Life Sciences Commons^™

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 Lycaenid Butterfly Fauna (Lepidoptera) Of Cosñipata, Peru: Annotated Checklist, Elevational Patterns, And Rarity, Gerardo Lamas, Michael L. Mcinnis, Robert C. Busby, Robert K. Robbins

Insecta Mundi

Peru’s Cosñipata Region in Cuzco and Madre de Dios Departments is a valley between Manu National Park and the Amarakaeri Communal Reserve that ranges from 400 to 4,000 m elevation. A team of experienced lepidopterists sampled the butterfly fauna of this valley for more than a decade (7,440 field person-hours). We analyze the data for Lycaenidae (Lepidoptera: Papilionoidea), a family for which we have taxonomic expertise. After adding data on the fauna from museums and the literature, we present an annotated checklist of the 340 Lycaenidae species recorded from the Cosñipata Region with notes for each species on the elevations …

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 …

Predictors Of Bat Species Richness Within The Islands Of The Caribbean Basin, Justin D. Hoffman, Gabrielle Kadlubar, Scott C. Pedersen, Roxanne J. Larsen, Peter A. Larsen, Carleton J. Phillips, Gary G. Kwiecinski, Hugh H. Genoways

University of Nebraska State Museum: Mammalogy Papers

Several mechanisms have been shown to influence species richness among island ecosystems, yet most studies limit their focus to a few predictor variables. The objective of this study is to investigate variation in Chiropteran richness across islands in the Caribbean Basin with an extensive set of predictor variables. Using recent faunal surveys, the most contemporary list of bat species per island was complied. Data were collected on 17 predictor variables, which summarized five general island characteristics including island area, isolation, habitat diversity, human impact, and climate. An information-theoretic approach was used by fitting alternative candidate models to determine which variable(s) …

How Do Ecological Resilience Metrics Relate To Community Stability And Collapse?, Caleb P. Roberts, Dirac L. Twidwell Jr, David G. Angeler, Craig R. Allen

Department of Agronomy and Horticulture: Faculty Publications

The concept of ecological resilience (the amount of disturbance a system can absorb before collapsing and reorganizing) holds potential for predicting community change and collapse—increasingly common issues in the Anthropocene. Yet neither the predictions nor metrics of resilience have received rigorous testing. The crossscale resilience model, a leading operationalization of resilience, proposes resilience can be quantified by the combination of diversity and redundancy of functions performed by species operating at different scales. Here, we use 48 years of sub-continental avian community data aggregated at multiple spatial scales to calculate resilience metrics derived from the cross-scale resilience model (i.e., cross-scale diversity, …

Ponderosa Pine Regeneration,Wildland Fuels Management, And Habitat Conservation: Identifying Trade-Offs Following Wildfire, Victoria M. Donovan, Caleb P. Roberts, Carissa L. Wonkka, David A. Wedin, Dirac L. Twidwell

Department of Agronomy and Horticulture: Faculty Publications

Increasing wildfires in western North American conifer forests have led to debates surrounding the application of post-fire management practices. There is a lack of consensus on whether (and to what extent) post-fire management assists or hinders managers in achieving goals, particularly in under-studied regions like eastern ponderosa pine forests. This makes it difficult for forest managers to balance among competing interests. We contrast structural and community characteristics across unburned ponderosa pine forest, severely burned ponderosa pine forest, and severely burned ponderosa pine forest treated with post-fire management with respect to three management objectives: ponderosa pine regeneration, wildland fuels control, and …

Relationships Among Biodiversity Dimensions Of Birds In Nebraska, Nadejda Mirochnitchenko

School of Natural Resources: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Biological diversity, or biodiversity, is a multi-dimensional concept that can be decomposed to measure information about taxonomic, phylogenetic, and functional variation within communities. Although the dimensions of biodiversity are interrelated, the assumption that measuring one dimension of diversity can inform about patterns in another dimension does not necessarily follow from theory or empirical study. The relationships among biodiversity dimensions is not well understood, nor how differences among dimensions could influence conservation decision making. Using the avian community as a study system, we explored the relationships of breadth metrics from the taxonomic, phylogenetic, and functional dimensions among each other and across …

Bats Of Saint Lucia, Lesser Antilles, Scott C. Pedersen, Gary G. Kwiecinski, Hugh H. Genoways, Roxanne J. Larsen, Peter A. Larsen, Carleton J. Phillips, Robert J. Baker

