As researchers, teachers, and practitioners we often encounter young professionals and lay adults who do not understand basics of mammalian body temperature regulation. Often their single solid piece of knowledge is that some vertebrates (mammals and birds) are warm-blooded and some (fish, amphibians, and reptile) are cold-blooded, which is incorrect. There are many thermal capabilities and regulatory strategies. We provide basics of body temperature regulation, including definitions, its evolution, examples of body temperature variability, unique examples of hibernation and torpor, and we explain how a better understanding benefits individuals in personal and professional lives. We suggest a simple replacement of the warm-blooded paradigm that can be used to inform even young students. As a starting point, students young and old are familiar with species of mammals (e.g., platypus and opossums) that do not maintain as constant or as warm of a body temperature as humans and dogs. Students also know that humans do not maintain a constant body temperature over time (they have a "temperature" when sick) or all part of their body (they have cold hands and feet outside in winter).

This paper presents the results of the application of GPS Visitor Tracking (GVT) to evaluate visitor movements through a heritage site. This method provides temporal and spatial distribution and “heat maps” that depict visitor movements through the site. Documenting these visitor movements indicates to interpreters where to concentrate interpretive efforts and identifies opportunities to strategically encourage visitation to less visited areas of the site. The research team approached 117 travel parties and 106 elected to participate in the study, yielding a 90.6% response rate. Analysis revealed that visitors typically travel in a clockwise direction once they entered the park, stopping at a point of interest then proceeding to the visitor center. However, the density maps revealed that other points of interest were less visited. This information about temporal and spatial distribution of visitors can provide information for creating interpretive programs that people may engage with at the park.

Invasion of riparian habitats by non‐native plants is a global problem that requires an understanding of community‐level responses by native plants and animals. In the Great Plains, resource managers have initiated efforts to control the eastward incursion of Tamarix as a non‐native bottomland plant (Tamarix ramosissima) along the Cimarron River in southwestern Kansas, United States. To understand how native avifauna interact with non‐native plants, we studied the effects of Tamarix removal on riparian bird communities. We compared avian site occupancy of three foraging guilds, abundance of four nesting guilds, and assessed community dynamics with dynamic, multiseason occupancy models across three replicated treatments. Community parameters were estimated for Tamarix‐dominated sites (untreated), Tamarix‐removal sites (treated), and reference sites with native cottonwood sites (Populus deltoides). Estimates of initial occupancy (ψ2006) for the ground‐to‐shrub foraging guild tended to be highest at Tamarix‐dominated sites, while initial occupancy of the upper‐canopy foraging and mid‐canopy foraging guilds were highest in the treated and reference sites, respectively. Estimates of relative abundance for four nesting guilds indicated that the reference habitat supported the highest relative abundance of birds overall, although the untreated habitat had higher abundance of shrub‐nesters than treated or reference habitats. Riparian sites where invasive Tamarix is dominant in the Great Plains can provide nesting habitat for some native bird species, with avian abundance and diversity that are comparable to remnant riparian sites with native vegetation. Moreover, presence of some native vegetation in Tamarix‐dominated and Tamarix‐removal sites may increase abundance of riparian birds such as cavity‐nesters. Overall, our study demonstrates that Tamarix may substitute for native flora in providing nesting habitat for riparian birds at the eastern edge of its North American range.

This exploratory study is a contribution to the body of research on exhibit evaluation. It applied the concept of zones of tolerance to assess the effectiveness of interpretive themes in two exhibits at Dillon Nature Center in Kansas. It also assessed the use of QR codes installed along the Woodard Interpretive Trail, and analyzed visitors’ attitudes toward this technology. Major findings indicate visitor thoughts were within the narrow zone of tolerance for one of the exhibits and outside of that zone of tolerance for the other. QR codes are not widely accepted yet at the center, but visitors’ attitudes towards the technology show potential for future use. Last, it is essential for the nature center to research their visitors’ profile to facilitate better interpretive encounters with their audience. These results, although limited in scope, provide insights to managers and interpreters involved in evaluating the meaning-making process and considering the use of interpretive technologies in their sites.

With Euro-American settlement, conversion of grasslands to cropland, and eradication programs, the black-tailed prairie dog population has been reduced by over 90% in the U.S. Great Plains. In western Kansas' Logan County, a war pits a group of ranchers and environmental organizations which support maintaining prairie dogs for the animals' keystone role in the ecosystem against neighboring ranchers and local officials who poison prairie dogs seen as destroying pasturelands. This paper investigates prairie dog tourism development in this conflicted setting by utilizing two Larrys from Logan County: 1) Larry Haverfield, a rancher who values the animals for their role in creating wildlife habitat and wildlife watching and hunting opportunities; and 2) Larry Farmer, who owns Prairie Dog Town, the county's largest tourist attraction, which is the home to the world's largest (concrete) prairie dog and a captive colony of real-life prairie dogs.

