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City University of New York (CUNY)

2020

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Articles 1 - 17 of 17

Full-Text Articles in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology

African Land Mammal Ages, John Van Couvering, Eric Delson Dec 2020

African Land Mammal Ages, John Van Couvering, Eric Delson

Publications and Research

We define 17 African land mammal ages, or AFLMAs, covering the Cenozoic record of the Afro-arabian continent, the planet’s second largest land mass. While fossiliferous deposits are absent on the eroded plateau of the continent’s interior, almost 800 fossil genera from over 350 locations have now been identified in coastal deposits, karst caves, and in the Neogene rift valleys. Given a well-developed geochronologic framework, together with continuing revision to the fossil record—both stimulated by the story of human evolution in Africa—and also to compensate for the variation in fossil ecosystems across such great distances, the AFLMAs are biochronological units defined …

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Variation In Personality Among Semi-Wild Myanmar Timber Elephants, Sateesh Venkatesh Dec 2020

Variation In Personality Among Semi-Wild Myanmar Timber Elephants, Sateesh Venkatesh

Theses and Dissertations

This study examines two personality traits: exploration and neophobia, which could influence human-elephant conflicts. Thirty-one semi-wild elephants were tested over two trials using a custom novel puzzle tube containing three tasks and three rewards. Our studies show that elephants do vary significantly between individuals in both exploration and neophobia.

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A Putative Chordate Luciferase From A Cosmopolitan Tunicate Indicates Convergent Bioluminescence Evolution Across Phyla, Michael Tessler, Jean P. Gaffney, Anderson G. Oliveira, Andrew Guarnaccia, Krista C. Dobi, Nehaben A. Gujarati, Moira Galbraith, Jeremy D. Mirza, John S. Sparks, Vincent A. Pieribone, Robert J. Wood, David F. Gruber Oct 2020

A Putative Chordate Luciferase From A Cosmopolitan Tunicate Indicates Convergent Bioluminescence Evolution Across Phyla, Michael Tessler, Jean P. Gaffney, Anderson G. Oliveira, Andrew Guarnaccia, Krista C. Dobi, Nehaben A. Gujarati, Moira Galbraith, Jeremy D. Mirza, John S. Sparks, Vincent A. Pieribone, Robert J. Wood, David F. Gruber

Publications and Research

Pyrosomes are tunicates in the phylum Chordata, which also contains vertebrates. Their gigantic blooms play important ecological and biogeochemical roles in oceans. Pyrosoma, meaning “firebody”, derives from their brilliant bioluminescence. The biochemistry of this light production is unknown, but has been hypothesized to be bacterial in origin. We found that mixing coelenterazine—a eukaryote-specific luciferin—with Pyrosoma atlanticum homogenate produced light. To identify the bioluminescent machinery, we sequenced P. atlanticum transcriptomes and found a sequence match to a cnidarian luciferase (RLuc). We expressed this novel luciferase (PyroLuc) and, combined with coelenterazine, it produced light. A similar gene was recently predicted from a …

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Genomic Adaptations To Salinity Resist Gene Flow In The Evolution Of Floridian Watersnakes, Rhett M. Rautsaw, Tristan D. Schramer, Rachel Acuña, Lindsay N. Arick, Mark Dimeo, Kathryn P. Mercier, Michael Schrum, Andrew J. Mason, Mark J. Margres, Jason L. Strickland, Christopher L. Parkinson Oct 2020

Genomic Adaptations To Salinity Resist Gene Flow In The Evolution Of Floridian Watersnakes, Rhett M. Rautsaw, Tristan D. Schramer, Rachel Acuña, Lindsay N. Arick, Mark Dimeo, Kathryn P. Mercier, Michael Schrum, Andrew J. Mason, Mark J. Margres, Jason L. Strickland, Christopher L. Parkinson

Publications and Research

The migration-selection balance often governs the evolution of lineages, and speciation with gene flow is now considered common across the tree of life. Ecological speciation is a process that can facilitate divergence despite gene flow due to strong selective pressures caused by ecological differences; however, the exact traits under selection are often unknown. The transition from freshwater to saltwater habitats provides strong selection targeting traits with osmoregulatory function. Several lineages of North American watersnakes (Nerodia spp.) are known to occur in saltwater habitat and represent a useful system for studying speciation by providing an opportunity to investigate gene flow …

