Ecology and Evolutionary Biology Commons^™

Spatio-Temporal Metapopulation Dynamics In A Small Network Of Freshwater Ponds, Christopher J. Holmes

Annual Symposium on Biomathematics and Ecology Education and Research

No abstract provided.

Modeling The Influence Of El Niño On Parasite Transmission In Sand Crab Populations And Seabird Abundance Along The California Coast, James Peirce, Olcay Akman, Abou Seck

Annual Symposium on Biomathematics and Ecology Education and Research

No abstract provided.

Community Effects Of Hemiparasites: Are They Predators, Intraguild Predators, Or Something Else Altogether?, Steven A. Juliano

Annual Symposium on Biomathematics and Ecology Education and Research

No abstract provided.

Modeling Habitat Suitability Of Invasive Carps In The Upper Missisisippi River System, Charlotte Alexander, Robert F. Allen, Kevin J. Aagard

Annual Symposium on Biomathematics and Ecology Education and Research

No abstract provided.

Cnemidophorus Sexlineatus And The Impacts The Environment Has On Its Population At The Braidwood Dunes, Jeremiah Soto

Annual Symposium on Biomathematics and Ecology Education and Research

No abstract provided.

A Stochastic Epidemiological Model Of The Response Of American Chestnut Populations To Fungal Blight, Kelsey Lieberman, Rebecca Rouleau, Anita Davelos Baines, Martin Allen

Annual Symposium on Biomathematics and Ecology Education and Research

No abstract provided.

Bounds On The Expected Size Of The Maximum Agreement Subtree, Colby Long, Daniel Irving Bernstein, Lam Si Tung Ho, Mike Steel, Katherine St. John, Seth Sullivant

Annual Symposium on Biomathematics and Ecology Education and Research

No abstract provided.

Using Cellular Automata To Model The Gun Violence Epidemic In Chicago, Il, Shelby Scott

Annual Symposium on Biomathematics and Ecology Education and Research

No abstract provided.

General Equations For Natural Selection Under Complete Dominance, Kasthuri Kannan, Adriana Heguy

Annual Symposium on Biomathematics and Ecology Education and Research

No abstract provided.

Evolving Healthy Populations, Nina H. Fefferman

Annual Symposium on Biomathematics and Ecology Education and Research

No abstract provided.

Sensitivity Analysis Of Pest Eradication And Permanence Solutions In A Model For Integrated Pest Management, Timothy Comar, Olcay Akman, Daniel Hrozencik

Annual Symposium on Biomathematics and Ecology Education and Research

No abstract provided.

Migrations Under Biased Perception: The Distribution Of Specialists And Generalists In A Heterogeneous Landscape With Variably Discounted Resources, Jonathan T. Rowell, Garrett M. Street, Igor Erovenko

Annual Symposium on Biomathematics and Ecology Education and Research

No abstract provided.

Predator-Prey Dynamics With Intraspecific Competition And An Allee Effect In The Predator Population, Anne E. Yust, Erin N. Bodine

Annual Symposium on Biomathematics and Ecology Education and Research

No abstract provided.

Density-Dependent Leslie Matrix Modeling For Logistic Populations With Steady-State Distribution Control, Andrew M. Davis, Bruce Kessler

Annual Symposium on Biomathematics and Ecology Education and Research

No abstract provided.

Using Citizen Science And Remote Sensing Data To Model Hummingbird Migration, Sarah R. Supp, Laura J. Graham, Frank A. La Sorte, Tina A. Cormier, Gil Bohrer, Donald Powers, Susan Wethington, Kevin Guay, Patrick Jantz, Scott Goetz, Catherine H. Graham

Annual Symposium on Biomathematics and Ecology Education and Research

No abstract provided.

Discrete Models Of Newt Population Declines Due To Severe Drought And Invasive Crayfish, Courtney L. Davis, Timothy A. Lucas

Annual Symposium on Biomathematics and Ecology Education and Research

No abstract provided.

Social Structure Algorithms For A Yellow-Bellied Marmot Population Model, Erin N. Bodine, Anne E. Yust

Annual Symposium on Biomathematics and Ecology Education and Research

No abstract provided.

