Biology Commons^™

Avian And Mammalian Use Of Three Small Urban Wetlands Invaded By A Pest Species, Reed Canarygrass (Phalaris Arundinacea L.), Laurie Dizney

Dissertations and Theses

Small urban wetlands are being destroyed and degraded at an alarming rate. One result of degradation is invasion by pest species, such as reed canarygrass (Phalaris arundinacea L. ). Reed canarygrass forms virtual monocultures in a wide range of wetland types. Wetlands normally have high plant species richness and abundance, which is widely believed to lead to faunal diversity. The purpose of the present study was to determine to what extent birds and mammals use a wetland dominated by reed canarygrass. The research was conducted at Tualatin Hills Nature Park in Beaverton, Washington County, Oregon. I examined three sites …

Genetic Relationships Between Two Rare Plant Species, Aliciella Caespitosa And A. Tenuis, And Their Putative Progenitor, A. Subnuda, Carrie L. Mccracken

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Isolated populations have potential to become new species that should have less genetic variation than their ancestors. Small populations are more likely to lose genetic variation, which is, thus, expected to be greater in ancestors. Aliciella caespitosa and A. tenuis, two endemic species, may be derived from small populations of A. subnuda, a widespread species. Chloroplast DNA sequences were used to test this hypothesis. Allozyme data were used to compare genetic variation and numbers of alleles. Chloroplast data do not support the proposed relationships between A. subnuda and the other two species. Allozyme data were not more variable …

Pycnothyrium Ultrastructure In Tubakia Dryina [Abstract], Josephine Taylor

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Amaranthus Rudis And A. Tuberculatus, One Species Or Two? [Abstract], Donald B. Pratt, Lynn G. Clark

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Fisheries Occasional Publication No. 31 - Feeding Lupins To Fish: A Review Of The Nutritional And Biological Value Of Lupins In Aquaculture Feeds, Brett Glencross

Fisheries Occasional Publications

Lupins are the harvested seed of species from the Lupinus genus, a group within the leguminous bean and pea family Fabaceae. Legumes are particularly valuable agricultural crops because of their capacity to provide a grain crop and also fix and return nitrogen to soils and improve the soil value for further cropping. The oilseeds, soybeans and peanuts are also leguminous plants, though traditionally they have been cropped for their oil value, whereas lupins, are cropped for both their protein and nitrogen fixing value (Gladstones, 1998; Perry et al., 1998).

The three key commercial species of lupins are L. angustifolius (Narrow-leafed …

Using Upper Boundary Constraints To Quantify Competitive Response Of Desert Annuals, Laura M. Lessin, Andrew R. Dyer, Deborah E. Goldberg

Faculty Publications

Using a target-neighborhood approach with six annual dicot species in the Negev Desert of Israel, we tested whether neighborhood biomass constrained the upper limit of plant performance and if the slope of the upper boundary was correlated to species trait means, such as relative growth rate (RGR) and seed mass. Target individuals were measured in early spring and then collected at the onset of the dry season along with all naturally occurring neighbors within a 5-cm radius of the target. Using a minimum of 50 samples for each of the six target species, we found no significant relationships between target …

A Synopsis Of The Ferns And Fern Allies Of Nebraska, With Maps Of Their Distribution, Steven B. Rolfsmeier, Robert B. Kaul, David M. Sutherland

School of Biological Sciences: Faculty Publications

An annotated list and country-by-country distribution maps are presented for the 32 species of ferns and fern allies native to Nebraska, based upon field and herbarium studies and critical evaluation of the literature. Native to the state are Isoëtes melanopoda, Selaginella rupestris, five species of Equisetum, and 25 species in 18 genera of ferns. Three native species are here verified for the first time, based upon recent collections: Matteuccia struthiopteris var. pensylvanica, Ophioglossum engelmannii, and Pellacaglabella ssp. glabella. Isoëtes melanopoda was rediscovered in 2000, the first record since 1941. Rejected are published reports of …

D13c Signatures Of Flora, Macrofauna And Sediment Of A Mangrove Forest Partly Affected By Sewage Wastes, J F Machiwa

Tanzania Journal of Science

Stable carbon isotope ratios (d13C) of sediments, suspended particulate matter, and crab gut content from Maruhubi mangrove forest, Zanzibar, were determined. Stable carbon isotope ratios were used to determine sources of organic matter in the forest. Mangrove organic carbon (d13C±SD = - 27.97±0.25) was found to be an important component of the sediment organic matter except at the marine fringe zone (d13C±SD = - 17.26±0.83). The areal distribution of d13C values show that the marine fringe zone was rich in organic carbon of marine origin. The terrestrial fringe zone was dominated by a mixed source of sediment organic carbon (d13C±SD …

Variation And Heritability Of Phenology In The Fungus Monilinia Vaccinii-Corymbosi On Blueberry, Jeffery S. Lehman, Peter V. Oudemans

