Animal Sciences Commons^™

It’S All About Fishing: Robert Ellis Jenkins (1940-2023) And His Life Among Freshwater Fishes Of Virginia And The Redhorse Suckers, Eric J. Hilton

Southeastern Fishes Council Proceedings

Robert (Bob) Ellis Jenkins passed away in Salem, Virginia, on Wednesday, July 12, 2023. Bob was born February 9, 1940 in Brooklyn, New York. As a child, Bob took an early interest in natural history, and was a particularly avid fisherman. He attended Roanoke College (Salem, VA) as an undergraduate and entered into a Masters degree program at Virginia Tech (Blacksburg, VA), only to leave before finishing for a position at the NOAA Systematics Lab based at the Smithsonian Institution’s National Museum of Natural History. He eventually became faculty at his alma mater, Roanoke College, where he would spend virtually …

Morphological Differences Align With Habitat Partitioning Among Three Species Of Percina (Percidae: Actinopterygii) In The Roanoke River, Virginia, Michael M. Calvert, Steven L. Powers

Southeastern Fishes Council Proceedings

The upper Roanoke River has three species of Percina (P. nevisense, Chainback Darter; P. roanoka, Roanoke Darter; and P. rex, Roanoke Logperch). Resource partitioning appears to be a key component of maintaining diverse fish assemblages with habitat and food partitioning cited as especially important in communities containing members of the same family. Some aspects of the diets of these species have been documented in the literature with only modest differences among them. Microhabitat data for adults of these species have also been published revealing differences in habitat occupied by each with P. roanoka living in the fastest, shallowest …

Microplastics Exposure In At-Risk Myotis Lucifugus Bats Of The Northeastern United States, Leah Crowley

Chancellor’s Honors Program Projects

No abstract provided.

Conservation Status Assessment Of The Egg-Mimic Darter (Percidae: Etheostoma Pseudovulatum) Using A Multi-Faceted Approach, Zachary L. Wolf, John W. Johansen, Rebecca E. Blanton

Southeastern Fishes Council Proceedings

The imperiled Egg-mimic Darter (Etheostoma pseudovulatum) is a headwater-adapted fish restricted to an area less than 1000 km² in Tennessee. It is found in only six tributaries of the Duck River and the large, mainstem of this system may act as a barrier to dispersal, restricting population connectivity. The only status assessment of this species was over two decades ago; genetic diversity and the degree of population connectivity have never been evaluated. We conducted a conservation status assessment using a multi-faceted approach to better inform conservation management plans, including examining its current distribution, assessing habitat quality, estimating …

Professor Edward Drinker Cope’S Travels Through North Carolina, August–December 1869: Insights From The Transcriptions And Annotations Of Letters To His Father And His Contributions To North Carolina Ichthyology, Bryn H. Tracy, Robert E. Jenkins

Southeastern Fishes Council Proceedings

Since 1870, ichthyologists have pondered Edward Drinker Cope’s two publications: “On some Etheostomine Perch from Tennessee and North Carolina” and “A Partial Synopsis of the Fishes of the Fresh Waters of North Carolina”, along with correspondences to his father while traveling in North Carolina. We transcribed and annotated four of his letters searching for further knowledge regarding his field notebook(s) and original data (meristics, morphometrics, life coloration, etc.) from his travels across NC during Summer and Fall of 1869. However, unresolved questions remained - many related to unaccounted for periods of time. We did not achieve insights into …

Summer Foraging Range And Diurnal Roost Selection Of Tri-Colored Bats, Perimyotis Subflavus., Dustin Bradley Thames

Masters Theses

Tri-colored bat populations are declining in eastern North America where the fungal pathogen Pseudogymnoascus destructans has been introduced. The pathogen causes disease and mortality in cave hibernating bats. Once considered a common species in Tennessee, tri-colored bats are now being considered for protection under the Endangered Species Act. There is a paucity of research examining the basic ecology of tri-colored bats. Research to fill these knowledge gaps is needed to inform conservation plans and to define critical habitat. The first objective of my research was to characterize the summer diurnal roosts of tri-colored bats and to examine roost selection at …

An Annotated Atlas Of The Freshwater Fishes Of North Carolina, Bryn H. Tracy, Fred C. Rohde, Gabriela M. Hogue

