Ecology and Evolutionary Biology Commons^™

Fetilinia Dentator Gen. Et Sp. N. From Pakistan (Scorpiones: Buthidae), Graeme Lowe, František Kovařík

Euscorpius

We describe from northern Pakistan a new buthid genus Fetilinia gen. n., monotypic with type species F. dentator sp. n., belonging to the Palaearctic ‘Buthus’ group. It bears some similarities to Kraepelinia Vachon, 1974, in having enlarged metasomal dentition, and to Orthochirus Karsch, 1891, and related genera in having a trapezoidal carapace and small abbreviated pedipalps.

Production Of Embryos And A Live Offspring Using Post Mortem Reproductive Material From Bison (Bison Bison Bison) Originating In Yellowstone National Park, Usa, Hayley M. Benham, Matthew P. Mccollum, Pauline Nol, Rebecca K. Frey, P. Ryan Clarke, Jack C. Rhyan, Jennifer P. Barfield

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Bison from Yellowstone National Park (YNP) have an important genetic history. As one of the few wild herds of bison with no evidence of cattle DNA introgression and a large enough population to maintain genetic diversity, they are considered a conservation priority for the species. Unfortunately, there is a high prevalence of the zoonotic disease brucellosis in the herd. Part of the management strategy for controlling the disease and herd size in YNP is to remove bison from the population during the winter migration out of the park. This interagency management cull provides an opportunity to collect a large number …

A New Vine Snake (Reptilia, Colubridae, Oxybelis) From Peru And Redescription Of O. Acuminatus, Robert C. Jadin, Michael J. Jowers, Sarah A. Orlofske, William E. Duellman, Christopher Blair, John C. Murphy

Publications and Research

The Brown Vine Snake, Oxybelis aeneus, was until recently considered a single species, distributed from southern Arizona through the Neotropics into southeastern Brazil. However, newly conducted research restructured the species with a substantial taxonomic revision, recognizing five additional taxa (i.e. O. koehleri, O. microphthalmus, O. potosiensis, O. rutherfordi, O. vittatus) in this species complex. This revision focused on populations in North America, Central America, and northern South America while neglecting the southern portion of its distribution. Here, we examine the taxonomic history of the complex and use it along with specimen data to resurrect O. acuminatus from southeastern Brazil. Finally, …

Dispersal And Land Cover Contribute To Pseudorabies Virus Exposure In Invasive Wild Pigs, Felipe A. Hernandez, Amanda N. Carr, Michael P. Milleson, Hunter R. Merrill, Michael L. Avery, Brandon M. Parker, Cortney L. Pylant, James D. Austin, Samantha M. Wisely

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

We investigated the landscape epidemiology of a globally distributed mammal, the wild pig (Sus scrofa), in Florida (U.S.), where it is considered an invasive species and reservoir to pathogens that impact the health of people, domestic animals, and wildlife. Specifically, we tested the hypothesis that two commonly cited factors in disease transmission, connectivity among populations and abundant resources, would increase the likelihood of exposure to both pseudorabies virus (PrV) and Brucella spp. (bacterial agent of brucellosis) in wild pigs across the Kissimmee Valley of Florida. Using DNA from 348 wild pigs and sera from 320 individuals at 24 sites, we …

Single-Locus Species Delimitation And Ecological Niche Modeling Provide Insights Into The Evolution, Historical Distribution, And Taxonomy Of The Pacific Chorus Frogs, Robert C. Jadin, Sarah A. Orlofske, Tereza Jezkova, Christopher Blair

Publications and Research

The Pacific chorus frogs are a complex of three wide-ranging species (i.e. Hyliola hypochondriaca, Hyliola regilla, Hyliola sierra) whose current taxonomy remains unresolved. We conducted species delimitation analyses of these taxa using fragments of the cytochrome b and 12S–16S mtDNA genes to assess the species diversity. Importantly, we included samples from new locations throughout the range to better understand species distributions and identify potential contact zones among clades. Our analyses revealed three slightly parapatric but distinct species-level clades. Molecular dating revealed that these species began diverging in the Pleistocene c. 1.4 Mya with H. hypochondriaca and …

