Research Projects

Current Research Projects

Current research is focused on the role that diversity plays in providing ecological functions, understanding the dynamics and structure of channel catfish in Nebraska reservoirs, invasive species risk assessments and distribution modeling, the Nebraska Landowner Incentives Program, the occurrence of amphibians in Nebraska Rainwater Basin wetlands, documenting predator fish control on white perch populations, understanding how resilience is generated in ecological systems, assessing the value of grassland habitats songbird production in three national parks, understanding river otter home range and habitat, and the recruitment of walleye and white bass in irrigation reservoirs .

Scroll down through the page or click on one of the following links:

1. Adaptive Management for the Nebraska Natural Legacy Plan (NNLP)
2. Assessing Local and Landscape Constraints on Habitat Management for Upland Birds
3. Aquatic Invasive Species (AIS) Prevention Plan
4. The Effects of Altered Stopover Habitat on Resource Availability, Habitat Selection, and Stopover Behaviors
5. Evaluating the Benefits of Higher Diversity CRP Plantings for At-Risk Species
6. Human Dimensions of Nebraska's Fisheries: Angler Response to Reservoir Management (Creel Surveys)
7. Influence of Trout Stocking on Tier I/II Fishes
8. Making Adaptive Management Meaningful: Translating Science Learning into Policy Decision-Making
9. Missouri River Mitigation: Implementation and Adaptive Management for Wetland Restoration Evaluation
10. Monitoring, Mapping and Risk Assessment and Management of Invasive Species in Nebraska
11. Population Assessment of Channel Catfish in Nebraska
12. Recruitment of Walleye and White Bass in Irrigation Reservoirs
13. The Relationship between Diversity, Ecological Functions and Services
14. Ring-necked Pheasant Population Dynamics: Assessing Behavioral and Life History Responses to Management Actions
15. River Otter Home Range and Habitat Use
16. Scenarios of Climate Change and Land Use Change and Biological Invasions in the High Plains
17. Southeast Prairies BUL and Sandstone Prairies BUL Research
18. Wetland Condition Assessment
19. Wind and Wildlife Project

Completed Research Projects

Nebraska Cooperative has several research projects that have been completed. Click Here to read those completed projects.

Adaptive Management for the Nebraska Natural Legacy Plan (NNLP)

The Nebraska Natural Legacy Plan (NNLP) is a conservation strategy that identifies conservation targets and management approaches to decrease threats to Nebraska’s biodiversity. In cooperation with the Nebraska Game and Parks Commission, an adaptive management framework will be developed for the NNLP.

GOALS:
1. Evaluate the effects of conservation activities;
2. Prioritize research and monitor activities;
3. Develop innovative programs to improve the ability to inventory and monitor at-risk species;
4. Develop theoretical and empirical techniques that facilitate the integration of research and monitoring into the management programs of at-risk, non-game species, including consideration of the complex trade-offs between social, economic, and biological factors that may facilitate and constrain effective wildlife management.

This project will produce a literature synthesis to identify effective techniques and approaches in the region, and test them in the field using an adaptive management framework. Ultimately, the project will serve as a demonstration of effective implementation of adaptive management for NNLP goals, which will then be used as a template for other projects across the state. Study areas, species, and cooperators will be identified in fall 2011, and fieldwork is expected to begin by summer 2012.

CURRENT STATUS: This project began June 2011

GRADUATE RESEARCH ASSISTANT: Kent Fricke

FUNDING: Nebraska Game and Parks Commission, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service

PROJECT PI: Craig Allen,NE CFWRU, Joseph (TJ) Fontaine, NE CFWRU

Click Here to read the fact sheet on this project.

Human Dimensions of Nebraska's Fisheries: Angler Response to Reservoir Management

GOALS: Natural resource agencies invest substantial resources to recruit anglers—the Nebraska Game and Parks Commission is no different. However, there is little understanding of human motives for participating in angling activities. Even less is known about the effects of management actions on angler participation.

Project goals are to understand 1) the participation patterns of anglers on local and regional scales, and 2) how participation patterns of anglers influence fish populations. More in-depth information is provided here.

CURRENT STATUS: The project currently has six study components:

1. Statewide Angler Survey: Creel surveys are being conducted on Calamus Reservoir, Harlan County Reservoir, Lake McConaughy, Lewis and Clark Lake, Merritt Reservoir, and Sherman Reservoir April through October 2009–2013. These surveys provide continuation to long-term (>10–20 years) data sets that are valuable for assessment of temporal changes in angler participation. In particular, these extended data sets will allow for relational assessments of changes in angling participation with environmental conditions and management actions on large-scales.

