Ecology and Evolutionary Biology Commons^™

Changes To North American Butterfly Names, Jing Zhang, Qian Cong, Jinhui Shen, Paul A. Opler, Nick V. Grishin

The Taxonomic Report of the International Lepidoptera Survey

We obtained and analyzed whole genome shotgun sequences of all 845 species of butterflies recorded from Canada and the United States. Genome-scale phylogenetic trees constructed from the data reveal several nonmonophyletic genera and suggest improved classification of species included in these genera. Here, these changes are formalized and 2 subgenera are described: Amblyteria Grishin, subgen. n. (type species Goniloba exoteria Herrich-Schäffer, 1869, parent genus Amblyscirtes Scudder, 1872), and Coa Grishin, subgen. n. (type species Hesperia baracoa Lucas, 1857, parent genus Polites Scudder, 1872). Furthermore, we resurrect 3 genera and 2 subgenera from synonymy, change the rank of 6 currently used …

Potential For Post-Fire Recovery Of Greater Sage-Grouse Habitat, Corinna Riginos, Thomas A. Monaco, Kari E. Veblen, Kevin Gunnell, Eric Thacker, David K. Dahlgren, Terry Messmer

Ecology Center Publications

In the western United States, fire has become a significant concern in the management of big sagebrush (Artemisia tridentata Nutt.) ecosystems. This is due to large‐scale increases in cover of the fire‐prone invasive annual cheatgrass (Bromus tectorum L.) and, concurrently, concerns about declining quantity and quality of habitat for Greater Sage‐grouse (Centrocercus urophasianus). The prevailing paradigm is that fire results in a loss of sage‐grouse habitat on timescales relevant to conservation planning (i.e., 1–20 yr), since sagebrush cover can take many more years to recover post‐fire. However, fire can have effects that improve sage‐grouse habitat, including …

Review Of Birds Of Prey Of The East: A Field Guide By Brian K. Wheeler, Janet W. Ng

The Prairie Naturalist

Brian Wheeler’s new field guide, Birds of Prey of the East, is a well-researched, comprehensive field guide to birds of prey found in eastern Canada and United States. This 13- year labor of love reflects a life spent studying the nuances of North American birds of prey, as well as partnerships with fellow enthusiasts who provided detailed range maps and other valuable inputs. Birds of Prey of the East features 72 color plates of 27 species, including 14 plates for the Redtailed Hawk (Buteo jamaicensis), which can be one of the most challenging species to identify in …

Mycobiome Analysis Of Trees Selected By Black-Capped Chickadees (Poecile Atricapillus) As Nest Sites, Connor Gable

All NMU Master's Theses

Decay fungi may aid primary cavity excavators, such as woodpeckers, in nest excavation by softening wood, and in turn the excavators disperse fungi. Recent molecular techniques have allowed researchers to examine communities of fungi present in environmental samples more comprehensively than ever before. However, this association has not been examined for primary excavating songbirds (Passeriformes). In this study, I examine the communities of fungi in trees selected by black-capped chickadees (Poecile atricapillus) and compare them to communities in non-selected control trees to determine whether chickadee nest trees are associated with specific fungal taxa and communities. Overall, I identified …

Forum: Critical Decision Dates For Drought Management In Centraland Northern Great Plains Rangeland, Alexander J. Smart, Keith Harmoney, J. Derek Scasta, Mitchell B. Stephenson, Jerry D. Volesky, Lance T. Vermeire, Jeffrey C. Mosley, Kevin Sedivec, Miranda Meehan, Tonya Haigh, Justin D. Derner, Mitchel P. Mcclaran

Natural Resource Management Faculty Publications

Ranchers and other land managers of central and northern Great Plains rangelands face recurrent droughts that negatively influence economic returns and environmental resources for ranching enterprises. Accurately estimating annual forage production and initiating drought decision-making actions proactively early in the growing season are both critical to minimize financial losses and degradation to rangeland soil and plant resources. Long-term forage production data sets from Alberta, Kansas, Montana, Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dakota, and Wyoming demonstrated that precipitation in April, May, and June (or some combination of these months) robustly predict annual forage production. Growth curves from clipping experiments and ecological site …

Alternative Reproductive Tactics In Lake Michigan Populations Of Invasive Round Goby (Neogobius Melanostomus): How Fish Increase Fitness By Doing Less, Alex Florian, Steve Smit

