Digital Commons Network^™

Moistened Seeds Increase Rodent Trap Success, John C. Tull, Michael W. Sears

Western North American Naturalist

Seed moisture has been shown to influence the rates of seed cache removal by rodents. Although the precise mechanism is not known, this knowledge might prove useful in field applications. We examined whether moistened bait would increase trap success in desert rodent populations. We placed traps 15 m apart in grids within a 500-ha study area and randomly baited traps with either dry or moistened seeds. We found that traps baited with moistened seeds had 34.9% higher success than traps baited with dry seeds (n = 190, χ² = 5.389, df = 1, P = 0.020). Our results …

The Isolation And Characterization Of The Microbial Flora In The Alimentary Canal Of Gromphadorhina Portentosa Based On Rdna Sequences., Amy Renee Robertson

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Multicellular organisms are not single individuals but carry a complex natural microflora with them. This complex's diversity and function can be considered a distinct ecosystem. Traditional methods of isolation and identification miss >90% of the actual diversity. This study uses the gut microflora of the Madagascar hissing roach, Gromphadorhina portentosa, as a model to examine this ecosystem. Isolated cultured bacteria were used to establish methods for identifying members of the microflora based on ribosomal RNA sequences. Universal primers for Eubacterial, Archaeal, and Eukaryotic 16s/18s rRNA were then used for PCR amplification of total DNA isolated from gut contents. Sequences …

Stink Bugs On Grain Sorghum In Mississippi: Ecological Relationships With Host Plants And Crop Planting Dates And Crop Damage, Mario Ernesto Parada Jaco

Theses and Dissertations

This study was conducted to determine infestation levels of southern green stink bug, Nezara viridula (L.), and green stink bug, Acrosternum hilare (Say), on host plants including corn, cotton, soybean, sorghum, and non-crop vegetation in a multicrop ecosystem. Stink bug infestations responsible for crop damage on vegetative and panicle stages of grain sorghum planted on different dates were also investigated. Both N. viridula and A. hilare appeared to establish a first generation on non-crop grasses surrounding cultivated fields and then moved to soybean or cotton to begin a second generation. These stink bugs did not appear to be attracted to …

Neochetina Species And Arthropod Communities In Water-Hyacinth Rafts In South Carolina, Benjamin Powell

All Theses

Arthropod communities inhabiting feral water-hyacinth rafts were surveyed monthly in South Carolina's Coastal Plain from March 2005 through February 2006. Special attention was given to the chevroned waterhyacinth weevil [Neochetina bruchi (Hustache)], the mottled waterhyacinth weevil [N. eichhorniae (Warner)] (both Coleoptera: Curculionidae), and the waterhyacinth moth [Niphograpta albiguttalis (Warren)] (Lepidoptera: Crambidae), which were imported into North America to control water-hyacinth. Communities of arthropods are compared among sites, flow regimes (lentic, lotic, and tidal), and months of the year. The arthropod communities in waterhyacinth rafts in South Carolina are more diverse than previously reported. Rafts in each of …

Mobile Dna Elements In Primate And Human Evolution, Jinchuan Xing, David J. Witherspoon, David A. Ray, Mark A. Batzer, Lynn B. Jorde

Faculty Publications

Roughly 50% of the primate genome consists of mobile, repetitive DNA sequences such as Alu and LINE1 elements. The causes and evolutionary consequences of mobile element insertion, which have received considerable attention during the past decade, are reviewed in this article. Because of their unique mutational mechanisms, these elements are highly useful for answering phylogenetic questions. We demonstrate how they have been used to help resolve a number of questions in primate phylogeny, including the human-chimpanzee- gorilla trichotomy and New World primate phylogeny. Alu and LINE1 element insertion polymorphisms have also been analyzed in human populations to test hypotheses about …

Enhancing The Ability Of Panicum Virgatum To Survive Flooding And Its Effects On Soil Activity When Used For Lakeshore Stabilization, Lee Edwards

