Digital Commons Network^™

Alfred Russel Wallace Notes 30. Wallace A Theist? Part I., Charles H. Smith

Faculty/Staff Personal Papers

Alfred Russel Wallace (1823−1913) has been portrayed as a ‘theist’ on a large number of occasions from his own time on to the present. In this, the first of a two part work, this assessment is questioned. In part one, the matter of Wallace’s personal philosophy and spiritual orientation is explored, the conclusion being that Wallace was a lifelong agnostic who can hardly be aligned with theism.

Maneuverability Of Cuttlefish And Squid: An Integrated Kinematic And Hydrodynamic Analysis, Alissa Marie Ganley

Biological Sciences Theses & Dissertations

Turning is important for life underwater, playing roles in predator avoidance, prey capture, locomotion, and communication. While turning abilities have been explored in many taxa, little is known about maneuverability of cephalopods, such as cuttlefishes and squids. The objectives of this dissertation include: (1) quantifying the turning abilities of cuttlefish hatchlings and determining whether there are species-specific differences; (2) examining the turning capabilities of adult cuttlefishes, with the goal of comparing adult performance with that of conspecific hatchlings; and (3) quantifying how adult neritic squids perform turns to provide a broader context of maneuvering strategies in cephalopods. To investigate turning, …

Climate Change-Associated Declines In Water Clarity Impair Feeding By Common Loons, Walter H. Piper, Max R. Glines, Kevin C. Rose

Biology, Chemistry, and Environmental Sciences Faculty Articles and Research

Climate change has myriad impacts on ecosystems, but the mechanisms by which it affects individual species can be difficult to pinpoint. One strategy to discover such mechanisms is to identify a specific ecological factor related to survival or reproduction and determine how that factor is affected by climate. Here we used Landsat imagery to calculate water clarity for 127 lakes in northern Wisconsin from 1995 to 2021 and thus investigate the effect of clarity on the body condition of an aquatic visual predator, the common loon (Gavia immer). In addition, we examined rainfall and temperature as potential predictors …

Ornithofauna Diversity Of Tehsil Pakpattan, Punjab, Pakistan, Muhammad Amir Sial

Journal of Bioresource Management

Tehsil Pakpattan is situated in the Doab region of Punjab, Pakistan, along the Sutlej River. The present study aimed to evaluate the avian biodiversity of Tehsil Pakpattan. The study included the evaluation of species diversity, IUCN Red List status, migratory description, and feeding habits of the bird populations of Tehsil Pakpattan. Regular surveys were conducted at ten different localities in Tehsil Pakpattan, including Islam Colony, Kanipur, Farid Kot, 14 S/P, Chak Khagga, Musewal, 8 S/P, Noorpur, Green Town, and Bonga Niaz Khan, from January 2022 to April 2023. The Shannon‒Wiener diversity index value (R' = 3.41) indicated the notable diversity …

Thermal Ecology And Swimming Performance Of Native Tadpoles Dryophytes Femoralis In Central Florida, Jessalyn Aretz

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Urbanization and climate warming have contributed to global amphibian declines in recent decades. Amphibians are particularly vulnerable to climate and urban-induced warming because their physiological processes are dependent on temperature across all life stages, but few studies have been done on tadpole responses to warming in comparison to adult responses. The study objective was to determine how the thermal ecology and swimming performance of a native Florida tadpole varied with rearing temperature and urban level, and whether these traits are plastic or adaptive. We collected eggs from wild populations of pine woods treefrog (Dryophytes femoralis) tadpoles at an urban and …

Eurasian Aspen (Populus Tremula L.): Central Europe's Keystone Species 'Hiding In Plain Sight', Antonín Kusbach, Jan Šebesta, Robert Hruban, Pavel Peška, Paul C. Rogers

Aspen Bibliography

Knowledge of Eurasian aspen’s (Populus tremula L.) ecological and growth characteristics is of high importance to plant and wildlife community ecology, and noncommercial forest ecosystem services. This research assessed these characteristics, identified aspen’s habitat optimum, and examined causality of its current scarce distribution in central Europe. We analyzed a robust database of field measurements (4,656,130 stands) for forest management planning over 78,000 km² of the Czech territory. Our analysis we used GIS techniques, with basic and multivariate statistics such as general linear models, ordination, and classification. Results describe a species of broad ecological amplitude that has heretofore attracted …