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Not Withering On The Evolutionary Vine: Systematic Revision Of The Brown Vine Snake (Reptilia: Squamata: Oxybelis) From Its Northern Distribution, Robert C. Jadin, Christopher Blair, Sarah A. Orlofske, Michael J. Jowers, Gilson A. Rivas, Laurie J. Vitt, Julie M. Ray, Eric N. Smith, John C. Murphy Oct 2020

Not Withering On The Evolutionary Vine: Systematic Revision Of The Brown Vine Snake (Reptilia: Squamata: Oxybelis) From Its Northern Distribution, Robert C. Jadin, Christopher Blair, Sarah A. Orlofske, Michael J. Jowers, Gilson A. Rivas, Laurie J. Vitt, Julie M. Ray, Eric N. Smith, John C. Murphy

Publications and Research

The genus Oxybelis currently is composed of four taxa despite numerous studies suggesting and describing multiple taxa within the O. aeneus complex. Here, we utilize a multilocus molecular dataset (i.e. cyt b, ND4, 12S, 16S, cmos, PRLR, 3663 bp) to conduct phylogenetic analyses to assess the evolutionary history of Oxybelis. Our molecular analyses find three major lineages of Oxybelis (i.e. O. aeneus complex, O. brevirostris, O. fulgidus complex) with a sister relationship between O. brevirostris and the O. aeneus complex to the exclusion of the O. fulgidus complex. More specifically, O. aeneus appears to harbor at least …

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Dietary Development And Nutritional Ontogeny In Gorilla Beringei : A Multi-Layered, -Omics Approach, Emma C. Cancelliere Sep 2020

Dietary Development And Nutritional Ontogeny In Gorilla Beringei : A Multi-Layered, -Omics Approach, Emma C. Cancelliere

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

In species who consume folivorous diets, immature individuals must contend with the challenges of extracting nutrients from fibrous foods before dietary adaptations and strategies are fully developed. Additionally, immatures have distinct nutritional needs to support their stage-specific metabolic and biophysiological requirements. To meet these stage-specific needs, while constrained by underdeveloped feeding strategies and digestive capacities, immatures may adopt distinct diets better suited to their specific developmental context. However, where dietary modification is constrained by low dietary diversity or landscape homogeneity, it is unclear how immature individuals compensate through alternative strategies. In turn, little is known about the nutritional and life …

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Ecology And Evolution, David J. Lohman Aug 2020

Ecology And Evolution, David J. Lohman

Open Educational Resources

Introduction to the basic principles of ecology and evolutionary biology emphasizing quantitative approaches and hypothesis testing. Scientific reasoning, computer literacy, and writing skills are developed in the laboratory.

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Assessment Of Wild Ring-Tailed Lemur (Lemur Catta) Populations In Southwestern Madagascar With Implications For The Illegal Pet Trade, Samantha D. Calkins Aug 2020

Assessment Of Wild Ring-Tailed Lemur (Lemur Catta) Populations In Southwestern Madagascar With Implications For The Illegal Pet Trade, Samantha D. Calkins

Theses and Dissertations

Accurate population estimates are critical to inform conservation management of species. Incomplete sampling can lead to population underestimates and lacking conservation efforts. Population surveys are important for assessing human and animal welfare to allow for targeted conservation action. Recent ring-tailed lemur (Lemur catta) surveys have led researchers to conclude that L. catta populations are crashing. This has generated much attention and alarm, but may also be based on incomplete information. To better understand population dynamics, more thorough sampling is needed. Here, we survey five such sites to reassess the presence and abundance of L. catta in these locations. …

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Spatiotemporal Genetic Diversity Of Lions Reveals The Influence Of Habitat Fragmentation Across Africa, Caitlin J. Curry, Brian W. Davis, Laura D. Bertola, Paula A. White, William J. Murphy, James N. Derr Jul 2020

