Biodiversity Commons^™

Hybridization And Introgression In Marine Invertebrates: Population Genomics Of Phymactis Papillosa And Asterias Sea Stars, Christopher J. Dookie

Dissertations and Theses

Hybridization and introgression are evolutionary significant processes in marine invertebrates (Sanford & Kelly,2011) yet genome-wide investigations of gene flow in these taxa remain limited relative to vertebrate systems (Marchi et al., 2021). This thesis presents genomic analyses of hybridization and introgression in two marine invertebrates occupying contrasting oceanographic settings and characterized by contrasting genomic datasets: restriction-site associated DNA sequencing (RADseq) SNP data for the eastern Pacific sea anemone Phymactis papillosa and whole genome sequencing (WGS) data for the North Atlantic sea stars Asterias rubens and Asterias forbesi. For each system, I applied coalescent-based species tree inference using CASTER (Zhang …

Barriers And Corridors: Timber Rattlesnake Habitat Connectivity In New York, Lauren Rose

Electronic Theses & Dissertations (2024 - present)

Habitat fragmentation poses a significant threat to species that rely on landscape connectivity for movement in search of food, water, and mates. The timber rattlesnake (Crotalus horridus), listed as a threatened species in New York State, travels an average of 1.5 miles—and up to five miles—from permanent denning sites to reach habitat suitable for gestation, foraging, basking, and overwintering. Ongoing development in the lower Hudson Valley has increasingly fragmented these critical habitats, restricting movement between den populations. This thesis evaluates landscape barriers that contribute to population isolation and identifies opportunities to restore connectivity among timber rattlesnake metapopulations.

Using …

Complexity Theory And Environmental Conservation Management: A Case Study With Coyote And Red Wolf Hybridization, Gretchen E. Mahalic

Honors Undergraduate Theses

Conservation biology and invasion biology are value-led scientific disciplines founded on environmental advocacy, operating at the intersection of research and action. Though these disciplines are known for their scientific veracity, unexamined values are often promulgated without scrutiny and drive decisions that work against good ecological outcomes. A case in point is that coyotes migrating into southeastern territory are framed as the greatest threat to the conservation of the endangered red wolf because hybridization is seen as diminishing their species integrity. Applying Val Plumwood’s ecofeminist account of dualistic frameworks, I will use this case to show how the vilification of the …

Nutritional Niche Separation Amongst Sympatric Threatened Lemurs: The Role Of Micronutrients In Food Selection And Implications For Physiological Health, Maire K. O'Malley

Graduate Research Theses & Dissertations

Madagascar’s biodiversity is heavily affected by anthropogenic change and consequently, conservation management plans need to reflect current research to protect biodiversity. Primate nutritional ecology offers valuable insights into ecology, evolution, health, habitat requirements, social behavior, and conservation management strategies. Macronutrients (fat, carbohydrates, and protein) provide consumers with energy whereas micronutrients (vitamins and minerals) are essential to metabolic processes but are frequently overlooked. This study provides a novel examination of dietary niche separation by comparing mineral consumption between three sympatric species differing in feeding strategies: 1) Grey Bamboo lemur (Hapalemur griseus), a bamboo specialist, 2) Diadema sifaka (Propithecus diadema), a folivore, …

Layers Of Biodiversity: Linking Urban Garden Plants And Arthropods, Chenyang Su

Dartmouth College Ph.D Dissertations

Diverse arthropods play essential roles in urban agriculture, while urban agriculture provides food and habitat that support arthropod biodiversity in fragmented urban landscapes. In urban community gardens, a form of urban agriculture characterized by allotment-style gardens, arthropods interact with plants and green space across multiple spatial scales of management, from individual gardeners' plots to broad urban landscapes. Understanding how plant communities in urban community gardens and urban landscapes shape arthropod biodiversity and interactions across scales can inform both agricultural management and urban biodiversity conservation. In this thesis, I conducted a series of field studies on ecologically and economically important arthropods …

Do California Rangeland Healthy Soil Practices Offer Co-Benefits For Grassland Birds?, Ximena O. Gil