Vigilance And Foraging Behaviors Of Two Sciurid Species Between College Campuses And Urban Environments, Patrick Geyer, Zoe Buffington, Lorelei E. Patrick

SACAD: Scholarly Activities

A comparison between the extent that sciurid specimens display vigilance and foraging behaviors on college campuses against specimens within urban environments. Observations of fox squirrels and western gray squirrels were taken from the Squirrel-Net behavioral database used for this project. We found there was a significant difference between the percent vigilance behaviors and foraging behaviors on college campuses compared to urban environments. This suggests that squirrels residing on college campuses are more desensitized to pedestrian activity and foot traffic compared to squirrels that inhabit urban areas.

Effectiveness Of Frog Skin Secretions Against Uv-B Radiation, Connor Mcgaha, Kinkade Mcmurray, Lee B. Kats

Seaver College Research And Scholarly Achievement Symposium

As an increasing number of their species face possible extinction, amphibian populations have been steadily declining over the past decades (IUCN). While various factors have been suggested or proven to be partially responsible for this reduction, increased ultraviolet B radiation (UVBR) appears to be one of the more prominent explanations, especially when considering the continual thinning of the Earth’s ozone layer due to anthropogenic climate change. However, it has also been discovered that skin secretions, which are reported to function as a component of amphibians’ innate immune systems, may have an effect on UVBR (Cramp and Franklin). With this in …

Materials And Methods Developed For The Recording And Analysis Of Behavior In The Common Marmoset (Callithrix Jacchus)., Christian Wintle

UNO Student Research and Creative Activity Fair

Materials and methods developed for the recording and analysis of behavior in the common marmoset (Callithrix jacchus).

Christian J. Wintle^a, Jordan B. Hernandez^a,b,c, Dobromir Dotov^d, and Jonathan B. Clayton^a,b,e,f,g

^aDepartment of Biology, University of Nebraska at Omaha, Omaha, NE, USA

^bNebraska Food for Health Center, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, Lincoln, NE, USA

^cDepartment of Genetics, Cell Biology, and Anatomy, University of Nebraska Medical Center, NE, USA

^dDepartment of Biomechanics, University of Nebraska at Omaha, Omaha, NE, USA

^eDepartment of Food Science and Technology, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, Lincoln, …

Interior Least Terns (Sternula Antillarum Athalassos) In A Landscape Of Fear: Explaining Predator Frequency On Sandbars Using Habitat Features, Carice N. Kimbrell

ATU Theses and Dissertations 2021 - Present

Causes of colony failure in interior least terns (Sternula antillarum athalassos) have been a prevalent topic for researchers investigating this previously endangered species. In Arkansas, these colonies are primarily located on sandbars formed along the McClellan-Kerr Arkansas River Navigation System. Reduction in nesting site quality may put this sensitive species at a greater risk for predator encounters. In my first chapter, I identified which sandbar characteristics resulted in higher frequencies of predator encounters at interior least tern colonies. In my second chapter, I investigated how those predators influenced colony production and whether interior least tern colonies exhibited similar …

Species Delimitation Of Slimy Salamanders, Plethodon Kisatchie And Plethodon Mississippi, Across The Lower Mississippi River, Brock Hunter Stevenson

Master's Theses

Species are fundamental units of biodiversity yet delimiting species can be challenging. Slimy Salamanders of the Plethodon glutinosus species complex are a classic example of cryptic species for which species boundaries and relationships have proved difficult to determine. Once thought to be a single species ranging across the eastern United States, protein analysis revealed high genetic divergences among geographically distinct groups of populations, leading to 16 species being recognized within the group. Two of these species, the Louisiana Slimy Salamander (Plethodon kisatchie) and the Mississippi Slimy Salamander (Plethodon mississippi), are closely related but occur on opposite sides of the Mississippi …

The Nebraska Bird Review (March 2024) 92(1), Whole Issue

Nebraska Bird Review

Winter Field Report, December 2023–February 2024, by W. Ross Silcock

Birds and the People They Were Named For

Annual Color Photo Section

2023–2024 Christmas Bird Counts, by Don Paseka

Annual Treasurer’s Report for 2023, by Jan Johnson

Subscription and Organization Information

Nebraska Ornithologists' Union Treasurer's Report, December 31, 2023, Jan Johnson

Nebraska Bird Review

No abstract provided.

