Ecology and Evolutionary Biology Commons^™

Ant Predation Of Blow Flies During Decomposition And Its Potential Impact On Pmi Estimations, Vincent J. Nappi

Student Theses

When an organism dies, the process of decomposition begins and many insects are attracted to the decomposing remains, or carrion, as a prospective food source for themselves, or their offspring. Blow flies (Family: Calliphoridae), in particular, are one of the first insects to discover and colonize a dead body due to the ability to detect a decomposing resource from large distances. As a result, forensic entomologists take advantage of the behavior and developmental cycles of early colonizers to calculate the post-mortem interval (PMI) in order to determine the time since death. However, along with the insects that are attracted to …

The Effects Of Habitat And Connectivity On Tropical Ant Ecology And Behavior., Benjamin Jacob Adams

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation explores the role that physical connections among and within habitats play in determining the local diversity and behaviors of cursorial organisms. Understanding the processes that regulate local community assembly and that contribute to the maintenance of species diversity is a cornerstone of community ecology. Ants are a useful model for studies of local communities because they are abundant and fulfill a variety of ecological roles. Chapter one of the dissertation examines the how lianas (woody vines) function as connective structures among tree crowns and how these connections affect arboreal ant community structure within a tropical forest canopy. Trees …

Concepts In Animal Parasitology: Permission To Publish Agreement, University Of Nebraska-Lincoln Libraries

Concepts in Animal Parasitology

Blank Permission to Publish agreement form for authors of the Concepts in Animal Parasitology textbook/open educational resource.

The Ecology Of Nest Cavity Use By Arboreal Ants In The Brazilian Cerrado: Resource Availability, Nest Modification, And Trophic Interactions, Galen Priest

Dissertations

Arboreal ants in the Brazilian Cerrado rely on cavities in living trees as nest sites. These cavities are created by a community of, wood-boring beetles, which act as ecosystem engineers. Despite the importance of these cavities as a resource, little is known about their natural abundance and heterogeneity, how ants use and modify them as nest sites, and how this interaction between cavities and their ant occupants influences trophic interactions on cerrado trees. Here I use natural history observations and manipulative experiments to address these questions. In the first chapter I quantified the occurrence, heterogeneity, and use of beetle-created cavities …

Testing Viability Of Oligonucleotide Primers On Microsatellite Markers Amplified By Polymerase Chain Reaction On Dermacentor Variabilis Samples From The Bulloch County Region Of Georgia, Usa, Danielle Souza

Honors College Theses

Dermacentor variabilis, more commonly known as the wood tick, or the American dog tick, can be found all over North America. D. variabilis is a common tick in Bulloch county, Georgia, USA, and little is known about the population structure of this population of the species. Microsatellite markers are able to locate sections of the genome and can aid in estimating relatedness among individuals in a population. Six different oligonucleotide primer pairs were published for D. variabilis, however, published and non-published works indicated that not all of those primer pairs were working equally well for PCR. This study is …

Concepts In Animal Parasitology: Information For Authors [Slides], Sue Ann Gardner, Scott Lyell Gardner

Concepts in Animal Parasitology

Broadcast via Zoom live online, the following are the slides from an information session held for authors and reviewers of the Concepts in Animal Parasitology textbook. The work will be written collaboratively and published in 2024 as an open educational resource under a CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 International license.

Concepts In Animal Parasitology: Template For Authors For Parts 2-4 (Endoparasites) And Part 5 (Ectoparasites), Sue Ann Gardner, Scott Lyell Gardner

Concepts in Animal Parasitology

Support material for authors of the open educational resource, Concepts in Animal Parasitology, Parts 2-4 (Endoparasites) and Part 5 (Ectoparasites).

Concepts In Animal Parasitology: Instructions For Authors, Sue Ann Gardner, Scott Lyell Gardner

Concepts in Animal Parasitology

Instructions for authors for the Concepts in Animal Parasitology free, online textbook.

Concepts In Animal Parasitology: References Style Guide, Sue Ann Gardner, Scott Lyell Gardner

Concepts in Animal Parasitology

References style guide for authors of the Concepts in Animal Parasitology free, online textbook.

