Digital Commons Network^™

Phylogenetic Utility Of Mitochondrial And Nuclear Genes: A Case Study In The Diptera (True Flies), Jason Caravas

Wayne State University Dissertations

The value of mitochondrial versus nuclear gene sequence data in phylogenetic analysis has received much attention without yielding definitive conclusions. Theoretical arguments and empirical data suggest a lower phylogenetic utility than equivalent nuclear gene sequences, but there are also many examples of important progress made using mitochondrial sequences. We therefore undertook a systematic performance analysis of mitochondrial and nuclear sequence partitions taken from a representative sample of dipteran species. For phylogenetic tree reconstruction, mitochondrial genes performed generally inferior to nuclear genes. However, the mitochondrial genes resolved branches for which nuclear genes failed. Moreover, the combined use of mitochondrial and nuclear …

Evaluation Of Elevated Bait Trays For Attracting Blackbirds (Icteridae) In Central North Dakota, George M. Linz, Jamison B. Winter, William J. Bleier

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Sunflower (Helianthus annuus L.) became an economically important crop in North Dakota in the 1970s, providing a major source of food for post-breeding blackbirds (Icteridae). Reducing local blackbird populations with rice grains treated with an avicide is one proposed alternative for reducing sunflower damage. In fall 2007 and 2008, we evaluated the idea of attracting blackbirds to rice-baited trays attached to wire cages supplied with live blackbirds. During our observations (1011 h), we saw 3888 birds, consisting of 25 species and 12 families, on the bait trays. Blackbirds made up 90.4% of the bird observations, whereas sparrows (Emberizidae) made …

Effects Of Hydrologic Connection On Physicochemical Conditions And Algal Properties In Backwaters Of The Lower Mississippi River, Orathai Pongruktham

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

In the last 50-100 years, the Mississippi River has been extensively engineered for flood control and navigation purposes. These modifications have substantially decreased the frequency of flooding and degree of contact of the river with its historical floodplain. However, in many areas within the current levee system there remain numerous secondary channels and other backwater sites with which the river is hydrologically connected on a seasonal basis. In this study, the relationships of surface hydrologic connection with the main channel of the Lower Mississippi River to limnological properties and development of phytoplankton biomass in three backwater sites having different patterns …

Annual Variation In Timing, Orientation And Effects Of Weather On Jefferson Salamander (Ambystoma Jeffersonianum) And Spotted Salamander (Ambystoma Maculatum) Movements In Central Kentucky, Christopher James St. Andre

Online Theses and Dissertations

Annual variation in temporal and spatial patterns of amphibian migration and dispersal are poorly understood. To address this issue, a circular drift fence was installed around an ephemeral pond at the Central Kentucky Wildlife Management Area, Madison County, Kentucky. The pond was checked daily for salamander movements from 17 January 2010 to 26 September 2010 and from 26 January 2011 to 3 August 2011, which corresponded to the activity season. Weather variables examined in relation to amphibian movements included barometric pressure, cumulative precipitation, temperature and relative humidity. Several species used the ephemeral pond during the study but few successfully reproduced. …

Forest Dynamics Of Two Multi-Aged Hemlock-Mixed Mesophytic Forests In The Northern Cumberland Plateau, Kentucky, Kacie Lee Tackett

Online Theses and Dissertations

Tsuga canadensis (eastern hemlock) is a foundation species that performs a unique ecological role within the Appalachian mixed mesophytic forest of the eastern United States. However, the non-native hemlock woolly adelgid (HWA; Adelges tsugae Annand), a novel invasive colonizer, is significantly altering the natural processes within T. canadensis ecosystems. Few studies have documented T. canadensis forests before, during, and after HWA infestation. This study documented the pre-HWA conditions of two old hemlock-mixed mesophytic forests in eastern Kentucky by examining the composition, T. canadensis crown health, stand structure, age structure, and disturbance history. Rock Creek Research Natural Area (RCRNA) is a …