Southeastern Fishes Council Proceedings

North Carolina’s first state-specific checklist of freshwater fish species was published in 1709 by John Lawson. Subsequent species lists with descriptions included: Brickell (1737), Cope (1870a), Jordan (1889a), Jordan and Evermann (1896-1900), Smith (1907), Jordan et al. (1930), Fowler (1945), Louder (1962), Ratledge et al. (1966), Menhinick et al. (1974). In 1991, Menhinick published “The Freshwater Fishes of North Carolina”, which is still widely in use because a comprehensive update has not been produced since its publication. The increase in the availability of historical records in globally accessible databases and the surge of collections post-1991 …

Status Of The Blackstripe (Fundulus Notatus) And Blackspotted (F. Olivaceus) Topminnows In The Ozark Uplands Of Central Missouri, Nathaniel Steffensmeier, Naznin Sultana Remex, Robert Hrabik, David D. Duvernell

Southeastern Fishes Council Proceedings

The topminnow species Fundulus notatus and F. olivaceus have broadly overlapping geographic distributions that extend throughout much of the central and southern United States. In the northern portion of their respective ranges, in Missouri, the regional distributions of the two species coincide largely with recognized ecoregions. In the unglaciated southern half of Missouri, F. olivaceus is distributed throughout Ozark upland habitats while F. notatus is abundant in marginal large river and prairie habitats along the Ozark borders. An exception to this partitioning is the historical report of abundant F. notatus in the Bourbeuse and upper Meramec River drainages within the …

Use Of Dead Mussel Shells By Madtom Catfishes In The Green River, Jacob F. Brumley, Philip W. Lienesch

Southeastern Fishes Council Proceedings

The Green River in Kentucky has high fish and macroinvertebrate diversity. As both fish and macroinvertebrates have evolved together in this system, relationships have developed between species. One type of relationship that has been observed is between madtom catfishes (Noturus spp.) and mussels in the Green River, where madtoms use dead mussel shells as cover when not actively foraging. In the fall of 2016 and 2017, surveys were conducted to determine if madtom catfishes use dead mussel shells more than rocks of similar size. We predicted that madtoms would select mussel shells as cover more frequently than rocks due …

Outperformed: Exploration And Comparison Of The Tongue-And-Cheek Tragedies Of Women-Animal Relationships In Selected Short Stories By Samanta Schweblin And In Apichatpong Weerasethakul’S Film, Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives, Sawnie Smith

Vernacular: New Connections in Language, Literature, & Culture

The unsettling short stories that comprise Samanta Schweblin’s 2008 collection Pájaros en la boca are textured and populated by the flesh of not only humans, but also the skins of species that belong to a wider zoological and mythical scope. Those creatures in Schweblin’s literary output who possess scales, feathers, and wings find themselves variously rubbing up against, crushed under, and orally engulfed by human dermis. This essay seeks to explore the charge of gender politics that courses through interactions between human women and (demi-) animals in two short stories from this collection: “El hombre sirena” and “Olingiris”—animal contact with …

First Report Of A Population Of Western Blacknose Dace (Rhinichthys Obtusus) In The Brushy Creek System Of The Black Warrior River Drainage, Alabama, Eric Bauer, Malorie M. Hayes

Southeastern Fishes Council Proceedings

Alabama is home to the southernmost populations of Rhinichthys obtusus, the Western Blacknose Dace. Within Alabama, R. obtusus is found in the Tennessee, Coosa, and Black Warrior River basins, but its presence in the Black Warrior River drainage has been limited. Until now, R. obtusus in the Black Warrior drainage has only been reported as collections of 1 to 4 specimens at a time in the Sipsey Fork drainage. Herein, we report two novel occurrences of R. obtusus in the headwaters of the Brushy Creek system in the Black Warrior River drainage including a singleton and a large population. …

Life-History Aspects Of Chrosomus Oreas (Mountain Redbelly Dace) In Catawba Creek, Virginia, Dezarai Thompson, Shelby Hargrave, Gregory Morgan, Steven L. Powers

Southeastern Fishes Council Proceedings

Life-history aspects of Chrosomus oreas, Mountain Redbelly Dace, were identified using specimens collected monthly from Catawba Creek in Roanoke County, Virginia. Chrosomus oreas were found in depths up to 63.3 cm with a modest relationship between abundance and depth. The largest specimen examined was a female 64.68 mm standard length, 4.80 g eviscerated weight, and 36 months of age. The oldest specimens examined were 37 months of age suggesting a maximum lifespan of approximately three years. Spawning appears to occur from April to early July, with a mean of 243 oocytes (SD = 178) up to 1.61 mm diameter …

