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Ecology and Evolutionary Biology Commons™
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- Discipline
- Keyword
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- <p>Plesiosauria.</p> (2)
- Crayfish (2)
- Herpetology (2)
- Life history (2)
- <p>Crayfish - Ecology - West Virginia.</p> <p>Crayfish culture - Ecology - West Virginia.</p> (1)
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- <p>Salamanders - Habitat - Environmental aspects</p> <p>Salamanders -Life cycles</p> <p>Salamanders - West Virginia - Ecology</p> (1)
- <p>Salamanders -- Ecology.</p> (1)
- <p>Salamanders -- Life cycles.</p> <p>Salamanders -- Reproduction.</p> (1)
- <p>Snakes - Ecology.</p> <p>Snakes - Behavior.</p> <p>Nerodia.</p> <p>Herpetology.</p> (1)
- <p>Snakes -- Ecology.</p> <p>Snakes -- Habits and behavior.</p> <p>Herpetology.</p> (1)
- <p>Turtles - West Virginia.</p> <p>Box turtle - West Virginia.</p> <p>Hungry Beech Preserve (Roane County, W. Va.)</p> (1)
- Cambarus theepiensis (1)
- Cambarus veteranus (1)
- Coalfields (1)
- Cumberland Plateau (1)
- Eastern Box Turtle (1)
- Flipper (1)
- Habitat selection (1)
- Home range (1)
- Hydrodynamics (1)
- Hydrofoil (1)
- Kentucki (1)
- LoCoH (1)
- Locomotion (1)
- Mating strategy. Salamander (1)
- Minimum Convex Polygon (1)
- Nerodia (1)
- Nerodia s. sipedon (1)
- Phenology (1)
- Plesiosaur (1)
Articles 1 - 9 of 9
Full-Text Articles in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology
Effectiveness Of Manual Palpation In The Northern Water Snake, Nerodia Sipedon Sipedon, As A Method To Extract Gut Contents For Dietary Studies, Marcella Ann Cruz
Effectiveness Of Manual Palpation In The Northern Water Snake, Nerodia Sipedon Sipedon, As A Method To Extract Gut Contents For Dietary Studies, Marcella Ann Cruz
Theses, Dissertations and Capstones
The Common Water Snake, Nerodia sipedon sipedon, is one of six subspecies, and the only species of Nerodia to inhabit West Virginia. Because it is abundant and information on the species is lacking within the state, it was used as my study organism. The effectiveness of manual palpation, the most commonly used method in snake diet related studies, was tested against museum dissection by comparing presence and absence of gut contents. Nineteen individuals of 76 manually palpated collected snakes were compared to 6 individuals of 37 dissected snakes using a Pearson chi-square analysis. Results suggested manual palpation is an effective …
Size And Age Variation Of Larval Gyrinophilus Porphyriticus Porphyriticus In Sympatry With Salvelinus Fontinalis, Aaron Jacob Semasko
Size And Age Variation Of Larval Gyrinophilus Porphyriticus Porphyriticus In Sympatry With Salvelinus Fontinalis, Aaron Jacob Semasko
Theses, Dissertations and Capstones
The Northern Spring Salamander (Gyrinophilus porphyriticus) has a larval stage that could extend up to six years, an anomaly unheard of in other plethodontid salamanders. The size of a larva could be larger than an adult of a younger age. A sympatric species, Salvelinus fontinalis, the native brook trout, negatively alters the individual mass and survival of G. p. porphyriticus larvae. In the absence of trout, the role of G. porphyriticus ascends to top predator in a small stream community. Amphibians specifically have proven their role as stream indicators, a position attributed to their porous skin. I attempted to determine …
Examining Habitat Selection And Home Range Behavior At Multiple Scales In A Population Of Eastern Box Turtles, (Terrapene C. Carolina), With Notes On Demographic Changes After 17 Years, Brian Anthony Williamson
Examining Habitat Selection And Home Range Behavior At Multiple Scales In A Population Of Eastern Box Turtles, (Terrapene C. Carolina), With Notes On Demographic Changes After 17 Years, Brian Anthony Williamson
Theses, Dissertations and Capstones
The Eastern Box Turtle, Terrapene c. carolina, is a terrestrial species native to the eastern United States. Once considered common, it is currently declining in much of its range due to habitat destruction and disease. To conserve the species, knowledge of Eastern Box Turtle habitat selection and the factors influencing their movement is necessary. Although the home range behavior of the Eastern Box Turtle has been well studied, few studies have quantified habitat selection at the home-range scale. Therefore, I examined home-range selection and within home range habitat selection in a population of Eastern Box Turtles at Hungry Beech Nature …
The Crayfishes Of West Virginia’S Southwestern Coalfields Region With An Emphasis On The Life History Of Cambarus Theepiensis, David Allen Foltz Ii
The Crayfishes Of West Virginia’S Southwestern Coalfields Region With An Emphasis On The Life History Of Cambarus Theepiensis, David Allen Foltz Ii
Theses, Dissertations and Capstones
