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Mother-Offspring Relationships In Tibetan Macaques (Macaca Thibetana) At Mt. Huangshan, China, Courtney Martinez

All Master's Theses

The mammalian mother-offspring relationship, the first bond an offspring will form, is complex in its development, as well as its costs and benefits to both mother and offspring. Across various non-human primate species, researchers have extensively examined this relationship, yet very little is known about how it changes as offspring age. Mother-infant relationships within the genus Macaca, for example, have been observed for decades in both field and laboratory settings. Researchers have found species differences in maternal behavior, as well as a female offspring bias in female philopatric societies. However, little is known about the mother-offspring relationship of Tibetan …

Enrichment Use & Social Interactions In A Mixed-Species Enclosure Of Sumatran (Pongo Abelij) & Bornean Orangutans (P. Pygmaeus) & Northern White-Cheeked Gibbons (Nomascus Leucogenys), Emily Veitia

All Master's Theses

Enrichment is an aspect of captive husbandry that has been shown to positively impact animals’ well-being and can be designed to encourage species-typical behaviors, such as foraging and arboreality. Enrichment can include housing together multiple compatible species. Orangutans are sympatric with siamangs and agile and Bornean gibbons, so several zoos house these four Asian ape species in the same enclosure, in part, as social enrichment. In my study, I observed enrichment use and social interactions in a mixed-species enclosure at the Oregon Zoo, which housed two Sumatran (Pongo abelii) and two Bornean (P. pygmaeus) orangutans with …

Effects Of Wildfires On Rattlesnake (Crotalus Oreganus) Growth And Movement In Washington State, Joseph Chase

All Master's Theses

Fire is a dominant force in the Pacific Northwest that shapes ecosystems and influences wildlife, yet little is known of its effects on local predators. Northern Pacific rattlesnakes (Crotalus oreganus) comprise an excellent model to investigate how fire may influence wildlife because they are important predators that contribute to controlling prey populations, but are also unable to readily escape from wildfires. We developed a novel technique to assess growth rates of rattlesnakes by using digital photography to analyze differences in widths of their rattle segments laid down over time. We compared growth rates of rattlesnakes in habitats that …

Perspectives Provided By Leopard And Other Cat Genomes: How Diet Determined The Evolutionary History Of Carnivores, Omnivores, And Herbivores, Soonok Kim, Yun Sung Cho, Jong Bhak, Stephen J. O'Brien, Joo-Hong Yeo

Biology Faculty Articles

Recent advances in genome sequencing technologies have enabled humans to generate and investigate the genomes of wild species. This includes the big cat family, such as tigers, lions, and leopards. Adding the first high quality leopard genome, we have performed an in-depth comparative analysis to identify the genomic signatures in the evolution of felid to become the top predators on land. Our study focused on how the carnivore genomes, as compared to the omnivore or herbivore genomes, shared evolutionary adaptations in genes associated with nutrient metabolism, muscle strength, agility, and other traits responsible for hunting and meat digestion. We found …

Burbot Growth Rates In A Northern Mesotrophic Lake, Samuel J. Peterson

Journal of Earth and Life Science

Burbot Lota lota has a circumpolar distribution throughout cold-water areas and is the only freshwater member of the family Gadidae. There are currently very few management techniques applied to Burbot throughout their northern extent. Growth is an indicator of fish health, biomass, and habitat quality; therefore, the objective of this study was to determine the growth rate of Burbot in Lake Bemidji. Burbot (n = 45) were collected along three sites on Lake Bemidji for years 2015-2017. Age was determined from sagittal otoliths, the marginal zones of which were opaque from December to May and translucent from June to November. …

Effects Of Catch-And-Release Angling On Egg Densities In Largemouth Bass Nests, Tyler Robinson

Journal of Earth and Life Science

Predation during early life stages of Centrarchidae offspring are a major cause of decreased reproductive success. For five-weeks Largemouth Bass Micropterus salmoides defend their broods from invaders such as Yellow Perch Perca flavescens and Bluegill Lepomis macrochirus. The focus of this study was to determine if predation upon Largemouth Bass broods increased as removal time from the nest via catch-and-release angling increased. Sampling was conducted on the Whitefish Chain, MN from 7 May - 7 June 2016, where a total of 29 nests were located and sampled. Three treatment groups were used; immediate catch-and-release, three-minute, and a seven- minute …

