Animal Sciences Commons^™

Environmental Biology Masters Capstone, Antonio Gonzalez-Pita

Regis University Student Publications (comprehensive collection)

Human wildlife interactions (HWI) pose a complex challenge for wildlife managers. Human encroachment into wildlife habitat and the growing number of outdoor recreationists are increasing the frequency of contact and conflict, especially in regions such as the Front Range of Colorado. Geographic information systems (GIS), which use a combination of remote sensing and environmental survey data, allow for predictive spatial analyses of where human wildlife interactions are likely to occur. I used publicly reported observations of moose to create spatial predictive maps in a species distribution model framework. Slope and elevation were shown to be the strongest predictors of HWI, …

Factors Associated With Acoustic Bat Presence During Spring Emergence In The Appalachian Mountains Of Western Virginia, Emily Kirk Pody

Theses, Dissertations and Capstones

Studies of threats that bats face during hibernation have increased in response to white-nose syndrome (WNS), a fungal disease that has ravaged North American bat populations. However, impacts of WNS on bat ecology during spring emergence, when bats are potentially recovering from infection and allocating resources for reproduction, is relatively understudied. As more bat species become listed at the federal and state level, the need to understand the factors associated with spring emergence is critical for improving conservation guidelines and habitat management practices. Acoustic monitoring is an efficient method for monitoring bat presence for prolonged periods of time, giving biologists …

Addressing Water Hyacinth (Pontederia Crassipes) Impacts On Aquatic Biota In Lake Okeechobee, Joseph Salerno

All HCAS Student Capstones, Theses, and Dissertations

The incursion of water hyacinth, Pontederia crassipes in Lake Okeechobee has resulted in management systems to be implemented to reduce the coverage of the invasive macrophyte. Its residence in the Lake Okeechobee ecosystem and the effects it has on organisms in the lake, whether it be positive or harmful is unknown. This study attempted to assess the potential effects that water hyacinth has on aquatic biota in Lake Okeechobee. Biotic data were collected on open water, water hyacinth covered, and native vegetation covered habitats via hook-and-line fishing, electrofishing, baited minnow traps, and the sampling of plant roots over a thirteen-month …

An Ecological Survey Of East Texas Salamanders Across The Camp Tyler Outdoor Field School In Smith County, Texas, Justin C. Hunt

Biology Theses

Amphibians are a unique class of organisms with a very long and storied evolutionary history of survival. Many modern amphibian clades occupy several vital ecological roles within their native freshwater environments. One of these roles, typically includes functioning as an ecological indicator species, whereby the presence of stable and diverse populations of many amphibian species, including salamanders, within a freshwater ecosystem have long been considered ecological indicators of good habitat quality and stable ecosystem health. Similarly, salamanders also function as important members of their local food webs and act as valuable mediators of complex trophic hierarchies to facilitate nutrient cycling …

Hide And Seek: An Exploration Of Antipredator And Predator Avoidance Mechanisms In Orthopodomyia Signifera In Response To Predation From Toxorhynchites Rutilus, Nathaniel Dahlberg

Master's Theses

There have been many observations of larval Orthopodomyia signifera coexisting with the predator Toxorhynchites rutilus. There are three hypotheses that could explain how Or. signifera resists predation from Tx. rutilus. The first hypothesis states that larvae adapt behavioral changes that limit predation. The second hypothesis states thoracic setae serve as a physical defense that prevents Tx. rutilus from grasping Or. signifera. The third hypothesis states Or. signifera possess a chemical defense indicated by aposematic coloration. To test the first hypothesis larval Or. signifera were exposed to conspecific and heterospecific predation cues and their behavior was observed. Both cues …

Differences In Drifting Invertebrate Communities Across Arctic Ecozones And The Influence On Potential Growth Of Grayling (Thymallus Arcticus), Charles Chanyi

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

Invertebrate drift is a key process that potentially affects multiple levels of food web organization within stream environments. However, our understanding of the mechanistic drivers of drift in high latitude streams and subsequent bottom-up control that drift may have on fish predators in these environments remains understudied. This project aimed to gain the baseline knowledge of how drift functions across two major high latitude ecozones, the boreal forest and tundra, and how those possible differences in drifting community characteristics may impact drift-feeding Arctic grayling (Thymallus arcticus). These objectives were accomplished by characterizing stream environments across both ecozones, sampling …

