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Sensory Genes And Mate Choice: Evidence That Duplications, Mutations, And Adaptive Evolution Alter Variation In Mating Cue Genes And Their Receptors, Lisa Horth

Biological Sciences Faculty Publications

Fascinating new data, revealed through gene sequencing, comparative genomics, and genetic engineering, precisely establish which genes are involved in mate choice and mating activity—behaviors that are surprisingly understudied from a genetic perspective. Discussed here are some of the recently identified visual and chemosensory genes that are involved in mate choice and mating behavior. These genes’ products are involved in the production, transmission, and receipt of crucial sensory mate-choice cues that affect fitness. This review exposes newfound evidence that alternative splicing, gene-expression pattern changes, and molecular genetic variation in sensory genes are crucial for both intra- and interspecific mate choice and …

Glow Sticks As Effective Bait For Capturing Aquatic Amphibians In Funnel Traps, Kristine L. Grayson, Andrew W. Roe

Biology Faculty Publications

Funnel traps of various designs have been used to capture adults and larvae of aquatic amphibians (e.g., Buech and Egeland 2002; Richter 1995). Most studies use unbaited funnel traps to capture amphibians while others have used shrimp or salmon eggs (Adams et al. 1997). Light traps and light sticks are commonly used in studies of fish, particularly larvae (Doherty 1987; Marchetti et al. 2004), but have not been widely used to capture amphibians. Glow sticks have been mentioned briefly in the literature as a means to increase capture rates of aquatic amphibians (Smith and Rettig 1996), but no studies have …

Endowment Effects In Chimpanzees, Owen D. Jones, Sarah F. Brosnan, Susan P. Lambeth, Mary Catherine Mareno, Amanda S. Richardson, Steven Schapiro

Vanderbilt Law School Faculty Publications

Human behavior is not always consistent with standard rational choice predictions. The much-investigated variety of apparent deviations from rational choice predictions provides a promising arena for the merger of economics and biology. Although little is known about the extent to which other species also exhibit these seemingly irrational patterns of human decision-making and choice behavior, similarities across species would suggest a common evolutionary root to the phenomena.

The present study investigated whether chimpanzees exhibit an endowment effect, a seemingly paradoxical behavior in which humans tend to value a good they have just come to possess more than they would have …

Chumming On The Chesapeake Bay And Complexity Theory: Why The Precautionary Principle, Not Cost-Benefit Analysis, Makes More Sense As A Regulatory Approach, Hope M. Babcock

Georgetown Law Faculty Publications and Other Works

Estuaries like the Chesapeake Bay ("Bay") and Puget Sound are in grave trouble. They each suffer from poor water quality, loss of habitat, and declining biodiversity, and efforts to restore their health are straining both public and private resources. While accomplishments are often recorded in the fight against these ills, it is clear these accomplishments "are not yet equal to the scale of the problems." The focus of this article is on the nation's largest estuary, the Bay. Despite the investment of billions of dollars to improve water quality, the Bay continues to suffer from severe environmental degradation that impairs …

Observations Of Rough-Toothed Dolphins (Steno Bredanensis) Off The Coast Of Utila, Honduras, Stan A. Kuczaj Ii, Deirdre Yeater

Psychology Faculty Publications

Local dive shop operators and fishermen report that rough-toothed dolphins (Steno bredanensis) are frequently encountered off the coast of Utila, Honduras, (16°05'46.5"N 86°55'47.8"W). Our observations suggest that at least some of these animals may constitute a resident population, although the extent of the resident group’s home range has not been determined. Twenty-eight rough-toothed dolphins were identified using photoidentification techniques, 15 of which were re-sighted on two or more occasions. The 12 animals that were re-sighted four or more times were typically seen together, suggesting that they constitute a stable social group. At least one of these dolphins is …

Oliver Ranch Science School Complex & Wild Horse And Burro Facility: Final Close-Out Report, Margaret N. Rees

Oliver Ranch Project

“The mission of the Red Rock Desert Learning Center is to instill stewardship and respect by increasing knowledge and understanding of the Mojave Desert ecosystems and cultures through a unique experiential discovery program.”

