Digital Commons Network^™

Local Adaptation Constrains Drought Tolerance In A Tropical Foundation Tree, Kasey E. Barton, Casey Jones, Kyle F. Edwards, Aaron B. Shiels, Tiffany Knight

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

1. Plant species with broad climatic ranges might be more vulnerable to climate change than previously appreciated due to intraspecific variation in climatic stress tolerance. In tropical forests, drought is increasingly frequent and severe, causing widespread declines and altering community dynamics. Yet, little is known about whether foundation tropical trees vary in drought tolerance throughout their distributions, and how intraspecific variation in drought tolerance might contribute to their vulnerability to climate changE.
2. We tested for local adaptation in seedling emergence and establishment with a full-factorial reciprocal transplant experiment including 27 populations and 109,350 seeds along a 3,500 mm precipitation gradient for …

The Undergraduate Student’S Guide To Geometric Morphometrics, Erika Crispo

Open Educational Resources

Embarking on a new research endeavor can be a daunting task. User guides, books, and published articles are written for an audience that already has some background experience in the field. Undergraduate students like you, who are at the very beginning of their research careers, often struggle to make sense of these documents. Furthermore, students like you often attempt to do so while balancing heavy course loads. Thus, I have written this document to help ease the burden so that you have more time to ponder the interesting scientific questions instead of digging through pages upon pages of documentation. I …

Foraging Strategy Plasticity In Fiordland Penguins (Eudyptes Pachyrhynchus): A Stable Isotope Approach, Jeffrey Wayne White

Theses, Dissertations and Capstones

Foraging ecology in the crested penguins (genus: Eudyptes) is an active area of research, with new techniques rapidly increasing our understanding of these charismatic species. The most common techniques to assess foraging ecology include stomach content analysis, fecal DNA analysis, stable isotope analysis, tracking, and video loggers. Here we review dietary research on all 8 taxa within the genus Eudyptes to identify gaps in our current knowledge. However, foraging studies that assess dietary segregation require a method for quickly and accurately sexing penguins in the field. Obvious sexual dimorphism in plumage is largely absent in penguins leaving behavioral cues …

Laboratory Investigation On The Effects Of Conductivity On The Sensitive Early Life Stages Of Fishes From The Appalachian Region, Logan Ryan Beach

Theses, Dissertations and Capstones

While it is known there is a link between land disturbance and elevations in ionic constituents in streams, the relationship between elevated conductivity and aquatic taxa impairment is harder to define. Multiple field studies demonstrating correlations between conductivity and fish or benthic macroinvertebrate communities have not described the mechanisms of impairment and impairment has not been demonstrated with traditional toxicity testing. In an effort to explore more sensitive sub-lethal endpoints for evaluation of instream effects of mining effluent, chronic toxicity testing was conducted on eggs and early life stages of trout species and the fathead minnow, utilizing a simulated mining …

The Effectiveness Of Long-Distance Translocation Of Eastern Diamondback Rattlesnakes (Crotalus Adamanteus), Allison Grace Kelley

Theses, Dissertations and Capstones

Translocations have the potential to aim conservation efforts as well as to reduce mortality caused by human activities. Eastern diamondback rattlesnakes (Crotalus adamanteus, EDB) have a limited ability to adapt to habitat loss and fragmentation due to the species’ slow life history and minimal dispersal ability. Because they are a venomous species, they are viewed as nuisance animals and are often killed on sight. We translocated a cohort of EDBs to investigate the potential of using translocations as a conservation and mitigation tool for this species. In July 2018, we translocated twelve adult eastern diamondback rattlesnakes from Parris …

Eastern Diamondback Rattlesnake (Crotalus Adamanteus) Ambush Site Selection In Coastal Saltwater Marshes, Emily Rebecca Mausteller

Theses, Dissertations and Capstones

The eastern diamondback rattlesnake (Crotalus adamanteus; EDB) is a species of conservation concern associated with the imperiled longleaf pine-grassland ecosystem. The longleaf pine ecosystem is characterized by an open canopy and rich ground cover. Researchers have speculated that the vegetation structure of salt marshes may serve as a surrogate habitat for longleaf pine savannas. Although these marshes have little topography, they provide a heterogeneous landscape with patches of mud flats, sandy hard marsh along upper tidal areas, and salt marsh hummocks throughout. I used radio telemetry to monitor free-ranging EDBs on a South Carolina sea island. The goal of my …

