Ecology and Evolutionary Biology Commons^™

The Influence Of Anthropogenic Infrastructure On The Reproductive Success Of Northern House Wrens (Troglodytes Aedon) In Proximity To Highways, Nana-Esi Irie Hanson

Master's Theses or Doctor of Nursing Practice

Anthropogenic disturbances, particularly road infrastructure and noise pollution, significantly affect avian populations, influencing their ecology, behaviour, and reproductive success. This study examined the impact of highway proximity on the reproductive success of the Northern House Wrens (Troglodytes aedon) in a rural landscape. Noise levels and reproductive outcomes were compared between two sites in Hays, Kansas: a high-traffic site near Interstate 70 (Sternberg Museum Nature Trail) and a lower-traffic site at Big Creek on the Fort Hays State University campus. I hypothesized that increased traffic volume and noise pollution would negatively affect Northern House Wren reproductive success. Ambient noise …

Early Season Tropical Cyclones Affect Birds Breeding On A Barrier Island, Theodore J. Zenzal Jr., Amanda N. Anderson, Brock Geary, Jessica Schulz, Robert C. Dobbs, Wylie C. Barrow Jr., James H. Waddle

Gulf and Caribbean Research

Animal populations often experience acute natural disturbances, most of which are connected to short—term weather events. Occurrences of early—season tropical cyclones during the peak of the avian breeding season are likely to increase with climate change, which can substantially impact populations of coastal breeding birds at multiple scales. To understand the acute impacts of severe tropical cyclones, we investigated how abundances of breeding birds changed before and after 4 early season named tropical cyclones on a barrier island in the Gulf of Mexico. We detected a change in pre— versus post—storm numbers of breeding birds after 2 out of 4 …

Presence Of Potential Nursery Habitat For The Lemon Shark In Mississippi Coastal Waters, Lindsay K. Bomgardner, P. O. Grammer, Angie Hoover, Anna Millender, Jeremy Higgs, Jill M. Hendon, Michael J. Andres

Gulf and Caribbean Research

No abstract provided.

Ina Scuba: Mobilization Of French West Indies Scuba Diving Clubs To Rapidly Improve Knowledge On Threatened Marine Species. Case Of The White-Spotted Eagle Ray (Aetobatus Narinari)., Océane Beaufort, Rocio Prieto González

Gulf and Caribbean Research

The White—Spotted Eagle Ray (Aetobatus narinari), listed as Endangered on the IUCN Red List since 2021, is experiencing alarming population declines, underscoring the urgent need for targeted conservation efforts. This species, which plays a vital ecological role in marine food webs, has biological and ecological characteristics that make it particularly vulnerable to habitat degradation and anthropogenic pressures, particularly fishing, tourism, and maritime traffic. In the French West Indies (FWI), the paucity of data on the White—Spotted Eagle Ray remains a major obstacle to the development of effective, island—specific conservation strategies. To address this gap, the INA Scuba participatory …

Oyster Horizons: Spatial Prioritization For Oyster Restoration At Alabama Living Shorelines, Trinity Henry-Jack, Aaron Bland, Christa Russell, Ronald Baker

Gulf and Caribbean Research

No abstract provided.

Selective Nutrient Incorporation May Underestimate Heterotrophy Of A Mixotrophic Reef-Building Coral, Connor R. Love, Marleen Stuhr, Michael D. Fox, Veronica Z. Radice, Maoz Fine, Kelton W. Mcmahon, David L. Valentine

Biological Sciences Faculty Publications

Mixotrophic reef-building corals acquire nutrition via photosynthate translocation from endosymbiotic microalgae and by heterotrophic prey/particle capture. Heterotrophy promotes resistance to, and recovery from, environmental stress, but quantifying coral heterotrophy remains difficult due to complex resource exchanges within the coral holobiont. We interrogated the response of multiple biomarkers to coral heterotrophy using fatty acid profiling and stable isotope analysis of Stylophora pistillata grown along a controlled feeding gradient from pure autotrophy to pure heterotrophy. We found that fatty acids and nitrogen were effectively incorporated into both coral host and symbiont tissues, while carbon, which is the primary target for conventional heterotrophy …

