Digital Commons Network^™

Sea Level Rise Vulnerability Analysis Of Mangrove Ecosystems Using Gis, Kayla Caldwell

HCNSO Student Theses and Dissertations

Climate change is accelerating beyond what is natural due to excessive emissions from human activities. The sea level has been rising for many years and is currently at a rate of 3.6 mm/yr. Mangroves are known to only keep pace with a sea level rate of less than 1.2 mm/yr. Mangroves are particularly vulnerable to rising sea levels if they are not able to keep pace through vertical sediment accretion or inland migration. To test the vulnerability of the south Florida mangrove ecosystems to sea level rise, this study analyzed changes in the mangrove forest coverage of the Oleta River …

Re-Evaluation Of Euchloe Olympia (W. H. Edwards, 1871 (Pieridae: Pierinae) From A Geographic And Taxonomic Perspective, Harry Pavulaan

The Taxonomic Report of the International Lepidoptera Survey

The taxonomic status of regional populations of Euchloe olympia (W. H. Edwards, 1871) is reevaluated here. A review of pertinent literature and a critique of Clench & Opler (1983) are provided. The taxon rosa and two distinct populations of the Great Lakes “dune form” are each proposed for recognition at subspecific rank. The status of synonym anniha Ebner (1970) is addressed.

Investigating Drivers Of Genetic Structure In Plants: Global, Regional And Local Scales, Diana Gamba-Moreno

Dissertations

Genetic structure within and among plant populations is a critical component of plant biodiversity, informing local adaptation, conservation, and incipient speciation. However, its drivers remain poorly understood, especially across different spatial scales. In my dissertation I examined factors that affect plant population genetic structure at global, regional, and local scales. At the global scale, I performed a literature review of population genetic differentiation (F_ST) in seed plants based on a 337-species dataset with data on F_ST and species traits. Using phylogenetic multiple regressions, I found that F_ST is higher for tropical, mixed-mating, non-woody species pollinated by …

First Record Of Dactylopius Confusus (Cockerell, 1929) (Hemiptera: Coccomorpha: Dactylopiidae) In Michoacan, Mexico, Arturo Ramírez-Cruz, Héctor González-Hernández, Christof F. Stumpf

Insecta Mundi

In April 2017, several scale insect specimens in the family Dactylopiidae were collected from infested cladodes of wild Opuntia tomentosa Salm-Dyck, 1822 (Cactaceae) in the outskirts of Morelia City, Michoacan, Mexico. The specimens were identified as Dactylopius confusus (Cockerell, 1929) (Hemiptera: Coccomorpha: Dac­tylopiidae). In this article, the presence of D. confusus in Michoacan state, Mexico, is recorded for the first time. A subsequent finding of D. confusus on Opuntia ficus-indica (L.) Mill., (1768) (Cactaceae) in October 2019 was confirmed with 18S rDNA and 28S rDNA.

A New Species Of Crioprosopus Audinet-Serville, 1834 From Costa Rica And Panama (Coleoptera: Cerambycidae: Cerambycinae: Trachyderini), Bryan K. Eya

Insecta Mundi

Crioprosopus baldwini Eya (Coleoptera: Cerambycidae: Cerambycinae: Trachyderini), sp. nov., from Costa Rica and Panama, is described. An amendment to the key to species of Crioprosopus Audinet-Serville, 1834, as presented in Eya (2015), is provided along with illustrations of the key characteristics to differentiate C. baldwini from other species.

The Trichoptera Of Panama Xiv. New Species Of Microcaddisflies (Trichoptera: Hydroptilidae) From Omar Torrijos Herrera National Park, Brian J. Armitage, Steven C. Harris

Insecta Mundi

Abstract. In 2017, a new project was begun to assess the biodiversity of national parks and forest reserves in the Republic of Panama. Designated “Proyecto Sistema de Producción Sostenible Conservación de la Biodiversidad (PSPSCB)”, this project is managed by Panama’s Ministerio de Ambiente. The first park sampled in 2017 was Omar Torrijos Herrera National Park (OTHNP). Trichoptera (Insecta) were collected at four locations using both Malaise traps and UV light traps. The rugged terrain and lack of access in this remote park limited the sampled area. Sampling included streams in both the Caribbean and Pacific drainages. Seven new species of …

Termitodiellus Mindanaoensis, A New Species Of Rhyparini Schmidt, 1910 (Scarabaeidae: Aphodiinae) From The Philippines, Łukasz Minkina, Showtaro Kakizoe

Insecta Mundi

A new species of the genus Termitodiellus Nakane, 1961—T. mindanaoensis Minkina and Kakizoe, new species from Mindanao Island in the Philippines is described and illustrated. Photographs of the epipharynx of Termitodiellus species are provided for the first time. A short discussion of the phylogeny of Rhyparini Schmidt, 1910 is presented.

