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Behavior and Ethology Commons™

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2022

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Articles 31 - 60 of 145

Full-Text Articles in Behavior and Ethology

Age, Sex And Family Composition Of Montezuma Quail (Cyrtonyx Montezumae) Coveys In Arizona, New Mexico, And Texas, Alberto Macias-Duarte, Angel B. Montoya Sep 2022

Age, Sex And Family Composition Of Montezuma Quail (Cyrtonyx Montezumae) Coveys In Arizona, New Mexico, And Texas, Alberto Macias-Duarte, Angel B. Montoya

National Quail Symposium Proceedings

The Montezuma quail (Cyrtonyx montezumae) is a popular game bird in Arizona and New Mexico, USA, but hunting seasons remain closed in Texas, USA. Estimates of age structure parameters and sex ratios in game birds are essential information for predicting population trajectories and developing sustainable harvest and conservation strategies. Montezuma quail form coveys during the winter as a behavioral strategy for improved survival. In this regard, we harvested 1–4 individuals from 112 Montezuma quail coveys in Arizona, New Mexico, and West Texas from 2009 through 2020 to estimate sex and age composition (juvenile vs. adults) of coveys. We …

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Nesting Of Montezuma Quail In Mexico, David García-Solózano, Carlos González-Rebeles Islas, German D. Mendoza Martínez, Ernesto Ávila González, Fidel Hernández Sep 2022

Nesting Of Montezuma Quail In Mexico, David García-Solózano, Carlos González-Rebeles Islas, German D. Mendoza Martínez, Ernesto Ávila González, Fidel Hernández

National Quail Symposium Proceedings

Although Mexico has the greatest diversity of quail of any New World country, basic information on the ecology and life history of Mexican quails remains unknown. Our objective was to describe nest characteristics of the Montezuma quail (Cyrtonyx montezumae montezumae) in central Mexico. We searched for Montezuma quail nests within 8 counties in the state of México, Mexico during May–September 2003. We conducted nest searches along 66 transects (3–5 km × 40 m) distributed across 17 study sites. We recorded vegetation community, elevation, and nesting substrate for each nest. We measured nest characteristics: height, depth, nest entrance diameter, …

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Montezuma Quail In The Edwards Plateau Of Texas: Detection, Occurrence, And Habitat, Zachary J. Pearson, Eric D. Grahmann, Fidel Hernández, Robert Perez, Leonard A. Brennan, Humberto L. Perotto-Baldivieso Sep 2022

Montezuma Quail In The Edwards Plateau Of Texas: Detection, Occurrence, And Habitat, Zachary J. Pearson, Eric D. Grahmann, Fidel Hernández, Robert Perez, Leonard A. Brennan, Humberto L. Perotto-Baldivieso

National Quail Symposium Proceedings

Montezuma quail (Cyrtonyx montezumae) were historically found throughout nearly every county in the Edwards Plateau region of Texas, USA. Over the last century, shifting land use, reduction of fire on the landscape, and the subsequent encroachment of woody vegetation have constricted the distribution of Montezuma quail to a few counties in the southern portion of the Edwards Plateau. A renewed interest in management for Montezuma quail over the last decade has been met with a lack of information regarding their habitat requirements in this region. This lack of general information and increased sightings of this elusive species in …

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Monitoring Scaled Quail Occupancy And Colonization Post-Translocation On A Large Landscape, Rebekah E. Ruzicka, Dale Rollins Sep 2022

Monitoring Scaled Quail Occupancy And Colonization Post-Translocation On A Large Landscape, Rebekah E. Ruzicka, Dale Rollins

National Quail Symposium Proceedings

Large landscapes are important for sustaining quail populations in semiarid climates where annual variation in vital rates, and thus population volatility, tends to be larger than in subtropical climates. Translocations may need to be conducted on a similar scale to ensure long-term success. Large landscapes pose challenges for monitoring release sites in terms of costs and logistics. However, large landscapes also provide an excellent opportunity to evaluate habitat preferences and suitability because they inherently hold more variation in habitat type. Multiseason occupancy surveys are a potential monitoring tool for translocations where population persistence is a benchmark for success. Occupancy (i.e., …