Biotime 2.0: Expanding And Improving A Database Of Biodiversity Time Series, Maria Dornelas, Laura H. Antão, Amanda E. Bates, Viviana Brambilla, Jonathan M. Chase, Cher F. Y. Chow, Ada Fontrodona-Eslava, Anne E. Magurran, Inês S. Martins, Faye Moyes, Alban Sagouis, Samuel Adu-Acheampong, Daniel Acquah-Lamptey, Dušan Adam, Penelope A. Ajani, Aitor Albaina, Pablo Almaraz, Jeongseop An, Roger Sigismund Anderson, Madelaine Jean Robertson Anderson, Alexsander Z. Antunes, Ivan Arismendi, Linda Armbrecht, Pedro Aros-Mardones, Sreejith Kalpuzha Ashtamoorthy, Narayanan Ayyappan, Gal Badihi, Joseph J. Bailey, Andrew H. Baird, Mark Edward Baird, Sreekumar Vadakkethil Balakrishnan, José António L. Barão-Nóbrega, Adi Barash, Miguel Barbosa, Jos Barlow, Claus Bässler, Matthieu Beaumont, Natalie Beenaerts, Tiago Octavio Begot, Wallace Beiroz, Ricardo Beldade, David M. Bell, Alecia Bellgrove, Jonathan Belmaker, Lisandro Benedetti-Cecchi, Cassandra E. Benkwitt, Pamela Medina-Van Berkum, Brandon T. Bestelmeyer, Matthew C. Betts, Maxwell Kelvin Billah, Anne D. Bjorkman, Magdalena Błażewicz, Christopher P. Bloch, Shane A. Blowes, Antonio Bode, Juliano A. Bogoni, Thomas Bolger, Timothy C. Bonebrake, Erik Bonsdorff, Roberta Bottarin, Luke N. Brokensha, Rob W. Brooker, Andrew J. Brooks, Helge Bruelheide, Thiago Almeida Bueno, Claire Laguionie, Mariana Lopes Campagnoli, James Cant, Erica Pellegrini Caramaschi, Alexandre Caron, Tadhg Carroll, Tancredi Caruso, Juan Carvajal-Quintero, Giuseppe Castaldelli, Edward Castañeda-Moya, Pedro V. Castilho, Sonia Zanini Cechin, Shahar Chaikin, Uchangi Manjunatha Chandrashekara, Tory J. Chase, Chaolun Allen Chen, Jorge José Cherem, Sei-Woong Choi, Erica M. Christensen, Alexander V. Christianini, Jackson Wing Four Chu, Peter Coad, Carl Van Colen, Lise Comte, Elisabeth J. Cooper, J. Hans C. Cornelissen, Eddy Cosson, Unai Cotano, Luc Crevecoeur, Shannan Kyle Crow, Graeme S. Cumming, Vanessa S. Daga, Gabriella Damasceno, Gergana N. Daskalova, Claire H. Davies, Robert A. Davis, Frank P. Day, Sussy De-La-Zerda, Amy Elizabeth Deacon, Indradatta De Castro-Arrazola, Steven Degraer, Kharran Deonarinesingh, Juan C. Diaz-Ricaurte, Christopher R. Dickman, Tara Dirilgen, Ciaran John Dolan, J. Emmett Duffy, Timothy E. Dunn, Giselda Durigan, Ciara Dwyer, Steven Earl, Dor Edelist, Graham John Edgar, Sally Edmonson, Ashley K. Elgin, Kari Elsa Ellingsen, Sarah C. Elmendorf, Ruth S. Eriksen, S. K. Morgan Ernest, Ruben Escribano, Paula Cabral Eterovick, Brian S. Evans, Jason D. Everett, Vesela Evtimova, Dan A. Exton, Andrew J. Fairbairn, Filipe Moreli Fantacini, Fabiano Turini Farah, Fábio Zanella Farneda, Mario E. Favila, Philippe Fernandez-Fournier, Braulio Fernández-Zapata, Diogo F. Ferreira, Carola Ferronato, Christopher R. Du Feu, Alessandra Fidelis, David A. Fifield, Vilmar Picinatto Filho, Walter Mesquita Filho, Robert N. L. Fitt, Carlos A. H. Flechtmann, William R. Fraser, Donna L. Fraser, Lídia Freixas, John Fryxell, Garrett J. Fundakowski, Scott Stanley Gabara, Elise Gallois, Mariana Garcia Criado, Emili