Biology Commons^™

Climate Change-Associated Declines In Water Clarity Impair Feeding By Common Loons, Walter H. Piper, Max R. Glines, Kevin C. Rose

Biology, Chemistry, and Environmental Sciences Faculty Articles and Research

Climate change has myriad impacts on ecosystems, but the mechanisms by which it affects individual species can be difficult to pinpoint. One strategy to discover such mechanisms is to identify a specific ecological factor related to survival or reproduction and determine how that factor is affected by climate. Here we used Landsat imagery to calculate water clarity for 127 lakes in northern Wisconsin from 1995 to 2021 and thus investigate the effect of clarity on the body condition of an aquatic visual predator, the common loon (Gavia immer). In addition, we examined rainfall and temperature as potential predictors …

Drought Legacy Interacts With Wildfire To Alter Soil Microbial Communities In A Mediterranean Climate-Type Forest, Anna J. M. Hopkins, Aaron J. Brace, Jess L. Bruce, J. Hyde, J. B. Fontaine, L. Walden, W. Veber, K. X. Ruthrof

Research outputs 2022 to 2026

Mediterranean forest ecosystems will be increasingly affected by hotter drought and more frequent and severe wildfire events in the future. However, little is known about the longer-term responses of these forests to multiple disturbances and the forests' capacity to maintain ecosystem function. This is particularly so for below-ground organisms, which have received less attention than those above-ground, despite their essential contributions to forest function. We investigated rhizosphere microbial communities in a resprouting Eucalyptus marginata forest, southwestern Australia, that had experienced a severe wildfire four years previously, and a hotter drought eight years previously. Our aim was to understand how microbial …

How Does A Global Climate Cycle Affect The Reproductive Output Of A Neotropical Migratory Bird?, Abby K. Bressette, Emma Cummings, Daniel Albrecht-Mallinger, Lesley Bulluck

Undergraduate Research Posters

El-Niño Southern Oscillation (ENSO) causes regional changes in climate and has been found to have varying effects on the survival, fecundity, and recruitment of migratory songbirds. This study seeks to better understand the effect of ENSO on the fecundity of Virginia-breeding Prothonotary warbler (Protonotaria citrea; PROW), a neotropical migratory songbird. PROW breed in the Eastern United States and spend the non-breeding season primarily in Panama and Colombia. Ongoing research in Virginia has found a positive relationship between spring precipitation and predicted number of PROW fledgelings during La Niña, but the opposite during El Niño. To better understand this relationship, we …

Linking Microbial Community Assembly In Flowers With Function Under Diverse Environmental Conditions: A Case Study Involving Erwinia Amylovora, Christopher Skylar Mcdaniel

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Fall 2023 to Present

Fire blight, a devastating disease of pome fruit trees caused by the bacterium Erwinia amylovora, can cause millions of dollars in losses for producers each year around the globe. Management approaches that involve use of antibiotics, such as streptomycin, can be effective; although concerns exist over pollinator and crop health when using them regularly. Recently, there have been developments that allow for biological agents such as microbes to curtail fire blight infection. These agents work by competing with Erwinia for resources or space, producing antibacterial compounds, or even killing Erwinia cells on contact. Unfortunately, these agents do not yet …

Using Biometrics, Behavioral Observations, And Multiple Molecular Techniques To Assess The Impacts Of Changes In Temperature And Salinity On The Common Bay Mussel (Mytilus Trossulus), Casey Martin

Dissertations and Theses

The intertidal zone is a place of rapid and frequent change that is home to a variety of creatures who are essential to the integrity of the habitat. Mussels are robust sessile bivalves that anchor to the rocks of the intertidal. The prominent species on the Oregon Coast, the Common Bay Mussel (Mytilus trossulus), plays an essential role as a coastal food source, water column filter, and barrier to prevent erosion due to wave action. Mytilus trossulus withstands daily shifts in temperature, salinity, and tide, as well as seasonal changes. Global climate change due to excess carbon emissions …

The Coastal Monitor: Vol. 10 No. 2, John Tanacredi Ph.D.

The Coastal Monitor

Stephen J. Gould’s prophetic piece, “The Golden Rule: A Proper Scale for Our Environmental Crisis”, noted that, “Patience enjoys a long pedigree of favor”, which he elaborated, “usually involves a deep understanding of the fundamental principle… rarely grasped in daily life – the effects of scale.” Scientists observe changes incessantly, in dimensions and time, from microscopic conditions of cellular biology to the inconceivable distances of galaxies and their influences on Earth.

