Digital Commons Network^™

Sedimentation Rate In Bera Lake And Soil Redistribution At Its Catchment Using Radioisotopes / Mohammadreza Gharibreza, Mohammadreza Gharibreza

Student Works (2010-2019)

The Bera Lake is a lacustrine system and the largest natural lake in Malaysia. Assessment of literature review has highlighted a clear gap in the evaluation of environmental impacts of anthropogenic activities on the soil and water resources and sedimentary regime. Accordingly, determination of soil and nutrient redistribution in the catchment area, and sedimentation rates, nutrients fate and sediment quality assessment at Bera Lake using fallout 210Pb and 137Cs radioisotopes and sediment quality guidelines have been defined as aims of the present research. A comprehensive methodology was formulated to perform an effective literature review, innovation of core sampler, field surveying, …

Studies Of Forensically Important Flies Of Calliphoridae And Sarcophagidae In Malaysia : Morphological Taxonomy, Geographical And Ecological Distribution, Species Succession On Carcasses, And Dna-Based Identification / Tan Siew Hwa, Siew Hwa Tan

Student Works (2010-2019)

In forensic entomology, knowledge of insect taxonomy, development, behaviour and ecology is required to allow accurate data interpretation from entomological evidence in investigations. In this thesis, five forensic entomology related studies have been carried out and discussed in two Malaysian forensically important fly families, the Calliphoridae and Sarcophagidae. These studies involve the taxonomy, species checklist, ecological distribution, dipteran succession pattern on pig carcasses in Sarawak and DNA-based species identification analysis. A detailed taxonomical study of Sarcophagidae encompasses the examination of external morphological characters, and their terminology was constructed. Several important taxonomical characters were identified and their usefulness in establishing taxonomical …

Dynamics And Trophic Role Of Zooplankton Community In The Matang Mangrove Estuaries And Adjacent Coastal Waters (Peninsular Malaysia), With Special Emphasis On Copepods / Chew Li Lee, Li Lee Chew

Student Works (2010-2019)

Dynamics and trophic role of zooplankton community were studied in the Matang mangrove estuaries and adjacent coastal waters, Malaysia. Monthly zooplankton samples collected from May 2002 to October 2003 at five stations located from the upper estuary (7 km upstream) to 16 km offshore showed highest biomass and abundance of zooplankton at nearshore waters. Both standing stocks decreased towards upstream and offshore waters. Copepods (62% of total zooplankton abundance) dominated the zooplankton, followed by larvae of cirripede (18%) and polychaete (4%). Copepod abundance was higher during the wetter northeast (NE) monsoon and inter-monsoon (IN) period as compared to the drier …

Ecology Of Fishes In Tasek Bera, Pahang, Malaysia / Fatimah Abdullah, Fatimah Abdullah

Student Works (2010-2019)

The ecology of fishes was investigated in Tasek Bera (Lake Bera), a peat swamp ecosystem with three major habitats: (i) swamp forest dominated by Eugenia, (ii) Reed (Lepironia) and clumps of Pandanus stands and (iii) open waters fringed by submerged Utricularia. Limnological information and fish fauna of the lake was determined and the association of both data was done using canonical correspondence analysis (CCA).Mean values of water quality parameters for the entire study period (April 2004 to December 2005) were as follows: water temperature = 29.540 C ± 1.15; total suspended solids (TSS) = 19.38 mg/L ± 28.32; total dissolved …

Quantifying The Effects Of Tidal Restrictions And Plant Invasions On Resident Fish In Atlantic Coast Salt Marshes, Kimberly Lellis Dibble

Open Access Dissertations

This research investigates the combined effects of tidal restriction and Phragmites australis invasion on habitat quality for marsh fauna across a large geographic area while evaluating the reversal of those effects through ecological restoration. We used meta-analytic tools and published literature to examine differences in the quantity, condition, and diversity of fauna in invaded and restored marshes relative to uninvaded (reference) marshes in the mid-Atlantic and in New England. In addition, we collected data for two projects designed to move beyond the collection of community data (e.g., density, richness, as included in the meta-analysis) to assess the functional response of …

