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Full-Text Articles in Biology
Trophic Dynamics Of The Lake Superior Fish Community, Ariel Edwards
Trophic Dynamics Of The Lake Superior Fish Community, Ariel Edwards
All NMU Master's Theses
The Lake Superior food web has undergone many changes in recent decades, including the rehabilitation of the native apex predator lake charr (Salvelinus namaycush) and the introduction of several nonnative species. The trophic linkages and ecological requirements of the entire fish community, including predators and prey fishes, has not been assessed on a whole-lake scale in over a decade. Here, I investigated the trophic dynamics across multiple regions of the lake, and estimated the consumptive effect of lean lake charr in one region of Lake Superior. From April to October of 2021, a total of five predator, four …
A Review Of Current Methods In Avian Dietary Analysis And Their Integrated Application To Characterize The Trophic Niche Of Louisiana Waterthrush (Parkesia Motacilla)., Brandon Hoenig
Electronic Theses and Dissertations
Characterizing a species’ dietary composition presents an avenue to understand many facets of its ecological niche and can provide essential information for the species’ long-term conservation. To date, the vast majority of diet studies have relied on direct identification of prey during foraging observations or from diet samples to characterize the dietary habits of birds. However, advancements in laboratory-based approaches have revolutionized the field of trophic ecology by allowing researchers to indirectly infer dietary habits with higher resolution across greater time scales. Here, I apply two of these laboratory-based techniques, namely DNA metabarcoding and stable isotope analysis, to characterize the …
Otoliths Of South-Western Australian Fish: A Photographic Catalogue, Chris Dowling, Kim Smith, Elain Lek, Joshua Brown
Otoliths Of South-Western Australian Fish: A Photographic Catalogue, Chris Dowling, Kim Smith, Elain Lek, Joshua Brown
Fisheries research reports
Due to the species-specific nature of otoliths and given they are often the only part of the fish preserved when fish die, otolith catalogues can be used in numerous applications, such as diet studies in fish eating animals, including pinnipeds, fish and sea birds; archaeological purposes such as reconstructing indigenous people’s diets from otoliths found in middens or evolutionary history of fish species by comparing fossilized otoliths. Given the unique mixture of subtropical and temperate fish, including many endemic species that occur off the southwest corner of WA having a catalogue for this area is extremely important for people working …
Otoliths Of South-Western Australian Fish: A Photographic Catalogue, Chris Dowling, Kim Smith, Elaine Lek, Joshua Brown
Otoliths Of South-Western Australian Fish: A Photographic Catalogue, Chris Dowling, Kim Smith, Elaine Lek, Joshua Brown
Fisheries research reports
Due to the species-specific nature of otoliths and given they are often the only part of the fish preserved when fish die, otolith catalogues can be used in numerous applications, such as diet studies in fish eating animals, including pinnipeds, fish and sea birds; archaeological purposes such as reconstructing indigenous people’s diets from otoliths found in middens or evolutionary history of fish species by comparing fossilized otoliths. Given the unique mixture of subtropical and temperate fish, including many endemic species that occur off the southwest corner of WA having a catalogue for this area is extremely important for people working …
Competitive Interactions: Spatial And Temporal Niche Partitioning Between Brook And Brown Trout In Southwest Michigan, Frederick J. Glassen
Competitive Interactions: Spatial And Temporal Niche Partitioning Between Brook And Brown Trout In Southwest Michigan, Frederick J. Glassen
Masters Theses
Niche diet partitioning between Brook Trout and Brown Trout were studied in two southwestern Michigan, USA streams, one dominated by Brook Trout, the other with both Brook and Brown Trout. Brook Trout are endemic to eastern North America and have been introduced throughout the world for sport fishing. Brown Trout were first introduced to Michigan in 1883 using a genetic strain from Germany. Stomach contents were collected from a population of Brook Trout in the absence of Brown Trout in Frost Creek, while the other population was in potential competition with Brown Trout in Cedar Creek. Absent Brown Trout, Brook …
Diet Of A Recently Reintroduced River Otter (Lontra Canadensis) Population In Taos County, New Mexico, Gabriela Alexandra Wolf-Gonzalez
Diet Of A Recently Reintroduced River Otter (Lontra Canadensis) Population In Taos County, New Mexico, Gabriela Alexandra Wolf-Gonzalez
Theses and Dissertations--Forestry and Natural Resources