Using Audio Recording Devices And Multiseason Occupancy Modelling To Evaluate Clark's Nutcracker (Nucifraga Columbiana) Occurrence In Whitebark Pine Habitats Of Washington's Cascade Mountains, Lauren Taracka

Undergraduate Honors Theses

The Clark’s nutcracker (Nucifraga columbiana) and whitebark pine (Pinus albicaulis), both native to the harsh subalpine habitats of Washington’s Cascade Mountains, are being negatively impacted by white pine blister rust (Cronartium ribicola), the mountain pine beetle (Dendroctonus ponderosae), and climate change. As temperatures continue to warm, while many species at lower elevations can move upward in elevation to suit their temperature needs, subalpine species do not have that option. Whitebark pine is a keystone tree species - numerous animals consume its high fat, high energy seeds; it’s a nurse tree, providing shelter …

Common Raven Impacts On Nesting Western Snowy Plovers: Integrating Management To Facilitate Species Recovery, Cheryl Strong, Kriss K. Neumann, Jenny L. Hutchinson, Jamie K. Miller, Amber L. Clark, Lena Chang, Joanna Iwanicha, Elizabeth Feucht, Matthew J. Lau, David J. Lauten, Sarah Markegard, Benjamin Pearl, David L. Sherer, Rachel Tertes, Susie Tharratt, Travis Wooten

Institute for Natural Resources Publications

The U.S. Pacific coast population of the western snowy plover (Charadrius nivosus nivosus; plover) has declined due to loss and degradation of coastal habitats, predation, and anthropogenic disturbance. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service listed the subspecies in 1993 as threatened under the Endangered Species Act due to the population declines and habitat loss. Predation of nests and chicks has been identified as an important cause of historic population declines, and thus, most predator management actions for this subspecies are focused on reducing this pressure. In recent years, common ravens (Corvus corax; ravens) have become the most common and pervasive …

Will There Be Changes In Sexually Differentiated Behaviors In Mice Manipulated For The Sry Gene As They Mature Into Adultood?, Subin Joo

CMC Senior Theses

Sexually differentiated behavior has been shown to be affected by both genes and hormones. The discovery of the SRY gene, which codes for the development of testes, lead to the development of the Four Core Genotypes model of mice, and the separation of sex chromosomes and its resulting gonadal hormones. Using the FCG model, this study aims to look at the development of sexually differentiated behavior in mice, and track how it changes throughout their life. FCG mice will be divided into individual and social housing, and repeated experiments carried out to test their reaction to both intact female and …

Spatiotemporal Interactions Between Deer And Cattle, Sydney Brewer

Honors Program: Senior Projects (Public)

Mule deer, white-tailed deer, and cattle are sympatric on the landscape throughout many portions of Nebraska and encounter each other in time and space. By considering variation in daily activity patterns and non-random patterns in the timing of passage through specific locations, we can better understand whether animals may be avoiding each other temporally when sharing space. I investigated temporal activity patterns and avoidance/attraction ratios to investigate if deer altered their activity patterns in the presence of cattle and if they exhibited avoidance at a study site near McCook, Nebraska, USA. We collected data from 19 game cameras that were …

The Human—Long-Tailed Macaque (Macaca Fascicularis) Interface At Don Chao Poo Forest, Phana, Thailand, Ashton M. Asbury

All Master's Theses

When provisioned food is available, human-macaque coexistence may result in altered macaque behaviors and the possibility of bidirectional disease transmission through interspecies contact. Don Chao Poo forest in Thailand is a conservation site where ~ 1,000 long-tailed macaques (Macaca fascicularis) live and interact with people, which includes being provisioned by volunteers and visitors. Phana macaques are habituated to human presence as a result of their frequent interactions with people. I tested whether 1) men and women are equally likely to have contact interactions with macaques, 2) adult and immature macaques are equally likely to have contact interactions with …

