Zoology Commons^™

Integrative Species Delimitation And Taxonomic Status Of The Scorpion Genus Vaejovis Koch, 1836 (Vaejovidae) In The Santa Catalina Mountains, Arizona, Emma E. Jochim, Lillian-Lee M. Broussard, Brent E. Hendrixson

Euscorpius

Scorpions belonging to the Vaejovis vorhiesi species complex are widely distributed throughout the southwestern United States and northern Mexico. Most species are endemic to single mountain ranges but two species, Vaejovis deboerae Ayrey, 2009 and V. brysoni Ayrey & Webber, 2013, have been documented from the Santa Catalina Mountains in Arizona. We reevaluated the taxonomic diversity of these scorpions by integrating data from several different sources. Phylogenetic analyses indicate that scorpions in the Santa Catalina Mountains are monophyletic but comprise two divergent mitochondrial lineages that overlap at the type locality of V. deboerae. We failed to detect congruence between …

Annotated Checklist Of Invertebrate Species Observed At The Gordon Natural Area (West Chester University, Pa) 2007-2020. Version I, Nur Ritter

Gordon Natural Area Biodiversity Studies Documents

Summary Data Number of Taxa: 250 Species, in 170 Genera, 113 Families, and 33 Orders. Description As with some of the other biotic groups, the research pattern for invertebrates at the GNA might best be described as ‘intermittent.’ Former WCU professor Win Fairchild and his students conducted research on aquatic invertebrates in Plum Run, both inside and outside of the boundaries of the GNA. To date, the only data from that work that we’ve been able to obtain are from the 2007 MS thesis of Danielle DiFederico. Since that time, the only ‘directed’ invertebrate research at the GNA has been …

Annotated Checklist Of The Avian Species Observed At The Gordon Natural Area (West Chester University, Pa) 2004-2020. Version Ix. Data From Ebird (Through 7/20/2020) And From The 2004 West Chester Bird Club Survey Of The Gna.Ersion Ix., Nur Ritter, Josh R. Auld

Gordon Natural Area Bird Survey Documents

Summary Data Number of Surveys: 108 'Site Visits' by 28 Birders. Note: this does not count the birders who participated in the 2004 West Chester Bird Club Survey as they were not identified on the species checklist. Number of Taxa: 125 Species, in 86 Genera and 38 Families. Abundances The color of each month's 'box' represents the average number of individuals observed during all surveys during that month (see key at the bottom of the page). The first number within the 'box' for each month represents the number of days in which that species was observed during the month; the …

Annotated Checklist Of The Mammal Species Observed At The Gordon Natural Area West Chester University, Pa) 2011-2020. Version I, Nur Ritter

Gordon Natural Area Biodiversity Studies Documents

Summary Data Number of Taxa: 12 Species, in 12 Genera, 9 Families, and 5 Orders. Description No formal investigations of the mammals of the GNA have been conducted. And, until 2016, no system was in place for tracking annual observations of mammal species. Hence, this checklist represents a somewhat haphazard collection of data. GNA staff observations from 2016 onwards represent a significant portion of the data. These observations have been augmented by data from various reports and from photos from the GNA that were posted to Facebook. Status/Threats IUCN Status: Data are from the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species …

Annotated Checklist Of The Fish Species Observed At The Gordon Natural Area (West Chester University, Pa) 1997-2019. Version I, Nur Ritter

Gordon Natural Area Biodiversity Studies Documents

Summary Data Number of Taxa: 14 Species, in 13 Genera, 6 Families, and 5 Orders. Description Investigation of the ichthyofauna (i.e., fish) of the GNA began has a fairly long-history, but has been sporadic and the findings have been poorly archived. The earliest known research was undertaken by former WCU Biology Professor Win Fairchild. Regrettably, we only have his data from a single study (Butler & Fairchild 2005). WCU graduate student Danielle DiFederico (one of Win Fairchild's students) conducted her Master's research in Plum Run in the early 2000. Following this, there was a long fallow period (with just a …

