Life Sciences Commons^™

Aridity-Driven Shift In Biodiversity-Soil Multifunctionality Relationships, Weigang Hu, Jinzhi Ran, Longwei Dong, Qiajun Du, Mingfei Ji, Shuran Yao, Chen Hou, For Full List Of Authors, Download The Pdf.

Biological Sciences Faculty Research & Creative Works

Relationships between biodiversity and multiple ecosystem functions (that is, ecosystem multifunctionality) are context-dependent. Both plant and soil microbial diversity have been reported to regulate ecosystem multifunctionality, but how their relative importance varies along environmental gradients remains poorly understood. Here, we relate plant and microbial diversity to soil multifunctionality across 130 dryland sites along a 4,000 km aridity gradient in northern China. Our results show a strong positive association between plant species richness and soil multifunctionality in less arid regions, whereas microbial diversity, in particular of fungi, is positively associated with multifunctionality in more arid regions. This shift in the relationships …

Vertebrate Scavenger Diversity And Ecosystem Services Along An Elevational Gradient In Central Nepal, Aishwarya Bhattacharjee

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

A growing number of studies recognize the ecological significance of vertebrate scavengers, and several species belonging to this diverse, functional guild are of high conservation importance around the globe. Studies on taxonomic and functional components of biodiversity often use elevation gradients to comprehensively examine patterns and drivers across multiple spatial scales. Yet, there are relatively few elevational studies on large vertebrates or multi-taxa guilds, and the related variation of their ecosystem services. In particular, scavenger research has largely focused on local-scale studies or regional/global comparisons of local-scale investigations. Moreover, these studies primarily consider taxonomic community characteristics and the patterns of …

Effects Of Patch Size, Fragmentation, And Invasive Species On Plant And Lepidoptera Communities In Southern Texas, James A. Stilley, Christopher A. Gabler

School of Integrative Biological & Chemical Sciences (Formerly Dept. of Biology)

Simple Summary

Human land use has removed habitats, separated habitats into small and disconnected fragments, and introduced foreign species, which all harm wildlife. South Texas is highly diverse and home to many endangered species, but human disturbance threatens its wildlife. In south Texas, we poorly understand how different aspects of human land use influence wildlife diversity and abundance. We studied this by surveying plants and butterflies in 24 habitat fragments in south Texas that differed in size, shape, type, and land use history. Human disturbance was extensive, and foreign and weedy species were dominant in most habitats. Habitat types had …

Abundance And Distribution Of The Forest Cockroaches In Different Algerian Ecosystems, Zakaria Hedjouli, Wafa Habbachi, Fatiha Masna, Saliha Benhissen, Sarra Habbachi, Abdelmadjid Yagoub Asloum, Abdelkrim Tahraoui

Journal of Bioresource Management

Forests have many insect species that are unique to biodiversity and play a crucial role in the functioning of ecosystems. Forest cockroaches are the best example of forest litter insects, which also help decompose fallen leaves. The composition of the Blattoptera fauna can vary from one region to another, depending on the habitat and numerous biotic and abiotic factors In order to study the diversity, abundance, and distribution of forest cockroaches in different Algeria ecosystems, we have selected four sites from three Wilayas: Senalba (Djelfa), Ain achir (Annaba), Seraidi (Annaba), and Lehnaya (El-taref). These sites are classified into two distinct …

Interspersed Denuded Zone (Idz): How Patchy Leaf Litter Dynamics In A Buckthorn-Invaded Urban Woodland Can Affect Microarthropod Species Richness, Angela Stenberg

DePaul Discoveries

Biodiversity loss may serve as a key diagnostic of the Anthropocene. An important driver of this loss is by means of invasive species. In this study of a forest preserve in Chicago, Illinois we examined Interspersed Denuded Zones (IDZs for short), which are areas of patchy leaf litter in invaded forests caused in this case by the rapid decomposition of litter from buckthorn (Rhamnus cathartica). We characterized the leaf litter mass in IDZs and enumerated litter-inhabiting microarthropod populations. We found that plots of high buckthorn density are associated with IDZs: there was significantly less leaf litter mass in …

Pasture Management For Conservation Of Multipurpose Plants In Italian Mountains, Andrea Pardini, V. Pratesi, R. Tallarico

IGC Proceedings (1977-2023)

No abstract provided.

