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The Interaction Between Predation And Sound Pollution On The Internal And External Microbiome Of The Grasshoppers Melanopus Sanguinipes, Alanna Bond
Theses and Dissertations
Anthropogenic activities such as construction and agriculture directly affect its surrounding environments. Many studies have focused on how megafauna and flora are impacted by human activities, however, relatively little is known how new occupation of land affects smaller organisms such as insects and microbes. Additionally, other stressors such as predation can impact host physiology. The grasshopper species Melanopussanguinipes was chosen to be used in a study to measure how stress caused by artificial sound and predation can alter exoskeleton and gut microbiomes once exposed to these stressors.
Effects Of Mass Death On Community Structure And Ecosystem Function, Abby Kimpton Jones
Effects Of Mass Death On Community Structure And Ecosystem Function, Abby Kimpton Jones
Theses and Dissertations
Death and decomposition are natural processes that are generally well-understood. However, large events of death, such as mass mortality events (MMEs) are increasing in frequency and their impacts on the ecosystem are largely unknown. These events may have both bottom-up effects from increased nutrient input as well as top-down effects from loss of an ecological functional group by the affected population. Different functional MMEs may result in different top-down effects, creating cascading effects. In Chapter 1, I test the hypothesis that scavenger and herbivore simulated MMEs generate novel bottom-up and top-down effects. Results indicate that MMEs have a significant effect …
The Invasion Of Bigheaded Carps In The Tennessee River And Tennessee – Tombigbee Waterway, Spencer N. Vanderbloemen
The Invasion Of Bigheaded Carps In The Tennessee River And Tennessee – Tombigbee Waterway, Spencer N. Vanderbloemen
Theses and Dissertations
The Ohio River Basin, including the Ohio, Cumberland, and Tennessee rivers, and the contiguous Tennessee - Tombigbee Waterway are under threat due to the ongoing invasion of bigheaded carps. In the Tennessee River, bigheaded carps were first documented in Kentucky Lake in 2004. I tested whether there were differences in abundance of Gizzard Shad, a competitor, before and after the bigheaded carps invasion, but no effects were detected. I also surveyed bigheaded carps colonization of Bay Springs Lake in the Tennessee - Tombigbee Waterway. Catch rates with gillnets were low and conformed with those documented elsewhere in the Ohio Basin …
Acoustic Analysis Of Saproxylic Arthropod Diversity In North And Central American Pine Forests, Kristy Marie Mcandrew
Acoustic Analysis Of Saproxylic Arthropod Diversity In North And Central American Pine Forests, Kristy Marie Mcandrew
Theses and Dissertations
Biodiversity of arthropods living in dead wood is often understudied despite their potential effects on ecological processes such as wood decomposition and nutrient cycling. More time-efficient and less destructive methods are needed to study these saproxylic organisms to fully understand their global diversity. Because ecoacoustic methods have never been applied to saproxylic communities before, field and analytical methods such as waveguides, and soundproofing were developed, tested, and optimized. After developed methods were implemented in the field, Pearson's correlation tests were conducted to compare ecoacoustic index performance to traditional biodiversity indices. We found five significant correlations, all of which occurred at …
Bridging Data Gaps For Strategic Conservation Of Gulf Of Mexico Coastal Region Landscapes, Andrew Challen Shamaskin
Bridging Data Gaps For Strategic Conservation Of Gulf Of Mexico Coastal Region Landscapes, Andrew Challen Shamaskin
Theses and Dissertations
The Gulf Coast Region (GCR) of the United States holds immense ecological and cultural value. However, constant environmental changes, from sea-level rise and hurricanes to the Deepwater Horizon oil spill in 2010, threaten many of the values that define the region. Additionally, recent financial settlements from civil and criminal penalties of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill have created an unprecedented opportunity to fund conservation throughout the region. With such a large area of interest (over 700,000 km2) and so many conservation priorities throughout the GCR, there is a great need to strategize which lands are most efficacious for conservation to …
Comprehensive Survey Of Butterflies At The Sam D. Hamilton Noxubee National Wildlife Refuge, Jordan Gesell
Comprehensive Survey Of Butterflies At The Sam D. Hamilton Noxubee National Wildlife Refuge, Jordan Gesell
Theses and Dissertations
In collaboration with the Sam D. Hamilton Noxubee National Wildlife Refuge, I collected detailed information on the butterflies (Lepidoptera: Papilionoidea Latreille, 1802) of the refuge. I produced a comprehensive checklist of butterflies and skippers numbering 60 species. In addition, I collected data on flight periods as well as local plant community associations. Butterfly abundance surveys were conducted to assess seasonal habitat use across six site classes. Special emphasis was placed on pine forest at various stages of management for the endangered red-cockaded woodpecker (Picoides borealis). An exploratory analysis of butterfly diversity and abundance was conducted using non-metric multidimensional scaling (NMDS). …
Roles And Interaction Of Blow Flies (Diptera: Calliphoridae) And Introduced Fire Ants (Hymenoptera: Formicidae: Solenopsis Invicta And S. Invicta X Richteri) In Carrion Decomposition In The Southeastern United States, Grant De Jong
Theses and Dissertations
Invasive fire ants (Solenopsis invicta and its hybrid with S. richteri) have been reported from carrion in the southeastern United States and are considered a part of the succession community. Alteration of ecological processes by fire ants could affect forensic interpretation of entomological data; therefore, I conducted studies to investigate the relative roles and interactions of fire ants and blow flies in carrion decomposition. The blow fly species composition in Mississippi has not been studied since 16 species were reported in 1983. Specimens from the Mississippi Entomological Museum were used to update the checklist of the blow flies of Mississippi …