Functional Morphology Of Gliding Flight I. Modeling Reveals Distinct Performance Landscapes Based On Soaring Strategies, Lindsay D. Waldrop, Yanyan He, Tyson L. Hedrick, Jonathan Rader

Biology, Chemistry, and Environmental Sciences Faculty Articles and Research

The physics of flight influences the morphology of bird wings through natural selection on flight performance. The connection between wing morphology and performance is unclear due to the complex relationships between various parameters of flight. In order to better understand this connection, we present a holistic analysis of gliding flight that preserves complex relationships between parameters. We use a computational model of gliding flight, along with analysis by uncertainty quantification, to 1) create performance landscapes of gliding based on output metrics (maximum lift-to-drag ratio, minimum gliding angle, minimum sinking speed, lift coefficient at minimum sinking speed); and 2) predict what …

Data For "Consistent Differences In A Virtual World Model Of Ape Societies", Bart J. Wilson, Sarah F. Brosnan, Elizabeth V. Lonsdorf, Crickette M. Sanz

Business and Economics Faculty Data Sets

The zip file contains the data for the paper entitled "Consistent Differences in a Virtual World Model of Ape Societies" which appears in Scientific Reports.

2019 (31st) Report Of The Nou Records Committee, Mark A. Brogie

Nebraska Bird Review

The functions and methods of the Nebraska Ornithologists’ Union Records Committee (NOURC) are described in its bylaws (NOURC 2010). The committee’s purpose is to provide a procedure for documenting unusual bird sightings and to establish a list of all documented birds for Nebraska. Species for which the NOURC seeks documentation (NOURC Review List) can be found at the NOU website www.NOUbirds.org. Starting in 2020, the NOURC will deal mainly with those species deemed as Accidental on the “Official List of the Birds of Nebraska”. Casual species and out-ofrange species will continue to be summarized in the “Seasonal Reports” of the …

Interrelationships Among Monorchiid Trematodes With Special Emphasis On Some Northwestern Atlantic Genera, Apryle Panyi

Master's Theses

The Monorchiidae Odhner, 1911 is a cosmopolitan family of flukes (Trematoda: Digenea) comprising species that parasitize the digestive tract of estuarine and marine fishes as adults. Compared with other oceans, recent morphological or molecular taxonomic work conducted on monorchiid species from the northwestern Atlantic Ocean has been sparse (Manter, 1931; Overstreet, 1969; Andres et al., 2018; Wee et al., 2018, 2019, 2020). Therefore, the present work investigated the interrelationships of some monorchiids from the northwestern Atlantic Ocean with emphasis on several genera and investigated if Lasiotocus minutus (Manter, 1931) Thomas, 1959 constitutes a complex of cryptic species. New morphological and …

Artificial Night Lighting And Anthropogenic Noise Alter Animal Activity, Body Condition, Species Richness, And Community Structure, Joshua Willems

Master's Theses

Sensory pollution from artificial night-lighting and anthropogenic noise have increased at a dramatic rate over the last several decades. Alterations to the sensory environment have been found to affect wildlife in a wide variety of ways including behavioral changes, physiological responses, changes in species interactions, and altered community structure. Increased levels of light and noise pollution can originate from many sources including roads, energy development and infrastructure, and urbanization. Even remote or protected areas are not immune to the effects of increased sensory disturbances with 63 percent of protected areas within the United States found to have been exposed to …

An Evaluation Of Bird And Bat Mortality At Wind Turbines In The Northeastern United States, Daniel Y. Choi, Thomas W. Wittig, Bryan M. Kluever

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Wind energy offers substantial environmental benefits, but wind facilities can negatively impact wildlife, including birds and bats. Researchers and managers have made major efforts to chronicle bird and bat mortality associated with wind facilities, but few studies have examined the patterns and underlying mechanisms of spatial patterns of fatalities at wind facilities. Understanding the horizontal fall distance between a carcass and the nearest turbine pole is important in designing effective search protocols and estimating total mortality. We explored patterns in taxonomic composition and fall distance of bird and bat carcasses at wind facilities in the Northeastern United States using publicly …

