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Early Winter Feeding On Elm Bark By Eastern Fox Squirrels Near The Western Range Terminus, Dessa K. Montgomery, Raymond S. Matlack

The Prairie Naturalist

Fox squirrels (Sciurus niger) feed on >30 different types of food across their extensive range ~Korschgen 1981) including tree buds, flowers, fruits, seeds, and, on occasion, bark. For a large portion of the year, fox squirrels rely heavily on tree seeds (Koprowski 1991). For three consecutive years (2007-2009), we observed fox squirrels feeding on bark of elm trees ( Ulmus sp.) on the campus of West Texas A&M University, Canyon, Texas. Squirrels began feeding on bark in late November shortly after leaves had fallen off the trees and continued almost daily throughout the winter. In late February, when …

Effects Of Nitrogen And Potassium Fertilizer On Willamette Spider Mite (Eotetranychus Willamettei) (Acari: Tetranychidae), Whitney Ann Geddes

Master's Theses

The spider mite family (Tetranychidae) is a well known pest group in agriculture. Within this family, Willamette spider mite (Eotetranychus willamettei) causes physical harm and potential damage to grapevines (Vitis vinifera) along the central and north coast of California as well as Washington and Oregon. Willamette spider mite prefers cooler climates and feeds by puncturing the plant leaf tissue; therefore removing plant nutrients in the early stages of plant growth. Amending soils with fertilizer is a common cultural practice used in commercial vineyards, but no study has documented the interaction between the effects fertilizer concentrations have on Willamette spider mite. …

Cover Page

Aliso: A Journal of Systematic and Floristic Botany

No abstract provided.

Index

Aliso: A Journal of Systematic and Floristic Botany

No abstract provided.

Vascular Plants Of The High Sierra San Pedro Mártir, Baja California, Mexico: An Annotated Checklist, Robert F. Thorne, Reid V. Moran, Richard A. Minnich

Aliso: A Journal of Systematic and Floristic Botany

The Sierra San Pedro Mártir (SSPM) is the highest mountain range in Baja California, Mexico, the summit of Picacho del Diablo peak attaining 3095 meters. An annotated checklist describes the vascular flora of the SSPM high country, defined here as above 1800 m. It comprises almost 500 species in 251 genera and 78 families. The high country is dominated by coniferous forest species known from montane California and Arizona whose southern ranges terminate in the SSPM. The annotated checklist identifies 453 species in 236 genera as indigenous, of which 23 species and one variety are endemic to the SSPM. Over …

List Of Reviewers

Aliso: A Journal of Systematic and Floristic Botany

No abstract provided.

The Challenge Of A Siberian Bluegrass (Poa) Phylogeny, Marina V. Olonova

Aliso: A Journal of Systematic and Floristic Botany

In Siberia, the bluegrass genus (Poa) comprises 43 species and 61 subspecies in 12 sections. Diverse modes of speciation, including polyploidy and hybridization, have led to reticulate evolution and adaptive radiation. Cladistic methods that ignore hybridization and reticulate evolution may not be appropriate for morphological data. The number of morphological characters suitable for bluegrass analysis is limited, a majority does not have clear adaptive significance, and the character states cannot be readily polarized, rendering phylogenetic reconstruction very difficult in this group. Other methods of estimating phylogenetic relationships should be used to test hypotheses about relationships and hybridization. Biochemical …

Helianthus Inexpectatus (Asteraceae), A Tetraploid Perennial New Species From Southern California, David J. Keil, Mark A. Elvin

Aliso: A Journal of Systematic and Floristic Botany

Helianthus inexpectatus is described as a new species from the Newhall Ranch of northern Los Angeles County, California. It is a tetraploid (2n = 68) perennial that is morphologically similar to--—and intermediate in some characters between--—the diploid H. nuttallii and the hexaploid H. californicus.

A New Combination In Acmispon (Fabaceae: Loteae) For California, Luc Brouillet

Aliso: A Journal of Systematic and Floristic Botany

The new combination Acmispon argophyllus (A.Gray) Brouillet var. niveus (Greene) Brouillet is made.

Nomenclatural Changes For Some Grasses In California And The Muhlenbergia Clade (Poaceae), J. Travis Columbus, James P. Smith Jr.

