Life Sciences Commons^™

Three New Species Of Sesioctonus Viereck (Hymenoptera, Braconidae, Agathidinae) From Peru, Lidia Sulca, Michael J. Sharkey

Entomology Faculty Publications

Three new species of Sesioctonus (Braconidae: Agathidinae) are described and illustrated, i.e., Sesioctonus huggerti, Sesioctonus wayquecha, and Sesioctonus bina. Two new Peruvian species records for Sesioctonus are reported: Sesioctonus longinoi and Sesioctonus diazi. A revised key to all known species of Sesioctonus is presented.

Devil In A Hula Skirt: Comparative Conservation Efforts Between The United States And Australia Using Two Endemic Species As Case Studies, Sarah Catherine Kuchinsky

Undergraduate Honors Thesis Collection

There is a biodiversity crisis in our midst. An abundance of technology and innovation in the last 200 years has revamped our world but at the cost of pushing many species to extinction. Since the passing of the Endangered Species Act by Congress in 1973, more than 100 species in the United States have disappeared (Wilson 2006). The International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) stats that "19,265 species out of the 59,507 so far assessed as threatened with extinction," (IUCN 2011). Extinction is the result of a combination of factors caused by human environmental disturbance. Disturbances in the …

Spatial Conservation Prioritization Of Kansas For Terrestrial Vertebrates, Megan R. Rohweder

Master's Theses or Doctor of Nursing Practice

Biological diversity is being threatened by the encroachment of humans, which limits the habitat available for conservation and strains resources allocated for conservation efforts. However conservation goals have to be achieved within these limitations. Conservation priorities can ensure that habitat and resources are used effectively and efficiently. I developed a conservation prioritization plan for the terrestrial vertebrates of Kansas. I used modeled distributions of every terrestrial vertebrate species found in Kansas to build three biodiversity indices; species richness, vulnerability, and endemicity. Kansas was divided into a grid of planning units, 34.5 km2. For each taxonomic group the planning units were …

4 Inches Of Living Soil: Teaching Biodiversity In The Learning Gardens–A Photo-Essay, Dilafruz R. Williams

Educational Leadership and Policy Faculty Publications and Presentations

In Learning Gardens and Sustainability Education: Bringing Life to Schools and Schools to Life, Williams and Brown (2011) place living soil at the center of the discourse on sustainability education. One of the seven principles that guides their pedagogy of learning gardens is: valuing biocultural diversity. This photo-essay of elementary students in K-8 schools, explores how 4 inches of soil in the learning gardens can teach about life’s diversity. The author urges humble attentiveness to that which is below our feet seemingly hidden and unnoticed yet teeming with life.

An Annotated List Of The Lepidoptera Of Honduras, Jacqueline Y. Miller, Deborah L. Matthews, Andrew D. Warren, M. Alma Solis, Donald J. Harvey, Patricia Gentili-Poole, Robert Lehman, Thomas C. Emmel, Charles V. Covell

Insecta Mundi

A biodiversity inventory of the Lepidoptera of Pico Bonito National Park and vicinity, in the Department of Atlantida of northern Honduras, was initiated in 2009 to obtain baseline data. We present a revised checklist of Honduran butterfly species (updated from the initial 1967 lists), as well as the first comprehensive list of Honduran moths. Our updated list includes 550 species of Papilionoidea, 311 Hesperioidea, and 1,441 moth species.

Hierarchy In Factors Affecting Fish Biodiversity In Floodplain Lakes Of The Mississippi Alluvial Valley, Daniel J. Dembkowski, L. E. Miranda

Natural Resource Management Faculty Publications

River-floodplain ecosystems offer some of the most diverse and dynamic environments in the world. Accordingly, floodplain habitats harbor diverse fish assemblages. Fish biodiversity in floodplain lakes may be influenced by multiple variables operating on disparate scales, and these variables may exhibit a hierarchical organization depending on whether one variable governs another. In this study, we examined the interaction between primary variables descriptive of floodplain lake large-scale features, suites of secondary variables descriptive of water quality and primary productivity, and a set of tertiary variables descriptive of fish biodiversity across a range of floodplain lakes in the Mississippi Alluvial Valley of …

Slides: Natural Gas: Game Changer Or Runner Left On Base? Working To Get It Right In Co!, Gary Graham

Drawing the Blueprint for a Sustainable Natural Gas Future (January 18)