Cal Poly Humboldt theses and projects

Rangelands are important landscapes in California that support a robust cattle industry and serve as vital grassland habitat for birds. Climate change is projected to impact rangelands, leading to economic and ecological deterioration. In California, the Healthy Soils Program (HSP) incentivizes climate-smart solutions to increase working land resiliency. While the HSP targets soil and range health for livestock, it may also benefit birds. We surveyed rangeland operators to examine whether the implementation and duration of specific range management practices, such as range seeding, prescribed grazing, and silvopasture, are associated with bird community responses, using avian point count data from Point …

Succession And Alpine Plant Habitat Of A Recently Deglaciated Foreland In The Trinity Alps, California, Sebastian Evans

Cal Poly Humboldt theses and projects

The recent extinction of the Salmon Glacier in the Trinity Alps, California, provides a rare opportunity to examine post-glacial succession in a region of high endemism experiencing climatic stress. Using a chronosequence spanning ~150 years since deglaciation, I investigated (1) vegetation successional trajectories in the foreland, (2) whether the foreland functions as a climate refugium for alpine specialists, and (3) whether facilitative interactions between the dominant vascular plant (DVP) and bryophytes occur and persist through succession. I surveyed 100 plots across 11 transects within the foreland and 40 randomized plots in adjacent ecosystems. Successional patterns and refugial potential were analyzed …

From Theory To Ecosystems: Exploring Biodiversity And Ecosystem-Function In Pitcher Plant (Darlingtonia Californica) Microbial Communities, Gavin Sutter

Cal Poly Humboldt theses and projects

The relationship between biodiversity and ecosystem-function (BEF) has been a central focus of ecological research for the last three decades, yet the role of space in shaping BEF relationships remains relatively unknown. Research has shown that community diversity and composition can strongly influence productivity, nutrient cycling, and decomposition, but much of this work treats communities as spatially isolated, leaving open how dispersal and other spatial processes shape BEF at broader scales. To begin addressing this gap, I used microbial communities inhabiting Darlingtonia californica pitcher plant leaves to evaluate how spatial organization and successional change shape biodiversity and ecosystem-functioning. I quantified …

End-To-End Modeling For The Ross Sea Region Marine Protected Area: A Review Of Available Tools For Conservation Objectives, James R. Lovvorn, Cara Nissen, Alexis A. Bahl, Erik Behrens, Cassandra M. Brooks, Katy Christensen, Michael S. Dinniman, Lilian A. Dove, Alice K. Duvivier, Eileen E. Hofmann, Hayley Kwasniewski, Young Shin Kwon, Sharon E. Stammerjohn, Lei Xing

CCPO Publications

The challenge of protecting marine ecosystems, including biodiversity and manifold interactions in changing environments, has encouraged development of end-to-end models linking physical drivers through entire food webs to upper-level predators. Ideally such models should have temporal and spatial resolution adequate to capture important small-scale processes, while including scales large enough to encompass local food webs and movements of wide-ranging consumers. The need for component submodels to be manipulated and upgraded independently by scientists from different disciplines, and used selectively depending on questions addressed, favors modular structure allowing linkage of different submodels with varying strengths and weaknesses. As an example, this …

Enhancing The Recovery Of Threatened And Endangered Shorebird And Plant Species In Southampton, New York: A Structured Policy Analysis Approach, Joann Smith

Electronic Theses & Dissertations (2024 - present)

Settled on the eastern end of the most human populated island in North America, Long Island, New York, is the Town of Southampton. The Towns’ Board of Trustees are responsible for the management of federal or state listed species, which they carry out through their Threatened and Endangered Species Program (T&E program). Currently the program manages two listed shorebirds and two listed seabeach plants; the Piping plover (Charadrius melodus), a federally threatened species, and the Least Tern (Sternula antillarum), a New York State threatened species, Seabeach amaranth (Amaranthus pumilus), both federal and state threatened, and …

Cover Crop Effects On Soil Porewater Nutrients And Hydrothermal Properties, Md Mahadi Hasan

