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Ecology and Evolutionary Biology

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Selected Works

Selected Works

2008

Articles 1 - 10 of 10

Full-Text Articles in Life Sciences

Distribution Patterns Of Sciurus Niger (Eastern Fox Squirrel) Leaf Nests Within Woodlots Across A Suburban/Urban Landscape, Carmen M. Salsbury Nov 2008

Distribution Patterns Of Sciurus Niger (Eastern Fox Squirrel) Leaf Nests Within Woodlots Across A Suburban/Urban Landscape, Carmen M. Salsbury

Carmen M. Salsbury

To determine habitat characteristics that influence Sciurus niger (Eastern Fox Squirrel) abundance and distribution within a suburban/urban landscape in the midwestern United States, I documented the density and placement of fox squirrel leaf nests in 20 woodlots in the Indianapolis metropolitan area. Marion County, IN. The woodlots varied in size (0.94 to 19.5 ha), approximate age, shape, and degree of isolation from other woodlots and suitable squirrel habitat in the surrounding area. Only 8.0% of nests were located in a tree with another nest, and nests were randomly distributed in all but one woodlot, where they were uniformly dispersed. Nest …

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Writing Research Proposal: Literature Review And Database Search, Mamoudou H. Dicko Prof. May 2008

Writing Research Proposal: Literature Review And Database Search, Mamoudou H. Dicko Prof.

Pr. Mamoudou H. DICKO, PhD

The maiden proposed research project should demonstrate that the present study will add a significant knowledge on the subject. The main objective of the literature research is to allow that the statement of the research need will clearly establish the objective of the new study.

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The Decline And Recovery Of Four Predatory Fishes From The Southern California Bight, Daniel J. Pondella Ii, Larry G. Allen Dec 2007

The Decline And Recovery Of Four Predatory Fishes From The Southern California Bight, Daniel J. Pondella Ii, Larry G. Allen

Daniel Pondella

What to do about fisheries collapse and the decline of large fishes in marine ecosystems is a critical debate on a global scale. To address one aspect of this debate, a major fisheries management action, the removal of gill nets in 1994 from the nearshore arena in the Southern California Bight (34°26′30″N, 120°27′09″W to 33°32′03″N, 117°07′28″W) was analyzed. First, the impetus for the gill net ban was the crash of the commercial fishery for white seabass (Atractoscion nobilis; Sciaenidae) in the early 1980s. From 1982 to 1997 catch remained at a historically low level (47.8 ± 3.0 mt) when compared …

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Population Genetic Analysis Of Myzopoda (Chiroptera: Myzopodidae) In Madagascar, Amy L. Russell, Steven M. Goodman, Isabella Fiorentino, Anne D. Yoder Dec 2007

Population Genetic Analysis Of Myzopoda (Chiroptera: Myzopodidae) In Madagascar, Amy L. Russell, Steven M. Goodman, Isabella Fiorentino, Anne D. Yoder

Amy L. Russell

The chiropteran family Myzopodidae is endemic to Madagascar and is characterized by several unique morphologies, such as sessile adhesive discs on the thumb and sole. A new species, Myzopoda schliemanni, was recently described from western Madagascar that is morphologically distinct and geographically disjunct from the eastern species, M. aurita, the only other member of this family. Geographic variation within Myzopoda has only recently been studied at the morphological level and has never been addressed at the genetic level. We used a combination of phylogenetic, coalescent, and population genetic analyses to characterize the speciation history of Myzopoda and to clarify current …

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Biology Of The Epichloë-Botanophila Interaction: An Intriguing Association Between Fungi And Insects, Thomas L. Bultman, Adrian Leuchtmann Dec 2007

Biology Of The Epichloë-Botanophila Interaction: An Intriguing Association Between Fungi And Insects, Thomas L. Bultman, Adrian Leuchtmann

Thomas L. Bultman

Epichloë fungi (Ascomycota: Clavicipitaceae) are endophytes of grasses that can produce epiphytic stromata on the culms of their hosts. The fungal stromata are visited by Botanophila flies for feeding and egg laying. We review research over the past 20 years that has documented the heterothallic mating system of Epichloë, the mutualistic service of spermatization flies provide for the fungus, and host selection by flies. Flies display an active, stereotypical behavior immediately following oviposition by which spermatia are transferred endozoochorously to stromata. After eggs hatch larvae feed on developing perithecia. Several studies have focused on the cost (consumption of ascospores) to …

