Digital Commons Network^™

Marine Ecoregion And Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill Affect Recruitment And Population Structure Of A Salt Marsh Snail, Steven C. Pennings, Scott Zengel, Jacob Oehrig, Merryl Alber, T. Dale Bishop, Donald R. Deis, Donna Devlin, A. Randall Hughes, John J. Hutchens, Whitney M. Kiehn, Caroline R. Mcfarlin, Clay L. Montague, Sean Powers, C. Edward Proffitt, Nicolle Rutherford, Camille L. Stagg, Keith Walters

Biology

Marine species with planktonic larvae often have high spatial and temporal variation in recruitment that leads to subsequent variation in the ecology of benthic adults. Using a combination of published and unpublished data, we compared the population structure of the salt marsh snail, Littoraria irrorata, between the South Atlantic Bight and the Gulf Coast of the United States to infer geographic differences in recruitment and to test the hypothesis that the Deepwater Horizon oil spill led to widespread recruitment failure of L. irrorata in Louisiana in 2010. Size-frequency distributions in both ecoregions were bimodal, with troughs in the distributions consistent …

The Biodiversity Of Gastrointestinal Nematodes In South African Wildlife, Chalis J. Bird

Theses, Dissertations, and Projects

In this study, I investigated the diversity of parasites found in cheetah and wild ungulates in South Africa in collaboration with the Samara Private Game Reserve in Graaff Reinet, South Africa. Scat samples were collected over a period of two months, from September November, 2014, and DNA was extracted on the preserve for gastrointestinal nematode analysis. Wildlife was tracked using radio telemetry, tracks, and sign, while habitat and host distribution were documented. The aim was to determine the community composition of gastrointestinal nematodes in the wildlife hosts through molecular identification and to examine the role of host habitat preference, geographical …

Contribution Of Lianas To Plant Area Index And Canopy Structure In A Panamanian Forest, M. Elizabeth Rodríguez-Ronderos, Gil Bohrer, Arturo Sanchez-Azofeifa, Jennifer S. Powers, Stefan A. Schnitzer

Biological Sciences Faculty Research and Publications

Lianas are an important component of tropical forests, where they reduce tree growth, fecundity, and survival. Competition for light from lianas may be intense; however, the amount of light that lianas intercept is poorly understood. We used a large-scale liana-removal experiment to quantify light interception by lianas in a Panamanian secondary forest. We measured the change in plant area index (PAI) and forest structure before and after cutting lianas (for 4 yr) in eight 80 m × 80 m plots and eight control plots (16 plots total). We used ground-based LiDAR to measure the 3-dimensional canopy structure before cutting lianas, …

Problems Of Multi-Species Organisms: Endosymbionts To Holobionts, David C. Queller, Joan E. Strassmann

Biology Faculty Research

The organism is one of the fundamental concepts of biology and has been at the center of many discussions about biological individuality, yet what exactly it is can be confusing. The definition that we find generally useful is that an organism is a unit in which all the subunits have evolved to be highly cooperative, with very little conflict. We focus on how often organisms evolve from two or more formerly independent organisms. Two canonical transitions of this type—replicators clustered in cells and endosymbiotic organelles within host cells—demonstrate the reality of this kind of evolutionary transition and suggest conditions that …

Aspects Of Host Usage Of The Chestnut Lamprey (Ichthyomyzon Castaneus) In Arkansas, Jeremiah Max Salinger

Student Theses and Dissertations

Most native North American lamprey species are imperiled in some manner, but are curiously understudied. The research described in this thesis addresses the adult feeding biology of the Chestnut Lamprey (Ichthyomyzon castaneus), a freshwater parasitic lamprey native to the southeastern United States. This thesis addresses Chestnut Lamprey attachment site selection and size-selective parasitism of Rainbow Trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) in an outdoor laboratory setting, as well as Chestnut Lamprey host usage and distribution in Arkansas. Approximately 75% of the 80 wounded Rainbow Trout studied were attacked in their dorsal mid-section. Chestnut Lampreys were found to select shorter hosts, with no mass …

Urban Ecology In North Texas: Native Plants And Nitrogen Deposition, Michelle Lynn Green

