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Full-Text Articles in Biodiversity

Conservation In The Context Of Climate Change: Practical Guidelines For Land Protection At Local Scales, Kevin Ruddock, Peter August, Christopher Damon, Charles Labash, Pamela Rubinoff, Donald Robadue Jr. Dec 2013

Conservation In The Context Of Climate Change: Practical Guidelines For Land Protection At Local Scales, Kevin Ruddock, Peter August, Christopher Damon, Charles Labash, Pamela Rubinoff, Donald Robadue Jr.

Peter August

Climate change will affect the composition of plant and animal communities in many habitats and geographic settings. This presents a dilemma for conservation programs – will the portfolio of protected lands we now have achieve a goal of conserving biodiversity in the future when the ecological communities occurring within them change? Climate change will significantly alter many plant communities, but the geophysical underpinnings of these landscapes, such as landform, elevation, soil, and geological properties, will largely remain the same. Studies show that extant landscapes with a diversity of geophysical characteristics support diverse plant and animal communities. Therefore, geophysically diverse landscapes …


La Diversidad De Los Analisis De Diversidad [The Diversity Of Diversity Analyses], Victor D. Carmona Nov 2013

La Diversidad De Los Analisis De Diversidad [The Diversity Of Diversity Analyses], Victor D. Carmona

Victor D. Carmona-Galindo

There is a lack of consistency with respect to the use of the terms like species richness, diversity and biodiversity, which extends to the analysis of diversity indices and the merit of using diversity indices in the evaluation (comparison and contrast) of biological communities. The purpose of this article is to provide working definitions for these terms and cite examples from the primary literature that demonstrate the utility of estimating richness, evaluating proportional abundance patterns, as well as comparing indices of diversity and similarity to study patterns of biological organization at different ecological scales. Additionally, we provide a manual in …


The World’S Deepest Subterranean Community - Krubera-Voronja Cave (Western Caucasus), Alberto Sendra, Ana Sofia P.S. Reboleira Jun 2013

The World’S Deepest Subterranean Community - Krubera-Voronja Cave (Western Caucasus), Alberto Sendra, Ana Sofia P.S. Reboleira

Ana Sofia P.S. Reboleira

Subsurface biota extends over a wide variety of habitats that can be spatially interconnected. The largest communities of this subsurface biota inhabit cavities and are well known mainly in caves where biologists are able to have access. Data about deep subterranean communities and arthropods living under one thousand meters was unknown. An expedition to world’s deepest cave, Krubera-Voronja in Western Caucasus, revealed an interesting subterranean community, living below 2000 meters and represented by more than 12 species of arthropods, including several new species for science. This deep cave biota is composed of troglobionts and also epigean species, that can penetrate …


Invertebrate Communities Of Groundwater-Dependent Refugia With Varying Hydrology And Riparian Cover During A Supraseasonal Drought, Rosemary A. Burk, James H. Kennedy Jan 2013

Invertebrate Communities Of Groundwater-Dependent Refugia With Varying Hydrology And Riparian Cover During A Supraseasonal Drought, Rosemary A. Burk, James H. Kennedy

Rosemary A. Burk

Extreme disturbances eliminate aquatic biota and alter community structure and function. During a supraseasonal drought in north-central Texas in the summer and fall 2006, macroinvertebrate communities from persistent groundwater-dependent macrohabitats of varying hydrology and riparian shading were investigated to study their role as invertebrate refugia, and to characterize the taxonomic and functional community structure of benthic assemblages. Ash Creek was the only stream with surface flow within a 35-km radius during the drought. Two perennial and three intermittent stream sites were studied that included perennial riffles, a perennial pool, shaded disconnected pools, and disconnected pools in full sun. Riffles had …


Anthropogenic Impacts Of Irrigation On The Arthropod Community Structure Of A Coastal Sage Scrub Habitat In Los Angeles, Victor D. Carmona Dec 2012

Anthropogenic Impacts Of Irrigation On The Arthropod Community Structure Of A Coastal Sage Scrub Habitat In Los Angeles, Victor D. Carmona

