Águila: The Vision, Life, Death & Rebirth of a Two-Spirit Shaman in the Ozark Mountains by María Cristina Moroles and Laura Umansky (review)

Groundwater in the Ozark Plateaus aquifer system is an important source for municipal, industrial, agricultural, and domestic water supply needs across much of southern Missouri and northern Arkansas, and smaller areas of southeastern Kansas and northeastern Oklahoma. Recent short-term drought conditions have emphasized the need to better understand the delicate balance between abundance, sustainability and scarcity. A groundwater flow model has been developed as the primary tool for the assessment of groundwater availability in the Ozark aquifer system. The model was developed to benefit concurrent and future investigations involving groundwater-withdrawal scenarios, optimization, particle transport, and monitoring network analysis. The model is also critical to the ongoing work to quantify groundwater in the Ozark aquifer system. The groundwater model simulates 116 years (1900 2015) of hydrologic conditions and the response of the groundwater system to changes in stress. Stress applied to the groundwater systems includes changes in recharge and increased groundwater withdrawals for water supply. Semi-seasonal stress periods were simulated from the later part of 1991 to 2015 and represent higher demand and lower recharge in the spring and summer months, and lower demand and higher recharge in the fall and winter months. Groundwater pumping increases throughout the simulation period, with a maximum rate of about 600 million gallons per day. History matching for the Ozark aquifer system model was accomplished by a combination of manual changes to parameter values and automated calibration methods. Observation data used in the development and evaluation of the model included 19,045 hydraulic-head observations from 6,683 wells within the Ozark model area that were weighted for use in the parameter estimation software. Observation data also included stream leakage estimates summed to calculate a net gain or net loss value for each stream. The majority, but not all, of the recharge component is discharged through streams simulated in the model. The total simulated discharge to streams fluctuates seasonally between 7,500 and 17,500 Mgal/d with a mean outflow of 11,500 Mgal/d. Much of the remaining balance between modeled recharge inflows and stream outflows is made up by water moving into or out of storage in the aquifer system resulting in changes in modeled groundwater levels. The goal of the Ozark model was to develop a model capable of suitable accuracy at regional scales. The intent was not to reproduce individual local-scale details, which are typically not possible given the uniform cell size of 1 square mile. Although the Ozark model may not represent each local-scale detail, the model is relevant, and can be applied for a better understanding of the regional flow system and to evaluate responses to changes in climate and groundwater withdrawals. This USGS data release contains all of the input and output files for the model and calibration simulation described in the associated model documentation report (http://dx.doi.org/xx.xxxx/sirxxxxxxxx). This data release also includes (1) MODFLOW-NWT (v. 1.1.2) source code, (2) PEST++ source code, and (3) processing python scripts and associated instruction files for parameter estimation and model calibration using PEST++.

The male and immature stages of Pseudocheylus americanus (Ewing, 1909) (Pseudocheylidae) are described and illustrated for the first time and the female is re-illustrated. The description of Pseudobonzia reticulata (Heryford, 1965) (Cunaxidae) is modified to include the presence of dorsal setae f2, which were not reported in the original description. In addition, Bonzia yunkeri Smiley, 1992 and Parabonzia bdelliforimis (Atyeo, 1958) (Cunaxidae) are reported from the Ozark Mountains, Caeculus cremnicolus Enns, 1958 (Caeculidae) is reported from the Ozark and Ouachita Mountains, and Dasythyreus hirsutus Atyeo, 1961 (Dasythyreidae) is reported from Missouri and the Ouachita Mountains in Arkansas.

