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Ecology and Evolutionary Biology Commons™
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Articles 1 - 26 of 26
Full-Text Articles in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology
The Influence Of Snowmobile Trails On Coyote Movements During Winter In High-Elevation Landscapes, Eric M. Gese, Jennifer L. Burghardt Dowd, Lise M. Aubry
The Influence Of Snowmobile Trails On Coyote Movements During Winter In High-Elevation Landscapes, Eric M. Gese, Jennifer L. Burghardt Dowd, Lise M. Aubry
Wildland Resources Faculty Publications
Competition between sympatric carnivores has long been of interest to ecologists. Increased understanding of these interactions can be useful for conservation planning. Increased snowmobile traffic on public lands and in habitats used by Canada lynx (Lynx canadensis) remains controversial due to the concern of coyote (Canis latrans) use of snowmobile trails and potential competition with lynx. Determining the variables influencing coyote use of snowmobile trails has been a priority for managers attempting to conserve lynx and their critical habitat. During 2 winters in northwest Wyoming, we backtracked coyotes for 265 km to determine how varying snow characteristics influenced coyote movements; …
Effect Of Predator Removal On Greater Sage-Grouse (Centrocercus Urophasianus) Ecology In The Bighorn Basin Conservation Area Of Wyoming, Elizabeth Kari Orning
Effect Of Predator Removal On Greater Sage-Grouse (Centrocercus Urophasianus) Ecology In The Bighorn Basin Conservation Area Of Wyoming, Elizabeth Kari Orning
All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023
The decline of greater sage-grouse distribution and population densities across western North America has led conservation, research, and management objectives to focus efforts on understanding sage-grouse populations across their range. The purpose of this study was to gain a better understanding of direct and indirect predation effects on hen survival and nest success of sage-grouse. The project was conducted in Hot Springs and Park Counties in the Bighorn Basin of Wyoming. The study had three main objectives: 1) obtain and quantify the types and impacts of predators on sage-grouse hen survival and nest success, 2) compare the effect predator removals …
Female Elk Contacts Are Neither Frequency Nor Density Dependent, P. C. Cross, T. G. Creech, Michael Ryan Ebinger, Kezia R. Manlove, K. Irvine, J. Henningsen, J. Rogerson, B. M. Scurlock, S. Creel
Female Elk Contacts Are Neither Frequency Nor Density Dependent, P. C. Cross, T. G. Creech, Michael Ryan Ebinger, Kezia R. Manlove, K. Irvine, J. Henningsen, J. Rogerson, B. M. Scurlock, S. Creel
Wildland Resources Faculty Publications
Identifying drivers of contact rates among individuals is critical to understanding disease dynamics and implementing targeted control measures. We studied the interaction patterns of 149 female elk (Cervus canadensis) distributed across five different regions of western Wyoming over three years, defining a contact as an approach within one body length (∼2 m). Using hierarchical models that account for correlations within individuals, pairs, and groups, we found that pairwise contact rates within a group declined by a factor of three as group sizes increased 33-fold. Per capita contact rates, however, increased with group size according to a power function, such that …
The Ecology And Genetics Of Schoenoplectus Maritimus, An Important Emergent Macrophyte, Across Diverse Hydrologic Conditions—Implications For Restoration, Amanda Clare Sweetman
The Ecology And Genetics Of Schoenoplectus Maritimus, An Important Emergent Macrophyte, Across Diverse Hydrologic Conditions—Implications For Restoration, Amanda Clare Sweetman
All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023
Wetlands in the Intermountain West are typically dominated by large monotypic stands of emergent wetland plants, are highly productive, and support millions of migratory birds as important stops along the Pacific Flyway. In systems with low species diversity, such as these, diversity within a species (intraspecific diversity) can play an important role in population fitness and ecosystem functioning and can impact restoration success. Our research was designed to inform future restoration and management activities by studying the pattern of diversity within and among natural plant populations, and by studying how hydrology and plant materials used in restoration (source and diversity …