Annual Color Photo Section

Nebraska Bird Review

Annual color photograph section (the first six pages show examples of this year’s theme: species whose common names include the names of people):

Cassin’s Finch
Cassin’s Kingbird
Steller’s Jay
Cooper’s Hawk
Baird’s Sandpiper
Baird’s Sparrow
Bullock’s Oriole
Hybrid Baltimore × Bullock’s Oriole
Clark’s Grebes
Sprague’s Pipit
Forster’s Tern
Brewer’s Sparrow
Nelson’s Sparrow
Swainson’s Hawk
Swainson’s Thrush
Clark’s Nutcracker
Ross’s Goose
Sabine’s Gull
LeConte’s Sparrow
Harris’s Sparrow
Henslow’s Sparrow
Townsend’s Solitaire
Wilson’s Warbler
Wilson’s Snipe
Lincoln’s Sparrow
Wilson’s Phalarope
Franklin’s Gulls
Pine Grosbeak
Bald Eagle
Pine Siskin
Piping Plover
Ovenbird
Blackheaded Grosbeak
Red Crossbill
Ash-throated Flycatcher
Long-eared Owl
Horned Grebes

Anthrenus (Anthrenus) Muehlei, A New Species (Coleoptera: Dermestidae: Megatominae) From Iran, Graham J. Holloway, Andreas Herrmann

Insecta Mundi

A new species, Anthrenus muehlei Holloway and Herrmann (Coleoptera: Dermestidae: Megatominae), from Iran is described. Images of internal and external features are presented. Only female specimens were found and described, but the bursa copulatrix contains obvious sclerites enabling easy differentiation from all other known species from the Palaearctic A. pimpinellae complex. The possible function and taxonomic implication of the sclerites is mentioned.

ZooBank registration. urn:lsid:zoobank.org:pub:97661C20-803E-4785-A4B0-58B16C94D9A2

Birds And The People They Were Named For

Nebraska Bird Review

This year the theme for our color photo section was birds named for people. For the purposes of our selections, we looked only at the common names of birds, although some species also reflect the names of people in their scientific names. Many species are named for people, but photos of the ones listed here are on the first six pages of this year’s color section.

Baird’s Sandpiper, Baird’s Sparrow Spencer Fullerton Baird (1823-1887) was the first curator and later secretary of the Smithsonian Institution and was instrumental in expanding the Institution’s natural history collections. John James Audubon named the …

Winter Field Report, December 2023–February 2024, W. Ross Silcock

Nebraska Bird Review

As was the case for winter 2022–2023, the big general story was the large number of reports of tardy fall migrants and unexpectedly northerly occurrences in midwinter, an apparent residue of relatively mild early winter temperatures. These reports involved at least 50 species, many of them waterbirds and native sparrows, but including several other passerines as well. Notable were about 12 waterfowl species, five grebe species, an interesting late Dec peak in each of the last three years of Sandhill Cranes, record late Whooping Cranes, a 4th winter record of Dunlin, high numbers of Double-crested Cormorants, a wintering Rock Wren, …

2023–2024 Christmas Bird Counts, Don Paseka

Nebraska Bird Review

With the resurrection of the Kearney count, twenty CBCs [Christmas Bird Counts] were run in the 2023–2024 season. This is four more than last year and one more than the previous high number of nineteen from 2021. Although the Crawford, Harrison, and Scottsbluff counts were postponed because of snow, the weather on count days was mild with an average high of 43°F and an average low of 27°F, resulting in mostly open water. Rain and mud eliminated access to several normally productive areas of the Harlan County count which still produced the highest number of species (94). Lake McConaughy produced …

