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Extent Of The 2023 Coral Bleaching Event In The Nargana Region Of Guna Yala, Panama, Brydon Deanna Hollander

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Coral reefs are diverse marine ecosystems that exist in tropical ecosystems all over the world. They provide a myriad of ecological services that are vital for marine organism biodiversity and human coastal communities. A major threat to coral reefs is a rise in sea surface temperature that causes coral bleaching. The effect of a coral bleaching event in Nargana, Guna Yala will be investigated to examine how the health status of coral reef ecosystems are being impacted. To guide these efforts, the extent of coral bleaching will be measured along with whether sea surface temperature (SST), human concentration, and El …

Representations And Realities: Misali Island's Biodiversity In Hybrid Narratives, Justin Ross Whitney

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) are complex organisms that ebb and flow between strict and unyielding conservation doctrines often at the cost of community engagement. Misali Island is different. Conceived and advocated for by community members, this organism has navigated a tumultuous tenure of environmental degradation, periods of high and low funding, and a looming tourism presence. On top of these challenges has been a growing fishing community attempting to share in the bounty of this shockingly biodiverse setting. This study sorts through the grey space of Misali Island by applying a hybrid narrative that interfaces the marine context of the …

The Himalayan Uplift And Evolution Of Aquatic Biodiversity Across Asia: Snowtrout (Cyprininae: Schizothorax) As A Test Case, Binod Regmi, Marlis R. Douglas, Karma Wangchuk, Zachery D. Zbinden, David R. Edds, Singye Tshering, Michael E. Douglas

Biological Sciences Faculty Publications and Presentations

Global biodiversity hotspots are often remote, tectonically active areas undergoing climatic fluctuations, such as the Himalaya Mountains and neighboring Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau (QTP). They provide biogeographic templates upon which endemic biodiversity can be mapped to infer diversification scenarios. Yet, this process can be somewhat opaque for the Himalaya, given substantial data gaps separating eastern and western regions. To help clarify, we evaluated phylogeographic and phylogenetic hypotheses for a widespread fish (Snowtrout: Cyprininae; Schizothorax) by sequencing 1,140 base pair of mtDNA cytochrome-b (cytb) from Central Himalaya samples (Nepal: N = 53; Bhutan: N = 19), augmented with 68 GenBank …

Compensating For Effects Of Autotomy On Locomotion In Stink Bugs (Halyomorpha Halys), Lilian C. Jubb

Longwood Senior Thesis Proposal

Autotomy is the voluntary release of an appendage, typically to avoid predation or entrapment. Autonomy of a single leg can have minimal effects on locomotion in arthropods with more than six legs. Hexapods, however, use a double-tripod gait which is completely disrupted with the loss of a single leg, thus locomotor performance should be greatly reduced leading to lower survival. Autotomy is so costly to locomotion that some insects regenerate a lost limb in a subsequent molt leading to reduced investment in other important functions (e.g. reproduction). Autotomy persists in adult hexapods with no opportunity for regeneration, which suggests some …

Belowground Growth Strategies Of Native And Invasive Rhizomatous Perennial Grasses In Response To Precipitation Variability, Clipping, And Competition, Surendra Bam, Jacqueline P. Ott, Jack Butler, Lan Xu

Natural Resource Management Faculty Publications

Invasive clonal species may exhibit different growth strategies than their native clonal competitors. In this study, we examined the spatial distribution of tiller outgrowth and the bud bank by comparing the investment in phalanx versus guerilla growth of a native and invasive perennial grass in North America. We also examined the efect of altered precipitation frequency, clipping, and competition on their clonal growth strategies. Investment in phalanx and guerilla growth was assessed by examining live propagule and tiller production from the plant crown versus its rhizomes. Although invasive Bromus inermis and native Pascopyrum smithii exhibited similar clonal growth strategies as …

Alfred Russel Wallace Notes 27. When Wallace Broke With Darwin., Charles H. Smith

Faculty/Staff Personal Papers

The year 1866 was the first year Alfred Russel Wallace showed definite signs of breaking with Darwin over the limits of natural selection. Attention is drawn to a July 1866 exchange of letters between the two, and how this foreshadowed what followed.