Lake Mead National Recreation Area Monitoring And Evaluation Of Sensitive Wildlife: Quarterly Progress Report, Period Ending December 31, 2006, Margaret N. Rees

Wildlife Monitoring

• Research assistant hired for Relict Leopard Frog conservation project.
• High school minority intern hired to assist with research efforts.
• Nocturnal visual encounter surveys for Relict Leopard Frogs conducted at all established natural sites and at 6 of 7 translocation sites.
• Vegetation management conducted to decrease tamarisk cover along the stream at the Pupfish Refuge Spring – a Relict Leopard Frog translocation site.
• New draft guidelines and field count protocols developed for midwinter bald eagle count.
• Preliminary analysis and modeling of thrasher habitat selection conducted and sampling assessed
• Call-broadcast surveys for thrasher species conducted at 43 points countywide, focusing on vegetation …

Vegetation Structure And Heavy Metal Uptake By Plants In The Mining-Impacted And Non Mining-Impacted Sites Of Southern Lake Victoria Wetlands, G. Y. S. Mtui, C. Mligo, M. K. D. Mutakyahwa, J. R. Ikingura

Tanzania Journal of Science

This study assessed the plant species composition and the heavy metal uptake by plants in the mining-impacted and non mining-impacted areas of the southern Lake Victoria basin. The vegetation of the wetlands was stratified into riverine forest, riverine thickets, swampy grassland, open woodland and floodplain grassland. Plant diversity at Nyamtukuza ranged between 2.34 to 2.70; at Geita was 2.29 to 2.57 and Mwakitolyo was between 1.08 to 1.70, which was significantly lower than the other two sites; whereas variation in plant species richness was not significant. TWINSPAN classification resulted into four clusters of the vegetation communities. Cluster A, a shrubby …

Species Richness And Abundance Estimates Of Small Mammals In Zaraninge Coastal Forest In Tanzania, H. Y. D. Kiwia

Tanzania Journal of Science

A study on small mammals (<2 kg) was conducted in Zaraninge Forest, Coast Region, Tanzania, in the dry and wet seasons from 1994 to1996. The forest was found to harbour 11 small mammal species from 11 genera and seven families. There was high similarity in the number of species caught during the two seasons (Sørensen Coefficient (CCs)=0.92), implying there to be minimal migration of the species in the area. A total of 159 individuals were caught during the dry season, rodents accounting for 89.3% of the total catch and insectivores 10.7%. The most common species were Cricetomys gambianus and Grammomys dolichurus that had trap successes of 2.83 and 1.11 respectively. During the wet season 185 animals were caught, rodents accounting for 92.4% of the total catch and insectivores 7.6%. Cricetomys gambianus was significantly more abundant during the dry season. Graphiurus murinus was not caught in this season and no trend in abundance was detected for the other species. Forest specialist species included Paraxerus palliatus and Petrodromus petersi. No species was endemic to the forest, near-endemic species that occur in coastal and Eastern Arc forests included P. petersi and Beamys hindei. B. hindei also occurs in a few other East African forests. Threatened species are B. hindei and P. palliatus that are vulnerable and P. petersi that is endangered. Lepus capensis is in Appendix I of CITES list and Hystrix cristata and Mellivora capensis in Appendix III. The forest, though small is in good health and fairly well protected, therefore the species are not in danger of being locally extinct in the near future.

Species Richness And Abundance Of Large Mammals In Zaraninge Forest, Coast Region, Tanzania, H. Y. D. Kiwia

Tanzania Journal of Science

A study on the large mammals of Zaraninge Forest was conducted using the line transect method between 1995 and 2001. They comprised 16 species from 7 families, including Bovidae (5), Canidae (1), Cercopithecidae (4), Felidae (1), Galagonidae (2), Orycteropodidae (1) and Suidae (2). Only nine species of primates and antelopes were encountered frequently enough for densities to be estimated. A total of 404 sightings from 40 counts were recorded, the majority being for blue monkey (34.9%) and Angolan colobus (26.0%). For galagos, 210 sightings from 58 counts were recorded, the majority being for Rondo galago (62.2%). Absolute density (individuals km-2) …

Ecological And Engineering Importance Of The Bet El Ras Beach-Sandstone, N. Nyandwi, J. W. Kangwe

Tanzania Journal of Science

A unique sandstone known as the Bet el Ras sandstone, supposedly of Holocene age, occurs profusely along the western coast of Unguja but more extensive at its locality area, Bet el Ras, where it forms a rocky shore. The sandstone has been blasted in the past for construction of the sea wall that fronts the Zanzibar Town, and stands to be blasted further for renovation works. From the results of the survey made, it is clear that the sandstone is ecologically and environmentally important such that its total removal will lead to loss of a habitat as well as enhance …

