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Full-Text Articles in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology

Apparent Resilience To Fire Of Native Bee (Hymenoptera: Apoidea) Communities From Upland Longleaf Pine Forests In Louisiana And Mississippi, Sara A. Simmons, Janice L. Bossart Jan 2020

Apparent Resilience To Fire Of Native Bee (Hymenoptera: Apoidea) Communities From Upland Longleaf Pine Forests In Louisiana And Mississippi, Sara A. Simmons, Janice L. Bossart

Biological Sciences Faculty Publications

Controlled burning is an essential tool for restoration and management of Pinus palustris (Longleaf Pine) habitats, yet effects of controlled burning on insect species, including pollinators, are rarely considered in conservation planning. We used blue vane traps to sample native bees (Hymenoptera: Apoidea) at recently burned and unburned sites in 2 Longleaf Pine upland forests in Mississippi and Louisiana. Our objective was to quantify short-term effects of controlled burns given fire-return intervals of 1-2 years are now regularly employed to manage Longleaf Pine woodlands. We sampled during 2016 and 2017 and collected 1777 native bees, representing 43 species. Recent fire …


Invasive Plant Erodes Local Song Diversity In A Migratory Passerine, Yvette K. Ortega, Aubree Benson, Erick Greene Feb 2014

Invasive Plant Erodes Local Song Diversity In A Migratory Passerine, Yvette K. Ortega, Aubree Benson, Erick Greene

Biological Sciences Faculty Publications

Exotic plant invasions threaten ecosystems globally, but we still know little about the specific consequences for animals. Invasive plants can alter the quality of breeding habitat for songbirds, thereby impacting important demographic traits such as dispersal, philopatry, and age structure. These demographic effects may in turn alter song-learning conditions to affect song structure and diversity. We studied Chipping Sparrows (Spizella passerina) breeding in six savannas that were either dominated by native vegetation or invaded by spotted knapweed (Centaurea stoebe), an exotic forb known to diminish food resources and reproductive success. Here, we report that the prevalence of older birds was …


Response By Reticulitermes (Isoptera: Rhinotermitidae) And Cryptocercus Punctulatus (Blattaria: Cryptocercidae) To Wood Infected With The Green-Stain Ascomycete, Chlorociboria Aeruginascens Aeruginascens, Deborah Waller Jan 1995

Response By Reticulitermes (Isoptera: Rhinotermitidae) And Cryptocercus Punctulatus (Blattaria: Cryptocercidae) To Wood Infected With The Green-Stain Ascomycete, Chlorociboria Aeruginascens Aeruginascens, Deborah Waller

Biological Sciences Faculty Publications

Termites of the genus Reticulitermes Holmgren and the wood roaches Cryptocercus punctulatus Scutter were observed feeding on wood stained green by the ascomycete fungus, Chlorociboria aeruginascens aeruginascens (Leotiaceae), in a Virginia forest. However, in laboratory choice trials, both termites and wood roaches preferred unstained wood to stained wood. In no-choice feeding trials, Reticulitermes fed stained birch ate significantly less wood and weighed significantly less than termites fed unstained birch. These results indicate that natural host utilization patterns cannot be relied upon to indicate feeding preferences.