Zoology Commons^™

Subscription And Organization Information [June 2013]

Nebraska Bird Review

The Nebraska Bird Review is published quarterly by the Nebraska Ornithologists' Union, Inc., as its official journal, and is sent to members not in arrears of dues. Annual subscription rates (on a calendar-year basis only): $25 in the United States and $35 in all other countries, payable in advance. Single copies are $7 each, postpaid, in the United States and $9 elsewhere. Send orders for back issues to Anita Breckbill, NOU Librarian, c/o Music Library, WMB 30, University of Nebraska, Lincoln, NE .68588-0101.

Memberships in the NOU (on a calendar-year basis only): Active Household (one or more people) $25; Sustaining …

Room To Roam: Using Gps To Determine The Effect Of Exhibit Size And Herd Size On Zoo Elephant Movement, Matthew Holdgate, Deborah A. Duffield, David J. Shepherdson

Student Research Symposium

Asian and African elephants (Elephas maximus and Loxodonta spp.) are particularly susceptible to welfare concerns in zoological institutions due to their high intelligence, complex social structures, and sheer size. Zoo elephants are also limited by the space available to them, and the resulting lack of exercise may contribute to a host of health issues, including obesity and foot disease. Zoos rely largely on changes to the exhibit size and herd size to promote elephant movement, yet the effect of these factors on movement is unknown. Our study used GPS-equipped anklets to track the movement of 80 elephants at 43 zoos …

The Identity Of Rana Margaritifera Laurenti, 1768 (Anura, Bufonidae), Esteban O. Lavilla, Ulisses Caramaschi, José A. Langone, José P. Pombal Jr., Rafael O. De Sá

Biology Faculty Publications

Rana margaritifera was described by Laurenti in 1768 and currently is associated to the genus Rhinella, under the combination Rhinella margaritifera. Currently, the R. margaritifera species group consists of 16 recognized species. Further-more, many additional species have been suggested to exist in this group which highlights the ambiguity surrounding the identity of Rhinella margaritifera and impend further description of the species in this group. After an exhaustive bibliographic review, we concluded that the recent designation of a lectotype for R. margaritifera is invalid according with Art. 73, ICZN, 1999. Herein, we designate and provide the description of a …

Taking The Road Most Travelled: Understanding Patterns Of Snake (Colubridae; Storeria) Movement And Road Mortality In A State Park, Iwo P. Gross

Undergraduate Honors Theses

No abstract provided.

Integrating, Developing, And Testing Methods To Generate More Cohesive Approaches To Biogeographic Inference, Mallory Elizabeth Eckstut

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

As a fundamental component of the developing discipline of conservation biogeography, broadscale analyses of biotic assembly and disassembly across multiple temporal and spatial scales provide an enhanced understanding of how geologic transformations and climate oscillations have shaped extant patterns of biodiversity. As with any scientific field, there are limitations in the case of biogeographic historical reconstructions. Historical reconstructions are only as robust as the theoretical underpinnings of the methods of reconstruction (including data collection, quality, analysis, and interpretation). Nevertheless, historical reconstructions of species distributions can help inform our understanding of how species respond to environmental change.

My dissertation takes a …

Oregon State Ranking Assessment For Olive-Sided Flycatcher (Contopus Cooperi), Eleanor P. Gaines

Institute for Natural Resources Publications

Oregon state conservation status assessment for Olive-sided flycatcher (Contopus cooperi) using NatureServe methodology, 2013.

Etudes On Iurids, Vi. Further Revision Of Calchas Birula, 1899 (Scorpiones: Iuridae), With A Description Of A New Genus And Two New Species., Ersen Aydın Yağmur, Michael E. Soleglad, Victor Fet, František Kovařík

Euscorpius

Several new Calchas populations are studied from Turkey, including specimens from Hakkari Province, which borders the northern edge of Iraq. A new genus, Neocalchas, gen. nov., and two new species, Calchas anlasi, sp. nov. and C. kosswigi, sp. nov., are described. The two genera, Calchas and Neocalchas, are diagnosed by their hemispermatophore structure, chelal finger dentition, telson morphometrics and setation, and trichobothrial topology of the pedipalp chela. Genus Calchas Birula, 1899 includes four species: C. anlasi, sp. nov., C. birulai, C. kosswigi, sp. nov., and C. nordmanni; genus …

