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The Role Of Exotic Plants In The Diet Of Black-And-White Colobus Monkeys (Colobus Guereza) In Kibale National Park, Uganda, Michelle Gaykov

Theses and Dissertations

Exotic plants have both positive and negative impacts on their environment. They may act as additional food sources for the local fauna or as competition for local flora or leading to changes within a landscape or ecosystem. To considere the role of exotics in primate diet, this study focused on the dietary role of exotic plant species in the diet of a leaf-eating foregut fermenting monkey, the black-and-white colobus monkeys (Colobus guereza) in Kibale National Park, Uganda. Int this study, I followed individuals in two groups of black-and-white colobus monkeys for 21 days recording their food intake (0700-1900). I also …

Species-Specific Manipulation Of Microbially-Derived Volatiles By Burying Beetle Parents, Stephen T. Trumbo

EEB Articles

1. Hosts and microbes interact in dynamic relationships that can alter the volatile profile emitted by the microbial community. The extent to which closely related species diverge in these relationships is not well known.

2. Burying beetles associate with a rich microbial community that is present on their breeding resource, a small vertebrate carcass. Prior work demonstrated that Nicrophorus orbicollis manage the microbial community during parental care to alter the volatile profile emanating from the nest, reducing cues for competitors that would usurp the resource.

3. The present study extended this work to N. marginatus to first determine the distinctive …

Capacity-Building Project To Progress The Implementation Of International Instruments To Combat Iuu Fishing (Capfish) : Summer Academy: West Africa, World Maritime University, Korea Maritime Institute, Ministry Of Oceans And Fisheries

Reports

The CAPFISH Project was created in response to an identified need for capacity-building to address illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing and related matters - a complex problem affecting aquatic ecosystems, coastal communities, fishers and fish workers, and economic and national security. Over the last five years, the CAPFISH Project has provided training and educational materials on IUU fishing to developing country administrations around the world, most recently with a two-week regional Summer Academy for West Africa. This Academy ran for two weeks and included delegates from fisheries, maritime and enforcement agencies, industry, maritime training institutions, regional fisheries bodies, and …

Where Mussels Hang Out: A Multiscale Analysis Of Zebra Mussel (Dreissena Polymorpha) Spread In South Dakota, Justin Verner Sorensen

Dissertations and Theses

The spread of the invasive zebra mussel (Dreissena polymrpha) poses significant ecological and economic threats to freshwater systems across North America. Understanding population dynamics and how this aquatic invasive species spreads is essential for making natural resource management decisions. South Dakota represents an active frontline of the zebra mussel invasion, highlighting the importance of understanding the spread in this region. Statewide habitat suitability modeling of available aquatic habitat was performed using MaxEnt, a robust machine learning algorithm. Individual waterbody suitability means were also extracted to rank waterbodies within highly suitable regions. This work revealed that South Dakota possesses widespread suitable …

Largemouth Bass Diet Changes Through The Summer In Central Minnesota, Ethan Kunz

Journal of Earth and Life Science

Largemouth Bass Micropterus nigricans is one of the most widespread fish species in the world, due in part to human introduction for angling. Largemouth Bass are opportunistic predators that will consume the largest prey they can often find; however, it has been shown that their diet mainly consists of invertebrates such as crayfish, with less focus on other fish species. This research aimed to determine what the Largemouth Bass diets in Central Minnesota consist of, and how they may change from the beginning of summer through the beginning of fall. A total of 174 Largemouth Bass were sampled from late …

Relationship Between Ratio Of Hybrid Sunfish To Their Parent Species And Latitude, Maxwell Kattner

Journal of Earth and Life Science

Hybrid sunfish of the Lepomis genus make up a generally small but notable portion of the population of sunfish in Minnesota lakes. Hybrid sunfish play a significant role in freshwater ecosystems across the United States. They are both morphologically and behaviorally distinct in some ways and similar in other ways to their parent species, causing them to both fill and compete with their parent species for niches occupied by multiple Lepomis species. Despite this, the ratio of hybrid sunfish to their parent species has never been properly explored. This study observed if the ratio of hybrid sunfish to their parent …

Protecting Wetlands In The State Of Texas: Assessing Gaps In Regulations, Knowledge, And Professional Roles And Responsibilities, Grace A. Moy

Landscape Architecture Masters & Design Theses

Wetlands rank among earth's most productive ecosystems, providing crucial ecological services such as hydrological regulation, water purification, and habitat support (US EPA, 2015). In Texas, however, rapid urbanization, inconsistent policy enforcement, and the absence of statewide protection frameworks of hastened wetland degradation (Brody & Kang, 2011). Without a robust state regulatory framework (Environmental Law Institute [ELI], 2020), these ecosystems face increasing threats from development and hydrological disturbances.

