Terrestrial and Aquatic Ecology Commons^™

Overwinter Mortality Of Sympatric Juvenile Bluegill And Yellow Perch In Mid-Temperate Prairie Lakes, Jeffrey C. Jolley, Mark A. Kaemingk, David W. Willis, Richard S. Holland

School of Natural Resources: Faculty Publications

Substantial mortality can occur in age-0 fish populations during their first year of life, especially in winter; this can potentially influence overall recruitment into the adult population. As such, we compared relative abundances between fall and spring catches of sympatric juvenile bluegill Lepomis macrochirus Rafinesque and yellow perch Perca flavescens (Mitchill) to evaluate the magnitude of overwinter mortality across locations (five lakes for two years) and through time (one lake for six years). In addition, we compared both quantile-quantile and increment plots, based on length-frequency histograms from fall- and spring-caught cohorts from 2004 to 2010, to determine if mortality was …

Examining The Influence Of Mating Systems On Testes Size In Salamanders, Howard James Stanton Ii

Theses, Dissertations and Capstones

Sperm competition theory predicts that relatively larger testes sizes evolve in animals with polygamous mating systems compared to those in monogamous mating systems due to sperm competition. Whereas intensity of sperm competition is the significant predictor of testes sizes in other taxa such as mammals, frogs, birds, insects, and fish, in salamanders the intensity of male-male competition in the transfer of spermatophores to females is predicted to be a critical factor. This is because males have to deposit more spermatophores to secure reproductive pay-off under higher intensity of male-male competition. I hypothesized that salamander species that breed explosively as groups …

Quantitative Reconstruction And Two-Dimensional, Steady Flow Hydrodynamics Of The Plesiosaur Flipper, Mark Cruz Deblois

Theses, Dissertations and Capstones

Plesiosaurs are a group of extinct marine reptiles that thrived during the Mesozoic Era. They are unique for swimming with two hydrofoil-shaped flippers. Penguins, sea turtles, and cetaceans all have hydrofoil shaped flippers but penguins and sea turtles only use the front pair to produce thrust and cetaceans use their tail flukes. Consequently, the mode of swimming for plesiosaurs has long been debated. However, a quantitative study of the hydrodynamic properties of the flippers, which would constrain inference about their mode of swimming, has not yet been done. The main reason is that the trailing edge of the plesiosaur flipper …

Phase Ii Of Tidal Marsh Restoration At Steedman Woods Reserve At York, Maine, David M. Burdick, Chris Peter, Gregg Moore

Jackson Estuarine Laboratory

No abstract provided.

Gulf-Wide Decreases In The Size Of Large Coastal Sharks Documented By Generations Of Fishermen, Sean P. Powers, F. Joel Frodrie, Steven B. Scyphers, J. Marcus Drymon, Robert L. Shipp, Gregory W. Stunz

University Faculty and Staff Publications

Large sharks are top predators in most coastal and marine ecosystems throughout the world, and evidence of their reduced prominence in marine ecosystems has been a serious concern for fisheries and ecosystem management. Unfortunately, quantitative data to document the extent, timing, and consequences of changes in shark populations are scarce, thwarting examination of long-term (decadal, century) trends, and reconstructions based on incomplete data sets have been the subject of debate. Absence of quantitative descriptors of past ecological conditions is a generic problem facing many fields of science but is particularly troublesome for fisheries scientists who must develop specific targets for …

Age Structure Of Moose (Alces Alces) Killed By Gray Wolves (Canis Lupus) In Northeastern Minnesota, 1967–2011, L. David Mech, Michael E. Nelson

United States Geological Survey, Northern Prairie Wildlife Research Center: Publications

The ages of 77 adult Moose (Alces alces) killed by gray Wolves (Canis lupus) during the period 1967–2011 in northeastern Minnesota were significantly older than those of a sample of 17 585 Moose killed by hunters in nearby Ontario. Our findings support those of earlier studies of protected Moose populations in national parks that found that gray Wolves tend to kill disproportionately more older Moose.