A Dietary Study Of Big Brown (Eptesicus Fuscus) And Northern Bats (Myotis Septentrionalis) In Western Kentucky, Sarah Elizabeth Asher

Online Theses and Dissertations

Knowledge is lacking regarding the dietary habits of northern (Myotis septentrionalis) and big brown bats (Eptesicus fuscus) in Kentucky. The objective of this study was to determine the prey items consumed by both species at three sites in western Kentucky. Totals of 103 fecal pellet samples from northern bats and 36 fecal pellet samples from big brown bats were collected in 2003 and 2004. Overall prey items found within the samples collected for both species indicated their diets were similar (Sorensen's coefficient; S_S= 0.72); with the most common insect orders being Coleoptera, Lepidoptera, and …

Four-Toed Salamander (Hemidactylium Scutatum) Nest Site Characteristics In Natural And Constructed Wetlands In Eastern Kentucky, Susan Kay King

Online Theses and Dissertations

Forested freshwater wetlands have undergone loss and alteration more than other types of wetlands. Wetland creation has slowed wetland losses, but many created wetlands do not functionally replace natural wetlands. Plant and animal communities and wetland drying cycles often differ between natural and constructed wetlands. It is important to understand what specific habitat characteristics differ between natural and constructed wetlands and what impact these differences might have on the animal assemblages. Having restrictive habitat requirements makes the four-toed salamander a good candidate for study. The objectives of this study were to understand four-toed salamander (Hemidactylium scutatum) nesting ecology …

The Influence Of Tail Autotomy On Avoidance Of Chemical Alarm Cues In Northern Zigzag Salamanders, Plethodon Dorsalis, Ivan Thomas Moberly

Online Theses and Dissertations

The morphology and behavior of most species are influenced by predator-prey interactions. To avoid microhabitats that pose an increased predation risk salamanders may use predator avoidance. Salamanders detect chemical alarm cues via the vomeronasal organ and their avoidance of the chemical cues is based upon the apparent associated risk. The objective of this study was to better understand predator avoidance by means of chemical alarm cues in northern zigzag salamanders, Plethodon dorsalis. Adult salamanders were placed into Petri dishes with a choice between treated substrate (filter paper treated with chemical cues) or untreated substrate (filter paper treated with distilled water). …

Space Use And Habitat Selection By Bobcats In Southeastern Kentucky, Andrea Joy Shipley

Online Theses and Dissertations

Population estimation and trend analyses are critically important for sustainable harvest and management of many species. The bobcat (Lynx rufus) plays important ecological and economic roles in Kentucky as a furbearer and mesopredator. I conducted a study of the bobcat in southeastern Kentucky as a twenty year follow-up to research conducted in the same study area. I radio-collared five (4F, 1M) bobcats and assessed space and habitat use patterns. Mean annual minimum convex polygon (MCP) home range size for all bobcats was 14.7 km2 (n = 5, SE = 3.9 km2), and 22.2 km2 (n = 5, SE = 7.5 …

Do Clark’S Nutcrackers Demonstrate What-Where-When Memory On A Cache-Recovery Task?, Kristy L. Gould, Amy J. Ort, Alan C. Kamil

Avian Cognition Papers

What-where-when (WWW) memory during cache recovery was investigated in six Clark’s nutcrackers. During caching, both red- and blue-colored pine seeds were cached by the birds in holes filled with sand. Either a short (3 day) retention interval (RI) or a long (9 day) RI was followed by a recovery session during which caches were replaced with either a single seed or wooden bead depending upon the color of the cache and length of the retention interval. Knowledge of what was in the cache (seed or bead), where it was located, and when the cache had been made (3 or 9 …

Eavesdropping Parasitoids Do Not Cause The Evolution Of Less Conspicuous Signaling Behavior In A Field Cricket, Oliver M. Beckers, William E. Wagner

