Settlement Pattern Variability in Brush Creek Valley,Platte County,Missouri

Abstract

During the summer of 1971, a field party from the Museum of Anthropology at the University of Kansas conducted an intensive archaeological- ·survey along Brush Creek, a tributary of the Missouri River four miles west of Parkville, Missouri. Data collected during this survey provides a preliminary characterization of the local environmental setting and a comparativecontrastive statement on prehistoric settlement pattern variability from the Early Archaic to the Steed-Kisker phase.

Topographic, geological, and botanical features of importance in establishing the parameters of effective biophysical environments for prehistoric occupants are summarized, and four resource zones tentatively identified: an upland prairie zone, an oak-history forest zone, a river-bottom forest zone and the Missouri River itself. Although the time depth for these resource zones is unknown, their presence throughout the history of man’s presence is a possibility.

Aspects of the human occupation and utilization of Brush Creek valley, which began as early as 8000 B.C., are viewed as adaptations to the local environmental setting. During the Archaic period (8000 B.C.-A.D. 1), £rush Creek valley was apparently exploited by hunters and gatherers who established short-duration camps. A large and probably permanent village was established during the period of Kansas City Hopewell occupation (A.D. 1-500), although small, temporary, camps were also in evidence. The Late Woodland occupation (A.D. 500-1 000) is marked by small sites with little evidence of any long term occupation. The final occupation of the valley, by Steed-Kisker peoples (A.D. 1 000-1250), is characterized by a pattern of many small homesteads occupied by populations who made their living through a combination of hunting, gathering, and horticulture.     

Temperature and light effects on the circadian rhythm and locomotory activity of the plains garter snake (Thamnophis radix hayendi)

Abstract

The Locomotory activity of the Plains Garter snake was determined under L/D: 12/12 conditions at five constant temperatures and three light intensities during the light period. The snakes were diurnal at low temperatures with nocturnal activity increasing in various amounts at higher temperatures. The different light intensities had relatively small effects on the activity rhythm.

Activity was recorded under four constant light conditions at five constant temperatures and the characteristics of the free‐running rhythm measured. A comparison of the characteristics of the free‐running rhythm to Aschoff's circadian rule indicates that this snake is an exception to this rule.

Increase light intensity decreased total activity under all conditions. Under a L/D: 12/12 cycle the decrease in activity was more pronounced during the dark period than the light period.

It is suggested that crepuscular or nocturnal activity shown by snakes at high temperatures may be an effect the temperature level has on the biological clock and activity controlling mechanisms rather than temperature selection by the snake.     

Early Woodland in Minnesota

Abstract

A pottery type characterized by a cord-roughened surface, punctates and bosses, and incised line decoration from three sites in southwestern Minnesota is typologically similar to Early Woodland pottery from stratified sites in Illinois (Black Sand Incised) and Wisconsin (Dane Incised). Pending further investigations, the indications are that the Minnesota materials are also Early Woodland and that this may be a fairly widely distributed pottery type.     

The breeding status of the Ring Ouzel Turdus torquatus in the UK in 1999

Capsule The first co-ordinated census of breeding Ring Ouzels across the UK reports a minimum of 6157 (95% CI, 3586–9372) and a maximum of 7549 (95% CI, 4459–11197) territories.

Aims To set a baseline for the future monitoring of breeding Ring Ouzels and to provide a systematically based estimate of the population size.

Methods A random sample of tetrads (2 × 2 km squares) was surveyed from the known breeding range (as defined from the two national breeding bird atlases of 1968–72 and 1988–91). The survey method used tape playback and observation and involved walking four parallel transects in each tetrad.

Results Tape playback accounted for one-third of the territories located. Of the tetrads surveyed that were known to be occupied during the 1988–91 breeding bird atlas, 39–43% were unoccupied in 1999.

Conclusion The survey highlights a continuing contraction in range.     

Factors influencing patch occupancy and within‐patch habitat use in an apparently stable population of Willow Tits Poecile montanus kleinschmidti in Britain

Capsule Birds selected younger woodland patches with fewer conifers and higher soil moisture content; within these patches, they selected areas with higher vegetation cover at 2–4 m, and less bracken.

Aims For an apparently stable population, to investigate habitat differences between occupied and unoccupied woodland patches and habitat selection within occupied woodlands.

Methods We surveyed woodland patches for breeding Willow Tits in April 2006 in an area with an apparently stable population. Habitat was measured at points spread throughout each woodland patch and at points where Willow Tits were located. We compared habitat between occupied and unoccupied sites. In addition, within occupied sites, we examined habitat differences between Willow Tit locations and the points spread throughout the wood.

