Life Sciences Commons^™

Cell Volume As A Determinant Of Virus-Mediated Population Growth In Ciliates, Jace Miller, John Paul Delong Phd

Honors Theses

Many protists and other small aquatic organisms consume virus particles, a behavior known as virovory. Some species of protists, such as the ciliate Halteria grandinella, can grow and divide using viruses as their sole food source. Other ciliate species have previously been shown to consume large quantities of viral particles, but it is unclear if they are able to support population growth with viruses alone. Because large ciliates have a higher energy demand, we hypothesize that they will be unable to support population growth on a virus-only diet. We fed nine ciliate species a diet of chloroviruses and found …

Western Prairie Fringed Orchid Management, Ecology, And Decline At Mormon Island, Andrew J. Caven

Transactions of the Nebraska Academy of Sciences and Affiliated Societies

The western prairie fringed orchid (Platanthera praeclara Sheviak & M. L. Bowles; WPFO) was first detected in a vegetative state on Mormon Island in 1978 and identification was confirmed following a mass flowering event in 1982. From a high count of ~60 plants the WPFO slowly declined and has not been observed since 2000 despite flowering season surveys conducted in 15 of the last 20 years. We explore the natural history of the WPFO in the contexts of Mormon Island to establish potential causes for its apparent disappearance and evaluate the possibility it persists in some capacity. Our investigation …

The Sandhill Crane State: A Naturalist’S Guide To Nebraska, Paul Johnsgard

Zea E-Books Collection

This book includes the locations, descriptions, and points of biological, historical, geological, or paleontological interest of nearly 350 sites in Nebraska, most of which are free to access. Its 53,000 words include accounts of 9 state historical parks, 8 state parks, 2 national forests, 2 national monuments, and 7 national wildlife refuges as well as 181 wildlife management areas, 56 waterfowl production areas, and 54 state recreation areas. It also includes 48 state and county maps, 18 drawings, 33 photographs, and nearly 200 literature citations.

doi: 10.32873/unl.dc.zea.1305

Anthropogenic Change On The Distribution Of Marine Megafauna And Their Prey, Baylie Fadool

Honors Theses

Anthropogenic change is impacting the distribution and survival of marine megafauna and their prey. Humans are changing every aspect of the marine environment, with effects reaching as large as changing the composition of marine environments to directly overexploiting species through the fishing industry. The role that marine megafauna play in balancing ecosystems, including as top apex predators, leads to detrimental results in the absences and population declines of these species. Migrations and declines due to threats on marine apex predator species will alter their environments by causing mesopredator release and changes in community structure, which is often associated with reduced …

Black Vulture Conflict And Management In The United States: Damage Trends, Management Overview, And Research Needs, Bryan M. Kluever, Morgan Pfeiffer, Scott C. Barras, Brett Dunlap, Lee A. Humberg

USDA Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Contrary to rapid declines of many vulture (Accipitridae, Cathartidea) species worldwide, black vulture (Coragyps atratus) populations are increasing and expanding their range in North America. Vultures exhibit complex behaviors and can adapt to any human-dominated landscape or land use. These traits, combined with population growth and range expansion, have contributed to increased human–vulture conflicts. Our goal was to summarize the current status and trends in human–black vulture conflicts (hereafter human– vulture conflicts), review available management strategies, identify knowledge gaps, and provide recommendations to enhance management and understanding of this species and the associated conflicts. We found human–vulture conflicts …

The Ecology Of A Tallgrass Treasure: Audubon’S Spring Creek Prairie, Paul A. Johnsgard

Zea E-Books Collection

This book describes the major plant and animal components of Spring Creek Prairie Audubon Center, an 850-acre National Audubon Society tallgrass prairie in Lancaster County, southeastern Nebraska. In addition to providing a species list of the area’s plants (368 species), there are comprehensive annotated lists of its birds (240), mammals (43), reptiles (23), and amphibians (10). There are also variably complete annotated lists of the area’s butterflies (76), sphinx moths (30), silk moths (7), dragonflies (24), damselflies (11), grasshoppers (9), katydids (11), mantids (2), and walkingsticks (2). Brief profiles of life histories and ecologies of 55 animal and 7 plant …