Pond-Level Risk Factors Associated With Columnaris Disease On Mississippi Commercial Catfish Farms, Fred L. Cunningham, Skip W. Jack, David Hardin, Robert W. Wills

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

A large commercial catfish enterprise encompassing over 500 food fish ponds from five farms covering multiple counties in the Mississippi Delta was included in this analysis of columnaris risk factors. A gram-negative bacterium, Flavobacterium columnare, is the cause of columnaris disease and is considered the second-most prevalent bacterial disease in farm-raised catfish. The objective of this study was to determine if pond-level risk factors reported by farm personnel were associated with columnaris disease mortalities. To identify risk factors affecting susceptibility of farm-raised channel catfish Ictalurus punctatus to columnaris disease, a Catfish Management database was developed. Logistic regression was used …

Coyote (Canis Latrans), 100+ Years In The East: A Literature Review, Lauren L. Mastro, Eric M. Gese, Julie K. Young, John A. Shivik

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Coyotes (Canis latrans) have expanded into the eastern United States over the last 100 years. Increases in their distribution and abundance have been documented and concerns about their presence in urban areas and their impact on both native wildlife and domestic livestock are growing. These impacts require further investigation and may require changes to management strategies. Two documents, a book and a technical bulletin, provide general overviews of eastern coyote biology. However, these documents are not comprehensive, and are either not readily available or were published >15 years ago. We provide a comprehensive review of the existing literature …

Social Disorganization And The Public Level Of Crime Control: A Spatial Analysis Of Ecological Predictors Of Homicide Rates In Bogota, Colombia, Gipsy Escobar

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Research in the social disorganization tradition has found community disadvantage to be one of the strongest and most consistent macro-level predictors of homicides in urban areas in the United States (Pratt & Cullen 2005). This dissertation empirically tests the applicability of ecological theories of crime to the spatial distribution of homicides in Bogota, Colombia, while proposing alternative measures of social disorganization that are analogous to those used in the American literature but that are more reflective of both social realities and data availability in Colombia. The study used data from several sources including official homicide figures from the National Institute …

Brunkow Studies Health Of Midwest Freshwaters, Aldemaro Romero Jr.

Publications and Research

No abstract provided.

Vegetation Outlook (Vegout): Predicting Remote Sensing–Based Seasonal Greenness, Tsegaye Tadesse, Brian D. Wardlow, Mark D. Svoboda, Michael J. Hayes

National Drought Mitigation Center: Faculty Publications

Accurate and timely prediction of vegetation conditions enhances knowledge-based decision making for drought planning, mitigation, and response. This is very important in countries that are highly dependent on rainfed agriculture. For example, studies show that remote sensing–based observations and vegetation condition prediction have great potential for estimating crop yields (Verdin and Klaver, 2002; Ji and Peters, 2003; Seaquist et al., 2005; Tadesse et al., 2005a, 2008; Funk and Brown, 2006), which in turn may help to address agricultural development and food security issues, as well as improve early warning systems.

Many studies have demonstrated the value of Vegetation Indices (VIs), …

Seasonal Variation Of Coyote Diet In Northwestern Wyoming: Implications For Dietary Overlap With Canada Lynx?, Jennifer L. B. Dowd, Eric M. Gese

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Exploitative competition through resource utilization may occur between coyotes (Canis latrans) and other carnivores. In the southern periphery of Canada lynx (Lynx canadensis) range, there is concern that increased snowmobile activity may enable coyotes to increase their movements into deep snow areas during the winter months, thereby potentially creating heightened resource competition with lynx, mainly for the lynx’s main prey, snowshoe hares (Lepus americanus). We studied the seasonal variation of coyote diets and the dietary overlap between coyotes and lynx in a 512-km² high-elevation study area in northwestern Wyoming. Dietary shifts by coyotes …

Using A Population Growth Model To Simulate Response Of Plodia Interpunctella Hubner To Temperature And Diet, Emily A. Fontenot, Frank H. Arthur, James R. Nechols, James E. Throne

