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An Evaluation Of Deterrent Methods Utilized To Prevent Crop Raiding By African Elephants (Loxodonta Africana) In The Kasigau Wildlife Corridor, Kenya, Rebecca Lynn Von Hagen

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

Escalating human elephant conflict (HEC) continues to be a contributing factor

towards elephant decline, and crop raiding is the most common form of negative

human-elephant interactions. For communities that cannot reverse or prevent crop

raiding, it is necessary to contain HEC events through deterrent measures. Few

deterrent measures exist that combine practicality and affordability while also

preventing habituation by elephants. This project focused on comparing the efficacy of

deterrent methods to assess which was the most successful at preventing elephants

from entering crops in the farming community of Sasenyi, Kenya. In this paired-control

study, four deterrent methods were evaluated: acacia …

Biotime: A Database Of Biodiversity Time Series For The Anthropocene, Maria Dornelas, Laura H. Antão, Faye Moyes, Amanda E. Bates, Anne E. Magurran, Dušan Adams, Asem A. Akhmetzhanova, Ward Appeltans, José Manuel Adam, Frank P. Day

Biological Sciences Faculty Publications

Motivation: The BioTIME database contains raw data on species identities and abundances in ecological assemblages through time. These data enable users to calculate temporal trends in biodiversity within and amongst assemblages using a broad range of metrics. BioTIME is being developed as a community-led open-source database of biodiversity time series. Our goal is to accelerate and facilitate quantitative analysis of temporal patterns of biodiversity in the Anthropocene.

Main types of variables included: The database contains 8,777,413 species abundance records, from assemblages consistently sampled for a minimum of 2 years, which need not necessarily be consecutive. In addition, the database contains …

Wildlife Translocation, Michael T. Mengak

Wildlife Damage Management Technical Series

Many people enjoy wildlife. It enriches their lives in many ways. Nationwide, Americans spend over $144 billion annually on fishing, hunting, and wildlife-watching activities. However, wildlife is not always welcome in or near homes, buildings, or other property and can cause significant damage or health and safety issues (Figure 1). In one study, 42% of urban residents reported experiencing a wildlife problem during the previous year and more than half of them said their attempts to resolve the problem were unsuccessful. Many people who experience a wildlife conflict prefer to resolve the issue without harming the offending animal. Of the …

Wildlife Carcass Disposal, Stephen M. Vantassel, Mark A. King

Wildlife Damage Management Technical Series

Many wildlife management situations require the disposal of animal carcasses. These can include the lethal removal of wildlife to resolve damage or conflicts, as well as clean-up after mortalities caused by vehicle collisions, disease, oil spills (Figure 1) or other natural disasters. Carcasses must be disposed of properly to protect public sensitivities, the environment, and public health. Improper disposal of carcasses can result in public outrage, site contamination, injury to animals and people, and the attraction of other animals that may lead to wildlife damage issues. Concern over ground water contamination and disease transmission from improper carcass disposal has resulted …

Plants And Their Uses; How Communities Of Tolipir, Pakistan Get Benefit, Abu Ul Hassan Faiz, Mehboob Ul Hassan, Fida Muhammad Khan, Lariab Zahra Faiz, Hina Farooq

Journal of Bioresource Management

The present study documented ethnobotanical uses of 156 plant species belonged to 93 genera and 51 families listed from five villages of Tolipir landscape (Ali Sojhal, Kanchi Kot, Khori Chana, Kahoo Kot and Noor Kot villages). Study revealed that most of the species were used medicinally, leaves found to be the most frequently used part, for preparation of indigenous recipes and fodder purpose. The current study empirically contributes a huge chunk of ethnobotanical knowledge and depicts its strong connection with indigenous traditions. It is an urgent need to document indigenous uses of plants for future domestication.