Southern Fox Squirrel (Sciurus Niger Niger) Foraging Behavior And Population Dynamics, John Huang

Theses, Dissertations and Capstones

The change in the interaction between southern fox squirrel (Sciurus niger niger) and eastern gray squirrels (Sciurus carolinensis) provided an opportunity to examine sublethal effects of predation as it relates to a species’ risk perception and habitat structure at two scales. The interactions allowed us to examine the evolutionary responses of the southern fox squirrel and eastern gray squirrel to predation risk reflective of their historically associated landscapes and habitat structures. Second, the succession of savanna woodlands into closed-canopy mixed forest provided an opportunity to assess the flexible behaviors of both species in response to changes …

Effects Of A Neonicotinoid Insecticide On The Growth Of Honey Bee Gut Microbes, Macee Mitchell, Daniel Franzese, Taylor Morales, Shane Lucht, Jesse Steele, Jenifer Walke

2020 Symposium Posters

The gut microbiome plays an essential role in the overall health of organisms. However, the presence and abundance of these microbes may be altered by environmental factors, such as exposure to pesticides. The goals of this project were to understand 1) the prevalence of pesticide residues in honey bees in eastern Washington, and 2) the impact of pesticides to the honey bee gut microbiome. Accordingly, we tested bees from 24 hives among six sites across eastern Washington. High-performance liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (HPLC-MS) was used to detect the presence and concentration of six commonly used agricultural pesticides: Carbaryl, Chlorpyrifos, Coumaphos, Cypermethrin, …

What Makes Bats Special So That They Are Reservoirs For So Many Different Pathogens?, Deion Anderson, Eleanor Gorkovchenko, Nicole Hamada, Carolina Martinez, Lupe Martinez

2020 Symposium Posters

Bats, order Chiroptera, comprise more than 20 percent of all living mammal species with more than 1100 species. Bats are organisms that have high body temperatures and metabolic rates. Therefore, viral adaptation to febrile conditions in the bat host might explain the high reservoir competence that distinguishes these organisms from other mammalian hosts. The purpose of this study is to present a comparative meta-review of the available evidence in order to investigate and identify the reasons or characteristics as to what makes bats special reservoirs for so many different pathogens. Our investigation will not focus on a particular bat species, …

Ungulate Activity: Effects Of Season, Hunting Pressure, And Plant Type, Alex Capone Lopez

2020 Symposium Posters

Quaking Aspen (Populus tremulodies) is considered priority habitat because it supports diverse understory flora and provides critical nesting and foraging habitat for wildlife. Aspen populations in western North America have declined due to fire suppression and browsing. Turnbull National Wildlife Refuge in eastern Washington addressed declining aspen with prescribed burns. However, aspen growth stimulated by burning was offset by browsing, especially by Elk (Cervus elaphus). Increasing elk numbers prompted initiation of a limited hunt to cull and disperse elk off refuge. To address the impact of these management strategies, we used remote video cameras to monitor …

Epochs Of Ecology: The Transition From Feudalism To Capitalism, Jacob Alexander Tucker

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The transition from feudalism to capitalism has undoubtedly been one of the most fruitful and complicated debates amongst economic historians in the 20th and 21st centuries. With the advent of global ecological collapse, there is a necessity to examine and theorize the movement from feudalism to capitalism through the lens of ecology. While in mainstream economics the environment is either entirely dismissed or nature’s role in economics remains subsidiary to the human economy, in the field of Marxian economics, human’s interacting through nature is at the core of the entire theory. For that reason, this thesis takes earnestly Marx’s contributions …

Cellular And Developmental Insights Into The Early Evolution Of Muscle, Jeffrey J. Colgren

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Whereas a great deal has been learned about the molecular underpinnings of morphological evolution in animals, much less is known about the origin of novel cell and tissue types. During the time in which the earliest animal lineages were diversifying, fundamental cell and tissue types, such as muscles, arose. Sponges are one of two animal lineages that lack muscles, yet they undergo coordinated full body contractions. Whereas the signaling processes have been studied, the physical mechanisms of contraction are completely uncharacterized. The main purpose of this work is to understand the primary contractile tissue of the sponge Ephydatia muelleri, …

Land Use Influences Along Elevation Gradient On Macroinvertebrate Communities, Brittany Sprout

