Biology Commons^™

Seascape Genetics And Rehabilitation Efficiency In The Florida Manatee, Madison Hall

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The Florida manatee (Trichechus manatus latirostris) was recently downlisted federally from "endangered" to "threatened" despite acknowledgments of remaining threats to long term population persistence. Challenges to future manatee conservation include, but are not limited to, increases in frequency of harmful algal blooms, intensifying anthropogenic disturbance, and loss of warm-water habitat. The goals of this dissertation were 1) to assess threats to the manatee via a comprehensive, long-term (1973-2016), retrospective analysis of the manatee rescue and rehabilitation partnership (MRRP) and 2) to use seascape genetics analysis to examine whether abiotic, biotic, or anthropogenic seascape variables could significantly describe genetic distance patterns …

Changes In Walleye Fecundity And Egg Size Before, During, And After Rehabilitation Of The Red Lakes Fishery, Benjamin J. Miller, Benjamin D. Erb

Journal of Earth and Life Science

The Red Lakes in northern Minnesota experienced a major Walleye Sander vitreus fishery crash in the late 20th century, but has since recovered to record abundances and supports a major commercial and recreational fishery. Fecundity is an integral aspect of recruitment that can contribute greatly to the understanding of fishery population dynamics. To elucidate the effects of varying Walleye densities and exploitation rates on fecundity and egg size in years 1989 (overexploited fishery), 2004 (recovering fishery), and 2017 (recovered fishery), we analyzed linear models that related fecundity or egg size to morphological features for these three sampling periods. Walleyes were …

Characterization Of Chromosomal Translocations In A Group Of Killifish Species By Using Genome-Wide High-Density Snp Mapping Approach, Naznin Sultana Remex

Masters Theses

"The role of chromosomal rearrangements in reproductive isolation and introgression between species is poorly understood. In heterozygous form, rearrangements may directly interrupt meiotic progression leading to partial sterility/subfertility (underdominance) or may suppress local meiotic segregation (recombination suppression). Such unbalanced meiotic segregation may also result in reproductive isolation and play roles as a driving force of speciation. The objective of this study was to gain insight into the pattern of chromosomal rearrangements in two closely related killifish species in the genus Fundulus (F. notatus, and F. olivaceus) by constructing genetic linkage maps using high-resolution single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) …

In The Eye Of The Storm: Houston After Hurricane Harvey, Brandon Tolentino-Serrano

Pomona Senior Theses

Situated in one of the wettest climates in America, Houston, TX has had a long history of heavy rains and unprecedented floods. Unfortunately, floods have become more common over the last few decades as climate change increases the frequency and intensity of hurricanes around the globe. To complicate matters further, Houston has quickly sprawled to accommodate over 2.5 billion people. Rapid urbanization has rendered the landscape even more susceptible to floods through excess concretization and watershed disturbance. This thesis traces the history of the Bayou City in relation to the damages caused by Hurricane Harvey. By mapping out the original …

Unclogging The Pipeline: Advancement To Full Professor In Academic Stem, Helga Van Miegroet, Christy Glass, Ronda R. Callister, Kimberly Sullivan

Ecology Center Publications

Purpose: Women remain underrepresented in academic STEM, especially at the highest ranks. While much attention has focused on early-career attrition, mid-career advancement is still largely understudied and undocumented. This paper analyzes gender differences in advancement to full professor within academic STEM at a mid-size public doctoral university in the western US, before and after the NSF-ADVANCE Program (2003-2007).

Methodology: Using faculty demographics and promotion data between 2008 and 2014, combined with faculty responses to two waves of a climate survey, the magnitude and longevity of the impact of ADVANCE on mid-career faculty advancement across gender is evaluated.

Findings: This study …

Habitat Characteristics And Nesting Ecology Of Golden Eagles In Arizona, Michele J. Losee

Antioch University Dissertations & Theses

Golden Eagles (Aquila chrysaetos) have a broad range globally and in general are well-studied. However, Arizona’s Golden Eagle population remained essentially unstudied until 2011, when Arizona Game and Fish Department (AZGFD) began nest surveys for cliff nesting Golden Eagles throughout the state. As a result of this data collection, the natural history of Arizona’s Golden Eagles is finally revealing itself. This dissertation outlined a reliable description of their nesting phenology that provides a framework for timing surveys and a baseline to monitor the effects of climate change on Golden Eagles. The mean date for egg-laying was February 14 and pairs …

Population Health Of Spotted Salamanders (Ambystoma Maculatum) In Created Vernal Pools: An Integrative Approach, Alice R. Millikin

