Biology Commons^™

Factors Affecting Mating Duration In The Walkingstick Diapheromera Velii (Walsh) (Phasmatodea: Heteronemiidae), John M. Sivinski

Biology ETDs

Mating durations have only recently become the object of detailed research. The stick insect Diapheromera velii mates from 3 to 136 hours, during which time the genitalia are often not inserted, and contact is maintained by a male clasping organ. Prolonged attachment of male D. velii in the absence of copulation is best explained as guarding that assures the efficiency of previously transferred ejaculates by avoiding sperm competition. Oviposition patterns in D. velii are relatively continuous when compared to those of many insects. The result is that female value to males is comparatively constant as well. The amount of time …

Ecological Comparison Of Sigmodon Hispidus And Sigmodon Fulviventer In The Rio Grande Valley, New Mexico, Karen Petersen

Biology ETDs

This study evaluates the potential for competitive interactions between two species of cotton rat along the Rio Grande valley in New Mexico. Field work was carried out on Sigmodon hispidus and S. fulviventer from April, 1976 to August, 1976, at six study sites. Field data gathered included number of juveniles, number of pregnant females and vegetation diversity. Further studies included morphological analysis of museum specimens and a behavioral study of animals brought back to the laboratory.

Population parameters were compared across the study sites for the cotton rats. Neither species has a sex ratio significantly different from 50:50, but the …

The Effects Of Salts And Metals On Germination And Emergence Of Atriplex Canescens (Pursh.) Nutt. And Sporobolus Airoides Torr, Robert L. Edgar

Biology ETDs

Laboratory studies were conducted to determine effects of salts, metals, and their interactions on the germination and emergence of fourwing saltbush [Atriplex canescens (Pursh.) Nutt.] and alkali sacaton (Sporobolus airoides Torr.). These studies, coupled with soil evaluations, should allow one to predict and possibly alleviate germination and emergence inhibition of these two species due to excessive soil salts and metals. Fourwing saltbush germination and emergence is significantly greater with osmotic stress <-3 bars imposed by inorganic salts (NaCl, Na₂SO₄, MgCl₂, MgSO₄, or CaCl₂) than by polyethylene glycol (PEG) (P <.05). Alkali sacaton germination and emergence is significantly better with osmotic stress <-3 bars imposed by NaCl, Na₂SO₄, or CaCl₂ than by …

Application Of The Nutrient Loading Concept To Lake Powell, The Effects Of Nutrient Perturbations On Phytoplankton Productivity, And Levels Of Nitrogen And Phosphorus In The Reservoir, Steven Paul Gloss

Biology ETDs

Levels, sources, and biological influence of nitrogen and phosphorus in Lake Powell, Utah-Arizona were examined. The reservoir, one of the three largest in the United States, is a mainstream impoundment on the Colorado River and is classified as a warm monomictic with meromixis exhibited in deeper waters.

Nutrient concentrations in the reservoir were characteristic of a mesotrophic lake. Mean total phosphorus concentration was 17 mg m^-3 during the study, while total nitrogen averaged 531 mg m^-3. Nitrate was the dominant form of nitrogen. Distribution of both nutrients exhibited patterns previously described for lakes to some extent, but …

The Germination Requirements Of Certain Species Of Arid Land Plants, David George Sabo

Biology ETDs

The species of shrubs and nine species of grasses were proposed as candidates for investigations for their germination parameters and suitability in stripmine recovery by the US Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Forest and Range Experiment Station. Species which were considered as possible candidates for stripmine recovery area: Artemisia frigida, estafiata; Artemisia tridentate, big sagebrush; Atriplex confertifolia, shadscale; Cercocarpus montanus, true mountain mahogany; Chrysothamnus nauseosus ssp. Biglovii and C. nauseousus ssp. Consimilis, rubber rabbit brush; Cowania stansburiana, cliffrose; Fallugia paradoxa, apache plume; Menodora scabra, rough menodora; Sarcobatus vermiculitus, greasewood; Sphaeralcea incana, globe mallow; Agropyron smithii, desert wheatgrass; Andropogon scoparius, little bluestem; …

A Floristic Analysis Of The Sevilleta Wildlife Refuge And The Ladron Mountains, G. Thomas Manthey

Biology ETDs

The Sevilleta Wildlife Refuge and Ladron Mountains of westcentral New Mexico were selected for a floristic inventory and analysis because of a lack of previous study in this unique area. A key and annotated checklist of the vascular flora of the study area were compiled. The 1140 taxa representing this floristically diverse area were documented by either (i) specimens in the University of New Mexico Herbarium or (ii) specimens collected during 1975 and 1976. Twelve floristic communities are recognized. These are based upon descriptive field notes, species lists from collection sites, and photographs taken during collection trips. The communities are …

Leaf Tissue Production In Relation To Succession In The Spruce-Fir Forests Of Northern New Mexico, Craig F. Eberhart

Biology ETDs

Leaf tissue production was studied to determine possible successional trends. The study area was in the spruce-fir zone of the southern Rocky Mountains 15 kilometers northeast of Santa Fe, New Mexico. In this area quaking aspen (Populus tremuloides) is a successional species that is slowly replaced by Engelmann spruce (Picea engelmannii) and corkbark fir (Abies lasiocarpa var. arizonica) as succession proceeds towards the classical spruce-fir climax. Five study plots were subjectively selected to represent a successional sequence of forest stands with similar physical characteristics. The plots were arranged in a successional series by using the increase in coniferous basal area …

