Geology topics
K.F. Higgins
Publications and source records attributed to K.F. Higgins.
Grandparents: hunters and gatherers of a passing tradition and era
Abstract has not been submitted
Breeding bird community colonization of sown stands of native grasses in North Dakota
Breeding passerine birds were studied in three native grass plantings of predominantly western wheatgrass (Agropyron smithii) and green needlegrass (Stipa viridula) in south-central North Dakota during 1982-1984. A total of eight different species of passerines readily colonized this relatively new type of wildlife habitat during the second, third. and fourth growing seasons.
Environmental factors that influence prescribed burning in the Northern Plains
Several environmental conditions were recorded and analyzed for 192 prescribed burns in the Northern Great Plains. The purpose of these burns was to improve wildlife habitat and manipulate native prairie vegetation. All of the fires occurred in grassland and shrubsteppe vegetation types. Fuels were predominantly grasses and forbs intermixed with patches of shrubs. Nearly all of the fuels were <1.5 m tall. Shrub stems averaged <2.5 cm in diameter.In northern grasslands, prescribed burns can be conducted successfully during all months when there is no snow or ice cover on the ground. However, the burns analyzed here were conducted between March and October during all hours of the day or night.Burns were conducted under a wide range of environmental conditions. For example, one plot of mixed-grass prairie burned successfully just 9 hours after it received 1.2 cm of rain; another plot of mixed-grass prairie burned successfully when ambient air temperature was only 1.7 deg.C. Heavy fuels will often burn for short periods of time though light rain or snow are falling.Precipitation, relative humidity, temperature, cloud cover, and wind speed and direction are important climatic factors to consider before and during prescribed burns. These factors influence ignition of fuels, fire behavior, and fire effects. The 4 basic environmental conditions that influence the burning of northern plains grasslands and shrubsteppe are those that:1) Prohibit ignition or spread of fires. Plots with complete snow or ice cover, or those ignited during rainfall rates >0.05 cm/h, do not burn. However, these are good conditions to burn stockpiles of unwanted fuels that are usually high risk elements during regular prescribed burns.2) Produce partial burns. Partial burns are defined as those where fire is discontinuous and patches of standing and lodged vegetation are left unburned. Partial burns occur most often when fine fuels feel moist when handled, where less than 2 days have passed since the last measurable precipitation, and when cloud cover is complete. Other conditions associated with partial burns are relative humidities >50 percent, temperatures <21 deg.C, and wind speeds <10 km/h. These conditions occur most often during May and June.3) Produce complete burns. Complete burns are defined as those in which fire is continuous and nearly all vegetation (standing, lodged, and ground litter) is consumed by the fire. Complete burns occur most often when fine fuels feel dry when handled, 2 or more days have passed since the last measurable precipitation, and the sky is partly cloudy to clear. Complete burns occur with relative humidities between 25 and 50 percent, temperatures between 21 and 32 deg.C, and wind speeds of 13 to 24 km/h. These conditions occur most often in July, August, and September, but can occur anytime from March through November.4) Produce high risk fires. High risk fires are defined as those fires that are conducted during undesirable climatic conditions. High risk fires can always be expected with a combination of high winds, low humidity, high temperatures, and no recent precipitation. These conditions are most probable with wind speeds >32 km/h, relative humidities <20 percent, and temperatures >35 deg.C. These conditions occur most often in July, August, and September, but can occur anytime from April through October.
Successful establishment of stands of cool-season native grasses (North Dakota)
Abstract has not been submitted
Changes in vegetation structure in seeded nesting cover in the prairie pothole region
A sample of 365 stands of seeded nesting cover (mixtures of cool-season grasses and legumes) was studied in the glaciated prairie pothole region during 1977-79. Measurements of species composition, canopy cover, plant height, and visual obstruction values differed with stand age but only in a general way when results from over the entire region were pooled. Maximum values for plant height and visual obstruction occurred once per stand during the first 10 growing seasons. Although the year of maximum growth was variable and unpredictable, stands showed trends of degeneration in height and visual obstruction after the year of maximum growth.Seeded nesting cover grew similarly throughout the region when on soils of capability class IV or better and within a precipitation range of 30 to 61 cm. Precipitation was the factor that most affected stand growth, especially the amount received in the year before spring measurements. Height and visual obstruction values within a stand were also directly affected by some individual species and by the percentage of grass within a stand. In 2 of the 3 study years, the height and visual obstruction values of residual cover were extremely reduced by ice pack, heavy snow pack, or a combination of snow pack and harvest by rodents. Such events, if frequent, largely negate the possibility of using minimum visual obstruction or plant height measurements for assessing quality of vegetation for wildlife cover and management purposes.Species composition, number of species, and canopy cover varied most during the first three growing seasons and least during the next six. Succession toward dominance by native grasses and forbs and woody species was retarded by the predominance of the species of seeded nesting cover, at least during the first 10 growing seasons.All stands had at least one species present that was either a noxious weed, a problem cropland weed, or a nuisance weed. Weeds were usually local in distribution. Five weed species needing special management attention on public lands are leafy spurge (Euphorbia podperae), wormwood (Artemisia absinthium), Canada thistle (Cirsium arvense), musk thistle (Carduus nutans), and plumeless thistle (Carduus acanthoides). Sites disturbed by mammal diggings or those skipped during planting operations became revegetated mostly with species other than those of seeded nesting cover.Successfully established stands on good sites provided substantial food and cover for wildlife for at least 6 years and retained stand composition for at least 10 years. Further study will be necessary to determine longevity of these stands. Except for mandatory noxious weed control, no management treatments of seeded nesting cover were necessary before the seventh growing season, at which time some stands needed renovation. The primary goals for management of seeded nesting cover should be stand quality and longevity. Guidelines to these goals are suggested.
