The Boundary Mound Group (32SI-1): An Eastern Woodland Complex in North Dakota

Abstract

This site represents the first systematic investigation of a mound on the Missouri River in North Dakota. The mound group consists of 3 mounds on the North Dakota - South Dakota state line several miles southeast of Ft. Yates, South Dakota. The mounds are from 1-3 feet high and about 80’ in diameter. The reports covers the investigation of one of the mounds which had been partially removed by a railroad cut. Three excavations were carried out (1) along the edge of the railroad cut, (2) thru the center of the mound, and (3) an exploratory test pit east of the north end of center cut.

In the center of the mound was found the remains of a log covered tomb 10 x 12 feet containing 5 burials and a number of artifacts.

The Boundary Mound group suggests the presence of a Woodland group extending from eastern North Dakota to the Missouri River. This complex tenatively cross-dated at about 1000 A.D. is present but rare along the Missouri in South Dakota.     

A Green Pigment from North Dakota Burial Mounds

Abstract

A clayey, green pigment was found in association with human interments in 3 mounds at the Boundary Mound site (32S11) on the Missouri River 16 miles downstream from Fort Yates, North Dakota.

Samples submitted to the Freer Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C. were identified by microscopic and chemical analysis as Greensand, a sedimentary deposit containing greenish grains of glauconite. The nearest present day exposure appears to be just south of Wessington Springs, in Jerauld County, South Dakota. This report is the first identifi - cation of greensand as a pigment mineral.     

Zoobenthic diversity-gradients in the Baltic Sea: Continuous post-glacial succession in a stressed ecosystem

The Baltic Sea, formed after the latest glaciation, is an enclosed, low-saline, non-tidal ecosystem and has steep latitudinal and vertical gradients from sub-arctic conditions in the north to temperate in the south. The sea has undergone rapid changes since the glaciation, and the “ecological age” of the present ecosystem is only about 8000 years. Primary successional processes are still ongoing, and numerous ecological niches (e.g. large-bodied sediment bioturbators) remain available for immigration. The system is species-poor and vulnerable to the threat of exotic invasive species, and to date about 50 zoobenthic species have established populations in the Baltic Sea. The present biota is a mixture of species of different ecological and zoogeographical origin (marine to limnic; northern Arctic marine and limnic, to North Sea and Atlantic marine). The current distribution patterns of zoobenthos are illustrated, using marine, limnic and non-indigenous examples of structure and ecosystem functions. The species richness decreases from over 1600 marine benthic species in the open Skagerrak to about 500 in the western parts of the Baltic Sea, approximately 80 in the southern regions, to less than 20 in the northern regions. On the other hand, limnic species increase diversity in the inner reaches of the Gulf of Finland and the Gulf of Bothnia. Polychaetes, molluscs and echinoderms are dramatically reduced in numbers from the south to the north.     

Benthic community structures in the North Sea

Coherent assemblages of marine benthic species have been recognized from the early twentieth century, and the classical papers of Petersen (1914, 1918) were based on studies of limited areas in the North Sea. In 1986, a synoptic survey of the North Sea north to 57°N was undertaken by a group of ten laboratories from seven North Sea countries. The results of this survey have recently been published (Heip et al., 1992a, b; Künitzer et al., 1992; Huys et al., 1992), and some of the results are summarized in this paper. The analysis of the macrofauna is based on slightly more than 700 taxa. In general, the North Sea macrofauna consists of northern species extending south to the northern margins of the Dogger Bank, and southern species extending north to the 100 m depth line. The central North Sea is an area of overlap of southern and northern species, especially around the 70 m depth contour. Consistent groupings of species are recognized that were summarized in seven faunal groupings. Macrofaunal body weight, density and diversity increase linearly towards the north. Macrofaunal biomass for the whole area averages 7 g adwt. m⁻² and decreases from south to north. Distribution patterns and trends within the meiofauna were very different. Nematodes, which are the dominant taxon overall, are least abundant in the sandy sediments of the Southern Bight, then increase to a maximum around 53° 30′ N and slowly decrease again towards the north. Copepod density and diversity are highest in the Southern Bight, due to the presence of many interstitial species. A large number of species new to science were recorded by the North Sea Benthos Survey and about 1500 species are expected to occur. Copepods show very distinct assemblages according to water depth and sediment type. The contrasting patterns in latitudinal gradients of body weight and number of species of macro- and meiofauna can be only partially explained. Latitude and sediment characteristics, such as grain size and content in plant pigments, and water depth, determine part of the variance in species composition, density and biomass of the benthic fauna, but the patterns that are observed are different for different benthic groups, requiring careful consideration as to their use in biological monitoring procedures. Distributions are related to current patterns in the North Sea, annual temperature variations and availability of food. However, large parts of the variance in many parameters remain unexplained.     