Can Culling Barred Owls Save A Declining Northern Spotted Owl Population?, Alex Capaldi

Annual Symposium on Biomathematics and Ecology Education and Research

No abstract provided.

Mathematical Model Of Swimmer's Itch With Praziquantel Treatment, Kelly R. Buch

Annual Symposium on Biomathematics and Ecology Education and Research

No abstract provided.

Why Are Students Doing Research? Examining The Motivation Of Students Involved In Undergraduate Research Programs, Andrew Layne Mcdevitt

Theses and Dissertations

Use of self-determination theory (SDT) within the science classroom focuses primarily on ways to integrate intrinsic motivation into students' identity. Experiential learning plays a large role in promoting learning by shaping students' interests, identity, and intrinsic aspirations. This phenomenological research study sought to understand how experiential learning experiences helped influence career aspirations of graduate students within ecological disciplines. By determining how their experiences met three basic psychological needs outlined by SDT (competence, autonomy, and relatedness), we were able to examine which regulators drove motivation.

In the qualitative pilot study, participants developed a genuine enjoyment and appreciation for their discipline as …

No Effect Of Blood Sampling Or Phytohaemagglutinin Injection On Postfledging Survival In A Wild Songbird, Emerson Keith Bowers, Charles F. Thompson, Scott K. Sakaluk

Faculty Publications – Biological Sciences

The injection of phytohaemagglutinin (PHA) and sampling of blood are widelyused in studies of wild vertebrates to assess components of immune and endo-crine function and health state and to obtain genetic material. Despite the per-vasive use of these techniques in the life sciences, their potential effects onsurvival are rarely considered. For example, whether injection of the immuno-gen PHA into body parts critical for locomotion (e.g., the prepatagium, or wingweb, in birds) affects survival has not been tested. Here, we test whether injec-tion of PHA into the wing web and blood sampling from nestling house wrensaffects their subsequent recruitment and survival …

Factors Constraining The Reproductive Output Of Baptisia Alba Macrophylla, Ashley Morgan Hembrough

Theses and Dissertations

Baptisia alba macrophylla, a native, herbaceous perennial legume, produces inflorescences with a large number of flowers, yet matures relatively few fruits. We hypothesized that the number of seeds matured by B. alba macrophylla is maximized based on resource availability at each stage of development, but this optimal number is further compromised by extrinsic factors including pollen limitation and pre-dispersal seed predation by the weevils Apion rostrum and Tychius sordidus. To test this hypothesis, we conducted a field experiment at two sites: (i) the John English Prairie, located in Hudson, IL, and also (ii) the Sugar Grove Nature Center and Funks …

Effects Of The Developmental Environment On Oxidative Damage And Antioxidants In Red-Eared Slider Turtle ( Trachemys Scripta Elegans ) Hatchlings, Lisa Allison Treidel

Theses and Dissertations

Developmental environments influence many individual phenotypes. However, currently we have a limited understanding of how the developmental environment influences oxidative stress resistance phenotypes. Oxidative stress is defined as a physiological state during which the production of harmful free radicals exceeds the protective capabilities of antioxidants. Variations among adults in susceptibility to oxidative stress can have important consequences for life history strategies and fitness related traits. Our work was aimed at providing insight in to the role that the developmental environment plays on oxidative stress phenotypes in the model oviparous reptile the red-eared slider turtle (Trachemys scripta elegans). Here, we conducted …

Switching Tactics: Phenotypic Plasticity In The Alternative Mate-Finding Tactics Of Burying Beetles, Theresa Mulrey

Theses and Dissertations

Male Nicrophorus burying beetles utilize two alternative mate-finding tactics, representing an ideal model system to test the influence of environmental cues on the expression of alternative tactics. The "searching" tactic involves flying in search of a carcass on which to mate. This tactic can result in high levels of paternity, but is risky in that carcasses are rare and competition for carcasses is fierce. The "signaling" tactic, which involves emitting pheromone in the absence of a carcass to attract females, is energetically less costly, but a signalling male must mate with multiple females to achieve the same reproductive returns as …

Hatching Asynchrony In European Starlings ( Sturnus Vulgaris ), Jason Hanser

Theses and Dissertations

Across a wide range of avian taxa, eggs within clutches hatch asynchronously, placing later hatched nestlings at a disadvantage. Here, we explore the proximate and ultimate causes of hatching asynchrony within European starlings, Sturnus vulgaris. Specifically, we investigate the effect of ambient temperature on egg viability and incubation behavior prior to clutch completion. Additionally, we examine the potential for storage time and maternally-deposited yolk testosterone to influence rates of embryonic development and hatching patterns within European starlings.

