Northern Indiana Research Articles

Survival and Cause-Specific Mortality of Wild Turkeys in Northern Indiana

Information regarding survival and cause-specific mortality of eastern wild turkeys (Meleagris gallopavo silvestris) is vital to their management, especially in small or isolated populations. Between January 2003 and August 2005, we used radio telemetry to investigate survival and cause-specific mortality of 87 [44 male (24 adult and 20 juvenile) and 43 female (34 adult and 9 juvenile)] wild turkeys in northern Indiana. We estimated annual and seasonal survival using the Kaplan-Meier product-limit method. Mean male and female annual survival estimates were 0.257 and 0.777, respectively. Annual survival estimates were different between sexes within years, but were homogenous within sexes between years. Survival estimates did not differ among seasons for either sex. However, differences in survival estimates between sexes were detected in the spring, fall and winter seasons. Hunter harvest (46.2% male mortality) and predation (33.3% female mortality) were the leading known causes of mortality for male and female wild turkeys, respectively. Predators (canids, birds and unknown mammals) were responsible for 28.6% of mortality for both sexes combined. Although predation on adult birds was not severe, high mortality of male turkeys in the form of legal spring harvest, in addition to other causes of mortality, warrants concern for small, exploited populations in highly fragmented landscapes like those of northern Indiana.

Prevalence of Conservation Design in an Agriculture-Dominated Landscape: The Case of Northern Indiana

We examined the prevalence of residential development that occurs with consideration of the natural features of the site, known as conservation design, within county-level planning jurisdictions across Northern Indiana. Using data from telephone interviews with representatives of planning departments, jurisdictions were ranked based on reported use of conservation design. Three categories of use emerged from the data: no use, use of individual practices associated with conservation design, and integration of multiple conservation design practices. Qualitative data analysis revealed that conservation design practices were not being used widely and, when used, were often used to fulfill stormwater requirements. Statistical analysis, using data from interviews, spatial data sets, and the U.S. Census Bureau, identified several significant positive predictors of the levels of conservation design use including conversion of forest or agricultural land cover to urban uses and education levels in the jurisdiction. Many of the interviewees noted that agricultural land is perceived to meet open space needs within their counties. Given that agricultural land does not fully meet all ecosystem needs, education about the benefits of other types of open space is suggested.

Vision of Cyberinfrastructure for End-to-End Environmental Explorations (C4E4)

Holistic approaches are needed for understanding and addressing a wide range of environmental issues that require multidis- ciplinary studies of complex and interlocking systems. The writers' vision of a cyberinfrastructure for end-to-end environmental explo- ration C4E4 that combines data and modeling tools in an integrated environment across different spatial and temporal scales is presented. The overall goal behind C4E4 is to enable a broad environmental research and remediation community to address the challenges of environmental data management and integration in real-world settings. The St. Joseph Watershed in northern Indiana is chosen as a test bed in this effort. The C4E4 framework will allow researchers to combine heterogeneous data resources with state-of- the-art modeling and visualization tools through a user-friendly web portal. By engaging TeraGrid resources, C4E4 will have the computational resources to store, manipulate, and query large data sets, thereby facilitating new science. C4E4 will serve as a prototype, and provide valuable experience for scaling up to larger observatories at the national level. This paper presents the writers' vision and goals, initial efforts, and briefly describes how C4E4 can benefit the environmental community.

Adaptation and Invasiveness of Western Corn Rootworm: Intensifying Research on a Worsening Pest

The western corn rootworm, Diabrotica virgifera virgifera LeConte, is an established insect pest of maize (Zea mays L.) in North America. The rotation of maize with another crop, principally soybeans, Glycine max (L.), was the primary management strategy utilized by North American producers and remained highly effective until the mid-1990s. In 1995, widespread and severe root injury occurred in east-central Illinois and northern Indiana maize fields that had been annually rotated with soybeans on a regular basis for several decades. The failure of this cultural tactic from a pest management perspective was attributed to a behavioral adaptation by a variant western corn rootworm that had lost fidelity to maize for egg laying. In 1992, an infestation of western corn rootworm was found within a small maize field near the Belgrade Airport. By 2007, the presence of this insect pest had been confirmed in 20 European countries. More recent molecular studies have confirmed that at least three separate invasions (until 2004) of western corn rootworms have occurred in Europe, increasing the risk that rotation-resistant western corn rootworms will be introduced into a new continent. Although biological control and use of conventional resistant maize hybrids have not achieved widespread success in the management of western corn rootworms in North America, these tactics are being evaluated in Europe.