In addition to the long-term assessments, creel surveys are being conducted at numerous smaller reservoirs. Effectively sampling smaller waterbodies is logistically difficult—there are fewer anglers to contact, which creates statistical issues due to small sample size. Small reservoirs to be sampled at least one year during this study include the Fremont Lakes, TaHaZouka Park Lake, Gracie Creek Pond, Willow Creek State Recreation Area, Skyview Lake, Cottonmill Lake and Yanney Park Lake. These small data sets will allow assessment of current guidelines used when sampling small fisheries.

Creel surveys are also being used to target some unique situations around the state. Our first unique situation occurred in the Republican River basin. Four reservoirs (Swanson, Enders, Red Willow, and Medicine Creek) are being surveyed during 2009–2013 to identify possible changes in angler participation following a major drawdown at Red Willow due to safety concerns over the dam, which restricted access for several months. Lessons learned from these reservoirs will aide in understanding other situations across the state when access to a fishery is restricted. Our second unique situation occurred in the upper basin of the Niobrara River. Box Butte Reservoir is being surveyed during 2010–2011 to quantify the participation patterns by spear fishermen following a change in the spear-fishing season and to identify changes in harvest of northern pike following a change in the size limit. Click Here to read more about the Creel Survey.

2. Regional Angler Survey: An intensive year-round survey is being conducted on 19 reservoirs in the Salt Valley region of southeast Nebraska. The survey will provide baseline data necessary to develop a model predicting temporal and spatial participation of anglers. This model will be especially useful for understanding changes in fishing pressure on specific reservoirs as influenced by conditions at near-by reservoirs

Intensive, year round sampling continues on the 19 Salt Valley reservoirs. In 2011, Branched Oak, Holmes, Merganser, Wagon Train, Wild Plum, Wildwood and Yankee Hill reservoirs were sampled. Data from these reservoirs will be used along with data from 2009–2010 sampling to assess participation patterns of anglers within the Salt Valley region. Preliminary results indicate that the number of anglers harvesting fish is small across the region, whereas effort is great in most reservoirs, especially those within Lincoln.

3. Ability of Angler to Identify Fishes: A fish-identification quiz was first given in August 2010 to participants of a Family Fishing event hosted by the Nebraska Game and Parks Commission. Since then, this quiz has been given at the UNL NaturePalooza, Fremont Rural Living Expo, Triumph of Agriculture Expo, and Missouri River Outdoor Expo. Participants are asked to examine fish models and identify the species. Information gained will allow us to quantify anglers’ current abilities to correctly identify fish species, and evaluate several different products designed to educate anglers about fish identification. Understanding anglers’ ability to correctly identify fish is important for predicting the success of complex fishing regulations.

4. Angling Pressure and Bluegill Parasites: Catch-and-release angling is extremely popular on the reservoirs within Nebraska’s Salt Valley watershed. Fish that are captured and released by anglers are often subjected to stressors that alter physiology, potentially altering fish behavior and ultimately fish fitness. Additionally, increases in angling pressure should correlate positively with catch-and-release events. Finally, fish can become more susceptible to infestation by parasites when stress compromises the fish’s immune system. Thus, we predict that a positive relationship exists between angling pressure and rate of parasite infestation. To test this prediction, we will examine angling pressure and larval trematode (i.e., Neascus spp. and Clinostmum spp.) abundance in juvenile bluegill for 16 Salt Valley reservoirs.

5. Angler Effects on Sexually-Dimorphic Fish Species: Differences in harvest between male and female fish can alter sex-specific rates of recruitment, growth, and mortality, and hence, the overall health of a fish population. Detailed information (species, length, total weight, age, sex, liver weight, and gonad weight) on harvested walleye, white bass, and white crappie was collected from Sherman and Calamus Reservoirs during spring 2009 and 2010. Sex-selective harvest (female-biased) was evident for white bass and white crappie, but not for walleye.

6. Estimates of Fish Population Size—an Important Link to Understanding Harvest: Fishery biologists routinely monitor relative abundance of fish populations by assessing catch in standardized gears; they also routinely monitor harvest by estimating total number of fish kept by anglers within a year. Unfortunately, it is difficult to understand the effect of harvesting 20,000 walleye from a reservoir where only six walleye were captured in a gillnet set overnight. As such, we are working to obtain population estimates for channel catfish in 10 Salt Valley reservoirs. In addition, we are investigating the applicability of techniques commonly used by wildlife biologists to estimate bird and mammal abundance, for estimating abundance of fish. Ultimately, information on fish population sizes will be linked with information on angler use and harvest.