Limited Accumulation And Persistence Of An Influenza A Virus In Tadpole Snails (Physa Spp.), Paul T. Oesterle, J. Jeffrey Root, Darcy S.O. Mora, Heather Schneider, Alan B. Franklin, Kathryn P. Huyvaert

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Waterfowl infected with avian influenza A viruses (IAVs) shed infectious virus into aquatic environments, providing a mechanism for transmission among waterfowl, while also exposing the entire aquatic ecosystem to the virus. Aquatic invertebrates such as freshwater snails are likely exposed to IAVs in the water column and sediment. Freshwater snails comprise a significant portion of some waterfowl species’ diets, so this trophic interaction may serve as a novel route of IAV transmission. In these experiments, tadpole snails (Physa spp.) were exposed to a low-pathogenicity IAV (H3N8) to determine whether snails can accumulate the virus and, if so, how long virus …

H5n1 Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza Clade 2.3.4.4b In Wild And Domestic Birds: Introductions Into The United States And Reassortments, December 2021–April 2022, Sungsu Youk, Mia Kim Torchetti, Kristina Lantz, Julianna B. Lenoch, Mary Lea Killian, Christina Leyson, Sarah N. Bevins, Krista Dilione, Hon S. Ip, David E. Stallknecht, Rebecca L. Poulson, David L. Suarez, David E. Swayne, Mary J. Pantin-Jackwood

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Highly pathogenic avian influenza viruses (HPAIVs) of the A/goose/Guangdong/1/1996 lineage H5 clade 2.3.4.4b continue to have a devastating effect on domestic and wild birds. Full genome sequence analyses using 1369 H5N1 HPAIVs detected in the United States (U.S.) in wild birds, commercial poultry, and backyard flocks from December 2021 to April 2022, showed three phylogenetically distinct H5N1 virus introductions in the U.S. by wild birds. Unreassorted Eurasian genotypes A1 and A2 entered the Northeast Atlantic states, whereas a genetically distinct A3 genotype was detected in Alaska. The A1 genotype spread westward via wild bird migration and reassorted with North American …

An Inquiry-Based Approach For Teaching Type Iii Functional Responses In Ecology, Jeremy L. Hsu

Biology, Chemistry, and Environmental Sciences Faculty Articles and Research

Maize (also known as corn) has played an important role in human agriculture ever since its domestication by indigenous peoples of Mexico some 10,000 years ago. The crop is now planted across the world, including in China. However, several invasive pests, including the fall armyworm Spodoptera frugiperda, have threatened this crop and lowered yield. Eupeodes corollae, an endemic syrphid hoverfly, has been proposed as a biological control agent. Here, students will explore the antagonistic relationship between S. frugiperda and E. corollae, with both species feeding on larvae of the other species, and learn about type III functional …

The Effects Of Landscape And Yard Features On Mammal Diversity In Residential Yards Within Northwest Arkansas, Usa, Emily P. Johansson, Brett A. Degregorio

Biological Sciences Faculty Publications and Presentations

The human footprint is rapidly expanding, and wildlife habitat is continuously being converted to human residential properties. Surviving wildlife that reside in developing areas are displaced to nearby undeveloped areas. However, some animals can co-exist with humans and acquire the necessary resources (food, water, shelter) within the human environment. This ability to coexist may be particularly true when development is low intensity, as in residential suburban yards. Yards are individually managed “greenspaces” that can provide a range of food (e.g., bird feeders, compost, gardens), water (bird baths and garden ponds), and shelter (e.g., brush-piles, outbuildings) resources and are surrounded by …

South Coast Offshore Crustacean Resource Of Western Australia Harvest Strategy, Department Of Primary Industries And Regional Development, Western Australia

Fisheries Management Papers

Harvest strategies for aquatic resources in Western Australia (WA) that are managed by the Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development (DPIRD, the Department) are formal documents that ensures decision-making processes are consistent with the principles of Ecologically Sustainable Development (ESD; Fletcher 2002) and Ecosystem Based Fisheries Management (EBFM; Fletcher et al. 2012). The objectives of ESD are reflected in the objects of the Fish Resources Management Act 1994 (FRMA) and the Aquatic Resources Management Act 2016 (ARMA), which is anticipated replace the FRMA once enacted. At this point, the Fish Resources Management Regulations 1995 (FRMR) is also anticipated to …

Alpha Diversity And Species Status Of Uneven Forests In Eco-Zones Of Taraba State, Nigeria, Dau Henry Japheth, Joseph A. Ugbe, Jerry I. Alfa

Journal of Bioresource Management

Alpha diversity indices quantify the uncertainty in predicting the species identity of an individual. Quantitative indices on species composition and distribution are vital to understanding the trend and species status of an ecosystem for conservation management. However, among the forest ecosystems in Taraba state, Bakin Dutse and Wasaji uneven forests are one of the least studied areas, especially in terms of tree species status. This research work aims at assessing alpha diversity and species status of selected uneven forests in Taraba state, Nigeria; to provide baseline knowledge for conservation management. In total, 102 tree species from 74 genera and 41 …