Conservation Status And Natural History Of Ctenomys, Tuco-Tucos In Bolivia, Scott Lyell Gardner, Sebastian Botero-Cañola, Enzo Aliaga Rossel, Altangerel Tsogtsaikhan Dursahinhan, Jorge A. Salazar-Bravo

Scott L. Gardner Publications

The genus Ctenomys consists of about 70 species and in addition to the Geomyidae of the Nearctic, Neotropical tuco-tucos represent a well-documented case of diversification in the subterranean biotype. Here we will: i) Provide an updated summary of the natural history of the 12 species of extant tuco-tucos from Bolivia; ii) Update information on distributions of each species; and iii) Using ecological niche modeling, evaluate recent and projected habitat transformation or habitat degradation within the known range of each species to provide a preliminary assessment of the preservation or conservation status of ctenomyids within Bolivia. We follow Gardner et al. …

Surveys For Ticks On Wildlife Hosts And In The Environment At Asian Longhorned Tick (Haemaphysalis Longicornis)-Positive Sites In Virginia And New Jersey, 2018, Seth A. White, Sarah N. Bevins, Mark G. Ruder, David Shaw, Stacey L. Vigil, Adam Randall, Thomas J. Deliberto, Kristen Dominguez, Alec T. Thompson, James W. Mertins, Jeffrey T. Alfred, Michael J. Yabsley

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Haemaphysalis longicornis, the Asian longhorned tick (ALT), is native to eastern Asia, but it has become invasive in several countries, including Australia, New Zealand and recently in the eastern United States (US). To identify wild mammal and avian host species in the US, we conducted active wildlife surveillance in two states with known ALT infestations (Virginia and New Jersey). In addition, we conducted environmental surveys in both states. These surveillance efforts resulted in detection of 51 ALTinfested individuals from seven wildlife species, including raccoon (Procyon lotor), Virginia opossum (Didelphis virginiana), red fox (Vulpes vulpes …

Estimating Wildlife Strike Costs At Us Airports: A Machine Learning Approach, Levi Altringer, Jordan Navin, Michael J. Begier, Stephanie A. Shwiff, Aaron M. Anderson

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Current lower bound estimates of the economic burden of wildlife strikes make use of mean cost assignment to impute missing values in the National Wildlife Strike Database (NWSD). The accuracy of these estimates, however, are undermined by the skewed nature of reported cost data and fail to account for differences in observed strike characteristics—e.g., type of aircraft, size of aircraft, type of damage, size of animal struck, etc. This paper makes use of modern machine learning techniques to provide a more accurate measure of the strike-related costs that accrue to the US civil aviation industry. We estimate that wildlife strikes …

A Spatiotemporal Assessment Of Fish Assemblage Response To Land-Use Change And The Evaluation Of Edna Metabarcoding For Describing Diverse Fish Communities, Timothy M. Owen

Theses and Dissertations

Fish assemblages are often assessed as a biological proxy for environmental health. While humans value healthy environments for the ecosystem services and recreational opportunities they provide, it is increasingly evident that such resources can be paradoxically degraded by anthropogenic activities. In this investigation, we studied the relationship between different intensities of anthropogenic land-use change and habitat-driven fish assemblage response across multiple spatiotemporal scales. Secondarily, we explored the efficacy of eDNA metabarcoding against conventional electrofishing techniques for the purpose of describing complete fish communities. This study was conducted in the Tuckahoe Creek basin near Richmond, Virginia. This James River tributary serves …

Predation Threat In A Variable Landscape: Connecting Predation Risk To Nesting Success For The Seaside Sparrow (Ammospiza Maritima Macgilivraii), Corina D. Newsome

College of Graduate Studies: Theses & Dissertations

Predation, the leading cause of nest-failure in birds, not only exists as a direct threat to nesting success, but may exacerbate other sources of nest mortality. Birds inhabiting Atlantic coastal marshes, such as Seaside Sparrows (Ammospiza maritima; hereafter SESP), are experiencing significant and rapid changes to their habitat, particularly sea level rise (SLR) and encroaching urbanization, that may affect the relative influence of nest predation on overall productivity. For SESPs, SLR presents an inherent threat to nest success in its potential to increase the frequency of nest flooding. In addition to this direct threat, the ability of SESPs …

