Other Ecology and Evolutionary Biology Commons^™

Climate Change Attitudes Of United States Family Forest Owners And Their Influence On Forest Management Practices, Logan Miller

Masters Theses

Understanding family forest owners’ (FFOs’) attitudes and behaviors towards climate change will allow for more sustainable forest management practices to be implemented, helping to combat climate change and its impacts. The goals for this research are (1) to begin measuring U.S. FFO attitudes toward climate change, (2) to determine what factors impact these attitudes, and (3) to determine how they influence the FFO’s management practices using the Responsible Environmental Behavior (REB) framework (Hines et al. 1987). Chapter 1 explores the different facets of my thesis project focusing on forests and forests’ ecosystem services, forest ownership in the United States, and …

Brown People, Green Spaces: Colonial Imaginaries And The Whiteness Of Nature, Jeffrey Michael Desalu

Masters Theses

For several years, conversations about the absence of racial and ethnic diversity in ecology and evolutionary biology (EEB) and the conservation movement have been growing in scope. Critics argue that the overwhelmingly white demography of EEB departments and conservation organizations deprive both of a necessary diversity of perspective and, more importantly, deprive people of color and other minoritized groups of a voice in the study of and advocacy for their lived environments. Here, I situate the current conversations in historical context, arguing that the current lack of diversity is in part a reflection of the material and ideological bases for …

Climate-Driven Selection Results In Powerful Geographic Framework For Predicting Phenotype, Alexandra Neild

Masters Theses

Our ability to prepare for and mitigate the likely ecological and evolutionary impacts of climate change largely depends upon our ability to predict the phenotypic responses of organisms that allow them to persist, adapt, and migrate along environmental stress gradients. Using fifteen populations of cottonwoods, a dominant riparian forest tree, that are distributed along elevation gradients and represent three genetic provenances, we hypothesized and show that: 1) populations within a provenance demonstrate parallel evolutionary responses to climatic gradients associated with elevation; and 2) the evolutionary effects of elevation on bud-break phenology varied by provenance. Across all populations, we find strong …

Impacts Of Anthropogenic Change On Plant Reproduction And Fitness, Alexandra S. Faidiga

Masters Theses

Humans are altering natural systems around the globe in myriad ways. For plant species, such anthropogenic changes have resulted in increasingly fragmented populations, desynchronized interactions with mutualists, and shifted geographic ranges, among other effects. However, despite numerous examples of human impacts on plant populations, the consequences of these changes on plant reproduction remain poorly understood. In my thesis, I investigate the impacts of two forms of anthropogenic change–habitat disturbance and climate warming–on plant reproduction and fitness. I take two distinct approaches to address questions posed at local and regional scales. In Chapter I, I ask how inbreeding depression varies across …

Life History, Diet And Habitat Of The Federally Endangered Laurel Dace (Chrosomus Saylori), Shawna M. Fix

Masters Theses

Laurel Dace (Chrosomus saylori) is a small, freshwater minnow that is endemic to headwater streams on Walden Ridge, Tennessee. The species was listed as federally endangered in 2011 and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Recovery Plan indicates a need for life history, diet and habitat studies. A literature review, samples of archived specimens, and a surrogate species, the Tennessee Dace (Chrosomus tennesseensis), were used to describe the life history and diet of the Laurel Dace. A total of 370 Tennessee Dace were collected from Laurel Ford Branch, a stream 8.6 km from the Laurel Dace …

Patterns And Mechanisms Of Intraspecific Trait Variation Across Thermal Gradients In A Marine Gastropod, Andrew R. Villeneuve

Masters Theses

As the earth’s climate changes due to anthropogenic emissions, it has increasingly become an imperative within the ecological community to understand existing species adaptations to climate change. Much focus has been paid to how a species might react to climate change, but the role of locally adapted traits and responsible environmental mechanisms have received less attention. Quantifying how sublethal (e.g. growth rates) and lethal (e.g. thermal tolerance) trait performance vary between populations can thus improve our understanding of how populations, and the entire species, will react to climate change. Here, I quantified the spatial patterns of performance of several traits …