Presenter: Dr. Gary Graham, Director, Lands Program, Western Resource Advocates

21 slides

Species And Habitat Interactions Of The Gopher Tortoise: A Keystone Species?, Christopher Catano

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Species-species and species-habitat interactions have been demonstrated to be important in influencing diversity across a variety of ecosystems. Despite generalities in the importance of these interactions, appropriate mechanisms to explain them are absent in many systems. In sandhill systems of the southeast U.S., gopher tortoises have been hypothesized to be a crucial species in the maintenance of diversity and function. However, the mechanisms and magnitude in which they influence their communities and habitats have rarely been empirically quantified. I examined how habitat structure influences tortoise abandonment of burrows and how tortoise densities influence nonvolant vertebrate community diversity. Tortoise burrow abandonment …

Influence Of The Neotyphodium--Tall Fescue Symbiosis On Belowground Processes, D. H. Mcnear Jr., Rebecca L. Mcculley

Plant and Soil Sciences Faculty Publications

Much of the work to date on the relationships between cool season grasses and Neotyphodium fungal endophytes has focused on the physiological, biochemical, and genetic ramifications of the host-fungus relationship and the subsequent influence these effects have on ruminant nutrition, plant adaptation to environmental stresses, and aboveground ecological processes. Relatively little attention has been paid to effects on belowground parameters. In this paper, we review the research evaluating the impact of one endophyte-grass association, the Neotyphodium – tall fescue symbiosis, on underground ecological and biogeochemical processes. We also present some preliminary data showing that the quantity and nature of tall …

Biodiversity And Evolutionary Development Of Oligocene-Pliocene Lagomorphs (Lagomorpha, Mammalia) Of Mongolia, M. A. Erbajeva

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

Lagomorphs (pikas and hares) are an ancient group of small mammals originated in Asia in the Paleocene-Eocene. The earliest evidence of their presence in Mongolia is dated to the Early Oligocene. The taxa flourished during the Late Oligocene, Miocene and Pliocene; at the Late Pliocene they were reduced both in their diversity and in abundance. No data on lagomorph are known from the Pleistocene and Holocene, though there are 7 taxa of lagomorphs present in the modern fauna. Altogether, more than 50 lagomorph species, extinct at present, are known to have existed in Mongolia since the Oligocene through the Late …

Bacterial Diversity In Biological Soil Crusts From Extrazonal Mountain Dry Steppes In Northern Mongolia, Anne Kemmling, Birgit Pfeiffer, Rolf Daniel, Michael Hoppert

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

Biological Soil Crusts (BSCs), consisting of prokaryotes, microalgae, lichens, mosses and eventually small vascular plants, cover wide areas in arid and semi-arid environments. In the present study, the microbial diversity of these crusts was explored at extrazonal mountain steppe sites in the western Khentej (Northern Mongolia). At the study site the Siberian taiga borders on the Mongolian-Daurian forest steppe, resulting in a unique intermixture of the dark taiga, the light taiga, and forest steppe (DULAMSUREN 2004). Due to the presence of boreal, temperate and dauric elements the forest steppe is eminently rich in species (MÜHLENBERG et al. 2004).

BSCs in …

New Records Of Truffle Taxa In Tuber And Terfezia From Turkey, Michael Angelo Castellano, Azi̇z Türkoğlu

Turkish Journal of Botany

We report on 3 truffle taxa found in Turkey for the first time: Tuber mesentericum Vittad., Tuber nitidum Vittad. and Terfezia leptoderma Tul.

The Family Boletaceae S.L. (Excluding Boletus) In Montenegro, Gordana Kasom, Mitko Karadelev

Turkish Journal of Botany

The current paper contains the results of systematic research into Boletaceae s.l. (excluding Boletus L.) in Montenegro; 39 species and 1 variety belonging to 12 genera are presented. For each species, the published and unpublished sources of data are provided, in addition to the collections where the materials were deposited. The genus Aureoboletus Pouzar and the taxa Aureoboletus gentilis (Quél.) Pouzar, Leccinum duriusculum (Schulzer ex Kalchbr.) Singer, and Leccinum piceinum Pilát & Dermek are reported for the first time for the territory of Montenegro. From the mycobiota of Montenegro taxa Suillus alboflocculosus Pantidou & Watling and Suillus littoralis Bouchet s. …

Agriculture In New York State : Farm Size And Its Implications To Farmland Protection And Biodiversity Conservation, Julianna Marie Potter

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

In the United States there are 939 million acres of land held by ranchers and farmers. Conservation of this agricultural landscape is critical to the protection of biodiversity. Management of agricultural land is also associated with the success of biodiversity protection efforts in protected areas, including parks and preserves, as well as outside protected areas. Sustained viability of the New York farming sector will enhance and secure biodiversity on farmland, as viable farms will remain part of the landscape.