Student Summer Scholars Manuscripts

Understanding the reproductive biology of invasive species is an important step in managing populations. Yet, little is known about the reproductive strategies of invasive round goby (Neogobius melanostomus) in Lake Michigan. For round goby, fertilization occurs externally in nests guarded by large “paternal” males. However, some males pursue alternative reproductive tactics (ARTs), where males sneak into a larger male’s nest and fertilize a portion of the eggs, these males are called “sneakers”. We investigated if the proportion of ARTs varies between sites and how that affects population dynamics of round goby. We caught 264 fish from 4 lakes along Eastern …

Epidemic Spruce Beetle Outbreak Changes Drivers Of Engelmann Spruce Regeneration, Jessika M. Pettit, Julia I. Burton, R. Justin Derose, James N. Long, Steve L. Voelker

Ecology Center Publications

Climate‐mediated disturbances outside the range of historical variability can have severe consequences on vital, post‐disturbance regeneration processes. High‐elevation forests of the Rocky Mountains that are dominated by Engelmann spruce (Picea engelmannii) and subalpine fir (Abies lasiocarpa) are expected to be sensitive to climate change. Additionally, these forests have experienced recent epidemic spruce beetle (Dendroctonus rufipennis) outbreaks that have often resulted in >95% mortality of overstory Engelmann spruce. Therefore, the future distribution of Engelmann spruce forests depends largely on natural regeneration processes. We examined Engelmann spruce seedlings across gradients in soil moisture and stand structural …

Closing The Oxygen Mass Balance In Shallow Coastal Ecosystems, Matthew H. Long, Jennie E. Rheuban, Daniel C. Mccorkle, David J. Burdige, Richard C. Zimmerman

OES Faculty Publications

The oxygen concentration in marine ecosystems is influenced by production and consumption in the water column and fluxes across both the atmosphere-water and benthic-water boundaries. Each of these fluxes has the potential to be significant in shallow ecosystems due to high fluxes and low water volumes. This study evaluated the contributions of these three fluxes to the oxygen budget in two contrasting ecosystems, a Zostera marina (eelgrass) meadow in Virginia, U.S.A., and a coral reef in Bermuda. Benthic oxygen fluxes were evaluated by eddy covariance. Water column oxygen production and consumption were measured using an automated water incubation system. Atmosphere-water …

Review Of Great Plains Birds, By Larkin Powell, William E. Jensen

The Prairie Naturalist

Biologists who live in the Great Plains of North America know well the general aspersion cast toward our regional home by those unfamiliar with the region and its natural treasures. Larkin Powell alludes to this all-too-common aspersion and diplomatically dispels it in his ornithological showcase of the Great Plains, simply titled Great Plains Birds. The book is a nice, quick read and a well-composed profile of the region’s avian biogeographical history, its disruptions, conservation remedies, examples of basic bird biology, and tips on how to enjoy the bird life on display in this dynamic region. Having been an ornithologist …

A New Species Of Kochius From Avra Valley, Southern Arizona (Scorpiones: Vaejovidae), Richard F. Ayrey, Lawrence L. C. Jones, Brandon Myers

Euscorpius

A new scorpion species, Kochius colluvius sp. n. is described (Scorpiones: Vaejovidae). This small brown species is found in the Avra Valley near Tucson, Arizona, USA. It appears to be most similar to Kochius sonorae (Williams, 1971) and K. hirsuticauda (Banks, 1910). On all fingers examined, the fixed finger has 6 ID denticles and the movable finger has 7. There is no scalloping of the chela fingers. This species differs from all other vaejovids in Arizona by having a coarsely granulated exoskeleton.

A Global View Of Aspen: Conservation Science For Widespread Keystone Systems, Paul C. Rogers, Bradley D. Pinno, Jan Šebesta, Benedicte R. Albrectsen, Guoqing Li, Natalya Ivanova, Dominik Kulakowski, Antonín Kusbach, Timo Kuuluvainen, Simon M. Landhäusser, Hongyan Liu, Tor Myking, Pertti Pulkkinen, Zhongming Wen

Ecology Center Publications

Across the northern hemisphere, six species of aspen (Populus spp.) play a disproportionately important role in promoting biodiversity, sequestering carbon, limiting forest disturbances, and providing other ecosystem services. In many regions, aspen can maintain canopy dominance for decades to centuries as the sole major broadleaf trees in forested landscapes otherwise dominated by conifers. Aspen ecosystems are valued for many reasons, but here we highlight their potential as key contributors to regional and global biodiversity. We begin with an overview of the aspens’ ecological and economic roles. We then present a systematic literature analysis to assess topics of aspen …

Evaluating The Effect Of Temperature On A Human Parasite And Its Intermediate Snail Host: Implications For A Changing Climate, Karena H. Nguyen