Real-time PCR, compared to liquid and solid culture media and ELISA, for the detection of Mycobacterium avium ssp. paratuberculosis

A goal of Johne’s disease control programs is to accurately detect Mycobacterium avium ssp. paratuberculosis (MAP) infected cattle as quickly as possible to reduce disease transmission. A newly introduced real-time PCR provides results rapidly, but its accuracy in the field has not been evaluated. Fecal and serum samples collected from dairy cows in northern Indiana were used to estimate the sensitivity and specificity of a newly licensed real-time PCR test for direct fecal detection of Mycobacterium avium ssp. paratuberculosis (MAP). Results of the real-time PCR were evaluated in parallel with solid and liquid media culture systems and a serum ELISA for detection of MAP antibodies to determine the accuracy of the real-time PCR and the tests’ potential usefulness in the field. A total of 143 samples were tested by all four methods. Using prior published estimates for sensitivity and specificity of each of the tests and Bayesian methodology, the sensitivity and specificity of the real-time PCR test was estimated to be 0.60 and 0.97, respectively. The accuracy of real-time PCR (0.90) was comparable to both solid (0.91) and liquid (0.93) culture. Because real-time PCR accuracy is comparable to standard culture methods, it is a useful new test. In addition, test results are obtained as rapidly as an ELISA, but are more accurate than the ELISA (0.82). This makes real-time PCR an attractive test and should shorten the quarantine period required for new purchases of unknown MAP-status animals into herds participating in an MAP control program.

P3-226: Dissecting genetic variation at the nicastrin locus using functional genomics

in the elderly. While evidence for an underlying genetic etiology of AD is strong, it has proven to be quite challenging to elucidate. The APOE gene accounts for less than half of the susceptibility and thus other genetic factors are likely to be involved. Genetic heterogeneity is a major complicating factor hindering further gene identification. To overcome this problem and maximize our power to identify AD risk genes, we are studying the genetically isolated and well-defined Amish populations of middle Ohio and northern Indiana. To date we have enrolled over 1550 Amish individuals with over 100 of these having either probable or possible dementia. Methods: We have undertaken a whole-genome SNP linkage screen (Illumina Linkage Panel IVb) using 672 Amish individuals (103 with AD) within 21 sub-pedigrees ranging in total size from 18 to 157 individuals. We performed both 2-pt linkage analysis (using dominant and recessive models within the Superlink program) and a novel test of association using the MQLS test (by Thornton & McPeek), on 5,645 SNPs. Re ults: Preliminary linkage analysis found 162 SNPs with 2-pt lod scores 1.0. Suggestive linkage to AD was found for 18 SNPs across 16 independent loci (2-pt lod scores 2.0: 1q, 2p, 2q, 3q22, 3q26, 4q, 5q, 7q, 8p, 13q, 14q23, 14q24, 16p, 18q, 20q, 21q). The MQLS test also identified 284 SNPs with nominally significant p-values (p 0.05). Subsequently, we utilized the Simwalk program to perform multipoint linkage analysis for multiple 3-SNP sliding windows across each of the regions identified by the 2-pt analysis. Five of these regions continued to demonstrate strong evidence for linkage (1q, 3q22, 5q, 18q, and 21q), with three of these also demonstrating MQLS p-values 0.05 (1q, 3q22, 18q). Additional follow-up of these more narrowed regions is currently ongoing. Conclusions: Our genome scan suggests that a number of regions within our Amish population may contain AD susceptibility genes, with the strongest current evidence suggesting involvement of chr 1q, 3q, and 18q.

