Southeastern North Dakota Research Articles

Diatom Succession in a Core from Pickerel Lake, Northeastern South Dakota

Percentage analyses of the diatoms from a core of sediment show the changes in the community since the formation of Pickerel Lake. The lake basin is in calcareous drift from the Wisconsin glaciation and is located on the Coteau des Prairies upland. This work supplements earlier studies of the pollen, plant macrofossils, and mollusks made by Watts and Bright (1968), in which they presented evidence for four vegetational stages: (1) spruce forest, (2) deciduous woodland, (3) bluestem prairie, and (4) continued open prairie with the return of some woodland. The diatom core was correlated with the nearby pollen core by pollen analysis. The diatom succession begins in diatom zone I, with an assemblage dominated by Fragilaria and Mastogloia species and containing many taxa of alkaline waters. It also includes several taxa that generally prefer acid environments and only occur in the lower part of this core. This diatom assemblage is correlated primarily with the presence of spruce forest and its associated soils; the change in the diatoms occurs when the deciduous woodland that follows is partly replaced by prairie openings. It is suggested that the changes in the type of material (mainly soil) washed into the lake produced a more alkaline environment, which excluded some of the acidophilous taxa. Diatom zone II is largely transitional to zone III, which is dominated by Melosira species and includes many indicators of a more eutrophic (nutrient-rich) environment, for example Fragilaria crotonensis. More brackish-water taxa also indicate an increase in the mineral content of the water. All of these features are consistent with evidence from the pollen stratigraphy, which indicates that this is the time of maximum prairie development in this area, along with maximum soil erosion and lake-water evaporation. Diatom zone IV is largely transitional, corresponding to the time when woodland was once again developing around the margins of the lake basin. Diatom zone V features increasing percentages of forms characteristic of surf zones in lakes, indicating perhaps a shallowing of the site as a result of sedimentation. There is some indication of recent enrichment, concurrent with an increase in Ambrosia pollen (ragweed), which is possibly due to disturbance by man. The use of a constant volume of material in the diatom preparation makes it possible to draw a diagram of diatom abundance for each level. The diatoms are scarce in samples from the lower part of the core, and four radiocarbon dates bear out a suggestion that more inorganic material was deposited at the core site during the early history of the lake than subsequently. A total of 207 taxa is reported, and ecological notes on all are included in an appendix. A diatom diagram shows curves for 71 of the taxa.

Buried Precambrian Rocks of South Dakota

Early Precambrian granitic gneiss, mafic schist, and granite, outlined by prominent east-northeast-trending magnetic and gravity anomalies, are extensive in the buried basement of northeastern South Dakota, the southwestern-most extension of the Superior geological province. These rocks were involved in widespread orogenesis about 2500 m.y. ago. In central and western South Dakota equally prominent geophysical anomalies define the trend of middle Precambrian rocks. A middle Precambrian sedimentary succession in the Black Hills was deformed and intruded by granite approximately 1700 m.y. ago. Four distinct metamorphic belts which possibly date mainly from middle Precambrian time are recognized. A large granite terrane in southern South Dakota is tentatively interpreted as having formed 1430 to 1460 m.y. ago. The basement complex in southeastern and central South Dakota is overlain by a sheet of Sioux Quartzite. A new Rb-Sr age determination on a rhyolite suggests that the Sioux Quartzite is at least 1470 m.y. old.

A Description of Chipped Stone Artifacts from Northeastern South Dakota

A Description of Chipped Stone Artifacts from Northeastern South Dakota

Rabies Detection in Road-killed Skunks (Mephitis mephitis)

Three diagnostic techniques (1) microscopic examination for Negri bodies, (2) mouse inoculation and (3) fluorescent antibody tagging were compared as to their ability to detect rabies virus in 14 experimentally infected striped skunks (Mephitis mephitis) exposed to normal summer weather conditions after death. The fluorescent antibody technique correctly identified rabies virus longer than either of the other methods. Rabies incidence in 61 road-killed skunks collected on the day following death in southeastern North Dakota was 26 per cent.

A graphic presentation of stream gain or loss as an aid in understanding streamflow characteristics

A graphic presentation of cumulative monthly stream gain or loss on a given stream reach is used as a tool to show whether the stream gain or loss is apparent or real, and to determine the magnitude, time, and cause of the gain or loss. The graphic method could also be used to determine how much of the base flow is ground‐water discharge. Interpretations of the cumulative gain or loss graph are described for three reaches on the James River in northeastern South Dakota and southeastern North Dakota.