Biology Dissertations - Archive

Globally, the human population continues to grow and move into urban areas causing a range of effects on local ecosystems. Elevated temperatures, altered hydrology, and higher concentrations of atmospheric pollutants in urban environments create novel conditions for resident organisms. My research focused on one particular aspect of human alteration to urban environments – nitrogen (N) deposition – and its effects on native plants across an urban to rural gradient in the southern Great Plains, North Texas (NTX), USA. Nitrogen oxides (NOx) – the product of combustion and precursor to nitrate deposition in precipitation – were significantly positively correlated with impervious …

Gray Bat Migration In Missouri, Cheyenne Leigh Gerdes

Graduate Theses/Dissertations

Migration is an important and understudied aspect of the life histories of many species, particularly bats. Migration impacts conservation efforts, including efforts to manage the impacts of wildlife disease. The federally endangered gray bat (Myotis grisescens) is a migratory species with documented infections by Pseudogymnoascus destructans, the fungus that causes White-nose Syndrome (WNS). To better understand migration as it might relate to WNS, I quantified the timing and location of gray bat movements in Missouri using acoustic detectors and bat banding. I recorded calls at 4 maternity sites from January to May 2015, and used the R package PVAClone to …

A Multidimensional Investigation Of The Niche: Geographic Distributions, Body Size, And Interspecific Interactions Of Late Quaternary North American Canidae, Melissa Irene Pardi

Biology ETDs

A pressing conservation challenge is understanding how organisms will be impacted by climate change. From the paleontological record, we know organisms have options when facing change: they can do nothing, move, or adapt. These responses shape an organism's niche (a foundational concept in biology) that is abiotically constrained, but modified by biotic interactions. The greatest disturbances in recent North American geologic history is the human mediated extinction of megafauna ~11,700 years B.P. and climate change following the last glacial period. We used the fossil record to address ecological questions concerning conservationists; our focus was on Canidae and humans. Species distribution …

Bayesian Methods For Comparing Species Physiological And Ecological Response Curves, Michael B. Ashcroft, Angélica Casanova-Katny, Kerrie Mengersen, Todd N. Rosenstiel, Johanna D. Turnbull, Jane Wasley, Melinda J. Waterman, Gustavo E. Zúñiga, Sharon A. Robinson

Biology Faculty Publications and Presentations

Many ecological questions require information on species' optimal conditions or critical limits along environmental gradients. These attributes can be compared to answer questions on niche partitioning, species coexistence and niche conservatism. However, these comparisons are unconvincing when existing methods do not quantify the uncertainty in the attributes or rely on assumptions about the shape of species' responses to the environmental gradient. The aim of this study was to develop a model to quantify the uncertainty in the attributes of species response curves and allow them to be tested for substantive differences without making assumptions about the shape of the responses. …

Assessment Of American White Pelican Predation And Reproductive Success Of Walleye In The Tamarac River, Mn, Jake Graham

Biology Graduate Theses

The Tamarac River is a major tributary of the Red Lakes MN, which provides an economically important multispecies fishery. The river experiences spring spawning migrations of northern pike, walleye, and white suckers. However, limited data exists related to reproductive success of fishes in the river. Furthermore, in the previous decade large congregations of American white pelicans (AWPE) have been observed using the Tamarac River as a foraging ground each spring. Assessing reproductive success of fishes in the Tamarac River provides a more holistic understanding of fish ecology in the river and the importance of the Tamarac River to the Red …

The Effects Of Large Herbivores On Soil Organic Matter Quality In Terrestrial Ecosystems, Adrian Alvarez

Renée Crown University Honors Thesis Projects - All

Understanding the factors that control the natural fluxes of carbon into and out of terrestrial ecosystems is of paramount importance to forecast and adapt to climate change. Soil respiration – the release of carbon dioxide from roots and soil micro-organisms– is considered to be the largest terrestrial source of carbon dioxide. Microbial respiration, the least understood component of soil respiration, is to a great extent determined by soil organic matter quality, reflecting the relative fractions of labile and recalcitrant soil carbon. The goal of this research was to examine how herbivory affects soil organic matter quality across a wide range …