The Role Of Small Ruminants On Global Climate Change, Alda Lúcia Gomes Monteiro, Amanda Moser Coelho Da Fonseca Faro, Mylena Taborda Piquera Peres, Rafael Batista, Cesar Henrique Espirito Candal Poli, Juan J. Villalba

Wildland Resources Faculty Publications

Global warming, as a consequence of excessive CO2 production mainly due to anthropogenic actions, is one of the main concerns of society due to the effects it can cause in the survival of humans, plants and animals. Several climatic consequences have already been reported, such as warming the oceans and changing biodiversity in various regions of the planet. One of the greenhouse gases responsible for global warming, which causes a lot of concern, is methane gas from digestion of food by ruminants. Besides that, emissions of greenhouse gases are represented also by waste management, rice cultivation, burning of residues from …

Fisheries Bycatch Risk To Marine Megafauna Is Intensified In Lagrangian Coherent Structures, Kylie L. Scales, Elliot L. Hazen, Michael G. Jacox, Frederic Castruccio, Sara M. Maxwell, Rebecca L. Lewison, Steven J. Bograd

Biological Sciences Faculty Publications

Incidental catch of nontarget species (bycatch) is a major barrier to ecological and economic sustainability in marine capture fisheries. Key to mitigating bycatch is an understanding of the habitat requirements of target and nontarget species and the influence of heterogeneity and variability in the dynamic marine environment. While patterns of overlap among marine capture fisheries and habitats of a taxonomically diverse range of marine vertebrates have been reported, a mechanistic understanding of the real-time physical drivers of bycatch events is lacking. Moving from describing patterns toward understanding processes, we apply a Lagrangian analysis to a high-resolution ocean model output to …

The Importance Of Keeping The Big Ones: Harvest Slot Limits And Marine Protected Areas For The Management Of The Caribbean Spiny Lobster, Gayathiri Gnanalingam

Biological Sciences Theses & Dissertations

Fishing typically removes the oldest and/or largest individuals from populations undermining stability and reproductive success. Traditional fisheries management tools fail to protect these oldest and/or largest individuals, but two less conventional tools: marine protected areas (MPAs), and harvest slot limits have the potential to do so. Here I tested the possible use of these tools for the Caribbean spiny lobster, Panulirus argus, an iconic and economically valued species. After decades of intense fishing, the largest lobsters have largely been wiped out. The loss of the largest lobsters is significant as large lobsters have considerably greater reproductive potential than their …

Small Mammals Of Family Muridae In Protected Areas Of Pakistan, Fakhra Nazir, Andleeb Batool, Inayat Ullah Malik, Safdar Ali Shah, Sabiha Shamim

Journal of Bioresource Management

Murids to have more than 1300 species globally, forming the largest mammal group. Murids are found nearly everywhere in the world, though many subfamilies have narrower ranges. Murids are not found in Antarctica and many oceanic islands. Five National Parks from Northern areas of Pakistan were physically surveyed. The parks were studied at different times. Dhirkot National Park (DNP) in February 2008, Banjosa National Park (BJNP) from May to June 2009, Pir Lasura National Park (PLNP) from June to July 2009 and Pir Chanasi National Park (PCNP) from April to May 2010. A total of 6 species belonging to the …

Potential Interaction Analysis Of Offshore Wind Energy Areas And Breeding Avian Species On The Us Mid-Atlantic Coast, Jeri Lynn Wisman

Biological Sciences Theses & Dissertations

Due to increasing US interest in developing wind energy sites in offshore waters, we synthesized existing data on colonial breeding seabird populations with the potential risk of interacting with lease areas in the mid-Atlantic. Previous efforts by BOEM and NOAA have predicted avian density using at-sea survey data; we seek to complement this work by focusing specifically on birds during the critical and energetically demanding breeding life history stage. We combined colony size and location for each species along the mid-Atlantic coast with buffers around the colonies that correlate with the species’ foraging range. We integrated population size, vulnerability to …

