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Articles 1 - 19 of 19
Full-Text Articles in Life Sciences
Females In Control: Female Sensitivity To Predation Risk Affects Courtship And Reproductive Behaviours, Tin Nok Natalie Cheng
Females In Control: Female Sensitivity To Predation Risk Affects Courtship And Reproductive Behaviours, Tin Nok Natalie Cheng
Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository
Even in the absence of direct killing, predators have a pervasive effect on prey populations through costly anti-predator behavioural responses. In high risk environments, animals can reduce conspicuous behaviours such as courtship displays decreasing exposure at the cost of reproduction. Previous studies typically looked at male behaviour immediately following a predator cue, thus, not considering temporal variations in risk or the impact of female receptivity on male courtship. I placed male and female brown-headed cowbirds under chronically elevated predation risk with periods of high and low risk. Under high predation risk, females performed fewer chatter calls and were more likely …
Fear Of Predators Compromises Parental Care And Juvenile Survival In A Songbird, Philip Blair Dudeck
Fear Of Predators Compromises Parental Care And Juvenile Survival In A Songbird, Philip Blair Dudeck
Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository
Predators kill, but the risk of being killed is also a powerful force affecting survival because scared prey eat less, thereby increasing the likelihood of starvation. Young of most animals are extremely vulnerable to predators and may alter their behaviour to limit detection. I investigated the previously unexplored effects that predation risk has on the behaviour of newly fledged offspring and their parents, and the impact this has on offspring survival. I manipulated predation risk using sound and found that parent song sparrows reduced their feedings, providing 60% less food overall. Critically, not only did this parental response estimate survival …
The Evolution Of Kin Recognition, Timothy Ja Hain
The Evolution Of Kin Recognition, Timothy Ja Hain
Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository
The discovery that many animals are promiscuous has challenged the importance of Hamilton’s Rule because it reduces the net benefits of helping nestmates. To resolve this challenge, biologists have investigated animals’ abilities to determine degrees of relatedness among individuals using kin recognition mechanisms. I conducted a literature review and found that most animals use one of two mechanisms: “familiarity” whereby kin are remembered from interactions early in life, such as in a nest, or “phenotype matching” whereby putative kin are compared to a template of what kin should look, smell, or sound like based on relatives encountered during early life …
Seasonal And Long-Term (1995-2009) Changes In The Distribution And Abundance Of Submerged Aquatic Vegetation And Dreissenid Mussels In Inner Long Point Bay, Lake Erie, Robin Tj Churchill
Seasonal And Long-Term (1995-2009) Changes In The Distribution And Abundance Of Submerged Aquatic Vegetation And Dreissenid Mussels In Inner Long Point Bay, Lake Erie, Robin Tj Churchill
Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository
Invasion by mussels can cause rapid increases in the abundance of submerged aquatic vegetation (SAV) by increasing water clarity and altering nutrient cycling, but rapid expansion of the mussel population is often followed by a decline until a new regional carrying capacity is reached. I sampled Long Point Bay (LPB), Lake Erie, in 2009 to quantify changes in SAV communities and densities of zebra mussels (Dreissena polymorpha) since the peak of the latter in the early 1990s, and modeled influences of year, water depth, and substrate type on the probability of SAV detection. I detected a 96% decrease …
Sex Allocation And The Emergence Of Helping In Cooperatively Breeding Species., Josh D Dunn, Teodora Vujicic, Geoff Wild
Sex Allocation And The Emergence Of Helping In Cooperatively Breeding Species., Josh D Dunn, Teodora Vujicic, Geoff Wild
Applied Mathematics Publications
In cooperative breeding systems individuals invest in the reproductive success of others. In this paper, we study the emergence of cooperative breeding systems in which reproductively active breeders receive investment from reproductively non-active helpers. Our goal is to understand how the division of an investment between male and female components of breeder fitness (i.e. the helper sex-allocation strategy) influences the emergence of cooperative breeding itself. Using mathematical models, we arrive at expressions for the inclusive-fitness advantage of helpful behaviour that generalize previous work. These expressions assume an ecologically stable environment, and that breeders make evolutionarily stable sex-allocation decisions. We find …