Taking The Road Most Travelled: Understanding Patterns Of Snake (Colubridae; Storeria) Movement And Road Mortality In A State Park, Iwo P. Gross

Student Honors Theses

Roadways negatively affect their surrounding ecosystems through the contamination of air, water, and soil resources, the dissection of populations and habitat areas, and the direct mortality of several fauna. My study assessed the significance of a number of variables that might influence the temporal and spatial patterns of road mortality in a population of Midland Brownsnakes (Storeria dekayi wrightorum). I utilized passive sampling techniques and roadwalking surveys to collect individual snakes from a road during their biannual migrations from lowland activity areas to upland forests where they hibernate. I discovered that sexually biased behavioral and natural history traits impacted an …

Relative Abundance Of Northern Flying Squireels And Red Squireels In Different Forest Types, Black Hills, South Dakota, Melissa Hough, Charles D. Dieter

Great Plains Research: A Journal of Natural and Social Sciences (through 2013)

Northern flying squirrels (Glaucomys sabrinus) and red squirrels (Tamiasciurus hudsonicus) in the Black Hills National Forest (BHNF) of South Dakota represent isolated populations. Because data on both species in the region are limited, and because the northern flying squirrel in South Dakota and the Black Hills National Forest has species of concern status, we trapped throughout BHNF to determine relative abundance in different forest types for both populations. For northern flying squirrels, capture rate was higher in the northern and western hills compared to the southern and eastern hills, whereas for red squirrels, capture rate was …

American Society Of Parasitologists Newsletter, V. 35, No. 1, Spring 2013, Scott Lyell Gardner

American Society of Parasitologists: Newsletter

American Society of Parasitologists Newsletter, volume 35, number 1, Spring 2013

Friends Or Foes: Interpreting The Relationship Between Two Synoptic Small Mammals In Southeastern Virginia, The Hispid Cotton Rat (Sigmodon Hispidus) And Eastern Harvest Mouse (Reithrodontomys Humulis), Sarah A. Crawford

Biological Sciences Theses & Dissertations

Relatively little is known about the relationship between the hispid cotton rat (Sigmodon hispidus) and the eastern harvest mouse (Reithrodontomys humulis). Literature on these two syntopic genera in other areas of the United States suggests that competition may exist; however, both species seem to be greatly affected by environmental changes, making it difficult to draw any definite conclusions. Live trapping and microhabitat data collected from 2 old fields in Chesapeake, Virginia over a 9-year period were used to assess the biotic and abiotic influences on space use by these two species. Each I-ha plot consisted of 2 live traps placed …

The Advertisement Calls And Distribution Of Two Sympatric Species Of Chiasmocleis (Méhely 1904) (Anura, Microhylidae, Gastrophryninae) From The Atlantic Forest, Maruicio C. Forlani, Caio Vinicius De Mira Mendes, Iuri Ribeiro Dias, Danilo Silva Ruas, João Filipe Riva Tonini, Rafael O. De Sá

Biology Faculty Publications

The advertisement calls of Chiasmocleis cordeiroi and C. crucis are described for populations from the municipalities of Igrapiúna and Camacan, respectively, state of Bahia, Brazil. Both calls consist of multipulsed notes produced in series. Differences between the two calls are: dominant frequency, higher in C. cordeiroi (range 4500-4898 Hz; C. crucis range 4069-4435 Hz); note rate, higher in C. cordeiroi (range 6.20--7.46 s/note; C. crucis range 5.17-5.59 s/note); pulse rate, higher in C. cordeiroi (151.82-194.83 s/note; C. crucis range 125.30- 142.12 s/note); and the structure of the modulation patterns of the notes. Moreover, the advertisement calls of C. crucis and …

The First Molecular Phylogeny Of Buthidae (Scorpiones), Victor Fet, Benjamin Gantenbein, Alexander Gromov, Graeme Lowe, Wilson R. Lourenço