School of Biological Sciences: Faculty Publications

Males of many species produce conspicuous mating signals to attract females, but these signals can also attract eavesdropping predators and parasites. Males are thus expected to evolve signaling behaviors that balance the sexual selection benefits and the natural selection costs. In the variable field cricket, Gryllus lineaticeps, males sing to attract females, but these songs also attract the lethal parasitoid fly Ormia ochracea. The flies use male crickets as hosts for their larvae, primarily search for hosts during a 2 h period following sunset and prefer the same song types as female crickets. We tested whether males from high-risk populations …

Larval Performance And Kill Rate Of Convergent Ladybird Beetles, Hippodamia Convergens, On Black Bean Aphids, Aphis Fabae, And Pea Aphids, Acyrthosiphon Pisum, Travis M. Hinkelman, Brigitte Tenhumberg

School of Biological Sciences: Faculty Publications

Generalist predator guilds play a prominent role in structuring insect communities and can contribute to limiting population sizes of insect pest species. A consequence of dietary breadth, particularly in predatory insects, is the inclusion of low-quality, or even toxic, prey items in the predator’s diet. Consumption of low-quality prey items reduces growth, development, and survival of predator larvae, thereby reducing the population sizes of generalist predators. The objective of this paper was to examine the effect of a suspected low-quality aphid species, Aphis fabae (Scopoli) (Hemiptera: Aphididae), on the larval performance of an abundant North American predator, Hippodamia convergens (Guérin-Méneville) …

Ramphotyphlops Braminus (Brahminy Blindsnake): Predation, Louis A. Somma

Papers in Herpetology

Ramphotyphlops braminus currently has the most widespread, near worldwide, nonindigenous distribution of any snake. In Florida, USA, R. braminus is rapidly expanding its distribution.

The stomach contents of a necropsied Dasypus novemcinctus (nine-banded armadillo) found on the premises of the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services in Gaisesville in March 2011 included an intact adult R. braminus. Dasypus novemcinctus is nonindigenous in Florida. It has a primarily insectivorous diet but occasionally preys upon small vertebrates, including reptiles. This is the first record of R. braminus in the diet of D. novemcinctus.

A New Genus And Species Of Lungworm (Nemata: Metastrongyloidea) From Akodon Mollis Thomas, 1894 (Rodentia: Cricetidae) In Peru, Maria Elizabeth Morales, Scott Lyell Gardner, John E. Ubelaker

Harold W. Manter Laboratory of Parasitology: Faculty Publications

Akodonema luzsarmientae n.g., n.sp. (Nemata: Metastrongyloidea) is described from the pulmonary arteries and heart from several individuals of "soft grass mouse," Akodon mollis (Rodentia: Cricetidae), collected in the region of Ancash, Peru. The new genus and species is distinguished by a reduction of the dorsal ray to two small widely separated papillae.

New Species Of Arostrilepis (Eucestoda: Hymenolepididae) In Members Of Cricetidae And Geomyidae (Rodentia) From The Western Nearctic, Arseny A. Makarikov, Scott Lyell Gardner, Eric P. Hoberg

Harold W. Manter Laboratory of Parasitology: Faculty Publications

Specimens originally identified as Arostrilepis horrida from the Nearctic are revised, contributing to the recognition of a complex of cryptic species distributed across the Holarctic region. Previously unrecognized species are described based on specimens in cricetid (Neotominae) and geomyid rodents. Arostrilepis mariettavogeae n. sp. in Peromyscus californicus from Monterey County, California, and Arostrilepis schilleri n. sp. in Thomomys bulbivorus from Corvallis, Oregon, are characterized. Consistent with recent studies defining diversity in the genus, form, size, and spination (pattern, shape, and size) of the cirrus are diagnostic; species are further distinguished by the relative position and length of the cirrus sac …

Return To Beringia: Parasites Reveal Cryptic Biogeographic History Of North American Pikas, Kurt E. Galbreath, Eric P. Hoberg

