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Monitoring Selenium Bioaccumulation In False Map Turtles (Graptemys Pseudogeographica), Grant M. Budden Apr 2024

Monitoring Selenium Bioaccumulation In False Map Turtles (Graptemys Pseudogeographica), Grant M. Budden

Honors Thesis

Selenium is an element that becomes bioactivated in aquatic environments. Selenium bioaccumulation may threaten a South Dakota state-threatened species, the False Map Turtle (Graptemys pseudogeographica). Invertebrate filter feeder species like zebra mussels (Dreissena polymorpha) uptake selenium via exposure. Previous laboratory work has found that False Map Turtles consume large amounts of zebra mussels throughout the summer, leading to selenium bioaccumulation from selenium transfer from prey to predator. A myriad of adverse effects, like selenosis, reproductive infertility, and death, are associated with high selenium concentrations. Sampling was completed on False Map Turtles in the summer of 2022. …


Metabolic Scaling Of Aquatic Macroinvertebrates, Jacob Woelber Apr 2024

Metabolic Scaling Of Aquatic Macroinvertebrates, Jacob Woelber

Honors Thesis

The common assumption in regard to metabolic rate scaling with body size is the 3/4 law, which predicts a scaling exponent of 0.75 between log metabolic rate and log body size. Supporting evidence exists for this theory on a large, general scale. However, factors such as temperature, predation, and environment can cause the scaling exponent to deviate from 0.75. This paper takes a closer look at the effects of temperature and predation on metabolic rates via oxygen consumption in freshwater macroinvertebrate populations. To do this, 24 tanks were filled with water to allow natural populations of macroinvertebrates (predominantly Chironomidae) to …


Impacts Of Environmental Stressors On Native South Dakota Amphibian Physiology And Survival, Danielle Jean Galvin Dec 2023

Impacts Of Environmental Stressors On Native South Dakota Amphibian Physiology And Survival, Danielle Jean Galvin

Dissertations and Theses

Amphibian populations around the world are declining, with some of the most likely drivers behind these declines including emerging infectious diseases and environmental contaminants. To address major gaps in the current literature, I sought to evaluate the effect of two major environmental stressors on various aspects of amphibian physiology: emerging infectious diseases and environmental contaminants. Emerging infectious diseases of amphibians include fungal, viral, and parasitic pathogens which have expanded in host range, either geographically or in competent host species. Environmental contaminants include chemicals which may be naturally occurring in the environment, or which may be introduced to the environment, often …


Measuring Selenoprotein Content In False Map Turtles (Graptemys Pseudogeographica) Along The Missouri River, Ruby A. Hawks May 2023

Measuring Selenoprotein Content In False Map Turtles (Graptemys Pseudogeographica) Along The Missouri River, Ruby A. Hawks

Honors Thesis

Metals and metalloids are becoming more prevalent in lakes and reservoirs of South Dakota which are toxic and hazardous in high concentrations or when biomagnified through trophic levels. Selenium is of particular concern as it can bind into the structures of proteins in place of other elements, changing protein structure and function within affected organisms. Zebra mussels (Dreissena polymorpha) are an invasive filter-feeding metal-bioaccumulating species that are rapidly spreading upstream through the Missouri River. They can take up selenium and directly transfer it to higher trophic level taxa. False map turtles (Graptemys pseudogeographica) are a common …


How Phylogeny And Arboreality Affect Pelvic Girdle Anatomy Of Chameleons, Dakota J. John May 2023

How Phylogeny And Arboreality Affect Pelvic Girdle Anatomy Of Chameleons, Dakota J. John

Honors Thesis

Morphological adaptations have allowed animals to inhabit different landscapes such as mountains, forests, plains, etc. These adaptations have increase in prevalence through natural selection processes in all species which allow favorable traits to be passed to offspring. Chameleons have evolved a plethora of adaptations that have allowed them to persist in different niches. One anatomical feature of chameleons that has not been well studied is the pelvic girdle. The pelvic girdle bridges the axial and appendicular skeletons in animals, so the size, shape, and orientation of the girdle is important to how the animal functions in its environment. The pelvic …


Monitoring Movement And Range Expansion Of Silver And Bighead Carp (Hypophthalmichthys Molitrix, H. Nobilis) In South Dakota Tributaries Of The Missouri River, Lindsey Ann Pearl Labrie Jan 2023

