Vigo County Research Articles

Geochronology of Cambrian Sedimentary and Volcanic Rocks in the Illinois Basin: Defining the Illinois Aulacogen

The Wabash #1 well, drilled for the Wabash CarbonSAFE Project and located in Vigo County, Indiana, USA, was drilled in early 2020 as a stratigraphic test well to characterize and evaluate the basal Cambrian Mt. Simon Sandstone for carbon dioxide storage (TD=8750 ft; 2667 m). The Wabash #1 well is located along the eastern flank of a newly interpreted Cambrian aulacogen that occurs in western Indiana and eastern Illinois. Here we present 938 new detrital zircon U-Pb ages (LA-ICPMS) from early Cambrian sandstones sampled near the base of the well. A basalt lava flow was penetrated at ~8530 ft (2600 m) and has an 40Ar/39Ar age of 525.03 +/- 1.10 Ma, which represents the first known Cambrian crust in the Illinois Basin. The two sandstone samples from beneath the basalt are dominated by zircons derived from the Midcontinent Granite-Rhyolite terrane. The sandstone samples from above the basalt reflect a mixture of these locally derived Mazatzal and Granite-Rhyolite terrane zircons, but also distal Archean, Grenville, and Yavapai zircons. Each sample has small numbers of Cambrian zircons, which is consistent with those in basal Cambrian sandstones in other deep wells to the west. These early Cambrian detrital zircons and early Cambrian age of the basalt, combined with sediment thickness patterns permit the interpretation of the Illinois aulacogen, which formed during the final stage of Rodinian rifting.

Telling Hoosier Stories: Public History in Indiana: The Vigo County Historical Museum, Terre Haute, Indiana

How do local museums, particularly historical museums, make curatorial decisions regarding representations of the past? What do museum curators consider when trying to represent the past of a specific community? When opportunities arise to examine historical events in a new light, what does the process look like? This essay looks at the Vigo County Historical Museum in Terre Haute, Indiana, and attempts to answer these questions, based upon an interview with executive director Susan Tingley conducted by Indiana Magazine of History assistant editor Admiral S Wieland It marks the first in a series on public history in Indiana, which examines new practices and new sources that tell Hoosier stories [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] Copyright of Indiana Magazine of History is the property of Indiana University and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use This abstract may be abridged No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract (Copyright applies to all Abstracts )

Temporal Stability Patterns in Fish Species Richness, Diversity, and Evenness in Otter Creek, Vigo County, IN

We used abundance data from fish-population studies (1962–2010) on Otter Creek at Markle's Dam, Vigo County, IN, to examine temporal variation in stream-fish assemblages. Species-richness variation showed a declining trend during the 50 year study period with a mean of 49 ± 8.8 species per decade (range = 39–62 species). Cumulative study species richness comprised 76 fish species with a mean of 21.3 ± 6.1 species collected per sampling event. Dominant species, based on relative abundance during the 50 year period, included Cyprinella spiloptera (Spotfin Shiner), Pimephales notatus (Bluntnose Minnow), Hybognathus nuchalis (Mississippi Silvery Minnow), and Luxilus chrysocephalus (Striped Shiner). Relative abundance of Spotfin Shiner showed an increasing trend during the 50-year study period, whereas Bluntnose Minnow relative abundance showed a decreasing trend. Cumulative frequency-distribution of species richness normalized by decade showed no significant difference, with the exception of the 1970s, which showed a steep decline in the number of species. Repeated-measures analysis of variance showed no significant differences in species diversity (H') or evenness (Pielou's J) over the 5-decade study period. Eleven cool-water species including Chrosomus erythrogaster (Southern Redbelly Dace), Perca flavescens (Yellow Perch), Catostomus commersonii (White Sucker), and Ambloplites rupestris (Rock Bass), and lithophilic spawning species such as Nocomis micropogon (River Chub) and Hybopsis amblops (Bigeye Chub) were extirpated during the study period. Potential changes in sedimentation and thermal gradients may have contributed to these observed extirpations.

