Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®

Terrestrial and Aquatic Ecology Commons

Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®

2015

Discipline
Institution
Keyword
Publication
Publication Type

Articles 151 - 180 of 211

Full-Text Articles in Terrestrial and Aquatic Ecology

Los Agaves Mezcaleros Del Altiplano Potosino Y Zacatecano, Edgar León Esparza-Ibarra, Juan Violante-González, Scott Monks, Jorge Cadena Iñiguez, Cuauhtémoc Araujo-Andrade, Erich Dietmar Rössel-Kipping Jan 2015

Los Agaves Mezcaleros Del Altiplano Potosino Y Zacatecano, Edgar León Esparza-Ibarra, Juan Violante-González, Scott Monks, Jorge Cadena Iñiguez, Cuauhtémoc Araujo-Andrade, Erich Dietmar Rössel-Kipping

Estudios en Biodiversidad

En el Altiplano Potosino y Zacatecano, los agaves mezcaleros son un componente socioeconómico importante ya que se pueden aprovechar desde el punto de vista económico, ya que tiene valor en el mercado para la producción de bebidas espirituosas como el mezcal; social, ya que su producción y modo de empleo genera jornales disminuyendo la migración; en la salud, por la producción de aguamiel, jarabes e inulinas como complemento nutricional; científico, por los aportes al conocimiento en la variación biológica de los agaves; debido a la diversidad y su plasticidad para enfrentar temperaturas extremas y sequías prolongadas, entre otros. Es por …


El Arbolado De Los Espacios Públicos Abiertos De La Zona De Monumentos Del Centro Histórico De La Ciudad De Puebla, Víctor Gutiérrez-Pacheco, Sonia Emilia Silva-Gómez, José Silvestre Toxtle-Tlamani, J. Santos Hernández-Zepeda Jan 2015

El Arbolado De Los Espacios Públicos Abiertos De La Zona De Monumentos Del Centro Histórico De La Ciudad De Puebla, Víctor Gutiérrez-Pacheco, Sonia Emilia Silva-Gómez, José Silvestre Toxtle-Tlamani, J. Santos Hernández-Zepeda

Estudios en Biodiversidad

Los conglomerados humanos, presentan espacios públicos abiertos (EPA´s), sobre todo arbolados, con funciones estéticas, sociales y ambientales. Se requiere información e indicadores con un enfoque ecológico, para que su atención descanse sobre una planeación documentada. Así, se pretende conocer la composición arbórea, su distribución y la biodiversidad en los Espacios Públicos Abiertos (EPA´s) de la Zona de Monumentos del Centro Histórico de la Ciudad de Puebla (ZMCHP). Por tanto, se contaron los especímenes, se ubicaron en los EPA´s y se identificaron. Para determinar la biodiversidad se aplicó el Índice de Diversidad de Shannon-Wiener (H´). En 25 EPA´s, se censaron 1,120 …


The Problem Of Low Agreement Among Automated Identification Programs For Acoustical Surveys Of Bats, Cliff Lemen, Patricia W. Freeman, Jeremy A. White, Brett R. Andersen Jan 2015

The Problem Of Low Agreement Among Automated Identification Programs For Acoustical Surveys Of Bats, Cliff Lemen, Patricia W. Freeman, Jeremy A. White, Brett R. Andersen

School of Natural Resources: Faculty Publications

We compared four programs designed to identify species of bats from their echolocation calls (Bat Call ID, EchoClass, Kaleidoscope Pro, and SonoBat) using field data collected in Nebraska, USA (29,782 files). Although we did not know the true identity of these bats, we could still compare the pairwise agreement between software packages when identifying the same call sequences. If accuracy is high in these software packages, there should be high agreement in identification. Agreement in identification by species averaged approximately 40% and varied by software package, species, and data set. Our results are not consistent with the high accuracy often …


Distribution, Movement, And Ecology Of Etheostoma Spilotum (Gilbert), The Kentucky Arrow Darter, In Gilberts Big Creek And Elisha Creek, Red Bird River Basin, Clay And Leslie Counties, Kentucky, Jonathan Bradley Baxter Jan 2015