Differential Jumping Performance In Newly Metamorphosed Blanchard's Cricket Frogs, Acris Blanchardi (Anura: Hylidae), From Fish- And Invertebrate-Dominated Ponds, Taylor L. Hall, Daniel Saenz, Matthew Kwiatkowski

Faculty Publications

Organisms that adopt phenotypically plastic anti-predator strategies during larval stages may incur fitness costs later in development. These costs are typically difficult to define in many species. The difficulty of identifying ecological trade-offs may result from experimental comparisons that do not adequately mirror naturally occurring predator-prey relatioships. To examine this, we captured 61 newly metamorphosed Acris blanchardi from ponds dominated either by fish or invertebrate predators. These predators are known to induce alternate phenotypic anti-predator responses at the larval stage. We use jumping performance as a measure of post-metamorphic fitness, and compared the morphological traits and jumping ability of frogs …

Environmental Impacts Of Puppy Mills, The Humane Society Of The United States

PUPPY MILL REPORTS

A puppy mill is “a dog breeding operation in which the health of the dogs is disregarded in order to maintain a low overhead and maximize profits.” Avenson v. Zegart, 577 F. Supp. 958, Dist. Court, Minnesota (1984). State and federal inspection reports reveal that a common method employed to maximize profits includes irresponsible waste management practices that are harmful to the environment. Impacts may be caused by improper disposal of feces, urine and carcasses.

Identification Of The Rainbowfish In Lake Eacham Using Dna Sequencing, Culum Brown, Yagiz Aksoy, Hilal Varinli, Michael Gillings

Veterinary Science and Medicine Collection

The Lake Eacham rainbowfish (Melanotaenia eachamensis) was once thought to be confined to its type locality within the Lake Eacham World Heritage National Park. M. eachamensis disappeared from the lake following the translocation of several species into the lake and the species was pronounced extinct in the wild in 1987. In a 2007 survey we noticed that rainbowfish were present in the lake once again. We used a molecular marker to identify these fish and the likely source population. Analysis of the D-loop region of mitochondrial DNA revealed that the species now present in the lake is Melanotaenia splendida, and …

Rating Harms To Wildlife: A Survey Showing Convergence Between Conservation And Animal Welfare Views, S. Dubois, D. Fraser

Environment and Nature Conservation Collection

Human activities may cause conservation concerns when animal populations or ecosystems are harmed and animal welfare concerns when individuals are harmed. In general, people are concerned with one or the other, as the concepts may be regarded as separate or even at odds. An online purposive survey of 339 British Columbians explored differences between groups that varied by gender, residency, wildlife engagement level and value orientation (conservation-oriented or animal welfare-oriented), to see how they rated the level of harm to wildlife caused by different human activities. Women, urban residents, those with low wildlife engagement, and welfare-orientated participants generally scored activities …

Dietary Preference Of The Queensnake (Regina Septemvittata), Timothy J. Brust

Theses, Dissertations and Capstones

The Queensnake (Regina septemvittata) is a small secretive water snake found throughout the eastern United States. Once common, their numbers have declined to the extent that they are now threatened throughout most of their range, largely the result of pollutant-based reduction in prey species. These snakes are assumed to eat molted crayfish exclusively. For some common crayfish species, molting happens only twice a summer during a two- week period. It has not been documented if Queensnakes eat anything besides crayfish on a regular basis. The purpose of this study was to determine the prey preference of Queensnakes with particular focus …

Consequences Of Climate Change For The Soil Climate In Central Europe And The Central Plains Of The United States, Miroslav Trnka, Kurt Christian Kersebaum, Josef Eitzinger, Michael Hayes, Petr Hlavinka, Mark Svoboda, Martin Dubrovský, Daniela Semerádová, Brian D. Wardlow, Eduard Pokorný, Martin Možný, Donald A. Wilhite, Zdeněk Žalud

National Drought Mitigation Center: Faculty Publications

This study aims to evaluate soil climate quantitatively under present and projected climatic conditions across Central Europe (12.1°–18.9° E and 46.8°–51.1° N) and the U.S. Central Plains (90°–104° W and 37°–49° N), with a special focus on soil temperature, hydric regime, drought risk and potential productivity (assessed as a period suitable for crop growth). The analysis was completed for the baselines (1961–1990 for Europe and 1985–2005 for the U.S.) and time horizons of 2025, 2050 and 2100 based on the outputs of three global circulation models using two levels of climate sensitivity. The results indicate that the soil climate (soil …

Insights Into Forest Soil Carbon Dynamics From Nuclear Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy, Chris E. Johnson

Civil and Environmental Engineering - All Scholarship

No abstract provided.

