Pocket Gophers

Pocket gophers discusses the life history and ecology of gophers, benefits of activity, and control methods

Effect of Industrial Pollution on the Aquatic and Shore Angiosperm Flora in the Ottawa River, Allen and Putnam Counties, Ohio

Author Institution: College of Biological Sciences, The Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio 43210Industrial wastes are continually being emptied into rivers and streams across the country. This paper considers the effect that these wastes have had on the species composition, distribution, and abundance of individuals of the late summer aquatic and shore angiosperm flora in the industrially polluted Ottawa River downstream from Lima. This flora is compared with the flora in the Ottawa River upstream from Lima and with the flora in the nearby Auglaize River, both of which are not significantly polluted by industrial wastes. The flowering plants in northwestern Ohio rivers mostly belong in two categories: (1) southern species usually restricted to rivers, and (2) widespread species infrequent or common in rivers, but also in other wet habitats. Each species in the former group, being restricted, probably has a narrow ecological tolerance, whereas those in the latter group, being widespread, apparently have a wider ecological amplitude. Waterquality data from several published reports on the pollution of northwestern Ohio rivers reveals the great magnitude of the pollution in the Ottawa River downstream from Lima. A floristic survey of this grossly polluted portion of the river shows that many of the southern, ecologically narrow species, such as Justicia americana, Lippia lanceolata, Phystostegia virginiana, Samolus parvifiorus, Saururus cernuus, and Rutnex verticillatus, are rare or absent, whereas many of the more tolerant widespread species are frequent or even abundant. Particularly noteworthy in the latter group are several species of Polygonum (P. coccineum, P. hydropiper, P. lapathifolium, P. pensylvanicum, P. punctatum) and Sagittaria latifolia. By comparison, in the portion of the Ottawa River upstream from Lima and in the Auglaize River, both of which lack appreciable industrial pollutants, it is the southern, more restricted river-bottom species that are present; the widespread species (such as the species of Polygonum) are also present, but in far less abundance than is true in the Ottawa River downstream from Lima

Endangered and Threatened Species in South Dakota

Rare end unusual plants and animals have always fascinated people. Humans usually assign high values to things that are rare as opposed to things that are common. Consider. for example, the present values we assign to gold end diamonds in relation to the value we give to gravel. For the same reasons rare animals and plants have been sought after by humans. Early explorers often returned to their native lands with live or dead specimens of exotic animals. Not many years ago women in the eastern United States sought to adorn their clothing with the unusual feathers of plumed birds, such as egrets and herons, that lived in the Gulf Coast states. Even today people pay large sums of money to obtain items made from rare plants and animals, such as scrimshaw, leopard skin coats, and exotic cactuses. In modern-day society. we have provided legal protection to items that are rare and in demand by humans. Without this legal protection these rare items may become completely depleted, or in the case of living organisms, extinct. Once a rare item is totally depleted. or extinct. all present and future economic values are gone, forever. With renewable items. such as plants and animals. proper protection and management will allow the organism to remain in existence and to provide economic and other values into the future. In the 1960\u27s and 1970\u27s the United States government began to recognize the values of rare plants and animals to society. This has resulted in a series of laws to protect rare species that we have legally defined as endangered or threatened. The Endangered Species Act of 1973 has been the most important legislation protecting rare plants and animals thus far

The Herbarium And Type Specimens Of Thomas Henry Kearney, Jr. From 1890‐1901

Peer Reviewedhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/149754/1/tax02826.pd

Unionoida (Mollusca: Margaritiferidae, Unionidae) in Arkansas, Third Status Review

We analyzed stream inventories, phylogeographic studies, community and population estimates, life history and reproductive biology research, and suitable habitat investigations conducted from 1997-2008, as well as the Arkansas Natural Heritage Commission mussel database, to update the conservation status for all native freshwater unionoid bivalves thought to occur in Arkansas. Prior to this study, Harris et al. (1997) reviewed the distribution and status of 75 freshwater mussels considered native to Arkansas and ranked 22 species as endangered, threatened or special concern. We now recognize 85 mussel taxa in Arkansas; however, some of those have yet to be described or their nomenclature remains in a state of flux. The previous inclusion of Fusconaia subrotunda (I. Lea 1831) and Obovaria subrotunda (Rafinesque 1820) in the Arkansas native mussel fauna was based on misidentifications. Within the Arkansas mussel fauna, 19 species (22%) are now considered Endangered, 5 species (6%) are ranked as Threatened, 20 species (24%) are of Special Concern, and unfortunately, 1 species has probably been extirpated

Finishing the euchromatic sequence of the human genome

The sequence of the human genome encodes the genetic instructions for human physiology, as well as rich information about human evolution. In 2001, the International Human Genome Sequencing Consortium reported a draft sequence of the euchromatic portion of the human genome. Since then, the international collaboration has worked to convert this draft into a genome sequence with high accuracy and nearly complete coverage. Here, we report the result of this finishing process. The current genome sequence (Build 35) contains 2.85 billion nucleotides interrupted by only 341 gaps. It covers ∼99% of the euchromatic genome and is accurate to an error rate of ∼1 event per 100,000 bases. Many of the remaining euchromatic gaps are associated with segmental duplications and will require focused work with new methods. The near-complete sequence, the first for a vertebrate, greatly improves the precision of biological analyses of the human genome including studies of gene number, birth and death. Notably, the human enome seems to encode only 20,000-25,000 protein-coding genes. The genome sequence reported here should serve as a firm foundation for biomedical research in the decades ahead

Research and Teaching Needs in Wildlife Damage Control and Prevention

Wildlife damage control is a fairly unique part of wildlife management. But you will notice that I said it is a part of wildlife management. I believe that too many of today\u27s wildlife managers, professors, and administrators look at this aspect of our profession as something different, something outside of management,... something to stay away from. Wildlife damage control is a part of wildlife management and it is, perhaps, one of the most basic aspects of our profession. In fact, I would guess that nearly every professional wildlife worker has at one time or another been involved in wildlife damage control. The involvement can run from trapping sheep-killing coyotes to removing a young raccoon from an attic to adjusting the length of a big game season to avoid landowner complaints due to crop depredations, but it is there in the background of every wildlife professional. Some of us, of course, put more time into wildlife damage control than into any other activity

Raccoon Damage Control

Raccoons are found throughout the United States, and in most cases they are expanding their range into previously unoccupied habitats. Raccoons are often water-associated, but in the Great Plains they often occur a considerable distance from the water. In the Great Plains states, the expansion of agriculture has apparently allowed raccoons to move westward and northward. It is possible that the availability of old homesteads, buildings, haystacks, dumps, and towns has been instrumental in allowing raccoons to survive the winter