Bibliographia Phytosociologica Et Floristica Mongolia: Pars Iv, Werner Hilbig

Erforschung biologischer Ressourcen der Mongolei / Exploration into the Biological Resources of Mongolia, ISSN 0440-1298

In Ergänzung zu den bisherigen drei Teilen der Bibliographie vegetationskundlicher, vegetationsökologischer, floristischer und pflanzengeographischer Arbeiten über die Mongolei wird in dieser Arbeit Teil IV der Bibliographie vorgelegt. Er umfasst im Wesentlichen den Zeitraum 2007 bis 2014. Auch Publikationen zur Vegetationsgeschichte und zum botanischen Naturschutz werden berücksichtigt.

English summary:

In addition to the hitherto existing three parts of the bibliography of geobotanical, ecological, floristic and plant-geographical papers on Mongolia the part IV of the bibliography is given. It comprises in the main point the period from 2007 until 2014. In addition, publications on vegetation history and botanical nature protection are considered.

The Influence Of Balanced And Imbalanced Resource Supply On Biodiversity–Functioning Relationship Across Ecosystems, Aleksandra M. Lewandowska, Antje Biermann, Elizabeth T. Borer, Miguel A. Cebrián-Piqueras, Steven A.J. Declerck, Luc De Meester, Ellen Van Donk, Lars Ganfeldt, Daniel S. Gruner, Nicole Hagenah, W. Stanley Harpole, Kevin P. Kirkman, Christopher A. Klausmeier, Michael Kleyer, Johannes M. H. Knops, Pieter Lemmens, Eric M. Lind, Elena Litchman, Jasmin Mantilla-Contreras, Koen Martens, Sandra Meier, Vanessa Minden, Joslin L. Moore, Harry Olde Venterink, Eric W. Seabloom, Ulrich Sommer, Maren Striebel, Anastasia Trenkamp, Juliane Trinogga, Jotaro Urabe, Wim Vyverman, Dedmer B. Van De Waal, Claire E. Widdicombe, Helmut Hillebrand

School of Biological Sciences: Faculty Publications

Numerous studies show that increasing species richness leads to higher ecosystem productivity. This effect is often attributed to more efficient portioning of multiple resources in communities with higher numbers of competing species, indicating the role of resource supply and stoichiometry for biodiversity–ecosystem functioning relationships. Here, we merged theory on ecological stoichiometry with a framework of biodiversity–ecosystem functioning to understand how resource use transfers into primary production. We applied a structural equation model to define patterns of diversity– productivity relationships with respect to available resources. Meta-analysis was used to summarize the findings across ecosystem types ranging from aquatic ecosystems to grasslands …

Bacterial Community Structure Of Contrasting Soils Underlying Bornean Rain Forests: Inferences From Microarray And Next-Generation Sequencing Methods, Sabrina E. Russo, Ryan Legge, Karrie A. Weber, Eoin L. Brodie, Katherine C. Goldfarb, Andrew K. Benson, Sylvester Tan

School of Biological Sciences: Faculty Publications

Soil microbial diversity is vast, and we lack even basic understanding of how this diversity is distributed ecologically. Using pyrosequencing and microarray methods, we quantified the structure of bacterial communities in two contrasting soils underlying Bornean rain forest (clay and sandy loam) that differ markedly in soil properties, aboveground tree flora, and leaf litter decomposition rates. We found significant soil-related taxonomic and phylogenetic differences between communities that, due to their proximity, are independent of climate. Bacterial communities showed distinct compositional and taxon-abundance distributions that were significantly correlated with the structure of the overlying tree community. Richness of bacteria was greater …

The Distribution And Life Cycle Of Alliaria Petiolata In Lincoln, Nebraska, Caleb Pharris

Department of Environmental Studies: Undergraduate Student Theses

Alliaria petiolata (Garlic Mustard) is a biennial alien invasive plant species of the Brassicacea family. It is responsible for displacing native plant species throughout North America and its management has proven to be extremely difficult. Recently several populations of Alliaria petiolata have been discovered in southwestern Lincoln, Nebraska. The spread of Alliaria petiolata is a concern for natural resource managers and the general public. Due to the difficulty of its control, Alliaria petiolata is capable of creating monocultures which diminish the aesthetic value of an ecosystem. While most commonly found in the understory of hardwood forests, it is capable of …