SEASONAL SELECTION IN THE LEOPARD FROG, RANA PIPIENS.

The leopard frog, Rana pipiens, exists as a polymorphic species in an area of about 100,000 square miles in Minnesota, western Wisconsin, northern Iowa, and northeastern South Dakota (Merrell, 1965). In addition to the usual spotted wild type, the populations frequently contain about 1 to 10% of the unspotted burnsi type, shown by Moore (1942) to be due to a single dominant gene. The wide distribution and fairly high frequency of the burnsi gene seem to rule out the possibility that it is being maintained by recurrent mutation. Furthermore, heterozygote advantage, the mechanism most commonly invoked to explain balanced polymorphism, does not seem an adequate explanation in this case. First, the frequency of the heterozygotes in natural populations is lower than would reasonably be expected if heterosis were involved. Also, the results from crosses in the laboratory between wild-type and burnsi individuals showed no evidence of heterozygote advantage (Merrell-unpublished). Crosses between heterozygous burnsi (B/+) and pipiens (+/+) yielded the expected one-to-one burnsi to pipiens ratio, even under crowded conditions. Crosses between heterozygous burnsi frogs gave the expected 3: 1 ratios with no indication that the homozygous burnsi type (B/B) was less vigorous than the B/+ or +/+ genotypes. Finally, crosses between burnsi and kandiyohi heterozygotes gave the four genotypes, burnsi, kandiyohi, double mutant burnsi-kandiyohi, and wild type pipiens, in the expected equal numbers. (Kandiyohi is another dominant polymorphic gene in R. pipiens not linked to burnsi-Volpe 1955, 1956, 1960; Anderson and Volpe, 1958). Not only were the expected ratios obtained, but there were no significant differences in rate of development or size at metamorphosis among the different types of progeny. Therefore, the available evidence gives no support to heterozygote advantage as an explanation for the burnsi polymorphism. For this reason, other mechanisms for maintaining the burnsi polymorphism must be considered. One possibility is a seasonal shift in selection pressure (Merrell, 1965). The data presented below suggest that the burnsi frogs are somewhat better able to survive the winter than the pipiens type.

Pollen, Seed, and Mollusk Analysis of a Sediment Core from Pickerel Lake, Northeastern South Dakota

Research Article| July 01, 1968 Pollen, Seed, and Mollusk Analysis of a Sediment Core from Pickerel Lake, Northeastern South Dakota W. A WATTS; W. A WATTS Limnological Research Center, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, Minnesota Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar R. C BRIGHT R. C BRIGHT Limnological Research Center, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, Minnesota PRESENT ADDRESS: BOTANY SCHOOL, TRINITY COLLEGE, DUBLIN, IRELAND (WATTS) PRESENT ADDRESS: MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY, UNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA, MINNEAPOLIS, MINNESOTA (BRIGHT) Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar GSA Bulletin (1968) 79 (7): 855–876. https://doi.org/10.1130/0016-7606(1968)79[855:PSAMAO]2.0.CO;2 Article history received: 21 Mar 1967 rev-recd: 29 Feb 1968 first online: 02 Mar 2017 Cite View This Citation Add to Citation Manager Share Icon Share Facebook Twitter LinkedIn MailTo Tools Icon Tools Get Permissions Search Site Citation W. A WATTS, R. C BRIGHT; Pollen, Seed, and Mollusk Analysis of a Sediment Core from Pickerel Lake, Northeastern South Dakota. GSA Bulletin 1968;; 79 (7): 855–876. doi: https://doi.org/10.1130/0016-7606(1968)79[855:PSAMAO]2.0.CO;2 Download citation file: Ris (Zotero) Refmanager EasyBib Bookends Mendeley Papers EndNote RefWorks BibTex toolbar search Search Dropdown Menu toolbar search search input Search input auto suggest filter your search All ContentBy SocietyGSA Bulletin Search Advanced Search Abstract Pickerel Lake formed on the Coteau des Prairies, northeastern South Dakota, prior to 10,670 ± 140 years ago. The lake was probably initially underlain by an ice block; it was insulated from the ice first by an undetermined thickness of outwash, and then also by sediment.Fossil pollen, spores, seeds, leaves, and mollusks of a core from Pickerel Lake were analyzed in order to work out the limnological history of the lake and the vegetational history of the nearby upland. The data were then compared with ecological data from modern vegetation and the lake. The following chronology was deduced from these studies: (1) Prior to 10,670 years ago, boreal forest existed around Pickerel Lake and on the nearby upland, the climate was cool and moist, there were a few marshes around the lake margin, and the lake was less than 3 m deep at the coring site. The lake water was alkaline but not very hard. (2) Between 10,670 and about 8000 years ago, there were mixed deciduous trees around the lake, in gullies, and on the upland; however, tree cover on the upland was less dense and had numerous prairie-like openings with grass and perhaps bracken fern. The climate was warmer than that of the previous age. The lake was probably deeper at the study site, and was probably slightly harder. (3) From about 8000 to 4000 years ago, blue-stem prairie dominated the upland. Deciduous forest was almost absent, except perhaps for a few groves around the lake or in gullies. The climate was characterized by recurring summer drought, and the level of Pickerel Lake consequently fluctuated markedly. The depth of the lake at the coring site was less than 3 m, and the water was hard with high carbonate content. Reed marshes were common around the lake margin, and during low water levels a rich herbaceous vegetation invaded the exposed lake sediments. (4) Since about 4000 years ago, the upland and lake vegetation has been about the same as now, with prairie dominating the upland and with an abundant oak and ash deciduous forest common around lakes and in gullies. Summer droughts were not so common as during the preceding period. The lake was less than 3 m deep at the study site. It was also alkaline, hard, and had reed marshes flourishing in places around its margin. This content is PDF only. Please click on the PDF icon to access. First Page Preview Close Modal You do not have access to this content, please speak to your institutional administrator if you feel you should have access.

