River Size and Fish Assemblages in Southwestern South Dakota

We studied relations between river size, fish species diversity, and fish species composition along four major rivers in the Great Plains of southwestern South Dakota to assess patterns of species diversity and composition. We expected diversity to increase with river size and fish composition to change via species addition downstream. Previous surveys of 52 sampling stations provided fish assemblage data, and we used the Geographic Information System (GIS) to determine watershed area by station. Watershed area did not predict species richness or species diversity (Fisher's a), so species richness of 12 ± 3.5 SD species and Fisher's a of 2.3 ± 0.87 SD characterized species diversity in the study area. Cluster analysis of faunal similarity (Sorensen's Index) among the 52 sampling stations identified two geographically distinct faunal divisions, so species composition was variable within the study area, but changed via species replacements among faunas rather than species additions downstream. Nonnative species were a minor component of all faunas. Uniform species diversity may be a recent phenomenon caused by impacts of Missouri River dams on native large-river fishes and the unsuitability of rivers in the Great Plains for nonnative species. Variation in faunal composition may also be recent because it was affected by dams.

Distribution of Abacion texense (Loomis, 1937), the only milliped species traversing the Rio Grande, Mississippi, and Pecos rivers (Callipodida: Abacionidae)

Localities are documented for the milliped Abacion texense (Loomis, 1837) (Callipodida: Abacionidae) whose distribution forms both the northern and southern ordinal limits in the Western Hemisphere. The westernmost component of Abacion Rafinesque, 1820, A. texense is the only milliped species whose range spans the Mississippi and Pecos rivers and the Rio Grande. Distribution extremes are in Hennepin County (Co.), Minnesota, in the north; Terrell and Potter cos., Texas, in the west; Alcorn Co., Mississippi, in the east; and southwestern Tamaulipas, Mexico, in the south. Occurrences are projected for southeastern South Dakota, northwestern Alabama, and the southwestern periphery of Tennessee. The type series of A. texense consists solely of the male holotype, so a neotype will be needed if this individual is ever lost, because no paratypes were officially designated.

Review of This Land: A Guide to Central National Forests by Robert H. Mohlenbrock

Robert Mohlenbrock's guide to the national forests of the central U.S. provides the traveling naturalist with a wealth of information on the wide array of national forest lands in the heart of the country. Part of a three-volume series of field guides, this volume covers the states of Louisiana, Minnesota, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, New Mexico, South Dakota, Texas, and Wyoming. While most of the forests are along the western and eastern borders of the Great Plains, readers will find a detailed travelog for a National Forest within a day's drive of most areas within the region. While not the focus of this volume, a brief mention of the National Grasslands of the Great Plains would have made it more comprehensive for the traveling naturalist.

Use of Natural Vegetative Barriers to Limit Expansion of Blacktailed Prairie Dog Towns

Prairie dog (Cynomys ludovicianus) control has historically consisted of lethal methods to maintain, reduce, or eliminate populations in South Dakota and throughout the species range. Non-lethal methods of control are desired to meet changing management objectives for the black-tailed prairie dog. The use of naturally occurring buffer strips as vegetative barriers may be effective in limiting prairie dog town expansion. The objectives of this study were: 1) to evaluate effective width of vegetative barriers in limiting prairie dog towns expansion in western South Dakota; and 2) to document effect native vegetation height on expansion of prairie dog towns in western South Dakota. Five study sites were established in western South Dakota on rangelands containing prairie dog towns of adequate size. Electric fences were constructed for the purpose of excluding cattle and creating buffer strips of native grasses and shrubs. Prairie dogs were poisoned to create a prairie dog free buffer zone adjacent to active prairie dog towns. Grazing was allowed on both sides of the buffer strip. When grazing pressure was not sufficient, mowing was used to simulate grazing. Buffer strips were 100 meters long and 10, 25, and 40 meters in width. A zero meter control was included on all study sites. Quadrats (25) were randomly distributed throughout the buffer strips. Evaluation of study sites included visual obstruction, vegetation cover, vegetation frequency, vegetation height, and vegetation identification. Barrier penetration was evaluated by the presence of new active burrows behind vegetative barriers. Significant relationships were documented for both VOR and vegetation height. No significant difference was found between frequency of breakthroughs and buffer widths.