Harold W. Manter Laboratory of Parasitology: Faculty Publications

Traditional concepts of the Bering Land Bridge as a zone of predominantly eastward expansion from Eurasia and a staging area for subsequent colonization of lower latitudes in North America led to early inferences regarding biogeographic histories of North American faunas, many of which remain untested. Here we apply a host–parasite comparative phylogeographical (HPCP) approach to evaluate one such history, by testing competing biogeographic hypotheses for five lineages of host-specific parasites shared by the collared pika (Ochotona collaris) and American pika (Ochotona princeps) of North America. We determine whether the southern host species (O. princeps) …

Discovery And Description Of The "Davtiani" Morphotype For Teladorsagia Boreoarcticus (Trichostrongyloidea: Ostertagiinae) Abomasal Parasites In Muskoxen, Ovibos Moschatus, And Caribou, Rangifer Tarandus, From The North American Arctic: Implications For Parasite Faunal Diversity, Eric P. Hoberg, Arthur Abrams, Patricia A. Pilitt, Susan J. Kutz

Harold W. Manter Laboratory of Parasitology: Faculty Publications

Collections to explore helminth diversity among free-ranging ungulates in the North American Arctic revealed the occurrence of a third male, or "davtiani," morphotype for Teladorsagia boreoarcticus. Designated as T. boreoarcticus forma (f.) minor B, the males occurred with T. boreoarcticus f. major and T. borearcticus f. minor A in endemic populations of muskoxen (Ovibos moschatus wardi) and barrenground caribou (Rangifer tarandus groenlandicus) on Victoria Island, Nunavut, Canada, and in muskoxen and Peary caribou (Rangifer tarandus pearyi) on Banks Island, Northwest Territories, Canada. These specimens differ from conspecific morphotypes in the structure …

Discovery And Description Of A New Trichostrongyloid Species (Nematoda: Ostertagiinaw), Abomasal Parasites In Mountain Goat, Oreamnos Americanus, From The Western Cordillera Of North America [With Erratum], Eric P. Hoberg, Arthur Abrams, Patricia A. Pilitt, Emily J. Jenkins

Harold W. Manter Laboratory of Parasitology: Faculty Publications

Marshallagia lichtenfelsi sp. n. is a dimorphic ostertagiine nematode occurring in the abomasum of mountain goats, Oreamnos americanus, from the Western Cordillera of North America. Major and minor morphotype males and females are characterized and distinguished relative to the morphologically similar Marshallagia marshalli/Marshallagia occidentalis from North America and Marshallagia dentispicularis, along with other congeners, from the Palearctic region. The configuration of the convoluted and irregular synlophe in the cervical region of males and females of M. lichtenfelsi is apparently unique, contrasting with a continuous and parallel system of ridges among those species of Marshallagia, including …

Genetic Diversity Of Neotropical Myotis (Chiroptera: Vespertilionidae) With An Emphasis On South American Species, Roxanne J. Larsen, Michelle C. Knapp, Hugh H. Genoways, Faisal Ali Anwarali Khan, Peter A. Larsen, Don E. Wilson, Robert J. Baker

University of Nebraska State Museum: Mammalogy Papers

Background: Cryptic morphological variation in the Chiropteran genus Myotis limits the understanding of species boundaries and species richness within the genus. Several authors have suggested that it is likely there are unrecognized species-level lineages of Myotis in the Neotropics. This study provides an assessment of the diversity in New World Myotis by analyzing cytochrome-b gene variation from an expansive sample ranging throughout North, Central, and South America. We provide baseline genetic data for researchers investigating phylogeographic and phylogenetic patterns of Myotis in these regions, with an emphasis on South America.