Saltcedar (Tamarix sp.) is a non-native woody invasive species that reduces groundwater supplies. Natural resource agencies and private landowners are seeking to eradicate this exotic species from watersheds in western Kansas, including from along the Cimarron River on the Cimarron National Grasslands. Our research studied the effects of saltcedar eradication on species richness and abundance of avian populations in riparian habitats. Nine, 500-m transects were established. Three were located in areas of dense saltcedar, three were in treated areas where saltcedar had been removed, and three were in areas dominated by cottonwood (Populus deltoides). For four consecutive years (2006–2009), each of the nine transects was walked twice during the typical avian breeding season (22 May to 5 July). The number of individuals for each bird species seen or heard within 50 m of the 500-m transect line was recorded. Twenty-seven bird species were found to be nesting in saltcedar. Saltcedar eradication efforts may negatively impact local populations of these species. Yellow-breasted Chat (Icteria virens), Field Sparrow (Spizella pusilla), and Indigo Bunting (Passerina cyanea) were found only in saltcedar-encroached areas and therefore may be particularly negatively affected by saltcedar removal. The removal of the woody vegetation created more grassland habitat thereby potentially benefiting the seven species of grassland birds found exclusively in the treated areas. Riparian areas dominated by cottonwood had the highest species richness with 36 species found, including 14 species that were found only in these areas. If successful, the current efforts of the US Forest Service (USFS) to establish and maintain cottonwood forest along the Cimarron River likely will result in significantly increased avian species richness.

Symbolic convergence theory posits that groups of like-minded people use linguistic symbols to construct a shared reality and form rhetorical visions (ways of viewing and communicating about an issue). To see how rhetorical visions might help shape public tourism policy, the authors used fantasy theme analysis to examine 206 Kansas newspaper articles dealing with birding, an increasingly popular form of wildlife-based recreation. The authors found a primary, shared rhetorical vision of birders as a potential economic engine for communities, with statistics playing a critical rhetorical function in support of tourism development. Within the vision, there were 3 primary action themes (i.e., visiting nature, doing business, and conserving) carried out or supported by 6 major character themes (or groups) in 3 primary settings (i.e., nature, developed nature centers, and birding hotspots or destinations). Action and character themes were closely related and money played an important unifying role among all 3 categories of themes. Overlap in character roles may be crucial in spreading the rhetorical vision.

The black-tailed prairie dog is a keystone species of the North American short-grass prairie, large parts of which are devoted to cattle ranching. However, the prairie dog population has been dramatically reduced by eradication programs developed in response to the animals' competition for, and consumption of, grasses that would otherwise feed cattle and to the long-held belief that their burrows pose a threat to livestock. This article will discuss the important role the black-tailed prairie dog plays in biodiversity as ecosystem engineer and prey as well as in the natural and cultural heritage and economy of the short-grass prairie, which has been dramatically transformed by Euro-American settlement. It will focus on the case study involving a group of ranchers in western Kansas' Logan County whose alternative land management practices include rotation grazing and maintaining prairie dogs for the animals' role in supporting other wildlife, despite fierce opposition by neighboring ranchers and government officials, These ranchers' lands provide opportunities for wildlife watching and tourism centered on the prairie dogs and their predators such as the endangered and recently reintroduced black-footed ferret.

Journal of Environmental QualityVolume 35, Issue 3 p. 950-950 Book Review National Parks Protected Areas: Approaches for Balancing Social, Economic, and Ecological Values Ted T. Cable, Corresponding Author Ted T. Cable tcable@ksu.edu Department of Horticulture, Forestry and Recreation Resources, 2021 Throckmorton Hall, Kansas State University, Manhattan, KS, 66506(tcable@ksu.edu)Search for more papers by this author Ted T. Cable, Corresponding Author Ted T. Cable tcable@ksu.edu Department of Horticulture, Forestry and Recreation Resources, 2021 Throckmorton Hall, Kansas State University, Manhattan, KS, 66506(tcable@ksu.edu)Search for more papers by this author First published: 01 May 2006 https://doi.org/10.2134/jeq2006.0002brRead the full textAboutPDF ToolsRequest permissionExport citationAdd to favoritesTrack citation ShareShare Give accessShare full text accessShare full-text accessPlease review our Terms and Conditions of Use and check box below to share full-text version of article.I have read and accept the Wiley Online Library Terms and Conditions of UseShareable LinkUse the link below to share a full-text version of this article with your friends and colleagues. Learn more.Copy URL Share a linkShare onFacebookTwitterLinked InRedditWechat No abstract is available for this article. Volume35, Issue3May 2006Pages 950-950 RelatedInformation