Identifying Economic Indicators For Ecosystem-Based Management:, Scott Norris

Publications

In America and across the world, the use of ecosystem-based management is

increasing. One of the primary challenges faced in using this method of management is the integration of economic data and environmental information. This report explores the use of a new tool for integrating economic data, ecosystem-based economic indicators, in a case study of Elkhorn Slough National Estuarine Research Reserve, an estuarine environment located in Monterey County, CA. Research and literature reviews were used to detail the economic activities of the area, in order to identify possible indicators,criteria for evaluating the indicators, and potential sources of indicator data. After …

Convergence, Constraint And The Role Of Gene Expression During Adaptive Radiation: Floral Anthocyanins In Aquilegia, Justen B. Whittall, Claudia Voelckel, Daniel J. Kliebenstein, Scott A. Hodges

Biology

Convergent phenotypes are testament to the role of natural selection in evolution. However, little is known about whether convergence in phenotype extends to convergence at the molecular level. We use the independent losses of floral anthocyanins in columbines (Aquilegia) to determine the degree of molecular convergence in gene expression across the anthocyanin biosynthetic pathway (ABP). Using a phylogeny of the North American Aquilegia clade, we inferred six independent losses of floral anthocyanins. Via semiquantitative reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR), we monitored developmental and tissue-specific variation in expression of the six major structural ABP loci in three Aquilegia species, two that …

Evaluating Diet Composition Of Pronghorn In Wind Cave National Park, South Dakota, Christopher N. Jacques, Jaret D. Sievers, Jonathan A. Jenks, Chad L. Sexton, Daniel E. Roddy

The Prairie Naturalist

The pronghorn (Antilocapra americana) was reintroduced into Wind Cave National Park (WCNP), South Dakota, in 1914, and thus, has inhabited the Park for nearly a century. During the 1990's, a decline in the population raised concern for the continued existence of pronghorn inside WCNP; an investigation into the observed decline was initiated. Primary objectives of our study were to evaluate diet composition and forage selection by pronghorn in WCNP. Microhistological analysis was conducted on 58 fecal samples collected opportunistically from pronghorn during 2002. Blue grama (Bouteloua gracilis), common juniper (Juniperus communis), and northern bedstraw …

Evaluation Of Habitat Enhancement Structure Use By Spotted Bass, Stanley L. Proboszcz, Christopher S. Guy

The Prairie Naturalist

Habitat enhancement is a common and effective method used to positively influence fish populations. However, there is a paucity of speciesspecific evaluations of stream habitat enhancement structures for warmwater fishes. We evaluated use of half-log, rootwad enhancement structure, and simulated undercut bank (LUNKERS) by adult and juvenile spotted bass (Micropterus punctulatus) in natural and experimental streams. Enhancement structures were installed in Otter Creek, Kansas. Adult spotted bass use of natural and enhancement structure was documented weekly during summer and fall of 2001 and 2002 with radiotelemetry. Mean total length (TL) of adult fish was 292 mm (SE = …

Morphometrics Of Six Turtle Species From South Dakota, Sarah J. Bandas, Kenneth F. Higgins

The Prairie Naturalist

During 2002 and 2003, morphometric measurements were recorded for 755 turtles representing six species in South Dakota. Turtles were captured in a wide variety of wetland habitats across the entire state. With few exceptions, morphometric measurements for South Dakota were near or within the range of measurements reported for all six species from studies in nearby states or provinces. We recommend that morphometric measurements be taken on turtles in future turtle studies and particularly for the less common and rare species.

Winter Behavior Of Big Brown Bats (Eptesicus Fuscus) In A Building Roost: Intermittent Feeding, Passive Rewarming, And Energy Conservation, Amy L. Fairbairn

All-Inclusive List of Electronic Theses and Dissertations

I investigated the use of torpor and arousals during winter of 2005 - 2006 by freeliving big brown bats (Eptesicus fuscus) by measuring skin temperature (remotely using data loggers) and used those measurements to estimate winter energy expenditure. Torpor bouts lasted for a mean of 3 .3 days ( d) with a mean of 3 .6 d and 2.2 d for males and females, respectively. There was no correlation between ambient temperature (Ta) during torpor and torpor bout length, but there was a significant correlation between Ta and length of the active period. Arousals lasted on average 5.0 hours (h). …

Integration Without Unification: An Argument For Pluralism In The Biological Sciences, Sandra D. Mitchell, Michael R. Dietrich

Dartmouth Scholarship

In this article, we consider the tension between unification and pluralism in biological theory. We begin with a consideration of historical efforts to establish a unified understanding of evolution in the neo‐Darwinian synthesis. The fragmentation of the evolutionary synthesis by molecular evolution suggests the limitations of the general unificationist ideal for biology but not necessarily for integrating explanations. In the second half of this article, we defend a specific variety of pluralism that allows for the integration required for explanations of complex phenomena without unification on a large scale.

