Digital Commons Network^™

Characterizing The Ecology Of Plains (Spilogale Interrupta) And Eastern (Spilogale Putorius) Spotted Skunks: A Systematic Literature Review And Population Assessment In Kansas, Jenell De La Peña

Electronic Theses & Dissertations

The plains spotted skunk (Spilogale interrupta) has recently been recognized as a distinct species from the eastern spotted skunk (Spilogale putorius). While once abundant across the central and eastern United States, both species have experienced population declines, resulting in their review for listing under the Endangered Species Act (1973). In Kansas, the plains spotted skunk has suffered a particularly dramatic decline, the last detection in the state having occurred in 2020. Additionally, due to the recent taxonomic split, many past studies reporting on S. putorius ecology actually describe findings of two species, potentially complicating our understanding …

The Mojave Poppy Bee (Perdita Meconis) And A Primary Plant Host, The Las Vegas Bear Poppy (Arctomecon Californica): Status And Interactions, Sarit Chanprame

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Fall 2023 to Present

The Mojave Desert is one of the most biodiverse places in North America. A harsh environment with many species results in complex relationships between animals and plants. This study focuses on one bee-plant relationship, the Mojave poppy bee, and the Las Vegas Bear Poppy.

The Mojave poppy bee is rare and has only been collected from Las Vegas Bear Poppy, Dwarf Bear Poppy, and a few species of prickly poppies. A 1995 report suggested the bee was a major contributor of pollination for the Las Vegas Bear Poppy in Clark County, Nevada. More recently (2019), their local extinction in southwestern …

The Florida Scrub-Jay, Emily Hill

PANDION: The Osprey Journal of Research and Ideas

Artist Statement

The Florida Scrub-Jay is a digital scientific illustration of Aphelocoma coerulescens, the only native bird species endemic to Florida. This piece celebrates the natural beauty of the Florida scrub-jay and its key features that allow it to thrive in scrub habitats. These habitats are threatened by anthropogenic activity and climate change, leading to the fragmentation, degradation, or eventual loss of these areas. Through this artwork, I hope to emphasize the importance of conservation and inspire viewers to appreciate and protect this bird species.

Every stroke and color choice were carefully considered to accurately depict the bird’s physical attributes. …

Lichens Of Iller Creek: A Checklist For The Iller Creek Unit, A Division Of Dishman Hills Conservation Area, Spokane Valley, Wa, Devin M. Mumey, Giovanna Bishop, Jessica L. Allen

2023 Symposium

The field of biodiversity documentation encompasses a broad range of research including new species discovery and description, compilation of species present in a given area, and investigation of interspecies interaction. In an era of increasingly devastating and rapid environmental change, documenting biodiversity has become increasingly important. Anthropogenic effects on urban-adjacent natural areas are especially significant, as they can cause numerous, often drastic, responses in ecosystems. Our objective here was to document the lichen biodiversity in a large urban-adjacent protected area: the Iller Creek Unit of the Dishman Hills Conservation Area in Spokane Valley, Washington. This unit encompasses a diversity of …

Dna Barcoding Of Springsnails (Mollusca, Gastropoda, Caenogastropoda) Endemic To The Trans-Pecos Region Of Texas (Usa), Kathryn E. Perez, Vanessa Saenz, Natalia Salazar-Lozano, Benjamin F. Schwartz, Benjamin T. Hutchins

Biology Faculty Publications and Presentations

In desert environments, unique communities depend on groundwater from springs, including a diverse radiation of small (<5 >mm) snails found in the desert across the southwestern United States. Nearly all springsnail species are considered critically imperiled with their existence depending on maintenance of spring-flows in regions of declining water availability. Extant, endemic springsnails in the Trans-Pecos region of Texas include one species of Pseudotryonia Hershler, 2001, five nominal Tryonia W. Stimpson, 1865 (Cochliopidae) and seven Pyrgulopsis Call & Pilsbry, 1886 (Hydrobiidae). Four of these are classified as endangered under the US Endangered Species Act. Surveys for springsnails were conducted at …

Population Physiology, Demography, And Genetics Of Side-Blotched Lizards (Uta Stansburiana) Residing In Urban And Natural Environments, Spencer B. Hudson