Results We surveyed 65 woodland patches, of which 29 were occupied. Willow Tits were more likely to be found in deciduous woodland that was younger and had higher levels of soil moisture. Probability of occupancy fell from 60% for woods aged 20–25 years to only around 15–30% for woods aged over 80 years. Within occupied woods, Willow Tits were more likely to be found in areas with more vegetation cover at the 2–4 m level and in areas with less bracken.

Conclusions Habitat management for Willow Tits should involve provision of young woodland patches with moist soils. Changes to the age structure and/or the soil moisture content of woods may be implicated in the dramatic decline of Willow Tits in Britain.     

A Fortified Earthlodge Village Near Fort Thompson,South Dakota as it Appeared in 1866

Abstract

The accounts of an observant army surgeon of a hundred years ago.

During the summer of 1863, several thousand Santee Sioux and Winnebago Indians were exiled from their traditional homes in Minnesota to the vicinity of Crow Creek on the Missouri River in the present state of South Dakota. An agency for these Indians was established, buildings erected and enclosed by a stockade, and troops stationed there to protect the agency employees and maintain order. The agency and military establishment was named Fort Thompson after Clark W. Thompson, Minnesota Superintendent of Indian Affairs, who had general supervision of the Santee removal.     

Big-Game Hunting Artifacts from Minnesota

Abstract

A Browns Valley type point, a Scottsbluff type point, and four Cody knives, recovered as surface finds, give evidence of the presence of the Big-Game Hunting Tradition in east-central Minnesota. These artifacts, their location, and similar finds in the Minnesota-Wisconsin area are described.     

A History of and Recent Developments Concerning the Korean Peninsula Northern Limit Line (NLL)

Abstract

Measures to ease tensions and prevent military conflicts adjacent to the Korean Peninsula Northern Limit Line (NLL) are an integral part of the ongoing reconciliatory efforts between the South and the North. Despite controversies over the validity of the NLL, it has served as a de facto maritime demarcation line in the absence of an agreed-upon maritime demarcation line under the Armistice Agreement. North Korea has persistently attempted to invalidate the NLL, while South Korea has supported the status quo of the NLL as a military demarcation line. The South and North have recently created a buffer zone across the NLL in the West Sea amid talks for North Korea’s denuclearization.     

Correcting observer effect bias in estimates of nesting success of a coastal bird,the White-fronted Plover Charadrius marginatus

Capsule A recently developed observer-effects model gives better estimates than the survival model.

Aims To compare the performance of the traditional survival model with that of an observer-effects model in estimating nesting success.

Methods We used survival data from 654 nests in a covariate-dependent extension of a maximum-likelihood estimator model to simultaneously estimate daily survival rate and observer effect on nesting success in four different sectors of a study site. Standard likelihood-ratio tests and Akaike's information criterion differences were used to compare model performances.

Results A significant (negative) observer effect was detected in one of four sectors of the study area, and was probably attributable to small mammal predators. Despite significantly higher predation risk during the laying period, there was a significant positive observer effect during the laying period, contrasting with a weak negative effect during the incubation period, suggesting that an observer's tracks around unattended nests reduced predation risk. Likelihood-ratio tests indicated a significantly better fit using the observer effects model versus the Mayfield survival model in four of six scenarios.

Conclusion The observer-effects model accounts for bias in estimates of nest survival rates, and is preferred over the survival model because the inclusion of observer effect as a variable does not over-parameterize the model.     

Late Woodland In The Kansas City Locality

Abstract

14WYB, situated near Edwardsville, Kansas, is a single-component site representative of terminal Kansas City Hopewell. Comparisons with other components with similar artifact assemblages, which are radiocarbon dated, demonstrates this terminal period to be from ca. A.D. 500 to A.D. BOO, and equivalent to early Late Woodland in the Illinois River Valley. Settlement and subsistence changes are not recognizable at this time, but do occur between A.D. BOO and A.D. 1000, perhaps as reflection of the adoption of agriculture as important to the subsistence base during the late Late Woodland period.     

Distribution of genes affecting characteristics of the population

THE CHANGING POPULATION OF THE UNITED STATES: Conrad Taeuber and Irene B. Taeuber. A Volume in the Census Monograph Series. John Wiley and Sons, Inc., New York; Chapman and Hall, Limited, London; for the Social Science Research Council in cooperation with the U. S. Department of Commerce, Bureau of the Census; 1958; xi, 357 pp.; $7.75.

VARIABLES RELATED TO HUMAN BREAST CANCER: Elving Anderson, Harold J. GOODMAN and SHELDON C. REED. University of Minnesota Press, Minneapolis, 1958, 172 pp., 41 text, tables, 53 appendix tables, 7 figures. $4.00.

THE POPULATION AHEAD, Edited by Roy G. Francis. University of Minnesota Press, Minneapolis, 1958, x, 160 pp.

ABORTION IN THE UNITED STATES: Mary Calderone, M. D. (Editor). Hoeber‐Harper, New York, 1958, 224 pp. $5.50.

