Digital Commons Network^™

Diet Specialization Does Not Explain Occupancy Or Abundance In A Test Of The Resource Breadth Hypothesis In A Small Mammal Community, Deborah R. Boro

Biology ETDs

The abundance-occupancy relationship (AOR) is a recurrent pattern in ecology and biogeography, in which species with expansive distributions are locally common while those with restricted distributions are locally rare. Despite occurring across a wide variety of taxa and spatial scales, the mechanisms underlying AORs are not well understood. I tested two such mechanisms regarding dietary generalism in a guild of 8 small, herbivorous African mammals: (1) the degree to which diet was explained by food availability, and (2) population-level diet breadth. I expected that food availability would better predict diet for abundant, widespread species than rare, restricted species. Additionally, I …

Differential Use Of Two Warm-Water Effluents By The Florida Manatee (Trichechus Manatus Latirostris) And Temporal Distributions Throughout Broward County, Florida, Laura F. Eldredge

HCNSO Student Theses and Dissertations

The threatened Florida manatee (Trichechus manatus latirostris) migrates seasonally to warm-water refugia throughout the state of Florida due to metabolic requirements from low thermal conductance. Broward County’s two power plant refugia, Port Everglades (PEP) and Lauderdale (LPP), are known heavily-utilized aggregation sites for the Atlantic sub-population. Broward County collected relative abundance counts via aerial surveys from 2004–2013 siting 31,418 manatees during 169 surveys within 18 defined waterway zones. Counts during manatee wintering seasons were significantly different from January 2005-March 2008 and November 2008-March 2013, likely related to flight path and frequency standardization. Mean percentage of adults (90.12%) to …

Assessing The Supply Of Provisioning And Cultural Ecosystem Services From Urban Forests: A Philadelphia Pilot Study, Jenna Q. Detweiler

Environment and Sustainability Summer Fellows

This study develops a methodology for assessing the urban provisioning and cultural ecosystem services created by woody species in urban forests. Drawing on this methodology, the research examines these dynamics through use of an urban forest inventory and survey data for the city of Philadelphia. Findings quantify the percentage of species and corresponding percent of the tree population that are likely to be harvested by urban foragers in the city.

Investigating The Role Of Long Distance Dispersal In The Response Of Stream Fishes To Urbanization, Andrea Davis

Master of Science in Integrative Biology Theses

I conducted a 7-month mark-recapture study in two watersheds differing in urban impact in order to assess the role that long distance dispersal plays in the response of tolerant stream fishes to urbanization. Our two stream sites included a heavily impacted urban stream (watershed impervious surface cover ~30%) and a mildly impacted rural stream (watershed impervious surface cover ~6%). Species of interest were marked with 12mm HPT PIT tags and included a specialist, Campostoma oligolepis (n=189 urban site, 200 rural site) and a generalist, Lepomis auritus (n=136 urban site, 182 rural site). Three resampling instances for each site were conducted …

Habitat Management For Northern Bobwhites In Wisconsin: A Long-Term Assessment, Leroy R. Petersen, Robert T. Dumke, Barbara F. Duerksen

National Quail Symposium Proceedings

An experimental habitat management program was initiated to improve the carrying capacity for northern bobwhites ( Colinus virginianus) on private lands by the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (WDNR) in 1974. During 1975-80, extensive habitat restoration was undertaken on a 60-mi2 (l55-km 2) study area in Richland County to restore hedge row cover, improve riparian corridors and woodlot edges, and construct plots of food and shelter to function as wintering sites for bobwhites. Previous investigations in Wisconsin have documented that the long-term decline of bobwhites was the result of habitat deterioration, principally hedgerow cover. Elsewhere, continuous declines in bobwhite abundance …

Survey Of Hatching Spines Of Bee Larvae Including Those Of Apis Mellifera (Hymenoptera: Apoidea), Jerome G. Rozen Jr., Corey Shepard Smith, James H. Cane

All PIRU Publications

This article explores the occurrence of hatching spines among bee taxa and how these structures enable a larva on hatching to extricate itself from the egg chorion. These spines, arranged in a linear sequence along the sides of the first instar just dorsal to the spiracles, have been observed and recorded in certain groups of solitary and cleptoparasitic bee taxa. After eclosion, the first instar remains loosely covered by the egg chorion. The fact that this form of eclosion has been detected in five families (Table 1 identifies four of the families. The fifth family is the Andrenidae for which …