Sponge (Porifera) Species From The Mediterranean Coast Of Turkey (Levantine Sea, Eastern Mediterranean), With A Checklist Of Sponges From The Coasts Of Turkey, Alper Evcen, Meli̇h Ertan Çinar

Turkish Journal of Zoology

The present study deals with sponge species collected along the Mediterranean coast of Turkey in 2005. A total of 29 species belonging to 19 families were encountered, of which Phorbas plumosus is a new record for the eastern Mediterranean, 8 species are new records for the marine fauna of Turkey (Clathrina clathrus, Spirastrella cunctatrix, Desmacella inornata, Phorbas plumosus, Hymerhabdia intermedia, Haliclona fulva, Petrosia vansoesti, and Ircinia dendroides), and 19 species are new records for the Levantine Sea (C. clathrus, Sycon raphanus, Erylus discophorus, Alectona millari, Cliona celata, Diplastrella bistellata, Mycale contareni, Mycale cf. rotalis, Mycale lingua, D. inornata, P. plumosus, …

Swamp : Walking The Wetlands Of The Swan Coastal Plain ; And With The Exegesis, A Walk In The Anthropocene: Homesickness And The Walker-Writer, Anandashila Saraswati

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

This project is comprised of a creative work and accompanying exegesis. The creative work is a collection of poetry which examines the history and ecology of the wetlands and river systems of the Swan Coastal Plain, and which utilises the practice of walking as a research methodology. For the creative practitioner walking reintroduces the body as a fundamental definer of experience, placing the investigation centrally in the corporeal self, using the physical senses as investigative tools of enquiry. As Rebecca Solnit comments in her history of walking, ‘exploring the world is one of the best ways of exploring the mind, …

Ecological Aspects Of The Arid And Semi-Arid Truffle In Turkey: Evaluation Of Soil Characteristics, Morphology, Distribution, And Mycorrhizal Relationships, Mehmet Akyüz, Sevda Kirbağ, Murat Kurşat

Turkish Journal of Botany

We undertook an evaluation of the physical and chemical quality of soil characteristics, micro- and macroscopic features of morphology, distribution, and mycorrhizal relationships of Terfezia boudieri Chatin. The topsoil was found to be 54.73% sand, 21.97% clay, 23.30% dust, 45.27% dust-clay, 0.126% nitrogen, 1.848% organic matter, and 3.78% total lime. Investigations revealed that the soil contained 40.92 ppm P_2O_5, 613.0 ppm K_2O, 28.82 ppm Na, and 0.164 mmhos/cm salt. It had a pH of 7.12 and the soil type was determined to be sand-clay-slimy. Various characteristics were recorded including ascocarp features (hypogeous, like tubers) and colour (peridium, glebe red tones), …

Contributions To The Macrofungal Diversity Of Uşak Province, Azi̇z Türkoğlu, Dursun Yağiz

Turkish Journal of Botany

This study was conducted on the macrofungal specimens collected from Uşak in 2006^-2009. In field and laboratory studies, 100 taxa belonging to 30 families and 2 classes were identified. Ten taxa belong to Ascomycetes and 90 to Basidiomycetes. Seven of them, i.e. Pseudoplectania sphagnophila (Pers.) Kreisel, Conocybe pulchella (Velen.) Hauskn. & Svrcek, Entoloma politoflavipes Noordel. & Liiv, Entoloma saundersii (Fr.) Sacc., Entoloma serrulatum (Fr.) Hesler, Hygrophorus nemoreus (Pers.) Fr., and Rugosomyces ionides (Bull.) Bon, are new records for Turkey.

