Digital Commons Network^™

Nature - The Ultimate Classroom, Red Rock Desert Learning Center

Oliver Ranch Project

A public meeting will be held to introduce the Red Rock Learning Center, the first outdoor education center for local fifth grade children in Southern Nevada. Designed to enhance math and science skills, the school will be built in the Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area. It will feature a curriculum that teaches children about conservation and the natural world by increasing their knowledge and understanding of the Mojave Desert ecosystem.

Red Rock Desert Learning Center & Wild Horse And Burro Facility: Public Meeting Psa For Radio/Tv, Red Rock Desert Learning Center

Oliver Ranch Project

Text of a public service radio announcement for a meeting about the Red Rock Desert Learning Center.

Seismic Signal Production In A Wolf Spider: Parallel Versus Serial Multi-Component Signals, Damian O. Elias, Norman Lee, Eileen Hebets, Andrew Mason

Eileen Hebets Publications

Animal signals can consist of multiple parts within or across sensory modalities (multi-component signals or multimodal signals). While recent work has focused on multimodal signals, the production, processing and evolution of multi-component signals has received considerably less attention. Here, using synchronous high-speed video and laser vibrometer recordings followed by experimental manipulations of putative sound-producing structures, we explored the mechanisms of seismic signal production in the courtship display of Schizocosa stridulans Stratton. Two types of seismic courtship signals were observed: ‘rev’ and ‘idle’ signals. Revs consist of a high-frequency component produced by flexions of the male pedipalp (stridulation) simultaneous with a …

Red Rock Desert Learning Center Core Group Meeting: January 17, 2006, Red Rock Desert Learning Center

Reports (RRLC)

1. Introductions & Announcements (5 min.)
2. Approval of Minutes from December 6, 2005 Meeting (5 min.)
3. Update on Project Schedule – Michael Reiland (10 min.)
   A. Utilities
   B. Parking
   C. Construction Estimates/Inflation
4. Statement of Work/Request for Information Update – Michael Reiland
   (10 min.)
5. Update on Water Line – Michael Reiland/Las Vegas Valley Water District
   (10 min.)
6. Update on Environmental Assessment – Michael Reiland (10 min.)
7. Update on Curriculum Development – Jeanne Klockow (5 min.)
8. Standing Reports (10 min.)
   A. Line and Space Architects
   B. BLM Capital Improvements – Michael Reiland
   C. Community Outreach – LaNelda Rolley
   --RRDLC Open House, January 26, …

Assessment Of Anadromous Alewife And Blueback Herring Populations In Connecticut Coastal Streams And Connecticut River Tributaries, Justin P. Davis, Eric T. Schultz

EEB Articles

Alewife (Alosa pseudoharengus) and blueback herring (A. aestivalis) occur in anadromous populations that have a largely overlapping distribution from Florida to Newfoundland (Loesch 1987). Anadromous populations of these species are commonly collectively referred to as “river herring”. Adults inhabit coastal shelf waters until sexual maturity is reached at age 3-5 (Neves 1981). Sexually mature individuals make spawning migrations, commonly referred to as “runs”, into freshwater systems during spring months (Loesch 1987). Spawners can survive and return to spawn in subsequent years (Mullen et al. 1986). Juveniles reside in freshwater for 3-7 months, at which time they undertake a gradual migration …

When Hybrids Go Wrong. How Hybridization Can Create Invasive Species., Carol Auer, Collin Ahrens

Plant Science Presentations and Proceedings

Gene flow is the movement of genes from one plant population to another. Gene flow is a natural process and a part of plant evolution. There are two ways for gene flow to occur in plants. The first is through sexual reproduction – pollen lands on a flower and a viable seed develops. The second method is through dispersal of seeds and/or vegetative plant parts (e.g. stolons, rhizomes). Gene flow can produce hybrid offspring with an increased or decreased ability to survive in the landscape. If hybrid offspring have some advantage in the environment, they could become invasive. This poster …

Climate Change And Its Effects On Polar Bears, Alex C. Jospe, Bethany C. Peck, Emily Sinnott

Undergraduate Research Symposium (UGRS)

Polar bears are key indicators of the effects of climate change on the arctic ecosystem, because their existence is directly related to the sea ice habitat, where they hunt. As the Arctic continues to warm, their habitat will be reduced further and local extinction is likely to occur, especially in southern populations.