Translating Ecology, Physiology, Biochemistry And Population Genetics Research To Meet The Challenge Of Tick And Tick-Borne Diseases In North America, Maria Dolores Esteve-Gassent, Ivan Castro-Arellano, Teresa Patricia Feria-Arroyo, Ramiro Patino, Andrew Y. Li, Raul F. Medina, Adalberto A. Pérez De León, Roger Iván Rodríguez-Vivas

School of Integrative Biological & Chemical Sciences (Formerly Dept. of Biology)

Emerging and re-emerging tick-borne diseases threaten public health and the wellbeing of domestic animals and wildlife globally. The adoption of an evolutionary ecology framework aimed to diminish the impact of tick-borne diseases needs to be part of strategies to protect human and animal populations. We present a review of current knowledge on the adaptation of ticks to their environment, and the impact that global change could have on their geographic distribution in North America. Environmental pressures will affect tick population genetics by selecting genotypes able to withstand new and changing environments and by altering the connectivity and isolation of several …

Stable Isotopes And The Ecology And Physiology Of Reptiles, Andrew M. Durso

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

When animals don’t have enough food, they have to “choose” between “spending” their limited energy on themselves or on their offspring. Biologists think that reptiles can make this choice quickly in response to different environments. But, it can be hard to study these choices because it is hard to convert between, for example, the number of eggs laid and the speed of healing a wound. By using stable isotope chemistry, we can collect more detailed and comparable information about how lizards and other animals spend their limited resources than with any other method. For example, lizards in the wild have …

Would Ecology Fail The Repeatability Test?, Stefan A. Schnitzer, Walter P. Carson

Biological Sciences Faculty Research and Publications

No abstract provided.

Analysis Of Alternative Storage Conditions For Dna Recovery From Field Samples, Alison Schutt, Emily Stricklin, Britta Ten Haken, Joseph Tolsma, Laurie Furlong, Sara S. Tolsma

Northwestern Review

As ecologists increasingly employ molecular methods, they find that tried and true preservation solutions (e.g. ethanol or formalin) may not be optimal when samples are targeted for genetic analyses. Before traveling to remote sample sites, researchers need to consider which preservation methods are likely to yield the largest quantity and highest quality of DNA based on their travel times and field conditions. They also need to consider whether they will have access to preservatives at remote sites and whether those preservatives can be safely transported. To determine which preservation methods would most reliably preserve tissue for genetic analysis under a …

Road-Edge Effects On Herpetofauna In A Lowland Amazonian Rainforest, Ross J. Maynard, Nathalie C. Aall, Daniel Saenz, Paul S. Hamilton, Matthew Kwiatkowski

Faculty Publications

The impact of roads on the flora and fauna of Neotropical rainforest is perhaps the single biggest driver of habitat modification and population declines in these ecosystems. We investigated the road-edge effect of a low-use dirt road on amphibian and reptile abundance, diversity, and composition within adjacent lowland Amazonian rainforest at San José de Payamino, Ecuador. The road has been closed to vehicle traffic since its construction in 2010. Thus, effects from vehicle mortality, vehicle-related pollution, and road noise were not confounding factors. Herpetofauna were surveyed using both visual encounter surveys and drift fences with pitfall and funnel traps at …

A Comparative Study Of The Flora And Soils Of Great Duck And Little Duck Islands, Maine, Usa, Luka Negoita, Matthew Dickinson, Glen Mittelhauser, Nishanta Rajakaruna

Faculty Publications, Biological Sciences

Strong environmental gradients and varied land-use practices have generated a mosaic of habitats harboring distinct plant communities on islands on the coast of Maine. Botanical studies of Maine's islands, however, are generally limited in number and scope. Baseline studies of Maine's islands are necessary for assessing vegetation dynamics and changes in habitat conditions in relation to environmental impacts imposed by climate change, rising sea levels, invasive species, pests and pathogens, introduced herbivores, and human disturbance. We conducted a survey of the vascular plants and soils of forest, field, and ocean-side communities of Great Duck and Little Duck Islands, ME. These …

The Biology Of Metamorphosis Insectorum Surinamensium, Kay Etheridge

Biology Faculty Publications

Book Description: This facsimile of one of the most beautiful books of natural history ever created contains sixty magnificent illustrations showing exotic insects, with the original descriptions. The reissue is the same size as the original and is enriched with an illustrated introduction about the life, work and significance of Maria Sibylla Merian, and a new scientific description of all the insects, animals and plants.

