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Articles 1 - 16 of 16
Full-Text Articles in Animal Sciences
Hummingbird Diversity, Abundance, And Feeding Interactions Across Three Floral Communities On Mount Totumas, Chiriquí, Panamá, Zachary Ginn
Hummingbird Diversity, Abundance, And Feeding Interactions Across Three Floral Communities On Mount Totumas, Chiriquí, Panamá, Zachary Ginn
Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection
(Trochilidae) are a large Neotropical bird family of nectar-feeders that have evolved as pollinators of many Neotropical plants. Interactions between hummingbirds and plants form mutualistic networks that may change in structure over environmental and anthropogenic gradients. While the unique dynamics of hummingbird diversity and floral interactions have been studied throughout the Neotropics, differing drivers between locations emphasizes the need for further local research. This deficit is especially crucial in biodiverse and understudied locations like the Western Highlands of Panamá. In this study, I investigated how hummingbird diversity, abundance, and floral interactions differed between Cloud Forest, Garden, and Oak Forest on …
The Nesting Behavior Of Russet-Backed Oropendola On Sumak Allpa, Ecuador: An Analysis Of Nest Construction And Interactions With Competing Species, Claire Molina
Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection
Nests are the literal place of birth of bird species; they are incredibly important in the survival and reproduction of populations. Therefore, nesting behavior is a gateway into the lives and success of the animals. With the degradation of natural landscapes due to human activity, there is more of a need to monitor these nests to ensure healthy inhabitants. The Russet-backed Oropendola (Psarocolius angustifrons) creates unique, pendulous nests that are subject to piracy, parasitism, and predation; as well as weather phenomenon’s such as wind and rainstorms. This study describes the nest construction behavior, nest materials and nest architecture by collecting …
The Role Of Frugivorous Birds As Seed Dispersers: Feeding Selection And Preference Of Madagascar’S Avian Frugivores In Analamazaotra Forest, Thaddeus Bashaw
The Role Of Frugivorous Birds As Seed Dispersers: Feeding Selection And Preference Of Madagascar’S Avian Frugivores In Analamazaotra Forest, Thaddeus Bashaw
Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection
Madagascar is a country rich in floral and faunal diversity. However, anthropogenic habitat destruction and climate change increasingly threaten its biodiversity. Endozoochorous plants that dependent on frugivory for seed dispersal are under threat due to increasing rates of localized extinctions of frugivorous lemurs, the primary seed dispersers of the island. While lemurs are the islands most abundant frugivores, other frugivorous vertebrates like birds and bats likely play a significant role in seed dispersal, although this role is still poorly understood. This study, conducted in Analamazaotra forest, compares the rates of visitation and consumption of six endemic fruiting tree species by …
Sacred Scavengers: Vulture Conservation In Nepal, Hans Nedde
Sacred Scavengers: Vulture Conservation In Nepal, Hans Nedde
Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection
In the 1990s, a veterinary drug used to treat pain and disease in cattle nearly brought the nine vulture species of Nepal to extinction. In a span of 15 years, over 97% of vultures in Nepal perished. For the past 20 years, governments, organizations, and communities have been working together to save these vital scavengers from vanishing. From the lowlands to the Himalayas, vultures have been interacting with the environment and humans for millennia. This study explores the role that vultures play both ecologically and culturally in Nepal. It investigates vultures as a crucial ecological influence and how human action …
Investigating The Impact Of Land Use On Avian Diversity And Abundance In Areas Surrounding Mabamba Swamp, Uganda, Sydney Marie Jones
Investigating The Impact Of Land Use On Avian Diversity And Abundance In Areas Surrounding Mabamba Swamp, Uganda, Sydney Marie Jones
Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection
The primary objective of this study was to investigate the impact of wetland-adjacent land use on avian species richness and abundance areas surrounding Mabamba Swamp, Uganda. Four types of land use were investigated: Eucalyptus plantations, wetland-edge agricultural fields, residential areas, and mature secondary forests. A total of 40-morning point counts were conducted for ten days in late November and late December of 2021. One-way ANOVA tests and Tukey’s HSD tests revealed significant differences in mean avian richness and abundance between all sites except residential areas and Nkima Forest. Additionally, Nkima Forest was found to contain the most number of specialist …
Bird Diversity In The Ecuadorian Chocó: A Proposal For Avitourism In Villaflora And Manduriacu Reserve, Elizabeth Kroger