Spatiotemporal Genetic Diversity Of Lions Reveals The Influence Of Habitat Fragmentation Across Africa, Caitlin J. Curry, Brian W. Davis, Laura D. Bertola, Paula A. White, William J. Murphy, James N. Derr

Publications and Research

Direct comparisons between historical and contemporary populations allow for detecting changes in genetic diversity through time and assessment of the impact of habitat fragmentation. Here, we determined the genetic architecture of both historical and modern lions to document changes in genetic diversity over the last century. We surveyed microsatellite and mitochondrial genome variation from 143 high-quality museum specimens of known provenance, allowing us to directly compare this information with data from several recently published nuclear and mitochondrial studies. Our results provide evidence for male-mediated gene flow and recent isolation of local subpopulations, likely due to habitat fragmentation. Nuclear markers showed …

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Metabolomic Differences Between Invasive Alien Plants From Native And Invaded Habitats, Sarah A. Skubel, Xiaoyang Su, Alexander Poulev, Llewellyn C. Foxcroft, Vyacheslav Dushenkov, Ilya Raskin Jun 2020

Metabolomic Differences Between Invasive Alien Plants From Native And Invaded Habitats, Sarah A. Skubel, Xiaoyang Su, Alexander Poulev, Llewellyn C. Foxcroft, Vyacheslav Dushenkov, Ilya Raskin

Publications and Research

Globalization facilitated the spread of invasive alien species (IAS), undermining the stability of the world’s ecosystems. We investigated the metabolomic profiles of three IAS species: Chromolaena odorata (Asteraceae) Datura stramonium (Solanaceae), and Xanthium strumarium (Asteraceae), comparing metabolites of individual plants in their native habitats (USA), to their invasive counterparts growing in and around Kruger National Park (South Africa, ZA). Metabolomic samples were collected using RApid Metabolome Extraction and Storage (RAMES) technology, which immobilizes phytochemicals on glass fiber disks, reducing compound degradation, allowing long-term, storage and simplifying biochemical analysis. Metabolomic differences were analyzed using ultra-performance liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (UPLC-MS) of samples …

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Snapshots Of Human Anatomy, Locomotion, And Behavior From Late Pleistocene Footprints At Engare Sero, Tanzania, Kevin Hatala, William E. H. Harcourt-Smith, Adam D. Gordon, Brian W. Zimmer, Brian G. Richmond, Briana L. Pobiner, David J. Green, Adam Metallo, Vince Rossi, Cynthia M. Liutkus-Pierce May 2020

Snapshots Of Human Anatomy, Locomotion, And Behavior From Late Pleistocene Footprints At Engare Sero, Tanzania, Kevin Hatala, William E. H. Harcourt-Smith, Adam D. Gordon, Brian W. Zimmer, Brian G. Richmond, Briana L. Pobiner, David J. Green, Adam Metallo, Vince Rossi, Cynthia M. Liutkus-Pierce

Publications and Research

Fossil hominin footprints preserve data on a remarkably short time scale compared to most other fossil evidence, offering snapshots of organisms in their immediate ecological and behavioral contexts. Here, we report on our excavations and analyses of more than 400 Late Pleistocene human footprints from Engare Sero, Tanzania. The site represents the largest assemblage of footprints currently known from the human fossil record in Africa. Speed estimates show that the trackways reflect both walking and running behaviors. Estimates of group composition suggest that these footprints were made by a mixed-sex and mixed-age group, but one that consisted of mostly adult …

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Investigation Of An Elevational Gradient Reveals Strong Differences Between Bacterial And Eukaryotic Communities Coinhabiting Nepenthes Phytotelmata, Kadeem J. Gilbert, Leonora S. Bittleston, Mark Arcebal K. Naive, Anthony E. Kiszewski, Perry Archival C. Buenavente, David J. Lohman, Naomi E. Pierce Apr 2020

Investigation Of An Elevational Gradient Reveals Strong Differences Between Bacterial And Eukaryotic Communities Coinhabiting Nepenthes Phytotelmata, Kadeem J. Gilbert, Leonora S. Bittleston, Mark Arcebal K. Naive, Anthony E. Kiszewski, Perry Archival C. Buenavente, David J. Lohman, Naomi E. Pierce

