Other Ecology and Evolutionary Biology Commons^™

Leaf Angle And Leaf Stomata Responses To Experimental Drought In Quercus Velutina And Acer Saccharum, Brittany Nichole Casey

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

The possibility of increased severity and frequency of drought conditions, as a result of global climate variability, greatly complicates our ability to forecast future forest functions such as productivity and carbon sequestration. Assessing how tree species vary in their response to drought can aid in predicting the impact on forest ecosystems as a whole. Throughfall exclusion (TfE) experiments are potentially useful tools to simulate realistic drought conditions within intact forest ecosystems. We employed a TfE experiment during the 2018 growing season within the WV Land Trust’s Elizabeth’s Woods Nature Preserve, near Morgantown, WV, to assess the leaf angle and leaf …

Quantifying Pollen Traits To Build A Mathematical Model Of Pollen Competition - A Mathematician's Perspective, Montana Ferita, Julie Fucarino, Alex Capaldi, Charlotte Beckford

Annual Symposium on Biomathematics and Ecology Education and Research

No abstract provided.

Quantifying Pollen Traits To Build A Mathematical Model Of Pollen Competition - A Biologist's Perspective, Rob Swanson, Alex Capaldi

Annual Symposium on Biomathematics and Ecology Education and Research

No abstract provided.

Stable Isotope Geochemistry Of Shelled Marine Invertebrates: Wide-Ranging Applications, Nasser M. Al-Qattan

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Mollusks grow by adding discrete growth layers throughout their lifetime (i.e., accretion). More specifically, most marine mollusks precipitate their shells in oxygen isotopic equilibrium with seawater or with a constant offset from equilibrium. The stable oxygen isotope values (δ¹⁸O) of their shells are determined by the temperature and δ¹⁸O values of the surrounding water during calcification without significant vital effects. In comparison, the stable carbon isotope values (δ¹³C) of their shells reflect those of the dissolved inorganic carbon (δ¹³C- DIC) and respired carbon dioxide. Therefore, variations in the oxygen and carbon isotope …

Phylogenetic Inference Of Multiscale Selection Pressures Using A Continuous State Birth-Death Process, Marco Hamins-Puertolas, David Rasmussen

Biology and Medicine Through Mathematics Conference

No abstract provided.

The Effects Of Constructed Wetlands On Metal Solubilization And Bioavailability In Passive Mine Remediation, Elizabeth Cochran

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The legacy of coal mining in Appalachia has left many watersheds impacted by abandoned mine drainage. The drainage degrades streams, groundwater and habitats with acidity and toxic heavy metals. The Lowber Passive Remediation System has been in operation since 2004 to remediate high amounts of dissolved Fe, SO₄, Al, and Mn. The site consists of six settling ponds and an extensive wetlands at the finish. This study investigated the resolubilization of Fe and Mn in the wetlands and the role of bacteria in resolubilization. During three seasons, field measurements of water quality and lab analysis of Fe, Mn, …

Microplastics In The Digestive System Of The Atlantic Sharpnose Shark (Rhizoprionodon Terraenovae) In Winyah Bay, Sc, Elise Virginia Pullen

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The digestive tracts and livers of adult male Atlantic sharpnose sharks (N=16), Rhizoprionodon terraenovae, from Winyah Bay, South Carolina were examined for ingested microplastics. R. terraenovae is a small, locally abundant, coastal mesopredatory elasmobranch belonging to the family Carcharhinidae. Microfibers comprised the largest categories of plastics (94% of the total), and were found in 100% of sharks examined. The number of micro- and other plastics ranged from 34 to 75 per individual and totaled 927. The majority of plastics (40%) were blue in coloration, and 55% were <1 mm in length. Microplastics were observed on both the interior and exterior of the organs examined, and three microfibers were embedded within the stomach lining, an observation not previously reported in marine vertebrates and one which represents a potential pathway for the translocation of ingested microplastics.

Spatial And Temporal Distribution Of The Forensically Significant Blow Flies Of Los Angeles County, California, United States (Diptera: Calliphoridae), Royce T. Cumming

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

Forensic entomology although not a commonly used discipline in the forensic sciences, does have its niche and when used by investigators is respected in crinimolegal investigations (Greenberg and Kunich, 2005). With many species of forensically significant insects being regionally specific, it is often difficult for forensic entomologists to as confidently translate regionally specific studies across drastically differing geographic regions (Brundage, et al., 2011).

The purpose of this study is to help create a better temporal and geographic distributional understanding of the blow fly species present in Los Angeles County, California, United States. Twenty-five locations from four ecoregions (coastal mountains, urban, …

Index

Bulletin of the University of Nebraska State Museum (1924–2023)

No abstract provided.