Victor D. Carmona-Galindo

We evaluated the effects of an irrigation system on the community structure of arthropods in a coastal sage scrub chaparral habitat. We placed 5 traps in the irrigated site and 5 traps in control site, for a total of 10 sticky traps (using Tree Tanglefoot) in an area adjacent to Ballona Wetlands in Los Angeles, California. The traps were set at the irrigated and non-irrigated site on Telegraph Weed for one week. Results showed that morphospecies richness, relative abundance, and taxonomic order representation were higher at the control site than at the irrigated site. Our study documents how anthropogenic impacts …


The Type Localities Of The Mule Deer, Odocoileus Hemionus (Rafinesque, 1817), And The Kansas White-Tailed Deer, Odocoileus Virginianus Macrourus (Rafinesque, 1817), Are Not Where We Thought They, Neal Woodman Dec 2012

The Type Localities Of The Mule Deer, Odocoileus Hemionus (Rafinesque, 1817), And The Kansas White-Tailed Deer, Odocoileus Virginianus Macrourus (Rafinesque, 1817), Are Not Where We Thought They, Neal Woodman

Neal Woodman

Among the iconic mammals of the North American West is the mule deer (Odocoileus hemionus). This species and a western subspecies of the white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus macrourus) were two of seven mammals originally named and described as new species in 1817 by Constantine S. Rafinesque. Rafinesque never saw the animals that he named. Instead, he followed the then-acceptable practice of basing his new species on animals characterized in another published work, in this case the putative journal of Charles Le Raye, a French Canadian fur trader who was said to have traversed the upper Missouri River region before the …


Morphological Distinctiveness Of Javan Tupaia Hypochrysa (Scandentia, Tupaiidae), Eric J. Sargis, Neal Woodman, Natalie Morningstar, Aspen Reese, Link E. Olson Dec 2012

Morphological Distinctiveness Of Javan Tupaia Hypochrysa (Scandentia, Tupaiidae), Eric J. Sargis, Neal Woodman, Natalie Morningstar, Aspen Reese, Link E. Olson

Neal Woodman

The common treeshrew, Tupaia glis, represents a species complex with a complicated taxonomic history. It is distributed mostly south of the Isthmus of Kra on the Malay Peninsula and surrounding islands. In our recent revision of a portion of this species complex, we did not fully assess the population from Java (T. ‘‘glis’’ hypochrysa) because of our limited sample. Herein, we revisit this taxon using multivariate analyses in comparisons with T. glis, T. chrysogaster of the Mentawai Islands, and T. ferruginea from Sumatra. Analyses of both the manus and skull of Javan T. ‘‘glis’’ hypochrysa show it to be most …


An Assessment Of Fecal Indicator And Other Bacteria From An Urbanized Coastal Lagoon In The City Of Los Angeles, California, Usa., Victor D. Carmona Dec 2012

An Assessment Of Fecal Indicator And Other Bacteria From An Urbanized Coastal Lagoon In The City Of Los Angeles, California, Usa., Victor D. Carmona

Victor D. Carmona-Galindo

A study was performed in Del Rey Lagoon, City of Los Angeles, to determine if the lagoon was as a source or sink for fecal indicator bacteria (FIB: total coliforms, Escherichia coli, enterococci) and to screen for the presence of other potentially pathogenic bacteria. The lagoon receives tidal flows from the adjacent Ballona Estuary whose water usually is contaminated with FIB originating from the highly urbanized Ballona Creek Watershed. During 16 sampling events from February 2008 through March 2009, replicate water samples (n = 3) were collected 1 h prior to the high tide and 1 h prior to the …


Journey To The End Of The Earth: Analyzing The Outcomes Of A Field-Based Research Program In Antarctica, William H. Robertson, Claudia V. Garcia Dec 2012

Journey To The End Of The Earth: Analyzing The Outcomes Of A Field-Based Research Program In Antarctica, William H. Robertson, Claudia V. Garcia

William H. Robertson

With the need to increase minority representation in science, specifically in polar science research, the University of Texas at El Paso (UTEP) developed an innovative field research experience entitled the International Polar Year- Research and Educational Opportunities in Antarctica for Minorities (IPY-ROAM). Supported by a National Science Foundation (NSF) grant, twenty-eight participants including undergraduate students, graduate students, teachers and university faculty completed a semester long online course and performed field research in Antarctica within the areas of aquatic ecology, terrestrial biology, physical science, ecotourism and education. The purpose of this article is to determine possible outcomes that individuals experienced through …