Monitoring Movement And Range Expansion Of Silver And Bighead Carp (Hypophthalmichthys Molitrix, H. Nobilis) In South Dakota Tributaries Of The Missouri River, Lindsey Ann Pearl Labrie

Dissertations and Theses

Invasive species, climate change, human impacts on the landscape, flooding, and drought are all dynamic factors that greatly impact the Missouri River and its tributaries in eastern South Dakota. Invasive Carp, and more specifically, Bighead (Hypophthalmichthys nobilis) and Silver Carp (H. molitrix), first invaded the Missouri River watershed in eastern South Dakota in the late 1990s and have since spread throughout the basin downstream of Gavin’s Point Dam. The first chapter of this study uses environmental DNA (eDNA) in the context of two major barriers to fish movement in the Vermillion and Big Sioux Rivers to determine potential presence and …


Application Of Hierarchical Species Distribution Models To Avian Species Of South Dakota And The Upper Missouri River Basin, Reza Goljani Amirkhiz Jan 2023

Application Of Hierarchical Species Distribution Models To Avian Species Of South Dakota And The Upper Missouri River Basin, Reza Goljani Amirkhiz

Dissertations and Theses

Recognizing the distributional patterns of species can inform management actions and increase scientific knowledge about species. Habitat Suitability Models (HSMs) are valuable tools in modeling species’ niches and effects of climate change and anthropogenic and natural disturbances on species’ distributions and abundances. In this dissertation, I expanded the application of hierarchical HSMs for a rare bird (Virginia’s warbler) and an economically valuable bird (ring-necked pheasant) in South Dakota. Also, we developed multiscale HSMs for grassland birds in the Upper Missouri River Basin (UMRB) to quantify current habitat associations and predict the influences of climate and landcover change associated with the …


Documenting Range Expansion Of Two Invasive Tick (Acari:Ixodidae) Species In Eastern South Dakota, Braden Wojahn Jan 2023

Documenting Range Expansion Of Two Invasive Tick (Acari:Ixodidae) Species In Eastern South Dakota, Braden Wojahn

Dissertations and Theses

This project documents the expanded zoogeographic ranges of the blacklegged tick (Ixodes scapularis) and lone star tick (Amblyomma americanum) within eastern South Dakota. Ticks are important when considering a “One Health” approach, as many species are competent vectors of zoonotic pathogens causing human diseases and conditions such as Lyme disease, tularemia, rickettsia, and alpha gal syndrome. The research involved constitutes two steps. First, tick surveillance was conducted in eastern counties of South Dakota, spanning March 2021 through August 2022. Surveillance took place along edge habitat at recreation areas, state and public parks, wildlife management areas and refuges, and other natural …


Trophish: Building A Global Database Of Freshwater Trophic Interactions, Jacob M. Ridgway May 2022

Trophish: Building A Global Database Of Freshwater Trophic Interactions, Jacob M. Ridgway

Honors Thesis

Freshwater management and research frequently use the trophic data of freshwater fishes. Despite this fact, it is difficult to perform a simple search of dietary information for any one fish species. FishBase represents, to our knowledge, the largest compilation of freshwater dietary information to date. However, it excludes a large portion of the ecological literature due to its development taking place prior to the creation of most modern scientific search engines. Our project (TroPhish) is building upon FishBase by digitizing approximately 130 years of data from the fish predation literature. Data from the primary and grey (e.g. theses, dissertations, reports) …


Study Of Adaptive Radiation Effects On Sprint Performance In Anolis Ecomorphs, Alexander J. Bergeson May 2022

Study Of Adaptive Radiation Effects On Sprint Performance In Anolis Ecomorphs, Alexander J. Bergeson

Honors Thesis

Anolis lizards have become model organisms for the study of adaptive radiation and convergent evolution due to repeated patterns of specialization that allow them to live in different environmental niches within the habitats they occur. As part of a suite of adaptations for living in specific habitats, many species have repeatedly evolved specific changes in anatomy and physiology that make them better able to perform and survive in their surroundings. These specialized forms are referred to as “ecomorphs” based on their preferred habitats and have been well documented among Caribbean anoles. Mainland species, on the other hand, are less studied. …


Digging For Information: Investigating The Efficacy Of Tracking And Augmenting Lacunicambarus Nebrascensis For Endangered Dragonfly Conservation, Danielle Elaine Tesar Jan 2022

Digging For Information: Investigating The Efficacy Of Tracking And Augmenting Lacunicambarus Nebrascensis For Endangered Dragonfly Conservation, Danielle Elaine Tesar

