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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."
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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<mp*ss vieeAs Vke NerFk Pole.
Jesus said, “I am the light of the world; he who follows
Me shall not walk in the darkness, but will have the light of life.”
John 8:12.
And now here’s the really good news:
God is reaching out to men and women through His son, Jesus Christ.
To find out more about God’s relevance in your life,
We encourage you to read this free article by Josh McDowell:
Does Christianity Work?
www.leaderu.com/everystudent/josh/josh.html
CHRISTIAH FACULTY
We are a group of professors, instructors, lecturers, and administrators united by our common experience that Jesus Christ
provides intellectually and spiritually satisfying answers to life’s most important questions. We are available to students,
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please contact Dr. Murphy Smith 5-3108, Dr. Steve Crouse 5-3997, or Dr. Lee Lowry 5-4395. The Christian Faculty Web
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