Terrestrial and Aquatic Ecology Commons^™

A Molecular Framework Phylogeny For Ptilotus (Amaranthaceae), Timothy A. Hammer

Biological Sciences Theses & Dissertations

Ptilotus (Amaranthaceae) is an Australian genus with over 100 species, most of which occur in arid Western Australia. Ptilotus has been a taxonomically difficult genus; despite rigorous morphological studies into the genus over many years, previous workers have found it difficult to delimit infrageneric groups due to inconsistent morphological variation. With the goal to establish a phylogenetic framework for the genus, 100 taxa were sampled, including 87 Ptilotus spp., and the ITS nrDNA and matK cpDNA were sequenced. The phylogeny was reconstructed using Bayesian, maximum likelihood and maximum parsimony analyses on separate and concatenated datasets. Morphological characters were assessed and …

Warming, Competition, And Bromus Tectorum Population Growth Across An Elevation Gradient, Aldo Compagnoni, Peter B. Adler

Green Canyon Environmental Research Area, Logan Utah

Cheatgrass (Bromus tectorum) is one of the most problematic invasive plant species in North America and climate change threatens to exacerbate its impacts. We conducted a two‐year field experiment to test the effect of warming, competition, and seed source on cheatgrass performance across an elevation gradient in northern Utah. We hypothesized that warming would increase cheatgrass performance, but that warming effects would be limited by competing vegetation and by local adaptation of cheatgrass seed sources. The warming treatment relied on open top chambers, we removed vegetation to assess the effect of competition from neighboring vegetation, and we reciprocally …

The Status Of Fishes In The Missouri River, Nebraska: Shovelnose Sturgeon (Scaphirhynchus Platorynchus), Kirk D. Steffensen, Sam Stukel, Dane A. Shuman

Transactions of the Nebraska Academy of Sciences and Affiliated Societies

The Shovelnose Sturgeon Scaphirhynchus platorynchus remains the most abundant riverine sturgeon species in North American despite the anthropogenic modifications that have occurred throughout their historic range; however, their populations have declined throughout Nebraska since the construction of Fort Randall and Gavins Point Dams. Therefore, the objective of this study was to present the current status of Shovelnose Sturgeon in the Missouri River along Nebraska’s border. Data was acquired from 2003 to 2012 from all reaches of the Missouri River along Nebraska’s eastern border. Catch rates of Shovelnose Sturgeon increased in a downstream trend and were highest in the reach below …

Application Of High-Resolution Spectral Absorbance Measurements To Determine Dissolved Organic Carbon Concentration In Remote Areas, Armine Avagyan, Benjamin R. K. Runkle, Lars Kutzbach

Biological and Agricultural Engineering Faculty Publications and Presentations

Accurate quantification of dissolved organic carbon (DOC) in surface and soil pore waters is crucial for understanding changes in water resources under the influence of climate and land use changes. Sampling and laboratory analysis of DOC content at a sufficient temporal frequency are especially difficult to achieve for natural DOC sources like the extensive boreal and arctic mire landscapes due to their remoteness. Therefore, the goals of this paper are (1) to investigate the performance of a portable, high-resolution ultraviolet–visible light spectroscopic method for determining the DOC content of surface and soil pore water samples from a boreal mire complex …

Range Maps For The Terrestrial Natural Communities Of Nebraska, Steven B. Rolfsmeier, Gerry Steinauer, Rachel Simpson

Nebraska Game and Parks Commission: White Papers, Conference Presentations, and Manuscripts

This document includes range maps for the 83 terrestrial natural (plant) communities described in Terrestrial Ecological Systems and Natural Communities of Nebraska (Version IV - March 9, 2010) by Rolfsmeier and Steinauer 2010. Each map includes the known range and potential range for individual community types. The known range includes areas where a community has been documented and areas where it has not been documented but thought very likely to occur. The potential range includes areas where the community has not been documented but is thought to have some potential to occur. The maps should be considered approximations of the …

Música De Las Grullas: Una Historia Natural De Las Grullas De América, Paul A, Johnsgard, Enrique H. Weir, Karine Gil-Weir