Shower Thoughts: Why Scientists Should Spend More Time In The Rain, John T. Van Stan Ii, Scott T. Allen, Douglas P. Aubrey, Z. Carter Berry, Matthew Biddick, Miriam A.M.J. Coenders-Gerrits, Paolo Giordani, Sybil G. Gotsch, Ethan D. Gutmann, Yakov Kuzyakov, Donát Magyar, Valentina S.A. Mella, Kevin E. Mueller, Alexandra G. Ponette-González, Philipp Porada, Carla E. Rosenfeld, Jack Simmons

Biological, Geological, and Environmental Faculty Publications

Stormwater is a vital resource and dynamic driver of terrestrial ecosystem processes. However, processes controlling interactions during and shortly after storms are often poorly seen and poorly sensed when direct observations are substituted with technological ones. We discuss how human observations complement technological ones and the benefits of scientists spending more time in the storm. Human observation can reveal ephemeral storm-related phenomena such as biogeochemical hot moments, organismal responses, and sedimentary processes that can then be explored in greater resolution using sensors and virtual experiments. Storm-related phenomena trigger lasting, oversized impacts on hydrologic and biogeochemical processes, organismal traits or functions, …

Illuminating The Drivers Of Genomic Diversification In Lamprologine Cichlids Of The Lower Congo River, Naoko P. Kurata

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Freshwater fishes are extraordinarily diverse, considering their available habitats represent a tiny proportion of the earth’s surface. Rivers connect heterogeneous habitats in a linear form and provide excellent simplified models to understand how aquatic biodiversity evolves. In particular, the lower Congo River (LCR) in west Central Africa consists of a dynamic hydroscape exhibiting extraordinary aquatic biodiversity, endemicity, and morphological and ecological specialization. This system is thus an excellent natural laboratory for understanding complex speciation and population diversification processes. In my research, I explore various drivers of diversification, and adaptive evolution in rheophilic lamprologine cichlids endemic to the LCR, including Lamprologus …

Effects Of Climate Change On Human Health, Sara El Houzaly, Richa Gupta

Publications and Research

The effects of climate change are evident worldwide as average global land and air temperatures have been rising, glaciers and ice sheets are shrinking with the concomitant rise in sea levels, extreme weather events have become more frequent, and oceans are warming and acidifying. Humanity is facing a big environmental challenge which not only impacts our habitat but will also have ramifications on our health. The present review describes a detailed examination of the scientific evidence proving the relationship between climate change and various fatal human diseases in different geographical regions. Our findings indicate that variations in the patterns of …

Understanding Context Dependent Responses To Climate Change In Arizona Tiger Salamanders (Ambystoma Mavortium Nebulosum), Kentrell Richardson

Masters Theses, 2020-current

Future emissions scenarios project climate change to increase average global temperatures by at least two ℃ in the next 50 years resulting in changes in local climate and causing increased variability within microclimates. Ectotherms are especially sensitive to climate change due to their dependence on environmental temperatures to regulate physiological functions. Changes in temperature are likely to impact thermally cued processes within amphibians and result in changes in variable magnitudes and directions within local populations.

Salamanders were placed in cups and partially submerged in a water bath and heated at a rate of ~0.27℃/ minute. Once salamanders were unable to …

Relationships Between Vector Mosquitoes And Climate Change Derived From Long Term Ecological Data In The United States, Nicholas Scott

Honors Program Theses and Projects

Climate change has significant ecological and societal consequences as evident from the past few decades. It has had a large impact on many species, including vector mosquitoes. Although how climate change impacts mosquitoes of the tropical world has been explored, temperate areas remain inadequately studied. Therefore, the medical and healthcare sectors are underprepared for treating mosquito-borne diseases (EEE and Western Nile virus). Based on a long-term ecological dataset covering the past ~10 years across 45 sites, we streamlined, processed, and subsequently analyzed data by building statistical models to understand changes among mosquito populations in the US in response to climate …

Hawk Mountain Raptor Migration Phenology’S Relation To Weather, Dale E. Parson, Eric Burgos

