South-central Missouri Research Articles

Geographic Information Systems Analysis of Geologic Controls on the Distribution on Dolines in the Ozarks of South-Central Missouri, USA

Geoloski vzroki, ki pogojujejo razporeditev in razvoj vrtac na Salem planoti, Ozarki, južno-osrednji Missouri, ZDA, so bili statisticno analizirani z uporabo GIS. Geoloski vzroki predstavljajo litostratigrafijo, geolosko strukturo, povrsje in globino do talne vode. Obravnavali so podrocje za tockovne podatke 2.613 vrtac na dveh 30’ × 60’ kartah s 30 m intervali. Izracunali so % pogostosti vrtac za pet litostratigrafskih enot, pri cemer so ugotovili, da je v Jefferson City dolomitu in Roubidoux formaciji najvecja gostota vrtac. Opravljena je bila analiza žariscne vsote sosedstva, da bi ugotovili, ce ima razporeditev vrtac znacilnost združevanja v skupine ali znacilnost linearnosti, kar kaže na vpliv geoloske strukture. Usmerjenost skupin vrtac na SZ se pojavlja vzdolž projekcije prelomne cone Bolivar-Mansfield v južno-osrednjem Missouriju. Vecina vrtac na obravnavanem terenu se nahaja na obmocjih uravnav in na položnih pobocjih, kar je pogosteje kot na mocno razclenjenih podrocjih. Mocna razpokanost v bližini regionalnih prelomnih con lahko pospesi razvoj vrtac na planoti. Razumevanje kraskega sistema je pomembno za boljse urejanje uporabe zemlje v Ozarkih, vkljucno z ohranjanjem naravnih virov, urejanjem talne vode in varovanjem okolja, se posebno ker raziskani teren vsebuje možne ekonomsko ugodne zaloge Pb in Zn. The geologic controls on the distribution and development of dolines in the Salem Plateau of the Ozark Plateaus Province, south-central Missouri, USA, was statistically analyzed by using a geographic information system. The controls include lithostratigraphy, geologic structure, slope, and depth to water table. Area and point data for 2,613 dolines in two 30’ x 60’ quadrangles were compiled on a 30-meter grid. The percent area of dolines was calculated for five lithostratigraphic units, and it was determined that the Jefferson City Dolomite and Roubidoux Formation have the highest density of dolines. A focal sum neighborhood analysis was performed to determine if the distribution of dolines had any clustering or linearity that may suggest structural control. A northwest alignment of doline clusters occurs along a projection of the Bolivar-Mansfield fault zone in south-central Missouri. Most dolines in the study area occur on the plateau areas and on gentle slopes rather than in the highly dissected areas. Intense fracturing near regional fault zones may enhance doline development on the plateau areas. An understanding of the karst system is important for better landuse management practices in the Ozarks, including conservation of natural resources, ground-water management, and environmental protection, especially because the study area includes potential economic lead and zinc mineralization.

Spatiotemporal factors affecting detection of black bears during noninvasive capture–recapture surveys

Abstract Accounting for low and heterogeneous detection probabilities in large mammal capture–recapture sampling designs is a persistent challenge. Our objective was to improve understanding of ecological and biological factors driving detection using multiple data sources from an American black bear ( Ursus americanus ) DNA hair trap study in south-central Missouri. We used Global Positioning System telemetry and remote camera data to examine how a bear’s distance to traps, probability of space use, sex-specific behavior, and temporal sampling frame affect detection probability and number of hair samples collected at hair traps. Regression analysis suggested that bear distance to nearest hair trap was the best predictor of detection probability and indicated that detection probability at encounter was 0.15 and declined to < 0.05 at nearest distances > 330 m from hair traps. From remote camera data, number of hair samples increased with number of visits, but the proportion of hair samples from known visits declined 39% from early June to early August. Bears appeared attracted to lured hair traps from close distances and we recommend a hair trap density of 1 trap/2.6 km 2 with spatial coverage that encompasses potentially large male home ranges. We recommend sampling during the late spring and early summer molting period to increase hair deposition rates.