Publications and Research

Elevation is an important determinant of ecological community composition. It integrates several abiotic features and leads to strong, repeatable patterns of community structure, including changes in the abundance and richness of numerous taxa. However, the influence of elevational gradients on microbes is understudied relative to plants and animals. To compare the influence of elevation on multiple taxa simultaneously, we sampled phytotelm communities within a tropical pitcher plant (Nepenthes mindanaoensis) along a gradient from 400 to 1200 m a.s.l. We use a combination of metabarcoding and physical counts to assess diversity and richness of bacteria, micro-eukaryotes, and arthropods, and compare the …

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On The Distribution Of Genetic Variation In Ecological Communities, Isaac Overcast Feb 2020

On The Distribution Of Genetic Variation In Ecological Communities, Isaac Overcast

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Biodiversity in ecological communities is structured hierarchically across spatial and temporal scales. Many open questions remain as to how this structure accumulates. For example, what are the relative contributions of dispersal versus in situ speciation? Or, how important are stochastic drift versus deterministic processes? Up to this point, these questions have been investigated by isolated disciplines (e.g. macroecology, comparative phylogeography, macroevolution) using tools and data that tend to focus on only one axis of community scale data (e.g. phylogenies, relative abundances, and/or trait information). Yet we know that there are feedbacks among processes that respond on short, medium, and long …

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Sperm Storage Reduces The Strength Of The Mate-Finding Allee Effect, María V. Jiménez-Franco, Andrés Giménez, Roberto C. Rodríguez-Caro, Ana Sanz-Aguilar, Francisco Botella, Jose D. Anadon, Thorsten Wiegand, Eva Graciá Jan 2020

Sperm Storage Reduces The Strength Of The Mate-Finding Allee Effect, María V. Jiménez-Franco, Andrés Giménez, Roberto C. Rodríguez-Caro, Ana Sanz-Aguilar, Francisco Botella, Jose D. Anadon, Thorsten Wiegand, Eva Graciá

Publications and Research

Mate searching is a key component of sexual reproduction that can have important implications for population viability, especially for the mate-finding Allee effect. Interannual sperm storage by females may be an adaptation that potentially attenuates mate limitation, but the demographic consequences of this functional trait have not been studied. Our goal is to assess the effect of female sperm storage durability on the strength of the mate-finding Allee effect and the viability of populations subject to low population density and habitat alteration. We used an individual-based simulation model that incorporates realistic representations of the demographic and spatial processes of our …

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Impacts Of Vegetation Density And Distance From The High Tide Line On Raccoon Predation Of Diamondback Terrapin Nests In Jamaica Bay, Ny – A Preliminary Study, Zvi Teitelbaum Jan 2020

Impacts Of Vegetation Density And Distance From The High Tide Line On Raccoon Predation Of Diamondback Terrapin Nests In Jamaica Bay, Ny – A Preliminary Study, Zvi Teitelbaum

Dissertations and Theses

Diamondback terrapin turtles (Malaclemys terrapin) have been culturally and economically important since at least the nineteenth century. However, due to overharvesting, this became a species of conservation concern. While extensive data are available to describe its natural history, some conditions that impact nest predation are poorly understood. In this exploratory study, vegetation type and distance to the high tide line were examined to determine their potential impact on predation of diamondback terrapin nests by raccoons. For that, terrapin scented water was used to construct 50 artificial nests at Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge. These artificial nests were placed in …

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More Than Meets The Eye: A Taxonomic Revision Of The Nearctic Species In The Eye-Gnat Genus Amiota Loew (Diptera: Drosophilidae), Lance E. Jones Jan 2020

More Than Meets The Eye: A Taxonomic Revision Of The Nearctic Species In The Eye-Gnat Genus Amiota Loew (Diptera: Drosophilidae), Lance E. Jones

