Ecology and Evolutionary Biology Commons^™

Pathogen Emergence As Complex Biological Invasion: Lessons From Dynamical Systems Modeling, Sudam Surasinghe, Marisabel Rodriguez, Victor Meszaros, Jane Molofsky, Salvador Almagro-Moreno, Brandon Ogbunugafor

Northeast Journal of Complex Systems (NEJCS)

Infectious disease emergence has become the target of cross-disciplinary efforts
that aim to understand and predict the shape of outbreaks. The many challenges
involved with the prediction of disease emergence events is a characteristic that in-
fectious diseases share with biological invasions in many subfields of ecology (e.g.,
how certain plants are able to successfully invade a new niche). Like infectious
diseases, biological invasions by plants and animals involve interactions between
agents (pathogens and plants in their respective cases) and a recipient niche. In
this study, we examine the problem of pathogen emergence through the lens of a
framework first …

The Effects Of Temperature And Flooding Duration On The Structure And Magnitude Of A Floodplain Prey Subsidy, Ryan J. Rezek, Jordan A. Massie, James A. Nelson, Rolando O. Santos, Natasha M. Viadero, W. Ryan James, Ross E. Boucek, Jennifer S. Rehage

Marine Science

Riverine floodplains serve as an important link between terrestrial and aquatic systems, as the rising and falling of water drive spatial food web subsidies that are critical to the functioning and stability of ecosystems. As these systems are increasingly impacted by hydrological alterations and climate change, it is important to understand how floodplain spatial food web subsidies may respond to changing environmental conditions.

Here, we examine the interannual variation in the structure of a sunfish (Lepomis spp.) prey subsidy from freshwater marshes into the mangrove-lined creeks of Rookery Branch in the Florida Coastal Everglades that occurs during seasonal dry downs. …

Cadmium And Salinity Stressor Antagonism On Vallisneria Neotropicalis, Christopher P. Mikolaitis

Graduate Theses and Dissertations (2019 - present)

Submerged macrophytes form the foundation of freshwater ecosystems. These organisms are sessile and are very susceptible to shifts in their environment. Heavy metals are of particular concern as they can be sequestered indefinitely in sediments and are readily taken up by rooted vegetation. In the presence of saltwater intrusions, these metals can interact with salt ions potentially changing their availability to submerged vegetation. In this study a freshwater macrophyte, Vallisneria neotropicalis, was used as a test species for interactive effects between Cd, a non-essential heavy metal, and salt stress. The metrics used to establish the individual as well as …

An Analysis Of Lichen Presence On Quercus And Non-Quercus In Chicagoland Area, Shelby Johnson

DePaul Discoveries

Both anthropogenic change and the spread of invasive species have led to changes in urban and forest tree diversity. Oak rust, acute oak decline, and emerald ash borer have all had a detrimental effect on tree species in the Chicagoland area. Quercus species are well known habitats for lichen species including Physcia millegrana, Physcia stellaris, Punctelia rudecta, Flavoparmelia caperata, Xanthomendosa, and Candeleria concolor. Due to the decrease in the traditional Quercus habitats for lichen and the increase in nonnative and nontraditional tree species being introduced, particularly in cities, this study aimed to compare the number and diversity of …

Geoarchaeology Of Estuarine Seascapes In Tampa Bay, Florida., Kendal R. Jackson

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation investigates the geological, ecological, and archaeological histories of Tampa Bay, Florida’s largest open-water estuary system. Previous geoscientific and archaeological work has studied the evolution of Florida’s estuaries as ‘pre-anthropogenic’ ecosystems and conceptualized Indigenous maritime societies as mostly passive inhabitants of dynamic ‘natural’ environments. Further, the environmental legacies of more recent, industrial-scale estuary modification attending Florida’s 20th-century population boom have been understudied—leading to popular and scientific confusion about historical conditions. The work composing this dissertation research seeks to reconceptualize Tampa Bay as a complex mosaic of cultural seascapes that have been variously altered and modified by human societies across …

