Life Sciences Commons^™

Avian Thermoregulation In The Heat: Resting Metabolism, Evaporative Cooling And Limits To Activity In Sonoran Desert Birds, Eric Smith

Biology ETDs

Birds in subtropical deserts face significant thermoregulatory challenges as environmental temperatures regularly exceed avian body temperature. To understand the differing susceptibility of desert birds to increasing temperatures, this dissertation initially examined thermoregulatory performance in seven passerine bird species varying in body mass from 10 to 70g – Lesser Goldfinch, House Finch, Pyrrhuloxia, Cactus Wren, Northern Cardinal, Abert’s Towhee and Curve-billed Thrasher – and three larger Sonoran Desert nesting bird species – Mourning Dove (104 g), White-winged Dove (147 g) and Gambel’s Quail (161 g). Daytime resting metabolism, evaporative water loss and real-time body temperature were measured using flow-through respirometry at …

Examining Avian Diversity In Acadia National Park Through Time, Marie I. Ring

Honors College

Ecosystems experience change due to both natural causes and anthropogenic impact such as habitat fragmentation and climate change. Avian species are used as habitat indicators to observe ecosystem integrity and have been observed to experience changes in biodiversity due to anthropogenic impact. This study examines the temporal and spatial changes of avian biodiversity in Acadia National Park. We seek to understand (1) how the alpha diversity has changed over time on Mount Desert Island and Schoodic Peninsula, (2) how beta diversity has changed over time for Mount Desert Island and Schoodic Peninsula (3) how the Schoodic Woods Campground can be …

Bulletin No. 43: Birds Of The Connecticut College Arboretum: Eighty Years Of Change, Robert Askins

Bulletins

No abstract provided.

Cryptic Diversification Of Two Widespread Species In Madagascar, Lynika Sharlice Strozier

Master's Theses

Using phylogenetic and phylogeographic tools to uncover hidden diversity within the genus Newtonia in Madagascar

Madagascar is known for its rich biodiversity and high level of endemic species that are found nowhere else. Cryptic diversification, defined as genetically and evolutionarily distinct species that are hard to detect because they are morphologically indistinguishable from their closest relatives, has been hypothesized to occur in many groups on Madagascar. Currently it is unclear to what extent this phenomenon occurs in birds because only a few studies have been conducted. My study examined the phylogenetic and phylogeographic patterns within a songbird genus, Newtonia, that …

Birds And Vegetation Structure Of Isolated Juniper And Oak Communities In The Trans-Pecos Chihuahuan Desert., Kayla Garza

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Birds of the Trans-Pecos region are historically understudied, with most literature covering birds of desert grasslands and scrub in New Mexico and Northern Mexico. A multitude of vegetation communities within the Chihuahuan Desert have also been neglected due to this gap in the research, for reasons including lack of access to public or preserve land in West Texas, and rough terrain. Indio Mountains Research Station (IMRS), is located 42-km southwest of Van Horn, Texas and encompasses many different vegetation communities, including juniper-oak habitats of arroyo and canyon systems. The purpose of this study was to document the bird species utilizing …

Vertebrate Natural History Notes From Arkansas, 2018, Renn Tumlison, D. Blake Sasse, Henry W. Robison, Matt B. Connior, Chris T. Mcallister, Kelly Jobe, Matthew Anderson

Journal of the Arkansas Academy of Science

Because meaningful observations of natural history are not always part of larger studies, important pieces of information often are unreported. Small details, however, can fill gaps in understanding and lead to interesting questions about ecological relationships or environmental change. We have compiled recent important observations of distribution, deformities, and foods of various vertebrates, observations of winter activity of a woodchuck (Marmota monax) and winter torpor of a hoary bat (Lasiurus cinereus), and also report a very unusual case of bilateral gynandromorphism in a Cardinal (Cardinalis cardinalis). These unique observations continue to add immensely to …