Ecology and Evolutionary Biology Commons^™

Modeling Population Growth With Logistic And Modified Logistic Equations, Mihil Dimpal Patel

Discovery Day - Daytona Beach

Population growth models are essential tools for understanding how biological populations change over time under environmental constraints. This study examines population dynamics by comparing the classical exponential growth model with the logistic growth model. While exponential growth assumes unlimited resources and results in unbounded population increase, the logistic model incorporates a carrying capacity that limits growth as resources become scarce. To better represent real-world conditions, the logistic model is extended by introducing modifications such as harvesting terms and time-varying carrying capacities, which account for external removal of individuals and changing environmental limits. The equilibria of these models are determined, and …

Phase-Preserving Machine Learning Forecasting Of Nonlinear Predator–Prey Dynamics, Saira Batool, Muhammad Imran, Brett Mckinney

Biology and Medicine Through Mathematics Conference

No abstract provided.

Remote Sensing To Detect Crop Damage By An Invasive Species, Cole Butler

Biology and Medicine Through Mathematics Conference

No abstract provided.

Incorporating Thermal Performance Curves Into Population Dynamic Models For The West Nile Vector, Culex Pipiens, Benjamin Bruncati, Helle Aronson, Chloé Lahondère, Michael A. Robert

Biology and Medicine Through Mathematics Conference

No abstract provided.

Assessing Vegetation Health Following The 2014 Carlton Complex Fire Using Remote Sensing, Rachael Sv Pentico

2026 Symposium

Climate change, combined with decades of altered fire regimes and fire suppression, has increased fuel accumulation across western U.S. forests, contributing to more frequent, larger, and more intense wildfires. Remote sensing offers an effective approach for analyzing these large-scale fire events and their ecological impacts, as satellite imagery enables affordable, accessible, and reproducible monitoring of vegetation change across broad spatial and temporal scales. This study examined the 2014 Carlton Complex Fire in the Methow Valley, Washington. Burning 265,108 acres, it was the largest wildfire in Washington State history at the time and caused extensive agricultural and forest damage. Post-fire vegetation …

Influence Of Pollinator Island Patch Size On Forb Establishment And Pollinator Networks In Palouse Prairie Restoration, Yaelle Esther Reeve

2026 Symposium

The Palouse Prairie Ecoregion is one of North America’s most endangered grassland ecosystems, with less than 1% retaining native vegetation. Restoration efforts have struggled to re-establish ecologically important native forbs and the plant–pollinator interactions necessary for long-term community stability. Spatial configuration of floral resources is known to influence pollinator foraging behavior and interaction network structure, yet few studies have evaluated how planting scale affects both plant establishment and pollinator community assembly in early-stage prairie restoration. My research aims to evaluate how variations in the size (0.1, 1, and 10 m²) of grouped wildflower plantings (pollinator islands) affect native forb establishment, …

Life History, Stock Status, And Movement Ecology Of Narrow-Barred Spanish Mackerel, Scomberomorus Commerson (Lacépède, 1800) In The Southern Arabian Gulf, Mohamed Abdulla Almusallami

Thesis/ Dissertation Defenses

The narrow-barred Spanish mackerel, Scomberomorus commerson, is the most commercially valuable pelagic fish species in the Arabian Gulf. This thesis integrated three studies to comprehensively assess the life history, stock status, and movement ecology of this species in Abu Dhabi waters. Life history traits were characterized from data collected during a 15-month monitoring program (January 2019–May 2020). Fork length ranged from 30.5 to 132 cm. Growth parameters were k = 0.14–0.15 year⁻¹ and L∞ = 128.9–135.4 cm for males and females, respectively. Size-at-maturity (Lm₅₀) was 78.7 cm FL for females and 69.7 cm FL for males. The spawning season occurred …

The Spatial Distribution Of Coccidia In Arkansas Freshwater Snails, Julia R. Pye, Taylor M. Fiedor, Jason M. Post, Kyle D. Gustafson