Time, Temperature And Species Interactions In A Duckweed-Herbivore Mesocosm, Ian Waterman

School of Biological Sciences: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Species interactions within a community are impacted by a variety of abiotic factors. Temperature is known to alter population dynamics such that direct and indirect interactions between populations within a community are affected. Here I investigate the effect of temperature change on species interactions within a duckweed-herbivore mesocosm. Multiple communities were constructed, from a single population of duckweed, to two populations of duckweed consumed by aphids. In the one-predator two-prey web we predicted mutually positive indirect effects between duckweed populations during the first generation of growth. As aphid populations respond numerically to more abundant prey, mutually negative and asymmetric indirect …

Seasonal Variation In Terrestrial Insect Subsidies To Tropical Streams And Implications For The Diet Of Rivulus Hartii, David C. Owens

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

Terrestrial invertebrates subsidize fish diets in lotic ecosystems. Seasonality strongly influences terrestrial invertebrate abundance in temperate regions and alters their delivery to streams. Seasonal changes in the tropics are characterized by distinct wet and dry periods, with marked variation in invertebrate abundance. However, little is known about how these seasonal changes affect invertebrate subsidies and their ecological consequences for tropical streams. We measured the effect of rainfall and canopy density on terrestrial invertebrate falling input, as well as seasonal variation in falling input, benthic and drifting invertebrate, and Rivulus hartii (Hart’s Rivulus) diet composition during both the wet and dry …

Ecology And Relationships Of Rhabdias Spp. (Nematoda: Rhabdiasidae) From North American Amphibians And Reptiles, Gabriel J. Langford

School of Biological Sciences: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Lungworms of the cosmopolitan genus Rhabdias (Nematoda: Rhabdiasidae) are among the most common parasites of amphibians and squamate reptiles. The life cycles, life histories, host specificities, and evolutionary relationships of Rhabdias spp. were studied through examination of their free-living and parasitic stages in amphibians and reptiles. This study found free-living development of anuran lungworms was primarily limited to heterogonic reproduction, whereas snake lungworms primarily reproduced homogonically. Infective anuran lungworms penetrated the skin of frogs and toads; in contrast, snake lungworms penetrated snake esophageal tissue during per os infections. Our molecular phylogeny strongly supported separate clades for anuran and snake lungworms, …

Beitrag Zur Säugetierfauna Des Staatlichen Naturschutzgebietes Azas In Tyva/Südsibirien = Contributions To Fauna And Ecology Of Small Mammals Of State Nature Reserve “Azas” In The Republic Of Tyva /South Siberia, Annegret Stubbe, Michael Stubbe, V. V. Unžakov, A. P. Saveljev, N. I. Putincev, W. Stubbe

Erforschung biologischer Ressourcen der Mongolei / Exploration into the Biological Resources of Mongolia, ISSN 0440-1298

During 1988-2004 Russian and German biologists carried out a research of biodiversity of the mountain taiga within the territory of State Nature Reserve “Azas” (Republic of Tyva/Russia). Along with executing the main task – studying and development of an aboriginal population of Tuvinian beavers Castor fiber tuvinicus – materials on the fauna of small mammals of the Todzha kettle were collected. On the basis of samples (about 550 collected micromammals) information on the occurrence, reproduction and morphometric characteristics of four species of Insectivora, six species of Chiroptera and eleven species of small Rodentia inhabiting the territory of the reserve “Azas” …

Current State Of Ixodidae Research In Mongolia, Daniel Kiefer, K. Pfister, D. Tserennorov, G. Bolormaa, D. Otgonbaatar, Ravčigijn Samjaa, E. G. Burmeister, Mathias S. Kiefer

Erforschung biologischer Ressourcen der Mongolei / Exploration into the Biological Resources of Mongolia, ISSN 0440-1298