All Dissertations

Reservoirs in upstate South Carolina are subject to erosion and vegetation has been placed to help stabilize banks, but soils are nutrient-poor and have high bulk densities. Panicum virgatum L. (switchgrass) has been planted in several sites, and it is hypothesized that over time, changes in microbial activity and soil quality will occur in response to the planting. As vegetated sites aged, acid phosphomonoesterase, nitrate reductase, and dehydrogenase activity increased. Low values of nitrogen fixation and substrate-induced respiration were measured at all sites with no statistical differences between sites. Fatty acids indicative of Gram negative bacteria were found in vegetated …

Diversity And Abundance Of Ants At Forest Edges , Eric Paysen

All Dissertations

Fragmented habitats are a common result of human activities that involve the clearing of native vegetation for various land uses. Habitat fragmentation has two primary and inseparable components: habitat loss and insularization. Landscape-level connectivity in fragmented habitats is diminished for many species, and edge characteristics become more important as the edge-to-interior ratio increases. The study of the effects of edges on biodiversity has compelled ecologists to study them for over a century and has influenced the design and management of natural preserves. Invasion of habitats by non-native species is a phenomenon that coincides with the increased human activity typical of …

Benthic Macroinvertebrate Exploration In The Rumford River

Watershed Access Lab Projects

The students of Qualters Middle School performed a study called “Benthic Macroinvertebrate Exploration in the Rumford River”. The study was conducted on October 16, 2007 in Mansfield, Massachusetts. The study location consisted of one site located at 143 Chauncy Street.

The purpose of this study was to introduce benthic macroinvertebrates and their role as indicators for evaluating stream water quality. Students utilized state of the art methods and techniques during all aspects of this study.

The Rumford River is listed on the Environmental Protection Agencies (EPA) National Priority List (NPL). The river was polluted with dioxins, furans and phenols by …

Reduced Soil Compaction Enhances Establishment Of Non-Native Plant Species, G. Page Kyle, Karen H. Beard, Andrew Kulmatiski

Karen H. Beard

Many studies have shown that soil disturbance facilitates establishment of invasive, non-native plant species, and a number of mechanisms have been isolated that contribute to the process. To our knowledge no studies have isolated the role of altered soil compaction, a likely correlate of many types of soil disturbance, in facilitating invasion. To address this, we measured the response of seeded non-native and native plant species to four levels of soil compaction in mesocosms placed in an abandoned agricultural field in the Methow Valley, Washington, USA. Soil compaction levels reflected the range of resistance to penetration (0.1-3.0 kg cm(-2)) measured …

Phenotypic Plasticity Of Reproduction In Schizachyrium Scoparium (Poaceae) Populations In Relation To Ecological History, Elizabeth M. Obee, James A. Quinn

Aliso: A Journal of Systematic and Floristic Botany

Genetic differentiation in reproduction in the wide-ranging Schizachyrium scoparium (Poaceae) has been demonstrated in uniform gardens. However, the fine-tuning of flowering phenology and biomass allocation in relation to spatial and temporal fluctuations in the local environment is best accomplished by plastic responses to local variability. An earlier central New Jersey study suggested that S. scoparium populations in old fields of 2 to 40 years differed in plasticity. To test this apparent effect of ecological history on the development of different levels of plasticity, genotypes were collected from high- and low-fertility sites in New Jersey (forest biome) and in Oklahoma (grassland …

Investigating The Molecular Basis Of Volatile-Mediated Plant Indirect Defense Against Herbivorous Insects Using Functional And Comparative Genomics, Shuhua Yuan

Doctoral Dissertations

Volatile organic compounds (VOCs) play important roles in plant indirect defense against herbivorous insects by attracting the natural enemies. I first used a tritrophic model system involving rice, rice fall armyworm (Spodoptera frugiperda), and the parasitoid Cotesia marginiventris to discover and characterize the volatile terpenoids and TPS genes involved in the indirect defense of rice against the insect herbivory with integrated functional genomics analyses. Seven rice TPS genes were found to be significantly up-regulated by both microarray and real-time PCR analyses, with one characterized as a linalool synthase and two as sesquiterpene synthases. The products of all three …

Correlation Between Boldness And Body Mass In Natural Populations Of The Poeciliid Brachyrhaphis Episcopi, C. Brown, F. Jones, V. Braithwaite