Theses and Dissertations

Adoption of winter cover crops in the U.S. Midwest may reduce nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) leaching from soils, potentially shrinking the hypoxic zone by limiting nutrient runoff into the Gulf of Mexico. To evaluate the impact of selected winter cover crops on soil porewater N and P concentration, a field study was conducted at the Illinois State University Research Farm (ISURF) and the Western Illinois University Research Farm (WIURF). The experimental design was a block experiment with four replications.  Cover crop treatments included a winter fallow, wild pennycress (WPC), golden pennycress (GPC), cereal rye (CR), annual ryegrass (AR), and …

Recent Insight And Perspective Of Marine-Inspired Biopolymers For Wound Healing Applications - A Review, Muhammad Umar Aslam Khan, Saiqa Yousaf, Abdalla Abdal-Hay, Mohd Faizal Bin Abdullah, Sahar Madani, Muhammad Shahzad Zafar, Goran M. Stojanović, Lobat Tayebi

Electrical & Computer Engineering Faculty Publications

There is an increasing necessity for advanced, sustainable, and biocompatible materials for wound healing as therapeutic and diagnostic products. Marine environments, characterized by high biodiversity, offer an underutilized source of natural resources with enormous potential for creating novel materials for dressings. This review highlights the revolutionary nature of polymeric biomaterials of marine origin, with a focus on polysaccharides, like alginate, chitosan, and carrageenan; proteins, such as collagen and gelatin. These biopolymers are outstanding in their physicochemical properties, such as biodegradability, bioactivity, and modifiable mechanical strength, which enable their use in wound-healing systems. Besides, these biomaterials may be easily chemically and …

Aquatic Macrophytes As Nature-Based Solutions: Challenges And Opportunities Across Inland And Coastal Waters, Morgan Botrel, Roxane Maranger, Lindsay L. Trottier, Mathieu Cusson, Lars L. Iverson, Fanny Noisette, Christian Nozais, Katrine Turgeon, Andrea Bertolo, Thibaud André-Alphonse, Simon Bélanger, Arthur De Grandpré, Jean-Olivier Goyette, Sabine Hilt, Ladd Johnson, Valérie Langlois, Martin Laporte, Félix Lauzon, Brigitte Légaré, Anne Ola, Marie-Pomme Presne-Poissant, Matthieu Prugne, Caroline Susini, Richard Zimmerman

OES Faculty Publications

Macrophytes are foundation species whose use as nature-based solution (NbS) in aquatic ecosystems can help reduce climate change impacts while mitigating biodiversity loss. The discrepancy in research and application of macrophytes as NbS across inland and marine coastal ecosystems is an opportunity to expand the concept and learn from different approaches. We report on an initiative uniting marine and freshwater scientists that compared knowledge on macrophytes as NbS across realms, identified advances and gaps in their use, and synthesized challenges and opportunities for application. We conducted a bibliometric analysis and an expert participatory exercise around recent review papers. We reveal …

Bacterial Community Function In Pitcher Plant Leaves As An Experimental And Mathematical Model Of Functional Dynamics, Amelia Jackson

Cal Poly Humboldt theses and projects

This work looks at two different sites with differing abiotic factors in measures of altitude, temperature and precipitation. The site with higher altitude, larger temperature range, and lower precipitation, located in Plumas National Forest (Quincy, CA), had a flat BEF trend that suggests functional redundancy The site with lower altitude, more moderate temperatures, and higher precipitation located in Six Rivers National Forest (Gasquet, CA), also had a flat BEF trend. These abiotic factors could correlate to the significantly different bacterial compositions between sites. The second portion of this work is modeling the host antagonist relationship between Eyxra moths and their …

Rapid Urbanization Reduces Genetic Diversity And Increases Genetic Differentiation Of A Lynx Spider Oxyopes Sertatus In Central Taiwan, Ying-Yuan Lo, Chi Wei, Wan-Jyun Chen, Chung-Ping Lin

