Digital Commons Network^™

Joint Fire Science Program – Lake Mead National Recreation Area: Revegetating Burned Arid Lands: Identifying Successful Native Species Using Trait And Competition Analysis: Quarterly Progress Report, April 1— June 30, 2008, Margaret N. Rees

Fire Science

• Cones seeded for competition experiment at Lake Mead nursery.

• Cones monitored for seedling establishment.

• Goodsprings revegetation studies monitored.

• Invasibility data being entered and analyzed.

• Abstract for NAA conference submitted.

• Joint Fire Science update article submitted to Mojave Applied Ecology Notes newsletter.

Lake Mead National Recreation Area Monitoring And Evaluation Of Sensitive Wildlife: Quarterly Progress Report, Period Ending June 30, 2008, Margaret N. Rees

Wildlife Monitoring

Project 1. Relict Leopard Frog Monitoring, Management, and Research

• Translocation program completed this quarter at current active translocation sites.
• Egg mass surveys at Blue Point Spring conducted approximately weekly; two additional egg massed collected from site for head-starting.
• Frogs released at Blue Point and Rogers from egg masses collected at Blue Point in March and April, further augmentations planned.
• Spring nocturnal surveys completed.
• Coordination for potential translocation sites on BLM lands ongoing.
• Habitat improvements coordinated and conducted at one new translocation site on BLM lands in the Gold Butte; site received frogs in April.
• All milestones and deliverables associated with …

On The Nature Of Fur Evolution: A Phylogenetic Approach In Actinobacteria, Catarina L. Santos, João Viera, Fernando Tavares, David R. Benson, Louis S. Tisa, Alison M. Berry, Pedro Moradas-Ferreira, Philippe Normand

Molecular, Cellular & Biomedical Sciences

Background: An understanding of the evolution of global transcription regulators is essential for comprehending the complex networks of cellular metabolism that have developed among related organisms. The fur gene encodes one of those regulators - the ferric uptake regulator Fur - widely distributed among bacteria and known to regulate different genes committed to varied metabolic pathways. On the other hand, members of the Actinobacteria comprise an ecologically diverse group of bacteria able to inhabit various natural environments, and for which relatively little is currently understood concerning transcriptional regulation. Results: BLAST analyses revealed the presence of more than one fur homologue …

Movement And Habitat Use Of Two Aquatic Turtles (Graptemys Geographic And Trachemys Scripta) In An Urban Landscape, Travis J. Ryan, C A. Conner, B A. Douthitt, S C. Sterrett, Carmen M. Salsbury

Scholarship and Professional Work - LAS

Our study focuses on the spatial ecology and seasonal habitat use of two aquatic turtles in order to understand the manner in which upland habitat use by humans shapes the aquatic activity, movement, and habitat selection of these species in an urban setting. We used radiotelemetry to follow 15 female Graptemys geographica (common map turtle) and each of ten male and female Trachemys scripta (red-eared slider) living in a man-made canal within a highly urbanized region of Indianapolis, IN, USA. During the active season (between May and September) of 2002, we located 33 of the 35 individuals a total of …

Remarks On The Stability Of Some Size-Structured Population Models Ii: Changes In Vital Rates Due To Size And Population Size, Mohammed El-Doma

Applications and Applied Mathematics: An International Journal (AAM)

The stability of some size-structured population dynamics models are investigated. We determine the steady states and study their stability. We also give examples that illustrate the stability results. The results in this paper generalize previous results, for example, see Calsina, et al. (2003) and El-Doma (2006).

Extreme Primary And Secondary Protein Structure Variability In The Chimeric Male-Transmitted Cytochrome C Oxidase Subunit Ii Protein In Freshwater Mussels: Evidence For An Elevated Amino Acid Substitution Rate In The Face Of Domain-Specific Purifying Selection, Eric G. Chapman, Helen Piontkivska, Jennifer M. Walker, Donald T. Stewart, Jason P. Curole, Walter R. Hoeh

Faculty Publications

Background

Freshwater unionoidean bivalves, and species representing two marine bivalve orders (Mytiloida and Veneroida), exhibit a mode of mtDNA inheritance involving distinct maternal (F) and paternal (M) transmission routes concomitant with highly divergent gender-associated mtDNA genomes. Additionally, male unionoidean bivalves have a ~550 bp 3' coding extension to the cox2 gene (Mcox2e), that is apparently absent from all other metazoan taxa.