Computer Science and Information Technology Faculty

We have been studying year-round raptor migration phenology across the United States and North America for multiple decades now. Hawk Mountain Sanctuary’s Autumn migration hawk count began in 1934 and is the longest running raptor migration count in the world. A decline in total raptor counts passing through Hawk Mountain’s North Lookout is well documented and much research has already been done in what could be the main causes for this decrease in counts year-over-year. We know that cold front passages have long been associated with autumnal migration in northeastern North America. Using updated analysis techniques, we examined 60 years’ …

The Effects Of Recent Climate Change On Spring Phenology, With A Special Focus On Patterns Of Bee Foraging, Michael Stemkovski

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The date on which plants flower and on which bees begin to pollinate varies year-to-year depending on differences in weather. This seasonal timing is known as phenology, and it is already clear that climate change has pushed the spring phenology of many species earlier by increasing temperatures. This is particularly clear in flowering plants, but studying how and why the phenology of pollinators is shifting is more difficult. Most flowering plants rely on pollinators such as bees for their reproduction, and most bees rely on flowers for their sustenance, so bee and flower phenology has to overlap for the crucial …

The Coastal Monitor: Vol. 10 No. 1, John Tanacredi Ph.D.

The Coastal Monitor

New Year’s Day has always been, for me, a time to reflect and project into the near future. Nature’s influence on us all certainly tops my listing with several environmental concerns. For example, the frequency and intensity of hurricanes to Long Island. A decade has passed since Superstorm Sandy re-opened the “Old Inlet” on Long Island which now has mostly naturally closed. So, the new year immediately prompts me to assess the previous year’s Hurricane Ian, a Category 4 system, with winds exceeding 150 mph, which had considerable impact in Florida, and then proceeded north resulting in over 2 inches …

Analysis Of Hawk Mountain Wind Speed To Raptor Count Trends From 1976 Through 2021, Dale E. Parson

Computer Science and Information Technology Faculty

This analysis of summer 2023 is a sequel to the summer 2022 Analysis of Hawk Mountain Sanctuary Observation Data from 1976 through 2021, also available as a web page through end of 2024 here. A presentation of that and subsequent analysis presented at Kutztown University in November 2022 and to Hawk Mountain researchers in January 2023 is available as PDF slides here and also on the web through 2024 here. This work was funded by a Kutztown University Research Grant for spring 2022 through summer 2023. Analytical use of these data proceeded through a subset of projects in three courses …

Predicting The Impact Of Climate Change On The Distribution Of Rhipicephalus Sanguineus In The Americas, Marcos Sánchez Pérez, Teresa Patricia Feria-Arroyo, Crystian Sadiel Venegas Barrera, Carolina Sosa-Gutiérrez, Javier Torres, Katherine A. Brown, Guadalupe Gordillo Pérez

Biology Faculty Publications and Presentations

Climate change may influence the incidence of infectious diseases including those transmitted by ticks. Rhipicephalus sanguineus complex has a worldwide distribution and transmits Rickettsial infections that could cause high mortality rates if untreated. We assessed the potential effects of climate change on the distribution of R. sanguineus in the Americas in 2050 and 2070 using the general circulation model CanESM5 and two shared socioeconomic pathways (SSPs), SSP2-4.5 (moderate emissions) and SSP2-8.5 (high emissions). A total of 355 occurrence points of R. sanguineus and eight uncorrelated bioclimatic variables were entered into a maximum entropy algorithm (MaxEnt) to produce 50 replicates per …

Plant Species’ Capacity For Range Shifts At The Habitat And Geographic Scales: A Trade-Off-Based Framework, Bailey H. Mcnichol, Sabrina E. Russo

School of Biological Sciences: Faculty Publications

Climate change is causing rapid shifts in the abiotic and biotic environmental conditions experienced by plant populations, but we lack generalizable frameworks for predicting the consequences for species. These changes may cause individuals to become poorly matched to their environments, potentially inducing shifts in the distributions of populations and altering species’ habitat and geographic ranges. We present a trade-off-based framework for understanding and predicting whether plant species may undergo range shifts, based on ecological strategies defined by functional trait variation. We define a species’ capacity for undergoing range shifts as the product of its colonization ability and the ability to …

To Flee Or Not To Flee: How Range Dynamic Of Alpine Species Are Changing Through Time, Lian Noonan

WWU Graduate School Collection

In response to anthropogenic climate change, alpine floras in particular have been forecasted to shift their ranges upslope and north, yet recent analyses have shown otherwise. While a handful of floras have been found to track the trajectory of predictive models, most floristic elements have remained in their historical ranges despite a changing climate. Therefore, to improve the accuracy of models predicting range shifts, I address the following questions: (1) are mountain floras spatially structured through time; and (2) how are range dynamics of mountain floras changing through time. To address these questions, this study analyzed the herbarium records of …