Effects Of Climate Warming On Net Primary Productivity In China During 1961–2010, Fengxue Gu, Yuandong Zhang, Mei Huang, Bo Tao, Rui Guo, Changrong Yan

Plant and Soil Sciences Faculty Publications

The response of ecosystems to different magnitudes of climate warming and corresponding precipitation changes during the last few decades may provide an important reference for predicting the magnitude and trajectory of net primary productivity (NPP) in the future. In this study, a process-based ecosystem model, Carbon Exchange between Vegetation, Soil and Atmosphere (CEVSA), was used to investigate the response of NPP to warming at both national and subregional scales during 1961–2010. The results suggest that a 1.3°C increase in temperature stimulated the positive changing trend in NPP at national scale during the past 50 years. Regardless of the magnitude of …

The Evolution Of Fear Ecology: A Fruit Fly (Drosophila Melanogaster) Perspective, Itachi Mills

Theses

Several mechanisms underlie how evolutionary lineages respond to predation pressures or predation risk. Further mechanisms link evolutionary predation responses to how animals forage, or find mates. However, gaps remain in our understanding about how predation and foraging interact in an evolutionary context.

In my first chapter, I elaborate on how predation and foraging relate in to one another in ecological, evolutionary and behavioral contexts. I start out with an overview of fear ecology. Then, I outline how trade-offs influence the evolution of morphological, chemical and behavioral responses to predation. I further elaborate on how these trade-offs influence reproduction. Finally, I …

Wildlife Usage Of Plant Species Utilized By The Eastern Box Turtle (Terrapene Carolina Carolina) - Version I, Nur Ritter

Gordon Natural Area Herpetological Studies Documents

No abstract provided.

Novel Bio-Logging Tool For Studying Fine-Scale Behaviors Of Marine Turtles In Response To Sound, Reny B. Tyson, Wendy Dow Piniak, Camila Domit, David Mann, Michael Hall, Douglas P. Nowacek, Mariana M. P. B. Fuentes

Environmental Studies Faculty Publications

Increases in the spatial scale and intensity of activities that produce marine anthropogenic sound highlight the importance of understanding the impacts and effects of sound on threatened species such as marine turtles. Marine turtles detect and behaviorally respond to low-frequency sounds, however few studies have directly examined their behavioral responses to specific types or intensities of anthropogenic or natural sounds. Recent advances in the development of bio-logging tools, which combine acoustic and fine-scale movement measurements, have allowed for evaluations of animal responses to sound. Here, we describe these tools and present a case study demonstrating the potential application of a …

Subtropical Benthos Vary With Reef Type, Depth, And Grazing Intensity, Kara R. Wall

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Marine epibenthic communities are influenced by both pre- and post-recruitment processes. For instance, the larval supply and cues that influence settlement (pre-recruitment), as well as the growth and mortality of individuals (post-recruitment), may differ across reef type and depth. Determining the relative influence of these processes is important to understanding how epibenthic communities can develop in a region. Using both a recruitment experiment that controlled grazing by urchins and in situ photographic surveys of epibenthic communities, this study examined the recruitment and composition of epibenthos on natural limestone and artificial reefs in the eastern Gulf of Mexico (eGOM). In the …

Freshwater Wetland Creation In A Changing Urban Environment: Designing For Long-Term Viability, Aaron Thomas Ryan Brown

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Urbanization and wetland mitigation are increasingly common in coastal watersheds with expanding populations. These mitigation wetlands are intended to offset the functional and structural losses experienced when natural systems are degraded or destroyed. In the Tampa Bay watershed, urbanization is both expanding into the upper reaches of the watershed and intensifying in previously-developed areas, resulting in the creations of hundreds of freshwater mitigation wetlands. This dissertation utilized an existing database of mitigation wetlands, publicly available data, and field surveys to investigate the relationship between constructed wetlands and their surroundings and also determine how design affects wetland condition over time. The …

Draft Genome Sequence Of Bacillus Altitudinis Ynp4-Tsu, Isolated From Yellowstone National Park, Joshua A. O'Hair, Hui Li, Santosh Thapa, Matthew Scholz, Suping Zhou

Agricultural and Environmental Sciences Faculty Research

Undisturbed hot springs inside Yellowstone National Park remain a dynamic biome for novel cellulolytic thermophiles. We report here the draft genome sequence of one of these isolates, Bacillus altitudinis YNP4-TSU.

