Digital Commons Network^™

Connecting The Social And Spatial Behaviors Of A Territorial Species (Anolis Carolinensis), Jordan M. Bush

Doctoral Dissertations

Why animals live where they do is a key question in ecology and evolution. An individual’s home range determines the resources they have access to, conspecifics they encounter, and predators and pitfalls they must avoid. Home range behaviors also have an inherently social component; where animals live affects the rivals they compete with and the mates they have access to. This is especially true in territorial species, as defensive displays make up a large portion of their social behaviors. In this dissertation, I sought to understand how territorial behaviors affect the social lives of the green anole lizard (Anolis …

Impact Of Insecticide On Pollinator Communities In A Forested System: A Model System Using Eastern Hemlock, Tsuga Canadensis, Rosebay Rhododendron, Rhododendron Maximum, And Imidacloprid, David Bechtel

Masters Theses

Mortality of eastern hemlock, Tsuga canadensis (L.) Carrière (Pinales: Pinaceae), has occurred at a high rate since the arrival of the invasive hemlock wooly adelgid (HWA), Adelges tsugae Annand (Hemiptera: Adelgidae). The systemic neonicotinoid pesticide imidacloprid is soil-applied to hemlocks for effective control of HWA. However, is this pesticide translocated by incidental non-target plants under hemlock trees and, if so, does it impact non-target insects, such as pollinators? One commonly encountered flowering understory associate is Rhododendron maximum L. (Ericales: Ericaceae). Research has demonstrated that imidacloprid is translocated to leaves, nectar and pollen of R. maximum. The goal of this research …

Spatiotemporal Patterns And Burden Of Myocardial Infarction In Florida, Evah Odoi

Doctoral Dissertations

Knowledge of spatiotemporal disparities in myocardial infarction (MI) risk and the determinants of those disparities is critical for guiding health planning and resource allocation. Therefore, the aims of this study were to: (i) investigate the spatial distribution and clusters of MI hospitalization (MIHosp) and MI mortality (MIMort) risks in Florida over time to identify communities with consistently high MI burdens, (ii) assess temporal trends in geographic disparities in MIHosp and MIMort risks (iii) identify predictors of MIHosp risks.Retrospective MIhosp and MImort data for Florida for 2005-2014 and 2000-2014 periods, respectively, were used. Kulldorff’s circular and Tango’s flexible spatial scan statistics …

The Ecology Of Soil Viruses: Abundance, Distribution, Diversity And Impact On Microbial Community Structure, Xiaolong Liang

Doctoral Dissertations

Viruses as a critical biotic component in all ecosystems have exhibited pronounced ecological significance. The global abundance of viruses in the biosphere has been estimated at 1 x 1031, with 90-95% of these viruses residing in soil and/or sedimentary environments. Despite the apparent greater abundance and diversity, soil virology is under-investigated relative to other environments such as marine and freshwater habitats and soil viral genomic data are underrepresented in public repositories of genetic information. In this dissertation, we investigated the viral abundance, diversity, and virus-host interactions in natural soils and the simulated stimulated subsurface bioremediation environments. We used epifluorescence microscopy …

Tcwp Newsletter No. 348, Tennessee Citizens For Wilderness Planning

Tennessee Citizens for Wilderness Planning Newsletters

No abstract provided.

Tcwp Newsletter No. 347, Tennessee Citizens For Wilderness Planning

Tennessee Citizens for Wilderness Planning Newsletters

No abstract provided.

Expanding The Omics Repertoire For Model Studies On A Chlorella-Infecting Giant Virus, Samantha Coy

Doctoral Dissertations

Viruses are the most abundant biological entities in aquatic ecosystems. As top-down controls of plankton abundance and diversity, they are intrinsically linked to biogeochemical cycling, and by proxy, to global climate change. It is thus of great interest for researchers to understand the mechanics of viral infection and persistence among ecologically important phytoplankton assemblages. Viruses which infect eukaryotic algae are observed with diverse nucleic acid types, structures, and sizes, though most isolates to date bear large, dsDNA genomes comprised of genes normally only seen in cellular organisms. The Chlorella viruses are the model system for studying these entities, with many …

Living Life On The Edge: The Role Of Introduction And Range Expansion In Shaping Behavior Of A Non-Native Spider, Angela Chuang