Assessing Forest Features And Nocturnal Flying Insect Diversity As Predictors Of Eastern Whip-Poor-Will Occupancy In Foraging Habitat, Clark D. Alexander

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports

Eastern whip-poor-will (Antrostomus vociferus), an insectivorous caprimulgid, have seen an approximate 2.76% annual population decrease since the 1960s, with their breeding and foraging ecology largely unknown due to their nocturnal and cryptic behavior. I conducted research to assess abiotic and biotic variables correlated with detection, and occupancy probability, and prey species diversity on ~104,000 hectares of forest in West Virginia, owned by the private timber company Weyerhaeuser. Previous literature indicates that Eastern whip-poor-will, and their prey, require ephemeral habitat such as recently cleared and early successional forests, like those historically created by forest fires, wind shears, hurricanes, and …

Ecology And Evolution Of Social Information Use, Clare T. M. Doherty

Dartmouth College Ph.D Dissertations

Sociality is a strategy many animals employ to cope with their environments, enabling them to survive and reproduce more successfully than would otherwise be possible. When navigating their environments and making decisions, social individuals often use information provided by conspecifics (in the form of social cues and signals), thereby increasing the scope and reliability of the information they can gather. However, social information use may be influenced by many factors, including key differences in context across the physical and social environment. My thesis asks and answers a series of questions regarding the trade-offs in social information use across different contexts, …

Characterizing Habitat Suitability For Gulf Sturgeon (Acipenser Oxyrinchus Desotoi) In Southern Louisiana, Jenna N. Brogdon

LSU Master's Theses

A generalized additive modeling (GAM) framework was used to characterize fish-habitat relationships and develop habitat suitability maps to predict spatiotemporal and ontogenetic shifts in Gulf sturgeon distribution within an impacted estuary in the northern Gulf of Mexico, Lake Pontchartrain. Gulf sturgeon (n = 103) were fitted with acoustic transmitters in the Pearl River during the early summer and fall from 2013 to 2018, and an array of acoustic receivers (n = 81) was used to monitor Gulf sturgeon habitat use and movement in the estuary from 2016 to 2019. Daily presence data from the telemetry array were paired with environmental …

Reconstructing The Ecological Relationships Of Late Cretaceous Antarctic Dinosaurs And How Functional Tooth Morphology Influenced These Relationships, Ian D. Broxson

2022 Symposium

The Sandwich Bluff Formation of the James Ross Basin of Antarctica has recently yielded a group of five late Cretaceous dinosaurs that lived contemporaneously with each other, a first for Antarctica. These five dinosaurs include fragmentary remains of two differently sized elasmarian ornithopods, a possible megaraptor, a hadrosaur, and a nodosaur. In this study we will construct a model of the ecological relationships of late Cretaceous Antarctica. Additionally, we will look at what specific factors allowed this group of four herbivores and a carnivore to coexist in a restricted locality and what niches were filled by each species. Methods to …

Detection, Occupancy, Abundance, And Mercury Accumulation Of The Alligator Snapping Turtle (Macrochelys Temminckii) In Texas, David Rosenbaum

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Land use practices and physical alterations of ecosystems result in habitat loss and fragmentation, while chemical alterations, such as pollutant input, reduce habitat quality and health of exposed organisms. Here, I investigated the effects of watershed- and local-scale environmental variables on the occupancy, abundance, and mercury accumulation of a threatened aquatic species (Macrochelys temminckii, i.e., alligator snapping turtle) within the southwestern periphery of its distribution. Hierarchical modeling suggested the distribution of the species is more affected by watershed-scale land-cover than local habitat, and provided a baseline estimate of average species abundance across its range in eastern Texas. Abundance …

Significance Of Autumn And Winter Food Consumption For Reproduction By Southern Beaufort Sea Polar Bears, Ursus Maritimus, Blaine D. Griffen, John P. Whiteman, Sariah Pullan

Biological Sciences Faculty Publications

Polar bears (Ursus maritimus) in the southern Beaufort Sea experience long annual periods when preferred seal prey are scarce or are unavailable. Consumption of bowhead whale (Balaena mysticetus) carcasses from native Alaskan subsistence hunting is increasingly common for onshore polar bears, yet the energetic consequences of this consumption remain unclear. We use data on bears captured repeatedly over periods that encompassed autumn and winter, combined with calculations, to show that adult female bears likely consume an average of at least 4 seal equivalents during both autumn and winter periods and that considerable variation in energy intake …

