Life Sciences Commons^™

Modeling The Effect Of Post-Dispersal Seed Predation On Tropical Tree Species In Panama, Justin Tirrell

Fall Student Research Symposium 2018

Palm trees provide a unique opportunity to study what conditions optimize the probability that a seed will grow successfully. The seeds of palm trees, endocarps, are large and easy to locate. When they don't grow, predators leave marks on them that tell the story of their fate. The focus of my experiment is to determine how the current distribution pattern of parent palm trees in Panama Palm trees affects the the future distribution of seedlings. I have programmed a versatile model that takes the assumption that bruchid beetles are the sole predators acting on the seeds, and that these fall …

The Nesting Ecology Of Woodpeckers In The Eastern Cascades And Their Interactions With Nest Competitors And Predators, Samuel D. Cowell

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Woodpeckers create nesting cavities for other birds and animals in forests. This creates dynamic interactions between both woodpeckers and these other animals. Using video cameras, we documented direct behavioral interactions between nesting woodpeckers and other animals in the Eastern Washington Cascades during the 2015 and 2016 breeding seasons. Additionally, we offered 937 students in a General Biology laboratory course to participate in this original research opportunity and described and the impact the experience had on the participants as well as the researchers.

In 2015, Western Blubebirds took over two active Black-backed Woodpecker nests by physically attacking the woodpeckers. In 2016, …