Biology Commons^™

Plant Evolution And Urbanization: Quantifying The Effects Of Natural Selection In Shaping Shepherd’S Purse (Capsella Bursa-Pastoris) Populations In New York City, Rebecca Panko

Dissertations

The aim of this study is to quantify the effects of natural selection in shaping Capsella bursa-pastoris populations along an urban-rural gradient in New York City.

A reciprocal transplant experiment with 168 lab-germinated C. bursa-pastoris seedlings from both urban and rural populations are grown in eight paired home and away sites distributed throughout the New York metropolitan area. Sites are visited approximately thirteen times to record plant fitness. There is evidence for local adaptation of urban populations: urban plants have longer reproductive durations and produce more seed pods in urban environments. These findings suggest that urban plants are better adapted …

The Effect Of Intensified Illuminance And Artificial Light At Night On Fitness And Susceptibility To Abiotic And Biotic Stressors, Grascen Shidemantle

Biological Sciences Student Scholarship

Changing light conditions due to human activities represents an important emerging environmental concern. Although changes to natural light conditions can be independently detrimental, in nature, organisms commonly face multiple stressors. To understand the consequences of altered light conditions, we exposed a model amphibian (wood frog; Lithobates sylvaticus) to a control and two anthropogenic light conditions: intensified daytime illuminance and artificial light at night - ALAN (intensified daytime illuminance + extended photoperiod). We measured (1) metrics of fitness (hatching success as well as survival to, size at, and time to metamorphosis) (2) susceptibility (time to death) to a commonly cooccurring anthropogenic …

Species Dispersal Modes In Amphitropical Plant Species Of North And South America, Samera Lemma Mulatu

Honors College Theses

Amphitropical disjunct plants are species that occur in both North and South America but not in the intermediate equatorial region. How amphitropical species dispersed across the Americas to their current distribution remains uncertain. To explain amphitropical distributions, three hypotheses were developed to test that (1) species dispersed successively through island hopping across the tropical zone in temperate microhabitats (= stepping stones), (2) species came to their current distribution through vicariance, or (3) species dispersed by a single long distance dispersal event. Twenty-five species were studied to infer their historical distributions with species distribution models in MaxEnt. Distribution models for each …

Influences Of Anti-Bd Bacteria On Amphibians And Their Microbiomes, Emme L. Schmidt

Honors Thesis

The fungal pathogen Batrochochytrium dendrobatidis (Bd) has been threatening amphibian populations across the globe. Recent work has discovered that bacteria isolated from certain populations of amphibians protect hosts from this pathogen. This project focuses on the anti-fungal mechanisms of Serratia marcescens, a species of bacteria isolated from a Costa Rican frog that dramatically inhibited Bd in culture. Wild-type and recombinant S. marcescens was introduced to the microbiomes of a live amphibian host, Acris blanchardi (Blanchard’s Cricket Frog) and then challenged with Bd to examine the protective effects of this bacteria. The experiment includes recombinant S. marcescens with …

Population Genetics Of A Recent Range Expansion By The Southern Pine Beetle, Dendroctonus Frontalis, Into The Northeastern United States, Megan Stubbs

Honors Theses

Population genetics as a field of study aims to determine the genetic variation among individuals in a population, and differences among populations. Certain population genetic analyses can provide such information and be used to better understand the biological aspects to a species’ expansion beyond its native range. The southern pine beetle (SPB), Dendroctonus frontalis, has become an invasive pest to pine forests in northeastern United States with its recent range expansion. Nine microsatellite loci were first developed and then used in analyses. To determine what the genetic variation is among individuals in SPB populations across its entire range, including …

Testing The Potential Of Environmental Dna: Genetic Monitoring Of Estuarine And Coastal Bottlenose Dolphin (Tursiops Truncatus) Stocks In South Carolina, Kathryn Greiner-Ferris

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Environmental DNA (eDNA) analysis is a non-invasive monitoring technique that can detect and potentially monitor elusive marine mammals. To date, the majority of eDNA studies have been performed in freshwater environments, partially due to methodological challenges posed by higher salinities and increased dilution effects of large water masses in marine environments. The objective of this study was to design and optimize species-specific oligonucleotide PCR primers to accurately detect and quantify common bottlenose dolphin (Tursiops truncatus) eDNA collected from the marine environment and to evaluate potential trends between eDNA concentration and dolphin abundance and seasonality. Primer pairs were designed to target …