Preliminary observations on the preservation of organic-walled algae in shallow, freshwater lakes from south–central Missouri, USA

Algal palynomorphs can provide key ecological information about aquatic environments, yet the preservation potential for most varieties of algae is poorly understood. Cores from Pine Forest and Bray Area lakes, two man-made lakes in the Rolla area of south–central Missouri, USA, provided an opportunity to relate the algal palynomorphs in the top 9 cm of sediments to the processes that lead to preservation. By comparing algal palynomorphs in the sediments to the algal crop in the water, this study seeks to assess the effects of taphonomy on the assemblage in a palynological sample. The lakes were ecologically monitored four times in one year (late fall, spring, summer, winter) to determine the algal crop, and surficial sediment was sampled in Pine Forest Lake once in early winter. The annual average abundance of algae in the lake water was compared with sediment data, and statistical techniques (Kruskal–Wallis test, Mann–Whitney U-test and Pielou's Equitability index) were used to determine ecological stability in the sediments. While Sphaerocystis and Ceratium hirundinella did not apparently preserve well, moderate to high preservation potential was determined for Staurastrum and Botryococcus. In addition, Pediastrum simplex var. pseudoglabrum, P. integrum and P. boryanum var. pseudoglabrum were well preserved in the sediments. This preliminary study shows that a highly abundant algal species in the water may not be well preserved in the sediment. Therefore, higher resolution studies are needed to further explore the preservation potential of algae in lake sediments.

Determinants of total and available phosphorus in forested Alfisols and Ultisols of the Ozark Highlands, USA

Phosphorus is an important nutrient limiting forest growth in many parts of world, and soil P forms and concentrations may be associated with a host of soil and environmental attributes in a complex soil landscape. The objective of this study was to identify key environmental and soil properties influencing total and available soil P concentrations in a mixed oak (Quercus L.)–hickory (Carya Nutt.) forest ecosystem. Soil samples and soil characterization data were obtained from fifty pedons sampled at the Missouri Ozark Forest Ecosystem Project (MOFEP) located in south-central Missouri, USA. Additional soil chemical analyses were conducted to measure total P, available P (Mehlich-3 P and Bray-1 P), and citrate bicarbonate dithionite (CBD) extractable Fe, Al, and Mn content. Classification and regression tree (CART) analysis was applied to explain relationships between P concentrations and environmental and soil properties. Total P concentration in the soils studied ranged from 15.6 to 410mgkg−1 and the range of available P concentration was 0.29 to 30.6mgkg−1. The CART analysis identified variables, primarily soil attributes, explaining 48, 71, and 65% of the variability associated with total P, Mehlich-3 P, and Bray-1 P concentrations, respectively. Extractable Mn was the most important explanatory variable in all CART models (explaining 28–33% of soil P variation). The CART analysis provided a concise framework for coupling soil and environmental variables to understand and identify locations within a complex soil landscape that may be susceptible for nutrient depletion. Furthermore, findings of this research highlight a need to more thoroughly evaluate relationships between Mn and P forms and concentrations in soil.

Trap Array Configuration Influences Estimates and Precision of Black Bear Density and Abundance

Spatial capture-recapture (SCR) models have advanced our ability to estimate population density for wide ranging animals by explicitly incorporating individual movement. Though these models are more robust to various spatial sampling designs, few studies have empirically tested different large-scale trap configurations using SCR models. We investigated how extent of trap coverage and trap spacing affects precision and accuracy of SCR parameters, implementing models using the R package secr. We tested two trapping scenarios, one spatially extensive and one intensive, using black bear (Ursus americanus) DNA data from hair snare arrays in south-central Missouri, USA. We also examined the influence that adding a second, lower barbed-wire strand to snares had on quantity and spatial distribution of detections. We simulated trapping data to test bias in density estimates of each configuration under a range of density and detection parameter values. Field data showed that using multiple arrays with intensive snare coverage produced more detections of more individuals than extensive coverage. Consequently, density and detection parameters were more precise for the intensive design. Density was estimated as 1.7 bears per 100 km2 and was 5.5 times greater than that under extensive sampling. Abundance was 279 (95% CI = 193–406) bears in the 16,812 km2 study area. Excluding detections from the lower strand resulted in the loss of 35 detections, 14 unique bears, and the largest recorded movement between snares. All simulations showed low bias for density under both configurations. Results demonstrated that in low density populations with non-uniform distribution of population density, optimizing the tradeoff among snare spacing, coverage, and sample size is of critical importance to estimating parameters with high precision and accuracy. With limited resources, allocating available traps to multiple arrays with intensive trap spacing increased the amount of information needed to inform parameters with high precision.