Application Of Hierarchical Species Distribution Models To Avian Species Of South Dakota And The Upper Missouri River Basin, Reza Goljani Amirkhiz

Dissertations and Theses

Recognizing the distributional patterns of species can inform management actions and increase scientific knowledge about species. Habitat Suitability Models (HSMs) are valuable tools in modeling species’ niches and effects of climate change and anthropogenic and natural disturbances on species’ distributions and abundances. In this dissertation, I expanded the application of hierarchical HSMs for a rare bird (Virginia’s warbler) and an economically valuable bird (ring-necked pheasant) in South Dakota. Also, we developed multiscale HSMs for grassland birds in the Upper Missouri River Basin (UMRB) to quantify current habitat associations and predict the influences of climate and landcover change associated with the …

Exploring The Metabolic Capabilities And Biotransformation Potential Of Environmental Lactococcus Strains, Desirée Román Naranjo

Theses

The aim of this thesis is to characterize environmental Lactococcus strains to identify different and diverse metabolic capabilities that could be applied to microbial biotransformation, defined as the conversion of a cheap/waste substrate into a value-added product. Due to the increased amounts of food processing waste generated worldwide and the impact of climate change, new sustainable approaches are necessary to contribute to waste valorization and the circular bioeconomy. We ask to what extent and in what ways environment isolated Lactococcus strains could contribute to food biotransformation by metabolizing a different range of substrates. We do so to further understand and …

Multiple Interacting Stressors Influence Development, Growth, And Morphology Of Pacific Chorus Frog (Pseudacris Regilla) Larvae, Abby Dalke, Allie M. Erickson, Bailey R. Tasker, Skylar Riley, Paul Hurst, Sarah Cooney, Scott A. Griffith, Betsy A. Bancroft

Biology Faculty Scholarship

Freshwater ecosystems are threatened by climate change and invasive species. Amphibians are important members of freshwater communities and are susceptible to negative effects of climate change and invasion. Furthermore, both climate change and invasion can influence density of amphibian larvae at the microhabitat scale because of larval clustering. To understand the effects of climate change and invasion on Pacific Chorus Frog Pseudacris regilla (Baird and Girard, 1852) larvae, a 2 × 2 × 2 factorial experiment was carried out with a climate treatment (future/historical; simulated as changes in both temperature and hydroperiod), indirect exposure to the invasive Brook Stickleback Culaea …

Quantifying Life History Energetics Of An Oviparous Elasmobranch Subject To Future Warming Water, Carolyn R. Wheeler

Graduate Doctoral Dissertations

Marine ectothermic fishes – fishes that do not regulate internal body temperature independent from the water temperature – are some of the most vulnerable organisms to rapid and alarming increases in environmental temperature occurring due to climate change mediated-ocean warming. For tropical fish species that live near their thermal maxima, this warming could be of grave consequence to individuals, populations, and whole marine ecosystems. Certain key life stages such as embryos and reproducing adults may be particularly vulnerable to warming given the excess energetic costs of these life stages, which may disallow compensation for extreme changes in temperature. One taxonomic …

Landscape Genomics Of The Tussock Cottongrass (Eriophorum Vaginatum) And The Dwarf Birch (Betula Nana) In North Central Alaska, Elizabeth Stunz

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Global climate change has resulted in geographic range shifts of flora and fauna at a global scale. Extreme environments, like the Arctic, are seeing some of the most pronounced changes. This region covers 14% of the Earthâ??s land area, and while many arctic species are widespread, understanding ecotypic variation at the genomic level will be important for elucidating how range shifts will affect ecological processes. Increase in shrub cover is a major effect of ongoing climate change in arctic tundra ecosystems. The relative increases in abundance and cover of shrub species such as birch, willow, and alder (Betula, Salix, and …

Meta-Analysis Reveals Challenges And Gaps For Genome-To-Phenome Research Underpinning Plant Drought Response, Anthony E. Melton, Stephanie J. Galla, Carlos Dave C. Dumaguit, John M.A. Wojahn, Stephen Novak, Marcelo Serpe, Peggy Martinez, Sven Buerki