Prevalence And Serovars Of Salmonella In The Feces Of Free-Ranging White-Tailed Deer (Odocoileus Virginianus) In Nebraska, David G. Renter, David P. Gnad, Jan M. Sargeant, Scott E. Hygnstrom

School of Natural Resources: Faculty Publications

To determine the prevalence and serovars of Salmonella in free-ranging deer, we cultured feces from white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) harvested by hunters during a regular firearm season in southeastern Nebraska (USA). We recovered Salmonella from 5 (1%; 95% confidence interval: 0.37– 2.20%) of 500 samples and identified four different Salmonella enterica serovars [Litchfield (1), Dessau (1), Infantis (2), and Enteritidis (1)]. Although the prevalence of Salmonella in free-ranging deer appears to be low, the serovars recovered are known to be pathogenic to humans and animals.

Natural History And Distribution Of The Upland Chorus Frog, Pseudacris Feriarum Baird, In West Virginia, Jaime Sias

Theses, Dissertations and Capstones

Chapter 1 is a literature review of Pseudacris feriarum, largely based on published P. triseriata Complex species accounts. Chapter 2 presents the natural history of P. feriarum in West Virginia and compares some parameters with other Pseudacris species. Chapter 3 looks at the phenology of a wetland in eastern West Virginia. Chapter 4 examines the current range of P. feriarum and compares it with the historical range in the state. Finally, hypotheses are given as to why Upland Chorus Frogs have declined in West Virginia. All information obtained from this study should be used to create a management plan for …

The Natural History And Thermal Ecology Of A Population Of Spotted Turtles (Clemmys Guttata) And Wood Turtles (Glyptemys Insculpta) In West Virginia, Ariana N. Breisch

Theses, Dissertations and Capstones

An ecological study was conducted from 19 March 2001 to 2 April 2003 on a population of Spotted Turtles (Clemmys guttata) and Wood Turtles (Glyptemys insculpta) in West Virginia. Live-trapping, mark-recapture, radio telemetry and temperature data logging techniques were used to gather information on morphometrics, capture success, movements, home range, behavior, and thermal regime during activity and over-wintering seasons. Twenty-one Spotted Turtles were captured 260 times. Population structure was 42.9% juvenile, 38.1% male, and 19.0% female. Mean home range was 0.52 ha. Fifty Wood Turtles were captured 230 times. Juveniles were 36%, and males and females were 32% each. Mean …

1st Susquehanna River Symposium Program, Bucknell Center For Sustainability And The Environment

Susquehanna River Symposium -- Conference materials

From the Branches to the Confluence : The Upper Susquehanna River Basin and its Communities held September 23, 2006. The six page program lists panel discussions, presentations, and abstracts. Topics included environmental science, acid mine drainage, environmental protection and restoration, the river and community, historical geography, and environmental humanities.

An Optimal Brain Can Be Composed Of Conflicting Agents, Adi Livnat, Nicholas Pippenger

All HMC Faculty Publications and Research

Many behaviors have been attributed to internal conflict within the animal and human mind. However, internal conflict has not been reconciled with evolutionary principles, in that it appears maladaptive relative to a seamless decision-making process. We study this problem through a mathematical analysis of decision-making structures. We find that, under natural physiological limitations, an optimal decision-making system can involve “selfish” agents that are in conflict with one another, even though the system is designed for a single purpose. It follows that conflict can emerge within a collective even when natural selection acts on the level of the collective only.