Estimation Of Wildlife Damage From Federal Crop Insurance Data, Sophie Mckee, Stephanie A. Shwiff, Aaron M. Anderson

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

BACKGROUND: Wildlife damage to crops is a persistent and costly problem for many farmers in the USA. Most existing estimates of crop damage have relied on direct assessment methods such as field studies conducted by trained biologists or surveys distributed to farmers. In this paper, we describe a new method of estimating wildlife damage that exploits federal crop insurance data. We focused our study on four crops: corn, soybean, wheat, and cotton, chosen because of their economic importance and their vulnerability to wildlife damage.

RESULTS: We determined crop-raiding hot spots across the USA over the 2015–2019 period and identified the …

Genotoxic And Hematological Effects Of Endocrine Disruptive Chemicals, Bisphenol A And Nonylphenol, On Nile Tilapia (Oreochromis Niloticus), Sahardin Muhammad Faris

Student Works (2020-2029)

This study was performed to evaluate the genotoxicity and hematology effects of single and binary exposure of bisphenol A and nonylphenol towards Oreochromis niloticus. O. niloticus was singly exposed to bisphenol A at concentration of 2 mg/l and nonylphenol at concentration of 0.04 mg/l in 16 L glass tank. O. niloticus was also synergistically exposed to the both concentration of 2 mg/l of bisphenol A and 0.04 mg/l of nonylphenol. Four fishes were randomly used for four exposures after two weeks acclimatization. All of them were exposed to the compound for 96 hours without water change prior observation. Fishes were …

Spatial Ecology And Resource Selection Of Bighorn Sheep (Ovis Canadensis) Ewes In A Prairie Badlands Population, Erin Wood

School of Natural Resources: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

The basic spatial ecology and habitat relationships of female bighorn sheep in Nebraska are poorly understood. Establishing seasonal patterns of space use and resource selection for this population at the margin of their historical and current range addresses a key knowledge gap and provides important baseline information for ongoing conservation efforts in Nebraska. We deployed GPS radio-collars on 56 adult ewes in western Nebraska to quantify seasonal space use, movements, and resource selection of ewes. To investigate spatial ecology, we quantified movements of ewes and the factors that influence home range size, seasonal use, and spatial stability across seasons. Home …

Consider The Agent In The Arthropod, Nicolas Delon, Peter Cook, Gordon Bauer, Heidi Harley

Animal Sentience

Whether or not arthropods are sentient, they can have moral standing. Appeals to sentience are not necessary and retard progress in human treatment of other species, including invertebrates. Other increasingly well-documented aspects of invertebrate minds are pertinent to their welfare. Even if arthropods are not sentient, they can be agents whose goals—and therefore interests—can be frustrated. This kind of agency is sufficient for moral status and requires that we consider their welfare.

Connection Between Contaminants And Marine Mammals In The Southern Ocean, Sean W. Tupper

All HCAS Student Capstones, Theses, and Dissertations

The Southern Ocean encircles the continent of Antarctica and was once thought to be unaffected by human activities. However, evidence is increasing that this region has many different contaminants that threaten the region’s marine biodiversity, including marine mammals. Many of these contaminants are heavy metals or persistent organic pollutants and enter the Southern Ocean via both natural and anthropogenic processes. The impacts posed by these contaminants vary according to their type and the organism being exposed. All species of cetaceans and pinnipeds in this study were confirmed to have been exposed to one or more the contaminants reviewed. Although research …

Effects Of Freshwater Crayfish On Influenza A Virus Persistence In Water, J. Jeffrey Root, Jeremy W. Ellis, Susan A. Shriner

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Several investigations have recently assessed the ability of some aquatic invertebrates to act as tools for avian influenza A virus (IAV) surveillance as well as their potential role(s) in IAV ecology. Because of this, as well as the high IAV seroprevalence rates noted in select mesocarnivores that commonly inhabit aquatic and semi-aquatic habitats, we evaluated the effects that freshwater crayfish have on IAV in water at three dose levels and monitored for the presence of IAV in crayfish tissues (gill and green gland) and haemolymph at multiple time points. At relatively high, medium 432 and low (approximately 10 , 10 …