Exploring The Role Of Host Species And Abiotic Factors On Epiphytic Bacterial Communities In Prickly Pear Cactus, Taylor Didesch
Exploring The Role Of Host Species And Abiotic Factors On Epiphytic Bacterial Communities In Prickly Pear Cactus, Taylor Didesch
Theses and Dissertations
The microorganisms that live in and on a host (the microbiome) influence host phenotype, health, and behavior in plants and animals. However, the effects of the host and environment on the composition of microbiome communities are unclear. This is especially true in arid and semi-arid environments such as deserts that filter many microorganisms. This study investigated variation in phyllosphere microbiotal bacterial assemblages of prickly pear cactus (Opuntia) across differing spatial scales, ecoregions, and taxa throughout Texas at two timepoints. I expected bacterial assemblages to differ significantly among Texas ecoregions and among species. Results support significant influences on bacterial assemblage composition …
Quantifying Animal Movement: Using A Power-Law To Model The Relationship Between First Passage Time And Scale, Zoë Johnson
Quantifying Animal Movement: Using A Power-Law To Model The Relationship Between First Passage Time And Scale, Zoë Johnson
Theses and Dissertations
In a heterogenous environment, an animal will increase its search effort in areas where resources are abundant. This behavior can be detected in a path by a decrease in speed, an increase in tortuosity, or both. First passage time, the amount of time required for an animal to traverse a circle of a given radius, or buffer, is a common metric for quantifying spatial and temporal changes along a path. Historical methodology involving first passage time limits the utility of this metric. Here we instead follow the methodology put forth by Street et al. (2018) and use a power-law model …
Investigation Of A Low-External-Input Sustainable Rice Production System To Identify Ecosystem Services Towards Adoption Costs And Benefits, Alexandra Gwin Firth
Investigation Of A Low-External-Input Sustainable Rice Production System To Identify Ecosystem Services Towards Adoption Costs And Benefits, Alexandra Gwin Firth
Theses and Dissertations
This study investigated a potentially sustainable rice production system in the Mississippi Alluvial Valley (MAV) that uses ecological principles to enhance environmental quality at the field scale. It was hypothesized annual flooding of rice fields to create waterbird habitat would benefit soil health, providing agronomic benefits to the farmer. Two sites were selected: a low-external-input-sustainable-agriculture (LEISA) system with flooded (LF) and nonlooded (LN) fields and a conventional site with flooded (CF) and nonlooded (CN) fields. Soil microbial diversity and nutrient content were quantified and compared. Camera traps were used to document bird activity for estimates of fecal matter input. Soil …
The Trophic And Spatial Ecology Of The Southern Flying Squirrel (Glaucomys Volans) And Non-Lethal Deterrent Methods, Robert Timothy Meyer
The Trophic And Spatial Ecology Of The Southern Flying Squirrel (Glaucomys Volans) And Non-Lethal Deterrent Methods, Robert Timothy Meyer
Theses and Dissertations
Southern flying squirrels (SFS; Glaucomys volans) are known kleptoparasites on the endangered red-cockaded woodpecker’s (RCW; Picoides borealis) cavities and cost land managers time and money to control and the ecology of SFS in habitats managed for RCWs is poorly understood. This study is designed to obtain a better understanding of the general ecology of SFSs surrounding RCW habitat and provide possible non-lethal deterrent methods to prevent harmful interactions between SFSs and RCWs. Spatially-explicit capture-recapture showed generally higher SFS densities and habitat associations outside of RCW cluster partitions. Stable isotope analysis of SFS diets across Mississippi and Alabama revealed a narrow …
Rice Injury And Ecology Of The Rice Stink Bug, Oebalus Pugnax (F.) In The Delta Region Of Mississippi, George Agana Awuni
Rice Injury And Ecology Of The Rice Stink Bug, Oebalus Pugnax (F.) In The Delta Region Of Mississippi, George Agana Awuni
Theses and Dissertations
The rice stink bug, Oebalus pugnax (F.), is an important late season pest of rice that is noted for causing grain yield and quality reductions in the United States. This study investigated rice injury using field cages in two rice cultivars (‘Cocodrie’ and ‘Wells’) at bloom, milk, and soft dough stages and O. pugnax ecology in the Delta Region of Mississippi. Specific objectives were: 1) to determine the impact of adult O. pugnax infestation on rice yield and grain quality at bloom, milk, and soft dough stages of rice development; 2) to determine the impact of adult O. pugnax gender …
Macrophyte Re-Establishment And Deductive Gis Modeling To Identify Planting Locations For Fish Habitat Enhancement Projects, Jonathan Paul Fleming
Macrophyte Re-Establishment And Deductive Gis Modeling To Identify Planting Locations For Fish Habitat Enhancement Projects, Jonathan Paul Fleming
Theses and Dissertations
Aquatic macrophytes are important components in structuring aquatic communities because they provide physical and biological functions that contribute to the stability of the ecosystem. Macrophytes provide the basis for the aquatic food-web and also provide habitat and refugia for aquatic fauna. In systems that lack macrophytes, anthropogenic re-establishment may be a feasible management approach to improve aquatic ecosystems. Understanding environmental factors that regulate colonization, dispersal, and persistence of aquatic macrophytes is pertinent to re-establishment efforts. The purpose of this study is to test hypotheses regarding success of macrophyte re-establishment efforts in Little Bear Creek Reservoir, Alabama using different macrophyte species, …