Understanding Caribou Population Cycles, Jack R. St. John

Undergraduate Theses, Professional Papers, and Capstone Artifacts

The complex population dynamics of caribou (Rangifer tarandus) were studied to determine the patterns of their population cycles and the processes driving them. It is well established, via previous archaeological research and Indigenous knowledge, that large migrating caribou herds found in and around the tundra at northern latitudes experience population boom and busts roughly every several decades. However, the processes driving the dynamics of these cycles are relatively unknown, which makes managing caribou herds for recreational and subsistence harvests difficult. It has been hypothesized that a combination of intrinsic and extrinsic factors shape these cycles, with density-dependence, predation, …

Using Spatial Methods To Analyse Anthropogenic Predation Risk And Movement Ecology Of White-Tailed Deer (Odocoileus Virginianus), Rhiannon D. Kirton

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Hunting has been used as a central tool by wildlife managers to maintain populations of game species, however, we still lack a good understanding of exactly how hunting influences deer biology. Technological advances in GPS data over the last two decades now enable us to perform more detailed analysis on the effects of human hunters on wildlife populations. This research explores the spatial ecology of hunters and White-tailed deer in the Cross Timbers ecoregion of Oklahoma. Using new statistical methodologies to analyse simultaneous GPS tracking data on deer and hunters to study their spatial interactions. The results show how new …

The Sandhill Crane State: A Naturalist’S Guide To Nebraska, Paul Johnsgard

Zea E-Books Collection

This book includes the locations, descriptions, and points of biological, historical, geological, or paleontological interest of nearly 350 sites in Nebraska, most of which are free to access. Its 53,000 words include accounts of 9 state historical parks, 8 state parks, 2 national forests, 2 national monuments, and 7 national wildlife refuges as well as 181 wildlife management areas, 56 waterfowl production areas, and 54 state recreation areas. It also includes 48 state and county maps, 18 drawings, 33 photographs, and nearly 200 literature citations.

doi: 10.32873/unl.dc.zea.1305

Spiders You May Encounter While Social Distancing: A Field Guide To Oregon, Daniel K. Hufnagel

Anthós

This document is simply a short field guide on the many endearing spiders you have encountered or will potentially encounter while social distancing in Oregon. Included are journal entries for six different species of spider, with each log containing an illustration and a description of the physical appearance, behavior, and habitat of the arachnid listed. Also included is a basic diagram depicting the anatomy of the common spider.

The Effects Of Urbanization On The Avian Gut Microbiome, Mae Berlow

Doctoral Dissertations

The gut microbiome influences and is influenced by the host, and can affect the host organism by contributing to health, development and immunity. Similarly, the host can influence this community; it’s makeup can vary with host species, locality, diet, social stressors, and environmental stressors. Some of these environmental stressors have arisen due to human-induced rapid environmental change, like urbanization. The physiology and behaviors of organisms that are able to persist in urban environments are often different from their non-urban congeners. Nutrition, development, and immunity—all of which are affected by the gut microbiome—are important factors that can determine survival in urban …

Seasonal Plumage Condition Variation And The Thermal Value Of The Feather Coats Of House Sparrows (Passer Domesticus), Jordana Mf Graveley, Margaret Rubega, Kevin R. Burgio

Honors Scholar Theses

Feathers are critical to how birds thermoregulate, and thus their total energy balance. The feather coat insulates birds by trapping air next to the skin and acting as a physical barrier to heat loss. Despite previous work studying thermal balance in birds, relatively few studies have focused on the thermal contribution of the feather coat alone; most studies have focused on physiological and behavioral responses. Moreover, to our knowledge, no studies have directly measured the effect of feather wear through the annual cycle on the thermal performance of the feather coat. To address this, we used a thermal camera to …

The Effect Of Changing Substrate On Arctic Aquatic Invertebrates Abundance, Tom Dolman

Michael D. Wilson Symposium

Climate change is directly affecting tundra ecosystems in northern regions, and warming temperatures have caused discontinuous permafrost and thawing sediments across the region. This project investigates how increasing erosion and the foraging patterns of migratory snow geese may degrade habitat for aquatic invertebrates in the upper Mast River, located in Wapusk National Park, Manitoba, Canada. In the past two decades, many of the important species of aquatic invertebrates have shown declines. Declining invertebrate populations are predicted to affect aquatic ecosystems and decrease the resources available to shorebirds and waterfowl, which breed and migrate through this area.

