Forage selection by elk in habitats common to the French River - Burwash region of Ontario

1999 ◽  
Vol 77 (9) ◽  
pp. 1429-1438 ◽  
Author(s):  
M A Jost ◽  
J Hamr ◽  
I Filion ◽  
F F Mallory

A study of two herds of Rocky Mountain elk (Cervus elaphus nelsoni) introduced into the French River - Burwash regions of Ontario in the 1940s was undertaken to assess forage selection and availability. Studies in western North America have shown that the diets of elk vary seasonally, spatially, and in response to forage availability, palatability, plant phenology, plant species diversity, and habitat type. These studies have concluded that grasses, browse, and forbs were preferred forage items and that indigenous grass was used most. In an attempt to obtain a more detailed understanding of forage use in relation to habitat type, selection and availability of forage in ridge, mixed-forest, and grassland habitats was analyzed by tracking elk during a 2-year period. More than 1000 forage occasions were recorded from approximately 60 animals. It was hypothesized that Rocky Mountain elk in the French River - Burwash region would select forage species similar to those found in western North America. The results of this study support the following conclusions: (i) elk in the French River - Burwash regions of Ontario use ridge, mixed-forest, and grassland habitats for foraging; (ii) most forage consumed by elk in this region is woody species, grasses, or forbs, common in mixed-forest habitats; (iii) open grasslands increased forage diversity minimally and appeared to be the least important for foraging; (iv) uncultivated grasslands dominated by Old World agricultural gaminoid species, such as timothy (Phleum pratense), quack grass (Elymus repens), wire grass (Poa compressa), and redtop (Agrostis gigantea), or by indigenous graminoid species, such as white-grained mountain rice (Oryzopsis asperifolia), Canada blue joint (Calamagrostis canadensis), poverty oat grass (Danthonia spicata), and (or) fringed brome grass (Bromus ciliatus), may provide little nutritional support for elk in this region; (v) habitats containing large amounts of willow (Salix spp.), red maple (Acer rubrum), and common hairgrass (Deschampsia flexuosa) provide a significant forage base for elk in the Great Lakes - St. Lawrence ectone; and (vi) relocated Rocky Mountain elk in Ontario use forage classes similar to those utilized by elk in western North America; however, woody browse is the dominant forage used.

1969 ◽  
Vol 101 (4) ◽  
pp. 382-386 ◽  
Author(s):  
Richard E. Rice

AbstractEnoclerus barri Knull occurs in western North America from British Columbia south to Mexico and throughout the Rocky Mountain region. Adults were collected at Grass Valley, Calif., from May to September at traps baited with beetle attractants. Collections occurred at temperatures ranging from 22.5° to 31 °C; the sex ratio of trapped beetles was 4.5 females to 1 male. Duration of life cycle stages at 24 ± 2 °C were: egg, 9 days; larva, first iastar, 14 days; second instar, 12 days; third instar feeding stage, 14 days. All larvae reared to third instar failed to pupate in the laboratory. Adult females of unknown age when collected lived from 10 to 131 days and produced an average of 389 eggs per female. Enoclerus barri utilized six species of Scolytidae as hosts in the laboratory.


1991 ◽  
Vol 123 (5) ◽  
pp. 1135-1147 ◽  
Author(s):  
Valerie M. Behan-Pelletier ◽  
Nickolai A. Ryabinin

AbstractA new genus and species, Sacculozetes filosus, is described from riparian grassland in the Soviet Far East, and a new species, Guatemalozetes danos, is described from shortgrass and alpine prairie in western North America, both on the basis of adults. The genus Guatemalozetes Mahunka is redefined; this is the first record of this genus from temperate North America. A close relationship is indicated between Sacculozetes and Lamellobates Hammer, Paralamellobates Bhaduri and Raychaudhuri, and Hypozetes Balogh. The uncertain family placement of Sacculozetes and Guatemalozetes within the Ceratozetoidea is discussed. Adults of both genera exhibit character states of the Mycobatidae, but until immatures are discovered, they are considered unplaced genera in the superfamily.


1930 ◽  
Vol 62 (1) ◽  
pp. 12-20 ◽  
Author(s):  
G. Stuart Walley

Studies by Eaton (1884), Dodds (1923) and Needham (1905, 1927) have contributed much to our knowledge of the nymphal forms of Ephemerella occurring in Western North America. Needham's recent paper on “The Rocky Mountain species of the Mayfly genus Ephemerella” contains a valuable discussion of the nymphs of that region and is the first attempt to treat of the species in a comparative manner.


The Condor ◽  
2003 ◽  
Vol 105 (3) ◽  
pp. 397-419 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stephen W. Hoffman ◽  
Jeff P. Smith