Applying Ecological Theory To Amphibian Populations To Determine If Wood Frogs (Lithobates Sylvaticus) Are Ideal And Free When Selecting Breeding Habitat, Taylor M. Braunagel

Masters Theses

Amphibian populations are declining globally due to a litany of factors including pollution, disease, climate change, and most importantly, habitat destruction. As most amphibian life histories involve their populations being recruitment limited, focusing on the mechanism behind breeding habitat selection will reveal useful cues that managers may use to increase abundance and breeding success. Though there are many theoretical models that describe the distribution of animals in response to a resource, the ideal free distribution (IFD) theory has not yet been applied to amphibian settling decisions. Through this application of the IFD, I have found that a population of wood …

Genetic Relatedness Can Alter The Strength Of Plant-Soil Feedbacks, Kelly M. Clark

Masters Theses

Intraspecific variation may play a key role in understanding the relationships between plants and their interactions with soil microbial communities. The effects that soil-microbes have on individuals can venerate variation across individuals in their responsiveness. I explored how relatedness alters plant-soil feedbacks in established Solidago altissima clones grown in a common garden. Seedlings of known parentage were inoculated with soils from the maternal, paternal, or unrelated clones and compared to autoclaved control inocula. I found that the soil inocula generated from S. altissima had an overall negative effect of seedling biomass. Furthermore, seedlings inoculated with maternal or paternal soils experienced …

Preclassic Cultural Eutrophication Of Lake Petén Itzá, Lowland Guatemala, By The Early Maya Of Nixtun-Ch'ich', Brooke A. Birkett

Masters Theses

"Paleolimnological evidence indicates the ancient Maya transformed lowland terrestrial ecosystems by felling forest vegetation to construct large civic-ceremonial centers and expand agriculture. The effects of prehistoric Maya land alterations on lake trophic status, however, remain poorly understood. We analyzed a 515-cm-long sediment core from Lake Petén Itzá, lowland Guatemala, to infer paleoenvironmental changes resulting from Maya occupation of the riparian archaeological site of Nixtun-Ch'ich'. Substantial increases in charcoal and fecal stanol concentrations indicate Maya occupation of the Candelaria Peninsula by the late Early Preclassic period beginning ca. 1400 cal yr Before the Common Era (hereafter BCE), despite scant archaeological evidence …

Exploration Of The Association Between Muscle Volume And Bone Geometry Reveals Surprising Relationship At The Genetic Level, Prakrit Subba

Masters Theses

The evolution of jaws in cichlid fishes of the East African Great Lakes is a textbook example of adaptive radiation in vertebrates. Karl Liem postulated that this adaptive radiation has been possible due to the functional decoupling of two cichlid functional units – the pharyngeal jaw (PJ) and the oral jaw (OJ). This functional decoupling of the jaws has enabled the OJ to be relieved of its dual role of prey capturing and processing and has allowed the PJ to take on the role of prey processing. As a result, African cichlids have adapted the morphology of their functional units …

Habitat Associations Of Priority Bird Species And Conservation Value On Small, Diversified Farms In New England, Isabel Brofsky

Masters Theses

In recent decades, New England agriculture has become increasingly characterized by small, diversified farming operations with values deeply rooted in community and conservation. In sharp contrast to large-scale, high-intensity agriculture currently typified by the majority of North American farms, New England farmers commonly prioritize ecologically beneficial production practices such as reduced chemical inputs, integrated pest management (IPM), low tillage, cover cropping and crop rotation, and retention of natural habitats like woody hedgerows and herbaceous strips. Public support and demand for local, sustainable food, evidenced by the success of CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) in the region, has helped to bolster this …

Autonomous Recording Units As An Alternative Method For Monitoring Songbirds, Lindsay Clough

Masters Theses

There is an increasing interest in the use of autonomous recording units as an alternative survey method to point count surveys conducted by human observers; however, questions remain about whether or not these recording units perform similarly to point count surveys and produce valid, comparable results. The use of individual listeners to transcribe the acoustic data collected by autonomous recording units is a common method for the analysis of recorded acoustic data, but potential variability among transcribers raises questions about the standardization of listening protocols to decrease inconsistencies in transcription results.

