life NATION 5A LION \ riALION ippor- :i!ing tore ) :o the led does and igled with 'en Me THE BATTALION Tuesday, February 17, 2004 Biologists find cows make good company with some rare critters By Juliana Barbassa THE ASSOCIATED PRESS GALT, Calif. — Fairy shrimp, lkrare tiger salamander, the soli tary bee—rare critters that live in seasonal rainwater pools in California’s grasslands — may rtually benefit from having large, leavy-footed cattle grazing iroiind their habitat. Several biologists looking josely at what happens in these itmal pools say the diversity of lie ephemeral fauna and tlora in le water increases when cows teep weedy non-native grasses ■ler control. "The plants and the shrimp it very delicate, but it works,” jidJaymee Marty, an ecologist tileCosumnes River Preserve, ilich was created to prevent (utter development along the only undammed river that flows tel the Sierra Nevada into California's Central Valley. When cows munch on the reive Mediteranean grasses iialblanket the surrounding hills, ml pool natives like the frothy ie Meadowfoam and the tiny flow Goldfields are more likely ibloom, Marty said. She surrounded 72 pools with ttarified wire and alternated pods of grazing for three [ears. In cow-free areas, a thick Igleofgrass grew five feet tall. obscuring the ground. “The only thing that can grow in this situa tion is more grass,” Marty said. The 40,000-acre preserve just south of Sacramento is operated by the Nature Conservancy together with other environmental groups such as Ducks Unlimited, as well as the U.S. Bureau of Land Management and the California Department of Fish and Game. Its mission is to preserve the stream- side habitat and restore wetlands while demonstrating the compati bility of human uses, including ranching, with wildlife. The plants and the shrimp are very delicate, but it works. — jaymee Marty ecologist at the Consumnes River Preserve Marty’s observations, which she plans to submit to peer- reviewed journals, suggest that a partnership of ranchers and environmentalists — of cows and fairy shrimp — might be just what’s needed to protect such seasonal pools. Similar evidence has been gathered by Joe Silveira, a wildlife biologist working for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service at ’the Sacramento National Wildlife Refuge Complex in Willows. When cattle there were removed to manage water routes, the diversity of fauna found in a twice-monthly count went down. And it wasn’t just the little guys — the tadpole shrimp and the salamanders — that disap peared. The removal rippled all the way up the food chain. Silveira found fewer ducks, Sandhill cranes and Canada geese, and less waterfowl also meant fewer bald eagles. The rare creatures found in the short-lived ponds are adapted to a unique regimen. The area floods completely in the winter, sprout ing seeds, hatching salamander eggs and opening the cysts that hold the shrimp’s eggs. Marty found that cattle prefer eating imported grass over lower- lying native vegetation, clearing space for the native plants to sprout and preserving the water. Fast- growing grasses can suck up water like straws, drying up pools too quickly for the tiger salamander, an endangered animal that needs at least 90 days in a deep pool to lay its eggs and prepare for the dry season. Ponds in grazed areas lasted an average of 105 days, Marty found. Those in areas where cat tle were removed only lasted about 45 days. NEWS IN BRIEF Republicans, Democrats turn to Web videos to get messages for support out WASHINGTON (AP) — President Bush and Democratic front-runner John Kerry are engaged ii a high-tech political showdown that combines le targeting power of direct mail with the glossy appearance of a television commercial. Thelormat is a Web video message e-mailed tomifensof the Democratic and Republican raitad-file. Is animated direct mail," said Michael Cornfield, research director of the Institute for Politics, Democracy and the Internet at George Washington University. “It’s meant to mobilize supporters, raise money and create buzz.” Thanks to advances in technology, campaigns are making widespread use of Web videos that are quicker To produce and cheaper to distribute than direct-mail literature sent to voters’ homes or television commercials. And unlike those TV ads, the videos that appear on the Internet face none of the content regulations of the 2002 campaign finance law, including the state ment by the candidate of “I approved this ad." iilt i r nrique i dit to ;nts of /one 'place gh it. Texas ing nas Istop ladto . said. :ntur- ' their i had a oser ‘We st. I’m ¥ KB i fret Mini As an engineer in the U.S. Air Force, there’s no telling what j/ou’ll work on. (Seriously, we can’t tell you.) United States Air Force applied technology is years ahead of what you’ll touch in the private sector, and as a new engineer you'll likely be involved at the ground level of new and sometimes classified developments. You’ll begin leading and managing within this highly respected group from day one. Find out what’s waiting behind the scenes for you in the Air Force today. To request more information, call 1-800-423-USAF or log on to airforce.com. U.S.AIR FORCE CROSS INTO THE BLUE U£e coH-PustHfl? Even * c l|