Ecology and Evolutionary Biology Commons^™

Factors Affecting Waterfowl Diversity At Wetland Area, Punjab (Pakistan), Zahid Bhatti, Fakhra Nazir, Inayatullah Malik

Journal of Bioresource Management

Different wetlands are being selected through WWF to improve their conditions and to create awareness about their importance in public of Pakistan. The study will help in providing sound basis for the future conservation activities and management of waterfowl population, on sounder footing. The study was conducted at Marala wetlands from October 2000 to September 2001. The State of Jammu and Kashmir lies in the north. Three rivers, i.e., Tawi, Chenab and Manawar Tawi, coming from Jammu and Kashmir, flow into Game Reserve and meet to enter the Head Marala water storage reservoir. At river Jammu Tawi, 58 species of …

Phytological Study Of Freshwater Wetland Ecosystem Of Bajwat Area, Zahid Bhatti, Asad Ghufran, Sher Wali Khan

Journal of Bioresource Management

Freshwater wetlands are individual ecosystems that support a variety of wildlife, vegetation and microscopic life. The type of plants that exist in these areas describe the physico-chemical characteristics of their locality and vice-versa. This study was carried out at Marala wetlands in Bajwat Game Reserve. The study found 39 species of higher plants in the areas of the wetland and its associated terrain. The total species were arranged into 5 vegetation types, named on the basis of the dominant plant species, with their own composition of the species and present in different habitat conditions. The vegetative community Phragmites karka constituted …

Integrated Pest Management In The Academic Small Greenhouse Setting: A Case Study Using Solanum Spp. (Solanaceae)., Daniel S. Hayes, Ingrid E. Jordon-Thaden, Jason T. Cantley, Angela J. Mcdonnell, Christopher T. Martine

Faculty Journal Articles

Premise

Botanical faculty and staff at academic institutions are often tasked with establishing and/or caring for plant collections held in small greenhouse facilities. Once plants are in place, an especially acute challenge is managing plant pest/pathogen populations. Integrated pest management (IPM) approaches are an excellent option, but few examples exist in the literature of successful programs that have been developed in academic small greenhouse settings.

Methods and Results

Over several years, we developed an IPM program for two small research greenhouses on the campus of a primarily undergraduate institution where hundreds of plants have been grown for studies in the …

A New “Vorhiesi” Group Species Of Vaejovis From The Galiuro Mountains, Southern Arizona (Scorpiones: Vaejovidae), Richard F. Ayrey, Brandon Myers

Euscorpius

A new scorpion species, Vaejovis stetsoni sp. n. is described from Galiuro Mountains, Graham County, Arizona. This is the smallest species of the “vorhiesi” group discovered so far, most similar to V. brysoni Ayrey & Webber. The pedipalp fixed finger has five ID denticles and the movable finger has six, like in most other southern Arizona Vaejovis. The most unique characteristics of this species are its small size (18.35 mm) and a large subaculear tubercle.

Scorpions Of Sri Lanka (Arachnida: Scorpiones). Part Iii. Heterometrus Yaleensis Sp. N. (Scorpionidae), František Kovařík, Kithsiri B. Ranawana, V. A. Sanjeewa Jayarathne, David Hoferek, František Šťáhlavský

Euscorpius

Heterometrus yaleensis sp. n. from Sri Lanka, Southern Province, Yale National Park is described and compared with other species of the genus. The presence of a unique dorsointernal carina on the pedipalp chela distinguishes H. yaleensis sp. n. from all other Heterometrus species. Additional information is provided on the taxonomy and distribution of the genus Heterometrus in Sri Lanka, fully complemented with color photos of specimens of both sexes of the new species, as well as of their habitat. In addition to external morphology and hemispermatophore, we also describe the karyotype of H. yaleensis sp. n. (2n=99).

Effect Of Beaver On Brook Trout Habitat In North Shore, Lake Superior Streams, Kathryn Renik

Biology Graduate Theses

In Minnesota, North American Beavers Castor canadensis (hereafter Beaver) are considered to have an overall negative affect on native Brook Trout Salvelinus fontinalis. Brook Trout provide a valued and productive sport fishery to the North Shore streams of Lake Superior and since revival of the Beaver population from past trapping and timber harvest, a reexamination of the complex ecological relationship where the two taxa interact is imperative. Suitable Brook Trout habitat is characterized by cold, spring- fed water with silt-free rocky substrate and abundant cover, all of which Beaver may directly, or indirectly, affect. Data collection occurred on 79 (200 …