Results

Our molecular sequence analyses of MCOX2e indicate that both the primary and secondary structures of the MCOX2e region are evolving much faster than other regions of the F and M COX2-COX1 gene …

Limnological Assistance For The Lake Mead National Recreation Area In Meeting The Challenge Of The Water 2025 Initiative: Annual Report, Period Ending May 31, 2008, Margaret N. Rees

Limnological Studies

Hiring: Limnologist Dr. Wai Hing (David) Wong was hired and officially reported to work on 5/15/2008.

Project 1 and Project 2: Dr. Wong has commenced work on Projects 1 and 2.

Project 3: Dr. Wong has commenced work on Project 3. A comprehensive zebra/quagga mussel bibliography has been completed and published to the 100th Meridian Web site. Six interagency, multi-disciplinary quagga mussel meetings have been held. A quagga mussel substrate project has been initiated and, through the coordination efforts of this project, two other studies have been selected and refined to help determine the ecological impacts of quagga mussel infestation …

Index

Aliso: A Journal of Systematic and Floristic Botany

No abstract provided.

The Vascular Flora Of The Owens Peak Eastern Watershed, Southern Sierra Nevada, California, Naomi S. Fraga

Aliso: A Journal of Systematic and Floristic Botany

Owens Peak lies at the southern end of the Sierra Nevada within the Bureau of Land Management’s Owens Peak Wilderness Area in Kern County, California. The study site, ca. 50 square miles, encompasses Owens Peak’s eastern watershed, and ranges in elevation from 800–2600 m (2600–8400 ft). Granite rocks of the Sierra Nevada batholith underlie the study area. The eastern watershed of Owens Peak is botanically diverse, with 64 families, 230 genera, and 440 taxa currently documented. Floristic elements within the study area include the southern Sierra Nevada, Great Basin, and Mojave Desert. The flora previously was poorly documented, as discovered …

Cantua Dendritica (Polemoniaceae), A New Species From Peru, And Two New Cantua Names, J. Mark Porter, L. Alan Prather

Aliso: A Journal of Systematic and Floristic Botany

Cantua dendritica is described as new. This species is apparently restricted to the region around Paucartambo, Department of Cusco, Peru. Related to, and frequently identified as, Cantua flexuosa, this new species differs in its glandular calyx, highly branched trichomes on the margin of the corolla lobes, and its softly herbaceous, glandular pilose leaves. In addition, two new names are proposed in Cantua for the two species of Huthia that have been transferred to Cantua, C. volcanica (formerly Huthia caerulea), and C. mediamnis (formerly H. longiflora).

The Reproductive Ecology Of Graptemys Geographica In The Central Canal, Kati Keppen Rush

Undergraduate Honors Thesis Collection

Life for all organisms involves carefully managing a limited amount of resources. In many cases these resources affect how organisms Jive on a daily basis. In addition to competition from other species, organisms face competition within their own species, populations, and niches. Those individuals that manage their resources effectively will increase their chances of survival, reproduction, and the continuation of their genes in the gene pool. Studies that focus on life history characteristics of organisms aim to understand the mechanisms used by organisms to increase the chances that their genes will remain in thegenepoolpasttheirown Iifetime.Thegoal ofthesemechanisms istoensuresurvival and maximize reproduction. …

Gender-Specific Differences In Spatial Behavior Of The Flesh Fly, Sarcophaga Crassipalpis., Caleb Joseph Paquette