Euscorpius

The first partial phylogeny of family Buthidae (17 genera) is presented, based on molecular data (16S rRNA mitochondrial DNA). The strong support for a monophyletic Old World group of 13 genera (mainly Palearctic desert forms) is demonstrated, while representative genera from Madagascar (Grosphus) and Southeast Asia (Lychas) group outside, as well as New World genera Centruroides and Rhopalurus. A very strong support is observed for the first time for three groups of Old World genera: (a) Compsobuthus, Mesobuthus, Liobuthus, Kraepelinia; (b) Hottentotta, Buthacus; (c) Orthochirus, Anomalobuthus. Phylogenetic …

Morphology Analysis Supports Presence Of More Than One Species In The “Euscorpius Carpathicus” Complex (Scorpiones: Euscorpiidae), Victor Fet, Michael E. Soleglad

Euscorpius

We investigate a number of scorpion populations from southern and central Europe, commonly classified under a “catch-all” name of Euscorpius carpathicus (L., 1767). This species includes a high number of described subspecies but its composition is not resolved. The detailed morphology analysis in the present paper includes a number of new characters, in particular individually mapped external patellar accessory trichobothria. It suggests that several clearly separated lineages are present. E. carpathicus (L.) is restricted here to geographically marginal populations from Romania (terra typica), which exhibit loss of one trichobothrium in the patellar series em (= 3). Another lineage (Austria, Croatia, …

Two New Andean Species Of Brachistosternus Pocock (Scorpiones: Bothriuridae), Jose A. Ochoa, Louis E. Acosta

Euscorpius

Two new Andean species of the genus Brachistosternus Pocock from southern Peru and northern Chile are described: B. titicaca sp. n. from the Titicaca basin (Departamento Puno, Peru), at 3850-3900 m, and B. quiscapata sp. n. from Departamento Tacna (Peru) and Provincia Arica (Chile), at 3100-3400 m. Both species belong to the subgenus Brachistosternus (Leptosternus) Maury. They are related to the Argentinean species B. (L.) intermedius Lönnberg and B.(L.) montanus Roig Alsina. Comparisons between these four species are provided, including a combination of characters: length/width ratio of metasomal segment V, number of setae of metasomal segment V and tarsus III, …

Etudes On Iurids, V. Further Revision Of Iurus Thorell, 1876 (Scorpiones: Iuridae), With A Description Of A New Genus And Two New Species, Michael E. Soleglad, Victor Fet, František Kovařík, Ersen Aydın Yağmur

Euscorpius

Iurus populations from the Aegean area are studied, including the Greek islands of Crete, Karpathos, Kythira, Rhodes, and Samos. A new genus, Protoiurus gen. nov., and two new species, Protoiurus rhodiensis sp. nov. and P. stathiae sp. nov., are described. The two genera, Iurus and Protoiurus, are diagnosed by their hemispermatophore structure; a cladistic analysis based on this structure is presented. Genus Iurus Thorell, 1876 includes three species: I. dekanum, I. dufoureius, and I. kinzelbachi; genus Protoiurus includes five species: P. asiaticus comb. nov., P. kadleci comb. nov., P. kraepelini comb. nov., P. rhodiensis sp. nov., and P. …

Euscorpiops Neradi Sp. N. From Thailand (Scorpiones: Euscorpiidae: Scorpiopinae), František Kovařík, Jana Plíšková, František Šťáhlavský

Euscorpius

Euscorpiops neradi sp. n. from Thailand is described and compared with other species of the genus Euscorpiops Vachon, 1980. It is the smallest species of the genus, with total length about 25 mm in both sexes. In E. neradi sp. n. external trichobothria on the patella number 16 (5 eb, 2 esb, 2 em, 3 est, 4 et) and ventral trichobothria on the patella number 6. Pedipalp fingers are flexed in males and straight in females.

Alloscorpiops Citadelle Sp. N. From Thailand (Scorpiones: Euscorpiidae: Scorpiopinae)., František Kovařík

Euscorpius

Alloscorpiops citadelle sp. n. from Thailand is described and compared with A. anthracinus (Simon, 1887). A. citadelle sp. n. is characterized mainly by a higher number of trichobothria on the patella, which has 29–34 external (23–24 in A. anthracinus) and 19–21 ventral (15–19 in A. anthracinus) trichobothria.

