Ecology and Evolutionary Biology Commons^™

Hydrology-Biology Response Relationships In The Ozark Highlands, Dustin Thomas Lynch

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

I examined flow-ecology relationships among stream communities in the Ozark Highlands, USA. I sampled fish, crayfish, and benthic macroinvertebrates during two consecutive summers, including a drought year (2012) and a flood year (2013). Biological response variables related to community structure were assessed via two different statistical methods: an Information Theoretic approach relating response variables to a priori selected predictor variables incorporating hydrology, habitat, geomorphology, and water quality, and canonical ordination using forward selection to relate these same response variables to a large assortment of hydrologic metrics. In addition to assessing metrics related to predicted natural flow, flow alteration at gaged …

Genetic Analyses Determine Connectivity Among Cave And Surface Populations Of The Jamaican Endemic Freshwater Crab Sesarma Fossarum In The Cockpit Country, Manuel Stemmer, Christoph D. Schubart

International Journal of Speleology

The Jamaican freshwater crab Sesarma fossarum (Decapoda: Brachyura: Sesarmidae) is endemic to western central Jamaica where it occurs in cave and surface streams of karst regions. In the present study, we examine the population genetic structure of the species, providing evidence for intraspecific differentiation and genetic substructure among twelve sampled populations. Interestingly, crabs from caves appear genetically undistinguishable from representatives of nearby surface waters, despite previously observed and described morphometric differentiation. In contrast, genetic isolation takes place among populations from rivers and caves belonging to different watersheds. In one case, even populations from different tributaries of the same river were …

Roe Deer Summer Habitat Selection At Multiple Spatio-Temporal Scales In An Alpine Environment, Sara Mancinelli, Wibke Peters, Luigi Boitani, Mark Hebblewhite, Francesca Cagnacci

Wildlife Biology Faculty Publications

Habitat selection is a hierarchical process that may involve different patterns depending on the spatial and temporal scales of investigation. We studied habitat selection by European roe deer (Capreolus capreolus) in a very diverse environment in the Italian eastern Alps, during summer. We sampled both coarse-grained habitat variables (topographic variables, habitat types and cover) and fine-grained habitat variables (forage components of habitat) in used and available locations along the movement trajectories of 14 adult roe deer equipped with GPS telemetry collars. We used conventional logistic regression to assess roe deer habitat selection at the seasonal home range scale, …

Convergence Of Microbial Assimilations Of Soil Carbon, Nitrogen, Phosphorus And Sulfur In Terrestrial Ecosystems, Xiaofeng Xu, Dafeng Hui, Anthony W. King, Xia Song, Peter E. Thornton, Lihua Zhang

Biology Faculty Research

How soil microbes assimilate carbon-C, nitrogen-N, phosphorus-P and sulfur-S is fundamental for understanding nutrient cycling in terrestrial ecosystems. We compiled a global database of C, N, P and S concentrations in soils and microbes and developed relationships between them by using a power function model. The C:N:P:S was estimated to be 287:17:1:0.8 for soils and 42:6:1:0.4 for microbes. We found a convergence of the relationships between elements in soils and in soil microbial biomass across C, N, P and S. The element concentrations in soil microbial biomass follow a homeostatic regulation curve with soil element concentrations across C, N, P …

Estudios En Biodiversidad, Volumen I, Griselda Pulido-Flores, Scott Monks, Maritza López-Herrera

Zea E-Books Collection

Este libro es el producto del trabajo colegiado que han desarrollado los profesores, investigadores, y estudiantes que conforman la Red Temática de Calidad Ambiental y Desarrollo Sustentable, a través del macroproyecto “Evaluación del impacto ambiental por actividades antropogénicas: Alternativas de mitigación”. El cual fue apoyado con recursos financieros por parte del Programa para el Desarrollo Profesional Docente (PRODEP), de la Secretaria de Educación Pública (SEP) en México. Las instituciones de educación superior y cuerpos participantes en la red temática son la Universidad Autónoma del Estado de Hidalgo (Uso, Manejo y Conservación de la Biodiversidad UAEHCA- 10; Ciencias Ambientales UAEH-CA-59); Universidad …

The Impeccable Timing Of The Apple Maggot Fly, Rhagoletis Pomonella (Dipetera: Tephritidae), And Its Implications For Ecological Speciation, Monte Arthur Mattsson

