Life Sciences Commons^™

The Status Of Invasive Dusky Slug (Arion) Species In The Upper Great Lakes: A Molecular Approach, Olivia W. Hall

All NMU Master's Theses

I update the distribution of two cryptic slug species, Arion fuscus and Arion subfuscus, in the Upper Great Lakes of the United States using molecular identification methods. Arion fuscus has not previously been reported in the literature in this region, and Arion subfuscus has previously been reported as abundant. However, all previous distribution studies were determined using visual identification tools, which can result in misidentification between cryptic species. To molecularly re-examine these distribution maps, I used a mitochondrial ribosomal subunit 16S PCR amplification and subsequent SSpI and MfeI restriction enzyme digest to identify slug specimens. I collected slugs in …

Geographic Distribution: Anolis Sagrei (Brown Anole). Usa: Arizona., Addie Leimroth, Louis A. Somma, Dyrana N. Russell, Logan P. Cutts, Mason Ryan, Randall D. Babb, Karen E. Hajek, Andrew T. Holycross

Papers in Herpetology

We discovered the first distributional records for the exotic, Caribbean lizard, Anolis sagrei (Brown Anole), in Arizona.

Distribution, Abundance, And Population Genetics Of The Alligator Snapping Turtle (Macrochelys Temminckii) In Mississippi, Luke Pearson

Dissertations

The southeastern United States is a freshwater turtle biodiversity hotspot, second only to southeastern Asia, and this region is inhabited by one of the largest freshwater turtles in the world: the alligator snapping turtle (Macrochelys temminckii). This species was heavily harvested from the 1960’s to the 1980’s for the turtle soup industry, apparently contributing to substantial, range-wide population declines. These declines, coupled with anthropogenic impacts on riverine and floodplain habitats, have led to M. temminckii being petitioned for federal listing under the U.S. Endangered Species Act; it is currently under review by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service …

Geographic Distribution: Eleutherodactylus Coqui (Common Coqui). Usa: Florida., Louis A. Somma

Papers in Herpetology

A geographic interception record for Eleutherodactylus coqui in Suwanee County, Florida.

Geographic Distribution: Iguana Iguana (Green Iguana): Usa: Florida., Louis A. Somma, Mark T. Bailey

Papers in Herpetology

A geographic distribution record for Iguana iguana in Marion County, Florida.

Distribution And Reproduction By The Purple Gallinule (Porphyrio Martinica) In Arkansas, C. Renn Tumlison, Terry L. Tumlison, Tamzen T. Bryant

Journal of the Arkansas Academy of Science

The Purple Gallinule (Porphyrio martinica) is a rare bird in Arkansas, and its populations likely have declined due to loss of marshy areas with emergent vegetation. By use of online sources for citizen science combined with a field study, we elucidate the current distribution of this bird in Arkansas, and document characteristics of reproduction and development. Purple Gallinules arrive in Arkansas as early as April and remain to late October. Nesting occurs from early May into July, and nests may represent second broods. Ontogenetic changes in hatchlings are described.

Phylogenetic Studies Of The Madagascan Freshwater Crabs (Potamoidea, Potamonautidae, Deckeniinae), Rainee Stevens

All NMU Master's Theses

Relationships within the Madagascan freshwater crab fauna were examined based on unstudied specimens from all parts of Madagascar. This study allowed the examination of the validity of existing genera and species, and identified potential new taxa. The new specimens provided phylogenetic and evolutionary data, as well as new insights into the distribution patterns of the Malagasy freshwater crab fauna. In addition, the large number of new localities from previously unsurveyed areas of Madagascar allowed the construction of updated distribution maps.

The present analysis included 62 unidentified specimens plus 13 identified species of Malagasy freshwater crab taxa that had already been …

Microclimate Variation And Epiphyte Distribution In Acer Macrophylum, Jeremy Wood

Summer Research

Habitat heterogeneity plays a key role in supporting biodiversity in both animals and plant life. More diverse environments provide more exploitable niches across gradients in temperature, humidity, light availability, and countless other variables at the landscape and regional scales. In specimens of Acer macrophylum in the Hoh Rainforest, we found significant variation in temperature and relative humidity across particular crown zones, and certain epiphyte species were found to distribute according to such microclimate variation.