Zea E-Books Collection

En un sábado mágico de marzo, maneje con un estudiante de postgrado hasta el valle central del Platte, al oeste de Grand Island, tanto para ver la migración primaveral de aves acuáticas como la de las grullas grises. Tal vez fue una suerte que yo no estuviera preparado emocionalmente para ver como innumerables grullas salpicaban el cielo de horizonte a horizonte, o girando grácilmente sus cabezas como si estuvieran atrapados en algún torbellino de ultra cámara lenta, su vibrato produce una cadencia descendente como la música de un coro aviar angelical. Desde los días de mi infancia, cuando, por primera …

Natural Infections Of Tetrathyridia Of Mesocestoides Species In Deer Mice, Peromyscus Maniculatus, From New Mexico, John E. Ubelaker, Nora Abdullah, Aya Mouhaffel, Rashmi Ananadampillair, Caitlyn Emigh, Scott Lyell Gardner

Papers in Parasitology

At Southern Methodist University campus about 6 miles south of Taos, New Mexico, we recovered tetrathyridia of Mesocestoides in five Peromyscus maniculatus in the summers of 2008 (3 of 129, 0.023%), 2009 (0 of 98, 0%), 2010 (1 of 112, 0.008%), 2011 (0 of 88, 0%), and 2012 (1 of 86, 0.011%). Tetrathyridia from the body cavity of one of the five infected mice were injected into the peritoneal cavity of laboratory white mice, Mus musculus. Our later examination of the laboratory mice revealed heavy infections of tetrathyridia continuing to reproduce asexually. Here we provide important new information on …

Natural Infections Of Tetrathyridia Of Mesocestoides Species In Deer Mice, Peromyscus Maniculatus, From New Mexico, John E. Ubelaker, Norah Abdullah, Aya Mouhaffel, Rashmi Ananadampillair, Caitlyn Emigh, Scott Lyell Gardner

Harold W. Manter Laboratory of Parasitology: Faculty Publications

At Southern Methodist University campus about 6 miles south of Taos, New Mexico, we recovered tetrathyridia of Mesocestoides in five Peromyscus maniculatus in the summers of 2008 (3 of 129, 0.023%), 2009 (0 of 98, 0%), 2010 (1 of 112, 0.008%), 2011 (0 of 88, 0%), and 2012 (1 of 86, 0.011%). Tetrathyridia from the body cavity of one of the five infected mice were injected into the peritoneal cavity of laboratory white mice, Mus musculus. Our later examination of the laboratory mice revealed heavy infections of tetrathyridia continuing to reproduce asexually. Here we provide important new information on the …

Systematics Of The Neotropical Genus Leptodactylus Fitzinger, 1826 (Anura: Leptodactylidae): Phylogeny, The Relevance Of Non-Molecular Evidence, And Species Accounts, Rafael O. De Sá, Taran Grant, Arley Camargo, W. R. Heyer, María Laura Ponssa, Edward Stanley

Biology Faculty Publications

A phylogeny of the species-rich clade of the Neotropical frog genus Leptodactylus sensu stricto is presented on the basis of a total evidence analysis of molecular (mitochondrial and nuclear markers) and non-molecular (adult and larval morphological and behavioral characters) sampled from > 80% of the 75 currently recognized species. Our results support the monophyly of Leptodactylus sensu stricto, with Hydrolaetare placed as its sister group. The reciprocal monophyly of Hydrolaetare and Leptodactylus sensu stricto does not require that we consider Hydrolaetare as either a subgenus or synonym of Leptodactylus sensu lato. We recognize Leptodactylus sensu stricto, Hydrolaetare, Adenomera, and Lithodytes …

A Threat To New Zealand's Tuatara Heats Up, Kristine L. Grayson, Nicola J. Mitchell, Nicola J. Nelson

Biology Faculty Publications

No matter how many times we head to one of New Zealand's offshore islands, the feelings are always a mix of sheer awe at the beauty and biodiversity preserved in these special refuges and lingering nerves. Did we remember all the gear? Do we have enough food and water in case we get stuck? Can the helicopter land on the side of a cliff in these winds? These epic journeys are in pursuit of a lone remnant of the reptile evolutionary tree, with a unique ecology that has big implications under climate change.