GRADUATE RESEARCH ASSISTANTS: Dustin Martin,Carla Bobier, Lucas Kowalewski, Alexis Maple, Peter Spirk, Chris Wiley

CREEL CLERKS: Tyler Anderson, Don Bohnenkamp, Ron Grandi, Rhonda Lawing, Dennis Liess, Jared Meiergerd, Minnie Petsch, Brett Roberg, Gerald Ryschon, Tyler Sanders,
Shelby Sidel, Phil Stollberg

POST-DOC RESEARCH ASSOCIATE AND COORDINATOR: Christopher Chizinski

FUNDING: Nebraska Game and Parks Commission

PROJECT PI: Kevin Pope, NE CFWRU

Making Adaptive Management Meaningful:Translating Science Learning into Policy Decision-Making

Adaptive management has been and continues to be implemented around the country and world, yet few examples exist of programs successfully implementing all six steps (Assess, Design, Implement, Monitor, Evaluate, and Adjust) of adaptive management. A key break point in this process seems to be synthesizing collected data and using that synthesis to tell a story about what data say in regard to key questions and hypotheses in a way that is useful to decision-makers and results in positive changes in management or policy.

GOALS:
1. explore the science and policy interface in a comparative study of several adaptive management programs,
2. provide specific background on this issue as it relates to the Platte River Recovery Implementation Program,
3. showcase decision analysis other tools that can be used as decision support in the Platte River and other adaptive management programs, and
4. discuss opportunities for and challenges to bridging the science/policy gap.

CURRENT STATUS: Chad Smith continues his research into the gap between science and decision-making in adaptive management programs and tools to successfully bridge that gap.
The working title of his dissertation is “Making Adaptive Management Meaningful: Translating Science Learning into Policy Decision-Making.” Adaptive management has been and continues to be implemented around the country and world, yet few examples exist of programs successfully implementing all six steps (Assess → Design → Implement → Monitor → Evaluate → Adjust) of adaptive management. A key break point in this process seems to be synthesizing collected data and using that synthesis to tell a story about what data say in regard to key questions and hypotheses in a way that is useful to decision-makers and results in positive changes in management or policy.

Smith is applying learning from his research in the real world, serving as Adaptive Management Plan implementation coordinator for the Platte River Recovery Implementation Program. He is also co-lead of a small team writing an Adaptive Management Plan for the Middle Rio Grande Endangered Species Collaborative Program.

GRADUATE RESEARCH ASSISTANTS: Chad Smith

FUNDING: No external funding

PROJECT PI: Craig R. Allen, NE CFWRU; Kyle Hoagland, UNL School of Natural Resources

Missouri River Mitigation: Implementation and Adaptive Management for Wetland Restoration Evaluation

GOALS: This project will gather the data needed to determine what constitutes a successful wetland restoration, given the desired goals of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. Herpetofauna—primarily amphibians—will be used as indicators of wetland quality. This will be accomplished by quantifying the occurrence and recruitment of amphibians at existing mitigation sites and formulating models of quality wetland restorations. These models will be used by managers in future restorations and for adaptive management approaches to the design of new wetland restorations. The study area is the Missouri River corridor of Iowa, Kansas, Missouri and Nebraska.

CURRENT STATUS :Data are being collected to determine what constitutes a successful wetland restoration, given the desired goals of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. Herpetofauna—primarily amphibians—are being used as indicators of wetland quality. This will be accomplished by quantifying the occurrence and recruitment of amphibians at existing mitigation sites and formulating models of quality wetland restorations. These models will be used by managers in future restorations and for adaptive management approaches to the design of new wetland restorations. The study area is the Missouri River corridor of Iowa, Kansas, Missouri and Nebraska.

This project is a multi-institutional monitoring program that focuses on tightly linking monitoring with hypothesis testing in an adaptive framework. The design consists of frog call surveys to determine occupancy rates for a large number of wetlands on numerous restoration properties, coupled with intensive sampling of frogs, turtles and salamanders to assess abundance and recruitment on eight restored wetland complexes in four states. The focus areas for the Nebraska Coop Unit are three Missouri River wetland complexes located from Falls City to Omaha, Nebraska. Project collaborators at Benedictine College in Kansas are focusing on the Benedictine Wetlands in Kansas.