Lepiotaceous Fungi (Agaricaceae) In The Iranian Part Of Caucasia, Mohammad Reza Asef, Panah Muradov

Turkish Journal of Botany

In this research, lepiotaceous fungi belonging to the family Agaricaceae were collected and identified from the Iranian part of Caucasia. As a result of these investigations, 14 species belonging to 6 genera (Chlorophyllum Massee, Cystolepiota Singer, Lepiota (Pers.) Gray, Leucoagaricus Locq. ex Singer, Leucocoprinus Pat., and Macrolepiota Singer) were identified. Of the species identified, Chlorophyllum molybdites (G.Mey.) Massee, Cystolepiota seminuda (Lasch) Bon, Lepiota clypeolarioides Rea, Lepiota felina (Pers.) P.Karst., and Leucocoprinus ianthinus (Cooke) P.Mohr are new for Iranian fungus biota.

Following The Trail Of Ants: An Examination Of The Work Of E.O. Wilson, Samantha Kee

Writing Across the Curriculum

No abstract provided.

A Survey Of Ballistosporic Phylloplane Yeasts In Baton Rouge, Louisiana, Sebastian Albu

LSU Master's Theses

A study documenting basidiomycete yeast biodiversity was conducted in Baton Rouge, Louisiana during 2010 and 2011. Using the spore-fall method, the leaf surfaces of seven ferns were sampled at biweekly intervals. Maximum likelihood phylogenetic analyses of the internal transcribed spacer (ITS) region and the D1/D2 domain of the large subunit (LSU) of nuclear ribosomal DNA were used to identify 463 isolates representing 81 species spanning 12 orders within six classes in Basidiomycota. Nearly 30 of these isolates appear to be species new to science. Data indicate fern leaf developmental stage has an effect on the number of yeasts present. A …

Co-Occurrence Patterns Of Common And Rare Leaf-Litter Frogs, Epiphytic Ferns And Dung Beetles Across A Gradient Of Human Disturbance, Johan A. Oldekop, Anthony J. Bebbington, Nathan K. Truelove, Niklas Tysklind, Santiago Villamarín, Richard F. Preziosi

Geography

Indicator taxa are commonly used to identify priority areas for conservation or to measure biological responses to environmental change. Despite their widespread use, there is no general consensus about the ability of indicator taxa to predict wider trends in biodiversity. Many studies have focused on large-scale patterns of species co-occurrence to identify areas of high biodiversity, threat or endemism, but there is much less information about patterns of species co-occurrence at local scales. In this study, we assess fine-scale co-occurrence patterns of three indicator taxa (epiphytic ferns, leaf litter frogs and dung beetles) across a remotely sensed gradient of human …

Marine Invertebrate Life, Rachael Kemp, Howard Peters, Louise Allcock, Kent Carpenter, David Obura, Beth Polidoro, Nadia Richman

Biological Sciences Faculty Publications

Marine invertebrates are key components of all marine ecosystems, and play critical roles in essential ecological processes, food provision for humans, and diverse and productive food webs. Despite their importance, the vast majority of marine invertebrates are very poorly known. Research has tended to focus on the larger, more conspicuous and economically important species. Humans have long exploited the margins of pelagic ecosystems, but over the past five decades, rapid technological advancement has allowed more routine access to deeper waters [1]. Increasing exploration into the oceans that cover 70% of the world's surface has led to rapid advancement of species …

Extinction Risk And Bottlenecks In The Conservation Of Charismatic Marine Species, Loren Mcclenachan, Andrew B. Cooper, Kent E. Carpenter, Nicholas K. Dulvy

Biological Sciences Faculty Publications

The oceans face a biodiversity crisis, but the degree and scale of extinction risk remains poorly characterized. Charismatic species are most likely to gar- ner greatest support for conservation and thus provide a best-case scenario of the status of marine biodiversity. We summarize extinction risk and diagnose impediments to successful conservation for 1,568 species in 16 families of marine animals in the movie Finding Nemo. Sixteen percent (12–34%) of those that have been evaluated are threatened, ranging from 9% (7–28%) of bony fishes to 100% (83–100%) of marine turtles. A lack of scientific knowledge impedes analysis of threat status …

Epiphytic Lichen Diversity On Quercus Cerris And Q. Frainetto In The Marmara Region (Turkey), Seyhan Oran, Şule Öztürk