Methodology and Principal Findings: Cytochrome-b sequences were …

Synthesizing Parasitology With Archaeology In Paleopathology, Karl Reinhard, Adauto Araujo

Karl Reinhard Publications

Parasitology is the study of organisms that are symbiotic with other organisms. In this form of symbiosis, the parasite species by definition benefits from the interaction while the host is harmed to some degree. In actuality, some parasites benefit their hosts. The animals traditionally studied by parasitologists range from protozoa to arthropods, and include all types of internal and external worms. Ticks, fleas, lice, and a variety of insects that transmit parasites are also studied by parasitologists. Recently, a more holistic view of parasitism appeared, including bacteria and viruses. In essence, parasitology is the study of a certain kind of …

Protandric Simultaneous Hermaphroditism In Parhippolyte Misticia (Clark, 1989) (Caridea: Hippolytidae): Implications For The Evolution Of Mixed Sexual Systems In Shrimp, Hitoshi Onaga, G. Curt Fiedler, J. Antonio Baeza

Biological Sciences Faculty Publications

The sexual system of the shrimp Parhippolyte misticia (Clark, 1989), inhabiting the rocky subtidal at Okinawa, Japan and Kimbe Bay, Papua New Guinea, was examined. Dissections suggested that the population consisted of male phase (MP) and functional simultaneous euhermaphrodite (EH) individuals. MPs have cincinulli and appendices masculinae on the first and second pair of pleopods, respectively, gonopores located at the coxae of the third pair of walking legs, and ovotestes with a well-developed male portion containing sperm, but an undeveloped female portion. EHs lacked appendices masculinae and cincinulli. However, they have male gonopores and ovotestes with well-developed ovaries containing mature …

Expansion Dating: Calibrating Molecular Clocks In Marine Species From Expansions Onto The Sunda Shelf Following The Last Glacial Maximum, Eric D. Crandall, Elizabeth J. Sbrocco, Timery S. Deboer, Paul H. Barber, Kent E. Carpenter

Biological Sciences Faculty Publications

The rate of change in DNA is an important parameter for understanding molecular evolution and hence for inferences drawn from studies of phylogeography and phylogenetics. Most rate calibrations for mitochondrial coding regions in marine species have been made from divergence dating for fossils and vicariant events older than 1-2 My and are typically 0.5-2% per lineage per million years. Recently, calibrations made with ancient DNA (aDNA) from younger dates have yielded faster rates, suggesting that estimates of the molecular rate of change depend on the time of calibration, decaying from the instantaneous mutation rate to the phylogenetic substitution rate. aDNA …

Marine Invertebrate Life, Rachael Kemp, Howard Peters, Louise Allcock, Kent Carpenter, David Obura, Beth Polidoro, Nadia Richman

Biological Sciences Faculty Publications

Marine invertebrates are key components of all marine ecosystems, and play critical roles in essential ecological processes, food provision for humans, and diverse and productive food webs. Despite their importance, the vast majority of marine invertebrates are very poorly known. Research has tended to focus on the larger, more conspicuous and economically important species. Humans have long exploited the margins of pelagic ecosystems, but over the past five decades, rapid technological advancement has allowed more routine access to deeper waters [1]. Increasing exploration into the oceans that cover 70% of the world's surface has led to rapid advancement of species …

Extinction Risk And Bottlenecks In The Conservation Of Charismatic Marine Species, Loren Mcclenachan, Andrew B. Cooper, Kent E. Carpenter, Nicholas K. Dulvy

Biological Sciences Faculty Publications

The oceans face a biodiversity crisis, but the degree and scale of extinction risk remains poorly characterized. Charismatic species are most likely to gar- ner greatest support for conservation and thus provide a best-case scenario of the status of marine biodiversity. We summarize extinction risk and diagnose impediments to successful conservation for 1,568 species in 16 families of marine animals in the movie Finding Nemo. Sixteen percent (12–34%) of those that have been evaluated are threatened, ranging from 9% (7–28%) of bony fishes to 100% (83–100%) of marine turtles. A lack of scientific knowledge impedes analysis of threat status …

Four Events Of Host Switching In Aspidoderidae (Nematoda) Involve Convergent Lineages Of Mammals, F. Agustín Jiménez-Ruiz, Scott Lyell Gardner, Graciela Navone, Guillermo Ortí

