Life Sciences Commons^™

Biodiversity And Decomposition In Experimental Grassland Ecosystems, Johannes M. H. Knops, David A. Wedin, David Tilman

School of Biological Sciences: Faculty Publications

We examined the impact of biodiversity on litter decomposition in an experiment that manipulated plant species richness. Using biomass originating from the experimental species richness gradient and from a species used as a common substrate, we measured rates of decomposition in litterbags in two locations: in situ in the experiment plots and in an adjacent common garden. This allowed us to separate the effects of litter quality and decomposition location on decomposition. We found that plant species richness had a significant, but minor negative effect on the quality (nitrogen concentration) of the biomass. Neither litter type nor location had a …

Status Survey Of Aquatic Cave Fauna In Arkansas, G. O. Graening, Arthur V. Brown

Technical Reports

No abstract provided.

Life In A Pine Cone, David L. Kulhavy

Faculty Publications

This exercise focuses on a little-known microhabitat -- the pine cone. A pine cone's primary function is, of course, reproduction ... housing the seeds of the next generation of conifer trees. However, pine cones are also the basis of a food web that provides both resources and living space for a wide variety of small arthropod species. The procedure outlined below is designed to examine this microhabitat and compare its community diversity among different species of conifers and habitats.

The exercise is based on a 1985 paper, Life in a Pine Cone, by David L. Kulhavy, Robert S. Baldridge and …

Livestock As A Tool For Biodiversity In The Sagebrush Steppe, Usu Extension

All Current Publications

Biodiversity, or the variety of plant and animal species in a given location, has declined in many areas in the West. For example, woody plants, such as sagebrush and juniper now dominate many western landscapes.

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

Peer Reviewed Publications

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.

Landscape Management Challenges On The California Channel Islands, William L. Halvorson

Aliso: A Journal of Systematic and Floristic Botany

Managing for sustained biodiversity and restoration of natural habitat has become increasingly important over the last two decades, first as mitigation for development (especially in wetlands), and , more recently in natural areas. The latter has come about as land managing agencies like the Department of Defense and Bureau of Land Management have seen the need to reverse the impact of past land uses and agencies like the National Park Service and The Nature Conservancy have taken on the responsibility for less-than-pristine lands.

On the California Channel Islands, the need for restoring and managing biodiversity is great, but this restoration …

Ec98-787 Glossary Of Ecosystem Terms, Thomas G. Franti, R. Herpel, G.R. Lingle

University of Nebraska-Lincoln Extension: Historical Materials

This extension circular contains ecosystem definitions from abiotic to wildlife refuge.

Iowa's Declining Flora And Fauna: A Review Of Changes Since 1980 And An Outlook For The Future, Neil P. Bernstein

Journal of the Iowa Academy of Science: JIAS

The status of Iowa's biodiversity was first summarized at a 1980 Iowa Academy of Science (IAS) symposium that was published in The Proceedings of the Iowa Academy of Science (Vol. 88, No. 1) in 1981. The 1980 symposium was updated in a recent IAS symposium, and the proceedings from this symposium are published, for the most part, in volume 105 of this journal. Most of the authors noted some positive trends, but, overall, species declines and habitat destruction remained a concern.

A Vegetation Based Approach To Biodiversity Gap Analysis In The Agastyamalai Region, Western Ghats, India, B. R. Ramesh, Shaily Menon, Kamaljit S. Bawa

Shaily Menon

Protected areas in India have historically been established on an ad hoc basis with little attention to the conservation value of an area. This study focuses on a set of protected areas in the Agastyamalai region of the Western Ghats (WG), India. We examine forest loss and land-use changes in the study area from the early 1900s to 1960 and from 1960 to 1990. We use GIS to perform a biodiversity gap analysis of the protected areas in the study site. We produce a detailed map of existing floristic types and use it to generate layers corresponding to floristic species …

The Use Of Plot Surveys For The Study Of Ethnobotanical Knowledge: A Brunei Dusun Example, Jay H. Bernstein, Roy Ellen, Bantong Bin Antaran

