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Xenophilic Mating Preferences Among Populations Of The Jumping Spider Habronattus Pugillis Griswold, Eileen Hebets, Wayne P. Maddison

Eileen Hebets Publications

Sexual selection is thought to have driven the diversification of courtship behavior and associated ornamentation between geographically isolated populations of the jumping spider Habronattus pugillis Griswold. In an attempt to understand the pathways of sexual selection during this diversification, we conducted reciprocal mating trials between two populations of H. pugillis (Santa Rita [SR] and Atascosa [AT]) that differ in both male courtship display and secondary sexual ornamentation. Observations of mating frequencies show a xenophilic mating preference in which SR females have a stronger response to AT males than to SR males, while AT females show no difference in mating frequency. …

Red Rock Desert Learning Center: The Vision, Red Rock Desert Learning Center

Oliver Ranch Project

To instill stewardship and respect by increasing knowledge and understanding of the Mojave Desert ecosystems and cultures through a unique experiential discovery program.

Summer 2005, Nsu Oceanographic Center

Currents

No abstract provided.

Ecology Of The Missouri River: Missouri River Creel Survey, Bellevue Bridge To Camp Creek, 3 April Through 29 May 2004, Gerald Mestl

Nebraska Game and Parks Commission: White Papers, Conference Presentations, and Manuscripts

The Nebraska Game and Parks Commission's strategic plan has stated the following management goal for the Missouri River: Restore, protect, and maintain the diversity of historic Missouri River habitats, resources, and ecosystem functions in order that present and future generations may enjoy consumptive and non-consumptive outdoor recreational opportunities (NGPC 1996). To accomplish this goal the Nebraska Game and Parks Commission identified the following five objectives: • To restore terrestrial and aquatic floodplain habitat types by 2008. This would include old oxbows, chutes, side channels, sand bars, backwaters, wetlands, and other shallow water habitats. To restore ftows that reflect the natural …

"Sibling Species, Advertisement Calls, And Reproductive Isolation In Frogs Of The Leptodactylus Pentadactylus Species Cluster (Amphibia, Leptodactylidae), W. Ronald Heyer, Rafael O. De Sá, A. Rettig

Biology Faculty Publications

A recent re-evaluation of morphological and advertisement call variation in the large species of frogs of the Leptodactylus pentadactylus cluster discovered more examples of sibling species as defined by Ernst Mayr in his influential book Animal Species and Evolution. All previously documented instances of sibling species in frogs demonstrated advertisement call differentiation consistent with the calls serving as pre-mating isolating mechanisms. However, we find one instance of two species with nondistinguishable adult morphologies as well as nondistinguishable advertisement calls. Presumably, the new instances of sibling species reflect retention of ancestral adult morphologies and advertisement calls. Larval and habitat differentiation appear …

Immune-Endocrine Interactions In The Lizard Sceloporus Undulatus Hyacinthinus: Testing An Assumption Of The Immunocompetence Handicap Hypothesis, Mukta Chakraborty

All-Inclusive List of Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The immunocompetence handicap hypothesis (IHH) was proposed by Folstad and Karter ( 1992) to describe the role of the endocrine system in ensuring honesty of sexual signaling. Numerous studies have investigated the assumptions of the IHH, but currently there is mixed evidential support in favor of the IHH. The first chapter of this thesis is a review examinining these studies, their limitations, and proposed alternative models and future directions. The second chapter of this thesis presents a study in which we experimentally assesss the testosterone immunosuppression assumption in adult male Sceloporus undulatus lizards. We manipulated circulating androgen levels (Day 0) …

Bats Of Jamaica, Hugh H. Genoways, John W. Bickham, Robert J. Baker, Carleton J. Phillips