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Habitat creation is an important tool for conservation to counteract habitat loss and degradation. Vernal pools are susceptible to destruction due to limited detection, protection, and regulation. These wetlands provide fishless breeding habitat for many amphibian species including spotted salamanders (Ambystoma maculatum) in eastern North America. Determining whether created vernal pool habitat is successful is often determined by demographic data of colonizing populations. I suggest that hormone levels, population genetics, and disease prevalence can improve our understanding of population health in created habitat. The goal of this dissertation was to assess the health of spotted salamander larvae in …

Compound-Specific Isotope Analysis Of Amino Acids In Biological Tissues: Applications In Forensic Entomology, Food Authentication And Soft-Biometrics In Humans, Mayara Patricia Viana De Matos

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

In this work we demonstrate the power of compound-specific isotope analysis (CSIA) to analyze proteinaceous biological materials in three distinct forensic applications, including: 1) linking necrophagous blow flies in different life stages to their primary carrion diet; 2) identifying the harvesting area of oysters for food authentication purposes; and 3) the ability to predict biometric traits about humans from their hair.

In the first application, we measured the amino-acid-level fractionation that occurs at each major life stage of Calliphora vicina (Robineau-Desvoidy) (Diptera: Calliphoridae) blow flies. Adult blow flies oviposited on raw pork muscle, beef muscle, or chicken liver. Larvae, pupae …

Spatiotemporal Dynamics Of Nitrogen And Carbon Biogeochemistry In A Wetland-Stream Sequence, Patrick E. Hurley

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Studies of aquatic ecosystems often segregate streams from the influential ponds, lakes, and wetland zones that act as important transitions between terrestrial and fluvial systems. Across the aquatic landscape, these zones interact to form linked ecosystems that function as discrete nutrient processing domains, shifting biogeochemical signals due to spatial and temporal variability in hydrologic and biologic controls. Using a mass-balance approach, we profiled nutrient dynamics along a 23-km wetland-stream sequence over three seasons. Hydrologic, morphologic, and biologic conditions, as well as landscape attributes, were quantified to determine potential controls on biogeochemical cycling in a tributary of the Upper Clark Fork …

Potential Impact Of Northern Resource Development On Aquatic Biota: Toxicity Of Chromium And Rare Earth Element Processing Reagent, So Yeon Choi

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

Chromite and rare earth element development was identified in the 2015 Canadian Federal budget as a significant opportunity, however, key data gaps exist regarding the environmental concerns related to these resource developments. Chromium is essential in the production of stainless steel, and no suitable substitute is known. Rare earth elements (REEs) are a series of metals that are composed of 15 lanthanides, as well as scandium and yttrium. Uses for REEs range from electronic devices (i.e. cell phones, computers, televisions) to magnets and controlling nuclear reactors. While commercial production of REEs signify a great economic opportunity for Canada, key data …

Influence Of Ligand Complexation On Nickel Toxicity, Speciation And Bioavailability In Marine Waters, Samantha Sherman

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

Currently there are no site-specific bioavailability-based prediction models for assessing the impacts of nickel (Ni) in marine environments although there are indications that these may be warranted. The aim of this research was to characterize the complexation of Ni in relation to toxicity and speciation. Various complexing ligands were used, and it was predicted that the binding affinity (logKf) of ligands would be inversely correlated to toxicity based on dissolved Ni concentrations ([NiD]) but that on a free ion concentration ([Ni2+]) basis, toxicity would not vary. A two-phased approach was used; the first was a proof of principle where synthetic …

Methods To Improve The Remediation Of Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons (Pahs) In Aerobic And Anaerobic Environments, Brian Wartell

Dissertations

Oil spills occur regularly in terrestrial environments and crude oil can contain many compounds that are highly resistant to degradation. Among these compounds are high levels of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) which are not only toxic but can also be carcinogenic and/or mutagenic. The first chapter of this dissertation includes an extensive review chapter on the variables affecting the anaerobic degradation of hydrocarbons, with a particular focus on PAHs. Electron acceptors, electron donors, temperature, salinity, pH all play key roles in determining the possibility effective of effective degradation occurring. Thus, by addressing solutions, such as biostimulation, improving environmental variables for …

An Acoustic Monitoring Method For Assessing River Dolphin Presence And Changes In The Context Of Anthropogenic Development, Charles A. Muirhead

