Ecology and Evolutionary Biology Commons^™

Plasma Metabolites Reveal Changes In Physiological State Of Eared Grebes (Podiceps Nigricollis) During Three Non-Migratory Periods, Allison A. Yoshida

Theses

Energy storage and use during the annual cycle of migratory birds is dynamic especially during migration. However, considerable amounts of the annual cycle are spent not migrating, and the physiological state of birds during these non-migratory periods is not well understood. We compared plasma metabolites (TRIG, BUTY, URIC, GLY) in Eared Grebes (Podiceps nigricollis) residing at three important areas when they are not migrating: fall staging (postbreeding at Mono Lake, California), spring staging (pre-breeding at Great Salt Lake, Utah), and an extended stopover prior to spring staging (Salton Sea, California). Plasma metabolites were also measured in resting and active grebes …

Annual Color Photo Section 2017, The Nebraska Bird Review

Nebraska Bird Review

For our color photo section this year we asked especially for photos of birds in unexpected places. The images on this page and the following two pages show birds in surprising locations or unusual geographic ranges.

32 images

Canyon Wren in wheel of the photographer’s Subaru at Mary Sue Shoemaker’s ranch in central Cherry Co, 20 Nov 2016. 5th record of this species for Nebraska. Photo by Joel Jorgensen.

Great Horned Owl at water feature in the photographer’s yard, Dixon Co., 18 April 2017. Photo by Jan Johnson.

Brambling, 4th record in Nebraska, coming to the feeders at the home …

Winter Field Report, December 2016 To February 2017, W. Ross Silcock

Nebraska Bird Review

This was an interesting winter from several standpoints. The trend of unexpected winter occurrences and earlier arrivals in “spring” continued. Mid-winter records of several species were notable: Rock Wren, Marsh Wren, American Pipit, Pine Warbler, and Chipping Sparrow. Rarities (see below) that could be considered in this category as well were Golden-crowned Sparrow and Lesser Goldfinch. For earlier arrivals, there was a noticeable influx 14-18 Feb of various species that provided rather early dates for those species. In this group were Blue-winged Teal, Ruddy Duck, Double-crested Cormorant, American White Pelican, and Turkey Vulture.

Some amazing numbers were reported, including a …

The North American Perching And Dabbling Ducks: Their Biology And Behavior, Paul Johnsgard

Zea E-Books Collection

This volume, the fourth in a series of books that collectively update and expand P. A. Johnsgard’s 1975 The Waterfowl of North America, summarizes research findings on this economically and ecologically important group of waterfowl. The volume includes the mostly tropical perching duck tribe Cairinini, of which two species, the muscovy duck and the wood duck, are representatives. Both species are adapted for foraging on the water surface, mostly on plant materials, but typically perch in trees and nest in elevated tree cavities or other elevated recesses. This volume also includes the dabbling, or surface-feeding, duck tribe Anatini, a …

Beavers, Jimmy D. Taylor, Greg K. Yarrow, James E. Miller

Wildlife Damage Management Technical Series

The American beaver (Castor canadensis) (Figure 1) is known as an “ecosystem engineer” because of the benefits their dams provide to biological diversity and ecosystem function. It also is considered a “keystone species” because of its ability to transform its environment, creating new habitats upon which other species depend. Despite the many positive benefits beavers provide through foraging and dam building, beavers also create conflict with people when their activities cause damage. The authors of this publication acknowledge and appreciate the many positive benefits that beavers provide; however, the focus of this publication is to provide basic information on beaver …

Fundamental Theorems Of Evolution, David C. Queller

Biology Faculty Research

Evolutionary biology is undergirded by an extensive and impressive set of mathematical models. Yet only one result, Fisher’s theorem about selection and fitness, is generally accorded the status of a fundamental theorem. I argue that although its fundamental status is justified by its simplicity and scope, there are additional results that seem similarly fundamental. I suggest that the most fundamental theorem of evolution is the Price equation, both because of its simplicity and broad scope and because it can be used to derive four other familiar results that are similarly fundamental: Fisher’s average-excess equation, Robertson’s secondary theorem of natural selection, …

