Influence of precipitation and temperature on ring, annual branch increment, and needle growth of White Fir and Douglas-fir in central Utah

The study evaluates growth variations in mixed stands of Douglas-fir ( Pseudotsuga menziesii (Mirb.) Franco) and White Fir ( Abies concolor Hoopes) from the Bighorn Ranch in northern Sanpete County, Utah. The study area lies 26 km southwest of Thistle, Utah. Tree-ring width, annual branch growth and needle length for the period 1970–1976 were obtained from Douglas-Fir and White Fir individuals distributed along an altitudinal and moisture gradient. Elevation ranged from 2257 m to 2500 m above sea level. Temperature and precipitation are shown to exert a significant influence on needle and annual branch growth and width of the annual rings. It was found that multiple correlation coefficients were always larger than the simple correlation coefficients. This suggests that the trees are responding to both temperature and precipitation. Annual branch growth is shown to be positively correlated with ring width and needle length. The influence of precipitation on growth is synchronized with 1 October–1 June precipitation. Best growth occurs in cool, moist years and at lower elevations.     

First Pleistocene jumping mouse ( Zapus , Zapodinae, Rodentia) from Utah

Two of the Little Dell Dam fossil localities produced the 1st Pleistocene records of the jumping mouse Zapus from Utah. We describe these teeth in detail and compare their morphology with both extinct and extant jumping mouse taxa. Although it is not possible to confidently assign these specimens to a particular species, the Little Dell Dam fossils are clearly distinct from the only living jumping mouse ( Zapus princeps ) currently known from Utah. The paracone is attached to the rest of the occlusal surface of the upper 1st and 2nd molars in modern Z. princeps from Utah; the paracone is isolated in the molars from Little Dell Dam. The fossils from Little Dell Dam are the 1st reported records of Pleistocene Zapus west of the Rocky Mountains.     

Status of the northern rock deermouse, Peromyscus nasutus (Rodentia: Cricetidae), in Utah

Peromyscus nasutus has been considered to occur in Utah since it was first reported in the state in 1935. Authors since then have considered the distribution of P. nasutus to include southeastern Utah. However, the original Utah specimen was later reidentified as Peromyscus boylii . A query of museums revealed only 1 other specimen considered to be P. nasutus from Utah. This specimen was examined and found to be P. boylii . Thus, there is no evidence of the occurrence of P. nasutus in Utah, and the northwesternmost accepted records of this species are in the Chuska Mountains of northeastern Arizona.     

Foods and weights of the Rock Ptarmigan on Amchitka, Aleutian Islands, Alaska

We examined the crop contents from 129 Rock Ptarmigan ( Lagopus mutus ) collected between 1967 and1971 on Amchitka, Aleutian Islands, Alaska. On a yearly basis two plant species, Empetrum nigrum and Equisetum arvense , made up 87% of the diet. Only in July and August were they less than 90% of the diet, and in those months they constituted 65% of the diet. During the warmer months (May-October) when a variety of plant species were available, the Amchitka ptarmigan fed upon growth forms of plants high in nutritive value (particularly Equisetum strobili ). Its main winter food was the vegetative portions of Empetrum , one of the few abundant evergreen vascular plants on the island.     

Decreases of juniper woodland in the Utah and Salt Lake valleys since settlement

Although pinyon-juniper woodland is common throughout most of Utah, it is less so in Utah and Salt Lake valleys. Even so, stands do occur in the valleys and are known to have been there since presettlement times. Three such stands occurring along the eastern sections of the valleys have shown major decreases in area since settlement times, and one has all but disappeared. Their disappearance is attributed to early use for fuel, agricultural, and urbanization purposes.       

