Ecology and Evolutionary Biology Commons^™

Conservation Of Threatened Canada-Usa Trans-Border Grizzly Bears Linked To Comprehensive Conflict Reduction, Michael F. Proctor, Wayne F. Kasworm, Kimberly M. Annis, A. Grant Machutchon, Justin E. Teisberg, Thomas G. Radandt, Chris Servheen

Human–Wildlife Interactions

Erratum to "Conservation of Threatened Canada-USA Trans-border Grizzly Bears Linked to Comprehensive Conflict Reduction". https://doi.org/10.26077/yjy6-0m57

Reassessment Of The Extinction Risk Of The Neotropical Freshwater Crabs Of The Family Pseudothelphusidae, Ada Acevedo Alonso

All NMU Master's Theses

The Neotropical region is one of the world’s biodiversity hotspots, and its freshwater crabs are notably diverse, and are represented by two families, Pseudothelphusidae and Trichodactylidae. This study focuses on this region’s highly diverse Pseudothelphusidae which includes 48 genera and 289 species. The 2008 IUCN global conservation assessment found 15.5% of the Pseudothelphusidae to be threatened with extinction and projected that in the worst-case scenario (if all of the Data Deficient species turned out to be threatened), the number of threatened species would be significantly higher. In the last decade several new species of pseudothelphusids have been described, and more …

Biogeography Of Endemic Dragonflies Of The Ozark-Ouachita Interior Highlands, Wade Alexander Boys

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

A common pattern across many taxonomic groups is that relatively few species are widespread while the majority are restricted in their geographic ranges. Such species distributions are used to inform conservation status, which poses unique challenges for rare or cryptic species. Further, priority status is often designated within geopolitical boundaries, which may include only a portion of a species range. This, coupled with lack of distributional data, has resulted in species being designated as apparently rare throughout some portions of their range, which may not accurately reflect their overall conservation need. The Interior Highlands region of the central United States …

Integrating The Effects Of Biotic Interactions Into Models Of Species Distributions, Jamie M. Kass

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

The study of species geographic distributions and their environmental drivers has developed at a fast pace in recent years, owing to improvements in technology and data availability, and is increasingly relevant in this era of advancing global change. Currently, the field focuses heavily on a variety of techniques to statistically estimate species’ ranges I refer to collectively as species distribution models (SDMs). These models are now used across a wide range of disciplines, but inadequacies remain in implementation, methodology, and theory that are in need of new insight. In this thesis I will address two key shortcomings that require improvement …

Protecting Biodiversity In British Columbia: Recommendations For Developing Species At Risk Legislation, Alana R. Westwood, Sarah P. Otto, Arne Mooers, Chris Darimont, Karen E. Hodges, Chris Johnson, Brian M. Starzomski, Cole Burton, Kai M. A. Chan, Marco Festa-Bianchet, Shaun Fluker, Sumeet Gulati, Aerin L. Jacob, Dan Kraus, Tara G. Martin, Wendy J. Palen, John D. Reynolds, Jeannette Whitton

Threatened and Endangered Animal Populations Collection

British Columbia has the greatest biological diversity of any province or territory in Canada. Yet increasing numbers of species in British Columbia are threatened with extinction. The current patchwork of provincial laws and regulations has not effectively prevented species declines. Recently, the Provincial Government has committed to enacting an endangered species law. Drawing upon our scientific and legal expertise, we offer recommendations for key features of endangered species legislation that build upon strengths and avoid weaknesses observed elsewhere. We recommend striking an independent Oversight Committee to provide recommendations about listing species, organize Recovery Teams, and monitor the efficacy of actions …

Cause‐Specific Mortality Of The World’S Terrestrial Vertebrates, Jacob E. Hill, Travis L. Devault, Jerrold L. Belant

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Aim: Vertebrates are declining worldwide, yet a comprehensive examination of the sources of mortality is lacking. We conducted a global synthesis of terrestrial vertebrate cause‐specific mortality to compare the sources of mortality across taxa and determine predictors of susceptibility to these sources of mortality.