Publications and Research

This paper describes a technique for using plot surveys to measure individual informants' ethnobotanical knowledge of forests, as applied to the Dusun community of Merimbun in Brunei. Two knowledgeable but non-literate Dusun informants enumerated marked plots of both recent and old secondary growth mixed dipterocarp forest near the village. They were able to provide names (other than life-forms or the most general basic and intermediate categories) for 86-97% of species growing in the plots. Between 152 and 170 plant names were elicited by the surveys. In all cases, about 88% of the names were at the basic naming level and …

Applications Of Geographic Information Systems, Remote-Sensing, And A Landscape Ecology Approach To Biodiversity Conservation In The Western Ghats, Shaily Menon, Kamaljit S. Bawa

Shaily Menon

The mountains along the west coast of peninsular India, the Western Ghats, constitute one of the unique biological regions of the world. Rapidly occurring land-cover and land-use change in the Western Ghats has serious implications for the biodiversity of the region. Both landscape changes as well as the distribution of biodiversity are phenomena with strong spatial correlates. Recent developments in remote-sensing technology and Geographic Information Systems (GIS) allow the use of a landscape ecology and spatial analysis approach to the problem of deforestation and biodiversity conservation in the Western Ghats. Applications of this approach include analyses of land-cover and land-use …

Grounds For Argument: Local Understandings, Science, And Global Processes In Special Forest Products Harvesting, Thomas Love, Eric Jones

Faculty Publications

In posing the question "Where are the pickers?", Love and Jones suggest that the shifting paradigm in forestry is real and that academia is not leading the shift. Love and Jones illustrate the emergence of special forest products' legitimacy in competing uses of forests with their experience and research in mushroom harvesting in the Pacific Northwest.

The Role Of Riparian Water Law In Protecting Biodiversity: An Indiana (Usa) Case Study, Robert L. Fischman

Articles by Maurer Faculty

This article discusses how the rules affecting the use of surface water ground water in a typical riparian state, Indiana, can promote the conservation biological diversity. The article first surveys the basic water laws that apply to surface water, diffused surface water, underground streams, and ground water. The rules governing the uses of these waters originate in common law property doctrines and substantially clarified by state legislation. Next the article considers state administration of water. The article examines regulatory tools and administrative opportunities control uses of water in a manner that protects biodiversity. Programs requiring permits for construction in floodplains, …

Rare And Endangered Plants At Gateway National Recreation Area: A Case For Protection Of Urban Natural Areas, Richard Stalter, Michael D. Byer, John T. Tanacredi Ph.D.

Faculty Works: CERCOM

The diversity of native plant species in urban environments is usually overlooked when biodiversity levels are considered. Inventories of native plants reveal many to be rare species surviving the harsh conditions encountered in urban ecosystems. Knowledge of their existence and an inventory of their distribution will assist in maintaining these populations. Protection strategies for rare plant species are outlined for urban National Parks.

Agenda: Biodiversity Protection: Implementation And Reform Of The Endangered Species Act, University Of Colorado Boulder. Natural Resources Law Center

Biodiversity Protection: Implementation and Reform of the Endangered Species Act (Summer Conference, June 9-12)

Conference organizers and/or faculty included University of Colorado School of Law professors Betsy Rieke, David H. Getches, Michael A. Gheleta and Charles F. Wilkinson.

All across the country--in Congress, in state legislatures and in urban and rural communities--people are discussing why we should or should not protect biodiversity and how best to do so. Since the Endangered Species Act is up for reauthorization, a variety of reform proposals are being debated. Speakers--including natural resource scholars, experts from the private and nonprofit sectors, and government officials--will examine the rationale for biodiversity protection, the legal framework of the Endangered Species Act, and …

Influence Of Adjacent Seagrass On The Fish Assemblages Off Sandy Beaches, Matthew A. Vanderklift

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

As we attempt to maintain marine biodiversity mainly by focussing on habitats, we need to understand how marine biodiversity is affected by seagrass loss. Although managers and researchers widely acknowledge that habitat loss results in changes to marine biodiversity, quantitative knowledge of these changes is generally poor. In this study, fish assemblages (as one component of the biodiversity of sandy beaches) were examined in Cockburn Sound, Western Australia, to assess patterns that may be related to presence or absence of adjacent seagrass beds, If consistent patterns are evident, they may enable predictions regarding the effects of seagrass loss on the …

Agenda: Challenging Federal Ownership And Management: Public Lands And Public Benefits, University Of Colorado Boulder. Natural Resources Law Center

Challenging Federal Ownership and Management: Public Lands and Public Benefits (October 11-13)

Conference organizers, speakers and/or moderators included University of Colorado School of Law professors David H. Getches, Michael A. Gheleta, Teresa Rice, Elizabeth Ann (Betsy) Rieke and Charles F. Wilkinson.