Dissertations and Theses

Restoration and preservation of habitat for threatened and endangered species can proceed in many ways. Augmentation strategies can be used to supplement threatened and endangered populations or the species and resources on which those imperiled species depend. Comprehensive knowledge of species movement and home range is necessary to formulate effective augmentation plans. For freshwater burrowing crayfish, this type of information is generally lacking. The studies reported here were designed to acquire detailed information that is essential for augmentation of the plains devil crayfish, Lacunicambarus nebrascensis (formerly, Cambarus diogenes). Although L. nebrascensis populations are not considered threatened, this crayfish provides vital …


Ecological Changes Of The Lower Niobrara River Valley And Lewis And Clark Lake Delta From Past To Present, Madalyn Christine Bollig Jan 2022

Ecological Changes Of The Lower Niobrara River Valley And Lewis And Clark Lake Delta From Past To Present, Madalyn Christine Bollig

Dissertations and Theses

Over half of the world’s large river systems are impacted by dams. These may prevent sediment flow downstream, resulting in accumulation in the upstream reservoir. On the Missouri River, deltas and associated backwater-affected areas occur in nine locations across six reservoirs. One of these, the Lewis and Clark Lake delta-backwater, is influenced by sediment inputs from both the Missouri River and the Niobrara River. While the extension of the prograding delta into the reservoir has been well documented, there has been little research on upstream (backwater) effects of the delta on the lower Niobrara River. This study examined ecological changes …


Impacts Of Environmental And Anthropogenic Stressors On Amphibian Welfare, Diversity, And Distribution In The Upper Missouri River Basin, Kaitlyn Campbell Dec 2021

Impacts Of Environmental And Anthropogenic Stressors On Amphibian Welfare, Diversity, And Distribution In The Upper Missouri River Basin, Kaitlyn Campbell

Dissertations and Theses

Climate change and anthropogenic stressors have contributed to rapid declines among various taxonomic groups; however, amphibian declines have been particularly intense and primarily stemmed from warming temperatures, habitat loss, exposure to contaminants, disease, and their subsequent interactions. Several climate mitigation strategies, like Bioenergy with Carbon Capture and Storage, have been proposed to alleviate the impact of rising temperatures; however, these proposals often fail to recognize and quantify the true impact on fauna, including changes in species distributions. To address this critical gap in knowledge, this research identified current amphibian distributions in the Upper Missouri River Basin and projected distribution changes …


Selenium Burdens In Painted Turtles (Chrysemys Picta), Holly A. Gerberding May 2021

Selenium Burdens In Painted Turtles (Chrysemys Picta), Holly A. Gerberding

Honors Thesis

Tile drain systems are a critical advancement in agriculture that move excess water from crop fields to streams, ditches, and wetlands. Selenium is a necessary mineral but is considered toxic at high levels. Previous research indicates that wetlands with tile drains are at a higher risk for elevated selenium concentrations. Selenium enters the aquatic ecosystem via these tile systems and us taken up by invertebrates and continues to bioaccumulate mainly via direct transfer in higher trophic level taxa such as fish, amphibians, reptiles, birds, and mammals. For this study, painted turtles (Chrysemys picta) served as a model organism to …


Detection Of Neonicotinoids In Northern Leopard Frog (Rana Pipiens) Brains, Peyton G. Keller May 2021

Detection Of Neonicotinoids In Northern Leopard Frog (Rana Pipiens) Brains, Peyton G. Keller

Honors Thesis

Neonicotinoids are widespread and commonly used to fight agricultural pests. Unfortunately, these neurotoxic insecticides commonly reach nearby wetlands due to tile drainage systems and agricultural runoff. Non-target organisms, such as amphibians, use wetlands as habitat and are likely exposed to elevated neonicotinoid levels. We collected Northern leopard frogs and water samples from control and tile wetlands to compare imidacloprid brain concentrations and subsequent changes in brain morphology. Additionally, a lab-based experiment was conducted to further analyze the ability of imidacloprid and its metabolite, imidacloprid-olefin, to cross the blood-brain barrier. Tile wetlands had higher aquatic imidacloprid concentrations. Subsequently, amphibians collected from …


Influences Of Anti-Bd Bacteria On Amphibians And Their Microbiomes, Emme L. Schmidt May 2020

Influences Of Anti-Bd Bacteria On Amphibians And Their Microbiomes, Emme L. Schmidt

