Ecology and Evolutionary Biology Commons^™

Forest Drought Resistance Distinguished By Canopy Height, Wei Fang, Peipei Xu, Tao Zhou, George Hendrey, Xiang Zhao

Publications and Research

How are the survival and growth of trees under severe drought affected by their size? While some studies have shown that large trees are more vulnerable to drought than smaller trees, others found that small trees are the more vulnerable. We explored the potential relationships between canopy height and forest responses to drought indicated by tree mortality, tree ring width index (RWI), and normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) in the southwestern United States (SWUS) in 2002. In that year many trees had zero tree ring growth due to mortality and dieback, presumably related to drought-stress. With RWI data from a …

Dynamic Responses Of Tree-Ring Growth To Multiple Dimensions Of Drought, Wei Fang, Shan Gao, Ruishun Liu, Tao Zhou, Chuixiang Yi, Ruijie Liu, Xiang Zhao, Hui Luo

Publications and Research

Droughts, which are characterized by multiple dimensions including frequency, duration, severity and onset timing, can impact tree growth profoundly. Different dimensions of drought influence tree growth independently or jointly, which makes the development of accurate predictions a formidable challenge. Measurement-based tree-ring data have obvious advantages for studying the drought responses of trees. Here, we explored the use of abundant tree-ring records for quantifying regional response patterns to key dimensions of drought. Specifically, we designed a series of regional-scaled “natural experiments”, based on 357 tree-ring chronologies from Southwest USA and location-matched monthly water balance anomalies, to reveal how tree-ring growth responds …

Shifts In Assemblage Of Foraging Bats At Mammoth Cave National Park Following Arrival Of White-Nose Syndrome, Marissa M. Thalken, Michael J. Lacki, Joseph S. Johnson

Forestry and Natural Resources Faculty Publications

The arrival of white-nose syndrome (WNS) to North America in 2006, and the subsequent decline in populations of cave-hibernating bats have potential long-term implications for communities of forest-dwelling bats in affected regions. Severe declines in wintering populations of bats should lead to concomitant shifts in the composition and relative abundance of species during the staging, maternity, and swarming seasons in nearby forested habitats. We examined capture rates of bats collected in mist nets from 2009 to 2016 to evaluate summer patterns in abundance of species pre- and post-arrival of WNS to Mammoth Cave National Park, KY. The data demonstrated a …

A Quantitative Analysis Of The Effects Of Urbanization, Mesophication And Prescribed Burns On Oak Woodlands In The Chicago Metropolitan Area, Chad Populorum

Celebration of Learning

Urban expansion has had devastating impacts on forest ecosystems, especially within the past century. Human attempts to dominate nature have diminished natural disturbance regimes, which have maintained the biodiversity and historic composition of these ecosystems. Fires have been a prominent force in maintaining the structure of oak, hickory and other heliophytic (sun loving and fire-adapted) forest systems. Human induced fire suppression has led to mesophication across North America. Mesophication is the transition from drier conditions with open canopies to wetter conditions with closed canopies. These new conditions decrease the survival rates of these important species and begin to favor mesophytic …

Radical Social Ecology As Deep Pragmatism: A Call To The Abolition Of Systemic Dissonance And The Minimization Of Entropic Chaos, Arielle Brender

Student Theses 2015-Present

This paper aims to shed light on the dissonance caused by the superimposition of Dominant Human Systems on Natural Systems. I highlight the synthetic nature of Dominant Human Systems as egoic and linguistic phenomenon manufactured by a mere portion of the human population, which renders them inherently oppressive unto peoples and landscapes whose wisdom were barred from the design process. In pursuing a radical pragmatic approach to mending the simultaneous oppression and destruction of the human being and the earth, I highlight the necessity of minimizing entropic chaos caused by excess energy expenditure, an essential feature of systems that aim …

