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Ground Beetle (Coleoptera: Carabidae) Assemblages In Native, Invasive, And Encroaching Grassland Habitats, Madison Pittenger
Ground Beetle (Coleoptera: Carabidae) Assemblages In Native, Invasive, And Encroaching Grassland Habitats, Madison Pittenger
Master's Theses
Ground beetles (Carabidae) are increasingly used as ecological indicators in studies regarding land use because they are ubiquitous, respond quickly to environmental change, have a well-understood taxonomy, and can be trapped with ease. While the effects of various plant communities on ground beetle assemblages are relatively well-known, past studies have operated within boreal and tropical forests and have not placed much emphasis on the effects of native and nonnative species. In this study, ground beetles were investigated as indicators of invasion in a grassland setting. Ground beetles were sampled using pitfall traps throughout the 2018 growing season at Quivira National …
Habitat Associations Of Grassland Birds Along A Gradient Of Eastern Red Cedar Succession In Central Kansas, Scott W. Schmidt
Habitat Associations Of Grassland Birds Along A Gradient Of Eastern Red Cedar Succession In Central Kansas, Scott W. Schmidt
Master's Theses
Grassland birds have declined more rapidly than any other avian taxa in North America. While woody encroachment is often cited as a threat, some grassland-dependent species requiring habitat with scattered trees or shrubs also are declining at statistically significant rates. To better understand the ecological costs and benefits of woody vegetation from a brush management perspective, I studied bird-habitat associations along a canopy cover gradient of eastern red cedar (Juniperus virginiana). Habitat associations were tested by the comparing the relative abundance of breeding birds between 3 habitat treatment levels (0% eastern red cedar canopy cover [open grassland], < 5% eastern red cedar canopy cover [light encroachment], and > 5-25% eastern red …