Ecology and Evolutionary Biology Commons^™

Urbanization Drives Changes In Avian Communities, Which Are Reflected In The Song Of A Vocal Mimic, Jaclyn Tolchin

Masters Theses, 2020-current

Urban landscapes present problems for wildlife including highly modified habitat, anthropogenic noise pollution, and competition for suitable habitat. These novel selection pressures can filter species present in urban habitats or result in changes to behavior. Recent studies show that some bird species sing differently (louder, higher pitch, faster) in noisier, urban areas compared to quieter, more rural areas, and that anthropogenic noise alone can exclude species. I investigated how the level of urbanization affects 1) bird species composition, and 2) the assemblage of species that a songbird mimics from the local bird community. I studied gray catbirds, Dumetella carolinensis, across …

Identifying Key Stream Restoration Variables In An Agriculturally Impaired Chesapeake Bay Watershed, Julia Portmann

Masters Theses, 2020-current

The Chesapeake Bay watershed spans several states, supports diverse ecosystems, and is crucial to local economies. However, agricultural practices in this region impair water quality. The Smith Creek watershed, within the Shenandoah Valley, was designated a showcase watershed in 2010 by the United States Department of Agriculture to demonstrate the efficacy of implementing restoration projects. We sampled fifteen farms ranging from unrestored to thirty-six years since restoration. At each site, we conducted a kick-net survey for macroinvertebrates, measured canopy cover, algal density, substrate size, and bank height and angle. We identified macroinvertebrates to family and calculated the Chesapeake Basin-wide Index …

Large-Herbivore Nemabiomes: Patterns Of Parasite Diversity And Sharing, Georgia C. Titcomb, Johan Pansu, Matthew C. Hutchinson, Kaia J. Tombak, Christina B. Hansen, Christopher C. M. Baker, Tyler R. Kartzinel, Robert M. Pringle

Publications and Research

Amidst global shifts in the distribution and abundance of wildlife and livestock, we have only a rudimentary understanding of ungulate parasite communities and parasite-sharing patterns. We used qPCR and DNA metabarcoding of fecal samples to characterize gastrointestinal nematode (Strongylida) community composition and sharing among 17 sympatric species of wild and domestic large mammalian herbivore in central Kenya. We tested a suite of hypothesis-driven predictions about the role of host traits and phylogenetic relatedness in describing parasite infections. Host species identity explained 27 – 53% of individual variation in parasite prevalence, richness, community composition and phylogenetic diversity. Host and parasite phylogenies …

Hepatitis B And D: A Forecast On Actions Needed To Reduce Incidence And Achieve Elimination, Scott Greenhalgh, Andrew Klug

Spora: A Journal of Biomathematics

Viral hepatitis negatively affects the health of millions, with the worst health outcomes associated with the hepatitis D virus (HDV). Fortunately, HDV is rare and requires prior infection with the hepatitis B virus (HBV) before it can establish infection and transmit. Here, we develop a mathematical model of HBV and HDV transmission in Sub-Saharan Africa to investigate the effects of hepatitis B vaccination on both HBV and HDV. Our findings illustrate a hepatitis B vaccination rate above 0.006 year^-1 reduces hepatitis D by over 90%, and a vaccination rate above 0.0221 year^-1 reduces hepatitis B by over 90%, …

Seasonal Variation And Tracking Of Climate Niche Of A Migratory Bird, Javier Gutiérrez Illán, Guiming Wang, D. Tommy King, Fred L. Cunningham

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Migratory birds inhabit different areas during breeding and non-breeding seasons. Depending on the time of the year, they may utilize different resources available in seasonal habitats, but also are subjected to changing climate regimes during their annual life cycle. Migratory birds may adopt ecological niche tracking to cope with different environmental conditions between breeding and non-breeding grounds. The American White Pelican (Pelecanus erythrorhynchos, hereafter ‘AWPE’) is a short-distance migrant between the Gulf of Mexico coastal regions (nonbreeding grounds) and the Northern Great Plains (breeding grounds) of Canada and the US. The American White Pelican is a piscivore, feeding …

The Effect Of Different Feeding Regimes On Recent Nutritional And Growth Measurements In Juvenile California Killifish (Fundulus Parvipinnis), Emily Parks

Theses

Gaining a deeper understanding of in-situ growth approximations for juvenile fishes is one way to understand how food consumption may affect fish growth. If variations in growth rate are strongly mirrored by past food status, then the condition (degree of well-being) of fish can be potentially used as a reference for relative prey availability. Furthermore, confirming that there is a positive relationship between food availability and fish growth rate is a critical first step to deepen our understanding of growth rate variation as well as examining if growth can be a proxy for habitat quality.

