Life Sciences Commons^™

Assessing Climate Variability Effects On Dengue Incidence In San Juan, Puerto Rico, Pablo Méndez-Lázaro, Frank E. Muller-Karger, Daniel Otis, Matthew J Mccarthy, Marisol Peña-Orellana

Marine Science Faculty Publications

We test the hypothesis that climate and environmental conditions are becoming favorable for dengue transmission in San Juan, Puerto Rico. Sea Level Pressure (SLP), Mean Sea Level (MSL), Wind, Sea Surface Temperature (SST), Air Surface Temperature (AST), Rainfall, and confirmed dengue cases were analyzed. We evaluated the dengue incidence and environmental data with Principal Component Analysis, Pearson correlation coefficient, Mann-Kendall trend test and logistic regressions. Results indicated that dry days are increasing and wet days are decreasing. MSL is increasing, posing higher risk of dengue as the perimeter of the San Juan Bay estuary expands and shorelines move inland. Warming …

A Threat To New Zealand's Tuatara Heats Up, Kristine L. Grayson, Nicola J. Mitchell, Nicola J. Nelson

Biology Faculty Publications

No matter how many times we head to one of New Zealand's offshore islands, the feelings are always a mix of sheer awe at the beauty and biodiversity preserved in these special refuges and lingering nerves. Did we remember all the gear? Do we have enough food and water in case we get stuck? Can the helicopter land on the side of a cliff in these winds? These epic journeys are in pursuit of a lone remnant of the reptile evolutionary tree, with a unique ecology that has big implications under climate change.

Changing Forest Structure Across The Landscape Of The Sierra Nevada, Ca, Usa, Since The 1930s, Christopher R. Dolanc, Hugh D. Safford, James H. Thorne, Solomon Z. Dobrowski

Forest Management Faculty Publications

Understanding the dynamics of forest structure aids inference regarding future forests and their distributions around the world. Over the last few decades, several papers have addressed changing forest structure in the Sierra Nevada, CA, USA, but these studies were limited in scope. We carried out a broad comparison of forest density and composition in the 1930s versus the 2000s for the west slope of the central and northern Sierra Nevada, using the two most extensive data sets available. Forests in this region have endured a long, complex history of human disturbance, and are now experiencing climatic shifts. We subdivided the …

Effect Of Increased Water Temperature On Warm Water Fish Feeding Behavior And Habitat Use, Eric Walberg

Journal of Undergraduate Research at Minnesota State University, Mankato

Global warming could cause changes in species behavior and life history. Stream fish may be significantly affected by climate change because individuals are restricted in their movements by water systems and other physical factors, preventing migration to locations more thermally suitable. The effect of warmer waters on stream fish could change behavior and affect the fish species survival and ultimately ecosystem function. During my experiment I observed the effects of increased water temperature on the feeding behavior and habitat use of two native Minnesota fish species, black crappie (Pomoxis nigromaculatus) and black bullhead (Ameiurus melas). An increase of 2oC over …

Precipitation Variability And Nitrogen Deposition Alter Root Distribution In A Tallgrass Prairie, Emmalyn P. Terracciano, Michael Schuster, Jeffrey Dukes

The Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship (SURF) Symposium

Climate change and increases in nitrogen deposition impact ecosystems globally. Projected atmospheric warming allows rain to fall in larger events with longer dry periods in between, increasing rainfall variability in many regions. Concurrently, the combustion of fossil fuels and the heavy use of nitrogen fertilizers continue to increase the availability of nitrogen globally. However, not much is known about how these global change factors, increased rainfall variability and nitrogen deposition, interact with each other to affect ecosystem functions, particularly belowground where root production contributes to soil carbon pools- an important component in regulating climate. In order to study these factors, …

Wetland Sediment Nutrient Flux In Response To Proposed Hydrologic Reconnection And Climate Warming, James T. Smit

Masters Theses

Wetland restoration and creation are common practices, but wetlands restored or created on former agricultural land may act as a source of nutrients, rather than as a sink. I studied P sediment-water exchange in two flooded celery fields (west and east), which are designated for wetland restoration, in order to assess the effects that hydrologic reconnection of the area to an adjacent creek would have on P dynamics. We also examined the influence of climate change, specifically warming temperatures, by conducting the sediment-water exchange experiments at ambient and plus 2°C temperature conditions. Lab-based sediment core incubations revealed that TP release …

