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Multiscale Habitat Associations Of Three Primary Burrowing Crayfish, Shane Welch

All Dissertations

The distribution and habitat associations of three primary burrowing crayfish species were examined at the landscape and patch scales. GIS based predictors were used to model the species occurrence across the study landscapes and vegetation structure data were used to model crayfish abundance within landscape patches. Distocambarus crockeri, a species endemic to the piedmont physiographic region of South Carolina was a terrestrial habitat specialist at broad because of its association with well drained ridge-top soils. Within these soils D. crockeri were dependent on open treeless habitats. The species habitat was consistent with early descriptions of the region and suggested that …

Linking Life Zones, Life History Traits, Ecology, And Spatial Cognition In Four Allopatric Southwestern Seed Caching Corvids, Russell P. Balda, Alan Kamil

Papers in Behavior in Biological Sciences

This report will review the similarities and differences of four species of pine seed caching members of the avian family Corvidae that live on the slopes and base of the San Francisco Peaks in north-central Arizona. The four species include the Clark’s nutcracker (Nucifraga columbiana), pinyon jay (Gymnorhinus cyanocephalus), western scrub-jay (Aphelocoma californica), and Mexican jay (A. ultramarina). These corvids demonstrate a specialization gradient for the harvesting, transporting, caching and recovering of buried pine seeds. This gradient is reflected in their dependence on cached pine seeds for winter and early spring survival …

Plant Reproductive Allocation Predicts Herbivore Dynamics Across Spatial And Temporal Scales, Tom E. X. Miller, Andrew J. Tyre, Svata M. Louda

School of Biological Sciences: Faculty Publications

Life-history theory suggests that iteroparous plants should be flexible in their allocation of resources toward growth and reproduction. Such plasticity could have consequences for herbivores that prefer or specialize on vegetative versus reproductive structures. To test this prediction, we studied the response of the cactus bug (Narnia pallidicornis) to meristem allocation by tree cholla cactus (Opuntia imbricata). We evaluated the explanatory power of demographic models that incorporated variation in cactus relative reproductive effort (RRE; the proportion of meristems allocated toward reproduction). Field data provided strong support for a single model that defined herbivore fecundity as a …

The Role Of Visual Ornamentation In Female Choice Of A Multimodal Male Courtship Display, Eileen Hebets, K. Cuasay, P. K. Rivlin

Eileen Hebets Publications

The courtship behavior of male Schizocosa uetzi wolf spiders incorporates both visual and seismic signals into a multimodal display. These two signals have been shown to interact in such a manner that the seismic signal alters a female’s response to the visual signal, leading to a putative increased importance of visual signaling in the presence of a seismic signal. Experiments leading to this attention-focusing hypothesis relied in part on the video playback technique, eliciting the question of its significance under more biologically relevant conditions. Here, we directly examine female mate choice of males with differing visual signals (foreleg pigmentation) both …

Red Rock Desert Learning Center Stakeholder Phasing Meeting: October 5, 2006, Red Rock Desert Learning Center

Reports (RRLC)

• Our goals for this meeting

• What does phasing offer us?

• Possible phasing scenados

• Where do we go from here?

• Other business regarding RRDLC

Fall 2006, Nsu Oceanographic Center

Currents

No abstract provided.

Evaluating The Long-Term Metacommunity Dynamics Of Tree Hole Mosquitoes, Alicia M. Ellis, L. Philip Lounibos, Marcel Holyoak

Dartmouth Scholarship

Four different conceptual models of metacommunities have been proposed, termed “patch dynamics,” “species sorting,” “mass effect,” and “neutral.” These models simplify thinking about metacommunities and improve our understanding of the role of spatial dynamics both in structuring communities and in determining local and regional diversity. We tested whether mosquito communities inhabiting water-filled tree holes in southeastern Florida, USA, displayed any of the characteristics and dynamics predicted by the four models. The densities of the five most common species in 3–8 tree holes were monitored every two weeks during 1978–2003. We tested relationships between habitat variables and species densities, spatial synchrony, …

The Effects Of The 2006 Spraying Of Deltamethrin For Tsetse Control On Aquatic Macro-Invertebrates In The Kwando/Linyanti River System, Botswana, Emily Lyczkowski

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

The presence of the tsetse fly has historically been an obstacle to the utilization of the resources of the Okavango Delta and the rest of Northern Botswana. In the late 1990’s, an outbreak of trypanosomiasis in cattle, the disease carried by tsetse, prompted the government of Botswana to implement an aerial spraying operation to eradicate the flies. The broad spectrum pesticide deltamethrin was applied over three months in a Northern block of the delta in 2001 and a southern block in 2002. Post-spray monitoring, carried out by the Henry Oppenheimer Okavango Research Center (HOORC), showed that although the pesticide did …