Effects Of Water Stress And Temperature-Photoperiod Preconditioning On Responses Of Atriplex Canescens (Pursh) Nutt. Seedlings To Drought, Barbara Gail Hjelle

Biology ETDs

Fourwing saltbush [Atriplex canescens (Pursh) Nutt.] seedlings were subjected to water stress treatments and temperature-photoperiod regulation to determine if these treatments might induce greater hardiness to subsequent drought stress. Seedlings ages 2, 4, and 8 weeks after emergence were allowed to wilt before rewatering or kept at minimum soil moisture stress. Seedlings aged 2 weeks after emergence were subjected to four regimes of hot and cold temperatures and long and short photoperiods in growth chambers. Treatments were applied for four weeks. Height, fresh weight and dry weight of shoots, and dry weight of roots were reduced by water stress and …

Optimal Foraging: A Selective Review Of Theory And Tests, G.H. Pyke, H.R. Pulliam, Eric Charnov

Biology Faculty & Staff Publications

Beginning with Emlen (1966) and MacArthur and Pianka (1966) and extending through the last ten years, several authors have sought to predict the foraging behavior of animals by menas of mathematical models. These models are very similar, in that they all assume that the fitness of a foraging animal is a function of the efficiency of foraging measured in terms of some "currency" (Schoener, 1971) - usually energy - and that natural selection has resulted in animals that forage so as to maximize this fitness. As a result of these similarities, the models have become known as "optimal foraging models"; …

Floristic Affinities Of Animas Mountain, Southwestern New Mexico, Warren L. Wagner

Biology ETDs

Animas Mountain of southwestern New Mexico was selected for a floristic inventory and analysis because of the lack of previous study in this unique portion of the Southwest.

An annotated checklist of the vascular flora of the study area was compiled. A species-rich flora represented by 718 taxa (ca. 20% of the known flora of New Mexico) was documented by either (i) herbarium specimens from the University of New Mexico, or New Mexico State University herbaria, or (ii) specimens collected during the 1975 and 1976 growing seasons.

Floristic assemblages were recognized based upon descriptive field notes, species lists from collection …

Relation Of Pollen Analysis To Archeological Excavations, Chaco Canyon, Anne C. Cully

Biology ETDs

This study was begun in the summer of 1975 at site 29SJ627, In Marcia's Rincon, Chaco Canyon, New Mexico. Dates of the occupation of the site were from ca. 800 A.D. to 1050 A.D. The primary purposes of the study were to identify pollen; investigate factors affecting variability, including temporal, functional, and spatial factors; investigate sampling techniques to obtain adequate representation of variability; comparison of pollen and flotation samples. A total of 83 samples were processed and 34 taxa were identified. Within site 29SJ627 a block of rooms was chosen for extensive sampling. Within the rooms a grid system was …

Laboratory Diagnosis Of Genital Infections Associated With Chlamydia Trachomatis: Cell Culture And Serological Methods, Linda L. Cole

Biology ETDs

Recent investigations have revealed the widespread involvement of Chlamydia trachomatis in nongonococcal genital infections in man. In an effort to develop the necessary methodology for isolating this agent, several different cell culture techniques were evaluated.

Additionally, a fluorescent antibody technique and neutralization test were developed for possible diagnostic use.

Quantitation of Chlamydia in cell culture was accomplished using inclusion counts which showed linear dose response curves. Inclusions were stained by the PAS, iodine, and Giemsa methods, and these stains were found to be equal in their sensitivity in detecting chlamydia inclusions. Using inclusion counts as a quantitative assay, a variety …

Community Structure Of Ten Southwestern Rodent Faunas, Terrence Morgan May

Biology ETDs

Thirty morphological characters were measured for each of 63 rodent species. All characters were standardized to a mean of zero (O) and standard deviation equal to one (1). From this assemblage, subsets were chosen to represent ten (10) naturally occurring rodent communities of New Mexico and Arizona. Numerical taxonomy techniques of distance, correlation and principal components analysis were used to analyze the data.

Results reveal three distinct community 'types'. The presence or absence of morphologically divergent species is responsible for these differences. The appearance of Castor canadensis (the most morpho-logically divergent species) is dependent upon the addition of a new …

When Is Sex Environmentally Determined?, Eric Charnov, James Bull

Biology Faculty & Staff Publications

No abstract provided.

Optimal Prey Selection In The Great Tit (Parus Major), John Krebs, Jonathan Erichsen, Michael Webber, Eric Charnov

Biology Faculty & Staff Publications

We tested the predictions of an optimal foraging model using five captive great tits as predators. The birds were presented with two prey types, profitable and unprofitable, on a moving belt. Both prey types were made out of mealworms. When the encounter rate with both prey types was low, the birds were non-selective, but at a higher encounter rate with profitable prey, the birds selectively ignored the less profitable type and did so irrespective of the encounter rate with them. These results are as predicted by the model, but the birds did not as predicted change from no selection in …