Concepts In Animal Parasitology: Manuscript Preparation Guidelines, Paul Royster, Sue Ann Gardner, Scott Lyell Gardner

Concepts in Animal Parasitology

Zea Books manuscript preparation guidelines for authors of the Concept in Animal Parasitology free, online textbook.

Reproductive Success Of Mountain Pine Beetle Infesting Cut Bolts Of Great Basin Bristlecone Pine, Limber Pine, And Lodgepole Pine, Barbara J. Bentz, Karen E. Mock, Erika L. Eidson

Browse all Datasets

The preference-performance hypothesis states that ovipositing phytophagous insects will select host plants that are well-suited for their offspring and avoid host plants that do not support offspring performance (survival, development and fitness). The mountain pine beetle (Dendroctonus ponderosae), a native insect herbivore in western North America, can successfully attack and reproduce in most species of Pinus throughout its native range. However, mountain pine beetles avoid attacking Great Basin bristlecone pine (Pinus longaeva), despite recent climate-driven increases in mountain pine beetle populations at the high elevations where Great Basin bristlecone pine grows. Low preference for a potential host plant species may …

Description Of A New Species Of Ochraethes Chevrolat, 1860, Redescription Of Plocaederus Mirim Martins And Monné, 2002, And New Geographical Records For Plocaederus Dejean, 1835 (Coleoptera, Cerambycidae, Cerambycinae), James E. Wappes, Antonio Santos-Silva, Juan Pablo Botero

Insecta Mundi

A new Mexican species of Ochraethes Chevrolat, 1860 (Coleoptera, Cerambycidae, Cerambycinae, Clytini) is described: Ochraethes skillmani Wappes, Santos-Silva and Botero. Plocaederus mirim Martins and Monné, 2002 (Cerambycini) is redescribed and its female is figured for the first time. New geographical records in Plocaederus Dejean, 1835 are also provided.

A New Synonymy And Transference In Cerambycinae (Coleoptera, Cerambycidae), James E. Wappes, Antonio Santos-Silva

Insecta Mundi

Rhinion parkeri Wappes and Santos-Silva, 2017 is synonymized with Saltanecydalopsis irwini Barriga and Cepeda, 2007 (Coleoptera, Cerambycidae), and the genus is transferred to Rhinotragini Thomson, 1861 from Necydalopsini Lacordaire, 1868.

Dasymutilla Ashmead (Hymenoptera, Mutillidae) In Panama: New Species, Sex Associations And Seasonal Flight Activity, Roberto A. Cambra, Kevin A. Williams, Diomedes Quintero, Donald M. Windsor, John Pickering, Daisy Saavedra

Insecta Mundi

A taxonomic revision of Panamanian species of the genus Dasymutilla Ashmead (Hymenoptera, Mutillidae) is presented and a key for the six species is given, all recognized from both sexes. Dasymutilla colorado Cambra, Williams and Quintero sp. nov., from central and eastern Panama, is described and illustrated. Sex associations permitted us to make the following five synonymies: D. sleipniri Manley and Pitts, 2007 (male) under D. phya (Cameron, 1895) (female); D. deyrollesi Mickel, 1937 (male) and Sphaerophthama [sic.] temaxensis Cameron, 1895 under Dasymutilla araneoides (Smith, 1862) (female); D. ionothorax Manley and Pitts, 2007 (male) under Dasymutilla spilota Manley and Pitts, …

Advancing Behavioural Genomics By Considering Timescale, Clare C. Rittschof, Kimberly A. Hughes

Entomology Faculty Publications

Animal behavioural traits often covary with gene expression, pointing towards a genomic constraint on organismal responses to environmental cues. This pattern highlights a gap in our understanding of the time course of environmentally responsive gene expression, and moreover, how these dynamics are regulated. Advances in behavioural genomics explore how gene expression dynamics are correlated with behavioural traits that range from stable to highly labile. We consider the idea that certain genomic regulatory mechanisms may predict the timescale of an environmental effect on behaviour. This temporally minded approach could inform both organismal and evolutionary questions ranging from the remediation of early …

Manuscript Preparation Rules And Guidelines, February 2018

Insecta Mundi

Insecta Mundi is an ongoing experiment in publishing. Our goal is to produce taxonomic publications that are free for authors (no page charges) and openly accessible for users (see Skelley and Thomas 2007). To accomplish this, we require the participation of authors in the publication process. Authors are required to make their manuscripts publishable by our standards prior to submission. Authors unwilling or unable to follow the guidelines should ask friends for help or consider paying to have their article published in journals which charge for the services.