A Review Of Theropithecus Oswaldi With The Proposal Of A New Subspecies, Dagmawit Abebe Getahun, Eric Delson, Chalachew Mesfin Seyoum

Publications and Research

Theropithecus oswaldi darti, as currently understood, is the oldest Theropithecus taxon in the fossil record and the earliest subspecies in the Theropithecus oswaldi lineage. Theropithecus oswaldi darti is typified at the site of Makapansgat in South Africa, and a similar form (T. o. cf. darti) is usually recognized at Hadar, Dikika, some Middle Awash localities, and Woranso-Mille in Ethiopia. This taxon is also tentatively believed to occur in Kenya at Kanam and Koobi Fora and in Member C of the Shungura Formation in Ethiopia. While there is a general consensus that the East African ‘darti’ specimens are …

Natural Resource Management Newsletter, June 2023, Department Of Natural Resource Management

NRM Newsletter

Page 1: Departmental Faculty and Staff, and Dean's Message
Page 2: NRM Newbies
Page 3: Emeriti Publications and Award, Donor Obituary, Recent Graduate News, and Ten Year Service Award
Page 4: Donor News
Page 5: Sampling of Faculty and Staff Activities & Recognition
Page 6: Sampling of Graduate Students Activities
Page 7: Sampling of Undergraduate Students Activities
Page 8: Club Activities
Page 9: NRM Events
Page 10: Opportunities to Support NRM

Statistical And Biological Analyses Of Acoustic Signals In Estrildid Finches, Moises Rivera

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Acoustic communication is a process that involves auditory perception and signal processing. Discrimination and recognition further require cognitive processes and supporting mechanisms in order to successfully identify and appropriately respond to signal senders. Although acoustic communication is common across birds, classical research has largely disregarded the perceptual abilities of perinatal altricial taxa. Chapter 1 reviews the literature of perinatal acoustic stimulation in birds, highlighting the disproportionate focus on precocial birds (e.g., chickens, ducks, quails). The long-held belief that altricial birds were incapable of acoustic perception in ovo was only recently overturned, as researchers began to find behavioral and physiological evidence …

Modeling The Population Demographics & Viability Of Imperiled Guzmania Monostachia Populations, Helen Pennington, Pranay Lingareddy, Erin N. Bodine

Spora: A Journal of Biomathematics

Guzmania monostachia is a large, long-lived bromeliad whose leaves grow in a rosette pattern and is native to the Americas, but endangered in Florida due to damage caused by the invasive weevil Metamasius callizona. Each G. monostachia rosette can reproduce sexually via flowers or asexually by producing clonal offshoot rosettes. We model the population dynamics and demographic structure of a G. monostachia population using a Lefkovitch matrix model where each state represents a demographic class of rosettes. Model analysis over a range of uncertain parameters show the conditions under which a G. monostachia population is viable in the absence …

Feral Swine As Indirect Indicators Of Environmental Anthrax Contamination And Potential Mechanical Vectors Of Infectious Spores, Rachel M. Maison, Maggie R. Priore, Vienna R. Brown, Michael Bodenchuk, Bradley R. Borlee, Richard Bowen, Angela M. Bosco-Lauth

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

U.S. government work

Considerations For The Use Of Mycorrhizal Fungi Inoculants In Coal Mine Reclamation And Reforestation In Appalachia: A Guide Of Best Practices And Management Recommendations, Cole Hansen Reistrup

Master's Projects and Capstones

Nearly all terrestrial plants form symbiotic relationships with mycorrhizal fungi. These beneficial soil microbes support plant health by increasing plants’ access to nutrients and water, protecting them from pathogens, improving soil properties, and more. A challenge to restoring forests on coal mined land in Appalachia is that mine soils are often degraded in a number of ways, including lacking mycorrhizal fungi, which makes mine soils difficult for trees to grow upon. Substantial improvements to coal mine reforestation success have been made since the development of the Forestry Reclamation Approach in 2005 that provides guidelines for how to create a suitable …

A Novel Family Of Chain Binomial Models To Investigate Correlated Vaccination And Infection Rates In Sveirs Epidemic Dynamics, Divine Wanduku

Biology and Medicine Through Mathematics Conference

No abstract provided.

