Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®

Biodiversity Commons™

Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®

Theses/Dissertations

2015

Discipline
Institution
Keyword
Publication

Articles 31 - 46 of 46

Full-Text Articles in Biodiversity

Systematics Of The African River Frog Genus Amietia (Anura: Pyxicephalidae) From Eastern Democratic Republic Of The Congo, Thornton Robert Larson Jan 2015

Systematics Of The African River Frog Genus Amietia (Anura: Pyxicephalidae) From Eastern Democratic Republic Of The Congo, Thornton Robert Larson

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

The African river frog genus Amietia is found near rivers and other lentic water sources throughout central, eastern and southern Africa. Because the genus includes multiple morphologically conservative species, taxonomic studies of river frogs have been limited. We sampled 49 individuals of Amietia from multiple localities in and near the Albertine Rift (AR) of Burundi, Democratic Republic of the Congo and Uganda. We utilized single-gene (16S) and concatenated (12S, 16S, cytochrome b and RAG1) gene-tree analyses and coalescent species-tree analyses to construct phylogenetic trees. Two divergence dating approaches were used in BEAST, including secondary calibration points with 12S, 16S and …

Go to article

Phylogeny And Systematics Of Panaspis And Afroablepharus Skinks (Squamata: Scincidae) In The Savannas Of Sub-Saharan Africa, Maria Fernanda Medina Jan 2015

Phylogeny And Systematics Of Panaspis And Afroablepharus Skinks (Squamata: Scincidae) In The Savannas Of Sub-Saharan Africa, Maria Fernanda Medina

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

African snake-eyed skinks are relatively small lizards of the genera Panaspis and Afroablepharus. The allocation of these genera was frequently rearranged in the 20th century based on morphology, ecology and biogeography. Members of these genera occur primarily in savanna habitats throughout sub-Saharan Africa and include species that have highly conserved morphology, which poses a challenge for taxonomic studies. We sequenced two mitochondrial (16S and cyt b) and two nuclear genes (PDC and RAG1) from 91 Panaspis and Afroablepharus samples from various localities in eastern, central and southern Africa. Concatenated gene-tree and divergence dating analyses were conducted to infer phylogenies and …

Go to article

Effects Of Prescribed Fire On Upland Plant Biodiversity And Abundance In Northeast Florida, Peter D. Maholland Jan 2015

Effects Of Prescribed Fire On Upland Plant Biodiversity And Abundance In Northeast Florida, Peter D. Maholland

UNF Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Terrestrial ecosystems in the southeastern United States have evolved with fire as a common disturbance and as a result many natural communities require the presence of fire to persist over time. Human development precludes natural fires from occurring within these communities; however, prescribed fire is considered to be a critical tool in the effort to restore fire-dependent ecosystems after decades of fire exclusion. Direct effects of fire on individual floral and faunal species as well as benefits to biodiversity at the landscape (gamma diversity) level have largely been supported in previous research. However, information on the effects of natural and …

Go to article

An Assessment Of The Role Of Roads In Population Demography And Genetic Structuring In Two Species Of Lizards In The Northern Chihuahuan Desert, Kevin Floyd Jan 2015

An Assessment Of The Role Of Roads In Population Demography And Genetic Structuring In Two Species Of Lizards In The Northern Chihuahuan Desert, Kevin Floyd

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Roads can fragment habitat and increase mortality rates of wildlife, potentially reducing population sizes and gene flow, which in turn can reduce genetic diversity through genetic drift. Although negative road impacts have been found in a variety of taxa, not all species are impacted. For instance, species that move less and rarely encounter roads and those that avoid the roads are predicted to not be negatively affected. Yet tests of these predictions are uncommon, especially for reptiles and particularly lizards. Side-blotched lizards (Uta stansburiana) are small sit-and-wait predators, while the larger marbled whiptails (Aspidoscelis marmorata) are active foragers. Their responses …

Go to article

Mercury Reduces Avian Reproductive Success Through Direct Embryotoxicity Rather Than Altered Parental Behavior, Stephanie Yen Chin Jan 2015

Mercury Reduces Avian Reproductive Success Through Direct Embryotoxicity Rather Than Altered Parental Behavior, Stephanie Yen Chin

Dissertations, Theses, and Masters Projects

No abstract provided.

