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Research Finding: Age-0 pallids were more vulnerable to smallmouth bass than channel catfish and the presence of alternative prey (e.g., fathead minnows) may reduce pallid vulnerability. Assistant Unit Leader Dr. Steven R. Chipps designed laboratory studies to determine the vulnerability of age-0 pallid sturgeon to fish predation. Age-0 pallids (<100 mm) were exposed to smallmouth bass or channel catfish predators in raceway experiments. Water velocity from 0 to 0.15 m/s has little influence on predation rate. On the average, smallmouth bass consumed 0.95 pallids/hr compared to 0.13 pallids/hr consumed by channel catfish. When presented with both fathead minnows and pallids as prey, smallmouth bass consumed more fatheads than pallids and channel catfish did not eat pallids when fatheads were present. The data were presented at the recent Dakota Chapter American Fisheries Society (AFS) meeting by Unit Ph.D. student Trevor Selch.

The 2006 Annual Report of the National Coop Unit Program (40 Units) (www.coopunits.org) gives examples of scientific advances made by Unit scientists and provides details of the national program. Among the details are a total of 288 peer-reviewed publications (17 by your South Dakota Unit) and 578 graduate students (13 in the South Dakota Unit). The South Dakota Unit received one National Award – Unit Leader Dr. Charles Berry was recognized for service to professional societies and cooperators. Your South Dakota Unit’s research was mentioned in the category of energy-related studies (i.e., Dr. Higgins’ study of switchgrass as biofuel and bird habitat). Coop Unit Awards were presented for:

· Science Excellence: to Ted Simmons (NC) for identifying sources of error in avian count data and to Robert Anthony (OR) for landmark analysis of complex demographic data on the Northern Spotted Owl.

· Technical Assistance: to the Wisconsin and Montana units for high quality research that was important to their state cooperating agency.

· Leadership Award: to Steve Destefano (Massachusetts) for re-establishing a flourishing and functional Coop Unit.

· Service: Courtney Conway (Arizona) for scientific productivity and international recognition by the American Ornithologist’s Union.

Science highlights are in the areas of energy, invasive species, innovative technologies, GIS-based habitat modeling, population estimation, and habitat restoration. Some innovative technologies are: the Florida and Idaho Units are evaluating unmanned aerial vehicles for wildlife surveys, the Arizona Unit is using infrared-triggered photography and hair DNA sampling to study five rare cats, and the Virginia Unit is developing highway wildlife underpasses for bears.

The Program Chief, Dr. Byron Williams, projects 28 vacancies affecting 26 units by the end of FY 07 and reports that he has requested permission for “buyouts” and “earlyouts” to meet the budget.

Research Finding: This first comprehensive summary of the status of South Dakota fishes was part of the Ph.D. Dissertation written by Dr. Chris Hoagstrom (supervised by Unit Leader Dr. Charles R. Berry). Reprints and pdf files of this 40-page paper, with figures of drainage basin maps for each species, are now available. Thirty-five species have declined from one or more river drainages and six that have not declined are restricted to only one river drainage. The species are not necessarily of equal conservation concern; the relative conservation concern was determined by combining the numeric rank of each species by the number of drainages from which it was missing with the number of drainages presently occupied. Highest concern is for silver lamprey (Ichthyomyzon unicuspis), silverband shiner (Notropis shumardi), northern hog sucker (Hypentelinum nigricans), and black buffalo (Ictiobus niger). These are all large-river fishes (e.g., Missouri River). Hoagstrom is now an Assistant Professor at Weber State University, Ogden, Utah.

Research Finding: Pronghorn numbers reached >300 individuals in the 1960s, but declined to about 30 individuals in 2002. One working hypothesis was that reduced heterozygosity contributed to the decline. Microsatellite DNA was collected from pronghorn from three sites in South Dakota, including Wind Cave. There was no difference among the populations in heterozygosity, inbreeding coefficient, and indices of population structure. Results indicated that genetic variability was not a primary factor in the decline of pronghorn in Wind Cave National Park. This study is an example of how Department of Interior agencies, in this case, the National Park Service, can fund studies with University scientists (e.g., Dr. Jon Jenks, who lead the pronghorn study) by taking advantage of the cooperative agreement between U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) and South Dakota State University (SDSU) that establishes the Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit at SDSU. Unit Leader Dr. Charles R. Berry, Jr., was the Federal Project Officer on the pronghorn study.