DIFFERENTIAL PSYCHOLOGY: Anne Anastasi. The Macmillan Company, New York, 1958 (3rd Edition), 664 pp + xii.

FIVE YEARS OF FAMILY PLANNING IN THE COUNTRYSIDE: Baljit Singh. J. K. Institute Monograph No. 6, J. K. Institute of Sociology &; Human Relations, Lucknow University. 1958. 118 pp.

POPULATION; AN INTERNATIONAL DILEMMA. A Summary of the Proceedings of the Conference on Population Problems— 1956–1957. Frederick Osborn. New York, Population Council, 1958. Pp. ix + 97. $2.00.     

A Model for the Vertical Distribution of Flotation-Size Particles

Abstract

An attempt is made to isolate and model the effects of pedoturbation on the vertical distribution of flotation particles within a site matrix. The derived model states that the concentration of particles at a specific depth is directly proportional to the initial quantity deposited and inversely proportional to the square of the distance from the original deposition. The potential value of the model is exemplified through an analysis of differences among the vertical distributions of charcoal, burnt bone, and flakage at a site in central Minnesota.     

Cranial Variation and Microevolution in Arikara Skeletal Populations

Abstract

Crania from six archaeological sites in South Dakota are analyzed. Chronologically the sites fall into two groups, an early group and a late group, with A.D. 1750 as the approximate boundary between them. It is shown that the late group is morphologically diverse, while the early group is relatively homogeneous. The morphological pattern is related to the increasing intensity of evolutionary processes as the contact period progressed.     

Cambria Village Ceramics

Abstract

Cambria Village (21BE2) in southern Minnesota appears to be a single component agricultural site, occupied between A. D. 1000 and 1300, The ceramics from the village are predominantly grit tempered jars, with smoothed and rounded bodies, and well-defined shoulders. A small percentage of the vessels have rolled rims, and are classified as Powell Plain and Ramey Broad Trailed, while the majority are organized and described under three new ceramic types. The type Judson Composite combines a shallow S-rim with Mississippian body decoration; Linden Everted Rim exhibits the same decor treatment; and Mankato Incised, also an everted rim form, is characterized by a unique, triangle punctate, shoulder area pattern. Cambria’s strongest affiliations appear to be with the Over Focus and Anderson Phase sites in South Dakota, with major influences from Cahokia, Aztalan, and some Woodland sources. The result is a ceramic assemblage showing a great deal of cultural integration as well as local innovation.     

The effect of climate on nest orientation in the Rufous Hornero Furnarius rufus

ABSTRACT

Capsule: Within breeding season changes in nest orientation of the Rufous Hornero Furnarius rufus may reflect responses to the local climate.

Aims: To explore the effect of climate on the orientation of closed-cup nests of the Rufous Hornero at a subtropical urban site throughout its breeding period.

Methods: The breeding season was divided into two periods: a cold period with low rainfall and a warm, humid period. For each period, the mean nest entrance orientation and distribution were estimated and compared against a random orientation model.

Results: A total of 42 nests were found during the first period of reproduction and 32 during the second period. In both cases, the mean orientation was non-random and significantly different between the two periods: nests were more likely to be orientated towards the northwest in the first period and to the east in the second period.

Conclusions: Climate variation throughout the breeding season was reflected in differences in nest entrance orientation. This could be because this species takes advantage of solar radiation to increase the temperature within the nest during the first cold months of the breeding season and reduces the humidity of the nest, generated by intense rain, as the season progresses.     

A Bird Motif On A Mississippian Pot From The Bryan Site

Abstract

Sections of a large Mississippian pot with unusual bird designs were recovered at the Bryan site in Minnesota. The bird motifs (thunderbird or hawk) are outlined on the side of the pot by trailed lines and punctates. The designs represent a ceramic style not previously known at the Bryan site or at other sites in Minnesota. The author solicits suggestions about this find and information about ceramics with similar decoration.     

Modelling the spatial distribution of White Stork Ciconia ciconia breeding populations in Southeast Europe

Capsule Spatial environmental modelling well predicted nesting distribution of the White stork in Southeast Europe and can be used in conservation planning with respect to climate change.

Aims To create spatial models for predicting White Stork presence and densities in the Southeast Europe to identify areas of suitable habitat for White Storks.

Methods We quantified the habitat used by nesting White storks in Southeast Europe. Using spatial modelling, we defined a set of free and available online environmental variables that predict the breeding localities of the species. We employed pseudo-absences and the kriging of the residuals in order to create predictive models of nest presence and density.

Results The presence–absence model was found to be precise in predicting the presence of nests. Both density and presence of breeding pairs were best explained negatively by elevation, slope, minimum temperature during May, and distance to the nearest human settlement and positively by topographic wetness index, total area of human settlement and spring precipitation.