García-Berthou, Joaquim Garrabou, Andrew R. Gates, Roberto Cazzola Gatti, Anna Gavioli, Tal Gavriel, Benoit Gendreau-Berthiaume, Xingli Giam, Carina Gjerdrum, Michael Glemnitz, Jasmin Annica Godbold, Daniel Gómez-Gras, Rodrigo Barbosa Gonçalves, Andy Goold, Richard R. Gordon, Menachem Goren, Fernando Vilas Boas Goulart, William G. Gould, Meagan M. Graboski, Nicholas A. J. Graham, Maurício Eduardo Graipel, Laura J. Grange, Aaron C. Greenville, Gary D. Grossman, Valeria A. Guinder, Peter Haase, Gary N. Haskins, Kris Havstad, Luise Hermanutz, Michael Julian Hames Hickford, Pamela Hidalgo, Pedro Higuchi, Andrew S. Hoey, Gert Van Hoey, Annika Hofgaard, Kristen T. Holeck, Robert D. Hollister, Richard T. Holmes, Mia Odell Hoogenboom, Joaquín Hortal, Tammy Horton, Chih-Hao Hsieh, Christine L. Huffard, Ida-Maria Huikkonen, Allen H. Hurlbert, Julian Hynes, Pascal Irz, Natalia Macedo Ivanauskas, Akemi Iwayama, Darren K. James, Ute Jandt, Anna M. Jażdżewska, Merlijn Jocque, Sophie T. Johnston, Samuel E. I. Jones, Faith A. M. Jones, Julia A. Jones, Edite Jucevica, Ugis Kagainis, Maiko Kagami, Jungwon Kang, Xuejia Ke, Erin Colleen Keeley, Rebecca Kinnear, Kari Klanderud, Uwe Klinck, Roel Van Klink, Stefan Klotz, Carolien Kockaert, Halvor Knutsen, Matti Koivula, Alessandra Kortz, Peter Kriegel, Chao-Yang Kuo, David J. Kushner, Rosina Kyerematen, Raphaël Lagarde, Lesley T. Lancaster, Ori Frid Landau, Wouter Van Landuyt, Eric R. Larson, Mai Lazarus, Cheol Min Lee, Jonathan S. Lefcheck, Jonas J. Lembrechts, Renato A. Ferreira De Lima, Romullo Guimarães Lima, Nathália G. S. Lima, Cristina Linares, Sandra C. Lindstrom, Francisco Lloret, John David Lloyd, Cleonice Maria Cardoso Lobato, David M. Lodge, Peter Richard Long, Celeste López-Abbate, Adrià López-Baucells, Julio Louzada, Maite Louzao, Antonella Lugliè, Micheli Ribeiro Luiz, S. Ellen Macdonald, Joshua S. Madin, André Lincoln Barroso Magalhães, Rajindra Mahabir, David Maphisa, Thomas Edward Martin, Marcio Martins, Patrick T. Martone, Silvia Matesanz, Shin-Ichiro S. Matsuzaki, Thomas J. Matthews, Iain Mccombe Matthews, Connie J. Maxwell, Kent P. Mcfarland, Brian J. Mcgill, Diane Marie Mcknight, Michael J. Mcwilliam, Jason Meador, Henning Meesenburg, Kristin Meier, Viesturs Melecis, Peter L. Meserve, Christoph F. J. Meyer, Anders Michelsen, Natali Olivia Roman Miiller, Marco Milardi, Nataliya Milchakova, Robert J. Miller, Jonathan Millett, Tom Moens, Luciano F. A. Montag, Jon Moore, Jörg Müller, Akhil Murali, Shauna Ann Murray, Isla H. Myers-Smith, Randall W. Myster, Masahiro Nakamura, Sasi Nayar, Francis Neat, James A. Nelson, Michael Paul Nelson, Boris P. Nikolov, Rym Nouioua, Collins Ayine Nsor, Michael O' Connor, Edward Adzesiwor Obodai, Amy Marie Offland, Romà Ogaya, Hisako Ogura, Thomas A. Okey, Julian D. Olden, Luiz Gustavo Rodrigues Oliveira-Santos, Jeffrey C. Oliver, Esben Moland Olsen, Vladimir G. Onipchenko, Daniel Oro, Dais Ozolins, Krzysztof Pabis, Bachisio Mario Padedda, Facundo X. Palacio, Alain Paquette, Sinta Trilestari Pardede, David M. Patersib, Sarah Pausina, Raphaël