The Effects Of The Makgadikgadi Wildlife Fence On Cattle Populations And Local Cattle Industry, Jenny Hazelhurst, Elliot Vander Kolk

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

This study was conducted to determine the effects of the erection of the Makgadikgadi wildlife fence along the western border of the Makgadikgadi Pans National Park on cattle populations and livestock owners to the west of the fence. Cattle foraging behavior and movement patterns were recorded using GPS and focal observation methods to determine resource use and pressures affecting the populations. Interviews were also conducted in the area of Meno-a-Kwena camp to examine the effects of the fence on the economics of the local cattle industry. Signs of resource stress were found in the continued selection of poor quality forage, …

New Distribution Records For Amphibians And Reptiles In Connecticut, With Notes On The Status Of An Introduced Species, Gregory J. Watkins-Colwell, Twan Leenders, Brian T. Roach, Daniel J. Drew, Gregg Dancho, Jeanne Yuckienuz

Biology Faculty Publications

Recent field work and a review of catalogued specimens in the herpetology collections at the Yale Peabody has yielded 170 new town records for amphibians and reptiles in Connecticut. These are reported here, along with observations on the status of the red-ear slider (Trachemys scripta) in Connecticut.

Lake Mead National Recreation Area Vegetation Monitoring And Management: Final Close-Out Report, Time Period: October 1, 2005 To September 30, 2006, Margaret N. Rees

Vegetation Monitoring

The National Park Service (NPS) at Lake Mead National Recreation Area (LAME) entered into a cooperative agreement with the University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV) to accomplish vegetation monitoring and management activities. This report summarizes activities that took place by UNLV under this task agreement between October 1, 2005, and September 30, 2006. The activities included:

• Weed Sentry mapping and treating incipient populations of exotic invasive plants throughout Clark County, including along shorelines of Lakes Mead and Mohave;
• Monitoring of targeted rare native plant species;
• Sahara mustard research; and
• Providing technical assistance upon request to the NPS vegetation manager.

In …

Lake Mead National Recreation Area National Park Service: Final Progress Report, Period Ending September 30, 2006, Margaret N. Rees

Wildlife Monitoring

This task agreement was awarded by the National Park Service (NPS), Lake Mead National Recreation Area (LAME), to the Public Lands Institute (PLI) at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV) on October 1, 2005. This monitoring, research, and management project consisted of several project elements focused on: bald eagles, peregrine falcons, rare songbird species (including southwest willow flycatcher); aquatic birds, relict leopard frog, desert tortoise, and bighorn sheep. In general, actions associated with this project focused on the development and implementation of inventory and monitoring programs to determine the distribution, status, abundance, trends, and potential threats to these animals, …

Ecophysiology Of Two Native Invasive Woody Species And Two Dominant Warm-Season Grasses In The Semiarid Grasslands Of The Nebraska Sandhills, Kathleen D. Eggemeyer, Tala Awada, David A. Wedin, F. Edwin Harvey, Xinhua Zhou

School of Natural Resources: Faculty Publications

Populations of Pinus ponderosa and Juniperus virginiana are expanding into semiarid Sandhills grasslands in Nebraska. To evaluate the physiological basis of their success, we measured the seasonal course of leaf gas exchange, plant water status, and carbon isotope discrimination in these two native trees and two native C₄ grasses (Schizachyrium scoparium and Panicum virgatum). Compared to the trees, grasses had higher net photosynthetic rates (A_net) and water use efficiency (WUE) and more negative predawn and midday water potentials (Ψ) in June and July. While leaf Ψ and rates of leaf gas exchange declined for all …

Reflections On Wallace, Charles H. Smith

DLPS Faculty Publications

An unpublished paper has recently come to light, which shows that even at an early age, Alfred Russel Wallace was bold enough to approach the scientific establishment with his ideas.

The Evolution Of Organismal Complexity In Angiosperms As Measured By The Information Content Of Taxonomic Descriptions, J. Gordon Burleigh, Justen B. Whittall, Michael J. Sanderson

Biology

We describe an information theoretic method for measuring relative organismal complexity. The complexity measure is based on the amount of information contained in formal taxonomic descriptions of organisms. We examine the utility of this measure for quantifying the complexity of plant families. The descriptions are subjective by nature, but we find a significant correlation in the complexity values of plant families from two independently authored sets of formal taxonomic descriptions. An analysis of the evolution of complexity across angiosperms found evidence of a pattern of increasing complexity. Our measure of complexity provides an operational definition of complexity that may be …

Artificial Burrows And The Deer Mouse: Do Number Of Entrances Influence Use?, Glennis A. Kaufman, Donald W. Kaufman

