Life Sciences Commons^™

Ecological Effects Of Genotypic Diversity On Community And Ecosystem Function, Megan K. Kanaga

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Genotypic diversity within populations can have important evolutionary consequences, but the ecological effects of intraspecific genetic variation on community and ecosystem function have only been studied in a few systems. I present the results of a three-year study designed to address the ecological impacts of genotypic diversity in quaking aspen (Populus tremuloides Michx.), using aspen genotypes planted across genotypic diversity levels (monoculture and mixture) and watering treatment levels (well-watered and water-limited). First, I demonstrated that significant variation exists among genotypes for a wide range of growth, morphological and physiological traits, and quantified high heritability and coefficient of genetic variation …

Structure And Floristic Composition Of Flood Plain Forests In The Peruvian Amazon: I. Overstorey, Gustav Nebel, Lars Peter Kvist, Jerome K. Vanclay, Henning Christensen, Luis Freitas, Juan Ruiz

Professor Jerome K Vanclay

Three Peruvian flood plain forests adjacent to the Ucayali river were sampled using nine 1 ha permanent sample plots in which stems exceeding 10 cm DBH were identified and measured. These plots were measured four times during 1993–1997. Three plots were established in each of the three forest types high restinga, low restinga, and tahuampa, characterised in part by an annual inundation of one, two and four months per year, respectively. Stem density varied from 446 to 601 per hectare, and the basal area ranged between 20 and 29 m2/ha. A total of 321 species were recorded in the nine …

Indicator Groups And Faunal Richness, Jerome K. Vanclay

Professor Jerome K Vanclay

Species richness is a popular indicator of ecosystem vitality, but is difficult to assess. Many natural resource managers seek an efficient bioindicator, but the link between candidate indicators and the richness of other taxononic groups remains elusive. A series of faunal surveys in the Mbalmayo Forest Reserve in Cameroon suggest that it may be possible to devise faunal bioindicators. The species richness of birds, of butterflies and of termites is significantly correlated with total faunal richness across eight species groups, suggesting that these groups may have potential as bioindicators, alone or in combination. Although expensive, further research is warranted because …

The Effectiveness Of Parks, Jerome K. Vanclay

Professor Jerome K Vanclay

Bruner et al. examined the effectiveness of parks in the tropics, drawing on survey data to support their contention that parks 1) have been effective; 2) need more support; and 3) should remain a central component of conservation strategies. Their conclusions remain equivocal...

Deforestation In The Tropics: Reconciling Disparities In Estimates For India, Shaily Menon, Kamaljit S. Bawa

Shaily Menon

Here we examine recent disparate estimates of deforestation obtained for India. We discuss the sources of disparity and the implications of inaccurate estimates and suggest ways in which future attempts at estimating deforestation might reconcile the disparity. Despite the importance of deforestation and its consequences, no attempt has been made to reconcile the different estimates obtained for India.

Impact Of Weed Management Practices On Grapevine Growth, Yield Components, Plant And Arthropod Abundance, And Carabid Seed Predation In Paso Robles Vineyard, Paolo Sanguankeo

Master's Theses

In the Central Coast of California, USA, wine grape growers are making efforts to identify weed control practices that promote biodiversity in their vineyards while maintaining yields. A field study was conducted in Paso Robles, CA in 2006 and 2007 evaluating the effect on Zinfandel grape-vine growth and production, groundcover plant, and ground dwelling arthropod communities of five weed control practices: 1) flumioxazin, 2) simazine, 3) cultivation, 4) cover crop, and 5) untreated control.