Geographic Variation In Host Selection In The Spider Wasps Entypus Unifasciatus (Say) And Tachypompilus Ferrugineus (Say) (Hymenoptera: Pompilidae), Frank E. Kurczewski, Joseph W. Stoll, Rick C. West, Kelly C. Kissane, Neil Stanley Cobb

Insecta Mundi

Geography and host spider family are strongly linked in the spider wasps (Hymenoptera: Pompilidae) Entypus unifasciatus (Say) and Tachypompilus ferrugineus (Say) (rusty spider wasp) when 2031 host spider local­ity records from the years 1918–2020 are mapped. Entypus unifasciatus lycosid host records are plentiful from 43–44° N in the U.S. to northern Mexico. Tachypompilus ferrugineus lycosid host records are numerous from southern Ontario and New England to Mexico east of the Rocky Mountains. Most E. unifasciatus and T. ferrugin­eus pisaurid host records are from the SE U.S. Trechaleid host records for E. unifasciatus and T. ferrugineus are predominant in southern Mexico …

Impacts Of Invasive Rats And Tourism On A Threatened Island Bird: The Palau Micronesian Scrubfowl, Paul M. Radley, Robert A. Davis, Tim S. Doherty

Research outputs 2014 to 2021

Invasive predators have decimated island biodiversity worldwide. Rats (Rattus spp.) are perhaps the greatest conservation threat to island fauna. The ground nesting Palau Micronesian Scrubfowl Megapodius laperouse senex (Megapodiidae) inhabits many of the islands of Palau's Rock Island Southern Lagoon Conservation Area (RISL) in the western Pacific. These islands are also heavily visited by tourists and support populations of introduced rats, both of which may act as added stressors for the scrubfowl. Using passive chew-tag and call playback surveys on five tourist-visited and five tourist-free islands, we investigated if rats and tourists negatively affect scrubfowl, and if higher rat activity …

Genotyping-By-Sequencing And Ecological Niche Modeling Illuminate Phylogeography, Admixture, And Pleistocene Range Dynamics In Quaking Aspen (Populus Tremuloides), Justin C. Bagley, Neander M. Heming, Eliécer E. Gutiérrez, Upendra K. Devisetty, Karen E. Mock, Andrew J. Eckert, Steven H. Strauss

Ecology Center Publications

Populus tremuloides is the widest‐ranging tree species in North America and an ecologically important component of mesic forest ecosystems displaced by the Pleistocene glaciations. Using phylogeographic analyses of genome‐wide SNPs (34,796 SNPs, 183 individuals) and ecological niche modeling, we inferred population structure, ploidy levels, admixture, and Pleistocene range dynamics of P. tremuloides, and tested several historical biogeographical hypotheses. We found three genetic lineages located mainly in coastal–Cascades (cluster 1), east‐slope Cascades–Sierra Nevadas–Northern Rockies (cluster 2), and U.S. Rocky Mountains through southern Canadian (cluster 3) regions of the P. tremuloides range, with tree graph relationships of the form ((cluster 1, …

A Basic Ddradseq Two‐Enzyme Protocol Performs Well With Herbarium And Silica‐Dried Tissues Across Four Genera, Ingrid E. Jordon-Thaden, James B. Beck, Catherine A. Rushworth, Michael D. Windham, Nicolas Diaz, Jason T. Cantley, Christopher T. Martine, Carl J. Rothfels

Faculty Journal Articles

Premise

The ability to sequence genome‐scale data from herbarium specimens would allow for the economical development of data sets with broad taxonomic and geographic sampling that would otherwise not be possible. Here, we evaluate the utility of a basic double‐digest restriction site–associated DNA sequencing (ddRADseq) protocol using DNAs from four genera extracted from both silica‐dried and herbarium tissue.

Methods

DNAs from Draba, Boechera, Solidago, and Ilex were processed with a ddRADseq protocol. The effects of DNA degradation, taxon, and specimen age were assessed.

Results

Although taxon, preservation method, and specimen age affected data recovery, large phylogenetically informative …

Analyzing The Flight Patterns And Behavior Of Dragonflies Engaged In Aerial Territory Battles, Brandon Hastings, Brandon Jackson

Virtual 2020 Spring Student Showcase for Research and Creative Inquiry

It has previously been determined that male dragonflies occupying the most suitable territory within a habitat have a higher flight-muscle ratio (FMR) than those occupying poor territories, but it is unknown how this increased FMR relates to their flight patterns. This study examined the flight patterns of dragonflies engaged in aerial territory battles to investigate differences in maneuverability between winners and losers. 3D video data of dragonflies interacting in a natural habitat was analyzed for territorial flights. Winners showed a lower maximum angular velocity compared to losers.