This thesis aims to identify regulatory and knowledge deficiencies that influence Texas’ current wetland protection status and to offer targeted professional recommendations for landscape architecture professionals to address these shortcomings in future public …

Timber Use And Forest Management In The Ancient Mediterranean, Tobey Russell

Undergraduate Papers

No abstract provided.

The Presence Of Predators Moderates Evolutionary Responses Of Trinidadian Killifish To A Novel Parasite, Anne E. Christian

Biology Dissertations

The Healthy Herds Hypothesis suggests the idea that prey populations derive a benefit from their predators: predators reduce the exposure of their prey to infectious disease, both by limiting prey population densities and by eliminating sick individuals. Much research has focused on the balancing effect that predators have on ecosystems. There is a current need for research into whether these effects cause evolutionary shifts in prey populations, where strong predation pressure prevents prey species from evolving physiological tolerance or resistance to infectious agents. Parasites especially often have rapid effects on host evolution, due to exploitative interactions.

I seek to address …

Ecological Renovation Of Belmont Tennis Courts, Abbie E. Hamilton, Smith David, Darlene Panvini

SPARK Symposium Presentations

Although Belmont works hard to establish adequate green spaces on our campus, there is much work to be done if we want our students and the wildlife around us to maximize their ecosystem services. More specifically, Belmont can strive to implement nature-based solutions for its athletes, who are often competing in highly urbanized facilities. For this project, we have decided to redesign Belmont’s Tennis Courts, improving their design by increasing their green infrastructure. Our new design was created from a biophilic perspective and intends to serve all aspects of the triple bottom line. The new tennis courts will include ecologically …

Hfpo-Da Aquatic Toxicity And Bioaccumulation, Bailey Dawn Rappold

Theses, Dissertations and Capstones

Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) have been detected globally in environmental media and biota. Legacy compounds PFOA and PFOS have been observed to be toxic and bioaccumulative in low doses and have been removed from production and industrial processes. Replacement PFAS chemicals are less understood and present a gap in current knowledge in their toxicological effects. This research utilized extended chronic toxicity studies to assess the impacts of HFPO-DA, a short chain replacement PFAS, on the standard aquatic toxicology organism Pimephales promelas. Organisms were exposed for 29 to 30 days at environmentally relevant concentrations of the toxicant, 7.8125 ng/L …

Practical Considerations For Conducting Canine Behavioral Science, Lucrezia Lonardo, Madeline H. Pelgrim, Jeffrey R. Stevens

Jeffrey Stevens Publications

Research on behavior in domestic dogs (Canis familiaris) has increased rapidly recently due to the interest in them as pets, working dogs, and model species for understanding evolution, domestication, and even human health. This interest in canine behavioral science has resulted in the creation of dozens of dog lab worldwide, with more starting every year. Our aim here is to review practical issues that potential dog researchers might consider when deciding how to set up a dog lab and conduct research in canine behavioral science. We hope that this can offer a path forward in promoting high-quality, cutting-edge …

A Stable Isotope Comparison Of The Biogenic Carbonate Of Mammalian Tooth Enamel From The Modern Ohio River Valley And Fort Ancient Buffalo Sites, Sara Elizabeth Slack

Theses, Dissertations and Capstones

δ¹⁸O and δ¹³C values change in response to anthropogenic factors (Ghosh & Brand, 2003). Little is known about the effects of anthropogenic climate and land use change on the ecology of the Ohio River Valley. The goal of this research was to quantify the effects of European colonization on the native ecology of the region. The specific questions of this research were: (1) How have mammalian tooth enamel δ¹⁸O and δ¹³C compositions shifted over time within the Ohio River Valley in response to anthropogenic climate change and vegetation? (2) Are there differences …

Effect Of Environmental Conditions On German Cockroach (Blattella Germanica) Behavior And Survival, Allison Lopina

Theses and Dissertations--Entomology

German cockroaches (Blattella germanica L.) remain one of the most challenging indoor pests to manage, due to resistance to many commonly used insecticides, and necessary contact/interaction with common management tactics. As such, it is critical to fully understand their aggregation, movement, and longevity, such that treatments can be optimally placed to result in maximal efficacy. The first part of this study explored the effects of multiple factors (harborage width, harborage materials, heat, resource-harborage distance) on initial site selection, and how environmental modifications and infestation density impact harborage site switching. The second half of the study aimed to explore the …