Pélissier, Steven C. Pennings, Josep Penuelas, Felipe Walter Pereira, Nivaldo Peroni, Sergio Picó, Francesca Pilotto, Hudson Tercio Pinheiro, Oscar Pizarro, Roberto Pizzolotto, Francesco Pomati, Paulo Santos Pompeu, Dominique Ponton, Eric Post, Nicolas Poulet, Juha Pöyry, Steven J. Presley, Herbert H. T. Prins, Pieter Provoost, Kathleen L. Prudic, Vignesh Punjayil, Petr Pyšek, Pascal Querner, Juan Pablo Quimbayo, Indar W. Ramnarine, Daniel C. Reed, Peter Bernard Reich, Suzanne M. Remillard, Cerren Richards, Anthony James Richardson, Itai Van Rijin, Victor H. Rivera-Monroy, Christian Rixen, Kevin Peter Robinson, Ricardo Rocha, Ricardo R. Rodrigues, Cassy Rodrigues, Bjørn De Roos, Denise De C. De Rossa-Feres, Loreta Rosselli, Peter Charles Rothlisberg, Ana Rubio, Lars G. Rudstam, Catalina S. Ruz, Nancy B. Rybicki, Gunther Van Ryckegem, Andrew L. Rypel, Jon P. Sadler, Victor Satoru Saito, Sofia Sal, Renato Portela Salomão, Nathan J. Sanders, Flavio A. M. Santos, Tiago Gomes Dos Santos, Swapan Kumar Sarker, Sara E. Scanga, Marcus Schaub, Jochen Schmidt, Inger Kappel Schmidt, Robert L. Schooley, Alfred Schultz, Alberto Scotti, Amanda Serpell-Stevens, Filipe C. Serrano, Elizabeth H. Shadwick, Matthew Shaft, Thomas W. Sherry, Erika Mayumi Shimabukuro, Jacek Siciński, Caya Sievers, Fernando Rodrigues Da Silva, Ana Carolina Da Silva, Juliana M. Silveira, Tadeu Siqueira, Arunkumar Kavidapadinjattathil Sivadasan, Prasad Theruvil Parambil Sivan, Agnija Skuja, Amalia L. Slaughter, Jasper A. Slingsby, Joseph R. Smith, Bruno Eleres Soares, Martin Solan, Flaviana Maluf Souza, Gabriel B. G. Souza, Joshua L. Sprague, Ulrich Stachow, J. John Stadt, Christopher D. Stallings, Radoslav Hristov Stanchev, Emily H. Stanley, Brian M. Starzomski, Jose Mauro Sterza, Maarten Stevens, F. Gary Stiles, Stefan Stoll, Rick D. Stuart-Smith, Yzel Rondon Súarez, Laura Super, Sarah R. Supp, Tapio Sutela, Iain M. Suthers, Anna Suuronen, Kerrie M. Swadling, Daniel K. Szydlowski, Hisatomo Taki, Sara Jeanne Snell Taylor, Pablo A. Tedesco, Nils Teichert, Akira Terui, Gary P. Thiede, Anne Thimonier, Oliver Thomas, Peter Allan Thompson, Simon Thorn, Jeremy S. Tiemann, Luís Felipe Toledo, Anne Tolvanen, Maria Teresa Zugliani Toniato, Ignasi Torre, Marcos Adriano Tortato, Kumiko Totsu, Andrew Trant, Robert R. Twilley, Hirokazu Urabe, Pierre Valade, Nelson Valdivia, Martha Isabel Vallejo, Thomas J. Valone, Jan Vanaverbeke, Tiago Silveira Vasconcelos, Teppo Vehanen, Fábio Venturoli, Hans M. Verheye, Hendrik Jannes Wietse Vermeulen, Arne Verstraeten, Marcelo Vianna, Rui Vieira, João Paulo Santos Vieira-Alencar, Marc Vilella, Jean Ricardo Simões Vitule, Lien Van Vu, Robert B. Waide, Paige S. Warren, Joseph Paul Wayman, Sara L. Webb, Benjamin Weigel, Ellen A. R. Welti, Fritha West, Fulgor Westermann, Matthew A. Whalen, Ethan P. White, Claire E. Widdicombe, Richard Williams, Mark Williamson, Michael R. Willig, Sonja Wipf, Eric J. Woehler, Alje Woldering, Kerry D. Woods, Wu-Bing Xu, Ruthy Yahel, Zeren Yang, Kyle J. A. Zawada, Camila Zornosa-Torres, Assaf Zvuloni

