Digital Commons Network^™

Application Of Stable Isotopes To Study Movement Ecology And Diet Variation In A Migratory Songbird, Andrea Contina, Allison K. Pierce, Scott W. Yanco, Eli S. Bridge, Jeffrey F. Kelly, Michael B. Wunder

School of Integrative Biological & Chemical Sciences Faculty Publications

Whether and how migratory organisms exhibit interindividual behavioral and/or physiological variation across movement strategies remains an open question. The Dark-eyed Junco (Junco hyemalis) is a migratory songbird known for its intraspecies variation displayed in relation to morphology, song repertoires, and migration. Thus, studies focusing on juncos can reveal how migratory strategy may covary with other individual-scale factors and, therefore, identify the selective forces driving intraspecies variations throughout its distribution. We used Dark-eyed Junco hydrogen stable isotope feather values (δ²H) and implemented a Bayesian framework to infer the breeding and molting origin of migratory juncos captured on their winter grounds in …

Population Demography, Spatial Ecology, And Habitat Use Of The Florida Box Turtle (Terrapene Bauri) On A Barrier Island, Michael D. Mills

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Turtles are one the most threatened vertebrate groups in the world due to anthropogenic threats such as habitat loss and overexploitation. In addition to occupying a range that has been vulnerable to major habitat loss, the Florida box turtle (Terrapene bauri) is particularly at risk of overexploitation due to its popularity in the pet trade. Sanibel Island is a barrier island in southwest Florida that has experienced major habitat loss and is the site of a recent poaching event. In response to these threats, studies of both the population demography and spatial ecology were conducted on Sanibel’s Florida box turtle …

An Assessment Of Future Tidal Marsh Resilience In The San Francisco Estuary Through Modeling And Quantifiable Metrics Of Sustainability, James T. Morris, Judith Z. Drexler, Lydia J.S. Vaughn, April H. Robinson

Faculty Publications

Quantitative, broadly applicable metrics of resilience are needed to effectively manage tidal marshes into the future. Here we quantified three metrics of temporal marsh resilience: time to marsh drowning, time to marsh tipping point, and the probability of a regime shift, defined as the conditional probability of a transition to an alternative super-optimal, suboptimal, or drowned state. We used organic matter content (loss on ignition, LOI) and peat age combined with the Coastal Wetland Equilibrium Model (CWEM) to track wetland development and resilience under different sea-level rise scenarios in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta (Delta) of California. A 100-year hindcast of …

Visualization Of Lamb Adulteration Based On Hyperspectral Imaging For Non-Destructive Quantitative Detection, Zhao Jing-Yuan, Zhang Jun-Qin, Sun Mei, Chen Xing-Hai, Liu Ye-Lin

Food and Machinery

Objective: This study aimed to establisha rapid and accurate prediction method of lamb adulteration by using visible/near-infrared (400~1 000 nm) and short-wave near-infrared (900~1 700 nm) hyperspectral imaging techniques.Methods: The data acquisition of lamb adulterated with different proportions of duck meat using visible/near-infrared (400~1 000 nm) and short-wave near-infrared (900~1 700 nm) hyperspectral imagers was performed to compare the effect of partial least squares (PLS) modeling with different spectral preprocessing methods in the two band ranges. Then the normalized preprocessing method was selected in the visible-NIR band, and the standard normal variate transformation (SNV) preprocessing method was …

Collective Dynamics Support Group Drumming, Reduce Variability, And Stabilize Tempo Drift, Dobromir Dotov, Lana Delasanta, Daniel J. Cameron, Edward W. Large, Laurel Trainor

Journal Articles

Humans are social animals who engage in a variety of collective activities requiring coordinated action. Among these, music is a defining and ancient aspect of human sociality. Human social interaction has largely been addressed in dyadic paradigms, and it is yet to be determined whether the ensuing conclusions generalize to larger groups. Studied more extensively in non-human animal behavior, the presence of multiple agents engaged in the same task space creates different constraints and possibilities than in simpler dyadic interactions. We addressed whether collective dynamics play a role in human circle drumming. The task was to synchronize in a group …

The Significance Of Cephalopod Beaks As A Research Tool: An Update, José C. Xavier, Alexey V. Golikov, José P. Queirós, Catalina Perales-Raya, Rigoberto Rosas-Luis, José Abreu, Giambattista Bello, Paco Bustamante, Juan C. Capaz, Valerie H. Dimkovikj, Angel F. González, Hugo Guímaro, Airam Guerra-Marrero, José N. Gomes-Pereira, Jorge Hernández-Urcera, Tsunemi Kubodera, Vladimir Laptikhovsky, Evgenia Lefkaditou, Fedor Lishchenko

