Ecology and Evolutionary Biology Commons^™

Lesson Plan: Behavioral Plasticity, Center For Urban Resilience

Module 07: Animal Adaptation & Behavior

In the previous lessons, students learned about the importance of noise in the urban environment. In response to urban noise as well as other characteristics of urban ecosystems, organisms modify their existing behaviors to maximize their fitness and likelihood of survival. This lesson focuses on behavioral plasticity, which is the idea that organisms’ behaviors are flexible and can be modified in response to their environment. Students complete an activity in which they investigate the plasticity of their own behaviors. The class then discusses how this analogy is similar and different compared to urban species as well as how the plasticity …

Structure Cards, Center For Urban Resilience

Module 07: Animal Adaptation & Behavior

No abstract provided.

Student Pages - How Do Behaviors Impact Survival?, Center For Urban Resilience

Module 07: Animal Adaptation & Behavior

Species constantly engage in a variety of behaviors or activities that help increase their chance of survival. For example, a bird may build a nest or a coyote might communicate to other coyotes through howling. In this activity, you are going to explore the plasticity of behaviors – the ability of an organism to change or modify its behaviors based on the external conditions. Specifically, you will examine your own behaviors, but then consider how your behaviors would be similar or different from other species. You will then consider how the plasticity of an organism’s behaviors impacts its chance of …

Student Pages - Answer Key - How Do Behaviors Impact Survival?, Center For Urban Resilience

Module 07: Animal Adaptation & Behavior

No abstract provided.

Lesson Plan: Developing A Persuasive Scientific Argument, Center For Urban Resilience

Module 07: Animal Adaptation & Behavior

In this lesson, students examine their data and construct an argument that answers their original research question. Students apply what they have been learning about behavioral adaptations to make sense of their bioacoustics data. After analyzing their data in groups and writing up their arguments, they present their research studies to the class, including their research question, methodology, and conclusions from their data. As part of these presentations, the class will discuss the validity of the different groups’ claims and whether they are supported by the data collected from the field as well as the various science concepts they have …

Presentation Template, Center For Urban Resilience

Module 07: Animal Adaptation & Behavior

No abstract provided.

Student Pages - Developing A Persuasive Scientific Argument, Center For Urban Resilience

Module 07: Animal Adaptation & Behavior

No abstract provided.

Lesson Plan: Comparing Our Results, Center For Urban Resilience

Module 07: Animal Adaptation & Behavior

The purpose of this lesson is for students to compare their findings to that of other similar studies. The goal of the lesson is two-fold. First, students should understand the big idea that organisms living in urban ecosystems have modified their behavior in response to the impacts of the humans that live there. Second, this lesson should reinforce the concept of sample size as well as help students understand that we still have many gaps in our understanding of animals in cities.

Student Pages - Comparing Our Results, Center For Urban Resilience

Module 07: Animal Adaptation & Behavior

No abstract provided.

Environmental Racism In A Growing City: Investigating Demographic Shifts In Salt Lake City's Polluted Neighborhoods, Emma Nathel Jones

Undergraduate Honors Capstone Projects

Studies investigating the spatial distribution of environmental hazards have repeatedly demonstrated the existence of environmental racism -- the disproportionate impact of environmental hazards on communities of color. We aim to contribute to research on environmental racism by asking how relationships between race and hazard exposure change over time. Our study area, Salt Lake City (SLC), UT, USA is one of the largest cities in the intermountain west and is expected to see continued population growth. SLC was 99% white from 1860-1950. 2019 census estimates indicate that SLC is becoming more racially diverse with 35.6% of the population identifying as racial …

Characterizing The Relationship Between Species Richness And The Seasonal Phenomenon Of Tropical Fish Dispersal In New England Waters, Michael E. O'Neill

Graduate Masters Theses

The Gulf Stream exerts tremendous influence over oceanographic conditions in the Northwest Atlantic as it transports tropical water to higher latitudes. As the Gulf Stream’s path traverses the east coast of North America, there are implications for the biogeography of marine ecosystems within this range and beyond. While the meandering eddies and warm core rings generated by the Gulf Stream persist year-round, the seasonal warming of New England’s coastal waters afford many tropical species transported by the current temporary residence through the summer and fall. Many aspects that shape this phenomenon and its impact on coastal ecosystems remain a mystery. …