The Value Of Inspection Stations For Detecting Nonindigenous Species Lacking Agricultural Significance: The Mexican Treefrog, Smilisca Baudinii Complex (Duméril And Bibron 1841) (Hylidae), Interdicted In Florida, Usa, From A Shipment Of Peppers, Louis A. Somma

Papers in Herpetology

A Mexican Treefrog, Smilisca baudinii, a nonindigenous species, was interdicted for the first time from an imported shipment of peppers. The value of agriculture inspection stations used to make these interdictions is discussed. This is a single cargo interception (Stage 1: Colautti and MacIsaac 2004) and the first record for S. baudinii intercepted in Florida. Currently no evidence suggests that S. baudinii has been successfully introduced into and established in Florida, although this species could survive climatic conditions in the southern part of the state and at the scheduled destination of this shipment.

Cargo transport of alien species is a …

Lotka-Volteraimpulsive Model Control Or How Not To Fish, Vladyslav Bivziuk

International Programs

Human intervention in nature often destroys the equilibrium that has been established in it. It is very important to find controls that would not destroy the stability of the natural equilibrium in the ecosystem. The impulsive systems theory allows us to investigate such effects on a biological system with a simpler example that do not destroy its equilibrium.

A Tentative List Of The Land Snails Of Georgia, U.S.A., Zachary I. Felix, Michael A. Dubuc, Hassan A. Rana

Georgia Journal of Science

Because of their high ecological and conservation value, and because we know so little about the group, we compiled a systematic if tentative list of land snails from the state of Georgia. After gleaning a list of species from a monograph on the land snails of eastern United States, written by Leslie Hubricht in 1985, we realized that many species whose ecological requirements are found in Georgia had not been documented there. Therefore, we developed a qualitative model to predict the likelihood that these candidate species occur in Georgia and would eventually be documented. We tested the model with collections …

The Multifaceted Effects Induced By Floods On The Macroinvertebrate Communities Inhabiting A Sinking Cave Stream, Octavian Pacioglu, Nicoleta Ianovici, Mărioara N. Filimon, Adrian Sinitean, Gabriel Iacob, Henrietta Barabas, Alexandru Pahomi, Andrei Acs, Hanelore Muntean, Lucian Pârvulescu

International Journal of Speleology

First-order sinking cave streams experience considerable hydrological variability, including spates and periods of base-flow during dry seasons. Early-summer flooding on a first-order stream sinking in Ciur-Ponor Cave (Romania) represented a suitable opportunity to test the response of the macroinvertebrate community and of basal food resources quantity and diversity to such a disturbance event. The invertebrate community and basal resources (i.e., woody debris, leaves, fine particulate organic matter and epilithon) were collected from three sampling sites, before and after the flood. The sampling strategy followed an up-downstream gradient of both species diversity and quantity of allochtonous organic matter decrease as the …

Species-Area Model Predicting Diversity Loss In An Artificially Flooded Cave In Brazil, Rodrigo L. Ferreira, Thais G. Pellegrini

International Journal of Speleology

Subterranean environments are poorly known regarding many ecological aspects, such as community structure and its response to different disturbances. To estimate the effects of ground area lost in a limestone cave community in Southeastern Brazil, the invertebrate fauna was sampled before 76% of the cave floor was submerged by the filling of a hydroeletric power plant reservoir. Then, a 2-year monitoring was conducted. A species-area curve based on empiric data was constructed and the z-value of the species-area equation was calculated, what allowed estimating the expected cave richness after flooding comparing with data obtained during the monitoring. The results support …

Solanum Plastisexum, An Enigmatic New Bush Tomato From The Australian Monsoon Tropics Exhibiting Breeding System Fluidity., Angela J. Mcdonnell, Heather B. Wetreich, Jason T. Cantley, Peter Jobson, Christopher T. Martine

Faculty Journal Articles

A bush tomato that has evaded classification by solanologists for decades has been identified and is described as a new species belonging to the Australian “Solanum dioicum group” of the Ord Victoria Plain biogeographic region in the monsoon tropics of the Northern Territory. Although now recognised to be andromonoecious, S. plastisexum Martine & McDonnell, sp. nov. exhibits multiple reproductive phenotypes, with solitary perfect flowers, a few staminate flowers or with cymes composed of a basal hermaphrodite and an extended rachis of several to many staminate flowers. When in fruit, the distal rachis may abcise and drop. A member of …

Hawk On Wire: Ecopoems By Scott T. Starbuck, Vivian M. Hansen

The Goose

Review of Scott T. Starbuck’s Hawk on Wire: Ecopoems

Review Of Hottentotta Described By A. A. Birula, With Descriptions Of Two New Species And Comments On Birula’S Collection (Scorpiones: Buthidae), František Kovařík, Ersen Aydın Yağmur, Victor Fet