Microbiological Evidence for the Origin of Acid Mine Drainage at the Green Valley Site, Vigo County, and Friar Tuck Site, Greene County, Indiana, USA

We examine the origin of acid mine drainage (AMD) that forms within coal refuse (gob) piles at the Green Valley and Friar Tuck sites in Indiana, using microbiology, traditional geochemistry, and oxygen and hydrogen isotopes. Reducing the AMD load from these sites has been an historical priority. Our observations indicate that AMD generation at these sites in Indiana is driven by three complementary factors: elevated populations of chemolithotrophic microbes of the species Acidithiobacillus ferrooxidans; a growth substrate that provides ‘food’ (e.g. pyrite) for these microbes, and a gob pile with geometry and other properties conducive to maintaining the thermal window of 25–40°C for optimal A. ferrooxidans growth. In particular, increasing levels of Fe+3 and total dissolved solids (TDS), and decreasing pH for gob waters were found to be highly correlated with increasing populations of A. ferrooxidans. Furthermore, the chemosythetic bacteria population increase correlates with increasing hydrogen stable isotope shift away from the global meteoric water line for gob waters in this study, though it is unclear if this shift is the result of microbial metabolic processes or a secondary effect due to microbially-mediated pH change or electrolysis.

A new occurrence of xitieshanite [Fe3+(SO4)Cl{middle dot}6H2O] crystals in acid-mine seepways, Green Valley, Vigo County, Indiana, U.S.A.

A new occurrence of the rare efflorescent sulfate mineral xitieshanite [Fe 3 + (SO 4 )Cl.6H 2 O] has been documented from acid mine drainage (AMD) flows at Green Valley, Vigo County, Indiana, U.S.A. This represents only the second documented occurrence of the mineral, and is a new environment of deposition. Previously, xitieshanite had been documented only within the oxidation zone at the Xitieshan Mine, Quinghai Province, China. The presence of xitieshanite at Green Valley was confirmed through X-ray powder diffraction and chemical analyses. The mineral forms botryoidal semi-gelatinous lumps. as well as radiating clusters of light-green bladed and rod-like acicular crystals up to 1 mm long, in some cases pseudomorphically replacing melanterite. This is the only documented occurrence of the mineral as distinct observable crystals that indicate pseudomorphism. The xitieshanite forms following large summer storms that provide oxygenated waters in the AMD seepways, and a warm, humid environment of deposition. The chlorine in the mineral may originate from coal waste or anthropogenic sources related to de-icing operations at the mine plant.

Geochemical and Stable Isotope Evidence for Precipitation and Groundwater Sourcing of Recharge at the Green Valley Site, Vigo County, Indiana

We examined the recharge sources of acid mine drainage (AMD) seeps that form at the toe of the coal refuse (gob) pile at a site in Indiana, using traditional geochemistry and oxygen isotopes. AMD from this site has impacted local waterways, and reducing the volume of AMD is a priority. Our observations indicate that there are two main sources of recharge. The first is relatively dilute, isotopically homogenous, geochemically-reducing groundwater that flows up through pre-mining karst-like features beneath the gob pile due to localized, precipitation-induced, hydraulic head. This produces a perched water table above the regional water table. The second source of recharge is oxidizing and isotopically variable meteoric precipitation that percolates through the permeable capping material; a partially buried and abandoned railroad grade may also channel meteoric waters into the pile. During periods of low precipitation, oxygenated pore moisture in the unsaturated zone facilitates AMD generation. During periods of elevated precipitation, these metal-rich pore fluids are flushed through the system by isotopically variable, oxygenated, metal-poor meteoric waters. Each source contributes subequal but variable amounts of recharge waters. The hydraulic conductivity and permeability of the gob pile, as calculated by isotopic lag, is consistent with values for silty to clean unconsolidated sand.

First Financial Corp. (IN)

AbstractCommercial Banking (MIC: 8.1 SIC: 6022 NAIC:522110)First Financial is a multi‐bank holding company with $2.22 billion in assets as of Dec 31 2003. Co. offers a wide variety of financial services, including commercial, mortgage and consumer lending, lease financing, trust account services, and depositor services through 46 branch offices of its ten wholly‐owned subsidiaries located in Indiana and Illinois. First Financial Bank, N.A. of Vigo County, IN, a wholly‐owned subsidiary, operates 14 full‐service banking branches and two investment subsidiaries, which hold and manage $230.9 million of securities.