Health Assessment Of Two Reintroduced Populations Of American Martens (Martes Americana) In Michigan, Maria Catherine Spriggs

Doctoral Dissertations

The American marten (Martes americana) was extirpated from Michigan during the early-20th century due to loss of vast areas of mature conifer forest and unregulated trapping. The species was reintroduced into the Upper Peninsula (UP) and Northern Lower Peninsula (NLP) during the mid-20th century. While the American marten population in the UP has grown and is doing well, the population in the NLP has been less successful. The reasons for the limited success of the NLP population are unknown, but may include lack of suitable habitat, limited reproductive success, poor genetic diversity, disease, or negative environmental impacts. American …

Rare Occurrences Of Free-Living Bacteria Belonging To Sedimenticola From Subtidal Seagrass Beds Associated With The Lucinid Clam, Stewartia Floridana, Aaron M. Goemann

Masters Theses

Lucinid clams and their sulfur-oxidizing endosymbionts comprise two compartments of a three-stage, biogeochemical relationship among the clams, seagrasses, and microbial communities in marine sediments. A population of the lucinid clam, Stewartia floridana, was sampled from a subtidal seagrass bed at Bokeelia Island Seaport in Florida to test the hypotheses: (1) S. floridana, like other lucinids, are more abundant in seagrass beds than bare sediments; (2) S. floridana gill microbiomes are dominated by one bacterial operational taxonomic unit (OTU) at a sequence similarity threshold level of 97% (a common cutoff for species level taxonomy) from 16S rRNA genes; …

Development And Evaluation Of Novel Vaccination Strategies For Campylobacter Control In Poultry, Xiang Liu

Masters Theses

Chicken is the primary natural host of Campylobacter, the leading bacterial cause of human enteritis in the US and other developed countries. Thus, mitigation of Campylobacter in chicken using innovative approaches, such as vaccination, will have a significant impact on food safety and public health. Our previous studies have demonstrated that the two outer membrane proteins, CmeC (the essential component of the CmeABC multi-drug efflux pump) and CfrA (a ferric enterobactin receptor), are feasible candidates for immune intervention against Campylobacter. DNA vaccine has appeared to offer various advantages for poultry, particularly when combined with in ovo vaccination. Chitosan-encapsulated …

Evolution Of Acquiescence To Manipulation, Mauricio González-Forero

Doctoral Dissertations

A productive framework to study phenotypic evolution is based on the notion of ``inclusive fitness'', which considers how an individual's phenotype affects the fitness of other individuals. A promising extension of the notion of inclusive fitness is that of the ``extended phenotype'', which considers how an individual's phenotype affects its environment, including the phenotype of other individuals. Affecting another individual's phenotype is sometimes referred to as manipulation (which introduces indirect genetic effects). However, manipulated individuals may evolve resistance to manipulation, possibly reducing or eliminating the manipulated behavior (and the indirect genetic effects). In this dissertation I use mathematical modeling to …

Geographic Variation In The Lower Temperature Tolerance In The Invasive Brown Anole, Anolis Sagrei And The Native Green Anole, Anolis Carolinensis (Sauria: Polychrotidae), Laura Carolina Maria Rubio

Masters Theses

Invasive species are considered to be the second greatest threat to native biodiversity and several factors have been identified as contributing to the success of introduced species, including their initial genetic variation and the ability of populations to adapt to a new environment. Temperature has a significant impact on reptilian ecology and distribution since they ordinarily rely on external heat sources for the maintenance of body temperatures suitable for normal activity. Body temperature affects performance in these organisms given its importance for all aspects of behavior, locomotion, courtship and rates of feeding and growth. Critical thermal tolerances can, therefore, give …

Identifying The Spatial Distribution Of Three Plethodontid Salamanders In Great Smoky Mountains National Park Using Two Habitat Modeling Methods, Matthew Stephen Kookogey

Masters Theses

The main objective was to create habitat models of three plethodontid salamander species (Desmognathus conanti, D. ocoee, and Plethodon jordani) in GSMNP. To investigate the relationships between salamanders and their habitats, I used three models—logistic regression with use-availability sampling, logistic regression with case-control sampling, and Mahalanobis distance (D²)—for each species to gain a robust view of the relationships. The secondary objective was to compare the different modeling methods within and across the three species. Elevation was the dominant variable for all three species.