Can Fire Atlas Data Improve Species Distribution Model Projections?, Shawn M. Crimmins, Solomon Z. Dobrowski, Alison R. Mynsberge, Hugh D. Safford

Forest Management Faculty Publications

Correlative species distribution models (SDMs) are widely used in studies of climate change impacts, yet are often criticized for failing to incorporate disturbance processes that can influence species distributions. Here we use two temporally independent data sets of vascular plant distributions, climate data, and fire atlas data to examine the influence of disturbance history on SDM projection accuracy through time in the mountain ranges of California, USA. We used hierarchical partitioning to examine the influence of fire occurrence on the distribution of 144 vascular plant species and built a suite of SDMs to examine how the inclusion of fire-related predictors …

Establishment Of Larrea Tridentata At The Northern Edge Of The Modern Mojave Desert: Insights From Neotoma Paleomiddens, Clare E. Steinberg

Biology ETDs

Shifting climates affect the composition of biological communities. If environmental conditions change sufficiently, new species can invade, leading to large-scale community turnover. Understanding how and why such shifts occur is crucial in this era of anthropogenic global change. Paleontological studies provide a valuable long-term perspective of the dynamics of community turnover. Here, we examine changes in the plant community over the past 34 thousand years in what is now the northern Mojave Desert. This time period includes the last glacial maximum as well as numerous smaller climatic fluctuations in the Holocene and the end of the Pleistocene. We quantified plant …

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 …

Commercial Land Grabs Threaten Global Food Ecosystem, Lauren Carasik

Media Presence

No abstract provided.

Assessment Of Climate Variability Impact On Water Resources Within The Alabama River Basin, Adalumo Oluwatomiwa

College of Agriculture, Environment and Nutrition Sciences Graduate Theses and Dissertations

ABSTRACT

Assessment of Climate Variability Impacts on Water Resources within the Alabama River Basin By Adalumo Oluwatomiwa Olubamidele Global climate change and variability alters hydrologic cycles and regimes within watersheds, adversely impacting ecosystems, water resources, agriculture and environmental sustainability. Understanding and predicting the interactions between the water systems, climate change and land use are priority science need and challenge areas. Such assessment through the integration of various climate and hydrologic models will allow for the development of appropriate climate change impact adaptation solutions. This study aims at assessing historical climate variability impacts on water resources within the Alabama River Basin. …

Inferring Herpetofaunal Distributions And Habitat Preferences For Conservation Planning, Lisa M. Prowant

Master's Theses or Doctor of Nursing Practice

Global climate change is a serious threat to global biodiversity (IPCC, 2001). Due to their limited dispersal ability, reptiles and amphibians might be more vulnerable to rapid climate change than are other taxonomic groups (Gibbons et al., 2000). Herpetofauna in south-central Kansas was sampled from May through August in 2012 and 2013. Seven study sites spanning Meade, Clark, Comanche, and Barber counties were sampled. Drift fence and cover-board traps were arranged in transects at each site to capture reptiles and amphibians. Species were also sampled through surveys on all-terrain vehicles and on foot. Two thousand nine hundred and forty five …

Population Response To Climate Change: Wintering Strategy Has Carryover Effects On The Timing Of Nest Initiation And Mate Choice In A Partial Migrant, The American Kestrel (Falco Sparverius), Alexandra Marie Anderson

Boise State University Theses and Dissertations

The ability of a population to respond to climate change will depend on phenotypic plasticity, adaptation, or both. Bird populations have already responded to warming temperatures by shifting their distributions, adjusting migration distance and timing, and breeding earlier. A population of American kestrels (Falco sparverius) in southwestern Idaho has advanced its nesting by approximately 30 days, on average, in the last 30 years and this has been correlated with changes in winter climate. The mechanisms allowing for this shift, however, are not clearly understood. I investigated if assortative mating of wintering kestrels and non-wintering kestrels is accompanying to …

Effects Of Climate Change On The Potential Distribution Of 12 Endemic Lizards Of The Genus Plestiodon Of Mexico, Mayra Oyervides