The purposes for these rules and guidelines are to ensure consistency in …

Eight-Legged Encounters—Arachnids, Volunteers, And Art Help To Bridge The Gap Between Informal And Formal Science Learning, Eileen Hebets, Melissa Welch-Lazoritz, Pawl Tisdale, Patricia Wonch Hill

Eileen Hebets Publications

Increased integration and synergy between formal and informal learning environments is proposed to provide multiple benefits to science learners. In an effort to better bridge these two learning contexts, we developed an educational model that employs the charismatic nature of arachnids to engage the public of all ages in science learning; learning that aligns with the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS Disciplinary Core Ideas associated with Biodiversity and Evolution). We created, implemented, and evaluated a family-focused, interactive science event—Eight-Legged Encounters (ELE)—which encompasses more than twenty modular activities. Volunteers facilitated participant involvement at each activity station and original …

A Model Species For Agricultural Pest Genomics: The Genome Of The Colorado Potato Beetle, Leptinotarsa Decemlineata (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae), Sean D. Schoville, Yolanda H. Chen, Martin N. Andersson, Joshua B. Benoit, Anita Bhandari, Julia H. Bowsher, Kristian Brevik, Kaat Cappelle, Mei-Ju M. Chen, Anna K. Childers, Christopher Childers, Olivier Christiaens, Justin Clements, Elise M. Didion, Elena N. Elpidina, Patamarerk Engsontia, Markus Friedrich, Inmaculada García-Robles, Richard A. Gibbs, Chandan Goswami, Alessandro Grapputo, Kristina Gruden, Marcin Grynberg, Bernard Henrissat, Emily C. Jennings, Jeffery W. Jones, Megha Kalsi, Sher A. Khan, Abhishek Kumar, Fei Li, Vincent Lombard, Subba Reddy Palli, June-Sun Yoon

Entomology Faculty Publications

The Colorado potato beetle is one of the most challenging agricultural pests to manage. It has shown a spectacular ability to adapt to a variety of solanaceaeous plants and variable climates during its global invasion, and, notably, to rapidly evolve insecticide resistance. To examine evidence of rapid evolutionary change, and to understand the genetic basis of herbivory and insecticide resistance, we tested for structural and functional genomic changes relative to other arthropod species using genome sequencing, transcriptomics, and community annotation. Two factors that might facilitate rapid evolutionary change include transposable elements, which comprise at least 17% of the genome and …

The Trichoptera Of Panama V. Descriptions Of New Species, New Country Records, And A Synonymy, Brian J. Armitage, Steven C. Harris

Insecta Mundi

The Río Chiriqui basin is one of 52 major watershed areas, or cuencas, in the Republic of Panama. It occurs in western Panama, discharges into the Pacific Ocean, and includes portions of Volcán Barú on its northern extent. The Río Caldera occupies the northernmost subbasin of this basin. Two of its tributaries, Que­brada Grande and Quebrada Jaramillo, occur in close proximity and on opposite sides, and have different recent geologic histories and current land use patterns. During the course of investigating the caddisfly fauna of these two drainages, three new species of the microcaddisfly genus Neotrichia Morton (Trichoptera: Hydroptilidae) were …

A New Genus, A New Species, New Combinations, And Notes On Synonymy And Nomenclature In American Desmiphorini (Coleoptera, Cerambycidae, Lamiinae), Antonio Santos-Silva, James E. Wappes