Biological Sciences Faculty Publications

Urbanization is a dominant force driving destructive and irreversible changes of natural habitats in modern times. While the effects of urbanization on community composition and phenotypic responses are well-documented, its influence on genetic diversity and population structure remains understudied, particularly for invertebrates in subtropical regions. This study tested the hypothesis that urbanization reduces genetic diversity and increases population differentiation in the lynx spider Oxyopes sertatus, a common foliage-dwelling spider in Taiwan. We sampled 245 individuals from 17 sites distributed along an urban-rural gradient and quantified urbanization intensity using land-use composition at both landscape (4 km²) and local (0.25 km²) …

Collaborative Reassessment Resolves Concerns About Iucn Red List Assessments Of Southern Ocean Icefish Species, Christi Linardich, Heidi W. Weiskel, Martina A. Collins

Biological Sciences Faculty Publications

[Introduction] Re: Collins, M.A., Belchier, M., Brickle, P., Cleeland, J.B., Everson, I., Hill, S.L., Hollyman, P.R., Hughes, K.A., James, H.W., Jones, C.D., Jones, T., Morley, S.A., Parker, S.J., Peck, L.S., Queirós, J.P., Reid, W.D.K., and Cavanagh, R.D. (2026). Recent IUCN Red List assessments of two species of icefish (Channichthyidae) reveal concerns about the Red List process and opportunities for improvement. Global Ecology and Conservation, 67, e04184.

We write on behalf of the IUCN SSC Marine Fishes Red List Authority (RLA) to respond to Collins et al. (2026), which raised concerns about the IUCN Red List assessments of the South Georgia …

Relationships Between Benthic Macroinvertebrate Communities And Environmental Conditions In Headwater Tributaries Of The Pend Oreille Lake Watershed, Idaho, Devlin Mee

EWU Masters Thesis Collection

Benthic macroinvertebrates are widely used indicators of stream condition, and their communities respond to thermal and land-use conditions in headwater streams. This study characterized macroinvertebrate biomass, community composition, and diversity across forested headwater tributaries of the Pend Oreille lake watershed in northern Idaho, and examined their relationships with summer temperature, land development, and road proximity. Samples from thirteen streams collected in 2024 were identified to genus, measured, and converted to estimated biomass using published length–mass regressions; ten streams had recovered temperature loggers. Because environmental variables were characterized once per stream, all analyses were conducted at the stream level.

Estimated total …

Genomic Signatures Of Decline And Recovery In An Endangered Bat, Myotis Grisescens, Marxe Altman-Orbach

Graduate Theses/Dissertations

Tremendous population declines may result in the loss of genetic diversity, which can, in turn, lead to reduced adaptive potential, overexpression of deleterious phenotypes, and further population declines. In this way, genetic drift from a severe demographic decline may ultimately lead to an extinction vortex. However, populations that avoid the loss of genetic diversity may remain viable, despite demographic crashes. Therefore, understanding genetic diversity is vital for assessing the conservation status of species that have undergone declines, and can even reflect the effectiveness of management actions. I investigated signatures of genetic bottlenecks in the gray bat (Myotis grisescens), …

Baseline Assessment Of Insect Biodiversity And Distribution In La Salle Botanical Gardens, Pampanga, Philippines, Amir Lyndon Gavriell C. Beup, Kaleela Euan G. Jayson, Alyssa Ira Z. Tan, Ronielle Elisha S. Pascual, Alexi Gabrielle S. Henson, Esperidion Josef P. Ladao Iii, Juan Carlo T. Gumangan

Sinaya: A Philippine Journal for Senior High School Teachers and Students

Insects are crucial for ecosystem functions, such as pollination and food web maintenance. This study aims to assess insect biodiversity in La Salle Botanical Gardens (LSBG) in Porac, Pampanga, focusing on its grassland and forestland areas. Using rapid biodiversity assessment, this study provides baseline data on insect diversity, abundance, dominance, and evenness for conservation. Sampling employed transect line intercept and quadrat methods. Specimens were collected using different collection and preservation techniques. Insects (n = 184) were collected from August to October 2024, with specimens (n = 46) belonging to seven insect orders in the grassland and specimens (n = 138) …

Artificial Intelligence As A Catalyst For Systemic Sport Ecology, Ugo Arbieu, Laís Carneiro, Sonia Tieo, Franck Courchamp