Biological Sciences Faculty Publications

Motivation: Here, we make available a second version of the BioTIME database, which compiles records of abundance estimates for species in sample events of ecological assemblages through time. The updated version expands version 1.0 of the database by doubling the number of studies and includes substantial additional curation to the taxonomic accuracy of the records, as well as the metadata. Moreover, we now provide an R package (BioTIMEr) to facilitate use of the database.

Main Types of Variables Included: The database is composed of one main data table containing the abundance records and 11 metadata tables. The data are organised …

“Nice To See You”: Addressing Plant Awareness Disparity With Locally Specific Ecological And Cultural Plant Education, Cecilia Muecke

Pomona Senior Theses

Plants form the basis of life on Earth. However, due to the phenomenon of plant awareness disparity, a self-perpetuating cycle whereby plants are overlooked on an individual and global level ensues. Lack of plant awareness leads to a lessened emphasis on plants in sustainability and conservation as well as biology education, resulting in negative impacts on biodiversity and food security. The severity of plant awareness disparity is dependent on cultural context, and Indigenous and/or traditional societies are less likely to experience plant awareness disparity because of they are typically more connected to plants for their everyday needs. Native plants are …

Florida Scrub Is Nuts (And Drupes): Fruit Production And Consumption In Florida’S Fire-Prone, Xeric Uplands, Warren G. Abrahamson Ii

Faculty Journal Articles

This is a story about how plant size, fire, and climate affect fruit and nut production (i.e., mast) in Florida’s fire-prone, xeric uplands and the importance of mast as food for wildlife. To set the stage, let’s first explore the primary mast-producing plants of Florida’s xeric uplands: oaks, hickory, and palmettos.

Mobula, Bioinspiration, Filter Feeding, Form And Function, J. B. Teeple, S. R. Kahane-Rapport, K. E. Cohen, L. Hamann, J. A. Strother, E. W.M. Paig-Tran

Biological Sciences Faculty Publications

Mobulas (manta and devil rays) are large-scale ram filter feeders that separate planktonic food particles from large volumes of water with minimal clogging. This contrasts with most human-made filters that can suffer from problematic clogging requiring additional mechanisms for clearing blocked surfaces and maintaining performance. Prior studies have shown that mobulas employ a unique mechanism referred to as ricochet separation to filter feed, whereby captive vortices in filter pores cause particles to bounce off the filter surfaces and away from the filter pores. This mechanism enables the filtration of particles smaller than the pore size and reduced clogging. However, few …

Assemblage Structure Of Large Carnivorous Coral Reef Fishes At Shallow And Mesophotic Depths In Two Of The Largest And Most Isolated Marine Protected Areas In The Philippines, Rene A. Abesamis, Mikaela L. Salvador, Ryan Murray, Kymry Delijero, Segundo F. Conales, Jean T. Utzurrum, Christopher E. Bird, David T. Gauthier

Biological Sciences Faculty Publications

Overfishing remains a threat to coral reef fishes globally, with large carnivores often the most vulnerable. Marine protected areas (MPAs) can restore fish populations and biodiversity, but their impact has been understudied in mesophotic coral ecosystems (MCEs – extensions of shallow reefs from 30 to 150 m). We analyzed baited remote underwater videos recorded in 2016 to investigate the assemblage structure of large carnivorous fishes at shallow (4–12 m) and mesophotic (45–96 m) depths in two of the largest and most isolated MPAs in the Philippines: Tubbataha Reefs Natural Park (TRNP), a fully no-take MPA enacted in 1988; and Cagayancillo, …

Building Heat-Resilient Caribbean Reefs: Integrating Thermal Thresholds And Coral Colonies Selection In Restoration, Macarena Blanco Pimentel, Johanna Calle-Triviño, Daniel J. Barshis, Sancia E. T. Van Der Meij, Megan K. Morikawa

Biological Sciences Faculty Publications

Caribbean reefs face increasingly frequent and intense bleaching events, adding to the numerous other threats impacting these ecosystems. Addressing these challenges requires global action to reduce climate drivers, along with local efforts like reef restoration. Active restoration using thermotolerant coral colonies offers a potential strategy to alleviate these impacts; however, gaps remain in identifying context-specific temperature thresholds to guide colony selection and standardize thermotolerance assessment methods. This study addressed these gaps in two phases. First, by determining practical thresholds to differentiate species responses to heat stress; and second, by developing a framework to identify and prioritize resilient colonies for restoration. …

