of coyotes and observations of coyote predation on elk calves. Our objective was to identify and quantify coyote diet, and assess the temporal variation in coyote diet on the Valles Caldera National Preserve, particularly as related to elk calf consumption. We examined coyote food habits using 1,385 scats analyzed monthly from May 2005 to November 2008. …

Retrospective Tillage Differentiation Using The Landsat-5 Tm Archive With Discriminant Analysis, Sonisa Sharma, Kundan Dhakal, Pradeep Wagle, Ayse Kilie

School of Natural Resources: Faculty Publications

Accurate and site-specific information on tillage practice is vital to understand the impacts of crop management on water quality, soil conservation, and soil carbon sequestration. Remote sensing is a cost-effective technique for surveillance and rapid assessment of tillage practice over large areas. A new empirical approach for accurately predicting tillage class using discriminant analysis (DA) on historical multitemporal Landsat-TM 5 imagery has been developed. Ground truth data were obtained from the USDA-NRCS at 48 locations (20 conventional till [CT] and 28 conservation tillage or no-till [NT]). Classification accuracies were obtained for the DA models using reflectance values of Landsat-5 TM …

Comparison Of Extraction Methods For Recovering Ancient Microbial Dna From Paleofeces, Richard Hagan, Courtney A. Hofman, Alexander Hübner, Karl Reinhard, Stephanie Schnorr, Cecil M. Lewis, Jr., Krithivasan Sankaranarayanan, Christina G. Warinner

School of Natural Resources: Faculty Publications

Objectives: Paleofeces are valuable to archeologists and evolutionary biologists for their potential to yield health, dietary, and host information. As a rich source of preserved biomolecules from host-associated microorganisms, they can also provide insights into the recent evolution and changing ecology of the gut microbiome. How- ever, there is currently no standard method for DNA extraction from paleofeces, which combine the dual challenges of complex biological composition and degraded DNA. Due to the scarcity and relatively poor preservation of paleofeces when compared with other archeological remains, it is important to use efficient methods that maximize ancient DNA (aDNA) recovery while …