Revalidation Of Three Recently Synonymized Cuban Species Of Heteroctenus Pocock, 1893 (Scorpiones: Buthidae: Centruroidinae), Luis F. De Armas

Euscorpius

The scorpion genus Heteroctenus Pocock, 1893 was restored from synonymy with Rhopalurus in a recent revision by Esposito et al. (2017). Here, we restore two eastern Cuban species Heteroctenus melloleitaoi (Teruel et Armas, 2006) and H. aridicola (Teruel et Armas, 2012) as valid species. They were synonymized by Esposito et al. (2017) under Heteroctenus junceus (Herbst, 1800), without examination of corresponding specimens and with erroneous interpretations of some aspects of the original descriptions. Heteroctenus granulimanus (Teruel, 2006) is also restored as a valid species. The subfamily Rhopalurusinae Bücherl, 1971 is regarded as a junior synonym of Cen-truroidinae Kraus, 1955.

Beyond Age And Stage: Consequences Of Individual Variation In Demographic Traits, Erin Elizabeth Feichtinger

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Within natural populations, individuals vary in their propensity to grow, survive and produce offspring. Additionally, fates of individuals are often correlated and non-independent as a result of shared genes, rearing environment or both. Variation in demographic traits can change population dynamics over time. The effects of variation in individual growth rate on population growth rate, net reproductive rate and generation time are examined, along with quantifying the sources of variation in survival of a long-lived cooperatively breeding bird, the Florida Scrub-Jay (Aphelocoma coerulescens). I built a 2 stage population model with two growth phenotypes, fast and slow, and …

Ectoparasitic Mites Of The Genus Gigantolaelaps (Acari: Mesostigmata: Laelapidae) Associated With Small Mammals Of The Genus Nephelomys (Rodentia: Sigmodontinae), Including Two New Species From Peru, Donald D. Gettinger, Scott Lyell Gardner

Scott L. Gardner Publications

An extensive survey of small mammals and ectoparasites along an altitudinal transect in the Manu Biodiversity Reserve in Peru found the sigmodontine rodent genus Nephelomys infested by mites of the genus Gigantolaelaps Fonseca, 1939. Two distinct species co-occurred exclusively in the pelage of Nephelomys keaysi, G. inca Fonseca and G. minima n. sp. Nephelomys levipes, which replaces N. keaysi at higher elevations, was infested exclusively with a single new species, G. nebulosa n. sp. In this paper, we formally describe these new mite species, and provide more information on the morphology of G. inca.

Negative Density Dependence Mediates Biodiversity–Productivity Relationships Across Scales, Joseph A. Lamanna, R Travis Belote, Laura A. Burkle, Christopher P. Catano, Jonathan A. Myers

Biology Faculty Research

Regional species diversity generally increases with primary productivity whereas local diversity–productivity relationships are highly variable. This scale-dependence of the biodiversity–productivity relationship highlights the importance of understanding the mechanisms that govern variation in species composition among local communities, which is known as β-diversity. Hypotheses to explain changes in β-diversity with productivity invoke multiple mechanisms operating at local and regional scales, but the relative importance of these mechanisms is unknown. Here we show that changes in the strength of local density-dependent interactions within and among tree species explain changes in β-diversity across a subcontinental-productivity gradient. Stronger conspecific relative to …

Strategies For Environmental Education For Youths And Adults, Chumbe Island Coral Park, Zanzibar, Samantha Pfeffer

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Chumbe Island Coral Park (CHICOP) is a privately-owned business that strives to follow the best principles of ecotourism, conservation, and environmental education. Their environmental education initiative is award-winning and has affected thousands of students and community members in Zanzibar. This study looked at the environmental education techniques that CHICOP already has in place by observing two pre-visits, three island-visits and one-post visit, and determined where there was a need for enhanced and new techniques for teaching about the environment. Evidence of climate change on Chumbe Island was also recorded to aid in the educational tools and to create a database …

Chemical Characterization Of The Adhesive Secretions Of The Salamander Plethodon Shermani (Caudata, Plethodontidae), Janek Von Byern, Ingo Grunwald, Max Kosok, Ralph Saporito, Ursula Dicke, Oliver Wetjen, Karsten Thiel, Kai Borcherding, Thomas Kowalik, Martina Marchetti-Deschmann

