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Comparison Of High-Resolution Naip And Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (Uav) Imagery For Natural Vegetation Communities Classification Using Machine Learning Approaches, Parth Bhatt, Ann Maclean

Michigan Tech Publications, Part 1

To map and manage forest vegetation including wetland communities, remote sensing technology has been shown to be a valid and widely employed technology. In this paper, two ecologically different study areas were evaluated using free and widely available high-resolution multispectral National Agriculture Imagery Program (NAIP) and ultra-high-resolution multispectral unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) imagery located in the Upper Great Lakes Laurentian Mixed Forest. Three different machine learning algorithms, random forest (RF), support vector machine (SVM), and averaged neural network (avNNet), were evaluated to classify complex natural habitat communities as defined by the Michigan Natural Features Inventory. Accurate training sets were developed …

Population Structure And Hybridisation In A Population Of Hawaiian Feral Chickens, Maria Luisa Martin Cerezo, Saioa Lopez, Lucy Van Dorp, Garrett Hellenthal, Martin Johnsson, Eben Gering, Rie Henriksen, Dominic Wright

Biology Faculty Articles

Chickens are believed to have inhabited the Hawaiian island of Kauai since the first human migrations around 1200AD, but numbers have peaked since the tropical storms Iniki and Iwa in the 1980s and 1990s that destroyed almost all the chicken coops on the island and released large numbers of domestic chickens into the wild. Previous studies have shown these now feral chickens are an admixed population between Red Junglefowl (RJF) and domestic chickens. Here, using genetic haplotypic data, we estimate the time of the admixture event between the feral population on the island and the RJF to 1981 (1976–1995), coinciding …

Trophically Integrated Ecometric Models As Tools For Demonstrating Spatial And Temporal Functional Changes In Mammal Communities, Rachel A. Short, Jenny L. Mcguire, P. David Polly, A. Michelle Lawing

Natural Resource Management Faculty Publications

We are in a modern biodiversity crisis that will restructure community compositions and ecological functions globally. Large mammals, important contributors to ecosystem function, have been affected directly by purposeful extermination and indirectly by climate and land-use changes, yet functional turnover is rarely assessed on a global scale using metrics based on functional traits. Using ecometrics, the study of functional trait distributions and functional turnover, we examine the relationship between vegetation cover and locomotor traits for artiodactyl and carnivoran communities. We show that the ability to detect a functional relationship is strengthened when locomotor traits of both primary consumers (artiodactyls, n …

Impacts Of Tectonic Subsidence On Basin Depth And Delta Lobe Building, Tian Y. Dong, Jeffrey A. Nittrouer, Brandee Carlson, Brandon Mcelroy, Elena Il’Icheva, Maksim Pavlov, Hongbo Ma

School of Earth, Environmental, & Marine Sciences Faculty Publications

Channel avulsions on river deltas are the primary means to distribute sediment and build land at the coastline. Many studies have detailed how avulsions generate delta lobes, whereby multiple lobes amalgamate to form a fan-shaped deposit. These studies often assume steady subsidence and uniform basin depth. In nature, however, lobe building is disrupted by variable subsidence, and progradation of lobes into basins with variable depth: conditions that are prevalent for tectonically active areas. Herein, we explore sediment dispersal and deposition patterns across scales using measurements of delta and basin morphology compiled from field surveys and remote sensing, collected over 150 …

Genomic Underpinnings Of Population Persistence In Isle Royale Moose, Christopher C. Kyriazis, Annabel C. Beichman, Kristin Brzeski, Sarah Hoy, Rolf O. Peterson, John A. Vucetich, Leah Vucetich, Kirk E. Lohmueller, Robert K. Wayne

Michigan Tech Publications, Part 1

Island ecosystems provide natural laboratories to assess the impacts of isolation on population persistence. However, most studies of persistence have focused on a single species, without comparisons to other organisms they interact with in the ecosystem. The case study of moose and gray wolves on Isle Royale allows for a direct contrast of genetic variation in isolated populations that have experienced dramatically differing population trajectories over the past decade. Whereas the Isle Royale wolf population recently declined nearly to extinction due to severe inbreeding depression, the moose population has thrived and continues to persist, despite having low genetic diversity and …

Holocene Evolution Of Parabolic Dunes, White River Badlands, South Dakota, Usa, Revealed By High-Resolution Mapping, Paul Evans Baldauf, Gregory S. Baker, Maraina Miles, Patrick Burkhart, Allen Gontz, Madeline Rinka, Michael Levenson

