Population Biology Commons^™

Remembering Elaine Bachel 1946-2021, Ruthie Stearns

Nebraska Bird Review

Elaine Bachel was born June 6, 1946, in Itasca County, Minnesota, and passed away May 22, 2021, in Lincoln. She lived in Minnesota until she was ten, and it was there that she developed her love of the outdoors, especially birds. When her father passed away, Elaine, her sister and her mother moved to Omaha to live with her grandmother. She graduated from Omaha South High School and then attended college in Omaha, graduating as a registered nurse in 1968. She worked for many years for Lincoln ENT physician Dr. Charles Barton. It was in working for him and traveling …

Paul A. Johnsgard 1931-2021, Paul Johnsgard

Nebraska Bird Review

Dr Johnsgard's self-penned obituary & a photo

Incorrectly Aged, Identified And Classified: Revisiting Nebraska’S 1968 ‘Barnacle Goose’ Record, Joel G. Jorgensen, Stephen J. Brenner, W. Ross Silcock

Nebraska Bird Review

On 2 November 1968 in northeastern Otoe County, Nebraska, Milton Muncie harvested a bird (herein referred to as the 1968 specimen), subsequently identified as an immature Barnacle Goose (Branta leucopsis), from a flock of about 40 Cackling Geese (Branta hutchinsii; Cortelyou 1969). The occurrence was reported not only as the first record of a Barnacle Goose for Nebraska, but also the first record for the North American Interior and West (Cortelyou 1969). Cortelyou’s (1969) brief article also included a photograph of the mounted specimen. At the time and when subsequently reviewed by various authors, the identity of the 1968 specimen …

Paul Austin Johnsgard: Memories Of An Exceptional Naturalist, Allison E. Johnson, Charles R. Brown

Nebraska Bird Review

On May 28, 2021 the world lost one of its most dogged advocates, and we lost an amazing teacher, naturalist, and friend. Paul has told you in his own words in the previous pages where he was from, where he was educated, about the immense number of scholarly articles and books he published, and about his beautiful art that brought the wild to all of us (https://digitalcommons.unl.edu/zeabook/30/), but we wanted to share the person we knew Paul to be, and to relive some of our memories of him. While Paul’s body of work will continue to impact the ornithological and …

Spring Field Report, March - May 2021, W. Ross Silcock

Nebraska Bird Review

A total of 163 observers contributed to this report. This spring several observers were quite active statewide, resulting in interesting discoveries among waterfowl hybrids, subspecies distributions, breeding and spatial range expansions, and more than usual early and late dates and high counts, not to mention a couple of extreme rarities. Speaking of BONO, readers will note a new section under “Species Accounts” that deals with hybrids reported in Nebraska. A surprising 47 are listed, 26 of these waterfowl. If you like waterfowl hybrids, read on! This report deals with 14 such hybrids, four newly documented for the state. Several non-waterfowl …

The Nebraska Bird Review, Volume 89 June 2021 Number 2

Nebraska Bird Review

Spring Field Report, March - May 2021, by W. Ross Silcock … 50

Incorrectly Aged, Identified and Classified: Revisiting Nebraska’s 1968 ‘Barnacle Goose’ Record, by Joel G. Jorgensen, Stephen J. Brenner, and W. Ross Silcock …80

Paul A. Johnsgard by Paul A. Johnsgard … 92

Paul Austin Johnsgard: Memories of an Exceptional Naturalist by Allison E. Johnson and Charles R. Brown …94

Breeding Status of Louisiana Waterthrush (Parkesia motacilla) in the Niobrara River Valley, North-central Nebraska by W. Ross Silcock … 97

Remembering Elaine Bachel 1946-2021, by Ruthie Stearns …101

Subscription and Organization Information …103

Selection Of Overwintering Microclimate By Migratory Western Monarch Butterflies, Kiana Saniee

Master's Theses

Migratory species are expected to demonstrate habitat selection that occurs at multiple spatial and temporal scales. Western monarch butterflies migrate seasonally to overwinter in groves at geographically predictable locations along the California coast. To date, overwintering habitat selection by western monarch butterflies has been studied assuming that habitat selection occurs where overwintering aggregations form, meaning at the spatial scale where monarchs form dense overwintering aggregations within overwintering groves. We argue that since western monarch butterflies are migratory, studies of habitat selection could have commingled selection at different scales into a single spatial scale. This likely leads to ignoring some levels …

Assessing Cryptic Dispersal And Movement In The Lompoc Kangaroo Rat, Katherine A. Belnick