Biology Faculty Publications and Presentations

Severe drought conditions and extreme weather events are increasing worldwide with climate change, threatening the persistence of native plant communities and ecosystems. Many studies have investigated the genomic basis of plant responses to drought. However, the extent of this research throughout the plant kingdom is unclear, particularly among species critical for the sustainability of natural ecosystems. This study aimed to broaden our understanding of genome-to-phenome (G2P) connections in drought-stressed plants and identify focal taxa for future research. Bioinformatics pipelines were developed to mine and link information from databases and abstracts from 7730 publications. This approach identified 1634 genes involved in …

Temperature Has A Unimodal Effect On The Functional Response Of Wolf Spiders, John Delong, Stella F. Uiterwaal, Alondra Magallanes

School of Biological Sciences: Faculty Publications

The response of biotic interactions to changes in temperature will play a large role in determining the impact of climate change on ecological communities. In particular, how warming alters predator-prey interactions will influence population stability, food web connectivity, and the movement of energy across trophic levels. The functional response relates predator foraging rates to prey availability, and it is often predicted to increase monotonically with temperature, at least within the limits of predator function. However, some studies suggest that functional responses peak and then decline, and such a difference has critical implications for the effect of warming on ecological communities. …

Inside Insects - Climate Change And Metamorphosis, Cailyn R. Mckay

Undergraduate Student Research Internships Conference

Climate change is causing extreme environmental conditions including an increase in the frequency of heat waves which have the potential to seriously impact insect species, particularly during the sedentary pupal stage. The true armyworm is used here as a model species to evaluate the effects of simulated heat waves on reproductive activity and output later in life. Heat waves had a negative impact on moth reproduction and could be impacting the ecology of the species today and in the future.

Chromosome Number Evolution, Phylogeography, And The Effects Of Climate Change On Species Distributions In Polyploid Plant Systems, Courtney H. Babin

University of New Orleans Theses and Dissertations

Polyploidy, a term used to describe organisms with cells having more than two paired sets of chromosomes, is a significant driver of diversification among land plants. Over a century of research has advanced our understanding of polyploidization in some taxa, but polyploid organisms remain understudied. In this dissertation, I investigate chromosome number evolution, phylogeographic structure, genetic differentiation, and the effects of climate change on ploidy level distribution using polyploid plant systems. In the first chapter, I inferred a molecular phylogeny of Allium, an economically important genus that includes cultivated crops and ornamentals, to investigate evolutionary transitions in chromosome number …

Chihuahuan Desert Rock Pool Community Assemblages: Patterns Of Taxonomic Diversity, Joseph Lee Mcdaniel

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

As climate change continues to become more prevalent, increasing temperatures and altering precipitation patterns will disrupt the environmental balance of ecosystems and spark the imminent threat of a 6th mass extinction event. Many researchers believe this has already begun, as losses for numerous taxonomic clades have been well documented; however, the loss of invertebrates is still unknown and may be much more severe than those of other animal clades. A significant factor contributing to the shortfall of invertebrate biodiversity loss is rooted in the lack of understanding of the diversity and distribution of these animals. There is still much to …

An Evaluation Of Landscape, Climate, And Management Impacts On Bumble Bees (Hymenoptera: Apidae: Bombus) In Agroecosystems, Morgan Elizabeth Christman

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Bumble bees play pivotal roles in pollinating wild and cultivated plant communities. Unfortunately, bumble bee populations are declining due to disturbances such as landscape conversion and climate change. Additionally, traps used to monitor pest insect populations often capture bumble bees, leading to a concern that trap captures increase bumble bee mortality. First, I studied bumble bee communities based on land cover and weather variables in agricultural fields in Utah. Bumble bee communities were more diverse in agricultural fields with more agricultural land in the surrounding area, low temperatures, and high humidity during the growing season, and less diverse in fields …

Connecting Above- And Belowground Effects Of Climate Warming On Bumble Bee Health, Francis Mullan

Master of Science in Integrative Biology Theses

Climate warming has been identified as one of the primary factors causing worldwide pollinator declines. One of the most at-risk groups of pollinators is bumble bees (Bombus spp.). Bumble bees are common, widespread, and key pollinators of a wide range of crops and wild plants. Although studies have examined the thermal physiological traits of individual bumble bees to understand how they may be impacted by climate warming, little to no studies have examined how climate warming may impact whole bumble bee colonies both in their ability to thermoregulate their nest for their brood or in their ability to forage …