Mitigating Bioiversity Loss Of Native Plants, Jamie Ana Grigonis

Student Theses 2015-Present

Growing up harvesting from my own vegetable garden and going from nursery to nursery with my mother, it has been extremely evident that plant biodiversity is more than just privet along driveways and carnations in window boxes. Plant biodiversity is often overlooked but crucial to having a healthy and thriving environment. Without certain plants, our ecosystems will crumble and this needs to be addressed now while it’s still at a level we can grow from. In my internship I am working alongside the director of the Thain Family Forest at the New York Botanical Gardens in order to get a …

Juvenile Amphibian Response To Oak And Maple Leaf Litter, Benjamin Breslau

Honors Scholar Theses

The composition of tree species within New England forests has changed significantly in recent decades, with an increase in maple (Acer spp.) abundance and a decrease in oak (Quercus spp.) abundance. Changing forest structure results in changing leaf litter composition of the forest floor, which influences the ground-dwelling amphibians that live in the litter. To better understand how changes to forest composition alters amphibian habitat quality, we recorded the growth and survival of 27 juvenile wood frogs (Lithobates sylvaticus or Rana sylvatica) and 27 juvenile American toads (Anaxyrus americanus) in response to leaf litter …

Potential Benefits Of Restored Riparian Zones In An Agricultural Matrix For Bat Communities, Matthew T. Harris

Masters Theses, 2010-2019

Riparian buffers planted within agricultural matrices for wildlife conservation are expected to support numerous taxa, but a lack of empirical testing has limited evaluation of these practices. It is imperative that biologists and land managers understand how current conservation practices impact bats so that the ecosystem services provided by bats are maintained as farming practices continue to intensify in regions dominated by agriculture. This study evaluates the effects of planted riparian buffers along streams in an agricultural matrix by comparing acoustic bat activity along streams in active cattle pasture with activity at streams where riparian buffers have been planted. Forest …

Avian Foraging Response To Jack Pine (Pinus Banksiana) Volatile Chemicals, Katie Bjornen

All NMU Master's Theses

Birds benefit trees and other plants by removing herbivores that damage the plant and impede its growth. They can significantly increase the growth and biomass of the trees by foraging on the herbivores that harm plants, and the prey items eaten in turn benefits foraging birds by providing sustenance. This interaction becomes complex when tree volatile chemical communication is added. Trees regularly release volatile organic chemicals (referred to as VOCs) as part of metabolism. The particular VOCs released by a tree can depend on several factors, including water availability, time of year, and damage type (e.g., mechanical damage or insect …

Ecological Studies Of Wolves On Isle Royale, 2017-2018, Rolf O. Peterson, John A. Vucetich, Sarah R. Hoy

Ecological Studies of Wolves on Isle Royale

Annual Report 2017-2018

Comparative Study Of Photosynthesis Rates Between Native Red Maple And Invasive Norway Maple In The Eastern Deciduous Forest, Evan M. Bourtis, Lindsey R. Heckman

The Review: A Journal of Undergraduate Student Research

Invasive species, such as the Norway Maple, are often able to outcompete native species, such as the Red Maple by performing more efficiently in the environment compared to the native species. In this study, we examined if the Norway maple was able to outcompete the Red Maple in the Eastern Deciduous Forest because the Norway Maple had a higher rate of photosynthesis. The study found that the Norway Maple leaves had a slightly higher rate of carbon dioxide consumption than Red Maple leaves and that the Red Maple leaves had a higher rate of oxygen production compared to the Norway …

Rapid Regeneration Offsets Losses From Warming-Induced Tree Mortality In An Aspen-Dominated Broad-Leaved Forest In Northern China, Pengwu Zhao, Chongyang Xu, Mei Zhou, Bo Zhang, Peng Ge, Nan Zeng, Hongyan Liu

Aspen Bibliography

Worldwide tree mortality as induced by climate change presents a challenge to forest managers. To successfully manage vulnerable forests requires the capacity of regeneration to compensate for losses from tree mortality. We observed rapid regeneration and the growth release of young trees after warming-induced mortality in a David aspen-dominated (Populus davidiana) broad-leaved forest in Inner Mongolia, China, as based on individual tree measurements taken in 2012 and 2015 from a 6-ha permanent plot. Warming and drought stress killed large trees 10–15 m tall with a total number of 2881 trees during 2011–2012, and also thinned the upper crowns. …