Sentience Collection

The boldness of individual Brachyrhaphis episcopi, collected from regions of high and low predation, was investigated using two independent assays: (1) the time to emerge from cover and (2) the propensity to leave shoal mates and investigate a novel object. A strong correlation between the two assays was revealed such that fish that emerged from shelter sooner were also more likely to approach a novel object. This is indicative of a boldness personality axis acting across both behavioural contexts. Fish from high-predation areas were bolder than those from low-predation areas and males were bolder than females. A significant correlation between …

Spatial Ecology Of The Desert Tortoise: Sampling Frequency And Biological Influences, Meagan L. Harless

Loma Linda University Electronic Theses, Dissertations & Projects

Understanding the spatial ecology of an animal is crucial for making positive efforts to provide for its recovery. As a part of this understanding, home range estimates are used to answer a variety of questions in ecological studies. However, home range estimates based on a collection of radio-telemetry locations are sensitive to methodological variables, such as sample size, sampling frequency, and the choice of estimator. Further confounding these estimates are a number of physical, social, and ecological factors. Identifying the main determinants of space use patterns by a species may aid conservation efforts.

The Desert Tortoise (Gopherus agassizii)of the …

Response Of Phlebotomine Sand Flies To Light-Emitting Diode-Modified Light Traps In Southern Egypt, D. F. Hoel, Emad Y. Fawaz, J.E Butler, N. Watany, S. S. El-Hossary, J. Villinski

United States Navy: Publications

Centers For Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) light traps were modified for use with light-emitting diodes (LED) and compared against a control trap (incandescent light) to determine the effectiveness of blue, green, and red lights against standard incandescent light routinely used for sand fly surveillance. Light traps were baited with dry ice and rotated through a 4 x 4 Latin square design during May, June, and July, 2006. Trapping over 12 trap nights yielded a total of 2,298 sand flies in the village of Bahrif, 6 km north of Aswan on the east bank of the Nile River in southern …

A Balancing Act: Problematising Prescriptions About Food And Weight In School Health Texts, Jan Wright, R. Dean

Faculty of Education - Papers (Archive)

School health syllabuses, health and physical education textbooks and most recently website resources targeting young people’s health are one of the main sources of knowledge in schools about how individuals should live their lives and come to know themselves and others, particularly as these relate to their bodies, their relationships and their daily practices of eating, drinking and engaging in physical activity. One of the most powerful and pervasive discourses currently influencing ways of thinking about health and about bodies is that associated with the notion of an ‘obesity epidemic’. In this paper, we use the notion of biopower as …

Species Invasion Shifts The Importance Of Predator Dependence, Blaine D. Griffen, David G. Delaney

Faculty Publications

The strength of interference between foraging individuals can influence per capita consumption rates, with important consequences for predator and prey populations and system stability. Here we demonstrate how the replacement of a previously established invader, the predatory crab Carcinus maenas, by the recently invading predatory crab Hemigrapsus sanguineus shifts predation from a species that experiences strong predator interference (strong predator dependence) to one that experiences weak predator interference (weak predator dependence). We demonstrate using field experiments that differences in the strength of predator dependence persist for these species both when they forage on a single focal prey species only (the …

The Daily Egyptian, November 27, 2007, Daily Egyptian Staff

November 2007

No abstract provided.

Hydrocarbon Degrading Bacteria: Isolation And Identification, Lies Indah Indah

Makara Journal of Science

There is little information how to identify hydrocarbon degrading bacteria for bioremediation of marine oil spills. We have used gravel which contaminated oil mousse from Beach Simulator Tank, in Marine Biotechnology Institute, Kamaishi, Japan, and grown on enrichment culture. Biostimulation with nutrients (N and P) was done to analyze biodegradation of hydrocarbon compounds: Naphthalene, Phenanthrene, Trichlorodibenzofuran and Benzo[a]pyrene. Community of bacteria from enrichment culture was determined by DGGE. Isolating and screening the bacteria on inorganic medium contain hydrocarbon compounds and determination of bacteria by DAPI (number of cells) and CFU. DNA was extracted from colonies of bacteria and sequence determination …