Examining The Invasion Of A Bush Honeysuckle Using Climate Analysis, Andrew Palmer

Biological Sciences Undergraduate Honors Theses

Within the study of invasive plants, particular importance is placed on elucidating the mechanisms by which these plants proliferate and dominate within their introduced ranges. Several theories have been advanced to explain these invasions, each with different implications for the predicted range of invasive plants. Recent studies have provided support for the application of several invasion theories to Lonicera maackii, or what is more commonly referred to as bush honeysuckle. This species provides a unique opportunity to examine the efficacy of these theories in explaining the range expansion of invasive plants. L. maackii is endemic to eastern Asia, but …

Climate And Soil Moisture Dynamics Inform Potential Climate Change Impacts On Available Moisture And Juvenile Tree Survival In Semiarid Forests, Carolyn R. Koehn

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Trees in semiarid forests and woodlands of the western United States need soil moisture to transpire and function. Juvenile trees are especially vulnerable during periods of low soil moisture as their rooting zones are smaller and shallower than those of adult trees. This thesis focuses on two soil moisture-driven aspects of semiarid forests that may be modified by climate change: seasonal soil moisture patterns and juvenile tree survival.

In chapter 1, I investigated the influence of precipitation on soil moisture across seasons, elevations, soil layers, and periods of low and high precipitation. I developed time-varying definitions of winter (snow accumulation), …

Linking Extreme High Air Temperature Events To Wildfire And Environmental Variation To Water Balance Partitioning In The Western Us, Neil Savage

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Chapter 1

Wildfire activity has increased across the western United States in recent decades, causing significant damage to ecosystem services and human communities. The Sierra Nevada region, in particular, has experienced substantial increases in the ignition frequency, severity, and extent of large wildfires. To partly disentangle the complex processes underlying wildfire risk, I developed a simple approach to link natural wildfire ignition patterns to changing seasonal temperatures and extreme high and low air temperature events across the Sierra Nevada region from 1992—2015. Extreme event analyses focused on the association between the magnitude and frequency of occurrence of extreme temperature events …

Distributions And Habitat Associations Of Blue Point Pyrgulopsis And Blue Point Tryonia, Chenoa Janine Wilcox

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Springsnails and other crenophilic species are often of conservation concern due to endemism, narrow habitat requirements, and susceptibility to habitat degradation. Because there is a distinct lack of natural history information for many of these organisms, management of species that are of concern is often based on data from non-target species related to the species of interest. In this thesis, I provide background information regarding springsnails in western North America (Chapter 1), describe a study investigating the distribution and habitat associations of two springsnails endemic to a single spring (Chapter 2), and provide supplemental information on habitat characteristics associated with …

Juvenile Conifer Growth And Regeneration Across Diverse Climatic And Environmental Conditions In The Southwestern United States, Nikki L. Pirtel

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Juvenile conifer germination, growth, and survival will play important roles in the persistence of coniferous forests and woodlands in the southwestern United States (SWUS), yet it is unclear how juvenile conifers allocate aboveground and belowground early growth and if growth differs between conifer and ecosystem types. Descriptions of growth characteristics may allude to the types of stress juveniles experience in their environments, how they morphologically respond to stress, and how they may be able to survive stress to persist in their current locations or expand into new areas. In Chapter 1, I described the growth characteristics of 4 juvenile conifer …

Climate-Driven Impacts On Himalayan Aquatic Biodiversity: A Case Study Involving Snowtrout (Cyprinidae: Schizothorax), Riri Wiyanti Retnaningtyas

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Monitoring biodiversity, to include its relative dispersal and contraction, has become a conservation task of great importance, particularly given the catastrophic and ongoing loss of habitat due to climate change. However, the timing, direction, and magnitude of these rates vary across taxa and ecosystems. Predicting specific impacts of climate change can thus be difficult and this, in turn, hampers management action. Metrics are needed to not only quantify contemporary requirements of species, but also predict potential distributions that fluctuate in lockstep with climate.