Diatom Flora In Subterranean Ecosystems: A Review, Elisa Falasco, Luc Ector, Marco Isaia, Carlos E. Wetzel, Lucien Hoffmann, Francesca Bona

International Journal of Speleology

In scarcity of light and primary producers, subterranean ecosystems are generally extremely oligotrophic habitats, receiving poor supplies of degradable organic matter from the surface. Human direct impacts on cave ecosystems mainly derive from intensive tourism and recreational caving, causing important alterations to the whole subterranean environment. In particular, artificial lighting systems in show caves support the growth of autotrophic organisms (the so-called lampenflora), mainly composed of cyanobacteria, diatoms, chlorophytes, mosses and ferns producing exocellular polymeric substances (EPSs) made of polysaccharides, proteins, lipids and nucleic acids. This anionic EPSs matrix mediates to the intercellular communications and participates to the chemical …

Niche Differentiation In Meta Bourneti And M. Menardi (Araneae, Tetragnathidae) With Notes On The Life History, Stefano Mammola, Marco Isaia

International Journal of Speleology

Meta menardi and M. bourneti are two species of spiders inhabiting caves and other subterranean habitats. The occurrence of both species within the same cave has never been proved convincingly and several authors hypothesized a complete niche differentiation mainly based on microclimatic conditions.In order to study the apparent niche differentiation of the two species, we studied several populations of M. menardi and M. bourneti occurring in six caves in the Western Italian Alps (NW Italy). A series of squared plots were monitored monthly from March 2012 to February 2013. At each survey, we counted individuals and we collected the main …

Surveys Of Southern Flying Squirrel Activity Following Timber Harvest In Southern Indiana, Joseph W. Eisinger, Elizabeth A. Flaherty, Stephanie E. Trapp

The Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship (SURF) Symposium

Southern flying squirrels (Glaucomys volans) are gliding small mammals that are ecologically important seed dispersers and prey species across their wide range, which extends from southern Canada to Central America. Because of their reliance on forest structure for efficient movement and on forest composition for hard mast production to provide winter food items, habitat use by G. volans may be impacted by timber harvest. Responses of G. volans to timber harvests remains understudied throughout their range, and studies are especially lacking within the Central Hardwoods Region that includes Indiana. Our study in the Hardwood Ecosystem Experiment (HEE) in southern Indiana …

Jellyfish Throwdown: Invasive Versus Native, Brooke Bemowski, Trisha Huynh, Lindsay J. Sullivan, Wim Kimmerer

STAR Program Research Presentations

The San Francisco Bay Estuary is home to many species of marine and wildlife that create a delicate ecological balance. Invasive jellyfish introduced to the bay though cargo shipping are believed to be competing with the endangered delta smelt for the same food source of copepods. Samples of zooplankton were taken from high and low salinity zones in the San Francisco Bay over three years in months June through February to correlate with the peak of the jellyfish lifecycle. The preserved samples are looked through and jellyfish are removed and recorded. The species of jellyfish is determined using features such …

Salinity Distribution Of Microplankton In The San Francisco Estuary, Carrie Ann Sharitt, Lindsay Sullivan, Wim Kimmerer

STAR Program Research Presentations

Microplankton are a diverse group of planktonic organisms ranging from 0.02 to 0.2 millimeters. Since the group is defined solely by size, it spans numerous taxonomic groups, including both heterotrophs and autotrophs. Microplankton are abundant in all aquatic ecosystems and are important prey for many organisms, including bivalves, crustaceans, and fish. The San Francisco Bay is truly an estuary as saltwater enters the estuary under the Golden Gate Bridge and freshwater flows in from the Sacramento and San Joaquin Rivers. Thus, there is a gradient of salinity from freshwater (0) in the rivers to saltwater by the Golden Gate Bridge …

Effects Of Water Parameters On Container Mosquito (Diptera: Culicidae) Oviposition And Performance, Stephanie Sue Schelble

Master's Theses

Water body parameters have a considerable effect on the communities that develop within them. In small container habitats like tires, the depth, surface area, and volume effect the development and success of the mosquito communities. This study investigated the choices of the adult female mosquitoes, Aedes albopictus and Culex quinquefasciatus, between different depths and surface areas. In addition, larval performance was determined under differing depth and larvae densities. Oviposition studies showed that Ae. albopictus had a preference for deeper habitats (χ²= 14.2902, p= 0.0139) but did not prefer any surface areas (χ²= 7.2321, p= 0.0649) though …

Biological Condition Of Money Pont Benthic Communities, Southern Branch Of The Elizabeth River (2010 And 2013), Daniel M. Dauer