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Land use activities have caused disturbances that affect the quality of freshwater ecosystems worldwide. How the influences of land use along an environmental gradient and the associated environmental variables that may influence stream diversity and function is unclear. We address these issues by studying biodiversity, abundance, and functional diversity of macroinvertebrates across different land types along a gradient in Colorado, USA. We also address how diversity may change along an elevation gradient by analyzing previously published macroinvertebrate research. We found evidence that land use and disturbance are stronger explanations of changes in macroinvertebrate communities, rather than elevation. Functional trait patterns …

Integration Of Crop-Livestock Systems: An Opportunity Toprotect Grasslands From Conversion To Cropland In The Us Great Plains, Alexander J. Smart, Daren Redfearn, Robert Mitchell, Tong Wang, Cody Zilverberg, Pete J. Bauman, Justin D. Derner, Julie Walker, Cody Wright

Native Plant Focused Publications

The Great Plains is a mixture of cropland and grassland mainly used for agricultural purposes, with grasslands under continual threat of conversion to cropland. Agriculturists are advocating for the integration of crop-livestock systems (ICLS) to recouple nutrient cycles, improve biodiversity, and increase resilience of agricultural operations. We address the benefits of ICLS in the Great Plains, contending that focus on improving soil health and financial stability of agricultural operations should reduce the conversion of grasslands to cropland. Using US Department of Agriculture National Agricultural Statistics Service Census of Agriculture survey data from the 1925 to 2017 category “cropland used only …

Possible Role Of Breeding Phenology, Brood Size, And Male Parental Care On The Number Of Nesting Attempts By Female Eastern Bluebirds, A Facultatively Multibrooded Species, Michael Daniel Patton

Online Theses and Dissertations

To maximize reproductive output, several species of songbirds attempt to raise two or more broods in a single breeding season. The results of previous studies have revealed much variation among species in the factors that influence the likelihood of female songbirds attempting to raise multiple broods during a breeding season. As such, additional studies are needed to better understand the roles of early breeding, brood sizes, and, especially, male parental care in determining the likelihood of having multiple broods. My objective, therefore, was to examine the possible effects of breeding initiation date, brood size, and male provisioning behavior on the …

A Systematic Review Of Participatory Scenario Planning To Envision Mountain Social-Ecological Systems Futures, Kelly A. Hopping

Human-Environment Systems Research Center Faculty Publications and Presentations

Mountain social-ecological systems (MtSES) provide crucial ecosystem services to over half of humanity. However, populations living in these highly varied regions are now confronted by global change. It is critical that they are able to anticipate change to strategically manage resources and avoid potential conflict. Yet, planning for sustainable, equitable transitions for the future is a daunting task, considering the range of uncertainties and the unique character of MtSES. Participatory scenario planning (PSP) can help MtSES communities by critically reflecting on a wider array of innovative pathways for adaptive transformation. Although the design of effective approaches has been widely discussed, …

A Literature Review Of Horn And Horn-Like Structures In Vertebrates To Correlate Placement To Function, Behavior, And Niche., J T. Cottingham

Biology Papers and Presentations

In this paper, the true horns of bovids are compared to the many horn-like structures found throughout the animal kingdom. Literary sources were reviewed for a variety of horn-like structures. The review was limited to extinct and extant terrestrial vertebrates. 3D models of these organisms' skulls and “horns” were created or acquired and 3D printed at the same scale to illustrate their differences and similarities and to analysis of their comparative size easier between large and small genera.

An Investigation On The Cover Preference Of The Mountain Madtom (Noturus Eleutherus), Mariah Slaughter

Mahurin Honors College Capstone Experience/Thesis Projects

Madtom catfish, members of the genus Noturus, are common in the waters of the Southeastern US. A previous study observed that madtoms in the Green River, Kentucky, preferred to shelter within old mussel shells compared to under or next to rocks. A laboratory study on the Carolina Madtom (Noturus furiosus), found that they did not utilize mussel shells and preferred rocks as cover. I conducted a similar laboratory study to determine which cover options the Mountain Madtoms (Noturus eleutherus) prefer. Cover preference was determined by offering the madtoms shelter options (rocks or mussel shells) in …

Seedling Survival Declines With Increasing Conspecific Density In A Common Temperate Tree, Fiona V. Jevon, Sydne Record, John Grady, Ashley K. Lang, David A. Orwig, Matthew P. Ayres, Jaclyn H. Matthes