Novel Method To Determine Paleodiet Of Extinct Equid Merychippus Sp. Using Dental Calculus, Ranjit Z. S. Virk

Senior Honors Projects, 2020-current

Within the Miocene Epoch, the emergence of grasslands within North America coincided with the incidence of higher-crowned teeth (hypsodonty) within the proto-horse Merychippus that allowed for the inclusion of these expanding grasslands as a food source. As herbivorous paleofauna consume plant matter, microscopic remains become incorporated within dental calculus and, due to their diagnostic morphology, can be used to identify dietary components. In Merychippus, the recovery of plant microfossils holds the potential to provide greater clarity on the paleodiet of these equids. In the present study, the purpose was to quantify and compare Merychippus paleodiet constituents among sample groups. …

A Genomic Analysis Of Bobcat Populations In North America With A Comparison To The Canada Lynx: An Assessment Of Local Adaptation To Unique Ecoregions And Phylogeography, Jennifer C. Broderick

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Bobcats (Lynx rufus) are an ecologically and genetically diverse species with a large contiguous range throughout North America. The species not only has a wide array of phenotypic variation compared to other mammals, but shows marked adaptability across ecozones with differing ecological influences. It is these various selective pressures in distinctive parts of the continent that have likely led to localized adaptations within the bobcat metapopulations. The species is also marked by its ability to maintain connectivity and populations in anthropogenically developed areas, an advantage it has over other felids, including its close relative the Canada lynx ( …

Steady Heartbeat: Field And Laboratory Studies Indicate Unexpected Resilience To High Temperatures For The Ribbed Mussel Geukensia Demissa, Ashlyn N. Smith Ms.

Honors College Theses

Salt marshes are important ecosystems found along the coast of Georgia. Salt marshes are hosts to diverse organisms that interact with each other to promote many ecosystem services, such as storm buffering and flooding, and absorption of excess nutrients. Among these diverse organisms is the ribbed mussel, Geukensia demissa. Mussels are a foundation species in this intertidal landscape, and without them the whole salt marsh would be negatively affected. The purpose of this investigation was to explore the thermal stress response of G. demissa to rising temperatures. Mussels were collected from three locations that were landlocked, close to a …

Effect Of Soil Moisture On Arrowleaf Balsamroot, Balsamorhiza Sagittata (Pursh) Nutt. Establishment, Sarah E. Hill

2020 Symposium Posters

Every spring, Arrowleaf Balsamroot (Balsamorhiza sagittata (Pursh) Nutt.) dots the landscape across the inland Pacific Northwest. Balsamroot’s copious blooms, numerous leaves, long lifespan, and resilience once established, make it popular in restoration seed mixes, although balsamroot displays erratic germination in the restoration context. Understanding the effects of variables, like the availability of soil moisture on the germination and establishment of balsamroot, could provide insights into the successes of restoration plantings, or planning. This study examines the relationship between soil moisture availability and balsamroot establishment, tracking growth and survival of balsamroot seedlings during their first season, across a range of …

Direct And Indirect Effects Of A Common Cyanobacterial Toxin On Amphibian-Echinostome Dynamics, Nicholas Buss, Matthew Wersebe, Jessica Hua

Biological Sciences Student Scholarship

Wildlife diseases are emerging at unprecedented rates. While there are likely several factors at play, human-mediated environmental alterations may play a significant role. Of growing interest is the effect that microcystin-LR (MC-LR), a cyanotoxin, may have on disease outcomes. In this study, using an amphibian-trematode model we examined (1) the lethal effects of MC-LR on cercariae of trematodes; (2) the sublethal effects of MC-LR exposure on the ability for trematodes to infect green frog tadpoles; and (3) the sublethal effects of MC-LR on green frog tadpole susceptibility to trematodes. We found that environmentally-relevant concentrations of MC-LR at 50, 100, and …

Parasite Susceptibility In An Amphibian Host Is Modified By Salinization And Predators, Nicholas Buss, Jessica Hua