Create@State

Coccidia are obligate, intracellular parasites that infect the digestive tracts of many animals and cause coccidosis, which can result in vomiting, diarrhea, and in severe cases, death. At broader scales, the disease contributes to substantial economic losses in agriculture. Our study examined the distribution of Pfeifferinella ellipsoides, a coccidian parasite in freshwater snails. Based on previous research, we hypothesized that (1) there will be statistically significant spatial clustering in northern Arkansas and (2) the parasite will be found exclusively in two snail genera, Physa and Planorbella. We sampled 17 snail species and surveyed feces for oocysts from 1,920 snails and …

Skin Pattern As A Potential Monitoring Tool For Frog Populations, Lídize Sagarnaga Rivera, Virginie Rolland Dr., Lorin Neuman-Lee Dr.

Create@State

Skin pattern as a potential monitoring tool for frog populations

Population monitoring, which requires identifying individuals, is crucial for species conservation. Common techniques involve marking, which can harm animals and alter their behaviors. Natural markings are an alternative not yet explored for amphibians. Yet, the traditional method with elastomers (fluorescent implants) is invasive and not completely reliable—the tag may become lost or hard to see. The American green tree frog (Dryophytes cinereus) possesses naturally occurring and distinct golden dots on their dorsal side.  Therefore, we aim to assess whether patterns of golden dots on the skin of green …

Variation In Infection Prevalence Of Splendidofilaria Pectoralis Across Alaskan Grouse Populations, Anahi Garcia Valdez, Diego Martinez

Create@State

In recent years, rapid climate change has altered species distributions worldwide and influenced parasite transmission dynamics in wildlife systems. Parasite infections play an important role in shaping patterns of disease distribution across species and populations. Understanding variation in infection prevalence across geographic regions and host demographic groups is essential for interpreting these patterns. Splendidofilaria pectoralis is a filarial nematode that infects the connective tissues of grouse (Aves: Tetraonini) in Alaska and has been moving northward as the climate warms. However, relatively little is known about the variation in prevalence of the nematode across geography and demography. This project examines variation …

Late-Season Forb Availability And Bumble Bee Foraging Patterns In Iowa’S Restored Prairies And Suburban Gardens, Isaac De Young, Ellary Carson, Mya Cole, Tucker Draayer, Sharon Huffman, Naomi Johnson, Jasmine Lux, Genesis Maldonado, Caitlin Olson, Maelee Rodenburg, Jordan Shull, Travis Sweeney, Arianna Van Donkelaar, Laurie Furlong, Todd Tracy

Celebration of Research

Pollinators are essential to terrestrial ecosystems, and bumble bees are among the most effective pollinators in the United States (Hatfield et al., 2012). They pollinate forbs (non-grass herbaceous flowering plants), including crops, garden plants, and native prairie species (Dumroese et al., 2016). Their ability to travel long distances, forage in cool temperatures, and buzz-pollinate makes them critical to both wild and agricultural productivity (Mola & Williams et al., 2019). Research shows that bumble bee populations have declined in recent decades due to habitat loss, reduced floral resources, pesticide exposure, and climate change (IPBES, 2016).

Northwest Iowa is dominated by agriculture, …

Investigation Of Northwest Iowa Pollinator Communities Using Two Survey Methods, Ellary Carson, Mya Cole, Isaac De Young, Sharon Huffman, Naomi Johnson, Genesis Maldonado, Maelee Rodenburg, Travis Sweeney, Tark Griebel, Laurie Furlong, Todd Tracy

Celebration of Research

The ecological services of insect pollinators are well established and the documented decline in pollinator biodiversity is of great concern. Baseline data and continued monitoring are essential as we ongoing trends in pollinator communities and evaluate efforts supporting their recovery. Using two survey methods, our study provides pollinator community data at two conservation sites in Northwest Iowa. In September of 2025, we used three colors of pan traps (blue, yellow, and white) to investigate pollinator communities at a small, reconstructed prairie (Buena Vista County Park) and a nearby partially restored native prairie (The Nature Conservancy Glacial Hills Preserve). We also …