Fall 2013, Nova Southeastern University

Currents

No abstract provided.

Euryhalinity In An Evolutionary Context, Eric T. Schultz, Stephen D. Mccormick

EEB Articles

This chapter focuses on the evolutionary importance and taxonomic distribution of euryhalinity. Euryhalinity refers to broad halotolerance and broad halohabitat distribution. Salinity exposure experiments have demonstrated that species vary tenfold in their range of tolerable salinity levels, primarily because of differences in upper limits. Halotolerance breadth varies with the species’ evolutionary history, as represented by its ordinal classification, and with the species’ halohabitat. Freshwater and seawater species tolerate brackish water; their empirically-determined fundamental haloniche is broader than their realized haloniche, as revealed by the halohabitats they occupy. With respect to halohabitat distribution, a minority of species (<10%) are euryhaline. Habitat-euryhalinity is prevalent among basal actinopterygian fishes, is largely absent from orders arising from intermediate nodes, and reappears in the most derived taxa. There is pronounced family-level variability in the tendency to be halohabitat-euryhaline, which may have arisen during a burst of diversification following the Cretaceous-Palaeogene extinction. Low prevalence notwithstanding, euryhaline species are potent sources of evolutionary diversity. Euryhalinity is regarded as a key innovation trait whose evolution enables exploitation of new adaptive zone, triggering cladogenesis. We review phylogenetically-informed studies that demonstrate freshwater species diversifying from euryhaline ancestors through processes such as landlocking. These studies indicate that some euryhaline taxa are particularly susceptible to changes in halohabitat and subsequent diversification, and some geographic regions have been hotspots for transitions to freshwater. Comparative studies on mechanisms among multiple taxa and at multiple levels of biological integration are needed to clarify evolutionary pathways to, and from, euryhalinity.

White Bass Assessment In Regards To Changes In Water Level On Lake Traverse, Aaron Wilson

Journal of Earth and Life Science

Until recently the white bass Morone chrysops has been somewhat ignored by anglers, more so in Minnesota than other states; most likely due to their limited distribution throughout the state. However, with more anglers becoming aware of the sporting and culinary potentials of white bass, interests have risen. With this rise in angler interest, there should be a rise in white bass assessments. Knowing what factors may be influencing white bass population dynamics will allow fisheries professionals to better manage and protect white bass fisheries. White bass are often found in rivers and impoundments were dams are present and water …

Phylogeography Of The Christmas Tree Worm Spirobranchus Corniculatus (Annelida, Serpulidae) From The Coral Triangle, Australia, And Fiji, Abril Iñiguez, Craig J. Starger, Elena Kupriyanova, Demian Willette, Tristan Varman, Joshua A. Drew, Abdul Hamid Toha, Benedict Maralit, Kent E. Carpenter, Paul H. Barber

Biological Sciences Faculty Publications

Christmas Tree Woms is a common name given to a group of large and colourful serpulid polychaetes of the genus Spirobranchus that are obligate symbionts of hermatypic corals commonly found in tropical and subtropical regions world-wide. While current taxonomic species delimitations of these worms are based almost exclusively on the morphology of opercular structures, particularly the number and shape of calcareous opercular horns, high levels of intraspecific variation in this morphological feature have made species boundaries within the genus difficult to resolve. Molecular work to differentiate serpulid worms has long been hampered by the availability of informative markers. Recent work …

Distribución De La Herpetofauna En Cuatro Tipos De Vegetación Del Estado De Hidalgo, México, Uriel Hernández-Salinas, Aurelio Ramírez-Bautista

Estudios científicos en el estado de Hidalgo y zonas aledañas

Este estudio se realizó en un periodo de un año (2007-2008), con el propósito de elaborar una lista de especies de anfibios y reptiles que habitan en cuatro tipos de vegetación: bosque mesófilo de montaña (BMM), bosque de pino-encino (BPE), matorral xerófilo (MX) y bosque tropical perennifolio (BTP) del estado de Hidalgo, y comparar la riqueza de especies entre éstos. Se encontró que el MX fue el tipo de vegetación con la menor riqueza de especies (H = 2.942), mientras que el BMM presentó la mayor de riqueza (H = 3.267). El BTP y el BPE fue la combinación vegetal …