Dissertations and Theses

Thorough biotic inventories are still needed even in families as seemingly well-studied as fruit flies (Diptera: Drosophilidae). Drosophilidae have had an outsize effect on the history of biology because of their pivotal role in the study of genetics, development, and evolution. Even with more than a century of intensive study, large gaps remain in our understanding of diversity in this fly family, including well-studied areas such as North America. This thesis presents a taxonomic revision of the Nearctic species of the genus Amiota Loew. Twenty-three species are identified as being new to science for publication at a later date. This …

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Network Structure Of Vertebrate Scavenger Assemblages At The Global Scale: Drivers And Ecosystem Functioning Implications, Esther Sebastián-González, Zebensui Morales-Reyes, Francisco Botella, Lara Naves-Alegre, Juan M. Pérez-García, Patricia Mateo-Tomás, Pedro P. Olea, Marcos Moleón, Jomar M. Barbosa, Fernando Hiraldo, Eneko Arrondo, José A. Donázar, Ainara Cortés-Avizanda, Nuria Selva, Sergio A. Lambertucci, Aishwarya Bhattacharjee, Alexis L. Brewer, Erin F. Abernethy, Kelsey L. Turner, James C. Beasley, Travis L. Devault, Hannah C. Gerke, Olin E. Rhodes Jr, Andrés Ordiz, Camilla Wikenros, Barbara Zimmermann, Petter Wabakken, Christopher C. Wilmers, Justine A. Smith, Corinne Kendall, Darcy Ogada, Ethan Frehner, Maximilian L. Allen, Heiko U. Wittmer, James R. A. Butler, Johan T. Du Toit, Antoni Margalida, Pilar Oliva-Vidal, David Wilson, Klemen Jerina, Miha Krofel, Rich Kostecke, Richard Inger, Esra Per, Yunus Ayhan, Hasan Ulusoy, Doğanay Vural, Akino Inagaki, Shinsuke Koike, Arockianathan Samson, Paula L. Perrig, Emma Spencer, Thomas M. Newsome, Marco Heurich, José D. Anadón, Evan R. Buechley, José A. Sánchez-Zapata Jan 2020

Network Structure Of Vertebrate Scavenger Assemblages At The Global Scale: Drivers And Ecosystem Functioning Implications, Esther Sebastián-González, Zebensui Morales-Reyes, Francisco Botella, Lara Naves-Alegre, Juan M. Pérez-García, Patricia Mateo-Tomás, Pedro P. Olea, Marcos Moleón, Jomar M. Barbosa, Fernando Hiraldo, Eneko Arrondo, José A. Donázar, Ainara Cortés-Avizanda, Nuria Selva, Sergio A. Lambertucci, Aishwarya Bhattacharjee, Alexis L. Brewer, Erin F. Abernethy, Kelsey L. Turner, James C. Beasley, Travis L. Devault, Hannah C. Gerke, Olin E. Rhodes Jr, Andrés Ordiz, Camilla Wikenros, Barbara Zimmermann, Petter Wabakken, Christopher C. Wilmers, Justine A. Smith, Corinne Kendall, Darcy Ogada, Ethan Frehner, Maximilian L. Allen, Heiko U. Wittmer, James R. A. Butler, Johan T. Du Toit, Antoni Margalida, Pilar Oliva-Vidal, David Wilson, Klemen Jerina, Miha Krofel, Rich Kostecke, Richard Inger, Esra Per, Yunus Ayhan, Hasan Ulusoy, Doğanay Vural, Akino Inagaki, Shinsuke Koike, Arockianathan Samson, Paula L. Perrig, Emma Spencer, Thomas M. Newsome, Marco Heurich, José D. Anadón, Evan R. Buechley, José A. Sánchez-Zapata

Publications and Research

The organization of ecological assemblages has important implications for ecosystem functioning, but little is known about how scavenger communities organize at the global scale. Here, we test four hypotheses on the factors affecting the network structure of terrestrial vertebrate scavenger assemblages and its implications on ecosystem functioning. We expect scavenger assemblages to be more nested (i.e. structured): 1) in species-rich and productive regions, as nestedness has been linked to high competition for carrion resources, and 2) regions with low human impact, because the most efficient carrion consumers that promote nestedness are large vertebrate scavengers, which are especially sensitive to human …

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