Digital Commons Network^™

Overview Of Chinese Biodiversity Observation Network (Sino Bon), Feng Xiaojuan, Mi Xiangcheng, Xiao Zhishu, Cao Lei, Wu Hui, Ma Keping

Bulletin of Chinese Academy of Sciences (Chinese Version)

Biodiversity is key to the foundation and development of human society. Biodiversity monitoring and research provide essential scientific support for the national development of ecological civilization and for building a beautiful China. To monitor the dynamic distribution of important species in typical ecoregions of China, Chinese Biodiversity Observation Network (Sino BON) was founded in 2013 under the supports of 19 institutes of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and the sponsorship of the 12th and 13th FiveYear Plans. Covering 30 main sites and 60 affiliated sites all over China, Sino BON includes 10 subnetworks specialized at monitoring different groups of species …

Impacts Of Eutrophication On Benthic Invertebrates & Fish Prey Of Birds In Farmington And Bear River Bays Of Great Salt Lake, Trip Armstrong, Wayne A. Wurtsbaugh

Watershed Sciences Faculty Publications

Farmington Bay’s watershed is primarily in the heavily populated metropolitan Salt Lake City, and consequently, it receives approximately 50% of its inflow from nutrient‐ rich wastewater releases. The high nutrient loads make it eutrophic and reducing the loading has been suggested to reduce blooms of toxic cyanobacteria. However, the bay also supports thousands of wading birds and waterfowl, and there is concern that reducing nutrient inflows might reduce the production of bottom‐dwelling insects and other invertebrates that the birds rely upon.

The Influence Of Water Depth On The Locomotor Kinematics Of The Chilean Flamingo (Phoenicopterus Chilensis), Amanda Marie Palecek

All Theses

Vertebrates exhibit a diverse range of locomotor modes and associated morphological structures. Although many vertebrates can be classified as using distinct aquatic or terrestrial locomotor behaviors, several species use a terrestrial mode of locomotion while only partly submerged in aquatic environments, a behavior called wading. Wading can be observed in a variety of taxa including amphibians, reptiles, mammals, and birds. Although there are over 100 species of wading birds, quantitative measurements of avian wading kinematics have not been performed. To address the lack of comparative studies on avian wading kinematics, video footage of Phoenicopterus chilensis (Chilean flamingo) was collected and …

Ornithological Expeditions To Sarawak, Malaysian Borneo, 2007-2017, Frederick H. Sheldon, Haw Chuan Lim, Phred M. Benham, Matthew L. Brady, Clare E. Brown, Ryan C. Burner, Vivien L. Chua, John C. Mittermeier, Subir B. Shakya, Paul Van Els, Mustafa Abdul Rahman, Dency F. Gawin, Zahirunisa Abdul Rahim, Luisa Duya Setia, Robert Moyle

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

Louisiana State University, the University of Kansas, and the Universiti Malaysia Sarawak undertook collaborative research on the evolution and ecology of Bornean birds starting in 2005. This collaboration included a series of expeditions from 2007–2017 to collect and study birds at >30 sites in Sarawak, Malaysian Borneo. Here we provide information on the study-sites and summarize the main discoveries resulting from the collaboration.

Outdoor Cats: An Animal Welfare And Protection Perspective, John Hadidian, Inga Gibson, Susan Hagood, Nancy Peterson, Bernard Unti, Betsy Mcfarland, Katie Lisnik, Heather Bialy, Inga Fricke, Kathleen Schatzmann, Jennifer Fearing, Pam Runquist, Andrew N. Rowan (Ed.)

Andrew N. Rowan, DPhil

First raised as a serious conservation issue more than 100 years ago, the impact of free-roaming cats on wildlife has been a subject of debate, controversy, and conflict since then. Cats have been tied directly to the extinction of sensitive species in island environments and implicated as major threats to certain wildlife populations elsewhere. Yet the study of free-roaming cats and the problems attributed to them lags behind the standards of research typical with more traditional vertebrate “pest” species. Alternative management approaches, ranging from traditional practices such as removal and depopulation to emerging concepts such as Trap- Neuter-Return (TNR), have …

Outdoor Cats: An Animal Welfare And Protection Perspective, John Hadidian, Inga Gibson, Susan Hagood, Nancy Peterson, Bernard Unti, Betsy Mcfarland, Katie Lisnik, Heather Bialy, Inga Fricke, Kathleen Schatzmann, Jennifer Fearing, Pam Runquist, Andrew N. Rowan (Ed.)