In the face of numerous proposals for privatizing, marketing, and changing the management of public lands, the Natural Resources Law Center will hold its third annual fall public lands conference October 11-13, at the CU School of Law in Boulder.

A panel of public land users and neighbors, including timber, grazing, mining, recreation, and environmental interests, will address current discontent with public land policy and management. There will also be discussion …

Resolving Technological Controversies In Regulatory Agencies, Sidney A. Shapiro

RISK: Health, Safety & Environment (1990-2002)

Professor Shapiro notes that, e.g., advisory committees may increase technical accuracy at the price of delaying already slow rule making and urges Congress and the courts to provide agencies with broad procedural discretion.

The Greening Of Technology Transfer: A Conference Summary, William O. Hennessey

RISK: Health, Safety & Environment (1990-2002)

Dr. Hennessey briefly reports on an international conference that explored the relationship between patent and other intellectual property laws and those designed to protect the environment and maintain biodiversity.

A New Pinworm, Didelphoxyuris Thylamisis N. Gen., N. Sp. (Nematoda: Oxyurida) From Thylamys Elegans (Waterhouse, 1839) (Marsupialia: Didelphidae) In Bolivia, Scott Lyell Gardner, Jean-Pierre Hugot

Harold W. Manter Laboratory of Parasitology: Faculty and Staff Publications

Didelphoxyuris thylamisis n. gen., n. sp. is described from the caecum of Thylamys elegans (Waterhouse, 1839) (Marsupialia: Didelphidae) collected in the eastern region of the Andes of Bolivia. Didelphoxyuris thylamisis n. sp. differs from the only pinworm described from marsupials in the Neotropics (Neohilgertia venusti Navone, Suriano et Pujol, 1990) in having only three oesophageal teeth, non-operculated eggs, females that are didelphic, and males that possess no preanal papillae. Several other species of pinworms have been described from marsupials in Australia, but all are characterized by possessing a buccal capsule that is strongly cuticularized with inter-radial lamellae. These structures …

Using Biodiversity Data To Assess Species--Habitat Relationships In Glacier National Park, Montana, Diane M. Debinski, Peter F. Brussard

Diane M. Debinski

Biodiversity surveys are becoming increasingly popular. However, standard analysis techniques for these data have not yet been developed. This paper explores the use of multivariate ordination techniques for assessing species—habitat relationships using biodiversity data. The research was conducted in Glacier National Park, Montana, and birds and butterflies were chosen as the taxonomic groups of study. Biodiversity assessment sites were established throughout a range of habitats and monitored from 1987 through 1989. Presence/absence sampling over the total number of sampling sites was used to classify species commonness and rarity. Approximately 86% of the historically recorded butterflies and 70% of the historically …

Evaluation And Utilization Of Biodiversity In Triticeae For Wheat Lmprovement, A. B. Damania, J. Valkoun

Herbarium Publications

To adapt new varieties to a wide spectrum of environments breeders and farmers have emphasized the need for broadening the current narrow genetic base of modern varieties of important cereal crops such as wheat and barley. In response to this need, several thousand samples of indigenously cultivated Triticeae species and their wild relatives have been collected from the centers of diversity. However, gene bank collections are of little use if they are not evaluated and the information disseminated widely. Evaluation is essentially the link between conservation and use. Some of the collected material has been evaluated at the International Center …

Flora Of An Unusually Diverse Old Growth Forest In The Southeastern Adirondacks, Gordon C. Tucker, Richard S. Mitchell

Gordon C. Tucker

A lowland, virgin white pine-hemlock stand and associated old-growth habitats were studied at Pack Forest Preserve, Warren County, NY. An area of 48.1 acres, interrupted only by nature trails, has white pines up to 58 inches in diameter, and supports 355 native plant species-an unexpectedly high number, considering its location in the climatically severe Adirondack Mountains. This minimally disturbed old-growth forest and its associated wetlands are not only diverse, but essentially weed-free, making them ideal for future ecological research, botanical teaching and monitoring activities.