Temporal Avoidance By Gray Foxes Reflects Growing Pressure From Expanding Coyotes In The Neotropics, Madison Odenbach

Undergraduate Theses, Professional Papers, and Capstone Artifacts

Coyotes (Canis latrans) are rapidly expanding their range towards South America, potentially threatening the world’s highest canid diversity residing on that continent. A better understanding of their interactions with native species is needed to anticipate potential competitive impacts. In Costa Rica, native gray foxes (Urocyon cinereoargenteus) likely occupy a similar niche to the coyote newcomer, yet little data exists on their interactions in tropical ecosystems. We hypothesized the two species separate temporally to minimize the potential for competition in our study area, given preliminary data suggesting high spatial overlap (57.1% of coyote-detected sites overlap with fox-detected …

Evaluating Benthic Macroinvertebrate Communities In Streamside Management Zones In Private, Working Forests, Haley Vaglienti

College of Graduate Studies: Theses & Dissertations

Forestry operations can alter riparian vegetation and increase sediment and nutrient inputs to streams, affecting water quality and aquatic biota. Forestry best management practices (BMPs) including streamside management zones (SMZs) are designed to mitigate those effects by reducing sediment delivery and moderating temperature, flow, and nutrient regimes. We assessed ecological integrity at 24 intermittent stream sites with SMZs in private, working forests across the Piedmont and Southeastern plains of Georgia. At each site, we conducted physical habitat evaluations and characterized benthic macroinvertebrate assemblages. Sites represented a gradient of habitat conditions, SMZ widths, and pine stand ages, allowing for comparisons of …

Aquatic Habitat Use By Western Toads And American Bullfrogs In California’S Central Valley: Effects Of Local Habitat Characteristics And Landscape Composition, Kaitlyn Breana Hernandez

Cal Poly Humboldt theses and projects

Drastic losses of historic wetland habitat in the California Central Valley have caused widespread population declines and extirpations of aquatic breeding amphibians. Efforts to restore wetland habitat have included private land, which represents 70% of land tenure in the Central Valley. Management of these restored wetlands is focused on waterfowl with the assumption that they will provide habitat for native herpetofauna. This study used combined surveys to test the assumption that restored wetlands on private land provide habitat for native amphibians with the western toad (Anaxyrus boreas) as a case study. The objectives were to use environmental DNA …

Coho Salmon (Oncorhynchus Kisutch) Response To Habitat Restoration Through Space And Time: Monitoring Growth, Survival, And Movement In A Restored Habitat Network, Carter Perez Adamson

Cal Poly Humboldt theses and projects

Despite the decline of coho salmon (Oncorhynchus kisutch), Prairie Creek, a tributary of Redwood Creek in northern California, remains a coho salmon stronghold. The restoration of juvenile coho rearing habitat was identified as a recovery objective in this watershed by the National Marine Fisheries Service. Among the restoration projects addressing this objective are an ongoing project on Prairie Creek and its tributary Skunk Cabbage Creek, and a prior effort on Strawberry Creek (a tributary of Redwood Creek’s estuary). Standard monitoring methods for assessing project success have limitations and may be improved by measuring salmon use of restored habitats …

Geographic Variation In Proteomic Responses To Ocean Acidification In A Cold-Water Coral (Balanophyllia Elegans), Keana A. Richmond

Cal Poly Humboldt theses and projects

In the face of a rapidly changing climate, assessing organismal responses to future stressors in the context of current, natural exposure to stress could provide key insights to understanding marine ecosystem resilience. I used Balanophyllia elegans, a cold-water, solitary, azooxanthellate coral as a model to better understand how varying oceanographic conditions across its geographic range have shaped its ability to tolerate and potentially adapt to current and future ocean acidification conditions. I collected B. elegans individuals from four sites across 2,500km of their range and subjected them to two pH treatments to investigate site-specific protein expression in response to …

Early Successional Response To Stream Daylighting In Redwood National And State Parks, Orick, California, Rylee Rawson

Cal Poly Humboldt theses and projects

In-channel stream restoration projects can act as both disturbance and recovery mechanisms, disrupting existing conditions to reestablish the hydrologic and ecological processes that sustain stream ecosystems. These interventions initiate successional trajectories in which channel form and biological communities reorganize over time. In Redwood National and State Parks (California, USA), the Redwoods Rising initiative restores buried headwater channels by recontouring legacy logging roads and daylighting streams buried by Humboldt crossings. Using the National Park Service Klamath Network wadable stream monitoring protocol, I evaluated nine restored reaches spanning one to five years post-restoration, alongside old-growth reference reaches and available pre-treatment data. I …