Bird Diversity In The Ecuadorian Chocó: A Proposal For Avitourism In Villaflora And Manduriacu Reserve, Elizabeth Kroger
Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection
Ecuador is rich in avifauna, and the Chocó bioregion of Northwestern Ecuador is a hotspot for bird endemism and diversity. However, many rare and beautiful species are threatened by human activities such as logging and mining. It is essential that communities are able to find alternative solutions that bring economic benefits and improve public health. Avitourism is an economically beneficial and environmentally friendly solution. This study examined avifaunal biodiversity in Villaflora and Manduriacu Reserve, a small town in the cloud forest of the Chocó region. Point counts on pre-existing trails were used to assess bird communities as well as search …
An Apex Predator In Peril In The Western Lowlands Of Ecuador: Mapping The Population Distribution Of Harpy Eagles (Harpia Harpyja) In A Highly Deforested Region, Samuel Zhang
Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection
The Harpy Eagle (Harpia harpyja) is a highly threatened bird of prey in Ecuador. While they are already elusive in the Ecuadorian Amazon, they are even lesser known in the coastal lowlands, and their existence is threatened by rapid deforestation. This study mapped their potential distribution by examining satellite images to find intact humid forest, their ideal habitat. Habitat areas were quantified using ImageJ. The only sites found to be adequate for sustaining Harpy Eagle populations were the primary forests in the vicinities of Reserva Ecológica Mache Chindul and Reserva Ecológica Cotacachi Cayapas. The two reserves are expected to be …
Andean Condor Cliff And Parental Care Behavior: A Behavioral Study Of A Chick And His Free-Living Parents On The Peñón Del Isco, Ecuador, Ellie Cohn
Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection
Andean condors (Vultur gryphus) are a Near Threatened species of New World Vulture found throughout the Andes region of South America. Their population has been significantly diminished in the country of Ecuador due to threats primarily related to habitat loss and persecution by humans. High chick and juvenile mortality also threaten populations and as a result, investigation of wild Andean condors’ cliff behavior and parental care are necessary in order to develop informed and effective conservation management plans. A 22-day observational study was conducted, monitoring a known breeding pair of Andean condors and their approximately three-month-old male chick on the …
Cambios En El Cronograma De Temporadas Reproductivas De Pingüinos De Magallanes (Spheniscus Magellanicus): Relaciones Entre Eventos Fenológicos Y Variables Climáticas, Grace Neumiller
Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection
Estudios a largo plazo han demostrado que hay fluctuaciones a lo largo de la fenología de la vida silvestre a causa de los cambios climáticos (Black, 2016). Los pingüinos de Magallanes (Spheniscus magellanicus) exhiben cambios en el cronograma de los eventos fenológicos de sus temporadas reproductivas a causa de variables oceanográficas y climáticas de su ambiente. A partir de fotos de cámaras trampas, este trabajo describe y analice algunos eventos en la fenología de los pingüinos de Magallanes en Isla Martillo, Canal Beagle, Tierra del Fuego, Argentina: el inicio de la temporada reproductiva, el periodo de muda de pichones, y …
Trends In Nectar Production And Concentration Of Hummingbird-Pollinated Flowers: An Investigation Of Three Flowers Of The Ecuadorian Cloud Forest: Palicourea Demissa, Mezobromelia Capituligera, And Kohleria Affinis, Grace Palmer
Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection
Nectar concentration and sugar production both impact and are impacted by pollinator activity through a complex system of coevolution. Additionally, a variety of morphological and environmental factors influence the nectar properties of animal-pollinated flowering plants. Nectar concentration and nectar production rate (NPR) of three hummingbird-pollinated plants, Palicourea demissa, Mezobromelia capituligera, and Kohleria affinis, were measured. These flowers occur and were studied in the southern section of the Chocó-Andean subtropical montane rainforest, in the Pichincha province of Ecuador. Flowers were bagged for 24 hours and sampled at approximate two-hour time intervals for 12 or 24 hours. Nectar concentration and sugar production …
Quiscalus Mexicanus Vocalization Pitch And Traffic Noise In Breeding Populations Along The Cinta Costera Highway And In Downtown Gamboa, Panamá, Benjamin P. Gregory
Quiscalus Mexicanus Vocalization Pitch And Traffic Noise In Breeding Populations Along The Cinta Costera Highway And In Downtown Gamboa, Panamá, Benjamin P. Gregory
Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection
Urbanization is one of the fastest-growing threats to the biodiversity of the planet, but not all animals are extirpated by the drastic environmental changes of urbanization, and many are even able to thrive in urban landscapes. Behavioral flexibility is often cited as one reason that successful urban animals can so rapidly adapt to a foreign environment with novel stressors. A well-studied example of urban behavioral flexibility is urban-living birds singing with higher-frequency songs in areas with high levels of traffic noise. The present study investigated this trend in Quiscalus mexicanus, an icterid bird with a huge vocal range, highly sexually …
Iceland's Migratory Birds In Changing Environmental Conditions: An Interactive Synthesis, Frances J. Duncan
Iceland's Migratory Birds In Changing Environmental Conditions: An Interactive Synthesis, Frances J. Duncan
Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection
Human-driven changes to environmental conditions alter the habitats, behaviors, and migration patterns of migratory species. Changes in temperature, vegetation, and precipitation are just some of the factors contributing to shifts in phenology, demography, and distribution of migratory birds. These changes are driven by anthropogenic climate change and amplified by human land-use change, and are especially intense at high latitudes. This project creatively communicates the effects of environmental changes on three species of migratory birds in Iceland—the northern wheatear, the Greenland white-fronted goose, and the black-tailed godwit—using principles of storytelling and game design. The resulting interactive product is a game that …
Avian Upsloping In The Tropics: Myioborus Miniatus And Myioborus Torquatus Abundance In Different Altitudinal Ranges In Boquete, Chiriquí, Panama, Julie Yoon
Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection
Direct and indirect effects of warming global temperatures due to climate change are known to cause upwards shifts of the altitudinal ranges of some avian species. Most susceptible to this trend and at risk of riding the “escalator to extinction” are endemic species in tropical montane cloud forests, such as Myioborus torquatus. There are abiotic factors, like temperature, and biotic interactions, such as the presence of its altitudinal neighbor Myioborus miniatus, that limit the altitudinal range of this bird species in the Neotropics. This study measured abundance of M. miniatus and M. torquatus populations at different altitudinal ranges by point …
Impacts Of Anthropogenic Waste On Tasmanian Pacific Gull (Larus Pacificus) Diet, Anne Bartlett
Impacts Of Anthropogenic Waste On Tasmanian Pacific Gull (Larus Pacificus) Diet, Anne Bartlett
Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection
Plastic pollution is one of the foremost environmental issues that the world is currently experiencing. The effects of plastic pollution are great and range from leaching of hazardous chemicals into the environment to ingestion of plastic waste by wildlife, including seabirds. Due to the high rates of plastic consumption by seabirds, many recent studies have been performed to determine the biological impacts of plastic consumption on various seabird species. The Pacific Gull (Larus pacificus) is the world’s largest sea gull and the only gull endemic to Australia, yet very limited information exists on this species. This study examines the impacts …
The Ecology Of The Usambara Double-Collared Sunbird (Cinnyris Usambaricus), Sarah Lueder
The Ecology Of The Usambara Double-Collared Sunbird (Cinnyris Usambaricus), Sarah Lueder
Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection
The ecology of the endemic Usambara Double-collared Sunbird (Cinnyris usambaricus) was investigated in the surrounding areas of and within Mazumbai Forest Reserve in the Lushoto District of Tanzania. As there is little known concerning the ecology of the species, this study sought to illuminate multiple aspects of their behavior and interactions. Over fourteen days (November 2nd-November 21st), the abundance of the species, their nesting behavior, their habitat preferences, their vocalizations, their diet, and their aggressive behaviors were observed and then analyzed. It was determined the species’ activity likely peaks in the early morning, their nesting is similar to other species …
Avian Diversity Across Three Distinct Agricultural Landscapes In Guadalupe, Chiriquí Highlands, Panama, Jarred Jones
Avian Diversity Across Three Distinct Agricultural Landscapes In Guadalupe, Chiriquí Highlands, Panama, Jarred Jones
Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection
Deforestation of tropical forest for agricultural purposes threatens habitat loss of native species. The value of various agricultural landscapes in conserving avian populations is useful in determining diversity-conscious development plans. However, generalized results from regionalscale studies cannot be implemented to insular avian habitats. This study serves as the only current avian diversity study of the Chiriquí Highlands. To determine the effect of agricultural land use within an insular avian habitat, I compared avian diversity and site population similarity in Guadalupe, Chiriquí Highlands of the Talamanca Range, Panama. I hypothesized that avian diversity is greatest at forest edge followed by forest …