Flora Of An Unusually Diverse Old Growth Forest In The Southeastern Adirondacks, Gordon Tucker, Richard Mitchell

Faculty Research & Creative Activity

A lowland, virgin white pine-hemlock stand and associated old-growth habitats were studied at Pack Forest Preserve, Warren County, NY. An area of 48.1 acres, interrupted only by nature trails, has white pines up to 58 inches in diameter, and supports 355 native plant species-an unexpectedly high number, considering its location in the climatically severe Adirondack Mountains. This minimally disturbed old-growth forest and its associated wetlands are not only diverse, but essentially weed-free, making them ideal for future ecological research, botanical teaching and monitoring activities.

Flora Of An Unusually Diverse Old Growth Forest In The Southeastern Adirondacks, Gordon C. Tucker, Richard S. Mitchell

Faculty Research & Creative Activity

A lowland, virgin white pine-hemlock stand and associated old-growth habitats were studied at Pack Forest Preserve, Warren County, NY. An area of 48.1 acres, interrupted only by nature trails, has white pines up to 58 inches in diameter, and supports 355 native plant species-an unexpectedly high number, considering its location in the climatically severe Adirondack Mountains. This minimally disturbed old-growth forest and its associated wetlands are not only diverse, but essentially weed-free, making them ideal for future ecological research, botanical teaching and monitoring activities.

Temporal Hierarchies Of Variation And The Maintenance Of Diversity, Peter Chesson, Nancy Huntly

Nancy Huntly

No abstract provided.

Parasites As Probes For Biodiversity, Scott Lyell Gardner, Mariel L. Campbell

Harold W. Manter Laboratory of Parasitology: Faculty and Staff Publications

Cestodes of the genus Linstowia, parasitic in marsupials, show patterns of coevolution and ancient historical-ecological connections. Correlated with the breakup of the austral landmasses (Gondwanaland) of the Neotropical and Australian regions from the Antarctic continent, the age of this host-parasite community is estimated to be between 60 and 70 million years old. Based on the data from the survey of parasites of mammals from throughout Bolivia and from the phylogenetic analysis of the cestodes, we urge the planners of biodiversity preserves in the neotropics to consider the Yungas of Bolivia as a region that supports an ancient ecological community …

The Plight Of Cranes: A Case Study For Conserving Biodiversity, J. Christopher Haney, Mark E. Eiswerth

Proceedings of the North American Crane Workshop

Cranes provide an exemplary case for evaluating conservation policy because (1) they are a charismatic group with high public visibility, (2) as migratory vertebrates they provide an umbrella for the protection of aquatic habitats and a wider set of species, (3) they are a widely-distributed avian family, consequently protection efforts have favored international cooperation, (4) genetic and taxonomic relationships have been studied, and (5) populations of at least 7 crane species are threatened, endangered, or otherwise considered at direct risk. We use comparisons among the world's cranes to show how biogeographic, taxonomic, and genetic data bases can be linked for …

Biological Diversity And Environmental Protection: Authorities To Reduce Risk, Robert L. Fischman

Articles by Maurer Faculty

No abstract provided.

Agenda: Moving The West's Water To New Uses: Winners And Losers, University Of Colorado Boulder. Natural Resources Law Center

Moving the West's Water to New Uses: Winners and Losers (Summer Conference, June 6-8)

Conference organizers and/or faculty included University of Colorado Law School professors Lawrence J. MacDonnell and Mark Squillace.

Moving the West's Water to New Uses: Winners and Losers will be the theme for this year's water conference, June 6-8 at the Law School in Boulder. The conference will consider the changing demands for water in the West and the need to reallocate a portion of the existing uses of water to new uses.

The first day will provide the background by looking at the most likely sources of water to meet these demands, including agriculture, federal water projects, interstate transfers, and …