Ecology and Evolutionary Biology Commons^™

Assumptions In Animal Cognition Research, Kristin Andrews, Brian Huss

Psychology Collection

No abstract provided.

Explaining China’S Wildlife Crisis: Cultural Tradition Or Politics Of Development, Peter J. Li

Threatened and Endangered Animal Populations Collection

This chapter is about China’s wildlife crisis. As the following sections attempt to demonstrate, abuse of and assault on wildlife in captivity and in the wild have reached an unprecedented level on the Chinese mainland in the reform era (1978–present). Shocking brutality against wildlife animals has been frequently exposed by Chinese and international media. To readers outside East Asia, they ask if the Chinese are culturally indifferent to animal suffering. Indeed, does the Chinese culture sanction cruelty to animals? Or is it the contemporary politics of economic development that is more directly responsible for the crisis?

Environmental Impacts Of Puppy Mills, The Humane Society Of The United States

PUPPY MILL REPORTS

A puppy mill is “a dog breeding operation in which the health of the dogs is disregarded in order to maintain a low overhead and maximize profits.” Avenson v. Zegart, 577 F. Supp. 958, Dist. Court, Minnesota (1984). State and federal inspection reports reveal that a common method employed to maximize profits includes irresponsible waste management practices that are harmful to the environment. Impacts may be caused by improper disposal of feces, urine and carcasses.

Staffan Müller-Wille And Hans-Jörg Rheinberger, A Cultural History Of Heredity, Charles H. Pence

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

A Path To Success? A Review Of Evolution, Development, And The Predictable Genome By David L. Stern, Hope Hollocher, Charles H. Pence, Grant Ramsey, Michelle M. Wirth

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Differential Jumping Performance In Newly Metamorphosed Blanchard's Cricket Frogs, Acris Blanchardi (Anura: Hylidae), From Fish- And Invertebrate-Dominated Ponds, Taylor L. Hall, Daniel Saenz, Matthew Kwiatkowski

Faculty Publications

Organisms that adopt phenotypically plastic anti-predator strategies during larval stages may incur fitness costs later in development. These costs are typically difficult to define in many species. The difficulty of identifying ecological trade-offs may result from experimental comparisons that do not adequately mirror naturally occurring predator-prey relatioships. To examine this, we captured 61 newly metamorphosed Acris blanchardi from ponds dominated either by fish or invertebrate predators. These predators are known to induce alternate phenotypic anti-predator responses at the larval stage. We use jumping performance as a measure of post-metamorphic fitness, and compared the morphological traits and jumping ability of frogs …

Age Structure Of Moose (Alces Alces) Killed By Gray Wolves (Canis Lupus) In Northeastern Minnesota, 1967–2011, L. David Mech, Michael E. Nelson

USGS Northern Prairie Wildlife Research Center

The ages of 77 adult Moose (Alces alces) killed by gray Wolves (Canis lupus) during the period 1967–2011 in northeastern Minnesota were significantly older than those of a sample of 17 585 Moose killed by hunters in nearby Ontario. Our findings support those of earlier studies of protected Moose populations in national parks that found that gray Wolves tend to kill disproportionately more older Moose.

Insight Into Human Brain Evolution Through Phylogenetic Analysis And Comparative Genomics, Amy Marie Boddy

Wayne State University Dissertations

As a species, humans are often considered to be unique among mammals, with respect to their large brain size and enhanced cognitive abilities. Humans are the most encephalized mammals, with a brain that is six times larger than expected relative to body mass. Presumably, it is this high degree of encephalization that underlies our advanced cognitive abilities, including the skills needed for complex language and culture. Understanding how large brains evolved can shed light on what makes the human brain unique and introduce possible mechanism for human specific neurodegenerative diseases. This study takes a both a phenotypic and molecular approach …

Sagebrush Ecosystem Characterization, Monitoring, And Forecasting With Remote Sensing: Quantifying Future Climate And Wildlife Habitat Change, Collin G. Homer

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Sagebrush (Artemisia spp.) ecosystems constitute the largest single North American shrub ecosystem and provide vital ecological, hydrological, biological, agricultural, and recreational ecosystem services. Disturbances continue to alter this ecosystem, with climate change possibly representing the greatest future disturbance risk. Improved ways to characterize and monitor gradual change in this ecosystem are vital to its future management. A new remote sensing sagebrush characterization approach was developed in Wyoming which integrates three scales of remote sensing to derive four primary continuous field components (bare ground, herbaceousness, litter, and shrub), and four secondary components (sagebrush, big sagebrush, Wyoming sagebrush, and shrub …

Real And Perceived Damage By Wild Turkeys: A Literature Review, Scott R. Groepper, Scott E. Hygnstrom Dr, Brandon Houck, Stephen M. Vantassel

Scott R Groepper

As populations of wild turkeys (Meleagris gallopavo) have increased, the number of complaints about damage has increased. We conducted a literature review to determine real and perceived damage caused by wild turkeys in North America. Wild turkeys can cause damage to agricultural crops, such as corn (Zea mays L.), soybeans (Glycine max [L.] Merrill), wheat, and hay crops but the majority of actual damage is usually minor or caused by other wildlife, thus estimates of damage by wild turkeys often are inflated. Occasionally, wild turkeys damage specialty crops, turfgrass, or ornamental flowers that may have higher value than common agricultural …

Site Assessment For Environmental Restoration, David A. Bainbridge

David A Bainbridge

Restoring degraded desert ecosystems is challenging but it can be done. The first key step is understanding the site history and understanding the disturbance and current site conditions. With this information the appropriate steps can be taken to improve the site ecosystem function and structure.