Crayfish are the third most endangered faunal group in the world behind freshwater snails and unionid mussels. A better understanding of each species’ life history is vital in order to aid in crayfish conservation; however, little to no life history information is available for most crayfish. Recently, an undescribed species of crayfish, Cambarus theepiensis, was discovered in the Cumberland Mountains of West Virginia and Eastern Kentucky. In conjunction with the species’ scientific description, life history data was collected from May 2012 through April 2013 from two sites located within the Twelvepole watershed of southwestern West Virginia. Animals were collected monthly …
Filling In The Gaps In Phenology And Life History Of The Cumberland Plateau Salamander (Plethodon Kentucki), Robert C. Bowers
Filling In The Gaps In Phenology And Life History Of The Cumberland Plateau Salamander (Plethodon Kentucki), Robert C. Bowers
Theses, Dissertations and Capstones
The Cumberland Plateau Salamander, Plethodon kentucki, is a member of the Plethodon glutinosus complex comprising 16 sibling species, which are best differentiated by range. Few studies have been conducted to gain information on the natural history of P. kentucki. To alleviate this, two sites at Beech Fork State Park in Wayne County, West Virginia were used to study the salamander’s general life history with emphasis on reproduction, phenology, and population size. At each site, three 20m x 20m sample plots were arranged based on viability of the habitat for P. kentucki. Ground searches of all cover objects …
Examining The Influence Of Mating Systems On Testes Size In Salamanders, Howard James Stanton Ii
Examining The Influence Of Mating Systems On Testes Size In Salamanders, Howard James Stanton Ii
Theses, Dissertations and Capstones
Sperm competition theory predicts that relatively larger testes sizes evolve in animals with polygamous mating systems compared to those in monogamous mating systems due to sperm competition. Whereas intensity of sperm competition is the significant predictor of testes sizes in other taxa such as mammals, frogs, birds, insects, and fish, in salamanders the intensity of male-male competition in the transfer of spermatophores to females is predicted to be a critical factor. This is because males have to deposit more spermatophores to secure reproductive pay-off under higher intensity of male-male competition. I hypothesized that salamander species that breed explosively as groups …
Quantitative Reconstruction And Two-Dimensional, Steady Flow Hydrodynamics Of The Plesiosaur Flipper, Mark Cruz Deblois
Quantitative Reconstruction And Two-Dimensional, Steady Flow Hydrodynamics Of The Plesiosaur Flipper, Mark Cruz Deblois
Theses, Dissertations and Capstones
Plesiosaurs are a group of extinct marine reptiles that thrived during the Mesozoic Era. They are unique for swimming with two hydrofoil-shaped flippers. Penguins, sea turtles, and cetaceans all have hydrofoil shaped flippers but penguins and sea turtles only use the front pair to produce thrust and cetaceans use their tail flukes. Consequently, the mode of swimming for plesiosaurs has long been debated. However, a quantitative study of the hydrodynamic properties of the flippers, which would constrain inference about their mode of swimming, has not yet been done. The main reason is that the trailing edge of the plesiosaur flipper …
Dietary Preference Of The Queensnake (Regina Septemvittata), Timothy J. Brust
Dietary Preference Of The Queensnake (Regina Septemvittata), Timothy J. Brust
Theses, Dissertations and Capstones
The Queensnake (Regina septemvittata) is a small secretive water snake found throughout the eastern United States. Once common, their numbers have declined to the extent that they are now threatened throughout most of their range, largely the result of pollutant-based reduction in prey species. These snakes are assumed to eat molted crayfish exclusively. For some common crayfish species, molting happens only twice a summer during a two- week period. It has not been documented if Queensnakes eat anything besides crayfish on a regular basis. The purpose of this study was to determine the prey preference of Queensnakes with particular focus …
Ontogenetic State Of A Juvenile Polycotylid Plesiosaur (Sauropterygia: Plesiosauria) And Its Implications For Plesiosaur Growth, Christina Joanne Byrd
Ontogenetic State Of A Juvenile Polycotylid Plesiosaur (Sauropterygia: Plesiosauria) And Its Implications For Plesiosaur Growth, Christina Joanne Byrd
Theses, Dissertations and Capstones
Understanding ontogenetic variation in plesiosaurs from the family Polycotylidae can provide insight into the evolutionary history of this group of extinct short-necked marine reptiles from the Cretaceous period. In this study, I analyzed a juvenile polycotylid plesiosaur from the University of Nebraska State Museum (UNSM 55810). UNSM 55810 came from the Pierre Shale (99-65 Ma) of Nebraska and possesses skeletal elements that include a partial skull, nearly complete pectoral and pelvic girdles, and an assortment of paddle elements. Based on several cranial characteristics, this specimen is probably referable to the genus Dolichorhynchops. Previous qualitative studies have included UNSM 55810 but …