Life Sciences Commons^™

Seed Predation On Slickspot Peppergrass By The Owyhee Harvester Ant, Joshua P. White

Boise State University Theses and Dissertations

1. (1) Seed predation can significantly restrict the reproductive output and individual fitness of plants, particular those plants that are rare or endangered. In some cases the total seed loss can reach 100%. Owyhee harvester ants, Pogonomyrmex salinus, actively remove the fruits and seeds of slickspot peppergrass, Lepidium papilliferum, a rare mustard endemic to southwest Idaho.
2. (2) Several experiments were conducted to quantify seed predation on L. papilliferum located within the foraging distance of P. salinus. Individuals exposed to harvester ants experienced a direct loss of fruits and seeds ( > 40%), whereas plants shielded from ants suffered almost …

New Species And Expanded Geographic Ranges Of Gut Fungi And Their Symbiotic Relationship With Insect Hosts, Molly Elizabeth Bench

Boise State University Theses and Dissertations

Trichomycetes from suitable immature aquatic lower dipteran, mayfly and stonefly hosts (Baetidae, Capniidae, Chironomidae, Nemouridae, and Simuliidae) were collected and identified biweekly over a twelve month period, from an ephemeral system, Cottonwood Creek, in Boise, Idaho. The abundances of eight species of obligate endosymbionts from the genera Genistelloides, Harpella, Lancisporomyces, Paramoebidium, Smittium, and Zygopolaris were evaluated with host abundance for potential correlative relationships. The abundances of all of the examined species of gut fungi, except Smittium elongatum and S. megazygosporum, were positively correlated with the abundances of the hosts. The two species with non-significant relationships with their hosts' abundance were …