Biotime: A Database Of Biodiversity Time Series For The Anthropocene, Maria Dornelas, Laura H. Antão, Faye Moyes, Amanda E. Bates, Anne E. Magurran, Dušan Adam, Asem A. Akhmetzhanova, Ward Appeltans, José Manuel Arcos, Haley Arnold, Narayanan Ayyappan, Gal Badihi, Andrew H. Baird, Miguel Barbosa, Tiago Egydio Barreto, Claus Bässler, Alecia Bellgrove, Jonathan Belmaker, Lisandro Benedetti-Cecchi, Brian J. Bett, Anne D. Bjorkman, Magdalena Błażewicz, Shane A. Blowes, Christopher P. Bloch, Timothy C. Bonebrake, Susan Boyd, Matt Bradford, Andrew J. Brooks, James H. Brown, Helge Bruelheide, Phaedra Budy, Fernando Carvalho, Edward Castañeda-Moya, Chaolun Allen Chen, John F. Chamblee, Tory J. Chase, Laura Siegwart Collier, Sharon K. Collinge, Richard Condit, Elisabeth J. Cooper, J Hans C. Cornelissen, Unai Cotano, Shannan Kyle Crow, Gabriella Damasceno, Claire H. Davies, Robert A. Davis, Frank P. Day, Steven Degraer, Tim S. Doherty, Timothy E. Dunn, Giselda Durigan, J. Emmett Duffy, Dor Edelist, Graham J. Edgar, Robin Elahi, Sarah C. Elmendorf, Anders Enemar, S. K. Morgan Ernest, Rubén Escribano, Marc Estiarte, Brian S. Evans, Tung-Yung Fan, Fabiano Turini Farah, Luiz Loureiro Fernandes, Fábio Z. Farneda, Alessandra Fidelis, Robert Fitt, Anna Maria Fosaa, Geraldo Antonio Daher Correa Franco, Grace E. Frank, William R. Fraser, Hernando García, Roberto Cazzolla Gatti, Or Givan, Elizabeth Gorgone-Barbosa, William A. Gould, Corinna Gries, Gary D. Grossman, Julio R. Gutierréz, Stephen Hale, Mark E. Harmon, John Harte, Gary Haskins, Donald L. Henshaw, Luise Hermanutz, Pamela Hidalgo, Pedro Higuchi, Andrew Hoey, Gert Van Hoey, Annika Hofgaard, Kristen Holeck, Robert D. Hollister, Richard Holmes, Mia Hoogenboom, Chih-Hao Hsieh, Stephen P. Hubbell, Falk Huettmann, Christine L. Huffard, Allen H. Hurlbert, Natália Macedo Ivanauskas, David Janík, Ute Jandt, Anna Jażdżewska, Tore Johannessen, Jill Johnstone, Julia Jones, Faith A. M. Jones, Jungwon Kang, Tasrif Kartawijaya, Erin C. Keeley, Douglas A. Kelt, Rebecca Kinnear, Kari Klanderud, Halvor Knutsen, Christopher C. Koenig, Alessandra R. Kortz, Kamil Král, Linda A. Kuhnz, Chao-Yang Kuo, David J. Kushner, Claire Laguionie-Marchais, Lesley T. Lancaster, Cheol Min Lee, Jonathan S. Lefcheck, Esther Lévesque, David Lightfoot, Francisco Lloret, John D. Lloyd, Adrià López-Baucells, Maite Louzao, Joshua S. Madin, Borgþór Magnússon, Shahar Malamud, Iain Matthews, Kent P. Mcfarland, Brian Mcgill, Diane Mcknight, William O. Mclarney, Jason Meador, Peter L. Meserve, Daniel J. Metcalfe, Christoph F. J. Meyer, Anders Michelsen, Nataliya Milchakova, Tom Moens, Even Moland, Jon Moore, Carolina Mathias Moreira, Jörg Müller, Grace Murphy, Isla H. Myers-Smith, Randall W. Myster, Andrew Naumov, Francis Neat, James A. Nelson, Michael Paul Nelson, Stephen F. Newton, Natalia Norden, Jeffrey C. Oliver, Esben M. Olsen, Vladimir G. Onipchenko, Krzysztof Pabis, Robert J. Pabst, Alain Paquette, Sinta Pardede, David M. Paterson, Raphaël Pélissier, Josep Peñuelas, Alejandro Pérez-Matus, Oscar Pizarro, Francesco Pomati, Eric Post, Herbert H. T. Prins, John C. Priscu, Pieter Provoost, Kathleen L. Prudic, Erkki Pulliainen, B. R. Ramesh, Olivia Mendivil Ramos, Andrew Rassweiler, Jose Eduardo Rebelo, Daniel C. Reed, Peter B. Reich, Suzanne M. Remillard, Anthony J. Richardson, J. Paul Richardson, Itai Van Rijn, Ricardo Rocha, Victor H. Rivera-Monroy, Christian Rixen, Kevin P. Robinson, Ricardo Ribeiro Rodrigues, Denise De Cerqueira Rossa-Feres, Lars Rudstam, Henry Ruhl, Catalina S. Ruz, Erica M. Sampaio, Nancy Rybicki, Andrew Rypel, Sofia Sal, Beatriz Salgado, Flavio A. M. Santos, Ana Paula Savassi-Coutinho, Sara Scanga, Jochen Schmidt, Robert Schooley, Fakhrizal Setiawan, Kwang-Tsao Shao, Gaius R. Shaver, Sally Sherman, Thomas W. Sherry, Jacek Siciński, Caya Sievers, Ana Carolina Da Silva, Fernando Rodrigues Da Silva, Fabio L. Silveira, Jasper Slingsby, Tracey Smart, Sara J. Snell, Nadejda A. Soudzilovskaia, Gabriel B. G. Souza, Flaviana Maluf Souza, Vinícius Castro Souza, Christopher D. Stallings, Rowan Stanforth, Emily H. Stanley, José Mauro Sterza, Maarten Stevens, Rick Stuart-Smith, Yzel Rondon Suarez, Sarah Supp, Jorge Yoshio Tamashiro, Sukmaraharja Tarigan, Gary P. Thiede, Simon Thorn, Anne Tolvanen, Maria Teresa Zugliani Toniato, Ørjan Totland, Robert R. Twilley, Gediminas Vaitkus, Nelson Valdivia, Martha Isabel Vallejo, Thomas J. Valone, Carl Van Colen, Jan Vanaverbeke, Fabio Venturoli, Hans M. Verheye, Marcelo Vianna, Rui P. Vieira, Tomáš Vrška, Con Quang Vu, Lien Van Vu, Robert B. Waide, Conor Waldock, Dave Watts, Sara Webb, Tomasz Wesołowski, Ethan P. White, Claire E. Widdicombe, Dustin Wilgers, Richard Williams, Stefan B. Williams, Mark Williamson, Michael R. Willig, Trevor J. Willis, Sonja Wipf, Kerry D. Woods, Eric J. Woehler, Kyle Zawada, Michael L. Zettler