Autonomous recording units have been used to monitor birds …

The Ecological Value Of Spruce Plantations In Massachusetts, Calvin Ritter

Masters Theses

The establishment of monoculture plantations of exotic tree species is common practice for supplementing native timber stocks. Such plantations typically provide inferior habitat for wildlife compared to native forest, which may result in a net reduction in biodiversity. However, some studies report that plantations may increase net biodiversity at the landscape scale by introducing novel habitats or supplementing existing natural forests. Using point count surveys, I examined six mature Norway spruce (Picea abies) plantations in western Massachusetts in 2016 and 2017 to evaluate bird use of these habitats relative to native forest stands. Count data were analyzed using …

Improving Growth And Survival Of Cultured Yellow Lampmussel (Lampsilis Cariosa) For Restoring Populations, Virginia Martell

Masters Theses

In North America 72% of freshwater mussel species are endangered, threatened, or of special concern due to factors such as habitat loss and degradation, biological invasion, and land use change. Propagation of freshwater mussels has been considered a necessary conservation strategy for population restoration where threats have been mitigated but small population sizes limit population viability. Yellow lampmussel is a species of freshwater mussel that is endangered, threatened, or imperiled throughout its range; therefore, I evaluated laboratory techniques (probiotic supplements and secondary rearing designs) to improve culture of yellow lampmussel for population restoration. Several aquaculture facilities commonly use probiotics; thus, …

Is Context Dependency Imperative To Understanding The Impacts Of Invasive Plants?, Brendan B. Haile

Masters Theses

Introduced exotic species have a tendency to become invasive and impact local biological communities. Invasions often impact community attributes such as cover and species richness, but these factors may also regulate patterns of invasion. In such cases, impacts may be dependent on the invasion context. We used data from the Buell-Small Succession Study, a long-term permanent plot study in the piedmont region of New Jersey, to document context dependency in invasion. To do this, we analyzed the factors that affected the colonization and growth of four invasive species, Alliaria petiolata, Lonicera japonica, Microstegium vimineum and Rosa multiflora, as well …

Effects Of Insect Opportunists On A Four-Level Trophobiotic System Involving Nectar-Producing Galls Of The Cynipid Wasp Disholcaspis Quercusmamma (Hymenoptera: Cynipidae), Stephanie L. Smith

Masters Theses

The induction of plant galls is considered an adaptive life history trait found in many insect groups. The formation of galls provides several advantages to the gall maker, such as enhanced nutrition, favorable microclimate, and protection from natural enemies, including parasitoids, inquilines, and predators. Order Hymenoptera has many gall-making species, belonging to the gall wasp family Cynipidae. As an extended phenotype of the gall makers, some galls exhibit very sophisticated adaptive mechanisms involving multilevel species interactions. In particular, the oak galls of the Cynipid species Disholcaspis quercusmamma, found in much of Illinois, produce a palatable, sugary nectar-like secretion, attracting …

Patterns Of Morphological Plasticity In Metriaclima Zebra And Danio Rerio Suggest Differently Canalized Phenotypes Due To Form-Function Relationships, Dylan Jockel

Masters Theses

In order to ascertain the degree of compatibility in developmental restructuring and behavioral plasticity between two fish species frequently made subject of laboratory research (Metriaclima zebra & Danio rerio), alternative trophic niche exposure experiments utilizing novel three-prong feeding treatments were conducted to obtain morphometric data, which demonstrated both species do bear some degree of plasticity. The results are somewhat complicated by differences in locality of detectable restructuring, which may be due to disparity in the form-function relationship for each species’ lineage. Each is notable in the manner of respective species’ jaw protrusion, as it is driven by anterior …

Performance Of Floristic Quality Assessment In Massachusetts Forested Wetlands, Carolyn Gorss

Masters Theses

In order to combat the loss of valuable wetland functions and services, federal, state and tribal governments must have the tools to accurately assess and monitor the condition of wetland ecosystems. One particular method of wetland assessment is Floristic Quality Assessment (FQA), which has been growing in popularity throughout the United States since its creation in the 1970s. FQA relies on vegetative indicators of human disturbance to assess the integrity of an ecosystem. FQA calculations are based on Coefficients of Conservatism (C-scores), professionally-assigned scores ranging from 0-10 that denote a local species' tolerance to anthropogenic disturbance. Despite increasing interest in …

