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Projected Climate Change Effects On Nuthatch Distribution And Diversity Across Asia, Shaily Menon, M. Zafar-Ul Islam, A. Townsend Peterson

Shaily Menon

We used ecological niche modeling approaches to explore climate change implications for one family of birds, the Sittidae, in Asia. Quantitative niche models based on present-day distributions for each of 13 species were projected onto future climate change scenarios. Species’ potential distributional areas tended to be predicted to retract along their fringes, and at lower elevations along mountain ranges. As observed in other studies, montane systems were relatively more robust to the horizontal effects of climate change on species’ distributions compared to flatland systems, so range contractions were focused in Southeast Asia and peninsular India.

Projected Climate Change Effects On Nuthatch Distribution And Diversity Across Asia, Shaily Menon, M. Zafar-Ul Islam, A. Townsend Peterson

Peer Reviewed Publications

We used ecological niche modeling approaches to explore climate change implications for one family of birds, the Sittidae, in Asia. Quantitative niche models based on present-day distributions for each of 13 species were projected onto future climate change scenarios. Species’ potential distributional areas tended to be predicted to retract along their fringes, and at lower elevations along mountain ranges. As observed in other studies, montane systems were relatively more robust to the horizontal effects of climate change on species’ distributions compared to flatland systems, so range contractions were focused in Southeast Asia and peninsular India.

Liana Communities In Three Tropical Forest Types In Xishuangbanna, South-West China, Zhi-Quan Cai, Stefan A. Schnitzer, Yu-Long Zheng, Frans Bongers

Biological Sciences Faculty Research and Publications

Lianas are an important growth form in tropical forests around the world. However, they are relatively unknown in south-east Asia. We identified, measured and determined the climbing and dispersal modes for lianas in five 0.1-ha plots in three common forest types at the tropical-temperate transitional zone in Xishuangbanna, SW China, namely, montane forest, evergreen broad-leaved forest and seasonally wet forest. Liana diversity in the three forests combined was high; we found a total of 147 liana species, representing 48 families and 75 genera. The mean density of lianas was 3407 ha-1 and varied significantly between the three forests, with 445, …

Beetle Species Diversity In The Lesser Antilles Islands: How Many Species Are Really There?, Stewart B. Peck

Insecta Mundi

Recent extensive and intensive field work by the team of M. A. Ivie on the Lesser Antillean island of Montserrat suggests that a mean of 827 beetle species may be expected on that island. This datum makes possible the generation of hypotheses of the probable beetle species diversity on other islands of the Lesser Antilles as a function of the areas of the islands. Figures are given for the presently known, estimated total, and estimated number of unknown species for each principal island. This predicts that many hundreds (if not thousands) of beetle species remain to be discovered. This is …

Copepod Community Structure Of The Winter Frontal Zone Induced By The Kuroshio Branch Current And The China Coastal Current In The Taiwan Strait, Yang-Chi Lan, Ming-An Lee, Cheng-Hsin Liao, Kuo-Tien Lee

Journal of Marine Science and Technology

This study investigates the spatial distribution of copepods and its relationship with water masses across a frontal area induced by the China Coast Current and the Kuroshio Branch Current in the Taiwan Strait. Temperature and salinity was lower of stations showed significant stratification and lower in the China Coastal Current, but absent or higher in the Kuroshio Branch Current. In this study, 73 copepod species belonging to 36 genera, 18 families and 3 orders were identified. Assemblages of the copepods were divided into three groups KBG, MG and CCG, driven from cluster analysis and were associated with different water masses. …

Granite Rock Outcrops: An Extreme Environment For Soil Nematodes?, Erin Austin, Katharine Semmens, Charles Parsons, Amy M. Treonis

Biology Faculty Publications

We studied soil nematode communities from the surface of granite flatrock outcrops in the eastern Piedmont region of the United States. The thin soils that develop here experience high light intensity and extreme fluctuations in temperature and moisture and host unique plant communities. We collected soils from outcrop microsites in Virginia (VA) and North Carolina (NC) in various stages of succession (Primitive, Minimal, and Mature) and compared soil properties and nematode communities to those of adjacent forest soils. Nematodes were present in most outcrop soils, with densities comparable to forest soils (P > 0.05). Nematode communities in Mature and Minimal soils …

Spatial And Temporal Dynamics Of Habitat Selection Across Canopy Gradients Generates Patterns Of Species Richness And Composition In Aquatic Beetles, Christopher A. Binkley, William J. Resetarits Jr.

Biological Sciences Faculty Publications

1. Colonisation is a critical ecological process influencing both population and community level dynamics by connecting spatially discrete habitat patches. How communities respond to both natural and anthropogenic disturbances, furthermore, requires a basic understanding of how any environmental change modifies colonisation rates. For example, disturbance-induced shifts in the quantity of forest cover surrounding aquatic habitats have been associated with the distribution and abundance of numerous aquatic taxa. However, the mechanisms generating these broad and repeatable field patterns are unclear.

2. Such patterns of diversity could result from differential spatial mortality post colonisation, or from colonisation alone if species select sites …

Strong Founder Effects And Low Genetic Diversity In Introduced Populations Of Coqui Frogs, Karen H. Beard

Karen H. Beard

The success of non-native species may depend on the genetic resources maintained through the invasion process. The Coqui (Eleutherodactylus coqui), a frog endemic to Puerto Rico, was introduced to Hawaii in the late 1980s via the horticulture trade, and has become an aggressive invader. To explore whether genetic diversity and population structure changed with the introduction, we assessed individuals from 15 populations across the Hawaiian Islands and 13 populations across Puerto Rico using six to nine polymorphic microsatellite loci and five dorsolateral colour patterns. Allelic richness (R(T)) and gene diversity were significantly higher in Puerto Rico than in Hawaii populations. …

Building On Our Strengths: A Framework To Reduce Racial Discrimination And Promote Diversity In Victoria, Y Paradies, L Chandrakumar, Natascha Klocker, M Frere, K Webster, G Berman, Peter Mclean

Faculty of Science - Papers (Archive)

Building on our strengths: a framework to reduce race-based discrimination and support diversity in Victoria has been developed through a partnership between the Victorian Health Promotion Foundation (VicHealth), the Victorian Equal Opportunity and Human Rights Commission, the McCaughey Centre: VicHealth Centre for the Promotion of Mental Health and Community Wellbeing and the Onemda VicHealth Koori Health Unit. The McCaughey Centre and Onemda are both in the School of Population Health at the University of Melbourne.

Drawing on the best available evidence in Australia and internationally, this report outlines themes, strategies and priority settings for the development and implementation of activity …

Temporal And Spatial Changes Of Crustaceans In Mixed Eelgrass Beds, Zostera Marina L. And Z. Noltii Hornem., At The Sinop Peninsula Coast (The Southern Black Sea, Turkey), Melek Ersoy Karaçuha, Murat Sezgi̇n, Ertan Dağli

Turkish Journal of Zoology

This research was carried out to determine the macrobenthic crustacean species associated with mixed eelgrass beds (Zostera marina and Z. noltii) occurring in the upper-infralittoral zone of the Sinop peninsula coast (the southern Black Sea, Turkey) and their bioecolological features. From June 2004 to April 2005, investigations were seasonally performed at the depths of 2-4 m at 6 different stations chosen on the Sinop peninsula coast. As a result of the study, a total of 7057 individuals belonging to 55 species and 6 orders were identified. Amphipoda was the dominant group in terms of number of species (63% of the …

Improving Diversity In Phd Programs In The Biological Sciences At Usc, Bert Ely

Journal of the South Carolina Academy of Science

No abstract provided.