Biological Sciences

Lompoc kangaroo rats (LKR, Dipodomys heermanni arenae) are small rodents that reside in sand dunes from Pismo to Orcutt, including the Oceano Dunes State Vehicular Recreation Area (SVRA), in Oceano, CA. In the SVRA, some of these individuals live in habitat islands, which are habitat fragments of dense vegetation disrupted by empty, bare sand in between them. Recreational vehicle activity is permitted in the Oceano Dunes, which has caused persistence habitat fragmentation. Kangaroo rats are known to disperse between habitat islands and are suspected to do so via a special type of dispersal: cryptic dispersal. This dispersal mode, if it …

Comparing Management Programs To Reduce Red–Tailed Hawk Collisions With Aircraft, Brian Washburn, Craig K. Pullins, Travis L. Guerrant, Gregory J. Martinelli, Scott F. Beckerman

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Wildlife-aircraft collisions (wildlife strikes) pose a serious safety risk to aircraft. Raptors (i.e., hawks and owls) are one of the most frequently struck guilds of birds within North America. Although raptors (most notably red-tailed hawks [Buteo jamaicensis]) are commonly managed at most airports and military bases, there is no scientific information available regarding comparisons of the efficacy of raptor management programs for reducing raptor-aircraft collisions. Therefore, we conducted a study to examine the efficacy of 2 raptor hazard management programs implemented at Chicago's O'Hare International Airport (ORD). The first raptor management program (Phase I) occurred during January 2010–June 2013 and …

Genomic And Ecological Dimensions Of Malagasy Reptile And Amphibian Biodiversity, Arianna L. Kuhn

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

A long history of isolation coupled with complex topographic and ecological landscapes makes Madagascar ideal for exploring the historical factors that have shaped patterns of population diversity and endemism. Many species-level studies have suggested Late Quaternary climate change may have influenced population dynamics in the tropics, but Madagascar’s ecologically unique biomes or individual species properties may have driven idiosyncratic responses to these shifts. Using community-scale population genetic data I implement a hierarchical approximate Bayesian computation (hABC) approach to evaluate the degree of synchronous population expansion during glacial cycles across herpetofaunal assemblages both within and across discrete biomes and taxonomic groups. …

Dynamic Observers For Unknown Populations, Chris Guiver, Nathan Poppelreiter, Richard Rebarber, Brigitte Tenhumberg, Stuart Townley

Brigitte Tenhumberg Papers

Dynamic observers are considered in the context of structuredpopulation modeling and management. Roughly, observers combine a known measured variable of some process with a model of that process to asymptotically reconstruct the unknown state variable of the model. We investigate the potential use of observers for reconstructing population distributions described by density-independent (linear) models and a class of density-dependent (nonlinear) models. In both the density-dependent and -independent cases, we show, in several ecologically reasonable circumstances, that there is a natural, optimal construction of these observers. Further, we describe the robustness these observers exhibit with respect to disturbances and uncertainty in …

Alfaxalone Successfully Immobilizes Small Indian Mongooses (Urva Auropunctata): A Field Report, Caroline C. Sauvé, Yves Rondenay, Are R. Berentsen, Mel J. Rivera-Rodriguez, Patrick A. Leighton

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

We investigated intramuscular administration of alfaxalone (5.3–10.0 mg/kg) as an immobilizing agent in free-ranging small Indian mongooses (Urva auropunctata) on the island of St. Kitts, West Indies. From 5–11 January 2020, we successfully immobilized 10 of 11 mongooses. Alfaxalone provided rapid onset (median = 3 min) of immobilization. Mean duration of immobilization was 16.8 ± 3 min. Mean recovery time was 5.6 ± 1 min. There was no effect of dose administered on induction, anesthesia, or recovery times at the dose range used. We concluded that alfaxalone represents an effective alternative to dissociative agents for the immobilization of free-ranging mongooses. …

Strategic Testing Approaches For Targeted Disease Monitoring Can Be Used To Inform Pandemic Decision-Making, James D. Nichols, Tiffany L. Bogich, Emily Howerton, Ottar N. Bjørnstad, Rebecca K. Borchering, Matthew Ferrari, Murali Haran, Christopher Jewell, Kim M. Pepin, William J.M. Probert, Juliet R.C. Pulliam, Michael C. Runge, Michael Tildesley, Cecile Viboud, Katriona Shea

