1 4630 N. Hillcrest, Wichita Kansas 67220.
2 Department of Biological Sciences, Wichita State University,
Wichita, Kansas 67208.
Vertebrates from the Fort Hays Limestone Member (uppermost Turonian?-Middle Coniacian) of the Upper Cretaceous Niobrara Chalk in Kansas are poorly known. Six selachian taxa from the member in Ellis County, Kansas, are described herein: Ptychodus mortoni, cf. Scapanorhynchus sp., Cretolamna appendiculata, Cretoxyrhina mantelli, Paranomotodon sp., and Squalicorax falcatus. These selachians probably occupied the highest positions in the food chain during the maximum invasion of the Niobrara sea. Because the gradationally overlying Smoky Hill Chalk contains a rich vertebrate fauna, including P. mortoni, C. appenidculata, C. mantelli, and S. falcatus, other fossil vertebrates may eventually be discovered in the Fort Hays Limestone.
Vertebrate paleontologists generally consider lungfish such as
Gnathorhiza and amphibians to be indicators of late Paleozoic
freshwater environments. However, Gnathorhiza occurs in burrows in
association with amphibians in localized blocky, rooted, and mudcracked
depostis interpreted to be of ephemeral lacustrine origin within the
Speiser Shale (Wolfcampian, Permian) as well as in estuarine (Hamilton
quarry, Virgilian, Pennsylvanian) and marine (Bern Limestone, Virgilian,
Pennsylvanian) settings leading a minority of paleontologists to consider
these taxa as euryhaline forms.
Stratigraphic data indicate, however, that articulated Hamilton vertebrates
occur only within the neap (fresher) part of tidal cycles within the dry
parts of years. Sedimentological data from the Robinson locality likewise
are consistent with alternate periods of freshwater and marine influence,
perhaps wet and dry seasons. Stratigraphic distribution of vertebrate taxa
from these localities therefore may indicate specific paleoenvironmental
requirements on the part of organisms within coastal areas subject to
seasonal variation in salinity, rather than a tolerance for variable
salinity.
We collected 13 species of fishes at 10 sites in Rattlesnake Creek in
Edwards, Stafford, and Rice counties, Kansas, during October 1993. In
August 1995, a crew from Kansas Department of Wildlife and Parks sampled
one site in Stafford County and captured 11 species. Historical
collections in this stream included Arkansas darters (Etheostoma
cragini), a threatened species in Kansas. None were taken in 1993, but
they were captured in 1995. The alluvial aquifer of the lower reach of the
stream is in contact with a geological formation that contributes chlorides
to the surface water. Chloride values in October 1993 ranged from 10-39
mg/L in the upper portion of the creek to a maximum of 3140 mg/L in the
lower reach. Concurrent with this change in water quality, a transition
was noted in the fish communities from those dominated by adult red shiners
(Cyprinella lutrensis) or juvenile common carp (Cyprinus
carpio) in the upper reach to those dominated by adult plains killifish
(Fundulus zebrinus) in the lower reach.
A partial centrum, belonging to the extinct reptilian order Ichthyosauria,
from the Kiowa Shale (Lower Cretaceous: Upper Albian) of Kansas, is
described formally for the first time. The specimen tentatively is
referred to Platypterygius sp. Although paleoecology of the Kiowa
vertebrate fauna remains poorly understood, the specimen described herein
is important for providing a record of a relatively large ichthyosaur in
the Kiowa fauna.
The Kamlet-Taft dipolarity (phi*) values were determined for the
complete mole fraction range for the binary solvent, ethanol:methanol, at
25°C. Both dipolarity and hydrogen bond donor acidity shift linearly
with mole fraction for the solvent mixtures in a manner consistent with a
model for their liquid structures in which each component shares a common
unit structure. Comparisons between dipolarities (phi*) and
longitudinal solvent relaxation times (TL) indicate a detectable
"family dependence" for the latter in the role of the hydrogen bond donor
alkanols as media for rapid electron transfer reactions.
Death certificate data were used to analyze the cancer mortality
experiences of 3022 white male Kansas farmers for the period 1983-1989.
Farmers were determined to be at reduced risk of death for overall cancer
and lung cancer, whereas they were at increased risk of death for
non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, leukemia, and cancers of the prostate and brain.