University of Nebraska State Museum: Mammalogy Papers

The modern history of Jamaica is entwined with European exploration of the New World beginning with the landing of Columbus at Discovery Bay on May 4, 1494, during his second voyage to the Americas. Since that time the word Jamaica has conjured thoughts of tropical beaches, trade winds, pleasant tropical nights, Spaniards, British navy, Empire, sugar, rum, plantations, slavery, revolt, maroons, pirates, Port Royal, disasters, hurricanes, and in more recent years independence, tourism, Reggae, and welcoming and happy residents. Our knowledge of Jamaican natural history begins with Browne (1789). He and other early naturalists displayed a broad interest in plants …

Origin Of The Eumetazoa: Testing Ecological Predictions Of Molecular Clocks Against The Proterozoic Fossil Record, Kevin J. Peterson, Nicholas J. Butterfield

Dartmouth Scholarship

Molecular clocks have the potential to shed light on the timing of early metazoan divergences, but differing algorithms and calibration points yield conspicuously discordant results. We argue here that competing molecular clock hypotheses should be testable in the fossil record, on the principle that fundamentally new grades of animal organization will have ecosystem-wide impacts. Using a set of seven nuclear-encoded protein sequences, we demonstrate the paraphyly of Porifera and calculate sponge/eumetazoan and cnidarian/bilaterian divergence times by using both distance [minimum evolution (ME)] and maximum likelihood (ML) molecular clocks; ME brackets the appearance of Eumetazoa between 634 and 604 Ma, whereas …

Western Rock Lobster Fishery - Ecological Risk Assessment 2005 Report., Mark Burgman

Fisheries Management Papers

The first two parts of the document provide background on the western rock lobster fishery and its governance. The third and fourth parts outline reporting requirements for the Ecologically Sustainable Development process and the specifics of the risk assessment process applied here. These sections are based substantially on reports written earlier by the Department of Fisheries and distributed to participants in the risk assessment process. They have been edited here to include only the details that were pertinent to this risk assessment. Parts 5, 6 and 7 provide the outcomes of the hazard elicitation workshop with stakeholders and the subsequent …

Predator- And Competitor-Induced Plasticity: How Changes In Foraging Morphology Affect Phenotypic Trade-Offs, Rick A. Relyea, Josh R. Auld

Biology Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

A Five-Year Management Strategy For Recreational Fishing On The South Coast Of Western Australia. Final Report, South Coast Recreational Fishing Working Group.

Fisheries Management Papers

The development of this strategy represents a significant step in protecting recreational fishing quality in the South Coast Region and meeting the long-term needs for the sustainable management of recreational fishing. All recommendations contained in this report were made only after careful consideration of the submissions and issues which were raised at public meetings, along with the action needed to be taken to protect the long-term sustainability of our fish stocks.

Grazing Intensity Effects On Northern Plains Mixed-Grass Prairie, Wendi M. Rogers, Donald R. Kirby, Paul E. Nyren, Bob D. Patton, Edward S. Dekeyser

The Prairie Naturalist

We evaluated the effects of long-term (1988 to 2000) grazing on northern mixed-grass prairie at tI.e Central Grasslands Research Extension Center in south-central North Dakota. We did not detect a difference in herbaceous basal cover between grazing intensities following 12 consecutive years of season-long moderate (50% removal of annual above-ground standing crop) and heavy (80% removal of annual above-ground standing crop) grazing. However, both moderate and heavy grazing intensities reduced above-ground herbaceous standing crop, total root biomass, and soil organic carbon. Moderate grazing intensity maintained a greater amount of deep (10 to 20 cm) and total root biomass relative to …

Fisheries Occasional Publication No.21 - Allocation Of The Western Rock Lobster Resource Between User Groups, Department Of Fisheries Western Australia

Fisheries Occasional Publications

In this submission to IFAAC, the Department will outline what it believes are the most practical and cost effective ways of managing a system of allocation amongst the commercial, customary and recreational sectors. This recommendation recognises that cost efficiencies and outcomes will be greatly affected by the type of allocation model that is chosen. Consequently the Department recommends that the allocation system should be based on a single allocation to each sector that is available over the entire fishery.