Honors Thesis

The fungal pathogen Batrochochytrium dendrobatidis (Bd) has been threatening amphibian populations across the globe. Recent work has discovered that bacteria isolated from certain populations of amphibians protect hosts from this pathogen. This project focuses on the anti-fungal mechanisms of Serratia marcescens, a species of bacteria isolated from a Costa Rican frog that dramatically inhibited Bd in culture. Wild-type and recombinant S. marcescens was introduced to the microbiomes of a live amphibian host, Acris blanchardi (Blanchard’s Cricket Frog) and then challenged with Bd to examine the protective effects of this bacteria. The experiment includes recombinant S. marcescens with …


Suspended Sediment Contributions Of Nebraska Tributaries Along The 59-Mile, Nathan Cardona Jan 2019

Suspended Sediment Contributions Of Nebraska Tributaries Along The 59-Mile, Nathan Cardona

Sustainable RIVER

No abstract provided.


Perceptions Of Multifunctional Landscapes Along The Missouri National Recreational River, Ann Mcgehrin Jan 2019

Perceptions Of Multifunctional Landscapes Along The Missouri National Recreational River, Ann Mcgehrin

Sustainable RIVER

No abstract provided.


Effects Of Invasive Trees On Native Floodplain Forest Vegetation & Breeding Bird, Jacob Myers Jan 2019

Effects Of Invasive Trees On Native Floodplain Forest Vegetation & Breeding Bird, Jacob Myers

Sustainable RIVER

No abstract provided.


New Life For Old Data: Compiling Global Diet Data Of Freshwater Fishes, Jacob Ridgway Jan 2019

New Life For Old Data: Compiling Global Diet Data Of Freshwater Fishes, Jacob Ridgway

Sustainable RIVER

No abstract provided.


Ethnohistorical Relationships Among American Indian Tribes & The Missouri River, Stormi Schroder Jan 2019

Ethnohistorical Relationships Among American Indian Tribes & The Missouri River, Stormi Schroder

Sustainable RIVER

No abstract provided.


Effects Of Insecticides On Amphibians, Lilian M. Heinzel Jan 2019

Effects Of Insecticides On Amphibians, Lilian M. Heinzel

Sustainable RIVER

No abstract provided.


Tree Presence And Species Identity Affect American Beaver Activity Along The Missouri River, Ashley M. Williams Jan 2019

Tree Presence And Species Identity Affect American Beaver Activity Along The Missouri River, Ashley M. Williams

Sustainable RIVER

No abstract provided.


The Importance Of Aquatic Insect-Derived Missouri River, Katy A. Mccarthy Jan 2019

The Importance Of Aquatic Insect-Derived Missouri River, Katy A. Mccarthy

Sustainable RIVER

No abstract provided.


A Changed River's Effects On Native Turtle Distribution, Marshall Kim Jan 2019

A Changed River's Effects On Native Turtle Distribution, Marshall Kim

Sustainable RIVER

No abstract provided.


Yote Bike Share Operations Manual, Department Of Sustainability, University Of South Dakota May 2018

Yote Bike Share Operations Manual, Department Of Sustainability, University Of South Dakota

Sustainability & Environment

Yote Bike Share was started by the Sustainability Capstone class in 2017. This was started to better the mental and physical health of the students and faculty of the University of South Dakota. Not only does it make Vermillion healthier and more connected, but it also gives students and faculty that do not have a bike a sustainable option of transportation. Over the first year the bike share program has been a huge success. Students have found the bike share program extremely enjoyable. In the future we hope to expand. We see this program being expanded to other areas on …


Colonizing The Mníšoše (Missouri River): Devastating Effects Of The Pick-Sloan Plan, Selena Olvera Jan 2017

Colonizing The Mníšoše (Missouri River): Devastating Effects Of The Pick-Sloan Plan, Selena Olvera

Sustainable RIVER

No abstract provided.


Mapping The Missouri, Becca Krasky Jan 2017

Mapping The Missouri, Becca Krasky

Sustainable RIVER

No abstract provided.


Effects Of Fish On Aquatic Insects, Tyler Seidel Jan 2017

Effects Of Fish On Aquatic Insects, Tyler Seidel

Sustainable RIVER

No abstract provided.


Time Of Plant Establishment Affects Prairie Composition, Aleisa Labelle Jan 2017

Time Of Plant Establishment Affects Prairie Composition, Aleisa Labelle

Sustainable RIVER

No abstract provided.