Ecology and Evolutionary Biology Commons^™

Researcher Finds New Fossils In Spain, Aldemaro Romero Jr.

Publications and Research

No abstract provided.

Behavioral Explanations Underlying The Lack Of Trap Effectiveness For Small-Scale Management Of Japanese Beetles (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae), Paul V. Switzer, Patrick C. Enstrom, Carissa A. Schoenick

Faculty Research & Creative Activity

Traps containing a combination floral and synthetic pheromone lure are used to monitor and manage Japanese beetles, Popillia japonica Newman (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae). One key factor limiting trap effectiveness for beetle control is the "trap spillover" phenomenon, in which the trap attracts beetles without capturing them, resulting in increased damage to surrounding host plants. We investigated the mechanisms underlying trap spillover by conducting two studies in a soybean field in east central Illinois. In the first study, we set up trap stations for 1 d and compared the sex, size, and egg load (for females) of beetles caught in the traps …

Behavioral Explanations Underlying The Lack Of Trap Effectiveness For Small-Scale Management Of Japanese Beetles (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae), Paul Switzer, Patrick Enstrom, Carissa Schoenick

Faculty Research & Creative Activity

Traps containing a combination floral and synthetic pheromone lure are used to monitor and manage Japanese beetles, Popillia japonica Newman (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae). One key factor limiting trap effectiveness for beetle control is the "trap spillover" phenomenon, in which the trap attracts beetles without capturing them, resulting in increased damage to surrounding host plants. We investigated the mechanisms underlying trap spillover by conducting two studies in a soybean field in east central Illinois. In the first study, we set up trap stations for 1 d and compared the sex, size, and egg load (for females) of beetles caught in the traps …

Distress Or Suffering: What Should Be Measured To Determine Animal Well-Being?, Ian J. H. Duncan

Sentience Collection

It is generally accepted that all the vertebrates and some of the invertebrates (those with large neural ganglia such as the cephalopods) are capable of subjective experiences. Amongst those experiences are the subjective, affective states, sometimes called 'feelings' or 'emotions'. The strong negative feelings are often lumped together as 'suffering' and the positive feelings as 'pleasure'. I have argued for many years that animal welfare/well-being is completely dependent on what the animal feels (Duncan, 1993, 1996, 2002). An animal's well-being is decreased by experiencing suffering and increased by experiencing pleasure. It's as simple as that.

Distress In Animals: Its Recognition And A Hypothesis For Its Assessment, David B. Morton

Sentience Collection

This essay deals with the recognition of non-painful emotional experiences in animals, how they relate to animal wellbeing and animal welfare, and how they can be assessed, monitored and mitigated. While it is written often from a mammalian perspective, the general principles will apply to all animals that are sentient.

What Is New On The Animal Protection Radar?, John Hadidian

Animal Welfare Collection

American attitudes toward wildlife have often been cast as falling within an urban/rural dichotomy that separates protectionist from utilitarian value orientations. Long held as a major challenge to wildlife managers the urban/rural dichotomy may be yielding to change as new attitude and value orientations arise from direct conflicts people have with wild animals as well as from a generational disenfranchisement of young people who lack direct experience with the outdoors. Both may loom as larger challenges for the future and shift the focus of once opposing interests more toward efforts to establish cooperation. Currently, much of the disagreement over wildlife …

Welfare Assessment: Correlations And Integration Between A Qualitative Behavioural Assessment And A Clinical/Health Protocol Applied In Veal Calves Farms, Marta Brscic, Françoise Wemelsfelder, Elena Tessitore, Flaviana Gottardo, Giulio Cozzi, Cornelis G. Van Reenen

Agribusiness Collection

This study is aimed at finding correlations and possible integration among Qualitative Behavioural assessment (QBA) and a specific protocol of clinical/health evaluation. Both welfare assessment methods were based on direct animal observation and were applied in 24 Italian veal calves farms at 3 weeks (wks) of rearing. Principal component analysis (PCA) summarized 20 QBA descriptors on two main components (PC1 and PC2) with eigenvalues above 4 and explaining 29.6 and 20.3% of the variation respectively. PCA on residuals obtained after correcting for housing condition yielded highly similar results, indicating that the rearing environment of the calves was not an important …

