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Ecology and Evolutionary Biology

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2018

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Articles 1 - 30 of 461

Full-Text Articles in Life Sciences

Courtship Behavior, Communication, And Copulation In Tigrosa Annexa, Samuel White Nov 2018

Courtship Behavior, Communication, And Copulation In Tigrosa Annexa, Samuel White

Scholars Week

The evolution of multimodal communication, where signalers use multiple signal components in multiple sensory modalities, has become the subject of investigation by many researchers. Signaling puts males at risk of predation, so why do males of some species evolve extra signals that may increase this risk? In some wolf spider species, males incorporate many visual and vibrational signals into a display that they use to attract a female for mating. Female spiders are often aggressive toward courting males and so the male display also functions to decrease the odds of cannibalism. Female wandering spiders deposit silk containing pheromones that communicate …


The Paradoxical Giant Hummingbird: Comparison Of Andean And Coastal Subspecies With Respect To Blood, Migration, And Genes, Jessie L. Williamson Nov 2018

The Paradoxical Giant Hummingbird: Comparison Of Andean And Coastal Subspecies With Respect To Blood, Migration, And Genes, Jessie L. Williamson

Shared Knowledge Conference

The Giant Hummingbird (Patagona gigas) is twice as large as the next largest hummingbird species and has long been considered paradoxical with respect to flight biomechanics. It is also an extreme outlier in other respects. For example, it is the only hummingbird species that breeds above 4,000 m elevation and also along the beaches of the Pacific Ocean. The high Andean populations of Giant Hummingbird (P. g. peruviana) that we have studied previously have a beta-hemoglobin genotype (serine at beta-hemoglobin A positions 13 and 83) that is characterized by high O2-affinity and is only shared with four unrelated hummingbird taxa …


Rainfall Changes Alter Plant Communities In Chihuahuan Desert Grasslands, Timothy Ohlert Nov 2018

Rainfall Changes Alter Plant Communities In Chihuahuan Desert Grasslands, Timothy Ohlert

Shared Knowledge Conference

Variations in New Mexico’s climate have been detected over the past century and are expected to continue into the future. Some of these climatic changes result in more frequent instances of extreme drought events and alterations of monsoon seasonality, with monsoons being pushed later into the fall. Such changes could make our Chihuahuan Desert plant communities less productive, shift the abundance of the plant species, or have other destabilizing impacts. Our experiment manipulated precipitation in two desert grassland communities at the Sevilleta National Wildlife Refuge near Socorro, NM. Some plots were subjected to an extreme drought event, receiving only 33% …


A Cohort-Based Program To Help Students Prepare A Conference Research Presentation, Alanna Lecher Oct 2018

A Cohort-Based Program To Help Students Prepare A Conference Research Presentation, Alanna Lecher

Florida Statewide Symposium: Best Practices in Undergraduate Research

Students move through many first time experiences when navigating their undergraduate and graduate education. Such experiences include the first time students submit an article to a peer-reviewed scientific journal, attend a conference, and conduct fieldwork. The cohort model has been shown to be effective in increasing success in undergraduate education, and it can be adapted to helping students succeed in these novel experiences as well. This presentation will explore one program where the cohort model was implemented to aid undergraduate students preparing their first conference presentation on a scientific research project. Program structure and implementation will be described.


Theory On Thermodynamic Constraints To Biogeochemical And Metabolic Diversity, Jordan Okie, Everett Shock Oct 2018

Theory On Thermodynamic Constraints To Biogeochemical And Metabolic Diversity, Jordan Okie, Everett Shock

Annual Symposium on Biomathematics and Ecology Education and Research

No abstract provided.


Modeling The Transmission Of Wolbachia In Mosquitoes For Controlling Mosquito-Borne Diseases, Zhuolin Qu Oct 2018

Modeling The Transmission Of Wolbachia In Mosquitoes For Controlling Mosquito-Borne Diseases, Zhuolin Qu

Annual Symposium on Biomathematics and Ecology Education and Research

No abstract provided.


Modeling Elemental Constraints Across Aquatic Food Webs, Md Nazmul Hassan, Angela Peace Oct 2018

Modeling Elemental Constraints Across Aquatic Food Webs, Md Nazmul Hassan, Angela Peace

Annual Symposium on Biomathematics and Ecology Education and Research

No abstract provided.