Dissertations and Theses

Speciation is the process by which life diversifies into discrete forms, and understanding its underlying mechanisms remains a primary focus for biologists. Increasingly, empirical studies are helping explain the role of ecology in generating biodiversity. Adaptive radiations are often propelled by selective fitness tradeoffs experienced by individuals that invade new habitats, resulting in reproductive isolation from ancestral conspecifics and potentially cladogenesis. Host specialist insects are among the most speciose organisms known and serve as highly useful models for studying adaptive radiations. We are just beginning to understand the pace and degree with which these insects diversify. The apple maggot, Rhagoletis …

Climate. A Period Of Consequence: Environmental Literature Of 2006 (2006), Shaun O’Connell

New England Journal of Public Policy

The author talks about the consequences of not respecting the climate and understanding global warming will cause ecocide and our own extinction.

Reprinted from New England Journal of Public Policy 21, no. 2 (2007), article 5.

Environmental Temperatures, Artificial Nests, And Incubation Of Cassin's Auklet, Emma Kelsey, Russell Bradley, Pete Warzybok, Jamie Jahncke, Scott A. Shaffer

Faculty Publications, Biological Sciences

Hatching success in birds is influenced by the temperature and turning rate of the egg, but our understanding of the environmental factors that effect incubation temperatures and egg turning rates in birds is limited. Especially little is known of these effects for species that nest in burrows or crevices, such as the Cassin's auklet. On Southeast Farallon Island, California, USA, a subset of the Cassin's auklet (hereafter auklet) population nest in artificial nest boxes. The nest boxes are above ground and made out of a single layer of plywood. Temperatures in unshaded nest boxes can increase significantly with high ambient …

Evidence Of Field-Evolved Resistance To Bifenthrin In Western Corn Rootworm (Diabrotica Virgifera Virgifera Leconte) Populations In Western Nebraska And Kansas, Adriano E. Pereira, Haichuan Wang, Sarah N. Zukoff, Lance Meinke, B. Wade French, Blair Siegfried

Department of Entomology: Faculty Publications

Pyrethroid insecticides have been used to control larvae or adults of the western corn rootworm (WCR), Diabrotica virgifera virgifera LeConte, a key pest of field corn in the United States. In response to reports of reduced efficacy of pyrethroids in WCR management programs in southwestern areas of Nebraska and Kansas the present research was designed to establish a baseline of susceptibility to the pyrethroid insecticide, bifenthrin, using susceptible laboratory populations and to compare this baseline with susceptibility of field populations. Concentration-response bioassays were performed to estimate the baseline susceptibility. From the baseline data, a diagnostic concentration (LC99) was determined and …

Effectiveness Of Stevia Rebaudiana Whole Leaf Extract Against The Various Morphological Forms Of Borrelia Burgdorferi In Vitro, Priyanka Annabel Sugantham Theophilus, Maria J. Victoria, Kayla Socarras, Katherine R. Filush, Khusali Gupta, David F. Luecke, Eva Sapi

Biology and Environmental Science Faculty Publications

Lyme disease is a tick-borne multisystemic disease caused by Borrelia burgdorferi. Administering antibiotics is the primary treat-ment for this disease; however, relapse often occurs when antibiotic treatment is discontinued. The reason for relapse remains un-known, but recent studies suggested the possibilities of the presence of antibiotic resistant Borreliapersister cells and biofilms.In this study, we evaluated the effectiveness of whole leaf Stevia extract against B. burgdorferispirochetes, persisters, and bio-film forms in vitro. The susceptibility of the different forms was evaluated by various quantitative techniques in addition to differ-ent microscopy methods. The effectiveness of Stevia was compared to doxycycline, cefoperazone, daptomycin, and …

Wildlife In U.S. Cities: Managing Unwanted Animals, John Hadidian

Conservation Collection

Conflicts between people and wild animals in cities are undoubtedly as old as urban living itself. In the United States it is only of late, however, that many of the species now found in cities have come to live there. The increasing kind and number of human-wildlife conflicts in urbanizing environments makes it a priority that effective and humane means of conflict resolution be found. The urban public wants conflicts with wildlife resolved humanely, but needs to know what the alternative management approaches are, and what ethical standards should guide their use. This paper examines contemporary urban wildlife control in …

Influence Of Traditional Taboo Practices On Natural Resource Conservation In Uli, Ihiala Local Government Area Of Anambra State Nigeria; Sustainable Community Development., Geoffrey O. Anoliefo, Paul Anulika Nwokeji, Beckley Ikhajiagbe

