Life Sciences Commons^™

Landscape Genetics Of The Endangered California Tiger Salamander (Ambystoma Californiense) In The Los Vaqueros Watershed, Ryan Neal Vincent

Mahurin Honors College Capstone Experience/Thesis Projects

Genetic diversity is essential for maintaining healthy biological systems, and dispersal-mediated gene flow increases genetic diversity by introducing new alleles to a gene pool. Populations that frequently experience gene flow will show characteristic similarities in allele frequencies. Measuring genetic diversity among many populations across a landscape has proven to be a powerful approach for assessing the ways that habitat discontinuities may affect patterns of gene flow, and in turn, influence allele frequencies and population dynamics. This study examines the landscape-level population genetic structure of the California tiger salamander, Ambystoma californiense, within the Los Vaqueros Watershed of Contra Costa County, …

Park Rangers' Behaviors And Their Effects On Tourists And Tibetan Macaques (Macaca Thibetana) At Mt. Huangshan, China, Rie Usui, Lori K. Sheeran, Jin-Hua Li, Lixing Sun, Xi Wang, Alexander J. Pritchard, Alexander S. Duvall-Lash, R. Steven Wagner

Biology Faculty Scholarship

Previous studies have reported the negative impacts of tourism on nonhuman primates (NHPs) and tourists and advocated the improvement of tourism management, yet what constitutes good quality management remains unclear. We explored whether rates of macaque aggression and self-directed behaviors (SDBs) differed under the supervision of two park ranger teams at the Valley of the Wild Monkeys (VWM) in Mt. Huangshan, Anhui Province, China. The two ranger teams provisioned and managed a group of macaques on an alternating monthly basis. Monkey, tourist and ranger behaviors were collected from August 16–September 30, 2012. Macaque aggression and SDB rates did not differ …

Historical Demography And Dispersal Patterns In The Eastern Pipistrelle Bat (Perimyotis Subflavus), Alynn M. Martin

Masters Theses

The recent emergence of threats to North American bat conservation has prompted increased population genetics research on high risk species. The eastern pipistrelle bat is affected by both white-nose syndrome and wind turbine mortality. However, little work has been done regarding the population structure and effective population size of this species. Using the HVI region of the mitochondria and eight microsatellite loci, I analyzed male and female structure across the sample range of P. subflavus and estimated the effective population size of their populations. Pairwise F_ST values indicate that there is one panmictic population based on microsatellite data, while …

Movements Of A Juvenile Crowned Eagle (Harpyhaliaetus Coronatus) Tracked By Satellite Telemetry In Central Argentina, Vicente Urios, Maria Pilar Donat-Torres, Marc J. Bechard, Miguel Ferrer

Biology Faculty Publications and Presentations

Background: A juvenile Crowned Eagle was tagged at its nest with a satellite transmitter. The Crowned Eagle (Harpyhaliaetus coronatus) is one of the most unknown raptor species from the American continent. Their current distribution ranges from central Brazil to central Argentina, with a total population of 350–1500 individuals across this large area, being thus largely fragmented.

Results: During the three years of tracking the bird concentrated its movements in a range spanning for 12845 km², but concentrating mainly in four smaller areas accounting for 3073 km². The locations were recorded mainly over shrubland habitats …

Cryptic Diversity And Conservation Of Gopher Frogs Across The Southeastern United States, Stephen C. Richter, Eric M. O’Neill, Schyler O. Nunziata, Andrew Rumments, Emily S. Gustin, Jeanne E. Young, Brian I. Crother

Biological Sciences Faculty and Staff Research

Identifying cryptic biodiversity is fundamental to evolutionary biology and to conservation efforts. This study investigated range-wide genetic diversity of Gopher Frogs, Lithobates capito, across the southeastern United States coastal plain to determine implications for taxonomy and conservation. We collected data for two mtDNA regions in 21 populations to identify genetic structure across the geographic distribution of the species. Based on population genetic, phylogenetic, and genealogical analyses, we recovered three reciprocally monophyletic mtDNA lineages corresponding to mainland coastal plain populations and two lineages within peninsular Florida. Breakpoints for these lineages did not occur in previously identified hotspots of amphibian phylogeographic breaks …

The Neotropical Genus Austrolebias: An Emerging Model Of Annual Killifishes, Nibia Berois, María J. Arezo, Rafael O. De Sá

Biology Faculty Publications

Annual fishes are found in both Africa and South America occupying ephemeral ponds that dried seasonally. Neotropical annual fishes are members of the family Rivulidae that consist of both annual and non-annual fishes. Annual species are characterized by a prolonged embryonic development and a relatively short adult life.