Bifurcated Response Of A Regional Forest To Drought, Wei Fang, Chuixiang Yi, Guangwei Mu, George Hendrey, Sergio M. Vicente-Serrano, Tao Zhou, Shan Gao, Peipei Xu

Publications and Research

Several lines of evidence suggest that forest growth in many regions is declining as a consequence of changing climate. To predict the fate of forests in the future, a quantitative understanding of how the key climate variables (insolation, precipitation and temperature) interact with forests to cause the decline is a pressing need. Here we use a regionally-averaged tree-ring width index (RWIr ) to quantify forest growth in the Southwest United States (SWUS). We show that over a period of 100 years, SWUS RWIr bifurcated into forest stands with enhanced (healthy) and reduced (declining) branches when regressed on shortwave-radiation and temperature, …

Burned Area Mapping Of An Escaped Fire Into Tropical Dry Forest In Western Madagascar Using Multi-Season Landsat Oli Data, Anne C. Axel

Biological Sciences Faculty Research

A human-induced fire cleared a large area of tropical dry forest near the Ankoatsifaka Research Station at Kirindy Mitea National Park in western Madagascar over several weeks in 2013. Fire is a major factor in the disturbance and loss of global tropical dry forests, yet remotely sensed mapping studies of fire-impacted tropical dry forests lag behind fire research of other forest types. Methods used to map burns in temperature forests may not perform as well in tropical dry forests where it can be difficult to distinguish between multiple-age burn scars and between bare soil and burns. In this study, the …

Authors And Editors Assort On Gender And Geography In High-Rank Ecological Publications, Kezia R. Manlove, Rebecca M. Belou

Wildland Resources Faculty Publications

Peer-reviewed publication volume and caliber are widely-recognized proxies for academic merit, and a strong publication record is essential for academic success and advancement. However, recent work suggests that publication productivity for particular author groups may also be determined in part by implicit biases lurking in the publication pipeline. Here, we explore patterns of gender, geography, and institutional rank among authors, editorial board members, and handling editors in high-impact ecological publications during 2015 and 2016. A higher proportion of lead authors had female first names (33.9%) than editorial board members (28.9%), and the proportion of female first names among handling editors …

Influence Of Damming On Anuran Species Richness In Riparian Areas: A Test Of The Serial Discontinuity Concept, Jacquelyn C. Guzy, Evan A. Eskew, Brian J. Halstead, Steve J. Price

Forestry and Natural Resources Faculty Publications

Almost all large rivers worldwide are fragmented by dams, and their impacts have been modeled using the serial discontinuity concept (SDC), a series of predictions regarding responses of key biotic and abiotic variables. We evaluated the effects of damming on anuran communities along a 245‐km river corridor by conducting repeated, time‐constrained anuran calling surveys at 42 locations along the Broad and Pacolet Rivers in South Carolina, USA. Using a hierarchical Bayesian analysis, we test the biodiversity prediction of the SDC (modified for floodplain rivers) by evaluating anuran occupancy and species diversity relative to dams and degree of urbanized land use. …

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 …

Data: Pre-Fire Disturbance History Modulates Relationships Between Ground Cover And Post-Fire Conifer Regeneration, Nathan Gill, Dan Jarvis, Tom Veblen, John Rogan, Dominik Kulakowski

Student Works

Understory vegetation and ground cover drive many important ecosystem processes, including tree seedling regeneration. The exact effect of ground cover on tree seedling establishment, survival, and growth depends on biophysical context. In subalpine forests, this context is largely determined by disturbances such as beetle outbreak, blowdown, and fire. Compounded disturbances that overlap in short succession can alter stand properties and trajectories in ways that are not predictable from the additive impact of individual disturbances. The aim of this study is to examine how compounded Dendroctonus rufipennis (spruce beetle; SB) outbreak followed by fire and compounded wind blowdown followed by fire …