Insecta Mundi

An early, overlooked description of the genus Atelodesmis (Coleoptera, Cerambycidae, Lamiinae) is attributed to Chevrolat (in Duponchel and Chevrolat 1841), with A. mannerheimii Duponchel and Chevrolat, 1841 as its type species, and the genus redescribed. Atelodesmis Buquet, 1857, is a junior synonym and primary homonym of Atelodesmis Chevrolat. Atelodesmis hirticornis Buquet, 1857 and A. vestita Buquet, 1857 are synony­mized with A. mannerheimii. Fallaxdesmis is described as a new genus with Atelodesmis unicolor Buquet, 1857 as type species. Atelodesmis piperita Bates, 1855 is transferred to Eupogonius and newly recorded for the state of Oaxaca, Mexico. A new species for Mexico …

Descripción De Dos Especies Nuevas Del Género Aleuropleurocelus Drews Y Sampson, 1956 (Hemiptera: Aleyrodidae) De México, Vicente Emilio Carapia-Ruiz, Oscar Ángel Sánchez-Flores, Oswaldo García-Martínez, Antonio Castillo-Gutiérrez

Insecta Mundi

Resumen. En este estudio se describen dos nuevas especies de hemípteros del género Aleuropleurocelus (He­miptera: Aleyrodidae): Aleuropleurocelus mexicanus Carapia y Sánchez sp. nov., encontrada en los estados de Coahuila, México, Puebla, Sonora, y Tlaxcala en hojas de Quercus agrifolia Née y Quercus sp., y Aleuropleurocelus anahuac Carapia y Sánchez sp. nov. encontrada en los estados de México, Morelos y Puebla en el envés de hojas de Quercus. Se proporcionan microfotografías de estructuras morfológicas de puparios y se discute la separación con otras especies ovales de Aleuropleurocelus.

Abstract. In this study two new hemipteran species of the genus …

Primer Registro De Raoiella Indica Hirst, 1924 (Acari: Tenuipalpidae) En Guatemala, José Francisco García Ochaeta

Insecta Mundi

Se registra por primera vez el ácaro rojo de las palmas, Raoiella indica Hirst (Acari: Tenuipalpidae), en Guatemala. Este ácaro invasivo se encontró en los departamentos de Petén e Izabal infestando palma de coco (Cocos nucifera), palma de Navidad (Adonidia merrillii) y palmera robeleni (Phoenix roebelenii).

The red palm mite, Raoiella indica Hirst (Acari: Tenuipalpidae), is recorded for the first time in Guatemala. This invasive mite was found in the departments of Petén and Izabal infesting coconut palm (Cocos nucifera Linnaeus), Christmas palm (Adonidia merrillii (Becc.)) and pygmy date palm (Phoenix roebelenii O’Brien).

Erratum To Blahnik And Holzenthal (2017): Revision Of The Northern South American Species Of Mortoniella Ulmer, 1906 (Trichoptera: Glossosomatidae: Protoptilinae), Roger J. Blahnik, Ralph W. Holzenthal

Insecta Mundi

After publication of Blahnik and Holzenthal (2017), it was noticed that a large portion of the text had been accidentally removed from the “Phylogenetic and evolutionary comments” section during the proofing stage. The beginning of the deleted section completes the sentence on line 6 of page 129, which begins “The species included in the subgenus...”. The Insecta Mundi editorial staff apologizes for this oversight. In order to provide context for the deleted excerpt, the entire “Phylogenetic and evolutionary comments” section is reproduced here, with the deleted text reincorporated. Insecta Mundi has also released a revised version of the Blahnik and …

Determining Bioindicators For Coastal Tidal Marsh Health Using The Food Web Of Larvae Of The Greenhead Horse Fly (Tabanus Nigrovittatus), Devika Rajeev Bhalerao

LSU Master's Theses

The greenhead horse fly Tabanus nigrovittatus Macquart is native to coastal marshlands from Texas to Nova Scotia. The larvae are apex invertebrate predators and their development is dependent on the food web in the soil. Surveillance of T. nigrovittatus after the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico showed population crashes of adults in the coastal marshes of East Louisiana near places where oil made landfall, but not in West Louisiana where the oil did not reach. Sediment collection in 2011 from West and East Louisiana revealed larval population crashes in the Eastern coastal region. We hypothesized …

Nebraska Invasive Plants Field Guide, Nebraska Invasive Species Program

Nebraska Invasive Species Program

Invasive species are plants, animals or pathogens that are non-native to an ecosystem. They cause harm to the economy, environment or human health. They negatively affect native species and ecosystems and interfere with outdoor recreation opportunities. This guide identifies federal and state-listed noxious weeds. Federal noxious weeds are regulated by the U.S. Department of Agriculture; State noxious weeds are regulated by the Nebraska Department of Agriculture, Animal and Plant Health Protection, Noxious Weed Program. Aquatic invasive species are listed and regulated by Nebraska Game and Parks Commission.