Observations on Double-crested Cormorants ( Phalacrocorax auritus ) at sportfishing waters in southwestern Utah

Counts of Double-crested Cormorants ( Phalacrocorax auritus ) were made at 13 reservoirs and lakes in southwestern Utah during 1989-91 to determine current abundance of that species. Food habits of cormorants were studied at three of the reservoirs in 1989. Data were also collected on trout abundance during standardized gill-netting to make comparisons between cormorant numbers and trout abundance. Cormorants were observed at all waters studied except one and were generally most numerous during the spring as they migrated through the area. Estimated cormorant abundance ranged from 0 to 34 bird-days per ha and was highest at the larger, lower-elevation reservoirs. Cormorants were summer residents at several of the larger reservoirs and nested successfully at Piute Reservoir. Trout accounted for 24-81% of the diet of cormorants, with Utah chubs constituting most of the remainder of the diet. Estimates of the annual consumption of fish by cormorants ranged from 0 to 15.8 kg per ha. The index of trout abundance was inversely related to cormorant abundance ( P < .01) at the waters studied. Cormorants apparently have increased in numbers and extended their range in southwestern Utah during the past decade. This change may be the result of factors that have led to similar changes throughout North America as well as some factors unique to Utah. Methods to mitigate the impact of predation by piscivorous birds of sportfisheries are discussed. The Utah Division of Wildlife Resources has initiated a new management plan at Minersville Reservoir that incorporates piscivorous birds into sportfish management at that reservoir.     

Productivity, food habits, and associated variables of Barn Owls utilizing nest boxes in north central Utah

Productivity and food habits of the Barn Owl ( Tyto alba ) utilizing nest boxes in Juab, Utah, and Salt Lake counties, Utah, During 1979-1984 were examined. Average clutch size was 5.8 eggs for the 6-yr period; mean number fledged was 3.9 young per successful nest. While severe weather during the 1981-82 winter did not result in significant decrease in productivity during the 1982 breeding season, it may have resulted in a significant overproduction of female young. Barn Owls in north central Utah fed almost exclusively on mammalian species, particularly Microtus spp. Difference in clutch size between areas and years may be a response to availability as well as abundance of prey.     

A comparison of epiphytic diatom assemblages on living and dead stems of the common grass Phragmites australis

Diatoms epiphytic on Phragmites australis (Cav.) Trin. ex Steaded stems were collected from a single clone at the southern end of Provo Bay, Utah Lake, Utah. Diatom populations from both living and dead stem sections were analyzed. Species diversity in each sample was high, indicating that the stems provide a relatively stable habitat for diatom epiphytes. Of the 23 genera found, only Gomphonema and Navicula showed significant trends toward stem preference. The diatoms in this study support the current view that Utah Lake is a slightly saline, eutrophic system.     

Breeding ecology of Long-billed Curlews at Great Salt Lake, Utah

We qualified nest site characteristics, breeding densities, and migratory chronology of Long-billed Curlews at the Great Salt Lake, Utah. The species is apparently declining in Utah, and little is known about their breeding in the eastern Great Basin Desert. This study was designed to provide wildlife biologist with the baseline data useful for their successful management. Curlews arrived in northern Utah in late March and generally departed by mid-August. Nest densities at Great Salt Lake ranged from 0.64 to 2.36 males/km 2 . The habitat at curlew nest sites consisted of significantly shorter vegetation than nearby random locations ( ˉx = 5.7 versus 9.0 cm, respectively; P < .01). Nests tended to be located in small patches of vegetation near barren ground. Maintenance of relatively short vegetation appears to be important in managing curlew habitat. In addition, only 2 of 10 nests we monitored in 1992 were successful, with most lost to mammalian predators. Further research is needed to determine impact of mammalian predators on curlew populations.     

Vegetational response to three environmental gradients in the salt playa near Goshen, Utah County, Utah

The plant communities and individual plant species in and around a salt playa near Goshen, Utah County, Utah, were studied in relation to gradients for soluble salts, soil moisture, and pH. Forty-eight stands were sampled. Frequency data were taken for all plant species. Soil samples were collected from each site and analyzed to establish the environmental gradients. Results indicate that the vegetational types respond differentially to the three gradients and can be segregated on the basis of one or more of the gradients. The total soluble salts gradient was found to be the most influential of the three sampled. Correlation analysis indicates that 45 percent of the variation in plant diversity can be accounted for by the three gradients. Distributional patterns of individual plant species are strongly influenced by the three gradients. Niche width measurements exhibited no correlation with the measured gradients.     

Utah botanical explorer Charles Christopher Parry (28 August 1823-20 February 1890)

The Utah botanical contributions of Charles Christopher Parry are discussed. Especial emphasis is on his trips to Utah in 1874 and 1875. Plants taken during those years, which were subsequently listed as type-specimens, are listed. Insight is gained into this window in Utah botanical history through his letters to Dr. George Engelmann and limited correspondence from Engelmann and Joseph Ellis Johnson.     