D² for D. conanti predicted low elevations, close proximity …

Capture-Recapture Of White-Tailed Deer Using Dna Sampling From Fecal Pellet-Groups, Matthew James Goode

Masters Theses

Reliable density estimates of game and keystone species such as white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) are desirable to set proper management strategies and for evaluating those strategies over time. However, traditional methods for estimating white-tailed deer density have been inhibited by behavior, densely forested areas that can hamper observation (detection), and invalid techniques of estimating effective trapping area. We wanted to evaluate a noninvasive method of mark-recapture estimation using DNA extracted from fecal pellets as the individual marker and for gender determination, coupled with a spatial detection function to estimate density (Spatially Explicit Capture-Recapture, SECR). We collected pellet groups …

An Evaluation Of Population Estimators And Forage Availability And Nutritional Quality For White-Tailed Deer In Tennessee, Jared Tyler Beaver

Masters Theses

Given the white-tailed deer’s (Odocoileus virginianus; deer) popularity and potentially negative impact on forested systems; Arnold Air Force Base (AAFB) in Tullahoma, Tennessee, USA has made minimizing negative deer impacts on biodiversity a priority. To address these management issues, I initiated a study on AAFB to investigate deer survey techniques and the effects of deer density on forage availability across vegetative communities.

Current use of infrared-triggered cameras (camera) for estimating deer populations does not provide a measure of precision critical for density estimation. I conducted a camera survey for deer in Wildlife Management Area (WMA) Units 1 and …

The Small Indian Mongoose (Herpestes Auropunctatus) On Adriatic Islands: Impact, Evolution, And Control, Arijana Barun

Doctoral Dissertations

ABSTRACT

One cause of declines and extinctions of island species is carnivore introduction. Four carnivores, including the small Indian mongoose (Herpestes auropunctatus), are on the IUCN’s list of 100 of the World's Worst Invasive Alien Species. My thesis summarizes global patterns of carnivore introductions and examines ecological, evolutionary, and management impacts of this mongoose. I study abundances of reptiles and amphibians on mongoose-infested and mongoose-free islands in the Adriatic Sea to determine if factors other than mongoose presence can account for abundance differences. For several reptiles and amphibians, the mongoose is implicated as causing differences. Additionally, I …

Impacts Of Predation Risk And Development On Susceptibility Of North American Anurans To Ranaviruses, Nathan Alden Haislip

Masters Theses

For over three decades, amphibian populations have been declining across the globe. Emerging infectious diseases are responsible for some of these declines. Ranaviruses have caused die-offs in wild amphibian populations on 4 continents, in 5 Canadian provinces, and in over 25 U.S. states. In order to understand host-pathogen dynamics, it is critical to establish baseline information on species susceptibility and the effects of natural stressors. The goal of my thesis research was to quantify the effects of anuran development and exposure to invertebrate predators on species-specific susceptibility to ranavirus. My experiments were designed in factorial arrangements, and consisted of exposure …

Four Aspects Of Dogwood Pollination: Insect Visitation, A Novel Approach To Identify Pollen, Floral Volatile Emission, And Tracking Parentage, Paul Raymond Rhoades

Masters Theses

Part 1: Visitation of potential pollinators to Cornus florida and C. kousa flowers was assessed in East Tennessee in 2008 and 2009. Data regarding insect visitation rates to multiple trees per location were gathered throughout the flowering period. Diurnal and seasonal variations in visitation were recorded. Pollen coverage was assessed on portions of captured insect exoskeletons that were most likely to contact the stigma. Eleven families in four insect orders were collected from C. florida and 26 families in five orders from C. kousa. The most important pollinators in eastern Tennessee were bees in the Andrenidae and Halictidae. The most …

Distribution Of Fishes And Changes In Biotic Integrity In The New River, Tennessee, R. Brian Evans

Masters Theses

Electrofishing samples of fishes were obtained from forty-two localities in the New River system, Tennessee during summer and fall 1996. Eight of forty-two species collected represent new records from the New River: Notropis telescopus, Moxostoma macrolepidotum breviceps, M. carinatum, Lepomis auritus, L. gulosus, L. microlophus, Etheostoma cinereum, and Stizostedion vitreum. Temporal changes in the distribution of fishes were detected by comparing historical collection records with fish samples from 1996. Older records were also employed in the compilation of a modified index of biotic integrity (IBI) that was used to assess changes in fish assemblage health during the past twenty …