Surface And Subsurface Tillage Effects On Mine Soil Properties And Vegetative Response, H. Z. Angel, Jeremy Stovall, Hans Michael Williams, Kenneth W. Farrish, Brian P. Oswald, J. L. Young

Faculty Publications

Soil compaction is an important concern for surface mine operations that require heavy equipment for land reclamation. Excessive use of rubber-tired equipment, such as scraper pans, may cause mine soil compaction and hinder the success of revegetation efforts. However, information is limited on management strategies for ameliorating the potential compacting effects of scraper pans, particularly during site preparation for loblolly pine (Pinus taeda L.) plantations. Three forms of tillage and one control were replicated five times on surface mined land in the west Gulf Coastal Plain: no tillage (NT), disking (D), single-ripping + disking (R+D), and cross-ripping + disking …

Food Habits Of Sympatric Pitvipers From The West Gulf Coastal Plain, Usa, Christopher M. Schalk, Toni Trees, Joshua B. Pierce, D. Craig Rudolph

Faculty Publications

Widespread species that occupy multiple communities exhibit geographic variation in their natural history due to the ecological context of the local community. An animal’s food habitats are a central component to understanding its natural history and ecological role within its community—information that is critical to understanding resource needs of a species, mechanisms of species coexistence, and energy flow in food webs (Litvaitis 2000; Schalk et al. 2014). This information is also crucial for predicting the response of populations to changes in resource availability and, if necessary, inform mitigation strategies (Holycross and Mackessy 2002)

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 …

Phosphorus Limitation Of Aboveground Production In Northern Hardwood Forests, Shinjini Goswami, Melany C. Fisk, Matthew A. Vadeboncoeur, Mariann Garrison-Johnston, Ruth D. Yanai, Timothy J. Fahey

All Materials

Forest productivity on glacially derived soils with weatherable phosphorus (P) is expected to be limited by nitrogen (N), according to theories of long-term ecosystem development. However, recent studies and model simulations based on resource optimization theory indicate that productivity can be co-limited by N and P. We conducted a full factorial N × P fertilization experiment in 13 northern hardwood forest stands of three age classes in central New Hampshire, USA, to test the hypothesis that forest productivity is co-limited by N and P. We also asked whether the response of productivity to N and P addition differs among species …

Carbon Fluxes And Interannual Drivers In A Temperate Forest Ecosystem Assessed Through Comparison Of Top-Down And Bottom-Up Approaches, Andrew P. Ouimette, Scott V. Ollinger, Andrew D. Richardson, David Y. Hollinger, Trevor F. Keenan, Lucie C. Lepine, Matthew A. Vadeboncoeur

All Materials

Despite decades of research, gaining a comprehensive understanding of carbon (C) cycling in forests remains a considerable challenge. Uncertainties stem from persistent methodological limitations and the difficulty of resolving top-down estimates of ecosystem C exchange with bottom-up measurements of individual pools and fluxes. To address this, we derived estimates and associated uncertainties of ecosystem C fluxes for a 100-125 year old mixed temperate forest stand at the Bartlett Experimental Forest, New Hampshire, USA, using three different approaches: (1) tower-based eddy covariance, (2) a biometric approach involving C flux measurements of individual ecosystem subcomponents, and (3) an inventory approach involving changes …

Hydrological Niche Segregation Defines Forest Structure And Drought Tolerance Strategies In A Seasonal Amazon Forest, Mauro Brum, Matthew A. Vadeboncoeur, Valeriy Ivanov, Heidi Asbjornsen, Scott Saleska, Luciana F. Alves, Deliane Pinha, Jadson D. Dias, Luiz E O C Aragão, Fernanda Barros, Paulo Bittencourt, Luciano Pereira, Rafael S. Oliveira

All Materials

1. The relationship between rooting depth and above‐ground hydraulic traits can potentially define drought resistance strategies that are important in determining species distribution and coexistence in seasonal tropical forests, and understanding this is important for predicting the effects of future climate change in these ecosystems.
2. We assessed the rooting depth of 12 dominant tree species (representing c. 42% of the forest basal area) in a seasonal Amazon forest using the stable isotope ratios (δ¹⁸O and δ²H) of water collected from tree xylem and soils from a range of depths. We took advantage of a major ENSO‐related …