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

More than 1.6 million Servere Acute Respiratory Syndrome Cronovirus 2(SARS-COV-2)tests were administered daily in the United States at the peak of the epidemic, with a significant focus on individual treatment. Here, we show that objective-driven, strategic sampling designs and analyses can maximize information gain at the population level, which is necessary to increase situational awareness and predict, prepare for, and respond to a pandemic, while also continuing to inform individual treatment. By focusing on specific objectives such as individual treatment or disease prediction and control (e.g., via the collection of population- level statistics to inform lockdown measures or vaccine rollout) …

An Evaluation Of Body-Grip Trap Trigger Configurations For Reducing River Otter Take Incidental To Beaver Trapping, Alec J. Sundelius, Nicholas Forman, Nathan M. Roberts, Shawn T. Rossler, David B. Ruid, Robert C. Willging

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

River otter (Lontra canadensis) populations in North America have been the focus of significant restoration efforts. Wildlife management agencies, concerned about the unintentional take of river otters incidental to beaver (Castor canadensis) trapping, may recommend techniques to avoid capturing river otters. River otter avoidance techniques that are ineffective or diminish trap performance for beavers are undesirable. We conducted a field evaluation in 2015 and 2016 in Wisconsin to assess how two trigger configurations (offset and center) on body-grip traps would affect the incidental capture rate of river otters during beaver trapping. We also evaluated effects of …

Habitat Heterogeneity Affects The Thermal Ecology Of The Federally Endangered Blunt-Nosed Leopard Lizard, Nicole Gaudenti

Master's Theses

Global climate change is already contributing to the extirpation of numerous species worldwide, and sensitive species will continue to face challenges associated with rising temperatures throughout this century and beyond. It is especially important to evaluate the thermal ecology of endangered ectotherm species now so that mitigation measures can be taken as early as possible. A recent study of the thermal ecology of the federally endangered Blunt-Nosed Leopard Lizard (Gambelia sila) suggested that they face major activity restrictions due to thermal constraints in their desert habitat, but that large shade-providing shrubs act as thermal buffers to allow them …

Brown Treesnake Mortality After Aerial Application Of Toxic Baits, Scott M. Goetz, Eric T. Hileman, Melia G. Nafus, Amy A. Yackel Adams, Amanda R. Bryant, Robert N. Reed, Shane R. Siers

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Quantitative evaluation of control tools for managing invasive species is necessary to assess overall effectiveness and individual variation in treatment susceptibility. Invasive brown treesnakes (Boiga irregularis) on Guam have caused severe ecological and economic effects, pose a risk of accidental introduction to other islands, and are the greatest impediment to the reestablishment of extirpated native fauna. An aerial delivery system for rodent‐based toxic baits can reduce brown treesnake abundance and heterogeneity among individuals may influence bait attraction or toxicant susceptibility. Previous baiting trials have either been simulated aerial treatments or relied on slightly different bait capsule compositions and the results …

Genomics-Guided Refinement Of Butterfly Taxonomy, Jing Zhang, Qian Cong, Jinhui Shen, Paul A. Opler, Nick V. Grishin

The Taxonomic Report of the International Lepidoptera Survey

Continuing with comparative genomic exploration of worldwide butterfly fauna, we use all proteincoding genes as they are retrieved from the whole genome shotgun sequences for phylogeny construction. Analysis of these genome-scale phylogenies projected onto the taxonomic classification and the knowledge about butterfly phenotypes suggests further refinements of butterfly taxonomy that are presented here. As a general rule, we assign most prominent clades of similar genetic differentiation to the same taxonomic rank, and use criteria based on relative population diversification and the extent of gene exchange for species delimitation. As a result, 7 tribes, 4 subtribes, 14 genera, and 9 subgenera …

Phenotypic Plasticity And Parental Effect On Rearing Of Two Diverse Habitat Environment For Laboratory Reared Sympetrum Meridionale, Imane Halassi, Ali Elafri, Ismahan Halassi, Hichem Amari, Moussa Houhamdi

Journal of Bioresource Management

Laboratory observations on rearing experiment of Odonata serve to answer many evolutionary and ecological questions. In order to evidences the role of species parental habitat provenience in the development behaviour of their offspring, we surveyed several life history traits of two rearing populations of Sympetrum meridionale (Anisoptera: Sympetrinae), coming from two different habitats across north-eastern Algeria. The first one is a RAMSAR wetland called ‘Mekhada’ (a perennial water body), and the second one is a temporary pond located at “Maouna” Mountain (1400 m altitude). Overall, the development patterns of the two populations of dragonflies vary with the type of habitat …

Testing The Climatic Variability Hypothesis With Coastal And Inland Populations Of Mimulus Guttatus And Implications For These Populations Under Climate Change, Alec Chiono