Presence And Function Of Tetrodotoxin In Terrestrial Vertebrates And Invertebrates, Amber N. Stokes
Presence And Function Of Tetrodotoxin In Terrestrial Vertebrates And Invertebrates, Amber N. Stokes
All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023
Tetrodotoxin (TTX) is a potent neurotoxin found in a variety of species. This toxin has long been of concern to human health as it is found in puffer fish, which are a delicacy in Japan. Since the distribution of this toxin is so great, there are many questions regarding the evolution and ecology of organisms that have TTX. My research has focused on further investigating three topics with this research: production, predation, and identification of novel TTX bearing taxa. In order to perform this research I first refined a Competitive Inhibition Enzymatic Immunoassay methodology to quantify levels of TTX in …
Modeling Habitat Use Of A Fringe Greater Sage-Grouse Population At Multiple Spatial Scales, Anya Cheyenne Burnett
Modeling Habitat Use Of A Fringe Greater Sage-Grouse Population At Multiple Spatial Scales, Anya Cheyenne Burnett
All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023
Greater sage-grouse (Centrocercus urophasianus; hereafter sage-grouse) are a prominent bird species of sagebrush-dominated landscapes across the western United States. Over the past 15 years, sage-grouse have gained international attention due to decreasing population trends despite management efforts. In 2010 the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service designated this species as warranted for listing under the Endangered Species Act, but the listing was precluded by other species at higher conservation risk. Habitat loss, degradation, and fragmentation have been implicated as primary sources of declines in sage-grouse distribution and abundance. The Bald Hills population in southwestern Utah occupies an area with …
Climate Change And Plant Demography In The Sagebrush Steppe, Aldo Compagnoni
Climate Change And Plant Demography In The Sagebrush Steppe, Aldo Compagnoni
All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023
We used demographic methods to address one of the main challenges facing ecological science: forecasting the effect of climate change on plant communities. Ecological forecasts will be crucial to inform long-term planning in wildland management and demographic methods are ideal to quantify changes in plant abundance. We carried out our research in the sagebrush steppe, one of the most extensive plant ecosystems of Western North America. Our research intended to inform ecological forecasts on an exotic invader, cheatgrass (Bromus tectorum). Moreover, we investigated the general question asking: to what degree competition among plants influences the outcome of ecological …
Elk (Cervus Elaphus) Seasonal Habitat Selection In A Heterogeneous Forest Structure, Jesse N. Popp, David N.C. Mcgeachy, Josef Hamr
Elk (Cervus Elaphus) Seasonal Habitat Selection In A Heterogeneous Forest Structure, Jesse N. Popp, David N.C. Mcgeachy, Josef Hamr
Aspen Bibliography
Seasonal habitat selection by the reintroduced Burwash elk population, approximately 30 km south of Sudbury, Ontario, has been analysed in order to assist in the development of future management. Twenty-five adult females were radio-collared and tracked 1–3 times a week for 3 years. The most prominent patterns included selection of intolerant hardwood forests (trembling aspen, white birch, and balsam poplar) during all seasons, while Great Lakes-St. Lawrence pines (white and red pine dominated stands) were used less than expected based on availability for all seasons. The selection patterns are likely associated with seasonal climatic conditions and forage preferences. Because the …
Climate Change And Plant Demography In The Sagebrush Steppe, Aldo Compagnoni
Climate Change And Plant Demography In The Sagebrush Steppe, Aldo Compagnoni
Green Canyon Environmental Research Area, Logan Utah
No abstract provided.