Characterizing The Macroinvertebrate Community In Crissy Lake, An Impounded Reach Of The Pomme De Terre River, Prior To Channel Modification, Max Lundgren

Undergraduate Research Symposium (2026- )

The aging Crissy Lake Dam, on the Pomme de Terre River in Morris, has altered natural stream flow and impeded upstream passage of several fish species since 1939. In late 2026 the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources will replace the dam with stone arch rapids and facilitate river channel formation upstream of the dam. In order to evaluate the river modification project, we characterized the macroinvertebrate community in Crissy Lake, the impoundment upstream of the dam before implementation of channel modification. In September 2025 we collected benthic macroinvertebrates from two sets of Ekman grab samples. We found 12 taxa (average …

Tipping Points In Crayfish Management: Exploring Population Dynamics With The Bifurcations Activity In Slopes, Evan Inrig, Benjamin Lucas

Seaver College Research And Scholarly Achievement Symposium

Slopes is an interactive environment for exploring numerical methods and graphical solutions to ordinary differential equations. The app launched with five activities for exploration: slopefields, phase planes, oscillations, solutions to systems, and numerical methods for approximation. Bifurcations is a new sixth activity that we designed to investigate changes in the long term behavior of solutions to autonomous differential equations. This activity displays a slopefield and implements the ability to add solutions, but also introduces two new views that show how varying a single parameter impacts the values and stability of equilibrium solutions. We demonstrate the value of the new bifurcations …

Hot Cities, Cool Lizards: Do College Campuses Create Urban Oases For Wildlife?, Ethan Heck, Javier Monzon Phd

Seaver College Research And Scholarly Achievement Symposium

Urban wildlife may experience stress due to the Urban Heat Island Effect. On the other hand, urban wildlife may experience relief, especially in arid ecosystems, due to the Urban Oasis Effect. The objective of this study was to test whether college campuses in southern California act as heat islands or oases for wildlife. We analyzed how temperature and water availability of microhabitats relate to the physiology of a widespread and common cold-blooded animal, the Western Fence Lizard (Sceloporus occidentalis). We logged environmental conditions in lizard hotspots at 11 university campuses across southern California and measured the hydration of lizards at …

Where The Ice Plant Reaches: Mapping Biodiversity Shifts Along Distance Gradients From Carpobrotus Edulis, Leon Hong, Patrick Thomas, Steven Kim, Florybeth La Valle

Seaver College Research And Scholarly Achievement Symposium

This study examined the influence of the invasive ice plant Carpobrotus edulis on species richness and biodiversity in Bluffs Park. Because previous research suggests that C. edulis suppresses nearby native flora, our team used quadrat and transect sampling to measure plant diversity at seven distances from the invasion edge (1 m, 3m, 5m, 10m, 15m, 20m, 30 m). Flora were identified using iNaturalist and recorded. Shannon diversity showed no significant change with distance (ANOVA: F₆,₄₂ = 1.34, p = 0.18), and assumptions of normality and equal variance were met. Tukey’s post-hoc tests found no significant pairwise differences. Community composition based …

Forest Characteristics And Avian Community Differences Among Cerulean Warblers (Setophaga Cerulea) Use Types, Dustin Kohler

ATU Scholars Symposium

Avian species are often used to measure the health of an ecosystem, in part because the specific forest structure can significantly impact the avian community. A heterogeneous landscape can support a more diverse avian community and benefit specialist species like the Cerulean Warbler (Setophaga cerulea), a rapidly declining, neotropical migrant that can be found in large deciduous forests. The Ozark Mountains of northwestern Arkansas represent a small core area for the species, but at all sites in the upland Ozarks where Cerulean Warbler research has been conducted, there are fewer individuals than there were twenty years ago; some …