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Global climate change is impacting the emergence, re-emergence, prevalence, and incidence of infectious diseases worldwide, including parasitic diseases of humans (Blum and Hotez 2018). Neglected tropical diseases, defined as a group of parasitic diseases affecting developing countries in the tropics (Hotez et al. 2007), are of particular concern because these diseases occur in areas that are also expected to experience rapid population growth and agricultural development in the coming decades. As human population and food demand increase, the greater the likelihood of humans encountering intermediate hosts that either inhabit agricultural areas or are impacted by agricultural development, which will influence …

Wildlife Survey Of National Parks To Assess Reptilian Biodiversity, Ajk, Jibran Haider, Inayatullah Malik, Sabiha Shamim

Journal of Bioresource Management

The class Reptilia belongs to phylum Chordata. This group forms a large community of the land vertebrates. However, they remain relatively under-examined. Roll et al. (2017) studied the global distribution of more than 10,000 reptiles. Nearly194 reptilian species have been reported from Pakistan (WWF, n.d.). Five protected parks were studied from February 2008 to May 2010. Dhirkot Nature Reserve (DNR), Banjosa Nature Reserve (BNR), Tolipir National Park (TNP), Pir Chanasi National Park (PCNP) and Pir Lasura National Park (PLNP) were considered. Fifteen species of reptiles were observed in TNP. Ten species of reptiles were recorded from PCNP. Ten species of …

Rasp 4: Ancestral State Reconstruction Tool For Multiple Genes And Characters, Yan Yu, Christopher Blair, Xingjin He

Publications and Research

With the continual progress of sequencing techniques, genome-scale data are increasingly used in phylogenetic studies. With more data from throughout the genome, the relationship between genes and different kinds of characters is receiving more attention. Here, we present version 4 of RASP, a software to reconstruct ancestral states through phylogenetic trees. RASP can apply generalized statistical ancestral reconstruction methods to phylogenies, explore the phylogenetic signal of characters to particular trees, calculate distances between trees, and cluster trees into groups. RASP 4 has an improved graphic user interface and is freely available from http://mnh.scu.edu.cn/soft/blog/RASP (program) and https://github.com/sculab/RASP (source code).

Rabies Surveillance Identifies Potential Risk Corridors And Enables Management Evaluation, Amy J. Davis, Kathleen M. Nelson, Jordana D. Kirby, Ryan M. Wallace, Xiaoyue Ma, Kim M. Pepin, Richard B. Chipman, Amy Gilbert

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Intensive efforts are being made to eliminate the raccoon variant of rabies virus (RABV) from the eastern United States and Canada. The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Wildlife Services National Rabies Management Program has implemented enhanced rabies surveillance (ERS) to improve case detection across the extent of the raccoon oral rabies vaccination (ORV) management area. We evaluated ERS and public health surveillance data from 2006 to 2017 in three northeastern USA states using a dynamic occupancy modeling approach. Our objectives were to examine potential risk corridors for RABV incursion from the U.S. into Canada, evaluate the effectiveness of ORV …

Berberidaceae From Moist Temperate Forests, Northern Areas, Pakistan, Nafeesa Hanif Qudsia, Kishwar Sultana, Safdar Ali Shah

Journal of Bioresource Management

A quick visit of the protected forests of Banjosa, Dhirkot, Pir Chanasi, Pir Lassura and Tolipir was carried out. Berberidaceae belong to a family also known as the Barberry family (Elpel, n.d.). In Pakistan, there are 3 genera and 22 species belonging to this group (Jafri, n.d.). Species of this family are extensively cultivated due to their aesthetic and medicinal value. In the past, researchers would consider this family to get an idea about the habitat degradation of temperate areas. This study was aimed to produce a comprehensive list of species richness of this family in five National Parks of …

Data Of Soil, Vegetation And Bird Species Found On Double-Crested Cormorant Colonies In The Southeastern United States, Leah Moran Veum, Brian S. Dorr, Katie Hanson-Dorr, R. J. Moore, Scott A. Rush

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

This data article provides the methods and procedures followed to collect and analyse soil, vegetation and bird data on three different treatment islands in Guntersville Reservoir, Alabama. Samples were collected from randomly selected plot points from islands that were placed into three different treatment types: Colony (currently occupied by Double-crested Cormorants) (Phalacrocorax auritus; n 1⁄4 5), Historic (historically occupied by cormorants and currently abandoned; n 1⁄4 3) and Reference (never occupied by cormorants; n 1⁄4 4). We compared vegetation and tree metrics such as structure and diversity, as well as soil chemistry and bird diversity and communities among islands within …

