Population Biology Commons^™

The Contribution Of Local And Transport Processes To Phytoplankton Biomass Variability Over Different Timescales In The Upper James River, Virginia, Qubin Qin, Jian Shen

Articles

Although both local processes (photosynthesis, respiration, grazing, and settling), and transport processes (advective transport and diffusive transport) significantly affect local phytoplankton dynamics, it is difficult to separate their contributions and to investigate the relative importance of each process to the local variability of phytoplankton biomass over different timescales. A method of using the transport rate is introduced to quantify the contribution of transport processes. By combining the time-varying transport rate and high-frequency observed chlorophyll a data, we can explicitly examine the impact of local and transport processes on phytoplankton biomass over a range of timescales from hourly to annually. For ...

Simulation Code For Intraspecific Variability May Not Compensate For Increasing Climatic Volatility, George P. Malanson

Research Data

The role of intraspecific variability is being examined to improve predictions of responses to climate change or invasions and in research on diversity. Simultaneously, the probability and implications of increased high-frequency climate variability have been raised. An agent based model simulated two species on an environmental gradient representing an alpine treeline; a trend in its volatility was added. The species have different levels of variability, and each individual has further unique heterogeneity. Environmental volatility and individual heterogeneity were based on tree ring data from Pinus albicaulis. Simulations show that increasing volatility leads to population declines, including extinctions, and to sharper ...

Wildlife Translocation, Michael T. Mengak

Wildlife Damage Management Technical Series

Many people enjoy wildlife. It enriches their lives in many ways. Nationwide, Americans spend over $144 billion annually on fishing, hunting, and wildlife-watching activities. However, wildlife is not always welcome in or near homes, buildings, or other property and can cause significant damage or health and safety issues (Figure 1). In one study, 42% of urban residents reported experiencing a wildlife problem during the previous year and more than half of them said their attempts to resolve the problem were unsuccessful. Many people who experience a wildlife conflict prefer to resolve the issue without harming the offending animal. Of the ...

Integrating Species Traits Into Species Pools, Marko J. Spasojevic, Christopher P. Catano, Joseph A. Lamanna

Biology Faculty Publications & Presentations

Despite decades of research on the species‐pool concept and the recent explosion of interest in trait‐based frameworks in ecology and biogeography, surprisingly little is known about how spatial and temporal changes in species‐pool functional diversity (SPFD) influence biodiversity and the processes underlying community assembly. Current trait‐based frameworks focus primarily on community assembly from a static regional species pool, without considering how spatial or temporal variation in SPFD alters the relative importance of deterministic and stochastic assembly processes. Likewise, species‐pool concepts primarily focus on how the number of species in the species pool influences local biodiversity ...

Altered Spring Phenology Of North American Freshwater Turtles And The Importance Of Representative Populations, Fredric J. Janzen, Luke A. Hoekstra, Ronald J. Brooks, David M. Carroll, J. Whitfield Gibbons, Judith L. Greene, John B. Iverson, Jacqueline D. Litzgus, Edwin D. Michael, Steven G. Parren, Willem M. Roosenburg, Gabriel F. Strain, John K. Tucker, Gordon R. Ultsch

Ecology, Evolution and Organismal Biology Publications

Globally, populations of diverse taxa have altered phenology in response to climate change. However, most research has focused on a single population of a given taxon, which may be unrepresentative for comparative analyses, and few long‐term studies of phenology in ectothermic amniotes have been published. We test for climate‐altered phenology using long‐term studies (10–36 years) of nesting behavior in 14 populations representing six genera of freshwater turtles (Chelydra, Chrysemys, Kinosternon,Malaclemys, Sternotherus, and Trachemys). Nesting season initiation occurs earlier in more recent years, with 11 of the populations advancing phenology. The onset of nesting for nearly ...

Predicting Critical Transitions In Spatially Distributed Populations With Cubical Homology, Laura Storch, Sarah Day

Biology and Medicine Through Mathematics Conference

No abstract provided.

The Role Of Outcome Preferences In Optimizing Heterogenous Disease Control Strategies., Evan Milliken

Biology and Medicine Through Mathematics Conference

No abstract provided.