Assessing The Contribution Of Mixed Farming Systems To Biodiversity Across Australia's Sheep‐Wheat Zone: The Grain & Graze Participatory Research Model, Kerry L. Bridle, Peter Mcquillan, Dave Green, Janet Smith, Margy Fitzgerald, Ted Lefroy

IGC Proceedings (1977-2023)

No abstract provided.

The Role Of Yantak “Alhagi” Species In The Biological Diversity Of The Deserts Of Uzbekistan, Khudargan Mavlonov, Surayyo Kodirova

Mental Enlightenment Scientific-Methodological Journal

This article provides information on the occurrence, importance, role of Alhagi species in biodiversity (phytocenosis), eco-biological features, allelopathy.

Refining The Coarse Filter Approach: Using Habitat-Based Species Models To Identify Rarity And Vulnerabilities In The Protection Of U.S. Biodiversity, Anne Davidson, Leah Dunn, Kevin Gergely, Alexa Mckerrow, Steven Williams, Mackenzie Case

University Author Recognition Bibliography: 2021

Preserving biodiversity and its many components is a priority of conservation science and how to efficiently allocate resources to preserve healthy populations of as many species, habitats, and ecosystems as possible. We used the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Gap Analysis Project (GAP) species models released in 2018, which identify predicted habitats for terrestrial vertebrates in the conterminous United States, to illustrate hotspots of biodiversity for the major taxonomic groups. This collection represents the first complete compilation of terrestrial vertebrate species models for the conterminous United States (U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), 2018a). We used the species models but not the available …

Nematode Biodiversity In Lincoln, Nebraska's Tallgrass Prairie Corridor, Abigail Borgmeier

Department of Plant Pathology: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

The tallgrass prairie was once one of the most diverse grasslands on the planet, however over 95% has been converted to agriculture in the past 150 years. The remaining prairie is still host to a wide variety of plants, insects, mammals, and soil-dwelling microorganisms, creating an incredibly complex ecosystem. The first aim of this study is to compare three approaches for the measurement of nematode diversity within a 10-mile-long protected prairie habitat corridor near Lincoln, Nebraska. The methods are 1) a traditional morphological analysis of 150 nematodes per study site, 2) a metabarcoding analysis using the 18S genetic marker of …

Nocturnal Multi-Species Roosts Of Cicindelidae (Coleoptera) In A Neotropical Lowland Rainforest, Susan Kirmse, Jürgen Wiesner

Insecta Mundi

Tiger beetles (Coleoptera: Cicindelidae) are frequent predators on the forest floor of the Amazon rainforest. We report on five diurnal sympatric tiger beetle species belonging to the genera Odontocheila Laporte de Castelnau and Poecilochila Rivalier in a terra firme rainforest in South Venezuela. We observed adult beetles for a full year and monitored their nocturnal roosts along two forest paths during the rainy season in 1998. We found up to four species communally roosting on low vegetation along the paths during the night. Multi-species roosts were more often observed than conspecific communal roosts. Although the individual composition of the nocturnal …

Too Many People, Too Many Animals For Too Little Grass-‐A Canadian Perspective, G. Luciuk, M. Boyle, G. Brown, B. Kirychuk, B. Sonntag

IGC Proceedings (1977-2023)

No abstract provided.

Biodiversity Of Plants And Animals In Grassland Systems: Approaches To Conservation And Restoration In England, S. Peel, S. P. Chaplin

IGC Proceedings (1977-2023)

No abstract provided.