Biology and Earth Science Faculty Scholarship

The germination of field-collected pseudosclerotia and the development of apothecia from eight New Jersey populations of the mummy berry fungus Monilinia vaccinii-corymbosi were evaluated under controlled conditions in the greenhouse. Development data for apothecia were used to describe the timing of apothecium formation and to estimate broad- and narrow-sense heritabilities of fungal phenology. Mean development times for the formation of apothecia ranged from 35.4 to 54.7 days. The mean development times for populations collected from early-season cv. Weymouth ranged from 35.4 to 39.6 days and were significantly shorter than the development times for three of the four populations collected from …

Additive And Nonadditive Effects Of Herbivory And Competition On Tree Seedling Mortality, Growth, And Allocation, Scott J. Meiners, Steven N. Handel

Faculty Research & Creative Activity

The interaction between simulated cotyledon herbivory and interspecific competition was studied in a greenhouse experiment using two species of trees, Acer rubrum and Quercus palustris, which commonly invade abandoned agricultural fields. Herbivory treatments were applied as a gradient of cotyledon removal for A. rubrum with 0, 25, 50, 75, and 100% of cotyledon tissue removed. Cotyledons from Q. palustris were clipped and removed (control, early, and late removal) to create a gradient of seed reserve availability. The competition treatment consisted of plugs of old-field vegetation that filled the pots with perennial cover. Mortality of seedlings was higher with competition. There …

Additive And Nonadditive Effects Of Herbivory And Competition On Tree Seedling Mortality, Growth, And Allocation, Scott Meiners, Steven Handel

Faculty Research & Creative Activity

The interaction between simulated cotyledon herbivory and interspecific competition was studied in a greenhouse experiment using two species of trees, Acer rubrum and Quercus palustris, which commonly invade abandoned agricultural fields. Herbivory treatments were applied as a gradient of cotyledon removal for A. rubrum with 0, 25, 50, 75, and 100% of cotyledon tissue removed. Cotyledons from Q. palustris were clipped and removed (control, early, and late removal) to create a gradient of seed reserve availability. The competition treatment consisted of plugs of old-field vegetation that filled the pots with perennial cover. Mortality of seedlings was higher with competition. There …

Season And Distance From Forest - Old Field Edge Affect Seed Predation By White-Footed Mice, Scott J. Meiners, James T. Mccormick

Faculty Research & Creative Activity

We studied the spatial pattern of seed predation across a forest-old field edge in both fall and winter to assess the potential for seed predators to influence plant spatial patterns. We used a 100 x 100 m grid that began 30 m inside the forest and extended 60 m into the old field. Inside this grid we placed seed stations at regular 10 m intervals and monitored seed removal. Seed predation varied significantly across the edge gradient in both fall and winter with the highest rate of seed removal at the edge in both trials. The spatial pattern of seed …

A Scanning Electron Microscopic Study Of The Infection Of Water Oak (Quercus Nigra) By Taphrina Caerulescens, Josephine Taylor, Dale O. Birdwell

Faculty Publications

The fungal pathogen Taphrina caerulescens was isolated from leaves of water oak (Quercus nigra) exhibiting symptoms of oak leaf blister. Healthy leaves were inoculated with a suspension of cells from pure culture in order to examine the infection process. Scanning electron microscopy was used to monitor budding of T. caerulescens cells, formation of germ tubes, and indirect penetration of leaf tissue through stomata, which occurred within 48 h post-inoculation. Direct penetration was not observed.

Season And Distance From Forest - Old Field Edge Affect Seed Predation By White-Footed Mice, Scott Meiners, James Mccormick

Faculty Research & Creative Activity

We studied the spatial pattern of seed predation across a forest-old field edge in both fall and winter to assess the potential for seed predators to influence plant spatial patterns. We used a 100 x 100 m grid that began 30 m inside the forest and extended 60 m into the old field. Inside this grid we placed seed stations at regular 10 m intervals and monitored seed removal. Seed predation varied significantly across the edge gradient in both fall and winter with the highest rate of seed removal at the edge in both trials. The spatial pattern of seed …

Use Of Randomly Amplified Polymorphic Dna-Polymerase Chain Reaction (Rapd-Pcr) To Distinguish North American Populations Of Acroptilon Repens (L.) Dc, Raul A. Ruiz

Theses and Dissertations - UTB/UTPA

Sixty U.S. populations of Acroptilon repens collected in 1998 were analyzed using RAPD-PCR. Each population was represented by five specimens gathered from each location. A total of 301 specimens were examined using two Operon Technologies, RAPD-PCR primers (A 10 and C04). The DNA amplification products produced through the PCR process were electrophoretically separated to produce DNA fragments ranging from 100 to 2000 base-pairs in length. The 60 U.S. populations sampled, produce ten RAPD banding pattern types using A 10 primer and seventeen pattern types with C04. Genetic variation within and among the populations was low, however, one dendogram did show …

Review Of Population Biology Of Grasses, Thomas B. Bragg

Biology Faculty Publications

Population Biology of Grasses provides a wealth of knowledge beyond population biology that ecologists and ecosystem biologists will find relevant to their concerns, particularly those with an interest in grasslands. Though not limited to the Great Plains region, the book would make an excellent addition to the reference shelf of anyone interested in grasses and grassland-related ecosystems, including readers with an interest in land management and preservation. While the papers are written for different levels of readers, all provide information accessible to non-specialists.