The California killifish (Fundulus …

Reconstructing The Ecological Relationships Of Late Cretaceous Antarctic Dinosaurs And How Functional Tooth Morphology Influenced These Relationships, Ian D. Broxson

2022 Symposium

The Sandwich Bluff Formation of the James Ross Basin of Antarctica has recently yielded a group of five late Cretaceous dinosaurs that lived contemporaneously with each other, a first for Antarctica. These five dinosaurs include fragmentary remains of two differently sized elasmarian ornithopods, a possible megaraptor, a hadrosaur, and a nodosaur. In this study we will construct a model of the ecological relationships of late Cretaceous Antarctica. Additionally, we will look at what specific factors allowed this group of four herbivores and a carnivore to coexist in a restricted locality and what niches were filled by each species. Methods to …

Developing A Novel Place Preference Assay To Compare Drosophila Species Over Time, Martha M. Brinson

Honors Theses

Across phylogeny, integration of external factors, memory, and internal states of the organism dictate organismal behavior and mechanisms. The underlying genetic components can affect these behaviors such as in genomic changes arising from speciation. In this thesis, a new place preference assay was evaluated in the analysis and investigation of two species of Drosophila flies (D. melanogaster and D. simulans) to measure similarities and differences and their attraction to two different food substrates. Sleep and circadian measurements were also recorded during experimentation. The Drosophila Activity Monitor 5M (DAM5M) System and Sleep Circadian Analysis MATLAB Program (SCAMP) analysis were …

Ontogenetic Niche Shift As A Driver Of Community Structure And Diversity In Non-Avian Dinosaurs, Katlin M. Schroeder

Biology ETDs

As some of the most charismatic megafauna to ever walk the earth, the physiology, morphology, growth and evolution of non-avian theropods has been studied exhaustively, yet little is understood about their roles in ecosystems as juveniles. For carnivorous megatheropods, which exceed 1,000kg in mass yet hatched from eggs of limited size, the likelihood of utilizing different prey through ontogeny was high, simply by proxy of the immense difference in size between adults and juveniles. We found these ontogenetic niche shifts, evidenced by significantly different dental microwear in Tyrannosaurids, to have excluded dinosaurian mesocarnivores from Mesozoic communities. The few dinosaurian mesocarnivores …

Trophish: Building A Global Database Of Freshwater Trophic Interactions, Jacob M. Ridgway

Honors Thesis

Freshwater management and research frequently use the trophic data of freshwater fishes. Despite this fact, it is difficult to perform a simple search of dietary information for any one fish species. FishBase represents, to our knowledge, the largest compilation of freshwater dietary information to date. However, it excludes a large portion of the ecological literature due to its development taking place prior to the creation of most modern scientific search engines. Our project (TroPhish) is building upon FishBase by digitizing approximately 130 years of data from the fish predation literature. Data from the primary and grey (e.g. theses, dissertations, reports) …

Detection, Occupancy, Abundance, And Mercury Accumulation Of The Alligator Snapping Turtle (Macrochelys Temminckii) In Texas, David Rosenbaum

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Land use practices and physical alterations of ecosystems result in habitat loss and fragmentation, while chemical alterations, such as pollutant input, reduce habitat quality and health of exposed organisms. Here, I investigated the effects of watershed- and local-scale environmental variables on the occupancy, abundance, and mercury accumulation of a threatened aquatic species (Macrochelys temminckii, i.e., alligator snapping turtle) within the southwestern periphery of its distribution. Hierarchical modeling suggested the distribution of the species is more affected by watershed-scale land-cover than local habitat, and provided a baseline estimate of average species abundance across its range in eastern Texas. Abundance …

Detection And Occurrence Of Nerodia Harteri (Serpentes: Colubridae) In An Upper Portion Of The Brazos River Watershed, Jessica Yates