Shakespeare in Chicagoland

Shakespeare in Chicagoland Paul Hecht Troilus and Cressida Presented by Chicago Shakespeare Theatre at the Courtyard Theater on Navy Pier, Chicago, Illinois. April 13-June 24, 2007. Directed by Barbara Gaines. Scenic Design by Michael Philippi. Costume Design by Nan Cibula Jenkins. Lighting Design by Robert Wierzel. Sound Design by Lindsay Jones. Music composed by George Stiles, and arranged by David Shrubsole. Fight Choreography by Robin McFarquhar. With Stephen Ouimette (Pandarus), Kevin O'Donnell (Troilus), Chaon Cross (Cressida), James Harmes (Nestor), Greg Vinkler (Ulysses), Ross Lehman (Thersites), and Mark L. Montgomery (Hector). OthelloPresented by Writers' Theatre at the Woman's Library Club of Glencoe, Illinois. May 15-July 15, 2007. Directed by Michael Halberstam. Scenic Design by Keith Pitts. Costume Design by Nan Zabriskie. Lighting Design by Brian Sidney Bembridge. Sounds Design by Josh Schmidt. Properties Design by Ross Moreno. Fight Direction by David Woolley. With Kelly Cooper (Roderigo), John Judd (Iago), Kevin Gudahl (Brabantio, Lodovico), James Vincent Meredith (Othello), Braden Moran (Cassio), Chris Cantelmi (Duke of Venice, Gratiano), Suzanne Lang (Desdemona), Karen Janes Woditsch (Emilia), Audrey Francis (Bianca), and David Dastmalchian (Montano). Other productions discussed in this review Hamlet and Cymbeline, also at Chicago Shakespeare Theatre King Lear presented at the Goodman Theatre Hamlet presented by Signal Ensemble Theatre at the Chopin Theatre Richard II presented by Actor's Revolution Theatre at Angel Island In rural Indiana where I work, the dissonance Erwin Panofsky identified as Virgil's singular contribution to the pastoral literary tradition is often in evidence. The land is beautiful: I drive each day between corn and soybean fields, on a road slightly elevated above the fields, marked by occasional copses, windmills, farmhouses, and gentle rises and depressions (northern Indiana is not quite flat). Just north of campus the southern shore of Lake Michigan, where it has not been appropriated by steel manufacture, is sandy and idyllic. There are enormous dunes protected by the state. This is where my students spend their free time all summer long. But the land is also not without visible signs of the suffering of its inhabitants, reminders that we are part of the old rust belt where steel production has contracted enormously. Most of the farms, local farmers will tell you, are owned by large corporations. And the census figures for nearby communities and the information my school collects from its students back up the eye's impression. Opportunities for high-paying jobs are scarce; my students, many from households with incomes less than $25,000, work full-time and come to school when they can. Seventy miles west and north up that coast one arrives in Glencoe, Illinois, a community so exclusive that one feels the need for a pass or identifying badge to park and walk there. The houses are uniformly large and the lawns all tended closely, without any visible deviation. No one here seems in danger of falling off, of getting distracted and letting the lawn go to seed. The Starbucks feels like a concession to vulgar taste, tolerated but not quite approved of. There are no bars, no fast food, no signs of economic distress or privation of any kind. The harshness of life in Indiana seems a dream, the dissonance between sublime landscape and struggling humanity quite resolved. What dissonance one feels (and when I first arrived there, to see Othello, I felt dizzy, reached for my camera to try to capture the green glow of the air, the immaculate streets) comes only from the memory of the short journey it takes to reach this place. This was one among several such dizzying journeys seeking out productions of Shakespeare in the vicinity of Chicago over about a year and a half. I saw good productions, that served their plays well, helped audiences, students, and others unfamiliar with the plays to get to know them; and one production that left me full of new ideas and impressions about a familiar play. That was all fairly clear. But traversing the landscape kept raising other questions for me that were not so easily answered, and these had to do with the nature of the places on which Shakespeare was superimposed, the relationships between those places, and...