Sampling of Terrestrial Salamanders Reveals Previously Unreported Atypical Color Morphs in the Southern Red-backed Salamander Plethodon serratus

Atypical color morphs have been described in many species of salamander, but few descriptions are quantitative, and none address those found in the Southern Red-backed Salamander, Plethodon serratus. In 2010 and 2011, we conducted 5 weekly rounds of diurnal leaf litter and natural cover object searches per season (Spring and Fall) in the Ozark Mountains of South central Missouri, U.S.A., with a total of 800 individual 3 × 3 m plots searched. We found 1876 Plethodon serratus (Southern Red-backed Salamander), 20 P. albagula (Western Slimy Salamander), and four Eurycea longicauda melanopleura (Dark-sided Salamander). Of the 1876 P. serratus encountered, all but six exhibited the red-backed phase. Atypical color morphs included the lead-backed phase (n = 2, including a gravid female), the silver-backed (grey stripe) phase (n = 1), a ghost-backed (white stripe) phase (n = 1) and the hypomelanistic phase (n = 2). The majority of salamanders were found in leaf litter, followed by woody cover and rocks. Two adults of P. serratus were encountered in burrows of cicada nymphs. We encountered only 3 of the 4 color morphs described for P. cinereus, the sister species of P. serratus, but added two color morphs to the list known for P. serratus. We expect that additional surveys for P. serratus in other parts of their range will help determine whether color morph frequency varies between populations and habitat as it does for P. cinereus.

Soil microbial community response to surfactants and herbicides in two soils

The environmental impacts of herbicides on desirable plants and the soil biota are of public concern. The surfactants that are often used with herbicides are also under scrutiny as potentially harmful to soil biological systems. To address these concerns, we used two soils, a silt loam and a silty, clay loam from south central Missouri, to investigate the impacts of herbicides and surfactants on soil microbial communities using phospholipid fatty acid (PLFA) analysis. The surfactants used in this study were alkylphenol ethoxylate plus alcohol ethoxylate (Activator 90), polyethoxylate (Agri-Dex), and a blend of ammonium sulfate, drift reduction/deposition polymers and anti-foam agent (Thrust). The herbicides were glyphosate, atrazine and bentazon. Surfactants and herbicides were applied to soils at label rate, either alone or combined, to 4000g soil per pot. The two soils differed in history, texture, some chemical characteristics and several microbial community characteristics. A few of the chemicals altered some of the components of the microbial community after only one application of the chemical at field-rate. The Cole County, MO silt loam showed larger changes in the microbial community with application of treatments. For the Boone County, MO silty clay loam, Activator 90, Agri-Dex and bentazon treatments increased microbial biomass determined by PLFA; Thrust decreased PLFA markers, bacteria to fungi ratio; and Agri-Dex at both rates decreased monounsaturated fatty acids. Changes in the microbial community due to herbicides or surfactants were minimal in this study of a single application of these chemicals, but could be indicators of potential long-term effects. Long-term studies are needed to determine the changes in the microbial community after several years of annual applications of herbicides and surfactants on a wide array of soil types and management practices.

Potential ecological distribution of Cytauxzoon felis in domestic cats in Oklahoma, Missouri, and Arkansas

The ecological distribution of Cytauxzoon felis, an often-fatal tick-borne apicomplexan that infects domestic cats, has not been evaluated or identified despite its continued emergence. Infection of C. felis is characterized by lethargy, icterus, fever, anorexia, anemia, and death. The natural vertebrate reservoir of C. felis is the bobcat (Lynx rufus). To determine the possible distribution of C. felis in three states where infection is common (Oklahoma, Missouri, and Arkansas), two separate approaches to ecological niche modeling were implemented. First, a model relating several different climatic layers to geographic locations where cases of C. felis infection were confirmed in domestic cats was developed to predict the possible distribution of the parasite. The second model incorporated occurrences of bobcats with environmental layers and land cover suitable for tick vectors to identify areas of overlap where C. felis transmission was likely. Results of both models indicated a high probability of C. felis from central Oklahoma to south-central Missouri. However, other predicted areas of C. felis occurrence varied between the two modeling approaches. Modeling the vertebrate reservoir and the tick vector predicted a broader possible distribution compared to modeling cases of C. felis infection in domestic cats. Our results suggest that C. felis is likely to extend beyond areas predicted by case modeling due to the presence of both the vector and reservoir.