Cord-Roughened Pottery in North Central North America

Abstract

Basic data are offered on 2 pottery bearing localities in the Souris Basin, North Dakota. Additional data from adjacent areas are introduced to support the assertion that there was a relatively heavy occupation of the Northern Plains by a number of closely related groups which manufactured only slightly differentiated cordroughened pottery. The presence of this pottery reveals that the Woodland occupation of the Northern Plains was far more intensive and extensive than might be suspected from the extant literature.     

The Meander Site (39Lm20L) In Fort Randall Reservoir,South Dakota

Abstract

The Meander Site (39LM20l) is located on the left bank of the White River in Lyman County, South Dakota, about eight miles above the junction of the White and Missouri rivers. Test excavations at the site were conducted in 1953 by Harold A. Hus cher of the Smithsonian Institution, River BasinSurveys. Though few in number, the artifacts recovered indicate the occupation belongs to the Chouteau Aspect. Ceramic analysis suggests the site was occupied at a time somewhat prior to the occupation of the Crazy Bull Site (Frantz 1962).     

Diversity and biogeography of southern African intertidal Acari

Abstract Aim The aims were (1) to describe the diversity and geographical distribution of the intertidal mite fauna of southern Africa, and (2) to show how species richness, endemism and geographical patterns of this fauna (comprising taxa of variable terrestrial ancestry) compare with typically marine faunas. Location and methods To assess intertidal mite diversity and endemism, records (published and unpublished) were compiled for a variety of habitats (mainly rocky shores and mangroves), between Swakopmund (Namibia) and Inhambane (Mozambique). The geographical study was based on a dedicated sampling programme from rocky shores, at nine localities between Elandsbaai (on the west coast) and St Lucia (on the east coast). Results Eighty‐two species of marine mite, from thirty‐three genera, are currently known from southern Africa. The majority belong to the earlier marine ancestral Halacaridae (forty‐eight species), with the Ameronothroidea and Hyadesiidae collectively comprising seventeen species. In constituting three faunistic provinces, corresponding with the west (Atlantic), south and east coast (Indian) regions, the mite fauna conforms with trends for the southern African marine fauna in general. Species richness was greatest in the southern province, which deviates from the general pattern of increase from west to east, but is similar to that of some invertebrate taxonomic groups. Conclusions Despite their relatively recent marine connections, marine mites show typical geographical distributions, comparable with those of other rocky‐shore biota in southern Africa. The marine faunistic provinces are ‘insular’ and apparently remain largely intact, across taxonomic groups and with increased taxonomic resolution.     

Knife River Flint

Abstract

Twenty-four Knife River F I int quarries have been newly discovered in Dunn County, North Dakota. Five were previously known in Mercer County. The flint occurs as pebbles, cobbles, and boulders in alluvial, slope-wash, and colluvial lag deposits of Pleistocene age. The flint in these deposits was originally derived from a silicified lignite bed in the Golden Valley Formation of Eocene age and possibly also from other lignite-bearing formations. The flint has a characteristic petrography and can be readily distinguished from all other commonly used rock types in North Dakota and adjacent areas.     