Temperature Stress And Disease Drives The Extirpation Of The Threatened Pillar Coral, Dendrogyra Cylindrus, In Southeast Florida, Nicholas P. Jones, Lystina Kabay, Kathleen Semon Lunz, David S. Gilliam

Marine & Environmental Sciences Faculty Articles

Rare species population dynamics can elucidate the resilience of an ecosystem. On coral reefs, climate change and local anthropogenic stressors are threatening stony coral persistence, increasing the need to assess vulnerable species locally. Here, we monitored the threatened pillar coral, Dendrogyra cylindrus, population in southeast Florida, USA, in relation to consecutive heat stress events in 2014 and 2015. In the fall of each year, D. cylindrus colonies bleached following intense thermal stress and by June 2020 all monitored colonies died from a white-syndrome type disease. This resulted in the ecological extinction of D. cylindrus in the Southeast Florida Coral …

Hidden Diversity Of Madagascan Freshwater Crabs (Brachyura: Potamoidea) Revealed By Morphological And Molecular Studies, Ellen Leever

All NMU Master's Theses

This study focuses on the freshwater crab fauna of the island of Madagascar. Relatively little is known about the species diversity of the island’s freshwater crabs and their phylogenetic relationships. Chapter 1 is based on a newly published molecular phylogeny that used the highest taxonomic sampling to date, including almost all of the island’s known freshwater crab genera and species. The phylogeny revealed a significant number of unidentified specimens that belong to several new lineages that potentially represent as many as 4 new genera and 10 new species. Chapters 2 and 3 focus on the taxonomic revision of the genus …

Of Biodiversity, Boundaries, And Distribution: The Myxomycetes Of The Philippines And Beyond, Sittie Aisha Bustamante Macabago

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation contains a compilation of independently performed studies primarily focusing on the myxomycetes (plasmodial slime molds) from the Philippines and integrating local and worldwide data to demonstrate regional and global trends. The major themes include the following: (I) a review of the diverse group of spore-producing amoeboid protists, including the myxomycetes; (II-IV) diversity assessments in three different groups of islands in the Philippine archipelago; (V) mapping the myxomycetes found in the Philippines for databasing and analyzing the geocoded data; (VI) a study on regional boundaries, including the Philippines, using myxomycete species composition; and, (VII) creating a global species distribution …

Commercial Grazing Versus Peri‐Urbanisation: Comparisons Of Landscape Condition, Cam K. Mcdonald, Neil D. Macleod, John G. Mcivor, F. Kearney

IGC Proceedings (1977-2023)

No abstract provided.

Examining The Presence Of A Possible Species Complex Of Octopus Joubini (Cephalopoda: Octopodidae) In The Eastern Gulf Of Mexico, Haley Holloway

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The Pygmy Octopus Octopus joubini (Robson, 1929) is a small, shallow water species found throughout the Gulf of Mexico (GoM), western Atlantic Ocean and the northeastern Caribbean Sea (Mather, 1982; Jereb & Roper, 2014; Judkins, 2009). This species is believed to belong to a complex based upon morphological features including arm length, web depth, sucker size, egg size, hatchling ecology, and chromatophore coloration. It has been proposed that Octopus mercatoris, another pygmy species found in the GoM, may belong in this complex; however, no analyses have been performed to verify this claim. The present study incorporated morphological comparisons with …

Inheriting And Advancing The Essence Of Nomadic Culture, And Searching For A New Course Of Harmonious Development On The Grassland, Zhongling Liu, Cunzhu Liang, Lixing Wang, Dunyuan Hao, Huaming Liu

IGC Proceedings (1977-2023)

No abstract provided.

Before Beachie Creek, Raine Welterlen

Anthós

An account of the biodiversity observed on a hiking trip in July 2020, three months before devastating wildfires destroyed much of the Opal Creek Wilderness