Use Of Redwood Basal Hollows By Bats: A Focus On The Townsend's Big-Eared Bat On The North Coast Of California, Amon Jotesh Armstrong

Cal Poly Humboldt theses and projects

Loss of roosting resources, either through disturbance or removal, negatively affects bats. For sensitive species, such as the Townsend’s big-eared bat (Corynorhinus townsendii), determining roost requirements is a critical component in conserving their habitat. Such cavity roosting bats on the North Coast of California may use hollows in large redwood trees. In this study, I examined the factors determining the use of basal tree hollows by different bat species at eight redwood forest sites in Del Norte, Humboldt, and Mendocino Counties, California. Bat guano was collected from 179 basal hollow roosts from 2017 to 2018, and guano mass …

Assessing Habitat Suitability Of Ribbed Mussels (Geukensia Demissa) In Georgia Salt Marshes By Examining Predicted Mussel Densities And Mussel Population Parameters, William K. Annis Jr

College of Graduate Studies: Theses & Dissertations

Geukensia demissa (ribbed mussel) is an ecology important bivalve that has the potential to contribute to salt marsh restoration. Understanding the factors that contribute to the distribution of mussels can help inform managers on choosing locations to optimize the survivorship of mussels in restoration projects. This study sought to model mussel densities across the coast of Georgia and to compare predicted mussel densities with mussel population parameters as means to gauge habitat suitability. Mussel densities were collected through field surveys across a range of salt marshes along the coast of Georgia and were compared with spatial data such as distance …

Sexual Dimorphism Of Thermal Preference In Florida Scrub Lizards (Sceloporus Woodi) And Predicting Response To Climate Change In Two Rare Habitats, Sidney E. Anderson

College of Graduate Studies: Theses & Dissertations

The Florida Scrub Lizard (Sceloporus woodi) is endemic to Florida, where it inhabits fragments of xeric sandhill uplands including endangered long-leaf pine and sand pine scrub habitats. Lizards depend on a predictable range of temperatures to maximize their growth and productivity, and to do so, they shuttle among various thermal micro-environments. Thus, the spatial distribution of temperatures in the habitat is important. Habitats dominated by either high or low extremes of an organism’s preference are energetically costly and dangerous (less optimal), especially to gravid females. This study examines thermal preference of a near-threatened species that also inhabits increasingly rare habitats. …

Population Genetics Of A Reintroduced Fisher (Pekania Pennanti) Population In West Virginia, Caroline E. Harms

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Fishers (Pekania pennanti) were reintroduced in West Virginia in 1969 with no population wide genetic analysis ever having been conducted. Genetic analysis of reintroduced populations is vital to assess genetic diversity as an indicative of population viability. My objective was to collect fisher samples throughout West Virginia, nearby states where fisher may be migrating (PA and NY), and the New Hampshire source population to provide a full genetic interpretation of the reintroduced West Virginia population. Genetic analysis was used to measure genetic diversity, admixture or delineation of subpopulations, and effective population size. Sample location and genetic data were …

Diets Of Double-Crested Cormorants In The Lake Winnebago System, Wisconsin, Ryan P. Koenigs, Daniel J. Dembkowski, Charles D. Lovell, Daniel A. Isermann, Adam D. Nickel

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Double-crested cormorant Phalacrocorox auritus Lesson (cormorant) populations have increased throughout the Great Lakes region of North America causing concern related to the impact of cormorant predation on fish communities. A recent decline in yellow perch Perca flavescens (Mitchill) abundance within the Lake Winnebago System, Wisconsin, USA, prompted an assessment of cormorant diets to evaluate potential effects of cormorant predation on the sportfish community. Diets were collected from 883 cormorants (417 from Lake Winnebago and 466 from Lake Butte des Morts) between 2015 and 2017. Cormorant diets on both waterbodies consisted mostly of freshwater drum Aplodinotus grunniens Rafinesque and gizzard shad …