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Evaluating Release Strategy For Translocated Northern Bobwhites In Cross Timbers Ecoregion Of Texas: A Pilot Study, Rebekah E. Ruzicka, Dale Rollins, Ty Bartoskewitz Sep 2022

Evaluating Release Strategy For Translocated Northern Bobwhites In Cross Timbers Ecoregion Of Texas: A Pilot Study, Rebekah E. Ruzicka, Dale Rollins, Ty Bartoskewitz

National Quail Symposium Proceedings

Northern bobwhite (Colinus virginianus) population decline is largely driven by the loss, fragmentation, and degradation of grassland habitats. Translocation is used to reintroduce or augment populations in fragmented landscapes where natural dispersal is inhibited. Northern bobwhites have been successfully translocated in the southeastern portion of their range, but outcomes of translocations in western ranges have been mixed. Our objective was to conduct a pilot study to test the feasibility of translocating northern bobwhites to a restored, but isolated, habitat in the Cross Timbers ecoregion of Texas, USA and to evaluate the influence of release strategy for improving northern …

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Stress And Predation Impacts On North American Quail Translocations, Curt A. Vandenberg, Sarah A. Currier, Jeffrey G. Whitt, Kelly S. Reyna Sep 2022

Stress And Predation Impacts On North American Quail Translocations, Curt A. Vandenberg, Sarah A. Currier, Jeffrey G. Whitt, Kelly S. Reyna

National Quail Symposium Proceedings

Translocations have been used in attempts to bolster or restore native quail populations for >150 years, often with little success. However, with some northeastern United States quail populations undetectable or extirpated, and others across the United States on the extreme decline, translocation as a tool for quail population restoration is becoming increasingly popular. Two factors contributing to translocation failure are physiological stress and predation. Chronic stress associated with translocations can result in weight loss, reduced immune system function, suppressed reproduction, and an altered fight-or-flight response. These stress-induced responses increase vulnerability to predation, the primary cause of quail mortality. Here, we …

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Translocating Wild California Valley Quail To Texas: An Evaluation Of Survival, Dispersal, Tracking Efficacy, And Roost Preference, Garrett Rushing, Jordan T. Conley, Jeffrey G. Whitt, Kelly S. Reyna Sep 2022

Translocating Wild California Valley Quail To Texas: An Evaluation Of Survival, Dispersal, Tracking Efficacy, And Roost Preference, Garrett Rushing, Jordan T. Conley, Jeffrey G. Whitt, Kelly S. Reyna

National Quail Symposium Proceedings

Quail translocations are becoming increasingly popular in regions of suitable habitat where local quail populations have declined. In northeastern Texas, USA, northern bobwhite (Colinus virginianus) populations have drastically declined for over a century and have reached undetectable levels in many areas. As a result, the number of quail hunters and quail conservation funding have also declined. California valley quail (Callipepla californica; hereafter, valley quail) have increased across their range and have been translocated to many states and countries. Thus, the goal of this study was to determine whether translocating wild valley quail to Texas was feasible, …

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Survival, Movement, And Habitat Use Of Translocated Northern Bobwhite In Texas, Ricardo Cagigal Perez, Nova J. Silvy, Brian L. Pierce, Therese A. Catanach Sep 2022

Survival, Movement, And Habitat Use Of Translocated Northern Bobwhite In Texas, Ricardo Cagigal Perez, Nova J. Silvy, Brian L. Pierce, Therese A. Catanach

National Quail Symposium Proceedings

For decades there has been a noticeable decline in northern bobwhite (Colinus virginianus; hereafter, bobwhite) populations. Few studies have assessed the survival of translocated bobwhite. We evaluated the effectiveness of reintroduction of bobwhite into the Texas (USA) Parks and Wildlife Department’s Gus Engeling Wildlife Management Area (GEWMA), where they had been extirpated but now have suitable habitat. Before reintroduction, GEWMA was surveyed (spring call counts) to make sure no bobwhite were present. Forty-six bobwhite were trapped from March–April 2019 in South Texas, banded, bled, radio-tagged, transported to GEWMA, and released. In addition, 17 bobwhite were trapped banded, bled, …