First Record Of Pond Sliders (Trachemys Scripta Scripta And T. S. Elegans) At Fredericksburg, Virginia With Observations On Population Size, Age And Growth, Werner Wieland, Yoshinori Takeda

Virginia Journal of Science

We conducted a turtle mark-recapture program within a 160 m stretch of the Fredericksburg Canal with standard, baited hoop nets from May to July 2012 to determine if a population of the introduced Red-eared Slider (Trachemys scripta elegans) and Yellow-bellied Slider (Trachemys s. scripta) are established in this area. We captured and marked nine Red-eared Sliders (1 male, 8 females) and estimated a population size of 23 individuals. Most were reproductively mature. The established population in the canal may be a source of introduction into the Rappahannock River.

Brown Trout Spawning Location And Relationship To Suitable Winter Habitat, Matthew L. Skoog

Journal of Earth and Life Science

Brown trout are a popular game fish throughout much of the world. Understanding habitat requirements is necessary for the successful management of brown trout. This study looks at the spawning habitat preferences and relationship of redd location to wintering habitat of brown trout in the Straight River, Minnesota. Brown trout in the Straight River were found to spawn in similar habitat to brown trout looked at in previous literature. All redds were located on gravel substrate. Seventy eight percent of redds were associated with some sort of cover. Water velocities at the redd sites. (mean=0.456 ms/cm), dissolved oxygen (mean=9.78 mg/L), …

Comparison Of A Length Size Limit Of Northern Pike Population On Two Lakes In North Central Minnesota, Ethan A. Puttonen

Journal of Earth and Life Science

Fisheries managers use length size limits on northern pike (Esox lucis) to improve the size structure in select lakes. The objective of this study was to compare two similar lakes, one with a length size limit and one without, to determine if a length size limit is improving the northern pike size structure. Blueberry Lake showed a higher abundance of larger fish than Stocking Lake. Of the fish caught, 25% in Blueberry Lake were over 600 mm (24 in), and were in the protected slot. Stocking Lake had a smaller portion of fish of this size with only …

Assessment Of The Modern Fish Assemblage In Mound Pond (Lonoke County) And Comparison With The Archeological Record, A. V. Fernando, M. A. Eggleton

Journal of the Arkansas Academy of Science

Mound Pound is a 56-ha oxbow lake of the Arkansas River. The lake has been disconnected from the Arkansas River main channel for over 2,500 years. The lake lies adjacent to the Toltec Mounds Archeological State Park, which contains the Toltec Mound Complex (3LN42). In October 2012, a multiple-gear sampling of the fish assemblage in Mound Pond was conducted using boat-mounted electrofishing, mini-fyke nets, and experimental gill nets. Across all gears, 501 fish specimens were collected and identified to species. Percent Similarity Index (PSI) and Shannon-Weiner Diversity Index (H') values were calculated using data from this survey and a previous …

Variation In Population Densities Of The Florida Scrub Lizard (Sceloporus Woodi) Between Managed Sand Pine Scrub And Longleaf Pine Stands In The Ocala National Forest, Matthew D. Kaunert

College of Graduate Studies: Theses & Dissertations

Population-level response to habitat fragmentation is central to applied species management and conservation. Managed landscapes are often subject to increased fragmentation and, consequently, may force once connected populations to function as metapopulations. Studies investigating metapopulations occurring over patchy, managed landscapes are of increasing importance as fragmentation is a known cause of biodiversity loss. In June-September 2012, populations of the rare, endemic Florida scrub lizard (Sceloporus woodi) were sampled across the Ocala National Forest (ONF) to compare abundance and density across two management types. In the ONF, sand-pine scrub is clearcut and rollerchopped whereas longleaf pine is managed via …

Short-Term Responses Of Fish Assemblages To Habitat Restoration In A Small Midwestern Stream, John Leon West

