Zoology Commons^™

Systematics Of Leptopelis (Anura: Arthroleptidae) From The Itombwe Plateau, Eastern Democratic Republic Of The Congo, Francisco Portillo

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Leptopelis, a genus of Central African treefrogs, includes 51 species that live in tropical forests and savannas. Currently, only two species of Leptopelis are known from the poorly explored Itombwe Plateau in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). Itombwe is renowned among conservationists for its rich and endemic amphibian fauna, including: Xenopus itombwensis, Chrysobatrachus cupreonitens, Laurentophryne parkeri, Hyperolius leleupi and at least three species of Arthroleptis. Evolutionary relationships of Itombwe Leptopelis were examined by sequencing two mitochondrial genes (16S: 557 bp [base pairs], cyt b: 620 bp) and one nuclear gene (RAG1: 761 bp). Results recovered strong support for …

Spatial Ecology Of The Trans-Pecos Rat Snake (Bogertophis Subocularis) In The Chihuahuan Desert Of Trans-Pecos Texas, Arturo Rocha

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

The Trans-Pecos Rat Snake (Bogertophis subocularis) is a medium to large rat snake that occurs from south-central New Mexico, south-central Texas, down into the north-central and northeastern states of Mexico. There is paucity in the ecology of B. subocularis to date. Some North American colubrid snakes, such as Thamnophis sirtalis, are the most represented species in thermal ecology and life history studies in all reptiles. There is nothing known on the winter ecological aspects of this species, and very little information regarding its overall ecology. The goal of this study is to determine home range, movement patterns, habitats and utilization …

Chemical Defense In The Cave-Dwelling Millipede Brachydesmus Troglobius Daday, 1889 (Diplopoda, Polydesmidae), Slobodan E. Makarov, Ljubodrag V. Vujisić, Božidar P. M. Ćurčić, Bojan S. Ilić, Vele V. Tešević, Vlatka E. Vajs, Ivan M. Vučković, Bojan M. Mitić, Luka R. Lučić, Iris Ž. Đorđević

International Journal of Speleology

The troglomorphic millipede Brachydesmus troglobius Daday, 1889 (Polydesmida: Polydesmidae) secretes allomones from glands on both lateral surfaces of its body segments. The secretion was identified by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) analysis with electron and chemical ionization, and was shown to be composed of a mixture of benzaldehyde, benzyl alcohol, benzoylnitrile, benzoic acid and mandelonitrile benzoate. Hydrogen cyanide was qualitatively identified by the picric acid test. This is the first identification of these compounds in a cave-dwelling polydesmid.

The World’S Deepest Subterranean Community - Krubera-Voronja Cave (Western Caucasus), Alberto Sendra, Ana Sofia P.S. Reboleira

International Journal of Speleology

Subsurface biota extends over a wide variety of habitats that can be spatially interconnected. The largest communities of this subsurface biota inhabit cavities and are well known mainly in caves where biologists are able to have access. Data about deep subterranean communities and arthropods living under one thousand meters was unknown.

An expedition to world’s deepest cave, Krubera-Voronja in Western Caucasus, revealed an interesting subterranean community, living below 2000 meters and represented by more than 12 species of arthropods, including several new species for science. This deep cave biota is composed of troglobionts and also epigean species, that can penetrate …

An Assessment Of Moose (Alces Alces Americana) And Moose Management In Connecticut, Andrew M. Labonte

Master's Theses

Eastern moose (Alces alces americana) populations have been increasing in New England over the past decade. Moose populations have the potential to generate human conflict due to their size, speed, nocturnal behavior, and seasonal mobility. As problems associated with increasing moose populations become more common, the need to develop management strategies that are both effective and acceptable to stakeholders becomes increasingly important. The potential for moose to continue to expand in southern New England and the long-term impacts they may have on Connecticut residents, is unclear. The overall purpose of this study was to assess how suitable Connecticut …

A New Locality Of Mesobuthus Eupeus Thersites (C. L. Koch, 1839) (Scorpiones: Buthidae) In East Kazakhstan, Alexander A. Fomichev

Euscorpius

A new locality of Mesobuthus eupeus thersites (C. L. Koch, 1839) is reported, found during the fieldtrip to East Kazakhstan, one of the most northern areas where scorpions are found in Asia. Notes on the habitats, map and photographs of specimens are given.

