scholarly journals Limited Evidence For Indicator Species of High Floristic Quality Wetlands In The US Southern Plains

Author(s):  
Tommi S. Fouts ◽  
Suneeti K. Jog ◽  
Jason T. Bried

Abstract Floristic Quality Assessment requires compiling a full list of vascular plant species for the wetland. Practitioners may lack the time and taxonomic skills for full-community vegetation surveys, especially when wetlands are large and complex. In this paper we broadly ask whether floristic quality indicator species may exist for wetlands, specifically evaluating indicator species potential for high floristic quality wetlands in the US southern plains region. Indicators were identified for a broader context (wetlands in Oklahoma prairie ecoregions) and narrower context (depressional wetlands in the northern Central Great Plains ecoregion of Oklahoma) based on indicator value, indicator validity, hydrophytic status, and ecological conservatism. No candidate indicators satisfied all criteria for high floristic quality. Indicator values improved with increasing spatial-environmental context, but many candidates occurred too frequently in non-high quality sites or too infrequently in high quality sites, relative to predicted rates. The best performing indicator (Eleocharis compressa) lacked validity in the broader context and showed high false-positive rates in the narrower context. Combining E. compressa with select other candidates (Amorpha fruticosa, Juncus torreyi, Leersia oryzoides, Schoenoplectus pungens) may compensate for weaknesses but the combinations may rarely be found across the region. Overall, these results do not support relying on indicator species to rapidly identify or verify high floristic quality wetlands in the US southern plains. We recommend similar studies in other regions and testing other quality levels (low, moderate) before broadly concluding that floristic quality indicator species do not exist for wetlands.

2020 ◽  
Vol 153 (2) ◽  
pp. 292-311
Author(s):  
Colleen Friday ◽  
John Derek Scasta

Background and aims – Native American reservations in the United States provide biodiversity critical for conservation and ecosystem functions. Unfortunately, botanical inventories are less common for reservations than other land jurisdictions. Such ecological importance and needs are apparent for the Wind River Indian Reservation (WRIR), the 7th largest reservation in the US (>890,000 ha) that is shared by the Eastern Shoshone and Northern Arapaho.Material and methods – A botanical study for two WRIR high-elevation basins (Saint Lawrence Basin (SLB) and Paradise Basin (PB)) to (1) reconcile a 1960 plant list, and (2) quantify plant communities ecologically was conducted. In 2017, 106 monitoring sites were established to quantify species presence. Across basins, 231 total vascular plant taxa (221 to species and 10 to genus) were identified, or > 3× more plant species than noted in the 1960 list. In SLB, 222 plant taxa (213 to species and 9 to genus) were identified and in PB 98 plant taxa (90 to species and 8 to genus) were identified. In 2018, sites were re-sampled to quantify species abundance, soil pH, organic matter, soil nutrients, CEC, salts, and texture. Key results – Slope and elevation explained species distributions in the topography ordination and soil organic matter, pH, texture, P, and K explained species distributions in the soil ordination. Eleven exotic species, and one rare endemic species were documented with implications for empowering tribal management. Using a classification approach followed by an indicator species analysis and fidelity (Phi) assessment, we identified 14 unique plant communities and related these to 6 alliances and 7 associations across 6 macrogroups from the US National Vegetation Classification database. These indicator species of communities included sedges (Carex aquatilus), grasses (Pseudoroegneria spicata, Elymus elymoides, Achnatherum lettermanii, Elymus trachycaulus subsp. trachycaulus, Poa glauca subsp. rupicola), forbs (Polygonum bistortoides, Balsamorhiza incana, Castilleja flava), shrubs (Artemisia tridentata, Betula glandulosa, Dasiphora fruticosa subsp. floribunda) and trees (Pinus contorta).Conclusion – The plant taxa, plant communities, and ecological drivers documented in this study will enhance tribal and federal monitoring of these high-elevation WRIR basins.


Author(s):  
Masoud Keighobadi ◽  
Maryam Nakhaei ◽  
Ali Sharifpour ◽  
Ali Akbar Khasseh ◽  
Sepideh Safanavaei ◽  
...  

Background: This study was designed to analyze the global research on Lophomonas spp. using bibliometric techniques. Methods: A bibliometric research was carried out using the Scopus database. The analysis unit was the research articles conducted on Lophomonas spp. Results: Totally, 56 articles about Lophomonas spp. were indexed in the Scopus throughout 1933-2019 ( 87 years ) with the following information: (A) The first article was published in 1933; (B) 21 different countries contributed in studies related to Lophomonas spp.; (C) China ranked first with 16 publications about Lophomonas spp.; and (D) “Brugerolle, G” and “Beams, H.W.” from France and the US participated in 4 articles respectively, as the highest number of publications in the Lophomonas spp. network. Discussion: After 87 years, Lophomonas still remains unknown for many researchers and physicians around the world. Further studies with high quality and international collaboration are urgently needed to determine different epidemiological aspects and the real burden of the mysterious parasite worldwide.