Distribution, Movement, And Ecology Of Etheostoma Spilotum (Gilbert), The Kentucky Arrow Darter, In Gilberts Big Creek And Elisha Creek, Red Bird River Basin, Clay And Leslie Counties, Kentucky, Jonathan Bradley Baxter

Online Theses and Dissertations

The Kentucky Arrow Darter (KAD), Etheostoma spilotum, is an endemic species to the Upper Kentucky River Basin and is currently proposed for listing as threatened under the Endangered Species Act. The ecology and population status of this benthic species is poorly understood, so this study was designed to investigate the species’ movement capabilities, population dynamics, and overall ecology in two streams (Gilberts Big and Elisha Creek) in the Red Bird Ranger District, Daniel Boone National Forest, Kentucky. Project objectives included quantification of movement patterns, identification of microhabitat use, and estimation of population size in both streams. Sampling was conducted during …


Examining The Impacts Of Valley Fills In Stream Ecosystems On Amphibian And Aquatic Insect Communities In Southeastern Kentucky, John Clayton Bourne Jan 2015

Examining The Impacts Of Valley Fills In Stream Ecosystems On Amphibian And Aquatic Insect Communities In Southeastern Kentucky, John Clayton Bourne

Online Theses and Dissertations

Chapter 1. Abstract: Biodiversity is not evenly distributed, and understanding factors that determine spatial patterns of species diversity remains a key question in ecology. Because of their relatively high abundance and complex life cycles, stream salamanders and aquatic insects are important trophic links and serve a critical role in transferring energy. Despite this importance little research has examined their community structure simultaneously in aquatic ecosystems. The primary objective of this research was to determine the structure of these communities across natural areas of southeastern Kentucky and understand what factors impact their abundances and distributions. To address this, we sampled eight …


Reproductive Biology Of Syntopic Blackside Dace And Southern Redbelly Dace In Two Kentucky Streams, Brajaan Hayes Jan 2015

Reproductive Biology Of Syntopic Blackside Dace And Southern Redbelly Dace In Two Kentucky Streams, Brajaan Hayes

Online Theses and Dissertations

When a rare endemic species and an ecologically similar, but more cosmopolitan species share habitat, understanding how they interact with each other is important for conservation efforts. This is especially true if both species rely on the same spawning habitat, which could potentially lead to competitive displacement or hybridization. It is known that the federally threatened Blackside Dace and common Southern Redbelly Dace are ecologically similar species, occur syntopically in Kentucky in the upper Cumberland River basin, and utilize some of the same host species for nest sites; however, it is unclear if the two fish species are spawning site …


Presencia De Metales Pesados En La Reserva De La Biosfera Barranca De Metztitlán, Hidalgo, México, Irving Giovanny González-Salazar, Maritza López-Herrera, Scott Monks, Griselda Pulido-Flores Jan 2015

Presencia De Metales Pesados En La Reserva De La Biosfera Barranca De Metztitlán, Hidalgo, México, Irving Giovanny González-Salazar, Maritza López-Herrera, Scott Monks, Griselda Pulido-Flores

Estudios en Biodiversidad

La Reserva de la Biosfera Barranca de Metztitlán es un área natural protegida por la gran diversidad de flora y fauna existente en la misma. La zona es atravesada por un río de gran longitud que se extiende desde el municipio de Tulancingo hasta su desembocadura en la Laguna de Metztitlán, en la zona núcleo de la reserva. A lo largo del cauce del río se ubican algunos asentamientos humanos y zonas industriales, que vierten aguas residuales domésticas e industriales. Además, el agua del río es un recurso natural utilizado como agua de riego para las zonas agrícolas, que con …


Percepción De Calidad De Vida, Contaminación Y Riesgo En Localidades Rurales Del Municipio De Tecoanapa, Guerrero, Rocío López-Velasco, América Rodríguez-Herrera, Humberto González-González, Branly Olivier-Salomé, Consuelo Montalvo-Marques Jan 2015

Percepción De Calidad De Vida, Contaminación Y Riesgo En Localidades Rurales Del Municipio De Tecoanapa, Guerrero, Rocío López-Velasco, América Rodríguez-Herrera, Humberto González-González, Branly Olivier-Salomé, Consuelo Montalvo-Marques