Euscorpius

The types of Hottentotta species described by A. A. Birula and deposited in the Zoological Institute, Russian Academy of Sciences, St. Petersburg, Russia are revised. The types of H. buchariensis (Birula, 1897), H. niloticus (Birula, 1928), H. penjabensis (Birula, 1897) stat. nov. and H. schach (Birula, 1905) are fully illustrated with color photographs of morphology. Their taxonomic position is discussed. Lectotypes are designated for H. niloticus and H. schach. We confirm synonymy of Buthus (Hottentotta) minax niloticus Birula, 1928 (Sudan) with Buthus minax L. Koch, 1875, syn. n. Two new species, Hottentotta juliae sp. n. from Iran …

Estimating Offsets For Avian Displacement Effects Of Anthropogenic Impacts, Jiill A. Shaffer, Charles R. Loesch, Deborah A. Buhl

United States Geological Survey, Northern Prairie Wildlife Research Center: Publications

Biodiversity offsetting, or compensatory mitigation, is increasingly being used in temperate grassland ecosystems to compensate for unavoidable environmental damage from anthropogenic developments such as transportation infrastructure, urbanization, and energy development. Pursuit of energy independence in the United States will expand domestic energy production. Concurrent with this increased growth is increased disruption to wildlife habitats, including avian displacement from suitable breeding habitat. Recent studies at energy-extraction and energy-generation facilities have provided evidence for behavioral avoidance and thus reduced use of habitat by breeding waterfowl and grassland birds in the vicinity of energy infrastructure. To quantify and compensate for this loss in …

Culture-Based Analysis Of ‘Cave Silver’ Biofilms On Rocks In The Former Homestake Mine In South Dakota, Usa, Amanpreet K. Brar, David Bergmann

International Journal of Speleology

Tunnels in a warm, humid area of the 1478 m level of the Sanford Underground Research Facility (SURF), located in a former gold mine in South Dakota, USA, host irregular, thin whitish, iridescent biofilms, which appear superficially similar to ‘cave silver’ biofilms described from limestone and lava tube caves, despite the higher rock temperature (32°C) and differing rock surface (phyllite) present at SURF. In this study, we investigated the diversity of cultivable bacteria constituting the cave silver by using several media: CN agar, CN gellan gum and 0.1X R2A agar. The highest colony count (CFU/g of sample) was observed on …

Review Of A Field Guide To The Natural World Of The Twin Cities By John J. Moriarty, Photography By Siah L. St. Clair, Douglas H. Johnson, Bonnie Sample

The Prairie Naturalist

A Field Guide to the Natural World of the Twin Cities has two foci: natural areas in the Twin Cities of Minnesota and the species that live in each. The geographical scope is the seven counties that envelop Minneapolis and Saint Paul. The author describes nine major habitat types that can be found there: prairie, savanna, big woods, oak woods, wetlands (marshes and swamps), fens and bogs, lakes, rivers, and urban and suburban. It is useful to know that “big woods” are not just woods that are large in extent, but woodlands that occur in Minnesota and western Wisconsin dominated …

Factors Affecting White Bass Abundance In Two Missouri River Reservoirs, William J. Radigan, Mark J. Fincel

The Prairie Naturalist

Annual angler harvest of white bass (Morone chrysops) increased from 1985–2005 in Lake Oahe and Lake Sharpe, two mainstem Missouri River reservoirs in South Dakota. In 2006, harvest rates dropped appreciably in both reservoirs and remained low through 2015. It is hypothesized that a confirmed 2005 columnaris disease outbreak led to reduced annual angler harvest of white bass from both reservoirs. Mean annual angler harvest prior to the outbreak (1985–2005) in Lake Oahe decreased 65% and in Lake Sharpe decreased 57% post outbreak (2006–2015). To assess potential causes of sustained decreased adult white bass abundance in the reservoirs, …

Review Of Gulls Simplified: A Comparative Approach To Identification By Pete Dunne And Kevin T. Karlson, Garrett J. Macdonald

The Prairie Naturalist

The title of Pete Dunne and Kevin Karlson’s new book, Gulls Simplified, may seem like an oxymoron to many birders. Gulls are, after all, one of the most vexing groups of North American birds due to their myriad identification challenges, and many seasoned birders simply “don’t do gulls.” Indeed, Dunne, in the first line of the Introduction (page 13), writes, “Ask any bird-watcher to name the bird group that is most intimidating, and to a man, woman, and tour leader they often shout: GULLS!” The genesis of the book, and the authors’ approach to identification within, arises from the notion …