University of Nebraska State Museum: Mammalogy Papers

Eight species of bat have been previously recorded from the island of Saint Lucia: Noctilio leporinus, Monophyllus plethodon, Artibeus jamaicensis, Brachyphylla cavernarum, Ardops nichollsi, Sturnira paulsoni, Molossus molossus, and Tadarida brasiliensis. Herein, we add a ninth species to the fauna—Pteronotus davyi. These nine species represent nine genera from four families: Noctilionidae, Mormoopidae, Phyllostomidae, and Molossidae. This fauna includes four trophic guilds: N. leporinus (piscivore/insectivore), M. plethodon (nectarivore/pollenivore), A. jamaicensis × schwartzi, B. cavernarum, A. nichollsi, and S. paulsoni (frugivores), and P. davyi, M. molossus, and …

Bats Of St. Vincent, Lesser Antilles, Gary G. Kwiecinski, Scott C. Pedersen, Hugh H. Genoways, Peter A. Larsen, Roxanne J. Larsen, Justin D. Hoffman, Fitzroy Springer, Carleton J. Phillips, Robert J. Baker

University of Nebraska State Museum: Mammalogy Papers

The chiropteran fauna of the island of Saint Vincent, represented by 12 species, is among the most complex in the Lesser Antilles, being represented by four families including Noctilionidae (1 species), Mormoopidae (1), Phyllostomidae (8), and Molossidae (2). This fauna includes four trophic guilds as represented by Noctilio leporinus (piscivore/insectivore); Glossophaga longirostris and Monophyllus plethodon (nectarivore/pollenivore); Artibeus lituratus, A. schwartzi, Brachyphylla cavernarum, Ardops nichollsi, and Sturnira paulsoni (frugivore); and Pteronotus fuscus, Micronycteris buriri, Molossus molossus, and Tadarida brasiliensis (insectivore). One species—Micronycteris buriri—and two subspecies—Sturnira paulsoni paulsoni and Ardops nichollsi vincentensis …

Escarabajos Longicornios (Coleoptera: Cerambycidae Y Disteniidae) Del Parque Nacional Darién, Panamá, Alfredo Lanuza-Garay, Alonso Santos Murgas

Insecta Mundi

Darién National Park (PND), a natural connection between South and Central America, is the largest national park not only in Panama but in all of Central America. Due to its strategic geographical situation, it is a place for the interchange of the North and South American fauna, where endemic invertebrates and vertebrates are very abundant. Through the use of malaise traps and light traps placed at different points within the PND, 183 individuals of 87 species of longicorn beetles in the families Cerambycidae and Disteniidae were collected. Also, four species of longhorn beetles (Cerambycidae) are reported for the first time …

Effect Of The Insecticide Lambda-Cyhalothrin On Rice Spider Populations In Southern Brazil, Everton N. L. Rodrigues, Milton De S. Mendonça Jr., Leila L. Fritz, Elvis A. Heinrichs, Lídia Fiuza

Department of Entomology: Faculty Publications

The adverse effect that insecticides have on spider populations is of major concern since these predators are a component in the biological control of rice insect pest populations. This study was designed to determine the effect of the pyrethroid insecticide Lambda-cyhalothrin on spider populations in rice fields. Treatments consisted of plots treated once with the insecticide and untreated plots (control). Spiders were sampled four times per crop year over a two-year period in each of three sites in the state of Rio Grande dol Sul, Brazil. Treatments were replicated four times. Sweep net sampling was conducted to sample the araneofauna. …

Avian Diversity And Habitat Use On Wetland Reserve Program Lands In The Lower Missouri River Valley, Eric C. Hopps

The Prairie Naturalist

A primary objective of the Wetland Reserve Program (WRP) is to provide habitat for migratory birds throughout all seasons of the year. Comprehensive avian assessments are lacking and limit our ability to evaluate the benefits of the WRP to continental bird populations. I investigated avian species occurrence on WRP lands within the Lower Missouri River Valley (LMRV), Nebraska, USA, from March 2010 to February 2011. Ten WRP habitat types are described based on plant community assemblages and observed hydrological regimes. Estimates of avian species richness were greatest in lowland forest (n = 115), lowland woodland (n = 83) and upland …

Bird Red List And Its Future Development In Mongolia, Sundev Gombobaatar, D. Samiya, Jonathan M. Baillie