Fish Fauna Of The Upper Cumberland River Drainage In Tennessee, John T. Baxter

Masters Theses

This thesis reports the findings of an ichthyofaunal survey of the upper Cumberland River drainage in Scott, Campbell, and Claiborne counties, Tennessee. This drainage lies on the Cumberland Plateau in northeastern Tennessee and has been impacted by extensive coal mining activity in the region. Present in the drainage are five listed species of primary concern to this study, Phoxinus cumberlandensis, Ericymba buccata, Notropis rubellus rubellus, Etheostoma baileyi, and Etheostoma sagitta. An additional species found in this drainage, Etheostoma nigrum susanae, is being considered for protected status. Field work for this survey was conducted mainly during May-August 1996 and May-August …

Caloric Production Of Black Bear Foods In Great Smoky Mountains National Park, Robert Michael Inman

Masters Theses

Understanding energetic potential of habitat patches is important for management designed to provide adequate habitat for wildlife species. Great Smoky Mountains National Park (GSMNP) has a high density of black bears that have been studied intensively from 1968-1997; habitats within the Park are relatively undisturbed, and similar vegetative cover types can be found throughout the southern Appalachian mountains. Black bear reproduction in the Park has been correlated to hard mast production, however little work has been done to assess the importance of soft mast. Geographic Information System (GIS) based habitat use models have been developed for bears in the Park, …

A Repeatable, Visual Survey Of Three Rare Percina (Osteichthyes: Percidae) Fish In Little River, Blount County, Tennessee, Charles H. Heacock

Masters Theses

A recent apparent decline of the darter species in Little River, Blount County, Tennessee, suggested a deterioration on habitat quality was taking place. The objective of this study was to establish a baseline of the abundance and distribution of three large and easily recognized darter species (Percina aurantiaca, P. burtoni, and P. macrocephala) believed to be very pollution intolerant.

The study area included 27 river miles with 20 accessible sites which were determined by an area reconnaissance. Each site has been described, including diagrams and photographs, and was surveyed six times between July and October 1993. A review …

Distribution Of The Fishes Of The Great Smoky Mountains National Park, Damien J. Simbeck

Masters Theses

Over 200 collections of fishes have been made within the boundaries of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, revealing a Park ichthyofauna of 74 native and 5 introduced fish species. Abrams Creek, containing the most diverse ichthyofauna in the park, currently contains only 35 of its historical 67 fish species. This loss of species resulted from intentional poisoning of eh creek to improve habitat for rainbow trout and impoundment of the lowest 2.6 miles by Chilhowee Reservoir.

Abrams Creek also contains a very unusual ichthyofauna in its upper portion. Several species found above its 25-foot waterfall have not been found …

Life History And Ecology Of The Barrens Topminnow, Fundulus Julisia Williams And Etnier (Pisces, Fundulidae), Patrick L. Rakes

Masters Theses

The life history of the Barrens topminnow, Fundulus julisia, was investigated in a two-year study from 1983 to 1985. The species is restricted to a few isolated springs and groundwater-influenced upland streams on the Barrens Plateau in the vicinity of Manchester in middle Tennessee. In most aspects of its behavior, including feeding and reproduction, this topminnow differs little from other members of the same genus. The fish is an opportunistic carnivore, feeding upon aquatic insects, crustaceans, and gastropods, as well as terrestrial insects that fall in water. Like other killifish, F. julisia has an extended breeding season that is …

Systematics, Distribution, And Biology Of Fishes Currently Allocated To Erimystax (Jordan), A Subgenus Of Hybopsis (Cyprinidae), John Lowrey Harris

Doctoral Dissertations

Intra- and interspecific variation of species of the subgenus Erimystax, genus Hybopsis, are analyzed using multivariate statistical techniques. Diagnoses, descriptions, figures, supporting tables, and distribution maps are provided to facilitate identification of the subgenus and component species. Results of multivariate analyses support the elevation of the Ozark subspecies of Hybopsis dissimilis to specific standing as Hybopsis i. insignis distributed in the lower Tennessee and Cumberland river drainages and H. insignis eristigma found in eastern tributaries of the upper Tennessee River drainage. Populations interpreted as intergrades occur in the Clinch, Powell, and Holston rivers. Two subspecies of Hybopsis x-punctata are recognized …