Fire History, Ecological History, And Historical Human-Environment Interactions In The Northern Great Plains, James Victor Benes

Dissertations and Doctoral Documents, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, 2023–

This dissertation explores the spatiotemporal signatures of fire in North American grassland ecosystems. In three chapters, I explore different aspects of fire history in the northern Great Plains. Chapter 1 is an introduction. Chapter 2 focuses on the Euro-American Settlement Period (ca. 1850–1950 C.E.). Fire histories from six different lakes in the Nebraska Sandhills are compared with two periods of historic drought and the establishment of United States Post Offices. Five of the six records show increased levels of biomass burning during the initial phases of Euro-American Settlement. Chapter 3 is a long-term (ca. 15,000 years), high-resolution fire history and …

Crisis In The Current: A Proposed Study On The Impact Of Columbia River Basin Water Quality On Juvenile Chinook Salmon Survival, Olivia Buist-Thuillier

Pitzer Senior Theses

Salmon occupy a vital role in the ecosystem, economy, and indigenous culture of the Pacific Northwest of the United States, specifically within the Columbia River Basin. Of the five species of Pacific Salmon that live in the basin, Chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha) are the most widely commercially fished and are the largest. In recent years, Chinook Salmon populations have heavily declined from human influence. Rising temperatures from anthropogenic climate change, habitat destruction (dams, human presence), runoff from agricultural practices, and overfishing have all contributed to this decline. Because of their role as a keystone species and their cultural significance, there …

No Evidence Of Immune Priming In Bumble Bee Hosts Against Novel Exposure To A Honey Bee Virus, Austin Calhoun, Ben M. Sadd

Faculty Publications – Biological Sciences

Ongoing global change presents novel challenges to species persistence, including heightened emerging infectious diseases (EID) exposure. While invertebrates lack vertebrate acquired immunity, many species exhibit “immune priming” with enhanced protection to repeated pathogen exposures. This phenomenon could be critical for species of conservation concern, such as for wild bumble bees, where EID risk is amplified through contact with managed bee pollinators. We investigate the potential for immune priming against the honey bee-derived Israeli Acute Paralysis Virus (IAPV) in Bombus impatiens bumble bees. We test the hypothesis that prior pathogen-associated exposure affords greater resistance and tolerance upon secondary pathogen exposure, due …

Herbivore Kairomones Affect Germination Speed, Seedling Growth, And Herbivory, Brooke Pellegrini

Open Access Master's Theses

Seeds and seedlings are particularly vulnerable to herbivory. Unlike mature plants, which can wait until herbivory is experienced to induce defense, seeds and seedlings face mortality if they wait. Slug mucus functions as a kairomone, a non-attack-related substance emitted by consumers that is detected by a prey species (in this case, plants). While snail mucus has been shown to induce defense in seedlings, it is not widely confirmed whether slugs have the same effect and whether seeds can also detect and react to such herbivore cues. We investigated how exposure to Arion subfuscus mucus affected growth and defense in Brassica …

‘Who’S Your Daddy?’: Ddradseq Parentage In Broodstock-Offspring Pairs Of Diadema Antillarum In A Population Restoration Initiative, Bianca R. Rosendahl

Undergraduate Scholarship and Creative Works

In the early 1980s Diadema antillarum, or the long-spined urchin, was hit by a catastrophic mass mortality event across the western Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico, inclusive of the Florida Keys. The cause of this die-off event was likely triggered by a pathogen or environmental stressor that decimated native populations by up to 98%. The species has not yet fully recovered and is struggling with recruitment success which is why it may benefit from an ex-situ recovery program. In this study, I used single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) to identify genetic variation and analyze parentage in a captive population of …

An Understanding Of The Feeding Ecology Of Teleoceras Fossiger And Teleoceras Aepysoma Using Dental Microwear And Mesowear Analysis, Gabriel S. Goncalves

Master's Theses or Doctor of Nursing Practice

Teleoceras is a genus of rhinocerotids that belongs to the Tribe Teleoceratines and was widespread across North America from the late Early Miocene into the Early Pliocene. This genus was very successful, spreading across the continental United States from Florida and Tennessee to California and Washington state down to central Mexico and Honduras. Teleoceras is characterized by having a large, rounded chest cavity and short limbs with relatively high crowned teeth and lower incisors modified into tusk-like teeth. Initial ecological comparisons were made to the modern hippopotamus based on proportions of the chest cavity and its hypsodont dentition. Stable carbon …