Journal of Applied Sport Management

Artificial intelligence (AI) is reshaping both sport management and environmental science, yet these developments have largely evolved in parallel. AI can serve not merely as a technical tool but also as a catalyst for systemic sport ecology, a field that integrates sport, digital innovation and environmental sustainability. Advances in discriminative, generative and agentic AI enable the synthesis of complex ecological and sport-related data, improving monitoring, forecasting, resource efficiency, policy design, and decision-making across scales. In doing so, AI offers a pathway beyond fragmented sustainability interventions and can support holistic approaches to the interconnected crises of climate change, pollution, and biodiversity …

Terrestrial Gartersnake (Thamnophis Elegans) Consuming A Western Meadow Vole (Microtus Drummondii) In The Sangre De Cristo Mountains Of New Mexico, Joseph W. Paysen, Peggy M. Huss, Jacob C. Cooper, Lance J. Bernal, Carter Kruse, Keith Geluso

Transactions of the Nebraska Academy of Sciences and Affiliated Societies

The Terrestrial Gartersnake (Thamnophis elegans) is a dietary generalist occurring in the western half of the United States, southwestern Canada, and northern Mexico. Terrestrial Gartersnakes are known to consume a variety of small mammals, including voles (Microtus). Herein we report on an observation of the Terrestrial Gartersnake consuming a Western Meadow Vole (Microtus drummondii). On 27 June 2025, we captured a large adult Terrestrial Gartersnake underneath a log just upstream of a North American Beaver (Castor canadensis) dam on the Vermejo River, Colfax County, New Mexico that regurgitated a partially digested adult …

A New Dioecious Bush Tomato, Solanum Nectarifolium (Solanaceae), From The Northern Tanami Desert, Northern Territory, Australia, With Reassessment Of S. Ossicruentum And A Change In The Circumscription Of S. Dioicum, Christopher T. Martine, Kym Brennan, Jason T. Cantley, Aiden Webb, Geoffrey Newton

Faculty Journal Articles

A new species of functionally dioecious bush tomato from the “Solanum dioicum + S. echinatum group” of Solanum subgenus Leptostemonum is described. Solanum nectarifolium Martine & Brennan, sp. nov., is a member of the taxonomically challenging Solanum dioicum W.Fitzg. species complex in Australia and differs from other species in the group by the presence of prominent and conspicuous extrafloral nectaries on the abaxial leaf surfaces, a tinge of purple on the new growth and young fruiting calyces, and curved prickles on young stems. Although fairly well represented in herbarium collections, this new taxon has historically been treated as a …

The Relationship Between Reef Fish And Coverage Of Coral And Turf Algae In Coral Reef Ecosystems Of Biak Island, Papua, Ludi Parwadani Aji, Risandi Dwirama Putra, Muhammad Abrar, Rikoh Manogar Siringoringo, Giyanto Giyanto

Makara Journal of Science

In this study, we examine the influence of benthic coverage on fish diversity in coral reef ecosystems. Benthic and reef fish community surveys were conducted at 14 sites using underwater photographic transect and underwater visual census methods, respectively. Coral cover (26.1%) was found to be lower than turf algae cover (42.1%). A total of 56 fish species, comprised of 14 carnivores, 21 corallivores, and 21 herbivores, were recorded. The most widely distributed carnivore and herbivore species were Lethrinus harak and Ctenochaetus striatus, respectively. Two species of butterflyfish, Chaetodon citrinellus and Chaetodon trifasciatus, were the most widely distributed species …

Some New Ecological Aspects Of The Lesser Sunda Endemic Drepanosticta Berlandi (Odonata: Zygoptera: Platystictidae), Muhammad Zulhariadi, Muhammad Setyo Nugroho, Nurul Hidayani

Makara Journal of Science

Drepanosticta berlandi is an endemic damselfly in the Lesser Sunda region of Indonesia, which was first recorded on Lombok Island in the 19th century. Albeit recognized for a century, information on its ecology is still lacking; hence, this study aims to reveal its distribution and habitat preferences. The research was conducted at the Tibu Ijo Waterfall tourist area in West Lombok Regency using line transects combined with field survey in the Kekait River and on footpaths on both sides of the river. Vegetation density, topography, and land survey temperature (LST) were measured at the sampling area using ArcGIS 10.4.1 software. …

Straw Cover Increases Garden Soil Microbial Biodiversity, Emory Walker, Mara Welty, Emma Creviston

The Journal of Purdue Undergraduate Research

No abstract provided.