Elizabeth River Reports

Executive Summary

The subtidal macrobenthic communities off Money Point in the Southern Branch of the Elizabeth River were quantitatively sampled in summer 2010 (Dauer 2011). The designated Money Point study area was part of a sediment contaminant remediation effort. The primary objectives of the present study were to: (1) characterize the biological health of the benthos of Money Point comparing pre-remediation (2010) and post-remediation (2013) conditions and (2) assess the effectiveness of the sediment contamination remediation efforts with respect to Money Point benthos. In this report the macrobenthic communities off Money Point were resampled in the summer of 2013 after …

Temperature Alters Food Web Body-Size Structure, Jean P. Gibert, John P. Delong

School of Biological Sciences: Faculty Publications

The increased temperature associated with climate change may have important effects on body size and predator– prey interactions. The consequences of these effects for food web structure are unclear because the relationships between temperature and aspects of food web structure such as predator–prey body-size relationships are unknown. Here, we use the largest reported dataset for marine predator–prey interactions to assess how temperature affects predator–prey body-size relationships among different habitats ranging from the tropics to the poles. We found that prey size selection depends on predator body size, temperature and the interaction between the two. Our results indicate that (i) predator–prey …

Quantifying Habitat Relationships Of Songbirds In Quaking Aspen (Populus Tremuloides) And Other Montane Communities Of The Jarbidge Mountains, Nevada, Kevin Patrick Glueckert

Boise State University Theses and Dissertations

Quaking aspen (Populus tremuloides) woodlands are expected to be sensitive to climate change, and have declined in parts of the West. Great Basin mountain ranges may be near the limits of aspen’s climatic threshold, in terms of temperature and aridity, and thus are particularly vulnerable to climate change. Birds associating with aspen are likely to undergo regional population fluctuations and changes in distribution as a result of changes in aspen availability or distribution. Thus, understanding the habitat relationships of avian communities in aspen and other montane cover types is important for tracking the impacts of future landscape change. …

Effects Of Large Scale Growing Season Prescribed Burns On Movement, Habitat Use, Productivity, And Survival Of Female Wild Turkey On The White Rock Ecosystem Restoration Project Of The Ozark-St. Francis National Forest, Henry Tyler Pittman

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Restoration of woodland and savanna ecosystems has become a common management strategy in the Central Hardwoods region. Over the past two decades forest managers have implemented woodland and savanna restoration at the landscape level (≥10,000 ha), especially using early growing season prescribed fire. The implementation of the restoration strategy has coincided with declines of Eastern Wild Turkey (Meleagris gallopavo silvestris) in many treated areas causing concern that early growing season prescribed fire was impacting wild turkey. We initiated our study to examine the effect of woodland and savanna restoration on the ecology and habitat of wild turkey in the Ozark …

Water Use And Water Tolerance In The Riparian Species American Sycamore (Plantanus Occidentalis L.) And How Its Physiology Compares To The Coexisting Black Willow (Salix Nigra Marshall), Eric Duncan

Dissertations, Theses and Capstone Projects

This study set out to compare aspects of water use and tolerance to inundation and drought of two riparian tree species, Platanus occidentalis L. and Salix nigra Marshall. The main goal of the study was to better understand the two species and assess the suitability of P. occidentalis for use in riparian restoration. To accomplish this, potted individuals were subjected to treatments of drought, inundation, or control, under greenhouse conditions, and separately, in order to estimate water use in trees, season-long diurnal measurements of sap flux (using Granier type thermal dissipation probes) were determined in situ for trees growing in …

Getting In Deep, Earl Smith

Colby Magazine

Cleaning up Johnson Pond required wading through a quagmire of regulations- and produced some surprising revelations.

Mass And Nutrient Loss In Decaying Hardwood Boles At Hubbard Brook, Chris E. Johnson

Civil and Environmental Engineering - All Scholarship

No abstract provided.

A New Species Of Chiasmocleis (Microhylidae, Gastrophryninae) From The Atlantic Forest Of Espírito Santo State, Brazil, João Filipe Tonini, Maruicio Forlani, Rafael O. De Sá

Biology Faculty Publications

Among Neotropical microhylids, the genus Chiasmocleis is exceptionally diverse. Most species ofChiasmocleis were described in recent years based on external morphology, but recent studies using molecular data did not support the monophyly of the species groups clustered based on feet webbing. Furthermore, a phylogeographic study of C. lacrimae estimated high genetic divergence and low gene flow among populations across small geographic ranges. Increasing the molecular and geographic sampling, and incorporating morphological data, we identified new cryptic species. Herein, we used novel genetic and morphological data to describe a new species of Chiasmocleis.

