Life Sciences Commons^™

Additive Negative Effects Of Decadal Warming And Nitrogen Addition On Grassland Community Stability, Q. Wu, G. D. Han, S. X. Chang, H. Y. Ren

IGC Proceedings (1993-2023)

Much recent research has explored how global warming and increased nitrogen (N) deposition, two important components of global environmental changes, influence the structure and functioning of natural ecosystems. However, how ecosystem dynamics respond to the combination of long-term warming and N enrichment remains largely unexplored. The impact of warming and N addition on the temporal stability of plant communities were investigated in a decade-long field experiment. The study was conducted in northern China in a desert steppe, using a split-plot design with warming as the main-plot factor and N addition as the splitplot factor. Long-term warming and N addition had …

Eragrostis Curvula Effects On Above And Below-Ground Plant Species Richness And Diversity, Jed Brown, A. Merchant, L. Ingram

IGC Proceedings (1993-2023)

Monitoring and managing the soil seed bank is fundamental to land management as it constitutes the future generations of invasive plant communities. Invasive plants have traits that result in high recruitment through increased seed generation, short seed dormancy and phenotypic plasticity. Furthermore, invasive plants with growth forms that inhibit the growth and recruitment of other species can lead to monocultures and associated reduction in above-ground biodiversity, potentially negatively impacting the soil seed bank diversity and ecosystem functions and services. Eragrostis curvula is one such species that has many of these invasive traits, including high propagule generation, and can exclude plant …

Floristic Composition And Species Richness Model In Winter Rangelands Of Northeastern Iran, Anahita Rashtian, Mansour Mesdaghi

IGC Proceedings (1993-2023)

Due to the variable annual rainfall, the plant communities of rangelands in northeastern of Iran are fluctuating and the productivity is highly variable. This ecosystem covers about 500,000 ha and is one of the important winter ranges in Iran. In this fluctuating ecosystem, species diversity and floristic composition are changing annually (Pabot, 1967). Under heavy grazing most of the range species were extinct, but under light and moderate grazing, species richness was improved, fitting with the humped-back model (Wilkinson, 1999). The objectives of this research were 1) to determine floristic composition in three vegetation types and 2) to show the …

The Relationship Between Species Diversity And Productivity Of Cool-Season Grassland, S. E. Florine, Kenneth J. Moore, Steven L. Fales, R. L. Hintz

IGC Proceedings (1993-2023)

Iowa grasslands consist mainly of introduced cool-season grasses and forbs. Many of these species are well adapted and have become naturalised. Most of these grasslands are located on marginal sites with heterogeneous soils and topography. Consequently, there is significant variation in the botanical composition and biomass productivity within and across grassland sites. This experiment aimed to evaluate the botanical composition and biomass productivity of representative grasslands and to determine if there was a relationship between grassland species diversity and biomass production across sites.

Impact Of Wildlife Provisioning On Species Diversity, Relative Frequency, And Richness In New South Wales, Alanah Cohen-Tigör

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Wildlife provisioning and camera trapping are two recently evolving methods of conservation and wildlife management, aimed at protecting animals in the face of ever worsening climate change. Habitats are being destroyed by climate disruption, decreasing species diversity and abundance worldwide. It is imperative that methods of protecting species are developed to slow or reverse this era of extinction. By providing supplementary food and water to ecological communities, the hope is that species will have improved survivorship and reproduction, making them more resilient and resistant to population decline. Camera trapping is product of modern technology, allowing researchers to monitor species without …

Species Richness Affects Grassland Yield And Yield Stability Across Seasons, Sites And Years, David J. Barker, Reuben M. Sulc, M. R. Burgess, T. L. Bultemeier

IGC Proceedings (1993-2023)

The benefits of biodiversity (specifically species richness) are proposed to include both greater yield and greater stability of yield in a variable environment (Sanderson et al., 2004). Experimental evidence showing yield benefits is inconsistent (White et al., 2004). There is relatively little experimental data showing the effects of species richness on yield stability. The objective of this study was to measure the yield from mixtures with up to 12 species, and to measure the variability of yield between 2 sites, between spring and summer, and in 2 successive years.

Enhancing Grassland Biodiversity And Its Consequences For Grassland Management And Utilisation, Johannes Isselstein

IGC Proceedings (1993-2023)

Key points

1. Grasslands make an important contribution to the biodiversity of rural landscapes.

2. Biodiversity has the potential to support the production function of grassland. The conditions for this are largely unexplored.

3. The enhancement of biodiversity on agriculturally improved, species-poor grasslands is difficult to achieve due to seed limitation and high residual soil fertility.

4. Measures to overcome constraints are addition of propagules, depletion of soil nutrients, and the use of specific sward treatments.