The Department does not recommend having any finer scale zoning of the allocations, or the creation of exclusive recreational fishing areas. …

Reductionism And Holism, Chance And Selection, Mechanism And Mind, Ursula Goodenough

Biology Faculty Research

Despite its rich and deepening panoply of empirical support, evolutionary theory continues to generate widespread concern. Some of this concern can be attributed to misunderstandings of the original concept, some to unfamiliarity with its current trajectories, and some to strongly held fears that it strips the human of cherished attributes. In this essay I seek to deconstruct such misunderstandings, lift up current concepts of what evolution entails, and address some of the existential issues it generates.

Mammals Of Fort Leavenworth, Kansas: A 60-Year Followup To Brumwell (1951), Clay R. Davis, Frederick B. Stangl Jr., Lynn W. Robbins

The Prairie Naturalist

More than 60 years have elapsed since Brumwell's (1951) comprehensive assessment during 193911940 of resident terrestrial vertebrates from Fort Leavenworth Military Rooervation in northeastern Kansas. Subsequent studies have been accomplished for the amphibians, reptiles, and birds. Our study is the first to assess intervening changes in the mammalian composition of this diverse local fauna. Notable observations include: the decline or extirpation of the black-tailed jackrabbit (Lepus californicus), Franklin's ground squirrel (Spermophilus franklinii), muskrat (Ondatra zibethicus), long-tailed weasel (Mustela frenata) and eastern spotted skunk (Spilogale putorius); the return or recovery of locally extirpated gray fox (Urocyon cinereoargenteus), puma (Puma concolor), and …

Spider Heuristics, Fiona R. Cross, Robert R. Jackson

All Peer-Reviewed Publications

Simple heuristics may help explain how even a spider, despite its minute brain, can be disturbingly intelligent. Hutchinson and Gigerenzer suggest that the generalist-specialist distinction (or more accurately the predictability-unpredictability distinction) may be related to a species' level of reliance on simple heuristics, and spider behaviour may present some especially instructive opportunities for investigating these ideas. Daniel Dennett's distinction between Darwinian, Skinnerian and Popperian animals might be useful for discerning the different contexts in which optimality considerations and individual decision making are relevant. © 2005 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Analyzing The Effects Of Various Sign Types Used By The Bureau Of Land Management For Desert Cleanup And Restoration Projects, Christopher Linehan

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

What is the effectiveness of attempts to curb illegal dumping with prompts on signs posted in the area? Do positive friendly language prompts such as “Restoration in Progress Please Do Not Disturb” generate more positive attitudes and intentions towards illegal dumping problems, than less friendly prompts such as “No Dumping Allowed”?

Results, although inconclusive, did however show a slight trend towards the negative language signs.

Relative Influence Of Landscape Indicators On Macroinvertebrate Communities In A Predominately Forested Watershed: Effects Of Spacial Scale, Robert Johnson

Morehead State Theses and Dissertations

A thesis presented to the faculty of the College of Science and Technology at Morehead State University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Degree of Master of Science by Robert Johnson on May 9, 2005.

Range Expansion By Moose Into Coastal Temperate Rainforests Of British Columbia, Canada, C. T. Darimont, P. C. Paquet, T. E. Reimchen, V. Crichton

Biogeography and Ecological Opportunity Collection

Ranges of species are dynamic and respond to long-term climate change and contemporary effects such as habitat modification. We report here that moose (Alces alces) have recently colonized coastal temperate rainforests of British Columbia, Canada. Contrary to recent publications, field observations of moose and their sign, combined with their occurrence in wolf (Canis lupus) faeces, suggest that moose are now widespread on the coastal mainland and occur on least three islands. Traditional ecological knowledge (information accumulated by aboriginal peoples about their environment) suggests that colonization occurred during the mid 1900s, concomitant with logging of major watersheds that bisect the Coast …