Testing Of Great Bay Oysters For Two Protozoan Pathogens, Douglas E. Grout

PREP Reports & Publications

Two protozoan pathogens, Haplosporidium nelsoni (MSX) and Perkinsus marinus (Dermo) are known to be present in Great Bay oysters. With funds provided by the Piscataqua Region Estuaries Partnership (PREP), the Marine Fisheries Division of the New Hampshire Fish and Game Department (NHFG) continues to assess the presence and intensity of both of these disease conditions in oysters from the major natural beds within the Great Bay estuarine system. Histological examinations of Great Bay oysters have also revealed other endoparasites

Conservation Status Of The American Horseshoe Crab, (Limulus Polyphemus): A Regional Assessment, David R. Smith, H. Jane Brockmann, Mark Beekey, Timothy L. King, Michael J. Millard, Jaime Zaldívar-Rae

Biology Faculty Publications

Horseshoe crabs have persisted for more than 200 million years, and fossil forms date to 450 million years ago. The American horseshoe crab (Limulus polyphemus), one of four extant horseshoe crab species, is found along the Atlantic coastline of North America ranging from Alabama to Maine, USA with another distinct population on the coasts of Campeche, Yucatán and Quintana Roo in the Yucatán Peninsula, México. Although the American horseshoe crab tolerates broad environmental conditions, exploitation and habitat loss threaten the species. We assessed the conservation status of the American horseshoe crab by comprehensively reviewing available scientific information on its range, …

2016 Christmas Bird Counts, Don Paseka

Nebraska Bird Review

Fourteen Nebraska counts were held during the 2016 CBC season, which is one less than last year. The Harrison and Crawford counts were cancelled this year, but in the opposite corner of the state, a new count was started that includes Indian Cave State Park. An unusually mild November and a seasonable start to December were followed by a modest cold snap during the second week of the month. The Harlan County count was run early in the period on the 15th with ample open water, and it produced a record number of species (90) for that circle. But in …

Brambling In Bellevue, Sarpy County, Loren Padelford, Babs Padelford

Nebraska Bird Review

As we were having breakfast on January 8, 2017, we spotted an unusuallooking bird with House Sparrows in the tree above our deck. After consulting the National Geographic field guide, we determined it was a Brambling. Soon it was feeding on the deck where we were able to get some photos. It was first spotted at 9:25 a.m. and again at 10:30. We put the information on NEBirds and by late morning birders began to arrive.The first group saw the bird at 12:02. By early afternoon we had standing room only in our family room. The bird appeared again at …

Marine Mammals In Asian Societies; Trends In Consumption, Bait, And Traditional Use, Lindsay Porter, Hong Yu Lai

Anthropogenics and Population Decline Collection

In Asia many marine mammal species are consumed as food or for other purposes. The prevalence of this exploitation appears to increase from west to east. An escalating use of marine mammals and the emergence of commercialization of a trade in marine mammals is supported by:

• Regular documentation of both open and covert trade;
• A shift in focus in some diminishing traditional hunts to other marine mammal species;
• A possible revival in some targeted hunts, which had previously ceased;
• The recent implication of some cultures, which have little history of marine mammal consumption previously, in targeted hunts; and
• The growing …

Serradigitus Miscionei, The First Vaejovid Scorpion To Exhibit Parthenogenesis, Richard F. Ayrey

Euscorpius

Thelytokous parthenogenesis (all-female broods) is strongly suggested for the vaejovid species Serradigitus miscionei (Vaejovidae) from southern Arizona, USA. This conclusion is based on the examination of 187 specimens and 15 broods, all determined as females.

The Missing Piece Of The Puzzle Solved: Heteronebo Pocock, 1899 (Scorpiones: Scorpionidae) Occurs At Isla De Pinos, Cuba, Rolando Teruel, Tomás M. Rodríguez-Cabrera

Euscorpius

The diplocentrine scorpion genus Heteronebo Pocock, 1899 is recorded herein for the first time from Isla de Pinos, southwestern Cuba. A total of 15 specimens of Heteronebo bermudezi (Moreno, 1938) were collected in two nearby localities of the southern coast of the island, where it occurs in exactly the same habitat previously known for this species in Guanahacabibes Peninsula and two cays of Canarreos Archipelago. The allegedly polytypic status of this species is also revised and full species rank is restored to the subspecies Heteronebo bermudezi morenoi (Armas, 1973). An updated distribution map of H. bermudezi is provided.

