Ecology and Evolutionary Biology Commons^™

Comparative Foraging Ecology Of Sheep And Goats In Caatinga Woodland In Northeastern Brazil, Scott L. Kronberg

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Small-ruminant production is an important part of the agricultural economy of northeastern Brazil. However, mild-to-severe undernutrition of livestock is an annual occurrence. Goats can tolerate the marginal forage conditions better than sheep, but the mechanisms underlying their superior tolerance are not understood.

An analysis of animal liveweights at the end of the year-long study indicated that reproducing mixed-race goats gained nearly twice (P<.05) the weight of reproducing hair-sheep of the Santa Ynez breed, and non-reproducing goats gained about 1.2 times more (P<.05) weight than non-reproducing sheep. Daily weight gains of lambs were less (P<.10) than those of kids for their first 80 days of life.

In the wet season, reproducing sheep and goats gained similar (P>.05) weight, while non-reproducing sheep gained more (P≤.05) than non-reproducing goats. Non-reproducing goats had greater (P<.05) forage organic matter intake (OMI) than the corresponding sheep in the two wet periods. In the late-wet period, non-reproducing goats had greater (P<.05) digestible energy intake (DEI) than corresponding sheep did but had similar (P>.05) digestible protein intake (DPI) as sheep.

In the dry …

A Resource Inventory And Impact Analysis Of Great Bog And The Horse Point Delta/Esker System, Problems In Environmental Science Course (Biology 493), Colby College, Biologists Organized For Ecosystem Assessment, Colby College

Colby College Watershed Study: Other Area Studies

In May of 1990, Tilcon-Maine, Inc. submitted an application to mine gravel on the east side of Horse Point Road on Horse Point in the Town of Belgrade. The project site covers 46 acres and the proposed excavation covers 16 acres. An estimated 740,000 cubic yards of material will be removed over a period of six or seven years (Pfister, pers. comm.). According to Tilcon (Timson et al., 1990) the maximum depth of the pit will be 78 feet and the bottom of the pit will be a minimum of 6 feet above the water table. At the present time …

The Water Vapor Conductance Of Squamate Reptilian Eggs: The Influence Of Scaling On Nesting Ecology., Louis A. Somma

Papers in Herpetology

Flexible-shelled eggs of squamate reptiles are strongly influenced by their surrounding microclimate, particularly the hydric conditions of the nest. The eggshell water vapor conductance of an egg can be an indication of its requirement for water from the nest. Ackerman et al. (1985. Physiol. Zool. 58:129-137) have described the scaling relationship for eggshell water vapor conductance (G_H2O) of flexible-shelled reptilian eggs (G_H2O = 981.8M^0.52). This scaling relationship was investigated with water vapor conductance data obtained from 8 species of lizards representing the families Iguanidae (Anolis carolinensis, A. sagrai, Sceloporus woodi, S. virgatus) …

Apparent Interactions In Community Models: A Challenge For Theoretical Ecology, Peter J. Taylor

Working Papers on Science in a Changing World

The primary aim of this working paper is to challenge theoretical ecologists to clarify the intended status of any simple model that they use. If we restrict our attention to a subcommunity and treat it as if it were the full community, we need to invoke apparent interactions that incorporate the effects of unspecified or hidden variables as well as direct interactions. This position resembles that of previous discussions of apparent competition (Holt 1977), indirect effects (Lawlor 1979), and ecological abstraction (Schaffer 1981), but my definition of apparent interactions differs from those stated or implied by these authors. I advance …

The Relationship Between Mathematical Expression And Biological Insight: Some Issues In Community Ecology Modeling, Exemplified By The Logistic Equation, Peter J. Taylor

Working Papers on Science in a Changing World

The relationship between mathematical expression and biological insight is a central problem for modelers in community ecology. In this paper I distinguish three interpretations of this relationship: models as redescriptions as observations; models as capturing fundamental or generative biological relations; and models as an aid in exploring how to formulate the inquiries we put to nature. I aim to show that we can reduce ambiguities and confusion and ecological theory if we hold the different interpretations clearly in mind. I conclude by advancing an overall strategy of model building—de/composition—in which each of the interpretations plays a role. The logistic equation, …

Foraging Ecology Of Temperate-Zone And Tropical Woodpeckers, Robert A. Askins

Biology Faculty Publications

The foraging behavior of 11 species of woodpeckers in Guatemala, Maryland, and Minnesota was studied in order to test the seasonal stability hypothesis. This hypothesis predicts that specialization and species richness should be no greater for tropical wood-excavators than for those in the temperate zone because wood-excavators in both regions are buffered against seasonal change. Niche breadth values for six variables that describe foraging methods and perches were calculated by two methods. Unweighted niche breadth values were similar for tropical and temperate woodpeckers for all variables except foraging techniques; in this case the temperate species are more specialized. With weighted …

