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Behavior and Ethology Commons

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Western Kentucky University

Terrestrial and Aquatic Ecology

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Full-Text Articles in Behavior and Ethology

Investigation Of Seed And Seedling Predation And Natural History Of Bushveld Savanna Rodents, Christopher Banotai Oct 2017

Investigation Of Seed And Seedling Predation And Natural History Of Bushveld Savanna Rodents, Christopher Banotai

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

There is currently a decline in large, old trees within many ecosystems where they play important ecological and economic roles. One ecosystem suffering from this decline is the bushveld savanna of South Africa. One particularly important species in decline is the ecologically, economically, and culturally significant marula tree (Sclerocarya birrea subsp. caffra). This species’ decline is characterized by a steep drop in recruitment of seedlings into the population. Rodents are known to influence plant communities across many ecosystems through herbivory of adult plants as well as predation of seeds and seedlings. This research provides a record of rodent species present …


The Development And Role Of Peripheral Auditory Structures In Otocinclus Affinis, Sri Kiran Kumar Reddy Botta Nov 2009

The Development And Role Of Peripheral Auditory Structures In Otocinclus Affinis, Sri Kiran Kumar Reddy Botta

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

Loricariidae is a very diverse family of catfishes found primarily in the Amazon River basin. These catfishes have a unique characteristic feature of having fenestrae (holes) in the skull region (compound pterotic bone) adjacent to their bi-lobed swim bladder. Since the swim bladders and the compound pterotic may act as an external ear for hearing in this taxon, I hypothesized that these swim bladders structures have an acoustical functional in the loricariid Otocinclus affinis. In order to understand the development of these structures in O. affinis, I first monitored the ontogeny of the compound pterotic bone by clearing …