Causes And Consequences Of Local Variability In Aroga Websteri Clarke Abundance Over Space And Time, Virginia L.J. Bolshakova
Causes And Consequences Of Local Variability In Aroga Websteri Clarke Abundance Over Space And Time, Virginia L.J. Bolshakova
All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023
Sagebrush steppe habitat is rapidly declining in the Intermountain West in both quality and quantity. Observed reductions in animal and bird populations associated with sagebrush, invasion of exotic annual grasses such as cheatgrass (Bromus tectorum), and other concerns with climate change have led to a growing awareness of the need to monitor and better understand the rate of habitat loss. Sagebrush lands are subject to periodic loss caused by insect feeding damage, and human activities have the potential to promote unnaturally high levels of such loss. The sagebrush defoliating Aroga moth, Aroga websteri Clarke (Lepidoptera: Gelechiidae), can kill …
Self-Limitation As An Explanation For Species' Relative Abundances And The Long-Term Persistence Of Rare Species, Glenda Marie Yenni
Self-Limitation As An Explanation For Species' Relative Abundances And The Long-Term Persistence Of Rare Species, Glenda Marie Yenni
All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023
Ecological theories often hinge on species interactions, or how the species in an area "see" other species with whom they have to share food and space. Despite the contributions theoretical coexistence models have made to our understanding of species coexistence, it can still be difficult to match these theories with data from real communities. For example, we know of many species that are very rare where they occur. Theory predicts that these species should quickly go extinct, but they do not. I use simulations and real data to show that rare species are rare because they are more self-limiting. Self-limitation …
A Multi-Scale Investigation Of Factors Limiting Bull Trout Viability, Tracy Bowerman
A Multi-Scale Investigation Of Factors Limiting Bull Trout Viability, Tracy Bowerman
All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023
Recent declines in many species of aquatic organisms have raised concerns about loss of biodiversity in river systems and the need to protect populations in peril. To conserve endangered species, scientists need to know information about the habitats organisms use throughout their life cycle and how environmental stressors cause populations to grow or decline. The goal of this research was to improve our understanding of the life-cycle requirements for bull trout (Salvelinus confluentus), a threatened freshwater fish species. I assessed environmental factors that affect bull trout egg incubation success and quantified juvenile bull trout movement patterns and survival …
Forest Recovery, Nutrient Cycling And Carbon Sequestration In A Southern Appalachian Spruce-Fir Forest, Patrick T. Moore
Forest Recovery, Nutrient Cycling And Carbon Sequestration In A Southern Appalachian Spruce-Fir Forest, Patrick T. Moore
All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023
Our forests provide us with a variety of services from clean water, forest products and wildlife habitat to the lesser known functions of nutrient cycling and carbon
sequestration. This research helps to demonstrate the extent of some of these services in a heavily disturbed southern Appalachian spruce-fir forest within Great Smoky Mountain National Park, the most heavily visited National Park in the United States. Following a catastrophic infestation of the non-native balsam wooly adelgid, the future of this forest was unknown, causing some to speculate about the future of this sensitive forest type. Though predictions about this forest’s future varied …
Interspecific Interactions Between Penstemon Palmeri And Shrubs In The Arid Shrublands Of The Spring Mountains, Nevada, Jesse M. Poulos
Interspecific Interactions Between Penstemon Palmeri And Shrubs In The Arid Shrublands Of The Spring Mountains, Nevada, Jesse M. Poulos
All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023
A project involving shrub removal was undertaken by the United States Forest Service in the Spring Mountains National Recreation Area (SMNRA) to reduce accumulated woody fuels, which can pose risks to human communities. The SMNRA is also home to a variety of species that occur within these fuel reduction boundaries and are protected under the Multiple Species Habitat Conservation Plan (MSHCP) of Clark County, Nevada. It is unknown how MSHCP covered species will respond to shrub removal. This research focuses on the interactions between shrubs and the herbaceous plant Palmer’s penstemon (Penstemon palmeri), one of many nectar sources …
Comparing Trophic Level Position Of Invertebrates In Fish And Fishless Lakes In Arctic Alaska, Katie Fisher