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Effect Of Food Distribution On Northern Bobwhite Resource Selection, Rachel R. Gardner, John Maerz, Theron M. Terhune Ii, Ira B. Parnell, James A. Martin Sep 2022

Effect Of Food Distribution On Northern Bobwhite Resource Selection, Rachel R. Gardner, John Maerz, Theron M. Terhune Ii, Ira B. Parnell, James A. Martin

National Quail Symposium Proceedings

Supplemental feeding is a common management tactic used to increase survival and reproduction of northern bobwhite (Colinus virginianus; hereafter, bobwhite). Different supplemental feeding methods alter the distribution of resources across a landscape in unique ways and may influence the space use and resource selection of target species differently. Predators may concentrate their movements near fed sites, and different distributions of supplemental feed may encourage bobwhite to concentrate their movements closer to feed than other areas, thereby altering the potential for predator-prey interactions near feed. We used radio-tracked locations and movements in areas with stationary feeders (“feeder fed”) and …

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Impacts To Quail Space Use And Demographics From Oil And Gas Development, Kelsey R. Davis, Eric D. Grahmann, Fidel Hernández, Chase R. Currie, Timothy E. Fulbright, David B. Wester, Humberto L. Perotto-Baldivieso Sep 2022

Impacts To Quail Space Use And Demographics From Oil And Gas Development, Kelsey R. Davis, Eric D. Grahmann, Fidel Hernández, Chase R. Currie, Timothy E. Fulbright, David B. Wester, Humberto L. Perotto-Baldivieso

National Quail Symposium Proceedings

Southern Texas contains some of the last relatively unfragmented habitat for northern bobwhite (Colinus virginianus; hereafter, bobwhite) and scaled quail (Callipepla squamata) in the United States. Development of the Eagle Ford Shale hydrocarbon formation in this region could negatively impact quail and their habitat. Our objective was to examine the indirect effects of oil and gas activity (traffic and noise) on bobwhite and scaled quail on 2 private ranches in southern Texas. In 2015 and 2016, we radio-marked bobwhite and scaled quail in 2 areas where oil and gas activity was occurring (disturbed treatment) and 2 …

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Cascading Effects Of Hunting Disturbance On Northern Bobwhite Behavior, Physiology, And Survival, Emily Prosser, Theron M. Terhune Ii, Kristen J. Navara, Geoff Beane, James A. Martin Sep 2022

Cascading Effects Of Hunting Disturbance On Northern Bobwhite Behavior, Physiology, And Survival, Emily Prosser, Theron M. Terhune Ii, Kristen J. Navara, Geoff Beane, James A. Martin

National Quail Symposium Proceedings

The northern bobwhite (Colinus virginianus; hereafter, bobwhite) is an important gamebird across the United States and has been in decline for several decades. As a commonly hunted prey species, the bobwhite provides an ideal study species to investigate the use of proactive and reactive antipredator behaviors in response to hunting pressure. We designed an experiment to understand how late-season hunting affects bobwhite demographics using fecal glucocorticoid (fGCM) concentrations, foraging and movement behaviors, survival, and breeding season metrics. Our results show that bobwhite responded to increased interactions with a shotgun through proactive responses. After one encounter with …

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Avian Abundance And Diversity On Knoxville Wildlife Area In California Following The County Fire Of 2018, Katherine S. Miller, Stacy Martinelli, Levi E. Souza Sep 2022

Avian Abundance And Diversity On Knoxville Wildlife Area In California Following The County Fire Of 2018, Katherine S. Miller, Stacy Martinelli, Levi E. Souza

National Quail Symposium Proceedings

Wildfires can have negative impacts on wildlife during and immediately after a burn event, yet these fires are also necessary for plant succession and biodiversity. Knoxville Wildlife Area (KWA) in Napa County, California, USA is a diverse environment that contains oak woodlands, chaparral, grasslands, and riparian corridors. In July 2018, the County Fire burned 36,353 ha in the Northern California Interior Coast Ranges, including 2,429 ha on KWA. California Department of Fish and Wildlife employees used this opportunity to monitor avian abundance and diversity as the burned area revegetates. From 10 June through 14 June 2019, we began a pilot …

