Life Sciences Commons^™

Environmental Variability And Biodiversity Of Megabenthos On The Hebrides Terrace Seamount (Northeast Atlantic), Lea-Anne Henry, Johanne Vad, Helen S. Findlay, Javier Murillo, Rosanna Milligan, J. Murray Roberts

Marine & Environmental Sciences Faculty Articles

We present the first remotely operated vehicle investigation of megabenthic communities (1004–1695 m water depth) on the Hebrides Terrace Seamount (Northeast Atlantic). Conductivity-temperature-depth casts showed rapid light attenuation below the summit and an oceanographic regime on the flanks consistent with an internal tide, and high short-term variability in water temperature, salinity, light attenuation, aragonite and oxygen down to 1500 m deep. Minor changes in species composition (3–14%) were explained by changes in depth, substratum and oceanographic stability, whereas environmental variability explained substantially more variation in species richness (40–56%). Two peaks in species richness occurred, the first at 1300–1400 m where …

Ecological Biogeography Of The Terrestrial Nematodes Of Victoria Land, Antarctica, Byron Adams, Diana Wall, Ross Virginia, Emma Broos, Matthew A. Knox

Dartmouth Scholarship

The terrestrial ecosystems of Victoria Land, Antarctica are characteristically simple in terms of biological diversity and ecological functioning. Nematodes are the most commonly encountered and abundant metazoans of Victoria Land soils, yet little is known of their diversity and distribution. Herein we present a summary of the geographic distribution, habitats and ecology of the terrestrial nematodes of Victoria Land from published and unpublished sources. All Victoria Land nematodes are endemic to Antarctica, and many are common and widely distributed at landscape scales. However, at smaller spatial scales, populations can have patchy distributions, with the presence or absence of each species …

Prioritizing Non-Marine Invertebrate Taxa For Red Listing, Neil Cumberlidge, Justin Gerlach Phd

Journal Articles

The IUCN Red List of threatened species is biased towards vertebrate animals, a major limitation on its utility for overall biodiversity assessment. There is a need to increase the representation of invertebrates (currently 21 % of species assessed on the List;\1 % of all invertebrates). A prioritisation system of terrestrial and freshwater groups is presented here, categorising taxa by species richness, assessment practicality, value for human land use and bioindication, and potential to act as conservation flagships. 25 major taxonomic groupings were identified as priorities, including the Annelida, Arthropoda, Mollusca and Onycophora. Of these, the high-level taxa that emerge as …

Biodiversity And Distribution Of Entomophilic Nematodes In Utah’S Mojave Region, Westen Archibald, Dr. Byron Adams

Journal of Undergraduate Research

To better understand the diversity and distribution of entomophilic nematodes in Utah’s Mojave region, I have begun a project that’s purpose is to develop phylogenetic maps of 55 nematode species that I have already extracted from the soils of the Beaver Dam wash ecotone. This project involves both the reconstruction of evolutionary relationships to recover biodiversity, and generating a species distribution map for the Beaver Dam wash ecotone.

Testimony Of Robert V. Percival University Of Maryland Carey School Of Law Before The House Committee On Natural Resources Hearing On Proposed Amendments To The Endangered Species Act, April 8, 2014, Robert V. Percival

Congressional Testimony

No abstract provided.

A Functional Framework For Improved Management Of Western North American Aspen (Populus Tremuloides Michx.), Paul C. Rogers, Simon M. Landhausser, Bradley D. Pinno, Ronald J. Ryel

Wildland Resources Faculty Publications

Quaking or trembling aspen (Populus tremuloides Michx.) forests occur in highly diverse setting across North America. However, management of distinct communities has long relied on a single aspen to-conifer successional model. We examine a variety of aspen dominated stand types in the western portion of its range as ecological systems; avoiding an exclusive focus on seral dynamics or single species management. We build a case for a large-scale functional aspen typology based on existing literature. Aspen functional types are defined as aspen communities that differ markedly in their physical and biological processes. The framework presented here describes two “functional types” …

Herbivory Strains Resilience In Drought-Prone Aspen Landscapes Of The Western United States, Paul C. Rogers

Aspen Bibliography

Aims: Aspen forests around the northern hemisphere provide rich biodiversity compared to surrounding vegetation types. In both North America and Europe, however, aspen are threatened by a variety of human impacts: clear-felling, land development, water diversions, fire suppression, and both wild and domestic ungulate herbivory. We conducted a landscape assessment of quaking aspen (Populus tremuloides) for the purpose of identifying key components of resilience. Specifically, we strove to test novel measures linking plant-animal interactions, compare crucial functional differences in aspen types, and make appropriate restorative recommendations based on the outcome of these assessments. Location: The Book Cliffs region of eastern …