Intrafi eld patterns of wildlife damage to corn and soybeans in northern Indiana

Management programs aimed at reducing wildlife damage to row crops rely on information concerning the spatial nature of wildlife damage at local and landscape scales. In this study we explored spatial patterns of wildlife damage within individual corn and soybean fi elds by describing relationships between specifi c locations where wildlife damage was recorded and distances from such locations to various habitat types that presumably infl uenced animal abundance and movements in our study area. Using stratifi ed random sampling, we conducted depredation surveys of 100 corn fi elds and 60 soybean fi elds from May through October both in 2003 and 2004 and recorded the specifi c global positioning satellite (GPS) coordinates of wildlife damage to individual corn and soybean plants. We then generated random point locations in the same fi elds using a geographic information system (GIS) and evaluated whether damage point locations and random point locations differed with respect to distances to the nearest patches of forest, developed area, or grassland and shrubland habitats. For both crop types, damage point locations were signifi cantly closer to forest patches than were random point locations, but farther from developed areas than random point locations. Logistic regression analyses further indicated that distance to forest infl uenced the probability of wildlife damage within fi elds, although pseudo r 2 values of the best models were low (0.15). Our results clearly indicated that fi eld portions that were nearest to forested habitats were more likely to suffer wildlife damage than fi eld portions farther from forested habitats. We suggest that targeted removals of depredating species, concentrated along crop-forest interfaces, may be an effective, cost-effective means of reducing corn and soybean damage in areas where wildlife damage is especially problematic.

Diversity and Personality Assessment: A Country Boy Goes City

Born and raised in a country community in Northern Indiana, I mainly learn about the greater world through school, especially graduate school. Diversity and its companion, bigotry, have played major roles in my life along with many individuals—mostly women. I have been lucky to have learned from some of the major individuals in the field of personality assessment, particularly Sid Blatt and John Exner. On the verge of retirement, I look back on a career with affection and some trepidation.

“They Found and Left Her an Indian”: Gender, Race, and the Whitening of Young Bear

“They Found and Left Her an Indian”Gender, Race, and the Whitening of Young Bear Jim J. Buss (bio) . . . Mourning the lost. At length, a rumour came Of a white woman found in Indian tents, Far, far away. A father’s dying words Came o’er the husbandman, and up he rose, And took his sad-eyed sister by the hand, Blessing his household, as he bade farewell, For their uncertain pilgrimage . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . At length they reach’d a lodge Deep in the wilderness, beside whose door A wrinkled woman with the Saxon brow Sate [sic] coarsely mantled in her blanket-robe, The Indian pipe between her shrivell’d lips. Yet in her blue eye dwelt a gleam of thought, A hidden memory, whose electric force Thrill’d to the fount of being and reveal’d The kindred drops that had so long wrought out A separate channel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A trembling nerve Thrill’d all unwonted at her bosom’s core, And her lip blanch’d. But two daughters gazed Reproachfully upon her, to their cheek Rushing the proud Miami chieftain’s blood, In haughty silence. So, she wept no tears; The moveless spirit of the race she loved Had come upon her, and her features show’d Slight touch of sympathy. . . . —Lydia Sigourney, “The Lost Lily” (1846) [End Page 1] On an autumn evening in 1835, the elderly, diminutive Miami woman Maconaquah (Young Bear) welcomed the weary white Indian trader George Ewing into her home at Deaf Man’s Village in northern Indiana.1 According to Ewing, the indigenous woman joined him near the cabin’s hearth after her family went to bed. He surmised that sick, tired, and perhaps wanting to confess before she died, Young Bear revealed a secret she had kept for nearly half-a-century; Indians had taken her from her white family as a child.2 His “discovery” launched a national search for Young Bear’s eastern relatives that eventually raised the woman from obscurity to national recognition. Ewing, informed by Young Bear that she had once lived among white people in Pennsylvania, wrote to Eastern newspaper editors, who subsequently published Ewing’s letters in their papers. “There is now living near this place,” he wrote the postmaster at Lancaster, Pennsylvania, “an aged woman, who a few days ago told me, whilst I lodged in the camp with her one night, that she was taken away from her father’s house.”3 Two years later, Ewing received a letter from Joseph Slocum, who was living at the time in Pennsylvania, inquiring about the woman. Slocum wondered; could she be his sister, Frances, the “Lost Sister of the Wyoming”? He packed his bags and set off for Indiana. White authors have recounted tales about Frances Slocum many times over the past century and a half. And, while these stories appear to mirror the many other captivity narratives that dominated eighteenth- and (to a limited extent) early nineteenth-century American literature, the narrative of Maconaquah’s capture, discovery, and later life differs in important ways. These differences reveal dynamics about gendered constructions of race in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries that others do not. Moreover, Frances Slocum’s story continues to be written and rewritten as a captivity narrative, and that process illuminates the ongoing colonial project that has long typified the relationship between whites and Indians in America. Historically, captivity narratives have served as powerful fables that stress the undesirability of race mixing and place the events of colonization, settlement, and conquest into narratives of violent conflict.4 But modern scholarly treatments of the genre raise the possibility of seeing beyond typical nineteenth-century bifurcated categories of race that stress opposition. Historian June Namias believes that “the captivity drama presents us with an intersection of cultures” as intermarriages rest at the center of many of these stories.5 In the case of Frances Slocum, however, writers have historically underplayed the violence of her captivity and seldom focused on Slocum’s marriages to two separate indigenous husbands. In fact, they rarely discuss her half-century living among the Indians at all. Instead, writers have spilled much ink upon paper trying to explain how the elderly Frances Slocum [End...

