The American Midland Naturalist back issues from July 2008:
Breeding and Recruitment Phenology of Amphibians in Missouri Oak-Hickory Forests
Jul 01, 2008; ... ABSTRACT. - Knowing the phenologies of species in a region helps guide management and conservation activities in breeding ponds and surrounding terrestrial habitats. We examined the phenology of pond-breeding amphibians in central Missouri oak-hickory forests. Two ponds were monitored ...
Zebra Mussels (Dreissena polymorpha) Attached to Native Mussels (Unionidae) or Inanimate Substrates: Comparison of Physiological Rates and Biochemical Composition
Jul 01, 2008; ... ABSTRACT.- We compared the physiological rates and biochemical composition of dreissenid mussels (Dreissena polymorpha) from a riverine population that were attached to unionid mussels (Amblema plicata) or to rocks. Specimens were collected from Lake Pepin, Mississippi River, Wisconsin ...
Use and Possible Functions of the Primary and Sustained Songs of Male Grasshopper Sparrows
Jul 01, 2008; ... ABSTRACT.- Ascertaining the functions bird song requires information about when and where a song or, for males with multisong repertoires, songs are used. Because the need for and type of communication with mates and conspecifics changes with breeding stage and social context, detailed ...
Harvester Ant Nests Improve Recovery Performance of Drought Impacted Vegetation in Grazing Regimes of Semiarid Savanna, Texas
Jul 01, 2008; ... ABSTRACT. - Vegetation composition is often dictated by grazing intensity in semiarid savannas; recovery following drought may depend on pre drought species composition. Nests of the red harvester ant, Pogonomyrmex barbatus, affect the dynamics, composition and recovery of post drought ...
Influence of Woody Vegetation on Small Mammals in Tallgrass Prairie
Jul 01, 2008; ... ABSTRACT.- We examined response of small mammals to woody invasion of tallgrass prairie in northeastern Kansas by sampling sites that ranged from 0 to 100% in woody cover (i.e., frequently burned prairie to unburned closed-canopy gallery forest; woody coverage mapped from satellite ...
Epizoochory, Algae and the Australian Eastern Long-necked Turtle Chelodina longicollis (Shaw)
Jul 01, 2008; ... ABSTRACT. - The role of animals in seed dispersal is widely acknowledged and turtles have been reported to act as vectors. All reports of turtles dispersing seeds to date have been via endozoochrony. The first evidence of turtles being epizoochronic dispersers of seeds via their ...
Habitat Use of Grass Pickerel Esox americanus vermiculatus in Indiana Streams
Jul 01, 2008; ... ABSTRACT. - One hundred and twenty five sites from 91 rivers and streams in Indiana were evaluated from 1990-2005 to determine grass pickerel Esox americanus vermiculatus habitat use. Macro-habitat analysis was conducted using the Qualitative Habitat Evaluation Index (QHEI) and had no ...
Interpopulation Differences in Courtship and Spawning Behavior in the Brook stickleback (Culaea inconstans)
Jul 01, 2008; ... ABSTRACT. - Although behavioral variability has been well documented in the threespine stickleback Gasterosteus aculeatus, very little is known about the extent of variability in the other members of the Gasterosteidae. We investigated the courtship and spawning repertoires of four ...
Amphibian Distributions within Three Types of Isolated Wetlands in Southwest Georgia
Jul 01, 2008; ... ABSTRACT. - Conservation of isolated wetlands is critical for maintaining regional biodiversity within the southeastern U.S. However, relatively little is known about the ecological communities of these wetland systems, particularly within the karst wetlands of the southeastern Coastal ...
Migration Behavior among Female White-tailed Deer in Central and Northern Illinois
Jul 01, 2008; ... ABSTRACT.- Thirty-nine female white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) were migrators from three study areas in central and northern Illinois, 1980-1993. Migrants averaged 21.5%, 9.4% and 14.6% of marked females known alive each year on the east-central, west-central and northern study ...
Colonization and Development of the Asian Tiger Mosquito (Aedes albopictus) in the Purple Pitcher Plant (Sarracenia purpurea)
Jul 01, 2008; ... ABSTRACT. - We report the expansion of the invasive container mosquito, Aedes albopictus, into pitchers of the carnivorous pitcher plant, Sarracenia purpurea, in southeastern Virginia. The community of aquatic Dipteran larvae commonly associated within S. purpurea pitchers was not ...
Separating Above- and Belowground Effects of Alliaria petiolata and Lonicera maackii on the Performance of Impatiens capensis
Jul 01, 2008; ... ABSTRACT. - Invasive plants can exert their effects on native plants through both above- and belowground mechanisms. In a fully factorial field study, we examined the effects of activated carbon addition and removal of aboveground biomass (i.e., cutting) on the survival, growth and ...