What Is The Winter Limiting Nutrient In Urban Reservoirs? A Case Study, Precious Nyabami

UCARE: Research Products

The importance of reservoirs is widely acknowledged by urban populations, yet little is understood scientifically about their ability to process nutrients deposited into them in winter. For example, when agricultural runoff is deposited in lakes in winter or any other season, eutrophication might arise in the spring. With increased eutrophication, several ecosystem services are lost and this leads to what several researchers call “the urban syndrome”. Some studies have been done on the winter limnology of lakes, yet little is understood about the above in reservoirs. The sustainability of urban reservoirs relies on understanding how the phytoplankton in urban reservoirs …

333— Effectiveness Of Batesian Mimicry In The Ant Mimicking Spider Myrmarachne Formicaria, Alanna Richman, Bea Dipzinski

GREAT Day Posters

Myrmarachne formicaria is a non-native ant-mimicking spider that was first recorded in New York in 2006. Little is known about its natural history in its native range in Europe and Asia or in its newly colonized range in North America. Some spider species are Batesian mimics that resemble ants in order to avoid being eaten, since many potential predators will not prey on ants. To assess the effectiveness of Batesian mimicry in this species, we staged encounters with a larger salticid spider species that could be a potential predator of M. formicaria. In total, 12 predator spiders were observed …

260— Patterns Of Occupancy Of Artificial Nest Sites By Native Bees, Allison Menendez

GREAT Day Posters

Although people tend to think of honeybees when they think about pollination, many species of native bees are actually important pollinators. Declining native bee populations can be supported in several ways, including reducing pesticide use, providing native flowers as a food source, leaving natural nest sites unaltered, or even by providing artificial nests. At SUNY Geneseo, a bee barn with eleven wooden boxes filled with natural reed cavities of varying sizes is in the Spencer J Roemer Arboretum. Female bees lay brood in these cavities, and provision food for the developing young. Some native bees are overwintering in these cavities. …

136— Predation On Microbivalves By Juvenile Naticid Gastropods On San Salvador Island, The Bahamas, Eliza Merges

GREAT Day Posters

Predator-prey interactions, where snails eat clams, evolutionarily has been a key interaction within marine molluscan communities. There is evidence of molluscan extinctions in the fossil record that are marked by changes in predation ratios. In this study, we will investigate predation of microbivalves by juvenile naticid gastropods in a shallow marine setting on San Salvador Island in the Bahamas. We propose to test predation density within different environments (facies) of a lagoonal setting. Significantly different ratios between these facies in one time period can indicate that predator-prey interactions can change over time from one environment to another. It is more …

298— Rural Economic Growth And Disease Intervention In Ghana; The Edward Pettinella '73 Endowed Ambassadorship In Business, Lucas Sutton

GREAT Day Posters

Schistosomiasis is a leading parasitic infection that debilitates many individuals in sub Saharan Africa. Because this parasitic infection involves a snail as an intermediate host, we use a native prawn species as a natural predator to decrease the population of this snail community. This study focuses on Tomefa, a primarily fishing peri-urban community located oi the outskirts of Accra, the capital city of Ghana. A survey was also given to the local community measuring economic characteristics. In the laboratory, Macrobrachium spp prawn exhibit preference of Bulinus snails over Biomphalaria snails while non-parasitic snails were consumed in higher proportion to parasitized …

135— Coral-Sponge Interactions On Rocky Point Reef, San Salvador, Bahamas, Michael Harvey, Anna Meichenbaum, Brooke Stickles

GREAT Day Posters

We surveyed the intensity of competition for reef space between sponges and corals at the Rocky Point patch reef adjacent to San Salvador Island, The Bahamas. Our working hypothesis was that, because of a dearth of predators, fast growing, chemically unprotected sponges more likely to be involved in competitive interactions. Results indicate that competition for reef space was widespread, but contrary to our hypothesis no sponge or coral species was disproportionately more involved in these interactions. These results contradict previous studies on Rocky Point reef and in our discussion we propose an explanation for this discrepancy.

