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Articles 1 - 15 of 15
Full-Text Articles in Life Sciences
Variable Drought Impacts On Stream Habitat Across The Northwestern United States, Sophia Withers
Variable Drought Impacts On Stream Habitat Across The Northwestern United States, Sophia Withers
Undergraduate Honors Capstone Projects
The Western United States has been in an extended drought since 2002 which can drive negative impacts on stream habitats supporting native fish and aquatic species. Stream quality, specifically in the context of fish habitat, depends on many variables, including vegetation quality. Drought conditions affect vegetation conditions; however it is unclear how drought conditions impact stream habitat quality for fish. This study examines how stream habitat quality relates to drought across the National Forests of the Northwestern US, as well as exploring whether drought increases have had a significant impact on riparian vegetation over the past 20 years. Using a …
Chemical-Mediated Mate Attraction In Clover Root Curculio (Sitona Hispidulus F.), A Belowground Pest Of Forage Crops, Kristin Leutgeb
Chemical-Mediated Mate Attraction In Clover Root Curculio (Sitona Hispidulus F.), A Belowground Pest Of Forage Crops, Kristin Leutgeb
Undergraduate Honors Capstone Projects
Curculionid beetles are well known for their production of semiochemicals, including contact (e.g. cuticular hydrocarbons) and volatile pheromones that mediate conspecific attraction and mating. Clover root curculio (CRC; Sitona hispidulus) in particular is an emergent, soil-borne pest of significant concern to producers of alfalfa and other leguminous crops in the United States. Producers have few control options for CRC and a greater understanding of chemical-mediated attraction in this species can potentially improve the sustainability of its management. To examine which chemical cues are important for affecting the behavior of CRC and whether there are sex-based differences in response, I …
Evolution Of Floral Microbes And The Resulting Effects On Pollinator Preference, Hailey Hatch
Evolution Of Floral Microbes And The Resulting Effects On Pollinator Preference, Hailey Hatch
Undergraduate Honors Capstone Projects
Floral microbes are an overlooked aspect of the extended floral phenotype. Through altering floral nectar chemistry, they can mediate interactions between flowers, pollinators, and other floral microbes, with significant implications for plant and pollinator health. Interactions between floral microbes and pollinators are critically important to understand, as pollinators provide important ecosystem services in both natural and agriculture systems. Here, I explored how floral nectar traits affected both evolution and competition within the floral yeast Metschnikowia reukaufii, the floral bacterium Bacillus subtilis, and other microbes isolated from Brassica rapa nectar, an important plant model system and oilseed crop. To …
Environmental Racism In A Growing City: Investigating Demographic Shifts In Salt Lake City's Polluted Neighborhoods, Emma Nathel Jones
Environmental Racism In A Growing City: Investigating Demographic Shifts In Salt Lake City's Polluted Neighborhoods, Emma Nathel Jones
Undergraduate Honors Capstone Projects
Studies investigating the spatial distribution of environmental hazards have repeatedly demonstrated the existence of environmental racism -- the disproportionate impact of environmental hazards on communities of color. We aim to contribute to research on environmental racism by asking how relationships between race and hazard exposure change over time. Our study area, Salt Lake City (SLC), UT, USA is one of the largest cities in the intermountain west and is expected to see continued population growth. SLC was 99% white from 1860-1950. 2019 census estimates indicate that SLC is becoming more racially diverse with 35.6% of the population identifying as racial …
Percussive Behavior In The Southern Resident Killer Whale (Orcinus Orca) Population At Lime Kiln Point State Park, Rylee Jensen
Percussive Behavior In The Southern Resident Killer Whale (Orcinus Orca) Population At Lime Kiln Point State Park, Rylee Jensen
Undergraduate Honors Capstone Projects