Trace Metals And Stable Isotopes As Tracers Of Life History And Trophic Connections In Estuarine-Dependent Fish From Tampa Bay, Florida, Linae Marie Boehme-Terrana

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Florida's estuaries support a wide range of species yet little is known about tracemetal cycling among members of this important ecosystem. To examine the flow of trace metals through the Tampa Bay estuary, four fish species representing different trophic levels were analyzed for copper (Cu), zinc (Zn) and stable isotopes of carbon (C) and nitrogen (N). Species selected were the striped mullet (Mugil cephalus), tidewater mojarra (Eucinostomus harengulus), bay anchovy (Anchoa mitchilli), and sand seatrout (Cynoscion arenarius). Juvenile fish were collected from the Alafia, Hillsborough, Palm, and Little Manatee Rivers. Adults were …

Associations Between The Built Environment And Physical Activity In Public Housing Residents, Katie Heinrich, Rebecca Lee, Richard Suminski, Gail R. Regan, Jacqueline Y. Reese-Smith, Hugh H. Howard, C. Keith Haddock, Walker Poston, Jasjit S. Ahluwalia

Faculty Publications

Background: Environmental factors may influence the particularly low rates of physical activity in African American and low-income adults. This cross-sectional study investigated how measured environmental factors were related to self-reported walking and vigorous physical activity for residents of low-income public housing developments.

Methods: Physical activity data from 452 adult residents residing in 12 low-income housing developments were combined with measured environmental data that examined the neighborhood (800 m radius buffer) around each housing development. Aggregated ecological and multilevel regression models were used for analysis.

Results: Participants were predominately female (72.8%), African American (79.6%) and had a high school education or …

Toward Informational Privacy Rights, Adam D. Moore

San Diego Law Review

In this paper I will offer several arguments in support of the view that individuals have moral claims to control personal information. Coupled with rights to control access to one's body, capacities, and powers, or physical privacy rights, we will have taken important steps toward a general right to privacy. In Part I, a definition of privacy is offered along with an account of the value of privacy. Simply put, privacy - defined as control over access to locations and information - is necessary for human well-being. In Part II, an attempt to move beyond claims of value to claims …

Biogeographical Distribution And Natural Groupings Among Five Sympatric Wild Cats In Tropical South Asia, Mohammed Ashraf

Mohammed Ashraf

Changes In Kit Fox-Coyote-Prey Relationships In The Great Basin Desert, Utah, Wendy M. Arjo, Eric M. Gese, Tim J. Bennett, Adam J. Kozlowski

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Variation in kit fox (Vulpes macroiis) population parameters can be influenced by vegetative cover and the distribution and abundance of other predator and prey species. Dramatic changes to Great Basin Desert habitats, which can potentially impact mammalian species, have occurred in some areas in Utah. We examined kit Fox demographics and prey populations from 1999 to 2001 on Dugway Proving Ground (DPG), a U.S. Army facility in Utah, and compared some parameters to historical levels (1956-1958, 1966-1969). Adult survival rates were fairly consistent between 1999 and 2000 and between 1999 and 2001; however, survival was greater in 2001 …

Effects Of Coyote Population Reduction On Swift Fox Demographics In Southeastern Colorado, Seija M. Karki, Eric M. Gese, Mead L. Klavetter

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

The distribution and abundance of swift foxes (Vulpes velox) has declined from historic levels. Causes for the decline include habitat loss and fragmentation, incidental poisoning, changing land use practices, trapping, and predation by other carnivores. Coyotes (Canis latrans) overlap the geographical distribution of swift foxes, compete for similar resources, and are a significant source of mortality amongst many swift fox populations. Current swift fox conservation and management plans to bolster declining or recovering fox populations may include coyote population reduction to decrease predation. However, the role of coyote predation in swift fox population dynamics is not …

Interactions Across Spatial Scales Among Forest Dieback, Fire, And Erosion In Northern New Mexico Landscapes, Craig D. Allen

School of Natural Resources: Faculty Publications

Ecosystem patterns and disturbance processes at one spatial scale often interact with processes at another scale, and the result of such cross-scale interactions can be nonlinear dynamics with thresholds. Examples of cross-scale pattern-process relationships and interactions among forest dieback, fire, and erosion are illustrated from northern New Mexico (USA) landscapes, where long-term studies have recently documented all of these disturbance processes. For example, environmental stress, operating on individual trees, can cause tree death that is amplified by insect mortality agents to propagate to patch and then landscape or even regional-scale forest dieback. Severe drought and unusual warmth in the southwestern …