Marine Science

The use of cephalopod beaks in ecological and population dynamics studies has allowed major advances of our knowledge on the role of cephalopods in marine ecosystems in the last 60 years. Since the 1960’s, with the pioneering research by Malcolm Clarke and colleagues, cephalopod beaks (also named jaws or mandibles) have been described to species level and their measurements have been shown to be related to cephalopod body size and mass, which permitted important information to be obtained on numerous biological and ecological aspects of cephalopods in marine ecosystems. In the last decade, a range of new techniques has been …

Combining Isotopic And Genetic Analyses To Quantify Microbial Facilitation Of Recalcitrant Resource Use By Terrestrial And Aquatic Consumers, Alexi Christina Besser

Biology ETDs

Quantifying the flow of energy and nutrients through food webs is foundational to understanding the structure and function of ecosystems. Here, I utilize the stable carbon and nitrogen isotope analysis of individual amino acids to trace the movement of essential amino acids through terrestrial and freshwater food webs in New Mexico, USA. I first explore isotopic patterns among co-occurring terrestrial plants and aquatic algae. I then combine this molecular isotopic approach with 16S and 18S rRNA sequencing to demonstrate the importance of gut microbiota as sources of essential amino acids to wild mammalian hosts. Next, I explore the roles of …

Studies Of Roseau Cane Dieback In The Lower Mississippi River Delta Based On Remote Sensing Data Including Landsat, Worldview, And Drone, Nan Shang

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

This research focused on the Roseau cane (Phragmites australis) dieback assessment in the lower MRD of Louisiana and introduced a comprehensive and systematic multi-source remote sensing method for assessing wetland and Roseau cane dieback and habitat dynamics analysis from three scale levels from large-scale to small scale.

Large-scale historical vegetation/land change analyses were conducted in the lower MRD based on Landsat in the past two decades (2001 - 2021). A strong increasing trend of vegetation was found since 2005. Around 51 km² ofdieback area was detected which accounts for 11% of the overall vegetation coverage. This research …

Metagenomics Next Generation Sequencing (Mngs): An Exciting Tool For Early And Accurate Diagnostic Of Fungal Pathogens In Plants, Fatma Seyma Gökdemir, Özlem Darcansoy Iseri, Abhishek Sharma, Premila Achar, Füsun Eyidogan

Faculty Articles

Crop output is directly impacted by infections, with fungi as the major plant pathogens, making accurate diagnosis of these threats crucial. Developing technology and multidisciplinary approaches are turning to genomic analyses in addition to traditional culture methods in diagnostics of fungal plant pathogens. The metagenomic next-generation sequencing (mNGS) method is preferred for genotyping identification of organisms, identification at the species level, illumination of metabolic pathways, and determination of microbiota. Moreover, the data obtained so far show that this new approach is promising as an emerging new trend in fungal disease detection. Another approach covered by mNGS technologies, known as metabarcoding, …

Evaluating The Effect Of Public Health Governance Structure And Public Opinion On Covid-19 Disease Control Interventions, Daniel Chacreton

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Background

Since the start of the COVID-19 outbreak, the responses to the pandemic varied greatly from nation to nation. In the US, state-level variance in responses has likely contributed to the disparate COVID-19 infection-related state-level outcomes such as incidence and case fatality rates. The large variances in national and sub-national responses to COVID-19 when combined with the abundance of factors that influence disease transmission rates has created a number of important research opportunities.

Methods

In this vain, this research study aims to describe the relationship that exists between public health governance structure and public sentiment and COVID-19 control measure effectiveness …

Suitability Of Compensatory Saltmarsh Habitat For Feeding And Diet Of Multiple Estuarine Fish Species, Thomas Stamp, Elizabeth West, Steve Colclough, Shaun Plenty, Benjamin Ciotti, Tim Robbins, Emma Sheehan

School of Biological and Marine Sciences

Saltmarsh provides essential fish feeding and nursery habitat but has globally declined by 50%. We used a statistical block design to compare fish feeding activity within human-engineered or “re-aligned” saltmarsh to established saltmarsh. Linear and multivariate modelling highlighted that Thinlip Mullet (Chelon ramada) and European Bass (Dicentrarchus labrax) feeding rates were 16% and 31% lower within re-aligned than established saltmarshes, whereas Gobies (Pomatoschistus spp.) fed at the same rate as in both habitats. Analysis of European bass and Goby gut contents highlighted that important detritivorous prey species were up to 85.6% lower in re-aligned sites. Lower vegetation density may have …

The Lumberjack, November 02, 2022

Cal Poly Humboldt's Student Newspaper

The student newspaper of Humboldt State University.