Loss Of A Foundation Species, Eastern Hemlock (Tsuga Canadensis), May Lead To Biotic Homogenization Of Fungal Communities And Altered Bacterial Abundance In The Forest Floor, Aliza Fassler, Jesse Bellemare, Danielle D. Ignace

Biological Sciences: Faculty Publications

Tsuga canadensis (Eastern Hemlock) is a key forest foundation species that is currently declining across the eastern US due to attack by exotic insect species, primarily Adelges tsugae (Hemlock Woolly Adelgid). In the northeastern US, declining Eastern Hemlock stands are typically replaced by fast-growing deciduous Betula lenta (Black Birch) trees, altering ecosystem processes and ecological communities. In this study, we used an approach that substituted space for time to explore how the forest floor's soil organic horizon, macrofungal communities, and bacterial abundance might be altered following Eastern Hemlock replacement by Black Birch. We compared intact, mature Eastern Hemlock forest plots …

Effects Of Fragmentation On Species Retention In National Parks, Liz Tanner

Master's Theses or Doctor of Nursing Practice

The North American landscape is becoming increasingly fragmented, resulting in habitat patches with decreased area and increased isolation. Often, these patches exist as protected areas, such as national parks. The Theory of Island Biogeography is frequently used as a model for these patches, where each park serves as an ‘island’ surrounded by a ‘sea’ of human-altered habitats. As such, species richness and extinctions in a park might be explained by its area. For this study, I used regression models to examine the relationship between richness and area, as well as extinctions and area, for mammals and birds in national parks. …

Estimating Waterbird Abundance On Catfish Aquaculture Ponds Using An Unmanned Aerial System, Paul C. Burr, Sathishkumar Samiappan, Lee A. Hathcock, Robert J. Moorhead, Brian S. Dorr

Human–Wildlife Interactions

In this study, we examined the use of an unmanned aerial system (UAS) to monitor fish-eating birds on catfish (Ictalurus spp.) aquaculture facilities in Mississippi, USA. We tested 2 automated computer algorithms to identify bird species using mosaicked imagery taken from a UAS platform. One algorithm identified birds based on color alone (color segmentation), and the other algorithm used shape recognition (template matching), and the results of each algorithm were compared directly to manual counts of the same imagery. We captured digital imagery of great egrets (Ardea alba), great blue herons (A. herodias), …

The Biological Significance And Utility Of Feeding By Dermestes Maculatus, Braymond Adams

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

With their efficient feeding habits and tolerance to very low moisture and humidity, beetles in the Family Dermestidae are especially adapted to variable environments and habitats. Dermestid cultures have been in use since 1922 in cleaning tissue and flesh from bones, and proven benefit in multiple fields, including zoology, ornithology, and forensics. Dermestid feeding behaviors when coupled with known life stage and insect succession information aids in providing significant entomological evidence. However, the feeding activities of insects, like those of vertebrate scavengers and predators, change remains and may leave artifacts that can be sometimes be difficult to assign to a …

Examining Patterns In Nest Predation Using Artificial Nests, Victoria L. Simonsen

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

The use of artificial nests to study the predation of avian nests has faced disregard by ecologists due to inconsistencies found between the survival rates of real and artificial nests across studies and reviews. The negative perception of artificial nests providing an inconsistent assessment of survival has thus fostered the perception that artificial nests are a secondary option to be used to overcome logistical hurdles associated with achieving sufficient sample sizes in systems where study species are rare or elusive, or as merely a preliminary method to study predation across gradients. We argue that the greatest mistake ecologists have made …

Theory On Thermodynamic Constraints To Biogeochemical And Metabolic Diversity, Jordan Okie, Everett Shock

Annual Symposium on Biomathematics and Ecology Education and Research

No abstract provided.

Extreme Climate Events And The Ecological Dynamics Of Plant-Herbivore Interactions, David C. Elzinga, Christopher A. Klausmeier, William C. Wetzel

Annual Symposium on Biomathematics and Ecology Education and Research

No abstract provided.

The Potential For Indirect Negative Effects Of Exotic Insect Species On A Liverwort, Bazzania Trilobata (Lepidoziaceae), Mediated By The Decline Of A Foundation Tree Species, Tsuga Canadensis (Pinaceae), Michelle R. Jackson, Jesse Bellemare

Biological Sciences: Faculty Publications

In many ecological communities, the effects of exotic species are likely to extend beyond their direct interactions with natives, due to indirect effects. This dynamic might be particularly consequential in cases where invasive insects or other exotic herbivores target foundation plant species in the communities they invade. In this study at a site in western Massachusetts, we used experimental transplants to gauge the potential effects of a decline in the evergreen conifer Tsuga canadensis due to ongoing spread of two exotic insect pests on a liverwort, Bazzania trilobata, whose distribution is closely linked to dense stands of this conifer in …