Genomic And Transcriptomic Analyses Reveal Polygenic Architecture For Ecologically Important Traits In Aspen (Populus Tremuloides Michx.), Jennifer F. L. Riehl, Christopher T. Cole, Clay J. Marrow, Hilary L. Barker, Carolina Bernhardsson, Kennedy Rubert-Nason, Pär K. Ingvarsson, Richard L. Lindroth

Aspen Bibliography

Intraspecific genetic variations in foundation species such as aspen (Populus tremuloides Michx.) shapes their impact on forest structure and function. Identifying genes underlying ecologically important traits is key to understanding that impact. Previous studies, using single-locus genome-wide association (GWA) analyses to identify candidate genes, have identified fewer genes than anticipated for highly heritable quantitative traits. Mounting evidence suggests that polygenic control of quantitative traits is largely responsible for this "missing heritability" phenomenon. Our research characterized the genetic architecture of 30 ecologically important traits using a common garden of aspect through genomic and transcriptomic analyses. A multilocus association model revealed …

Effects Of Fire On Kangaroo Rats In The San Joaquin Desert Of California, David J. Germano, Lawrence R. Saslaw, Brian L. Cypher, Linda Spiegel

Western North American Naturalist

Fire can alter ecological communities, particularly those that are not fire-adapted, such as desert communities. We examined the effects of fire on rodent communities in the San Joaquin Desert of central California. Of particular interest were the effects on kangaroo rats (Dipodomys spp.) including 2 rare species, the giant kangaroo rat (D. ingens) and the short-nosed kangaroo rat (D. nitratoides brevinasus). Lightning caused multiple fires in arid scrub habitat in western Kern County in 1993. We trapped rodents at 7 sites along paired transects, with one transect in a burned area and one in a …

The First Record Of Orthochirus Glabrifrons (Kraepelin, 1903) (Scorpiones: Buthidae) From The United Arab Emirates, František Kovařík, Ersen A. Yağmur, Alexander Ullrich, Balázs Buzás

Euscorpius

Orthochirus glabrifrons (Kraepelin, 1903) (Scorpiones: Buthidae) was described from Oman (Muscat). Here, we summarize known localities from Oman as well as records from the United Arab Emirates, which is the new country record for this species. Illustrations of morphology of both sexes are given together with a map of distribution. A lectotype of Orthochirus glabrifrons (Kraepelin, 1903) is designated. Paraorthochirus kaspareki Lourenço & Huber, 2000 and Paraorthochirus kinzelbachi Lourenço & Huber, 2000 are synonymized with Orthochirus glabrifrons (Kraepelin, 1903), syn. n.

In Memoriam Rolando Teruel Ochoa (1974 – 2023), Luis F. De Armas, Sheyla Yong

Euscorpius

This is an obituary of Rolando Teruel Ochoa (1974–2023), a great Cuban arachnologist. A full list of his works is appended, as well as a list of scorpions and other arachnids described by Rolando.

The Deep Ecology Movement

The International Journal of Ecopsychology (IJE)

There are two great streams of environmentalism in the latter half of the twentieth century. One stream is reformist, attempting to control some of the worst of the air and water pollution and inefficient land use practices in industrialized nations and to save a few of the remaining pieces of wildlands as "designated wilderness areas." The other stream supports many of the reformist goals but is revolutionary, seeking a new metaphysics, epistemology, cosmology, and environmental ethics of person/planet. This paper is an intellectual archeology of the second of these streams of environmentalism, which I will call deep ecology.

Observations On A 40-Year January Bird Census In Boone County, Nebraska, 1978–2017, Wayne Mollhoff

Zea E-Books Collection

For 40 years Wayne Mollhoff conducted a personal bird census every January. He explains: "After having run several Breeding Bird Survey routes, and participated in several Christmas Bird Counts, I became curious to see what might be found on a winter count under the more tightly controlled parameters of a census, as contrasted with Christmas counts done with variable numbers of observers."