172 Holocene palynology of south-central Missouri lakes : anthropogenic effects

172 Holocene palynology of south-central Missouri lakes : anthropogenic effects

A Complex Mimetic Relationship Between the Central Newt and Ozark Highlands Leech

In response to their strikingly similar coloration, we tested for a mimetic relationship between Notophthalmus viridescens louisianensis (Central Newt) and Macrobdella diplotertia (Ozark Highlands leech). Early observations took place in a south-central Missouri woodland pond. Later, feeding experiments involving ducks, geese, and native fishes were conducted. Our results support a mimetic rela- tionship between these 2 species that is not a simple classification. More in-depth study may be needed to elucidate the true nature of this relationship.

Vets in Rural Areas Face Multiple Barriers to Care

Vets in Rural Areas Face Multiple Barriers to Care

Strengthening Consumer Health Information Delivery

Hospitals face the challenge of promoting the health information services they offer to the public. St. John's medical librarians developed a plan called the Consumer Health Education and Promotion Project, funded in part by an impact grant from the National Network of Libraries of Medicine—Mid Continental Region. Targeting a 23-county region in southwest and south central Missouri and northwest Arkansas, the impact grant provided funding for travel expenses, presentation equipment, and temporary staff. Over a two-year period, the grant provided funding for 390 visits to health clinics, public libraries, and county health departments. Additionally, 23 presentations were completed to health professionals and the public. Librarians educated referral sources about locating quality consumer health information and promoted the St. John's Community Health Library as a key regional resource.

Wild horses and the political ecology of nature restoration in the Missouri Ozarks

From 1990 to 1996, the National Park Service and residents living near the Ozark National Scenic Riverways in south-central Missouri clashed over the federal agency’s intention to remove 25–30 wild horses from the protected area. The struggle was carried out in various legal and legislative arenas, the media, and in community protests and meetings. The dispute ended only with Congressional approval of the 1996 Omnibus Parks and Public Lands Management Act, which included an amendment ordering an end to any removal efforts. This article focuses on the contested social constructions of the horses themselves. To government scientists and managers, the animals represented a feral and exotic species with no legitimate place in agency-mandated ecosystem management and restoration scenarios. To many local members of the Missouri Wild Horse League, which contested the removal, the horses had critical historical and cultural importance as icons of regional identity, history and personal experience, and as core symbols of communities increasingly politically and economically marginalized. Local disputes with environmental groups and agencies concerned with Ozark ecosystem preservation and restoration have become more pronounced and numerous over the past two decades. This article approaches citizen opposition to environmental agendas not as an anti-environmental movement, but as a contemporary effort of marginalized groups to identify sources of economic, political, and social loss, and symbols of local identity and power. The wild horse issue reveals wider structural divides, and thus speaks to the question of which social groups shall have the power to impose their visions of the landscape and political economy.

(375) Highbush Blueberry Cultivar Evaluation in South Central Missouri Mineral Soil

Fourteen highbush blueberry cultivars are being evaluated in south central Missouri mineral soil. This soil is often not ideal for culture of highbush blueberry. The planting site was initially pH 6.3 with a 92% base saturation on the cation exchange capacity. Sulfur additions, and summer and fall cover cropping were done for 2 years prior to planting to lower soil pH (5.3) and increase organic matter content. Four replications of three plants were set in a randomized complete block in early Apr. 1998. Plant spacing is 1.2 × 3.0 m on bermed rows that are mulched with chipped hardwood. Acidified irrigation water is supplied through drip lines. Fertilizer is applied annually both as dry ammonium sulfate and soluble nitrogen through drip lines at 84 kg·ha-1 N. Cumulative yield per bush after the first five harvest seasons showed `Bluecrop', `Brigitta Blue', `Chandler', `Darrow', `Legacy', `Nelson', and `Reka' at 17 to 21 kg; `Duke', `Nui', `Ozarkblue', and `Sierra' at 14 to 15 kg; and `Collins', `Summit', and `Toro' at 9 to 10 kg. Berry weight averaged 2 g with a low of 1.4 g (`Reka') to a high of 3.3 g (`Chandler'). Plant height averaged 155 cm with a low of 117 cm (`Nui') to a high of 188 cm (`Legacy', `Nelson'). Cultivars in the two higher yield groups were recommended to Missouri growers for planting.