Location: Worldwide.

Time period: 1970–2018.

Major taxa studied: Mammals, birds, reptiles and amphibians.

Methods: We searched for studies that used telemetry to determine the cause of death of terrestrial vertebrates. We determined whether each mortality was caused by anthropogenic or natural sources and further classified mortalities within these two categories (e.g. harvest, vehicle collision and predation). …

Mind The Gap: Experimental Tests To Improve Efficacy Of Fladry For Nonlethal Management Of Coyotes, Julie K. Young, John Draper, Stewart Breck

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Coyotes (Canis latrans) are the top predator of livestock in the contiguous United States. Developing more effective nonlethal tools to prevent coyote depredation will facilitate coexistence between livestock producers and coyotes. Fladry is a nonlethal deterrent designed to defend livestock by creating a visual barrier to wolves (C. lupus). Fladry may also be effective with coyotes, but large gap spacing between flags may reduce its efficacy. To address this issue, we performed 2 experiments on captive coyotes using fladry modified to reduce gap spacing at the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Predator Research Facility in Millville, Utah, USA, during 2015–2016 and …

Home Range, Habitat Use And Thermal Ecology Of The Florida Box Turtle (Terrapene Bauri) On An Anthropogenic Island In Southwestern Florida, Christina Demetrio

Antioch University Dissertations & Theses

Limited information is available on the ecology of Terrapene bauri (Florida Box Turtle) in mangrove ecosystems. Radio-telemetry and iButton data loggers were used to study the home range, habitat use, and thermal ecology of ten Florida Box Turtles on an anthropogenic island in the mangrove-dominated region of southwestern Florida. The effects of weather variables on movement and activity were also examined. Home range analysis using Minimum Convex Polygons (MCP) and Kernel Density Estimates (KDE) determined an average home range size of 0.81 ha (MCP) and 2.32 ha (95% KDE). Box Turtles moved an average distance of 6.3 m per day …

Competition Or Facilitation: Examination Of Interactions Between Endangered Sida Hermaphrodita And Invasive Phragmites Australis, Samantha N. Mulholland

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

Virginia Mallow (Sida hermaphrodita) is a perennial herb of the Malvaceae family that is native to riparian habitats in northeastern North America. Throughout most of its geographical distribution however, it is considered threatened and only two populations are known from Canada. The biology and ecology of S. hermaphrodita are still poorly understood and although few studies have been performed to determine the factors that contribute to the species rarity, it is considered threatened potentially due to the loss of habitat caused by exotic European Common reed (Phragmites australis subsp. australis) invasion. Allelopathic and phytotoxic conditioning of …

Mobilizing Heads And Hearts For Wildlife Conservation, Valérie A. M. Schoof, Simon L'Allier

Animal Sentience

Highlighting the shared evolutionary relationships between humans and animals — and recognizing that all species, including humans, are unique in their own way — may facilitate caring for and conserving animals by tapping into a human emotion: empathy.

Evaluation Of Range-Wide Occupancy And Survey Methods For The Giant Kangaroo Rat (Dipodomys Ingens), Alyssa E. Semerdjian

Cal Poly Humboldt theses and projects

Though habitat suitability and occupancy are often correlated, they cannot always be inferred from each other. Therefore, a solid understanding of both is essential to effectively manage species. Recent studies have assessed range-wide habitat suitability for the giant kangaroo rat (Dipodomys ingens; GKR), but data regarding occupancy is lacking in parts of its distribution. Satellite and aerial imagery were used to identify GKR burrows across their known range, producing a range-wide occupancy map and non-invasive survey methods including track plates, manned flight, unmanned aerial vehicle, and sign surveys were conducted to determine effective methods for monitoring GKR occupancy. …

Understanding The Impacts Of Current And Future Environmental Variation On Central African Amphibian Biodiversity, Courtney A. Miller