Obituary: Jerry Ronald Choate, 1943-2009, Elmer J. Finck, Hugh H. Genoways, Justin D. Hoffman, Carleton J. Phillips, Robert J. Baker

University of Nebraska State Museum: Mammalogy Papers

Jerry Ronald Choate (1943–2009) had just retired as Director of the Sternberg Museum of Natural History and Professor of Biological Sciences, Fort Hays State University, Hays, Kansas, at the time of his death. Jerry served the American Society of Mammalogists in numerous capacities, including Recording Secretary, First Vice President, and most notably as a member and chair of the Board of Trustees.

The hallmark of Jerry’s life was to turn the ordinary into something magnificent. Whether it was his photography that changed an ordinary landscape into a magnificent masterpiece, or his convincing a reluctant graduate student that they could do …

Avian Species Abundance In Response To Recreational Trail Use, Carrie A. Wencel

Department of Environmental Studies: Undergraduate Student Theses

Studies have indicated that non-consumptive outdoor recreation may affect wildlife. Thus, as the nation increases interest in outdoor recreation, data suggests the effect on wildlife will also increase. Previous studies indicate that as disturbance to wildlife increases, both avian species richness will decrease. Knowing how to anticipate effects on native species when planning and managing recreational areas is important in order to both provide for human desires and ensure the least impact to local species diversity.

The goal of this project was to observe and compare avian species richness and diversity between selected trail sites within Shevlin Park, Bend, Oregon …

Smith’S Longspur In Knox County, Nebraska, Mark A. Brogie

Nebraska Bird Review

Smith's Longspur (Calcarius pictus) is considered to be an uncommon casual spring migrant and is limited in spring to the southeast comer of Nebraska (Sharpe et al. 2001). This note provides the only known record for Smith's Longspur for spring in northeast Nebraska.

Subscription And Organization Information [December 2011]

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): $15 in the United States, $18 in Canada, and $30 in all other countries, payable in advance. Single copies are $4 each, postpaid, in the United States, $5 in Canada, and $8 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 …

Kearney Fall Field Days

Nebraska Bird Review

The 2011 NOU Fall Field Days were held at the Iain Nicolson Center at the Audubon Rowe Sanctuary southeast of Kearney on September 23–25, and 55 members and friends were in attendance. The meeting was organized by Kent Skaggs.

Field trip destinations included Harlan County Reservoir, led by Kent Skaggs; the Rainwater Basin, led by Paul Dunbar; Bittern's Call WPA and Johnson Lake, led by John Murphy; and Sherman Reservoir, led by Robin Harding and Lanny Randolph. A final tally of 143 species was recorded Highlights included the Neotropic Cormorants at Harlan County Reservoir and Sherman Reservoir and the numerous …

First Discovery Of A Four-Egg Clutch For Mountain Plover (Charadrius Montanus) In Nebraska, Bartholomew L. Bly, Travis Wooten

Nebraska Bird Review

On 27 May 2010, the first documented Mountain Plover nest in Nebraska to contain a clutch of four eggs was documented in a fallow strip of a dryland crop field in southern Kimball County. Mountain Plover typically have a clutch size of 3 eggs, though clutches with 1 and 2 eggs are observed in approximately 15% of nesting attempts (Knopf and Wunder 2006). Clutches with 4 eggs are rare and have been reported to occur in less than 1% of the population (Knopf and Wunder 2006). Five 4-egg clutches have been reported in Colorado and one in Montana (see Knopf …