The life and work of this German woman who moved to the Netherlands has been the subject of international research by botanists, entomologists and historians concerned with the history of science, art, religion and economics. …

Host Location And Host-Associated Divergence In Parasitoids Of The Gall Midge, Asteromyia Carbonifera, Jeffrey L. Howell

Browse all Theses and Dissertations

Some of the world's greatest mysteries are the series of ecological and behavioral processes that promote adaptive radiation: when one species rapidly diverges into multiple descendants due to ecological selective pressures. Selective pressures from natural enemies have the potential to drive such radiations, as has been suggested in the diversification of the goldenrod gall-midge, Asteromyia carbonifera (Stireman et al., 2008, 2012). This complex, multitrophic system involves the midge species complex, their goldenrod host plants (Solidago sp.), and a suite of parasitoid enemies in the diverse wasp superfamily, Chalcidoidea. There is evidence that the midge is undergoing host-associated differentiation (HAD), in …

The Biotic Effects Of Tertiary Geoclimatic Change In The Southern Hemisphere, Stuart Val Nielsen

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

I explore how pre-Quaternary geoclimatic phenomena and geographical heterogeneity influenced sub-continental speciation processes and contemporary biogeographic patterns across the Southern Hemisphere, with particular focus on two regions that have experienced elevated levels of ongoing aridification – sub-Saharan (particularly Southern) Africa and Australia. I used standard methods from the molecular phylogeneticists’ toolbox (e.g. tree building using maximum likelihood and Bayesian approaches, haplotype networks, uncorrected p-distances) combined with environmental niche modeling, morphometric principal components and fossil calibrated molecular dating analyses in order to ascertain the role that Miocene geo-climatic events played in promoting lineage accumulation and diversification through time. I found a …

The Utilization Of Morphological And Genetic Diagnostic Techniques For The Description Of Trematode Species Collected From Waterbirds From Lake Winnibigoshish, Minnesota, Usa, Tyler Joseph Achatz

All Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Other Capstone Projects

Historically, morphological techniques for species identification were the leading diagnostic methodology, however, the increased usage of genetic techniques has led to a decrease in reports of morphometrics. The decrease in morphological reports increases the chance of missing diagnostic morphometrics. The three studies described herein used morphological and genetic diagnostic methods to identify trematodes from five families in order to improve genetic and morphological information for trematode species identification.

The first study identified ten species of trematodes from intestines of waterbirds previously collected from Lake Winnibigoshish, Minnesota. Nine of the species were sequenced for 28S ribosomal DNA (rDNA). Two species were …

Geospatial Approaches To Support Pelagic Conservation Planning And Adaptive Management, L. M. Wedding, Sara M. Maxwell, D. Hyrenbach, D. C. Dunn, J. J. Roberts, D. Briscoe, E. Hines, P. N. Halpin

Biological Sciences Faculty Publications

Place-based management in the open ocean faces unique challenges in delineating boundaries around temporally and spatially dynamic systems that span broad geographic scales and multiple management jurisdictions, especially in the 'high seas'. Geospatial technologies are critical for the successful design of pelagic conservation areas, because they provide information on the spatially and temporally dynamic oceanographic features responsible for driving species distribution and abundance in the open ocean, the movements of protected species, and the spatial patterns of distribution of potential threats. Nevertheless, there are major challenges to implementing these geospatial approaches in the open ocean. This Theme Section seeks to …

Transforming The Aquatic Urban Landscape: Nutrient Status And Management Of Stormwater Basins, Lindsay Skovira

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Urbanization is a largely irreversible anthropogenic change that degrades environmental quality, including aquatic ecosystems. Stormwater ponds are a popular best management practice (BMP) to mitigate the effects of urban land use on downstream water bodies and contribute significantly to the total area of aquatic ecosystems in some urban watersheds. My research investigated the distribution of stormwater ponds and examined how different urban land uses influenced biophysicochemical conditions and management of those ponds in a rapidly developing suburban watershed in the Econlockhatchee River basin in Florida, USA. I evaluated limnological and ecological parameters in randomly-selected ponds distributed among three urban land-use …