Estudios en Biodiversidad

En el presente trabajo se realizó un análisis sobre la percepción de calidad de vida, contaminación y riesgo en nueve comunidades rurales del Municipio de Tecoanapa, Guerrero. Para ello, se seleccionaron nueve comunidades que cumplieran con tres aspectos: rezago social (muy alto, medio y muy bajo); ubicación (cerca de ríos); y vivencias en conflictos y embates ambientales. Se levantó una encuesta a jefes de familia en febrero de 2014. Registrando que el 70% de los habitantes afirmaron tener una buena calidad de vida. Al cuestionarlos sobre contaminación, el 59.9% consideró que si existe y está asociada al agua. El 52.0% …


Plantas Útiles De Tres Municipios (Metztitlán, Atotonilco El Grande Y Huasca De Ocampo) De La Reserva De La Biosfera Barranca De Metztitlán, Hidalgo, México, Miguel Ángel Villavicencio-Nieto, Blanca Estela Pérez-Escandón, Berenice N. López-Gutiérrez Jan 2015

Plantas Útiles De Tres Municipios (Metztitlán, Atotonilco El Grande Y Huasca De Ocampo) De La Reserva De La Biosfera Barranca De Metztitlán, Hidalgo, México, Miguel Ángel Villavicencio-Nieto, Blanca Estela Pérez-Escandón, Berenice N. López-Gutiérrez

Estudios en Biodiversidad

Existen muy pocos trabajos etnobotánicos realizados en la Reserva de la Biosfera Barranca de Metztitlán, por lo que el objetivo de este estudio fue generar un listado preliminar de plantas útiles de la Reserva. Se aplicaron entrevistas a habitantes de localidades ubicadas en la zona, para colectar las plantas útiles mencionadas se hicieron recorridos de campo en compañía de informantes, posteriormente las especies fueron identificadas con el uso de claves dicotómicas. Se registraron 83 especies de plantas útiles, distribuidas en 39 familias y 20 categorías de uso, siendo la medicinal la mejor representada por número de especies. Conocer el uso …


Abundance, Density, And Opinions About Columbian Black-Tailed Deer, Whidbey Island, Washington, Robert P. Wingard Jan 2015

Abundance, Density, And Opinions About Columbian Black-Tailed Deer, Whidbey Island, Washington, Robert P. Wingard

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Obtaining reliable knowledge is the first step towards properly managing wildlife species. Columbian black-tailed deer (Odocoileus hemionus columbianus) on Whidbey Island, Washington have not been the subject of study, and little is known about the population, or the opinion of resident’s of Whidbey Island towards the deer population. However, wildlife managers suggest deer on the island may be overabundant or over social carrying capacity. Given the lack of empirical knowledge about the deer population or human opinions towards deer on Whidbey Island, I designed research to determine the abundance and density of Columbian black-tailed deer on Whidbey Island, …


Decadal Scale Responses Of Soil And Ecosystem Processes To Forest Restoration In Rocky Mountain Conifer Forests, Peter Ganzlin Jan 2015

Decadal Scale Responses Of Soil And Ecosystem Processes To Forest Restoration In Rocky Mountain Conifer Forests, Peter Ganzlin

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Decades of fire suppression have left much of the forest in the intermountain western United States exceedingly dense, and forest restoration techniques – including thinning and prescribed fire – are increasingly being used in an attempt to mitigate the potentially disastrous effects of severe wildfire, to enhance tree growth and regeneration, and to stimulate soil nutrient cycling. While many of the short-term effects of forest restoration have been established, the long-term effects on soil biogeochemical and ecosystem processes are largely unknown. In this thesis I present two manuscripts documenting and synthesizing these long-term impacts. The first chapter focuses on the …


Coarse Woody Debris And The Carbon Balance Of A Moderately Disturbed Forest, Amy V. Schmid Jan 2015

Coarse Woody Debris And The Carbon Balance Of A Moderately Disturbed Forest, Amy V. Schmid