Fisheries Occasional Publication No.146 - Yabbie Aquaculture In Western Australia, March 2024, Department Of Primary Industries And Regional Development, Western Australia

Fisheries Occasional Publications

Policy relating to the assessment of yabbie aquaculture proposals and principles for assessment

Microplastics In Atlantic Ribbed Mussels (Geukensia Demissa) From The Delaware Inland Bays, Usa, Jeffrey Ashley, Amanda Pilat, Ariana Ohlweiler, Connor Ogden, Priya Modi, Spencer Talbot, Caya Smith, Justin O'Pella, Gulnihal Ozbay

Student Papers, Posters & Projects

Due to the prevalence of plastic pollution in coastal ecosystems, aquatic organisms are at high risk for accumulating microplastics (MPs). Filter-feeding bivalves, such as mussels and oysters, may be exposed to, and subsequently accumulate, MPs due to the high volume of water they pass through their bodies. This study assessed the levels of MPs within Atlantic ribbed mussels (Geukensia demissa), a common filter feeder found along the United States Atlantic Coast, from 12 sites within Rehoboth Bay, Indian River Bay, and Little Assawoman Bay, collectively known as the Delaware Inland Bays. Composited mussels from each site were digested using potassium …

Pollinator Communities And Their Ecosystem Services At Conservation Grasslands And Adjacent Croplands, Araceli Gomez Villegas

Department of Entomology: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Pollinators are intrinsically linked to the success of unmanaged and managed ecosystems by providing pollination services that aid in the reproduction of wildflowers and many crops. Land use change, habitat loss, fragmentation, and related landscape-level phenomena (for example, increased pesticide exposure) threaten pollinators and have been associated with population declines. In the Midwestern region of the United States, land conversion of native prairies and grasslands to row-crop agriculture has been one of the largest contributors to pollinator habitat loss. Conservation programs, such as the Conservation Reserve Program, have worked towards removing environmentally sensitive lands from agriculture production and enrolling them …

Effects Of Anthropogenic Noise On The Provisioning Behavior Of Western Bluebirds And Artificial Light At Night On Nestling Development, Kerstin H. Ozkan

Master's Theses

Sensory environments are rapidly changing due to increased human activity in urban and non-urban areas alike. For instance, background sounds can interfere with parent-offspring communication and mask cues reflective of predation risk, resulting in elevated vigilance at the cost of provisioning. In chapter 1, we studied nestling provisioning behavior among Western Bluebirds (Sialia mexicana) in response to short-term (1 hr) and long-term (continuous exposure throughout nesting period) noise exposure. Provisioning rates were lower at nests exposed to short-term experimental traffic noise compared to exposure to ambient background sounds. Trial order strongly influenced provisioning behavior, with the decline in …

Assessing Biological Condition Of Restored Streams In An Agriculturally Impaired Chesapeake Bay Sub-Watershed, Julia M. Portmann, Bruce Wiggins

Department of Biology - Faculty Scholarship

Intensive agricultural practices can be detrimental to aquatic biological conditions; however, restoration such as removing livestock and creating in-stream habitat can strengthen biotic communities. Smith Creek, a sub-watershed of the Chesa- peake Bay, was designated a showcase watershed in 2010 by the United States Department of Agriculture to demonstrate the efficacy of widespread restoration. Our study sought to follow up on these efforts by assessing the individual and combined impacts of restoration, habitat, and land cover on aquatic macroinvertebrate communities in Smith Creek. We predicted that longer-restored sites, sites with less surrounding pasture, and streams with larger substrate size would …

Reproductive Biology Of The Jellyfish Outbreak Along The Uae Coastal Waters, Amrutha Aravind

Dissertations

Jellyfish are a ubiquitous occurrence in the world’s oceans. During the past decades, dramatic spatial increases and temporal shifts in jellyfish distributions have been reported around the world. The United Arab Emirates (UAE) coastal area also has experienced several blooms along with severe adverse impacts on its economic facilities. Few studies have been conducted within the Arabian Gulf and the Sea of Oman, to identify the blooming species and the environmental parameters that favor such breakouts. The present study aimed to identify the jellyfish species found along the coastal area of UAE and trying to link their occurrence with seasonal …