Demographic Processes Influencing Population Viability of the Iowa Pleistocene snail (Discus macclintocki)
Jul 01, 2008; ... ABSTRACT. - Understanding the importance of variable local population abundance and the limited potential for dispersal and genetic exchange is crucial for the conservation of many species with limited geographic distribution and specialized habitat requirements. Because of rareity, it ...
Niche Overlap and Resource Partitioning Between Sympatric Kit Foxes and Coyotes in the Great Basin Desert of Western Utah
Jul 01, 2008; ... ABSTRACT. - Successful coexistence of sympatric canid species often relies on the subdominant species' ability to reduce competition through the differential selection of niche space. Information regarding the process of niche selection and its effect on the structure of canid ...
Predominant Use of Windthrows by Nesting Eastern Woodrats (Neotoma floridana) in the South Carolina Coastal Plain
Jul 01, 2008; ... ABSTRACT.- We conducted a study of nest site selection by the eastern woodrat (Neotoma floridana) in the South Carolina coastal plain. We identified 40 active nests in three macrohabitats: a bottomland hardwood-upland pine ecotone, a southern mixed hardwood forest and a disturbed ...
New and Current Microbiological Tools for Ecosystem Ecologists: Towards a Goal of Linking Structure and Function
Jul 01, 2008; ... ABSTRACT.- Interest in the relationships between soil microbial communities and ecosystem functions is growing with increasing recognition of the key roles microorganisms play in a variety of ecosystems. With a wealth of microbial methods now available, selecting the most appropriate ...
Bats of Assateague Island National Seashore, Maryland
Jul 01, 2008; ... ABSTRACT. - As significant nocturnal insectivores, bats are an integral part of many ecosystems. Determining bat species composition in an area is a critical first step in managing for this important resource. Little information exists concerning the bat species composition of Maryland's ...
Multiple Captures of White-footed Mice (Peromyscus leucopus): Evidence for Social Structure?
Jul 01, 2008; ... ABSTRACT. - Multiple captures (34 double, 6 triple) in standard Sherman live traps accounted for 6.3% of 1355 captures of Peromyscus leucopus (white-footed mice) in forested habitat in southern Illinois, from Oct. 2004 through Oct. 2005. There was a significant positive relationship ...
Geographic Variation in Flowering Responses to Fire and Season of Clipping in a Fire-Adapted Plant
Jul 01, 2008; ... ABSTRACT.- Identifying optimal fire regimes for a given species requires monitoring its responses to different fire regimes. This study examined the effects of fire during the lightning season and clipping in different seasons on the induction of flowering in a fire-adapted species, ...
Consecutive Quintuplet Litters From a Black Bear (Ursus americanus) in Central Wisconsin
Jul 01, 2008; ... ABSTRACT.- Black bear (Ursus americanus) reproduction is critically linked to female nutrition. In highly productive females, litters include up to six cubs. Little is known about the yearly reproductive success of individual females that produce abnormally large litters. Further, ...
Topographic Patterns of Nest Placement and Habitat Quality for Grassland Birds in Tallgrass Prairie
Jul 01, 2008; ... ABSTRACT.- Much of the tallgrass prairie remaining in North America occurs in hilly regions, such as the Flint Hills of Kansas and Oklahoma. Despite the conservation importance of these areas for grassland birds, little is known about how topographic variation in habitat affects the ...
Ecology Without Nature, Rethinking Environmental Aesthetics
Jul 01, 2008; ... Ecology Without Nature, Rethinking Environmental Aesthetics. Morton, Timothy. Harvard University Press. Cambridge, Massachusetts, 2007. An alternative title for this volume could be "Ecology Without Ecology?" and the author asserts that "nature will have to wither away in an ecological ...
Winter Use of Senescent Herbaceous Plants by White-tailed Deer in Minnesota
Jul 01, 2008; ... ABSTRACT.- During winter in northern North America, white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) have been reported to consume non-woody browse items such as dried leaves (of woody plants), lichens, and evergreen herbaceous plants. We report use of five species of senescent (dead) ...
Visual Observation of Bobcat Predation on an Adult Female Pronghorn in Northwestern South Dakota
Jul 01, 2008; ... ABSTRACT.- Published reports of survival and cause-specific mortality for pronghorn (Antilocapra americana) indicate that mortality differs regionally and seasonally with sex, age and density of pronghorn. Cold winters with deep crusted snow is a primary source of mortality on adult ...