An Analysis of Anchitherine Equids Across the Eocene–Oligocene Boundary in the White River Group of the Western Great Plains

Anchitherine horses are a subfamily of equids that are abundantly represented in the late Eocene and early Oligocene of North America. This group has been heavily studied in the past, but important questions still remain. Some studies have focused on the Eocene-Oligocene boundary and have used these equids along with other taxa to study mammalian diet and climate change through this interval. I reexamine two anchitherine genera, Mesohippus and Miohippus, from stratigraphic sequences of the White River Group in western Nebraska and southwestern South Dakota. These sequences span the Chadronian (late Eocene), Orellan (early Oligocene), and Whitneyan (early Oligocene) North American land-mammal ages. The most recent revision of these genera was done by Prothero and Shubin (1989). I review the characters used for taxonomic identification. This includes characters such as the hypostyle, the articular facet on the third metatarsal, and dental dimensions. To avoid possible biases caused by combining specimens from different stratigraphic levels, specimens were separated by location and stratigraphic level. The length and width of cheek teeth, and tooth rows were measured on 488 specimens. First molar area serves as a proxy for body mass in horses and other mammals, and can be useful for distinguishing among species. Results indicate that the characters used by Prothero and Shubin were highly variable in anchitherine horses and are not useful for distinguishing between these genera. The development of the articular facet on the third metatarsal may be a function of body size and therefore may be of no more utility than first molar area. Variability in first molar area suggests the presence of three species in the medial and late Chadronian, two species in the Orellan, and at least two species in the Whitneyan. Due to a lack of objective criteria separating Mesohippus from Miohippus, I recommend synonymy of these genera, making Mesohippus a junior subjective synonym.

Cultivating Dreams - Harvesting Profits, Women In Agriculture 2009

The University of Nebraska!Lincoln Department of Agricultural Economics hosted the 24th Women in Agriculture (WIA) Conference February 26-27, 2009. Over 350 women participated in the event. A majority came from across the great state of Nebraska, but there were a few individuals that made the trip from California, Colorado, North Carolina, Kansas, Iowa and South Dakota. For some women, this was their first time experiencing the conference and for others it was their 24th time. Average attendance among the women was approximately 6.5 times. The main goal of the conference was to heighten the womens’ skills and gain knowledge to take back to their agricultural operations.

North Central Risk Management Education Center

The North Central Risk Management Education Center has been providing program coordination for extension risk management education in the North Central Region since 2001. During this time, nearly five million dollars has been awarded to public, private and non-profit entities to carry out producer-focused, results-based risk management education programs. The North Central Region includes Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, Ohio, North Dakota, South Dakota and Wisconsin.

Attracting and Retaining Workers in Rural Communities

Many rural communities focus their development efforts on job creation. In the non-metropolitan portions of the Northern Great Plains, job creation efforts in the first half of this decade were quite successful. According to the Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA, 2005), 167 of the 223 non-metropolitan counties in Nebraska, North Dakota and South Dakota saw an actual aggregate increase in total jobs (full and part-time) of 28,734, between the years 2001 and 2005.

METHIOCARB, A CHEMICAL BIRD REPELLENT: A REVIEW OF ITS EFFECTIVENESS ON CROPS

Since 1964, when the effectiveness of methiocarb for preventing pheasants (Phasianus colchicus) from damaging sprouting corn was proven in South Dakota, an aggressive program has been carried out by personnel of the Denver Wildlife Research Center and many cooperators to develop methiocarb as a broad spectrum avian repellent. The successful use of methiocarb for preventing damage caused by several species of birds to sprouting corn in several states and to sprouting soybeans in South America is reviewed. Recent results obtained from spraying methiocarb on ripening rice in California, ripening sorghum in Colorado and Oklahoma, cherries in Michigan, and grapes in New Hampshire are summarized.

SAMPLING OF CORN TO ASSESS BIRD DAMAGE: A Preliminary Review of a Comprehensive Study

"How large a sample is needed to survey the bird damage to corn in a county in Ohio or New Jersey or South Dakota?" Like those in the Bureau of Sport Fisheries and Wildlife and the U.S.D.A. who have been faced with a question of this sort we found only meager information on which to base an answer, whether the problem related to a county in Ohio or to one in New Jersey, or elsewhere. Many sampling methods and rates of sampling did yield reliable estimates but the judgment was often intuitive or based on the reasonableness of the resulting data. Later, when planning the next study or survey, little additional information was available on whether 40 samples of 5 ears each or 5 samples of 200 ears should be examined, i.e., examination of a large number of small samples or a small number of large samples. What information is needed to make a reliable decision? Those of us involved with the Agricultural Experiment Station regional project concerned with the problems of bird damage to crops, known as NE-49, thought we might supply an ans¬wer if we had a corn field in which all the damage was measured. If all the damage were known, we could then sample this field in various ways and see how the estimates from these samplings compared to the actual damage and pin-point the best and most accurate sampling procedure. Eventually the investigators in four states became involved in this work1 and instead of one field we were able to broaden the geographical base by examining all the corn ears in 2 half-acre sections of fields in each state, 8 sections in all. When the corn had matured well past the dough stage, damage on each corn ear was assessed, without removing the ear from the stalk, by visually estimating the percent of the kernel surface which had been destroyed and rating it in one of 5 damage categories. Measurements (by row-centimeters) of the rows of kernels pecked by birds also were made on selected ears representing all categories and all parts of each field section. These measurements provided conversion factors that, when fed into a computer, were applied to the more than 72,000 visually assessed ears. The machine now had in its memory and could supply on demand a map showing each ear, its location and the intensity of the damage.