First Financial Corp.

AbstractCommercial Banking (MIC: 8.1 SIC: 6022 NAIC:522110)First Financial is a multi‐bank holding company with $2.22 billion in assets as of Dec 31 2003. Co. offers a wide variety of financial services, including commercial, mortgage and consumer lending, lease financing, trust account services, and depositor services through 46 branch offices of its ten wholly‐owned subsidiaries located in Indiana and Illinois. First Financial Bank, N.A. of Vigo County, IN, a wholly‐owned subsidiary, operates 14 full‐service banking branches and two investment subsidiaries, which hold and manage $230.9 million of securities.

Prey Selection in a Temperate Zone Insectivorous Bat Community

Abstract I determined foods eaten by bats at Prairie Creek, Vigo County, Indiana, to test the null hypothesis that insectivorous bats eat primarily whatever is available. If bats eat what is available, then all bats taken at the same time and place should eat the same foods. I collected fecal samples from 486 bats of 8 species from 1993 through 1997 in a 650-ha deciduous forest in the Wabash River flood plain. Eptesicus fuscus and Nycticeius humeralis fed heavily on coleopterans, followed by hemipterans in E. fuscus and homopterans in N. humeralis. Lasiurus borealis fed most heavily on lepidopterans, followed by coleopterans and homopterans. Pipistrellus subflavus fed approximately equally on homopterans, coleopterans, and dipterans. The main foods were similar for Myotis sodalis, M. lucifugus, and M. septentrionalis: dipterans 1st, followed by lepidopterans, trichopterans, and then coleopterans in M. lucifugus and by coleopterans and then lepidopterans in the other 2 species. It is clear that bats at Pra...

Insights into secchi transparency through computer analysis of aerial multispectral video data

Abstract Three bands of multispectral video imagery (0.543-0.552μm, 0.644-0.656μm, 0.815-0.827μm) were acquired from nine lakes in Vigo County, Indiana on l8 May 1988 using a multispectral video system. Eleven different scenes covering the nine lakes were digitized and used in computer-assisted analysis of secchi transparency. Individual band data and a yellow-green/red ratio band were correlated with secchi disc measurements taken concurrently with aerial video acquisition. The significant correlations (0.05 level) between the video data and secchi disc depths, were —0.83 and —0.91 for the red band (original and log) and 0.93 and 0.84 for the yellow-green/red ratio (original and log).

Assemblage Organization of Stream Fishes: The Effect of Rivers on Adventitious Streams

Assemblage Organization of Stream Fishes: The Effect of Rivers on Adventitious Streams

Stochasticity and Assemblage Organization in an Indiana Stream Fish Assemblage

Site d'etude: zone situee sous le barrage de Markles; problemes d'echantillonnage; nombre d'especes incluses dans l'analyse. Inclusion des jeunes d'un an dans cette analyse; interpretation et nouvelle analyse des modeles alternatifs

Stochasticity in Stream Fish Communities: An Alternative Interpretation

Stochasticity in Stream Fish Communities: An Alternative Interpretation

Dietary Overlap of Sorex longirostris and S. cinereus in Hardwood Floodplain Habitats in Vigo County, Indiana