Conserved Patterns Of Integrated Developmental Plasticity In A Group Of Polyphenic Tropical Butterflies, Erik Van Bergen, Dave Osbaldeston, Ullasa Kondandaramaiah, Oskar Brattström, Kwaku Aduse-Poku, Paul M. Brakefield

Publications and Research

Background: Developmental plasticity is thought to have profound macro-evolutionary effects, for example, by increasing the probability of establishment in new environments and subsequent divergence into independently evolving lineages. In contrast to plasticity optimized for individual traits, phenotypic integration, which enables a concerted response of plastic traits to environmental variability, may affect the rate of local adaptation by constraining independent responses of traits to selection. Using a comparative framework, this study explores the evolution of reaction norms for a variety of life history and morphological traits across five related species of mycalesine butterflies from the Old World tropics.

Results: Our data …

Quantifying The Contribution Of Plant-Soil Feedbacks To Coexistence In A Sagebrush Steppe, Peter Adler

Funded Research Records

No abstract provided.

Molecular And Morphological Data Reveal Three New Cryptic Species Of Chiasmocleis (Mehely 1904) (Anura, Microhylidae) Endemic To The Atlantic Forest, Brazil, Mauricio C. Forlani, João F. R. Tonini, Carlos A. G. Cruz, Hussam Zaher, Rafael O. De Sá

Biology Faculty Publications

Three new cryptic species of Chiasmocleis from the Atlantic Forest of Brazil are described. Two of these species occur in the northeastern states of Sergipe and Bahia, whereas the third species is found in the southeastern state of São Paulo. The new species can be distinguished from other congeneric species by the molecular data, as evidenced in the phylogeny, and by a combination of morphological characters including: size, foot webbing, dermal spines, and coloration patterns. Chiasmocleis species differ in osteological traits, therefore we also provide an osteological description of each new species and comparisons with data reported for other species …

Bioaccumulation Of Metallic Trace Elements And Antioxidant Enzyme Activities In Apfelbeckia Insculpta (L. Koch, 1867) (Diplopoda: Callipodida) From The Cave Hadži-Prodanova Pećina (Serbia), Jelena Vranković, Slavica Borković-Mitić, Bojan Ilić, Milanka Radulović, Slaviša Milošević, Slobodan Makarov, Bojan Mitić

International Journal of Speleology

The concentration of 10 metallic trace elements or MTE (Cu, Fe, Zn, Mn, As, Hg, Pb, Cd, Ni, and Cr) was measured in specimens of the troglophilic millipede Apfelbeckia insculpta (L. Koch, 1867) and sediment of the cave Hadži-Prodanova Pećina in western Serbia. Some MTE, like Fe and Mn, displayed much higher concentrations compared to other elements, both in the sediment and in the body of A. insculpta. On the other hand, estimation of the bioaccumulation factor (BAF) in both males and females of A. insculpta showed values greater than 1 for xenobiotic elements compared to those that are essential. …

Monitoring Macroalgae In The Great Bay Estuary For 2015, David M. Burdick, Arthur C. Mathieson, Sydney Nick, Christopher R. Peter

PREP Reports & Publications

In 2015, five of the eight locations with fixed intertidal transects were sampled as part of the long-term effort to monitor macroalgae in the Great Bay Estuary. With the completion of the third year of the project, all eight locations have been sampled at least once, two years of data have been collected for four locations, and three years of data have been collected for one location, Monitoring results from 2015 show high levels of cover of nuisance green or red algae (Ulva and Gracilaria, respectively) at all sites sampled. Nuisance algae is characterized as fast-growing; it can interfere with …

Road Ecology: Shifting Gears Toward Evolutionary Perspectives, Steven P. Brady, Jonathan L. Richardson

Dartmouth Scholarship

Recent advances in understanding the often rapid pace of evolution are reshaping our view of organisms and their capacity to cope with environmental change. Though evolutionary perspectives have gained traction in many fields of conservation, road ecology is not among them. This is surprising because roads are pervasive landscape features that generate intense natural selection. The biological outcomes from these selection pressures – whether adaptive or maladaptive – can have profound consequences for population persistence. We argue that studying evolutionary responses is critical to accurately understand the impacts of roads. Toward that end, we describe the basic tenets and relevance …

Use Of Erroneous Wolf Generation Time In Assessments Of Domestic Dog And Human Evolution, L. David Mech