Comparing Trophic Level Position Of Invertebrates In Fish And Fishless Lakes In Arctic Alaska, Katie Fisher
Undergraduate Honors Capstone Projects
Arctic lakes are likely very sensitive to the effects of climate change. Thus it is important to understand the current food web dynamics and energy flow within these lakes, to better understand how they will change in the future due to the effects of a rapidly changing climate. In order to contribute to this understanding, my project consists of an analysis of stable isotopes of carbon (delta 13 C) and nitrogen (delta 15 N) from invertebrates among fish and fishless lakes in arctic Alaska, to compare their trophic level positions and primary energetic sources. I collected pelagic invertebrates from 5 …
Effects Of Non-Surface-Disturbing Restoration Treatments On Native Grass Revegetation And Soil Seed Bank Composition In Cheatgrass-Invaded Sagebrush-Steppe Ecosystems, Alexandra D. Reinwald
Effects Of Non-Surface-Disturbing Restoration Treatments On Native Grass Revegetation And Soil Seed Bank Composition In Cheatgrass-Invaded Sagebrush-Steppe Ecosystems, Alexandra D. Reinwald
All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023
The sagebrush-steppe communities of the Great Basin have been dramatically transformed by the invasion of the non-native annual grass cheatgrass. In many areas of the Great Basin, this invasion has resulted in the loss of native plant species and ultimately the conversion to cheatgrass-dominated communities. As healthy sagebrush communities provide multiple ecosystem services such as diverse wildlife habitat, forage for cattle grazing, and water filtration, restoration of these communities is a high priority to landowners and land management agencies. Established perennial grasses can successfully compete with non-native annual grasses and increase the resistance of plant communities to invasion by non-native …
Use Of Exposure History To Identify Patterns Of Immunity To Pneumonia In Bighorn Sheep (Ovis Canadensis), Raina K. Plowright, Kezia R. Manlove, E. Frances Cassirer, Paul C. Cross, Thomas E. Besser, Peter J. Hudson
Use Of Exposure History To Identify Patterns Of Immunity To Pneumonia In Bighorn Sheep (Ovis Canadensis), Raina K. Plowright, Kezia R. Manlove, E. Frances Cassirer, Paul C. Cross, Thomas E. Besser, Peter J. Hudson
Wildland Resources Faculty Publications
Individual host immune responses to infectious agents drive epidemic behavior and are therefore central to understanding and controlling infectious diseases. However, important features of individual immune responses, such as the strength and longevity of immunity, can be challenging to characterize, particularly if they cannot be replicated or controlled in captive environments. Our research on bighorn sheep pneumonia elucidates how individual bighorn sheep respond to infection with pneumonia pathogens by examining the relationship between exposure history and survival in situ. Pneumonia is a poorly understood disease that has impeded the recovery of bighorn sheep (Ovis canadensis) following their widespread extirpation in …
Recent Advances In Recreation Ecology And The Implications Of Different Relationships Between Recreation Use And Ecological Impacts, Christopher Monz, C. M. Pickering, W. Hadwen
Recent Advances In Recreation Ecology And The Implications Of Different Relationships Between Recreation Use And Ecological Impacts, Christopher Monz, C. M. Pickering, W. Hadwen
Christopher Monz
No abstract provided.
Forest Development And Carbon Dynamics After Mountain Pine Beetle Outbreaks, E. Matthew Hansen
Forest Development And Carbon Dynamics After Mountain Pine Beetle Outbreaks, E. Matthew Hansen
The Bark Beetles, Fuels, and Fire Bibliography
Mountain pine beetles periodically infest pine forests in western North America, killing many or most overstory pine stems. The surviving secondary stand structure, along with recruited seedlings, will form the future canopy. Thus, even-aged pine stands become multiaged and multistoried. The species composition of affected stands will depend on the presence of nonpines and outbreak severity, among other factors, and can range from continued dominance by pines to hastened conversion to more shade-tolerant species. The loss of mature host trees results in reductions of ecosystem carbon productivity. The surviving and recruited stems, however, grow more quickly in response to the …
Enhancing Theutility Of Visitor Impact Assessment In Parks And Protected Areas: A Combined Social-‐‐ Ecological Approach, A. D'Antonio, Christopher Monz, P. Newman, S. Lawson, D. Taff
Enhancing Theutility Of Visitor Impact Assessment In Parks And Protected Areas: A Combined Social-‐‐ Ecological Approach, A. D'Antonio, Christopher Monz, P. Newman, S. Lawson, D. Taff
Christopher Monz
No abstract provided.