Results generally are consistent with findings of previous research
undertaken in the U.S. and other industrialized countries. Implications of
the results are briefly discussed.
The complexities involved in the creation, publication, distribution, and
access to scientific information has become a daunting maze for the science
researcher. Just as scientists have made many changes in how they work
with this explosion of information, libraries also are reevaluating their
mode of operation. Libraries are looking for improved ways to assist the
scientific information user within the rapidly expanding information
environment.
The westward expansion of the emerging American nation nourished an interest not only in the
political destiny of these unexplored and unsettled lands but also in the flora, fauna, peoples,
and topography of these regions. Thomas Jefferson (1743-1826) was the catalyst for initiating
the exploration of the lands beyond the Mississippi River and for ordering the initial scientific
reconnaissance of this area. Jefferson's dreams of learning more about the continent's western
lands were finally fulfilled by the success of Meriwether Lewis (1774-1809) and the Corps of
Discovery (Lewis and Clark Expedition). Meriwether Lewis was charged by Jefferson with
making the principal scientific observations, and ultimately he commented upon more than 250
species of western animals, 100 of which were new to science. Lewis' observations were the
first sustained investigation of the fauna of the American West.
The historic period brought vast changes to the Great Plains landscape. This paper addresses
three aspects of change and persistence in the native landscape. It argues that a major vegetation
shift, from predominantly short grass to primarily mixed grass communities, occurred over a vast
region as a result of the hunting out of bison herds. It also points to evidence that some
hardwood forest communities have survived more or less intact in regions where there has been
a significant change in the forest-grassland boundary as a result of the suppression of wildfires.
Finally, it argues that Native American trails exercised strong but generally unrecognized
influence on the early Euro-American history of the region.
A series of maps depicting the geology of Kansas from 1809 to 1896 are discussed in relation to
the changing ideas on distribution of stratigraphic units in the State. The 1809 US map by
William Maclure uses A.G. Werner's classification and extends to southeastern Kansas. The
series of geologic maps goes through a sequence of Wernerian, Lyellian, The Great
Reconnaissance, The Western Surveys, Kansas' Own, and U.S. Geological Survey maps, to the
map of Erasmus Haworth in 1896, which may be considered the first "modern" representation
and the basis for the 20th century maps. The maps represent all or parts of Kansas depending on
the original intent of the map and availability of information. The earliest maps are
hand-colored; later ones are color printed. Rock units recognized in the different compilations
include the Lower Carboniferous (=Mississippian), Coal Measures (=Desmoinesian), Upper
Carboniferous (=Missourian and Virgilian), Permian, Cretaceous, Tertiary, and Alluvial deposits.
The first geological survey of Kansas of B.F. Mudge in 1864 and the second of G.C. Swallow in
1865 did not result in published maps, but Mudge later published the first map of the State in
color in 1875. With establishment of a permanent geological survey in 1889, the state survey has
published a series of revised and improved maps, the latest edition being that of 1991.
The Kansas Academy of Sciences is one of the oldest state science academies and as such has
served as an important publication outlet for geoscientists. From 1868 to 1879 meeting
presentations and Transactions of the Kansas Academy of Science (TKAS) papers were
dominated by reports from geoscientists. Many of the critical geological papers describing the
geology of Kansas first were presented at the annual meeting or published in the TKAS. During
these first 12 years of the Academy, 105 geology papers or convocations were presented; 16 of
these were in the area of general geolgoy wheras 14 talks centered on paleontology. Eleven
paleontology and nine general geology papers were among the 60 geology publications during
the same time period. Prof. B. F. Mudge led the geologists with 26 presentations and 10 papers.
This early era of the Academy ended on 21 November 1879, with the death of Mudge.
Geologic exploration in western Kansas in the early part of the 19th century was general, being
performed as part of government surveys led by military officers such as Zebulon M. Pike,
Stephen F. Long, John C. Fremont, and others. These surveys began in 1806 and occurred
irregularly until the late 1850's. Subsequent to the Civil War, surveys were undertaken by
parties interested in a transcontinental railroad and the State of Kansas funded two surveys,
the latter adding little new data regarding the western part of the state. Discoveries of fossils
in the chalk, especially vertebrates, drew the attention of paleontologists such as E.D. Cope and
O.C. Marsh, who led or supported field parties in the chalk beds through much of the 1870's.