The herbicide treatments had the lowest weed biomass followed by the cultivation, being approximately 10 and 2 times lower than the weed biomass of either the …

Slides: Groundwater Declines, Climate Change And Approaches To Adaptation, Katharine Jacobs

Western Water Law, Policy and Management: Ripples, Currents, and New Channels for Inquiry (Martz Summer Conference, June 3-5)

Presenter: Katharine Jacobs, Director of the Arizona Water Institute, University of Arizona

37 slides

Beetle Species Diversity In The Lesser Antilles Islands: How Many Species Are Really There?, Stewart B. Peck

Insecta Mundi

Recent extensive and intensive field work by the team of M. A. Ivie on the Lesser Antillean island of Montserrat suggests that a mean of 827 beetle species may be expected on that island. This datum makes possible the generation of hypotheses of the probable beetle species diversity on other islands of the Lesser Antilles as a function of the areas of the islands. Figures are given for the presently known, estimated total, and estimated number of unknown species for each principal island. This predicts that many hundreds (if not thousands) of beetle species remain to be discovered. This is …

Patch-Scale Effects Of An Invasive Ecosystem Engineer On The Structure And Function Of A Eutrophic Stream, Samuel J. Hochhalter

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Recent theoretical and technological advances in ecosystem science have dramatically expanded the ways in which scientists can pursue and explore ecological questions. For my thesis research, I integrated the recent theoretical concept of organisms as ecosystem engineers with the relatively recent development of stable isotope tracer tests to ask the question: how does the invasive common carp affect stream ecosystem structure and function? To investigate the structuring role of carp, I measured autotroph seasonal distribution and abundance and macroinvertebrate seasonal abundance and diversity within two stream reaches in Spring Creek, Utah, USA; one with low carp biomass (LCB) and one …

Small Mammals In Portions Of Great Basin National Park Susceptible To Groundwater Withdrawal: Diversity And Stable Isotope Perspectives, Bryan T. Hamilton

Theses and Dissertations

To support population growth in Las Vegas, Nevada, large scale increases in groundwater pumping are planned across the state. This pumping could affect riparian areas in Great Basin National Park by lowering groundwater levels, reducing stream flows, and xerifying riparian vegetation. Great Basin National Park (GBNP) is mandated to manage its resources unimpaired for future generations. Loss of biodiversity is unacceptable under this mandate. If groundwater levels are reduced beyond a threshold, aquatic and riparian diversity would be lost, but the effects on small mammal communities are less clear. To provide baseline information and to consider the effects of groundwater …

Species Delimitation In Lemurs: Multiple Genetic Loci Reveal Low Levels Of Species Diversity In The Genus Cheirogaleus, Linn F. Groeneveld, David W. Weisrock, Rodin M. Rasoloarison, Anne D. Yoder, Peter M. Kappeler

Biology Faculty Publications

BACKGROUND: Species are viewed as the fundamental unit in most subdisciplines of biology. To conservationists this unit represents the currency for global biodiversity assessments. Even though Madagascar belongs to one of the top eight biodiversity hotspots of the world, the taxonomy of its charismatic lemuriform primates is not stable. Within the last 25 years, the number of described lemur species has more than doubled, with many newly described species identified among the nocturnal and small-bodied cheirogaleids. Here, we characterize the diversity of the dwarf lemurs (genus Cheirogaleus) and assess the status of the seven described species, based on phylogenetic and …

Farming For The Future : Industry Practice Baselines, Danielle England, Susan Murphy-White, John Noonan, Marie Shanks, Jon Warren

Resource management technical reports

No abstract provided.

Species Richness And Host Associations Of Lepidoptera-Attacking Tachinidae In The Northeast Ecuadorian Andes, John O. Stireman Iii, Harold F. Greeney, Lee A. Dyer

Biological Sciences Faculty Publications

Most of the unknown biological diversity of macro-organisms remaining to be discovered and described lies in the tropical regions of the world and consists primarily of insects. Those insects with parasitoid lifestyles constitute a significant portion of insect diversity, yet parasitoids are among the most poorly known of major insect guilds in the humid tropics. Here we describe and analyze the richness of one diverse taxon of parasitoids, flies in the family Tachinidae, reared from Lepidoptera as part of a biological survey of Lepidoptera and their parasitoids in one mid-elevation (2000 m) area in the northeast Ecuadorian Andes. One hundred …