Extreme Climate Events And The Ecological Dynamics Of Plant-Herbivore Interactions, David C. Elzinga, Christopher A. Klausmeier, William C. Wetzel Oct 2018

Extreme Climate Events And The Ecological Dynamics Of Plant-Herbivore Interactions, David C. Elzinga, Christopher A. Klausmeier, William C. Wetzel

Annual Symposium on Biomathematics and Ecology Education and Research

No abstract provided.


Dynamics Of A Stoichiometric Producer-Grazer System With Seasonal Effects On Light Level, Lale Asik Oct 2018

Dynamics Of A Stoichiometric Producer-Grazer System With Seasonal Effects On Light Level, Lale Asik

Annual Symposium on Biomathematics and Ecology Education and Research

No abstract provided.


Analysis Of An Agent-Based Model For Integrated Pest Management With Periodic Control Strategies, Timothy Comar, Elizabeth Rodriguez Oct 2018

Analysis Of An Agent-Based Model For Integrated Pest Management With Periodic Control Strategies, Timothy Comar, Elizabeth Rodriguez

Annual Symposium on Biomathematics and Ecology Education and Research

No abstract provided.


Biomaap: Tackling Biology Students' Math Attitudes And Anxiety With Easily-Adoptable Materials, Arietta E. Fleming-Davies, Jeremy M. Wojdak Oct 2018

Biomaap: Tackling Biology Students' Math Attitudes And Anxiety With Easily-Adoptable Materials, Arietta E. Fleming-Davies, Jeremy M. Wojdak

Annual Symposium on Biomathematics and Ecology Education and Research

No abstract provided.


Stochastic Difference Model For Evolutional Dynamics Of Large Antigen Repertoires In African Trypanosomes, Fan Yu Oct 2018

Stochastic Difference Model For Evolutional Dynamics Of Large Antigen Repertoires In African Trypanosomes, Fan Yu

Annual Symposium on Biomathematics and Ecology Education and Research

No abstract provided.


The Future Of Biodiversity Assessment: Using Environmental Dna And Next-Generation Sequencing To Characterize Biological Communities In The Central Highlands Of Arizona, Courtney Turner-Rathbone Oct 2018

The Future Of Biodiversity Assessment: Using Environmental Dna And Next-Generation Sequencing To Characterize Biological Communities In The Central Highlands Of Arizona, Courtney Turner-Rathbone

Undergraduate Research Symposium - Prescott

Historically ecological surveys require significant man hours in the field, utilizing methods which can stress species being observed. In using environmental DNA (eDNA) gathered from air, soil, and water, traditional methods may be supplemented or reduced in order to more efficiently utilize funding and reduce or eliminate stress on surveyed species. Water was collected in replicates using aseptic technique from two different sites, 60 miles apart, along the Verde River. Samples were vacuum filtered within 24 hours through 0.45 μm cellulose nitrate (CN) filters to collect eDNA. DNA extraction from the filters was performed. The polymerase chain reaction (PCR) was …


Study Of The Visual Adaptation Mechanism In Marine Species With The Change Of Habitation Depth., Demid Osipov, Daniil Moshnikov Jun 2018

Study Of The Visual Adaptation Mechanism In Marine Species With The Change Of Habitation Depth., Demid Osipov, Daniil Moshnikov

The International Student Science Fair 2018

The goal of our work was to determine the principal mechanisms that provide the difference in visual perception of two marine species that live on different depths: T. Pacificus and O. Vulgaris. In nature, visual perception of species that live deeper is shifted towards the blue region. This is related to the fact that red, orange and yellow light is absorbed more strongly by water than the blue light. On the other hand, the visual perception spectrum of an animal is determined by the absorption spectrum of the "light sensor" located in rods and cones of its eye retina. These …


Predicting Critical Transitions In Spatially Distributed Populations With Cubical Homology, Laura Storch, Sarah Day May 2018

Predicting Critical Transitions In Spatially Distributed Populations With Cubical Homology, Laura Storch, Sarah Day

Biology and Medicine Through Mathematics Conference

No abstract provided.