Resources, Not Kinship, Determine Social Patterning In The Territorial Gunnison’S Prairie Dog (Cynomys Gunnisoni), J. L. Verdolin, C. N. Slobodchikoff

Sentience Collection

In this study, we describe patterns of relatedness in Gunnison’s prairie dog (Cynomys gunnisoni) social groups. Kin selection is often cited as a mechanism for the evolution and maintenance of social groups, and Gunnison’s prairie dog females are occasionally described as being strongly philopatric. Overall, randomization tests revealed that females within territorial groups were not more closely related to each other than expected at random. A similar pattern was found among males and between males and females, indicating that there was no sex-biased dispersal occurring in these populations. Ecological variables measured in this study, such as food abundance and food …

Landscape Heterogeneity And Marine Subsidy Generate Extensive Intrapopulation Niche Diversity In A Large Terrestrial Vertebrate, Chris T. Darimont, Paul C. Paquet, Thomas E. Reimchen

Population Distribution and Habitat Collection

1 Inquiries into niche variation within populations typically focus on proximate ecological causes such as competition. Here we examine how landscape heterogeneity and allochthonous (marine) subsidy might ultimately generate intrapopulation niche diversity.

2 Using stable isotope analysis, we detected extensive terrestrial–marine isotopic niche variation among subpopulations, social groups, and individual grey wolves (Canis lupus) that occupy a spatially heterogeneous landscape in coastal British Columbia comprising a mainland area and adjacent archipelago.

3 The inner island subpopulation exhibited the widest isotopic niche in the population, consuming extensive terrestrial and marine resources. Mainland and outer island subpopulations occupied comparatively narrow …

Conservation Of Intron And Intein Insertion Sites: Implications For Life Histories Of Parasitic Genetic Elements, Kristen Swithers, Ali Senejani, Gregory P. Fournier, Peter J. Gogarten

Biology and Environmental Science Faculty Publications

Background: Inteins and introns are genetic elements that are removed from proteins and RNA after translation or transcription, respectively. Previous studies have suggested that these genetic elements are found in conserved parts of the host protein. To our knowledge this type of analysis has not been done for group II introns residing within a gene. Here we provide quantitative statistical support from an analyses of proteins that host inteins, group I introns, group II introns and spliceosomal introns across all three domains of life. Results: To determine whether or not inteins, group I, group II, and spliceosomal introns are found …

A Study Of The Morphology Of Tatenectes Laramiensis, A Cryptocleidoid Plesiosaur From The Sundance Formation (Wyoming, Usa), Hallie P. Street

Theses, Dissertations and Capstones

Tatenectes laramiensis is a cryptocleidoid plesiosaur from the Late Jurassic Sundance Formation. This study primarily concerns a partial skeleton comprised of dorsal vertebrae, ribs, gastralia, and pelvic girdle. Even though the skeleton is incomplete, it is hypothesized that the preserved fossils are sufficient to indicate the overall body shape and also the preferred habitat of Tatenectes. Possibly the most notable of the novel characters is the pachyostotic state of the gastralia. In relation to the ribs and overall size of Tatenectes, in comparison to the gastralia in related taxa, these gastralia are disproportionately robust. The combination of these morphologies suggests …

Bats And Bell Holes: The Microclimatic Impact Of Bat Roosting, Using A Case Study From Runaway Bay Caves, Jamaica, Joyce Lundberg, Donald A. Mcfarlane

WM Keck Science Faculty Papers

The microclimatic effect of bats roosting in bell holes (blind vertical cylindrical cavities in cave roofs) in Runaway Bay Caves, Jamaica, was measured and the potential impact of their metabolism on dissolution modelled. Rock temperature measurements showed that bell holes with bats get significantly hotter than those without bats during bat roosting periods (by an average of 1.1 °C). The relationship is clearest for bell holes with more than about 300 g aggregate bat body mass and for bell holes that are moderately wide and deep, of W:D ratio between 0.8 and 1.6. Measurement of temperature decay after abandonment showed …