Effect Of Abiotic Factors On Bluegill Size Structure In Nine Central Minnesota Lakes, Ryan Henry

Journal of Earth and Life Science

Bluegill are the most targeted species of fish in Minnesota. In recent years, the abundance of slow growing, small Bluegill has increased within the state. Angler harvest of Bluegill can reduce the average length of Bluegill up to four times the original length. Abiotic factors such as maximum depth, average water clarity, littoral area, and percent littoral area can influence the dynamics of a lake system. There has been limited research on whether these abiotic factors can influence the size structure of a Bluegill population. The objective of this study is to determine if there is a direct relationship between …

Investigation Of The Anthropogenic Factors Influencing Eastern Fox Squirrel, Sciurus Niger, Distribution And Abundance In Urban Residential Areas, Gabrielle Vinyard

Undergraduate Honors Thesis Collection

In this rapidly developing world, the relationship between humans and wildlife is becoming more strained. Despite the challenges, some animals respond better than others to the additional pressures present in urban environments, and squirrels are a prime example (McKinney, 2002). Several studies have focused on the distribution and abundance of tree squirrels in urban landscapes, but more information is needed to understand the connections between anthropogenic factors and population density (Shochat et al., 2006). Previous research that examined leaf nest densities within residential neighborhoods found a positive correlation between property value and nest density (Salsbury et al., unpublished data). The …

Chapter 16 - Birds, Janice M. Glime

Bryophyte Ecology Volume 2: Bryological Interaction

Explore the contents of Bryophyte Ecology, Volume 2, Chapter 16 - Birds by clicking the links above. For the Contents section of this ebook, as well as Volumes 1 through 5, please visit the Bryophyte Ecology Main Page.

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

Chapter 12 - Terrestrial Insects, Janice M. Glime

Bryophyte Ecology Volume 2: Bryological Interaction

Bryophyte Ecology, Volume 2, Chapter 12 - Terrestrial Insects is coming soon. For the Contents section of this ebook, as well as Volumes 1 through 5, please visit the Bryophyte Ecology Main Page.

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

Large-Scale Surveillance Of Captive Naked Mole-Rat Colonies Shows Caste Differences In Space Utilization, Michael Kress, Edward F. Meehan, Dan Mccloskey

Publications and Research

African naked mole-rats are eusocial mammals that provide unique opportunity to study complex mammalian social behavior and large-group dynamics in a controlled vivarium setting. Previous reports of captive and wild naked mole-rats have identified a division of labor among non-reproductive colony members along a size polyethism, with large animals specializing in defense behaviors, and small animals performing foraging, nest building, and caretaking functions. This study utilized radio frequency identification (RFID) and advanced computational approaches to monitor the activity patterns and place preferences of all members in two naked mole-rat colonies (N = 36 and 37 animals) for a period of …

Contributions Of Gene Copy Number Variation To Genome Evolution And Local Adaptation Of The Cyanobacterium Acaryochloris, Amy L. Gallagher

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Acaryochloris is a recently discovered genus of cyanobacteria, unique in its use of an uncommon chlorophyll as its major photosynthetic pigment, and in its peculiar genome dynamics. Members of this genus exhibit increased genic copy number variation (CNV), which is thought to be primarily derived from gene duplications and horizontal gene transfer (HGT). Acaryochloris provides an ideal system to explore mechanisms behind maintenance of gene duplicates and the influence of CNV in local adaptation. Here, I propose a mechanism for retention of gene duplicates of the bacterial recombinase, RecA, in Acaryochloris genomes and provide preliminary evidence that these paralogs are …

Drivers And Feedbacks Of The Fire-Grazing Interaction In The Northern Great Plains, Jacob E. Powell

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

The fire-grazing interaction is well studied in mesic grasslands worldwide, but research is lacking in semiarid systems. In addition, the fire-grazing interaction reduces the invasion of exotic forage species in mesic grasslands by increasing the scale of grazing selection and may be a tool to control invasive plants in other grasslands. We examined the principal drivers and feedbacks of the fire-grazing interaction on the strength of cattle grazing selection, forage quantity and quality, and vegetation structure and composition in two pastures in northeast Montana at The Nature Conservancy’s Matador Ranch. We also determined the influence of time since fire, within …

Limited Evidence For Co2-Related Growth Enhancement In Northern Rocky Mountain Pinus Contorta Populations: Trends In Growth And Intrinsic Water-Use Efficiency Across Climate Gradients, Charlotte C. Reed