Basement Rocks in Continental Interior of United States

Basement Rocks in Continental Interior of United States

Late‐Wisconsin Pollen and Seed Analysis from the Nebraska Sandhills

Between two lrge dunes near the northern edge of the grass—covered Nebraska Sandhills on the Rosebud Indian Reservation is an alluviated lowland containing more than 6 m of organic sand and silt. Pollen and seed analyses of the lowest 120 cm of sediment imply that a boreal forest with spruce grew around the site 12,600 c14 years ago and was succeeded abruptly by grassland, with perhaps more pine than exists today (as Pinus ponderosa) in the nearby Niobrara River Valley and the Pine Ridge escarpment of northwestern Nebraska. Pollen analyses of surface samples were used to determine the modern pollen rain at different distances from the modern pine forests of the western plains. The presence of spruce fossils at the Rosebud site, along with similar finds in northeastern South Dakota and southern Minnesota, implies a late—Wisconsin boreal forest over much of the present prairie region. The major disjunction of Picea glauca in the Black Hills, 200 km northwest of the site and 700 km from from the spruce forest of Manitoba, may thus be explained as a relic of a semi—continuous distribution during late—Wisconsin time.

STRATIGRAPHY AND PALEONTOLOGY OF A LATE PLEISTOCENE BASIN, HARPER COUNTY, OKLAHOMA

Pleistocene (Illinoian) lake deposits are exposed in the Doby Springs area, Harper County, Oklahoma. The collapse basin in which these beds were deposited resulted from solution of salt or anhydrite in the underlying Permian strata. The rim of the basin is made up of the Permian Whitehorse group, the Pliocene Ogallala formation, and the Pleistocene (Kansan to Yarmouth) Crooked Creek formation. In Kansan time a southeastward-flowing stream cut through the Ogallala formation into the Permian strata. This stream deposited the gravels, sands, and silts of the Crooked Creek formation in its valley. During Yarmouth time a caliche formed in the top of the formation. In Illinoian time a collapse basin formed in the Doby Springs area. Lake sediments containing the Doby Springs local fauna were deposited in this basin. Settling and collapse along the southern edge imparted the present dip to the lake beds. In Sangamon time the area was drained, and a caliche formed in the upper part of the lake sediments; later, further collapse occurred to the north and imparted the northward dip to the northern part of the initial basin deposits. The present outward radial drainage results from the collapse on the margins of the initial basin. The alluvial deposits along the modern streams are of Wisconsin and Recent age. The Doby Springs local fauna contained in the Illinoian lake deposits consists of the remains of ostracods, mollusks, fishes, amphibians, reptiles, birds, and mammals. The seven fishes (white sucker, creek chub, flathead chub, fathead minnow, black bullhead, green sunfish, and yellow perch) indicate a cool, upstream, lake environment with smaller streams running into the lake. Twenty-four forms of mammals from the Doby Springs local fauna are discussed, and a new species of the mammalian genus, Peromyscus, is described. The following extant small mammals indicate a marsh environment with surrounding lowland meadows and some trees: arctic shrew, masked shrew, northern water shrew, shorttail shrew, muskrat, meadow vole, and jumping mouse. The climate in the area is determined by plotting the present-day distribution of the living forms and arriving at an area of overlap. This area of overlap for the species recorded in the Doby Springs local fauna lies in southeastern North Dakota and northeastern South Dakota. The climate in Oklahoma during Illinoian time was probably similar to that in the area of overlap today. Lower summer temperatures and more effective moisture are indicated. The Doby Springs local fauna is correlated with the Berends local fauna, Beaver County, Oklahoma, and the Butler Spring local fauna, Meade County, Kansas.