Marine & Environmental Sciences Faculty Articles

The White River Badlands (WRB) of South Dakota record eolian activity spanning the late Pleistocene through the latest Holocene (21 ka to modern), reflecting the effects of the last glacial period and Holocene climate fluctuations (Holocene Thermal Maximum, Medieval Climate Anomaly, and Little Ice Age). The WRB dune fields are important paleoclimate indicators in an area of the Great Plains with few climate proxies. The goal of this study is to use 1 m/pixel-resolution digital elevation models from drone imagery to distinguish Early to Middle Holocene parabolic dunes from Late Holocene parabolic dunes. Results indicate that relative ages of dunes …

A Draft Diabrotica Virgifera Virgifera Genome: Insights Into Control And Host Plant Adaption By A Major Maize Pest Insect, Brad S. Coates, Kimberly K. O. Walden, Dimpal Lata, Neetha Nanoth Vellichirammal, Robert F. Mitchell, Martin N. Andersson, Rachel Mckay, Marcé D. Lorenzen, Nathaniel Grubbs, Yu‑Hui Wang, Jinlong Han, Jing Li Xuan, Peter Willadsen, Huichun Wang, B. Wade French, Raman Bansal, Sammy Sedky, Dariane Souza, Dakota Bunn, Lance J. Meinke, Nicholas J. Miller, Blair D. Siegfried11,, Thomas W. Sappington, Hugh M. Robertson

Department of Entomology: Faculty Publications

Background Adaptations by arthropod pests to host plant defenses of crops determine their impacts on agricultural production. The larval host range of western corn rootworm, Diabrotica virgifera virgifera (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae), is restricted to maize and a few grasses. Resistance of D. v. virgifera to crop rotation practices and multiple insecticides contributes to its status as the most damaging pest of cultivated maize in North America and Europe. The extent to which adaptations by this pest contributes to host plant specialization remains unknown.

Results A 2.42 Gb draft D. v. virgifera genome, Dvir_v2.0, was assembled from short shotgun reads and scaffolded …

The Evolution Of Life History Traits And Their Thermal Plasticity In Daphnia, Larry L. Bowman Jr., David M. Post

ETSU Faculty Works

Few studies have explored the relative strength of ecogeographic versus lineage-specific effects on a global scale, particularly for poikilotherms, those organisms whose internal temperature varies with their environment. Here, we compile a global dataset of life history traits in Daphnia, at the species-and population-level, and use those data to parse the relative influences of lineage-specific effects and climate. We also compare the thermal response (plasticity) of life history traits and their dependence on climate, temperature, precipitation, and latitude. We found that the mode of evolution for life history traits varies but that the thermal response of life history traits most …

Variability Of Hybridization In Topminnows, David D. Duvernell

Biological Sciences Faculty Research & Creative Works

Pairs of species that exhibit broadly overlapping distributions, and multiple geographically isolated contact zones, provide opportunities to investigate the mechanisms of reproductive isolation. Such naturally replicated systems have demonstrated that hybridization rates can vary substantially among populations, raising important questions about the genetic basis of reproductive isolation. The topminnows, Fundulus notatus and F. olivaceus, are reciprocally monophyletic, and co-occur in drainages throughout much of the central and southern United States. Hybridization rates vary substantially among populations in isolated drainage systems. We employed genome-wide sampling to investigate geographic variation in hybridization, and to assess the possible importance of chromosome fusions …

Nonconsumptive Effects Of Crustaceans And An Echinoderm On Spat Of The Eastern Oyster Crassostrea Virginica (Gmelin, 1791), Maria Rosa, Mike Gilman, Sarah Anderson, Adrian Beckford, Ben Gilfond, Nicole Wright, David M. Hudson

Biology Faculty Publications

Predation by crustaceans and echinoderms is a significant driver of mortality for sessile invertebrates in near-shore marine ecosystems. As a response, shellfish growers use predator exclusion cages to grow their product. Oysters grown in these cages and clams in and under nets have been observed to exhibit thinner, brittle shells, which is not optimal for market, nor for those being grown for restoration purposes. Here, the nonconsumptive predator effects of several native and nonnative predators on shell morphology of Crassostrea virginica oyster spat. Juvenile (1–3 mm) seed oysters were exposed separately to chemical cues of five different predators and one …

The Effects Of Trailside/Non-Trailside Sample Collection And Tree Communities On Biodiversity Of Mushroom-Forming Fungi In Public Green Spaces Of New London, Connecticut, Quincy Dowling