The count was set up similarly to the USGS Breeding Bird Survey routes with 50 stops, one-half mile (800 meters) apart, all birds counted for 3 minutes, with birds counted at one stop not counted again at following …

An Evolutionary Pathway For Coping With Emerging Infectious Disease, Scott Lyell Gardner, Daniel R. Brooks, Walter A. Boeger, Eric P. Hoberg

Zea E-Books Collection

Emerging infectious disease (EID) represents an existential threat to humanity. EIDs are increasing in frequency and impact because of climate change and other human activities. We are losing the battle against EIDs because of improper assessment of the risk of EID. This stems from adherence to a failed paradigm of pathogen-host associations that suggests EIDs ought to be both unpredictable and rare. That, in turn, leads to policies suggesting that crisis response is the best we can do. Real-time and phylogenetic assessments show EIDs to be neither rare nor unpredictable—this is the parasite paradox that shows the failures of the …

Description Of The Adult Male Scorpiops Tongtongi Tang, 2022, With Further Comments On The Genus Scorpiops Peters, 1861 In China (Scorpiones: Scorpiopidae), Victoria Tang

Euscorpius

Adult male Scorpiops tongtongi Tang, 2022 is described based on recently collected specimens, which revealed a strong sexual dimorphism in the pedipalp finger lobe of this species (present in males, absent in females), lending more support to the separation from its geographic neighbors, S. jendeki Kovařík, 1994, S. shidian (Qi et al., 2005), S. zhangshuyuani Ythier, 2019, and S. beccaloniae (Kovařík, 2005). The morphological studies of Chinese Scorpiops are further discussed. A refined mensurational method of Scorpiops pedipalp chela is proposed. Morphological comparisons of both quantitative and qualitative characters for all Scorpiops from Yunnan are provided, along with a dichotomous …

Summer Field Report, June–July 2023, W. Ross Silcock

Nebraska Bird Review

There were no new species for Nebraska. This was also a lean season for records of species with few Nebraska records. Probably most significant were continuing Common Ravens in two Sioux Co locations, and possibly the first summer records of Baird’s Sparrow, a recording of the latter currently under NOURC review.

Within-state breeders nesting at new locations. There were several instances of nesting reported away from known breeding areas. These include documented records of first nesting Black-necked Stilts in Cherry Co, Least Terns off river at Offutt Base Lake in Sarpy Co, Mississippi Kite in Adams Co, Yellow-throated Vireo in …

The Nebraska Bird Review (September 2023) 91(3), Whole Issue

Nebraska Bird Review

Summer Field Report, June–July 2023, by W. Ross Silcock

2023 Limpkin at Crystal Cove Park, Dakota County, NE, by Bill Huser

2022 (34th) Report of the NOU Records Committee, by Mark A. Brogie

Subscription and Organization Information

2022 (34th) Report Of The Nou Records Committee, Mark A. Brogie

Nebraska Bird Review

The functions and methods of the Nebraska Ornithologists’ Union Records Committee (NOURC) are described in its bylaws (NOURC 2010). The committee’s purpose is to provide a procedure for documenting unusual bird sightings and to establish a list of all documented birds for Nebraska. Species for which the NOURC seeks documentation (NOURC Review List) can be found at the NOU website www.NOUbirds.org. Starting in 2020, the NOURC decided to deal mainly with those species deemed as Accidental on the “Official List of the Birds of Nebraska.” Casual species and out-of-range species are now summarized in the “Seasonal Reports” of the …

2023 Limpkin At Crystal Cove Park, Dakota County, Ne, Bill Huser

Nebraska Bird Review

On the morning of October 7, 2023, I observed Nebraska’s second Limpkin (Aramus guarauna) at Crystal Cove Park in South Sioux City, and the bird was subsequently seen by several other observers throughout that afternoon. Photo and video records were obtained (https://ebird.org/checklist/S151656716). The summer and fall of 2023 brought fourteen sightings to Iowa, though it is impossible to determine how many birds were involved (eBird, 2023). One of those sightings occurred in the northwestern part of the state at Bacon Creek Park in Sioux City when a single Limpkin was independently reported by two observers on …

Expanding The Role Of The Temporal Dimension In Ecological Niche Models: A Study On Mexican Montane Small Mammals, Gonzalo E. Pinilla Buitrago

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Ecological niche models (ENMs) are commonly used to estimate the potential geographic distributions of species and have various uses, such as predicting invasive species' potential distribution, assessing vulnerability to climate change, or estimating paleodistributions. However, ENM developments have primarily focused on solving spatially related issues, underemphasizing the temporal dimensionality of occurrence and environmental data collected over the last century. One limitation of ENMs is the common practice of using recent environmental averages that fail to capture the gradual environmental change over the time span of the occurrence records and can hide trends in environmental variables, a critical piece of information …

Remote Sensing Characterization Of Ecosystem Structure And Functional Types To Inform On Biodiversity Conservation In The Lowland Chocó Rainforest, Derek Tesser