Harold W. Manter Laboratory of Parasitology: Faculty Publications

The Great American Interchange resulted in the mixing of faunistic groups with different origins and evolutionary trajectories that underwent rapid diversification in North and South America. As a result, groups of animals of recent arrival converged into similar habits and formed ecological guilds with some of the endemics. We present a reconstruction of the evolutionary events in Aspidoderidae, a family of nematodes that infect mammals that are part of this interchange, i.e., dasypodids, opossums, and sigmodontine, geomyid, and hystricognath rodents. By treating hosts as discrete states of character and using parsimony and Bayesian inferences to optimize these traits into the …

Leptodactylus Pentadactylus, Miriam M. Heyer, W. R. Heyer, Rafael O. De Sá

Biology Faculty Publications

Adult Leptodactylus pentadactylus (Figure 1) are large, the head is about as wide as long, and the hind limbs are moderately long (Table 1; Heyer and Thompson [2000] provided definitions of adult size and leg length categories for Leptodactylus). Male vocal sacs are not visible externally or are moderately expanded as a single sac. Sexually active males usually do not have hypertrophied forearms (the largest male examined, 195 mm SVL, has very weakly hypertrophied forearms), only the largest males have a single small to moderate size black spine on each thumb. No males have chest spines. Dorsolateral folds are …

Evolution And The Expression Of Biases: Situational Value Changes The Endowment Effect In Chimpanzees, Owen D. Jones, Sarah F. Brosnan, Molly Gardner, Susan P. Lambeth, Steven J. Schapiro

Vanderbilt Law School Faculty Publications

Cognitive and behavioral biases, which are widespread among humans, have recently been demonstrated in other primates, suggesting a common origin. Here we examine whether the expression of one shared bias, the endowment effect, varies as a function of context. We tested whether objects lacking inherent value elicited a stronger endowment effect (or preference for keeping the object) in a context in which the objects had immediate instrumental value for obtaining valuable resources (food). Chimpanzee subjects had opportunities to trade tools when food was not present, visible but unobtainable, and obtainable using the tools. We found that the endowment effect for …

Biophysics, Environmental Stochasticity, And The Evolution Of Thermal Safety Margins In Intertidal Limpets, W. Wesley Dowd, M. W. Denny

Biology Faculty Works

As the air temperature of the Earth rises, ecological relationships within a community might shift, in part due to differences in the thermal physiology of species. Prediction of these shifts – an urgent task for ecologists – will be complicated if thermal tolerance itself can rapidly evolve. Here, we employ a mechanistic approach to predict the potential for rapid evolution of thermal tolerance in the intertidal limpet Lottia gigantea. Using biophysical principles to predict body temperature as a function of the state of the environment, and an environmental bootstrap procedure to predict how the environment fluctuates through time, we create …

Chapter 4 - Aquaria, Janice M. Glime

Bryophyte Ecology Volume 5: Uses

Explore the contents of Bryophyte Ecology, Volume 5, Chapter 4 - Aquaria by clicking the link above. For the Contents section of this ebook, as well as Volumes 1 through 5, please visit the Bryophyte Ecology Main Page.

Use CTRL+F to easily search within PDF files.

Ebook sponsored by Michigan Technological University and the International Association of Bryologists.

Influences Of Adjacent Land-Use On Avian Community Structure In Sub-Boreal Peatlands Of The Midwest, Lucas J. Wandrie

All Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Other Capstone Projects

Surrounding land use influences avian community structure; moreover, anthropogenic manipulation of habitat can alter bird species richness and composition. In the first chapter of my thesis work, I conducted avian surveys at 20 sub-boreal peatlands in eastern Minnesota and western Wisconsin to detect correlations between land development and bird community structure. Peatlands are wetlands that accumulate decaying organic plant material (peat) and provide valuable and diverse habitats to a variety of flora and fauna. I measured urban and cropland development at three spatial scales (500 m, 1000 m, and 2500 m radii). Effects of development on avian communities also were …