Life Sciences Commons^™

Evaluation Of Natural Steelhead Recruitment In The Muskegon River, Michigan, Nicholas C. Albrecht

Masters Theses

The lower Muskegon River is one of the most heavily fished rivers in the state of Michigan and is a valuable component of the multi-billion dollar sport fishery in the Great Lakes. Although significant stocking effort has been invested to maintain and improve the steelhead (Oncorhynchus mykiss) fishery in the Muskegon River, natural recruitment has been severely limited due to high summer water temperatures. The goal of this research project was to evaluate the success of a diffuser system installed in 2008 at Croton Dam to moderate high summer water temperatures in the lower Muskegon River. I estimated natural juvenile …

The Effects Of Soil Ph And Texture On The Molting Success And Survival Of Blacklegged Ticks (Ixodes Scapularis): A Field Experiment, Colleen Cook

Honors Theses

The blacklegged tick (Ixodes scapularis) is the primary vector of Borrelia burgdorferi, the causative agent of Lyme disease. When a tick is not questing or feeding, the majority of its life is spent within the soil. Abiotic factors within soil have been shown to affect tick molting and survival across all life stages. Soil pH, however, has not been heavily investigated. In this field study, I investigated the effects of soil pH and texture on engorged nymphal ticks. Two sites were chosen to encompass the extremes of soil pH in the region; the Albany Pine Bush in Albany, NY has …

Survival, Abundance, And Geographic Distribution Of Temperate-Nesting Canada Geese (Branta Canadensis) In Arkansas, Margaret Eliese Ronke

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Temperate-nesting Canada geese in Arkansas have grown in abundance and range since reintroduction in the 1980s. The Arkansas Game and Fish Commission uses harvest and other methods to maintain the population at desired levels. However, continued management of temperate-nesting geese requires knowledge of the population's demographics and current range to help establish quantifiable management goals.

To assess the need and effect of changing hunting regulations, survival and recovery rates and abundance were estimated for this population. Annual survival rates of temperate-nesting Canada geese banded and recovered in Arkansas from 2005 to 2011 were estimated using the Burnham joint live-dead recovery …

Nest Survival Of Grassland Breeding Birds In A Southern Mixed-Grass Prairie Wetland, Clinton Helms

Master's Theses

As a group, grassland birds have been declining significantly since European settlement of the prairie. The subsequent plowing of the prairie by settlers was compounded by fire suppression, resulting in a patchwork of cultivated fields with intermittent tracts of overgrown grassland. Over an interval of ~200 years, these practices lead to an estimated decline of 96 % of native tallgrass prairie habitat. Due to the imperiled status of grassland birds, an emphasis has been placed on managing for this particular group throughout the southern mixed-grass prairie region. I investigated the effects of adaptive three-pasture rotational grazing treatments (3ROT) versus traditional …

Prothoracicotropic Hormone-Producing Neurosecretory Neurons And Antioxidative Defense In Midgut Of Lymantria Dispar In Trophic Stress, Vesna Peric Mataruga, Milena Vlahovic, Marija Mrdakovic, Dajana Todorovic, Dragana Matic, Anja Gavrilovic, Larisa Ilijin

Turkish Journal of Biology

As a very invasive insect species, Lymantria dispar is adaptable and sensitive to a changing environment. In insects the neuroendocrine system first reacts to stress by production of prothoracicotropic neurohormones (PTTH) that control ecdysteroid synthesis (morphogenetic and stress hormones). In this article, we report changes in the L2' brain neurosecretory neurons that synthesize PTTH in L. dispar larvae after feeding on locust tree leaves (Robinia pseudoacacia), an unsuitable host plant. Groups of larvae (n = 20 per experimental group) were offered this in comparison with oak leaves (Quercus robur), a suitable control diet, for 3 days after molting into the …