Local Engagements With Urban Bushland: Moving Beyond Bounded Practice For Urban Biodiversity Management, Nicholas J. Gill, Gordon R. Waitt, Lesley M. Head

Faculty of Science - Papers (Archive)

Management of ecologically significant urban green space is likely to be increasingly governed by biodiversity policy frameworks. These frameworks tend to reproduce bounded thinking and strategies that separate green space from its context and characterise people as a disturbance. Like many green spaces these ecologically significant areas are highly valued by visitors and nearby residents. Green space is important for engagement with nature, social interaction, and for respite from daily life: it is strongly connected to surrounding areas and to the lives of people who live there. The dissonance between bounded management thinking and the role of green space in …

The Effects Of Climate Change On Biodiversity: Pressing Issues And Research Priorities, Friedhelm Krupp, Lytton J. Musselman, Mohammed M.A. Kotb, Ilka Weidig

Biological Sciences Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Macrofungi Of Huzurlu High Plateau (Gaziantep-Turkey), Abdullah Kaya

Turkish Journal of Botany

Macrofungi samples were collected from Huzurlu high plateau and its surroundings between 2002 and 2005. As a result of macroscopic and microscopic investigations 105 taxa belonging to 67 genera and 33 families were recorded in Ascomycetes and Basidiomycetes classes. Six of them, Phaeohelotium umbilicatum (Le Gal) Dennis, Lepiota jacobi Vellinga & Knudsen, Leucoagaricus erioderma (Malençon) Bon, Leucoagaricus serenus (Fr.) Bon & Boiffard, Cortinarius turgidus Fr., and Cotylidia diaphana (Schwein.) Lentz, are new records for the macromycota of Turkey.

Lichens And Lichenicolous Fungi Of Kızıldağ (Derebucak, Konya), Mustafa Kocakaya, Mehmet Gökhan Halici, Ahmet Aksoy

Turkish Journal of Botany

Herein 152 taxa of lichens and lichenicolous fungi belonging to 68 genera are reported from Kızıldağ (Derebucak district, Konya province). Of these, 149 taxa are reported from the study area for the first time and 96 taxa are new for Konya province. Lecanora perpruinosa Fröberg and Toninia submexicana de Lesd. are new records for Turkey and Asia.

Farmers And Nature Conservation: What Is Known About Attitudes, Context Factors And Actions Affecting Conservation?, Johan Ahnström, Jenny Höckert, Hanna L. Bergea, Charles A. Francis, Peter Skelton, Lars Hallgren

Department of Agronomy and Horticulture: Faculty Publications

Farmers’ attitudes towards viability of specific conservation practices or actions strongly impact their decisions on adoption and change. This review of ‘attitude’ information reveals a wide range of perceptions about what conservation means and what the impacts of adoption will mean in economic and environmental terms. Farmers operate in a tight financial situation, and in parts of the world they are highly dependent on government subsidies, and cannot afford to risk losing that support. Use of conservation practices is most effective when these are understood in the context of the individual farm, and decisions are rooted in land and resource …

Study Of Seasonal Influences On Algal Biodiversity In The River Yarqon (Central Israel) By Bio-Indication And Canonical Correspondence Analysis (Cca), Sophia Barinova, Moti Tavassi

Turkish Journal of Botany

In our research conducted in the River Yarqon during 2003-2006, we identified 313 taxa of algae and cyanobacteria belonging to 8 taxonomical divisions. Out of these 313 taxa, 268 taxa (85.6%) were indicators of environmental conditions that characterised the river water as alkaline with medium mineralisation. In the rainy and dry seasons the algal taxonomic compositions were very different, with prevailing diatoms in the winter and cyabobacteria and greens in summer. Bio-indication shows that the taxonomic preference for the self-purification process was more intensive during the rainy season, while the low level of river water in the dry season stressed …

