Biology Commons^™

Wildlife Damage To Crops Adjacent To A Protected Area In Southeastern Mexico: Farmers’ Perceptions Versus Actual Impact, Gabriel Can-Hernández, Claudia Villanueva-García, Elías José Gordillo-Chávez, Coral Jazvel Pacheco-Figueroa, Elizabeth Pérez-Netzahual, Rodrigo García-Morales

Human–Wildlife Interactions

Human–wildlife conflicts occur when wildlife has an adverse effect on human activities (e.g., predation of livestock, crop raiding). These conflicts are increasing, particularly in areas surrounding natural protected areas, where villagers engage in subsistence agriculture. Crop damage may cause farmers to retaliate and harm wildlife species considered responsible for the damage. Among the factors that determine the intensity of the conflict are the frequency of the damage and the amount of biomass consumed relative to the perceptions, values, and cultural history of the farmers affected. To better understand the conflicts between farmers and wildlife, we compared farmer perceptions of wildlife …

On The Identity Of The Adventive Species Of Eufriesea Cockerell In The Usa: Systematics And Potential Distribution Of The Coerulescens Species Group (Hymenoptera, Apidae), Victor H. Gonzalez, Terry Griswold, Marianna Simões

All PIRU Publications

In the summer of 2010, two male specimens of the neotropical orchid bee genus Eufriesea Cockerell were collected in the Guadalupe Mountains of western Texas and southeastern New Mexico, USA. We tentatively identified them as E. coerulescens (Lepeletier de Saint Fargeau) because of the uncertainty surrounding the limits of this taxon and hypothesized that they were members of a persistent bee population, rather than long-distance transient vagrants. The goals of this paper are to clarify the identity of these specimens, assess the species limits of E. coerulescens, and to evaluate suitability of habitats in the USA for this adventive …

The Rediscovery And Precarious Status Of Chihuahuan Dwarf Crayfish Cambarellus Chihuahuae, Evan W. Carson, Carlos Pedraza-Lara, María De Lourdes Lozano-Vilano, Gabino A. Rodríguez-Almaráz, Iris Banda-Villanueva, Lissette A. Sepúlveda-Hernández, Lilia Vela-Valladares, Andrea Cantú-Garza, Mauricio De La Maza-Benignos

Occasional Papers

We report rediscovery of the Chihuahuan Dwarf Crayfish Cambarellus chihuahuae at the desert spring Ojo Solo in Ejido Rancho Nuevo in Chihuahua, México. This species was reported to be extinct. Morphological evaluation of 12 voucher specimens confirmed the population as C. chihuahuae. Crayfish were abundant upon rediscovery in September 2012 and remained so throughout bimonthly monitoring from February 2014 to April 2015. Despite abundance at Ojo Solo, the species is critically imperiled, with four of its five native habitats dry and the remaining one in decline; however, a population was established at Ojo Caliente, a nearby natural refuge habitat we …

Un Cuento Satírico En Medio Del Debate Sobre El Darwinismo En México, Miguel A. Fernández Delgado Mafd

Alambique. Revista académica de ciencia ficción y fantasía / Jornal acadêmico de ficção científica e fantasía

Charles Darwin's theory of biological evolution of species was accepted or rejected by Mexican scientists, including Gabino Barreda, representative of Comte's philosophy. It was also included by Justo Sierra in a history book for the Escuela Nacional Preparatoria, a decision which raised a lot of criticism from conservative groups. It is also discussed the implications of social Darwinism in the early Twentieth Century Mexico. The document we offer is a satire published in those years, which resembles the tone of Swift's Gulliver Travels.

Analyzing Invasion Success Of The Mayan Cichlid (Cichlasoma Urophthalmus; Günther) In Southern Florida, Elizabeth Harrison

FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Invasive species have caused billions of dollars in damages to their introduced environment through direct effects on wildlife and by altering their introduced habitats. For a species to be considered invasive, it must successfully navigate the stages of invasion: it must be introduced, become established, spread, and have a quantifiable impact on its introduced environment. The numbers of introductions and individuals released affects the genetic diversity of nonnative populations which, in turn, can affect their invasion success.

The Mayan Cichlid (Cichlasoma urophthalmus) is endemic to the Atlantic coast of Mexico and Central America. It was first detected in …

Community And Ecosystem Effects Of Buffelgrass (Pennisetum Ciliare) And Nitrogen Deposition In The Sonoran Desert, Kelly G. Lyons, B. G. Maldonado-Leal, G. Owen

Biology Faculty Research

Buffelgrass is a non-indigenous, invasive, C₄ grass that was introduced throughout much of southern Texas, the Southwestern United States, and northern and central Mexico to improve degraded rangelands. The successful introduction and spread of buffelgrass follows a trajectory similar to that of other invasive C₄ grasses in arid and semiarid ecosystems. In the Plains of Sonora of the Sonoran Desert (Mexico) buffelgrass is favored by widespread removal of native vegetation and seeding, but, why, following initial introduction, the species persists remains unclear. In this study, we addressed two concerns associated with buffelgrass invasion in the Plains of Sonora. …

