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Relating Metabolic Phenotypes To Movement Behavior In Brook Trout, Jacob E. Bowman Mar 2022

Relating Metabolic Phenotypes To Movement Behavior In Brook Trout, Jacob E. Bowman

All NMU Master's Theses

Brook trout movement-related life history strategies vary considerably and range from individuals that stay within the same 100 meters their entire life to individuals that are potamodromous or anadromous. Potential drivers of movement life histories have been the subject of much research in fish, with genetic subpopulation explanations often failing to explain the phenomenon. Metabolic phenotypes have been suggested as a possible driver for expression of different movement life histories. I investigated if metabolic phenotypes are related to movement strategies within a population of brook trout (Salvelinus fontinalis) in Unnamed Creek, a tributary to the Rock River, Alger …


Display Site Selection By Male Ruffed Grouse In The Upper Great Lakes Region, Seth Finkel Jan 2022

Display Site Selection By Male Ruffed Grouse In The Upper Great Lakes Region, Seth Finkel

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports

The Ruffed Grouse (Bonasa umbellus) is widely known for its characteristic territorial drumming display. In this study, I used ruffed grouse drumming survey data from Minnesota and Michigan, in a series of mixed logistic models, to identify drivers of drumming log selection by reproductive male ruffed grouse. I collected drumming stage data utilizing a paired-random sampling structure. I used information theoretic model selection to examine three sets of a priori mixed logistic models: one for the entirety of my Minnesota dataset, one consisting of stages identified in aspen stands in Minnesota, and one for my Michigan dataset. In …


Detection And Classification Of Eurasian Watermilfoil With Multispectral Drone-Enabled Sensing, Colin Brooks Jan 2020

Detection And Classification Of Eurasian Watermilfoil With Multispectral Drone-Enabled Sensing, Colin Brooks

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports

Littoral zones support growth of submerged aquatic vegetation, creating productive areas that provide food and habitat for fish, amphibians, macroinvertebrates, and other parts of the food web. Understanding macrophyte dynamics requires the identification of submerged aquatic vegetation (SAV) taxa, which can be possible if taxa of interest are spectrally distinct with data collected at appropriate scales. Eurasian watermilfoil, Myriophyllum spicatum or EWM, is a non-native SAV species that forms thick, often monotypic beds that reduce benthic species richness, restrict recreation, reduce property values, clog water intakes, and lower dissolved oxygen concentrations. Remote sensing of SAV species has to address the …


Effects Of Infanticide Risk And Timber Harvest On American Black Bear Space Use, D. Cody Norton Dec 2019

Effects Of Infanticide Risk And Timber Harvest On American Black Bear Space Use, D. Cody Norton

All NMU Master's Theses

Space use is an important aspect of bear ecology that maybe influenced by infanticide risk and timber harvest. I used generalized linear mixed models (GLMM) to determine if female American black bear (Ursus americanus) space use was consistent with avoidance behavior to reduce infanticide risk in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan during the 2009–2011 and 2013–2014 breeding seasons. Females with cubs occupied core areas and home ranges of similar size and relative probability of male use to females without cubs. Additionally, females with cubs did not reduce movements during times of day when male movements were greatest. Female …


Effects Of Fire Season And Temperature On A Spotted Knapweed (Centaurea Stoebe) Infested Grassland, Zachery T. Pitman Aug 2018

Effects Of Fire Season And Temperature On A Spotted Knapweed (Centaurea Stoebe) Infested Grassland, Zachery T. Pitman

Masters Theses

Invasive species, including the non-native forb Centaurea stoebe (spotted knapweed), constitute an imminent threat to degraded and restored native prairies. Considering the major threat that C. stoebe poses to imperiled prairie ecosystems, I examined the effectiveness of fire as a control agent of C. stoebe and (±)-catechin. I conducted a 2-year experiment in part of a restored tallgrass prairie community at Pierce Cedar Creek Institute in Barry County, Michigan between May and August of 2016 and 2017. My experiment consisted of individually burning 60 1-m² plots with a propane torch to achieve high (316° C) and low (103° C) temperatures …


Home-Range Dynamics And Resource Selection Of American Marten (Martes Americana) In Michigan’S Northern Lower Peninsula, Angela Kujawa Apr 2018

Home-Range Dynamics And Resource Selection Of American Marten (Martes Americana) In Michigan’S Northern Lower Peninsula, Angela Kujawa

Masters Theses

American marten (Martes americana) are typically associated with mature coniferous forests. Marten were extirpated from Michigan’s Lower Peninsula due to human impacts, such as fire, logging, and over-harvest. Little is known about the resource selection and distribution of marten in Michigan’s northern Lower Peninsula since their reintroduction in 1985-86. Resource selection functions are valuable tools to estimate the relative probability an animal will utilize an area and predict where they may occur. When creating a resource selection function, potential sources of variation in data collection methods and wildlife populations should be considered to ensure accurate results. We sought …


The Effects Of Salinity On The Stratification And Nutrient Dynamics Of Inland Lakes In Southeast Michigan, Hallee Kansman Jan 2015