The second season of the Wetland Herpetofaunal Survey has been completed. Breeding anuran call surveys were conducted as well as tadpole dip-netting over three seasons in April, May and June 2011. In July 2010, turtle trapping was implemented to obtain species richness and abundance estimates.

The results will be used to create spatial models of the herpetofauna's distribution during the survey period. The third field season will begin April 2012.

GRADUATE RESEARCH ASSISTANT: Michelle Hellman, Ashley VanderHam

TECHNICIANS: Reece Allen, Erin Andresen, Nathan Baird, Chris Dietrich

FUNDING: U.S. Geological Survey and U.S. Army Corps of Engineers

PROJECT PI: Craig R. Allen, NE CFWRU; Martin Simon, Benedictine College

 

 

 

Click Here to read the fact sheet on this project

Monitoring, Mapping and Risk Assessment and Management of Invasive Species in Nebraska

This five-year project continues the work begun with funding from the Nebraska Environmental Trust. However, while many of the same goals exist, the project now takes on many new tasks in collaborating with the Commission. For example, the project recently released a draft of the Nebraska Aquatic Nuisance Species Management Plan. Similar plans are in effect in most other states but is lacking in Nebraska. Other invasive species management plans are scheduled for development, encouraging cross-agency collaboration even further. The now fully equipped education and outreach program is reaching out to broad audiences across the state, and has recently focused on state policy makers in hopes of solidifying upcoming invasive species legislation. The invasive species newsletter, Nebraska Invasive News Network, is now distributed electronically to around 400 people. Click here to read the Lincoln Journal Star Article "The muscle to stop mussels"Officials, public need to cooperate to keep out invading species."

GOALS: The future of the project lies in many more collaborative efforts in invasive species research and management in Nebraska.

CURRENT STATUS: With new funding provided by the Nebraska Game and Parks Commission (Federal Aid Grant), the Invasive Species Project has taken on many new tasks in collaborating with the Commission and other agencies and organizations. In November 2010, the Nebraska Aquatic Invasive Species Management Plan was approved by the federal Aquatic Nuisance Species Task force, enabling Nebraska to receive federal funding to help implement the plan. Additional funding from Nebraska Game and Parks Commission in 2011 allowed for the hiring of technicians to help fulfill the plan objectives. For example, technicians sampled weekly May–August for zebra and quagga mussel larvae at various lakes around Nebraska (in response to a recent infestation at an urban lake in Omaha). Several watercraft decontamination units were purchased to help prevent the spread of aquatic invasive species. A state-wide watercraft decontamination protocol was developed and is now a requirement by several state agencies and organizations. The protocol and more information can be found at: http://snr.unl.edu/invasives/boater.htm. The Invasive Species Project also received additional funding from the Nebraska Environmental Trust to begin a new Aquatic Invasive Species Prevention Program.

In April 2011, the Nebraska Invasive Species Advisory Council released the newly developed list of invasive plants in Nebraska. New categories were created and species were prioritized using a new ranking chart based on the impact that the species causes and our ability to eradicate it. The document includes recommended actions for each new category, focusing eradication efforts towards those species that are less abundant and for which eradication is feasible. This framework is currently being used to develop other invasive species lists for Nebraska (i.e., aquatic invasives, insects, mammals, etc). The newly developed list and documents can be found at: http://snr.unl.edu/invasives/invasiveplantslist.htm.

The education and outreach portion of program has improved and is reaching out to broad audiences across the state. Not only are efforts targeted toward the general public and state agencies, but recently K 12 curriculum was developed to help educate the next generation. In addition, the project coordinator has helped to educate state policy makers in hopes of solidifying upcoming invasive species legislation. During 2010–2011, the Invasive Species project coordinator gave numerous presentations, provided outreach booths, and gave radio and news interviews totaling more than 40 different events. The invasive species website (and newsletter) has record-breaking numbers, now receiving over 2,000 visitors each month. With several more years of funding, the future of the project lies in many more collaborative efforts in invasive species research and management in Nebraska

WEBSITE: http://snr5.unl.edu/invasives/index.htm

PROGRAM COORDINATOR: Karie Decker

FUNDING: Nebraska Game and Parks Commission

PROJECT PI: Craig R. Allen, NE CFWRU

 

 

 