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Identifying The Fundamental Units Of Bacterial Diversity: A Paradigm Shift To Incorporate Ecology Into Bacterial Systematics, A. F. Koeppel, E. B. Perry, J. Sikorski, A. Warner, D. M. Ward, A. P. Rooney, E. Brambilla, N. Connor, E. Nevo, R. M. Ratcliff, Frederick M. Cohan Dec 2007

Identifying The Fundamental Units Of Bacterial Diversity: A Paradigm Shift To Incorporate Ecology Into Bacterial Systematics, A. F. Koeppel, E. B. Perry, J. Sikorski, A. Warner, D. M. Ward, A. P. Rooney, E. Brambilla, N. Connor, E. Nevo, R. M. Ratcliff, Frederick M. Cohan

Frederick M. Cohan

No abstract provided.

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Coalescent Analyses Support Multiple Mainland-To-Island Dispersals In The Evolution Of Malagasy Triaenops Bats (Chiroptera: Hipposideridae), Amy L. Russell, Steven M. Goodman, Murray P. Cox Dec 2007

Coalescent Analyses Support Multiple Mainland-To-Island Dispersals In The Evolution Of Malagasy Triaenops Bats (Chiroptera: Hipposideridae), Amy L. Russell, Steven M. Goodman, Murray P. Cox

Amy L. Russell

Aim We investigate the directionality of mainland-to-island dispersals, focusing on a case study of an African-Malagasy bat genus, Triaenops (Hipposideridae). Taxa include T. persicus from east Africa and three Triaenops species from Madagascar (T. auritus, T. furculus, and T. rufus). The evolution of this bat family considerably post-dated the tectonic division of Madagascar from Africa, excluding vicariance as a viable hypothesis. Therefore, we consider three biogeographical scenarios to explain these species’ current ranges: (A) a single dispersal from Africa to Madagascar with subsequent speciation of the Malagasy species; (B) multiple, unidirectional dispersals from Africa to Madagascar resulting in multiple, independent …

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Evidence Of Population-Level Lateralized Behaviour In Giant Water Bugs, Belostoma Flumineum Say (Heteroptera: Belostomatidae): T-Maze Turning Is Left Biased, Scott Kight Dec 2007

Evidence Of Population-Level Lateralized Behaviour In Giant Water Bugs, Belostoma Flumineum Say (Heteroptera: Belostomatidae): T-Maze Turning Is Left Biased, Scott Kight

Scott Kight

Lateralized behaviour occurs in diverse animals, but relatively few studies examine the phenomenon in invertebrates. Here we report a population-level left turn bias in the giant water bug Belostoma flumineum Say (Heteroptera: Belostomatidae) in an underwater T-maze. Individuals made significantly more left turns than right turns, including when they were na ̈ıve and first introduced to the maze. Water bugs also showed significantly longer runs of consecutive left turns than right turns (i.e. LLLLL). The length of these runs, however, did not increase with experience in the maze, suggesting that the effect is not the result of learning. There were …

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Prescribed Fire, Snag Population Dynamics, And Avian Nest Site Selection, Karen Bagne, Kathryn Purcell, John T. Rotenberry Dec 2007

Prescribed Fire, Snag Population Dynamics, And Avian Nest Site Selection, Karen Bagne, Kathryn Purcell, John T. Rotenberry

Karen Bagne

No abstract provided.

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The Dynamic Evolutionary History Of The Bananaquit (Coereba Flaveola) In The Caribbean Revealed By A Multigene Analysis, Eva Bellemain, Eldredge Bermingham, Robert E. Ricklefs Dec 2007

The Dynamic Evolutionary History Of The Bananaquit (Coereba Flaveola) In The Caribbean Revealed By A Multigene Analysis, Eva Bellemain, Eldredge Bermingham, Robert E. Ricklefs

Robert Ricklefs

Background
The bananaquit (Coereba flaveola) is a small nectivorous and frugivorous emberizine bird (order Passeriformes) that is an abundant resident throughout the Caribbean region. We used multi-gene analyses to investigate the evolutionary history of this species throughout its distribution in the West Indies and in South and Middle America. We sequenced six mitochondrial genes (3744 base pairs) and three nuclear genes (2049 base pairs) for forty-four bananaquits and three outgroup species. We infer the ancestral area of the present-day bananaquit populations, report on the species' phylogenetic, biogeographic and evolutionary history, and propose scenarios for its diversification and range …

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