Stomach contents were examined from 90 individuals of Sorex longirostris and 167 individuals of S. cinereus from hardwood floodplain habitats in Vigo Co., Indiana. The five most important foods of S. longirostris were spiders, Lepidoptera larvae, Gryllidae, Coleoptera adults and harvestmen. The five most important foods of S. cinereus were the same except that Coleoptera larvae replaced Gryllidae. Maintenance of a contiguously allopatric pattern of distribution within the relatively small geographic area of range overlap is probably important in minimizing competition between these two morphologically similar species. INTRODUCTION The southeastern shrew (Sorex longirostris) occurs throughout the southeastern U.S. ranging as far W as Louisiana and Arkansas, and N to Missouri, Illinois and Indiana (French, 1980a). The masked shrew (S. cinereus) is the most widespread North American Sorex, with a range extending across North America (Hall, 1981). Ranges of the two species overlap in portions of Illinois and Indiana, and in Indiana both species occur in Knox, Spencer, Tippecanoe and Vigo counties (Mumford and Rippy, 1962; French, 1980b; Rose, 1980). In Vigo County, these shrews are allopatric, however (French, 1980b). Sorex cinereus is found within the boundaries of the glacial floodplain of the Wabash River. Sorex longirostris is found in similar habitats and on some of the same soil series as S. cinereus but only outside the boundaries of the glacial floodplain of the Wabash River. The purpose of this study was to determine the degree of similarity in diets of Sorex cinereus and S. longirostris that occupy the same type of habitat but do not overlap in distribution in Vigo Co., Indiana. It was hypothesized that morphological similarities between these two shrews reflect similar diets that contribute to allopatric distribution patterns in Vigo County. MATERIALS AND METHODS Sorex longirostris and S. cinereus were trapped with no. 10 cans set as pitfalls from 1976 to 1979 in Vigo Co., Indiana. Each can contained ca. 10 cm of water and shrews drowned quickly after entering the cans. Most specimens of both species were trapped in floodplain hardwoods along the Wabash River and its tributaries. Specimens of S. longirostris and S. cinereus were collected during all seasons as follows: January (1,0); February (1,0); March (9,2); April (11,72); May (9,12); June (13,3); July (6,23); August (14,3); September (3,1); October (18,21); November (3,21), and December (3,10). Stomach contents were preserved in 70 % isopropyl alcohol and examined in shallow petri dishes using a binocular dissecting microscope. The percent of total volume for each food item was estimated by visual inspection (Whitaker and Mumford, 1972). Items were identified by comparison with materials collected in the field. For aid in identification, microscope slides were made of all questionable food items; these were studied in detail at a later time. Shrews with empty stomachs were not included in the analysis. A similarity coefficient (Whittaker, 1970) was used to compare the results of this 1 Present address: Eastern Regional Heritage Program, The Nature Conservancy, 294 Washington Street, Boston, Mass. 02108.

Ectoparasites of the Southeastern shrew, Sorex longirostris, and the masked shrew, S. cinereus, in Vigo County, Indiana, USA.

In Vigo County, Indiana, USA, 14,610 ectoparasites and phoretic mites from the Southeastern Shrew, Sorex longirostris , and the Masked Shrew, S. cinereus , included 31 species; 24 species were found on each shrew. The glycyphagid mite Orycteroxenus soricis and Myobiidae accounted for 90.2% and 93.1% of the ectoparasites and phoretic forms on S. longirostris and S. cinereiis , respectively. The occurrence of fleas and the myobiid mite Protomyobia americana on S. cinereus only and the myobiid Protomyobia indianensis on S. longirostris only was the most prominent difference between the ectoparasitic faunas of the 2 shrews.

Feeding Behavior and Developmental, Seasonal and Diel Changes in the Food of the Silverjaw Minnow, Ericymba buccata Cope