Conclusion Our robust and easily repeatable models offer a conservation tool to reveal suitable but unoccupied localities for breeding White Storks pairs which may inform our understanding of how climate change might affect the species' distribution in the future. For example, protecting White Storks on the Dalmatian coast may become even more significant in the future, because the Dalmatian coast is predicted as the only suitable breeding area in Croatia later this century.     

The Genus Primula: Section Muscarioides

ABSTRACT

Background: Hybrid zones provide excellent opportunities for studying plant adaptation and speciation.

Aims: We tested whether two herbaceous species of Senecio, S. vernalis and S. glaucus, hybridise in the eastern Mediterranean region and form a hybrid zone across an aridity gradient in the Jordan Rift Valley.

Methods: Allozyme variation surveyed across both species was analysed by the programme STRUCTURE to assign individuals to genetic groups and determine levels of admixture. Populations in the Jordan Rift Valley were subsequently subjected to a cline analysis.

Results: STRUCTURE showed that interspecific hybrids were produced at low frequency along the Israeli coastal plain where S. glaucus is represented by ssp. glaucus. In contrast, hybrids were more commonly produced in central populations of the Jordan Rift Valley. Here, the two species form a hybrid zone with S. vernalis occurring in mesic sites to the north and S. glaucus (ssp. coronopifolius) in arid sites to the south. Cline analysis showed that the hybrid zone is centred towards the northern end of the Dead Sea, but the analysis failed to distinguish how it is maintained.

Conclusions: Future detailed genetic and ecological analysis of the Senecio hybrid zone should improve our understanding of plant adaptation and speciation across aridity gradients.     

Supplement to the hepatic flora of the Shetland Islands

Background: Grasslands have only a few dominants and most of the diversity consists of subdominants. Because dominants differ widely in phenology and resource use, dominants may control the recruitment and establishment of other species.

Aims: To explore the relationship between the identity of the dominant species and successional vegetation changes in grassland communities.

Methods: The compositional change over 23 years in 1900 permanent plots dominated by four grasses (Andropogon gerardii, Elymus repens, Poa pratensis and Schizachyrium scoparium) was examined within 19 old fields in Minnesota. Fields were abandoned 1–56 years before sampling. Rate of directional change and degree of compositional dissimilarity were determined.

Results: Non-natives, P. pratensis and E. repens, were associated with either no or a slow directional change. Elymus repens was associated with high dissimilarity and P. pratensis with intermediate dissimilarity. Natives, A. gerardii and S. scoparium, were associated with compositional change that followed expectations based on field age. The rate of directional change and degree of dissimilarity between sampling intervals was lower for A. gerardii relative to S. scoparium, the only species to be associated with strong directional change.

Conclusions: Dominance by non-native grass species may impede traditional successional processes and result in a community composition quite dissimilar from native prairies.     

Correlation of Symptoms with Vitamin D Deficiency and Symptom Response to Cholecalciferol Treatment: a Randomized Controlled Trial

ObjectiveTo examine the association of symptoms with vitamin D deficiency and symptom response to cholecalciferol treatment in a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial.MethodsAdult primary care patients in Duluth, Minnesota, were screened for vitamin D deficiency in February 2007. Participants completed questionnaires pertaining to a variety of symptoms, vitamin D intake, and selected medical conditions. Patients with mild to moderate vitamin D deficiency (25-hydroxyvitamin D [25(OH)D], 10-25 ng/mL) participated in a randomized controlled trial (RCT) of vitamin D replacement and its effect on symptoms. Participants were randomly assigned to receive 50000 units of cholecalciferol (vitamin D₃) weekly or placebo for 8 weeks. Patients with severe vitamin D deficiency (25[OH]D < 10 ng/mL) were treated in an unblinded fashion, and symptoms were reevaluated post treatment.ResultsA total of 610 patients underwent initial screening, and 100 patients with mild to moderate vitamin D deficiency participated in the RCT. Thirty-eight severely deficient patients were treated in an unblinded fashion. On initial screening, 46.2% of participants were deficient in vitamin D. Self-reported vitamin D supplementation, milk intake, celiac disease, gastric bypass, and chronic pancreatitis were predictive of vitamin D status. Severely deficient participants reported increased musculoskeletal symptoms, depression (including seasonal), and higher (worse) scores on a fibromyalgia assessment questionnaire. In the RCT, the treated group showed significant improvement in fibromyalgia assessment scores (P = 0.03), whereas the placebo-treated participants did not. Severely deficient patients did not show symptom improvement over the 8-week trial period or when followed up 1 year later.ConclusionsCompared with participants in the placebo group, patients in the treatment group showed mild short-term improvement in the overall fibromyalgia impact score, but did not show significant improvement in most musculoskeletal symptoms or in activities of daily living. (Endocr Pract. 2009;15:203-212)