The Hudson’S Bay Company Brigades Of 1832-33 And The Malaria Epidemic In California, David A. Bainbridge

David A Bainbridge

The ecological and cultural impacts of the Hudson’s Bay Company fur brigades to California were long term and important, but the expedition of 1832-33 caused a catastrophe by introducing the intermittent fever. The “intermittent fever” led to mortality rates from 50-90 percent or more, and it is likely more than 30,000 people died from the fever in the affected areas of California.

West Nile Virus West Nile Virus Infection In American Robins: New Insights On Dose Response., Larry Clark

Larry Clark

West Nile virus (WNV) is a vector-borne pathogen that was first detected in the United States in 1999. The natural transmission cycle of WNV involves mosquito vectors and avian hosts, which vary in their competency to transmit the virus. American robins are an abundant backyard species in the United States and appear to have an important role in the amplification and dissemination of WNV. In this study we examine the response of American robins to infection with various WNV doses within the range of those administered by some natural mosquito vectors. Thirty American robins were assigned a WNV dosage treatment …

Diversity Of Plants And Animals In Mountain Systems In Tajikistan, Victor Roy Squires Dr, Neymatalo Safarov Dr

Victor Roy Squires Dr

Tajikistan, a landlocked country, is one of the world's centers of origin of cultivated plants and has a special role in the conservation of mountain biodiversity. The richness of biodiversity shows up at the genetic, species, population, and ecosystem levels. There are many relic and endemic species, with most of the components of biodiversity vulnerable to anthropogenic factors. Close cooperation across borders will be required for conservation of unique and threatened ecosystems in the Central Asian region. Proximate threats such as poaching, overfishing, illegal logging and overgrazing are causing irreversible damage to biodiversity in the Tajikistan hotspot. Threats stem from …

Use Of Anecdotal Occurrence Data In Species Distribution Models: An Example Based On The White-Nosed Coati (Nasua Narica) In The American Southwest., Jennifer K. Frey, Jeremy C. Lewis, James S. Stuart, Rachel K. Guy

Jennifer K. Frey

No abstract provided.

Review Of Mark Bekoff's Ignoring Nature No More: The Case For Compassionate Conservation, Ian Werkheiser

Ian Werkheiser

No abstract provided.

Classification Of The Alterations Of Beaver Dams To Headwater Streams In Northeastern Connecticut, U.S.A., Denise Burchsted, Melinda D. Daniels

Denise Burchsted

Of the many types of barriers to water flow, beaver dams are among the smallest, typically lasting less than a decade and rarely exceeding 1.5 m in height. They are also among the most frequent and common obstructions in rivers, with a density often exceeding ten dams per km, a frequency of construction within a given network on a time scale of years, and a historic extent covering most of North America. Past quantification of the geomorphologic impact of beaver dams has primarily been limited to local impacts within individual impoundments and is of limited geographic scope. To assess the …

When Wet Gets Wetter: Decoupling Of Moisture, Redox Biogeochemistry, And Greenhouse Gas Fluxes In A Humid Tropical Forest Soil, Steven J. Hall, William H. Mcdowell, Whendee L. Silver

Steven J. Hall

Upland humid tropical forest soils are often characterized by fluctuating redox dynamics that vary temporally and spatially across the landscape. An increase in the frequency and intensity of rainfall events with climate change is likely to affect soil redox reactions that control the production and emissions of greenhouse gases. We used a 24-day rainfall manipulation experiment to evaluate temporal and spatial trends of surface soil (0–20 cm) redox-active chemical species and greenhouse gas fluxes in the Luquillo Experimental Forest, Puerto Rico. Treatments consisted of a high rainfall simulation (60 mm day-1), a fluctuating rainfall regime, and a control. Water addition …

Divergence In Thyroid Hormone Concentrations Between Juveniles Of Marine And Stream Ecotypes Of The Threespine Stickleback (Gasterosteus Aculeatus), Jun Kitano, Sean C. Lema

Sean Lema

Background: Hormones regulate the expression of multiple phenotypic traits. Therefore,

divergence in hormone concentrations may lead to evolutionary changes in the coordinated

physiological and behavioural traits that comprise an organism’s integrated phenotype. Adults

of marine ecotypes of threespine stickleback (Gasterosteus aculeatus) have higher concentrations

of the thyroid hormone thyroxine (T4) than adults of stream-resident ecotypes (Kitano

et al., 2010). Thyroid hormones are well-established mediators of osmoregulation and migratory

behaviours in fish, and the difference in T4 concentrations indicates that changes in thyroid

hormone signalling may underlie the evolutionary and ecological divergence of migratory and

non-migratory ecotypes.

Questions: Is the variation …

Insights Into Forest Soil Carbon Dynamics From Nuclear Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy, Chris E. Johnson

Chris E Johnson

No abstract provided.