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Northern Bobwhite Survival And Productivity In Relation To Food Supplementation, Shelby R. Simons, Greg Hagan, Theron M. Terhune Ii, James A. Martin Sep 2022

Northern Bobwhite Survival And Productivity In Relation To Food Supplementation, Shelby R. Simons, Greg Hagan, Theron M. Terhune Ii, James A. Martin

National Quail Symposium Proceedings

Northern bobwhite (Colinus virginianus; hereafter, bobwhite) populations have experienced a 3.4% decline annually nation-wide from 1966 to 2018. Limitations on resources, such as food, can regulate population growth. Supplemental food could alleviate resource limitation by raising carrying capacity, leading to increased survival and breeding productivity. Studies have shown higher survival rates and higher nest production when food is supplemented; however, repeating experiments in different contexts allows for strong inference. Our objectives were to assess how supplemental food influenced survival and breeding productivity of resident and translocated bobwhite during a 2-year study on public lands in Leon County, Florida, …

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Behavioral State-Specific Northern Bobwhite Chick Resource Selection, Justin N. Hill, Theron M. Terhune Ii, James A. Martin Sep 2022

Behavioral State-Specific Northern Bobwhite Chick Resource Selection, Justin N. Hill, Theron M. Terhune Ii, James A. Martin

National Quail Symposium Proceedings

Determining resource selection rates for all life stages of a species is critical to enable a holistic management approach that focuses on bolstering populations across all life stages. Moreover, tying these selection rates to specific life history needs (e.g., foraging, roosting, and loafing) can provide valuable information to guide management practices. Northern bobwhite (Colinus virginianus; hereafter, bobwhite), a gallinaceous species of North America, has experienced steady population declines throughout much of its range over the last 50 years. Although the species has been well studied, chick ecology is still relatively unknown. We studied bobwhite chick resource selection on …

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Diurnal Occurrence Of Great-Horned Owls On Northern Bobwhite Hunting Properties In Southwest Georgia, Justin A. Rectenwald, Philip M. Coppola, Theron M. Terhune Ii, D. Clay Sisson, James A. Martin Sep 2022

Diurnal Occurrence Of Great-Horned Owls On Northern Bobwhite Hunting Properties In Southwest Georgia, Justin A. Rectenwald, Philip M. Coppola, Theron M. Terhune Ii, D. Clay Sisson, James A. Martin

National Quail Symposium Proceedings

Understanding interactions between prey species and their predators is essential to discerning the ecology and management fundamentals of a species. Great-horned owls (Bubo virginianus) have long been considered an opportunistic predator of northern bobwhite (Colinus virginianus; hereafter, bobwhite) and recent studies have demonstrated that bobwhite survival is reduced at higher great-horned owl densities (Rectenwald et al. 2021). Managers on quail properties often mechanically remove live oak (Quercus virginiana) hammocks as part of larger predation management plans to reduce the amount of suitable predator habitat. While scattered live oaks are typically left for aesthetic purposes, …

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Home Range And Space Use Of Northern Bobwhite Under Two Different Management Models In Southwestern Missouri, Thomas R. Thompson, Frank L. Loncarich, R. Kyle Hedges Sep 2022

Home Range And Space Use Of Northern Bobwhite Under Two Different Management Models In Southwestern Missouri, Thomas R. Thompson, Frank L. Loncarich, R. Kyle Hedges

National Quail Symposium Proceedings

Northern bobwhite (Colinus virginianus; hereafter, bobwhite) management in Missouri, USA has traditionally been focused on providing an interspersion of grass, crop, old field, and woody cover juxtaposed to disked idle areas and food plots to maintain bobwhite populations. This traditional model is implemented with the goal of providing all essential habitat components within 40-acre blocks throughout a larger area used by a population. While this model can produce usable bobwhite space in agriculture-dominated landscapes, it may not be the most effective or efficient approach to producing and maintaining bobwhite in grassland-dominated landscapes. In southwestern Missouri native tallgrass prairie …

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Nest Hatch Chronology Of Northern Bobwhite And Implications For Management, Frank L. Loncarich, R. Kyle Hedges Sep 2022

Nest Hatch Chronology Of Northern Bobwhite And Implications For Management, Frank L. Loncarich, R. Kyle Hedges