In Memoriam Richard F. Ayrey (1948 – 2024), Melinda Deboer-Ayrey, Brandon T. Myers, Robert W. Bryson, Jr., Michael M. Webber, Matthew R. Graham, Graeme Lowe, Victor Fet, František Kovařík

Euscorpius

This is a memorial issue honoring Richard F. Ayrey (1948 – 2024), a US scorpiologist. A full list of his 26 works is appended, as well as a list of scorpion taxa described by Richard (two genera and 19 species of Vaejovidae), and a map of their type localities in the USA and Mexico.

Lichen Ecosystem Services And A Study From The Nj Pine Barrens, Gregory Turner

Sustainability Research & Practice Seminar Presentations

Professor Greg Turner of the WCU Biology Department presents Lichen Ecosystem Services and a Study from the New Jersey Pine Barrens.

Resolution Of Respect: Conrad Alan Istock (1936–2023), Steven Hecht Orzack, Julia Bell, Judith Bronstein, William Etges, Shripad Tuljakpurkar

Biological Sciences Faculty Publications and Presentations

Conrad Istock was an important contributor to the emerging field of evolutionary ecology starting in the 1960s. His best-known work in this area blended theory and field and laboratory studies of pitcher-plant mosquitoes. Conrad died March 8, 2023, in Ithaca, New York, USA.

Exploring The Swimming Behavior Of A Hydromechanical Copepod In The Context Of Positive Density Dependence, Eva J. Muir

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation investigates the swimming behavior and population dynamics of the marine copepod, Acartia tonsa. This copepod is of interest as it utilizes hydromechanical signals within the environment to navigate its surroundings, resulting in a distinctive hop/sink swimming pattern. This adaptive trait serves several purposes including searching for mates, obtaining food, and detecting predators, however the evolution of this unique swimming style has not been explored. To address this knowledge gap, the first chapter of this dissertation explores the swimming characteristics and escape responses of captive-reared and wild-caught A. tonsa. When reared in aquaculture, A. tonsa populations experience higher populations …

I Spy: Factors Influencing The Observation Of Oxytetracycline In Calcified Structures Of Fishes Viewed Using Standard Light And Fluorescence Microscopy, Meredith B. Pfennig, Derek P. Crane, Nate G. Smith, Dave L. Buckmeier

Biology

The antibiotic oxytetracycline (OTC) is a fluorochrome marker, and fluorescence microscopy is used to view OTC marks in fishes' calcified structures. However, OTC marks have been observed in calcified structures using standard light microscopy for multiple species. Therefore, we conducted an experiment to investigate potential factors (i.e., season, total length of fish, growth rate, and sex) influencing the observation of OTC in calcified structures (otoliths and fin rays or spines) from channel catfish Ictalurus punctatus, gray redhorse Moxostoma congestum, Guadalupe bass Mircopterus treculii, and redbreast sunfish Lepomis auritus viewed using standard light and fluorescence microscopy. OTC stains were not observed …

Revision Of The Genus Olivierus In Xinjiang, China, With Comments On Mesobuthus Thersites (Scorpiones: Buthidae), Victoria Tang, Zhenbang Liu, Matthew R. Graham, Victor Fet, František Kovařík, František Šťáhlavský

Euscorpius

The genus Olivierus Farzanpay, 1987 in Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, China, is revised based on recently collected topotypes and other populations from 12 localities. Brief differential diagnoses are provided, with colored illustrations and photos in vivo habitus, emphasizing the key characters. Chinese appellations, conservation status, and documentation of behavior and post-envenomation symptoms are also included. Only two species are now recognized for this genus in Xinjiang: O. longichelus (Sun & Zhu, 2010) and O. przewalskii (Birula, 1897), based on both morphological and molecular evidence. The two species exhibit extensive distribution in Xinjiang (China) while also occurring in adjacent countries. Three …