A study of the feeding behavior and of the developmental, seasonal and diel changes of the food and feeding of the silverjaw minnow, Ericymba buccata Cope, in Vigo County, Indiana, involved the analysis of the stomach contents of more than 1400 fish and some 27 hr of field and laboratory observation. This species is a bottom-feeder relying mainly on taste and tactile senses. Its feeding behavior involves random searching, frequent mouthing of the bottom substrate, jabbing and digging. The intensity and frequency of these activities are influenced by the presence of food and the activity of other members of the school. It feeds throughout the day. The nocturnal food consists mainly of chironomid larvae and the diurnal food, mainly entomostracans. Diptera larvae are the most important spring and summer food, while entomostracans are the most important food in autumn and winter. Smaller fish use a greater volume of entomostracans, a lesser variety of food, and feed more frequently and intensely, while larger fish use a greater volume of Diptera larvae, a wider variety of food, and feed less frequently and intensely. The ecological significance of these findings is discussed. INTRODUCTION The silverjaw minnow, Ericymba buccata Cope, is a common inhabitant of low-gradient, sand-bottomed streams of the eastern United States (Wallace, 1972, 1973a). Wallace (1971, 1973b) studied the growth and reproduction of this species. Hoyt (1970) studied the food of this fish in Kentucky. The present study, conducted in Otter Creek, Vigo Co., Indiana, describes feeding behavior as well as diel, seasonal and developmental changes in the food. METHODS Field collecting.-Specimens were collected biweekly throughout the year in a 4.5-km section of Otter Creek, Vigo Co., Ind. The methods of collecting and the nature of the study area are detailed by Wallace (1972). The studv of the diel changes in food is based on collections taken at 2-hr intervals from 2000 through 0600 hr on 25*26 August 1967 in a 1O0-m stream section of the study area. This site was reasonably homogeneous with respect to, shore vegetation, bottom type, stream depth, current speed and stream width. The fish were initially preserved in 10% formalin and later in 40% isopropyl alcohol. Analysis of stomach contents.-The stomach was removed and placed in the rectangular well (1 mm deep) of a deDression slide, the bottom of which was etched with 1-mm squares. The food was removed, piled tightly to a depth of 1 mm and its total volume estimated

Small Mammal Succession on Strip-mined Land in Vigo County, Indiana

The small mammals of three strip-mined areas, which varied in the time since mining, were studied to determine the relationship between vegetative and small-mammal succession. In the most recent of the three study areas, where woody cover was lacking, Peromyscus maniculatus bairdii was the dominant species. In the intermediate area, where both open and woody habitat were present, P. maniculatus and P. leucopus were taken. In the oldest area, where woody cover was dense, only P. leucopus was taken. Herbaceous cover was not a major limiting factor for either species. P. maniculatus was most numerous in plots on soils with high pH, low soil moisture and high amounts of sand and gravel. P. leucopus was taken in highest numbers in plots with high soil moisture and low amounts of sand and gravel. Results of this study were compared with those of Verts (1957).

Reproduction of the Silverjaw Minnow, Ericymba buccata Cope

A study of the reproduction of Ezicymba buccata Cope in Vigo County, Indiana is based on changes in tuberculation in males, condition of the ovary, size and number of ova, and length frequencies of young-of-the-year. Levels of tuberculation are described and prove to be reliable indices of reproductive maturity. Temporal changes in the degree of tuberculation and condition of the ovary as well as changes in number of ova indicate a spawning period from the end of April to at least the end of July. Early in the spawning season both age group II and III males and females contribute most to the breeding population and the larger specimens spawn earlier. Projection of the growth in initially moderate sized ova and lack of abrupt differences in ova size in spring suggest that individual females in age group II spawn more than once within the spawning season. Most age group III males and females die shortly after spawning. Later in the summer (July) large age group I males and females probably breed. Study of ova size and number as well as ovary condition indicates two major spawnings, one in early May and the other in late June or early July. Monthly length frequency distributions of young also indicate two spawning peaks. Long breeding season, fractional spawning of age group II and the late summer spawn of age group I all are adaptive to streams with a shifting sand bottom.

Notes on the Occurrence of Endogone in Soils and Seeds from Cultivated Fields in Vigo County, Indiana

Notes on the Occurrence of Endogone in Soils and Seeds from Cultivated Fields in Vigo County, Indiana

Food and External Parasites of Spermophilus Tridecemlineatus in Vigo County, Indiana

Journal Article Food and External Parasites of Spermophilus Tridecemlineatus in Vigo County, Indiana Get access John O. Whitaker, Jr. John O. Whitaker, Jr. Department of Life Sciences, Indiana State University, Terre Haute, 47809 Search for other works by this author on: Oxford Academic Google Scholar Journal of Mammalogy, Volume 53, Issue 3, 27 September 1972, Pages 644–648, https://doi.org/10.2307/1379067 Published: 27 September 1972 Article history Accepted: 15 January 1972 Published: 27 September 1972