Habitat use and subspecific status of Merlins, Falco columbarius , wintering in central Utah

Most ornithological literature for Utah reports the status of the Merlin ( Falco columbarius ) as rare or scarce. Only the most recently published checklists (Behle and Perry 1975, Behle et al. 1985) record it as uncommon. Likewise, a 1998 printed checklist (Utah Ornithological Society 1998) list it as uncommon. Also misrepresented in the literature are the status and distribution of the 3 rather distinct subspecies, each of which occupies dissimilar habitats during the breeding season. We made random observations of Merlins in northern Utah beginning in the 1950s and then studied them continuously between 1992 and 1997 in Utah County, Utah. During the 1992-1997 period, we were able to clearly allocate 95 males and 76 females to subspecies, including within our count 58 falcons trapped (some fitted with radio telemetry). The winter habitat in which they occurred was categorized as either urban (mainly dense residential area) or rural (agricultural lands, dairy farms, or scattered homes). There was a statistically significant ( X 2 F. c. columbarius frequenting urban areas 68% of the time, and prairie parkland-breeding F. c. richardsonii frequenting rural habitats 78% of the time.     

Parasites of Indochinese refugees entering Utah County, Utah: a two-year survey

A survey of parasites from 39 stool specimens taken from 36 Indochinese refugees who are now living in Utah County, Utah, indicated representative intestinal helminths (worms), and protozoans upon clinical examination. .Approximately 75% of the stools contained nematodes, and 55.5% had protozoans. Parasites found were Entamoeba coli, Chilomastix mesnili, Endolimax nana, Giardia lamblia, lodamoeba buetschlii, Clonorchis sinensis, Trichuris trichiura, Ascaris lumbricoides, and Plasinodium vivax. The most common protozoan observed was Entamoeba coli (1979 and 1980) while the most common helminths were Ascaris lumbricoides ) (1979) and Clonorchis sinensis (1980). These data were comparable to studies of refugees at two other laboratories in Utah and one at Washington, D.C.     

Genetic analysis of the rare species Salix arizonica (Salicacea) and associated willows in Arizona and Utah

Management decisions affecting the rare plant Arizona willow ( Salix arizonica ) will be aided by understanding genetic similarities among populations of this species. Random Amplified Polymorphic DNA (RAPD) analysis was conducted on 20 populations of S. arizonica , 12 populations of 5 congeners, and 2 samples of outgroup, Populus tremuloides . A phenogram based on DNA markers shows clear separation of populations of S. arizonica from those of co-occurring willow species, but similarity is low (～ 37%) between Utah and Arizona populations of S. arizonica . Evaluation of the relationship of habitat characteristics and geographic distance to genetic similarity reveals that environment and genetic similarity are poorly correlated. Considering Arizona versus Utah populations, we found a significant negative relationship between geographic distance and genetic similarity ( r = 0.936), but no significant relationship between interpopulation distance and genetic similarity within Arizona or Utah. The wide geographic disjunction of S. arizonica populations in Utah and Arizona appears to have existed for a long period during which genetic drift, random mutations, and selection for somewhat different habitats have pushed the 2 regional complexes along separate evolutionary trajectories. Preservation of genetic variation within S. arizonica will require protection of multiple populations in Arizona and Utah.     

Responses of Utah deer hunters to a checking station questionnaire

During the 1987 deer hunt 4,250 card questionnaires were distributed to Utah hunters at nine checking stations. Return rates varied from a mean 23% when cards were simply handed to hunters, to 50% when hunters' names and telephone numbers were taken. Results concerning methodology suggest that questionnaire surveys conducted from checking stations are efficient and accurate in obtaining hunter opinions. Questionnaire results indicated that most hunters rated the Utah deer hunt as moderately satisfactory, but may prefer alternative options that would result in a higher quality hunt. The majority of hunters indicated that hunter numbers should be limited to current levels or decreased. Unretrieved kill was reported as 21 deer per 100 hunters.     