Successful canopy recruitment is one of the most important components of sustainable forestry practices. For many desirable species in oak-dominated forests, insufficient sapling growth is a common limitation to successful recruitment. The objectives of this study were to (i) examine the impact of overstory density on sapling growth in the Missouri Ozarks, (ii) investigate the potential for overstory retention to promote compositional shifts via interspecific differences in sapling height growth, and (iii) compare the use of mean and near-maximum growth rates to quantify the impact of overstory density on sapling growth and height differentiation among species. We found that the periodic annual height increment of saplings decreased with increasing overstory density for all species groups in this study (red oaks (Quercus spp.), white oaks (Quercus spp.), hickories (Carya spp.), sassafras (Sassafras spp.), blackgum (Nyssa spp.), dogwood (Cornus spp.), red maple (Acer spp.), ashes (Fraxinus spp.), and elms (Ulmus spp.)). There was evidence of interspecific differentiation in growth rates during the sapling stage, and the observed differences were more pronounced at low overstory densities. Increasing overstory densities either reduced or eliminated the differences in growth among species. Although red oaks displayed the greatest maximum growth rates of all species under low overstory densities (<5 m2·ha−1), the growth advantage of red oaks was reduced with increasing overstory density. This may provide opportunities to shift species composition toward white oaks using partial harvesting regimes in the Missouri Ozarks. However, white oaks had little to no advantage in height growth over many competing species when overstory density exceeded about 10 m2·ha−1. This implies that the probability of recruitment under overstory densities greater than about 10 m2·ha−1is likely to decline for all oaks in the Missouri Ozarks. We found that using the 90th quantile of height growth rates to evaluate the impact of overstory density on sapling growth had two potential advantages over using the mean growth rate: (i) it provided better models of the limiting effects of overstory density on sapling height growth, and (ii) the focus was on the growth rates of stems that were most likely to recruit into the canopy.

Crayfish Species from Creeks and Rivers of Cherokee County, Kansas

Effects of 3 forest management systems on herpetofaunal diversity over 23 years in the Missouri Ozarks

Variables characterizing the use and nutritive value of 34 spring and summer foods of whitetailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) in the Missouri Ozarks were subjected to principal component analysis. Four factors, explaining 73.5% of the variation in the data, were extracted. Because the chemical and structural composition of spring and summer foods varied widely, selection of different forage types (forbs, fruits of woody species, leaves of woody species, grasses, and grain) satisfied different nutritional needs. Forbs and grasses had high digestibility and contained high levels of protein, phosphorus, and potassium. Leaves of woody species, although poorly digested, provided significant amounts of rapidly fermented cell solubles, had a high calcium content, and probably were rapidly passed through the digestive system. Fruits of woody species were high in energy. Habitat in nonagricultural areas of the midwest should be managed to stimulate the production of each forage type if deer carrying capacity is to be increased. J. WILDL. MANAGE. 46(3):711-718 The nutritional content of foods eaten by large generalist herbivores (e.g., ungulates, equines, lagomorphs) is highly variable (Westoby 1974, Belovsky 1978). A given food item may meet an animal's nutritional requirement for energy but be unable to meet its requirements for some other nutrient, such as calcium. Thus, the animal must select a diet from a number of food items of unequal nutritive value that provides a nutritionally adequate mix of essential nutrients. For a herbivore population that is within the carrying capacity of its range, voluntary intake, at least during the growing season, is probably limited by gut capacity and the turnover time of food in the digestive tract rather than by search time (Westoby 1974, 1978). Therefore, in terms of diet selection, the chemical and structural composition of a forage, as well as the ability of the animal to digest and metabolize it, should be more important than availability when voluntary intake is limit d by digestive capacity (Westoby 1974). Westoby (1980) has shown that consumption of a particular forage by black-tailed jack rabbits (Lepus californicus) is constrained only when availability of the forage is low. In this paper, we attempt to explain the variation in the frequency, digestibility, solubility, and chemical and structural composition of forages that comprise the spring and summer diet of white-tailed deer in the Missouri Ozarks. Populations of white-tailed deer in the Missouri Ozarks are well within the carrying capacity of their range (Korschgen et al. 1980). Therefore, the diet of these deer should represent a diet that is at least selective, if not optimal, with regard to its

Two replicate 25-acre plots were established in each of three forest types in the Missouri Ozarks--oak, oak-pine, and pine--to determine the stands' relationships with bird populations. Forty bird species were observed on the plots during the course of a year (1976-77). The oak and oak-pine stands supported the greatest number of bird species during the winter; the oak-pine had the greatest during the summer. Each forest type provided habitat for some bird species that were not present in the other types. The bird population would not be devastated by conversion of hardwood stands to pine in the region, but would change in composition to one more typical of the earlier successional pine stage.