Biology Faculty Research and Scholarship

Feedbacks between plants and their soil microbial communities often drive negative density dependence in rare, tropical tree species, but their importance to common, temperate trees remains unclear. Additionally, whether negative density dependence is driven by natural enemies (e.g., soil pathogens) or by high densities of seedlings has rarely been assessed. Density dependence may also depend on seedling size, as smaller and/or younger seedlings may be more susceptible to mortality agents. We monitored seedlings of Quercus rubra, a common, canopy‐dominant temperate tree, to investigate how the density of neighboring adults and seedlings influenced their survival over two years. We assessed …

Social Learning In Solitary Juvenile Sharks, Catarina Vila Pouca, Dennis Heinrich, Charlie Huveneers, Culum Brown

Social Behavior Collection

Social learning can be a shortcut for acquiring locally adaptive information. Animals that live in social groups have better access to social information, but gregarious and nonsocial species are also frequently exposed to social cues. Thus, social learning might simply reflect an animal's general ability to learn rather than an adaptation to social living. Here, we investigated social learning and the effect of frequency of social exposure in nonsocial, juvenile Port Jackson sharks, Heterodontus portusjacksoni. We compared (1) Individual Learners, (2) Sham-Observers, paired with a naïve shark, and (3) Observers, paired with a trained demonstrator, in a novel foraging task. …

The Effects Of Light Level And Temperature On Freshwater Microbial Biomass, Production, Enzyme Activity, And Community Composition, Joel Bonney

Master's Theses and Doctoral Dissertations

Algae can stimulate the production of heterotrophic microbes in periphyton communities, but the synergistic effects of light and temperature on this phenomenon are not well understood and have implications on carbon cycling and energy flow. We employed recirculating mesocosms held at different temperatures and light levels and filled with Typha litter and attached microbes to assess these effects. Heterotrophic microbial production was greater in the presence of light, as were some periphytic enzyme activities. Few response variables increased in a near-linear fashion with ascending temperature, suggesting different temperature optima. The strength of heterotrophic microbial production responses to algal photosynthesis did …

Mapping Floral Resources For Bees Using Drone Imagery, Arya Massarat

HMC Senior Theses

Poor nutrition among modern day honey bee colonies is contributing to their decline. Yet understanding how the diversity and abundance of flowering species around a colony affects its health remains difficult because of the manual labor required to analyze these large foraging landscapes. We describe a procedure for automatically mapping the species of flowering plants around a colony from overlapping drone images. We developed a pipeline for stitching the images together, identifying plants within them, and classifying each plant by its species. The resulting map of the flowering species surrounding a colony could be used in future experiments that aim …

Adaptive Tolerance To Sodium Chloride In Daphnia Magna, Brady P. Parlato, Rick Kopp

Kentucky Journal of Undergraduate Scholarship

Salinity levels of some freshwater systems have been altered by humans, posing a threat to aquatic life. We hypothesized that a Daphnia magna population pre-treated with a low concentration of NaCl would develop greater salinity tolerance than an untreated population. Two Daphnia magna cultures with 60 individuals each were established, one started with 1.00 ppt NaCl and increased by 0.20 ppt weekly, and the other with pure spring water. After 4 weeks, 40 neonates from each culture were individually placed in a solution of 2.30 ppt NaCl (separately determined to be the LC₅₀) for 48 hours. Survival was …

Landscape Genetics Of Salamander Populations At Mammoth Cave National Park, Jackson Resser

Mahurin Honors College Capstone Experience/Thesis Projects

Habitat connectivity affects the distribution of genetic diversity among populations by influencing the movements of individuals and the resulting pattern of gene flow across landscapes. It has become evident that amphibians are experiencing a period of worldwide population declines brought about by environmental change. An understanding of the effects of habitat structure on landscape connectivity is important for developing effective amphibian conservation strategies. The purpose of this study is to investigate the effect of landscape characteristics on gene flow and population structure of the marbled salamander (Ambystoma opacum) in Mammoth Cave National Park, Kentucky, USA. Salamander larvae were …

Rodent Seed Preference Trials Of Ecologically Important Plants In Kentucky, Katelyn Thomason

Mahurin Honors College Capstone Experience/Thesis Projects

Seed predation is an important ecological process that can affect the success of individual plants and plant populations as a whole. However, seed preferences of herbivores have received little detailed attention in comparison to seedling predation studies (Hulme, 1994). In this project I researched how rodents, specifically their seed preferences, affect the recruitment and survival of ecologically important native plants in Western Kentucky. I used traps to catch Peromyscus leucopus (white-footed mice). Once caught, each mouse was placed in a trial arena with seeds from Silphium perfoliatum (cup plant), Baptisia australis (blue false indigo), Silphium lanciniatum (compass plant), and the …