ABSINTH WORMWOOD • AMUR HONEYSUCKLE • AUTUMN OLIVE • BRITTLE NAIAD • CALLERY …

Diet Breadth Evolution And Diversification Of A Generalist Insect Herbivore, Mayra Cadorin Vidal

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Insect herbivores are one of the most diverse groups of multicellular organisms, and the vast majority are specialists, which feed on only a few plant species. The factors that cause some herbivores to be specialists and others to be generalists are still unclear. It is known that the selective forces from natural enemies (top-down) and the host plants (bottom-up) influence an herbivore's diet breadth. In my meta-analysis evaluating the relative important of top-down and bottom-up forces on insect herbivore fitness, I found that herbivores usually have greater performance on better quality plants and in the absence or reduction of enemy …

Effects Of Anthropogenic Noise On Mating Behavior And Fitness, Gabrielle A. Gurule-Small

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

When environments change rapidly, adaptive phenotypic plasticity can ameliorate negative effects of environmental change on survival and reproduction. Recent evidence, however, suggests that plastic responses to human induced environmental change are often maladaptive or insufficient to overcome novel selection pressures. Anthropogenic noise is a ubiquitous and expanding disturbance with demonstrated effects on fitness-related traits of animals like stress responses, foraging, vigilance, and pairing success. Elucidating the lifetime fitness effects of noise has been challenging because long-lived vertebrate systems are typically studied in this context. In both chapters described herein, I reared field crickets, Teleogryllus oceanicus, in masking traffic noise, …

Environmental Effects On Drosophila Brain Development And Learning, Xia Wang, Amei Amei, J. Steven De Belle, Stephen P. Roberts

Biological Sciences Faculty Research & Creative Works

Brain development and behavior are sensitive to a variety of environmental influences including social interactions and physicochemical stressors. Sensory input in situ is a mosaic of both enrichment and stress, yet little is known about how multiple environmental factors interact to affect brain anatomical structures, circuits and cognitive function. In this study, we addressed these issues by testing the individual and combined effects of sub-adult thermal stress, larval density and early-adult living spatial enrichment on brain anatomy and olfactory associative learning in adult Drosophila melanogaster. In response to heat stress, the mushroom bodies (MBs) were the most volumetrically impaired among …

A Comparison Of Two Methods Of Quantifying Mating Success In Low Density Gypsy Moth (Lymantria Dispar) Populations, Alexandra Barry, Hannah Byrne, Derek M. Johnson

UROP Posters

The gypsy moth (Lymantria dispar) is a defoliating pest native to Europe and invasive to North America. The gypsy moth is subject to depressed mating success in low density populations, which may restrict spread of the forest pest. Research focusing on gypsy moth density as it relates to mating behavior has often used counts of males caught in pheromone-baited delta traps as a proxy to estimate the probability of female mating success. The purpose of this project was to determine whether pheromone trap counts provide accurate estimates of female mating success probability, by comparing data gathered from pheromone-baited …

Escarabajos Longicornios (Coleoptera: Cerambycidae Y Disteniidae) Del Parque Nacional Darién, Panamá, Alfredo Lanuza-Garay, Alonso Santos Murgas

Insecta Mundi

Darién National Park (PND), a natural connection between South and Central America, is the largest national park not only in Panama but in all of Central America. Due to its strategic geographical situation, it is a place for the interchange of the North and South American fauna, where endemic invertebrates and vertebrates are very abundant. Through the use of malaise traps and light traps placed at different points within the PND, 183 individuals of 87 species of longicorn beetles in the families Cerambycidae and Disteniidae were collected. Also, four species of longhorn beetles (Cerambycidae) are reported for the first time …