Leopard tortoises in southern Africa have greater genetic diversity in the north than in the south (Testudinidae)

In contrast to mammals, little is known about the phylogeographic structuring of widely distributed African reptile species. With the present study, we contribute data for the leopard tortoise (Stigmochelys pardalis). It ranges from the Horn of Africa southward to South Africa and westwards to southern Angola. However, its natural occurrence is disputed for some southern regions. To clarify the situation, we used mtDNA sequences and 14 microsatellite loci from 204 individuals mainly from southern Africa. Our results retrieved five mitochondrial clades; one in the south and two in the north‐west and north‐east of southern Africa, respectively, plus two distributed further north. Using microsatellites, the southern clade matched with a well‐defined southern nuclear cluster, whilst the two northern clades from southern Africa corresponded to another nuclear cluster with three subclusters. One subcluster had a western and central distribution, another occurred mostly in the north‐east, and the third in a small eastern region (Maputaland), which forms part of a biodiversity hotspot. Genetic diversity was low in the south and high in the north of our study region, particularly in the north‐east. Our results refuted that translocations influenced the genetic structure of leopard tortoises substantially. We propose that Pleistocene climatic fluctuations caused leopard tortoises to retract to distinct refugia in southern and northern regions and ascribe the high genetic diversity in the north of southern Africa to genetic structuring caused by the survival in three refuges and subsequent admixture, whereas tortoises in the south seem to have survived in only one continuous coastal refuge.     

The Glenrock Buffalo Jump, 48C0304: Late Prehistoric Period Buffalo Procurement and Butchering

Abstract

The Glenrock Buffalo Jump, 48C0304 is part of a Late Prehistoric period buffalo procurement complex in central Wyoming along the south side of the North Platte River. Operation of the jump required controlled movements of buffalo herds for as far as one to three miles before they were finally stampeded over a bluff 40 feet high. The effective width of the bluff was small and as a result the herd had to be under control during the final stampede as well as the initial drive.

Good bone preservation in much of the site allowed recovery of large samples for analysis and in addition large numbers of simple but functional tools were found in context. Marks that reflected a number of butchering operations appeared repeatedly suggesting stylized methods, and from this a model of Late Prehistoric butchering is postulated which needs further testing in other mass butchering contexts.     

Obituary: Ron K. Pickerill (1947–2018)

Recently discovered tracks in alluvial sediments of the Late Paleocene Bullion Creek Formation of western North Dakota have been identified as belonging to the large eusuchian crocodile Borealosuchus formidabilis and an associated small arthropod. They are described as two new ichnotaxa. The first of these, Borealosuchipus hanksi igen. et isp. nov., is based on a partly complete trackway having fore- and hind-footprints as well as body marks preserved in hyporelief. These tracks are directly associated with numerous body fossils including articulated bones which provide strong implications for their probable origin. The second specimen, Koupichnium pentapodus isp. nov., is founded on a trackway of a small invertebrate in which a series of five pairs of footprints are arranged along a midline drag mark which is continuous throughout the length of its trackway. This trackway shares features with other fossils as well as living arthropod trackways in which four small feet and a larger posterior hind “pusher” foot are present. The two described new ichnotaxa represent the first recognized tracks from the Wannagan Creek local fauna.     

Landscape genetics reveal broad and fine‐scale population structure due to landscape features and climate history in the northern leopard frog (Rana pipiens) in North Dakota

Prehistoric climate and landscape features play large roles structuring wildlife populations. The amphibians of the northern Great Plains of North America present an opportunity to investigate how these factors affect colonization, migration, and current population genetic structure. This study used 11 microsatellite loci to genotype 1,230 northern leopard frogs (Rana pipiens) from 41 wetlands (30 samples/wetland) across North Dakota. Genetic structure of the sampled frogs was evaluated using Bayesian and multivariate clustering methods. All analyses produced concordant results, identifying a major east–west split between two R. pipiens population clusters separated by the Missouri River. Substructuring within the two major identified population clusters was also found. Spatial principal component analysis (sPCA) and variance partitioning analysis identified distance, river basins, and the Missouri River as the most important landscape factors differentiating R. pipiens populations across the state. Bayesian reconstruction of coalescence times suggested the major east–west split occurred ~13–18 kya during a period of glacial retreat in the northern Great Plains and substructuring largely occurred ~5–11 kya during a period of extreme drought cycles. A range‐wide species distribution model (SDM) for R. pipiens was developed and applied to prehistoric climate conditions during the Last Glacial Maximum (21 kya) and the mid‐Holocene (6 kya) from the CCSM4 climate model to identify potential refugia. The SDM indicated potential refugia existed in South Dakota or further south in Nebraska. The ancestral populations of R. pipiens in North Dakota may have inhabited these refugia, but more sampling outside the state is needed to reconstruct the route of colonization. Using microsatellite genotype data, this study determined that colonization from glacial refugia, drought dynamics in the northern Great Plains, and major rivers acting as barriers to gene flow were the defining forces shaping the regional population structure of R. pipiens in North Dakota.     