Venom Diversity And Evolution In The Most Divergent Cone Snail Genus Profundiconus, Guilia Fassio, Maria Vittoria Modica, Lou Mary, Paul Zaharias, Alexander E. Fedosov, Juliette Gorson, Yuri I. Kantor, Mandë E. Holford, Nicolas Puillandre

Publications and Research

Profundiconus is the most divergent cone snail genus and its unique phylogenetic position, sister to the rest of the family Conidae, makes it a key taxon for examining venom evolution and diversity. Venom gland and foot transcriptomes of Profundiconus cf. vaubani and Profundiconus neocaledonicus were de novo assembled, annotated, and analyzed for differential expression. One hundred and thirty-seven venom components were identified from P. cf. vaubani and 82 from P. neocaledonicus, with only four shared by both species. The majority of the transcript diversity was composed of putative peptides, including conotoxins, profunditoxins, turripeptides, insulin, and prohormone-4. However, there were also …

Cercarial Parasitism Of Freshwater Snails In Sandhills Ponds Versus Streams, Caroline Emily Spethman

Honors Program: Senior Projects (Public)

Parasite prevalence was calculated for all aquatic snails collected from four freshwater localities in Western Nebraska from Summer 2016 to 2019: Dunwoody Pond, Haythorn Ranch, Neven’s Restoration, and Breen’s Flyaway. With data of increasing trematode cercarial infection specifically at Dunwoody Pond, this community was further studied. In Summer 2019, a total of 217 freshwater snails representing species of Physa sp., Stagnicola elodes (Say,1821), and Helisoma anceps (Menke,1830) were collected from Dunwoody Pond and Dunwoody stream, near Ogallala, Nebraska. Eighty-one snails were collected from Dunwoody Pond, 76 snails were collected 31 meters upstream, and 60 snails were collected 61 meters upstream …

Genetic Structure Of Mycoplasma Ovipneumoniae Informs Pathogen Spillover Dynamics Between Domestic And Wild Caprinae In The Western United States, Pauline L. Kamath, Kezia Manlove, E. Frances Cassirer, Paul C. Cross, Thomas E. Besser

Ecology Center Publications

Spillover diseases have significant consequences for human and animal health, as well as wildlife conservation. We examined spillover and transmission of the pneumonia-associated bacterium Mycoplasma ovipneumoniae in domestic sheep, domestic goats, bighorn sheep, and mountain goats across the western United States using 594 isolates, collected from 1984 to 2017. Our results indicate high genetic diversity of M. ovipneumoniae strains within domestic sheep, whereas only one or a few strains tend to circulate in most populations of bighorn sheep or mountain goats. These data suggest domestic sheep are a reservoir, while the few spillovers to bighorn sheep and mountain goats can …

An Annotated Checklist Of The Scarabaeoidea (Insecta: Coleoptera) Of The Guianas, Auke J. Hielkema, Meindert A. Hielkema

Insecta Mundi

A checklist of the Scarabaeoidea (except Passalidae) of the Guianas (Guyana, Suriname and French Guiana) is presented for the first time. Both recorded and potential species are included, the latter defined as being recorded from Brazil north of the Amazon/Rio Negro main channel or from Venezuela east of the Orinoco main channel. The checklist contains a total of 930 species and subspecies, with 265 validly recorded from Guyana (eight new country records), 388 from Suriname (146 new country records), 531 from French Guiana (four new country records) and 177 additional species recorded from contiguous areas of neighboring Brazil and Venezuela. …

Testing Protocols For Surveying Captive Limulus Polyphemus Microbiomes, Fabian Leija, Sean A. Neiswenter Dr.

LSAMP Poster Presentations

Limulus polyphemus, the Atlantic horseshoe crab, is a marine arthropod that primarily resides in the shallow intertidal zone of brackish water, water where high salinity seawater meets fresh water. The ecological niche that horseshoe crabs reside in makes them an ideal animal to be placed in an aquarium touch-tank, only needing a shallow pool of water to live comfortably as well as having a tough chitin carapace that won’t be easily damaged by visitors touching them. However, the implications of these human-animal interactions are severely unexplored with limited research being conducted regarding touch-tanks. In contrast, the consequences and hygienic practices …

Description Of The Adult Male Of Euscorpius Feti Tropea, 2013 (Scorpiones: Euscorpiidae), With Notes On Cave Ecology Of This Species, Gioele Tropea, Roman Ozimec

Euscorpius

The adult male of Euscorpius feti Tropea, 2013 (Euscorpiidae) is described for the first time. A large series (45 specimens including the type material) has been studied, most of the material previously unpublished. E. feti has been found in as many as 17 caves in Croatia and Bosnia-Herzegovina, including the Adriatic islands, which makes it the most common Euscorpius species so far found in caves. Ecological notes on this species are presented.