Diet Alters Delayed Selfing, Inbreeding Depression, And Reproductive Senescence In A Freshwater Snail, Josh R. Auld, John F. Henkel

Biology Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Spatial And Temporal Variability In Net Community Metabolism In The Middle Atlantic Bight, Georges Bank, And Gulf Of Maine: Observations Of Net Heterotrophic Phases In The Highly Productive Coastal Zone, Cory James Staryk

OES Theses and Dissertations

Net community metabolism (NCM), the balance between primary production and community respiration, was measured during two cruises, June 2011 and August 2012, in the Middle Atlantic Bight, Georges Bank and Gulf of Maine. Net heterotrophy was observed in Georges Bank and Gulf of Maine during the June 2011 cruise. During the August 2012 cruise, net heterotrophy was observed in the Middle Atlantic Bight and net autotrophy was observed in Georges Bank and the Gulf of Maine. Dark community respiration increased (DCR) with biomass and temperature. Gross community production (GCP) also increased with Chl a, bicarbonate uptake, and temperature. Net …

The Ecological Impact Of Casitas On Caribbean Spiny Lobster (Panulirus Argus) Populations In The Florida Keys, Fl, (Usa), Benjamin C. Gutzler

Biological Sciences Theses & Dissertations

Casitas are artificial structures placed on the seabed by fishermen to aggregate Caribbean spiny lobsters (Panulirus argus) for ease of capture. Some researchers suggest that they may also enhance lobster populations in shelter-limited environments. Conversely, aggregation of lobsters within casitas may be detrimental to the population if the nutritional condition or mortality of lobsters is poorer in casitas than in natural shelters. Small juvenile lobsters may be at particular risk because their foraging range is smaller and they are more readily preyed upon than larger lobsters. If so, then casitas placed in lobster nurseries may function as "ecological traps"; wherein …

A Comprehensive Evaluation Of C25 Highly Branched Isoprenoid Alkenes Of Marine Diatoms As Proxies For Sea Ice Extent In The Arctic Ocean, Tetiana Muniak

OES Theses and Dissertations

Sea Ice extent is one of the major factors regulating carbon cycling and ecosystem function in the modern Arctic Ocean. It is an essential component of climate models and is crucial for the evaluation of various oceanographic processes that influence a particular region. Yet it is also one of the most difficult attributes of the ocean with respect to our ability for its accurate reconstruction from paleo records. The lack of the detailed records prior to satellite information has encouraged the development of new proxy records for the reconstruction of past

sea ice conditions. In recent years, a new monounsaturated …

Cercyonis Pegala Agawamensis (Satyridae): A New Butterfly Subspecies From The Coastal Salt Marshes Of The Northeastern United States Of America, Matthew D. Arey, Alex Grkovich

The Taxonomic Report of the International Lepidoptera Survey

A new subspecies of the Common Wood Nymph (Cercyonis pegala) from the New England coastline in the northeastern region of the United States is described on the basis of phenotype, behavior, habitat, seasonality, flight period, and phenology. Agawamensis is univoltine as in all pegala. The newly described subspecies occurs almost entirely in coastal salt marshes and estuarine meadows, quite atypical as understood for Cercyonis pegala. The newly described subspecies agawamensis predominately prefers and occurs within large open salt marshes but can also be found in similar habitat along smaller tidal rivers, coastal inlets and streams

A Case Of Sympatric Celastrina Ladon (Cramer), Celastrina Lucia (W. Kirby) And Celastrina Neglecta (Edwards) (Lycaenidae: Polyommatinae) In Northern Virginia, With Additional Records Of C. Lucia In Virginia, Harry Pavulaan

The Taxonomic Report of the International Lepidoptera Survey

A case of fully sympatric Celastrina ladon, C. lucia, and early spring brood C. neglecta is documented at a site in northern Virginia. Observations indicate that all three species occupy the same habitat, fly during the same flight period and utilize the same hostplant with no evidence of hybridization. C. ladon and C. lucia are obligate univoltines while C. neglecta is multivoltine. A later flight (second brood) of Celastrina neglecta at the same site utilizes eriophyid mite-induced leaf galls on the very same host tree species. Additional Virginia records of C. lucia are documented.