A NEW SPECIES OF ISCHYODUS (CHONDRICHTHYES: HOLOCEPHALI: CALLORHYNCHIDAE) FROM UPPER MAASTRICHTIAN SHALLOW MARINE FACIES OF THE FOX HILLS AND HELL CREEK FORMATIONS, WILLISTON BASIN, NORTH DAKOTA, USA

Abstract:  A new species of chimaeroid, Ischyodus rayhaasi sp. nov., is described based primarily upon the number and configuration of tritors on palatine and mandibular tooth plates. This new species is named in honour of Mr Raymond Haas. Fossils of I. rayhaasi have been recovered from the Upper Maastrichtian Fox Hills Formation and the Breien Member and an unnamed member of the Hell Creek Formation at sites in south-central North Dakota and north-central South Dakota, USA. Ischyodus rayhaasi inhabited shallow marine waters in the central part of the Western Interior Seaway during the latest Cretaceous. Apparently it was also present in similar habitats at that time in the Volga region of Russia. Ischyodus rayhaasi is the youngest Cretaceous species of Ischyodus known to exist before the Cretaceous/Tertiary extinction, and the species apparently did not survive that event. It was replaced by Ischyodus dolloi , which is found in the Paleocene Cannonball Formation of the Williston Basin region of North Dakota and is widely distributed elsewhere.     

Tracking a medically important spider: climate change, ecological niche modeling, and the brown recluse (Loxosceles reclusa)

Most spiders use venom to paralyze their prey and are commonly feared for their potential to cause injury to humans. In North America, one species in particular, Loxosceles reclusa (brown recluse spider, Sicariidae), causes the majority of necrotic wounds induced by the Araneae. However, its distributional limitations are poorly understood and, as a result, medical professionals routinely misdiagnose brown recluse bites outside endemic areas, confusing putative spider bites for other serious conditions. To address the issue of brown recluse distribution, we employ ecological niche modeling to investigate the present and future distributional potential of this species. We delineate range boundaries and demonstrate that under future climate change scenarios, the spider's distribution may expand northward, invading previously unaffected regions of the USA. At present, the spider's range is centered in the USA, from Kansas east to Kentucky and from southern Iowa south to Louisiana. Newly influenced areas may include parts of Nebraska, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Michigan, South Dakota, Ohio, and Pennsylvania. These results illustrate a potential negative consequence of climate change on humans and will aid medical professionals in proper bite identification/treatment, potentially reducing bite misdiagnoses.     

Wedding of the Waters Cave, 48 HO 301, A Stratified Site in the Big Horn Basin of Northern Wyoming

Abstract

During the summer of 1959, the writer investigated several rock shelters at the mouth of the Wind River Canyon, about 3 miles south of Thermopolis, Wyoming. One of the rock shelters proved to be of archaeological value. A test trench revealed nearly 3 feet of stratified cultural deposits. The cultural materials fits well in the sequence for the Northwestern Plains, (Mulloy 1958: 204-223) and should be important in an area little known archaeologically.     

THE PELAGIC DISTRIBUTION OF THE SOOTY SHEARWATER PROCELLARIA GRISEA

The breeding distribution of the Sooty Shearwater and the dates of its breeding season are briefly reviewed.
Records from the Southern Ocean are summarised. It is concluded that they are accounted for by non-breeding birds feeding off the ice-edge in the Australian sector of the Antarctic during the latter part of the breeding season.
The great majority of Sooty Shearwaters spend the southern winter in the Pacific Ocean. Birds from the New Zealand colonies are probably mostly found on the feeding grounds off Japan: some may make a "circular" migration around the Pacific. Birds from the Cape Horn colonies spend the southern winter in the rich areas off the western coast of North America.
Some Sooty Shearwaters spend the southern winter off the South African coasts. A number of non-breeding birds remain there throughout the summer.
The Sooty Shearwaters "wintering" in the North Atlantic are probably numbered in tens of thousands only. The distribution of records is reviewed month by month and the records from Atlantic transects are summarised. The migrations in the North Atlantic are discussed in relation to prevailing meteorological and oceanographic conditions, and food supply. It is concluded that most Sooty Shearwaters in the North Atlantic make a "circular" migration, crossing the North Atlantic from west to east in June and July, and re-crossing about September further south in the northeast trades.     