Evaluation of the Eastern Cottontail Sylvilagus floridanus as an Amplifying Vertebrate Host for Cache Valley Virus (Bunyaviridae) in Indiana

To evaluate the importance of eastern cottontails (Sylvilagus floridanus) as amplifying hosts for Cache Valley virus (CVV), we tested hunter-provided blood samples from northern Indiana for specific neutralizing (N) antibodies against this mosquito-borne bunya-virus. Samples were collected during the winter of 1994-95. Two seronegative eastern cottontails, captured in July 1995, were also infected with CVV by subcutaneous inoculation, and two others were infected by allowing CVV-infected mosquitoes to feed on them. The results indicate that eastern cottontails probably are not important amplifying hosts for CVV. The prevalence of N antibodies against CVV was low (6.0%, n=82) among the hunter-killed animals. Low viremia (<1.8 log10 plaque-forming units/ml) of short duration (1-3 days) were seen in three of four experimentally infected eastern cottontails. The viremias were insufficient for infecting Coquillettidia perturbans, a mosquito species commonly found naturally infected with CVV.

Volunteer Corn in Northern Indiana Soybean Correlates to Glyphosate-Resistant Corn Adoption

Because glyphosate-resistant corn is rapidly increasing in cropping systems that already rely heavily on glyphosate for postemergence weed control, the authors tested the hypothesis that volunteer corn in soybean may increase in conjunction with increasing frequency of glyphosate-resistant corn.

Toxoplasmosis in a Woodchuck (Marmota Monax) and Two American Red Squirrels (Tamiasciurus Hudsonicus)

Toxoplasmosis was diagnosed in a woodchuck (Marmota monax) and 2 American red squirrels (Tamiasciurus hudsonicus). The woodchuck was euthanized by a wildlife rescue organization in New York after progressive clinical signs of head tilt, circling, and rapid weight loss. Necropsy examination revealed acute subdural hemorrhage over the right cerebral hemisphere. Histologic lesions included meningoencephalitis, myocarditis, and hepatitis. Protozoal cysts were present in affected and unaffected neuroparenchyma. The squirrels were found dead, emaciated, and moderately infested with fleas near a park in northern Indiana. In both squirrels, the lungs were consolidated with numerous nodules up to 2 mm in diameter. Histologically, pneumonia and encephalitis were associated with intracellular and free protozoa. Additional histologic lesions included multifocal lymphoplasmacytic encephalitis with intralesional protozoa in both squirrels. The protozoa were positive with Toxoplasma gondii-specific immunohistochemistry and had ultrastructural features consistent with T. gondii in both squirrels. A real-time polymerase chain reaction test using T. gondii-specific probes demonstrated protozoal DNA in the lung, brain, and kidney of the squirrels and in the brain and heart of the woodchuck. To the authors' knowledge, this is the first report of toxoplasmosis in woodchucks or American red squirrels. Because rodents are common near urban settlements, this finding underscores their role as important intermediate hosts for T. gondii.