The Influence Of Bottom-Up And Top-Down Effects On The Density And Distribution Of Common Leopards In The Eastern Himalayas, Karma Choki

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Leopards (Panthera pardus fusca) are widely distributed across Asia, yet their conservation is overshadowed by the conservation status of other flagship predators like tigers (Panthera tigris), in the Eastern Himalayas. Despite their ability to coexist with other large carnivores, leopard populations are shaped by intricate ecological interactions and increasing human pressures. This thesis investigates the abundance and density, habitat use, and drivers of persistence of leopards across Bhutan to inform multi-species carnivore conservation planning. My first chapter provides an overview of the ecological roles of large carnivores and how they persist on the landscape. I review the mechanisms that facilitate …

The Spatial And Temporal Dimensions Of Plant–Soil Feedback In Native Perennial Monocultures, Bret Lang

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Plant-soil feedbacks (PSFs) describe how plants change their soil environment in ways that can either negatively or positively affect subsequent plant growth. In doing so, they offer an opportunity to connect ecological processes with agricultural practice. My dissertation examines PSFs created by native perennial monocultures, commonly used for native seed production, across time and space, and through soil legacies. Specifically, I focus on how plant species identity shapes both soil nutrient and soil microbial community responses. To address these questions, I conducted field experiments with monocultures of five forb species native to South Dakota and established plots with these species …

Dam It All: A Multi-Scalar Investigation Into The Ecological Role And Function Of Beaver Dams, Kenneth Larsen

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports

The central theme of this dissertation is ecological scaling, which examines how small, localized features, such as beaver ponds, contribute to large-scale watershed processes and how different modeling approaches at various scales reveal distinct insights. Through a combination of probabilistic modeling and high-resolution empirical research, this work demonstrates that small ponded systems, particularly those created by beavers (Castor canadensis), serve as critical biogeochemical control points, whose contributions to sediment and nutrient dynamics have been historically underestimated.

In Chapter 1, I contextualize this research within the broader fields of freshwater ecology, watershed modeling, and ecological restoration. I introduce the …

Karyotyping As A Method To Verify Phylogenetic Relationships Among The Enneacanthus Species, Ophelia A. Anderson

Theses and Dissertations

The Enneacanthus genus consists of three species of freshwater fish endemic to eastern North America: E. obesus (Banded Sunfish), E. gloriosus (Blue Spotted Sunfish), and E. chaetodon (Black Banded Sunfish). Previous studies using molecular data suggest that E. obesus and E. gloriosus are more closely related, with E. chaetodon as the most distantly related species in the genus. This study investigates the phylogenetic relationship among the Enneacanthus species, using karyotype characteristics - chromosome number, morphology and fundamental number - as comparative metrics. Chromosome spreads were obtained from scale and gill epithelium samples collected between 1993 and 1994. Prepared slides …

Behavioral Observations And Analysis Of Twix: The Cape Porcupine At The Lake Superior Zoo, Erin Davidson

Scripps Senior Theses

The three main goals of zoos are outlined as: education, conservation, and research. In our modern world, the focus of zoos has shifted away from simply housing animals, and towards how we can best promote proper animal welfare for individuals in human care. Animal welfare can be defined as the “mental health” of non-human species of fauna, and is greatly influenced by the stressors within the environment, as well as the option of choosing how to interact with and respond to the environment. Animals housed in zoos are presented with unique stressors that they often do not choose to experience, …

Assessing The Effects Of Wildfire Season Pm2.5 Exposure And Environmental Variables On Breeding Season Avian Body Condition, Cira Seyer-Ochi

Scripps Senior Theses

The increasing frequency and intensity of wildfires pose growing threats to wildlife, yet the indirect effects of wildfire smoke on avian populations remain largely unstudied. This exploratory study provides an initial assessment of how particulate matter 2.5 (PM2.5) associated with smoke pollution from the 2017 California wildfire season, in conjunction with precipitation and habitat type, influences the body condition of four resident bird species during the 2018 breeding season. Using bird banding data from 29 Monitoring Avian Productivity and Survivorship (MAPS) stations, I assessed the potential interactions between PM2.5 concentrations, precipitation, and habitat type with body condition for Song Sparrows …