Areographic Representation Of Faunal Characteristics Through A "Second Order" Relational Approach, Charles H. Smith

DLPS Faculty Publications

Areographic analysis has traditionally depended on primary data consisting of location-specific tallies of presence or absence of given forms. In the present work, an alternate manner of representing distributions is suggested. Regional units are first established, and presence and absence of the forms under consideration in these units is noted. The relation of the biota at any given point location to all others is then established through examination of the former's characteristics of inclusion in the latter. This is accomplished by detailing regional level trends of inclusion and setting up a "second-order" distribution of associations. Two kinds of descriptive information …

Cameron B. Kepler's Review Of Janet Kear And A. J. Berger's The Hawaiian Goose: An Experiment In Conservation, Cameron B. Kepler

Pacific Studies

No abstract provided.

Joseph P. Reser's Review Of R. L. Kirk's Aboriginal Man Adapting: The Human Biology Of Australian Aborigines, Joseph P. Reser

Pacific Studies

No abstract provided.

Introduced Species And The Issue Of Animal Welfare, Michael Hutchins, Victoria Stevens, Natasha Atkins

Ecology Collection

Recently, considerable debate has been heard about the control or elimination of introduced or "exotic" animals on publicly held U.S. lands. Species introductions, whether intentional or unintentional, seem to be an inevitable result of human activities, but they may result in both economic and ecological problems: It has been estimated that over 90 percent of all such introductions have been harmful in some respect. Control of exotics can be accomplished through containment, shooting, poisoning, reintroduction of native predators, introduction of disease organisms, live capture and removal, and reproductive inhibition.

Those who must make decisions about the fate of introduced species …

Maine's Whitewater Rapids And Their Relevance To The Critical Areas Program, Janet Mcmahon

Maine Collection

Maine's Whitewater Rapids and Their Relevance to the Critical Areas Program

by Janet McMahon

Planning Report No. 74, Critical Areas Program, 184 State St., Augusta, Maine,

April, 1981 (additions made in October, 1981). Reprinted July, 1983.

Contents: Introduction / Natural History of Whitewater Rapids / Methods / Criteria / Results / Conclusions / General Evaluation of Whitewater Rapids for Inclusion on the Register of Critical Areas / Bibliography / Action Plan

Botanical And Ecological Aspects Of Coastal Raised Peatlands In Maine : And Their Relevance To The Critical Areas Program Of The State Planning Office, Ian A. Worley

Maine Collection

Botanical and Ecological Aspects of Coastal Raised Peatlands in Maine : and Their Relevance to the Critical Areas Program of the State Planning Office.

by Ian A. Worley

A Report Prepared for the Maine Critical Areas Program, State Planning Office, 184 State Street, Augusta, Maine 04333.

Planning Report No. 69 (January 1980)

Contents: Foreword / Abstract / Table of Contents / List of Figures / List of Tables / Acknowledgements / Introduction / Natural History and Ecology of the Coastal Raised Peatlands / Selection of Coastal Peatlands Recommended for Evaluation by the Critical Areas Program / General Evaluation of Coastal …

A Taxonomic And Ecologic Study Of The Riverbottom Forest On St. Mary River, Lee Creek And Belly River In Southwest Alberta, Canada, Robert Keith Shaw

Theses and Dissertations

The riverbottom forest community of St. Mary River, Lee Creek and Belly River in southwest Alberta, Canada is a unique ecological entity characterized by poplar species having their major Alberta distribution along these streams. Stands in the community are dominated by three tree species, six shrub species and nine herb species. Establishment of the community is dependent on climate and substrate; destruction is the result of progressive lateral stream-flow erosion. Soils are sandy loams above gravel, with pH values of 7.7 to 8.0 and soluble salt concentration of 176 to 458 parts per million. Trees in mature stands averaged 23.0 …

Seasonal Changes In Water Quality And Primary Productivity In Doe Valley Lake, Edmond J. Bacon, Stuart E. Neff

KWRRI Research Reports

Primary productivity and water quality were studied in Doe Valley Lake, a 147-hectare impoundment on Doe Run, a spring-fed stream in Meade County, Kentucky, from 13 June 1969 to 31 July 1972. Doe Valley Lake is monomictic during most winter seasons, but it is dimictic during more severe winters because of its morphometry and location on the borderline climatic region for dimictic lakes (37° N latitude). Oxygen depletion in the hypolimnion is severe, and anaerobic conditions usually prevail by late June. A hypolimnetic areal deficit of 0.038 mg/cm²/day was calculated. Supersaturation of oxygen in the epilimnion was common, …

Ecology Of Central Washington Semi-Arid Lands A Documentary Film, Phillip Robert Debusschere

All Master's Theses

Contrasting vegetation patterns on the west side versus the east side of Washington's Cascade Mountains, due primarily to precipitation distribution, are documented on 16mm sound color film with primary emphasis upon the driest vegetation zone of eastern Washington. Interrelationships of climate, soils, vegetation patterns and animal life are shown for climax types of vegetation and those areas since altered to new habitats due to cultivation, water impoundment, fire and grazing. Emphasis is upon the importance of baseline studies of these semi-arid land habitats.