Research outputs 2014 to 2021

Motivation: The BioTIME database contains raw data on species identities and abundances in ecological assemblages through time. These data enable users to calculate temporal trends in biodiversity within and amongst assemblages using a broad range of metrics. BioTIME is being developed as a community-led open-source database of biodiversity time series. Our goal is to accelerate and facilitate quantitative analysis of temporal patterns of biodiversity in the Anthropocene.

Main types of variables included: The database contains 8,777,413 species abundance records, from assemblages consistently sampled for a minimum of 2 years, which need not necessarily be consecutive. In addition, the database contains …

Review Of Microbuthus With Description Of M. Satyrus Sp. N. (Scorpiones, Buthidae) From Oman And Yemen, Graeme Lowe, František Kovařík, Mark Stockmann, František Šťáhlavský

Euscorpius

The taxonomy of the genus Microbuthus is reviewed, and a new species from Oman and Yemen, M. satyrus sp. n., is described and fully illustrated with color photographs of live and preserved specimens, as well as of its habitat. It is compared to the closely similar species M. litoralis, which we also illustrate. Synonymy of the type species M. pusillus Kraepelin, 1898 with M. litoralis (Pavesi, 1885) is confirmed, and the species is recorded for the first time from Yemen. Hemispermatophores of M. satyrus sp. n., M. gardneri Lowe, 2010, and …

Impact Of Temperature, Plant Species, And Sorghum Cultivar On The Population Dynamics Of Melanaphis Sacchari, Monique Ferreira De Souza

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Sugarcane aphid, Melanaphis sacchari Zehner, is now widely established in sorghum, Sorghum bicolor L., production areas of the United States and is an important economic pest. However, detailed studies of temperature, host range and plant resistance effects on the biology and population parameters of the M. sacchari biotype responsible for the sorghum outbreak in the United States have not been performed previously. Therefore, the present study aimed to investigate: 1) How temperatures affect M. sacchari 2) M. sacchari interaction with host plants 3) M. sacchari interaction with sorghum genotypes. The response of M. sacchari to six different constant temperatures (15, …

Study Of The Visual Adaptation Mechanism In Marine Species With The Change Of Habitation Depth., Demid Osipov, Daniil Moshnikov