Ectomycorrhizal Fungi Associated With Pinus Species Of California's Northwestern Coast, Monika Audrey Richardson

Cal Poly Humboldt theses and projects

Ectomycorrhizal (ECM) fungi are vital for increasing host plant uptake of nutrients and stress tolerance within ECM forest ecosystems. The species assemblage of ECM fungi can vary locally in response to numerous biotic and abiotic environmental factors. In California’s northwestern coast the occurrence of three Pinus species, along with a disjunction between populations of Pinus muricata in Mendocino and Humboldt Counties, offer a unique opportunity to investigate the spatial and host effects on pine-associated ECM fungi. Ectomycorrhizal fungal community structure was quantified from host tree roots and sequenced sporocarps occurring at the same sites to create a project specific ITS …

Seasonal And Lunar Patterns Of Peach Blossom Jellyfish (Craspedacusta Sowerbii) In Michigan, Claire Kozal

Master's Theses and Doctoral Dissertations

The peach blossom jellyfish (Craspedacusta sowerbii) is the only freshwater medusa found in the United States, yet its distribution, abundance, and mechanisms of dispersal remain poorly understood. Given its uncertain status, understanding the ecology of this species is a priority. To characterize population dynamics during the medusa season, surface water temperature and medusa abundance were surveyed at six inland lakes in Michigan. Occurrence records of C. sowerbii in Michigan were then used to compare co-occurrence patterns with nine aquatic invasives as a window into potential dispersal mechanisms and to create a regional ecological niche model. Medusae were observed in one …

From Nesting To Emergence: Environmental Drivers Of Hatchling Success In Blanding’S Turtles And Implications For Management In Southeast Michigan, Morgan Boyer

Master's Theses and Doctoral Dissertations

Blanding’s turtles (Emydoidea blandingii) are long-lived turtles whose populations are highly sensitive to juvenile recruitment. We used intensive nest monitoring, microclimate logging, soil measurements, and local weather data at two Southeast Michigan sites to quantify how nest placement, incubation environments, and substrate conditions influence emergence success and hatchling condition. Nesting females were morphologically similar in size and produced average clutch sizes for the species (8 ± 2 eggs). Nest sites were found on relatively open, disturbed uplands with sandier soil substrates. Emergence success was generally high (≈ 70-80%) in nests protected from predation. Sandy loam had the highest success rates …

Vegetation Species And Bed Position May Drive Epifaunal But Not Nekton Habitat Use In Estuarine Submerged Vegetation In The Mobile-Tensaw River Delta, Alabama, Steven Vroljik, Kathryn O'Shaughnessy, Ashley Mcdonald, Zoey Hendrickson, Bethany Kiley, Anna Reimer, Sierra Robertson, Samantha Smith, Edward Sullivan, Charles Martin

Gulf and Caribbean Research

Submerged aquatic vegetation (SAV) supports nekton and epifaunal macroinvertebrates, sustaining food webs and ecosystem services in estuaries. Invasive SAV can alter these dynamics by displacing native vegetation and restructuring communities. In Alabama’s Mobile-Tensaw Delta (MTD), Eurasian milfoil (Myriophyllum spicatum) is rapidly expanding and outcompeting native wild celery (Vallisneria americana). This study compared nekton and epifaunal assemblages between M. spicatum and V. americana, focusing on edge versus interior positions. Nekton surveys identified 22 taxa (M. spicatum, n = 13; V. americana, n = 18), but assemblages did not differ significantly between vegetation types …

Climate Change And Species Interactions Jointly Shape Migration Timing And Growth At A Critical Ontogenetic Transition In Juvenile Sockeye Salmon, Margaret E. Veatch

Honors Theses

Climate change is shifting the timing of biological events globally, but the mechanisms linking environmental variation to phenological changes are poorly understood in many systems, particularly those where individuals undergo ontogenetic habitat shifts. Here, I examined the join influence of climate-driven environmental variability and species interactions migration timing and body size at migration in juvenile sockeye salmon (Oncorhynchus nerka) in Lake Aleknagik, Alaska, using a multi-decadal dataset (1967–2024). Migration timing varied widely among years and was best explained by a combination of ice-out phenology, epilimnetic temperature, and fish densities in littoral habitats. Juvenile sockeye salmon migrated earlier in …