Although the concept of authenticity has received considerable attention in tourism literature, it has received little in interpretation literature despite its importance to practitioners and administrators involved in planning, marketing, and managing interpretive sites. Interpreters may seek to provide authentic experiences at their sites regardless of whether they are interpreting natural resources or cultural heritage. However, many interpreters may not realize that what constitutes an authentic experience for visitors is difficult to define and that authenticity is a complex concept. A framework showing three key types of authenticity—the objective, the constructed, and the personal—can be applied to interpretive sites. Doing so can help interpretation researchers and practitioners understand the indicators of authentic experiences and to provide authentic interpretive experiences to visitors. In exploring the varying meanings of authenticity for interpretation, we also expand prior analyses of such variation to little-examined issues such as birding, hiking, or other outdoor recreation.

Playa wetlands contribute to the biological diversity of the southern Great Plains, yet many are modified by current farming practices. We surveyed 12 farmed playa wetlands from 1998–99 to (1) document seasonal avian use of these habitats and (2) assess the performance of two rapid assessment techniques, the Habitat Assessment Technique and the Wetland Evaluation Technique. Thirty-six bird species were observed on farmed playa wetlands, 42% of which are dependent on wetland habitats. In contrast, only 5 species were observed on upland reference sites in 1999, and none were dependent on wetlands. Collectively, both rapid assessment techniques rated farmed playa wetlands as poor habitats because of the physical characteristics of study sites. Based on field observations and published work, we conclude that farmed playa wetlands provide habitat for many avian species and the rapid assessment techniques examined are unsuitable for assessing playa wetlands as avian habitat in Kansas.

Many features appear to influence avian nest success, and nest concealment and distance to habitat edge are among the most influential. We placed simulated bird nests baited with House Sparrow (Passer domesticus) eggs in two riparian grasslands to document the influence of these two habitat characteristics on nest depredation rates. Over three trials, 49% of nests (n = 105) were depredated with a mean daily survival rate of 0.908 (± 0.012 SE). Side and overhead concealment of depredated and undisturbed nests did not differ in any consistent manner, and logistic regression models indicated that nest fate was not influenced by the amount of vegetative concealment surrounding a nest. Depredated simulated nests were closer to habitat edges than undisturbed nests during only one of three trials, suggesting nest depredation was not strongly influenced by habitat edges. Our results indicate that in simulated grassland bird nests baited with sparrow eggs, concealment may be more influential on nest fate than distance to habitat edges. We recommend that future studies of simulated songbird nests use songbird-sized eggs to insure that the potential suite of nest predators is sampled by simulated nests.

Riparian areas provide many public benefits related to water quality and biodiversity, yet in Kansas they occur almost exclusively on private agricultural land. Kansas agricultural producers were surveyed (n = 909, response rate = 39%) to assess their beliefs about riparian lands and wildlife conservation on private lands. Agricultural producers play a crucial role in conserving riparian areas. Even when presented with various compensation options, producers were ambivalent at best about adopting conservation measures such as fencing their riparian lands. Fencing was generally not used to prohibit cattle from entering the streambed, and nearly all of the agricultural producers (97%) did not plan to fence their streamside land. Two-thirds of these individuals were concerned about fence maintenance after flooding and partitioning of large tracts into smaller, less accessible parcels. The remaining one-third would fence their land if the costs of fencing (materials, labor), an alternative water supply, and a tax refund were paid by a conservation program. Most (93%), however, had not enrolled their streamside land in a conservation program within the last 3 years. About 40% of the producers had set aside land (51 acres on average) specifically to help wildlife such as quail (97%), deer (84%), pheasants (82%), songbirds (72%), and turkey (72%). Preserving wildlife for future generations (56%) and watching wildlife (52%) were “extremely important” motivations in decisions to idle land. Nearly two-thirds of those who did not set aside land for wildlife were concerned about trespassing. Only 20% of the landowners would sign a 10-year lease at current rental values to set aside their riparian land for wildlife. About three-fourths (74%) of the respondents were unwilling to lease land for

Private not-for-profit organizations have partnered with government agencies to promote wildlife management. The National Wild Turkey Federation (NWTF), for example, promotes the conservation of the wild turkey and the preservation of the hunting heritage. NWTF works with state and provincial wildlife agencies and provides an opportunity for agencies to contact NWTF members and other constituents regarding management programs. To effectively use this feedback