Biological Sciences Student Scholarship

Secondary salinization represents a global threat to freshwater ecosystems. Salts, such as NaCl, can be toxic to freshwater organisms and may also modify the outcome of species interactions (e.g. host-parasite interactions). In nature, hosts and their parasites are embedded in complex communities where they face anthropogenic and biotic (i.e. predators) stressors that influence host-parasite interactions. As human populations grow, considering how anthropogenic and natural stressors interact to shape host-parasite interactions will become increasingly important. We conducted two experiments investigating: (1) the effects of NaCl on tadpole susceptibility to trematodes and (2) whether density- and trait-mediated effects of a parasite-predator (i.e. …

Sylvan Dell Nature Preserve Project, Brian Quinn, Katie Wisotsky, Huthaifa Aladwan

Sylvan Dell Field Station Student Projects

The Sylvan Dell Nature Preserve and Farm in South Williamsport, PA. Sylvan Dell is a 229 acre plot of farmland that contains a wetland on the south section of the property. It lies just south of the West Branch of the Susquehanna River. The first humans we know of to settle on this land were the Susquehannock and later the Haudenosaunee (Iroquois) Native Americans. In the late 18th century, white settlers took the land away from the Haudenosaunee. In the 20th century, the famous ornithologist Robert Porter Allen was influenced by the broad range of bird species that would visit …

Ecological Analyses Of Macroinvertebrates And Fish Species In Six Streams On A Louisiana Military Base From 2001 To 2019, Danielle Joerger

Biology Theses

An in-depth ecological analysis of how and why the aquatic community changes over time was conducted for 6 streams on the Fort Polk military base in Louisiana using data collected from 2001 to 2019. Fort Polk is a unique location as nineteen first-order streams are located on the premises belonging to three separate drainages. The primary goal was to determine whether temporal or between-drainage variation has a larger effect on community structure. To accomplish this the effects of disturbance on fish and macroinvertebrate assemblages was determined temporally and between drainages. Several hypotheses were drawn from this: 1) temporally, assemblages exhibit …

Gascoyne Demersal Scalefish Resource: Oceanic Pink Snapper Recovery Plan 2018-2037, Department Of Fisheries

Fisheries Management Papers

No abstract provided.

Genetic Analysis Of Flower Color Differences Between A Hummingbird-Pollinated And A Self-Pollinated Monkeyflower (Mimulus) Species, Caitlin Foster

University Scholar Projects

Flower color plays an important role in pollinator discrimination and speciation. Understanding the genetic contributions to flower color differences between two closely related species, Mimulus cardinalis and Mimulus parishii, can improve understanding of how they developed different pollination syndromes and diverged from a recent common ancestor. M. cardinalis is hummingbird-pollinated and has large, bright red flowers while M. parishii is self-pollinated and has small, pale pink flowers. An F2 hybrid population between these two species was created to establish a platform for analysis of the genetic architecture controlling the differences in anthocyanin pigmentation. Statistical analysis of anthocyanin concentration distribution …

Chronoecology Of A Cave-Dwelling Orb-Weaver Spider, Meta Ovalis (Araneae: Tetragnathidae), Rebecca Steele

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Circadian clocks enable coordination of essential biological and metabolic processes in relation to the 24-hour light cycle. However, there are many habitats that are not subject to this light cycle, such as the deep sea, arctic regions, and cave systems. This study analyzes the circadian pattern of isolated populations of a subterranean spider, Meta ovalis from two Tennessee caves and five Indiana caves. Locomotor activity was recorded with TriKinetics LAM50 Locomotor Activity Monitor under a 12-hour light (L), 12-hour dark (D) (LD 12:12) cycle preceding total darkness (DD). Significant differences were found within and among populations found in Tennessee cave …

Habitat Selection And Host Detection In The Salamander Mussel, Simpsonaias Ambigua, Eric A. Stegmann

Graduate Theses/Dissertations

The native freshwater mussels, Order Unionida, have suffered many species extinctions and loss of abundance. Two important threats to native mussels are loss of habitat and loss of access to the vertebrate hosts of the parasitic mussel larvae. The Salamander mussel, Simpsonaias ambigua, is a habitat specialist, living under flat rocks. It is often found in direct association with its only known host, the common mudpuppy, Necturus maculosus. This association could result from movement and habitat selection by the mussels themselves. Alternatively, it might result from the deposition of juveniles by a resident host. Habitat selection and host …