Theses and Dissertations

Landscapes are comprised of multiple ecosystems shaped by disturbances varying in severity and source. Moderate disturbance from weather, pathogens, insects, and age-related senescence, in contrast to severe disturbances that fell trees, may increase standing woody debris and alter the contribution of coarse woody debris (CWD) to total ecosystem respiration (RE). However, woody debris dynamics are rarely examined following moderate disturbances that substantially increase standing dead wood stocks. We used an experimental manipulation of moderate disturbance in an upper Great Lakes forest to: 1) examine decadal changes in CWD stocks through a moderate disturbance; 2) quantify in situ CWD …


Evolution, Systematics & Geographic Parthenogenesis Of Ilyodromus (Crustacea, Ostracoda), Rylan James Shearn Jan 2015

Evolution, Systematics & Geographic Parthenogenesis Of Ilyodromus (Crustacea, Ostracoda), Rylan James Shearn

Theses

Most multicellular organisms reproduce sexually at some point in their life cycle. This is paradoxical because being asexual is theoretically far more advantageous. Asexual organisms do not need to find and court new mates, they reproduce at a faster rate, and with no males, all members of the population contribute toward population growth rate. With over 20, often mutually exclusive hypotheses, this paradox resists a synthesised explanation, and continues to represent one of the largest gaps in our understanding of fundamental evolutionary theory. Clearly, more real world studies are required that document the selective mechanisms underlying differences in evolutionary fitness …


Plant Functional Traits Of Dominant Native And Invasive Species In Mediterranean-Climate Ecosystems, Jennifer L. Funk, Rachel J. Standish, William D. Stock, Fernando Valladares Jan 2015

Plant Functional Traits Of Dominant Native And Invasive Species In Mediterranean-Climate Ecosystems, Jennifer L. Funk, Rachel J. Standish, William D. Stock, Fernando Valladares

Biology, Chemistry, and Environmental Sciences Faculty Articles and Research

The idea that dominant invasive plant species outperform neighboring native species through higher rates of carbon assimilation and growth is supported by several analyses of global datasets. However, theory suggests that native and invasive species occurring in low-resource environments will be functionally similar, as environmental factors restrict the range of observed physiological and morphological trait values. We measured resource-use traits in native and invasive plant species across eight diverse vegetation communities distributed throughout the five Mediterranean-climate regions, which are drought-prone and increasingly threatened by human activities including the introduction of exotic species. Traits differed strongly across the five regions. In …


An Economic Analysis Of High-Intensity, Short-Duration Grazing Systems In South Dakota And Nebraska, Bronc Mcmurtry Jan 2015

An Economic Analysis Of High-Intensity, Short-Duration Grazing Systems In South Dakota And Nebraska, Bronc Mcmurtry

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Four different grazing systems: two rotational, a continuous, and a high-intensity, short-duration (mob) system, replicated twice, were evaluated from an economic perspective. Mob grazing is defined as a system having very high stocking rates for a small amount of time. Livestock are forced to eat or trample the vegetation. Stocking rates and average daily gains (ADG) were collected from the UNL Barta Brothers ranch near Rose, Nebraska. The study started in 2011 and lasted until 2014. Using the performance data and other cost data relevant to South Dakota and Nebraska, budgets were set up for each system and extrapolated to …


Toxic Cyanobacteria Aerosols: Tests Of Filters For Cells, Sean R. Perry, Alexis Mack, James F. Haney, Amanda Murby Jan 2015

Toxic Cyanobacteria Aerosols: Tests Of Filters For Cells, Sean R. Perry, Alexis Mack, James F. Haney, Amanda Murby

Honors Theses and Capstones

Aerosolization of toxic cyanobacteria released from the surface of lakes is a new area of study that could uncover a previously unknown route of exposure to toxic cyanobacteria. Since toxic cyanobacteria may be responsible for adverse human health effects, methods and equipment need to be tested and established for monitoring these airborne bacteria. The primary focus of this study was to create controlled laboratory experiments that simulate natural lake aerosol production. I set out to test for the best type of filter to collect and analyze the aerosolized cells as small as 0.2-2.0 µm, known as picoplankton. To collect these …