The Prairie Naturalist

We examined use of artificial burrows by the deer mouse (Peromyscus maniculatus) in mixed grass prairie in north central Kansas. We predicted differential use of burrows, such that the deer mouse would prefer two entrance burrows in non-winter months when predatory snakes were active, but prefer one entrance burrows in winter when cold, windy conditions existed. We installed 20 pairs of artificial burrows (one single entrance and one double entrance) in summer 1988. We examined these burrows on seven dates from autumn 1988 to autumn 1989. All mice (n = 70) used two entrance burrows at least …

Evaluating Genetic Viability Of Pronghorn In Wind Cave National Park, Jonathan A. Jenks, Christopher N. Jacques, Jaret D. Sievers, Robert W. Klaver, R. Terry Bowyer, Daniel E. Roddy

The Prairie Naturalist

The pronghorn (Antilocapra americana) was reintroduced into Wind Cave National Park, South Dakota, in 1914 and thus, has inhabited the Park for almost a century. A decline in the population has raised concern for the continued existence of pronghorn inside Wind Cave National Park. Historically, pronghorn numbers reached greater than 300 individuals in the 1960's but declined to about 30 individuals by 2002. The primary objective of our study was to evaluate genetic characteristics of pronghorn to determine if reduced heterozygosity contributed to the decline of pronghorn in Wind Cave National Park. Microsatellite DNA was collected from 75 …

First Record Of The Least Shrew In Wyoming; And Clostridium Perfingens Type A Enterotoxemia In A Captive Adult White-Tailed Deer, Shauna R. Marquardt, Brian C. Bartels, Cheryl A. Schmidt, Joshua A. Delger, Kevin L. Monteith, Jonathan A. Jenks

The Prairie Naturalist

First Record of the Leaast Shrew in Wyoming by Shauna R. Marquardt, Brian C. Bartels, and Cheryl A. Schmidt; and Clostridium perfingens Type A Enterotoxemia in a Captive Adult White-tailed Deer by Joshua A. Delger , Kevin L. Monteith, and Jonathan A. Jenks.

Habitat Characteristics Of Spring Blackbird Roosts In East-Central South Dakota, H. Jeffrey Homan, Richard S. Sawin, George M. Linz, William J. Bleier

The Prairie Naturalist

In the northern Great Plains, blackbirds (Icteridae) roost almost exclusively in emergent-dominated wetlands. The physical characteristics of wetland roosts are not well understood. From March 20 to April 20, 1999, we studied 16 wetlands used as blackbird roosts in east-central South Dakota. Six wetlands had major roosts (range: 102,000-298,000 blackbirds); whereas, 10 wetlands had minor roosts (range: 2,010-34,000 blackbirds). Maximum roost size was correlated directly with emergent vegetation area (P = 0.05) and possibly with wetland basin area (P ≤ 0.10). Water depths were greater at used sites within wetlands of major roosts (median = 44 cm) than …

The Prairie Naturalist, Volume 38, Number 3, September 2006, Elmer J. Finck, Hilary Gillock

The Prairie Naturalist

The Prairie Naturalist (September 2006) 38(3)

Editor: Elmer J. Finck

Assistant editor: Hilary Gillock

Great Plains Natural Science Society

Artificial Burrows and the Deer Mouse: Do Number of Entrances Influence Use? GLENNIS A. KAUFMAN1 and DONALD W. KAUFMAN, pages 145-154

Evaluating Genetic Viability of Pronghorn in Wind Cave National Park JONATHAN A. JENKSi , CHRISTOPHER N. JACQUES, JARET D. SIEVERS, ROBERT W. KLAVER, R. TERRY BOWYER, and DANIEL E. RODDY, pages 155-165

Age Structure and Reproductive Activity of the Blue Sucker in the Milk River, Missouri River Drainage, Montana JULIE BEDNARSKl1 and DENNIS L. SCARNECCHIA, pages 167-182

Habitat Characteristics of …

Reviews: Natural History Of Javelinas; And Three Dvds On Bats, Louis A. Harveson, Jean Legge

The Prairie Naturalist

Reviews of Javelinas: Collared Peccaries of the Southwest (2006) by Jane Manaster, Texas Tech University Press, Lubbock, Texas, 85 pages (review by Louis A. Harveson) and of The Secret World of Bats (DVD), Building Homes for Bats (DVD), and Kids Discover Bats (DVD) (2005) published by Bat Conservation International (review by Jean Legge).