5. Agri-environmental schemes will play an increasing role in achieving the biodiversity targets in the future, however, the efficiency of such schemes needs improvement.

Effect Of High-Intensity, Short-Duration Grazing On Species Density And Botanical Composition Of Arid Rangelands, Mounir Louhaichi, Mouldi Gamoun, Fethi Gouhis, Ezzeddine Belfekih, Mohamed Abdelkader

IGC Proceedings (1993-2023)

Rangelands are the mainstay of pastoral and agropastoral livelihoods worldwide. They have provided forage for livestock and wildlife for centuries, but steady degradation of rangelands is causing increasing concern. Many rangeland managers believe exclusion of livestock grazing for extended periods would allow degraded rangelands to recover. The purpose of this current ongoing research is to evaluate the effect of high-intensity short-duration grazing on plant density, species richness and botanical composition on arid rangelands during favorable years. The site, which is protected for two years in southern Tunisia and covers an area of 6 ha, was grazed by a flock of …

The Influence Of Large Animal Diversity In Grazed Ecosystems, M. G. Murray, D. R. Baird

IGC Proceedings (1993-2023)

Field observations in the Serengeti National Park, Tanzania have revealed several modes of grazing system, including migration, sustained-yield grazing and grazing succession which contribute on the one hand to ecological separation of herbivores by habitat choice, but on the other hand to positive association of species on wet season pastures known as hot spots. Drawing from results of experimental field studies, we consider what is known about resource competition and facilitation, the two key ecological processes underlying these grazing systems, and specify the shape of the relationship between species richness and pasture height that is predicted depending on which process …

Optimum Area Of Semi-Natural Grassland To Maintain Maximum Butterfly And Avian Species Richness In Japan, A. Shoji, K. Kohyama, H. Sasaki

IGC Proceedings (1993-2023)

To evaluate the optimum area of semi-natural grassland to maintain maximum butterfly and avian species richness in Japan, digitalized grid data of butterfly and avian distribution, as well as vegetation distribution, throughout the country were used. After obtaining logistic regression models explaining the probabilities of occurrence of each species with semi-natural grassland area and latitude as variables, the optimum value was calculated. The expected maximum species richness of butterflies in the country was the highest in the case of about 40 square kilometers of semi-natural grassland per 100 square kilometers, though the value varied somewhat with latitude. The expected maximum …

Biodiversity Scale-Dependence And Opposing Multi-Level Correlations Underlie Differences Among Taxonomic, Phylogenetic And Functional Diversity, Nadejda A. Mirochnitchenko, Erica F. Stuber, Joseph J. Fontaine

Nebraska Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit: Staff Publications

Aim: Biodiversity is a multidimensional property of biological communities that represents different information depending on how it is measured, but how dimensions relate to one another and under what conditions is not well understood. We explore how taxonomic, phylogenetic, and functional diversity can differ in scale-of-effect dependence and habitat-biodiversity relationships, and subsequently how spatial differences among biodiversity dimensions may arise. Location: Nebraska, United States. Taxon: Birds. Methods: Across 2016 and 2017, we conducted 2,641 point counts at 781 sites. We modeled the occupancy of 141 species using Bayesian Bernoulli-Bernoulli hierarchical logistic regressions. We calculated species richness (SR), phylogenetic diversity (PD), …

The New Tendencies Of Environmental Impact Assessment Of Livestock Production: A Road Testing Of Leap/Fao Biodiversity Assessment Guidelines In Pastoral Systems In Uruguay, F. De Santiago, G. Pompozzi, M. Simó, Oscar Blumetto

IGC Proceedings (1993-2023)

After the publication of the “long shadow of cattle” report, ruminant production systems have received great pressure for their contributions in greenhouse gases (GHG). However, the environmental effects of human activities are much broader than GHG production and in some cases, there are positive contributions. In order to broaden the environmental perspective and with the encouragement of governments, the private sector and NGOs, LEAP-FAO has developed environmental assessment guidelines for the world's livestock production systems. This paper presents a road-testing of the Biodiversity Assessment Guideline at farm scale for six case studies in pastoral livestock systems in Uruguay. The producers …

Characterizing The Relationship Between Species Richness And The Seasonal Phenomenon Of Tropical Fish Dispersal In New England Waters, Michael E. O'Neill

Graduate Masters Theses

The Gulf Stream exerts tremendous influence over oceanographic conditions in the Northwest Atlantic as it transports tropical water to higher latitudes. As the Gulf Stream’s path traverses the east coast of North America, there are implications for the biogeography of marine ecosystems within this range and beyond. While the meandering eddies and warm core rings generated by the Gulf Stream persist year-round, the seasonal warming of New England’s coastal waters afford many tropical species transported by the current temporary residence through the summer and fall. Many aspects that shape this phenomenon and its impact on coastal ecosystems remain a mystery. …

