Butterflies of the Toquima Range, Nevada: distribution, natural history, and comparison to the Toiyabe Range

Studies of Great Basin faunas can provide information for landscape-level adaptive management by federal agencies and shed light on potential effects of climate change in continental interior landscapes. To provide such information, we characterized the butterfly fauna of the Toquima Range, a mountain range in the heart of the Great Basin with topography typical of the region. We also compared the butterfly fauna of the Toquima Range to that of the adjacent Toiyabe Range, which is more topographically complex and species rich but less representative of the Great Basin on the whole. We explicitly addressed the effects of area and water availability on butterfly species richness. Butterfly species presence data were compiled for 14 canons and 1 peak in the Toquima Range. Data from 11 canyons that we inventoried systematically were amenable to statistical analysis. Eighty butterfly species (59 residents) have been recorded from the Toquima Range since 1935. By comparison, 99 species have been recorded from the Toiyabe Range. Mean canyon-level butterfly species richness was significantly lower in the Toquima Range than in the Toiyabe Range. This difference cannot be explained by differences in canyon size between mountain ranges. Within the Toquima Range water availability seems to have a dominant effect on butterfly species richness. Between mountain ranges species richness is influenced by interactions among areas, moisture, and topography. These data should assist managers in developing guidelines for conservation planning in the Great Basin.     

An Erigeron from Nevada and a Penstemon from Idaho

Described as new species are Erigeron cavernensis Welsh & Atwood from the Schell Creek Range and Currant Mountain, White Pine County, Nevada, and Penstemon idahoensis Atwood     

Current status of cutthroat trout subspecies in the western Bonneville Basin

Recent discoveries of native cutthroat trout populations in desert mountain ranges on the western fringe of the Bonneville Basin have prompted intensified management efforts by state and federal agencies. Analysis of Snake Valley cutthroat specimens in Trout Creek, Deep Creek Mountain Range, Utah, indicate this is a pure strain of the trout which once inhabited Pleistocene Lake Bonneville and which was thought to be extinct in Utah. The Snake Valley cutthroat is similar to Salmo clarki utah of the eastern Bonneville Basin; however, electrophoretic and morphomeristic analysis show unique genetic differences brought about by long - term isolation (8,000 years) from the remainder of the Bonneville Basin cutthroat. This cutthroat is a common ancestor to several other limited cutthroat populations within the basin in Nevada. In May 1977 the BLM withdrew from mineral entry about 27,000 acres within the Deep Creek Mountains for protection of this salmonid cutthroat and other unique resources on the range. Results of 1977 stream surveys on the Pilot Peak Mountain Range, Utah, indicate the presence of the threatened Lahontan cutthroat, Salmo clarki henshawi, in one isolated stream.     

Biogeographic and taxonomic relationships among the mountain snails (Gastropoda: Oreohelicidae) of the central Great Basin

Described here are 4 species of mountain snails, Oreohelix , isolated on mountains in the central Great Basin of Nevada and Utah since the end of the Pleistocene. Forty-three mountains were searched during an 18-year period, resulting in 24 mountains found with no oreohelicids present. One population, Oreohelix loisae (19 mm to 23 mm in shell diameter), is described here as a new species related to, but geographically isolated from, the species Oreohelix nevadensis (17 mm to 22 mm diameter). Oreohelix loisae is present only in the Goshute Mountains while O. nevadensis is represented in 3 geographically adjacent ranges in the central Great Basin. These 2 species are possibly related to the Oreohelix haydeni group from the northern Wasatch Range. The subspecies Oreohelix strigosa depressa (15 mm to 21 mm diameter) is present on 11 ranges from western Utah west to east central Nevada. This subspecies is closely related to populations found today in the northern Wasatch Mountains of Utah. The smallest species in diameter (8 mm to 14 mm), Oreohelix hemphilli , is centered in the central Great Basin and found on 16 ranges often in sympatry with 1 or 2 of the larger conspecifics. Both qualitative and quantitative information on shell characters and soft anatomy is provided here for these 4 species. Shell characters, soft anatomy, geographical isolation, and statistical analysis suggest that 4 distinct species inhabit the central Great Basin today. Xeric and calciphilic species include O. hemphilli and O. loisae , while O. strigosa and O. nevadensis typically are associated with permanent water and both metamorphic and limestone mountains.     