Incidental Captures Of Plains Spotted Skunks In Central South Dakota, Samantha Fino, Joshua D. Stafford, Aaron T. Pearse, Jonathan A. Jenks

The Prairie Naturalist

The plains spotted skunk (Spilogale putorius interrupta) had a historically broad distribution in the central United States, extending from the Mississippi River west to the Rocky Mountains. This subspecies of the eastern spotted skunk (S. putorius) has experienced population declines in recent decades possibly due to habitat loss and reduction of prey through conversion of grasslands and forests to croplands, as well as reductions in abandoned buildings, fence rows, creek bottoms, and wood piles throughout the region (Crabb 1948, Kaplan and Mead 1991, Gompper and Hackett 2005, Sasse 2017). Woody debris provides access to prey, and …

Suitability Of Single-Pass Backpack Electrofishing To Estimate Fish Abundance And Describe Assemblage Structure In Prairie Streams, Morgan J. Kauth, David A. Schumann, Katie N.B. Graeb, William Wyatt Hoback

The Prairie Naturalist

Electrofishing is commonly used by fisheries professionals to assess fish assemblage structure and species abundance in streams. Accurate estimates of fish abundance and, consequently assemblage metrics, are typically generated with mark-recapture or maximum-likelihood depletion techniques, but doing so requires considerable sampling effort. Less intensive sampling approaches may be beneficial to fisheries managers, particularly in cases where frequent sampling of many streams is preferred. We used regression and Spearman rank-order correlation analyses to compare species catch rates and the assemblage metrics generated from single-pass electrofishing samples with multiple-pass depletion abundance estimates in Nebraska streams. We examined the influence of instream habitat …

The Prairie Naturalist, Volume 51, No. 1

The Prairie Naturalist

1 EDITOR’S NOTE

RESEARCH ARTICLES

3 Factors Affecting White Bass Abundance in Two Missouri River Reservoirs, William J. Radigan and Mark J. Fincel

17 Suitability of single-pass backpack electrofishing to estimate fish abundance and describe assemblage structure in prairie streams, Morgan J. Kauth, David A. Schumann, Katie N. B. Graeb, and W. Wyatt Hoback

NOTES

25 Channel Catfish Reproductive Traits in the Lower Platte River, Nebraska, USA - Mackenzie Zwiener, Jonathan Spurgeon, & Mark Pegg

30 Quantifying Signpost Usage By Captive Male White-Tailed Deer - Cassie L. Auxt, Eric S. Michel, and Jonathan A. Jenks.

33 Incidental Captures of Plains …

Channel Catfish Reproductive Traits In The Lower Platte River, Nebraska, Usa, Mackenzie Zwiener, Jonathan J. Spurgeon, Mark Pegg

The Prairie Naturalist

Reproductive traits including fecundity, egg diameter, and condition of freshwater fishes influence offspring survival and abundance and may provide insight regarding timing of reproduction (Winemiller and Rose 1992, Johnston and Leggett 2002). Fish size (i.e., length or weight) may influence the number of eggs produced by an individual female (i.e., fecundity; Michaletz 1998). Larger individuals may, thus, disproportionately contribute to year-classes through increased fecundity if egg and larval survival is similar or greater than those from smaller reproductive females (Gwinn et al. 2015). Likewise, maternal fish size may influence egg diameter and offspring survival, whereby larger egg diameters are associated …

Fire History Of A Georgia Montane Longleaf Pine (Pinus Palustris) Community, Nathan Klaus

Georgia Journal of Science

Montane longleaf pine forests, woodlands, and savannas are endangered, fire-dependent ecosystems of the Piedmont, Ridge and Valley, Appalachian, and Cumberland Plateau physiographic provinces of Georgia, Alabama, and North Carolina. Compared to other longleaf pine ecosystems, e.g., longleaf pine-wiregrass, little has been published about montane longleaf pine ecosystems. Understanding the historic fire regimes that once maintained montane longleaf pine ecosystems is an important first step toward achieving restoration and conservation goals for this ecosystem. I used two approaches to investigate historic fire regimes: 1) a dendrochronological study of fire scars on Sprewell Bluff Natural Area and 2) calculations of the average …

Review Of Grosphus Simon, 1880, With Description Of Teruelius Gen. N., A New Buthid Genus From Madagascar (Scorpiones: Buthidae), Graeme Lowe, František Kovařík