United States Department of Agriculture-Agricultural Research Service / University of Nebraska-Lincoln: Faculty Publications

Response to temperature and diet are major factors in the potential population growth of Plodia interpunctella Hubner, a damaging pest of many stored products. A population growth model was used to simulate population development on an optimal wheat-based diet and a sub-optimal diet of raisins at 20–35°C, using different starting values for initial density and life stage. Predicted population development on the two diets increased with temperature and growth patterns were similar regardless of starting population levels at temperatures over 20°C. The predicted population levels on raisins were much less than those predicted for wheat diet, with the same general …

Lepeophtheirus Salmonis, Parasitizing Three Species Of Pacific Salmon (Oncorhynchus Spp.): Host Variations In Load, Morphology, Fecundity, And Genetics Of The Salmon Louse, Stephen Flanagan

EWU Masters Thesis Collection

"The purpose of this study is to determine biological parameters of salmon lice (Lepeophtheirus salmonis) as they parasitize different species of Pacific Ocean salmonids off the north Pacific coast of Washington State. Parasite load counts of L. salmonis were made and individuals were collected from salmonids in their natural environment. Louse morphology and fecundity were examined using microscopy. Parasite loads were equal between different species of salmonids (p = 0.231). Lice that infected chinook salmon (n= 48) were smaller in total body length (p < 0.001), cephalothorax length (p < 0.001), and cephalothorax width (p < 0.001) when compared to lice that infected coho salmon (n = 44) or pink salmon (n=45). Lice that infected coho and pink salmon were not statistically different in body length (p = 0.213), cephalothorax length (p = 0.996), or cephalothorax width (p = 0.149). Also, L. salmonis produced fewer eggs when infecting chinook salmon (n = 24) than when infecting coho salmon (p < 0.001) or pink salmon (p < 0.001). Whereas, lice that infected coho salmon (n = 41) or pink salmon (n = 22) produced similar number of eggs (p = 0.60). These results indicate that there are factors associated with infecting chinook salmon hosts that reduce the size and fecundity of salmon lice"--Document.

Annual Variation In Timing, Orientation And Effects Of Weather On Jefferson Salamander (Ambystoma Jeffersonianum) And Spotted Salamander (Ambystoma Maculatum) Movements In Central Kentucky, Christopher James St. Andre

Online Theses and Dissertations

Annual variation in temporal and spatial patterns of amphibian migration and dispersal are poorly understood. To address this issue, a circular drift fence was installed around an ephemeral pond at the Central Kentucky Wildlife Management Area, Madison County, Kentucky. The pond was checked daily for salamander movements from 17 January 2010 to 26 September 2010 and from 26 January 2011 to 3 August 2011, which corresponded to the activity season. Weather variables examined in relation to amphibian movements included barometric pressure, cumulative precipitation, temperature and relative humidity. Several species used the ephemeral pond during the study but few successfully reproduced. …

Four-Toed Salamander (Hemidactylium Scutatum) Nest Site Characteristics In Natural And Constructed Wetlands In Eastern Kentucky, Susan Kay King

Online Theses and Dissertations

Forested freshwater wetlands have undergone loss and alteration more than other types of wetlands. Wetland creation has slowed wetland losses, but many created wetlands do not functionally replace natural wetlands. Plant and animal communities and wetland drying cycles often differ between natural and constructed wetlands. It is important to understand what specific habitat characteristics differ between natural and constructed wetlands and what impact these differences might have on the animal assemblages. Having restrictive habitat requirements makes the four-toed salamander a good candidate for study. The objectives of this study were to understand four-toed salamander (Hemidactylium scutatum) nesting ecology …

Oil-Mediated Mortality And Induced Behavioral Modifications Of Coastal Insects, Benjamin Jacob Adams