2002 Licensed Angler Survey: Summarized Results, Keith L. Hurley, Kristin L. Duppong-Hurley

Nebraska Game and Parks Commission: White Papers, Conference Presentations, and Manuscripts

On October 22, 2002, 5000 six-page surveys (Appendix 3) were sent to a stratified-random sample of Nebraska anglers drawn from the 2001 licensed anglers database. The database included all anglers who purchased a fishing license in 2001 as well as all lifetime fishing permit holders who purchased their license before or during 2001. The database did not include those possessing a free permit, such as veteran’s or senior citizen permits. The survey subsample (2.6% of the 2001-licensed angler database) was stratified such that the proportions of surveys in the subsample (4366 residents and 634 non-residents) matched the proportions of resident/non-resident …

An Additional Record Of The Ornate Box Turtle From Western South Dakota, Steven G. Platt, Jennifer I. Stover, Edward J. Stover Iii

The Prairie Naturalist

On June 11, 2003, one of us (EJS) found an ornate box turtle crossing BIA Highway 2, approximately 7.2 km north of Sharps Comer on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation in Shannon County, South Dakota. The air temperature at the time of collection was approximately 30°C and the substrate was moist from light rain the previous day. The turtle was an adult female with a straight-line carapace length of 118 mm. Other straight-line measurements were: maximum carapace width = 100 mm; plastron length = 122 mm; maximum plastron width = 82 mm; and maximum shell depth = 64 mm. We …

Fisheries Occasional Paper No. 20 - Management Of Western Rock Lobster Fishery - Advice To Stakeholders - Assessment Of Southern Zone Resource Sustainability Options, Department Of Fisheries, Western Australia

Fisheries Occasional Publications

The management options presented in this paper have been developed in close cooperation with the rock lobster industry to address the short-term sustainability and economic concerns regarding the level of exploitation and its impact on the breeding stock in the southern region. The main focus in the short-term is to consider options that reduce fishing effort during periods that may be economically inefficient to fish and at the same time reduce the level of exploitation.

The management package does not address the serious long-term sustainability or socioeconomic issues (e.g. cost pressures and related fleet capacity) facing the industry. If the …

Macrofungi Of The Tennessee River Gorge, William D. Starrett

Honors Theses

Representative macro fungi of the Tennessee River Gorge were collected on the Tennessee River Gorge Trust (TRGT) property during 18 forays I conducted fom May to November 2004. This dramatically added to the baseline data on the macrofungi of the TRGT by adding 15 orders, 34 families, and 138 species to the existing list. These data were recorded in the herbarium of the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga database. I converted the University's File Maker Pro fungi database into Microsoft Excel and Access, which allows it to be processed for introduction into the National Biological Information Infrastructure and onto the …

A Comparison Of Population Sizes And Number Of Captures For The Desert Woodrat (Neotoma Lepida) In Two Microhabitats In The Las Vegas Wash, Nevada, Jayson Barangan

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Planned removal and eradication of saltcedar in the Las Vegas Wash, Nevada could potentially generate adverse impacts on present desert woodrat (Neotoma lepida) populations inhabiting the area. Consequently, research was conducted investigating population sizes of N. lepida in two distinct microhabitat types, saltcedar (Tamarix sp.) and mesquite/quailbush (Prosopis sp./Atriplex lentiformis). The results of this study will aid in gauging the effects of the changes in vegetation once restoration work is completed and assist with logistical scheduling for implementation of control measures. Mark-recapture field techniques were utilized for data collection from July 2002 to June 2003. Population estimates were calculated using …

Using Geographic Information Systems To Examine Red Wolf Home Range And Habitat Use In The Great Smoky Mountains National Park, Harry Ford Mauney