The International Student Science Fair 2018

The goal of our work was to determine the principal mechanisms that provide the difference in visual perception of two marine species that live on different depths: T. Pacificus and O. Vulgaris. In nature, visual perception of species that live deeper is shifted towards the blue region. This is related to the fact that red, orange and yellow light is absorbed more strongly by water than the blue light. On the other hand, the visual perception spectrum of an animal is determined by the absorption spectrum of the "light sensor" located in rods and cones of its eye retina. These …

Harvesting Invasive Plants To Reduce Nutrient Loads And Produce Bioenergy: An Assessment Of Great Lakes Coastal Wetlands, Brendan D. Carson, Shane C. Lishawa, Nancy C. Tuchman, Andrew M. Monks, Beth A. Lawrence, Dennis A. Albert

School of Environmental Sustainability: Faculty Publications and Other Works

In Laurentian Great Lakes coastal wetlands (GLCWs), dominant emergent invasive plants are expanding their ranges and compromising the unique habitat and ecosystem service values that these ecosystems provide. Herbiciding and burning to control invasive plants have not been effective in part because neither strategy addresses the most common root cause of invasion, nutrient enrichment. Mechanical harvesting is an alternative approach that removes tissue‐bound phosphorus and nitrogen and can increase wetland plant diversity and aquatic connectivity between wetland and lacustrine systems. In this study, we used data from three years of Great Lakes‐wide wetland plant surveys, published literature, and bioenergy analyses …

Chamaecrista Fasciculata In Tallgrass And Sand Prairies: The Potential For Differential Responses, Robert W. Philips

Theses and Dissertations

Successful establishment of a diversity of native species has become an important goal for restoration site managers to achieve, however as seed sources for a species may occur in habitats with different abiotic and biotic characteristics. Consequently, seeds from different sources may vary in their success in a restoration. Chamaecrista fasciculata, a native prairie species, occurs in two divergent prairie types - tallgrass and sand prairies. Tallgrass prairies have a moist soil with dense vegetation; in contrast, sand prairies have a well-drained sandy soil with sparse vegetation. I propose differential selection acting on populations in these prairie types would affect …

When Does Less Equal More? Assessing The Mechanisms Driving Compensatory Mortality And The Hydra Effect, Joseph T. Neale

Theses and Dissertations

Many populations across taxa are regulated by negative density-dependence, wherein increased population sizes lead to decreased birth rates and/or increased mortality. By releasing such populations from some level of these density-dependent effects, extrinsic mortality can lead to counter-intuitive results, such as no change in population size (compensation), or an increase in population size (overcompensation). These results have been documented experimentally, but there currently exists a dearth of empirical studies exploring the mechanisms behind the phenomenon. We tested the relationship between extrinsic mortality level and (over)compensation in four mosquito species – Aedes aegypti, A. albopictus, A. triseriatus, and Culex pipiens – …

Ecology Of Pilgrimage: Building Socio-Ecological Community On The Way, Peggy L. Eppig

International Journal of Religious Tourism and Pilgrimage

A developed sense of interdependence with the socio-ecological landscapes of pilgrimage can serve as a path for accepting and reducing the impact we have in our sacred travels. Developing ecological habits of mind allows the pilgrim to draw deeper meanings from and thus greater affinity with the natural world. Raising awareness of environmental issues and appreciating the interaction of humans and the natural world helps modern pilgrims play an important role in conservation and restoration of pilgrimage landscapes.

Competition And Coexistence In Plant Communities: Intraspecific Competition Is Stronger Than Interspecific Competition, Peter B. Adler, Danielle Smull, Karen H. Beard, Ryan T. Choi, Tucker J. Furniss, Andrew Kulmatiski, Joan M. Meiners, Andrew T. Tredennick, Kari E. Veblen

Ecology Center Publications

Theory predicts that intraspecific competition should be stronger than interspecific competition for any pair of stably coexisting species, yet previous literature reviews found little support for this pattern. We screened over 5400 publications and identified 39 studies that quantified phenomenological intraspecific and interspecific interactions in terrestrial plant communities. Of the 67% of species pairs in which both intra‐ and interspecific effects were negative (competitive), intraspecific competition was, on average, four to five‐fold stronger than interspecific competition. Of the remaining pairs, 93% featured intraspecific competition and interspecific facilitation, a situation that stabilises coexistence. The difference between intra‐ and interspecific effects tended …