Wind deposition of mud aggregates and their role in development of lamellae in the Fair Oaks Dunes, Indiana

Abstract Three parabolic dunes from the Fair Oaks Dune field in northern Indiana were excavated, in order to study the properties and genesis of lamellae. Reddish lamellae with sharp upper boundaries and diffuse lower boundaries are intercalated with yellowish sand layers within the upper 3–5 m of each dune. The thicknesses of the lamellae decrease from > 2 cm in the east (Winamac dune) to + and Mg + led to breakdown of mud aggregates and clay dispersion from clay rich sand laminae through clay-poor sand laminae. The reddish color of lamellae results from oxidation of mafic grains. Sand-size mud aggregates were lighter than quartz or feldspar grains and were carried further downwind and, as a result, the clay in the dunes, and the thickness of the lamellae, increases to the east. At 5.6 m depth in the Winamac dune we found the straight depositional laminae transitioning into wavy lamellae. This is the most direct evidence of depositional lamellae (petrogenic) formation in the literature to date.

Pesticide and Transformation Product Detections and Age‐Dating Relations from Till and Sand Deposits1

Abstract: Pesticide and transformation product concentrations and frequencies in ground water from areas of similar crop and pesticide applications may vary substantially with differing lithologies. Pesticide analysis data for atrazine, metolachlor, alachlor, acetochlor, and cyanazine and their pesticide transformation products were collected at 69 monitoring wells in Illinois and northern Indiana to document occurrence of pesticides and their transformation products in two agricultural areas of differing lithologies, till, and sand. The till is primarily tile drained and has preferential fractured flow, whereas the sand primarily has surface water drainage and primary porosity flow. Transformation products represent most of the agricultural pesticides in ground water regardless of aquifer material – till or sand. Transformation products were detected more frequently than parent pesticides in both the till and sand, with metolachlor ethane sulfonic acid being most frequently detected. Estimated ground‐water recharge dates for the sand were based on chlorofluorocarbon analyses. These age‐dating data indicate that ground water recharged prior to 1990 is more likely to have a detection of a pesticide or pesticide transformation product. Detections were twice as frequent in ground water recharged prior to 1990 (82%) than in ground water recharged on or after 1990 (33%). The highest concentrations of atrazine, alachlor, metolachlor, and their transformation products, also were detected in samples from ground water recharged prior to 1990. These age/pesticide detection relations are opposite of what would normally be expected, and may be the result of preferential flow and/or ground‐water mixing between aquifers and aquitards as evident by the detection of acetochlor transformation products in samples with estimated ground‐water ages predating initial pesticide application.