2017 Faculty Bibliography

Salamanders have developed a wide variety of antipredator mechanisms, including tail autotomy, colour patterns, and noxious skin secretions. As an addition to these tactics, the red-legged salamander (Plethodon shermani) uses adhesive secretions as part of its defensive strategy. The high bonding strength, the fast-curing nature, and the composition of the biobased materials makes salamander adhesives interesting for practical applications in the medical sector. To understand the adhesive secretions of P. shermani, its components were chemically analysed by energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX), inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS), amino acid analysis, and spectroscopy (ATR-IR, Raman). In addition, proteins were separated …

Review Of The Sub-Saharan Africa Species Of Dignomus And Phylogenetic Analysis Of The Bostrichoids (Coleoptera: Bostrichoidea: Ptinidae), Amelia Lesbeth Smith

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

Sub-Saharan Africa is home to nine described species of Dignomus Wollaston, 1862. Study and dissection of specimens has led me to the hypothesis that there are nine undocumented species in this region. Descriptions and images of the new species are presented and discussed, along with a compiled list of all described species from the Sub- Saharan region. The probable biology as geographic distributions for members of the genus are also given.

Additionally, a phylogenetic analysis of 95 species of bostrichoids using CO1 molecular data was done with a focus on the origins of Dignomus and Pseudomezium. parsimony and bayesian analyses …

The Ecology Of Acequias In The Mora Valley: Patterns, Processes And Place-Based Knowledge, Shannon Marie Rupert

Biology ETDs

In northern New Mexico, early settlements were clustered for protection of the people and access to water for domestic and agricultural uses was critical to their success. Irrigation ditches, known as acequias, brought water to the people, and were central to community life. These earthen ditches of varying lengths were built between one hundred and several hundred years ago, and most are still operational today. They divert water away from natural streams and across the landscape, through a system of man-made channels, until the unused water is diverted back into natural watercourses. These lateral channels appear to function as extensions …

The Effect Of "Casitas" On Lobster Biology And Fishery Sustainability In The Bahamas, Lester George Gittens

Biological Sciences Theses & Dissertations

“Casitas” (artificial table-like structures) are a commercial fishing gear used to harvest Caribbean spiny lobster (Panulirus argus) in the Caribbean and in The Bahamas, where lobster is the most valuable fishery. Yet, casitas are largely unregulated in The Bahamas and they may threaten fishery sustainability through alteration of lobster growth, disease, or mortality rates and due to insufficient information concerning their number and location. Focusing on the lobster fishery in The Bahamas, my objectives were to: (1) investigate the mortality, growth, and susceptibility to disease of lobsters collected in casitas compared to wooden traps and those living in …

Determining Critical Internesting And Foraging Habitats For The Conservation Of Sea Turtles In Gabon, Africa Using Satellite Tracking And Stable Isotope Analysis, Tiffany M. Dawson

Biological Sciences Theses & Dissertations

Understanding the horizontal and vertical habitat of olive ridley sea turtles (Lepidochelys olivacea), a threatened species, is critical for determining regions of protection that may effectively reduce bycatch, the largest threat to this species. Satellite transmitters were used to determine the movement and dive behavior of 21 female olive ridley turtles tagged in Pongara National Park, Gabon during the 2012, 2013, and 2015 nesting seasons. A switching state space model was used to filter the tracking data and categorize the internesting and post-nesting movements. Gridded utilization distribution (UD) home range analysis of tracking data revealed that the entire core habitat …

Some Corrections And Remarks Regarding The Nomenclature Of Neotropical Athyreini, Passalini, Phanaeini, Rutelini, Cyclocephalini, Dynastini And Oryctini (Coleoptera: Scarabaeoidea), Auke J. Hielkema

Insecta Mundi

A number of nomenclatural issues regarding Neotropical Scarabaeoidea are addressed. Athyreus soesilae Makhan, 2008 is synonymized with Neoathyreus (Neoathyreus) excavatus (Laporte, 1840) (Geotrupidae: Bolboceratinae: Athyreini). Scalmus Zang, 1905 is replaced with its senior synonym Neleuops Kuwert, 1891, nec Neleurops Kuwert, 1891, and the four species it presently contains are thus transferred to Neleuops (Passalidae: Passalinae: Passalini). The spelling of the name Oxysternon oberthueri Olsoufieff, 1924, a junior synonym of Oxysternon (Oxysternon) conspicillatum (Weber, 1801), is fixed (Scarabaeidae: Scarabaeinae: Phanaeini). The year of description of Oxysternon (Oxysternon) festivum (Linnaeus, 1758) is corrected, its existing lectotype invalidated, and a new lectotype designated …

