Peter E. Scott

• Indiana State University

Perennial plants of desert regions can be categorized as short-, moderate-, or long-lived. For long-lived species, the typical range of adult life spans is often poorly known, as well as how reproductive effort is apportioned across years. Ocotillo (Fouquieria splendens), a large shrub of the Chihuahuan and Sonoran Deserts, is considered long-lived...

Given bees' central effect on vegetation communities, it is important to understand how and why bee distributions vary across ecological gradients. We examined how plant community composition, plant diversity, nesting suitability, canopy cover, land use, and fire history affected bee distribution across an open-forest gradient in northwest Indiana,...

We studied Mexican spotted owl (Strix occidentalis lucida) diets and the relative abundance and habitat associations of major prey species in a ponderosa pine (Pinus ponderosa)–Gambel oak (Quercus gambelii) forest in north-central Arizona, USA, from 1990 to 1993. The owl's diet was comprised of 94% mammals by biomass and consisted of primarily the...

El agave Palmer (Agave palmeri), una planta prominente en las planicies semidesérticas de Arizona, Nuevo México y del noroeste de México, comparte su distribución geográfica con especies migratorias de murciélagos nectarívoros y presenta características florales que indican la polinización por murciélagos. Sin embargo, observaciones previas sugiere...

Present methods of surface coal-mine reclamation in the Midwest produce large grasslands, some of which exceed 2,000 ha in extent. Total “mine grassland” production in southwestern Indiana alone is well in excess of 70 square miles (180 km2). Our work in 19 reclaimed coal mines in southwestern Indiana indicates that mine grasslands harbor many Hens...

Background/Question/Methods Concern over possible global pollinator declines has increased the need to understand the ecology of native bees. Across twenty-five sites at Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore and surrounding natural areas in northwest Indiana, we examined how plant diversity, availability of nesting resources, woody vegetation density,...

Carpenter bees ( Xylocopa californica arizonensis ) in west Texas, U.S.A., gather pollen and ‘rob’ nectar from flowers of ocotillo ( Fouquieria splendens ). When common, carpenter bees are an effective pollen vector for ocotillo. We examined ocotillo's importance as a food source for carpenter bees. The visitation rate of carpenter bees to ocotillo...

The largest grasslands in Indiana and Illinois are on reclaimed surface coal mines, which are numerous in the Illinois Coal Basin. The reclamation goal of establishing a vegetation cover with inexpensive, hardy exotic grass species (e.g., tall fescue, smooth brome) inadvertently created persistent, large grassland bird refuges. We review research d...

Reclamation of surface coal mines in the midwestern United States has produced large grasslands, which support both obligate and facultative grassland birds. We sought to characterize vegetation and determine whether birds breeding in these habitats responded to vegetation as they do in other kinds of grasslands. We measured vegetation characterist...

We studied the breeding bird communities of 19 reclaimed surface coal-mine grasslands in southwestern Indiana in 1997–1998, using roadside point counts and off-road transects. The mine grasslands in this study were large, ranging from 110 to 3180 ha in area (median, 590 ha). Although dominated by a few Eurasian grass species, they supported diverse...

Nicotiana attenuata, an herbaceous annual plant of disturbed sites in cold deserts Of Western North America, has traits that suggest adaptation for hawkmoth (Sphingidae, e.g., Hyles lineata or Manduca spp.) pollination, The tubular flowers are white and open fully at night and twilight, often closing by midday. Nectar is produced between dusk and c...

Two sympatric Delphinium species, D. barbeyi and D. nuttallianum, are ecologically and morphologically similar. However, D. barbeyi has multiple, large inflorescences while D. nuttallianum has a single, small inflorescence. These differences in floral display should result in greater intraplant pollen transfer in D. barbeyi, leading to higher rates...

Present methods of surface coal-mine reclamation in the Midwest produce large grasslands, some of which exceed 2,000 ha in extent. Total “mine grassland” production in southwestern Indiana alone is well in excess of 70 square miles (180 km2). Our work in 19 reclaimed coal mines in southwestern Indiana indicates that mine grasslands harbor many Hens...

Red-flowered, tubular Penstemon barbatus and Penstemon pinifolius, which have probably adapted independently to hummingbird pollinators, coflower on recently burned high-elevation slopes in the Chiricahua Mountains in Arizona. Hummingbirds visit both species but visit P. barbatus at a higher rate. We compared several traits and asked whether the sp...

We studied the pollination effectiveness of hummingbirds and bees, and the breeding system and nectar production rate of Penstemon pseudospectabilis M. E. Jones in the Chiricahua Mountains, Arizona. With pink rather than red flowers, a corolla tube as long as a hummingbird bill but wide enough to admit bees, and hummingbird-typical nectar sugar com...

We evaluated the ability of discriminant analysis (DA), logistic regression (LR), and multiple regression (MR) to describe habitat use by amphibians, reptiles, and small mammals found in California oak woodlands. We also compared models derived from pitfall and live trapping data for several species. Habitat relations modeled by DA and LR produced...

Carpenter bees Xylocopa californica arizonensis in W Texas, gather pollen and "rob' nectar from flowers of ocotillo Fouquieria splendens. When common, carpenter bees are an effective pollen vector for ocotillo. The visitation rate of carpenter bees to ocotillo flowers in 1988 averaged 0.51 visits/flower/h and was four times greater than that of que...

Double-toothed kite Harpagus bidentatus, gray-headed tanager Eucometis pencillata and tawny-winged woodcreeper Dendrocincla anabatina forage in association with squirrel monkey Saimiri oerstedi troops in Parque Nacional Corcovado throughout the year. These species and other occasional attendants fed on arthropods and small vertebrates flushed by th...

Clutches of 4 eggs accounted for 64-73% of all clutches laid in 3 yr by a population of Turquoise-browed Motmots (Eumomota superciliosa) in Yucatán, Mexico. The consistently high frequency of 4-egg clutches was associated with only a slight advantage in fledging success relative to clutches of 3 eggs, which ranged in frequency from 11% to 33%. Diff...

The reproductive biology of the Turquoise-browed Motmot (Eumomota superciliosa) was studied at five sites in Yucatan, Mexico, during 1980, 1981, and 1982. Pairs of E. superciliosa reared their young within beam-socket recesses in the walls of archaeological ruins. This novel situation facilitated the gathering of data, previously unpublished for E....

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, 1989. Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 66-74). Abstract.