LSU New Orleans Theses and Dissertations

Global climate change is projected to impact multiple levels of biodiversity by imposing strong selection pressures on existing populations, triggering shifts in species distributions, and reorganizing entire communities. The Lower Guineo-Congolian region in central Africa, a reservoir for amphibian diversity, is predicted to be severely affected by future climate change through rising temperatures and greater variability in rainfall. Geospatial modelling can be used to assess how environmental variation shapes patterns of biological variation – from the genomic to the community level – and use these associations to predict patterns of biological change across space and time. The overall goal of …

Relationships Among Biodiversity Dimensions Of Birds In Nebraska, Nadejda Mirochnitchenko

School of Natural Resources: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Biological diversity, or biodiversity, is a multi-dimensional concept that can be decomposed to measure information about taxonomic, phylogenetic, and functional variation within communities. Although the dimensions of biodiversity are interrelated, the assumption that measuring one dimension of diversity can inform about patterns in another dimension does not necessarily follow from theory or empirical study. The relationships among biodiversity dimensions is not well understood, nor how differences among dimensions could influence conservation decision making. Using the avian community as a study system, we explored the relationships of breadth metrics from the taxonomic, phylogenetic, and functional dimensions among each other and across …

Wild Bees Of Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument: Richness, Abundance, And Spatio-Temporal Beta-Diversity, Olivia Messinger Carril, Terry Griswold, James Haefner, Joseph S. Wilson

All PIRU Publications

Interest in bees has grown dramatically in recent years in light of several studies that have reported widespread declines in bees and other pollinators. Investigating declines in wild bees can be difficult, however, due to the lack of faunal surveys that provide baseline data of bee richness and diversity. Protected lands such as national monuments and national parks can provide unique opportunities to learn about and monitor bee populations dynamics in a natural setting because the opportunity for large-scale changes to the landscape are reduced compared to unprotected lands. Here we report on a 4-year study of bees in Grand …

A Glimpse Into The Ecological Communities Of Camp Greenwood, Rachael Noteboom

Honors Projects

There is a Presbyterian summer camp near Greenville, Michigan that is home to beautiful wetlands with a variety of wildlife. This camp is nestled between multiple larger connected lakes and surrounded by many large waterfront properties. The number of campers has dwindled in recent years and the council in charge of the land is desperate to sell the most ecologically important sections of the camp, if not all of the land, to developers for multi-million dollar price tags. My dad is on the committee trying to convince the council and the community to save the camp from development.

I surveyed …

Using Anthropogenic Risks To Inform Salmonid Conservation At The Landscape Scale, Andrew W. Witt

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The expansion and industrialization of humanity has caused many unforeseen consequences to the natural world. Due to the importance of freshwater for people, rivers have been particularly altered to meet human needs, often at the expense of the natural world. Supplying water for farms, industries, and cities has reshaped the natural state of rivers by altering river paths, chemistry, and species compositions. These changes have harmed many species that prospered before widespread human alterations, including the native trout and salmon of western North America. As human populations continue to grow, new threats will surface for rivers, and the trout and …

Avian Jurisprudence And The Protection Of Migratory Birds In North America, Marshall A. Bowen

St. Mary's Law Journal

Abstract forthcoming

Delineating Metrics Of Diversity For A Snake Community In A Rare Ecosystem, Zachary John Marcou

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Snakes are among the least understood vertebrate groups despite their considerable diversity. A diverse community of snakes in an ecosystem can indicate a complex habitat structure that is capable of supporting a robust assemblage of other biota. I used remote photography arrays (RPA) to quantify metrics of diversity for the snake community occurring in a ~7,000–ha tract of contiguous Longleaf Pine (Pinus palustris) Savanna within the Angelina National Forest (ANF; Angelina and Jasper Cos., TX), over the course of two consecutive snake activity seasons. I quantified the snake species richness, Shannon diversity, and Shannon equitability for the snake community in …

An Evaluation Of Deterrent Methods Utilized To Prevent Crop Raiding By African Elephants (Loxodonta Africana) In The Kasigau Wildlife Corridor, Kenya, Rebecca Lynn Von Hagen