Bernard Unti, PhD

First raised as a serious conservation issue more than 100 years ago, the impact of free-roaming cats on wildlife has been a subject of debate, controversy, and conflict since then. Cats have been tied directly to the extinction of sensitive species in island environments and implicated as major threats to certain wildlife populations elsewhere. Yet the study of free-roaming cats and the problems attributed to them lags behind the standards of research typical with more traditional vertebrate “pest” species. Alternative management approaches, ranging from traditional practices such as removal and depopulation to emerging concepts such as Trap- Neuter-Return (TNR), have …

Evaluating The Effect Of Time Of Day On Singing Behavior In Anna’S Hummingbirds, Adrian D. Macedo, Maxine R. Mota

IdeaFest: Interdisciplinary Journal of Creative Works and Research from Cal Poly Humboldt

No abstract provided.

Traffic Noise And Sexual Selection: Studies Of Anthropogenic Impact On Bird Songs And Undergraduate Student Reasoning Of Evolutionary Mechanisms, Sarah Spier

School of Natural Resources: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Humans have transformed much of the natural landscape and are continuing to do so at an accelerated rate, compromising natural areas that serve as important habitat for many species. Roads impact much of the environment as they fragment habitat and introduce traffic noise into the acoustic environment, deferentially affecting wildlife in roadside habitat. I explored how traffic noise affects the detection of birds based on whether their vocalizations were masked by traffic noise. Masked species detection was not affected by an increase in traffic noise amplitude, while there was a negative effect of traffic noise amplitude on unmasked species detection, …

Traffic Noise And Sexual Selection: Studies Of Anthropogenic Impact On Bird Songs And Undergraduate Student Reasoning Of Evolutionary Mechanisms, Sarah Spier

School of Natural Resources: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Humans have transformed much of the natural landscape and are continuing to do so at an accelerated rate, compromising natural areas that serve as important habitat for many species. Roads impact much of the environment as they fragment habitat and introduce traffic noise into the acoustic environment, deferentially affecting wildlife in roadside habitat. I explored how traffic noise affects the detection of birds based on whether their vocalizations were masked by traffic noise. Masked species detection was not affected by an increase in traffic noise amplitude, while there was a negative effect of traffic noise amplitude on unmasked species detection, …

Factors Affecting Nest Success Of Colonial Nesting Waterbirds In Southwest Louisiana, Karis A. Ritenour

LSU Master's Theses

As the coastline of Louisiana shifts with global climate change, subsidence, and accelerated sea level rise, important breeding islands for colonial nesting waterbirds are disappearing. In many recent studies flooding has been a leading cause of nest failure for a variety of species, especially those that nest on the ground. I examined the nest success of four species of colonial nesting waterbirds with various nesting strategies on Rabbit Island in southwestern Louisiana during 2017 and2018 by determining nest and fledging success. I monitored 855 nests, including 457 Brown Pelicans nests with an estimated hatch probability of 70%, 270 Forster’s Terns …

Wyoming Wildlife: A Natural History, Paul Johnsgard, Thomas D. Mangelsen

Zea E-Books Collection

This book surveys Wyoming’s mammal, bird, reptile, and amphibian faunas. In addition to introducing the state’s geography, geology, climate, and major ecosystems, it provides 65 biological profiles of 72 mammal species, 195 profiles of 196 birds, 9 profiles of 12 reptiles, and 6 profiles of 9 amphibians. There are also species lists of Wyoming’s 117 mammals, 445 birds, 22 reptiles, and 12 amphibians. Also included are descriptions of nearly 50 national and state properties, including parks, forests, preserves, and other public-access natural areas in Wyoming. The book includes a text of more than 150,000 words, nearly 700 references, a glossary …

Conservation Education: Using Birds To Connect Communities To Their Natural Environment, Kathryn A. Olson

Graduate Student Portfolios, Professional Papers, and Capstone Projects

The theme of my portfolio is conservation education, using birds as an example of how to connect people of all ages to their natural environment. Birds were chosen as an example because of a personal curiosity for the animal, and because they are an accessible and tangible element of nature for all people, urban and rural. The first component is a Curriculum Development Guide created for the Wings Over Water program of the Montana Natural History Center. It synthesizes scientific research on Ospreys, relates central themes of the literature to Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) and provides inventive activity ideas …

Avifauna Survey Within A University Campus And Adjacent Forest Fragment In Bicol, Eastern Philippines, Jocelyn E. Serrano, Jonathan J.G. Guerrero, Josiah D.G. Quimpo, Giovani C. Andes, Erwin N. Bañares, Mheljor A. General