Theses and Dissertations - UTB/UTPA

Anthropogenic global climate change is a large scale threat to biodiversity. Species distribution models (SDMs) were created to assess the possible effects of climate change on the distribution of 12 Plestiodon lizards of Mexico. Species presence data was obtained from online databases, literature, and field data. Occurrences were correlated with 19 climatic variables from www.worldclim.org to model species' current suitable habitat. These models were then projected to future (2050) conditions for which bioclimatic information was downloaded from the CCAFS website. Forecasts were made using 4 General Circulatory Models, 2 IPCC scenarios, and the software MaxEnt. Models were replicated 10 times …

Range Collapse, Genetic Differentiation, And Climate Change: An Ecological History Of The Diana Fritillary, Speyeria Diana And Projections For Its Future, Carrie Wells

All Dissertations

The geographic ranges of most plant and animal species are tied closely to climatic factors, including temperature, precipitation, and soil moisture. For this reason, recent changes in the global climate due to human activities are predicted to have profound effects on natural populations, communities and ecosystems over a relatively short period of time. Combined effects from global warming and other anthropogenic activities such as land-use changes, pollution, and habitat loss/fragmentation, are altering species' distributions faster than they can be documented. Recent climate change has also been shown to alter species' breeding behaviors and alter the synchrony and timing of species' …

Abiotic Drivers Of Chihuahuan Desert Plant Communities, Laura Marie Ladwig

Biology ETDs

Within grasslands, precipitation, fire, nitrogen (N) addition, and extreme temperatures influence community composition and ecosystem function. The differential influences of these abiotic factors on Chihuahuan Desert grassland communities was examined within the Sevilleta National Wildlife Refuge, located in central New Mexico, U.S.A. Although fire is a natural disturbance in many grasslands, fire during drought temporarily increased forb cover and decreased grass cover for several years. The seasonal timing of fire was not important, rather community recovery was more influenced by the persistent drought conditions. N deposition is increasing worldwide due to human activities, and although additional N increases productivity and …

Implications Of Climate Change On The Distribution Of The Tick Vector Ixodes Scapularis And Risk For Lyme Disease In The Texas-Mexico Transboundary Region, Teresa Patricia Feria-Arroyo, Ivan Castro-Arellano, Guadalupe Gordillo Pérez, Ana L. Cavazos, Margarita Vargas-Sandoval, Abha Grover, Javier Torres, Raul F. Medina, Adalberto A. Pérez De León, Maria Dolores Esteve-Gassent

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

Background: Disease risk maps are important tools that help ascertain the likelihood of exposure to specific infectious agents. Understanding how climate change may affect the suitability of habitats for ticks will improve the accuracy of risk maps of tick-borne pathogen transmission in humans and domestic animal populations. Lyme disease (LD) is the most prevalent arthropod borne disease in the US and Europe. The bacterium Borrelia burgdorferi causes LD and it is transmitted to humans and other mammalian hosts through the bite of infected Ixodes ticks. LD risk maps in the transboundary region between the U.S. and Mexico are lacking. Moreover, …

Sex Ratio Bias And Extinction Risk In An Isolated Population Of Tuatara (Sphenodon Punctatus), Kristine L. Grayson, Nicola J. Mitchell, Joanne M. Monks, Susan N. Keall, Joanna N. Wilson, Nicola J. Nelson

Biology Faculty Publications

Understanding the mechanisms underlying population declines is critical for preventing the extinction of endangered populations. Positive feedbacks can hasten the process of collapse and create an ‘extinction vortex,’ particularly in small, isolated populations. We provide a case study of a male-biased sex ratio creating the conditions for extinction in a natural population of tuatara (Sphenodon punctatus) on North Brother Island in the Cook Strait of New Zealand. We combine data from long term mark-recapture surveys, updated model estimates of hatchling sex ratio, and population viability modeling to measure the impacts of sex ratio skew. Results from the mark-recapture …

Exposure Of U.S. National Parks To Land Use And Climate Change 1900-2100, Andrew J. Hansen, Cory Davis, Jessica Haas, David M. Theobald, John E. Gross, William B. Monahan, Tom Olliff, Steven W. Running