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

This dissertation focuses on the utilization of remote sensing techniques to characterize ecosystem structure and functional types to inform on biodiversity conservation. This work is motivated by a guiding hypothesis that increased degradation of tropical forest biodiversity due to human activity results in in measurable changes in ecosystem processes that can be detected using remote sensing technologies. Throughout this dissertation, testing of aspects of this hypothesis involve comparing areas with varying degrees of human-induced degradation in a biodiverse tropical ecoregion, the lowland Chocó rainforest of Ecuador. Remote sensing data is used to evaluate changes in vegetation structure, thermal regimes, and …

Mineral Licks As A Potential Nidus For Parasite Transmission, William J. Severud, Todd M. Kautz, Jerrold L. Belant, Seth A. Moore

Natural Resource Management Faculty Publications

Discrete landscape features can concentrate animals in time and space, leading to non-random interspecific encounters. These encounters have implications for predator-prey interactions, habitat selection, intraspecific competition, and transmission of parasites and other pathogens. The lifecycle of the parasitic nematode Parelaphostrongylus tenuis requires an intermediate host of a terrestrial gastropod. Natural hosts of P. tenuis are whitetailed deer, and an aberrant host of conservation concern is moose, which are susceptible to high levels of mortality as a naive host to the parasite. Intermediate hosts become infected when P. tenuis larvae are shed in deer feces, then consumed or enter the gastropod …

A Lamprey Neural Cell Type Atlas Illuminates The Origins Of The Vertebrate Brain, Francesco Lamanna, Francisca Hervas-Sotomayor, A. Phillip Oel, David Jandzik, Daniel Sobrido-Cameán, Gabriel N. Santos-Durán, Megan L. Martik, Jan Stundl, Stephen A. Green, Thoomke Brüning, Katharina Mößinger, Julia Schmidt, Celine Schneider, Mari Sepp, Florent Murat, Jeramiah J. Smith, Marianne E. Bronner, María Celina Rodicio, Antón Barreiro-Iglesias, Daniel M. Medeiros, Detlev Arendt, Henrik Kaessmann

Markey Cancer Center Faculty Publications

The vertebrate brain emerged more than ~500 million years ago in common evolutionary ancestors. To systematically trace its cellular and molecular origins, we established a spatially resolved cell type atlas of the entire brain of the sea lamprey—a jawless species whose phylogenetic position affords the reconstruction of ancestral vertebrate traits—based on extensive single-cell RNA-seq and in situ sequencing data. Comparisons of this atlas to neural data from the mouse and other jawed vertebrates unveiled various shared features that enabled the reconstruction of cell types, tissue structures and gene expression programs of the ancestral vertebrate brain. However, our analyses also revealed …

Antiviral Susceptibility Of Clade 2.3.4.4b Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza A(H5n1) Viruses Isolated From Birds And Mammals In The United States, 2022, Ha T. Nguyen, Anton Chesnokov, Juan De La Cruz, Philippe Noriel Q. Pascua, Vasiliy P. Mishin, Yunho Jang, Joyce Jones, Han Di, Andrei A. Ivashchenko, Mary Lea Killian, Mia K. Torchetti, Kristina Lantz, David E. Wentworth, Charles T. Davis, Alexandre V. Ivachtchenko, Larisa V. Gubareva

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Clade 2.3.4.4b highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) A(H5N1) viruses that are responsible for devastating outbreaks in birds and mammals pose a potential threat to public health. Here, we evaluated their susceptibility to influenza antivirals. Of 1,015 sequences of HPAI A(H5N1) viruses collected in the United States during 2022, eight viruses (∼0.8%) had a molecular marker of drug resistance to an FDA-approved antiviral: three adamantane-resistant (M2-V27A), four oseltamivir-resistant (NA-H275Y), and one baloxavir-resistant (PA-I38T). Additionally, 31 viruses contained mutations that may reduce susceptibility to inhibitors of neuraminidase (NA) (n = 20) or cap-dependent endonuclease (CEN) (n = 11). A panel of 22 …

Factors Affecting California Grassland Biodiversity: Two Case Studies, Nora Bales

Master's Theses

Biodiversity loss over the last century has been significant and is projected to increase. Biodiversity loss is accelerating due to climate change and habitat loss and degradation. Biodiversity supports key ecosystem services including pollination services, climate regulation, and water filtration. Biodiversity conservation is a top priority for land managers and researchers, however many ecological studies with practical applications lack a thorough understanding of the soil environment in their study system. We conducted two case studies integrating soil and plant data to answer management questions. The first case study investigated the relationship between a threatened plant, Hooveria purpurea var. purpurea and …