Gender Variation In Croton Californicus (Euphorbiaceae), James Lynwood Smith Ii

Loma Linda University Electronic Theses, Dissertations & Projects

Croton californicus Muell. Arg. (Euphorbiaceae) is a subshrub suspected of being dimorphic with phase choices. Gender variation in C. californicus was studied in natural populations of southern California for three years (1994-96) to observe patterns of gender !ability. Some sites exhibited significantly male-biased sex ratios, and these sites often had the greatest number of monoecious morphs, cosexual plants with unisexual flowers. Gender variation was quantified for cosexual plants by calculating the Estimated Floral Gender (EFG) which varied from 1.00 (female) to 0.00 (male). The distribution of the EFG was highly skewed towards maleness. Monoecious individuals were then categorized by …

Reproductive Biology Of Melilotus Officinalis (L.) Lam (Fabaceae: Papilionoideae): Morphology, Seed/Ovule Ratios And Ovule Abortion Patterns, Susan Lee Schouten

Dissertations and Theses

Melilotus officinalis, an introduced herbaceous species within the Papilionoideae, has a fixed ovule abortion pattern. In its primarily single-seeded, indehiscent fruits, with an average of 6.98 ovules/fruit, this species matured the basal-most ovule in 67.63% and the second basal-most ovule in 24.22% of the fruits studied. This pattern contrasts with other legumes studied, which abort the basal-most ovules or those at either end of the fruit. Workers propose interaction between two opposing gradients--that of maternal resources from the basal end of the fruit and of fertilization from the stylar end. Several lines of evidence indicate that all ovules are …

Exploring Cost Constraints On Stem Elongation In Plants Using Phenotypic Manipulation, Don Cipollini, Jack C. Schultz

Biological Sciences Faculty Publications

Negative associations between individual life‐history traits of an organism are referred to as life‐history trade‐offs (Stearns 1992; Zera et al. 1998). The existence of costly trade‐offs is thought to have favored the evolution of phenotypic plasticity as a mechanism through which organisms can account for environmental heterogeneity while modulating costs and benefits incurred by fixed allocation to competing functions (Bradshaw 1965; Stearns 1992; Sultan 1995; Dudley and Schmitt 1996; Pigliucci 1996). In plants, the ability to modify stem elongation in response to environmental cues appears to be a classic form of adaptive phenotypic plasticity (Sultan 1995; Gedroc et al. 1996). …

A Medicinal Plant Survey In Marketplaces Of Ecuador, Pamela Bailey

Theses, Dissertations and Capstones

A medicinal herb survey was conducted in ten major marketplaces in Andean and coastal communities of Ecuador. Collections were made during the summer of 1997. Four plant collections from each market were pressed, dried, identified, and the medicinal information for each plant was recorded. Photographs of fresh plants, market vendors and the marketplaces were taken.

Fifty three families were represented in the 112 species collected. Forty-two species (37%) were introduced to Ecuador while seventy species (63%) were native to Ecuador. Plant taxa were grouped into 22 categories of medicinal usage. The most common 3 uses were: 1. General tonic and …

Cyclopropane Fatty Acid Expression In Plants, Katherine M. Schmid

Scholarship and Professional Work - LAS

Pants [sic] are transformed with a bacterial cyclopropane fatty acid synthase gene to produce lipids containing cyclopropane fatty acids. Using this technology dihydrosterculate is produced in oilseed crops such as rape.

Effects Of Competition On Resource Availability And Growth Of A California Bunchgrass, Andrew R. Dyer, Kevin J. Rice

Faculty Publications

In California, little is known about the sensitivity of native bunchgrasses to competition or to changes in resource availability. We investigated the effect of nonnative annual vegetation on resource availability and growth of a native bunchgrass, Nassella pulchra, in a pair of factorial field experiments that incorporated effects of both interspecific and intraspecific competition as well as variation in soil depth. Plots of differing target densities and neighborhoods were used to assess changes in aboveground (light) and belowground (water) resource availability over multiple seasons in two sites with differing soil depth. N. pulchra grown without interspecific competitors grew larger …

The Use Of Rapd To Detect Genetic Variation In Populations Of Liatris Aspera Michx., Duane Joseph Kitchen