The Role Of Outcome Preferences In Optimizing Heterogenous Disease Control Strategies., Evan Milliken May 2018

The Role Of Outcome Preferences In Optimizing Heterogenous Disease Control Strategies., Evan Milliken

Biology and Medicine Through Mathematics Conference

No abstract provided.


Functions Of Ecosystems: Stream Metabolism As An Efficient And Effective Means To Gage The Health And Understand The Interworking Of Urban Streams In A Watershed Of Rock Island, Il, Ryan Johnson, Dr. Kevin Geedey May 2018

Functions Of Ecosystems: Stream Metabolism As An Efficient And Effective Means To Gage The Health And Understand The Interworking Of Urban Streams In A Watershed Of Rock Island, Il, Ryan Johnson, Dr. Kevin Geedey

Celebration of Learning

Stream metabolism is a critical functional measure of stream health that integrates physical parameters like slope and discharge, with ecosystem functions like photosynthesis and respiration. Stream metabolism is widely studied; however, urban stream metabolism remains poorly understood. Stream metabolism was measured for five streams ranging from 1st to 5th orders from October 11th to October 18th 2017 and four streams ranging from 1st to 4th order from October 22nd to 25th 2017 located within an approximately 9.3 square kilometer watershed of Rock Island, IL that has an urban to suburban type of …


A Quantitative Analysis Of The Effects Of Urbanization, Mesophication And Prescribed Burns On Oak Woodlands In The Chicago Metropolitan Area, Chad Populorum May 2018

A Quantitative Analysis Of The Effects Of Urbanization, Mesophication And Prescribed Burns On Oak Woodlands In The Chicago Metropolitan Area, Chad Populorum

Celebration of Learning

Urban expansion has had devastating impacts on forest ecosystems, especially within the past century. Human attempts to dominate nature have diminished natural disturbance regimes, which have maintained the biodiversity and historic composition of these ecosystems. Fires have been a prominent force in maintaining the structure of oak, hickory and other heliophytic (sun loving and fire-adapted) forest systems. Human induced fire suppression has led to mesophication across North America. Mesophication is the transition from drier conditions with open canopies to wetter conditions with closed canopies. These new conditions decrease the survival rates of these important species and begin to favor mesophytic …


‘Preferred’ Stimulus Of A Whole Model Visual System, Olivier Penacchio, Julie M. Harris May 2018

‘Preferred’ Stimulus Of A Whole Model Visual System, Olivier Penacchio, Julie M. Harris

MODVIS Workshop

No abstract provided.


Secrets Of A Rare Bird: Breeding Behavior Of The Gray-Breasted Flycatcher (Lathrotriccus Griseipectus) In Ecuador, William Harris Kirkpatrick May 2018

Secrets Of A Rare Bird: Breeding Behavior Of The Gray-Breasted Flycatcher (Lathrotriccus Griseipectus) In Ecuador, William Harris Kirkpatrick

EURēCA: Exhibition of Undergraduate Research and Creative Achievement

The Tumbesian region of southwestern Ecuador and northwestern Peru is home to a large number of endemic bird species. Many of these species are threatened with extinction, and little is known about their basic biology. Thus, information regarding natural history of species in the region is needed to guide conservation management. We studied the reproductive biology of the Gray-breasted Flycatcher, Lathrotriccus griseipectus, a small Tyrannid that lives in the Tumbesian region. Due to habitat destruction, the range size of L. griseipectus has dwindled and the species is now listed as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List. We used a mounted …


Function Of The Posterior Laryngeal Constrictor In The Túngara Frog (Engystomops Pustulosus), Ashna Rahman Haque, Marcos Gridi-Papp Apr 2018

Function Of The Posterior Laryngeal Constrictor In The Túngara Frog (Engystomops Pustulosus), Ashna Rahman Haque, Marcos Gridi-Papp

Pacific Research & Scholarship Day

No abstract provided.