A Roadmap To Understanding Diversity And Function Of Coral Reef-Associated Fungi, Anna Roik, Miriam Reverter, Claudia Pogoreutz

School of Biological and Marine Sciences

Tropical coral reefs are hotspots of marine productivity, owing to the association of reef-building corals with endosymbiotic algae and metabolically diverse bacterial communities. However, the functional importance of fungi, well known for their contribution to shaping terrestrial ecosystems and global nutrient cycles, remains underexplored on coral reefs. We here conceptualize how fungal functional traits may have facilitated the spread, diversification, and ecological adaptation of marine fungi on coral reefs. We propose that functions of reef-associated fungi may be diverse and go beyond their hitherto described roles of pathogens and bioeroders, including but not limited to reef-scale biogeochemical cycles and the …

Economic Freedom, Climate Culpability, And Physical Activity Indicators Among Children And Adolescents: Report Card Grades From The Global Matrix 4.0, Eun Young Lee, Patrick Abi Nader, Salomé Aubert, Silvia A. González, Peter T. Katzmarzyk, Asaduzzaman Khan, Wendy Y. Huang, Taru Manyanga, Shawnda Morrison, Diego Augusto Santos Silva, Mark S. Tremblay

Population and Public Health Science Faculty Publications

Background: Macrolevel factors such as economic and climate factors can be associated with physical activity indicators. This study explored patterns and relationships between economic freedom, climate culpability, and Report Card grades on physical activity-related indicators among 57 countries/jurisdictions participating in the Global Matrix 4.0. Methods: Participating countries/ jurisdictions provided Report Card grades on 10 common indicators. Information on economic freedom and climatic factors were gathered from public data sources. Correlations between the key variables were provided by income groups (ie, low- and middle-income countries/jurisdictions and high-income countries/jurisdictions [HIC]). Results: HIC were more economically neoliberal and more responsible for climate change …

County-Level Societal Predictors Of Covid-19 Cases And Deaths Changed Through Time In The United States: A Longitudinal Ecological Study, Philip J. Bergmann, Nathan A. Ahlgren, Rosalie A. Torres Stone

Biology

People of different racial/ethnic backgrounds, demographics, health, and socioeconomic characteristics have experienced disproportionate rates of infection and death due to COVID-19. This study tests if and how county-level rates of infection and death have changed in relation to societal county characteristics through time as the pandemic progressed. This longitudinal study sampled monthly county-level COVID-19 case and death data per 100,000 residents from April 2020 to March 2022, and studied the relationships of these variables with racial/ethnic, demographic, health, and socioeconomic characteristics for 3125 or 97.0% of U.S. counties, accounting for 96.4% of the U.S. population. The association of all county-level …

Viewing Animal Migration Through A Social Lens, Ellen O. Aikens, Iris D. Bontekoe, Lara Blumenstiel, Anna Schlicksupp, Andrea Flick

Natural Resource Management Faculty Publications

Evidence of social learning is growing across the animal kingdom. Researchers have long hypothesized that social interactions play a key role in many animal migrations, but strong empirical support is scarce except in a few unique systems and species. In this review, we aim to catalyze advances in the study of social migrations by synthesizing research across disciplines and providing a framework for understanding when, how, and why social influences shape the decisions animals make during migration. Integrating research across the fields of social learning and migration ecology will advance our understanding of the complex behavioral phenomena of animal migration …

Design And Assessment Of A Novel Edna Survey Method For The Eastern Indigo Snake (Drymarchon Couperi), Emily K. Galbraith

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

1. Accurate information about species range declines is the cornerstone of effective conservation when habitat loss drives biodiversity loss. The Eastern Indigo snake (Drymarchon couperi) is an apex predator in Florida and, like many other native Florida species, is threatened by widespread habitat destruction. Environmental DNA (eDNA) monitoring of this elusive snake would provide a low-risk and low-cost approach to expand our knowledge of the species’ range and distribution.