Conservation Gap Analysis Of The Endemic Flora Of Nevada (U.S.A.)​, Jodi D. Dunn

ATU Scholars Symposium

Introduction. Nevada is the driest state in the U.S. and spans multiple desert and montane biomes, containing over 3,000 species of plants across its varied environmental gradients. Within this flora, 268 species occur as regional endemics, with narrowly restricted distributions contained either fully, mostly, or partly within Nevada’s political boundaries. Preliminary investigation led us to hypothesize that most of the distributions of these rarities occur outside of currently protected areas. Methods. A list of endemic species was derived from the mentor’s work treating all Nevadan plants. Occurrence records with geographic coordinates were extracted into Excel spreadsheets. For occurrences without specified …

Fish Community Assessment Of Goose Pond Natural Area, Macy Sparks

ATU Scholars Symposium

Natural areas play an integral role in the preservation and conservation of unique ecosystems (i.e., natural wetlands). However, many natural areas have never had a biological inventory of species utilizing these areas. Goose Pond Natural Area (Conway County and Pope County, Arkansas) is one of those natural areas lacking species occurrence data. We addressed this data gap by sampling fish species across multiple habitat types (shallow woody wetland, open grassy wetland, and stream). We employed multiple gear types (mesh umbrella minnow traps, seines, gill nets, mini-fyke nets, and backpack electrofishing) in hopes of increasing species detection. Sites within the natural …

Using Environmental Dna To Locate Western Chicken Turtles In The Mississippi Delta Of Arkansas, Kai D. Scarangella

ATU Scholars Symposium

The Western Chicken Turtle (Deirochelys reticularia miaria; WCT) is a Species of Greatest Conservation Need in all six states where it occurs and is assumed to be rare and declining across its range. WCT are particularly vulnerable to habitat loss because their preferred shallow, wetland habitats are often subject to agricultural conversion and urban expansion. The conservation of this species is further hindered by its cryptic nature and prolonged aestivation, which make WCT notoriously difficult to locate and capture. Environmental DNA (eDNA), which is the genetic material that organisms naturally shed into their environment, can be detected by …

Intersecting Determinants Of Health: Correlating Food Insecurity And Sleep Deprivation Across Southern Adventist University Demographics*, Heaven Robles, Jesica Paralafox Ramirez, Kimberly Mongare, Joshua C. Jenkins, Melany Castillo, Philip Chen Dr, Aaron Corbit Dr

Campus Research Month

For university students, social determinants of health such as food security and sleep patterns heavily dictate both health outcomes and academic success. Using a cross-sectional study design, statistical analyses will be conducted using the Jamovi software platform to compare mean sleep durations and food access scores across multiple academic departments and ethnic demographic groups. The study evaluates four primary hypotheses: (1) Consistent food access positively correlates with sleep quality; (2) Food security and sleep metrics vary significantly across academic departments; (3) Systemic ethnic disparities exist in food accessibility; and (4) Underrepresented ethnic groups experience a compounded burden of food insecurity …

Comparative Effect Of Mineral, Organic, And Mixed Sunscreens Formulations On The Life History Of A Benthic Marine Invertebrate, Jacob Anthony Fox, Courtney Lott, Araceli Rodriguez-Romero, Gloria Massamba N'Siala

Knowledge and Creativity Expo

Mineral and organic sunscreens are emerging anthropogenic pollutants in coastal marine waters and have been shown to affect marine invertebrates via genotoxicity, endocrine disruption, oxidative stress, and impacts on life-history traits, such as reduced survival, growth, and fecundity. Most experiments expose marine organisms to isolated UV filters, with fewer studies testing complete formulations, co-occurring exposure to organic and mineral sunscreens, or the modulating influence of format type on toxicity. In this experiment, we tested the impact of organic sunscreens (3% Avobenzone, 15% Homosalate, 5% Octinoxate, and 10% Octocylene) and 24% zinc oxide mineral sunscreens on the survival and fecundity of …