Willow Abundance And Condition Mapping In Rocky Mountain National Park, Eric M. Nielsen

Institute for Natural Resources Publications

Riparian and wetland willow species have undergone serious declines in Rocky Mountain National Park as a consequence of a variety of environmental changes and, most recently, damage resulting from moose overpopulation. To address concerns about the long-term status of willows in the park, we developed remote sensing-based raster maps of riparian and wetland willow species presence, canopy cover percentage, canopy height, and leaf area index. All outputs were produced at 3-meter resolution, and represent willows as they existed in 2021. The mapping was performed via random forests classification and regression models trained on several hundred vegetation plots from a variety …

Mathematics Of Population-Genetics Model For Assessing The Impacts Of Insecticide Resistance And Temperature On Population Abundance Of Malaria Mosquitoes, Jemal Mohammed-Awel

Biology and Medicine Through Mathematics Conference

No abstract provided.

Simulation And Latin Hypercube Sampling Of Mixed-Time Models In A Consumer-Resource Relationship, Boluwatife E. Awoyemi, Amanda N. Laubmeier, Richard L. Rebarber

Biology and Medicine Through Mathematics Conference

No abstract provided.

Pde Model For Protocell Evolution And The Origin Of Chromosomes Via Multilevel Selection, Daniel B. Cooney, Fernando W. Rossine, Dylan H. Morris, Simon A. Levin

Biology and Medicine Through Mathematics Conference

No abstract provided.

Reaction-Diffusion System On Irregular Boundaries Reproduces Multiple Generations Of Petal Spot Patterns In Monkeyflower Hybrids, Emily Simmons

Biology and Medicine Through Mathematics Conference

No abstract provided.

A Camera Trap Study Of Scavenger Species On The University Of Mississippi Campus, Lise Larsen

Honors Theses

This is a camera trap study to understand what kind of mammalian scavenger community we have on the University of Mississippi campus and where they are most prominent. Three motion-triggered cameras were used to survey ten buildings on campus over ten weeks. A low number of individuals were caught on camera during this study. There were limitations on this study such as a low number of cameras and a short span of time. More research needs to be done to understand the scavenger community on this campus.

Determining The Impact Of Post-Harvest Water Management On Chironomid Abundance, Agrochemical Biomass And Potential Trophic Biomagnification, Mason Thomas

Theses and Dissertations

Agriculture has diminished shorebirds’ natural habitat in the Mississippi Alluvial Valley. Remaining natural stopover sites are supplemented with agricultural fields during the fall and winter. This study evaluates the impact of 4 different post-harvest water management strategies on shorebird food abundance and potential agrochemical biomagnification. Chironomid samples estimated abundance, biomass, and chironomid agrochemical concentration in each field. A risk assessment of agrochemical biomagnification to shorebirds was made across all treatments. Of treatments represented on all study sites, winter treatment had greatest chironomid abundance and biomass. Models indicated that days since flood initiation, start date, and temperature are significant predictors of …

Locomotion And Life History In A Leaping Primate: Mechanics And Energetics Of Movement Throughout The Propithecus Lifespan, Nicholas Heslep

Masters Theses, 2020-current

Arboreal primates are typically altricial, exhibit long juvenile periods, and use dynamic locomotor behaviors that can be challenging and risky. Sifaka (Propithecus verreauxi) have particularly slow life histories for their size, with long juvenile periods, protracted reproductive careers, and long life spans. Slow somatic growth poses potential mechanical challenges for juvenile sifaka who use thigh-powered vertical clinging and leaping to follow group members during travel. I examined mechanical and energetic costs of movement in developing sifaka. I instrumented 8 wild sifaka (3 yearlings, 3 subadults, 2 adults) in 4 social groups with inertial sensors measuring tri-axial acceleration for …