The Effects Of Salinity On The Stratification And Nutrient Dynamics Of Inland Lakes In Southeast Michigan, Hallee Kansman

Senior Honors Theses and Projects

Temperate lakes typically turnover twice annually; however, certain factors can reduce the possibility of turnover. One of these factors may be the addition of road salt to the watershed. Road salt increases the density of water, increasing the energy needed to turnover a lake. Reduced turnover can have major effects on the nutrient dynamics of the lake. In this study, I examined seven small, deep lakes in Southeast Michigan to determine if turnover was affected by salinity. The purpose of this study was to determine whether these turnover events in TSL have changed since 2009 and how common incomplete spring …


Elucidating The Conservation Status Of Michigan's Red-Eared Slider (Trachemys Scripta Elegans): A Phylogeographic Approach, Patrick J. Terry Jan 2015

Elucidating The Conservation Status Of Michigan's Red-Eared Slider (Trachemys Scripta Elegans): A Phylogeographic Approach, Patrick J. Terry

Master's Theses and Doctoral Dissertations

The geographic origin of Michigan’s Trachemys scripta elegans has been a contentious subject since its first description in 1934. At that time two explanations were proposed: 1) populations of T. s. elegans are native to Michigan and naturally expanded their range from Ohio and Indiana; or 2) populations are non-native and have been introduced by humans via the pet-trade from throughout the United States. To differentiate between these possibilities, I compare the genetic structure of six populations throughout Indiana, Michigan, and Ohio, using six microsatellite markers. No isolation-by-distance was detected and model-based statistics support two genetic clusters with five populations …


Resting Site Characteristics Of American Marten In The Northern Lower Peninsula Of Michigan, Robert L. Sanders Aug 2014

Resting Site Characteristics Of American Marten In The Northern Lower Peninsula Of Michigan, Robert L. Sanders

Masters Theses

American marten are usually associated with forests that are characteristically late successional, closed canopy, and diverse in structure; attributes that meet habitat requirements and provide resting site structures. Resting site structures are required habitat components that are used daily and provide protection from predation and inclement weather. I identified resting site characteristics of American marten in the Manistee National Forest in Michigan’s Lower Peninsula from May 2011 to December 2013. Twenty five marten (15 male and 10 female) were monitored using radio telemetry to identify what types of resting sites structures were used. I identified 522 unique resting site structures; …


Climate Change And Metapopulation Implications For Species Re/Introductions: A Spatial Analysis Of Suitable Habitat For The American Marten (Martes Americana) In Northern Michigan, Joshua Michael Green Dec 2013

Climate Change And Metapopulation Implications For Species Re/Introductions: A Spatial Analysis Of Suitable Habitat For The American Marten (Martes Americana) In Northern Michigan, Joshua Michael Green

Masters Theses

The American marten (Martes americana), which was extirpated from Michigan by 1939 due to logging and trapping, has cultural significance as a clan animal to Great Lakes Native American Tribes and ecological significance as a forest health indicator. Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore (SBD) is considering reintroduction, but several factors must first be considered in assessing the habitat suitability. The goals of this study were to 1) enhance an existing habitat suitability model by including additional relevant variables, 2) conduct a spatial analysis of the habitat within the study area using a metapopulation perspective and 3) incorporate climate …


Landscape Characteristics Of Upland Sandpiper Habitat In Michigan, Jacob Lawrence Korte Jan 2013

Landscape Characteristics Of Upland Sandpiper Habitat In Michigan, Jacob Lawrence Korte

Wayne State University Theses

Grassland bird populations have declined across North America due to habitat loss but at a disproportionately higher rate in the midwestern United States, where extensive coverage of grasslands and other open land ecosystems have been converted to other land cover types. The upland sandpiper (Bartramia longicauda Bechstein, UPSA) is a migratory, area-sensitive, terrestrial shorebird that breeds in grasslands and other open land ecosystem types across their North American range. Although breeding habitats of the Great Plains contain the greatest concentrations of this species, anthropogenic openings such as hayfields and pastures serve as surrogate habitat elsewhere, as do remnant patches …


Winter Habitat Selection And Genetic Relatedness Of Southern Flying Squirrels In Southwest Michigan, Sheila M. Miara Aug 2012

Winter Habitat Selection And Genetic Relatedness Of Southern Flying Squirrels In Southwest Michigan, Sheila M. Miara

Masters Theses

Few studies have examined winter habitat selection for southern flying squirrels (Glaucomys volans) in northern latitudes where winter conditions are harsher than southern latitudes and resource availability is particularly limiting. Winter den tree characteristics and use by 19 southern flying squirrels (10 females and 9 males) were investigated from November through February in 2010-2011 and 2011-2012. The mean home range size using 100% minimum convex polygon for 18 individuals was 3.40 ha (±0.46 0.46 SE) and there was no significant difference between genders (P= 0.56) or ages (P=0.50). The mean 95% fixed kernel home range size was 0.15 …