A Note On The Thermal Ecology And Foraging Behaviour Of The Egyptian Fruit Bat, Rousettus Aegyptiacus, At Mt. Elgon, Kenya, Donald A. Mcfarlane, Joyce Lundberg

WM Keck Science Faculty Papers

The Egyptian fruit bat, Rousettus aegyptiacus, is an abundant and widely distributed African pteropid (Nowak, 1999). The species is unusual amongst pteropids in being an obligate cave-dweller (Kwiecinski & Griffiths, 1999), sometimes reaching colony sizes in the thousands (Kingdon, 1974). In the caves of Mt. Elgon National Park, western Kenya (1° 08′N, 34° 39′E), precision temperature loggers placed in major Rousettus roosts and intervening passages have allowed us to precisely monitor bat emergence and return times.

The major caves of Mt. Elgon National Park consist of geophagically modified tunnels and collapse chambers cut into Miocene-aged pyroclastic strata (Lundberg & …

On The Monkeys Of The Amazon (1852), Alfred Russel Wallace

Alfred Russel Wallace Classic Writings

No abstract provided.

On The Law Which Has Regulated The Introduction Of New Species (1855), Alfred Russel Wallace

Alfred Russel Wallace Classic Writings

No abstract provided.

On The Tendency Of Varieties To Depart Indefinitely From The Original Type (1858), Alfred Russel Wallace

Alfred Russel Wallace Classic Writings

No abstract provided.

Demographics, Activity, And Habitat Selection Of The Eastern Box Turtle (Terrapene C. Carolina) In West Virginia, Justin Adam Weiss

Theses, Dissertations and Capstones

Little is known about the eastern box turtle, Terrapene c. carolina, in West Virginia. The purpose of this study was to compare demographic data between two populations of box turtles, to determine which environmental parameter(s) influence activity patterns, and to describe the optimal habitat of the box turtles at two study sites (Lake and State Park) at Beech Fork Wildlife Management Area. I observed male-skewed sex ratios and low numbers of juveniles in both populations. Male turtles were larger than females in carapace length, but females were larger in carapace height. Turtles at the Lake site exhibited greater body mass …

Post Weaning Management Of Heifer Calves Impacts Average Daily Gain And Feed Efficiency As Pregnant Heifers, D. M. Larson, Tonya L. Meyer, L. A. Stalker, Richard N. Funston

West Central Research and Extension Center, North Platte

Three experiments evaluated replacement heifer development systems and subsequent effects on gain and efficiency of pregnant heifers. In Exp. 1 and 2, were developed grazing corn residue (CR; 422 ± 5 kg) or fed in a dry lot (DL; 446 ± 5 kg) prior to breeding. In Exp. 1, a subset of pregnant heifers (n = 40) were individually fed a diet composed of 90% grass hay (11.7 % CP; DM basis) and 10% of a wet distillers grains plus solubles/straw mixture (21.8 % CP; DM basis) during late gestation. In Exp. 2, 55 pregnant …

The Effect Of Adjuvants, Pesticide Formulation, And Spray Nozzle Tips On Spray Droplet Size, Robert N. Klein, Jeffrey A. Golus, Kelli L. Nelms

West Central Research and Extension Center, North Platte

Many factors, including adjuvants, pesticide formulations, and nozzle tips, affect spray droplet size. It is important to understand these factors as spray droplet size affects both drift and efficacy of pesticides, which is a main concern with pesticide application. A laser particle analyzer was used to determine the spray droplet size and distributions of a range of formulations sprayed through several types of nozzle tips. Nozzles included were extended range flat fan sizes 11003 and 11005 (Spraying Systems XR), air induction flat fan sizes 11005 and 11004 (AI) air induction extended range flat fan size 11005 (AIXR), preorifice flat fan …

Characterization Of 24 Microsatellite Loci In Delta Smelt, Hypomesus Transpacificus, And Their Cross-Species Amplification In Two Other Smelt Species Of The Osmeridae Family, Kathleen M. Fisch, Jessica Lynn Petersen, Melinda R. Baerwald, John K. Pedroia, Bernie May

