The American Midland Naturalist articles from January 1999

The American Midland Naturalist archives from January 1999

Effects of cattle grazing on salt desert rodent communities.
January 1, 1999... INTRODUCTION Cattle grazing can have profound effects on physiognomy and composition of desert plant communities. Long-term grazing has been shown to decrease the abundance of perennial grasses and forbs and increase the amount of annual...

Growth rates and intraspecific variation in body weights of raccoons (Procyon lotor) in southern Texas.
January 1, 1999... INTRODUCTION The size of a mammal species is closely related to, and influences, virtually every aspect of its biology (McNab, 1971; Clutton-Brock and Harvey, 1983) from its physiology and behavior to its life history and ecology....

Effects of fire, competition and soil disturbances on regeneration of a carnivorous plant (Drosera capillaris).
January 1, 1999... INTRODUCTION The selective advantage of carnivory for plants in infertile habitats has long been recognized by biologists (Darwin, 1874). In contrast, the importance of recurring natural disturbances as a selective pressure influencing...

Forest colonization and developmental growth of the invasive shrub Lonicera maackii.
January 1, 1999... INTRODUCTION Invasive species have been studied in forests because of their potential to displace native flora and modify community structure and function (Huenneke and Vitousek, 1990; Nuzzo, 1993; Woods, 1993, 1997). Previous studies...

Effects of fire, browsers and gallers on New Jersey tea (Ceanothus herbaceous) growth and reproduction.
January 1, 1999... INTRODUCTION Fire and herbivory exert pervasive influences on the composition and productivity of many ecosystems, including the tallgrass prairies of North America. One major effect of fire is suppression of woody plants in favor of...

Does flower color change in aster vimineus cue pollinators?
January 1, 1999... INTRODUCTION The flowers of numerous plant species change color throughout their lives. Floral color changes can be localized, influencing only a select part of the flower, or generalized, affecting the entire flower (Weiss, 1995). These...

Growth responses of Carya ovata (Juglandaceae) seedlings to experimental sun patches.
January 1, 1999... INTRODUCTION There is considerable evidence that "midsuccessional" species in many oak-dominated forests in eastern North America are failing to regenerate and are undergoing successional changes (Lorimer, 1983). Several factors may be...

Influences of frequent cool-season burning across a soil moisture gradient on oak community structure in longleaf pine ecosystems.
January 1, 1999... INTRODUCTION Oaks (Quercus) are an important component of fire-dependent longleaf pine (Pinus palustris Mill.) ecosystems that once dominated the Coastal Plain of the southeastern United States. However, the structure and dynamics of oak...

Plant succession on pumice at Mount St. Helens, Washington.
January 1, 1999... INTRODUCTION Community structure in mature vegetation is often assumed to result from deterministic links between plants and their environment. Many ecologists have recognized the importance of both historical and stochastic factors...

Forest fragments in east-central Illinois: islands or habitat patches for mammals?
January 1, 1999... INTRODUCTION Human activities in many regions of the world have led to the drastic reduction and fragmentation of much of the natural habitat (Wilcove et al., 1986). Fragmentation reduces the total area of habitat, reduces patch size,...

'Paedocannibal' morph barred tiger salamanders (Ambystoma tigrinum mavortium) from eastern South Dakota.
January 1, 1999... INTRODUCTION Salamanders are remarkable for their phenotypic plasticity (e.g., Powers, 1907; Dunn, 1940; Rose and Armentrout, 1976; Collins et al., 1993). The most variable of all salamanders is probably the tiger salamander...

Reproduction by individuals of a nonreproducing population of Megalonaias nervosa (Mollusca: Unionidae) following translocation.
January 1, 1999... INTRODUCTION Impoundments on the Cumberland River and many of its tributaries in Kentucky and Tennessee have profoundly impacted the diverse freshwater mussel fauna that once thrived in this drainage. In August 1952, completion of the...

Host fishes and host-attracting behavior of Lampsilis altilis and Villosa sabex (Bivalvia: Unionidae).
January 1, 1999... INTRODUCTION The transition from glochidium to juvenile is a critical step in the life history of freshwater bivalves of the family Unionidae. In most species glochidia require a brief period as ectoparasites on the gills or fins of...

Avian communities and habitat relationships in South Carolina Piedmont beaver ponds.
January 1, 1999... INTRODUCTION Beaver ponds are valuable wetland/riparian habitat for birds in the southeastern United States - a region that is estimated to have lost 89% of its wetlands since the 1950s (Frayer et al., 1983; Hefner and Brown, 1984; Dahl,...

Bird communities in riparian buffer strips of industrial forests.
January 1, 1999... INTRODUCTION Forested riparian strips through human-impacted landscapes are often prescribed to minimize the effects of human activity on aquatic ecosystems. These strips, also known as "forest strips" (Darveau et al., 1995), "beauty...

Home ranges, habitat selection and mortality of ring-necked pheasants (Phasianus colchicus) in north-central Maryland.
January 1, 1999... INTRODUCTION The ring-necked pheasant (Phasianus colchicus) population in Maryland began declining in the early 1970s, with an 81% decrease reported from 1975-1984 (Maryland Department of Natural Resources, 1983; Therres, 1989). Declines...

Size-biased mortality due to predation in a nesting freshwater turtle, Trachemys scripta.
January 1, 1999... INTRODUCTION Life-history traits of turtles such as longevity and delayed sexual maturity fit a bet-hedging model of reproduction (Stearns, 1976; Galbraith and Brooks, 1987). Bet-hedging theory predicts that when juvenile mortality is...

Composition of the helminth community of a montane population of the side-blotched lizard, Uta stansburiana (Phrynosomatidae) from Los Angeles County, California.
January 1, 1999... INTRODUCTION The side-blotched lizard, Uta stansburiana Baird and Girard (1852) ranges from central Washington through Baja California and northern Zacatecas, Mexico to west Texas and western Colorado from below sea level to around 2750...

Colonization of bedrock by freshwater mussels (Bivalvia: Unionidae).
January 1, 1999... INTRODUCTION Freshwater mussels may occupy a variety of substrate types (Coker et al., 1921), which has added to the difficulty in predicting their distribution and abundance at small spatial scales (Strayer, 1981; Holland-Bartels, 1990;...

The Lazarus effect: rejuvenation of leaf-senescent seedlings in a rare grassland perennial.(northern blazing star)
January 1, 1999... INTRODUCTION There are at least three forms of dormancy in plants: seed dormancy, bud dormancy and stress-induced dormancy (Jensen and Salisbury, 1972; Raven et al., 1992). Seed dormancy is a condition where a seed does not germinate for...