Aliso: A Journal of Systematic and Floristic Botany

New combinations and names are here validated for ten grass (Poaceae) taxa in California for the forthcoming revision of The Jepson Manual. In addition, guided by recent molecular phylogenetic studies, ten non-California grass species are here transferred to Muhlenbergia (Chloridoideae: Cynodonteae) to achieve monophyly of the genus. Lolium, long known to be phylogenetically nested within Festuca, is here subsumed into Festuca, and the circumscription of Stipa is expanded to include all Stipeae (native and non-native) in California. In Stipeae, most currently recognized genera are not monophyletic. Attaining monophyly while bearing in mind identification for persons not expert …

Two New Combinations In Western North American Asteraceae, David J. Keil

Aliso: A Journal of Systematic and Floristic Botany

Two new combinations that will be used in the second edition of The Jepson Manual are proposed for western North American Asteraceae: Helianthus petiolaris subsp. canescens and Cirsium scariosum var. loncholepis.

The Nomenclatural Status Of Ten Names In The Genus Pieris (Lepidoptera: Pieridae), Crispin S. Guppy, Norbert G. Kondla

The Taxonomic Report of the International Lepidoptera Survey

The nomenclatural status of ten names in the genus Pieris are reviewed. The dates and locations of publication of pseudobryoniae Verity, 1908 and adalwinda Fruhstorfer, 1909 are corrected; they are infrasubspecific unavailable names. The names pseudobryoniae Barnes and McDunnough, 1916 and arctica Barnes and McDunnough, 1916 are newly identified as available species-group names with at least four and six syntypes respectively. A lectotype of pseudobryoniae Barnes and McDunnough is selected, with the type locality being Nulato, Alaska; browni Eitschberger, 1983 is a subjective synonym. A lectotype of arctica Barnes and McDunnough is designated, with the type locality being northern Norway. …

Hermit Thrush (Catharus Guttatus) And Veery (C. Fuscescens) Breeding Habitat Associations In Southern Appalachian High-Elevation Forests., Andrew J. Laughlin

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The Hermit Thrush is a new breeding bird in the Southern Appalachian high-elevation mountains, having expanded its range southward over the last few decades. Here it is sympatric with the Veery, a congeneric breeding resident. In order to more fully understand why the range expansion took place and to understand more about the local ecology of the newly arrived bird, I measured several habitat variables in 30 Hermit Thrush and 24 Veery territories. Principal Components Analysis and Cluster Analysis brought to light several patterns of habitat preferences for these 2 species. Hermit Thrushes prefer territories with more leaf litter on …

Short-Beaked Common Dolphin (Delphinus Delphis) Occurrence In The Moray Firth, North-East Scotland, Kevin P. Robinson, Sonja Eisfeld, Marina Costa, Mark P. Simmonds

Ecology Collection

The short-beaked common dolphin (Delphinus delphis) is regarded as notably rare or absent from the northern North Sea, but recent evidence suggests a rising frequency of the species in these waters with increasing regional sea temperatures. The following paper documents the presence of D. delphis in the Moray Firth in north-east Scotland and provides the first evidence for the sustained occurrence of these delphinids in this region during the warmer summer months at least. Sightings were collated during systematic surveys of the outer Moray Firth between 2001 and 2009 by independent research teams from the CRRU and WDCS. A total …

Toward A Synthesis Of Conservation And Animal Welfare Science, David Fraser

Conservation Biology and Animal Welfare Collection

Conservation biology and animal welfare science are multidisciplinary fields of research that address social concerns about animals. Conservation biology focuses on wild animals, works at the level of populations, ecological systems and genetic types, and deals with threats to biodiversity and ecological integrity. Animal welfare science typically focuses on captive (often domestic) animals, works at the level of individuals and groups, and deals with threats to the animals’ health and quality of life. However, there are many areas of existing or potential overlap: (i) many real-life problems, such as environmental contamination, urban development and transportation, create problems for animals that …

A Comparison Of The Singing Activity Of Carolina Wrens (Thryothorus Ludovicianus)) In Urban And Rural Settings, Shannon R. Trimboli

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

As the earth’s landscape becomes increasingly urbanized, local wildlife must adapt to urban conditions or migrate to areas that are more rural. Urban wildlife face challenges such as direct loss of habitat, competition with non-native species, disturbance due to anthropogenic noise, and micro-climatic changes. Factors such as temperature, relative humidity, and noise affect the acoustical environment and may affect the ability of many animals, including birds, to communicate.