Graduate Masters Theses

Populations of river dolphins throughout Asia are in decline as a direct result of intensified anthropogenic activity along river systems. Water development projects, land use change, contamination, and intensified fishing practices are known factors contributing to the probable extinction of the Yangtze river dolphin (Lipotes vexillifer) and declining populations of the South Asian river dolphin (Platanista gangetica spp.), Irrawady dolphin (Orcaella brevirostris), and finless porpoise (Neophocaena a. asiaeorientalis). Although not yet as extensive, river system development in South America is following a similar path as that of Asia, with impacts on dolphin species likely to follow. Currently, the Amazon river …

Prokaryotic Diversity And Aqueous Geochemistry Of Subsurface Environments Of The Death Valley Regional Flow System, Joshua David Sackett

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

This dissertation summarizes over four years of effort towards the completion of a Ph.D. in Biological Sciences. The work presented in this document covers a broad range of topics, but a central unifying theme is prokaryotic life in the continental subsurface. The work presented in each chapter relied heavily on cultivation-independent methods for assessing prokaryotic communities, including prokaryotic community structure reconstruction from high-throughput sequencing of 16S rRNA gene libraries and single-cell genome analysis of novel uncultivated bacteria.

Chapter 2 examines the aqueous geochemistry and prokaryotic diversity of Devils Hole, a cavernous limnocrene and sole natural habitat for the critically endangered …

Molecular Fossils From Phytoplankton Reveal Secular Pco2 Trend Over The Phanerozoic, Caitlyn R. Witkowski, Johan W. H. Weijers, Brian S. Blais, Stefan Schouten, Jaap S. Sinninghe Damsté

Science and Technology Department Faculty Journal Articles

Past changes in the atmospheric concentration of carbon dioxide (PCO2) have had a major impact on earth system dynamics; yet, reconstructing secular trends of past PCO2 remains a prevalent challenge in paleoclimate studies. The current long-term PCO2reconstructions rely largely on the compilation of many different proxies, often with discrepancies among proxies, particularly for periods older than 100 million years (Ma). Here, we reconstructed Phanerozoic PCO2 from a single proxy: the stable carbon isotopic fractionation associated with photosynthesis (Ɛp) that increases as PCO2 increases. This concept has been widely applied to alkenones, but here, we …

Proceedings Of The First Annual Symposium On The Wright State Woods, College Of Science And Mathematics, College Of Liberal Arts

1st Annual Wright State Woods Symposium

The proceeding of the Woods Symposium held at Wright State University and sponsored by the College of Science and Mathematics and the College of Liberal Arts.

Wild Bees Of Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument: Richness, Abundance, And Spatio-Temporal Beta-Diversity, Olivia Messinger Carril, Terry Griswold, James Haefner, Joseph S. Wilson

All PIRU Publications

Interest in bees has grown dramatically in recent years in light of several studies that have reported widespread declines in bees and other pollinators. Investigating declines in wild bees can be difficult, however, due to the lack of faunal surveys that provide baseline data of bee richness and diversity. Protected lands such as national monuments and national parks can provide unique opportunities to learn about and monitor bee populations dynamics in a natural setting because the opportunity for large-scale changes to the landscape are reduced compared to unprotected lands. Here we report on a 4-year study of bees in Grand …

Examining Patterns In Nest Predation Using Artificial Nests, Victoria L. Simonsen

School of Natural Resources: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

The use of artificial nests to study the predation of avian nests has faced disregard by ecologists due to inconsistencies found between the survival rates of real and artificial nests across studies and reviews. The negative perception of artificial nests providing an inconsistent assessment of survival has thus fostered the perception that artificial nests are a secondary option to be used to overcome logistical hurdles associated with achieving sufficient sample sizes in systems where study species are rare or elusive, or as merely a preliminary method to study predation across gradients. We argue that the greatest mistake ecologists have made …

Nebraska’S Wildlife Club; Nebraska Honors Program Clc Expanded Learning Opportunity Clubs, Alexandrea E. Otto

Honors Program: Expanded Learning Clubs

The goal of the club is to educate and explore with students the wildlife and nature that surrounds them every day. The main focus was to educate students on wildlife native to Nebraska; ranging all the way from West Nebraska to the wildlife found in cities such as Lincoln.

Laguna Madre Estuary Program Environmental Strategic Plan - Final Report, Kim D. Jones, Lucy Camacho, T. Sinha, Omar Al-Qudah, Hudson R. Deyoe, Augusto Sanchez Gonzalez, Jungseok Ho, Javier Guerrero

School of Integrative Biological & Chemical Sciences (Formerly Dept. of Biology)

The goal of this effort is to establish a framework of fundamental information and critical ideas to serve as a basis to assist in supporting legislation to found the 29th National Estuary Program for the Laguna Madre of the Gulf coast of Texas.