Modelling Bird Migration With Motus Data And Bayesian State-Space Models, Justin Baldwin

Masters Theses

Bird migration is a poorly-known yet important phenomenon, as understanding movement patterns of birds can inform conservation strategies and public health policy for animal-borne diseases. Recent advances in wildlife tracking technology, in particular the Motus system, have allowed researchers to track even small flying birds and insects with radio transmitters that weigh fractions of a gram. This system relies on a community-based distributed sensor network that detects tagged animals as they move through the detection nodes on journeys that range from small local movements to intercontinental migrations. The quantity of data generated by the Motus system is unprecedented, is on …

River Herring Conservation In Freshwater: Investigating Fish Reproductive Success And The Educational Value Of Citizen Monitoring Programs, Meghna Marjadi

Masters Theses

Over the last century anadromous alewife (Alosa psuedoharengus) and blueback herring (Alosa aestivalis), collectively called river herring, suffered drastic declines throughout their range from Newfoundland (Canada) to North Carolina (USA). A 2011 petition to include river herring in the Endangered Species Act (ESA) was rejected, partly due to inadequate information towards identifying coast-wide population status. Additionally, knowledge gaps were identified with basic ecology of the river herring life cycle in freshwater, including species reproductive strategies. In Chapter 2, I investigated how body size, spawning arrival time, and sex influence river herring reproductive success. I collaborated with …

Improving Aedes Mosquito Surveillance And La Crosse Virus Screening In Eastern Tennessee, Cassandra Urquhart

Masters Theses

La Crosse virus (LACV), transmitted by infected Aedes triseriatus, Ae. albopictus, and Ae. japonicus mosquitoes is the leading cause of pediatric arboviral encephalitis. Severe cases of LAC encephalitis occur in individuals 16-years-old or younger and may cause permanent neurological damage or fatality. No vaccines exist making mosquito control and disease prevention crucial to public health. Effective screening and surveillance practices are key components to these goals. While a number of standard mosquito surveillance methods exist, continuous testing and improved understanding of vector biology to determine the best ways to implement these methods is important. Additionally, the current standard …

Spatial Ecology Of Great Barracuda (Sphyraena Barracuda) Around Buck Island Reef National Monument, St. Croix, U.S.V.I., Sarah L. Becker

Masters Theses

Marine protected areas (MPAs) are increasing in popularity as a tool to manage fish stocks through conservation of entire habitats and fish assemblages. Quantifying the habitat use, site fidelity, and movement patterns of marine species is vital to this method of marine spatial planning. The success of these protected areas requires that sufficient habitat is guarded against fishing pressure. For large animals, which often have correspondingly large home range areas, protecting an entire home range can be logistically challenging. For MPAs to successfully protect large top predator species, it is important to understand what areas of a home range are …

A New Adaptive Landscape: Urbanization As A Strong Evolutionary Force, Lauren Christie Breza

Masters Theses

Urbanization is rapidly increasing as human population growth steadily grows, but there is little consensus of the ecological consequence of this population shift and almost no information of the evolutionary consequences for local biodiversity. Nearly two-thirds of the world’s population will live in city centers by 2050 with profound impacts on landscapes that can act as important agents of selection. This study aims to identify 1) the net effect of urbanization on species richness, 2) how phylogenetic diversity varies between urban and rural sites, and 3) the strength of urbanization as a selection pressure. First, a meta-analysis was conducted in …

Rare Occurrences Of Free-Living Bacteria Belonging To Sedimenticola From Subtidal Seagrass Beds Associated With The Lucinid Clam, Stewartia Floridana, Aaron M. Goemann

Masters Theses

Lucinid clams and their sulfur-oxidizing endosymbionts comprise two compartments of a three-stage, biogeochemical relationship among the clams, seagrasses, and microbial communities in marine sediments. A population of the lucinid clam, Stewartia floridana, was sampled from a subtidal seagrass bed at Bokeelia Island Seaport in Florida to test the hypotheses: (1) S. floridana, like other lucinids, are more abundant in seagrass beds than bare sediments; (2) S. floridana gill microbiomes are dominated by one bacterial operational taxonomic unit (OTU) at a sequence similarity threshold level of 97% (a common cutoff for species level taxonomy) from 16S rRNA genes; …