Does Seed-Caching Experience Affect Spatial Memory Performance By Pinyon Jays?, B. Lucas Stafford, Russell P. Balda, Alan Kamil

Papers in Behavior in Biological Sciences

Food-storing birds use spatial memory to find previously cached food items. Throughout winter, pinyon jays (Gymnorhinus cyanocephalus) rely heavily on cached pinyon pine (Pinus edulis) seeds. Because of a recent severe drought, pinyon pine trees had not produced a significant seed crop for several years. Therefore, 1- and 2-year-old birds never had the opportunity to cache and recover seeds and birds 4 or more years of age had not recovered seeds in 3 years. This study examined whether natural but extreme variability in experience might result in differences in abstract spatial memory ability during a non-cache …

Karyotypes Of Eight Species Of Leptodactylus (Anura, Leptodactylidae) With A Description Of A New Karyotype For The Genus, Renata Cecília Amaro-Ghilardi, Gabriel Skuk, Rafael O. De Sá, Miguel Trefaut Rodrigues, Yatiyo Yonenaga-Yassuda

Biology Faculty Publications

Karyotypes of eight species of Leptodactylus (Anura, Leptodactylidae) with a description of a new karyotype for the genus. Eight species of the Neotropical genus Leptodactylus were karyologically studied: seven of them (L. gracilis, L. mystacinus, L. petersii, L. pustulatus, L. macrosternum, L. ocellatus, L. labyrinthicus) presented 2n=22 and L. silvanimbus showed a distinctive karyotype with 2n=24. Nucleolar organizer regions (Ag-NORs) were detected in two different pairs of chromosomes: pair 4 at the proximal region of the long arm of one individual of L. mystacinus from São Paulo state and of L. petersii; and …

Genetic Resolution Of The Enigmatic Lesser Antillean Distribution Of The Frog Leptodactylus Validus (Anura, Leptodactylidae), Keneth Yanek, W. R. Heyer, Rafael O. De Sá

Biology Faculty Publications

Leptodactylus validus has an unusual distribution, inhabiting Trinidad, Tobago, and the Lesser Antilles, but not the mainland of South America. This distribution is inconsistent with other distribution patterns observed for these islands. Although slight variation in adult morphology has been observed among the different island populations of L. validus, call data suggest the presence of a single species. Calls of L. pallidirostris from Venezuela and Brazil suggested that this taxon might be conspecific with L. validus. Sequence data from the 12S and 16S mt rDNA genes indicate that L. validus represents a single species throughout its distribution and is conspecific …

Spatial And Seasonal Variation In Wildlife-Vehicle Collisions, Jonathan M. Conard, Philip S. Gipson

The Prairie Naturalist

To understand seasonal variation in the number of wildlife-vehicle collisions and the influence of land cover type on collision distribution we counted road-kill carcasses for 84 weeks along a 40 km route on two state highways in northeastern Kansas. We noted land cover type adjacent to each road-kill and tested the null hypothesis that road-kills were distributed randomly with respect to land cover type. Wildlife-vehicle collisions were not distributed randomly in relation to land cover availability. Instead, collisions occurred more often then expected adjacent to riparian areas and less often than expected adjacent to agricultural fields. Wildlife-vehicle collisions varied seasonally …

Amphibians And Reptiles In A Mixed-Grass Prairie In Northwestern North Dakota, Robert K. Murphy, Robert F. Danley, Patricia K. Moore

The Prairie Naturalist

There have been almost no surveys of herpetofauna at 109 km² Lostwood National Wildlife Refuge (LNWR) or surrounding counties in northwestern North Dakota, an area possibly undergoing significant environmental change from fossil fuel extraction and use. We used 30 m drift fences to survey amphibian and reptile species in prairie-wetland transition zones at LNWR during mid-May to early-July in 1985 to 1987, and again in 1999 and 2000. We captured only four amphibian and two reptilian species and noted one other reptilian species incidental to our survey. Several species expected to occur in the area were not detected.