Population Assessment of Channel Catfish in Nebraska

Despite the popularity of channel catfish as a sport fish, little is known of its population dynamics or habitat requirements, and assessment of management strategies is lacking. This project is assessing the present variability in the dynamics (recruitment, growth and mortality) and structure (abundance, size- and age-structure, and condition) of channel catfish populations found in standing water bodies throughout Nebraska. Channel catfish populations from across Nebraska are being compared among water-body types and among stocking strategies. The results will help managers determine the need for future stockings and harvest regulations of channel catfish. Further, catches of channel catfish in tandem, baited hoop nets (a new approach for sampling catfish) will be compared with catches of channel catfish in experimental gill nets; this comparison will help NGPC evaluate a potential change in sampling standards for channel catfish in standing water bodies.

GOALS: The purpose of the project is to gain an understanding of the present variability in the dynamics (recruitment, growth and mortality) and structure (abundance, size- and age-structure, and condition) of channel catfish populations found in reservoirs throughout Nebraska. This information will help managers determine the need for future stockings and harvest regulations of channel catfish.

CURRENT STATUS: Approximately 5,200 catfish were collected from 22 Nebraska water bodies during the first sampling season (summer 2008); ages were estimated for about 2,400 of those catfish. An additional 20 water bodies were sampled during the second and final 2009 sampling season. The 2009 sampling season also included return visits to three water bodies sampled during the first season to document temporal variability in catch rates. Aging of collected spines is completed, and assessment of recruitment, growth and mortality is in progress.

Preliminary assessments indicate that condition was not influenced by stocking rate or ecosystem type. Relative weight varied among water bodies, but did not differ among treatments. Preliminary assessments also indicate that stocking rate influenced abundance in two of three ecosystem types. In sand pits and flood-control reservoirs, catch per unit effort (CPUE) was greatest in frequently stocked water bodies, and least in those that were not stocked; however, there was no apparent relationship between abundance and stocking rate in irrigation/power-generation reservoirs. Ecosystem type also influenced abundance; CPUE was greatest in flood-control reservoirs. Preliminary assessments indicate that stocking rate influences size structure in sand pits and flood-control reservoirs, but not in irrigation reservoirs. In sand pits and flood-control reservoirs, increased stocking rates result in a shift towards greater proportions of small fish. Preliminary assessment indicates that catch of channel catfish in hoop nets varies within season and among years.

In gear comparisons, length-frequency distributions and proportional stock density values of captured fish were similar between hoop nets and gill nets in flood-control reservoirs and irrigation/power-generation reservoirs. In sand pits, low total catch of gill net surveys prevented size structure comparison between gears. Catch per unit effort was greater with hoop nets than gill nets in flood-control reservoirs, but similar between gears in irrigation/power-generation reservoirs and sand pits. For gill nets, ecosystem type did not influence CPUE, whereas for hoop nets, CPUE was greatest in flood-control reservoirs and least in irrigation/power-generation reservoirs.

GRADUATE RESEARCH ASSISTANT: Lindsey Chizinski

FUNDING: Nebraska Game and Parks Commission

PROJECT PI: Kevin Pope, NE CFWRU

 

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Recruitment of Walleye and White Bass in Irrigation Reservoirs

The five reservoirs within Nebraska’s Republican River watershed (Swanson, Enders, Red Willow [also referred to as Hugh Butler Lake], Medicine Creek [Harry Strunk Lake], and Harlan County) were built primarily for flood control and irrigation, resulting in large in-reservoir water-level fluctuations within and among years. These reservoirs also provide important fisheries for anglers in southwest Nebraska. Walleye and white bass are of particular importance in these reservoirs. However, continued annual stockings of walleye are necessary because natural production is limited. In contrast, white bass populations are self-sustaining within these reservoirs, although recruitment is extremely erratic (i.e., weak or missing year-classes are common) in all but Harlan County Reservoir. A “recruitment bottleneck” likely exists for walleye and perhaps white bass in these irrigation reservoirs. Click here for map and additional information on these four southwest Nebraska reservoirs.

GOALS: The purpose of this project is to gain an understanding of the factors affecting recruitment of walleye and white bass in irrigation reservoirs. The primary foci are documenting the relative importance of spawning habitats and determining when the suspected recruitment bottleneck for walleye and white bass occurs in southwest Nebraska irrigation reservoirs. This information is vital for understanding reservoir fish ecology in semiarid regions.