Spatial variability of the plankton trophic interaction in the North Sea: a new feature after the early 1970s

Traditionally, marine ecosystem structure was thought to be bottom‐up controlled. In recent years, a number of studies have highlighted the importance of top‐down regulation. Evidence is accumulating that the type of trophic forcing varies temporally and spatially, and an integrated view – considering the interplay of both types of control – is emerging. Correlations between time series spanning several decades of the abundances of adjacent trophic levels are conventionally used to assess the type of control: bottom‐up if positive or top‐down if this is negative. This approach implies averaging periods which might show time‐varying dynamics and therefore can hide part of this temporal variability. Using spatially referenced plankton information extracted from the Continuous Plankton Recorder, this study addresses the potential dynamic character of the trophic structure at the planktonic level in the North Sea by assessing its variation over both temporal and spatial scales. Our results show that until the early‐1970s a bottom‐up control characterized the base of the food web across the whole North Sea, with diatoms having a positive and homogeneous effect on zooplankton filter‐feeders. Afterwards, different regional trophic dynamics were observed, in particular a negative relationship between total phytoplankton and zooplankton was detected off the west coast of Norway and the Skagerrak as opposed to a positive one in the southern reaches. Our results suggest that after the early 1970s diatoms remained the main food source for zooplankton filter‐feeders east of Orkney–Shetland and off Scotland, while in the east, from the Norwegian Trench to the German Bight, filter‐feeders were mainly sustained by dinoflagellates.     

Diatoms in recent Atlantic (20° S to 70° N latitude) sediments: abundance patterns and what they mean

Valve abundances of marine planktonic, marine benthic and freshwater diatoms in 780 sediment surface samples from the North and Equatorial Atlantic between 20° S 75° W and 70° N 10° E display patterns that do not correspond to published records of primary production in the photic zone. On the contrary, their abundance is more closely related to dissolution and dilution by terrigenous minerogenic and biogenic carbonate material. Highest abundances of marine planktonic diatoms occur in the northern North Atlantic south of Iceland and in the equatorial regions. The central North Atlantic and the central Caribbean, which feature lower primary production in the photic zone, contain few or no diatoms in surface sediments. African derived freshwater diatoms are concentrated in a lobe between 5° S and 20° N latitude decreasing in numbers from the African continent westward.Lars Gronlien died unexpectedly in January 1992.     

Chloroplast DNA Intraspecific Phylogeography of Prairie Cordgrass (Spartina pectinata Bosc ex Link)

Chloroplast DNA (cpDNA) sequences are appropriate for studying intraspecific phylogeography. Comparing cpDNA phylogeny with different cytotypes provides insights into the origin and establishment of polyploid species. We have previously defined the geographic distribution of cytotypes in prairie cordgrass throughout the different regions of the United States. In this study, chloroplast haplotype variation is explored in 54 populations of prairie cordgrass, using nine noncoding chloroplast regions. These chloroplast analyses were combined with the cytotype surveys of prairie cordgrass to infer the phylogeography and to elucidate the origin of the different cytotypes. In this study, we identified three haplotypes, Prairie Cordgrass Group 1 (PCG1), Prairie Cordgrass Group 2 (PCG2), and Prairie Cordgrass Group 3 (PCG3). In general, related haplotypes were strongly associated with geographic distribution. Useful insertions–deletions (indels) were also found among prairie cordgrass populations. The PCG1 haplotypes collected inthe East North Central to the New England regions of the US, were polyploid (tetraploid, hexaploid, and octoploids), while the PCG2 haplotypes, found in southern South Dakota, Iowa, and Missouri, were primarily octoploids, but also included a small number of tetraploids. The PCG3 haplotypes were octoploids and were collected in North Dakota, South Dakota, and Minnesota.     

中国喇叭螺属一新种(肺螺亚纲,柄眼目,虹蛹螺科)

记述采自贵州省陆生贝类1新种,修文贝喇叭螺Boysidia(Bensonella)xiuwenensis sp.nov.,文中对新种形态特征、栖息环境进行了描述,并对其相似种进行了分析和讨论。