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Theses, Dissertations and Capstones

1999

Articles 1 - 9 of 9

Full-Text Articles in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology

Natural History Of The Marbled Salamander, Ambystoma Opacum (Gravenhorst), In West Virginia, With Special Notes On Reproduction And Larval Development, Jason J. Watkins Jan 1999

Natural History Of The Marbled Salamander, Ambystoma Opacum (Gravenhorst), In West Virginia, With Special Notes On Reproduction And Larval Development, Jason J. Watkins

Theses, Dissertations and Capstones

This study observed a population of Ambystoma opacum in Kanawha State Forest, Kanawha County, five miles south of Charleston, West Virginia. Data were collected from September 1995 to November 1997. Reproductive biology and salamander development were examined. Predation of A. opacum and potential predators were also noted. Like other species in the genus Ambystoma, adult A. opacum are mostly fossorial and rarely seen above ground outside of the breeding season. During the breeding season, adults make their way to the breeding pools. Males ventured to the breeding pool first in early September and ranged in size from 49 to 75mm …

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The Relationship Between Ohio River Bass Tournament Success Rates, Forage Fish Abundance And Environmental Conditions, Jeffrey V. Ginger Jan 1999

The Relationship Between Ohio River Bass Tournament Success Rates, Forage Fish Abundance And Environmental Conditions, Jeffrey V. Ginger

Theses, Dissertations and Capstones

Due to increasing pressure from Ohio River bass anglers with regard to decreasing catch rates in 1981,1990, and 1997, the West Virginia Division of Natural Resources (WVDNR) initiated a study of black bass populations. The Ohio River Valley Water Sanitation Commission (ORSANCO), in conjunction with state and Federal agencies, has collected population data on Ohio River fishes at lock chambers and has measured various water quality parameters since 1957. That data coupled with Ohio River bass tournament data collected by the DNR since 1975 and other fishery data sets provided a historic look into the variability of angler success. These …

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Benthic Biodiversity And Physico-Chemical Parameters Of Acid Mine Drainage, Acid Impacted And Nonimpacted Streams, Stephen D. Greene Jan 1999

Benthic Biodiversity And Physico-Chemical Parameters Of Acid Mine Drainage, Acid Impacted And Nonimpacted Streams, Stephen D. Greene

Theses, Dissertations and Capstones

South Fork of Sand Lick Creek, Logan County, West Virginia, drains an abandoned coal strip mine which had exploited Pottsville series coalbeds (Pennsylvania strata). These strata outcrop throughout southwestern West Virginia. North Fork watershed is relatively unchanged, save a small roadcut throughout. South Fork benthic community had not recovered although mining activity had ceased about 20 years earlier. Benthic communities were analyzed with detrended correspondence analysis (DCA). Family Chironomidae predominated South Fork benthic community throughout the study. North Fork’s benthic community had as major contributors acid resistant caddisfly family Hydropsychidae, mayfly family Baetidae, and stonefly families Perlodidae and Nemouridae. Family …

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Ecology And Population Demography Of The Hellbender, Cryptobranchus Alleganiensis, In West Virginia, W. Jeffrey Humphries Jan 1999

Ecology And Population Demography Of The Hellbender, Cryptobranchus Alleganiensis, In West Virginia, W. Jeffrey Humphries

Theses, Dissertations and Capstones

Using mark-recapture, I studied the population demography and habitat use of the hellbender, Cryptobranchus alleganiensis, in the West Fork of the Greenbrier River, Pocahontas County, West Virginia. Eighteen nocturnal surveys were conducted between April and October, 1998, during which 29 hellbenders were implanted with permanent tags. Male to female sex ratio was 1.06:1. Hellbenders were sexually dimorphic, as females were significantly longer and heavier than males. Total lengths for all captured animals ranged from 29.5 - 56.5 cm and mass ranged from 150.0 - 905.8 g. Seasonal linear movements for 12 individuals ranged from 0.8 - 70.2 m (mean …

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Food Habits Of Salmo Trutta And Salvelinus Fontinalis (Pisces: Salmonidae) In Relation To Seasonal Changes And Mitigative Liming Effects In Dogway Fork Of The Cranberry River, West Virginia., Jason A. Morgan Jan 1999