Dissertations and Theses @ UNI

The tall grass prairie is one of the most degraded and fragmented ecosystems on earth. Interest in conserving, restoring, and reconstructing tallgrass prairie began early in the 1900s, and has increased dramatically since the 1960s. Early restoration and reconstruction efforts relied primarily on seed collected from prairie remnants near the planting site, but with the increase in prairie planting efforts came a greater demand for large quantities of affordable, viable seed of native prairie species. Following an increase in the use of cultivated varieties (cultivars) of seed, concerns over the loss of genetic integrity of local populations and low genetic …

Francis Harper Papers, Zach S. Henderson Library Special Collections

Finding Aids

This collection consists of the professional and personal papers of Cornell-trained naturalist Dr. Francis Harper. Materials span 1904-1972 and include field notebooks, correspondence, photographs, and audiovisual materials documenting the plant and animal life as well as human ecology of the Okefenokee Swamp area of South Georgia. The photographs within Series 1 show the flora, fauna, and people of the Okefenokee swamp. The photographs were taken by the Harpers while on their trips to the swamp. Photographs are all in black and white and range in size. The Field Journals chronicle his travels in the okefenokee, Canada, and New England. Materials …

Effects Of Sludge Application On Prairie Establishment, Brenda Joan Durbahn

Dissertations and Theses @ UNI

Native prairie in Iowa has all but disappeared since the development of agricultural land by European settlers over the past 165 years. Reconstructing prairie is one way to replace some of the acreage that was lost. A byproduct of settling an area is the generation of garbage and other wastes. Currently there is a surplus of sludge, the waste product of waste water treatment facilities. This material is usually disposed of in landfills, used on agricultural land or reclamation projects.

A small area of prairie was reconstructed on the top of a closed portion of the Black Hawk County Solid …

Bulletin No. 36: Amphibians And Reptiles Of The Connecticut College Arboretum, Jill Devito, Joseph Markow

Bulletins

No abstract provided.

Identification Of A Family Of Zinc Transporter Genes From Arabidopsis That Respond To Zinc Deficiency, Natasha Grotz, Tama Fox, Erin Connolly, Walter Park, Mary Lou Guerinot, David Eide

Dartmouth Scholarship

Millions of people worldwide suffer from nutritional imbalances of essential metals like zinc. These same metals, along with pollutants like cadmium and lead, contaminate soils at many sites around the world. In addition to posing a threat to human health, these metals can poison plants, livestock, and wildlife. Deciphering how metals are absorbed, transported, and incorporated as protein cofactors may help solve both of these problems. For example, edible plants could be engineered to serve as better dietary sources of metal nutrients, and other plant species could be tailored to remove metal ions from contaminated soils. We report here the …

Effects Of Distance To Juniperus Virginiana On The Establishment Of Fraxinus And Acer Seedlings In Old Fields, Scott J. Meiners, David L. Gorchov

Faculty Research & Creative Activity

It has been hypothesized that Juniperus virginiana facilitates tree seedling establishment in secondary succession. To test this hypothesis, we sampled four old fields in southwestern Ohio and monitored experimentally planted seeds and seedlings of Acer saccharum and Fraxinus americana for two years. Seeds and seedlings were placed into herbivore exclosures placed 0.3 and 3.0 m from J virginiana trees in an old field in Ohio. We found a significant positive spatial association between juniperus virginiana and tree seedling densities in all four old fields. Soil temperature, soil moisture, evaporative demand and light level in the 0.3 m treatment were significantly …

Effects Of Distance To Juniperus Virginiana On The Establishment Of Fraxinus And Acer Seedlings In Old Fields, Scott Meiners, David Gorchov

Faculty Research & Creative Activity

It has been hypothesized that Juniperus virginiana facilitates tree seedling establishment in secondary succession. To test this hypothesis, we sampled four old fields in southwestern Ohio and monitored experimentally planted seeds and seedlings of Acer saccharum and Fraxinus americana for two years. Seeds and seedlings were placed into herbivore exclosures placed 0.3 and 3.0 m from J virginiana trees in an old field in Ohio. We found a significant positive spatial association between juniperus virginiana and tree seedling densities in all four old fields. Soil temperature, soil moisture, evaporative demand and light level in the 0.3 m treatment were significantly …

Tapeinosperma Alatum (Myrsinaceae): A Remarkable New Species From Ceram, Diane Holland, P.F. Stevens

Biology Department Faculty Works

A new pachycaul species Tapeinosperma alatum D.E. Holland & P.F. Stevens (Myrsinaceae) is described from South Central Ceram. It is characterized by its huge leaves, over 1 m long, and congested, almost Gunnera-like. inflorescence. The distinctive distribution of the Papuasian pachycaul species of Tapeinosperma is briefly compared with that of a number of other unrelated taxa.