Habitat Disturbance And Biodiversity In Glade Habitats, Maddie Smith, Becky Hansis-O'Neill, Aimee Dunlap Phd

Undergraduate Research Symposium

The Ozark glades are home to a variety of reptiles, amphibians, rodents, and invertebrates such as tarantulas and scorpions. Glade inhabitants face challenges like habitat fragmentation and degradation, but they could be facing even bigger challenges as outdoor recreation becomes more popular. People looking for wildlife to photograph or collect often look under rocks without leaving them how they were found. This study focused on monitoring rock disturbance at two protected glades- Shaw Nature Preserve and a more accessible undisclosed glade in Jefferson County. Disturbing the glade habitat to look for wildlife is prohibited at both sites. Twenty rocks at …

Indigenizing Aquaculture: In Pursuit Of An Integrated Multi-Trophic Aquaculture System For Enhanced Self-Sufficiency In Akaroa Harbour, Aotearoa New Zealand, Cali R. Trainor

Capstone Collection

This study assessed the feasibility of integrating two pre-existing aquaculture activities in Akaroa Harbour, Aotearoa New Zealand into an integrated multi-trophic aquaculture (IMTA) system. The cultivation of giant kelp (Macrocystis pyrifera) presents an opportunity to improve the sustainability of Chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha) farming by introducing alternative food sources for salmon, which can be used to produce fish feed locally, enhancing the self-sufficiency of the community and boosting the holistic efficiency of the system. Macroinvertebrates residing in giant kelp wrack were collected, identified, and quantified to determine if any of the Macrocystis-associated specimens could serve as …

Preliminary Survey Of Subtidal Crustaceans On Southeast Sapelo Island, Georgia, Elise C. Mirabella, Kali Holierhoek, Kristine N. White Ph.D.

Georgia Journal of Science

The subtidal zone is the area below the low tide line that supports a wide variety of organisms, including subtidal crustaceans, which are understudied on Sapelo Island, GA. To investigate the impact of wave action on biodiversity and develop baseline data, the biodiversity of subtidal crustaceans from two beaches was compared. It was hypothesized that the beach protected from wave action would have higher biodiversity than the beach exposed to wave action. To collect the crustaceans, three different sampling methods were used on each beach: D-net, beam trawl, and Yabbi pump. The beach exposed to wave action yielded higher biodiversity …

Clerodendrum Kelli (Lamiaceae), A New Species From Carranglan, Nueva Ecija, Philippines, And Lectotypification Of Clerodendrum Mindorense, David Justin R. Ples, Jacek Patykowski, John Charles A. Altomonte, Adriene B. Tobias, Rene Alfred Anton Bustamante

Biology Faculty Publications

Clerodendrum kelli (Lamiaceae), a new species from the montane forests of Carranglan, Nueva Ecija, Philippines, is described and illustrated. The species shares morphological features with Clerodendrum quadriloculare and C. mindorense, but differs in inflorescence structure, corolla tube length, and calyx shape and color. A lectotype for C. mindorense is also designated. Preliminary conservation assessment places C. kelli in the Critically Endangered category (CR B1ab(iii)+2ab(iii)). This study contributes to Philippine plant biodiversity knowledge and informs conservation strategies.

Listen To The Birds: Sound Ecology At The Piano, Anna Showalter

Dissertations, 2020-current

This document explores the intersection between birdsong and piano music using four cases studies from the piano repertoire in the Western classical tradition. Using Jeff Titon’s framework of “sound ecology” as a lens, I ask whether the following pieces of music could in some way function as an “acoustic tissue among human and bird communities that becomes the basis for a healthy economy and a just community.” After exploring the history of birdsong in the piano literature as a microcosm of shifting attitudes toward birdsong in Western art music this study focuses on four pieces as case studies for analysis—Amy …