Food Habits Of Salmo Trutta And Salvelinus Fontinalis (Pisces: Salmonidae) In Relation To Seasonal Changes And Mitigative Liming Effects In Dogway Fork Of The Cranberry River, West Virginia., Jason A. Morgan

Theses, Dissertations and Capstones

Dogway Fork, a tributary of the Cranberry River in West Virginia, is acidic due to acid precipitation and poorly buffered soils. This study is part of a long-term investigation involving the effects of continuous limestone neutralization on the fishes and benthos of an acid stream. Prior to treatment in 1988, the stream had a pH of 4.5 and there were no fish present. Since treatment began, the pH of the stream has risen to 6.8. Nine species of fish have been collected and six species have reproduced following the improvement in water quality. Densities of specific acid-sensitive benthic macroinvertebrates have …

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Feeding Niches Of Forest Salamanders: Indirect Effects Of Gypsy Moth Pesticides On Prey Selection And Potential Overlap Between Adults Of Six Species, Sandra Raimondo Jan 1999

Feeding Niches Of Forest Salamanders: Indirect Effects Of Gypsy Moth Pesticides On Prey Selection And Potential Overlap Between Adults Of Six Species, Sandra Raimondo

Theses, Dissertations and Capstones

Amphibian declines and deformities are indictors of pollution and other environmental impacts. Pesticides, such as Bacillus thuringiensis var. kurstaki (Bt), may produce non-target effects on salamanders by impacting their food supply, ultimately resulting in population declines. Salamanders were used as an assessment tool of pesticide impacts before populations decline. Diet analysis determined if Bt affected food consumption of two salamander species (Desmognathus ochrophaeus and P. cinereus). Nine plots in the Monongahela National Forest, West Virginia were used in this study. Three plots were sprayed with Bt in 1997 and 1998, three were sprayed with a gypsy moth …

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Distribution Of The Sucker Family (Pisces: Catostomidae) In The Ohio River, Tara L. Rose Jan 1999

Distribution Of The Sucker Family (Pisces: Catostomidae) In The Ohio River, Tara L. Rose

Theses, Dissertations and Capstones

The family Catostomidae represents a major component of the fish fauna in the Ohio River. Because of their abundance, large biomass, and susceptibility to environmentally-induced anomalies, suckers are expected to significantly influence the Ohio River Fish Index (ORFIn), a biological index being developed by the Ohio River Valley Water Sanitation Commission (ORSANCO) for large river systems. To correctly interpret information obtained from ORFIn, the impact of suckers upon the index must be thoroughly understood, including relative importance and uneven spatial distribution of Ohio River suckers. In this study, suckers represented 7.1 percent of the total fish captured and 36.6 percent …

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Ecology And Natural History Of Rana Clamitans Melanota In West Virginia, Alison M. Rogers Jan 1999

Ecology And Natural History Of Rana Clamitans Melanota In West Virginia, Alison M. Rogers

Theses, Dissertations and Capstones

Fourteen study sites were sampled with aquatic funnel traps and D-frame net sweeps in the plateau and mountain region of West Virginia to determine differences in larval period. Larval stage class abundance and larval total length and mass measurements were recorded from February to December 1997. Larval stage classes 25 and 26, the first free living stages, were absent from the plateau region from February to April, but were present in the mountain region. Pre-transformation larval stages, 40 through 44, were found from May through October, and peaked in July. Significant relationships were found with simple linear regression analysis between …

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Natural History Of The Northern Spring Salamander Gyrinophilus Porphyriticus Porphyriticus At The Westvaco Wildlife And Ecosystem Research Forest In Randolph County, West Virginia, Brian A. Lindley Jan 1999

Natural History Of The Northern Spring Salamander Gyrinophilus Porphyriticus Porphyriticus At The Westvaco Wildlife And Ecosystem Research Forest In Randolph County, West Virginia, Brian A. Lindley

Theses, Dissertations and Capstones

The purpose of this thesis research was to study the natural history of the northern spring salamander Gyrinophilus p. porphyriticus in West Virginia. The objectives of this study were to determine the environmental characteristics of the habitat of Gyrinophilus p. porphyriticus, to determine its reproductive biology, and then examine non-reproductive aspects of the natural history of the species. Study sites were located at the Westvaco Wildlife and Ecosystem Research Forest (WWERF) in Randolph County, West Virginia. Four sites on three streams were divided into two 25m transects. All sites were examined once each month from August 1997 through November 1998 …

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