Impact Analysis On The Invasive Oriental Weather Loach (Misgurnus Anguillicaudatus) In The Grant Creek And Prairie Creek Watersheds At Midewin National Tallgrass Prairie, Adam Vanhaitsma

Scholar Week 2016 - present

Presentation Location: Weber Center, Room 101

Abstract

In 2014, the invasive Oriental weather loach was found in the Prairie Creek wetland at Midewin National Tallgrass Prairie. While little is known about the Oriental weather loach and its impact on freshwater ecosystems it has become a widespread invasive species. Being the first to investigate the impact of the Oriental weather loach on the Grant Creek and Prairie Creek watersheds at Midewin National Tallgrass Prairie, we set traps for specimens from early June till late July in both watersheds. Each loach that was caught was euthanized and dissected in order to understand …

First Description Of Deep Benthic Habitats And Communities Of Oceanic Islands And Seamounts Of The Nazca Desventuradas Marine Park, Chile, Jan M. Tapia-Guerra, Ariadna Mecho, Erin E. Easton, María De Los Ángeles Gallardo, Matthias Gorny, Javier Sellanes

School of Earth, Environmental, and Marine Sciences Faculty Publications and Presentations

Seamounts and oceanic islands of the Chilean Exclusive Economic Zone at the intersection of the Nazca and Salas y Gómez ridges lie within one of the least explored areas in the world. The sparse information available, mainly for seamounts outside Chilean jurisdiction and shallow-water fauna of the Desventuradas Islands, suggests that the area is a hotspot of endemism. This apparent uniqueness of the fauna motivated the creation of the large Nazca-Desventuradas Marine Park (NDMP, ~ 300,000 km2) around the small islands San Felix and San Ambrosio in 2015. We report for the first time a detailed description of benthic microhabitats …

Population Fluctuation And Diurnal Time Budgeting Of White-Headed Duck (Oxyura Leucocephala) During Winter At Garaet Hadj Tahar (Skikda, North East Algerian), Merzoug Seyf Eddine, Abdi Soumia, Bara Mouslim, Houhamdi Moussa

Journal of Bioresource Management

This study was focused on the ecology and behavior of the White-headed Duck (Oxyura leucocephala) at Garaet Hadj Tahar (Guerbes-Sanhadja, North East of Algeria). Sampling was carried out during two wintering seasons (2017-2018 and 2018-2019). High number of this duck was recorded in 2018/19 (350 individuals). We observed two Oxyura population, the first sedentary, and the second, hosted the Garaet during the wintering season. Diurnal time budget was dominated by the comfort activities the sleeping with a rate of 39.13%. Following by swimming (37.76%), feeding (17.59%) grooming (4.58%), courtship ritual (0.56%) and flying (0.38%). The feeding of white-headed …

Effects Of Varying Heat Indexes On Habitat Utilization And Behavior On Captive Red-Ruffed Lemurs (Varecia Rubra), Jeffrey Gammon

The Pegasus Review: UCF Undergraduate Research Journal

The two captive red-ruffed lemurs (Varecia rubra) at the Central Florida Zoo experienced a more temperate climate and utilized a differing habitat than they would in their native range, Madagascar. Proper management of the species in captivity is crucial for its long-term survival as they are critically endangered. Over a four month period, heat index temperature, lemur behavior, and habitat utilization data were collected via an instantaneous scan sample. Variables were analyzed to characterize how variations in heat index alter habitat utilization and behavior of the captive lemurs. As the heat index increased, habitat use became more restricted …

Molecular Characterization Of A Marine Turtle Tumor Epizootic, Profiling External, Internal And Postsurgical Regrowth Tumors, Kelsey Yetsko, Jessica A. Farrell, Nicholas B. Blackburn, Liam Whitmore, Maximilian R. Stammnitz, Jenny Whilde, Catherine B. Eastman, Devon Rollinson Ramia, Ana C. Leandro

School of Medicine Publications and Presentations

Sea turtle populations are under threat from an epizootic tumor disease (animal epidemic) known as fibropapillomatosis. Fibropapillomatosis continues to spread geographically, with prevalence of the disease also growing at many longer-affected sites globally. However, we do not yet understand the precise environmental, mutational and viral events driving fibropapillomatosis tumor formation and progression.

