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Full-Text Articles in Life Sciences
Urbanization Impacts On Land Snail Community Composition, Mackenzie N. Hodges
Urbanization Impacts On Land Snail Community Composition, Mackenzie N. Hodges
Masters Theses
Urbanization has tremendous impacts on most native species. Urban ecosystems are becoming increasingly prevalent, while urban ecology is a relatively underdeveloped field. This is especially true for terrestrial mollusks, which are a surprisingly understudied organism. Due to their low mobility and dispersal potential, land snails are valuable indicators of ecosystem disturbance. For this study, land snails were collected in 54 city parks along an urban gradient to understand influences of urbanization on snail communities. Sampled parks include small extensively landscaped downtown parks, neighborhood and community parks, district parks, and large nature parks, each with variable vegetation, soil characteristics, disturbance regimes, …
Nestmate Recognition In Odorous House Ants (Tapinoma Sessile): Effects Of Social Plasticity, Urbanization, And Laboratory Maintenance, Timothy J. Luttermoser
Nestmate Recognition In Odorous House Ants (Tapinoma Sessile): Effects Of Social Plasticity, Urbanization, And Laboratory Maintenance, Timothy J. Luttermoser
Open Access Theses
Odorous house ants (Tapinoma sessile) are a widespread North American ant species and common nuisance pest. In addition to their pest status, odorous house ants are of interest as a model system for understanding the factors that lead to variable queen number and nesting strategy across ants, as well as possible insight into common traits of exotic invasive (or “tramp”) ant species. While T. sessile is native to North America, in urban environments it forms large supercolonies with many queens and nest sites connected by trails, similar to a variety of exotic invasive ants, most of which are …
Host Densities And Parasitism Rates In A Forest Defoliator Across A Rural-Urban Landscape, Abigail J. Nelson
Host Densities And Parasitism Rates In A Forest Defoliator Across A Rural-Urban Landscape, Abigail J. Nelson
Theses and Dissertations
Fall cankerworm (FCW) outbreaks have recently increased in frequency and intensity in the mid-Atlantic region of the United States, especially around cities of Charlotte, NC and Richmond, VA. This study evaluated the effects of two landscape features associated with urbanization, impervious surface and forest cover, on population patterns of FCW and its parasitoids across eastern Virginia. Forest cover was positively related to parasitism rates while impervious surface was positively related to FCW abundance, suggesting that FCW outbreaks may be amplified in urban areas. FCW abundance declined over the two-year period of this study, but parasitism rate increased at most sites. …