Jaguars And Pumas Exhibit Distinct Spatiotemporal Responses To Human Disturbances In Colombia’S Most Imperiled Ecoregion, Joe J. Figel, Sebastián Botero-Cañola, Juan David Sánchez-Londoño, Javier Racero-Casarrubia

University of Nebraska State Museum: Mammalogy Papers

Abstract

Coexistence of sympatric felids is facilitated by mutual avoidance and the partitioning of habitats, prey, and time. Anthropogenic disturbances disrupt this coexistence in fragmented landscapes, potentially triggering cascading influences in ecological communities. We used photographic data from 8,717 trap nights (November 2014–June 2016) at 87 camera trap sites in Colombia’s middle Magdalena River basin to compare spatiotemporal overlap among jaguars (Panthera onca), pumas (Puma concolor), their prey, and humans, at sites of high and low disturbance, as determined by the human influence index. Human disturbance events (e.g. domestic dogs, livestock, and humans, including armed hunters) …

Evidence On The Effectiveness Of Small Unmanned Aircraft Systems (Suas) As A Survey Tool For North American Terrestrial, Vertebrate Animals: A Systematic Map Protocol, Jared A. Elmore, Michael F. Curran, Kristine O. Evans, Sathishkumar Samiappan, Meilun Zhou, Morgan B. Pfeiffer, Bradley F. Blackwell, Raymond B. Iglay

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Background: Small unmanned aircraft systems (sUAS) are replacing or supplementing manned aircraft and groundbased surveys in many animal monitoring situations due to better coverage at finer spatial and temporal resolutions, access, cost, bias, impacts, safety, efficiency, and logistical benefits. Various sUAS models and sensors are available with varying features and usefulness depending on survey goals. However, justification for selection of sUAS and sensors are not typically offered in published literature and existing reviews do not adequately cover past and current sUAS applications for animal monitoring nor their associated sUAS model and sensor technologies, taxonomic and geographic scope, flight conditions and …

Recolonizing Carnivores: Is Cougar Predation Behaviorally Mediated By Bears?, Kristin N. Engebretsen, Jon P. Beckmann, Carl W. Lackey, Alyson M. Andreasen, Cody Schroeder, Pat Jackson, Julie K. Young

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Conservation and management efforts have resulted in population increases and range expansions for some apex predators, potentially changing trophic cascades and foraging behavior. Changes in sympatric carnivore and dominant scavenger populations provide opportunities to assess how carnivores affect one another. Cougars (Puma concolor) were the apex predator in the Great Basin of Nevada, USA, for over 80 years. Black bears (Ursus americanus) have recently recolonized the area and are known to heavily scavenge on cougar kills. To evaluate the impacts of sympatric, recolonizing bears on cougar foraging behavior in the Great Basin, we investigated kill sites of 31 cougars between …

Assessing Pace-Of-Life: Comparing Metabolism And Behavior In Tarantulas, Haley Vanscoyoc

Master's Theses and Doctoral Dissertations

Pace-of-Life Syndrome (PoLS) links physiology, behavior, and life history to understand how an organism lives and is under-researched in many invertebrate groups. In this study I used five tarantula species to assess if they follow the predictions of PoLS. I compared individual species as well as Old- and New-World lineages and solitary and sub-social species. I predicted that Old- World and sub-social species would have higher resting metabolic rates (RMRs) and activity levels compared to New-World and solitary species. RMRs were measured using an open-flow respirometry system, and a classic open-arena test was used to assess activity level. Spearman’s correlation …

Scaling The Effects Of Ocean Acidification On Coral Growth And Coral-Coral Competition On Coral Community Recovery, Nicolas R. Evensen, Yves-Marie Bozec, Peter J. Edmunds, Peter J. Mumby

