Life Sciences Commons^™

Translation Of: Trembley À Réaumer, Abraham Trembley, Morgan Mclaughlin

Biology: Student Scholarship & Creative Works

While examining a jar filled with aquatic plants and animals, Abraham Trembley, a young tutor working for Count William Bentinck in the Netherlands, noticed tiny, green, tube-shaped organisms attached to aquatic plants. Uncertain whether they were plants or animals, he devised a brilliant series of experiments to understand their biology. He observed them contract when disturbed and take steps towards a light, gathering in front of a chevron-shaped opening in a piece of cardboard. Nearly convinced they were animals, he cut one in half expecting to see it die. Instead, it regenerated two perfectly formed bodies from the severed halves. …

Biodiversity Of Histerid Beetles (Coleoptera: Histeridae) From Brazil. I. Southern Region, Fábio Luiz De Leão Leonel, Fernando Willyan Trevisan Leivas

Insecta Mundi

This contribution adds data to the conservation and distribution of Histeridae species (Coleoptera) in the Neotropical region through a survey of Brazil’s South region. More specifically, it provides: i) a list of local Histeridae species; ii) a list of species that are inside Conservation Units in southern Brazil; iii) biotic (biome, ecoregion and associations/affinities) and abiotic information (altitude and month of occurrence) for each species. In total, 66 genera and 164 histerid beetle species were recorded, distributed in seven subfami­lies and 11 tribes. Among these, one genus and three species are new records for the region. Fifty percent of the …

Natural History Of The Guatemalan Copper Iophanus Pyrrhias (Godman And Salvin, 1887) (Lepidoptera: Lycaenidae) In Guatemala, José Monzón-Sierra, Gregory C. Ballmer

The Taxonomic Report of the International Lepidoptera Survey

Abstract

Detailed information including photographs about the natural history of Iophanus pyrrhias (Godman and Salvin 1887) in Guatemala is presented. Information includes geographic and altitudinal distribution and phenology. We reconfirm the immatures stages use Muehlenbeckia tamnifolia (Kunth) Meisn., 1841 (Polygonaceae) as the host plant.

Reusmen

Se presenta información detallada incluyendo fotografías de la historia natural de Iophanus pyrrhias (Godman y Salvin 1887) en Guatemala. La información incluye distribución geográfica y altitudinal y fenología. Confirmamos que los estados inmaduros se alimentan de Muehlenbeckia tamnifolia (Kunth) Meisn., 1841 (Polygonaceae).

Ahead Of His Time: Joseph Grinnell, Natural History, And Inclusion And Equity In Stem, David O. Ribble

Biology Faculty Research

Joseph Grinnell designed the Natural History of the Vertebrates (NHV) course at the Museum of Vertebrate Zoology, University of California at Berkeley, over 100 years ago and the course has changed little over these years. In this essay, I connect modern pedagogical and cognitive understandings of what we know leads to success among students to the course. This analysis reveals that the course continues to be successful because it has all the elements of a student-centered, active-learning class that leads to better cognitive gains, better retention, and importantly, proportionately better gains for students from underserved populations. This study will be …

Exploring Community Initiatives That Produce High Quality Volunteers: Citizen Science And Master Naturalist Programs In The United States, Travis Robbins, Alie Mayes, Julie Thomas

Transactions of the Nebraska Academy of Sciences and Affiliated Societies

Citizen science, which has contributed greatly to scientific understanding, works through partnerships between non-governmental and governmental organizations, academia, and most importantly, volunteers. In the United States, Master Naturalist training programs prepare adults as knowledgeable environmental stewards. Once certified, Master Naturalists are encouraged to log annual volunteer activity hours involving scientific research and education. Compared to untrained volunteers, individuals who have completed Master Naturalist training (or similar programs) exhibit greater project involvement and efficiency at collecting data. These traits align well with the goals of citizen science and point to a symbiotic relationship between citizen science and Master Naturalist programs. Here, …