2. We designed and tested an eDNA assay that can detect the presence of Eastern Indigo snake from soil samples of their natural habitat. This assay was …

Importance Of Risk And Hazard Assessment Of River Projects In India, Jitesh N. Vyas, Supriya Nath, R. B. Deogade

International Symposium on Hydraulic Structures

Rivers are the lifeline for every country as they provide water for proliferation, sustenance and propagation of life since time immemorial. With increasing population pressure, water demand increased for drinking, irrigation, and industrial consumption. This water deficit required utilization of available water resources in the best possible manner through various hydrological projects like construction of dams, weirs, barrage, etc. There is a disparity in water availability between north and south India as most of the perennial rivers are situated in the north while seasonal rivers in south India. To resolve this disproportionate distribution and to maintain the balance of water …

Unfiltered: Endangered Species And Social Media, Sarah Schaier

UNH Today Archive

No abstract provided.

Serological Evidence Of Severe Fever With Thrombocytopenia Syndrome Virus And Igm Positivity Were Identified In Healthy Residents In Vietnam, Xuan Chuong Tran, Sung Hye Kim, Jeong-Eun Lee, So-Hee Kim, Su Yeon Kang, Nguyen D Binh, Pham V Duc, Phan T K Phuong, Nguyen T P Thao, Wonwoo Lee, Joon-Yong Bae, Man-Seong Park, Misun Kim, Jeong Rae Yoo, Sang Taek Heo, Kyeong Ho An, Jung Mogg Kim, Nam-Hyuk Cho, Sun-Ho Kee, Keun Hwa Lee

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Severe fever with thrombocytopenia syndrome (SFTS), an emerging tick-borne viral disease, is prevalent in East Asia and has also been reported in Southeast Asia since 2019. SFTS patients in Vietnam were first reported in 2019. However, the seroprevalence of severe fever with thrombocytopenia syndrome virus (SFTSV) in Vietnam has not been reported. To investigate the seroprevalence of SFTSV in Vietnam, we collected serum samples from 714 healthy residents in Thua Thien Hue and Quang Nam Province, Vietnam, and the seroprevalence of SFTSV was assessed using immunofluorescence antibody assay (IFA), Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assays (ELISAs) and the 50% focus reduction neutralization test …

“Gender At The Root Of Everyday Life”: Equity, Activism, And The Perspectives Of Diana J. Fox, Goutam Karmakar

Journal of International Women's Studies

This in-depth conversation with Diana J. Fox, Professor of Anthropology at Bridgewater State University, Massachusetts, United States, and a cultural and applied anthropologist, scholar-activist, and documentary film producer, puts emphasis on how Fox’s research demonstrates that a decolonial feminist viewpoint inspires and even necessitates that Indigenous feminisms be at the center, and that researchers from the global north have a responsibility to do so. In this interview, Fox talks about how, as a feminist decolonial/anticolonial anthropologist, she has worked for global gender justice and equality throughout her career, especially within the Anglophone Caribbean, which is where the bulk of her …

Women And War: (Dis)Illusionment And Disclosure In Niromi De Soyza’S Tamil Tigress, Goutam Karmakar

Journal of International Women's Studies

Niromi de Soyza’s Tamil Tigress: My Story as a Child Soldier in Sri Lanka’s Bloody Civil War (2011) is a memoir about a year in the author’s and her friend Ajanthi’s lives when they joined the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Elam (LTTE) and fought as female militants in the second phase of the Sri Lankan civil war. Soyza’s autobiographical account depicts the 1980s when the Tamil Tigers were fighting the Sri Lankan government and the Indian Peace Keeping Forces (IPKF) in the northern and eastern parts of the country. As teenagers, Niromi and Ajanthi were highly inspired by the revolutionary …

On Violence And Resistance: Narratives Of Women In South Asia, Goutam Karmakar

Journal of International Women's Studies

No abstract provided.

A Spectral Three-Dimensional Color Space Model Of Tree Crown Health, William B. Monahan, Colton E. Arnspiger, Parth Bhatt, Zhongming An, Frank J. Krist, Tao Liu, Robert P. Richard, Curtis Edson, Robert E. Froese, John Steffenson, Tony C. Lammers, Randy Frosh

Michigan Tech Publications, Part 1

Protecting the future of forests in the United States and other countries depends in part on our ability to monitor and map forest health conditions in a timely fashion to facilitate management of emerging threats and disturbances over a multitude of spatial scales. Remote sensing data and technologies have contributed to our ability to meet these needs, but existing methods relying on supervised classification are often limited to specific areas by the availability of imagery or training data, as well as model transferability. Scaling up and operationalizing these methods for general broadscale monitoring and mapping may be promoted by using …