United States Geological Survey, Northern Prairie Wildlife Research Center: Publications

Scientific interest in dog domestication and parallel evolution of dogs and humans (1) has increased recently (2-4), and various important conclusions have been drawn based on how long ago the calculations show dogs were domesticated from ancestral wolves (Canis lupus). According to Skoglund et al. (2015:3), calculation of this duration is based on “the most commonly assumed mutation rate of 1 x 10-8 per generation and a 3-year gray wolf generation time . . .” (5). It is unclear on what information the assumed generation time is based, but the latest paper (6) seems to have based generation time on …

Bat Urea-Derived Minerals In Arid Environment. First Identification Of Allantoin, C4H6N4O3, In Kahf Kharrat Najem Cave, United Arab Emirates, Philippe Audra, Pavel Bosák, Fernando Gázquez, Didier Cailhol, Roman Skála, Lenka Lisá, Šárka Jonášová, Amos Frumkin, Martin Knez, Tadej Slabe, Nadja Zupan Hajna, Asma Al-Farraj

International Journal of Speleology

Kahf Kharrat Najem Cave is a small cave in United Arab Emirates (UAE) that hosts a bat colony which is the source of guano deposits and peculiar centimeter-long yellowish stalactites. The mineralogy and geochemistry of these deposits were analyzed using powder X-ray diffraction (XRD), energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopic microanalysis (EDX), scanning electron microscope (SEM), and stable isotope composition (δ¹³C and δ¹⁵N). Urea CO(NH₂)₂ was found to be the main compound of these stalactites, while allantoin C₄H₆N₄O₃ was found to be an accessory urea byproduct. This paper …

Effect Of Seed Position On Parental Plant On Proportion Of Seeds Produced With Nondeep And Intermediate Physiological Dormancy, Juan J. Lu, Dun Y. Tan, Carol C. Baskin, Jerry M. Baskin

Biology Faculty Publications

The position in which seeds develop on the parental plant can have an effect on dormancy-break and germination. We tested the hypothesis that the proportion of seeds with intermediate physiological dormancy (PD) produced in the proximal position on a raceme of Isatis violascens plants is higher than that produced in the distal position, and further that this difference is related to temperature during seed development. Plants were watered at 3-day intervals, and silicles and seeds from the proximal (early) and distal (late) positions of racemes on the same plants were collected separately and tested for germination. After 0 and 6 …

Centruroides Thorellii (Scorpiones: Buthidae): Traveling From Guatemala To England Without A Passport, Rony E. Trujillo, Luis F. De Armas, Darren Mansfield

Euscorpius

We recorded a pregnant female of the Central American bark stripped scorpion Centruroides thorellii (Kraepelin, 1891), which arrived to England as a stowaway in the bag of a woman that previously visited the Departments of Sacatepéquez, Sololá and San Marcos, Guatemala. On January 2, this C. thorellii female had a litter of three off-spring and three infertile eggs, but she has eaten them, probably as consequence of the stress caused by the hard travel and the environmental changes. We provide a map with the geographical distribution of this species and photos of the female detected in a British train.

Egg Discrimination Along A Gradient Of Natural Variation In Eggshell Coloration, Daniel Hanley, Tomáš Grim, Branislav Igic, Peter Samaš, Analía V. López, Matthew D. Shawkey, Mark E. Hauber

Publications and Research

Accurate recognition of salient cues is critical for adaptive responses, but the underlying sensory and cognitive processes are often poorly understood. For example, hosts of avian brood parasites have long been assumed to reject foreign eggs from their nests based on the total degree of dissimilarity in colour to their own eggs, regardless of the foreign eggs’ colours. We tested hosts’ responses to gradients of natural (blue-green to brown) and artificial (green to purple) egg colours, and demonstrate that hosts base rejection decisions on both the direction and degree of colour dissimilarity along the natural, but not artificial, gradient of …

Identification Of A Vacuolar Proton Channel That Triggers The Bioluminescent Flash In Dinoflagellates, Juan D. Rodriguez, Saddef Haq, Tsvetan Bachvaroff, Kristine F. Nowak, Scott J. Nowak, Deri Morgan, Vladimir V. Cherny, Maredith M. Sapp, Steven Bernstein, Andrew Bolt, Thomas E. Decoursey, Allen R. Place, Susan M. Smith