Taxonomic Revision Of The Western Hemisphere Checkered Beetle Genus Axina Kirby (Coleoptera: Cleridae: Clerinae), Weston Opitz

Insecta Mundi

The New World genus Axina Kirby (Coleoptera: Cleridae) is revised for the first time. Thirty-two new species are described: Axina acutipennis, A. adelosa, A. atmis, A. bahia, A. bella, A. brunnea, A. chiasta, A. furcula, A. heveli, A. ignota, A. klisis, A. latilinea, A. lobispinula, A. luzia, A. macilenta, A. megaspina, A. minas, A. ochra, A. oligocheia, A. ordinis, A. …

Bird Dispersal As A Pre-Adaptation For Domestication In Legumes: Insights For Neo-Domestication, Hester Brǿnnvik, Eric J. Von Wettberg

College of Agriculture and Life Sciences Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Illustrated Guide To The Immature Lepidoptera On Oaks In Missouri, Robert Marquis, Steven Passoa, John Lill, James Whitfield, Josiane Le Corff, Rebecca Forkner, Valerie Passoa

Biology Department Faculty Works

Oak trees (Quercus spp.) dominate many forests in North America, and their diverse herbivore fauna is a major component of ecological biodiversity. Yet, identification guides for oak-feeding Lepidoptera in the eastern United States usually lack detailed larval morphological characteristics and pupal descriptions. This book describes the immature stages of common species of butterflies and moths (Lepidoptera) whose larvae are found on 10 species of oak (Quercus) in the eastern Missouri Ozarks (USA). Data were collected mainly as part of the Missouri Ozark Forest Ecosystem Project (MOFEP), a longterm study of the effects of harvesting regimes on forest structure and function. …

Stand Location Variance As An Indicator Of Disturbance Regime In A Monotypic Tsuga Canadensis Forest, Cole J. Doolittle

Honors Program Projects

Disturbance regimes, which are critical components of forest ecosystems, influence forest morphology, biodiversity, and regeneration. The heterogeneity of disturbance regimes are not well understood on small scales. In this study I analyzed tree cores from five sites within a Tsuga canadensis (Eastern hemlock) forest in northern Wisconsin to investigate disturbance regimes through mean growth release criteria. This study investigated the following questions: 1) Are disturbance regimes in T. canadensis stand level or site specific? 2) If disturbances are site specific, is site location an indicator of disturbance regime? 3) Do site characteristics such as density and tree diameter at breast …

Status Of The Plains Harvest Mouse (Reithrodontomys Montanus Griseus) In Eastern Nebraska, Keith Geluso, Greg D. Wright

Transactions of the Nebraska Academy of Sciences and Affiliated Societies

In eastern Nebraska, current status of the Plains Harvest Mouse (Reithrodontomys montanus griseus) is not well understood. Infrequent captures during the last century have led to a paucity of information regarding this taxon, and some researchers postulate that its distribution has contracted in the state. In 2008, we conducted a field survey for R. m. griseus in eastern Nebraska, amassed prior specimen records, and examined most of the specimens for this subspecies from the state to better understand its distribution, natural history, and subspecific status. In our field efforts, we only captured a single individual despite …

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 Sint Eustatius, Caribbean Netherlands, Scott C. Pedersen, Peter A. Larsen, Sil A. Westra, Ellen Van Norren, Wesley Overman, Gary G. Kwiecinski, Hugh H. Genoways

University of Nebraska State Museum: Mammalogy Papers

The bat fauna of the Caribbean island of Sint Eustatius consists of five documented species—Monophyllus plethodon, Brachyphylla cavernarum, Artibeus jamaicensis, Ardops nichollsi, and Molossus molossus—and one provisional species—Tadarida brasiliensis. The Insular Single-leaf Bat, M. plethodon, is reported in the scientific literature for the first time from Sint Eustatius based on material presented herein. The bat fauna of the island is considered to be unbalanced because only three species, which are the environmental generalists, are abundant, whereas the more specialized species are rare or absent from the fauna. It is our hypothesis …