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Forests sequester large amounts of carbon annually; however, the degree to which enhanced forest productivity is due to more conducive climate or CO₂ fertilization remains uncertain. Increasing atmospheric CO₂ may enhance photosynthesis and/or decrease stomatal conductance thereby enhancing intrinsic water use efficiency (iWUE). While increasing iWUE has been observed in most trees globally, this increase does not necessarily translate into greater growth. This study aims to evaluate whether responses of radial growth and iWUE to increasing CO₂ vary across climatic gradients. To investigate interactions between climate and CO₂ and their impacts on tree physiology and growth, …

Habitat Use By Wintering Passerines In Fire-Managed Forests Along The U.S. Gulf Coast, Justin Michael Michaud

Online Theses and Dissertations

Coastal habitats are being impacted by land development, fragmentation, and disturbance related to climate change. The remaining natural areas need to use planned management that may, in some cases, include the use of prescribed fire to maintain habitat quality. Numerous species of passerines, including some with declining populations, use the Gulf Coast as a wintering area, and some depend on habitats managed by fire. To provide information for land managers, I studied the winter bird community at Naval Live Oaks in Gulf Islands National Seashore with two primary objectives: (1) to describe the distribution, abundance, and diversity of the non-breeding …

Are Mussel Shells Environmental Dna Time Capsules? A Comparison Of Extraction Methods For Obtaining Dna From Shell Material., Kelsey Elizabeth Rogers

Online Theses and Dissertations

Freshwater mussels have become some of the most imperiled species in North America and widespread populations have succumbed to pollution and many other anthropogenic-related factors. With molecular techniques evolving, a recent interest in ancient DNA and museum specimens has emerged and prompted a study to test the ability of several extraction methods to isolate DNA from museum mussel specimens. The purpose of this study was to determine if four DNA extraction methods had influence on total DNA yield (ng/mg) from mussel tissue. The hinge ligaments of freshwater mussels ranging in collection date (1984-2015) were used as the source of genetic …

Natural Environmental Gradients Predict The Microhabitat Use, Fine-Scale Distribution, And Abundance Of Three Woodland Salamanders In An Old-Growth Forest, Joseph Alex Baecher

Online Theses and Dissertations

Woodland salamanders (Plethodonidae: Plethodon)－a group of sensitive, direct developing, lungless amphibians－are particularly responsive to gradients in environmental conditions. Because of their functional dominance in terrestrial ecosystems, woodland salamanders are responsible for the transformation of nutrients and translocation of energy between highly desperate levels of trophic organization (detrital food webs and high‐order predators). However, the spatial extent of woodland salamanders' role in the ecosystem is likely contingent upon the distribution of their biomass throughout the forest. Therefore, a better understanding of woodland salamander spatial population dynamics is needed to further understand their role in terrestrial ecosystems. The objectives of this study …

Comparison Of Cytochrome B Variation And Morphological Features Of Isolated Banded Pygmy Sunfish (Elassoma Zonatum) Populations In The Lower Green River And Coastal Plain Systems In Western Kentucky, David Cravens

Online Theses and Dissertations

The banded pygmy sunfish Elassoma zonatum is a wide-ranging species found throughout the Southeastern Coastal Plain of North America. In Kentucky, the populations are found above and below the inner boundary of the Coastal Plain. Due to their geographical separation comparisons in body size and morphological features along with genetic comparisons using mitochondrial cytochrome-b (Cyt-b) were conducted to test relationships between populations. Two sites, Cypress Creek in the Lower Green River system and Rose Creek in the Tradewater River drainage, were sampled from above the inner boundary and two additional sites, Bayou de Chien and Running Slough in the Mississippi …

Sample Collection And Dna Extraction Methods For Environmental Dna Metabarcoding In Headwater Streams, Michael Triston Mullins

Online Theses and Dissertations

DNA is found to be free and ubiquitous in the environment where it is no longer associated with the source organism, and is also known as environmental-DNA (eDNA). Methods optimized for specific environments may be able supplement insight to local taxa richness. With the advent of high throughput sequencing and the proliferation of sequence data in public repositories, insights to the biodiversity of communities at the molecular level have been possible. Thus, this study compared commonly used DNA capture (water precipitation and filtration) and extraction (MoBio's PowerWater, Qiagen's DNeasy Blood and Tissue Kit, and a CTAB protocol) methods in their …