Same Stone, Different Outcomes: Marine Communities On Engineered Vs. Natural Rock Shores, Lucy Anne Dando Lockwood

Graduate Masters Theses

The effort to protect coastal property and infrastructure from storm damage, erosion, and sea level rise has resulted in increased construction of coastal protection structures (CPS) worldwide. Researchers around the globe have found that the marine communities living on CPS differ from those living on natural rock outcroppings in the same area. We conducted a classic disturbance experiment to investigate possible differences in marine organism response and community assembly between natural and human-constructed rocky intertidal habitat along the Massachusetts coast. The one-year study used naturally occurring rock shores and human-made granite seawalls with both wave-exposed and wave-protected areas. Significant differences …

Diatom Morphology In Light Of A Changing Climate: A Focus On Aulacoseira Crenulata, Brighid Welchans

Honors Program: Senior Projects (Public)

Fossilized diatoms are arguably the most vital proxy record utilized in paleolimnology. Diatoms are unicellular microalgae that are the basis of countless food webs, are invaluable bioindicators, and generate nearly a quarter of global net primary productivity. Diatoms are affected by a variety of environmental factors but there is relatively little research on how environmental conditions impact diatom valve morphology, and in particular whether there is a correlation between incoming light and diatom pore morphology. This report focuses on the Amazon lowland lake Garzacocha, and analyzes the relationship between light levels and the corresponding size of Aulacoseira crenulata pores. We …

Estimating Taxonomic Diversity Using Centrum Growth Profiles And Stinger Morphology Of 36 Million Year Old Stingrays From North Dakota, Persia S. Tillman

Theses and Dissertations

Stingrays are a diverse and popular group of vertebrates; however, nothing is known about the relationships between growth biology and climate change. Freshwater stingrays once inhabit the United States and Canada during very warm times in the geologic record. No stingray material has been recorded from the northern part of the United States for the last 33 million years. The Earth’s climate cooled from 50 to 33 million year ago when many warm adapted organisms were relegated to warmer, southern latitudes in North America. Today, freshwater stingrays only inhabit subtropical and tropical environments. We are interested in the freshwater stingrays …

Earliest Known Material Of Amia, Bowfin, From The Sentinel Butte Formation (Paleocene), Medora, North Dakota, Abby Grace Moore

Theses and Dissertations

Amia calva is an icon in the field of comparative osteology, yet we have a poor understanding of the evolution of the genus because many fossil amiid bones have gone unidentified. Here we identify new material of the genus, Amia, with evidence of two unidentified species. Previously, the oldest known material identifiable as Amia cf. A. pattersoni, was a specimen from the Paleocene epoch of Alberta, Canada approximately 58 million years in age. Fossils of the two unidentified species of Amia were found in the Sentinel Butte Formation, a geologic formation of Paleocene age (~ 60 million years …

Pismo Clams (Tivela Stultorum) In Califorina: Population Status, Habitat Associations, Reproduction, And Growth, Alexandria R. Marquardt

Master's Theses

Marine shellfish play a vital role in intertidal ecosystems and coastal communities, but many of these fisheries are small-scale and lack the necessary monitoring to ensure long-term sustainability. Effective management often requires information on key demographic parameters, such as population status, reproduction and growth. Pismo clams (Tivela stultorum) are a culturally important and iconic species in California, which supported a thriving commercial and recreational fishery throughout much of the 1900’s. However, Pismo clam populations have declined statewide in recent decades and are attributed to human harvest and predation by California sea otters (Enhydra lutris); However, no …

Glare Reduction By Dark Facial Markings And Bills In Birds, Clara Lebow

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Avian facial plumage, bill coloration, and feather microstructure may serve one or more adaptive functions. Several researchers have proposed that dark eyestripes, bills, and facial masks aid in reducing glare, however, there have been relatively few tests of this hypothesis. Dark facial markings have been shown to have an adaptive glare-reduction function in recent field studies of a few species, but this hypothesis has never been tested in a broad multispecies analysis. It is likely that feather microstructure influences feather brightness and has an effect on the efficacy of glare reduction properties of feathers. I examined the link between dark …

Characteristics And Spatial Heterogeneity Of Prescribed Fire Behavior In North Dakota Grasslands, Megan Elizabeth Zopfi