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

With the involvement of the World Bank, Zoological Society of London, Dutch Government and National University of Mongolia, the volumes of Mongolian Red Lists of Fish, Amphibians and Reptiles, Birds and Mammals were completed, and Mongolia is now among the few nations that have up-to-date conservation assessments for all vertebrates. Of the 476 assessed native bird species of Mongolia, 10% were categorized as regionally threatened including Near Threatened. A further 0.6% were categorized as Critically Endangered (CR), 1.7% as Endangered (EN), 3.3% as Vulnerable (VU), and 4.4% as Near Threatened (NT). Almost 90% of Mongolian birds are categorized as Least …

Modeling Broad-Scale Patterns Of Avian Species Richness Across The Midwestern United States With Measures Of Satellite Image Texture, Patrick D. Culbert, Volker C. Radeloff, Véronique St-Louis, Curtis H. Flather, Chadwick D. Rittenhouse, Thomas P. Albright, Anna M. Pidgeon

United States Department of Agriculture, Forest Service / University of Nebraska-Lincoln: Faculty Publications

Avian biodiversity is threatened, and in order to prioritize limited conservation resources and conduct effective conservation planning a better understanding of avian species richness patterns is needed. The use of image texture measures, as a proxy for the spatial structure of land cover and vegetation, has proven useful in explaining patterns of avian abundance and species richness. However, prior studies that modeled habitat with texture measures were conducted over small geographical extents and typically focused on a single habitat type. Our goal was to evaluate the performance of texture measures over broad spatial extents and across multiple habitat types with …

Avian Species Abundance In Response To Recreational Trail Use, Carrie A. Wencel

Department of Environmental Studies: Undergraduate Student Theses

Studies have indicated that non-consumptive outdoor recreation may affect wildlife. Thus, as the nation increases interest in outdoor recreation, data suggests the effect on wildlife will also increase. Previous studies indicate that as disturbance to wildlife increases, both avian species richness will decrease. Knowing how to anticipate effects on native species when planning and managing recreational areas is important in order to both provide for human desires and ensure the least impact to local species diversity.

The goal of this project was to observe and compare avian species richness and diversity between selected trail sites within Shevlin Park, Bend, Oregon …

Effects Of Herbicides And Grazing On Floristic Quality Of Native Tallgrass Pastures In Eastern South Dakota And Southwestern Minnesota, Alexander J. Smart, Matthew J. Nelson, Peter J. Bauman, Gary E. Larson

Great Plains Research: A Journal of Natural and Social Sciences

Historic herbicide use and grazing have influenced natural diversity and quality of native pasturelands in the Great Plains. Floristic quality assessments are useful to assist agencies in prioritizing conservation practices to enhance native grasslands. The objective of this study was to determine the effects of past land-use practices on the floristic quality of remnant native pastures in eastern South Dakota and southwestern Minnesota. Floristic quality assessments were conducted on 30 native pastures and categorized by past management practices (herbicide application and grazing intensity). Mean coefficient of conservatism (C) and floristic quality index (FQI) were calculated for each site~Results showed that …

Heat Waves Measured With Modis Land Surface Temperature Data Predict Changes In Avian Community Structure, Thomas P. Albright, Anna M. Pidgeon, Chadwick D. Rittenhouse, Murray K. Clayton, Curtis H. Flather, Patrick D. Culbert, Volker C. Radeloff

United States Department of Agriculture, Forest Service / University of Nebraska-Lincoln: Faculty Publications

Heat waves are expected to become more frequent and severe as climate changes, with unknown consequences for biodiversity. We sought to identify ecologically-relevant broad-scale indicators of heat waves based on MODIS land surface temperature (LST) and interpolated air temperature data and assess their associations with avian community structure. Specifically, we asked which data source, time periods, and heat wave indices best predicted changes in avian abundance and species richness. Using mixed effects models, we analyzed associations between these indices and data from the North American Breeding Bird Survey in the central United States between 2000 and 2007 in four ecoregions …

From Energy Gradient And Natural Selection To Biodiversity And Stability Of Ecosystems, Bo Deng

Department of Mathematics: Faculty Publications

The purpose of this paper is to incorporate well-established ecological principles into a foodweb model consisting of four trophic levels --- abiotic resources, plants, herbivores, and carnivores. The underlining principles include Kimura's neutral theory of genetic evolution, Liebig's Law of the Minimum for plant growth, Holling's functionals for herbivore foraging and carnivore predation, the One-Life Rule for all organisms, and Lotka-Volterra's model for intraand interspecific competitions. Numerical simulations of the model led to the following statistical findings: (a) particular foodwebs can give contradicting observations on biodiversity and productivity, in particular, all known functional forms -- - positive, negative, sigmoidal, and …

