A Natural Areas Inventory of the - Kansas Natural Heritage Inventory ...

September.
On 8 September, four traplines were placed at locations 5–8 (Figure 3.2):
Location 5: Corner Area. A trapline was placed along the east edge of the road northeast
of Wagner Point. It is an upland, open area with nearby forest.
Location 6: Hancock Hill. A trapline was placed along the east edge of the road in a
prairie remnant.
Location 7: Sherman Army Airfield Area. A trapline was placed along the slope of the
levee just northwest of the air field.
Location 8: McClellan Avenue Area. A trapline was placed along an old field at the
north end of McClellan Avenue and near the top of a hill.
These traplines were checked each morning from 9–12 September and removed 12 September.
Sampling Protocol. The American burying beetle is most active in Nebraska from June–
August; however, one individual was discovered as late as 29 October (Ratcliffe 1996). Most
beetles found in Kansas were encountered from late August to early September, and very little
activity in any member of the genus was evident during mid-summer drought conditions
(Guarisco 1997, 1998). Therefore, trapping at FLMR was begun after the 37.8˚C (100˚F)
temperatures and drought conditions ended in early September. Nighttime low temperatures
during the first trip (2–6 September) were around 14˚C (57˚F) except for the night of 4
September when temperatures were ca 11˚C (52˚F). Temperatures during the second trip were
higher, with low temperatures ranging from 14–22˚C (52–72˚F) during the nights preceding the
four consecutive survey days (9–12 September).
The standard survey protocol outlined in the American burying beetle recovery plan (U.S. Fish
and Wildlife Service 1991) was used with a slight modification recommended by B. Ratcliffe,
the authority on this species in Nebraska. Sampling was conducted by under authority of permit
#TEO43393-0 issued by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and as a subpermittee of the state of
Kansas scientific collecting and salvage wildlife permit.
Traplines consisted of a series of containers (32-oz plastic cups and/or a 2.1-gallon plastic
bucket) placed ca 27 m (30 yd) apart. Rotten chicken and road-killed squirrels were used as bait.
Each container was placed in the ground so that its rim was flush with the soil surface. Aged bait
was placed in an empty film canister and hung inside the containers. The carcass of a fresh,
road-killed squirrel or a carcass that had been collected earlier, frozen, thawed, and allowed to rot
was placed in the bottom of each container. A 30.5-cm (12-in) square piece of chicken wire
(mesh openings ca 2.5 cm diameter) was placed over the trap and anchored at the corners with
rocks. A plywood sun/rain shelter 30.5-cm (12-in) square was placed on top of the rocks and
staked into the ground with two spikes driven through holes in the plywood. A 5-cm (2-in) layer
of soil was placed in the bottom of the trap to help prevent desiccation. Traplines were checked
on the four consecutive mornings following their installation. Captured carrion beetles were
identified using Ratcliffe (1996) and released 0.4–0.8 km (0.25–0.5 mi) away from the trapline.
Traplines at locations 1, 3, and 7 each consisted only of cups; traplines at the remaining locations
each consisted of five cups and a bucket.
Floodplain Bird Communities
NATURAL AREAS INVENTORY OF FT. LEAVENWORTH II 47