Du Undergraduate Showcase: Research, Scholarship, And Creative Works, Caitlyn Aldersea, Justin Bravo, Sam Allen, Anna Block, Connor Block, Emma Buechler, Maria De Los Angeles Bustillos, Arianna Carlson, William Christensen, Olivia Kachulis, Noah Craver, Kate Dillon, Muskan Fatima, Angel Fernandes, Emma Finch, Colleen Cassidy, Amy Fishman, Andrea Francis, Stacia Fritz, Simran Gill, Emma Gries, Rylie Hansen, Shannon Powers, Jacqueline Martinez, Zachary Harker, Ashley Hasty, Mykaela Tanino-Springsteen, Kathleen Hopps, Adelaide Kerenick, Colin Kleckner, Ci Koehring, Elijah Kruger, Braden Krumholz, Maddie Leake, Lyneé Alves, Seraphina Loukas, Yatzari Lozano Vazquez, Haley Maki, Emily Martinez, Sierra Mckinney, Audrey Mitchell, Kipling Newman, Audrey Ng, Megan Lucyshyn, Andrew Nguyen, Stevie Ostman, Casandra Pearson, Alexandra Penney, Julia Gielczynski, Tyler Ball, Anna Rini, Christina Rorres, Simon Ruland, Helayna Schafer, Emma Sellers, Sarah Schuller, Claire Shaver, Kevin Summers, Isabella Shaw, Madison Sinar, Claudia Pena, Apshara Siwakoti, Carter Sorensen, Madi Sousa, Anna Sparling, Alexandra Revier, Brandon Thierry, Dylan Tyree, Maggie Williams, Lauren Wols

DU Undergraduate Research Journal Archive

DU Undergraduate Showcase: Research, Scholarship, and Creative Works

Striped Blenny (Chasmodes Bosquianus) Presence And Behavior Between Sunrise And Sunset At Oyster Landing, South Carolina, Madeline Schuetze

Honors Theses

Lunar and diel cycles of fishes can help to interpret their behaviors during their reproductive season. Temperate estuaries are used by many benthic fishes for shelter and reproduction. This study examined the behavior and presence of striped blennies (Chasmodes bosquianus) during diel and lunar cycles. PVC pipe shelters were placed to mimic oyster shell nests, a natural habitat for blennies, and cameras were placed to monitor these shelters in April, May, and June 2022, during the striped blenny reproductive period. Video footage was reviewed and analyzed for the presence and behavior of both male and female blennies. Male presence …

Dolphin Behavioral Responses To Uncrewed Aerial Systems As A Function Of Exposure, Height, And Type, Savannah Damiano

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Uncrewed aerial systems (UAS) are becoming a standard tool in the study of cetaceans, however, a comparative assessment of animal responses to UAS has not been established to gauge the most effective systems for cetacean study. We utilized Dolphin Quest Bermuda’s eleven bottlenose dolphins as subjects for such an investigation taking place over five weeks in 2022 and five weeks in 2023. The dolphins were evaluated for investigative behavioral responses to six off-the-shelf UAS types and a custom fixed wing system. Each UAS was flown in decreasing height vertically above the main dolphin lagoon to evaluate dolphin behavioral responses in …

What Are The Impacts Of Deer Browsing And Japanese Stiltgrass (Microstegium Vinenium) On Native Sapling Growth In A Residential Wetland In Southeastern Georgia?, Josie Richards

Honors College Theses

Wetlands promote biodiversity, act as climate stabilizers, and regulate water flow, yet are vulnerable to invaders. An invasive species can affect the biodiversity, abiotic conditions, and increase vulnerability of an ecosystem over time and deer browsing can actively affect new growth by removing the apical buds of young woody vegetation. Japanese stiltgrass (Microstegium vimineum), a wetland specific invader, has been shown to compete against native species for limited resources and actively crowd them out. Growth of native saplings can be further complicated by the presence of white tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus), which browse woody vegetation and limit recruitment of trees. …

Effects Of Nonnative Plants On Space-Use In Eastern Box Turtles, Emily Ilene Crago