Chesapeake Bay Water Clarity: Challenges And Successes, Jessica S. Turner, Carl T. Friedrichs, David B. Parrish, Kelsey A. Fall

OES Faculty Publications

The Chesapeake Bay is a large estuarine system spanning multiple jurisdictions and serves as a model for estuarine health worldwide. Historically, nutrient loading degraded water quality, prompting the need for regulation. Water clarity, one component of water quality, is vital for benthic communities and serves as a key indicator of overall ecosystem health. Here, physical resuspension and salinity gradients, nutrient and sediment inputs, production of organic detritus by phytoplankton, and benthic communities all interact to drive clarity patterns, with high spatial variability. Trends over the last 50 years show improvement, though with a temporary increase in organic detritus in response …

Modeling Upper Ocean Ecosystem Dynamics In Response To Interannual Sea-Ice Variability In The Western Antarctic Peninsula, Catherine R. Czajka, Jessica S. Turner, Sharon Stammerjohn, Heather H. Kim, Oscar Schofield, Benjamin T. Saenz, Scott C. Doney

OES Faculty Publications

In the Western Antarctic Peninsula (WAP), marine plankton dynamics are tightly linked to the interannual variability in environmental conditions, including phenological shifts in sea-ice seasonality. To explore these linkages, we use a 1-dimensional vertical ocean-ice-ecosystem model (KPP-Eco-Ice, or KEI) that simulates physical and ecosystem conditions at a continental shelf mooring location in the Palmer Long Term Ecological Research program sampling grid. KEI allows for year-round examination of the ecosystem in a region where in situ observations on the shelf are limited to January. Comparisons are made between seasonal sea-ice retreat, mixed layer depth, primary productivity, and phytoplankton relative abundance, grazing, …

Microbial Mats In Dinosaur Ichnocoenoses, Nora Noffke, Paul C. Murphy, Roger C. Buntin, Martin G. Lockley

OES Faculty Publications

Until now, the significance of microbial mats in preservation of dinosaur tracks and in reconstructing the palaeoenvironment in which dinosaurs roamed was rarely studied. Dinosaur tracks are commonly found close to ancient aquatic bodies where moist sediment had once allowed footstep registration. At such sites, epibenthic or endobenthic microbial mats may have developed as well and may have led to exquisite track preservation. Microbial mats in coastal, lacustrine or flood plain environments cause 'microbially induced sedimentary structures—MISS', which are micobialites found in sandy or evaporitic settings. The microbial structures record environmental parameters including meteorological conditions that existed at the time …

Aquatic Macrophytes As Nature-Based Solutions: Challenges And Opportunities Across Inland And Coastal Waters, Morgan Botrel, Roxane Maranger, Lindsay L. Trottier, Mathieu Cusson, Lars L. Iverson, Fanny Noisette, Christian Nozais, Katrine Turgeon, Andrea Bertolo, Thibaud André-Alphonse, Simon Bélanger, Arthur De Grandpré, Jean-Olivier Goyette, Sabine Hilt, Ladd Johnson, Valérie Langlois, Martin Laporte, Félix Lauzon, Brigitte Légaré, Anne Ola, Marie-Pomme Presne-Poissant, Matthieu Prugne, Caroline Susini, Richard Zimmerman

OES Faculty Publications

Macrophytes are foundation species whose use as nature-based solution (NbS) in aquatic ecosystems can help reduce climate change impacts while mitigating biodiversity loss. The discrepancy in research and application of macrophytes as NbS across inland and marine coastal ecosystems is an opportunity to expand the concept and learn from different approaches. We report on an initiative uniting marine and freshwater scientists that compared knowledge on macrophytes as NbS across realms, identified advances and gaps in their use, and synthesized challenges and opportunities for application. We conducted a bibliometric analysis and an expert participatory exercise around recent review papers. We reveal …

Long-Term Compositional Shifts In The Fish Community Of The Wabash River, Olivia R. Wertman

Masters Theses

There is concern about declining biodiversity in the world today and an increasing need to monitor biodiversity through collecting data and gauging changes occurring in biodiversity over time. Large river fish communities are one area of particular interest due to their sensitivity to environmental changes. One program seeking to address this is the Long-Term Survey and Assessment of Large River Fishes, LTEF, which monitors fish populations in the large rivers of Illinois. In this study, I assessed changes in the fish community of the lower 322 km of the Wabash River from 2010-2025 using annual direct current boat electrofishing surveys …