Understanding how urbanization affects birds’ singing behavior is critical because singing often plays a vital role in attracting mates and defending territories. In addition, as global climate change occurs it will become …

Vegetation Trends On A Waste Rock Repository Cap In The Northern Black Hills, Andrew C. Korth, Gary E. Larson, Lan Xu, Thomas E. Schumacher

The Prairie Naturalist

We assessed successional trends, long-term vegetation sustainability, and soil surface protection during the 2005-2007 growing seasons on the 32-ha Ruby Gulch Waste Rock Repository cap. The cap consisted of 150 cm of rock and soil covering a polyethylene membrane which in turn covered mining waste rock in order to prevent leaching of heavy metals and acidic water into streams. Following construction in 2003, a contractor applied a grass-forb seed mixture to provide soil-surface protection especially for steeply sloped portions of the cap. In 2005, we established 56, 1-m² plots, and 20, 20-m transects to annually measure canopy cover, basal …

Effects Of Dietary Fat On Resistant Starch Fermentation In Mice, Diana Badkoobeh

Honors Capstones

No abstract provided.

The Molecular Analysis Of Hemoparasite Burdens Of Free-Ranging Lions (Panthera Leo) In The Kruger National Park, South Africa, Jamie R. Sherman

Renée Crown University Honors Thesis Projects - All

Hemoparasites, or parasites of the blood transmitted by arthropod vectors, are commonly found in domestic animals and wildlife all over the world. Although hemoparasites can cause serious illness in domestic species, they often persist at low levels in wildlife without compromising general health. Current reports on wildlife parasitemia, specifically in lions (Panthera leo) are obtained from zoological parks and managed game reserves. However, few studies have examined parasitic burdens of free ranging lion populations. This study aims to semi quantitatively evaluate the presence of four representative hemoparasites including Babesia sp., Theileria sp., Cytauxzoon sp., and …

Seasonal Variation In Terrestrial Insect Subsidies To Tropical Streams And Implications For The Diet Of Rivulus Hartii, David C. Owens

School of Natural Resources: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Terrestrial invertebrates subsidize fish diets in lotic ecosystems. Seasonality strongly influences terrestrial invertebrate abundance in temperate regions and alters their delivery to streams. Seasonal changes in the tropics are characterized by distinct wet and dry periods, with marked variation in invertebrate abundance. However, little is known about how these seasonal changes affect invertebrate subsidies and their ecological consequences for tropical streams. We measured the effect of rainfall and canopy density on terrestrial invertebrate falling input, as well as seasonal variation in falling input, benthic and drifting invertebrate, and Rivulus hartii (Hart’s Rivulus) diet composition during both the wet and dry …

Seed Pool Dynamics Of A Great Basin Sagebrush Community In The Context Of Restoration, Kristen M. Pekas

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Restoration of Great Basin sagebrush communities is often attempted without understanding the potential impacts of either restoration treatments on the seed pool or the seed pool on restoration efforts. In addition, few studies have examined seed pools of the Great Basin and the role of vegetation in structuring seed pool communities. I evaluated soil seed pool dynamics of a Great Basin sagebrush community in a restoration context.

In Chapter 1, I determined the relationship between the compositions of the seed pool and aboveground vegetation and the effect of shrubs (microhabitat effects) and perennial bunchgrass cover (community phase effects) on the …

Transforming Space Into Place: Development, Rock Climbing, And Interpretation In Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area, 1960-2010, Megan Sharp Weatherly

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Though Americans tend to view wilderness as separate from nature, environmental historians have argued that wilderness is a cultural construct more than a quantifiable geographic category. Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area (NCA), a 195,000-acre tract located west of Las Vegas, Nevada, is one such cultural construction. Since 1960, this BLM-managed parcel has served as a local and regional expression of broader, national trends in outdoor recreation, interpretation, and development and thereby forced visitors to engage (often unknowingly) in a cultural dialogue about consumerism, technology, and identity. With information from newspapers, archival collections, oral histories, and government documents, this thesis …

Phylogeography Of Two Closely Related Anurans, The Relict Leopard Frog (Rana Onca) And Lowland Leopard Frog (Rana Yavapaiensis), Viktoria Hemmings

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

I investigate the phylogeography of the relict and lowland leopard frogs (Rana onca; R. yavapaiensis) inhabiting the Mojave and Sonoran deserts. In Chapter 1, I summarize literature describing taxonomy, phylogenetics, and the possible effects of Quaternary climate change on distribution. Examples of phylogeographic patterns from generally co-distributed organisms are provided to develop background for interpreting the structure. In Chapter 2, I investigate the phylogeography of these frogs using mitochondrial DNA data. The analysis supports a previously determined phylogenetic break between taxa however further dividing R. yavapaiensis into two lineages. I estimate a possible Early Pleistocene divergence of R. onca and …

Reproductive Failure And The Stress Response In American Kestrels Nesting Along A Human Disturbance Gradient, Erin Hennegan Strasser