CURRENT STATUS: Sampling walleye and white bass populations continues in these reservoirs. Several more years of data are needed to begin initial explorations for potential recruitment bottlenecks of walleye and white bass in southwest Nebraska irrigation reservoirs. We have finished processing otoliths from fall gillnet surveys conducted with Nebraska Game and Parks Commission from 2007–2011, which allows us to evaluate the age structure of the walleye and white bass populations in these reservoirs. Furthermore, mathematical models are allowing us to gain insight into the mechanisms affecting recruitment of walleye and white bass, and the spatial scale at which these mechanisms are operating. Future efforts include comparing walleye egg size (theoretically related to reservoir productivity) among reservoirs, and evaluating larval white bass feeding efficiency under variable turbidity conditions and zooplankton densities.

In an effort to improve the walleye fishery in the reservoirs, annual stocking strategies are being evaluated. The effect of in-reservoir water-level fluctuations on the success of walleye stocking is being examined, with the goal of constructing a mathematical model to predict maximum stocking efficiency.

GRADUATE RESEARCH ASSISTANT: Jason DeBoer, Robert Kill, Ryan Lueckenhoff (MS 2011), Dustin Martin (MS 2008)

FUNDING: Nebraska Game and Parks Commission

PROJECT PI: Kevin Pope, NE CFWRU

GOALS: This project seeks to understand how the diversity of grasslands affects ecological services. The current focus is on herbivory.  

CURRENT STATUS: We have identified existing high diversity restorations and low diversity remnant grasslands (pastures) as large scale study sites (approximately 100 acres). We also established twenty-four 0.75-acre plots which are planted to six replicates each of four treatments:

• high diversity sites of about 100 species normally planted by The Nature Conservancy, and at double the normal seeding rate; and
• sites using the Natural Resources Conservation Service CP25 seed mix (15 species) at normal and half-normal seeding rates.

These sites are currently being used to assess invasion resistance among the treatments, and to assess soil development and nematode populations.

All invertebrate identification is complete. Soil samples were collected in July 2011 and will be analyzed for soil nutrients. A second season of herbivory data were collected in late July and early September 2011. Data analysis is ongoing


GRADUATE RESEARCH ASSISTANTS : Kristine Nemec, Ph.D. (also U.S. Army Corps of Engineers); Lindsey Reinarz (University of Nebraska at Omaha)

FUNDING:  The James S. McDonnell Foundation–Studying Complex Systems, the Nebraska Game and Parks Commission. Additional collaborators include the Nature Conservancy, the University of Nebraska Omaha and The National Science Foundation IGERT Program.

PROJECT PI: Craig R. Allen, NE CFWRU, Chris Helzer, The Nature Conservancy and LaReesa Wolfenbarger, University of Nebraska at Omaha

 

 

 

Ring-necked Pheasant Population Dynamics: Assessing Behavioral and Life History Responses to Management Actions   

The native grasslands of the Great Plains serve as habitat for numerous wildlife species, but the intensification of agricultural practices and the subsequent alteration of the landscape has drastically reduced and fragmented remaining grasslands.  The Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) has helped to mitigate habitat loss and slow the rate of population decline of grassland dependent species, but funding for, and subsequent enrollment in CRP is declining. Pheasants are an economically important species that responds well to CRP, but as acres of CRP decline, it is becoming increasingly important to develop new approaches to improve and stabilize pheasant populations.  A key first step in achieving this goal is understanding how pheasants utilize the landscape and how management actions either constrain or facilitate meeting population goals.   
 
GOALS: The goal of this project is to understand how management actions (e.g., habitat enhancement programs, harvest management) influence pheasant populations in Nebraska.  We will employ an individualistic approach that considers behavioral and life history responses to management actions as a means of understanding pheasant population dynamics.  Specifically, we will mark hen pheasants with GPS transmitters and measure nesting site preferences and reproductive strategies in response to variable land-cover, hunting pressure, and habitat enhancement.  
 
CURRENT STATUS: First field season to begin April 2011.
 
GRADUATE RESEARCH ASSISTANT: Jessica Laskowski, Lindsey Messinger
 
FUNDING: The Nebraska Game & Parks Commission
 
PROJECT PI: Joseph (TJ) Fontaine, NE CFWRU

River Otter Home Range and Habitat Use

River otters have become reestablished in Nebraska after their reintroduction in the mid 1980s and early 1990s. The species is currently listed as threatened in Nebraska (S2). Despite the high profile of the reintroduction and the otters’ role as a flagship species, relatively little is known about river otter ecology in Nebraska.