Impacts Of Detritivore Diversity Loss On Instream Decomposition Are Greatest In The Tropics, Luz Boyero, Naiara López-Rojo, Alan M. Tonin, Javier Pérez, Francisco Correa-Araneda, Richard G. Pearson, Jaime Bosch, Ricardo J. Albariño, Sankarappan Anbalagan, Leon A. Barmuta, Ana Basaguren, Francis J. Burdon, Adriano Caliman, Marcos Callisto, Ian C. Campbell, Bradley J. Cardinale, J. Jesús Casas, Ana M. Chará-Serna, Eric Chauvet, Szymon Ciapała, Jose Checo Colón-Gaud, Aydeé Cornejo, Aaron M. Davis, Monika Degebrodt, Emerson S. Dias, María E. Díaz, Michael M. Douglas, Andrea C. Encalada, Ricardo Figueroa, Alexander S. Flecker, Tadeusz Fleituch, Erica A. García, Gabriela García, Pavel E. García, Mark O. Gessner, Jesús E. Gómez, Sergio Gómez, Jose F. Gonçalves Jr, Manuel A. S. Graça, Daniel C. Gwinn, Robert O. Hall Jr., Neusa Hamada, Cang Hui, Daichi Imazawa, Tomoya Iwata, Samuel K. Kariuki, Andrea Landeira-Dabarca, Kelsey A. Laymon, María Leal, Richard Marchant, Renato T. Martins, Frank O. Masese, Megan Maul, Brendan G. Mckie, Adriana O. Medeiros, Charles M. M’ Erimba, Jen A. Middleton, Silvia Monroy, Timo Muotka, Junjiro N. Negishi, Alonso Ramírez, John S. Richardson, José Rincón, Juan Rubio-Ríos, Gisele M. Dos Santos, Romain Sarremejane, Fran Sheldon, Augustine Sitati, Nathalie S. D. Tenkiano, Scott D. Tiegs, Janine R. Tolod, Michael Venarsky, Anne Watson, Catherine M. Yule

Biology: Faculty Publications

The relationship between detritivore diversity and decomposition can provide information on how biogeochemical cycles are affected by ongoing rates of extinction, but such evidence has come mostly from local studies and microcosm experiments. We conducted a globally distributed experiment (38 streams across 23 countries in 6 continents) using standardised methods to test the hypothesis that detritivore diversity enhances litter decomposition in streams, to establish the role of other characteristics of detritivore assemblages (abundance, biomass and body size), and to determine how patterns vary across realms, biomes and climates. We observed a positive relationship between diversity and decomposition, strongest in tropical …

Different Reactions Of Plants And Insect Taxa To Reduction Of Stocking Rate: A Concrete Reason To Promote Habitat Heterogeneity In Grazing Systems, Bertrand Dumont, Anne Farruggia, J.-P. Garel

IGC Proceedings (1977-2023)

No abstract provided.

Unifying Community Detection Across Scales From Genomes To Landscapes, Stephanie F. Hudon, Andrii Zaiats, Anna Roser, Anand Roopsind, Cristina Barber, Brecken Robb, Britt Pendleton, Merry M. Davidson, Jonas Frankel-Bricker, Marcella Fremgen-Tarantino, Jennifer Sorensen Forbey, Eric Hayden, Olivia K. Rodriguez, T. Trevor Caughlin

Biology Faculty Publications and Presentations

Biodiversity science encompasses multiple disciplines and biological scales from molecules to landscapes. Nevertheless, biodiversity data are often analyzed separately with discipline-specific methodologies, constraining resulting inferences to a single scale. To overcome this, we present a topic modeling framework to analyze community composition in cross-disciplinary datasets, including those generated from metagenomics, metabolomics, field ecology and remote sensing. Using topic models, we demonstrate how community detection in different datasets can inform the conservation of interacting plants and herbivores. We show how topic models can identify members of molecular, organismal and landscape-level communities that relate to wildlife health, from gut microbes to forage …

Biochemical Aspect Of Grazing Behavior On Mediterranean Rangelands, J. Rogosic, J. Kezic

IGC Proceedings (1977-2023)

No abstract provided.

Genomics-Guided Refinement Of Butterfly Taxonomy, Jing Zhang, Qian Cong, Jinhui Shen, Paul A. Opler, Nick V. Grishin

The Taxonomic Report of the International Lepidoptera Survey

Continuing with comparative genomic exploration of worldwide butterfly fauna, we use all proteincoding genes as they are retrieved from the whole genome shotgun sequences for phylogeny construction. Analysis of these genome-scale phylogenies projected onto the taxonomic classification and the knowledge about butterfly phenotypes suggests further refinements of butterfly taxonomy that are presented here. As a general rule, we assign most prominent clades of similar genetic differentiation to the same taxonomic rank, and use criteria based on relative population diversification and the extent of gene exchange for species delimitation. As a result, 7 tribes, 4 subtribes, 14 genera, and 9 subgenera …