Reproductive Parameters And Female Breeding Season Survival Of Rio Grande Wild Turkeys In South Central Texas, Jacob White

LSU Master's Theses

Historically, Rio Grande wild turkeys in south central Texas have been at lower densities than other portions of the state. Within the Oak-Prairie Wildlife District of Texas, Rio Grande wild turkey regulatory restrictions are different for counties in the eastern and western portions of the ecoregion. Due to perceived increases in turkey density in the eastern portion of the ecoregion (hereafter 1-bird zone), Texas Parks and Wildlife Department (TPWD) considered increasing the bag limit to match counties in the western portion of the district (hereafter 4-bird zone) in order to increase hunting opportunities. However, if regulatory changes are to be …

Founders Of Plant Ecology: Frederic And Edith Clements, Jon H. Oberg

University of Nebraska State Museum: Staff and Affiliates, Publications

Nineteenth-century students of Charles Bessey at the University of Nebraska, Frederic Clements and Edith Schwartz received doctorates in botany, married, and went on to become founders of the discipline of plant ecology. They tested and taught their theory of plant succession, known as Clementsian ecology, for nearly four decades at their Alpine laboratory in Colorado. Their leadership and influence at the Carnegie Institution was world-wide and attracted followers from several other disciplines. They advocated land use measures to combat the Dust Bowl in the 1930s. Clementsian ecology is still recognized as a paradigm against which other theories of nature are …

The Dragonflies And Damselflies Of Nebraska, Fred Sibley, Janis Paseka, Roy Beckemeyer

Zea E-Books Collection

Odonates of Nebraska

The Nebraska odonate list has 109 species in two suborders, damselflies (Zygoptera) with 47 species and dragonflies (Anisoptera) with 62 species. Nebraska had been very poorly surveyed prior to 2005 and 63 counties had fewer than 10 records. By 2017 the number of county records had nearly quadrupled, to over 3000 records, the average county total had increased from 9 to 33 and all counties had at least 21 records. An effort was made to collect data more or less uniformly from all 93 Nebraska counties. The areas with intense corn and soybean farming, eastern and southcentral …

Functional Traits Explain Amphibian Distribution In The Brazilian Atlantic Forest, Ricardo Lourenço-De-Moraes, Felipe S. Campos, Rodrigo B. Ferreira, Karen H. Beard, Mirco Solé, Gustavo A. Llorente, Rogério P. Bastos

Ecology Center Publications

Aim: Species distributions are one of the most important ways to understand how communities interact through macroecological relationships. The functional abilities of a species, such as its plasticity in various environments, can determine its distribution and beta diversity patterns. In this study, we evaluate how functional traits influence the distribution of amphibians, and hypothesize which functional traits explain the current pattern of amphibian species composition in the Atlantic Forest.

Location: Atlantic Forest, Brazil.

Methods: Using potential distributions of Brazilian Atlantic Forest of amphibian species, we analysed the relative importance of abiotic factors and species functional traits in explaining species richness, …

Investment Of Both Essential Fatty And Amino Acids To Immunity Varies Depending On Reproductive Stage, Taylor V. Pettit, R. John Pettit, Andrew M. Durso, Susannah S. French

Ecology Center Publications

Trade‐offs among the key life‐history traits of reproduction and immunity have been widely documented. However, the currency in use is not well‐understood. We investigated how reproducing female side‐blotched lizards, Uta stansburiana, allocate lipids versus proteins when given an immune challenge. We tested whether lizards would invest more in reproduction or immunity depending on reproductive stage. Females were given stable isotopes (¹⁵N‐leucine and ¹³C‐1‐palmitic acid), maintained on a regular diet and given either a cutaneous biopsy or a sham biopsy (control). Stable isotopes were monitored and analyzed in feces and uric acid, skin biopsies, eggs, and toe …

Introduction To Ecological Data Analysis Bio 263, Michael Cerbo

Library Impact Statements

No abstract provided.

The Distribution And Demography Of The Invasive Pacific Oyster, Crassostrea Gigas, And Native Olympia Oyster, Ostrea Lurida, In The San Diego River, Jason Langevin

Theses

Even though the introduction of the Pacific Oyster, Crassostrea gigas, to the west coast of North America, happened roughly a century ago, it has only been in the past 15 to 20 years that C. gigas has started to become an established and conspicuous species along Southern California’s coast. The establishment of C. gigas in Southern California has the potential to heavily influence many native species, as it has done globally. In Southern California, this invasion is particularly relevant for the native Olympia Oyster, Ostrea lurida. The Olympia oyster has both historical and present-day threats to its population, …