Linking Life Zones, Life History Traits, Ecology, And Spatial Cognition In Four Allopatric Southwestern Seed Caching Corvids, Russell P. Balda, Alan Kamil

Papers in Behavior in Biological Sciences

This report will review the similarities and differences of four species of pine seed caching members of the avian family Corvidae that live on the slopes and base of the San Francisco Peaks in north-central Arizona. The four species include the Clark’s nutcracker (Nucifraga columbiana), pinyon jay (Gymnorhinus cyanocephalus), western scrub-jay (Aphelocoma californica), and Mexican jay (A. ultramarina). These corvids demonstrate a specialization gradient for the harvesting, transporting, caching and recovering of buried pine seeds. This gradient is reflected in their dependence on cached pine seeds for winter and early spring survival …

Plant Reproductive Allocation Predicts Herbivore Dynamics Across Spatial And Temporal Scales, Tom E. X. Miller, Andrew J. Tyre, Svata M. Louda

School of Biological Sciences: Faculty Publications

Life-history theory suggests that iteroparous plants should be flexible in their allocation of resources toward growth and reproduction. Such plasticity could have consequences for herbivores that prefer or specialize on vegetative versus reproductive structures. To test this prediction, we studied the response of the cactus bug (Narnia pallidicornis) to meristem allocation by tree cholla cactus (Opuntia imbricata). We evaluated the explanatory power of demographic models that incorporated variation in cactus relative reproductive effort (RRE; the proportion of meristems allocated toward reproduction). Field data provided strong support for a single model that defined herbivore fecundity as a …

The Role Of Visual Ornamentation In Female Choice Of A Multimodal Male Courtship Display, Eileen Hebets, K. Cuasay, P. K. Rivlin

Eileen Hebets Publications

The courtship behavior of male Schizocosa uetzi wolf spiders incorporates both visual and seismic signals into a multimodal display. These two signals have been shown to interact in such a manner that the seismic signal alters a female’s response to the visual signal, leading to a putative increased importance of visual signaling in the presence of a seismic signal. Experiments leading to this attention-focusing hypothesis relied in part on the video playback technique, eliciting the question of its significance under more biologically relevant conditions. Here, we directly examine female mate choice of males with differing visual signals (foreleg pigmentation) both …

Fall 2006, Nsu Oceanographic Center

Currents

No abstract provided.

Evaluating The Long-Term Metacommunity Dynamics Of Tree Hole Mosquitoes, Alicia M. Ellis, L. Philip Lounibos, Marcel Holyoak

Dartmouth Scholarship

Four different conceptual models of metacommunities have been proposed, termed “patch dynamics,” “species sorting,” “mass effect,” and “neutral.” These models simplify thinking about metacommunities and improve our understanding of the role of spatial dynamics both in structuring communities and in determining local and regional diversity. We tested whether mosquito communities inhabiting water-filled tree holes in southeastern Florida, USA, displayed any of the characteristics and dynamics predicted by the four models. The densities of the five most common species in 3–8 tree holes were monitored every two weeks during 1978–2003. We tested relationships between habitat variables and species densities, spatial synchrony, …

The Effects Of The 2006 Spraying Of Deltamethrin For Tsetse Control On Aquatic Macro-Invertebrates In The Kwando/Linyanti River System, Botswana, Emily Lyczkowski

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

The presence of the tsetse fly has historically been an obstacle to the utilization of the resources of the Okavango Delta and the rest of Northern Botswana. In the late 1990’s, an outbreak of trypanosomiasis in cattle, the disease carried by tsetse, prompted the government of Botswana to implement an aerial spraying operation to eradicate the flies. The broad spectrum pesticide deltamethrin was applied over three months in a Northern block of the delta in 2001 and a southern block in 2002. Post-spray monitoring, carried out by the Henry Oppenheimer Okavango Research Center (HOORC), showed that although the pesticide did …

The Effects Of The Makgadikgadi Wildlife Fence On Cattle Populations And Local Cattle Industry, Jenny Hazelhurst, Elliot Vander Kolk

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

This study was conducted to determine the effects of the erection of the Makgadikgadi wildlife fence along the western border of the Makgadikgadi Pans National Park on cattle populations and livestock owners to the west of the fence. Cattle foraging behavior and movement patterns were recorded using GPS and focal observation methods to determine resource use and pressures affecting the populations. Interviews were also conducted in the area of Meno-a-Kwena camp to examine the effects of the fence on the economics of the local cattle industry. Signs of resource stress were found in the continued selection of poor quality forage, …