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Wildlife populations across the globe are poised to lose their natural habitat to urbanization, yet there is limited information on how different species handle living in cities. Animals in urban environments are often susceptible to novel stressors, which can threaten their individual health and population viability. The physiological characteristics of animals, such as those related to metabolic hormones, oxidative stress, and immunity, are expected to be important for survival in this context. If so, animals persisting in urban areas may demonstrate physiological differences from their natural counterparts, perhaps due to evolutionary change. These potential outcomes have been documented in birds …

Monitoring The Effects Of Poultry Waste On Fishes And Macroinvertebrates In The Sabine River, Karley R. Parker

Biology Theses

Freshwater is a vital resource that provides life and sustainability for almost all organisms on Earth. It is important to maintain its health and protect it from emerging pollutants that pose a threat to the organisms that use it. Pollution continues to threaten the well-being of the environment’s freshwater sources all around the world that could lead to damaging effects in the future. The Sabine River is a major freshwater resource in the east Texas and western Louisiana areas that provides a habitat for thousands of organisms as well as other domestic uses for humans. In 2019, a waste discharge …

Genetic Population Structure And Effective Number Of Breeders In Systems Across The Range Of The Gulf Sturgeon, Jacob Zona

Master's Theses

Gulf sturgeon (Acipenser oxyicnhus desotoi) are a large, anadromous fish belonging to an ancient lineage that diverged as early as 400 MYA. Overfishing for meat and caviar during the early 1900’s reduced their range and abundance and continued habitat destruction and mortality have limited their ability to recover, leading to their listing under the Endangered Species Act. This study uses genetic techniques to determine the effective number of breeders for multiple spawning groups of Gulf sturgeon in river systems across their range to set a baseline for tracking reproductive success of the species. Accompanying genetic information relevant to …

Variability In Billfish Vertical Distribution And Fishing Interactions Driven By Environmental Conditions In The Eastern Tropical Pacific Ocean, H. E. Blondin, D. E. Haulsee, Ryan Logan, Mahmood Shivji, E. R. Hoffmayer, J. H. Walker, J. M. Dean, E. L. Hazen, L. B. Crowder

Biology Faculty Articles

Blue marlin (Makaira nigricans) and sailfish (Istiophorus platypterus) are ecologically important predators and valuable species throughout the world’s recreational, commercial, and subsistence fisheries. Comparing multi-species vertical habitat use can inform ecological uncertainties such as inter-species competition, as well as relative vulnerabilities to fishing activities. In this study, we identified key differences in both depth use and which environmental variables drive these selections, which highlights the variability in the catchability both as target species in recreational fisheries and bycatch in commercial fisheries. To understand these two species’ vertical habitat use, we examined depth profiles from 26 sailfish …

Dolphin Behavioral Responses To Uncrewed Aerial Systems As A Function Of Exposure, Height, And Type, Savannah Damiano

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Uncrewed aerial systems (UAS) are becoming a standard tool in the study of cetaceans, however, a comparative assessment of animal responses to UAS has not been established to gauge the most effective systems for cetacean study. We utilized Dolphin Quest Bermuda’s eleven bottlenose dolphins as subjects for such an investigation taking place over five weeks in 2022 and five weeks in 2023. The dolphins were evaluated for investigative behavioral responses to six off-the-shelf UAS types and a custom fixed wing system. Each UAS was flown in decreasing height vertically above the main dolphin lagoon to evaluate dolphin behavioral responses in …

Past And Present Patterns Of Neutral And Adaptive Genetic Diversity In Wild Mandrills (Mandrillus Sphinx), Anna Weber

University of New Orleans Theses and Dissertations

Although primates have fascinated researchers and the public alike for generations, one species that has remained enigmatic is the mandrill (Mandrillus sphinx), a large Cercopithecine monkey endemic to Central Africa. Mandrills are currently in decline due to bushmeat hunting, urbanization, and habitat loss. Neutral and adaptive genetic diversity are important tools for understanding evolutionary history and future viability, since diversity influences a species’ ability to adapt to a changing environment. However, thus far, minimal genetic information has been available for wild mandrills. Because of the dense vegetation in their tropical forest habitat, studying wild mandrills has proven to …

Using Podcasts To Bring National Estuarine Research Reserves Into The Classroom For Grades 6-12, Kaitlyn M. Dirr

Senior Theses

In a typical classroom setting, there are significant challenges to exposing students to concepts related to earth sciences and the environment. These challenges are exacerbated when conveying lessons about geographic areas with limited access, such as oceans and coastlines (Louv, 2010). It is now more important than ever for environmental education to improve and adapt to our changing world. Educators may have the opportunity to bring these subjects to life by using media content such as podcasts to introduce students to new places and the scientists, managers and educators that work in those spaces. In the United States, there exists …

