Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®
Articles 1 - 3 of 3
Full-Text Articles in Biodiversity
Decline In Amphibian Health In Local Stream, Elyse Vetter, Elise Dearment, Colton Russell, Audrey Fontes, Lee Kats
Decline In Amphibian Health In Local Stream, Elyse Vetter, Elise Dearment, Colton Russell, Audrey Fontes, Lee Kats
Seaver College Research And Scholarly Achievement Symposium
Many local streams of the Santa Monica Mountains are populated by the native California Newt, Taricha torosa, a species of special concern. Arroyo Sequit is one of these streams, the upper and lower portions of which are split by a culvert and the Mulholland Highway. This stream and the surrounding areas burned during the Woolsey fire of 2018. Since the fire, construction has been ongoing in and around the stream. Two years post-fire (during the summer of 2020) significantly more newts were found in the stream than years prior. A large proportion of these newts were unhealthy in appearance, …
Conspecific Aggression Of Invasive Crayfish, P. Clarkii, In Response To Chemical Cues, Elyse Vetter, Elise Dearment, Audrey Fontes, Gary Bucciarelli, Lee Kats
Conspecific Aggression Of Invasive Crayfish, P. Clarkii, In Response To Chemical Cues, Elyse Vetter, Elise Dearment, Audrey Fontes, Gary Bucciarelli, Lee Kats
Seaver College Research And Scholarly Achievement Symposium
Red Swamp Crayfish, Procambarus clarkii, have caused vast damage to the stream ecosystem of the Santa Monica Mountains, following their invasive introduction. Through their extensive eating habits, high levels of aggression, and responsiveness to environmental stimuli, P. clarkii have a tremendous impact on the success of native species in the Santa Monica Mountains. With exposure to chemical cues, crayfish are able to perceive threats and react accordingly. To determine the extent of such chemoreception, pairs of P. clarkii were tested in the laboratory for conspecific aggression in the presence of native newt, native frog, and conspecific alarm cues. The …
The Effects Of Symbiote Ostracods On Invasive Crayfish Behavior, Audrey Fontes, Elyse Vetter, Gary Bucciarelli, Lee Kats
The Effects Of Symbiote Ostracods On Invasive Crayfish Behavior, Audrey Fontes, Elyse Vetter, Gary Bucciarelli, Lee Kats
Seaver College Research And Scholarly Achievement Symposium
Invasive crayfish, Procambarus clarkii, are known to negatively impact the biodiversity of Santa Monica Mountain streams. Small symbiotes, ostracods, live on Procambarus clarkii in some local streams. However, their effect on the behaviour of invasive crayfish is unknown. We used an aqueous chlorobutanol solution to remove ostracods from crayfish. We paired control crayfish with those that had ostracods removed and scored aggressive interactions. Crayfish without ostracods were found to be significantly more aggressive towards crayfish with ostracods. When we compared feeding behavior, we found that crayfish without ostracods consumed food more quickly than control crayfish. We again subjected crayfish …