Appointments of geologists to the faculty of the various colleges and to the State Board of
Agriculture led to additional studies in the western part of the state. With the formation of
the third State or University Geological Survey in 1889, systematic studies of the geology and
natural resources of the state began. As the 19th century drew to a close, a better understanding
of the geology of western Kansas began to emerge.
George Clinton Swallow (1817-1899) was educated at Bowdoin College, becoming professor of
chemistry and natural sciences, University of Missouri in 1852, and later Missouri State
Geologist, 1853-1861, introducing the New York nomenclature. In Kansas, he was State
Geologist, 1865-1866. He underwent a change of career, acquiring an M.D. and engaging in
mining operations in Montana, 1867-1870, before returning to Missouri, where he was Dean of
Agriculture, 1870-1882, and taught at the medical school. On being dismissed after a dispute
with the President, he went back to Montana, 1882-1890, where he was a newspaper editor and
state inspector of mines. Accused of disloyalty during the Civil War, he was jailed twice in
1862. After F.B. Meek charged him in 1858 with stealing credit for being the first to recognize
Permian fossils in North America, there ensued a long controversy over the Permian in Kansas.
B.F. Mudge claimed that Swallow unscrupulously appropriated his work and his job as Kansas
State Geologist in 1865. It was alleged by Charles R. Keyes that Swallow's work was ignored
by geologists of the Kansas Survey (e.g., Erasmus Haworth).
Sustainable agriculture may include hairy vetch (Vicia villosa) and sweet clover
(Melilotus officinalis) as cover crops. Seeds produced by these two plants are
thought to be good food for wildlife, but are not abundant in crop contents of nothern
bobwhites (Colinus virginianus). To determine if the seeds were acceptable to
birds, we compared their consumption by birds to that of foxtail (Setaria glauca),
a preferred food of granivorous birds. Seed consumption was determined in feeding trials
using three species of granivorous birds. Neither seeds of hairy vetch nor sweet clover
were as acceptable as foxtail seeds to northern bobwhites, dark-eyed juncos (Junco
hyemalis), or Harris' sparrows (Zonotrichia querala). Bobwhites consumed
>12 g/day of foxtail seed compared to <3 g/day of vetch or clover seed; sparrows and
juncos consumed 5-6 g/day of foxtail seed compared to <1 g/day of vetch or clover seed.
No obvious relationship between beak size, seed size, and seed consumption was apparent.
The genus Trichosarcina Nichols and Bold is shown to be synonymous with the genus
Filoprotococcus Kufferath. The genus Filoprotococcus now containes two species:
F. enteromorphoides and F. polymorphum (=T. polymorpha). The genus
Jaagiella Vischer is recognized. Collections of F. enteromorphoides were made
in the vicinity of Lawrence, Kansas.
Collections of fishes in the Neosho River Basin in Kansas included eleven county records and
provided new information on the distribution of nine fish species and one hybrid darter in the
state. The occurrence of Catostomus commersoni in Cherokee County was verified and a
range extension for Etheostoma whipplei in the United States was documented. Fishes
were collected in the summer of 1995 during a survey of the basin's tributary streams conducted
by the Kansas Department of Wildlife and Parks.
The IR absorption band position for the fundamental stretching mode of the carbonyl group
in acetone was measured in twenty-three solvents using FTIR spectral methods. Eight of the
solvents were hydrogen bond donor liquids. A quantitative reaction field model for the
solvent-induced band shift is proposed which resolves the C=O frequency perturbation into a
solvent polarity effect and a hydrogen bond donor acidity effect. That model reproduces the
carbonyl band position within ±0.2 cm-1 in both aprotic and hydrogen bonding
solvents by incorporating the appropriate Kamlet-Taft solvent parameters as the essential
descriptors.
Data for Kansas males (20 years of age and older) diagnosed with cancer between the years 1980
and 1990 were retrieved from the University of Kansas Cancer Data Service (UKCDS). Analysis
of these data consisted of several case-control studies to determine the cancer morbidity risks of
farmers. Results suggest that Kansas farmers were at increased risk of incidence for non-Hodgkin's lymphoma; Hodgkin's disease; multiple myeloma; leukemia; and cancers of the lip,
bone and connective tissues, prostate, brain, and skin. Implications of the findings are briefly
discussed.
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