Nebraska Bird Review (December 2011) 79(4), Whole Issue

Nebraska Bird Review

Fall Field Report, August–November 2011 ... 118

First Documented Nebraska Sighting of Brown-headed Nuthatch (Sitta pusilla) ... 136

First Discovery of a Four-Egg Clutch for Mountain Plover (Charadrius montanus) in Nebraska ... 139

Smith's Longspur in Knox County, Nebraska ... 141

Fall 2011 Bird Banding at Wildcat Hills Nature Center ... 142

Kearney Fall Field Days ... 143

Index to Volume 79 ... 148

Subscription and Organization Information ... 159

Index To Volume 79

Nebraska Bird Review

Ahlschwede, Carla 71

Allen, Edward 83

Allison, Scott 32

Alsop, FJ 36

American Ornithologists' Union 109–110

Anderson, BW 36

Arkansas Audubon Society 36

Avocet, American 55, 68, 73, 89, 125

First Documented Nebraska Sighting Of Brown-Headed Nuthatch (Sitta Pusilla), Larry Einemann

Nebraska Bird Review

Monday, November 8, 2010, was an unusually warm (upper 70s) autumn day for Lincoln, Nebraska, with no clouds and a wind from the southwest. I went to Holmes Lake Park in southeast Lincoln to scan for late migrating waterfowl and then to check the stand of conifers for the arrival of winter migrants. Around 11 A.M. I was attracted to a feeding group of six Black-capped Chickadees and three Red-breasted Nuthatches in the 30- to 40-year-old pines and Douglas firs north of Hyde Observatory. I noticed a differently patterned nuthatch in the group. I had seen a Pygmy Nuthatch several …

Fall Field Report, August–November 2011, W. Ross Silcock

Nebraska Bird Review

Overall, this fall migration was routine (waterfowl, warblers, sparrows), but there were a few unexpected highlights. The flooded Missouri River Valley provided habitat that led to some amazing fall counts: 3000 pelicans, 5700 coots, 338 American Golden-Plovers, and 1200 Pectoral Sandpipers. The 10,000 cormorants at Harlan County Reservoir may not have been affected by the Missouri River flooding, and were a record count also. While we're talking numbers, the martin roost in Omaha topped out at 50,000–55,000, and seasonal totals of 4 Red-necked Grebes and 15 Philadelphia Vireos for the state, 34 Mississippi Kites over Ogallala (it's often hard to …

Fall 2011 Bird Banding At Wildcat Hills Nature Center, Colin Woolley

Nebraska Bird Review

Rocky Mountain Bird Observatory has been operating a fall migration bird banding station at the Wildcat Hills Nature Center in Scotts Bluff Co. since 2007. In 2011, during our fifth year of banding, we captured a few new species, had new high totals for other species, and had a record number new high total of recaptures. Weather permitting, we banded on weekdays from August 31 through October 10 for five hours per day beginning soon after sunrise. We caught and banded 735 individual birds of 32 species. We banded two new species for the station in 2011: one Red-eyed Vireo …

Herpetofaunal Diversity At Yankee Hill State Lake And Wildlife Management Area, Lancaster County, Nebraska, Shelby Klima

Department of Environmental Studies: Undergraduate Student Theses

A survey for amphibians and reptiles was conducted in March through October 2011 at Yankee Hill Wildlife Management Area in Lancaster County, Nebraska. The survey was conducted using several different techniques including: visual and auditory encounters, artificial and natural cover objects, aquatic trappings and road surveys. A total of 145 individuals representing 12 species were identified including seven reptiles and five amphibians. A total of 48% of the species that may potentially occur on the site were encountered, all of which are common, widely distributed generalist species. Neither Graham’s Crayfish Snake nor the Massasauga, both target species for this survey, …

