Terrestrial and Aquatic Ecology Commons^™

Living On The Edge: Assessing The Effects Of Catastrophic Fire On Plants Utilized By Two Endemic Subspecies Of Spring Mountains Butterflies, Charles Ryan Herrmann

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

In the past few decades there has been an increase in catastrophic, high-intensity, large-scale wildfires globally due to the combination of climate warming with more than a century of fire suppression policy. One region that has been drastically affected is the Western United States, as there has been an increase in ‘mega-fires’ in the past few decades. The 2013 Carpenter 1 Fire in the Spring Mountains, Nevada was the largest fire in recorded history in these mountains, spreading out over 11,137 hectares. Catastrophic fire like the Carpenter 1 Fire can have potentially devastating effects on endemic species inhabiting refugia on …

Assessment Of The Calling Detection Probability Throughout The Day Of Two Invasive Populations Of Bullfrog (Lithobates Catesbeianus) In Uruguay, Gabriel Laufer, Noelia Gobel, Alvaro Soutullo, Claudio Martinez-Debat, Rafael O. De Sá

Biology Faculty Publications

Bullfrog invasion is a major conservation concern in South America, so there is an urgent need to detect and monitor its many invasion foci. Amphibian sampling methods commonly use calling display, specifically the nuptial calls of males. With the aim of obtaining the better day period to sample and monitor Lithobates catesbeianus presence, we recorded its calls at three ponds in two invaded localities in Uruguay (Aceguá, Cerro Largo, and San Carlos, Maldonado) during the reproductive season. Then, we studied the records, obtaining a subsample of calling intensity at the first 5 minutes for each hour. We detected that vocalization …

Ecological Consequences Of Water Loss Under Climate Change In Small Ectotherms, Eric Alexander Riddell

All Dissertations

Warming climates threaten to reduce biodiversity across the planet, yet the capacity of organisms to minimize the effects of climate change are rarely considered in current ecological predictions of climate change. Organisms can minimize the effect of warming through behavioral, physiological, and morphological processes that limit exposure to lethal conditions or improve performance. Therefore, integrating these mechanisms into ecological models might improve predictions on the loss of biodiversity under climate change. For my dissertation, I focus on the physiological processes that influence habitat suitability in a group of terrestrial, lungless salamanders (Plethodon spp.) found in the core of the global …

Where In The World Are Pallas's Fish Eagles? Migration And Ecology Of Haliaeetus Leucoryphus In Asia, Marla Lynn Steele

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Pallas’s Fish Eagle (Haliaeetus leucoryphus) is the Northern Hemisphere’s least understood eagle species. Virtually nothing is known concerning the species’ ecology. Historically, Pallas’s Fish Eagles were expected to breed in three separate populations in Mongolia, China, and India and was considered one of the most common raptors in Asia prior to the 1900’s. However, by 1960’s major declines were observed. The species is currently listed as “globally vulnerable” by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List. The current study examined over a century of Pallas’s Fish Eagle observation data to determine occupancy and detection rates throughout …

Flight Activity, Oviposition Pit Distribution, And Emergence Densities Of Monochamus Titillator And M. Carolinensis In The Ozark-St. Francis National Forest In Arkansas, Jake Bodart

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Monochamus (Coleoptera: Cerambycidae) are a genus of longhorn beetles commonly known as pine sawyers. They have a worldwide distribution coincident with pines (Pinaceae) and are vectors of the pinewood nematode (Bursaphelenchus xylophilus). In the United States, there are eight known Monochamus species and they have a sympatric distribution with at least one other Monochamus species throughout their range. Monochamus are known to attack stressed, dead, and dying conifers especially pines. In the Ozark- St. Francis National Forest in Arkansas, there are two species of pine sawyers and they share this sympatric distribution observed throughout the United States, M. titillator (southern …

Salting Our Freshwater Lakes, Hilary A. Dugan, Sarah L. Bartlett, Samantha M. Burke, Jonathan P. Doubek, Flora Krivak-Tetley