An ecological study of bristlecone pine ( Pinus longaeva ) in Utah and eastern Nevada

Normal 0 false false false EN-US X-NONE X-NONE MicrosoftInternetExplorer4 st1\:*{behavior:url(#ieooui) } /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-priority:99; mso-style-qformat:yes; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; mso-para-margin:0in; mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:11.0pt; font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-fareast; mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;} This paper presents data on the distribution of Pinus longaeva on the Markagunt Plateau, Utah; and the Snake, Egan, and White Pine ranges of eastern Nevada. It also presents data on the present-day density and age structure of three P. longaeva populations and the growth rates of individual trees within these populations. Conifer species richness and the relative abundance of P. longaeva varies clinally from the Markagunt Plateau to the White Pine Range. The Markagunt Plateau has relatively high conifer species richness (10 species) and low relative abundance of P. longaeva (1%). The White Pine Range has low conifer richness (4 species) and high P. longaeva relative abundance (34%). Individual tree growth rates were low but highly variable in all populations studied. The three populations studied had mixed age structures with a general trend of more younger individuals at the lower elevations. Possible explanations for the present distribution of P. longaeva and the population structures observed are discussed.     

Bats of the White and Inyo Mountains of California-nevada

We surveyed bats throughout the White and Inyo Mountains of California and Nevada. From December 1990 to November 1996, we surveyed hibernating bats, and foraging bats from June 1992 to September 1996. The White-Inyo Range rests in a unique biogeographical junction between the Sierra Nevada, Mojave Desert, and Great Basin Regions. Elevational gradients of 305-4340 m, combined with limited human development, further enhance the interest of natural history and faunal distributions in this range. We found 13 bat species in the course of 2668 observations. Three of these species, the spotted bat ( Euderma maculatum ), silver-haired bat ( Lasionycteris noctivagans ), and hoary bat ( Lasturus cinereus ), have no previous records from the White-Inyo Range. We found bats in all vegetation zones except alpine, 3500-4342 m. Despite an abundance of mines in this range, only Townsend's big-eared bat ( Corynorhinus townsendii ) and western small-footed myotis ( Myotis ciliolabrum ) used them routinely. Our data also indicated the importance of surface water to bat populations in arid regions.     

Managing livestock grazing for mule deer ( Odocoileus hemionus ) on winter range in the Great Basin

History and technical literature describing potential effects of livestock grazing on mule deer ( Odocoileus hemionus ) populations and winter range habitat are reviewed. Recommendations for livestock grazing on winter ranges within the Great Basin are advanced.     

Genetic variation of woodrats ( Neotoma cinerea ) and deer mice ( Peromyscus maniculatus ) on montane habitat islands in the Great Basin

Seventeen loci were examined for polymorphism in four populations of Neotoma cinerea and Peromyscus maniculatus on isolated mountain ranges in the Great Basin, one population of each in the Sierra Nevada, and one of each in the Rocky Mountains. All Peromyscus populations had higher levels of heterozygosity than syntopic Neotoma populations.     

Field measurements of alkalinity from lakes in the Uinta Mountains, Utah, 1956-1991

History and technical literature describing potential effects of livestock grazing on mule deer ( Odocoileus hemionus ) populations and winter range habitat are reviewed. Recommendations for livestock grazing on winter ranges within the Great Basin are advanced.     

Coexistence of two species of sucker, Catostomus , in Sagehen Creek, California, and notes on their status in the western Lahontan Basin

The observed distribution and relative abundance of two morphologically similar species of sucker, Catostomus , have shifted dramatically over the past four decades in Sagehen Creek and nearby streams in eastern California. The mountain sucker, C. platyrhynchus , formerly abundant and more numerous than the Tahoe sucker, C. tahoensis , has become relatively rare and during this study was consistently less abundant than the Tahoe sucker at all eastern California sites in 1983. Similar shifts in abundance were not seen at the three Nevada sites. Behavioral observations and data on spatial and temporal patterns of habitat use, collected in Sagehen Creek between May and September 1982 and 1983 using a snorkel survey method, indicate nearly complete overlap between mountain and Tahoe sucker habitat use and an absence of any agonistic behavioral interaction between species. The decline of the mountain sucker in these areas is likely the result of an interaction of loss of habitat due to reservoir construction and destructive management practices. These changes may have led to the elimination of isolating mechanisms between the two species and may be increasing the opportunity for introgressive hybridization.     