Global And Specific Controls Of Protein Synthesis In Hibernators, Peipei Pan

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Mammalian hibernation is a highly dynamic physiological process that is composed of a series of torpor bouts, wherein hibernators oscillate between periods of torpor and interbout arousal. Although normally vital to homeostasis, many energetically consumptive processes such as translation or protein synthesis are virtually ceased during hibernation. Earlier studies indicated that protein synthesis had fallen to almost negligible levels. Cap-dependent initiation of translation is well regulated by eukaryotic translation initiation factor 4E (eIF4E) and its binding partner eIF4E-binding protein 1 (4E-BP1) when hibernators cycle in and out the torpor state. Herein, I investigated well-characterized regulatory mechanisms of global and specific …

Movement Ecology Of An Intercontinental Migratory Bird During Spring Stopover, Emily Beth Cohen

Dissertations

Movement ecology is a component of nearly all aspects of animal behavior and an animal’s decision to move is likely influenced by a complex combination of exogenous and endogenous factors. Therefore, an examination of the causes and consequences of organismal movement provides a conceptual framework for understanding complex behavioral strategies. My dissertation research is focused on the movement ecology of an intercontinental migratory songbird during spring migration. I adopted experimental approaches to study the factors influencing how a songbird migrant, red-eyed vireos (Vireo olivaceus), makes decisions in unfamiliar landscapes from the initiation of spring stopover.

I simulated the …

A Comparison Of The Effectiveness Of Scent Lures On Attracting Mesopredators, Tom Batter

Department of Environmental Studies: Undergraduate Student Theses

A mesopredator is a medium-sized middle trophic level predator such as a raccoon (Procyon lotor), red fox (Vulpes vulpes), striped skunk (Mephitis mephitis), or coyote (Canis latrans; Crooks and Soule 1999). Mesopredators have long been trapped for recreational, economic, or academic reasons. Throughout human history trapping has been used to capture animals for food and skins, as well as to prevent personal harm and property damage from predators. In order to increase the probability of success, scent lures are often used as an attractant (Geary 1984, Mills et al. 2010, Schlexer 2008).

Prey Selection By The Northern Watersnake, Nerodia Sipedon, Kyle O' Connell

Department of Environmental Studies: Undergraduate Student Theses

Prey selection and composition of the northern waternake, Nerodia sipedon was investigated between 8/2010 and 3/2011 by palpation of stomach contents in the field and conducting laboratory trials. 41 snakes were captured, five yielded prey contents. Fish parts, freshwater mussels, and an insect exoskeleton were found. No amphibians were found despite availability at study sites. Snakes in the laboratory underwent 22 trials, feeding on 11 occasions. Snakes fed on an equal number of both fish species, revealing no selection. Further research is needed to determine the rate of digestion of N. sipedon.

On Centruroides Margaritatus (Gervais, 1841) And Closely Related Species (Scorpiones: Buthidae), Luis F. De Armas, Rolando Teruel, František Kovařík

Euscorpius

Centruroides edwardsii (Gervais, 1843) comb. nov. is restored as a valid species, and a male neotype from Riohacha, La Guajira Department, Colombia is herein designated; this species ranges from Mexico through Colombia, but there are no reliable records from Guatemala, Belize, and Panama; introduced populations also occur in Cuba (West Indies) and Senegal (Africa). We regard the following species as its junior synonyms: Scorpio (Atreus) degeerii Gervais, 1844, Centrurus gambiensis Karsch, 1879, Centruroides margaritatus septentrionalis Hoffmann, 1932, and Rhopalurus danieli Prado et Rios-Patiño, 1940. We also consider Centruroides margaritatus morenoi Mello-Leitão, 1945 as a junior synonym of …

A Checklist Of The Scorpions (Arachnida: Scorpiones) Of Panama, With Two New Records, Rolando Teruel, Michiel A.C. Cozijn

Euscorpius

In the present note, we compile a checklist of all scorpion species recorded from Panama. A total of three families, five genera and 14 species are confirmed to occur in the country, and previous records of two other families, four genera, and nine species are discarded as misidentifications, mislabelings, or accidental introductions. Two Buthidae species are herein recorded for the first time from Panama: Tityus tayrona Lourenço, 1991 (so far known only from northern Colombia) and one apparently undescribed species of Ananteris Thorell, 1891.