The National Estuary Program (NEP) was established by the Clean Water Act Amendments of 1987 (Section 320) to protect nationally significant estuaries threatened by development, pollution and overuse. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency administers the NEP. The Corpus Christi Bay NEP (now the Coastal Bend Bays and Estuary Program) was among the last estuaries accepted into the …

Adult Walleye Abundance And Subsequent Fry Production In The Tamarac River, Mn, Phillip Oswald

Biology Graduate Theses

Walleye reproductive success is of critical interest for the Red Lakes as this system is maintained entirely by natural reproduction and supports robust commercial and recreational fisheries. The Tamarac River, a major tributary to the Red Lakes, hosts a substantial Walleye spawning migration annually. The river drains the largest peat bog in the lower 48 states and thus experiences low dissolved oxygen at times. It is largely unknown how the potential anoxic bog water affects Walleye reproductive success each year and subsequent year class strength. Fyke nets were set from 2014-2018 to assess the relative abundance of adult Walleye spawning …

Digital Storytelling [Natural Sciences], Preethi Radhakrishnan

Open Educational Resources

A well-crafted and executed storytelling assignment can serve as an efficient and engaging learning activity which targets the three highest levels of Blooms’ taxonomy which are to Create, Evaluate and Analyze. This digital storytelling assignment is part of a signature assignment series (Stage 1) conducted in all courses of the First Year Seminar for Natural Sciences (NSF101). Students begin collecting pictures and videos for their assignment from the 3^rd week of the semester on a flash drive. During the fourth week of the semester, the instructor first describes the storytelling process and stages. This is followed by learning around …

Transcriptional Response Of Honey Bee (Apis Mellifera) To Differential Nutritional Status And Nosema Infection, Farida Azzouz-Olden, Arthur G. Hunt, Gloria Degrandi-Hoffman

Plant and Soil Sciences Faculty Publications

Background: Bees are confronting several environmental challenges, including the intermingled effects of malnutrition and disease. Intuitively, pollen is the healthiest nutritional choice, however, commercial substitutes, such as Bee-Pro and MegaBee, are widely used. Herein we examined how feeding natural and artificial diets shapes transcription in the abdomen of the honey bee, and how transcription shifts in combination with Nosema parasitism.

Results: Gene ontology enrichment revealed that, compared with poor diet (carbohydrates [C]), bees fed pollen (P > C), Bee-Pro (B > C), and MegaBee (M > C) showed a broad upregulation of metabolic processes, especially lipids; however, pollen feeding promoted more functions, and …

Management Implications Of Sex-Specific Habitat Use By Nycticeius Humeralis In North-Central Arkansas, Megan Lynn Buckley

Student Theses and Dissertations

The goal of this study was to evaluate evening bat (Nycticeius humeralis) habitat use and provide a proxy strategy to evaluate habitat use by other species. I used the software Maximum Entropy to evaluate habitat suitability models for evening bats using three different modeling strategies; percent variable contribution, the jackknife test, and variable response curves. The predictors included in the models were 10 land use land cover classes, four forest management strategies, slope, and the normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI). The results of this research showed that distance to burned stands and proximity to edge habitat are the most important …

Bubble Stream Production By Belugas (Delphinapterus Leucas), Megan Slack

Theses

Bubble stream production in belugas has been poorly characterized and its function is not well understood. I examined behavioral states when producing bubble streams (“bubbling”), and when bubbling calls, to determine whether bubbling was significantly associated with a particular call category or behavioral state. Using 19 hours of video and audio recordings collected over a two-day period, I quantified bubble streams of a 4-month old calf and an unrelated adult female housed together. Based on the overall activity budgets and pool of vocalizations for both animals, I calculated the expected counts of bubble streams with and without vocalizations, assuming that …

Growth Of Pelagic Age-0 Yellow Perch In Relation To Hatch Dates And Water Temperature In North-Central Minnesota Lakes, Ethan Karppinen