The Dung Beetle Fauna Of The Big Bend Region Of Texas (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae: Scarabaeinae), William D. Edmonds

Insecta Mundi

This paper reports the results of a 2001–2009 field study of the scarabaeine dung beetle fauna (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae) of the Big Bend region of Texas, a three-county area of the Trans-Pecos portion of the Chihuahuan Desert. The observed fauna comprises 10 native species, Canthon blumei Halffter and Halffter, C. imitator Brown, C. praticola LeConte, and C. mixtus Robinson; Onthophagus browni Howden and Cartwright, O. knausi Brown, O. velutinus Horn and O. brevifrons Horn; Copris arizonensis Schaeffer and Phanaeus texensis Edmonds; as well as two exotic species introduced in the 1970s, Digitonthophagus gazella (Fabricius) and Euoniticellus intermedius (Reiche). The existing native …

Bolivian Anthophilous Cerambycinae (Coleoptera: Cerambycidae) Host Flower Records, Robin O. S. Clarke, Sonia Zamalloa

Insecta Mundi

Host flower records for 111 species of Cerambycinae, collected from 40 plant species (21 families) in three Bolivian Departments during the period 2002–2011 are presented for the following tribes: Basipterini, Callichromatini, Clytini, Compsocerini, Eburiini, Ectenessini, Heteropsini, Hexoplonini, Molorchini, Oxycoleini, Pteroplatini, Rhopalophorini, Tillomorphini, and Trachyderini. The importance of anthophilous cerambycids as pollinators, their behavior, and methods used for collecting them are presented, and some preliminary comparisons between the tropical fauna in the north and the temperate fauna in the Chaco forests of the south are outlined.

Museum Collections: Natural History Training Bridges Time, Space, And Digital Platforms., Anna Monfils, Karen Powers, Christopher J. Marshall, James F. Smith, Chris Martine, L. Alan Prather

Faculty Journal Articles

Natural history collections offer a number of unique physical and virtual opportunities to create formal and informal progressive learning environments. Collections provide direct interaction with biodiversity as it changes through time and space. Collections-based experiences lead to an increased understanding and substantive interaction with the living world. Recent studies demonstrate how nature and outdoor experiences can improve learning. We discuss how collections, and the data associated with collections, are a critical component linking nature and scientific inquiry. Partnerships that develop around collections and collections-based science can foster innovative educational and research experiences that are enhanced by access to museum specimens. …

Eucnemid Larvae Of The Nearctic Region. Part Vi: Descriptions Of The Fi Fth Instar And Prepupal Larval Stages Of Stethon Pectorosus Leconte, 1866 (Coleoptera: Eucnemidae: Eucneminae: Mesogenini), With Notes On Their Biology, Robert L. Otto, Jeffrey P. Gruber

Insecta Mundi

Descriptions and illustrations of the fifth instar and prepupal larval stages of Stethon pectorosus LeConte, 1866 (Coleoptera: Eucnemidae: Eucneminae: Mesogenini) are provided. These are the first larval descriptions for the genus Stethon LeConte within the subfamily Eucneminae in the Nearctic region. Biological information is provided and comparison with larval morphology of other Eucnemidae is briefl y discussed.

Syllabus: Wildlife Habitat Management, Paige Warren

Sustainability Education Resources

This course provides an in-depth exploration of wildlife-habitat relationships, illustrated through basic field zoology and natural history, evolutionary biology, and ecological theory. We introduce you to quantitative tools used to explain ecological processes and their influence on wildlife and their environment. We will examine the dynamics and management of various habitats in New England, North America, and elsewhere through field visits and use of primary literature. We will place particular emphasis on managing wildlife habitat in an urbanizing world. By one estimate, roughly 9% of the land area of the United States is in a zone of wildland-urban interface, but …