Scorpions Of Iran (Arachnida: Scorpiones). Part Vii. Kerman Province, Shahrokh Navidpour, Majeed Ezatkhah, František Kovařík, Michael E. Soleglad, Victor Fet

Euscorpius

Thirteen species of scorpions belonging to two families are reported from the Kerman Province of Iran. Of these, the species Compsobuthus kaftani Kovařík, 2003, Mesobuthus macmahoni (Pocock, 1900), Orthochirus farzanpayi (Vachon et Farzanpay, 1987), Polisius persicus Fet, Capes et Sissom, 2001, Sassanidotus gracilis (Birula, 1900), and Hemiscorpius lepturus Peters, 1861 are recorded from the province for the first time. Kerman Province contains type localities of six species of scorpions, of which Kraepelinia palpator (Birula, 1903) and Orthochirus gruberi Kovařík et Fet, 2006 are valid. Prionurus crassicauda orientalis Birula, 1900 is a synonym of Androctonus crassicauda (Olivier, 1807), Buthus eupeus kirmanensis …

An Anomaly Of Pectinal Organs In Vaejovis Lapidicola (Scorpiones: Vaejovidae), Richard F. Ayrey

Euscorpius

Among specimens of Vaejovis lapidicola Stahnke, one female was found to have abnormally shaped pectines, both with only distal pectinal teeth. This rare, possibly teratological anomaly is documented and discussed.

Exploitation Of Environmental Noise By An Araneophagic Assassin Bug, Anne E. Wignall, Robert R. Jackson, R. Stimson Wilcox, Phillip W. Taylor

All Peer-Reviewed Publications

Predatory arthropods that specialize in invading webs and preying on the resident spiders ('araneophagic predators') face special challenges. As webs are exceedingly good at transmitting vibrations, it is difficult for a web invader to move through the web and remain undetected by the spider. An araneophagic predator that generates vibrations in the web may risk prey escaping or even counterattacking. To increase the chances of an undetected approach, predators may exploit episodes of environmental noise to approach, while their prey's ability to detect them is compromised ('opportunistic smokescreen behaviour'). Here we provide the first experimental evidence of convergent opportunistic smokescreen …

Looking At Zoos, Irus Braverman

Journal Articles

Looking at zoos from the perspective of zoo personnel, this article explores the importance of vision in the zoo’s presentation of its animals as well as the major technologies that the zoo uses to intensify such animal visions. On the one end of the spectrum, zoogeography and immersion design are used at the zoo exhibit to enable zoogoers to see animals in their naturalistic settings. On the opposite end of the spectrum, animals are caged and cared for in the highly artificial settings of the zoo’s holding area, with little or no exposure to the public gaze. In between these …

African Elephants Change Gaits When Walking Downhill, Robert H.I. Dale, Robert Warren, Brock Ward, Eric Noble

Scholarship and Professional Work - LAS

Abstract from the International Elephant and Rhino Conservation and Research Symposium, Rotterdam, NL, October 10-14, 2011.

Surveillance Of Selected Diseases In Free-Ranging Elk (Cervus Elaphus Nelsoni) In Nebraska, 1995-2009, Michael A. Cover, Scott E. Hygnstrom, David W. Oates, Kit M. Hams, Kurt C. Vercauteren

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

Sera samples were collected from 21 free-ranging, captured female elk (Cervus elaphus nelsoni) in 1995- 96, and tissue and sera samples were collected from 415 hunter-harvested elk from 1995 to 2006 and tested for selected diseases. Titers for Anaplasma marginale were detected in 81 of 436 (19%) elk. Occurrence of antibodies to anaplasmosis increased from 4 to 40 elk from 2002 to 2006. Titers for bovine viral diarrhea virus (BVDV) were detected in 18 of 346 (5%) samples. Titers for Leptospira interrogans serovars were detected in 21 of 289 (7%) of samples from 1995 to 2004. Titers for …