Frequency Of Hemlock Woolly Adelgid Information Provided In The Media: Impacts, Ecology, And Citizen Outreach, Anna Killeen Cameron, Casey Fellhoelter, Bevin Hardy, Lucas Smith Apr 2018

Frequency Of Hemlock Woolly Adelgid Information Provided In The Media: Impacts, Ecology, And Citizen Outreach, Anna Killeen Cameron, Casey Fellhoelter, Bevin Hardy, Lucas Smith

EURēCA: Exhibition of Undergraduate Research and Creative Achievement

An analysis of 165 media articles about the hemlock woolly adelgid (HWA), an invasive insect killing native hemlocks in eastern North America, was undertaken to determine possible influences of the public’s desire and ability to help with invasive species prevention and control. All of the articles mention at least one of the following: HWA impacts to ecosystems (55.2%), hemlock characteristics (47%), and the value of hemlocks (38.8%). Articles that mention HWA impacts and hemlock value also mention associated topics such as subsequent impacts from hemlock loss to shade and temperature control of forests and streams, trout and recreational fishing, and …


Small Mammal Diversity Varies By Vegetative Cover (Greene County, Ohio), Shannon Swicker, Kaytlin (Goodwin) Huizinga, Mark A. Gathany Apr 2018

Small Mammal Diversity Varies By Vegetative Cover (Greene County, Ohio), Shannon Swicker, Kaytlin (Goodwin) Huizinga, Mark A. Gathany

The Research and Scholarship Symposium (2013-2019)

Although agricultural needs are pressing and crop sales are vital for the local economies in southern Ohio, the resulting clearing of land has removed much of the state’s forests and natural prairies. A variety of species depend upon these habitats that have been reduced resulting in a potentially narrower ecological niche. In this study, we seek to determine the species richness and diversity of small mammals in three habitats (old field, forest, and lawn) and to evaluate factors affecting their activity. Our experimental results supported our hypothesis that the lawn site would have lower diversity than the other two sites. …


Can Omnivores Mediate The Effects Of Degradation?, Hannah Moore Apr 2018

Can Omnivores Mediate The Effects Of Degradation?, Hannah Moore

Scholars Week

Omnivores feed at multiple trophic levels and have large effects on community structuring and stability. The magnitude and direction of such effects, whether omnivores stabilize or destabilize communities, remains unresolved. Shifts in omnivore diet and trophic position may be of particular importance to community stability in degraded habitats, where resources are sparse. For example, omnivores may reduce the severity and duration of community responses to degradationby dampening the effects of any disturbance-mediated trophic cascade. The relatively simple food webs of freshwater systems are ideal for studying trophic ecology, and in the western U.S., streams are heavily degraded by overgrazing, beaver …


Relational Values And Valuation: Challenges, And Possibilities, Kai Chan Apr 2018

Relational Values And Valuation: Challenges, And Possibilities, Kai Chan

Salish Sea Ecosystem Conference

Although the ecological valuation literature has been focused largely on instrumental values, there is increasing recognition that relational values might play a crucial and related role in environmental policy and practice. For example, relational values—as preferences, principles and virtues about human relationships involving nature—are identified as central in the IPBES Conceptual Framework, and recent work has investigated the implications of these for conservation and ecosystem management. But what are the implications of relational values for ecosystem valuation? In this talk, I address this question in three points. First, whereas instrumental or economic values are values of a thing, relational values …


Assessing Biological Condition In Small Streams Of The Puget Sound Lowlands Through Collaborative Regional Monitoring, Richard Sheibley, Curtis Degasperi, Chad Larson, Brandi Lubliner, Leska S. Fore, Keunyea Song Apr 2018

Assessing Biological Condition In Small Streams Of The Puget Sound Lowlands Through Collaborative Regional Monitoring, Richard Sheibley, Curtis Degasperi, Chad Larson, Brandi Lubliner, Leska S. Fore, Keunyea Song

Salish Sea Ecosystem Conference

In 2015, the condition of Puget Sound Lowland streams was evaluated by collecting data for stream invertebrates, algae, water and sediment quality, and instream and riparian habitat. The study was designed and implemented as part of the Stormwater Action Monitoring program, a collaborative, regional stormwater monitoring program funded by more than 90 Western Washington cities and counties, the ports of Seattle and Tacoma, and the Washington State Department of Transportation. The goal of this long term program is to inform stakeholders on the status and trends of small streams within the Puget Lowlands and to track whether stream condition improves …