Modeling the long-term effects of fire suppression on central hardwood forests in Missouri Ozarks, using LANDIS

-Data from the original General Land Office (GLO) survey (1815) of the 5th Principal Meridian were used to evaluate presettlement vegetation patterns in eastern Missouri and Arkansas. Data were divided into three physiographic sections: Mississippi Alluvial Plain, Ozark Plateau and Dissected Till Plain. Distances to bearing trees and diameters were used to estimate tree density and to evaluate the relative structure and composition of presettlement vegetation. The Mississippi Alluvial Plain was the most densely timbered physiographic section. White oak (Quercus alba), black oak (Q velutina), sweet gum (Liquidambar styraciflua) and hickory (Carya spp.) had high importance values. Significantly lower tree densities occurred in the Ozark Plateau and Dissected Till Plain. Important components of the Ozark Plateau were shortleaf pine (Pinus echinata), white oak, black oak and post oak (Q stellata). In the Dissected Till Plain, white oak was dominant and black oak, hickory, elm (Ulmus spp.) and sycamore (Platanus occidentalis) were important components. There has been some debate regarding the presettlement structure of timbered lands in the Ozark Plateau. Some biologists argue that closed forest once dominated the Ozarks, whereas others argue the region was once dominated by open woodland. The evidence presented here suggests the Ozark vegetation was, in general, an open woodland landscape in 1815.

Sedimentary rocks rich in organic matter, such as coal and carbonaceous shales, are characterized by remarkably low thermal conductivities in the range of 0.2–1.0 W m−1 °C−1, lower by a factor of 2 or more than other common rock types. As a result of this natural insulating effect, temperature gradients in organic rich, fine‐grained sediments may become elevated even with a typical continental basal heat flow of 60 mW m−2. Underlying rocks will attain higher temperatures and higher thermal maturities than would otherwise occur. A two‐dimensional finite element model of fluid flow and heat transport has been used to study the insulating effect of low thermal conductivity carbonaceous sediments in an uplifted foreland basin. Topography‐driven recharge is assumed to be the major driving force for regional groundwater flow. Our model section cuts through the Arkoma Basin to Ozark Plateau and terminates near the Missouri River, west of St. Louis. Fluid inclusions, organic maturation, and fission track evidence show that large areas of upper Cambrian rocks in southern Missouri have experienced high temperatures (100–140 °C) at shallow depths (< 1.5 km). Low thermal conductivity sediments, such as coal and organic rich mudstone were deposited over the Arkoma Basin and Ozark Plateau, as well as most of the mid‐continent of North America, during the Late Palaeozoic. Much of these Late Palaeozoic sediments were subsequently removed by erosion. Our model results are consistent with high temperatures (100–130 °C) in the groundwater discharge region at shallow depths (< 1.5 km) even with a typical continental basal heat flow of 60 mW m−2. Higher heat energy retention in basin sediments and underlying basement rocks prior to basin‐scale fluid flow and higher rates of advective heat transport along basal aquifers owing to lower fluid viscosity (more efficient heat transport) contribute to higher temperatures in the discharge region. Thermal insulation by organic rich sediments which traps heat transported by upward fluid advection is the dominant mechanism for elevated temperatures in the discharge region. This suggests localized formation of ore deposits within a basin‐scale fluid flow system may be caused by the juxtaposition of upward fluid discharge with overlying areas of insulating organic rich sediments. The additional temperature increment contributed to underlying rocks by this insulating effect may help to explain anomalous thermal maturity of the Arkoma Basin and Ozark Plateau, reducing the need to call upon excessive burial or high basal heat flow (80–100 mW m−2) in the past. After subsequent uplift and erosion remove the insulating carbonaceous layer, the model slowly returns to a normal geothermal gradient of about 30 °C km−1.