Assessment Of The Macroinvertebrate Assemblages From The Mesohabitats Of A Headwater Stream-Wetland Hydrologic Restoration In Eastern Kentucky, Rebecca Jo Roberts

Online Theses and Dissertations

The bulk of streams in the U.S. have been negatively impacted by anthropogenic disturbances and the streams of Kentucky are no exception. In recent decades stream restoration has become a common practice in order to improve habitat degradation resulting from land use practices such as channelization. Despite the large amount of effort and funding stream restoration projects represent, only a small portion have undergone post-restoration assessments of the ecological response in the restored streams. Slabcamp Creek, a headwater stream located in the Licking River basin in eastern Kentucky, underwent a stream-wetland hydrologic restoration in 2010 in order to improve hydrologic …

Glucocorticoids And Parental Effort In Tree Swallows (Tachycineta Bicolor), Mackenzie Prichard

Undergraduate Theses, Professional Papers, and Capstone Artifacts

All vertebrates respond to stressful situations through the release of hormones called glucocorticoids (CORT). These hormones alter processes within the body to prioritize long term survival over immediate reproduction. It is hypothesized that this is helps individuals survive until conditions become more favorable for successful reproduction. Historically, stress was hypothesized to primarily to pull organisms out of reproductive life history stages when unfavorable conditions made offspring survival slim (otherwise known as the “CORT-tradeoff hypothesis”). However, recent evidence suggests that birds actively feeding nestlings show elevated CORT levels, possibly due to the increased metabolic demands of parenthood. This relationship has been …

Toward Estimating Displaced Primary Production From Recycling: A Case Study Of U.S. Aluminum, Trevor Zink

Management Faculty Works

Recycling materials from end-of-life products has the potential to create environmental benefit by displacing more harmful primary material production. However, displacement is governed by market forces and is not guaranteed; if full displacement does not occur, the environmental benefits of recycling are reduced or eliminated. Therefore, quantifying the true “displacement rate” caused by recycling is essential to accurately assess environmental benefits and make optimal environmental management decisions. Our 2016 article proposed a market-based methodology to estimate actual displacement rates following an increase in recycling or reuse. The current article demonstrates the operation, utility, and challenges of that methodology in the …

Fear And Loathing On The Landscape: What Can Foraging Theory Tell Us About Vigilance And Fear?, Burt P. Kotler, Joel S. Brown

Animal Sentience

We discuss fear and vigilance from the perspective of foraging theory. Rather than focusing on proximate indicators of fear, we suggest that fear is an adaptation for assigning a cost to activities that incur a risk of injury or death. We use theory to provide definitions for fear and vigilance and then use that theory to compare them. We agree that there are limits to the reliability of vigilance as an indicator of fear, but we arrive at this conclusion differently.

Invasion Dynamics Of The Exotic Liana Euonymus Fortunei (Turcz.) Hand.-Mazz. (Wintercreeper), Todd J. Rounsaville

Theses and Dissertations--Biology

Elevated atmospheric CO₂ has been implicated as a driver of increased liana abundance worldwide. Known as disturbance creators and beneficiaries, lianas possess the potential to significantly influence forest ecosystems. I investigated the early-invasion dynamics of Euonymus fortunei (wintercreeper), an evergreen liana that is invading forests in eastern North America, disrupting native plant communities and ecosystem functions.

Wintercreeper is widely cultivated as an ornamental groundcover, frequently invading natural areas via asexual stem growth. Invasion of remote natural areas is dependent upon seed transport and may occur less frequently. I examined the mechanisms of seed dormancy by conducting a ‘move-along’ experiment …

Genetic Perspectives On Biodiversity In Rocky Mountain Alpine Streams, Scott Hotaling

Theses and Dissertations--Biology

In alpine regions worldwide, climate change is dramatically altering ecosystems, affecting biodiversity across habitats and taxonomic scales. For streams, the associated recession of mountain glaciers and snowfields, paired with altered precipitation regimes, are driving shifts in hydrology, species distributions, and basal resources – often threatening the very existence of some habitats and biota. Globally, alpine streams harbor particularly substantial species and genetic diversity due to significant habitat insularity and environmental heterogeneity: however, anthropogenic warming threatens to homogenize habitats through the reduction of the cryosphere, thereby reducing biodiversity from micro- to macroscopic organisms and genes to communities. Still, alpine stream biodiversity, …