Tactics To Stay Alive: Predation Risk Alters Body Condition And Escape Behaviour, Benjamin T. Walters
Tactics To Stay Alive: Predation Risk Alters Body Condition And Escape Behaviour, Benjamin T. Walters
Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository
Recent manipulations show that when perceived predation risk is high, animals will chronically alter their escape behaviour, even if it affects physiological condition to such an extent that survival may be reduced. I tested the relationships amongst predation risk, mass change, and flying capacity in brown-headed cowbirds (Molothrus ater) housed in large outdoor aviaries. I measured changes in the birds’ body condition, take-off behaviour and flying capacity after manipulating the ambient level of perceived predation risk in their environment using various predator or non-predator cues. Cowbirds exposed to predator stimuli gained, rather than lost, body mass and changed …
Natural Variation In Malarial Infection And Immune Investment In A Migratory Songbird, And The Effects Of Infection On Flight Performance, Laura Rooney
Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository
Endurance flight and immune defense are energetically costly activities for birds, and there may be a trade-off between migration and immune investment. Avian blood parasites consume host resources, which may decrease a bird’s resource pool so that endurance flight and immune defense may not be possible simultaneously. I developed a molecular method to detect and quantify blood parasite infection in migrating yellow-rumped warblers (Setophaga coronata), and measured immune activity. I assessed the impact of infection on endurance flight performance and refueling in captive birds. Infection status was not related to age or sex, or timing of migration, and …
Movement, Habitat Selection, And Survival Of Female Wood Ducks (Aix Sponsa) And Ducklings At Long Point, Ontario., Matthew E. Dyson
Movement, Habitat Selection, And Survival Of Female Wood Ducks (Aix Sponsa) And Ducklings At Long Point, Ontario., Matthew E. Dyson
Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository
Nest box programs provide additional nesting opportunities for wood ducks throughout their breeding range. The purpose of my research was to understand habitat use and survival of wood ducks produced from nest boxes during the brood-rearing period. I used radio-telemetry to monitor female wood ducks and ducklings to 30 days post-hatch. Females showed the greatest selection for swamp, scrub-shrub, and emergent marsh habitats, and used emergent marsh most. Female survival was high (0.90, 95% CI = 0.81 – 1.0). Conversely, brood survival (0.47, 95% CI = 0.33 - 0.69) and duckling survival (0.18, 95% CI = 0.14 – 0.22) were …
Vocalizations, Feeding And Flight Behaviour Of Nectar-Feeding Bats (Glossophaga Soricina And Leptonycteris Yerbabuenae), Meghan A. Murphy
Vocalizations, Feeding And Flight Behaviour Of Nectar-Feeding Bats (Glossophaga Soricina And Leptonycteris Yerbabuenae), Meghan A. Murphy
Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository
When nectar-feeding bats converge on a food source, they may use vocal signals to minimize the risk of interference by others and maximize feeding efficiency. I conducted playback experiments with captive Pallas’ long-tongued bats (Glossophaga soricina) and wild lesser long-nosed bats (Leptonycteris yerbabuenae) to investigate the implications of vocalizations on feeding behaviour and assess behavioural responses. I hypothesized that echolocation calls and social calls are used as air traffic signals around a central food source. I found evidence that L. yerbabuenae primarily use echolocation calls as signals to maintain an efficient group feeding system, and detect their conspecifics …
Restoration Of Native Biodiversity In Altered Environments: Reintroduction Of Atlantic Salmon Into Lake Ontario, Aimee Lee S. Houde
Restoration Of Native Biodiversity In Altered Environments: Reintroduction Of Atlantic Salmon Into Lake Ontario, Aimee Lee S. Houde
Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository
Less than a quarter of reintroduction programs have succeeded in re-establishing a self-sustaining population of an extirpated species. Optimal source population selection, based on an evolutionary perspective, could increase the fitness of translocated individuals, thereby improving the success rate of restoring extirpated populations. Here, using three source populations of Atlantic salmon, Salmo salar (LaHave River, Sebago Lake, and Lac Saint-Jean), that are being used for reintroduction efforts into Lake Ontario, I examined two optimal source population selection approaches: environment matching and adaptive potential. For environment matching, source populations from locations containing similar key environment features as the reintroduction location should …
Improving The Use Of Migration Counts For Wildlife Population Monitoring, Tara L. Crewe
Improving The Use Of Migration Counts For Wildlife Population Monitoring, Tara L. Crewe
Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository
Counts of migrating animals are used to monitor populations, particularly for species that are not well sampled by breeding and wintering surveys. The use of migration counts for population monitoring relies on the assumptions that new individuals are detected each day, and that probability of detecting those individuals remains constant over time. The impact of violating these assumptions on our ability to estimate reliable population trends is not well understood. Further, on a broad spatial scale, our ability to combine data across sites to estimate regional or national trends has been limited by the possibility that trends vary regionally in …
Effects Of Recurrent Inclement Winter Weather Cues On White-Throated Sparrows (Zonotrichia Albicollis), Andrea C. Boyer
Effects Of Recurrent Inclement Winter Weather Cues On White-Throated Sparrows (Zonotrichia Albicollis), Andrea C. Boyer
Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository
Climate change has been linked to an increasing frequency of inclement weather and winter storms. As such, it is important to understand the effects changing weather patterns have on avian species. I investigated the effects of recurrent inclement winter weather cues on glucocorticoid hormones and behaviour of a native Canadian songbird, white-throated sparrows (Zonotrichia albicollis). I used a hypobaric climatic wind tunnel to simulate storms by altering barometric pressure and temperature accordingly, and measured behavioural responses, body composition, and baseline corticosterone levels in birds exposed, or not exposed, to weekly simulated storms. After environmental manipulations, experimental birds had …
Exploration Of Spatial And Temporal Changes In Trophic Status Of Lakes In The Northern Temporal Forest Biome Using Remote Sensing, Aleksey Paltsev
Exploration Of Spatial And Temporal Changes In Trophic Status Of Lakes In The Northern Temporal Forest Biome Using Remote Sensing, Aleksey Paltsev
Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository
There is a critical need for detailed surveys of lakes covering large spatial (>100 km2) and temporal scales (decades) to determine if there is an increase in the magnitude and frequency of phytoplankton blooms. Remote sensing was used to: (1) develop a regression model that relates chlorophyll a (chl-a) as a proxy of lake phytoplankton biomass to Landsat TM and ETM+ optical reflectance (r2=0.85, p
Translesion Synthesis And Mutations: On The Mutagenic Properties Of The Two Dna Lesions, 8-Oxo-G And Pt-Gg, And The Functions Of Y-Family Dna Polymerases And Rev3l On The Bypass Of Each Of The Dna Lesions In Mammalian Cells, Lizhen Guo
Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository
I studied the capabilities of the two DNA lesions 8-oxo-guanine and cisplatin intrastrand crosslinked 1,2-d(GpG) or Pt-GG to cause mutations in mammalian cells. Using isogenic cell lines generated from mice with selective gene knockouts of distinct DNA polymerases as models, I deduced the biological functions of the translesion DNA polymerases Pol eta, Pol kappa, Pol iota, Rev1 and Rev3L on bypassing each of the lesions 8-oxo-G and Pt-GG. My study takes advantage of the Next Generation Sequencing (NGS) technology to determine mutagenic effects of the DNA lesions in vivo and effects of translesion DNA polymerases on bypassing the lesions. Through …
Natal Philopatry In Song Sparrows (Melospiza Melodia) Predicts Female Cellular Versus Humoral Immune Function, But Does Not Consistently Predict Parasitism, Heather L. Macgillivray
Natal Philopatry In Song Sparrows (Melospiza Melodia) Predicts Female Cellular Versus Humoral Immune Function, But Does Not Consistently Predict Parasitism, Heather L. Macgillivray
Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository
Parasites vary geographically and dispersing host individuals may encounter different strains and wider varieties than their philopatric counterparts. Previously observed lower parasite counts in philopatric than dispersing birds have been suggested to be the result of local adaptation to parasites, but I suggest an alternative: these patterns may result from differing immune function. I used genetic assignment tests to infer natal philopatry of song sparrows (Melospiza melodia), and tested whether this predicted parasitism and innate and adaptive immune function. I found no relationship between parasitism and philopatry, in contrast to previous findings. In females, philopatry was associated with …
Fish Out Of Salt Water: Smoltification In Subyearling Chinook Salmon From The Laurentian Great Lakes, Steve Sharron
Fish Out Of Salt Water: Smoltification In Subyearling Chinook Salmon From The Laurentian Great Lakes, Steve Sharron
Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository
The timing of smoltification in juvenile anadromous salmonids is important to ensure individuals match their preparedness with their migration timing and the optimal conditions in the environment. I performed the first study of smoltification in adfluvial juvenile Chinook salmon naturalized in the Laurentian Great Lakes. In a hatchery study, I found that juveniles from one of these populations have similar patterns of smoltification timing to individuals from anadromous populations. Their Na+/K+ ATPase activity, a common indicator or smolt status, peaked at 7.7 μmoles ADP/mg protein/hour on July 1 in freshwater. During the peak period, individual body size …
Reproductive Success And Sexual Selection In Drosophila Melanogaster (Diptera: Drosophilidae), Trinh Xuan Thi Nguyen
Reproductive Success And Sexual Selection In Drosophila Melanogaster (Diptera: Drosophilidae), Trinh Xuan Thi Nguyen
Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository
Sexual selection is a branch of natural selection which acts upon variation in reproductive success. Sexual selection is a complex field of study in biology as each species has their own mating system and strategies. Models of sexual selection theory are not mutually exclusive, and often times there are multiple layers of selection within a given mating system. For instance, both direct and indirect benefits of sexual selection can occur simultaneously, and selection can act both before and after mating occurs. Postcopulatory sexual selection, which is not as well understood, can be comprised of both the male-male interaction of sperm …
Ecological And Evolutionary Interactions Between Song Sparrows (Melospiza Melodia) And Their Bloodborne Parasites, Yanina Sarquis-Adamson
Ecological And Evolutionary Interactions Between Song Sparrows (Melospiza Melodia) And Their Bloodborne Parasites, Yanina Sarquis-Adamson
Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository
Local adaptation is the result of natural selection operating at a local scale, such that trade-offs in fitness across different environments result in individuals having higher fitness in their place of origin than when transported into a foreign environment. Populations may become locally adapted to features of their abiotic environment, or in the case of coevolutionary arms races between hosts and parasites, to other species comprising their biotic environment. If host populations are adapted to their local (sympatric) parasites, or conversely if parasites are adapted to their local hosts, then interactions with local parasite strains may influence the fitness consequences …
Cold Truths: How Winter Drives Responses Of Terrestrial Organisms To Climate Change, Caroline M. Williams, Hugh A.L. Henry, Brent J. Sinclair
Cold Truths: How Winter Drives Responses Of Terrestrial Organisms To Climate Change, Caroline M. Williams, Hugh A.L. Henry, Brent J. Sinclair
Biology Publications
Winter is a key driver of individual performance, community composition, and ecological interactions in terrestrial habitats. Although climate change research tends to focus on performance in the growing season, climate change is also modifying winter conditions rapidly. Changes to winter temperatures, the variability of winter conditions, and winter snow cover can interact to induce cold injury, alter energy and water balance, advance or retard phenology, and modify community interactions. Species vary in their susceptibility to these winter drivers, hampering efforts to predict biological responses to climate change. Existing frameworks for predicting the impacts of climate change do not incorporate the …