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Territoriality in the flesh fly, Sarcophaga crassipalpis (Diptera: Sarcophagidae) was studied in the laboratory. In rectangular enclosures, male flies exhibited a lower tolerance (occupation of the same physical space) of same-sex conspecifics than did female flies. In circular arenas, male flies showed significantly higher levels of spatial separation among themselves (as determined from nearest neighbor analyses) than did females: males were distributed uniformly whereas females were nearly random. The male spatial behavior occurred during the photophase but not the scotophase of light-dark cycles, suggesting that visual cues are required for maintenance of inter-individual spacing. No significant differences in male spacing …

The Spatial Memory Of African Elephants (Loxodonta Africana): Durability, Interference, And Response Biases, Robert H.I. Dale

Scholarship and Professional Work - LAS

Women and elephants never forget an injury.

-Saki (H. H. Munro), "Reginald on besetting sins," in Reginald (1904)

I am not sure whether the satirist H. H. Munro believed Saki's claim, although it may well be true (at least with regard to elephants). This chapter will examine some characteristics of elephant memory more systematically than did Saki.

In general, it is to an animal's advantage to remember some aspects (usually the stable features) of a situation for long periods and to remember other aspects (usually the unstable features) only temporarily. Consistent with recent arguments questioning the value of cognitive constructs …

Evaluating Vascular Plant Composition And Species Richness On Horn Island, Mississippi, Using Passive And Active Remote Sensing In Conjunction With Ground Based Measurements, Kelly Lynn Lucas

Dissertations

Barrier island vegetation is subjected to chronic abiotic stressors combined with periodic storm events that favor species adapted to harsh environments. These islands are the first landforms to be affected by changes in coastal subsidence and sea-level rise. Evaluating changes in vegetation is important for understanding the impact of global climate change on coastal environments.

This study assesses vegetation composition and plant species richness on Horn Island, Mississippi using ground data in conjunction with remotely sensed spectral and LIDAR data. The goals of this research are to: 1) classify and map vegetation composition on Horn Island using hyperspectral and LIDAR …

Influential Parasites: Importance Of Haemosporidian Parasite Infection In The White-Throated Sparrow, Amanda P. Jamison

All-Inclusive List of Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The study of parasite-mediated selection, as originally postulated by Hamilton and Zuk ( 1982) in birds is an area of intense study as it allows us to test the significance of the relationship between host and parasite. Recent developments of resistance to treatments in humans for parasite induced disease, creates a place for this important research and emphasizes the need to find the connections and interactions in this relationship between ecology and infectious disease. The development of new molecular techniques has made the study of parasitism in birds and mammals easier and provides an efficient sensitive . methodology to detect …

Marketing Of Forest Reproductive Material: The Use Of Microsatellites For Identification Of Registered Tree Clones In Finland, Leena Koviuranta, Kari Leinonen, Pertti Pulkkinen

Aspen Bibliography

According to the current legislation on the marketing of forest reproductive material, tree clones marketed in the EU must have certain traits which make them identifiable, and these traits must have been accepted and registered by an official body. Due to this obligation, there is a need for reliable, functional and practicable methods for specifying these distinctive characters. We have developed a clone identification method for European and hybrid aspens and curly birch, based on nuclear microsatellites, which can be used for determining the distinctive characters mentioned in the directive. For aspens, we have used 18 loci, of which nine …

Foraging Ecology Of Seabirds In Relation To Commercial Shrimp Trawler Activity, Lisa Wickliffe

All Theses

Population dynamics of seabirds have been linked to the availability of bycatch discarded from commercial fishery operations. This issue has been examined primarily in Europe where studies demonstrated that tens of thousands of seabirds each year may be supported by discards from a regional fishery, and that discards from commercial fisheries contributed to the increase in seabird abundance and to changes in their distribution in the North Sea and Northeast Atlantic. To date, however, little to no research has been conducted on seabird-fisheries interactions in the United States. This research examined this issue in the coastal waters of South Carolina …

The Effects Of Land Use On Sedimentation, Inorganic Substrate, Organic Substrate, And Fish Assemblages In South Carolina's Coastal Plain Streams, Cathy Marion