Impact Of Impervious Surfaces On Water Quality By Measurement Of Macroinvertebrates In Rock Island And Moline, Illinois, Kara Noonan

Urban Watershed Project

Streams have been degrading in quality since the introduction of impervious surfaces. Water concentrations have been altered as sediment and other pollutants have been introduced from severe erosion from runoff. As the water continues to change, the biotic integrity becomes disturbed. More specifically, aquatic invertebrate populations begin to change. More organisms that can tolerate poor quality streams are thriving as organisms that can only tolerate high quality streams are beginning to run thin. This study strives to find a spatial relationship between impervious surfaces around Rock Island and Moline, Illinois and the water quality within the streams by looking at …

Horses As Sources Of Proprietary Information: Commercialization, Conservation, And Compensation Pursuant To The Convention On Biological Diversity, Haley Mcclory, Stanley Kowalski

Law Faculty Scholarship

Horses indigenous to East and Southeast (E/SE) Asia, including native, landrace, feral, and wild populations, embody valuable genetic diversity. Conservation efforts for animals have largely been driven by humane altruism, with little consideration for the information value of genomes. Yet, if horses are viewed as archives of information as well as objects of affection, their conservation shifts to a market-based paradigm. Horse genetic resources (GR) likely contain significant value to the lucrative global horse industry, including veterinary applications such as diagnostics, therapeutics, genetic markers, gene therapies, and cloning technologies. As biotechnology becomes increasingly sophisticated, mining of horse GR will accelerate, …

Lichenized And Lichenicolous Fungi Of Gevne Valley (Konya, Antalya), Mustafa Kocakaya, Mehmet Gökhan Halici, Ahmet Aksoy

Turkish Journal of Botany

The lichen and lichenicolous fungi of Gevne Valley in the provinces of Konya and Antalya are presented. From 47 localities, 215 lichen and 18 lichenicolous fungi are reported for a total 233 infrageneric taxa. Four taxa are new records for Turkey: Lecanora flowersiana H.Magn., L. invadens H.Magn., Psora cerebriformis W.A.Weber, and Rinodina colobinoides (Nyl.) Zahlbr. Detailed information on these 4 taxa is provided along with photographs.

The Role Of Landscape Variation In Shaping The Evolutionary Diversification Of Chimpanzees (Pan Troglodytes) In A Biodiversity Hotspot, Matthew William Mitchell

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

In this dissertation, I combine population genetic and demographic history analyses of autosomal, mitochondrial and Y-chromosome genetic markers with spatially explicit modeling techniques to study the biogeographic mechanisms responsible for shaping patterns of genetic diversity among chimpanzees in Cameroon and eastern Nigeria. I also describe a new software tool, TESS Ad-Mixer, that I developed early on in this study to help visualize the geographic distribution of demes recovered from population cluster analyses.

Contributions To The Macrofungal Diversity Of Kilis Province, Mehmet Hali̇l Solak, Hakan Alli, Mustafa Işiloğlu, Hali̇l Güngör, Erbi̇l Kalmiş

Turkish Journal of Botany

In this study, an attempt has been made to determine macrofungal specimens collected from Kilis in 2006 and 2007. After field and laboratory studies, 47 taxa belonging to 17 families and 2 divisions were identified: 4 taxa belong to Ascomycota and 43 to Basidiomycota. Three of them, Inocybe taxocystis (J.Favre & E.Horak) Senn-Irlet, Russula laccata Huijsman, and Russula medullata Romagn., are new records for Turkey.

Contributions To The Macrofungal Diversity Of Antalya Province, Mehmet Hali̇l Solak, Hakan Alli, Mustafa Işiloğlu, Hali̇l Güngör, Erbi̇l Kalmiş

Turkish Journal of Botany

In this study, an attempt has been made to establish macrofungal specimens collected from Antalya between 2005 and 2009. After field and laboratory studies, 136 taxa belonging to 40 families and 2 divisions were identified. Twenty taxa belong to Ascomycota and 116 to Basidiomycota. Three of them, Cortinarius subferrugineus (Batsch) Fr., Entoloma vernum Lundell, and Inocybe piceae Stangl & Schwöbel, are new records for Turkey.