Some Aspects of the Breeding Ecology of the Yellow-Breasted Chat (Icteria virens)

During the breeding season Yellow-breasted Chats range throughout most of the United States and northern Mexico, parts of southern Ontario, southwestern Saskatchewan, and southern British Columbia. The winter range is defined as from southern Baja California and southern Texas south to western Panama. However, recent observations (to be reviewed in a second paper) indicate a growing tendency to winter in the eastern half of the United States. Two races are recognized. The eastern race, virens, occurs as far west as northeastern South Dakota, eastern Nebraska, eastern Kansas, and eastern Texas. To the west of this rather vague boundary the eastern race is replaced by auricollis, a western race distinguished mainly by longer tail, wing, and bill measurements. The present paper is not an attempt to cover every aspect of the chat's life history, nor does it embrace lin scope the whole of the chat's range. The main purpose is to assemble information bearing upon the periodic appearance of the chat during the fall 'beyond its breeding range in parts 'of New England and the Maritime Provinces of Canada. In recent years extralimital appearance of the chat in this region has been on such a scale that it no longer suggests the occasional type of vagrancy that is seen in many other southern species at this season. While much of this movement is still shrouded in mystery, certain facts have emerged which tell us something about the timing, scope, direction, and duration of these flights. Presentation of this material, it is felt, should serve to stimulate further investigation. By banding more chats and recording information pertaining to weight, sex, molt, and other topics, bird-banders can add enough knowledge to bring the eventual solution within attainable limits. I feel that only about one-half the solution lies in migrational investigations.* Of equal importance are studies on the breeding range which take into account a variety of life history topics, and which answer the highly important question of when late summer and fall departure takes place. It is surprising how little life history work has been done on this species. Most writers, of necessity, fill their chat accounts with descriptions of the bird's eccentricities-its clownish behavior, peculiar vocalizations, twilight chorus, ventriloquistic attributes, and odd courtship flight-all matters of interest but scarcely helpful when it comes to questions of distribution and migration. Because so little is known about the bird on its breeding grounds, emphasis in this study, which was conducted in northern Virginia during the summer of 1957, was upon any factors that might enter into a solution of the chat's appearance northward in the fall. Little at* A separate paper dealing with the migration of the chat in the Northeast is under preparation.

Range and Spread of the Gray and the Fox Squirrels in North Dakota

Although the fox squirrel ( Sciurus niger ) and gray squirrel ( Sciurus carolinensis ) now occupy much of North Dakota, a survey of the literature shows that although Hibbard (1954) had made a preliminary report on these species, only the gray squirrel had previously been reported for the state. Bailey (1926) reports it as occurring at Wahpeton (Richland County), Fargo (Cass County), and Valley City (Barnes County). He does not list the fox squirrel nor does he mention it as possibly occurring here. This species apparently moved into the state from South Dakota and Minnesota, largely within the last 20 years. As can be seen from the map (Fig. 1), its principal range is in the southeastern portion of the state and along the Missouri River and its tributaries. Its range is not continuous in southern North Dakota for it is not found in most of the undrained prairie country lying between the James and Missouri rivers. This region is largely treeless and forms a natural barrier to any woodland species. Fig. 1 Top: Fox squirrel range in North Dakota. Bottom: Gray squirrel range in North Dakota. Key to legend is the same for both maps : Squares = Specimens available; Circles = Personal sight records or road kill observations; Triangles = Reliable reports. Only those portions of rivers traced in a solid line support timber growth sufficient for squirrels. Distribution and invasion patterns of the fox squirrel .—In southeastern North Dakota the fox squirrel is found along all the wooded streams, in tree claims, and in the older shelter belts. Most of these shelter belts were planted by the U. S. Forest Service in 1937 and 1938 and, although still immature, they already furnish good squirrel habitat. Probably the heaviest population is found in the three southeastern counties which contain many old tree claims …