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Semiaquatic snakes are disproportionately impacted by habitat alteration adjacent to wetlands because of their reliance on both terrestrial and aquatic habitats. Brazos River Watersnakes, Nerodia harteri, are endemic natricines with one of the most restricted geographic ranges in North America. I quantified detection and site occupancy probabilities of N. harteri and its sympatric congeners (N. erythrogaster and N. rhombifer), as well as microhabitat selection within the Nerodia community. Within occupied transects, search effort was positively correlated with detecting N. harteri, whereas environmental and/or habitat variables were better predictors for detecting the sympatric congeners. Microhabitat selection between …

Assessing The Live Bait Industry And The Ecological Status Of Invasive Cyprinodontiformes (Sheepshead Minnow: Cyprinodon Variegatus And Gulf Killifish: Fundulus Grandis) In Texas Streams, Erin Shepta

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The introduction of invasive species is one of the greatest threats to global biodiversity. Once established, invasive species often cause irreversible ecological damage on native communities. Here, I investigated the pathway of introduction and ecological impacts of the sheepshead minnow (C. variegatus) and the gulf killifish (F. grandis). Both species were thought to have been introduced into inland Texas waters via bait-bucket releases and have caused native populations of their inland congeners to decline. While I did not find evidence that either species were being sold in inland shops, bait industry experts did reveal other potentially …

A Genetic Evaluation Of The Impacts Of Dams On Sauger Movement Patterns In The Arkansas River, Emily R. Jonagan

ATU Theses and Dissertations 2021 - Present

Decreased habitat connectivity as a result of damming can lead to genetic isolation in fish communities, especially in highly migratory species. Sauger Sander canadensis is a migratory freshwater species native to the Arkansas River. Sauger are highly sought after by anglers during their annual spawning migration in late winter. In order to investigate the impacts Arkansas River dams on Sauger populations, fin clips were collected in the winters of 2019, 2020, and 2021 below eight dams in the McClellan-Kerr Arkansas River Navigational System (MKARNS). Fin clips were also collected from two reservoirs in Kansas to serve as distinct reference populations. …

Striped Blenny (Chasmodes Bosquianus) Behavior And Shelter Use In A Southeastern Salt Marsh Tidal Creek, Brooklyn Johnson, Juliana Harding

Honors Theses

Temperate estuaries are important habitats for resident species and maturing juvenile transient fishes. The North Inlet estuary, SC resident fish fauna includes the Striped Blenny (Chasmodes bosquianus) and Crested Blenny (Hypleurochilus geminatus). Individual blenny males occupy habitat shelters year-round. During breeding season, blenny males attract mates to nest and protect developing embryos within the nest. Salinity requirements establish blenny spatial distribution in the estuary. Seasonal spawning activity by these temperate blenny species is related to water temperature and seasonal productivity patterns. Blenny nest site occupancy patterns relative to the lunar cycle, water depth, and salinity were …

An Application Of Differential Mathematical Modeling Techniques To Study The Ongoing Rabies Epizootic In China, Christopher Turner

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Rabies remains a global public health issue with a wide variety of neurological symptoms such as confusion, slight paralysis, hypersalivation, and hydrophobia. Rabies is usually fatal once symptoms appear. Many species are reservoirs for rabies, such as foxes, racoons, and wild dogs, which in turn can transmit the disease to humans, leading to complex transmission chains. There is a long latent period of rabies, between 1 to 3 months after infection, which further complicates control efforts. Mathematical modeling is a valuable tool in the study of infectious disease outbreaks and there have been many models applied to rabies outbreaks. However, …

Assessing The Utility Of The Pmm And Mmc Indices Among Extant Hominoid Genera, Julie A. Strain

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis set out to incorporate extant hominoid genera into an analysis of PMM and MMC to assess utility in phylogeny and predicting known taxonomic groups. Based on previous claims, we expect PMM/pmm and MMC/mmc to perform better than M1/m1 shape and size, our baseline for success, but they do not.