Some Biogeographers, Evolutionists And Ecologists: Chrono-Biographical Sketches, Charles H. Smith, Joshua Woleben, Carubie Rodgers

DLPS Faculty Publications

Each name in the following list of naturalists is linked to a corresponding capsule "chrono-biographical" sketch of that individual prepared by the authors. Coverage extends from approximately 1950 backward in time as far as the eighteenth century; figures from all over the world are included (though there is admittedly a decided Anglo-American bias). The target subject here is biogeography, but this being a broad field there are many persons on the list who are better known as climatologists, zoologists, botanists, ecologists, oceanographers, paleontologists, etc.--in other words, who made their main reputations in cognate disciplines.

This service has been set up …

Profiles In Science For Science Librarians: "What Lives Where, And Why": Alfred Russel Wallace, And The Field Of Biogeography, Charles H. Smith

DLPS Faculty Publications

Biogeography, the study of animal and plant distribution, has a history extending back to at least the eighteenth century. But it was not until the work of Charles Darwin and Alfred Russel Wallace in the mid-nineteenth century that it really came into its own as a science. Darwin’s importance notwithstanding, it was really Wallace who put the field on the map, and many of today’s research threads can be traced back to his influence. This article provides a summary review of Wallace’s life and work and biogeography as a field of study, including Wallace’s role in its development.

Alfred Russel Wallace, Journalist, Charles H. Smith

DLPS Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Bats Of Anguilla, Northern Lesser Antilles, Hugh H. Genoways, Carleton J. Phillips, Scott C. Pedersen, Linda K. Gordon

University of Nebraska State Museum: Mammalogy Papers

Five species of bats are known in the literature from Anguilla—Monophyllus plethodon, Brachyphylla cavernarum, Artibeus jamaicensis, Natalus stramineus, and Molossus molossus. These records are scattered in the literature as parts of simple reports of the species from the island or included in revisions of taxonomic groups that occur on the island, but the first comprehensive study of bats of Anguilla is presented herein. In addition to providing morphometric and natural history information for the five species of bats previously known from the island, records of a species of bat new to the fauna of the island of Anguilla—Tadarida …

Description Of The Tadpole Of Leptodactylus Pustulatus Peters, 1870 (Anura: Leptodactylidae), Rafael O. De Sá, Reuber Brandão, Lorena Dall'ara Guimarães

Biology Faculty Publications

The external morphology and oral disc of the tadpole of Leptodactylus pustulatus Peters, 1870, are described and illustrated for Gosner stage 39. The internal oral anatomy was analyzed with SEM at Gosner stage 36 whereas chondrocranial anatomy is reported for Gosner stage 35. The overall characteristics do not depart from those known for the genus Leptodactylus and they particularly agree for those of the melanonotus species group. The labial tooth row formula is 2(2)/3. Observations are presented that suggest that L. pustulatus engages in larval parental care.

Resumo

São descritas a morfologia externa e o disco oral do girino de …

Primer Registro De Trypoxylon Mexicanum Para La Hispaniola, Antillas Mayores (Hymenoptera: Apoidea: Crabronidae), Julio Genaro

Insecta Mundi

Resumen:
Trypoxylon (Trypargilum) mexicanum (Hymenoptera: Crabronidae) pertenece al grupo albitarse, el cual incluye a las especies mayores del género. Su distribución nativa abarca América Central, desde México hasta Panamá. En este trabajo se menciona por primera vez para la Hispaniola, Antillas. Es difícil imaginarse una especie conspicua como esta sin haber sido detectada anteriormente por algún naturalista o especialista en himenópteros aculeatos, por lo que considero un arribo reciente a la isla. Esta especie pudo haber llegado a través del comercio con América Central, ya que los nidos, hechos de barro, pueden transportar fácilmente los inmaduros, que emergen posteriormente …

Are Botanists Becoming The Dinosaurs Of Biology In The 21st Century?, Dennis W. Woodland

Faculty Publications

The number of botany students, botany classes, botany departments in universities and botanists attending conventions has been declining over many years in North America. This is part of a general trend throughout the field of organismal biology, not just botany. The history leading up to the situation today in North America, is discussed and reasons are given for this trend over the last century of time. Seven ways to keep botany a viable occupation are discussed otherwise botany, in the 21st century, may go the way of the dinosaur. © 2007.