The endangered Southern Resident Killer Whale (Orcinus orca, SRKW) is an iconic species in the Pacific Northwest. Although many ecological aspects of this population have been studied, including population dynamics, genealogy, diet, and habitat-use patterns, why SRKW perform above-surface "percussive" behavior such as breaching, cartwheeling, pectoral fin slapping, tail lobbing, and dorsal fin slapping remains unclear. In the present study, a) individual percussive behavioral data was recorded during the summer of 2016 to evaluate trends by age and sex class, and b) an existing long-term data set on SRKW was analyzed to compare the relationship between the seasonal …
The Effect Of A Surfactant Seed Coating On The Germination And Growth Of Three Native Bulrushes, Anders Hart
The Effect Of A Surfactant Seed Coating On The Germination And Growth Of Three Native Bulrushes, Anders Hart
Undergraduate Honors Capstone Projects
Great Salt Lake (GSL) wetlands provide vital ecosystem services, including habitat for migratory birds. Alkali bulrush (Bolboschoenus maritimus), hardstem bulrush (Schoenoplectus acutus), and three-square bulrush (Schoenoplectus americanus) play an important role in providing these services, but invasion by Phragmites australis has reduced the extent these species in GSL wetlands. Restoring these native bulrushes following Phragmites removal is a primary goal for GSL managers. However, climate change and increasing human water demands upstream may alter the hydropattem of GSL wetlands, leading to lower soil moisture availability and potentially inhibiting germination and establishment of these species. …
Using Accelerometer Data To Remotely Assess Predation Activity Of Arctic Wolves, Heather Shipp
Using Accelerometer Data To Remotely Assess Predation Activity Of Arctic Wolves, Heather Shipp
Undergraduate Honors Capstone Projects
Arctic wolves (Canis lupus arctos) play an important role in ecosystems located in the far northern regions of the world; however, unlike the gray wolves in Yellowstone National Park, little information is available about High Arctic wolves and their impacts on prey populations. This research uses data received from two GPS radio-collared Arctic wolves located in the Fosheim Peninsula on Ellesmere Island. Each radio-collar was programmed to record a position every 30-60 minutes, as well as the wolfs activity movement (forwards - backwards and left - right), which was generated by an accelerometer housed within the radio-collar. This …
Quantifying Non-Game Fish Sampling Biases And Demographics To Better Understand The Role Of Fish In Pelican Diet And Distribution At Strawberry Reservoir, Ut, Jamie Reynolds
Undergraduate Honors Capstone Projects
Predation and competition are natural ecological processes, though these interactions occasionally cause concern among humans when ecosystem services are involved (e.g., popular fisheries in highly managed systems). The population of American white pelican (Pelecanus erythrorhynchos) at Strawberry Reservoir (Utah) has increased dramatically in the last decade, as have the populations of Utah sucker (Catostomus ardens) and Utah chub (Gila atraria). Anglers and managers are concerned that predation by pelicans and competition from non-game fish species are negatively impacting the reservoir's prized Bonneville cutthroat trout (Oncorhynchus clarkii utah) fishery. My project focused on …
Comparing Trophic Level Position Of Invertebrates In Fish And Fishless Lakes In Arctic Alaska, Katie Fisher
Comparing Trophic Level Position Of Invertebrates In Fish And Fishless Lakes In Arctic Alaska, Katie Fisher
Undergraduate Honors Capstone Projects
Arctic lakes are likely very sensitive to the effects of climate change. Thus it is important to understand the current food web dynamics and energy flow within these lakes, to better understand how they will change in the future due to the effects of a rapidly changing climate. In order to contribute to this understanding, my project consists of an analysis of stable isotopes of carbon (delta 13 C) and nitrogen (delta 15 N) from invertebrates among fish and fishless lakes in arctic Alaska, to compare their trophic level positions and primary energetic sources. I collected pelagic invertebrates from 5 …
The Invasion Of The Exotic Cladoceran Daphnia Lumholtzi To Willard Bay Utah: Alterations Of The Pelagic Food Web., Olivia Lester
The Invasion Of The Exotic Cladoceran Daphnia Lumholtzi To Willard Bay Utah: Alterations Of The Pelagic Food Web., Olivia Lester
Undergraduate Honors Capstone Projects
Willard Bay, a freshwater impoundment of one of the arms of the Great Salt Lake, is shallow, with a mean volume of 9,900 acres and a maximum summer depth of six meters. This reservoir is highly productive, with a mean secchi depth of 4 meters and chlorophyll a concentrations peaking in summer at 9 micrograms per liter.