The Nebraska Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit with the Nebraska Game and Parks Commission initiated this project in October 2006 with the objective of collecting home range and habitat use information on river otters along the Big Bend area of the Platte River using remote sensing (radio telemetry). We captured and radio-tagged eighteen northern river otters on and near the Platte River, a core component of the specie’s distribution in Nebraska.

GOALS: This project is collecting home range and habitat use information on river otters along the big bend area of the Platte River using radio telemetry. Data collected, in conjunction with the results of an ongoing river otter health and reproductive survey and results from NGPC’s annual otter bridge survey, will help to close existing information gaps and contribute to the creation of the Nebraska River Otter Management Plan and the Statewide Comprehensive Conservation Plan.

CURRENT STATUS:  This project has recently completed the collection of home range and habitat use information on river otters along the Big Bend area of the Platte River. Data collected, in conjunction with the results of an ongoing river otter health and reproductive survey and results from the Nebraska Game and Parks Commission’s annual otter bridge survey, will help close existing information gaps and contribute to the creation of the Nebraska River Otter Management Plan and the Statewide Comprehensive Conservation Plan. This is one of the largest otter tracking projects in the United States and the only current project in the Midwest.

GRADUATE RESEARCH ASSISTANT:  Sam Wilson (also Nebraska Game and Parks Commission), Amy Williams (MS 2011)

TECHNICIAN: Dave Rempel, Kent Fricke FUNDING: Nebraska Game and Parks Commission

PROJECT PI: Craig R. Allen, NE CFWRU

Read October 29, 2009 Scarlet article "Researchers hope poop project gets to bottom of river otter questions"

Read October 29, 2009 The Daily Nebraskan article "Researchers track otters by scat"

 

Scenarios of Climate Change and Land Use Change and Biological Invasions in the High Plains

Rainwater Basin grasslands and wetlands provide essential habitat for grassland birds and migratory waterfowl, respectively. Since European settlement, the landscape of the Rainwater Basin has been largely converted from native prairie to annual row crops. As a result, more than 90 percent of Rainwater Basin wetlands have been destroyed, remaining wetlands are degraded, and grasslands have substantially declined. Climate change could further impact wetlands and grasslands directly through temperature and precipitation changes, or indirectly by driving changes in landuse. Switchgrass (Panicum virgatum) is promoted as a biofuel feedstock in the Great Plains, because it may be environmentally and economically superior to corn grain for the production of ethanol. Under projections for future climatic changes, switchgrass may also be more efficiently produced than traditional row crops in non-irrigated areas. The ecological impacts of the conversion of annual row crops to switchgrass stands are not certain. Switchgrass stands could improve habitat for some grassland bird species if they replace annual row crops, but could worsen habitat if they replace native prairie. Dense, ungrazed switchgrass buffers surrounding wetlands could decrease wetland inundation during precipitation events, but could also prevent soil erosion and siltation of wetlands caused by raising annual row crops around wetlands and provide foraging habitat for migratory waterfowl.

GOALS: To determine how the conversion of marginal agricultural lands to bioenergy switchgrass strands impact Rainwater Basin grassland bird abundance.

CURRENT STATUS: This study develops biofuel-based landuse change scenarios for the Rainwater Basin, driven by soil and agricultural field characteristics and plausible changes in climate, policy, and demand for energy. For each scenario, we will generate landcover maps of potential switchgrass distribution and determine where those stands overlap with wetlands. Assumptions concerning the impacts of switchgrass on grassland and wetland quality and area will assess how grassland bird and migratory waterfowl habitat area and quality could be affected under each scenario. Changes in habitat area and quality will be used to conduct vulnerability assessments for Rainwater Basin wetlands, migratory waterfowl, and grassland birds, and sensitivity analysis on the factors impacting wildlife habitat. Finally, the HABS (Hierarchical All Birds Strategy) model and waterfowl energetics models will be utilized to assess individual species responses of grassland birds and waterfowl, respectively, to predicted landuse changes

GRADUATE RESEARCH ASSISTANT: Daniel Uden

FUNDING: U.S. Geological Survey and USGS Water Center

PROJECT PI: Craig R. Allen, NE CFWRU

 

 

Click Here to read the fact sheet on this project

Southeast Prairies BUL and Sandstone Prairies BUL Research

The Southeast Nebraska Flagship Initiative is a partnership formed through the Nebraska Natural Legacy Program and includes The Nature Conservancy, Northern Prairies Land Trust, Spring Creek Prairie Audubon Center and the Nebraska Game and Parks Commission. The implementation of Flagship Initiatives—including that in the Southeast Prairies Biologically Unique Landscape (BUL)—follows from the Nebraska Legacy Plan to implement a proactive approach to conserving non-game wildlife and biological diversity in an adaptive management framework. The overall goal is to most effectively and efficiently manage prairies, while maintaining critical plant-insect relationships indicative of system fluctuation.

