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Full-Text Articles in Life Sciences
Life After Death – Does Carcass Biodiversity Scale With Carcass Body Size?, Troy Warfield
Life After Death – Does Carcass Biodiversity Scale With Carcass Body Size?, Troy Warfield
Biological Sciences Undergraduate Honors Theses
Mammals play a large role in the ecosystems where some, especially large-bodied mammals, act as ecosystem engineers. Mammal carcasses, particularly those of large body mass act as a temporary island of dense nutrients that support other organisms, including other mammal species, for an extended period. Research in this field currently focuses on the link between mammal carcass size and nutrient availably or on non-mammalian size and biodiversity, but little is available on the correlation between mammal carcass size and its influence on ecosystem biodiversity. Here we ask, does the available biomass (i.e., body size) of the carcass affect its role …
Conspecific Aggression Of Invasive Crayfish, P. Clarkii, In Response To Chemical Cues, Elyse Vetter, Elise Dearment, Audrey Fontes, Gary Bucciarelli, Lee Kats
Conspecific Aggression Of Invasive Crayfish, P. Clarkii, In Response To Chemical Cues, Elyse Vetter, Elise Dearment, Audrey Fontes, Gary Bucciarelli, Lee Kats
Seaver College Research And Scholarly Achievement Symposium
Red Swamp Crayfish, Procambarus clarkii, have caused vast damage to the stream ecosystem of the Santa Monica Mountains, following their invasive introduction. Through their extensive eating habits, high levels of aggression, and responsiveness to environmental stimuli, P. clarkii have a tremendous impact on the success of native species in the Santa Monica Mountains. With exposure to chemical cues, crayfish are able to perceive threats and react accordingly. To determine the extent of such chemoreception, pairs of P. clarkii were tested in the laboratory for conspecific aggression in the presence of native newt, native frog, and conspecific alarm cues. The …
The Effects Of Symbiote Ostracods On Invasive Crayfish Behavior, Audrey Fontes, Elyse Vetter, Gary Bucciarelli, Lee Kats
The Effects Of Symbiote Ostracods On Invasive Crayfish Behavior, Audrey Fontes, Elyse Vetter, Gary Bucciarelli, Lee Kats
Seaver College Research And Scholarly Achievement Symposium
Invasive crayfish, Procambarus clarkii, are known to negatively impact the biodiversity of Santa Monica Mountain streams. Small symbiotes, ostracods, live on Procambarus clarkii in some local streams. However, their effect on the behaviour of invasive crayfish is unknown. We used an aqueous chlorobutanol solution to remove ostracods from crayfish. We paired control crayfish with those that had ostracods removed and scored aggressive interactions. Crayfish without ostracods were found to be significantly more aggressive towards crayfish with ostracods. When we compared feeding behavior, we found that crayfish without ostracods consumed food more quickly than control crayfish. We again subjected crayfish …
Where Birds Chill: An Assessment Of The Habitat Preferences Of Birds Overwintering In Hudson Valley Forests, Elizabeth Claire Axley
Where Birds Chill: An Assessment Of The Habitat Preferences Of Birds Overwintering In Hudson Valley Forests, Elizabeth Claire Axley
Senior Projects Spring 2019
Many avian species overwinter in eastern North America; however, studies on bird populations are rarely undertaken during this critical survival time, and little is known as to their habitat preferences and foraging behavior. In this observational study, we performed a survey of birds overwintering in the Hudson Valley’s temperate, primarily-deciduous forests, assessing avian populations’ habitat preferences through the vegetative structural variables surrounding overwintering birds as they forage. Our results suggest that high canopy cover is critically important to predicting overwintering bird occupancy on a microhabitat scale. Moreover, overwintering birds preferentially occupy forest plots not dominated by sugar maples, in spite …
The Diversity Of Terrestrial Mammals Surrounding Waterfall At Billy Barquedier National Park, Kelsey Johnson, Jason Apple
The Diversity Of Terrestrial Mammals Surrounding Waterfall At Billy Barquedier National Park, Kelsey Johnson, Jason Apple
Discovery, The Student Journal of Dale Bumpers College of Agricultural, Food and Life Sciences
Billy Barquedier is a National Park located in the Stann Creek district of Belize that contains Neotropical vegetation and wildlife. This study was performed to provide a baseline inventory and appearance frequency patterns of the terrestrial mammals located within Zone 1 of the park near a waterfall and to gain a greater understanding of the biodiversity and activity patterns of terrestrial mammals within the park. The methods included camera traps, small Sherman live traps, large live traps, and tracking methods. A non-random sampling method of placing camera traps and live traps on or near human-made or animal-made trails was used …
Eight-Legged Encounters—Arachnids, Volunteers, And Art Help To Bridge The Gap Between Informal And Formal Science Learning, Eileen Hebets, Melissa Welch-Lazoritz, Pawl Tisdale, Patricia Wonch Hill
Eight-Legged Encounters—Arachnids, Volunteers, And Art Help To Bridge The Gap Between Informal And Formal Science Learning, Eileen Hebets, Melissa Welch-Lazoritz, Pawl Tisdale, Patricia Wonch Hill
Eileen Hebets Publications
Increased integration and synergy between formal and informal learning environments is proposed to provide multiple benefits to science learners. In an effort to better bridge these two learning contexts, we developed an educational model that employs the charismatic nature of arachnids to engage the public of all ages in science learning; learning that aligns with the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS Disciplinary Core Ideas associated with Biodiversity and Evolution). We created, implemented, and evaluated a family-focused, interactive science event—Eight-Legged Encounters (ELE)—which encompasses more than twenty modular activities. Volunteers facilitated participant involvement at each activity station and original …
Emergent Non-Consumptive Predator Effects Alter Habitat Colonization By Dipteran Prey, Ethan G. Staats
Emergent Non-Consumptive Predator Effects Alter Habitat Colonization By Dipteran Prey, Ethan G. Staats
Theses and Dissertations
When ovipositing, prey organisms avoid habitat patches containing predator cues because predators consume, and negatively affect the fitness of their prey. Richness of predator species often enhances the strength of consumptive predator effects, but little is known about how multiple predators combined affect prey non-consumptively. We quantified dipteran colonization in aquatic mesocosms in response to varied predator richness. Multiple predator species combined reduced oviposition by Culex mosquitoes, chironomid midges, and the general colonizing dipteran community more than predicted by the effects of the independent predator species. Previous research which quantifies effects of multiple predators on prey as prey abundance, but …
The Plight Of Cranes: A Case Study For Conserving Biodiversity, J. Christopher Haney, Mark E. Eiswerth
The Plight Of Cranes: A Case Study For Conserving Biodiversity, J. Christopher Haney, Mark E. Eiswerth
Proceedings of the North American Crane Workshop
Cranes provide an exemplary case for evaluating conservation policy because (1) they are a charismatic group with high public visibility, (2) as migratory vertebrates they provide an umbrella for the protection of aquatic habitats and a wider set of species, (3) they are a widely-distributed avian family, consequently protection efforts have favored international cooperation, (4) genetic and taxonomic relationships have been studied, and (5) populations of at least 7 crane species are threatened, endangered, or otherwise considered at direct risk. We use comparisons among the world's cranes to show how biogeographic, taxonomic, and genetic data bases can be linked for …