Diel Predator Activity Drives A Dynamic Landscape Of Fear, Michel T. Kohl, Daniel R. Stahler, Matthew C. Metz, James D. Forester, Matthew J. Kauffman, Nathan Varley, P. J. White, Douglas W. Smith, Daniel R. Macnulty

Ecology Center Publications

A “landscape of fear” (LOF) is a map that describes continuous spatial variation in an animal's perception of predation risk. The relief on this map reflects, for example, places that an animal avoids to minimize risk. Although the LOF concept is a potentially unifying theme in ecology that is often invoked to explain the ecological and conservation significance of fear, little is known about the daily dynamics of an LOF. Despite theory and data to the contrary, investigators often assume, implicitly or explicitly, that an LOF is a static consequence of a predator's mere presence within an ecosystem. We tested …

Field Pea Response To Seeding Rate, Depth, And Inoculant In West-Central Nebraska, Strahinja V. Stepanovic, Charles Burr, Julie A. Peterson, Daran Rudnick, Cody F. Creech, Rodrigo Werle

West Central Research and Extension Center, North Platte

Increased market demand and larger adoption of field pea (Pisum sativum L.) in semiarid west-central Nebraska has provided opportunities to replace summer fallow and diversify crop rotations. As a relatively new crop, its response to different seeding practices has not been evaluated in this eco-region. Field pea grain yield response to seeding depth (25, 50, and 75 mm), inoculation with Rhizobium leguminosarum bv. viciae (yes and no rhizobia inoculant), and seeding rates (35, 50, 65, 75, 90, 105, and 120 plants m^–2) was investigated in 2015 and 2016 at five sites in Perkins County, NE. There were …

Different Patterns Of Colonization Of Oxalis Alpina In The Sky Islands Of The Sonoran Desert Via Pollen And Seed Flow, Jessica Pérez‐Alquicira, Stephen G. Weller, César A. Domínguez, Francisco E. Molina-Freaner, Olga V. Tsyusko

Plant and Soil Sciences Faculty Publications

Historical factors such as climatic oscillations during the Pleistocene epoch have dramatically impacted species distributions. Studies of the patterns of genetic structure in angiosperm species using molecular markers with different modes of inheritance contribute to a better understanding of potential differences in colonization and patterns of gene flow via pollen and seeds. These markers may also provide insights into the evolution of reproductive systems in plants. Oxalis alpina is a tetraploid, herbaceous species inhabiting the Sky Island region of the southwestern United States and northern Mexico. Our main objective in this study was to analyze the influence of climatic oscillations …

Effects Of Oil On Mollusk And Crustacean Populations, Behavior, And Predator-Prey Interactions, Elizabeth Marie Robinson

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

The Deepwater Horizon blowout and oil spill in April 2010 released ~5 million barrels of oil into the Gulf of Mexico. Approximately 1,773 km of shoreline was oiled along the northern Gulf of Mexico coast, and ~60% of the oiling ended up on Louisiana salt marsh habitat. The objective of this dissertation was to examine the effects of DWH oil on predator-prey relationships between blue crabs and periwinkle snails, as well as mollusk and blue crab population structure. A broad spatial-temporal field study in Barataria and Terrebonne Bays was used to examine the legacy of oil on five species of …

Anchored Phylogenomics Illuminates The Skipper Butterfly Tree Of Life, Emmanuel F. A. Toussaint, Jesse W. Breinholt, Chandra Earl, Andrew D. Warren, Andrew V. Z. Brower, Masaya Yago, Kelly M. Dexter, Marianne Espeland, Naomi E. Pierce, David J. Lohman, Akito Y. Kawahara

Publications and Research

Background: Butterflies (Papilionoidea) are perhaps the most charismatic insect lineage, yet phylogenetic relationships among them remain incompletely studied and controversial. This is especially true for skippers (Hesperiidae), one of the most species-rich and poorly studied butterfly families.

Methods: To infer a robust phylogenomic hypothesis for Hesperiidae, we sequenced nearly 400 loci using Anchored Hybrid Enrichment and sampled all tribes and more than 120 genera of skippers. Molecular datasets were analyzed using maximum-likelihood, parsimony and coalescent multi-species phylogenetic methods.