Here we perform transcriptomic and immunohistochemical profiling of five fibropapillomatosis tumor types: external new, established and postsurgical regrowth tumors, and internal lung and kidney tumors. We reveal that internal tumors are molecularly distinct from the more common external tumors. However, they have a small number of conserved potentially …

Lifetime Reproductive Benefits Of Cooperative Polygamy Vary For Males And Females In The Acorn Woodpecker (Melanerpes Formicivorus), Sahas Barve, Christina Riehl, Eric L. Walters, Joseph Haydock, Hannah L. Dugdale, Walter D. Koenig

Biological Sciences Faculty Publications

Cooperative breeding strategies lead to short-term direct fitness losses when individuals forfeit or share reproduction. The direct fitness benefits of cooperative strategies are often delayed and difficult to quantify, requiring data on lifetime reproduction. Here, we use a longitudinal dataset to examine the lifetime reproductive success of cooperative polygamy in acorn woodpeckers (Melanerpes formicivorus), which nest as lone pairs or share reproduction with same-sex cobreeders. We found that males and females produced fewer young per successful nesting attempt when sharing reproduction. However, males nesting in duos and trios had longer reproductive lifespans, more lifetime nesting attempts and higher …

Residency, Diel Movement, And Tidal Patterns Of Large Juvenile Bull Sharks (Carcharhinus Leucas) In Winyah Bay, Sc, Jeremy Lee Arnt

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Dietary Development And Nutritional Ontogeny In Gorilla Beringei : A Multi-Layered, -Omics Approach, Emma C. Cancelliere

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

In species who consume folivorous diets, immature individuals must contend with the challenges of extracting nutrients from fibrous foods before dietary adaptations and strategies are fully developed. Additionally, immatures have distinct nutritional needs to support their stage-specific metabolic and biophysiological requirements. To meet these stage-specific needs, while constrained by underdeveloped feeding strategies and digestive capacities, immatures may adopt distinct diets better suited to their specific developmental context. However, where dietary modification is constrained by low dietary diversity or landscape homogeneity, it is unclear how immature individuals compensate through alternative strategies. In turn, little is known about the nutritional and life …

Data For "Consistent Differences In A Virtual World Model Of Ape Societies", Bart J. Wilson, Sarah F. Brosnan, Elizabeth V. Lonsdorf, Crickette M. Sanz

Business and Economics Faculty Data Sets

The zip file contains the data for the paper entitled "Consistent Differences in a Virtual World Model of Ape Societies" which appears in Scientific Reports.

Impact Analysis On The Invasive Oriental Weather Loach (Misgurnus Anguillicaudatus) In The Grant Creek And Prairie Creek Watersheds At Midewin National Tallgrass Prairie, Adam Vanhaitsma

Pence-Boyce STEM Student Scholarship

In 2014, the invasive Oriental weather loach was found in the Prairie Creek wetland at Midewin National Tallgrass Prairie. While little is known about the Oriental weather loach and its impact on freshwater ecosystems it has become a widespread invasive species. Being the first to investigate the impact of the Oriental weather loach on the Grant Creek and Prairie Creek watersheds at Midewin National Tallgrass Prairie, we set traps for specimens from early June till late July in both watersheds. Each loach that was caught was euthanized and dissected in order to understand what the Oriental weather loaches are eating …

Beyond Predation: How Do Consumers Mediate Bottom-Up Processes In Ecosystems?, Bradley Austin Strickland

FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations

By eating and scaring prey, predators can exert strong effects on communities and ecosystems. In addition, some animals may physically alter habitats and may recycle nutrients through digestion, both of which affect resources available to producers. Bottom-up effects initiated by large predators have not been well-studied and could prove to be important for understanding food webs and how ecosystems function. American alligators (Alligator mississippiensis) are abundant mobile predators that are capable of engineering aquatic habitats by moving organic material across ecosystem boundaries and creating and maintaining alligator ponds. In this dissertation, I documented the scale of ecological impacts …