GOALS: Specifically, this project is evaluating current, private-lands habitat work to improve the location, conservation goals, and methods of those projects, and evaluating the current and potential viability of ecological systems within priority landscapes. Understanding population viability for various taxa and how that status differs between more and less fragmented areas, as well as other variables, will help improve site selection and strategies for management and conservation projects.

CURRENT STATUS: Research currently focuses on three key insect groups that provide important ecosystem services: pollinators, ants and ground beetles. Sixty-five percent of flowering plants depend upon pollinators for reproduction, including many prairie plant species. Ants make up a huge proportion of the insect biomass in a prairie and are important for soil aeration and drainage, seed dispersal and nitrogen cycling. Ants, and most ground beetles, are important predators in the prairie, keeping many potential pest insect populations in check. The goal is to determine what factors have the greatest impact on the abundance and species richness of these key insect groups in tallgrass prairie fragments. Factors include time of haying, vegetation structure, floral composition, litter depth, fragment size, fragment shape and composition of the surrounding landscape. Understanding the impact of these factors may guide more efficient use of conservation resources through targeted decision-making about what fragments to preserve or where grassland should be planted to best supplement native prairie fragments. As most prairie fragments are privately owned, this knowledge will be useful when approaching landowners about management techniques that benefit both agriculture and prairie conservation.

In 2011, Kody Unstad completed his second season of ant and ground beetle pitfall trap collection. All ants from the 2010 collection have been identified to species while identification of the 2011 ant collection is in progress. Ground beetles are being sorted and pinned in preparation for identification by a taxonomist. After finishing his second season of collection in 2010, Chris Wood has identified all of his pollinator species and is in the process of analyzing his data. Research technician, Bethany Teeters, began a pilot study in 2011 looking at pollinators, and is focused specifically on the difference between extremely isolated prairie fragments versus large, well-connected fragments.

Studies were conducted on 23 privately-owned tallgrass prairie hay meadows scattered throughout the SE Nebraska BUL region. A floral quality assessment of the 23 sites began in 2009 and was completed in 2010. Vegetation structural data was also collected on all sites in 2010 and 2011. Preliminary results from 2010 indicate that ground beetle abundance increases with vegetation biomass while grassland ant abundance has a strong positive correlation with the amount of haymeadow in the surrounding landscape.

GRADUATE RESEARCH ASSISTANT: Kody Unstad, Christopher Wood (MS UNO)

TECHNICIAN: Jim Schalles, Bethany Teeters

BOTANIST: Alicia Admiraal

FUNDING: The Nebraska Game and Parks Commission

PROJECT PI: Craig R Allen, NE CFWRU, Chris Helzer, The Nature Conservancy, Jarren Kuipers, Natural Legacy Program, and Gerry Steinauer, Nebraska Game & Parks Commission

Wind and Wildlife Project

Wind energy is a growing sector of the renewable energy industry. Although it is considered green energy because no greenhouse gases are emitted during operation, the potential implications to local flora and fauna resulting from increasing wind power development remain largely unknown.

GOALS: To facilitate wind power site selection and operation in a manner that allows for increasing energy development while balancing the aesthetic, ecological, and sociological needs of Nebraska.

CURRENT STATUS: After a national search, a coordinator was hired, and arrived at the UNL campus in late July 2011 to begin the initial groundwork for the project.The coordinator will encourage communication among stakeholders (e.g., wind developers, land owners, private and non-profit organizations, communities, local interest groups, state and federal management agencies, and research institutions) and will help coordinate the Nebraska Wind and Wildlife Working Group. With collaborators, the coordinator will assist in identifying priority research, establishing standardized monitoring protocols, and developing wind power site development and operation recommendations. Project information and educational materials will be available on a website and other digital and print mediums.

PROGRAM COORDINATOR: Caroline Jezierski

FUNDING: Nebraska Game and Parks Commission

PROJECT PI: Craig R. Allen, NE CFWRU, Joseph (TJ) Fontaine, NE CFWRU

 

 

 

Click Here to read fact sheet on this project