Descriptions Of Six New Species Of False Click Beetles (Coleoptera: Eucnemidae: Macraulacinae), With New Identification Keys For One Tribe And Two Genera, Robert L. Otto

Insecta Mundi

Six new species of false click beetle (Coleoptera: Eucnemidae) are described. These new species are: Fornax dixiensis sp. nov. (Florida, USA), Dromaeolus comayaguiensis sp. nov. (Honduras), Asiocnemis bicolor sp. nov. (Ecuador), Miruantennus chinensis sp. nov. (Yunnan prov., China), Miruantennus cuneiformis sp. nov. (Malaysia) and Nematodes africanus sp. nov. (Côte d’Ivoire). Identifi cation keys are provided for species of Fornax in the Nearctic ecozone and Miruantennus in the Palearctic and Indo-Malayan ecozones. A new key to include all the genera within the tribe Nematodini Leiler is also provided.

First Record Of Conognatha Iris Iris Olivier (Coleoptera: Buprestidae) For Venezuela, Cristian Pineda, Carlos Taboada-Verona

Insecta Mundi

Conognatha iris iris Olivier (Coleoptera: Buprestidae) is recorded for the fi rst time for Venezuela. The record is based on a single female specimen from Caicet hill, Amazonas state. A map of the known distribution of the taxon is provided.

Se registra por primera vez la presencia de Conognatha iris iris Olivier (Coleoptera: Buprestidae) para Venezuela. El registro se basa en un ejemplar hembra proveniente de cerro Caicet, Estado Amazonas. Se presenta un mapa de la distribución conocida para el taxón.

A New State Record For Ohanlonella Rifkind In Mexico With A Note On Color Variation (Coleoptera: Cleridae: Clerinae), Jacques Rifkind

Insecta Mundi

The monotypic clerid genus Ohanlonella Rifkind (Coleoptera: Cleridae: Clerinae), described from Oaxaca, is reported for the fi rst time from the state of Veracruz. The recently discovered population shows distinctly different coloration from the type series of O. esperanzae Rifkind, but appears to be otherwise identical. The Veracruz morph is briefly characterized and illustrated, and its significance is discussed.

El género monotípico de cléridos Ohanlonella Rifkind (Coleoptera: Cleridae: Clerinae), descrito de Oaxaca, es reportado por primera vez para el estado de Veracruz. La población recientemente descubierta muestra una coloración claramente distinta de la serie típica de O. esperanzae Rifkind, pero …

Introducción A Los Phycitinae De Chile (Lepidoptera: Pyralidae), Nuevo Registro Y Descripción De Una Nueva Especie Del Género Homoeographa Ragonot, 1888, Danilo E. Cepeda

Insecta Mundi

Se presenta una sinopsis de los Phycitinae (Lepidoptera: Pyralidae) de Chile, incluyendo listado sistemático con su distribución geográfi ca. Se registra la presencia de Inverina suizensis Neunzig y Goodson, 1992, por primera vez en Chile y se describe una nueva especie del género Homoeographa Ragonot, 1888.

A synopsis of the Phycitinae (Lepidoptera: Pyralidae) of Chile is presented. It includes a systematic list with distribution data. Inverina suizensis Neunzig and Goodson, 1992, is recorded from Chile for the fi rst time, and a new species of the genus Homoeographa Ragonot, 1888, is described.

New Species Of Ctilodes Murray (Coleoptera: Nitidulidae) From Southeast Asia, With A Key To Members Of The Genus, Gareth S. Powell, Alexandra G. Duffy

Insecta Mundi

A new species of Ctilodes Murray, 1864 (Coleoptera: Nitidulidae) was recovered in material from Vietnam during a large study of Carpophilinae. A description and detailed diagnosis of Ctilodes clinei Powell and Duffy new species is presented here along with a key to identify all currently known species of Ctilodes.

First Record Of Agrilus Osburni Knull (Coleoptera: Buprestidae) In Two Northeastern States In North America, Lawrence Barringer

Insecta Mundi

Agrilus osburni Knull (Coleoptera: Buprestidae) is reported from Massachusetts and Pennsylvania for the first time, new state records. Nine male specimens were collected in Lindgren funnels from 2010 to 2016. These new records expand the known range of this species in northeastern North America.