Go to article

Studying The Effects Of Theraflu On The Growth Of Selenastrum Capricornutum, Hannah Gray Boren Jan 2015

Studying The Effects Of Theraflu On The Growth Of Selenastrum Capricornutum, Hannah Gray Boren

Honors Theses

Algae contribute to self-purification of streams and rivers and are necessary as food for fish and as components of aquatic food webs (1). However, too much or too little algae may create or be indicative of a problem. If nutrients are present in large amounts, algae growth may become excessive, resulting in algal “blooms.” These algal blooms can change the chemistry of the water, making it toxic to other aquatic occupants, including fish, birds, animals, and other plants (1). On the other hand, if nutrients in the water are limiting or are exhausted, algae growth is inhibited, which results in …

Go to article

School Gardens: Cultivating A Child’S Nutritional Habits, Environmental Knowledge, And Sustainability Practices, Jeffrey Meltzer Jan 2015

School Gardens: Cultivating A Child’S Nutritional Habits, Environmental Knowledge, And Sustainability Practices, Jeffrey Meltzer

Honors Theses

School gardens have existed since the late nineteenth century and today are becoming increasingly popular in many parts of the world, including where I studied in Maine and Australia (AUS). Multiple organizations support school gardens in Maine, including the Maine School Garden Network, which has over 125 registered school gardens. In AUS, the Stephanie Alexander Kitchen Garden Foundation primarily supports the school garden movement and has over 800 registered school gardens. While many researchers have studied school gardens, few have compared two countries, focused on environmental sustainability, or investigated Maine in particular. This thesis combines information from literature reviews, and …

Go to article

Population Differentiation And Habitat Selection Of A Montane Red Fox Population In The Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem, Patrick Cross Jan 2015

Population Differentiation And Habitat Selection Of A Montane Red Fox Population In The Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem, Patrick Cross

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Montane red fox (Vulpes vulpes) populations across the western United States are genetically and morphologically distinct from foxes at lower elevations. These montane populations also share a preference for subalpine forest habitats. One hypothesis is that they stem from boreal forest-associated ancestors that expanded during the Pleistocene when boreal forests extended farther south than they do today. Forest habitat selection may therefore aid the persistence of native populations surrounded by non-native conspecifics. Alternatively, this behavior may be an avoidance mechanism in response to competition with larger coyotes (Canis latrans), or a product of the fox's natural adaptability. The red fox …

Go to article

Behavioral Response Of Pacific Lamprey (Entosphenus Tridentatus) To Predator Odors, Laurie L. Porter Jan 2015

Behavioral Response Of Pacific Lamprey (Entosphenus Tridentatus) To Predator Odors, Laurie L. Porter

All Master's Theses

Pacific lamprey (Entosphenus tridentatus), a species facing serious threats to their existence, experience a number of challenges in reaching their desired spawning grounds during the adult migratory phase, and predators are suspected to be one of these challenges. Understanding if Pacific lamprey respond to predator odorants may provide a management tool for use in conjunction with attractants in guiding lamprey to suitable spawning habitat and deterring them from poor habitat. Previous research has failed to explore Pacific lamprey response to predator odorants, although much research exists on attractant odorants. In our study, we tested Pacific lamprey response to …

Go to article

Examining The Impacts Of Valley Fills In Stream Ecosystems On Amphibian And Aquatic Insect Communities In Southeastern Kentucky, John Clayton Bourne Jan 2015

Examining The Impacts Of Valley Fills In Stream Ecosystems On Amphibian And Aquatic Insect Communities In Southeastern Kentucky, John Clayton Bourne

Online Theses and Dissertations

Chapter 1. Abstract: Biodiversity is not evenly distributed, and understanding factors that determine spatial patterns of species diversity remains a key question in ecology. Because of their relatively high abundance and complex life cycles, stream salamanders and aquatic insects are important trophic links and serve a critical role in transferring energy. Despite this importance little research has examined their community structure simultaneously in aquatic ecosystems. The primary objective of this research was to determine the structure of these communities across natural areas of southeastern Kentucky and understand what factors impact their abundances and distributions. To address this, we sampled eight …

Go to article

A Comparison Of The Effects Of Burning, Haying And Mowing On Plants And Small Mammals In A Tallgrass Prairie Reconstruction, Ryan Allan Neuhaus Jan 2015

A Comparison Of The Effects Of Burning, Haying And Mowing On Plants And Small Mammals In A Tallgrass Prairie Reconstruction, Ryan Allan Neuhaus