All Theses

This research is part of a larger, long-term assessment of South Carolina's wadeable streams funded by the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources entitled the 'South Carolina Stream Assessment Project'. Biological, physical, and chemical data were collected for this project during the summer seasons of 2006 and 2007. The purpose of this research was to identify relationships among land use, sedimentation, organic substrate, and fish assemblages in three South Carolina coastal plain ecobasins. An additional focus was to determine if South Carolina coastal plain ecobasins were similar enough in species composition, environmental variables, land use, and measured fish metrics to …

Ontogenetic Effects Of Hatching Plasticity In The Spotted Salamander (Ambystoma Maculatum) Due To Egg And Larval Predators, Leah Brown-Wilusz

Honors Scholar Theses

The ability to respond plastically to the environment has allowed amphibians to evolve a response to spatial and temporal variation in predation threat (Benard 2004). Embroys exposed to egg predation are expected to hatch out earlier than their conspecifics. Larval predation can induce a suite of phenotypic changes including growing a larger tail area. When presented with cues from both egg and larval predators, embryos are expected to respond to the egg predator by hatching out earlier because the egg predator presents an immediate threat. However, hatching early may be costly in the larval environment in terms of development, morphology, …

An Investigation Of The Early Life-History Of Brown Trout (Salmo Trutta) And Potential Influences On Invasion Success In The Logan River, Utah, Jeremiah Wood

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Due to the significant threats posed by nonnative fish species worldwide, it is important to understand how life-history strategies of individual species interact with environmental conditions to explain the success or failure of nonnative fish invasions. Brown trout are prolific invaders, but often exhibit upstream distributional limits in Intermountain West streams, potentially due to a maladaptive reproductive life-history strategy influenced by hydrologic conditions in high-elevation areas. We used redd counts, egg survival experiments, and temperature modeling to investigate the reproductive life-history strategy of brown trout and its potential for success along an elevational stream gradient. We documented brown trout spawning …

Detritus Type Alters The Outcome Of Interspecific Competition Between Aedes Aegypti And Aedes Albopictus (Diptera : Culicidae), Ebony G. Murrell, Steven A. Juliano

Faculty Publications – Biological Sciences

Many studies of interspecific competition between Aedes albopictus (Skuse) and Aedes aegypti (L.) (Diptera: Culicidae) larvae show that Ae. albopictus are superior resource competitors to Ae. aegypti. Single-species studies indicate that growth and survival of Ae. albopictus and Ae. aegypti larvae are affected by the type of detritus present in containers, which presumably affects the amount and quality of microorganisms that the mosquito larvae consume. We tested whether different detritus types alter the intensity of larval competition by raising 10 different density/species combinations of Ae. albopictus and Ae. aegypti larvae under standard laboratory conditions, with one of four detritus types …

Roosting Ecology Of Rafinesque's Big-Eared Bat, Corynorhinus Rafinesquii, In Southeastern Mississippi, Austin Webb Trousdale Iii

Dissertations

Rafinesque's big-eared bat, Corynorhinus rafinesquii, is considered rare and/or declining throughout its range. Concrete bridges are potentially important roosts for C. rafinesquii, especially in the Gulf Coastal Plain where the species' natural roosts (caves and large hollow trees) are inherently scarce. Successful efforts to monitor and conserve this species must account for its movements among multiple roosts and determine the duration of its roost use (including bridges) at different temporal scales. Therefore, I investigated roosting ecology of C. rafinesquii from 2000-2005 within a mixed hardwood-pine (Pinus spp.) system in southeastern Mississippi. I conducted surveys of concrete bridges to determine phenological …

Conservation Implications Of Winter-Feeding Policies For Mule Deer In Utah, Chris C. Peterson

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Policies regulating wildlife winter-feeding programs may have long-term impacts on conservation and future management of both target and non-target species. In 2000, the Utah Wildlife Board, upon reviewing input from a series of public regional meetings, adopted a Utah Big Game Winter-Feeding Policy. The Utah Division of Wildlife Resources used this policy to regulate winter-feeding programs for mule deer in northern Utah, 2001-2005. I monitored the program effects on mule deer biology, activity and migration, and winter browse utilization and productivity.