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

Escalating human elephant conflict (HEC) continues to be a contributing factor

towards elephant decline, and crop raiding is the most common form of negative

human-elephant interactions. For communities that cannot reverse or prevent crop

raiding, it is necessary to contain HEC events through deterrent measures. Few

deterrent measures exist that combine practicality and affordability while also

preventing habituation by elephants. This project focused on comparing the efficacy of

deterrent methods to assess which was the most successful at preventing elephants

from entering crops in the farming community of Sasenyi, Kenya. In this paired-control

study, four deterrent methods were evaluated: acacia …

Plants And Their Uses; How Communities Of Tolipir, Pakistan Get Benefit, Abu Ul Hassan Faiz, Mehboob Ul Hassan, Fida Muhammad Khan, Lariab Zahra Faiz, Hina Farooq

Journal of Bioresource Management

The present study documented ethnobotanical uses of 156 plant species belonged to 93 genera and 51 families listed from five villages of Tolipir landscape (Ali Sojhal, Kanchi Kot, Khori Chana, Kahoo Kot and Noor Kot villages). Study revealed that most of the species were used medicinally, leaves found to be the most frequently used part, for preparation of indigenous recipes and fodder purpose. The current study empirically contributes a huge chunk of ethnobotanical knowledge and depicts its strong connection with indigenous traditions. It is an urgent need to document indigenous uses of plants for future domestication.

Integrating Species Traits Into Species Pools, Marko J. Spasojevic, Christopher P. Catano, Joseph A. Lamanna

Biology Faculty Research

Despite decades of research on the species‐pool concept and the recent explosion of interest in trait‐based frameworks in ecology and biogeography, surprisingly little is known about how spatial and temporal changes in species‐pool functional diversity (SPFD) influence biodiversity and the processes underlying community assembly. Current trait‐based frameworks focus primarily on community assembly from a static regional species pool, without considering how spatial or temporal variation in SPFD alters the relative importance of deterministic and stochastic assembly processes. Likewise, species‐pool concepts primarily focus on how the number of species in the species pool influences local biodiversity. However, species pools with similar …

Population Genetics And Bumble Bee Conservation: Saving Species By Thinking Small, Cady Greenslit

Lawrence University Honors Projects

Pollinators have experienced a severe decline over the last few decades, and this includes bumble bee populations (g. Bombus). Bumble bees are important native pollinators, and here I investigate the health of local populations with molecular tools. The field of conservation genetics has created useful methodology for investigating the health and informing management strategies of threatened populations. This work investigates and describes the applications of population genetics, which uses span across the board. These applications are then brought back into the context of bumble bee conservation, and how they fit into the experimental plan I originally designed. I designed …

Sibship Reconstruction For Inferring The Number Of Breeders Of Gulf Sturgeon In The Apalachicola River, Robbilyn Verges

Honors Theses

The Gulf sturgeon is an anadromous fish that inhabits the Gulf of Mexico and its neighboring river drainages. The species is currently listed as threatened due to habitat alterations and overfishing. In this study, we focused on the Apalachicola River in Florida, which has had several historic spawning locations of the sturgeon blocked by the Jim Woodruff Lock and Dam. Age-1 juvenile sturgeon from the year 2013 (n=31) and 2014 (n=131) were genotyped using fourteen microsatellite loci. Sibship reconstruction and parentage assignment was performed in order to determine the effective number of breeders (Nb) and the total number of spawning …

Genetic Estimates Of The Number Of Breeding Adults In Alligator Gar From The Choke Canyon Reservoir, Texas, E. Blayne Newsome

Honors Theses

Alligator gar were historically found across the coastal drainages of the Gulf of Mexico and up into the Mississippi River basin. However, their populations are experiencing decline in many portions of their range. Texas seems to have large populations of alligator gar, but state resource officers are seeking to better understand its biology so as to provide appropriate management recommendations to maintain the recreational fishery. In this study, I used genetic techniques to examine a cohort of 144 juvenile alligator gar collected in 2016 in the Choke Canyon Reservoir. By estimating the effective number of breeders and number of spawning …

Application Of Regression Model To Identify A Parameter That Best Defines Species Diversity In The Coastal Forests Of Tanzania, Cosmas Mligo