LSU Master's Theses

The Deepwater Horizon oil spill affected over one thousand kilometers of the southeastern United States’ coast in the Gulf of Mexico especially Louisiana’s salt marshes. These marshes are a vital part of the state’s economy and coastal ecology; however, the insects residing in this area remain largely unstudied. The goal of my project was to answer specific questions arising from two ongoing investigations of the insects in the oiled marshes. I sampled insects using sweep nets and insect vacuums to determine the most efficient technique to use in the marsh, compared insects collected in oiled and non-oiled marshes, and completed …

School, Family, And Faith: Social Influences On Educational Outcomes Of Nonmetropolitan Sexual Minority Students, Christopher J. Stapel

Theses and Dissertations--Sociology

Social institutions in rural communities tend to be highly interrelated and social ties tend to be dense and multiplex. Human ecological theoretical models posit that all institutions in which an individual is embedded interact in complex ways. As such, this dissertation examines the influences of school, faith, family, and risk contexts on the grade point averages of students who attended school in nonmetropolitan counties in Appalachian Kentucky. Using data disaggregated by gender from nearly 5,000 adolescents, I identified risk and protective factors on grade point averages by attraction type (exclusively opposite-sex attracted, same-sex attracted, and unsure of attraction), identified differences …

The Role Of Plant-Soil Feedback In Exotic Plant Invasion: Soil Type, Biotic Or Abiotic Factors?, Kelly Dawn Schradin

Browse all Theses and Dissertations

Plants alter soil characteristics in many ways causing changes in their subsequent growth resulting in either positive or negative feedback on their own fitness. Plants in their native ranges typically experience negative feedback from natural enemies, while feedback is often positive in invaded ranges where they escape enemies, experience new beneficial mutualisms, or bring with them a novel biochemical weapon. I conducted a fully factorial greenhouse experiment to examine plant-soil feedback in the invasive shrub Lonicera maackii and whether or not positive feedback may contribute to its successful invasion in southern Ohio. I also investigated whether the sign and strength …

Historical Perspectives On Avhrr Ndvi And Vegetation Drought Monitoring, Assaf Anyamba, Compton J. Tucker

United States National Aeronautics and Space Administration: Publications

Satellite measurements of the biosphere have now become common place in various aspects of large-scale environmental monitoring, including drought and crop monitoring. This was not the case until the launch of the Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer (AVHRR) instrument on June 27, 1979, on board the first National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Advanced Television Infrared Observation Satellite (TIROS-N/NOAA-6) polar-orbiting satellite. Initially, the NOAA AVHRR satellites were designed to observe the earth’s weather patterns: primarily cloud dynamics, vertical soundings of the atmosphere, and sea surface temperatures. Early studies on remote sensing of vegetation were focused on understanding seasonality. The vernal …

Nepetalactones From Essential Oil Of Nepeta Cataria Represent A Stable Fly Feeding And Oviposition Repellent, J. J. Zhu, Dennis R. Berkebile, C. E. Dunlap, A. Zhang, D. Boxler, K. Tangtrakulwanich, R. Behle, Frederick P. Baxendale, Gary J. Brewer

Department of Entomology: Faculty Publications

The stable fly, Stomoxys calcitrans (L.) (Diptera: Muscidae), is one of the most serious pests to livestock. It feeds mainly on cattle and causes significant economic losses in the cattle industry. Standard stable fly control involving insecticides and sanitation is usually costly and often has limited effectiveness. As we continue to evaluate and develop safer fly control strategies, the present study reports on the effectiveness of catnip (Nepeta cataria L.) oil and its constituent compounds, nepetalactones, as stable fly repellents. The essential oil of catnip reduced the feeding of stable flies by >96% in an in vitro bioassay system, …

Clinical Use Of Probiotics In Pediatric Allergy (Cuppa): A World Allergy Organization Position Paper, Alessandro Fiocchi, Wesley Burks, Sami L. Bahna, Leonard Bielory, Robert J. Boyle, Renata Cocco, Sten Dreborg, Richard E. Goodman, Mikael Kuitunen, Tari Haahtela, Ralf G. Heine, Gideon Lack, David A. Osborn, Hugh Sampson, Gerald W. Tannock, Bee Wah Lee

Department of Food Science and Technology: Faculty Publications

Background: Probiotic administration has been proposed for the prevention and treatment of specific allergic manifestations such as eczema, rhinitis, gastrointestinal allergy, food allergy, and asthma. However, published statements and scientific opinions disagree about the clinical usefulness.