Positive Interactions In Temperate And Tropical Alpine Plant Communities: The Role Of Facilitation In Species-Specific Interactions, Invasion, And Landscape-Scale Distribution, Nicole Hupp

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

No abstract provided.

Linking Physiology And Biogeography: Disentangling The Constraints On The Distributions Of Ant Species, Lacy Danikas Chick

Doctoral Dissertations

Understanding the factors that limit the distribution of species is at the core of ecological and biogeographical research, and is critical if we are to predict the responses of key ecosystem components to ongoing climatic changes. My doctoral research seeks to provide an understanding of how thermal physiology influences species’ distributions and better define the mechanisms underlying geographic variation in biodiversity. By using natural temperature gradients (both elevational and latitudinal) and coupling controlled laboratory experiments with field observations and null modeling approaches, I was able to document the role of inter-specific variation in thermal physiology and, more interesting, inter-population variation …

New Records Of Merriam’S Shrew (Sorex Merriami) From Western North Dakota, Michael J. Shaughnessy Jr., Neal Woodman

Neal Woodman

Despite having a broad geographic distribution, Merriam’s Shrew (Sorex merriami Dobson 1890) is known from a relatively few, widely-scattered localities. In North Dakota, the species was known from only a single poorly-preserved specimen collected in 1913 near Medora. We recently collected two new specimens of Merriam’s Shrew from Billings and McKenzie counties in the western quarter of the state. These specimens confirm the presence of S. merriami in North Dakota and better define the northeastern edge of the species’ distribution.

Fishes Of The Choctawhatchee River System In Southeastern Alabama And Northcentral Florida, Thomas P. Simon, Charles C. Morris, Bernard R. Kuhajda, Carter R. Gilbert, Henry L. Bart Jr., Nelson Rios, Paul M. Stewart, Thomas P. Simon Iv, Mitt Denney

Southeastern Fishes Council Proceedings

The diversity and distribution of fish species occurring in the Choctawhatchee River drainage in southeastern Alabama and northcentral Florida were surveyed to obtain historical baseline information. Three hundred seventy-four sites were evaluated for species diversity and distribution in the drainage, including compilation of unpublished records from southeastern natural history museums. The greatest diversity at any single site was 37 species. Sixty-eight sites were represented by 15 species or more, and 26 sites were represented by a single species. The most frequently encountered species includes Gambusia holbrooki, Percina nigrofasciata, Esox americanus, Notropis texanus, Lepomis macrochirus, Cyprinella n. sp. cf venusta, …

Assessing Wild Canid Distribution Using Camera Traps In The Pioneer Valley Of Western Massachusetts, Eric G. Leflore

Masters Theses

With the ever-increasing human population, more people reside in urban areas than ever before; this is having marked effects on the landscape and in turn, wildlife. This study uses automatically triggered wildlife cameras to assess the distribution of three carnivore species (coyotes, Canis latrans; red foxes, Vulpes vulpes; and gray foxes, Urocyon cinereoargenteus) around the Pioneer Valley of Massachusetts in relation to a gradient of human development. Cameras were placed at 141 locations within the 320-km² study area over the course of three field seasons (3,052 trap nights). Relative abundances for fourteen other species and site …

Geographic Distribution: Anolis Sagrei (Brown Anole). Usa: Florida: Escambia Co., Louis A. Somma

Papers in Herpetology

Pensacola: Agriculture Interdiction Station 1-10, Station 19: 1-10 eastbound (30.54519°N, 87.35201°W, WGS84). 15 November 2012. Katrina Simmons and Randal St. Louis. Verified by Kenneth L. Krysko, Florida Museum of Natural History, University of Florida (UF 169126). First county interdiction and westernmost vouchered specimen for the Florida Panhandle (Krysko et al. 2011. Atlas of Amphibians and Reptiles in Florida. Final report, Project Agreement 080l3, Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, Tallahassee. 524 pp.). Currently, A. sagrei is not known to be established in Escambia Co., but is present in adjacent Santa Rosa Co. and at least 54 other Florida counties (Krysko …