Botany Honors Papers

The Kingdom Fungi holds a wealth of biodiversity and potential for better supporting both natural and human communities (Lange, 2014). Mushroom-forming fungi have potential value as sustainable and accessible sources of food in public green spaces (Rombach & Dean, 2023). The purpose of this investigation was to examine the effect of trailside disturbance and tree communities on the diversity and community composition of mushroom-forming fungi in New London, Connecticut. Six public green spaces were identified and surveyed for species richness of mushroom-forming fungi. At each site, two foraging areas of equal area were defined: one along either side of a …

Feedback In Batesian Mimetic Systems, David Kizirian Kizirian, Jose Manuel Padial, Nicole Povlikin, Isaac Overcast, Maureen A. Donnelly, Marta Quitian, Marion Segall, Arianna Kuhn, Gwyneth Campbell, Ralph Saporito

2023 Faculty Bibliography

We propose a feedback model for Batesian mimetic trophic system dynamics that integrates evolutionary and ecological processes including those not directly related to mimicry such as nutrient transfer. The proposed feedback circuit includes a previously overlooked link, specifically: selection for predation on the mimetic phenotype, which results when predators consume palatable mimics, and which perpetuates predation on the mimetic phenotype that drives mimicry. Preservation of variation throughout the feedback loop may also explain polymorphism, suboptimal mimicry, and other aspects of mimetic trophic system evolution.

Ecological Risk Assessment For The Western Australian Silverlip Pearl Oyster (Pinctada Maxima) Resource, K. A. Smith, S. Brown, A. M. Hart, A. Bissell

Fisheries Research Reports

In August 2022, the Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development (DPIRD) convened an ecological risk assessment (ERA) of the fishery and aquaculture operations that access the Western Australian (WA) Silverlip Pearl Oyster (Pinctada maxima) resource (Resource).

The ERA considered the potential ecological impacts of the WA commercial Silverlip Pearl Oyster Fishery and related aquaculture activities including hatchery and seeding operations. The assessment evaluated the impact of each activity on all relevant retained and discarded species; threatened, endangered and protected species; habitats and the broader environment. Risks associated with aquaculture activities were also considered, including genetic impacts on …

Comparison Of Water Column Properties Derived From An Autonomous Underwater Vehicle And Satellite Based Sources In Lake Michigan, David Bennion

Master's Theses and Doctoral Dissertations

Autonomous underwater vehicles (AUVs) are an emerging technology increasingly being employed in geoscience and ecosystem research in the Great Lakes, capitalizing on their ability to sample large areas fitted with a variety of sensors. Previous to AUV use, chlorophyll measurements were either collected at discrete locations accessed by boats or derived from satellite remote sensing data. An advantage of AUVs is the ability to detect the presence of subsurface formations such as a deep chlorophyll layer or directly measure features such as the extent of the photic zone, which provides the opportunity to compare these in situ measured features to …

A Vascular Flora Of The South Fork Tule River, Southern Sierra Nevada, Tulare County, California, Jessica M. Orozco

Aliso: A Journal of Systematic and Floristic Botany

I conducted a floristic study of the South Fork Tule River watershed, located in the southern Sierra Nevada in Tulare County, California. The primary objectives of this floristic study were to document and catalogue all vascular plant taxa that occur in the watershed, describe the plant communities, analyze the flora and its affinities with other areas, and establish a herbarium for the Tule River Indian Reservation. The upper reaches of the South Fork Tule River originate on the western slope of Slate Mountain in the Sequoia National Forest and drain west through the Tule River Indian Reservation into Lake Success. …

New Terrestrial Cyanobacteria From The Azores Islands: Description Of Venetifunis Gen. Nov. And New Species Of Albertania, Kovacikia And Pegethrix, Ruben Luz, Rita Cordeiro, Jan Kastovsky, Jeffrey R. Johansen, Elisabete Dias, Amelia Fonseca, Vitor Vasconcelos, Vitor Goncalves

2023 Faculty Bibliography

The taxonomy of cyanobacteria has advanced quickly with the use of molecular methods in combination with well-defined morphological and ecological characters. Using this approach, many taxonomical changes have occurred in the Synechococcales and Oscillatoriales, with the description of new families, genera and species. Here we present the study of four cyanobacterial strains from the Bank of Algae and Cyanobacteria of the Azores (BACA) culture collection, all isolated from the Azores Archipelago. The strains were genetically characterized through the amplification of the 16S rRNA gene and 16S-23S rRNA internal transcribed spacer (ITS) region, as well as morphologically by light and transmission …