Population Genetics And Morphometrics Of Overwintering Swamp Sparrows (Melospiza Georgiana) At Panola Mountain State Park, Ashley Mcmahon

Graduate Research Showcase

Grassland birds are facing the greatest decline of any bird guild in North America due to widespread loss of grassland habitats. Conservation efforts tend to focus on birds that breed in grasslands, but grassland habitat loss will also negatively affect populations that overwinter in grasslands. Three Swamp Sparrow subspecies (Melospiza georgiana georgiana, M. g. ericrypta, M. g. nigrescens) segregate on at least some of their breeding grounds but may mix on wintering grounds, which often includes grasslands. Philopatric passerines often also segregate by sex on wintering grounds. Thus, loss of overwintering grasslands may disproportionately impact both subspecies and sex, leading …

Increasing Capture Rates Of Grassland Birds Over Thirteen Years Indicates Successful Restoration, Katie Stumpf, Charles Muise

Georgia Journal of Science

Grassland bird populations are being lost at an alarming rate due to human modifications to grassland ecosystems. Grassland restoration has been shown to mitigate population declines for many species that use these habitats at some point in their annual cycles. We examined capture rates of adult, breeding, and hatch-year birds at a restored grassland site in the piedmont of central Georgia to determine whether colonization, breeding success, hatching success, and recruitment processes were impacting populations of grassland birds. We banded birds approximately twice per month from January 2009 through December 2021 at Panola Mountain State Park. Restoration efforts started in …

Chromosome-Length Assembly Of The Baikal Seal (Pusa Sibirica) Genome Reveals A Historically Large Population Prior To Isolation In Lake Baikal, Aliya Yakupova, Andrey Tomarovsky, Azamat Totikov, Violetta R. Beklemisheva, Maria Logacheva, Polina Perelman, Aleksey Komissarov, Pavel Dobrynin, Ksenia Krasheninnikova, Gaik Tamazian, Natalya A. Serdyukova, Michael Rayko, Tatiana Bulyonkova, Nikolay Cherkasov, Vladimir Pylev, Vladimir Peterfeld, Aleksey Penin, Elena Balanovska, Alla L. Lapidus, Dna Zoo Consortium, Stephen James O'Brien, Alexander S. Graphodatsky, Klaus-Peter Koepfli, Sergey Kliver

Biology Faculty Articles

Pusa sibirica, the Baikal seal, is the only extant, exclusively freshwater, pinniped species. The pending issue is, how and when they reached their current habitat—the rift lake Baikal, more than three thousand kilometers away from the Arctic Ocean. To explore the demographic history and genetic diversity of this species, we generated a de novo chromosome-length assembly, and compared it with three closely related marine pinniped species. Multiple whole genome alignment of the four species compared with their karyotypes showed high conservation of chromosomal features, except for three large inversions on chromosome VI. We found the mean heterozygosity of the studied …

Relationship Between Bats And Prairie-Dog (Cynomys Ludovicianus) Colonies In Western Kansas, Mario N. Rodriguez

Master's Theses

Although it is known that prairie dog colonies can increase biodiversity in the areas surrounding them, there is extraordinarily little known about the relationship between bats and black-tailed prairie dogs (Cynomys ludovicianus). In a recent study from the Front Range of Colorado, several bat species were found to be consistently flying around prairie dog colonies, presumably foraging due to increased insect diversity and abundance. Despite the importance of prairie dogs to the ecosystem, prairie dog colonies are usually eradicated due to the perception that they adversely impact cattle grazing. If insectivorous bats are attracted to prairie dog colonies …

Effects Of Solar Arrays On Southwestern Desert Thermal Landscapes: Consequences For Terrestrial Ectotherms, Adrian Slade

All Master's Theses

Solar energy development in the Southwestern United States coincides with habitat for many sensitive and endemic species, including reptiles such as Mojave Fringe-toed Lizards and Mojave Desert Tortoises who are threatened by a warming and drying climate. While utility-scale solar energy reduces carbon emissions and should ultimately benefit climate-sensitive species, it locally destroys fragile desert habitat, displaces wildlife, and has been shown to incur local air and surface temperature changes. Mitigation-based translocation of wildlife species in the face of solar development yields mixed results, and the unprecedented pace of solar expansion in the desert highlights the need for alternative practices …