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Full-Text Articles in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology
Quantifying White-Tailed Deer Density And Its Impacts On Agricultural Systems, Jonathan A. Matthews
Quantifying White-Tailed Deer Density And Its Impacts On Agricultural Systems, Jonathan A. Matthews
Theses and Dissertations--Forestry and Natural Resources
White-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) commonly consume row crops, with yield losses often attributed to their browsing. Deer density and field morphology may predict yield losses within local areas. We sought to 1) determine the effects of deer browsing on corn and soybean yields and investigate if deer density or field morphology correlated to yield loss in western Kentucky, and 2) compare pellet-based distance sampling to game camera surveys to determine if a distance sampling technique could accurately estimate deer density during the growing season. Overall, deer reduced corn and soybean yields on one-half of surveyed properties. Deer density …
Trade-Offs Shape Carotenoid-Based Color Variation In Redheaded Pine Sawfly (Neodiprion Lecontei) Larvae, Maranda Gaines
Trade-Offs Shape Carotenoid-Based Color Variation In Redheaded Pine Sawfly (Neodiprion Lecontei) Larvae, Maranda Gaines
Lewis Honors College Capstone Collection
Carotenoids serve various ecological roles in animals including coloration, immune responses, and vision. Carotenoid-derived coloration is greatly emphasized in the literature, particularly relating to mate choice and aposematic warning. However, the trade-offs between the color and non-color functions of carotenoids are not thoroughly explored. In the redheaded pine sawfly (Neodiprion lecontei), some larval populations have yellow pigmentation, using carotenoids derived from their diets for aposematic warning coloration. Other larval populations are white in color, having genetically lost the ability to produce the yellow pigment. Because carotenoids are essential to life functions in both the yellow and white populations, we aim …