170— A Comparison Of Native And Invasive Plant Species Microhabitats In Western Ny, Emelyn Bell

GREAT Day Posters

Previous research concluded that the extended leaf phenology of invasive plant species Lonicera maackii (Amur Honeysuckle) reduced seed predation, possibly due to less favorable microclimates for invertebrate seed predators. In the fall of 2019, we conducted a field experiment to observe the microhabitat preferences of snails. In our study, we selected six pairs of invasive L. maackii and native Cornus racemosa (Gray Dogwood) throughout the Roemer Arboretum. Twice weekly, we recorded temperature, relative humidity, air velocity, light, soil pH, and soil moisture along with the number and size of snails found on the plant and within 0.3m of its surrounding …

Evolutionary Bioethics Advanced By Ernest Everett Just: Implications For Biology, Ethics, And Theology, Theodore Walker

Perkins Faculty Research and Special Events

Ernest Everett Just (1883-1941) is an acknowledged “pioneer” in biology, being honored with a Black Heritage postage stamp in 1996. Here we discover that Just also made pioneering contributions to general evolutionary bioethics (distinct from special medical bioethics) by advancing a cell-biology-rooted theory of the origin and continuing evolution of ethical behavior influenced by the “law of environmental dependence.”

See especially “The Origin of Man’s Ethical Behavior (1941, unpublished book manuscript) by Ernest Everett Just and Hedwig Schnetzler Just, discovered in 2018 among the collected papers of E.E. Just at the Moorland-Spingarn Research Center at Howard University.

Accordingly, evolution is …

Hers And His: Silk Glands Used In Egg Sac Construction By Female Spiders Potentially Repurposed By A 'Modern' Male Spider, Mark A. Townley, Danilo Harms

Biological Sciences

Cylindrical silk gland (CY) spigots distinguish a large clade of modern spiders, the CY spigot clade, which includes all entelegyne spiders and their closest relatives. Following a widespread paradigm, CYs and their spigots are only known to occur in female spiders and they produce silk used in the construction of egg sacs. Here we report the occurrence of a CY spigot or CY nubbin on each posterior median spinneret (PMS) in males (5th stadium and later) of the spider Australomimetus maculosus. Late juvenile males had a CY spigot on each PMS, whereas adult males either had a CY spigot or, …

Wood-Inhabiting Fungi Of The Eastern Ecuadorian Cloud Forest: Fungal Diversity Comparison Along An Altitudinal Gradient In The Rio Zuñac Reserve, Thane Gehring, Rosa Batalles

DU Undergraduate Research Journal Archive

Wood-inhabiting fungi are responsible for the degradation of dead wood, playing a role in nutrient cycling and nutrient transport making them indispensable to their ecosystem’s health. Fungi are generally understudied, specifically in the tropics despite its proven hotspot in diversity and the importance of conservation. Wood-inhabiting fungi were investigated in the eastern Andean montane cloud forest of Ecuador to determine the biodiversity, distribution, and relation to an altitudinal gradient. Along multiple ridges of EcoMinga’s Rio Zuñac reserve, 13 20x20 meter (0.1-hectare) quadrants between the altitudes of 1300 to 2000 meters were sampled for wood-inhabiting fungi. A total of 175 samples …

A Deeper Meaning For Shallow-Level Phylogenomic Studies: Nested Anchored Hybrid Enrichment Offers Great Promise For Resolving The Tiger Moth Tree Of Life (Lepidoptera: Erebidae: Arctiinae), Nicolas J. Dowdy, Shannon Keating, Alan R. Lemmon, Emily M. Lemmon, William E. Conner, Clare H. Scott Chialvo, Susan Weller, Rebecca B. Simmons, Melissa S. Sisson, Jennifer M. Zaspel

Department of Entomology: Faculty Publications

Anchored hybrid enrichment (AHE) has emerged as a powerful tool for uncovering the evolutionary relationships within many taxonomic groups. AHE probe sets have been developed for a variety of insect groups, though none have yet been shown to be capable of simultaneously resolving deep and very shallow (e.g., intraspecific) divergences. In this study, we present NOC1, a new AHE probe set (730 loci) for Lepidoptera specialized for tiger moths and assess its ability to deliver phylogenetic utility at all taxonomic levels. We test the NOC1 probe set with 142 individuals from 116 species sampled from all the major lineages of …

Checklist Of The Freshwater Sponges (Porifera: Spongillida) Of Tennessee, John E. Copeland

Cumberland Mountain Naturalist

Of the ~8,500 sponge species that are known to exist, approximately 3% inhabit freshwater. Taxonomically, freshwater sponges are divided into 6 families with less than 250 identified species. Of these, 33 species of freshwater sponge can be found in the Nearctic Biogeographical realm with 13 species documented in Tennessee waters. Species of three families, Metanidae, Potamolepidae, and Spongillidae, are known to occur in the United States but only members of Potamolepidae and Spongillidae have been collected from Tennessee waters. This article presents a species checklist with currently known distribution information.

