Biology Commons^™

Habitat Associations And Fine-Scale Movements Of The Red-Spotted Toad (Anaxyrus Punctatus) In Kansas And The Efficacy Of Remote Telemetry For Monitoring Small-Scale Movements, Elisabeth Russell

Master's Theses

As climate change progresses, arid-adapted anurans might be particularly susceptible to population declines because of their reliance on ephemeral pools for successful reproduction. Because arid-adapted anurans are difficult to study due to short active seasons and cryptic lifestyles, little is known about their habitat preferences. One such arid-adapted species is the Red-Spotted Toad (Anaxyrus punctatus; RST), a Kansas Species in Need of Conservation. Since this designation in 1987, little research has been conducted to understand their conservation needs. During the summers of 2021 and 2022, RST surveys were conducted both near areas where the species has historically been …

Historical And Contemporary Variables Affecting The Range And Distribution Of Aedes Aegypti, The Yellow Fever Mosquito, In The United States, Nicole Mackey

Master's Theses

Aedes aegypti, the primary mosquito vector of the yellow fever virus, threatens global health by passing on this virus, as well as chikungunya, dengue, and Zika viruses. Through its natural tendency to live in highly urban areas and bite human hosts; understanding the factors that affect the historical and current range of the pest is invaluable (Gubler, 1998). Although these viruses are not normally found in the United States, lack of vaccinations and wide-spread presence of the mosquito could lead to these diseases being reintroduced with potentially devastating effects (Monath, 2001). To determine a partial historical range of A. aegypti …

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 …

The Influence Of Landscape Factors On Black-Tailed Prairie Dog (Cynomys Ludovicianus) Colony Persistence In Northwest Kansas, Jamie Oriez

Master's Theses

The black-tailed prairie dog (Cynomys ludovicianus) is a colonial and fossorial rodent species that serves as an ecosystem engineer and keystone species in North America’s grasslands. Black-tailed prairie dogs historically ranged from northern Mexico to southern Canada, and from eastern Nebraska to the foothills of the Rocky Mountains. However, with the loss and fragmentation of grasslands, introduction of Sylvatic plague (Yersinia pestis), and control measures such as poisoning and shooting, black-tailed prairie dogs are limited to less than 5 percent of their historical range.

In this study, I examined how colony area, location, isolation, and surrounding …

Effects Of Water Table Depth And Edaphic Characteristics On Plant Diversity In A Southern Mississippi Pitcher Plant Bog, Patrick Kirby

Master's Theses

This study examined the effects that water table depth and soil characteristics have on plant species richness and species composition within pitcher plant bogs across seasons. Eight piezometers were installed at random distances to monitor long-term water table depth and pressure fluctuations along a ~710-meter line transect traversing upland and bog habitats. Vegetation sampling quadrats (n=128) were set up near each piezometer. Cover data and water table depths were collected in spring and late summer. Soil samples collected from each treatment group were used to obtain soil texture and nutrient data. The summer collection period yielded a total gdiversity of …

Gender Differences In Space-Use Patterns And Microhabitat Characteristics Of Southern Flying Squirrel (Glaucomys Volans) In Northeastern Iowa, Elizabeth G. Bainbridge

Master's Theses

Southern flying squirrel (Glaucomys volans) is common throughout the eastern deciduous forests of the United States, southern Canada, Mexico, and Central America. However, within the state of Iowa G. volans currently is listed as a “species of special concern.” This status is due to general loss of local habitat and lack of information about the species within the state. The state of Iowa has lost a majority of its native land cover over the past century due to intensive agricultural practices. Most native forests have been reduced drastically. The majority of habitat that would be suitable for southern flying squirrel …

Organismal Composition And Photosynthetic Traits Of Biological Soil Crusts In Prairie Ecosystems Ofthe Great Plains, Brendon C. Mccampbell

Master's Theses

Biological soil crusts (BSCs) are soil-surface microecosystems composed of a close association of algae, cyanobacteria, fungi, lichens, and non-vascular plants with soil particles. BSCs have several ecological functions including carbon fixation, nitrogen fixation, nutrient relations, soil stabilization, water relations, and floral community development, which make them extremely important in many of the ecosystems where they occur. While BSCs have been studied throughout the American West, little work has been done in the Great Plains region where they are less prominent among the dominant vascular plant communities. This study examined organismal composition and photosynthetic traits of BSCs in four ecosystems within …

Sponges Of The Caribbean: Linking Sponge Morphology And Associated Bacterial Communities, Ericka Ann Poppell

Master's Theses

The ecological and evolutionary relationship between sponges and their symbiotic microflora remains poorly understood, which limits our ability to understand broad scale patterns in benthic-pelagic coupling on coral reefs. Previous research classified sponges into two different categories of sponge microbial associations: High Microbial Abundance (HMA) and Low Microbial Abundance (LMA) sponges. Choanocyte chamber morphology and density was characterized in representatives of HMA and LMA sponges using scanning electron microscopy from freeze-fractured tissue. Denaturing Gradient Gel Elextrophoresis was used to examine taxonomic differences among the bacterial communities present in a variety of tropical sponges. The results supported the hypothesis that choanocyte …

The Construction Procedure Of The Saline River Habitat Group In The Fort Hays Kansas State College Museum., William Raymond Eastman

Master's Theses

The development of the museum wild life habitat group in recent years has created much public interest here in the College museum many people have expressed a desire to see such a habitat group related strictly to Kansas , particularly Western Kansas . The year of such a group was not particularly expressed, but as preliminary visions developed, it seemed only reasonable that the public would enjoy a glimpse of Kansas in the days when it was making early history . Thus it was decided to design and execute a life-sized habitat depicting the ecological relationship s found between the …

A Descriptive Analysis Of The Musculature And Osseous Systems Of The Kangaroo Rat, Dipodomys Ordii, Virgil Mathis

Master's Theses

The kangaroo rats constitute the only genus, Dipodomys, of the subfamily Heteromyinae, now extant . There is fossil evidence of two other genera which are now extinct. The kangaroo rat, Dipodomys ordii richardsoni, is one of the common rodents of western Kansas . According to Hibbard (3, p. 76), "Its range extends northeastward along the Kansas river into Riley County." These animals are easily distinguished from other rodents by their long tail, long hind legs and feet, small hands, fur lined external cheek pouches, and their saltating method of locomotion. These rodents are seldom seen by the casual observer, being …

An Analysis Of Seed Production Of Native Kansas Grasses During The Drought Of 1939, Lester R. Branson

Master's Theses

The present interest in the control of soil erosion and the stabilization of agriculture has initiated a great amount of research to find suitable grasses and methods for restoring grass production. The results of these investigations have shown that the native climax grasses are best suited for reseeding in arid and semi-arid regions