Transcriptome Characterization And Detection Of Gene Expression Differences In Aspen (Populus Tremuloides), Hardeep S. Rai, Karen E. Mock, Bryce A. Richardson, Richard C. Cronn, Katherine J. Hayden, Jessica W. Wright, Brian J. Knaus, Paul G. Wolf
Transcriptome Characterization And Detection Of Gene Expression Differences In Aspen (Populus Tremuloides), Hardeep S. Rai, Karen E. Mock, Bryce A. Richardson, Richard C. Cronn, Katherine J. Hayden, Jessica W. Wright, Brian J. Knaus, Paul G. Wolf
Aspen Bibliography
No abstract provided.
Megaherbivores And Cattle Alter Edge Effects Around Ecosystem Hotspots In An African Savanna, Kari E. Veblen
Megaherbivores And Cattle Alter Edge Effects Around Ecosystem Hotspots In An African Savanna, Kari E. Veblen
Kari E. Veblen
Wild mammalian herbivores and cattle are fundamental drivers of African savanna ecosystems and have strong impacts on woody vegetation. However, few experimental studies have investigated the separate and combined influences of different large herbivores on spatial vegetation patterning. In East Africa, temporary cattle corrals (bomas) develop after abandonment into productive, treeless ‘glades’ that attract both domestic and wild herbivores. Edges of glades exhibit unusually high densities of large trees. We used a long-term, broad-scale manipulative experiment to test whether megaherbivores (elephants and giraffes), wild meso-herbivores (15–1000 kg), or cattle caused shifts in woody plant abundances in glade edges. We also …
Impacts Of Traditional Livestock Corrals On Woody Plant Communities In An East African Savanna, Kari E. Veblen
Impacts Of Traditional Livestock Corrals On Woody Plant Communities In An East African Savanna, Kari E. Veblen
Kari E. Veblen
No abstract provided.
Aspen Status Report And Recommendation For The Book Cliffs, Paul C. Rogers, Cody M. Mittanck, Ronald J. Ryel
Aspen Status Report And Recommendation For The Book Cliffs, Paul C. Rogers, Cody M. Mittanck, Ronald J. Ryel
Aspen Bibliography
Regionally quaking aspen (Populus tremuloides Michx.) forests are experiencing numerous impediments to resilience. In the West, recent drought, fire suppression, insects, diseases, climate trends, inappropriate management, and ungulate herbivory are impacting these high biodiversity forests. We conducted a landscape assessment of aspen communities in the Book Cliffs region, Vernal Field Office of the Bureau of Land Management, for the purposes of determining landscape-level status of aspen and making recommendations for future management of these forests. The study area consists of 268 distinct aspen polygons totaling approximately 70 ha (174 acres) of aspen forest surrounded by much larger tracts of …
Wolf Creek Ranch Aspen Monitoring Report, Paul C. Rogers, Allison Jones, James Catlin, James Shuler, Arthur Morris, Michael Kuhns
Wolf Creek Ranch Aspen Monitoring Report, Paul C. Rogers, Allison Jones, James Catlin, James Shuler, Arthur Morris, Michael Kuhns
Aspen Bibliography
In the summer of 2012 we undertook a landscape assessment of aspen forest conditions at Wolf Creek Ranch (WCR) near Kamas, Utah. Using a geographic information system (GIS) coverage of predicted aspen coverage, fifty systematically selected field "plots" were located and mapped with aspen stands around WCR. Seven plots were eventually discarded from our survey due to lack of aspen cover. Volunteer field crews, mostly WCR homeowners, collected aspen data documenting tree sizes, height/age groups, diameters, reproduction, mortality, browse levels, and browse animal use levels.
Book Cliffs Roadless Area Aspen Study 2013 : Grand & Uintah Counties, Utah, Cody M. Mittanck
Book Cliffs Roadless Area Aspen Study 2013 : Grand & Uintah Counties, Utah, Cody M. Mittanck
Aspen Bibliography
No abstract provided.