Natural History, Phenology, And Stream Use Of Hyla Plicata From The Arroyo Los Axolotes, State Of Mexico, Mexico, J. A. Lemos-Espinal, Geoffrey R. Smith, A. Hernandez Ruiz, R. Montoya Ayala

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Amphibians And Reptiles Of The State Of Nuevo Leon, Mexico, J. A. Lemos-Espinal, Geoffrey R. Smith, A. Cruz

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Combined Effects Of Tetrakis Hydroxymethyl Phosphonium Chloride And Ammonium On Plankton Community Structure In Blackwater Pond Mesocosms, Marina N. Osier

College of Graduate Studies: Theses & Dissertations

Flame retardant chemicals enter aquatic systems through municipal and industrial wastewater, and despite being detected in surface waters, most have not been thoroughly assessed for environmental risk. Halogenated flame retardants, known to be persistent and highly toxic to aquatic organisms are being phased out, and replaced with new or under-tested organophosphorus flame retardants. Organophosphorus flame retardants, such as tetrakis hydroxymethyl phosphonium chloride (THPC), often have similar applications to and are generally not as persistent as halogenated flame retardants. Single-species toxicity tests of organophosphorus flame retardants reveal a wide range of toxicity values within the range of environmentally relevant concentrations in …

Population Density Of The Florida Scrub Lizard (Sceloporus Woodi) In Managed Sand Pine Scrub And Longleaf Pine Sandhill Habitats, Matthew D. Kaunert, Lance D. Mcbrayer

Biology: Faculty Publications

Studies investigating managed landscapes are of increasing importance, as fragmentation is a known cause of biodiversity loss. From June to September 2012, we sampled populations of the rare, endemic Florida Scrub Lizard (Sceloporus woodi) across the Ocala National Forest (ONF) to compare lizard density across two managed habitat types. Florida Scrub habitat in the ONF is clearcut and roller-chopped, whereas Longleaf Pine habitat is managed via prescribed burning. We sampled 10 stands of Florida Scrub (2–3 y post disturbance) and 10 stands of Longleaf Pine (1 y post-disturbance) for lizards. We compared lizard density between the interior of …

Oxidative Stress In Avian Embyros, Toshi Tsunekage

Dissertations

Oxidative stress has been implicated in mediating trade-offs in the evolution of life histories. Oxidative stress results from an imbalance in the production of free radicals and an organism’s antioxidant defenses. Higher metabolic rates associated with more rapid growth and shorter development periods may increase oxidative stress and accumulated cellular damage in embryonic tissues. In my dissertation I explored oxidative stress and antioxidant defenses in avian embryos. I measured levels of oxidative stress in tissues of different stage embryos of Japanese quail (Coturnix japonica), and tested if patterns of lipid peroxidation could be explained by changes in the developing embryo’s …

The Impact Of Temperature, Ph And Environmental Heterogeneity On Prokaryotic Diversity In Yellowstone National Park Thermal Springs, Xiaoben Jiang

Biology ETDs

Yellowstone National Park (YNP) is one of the largest and most diverse hydrothermal areas on Earth. Extensive culture-independent studies in YNP thermal springs have shown dramatic taxonomic and metabolic diversity in microbial communities. We conducted a survey of bacterial communities along temperature gradients in three alkaline springs with similar geochemistries at the local scale. With these data, we investigated the influence of environmental variables on bacterial community diversity and assemblages along a broad temperature range using high throughput 454 pyrosequencing. Previous studies have suggested that pH is the driver of microbial diversity in thermal springs among geographical regions or at …

Individual-Level Variation And Higher-Level Interpretations Of Space Use In Wide-Ranging Species: An Albatross Case Study Of Sampling Effects, Sarah Gutowsky, Marty Leonard, Melinda Conners, Scott A. Shaffer, Ian Jonsen

Faculty Publications, Biological Sciences

Marine ecologists and managers need to know the spatial extent of at-sea areas most frequented by the groups of wildlife they study or manage. Defining group-specific ranges and distributions (i.e., space use at the level of species, population, age-class, etc.) can help to identify the source or severity of common or distinct threats among different at-risk groups. In biologging studies, this is accomplished by estimating the space use of a group based on a sample of tracked individuals. A major assumption of these studies is consistency in individual movements among members of a group. The implications of scaling up individual-level …