National Quail Symposium Proceedings

Managers in Missouri, USA, and in other Midwestern states have long operated under the belief that the peak of nest hatching for northern bobwhite (Colinus virginianus; hereafter, bobwhite) is 15 June. Though it is widely understood that bobwhite nests hatch throughout the summer, many management decisions are made based on the accepted peak. Fully understanding the dynamics behind bobwhite nest timing is critical, as management activities in nesting cover during summer are common. To better understand nest chronology, we used radio-telemetry to monitor nest incubation initiation, hatch date, and renesting rate on 6 conservation areas in southwestern Missouri …

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Results From Kentucky’S 10-Year Bobwhite Recovery Plan, Cody M. Rhoden, John J. Morgan, Ben A. Robinson, Gary Sprandel Sep 2022

Results From Kentucky’S 10-Year Bobwhite Recovery Plan, Cody M. Rhoden, John J. Morgan, Ben A. Robinson, Gary Sprandel

National Quail Symposium Proceedings

The northern bobwhite (Colinus virginianus; hereafter, bobwhite) has experienced a precipitous population decline through almost all its historical range over the last 6 decades. We initiated a 10-year restoration plan in Kentucky, USA in 2008 and reported on it through 3 published “Road to Recovery” reports along with 30 peer-reviewed articles and abstracts, 2 technical documents, 7 theses or dissertations, and 11 popular literature pieces. Seven Quail Focus Areas were selected across the state based on site personnel, geographic position (east to west), and land ownership (e.g., private, public, state, federal) for monitoring and habitat management. The focus …

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Adaptive Management Facilitates Increase In Northern Bobwhite Populations, James A. Martin, Clay Sisson, Justin Rectenwald, Paige Howell Sep 2022

Adaptive Management Facilitates Increase In Northern Bobwhite Populations, James A. Martin, Clay Sisson, Justin Rectenwald, Paige Howell

National Quail Symposium Proceedings

Adaptive resource management (ARM) is an approach to managing that allows decision makers to learn about a system and subsequently change management actions based on new information about system processes (i.e., adapt) to better meet fundamental objectives. This is not to be confused with changing management actions when the state of the system changes. For example, changing a harvest regulation when populations decline is not ARM. This dynamic decision making may be fortuitously optimal, but if the effect of harvest is uncertain then changing regulations may be suboptimal—for example, weather may have caused the decline. Adaptive resource management can be …

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Adaptive Management And Quail Conservation On Rangelands In The American West, Leonard A. Brennan, Ashley Tanner, Evan P. Tanner Sep 2022

Adaptive Management And Quail Conservation On Rangelands In The American West, Leonard A. Brennan, Ashley Tanner, Evan P. Tanner

National Quail Symposium Proceedings

Adaptive management has been and is being practiced with the goal of sustaining populations of wild quails on large areas of rangelands in the American West. Because the current land use practices throughout most of the eastern two-thirds of the United States largely do not promote early-successional vegetation communities, rangelands contain the largest remaining blocks of contiguous (unfragmented) habitat for the northern bobwhite (Colinus virginianus) and the other 5 species of quails found in the western states. Many wildlife professionals on both private and public rangelands are practicing a diverse array of quail habitat and population management actions …

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Covers Sep 2022

Covers

National Quail Symposium Proceedings

No abstract provided.

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Fast And Furious: Energetic Tradeoffs And Scaling Of High-Speed Foraging In Rorqual Whales, William T. Gough, David E. Cade, Max F. Czapanskiy, Jean Potvin, Frank E. Fish, Shirel R. Kahane-Rapport, Matthew S. Savoca, K. C. Bierlich, David W. Johnston, Ari S. Friedlaender, Andy Szabo, Lars Bejder, Jeremy A. Goldbogen Sep 2022

Fast And Furious: Energetic Tradeoffs And Scaling Of High-Speed Foraging In Rorqual Whales, William T. Gough, David E. Cade, Max F. Czapanskiy, Jean Potvin, Frank E. Fish, Shirel R. Kahane-Rapport, Matthew S. Savoca, K. C. Bierlich, David W. Johnston, Ari S. Friedlaender, Andy Szabo, Lars Bejder, Jeremy A. Goldbogen