Integrating Spatial And Temporal Approaches To Understanding Species Richness, Ethan P. White, S. K. Morgan Ernest, Peter B. Adler, Allen H. Hurlbert, S. Kathleen Lyons

School of Biological Sciences: Faculty Publications

Understanding species richness patterns represents one of the most fundamental problems in ecology. Most research in this area has focused on spatial gradients of species richness, with a smaller area of emphasis dedicated to understanding the temporal dynamics of richness. However, few attempts have been made to understand the linkages between the spatial and temporal patterns related to richness. Here, we argue that spatial and temporal richness patterns and the processes that drive them are inherently linked, and that our understanding of richness will be substantially improved by considering them simultaneously. The species–time–area relationship provides a case in point: successful …

Biodiversity Maintenance Mechanisms Differ Between Native And Novel Exotic-Dominated Communities, Brian J. Wilsey, Terri B. Teaschner, Pedram P. Daneshgar, Forest I. Isbell, H. Wayne Polley

United States Department of Agriculture-Agricultural Research Service / University of Nebraska-Lincoln: Faculty Publications

In many systems, native communities are being replaced by novel exotic-dominated ones. We experimentally compared species diversity decline between nine-species grassland communities under field conditions to test whether diversity maintenance mechanisms differed between communities containing all exotic or all native species using a pool of 40 species. Aboveground biomass was greater in exotic than native plots, and this difference was larger in mixtures than in monocultures. Species diversity declined more in exotic than native communities and declines were explained by different mechanisms. In exotic communities, overyielding species had high biomass in monoculture and diversity declined linearly as this selection effect …

Patterns Of Plant Species Diversity In Remnant And Restored Tallgrass Prairies, H. Wayne Polley, Justin D. Derner, Brian J. Wilsey

United States Department of Agriculture-Agricultural Research Service / University of Nebraska-Lincoln: Faculty Publications

To restore diversity of native vegetation, we must understand factors responsible for diversity in targeted communities. These factors operate at different spatial scales and may affect the number and relative abundances of species differently. We measured diversity of plant species and functional groups of species in replicated plots within paired restored and remnant (relic) tallgrass prairies at three locations in central Texas, U.S.A.

Roadside Bias In Point Count Surveys At Arrowwood National Wildlife Refuge, North Dakota, J. Scott Dieni, Paulette Sherr

United States Fish and Wildlife Service: Publications

We investigated potential biases of using roadside point counts to sample breeding bird populations in the northern mixed··grass prairie. In 1995, a breeding bird inventory and monitoring program was initiated at Arrowwood National Wildlife Refuge, east-central North Dakota. Surveys were conducted annually through 1998 from an extensive point count array permanently located across the refuge (n = 162). Fifty-nine percent of the point counts were established directly on tertiary dirt roads and trails, while the remaining were interspersed at randomly selected distances of 100, 200, 300, and 400 m away from roads. Roadside point counts commonly consisted of a mosaic …

Do Species Evenness And Plant Density Influence The Magnitude Of Selection And Complementarity Effects In Annual Plant Species Mixtures?, H. Wayne Polley, Brian J. Wilsey, Justin D. Derner

United States Department of Agriculture-Agricultural Research Service / University of Nebraska-Lincoln: Faculty Publications

Plant species richness influences primary productivity via mechanisms that (1) favour species with particular traits (selection effect) and (2) promote niche differentiation between species (complementarity). Influences of species evenness, plant density and other properties of plant communities on productivity are poorly defined, but may depend on whether selection or complementarity prevails in species mixtures. We predicted that selection effects are insensitive to species evenness but increase with plant density, and that the converse is true for complementarity. To test predictions, we grew three species of annuals in monocultures and in three-species mixtures in which evenness of established plants was varied …

Contrasting Effects Of Plant Richness And Composition On Insect Communities: A Field Experiment, Nick M. Haddad, David Tilman, John Haarstad, Mark Ritchie, Johannes M.H. Knops

School of Biological Sciences: Faculty Publications

We experimentally separated the effects of two components of plant diversity—plant species richness and plant functional group richness—on insect communities. Plant species richness and plant functional group richness had contrasting effects on insect abundances, a result we attributed to three factors. First, lower insect abundances at higher plant functional group richness were explained by a sampling effect, which was caused by the increasing likelihood that one low-quality group, C4 grasses, would be present and reduce average insect abundances by 25%. Second, plant biomass, which was positively related to plant functional group richness, had a strong, positive effect on insect abundances. …