Generating Best Management Practices For Avian Conservation In A Land-Sparing Agriculture System, And The Habitat-Specific Survival Of A Priority Migrant, Jeffrey D. Ritterson

Masters Theses

A large amount of the world’s biodiversity is located in a disproportionately small amount of area, namely the tropics. Many of these areas are experiencing rapid landscape changes, mainly in the form of deforestation for agricultural practices. Current conservation efforts are focused on agricultural areas and their ability to provide habitat. The conservation value of a novel land-sparing agroforestry system, known as Integrated Open Canopy (IOC), was recently demonstrated on the study site when applied to coffee. IOC coffee supports forest species that are uncommon or absent in shade grown coffee. I generated best management practices for IOC farms relative …

Ant (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) Assemblages In Three New York Pine Barrens And The Impacts Of Hiking Trails, Grace W. Barber

Masters Theses

Ants are ecologically important, environmentally sensitive, widespread, and abundant, yet ant assemblages of many habitats remain poorly understood. Ants in inland barrens of New York State (NY) barely have been studied, but the limited data suggest such habitats are likely to support uncommon ant species and high species density for the region. To increase knowledge of these assemblages, I systematically collected ants from three inland barrens systems in NY, to create species lists and measure species density. I also investigated how hiking trails — a common man-made disturbance — may be impacting ant assemblages in these early-successional, disturbance-dependent ecosystems. My …

Plant Functional Traits Mediate Above- And Belowground Species Interactions In Ecological Communities, Courtney E. Gorman

Masters Theses

Functional plant traits provide a means whereby species identity can influence above- and belowground community interactions. To examine the role of plant functional traits in shaping ecological communities, Chapter 1 examines how the evolution of functional differences between closely related groups of endemic and non-endemic species influence associated species interactions, and Chapter 2 examines how plant functional traits can influence associated community composition.

Assessing Wild Canid Distribution Using Camera Traps In The Pioneer Valley Of Western Massachusetts, Eric G. Leflore

Masters Theses

With the ever-increasing human population, more people reside in urban areas than ever before; this is having marked effects on the landscape and in turn, wildlife. This study uses automatically triggered wildlife cameras to assess the distribution of three carnivore species (coyotes, Canis latrans; red foxes, Vulpes vulpes; and gray foxes, Urocyon cinereoargenteus) around the Pioneer Valley of Massachusetts in relation to a gradient of human development. Cameras were placed at 141 locations within the 320-km² study area over the course of three field seasons (3,052 trap nights). Relative abundances for fourteen other species and site …

The Effects Of Suburbanization On Nest Ectoparasites And Nest Defense Behavior In The Wood Thrush, Evan N. Dalton

Masters Theses

The Wood Thrush (Hylocichla mustelina) is declining throughout its range, yet is capable of persisting in both contiguous forests and small forest patches surrounded by human suburban development. Thus, it is an ideal species for gaining insight into the effects of suburbanization on migrant songbirds. I investigated two aspects of Wood Thrush nesting ecology: nest ectoparasites and nest defense behavior in order to determine if suburbanization influences either aspect. Nests from suburban forests had fewer haematophagous mites, though the abundance of haematophagous blowfly larvae did not differ between suburban and contiguous forests. There was no relationship between the …

Were Neandertal Humeri Adapted For Spear Thrusting Or Throwing? A Finite Element Study, Michael Anthony Berthaume

Masters Theses

An ongoing debate concerning Neandertal ecology is whether or not they utilized long range weaponry. The anteroposteriorly expanded cross-section of Neandertal humeri have led some to argue they thrusted their weapons, while the rounder cross-section of Late Upper Paleolithic modern human humeri suggests they threw their weapons. We test the hypothesis that Neandertal humeri were built to resist strains engendered by thrusting rather than throwing using finite element models of one Neandertal, one Early Upper Paleolithic (EUP) human and three recent human humeri, representing a range of cross-sectional shapes and sizes. Electromyography and kinematic data and articulated skeletons were used …