Geographic Distribution: Hemidactylus Mabouia (Wood Slave). Usa: Florida: St. Lucie Co., Louis A. Somma

Papers in Herpetology

FLORIDA: ST. LUCIE Co.: Fort Pierce, 2100 Elizabeth Avenue (27.40840oN, 80 .34595OW). 11 May 2009. Ken Hibbard. Verified by Kenneth L. Krysko. Florida Museum of Natural History, University of Florida. UF 155444. First county record. One adult female; heavily infested with ec~oparasitic pterygosomatid mites, collected from a porch screen of a residence at 2200 h. Three otJ:}.er H. mabouia were observed at this same locality at 2000 h on 13 May 2009; they are common in sections of the Fort Pierce area. This invasive African species is currently the most widespread and rapidly spreading nonindigenous gecko in southern and central …

Geographic Distribution: Sphaerodactylus Elegans Elegans (Ashy Gecko). Usa: Florida: Broward Co, Louis A. Somma, Kenneth L. Krysko

Papers in Herpetology

FLORIDA: BRowARD Co.: Pembroke Pines: 1031 NW93rd Ave (26.0168833°N, 80.2695694°W; WGS84; elev. <1 m). 27 October 2007. Collected by Lisa A. Charlton. Verified by F. Wayne King, Florida Museum of Natural History, University of Florida. One neonate captured in Jackson sticky trap set to sample insects in an alee tree (Blighia sapida). UF 152418. New county record. Originally turned in to Division of Plant Industry (DPI), Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, Gainesville, Florida, on 31 October 2007; Entomology Log No. 8204. This nonindigenous gecko was flrst reported from Key West, Monroe County, Florida, more than 85 years ago (Stejneger 1922. Copeia [108]:56). Since that time the species has slowly expanded its range through other islands in the Florida Keys, and onto mainland Florida in Miami, Miami-Dade County (Carr 1940. Univ. Florida PubI. BioI. Sci. Ser. 3[1]:1-118; Krysko and Daniels 2005. Caribb. J. Sci.41:28-36.). On 11 September 1937, asingleSphaerodactylus e. elegans was collected in Port Everglades, Broward County, Florida (UF 183) and on 26 January 1963, another collected from inside a house in Miami, Miami-Dade County, Florida (UF 84234). This latest specimen is the third known mainland record in the continental U.S.

Geographic Distribution: Ramphotyphlops Braminus (Brahminy Blindsnake). Usa: Florida: Alachua Co., Louis A. Somma

Papers in Herpetology

One adult within a temiite colony, beneath rock. UF 151211; additional specimens (UF 151212-14) were also found. All specimens were collected between 1200-1240 h at the Division of Plant Industry (DPI), Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services. In 2006, another adult R. braminus was collected by an employee at this site,.near a greenhouse, and . was kept in captivity until it escaped. Rhamphotyphlops is occasionally encountered by employees of DPI and it may be expanding its range, as there is one specimen (UF 147001) collected from the University of Florida campus (Powell Hall) adjacent to the DPI site (29°38'7.9080"N, …

Types Of Areas And The Origin Of Black Flies Fauna In Mongolia (Diptera: Simuliidae), Josef Halgoš

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

The survey of Mongolian Black Flies species (Diptera: Simuliidae) is given in the presented work. The classification based on Emelyanov (1974) and Gorodkov (1984) appeared to be as most advantageous one. Black Flies species found on the Mongolian territory up to now were classified according to the character of their distribution among 5 groups: Holoarctic species (7 species), Eurasian (15), Eastern Palaearctic (20), Turanian-Mediterranean (7), Mongolian endemic species (8). Individual groups are divided according to the type of area into smaller subgroups. The zoogeographical analysis has shown big similarity with Black Flies zoogeography in Siberia and Far East (in percentage …