Tanzania Journal of Science

Coastal forests of Tanzania are diverse in plant species that make them included as part of the 34 world biodiversity hotspots. This study aimed atdetermining plant species diversity, richness, and evenness as well as to identify the parameter that best defines plant species diversity in the three coastal forests; namely Zaraninge, Kazimzumbwi and Pande. Transect method was used for vegetation data collection and subjected to Analysis of variance and regression techniques. The plant species composition among forests ranged between 75 and 146 with a significantly lower diversity index in Zaraninge (2.057 ± 0.112) than those in Pande (2.415 ± 0.022) …

Using Unmanned Aerial Vehicle Technology To Enhance Conservation Biology Research, Ann Briggs

Honors Program: Senior Projects (Public)

This study examined the most effective ways to utilize unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) for wildlife conservation. More specifically, a UAV platform was created that can perform multiple data collection tasks by utilizing interchangeable modules. The prototype produced in this study has the capability to perform many tasks through the use of interchangeable modules. These tasks include, but are not limited to aerial surveys and collection of biological samples. This innovative technology will provide invaluable assistance to conservation efforts by reducing research and subject injury or death while maximizing efficiency. The modular design of the prototype was developed for retail to …

Genetic Differentiation Between Two Species Of Buckwheat (Eriogonum), Paul G. Wolf, Jenessa B. Lemon

Browse all Datasets

Discovering the extent of genetic differentiation between closely related taxa facilitates decisions regarding species protection under the Endangered Species Act. Here, we analyze genotype data to explore the relatedness of two buckwheat species: Eriogonum soredium Reveal- a narrow endemic under consideration for protection, and a widespread close relative, Eriogonum shockleyi S. Watson. Eriogonum soredium grows only on Ordovician limestone outcroppings in west central Utah, whereas the range of E. shockleyi is broad, spanning the western United States from Colorado to California, and Idaho to Arizona. Eriogonum shockleyi is suspected of hybridizing with other buckwheats throughout this range. We detected higher …

Effects Of Rearing Environment On Behavior Of Captive-Reared Whooping Cranes, Christy L. Sadowski, Glenn H. Olsen, M. Elsbeth Mcphee

Proceedings of the North American Crane Workshop

Whooping cranes (Grus americana) are 1 of the most endangered bird species in North America. In 1999 the Whooping Crane Eastern Partnership was formed to establish a migratory population of whooping cranes in eastern North America. These efforts have been extremely successful in terms of adult survival but reproductive success post-release has been low. One hypothesis developed to explain such low reproductive success is that captive-rearing techniques fail to prepare the birds to be effective parents. Captive-reared whooping cranes at the U.S. Geological Survey, Patuxent Wildlife Research Center, Laurel, Maryland, are either reared by humans in crane costumes …

Zero Textbook Cost Syllabus For Env 3009/Bio 4009 (Conservation Biology And Sustainable Development), Natalia Borrego

Open Educational Resources

Conservation biology is an interdisciplinary topic that explores how we can protect and maintain natural areas. Due to the resources we take and impacts we have on natural environments, this field is directly related to restoration ecology (restoring natural areas) and sustainable development/natural resource management. We will explore the basis for these related fields from an ecological, social, legal, and cultural perspective, as all conservation and management projects take place in the larger human landscape. We will consider how we measure biodiversity, why it matters, why is it is threatened, and how we can manage (protect, restore, maintain, use) it …

Clarifying The Range Of The Endangered Largetooth Sawfish In The United States, Jason C. Seitz, John D. Waters

Gulf and Caribbean Research

The United States population of the endangered Largetooth Sawfish (Pristis pristis) has a high probability of extinction. It is critical to identify areas with valid historical records as these areas may be important to the recovery of the species. The U.S. range is reported to extend as far east as Florida based on one vouchered specimen and 3 historical records from this state. Three of these reports presume a local capture location despite a lack of locality data. The vouchered specimen was presumed captured in southern Florida, but evidence suggests otherwise. Dried specimens observed in Florida were most likely imported …