Snake Creek Burial Cave and a review of the Quaternary mustelids of the Great Basin

Snake Creek Burial Cave (SCBC), east central Nevada, is a unique paleontological deposit. The cave is the first natural trap excavated in the Great Basin and one of the few localities describing a valley-bottom community. The recovery of extinct Camelops sp. (camel) and Equus spp. (horse), in addition to radiometric dates, indicates at least some of the deposits to be of late Pleistocene age. Eight mustelid species have been identified from SCBC, including three species not previously reported from the late Rancholabrean of the Great Basin: Mustela nigripes (black-footed ferret), M. nivalis (least weasel), and Gulo gulo (wolverine). A review of late Pleistocene deposits indicates that there are more species of mustelids recovered from Snake Creek Burial Cave than from any other locality in the Great Basin.     

Species composition, emergence, and habitat preferences of Trichoptera of the Sagehen Creek Basin, California, USA

An extensive study of larvae and adult Trichoptera of the Sagehen Creek basin. Sierra Nevada, California, USA, revealed 77 species representing 14 families and 41 genera. Twenty-six species were restricted to small water bodies (spring sources, seeps, spring streams, temporary ponds, and intermittent streams); 27 were restricted to Sagehen Creek, a second-order stream, and the mouths of two large spring streams. Similarity between species caught at black lights and those in emergence traps was 43%. There were two major peaks in adult emergence by species, midsummer and late summer-fall. A few species emerged during winter or throughout most of the year. The species composition of the community showed affinity with Oregon, the Great Basin, and the Rocky Mountains but very little similarity with the California Coast Range. Four of the most abundant species in the basin have very restricted distributions. Ecological separation of several groups of closely related species could be explained by major differences in larval habitats or by different emergence periods.     

Aquatic parameters and life history observations of the Great Basin spadefoot toad in Utah

The distribution and breeding habitats of the Great Basin spadefoot toad ( Scaphiopus intermontanus ) were investigated in the Bonneville Basin of western Utah. The permanent springs and man-made reservoirs used for breeding were largely found below the 1600 m elevation. The pH's ranged between 7.2 and 10.4 and the total dissolved solids between 170 and 4800 mg/l. The springs were less alkaline than the rain-filled reservoirs. The lack of aquatic vegetation was a common feature of the reservoirs and most of the springs. Observations of breeding without rain are noted as well as the lack of breeding with rain. The snout – vent lengths of adult spadefoots are greater in the Bonneville Basin than in other parts of the Great Basin. Utilization of permanent water sources and stimuli for emergence and breeding, as well as the larger adult size of S. intermontanus in the Bonneville Basin, are discussed in relation to the diverse precipitation patterns, the sparseness of the water sources, and the Holocene history of the Great Basin.      

Evidence for variability in spawning behavior of interior cutthroat trout in response to environmental uncertainty

The fluctuating characteristics (numbers, biomass, condition, and young-adult ratios) of the Lahontan (Humboldt) cutthroat trout population in Chimney Creek, Nevada, are discussed in relationship to the unpredictable and unstable habitat in which the population occurs. One possible means of adapting to environmental capriciousness, staggered spawning, occurred during 1982, and clues as to the cause of this unusual event are sought by examining the runoff hydrographs of a nearby watershed for 1981 through 1984. The management values of the environmental tolerance of these native trout with respect to restoring viable trout fisheries in degraded Great Basin streams are also considered.     

A checklist of the alpine vascular flora of the Teton Range, Wyoming, with notes on biology and habitat preferences

A checklist of the vascular flora of the alpine zone (treeless vegetation above 9500 feet or 2900 m) of the Teton Range is presented. For each of the 216 species, six attributes are listed: flower color and shape, pollination mode, life form, habitat preference, and whether each species is found in the Arctic. White and yellow flowered species are most common, and zoophilous species greatly predominate over anemophilous and apomictic species. Perennial/biennial herbs are the most common life form. Common habitats in the alpine zone include dry and wet meadows, bogs, debris accumulations, and cliffs and rock faces. Arctic species account for 25.9 percent of the flora. The 216 species are distributed among 111 genera and 36 families. The largest families, in order of size, are Asteraceae, Poaceae, Cyperaceae, Brassicaceae, Rosaceae, and Scrophulariaceae.     

Classification and ordination of the alpine plant communities of Railroad Ridge, White Cloud Peaks, Idaho

Alpine vegetation of Railroad Ridge in the White Cloud Peaks, Custer County, Idaho, was investigated to ascertain native communities and describe their distribution with respect to important environmental factors. Percent cover of all species and environmental information were recorded for 69 plots. Data were analyzed by TWINSPAN and CANOCO, which provided a classification and an ordination, respectively. Predominant communities are dominated by (1) Phlox pulvinata , (2) Carex elynoides , and (3) Ceum rossii , and other communities of lesser importance are dominated by (4) Artemisia campestris , (5) Eriogonum ovalifolium and Silene acaulis , and (6) Ivesia gordonii . Although the Artemisia campestris community occupies a relatively small portion of the study area, it is noteworthy because it is a community type not previously known for Idaho. The community co-dominated by Eriogonum ovalifolium and Silene acaulis is also unique and has not been documented in other Idaho alpine studies. Community distribution showed the strongest correlation with exposure, substrate type, and slope. In general, the study area supports fellfield communities that are representative of alpine areas in Idaho and some Great Basin mountain ranges, and dense turflike communities similar to ones found throughout western North America's temperate alpine regions.     