Biological Sciences Faculty Publications

Ocean acidification (OA) is negatively affecting calcification in a wide variety of marine organisms. These effects are acute for many tropical scleractinian corals under short-term experimental conditions, but it is unclear how these effects interact with ecological processes, such as competition for space, to impact coral communities over multiple years. This study sought to test the use of individual-based models (IBMs) as a tool to scale up the effects of OA recorded in short-term studies to community-scale impacts, combining data from field surveys and mesocosm experiments to parameterize an IBM of coral community recovery on the fore reef of Moorea, …

Common Raven Nesting And Spatial Distancing On Power Lines In Southeast Idaho, Usa, Quinn R. Shurtliff, Jericho C. Whiting

Human–Wildlife Interactions

Common raven (Corvus corax; raven) abundance and distribution have increased in western North America in recent decades, facilitated by anthropogenic subsidies and other environmental changes. Electrical power transmission line structures provide nesting substrates for ravens. When these structures transect landscapes where natural nest substrates are limited, they may facilitate raven predation on eggs and juveniles of sensitive avian and reptile species. Little information is available regarding raven nest density trends on adjacent power lines or how raven territorial behavior influences spatial partitioning of nests, and hence, nest density. This knowledge would be valuable for managers of sensitive prey …

A Novel Technique To Improve Capture Success Of Common Ravens, Lindsey R. Perry, Terrah M. Owens, Zachary T. Slick, Jimmy D. Taylor, Jonathan B. Dinkins

Human–Wildlife Interactions

Traditional trapping techniques for common ravens (Corvus corax; raven) require significant effort, often produce low capture rates, and cannot be used in some situations. We designed a 3-m noose pole to secure ravens from nocturnal roost locations while using a strobe spotlight to temporarily disorient them. We collected measures of trapping efficiency and contrasted them with padded leghold traps also used in the study. We effectively implemented our noose pole method in July and August of 2018, 2019, and 2020 in the Baker and Cow Lakes sage-grouse (Centrocercus urophasianus) Priority Areas of Conservation in eastern Oregon, …

Extending Animal Welfare Science To Include Wild Animals, Walter Veit, Heather Browning

Animal Sentience

Ng’s (2016) target article built on his earlier work advocating a science of welfare biology (Ng 1995). Although there were problems with the models proposed in Ng’s original paper regarding the balance of pleasure and suffering for wild animals, his call for a science of wild animal welfare was a sound one. This does not require a new discipline but just an extension of the existing frameworks and methods of animal welfare science to include wild animals.

A Reintroduction Retrospective: Comparative Fisher (Pekania Pennanti) Survival And Prey Habitat Use In The Cascade Mountains Of Washington State, Tanner S.T. Humphries

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Increasing human impacts on biodiversity highlight the global need for ecological restoration. For many wildlife species, reintroduction is necessary to re-establish populations in parts of their historic range where they have been extirpated. Reintroduction efforts are commonly used to help restore ecosystem integrity, but are often expensive, time consuming, and unsuccessful at generating self-sustaining populations. Thus, a more complete understanding of the factors affecting restoration success is important for ensuring successful outcomes and responsible stewardship. Fishers (Pekania pennanti) are one of the most commonly reintroduced carnivores in North America, but the success of such efforts is highly variable, …

Spatial Transferability Of Expert Opinion Models For American Beaver Habitat, Isidro Barela, Leslie M. Burger, Guiming Wang, Kristine O. Evans, Qingmin Meng, Jimmy D. Taylor

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Species distribution models and habitat suitability models (HSMs) have become a popular tool in the conservation of biodiversity. However, the ability to predict species spatial distributions at sites beyond the data source sites (i.e., spatial transferability) is critical for the applications of HSMs in the management and conservation of rare or endangered species. The main objective of our study was to assess the predictive performance and spatial transferability of expert opinion models (EOMs). To build EOMs, we identified through extensive literature reviews 17 key landscape variables to characterize habitat use by American beaver (Castor canadensis). We developed 31 pairwise opinion …