Exploring Community Initiatives That Produce High Quality Volunteers: Citizen Science And Master Naturalist Programs In The United States, Travis Robbins, Alie Mayes, Julie Thomas

Transactions of the Nebraska Academy of Sciences and Affiliated Societies

Citizen science, which has contributed greatly to scientific understanding, works through partnerships between non-governmental and governmental organizations, academia, and most importantly, volunteers. In the United States, Master Naturalist training programs prepare adults as knowledgeable environmental stewards. Once certified, Master Naturalists are encouraged to log annual volunteer activity hours involving scientific research and education. Compared to untrained volunteers, individuals who have completed Master Naturalist training (or similar programs) exhibit greater project involvement and efficiency at collecting data. These traits align well with the goals of citizen science and point to a symbiotic relationship between citizen science and Master Naturalist programs. Here, …

Characterizing The Relationship Between Species Richness And The Seasonal Phenomenon Of Tropical Fish Dispersal In New England Waters, Michael E. O'Neill

Graduate Masters Theses

The Gulf Stream exerts tremendous influence over oceanographic conditions in the Northwest Atlantic as it transports tropical water to higher latitudes. As the Gulf Stream’s path traverses the east coast of North America, there are implications for the biogeography of marine ecosystems within this range and beyond. While the meandering eddies and warm core rings generated by the Gulf Stream persist year-round, the seasonal warming of New England’s coastal waters afford many tropical species transported by the current temporary residence through the summer and fall. Many aspects that shape this phenomenon and its impact on coastal ecosystems remain a mystery. …

Vertebrates At The University Of Southern Mississippi: A Wildlife Survey Of The Bear Point Bayou And Surrounding Gulf Park Campus, Hannah Mcduffie

Honors Theses

This project originated through interest in pursuing a field-based research project involving vertebrates. After conducting literature reviews, it was found that the Bear Point Bayou running through the University of Southern Mississippi Gulf Park Campus has never been thoroughly surveyed for species richness (Mohrman et al. 2016). Four sites on the Gulf Park Campus were chosen and vertebrate species were documented and identified through observations, camera trapping, and vocalization recordings. These data, along with species previously recorded on campus, were combined, and compared to data from the Gulf Coast Phenology Trail of which the Gulf Park Campus was recently added …

Detection Of European Aspen (Populus Tremula L.) Based On An Unmanned Aerial Vehicle Approach In Boreal Forests, Anton Kuzmin, Lauri Korhonen, Sonja Kivinen, Pekka Hurskainen, Pasi Korpelainen, Topi Tanhuanpää, Matti Maltamo, Petteri Vihervaara, Timo Kumpula

Aspen Bibliography

European aspen (Populus tremula L.) is a keystone species for biodiversity of boreal forests. Large-diameter aspens maintain the diversity of hundreds of species, many of which are threatened in Fennoscandia. Due to a low economic value and relatively sparse and scattered occurrence of aspen in boreal forests, there is a lack of information of the spatial and temporal distribution of aspen, which hampers efficient planning and implementation of sustainable forest management practices and conservation efforts. Our objective was to assess identification of European aspen at the individual tree level in a southern boreal forest using high-resolution photogrammetric point cloud …

The Big Picture: Consolidating National Government And Cites Records Of Animal Trade In The Philippines From 1975 To 2019, Ronald Allan L. Cruz, Catherine Genevieve B. Lagunzad

Biology Faculty Publications

The Philippines has exceptionally high biodiversity but is also a hotspot. It is a recognized source; destination; and transit point for the global wildlife trade; which drives biodiversity loss. There is an abundance of data from the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) on the Philippines; but this data has not been assessed for historical trends. Confiscation data reflecting the illegal trade is scarcer; coming from recent (2008 onward) records of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources ___ Biodiversity Management Bureau (DENR-BMB) and the Palawan Council for Sustainable Development (PCSD). CITES data …