Euscorpius

We review the taxonomy of the Madagascar endemic buthid genus Grosphus Simon, 1880. We split the genus and describe Teruelius gen. n. on the basis of nine morphological characters, six of them new for Grosphus: positions of trichobothria d₂ on pedipalp femur and Eb₃ on chela manus, number of pectine teeth, shape of female basal pectinal tooth, form of hemispermatophore capsule posterior lobe, spiracle shape, metasoma I ventromedian carination, telotarsal setation and UV fluorescence. We discuss functional and taxonomic aspects of these characters, and propose that Teruelius gen. n. is monophyletic, while Grosphus (sensu stricto) is paraphyletic. …

Scorpions Of The Horn Of Africa (Arachnida, Scorpiones). Part Xx. Barbaracurus Feti Sp. N. From Somaliland (Buthidae), František Kovařík, Graeme Lowe, František Šťáhlavský, Ali Abdi Hurre

Euscorpius

Barbaracurus feti sp. n. from Somaliland is described and compared with other species of the genus. Additional information is provided on the taxonomy and distribution of the genus Barbaracurus, fully complemented with color photos of specimens of both sexes of the new species, as well as of their habitat. In addition to morphology and hemispermatophores, we also describe the karyotypes of B. feti sp. n. (2n=23). Included is a key for Barbaracurus. Babycurus borellii Rossi, 2019 is synonymized with Barbaracurus yemenensis Kovařík et al., 2018 syn. n. as a junior synonym because the description dated in February 2018 …

Frogs Hiding In Plain Sight: Phylogenetic Systematics Of Myanmar’S Occidozyga Species Complex, And The Identification Of A Novel Species, Allison Bogisich

Master's Theses

Different species can be difficult to distinguish from one another when they are morphologically similar. Such cryptic species are the reason many anuran species go undetected. For this study, the taxonomic identity of the Occidozyga complex across Myanmar was investigated. An integrated approach was used combining molecular, morphological and phylogeographic data to better assess its taxonomy. Results indicate the presence of three new candidate species within Occidozyga, and three evolutionarily significant unit (ESU) lineages. Two mitochondrial gene fragments (16S, COI) and one nuclear gene fragment (Rhodopsin) were examined from DNA isolated from forty-seven preserved specimens from the California Academy …

Stress And Body Composition Of Juvenile Alligator Snapping Turtles (Macrochelys Temminckii), Brandon Scott Tappmeyer

Graduate Theses/Dissertations

The alligator snapping turtle (Macrochelys temminckii), is a species of conservation concern that is the subject of multiple head-start and reintroduction efforts across its range. In captive propagation programs, producing offspring that are in optimal physiological condition maximizes the likelihood of success after release. The purpose of my study was to compare stress and body composition between one free-ranging reintroduced population and two captive populations. The two captive populations were both housed in southern Oklahoma, but one group was reared indoors whereas the other inhabited outdoor ponds at a national fish hatchery. I used circulating glucocorticoid (corticosterone) concentrations as an …

Vertical Connectivity Influences Secondary Production, Community Diversity, And Resilience In An Ozark Stream, Nathan C. Dorff

Graduate Theses/Dissertations

The hyporheic zone, a key component of stream vertical connectivity, supports stream function (e.g., nutrient regeneration) and provides habitat for aquatic biota. The Ozark Highlands ecoregion contains gravel-bed streams that have extensive hyporheic zones and that are subject to recurrent flash floods. I sampled Leuctra tenuis(Pictet) nymphs from the hyporheic habitat (30-45 cm below the streambed) in a gravel-bed reach and an intermittent tributary of an Ozark stream from early instar to adult emergence. Concurrently, I sampled benthic insects in two reaches of the same stream that differed primarily in amount of hyporheic habitat (bedrock vs. gravel) and monitored …

Assessing Populations Of Eastern Brook Trout (Salvelinus Fontinalis) Above And Below Waterfalls In Mountain Streams Of Virginia, Hannah Eisemann Macmillan

Masters Theses, 2010-2019

Anthropogenically driven factors, such as increasing temperature and sediment in valley streams, acidification of mountain streams, and the introduction of non-native trout, are restricting habitat suitable for healthy populations of eastern brook trout (Salvelinus fontinalis) throughout their native Appalachian range. Brook trout are important as predators of insects in mountain streams and as a favorite of anglers. It is crucial that remaining populations in sustainable habitats be identified and preserved. Waterfalls are geologic knickpoints preventing base-level lowering that create unique, stable landscapes above them, which may alleviate the temperature-productivity/acidity “habitat squeeze” for populations of brook trout and could …