Phylogenetic Conservatism And Antiquity Of A Tropical Specialization: Army-Ant-Following In The Typical Antbirds (Thamnophilidae), Robb T. Brumfield, Jose G. Tello, Z. A. Cheviron, Matthew D. Carling, Nanette Crochet, Kenneth V. Rosenberg

Faculty Publications

One of the most novel foraging strategies in Neotropical birds is army-ant-following, in which birds prey upon arthropods and small vertebrates flushed from the forest floor by swarm raids of the army-ant Eciton burchellii. This specialization is most developed in the typical antbirds (Thamnophilidae) which are divisible into three specialization categories: (1) those that forage at swarms opportunistically as army-ants move through their territories (occasional followers), (2) those that follow swarms beyond their territories but also forage independently of swarms (regular followers), and (3) those that appear incapable of foraging independently of swarms (obligate followers). Although army-ant-following is one of …

Research & Action Report, Fall/Winter 2007, Wellesley Centers For Women, Rangita De Silva-De Alwis, Michelle Porche, Laura Pappano

Research & Action Report

In this issue:

Women and Children: The Human Rights Relationship

Adolescent Literacy and Achievement: Widening the Path to Success
Is Literacy Enough?

Squeeze Play: Why Title IX Is Not Enough

Bats Of Barbuda, Northern Lesser Antilles, Scott C. Pedersen, Peter A. Larsen, Hugh H. Genoways, Matthew Morton, Kevel C. Lindsay, Jerry Cindric

University of Nebraska State Museum: Mammalogy Papers

Five species of bats are known to occur on the Lesser Antillean island of Barbuda—Noctilio leporinus, Monophyllus plethodon, Brachyphylla cavernarum, Tadarida brasiliensis, and Molossus molossus. During the present study, two additional species of bats—Artibeus jamaicensis and Natalus stramineus—were added to the chiropteran fauna of the island. Although the ecological diversity of Barbuda is limited, this bat fauna matches those of islands in the region such as Antigua, Nevis, and St. Kitts. It is proposed that this biodiversity of bats is maintained because of the geology of Barbuda provides ample roosting sites and access to freshwater …

Habitat Structure: A Fundamental Concept And Framework For Urban Soil Ecology, Loren Byrne

Arts & Sciences Faculty Publications

Habitat structure is defined as the composition and arrangement of physical matter at a location. Although habitat structure is the physical template underlying ecological patterns and processes, the concept is relatively unappreciated and underdeveloped in ecology. However, it provides a fundamental concept for urban ecology because human activities in urban ecosystems are often targeted toward management of habitat structure. In addition, the concept emphasizes the fine-scale, on-the-ground perspective needed in the study of urban soil ecology. To illustrate this, urban soil ecology research is summarized from the perspective of habitat structure effects. Among the key conclusions emerging from the literature …

New And Emended Descriptions Of Gregarines From Flour Beetles (Tribolium Spp. And Palorus Subdepressus: Coleoptera, Tenebrionidae), John J. Janovy Jr., Jillian Tikka Detwiler, Samana Schwank, Matthew G. Bolek, Alaine Knipes, Gabriel J. Langford

John Janovy Publications

The following new gregarine taxa are described from larvae of flour beetles (Coleoptera: Tenebrionidae): Awrygregarina billmani, n. gen., n. sp., from Tribolium brevicornis; Gregarina cloptoni, n. sp., from Tribolium freemani; Gregarina confusa, n. sp., from Tribolilum confusum; and Gregarina palori, n. sp., from Palorus subdepressus. In addition, the description of Gregarina minuta Ishii, 1914, from Tribolium castaneum, is emended. Scanning electron micrograph studies of these species’ oocysts reveal differences in surface architecture. The Gregarina species have oocysts with longitudinal ridges, visible with SEM, whereas Awrygregarina billmani oocysts have fine circumferential striations; …