A Hierarchical Analysis of Habitat Selection by Raccoons in Northern Indiana

Abstract: Although numerous studies have examined habitat use by raccoons (Procyon lotor), information regarding seasonal habitat selection related to resource availability in agricultural landscapes is lacking for this species. Additionally, few studies using radiotelemetry have investigated habitat selection at multiple spatial scales or core‐use areas by raccoons. We examined seasonal habitat selection of 55 (31 M, 24 F) adult raccoons at 3 hierarchical orders defined by the movement behavior of this species (second‐order home range, second‐order core‐use area, and third‐order home range) in northern Indiana, USA, from May 2003 to June 2005. Using compositional analysis, we assessed whether habitat selection differed from random and ranked habitat types in order of selection during the crop growing period (season 1) and corn maturation period (season 2), which represented substantial shifts in resource availability to raccoons. Habitat rankings differed across hierarchical orders, between seasons within hierarchical orders, and between sexes within seasons; however, seasonal and intersexual patterns of habitat selection were not consistent across hierarchical orders of spatial scale. When nonrandom utilization was detected, both sexes consistently selected forest cover over other available habitats. Seasonal differences in habitat selection were most evident at the core‐area scale, where raccoon selection of agricultural lands was highest during the maturation season when corn was available as a direct food source. Habitat use did not differ from availability for either sex in either season at the third‐order scale. The selection of forest cover across both seasons and all spatial orders suggested that raccoon distribution and abundance in fragmented landscapes is likely dependent on the availability and distribution of forest cover, or habitats associated with forest (i.e., water), within the landscape. The lack of consistency in habitat selection across hierarchical scales further exemplifies the need to examine multiple biological scales in habitat‐selection studies.

Measurement of Atmospheric Mercury Species with Manual Sampling and Analysis Methods in a Case Study in Indiana

Ground-level concentrations of three atmospheric mercury species were measured using manual sampling and analysis to provide data for estimates of mercury dry deposition. Three monitoring stations were operated simultaneously during winter, spring, and summer 2004, adjacent to three mercury wet-deposition monitoring stations in northern, central, and southern Indiana. The monitoring locations differed in land-use setting and annual mercury-emissions level from nearby sources. A timer-controlled air-sampling system that contained a three-part sampling train was used to isolate reactive gaseous mercury, particulate-bound mercury, and elemental mercury. The sampling trains were exchanged every 6 days, and the mercury species were quantified in a laboratory. A quality-assurance study indicated the sampling trains could be held at least 120 h without a significant change in reactive gaseous or particulate-bound mercury concentrations. The manual sampling method was able to provide valid mercury concentrations in 90 to 95% of samples. Statistical differences in mercury concentrations were observed during the project. Concentrations of reactive gaseous and elemental mercury were higher in the daytime samples than in the nighttime samples. Concentrations of reactive gaseous mercury were higher in winter than in summer and were highest at the urban monitoring location. The results of this case study indicated manual sampling and analysis could be a reliable method for measurement of atmospheric mercury species and has the capability for supplying representative concentrations in an effective manner from a long-term deposition-monitoring network.

Home‐Range Attributes of Raccoons in a Fragmented Agricultural Region of Northern Indiana

Abstract: For many wildlife species, agricultural landscapes undergo spatial and temporal fluctuations in the composition of food and cover annually with the planting and harvesting of crops. Raccoon (Procyon lotor) populations have flourished in agricultural landscapes, where crops increase foraging opportunities and efficiencies. However, information is lacking regarding the effects of temporal shifts in food and cover resulting from agricultural activities on raccoon home ranges. We examined home‐range characteristics of 60 (33 M, 27 F) adult raccoons in northern Indiana, USA, from May 2003 through June 2005 to identify shifts in the size of home ranges and core use areas among seasons defined by crop availability and crop developmental stages. Mean fixed‐kernel home‐range (92 ± 6 ha; xM ± SE) and core‐area sizes (20 ± 2 ha) of males were significantly larger than those of females (58 ± 7 ha and 13 ± 2 ha, respectively), and both were smaller than those reported for raccoons in other fragmented agricultural landscapes. Home‐range sizes varied little among seasons for either sex. However, home ranges of males were smallest during the crop maturation stage, whereas home ranges of females were smallest during the crop growing season. The results of our study suggest that even in expansive rural landscapes, raccoons can maintain small home ranges when food, water, and denning resources are readily available. Additionally, the lack of differences among seasonal home‐range sizes, despite the presence of an ephemeral superabundant food source (i.e., corn) during the maturation season, was likely due to the close proximity of foraging and denning resources across seasons.

