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Animal Sciences Commons

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Biodiversity

Eastern Washington University

Theses/Dissertations

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Full-Text Articles in Animal Sciences

Differentiating The Effects Of Two Non-Native Fish In The Turnbull National Wildlife Refuge, Sarah Richardson Jan 2022

Differentiating The Effects Of Two Non-Native Fish In The Turnbull National Wildlife Refuge, Sarah Richardson

EWU Masters Thesis Collection

This study seeks to determine the individual effects of two non-native fish, the brook stickleback, Culaea inconstans, and pumpkinseed, Lepomis gibbosus, on the aquatic invertebrates and food webs of Turnbull National Wildlife Refuge (TNWR). Ten ponds were analyzed and compared with stable isotope analysis and invertebrate abundance data. Three ponds were chosen to represent each of the following categories: fishless, brook stickleback invaded (BS), and coinvaded, along with a single pumpkinseed (PS) pond. Overall, δ[superscript]13C and δ[superscript]15N values increased in invaded ponds, indicating shifts in the zooplankton community structure and the carbon source of predatory invertebrates. Mean δ[superscript]13C was the …


Measuring Variation In Body Morphology And Life History Traits In Brook Stickleback (Culaea Inconstans), Eastern Washington, Usa, Lily Crytser Jan 2020

Measuring Variation In Body Morphology And Life History Traits In Brook Stickleback (Culaea Inconstans), Eastern Washington, Usa, Lily Crytser

EWU Masters Thesis Collection

For freshwater ecosystems, invasive species are considered a major threat to biodiversity, and pose a challenge to those attempting to advance management strategies aimed at conserving natural populations. An invasive species’ ability to successfully invade a new ecosystem may be influenced by phenotypic plasticity, flexibility of life history traits, and the ability to migrate/disperse, among other factors. Brook stickleback (Culaea inconstans) have been a concern in eastern Washington since 1999 when they were discovered in water bodies on Turnbull National Wildlife Refuge. The purpose of this project was to describe potential variation in body morphology traits between systems that differed …