Doctoral Dissertations

Animal personalities describe the behavioral phenotypes of individuals that often remain relatively stable over time and contexts. Since they can account for differential dispersal tendencies, understanding how personality types are distributed across the range can lead to important characterization of expanding invasive populations. Cyrtophora citricola is a colonial tentweb orbweaver spider with an Old World native range that is invasive in Florida. It has experienced a range expansion of over 450 km in 20 years. In my dissertation, I asked whether C. citricola exhibits personality, whether some of its behavioral traits are correlated with dispersal tendencies, and whether personality types …

Tcwp Newsletter No. 346, Tennessee Citizens For Wilderness Planning

Tennessee Citizens for Wilderness Planning Newsletters

No abstract provided.

Strong Seedling Recruitment Does Not Limit Mangrove Vulnerability To Harvest, Orou G. Gaoue, Kowiyou Yessoufou

Faculty Publications and Other Works -- Ecology and Evolutionary Biology

Ecological studies on the impacts of timber harvesting contributed to inform sustainable management strategies of tropical forests. However, these studies rely strongly on two major assumptions: (i) strong seedlings recruitment predispose for positive population dynamics, and (ii) more adult trees is a guarantee for a strong reproductive capability of the population. These assumptions are applied without accounting for the life history of the harvested species. Here, we revisit these assumptions in light of the life history theory, which predicts different responses of short- and long-lived species to perturbation. We predict that harvesting adults, rather than reducing seedling recruitment of long-lived …

Geographic Disparities And Temporal Changes In Risk Of Death From Myocardial Infarction In Florida, 2000–2014, Evah W. Odoi, Nicolas Nagle, Shamarial Roberson, Kristina W. Kintziger

Public Health Publications and Other Works

Background

Identifying disparities in myocardial infarction (MI) burden and assessing its temporal changes are critical for guiding resource allocation and policies geared towards reducing/eliminating health disparities. Our objectives were to: (a) investigate the spatial distribution and clusters of MI mortality risk in Florida; and (b) assess temporal changes in geographic disparities in MI mortality risks in Florida from 2000 to 2014.

Methods

This is a retrospective ecologic study with county as the spatial unit of analysis. We obtained data for MI deaths occurring among Florida residents between 2000 and 2014 from the Florida Department of Health, and calculated county-level age-adjusted …

Tree-Ring Evidence Of Climate And Environmental Change, Beartooth Mountains, Wyoming, U.S.A., Maegen Lee Rochner

Doctoral Dissertations

Long-lived, subalpine tree species like whitebark pine and Engelmann spruce may eventually cease to exist due to the combination of climate change and exacerbated native and invasive biological threats. While this loss would have dire consequences for mountain ecosystems, it would also result in the irreversible loss of valuable climatological and ecological data preserved in the growth rings of these trees. The purpose of this dissertation research was to develop extended whitebark pine and Engelmann spruce tree-ring chronologies for use in regional analyses of climate and disturbance, and more importantly to demonstrate the potential of these tree species and the …

Hurricanes And The Sounds Of Change: Puerto Rican Environment, Reggaeton, And Boricuaness, Isaiah Edwin Green

Masters Theses

In the summer of 2017, reggaeton took the world by storm, topping popular music charts globally with the song “Despacito” by Luis Fonsi and Daddy Yankee, and leading to a short-lived surge in Puerto Rican tourism. The term boricua holds strong connections to reggaeton and generally expresses a call to indigenous and Spanish heritage. While music videos and the general popularization of reggaeton created an image of Puerto Rico as a desired destination, the conditions of the island’s environment swiftly changed due to the destructive effects of hurricanes Irma and Maria in August and September of 2017. In light of …

Phylogenetic Relationships Of 200+ Isolates Of The Ectomycorrhizal Fungus Cenococcum Geophilum From Populus Trichocarpa Soils In The Pacific Northwest And Comparison To Globally Distributed Representatives, Jessica M. Vélez, Reese Morris, Jessy Labbé, Rytas Vilgalys, Christopher W. Schadt

Middle Atlantic States Mycological Conference 2019

Abstracts from the April 12-14, 2019 MASC Conference

Curriculum Committee Report - January 24, 2019, Graduate Council

Curriculum Committee Reports

No abstract provided.