Population Genetics And Phylogeography Of The Pygmy Nuthatch In Southern California, Thomas Alan Benson

Theses Digitization Project

Uses mitochondrial DNA sequence data to examine the degree of genetic differentiation among sky island populations of two subspecies of pygmy nuthatch (Sitta pygmaea melanotis and Sitta pygmaea leuconucha) occurring in Southern California. Assesses the hypothesis that sky islands are genetically isolated and that migration (gene flow) is restricted among them. Eleven sampling locations throughout Southern California were selected based on representation of subspecies, availability of specimens, and feasibility of collection. Results indicate that pygmy nuthatch populations fragmented in the disjunct mountain ranges of Southern California exhibit low but significant levels of genetic differentiation.

Terpenes And Carbohydrate Source Influence Rumen Fermentation, Digestibility, Intake, And Preference In Sheep, J. J. Villalba, F. D. Provenza, K. C. Olson

Green Canyon Environmental Research Area, Logan Utah

We hypothesized that toxins and nutrients in foods interact to influence foraging behavior by herbivores. Based on this hypothesis we predicted that 1) terpenes in big sagebrush (Artemisia tridentata) influence intake and preference in sheep for diets varying in sources of nonstructural (barley grain) and structural (sugar beet pulp) carbohydrates, and 2) these effects are due to the differential effects of terpenes on fermentation products and apparent digestibility of each class of carbohydrates. Lambs were fed 2 isoenergetic and isonitrogenous diets with varying proportions of the same ingredients (beet pulp- and barley grain-based diet) or offered a choice between the …

Spatial Learning In Dragonflies, Perri K. Eason, Paul Switzer

Faculty Research & Creative Activity

No abstract provided.

Spatial Learning In Dragonflies, Perri Eason, Paul Switzer

Faculty Research & Creative Activity

No abstract provided.

The Ethics Of Wildlife Control In Humanized Landscapes, John Hadidian, Camilla H. Fox, William S. Lynn

Ecology Collection

The 21st century is witness to an unprecedented and rapid growth of human settlements, from urban centers to wilderness vacation resorts. Concurrent with this has been the growing tolerance and acceptance of many wild animals and humans for one another. This has created an expanding ‘zone’ of human-animal contacts, some number of which invariably result in conflicts. While the vast majority of our interactions with wild animals are undoubtedly benign, it is the conflict between wildlife and people that draws particularly close attention from the public. Animals viewed as vertebrate “pests” range from the small to the large, the timid …

Early Ontogenetic Diet In Gray Wolves, Canis Lupus, Of Coastal British Columbia, Heather M. Bryan, Chris T. Darimont, Thomas E. Reimchen, Paul C. Paquet

Biogeography and Ecological Opportunity Collection

Within populations, different age classes often consume dissimilar resources, and provisioning of juveniles by adults is one mechanism by which this can occur. Although the diet of Gray Wolves (Canis lupus) has been studied extensively, the diet of pups is largely unknown. We examined faeces deposited by altricial pups and adult providers during the first two months following birth at two den sites over two years on the central coast of British Columbia, Canada. Pups and adult wolves consumed similar species, and Black-tailed Deer (Odocoileus hemionus) constituted most of the diet for both age groups. Pup and adult diet, however, …

Behaviour Development: A Cephalopod Perspective, Jennifer A. Mather

Interactive Behavior Collection

This paper evaluates the development of behaviour from the viewpoint of the intelligent and learningdependent cephalopod mollusks as a contrast to that of mammals. They have a short lifespan, commonly one to two years, and most are semelparous, reproducing only near the end of their lifespan. In the first two months of life, Sepia officinalis cuttlefish show drastic limitation on learning of prey choice and capture, gradually acquiring first short-term and then long-term learning over 60 days. This is paralleled by development of the vertical lobe of the brain which processes visually learned information. In the long nonreproductive adulthood, Octopus …

“Nuisance” Wildlife Control Trapping: Another Perspective, Brad Gates, John Hadidian, Laura Simon