While feed rations generally compensated for protein and energy deficiencies, they may overlook mineral deficiencies. To determine if mule …

Law, Biology, And Property: A New Theory Of The Endowment Effect, Owen D. Jones, Sarah F. Brosnan

Vanderbilt Law School Faculty Publications

Recent work at the intersection of law and behavioral biology has suggested numerous contexts in which legal thinking could benefit by integrating knowledge from behavioral biology. In one of those contexts, behavioral biology may help to provide theoretical foundation for, and potentially increased predictive power concerning, various psychological traits relevant to law. This Article describes an experiment that explores that context.

The paradoxical psychological bias known as the endowment effect puzzles economists, skews market behavior, impedes efficient exchange of goods and rights, and thereby poses important problems for law. Although the effect is known to vary widely, there are at …

Granivores And Restoration: Implications Of Invasion And Considerations Of Context-Dependent Seed Removal, Steven M. Ostoja

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Granivores are important components of sagebrush communities in western North America. These same regions are being altered by the invasion of the exotic annual Bromus tectorum (cheatgrass) that alters physical and biological dynamics in ways that appear to promote its persistence. This research directly relates to the restoration of B. tectorum-dominated systems in two inter-related ways. First, because these landscapes have large quantities of seeds applied during restoration, it is important to determine the major granivore communities in intact sagebrush communities and in nearby cheatgrass-dominated communities. Second, it is important to develop an understanding of patterns of seed harvest …

Growth And Water Relations Of Native Wheatgrass Populations, Brian P. Bell

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Screening populations for development into released plant materials can be done inexpensively and in a timely manner. A common approach has been to quantify the amount of shoot dry mass produced as a surrogate for competitiveness. Besides dry mass production , other morphological characteristics have been employed , but physiological parameters have received less emphasis. Dry mass production may be an important characteristic, but identifying the traits responsible can be just as imperative . Populations with greater drought tolerance may be less impacted by competition for water from weeds, which could lead to greater establishment of desirable grasses on disturbed …

An Overview Of The Vegetation Research Program: Knowledge Services For Land Management, Scott R. Abella

Fire Science Presentations

• Provide knowledge services about the ecology and management of southwestern dryland ecosystems
• Specialize in working with resource managers to conduct applied research
• Conduct and provide research, monitoring, scientific literature synthesis, and technical assistance

Bat Community Dynamics And Foraging Activity Patterns In Young Regenerating Southern Pine Plantations And Mixed Hardwood Forests, Kathryn Marie Womack

Theses & Honors Papers

Forests of the southeastern U.S. are changing rapidly in species composition and extent of forest cover due to increasing conversion to pine (Pinus sp.) plantations , intensifying management practices, and expanding urbanization and sprawl. Questions related to the impacts of these changes on wild life species are of great conservation interest and management relevance. Highly mobile species with large home ranges and complex habitat requirements , such as bats, may be especially vulnerable to increasing human modification of landscapes. However, the impacts of such modifications on bat species are poorly understood . I sought to evaluate bat community structure and …

Population Dynamics Of Freshwater Invertebrates In Beltrami County, Amanda Johnson

Honors Capstones

Capstone submitted as a graduate requirement for the BSU Honors Program.

Prey Selectivity Of Planktivorous Fish: Analysis Of Stomach Contents In Four Pomacentrids At Lizard Island, Great Barrier Reef, James O'Hare

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Coral reef planktivores are important to coral reefs by concentrating and delivering nutrients and allochthonous carbon from the plankton to reef building corals. In an otherwise very oligotrophic system this function may be of major importance. Planktivorous Damselfish (Pomicentridae) were analysed for prey selectivity through enumeration of stomach contents. Simultaneous plankton tows were conducted to establish the plankton community composition of the waters they were taken from. There was a statistically significant variation between the stomach composition and that of the water column. While there was not a significant difference among Simpson’s diversity indices of the stomach contents, there was …