Additions To The Turkish Discomycetes, Yusuf Uzun, İsmai̇l Acar, Mustafa Emre Akçay, Ilgaz Akata

Turkish Journal of Botany

In this study, Mollisia ventosa P.Karst., Hymenoscyphus herbarum (Pers.) Dennis, H. immutabilis (Fuckel) Dennis, H. robustior (P.Karst.) Dennis, Ciboria amentacea (Balb.) Fuckel, and Peziza fimeti (Fuckel) E.C.Hansen have been recorded in Turkey for the first time. Comments on their morphological and anatomical features, geographical position, locality, collection date, and distribution and short descriptions and photographs related to macro- and micromorphologies of the taxa are provided.

Macromycetes Determined In Yomra (Trabzon) District, Ilgaz Akata, Yasi̇n Uzun, Abdullah Kaya

Turkish Journal of Botany

This study was carried out on macrofungi samples collected from Yomra district during 2007-2012, and 236 taxa belonging to 58 families were identified. Crocicreas cyathoideum (Bull.) S.E.Carp., Phaeohelotium fagineum (Pers.) Hengstm., and Dacrymyces chrysospermus Berk. & M.A.Curtis are recorded for the first time from Turkey. Calyptella capula (Holmsk.) Quél., Campanella caesia Romagn., and Guepiniopsis buccina (Pers.) L.L.Kenn. are the first members of the genera Calyptella Quél., Campanella Henn., and Guepiniopsis Pat. respectively, in Turkey.

Quantifying Spatial Scaling Patterns And Their Local And Regional Correlates In Headwater Streams: Implications For Resilience, Emma Göthe, Leonard Sandin, Craig R. Allen, David G. Angeler

Nebraska Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit: Staff Publications

The distribution of functional traits within and across spatiotemporal scales has been used to quantify and infer the relative resilience across ecosystems. We use explicit spatial modeling to evaluate within- and cross-scale redundancy in headwater streams, an ecosystem type with a hierarchical and dendritic network structure. We assessed the cross-scale distribution of functional feeding groups of benthic invertebrates in Swedish headwater streams during two seasons. We evaluated functional metrics, i.e., Shannon diversity, richness, and evenness, and the degree of redundancy within and across modeled spatial scales for individual feeding groups. We also estimated the correlates of environmental versus spatial factors …

Dna From Chewed Vegetation: A Noninvasive Collection Strategy For Golden-Handed Tamarins (Saguinus Midas), Jennifer E. Humphreys

All Master's Theses

Noninvasive genetic sampling was first used in wild animals more than two decades ago, although since that time there have been advancements in both sampling strategies and amplification technology [Hoss et al., 1992; Taberlet and Bouvet, 1992]. Feces, hair, and urine are examples of biomaterials that are collected noninvasively [Beja-Pereira et al., 2009]. These materials provide clear advantages over the more invasive DNA sampling techniques such as blood collection; researchers can study nonhuman subjects without contacting, disturbing, or even seeing them. This advantage becomes greater in habitats disturbed by human activities such as agriculture or mining. The Republic of Suriname, …

Semantics In Support Of Biodiversity Knowledge Discovery: An Introduction To The Biological Collections Ontology And Related Ontologies, Ramona L. Walls, John Deck, Robert Guralnick, Steve Baskauf, Reed Beaman, Stanley Blum, Shaun Bowers

Computer Science Faculty Scholarship

The study of biodiversity spans many disciplines and includes data pertaining to species distributions and abundances, genetic sequences, trait measurements, and ecological niches, complemented by information on collection and measurement protocols. A review of the current landscape of metadata standards and ontologies in biodiversity science suggests that existing standards such as the Darwin Core terminology are inadequate for describing biodiversity data in a semantically meaningful and computationally useful way. Existing ontologies, such as the Gene Ontology and others in the Open Biological and Biomedical Ontologies (OBO) Foundry library, provide a semantic structure but lack many of the necessary terms to …

Sem Analysis Of The Epibenthic Diatoms On Eudendrium Racemosum (Hydrozoa) From The Mediterranean Sea, Tiziana Romagnoli, Cecilia Totti, Stefano Accoroni, Mario De Stefano, Chiara Pennesi

Turkish Journal of Botany

In this work, the valve fine structure, morphology, and dimensions of the epibenthic diatoms living on the marine hydroid Eudendrium racemosum Cavolini were investigated through SEM analysis. Hydroid samples were collected from the Ligurian Sea (Mediterranean Sea), from October 2002 to October 2003, with monthly frequency, allowing definition of the annual cycle of diatom communities. Following several taxonomic/systematic papers, this floristics paper documents 32 new records of diatoms (13 araphid, 17 biraphid, 2 monoraphid), which have been classified into different growth forms (adnate, erect, motile, tube-dwelling). Moreover, new information on morphologic data and biodiversity in the Mediterranean Sea are offered, …