The Problems Of Being Successful: Managing Interactions Between Humans And Double-Crested Cormorants, Douglas Siegel-Causey

Symposium on Double-Crested Cormorants: Population Status and Management Issues in the Midwest

The natural history, behavior, and ecology of double-crested cormorants (Phalacrocorax auritus) predispose this species for conflict with human sport and commercial fisheries. Cormorants breed early in life, have large broods, are efficient predators even in marginal conditions, seem to be able to adjust colony sizes quickly in response to local conditions, and have limited requirements for feeding and nesting habitats. A survey of the past history of successes and failures in managing cormorants reveals that economic impact is greatest with aquaculture and least in sport fisheries. Research during the past 5 years suggests that some control methods like …

The Ohlone And The Oak Woodlands: Cultural Adaptation In The Santa Clara Valley, Grant William Schick

Research Manuscript Series

Today, Santa Clara Valley consists of a modern industrialized environment distinguished by concrete, pavement and automobiles. These "innovations" made by modern technology began only recently. The environment and ecology of 200 years ago was extremely different from ours today. Filled with many native habitats, it thrived through the inter-dependance of all plant and animal species. In this study, I examine the characteristics of Santa Clara Valley in centuries past and today, in order to understand the vast number of resources which were available to the native inhabitants of the Santa Clara Basin. This paper has its base in cultural ecology, …

Introduction: One Hundred Years Of Natural History In Turkmenistan, Victor Fet

Biological Sciences Faculty Research

As part of the famous “Great Game” between the Russian and British Empires in Central Asia, Turkmenistan was the last colonial prize of the Russian tsars; its delineation from Afghanistan was completed only in the 1890s. The Russian Empire’s Transcaspian Region (Zakaspiiskaya Oblast) was roughly what Turkmenistan is today; its neighbors were the semi-independent emirate of Bokhara to the east and khanate of Khiva to the north, both remnants of medieval Muslim empires.

This book combines the results of basic scientific research in biogeography and ecology; its purpose is to give a fairly comprehensive account of the nature of Turkmenistan. …

A Guide To The Natural History Of The Cedarburg Bog: Part Ii, James A. Reinartz

Field Station Bulletins

The boardwalk that extends to the center of the Cedarburg Bog is the UWM Field Station's most heavily used teaching facility. Research is also conducted in the Bog, which holds an understandable fascination for researchers and students of natural history because of its size, complexity, diversity and geographical isolation from similar communities. Because of the increasing research and teaching use of the Bog, it has become essential that some of what is known about the natural history of the Bog be assembled and summarized in an easily accessible introduction and guide. The guide contains too much material to fit into …

A Guide To The Natural History Of The Cedarburg Bog: Part 1, James A. Reinartz

Field Station Bulletins

The boardwalk that extends to the center of the Cedarburg Bog is the UWM Field Station's most heavily used teaching facility. Research is also conducted in the Bog, which holds an understandable fascination for researchers and students of natural history because of its size, complexity, diversity and geographical isolation from similar communities. Because of the increasing research and teaching use of the Bog, it has become essential that some of what is known about the natural history of the Bog be assembled and summarized in an easily accessible introduction and guide. The guide contains too much material to fit into …

Notes On The Biology Of Halictus (Halictus) Farinosus Smith (Hymenoptera: Halictidae), William P. Nye

All PIRU Publications

Describes the habitat, life history, foraging, social behavior, and nest architecture of the subsocial halictine bee Hal ictus (Hal ictus) farinosus Smith. The interplay of host-plant conditions with nest development and generations is discussed. Natural enemies and other associates are noted but not extensively treated.