Objective: A World Allergy Organization Special Committee on Food Allergy and Nutrition review of the evidence regarding the use of probiotics for the prevention and treatment of allergy.

Methods: A qualitative and narrative review of the literature on probiotic treatment of allergic disease was carried out to address the diversity and variable quality of relevant studies. This variability precluded systematization, and an expert …

Next-Generation Sequencing Reveals Significant Bacterial Diversity Of Botrytized Wine, Nicholas A. Bokulich, C. M. Lucy Joseph, Greg Allen, Andrew K. Benson, David A. Mills

Department of Food Science and Technology: Faculty Publications

While wine fermentation has long been known to involve complex microbial communities, the composition and role of bacteria other than a select set of lactic acid bacteria (LAB) has often been assumed either negligible or detrimental. This study served as a pilot study for using barcoded amplicon next-generation sequencing to profile bacterial community structure in wines and grape musts, comparing the taxonomic depth achieved by sequencing two different domains of prokaryotic 16S rDNA (V4 and V5). This study was designed to serve two goals: 1) to empirically determine the most taxonomically informative 16S rDNA target region for barcoded amplicon sequencing …

Development Of Camera Technology For Monitoring Nests, W. Andrew Cox, M. Shane Pruett, Thomas J. Benson, Scott J. Chiavacci, Frank R. Thompson Iii

United States Geological Survey, Northern Prairie Wildlife Research Center: Publications

Photo and video technology has become increasingly useful in the study of avian nesting ecology. However, researchers interested in using camera systems are often faced with insufficient information on the types and relative advantages of available technologies. We reviewed the literature for studies of nests that used cameras and summarized them based on study objective and the type of technology used. We also designed and tested two video systems that we used for three nest predator and behavioral studies. We found 327 studies that recorded 255 bird species spanning 19 orders. Cameras were most commonly used to study nest predators …

Quantifying Tropical Dry Forest Type And Succession: Substantial Improvement With Lidar, Sebastian Martinuzzi, William A. Gould, Lee A. Vierling, Andrew T. Hudak, Ross F. Nelson, Jeffrey S. Evans

United States Department of Agriculture, Forest Service / University of Nebraska-Lincoln: Faculty Publications

Improved technologies are needed to advance our knowledge of the biophysical and human factors influencing tropical dry forests, one of the world’s most threatened ecosystems. We evaluated the use of light detection and ranging (LiDAR) data to address two major needs in remote sensing of tropical dry forests, i.e., classification of forest types and delineation of forest successional status. We evaluated LiDAR-derived measures of three-dimensional canopy structure and subcanopy topography using classification-tree techniques to separate different dry forest types and successional stages in the Guánica Biosphere Reserve in Puerto Rico. We compared the LiDARbased results with classifications made from …

Yersinia Pestis: Examining Wildlife Plague Surveillance In China And The Usa, Sarah N. Bevins, John A. Baroch, Dale L. Nolte, Min Zhang, Hongxuan He

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Plague is a zoonotic disease caused by the bacterium Yersinia pestis Lehmann and Neumann, 1896. Although it is essentially a disease of rodents, plague can also be transmitted to people. Historically, plague has caused massive morbidity and mortality events in human populations, and has recently been classified as a reemerging disease in many parts of the world. This public health threat has led many countries to set up wild and domestic animal surveillance programs in an attempt to monitor plague activity that could potentially spill over into human populations. Both China and the USA have plague surveillance programs in place, …

Covariation Between Understorey Light Environments And Soil Resources In Bornean Mixed Dipterocarp Rain Forest, Sabrina E. Russo, Lin Zhang, Sylvester Tan