Masters Theses and Doctoral Dissertations

A Geographic Information System (GIS) analysis was conducted to determine home range and habitat use patterns of the reintroduced red wolf (Canis rufus) in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park (GSMNP). To facilitate this GIS analysis, the original telemetry data was first converted from obsolete file formats into a contemporary database. When spatial movement patterns of animals are analyzed with regard to habitat characteristics, habitat use patterns may be revealed. In order to ascertain gender-based home range and core area size differences, home range and core areas were determined for 16 of 31 red wolf data sets (9 male, 7 …

K-Means Clustering With Multiresolution Peak Detection, Guanshan Yu, Leen-Kiat Soh, Alan B. Bond

Avian Cognition Papers

Clustering is a practical data mining approach of pattern detection. Because of the sensitivity of initial conditions, k-means clustering often suffers from low clustering performance. We present a procedure to refine initial conditions of k-means clustering by analyzing density distributions of a data set before estimating the number of clusters k necessary for the data set, as well as the positions of the initial centroids of the clusters. We demonstrate that this approach indeed improves the accuracy and performance of k-means clustering measured by average intra to interclustering error ratio. This method is applied to the virtual ecology project to …

Attention-Altering Signal Interactions In The Multimodal Courtship Display Of The Wolf Spider Schizocosa Uetzi, Eileen A. Hebets

Eileen Hebets Publications

Complex signals are common throughout the animal kingdom, consisting of one or more signals in one or more sensory modalities presented within a single display. I tested an efficacy-based backup hypothesis of complex signal function using the bimodal courtship signaling wolf spider Schizocosa uetzi. This hypothesis predicts that the visual and vibratory courtship displays function as backups to each other in the presence of environmental variability. I compared mating frequencies across four environmental treatments in which the visual and vibratory environments were manipulated independently in a 2 × 2 design with visual treatments of light/dark (i.e., visual signal present/absent) …

Cattle Utilization Of Forage Kochia (Kochia Prostrata) And Its Relation To Forage Quality And Plant Morphological Characteristics, Burke W. Davenport

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Several experimental lines of forage kochia [Kochia prostrata (L. Shrad.)] have potential to provide taller forage on fall and winter rangelands than the only released variety of forage kochia, Immigrant. This study was conducted to determine differences in cattle utilization among experimental lines of forage kochia and relate them to forage quality and morphological attributes. The utilization of forage kochia was also compared to 'Ladak ' alfalfa [Medicago saliva (L.)] and two entries of winterfat [Krashnennikovia species (Guldenstaedt)]. Cattle utilization was determined by calculating a biomass consumed value and a percent biomass consumed value. Dry weights for …

Effects Of Fire Disturbance On Terrestrial Salamanders In Mixed-Coniferous Forests Of The Klamath/Siskiyou Region Of The Pacific Northwest, Donald J. Major

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

An effective examination of fire disturbance on floral and faunal components requires research that integrates knowledge from multiple disciplines to understand the pattern and process controls affecting organisms in a complex system. However, current fire effects research typically focuses on the pattern response of organisms or their habitats with little integration of the dynamic fire process that created the pattern. This dissertation integrates an analysis of the processes of fire disturbance with terrestrial salamander ecology in a fire-dependent forest ecosystem, Klamath Province, California, USA.

In Chapter 1, I begin with a comprehensive review of disturbance ecology, focusing primarily on fire …

Observed Omnivory In The Herbivorous Blue Tilapia (Oreochromis Aureus), Stephen M. Oliveira Jr.

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Gila seminuda, a native endangered species, and Oreochromis aureus, a nonnative invasive species, share the same habitat in the form of the Reid Gardner Power Plant intake ponds. The purpose of this study is to characterize the feeding habits of Oreochromis aureus within the Reid Gardner Power Plant intake ponds and address the potential predation habits of Oreochromis aureus. Stomach contents of O. aureus were identified and analyzed using chi-square and log-likelihood ratio techniques, with respect to mass, length, girth, gender, or spatial distribution of samples. Results showed omnivorous behavior with a 7.00% predatory/prey relationship, and no difference of feeding …