Theses and Dissertations

Fire is a critical physical and chemical process required to sustain many grassland ecosystems. In North America, observations of grassland fire behavior in warm-season, southern grasslands are commonly used in fire behavior modeling efforts across the Great Plains. However, grasslands of the northern Great Plains contain a greater component of cool-season vegetation that may generate different fire behavior. To further our understanding of prescribed fire behavior in North Dakota grasslands, we quantified fuel, weather, and fire behavior characteristics associated with 27 prescribed fires conducted across three sites in North Dakota. We sampled 27 points on each fire arranged into a …

Can Desert Mosses Hide From Climate Change? The Ecophysiological Importance Of Habitat Buffering & Water Relations To A Keystone Biocrust Moss In The Mojave Desert, Theresa Ann Clark

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Empirical and observational studies suggest a keystone biocrust moss, Syntrichia caninervis, may be sensitive to future climate change in the American Southwest due to its uniquely sensitive water relations that appear particularly challenged during summer hydration-desiccation cycles. However, the potential mitigating roles of habitat buffering, acclimatization, and winter recovery on the vulnerability of this species remain largely unexplored. I investigated potential abiotic and biotic resiliency factors driving summer stress resistance and recovery in S. caninervis along present-day aridity gradients in the Mojave Desert to strengthen the climate change vulnerability assessment for this species common to biocrusts of North America, northern …

Aboveground-Belowground Interactions: Roles Of Soil Biotic And Abiotic Factors On Switchgrass's (Panicum Virgatum) Growth, Defense Against Herbivory And Cell Wall Chemistry., Binod Basyal

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Plants constantly interact with their biotic and abiotic soil environments. Most terrestrial plants form beneficial associations with soil microbes such as arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) fungi, which are widely known for their ability to transfer soil phosphorus and nitrogen to the host plants. They help plants tolerate drought stress and improve plant defense against herbivores such as plant-parasitic nematodes (PPNs). This dissertation investigates the role of AM fungi on switchgrass’s (Panicum virgatum) growth, cell wall chemistry, and defense against PPNs using a combination of growth chamber and field studies. Switchgrass is a native warm-season species which is gaining traction as candidate …

Dragonflies And Damselflies (Insecta: Odonata) As Indicators For Riparian Condition In Ozark Spring Streams, Cameron Riley Cheri

Graduate Theses/Dissertations

The Odonata (dragonflies and damselflies) are often ineffectively sampled during standard stream bioassessments in North America. Subsequently, odonates are not frequently regarded as informative taxa for stream assessment, particularly when monitoring the ecological impacts of organic pollution. I hypothesized that stream-dwelling odonates should be more useful bioindicators for the assessment of riparian conditions surrounding streams because vegetation associated with streams is used for oviposition, roosting and to establish breeding territories. I selected twelve Ozark spring streams that satisfied a broad array of riparian conditions for study. I sampled each stream’s odonate and total benthic community along with both instream and …

Investigating The Effects Of Temperature On Lesser Celandine, Regina Bellian

The Downtown Review: An Interdisciplinary Journal Written and Peer-Reviewed by Mandel Honors College Students at Cleveland State University

This paper explores invasive species Ficaria verna (Lesser celandine) and the effects of temperature on its growth. Trials were completed with two treatments, 13OC cold temperature and 20OC ambient temperature. Germinated bulbils of Lesser celandine were planted on February 15, 2017 and placed in their respective growing chambers. The plants were watered weekly and monitored for growth until harvest on March 29, 2017. Upon harvest, the plants’ height, largest leaf diameter and biomass were measured after extraction from soil and the removal of the leftover soil debris. Average height was found to be 11.66cm for the cold treatment and 5.14cm …

Investigating The Effects Of Sea-Level Rise And Increasing Salinity On Procambarus Lunzi Of Sapelo Island, Georgia, Samuel Long

Biology Theses

Barrier islands have great ecological and economical importance and face a threat from increasing sea-level due to climate change. Erosion of existing freshwater lens and ocean inundation could greatly change freshwater availability on the island. This could have significant impacts on freshwater crayfish like Procambarus lunzi, which are complexly intertwined into the trophic food web of the island. This study’s goal was to investigate the salinity tolerance of this crayfish on Sapelo Island, Georgia, in an attempt to predict the possible effects and response to sea-level rise by this crayfish. Crayfish were wild-caught from the island in March, June, and …