Biology Graduate Theses

Exposure to consistent water warming rates and access to abundant populations of edible sized zooplankton affects growth and increases the probability of survival for newly hatched Yellow Perch Perca flavescens. Seven lakes with varying physical characteristics were selected in north-central Minnesota to study abiotic (water temperature) and biotic (zooplankton community and fish growth) progressions during the spring and early summer (April-June). Mean water temperatures from ice-out to 28 June (11.98-14.62 °C) had significant relationships with mean depth (P < 0.01, R? = 0.85), max depth (P < 0.01, R? = 0.73), and total volume (P < 0.01, R2 = 0.54). Hatch periods ranged from 13 to 19 days in 2015 and 13 to 25 days in 2016. Cumulative degree-days (CDD) were used to predict Yellow Perch hatch periods and explain growth. CDD predicted 21-81% of hatch periods in 2015 and 11-50% in 2016. Mean predicted total lengths at 28 June were 19.65-30.41 mm in 2015 and 20.88-28.54 mm in 2016. There was a significant relationship between CDD and predicted total length (R? = 0.62, P < 0.01) to explain differences in Yellow Perch total length while inhabiting the pelagic zone. Observed gape measurements were highly correlated with predicted gapes from the Schael formula (R? = 0.89, P < 0.01) that was used to assess the availability of edible sized zooplankton for age-0 Yellow Perch in each lake. No predator-prey mismatches were found and earlier hatch dates produced age-0 Yellow Perch with greater predicted total lengths in late June on the majority of lakes. This suggests that earlier hatched Yellow perch have an advantage over later hatched Yellow Perch in attaining greater lengths by late June. Our study provides information on a variety of physical and biological progressions in lakes, which may be used for fisheries management practices in the future.

Environmental Conditions In San Martin Lake: Effects Of Eutrophication In An Estuary Associated With The Laguna Madre, Wendy L. Rogers

Theses and Dissertations

San Martin Lake is a shallow water Estuary in the lower Laguna Madre off the Port of Brownsville Shipping channel. It is influenced both by incoming tides and waste water runoff both from local farms and the Brownsville water treatment plants. The resulting mixture of eutrophic water and incoming sea water creates the perfect mix for a potential algal bloom. This study looks at the nutrient levels and environmental conditions in the main basin of the estuary to establish baseline levels and to observe the rate of nutrient clearing being accomplished in this environment. As sport recreation in the area …

Nannochloris Sp. And Oocystis Sp. Algae Exposed To Osmotic Stress For Increased Lipid Production For Use In Biofuels, Laura M. Chavez

Theses and Dissertations

Algal biofuel research is important due to the potential need for replacement of non-renewable fossil fuels and a changing global climate. Under stress, algal cells tend to increase neutral lipid production, which are a suitable source for biofuels. The goal of this study was to subject Nannochloris sp.. and Oocystis sp. algal cells to osmotic stress by modifying sucrose and salinity levels in different treatment medias.

The treatment containing the lowest salinity (15 ppt) and no sucrose yielded the highest lipid fluorescence/cell in Nannochloris sp.. cells (0.00142 ± 0.00044) on day 2 while the treatment containing highest salinity (35ppt) …

Presence/Absence And Density Data For Epipelagic Tows Collected During R/V Blazing Seven Cruises Lf2016a And Lf2016b, Northern Gulf Of Mexico From 2016-06-09 To 2016-07-28, Jay R. Rooker, David Wells

DEEPEND Datasets

This dataset reports presence/absence and density data for epipelagic tows collected in the northern Gulf of Mexico during R/V Blazing Seven cruises LF2016A and LF2016B (2016-06-09 to 2016-07-28). Larval fishes were sampled from 48 stations and cruise data were collected at each site including latitude/longitude, date, time, environmental data (temperature, salinity, dissolved oxygen) and Sargassum dry weight. Larval catch data before and after the oil spill will be compared to improve our understanding of the causes of temporal variability as it relates to the Deep-Water Horizon oil spill (DWHOS). Habitat associations of selected taxa (billfishes, tunas, dolphinfishes, flyingfishes) will be …

Sperm-Mediated Effects Of Predation Risk On Reproduction In Male Threespined Sticklebacks, Shayne Kempfer, Erika Carlson, Jennifer Hellmann, Jason Keagy, Alison Bell

PRECS student projects

Threespined sticklebacks, Gasterosteus aculeatus, exhibit male-only parental care, but will decrease paternal care if exposed to predators while given care or if their mate has had prior experiences with predators. The offspring will experience lasting effects based on the experience of their parents (behavior-mediated transgenerational plasticity). While other studies have concluded that male exposure to predators prior to fertilization (sperm-mediated transgenerational plasticity) impacts offspring, whether sperm-mediated effects exist in sticklebacks, and for how many generations the effects persist is unknown. Courtship trials with both predator exposed and predator unexposed females with six male treatment groups shows significant impact of maternal …