From The Steppe To The Desert: Survey Of Band-Winged Grasshoppers From Mongolia (Orthoptera: Acrididae: Oedipodinae) Based On Material From 50 Years Of Expeditions, Lara-Sophie Dey, Matthias Seidel, Davaa Lchagvasuren, Martin Husemann

Erforschung biologischer Ressourcen der Mongolei / Exploration into the Biological Resources of Mongolia, ISSN 0440-1298

The steppe regions of Mongolia have a rich grasshopper fauna. Especially, the short-horned (Caelifera) grasshopper family Acrididae with the subfamilies Gomphocerinae (slant-faced grasshoppers) and Oedipodinae (band-winged grasshoppers) show a high diversity and abundance. This study reviews the Mongolian fauna of band-winged grasshoppers based on collection data of 50 years of expeditions of the German-Mongolian research cooperation. These collection data (assembled between 1962 and 2019) were used to generate a faunistic overview of Oedipodinae species for the region. In total 740 specimens belonging to 16 species were reported. Based on the collected material, study of the types and the original species …

Landscape-Scale Differences Among Cities Alter Common Species’ Responses To Urbanization, Mason Fidino, Travis Gallo, Elizabeth W. Lehrer, Maureen H. Murray, Cria Kay, Heather A. Sander, Brandon Macdougall, Carmen M. Salsbury, Travis J. Ryan, Julia L. Angstmann, J. Amy Belaire, Barbara Dugelby, Chris Schell, Theodore Stankowich, Max Amaya, David Drake, Sheryl H. Hursh, Adam A. Ahlers, Jacque Williamson, Laurel M. Hartley, Amanda J. Zellmer, Kelly Simon

Scholarship and Professional Work - LAS

Understanding how biodiversity responds to urbanization is challenging, due in part to the single-city focus of most urban ecological research. Here, we delineate continent-scale patterns in urban species assemblages by leveraging data from a multi-city camera trap survey and quantify how differences in greenspace availability and average housing density among 10 North American cities relate to the distribution of eight widespread North American mammals. To do so, we deployed camera traps at 569 sites across these ten cities between 18 June and 14 August. Most data came from 2017, though some cities contributed 2016 or 2018 data if it was …

Monitoring Grassland And Dynamics In Mongolia, Troy Sternberg

IGC Proceedings (1993-2023)

No abstract provided.

Impact Of Wildfire And Seeding On The Range Plant Community In The Dry Forests Of Southern British Columbia, W. Gardner, J. Karakatsoulis, P. Youwe

IGC Proceedings (1993-2023)

No abstract provided.

Grazing Disturbance A Benefit To Species Diversity In Re‐Established Native Grass Stands, Michael P. Schellenberg, Alan D. Iwaasa

IGC Proceedings (1993-2023)

No abstract provided.

Effects Of Supplemental Feed And White‐Tailed Deer Density On Vegetation, Timothy Fulbright, Charles A. Deyoung, David G. Hewitt, Eric Grahmann, Reagan Gage, Ryan Darr, Don Draeger

IGC Proceedings (1993-2023)

No abstract provided.

Influence Of Different Sampling Strategies On The Relationship Of Biodiversity And Grassland Primary Production, Liang Zhao, Huimin Yang, Zhongling Liu, Honglang Xiao

IGC Proceedings (1993-2023)

No abstract provided.

Relationships Between Vegetation And Soil Seed Banks Along A Center-To-Edge Gradient On A Tropical Coral Island, Yao Huang, Hai Ren, Jun Wang, Nan Liu, Shuguang Jian, Hongyue Cai, Dafeng Hui, Qinfeng Guo

Biology Faculty Research

Few studies have focused on the relationships between vegetation and soil seed banks on small islands. To better understand the pattern and regeneration potential of seed banks on tropical coral islands, we measured environmental factors and the species composition, and species richness of soil seed banks and vegetation along a gradient from the center to the edges on East Island in the South China Sea. The results showed that the similarity between the species composition of vegetation and seed banks increased from the center to the edge. In the center, species richness in both vegetation and seed banks was positively …

Effects Of Different Utilization Levels On Species Richness Changes In Saral Grassland, Kurdistan Province, S. Gholinejad, M. Vafakhah, S. A. R. Mousavi

IGC Proceedings (1993-2023)

No abstract provided.

Unravelling The Mechanisms Behind The Invasion Of An Introduced And Now Undesirable Grass Species, Jennifer Firn, Yvonne Buckley

IGC Proceedings (1993-2023)

No abstract provided.