Males and females show striking sexual dimorphisms, complex courtship, and mating behaviors. The prolonged embryonic stage has several traits including embryos that are resistant to desiccation and undergo up to three reversible developmental arrests until hatching. These unique developmental adaptations are closely related to the annual fish life cycle and are the …

Regional Assessment Of The Relationships Of Conservation Practices To Northern Bobwhite And Other Priority Grassland Bird Breeding Populations, Christopher Manuel Lituma

Doctoral Dissertations

I documented populations of Northern Bobwhites (Colinus virginianus) and other priority grassland and early successional birds in the Central Hardwoods Bird Conservation Region (CHBCR), and determined whether conservation practices have been effective in positively impacting species occupancy and abundance. I designed and implemented a roadside survey by randomly locating five 15-km routes with 5-min unlimited distance point counts (30 counts/route), along secondary roads within Northern Bobwhite focal counties (n = 37) in the CHBCR. I also developed a survey to assess roadside biases for estimates of relative abundance (a), occupancy (ψ), detection probability (p), and associated …

Inferring Herpetofaunal Distributions And Habitat Preferences For Conservation Planning, Lisa M. Prowant

Master's Theses

Global climate change is a serious threat to global biodiversity (IPCC, 2001). Due to their limited dispersal ability, reptiles and amphibians might be more vulnerable to rapid climate change than are other taxonomic groups (Gibbons et al., 2000). Herpetofauna in south-central Kansas was sampled from May through August in 2012 and 2013. Seven study sites spanning Meade, Clark, Comanche, and Barber counties were sampled. Drift fence and cover-board traps were arranged in transects at each site to capture reptiles and amphibians. Species were also sampled through surveys on all-terrain vehicles and on foot. Two thousand nine hundred and forty five …

Conspecific Attraction In A Low-Density Population Of A Threatened Songbird, Daniel James Albrecht-Mallinger

Theses and Dissertations

Many organisms use both vegetation structure and social cues in selecting habitats. Many species of songbirds use the presence of breeding conspecifics as a social cue and sign of habitat quality, and can be induced to settle in unoccupied habitats by artificially broadcasting breeding song, a process referred to as “conspecific attraction”. In our study, we tested response to conspecific attraction a low-density population of the threatened Golden-winged Warbler (Vermivora chrysoptera) in Highland County, VA. Response to broadcast song was observed, with a modest increase in mean male abundance at survey points within 250 meters of treatments, and mean abundance …

Grizzly Bear Monitoring By The Heiltsuk People As A Crucible For First Nation Conservation Practice, William G. Housty, Anna Noson, Gerald W. Scoville, John Boulanger, Richard M. Jeo, Chris T. Darimont, Christopher E. Filardi

All Faculty Scholarship for the College of the Sciences

Guided by deeply held cultural values, First Nations in Canada are rapidly regaining legal authority to manage natural resources. We present a research collaboration among academics, tribal government, provincial and federal government, resource managers, conservation practitioners, and community leaders supporting First Nation resource authority and stewardship. First, we present results from a molecular genetics study of grizzly bears inhabiting an important conservation area within the territory of the Heiltsuk First Nation in coastal British Columbia. Noninvasive hair sampling occurred between 2006 and 2009 in the Koeye watershed, a stronghold for grizzly bears, salmon, and Heiltsuk people. Molecular demographic analyses revealed …

Conservation Assessment And Habitat Notes For Three Rare Alabama Crayfishes: Cambarus Cracens, Cambarus Scotti, And Cambarus Unestami, Stephanie L. Kilburn, Christopher A. Taylor, Guenter Schuster

Biological Sciences Faculty and Staff Research

Over seventy percent of the world's freshwater crayfish species are found within the United States, and much of this diversity is concentrated in the southeastern United States. Yet many of these species remain understudied. Of particular interest is the conservation status of these understudied taxa. We conducted fieldwork in 2011 across northeastern Alabama and northwestern Georgia to review the occurrence, habitat, and in sonic cases, local population densities of three crayfish species (Cambarus scotti, C. unestami, and C. cracens) to determine current distributions in relation to historical surveys. All three species occur in flowing small to medium-sized streams with firm …