EXTRALIMITAL RECORDS OF THE MEXICAN FREE-TAILED BAT (TADARIDA BRASILIENSIS MEXICANA) IN THE CENTRAL UNITED STATES AND THEIR BIOLOGICAL SIGNIFICANCE

Two new records of Tadarida brasiliensis mexicana are reported from Nebraska. The literature records of this taxon from the central United States are summarized. In this region of North America, these bats occupy a “natal range” where the species carries on regular reproductive activities and the populations are relatively stable, including California, Arizona, New Mexico, Texas, and Oklahoma. To the north of the natal range of T. b. mexicana is a “pioneering zone” where, under favorable conditions, the species is capable of reproducing and conducting its normal activities. The pioneering zone of the Mexican free-tailed bat includes Barber and Comanche counties in Kansas and as far north as Mesa and Saguache counties in southwestern Colorado. Finally, to the north of the pioneering zone, there is a much larger area that is proposed as the “exploring zone” in which only a few individuals of the species are found. Reproductive activities do not occur on any regular basis in the exploring zone, which encompasses the remainder of Colorado and Kansas as well as the states of Wyoming, Nebraska, Iowa, Illinois, Missouri, and southeastern South Dakota.

SCWDS BRIEFS: Volume 21, Number 3 (October 2005)

H5N1 Influenza Virus in Wild Birds: A Fact Sheet Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza Virus H5N1 and Wild Birds What are avian influenza viruses? What is a Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza virus? What is “Bird Flu” and what is “HPAI H5N1”? What do we know about avian influenza viruses in wild birds? Do we have HPAI H5N1 in North America? Is there currently a public health risk associated with HPAI H5N1 in wild birds? Is there a domestic animal health risk associated with HPAI in wild birds? What is the possibility of HPAI H5N1 entering North America via migratory wild birds? What is the possibility of this virus being maintained in wild bird populations? Do we have surveillance for HPAI H5N1 in the United States? Additional information on HPAI can be found at these websites: The recognized geographic and species distribution of chronic wasting disease (CWD) has expanded since early September 2005 to include Hampshire County in the eastern panhandle of West Virginia National Fish and Wildlife Health Initiative Guiding Principles Eastern Equine Encephalitis (EEE) virus was isolated from seven white-tailed deer in southwestern Michigan during September 2005 During the past summer, more than 500 head of livestock in North Dakota and South Dakota were lost to one of the largest recorded anthrax outbreaks in U.S. history. Most of the losses were in cattle, but horses, bison, and farm-reared elk also were affected. Dr. John Fischer, Director of SCWDS, has received this year’s Special Recognition Award from the International Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies (IAFWA). Dr. William Randolph Davidson is retiring in November 2005.

SCWDS BRIEFS: Volume 18, Number 3 (October 2002)

• Chronic Wasting Disease Update: Wisconsin, Minnesota, South Dakota, Colorado; National CWD Management – USDA & USDI National Plan for Assisting States, Federal Agencies, and Tribes in Managing Chronic Wasting Disease in Free-ranging and Captive Cervids • West Nile virus (WNV) reaches the Pacific coast • West Nile Virus in Blue Jays • Idaho Brucellosis Linked to Wildlife: All of the epidemiological and laboratory information clearly indicates that brucellosis-infected elk transmitted the disease to the cattle herd. • Tularemia caused a die-off of captured wild prairie dogs this summer at a Texas commercial exotic animal facility that distributes the animals for sale as pets. • Raptors can acquire avian vacuolar myelinopathy (AVM) via ingestion of other affected birds. • House Finch Mycoplasmosis: bacterial eye disease of house finches • Raccoon Rabies report • Toxoplasmosis – The newest finding regarding sea otters in California is the importance of toxoplasmosis as a mortality factor. Toxoplasma gondii is a protozoan parasite that can invade visceral organs and the central nervous system to cause acute, disseminated tissue necrosis and fatal meningoencephalitis in susceptible animals. In recent years, 36% of dead sea otters examined have been infected. Another tissue-invading protozoan, Sarcocystis neurona, also was found in 4% of the otters. • Recovery of remnant populations of the endangered black-footed ferret have been hampered by sylvatic plague, which is caused by the bacterium Yersinia pestis. • Dr. Samantha Gibbs received the Wildlife Disease Association’s Student Research Recognition Award. Dr. Cynthia Tate was selected by the American Association of Veterinary Parasitologists to receive the Best Student Presentation Award. Dr. Andrea Varela won second place in the Student Presentation Award for her presentation at the meeting of the American Association Veterinary Parasitologists. Mr. Michael Yabsley received the Wildlife Disease Association Student Scholarship and the S.A. Ewing Vectorborne Parasitology Award from the University of Georgia’s College of Veterinary Medicine.