Simulation of the Impact of Dams and Fishing Weirs on Reproductive Potential of Silver-Phase American Eels in the Kennebec River Basin, Maine

I modeled the cumulative impact of hydroelectric projects with and without commercial fishing weirs and water-control dams on the production, survival to the sea, and potential fecundity of migrating female silver-phase American eels, Anguilla rostrata in the Kennebec River basin, Maine, This river basin has 22 hydroelectric projects, 73 water-control dams, and 15 commercial fishing weir sites. The modeled area included an 8,324 km(2) segment of the drainage area between Merrymeeting Bay and the upper limit of American eel distribution in the basin. One set of input,, (assumed or real values) concerned population structure (Le., population density and sex ratio changes throughout the basin, female length-class distribution, and drainage area between dams), Another set concerned factors influencing survival and potential fecundity of migrating American eels (i.e., pathway sequences through projects, survival rate per project by length-class. and length-fecundity relationship). Under baseline conditions about 402,400 simulated silver female American eels would be produced annually reductions in their numbers due to dams and weirs would reduce the realized fecundity (i.e., the number of eggs produced by all females that survived the migration). Without weirs or water-control dams, about 63% of the simulated silverphase American eels survived their freshwater spawning migration run to the sea when the survival rate at each hydroelectric dam was 9017, 40% survived at 80% survival per dam, and 18% survived at 60% survival per dam. Removing the lowermost hydroelectric dam on the Kennebec River increased survival by 6.0-7.6% for the basin. The efficient commercial weirs reduced survival to the sea to 69-76%( of what it would have been without weirs\u27, regardless of survival rates at hydroelectric dams. Water-control dams had little impact on production in this basin because most were located in the upper reaches of tributaries. Sensitivity analysis led to the conclusion that small changes in population density and female length distribution had greater effects on survival and realized fecundity than similar changes in turbine survival rate. The latter became more important as turbine survival rate decreased. Therefore, it might be more fruitful to determine population distribution in basins of interest than to determine mortality rate at each hydroelectric project

A History of The Indian Missions of The Presbyterian Church In Kansas.

The beginnings of the missionary activity of the Presbyterian Church date back to the colonial days of the eighteenth century. In point of American historical chronology, the missionary work of the Presbyterians among the Indians in what is now Kansas, southwestern Missouri and east central Oklahoma was inaugurated in the same decade that witnessed the War of 1812. It was my original intention to confine, this research to a consideration of the Indian missions established by the Presbyterian Church in that part of the Indian Territory which has now become the State of Kansas. There were five such mission stations set up within the present confines of this state. The first two were established in 1824 and 1829, respectively , among the Osage Indians in present Neosho county, Kansas. In 1834 a third was established in what is now Miami county to administer to the Wea and Piankeshaw Indians. Three years later the newly organised Board of Foreign Missions of the Presbyterian Church chose the Iowa and Sac and Fox Indians as fit subjects for a mission station, which they organized in present Doniphan county. The last station which was established did not come until late in the territorial period of the history of this state, 1856, when an organization was developed near the Iowa station, in what has become Brown county, among the Kickapoo Indians. The history of the first two missions (the Neosho Mission, 1824, and the Boudinot Mission, 1829) is so closely interwoven with that of the Harmony Mission in Bates county, Missouri, and with the Union station set up in Oklahoma on the Grand (Neosho) river, about twenty-five miles above its junction with the Arkansas that a consideration of those in Kansas must necessarily include something of the story concerning the latter. Thus the scope of my research includes the Union and Harmony Missions, the Neosho and Boudinot Missions, the Wea Mission, the Kickapoo Mission, and last, though not so in chronological order, the Iowa, Sac and Fox Mission

John Reeves Ellerman: entrepreneur or empire builder?