Five New Species Of Euscorpius Thorell, 1876 (Scorpiones: Euscorpiidae) From Albania, Greece, North Macedonia, And Serbia, František Kovařík, František Šťáhlavský

Euscorpius

Five new species are described: Euscorpius bonacinai sp. n. (Albania), E. janstai sp. n. (North Macedonia), E. kabateki sp. n. (Greece), E. sadileki sp. n. (Serbia), and E. scheraboni sp. n. (Greece), fully complemented with color photographs. New species are distinguished from all other species of the genus on the basis of five taxonomic characters. Two other new characters, shape of the pedipalp chela fingers and number of chromosomes, are presented and discussed. In addition to the analyses of external morphology, we also describe karyotypes of two species: E. janstai sp. n. (2n=112) and E. sadileki sp. n. (2n=90).

Avoiding Anthropocentrism In Evolutionarily Inclusive Ethics, Simon Fitzpatrick

Animal Sentience

Mikhalevich & Powell are to be commended for challenging the “invertebrate dogma” that invertebrates are unworthy of ethical concern. However, developing an evolutionarily inclusive ethics requires facing some of the more radical implications of rejecting hierarchical scala naturae and human-centered conceptions of the biological world. In particular, we need to question the anthropocentric assumptions that still linger in discussions like these.

Zones Of Precaution, Jonathan Birch

Animal Sentience

My commentary focusses on Mikhalevich & Powell’s criticisms of the Animal Sentience Precautionary Principle. I emphasize the pragmatic nature of my rationale for proposing that, rather than extending the scope of animal welfare protection on a species-by-species basis, we should be willing to protect entire Linnaean orders on the basis of evidence from a single species.

Brain Complexity, Sentience And Welfare, Donald M. Broom

Animal Sentience

Neither sentience nor moral standing is confined to animals with large or human-like brains. Invertebrates deserve moral consideration. Definition of terms clarifies the relationship between sentience and welfare. All animals have welfare but humans give more protection to sentient animals. Humans should be less human-centred.

Invertebrate Cognition, Sentience And Biology, Georges Chapouthier

Animal Sentience

All animal species have adapted for survival and no species is superior overall. For cognitive capacities and sentience, invertebrates such as the octopus, although quite unlike vertebrates, can achieve similar performance levels. So can other invertebrates with small brains; hence they too, as sentient beings, deserve moral consideration from humans. How are we to identify these species? Only though a detailed analysis of their behavior. The decision, which is a moral judgment, depends on biological knowledge that still needs to be acquired.

Convergent Evolution Of Sentience?, Culum Brown Prof.

Animal Sentience

Mikhalevich & Powell make a compelling case that some invertebrates may be sentient and that our moral obligations in the context of welfare should hence extend to them. Although the case is similar to that made for fishes, there is one obvious difference in that examples of invertebrate sentience probably arose independently from vertebrate sentience. We have unequivocal proof that complex cognition arose multiple times over evolutionary history. Given that cognition is our best tool for indirectly quantifying sentience, it seems highly likely that this multiple polygenesis may also have occurred for sentience. In acknowledging this, we must accept that …

Notes On The Diet And Reproduction Of The Bark Scorpion Centruroides Gracilis (Scorpiones: Buthidae) On Utila Island, Honduras, Anna M. Davison, Tom W. Brown, Cristina Arrivillaga

Euscorpius

The brown bark scorpion Centruroides gracilis (Latreille, 1804) (Buthidae) is an abundant and widespread species, however, fairly little is known about its ecology and natural history. We include several observations from Utila Island, Honduras, that expand on the known literature regarding the diet and reproductive behavior of C. gracilis. We report several prey items for this opportunistic species, which include invertebrates such as spiders (including tarantulas), centipedes, katydids, and crickets; as well as a case of cannibalism between two adult females C. gracilis. We suggest that such cannibalism may be driven by high population densities and/or strong intraspecific …