2010 ◽  
Vol 67 (11) ◽  
pp. 1730-1743 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michelle M. McGree ◽  
Dana L. Winkelman ◽  
Nicole  K.M.  Vieira ◽  
Alan  M.  Vajda

Endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDCs) have been detected in surface waters worldwide and can lead to developmental and reproductive disruption in exposed fishes. In the US Great Plains, EDCs are impacting streams and rivers and may be causing adverse reproductive effects. To examine how estrogenic EDCs might affect reproductive success of plains fishes, we experimentally exposed male red shiners ( Cyprinella lutrensis ) to exogenous 17β-estradiol. We characterized the effects of estradiol on male gonadal histology and secondary sexual characteristics, determined whether exposure reduced reproductive success, and examined the effects of depuration. Adults were exposed to a mean concentration of 70 ng·L−1 estradiol, a solvent control, or a water control for at least 83 days. Male exposure to estradiol resulted in elevated plasma vitellogenin concentrations, changes in spermatogenesis, reduced mating coloration and tubercles, altered mating behaviors, and reduced reproductive success with no viable progeny produced. Reproductive endpoints improved upon depuration (28 days). Exposure to estradiol had significant adverse effects on red shiners, indicating that wild populations may face developmental and reproductive difficulties if they are chronically exposed to estradiol.


1999 ◽  
Vol 64 (3) ◽  
pp. 444-454 ◽  
Author(s):  
Vance T. Holliday ◽  
Eileen Johnson ◽  
Thomas W. Stafford

Plainview and Firstview are two of the principal post-Folsom Paleoindian artifact assemblages on the Great Plains, but good radiometric age control for these artifact styles is relatively poor, due in part to lack of reliable age control on the type collections. This study reports the results of AMS-radiocarbon dating of specific amino acids from Bison antiquus bone associated with the type Plainview and Firstview assemblages from the Plainview and Olsen-Chubbuck sites, respectively. Seven samples of bone and teeth from Plainview produced a surprisingly wide array of ages. As a result, the age of the bone bed and the type Plainview collection remain uncertain, but it is most likely ≥ 10,000 B.P. (but late or post-Folsom) given the dating and stratigraphic relationships at Plainview and other sites. Seven samples of bone from Olsen-Chubbuck yielded a tight cluster of ages averaging ca 9400 B.P., fitting well with other dated Firstview features on the Southern Plains. These results show that much better age control from more sites is needed in order to understand the Paleoindian record. AMS-radiocarbon dating of specific amino acids from bone has revolutionized such issues of chronology in archaeology, but like any other method, it can provide confusing results and must be used in conjunction with other chronometric data.


Crop Science ◽  
2016 ◽  
Vol 57 (1) ◽  
pp. 53-61 ◽  
Author(s):  
Smit Dhakal ◽  
Chor-Tee Tan ◽  
Li Paezold ◽  
Maria P. Fuentealba ◽  
Jackie C. Rudd ◽  
...  

2018 ◽  
Vol 21 (04) ◽  
pp. 1850022
Author(s):  
Yaseen S. Alhaj-Yaseen ◽  
Kean Wu ◽  
Leslie B. Fletcher

This paper examines the changes in earnings quality of registered American Depositary Receipts (ADRs) as a result of switching accounting standards. We aim to shed light on the potential impact of International Financial Reporting Standard (IFRS) adoption on US firms. A suboptimal approach to achieve this goal is through examination of US firms’ surrogates such as ADRs. Unlike previous studies, we made a distinction between registered and unregistered ADRs and affirmed that registered ADRs are the closest surrogates with which to conduct our analysis because they are exclusively required to adhere to the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)’s stringent disclosure requirements. When cross-listing their equity on the US exchanges, foreign issuers can file their financial reports with the SEC using IFRS, US GAAP (generally accepted accounting principles), or their domestic GAAP with reconciliation to US GAAP. An improvement in earnings quality is documented when ADRs adopt US GAAP or IFRS versus domestic GAAP. However, when the comparison is made between US GAAP and IFRS, no difference in earnings quality is documented. These results indicate that switching to high-quality accounting standards is likely to improve earnings quality. This improvement is maximized when the difference between reporting standards is high and minimized if otherwise. Our conclusion is that the adoption of IFRS in the US is unlikely to change earnings quality of local issuers. Moreover, we drew a distinction between reconciliation with and adoption of high-quality accountings standards and find that while the former can enhance earnings quality, the latter can further improve it.


2012 ◽  
Vol 36 (3) ◽  
pp. 279-310 ◽  
Author(s):  
Myron P. Gutmann ◽  
Sara M. Pullum-Piñón ◽  
Kristine Witkowski ◽  
Glenn D. Deane ◽  
Emily Merchant

In agricultural settings, environment shapes patterns of settlement and land use. Using the Great Plains of the United States during the period of its initial Euro-American settlement (1880–1940) as an analytic lens, this article explores whether the same environmental factors that determine settlement timing and land use—those that indicate suitability for crop-based agriculture—also shape initial family formation, resulting in fewer and smaller families in areas that are more conducive to livestock raising than to cropping. The connection between family size and agricultural land availability is now well known, but the role of the environment has not previously been explicitly tested. Descriptive analysis offers initial support for a distinctive pattern of family formation in the western Great Plains, where precipitation is too low to support intensive cropping. However, multivariate analysis using county-level data at 10-year intervals offers only partial support to the hypothesis that environmental characteristics produce these differences. Rather, this analysis has found that the region was also subject to the same long-term social and demographic changes sweeping the rest of the country during this period.


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