Results: All analyses converged on a novel, robust phylogenetic hypothesis for skippers. Different optimality criteria and methodologies recovered almost …

Small Mammals In Cornfields And Associated Peripheral Habitats In Central Nebraska, Tyson J. Spanel, Keith Geluso

Transactions of the Nebraska Academy of Sciences and Affiliated Societies

In the Great Plains, many native grasslands have been converted to agricultural fields during the last two centuries. Peripheral habitats along edges of crop fields generally consist of linear habitats along roads, with many of these habitats used by native fauna. Our study examined capture rates and species composition of small mammals in cornfields, herbaceous roadside ditches, and wooded shelterbelts in central Nebraska. We captured nine species of small mammals. The Prairie Vole (Microtus ochrogaster) and Western Harvest Mouse (Reithrodontomys megalotis) were captured almost exclusively in roadside ditches, the White-footed Deermouse (Peromyscus leucopus) was …

A New Species Of Vaejovis From The Patagonia Mountains, Southern Arizona (Scorpiones: Vaejovidae), Richard F. Ayrey

Euscorpius

A new scorpion species, Vaejovis patagonia sp. nov. is described and placed in the “vorhiesi” group. This small, dark brown species is found near Patagonia, Arizona. It is geographically closest to V. troupi Ayrey & Soleglad, V. grahami Ayrey & Soleglad and V. vorhiesi Stahnke. Those three species are found in a triangle surrounding the Patagonia Mountains, the locality of Vaejovis patagonia. The pedipalp fixed finger has 5 ID denticles and the movable finger has 6, like most, but not all, of the other southern Arizona Vaejovis. Carapace of female is shorter than metasomal segment V.

The Genera Butheolus Simon, 1882 And Xenobuthus Gen. Nov. (Scorpiones: Buthidae) In Oman, Graeme Lowe

Euscorpius

The genus Butheolus Simon, 1882 is revised based on new material from Dhofar Province in Oman. B. gallagheri Vachon, 1980 is redescribed, and a related new species, B. harrisoni sp. n., is also described. The species B. anthracinus (Pocock, 1895) is redescribed and moved to a new genus Xenobuthus gen. n., that is differentiated from Butheolus by size, pedipalp finger dentition, setation, granulation and hemispermatophore structure, and a related new species, X. xanthus sp. n., is also described. Revised diagnoses are provided for the genus Butheolus, and for the species B. …

Microbial Associations Of Four Species Of Algal Symbiont-Bearing Foraminifera From The Florida Reef Tract, Usa, Makenna May Martin

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Marine microbiome research is a rapidly expanding field of study, as scientists investigate the functions of microbial associations in eukaryotic organisms. Foraminifera are among the most abundant shelled organisms in the oceans, yet little is known of their associated microbiomes. This study investigated microbes associated with four species of Foraminifera that host three kinds of algal endosymbionts. The Order Miliolida, Family Soritidae, was represented by three species: Archaias angulatus and Cyclorbiculina compressa, which both host chlorophyte symbionts, and Sorites orbiculus, which hosts dinoflagellate symbionts. The fourth species, Amphistegina gibbosa, belongs to the Order Rotaliida and hosts diatom endosymbionts. Bacterial DNA …

Variation In Mating Dynamics Across Five Species Of Leiobunine Harvestmen (Arachnida: Opliones), Kasey D. Fowler-Finn, Sarah L. Boyer, Raine Ikagawa, Timothy Jeffries, Penelope C. Kahn, Eva M. Larsen, Daniel Lee, Morgan Smeester

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

The Influence Of Dose Of A Plant-Derived Volatile Cue On Arabidopsis Thaliana Resistance Against Insect Herbivores, Sarah Bissmeyer, Grace Freundlich, Christopher Frost

Kentucky Journal of Undergraduate Scholarship

Green leaf volatiles (GLVs) are plant-derived volatile organic compounds (VOCs) known to affect plant-plant communication. Specifically, GLVs can facilitate “priming”, whereby plants initiate a faster and stronger defensive response to a subsequent stress. The stress-induced GLV cis-3-hexenyl acetate (z3HAC) is a known priming cue, yet whether the concentration of the z3HAC affects plant defenses is unknown. Here, we tested the hypothesis that z3HAC concentration of would influence Arabidopsis thaliana resistance against a specialist (Trichoplusia ni) and generalist (Spodoptera exigua) herbivore. Our z3HAC treatments ranged from 0-100 ng/hr, which spanned the …