North American river otters (Lontra canadensis), native to every U.S. state and Canada, experienced extensive population decreases and range reduction until the mid-20th century as a result of overexploitation and habitat loss during European colonization. The last known river otter in New Mexico was killed on the Gila River in 1953, although unverified reports continued thru 2008. After a nearly 60-year absence from New Mexico, 33 adult river otters were reintroduced to the Rio Pueblo de Taos in the northern part of the state between 2008-2010; however, they were not subsequently monitored or studied. I characterized diet of …
Isotopic Incorporation Rates And Discrimination Factors In Mantis Shrimp Crustaceans., Maya Devries, Carlos Del Rio, Tate Tunstall, Todd Dawson
Isotopic Incorporation Rates And Discrimination Factors In Mantis Shrimp Crustaceans., Maya Devries, Carlos Del Rio, Tate Tunstall, Todd Dawson
Faculty Publications, Biological Sciences
Stable isotope analysis has provided insights into the trophic ecology of a wide diversity of animals. Knowledge about isotopic incorporation rates and isotopic discrimination between the consumer and its diet for different tissue types is essential for interpreting stable isotope data, but these parameters remain understudied in many animal taxa and particularly in aquatic invertebrates. We performed a 292-day diet shift experiment on 92 individuals of the predatory mantis shrimp, Neogonodactylus bredini, to quantify carbon and nitrogen incorporation rates and isotope discrimination factors in muscle and hemolymph tissues. Average isotopic discrimination factors between mantis shrimp muscle and the new diet …
Effects Of Prey Abundance On Breeding Season Diet Of Northern Goshawks (Accipiter Gentilis) Within An Unusual Prey Landscape, Robert A. Miller, Jay D. Carlisle, Marc J. Bechard
Effects Of Prey Abundance On Breeding Season Diet Of Northern Goshawks (Accipiter Gentilis) Within An Unusual Prey Landscape, Robert A. Miller, Jay D. Carlisle, Marc J. Bechard
Robert Miller
A critical element of diet analysis is species adaptability to alternative prey sources. The breeding season diet of Northern Goshawks (Accipiter gentilis) includes both mammalian and avian species, varies geographically, and is often dependent upon tree squirrels of the genera Sciurus and Tamiasciurus>/i>. We studied alternative prey sources of Northern Goshawks in the South Hills of south-central Idaho, an area where tree squirrels are naturally absent and other prey frequently important in the diet of goshawks, such as smaller corvids, are uncommon. We quantified the diet of goshawks using nest cameras and surveyed abundance of prey using line …
Seasonal Food Habits Of Burrowing Owls (Athene Cunicularia) In Human-Altered Landscapes, Carie Marie Wingert
Seasonal Food Habits Of Burrowing Owls (Athene Cunicularia) In Human-Altered Landscapes, Carie Marie Wingert
Master's Theses
In 2004, I initiated a year-long study to investigate the food habits of burrowing owls (Athene cunicularia). Burrowing owls have been found in a variety of human-altered landscapes; however, little is known about burrowing owl food habits in urban landscapes. Burrowing owl food habits during the non-breeding season are also largely undocumented, despite increasing concern over the survival of overwintering burrowing owls. Differences in prey consumption between reproductive and non-reproductive owls during the breeding season have not yet been examined. I collected pellets over a 12 month period at four study sites affected by different levels of human …
Assessment Of River Herring And Striped Bass In The Connecticut River: Abundance, Population Structure, And Predator/Prey Interactions, Justin P. Davis, Eric T. Schultz, Jason Vokoun
Assessment Of River Herring And Striped Bass In The Connecticut River: Abundance, Population Structure, And Predator/Prey Interactions, Justin P. Davis, Eric T. Schultz, Jason Vokoun
EEB Articles
Populations of anadromous alewife Alosa pseudoharengus and blueback herring A. aestivalis, collectively referred to as river herring, have declined in the Connecticut River. An explanatory hypothesis for these declines is that predation pressures have increased as a result of recent increases in abundance of sympatric striped bass Morone saxatilis. We sampled river herring and striped bass from the stretch of the Connecticut River between Wethersfield, CT and Holyoke, MA during the vernal migration seasons of 2005-2008. The objectives of the sampling program were to assess abundance, temporal/spatial distribution, and population structure of both river herring and striped bass, …
Use Of Fatty Acid Profiles To Distinguish Between Selected Game Fish And Farm-Raised Channel Catfish, Randy S. Stahl, Brian S. Dorr, Scott C. Barras, John J. Johnston
Use Of Fatty Acid Profiles To Distinguish Between Selected Game Fish And Farm-Raised Channel Catfish, Randy S. Stahl, Brian S. Dorr, Scott C. Barras, John J. Johnston
Brian S Dorr
No abstract provided.