Turkish Journal of Botany

The epiphytic diversity of lichens associated with Quercus cerris L. and Quercus frainetto Ten. were investigated in 21 localities of the Marmara region. A total of 106 taxa belonging to 49 genera were reported on Q. cerris and Q. frainetto, and 16 of those taxa were recorded for the first time in the Marmara region. The number of lichen species found on Q. cerris was 83, while 85 taxa were found on Q. frainetto. Several differences regarding the lichen taxa were found in these 2 oaks species even though they were growing in the same habitat and in the same …

Systematics Of Leptopelis (Anura: Arthroleptidae) From The Itombwe Plateau, Eastern Democratic Republic Of The Congo, Francisco Portillo

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Leptopelis, a genus of Central African treefrogs, includes 51 species that live in tropical forests and savannas. Currently, only two species of Leptopelis are known from the poorly explored Itombwe Plateau in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). Itombwe is renowned among conservationists for its rich and endemic amphibian fauna, including: Xenopus itombwensis, Chrysobatrachus cupreonitens, Laurentophryne parkeri, Hyperolius leleupi and at least three species of Arthroleptis. Evolutionary relationships of Itombwe Leptopelis were examined by sequencing two mitochondrial genes (16S: 557 bp [base pairs], cyt b: 620 bp) and one nuclear gene (RAG1: 761 bp). Results recovered strong support for …

Revealing The Appetite Of The Marine Aquarium Fish Trade: The Volume And Biodiversity Of Fish Imported Into The United States, Andrew L. Rhyne, Michael F. Tlusty, Pamela J. Schofield, Les Kaufman, James A. Morris Jr, Andrew W. Bruckner

Arts & Sciences Faculty Publications

The aquarium trade and other wildlife consumers are at a crossroads forced by threats from global climate change and other anthropogenic stressors that have weakened coastal ecosystems. While the wildlife trade may put additional stress on coral reefs, it brings income into impoverished parts of the world and may stimulate interest in marine conservation. To better understand the influence of the trade, we must first be able to quantify coral reef fauna moving through it. Herein, we discuss the lack of a data system for monitoring the wildlife aquarium trade and analyze problems that arise when trying to monitor the …

Modeling Broad-Scale Patterns Of Avian Species Richness Across The Midwestern United States With Measures Of Satellite Image Texture, Patrick D. Culbert, Volker C. Radeloff, Véronique St-Louis, Curtis H. Flather, Chadwick D. Rittenhouse, Thomas P. Albright, Anna M. Pidgeon

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

Avian biodiversity is threatened, and in order to prioritize limited conservation resources and conduct effective conservation planning a better understanding of avian species richness patterns is needed. The use of image texture measures, as a proxy for the spatial structure of land cover and vegetation, has proven useful in explaining patterns of avian abundance and species richness. However, prior studies that modeled habitat with texture measures were conducted over small geographical extents and typically focused on a single habitat type. Our goal was to evaluate the performance of texture measures over broad spatial extents and across multiple habitat types with …

Bats Of Barbados, Hugh H. Genoways, Roxanne J. Larsen, Scott C. Pedersen, Gary G. Kwiecinski, Peter A. Larsen

University of Nebraska State Museum: Mammalogy Papers

The chiropteran fauna of Barbados includes representatives of four families — Noctilionidae, Phyllostomidae, Vespertilionidae, and Molossidae — including 1 piscivore (Noctilio leporinus), 1 omnivore (Brachyphylla cavernarum), 1 pollenivore/nectarivore (Monophyllus plethodon), 1 frugivore (Artibeus jamaicensis), and 2 insectivorous species (Myotis nyctor and Molossus molossus). Despite an early report, we believe that preponderance of the evidence available at this time is that E. fuscus is not part of the fauna of Barbados. The Barbadian chiropteran fauna of 6 species is much smaller than those on the four neighboring Lesser Antillean islands to …

A Comparison Of Current Anuran Monitoring Methods With Emphasis On The Accuracy Of Automatic Vocalization Detection Software, Jacob Douglas Eldridge

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

Currently, a variety of methods are available to monitor anurans, and little standardization of methods exists. New methods to monitor anurans have become available over the past twenty years, including PVC pipe arrays used for tree frog capture and Automated Digital Recording Systems (ADRS) used to remotely monitor calling activity. In addition to ADRS, machine-learning computer software, automated vocalization recognition software (AVRS), has been developed to automatically detect vocalizations within digital sound recordings. The use of a combination of ADRS and AVRS shows the promise to reduce the number of people, time, and resources needed for an effective call survey …