Graduate Theses

Introduction of nonnative plants outside their natural range has caused widespread reduction in the abundance and diversity of native plant species. Nonnative plants typically form dense, often monotypic, thickets that affect the ability of animals to find food, reproduce, avoid predation risk, and thermoregulate. By doing so, nonnative plants have the potential to displace resident animals from areas otherwise suitable as animal habitat. However, limited studies have investigated whether resident animals avoid areas dominated by nonnative plants. This study investigated impacts of nonnative plants on eastern box turtles (Terrapene carolina carolina), a species that has been declining throughout their range. …

Rattus Norvegicus As A Biological Detector Of Clandestine Remains And The Use Of Ultrasonic Vocalizations As A Locating Mechanism, Gabrielle M. Johnston

Master's Theses

In investigations, locating missing persons and clandestine remains are imperative. One way that first responder and police agencies can search for the remains is by using cadaver dogs as biological detectors. Cadaver dogs are typically used due to their olfactory sensitivity and ability to detect low concentrations of volatile organic compounds produced by biological remains. Cadaver dogs are typically chosen for their stamina, agility, and olfactory sensitivity. However, what is not taken into account often is the size of the animal and the expense of maintaining and training the animal. Cadaver dogs are typically large breeds that cannot fit in …

Trace Dna Detection Using Diamond Dye: A Recovery Technique To Yield More Dna, Leah Davis

Master's Theses

This study aspires to find a new screening approach to trace DNA recovery techniques to yield a higher quantity of trace DNA from larger items of evidence. It takes the path of visualizing trace DNA on items of evidence with potential DNA so analysts can swab a more localized area rather than attempting to recover trace DNA through the general swabbing technique currently used for trace DNA recovery. The first and second parts consisted of observing trace DNA interaction with Diamond Dye on porous and non-porous surfaces.

The third part involved applying the Diamond Dye solution by spraying it onto …

Interactive Effects Of Fungal Community Structure And Soil Moisture On Wyoming Big Sagebrush Performance, Arden Marlene Engel

Boise State University Theses and Dissertations

Large swathes of the North American sagebrush steppe have been converted to grazing and agricultural use. Remaining fragmented areas are threatened by invasive annual grasses and associated perpetuation of increased fire frequency, with efforts to restore sagebrush after fire largely unsuccessful. Lack of success may be due, in part, to poor interactions between sagebrush seed sourced from distant locations and unfamiliar soil fungi.

A greenhouse experiment was designed to evaluate effects of soil fungal community composition on sagebrush reestablishment by answering: (1) How does inoculation with ‘coevolved’ versus ‘foreign’ fungal inoculum impact sagebrush fitness? (2) How does moisture availability modify …

Determination Of Cadmium Uptake In Crassostrea Virginica Shell Under Controlled Conditions, Joseph John Pavelites Ii

Graduate Theses and Dissertations (2019 - present)

The objective of this thesis was to meet growing demand for the development of environmental biomonitors that protect ecosystems and public health. To do this, I determined the potential of oyster shell as a bioindicator of cadmium (Cd) in the environment by determining the mode of Cd uptake and relationships between Cd concentrations in the environment, shell, and soft tissues of juvenile eastern oysters (Crassostrea virginica Gmelin). I performed a review of the literature on the ability of oyster shell to retain metal contaminants and the factors that could affect this process (Chapter 2). I then reared C. virginica …

Linking Decomposition Reactions In Arctic Soils To Microbial Enzyme Production, Jane Karen Martinez

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Microbial processes such as soil enzyme production are a major driver of decomposition and a current topic of interest in arctic soils due to the effects of climate warming. Despite the advances in understanding soil enzymes, there are still knowledge gaps regarding the role of enzymes in decomposition. In this dissertation, I addressed three of those gaps in the following chapters: (Ch.2) to explore the location of enzymes within the soil matrix, (Ch.3) to identify peptides matched to soil enzymes produced by microorganisms for organic matter decomposition, and (Ch.4) understand the longevity of enzymes in the soil after microbial production. …