Research Results and Applications: The Coop Unit has tinkered with Indices of Biotic Integrity (IBI) for rivers (two publications by Unit Leader Dr. Charles R. Berry, Jr.) and wetlands (one publication by Assistant Unit Leader Dr. Steven R. Chipps). Chipps and students developed a Wetland Condition Index (WCI, see Wetlands 26:497) based on six biological metrics (diatoms, bugs, plants). The work prompted further research - a joint project between South Dakota State University (SDSU), South Dakota Game, Fish and Parks (GFP), and Earth Resources Observation Systems (EROS) to evaluate the use of wetlands to assess watershed health (contact Chipps or Dr. Daniel Hubbard). Berry and students showed that streams in sub-humid and semi-arid regions have different sets of fish biological criteria (Prairie Naturalist 33:135) and the researchers proposed a fish IBI for the lower James River (Journal of Freshwater Ecology 17:575). The fish IBI has found use in the state’s Topeka shiner monitoring program and the IBI methods were recently requested by the South Dakota Department of Agriculture (Brian Scott, Sioux Falls) for possible use in Rapid Watershed Assessment.

Research Results and Applications: How do wind turbines affect flight patterns and mortality of birds and bats? This was the topic of a recently published book chapter by Dr. Kenneth F. Higgins (AUL, ret.) and colleagues. A two year study in the Buffalo Ridge Windplant and Wind Resource Area revealed that most birds (>70%) flew below blade heights of the wind turbines. Passerine bird species appeared to be the most susceptible to collision with turbine blades, although mortality rates were low. Bats collided with turbine blades more frequently than birds and were believed to be more susceptible to wind turbines. Despite low mortality rates for birds and bats, the authors encouraged that pre-site reconnaissance surveys be conducted to minimize effects that windplants have on bird and bat populations.

The 2007 Annual Meeting of the Unit’s Coordinating Committee will be held on October 23 in Brookings. The meeting is attended by state and federal agencies that are current or potential clients for Unit research. Contact Unit Leader Dr. Charles R. Berry, Jr., for details.

Research Project: Isotopic composition of tap water is being studied nationwide by the USGS Stable Isotope Laboratory to create a national map of the hydrogen and oxygen isotopic composition of tap waters for hydrological, biological, and forensic uses. The map will help understand human impacts on the hydrological cycle. The South Dakota Coop Unit collected tap water from the South Dakota State University (SDSU) campus for the study.

Isotopes are atoms of the same element that differ in mass because of a difference in the number of neutrons in the nucleus. There are five possibilities for water (see table). Isotope ratios are usually reported.

The stable isotopes of H and O track recharge and discharge processes, can be used to delineate recharge areas and aquifers, and can estimate historical climate information from groundwater.

Berry is investigating how stable isotope analysis can be applied to current river flow issues such as flow augmentation from wetland drainage and pattern tiling in agriculture fields and irrigation withdrawal in headwater streams that are important to the Topeka shiner. Assistant Unit Leader Dr. Steven R. Chipps used stable isotopes of carbon (¹³C) to study walleye diets in Lake Oahe in 2003. The isotopes helped show changes in prey use and spatial differences across three reservoir zones in Lake Oahe (riverine, transition, lacustrine).

The 2007 Annual Meeting of the Unit’s Coordinating Committee will be held at the South Dakota State University’s Alumni Center on October 23 beginning at 9:30 a.m. Contact Unit Leader Dr. Charles R. Berry, Jr., for details – charles.berry@sdstate.edu or 605-688-6121.

The 59^th annual Buffalo Banquet will be held on October 26, 2007. Tickets cost $15.00. This is the awards banquet for the Department of Wildlife and Fisheries Sciences. Contact Carol Jacobson for details – carol.jacobson@sdstate.edu or 605-688-6121.

Research Finding: Former Assistant Unit Leader Dr. Kenneth F. Higgins, who has a farm in North Dakota, has a history of studying the compatibility of livestock grazing and bird use of the grazed pastures. This was the subject of research by his last two graduate students who recently finished theses. In West River pastures, western willet, upland sandpiper, and marbled godwit preferred large patches of native grasslands that were grazed and intermixed with wetlands. In East River pastures, common birds were chestnut-collared longspur, western meadowlark, grasshopper sparrow, savannah sparrow, ring-necked pheasant, and dabbling ducks. Birds frequently nested in the pastures; nest success depended on pasture size and the surrounding amount of grassland. Higgins formerly reported that 1) grazing intensity of <37 AUMs provides habitat for most species of nongame birds nesting in mixed-grass prairie, 2) livestock weight gain and bird nesting declined as livestock grazing intensity increased, and 3) rotational grazing can be applied for up to 19 years without negative effects.