Evolution Of Scorpion Orthobothriotaxy: A Cladistic Approach, Michael E. Soleglad, Victor Fet

Euscorpius

This study presents a cladistic analysis of the derivation of orthobothriotaxic patterns in scorpions. Included in this analysis are the original three orthobothriotaxic patterns defined by Vachon (1972, 1974), the pattern of the unique scorpion Pseudochactas ovchinnikovi Gromov, 1998, and two trichobothrial patterns of fossil scorpions, the Upper Carboniferous palaeopisthacanthids and the Lower Cretaceous archaeobuthids. An overview of all fossil scorpion material where trichobothria are reported is presented in detail. The approach used in this analysis is to model the existence of an individual trichobothrium, adopting the ‘absence of’, ‘petite size’ and ‘full size’ as incremental stages of a trichobothrium’s …

Contributions To Scorpion Systematics. I. On Recent Changes In High-Level Taxonomy, Victor Fet, Michael E. Soleglad

Euscorpius

Prendini & Wheeler (2005) criticized the methods of phylogenetic analyses by Soleglad, Fet, and their coauthors, and executed an unprecedented taxonomic action: without analyzing any of these taxa, they performed a wholesale synonymization of four parvorders, eight superfamilies, one family, 11 subfamilies, eight tribes, two subtribes, and three genera (in total, 37 taxa) of scorpions, and made other taxonomic changes. No alternative new classification has been proposed (instead, they revert to a previous classification), and no results of original work on this subject by Prendini & Wheeler (2005) have been presented. Here, we reverse all taxonomic changes performed by Prendini …

Etudes On Iurids, Ii. Revision Of Genus Calchas Birula, 1899, With The Description Of Two New Species (Scorpiones: Iuridae), Victor Fet, Michael E. Soleglad, František Kovařík

Euscorpius

The relict, phylogenetically important scorpion genus Calchas Birula, 1899 (Iuridae) remained monotypic since its description. Its sole species, Calchas nordmanni Birula, 1899, was known only from northeastern Turkey until Kinzelbach (1980) published first records from southern and southeastern Turkey. A few more localities have been reported from Turkey; the species was also found on two Greek islands, Samos and Megisti. We analyzed significant material (63 specimens, including a previously unpublished large series from Naturhistorisches Museum Wien), and concluded that three distinct, disjunct species exist rather than one widespread species as previously thought. Two new species are described: Calchas birulai sp. …

Ecological Niche Modeling Of Two Scorpion Species Mesobuthus Eupeus (C. L. Koch, 1839) And M. Phillipsii (Pocock, 1889) From The Iranian Plateau And Zagros Region (Arachnida: Scorpiones), Omid Mirshamsi

Euscorpius

Ecological niche modeling has allowed several advances in the process of species delimitation. In the present study, I used this method to evaluate the climatic divergence between two scorpion species, Mesobuthus eupeus and M. phillipsii. The ecological niche models (ENMs) were created based on presence-only data with the maximum entropy method. The created models, results of spatial analysis (PCA and Hotelling discriminant), and an identity test suggested that the divergence between these two species is associated with significant divergence in their ecological niches. The results of this study provide additional support for the taxonomic validity the studied species.

A New Species Of Tityus C. L. Koch, 1836 (Scorpiones: Buthidae) From Dominican Amber, Wilson R. Lourenço

Euscorpius

Tityus azari sp. n., a new species of fossil scorpion belonging to the genus Tityus C. L. Koch, 1836 is described based on a specimen in amber from the Dominican Republic. Although the new species can be associated with the extant fauna of the Neotropical region, it presents some particular morphological features such as the presence of sharp denticles on the edge of pedipalp fingers. Due to the incompleteness of the specimen it cannot be assigned to any precise extant subgenera. Once again, this discovery attests to a considerable degree of diversity in the Dominican amber-producing forests.

The Cretaceous Scorpion Genus, Archaeobuthus, Revisited (Scorpiones: Archaeobuthidae), Chris Baptista, Jorge A. Santiago-Blay, Victor Fet, Michael E. Soleglad

Euscorpius

No abstract provided.