Ecosystem and Conservation Sciences Faculty Publications

Many protected areas may not be adequately safeguarding biodiversity from human activities on surrounding lands and global change. The magnitude of such change agents and the sensitivity of ecosystems to these agents vary among protected areas. Thus, there is a need to assess vulnerability across networks of protected areas to determine those most at risk and to lay the basis for developing effective adaptation strategies. We conducted an assessment of exposure of U.S. National Parks to climate and land use change and consequences for vegetation communities. We first defined park protected-area centered ecosystems (PACEs) based on ecological principles. We then …

Climate Change And Forest Herbs Of Temperate Deciduous Forests, Jesse Bellemare, David A. Moeller

Biological Sciences: Faculty Publications

This chapter reviews what is known about the long-term, large-scale range dynamics of forest herbs in response to past climate change. It presents a new biogeographic analysis investigating how contemporary distribution and diversity patterns among a subset of rare forest herbs may relate to these past climate dynamics. It also discusses how forest herb species may be affected by contemporary climate change and considers options for species conservation.

Snowshoe Hares Display Limited Phenotypic Plasticity To Mismatch In Seasonal Camouflage, Marketa Zimova, L. Scott Mills, Paul M. Lukacs, Michael S. Mitchell

Ecosystem and Conservation Sciences Faculty Publications

As duration of snow cover decreases owing to climate change, species undergoing seasonal colour moults can become colour mismatched with their background. The immediate adaptive solution to this mismatch is phenotypic plasticity, either in phenology of seasonal colour moults or in behaviours that reduce mismatch or its consequences. We observed nearly 200 snowshoe hares across a wide range of snow conditions and two study sites in Montana, USA, and found minimal plasticity in response to mismatch between coat colour and background. We found that moult phenology varied between study sites, likely due to differences in photoperiod and climate, but was …

Post-Den Emergence Behavior And Den Detection Of Polar Bears (Ursus Maritimus) In Northern Alaska And The Southern Beaufort Sea, Rusty Wade Robinson

Theses and Dissertations

Pregnant polar bears (Ursus maritimus) construct maternal dens out of snow in the autumn where they give birth to and raise altricial young. In recent years, there has been a decrease in polar sea ice extent and thickness, which has led to changes in denning behavior. One such change in the southern Beaufort Sea (SBS) is that polar bears are selecting maternal den sites on land, rather than on unstable sea ice. This change, coupled with expanding petroleum exploration along Alaska's North Slope, heightens the likelihood of bear-human interactions at maternal den sites. The purpose of this research …

Hydrologic And Erosion Responses To Wildfire Along The Rangeland-Xeric Forest Continuum In The Western Us: A Review And Model Of Hydrologic Vulnerability, Christopher Jason Williams, Frederick B. Pierson, Peter R. Robichaud, Jan Boll

Articles

The recent increase in wildfire activity across the rangeland–xeric forest continuum in the western United States has landscape-scale consequences in terms of runoff and erosion. Concomitant cheatgrass (Bromus tectorum L.) invasions, plant community transitions and a warming climate in recent decades along grassland–shrubland–woodland–xeric forest transitions have promoted frequent and large wildfires, and continuance of the trend appears likely if warming climate conditions prevail. These changes potentially increase overall hydrologic vulnerability by spatially and temporally increasing soil exposure to runoff and erosion processes. Plot and hillslope-scale studies demonstrate burning may increase event runoff or erosion by factors of 2–40 over …

How Important Is Land-Based Foraging To Polar Bears (Ursus Maritimus) During The Ice-Free Season In Western Hudson Bay? An Examination Of Dietary Shifts, Compositional Patterns, Behavioral Observations And Energetic Contributions, Linda J. Gormezano

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Trophic mismatches between predators and their prey are increasing as climate change causes decoupling of phenological relationships. Predators linked to the life histories of a particular prey will have a more difficult time persisting through environmental change unless they can alter their behavior to maintain the historical match or possess the ability to pursue alternate prey. Arctic predators typically possess flexible foraging strategies to survive in the labile environment, however, quantifying the limits of those strategies can be difficult when life history information is incomplete. In such cases, piecing together different aspects of a predator's foraging behavior, particularly when environmental …