A Study Of Man's Environmental Impact On Shell Creek And Sand Gulch, Gary Hassebrook

Special Collections

Description of Shell Creek in 1972, including an investigation into the source of pollutants that have killed the first 15 miles of the creek.

Discussion of town dumping at Sand Gulch and the damage that is causing.

Student paper

The Biology And Ecology Of The Bromegrass Seed Midge In Nebraska, E. L. Nieman, G. R. Manglitz

Nebraska Agricultural Experiment Station: Historical Research Bulletins

These studies indicate that smooth bromegrass, Bromus inermis Leyss, is the only host of the bromegrass seed midge, Stenodiplosis bromicola Marikovskiy and Agafonova, in Nebraska. The midge did not infest two common annual brome species under field conditions. The midge has been collected from all counties surveyed in Nebraska and seems to be widely distributed throughout the midwestern states. An apparently undescribed species of Tetrastichus (Hymenoptera: Eulophiclae) was observed to parasitize all stages of the bromegrass seed midge. Parasitism rates greater than 90% were observed. The parasite larvae do not kill the midge until damage to the bromegrass floret has …

Population Ecology Of Uinta Ground Squirrels, Norman A. Slade

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The behavior and ecology of Uinta ground squirrels (Spermophilus armatus) at the Utah State University Forestry Field Station northeast of Logan, Utah were studied from 1964-1971 to determine the role of behavior in population regulation. From 1965 to 1968, data were collected to establish population norms. In 1968, the population density was reduced experimentally to help elucidate regulatory processes. This paper compares the dynamics of the population before and after the population reduction.

Before the density reduction, juvenile survival was lower than that of yearlings and adults. The disappearance of juveniles was associated with their tendency to disperse …

Degradation Of Riparian Leaves And The Recycling Of Nutrients In A Stream Ecosystem, Louis A. Krumholz, Roger G. Lambert, Charles R. Liston, Harry H. Woodward

KWRRI Research Reports

Leaves collected at 4 stations in the upper 5 km of Doe Run, Meade County, Kentucky, indicated an annual accumulation within the stream of 354 g/m²/year (17,700 kg). Leaves of sycamore (23.6%), red oak (21.7%), sugar maple (9.7%), beech (9.6%), white oak (7.1%), and hickory (6.0%) trees were most abundant, and leaves from 14 other kinds made up the remaining 22.3%. About a third of the annual leaf fall occurred during the last half of October and about two-thirds in the last 3 months of the year.

Calorific equivalents for different kinds of leaves ranged from 3,789 cal/g …

A Preliminary Ecological Study Of Areas To Be Impounded In The Salt River Basin Of Kentucky, Louis A. Krumholz, Stuart E. Neff, Edmond J. Bacon, Jerry S. Parsons, John D. Woodling

KWRRI Research Reports

This report includes work that is an extension of Project No. B-005-KY as reported in Research Report No. 43 of the University of Kentucky Water Resources Institute. That project was initiated in April 1968 as Project No. A-019-KY with principal emphasis on physical, chemical, and biological characteristics of the main stem of the Salt River upstream from the proposed damsite for Taylorsville Lake, an impoundment of about 3, 600 acres at seasonal pool. The report includes descriptions of an additional 13 stations along the stream, bringing to 38 the number of permanent collecting sites.

Values for dissolved oxygen ranged from …

A Preliminary Ecological Study Of Areas To Be Impounded In The Salt River Basin Of Kentucky, Louis A. Krumholz

KWRRI Research Reports

This report covers work that is an extension of Project No. A-019-KY. A series of 25 sampling stations was established in the mainstream and tributaries of the Salt River that extend from the source of the stream in Boyle County to a few miles below the site of Taylorsville Darn in Spencer County. Sampling for water chemistry and biota was carried out semimonthly. Data on temperature, oxygen, depth, and discharge, along with analyses for cations (Ca, Mg, Fe, Mn) and anions (PO₄, NO₃, NO₂, CO₃, HCO₃) have been accumulated and …

A Comparative Investigation Of Understanding Of Ecological Content Between Eighth And Tenth Grade Pupils, David Lee Herbenson

All Master's Theses

The study had two major purposes. One purpose was to determine if Covington Junior High School eighth grade pupils understood the basic ecological ideas and facts presented to them in a teacher-designed one semester course entitled Environmental Concepts Orientation (ECO). The second purpose was to find out the degree of competence attained by the eighth grade pupils as compared to tenth grade pupils taking a one year ecologically oriented course in the nationally developed Green Version BSCS biology series at Camas, Washington.