Predator-Prey Responses Of The Clamworm Alitta Succinea To Direct Interaction With Crabs And Chemical Cues, Shyann Mcclain, Gloria M. Massamba N'Siala

Knowledge and Creativity Expo

Predator–prey interactions in marine benthic systems can have important indirect effects mediated through environmental signaling. Predators can reveal their presence through the release of chemical cues, influencing the activity and feeding rates of other potential prey through non-consumptive effects, which may ultimately shape energy allocation and survival in targeted populations. Along the Atlantic coast of the United States, predatory crabs overlap spatially with polychaete prey such as the clamworm Alitta succinea, creating consistent predation pressure. This study will set up the experimental system needed to examine the physiological responses of clamworms to both direct and indirect predation cues under controlled …

Seasonal Activity Pattern Of Ambrosia Beetles In Southeast Virginia, Umme H. Akter, Sajrim Chowdhury, Deborah A. Waller

Knowledge and Creativity Expo

Ambrosia beetles (Curculionidae: Scolytinae) are wood-boring insects that influence forest ecosystems through fungal symbioses, rapid host colonization, and invasive species dynamics. Despite their ecological importance, seasonal activity patterns remain poorly characterized in southeastern Virginia. This study integrates field trapping and statistical modeling to examine species-specific seasonal activity across two forested sites in Norfolk, Virginia. Beetles were monitored using ethanol and essential oil-baited bottle traps alongside ethanol-soaked bolt traps. Overall abundance peaked in April, indicating strong early-season emergence. Ethanol-baited traps captured 3-7 times more beetles than essential oil traps, and negative binomial generalized linear models confirmed bait type as a significant …

Establishing Aquarium Systems And Care Protocols For Marine Invertebrates In The Department Of Biological Sciences At Odu, Magdalene R. Hamlin, Gloria Massamba N'Siala Ph.D.

Knowledge and Creativity Expo

Maintaining live animals in lab settings is useful for establishing a stock of specimens available for experimental studies without relying on continuous collection efforts. Previous aquarium systems utilized in the aquatic facility of the Department of Biological Sciences at ODU were suited for research on freshwater and marine vertebrates and were not designed for the care of marine invertebrates. This project aims to establish methods and protocols suitable for maintaining various marine invertebrates in a control laboratory setting. In the first stage of the project, the existing recirculation system and lab space will be reorganized and restructured to suit the …

Systematics Of Disk-Winged Bats (Thyroptera), Courtney L. Klumpp

Capstone Showcase

This thesis investigates the evolutionary relationships among disk-winged bats in the genus Thyroptera, a small group of Neotropical bats known for the adhesive suction disks on their wings and feet that allow them to roost inside tightly rolled leaves. The distinctive morphology and behavior of these bats have not been extensively documented, and their phylogenetic relationships remain only partially resolved. The goal of this research is to better understand how these species are related to one another and to determine whether the five recognized species of Thyroptera form a single monophyletic group. To address this question, morphological and genetic …

[Kyda] The Role Of Human Movement On The Spread Of Mosquito-Borne Diseases, Omar Saucedo

Annual Symposium on Biomathematics and Ecology Education and Research

No abstract provided.

Exploring The Role Of Environmental Heterogeneity And Transmission In Mutualist Coexistence, Alexandra Campbell, Tom E.X. Miller

Annual Symposium on Biomathematics and Ecology Education and Research

No abstract provided.

Following Carbon: Pathway And Flux Representations Of Ecosystems, Caner Kazanci

Annual Symposium on Biomathematics and Ecology Education and Research

No abstract provided.

[Reev] Developing A Stage-Structure Stoichiometric Aquatic Tri-Trophic Food Chain Model, Ghislaine Niyodusenga, Cecilia Norris, Caroline Orza, Jing Li, Angela Peace, Greg Mayer, Rebecca A. Everett

Annual Symposium on Biomathematics and Ecology Education and Research

No abstract provided.