Master's Theses

How climate shapes the niche of a species is a core interest in evolution and ecology. Research on the evolution of climatic niches can inform us on the historical relationship between organisms and their climate, and, in an era of great environmental change, what that relationship may look like in the future. In this study, I tested an essential idea in the history of climate niche research, the Climatic Variability Hypothesis, by comparing the thermal niche breadth of coastal and inland populations of Mimulus guttatus. Using thermal performance results from this experiment, I also forecasted how the suitability of …

Landscape Genetics Of American Beaver In Coastal Oregon, Clinton W. Epps, Vanessa M. Petro, Tyler G. Creech, Rachel S. Crowhurst, Matthew J. Weldy, Jimmy D. Taylor

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

American beaver (Castor canadensis) have been translocated for population restoration, reduction of human‐wildlife conflict, and enhancement of ecosystem function. Yet few studies have assessed dispersal of beaver, making it difficult to determine at what scale translocations are appropriate. Genetic studies can provide inferences about gene flow, and thus dispersal. We used a landscape genetic approach to evaluate whether landscape features influenced gene flow among beaver in the Coast Range of western Oregon, USA, using samples collected April–September 2014. We collected genetic samples from live‐captured (n=232), road‐killed (n=2) and trapper‐provided (n=58) tissue samples and genotyped them at 10 microsatellite loci. We …

Short Term Safety, Immunogenicity, And Reproductive Effects Of Combined Vaccination With Anti-Gnrh (Gonacon) And Rabies Vaccines In Female Feral Cats, Shiri Novak, Boris Yakobson, Shir Sorek, Liat Morgan, Smadar Tal, Ran Nivy, Roni King, Lauren Jaebker, Douglas C. Eckery, Tal Raz

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Overpopulation of free-roaming cats is a major problem leading to negative impacts on animal health and welfare, public nuisance, transmission of zoonotic diseases, and well-documented harm to wildlife. Surgical sterilization had failed to provide a practical solution to free-roaming cats’ overpopulation under field conditions; therefore, efficient and safe non-surgical immunocontraception methods are aspired. Rabies is a deadly virus that may infect people and animals. However, the safety and efficacy of combined vaccination with anti-GnRH and rabies vaccines in feral cats, which often suffer from disrupted health conditions and experienced high stress level, has never been studied. Therefore, our objective was …

Short Term Safety, Immunogenicity, And Reproductive Effects Of Combined Vaccination With Anti-Gnrh (Gonacon) And Rabies Vaccines In Female Feral Cats, Shiri Novak, Boris Yakobson, Shir Sorek, Liat Morgan, Smadar Tal, Ran Nivy, Roni King, Lauren Jaebker, Douglas C. Eckery, Tal Raz

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Overpopulation of free-roaming cats is a major problem leading to negative impacts on animal health and welfare, public nuisance, transmission of zoonotic diseases, and well-documented harm to wildlife. Surgical sterilization had failed to provide a practical solution to free-roaming cats' overpopulation under field conditions; therefore, efficient and safe non-surgical immunocontraception methods are aspired. Rabies is a deadly virus that may infect people and animals. However, the safety and efficacy of combined vaccination with anti-GnRH and rabies vaccines in feral cats, which often suffer from disrupted health conditions and experienced high stress level, has never been studied. Therefore, our objective was …

Population Study Of Native And Invasive Turtles In Harrisonburg, Virginia, David R. Weisenbeck

Senior Honors Projects, 2020-current

The Red-eared Slider, Trachemys scripta is an invasive species responsible for declines in turtle species across the world. Trachemys scripta is native to two parts of southern Virginia but the species has been introduced throughout the rest of the state, often related to the release of pet trade animals. This study aimed to identify the extent of Trachemys scripta’s establishment and impact on native species in Harrisonburg, Virginia. Turtles were trapped in a mark-recapture study during the springs and summers of 2018, 2019, and 2020 in four local ponds in Harrisonburg, Virginia. Cormack-Jolly-Seber population models were constructed using data …

The Potential Influence Of Abiotic Conditions On Mussel Species Abundance In San Francisco Bay, Alexandra G. Farrell, M. Christina Vasquez Dr.

