Showing papers in "Ecological Monographs in 1960"

Vegetation of the Siskiyou Mountains, Oregon and California

Abstract: II. PROCEDURE .................................. 285 Study Areas ................................. 285 Vegetation Samples and Soil Data ..... ..... 286 Arrangement of Samples in Transects .... . 286 Evaluation of Transect Techniques . ..... . 288 Transect Tables ................... ....... 289 III. VEGETATION DESCRIPTION ...... ............. 291 Low Elevations on Diorite . ... ......... .. 291 Low Elevations on Gabbro ..... ........ 297 Low Elevations on Serpentine and the Two-Phase Ef fect .......... .............. . 299 Forest Vegetation of Higher Elevations on Diorite ......................... ....... 302 Vegetation of Higher Elevations on Serpentine . . 305

Ecological Relationships of the Fish Fauna on Coral Reefs of the Marshall Islands

Abstract: FOOD AND FEEDING HABITS BY TAXONOMIC CATEGORIES ..... 71 Carcharhinidae ........ 71 Triakidae 71 Orectolobidae ......... 71 Mobulidae 71 Dussumieridae ........ 71 Clupeidae 72 Ophichthidae ......... 72 Muraenidae ......... 72 Congridae 74 Moringuidae ......... 74 Synodontidae ......... 74 Belonidae 74 Hemiramphidae ........ 75 Bothidae 75 Holocentridae ........ 75 Syngnathidae ......... 77 Aulostoinidae ......... 77 Fistulariidae ......... 77 Atherinidae ......... 77 Mugilidae 78 Sphyraenidae ......... 78 Polynemidae ......... 78 Scombridae 78 Carangidae 79 Apogoiiidae ......... 80 Priacanthidae .... 81 Serranidae 82 Pseudochroinidae ....... 83 Pempheridae ......... 84 Lutj anidae 84 Leiognathidae 86 Sparidae 86 Mullidae 87 Cirrhitidae 88 Siganidae 88 Kyphosidae ...... ...... 89 Chaetodontidae 89 PAGE

Organic production and turnover in old-field succession

Abstract: The establishment of the AEC Savannah River Plant (hereafter designated as the SRP) in Aiken and Barnwell counties, South Carolina, has provided an unusual opportunity for studies on secondary succession. During 1951-52 the approximately 6,000 human inhabitants moved out of an area of 315 square miles to make way for the establishment of the SRP; the entire area was then closed to the public. At that time about 67,000 acres (one-third of the land area) were in croplands and pastures, cotton and corn being the chief crops. From 1952, the first growing season following the cessation of agriculture, to the present time a faculty-graduate student team from the University of Georgia has been engaged in a series of ecological studies on fields of various soil types and locations within the SRP reservation. \Ve have been especially interested in the pattern of metabolism of the "old-field ecosystem" as a whole, the energy flow characteristics of major component populations, and in the role which these components play in the fate of radioactive isotopes experimentally introduced into the ecosystem. Secondary succession on abandoned cropland has been described for a number of localities in southeastern United States (Oosting 1942, Kurz 1944, Bronck and Penfound 1945, Qtuarterman 1957). The most complete descriptions is that of Costing who tabulated the density and frequency of plants in a large series of fields and forests of various ages on the Piedmont of North Carolina. Our studies on secondary succession involve an entirely different approach front that of Qosting and other investigators cited al)ove in that the functional rather than the descriptive aspect is being emphasized. Essentially, we are attempting to measure the energy flow through the different communities which develop on abandoned agricultural land, and thereby to investigate the fundamental relationships between energy and succession. In this paper we are concerne(l primarily with that part of the energy flow which constitutes the net primary production (i.e. apparent photosynthesis or total photosynthesis minis plant respiration), and secondarily with the overall heterotrophic utilization of the annual net produc-

Energy Dynamics of a Food Chain of an Old‐Field Community

Abstract: In recent years there has been a growing interest in the study of the transfer of energy through natural systems (ecosystems, Tansley 1935) Park (1946) stated that "probably the most important ultimate objective of ecology is an understanding of community structure and function from the viewpoint of its metabolism and energy relationships" Aquatic biologists have taken the initiative in the study of comillunity energetics, and most of the information available today concerns fresh water or marine communities A great need exists for similar studies on terrestrial communities In this study a food chain of the old field comnmunity, from perennial grasses and herbs to the meadow mouse, Microtus pennsylvanicus pennsylvanicus Ord, and to the least weasel, Mustela rixosa allegheniensis Rhoads, was chosen for investigation This food chain included the dominant vertebrate of the conlinunity (Microtus) and one of its main predators (Mustela) but excluded the otherwise important insects, other invertebrates, bacteria, and fungi The primary objectives of the study were to determine (1) the rate of synthesis of organic matter by the primary producers-the vegetation, (2) the path of this energy from the vegetation through the mouse to the weasel, and (3) the losses of energy at each step in the food chain The writer wishes to acknowledge with gratitude the suggestions and guidance of Dr Don W Hayne, Institute of Fisheries Research, Michigan Department of Conservation, especially concerning that portion of the study dealing with the population dynamics and productivity of the Microtus population The writer also thanks Dr John E Cantlon, Department of