Journal of Environmental Sustainability

Environmental sustainability is the conservation and maintenance of the ecological integrity of a given area. The present study investigated the effective use of traditional laws and taboo practices in the preservation of the natural resources of Uli, a town in Ihiala Local Government Area of Anambra State Nigeria. The study examined strategies employed in environmental sustainability in this area at the period leading upto Nigeria’s independence in 1960, impact of the civil war (1967-1970) and its aftermath till date. The instruments used for the data collection included literature review, field survey using the questionnaire, one on one oral interviews and …

North American River Otter (Lontra Canadensis) Presence And Habitat Analysis In Florida As Compared To Historical Data, Samantha Wilber

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

North American river otters are considered common in the state of Florida, but their populations have not been studied since the 1980’s. Since that time, Florida’s human population has more than doubled, and many natural areas of Florida have been developed. The aim of this study was to determine the presence or absence of river otters at locations in Florida which they historically inhabited. Forty-six sample sites where otters were historically found were obtained from the Florida Museum of Natural History Mammals Master Database (FMNH MMD). These sites were condensed to two focus areas, in and around Alachua and Collier …

Displaying To Females May Lower Male Foraging Time And Vigilance In A Lekking Bird, Sarah A. Cowles, Robert M. Gibson

School of Biological Sciences: Faculty Publications

Males of many species use courtship behavior to attract mates. However, by doing so males may face the associated costs of increased energetic expenditure, reduced foraging time, and elevated predation risk. We investigated the costs of display in lekking male Sharp-tailed Grouse (Tympanuchus phasianellus). We used lek-wide scan sampling to study how males allocated time among courtship display (‘‘dancing’’), agonism, foraging, and inactivity in relation to female numbers both within and across days. We also addressed the limited attention hypothesis and estimated visual attentiveness by videotaping 13 males and scoring head turns during these different activities. We found that the …

Understanding Acceptable Level Of Risk: Incorporating The Economic Cost Of Under-Managing Invasive Species, Alisha D. Davidson, Chad L. Hewitt, Donna R. Kashian

Environmental Science and Geology Faculty Research Publications

Management of nonindigenous species includes prevention, early detection and rapid response and control. Early detection and rapid response depend on prioritizing and monitoring sites at risk for arrival or secondary spread of nonindigenous species. Such monitoring efforts require sufficient biosecurity budgets to be effective and meet management or policy directives for reduced risk of introduction. Such consideration of risk reduction is rarely considered, however. Here, we review the concepts of acceptable level of risk (ALOR) and associated costs with respect to nonindigenous species and present a framework for aligning risk reduction priorities with available biosecurity resources. We conclude that available …

Examining Temporal Sample Scale And Model Choice With Spatial Capture-Recapture Models In The Common Leopard Panthera Pardus, Joshua F. Goldberg, Tshering Tempa, Nawang Norbu, Mark Hebblewhite, L. Scott Mills, Tshewang R. Wangchuk, Paul Lukacs

Wildlife Biology Faculty Publications

Many large carnivores occupy a wide geographic distribution, and face treats from habitat loss and fragmentation, poaching, prey depletion, and human wildlife-conflicts. Conservation requires robust techniques for estimating population densities and trends, but the elusive nature and low densities of many large carnivores make them difficult to detect. Spatial capture-recapture (SCR) models provide a means for handling imperfect detectability, while linking population estimates to individual movement patterns to provide more accurate estimates than standard approaches. Within this framework, we investigate the effect of different sample interval lengths on density estimates, using simulations and a common leopard (Panthera pardus) …

Identifying Humanized Ecosystems: Anthropogenic Impacts, Intentionality, And Resource Acquisition At Crystal River (8ci1) And Roberts Island (8ci41), Charles Trevor Duke

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The impact of human activity on ecosystems is an issue at the forefront of global concern. Marine ecosystems are a particular concern, given their importance for human sustenance. Through the removal of species that are highly susceptible to the effects of overfishing, global fisheries have been driven to near collapse in recent decades. The long-term effects of such practices has resulted in declines in mean trophic level of aggregate fish catches over time, as well as decreasing diversity of species available for regular harvest (Jackson et al. 2001; Pauly et al. 1998). These supposedly “modern” problems have been recently identified …