School of Biological Sciences: Faculty Publications

Variation in understorey irradiance is both a cause and consequence of the structure and dynamics of closed-canopy forests, which are also influenced by soil nutrients and water availability. We tested the hypothesis that understorey light regimes differ among four mixed dipterocarp forest types that share the same rainfall, but grow on different soils along an edaphic gradient at one site in Borneo. Based on data from photosynthetically active radiation sensors deployed at 1-m height at 36 locations for 351 sensor-days, we found significant soil-related variation in irradiance. The more productive forest types on clay and fine loam had lower daily …

North American Birds As Potential Amplifying Hosts Of Japanese Encephalitis Virus, Nicole M. Nemeth, Angela Bosco-Lauth, Paul T. Oesterle, Dennis Kohler, Richard Bowen

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Japanese encephalitis virus (JEV) is an emerging arbovirus, and inter-continental spread is an impending threat. The virus is maintained in a transmission cycle between mosquito vectors and vertebrate hosts, including birds. We detected variation in interspecies responses among North American birds to infection with strains of two different JEV genotypes (I and III). Several native North American passerine species and ring-billed gulls had the highest average peak viremia titers after inoculation with a Vietnamese (genotype I) JEV strain. Oral JEV shedding was minimal and cloacal shedding was rarely detected. The majority of birds, both viremic (72 of 74; 97.3%) and …

Didactic Lessons Derived From The Shoshone River Skunk Rabies Epizootic, Craig A. Ramey, Kenneth H. Mills, Justin W. Fischer, Robert G. Mclean

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Studying the lower Shoshone River Basin’s (SRB) striped skunk (Mephitis mephitis) rabies 6-year epizootic in northwestern Wyoming has produced four didactic lessons. First, physiographic changes by settlers circa 1900 affected its zoogeography by creating a canal system for irrigating crops originating at Buffalo Bill Reservoir (BBR). The resulting landscape changes increased agricultural lands and skunk habitat eightfold between the valley’s steep gravel benches. The valley was historically free of skunk rabies until the epizootic’s index case in August 1988. Second, human intervention began when the Bighorn County Predator Board (BCPB) proactively implemented rabies trapping surveillance and depopulation programs …

The Relationship Between Variable Host Grouping And Functional Responses Among Parasitoids Of Antispila Nysaefoliella (Lepidoptera: Heliozelidae), Candace Low, Sonja J. Scheffer, Matthew L. Lewis, Michael W. Gates

United States Department of Agriculture-Agricultural Research Service / University of Nebraska-Lincoln: Faculty Publications

Our study investigated the importance of variability in the parasitoid community as a source of selection on host group size using a field population of the tupelo leafminer, Antispila nysaefoliella Clemens, which specializes on tupelo, Nyssa sylvatica Marsh. Larvae were collected from leaves with variable numbers of larvae and screened for parasitism using polymerase chain reaction of mitochondrial cytochrome oxidase I using markers designed specifically for amplifying parasitoid DNA while excluding host DNA. This method of selective PCR was effective for detecting the presence and identifying species of immature stages of three hymenopteran superfamilies: Chalcidoidea, Ichneumonoidea and Platygastroidea, which represented …

Gene Transcription In Sea Otters (Enhydra Lutris); Development Of A Diagnostic Tool For Sea Otter And Ecosystem Health, Lizabeth Bowen, A. Keith Miles, Michael Murray, Martin Haulena, Judy Tuttle, William Van Bonn, Lance Adams, James L. Bodkin, Brenda Ballachey, James A. Estes, M. Tim Tinker, Robin Keister, Jeffrey L. Stott

United States Geological Survey: Staff Publications

Gene transcription analysis for diagnosing or monitoring wildlife health requires the ability to distinguish pathophysiological change from natural variation. Herein, we describe methodology for the development of quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) assays to measure differential transcript levels of multiple immune function genes in the sea otter (Enhydra lutris); sea otter-specific qPCR primer sequences for the genes of interest are defined. We establish a ‘reference’ range of transcripts for each gene in a group of clinically healthy captive and free-ranging sea otters. The 10 genes of interest represent multiple physiological systems that play a role in immuno-modulation, …