Age Structure And Reproductive Activity Of The Blue Sucker In The Milk River, Missouri River Drainage, Montana, Julie Bednarski, Dennis L. Scarnecchia

The Prairie Naturalist

The life history and ecology of the blue sucker (Cycleptus elongatus) in the lower Milk River, Montana were investigated in 2002 and 2003. A total of 253 blue sucker was captured; 248 adult fish, three larval fish, and two age-0 juveniles. The ages (n = 102) of the adult blue sucker ranged from 10 to 37 years; maximum age greatly exceeded ages reported in other studies. Blue sucker in the Milk River population grew slower, matured later, and lived longer than fish at lower latitudes. Adult females of the blue sucker were longer and weighed more than …

Inventory And Monitoring Of Aquatic Bird Species On Lakes Mead And Mohave 2004 - 2006, Joseph Barnes

Wildlife Monitoring

This project was completed as part of a task agreements awarded by the National Park Service (NPS), Lake Mead National Recreation Area (LAME), to the Public Lands Institute (PLI) at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV). This final report was completed under a task agreement ending on September 30, 2006, and was completed in support of an NPS project funded by the Southern Nevada Public Lands Management Act (PLMA) to inventory and monitor shoreline and near-shore natural resources on Lakes Mead and Mohave (DOI 2005). This report details inventory and monitoring efforts on shoreline and aquatic bird species between …

Rana Ocellata Linnaeus, 1758 (Currently Leptodactylus Ocellatus; Amphibia, Anura): Proposed Conservation Of Usage Of The Specific Name By The Designation Of A Neotype, W. Ronald Heyer, Ulisses Caramaschi, Rafael O. De Sá

Biology Faculty Publications

The purpose of this application, under Article 75.6 of the Code, is to conserve the usage of the specific name of Rana ocellata Linnaeus, 1758 for a species of leptodactylid frog from South America by the designation of a neotype. Prevailing usage of the name is threatened by the identity of the type specimen which is a different species than that which is currently known as Leptodactylus ocellatus. It is proposed that all name-bearing types be set aside and a neotype designated in accord with prevailing usage.

Influence Of Optical Cues From Conspecific Females On Escalation Decisions During Male-Male Interactions Of Jumping Spiders, Fiona R. Cross, Robert R. Jackson, Simon D. Pollard, Mark W. Walker

All Peer-Reviewed Publications

An important prediction from game theory is that the value of a resource influences the level to which male-male conflict escalates. An earlier experimental study showed that males of Hypoblemum albovittatum, a common salticid in New Zealand, can discern by sight alone whether a female is in the vicinity and that, having detected a female's presence, males escalate (i.e., adopt behaviour that is likely to put them at greater risk of injury). Seeing a bare moving cork, a conspecific male or a prey item also elicits escalation, but not to the level elicited by seeing a conspecific female. Here the …

The Impact Of Acid Mine Drainage On West Little Sugar Creek, Vigo Co., In, Jodie L. Gibson

All-Inclusive List of Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This study evaluates the degree and extent of contamination in West Little Sugar Creek by analyzing water chemistry in the stream during low and moderate flow conditions. West Little Sugar Creek is located in Vigo County, Indiana and has been severely impacted by AMD discharging from the abandoned Green Valley Mine site. Stream water is commonly acidic (as low as pH 2.4) with elevated concentrations of Fe and Al and elevated trace elements including Ni, Zn, Cu, Cd, Cr, Co, and others, many of which exceed local and/or national surface water quality standards. Amorphous Fe and Al precipitates also form …

Summer 2006, Nsu Oceanographic Center

Currents

No abstract provided.

Benthic Biological Monitoring Program Of The Elizabeth River Watershed (2005), Daniel M. Dauer

Elizabeth River Reports

Executive Summary

Macrobenthic communities of the Elizabeth River watershed have been quantitatively sampled since summer 1999. This report presents the data from the seventh year of sampling in 2005. The three objectives of the Benthic Biological Monitoring Program of the Elizabeth River watershed are: (1) To characterize the health of the tidal waters of the Elizabeth River watershed as indicated by the structure of the benthic communities. (2) To conduct trend analyses on long-term data at 14 fixed-point stations to relate temporal trends in the benthic communities to changes in water and/or sediment quality. Trend analyses will be updated annually …

Chironomid Hemoglobin Genetic Diversity As An Indicator Of The New Jersey Hackensack Meadowlands Wetland Health, Lene Marie De Coursin Jacobs

Seton Hall University Dissertations and Theses (ETDs)

Kearny Marsh located within the Hackensack Meadowlands is a freshwater wetland impacted by multiple environmental stressors from human activity. The marsh is located in the northeastern New Jersey metropolitan area. Chironomid larvae, aquatic larvae of midge fly, were analyzed from two Kearny Marsh sample sites, W9 and W22. A previous sediment analysis and toxicity study characterized heavy metal contaminants the marsh. The data results were applied in this thesis study to determine the correlation between environmental stressors and chironomid genetic diversity. Site W9 sediment was impacted by severe levels of total heavy metal contamination, whereas site W22 had just below …

Factors Contributing To Dust Emissions In Clark County, Nevada Quarterly Progress Report: Period Ending July 15, 2006, Margaret N. Rees

Dust Emissions from Public Lands

• Hiring of post-doctoral scholar is currently being finalized.

• Modification to task agreement has been processed.