Department of Animal Science: Faculty Publications

We characterized 24 polymorphic tetranucleotide microsatellite loci for delta smelt (Hypomesus transpacificus) endemic to the San Francisco Bay Estuary, California, USA. Screening of samples (n = 30) yielded two to 26 alleles per locus with observed levels of heterozygosity ranging from 0.17 to 1.0. Only one locus deviated from Hardy–Weinberg equilibrium, suggesting these individuals originate from a single panmictic population. Linkage disequilibrium was found in two pairs of loci after excluding the locus out of Hardy–Weinberg equilibrium. Twenty-two primer pairs cross-amplified in wakasagi smelt (Hypomesus nipponensis), and 15 primer pairs cross-amplified in longfin smelt ( …

Basking Behavior Of Emydid Turtles (Chysemys Picta Marginata, Graptemys Geographica, And Trachemys Scripta Elegans) In An Urban Landscape, W. E. Peterman, Travis J. Ryan

Scholarship and Professional Work - LAS

Basking is common in emydid turtles and is generally accepted to be in thermoregulatory behavior. In 2004, we quantified and described the basking behavior of turtles in the Central Canal of Indianapolis. This canal system runs through an urban landscape that is dominated by fragmented woodlots, residential areas. and commercial areas. We observed that basking turtles exhibited variable basking behavior. with spatial and temporal shins in basking behavior from east-facing banks in the morning to west-facing banks in the afternoon. Turtles in the Central Canal are subject to frequent disturbance, which altered basking behavior. Many turtles forewent aerial basking on …

Forest Restoration Project In The Gordon Natural Area, Gerard Hertel

Gordon Natural Area Forest Restoration Project Documents

No abstract provided.

Assessment Of River Herring And Striped Bass In The Connecticut River: Abundance, Population Structure, And Predator/Prey Interactions, Justin P. Davis, Eric T. Schultz, Jason Vokoun

EEB Articles

Populations of anadromous alewife Alosa pseudoharengus and blueback herring A. aestivalis, collectively referred to as river herring, have declined in the Connecticut River. An explanatory hypothesis for these declines is that predation pressures have increased as a result of recent increases in abundance of sympatric striped bass Morone saxatilis. We sampled river herring and striped bass from the stretch of the Connecticut River between Wethersfield, CT and Holyoke, MA during the vernal migration seasons of 2005-2008. The objectives of the sampling program were to assess abundance, temporal/spatial distribution, and population structure of both river herring and striped bass, …

Estimating Predation On Declining River Herring: Tag-Recapture Study Of Striped Bass In The Connecticut River, Eric T. Schultz, Justin P. Davis, Jason Vokoun

EEB Articles

Populations of anadromous alewife Alosa pseudoharengus and blueback herring Alosa aestivalis, collectively referred to as river herring, have declined in the Connecticut River. A hypothesis for why river herring have declined is that predation pressures have increased associated with recent increases in abundance of striped bass Morone saxatilis. Information on striped bass abundance, size structure, and consumption rates are required to test this hypothesis. This study was designed to provide estimates of striped bass population size in the Connecticut River during the spring migration season, via an intensive mark-recapture exercise and either an open or robust mark-recapture model. …

Evolution Of Dna Polymerases: An Inactivated Polymerase-Exonuclease Module In Pol Ε&#;And A Chimeric Origin Of Eukaryotic Polymerases From Two Classes Of Archaeal Ancestors, Tahir Tahirov, Kira Makarova, Igor Rogozin, Youri Pavlov, Eugene Koonin

Papers in Evolution

Background: Evolution of DNA polymerases, the key enzymes of DNA replication and repair, is central to any reconstruction of the history of cellular life. However, the details of the evolutionary relationships between DNA polymerases of archaea and eukaryotes remain unresolved.
Results: We performed a comparative analysis of archaeal, eukaryotic, and bacterial B-family DNA polymerases, which are the main replicative polymerases in archaea and eukaryotes, combined with an analysis of domain architectures. Surprisingly, we found that eukaryotic Polymerase ε consists of two tandem exonuclease-polymerase modules, the active N-terminal module and a C-terminal module in which both enzymatic domains are inactivated. The …