Mitochondrial And Nuclear Patterns Of Conflict And Concordance At The Gene, Genome, And Behavioral Scales In Desmognathus Salamanders, Justin D. Kratovil

Theses and Dissertations--Biology

Advancements in molecular sequencing have revealed unexpected cryptic genetic diversity and contrasting evolutionary histories within genes and between genomes of many organisms; often in disagreement with recognized taxonomy. Incongruent patterns between the mitochondrial and nuclear evolutionary history can have several plausible explanations, but widespread systematic conflict inevitably challenges our conceptions of species boundaries when there is discordance between coevolving and coinherited genomes. It is unknown to what degree mitonuclear conflict drives the process of divergence, or how ubiquitous these patterns are across the tree of life. To understand the evolutionary relevance of intergenomic discordance we must identify the conflicting patterns …

Using Genomics To Understand Population Demographics In The Context Of Amphibian Conservation, Schyler O. Nunziata

Theses and Dissertations--Biology

Understanding the demography of species over recent history (e.g., < 100 years) is critical in studies of ecology and evolution, but records of population history are rarely available. Large single nucleotide polymorphism datasets generated with restriction-site associated DNA sequencing (RADseq), in combination with demographic inference methods, are improving our ability to gain insights into the population history of both model and non-model species. However, to assess the performance of genetic methods it is important to compare their estimates of population history to known demography, in both simulation and empirical settings. Here, I used a simulation approach to examine the potential for RADseq datasets to accurately estimate effective population size (N_e) in Wright-Fisher populations over the course of stable and declining population trends, and distinguish stable from steadily declining populations over a contemporary time scale (20 generations). Overall, my results reveal that demographic inference using genome-wide data can be successfully applied to estimate N_e, and the detection of population-size declines. Next, I assess these methods in an empirical study from a wetland with 37 years of amphibian mark-recapture data to study the utility of genetically-based demographic inference on salamander species with documented population declines (Ambystoma talpoideum) and …

Genomic Perspectives On Amphibian Evolution Across Multiple Phylogenetic Scales, Paul Michael Hime

Theses and Dissertations--Biology

Genomes provide windows into the evolutionary histories of species. The recent accessibility of genome-scale data in non-model organisms and the proliferation of powerful statistical models are now providing unprecedented opportunities to uncover evolutionary relationships and to test hypotheses about the processes that generate and maintain biodiversity. This dissertation work reveals shallow-scale species boundaries and population genetic structure in two imperiled groups of salamanders and demonstrates that the number and information content of genomic regions used in species delimitation exert strong effects on the resulting inferences. Genome scans are employed to test hypotheses about the mechanisms of genetic sex determination in …

Quantifying Current Sediment Deposition, Legacy Sediments, And Pre-Impoundment Vertical Accretion And Carbon Dynamics Following Dam Removal In A Recently Restored Tidal Freshwater Wetland, Melissa J. Davis

Theses and Dissertations

Damming disrupts natural sediment flow to downstream resulting in legacy sediment accumulation. Legacy sediments have been well investigated in streams throughout the Piedmont region; however, there is no research of legacy sediments following dam removal in low-gradient Coastal Plain streams. Research objectives were to: characterize legacy sediments in a low-gradient stream restoration, quantify pre-impoundment accretion and carbon dynamics, and assess current sediment deposition rates via ¹⁴C analyses within sediment cores and sediment collection tiles. Carbon accumulation and accretion rates of modern tidal sediment have reached that of the tidal relic benchmark and current sediment deposition rates are similar between …

Behavioral Responses Of Sub-Adult Atlantic Sturgeon (Acipenser Oxyrinchus Oxyrinchus) To Electromagnetic And Magnetic Fields Under Laboratory Conditions, Andrew Mcintyre Iii

Theses and Dissertations

Electromagnetic fields (EMF) produced by high voltage (HV), submarine transmission cables leading from offshore wind energy generation facilities could affect foraging or migratory behaviors of electro-receptive fishes, including endangered Atlantic Sturgeon. However, no published studies have quantitatively evaluated the possible behavioral effects of EMF exposure on sturgeon during residence in coastal waters. This study evaluated behavioral responses by sub-adult Atlantic Sturgeon to electromagnetic and magnetic fields under controlled laboratory conditions. Fabricated EMF generators were used to emulate a range of field EMF conditions that migratory fishes could encounter in proximity to submarine HV sources. Sensor arrays and digital video recorders …