Montane ecosystems in the Himalayas are highly impacted by climate change, yet remain largely understudied due to …

Population Genomics Of Invasive Rodents On Islands: Genetic Consequences Of Colonization And Prospects For Localized Synthetic Gene Drive, Kevin P. Oh, Aaron B. Shiels, Laura Shiels, Dimitri V. Blondel, Karl J. Campbell, J. Royden Saah, Alun L. Lloyd, Paul Q. Thomas, Fred Gould, Zaid Abdo, John R. Godwin, Antoinette J. Piaggio

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Introduced rodent populations pose significant threats worldwide, with particularly severe impacts on islands. Advancements in genome editing have motivated interest in synthetic gene drives that could potentially provide efficient and localized suppression of invasive rodent populations. Application of such technologies will require rigorous population genomic surveys to evaluate population connectivity, taxonomic identification, and to inform design of gene drive localization mechanisms. One proposed approach leverages the predicted shifts in genetic variation that accompany island colonization, wherein founder effects, genetic drift, and island-specific selection are expected to result in locally fixed alleles (LFA) that are variable in neighboring nontarget populations. Engineering …

Outline - Coyote Population Dynamics, Center For Urban Resilience

Module 12: Urban Wildlife

The purpose of this lesson is to encourage students to begin thinking about the interactions between animals in an environment and the ways in which those interactions affect each animal. Students will learn about predator/prey dynamics and ecosystem biodiversity through the lens of coyotes and other city predators, primarily cats, by learning about their diets and movement patterns. They will then be asked to consider the impacts of humans and feral cat colonies on urban environments. Students will learn through discussion and interactive activities before presenting their findings via a management plan presentation.

Powerpoint - Coyote Population Dynamics, Center For Urban Resilience

Module 12: Urban Wildlife

No abstract provided.

Note-Taking Graphic Organizer, Center For Urban Resilience

Module 12: Urban Wildlife

No abstract provided.

Student Diet And Activity Tracker Worksheet, Center For Urban Resilience

Module 12: Urban Wildlife

No abstract provided.

Outline - Coyote Traits, Adaptations & Behavior, Center For Urban Resilience

Module 12: Urban Wildlife

The purpose of this lesson is to facilitate student acquisition of background knowledge on topics related to Canid speciation and evolution. This will focus on unique physical and behavioral characteristics of coyotes from other Canids as well as those adaptations that have allowed them to become so widely distributed through North America, though not quite as well distributed as dogs, which will also be a focus of this lesson. Students will research and present their findings via a Project Based Learning (PBL) poster.

Powerpoint - Coyote Traits, Adaptations & Behavior, Center For Urban Resilience

Module 12: Urban Wildlife

No abstract provided.

Note-Taking Graphic Organizer, Center For Urban Resilience

Module 12: Urban Wildlife

No abstract provided.

Outline - Coyote Biodiversity, Center For Urban Resilience

Module 12: Urban Wildlife

The purpose of this lesson is to facilitate student acquisition of background knowledge on topics related to human and coyote impacts on biodiversity. This will focus on how humans impact biodiversity in urban areas, how coyotes fit into the urban food web, and how the two species interact with one another. Students will research and present their findings via a Project Based Learning (PBL) poster.

Note-Taking Graphic Organizer, Center For Urban Resilience

Module 12: Urban Wildlife

No abstract provided.

Outline - Coyote Wildlife Management, Center For Urban Resilience

Module 12: Urban Wildlife

The purpose of this lesson is to facilitate student acquisition of knowledge on topics related to human and coyote interactions. This will focus on how humans and coyotes interact in urban areas and ways in which scientists can mitigate conflicts between the two species. Students will research and present their findings via a PowerPoint presentation.

Powerpoint - Coyote Wildlife Management, Center For Urban Resilience

Module 12: Urban Wildlife

No abstract provided.

Note-Taking Graphic Organizer, Center For Urban Resilience

Module 12: Urban Wildlife

No abstract provided.