Estimating Changing Marshland Habitat And Conservation Potential For Diamondback Terrapins (Malaclemys Terrapin) In New Jersey Under Climate Change, Jacqueline Ganter, Zachary Christman

School of Earth & Environment Departmental Research

The diamondback terrapin (Malaclemys terrapin), a brackish water turtle species native to the eastern United States, is under “special concern” in the state of New Jersey, due to decreasing habitat from development and changing climatic conditions. Diamondback terrapins reside in saline marshes and coastal wetlands and nest in sandy substrate, primarily beaches and dunes, in June and July. New Jersey is vulnerable to sea level rise, leaving diamondback terrapin habitats and nesting areas at risk of inundation under future climate scenarios, and, as the most densely populated state, subject to continual development pressures on potentially conservable land. Changing sea levels …

Progression Magazine, 2022-2023, Coastal Carolina University

Progression Magazine

Magazine of the Gupta College of Science at Coastal Carolina University.

Individual‑Level Patterns Of Resource Selection Do Not Predict Hotspots Of Contact, Anni Yang, Raoul Boughton, Ryan S. Miller, Nathan P. Snow, Kurt C. Vercauteren, Kim C. Pepin, George Wittemyer

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Contact among animals is crucial for various ecological processes, including social behaviors, disease transmission, and predator–prey interactions. However, the distribution of contact events across time and space is heterogeneous, influenced by environmental factors and biological purposes. Previous studies have assumed that areas with abundant resources and preferred habitats attract more individuals and, therefore, lead to more contact. To examine the accuracy of this assumption, we used a use-available framework to compare landscape factors influencing the location of contacts between wild pigs (Sus scrofa) in two study areas in Florida and Texas (USA) from those influencing non-contact space use. …

Evaluation Of The Effect Of Hydrated Lime On The Scavenging Of Feral Swine (Sus Scrofa) Carcasses And Implications For Managing Carcass-Based Transmission Of African Swine Fever Virus, Courtney F. Bowden, James Grinolds, Gregory Franckowiak, Loma Mccallister, Joe M. Halseth, Matthew Cleland, Travis Guerrant, Michael J. Bodenchuk, Robert Miknis, Michael C. Marlow, Vienna R. Brown

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

African swine fever (ASF) is a devastating hemorrhagic disease marked by extensive morbidity and mortality in infected swine. The recent global movement of African swine fever virus (ASFV) in domestic and wild swine (Sus scrofa) populations has initiated preparedness and response planning activities within many ASF-free countries. Within the US, feral swine are of utmost concern because they are susceptible to infection, are wide-spread, and are known to interact with domestic swine populations. African swine fever virus is particularly hardy and can remain viable in contaminated carcasses for weeks to months; therefore, carcass-based transmission plays an important role in the …

Role Of Social Structure In Establishment Of An Invasive Large Mammal After Translocation, Lindsay M. Clontz, Anni Yang, Sarah M. Chinn, Kim M. Pepin, Kurt C. Vercauterten, George Wittemyer, Ryan S. Miller, James C. Beasley

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Background

Data on the movement behavior of translocated wild pigs is needed to develop appropriate response strategies for containing and eliminating new source populations following translocation events. We conducted experimental trials to compare the home range establishment and space-use metrics, including the number of days and distance traveled before becoming range residents, for wild pigs translocated with their social group and individually.

Results

We found wild pigs translocated with their social group made less extensive movements away from the release location and established a stable home range ~5 days faster than those translocated individually. We also examined how habitat quality …

Mapping Accuracy Of Close-Range Terrestrial Digital Photogrammetry, Y. Zhou, C. B. Weerasekara, A, Y, Sheshukov

School of Natural Resources: Documents and Reviews

No abstract provided.

Capacity-Building Project To Progress The Implementation Of International Instruments To Combat Iuu Fishing (Capfish) : Workshop 3, 18-21 October 2022, World Maritime University

Reports

Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated (IUU) fishing is a complex and multifaceted problem, with dire consequences for aquatic ecosystems, coastal communities, fishers and fish workers, and economic and national security. It particularly affects developing countries, and is estimated to cost the global economy USD 20 billion each year. This represents foregone taxes, license fees, and revenue from resources that could have been legally exploited. Future opportunities are also lost as fish stocks dwindle and collapse, with knock-on socioeconomic effects. As those involved in IUU fishing seek to cut costs wherever possible, and are often involved in other illegal activities, IUU fishing …

Smallholder Views On Chinese Agricultural Investments In Mozambique And Tanzania In The Context Of Vggts, Rebecca Pointer, Emmanuel Sulle, Clemente Ntauazi