An Analysis Of The Effects Of Temperature And Other Environmental Factors On Microorganismal Productivity Within Aquatic Ecosystems Using Long-Term Data From Various Lter And Ilter Sites, Andrew Dorbu

Theses and Dissertations

Global climate change is a phenomenon resulting in more extreme weather patterns and species diversity loss. In this study, I explore the impacts of climate change on regional patterns of microbial productivity. Variation in microbial productivity was explained using temperature, salinity, and dissolved oxygen as predictors in regression models with data from the LTER and iLTER network of sites that ranged from the poles to the equator. I found a positive relationship between temperature and productivity. Antarctica and Arctic sites exhibited the strongest positive relationships supporting prior research demonstrating temperature as one of the driving forces of productivity change in …

Effects Of Water Quality On Oyster Health On Georgia Coast, Laurel Henderson

Honors College Theses

ABSTRACT

Oysters are an economically and ecologically important shellfish species found along most coastlines. Along the Georgia coastline, oysters form extensive reefs, and are economically important as a food source. In addition, oysters perform a vital role in maintaining water quality due to their high filtration capacity in coastal waters. Oyster reefs form solid, 3-D substrate that prevent coastline erosion and provide structure for numerous other coastal species to grow, including many commercially and recreationally important species. Water quality factors, such as temperature and salinity, can influence oyster density, condition, and growth, and ultimately affect the services the reefs provide …

The Potential Role Of Phenotypic Plasticity In The Ability Of Hydrocotyle Bonariensis To Occupy Two Different Habitats, Harold Ralph Parsons Iii

Honors College Theses

Phenotypic plasticity is the ability of an organism to change morphology and/or physiology in response to changes in the environment. Hydrocotyle bonariensis is a coastal perennial herb found in both coastal sand dunes and inland coastal plain habitats in Georgia. The purpose of this study was to determine if there were differences in leaf morphology for populations of H. bonariensis in coastal sand dune and inland coastal plain habitats. Leaf morphology and microenvironmental variables were compared between H. bonariensis populations at Tybee Island (TI), GA, representing the coastal sand dune habitat, and Georgia Southern University Armstrong Campus (GSU) in Savannah, …

Why Plasmodium Vivax And Plasmodium Falciparum Are So Different? A Tale Of Two Clades And Their Species Diversities, Ananias A. Escalante, Axl S. Cepeda, M. Andreína Pacheco

Harold W. Manter Laboratory of Parasitology: Library Materials

The global malaria burden sometimes obscures that the genus Plasmodium comprises diverse clades with lineages that independently gave origin to the extant human parasites. Indeed, the differences between the human malaria parasites were highlighted in the classical taxonomy by dividing them into two subgenera, the subgenus Plasmodium, which included all the human parasites but Plasmodium falciparum that was placed in its separate subgenus, Laverania. Here, the evolution of Plasmodium in primates will be discussed in terms of their species diversity and some of their distinct phenotypes, putative molecular adaptations, and host–parasite biocenosis. Thus, in addition to a current …

A Comprehensive Bison Management And Research Plan For The Crane Trust, Joshua D. Wiese

Other Publications in Wildlife Management

The Great Plains were once a vast grassland ecosystem, but, due to agricultural and human development, are one of the most endangered ecosystems in North America. What remains is generally fragmented, threatened by invasive species, and lacks the natural ecosystem processes that shaped these grasslands such as periodic wildfire and bison grazing. Since 1978, the Platte River Whooping Crane Maintenance Trust, Inc. (dba “Crane Trust”) has worked to maintain the function of grassland and riparian habitats to benefit endangered Whooping Cranes, Sandhill Cranes, and other migratory bird species. They protect ~8,100 acres, including the largest contiguous portion of lowland tallgrass …

Rodent Dental Microwear Texture Analysis As A Proxy For Fine-Scale Paleoenvironment Reconstruction, Jenny H. E. Burgman

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Dental microwear texture analysis (DMTA) of fossil fauna has become a valuable tool for dietary inference and paleoenvironment reconstruction. Most of this work has utilized larger taxa with larger home ranges. These studies may result in broader-scale habitat inferences that could mask the details of complex mosaic habitats. Rodent DMTA offers an opportunity to work at finer spatial scales because most species have smaller home ranges. Rodents are also keystone species within their ecosystems, abundant, ubiquitous, and found in many fossil deposits. These attributes make them excellent proxies for environmental reconstructions. However, the application of DMTA to rodents remains relatively …

Repeated Targets Of Natural Selection During Ecological Transitions Of Fish Across Salinity Boundaries, Jonathan P. Velotta, Stephen D. Mccormick, Andrew Whitehead, Catherine S. Durso, Eric T. Schultz