New Species Of Macrocephalic Halictine Bees (Hymenoptera: Halictidae) [Abstract], Michael S. Engel, Ismael A. Hinojosa-Diaz, Daniel J. Bennett

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Molecular Systematics Of The Middle American Genus Hypopachus (Anura: Microhylidae), Eli Greenbaum, Eric N. Smith, Rafael O. De Sá

Biology Faculty Publications

We present the first phylogenetic study on the widespread Middle American microhylid frog genus Hypopachus. Partial sequences of mitochondrial (12S and 16S ribosomal RNA) and nuclear (rhodopsin) genes (1275 bp total) were analyzed from 43 samples of Hypopachus, three currently recognized species of Gastrophryne, and seven arthroleptid, brevicipitid and microhylid outgroup taxa. Maximum parsimony (PAUP), maximum likelihood (RAxML) and Bayesian inference (MrBayes) optimality criteria were used for phylogenetic analyses, and BEAST was used to estimate divergence dates of major clades. Population-level analyses were conducted with the programs NETWORK and Arlequin. Results confirm the placement of Hypopachus …

Ecological Fitting As A Determinant Of The Community Structure Of Platyhelminth Parasites Of Anurans, Daniel R. Brooks, Virginia León-Règagnon, Deborah Mclennan, Derek Zelmer

Faculty Publications

Host–parasite associations are assumed to be ecologically specialized, tightly coevolved systems driven by mutual modification in which host switching is a rare phenomenon. Ecological fitting, however, increases the probability of host switching, creating incongruences between host and parasite phylogenies, when (1) specialization on a particular host resource is a shared characteristic of distantly related parasites, and (2) the resource being tracked by the parasite is widespread among many host species. We investigated the effect of ecological fitting on structuring the platyhelminth communities of anurans from a temperate forest and grassland in the United States and tropical dry and wet forests …

Historical Biogeography Of North American Nightsnakes And Their Relationships Among The Dipsadines: Evidence For Vicariance Associated With Miocene Formations Of Northwestern Mexico, Daniel G. Mulcahy

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

I used a hierarchical approach to study historical biogeography in a group of colubrid snakes found in western North America. I combined small regions of mtDNA sequence data from a large number of individuals, with complete mt-genomic data. First, I investigated the relationships among leptodeirines—a presumed subgroup of dipsadines, including nightsnakes (Pseudoleptodeira, Eridiphas, and Hypsiglena)—using ~1.5 kb of data (cob and nad4). The relationships differed among parsimony, likelihood, and Bayesian analyses. All analyses supported the monophyly of the nightsnakes; however, none supported the monophyly of the leptodeirines. Instead, these data supported a new hypothesis …

Specimen Catalog & Field Notes, Angela L. Adams

Division of Mammals - Field Notes and Catalogs

No abstract provided.

Specimen Catalog, William L. Gannon

Division of Mammals - Field Notes and Catalogs

No abstract provided.

Specimen Catalog, Forrest W. Davis

Division of Mammals - Field Notes and Catalogs

No abstract provided.

Miscellaneous Notes, William L. Gannon

Division of Mammals - Field Notes and Catalogs

No abstract provided.

New Mesoamerican Species Of Cyperus (Cyperaceae), Gordon C. Tucker

Gordon C. Tucker

Four species of the genus Cyperus are described, illustrated, and compared to their nearest relatives. These are: C. matudae and C. breedlovei (Subgenus Protocyperus) from the Pacific slope of Chiapas, Mexico; and C. wilburii and C. svensonii (Subgenus Cyperus) from the lowlands of the Isthmus of Tehuantepec, and from the uplands of Chiapas, Guatemala, Honduras, and Nicaragua, respectively.

New Mesoamerican Species Of Cyperus (Cyperaceae), Gordon C. Tucker

Faculty Research & Creative Activity

Four species of the genus Cyperus are described, illustrated, and compared to their nearest relatives. These are: C. matudae and C. breedlovei (Subgenus Protocyperus) from the Pacific slope of Chiapas, Mexico; and C. wilburii and C. svensonii (Subgenus Cyperus) from the lowlands of the Isthmus of Tehuantepec, and from the uplands of Chiapas, Guatemala, Honduras, and Nicaragua, respectively.

New Mesoamerican Species Of Cyperus (Cyperaceae), Gordon Tucker

Faculty Research & Creative Activity

Four species of the genus Cyperus are described, illustrated, and compared to their nearest relatives. These are: C. matudae and C. breedlovei (Subgenus Protocyperus) from the Pacific slope of Chiapas, Mexico; and C. wilburii and C. svensonii (Subgenus Cyperus) from the lowlands of the Isthmus of Tehuantepec, and from the uplands of Chiapas, Guatemala, Honduras, and Nicaragua, respectively.

Specimen Catalog, T. S. Byrne

Division of Mammals - Field Notes and Catalogs

No abstract provided.

Specimen Catalog, Hal L. Black

Division of Mammals - Field Notes and Catalogs

No abstract provided.