Characterization Of Preantral Follicle Clustering And Neighborhood Patterns In The Equine Ovary., Kendall A Hyde, Francisco L N Aguiar, Paula B Alvarenga, Amanda L Rezende, Benner G Alves, Kele A Alves, Gustavo D A Gastal, Melba O Gastal, Eduardo L Gastal

Peer-reviewed Articles

Understanding the transition from quiescent primordial follicles to activated primary follicles is vital for characterizing ovarian folliculogenesis and improving assisted reproductive techniques. To date, no study has investigated preantral follicle crowding in the ovaries of livestock or characterized these crowds according to follicular morphology and ovarian location (portions and regions) in any species. Therefore, the present study aimed to assess the crowding (clustering and neighborhood) patterns of preantral follicles in the equine ovary according to mare age, follicular morphology and developmental stage, and spatial location in the ovary. Ovaries from mares (n = 8) were collected at an abattoir and …

Analyzing The Trophic Structure Of Ancient Communities, Jack Oliver Shaw

Yale Graduate School of Arts and Sciences Dissertations

Since the proliferation of animal life during the Cambrian (ca. 541-485 million years ago), the biosphere has changed considerably, including long-term trends towards increasing taxonomic and functional diversity within and across ecosystems. Whether and how long-term trends in the evolution of life affected the Earth system is an active area of research, in part because the function and dynamics of ecosystems cannot be inferred by simply summing up the effect of all individuals present. Instead, the effect of diversity on ecosystem-level properties is modulated by the network of links between individuals, including trophic (e.g., predator-prey) and non-trophic (e.g., symbiosis and …

Spatial Variation In Hard Bottom Coral Communities Of The Coastal West Florida Shelf, Nicole Blank, Sandra D. Brooke, Brian K. Walker

Marine & Environmental Sciences Faculty Articles

Hard bottom coral and sponge communities differ along portions of the West Florida Shelf (WFS) in species occurrence, diversity, and/or size. However, the composition and spatial distribution of these communities are not well understood. Community transitions have been proposed in the central portion of the WFS around Tampa Bay, Cedar Key, and as far south as Charlotte Harbor, but supporting data are sparse. Fifteen sites in three regions of Florida were surveyed for species distribution, density, and demographics. Distinct communities were found between St Teresa, Hudson, and Tarpon Springs. Coral and sponge densities were highest off Tarpon Springs followed by …

Are Existing Modeling Tools Useful To Evaluate Outcomes In Mangrove Restoration And Rehabilitation Projects? A Minireview, Victor H. Rivera-Monroy, Xiaochen Zhao, Hongqing Wang, Zuo George Xue

Faculty Publications

Ecosystem modeling is a critical process for understanding complex systems at spatiotemporal scales needed to conserve, manage, and restore ecosystem services (ESs). Although mangrove wetlands are sources of ESs worth billions of dollars, there is a lack of modeling tools. This is reflected in our lack of understanding of mangroves’ functional and structural attributes. Here, we discuss the “state of the art” of mangrove models used in the planning and monitoring of R/R projects during the last 30 years. The main objectives were to characterize the most frequent modeling approach, their spatiotemporal resolution, and their current utility/application in management decisions. …

Afforestation And Biodiversity: Bryophyte Richness Changes Between Icelandic Forest Types, Kian Mcdonough

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Forest-dwelling bryophytes (mosses, liverworts, hornworts) greatly contribute to biodiversity and ecosystem function but are largely under-studied in comparison to vascular plants. With Iceland’s large-scale afforestation efforts there is a need to understand how different afforestation species are affecting biodiversity, including bryophyte diversity. This study looked at differences in ground-floor bryophyte richness across Sitka spruce, lodgepole pine, and downy birch forests and found that bryophyte richness was highest in the Sitka spruce forests and lowest in downy birch forests. While this suggests a negative correlation between bryophyte richness and light availability, since the conifer species have the densest copy cover, other …

Filamentous Green Algae (Cladophora Glomerata) In Near Shore Lake Ontario: An Investigation Of Tissue And Water Nutrient Dynamics Through A Period Of Growth And Decomposition., James L. Wagner Jr

Biology Theses

Cladophora glomerata, a filamentous green alga abundant in the Laurentian Great Lakes, has long been considered a nuisance throughout the region. Previous phosphorus (P) abatement practices and legislation successfully reduced the abundance of the algae, but with the introduction of dreissenid mussels, a resurgence has been observed. Though there is substantial literature and modeling of the growth cycle of Cladophora, relatively little research has been dedicated to the decomposition stage of the algae, a period which may contribute to a substantial influx of nutrients to near-shore environmental regions. By first examining a period of in-situ growth within Lake …