Breeding birds of an ancient bristlecone pine stand in east central Nevada

This paper describes features of the breeding bird population of a Great Basin ancient bristlecone pine stand on Wheeler Peak in White Pine County, east central Nevada. The bird population was determined by spot-mapping methods on a 20-ha plot during June and July 1981. The density of breeding birds was 82 pairs per 40 ha. Fourteen species were territorial. The most abundant species were the Dark-eyed Junco, Mountain Chickadee, Mountain Bluebird, and Townsend’s Solitaire. Other common breeding species included the Cassin’s Finch, Yellow-rumped Warbler, Pine Siskin, and Dusky Flycatcher. There were 410 individual breeding birds per km 2 . When expressed as standing crop biomass, the Townsend’s Solitaire was the predominant species, followed by the Dark-eyed Junco, American Robin, Mountain Bluebird, and Northern Flicker. Total standing crop biomass was 95 g/ha. None of the breeding birds were restricted to the bristlecone pine stand. The structure of the breeding bird community in the bristlecone pine forest compared best to those of the Rocky Mountain and Northern Boreal forest regions.     

Trachytes kaliszewskii , n. sp. (Acari: Uropodina), from the Great Basin (Utah, USA), with remarks on the habitats and distribution of the members of the genus Trachytes

Trachytes kaliszewskii, n. sp., is described from the Great Basin, Utah, USA. SEM photography illustrates morphological detail. An annotated list is included of currently recognized species of the genus Trachytes , with comments on their distribution and habitat characteristics.     

Brood habitat use by Sage Grouse in Oregon

Habitat use by Sage Grouse ( Centrocercus urophasianus hens with broods was examined at Jackass Creek and Hart Mountain, Oregon, from 1989 through 1991. Sage Grouse hens initially selected low sagebrush ( Artemisia spp.) cover types during early brood-rearing, big sagebrush cover types later in the brood-rearing period, and ultimately concentrated use in and near lakebeds and meadows. Areas used by Sage Grouse broods typically had greater forb frequency than did random sites. Hens at Jackass Creek selected sites with forb cover similar to that generally available at Hart Mountain, but home ranges were larger at Jackass Creek because of lower availability of suitable brood-rearing habitat. Differences in habitat use by broods on the two areas were reflected in dietary differences; at Hart Mountain, chicks primarily ate forbs and insects, whereas at Jackass Creek most of the diet was sagebrush. Larger home ranges, differences in diets, and differences in availability of forb-rich habitats possibly were related to differences in abundance and productivity between areas.     

Effects of habitat type and degradation on avian species richness in Great Basin riparian habitats

The overwhelming majority of bird species in the Great Basin region are found in riparian habitats. However, most previous research on the impact of change in habitat condition through degradation on these bird communities failed to account for the large intersite differences, in both habitat type and extent of degradation. We examined songbird communities in 4 riparian habitat types (meadows, willow-birch-, and aspen-dominated forest stands) during summers 1994 (last year of a 7-yr drought) and 1995 (following the 6th wettest winter recorded) in the Toiyabe Mountain Range of central Nevada. Habitat degradation significantly influenced bird species richness in riparian areas, but the impact was dependent upon habitat type. While meadow bird communities were affected adversely by habitat degradation, with significant drops in species richness on degraded sites, bird species richness in forested riparian habitats was consistently greater on degraded sites. Data for the 6 most common species seen during our study indicated that degradation may have influenced distribution of American Robins ( Turdus migratorius ) and Yellow Warblers ( Dendroica petechia ), but habitat type was the best predictor of abundance for House Wrens ( Troglodytes aedon ), Red-naped Sapsuckers ( Sphyrapicus nuchalis ), Warbling Vircos ( Vireo gilvus ), and Brewer's Blackbirds ( Euphagus cyanocephalus ). Avian species diversity in meadow habitats may be linked to moisture levels during specific times of the year. Diversity increased during the pre-migratory period of the dry year (1994) when compared with that of the breeding season, but was unchanged in the wet year (1995).