Morphological Correlates Of Auditory Sensitivity In The Inner Ear Of Two Species Of Invasive Carp, Tyler Patty

Mahurin Honors College Capstone Experience/Thesis Projects

Silver (Hypopthalmichthys molitrix) and bighead (H. nobilis) carp, are invasive species that have negative impacts upon ecosystems. H. molitrix is known to jump completely out of the water in response to broadband sounds, however, this is not observed in H. nobilis. Preliminary experiments reveal that sounds can be used to modify the behavior of carps. Thus, understanding the hearing abilities of these species is important in order to design appropriate acoustical deterrents. Fish heads were preserved in 4% paraformaldehyde and the inner ears dissected and photographed under a light microscope in order to describe the …

Use And Partitioning Of Riparian Corridors By Mammalian Carnivores In Rio Mora National Wildlife Refuge, Armando Toral Becker

Regis University Student Publications (comprehensive collection)

Land conversion across the Southwestern U.S. for agricultural and livestock use and prolonged drought conditions cascade to reduce ecosystem function, including habitat provision for wildlife. Arroyo restoration efforts aim to improve wildlife habitat by decreasing soil erosion and enhancing water retention. These hydrologic and geomorphic changes increase the likelihood that wildlife use restored corridors by increasing riparian vegetation cover. Rio Mora National Wildlife Refuge (RMNWR) has restored several arroyos by installing a system of one-rock dams throughout the refuge, but the extent to which mammals prefer restored over unrestored riparian corridors and how habitat structure influences mammalian use and density …

Size And Density Of Upside-Down Jellyfish, Cassiopea Sp., And Their Impact On Benthic Fluxes In A Caribbean Lagoon, Chester B. Zarnoch, Noshin Hossain, Erika Fusco, Mary Alldred, Timothy J. Hoellein, Sophia Perdikaris

School of Global Integrative Studies: Faculty Publications

Anthropogenic disturbances may be increasing jellyfish populations globally. Epibenthic jellyfish are ideal organisms for studying this phenomenon due to their sessile lifestyle, broad geographic distribution, and prevalence in near-shore coastal environments. There are few studies, however, that have documented epibenthic jellyfish abundance and measured their impact on ecological processes in tropical ecosystems. In this study, the density and size of the upside-down jellyfish (Cassiopea spp.) were measured in Codrington Lagoon, Barbuda. A sediment core incubation study, with and without Cassiopea, also was performed to determine their impact on benthic oxygen and nutrient fluxes. Densities of Cassiopea were 24–168 …

Development Of A Novel Cardiac Ischemia-Reperfusion Model In The Axolotl, Jeremy Tolentino Llaniguez

Wayne State University Dissertations

The Center for Disease Control’s National Center for Health Statistics data for mortality from diseases of the heart show the age-adjusted death rate has fallen from almost 600 deaths in the 1950s to just over 190 deaths per 100,000 U.S. residents today. With the recognized limitations of pharmacotherapy of myocardial infarction (MI), cell-based therapies have been undergoing rapid development and clinical testing. However, there is still no consensus about cell types, delivery routes, dosing and treatment schedules and pretreatment conditioning of cells prior to administration. Furthermore, a fundamental question remains unanswered about the reasons for the poor capacity for myocardial …

Gulls As Sources Of Environmental Contamination By Colistin-Resistant Bacteria, Alan B. Franklin, Andrew M. Ramey, Kevin T. Bentler, Nicole L. Barrett, Loredana M. Mccurdy, Christina A. Ahlstrom, Jonas Bonnedahl, Susan A. Shriner, Jeffrey C. Chandler

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

In 2015, the mcr-1 gene was discovered in Escherichia coli in domestic swine in China that conferred resistance to colistin, an antibiotic of last resort used in treating multi-drug resistant bacterial infections in humans. Since then, mcr-1 was found in other human and animal populations, including wild gulls. Because gulls could disseminate the mcr-1 gene, we conducted an experiment to assess whether gulls are readily colonized with mcr-1 positive E. coli, their shedding patterns, transmission among conspecifics, and environmental deposition. Shedding of mcr-1 E. coli by small gull flocks followed a lognormal curve and gulls shed one strain >101 …