"Duck stamp" dollars reserve native prairie tracts
Ducks and wetlands are inseparable in the prairies. Hunters know this, bird watchers know this, wildlife managers know this, and most importantly people who manage the croplands and rangelands know this. The 1,746 tracts of native prairie within these upland-wetland complexes known as Waterfowl Production Areas are not the only lands purchased with "duck stamp" dollars. Considerable acreages have also been purchased in central and southern parts of the United States to provide staging, resting, and wintering areas for waterfowl. Since 1934, when "duck stamps" were first sold, nearly 2.5 million acres of waterfowl habitats have been acquired or taken under easement within the United States with revenue from these sales. By purchasing "duck stamps", more than 2.2 million people provide over $16.5 million in annual revenue. It is certainly gratifying to know that some of the remaining native prairie remnants in the Northern Great Plains are being reserved for the future with "duck stamp" dollars.
Some ecological aspects of marbled godwits and willets in North Dakota
No abstract available.
Avian mortality caused by a September wind and hail storm
Abstract has not been submitted
Duck nesting in intensively farmed areas of North Dakota
A study to determine the major factors limiting duck nesting and production on intensively farmed areas in eastern North Dakota was conducted from 1969 through 1974. A total of 186 duck nests was found during searches on 6,018 ha of upland. Nest density per km2 for 5 major habitat types was 20.2 in untilled upland, 3.7 in standing grain stubble, 1.6 in mulched grain stubble, 1.2 in summer fallow, and 1.1 in growing grain. Pintails ( Anas acuta ) nested in cultivated cropland types in greater prevalence than other duck species. Nest densities were 12 times greater on untilled upland (20.2/km2) than on annually tilled cropland (1.7/km2), and hatched-clutch densities were 16 times greater on untilled upland (4.8/km2) than on annually tilled cropland (0.3/km2). Hatching success was greater on untilled upland (25%) than on tilled cropland (17%). Of 186 nests found, 77 percent did not hatch; 76 percent of the failures were attributed to predators and 19 percent to farming operations. Poor quality nesting cover, the result of intensive land use practices, and nesting failures caused by machinery and predators mainly mammals, were the principal factors limiting duck nesting and production on intensively farmed areas.
Construction and operation of cable-chain drag for nest searches
A list of materials necessary to build and use a 53-m-long cable-chain drag is presented. Techniques are described for searching, finding, and marking nests in a typical area of grassland.During nine nesting seasons, 7,894 nests representing 32 species were found by searching fields with cable-chain drags. Only 2% of the nests were damaged while searching; most of this damage was caused by the searcher or the vehicle, and not by the drag.The rate of nest abandonment caused by cable-chain searching was estimated to be less than 1%. Reflushing efficiency ranged from 25% for green-winged teal (Anas crecca) to 100% for shorebirds. Other uses of the cable-chain drag are also discussed.
Upland sandpiper nesting and management in North Dakota
Nests of 195 upland sandpipers (Bartramia longicauda) on the Missouri Coteau of North Dakota generally were well concealed by grassy vegetation which ranged from 15.4-30.8 cm in height. Nest densities ranged from 0.3 per 40.5 ha on annually tilled croplands to 6.8 per 40.5 ha on native grasslands during the second growing season after a prescribed burn. Hatching success in native grasslands varied from 48 percent on annually grazed areas to 71 percent on both undisturbed and burned areas. No production was observed on annually tilled croplands and production was comparatively low on former cropland fields seeded to grass-legume mixtures. Expressed as hatched nests per 40.5 ha, production was 0.5 for annually grazed grassland, 1.1 for undisturbed grassland, and 2.2 for grassland managed by prescribed burning. To maintain native grasslands in the best condition for upland sandpiper nesting we recommend rotational burning at 3-year intervals; otherwise grasslands should remain undisturbed.
Some aspects of the breeding biology of the upland sandpiper in North Dakota
Abstract has not been submitted
Shorebird and game bird nests in North Dakota croplands
Abstract has not been submitted
Prolonged incubation behavior by a marbled godwit
On 9 May 1972 I flushed a Marbled Godwit ( Limosa fedoa ) from a nest containing four eggs in a large field of mulched wheat stubble in northwestern Stutsman County, North Dakota. I revisited the nest on 31 May and on 7, 9, 12, 15, 16, 20, and 21 June, and found an incubating adult on the nest during all visits except 21 June. Another adult was seen near the nest site only on 9 May. On 12 June the eggs looked rotten, and the incubating bird seemed to have a crippled leg. On 21 June Ring-billed Gulls ( Larus delawarensis ) destroyed the eggs.
Population irruption of the least weasel (Mustela nivalis) in east central North Dakota
Abstract has not been submitted
Aging small Canada geese by neck plumage
The neck plumage method, a new technique for separating immature from adult Canada geese ( Branta canadensis ) in the hand, was evaluated by comparison with the notched tail feather and cloacal examination methods. Two (1.4 percent) of 141 geese examined were misaged, resulting in a 6 percent error in the immature-adult ratio obtained by the neck plumage method. The neck plumage method is a rapid aging method and reasonable accuracy (94 percent) can be obtained. It can also be used to differentiate immatures from adults on the ground at distances up to 175 yards, but was almost impossible to use when geese were in flight. As yet, the neck plumage method has only been tested on the subspecies ( B. c. hutchinsii-parvipes complex) in the Tall-Grass Prairie population of small Canada geese.