The Amphipod Orchomenella Pinguis — A Potential Bioindicator For Contamination In The Arctic, Lis Bach, Valery E. Forbes, Ingela Dahllöf

Valery Forbes Publications

Indigenous organisms can be used as bioindicators for effects of contaminants, but no such bioindicator has been established for Arctic areas. Orchomenella pinguis is a benthic amphipod, ubiquitous in the Arctic and can be found in high numbers. We collected O. pinguis at sites with different contamination levels. Population characteristics (body length distribution, average dry weight and amphipod organic content) were related to sediment contaminant concentrations, in order to identify suitable endpoints for using this species as a bioindicator. We show that O. pinguis was prevalent in both clean and contaminated areas, easy to sample and that its population characteristics …

Courtship Effort Is A Better Predictor Of Mating Success Than Ornamentation For Male Wolf Spiders, Paul S. Shamble, Dustin J. Wilgers, Katharine A. Swoboda, Eileen Hebets

Eileen Hebets Publications

Female mate choice decisions are often based on a variety of male characteristics, some of which may reflect male quality via condition-dependent trait expression. Here, we explore the condition dependence of a male secondary sexual trait in a wolf spider and examine its influence on female mate choice. In the wolf spider Schizocosa uetzi, mature males possess a multimodal courtship display (visual + seismic) in which they slowly raise and lower their dark colored forelegs. Foreleg color is highly variable among S. uetzi males with respect to both total amount and darkness. Using diet manipulations in conjunction with color …

Condition-Dependent Alternative Mating Tactics In A Sexually Cannibalistic Wolf Spider, Dustin J. Wilgers, Amy C. Nicholas, David H. Reed, Gail E. Stratton, Eileen Hebets

Eileen Hebets Publications

Condition-dependent male mating tactics often involve high-quality males capitalizing on the outcome of intersexual selection, whereas low-quality males use behaviors that circumvent female choice to achieve copulation. In the wolf spider Rabidosa punctulata, males display 2 distinct mating tactics: 1) “courtship”—consisting of visual and seismic components or 2) “direct mount”—consisting of males grappling/holding females until they assume a copulatory posture. We tested for condition-dependent tactic expression using both field-collected individuals (representing natural variation in body mass and condition) and individuals whose diet we manipulated in the laboratory (representing extreme divergences in body size and condition). Across both natural and …

Ecological Genomics Of Nematode Community Interactions: Model And Non-Model Approaches, Michael A. Herman, Joseph D. Coolon, Kenneth L. Jones, Timothy Todd

School of Biological Sciences: Faculty Publications

The effects of human-induced environmental change are evident at multiple levels of biological organization. To date, most environmental change studies have focused on effects at the ecosystem, community, and organismal levels. However, the ultimate controls of biological responses are located in the genome. Thus, genetic and genomic studies of organismal responses to environmental changes are necessary. Recent advances in genome analysis now make such analyses possible. In this chapter we describe a research approach and program that can begin to span this gap by using genome-enabled approaches to characterize organismal changes and then employing a genetically tractable model organism to …

Isolation Of 11 Polymorphic Tri- And Tetranucleotide Microsatellite Loci In A North American Sedge (Carex Scoparia: Cyperaceae) And Cross-Species Amplification In Three Additional Carex Species, Andrew L. Hipp, Karin M. Kettenring, Kevin A. Feldheim, Jaime A. Weber

Watershed Sciences Faculty Publications

We report on the isolation and evaluation of 11 microsatellites from a widespread eastern North American wetland sedge, Carex scoparia. Loci exhibit 3–9 alleles over five populations and significant F_IS (0.204–0.717) in most populations. All primers cross-amplify in at least two other species, and 10 cross-amplify in the more distantly related C. stipata. These markers will be used to examine population genetics and patterns of chromosomal diversification in this ecologically important sedge species and its relatives.