Our research presents the Ixodidae-fauna in Mongolia. The current taxonomic state in Mongolia shows 19 Ixodidae taxa extracted in 308 locations from 115 bird and mammal species. In 1980, the species Ixodes persulcatus SCHULZE, 1930 and Ixodes berlesei Birula, 1895 were detected in Inget Tolgoi and Ixodes laguri OLENEV, 1929 on Meriones unguiculatus 10 km southeast of Ulaanbaatar for the first time. In 2000 the species Haemaphysalis concinna Koch, 1844 was detected in the Selenge-river area and Argas (Argas) vulgaris FILIPPOVA, 1961 was detected in the Gobi area. From the collection of M. and A. STUBBE 1 N …

Natural History And Karyology Of The Yucatán Vesper Mouse, Otonyctomys Hatti, Hugh H. Genoways, Robert M. Timm, Mark D. Engstrom

University of Nebraska State Museum: Mammalogy Papers

Seventeen specimens of the rare Yucatán vesper mouse, Otonyctomys hatti, are now known from Belize, Guatemala, and the Mexican states of Campeche, Quintana Roo, and Yucatán. We herein report a second specimen of O. hatti, from Belize, extending the known geographic range of the species 95 km to the southeast in the country. This is the first location at which O. hatti has been taken sympatrically with the Central American vesper mouse, Nyctomys sumichrasti. We also report data on three additional specimens of O. hatti from Campeche. Nyctomys and Otonyctomys share similar habits and habitat requirements, and …

Beiträge Zur Ökologie Und Verbreitung Der Steppenwühlmaus Microtus Brandti Radde, 1861 In Der Mongolei = Ecology And Distribution Of The Steppe Vole Microtus Brandti Radde, 1861 In Mongolia, N. Dawaa, Michael Stubbe, Annegret Stubbe

Erforschung biologischer Ressourcen der Mongolei / Exploration into the Biological Resources of Mongolia, ISSN 0440-1298

Microtus brandti is one of the most important pest species of Mongolian rodents. Since the publication of Bannikov (1954) the area of expansion is increased, in the Archangaj-Aimag 200 km westward, in the Central Aimag 70 km to the North and in the north-eastern part of Dornogov’- Aimag about 110 km to the South. In years of gradation the plant cover was exterminated up to 100%. We can distinguish a zone of exposed harmfulness with a damage of 70-100%. In this region 16 great centers of infestation were listed. Between 1925 and 1985 six important calamities were noticed, in intervals …

First Results Of Wild Ass Research In The South Gobi Aymag/Mongolia In 2003 And 2004, Annegret Stubbe, Michael Stubbe, N. Batsajchan, R. Samjaa, S. Doržderem

Erforschung biologischer Ressourcen der Mongolei / Exploration into the Biological Resources of Mongolia, ISSN 0440-1298

The population of the Mongolian wild ass belongs to the nominate form Equus hemionus hemionus described by Pallas in 1775. This species is adapted to semidesert habitats in the Gobi region and is listed in the Red Book of Mongolia as well as on appendix I of the Washington Convention (CITES). Mapping of the northern border of the distributional range showed a remarkable decrease in size in comparison to the maps of Murzaev (1954) or Bannikov (1954). The pressure of civilization, settlements, motorization, and increasing numbers of domestic livestock in connection with the occupation of water resources and illegal hunting …

The Water Vapor Conductance Of Squamate Reptilian Eggs: The Influence Of Scaling On Nesting Ecology., Louis A. Somma

Papers in Herpetology

Flexible-shelled eggs of squamate reptiles are strongly influenced by their surrounding microclimate, particularly the hydric conditions of the nest. The eggshell water vapor conductance of an egg can be an indication of its requirement for water from the nest. Ackerman et al. (1985. Physiol. Zool. 58:129-137) have described the scaling relationship for eggshell water vapor conductance (G_H2O) of flexible-shelled reptilian eggs (G_H2O = 981.8M^0.52). This scaling relationship was investigated with water vapor conductance data obtained from 8 species of lizards representing the families Iguanidae (Anolis carolinensis, A. sagrai, Sceloporus woodi, S. virgatus) …