Aspen Stands Enrich Bird Communities Following A Wildfire In A Montane, Mixed Conifer Forest, Cody Q. Lane

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Fire is a major ecological force in most terrestrial systems, but the responses of animal communities to fire vary markedly across ecosystems due to variability in fire regimes and vegetation communities. Quaking aspen (Populus tremuloides) is unique within coniferous forests of western North America for its ability to regenerate following wildfire via vegetative resprouting. As managers employ techniques to restore fire regimes and conserve declining aspen forests, it becomes important to understand how aspen alters postfire communities. Our objectives were to (1) assess how aspen interacted with fire severity and years since fire to influence avian species and …

Small Mammal Population Dynamics And Torpor Use In A Changing Subnivean Environment, Derik Butts

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Despite global temperature increases, winter soil surface temperatures in some northern regions might actually be getting colder due to diminishing snowpacks exposing the soil surface to ambient winter conditions. Small mammal species in northern temperate areas often utilize a microclimate beneath the snow, known as the subnivium, to escape harsh winter conditions. Exposure to winter conditions without the subnivium as a buffer could cause small mammals to experience physiological stress and population declines. In this thesis, I explore the impacts of a declining subnivium from two complementary perspectives. In chapter 1, we used a structural equation model (SEM) to test …

Urban Heat Island Effects On Arthropod Populations And Communities In Jacksonville, Fl, Eleanor G. Cronin

UNF Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The urban heat island (UHI) effect makes urban areas hotter than rural areas. Urban areas, and the extreme heat that comes with them, are becoming more common worldwide. If UHIs lead to changes in arthropod community diversity, then ecosystem structure and services could be disrupted. Previous UHI studies have investigated heat impacts on arthropod ecology, but many focus on one species while studies that consider thermal diversity within a single urban area have been limited. In Jacksonville, Florida, areas that are 12°C hotter than the coolest areas are considered local UHIs. The goal of this research is to investigate how …

Severe Aggression Among Zoo-Housed Coconut (Trichoglossus Haematodus) And Rainbow (Trichoglossus Moluccanus) Lorikeets: Wellbeing Considerations For Free-Flight Aviaries, Emily Simkins

UNF Graduate Theses and Dissertations

As conservation and education institutions, modern zoos balance the needs of animals with the interests of visitors through several strategies which can increase animal wellbeing and improve visitor experience. Environmental enrichment is frequently employed to increase the suitability of anthropogenic environments for zoo-housed animals, such as through walkthrough habitats and free-flight aviaries. While habitats such as these are important for visitor experience and can be enriching to animals, there are also wellbeing considerations for these spaces. Walkthrough habitats can be a potential source of fear and stress for animals, as shown by increased frequencies of vigilance, undesirable behavior, and aggression. …

Long-Term Abundance Estimates Of A Northeast Florida Estuarine Dolphin Community: Evaluating The Impacts Of The 2013–2015 Cetacean Morbillivirus Unusual Mortality Event, Allison L. Wilkins

UNF Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Tamanend's bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops erebennus) in the St. Johns River (SJR), Jacksonville, FL, are subjected to substantial anthropogenic stressors (e.g., vessel traffic, dredging, fisheries interactions) and were heavily impacted by the 2013-2015 Mid-Atlantic cetacean morbillivirus unusual mortality event (UME). High prevalence of skin lesions and frequent sightings of emaciated dolphins suggest declining health and viability of the SJR dolphin community. Sighting data from Jul. 2011 to Oct. 2019 provided the rare opportunity to investigate long-term changes in dolphin abundance surrounding the UME. This study produced the first dolphin abundance estimate within the Jacksonville Estuarine System stock since 1997, …

Light, Symbiosis, And The Biology Of Corals, Taylor R. Lindsay

Open Access Dissertations

Light is critical for the survival of most shallow water scleractinian corals. Corals are mixotrophs, acquiring energy via both feeding on water column plankton and photosynthesis via a symbiotic relationship with dinoflagellates living within their tissues. Corals rely heavily on photosynthetically derived metabolites through this symbiotic relationship, intrinsically linking their biology to light availability. Corals are known to modulate their biology to maximize light capture. However, there is a limited understanding of the interaction between morphology, physiology, and energetic strategy, as well as how light may affect these relationships. In Chapter 1, we quantified the morphology, physiology and energetic …