An Exploratory Investigation Of Geographic Disparities Of Stroke Prevalence In Florida Using Circular And Flexible Spatial Scan Statistics, Shamarial Roberson, Rahel Dawit, Jaleesa Moore, Agricola Odoi

Faculty Publications and Other Works -- Biomedical and Diagnostic Sciences

Background

Stroke is a major public health concern due to the morbidity and mortality associated with it. Identifying geographic areas with high stroke prevalence is important for informing public health interventions. Therefore, the objective of this study was to investigate geographic disparities and identify geographic hotspots of stroke prevalence in Florida.

Materials and methods

County-level stroke prevalence data for 2013 were obtained from the Florida Department of Health’s Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS). Geographic clusters of stroke prevalence were investigated using the Kulldorff’s circular spatial scan statistics (CSSS) and Tango’s flexible spatial scan statistics (FSSS) under Poisson model assumption. …

Food Security In The United States: A Futures Analysis Via Systems Modeling, Jennifer Lynn Trumbo

Masters Theses

Food insecurity is a pressing issue not only in developing countries, but in communities across the United States (US). Food insecurity is the lack of nutritious, sufficient, accessible, and reliable culturally-appropriate food. At least 42.2 million people across the US face food insecurity. Food insecurity has been associated with institutional barriers, gender, indigeneity, citizenship, human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) status, racialization, and poverty. Further, a lack of sufficient, nutritious food is associated with serious health outcomes. Food insecure populations have higher rates of chronic disease, mental health issues, and obesity. Considering the negative health outcomes associated with food insecurity, and its …

Tcwp Newsletter No. 342, Tennessee Citizens For Wilderness Planning

Tennessee Citizens for Wilderness Planning Newsletters

No abstract provided.

Viruses Of Eukaryotic Algae: Diversity, Methods For Detection, And Future Directions, Samantha R. Coy, Eric R. Gann, Helena L. Pound, Steven M. Short, Steven W. Wilhelm

Microbiology Publications and Other Works

The scope for ecological studies of eukaryotic algal viruses has greatly improved with the development of molecular and bioinformatic approaches that do not require algal cultures. Here, we review the history and perceived future opportunities for research on eukaryotic algal viruses. We begin with a summary of the 65 eukaryotic algal viruses that are presently in culture collections, with emphasis on shared evolutionary traits (e.g., conserved core genes) of each known viral type. We then describe how core genes have been used to enable molecular detection of viruses in the environment, ranging from PCR-based amplification to community scale “-omics” approaches. …

Tcwp Newsletter No. 341, Tennessee Citizens For Wilderness Planning

Tennessee Citizens for Wilderness Planning Newsletters

No abstract provided.

Rose Eriophyid Mites: An Ecological Study Of Phyllocoptes Fructiphilus Keifer (Acari: Eriophyidea), Vector Of Rose Rosette Virus, And Its Relationship With Rosa Species, Katherine Marie Solo

Masters Theses

Rose rosette disease (RRD) is an epidemic that is lethal to roses. The causal agent for this disease is thought to be rose rosette virus (RRV) which is vectored by an eriophyid mite, Phyllocoptes fructiphilus. Our research was aimed at answering fundamental ecological aspects of the relationship this mite shares with its rose hosts. In Chapter I, Rosa species were evaluated for levels of residential populations of P. fructiphilus. Statistical differences for year and rose species (α = 0.05) were observed. However, the resolution of the statistical tests was low due to loss of replications from destructive sampling …

Tcwp Newsletter No. 340, Tennessee Citizens For Wilderness Planning

Tennessee Citizens for Wilderness Planning Newsletters

No abstract provided.

Aspects Of The Physiological And Behavioral Defense Adaptations Of The Mountain Madtom (Noturus Eleutherus), Meredith Leigh Hayes

Masters Theses

Madtoms (Noturus spp.) are a highly endemic clade of miniature catfishes that faces widespread imperilment. Little is known about the ecology of these secretive fishes, and understanding the behavioral and physiological adaptations madtoms have evolved to resist pathogens and competitors is necessary for conservation.