A Quantitative Analysis Of The Effects Of Urbanization, Mesophication And Prescribed Burns On Oak Woodlands In The Chicago Metropolitan Area, Chad Populorum

Celebration of Learning

Urban expansion has had devastating impacts on forest ecosystems, especially within the past century. Human attempts to dominate nature have diminished natural disturbance regimes, which have maintained the biodiversity and historic composition of these ecosystems. Fires have been a prominent force in maintaining the structure of oak, hickory and other heliophytic (sun loving and fire-adapted) forest systems. Human induced fire suppression has led to mesophication across North America. Mesophication is the transition from drier conditions with open canopies to wetter conditions with closed canopies. These new conditions decrease the survival rates of these important species and begin to favor mesophytic …

Radical Social Ecology As Deep Pragmatism: A Call To The Abolition Of Systemic Dissonance And The Minimization Of Entropic Chaos, Arielle Brender

Student Theses 2015-Present

This paper aims to shed light on the dissonance caused by the superimposition of Dominant Human Systems on Natural Systems. I highlight the synthetic nature of Dominant Human Systems as egoic and linguistic phenomenon manufactured by a mere portion of the human population, which renders them inherently oppressive unto peoples and landscapes whose wisdom were barred from the design process. In pursuing a radical pragmatic approach to mending the simultaneous oppression and destruction of the human being and the earth, I highlight the necessity of minimizing entropic chaos caused by excess energy expenditure, an essential feature of systems that aim …

Trophic Ecology And Parasitism Of A Mesopelagic Fish Assemblage, Matthew Woodstock

HCNSO Student Theses and Dissertations

Mesopelagic (open ocean, 200-1000 m depth) fishes are important consumers of zooplankton and are prey of oceanic predators. Some mesopelagic fishes (e.g., myctophids and stomiids) undertake a diel vertical migration where they ascend to the near-surface waters during the night to feed and descend into the depths during the day to avoid predators. Other mesopelagic fishes (e.g., Sternoptyx spp.) do not vertically migrate and remain at deep depths throughout the day. While in the epipelagic zone (surface – 200 m depth), vertically migrating fishes become prey to upper-trophic level predators, such as: tunas and billfishes. Benthic fishes (e.g., macrourids) often …

Devonian Stromatoporoid Interactions At The Falls Of The Ohio State Park, Clarksville, Indiana, Morgan Sierra Hall

Undergraduate Theses

Stromatoporoids are calcitic sponges that occurred in the fossil record from the Early Ordovician to Late Devonian period. These sponges interacted with other organisms, especially rugose and tabulate corals. Some corals appear to benefit from the rigidity of stromatoporoids in response to turbulent waters. Stromatoporoids and many corals went extinct during the Frasnian-Famennian crisis when paleoenvironmental parameters were shifting. Studying the relationships between these taxa may provide insight to their vulnerability during the extinction.

This research was performed at the Falls of the Ohio in Clarksville, Indiana. Organisms in the Coral Zone were studied using transect sampling. Each fossil along …

Redescription And Phylogenetic Analysis Of The Materials Assigned To The Taxon "Captorhinikos" Chozaensis, Jason Paul Jung

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

“Captorhinikos” chozaensis is a multiple-tooth-rowed captorhinid reptile from the Lower Permian Clear Fork Group, undivided formation. Upon re-examination of the materials associated with the species from both the Chicago Field Museum of Natural History, and the Smithsonian United States National Museum, I reaffirm their affinity and collective identity as a valid taxon. “Captorhinikos” chozaensis does not, however, belong with either of the two members of its genus, C. valensis or “C.” parvus, instead occupying its own branch on the phylogenetic tree of the Captorhinidae. This conclusion is based in strong results from a combined phylogenetic parsimony analysis combined with …

The Tensile Root Strength Of Emergent Coastal Macrophytes, Lauris Olivia Hollis

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Spartina patens is a dominant emergent macrophyte in fresh, intermediate, and brackish marshes along the Atlantic and Gulf coasts of United States where its biomechanical properties are a key component of wetland health and resilience. Its root biomass and tensile root strength are essential for anchorage, erosion protection, and are important determinants of soil strength. Nutrients and the herbicide atrazine are suspected of negatively impacting this wetland plant and others. The objectives of this study were to: 1) ascertain the tensile root strength of five emergent coastal macrophytes in coastal estuaries, and 2) test the effects of nutrient addition, atrazine …

Generating Species Assemblages For Restoration And Experimentation: A New Method That Can Simultaneously Converge On Average Trait Values And Maximize Functional Diversity, David C. Laughlin, Loïc Chalmandrier, Chaitanya Joshi, Michael Renton, John M. Dwyer, Jennifer L. Funk

Biology, Chemistry, and Environmental Sciences Faculty Articles and Research

1.Restoring resilient ecosystems in an era of rapid environmental change requires a flexible framework for selecting assemblages of species based on functional traits. However, current trait‐based models have been limited to algorithms that select species assemblages that only converge on specified average trait values, and could not accommodate the common desire among restoration ecologists to generate functionally diverse assemblages.