EEB Articles

Ecological transitions across salinity boundaries have led to some of the most important diversification events in the animal kingdom, especially among fishes. Adaptations accompanying such transitions include changes in morphology, diet, whole-organism performance, and osmoregulatory function, which may be particularly prominent since divergent salinity regimes make opposing demands on systems that maintain ion and water balance. Research in the last decade has focused on the genetic targets underlying such adaptations, most notably by comparing populations of species that are distributed across salinity boundaries. Here, we synthesize research on the targets of natural selection using whole-genome approaches, with a particular emphasis …

Halodash: The Deep And Shallow History Of Aquatic Life's Passages Between Marine And Freshwater Habitats, Eric T. Schultz, Lisa Park Boush

EEB Articles

This series of papers highlights research into how biological exchanges between salty and freshwater habitats have transformed the biosphere. Life in the ocean and in freshwaters have long been intertwined; multiple major branches of the tree of life originated in the oceans and then adapted to and diversified in freshwaters. Similar exchanges continue to this day, including some species that continually migrate between marine and fresh waters. The series addresses key themes of transitions, transformations, and current threats with a series of questions: When did major colonizations of fresh waters happen? What physiographic changes facilitated transitions? What organismal characteristics facilitate …

How Flow Regime Affects Predator-Prey Relationships Of Stream Darter And Shiner Species, Anna E. Richardson

Biological Sciences Undergraduate Honors Theses

Analysis of the interactions between abiotic and biotic factors of environments and ecosystems is a highly valued area of research. This study focuses on the interactions between the biotic component of predation and foraging of certain stream fish species and the abiotic component of the flow regime that those species reside in. Gut content analysis followed by statistical calculations in the form of t-tests and chi -quared tests were performed on two fish species who both inhabited a stream with a groundwater flashy flow regime as well as a stream with a runoff flashy flow regime. The research showed that …

Evolution Of Floral Microbes And The Resulting Effects On Pollinator Preference, Hailey Hatch

Undergraduate Honors Capstone Projects

Floral microbes are an overlooked aspect of the extended floral phenotype. Through altering floral nectar chemistry, they can mediate interactions between flowers, pollinators, and other floral microbes, with significant implications for plant and pollinator health. Interactions between floral microbes and pollinators are critically important to understand, as pollinators provide important ecosystem services in both natural and agriculture systems. Here, I explored how floral nectar traits affected both evolution and competition within the floral yeast Metschnikowia reukaufii, the floral bacterium Bacillus subtilis, and other microbes isolated from Brassica rapa nectar, an important plant model system and oilseed crop. To …

Plant-Pollinator Communities Responsive To Local And Landscape Level Factors In Grassland Restorations., Aaron Sexton

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

As humans continue to degrade natural ecosystems via greenhouse gas emissions and habitat destruction, many species are being pushed to the brink of extinction. In hopes to offset this degradation, habitat restoration attempts to restore ecosystem function to an improved state resembling intact, remnant values. This is a difficult, but important, undertaking with factors to consider at multiple spatial and temporal scales. The restoration and conservation of pollinator communities has garnered heightened attention because of the valuable ecosystem services they provide. This dissertation investigates the local and landscape level factors of grassland restorations that influence plant-pollinator communities. I used a …

The Impacts Of Increased Precipitation Intensity On Dryland Ecosystems In The Western United States, Martin C. Holdrege

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

As the atmosphere warms, precipitation events become larger, but less frequent. Such increases in precipitation intensity are expected regardless of changes in total annual precipitation. Despite strong evidence for increases in precipitation intensity, disagreement exists regarding how these changes will impact plants, and studies are lacking in many types of ecosystems. This dissertation addresses how increased precipitation intensity affects soil water availability, and how plants respond to any such changes. I address this question in the context of big sagebrush ecosystems and dryland winter wheat agriculture, which are both environments that can be sensitive to changes in water availability. Results …

Refining, Testing, And Applying Thermal Species Distribution Models To Enhance Ecological Assessments, Donald J. Benkendorf

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The temperature of streams and rivers is changing rapidly in response to a variety of human activities. This rapid change is concerning because the abundances and distributions of many aquatic species in streams and rivers are strongly associated with temperature. Linking observations of temperature effects on species distributions with observations of temperature effects on fitness is important for improving confidence that temperature (and not some other variable) is causing the distributions we observe. Furthermore, producing accurate models of temperature effects on species distributions may allow us to develop tools to diagnose whether or not thermal pollution has impaired aquatic life. …