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Publications

USGS Northern Prairie Wildlife Research Center staff publish results of their research in USGS series reports and in peer-reviewed journals. Publication links are below.  Information on all USGS publications can be found at the USGS Publications Warehouse.

Filter Total Items: 1961

Commercial sunflowers: food for red foxes in North Dakota Commercial sunflowers: food for red foxes in North Dakota

Stomach contents of 70 red foxes (Vulpes vulpes) shot in east-central North Dakota during January 1982 and January 1983 were examined. Commercial sunflower seeds were the most frequently found food item, occurring each year in three-fourths of the stomachs and composing about half of the contents. The remainder of the diet was primarily mammals, but included birds, insects, amphibians...
Authors
A.B. Sargeant, S.H. Allen, J. P. Fleskes

Winter ecology of bald eagles in southcentral Nebraska Winter ecology of bald eagles in southcentral Nebraska

Approximately 200 bald eagles wintered along a 370-km section of the Platte and North Platte rivers in Nebraska during the winters of 1978-79 and 1979-80. A preponderance of the wintering eagles were adults, with the adult:subadult ratio highest during the harsh winter of 1978-79. Nocturnal roosts were located primarily in tree plantings near the river, with mean tree age at the roosts...
Authors
G.R. Lingle, Gary L. Krapu

Climatic data for the Cottonwood Lake area, Stutsman County, North Dakota 1982 Climatic data for the Cottonwood Lake area, Stutsman County, North Dakota 1982

Research on the hydrology of the Cottonwood Lake area, Stutsman County, North Dakota, includes study of evaporation. Presented here are those climatic data needed for energy-budget and mass-transfer evaporation studies, including: water-surface temperature, sediment temperature dry-bulb and wet-bulb air temperatures, vapor pressure at and above the water surface, wind speed, and short-...
Authors
A.M. Sturrock, B.A. Hanson, J.L. Scarborough, T. C. Winter

An evaluation of condition indices for birds An evaluation of condition indices for birds

A Lipid Index, the ratio of fat to fat-free dry weight, is proposed as a measure of fat stores in birds. The estimation of the index from field measurements of live birds is illustrated with data on the sandhill crane (Grus canadensis) and greater white-fronted goose (Anser albifrons). Of the various methods of assessing fat stores, lipid extraction is the most accurate but also the most...
Authors
Douglas H. Johnson, Gary L. Krapu, Kenneth J. Reinecke, Dennis G. Jorde

Evaluation of marked-recapture for estimating striped skunk abundance Evaluation of marked-recapture for estimating striped skunk abundance

The mark-recapture method for estimating striped skunk (Mephitis mephitis) abundance was evaluated by systematically livetrapping a radio-equipped population on a 31.4-km2 study area in North Dakota during late April of 1977 and 1978. The study population was 10 females and 13 males in 1977 and 20 females and 8 males in 1978. Skunks were almost exclusively nocturnal. Males traveled...
Authors
Raymond J. Greenwood, Alan B. Sargeant, Douglas H. Johnson

Classification of native vegetation at the Woodworth Station, North Dakota Classification of native vegetation at the Woodworth Station, North Dakota

Native prairie areas on the Woodworth Station were sampled, classified, described, and mapped. Transect sites were selectively located along different soil moisture gradients. Data were collected from 292 plots using a modified Braun-Blanquet cover estimation technique. Trees and tall shrubs (over 2 m) were not sampled because they made up less than 1% of all cover. Eve vegetation...
Authors
M.I. Meyer

The need for accuracy in modelling: An example The need for accuracy in modelling: An example

The need for accurate information in modelling depends on the objectives of the effort. but trustworthy data are essential for a model intended for use in the management of natural resources. This point is illustrated by referring to a recently published model of canvasback ducks. We demonstrate that several key assumptions are not supported by biological evidence, and that inferences...
Authors
Douglas H. Johnson, M.J. Conroy, J.D. Nichols

Classification of wetlands and deepwater habitats of the United States Classification of wetlands and deepwater habitats of the United States

This classification, to be used in a new inventory of wetlands and deepwater habitats of the United States, is intended to describe ecological taxa, arrange them in a system useful to resource managers, furnish units for mapping, and provide uniformity of concepts and terms. Wetlands are defined by plants (hydrophytes), soils (hydric soils), and frequency of flooding. Ecologically...
Authors
L.M. Cowardin, V. Carter, F.C. Golet, E.T. LaRoe

Improving waterfowl production estimates: Results of a test in the prairie pothole region Improving waterfowl production estimates: Results of a test in the prairie pothole region

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in an effort to improve and standardize methods for estimating waterfowl production tested a new technique in the four-county Arrowwood Wetland Management District (WMD) for three years (1982-1984). On 14 randomly selected 10.36 km2 plots, upland and wetland habitat was mapped, classified, and digitized. Waterfowl breeding pairs were counted twice each...
Authors
P.M. Arnold, L.M. Cowardin
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