Minds, Morality And Midgies, Brian Key, Deborah Brown

Animal Sentience

Mikhalevich & Powell argue that the exclusion of the vast majority of arthropods from moral standing is unwarranted, particularly given the purported evidence for cognition and sentience in these organisms. The implied association between consciousness and moral standing is questionable and their assumption that rich forms of cognition and flexible behavior are dependent on phenomenal consciousness needs to be reconsidered in light of current neuroscientific evidence. We conclude by proposing a neural algorithmic approach for deciphering whether organisms are capable of subjective experience.

Discovery Of The World’S Highest-Dwelling Mammal, Jay F. Storz, Marcial Quiroga-Carmona, Juan C. Opazo, Thomas Bowen, Matthew Farson, Scott J. Steppan, Guillermo D’Elía

Jay F. Storz Publications

Environmental limits of animal life are invariably revised when the animals themselves are investigated in their natural habitats. Here we report results of a scientific mountaineering expedition to survey the high-altitude rodent fauna of Volcán Llullaillaco in the Puna de Atacama of northern Chile, an effort motivated by video documentation of mice (genus Phyllotis) at a record altitude of 6,205m. Among numerous trapping records at altitudes of >5,000 m, we captured a specimen of the yellow-rumped leaf-eared mouse (Phyllotis xanthopygus rupestris) on the very summit of Llullaillaco at 6,739 m. This summit specimen represents an altitudinal world …

Biogeography, Morphology, And Systematics Of The Mountain Cottontail, Sylvilagus Nuttallii (Bachman, 1837), Mammalia: Lagomorpha: Leporidae, Johnnie H. French

Dissertations and Theses

Widespread species often present taxonomic conundrums: are they truly a single panmictic species, or, is the widespread species in fact a polytypic species complex constituted by independently evolving, morphologically or otherwise cryptic species? One such broadly distributed taxon is Sylvilagus nuttallii, with distribution across the western United States, ranging from South Dakota to California, and from Canada to Arizona. The three subspecies constituting S. nuttallii are, however, geographically isolated and it has been hypothesized that they likely constitute independent, species level taxa. However, that study examined only two of the three holotypes, rather than broader geographic and non-geographic variation. …

Spatiotemporal Genetic Diversity Of Lions Reveals The Influence Of Habitat Fragmentation Across Africa, Caitlin J. Curry, Brian W. Davis, Laura D. Bertola, Paula A. White, William J. Murphy, James N. Derr

Publications and Research

Direct comparisons between historical and contemporary populations allow for detecting changes in genetic diversity through time and assessment of the impact of habitat fragmentation. Here, we determined the genetic architecture of both historical and modern lions to document changes in genetic diversity over the last century. We surveyed microsatellite and mitochondrial genome variation from 143 high-quality museum specimens of known provenance, allowing us to directly compare this information with data from several recently published nuclear and mitochondrial studies. Our results provide evidence for male-mediated gene flow and recent isolation of local subpopulations, likely due to habitat fragmentation. Nuclear markers showed …

The Mayfly Newsletter, Donna Giberson

The Mayfly Newsletter

The Mayfly Newsletter is the official newsletter of the Permanent Committee of the International Conferences on Ephemeroptera.

A New Lesser Antillean Scorpion Of The Genus Didymocentrus Kraepelin, 1905 (Scorpiones: Diplocentridae), Rolando Teruel, Karl Questel

Euscorpius

A new species of the diplocentrid scorpion of the genus Didymocentrus Kraepelin, 1905 is herein described from the Lesser Antillean island of Martinique. It long remained misidentified as Didymocentrus lesueurii (Gervais, 1844), the only species of this genus inhabiting the adjacent island of Saint Lucia. The direct comparison of adults of both sexes from these two islands revealed solid morphological characters, which warrant their recognition as two different taxa. Each one is endemic from a single major island, where it is widespread even in its satellite islets. This addition raises the known composition of the genus to 12 species, 10 …