Re-Envisioning Community-Wildfire Relations In The U.S. West As Adaptive Governance, Jesse B. Abrams, Melanie Knapp, Travis B. Paveglio, Autumn Ellison, Cassandra Moseley, Max Nielsen-Pincus, Matthew S. Carroll Jan 2015

Re-Envisioning Community-Wildfire Relations In The U.S. West As Adaptive Governance, Jesse B. Abrams, Melanie Knapp, Travis B. Paveglio, Autumn Ellison, Cassandra Moseley, Max Nielsen-Pincus, Matthew S. Carroll

Environmental Science and Management Faculty Publications and Presentations

Prompted by a series of increasingly destructive, expensive, and highly visible wildfire crises in human communities across the globe, a robust body of scholarship has emerged to theorize, conceptualize, and measure community-level resilience to wildfires. To date, however, insufficient consideration has been given to wildfire resilience as a process of adaptive governance mediated by institutions at multiple scales. Here we explore the possibilities for addressing this gap through an analysis of wildfire resilience among wildland-urban interface communities in the western region of the United States. We re-engage important but overlooked components of social-ecological system resilience by situating rural communities within …


Ecohydraulic Investigation Of Diatoms In A Bedrock-Controlled Stream, Alex M. Rittle Jan 2015

Ecohydraulic Investigation Of Diatoms In A Bedrock-Controlled Stream, Alex M. Rittle

Theses and Dissertations--Geography

Recent studies within the past decade or so have shown the importance of algae in geomorphic and hydrologic processes of lotic systems. However, the ecohydraulic role of algae in bedrock systems has largely been ignored. In addition, the utility of algae as indicators of channel dynamics have often been assumed by geomorphologists, but relatively few studies have examined this relationship. The purpose of this study was to determine whether algae, specifically diatoms, are useful indicators of channel geomorphological dynamics, and to examine if distinct habitats or biotopes typical in fluviokarst and bedrock systems provide unique habitat space for diatoms, and …


Striking The Balance: Challenges And Perspectives For The Protected Areas Network In Northeastern European Russia, Svetlana V. Degteva, Vasily I. Ponomarev, Sasha W. Eisenman, Vyacheslav Dushenkov Jan 2015

Striking The Balance: Challenges And Perspectives For The Protected Areas Network In Northeastern European Russia, Svetlana V. Degteva, Vasily I. Ponomarev, Sasha W. Eisenman, Vyacheslav Dushenkov

Publications and Research

Increasing anthropogenic pressure on the largest remaining tracts of old-growth boreal forest in Europe necessitates additional conservation of ecosystems and biodiversity in northeastern European Russia. In a regional network comprising 8 % of the Nenets Autonomous District and 13.5 % of the Komi Republic, 248 areas have varying protected statuses as state nature reserves (zapovedniks), national parks, reserves/sanctuaries (zakazniks), or natural monuments. Due to increased natural resource extraction in this relatively pristine area, designation of additional protected areas is critical for the protection of key ecological sites. The history of ecological preservation in these regions is herein described, and recent …


School Gardens: Cultivating A Child’S Nutritional Habits, Environmental Knowledge, And Sustainability Practices, Jeffrey Meltzer Jan 2015

School Gardens: Cultivating A Child’S Nutritional Habits, Environmental Knowledge, And Sustainability Practices, Jeffrey Meltzer

Honors Theses

School gardens have existed since the late nineteenth century and today are becoming increasingly popular in many parts of the world, including where I studied in Maine and Australia (AUS). Multiple organizations support school gardens in Maine, including the Maine School Garden Network, which has over 125 registered school gardens. In AUS, the Stephanie Alexander Kitchen Garden Foundation primarily supports the school garden movement and has over 800 registered school gardens. While many researchers have studied school gardens, few have compared two countries, focused on environmental sustainability, or investigated Maine in particular. This thesis combines information from literature reviews, and …


An Investigation Into The Occurrence Of Batrachochytrium Dendrobatidis Infection In Plethodontid Salamander Communities Of Robinson Forest, Sarah H. Spaulding Jan 2015

An Investigation Into The Occurrence Of Batrachochytrium Dendrobatidis Infection In Plethodontid Salamander Communities Of Robinson Forest, Sarah H. Spaulding