Investigating Seed Dispersal Distances And Long Distance Dispersal Mechanisms Of The Invasive Plant, Alliaria Petiolata, Christopher Loebach

Theses and Dissertations

Alliaria petiolata, an herbaceous plant, has aggressively invaded North American woodlands. It has been extensively studied to understand why it is a successful invader, but certain aspects of its biology have been understudied such as seed dispersal distances and long distance dispersal mechanisms (LDDM). My thesis experimentally measured A. petiolata seed dispersal distances and determined if epizoochory (external animal transport) is a LDDM. To measure dispersal distances, seed traps were placed around three A. petiolata seed point sources to capture dispersed seeds at increasing distances away from the point sources. Eight mathematical functions that describe dispersal distances were fitted to …

Environmental Impacts On Life History In Container Breeding Mosquitoes, Kathleen May Westby

Theses and Dissertations

In this dissertation I explore different ways that the environment impacts life history in mosquitoes in ways that may alter vectorial capacity. In chapter I, I tested if short-term sugar deprivation experienced after exposure to La Crosse virus altered infection rates in Aedes albopictus and if sugar treatment and virus infection status altered blood feeding behavior and fecundity. I found no evidence that sugar deprivation impacted infection rates or fecundity. Sugar deprivation did increase blood feeding. There was no effect of infection status on blood feeding or fecundity. In chapter II, I tested for effects of seasonal cues (temperature and …

Genetic And Environmental Variation In Condition, Cutaneous Immunity, And Haematocrit In House Wrens, Scott K. Sakaluk, Laura A. Vogel, Alastair J. Wilson, E. Keith Bowers, L. Scott Johnson, Brian S. Masters, Bonnie Gp Johnson, Anna M. Forsman, Charles F. Thompson

Faculty Publications – Biological Sciences

Background

Life-history studies of wild bird populations often focus on the relationship between an individual’s condition and its capacity to mount an immune response, as measured by a commonly-employed assay of cutaneous immunity, the PHA skin test. In addition, haematocrit, the packed cell volume in relation to total blood volume, is often measured as an indicator of physiological performance. A multi-year study of a wild population of house wrens has recently revealed that those exhibiting the highest condition and strongest PHA responses as nestlings are most likely to be recruited to the breeding population and to breed through two years …

Water Your Opinions: A Social Assessment Of The Lake Bloomington And Lake Evergreen Watersheds, Jessica Aceves, Michael Anstirman, Jordan Backstrom, Ryan Herbert, Courtney Johnson, Julia Neaves, Alicia O'Hare, Erika Perez, Emily Rego, Mark Spurgis

Student Research – Stevenson Center

The purpose of this report is to better understand the knowledge of and attitudes of residents towards water resources in the McLean County area. The assessment consisted of nine key informant interviews and two community focus groups with local residents who have a vested interest in and specific knowledge about these water resources. This is one part of a larger assessment in partnership with the McLean County Soil and Water Conservation District (MCSWCD). The results of this assessment will help to inform specific questions to be used in a residential household survey in spring 2015. The survey will be used …

The Effects Of Invasive Macrophytes Phragmites Australis And Typha Angustifolia On Nitrate Removal In High Nitrate Wetland Sediments, Lauren Mackenzie Beal

Theses and Dissertations

Constructed wetlands are quickly becoming inundated with invasive species like Phragmites australis and Typha angustifolia which are capable of changing whole ecosystem function and community composition. We wanted to assess how plants affect dissolved oxygen (DO) and dissolved organic carbon concentrations (DOC), and in turn if they increase nitrate (NO3-N) removal rates relative to barren sediments. Using a NO3-N/Br tracer test, we tested NO3-N removal rates, DO, and DOC concentrations. After the tracer test, we measured above- and below-ground plant biomass and sediment characteristics. NO3-N removal did not differ across the treatments. Phragmites australis microcosms had significantly higher sediment bulk …