Abstract Trained observers counted migrating raptors and vultures from ridgetops at six sites in the Intermountain and Rocky Mountain Flyways of western North America: Goshute Mountains, Nevada (autumn 1983–2001); Wellsville Mountains, Utah (autumn 1977–1979 and 1987–2001); Bridger Mountains, Montana (autumn 1992–2001); Manzano Mountains, New Mexico (autumn 1985–2001); Sandia Mountains, New Mexico (spring 1985–2001); and Lipan Point, Arizona (autumn 1991–2001). We analyzed site-specific trends in annual passage rates (raptors per 100 hr of observation), conducting species-level analyses for 13 species and age-specific analyses for Northern Goshawks (Accipiter gentilis) and Golden Eagles (Aquila chrysaetos). Our findings suggest that, until the late 1990s when possibly drought-related downturns began, Intermountain–Rocky Mountain populations of Turkey Vultures (Cathartes aura), Ospreys (Pandion haliaetus), Broad-winged Hawks (Buteo platypterus), Red-tailed Hawks (B. jamaicensis), Merlins (Falco columbarius), and Peregrine Falcons (F. peregrinus) were increasing for diverse reasons. In contrast, our migration data and other sources indicate concern over the status of western Golden Eagles and Ferruginous Hawks (B. regalis), and uncertainty about the status of western Northern Goshawks and American Kestrels (F. sparverius). Breeding Bird Survey and Christmas Bird Count trends generally corroborated our results. The migration data reveal regional variation in the status of some species, give new insight concerning Golden Eagle and Northern Goshawk migrations, and suggest effects of an ongoing, widespread drought. Our analyses demonstrate the value of standardized, long-term migration counts for monitoring the regional status and trends of migratory raptors in western North America. Tendencias Poblacionales de Aves Rapaces Migratorias en el Oeste de Norte América Entre 1977 y 2001 Resumen. Varios observadores entrenados contaron aves rapaces migratorias desde las cimas de montañas en seis sitios en los corredores de vuelo inter-montañas y de las Montañas Rocallosas en el oeste de Norte América: Goshute Mountains, Nevada (otoño 1983–2001); Wellsville Mountains, Utah (otoño 1977–1979 y 1987–2001); Bridger Mountains, Montana (otoño 1992–2001); Manzano Mountains, New Mexico (otoño 1985–2001); Sandia Mountains, New Mexico (primavera 1985–2001); Lipan Point, Arizona (otoño 1991–2001). Analizamos las tendencias específicas de cada sitio en las tasas anuales de paso (número de rapaces por 100 hr de observación), realizando análisis por especie para 13 especies y por edad para las especies Accipiter gentilis y Aquila chrysaetos. Nuestros hallazgos sugieren que hasta finales de los años 1990s (cuando comenzaron a verse tendencias negativas posiblemente relacionadas con sequías) las poblaciones de Cathartes aura, Pandion haliaetus, Buteo platypterus, B. jamaicensis, Falco columbarius y F. peregrinus estaban aumentando por diversos motivos. En contraste, nuestros datos de migración y otras fuentes causan preocupación en cuanto al estatus de A. chrysaetos y B. regalis, e incertidumbre sobre el estatus de A. gentilis y F. sparverius. Las tendencias evidentes en los censos de aves reproductivas y los conteos navideños generalmente corroboraron nuestros resultados. Los datos de migración mostraron la existencia de variación regional en el estatus de algunas especies, revelaron información nueva con respecto a las migraciones de A. chrysaetos y A. gentilis e indicaron los efectos de una sequía actual generalizada. Nuestros análisis demuestran el valor de conteos estandarizados de aves rapaces migratorias a largo plazo para monitorear el estatus regional y las tendencias poblacionales de estas aves en el oeste de Norte América.


1992 ◽  
Vol 70 (3) ◽  
pp. 539-548 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hugh B. Britten ◽  
Peter F. Brussard

Allozymes were assayed at 20 presumptive loci in increasingly isolated populations of alpine butterflies in the Boloria improba species-group including the endangered Boloria acrocnema. Populations of this Holarctic group were sampled along the Rocky Mountain Cordillera from the Yukon Territory to Colorado. Samples from a more widely distributed and generalist butterfly, Boloria titania, were assayed at 18 presumptive loci for comparative purposes. Estimates of heterozygosity, percent polymorphic loci, mean number of alleles per locus, genetic identity, and distribution of regional and private alleles indicated that the current distribution of butterflies in the B. improba group is the result of a vicariance event. During the last Wisconsin glacial maximum (20 000 to 18 000 years BP) the range of ancestral B. improba was split into Alaskan refugial populations and southern glacial-margin populations. Subsequent dispersal into an ice-free corridor 12 000 to 10 000 years BP from the Alaskan refugial populations gave rise to British Columbia and Alberta B. improba populations. Results from B. titania support these findings.


1986 ◽  
Vol 64 (3) ◽  
pp. 541-551 ◽  
Author(s):  
George W. Argus

A study of morphological variation in the Salix lucida complex revealed three geographical races: one in northeastern North America, a second in western North America extending from Alaska to California, and a third in the southern Rocky Mountains, S. lucida ssp. lucida, Salix lucida ssp. lasiandra comb, nov., and Salix lucida ssp. caudata comb, nov., respectively. The Salix reticulata complex in the Rocky Mountain region is represented by two geographical races, ssp. reticulata in the north and ssp. nivalis in the south. Variation in ssp. nivalis suggests that hybridization and introgression occur where the two races overlap, and that the results of past hybridization are still evident in the southern Rocky Mountains.


2014 ◽  
Vol 54 (1) ◽  
pp. 77-99 ◽  
Author(s):  
Steven R. Manchester ◽  
Tatyana M. Kodrul

ABSTRACT Morphology and anatomy of the extinct angiosperm fruit, Porosia verrucosa (Lesqueruex) Hickey, are documented in detail based on various modes of preservation including molds, casts, and permineralizations from more than seventy localities in the late Cretaceous and Paleocene. The fruits are schizocarpic with paired unilocular, single-seeded mericarps seated on a prominent gynophore with an hypogynous perianth borne on a long pedicel. The most distinctive feature of these fruits is the regularly spaced cylindrical intrusions over the surface of the endocarp. These are interpreted to represent oil cavities similar to those common in the fruits of extant Rutaceae. The oldest known occurrences of P. verrucosa are from the Late Cretaceous (Campanian to Maastrichtian) of western North America, but the genus traversed Beringia and became widespread in the Paleocene both in Asia (Kazakhstan, Amur Region, and Koryak Highlands), and North America (Montana, North Dakota, Wyoming, Colorado, Oregon, Washington, Alberta, Saskatchewan). It extended to the late Paleocene in the Rocky Mountain and Great Plains region, and appears to have become extinct near the Paleocene-Eocene boundary.


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