Short-term landscape-scale effects of forest management on Peromyscus spp. mice within Missouri Ozark forests

We conducted a capture-recapture study within Ozark forests in south-central Missouri to evaluate the short-term (2–5 years after timber removal) effects of even- and unevenaged forest management on Peromyscus spp. mice inhabiting north- and east-facing slopes of forest compartments. This study was part of the Missouri Ozark Forest Ecosystem Project, a 100-year experiment investigating landscape-scale impacts of forest management on forest flora and fauna. Changes between pretreatment (1994–1995) and post-treatment (1998–2001) numbers indicated that forest management had a short-term effect on mice. Even-aged management, and to a lesser extent uneven-aged management, appeared to dampen a natural decline in mouse abundance observed on no-harvest sites. Numbers on even-aged sites were greater than those on uneven-aged sites, which were greater than numbers on no-harvest sites following treatment. Both even-and uneven-aged forest management may positively affect Peromyscus spp. numbers, but this trend may change as additional trees are removed.

The Rock Art of Eastern North America: Capturing Images and Insight

The Rock-Art of Eastern North America: Capturing Images and Insight. CAROL DIAS-GRANADOS and JAMES R. DUNCAN (eds.). University of Alabama Press, Tuscaloosa, 2004. 426 pp., 175 illus., 7 tables, preface, acknowledgments, introduction, biblio., contributors' biographies, index. $65.00 (cloth), ISBN 0-8173-1394-X; $34.95 (paper), ISBN 0-8173-5096-9. Reviewed by David H. Dye The Rock-Art of Eastern North America is a welcomed addition to the growing literature on prehistoric and historic rock-art. Long overlooked by professional archaeologists, the study of petroglyphs and pictographs is rapidly becoming an important and integral part of current archaeological discussions. Due to the persistence of researchers such as Carol Diaz-Granados, James R. Duncan, and their colleagues, the study of rock-art clearly is a mainstream focus for eastern North American archaeology. Perhaps the most fascinating aspect of this genre of rock-art investigation is its association with Native American ritual, art, and iconography. These topics, until recently, were often avoided by archaeologists because of difficulties in establishing chronological controls; understanding rockart from the perspective of its environmental, social, and ideological contexts; and incorporating rock-art interpretations/discussions within traditional or current archaeological paradigms. The Rock-Art of Eastern North America impresses upon us that these interpretive problems are not insurmountable and that the study of rock-art can be integrated as one facet of our understanding of eastern North American prehistory. The Rock-Art of Eastern North America comprises 20 chapters divided into seven major topics: dendroglyphs; ethnography; patterning of sites and motifs; gender; survey, recording, conservation, and management; historic; and dating methods. The well-written and thoughtful chapters are authored by active rock-art researchers and well-known scholars and avocationals. Illustrated with 175 photographs, line drawings, and maps, the 426-page volume covers a large geographic area, ranging over 12 states and four Canadian provinces in the eastern North American woodlands. Of course, this area generally is in the interior of the continent which contains rocky terrain suitable for rock art. In the opening section which covers dendroglyphs, Fred E. Coy Jr. discusses Native American carvings and paintings on trees that are found throughout much of the Eastern Woodlands. He argues that the relative lack of pictographs on rock surfaces is a result of the more frequent use of tree boles as communicative devices, especially in the upper Eastern Woodlands. The three articles in the second section cover rock art and ethnography. Lori A. Stanley offers the account of the Ratcliffe Sacred Rock in the upper Iowa River Valley and the oral history of the modern Winnebago tribe of Nebraska, while Mark J. Wagner, Mary R. McCorvie, and Charles A. Swedlund outline the ritual landscape and associated rock-art at the Mississippian Millstone Bluff Site in southern Illinois. Kevin L. Callahan follows with a discussion of pica and geoghagy as an explanation of cup-marked boulders in the Eastern Woodlands. In the second section, six chapters deal with the patterning of archaeological sites with rock-art motifs. Charles H. Faulkner, Jan F. Simek, and Alan Cressler describe their long-term research on prehistoric rock-art in Tennessee, with emphasis on open-air sites. Richard Edging and Steven R. Ahler examine rock-art sites and Late Woodland settlement locations in the northern Ozarks of south-central Missouri and Robert Alan Clouse documents the patterning of human activity and possible functioning of the Jeffers Petrogylphs, located at the eastern edge of the Great Plains in southwestern Minnesota. Jack Steinbert identifies elemental forms of rock-art at the Lake-of-the-Woods petroglyph sites in Ontario, Canada, and offers interpretations about the peopling of the Americas based on randomly pecked cup marks on boulders. …

Predictive Performance of a Summer Microhabitat Model for the Threatened Niangua Darter, Etheostoma nianguae

