Nebraska Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit—USGS: REPORT OF ACTIVITIES October 2009 – October 2010

CONTENTS INTRODUCTION .. 1 PERSONNEL AND COOPERATORS .. 2 Unit Personnel .. 2 Coordinating Committee Members . 4 Cooperators .. 5 MILESTONES .. 8 GOLDEN PILLAR AWARD .. 9 AWARDS AND RECOGNITIONS .. 11 THESES AND DISERTATIONS .. 11 OUTREACH ACTIVITIES .. 12 RESEARCH PROJECTS.. 13 Angler Behavior in Response to Management Actions on Nebraska Reservoirs . 14 Assessing Local and Landscape Constraints on Habitat Management of Upland Birds . 16 Assessing the Relationship between Stable Isotopes and Grassland Bird Productivity on Great Plains National Park Service Properties .. 17 Avian Conservation in the Prairie Pothole Region: Understanding the Links Between Climate, Ecosystem Processes, Wetland Management, and Bird Communities. 18 Cross–Scale Structure and Scale Breaks in Complex Systems . 19 The Effect of Common Reed on River Otter Habitat Use . 20 Estimating North American River Otter (Lontra Canadensis) Population Size Using DNA from Scat . 21 Making Adaptive Management Meaningful: Translating Science Learning into Policy Decision-Making. 22 Missouri River Mitigation: Implementation and Adaptive Management for Wetland Restoration Evaluation . 23 Monitoring, Mapping and Risk Assessment for Non-Indigenous Invasive Species in Nebraska . 24 Monitoring, Mapping, Risk Assessment and Management of Invasive Species in Nebraska . 25 Platte River Watershed Ecosystems Services on Native and Restored Grasslands. 26 Population Assessment of Channel Catfish in Nebraska . 27 Recruitment of Walleye and White Bass in Irrigation Reservoirs . 28 The Relationship between Diversity and Ecological Functions . 29 River Otter Home Range and Habitat Use . 30 Scenarios of Climate Change and Land Use Change and Biological Invasions in the High Plains . 31 Southeast Prairies BUL and Sandstone Prairies BUL Research . 32 Wetland Condition Assessment . 33 OTHER AFFILIATED RESEARCH PROJECTS . 34 Quantifying Uncertainty in Missouri River Adaptive Management Processes . 34 Total Vegetation Control on Sandbars along the Missouri River Utilizing Lime and Herbicides . 35 USGS Subsurface Investigation for Eolin and Interdune Deposits near Crescent Lake National Wildlife Refuge . 35 PROFESSIONAL ACTIVITIES .. 36 Teaching .. 36 Training, Workshops and Outreach Activities . 36 Peer-Reviewed Publications .. 37 Presentations at Scientific Meetings . 39 Graduate Committee Service.. 42 Professional and Faculty Service . 4