Radical Social Ecology As Deep Pragmatism: A Call To The Abolition Of Systemic Dissonance And The Minimization Of Entropic Chaos, Arielle Brender

Student Theses 2015-Present

This paper aims to shed light on the dissonance caused by the superimposition of Dominant Human Systems on Natural Systems. I highlight the synthetic nature of Dominant Human Systems as egoic and linguistic phenomenon manufactured by a mere portion of the human population, which renders them inherently oppressive unto peoples and landscapes whose wisdom were barred from the design process. In pursuing a radical pragmatic approach to mending the simultaneous oppression and destruction of the human being and the earth, I highlight the necessity of minimizing entropic chaos caused by excess energy expenditure, an essential feature of systems that aim ...

Population Structure, Demographic History, And Environmental Niche Of The Sand Fly Disease Vector Lutzomyia Shannoni (Dyar) (Diptera: Psychodidae) In The U.S., Mexico, And Colombia, Matthew E. Wolkoff

Biology Theses

Lutzomyia shannoni (Dyar, 1929) (Diptera: Psychodidae) is the only known sand fly vector of vesicular stomatitis virus, a putative leishmaniasis vector, and also boasts the widest distribution of any sand fly in the New World. Research on Lu. shannoni in Central and South America has revealed genetically divergent subpopulations; however, tentative analysis of Lu. shannoni in the U.S. has failed to detect any significant population structure, even between specimens collected from highly disparate localities.

The present study used four molecular markers to more closely investigate the population structure of Lu. shannoni in the U.S., and assess the species ...

Occupancy Modeling Of Parnassius Clodius Butterfly Populations In Grand Teton National Park, Wyoming, Kimberly E. Szcodronski, Diane M. Debinski, Robert W. Klaver

Natural Resource Ecology and Management Publications

Estimating occupancy patterns and identifying vegetation characteristics that influence the presence of butterfly species are essential approaches needed for determining how habitat changes may affect butterfly populations in the future. The montane butterfly species, Parnassius clodius, was investigated to identify patterns of occupancy relating to habitat variables in Grand Teton National Park and Bridger-Teton National Forest, Wyoming, United States. A series of presence–absence surveys were conducted in 2013 in 41 mesic to xeric montane meadows that were considered suitable habitat for P. clodius during their flight season (June–July) to estimate occupancy (ψ) and detection probability (p). According to ...

Gulls, Martin S. Lowney, Scott F. Beckerman, Scott C. Barras, Thomas W. Seamans

Wildlife Damage Management Technical Series

Abundant gull (Figure 1) populations in North America have led to a variety of conflicts with people. Gulls cause damage at aquaculture facilities and other properties, and often collide with aircraft. Their use of structures on and near water results in excessive amounts of bird droppings on boats and docks. Their presence near outdoor dining establishments, swimming beaches, and recreational sites can lead to negative interactions with people. Large amounts of gull fecal material pollutes water and beaches resulting in drinking water contamination and swim bans. A combination of dispersal techniques, exclusion and limited lethal control may reduce damage to ...

Comparative Study Of Photosynthesis Rates Between Native Red Maple And Invasive Norway Maple In The Eastern Deciduous Forest, Evan M. Bourtis, Lindsey R. Heckman

The Review: A Journal of Undergraduate Student Research

Invasive species, such as the Norway Maple, are often able to outcompete native species, such as the Red Maple by performing more efficiently in the environment compared to the native species. In this study, we examined if the Norway maple was able to outcompete the Red Maple in the Eastern Deciduous Forest because the Norway Maple had a higher rate of photosynthesis. The study found that the Norway Maple leaves had a slightly higher rate of carbon dioxide consumption than Red Maple leaves and that the Red Maple leaves had a higher rate of oxygen production compared to the Norway ...

Micro Rnas From Dna Viruses Are Found Widely In Plasma In A Large Observational Human Population, Milka Koupenova-Zamor, Eric O. Mick, Heather A. Corkrey, Tianxiao Huan, Lauren Clancy, Ravi Shah, Emelia J. Benjamin, Daniel Levy, Evelyn A. Kurt-Jones, Kahraman Tanriverdi, Jane E. Freedman

Open Access Articles

Viral infections associate with disease risk and select families of viruses encode miRNAs that control an efficient viral cycle. The association of viral miRNA expression with disease in a large human population has not been previously explored. We sequenced plasma RNA from 40 participants of the Framingham Heart Study (FHS, Offspring Cohort, Visit 8) and identified 3 viral miRNAs from 3 different human Herpesviridae. These miRNAs were mostly related to viral latency and have not been previously detected in human plasma. Viral miRNA expression was then screened in the plasma of 2763 participants of the remaining cohort utilizing high-throughput RT-qPCR ...