Wildlife Population Management Collection

Urban wildlife control is a rapidly growing profession in which many practitioners apparently still come from a recreational or commercial trapping background. Perhaps for that reason, much of the “control” in resolving human-wildlife conflicts in cities and suburbs seems to revolve around the use of lethal traps to eliminate “problem” animals. Although some states allow relocation and most apparently allow for nuisance animals to be released on site, the extent to which these practices occur is little known. Further, the biological impacts of continual trapping cycles on urban wildlife populations remain little known as well. An alternative approach to trapping …

Predator Survival Tactics And Use Of Habitat Cover In Rana Catesbeiana., Tara E. Bergin

Undergraduate Research Symposium (UGRS)

Predator-prey relationships are an important aspect of the natural world, and, because of its relevance to survival and natural selection, is an interesting relationship to study. In amphibian larvae, level of activity and landscape use are often what determines the survival as prey. I studied the anti-predator behavior of the North American bullfrog (Rana catesbeiana) tadpoles when presented with dragonfly (Aeshna) larvae, a known predator of tadpoles. Tadpoles were acclimated to four different habitats with varying degrees of habitat cover, and were transferred to a new habitat with a degree of cover equal to one of the acclimation tanks. A …

Nmr Investigations Of Natural Organic Matter In Forest Ecosystems, Chris E. Johnson

Civil and Environmental Engineering - All Scholarship

No abstract provided.

Invasion Of Exotic Earthworms Into Ecosystems Inhabited By Native Earthworms, P. F. Hendrix, G. H. Baker, M. A. Callaham Jr., G. A. Damoff, C. Fragoso, G. Gonzalez, S. W. James, S. L. Lachnicht, T. Winsome, X. Zou

Faculty Publications

The most conspicuous biological invasions in terrestrial ecosystems have been by exotic plants, insects and vertebrates. Invasions by exotic earthworms, although not as well studied, may be increasing with global commerce in agriculture, waste management and bioremediation. A number of cases has documented where invasive earthworms have caused significant changes in soil profiles, nutrient and organic matter dynamics, other soil organisms or plant communities. Most of these cases are in areas that have been disturbed (e.g., agricultural systems) or were previously devoid of earthworms (e.g., north of Pleistocene glacial margins). It is not clear that such effects are common in …

Predation And Cathemerality. Comparing The Impact Of Predators On The Activity Patterns Of Lemurids And Ceboids., Ian C. Colquhoun

Anthropology Publications

The removal, or absence, of predatory species could be a contributing proximate factor to the rise of primate cathemerality. But predators themselves can also be cathemeral, so cathemerality could well be an evolutionary stable strategy. From a comparative perspective, it appears that the effect of predatory species cannot provide a unitary explanation for cathemerality. Varying distributions and population densities of predators, especially raptors, may be key factors in owl monkey (Aotus) cathemerality, but temperature and lunar cycle variation have also been implicated. In Madagascar, while raptors are potential predators of lemur species, the cathemerality of Eulemur species coincides with that …

Constructed Ponds As Mitigated Habitat For The Wood Frog (Rana Sylvatica Leconte) And The Spotted Salamander (Ambystoma Maculatum Shaw) In West Virginia, Celeste Dawn Good

Theses, Dissertations and Capstones

Many forest dwelling amphibians depend upon aquatic breeding habitats, making them susceptible to habitat changes. To determine if amphibian use of temporary pools occurred, 9 ponds were constructed in 3 forested areas on the MeadWestvaco Wildlife and Ecosystem Research Forest. Studies were conducted in 6 ponds during 2004, and all 9 in 2005 using drift fences. Trapped amphibians were measured and given a pond specific mark with visible implant elastomers. A significant difference was found between low and high elevation sites for juvenile R. sylvatica snout-to-vent length. No significant differences were found for soil, air or water temperatures between sites …

The Breeding Ecology And Natural History Of Ambystomatid Salamanders In An Ephemeral Wetland In Mason County, West Virginia, S. Douglas Kaylor