Applied Environmental Research

With the lack of baseline information on avifauna within Bicol University and the adjacent forest fragment, this research aimed to identify bird species and compare their presence between an urbanized and forest areas. Avian diversity was documented within the Kalikasan Park and Bicol University Main Campus adjacent ecosystems, representing a forest fragment and semi-urbanized ecosystems, respectively. Bird survey was carried out through point count method. Identification was aided by existing taxonomic keys. A total of 44 species were recorded with eleven as Philippine endemics. Lonchura malacca(Chestnut Munia) and Aplonis panayensis (Asian Glossy Starling) were among the most frequently sighted. Bird …

The Multifactorial Nature Of Beak And Skull Shape Evolution In Parrots And Cockatoos (Psittaciformes), Jen A. Bright, Jesús Marugán-Lobón, Emily J. Rayfield, Samuel N. Cobb

School of Geosciences Faculty and Staff Publications

Background: The Psittaciformes (parrots and cockatoos) are characterised by their large beaks, and are renowned for their ability to produce high bite forces. These birds also possess a suite of modifications to their cranial architecture interpreted to be adaptations for feeding on mechanically resistant foods, yet the relationship between cranial morphology and diet has never been explicitly tested. Here, we provide a three-dimensional geometric morphometric analysis of the developmental and biomechanical factors that may be influencing the evolution of psittaciformes’ distinctive cranial morphologies.

Results: Contrary to our own predictions, we find that dietary preferences for more- or less- mechanically resistant …

Magnificent Birds, Hannah Webb

Children's Book and Media Review

Narisa Togo’s Magnificent Birds is a beautifully illustrated non-fiction book of birds, both familiar and rare. The book highlights fourteen different species of birds from all over the world, giving information about their physical characteristics and unique behaviors. For example, did you know that the ruby-throated hummingbird may eat twice its body weight in a given day to maintain its energy? Or that the wandering albatross has the largest wingspan of any modern bird? The book puts a special spotlight on conservation efforts being made to protect these birds, many of which are endangered.

Complex Gene Loss And Duplication Events Have Facilitated The Evolution Of Multiple Loricrin Genes In Diverse Bird Species, Anthony C. Davis, Matthew J. Greenwold, Roger H. Sawyer

Faculty Publications

The evolution of a mechanically resilient epidermis was a key adaptation in the transition of amniotes to a fully terrestrial lifestyle. Skin appendages usually form via a specialized type of programmed cell death known as cornification which is characterized by the formation of an insoluble cornified envelope (CE). Many of the substrates of cornification are encoded by linked genes located at a conserved genetic locus known as the epidermal differentiation complex (EDC). Loricrin is the main protein component of the mammalian CE and is encoded for by a gene located within the EDC. Recently, genes resembling mammalian loricrin, along with …

Aviary Of The Reverend William J. Long, Shae Lewis Warnick

Theses and Dissertations

Humans perceive the natural world in a subjective and sensual way, yet over time science has turned the study of nature into a progressively objective pursuit. The Aviary of the Reverend William J. Long is an installation of anthropomorphic bird dolls that examines the roles of science and sentiment in our interactions with the natural world.

Mass Stranding Of Marine Birds Caused By A Surfactant-Producing Red Tide., David A. Jessup, Melissa A. Miller, John P. Ryan, Hannah M Nevins, Heather A. Kerkering, Abdou Mekebri, David B. Crane, Tyler A. Johnson, Raphael M. Kudela

Tyler Johnson

In November-December 2007 a widespread seabird mortality event occurred in Monterey Bay, California, USA, coincident with a massive red tide caused by the dinoflagellate Akashiwo sanguinea. Affected birds had a slimy yellow-green material on their feathers, which were saturated with water, and they were severely hypothermic. We determined that foam containing surfactant-like proteins, derived from organic matter of the red tide, coated their feathers and neutralized natural water repellency and insulation. No evidence of exposure to petroleum or other oils or biotoxins were found. This is the first documented case of its kind, but previous similar events may have gone …

Wyoming’S Ucross Ranch: Its Birds, History, And Natural Environment, Jacqueline Lee Canterbury, Paul Johnsgard

Zea E-Books Collection

This book profiles 60 of the most abundant, characteristic, and interesting birds that have been regularly reported from the Ucross Ranch and the adjacent Powder River Basin. The 20,000-acre Ucross Ranch lies on the western edge of the Powder River Basin of northeastern Wyoming. Ucross is a textbook example of the prairie grassland/ shrubland habitat type referred to as the sagebrush steppe, a landscape that is an icon of Wyoming’s vast open spaces. We focus especially on those species that occur year-round or are present as breeders during the summer months, and we place emphasis on a unique group of …