Honors Thesis

Climate change has negatively altered seawater conditions, which may have severe implications for marine ecosystems. Mussels are susceptible to environmental changes since they are primary consumers and filter-feeding bivalves. Two species of particular interest to the West Coast of the U.S. are Mytilus galloprovincialis and M. trossulus. M. trossulus is native to the California Coast and was historically prevalent from Southern California to Washington. However, with increased shipping and rising seawater temperature, M. galloprovincialis, an invasive species from the Mediterranean, pushed the species range of M. trossulus poleward. M. trossulus is more tolerant of cold seawater with variable salinity while …

Dynamics Of Hybrid Zones At A Continental Scale, Bradley T. Martin

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Hybridization has traditionally been viewed as a happenstance that negatively impacts populations, but is now recognized as an important evolutionary mechanism that can substantially impact the evolutionary trajectories of gene pools, influence adaptive capacity, and contravene or reinforce divergence. Physiographic processes are important drivers of dispersal, alternately funneling populations into isolation, promoting divergence, or facilitating secondary contact of diverged populations, increasing the potential for hybridization. In North America, glacial-interglacial cycles and geomorphological changes have provided a dynamic backdrop over the last two million years that promoted such oscillations of population contraction and expansion. These biogeographic processes have resulted in regional …

Gray Wolves, Eric Gese, John P. Hart, Patricia Terletzky

Wildlife Damage Management Technical Series

Wolf conflicts are primarily related to predation on livestock, pets and other domestic animals, as well as their direct and indirect impacts on native ungulates (i.e., big game). Economic losses vary widely with some livestock producers facing high levels of depredation in some areas. This publication focuses on wolf ecology, damage, and management, particularly as it relates to wolf depredation on livestock and other conflicts with people.

Wolves and people share the same environments more than people realize. In the U.S., wolves are not confined to wilderness areas. Though curious, wolves generally fear people and rarely pose a threat to …

Population Connectivity Of The Eastern Collared Lizard Crotaphytus Collaris In Arkansas, Whitney Allison Murchison-Kastner

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Habitat reduction and fragmentation can isolate populations and decrease genetic diversity, making them susceptible to local extirpation. Additionally, geographic barriers can further impede dispersal among populations thus reducing gene flow. Field studies suggest these factors may be responsible for the decline in Eastern Collared Lizard (Crotaphytus collaris) populations in Arkansas. To address the impacts of habitat loss and fragmentation on the Eastern Collared Lizard (C. collaris) in Arkansas, I used DNA fragment analysis to examine genetic diversity, population structure and connectivity among C. collaris populations. I do so herein by employing microsatellite data from 138 adults across 11 loci to …

Population Genomics Of Invasive Rodents On Islands: Genetic Consequences Of Colonization And Prospects For Localized Synthetic Gene Drive, Kevin P. Oh, Aaron B. Shiels, Laura Shiels, Dimitri V. Blondel, Karl J. Campbell, J. Royden Saah, Alun L. Lloyd, Paul Q. Thomas, Fred Gould, Zaid Abdo, John R. Godwin, Antoinette J. Piaggio

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Introduced rodent populations pose significant threats worldwide, with particularly severe impacts on islands. Advancements in genome editing have motivated interest in synthetic gene drives that could potentially provide efficient and localized suppression of invasive rodent populations. Application of such technologies will require rigorous population genomic surveys to evaluate population connectivity, taxonomic identification, and to inform design of gene drive localization mechanisms. One proposed approach leverages the predicted shifts in genetic variation that accompany island colonization, wherein founder effects, genetic drift, and island-specific selection are expected to result in locally fixed alleles (LFA) that are variable in neighboring nontarget populations. Engineering …

Analysis Of The White-Tailed Deer Population Of Hobbs State Park, Jesse Morrison

Biological and Agricultural Engineering Undergraduate Honors Theses

White Tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) are the only deer species native to Arkansas, playing a crucial role in the ecosystem. Healthy deer populations are important for environmental and human wellbeing, and overpopulation can lead to poor herd health, overgrazing, increased vehicle collisions, and transmission of diseases. Monitoring deer populations through surveys can be a useful tool in managing wildlife and maintaining Arkansas’ natural resources.

This study analyzed trends in Hobbs State Park’s deer population and estimated the current roadside deer population of the park. Data from past surveys was analyzed for trends using a Mann-Kendall Test, and a distance sampling …

Density Of Free-Roaming Cats Related To Feeding Stations On Hayden Island, Oregon, Olivia Helback, Joe Liebezeit

University Honors Theses

Free-roaming cats have a devastating impact on wildlife populations with stray/feral cats being the most problematic. In some areas, community members provide these cats with food, water, and shelter often in conjunction with a trap, neuter, return (TNR) program. Hayden Island located north of Portland, Oregon is home to a managed colony of feral and stray cats. Some island residents provide feeding stations for the cats and actively participate in population management. To determine how feeding stations might affect cat spatial distribution, camera traps were placed at 19 different stations in urban and natural areas on Hayden island. Additional annual …