Faculty Articles

In 1972, J. Woodland Hastings and colleagues predicted the existence of a proton selective channel (HV1) that opens in response to depolarizing voltage across the vacuole membrane of bioluminescent dinoflagellates and conducts protons into specialized luminescence compartments (scintillons), thereby causing a pH drop that triggers light emission. HV1 channels were subsequently identified and demonstrated to have important functions in a multitude of eukaryotic cells. Here we report a predicted protein from Lingulodinium polyedrum that displays hallmark properties of bona fide HV1, including time-dependent opening with depolarization, perfect proton selectivity, and characteristic ΔpH dependent gating. Western blotting and fluorescence confocal microscopy …

The Landscape Of Extreme Genomic Variation In The Highly Adaptable Atlantic Killifish, Noah M. Reid, Craig E. Jackson, Don Gilbert, Patrick Minx, Michael J. Montague, Thomas H. Hampton, Lily W. Helfrich, Benjamin L. King, Diane E. Nacci, Neel Aluru

Dartmouth Scholarship

Understanding and predicting the fate of populations in changing environments require knowledge about the mechanisms that support phenotypic plasticity and the adaptive value and evolutionary fate of genetic variation within populations. Atlantic killifish (Fundulus heteroclitus) exhibit extensive phenotypic plasticity that supports large population sizes in highly fluctuating estuarine environments. Populations have also evolved diverse local adaptations. To yield insights into the genomic variation that supports their adaptability, we sequenced a reference genome and 48 additional whole genomes from a wild population. Evolution of genes associated with cell cycle regulation and apoptosis is accelerated along the killifish lineage, which …

Career: Robust Aquatic Habitat Representation For Water Resources Decision-Making, Sarah Null

Funded Research Records

No abstract provided.

Scorpions Of The Horn Of Africa (Arachnida: Scorpiones). Part X. Pandiborellius Stat. N. And Pandinurus (Scorpionidae) With Description Of Four New Species From Eritrea And Ethiopia, And Review Of Pandinus Sensu Lato Taxonomy, František Kovařík, Graeme Lowe, Michael E. Soleglad, Jana Plíškova

Euscorpius

We introduce a new system of classification for the subfamily Scorpioninae Latreille, 1802 which includes genera Heterometrus Ehrenberg, 1828, Opistophthalmus C. L. Koch, 1837, Pandiborellius Rossi, 2015 stat. n., Pandinoides Fet, 1997, Pandinops Birula, 1913, Pandinurus Fet, 1997, Pandinus (Pandinus) Thorell, 1876, Pandinus (Pandinopsis) Vachon, 1974 stat. n., Pandinus (Pandipalpus) Rossi, 2015 stat. n., and Scorpio Linné, 1758. We provide a checklist of 41 valid species and their synonyms of Pandinus sensu lato. We revise Horn of Africa genera Pandiborellius stat. n. and Pandinurus; all …

An Assessment Of Potential False Positive E.Coli Pyroprints In The Cplop Database, Skyler A. Gordon

Master's Theses

The genetic information found in each species of organism is unique, and can be used as a tool to differentiate at the molecular level. This has caused rapid genotyping methods to become the cornerstone of a new area of research dependent on reading the genome as a form of identification. One of these specific identification methods, known as pyroprinting, relies on the small variation of DNA sequences within the same species to develop a unique, reproducible fingerprint. By simultaneously pyrosequencing multiple polymorphic loci within the ribosomal operons known as the intergenic transcribed spacers, a reproducible output is obtained, known as …

The Relationship Between Tropical Cyclone Activity, Nutrient Loading, And Algal Blooms Over The Great Barrier Reef, Chelsea L. Parker, Amanda H. Lynch, Stephanie A. Spera, Keith R. Spangler

Geography and the Environment Faculty Publications

The Great Barrier Reef, the world’s largest coral reef ecosystem, is subject to many environmental stressors. This study utilizes remotely sensed Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) chlorophyll a concentration data to explore statistically significant relationships between local-scale tropical cyclone disturbance and relative water quality between 2004–2014. The study reveals that tropical cyclone activity reduces water quality at 8- and 16-day time lags. Relationships suggest that at early stages (during and just after cyclone activity) algal response is induced primarily through wind-driven sediment re-suspension. However, wind speed in isolation only increases minimum levels of chlorophyll a, rather than mean or …