Biology Faculty Publications

Although gigantic body size and obligate filter feeding mechanisms have evolved in multiple vertebrate lineages (mammals and fishes), intermittent ram (lunge) filter feeding is unique to a specific family of baleen whales: rorquals. Lunge feeding is a high cost, high benefit feeding mechanism that requires the integration of unsteady locomotion (i.e., accelerations and maneuvers); the impact of scale on the biomechanics and energetics of this foraging mode continues to be the subject of intense study. The goal of our investigation was to use a combination of multi-sensor tags paired with UAS footage to determine the impact of morphometrics such as …

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Proximate And Ultimate Perspectives On Romantic Love Sep 2022

Proximate And Ultimate Perspectives On Romantic Love

The International Journal of Ecopsychology (IJE)

Romantic love is a phenomenon of immense interest to the general public as well as to scholars in several disciplines. It is known to be present in almost all human societies and has been studied from a number of perspectives. In this integrative review, we bring together what is known about romantic love using Tinbergen’s “four questions” framework originating from evolutionary biology. Under the first question, related to mechanisms, we show that it is caused by social, psychological mate choice, genetic, neural, and endocrine mechanisms. The mechanisms regulating psychopathology, cognitive biases, and animal models provide further insights into the mechanisms …

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Information Needs And Seeking Behaviour Of Illegal Oil Bunkers In Imiringi Town Of Bayelsa State, Nigeria, Tangkat Yusuf Dushu Mr. Sep 2022

Information Needs And Seeking Behaviour Of Illegal Oil Bunkers In Imiringi Town Of Bayelsa State, Nigeria, Tangkat Yusuf Dushu Mr.

Library Philosophy and Practice (e-journal)

This study focused on the information needs and seeking behavior of Illegal oil bunkers in Imiringi Town of Bayelsa state. Three research questions were formulated to guide the study. and was carried out using 150 questionnaires in order to ascertain the information needs and information seeking behavior of Illegal oil bunkers. The study adopted a descriptive survey design. Frequencies and percentages were used to analyze the data. The result showed that the Illegal oil bunkers do not have access to adequate information because the libraries as well as the local government, who this responsibility rests on, have been inefficient. Recommendations …

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An Evaluation Of Ethograms Measuring Distinct Features Of Enrichment Use By Captive Chimpanzees (Pan Troglodytes), Julia L. Greeson, Kara I. Gabriel, John B. Mulcahy, Bonnie King Hendrickson, Susan D. Lonborg, Jay C. Holloway Aug 2022

An Evaluation Of Ethograms Measuring Distinct Features Of Enrichment Use By Captive Chimpanzees (Pan Troglodytes), Julia L. Greeson, Kara I. Gabriel, John B. Mulcahy, Bonnie King Hendrickson, Susan D. Lonborg, Jay C. Holloway

Student Published Works

Environmental enrichment provides mental stimulation and minimizes abnormal behaviors in captive animals. In captive chimpanzees, individual animals may vary in the ways in which they benefit from enrichment or use enrichment devices, so investigating nuances in enrichment use may improve the welfare of captive chimpanzees. In the current study, three ethograms measuring distinct features of enrichment use (i.e., enrichment object, manipulation behavior, and social context) were evaluated by coding videos of captive chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes) at Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest in Cle Elum, WA. A total of 732 min and 58 s of video footage was coded from a larger video …

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Patterns Of Evolutionary Conservation And Divergence In The Short-Term Hyposalinity Stress Response Of A Euryhaline Diatom, Skeletonema Marinoi, Kathryn Judy Aug 2022

Patterns Of Evolutionary Conservation And Divergence In The Short-Term Hyposalinity Stress Response Of A Euryhaline Diatom, Skeletonema Marinoi, Kathryn Judy

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Survival under fluctuating environmental conditions, such as those increasing in frequency and magnitude under environmental change, requires a successful response to stress. Interspecific differences in stress responses may result in differential survival of species, even within a lineage. Diatoms may constitute one such lineage, as salinity tolerance among extant species is diverse, and the observation of frequent historic habitat transitions between marine and freshwater environments indicates that diatoms successfully mitigated (low) salinity stress in the past, followed by adaptation and diversification over evolutionary time scales. To understand to what extent the diatom hypoosmotic stress response consists of conserved and variable …