2.We have solved this problem by applying a nonlinear optimization algorithm to solve for the species relative abundances that maximize Rao's quadratic entropy (Q) subject to other linear constraints. Rao's Q is a closed‐form algebraic expression of functional diversity …

Seasonal Resource Selection And Habitat Treatment Use By A Fringe Population Of Greater Sage-Grouse, Rhett Boswell

All Graduate Plan B and other Reports, Spring 1920 to Spring 2023

Movement and habitat selection by Greater Sage-grouse (Centrocercus uropasianus) is of great interest to wildlife managers tasked with applying conservation measures for this iconic western species. Current technology has created small and lightweight GPS (Global Positioning Systems) transmitters that can be attached to sage-grouse. Using GIS software and statistical programs such as Program R, land managers can analyze GPS location data to assess how sage-grouse are geospatially interacting with their habitats. Within the Panguitch Sage-Grouse Management Area (SGMA) thousands of acres of land have been restored or manipulated to enhance sage-grouse habitat; this usually involves removal of pinyon pine …

No Evidence For Trace Metal Limitation On Anaerobic Carbon Mineralization In Three Peatland Soils, Jason K. Keller, Jillian Wade

Biology, Chemistry, and Environmental Sciences Faculty Articles and Research

Peatlands store roughly one-third of the terrestrial soil carbon and release the potent greenhouse gas methane (CH₄) to the atmosphere, making these wetlands among the most important ecosystems in the global carbon cycle. Despite their importance, the controls of anaerobic decomposition of organic matter to carbon dioxide (CO₂) and CH₄ within peatlands are not well understood. It is known, however, that the enzymes responsible for CH₄ production require cobalt, iron and nickel, and there is a growing appreciation for the potential role of trace metal limitation in anaerobic decomposition. To explore the possibility of …

How Useful Is Gsv As An Environmental Observation Tool? An Analysis Of The Evidence So Far., Katherine Nesse, Leah Airt

SPU Works

Researchers in many disciplines have turned to Google Street View to replace pedestrian- or carbased in-person observation of streetscapes. It is most prevalent within the research literature on the relationship between neighborhood environments and public health but has been used as diverse as disaster recovery, ecology and wildlife habitat, and urban design. Evaluations of the tool have found that the results of GSV-based observation are similar to the results from in-person observation although the similarity depends on the type of characteristic being observed. Larger, permanent and discrete features showed more consistency between the two methods and smaller, transient and judgmental …

What Controls Variation In Carbon Use Efficiency Among Amazonian Tropical Forests?, Christopher E. Doughty, Gregory R. Goldsmith, Nicolas Raab, Cecile A. J. Girardin, Filio Farfan-Amezquita, Walter Huaraca-Huasco, Javier E. Silva-Espejo, Alejandro Araujo-Murakami, Antonio C. L. Da Costa, Wanderley Rocha, David Galbraith, Patrick Meir, Dan B. Metcalfe, Yadvinder Malhi

Biology, Chemistry, and Environmental Sciences Faculty Articles and Research

Why do some forests produce biomass more efficiently than others? Variations in Carbon Use Efficiency (CUE: total Net Primary Production (NPP)/ Gross Primary Production (GPP)) may be due to changes in wood residence time (Biomass/NPP_wood), temperature, or soil nutrient status. We tested these hypotheses in 14, one ha plots across Amazonian and Andean forests where we measured most key components of net primary production (NPP: wood, fine roots, and leaves) and autotrophic respiration (R_a; wood, rhizosphere, and leaf respiration). We found that lower fertility sites were less efficient at producing biomass and had higher rhizosphere respiration, …

The Effects Of Evolution On Food Web Diversity And Abundance, Rosalyn Rael

Annual Symposium on Biomathematics and Ecology Education and Research

No abstract provided.

Effects Of A Prescribed Burn On The Adult Butterfly Assemblage Of A Coastal Grassland, J. Nicole Desha, Joseph Colbert, Kimberly M. Andrews, Scott Coleman, C. Tate Holbrook

Georgia Journal of Science

Coastal grasslands are globally threatened by development and natural succession. In the southeastern United States, these increasingly rare ecosystems are being managed using prescribed fire, but ecological responses to fire management are largely unknown, particularly among nontargeted species. We tested for short-term effects of controlled burning on the abundance and species richness of adult butterflies, which utilize coastal grasslands for nectaring resources and as migratory stopover sites. In February 2015, four plots of coastal grassland on Little St. Simons Island, GA were burned and paired with unburned (control) plots of equal size. Throughout the following summer-fall flight season, we conducted …