ABSTRACT The Niangua darter (Etheostoma nianguae) is a threatened stream fish endemic to the Osage River basin in southcentral Missouri, USA. Knowledge of Niangua darter habitat relationships has been identified as an important component of recovery. We assessed the predictive performance of a previously developed summer microhabitat model for this species. The original model was developed with multiple logistic regression using Little Niangua River data, with water depth and substrate particle size serving as predictors of darter presence or absence. New data were collected in Little Niangua River and Maries River at microhabitats occupied (n = 16) and unoccupied (n = 72) by the darter. About one in four microhabitats was misclassified by the model and values of Cohen's kappa generally did not exceed 0.40, indicating that the model's performance could only be rated as fair. Performance was slightly better in Little Niangua River than in Maries River, with a substantial number of false positives in the latter stream. However, suitable microhabitats may be unsaturated due to relatively low Niangua darter densities, which generally confounds model assessment for a rare species.

Distributional Patterns of the Threatened Niangua Darter, Etheostoma nianguae, at Three Spatial Scales, with Implications for Species Conservation

The Niangua darter, Etheostoma nianguae, is a threatened stream fish endemic to the Osage River basin in south-central Missouri. We studied the darter's distributional patterns at three spatial scales (stream, reach, and microhabitat) to assist ongoing conservation efforts. Darter presence-absence as a function of one or more habitat variables was modeled with logistic regression at each scale. The most important predictors of presence-absence were stream link magnitude, mean confluence difference (CD), reach length or gradient, streambed elevation, bank erosion index, water depth, and substrate mean particle size. At the stream scale, darters were present in larger streams (e.g., fifth order) with small CDs. A relatively small CD, for example, described the convergence of two streams of roughly equal size in the drainage basin, whereas a relatively large CD indicated a substantial difference at a confluence. We propose that the CD metric represents a large-scale zoogeographic barrier to E. nianguae, excluding this species from any tributary stream that flows into a receiving stream that is three or more stream orders larger than the tributary. Within one occupied stream, the Little Niangua River, darters were found disproportionately in reaches (1) located in the mid- to lower sections of the stream (elevations 230–250 m above sea level), (2) with riffles spaced 40–80 m apart or with gradients of 2–4 m × km−1, and (3) with relatively uneroded banks. Within occupied reaches, they were commonly located in microhabitats 20–40 cm deep with substrate particles averaging 30–50 mm in diameter. Multivariate model precision ranged from 29–57% within single scales. The models can be used to guide conservation and recovery efforts by ranking sites in the Osage basin based on their relative suitability for E. nianguae.

Ecosystem Management and Landowner Concern About Regulations: A Case Study in the Missouri Ozarks

This article examines sociopolitical dimensions of ecosystem management through a case study of the Brush Creek EARTH Project, a watershed program in southcentral Missouri. Data were collected through person-to-person structured interviews during the summer of 1997. We investigate factors, particularly the role of trust and efficacy, related to landowner concern that participation in voluntary ecosystem management programs will lead to future regulations of their land use. Many landowners were concerned that participation in the Brush Creek EARTH Project would make them vulnerable to future regulations of their land use. Landowners who were more trusting of the agencies involved in ecosystem management were less likely to be concerned that participation would lead to future regulations. The implications of this study are that the sociopolitical dimensions need to be addressed in ecosystem management, and that specific attention needs to be given to developing trusting relationships with stakeholders.

Integrating Stalagmite, Vertebrate, and Pollen Sequences to Investigate Holocene Vegetation and Climate Change in the Southern Midwestern United States

Speleothem carbon and oxygen isotopic records from Onondaga Cave, south-central Missouri, and Beckham Creek Cave, north-central Arkansas, are compared with the Cupola Pond and Oldfield Swamp pollen series from southeastern Missouri and the Rodgers Shelter and Modoc Shelter vertebrate biostratigraphic sequences from central Missouri and southwestern Illinois. Similar, and roughly contemporaneous, shifts between deciduous forest and steppe indicators throughout the Holocene are revealed in each database. These independent proxies record steppe conditions between approximately 9000 and 1500 cal yr B.P. A shift toward lighter speleothem carbon may reflect a change from warm and dry to cool and dry conditions between 4500 and 3000 yr B.P. The sensitive response of speleothem δ13C to changes in vegetation emphasizes their importance as paleoclimate records in an area containing few other millenial-scale climate proxies.