Book Review - Prairie Birds: Fragile Splendor in the Great Plains

Paul A. Johnsguard has established himself as one of the most prolific natural history writers in the recent past. Indeed, before I could finish reading Prairie Birds, the University of Kansas Press sent me The Nature of Nebraska, also by Johnsguard. These works follow closely after This Fragile Land, A Natural History of the Nebraska Sandhills (1995), which I favorably reviewed a few years ago, also about the Great Plains. It goes without saying, that there is a fair amount of overlap in these works, both in the subject matter and the illustrations. Rather than criticize the overlap among these books, I will focus on the Prairie Birds and assume that Johnsguard\u27s intent is to provide a diversity of resources on Nebraska and the Great Plains that will appeal to a variety of individuals

Book Review - North American Box Turtles: A Natural History

While I have only studied box turtles for four years, from the beginning, I was quickly impressed at the many studies and observations that had been published on North American box turtles. At the same time, I was also frustrated by the lack of syntheses of the material. For the beginning researcher or interested layperson, organizing the studies into a cohesive whole was daunting, and I attempted my own loose compilation that took me most of a summer. However, there is now a new book that provides the background and overview that I sought. C. Kenneth Dodd, a longtime researcher on box turtles in Florida, has produced an admirable and useful book that not only summarizes over 100 years of published reports, but also does so in a readable work

History of Iowa Natural History - A Symposium

This issue of the Journal of the Iowa Academy of Science presents the first written installment of our symposium: papers on the contributions of Keyes, Pammel, Bessey, and Hayden; the role of the Iowa Natural History Museum; and histories of both the development of early natural history studies and mammalogy investigations. More papers will follow in future issues, and new contributors are welcome

Iowa\u27s Declining Flora and Fauna: A Review of Changes Since 1980 and an Outlook for the Future

The status of Iowa\u27s biodiversity was first summarized at a 1980 Iowa Academy of Science (IAS) symposium that was published in The Proceedings of the Iowa Academy of Science (Vol. 88, No. 1) in 1981. The 1980 symposium was updated in a recent IAS symposium, and the proceedings from this symposium are published, for the most part, in volume 105 of this journal. Most of the authors noted some positive trends, but, overall, species declines and habitat destruction remained a concern

Book Review - This Fragile Land. A Natural History of the Nebraska Sandhills

Paul Johnsguard presents a highly enjoyable and readable introduction to the natural history of the Nebraska Sandhills in his kind of love letter to the Nebraska Sandhills and especially to their inhabitants past and present. Johnsguard calls upon 30 years of research and teaching in the region to draw together a series of essays that cover geology, ecology, ethology, and environmental issues while offering his personal perspectives on the past, present and future

Nesting of Red-Winged Blacbirds in Cattails and Commed Reed Grass in Mentor Harsh

Author Institution: Department of Biology, John Carrol UniversityDuring summer 1976, a study of habitat selection by the red-winged blackbird, Agelaius phoeniceus, was conducted. Mentor Marsh near Mentor, Ohio was chosen because of its unique geologic and botanical history. A swamp forest prior to 1959, the area is now a marsh composed of Typha latifolia, T. angustifolia, and Phragmites australis. Preferences of A. phoeniceus for each of these plants were investigated, and T. latifolia was significantly most chosen. Presumed advantages include rigidity, easy nest accessibility, and wide spacing to facilitate nest defense. Additional features of habitat selected such as available perches, proximity of open water, and edge effect were investigated. If rapid succession to monodominant stands of P. australis continues at the present rate, the nesting red-winged blackbird population may decrease sharply

Invasive Species in Iowa: An Introduction

Concern over the increasing spread of invasive species and the potential impacts of those species on native communities has been the subject of several books and hundreds of research papers in recent years. President Clinton\u27s Executive Order on invasive species in February1999 raised national attention to this issue. Natural resource agencies have been plagued by an ever-increasing number of invasive species and now consider this issue the second most important problem (after habitat loss) in their fight to maintain some semblance of natural communities on this planet. One group of experts estimated that in the United States alone, invasives cost more than $100 billion annually (Pimentel et al. 2000). As the global economy continues to grow, it is reasonable to assume that this problem will increase in its severity as additional species extend their ranges

Introduction

In this issue, the Iowa Academy of Science honors three of our colleagues who passed away in 2000. Duane Isely, Larry Eilers, and George Knaphus shared many of the same interests. All three were botanists, although George\u27s research on fungi and heterotrophic protistans relegated him to the botany departments only by default. However, more importantly, all three were teachers. I believe that one of the lessons that they would have taught was the need to carefully document present patterns if we are to understand the future. However, many biologists poorly support this concept today

Ecological Problems With Iowa\u27s Invasive and Introduced Fishes

Since the time of European settlement, at least 59 non-indigenous fish species have been introduced, reached, or moved within Iowa waters. At least 28 nonnative fish species have been introduced into, or reported from Iowa waters since settlement. Of that number, 10 are established at this time through natural reproduction. In addition, many species of native fishes have been translocated within the state, and we provide documentation for 31 of these species. Two translocated species, gizzard shad (Dorosoma cepedianum) and yellow bass (Marone mississippiensis), have had adverse impacts on Iowa\u27s aquatic ecosystems. While many introductions are thought to be benign, problems with non-indigenous fishes include displacement of native fish species, alterations of aquatic habitats, reduction in total aquatic biodiversity, and lowering of water quality. We review the history of Iowa\u27s non-indigenous fishes, document the timing and location of introductions when possible, and discuss problems caused by Iowa\u27s current non-indigenous species as well as species likely to cause ecological problems in the near future. Fishes highlighted include: common carp (Cyprinus carpio), grass carp (Ctenopharyngodon idella), bighead carp (Hybophthalmichthys nobilis), black carp (Mylopharyngodon piceus), silver carp (Hypophthalmichthys molitrix), white perch (Marone americana), western mosquitofish (Gambusia alfinis), rudd (Scardinius erythrophthalmus), yellow bass, spotted bass (Micropterus punctulatus), ruffe (Gymnocephalus cernuus), round goby (Neogobius melanostomus), and gizzard shad. We also discuss ecological consequences of stocking game fish and hybrids as well as threats from aquaculture, aquarium hobbyists, and anglers. Because eliminating an established nonnative fish is almost impossible, we urge all parties to work to prevent future release and establishment of non-indigenous fishes in Iowa and the United States