The Scorpions Of Hainan Island, China (Arachnida: Scorpiones), Zhi-Yong Di, Zhi-Jian Cao, Ying-Liang Wu, Lin Zhu, Hui Liu, Wen-Xin Li

Euscorpius

The redescriptions and illustrations of three species, Isometrus (Isometrus) maculatus (DeGeer, 1778), Lychas mucronatus (Fabricius, 1798) (Buthidae), and Liocheles australasiae (Fabricius, 1775) (Hemiscorpiidae) from Hainan Island, China are presented. Distribution data and updated key of Hainan scorpions are provided.

Review Of The Subgenus Pandinurus Fet, 1997 With Descriptions Of Three New Species (Scorpiones, Scorpionidae, Pandinus)., František Kovařík

Euscorpius

Pandinus (Pandinurus) awashensis sp. n. from Ethiopia, P. (P.) somalilandus sp. n. from Somaliland, and P. (P.) lowei sp. n. from Democratic Republic of Congo are described and compared with other species of the subgenus. P. (P.) sudanicus Hirst, 1911 stat. n. previously considered a synonym of P. (P.) magrettii Borelli, 1901 is recognized as a valid species. New data on taxonomic characters and distribution of the subgenus Pandinurus are presented. Also presented are a map of distribution, photos of the localities and a key to species using hitherto unpublished characters of the tarsomere spination formula and sexual …

An Experimental Investigation Of Nest Reuse And Nest Site Selection In An Open-Cup Nesting Passerine, Sarah A. Cancellieri

Dissertations and Theses

Eastern Kingbirds (Tyrannus tyrannus) breed from coast to coast in North America and build open-cup nests in trees. They have been extensively studied across most of their range and have only on occasion been documented to reuse a nest from a previous season. However, at Malheur National Wildlife Refuge (MNWR), located in southeastern Oregon, ~10 % of female Eastern Kingbirds reuse old nests of mainly American Robins (Turdus migratorius). In an attempt to address why nest reuse is so common at MNWR, I used artificial nests to evaluate two hypotheses as to why nest reuse is common in this breeding …

A Comparison Of Relative Ear Length Between Two Neighboring Populations Of Peromyscus Maniculatus, Joshua S. Willems

Biological Sciences

This study attempts to determine if a significant difference in relative ear length exists between two neighboring populations of Peromyscus maniculatus on the central coast of California. Data was collected from individuals trapped at two plots in the Guadalupe-Nipomo Dunes National Wildlife Refuge and two plots near Black Lake, under the supervision of Francis X. Villablanca, Ph. D. of California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo. A total of 98 individuals were captured over the course of three nights of trapping. A regression analysis was performed comparing the ear lengths of each population relative to body size. The analysis of …

Prevalence And Comparative Analysis Of Cutaneous Leishmaniasis In Dargai Region In Pakistan, Clarence Lee

Department of Biology Faculty Publications

In the present study, 102 samples of exudates from cutaneous leishmanial lesions were collected from local Pakistanis and Afghan refugees residing in Dargai Tehsil of Malakand Agency Pakistan, and were analyzed. The lesions were more prevalent among the locals (60.79%) compared to refugees (49.21%), and 70.58% male compared to 30.42% female were infected with Leishmania. Infection was more prevalent among youth's ages of 11-20 year old (34.32%) compared to older adults. Exposed parts of the body (face, hands, legs, neck, ears and feet) were the main affected areas. Faces experienced more bites (36.28%), followed by legs (26.48%), and hands (21.57%). …

American Burying Beetle (Nicrophorus Americanus): Species Conservation Assessment, Melissa J. Panella

Nebraska Game and Parks Commission: Publications

The primary goal in development of at-risk species conservation assessments is to compile biological and ecological information that may assist conservation practitioners in making decisions regarding the conservation of species of interest. The Nebraska Natural Legacy Project recognizes the American Burying Beetle (Nicrophorus americanus) as a Tier I at-risk species of high conservation priority. Indeed, the American Burying Beetle (ABB) is a species of conservation need throughout its range. Here, I provide some general management recommendations regarding ABB; however, conservation practitioners will need to use professional judgment for specific management decisions based on objectives, location, and site-specific conditions. This resource …