Opiliones Biodiversity In Cusuco National Park, Honduras, Brittany N. Damron

Browse all Theses and Dissertations

Biodiversity in the tropics is especially diverse and describing species found in the tropics is important. Opiliones species richness is higher in the tropics than the temperate zone, with diversity highest in low latitudes. This study aims to catalog the Opiliones community in Cusuco National Park, Honduras, while estimating species richness and describing their abundance, distribution and community structure. Fifty hours of sampling at 6 sites yielded 18 morphospecies and 264 individual Opiliones were collected. This study added one new described species to the Opiliones fauna of Honduras, and fourteen morphospecies may represent new species. An estimated 43 to 112 …

Concordant Phylogenetic Patterns Inferred From Mitochondrial And Microsatellite Dna In The Giant Clam Tridacna Crocea, Timery S. Deboer, Ma Rio Abdon Naguit, Mark V. Erdmann, Maria Carmen A. Ablan-Lagman, Ambariyanto, Kent E. Carpenter, Abdul Hamid A. Toba, Paul H. Barber

Biological Sciences Faculty Publications

The boring giant clam, Tridacna crocea Lamarck, 1819, is a CITES-listed bivalve that is declining due to overharvest and environmental degradation. Previous molecular studies in the Coral Triangle using mitochondrial DNA indicated the presence of deep phylogenetic divergence and strong phylogeographic structure across this region, suggesting the possibility of multiple cryptic species. In the present study, we compare data from non-recombining mitochondrial (mtDNA; cytochrome oxidase subunit 1, COI) and eight microsatellite loci to better understand patterns of genetic structure and species boundaries in T. crocea populations across Indonesia and the Philippines. Microsatellite loci and mtDNA data from 618 individuals representing …

So, You Want To Use Next Generation Sequencing In Marine Systems? Insight From The Pan Pacific Advanced Studies Institute, D. A. Willette, F. W. Allendorf, P. H. Barber, D. J. Barshis, K. E. Carpenter, E. D. Crandall, W. A. Cresko, I. Fernandez-Silva, M. V. Matz, E. Meyer, M. D. Santos, L. W. Seeb, J. E. Seeb

Biological Sciences Faculty Publications

The emerging field of next-generation sequencing (NGS) is rapidly expanding capabilities for cutting edge genomic research, with applications that can help meet marine conservation challenges of food security, biodiversity loss, and climate change. Navigating the use of these tools, however, is complex at best. Furthermore, applications of marine genomic questions are limited in developing nations where both marine biodiversity and threats to marine biodiversity are most concentrated. This is particularly true in Southeast Asia. The first Pan-Pacific Advanced Studies Institute (PacASI) entitled "Genomic Applications to Marine Science and Resource Management in Southeast Asia" was held in July 2012 in Dumaguete, …

Ctenocallis Israelica – First Record In Central Europe, With A Note On The Genus Ctenocallis, Roman Halaj, Barbara Osiadacz

Turkish Journal of Zoology

This paper presents a new locality for a rare aphid species from Panaphidini (Aphidoidea: Drepanosiphidae, Calaphidinae), Ctenocallis israelica Hille Ris Lambers, 1954, which was recorded for the first time in Hungary and also for the first time in Central Europe. The genus Ctenocallis Klodnitsky, 1924 has been briefly described. The main morphological diagnostic features of apterous viviparous females have been presented, which allow the distinguishing of separate species of the genus. Their current range and the possibility of its broadening have been discussed on the basis of present information on the occurrence of these aphid species. Furthermore, the history of …

Rotifers Of Southwest Iran: A Faunistic And Biogeographical Study, Raheleh Reihan Reshteh, Hassan Rahimian

Turkish Journal of Zoology

The fauna of freshwater rotifers from Khuzestan Province (Southwest Iran) was expected to be different from that of the rest of Iran because of its geographical position, past geological events, climatic conditions, and similarities to neighboring zoogeographical areas. To test this hypothesis, we first had to determine the rotifer fauna of Khuzestan and then compare it with the results of surveys from other parts of Iran as well as with those from neighboring regions. Samples were collected from 10 sites throughout the province from May 2009 to April 2010. During the study, 66 species were identified, mostly with distribution in …

Checklist Of Echinodermata From The Coasts Of Turkey, Başak Öztoprak, Alper Doğan, Ertan Dağli

Turkish Journal of Zoology

According to the benthic studies on echinoderms inhabiting the coasts of Turkey, a total of 91 echinoderm species belonging to 5 classes have been reported. The Aegean Sea coast is represented by the highest number of species (76 species), followed by the Sea of Marmara (64 species), the Levantine Sea (51 species), and the Black Sea (17 species). Sixty-six echinoderm species were found on soft substrata, while 8 species were reported on hard substrata and 17 species on both soft and hard substrata. The majority of the echinoderm species (83 species) were found at depths ranging from 11 to 50 …