Theses, Dissertations and Capstones

A forested ephemeral wetland in Mason County, WV, documented to contain 4 of 5 Ambystoma species found in the state, was studied to learn about population sizes, breeding cycles, and habitat use. Minnow traps were placed along three drift fences with additional traps placed throughout the study area. From February 5 to March 27, 2005, 85 captured adults were identified to species, marked by elastomer injection for mark-recapture analysis, and measured for morphometrics. Larval salamanders were identified, staged, measured, and returned. Egg clutches were mapped and counted. Mark-recapture analysis suggests the A. texanum population size is between 635 and 735 …

Survey Of The Great Kanawha River, West Virginia, For Virulence Related Gene Markers Stx1, Stx2, And Eaea, Christina Carole Johnson

Theses, Dissertations and Capstones

Microbial surveying using antibiotic resistant bacteria, fecal coliforms, and virulence genes is an approach not previously tested on the Great Kanawha River. Research objectives were to test antibiotic resistant and fecal coliform bacteria as bioindicators of water quality, and develop a multiplex- polymerase chain reaction (mPCR) system for identification of stx1, stx2, and eaeA DNA sequences in isolated fecal coliforms (FC). Fecal indicator populations and antibiotic resistant populations were demonstrated to be independent. Bacterial populations were assigned impact score(s) (IS) values for each sample site based on data set percent ranks. Population scores were summed per sample site to generate …

Nutrient Control Of Microbial Carbon Cycling Along An Ombrotrophicminerotrophic Peatland Gradient, Jason K. Keller, Angela K. Bauers, Scott D. Bridgham, Laurie E. Kellogg, Colleen M. Iversen

Biology, Chemistry, and Environmental Sciences Faculty Articles and Research

Future climate change and other anthropogenic activities are likely to increase nutrient availability in many peatlands, and it is important to understand how these additional nutrients will influence peatland carbon cycling. We investigated the effects of nitrogen and phosphorus on aerobic CH4 oxidation, anaerobic carbon mineralization (as CO2 and CH4 production), and anaerobic nutrient mineralization in a bog, an intermediate fen, and a rich fen in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. We utilized a 5-week laboratory nutrient amendment experiment in conjunction with a 6-year field nutrient fertilization experiment to consider how the relative response to nitrogen and phosphorus differed among …

Influence Of Nutrient Availability, Stand Age, And Canopy Structure On Isoprene Flux In A Eucalyptus Saligna Experimental Forest, Jennifer L. Funk, Christian P. Giardina, Alexander Knohl, Manuel T. Lerdau

Biology, Chemistry, and Environmental Sciences Faculty Articles and Research

Eucalyptus plantations occupy approximately 10 million ha of land in the tropics and, increasingly, afforestation and reforestation projects are relying on this genus to provide rapid occupation of degraded sites, large quantities of high-quality wood products, and high rates of carbon sequestration. Members of the genus Eucalyptus are also very high emitters of isoprene, the dominant volatile organic compound emitted by trees in tropical ecosystems, which significantly influences the oxidative capacity of the atmosphere. While fertilization growth response of these trees has been intensively studied, little is known about how fertilization and tree age alter isoprene production from plantations of …

The Southern Family Farm As Endangered Species: Possibilities For Survival In Barbara Kingsolver's Prodigal Summer, Suzanne W. Jones

English Faculty Publications

At the same time some southern studies scholars are positioning the U.S. South in a larger cultural, historic, and economic region that encompasses the Caribbean and Latin America, some southern environmentalist writers, such as long-time essayist and novelist Wendell Berry and activist-turned-memoirist Janisse Ray, are finding a pressing need to focus on smaller bioregions and the locatedness of the human subject. These writers believe that agribusiness and consumer ignorance are driving small farmers out of business and that clear-cutting timber and farming practices dependent on chemicals are threatening local ecosystems. Best-selling novelist Barbara Kingsolver has joined their ranks. With her …