Dissertations and Theses @ UNI

Fire is an effective management tool for reconstructed prairies. However, due to safety concerns, road departments and other prairie managers are sometimes reluctant to use fire. Therefore, alternative techniques to manage reconstructed prairie, such as mowing or haying, need to be considered. The goal of this study is to determine if mowing and/or haying can be used to manage vegetation in lieu of fire for prairie reconstructions. This study examines the effects of four management techniques on plant and small mammal species in a tallgrass prairie reconstruction. No management, mowing, haying, and burning were replicated six times using a split …

Go to article

Influence Of Landscape On Gene Differentiation In The American Pika (Ochotona Princeps) Within The Interstate 90 Snoqualmie Pass Corridor, Craig P. Fergus Jan 2015

Influence Of Landscape On Gene Differentiation In The American Pika (Ochotona Princeps) Within The Interstate 90 Snoqualmie Pass Corridor, Craig P. Fergus

All Master's Theses

Understanding the impact of different landscape features on the movement of genes among populations can be helpful in managing wildlife populations. Our study used GIS tools to compare genetic connectivity among 13 American pika (Ochotona princeps) habitat patches across an approximately 77 square km area adjacent to Interstate 90 near Snoqualmie Pass, WA. Tissue samples were collected from 85 individuals and genotyped at six microsatellite loci to determine genetic differentiation among each pair of patches. A variety of models estimating the influence of landscape factors on gene flow were then used to find “resistance scores” between each pair …

Go to article

A Gis Assessment Of Ecoregion Representation In Chile's Existing And Proposed Integrated Network Of Protected Areas, Jessica Schutz Jan 2015

A Gis Assessment Of Ecoregion Representation In Chile's Existing And Proposed Integrated Network Of Protected Areas, Jessica Schutz

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Chile's state designated protected areas are reported to show representation bias and to be unable to meet conservation goals. Private protected areas are considered an important tool to resolve these issues, which has led to support for increasing the role of private protected areas in Chile and creating an integrated public-private protected area network. But the validity of the capacity of private protected areas to fix Chile's state protected area network bias, and the advantage of creating an integrated protected area network, have not been assessed. This study uses the most recent data on Chile's state, private, and international protected …

Go to article

Assessing Changes In Avian Communities, Jessie D. Golding Jan 2015

Assessing Changes In Avian Communities, Jessie D. Golding

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Grazing is a potentially powerful tool to address wildlife declines associated with land use conversion in the western United States. Grazing systems can be manipulated to achieve desired vegetation outcomes, preserve native habitat and economically benefit multiple stakeholders. As a result, systems designed to benefit native ecosystems are being widely implemented. However, the benefits of these grazing systems on many wildlife communities remain relatively unexplored. Songbirds provide an ideal study system to test these benefits because they continue to use native habitat that is currently grazed. Given limited time and resources, conservation practitioners often monitor a single focal species or …

Go to article

Effects Of Proline And Glycine On The Cnidocyte Discharge Of Hydra Magnipapillata, Janine R. Appleton Jan 2015

Effects Of Proline And Glycine On The Cnidocyte Discharge Of Hydra Magnipapillata, Janine R. Appleton

Honors Theses and Capstones

The sense of taste enables animals to utilize environmental cues to detect favorable foods. Through specialized sensory receptors, Cnidarians employ stinging cells called cnidocytes to perform a variety of activities such as locomotion, capturing prey, inducing of feeding responses, and defense. Their discharge is highly regulated by mechanical and chemical signals that are mediated by a complex system including the opsin and taste pathways. Taste 1 Receptors (T1R) have previously been isolated in vertebrates but only until recently, have been noted in invertebrates. Receptors specific to L- amino acids corresponding to the taste sensation of umami, were studied to determine …

Go to article

Carnivore Diet Identification Through Scat And Genetic Analysis In Namibia, Africa, Alicia J. Walsh Jan 2015

Carnivore Diet Identification Through Scat And Genetic Analysis In Namibia, Africa, Alicia J. Walsh

Honors Theses and Capstones

Worldwide the cheetah population is declining making them Africa’s most endangered large cat. Namibia, Africa currently has the largest population of cheetahs in the world. During the summer of 2014, I did scat analysis of carnivores on the property of the Cheetah Conservation Fund (CCF) in Namibia in order to better understand the predators that compete with the cheetah and how the ecosystem works as a whole. I worked at CCF for nine weeks to analyze the diets of carnivores in the area through genetic and scat analysis. Analyzing carnivore feces would ultimately identify the diet of various carnivores in …

Go to article

First Prev