Global Priorities For Marine Biodiversity Conservation, Elizabeth R. Selig, Will R. Turner, Sebastian Troëng, Bryan P. Wallace, Kristin Kaschner, Ben G. Lascelles, Kent E. Carpenter, Russell A. Mittermeier

Biological Sciences Faculty Publications

In recent decades, many marine populations have experienced major declines in abundance, but we still know little about where management interventions may help protect the highest levels of marine biodiversity. We used modeled spatial distribution data for nearly 12,500 species to quantify global patterns of species richness and two measures of endemism. By combining these data with spatial information on cumulative human impacts, we identified priority areas where marine biodiversity is most and least impacted by human activities, both within Exclusive Economic Zones (EEZs) and Areas Beyond National Jurisdiction (ABNJ). Our analyses highlighted places that are both accepted priorities for …

Four New Mouse Spider Species (Araneae, Mygalomorphae, Actinopodidae, Missulena) From Western Australia, Laura T. Miglio, Danilo Harms, Volker W. Framenau, Mark S. Harvey

Research outputs 2014 to 2021

Four new species of the Mouse Spider genus Missulena Walckenaer, 1805 (family Actinopodidae) are described from Western Australia based on morphological features of adult males. Missulena leniae sp. n. (from the Carnarvon and Yalgoo biogeographic regions), Missulena mainae sp. n. (Carnarvon), Missulena melissae sp. n. (Pilbara) and Missulena pinguipes sp. n. (Mallee) represent a broad spectrum of morphological diversity found in this genus and differ from other congeners by details of the male copulatory bulb, colour patterns, eye sizes, leg morphology and leg spination. Two of the species, M. pinguipes sp. n. and M. mainae sp. n., are characterised by …

Housing Development Erodes Avian Community Structure In U.S. Protected Areas, Eric M. Wood, Anna M. Pidgeon, Volker C. Radeloff, David Helmers, Patrick D. Culbert, Nicholas S. Keuler, Curtis H. Flather

United States Department of Agriculture, Forest Service / University of Nebraska-Lincoln: Faculty Publications

Protected areas are a cornerstone for biodiversity conservation, but they also provide amenities that attract housing development on inholdings and adjacent private lands. We explored how this development affects biodiversity within and near protected areas among six ecological regions throughout the United States. We quantified the effect of housing density within, at the boundary, and outside protected areas, and natural land cover within protected areas, on the proportional abundance and proportional richness of three avian guilds within protected areas. We developed three guilds from the North American Breeding Bird Survey, which included Species of Greatest Conservation Need, land cover affiliates …

Performance Of Species Richness Estimators Across Assemblage Types And Survey Parameters, Gordon C. Reese, Kenneth R. Wilson, Curtis H. Flather

United States Department of Agriculture, Forest Service / University of Nebraska-Lincoln: Faculty Publications

Aim A raw count of the species encountered across surveys usually underestimates species richness. Statistical estimators are often less biased. Nonparametric estimators of species richness are widely considered the least biased, but no particular estimator has consistently performed best. This is partly a function of estimators responding differently to assemblage-level factors and survey design parameters. Our objective was to evaluate the performance of raw counts and nonparametric estimators of species richness across various assemblages and with different survey designs.

Location We used both simulated and published field data.

Methods We evaluated the bias, precision and accuracy of raw counts and …

Finding Them Before They Find Us: Informatics, Parasites, And Environments In Accelerating Climate Change, Daniel R. Brooks, Eric P. Hoberg, Walter A. Boeger, Scott Lyell Gardner, Kurt E. Galbreath, David Herczeg, Hugo H. Mejía-Madrid, S. Elizabeth Rácz, Altangerel Tsogtsaikhan Dursahinhan

Harold W. Manter Laboratory of Parasitology: Faculty Publications

Parasites are agents of disease in humans, livestock, crops, and wildlife and are powerful representations of the ecological and historical context of the diseases they cause. Recognizing a nexus of professional opportunities and global public need, we gathered at the Cedar Point Biological Station of the University of Nebraska in September 2012 to formulate a cooperative and broad platform for providing essential information about the evolution, ecology, and epidemiology of parasites across host groups, parasite groups, geographical regions, and ecosystem types. A general protocol, documentation–assessment–monitoring–action (DAMA), suggests an integrated proposal to build a proactive capacity to understand, anticipate, and respond …