Effects Of Traditional Range Enclosures And Seasonality On Herbaceous Plants Biodiversity In Southern Ethiopia, Ayana Angassa, G. Oba, R. B. Weladji

IGC Proceedings (1993-2023)

No abstract provided.

Soil Seed Bank Study On Abandoned Fields And Semi-Arid Grassland, South Africa, P. J. Malan, T. Myburg, Hennie A. Snyman

IGC Proceedings (1993-2023)

Up to the 1980’s marginal soils in the central grasslands of South Africa were successfully ploughed for crop production, but unfortunately those soils soon proved to be uneconomical. Due to high input costs, low maize prices, and unreliable rainfall, the Department of Agriculture soon implemented the “soil conversion scheme” to promote the conversion of those ploughed marginal soils to permanent pastures. Regardless of the implementation the soil conversion scheme, many farmers unfortunately just abandoned some of these marginal fields, not establishing permanent pastures. This led to many hectares of unproductive previously cultivated fields, referred to as abandoned fields. It was …

Effect Of Fertilization Level And Cutting Pattern On Species Diversity Of Meadow Stand, Pavel Knot, Josef Raus, Michal Kvasnovský, Jiri Skladanka, Frantisek Hrabe

IGC Proceedings (1993-2023)

The distribution of grasslands and their floristic composition is related to the climate at the largest scale. Particular grassland is affected by bedrock, soil, water regime, altitude, nutrient status, local climate, disturbance etc (Gibson, 2009). Grasslands provide not only production functions but also large scale of ecosystem services such as nutrient cycling, sequestration of carbon dioxide, prevention of soil loss and many others. Ability of grasslands to afford both production and ecosystem functions depends among others on the floristic composition (Chytry, 2007). Semi-natural permanent meadows, as a result of the concurrence of many factors, represent a great reservoir of biodiversity. …

An Investigation Into The Effects Of Rural Roads On Plant Diversity Of Roadsides In Arid Rangelands Of Iran, Anahita Rashtian, Mansour Mesdaghi

IGC Proceedings (1993-2023)

Roads are essential elements of human societies. Rural roads are clear indicators of rural development. Most rural roads in Iran are dirt roads and roadside vegetation is an important part of the ecosystem. Making roads can change the microclimate, including the light regime, pH and organic matter of soil, hydrological and sedimentation regimes (Karim and Mallik 2008; Hayasakaa et al. 2012). This can affect the composition of vegetation, with increased density and frequency of some fast-growing species close to the road for example (Parendes and Jones 2000). Road-building can also contaminate the air, soil, and water, with destruction of …

Internet Of Things For Sustainable Forestry, Abdul Salam

Faculty Publications

Forests and grasslands play an important role in water and air purification, prevention of the soil erosion, and in provision of habitat to wildlife. Internet of Things has a tremendous potential to play a vital role in the forest ecosystem management and stability. The conservation of species and habitats, timber production, prevention of forest soil degradation, forest fire prediction, mitigation, and control can be attained through forest management using Internet of Things. The use and adoption of IoT in forest ecosystem management is challenging due to many factors. Vast geographical areas and limited resources in terms of budget and equipment …

Mammal Species Inventory Using Various Trapping Methods In Zone 4 Of Billy Barquedier National Park, Belize During Rainy Season, Mersady Redding

Animal Science Undergraduate Honors Theses

Belize is a small country, but it is extremely ecologically diverse. Based on the few studies conducted in Belize, the abundance of mammals is low but diversity is high. Particular findings note the number and identity of species differed between four sites in the Maya Mountains of Belize, indicating that a data set from a single site is not representative of the Neotropical region. Insufficient data is available to estimate current species richness of many areas in Belize, including Billy Barquedier National Park (BBNP). The objective of this study was to explore trapping and documentation methods of terrestrial mammals in …

Hypoxia In Mangroves: Occurrence And Impact On Valuable Tropical Fish Habitat, Alexia Dubuc, Ronald Baker, Cyril Marchand, Nathan Waltham, Marcus Sheaves

School of Marine and Environmental Sciences Faculty and Staff Publications and Presentations

Intertidal mangrove forests are harsh environments that can naturally experience hypoxia in association with low tide. However, we know relatively little about dissolved oxygen (DO) fluctuations and DO-induced responses by fish, although DO is a fundamental water quality parameter. This study examines DO as a potential factor regulating the utilization of intertidal mangrove forests by fish and consequently their widely recognized feeding, refuge and nursery values. We deployed underwater video cameras, coupled with DO and depth loggers, in a mangrove forest to record changes in fish assemblages in response to tidal variations in DO and other associated environmental parameters. Our …