East Africa Institute

Based on a case study in each country, this study documents the views of Mozambican and Tanzanian smallholders regarding Chinese agricultural investments and the extent to which investors abide by their legitimate land tenure rights as defined by the Voluntary Guidelines for the Responsible Governance of Tenure of Land, Forests and Fisheries in the Context of National Food Security (VGGTs). The VGGTs offer guidelines to government on how to protect the land tenure of rural communities when land is being acquired for large-scale land investments. The study also assessed the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on smallholders. Due to COVID-19, …

Keynote Address And Meeting Program, Academy Editors

Journal of the Arkansas Academy of Science

No abstract provided.

Quantitative Song Variety In Relation To Genotype In A Hybridizing Chickadee Population, Shelby Madison Palmer

Graduate Theses/Dissertations

The Black-capped chickadee (Poecile atricapillus) and Carolina chickadee (P. carolinensis) are North American songbird species that hybridize in a narrow contact zone stretching latitudinally from New Jersey to Kansas, USA. The association between genetic ancestry and song type in this hybrid zone has been studied independently several times and found to be minimal or absent, likely due to the influence of cultural transmission on learned song in the oscine passerine clade to which the chickadees belong. Despite this, the song of both species remains remarkably distinct in allopatry, suggesting a genetic constraint on certain qualities of …

A Gis Look At Woody Plant Encroachment (Wpe): Mapping Grassland Degradation Through Habitat Succession, Brandon M. Wolf

Geography and the Environment: Graduate Student Capstones

The grasslands of North America remain at a fraction of their historic range. Estimates of acreage remaining vary between 4% and 13%. Affectionately known as the Great Plains, these grasslands have been converted for agriculture, rangeland, infrastructure, and civilization itself. Woody Plant Encroachment (WPE) on the grasslands is a silent, often overlooked, serious threat. The use of a simple GIS can estimate current acreage of a grassland, its adjacent woodland corridor, riparian buffers, and predict future acreage based on trends and hypothetical management scenarios, or lack thereof. The American prairie, though a remnant of its former self, is still home …

Fostering Socio-Ecological Resilience To Wildfire By Interconnecting Knowledge Systems At Cal Poly Humboldt, Jeffrey M. Kane, Erin Kelly, Benjamin Graham, David Greene

Humboldt Journal of Social Relations

The wildfire-related challenges of Northern California and many other regions in the western United States are daunting in scope and magnitude. Ecologically and culturally salient solutions that limit the negative impacts of wildfire and promote resilience of human and ecological systems will require newer approaches. Through Cal Poly Humboldt and the Fire Resilience Institute, there is greater emphasis on the interconnection of knowledge systems across education, training, research, and management. Here we highlight several on-going efforts that seek to enhance the fire resilience workforce, promote socio-ecological resilience through interdisciplinary projects, and inform management through monitoring and research projects that intentionally …

Abiotic Stress Mitigation: A Case Study From 21 Trials Using A Natural Organic Matter Based Biostimulant Across Multiple Geographies, Rachel L. Sleighter, Terry Hanson, David Holden, Kristen M. Richards

Chemistry & Biochemistry Faculty Publications

Crop productivity and yields can be greatly diminished by abiotic stress events including drought, extreme temperatures, excess moisture, and saline irrigation water. Multiple stressors occurring simultaneously can further exacerbate the strain on plants. Various types of biostimulants have been shown to mitigate abiotic stress and here, the results of 21 trials on corn, wheat, soybean, and various high-value crops are discussed in the context of the abiotic stress that either occurred naturally or was experimentally induced. Treatments in these trials included stressed and non-stressed plants, as well as either an untreated control or grower standard fertilizer applications alone and in …

History, Annotated Gazetteer, And Bibliography Of Sarawak Ornithology, Frederick H. Sheldon, Dency F. Gawain, Daisy G. S. Kho, Rosalina Regai, Subir B. Shakya, Chin Aik Yeap

Occasional Papers of the Museum of Natural Science, Louisiana State University

Sarawak is Malaysia’s largest state, covering most of northern Borneo. It has a remarkable history of scientific bird study, starting in the 1840s and growing ever since. To set the stage for the gazetteer, which is the core of this paper, we start with a review of this history and discuss various forces that have influenced the direction of bird research in the state. Following this introduction comes the gazetteer, which is an annotated list of c. 865 sites in Sarawak where birds have been collected, studied, or regularly observed. The gazetteer provides the latitude, longitude, and elevation of each …