Primary productivity and limiting factors in three lakes of the alaska peninsula

Abstract: INTRODUCTION The lakes draining into Bristol Bay along the base of the Alaska Peninsula are nurseries for juveniles of the red salmon (Oncorhynchus nerka [Walbaum]) spawned in the lake tributaries. Other Alaskan Pacific salmons are also taken in the coastal fishery, but the reds (also called sockeyes or bluebacks) contribute most to making the local fishery one of the most valuable in the world. Fluctuations from year to year in the abundance of the red salmon have prompted many investigations, yet various aspects of its ecology remain imperfectly understood. This investigation was planned to measure and compare the primary productivity of certain red salmon nursery lakes, and determine what factors were limiting. The opportunity to make the study arose through the interest of the United States Fish and Wildlife Service in ecological factors that affect the numbers and condition of young of this important species. Field work was conducted from the Brooks Lake Research Station, established in 1940, which provided living quarters and laboratory facilities. It is supplied primarily by amphibious aircraft. The principal objective of the Station is to determine how physical, chemical, and biological factors affect populations of red salmon in fresh waters. Considerable evidence suggests that the abundance of this salmon is determined by conditions during its early life in fresh water (Barnaby 1944). Its growth in fresh water, although only a fraction of that achieved in the sea, is of great importance in determining the percentage of a given year class that reaches sexual maturity (Foerster 1954). That food supply is a limiting factor in some drainage systems is sug-

Population Structure and Dynamics of the Western Spotted Frog, Rana p. pretiosa Baird & Girard, in Yellowstone Park, Wyoming

Abstract: INTRODUCTION The western spotted frog, Rana p. pretiosa, has been studied only casually and our knowledge of its ecology has been based largely upon incidental reports, most of which have been summarized by Stebbins (1951). Basic quantitative data relating to the behavior of natural populations of this frog are lacking. In fact it has been only within the past few years that the structure and dynamics of any anuran populations have been investigated. Data from such studies are sorely needed, for our knowledge of vertebrate population ecology is based almost exclusively on studies of fish, birds and mammals. There are a number of facets of anuran population ecology which seem susceptible to simultaneous study. One of these is the individual growth rate which, while of considerable interest in its own right, is also an important adjunct to the analysis of other problems. It is becoming increasingly evident that the rate of growth of anurans is not fixed but may vary between populations of the same species. And such variation is accompanied by differences in the age at which sexual maturity is attained. Thus, an expression of rate of growth and sexual maturation in any previously unstudied anuran population is likely to be of value. In the past, growth rates in various anuran species have been worked out by numerous authors but these data have rarely been utilized as a basis for the analysis of the age com-

Habits of Microtus californicus Revealed by Automatic Photographic Recorders

Abstract: INTRODUCTION This report is based upon photographic records, made over a period of 19 months, of animals using the runways of meadow mice, Mierotus californicus (Peale), in grass and weed habitat at Orinda, Contra Costa County, California. When an animal passed along a runway in front of one of the two recorders, it was photographed and the date, time, temperature, and relative humidity were recorded. Many of the mice had been live-trapped and marked distinctively to make them individually recognizable in the photographs. Details of the apparatus, habitat, and procedure have been described elsewhere, and the 27 other species of animals using the Microtus runways have been listed (Pearson 1959). Meadow mice were by far the most frequent users, with harvest mice, Reithrodontomys megalotis (Baird), the second most active species. No clear evidence was obtained of any interaction between these two species.

Flood Plain Vegetation of the Central Missouri Valley and Contacts of Woodland with Prairie

Abstract: So profoundly has this river modified the effects of the general grassland climate that in many places prairie has given way to woodland and forest. Several distinct forest communities along the river in southeastern Nebraska and adjacent parts of Kansas, Missouri, and Iowa extend for short distances over the uplands, but farther along the major streams. Most of the trees and shrubs of this forest are near the extreme western limit of their range. The extreme outposts of the forest are represented by relatively few species of trees and shrubs along the creeks and sheltered ravines which more or less dissect the hillv and rolling portions of the prairie.

Ecological Relationships of Peromyscus leucopus noveboracensis and P. maniculatus gracilis in Central New York

Abstract: INTRODUCTION The ecological relationships of the deer mice, Peromyscus leucopuss noveborcacensis (Fischer) and P. maniculatus gracilis (Le Conte), have been of some interest to workers in the past. These forms cecupy very similar ecological niches; they are both essentially forest-dwelling deer mice and apparently have similar food habits. Hamilton (1941) made no distinction between the two in this regard, and Cogshall (1928) found their food preferences in the laboratory to be very similar. They are also similar in size and morphology, so much so that it is often difficult to identify specimens, particularly immature

A Study of the Planktonic Rotifers of the Ocqueoc River System, Presque Isle County, Michigan

Abstract: Studies of lotic environments are few compared to those of other aquatic habitats. The number of publications based on stream study and dealing primarily with plankton is probably less than twenty for North America. The first major work in this country devoted to a study of river plankton was a monumental one Kofoid (1903, 1908) worked on the Illinois River and published an account of all plankton organisms. Allen (1920) studied a portion of the San Joaquin River around Stockton, California, and likewise included data on phytoand zooplankton in his report. The entire Ohio River was the subject of investigation by Purdy (1922) who studied the plankton community as well as bottom organisms in an attempt to determine effects of pollution and use of various members of the aquatic habitat as index organisms. Galtsoff (1924) reported on all organisms in the plankton of 465 miles of the upper Mississippi. Eddy (1932) made a study of the Sangamon River, a portion of the Illinois drainage, including the entire plankton assemblage, and later (1934) published an account of fresh-water plankton communities which included several types of aquatic habitats, among them streams. The complete Hocking River basin was investigated by Roach (1932), who studied all plankters of this tributary to the Ohio. Chandler (1937, 1939) reported on the fate of lake plankters when they were drawn into streams by the current at the outlets of lakes; that investigation was carried out at two locations, (1) in a portion of the Huron River in southern Michigan, and (2) in Bessy Creek and Maple River, segments of the larger Cheboygan River drainage in the northern part of the state. Hooper (1947) collected plankton at 23 stations in the upper reaches of the Yukon and Mackenzie systems of Can-