Ecology Of Badgers In Curlew Valley, Utah And Idaho With Emphasis On Movement And Activity Patterns, Frederick G. Lindzey

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Between March, 1969 and July, 1970, 16 badgers (Taxidea taxus) were caught and fitted with radio transmitters in the southern part of Curlew Valley. The animals were followed telemetrically; seven animals contributed sufficient data from which home-range, movement and activity patterns could be discerned. The aver age annual home-range size of five females was 664 acres (± s.d. 99 .5 acres). Female home-range sizes were approximately the same within crested wheat-grass (Agropyron aristatum) and sagebrush (Artemisia tridentata) vegetation types, with greater distances traveled each night by females in the crested wheat-grass. Both home-range size and total movement were less …

The Microclimate, Ion And Water Balance Of Larval And Adult Ascaphus Truei Stejneger, Terry L. Mullen

All Master's Theses

The purpose of this paper is first to describe the microclimate occupied by larval and adult Ascaphus. This microclimate presents certain osmo- and iono- regulatory problems. The second purpose of this paper is to show how Ascaphus meets these osmo- and iono- regulatory problems.

An Annotated Check List Of The Land Mammals Of Curry County, Oregon, Paul Emerson Sherrell

All Master's Theses

Curry County merits study for several reasons. Very little work has been done on its mammalian fauna resulting in a limited number of specimens. In turn there is a sparsity of literature; that written is chiefly concerned with the genera Arborimus and Phenacomys. The location of the county places it in an area of scrambled geological history resulting in a diverse mixture of faunal and floral elements. Logging, agriculture, and grazing activities have altered and continue to alter the natural habitats. These interests have permanently changed both the floristic and faunistic composition of the county.

The aims of this study …

Subalpine Cover Ecology Of Eutamias Amoenus, Eutamias Townsendii And Other Small Mammals In Huckleberry Park, Mount Rainier National Park, Don H. Meredith

All Master's Theses

Little work has been done on the ecology of alpine and subalpine small mammals. They are included in faunal surveys, but little is known of their habits. In the summer of 1969 this study was undertaken in subalpine Huckleberry Park, Mount Rainier National Park, to determine the species of small mammals in the area and some of their relationships with the environment and each other. The relationships between E. amoenus and E. townsendii were of special interest.

Ecological Study Of The Effects Of Strip Mining On The Microbiology Of Streams, Ralph H. Weaver, Harry D. Nash

KWRRI Research Reports

The microflora of Cane Branch of Beaver Creek in McCreary County, Kentucky, which drains an area that was strip-mined between 1955 and 1959, was studied and compared with that of Helton Branch which drains a comparable area where there has been no mining. Differences include: the establishment of Ferrcbacillus ferrooxidans, for which procedures were developed for direct colony isolation from the stream; fewer saprophytic bacteria; more numerous and more diversified filamentous and unicellular fungi; and characteristic differences in algal flora. Representatives of 42 genera of filamentous fungi were identified. Of these, 21 were isolated only from Cane Branch. Representatives of …

Ecological Studies Of Native Green River Fishes Below Flaming Gorge Dam, 1964-1966, Charles David Vanicek

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Investigations to study (1) the species composition and distribution of Green River fishes between Flaming Gorge Dam and Ouray, Utah and (2) the ecology and life history of selected native species (Colorado squafish, Ptychocheilus lucius; Colorad chub, Gila robusta; bluehead sucker, Pantosteus delphinus; and humpback sucker, Xyrauchen texanus) in Dinosaur National Monument were conducted from May, 1964, to October, 1966. A total of 23,735 fish consisting of 9 indigenous and 11 exotic species, were taken in 639 collections by electrofishing gear, gill nets, seines, and fry gear. Flaming Gorge Dam has caused a major change in …

Ecology Of Spring Fed Salt-Marshes, Eric George Bolen

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Any marsh is a distinctive land-form of varied interest. To the agriculturist it is wasteland to be reclaimed; to the naturalist, a habitat of aesthetic value. To the ecologist, however, a marsh represents a complexity of vegetation under the influences of many and often inseparable factors. It becomes a place of challenging study.

Range Land Of America And Some Research On Its Management, Laurence A. Stoddart

Faculty Honor Lectures

Although grazing of livestock has been a practice and a profession of man almost from his beginning only recently has range management reached anything approaching a pre~ cise science. Although ' trials and errors over the years brought to light much practical methodology for assuring high production from grazing land, still it remained for the plant physiologist and ecologist to find the whys and wherefores, and to advance new methods and new thoughts which promise to increase productivity still further and at the same time maintain the great range resource.

The peculiar land situation that marked America in her forma~ …