Notebook no. 13 - Ozarks of Missouri and Arkansas, 1906

Ground-water resources of the upper White River basin in Arkansas

Given that forests represent the primary terrestrial sink for atmospheric CO2 , projections of future carbon (C) storage hinge on forest responses to climate variation. Models of gross primary production (GPP) responses to water stress are commonly based on remotely sensed changes in canopy 'greenness' (e.g., normalized difference vegetation index; NDVI). However, many forests have low spectral sensitivity to water stress (SSWS) - defined here as drought-induced decline in GPP without a change in greenness. Current satellite-derived estimates of GPP use a vapor pressure deficit (VPD) scalar to account for the low SWSS of forests, but fail to capture their responses to water stress. Our objectives were to characterize differences in SSWS among forested and nonforested ecosystems, and to develop an improved framework for predicting the impacts of water stress on GPP in forests with low SSWS. First, we paired two independent drought indices with NDVI data for the conterminous US from 2000 to 2011, and examined the relationship between water stress and NDVI. We found that forests had lower SSWS than nonforests regardless of drought index or duration. We then compared satellite-derived estimates of GPP with eddy-covariance observations of GPP in two deciduous broadleaf forests with low SSWS: the Missouri Ozark (MO) and Morgan Monroe State Forest (MMSF) AmeriFlux sites. Model estimates of GPP that used VPD scalars were poorly correlated with observations of GPP at MO (r(2) = 0.09) and MMSF (r(2) = 0.38). When we included the NDVI responses to water stress of adjacent ecosystems with high SSWS into a model based solely on temperature and greenness, we substantially improved predictions of GPP at MO (r(2) = 0.83) and for a severe drought year at the MMSF (r(2) = 0.82). Collectively, our results suggest that large-scale estimates of GPP that capture variation in SSWS among ecosystems could improve predictions of C uptake by forests under drought.

ABSTRACTLandscape‐level habitat characteristics affect neonatal white‐tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) survival. Little is known, however, about how changes in maternal habitat use after parturition affect neonate survival. We quantified survival rates and determined if neonate survival to 8 weeks was affected by weekly maternal habitat use in the agricultural Glaciated Plains (GP) and forest‐grassland Ozark (OZ) eco‐regions of Missouri, USA. We captured 127 pregnant female deer during 2015–2017, and fitted each with a global positioning system (GPS) radio‐collar and vaginal implant transmitter (VIT). We captured 226 neonatal deer during 2015–2017, fitted each with an expandable radio‐collar, and monitored survival status daily. We estimated weekly maternal home ranges and calculated habitat metrics within these home ranges. We used the Kaplan‐Meier estimator to calculate 8‐week survival estimates and Cox proportional hazards models to investigate the influence of habitat metrics on neonate survival. The 8‐week survival estimates were 0.43 (95% CI = 0.35–0.54) and 0.47 (95% CI = 0.38–0.57) in the GP and OZ, respectively. Both of these survival estimates were lower than expected but particularly so in the GP because it is dominated by agricultural fields, a land cover type typically associated with high survival. Neonate survival in the GP was negatively correlated with the amount of edge and forest patch size within maternal home ranges. In the OZ, female neonate survival was positively correlated with birth mass, male neonate survival was not affected by birth mass, and survival of both sexes was negatively correlated with grassland patch density. We suspect these habitat metrics were related to predator searching efficiency and abundance. In the highly fragmented GP, predators might be able to easily search the largest cover habitat patches, whereas in the more contiguous OZ landscape, where cover habitat patch sizes were > 10 times the size of patches in the GP, large patches might be difficult for predators to search efficiently. Therefore, we recommend managers consider the larger landscape context when making habitat management decisions to increase white‐tailed deer population productivity. © 2019 The Wildlife Society.

Responses of ground flora to a gradient of harvest intensity in the Missouri Ozarks