Breeding biology of the Double-crested Cormorant on Utah Lake

Research on the nesting of the Double - crested Cormorant ( Phalacrocorax auritus auritus ) was undertaken to determine the breeding biology of the bird on Utah Lake, Utah County, and the possible effects that diking Provo Bay would have on the cormorants breeding there. In 1973, two colonies in Provo Bay were visited weekly to determine laying dates, incubation period, clutch size, and hatching dates. Another colony, located on the dike of the Geneva Steel Works Reservoir near Orem, was visited daily during the spring and summer of 1973. At this colony egg-laying occurred from 13 April to 17 May. The average clutch size was 3.8, and the egg length and width averaged 60.50 mm x 39.05 mm. The average period of incubation was 28 days, and 29.5 percent of the eggs hatched, beginning on 20 May and ending on 9 June. The young weighed an average of 36 gm at hatching with a beak length of 17 mm and tarsometatarsal length of 11 mm. These measurements increased to 1543 gm, 73 mm, and 58 mm, respectively, in 23 days. The cormorant population on Utah Lake may be severely reduced by the proposed diking of Provo Bay.     

The eye fluke disease (Diplostomatosis) in fishes from Utah

During 1976 and 1977, 798 fish representing 11 species from eight collection sites in Utah were examined for metacercariae of Diplostomum spathaceum, which causes the fish eye fluke disease, diplostomatosis. &nbsp; Eight species were infected. The infection rate ranged from 7 percent of 46 Salmo gairdneri from Soldiers Creek Reservoir to 100 percent in 7 species of fish from four collection sites. Summary charts for four years of data are given for collection sites, piscine hosts in Utah, and fish hosts for Strawberry Reservoir, Utah.     

Distribution and abundance of native Bonneville cutthroat trout ( Oncorhynchus clarki utah ) in southwestern Utah

The Bonneville cutthroat trout ( Oncorhynchus clarki utah ; BCT) was once abundant throughout the Bonneville Basin. In southwestern Utah, however, only 3 local populations of the subspecies were known to exist in 1977, when conservation efforts to protect and replicate them began. By 1995 remnant populations were known in 6 streams, and replicate populations had been established in an additional 16. Populations of BCT in southwestern Utah streams were survey by electrofishing in 1994 and 1995 to describe the subspecies' status. Estimated densities of age-1 and older BCT ranged from 118 to 546 fish per km. Biomass estimates ranged from 8 to 64 kg per ha. Several age groups of BCT were collected at most locations. Six populations were classified as self-sustaining, 9 as expanding through natural recruitment, 6 as new, and 1 as hybridized. Overall status of BCT in southwestern Utah has improved since 1977, but conservation measures must continue to maintain a positive trend.     

Life cycle and incidence of Diplostomum spathaceum Rudolphi (1819) (Trematoda: Diplostomatidae) in Utah

Diplostomum spathaceum (Trematoda: Diplostomatidae) causes a disease known as diplostomatosis (eye fluke disease) and has been found to be widespread throughout the fish of Utah. Totals of 756 snails (5 species), 893 fish (21 species) and 6 species of birds were examined for the presence of larval and adult D. spathaceum from 17 collecting sites throughout Utah. Pathologic effects such as blindness, subacute inflammatory reactions, cornea perforation, and ruptured globe due to diplostomatosis upon the fish host are listed. Fish host and parasite infection data of D. spathaceum for the major lakes of Utah are given.     

Pollinator sharing by three sympatric milkvetches, including the endangered species Astragalus montii

Insects visiting flowers of the endangered Heliotrope milkvetch, Astragalus montii , were compared with those visiting two common sympatric congeners, A. kentrophyta and A. miser , on three sites on the Wasatch Plateau of central Utah for 2 yr. We recorded 27+ species of bees, most of which were uncommon, visiting the three species. All three species were primarily visited by native bees of the genera Osmia (15 species) and/or Bombus (4 species). Most Osmia species visited the three species of Astragalus indiscriminantly; bumblebees preferred A. miser and avoided A. montii . Our hypothesis that A. montii flowers would receive fewer total bee visits and be visited by fewer bee species than their common congeners was rejected: A. montii was intermediate to the two common species in its attractiveness to bees. Also rejected was our hypothesis that the greater similarity between A. montii and A. kentrophyta in flower size, flower morphology, and microhabitat would be associated with greater similarity of flower visitors than either had with A. miser . The data suggest that, rather than competing with each other for pollinators, the three species of Astragalus facilitate each other's visitation rates.