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Climate change

Behavior and Ethology

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Responses Of Arthropods To Fire And How Pollinators And Pollination Services Are Affected By Fire Severity, Blyssalyn V. Bieber Jan 2022

Responses Of Arthropods To Fire And How Pollinators And Pollination Services Are Affected By Fire Severity, Blyssalyn V. Bieber

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Fires impact ecosystems globally and due to climate change, there are shifts in fire regimes that impact ecological communities which provide essential ecosystem services. Focusing on arthropods, fire can influence this ubiquitous animal group in various way. We performed a comprehensive meta-analysis evaluating how fires impact differing arthropod functional groups. We found that overall, fire negatively effects community level responses for most functional groups with herbivores as the only exception showing some positive effects of fire. We also studied mixed-severity fires that burned >20 years ago and compared floral visitor communities across fire severities. We implemented a pollinator exclusion experiment …


Impacts Of Ammonia And Temperature On Freshwater Snail Behavior And Physiology., Megan Christine Dewhatley Dec 2018

Impacts Of Ammonia And Temperature On Freshwater Snail Behavior And Physiology., Megan Christine Dewhatley

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Gastropods are one of the most imperiled groups of animals in North America, yet there are major gaps in the literature pertaining to pollutants and climate change, and especially sublethal impacts. This dissertation assesses the effects of climate warming and unionized ammonia (NH3), one of the most abundant water pollutants, on the behavior and physiology of two caenogastropod snails: fine-ridged elimia (Elimia semicarinata) and Shawnee rocksnails (Lithasia obovata) (Gastropoda: Neotaenioglossa: Pleuroceridae). Righting behavior, or the movement used by snails to turn themselves right-side-up, was used as the main endpoint; delays in this behavior compromise …