The American Midland Naturalist articles from October 1998

The American Midland Naturalist archives from October 1998

Changes in aspen communities over 30 years in Gunnison County, Colorado.
October 1, 1998... INTRODUCTION Aspen (Populus tremuloides Michx.) is a widespread species common to the montane and subalpine forests of the southern Rocky Mountains where it has traditionally been considered a seral species (Mueggler, 1985). Shoots...

Human vs. lightning ignition of presettlement surface fires in coastal pine forests of the upper Great Lakes.
October 1, 1998... INTRODUCTION Chronologies of presettlement stand destroying fires in pine dominated portions of the Great Lakes Forest (Flader, 1983) have been derived from sediment cores containing charcoal (e.g., Cole, 1995) and from General Land...

Changes in vegetation structure and diversity after grass-to-forest succession in a southern Appalachian watershed.
October 1, 1998... INTRODUCTION Disturbance and subsequent successional development are the keys to understanding the regulation of biological diversity on ecological time scales (Petraitis et al., 1989; Huston, 1994). As Peet (1981) and others (see...

Tree growth responses of Populus deltoides and Juglans nigra to streamflow and climate in a bottomland hardwood forest in central Ohio.
October 1, 1998... INTRODUCTION Riparian bottomland hardwood forests are characterized by high water table elevations and seasonal and periodic flooding. On riparian sites, the relative duration and level of flooding have an important and often critical...

Heavy metal accumulation by old-field plant species during recovery of sludge-treated ecosystems.
October 1, 1998... INTRODUCTION Long-term application of municipal sewage sludge or fertilizer to old-field communities alters plant community composition and the trajectory of secondary succession (Hyder and Barrett, 1986; Carson and Barrett, 1988; Brewer...

The "foliage is the fruit" hypothesis: complex adaptations in buffalograss (Buchloe dactyloides).
October 1, 1998... INTRODUCTION The Foliage is the Fruit (FF) hypothesis proposes that large herbivores inadvertently ingest seeds when consuming foliage of some herbaceous plants (Janzen, 1984). The plant pays a cost in lost tissue, but benefits because...

Dynamic foraging behavior in the southern flying squirrel (Glaucomys volans): test of a model.
October 1, 1998... INTRODUCTION Optimal foraging theory has become a major area of ecological research since the construction of the first optimal foraging models by Emlen (1966) and MacArthur and Pianka (1966). Many authors have contributed to an...

Habitat use by porcupines (Erethizon dorsatum) in central Massachusetts: effects of topography and forest composition.
October 1, 1998... INTRODUCTION Habitat use by North American porcupines (Erethizon dorsatum) is related to feeding, avoiding predators and to a lesser degree, resting (Sweitzer and Berger, 1992; Stricklan et al., 1995). Feeding usually occurs at night in...

Diet of the endangered Indiana bat (Myotis sodalis) on the northern edge of its range.
October 1, 1998... INTRODUCTION Knowledge of the diet can provide fundamental insights into the ecology and behavior of an animal, and dietary information is essential for proper management of any species. For example, the type of food predicts an animal's...

Population dynamics of Alabama beach mice (Peromyscus polionotus ammobates) following Hurricane Opal.
October 1, 1998... INTRODUCTION Hurricanes are dramatic, often destructive, stochastic events which greatly influence the ecological dynamics of tropical and neotropical regions world-wide. Due to the infrequent nature of hurricanes, there is a lack of...

Impact of zebra and quagga mussels (Dreissena spp.) on freshwater unionids (Bivalvia: Unionidae) in the Detroit River of the Great Lakes.
October 1, 1998... INTRODUCTION Invasion of the Laurentian Great Lakes by zebra mussels (Dreissena polymorpha) was characterized by rapid dispersal and explosive population growth (Griffiths et al., 1991; Nalepa and Schloesser, 1993). Zebra mussels rapidly...

Colonization of leaf litter by littoral macroinvertebrates with reference to successional changes in boreal tree composition expected after riparian clear-cutting.
October 1, 1998... INTRODUCTION Following clear-cutting of northern boreal forests, tree composition shifts from communities made up almost exclusively of conifers to those in which broadleaf deciduous (henceforth, simply "deciduous") species predominate...

Massive swarm migrations of dragonflies (Odonata) in eastern North America.
October 1, 1998... INTRODUCTION Migratory behavior is a poorly understood aspect of the biology of dragonflies. Worldwide, 25-50 of the [approximately]5000 known species of Odonata have been considered to be migratory (Kormondy, 1961), but the actual...

Patterns of an invasion by Argentine ants (Linepithema humile) in a riparian corridor and its effects on ant diversity.
October 1, 1998... INTRODUCTION Increasing the rate of biological invasions has been one of humankind's greatest influences on the earth (Lodge, 1993a, b). Invading species can affect not only ecosystem processes (Vitousek, 1990), but also the distribution...

Larval performance and association within and between two species of hackberry nipple gall insects, Pachypsylla spp. (Homoptera: Psyllidae).
October 1, 1998... INTRODUCTION The ecology and evolution of phytophagous insects has attracted much attention, in part because of the astounding diversity of many of the clades that have adopted the phytophagous habit. A common prediction is that...

Checklist and "Pollard Walk" butterfly survey methods on public lands.
October 1, 1998... INTRODUCTION Guidelines for management of native prairie butterfly populations have recently appeared in the literature (Moffat and McPhillips, 1993; Swengel, 1996). However, more precise information on which species are present at a...

Bird community relationships to succession in green ash (Fraxinus pennsylvanica) woodlands.
October 1, 1998... INTRODUCTION Prairie woodlands are riparian-like habitats (Boldt et al., 1978; Uresk and Boldt, 1986) and occupy about 1% of the semiarid northern Great Plains (Girard et al., 1989). However, the importance of prairie woodlands to...

Lack of population response by eastern chipmunks (Tamias striatus) to forest fragmentation.
October 1, 1998... INTRODUCTION Eastern chipmunks are well-adapted to mature eastern deciduous forests (Elliott, 1978; Snyder, 1982) but occupy a variety of habitats, including forested landscapes modified by an even-aged system of clear-cutting. Krull...

Nitrogen requirements of the adult prairie vole (Microtus ochrogaster).
October 1, 1998... INTRODUCTION Episodic deficiencies in food quantity or quality may be linked to population fluctuations in microtine and other small mammal species (Taitt and Krebs, 1985; Lochmiller and Dabbert, 1993). Specifically, nitrogen (e.g.,...

Effect of seed damage on germination in the common vetch (Vicia sativa L.).
October 1, 1998... INTRODUCTION Seed predation takes different forms in plant/herbivore systems (Janzen, 1971). Large seed eaters, like parrots, may consume and kill entire seeds by eating many of them at a time; specialist insects, like bruchid weevils,...

The foraging ecology of the gray rat snake (Elaphe obsoleta spiloides) - visual stimuli facilitate location of arboreal prey.
October 1, 1998... INTRODUCTION Snakes are usually alerted to the presence of their prey by either chemosensory or visual stimuli. In particular, snakes detecting volatile prey chemicals will usually respond with increased tongue-flicking and searching...