Madtoms nest under cover and provide extensive paternal care. Attempts to rear eggs in captivity result in high mortality rates from infection, leading to questions about how wild nests resist disease. In many fishes, males produce antimicrobial substances that confer protection to eggs. To determine if guardian males deter disease in nests, Mountain Madtoms ( …

A Presence-Absence Survey To Monitor Montezuma Quail In Western Texas, Cristela Gonzalez Sanders, Fidel Hernández, Leonard A. Brennan, Andrew N. Tri, Robert Perez

National Quail Symposium Proceedings

Developing an effective monitoring program for Montezuma quail (Cyrtonyx montezumae) is challenging because the technique must be practical for surveying vast, remote landscapes while accounting for the species’ low detectability. We used call-back surveys within a presence–absence framework to estimate occupancy and detection probability of Montezuma quail and used this information in conjunction with habitat data to develop an estimated probability of occurrence map for the species. We established survey points at 4 sites in western Texas (n = 20–30 points/site) and conducted 5 repeat surveys/season during June–August 2007 and 2008. We documented abiotic conditions (temperature, time …

Do Movement Patterns And Habitat Use Differ Between Optimal- And Suboptimal-Sized Northern Bobwhite Coveys?, Christopher K. Williams, Roger Applegate, Anthony R. Ives

National Quail Symposium Proceedings

The group size of social animals and spatial structure of the environment can affect group behavior and movement decisions. Our objective was to investigate movement patterns and habitat use of northern bobwhite coveys (Colinus virginianus) of different size. Using radiotelemetry, we continuously monitored covey group size, daily movement, and habitat use on 12 independent 259-ha study areas in eastern Kansas, USA, during the winters between 1997 and 2000. We used correlated random walk models and fractal dimension models to determine if covey size affected movement characteristics or habitat selection. Intermediate-sized coveys (9–12 individuals, close to optimal covey size) …

Tcwp Newsletter No. 336, Tennessee Citizens For Wilderness Planning

Tennessee Citizens for Wilderness Planning Newsletters

No abstract provided.

Physiological Ecology Of Four Endemic Alabama Species And The Exotic Asiatic Weatherfish, Misgurnus Anguillicaudatus (Cantor, 1842), Lindsay M. White, Mark E. Meade, Benjamin A. Staton

Southeastern Fishes Council Proceedings

The occurrence of Asiatic Weatherfish, Misgurnus anguillicaudatus, in Alabama, a state known for its rich biodiversity, has generated concern among conservation managers. The current study used respirometry techniques to investigate the effects of increasing temperature on four native southeastern fishes (one cyprinid, two percids, and one elassomid) and the non-native M. anguillicaudatus. A minimum of five individuals of each species were used, and three experimental temperatures were chosen to represent spring and summer averages of northeast Alabama streams (15, 20, and 25°C). Overall, mean standard metabolic rates (SMRs) for M. anguillicaudatus were low (97.01, 127.75, and 158.50 mg …

Tcwp Newsletter No. 335, Tennessee Citizens For Wilderness Planning

Tennessee Citizens for Wilderness Planning Newsletters

No abstract provided.

An Analysis Of Masked Bobwhite Collection Locales And Habitat Characteristics, David E. Brown, Kevin B. Clark, Randall D. Babb, Grant Harris

National Quail Symposium Proceedings

We evaluated the collecting locales of 251 masked bobwhite (Colinus virginianus ridgwayi) specimens in museum collections. Eighteen were from 4 sites in Arizona—all collected by Herbert Brown. The vast majority (93%) of specimens were from the Mexican State of Sonora. We visited and photographed each of the Arizona collection locations and most of the sites in Sonora. Collector descriptions indicate the bird’s principal habitat affiliations were with tall grass-weed (1⁄4 forb) pastures, savannas, and farm fields. All historic localities visited were either in grass-forb habitats along drainages or in present or former savannas adjacent to woody cover and/or agricultural fields …

Annual Variation In Northern Bobwhite Survival And Raptor Migration, R. Douglas Holt, L. Wes Burger Jr., Bruce D. Leopold, K. David Godwin

National Quail Symposium Proceedings

We estimated survival of radio-marked northern bobwhite (Colinus virginianus) on a managed prairie site in northeast Mississippi during 2 disparate winters (15 Sep-14 Apr 2000–2002). We retrospectively examined factors that may influence bobwhite survival. Pooled survival rates differed substantially between years (S 1⁄4 0.03 6 0.02 in 2000–2001 and S 1⁄4 0.36 6 0.16 in 2001–2002). Regional relative abundance of 3 species of raptors thought to be important predators of bobwhite was greater during 2000 compared to 2001 based on kriging of Christmas Bird Count (CBC) data. We demonstrate an approach for characterizing annual variation in spatial distribution of migratory …