Masters Theses

Recent efforts to restore stream habitat have become a common practice, yet evaluations of biotic responses to these practices are not as common. I evaluated fish assemblage response to restoration in a reach of Kickapoo Creek, a fourth order stream southwest of Charleston, Illinois. Restoration included 446 meters of bank stabilization, pool scouring keys, and the creation of two artificial riffles. To have a representation of pre-restoration fish assemblages, I sampled four stream reaches of Kickapoo Creek twice before construction of habitat restoration: two control reaches (upstream and downstream) and two restored reaches within a 0.5 km restoration stretch (upstream …

Solid-Phase Organic Matter Reduction Regulates Anaerobic Decomposition In Bog Soil, Jason K. Keller, Kimberly K. Takagi

Biology, Chemistry, and Environmental Sciences Faculty Articles and Research

Peatlands store globally significant amounts of carbon and are important sources of the greenhouse gas methane (CH4) to the atmosphere. However, for reasons which are not well understood, many peatland soils produce smaller amounts of CH4 than theoretically predicted, and carbon dioxide (CO2) produced during anaerobic decomposition in peatland soils cannot be accounted for by commonly measured microbial processes. Here we show that the reduction of solid-phase organic matter (i.e., humic substances) suppresses CH4 production in a bog soil and can be responsible for 33–61% of the total carbon mineralization in this soil. These results demonstrate that the reduction of …

Biology Department Newsletter, No. 3, Sacred Heart University

Biology Newsletter

No abstract provided.

Metapopulation Theory Explains Black-Stripe Minnow (Pisces: Galaxiidae, Galaxiella Nigrostriata) Distribution In Seasonal Wetlands In South-West Western Australia, David M. Galeotti

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

The objective of this project was to determine if Galaxiella nigrostriata populations could belong to a metapopulation. Metapopulation theory describes how multiple populations with occasional connectivity are a ‘population of populations’. Some populations’ habitats have optimal conditions (source habitats), others experience regular extinctions (sink habitats). Connectivity allows repopulation of extinct or uninhabited habitats. Galaxiella nigrostriata occurred randomly in 11 seasonal wetlands in the Kemerton wetland complex in south-west Western Australia over a 16 year period. The wetlands did not appear to be connected.

Around 70% of wetlands on the Swan Coastal Plain in south-west WA have been filled or degraded …

The Biology And Ecology Of Epinephilidae Speciea And Their Implications To Fisheries Management, Jason R. How

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

This thesis examines the biological and ecological aspects of members of the globally exploited Epinephilidae with reference to fisheries management and in particular the use of closures. The leopard coralgrouper Plectropomus leopardus is a common reef fish throughout the Indo-Pacific region and a major target of both commercial and recreational fisheries. There has been limited research on this species in the eastern Indian Ocean, where there are only two populations. An examination of the species found a number of significant biological differences to their eastern Australian con-specifics. Most noticeable was the strong size-related cue over their protogynous sex change. The …

Herbivory By Parma Mccullochi (Pomacentridae) : Its Role As An Ecosystem Engineer In Temperate Algal-Dominated Reefs, Frederico Vitelli

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

Pomacentridae is one of the most representative families of herbivorous fishes inhabiting both tropical and temperate reefs, yet the vast majority of studies examining feeding within this family have been undertaken in tropical rather than temperate regions. Despite the high abundances of the pomacentrid Parma mccullochi in temperate waters of Western Australia, and their likely importance in removing algae from reefs in the region, there is a lack of information on their diet and their impact on the reef algal community. This study aims to determine the role of Parma mccullochi as an ecosystem engineer on temperate algal-dominated reefs in …

Barrow Island Ute Guide - Non-Indigenous Invertebrates, Frogs, Reptiles & Weeds, Mike Grimm, Kristofer Collett, Jessica Harrison, Peter Davis, Marc Widmer, Andras Szito, Rob Emery, Peter Mangano, John Botha, David Robinson, Brad Maryan

Biosecurity published reports

Barrow Island, the second largest island in Western Australia, is a Class A Nature Reserve and home to a variety of rare and endangered fauna and flora, some of which occur nowhere else. To protect fauna and flora it is essential workers and visitors to the island are aware of the risks that a non-indigenous species (NIS) poses to the ecological balance of Barrow Island.

Workers and visitors to Barrow Island need to be aware and keep their eyes open for any unusual fauna and flora that might be in accommodation units, recreation areas or the work place. Reports from …