The Influence Of Avian Distributions On West Nile Virus Infection Rates, Katie Mchugh

Carroll College Student Undergraduate Research Festival

Evidence has shown that human infection rates for West Nile virus are largely dependent on viral amplification that occurs between competent avian host species and mosquito vectors. The threat of West Nile virus to humans is influenced by the diversity and competence of avian host species available to the mosquito vectors. This study used data collected through avian surveys in Montana to analyze the diversity and competence of avian species in those areas. These data were compared to existing GIS model predictions of avian diversity and avian viral competence in Montana to test the accuracy of the model. The GIS ...

Haplotype Analysis Of Apoe Intragenic Snps, Vladimir N. Babenko, Dmitry A. Afonnikov, Elena V. Ignatieva, Anton V. Klimov, Fedor E. Gusev, Evgeny I. Rogaev

Open Access Articles

BACKGROUND: APOE epsilon4 allele is most common genetic risk factor for Alzheimer's disease (AD) and cognitive decline. However, it remains poorly understood why only some carriers of APOE epsilon4 develop AD and how ethnic variabilities in APOE locus contribute to AD risk. Here, to address the role of APOE haplotypes, we reassessed the diversity of APOE locus in major ethnic groups and in Alzheimer's Disease Neuroimaging Initiative (ADNI) dataset on patients with AD, and subjects with mild cognitive impairment (MCI), and control non-demented individuals.

RESULTS: We performed APOE gene haplotype analysis for a short block of five SNPs ...

Monitoring The Abundance Of American Shad And River Herring In Virginia's Rivers - 2017 Annual Report, Eric J. Hilton, Rob Latour, Patrick E. Mcgrath, Brian Watkins, Ashleigh Magee

Reports

This report describes the results of the twentieth year of a continuing study to estimate the relative abundance and assess the status of American shad (Alosa sapidissima) stocks in Virginia by monitoring the spawning runs in the James, York and Rappahannock rivers in spring 2017, evaluating hatchery programs, and contributing to coast-wide assessments (ASMFC 2007). We also report on two fishery-independent monitoring programs, one using staked gillnets in the Rappahannock River (year 2) and the other using anchor gillnets in the Chickahominy River (year 3; a major tributary of the James River),to determine relative abundance and stock structure for ...

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

Peter J. Li, Ph.D.

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?

Can Omnivores Mediate The Effects Of Degradation?, Hannah Moore

Scholars Week

Omnivores feed at multiple trophic levels and have large effects on community structuring and stability. The magnitude and direction of such effects, whether omnivores stabilize or destabilize communities, remains unresolved. Shifts in omnivore diet and trophic position may be of particular importance to community stability in degraded habitats, where resources are sparse. For example, omnivores may reduce the severity and duration of community responses to degradationby dampening the effects of any disturbance-mediated trophic cascade. The relatively simple food webs of freshwater systems are ideal for studying trophic ecology, and in the western U.S., streams are heavily degraded by overgrazing ...

Can Omnivores Mediate The Effects Of Degradation?, Hannah Moore

Scholars Week

Omnivores feed at multiple trophic levels and have large effects on community structuring and stability. The magnitude and direction of such effects, whether omnivores stabilize or destabilize communities, remains unresolved. Shifts in omnivore diet and trophic position may be of particular importance to community stability in degraded habitats, where resources are sparse. For example, omnivores may reduce the severity and duration of community responses to degradationby dampening the effects of any disturbance-mediated trophic cascade. The relatively simple food webs of freshwater systems are ideal for studying trophic ecology, and in the western U.S., streams are heavily degraded by overgrazing ...

Life-History Characteristics And Fishery Dynamics Of Red Drum (Sciaenops Ocellatus), In The North-Central Gulf Of Mexico, Corbin Bennetts

Master's Theses

Red Drum (Sciaenops ocellatus) are highly targeted recreationally in the Gulf of Mexico, and support a small commercial fishery in Mississippi. Despite their popularity, the stock is assessed using data limited approaches that necessitate accurate life history information. I estimated the year-specific and year-aggregated escapement rates for the Mississippi stock (years 2004 to 2015), which were sensitive to mortality estimation methods; year-aggregated estimates were 6.9 to 28.2 % depending on the method, but temporal patterns were consistent. I then addressed concerns with previously estimated life-history characteristics by describing the sex-specific growth and reproductive dynamics. The three-parameter von Bertalanffy growth ...