Theses and Dissertations--Forestry and Natural Resources

Environmental and anthropogenic stressors negatively affect amphibians in a variety of ways, often increasing their vulnerability to pathogen infection and mortality. Sampling for the pathogenic fungus Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis (Bd) was conducted in order to: 1) determine the presence of chytrid infection in stream-associated plethodontid salamanders of southeastern Kentucky, and 2) evaluate differences in infection intensity between salamanders residing in intact forest streams, timber-harvested streams, and surface-mined streams. During 14 sampling sessions occurring between March, April and May of 2013, DNA samples from 306 individual salamanders within 8 species from the family Plethodontidae were collected; additional amphibians (i.e. frogs, newts) were …


Scales Of Resilience: Community Stability, Population Dynamics, And Molecular Ecology Of Brook Trout In A Riverscape After A Large Flood, Erin V. Rodgers Jan 2015

Scales Of Resilience: Community Stability, Population Dynamics, And Molecular Ecology Of Brook Trout In A Riverscape After A Large Flood, Erin V. Rodgers

Antioch University Dissertations & Theses

Climate change in the northeastern United States currently and in future decadal predictions is characterized by warmer average temperatures and more frequent and intense storm events. Many aquatic organisms that thrive below a certain temperature threshold, such as brook trout, are being pushed towards their upper thermal limits, ultimately lowering their probability of survival and resilience to disturbance. In late-August and early-September 2011, Hurricane Irene and Tropical Storm Lee created an extended flood in the Delaware Water Gap region of Pennsylvania and New Jersey, as well as much of the northeast. This dissertation examines the effects of this flood on …


Recovery Potential Of The Mussel Communities In The Lower Section Of Big Walnut Creek, Jared B. Ellenbogen Jan 2015

Recovery Potential Of The Mussel Communities In The Lower Section Of Big Walnut Creek, Jared B. Ellenbogen

Undergraduate Honors Thesis Projects

Since the enactment of the 1977 Clean Water Act, biologists have created numerous multimetric assessment tools to evaluate the biological integrity of water resources, using biological criteria. The integrity of Big Walnut Creek, Ohio, has been in flux since the 1955 construction of Hoover Dam, and while current water quality is high, mussel communities in the creek have yet to recover to historical levels. This study sought to determine the cause of the decline in the mussels in the lower section of the creek below the dam. Historical creek data, including a fish-based index of biotic integrity (f-IBI), invertebrate community …


Nutrient Competition Between Algae And Juncus Effusus In The Lake Fayetteville Artificial Spiral Wetland, Toryn Jones, Thad Scott Jan 2015

Nutrient Competition Between Algae And Juncus Effusus In The Lake Fayetteville Artificial Spiral Wetland, Toryn Jones, Thad Scott

Discovery, The Student Journal of Dale Bumpers College of Agricultural, Food and Life Sciences

There is insufficient research focusing exclusively on how nutrient competition between algae and wetland macrophytes affects the growth of these species. This study examined the relationship between nutrient concentrations (N and P), algal concentrations, and the growth of Juncus effusus. Juncus effusus growth in the Lake Fayetteville artificial spiral wetland was monitored over a four month period during the prime growing season. Eighteen plants were taken from the wetland and replanted in 1 of 6 treatments: plant-only, algae-only, combined, plant-only +supplement, algaeonly +supplement, or combined +supplement. The algae and combined environments received an inoculation of algae, and the +supplement treatments …


Use Of Airborne Digital Imagery To Examine Floodplain Complexity At Varying Discharges, Katelyn P. Driscoll Jan 2015

Use Of Airborne Digital Imagery To Examine Floodplain Complexity At Varying Discharges, Katelyn P. Driscoll

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Floodplains are composed of aquatic and terrestrial habitats that are frequently reshaped by hydrologic processes operating at various spatial and temporal scales. I hypothesized that floodplain habitat complexity is maximized at intermediate discharges because small changes in flow result in substantial aquatic habitat changes and extreme discharges are associated with a decreased habitat heterogeneity. Between April and September 2014, I collected ultra-high resolution digital multispectral imagery of the Clark Fork River, Montana taken on 6 dates between early spring and fall. Following image mosaicking into a single image, unsupervised classification of the spectral reflectance was used to identify and quantify …