Time Specific Population Dynamics Of Diatoms In Artificial Environments, Sydney Brown

Georgia College Student Research Events

Algae serve as the base trophic level of aquatic systems, energetically supporting entire aquatic communities. Culturing in a laboratory setting requires significant phycological background and ecological knowledge to mimic their natural environmental conditions. The purpose of this research was to explore the effects of time on the growth of algal cultures. Gomphonema parvulum was the species investigated, falling into a class of algae known as diatoms- which are defined by cell walls composed of silica. Due to this unique morphological feature, asexual reproduction results in a diminution of cell size each generation in which restoration of natural sizes is initiated …

Microrna Profiling In The Weddell Seal Suggests Novel Regulatory Mechanisms Contributing To Diving Adaptation, Luca Penso-Dolfin, Wilfried Haerty, Allyson Hindle, Federica Di Palma

Life Sciences Faculty Research

Background:The Weddell Seal (Leptonychotes weddelli) represents a remarkable example of adaptation to diving among marine mammals. This species is capable of diving... (See full abstract in article).

Do Eastern Gray Squirrels (Sciurus Carolinensis) Use Human-Provided Cues To Increase Foraging Success In Urban Landscapes?, Aditya A. Mehta, Jeeva H. Rathnaweera

Undergraduate Arts and Research Showcase

The coexistence of humans with other animals in urban and suburban areas has given rise to a spectrum of agonistic and beneficial interactions. Animals thriving in urban settings are known to exhibit superior foraging and food extraction abilities compared to their wild conspecifics. This has raised the question regarding if non-human animals can form and maintain a similar “theory of mind” to humans based on the actions they observe in their environments (Schloegl et al., 2007). For this experiment, human-made click and gaze cues were used while placing food for eastern gray squirrels (Sciurus carolinensis) located on the …

Investigation Of An Elevational Gradient Reveals Strong Differences Between Bacterial And Eukaryotic Communities Coinhabiting Nepenthes Phytotelmata, Kadeem J. Gilbert, Leonora S. Bittleston, Mark Arcebal K. Naive, Anthony E. Kiszewski, Perry Archival C. Buenavente, David J. Lohman, Naomi E. Pierce

Publications and Research

Elevation is an important determinant of ecological community composition. It integrates several abiotic features and leads to strong, repeatable patterns of community structure, including changes in the abundance and richness of numerous taxa. However, the influence of elevational gradients on microbes is understudied relative to plants and animals. To compare the influence of elevation on multiple taxa simultaneously, we sampled phytotelm communities within a tropical pitcher plant (Nepenthes mindanaoensis) along a gradient from 400 to 1200 m a.s.l. We use a combination of metabarcoding and physical counts to assess diversity and richness of bacteria, micro-eukaryotes, and arthropods, and compare the …

Unexpected Predicted Length Variation For The Coding Sequence Of The Sleep Related Gene, Bhlhe41 In Gorilla Amidst Strong Purifying Selection Across Mammals, Krishna Unadkat, Justen B. Whittall

Biology

There is a molecular basis for many sleep patterns and disorders involving circadian clock genes. In humans, “short-sleeper” behavior has been linked to specific amino acid substitutions in BHLHE41 (DEC2), yet little is known about variation at these sites and across this gene in mammals. We compare BHLHE41 coding sequences for 27 mammals. Approximately half of the coding sequence was invariable at the nucleotide level and close to three-quarters of the amino acid alignment was identical. No other mammals had the same “short-sleeper” amino acid substitutions previously described from humans. Phylogenetic analyses based on the nucleotides of the coding sequence …

Feeding Ecology Of Red Snapper (Lutjanus Campechanus) And Vermilion Snapper (Rhomboplites Aurorubens) Coexisting At The Louisiana Shelf-Edge Banks, Katherine M. Ellis

LSU Master's Theses

Niche partitioning, the process by which competing species use different subsets of the available resources, is commonly used to explain the coexistence of closely related species. In the northwest Gulf of Mexico on the shelf-edge banks, red snapper (Lutjanus campechanus) and vermilion snapper (Rhomboplites aurorubens) are two coexisting closely related species. Yet, little is known about how these species partition resources. In this study, niche partitioning of red snapper and vermilion snapper was investigated using gut contents and stable isotopes. While dietary niche partitioning was apparent, the species relied upon similar prey and displayed isotopic niche overlap, …