Grazing Systems As Management Tools To Meet Multiple Objectives, Lacy Nicole Hadley
Grazing Systems As Management Tools To Meet Multiple Objectives, Lacy Nicole Hadley
Undergraduate Honors Capstone Projects
Grazing systems have in the past been developed to increase or maintain livestock production without degrading the land (Archer and Smeins, 1991). A grazing system is a "specialization of grazing management which defines the periods of grazing and non-grazing" (Jacoby, 1989). However, these systems can be developed for other uses besides just livestock. Grazing systems can be used as management tools by manipulating vegetation in specific directions to meet desired objectives. This is done by the livestock themselves because they act as "ecosystem regulators" by having a direct impact on the vegetation (Holechek et al., 1995). Livestock can alter the …
Green River Foodweb: Colorado Squawfish Nursery Habitat Near Ouray National Wildlife Refuge, Utah, Linden Hamer Alder
Green River Foodweb: Colorado Squawfish Nursery Habitat Near Ouray National Wildlife Refuge, Utah, Linden Hamer Alder
Undergraduate Honors Capstone Projects
Effects of fish introductions are relatively well studied in lentic habitats, and apparently range from extremely disruptive to notably benign (Kruegger and May 1991). Though researched less completely, fish introductions may also alter native faunas in lotic habitats. Ptychocheilus lucius, commonly known as the Colorado squawfish (C. squawfish), is a fish species endemic to the Colorado river system. The population is currently experiencing dramatically reduced recruitment successes relative to historical rates. Introduced fishes such as channel catfish, smallmouth bass, and green sunfish are prevalent in the Upper Colorado River. The introduced fish presence is increasingly suspected by researchers as a …
Does Competition Drive Community Structure? An Analysis Of Grasshopper Competition, H. Joseph Lachowski
Does Competition Drive Community Structure? An Analysis Of Grasshopper Competition, H. Joseph Lachowski
Undergraduate Honors Capstone Projects
lnterspecific competition has been broadly defined as a negative-negative relationship between species that share a limiting resource. The impact of competition on ecological communities is a widely debated topic (Schoener 1982). Thus community structure is very complex and, in addition to competition, can be influenced by many factors, including climate, disease, parasites, and predation (Hairston et al. 1960; Stower & Greathead 1969; Wiens 1977). The importance of competition depends upon the importance of other processes (Welden & Slauson 1986).
Effect Of Salinity On Glycogen Content In The Brine Shrimp, Artemia Salinas, Of Great Salt Lake, Christon H. Merkley
Effect Of Salinity On Glycogen Content In The Brine Shrimp, Artemia Salinas, Of Great Salt Lake, Christon H. Merkley
Undergraduate Honors Capstone Projects
The brine shrimp, Artemia salinas, is one of the few organisms to be found in the hostile environment of the Great Salt Lake. Salt concentrations in the lake are found to exceed those in the oceans. In such an environment, the utilization of energy, even after it has been procured, presents a problem. The life inhabiting the lake has developed extraordinary adaptations to this and similar problems.
Electron micrographs produced by Dr. Nabil Youssef of Utah State University have revealed that unusual quantities of glycogen can be found in the muscle of brine shrimp taken from the Great Salt Lake. …
Aldo Leopold's "Land Ethic": An Ecological Extension Of Albert Schweitzer's "Reverence For Life", John Lee Weaver
Aldo Leopold's "Land Ethic": An Ecological Extension Of Albert Schweitzer's "Reverence For Life", John Lee Weaver
Undergraduate Honors Capstone Projects
As a member of the world community, and in the process of becoming a professional ecologist, I have begun a search for a personal ecological ethic to guide my actions. Two of the paths I have taken in my search are Albert Schweitzer's Reverence for Life ethic and Aldo Leopold's Land Ethic. They are relevant because each has extended the scope of ethics beyond Homo Sapiens. Their thoughts, with similarities and dissimilarities, form herein my travels.