Migration Plasticity As An Adaptation To Climate Change: The Spatial Distribution And Abundance Of A Subset Of Neotropical Migrant Landbirds Wintering In The Northeastern United States, Juliette Goulet

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

There is a need for accurate predictions of the effects of climate change on wildlife populations. Bioclimatic relationships however are potentially complicated by various environmental factors operating at multiple spatial and temporal scales. Therefore, in order to test the hypothesis that climate constraints of winter bird distributions are modified by species-specific responses to weather and climate, I relied on Christmas Bird Count data (CBC). With nearly 100 years of data, the CBC is a valuable source of information on historic and recent changes in the status and distribution of birds during the early winter period in the United States and …

Management For Mountain Pine Beetle Outbreak Suppression: Does Relevant Science Support Current Policy?, Diana Six, Eric Biber, Elisabeth Long

Ecosystem and Conservation Sciences Faculty Publications

While the use of timber harvests is generally accepted as an effective approach to controlling bark beetles during outbreaks, in reality there has been a dearth of monitoring to assess outcomes, and failures are often not reported. Additionally, few studies have focused on how these treatments affect forest structure and function over the long term, or our forests’ ability to adapt to climate change. Despite this, there is a widespread belief in the policy arena that timber harvesting is an effective and necessary tool to address beetle infestations. That belief has led to numerous proposals for, and enactment of, significant …

Religion, Partisanship, And Attitudes Toward Science Policy, Ted G. Jelen, Linda A. Lockett

Political Science Faculty Research

We examine issues involving science which have been contested in recent public debate. These “contested science” issues include human evolution, stem-cell research, and climate change. We find that few respondents evince consistently skeptical attitudes toward science issues, and that religious variables are generally strong predictors of attitudes toward individual issues. Furthermore, and contrary to analyses of elite discourse, partisan identification is not generally predictive of attitudes toward contested scientific issues.

Warming, Soil Moisture, And Loss Of Snow Increase Bromus Tectorum’S Population Growth Rate, Aldo Compagnoni, Peter B. Adler

Green Canyon Environmental Research Area, Logan Utah

Climate change threatens to exacerbate the impacts of invasive species. In temperate ecosystems, direct effects of warming may be compounded by dramatic reductions in winter snow cover. Cheatgrass (Bromus tectorum) is arguably the most destructive biological invader in basins of the North American Intermountain West, and warming could increase its performance through direct effects on demographic rates or through indirect effects mediated by loss of snow. We conducted a two-year experimental manipulation of temperature and snow pack to test whether 1) warming increases cheatgrass population growth rate and 2) reduced snow cover contributes to cheatgrass’ positive response to …

On The Challenges Of Modeling The Net Radiative Forcing Of Wetlands: Reconsidering Mitsch Et Al. 2013, Scott C. Neubauer

Biology Publications

Wetlands play a role in regulating global climate by removing carbon dioxide (CO2) from the atmosphere and sequestering it as soil carbon, and by emitting methane (CH4) and nitrous oxide (N2O) to the atmosphere. In a recent article in this journal (Mitsch et al. Landscape Ecol 28:583–597, 2013), CO2 sequestration and CH4 emissions were modeled for several freshwater wetlands that vary in vegetation type, climate, and hydrology. The authors of that study made significant errors that caused them to underestimate the importance of wetland CH4 emissions on climate dynamics. Here, I reanalyze the Mitsch et al. dataset and show that …

Effects Of River Current Inflow On Dissolved Oxygen And Temperature Of Refuge Zones For Cisco In Lake Bemidji, Bryant C. Swenson

Journal of Earth and Life Science

The objectives of this study were to (1) determine if the inflow current from the Mississippi River affects temperature and dissolved oxygen in Lake Bemidji, (2) determine how the amount of suitable cisco Coregonus artedi habitat changes over the summer in Lake Bemidji, and (3) predict how much cisco habitat would be available under a climate warming scenario. Summer fish kill of cisco occurs in most years on Lake Bemidji resulting from low dissolved oxygen in the hypolimnion and high water temperatures in the epilimnion. Dissolved oxygen and temperature profiles provided evidence to suggest the north basin is more suitable …