Large Effect Quantitative Trait Loci For Salicinoid Phenolic Glycosides In Populus: Implications For Gene Discovery, Scott A. Woolbright, Brian J. Rehill, Richard L. Lindroth

Aspen Bibliography

Genomic studies have been used to identify genes underlying many important plant secondary metabolic pathways. However, genes for salicinoid phenolic glycosides (SPGs)—ecologically important compounds with significant commercial, cultural, and medicinal applications—remain largely undescribed. We used a linkage map derived from a full‐sib population of hybrid cottonwoods (Populus spp.) to search for quantitative trait loci (QTL) for the SPGs salicortin and HCH‐salicortin. SSR markers and primer sequences were used to anchor the map to the V3.0 P. trichocarpa genome. We discovered 21 QTL for the two traits, including a major QTL for HCH‐salicortin (R2 = .52) that colocated …

The Impact Of Reconstructed Soils Following Oil Sands Exploitation On Aspen And Its Associated Belowground Microbiome, Franck Stefani, Nathalie Isabel, Marie-Josee Morency

Aspen Bibliography

Oil sands surface mining in the Athabasca region of northern Alberta (Canada) is a significant anthropogenic disturbance that resets boreal forest development and succession to early stages. During surface mining, the vegetation is cleared, the topsoil is salvaged, and the overburden (the layer of sand and clay in between the topsoil and the oil sands) is piled (see Fig. 2 in Audet et al.1 for an explanation of the land-reclamation procedure). After mining is finished, the landforms (composed of overburden and tailings sand) are capped with organic matter-rich soil covers made of either upland-derived forest floor-mineral mix (FFMM) or a …

Hart Prairie Preserve Site Visit To Assess Aspen Health Nature Conservancy, Flagstaff, Az, Amanda Grady

Aspen Bibliography

On June 11, 2018, Amanda Grady, Entomologist, Arizona Zone, Forest Health Protection, performed a site visit to evaluate aspen health on the Nature Conservancy lands at Heart Prairie Preserve (HPP) near Flagstaff. Specifically, the evaluation was to determine whether or not the aspen within exclosures on Fern Mountain have symptoms or signs of Oystershell scale (OSS), an emergent forest pest contributing to aspen decline in northern Arizona.

Effects Of Climate Change On Forest Vegetation In The Northern Rockies Region, Robert E. Keane, Mary Frances Mahalovich

Aspen Bibliography

No abstract provided.

Climate-Induced Gradients Of Populus Sp. Forest Biomass On The Territory Of Eurasia, Usoltev Vladimir Andreevich, Omid Shobairi, Chasovskikh Viktor Petrovich

Aspen Bibliography

On the basis of the compiled database in a number of 413 sample plots with determinations of forest biomass of the genus Populus sp. on the territory of Eurasia from France to southern China and Japan statistically significant transcontinental decreasing of stem, above ground and total biomass as in the direction from northern temperate to subequatorial zonal belt and in the direction from the Atlantic and Pacific coasts to the continentality pole in Siberia is established. Unlike wood story, understory biomass in these directions has not decreased, and increasing. The root: shoot ratio increases in the range between northern temperate …

Vulnerability Of Protected Areas To Human Encroachment, Climate Change And Fire In The Fragmented Tropical Forests Of West Africa, Francis Kwabena Dwomoh

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The Upper Guinean region of West Africa is home to some of the most globally significant tropical biodiversity hotspots, providing ecosystem services that are crucial for the region’s socio-economic and environmental wellbeing. Nonetheless, following decades of human-caused destruction of natural habitats, protected areas currently remain the only significant refugia of original vegetation relics in landscapes that are highly fragmented. Aside from having strong geographic variation in land use, climate, vegetation, and human population, the region has also experienced remarkable biophysical and socio-economic changes in recent decades. All these factors influence the fire regime and the vulnerability of forests within protected …