Wildlife Damage To Crops Adjacent To A Protected Area In Southeastern Mexico: Farmers’ Perceptions Versus Actual Impact, Gabriel Can-Hernández, Claudia Villanueva-García, Elías José Gordillo-Chávez, Coral Jazvel Pacheco-Figueroa, Elizabeth Pérez-Netzahual, Rodrigo García-Morales

Human–Wildlife Interactions

Human–wildlife conflicts occur when wildlife has an adverse effect on human activities (e.g., predation of livestock, crop raiding). These conflicts are increasing, particularly in areas surrounding natural protected areas, where villagers engage in subsistence agriculture. Crop damage may cause farmers to retaliate and harm wildlife species considered responsible for the damage. Among the factors that determine the intensity of the conflict are the frequency of the damage and the amount of biomass consumed relative to the perceptions, values, and cultural history of the farmers affected. To better understand the conflicts between farmers and wildlife, we compared farmer perceptions of wildlife …

Fire Legacies In Eastern Ponderosa Pine Forests, Caleb P. Roberts, Victoria M. Donovan, Carissa L. Wonkka, Larkin A. Powell, Craig R. Allen, David G. Angeler, David A. Wedin, Dirac L. Twidwell Jr

Department of Agronomy and Horticulture: Faculty Publications

Disturbance legacies structure communities and ecological memory, but due to increasing changes in disturbance regimes, it is becoming more difficult to characterize disturbance legacies or determine how long they persist. We sought to quantify the characteristics and persistence of material legacies (e.g., biotic residuals of disturbance) that arise from variation in fire severity in an eastern ponderosa pine forest in North America. We compared forest stand structure and understory woody plant and bird community composition and species richness across unburned, low‐, moderate‐, and high‐severity burn patches in a 27‐year‐old mixed‐severity wildfire that had received minimal post‐fire management. We identified distinct …

Review Of Red & Lulu By Matt Tavares, Holly F. Caldwell

Library Intern Book Reviews

No abstract provided.

Vertebrate Natural History Notes From Arkansas, 2019, C. Renn Tumlison, Chris Mcallister, Henry Robison, Matt Connior, Ron Redman, Stan Trauth, Paul Port

Journal of the Arkansas Academy of Science

Important observations of natural history often go unreported because they are not part of larger studies, but small details can provide insights that lead to interesting questions about ecological relationships or environmental change. We have compiled recent important observations of distribution, deformities, foods, parasites, and reproduction of various vertebrates. Included are a new record of Lake Sturgeon (Acipenser fulvescens), a new size record of mudpuppy (Necturus louisianensis), and a second observation of bilateral gynandromorphism in a Northern Cardinal (Cardinalis cardinalis). These unique observations continue to grow knowledge of vertebrate biology in Arkansas.

Effects Of Fragmentation On Species Retention In National Parks, Liz Tanner

Master's Theses

The North American landscape is becoming increasingly fragmented, resulting in habitat patches with decreased area and increased isolation. Often, these patches exist as protected areas, such as national parks. The Theory of Island Biogeography is frequently used as a model for these patches, where each park serves as an ‘island’ surrounded by a ‘sea’ of human-altered habitats. As such, species richness and extinctions in a park might be explained by its area. For this study, I used regression models to examine the relationship between richness and area, as well as extinctions and area, for mammals and birds in national parks. …

Where Birds Chill: An Assessment Of The Habitat Preferences Of Birds Overwintering In Hudson Valley Forests, Elizabeth Claire Axley

Senior Projects Spring 2019

Many avian species overwinter in eastern North America; however, studies on bird populations are rarely undertaken during this critical survival time, and little is known as to their habitat preferences and foraging behavior. In this observational study, we performed a survey of birds overwintering in the Hudson Valley’s temperate, primarily-deciduous forests, assessing avian populations’ habitat preferences through the vegetative structural variables surrounding overwintering birds as they forage. Our results suggest that high canopy cover is critically important to predicting overwintering bird occupancy on a microhabitat scale. Moreover, overwintering birds preferentially occupy forest plots not dominated by sugar maples, in spite …

Remembering The Huia: Extinction And Nostalgia In A Bird World, Cameron Boyle

Animal Studies Journal

This paper examines the role of nostalgia in practices of remembering the Huia, an extinct bird endemic to Aotearoa New Zealand. It suggests that nostalgia for the Huia specifically, and New Zealand's indigenous birds more generally, has occurred as both restorative nostalgia and reflective nostalgia. It argues that the former problematically looks to recreate a past world in which birds flourished. In contrast, the paintings of Bill Hammond and the sound art of Sally Ann McIntyre are drawn on to explore the potential of reflective nostalgia for remembering the Huia, and New Zealand's extinct indigenous birds more generally, in a …