Emergent Insect And Neotropical Migratory Bird Interactions And Responses To Habitat, Hydrology, And Progressive Urbanization In The Tampa Bay Region, Nathaniel Lee Goddard

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The growing human population threatens the many of the earth’s biological systems. In the last 600 years extinction rates risen from 1 extinction per million species per year (E/MSY) in the 1400’s to 50 E/MSY today. During this time period 1.5% of all known birds have gone extinct, because they could not adapt quickly enough to human mediated changes. The goal of this dissertation was to determine how urbanization and anthropogenic services needed to support urban areas impact cypress dome wetland aquatic insect and migratory bird populations that depend on them. In Central Florida cypress dome hydroperiods are driven by …

Predicting Toucan Locations In Panama Using Arcgis, Daniel J. Herrera

Geography: Student Scholarship & Creative Works

Toucans are omnivorous birds native to southern Latin America and South America. They are non-migratory, and their range is disputed among experts. In an attempt to develop a better understanding of the range and behavior of toucans, correlations between toucan presence and geographic features of the area were analyzed to create a location probability map.

Taxonomy Of Usa East Coast Fishing Communities In Terms Of Social Vulnerability And Resilience, Richard Pollnac, Tarsila Seara, Lisa Colburn, Michael Jepson

Biology and Environmental Science Faculty Publications

Increased concern with the impacts that changing coastal environments can have on coastal fishing communities led to a recent effort by NOAA Fisheries social scientists to develop a set of indicators of social vulnerability and resilience for the U.S. Southeast and Northeast coastal communities. A goal of the NOAA Fisheries social vulnerability and resilience indicator program is to support time and cost effective use of readily available data in furtherance of both social impact assessments of proposed changes to fishery management regulations and climate change adaptation planning. The use of the indicators to predict the response to change in coastal …

Research, Monitoring, Assessment And Development Plan 2015 – 2020, Department Of Fisheries

Fisheries Occasional Publications

No abstract provided.

Integrating Resource Selection Into Spatial Capture-Recapture Models For Large Carnivores, K. M. Proffitt, Joshua F. Goldberg, Mark Hebblewhite, R. Russell, B. S. Jimenez, H. S. Robinson, K. Pilgrim, M. K. Schwartz

Wildlife Biology Faculty Publications

Wildlife managers need reliable methods to estimate large carnivore densities and population trends; yet large carnivores are elusive, difficult to detect, and occur at low densities making traditional approaches intractable. Recent advances in spatial capture-recapture (SCR) models have provided new approaches for monitoring trends in wildlife abundance and these methods are particularly applicable to large carnivores. We applied SCR models in a Bayesian framework to estimate mountain lion densities in the Bitterroot Mountains of west central Montana. We incorporate an existing resource selection function (RSF) as a density co-variate to account for heterogeneity in habitat use across the study area …

The Importance Of Analyzing Neighbor Competitive Response In The Target–Neighbor Experimental Design, Kevin J. Berry, Michele R. Dudash

Natural Resource Management Faculty Publications

The role of competition in community structure and species interactions is universal. However, how one quantifies the outcome of competitive interactions is frequently debated. Here, we review the strengths and weaknesses of the target– neighbor design, a type of additive design where one of the competing species is reduced to a single individual and where controls and analyses are used for the target, but not for the neighbors. We conducted a literature review to determine how the target–neighbor design has been typically used and analyzed. We found that historically, targets were often smaller than neighbors and introduced after neighbor establishment; …

An Experimental Investigation Of Microalgal Dewatering Efficiency Of Belt Filter System, Anjali Sandip, Val H. Smith, Terry N. Faddis

Mechanical Engineering Faculty Publications

The objective of this study was to investigate the microalgal dewatering efficiency of a belt filter system for feed concentrations below 10 g dry wt./L. A prototype belt filtration system designed for 50 g dry wt./L microalgal feed concentration was used for this investigation. The highest concentration of microalgal suspension available for testing on the prototype belt filtration system was 6 g dry wt./L obtained from biomass settling tanks at the Lawrence, Kansas domestic wastewater treatment plant. For preparation of feed suspension with concentrations below 10 g dry wt./L, microalgal cultivation was followed by flocculation. A mixed laboratory culture of …

Body Size Affects Individual Winter Foraging Strategies Of Thick-Billed Murres In The Bering Sea, Rachael Orben, Rosana Paredes, Daniel Roby, David Irons, Scott A. Shaffer