Range Expansion and Changing Abundance of the Eastern Pipistrelle (Chiroptera: Vespertilionidae) in the Central Great Lakes Region

Throughout northwestern Ohio, northern Indiana, southern Michigan and western Ontario, only four records of the eastern pipistrelle (Pipistrellus subflavus) existed in the early 1980s. These individuals, three adult males and one bat of unknown sex or age, were considered to be vagrants or disoriented migrants. Between 1993 and 2006 we gathered 71 additional records of this species in the central Great Lakes basin, including reproductive females and young-of-the-year. Most were found near the eastern shore of Lake Michigan, particularly at two unusual hibernacula, Tippy Dam and Bear Cave. We speculated that modifications of Bear Cave associated with its commercialization in 1936–1940 created conditions suitable for the eastern pipistrelle to colonize this area.

Valued Amish Possessions: Expanding Material Culture and Consumption

Old Order Amish1 life is often romanticized in the contemporary American imagination. Despite the severe persecution that drove the from their European homeland and their subjection to ridicule and hate crimes throughout much of the twentieth century, today they generally enjoy a hallowed status. While they are sometimes the source of humor in the popular media, appearing in credit card commercials, Hollywood comedies, nationally syndicated cartoons, and reality television, behind this light-hearted mocking often exists a quiet respect for their stubborn refusal to be swept up with mainstream consumer culture. Moreover, the criticisms levied against the for such infamous transgressions as the 1998 arrests of two Lancaster youth for dealing cocaine, serve to advance the mythologizing trope when cast, as it was by the national media, that even the were unable to maintain their innocence (Weaver-Zercher 193). Indeed, the purity and wholesomeness of the reputation are seen in the association of its name with a variety of high-quality food products (e.g., chicken, honey, bacon, melons, pies, and cheese) featured in fine restaurants and specialty food stores across the nation. furniture is a multimillion-dollar business with many retailers, super-stores, carrying their goods exclusively and touting the quality of old-world craftsmanship in their showrooms and on their Web sites. Their popularity is also evidenced by the multimillion-dollar tourist industries that have blossomed in the three largest communities in Ohio, Pennsylvania, and While mere curiosity is at play, so too is the romantic notion of witnessing a simpler, more pristine life as it might have been for our forefathers: It wraps around your mind like a cozy blanket. A cool Fall day, yellow and purple leaves flying, puffywhites floating by, a horse-drawn buggy just ahead, horse tail flickering in the northwest breeze. A white house, immaculate, with a gold and orange backdrop of flickering in the slanted sun. Tow-headed kids walking, carrying baskets of flowers. Some call it small town America. Mapmakers call it Northern Indiana. Folks that live around here call it Amish Country. (Amish Country 4) The hundreds of thousands of visitors to Amish country each year might, however, get slight glimpses of incongruity from the photos and descriptions in their travel guides and vacation brochures. One might witness an mother holding her child's plastic, batteryoperated Disney toy while shopping for frozen dinners at a local Wal-Mart; or an man purchasing the latest cordless tool set featured at a home improvement center; or a horse and buggy hitched to a post outside a McDonald's restaurant as an family dines inside on Big Macs and Happy Meals. These paradoxical images are increasingly common among the 180,000 Old Order adults and children living in twenty-eight American states and in Ontario, Canada (Luthy 18). Unifying the dispersed population, religiosity conceptualizes two distinct and competing human spheres: who are obedient and those who are alienated from God-the latter of a blind, perverted world (Phil. 2:15) replete with unfruitful works of darkness (Hosteller 22). Their evil-worldliness-is defined as (1) seeking comforts (convenience), (2) the love of material things, and (3) self-enhancing activity (22). How then, if consumptive spending is carefully guarded by meaningful rules against luxuries and conveniences (22), do we account for the seemingly contradictory presence of such things as cigarettes, cologne, battery-powered flashlights, hired automobiles, electric-powered washing machines, remote-controlled lanterns, and families dining in restaurants? The Academic Literature and the Gaps Addressed by this Study Steeped in the discourse of social and cultural change, the academic literature has focused on the peculiarities, puzzles, riddles, compromises, stresses, struggles, and warfare separating traditionalism and modernity. …