A Gis Assessment Of Ecoregion Representation In Chile's Existing And Proposed Integrated Network Of Protected Areas, Jessica Schutz Jan 2015

A Gis Assessment Of Ecoregion Representation In Chile's Existing And Proposed Integrated Network Of Protected Areas, Jessica Schutz

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Chile's state designated protected areas are reported to show representation bias and to be unable to meet conservation goals. Private protected areas are considered an important tool to resolve these issues, which has led to support for increasing the role of private protected areas in Chile and creating an integrated public-private protected area network. But the validity of the capacity of private protected areas to fix Chile's state protected area network bias, and the advantage of creating an integrated protected area network, have not been assessed. This study uses the most recent data on Chile's state, private, and international protected …


Assessing The Contributions Of Two Stocked Strains On A Minnesota-Wisconsin Border Water, Douglas Zentner Jan 2015

Assessing The Contributions Of Two Stocked Strains On A Minnesota-Wisconsin Border Water, Douglas Zentner

Journal of Earth and Life Science

Stocking has long been used as a management tool in the United States even though many of its effects remain cryptic. Past comparisons between stocked strains were generally based on the survival and growth rates of physically marked individuals. More recently the use of genetic markers to assess contributions of stocked individuals has been employed by fisheries managers. Using 13 microsatellite markers we assessed the contributions of two muskellunge (Esox masquinongy) strains (Wisconsin and Leech) stocked into the St. Louis River Estuary. Ancestry in the adult samples remained relatively constant with differences only observed between the 2008 and …


Using Wild I.D. As A Reliable Source For Mark And Recapture Studies On Northern Pike (Esox Lucius), Martin Evans Jan 2015

Using Wild I.D. As A Reliable Source For Mark And Recapture Studies On Northern Pike (Esox Lucius), Martin Evans

Journal of Earth and Life Science

Mark and recapture studies are a very popular method fisheries biologists use to assess certain fish populations in lakes. This process can be very labor intensive and expensive. Wild I.D. is free software developed by Dartmouth College that uses SIFT program to find unique features in photographs. Initially developed for identification of African land mammals the program gives each photo a score and percent match to other photos. Northern pike were used in this study to determine if the program can recognize simulated recapture events. Photos of sample fish were taken at two separate locations, the photos were then copied …


Juvenile Chinook Salmon Diet In Comparison To Invertebrate Drift In The Merced River, California, Tyler Orgon Jan 2015

Juvenile Chinook Salmon Diet In Comparison To Invertebrate Drift In The Merced River, California, Tyler Orgon

Journal of Earth and Life Science

Diets and habitat types of salmonids have been widely studied in disturbed streams and rivers. The Merced River in California has a long history of flooding, damming, levee failures, and channel reconstruction events that has disrupted the aquatic ecosystem. This 30 day study was conducted in the Robinson Reach of the Merced River using juvenile Chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawtscha). The objectives were to try and understand if juvenile Chinook salmon were selecting certain invertebrate species, determine if there were any differences in diets between habitat types, and determine whether diets and drift samples were different. Diets consisted of …


Effects Of Cooler Northern Waters On Growth Rates In Bluegill And Pumpkinseed Sunfish, Alec Spurbeck Jan 2015

Effects Of Cooler Northern Waters On Growth Rates In Bluegill And Pumpkinseed Sunfish, Alec Spurbeck

Journal of Earth and Life Science

The Centrarchidae family range spans all across the United States making them a favorite target for many recreational anglers. In northern Minnesota, most water bodies do not reach optimal growth temperatures for the sunfishes, putting them right on the edge of their suitable range and potentially slowing overall growth. Therefore, the main objectives of this study were to 1) determine if sunfish growth rates respond to the severity of winter and 2) investigate growth differences between two sunfish species. Growth rates of bluegill (Lepomis macrochirus) and pumpkinseed (Lepomis gibbosus) were estimated from Big Sugar Bush Lake, …