Faculty Publications, Biological Sciences

Foraging and migration often require different energetic and movement strategies. Though not readily apparent, constraints during one phase might influence the foraging strategies observed in another. For marine birds that fly and dive, body size constraints likely present a trade-off between foraging ability and migration as smaller bodies reduce flight costs, whereas larger bodies are advantageous for diving deeper. This study examines individual wintering strategies of deep diving thick-billed murres (Uria lomvia) breeding at three colonies in the south-eastern Bering Sea: St Paul, St George and Bogoslof. These colonies, arranged north to south, are located such that breeding birds forage …

P-04 Cavan Burren 2015 Project, Rhonda Root, Robin Johnson, Ariel Solis, Abelardo Rivas

Celebration of Research and Creative Scholarship

The Cavan Burren is a plantation forest within the Marble Arch Caves UNESCO Global Geopark overlay along the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland border. The exposure of Cavan Burren’s "relict landscape" resulted from a 2012 partial clear fell. Our multidisciplinary team of researchers in architecture, technology, ecology, fine arts, and archaeology investigated domestic architecture reflected in three stone configurations: circular/semicircular sites, rectangular sites, and tomb structures. We also investigated human action on pedestal boulders (PBs), which had been modified by sculpting, splitting, and cutting away. Our first goal was to show human action on structures by using three-dimensional (3D) …

P-29 Diversity And Species Turnover Of Late Cenozoic Ground Squirrels In The Meade Basin, Ks, H. Thomas Goodwin

Celebration of Research and Creative Scholarship

The Meade Basin of southwestern Kansas preserves one of the richest fossil sequences from the late Cenozoic of North America. An ongoing study has documented a rich record of fossils, especially rodents; established episodes of especially rapid species turnover (when species appear or disappear from the local record); and has attempted to relate these processes to environmental change inferred from stable isotope and other proxies for ancient climate. Here, I report on fossil squirrels from the record. At least 7 genera and 13 species are present in the composite record. Species turnover occurs throughout the record, but an especially high …

No Effect Of Host Species On Phenoloxidase Activity In A Mycophagous Beetle, Vincent A. Formica, Amanda Kar-Men Chan , '16

Biology Faculty Works

Ecological immunology is an interdisciplinary field that helps elucidate interactions between the environment and immune response. The host species individuals experience have profound effects on immune response in many species of insects. However, this conclusion comes from studies of herbivorous insects even though species of mycophagous insects also inhabit many different host species. The goal of this study was to determine if fungal host species as well as individual, sex, body size, and host patch predict one aspect of immune function, phenoloxidase activity (PO). We sampled a metapopulation of Bolitotherus cornutus, a mycophagous beetle in southwestern Virginia. B. cornutus live …

A Bat-Guano-Derived Δ15N And Δ13C Record Of Paleoenvironmental Change: Zidită Cave, Romania, Daniel Martin Cleary

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Because nitrogen isotopes are fractionated along the soil-plant-insect-bat-guano pathway, it may be possible to reconstruct environmental and climatic changes reflected in the nitrogen isotopic composition of guano. A 1.5-m core of bat guano from Zidită Cave (western Romania) provides a record of climatic and anthropogenic influence on the regional nitrogen cycle and paleoenvironmental controls on nitrogen transforming processes. Increasing and decreasing trends of nitrogen isotopic composition (δ¹⁵N values) correspond well with changes in the influence of farming practices, deforestation, and forest expansion. These influences likely had a significant effect on the openness of the nitrogen cycle, resulting in …

A Polyglot Approach To Bioinformatics Data Integration: A Phylogenetic Analysis Of Hiv-1, Steven Reisman, Thomas Hatzopoulos, Konstantin Laufer, George K. Thiruvathukal, Catherine Putonti

Bioinformatics Faculty Publications

As sequencing technologies continue to drop in price and increase in throughput, new challenges emerge for the management and accessibility of genomic sequence data. We have developed a pipeline for facilitating the storage, retrieval, and subsequent analysis of molecular data, integrating both sequence and metadata. Taking a polyglot approach involving multiple languages, libraries, and persistence mechanisms, sequence data can be aggregated from publicly available and local repositories. Data are exposed in the form of a RESTful web service, formatted for easy querying, and retrieved for downstream analyses. As a proof of concept, we have developed a resource for annotated HIV-1 …