Boise State University Theses and Dissertations

Human disturbance may be an influential environmental stressor that affects birds across life stages. I examined whether external and endogenous factors including habitat type, habitat quality and individual quality (hereafter quality), or human disturbance affect American Kestrel reproductive success in southwestern Idaho. Specifically, I was interested in how these factors lead to nest failure or abandonment. I also investigated whether elevated corticosterone (CORT) concentrations mediate the relationships among explanatory variables and nest failure. As nestling kestrels may respond to stressors differently from adults, I examined whether conditions experienced during the nestling stage affected nestling American Kestrel (Falco sparverius) hypothalamic pituitary …

The Natural Provenance: Ecoliteracy In Higher Education In Mississippi, Sarah Elizabeth Wheeless

Dissertations

Researchers have suggested that there is an increasing apathy in the study of natural history both in academic settings and in the scientific community (Schmidly, 2005). Natural history is the cornerstone of ecological literacy. However, most studies of environmental knowledge do not directly address knowledge of local natural history. Instead, they concern knowledge of human environmental issues, environmental concepts, or broad ecological knowledge. Ecoliteracy established the study of natural history as fundamental to environmental knowledge and seeks to determine levels of knowledge of local environments and factors associated with that knowledge (Pilgrim et al., 2007).

This study investigated ecoliteracy in …

Conservation And Ecology Of The Yellow-Blotched Sawback (Graptemys Flavmaculata), William Winsyl Selman Ii

Dissertations

The role of species conservation is becoming increasingly important due to the mounting pressures from humans on habitats and populations of organisms. This is particularly evident in riverine ecosystems throughout the world where the human demand for freshwater resources is increasing, and consequently, the number of imperiled aquatic organisms is also growing. The seven chapters of this dissertation primarily focus on the Yellow-blotched Sawback, Graptemys flavimaculata, an endangered riverine turtle that is endemic to the Pascagoula River system of southeast Mississippi, USA. At the population level, we aimed to study the impacts of Hurricane Katrina on two study populations within …

Determining The Relationship Of Human Enteric Viruses In Clinical, Wastewater, And Environmental Samples Utilizing Molecular And Cell Culture Techniques, Jacquelina Susann Williams Woods

Dissertations

This study was the first to examine five significant enteric viruses in human fecal material, sewage, and oysters to show a genetic relationship between human enteric viruses and different sample matrices. Fecal samples were collected from an area hospital and examined for norovirus genotype I (NoV GI), norovirus genotype II (NoV Gil), hepatitis A virus (HA V), adenovirus (ADV), and enteroviruses. During this study, sewage samples were collected from a Waster Water Treatment Plant (WWTP) in Mobile, ALand oyster sentinels were placed at 0.1 nautical miles (nm) (station 1 ), 0.2nm (station 2}, 1.5nm (station 3), and 4nm (station 4) …

Effects Of Dietary Fat On Resistant Starch Fermentation In Mice, Diana Badkoobeh

Honors Capstones

No abstract provided.

Ecology And Relationships Of Rhabdias Spp. (Nematoda: Rhabdiasidae) From North American Amphibians And Reptiles, Gabriel J. Langford

School of Biological Sciences: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Lungworms of the cosmopolitan genus Rhabdias (Nematoda: Rhabdiasidae) are among the most common parasites of amphibians and squamate reptiles. The life cycles, life histories, host specificities, and evolutionary relationships of Rhabdias spp. were studied through examination of their free-living and parasitic stages in amphibians and reptiles. This study found free-living development of anuran lungworms was primarily limited to heterogonic reproduction, whereas snake lungworms primarily reproduced homogonically. Infective anuran lungworms penetrated the skin of frogs and toads; in contrast, snake lungworms penetrated snake esophageal tissue during per os infections. Our molecular phylogeny strongly supported separate clades for anuran and snake lungworms, …

Filtration And Growth Rate Of Lake Mead Quagga Mussels (Dreissena Bugensis) In Laboratory Studies And Analyses Of Bioaccumulation, Carolyn Louise Link

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

In January of 2007, Quagga Mussels (Dreissena bugensis) were identified in Lake Mead, Nevada. An aquatic invasive species, these mussels can significantly alter ecosystems. This study sought to quantify three ecological traits of the species through a series of laboratory experiments and analyses, providing information both for comparison with Dreissena in other locations, as well as for limnologic management decisions. Filtration rate of quagga mussels was quantified using algal strains and natural seston. Two strains of green algae, Nannochloris and Scenedesmus were used to determine mussel filtration rates with a spectrophotometer. Quagga filtration rates of collected Lake Mead seston were …