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Bee Brains: Dissecting Pollinator Behavior And The Importance Of Plasticity In The Face Of Changing Environments, Rachel Brant Jul 2022

Bee Brains: Dissecting Pollinator Behavior And The Importance Of Plasticity In The Face Of Changing Environments, Rachel Brant

Dissertations

All organisms face environmental variability, and much of contemporary biological research aims to understand the mechanisms allowing organisms to adapt and survive in the face of change. Animals residing in urban habitats face particularly high levels of unpredictability and environmental fluctuation due to changes based upon human desire. Though urban areas are considered relatively novel habitats, numerous species have adapted to city life, mediated through behavioral and physiological plasticity. Native bee species show particularly high species richness and abundance in urban settings, but the mechanisms driving this pattern are poorly understood. In this dissertation, I explore how bees employ plasticity …

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Uncovering 'Hidden' Signals: Previously Presumed Visual Signals Likely Generate Air Particle Movement, Pallabi Kundu, Noori Choi, Aaron S. Rundus, Roger D. Santer Jul 2022

Uncovering 'Hidden' Signals: Previously Presumed Visual Signals Likely Generate Air Particle Movement, Pallabi Kundu, Noori Choi, Aaron S. Rundus, Roger D. Santer

Psychology Faculty Publications

Wolf spiders within the genus Schizocosa have become a model system for exploring the form and function of multimodal communication. In terms of male signaling, much past research has focused on the role and importance of dynamic and static visual and substrate-borne vibratory communication. Studies on S. retrorsa, however, have found that female-male pairs were able to successfully mate in the absence of both visual and vibratory stimuli, suggesting a reduced or non-existent role of these signaling modalities in this species. Given these prior findings, it has been suggested that S. retrorsa males may utilize an additional signaling modality during …

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Wild Bees Respond Differently To Sampling Traps With Vanes Of Different Colors And Light Reflectivity In A Livestock Pasture Ecosystem, Roshani S. Acharya, Joan M. Burke, Timothy Leslie, Kelly Loftin, Neelendra K. Joshi Jun 2022

Wild Bees Respond Differently To Sampling Traps With Vanes Of Different Colors And Light Reflectivity In A Livestock Pasture Ecosystem, Roshani S. Acharya, Joan M. Burke, Timothy Leslie, Kelly Loftin, Neelendra K. Joshi

Entomology Faculty Publications and Presentations

Wild bees are important pollinators and monitoring their abundance and diversity is necessary to develop conservation protocols. It is imperative to understand differences in sampling efficiency among different trap types to help guide monitoring efforts. This study used a new vane trap design to collect bees in a livestock pasture ecosystem and examined the impact of six different vane colors on wild bee sampling. We recorded 2230 bees comprising 49 species and five families. The most abundant species were Augochlorella aurata (25.8%), Lasioglossum disparile (18.3%), Lasioglossum imitatum (10.85%), Agapostemon texanus (10.8%), Melissodes vernoniae (9.9%) and Halictus ligatus (4.7%). Traps with …

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Maternal Responses In The Face Of Infection Risk, Patricia C. Lopes, Brenna M. G. Gormally, Aubrey Emmi, Delilah Schuerman, Chathuni Liyanage, Ursula K. Beattie, L. Michael Romero Jun 2022

Maternal Responses In The Face Of Infection Risk, Patricia C. Lopes, Brenna M. G. Gormally, Aubrey Emmi, Delilah Schuerman, Chathuni Liyanage, Ursula K. Beattie, L. Michael Romero

Biology, Chemistry, and Environmental Sciences Faculty Articles and Research

When animals are sick, their physiology and behavior change in ways that can impact their offspring. Research is emerging showing that infection risk alone can also modify the physiology and behavior of healthy animals. If physiological responses to environments with high infection risk take place during reproduction, it is possible that they lead to maternal effects. Understanding whether and how high infection risk triggers maternal effects is important to elucidate how the impacts of infectious agents extend beyond infected individuals and how, in this way, they are even stronger evolutionary forces than already considered. Here, to evaluate the effects of …

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