The Annual Coordinating Committee Meeting of the South Dakota Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit was held on the South Dakota State University (SDSU) campus on October 23. Unit Leader Dr. Charles R. Berry, Jr., and Assistant Unit Leader Dr. Steven R. Chipps presented the following summary of Unit activities in 2007 (also see attached picture pages).

SUMMARY: The Unit staff supervised 16 projects on northern prairie habitats and biota and completed three projects in FY 2007. The Unit produced 14 peer-reviewed publications, one newsletter, one proceedings, one popular publication, 36 scientific presentations, and six technical reports. Fourteen graduate students (10 M.S. and four Ph.D.) were supervised by Unit personnel and three graduate students were supported by Unit funds, but supervised by other faculty. Three students graduated and three received awards. The Unit staff taught two graduate courses in the Department of Wildlife and Fisheries Sciences and presented guest lectures. The staff held or contributed to four workshops. The Unit staff and students provided data, expert opinion, and technical assistance to a variety of groups on 41 occasions.

Happy Holidays

Unit Cooperators

(and everyone else too!)

Notice: The Unit’s Annual Report is available online at

http://wfs.sdstate.edu/wfsdept/CoopUnit/2007%20Annual%20Report/Index.htm.

Copies are available from Unit Leader Chuck Berry.

After reviewing the Annual Report, Rick Nelson, BOR, Bismarck, sent some nice words,

“The data you have collected on our reservoirs is invaluable.

The bang for the buck has been tremendous.”

Research Highlight: Didymosphenia geminata is a diatom that can form extensive, mucilaginous mats on the surface of stream substrates (see figure). Prior to the establishment of D. geminata (‘Didymo’ for short) in Rapid Creek, mean standing stock of brown trout was 136 kg/ha, but was 62.2 kg/ha after. Dipteran abundance was higher at sites with Didymo than in areas without. In contrast, Trichopteran abundance was lower in Didymo areas. The proportion of mayflies, stoneflies, and caddisflies was higher in areas without Didymo, whereas Dipteran composition was higher in areas with Didymo. “The invertebrate changes may explain the lower brown trout biomass after Didymo invasion,” says Assistant Unit Leader Dr. Steven R. Chipps who supervised the invertebrate sampling.

The book titled “History of Fisheries and Fishing in South Dakota” rolled off the presses in December. Twenty-seven authors contributed to this 477-page book, which has 23 chapters that deal about equally with the fishes, the anglers, and the habitat in South Dakota. Habitat chapters cover the Missouri River, warm-water streams, coldwater habitats, natural lakes, small impoundments, and aquatic resources on tribal lands. Fish chapters are about warm water and cold-water fishes, exotic fishes, and rare species. Also presented are chapters on the history of and current situation in fish hatcheries, commercial fisheries, law enforcement, and recreational fisheries management. Notable chapters cover prehistoric fishes, current ichthyofaunal lists by watershed, and evolution of sport fishing, research, and education. The editors offer their predictions for the next 20 years in the last chapter.

Editors are Dr. David Willis, new Department Head of the Department of Wildlife and Fisheries Sciences, South Dakota State University (SDSU), and the three scientists in the South Dakota Coop Unit – Drs Higgins, Chipps, and Berry. The publisher is the South Dakota Department of Game, Fish and Parks (GFP); printer is the SDSU Printing Laboratory.

This indexed book is supported by a literature review of some 1,300 references to South Dakota fishes (available from the Coop Unit in hard copy and searchable database format), and by the many, many years of experiences of the authors. The text is augmented by 82 figures (mostly color), 24 call-out boxes with related subjects, and 34 tables. Limited numbers of the book will be available free from each of the GFP regional offices. The book will be available for sale on the South Dakota Department of Game, Fish and Parks web site for $10.00.

Hydrogen		Oxygen
Isotope	Abundance	Isotope	Abundance
¹H	0.99986	¹⁶O	0.99757
²H	0.00015	¹⁷O	0.00038
		¹⁸O	0.00205