Wood Waste Assessment, Characterization, And Remediation In Esquimalt Harbour, Mikaela Davis, Scott Northrup Apr 2018

Wood Waste Assessment, Characterization, And Remediation In Esquimalt Harbour, Mikaela Davis, Scott Northrup

Salish Sea Ecosystem Conference

Log booming and wood processing operations in BC’s Esquimalt Harbour since the 1800s have resulted in the accumulation of wood waste deposits throughout the subtidal zone. Wood waste can adversely affect sediment quality and benthic and infaunal communities, prompting the Department of National Defence to prioritize the assessment of effects of wood waste on the ecological health of the nearshore marine environment in Esquimalt Harbour. In alignment with the overall Esquimalt Harbour Remediation Project, The Esquimalt Harbour Wood Waste Assessment and Characterization Project was initiated in 2016 and continues into 2018, with Hemmera supporting the assessment, determination of impacts and …


Discerning Population Connectivity And Natal Origins Of Pacific Herring (Clupea Pallasi): Inferences On Population Structure From Otolith Chemistry, Wade Smith, Tony Pitcher, Margot Hessing-Lewis, Brian P.V. Hunt, Evgeny A. Pakhomov Apr 2018

Discerning Population Connectivity And Natal Origins Of Pacific Herring (Clupea Pallasi): Inferences On Population Structure From Otolith Chemistry, Wade Smith, Tony Pitcher, Margot Hessing-Lewis, Brian P.V. Hunt, Evgeny A. Pakhomov

Salish Sea Ecosystem Conference

Pacific herring, Clupea pallasi, undertake annual migrations between feeding and spawning grounds that link life stages, habitats, populations, communities, and ecosystems. However, movement patterns of these highly mobile fish are poorly understood. Declines in Pacific herring abundance and slow population recoveries in the absence of fishing pressure have elevated concerns over the status of this ecologically, economically, and culturally important species. Pacific herring spawn on substrate in nearshore habitats where eggs and larvae develop for approximately two weeks before hatching. Early development within discrete spawning grounds could facilitate the incorporation of distinctive chemical signatures within otoliths that could be used …


Washington State Ferries: Colman Dock And The New Mukilteo Ferry Terminal: Environmental Protection And Marine Mammal Monitoring During Construction, Richard Huey Apr 2018

Washington State Ferries: Colman Dock And The New Mukilteo Ferry Terminal: Environmental Protection And Marine Mammal Monitoring During Construction, Richard Huey

Salish Sea Ecosystem Conference

Washington State Ferries (WSF) is constructing two major infrastructure projects in the Salish Sea. Colman Dock (Seattle Ferry Terminal) is undergoing a 5-year reconstruction, and WSF is building the first new ferry terminal in over 50 years in Mukilteo. This presentation gives an overview of both projects, focusing on environmental protection, sediment cleanup, mitigation, and protection of marine mammals and marbled murrelet from pile driving noise. The presentation includes a report on protected species seen during the first year of both projects, and the use of ArcGIS Online Survey 123 for sightings data collection.


Understanding The Implications Of A Changing Environment On Harvested Bivalve Populations Using Habitat Suitability Models, Ted Dewitt, Nathaniel Lewis, Eric Fox, Stephen Pacella Apr 2018

Understanding The Implications Of A Changing Environment On Harvested Bivalve Populations Using Habitat Suitability Models, Ted Dewitt, Nathaniel Lewis, Eric Fox, Stephen Pacella

Salish Sea Ecosystem Conference

Habitat suitability models are useful to forecast how environmental change may affect the abundance or distribution of species of interest. In the case of harvested bivalves, those models may be used to estimate the vulnerability of this valued ecosystem good to stressors. Using literature-derived natural history information, rule-based habitat suitability models were constructed in a GIS for several bivalve species (Clinocardium nuttallii, Mya arenaria, and Tresus capax) that are recreationally and commercially harvested in NE Pacific estuaries, including in the Salish Sea. Spatially-explicit habitat maps were produced for two Oregon estuaries using environmental data (salinity, depth, sediment grain size, and …