This work discusses Sir John Reeves Ellerman's career and shows how he translated inherent skills which were apparent at an early age into financial acumen. This resulted in his becoming not only a major shipowner, but a powerful figure in publishing, breweries and property. The genesis of Ellerman lies in his apprenticeship as an accountant, and a legacy firom his maternal grandfather, which gave him ready resources. This led swiftly to a period during which he was building up business as an accountant, an auditor and a company promoter. Over the next three or four years Ellerman made useful acquaintances in finance, breweries, commerce and industry; which developed into a network of colleagues and which formed the foundation of later successes in his eclectic spheres of operation. In 1891 Ellerman participated in the incorporation of the shipping company Frederick Leyland (1891) Ltd. Within a year he was chairman of the company, and took it firom strength to strength while acquiring two other shipping lines. In 1901 Ellerman sold all his ordinary shares—with which went control of Leyland Line—to J.P. Morgan and his embryo International Merchant Marine. Part of the agreement of sale was that Ellerman would not take any interest in the Atlantic trade for fourteen years; if he wished to continue in shipping he had to find other areas of opportunity. Ellerman bought back the Leyland Mediterranean steamers from IMM complete with managements, crews and trades. He then, in rapid succession, acquired two short-sea and two deep-sea companies—all with their own ancillary services. Ellerman formed Ellerman Lines Limited, which totally owned all the shipping subsidiaries. The majority of ordinary shares in the new company were owned by Ellerman and his immediate colleagues, with the result that three directors and one secretary effectively ran the whole group. Over the next decade, Ellerman built up and modernised his fleets. In 1913 he acquired Bucknall Lines as a wholly owned subsiduary and increased the nominal capital of Ellerman Lines Ltd to £3.500,000. His last purchase, of Wilson Line of Hull in 1916 brought total ownership of some 200 ships. Elleman died in 1933, leaving almost £40,000,000 and a memory which lasted among seafarers until the 1970s. It is believed that this work has contributed to the spread of knowledge by explaining those areas of his life hitherto considered as being most obscure

Sexually Different Growth Histories of the American Eel in Four Rivers in Maine

Growth histories of yellow-phase American eels Anguilla rostrata collected in four rivers in Maine, were back-calculated from sagittal otolith increments. Our objectives were to first determine whether sexually dimorphic growth rates exist and then compare the growth histories of American eels from four rivers within a geographic region. For female eels, the maximum growth rate was 31.9 +/- 1.7 mm/year at age 8, decreasing to 25.1 +/- 2.9 mm/year at age 14. Males attained a maximum of 29.8 +/- 1.6 min/year at age 3, decreasing to a minimum of 17.9 +/- 1.3 mm/year at age 11. Females grew faster than males after age 4 and had a slower reduction in growth rate with age. These faster growth rates among females were similar in all four rivers. The observed growth rates are not consistent with current life history hypotheses and may indicate an alternative life history strategy. Because female eels benefit from a larger size (i.e., size refuge, increased fecundity, and greater niche breadth), they would benefit from a higher-risk growth strategy that increases growth rate during their earlier years and reduces the amount of time spent in an unfavorable size-class. The tradeoffs (i.e., mortality, developmental rate, pathogen resistance, and longevity) associated with this faster growth rate may not favor the males\u27 life history requirements. Male eels do not achieve the size of females and therefore are not subject to the advantages associated with being larger. Therefore, they may use a risk-averse strategy that maintains submaximum growth rates to obtain the minimum size necessary to mature and complete the spawning migration while reducing the adverse affects of faster growth rates. We postulate that, in eels, intrinsic growth rates should be considered a life history trait that has evolved to meet the life history requirements of each sex

Spiritual Leadership in Modern-Day Native American Culture and Approaches to Native American Religion and Christianity

This qualitative study focuses on the modern-day approaches to Native American religion and Christianity in the Minneapolis-St. Paul, MN metro area. The spiritual leaders interviewed were asked about the varieties of spirituality practices in the Native American community today, the potential conflicts or areas of compatibility among these various spiritual practices, and the role of spiritual practices in cultural revitalization and community activism. The results of thestudy present a spectrum of spiritual practices and approaches to Native American religion and Christianity including those who practice Christianity exclusively, those who blend Christianity with Native culture and practices, and those who practice Native American religion exclusively. Those who are represented on either end of the spectrum experience more conflict between the religious perspectives and those in the rniddle of the spectrum experience more compatibility. Native American spiritual leadership seems to have direct impact on cultural revitalization

Nighttime Catches of Fishes in a Tidal Cove in Montsweag Bay Near Wiscasset Maine

Summer nighttime abundance and localized distribution of fishes in a tidal cove were studied by beach seining for comparison with a previous daytime study. American eels were relatively abundant at night and absent during the day. Alewife, blueback herring, and Atlantic silver-side were more abundant in the cove at night. Although mummichog numbers were greatly reduced at night, they remained an important constituent of the night fauna. Lesser components of the night fauna included Atlantic herring, Atlantic tomcod, smooth flounder, winter flounder, and rainbow smelt