Consequences Of Climate-Driven Biodiversity Changes For Ecosystem Functioning Of North European Rocky Shores, Stephen Hawkins, Heather Sugden, Nova Mieszkowska, Philippa Moore, Elvira Poloczanska, Rebecca Leaper, Roger Herbert, Martin Genner, Paula Moschella, Richard Thompson, Stuart Jenkins, Alan Southward, Michael Burrows

Research outputs pre 2011

We review how intertidal biodiversity is responding to globally driven climate change, focusing on long-term data from rocky shores in the British Isles. Physical evidence of warming around the British Isles is presented and, whilst there has been considerable fluctuation, sea surface temperatures are at the highest levels recorded, surpassing previous warm periods (i.e. late 1950s). Examples are given of species that have been advancing or retreating polewards over the last 50 to 100 yr. On rocky shores, the extent of poleward movement is idiosyncratic and dependent upon life history characteristics, dispersal capabilities and habitat requirements. More southern, warm water …

Some New Records Of Inocybe (Fr.) Fr. From Turkey, Mehmet Hali̇l Solak, Hakan Alli, Mustafa Işiloğlu, Erbi̇l Kalmiş

Turkish Journal of Botany

Some new records of Inocybe (Fr.) Fr. based on samples collected from Osmaniye, Kilis, and Isparta provinces are presented. Inocybe flocculosa var. crocifolia (Herink) Kuyper, I. ochroalba Bruyl., I. pallida Velen., I. splendens var. splendens R. Heim, I. substellata Kühner, and I. vaccina Kühner were determined to be new records from Turkey.

Zooplankton Composition And Abundance In Lake Eğrigöl, A High Mountain Lake (Gündoğmuş, Antalya), Cem Aygen, Di̇dem Özdemi̇r Mi̇s, M. Ruşen Ustaoğlu, Süleyman Balik

Turkish Journal of Zoology

Field studies were conducted in July and August 2000, and in June and September 2001 in order to determine the zooplankton composition and abundance of Lake Eğrigöl, a high mountain lake located 2060 m a.s.l. in the middle Taurus Mountain Range. In total, 41 species were found, including 30 Rotifera, 8 Cladocera, and 3 Copepoda. Based on the number of species and their abundance (individuals m^{-3}), rotifers were the dominant group (49.75%-90.92%), followed by Cladocera (6.54%-27.52%), and Copepoda (2.54%-22.72%). All taxa were first records for the lake.

Diversity Of Alticinae (Coleoptera, Chrysomelidae) In Kasnak Oak Forest Nature Reserve, Isparta, Turkey, Ebru Gül Aslan, Yusuf Ayvaz

Turkish Journal of Zoology

Different habitat types chosen from Kasnak Oak Forest Nature Reserve (Isparta, Turkey) and 3 plots with vegetation structure, were studied comparatively with Alticinae (Coleoptera, Chrysomelidae) species composition, its richness and abundance. The study was conducted between the months of April and October at 15-day intervals during 2005 and 2006. Sixty-six sets of data were obtained during the survey, including 22 samplings for each plot. A total of 2650 individuals belonging to 57 species were recorded from the chosen plots. Species richness estimators were used to measure the completeness of the inventories. Values predicted by different non-parametric estimators showed that further …

Cuscuta Jepsonii (Convolvulaceae): An Invasive Weed Or An Extinct Endemic?, Mihai Costea, Saša Stefanović

Biology Faculty Publications

Despite their ecological significance, parasitic plants face more conservation challenges than do autotrophic plants. This is especially true for the groups that include weedy or invasive species such as Cuscuta. While approximately half of the Cuscuta (dodders) species may require conservation measures, the genus as a whole is sometimes posted on governmental lists of noxious or quarantine weeds. Our study challenges this stereotype and uses the case of C. jepsonii (Jepson’s dodder) to illustrate the precarious biodiversity and conservation status faced by many dodder species. Until now, Jepson’s dodder has been known only from its type collection. Consequently, its …