Dartmouth Scholarship

The highest densities of lakes on Earth are in north temperate ecosystems, where increasing urbanization and associated chloride runoff can salinize freshwaters and threaten lake water quality and the many ecosystem services lakes provide. However, the extent to which lake salinity may be changing at broad spatial scales remains unknown, leading us to first identify spatial patterns and then investigate the drivers of these patterns. Significant decadal trends in lake salinization were identified using a dataset of long-term chloride concentrations from 371 North American lakes. Landscape and climate metrics calculated for each site demonstrated that impervious land cover was a …

Determination Of Metal Concentrations In Sediments Of Big Walnut Creek, Hayley Quinn, Joan M. Esson, Kierra M. Lathrop, Michael A. Hoggarth, Kevin Svitana, Nathan Hess

Undergraduate Distinction Papers

The freshwater mussel populations in the lower stretch of Big Walnut Creek in central Ohio have been found to vary along the run of the creek with the lowest population of mussels in the middle stretch. One possible cause for the decline is the presence of contaminants in the sediments of the creek. In this study, nine Sites along the creek were examined. At each Site, sediment samples from a pool region and two quadrants from where mussels were also studied (the area of interest) were collected, along with pseudo feces, which is the waste mussels produce as they filter …

Body Shape Diversification Of Pecos Pupfish (Cyprinodon Pecosensis) On Varying Habitats As Evaluated By Geometric Morphometrics, Qianna Xu

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

During the 19th and 20th centuries, alterations to the Pecos River in New Mexico and Texas, USA due to anthropogenic activities, including damning and river channelization, vast water extraction for irrigation, as well as pollution of associated habitats, have greatly impacted the fish fauna within the drainage. One of the endemic fish species, the Pecos pupfish (Cyprinodon pecosensis), might be the most affected. Historically abundant and widespread large populations have been disrupted and became a series of small isolated subpopulations that persist at a few highly fragmented habitats restricted to a small area in southern New Mexico. The connectivity among …

Avian Species And Family Composition Along Elevational And Disturbance Gradients In Santa Fe National Park, Veraguas Province, Panamá, Benjamin Shipley

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Elevational gradients are some of the most well-known and researched biological trends. However, how species diversity varies with elevation differs by taxa and location. One hypothesis suggests that bird diversity decreases with increasing elevation in the tropics. In addition, bird diversity may decrease along the forest edge and in areas of increasing disturbance. Therefore, in this study I surveyed avian diversity along an elevational gradient in Santa Fe National Park, Veraguas, Panamá using point-count observations. Thirty-six point-count locations in 3 elevation zones were surveyed between 19 Apr and 29 Apr 2017. Shannon diversity, richness, and evenness were calculated for both …

Fish Community Assessment Of The Bonyic And Teribe Rivers Within The Naso-Teribe Territory Bocas Del Toro, Panama: Possible Implications Of Bonyic Dam., Shaylyn Austin

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

In the Changuinola/Teribe watershed of Bocas Del Toro, Panama, changes to the fluvial system due to the recently constructed Bonyic Dam have implications connected to the biodiversity of a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve and the livelihoods of thousands of people of the Naso-Teribe indigenous group. This study investigated the composition of fish communities in 6 study sites in 3 different areas in relation to the Bonyic Dam. A total of 318 individual fish were captured, representing 5 families and 10 species, using the cast net sampling method. The biodiversity was analyzed using Simpson’s Diversity Index, Evenness Index, species richness, and species …

Cyanobacterial Blooms In Highland Lake, Me, William Lambeth, Rachel Henson, Michael Morrison

Thinking Matters Symposium Archive

Cyanobacterial blooms, like algal blooms, are a much studied phenomena; and many triggers that cause these blooms are well understood. Usually, excess nutrients (such as soluble nitrogen or phosphate) are prerequisite for a bloom to occur. Since 2013, annual summer cyanobacterial blooms have been observed at Highland Lake (HL), located in Cumberland County, Maine. Data going back more than 15 years, collected by the Highland Lake Association, shows this is a new phenomenon in this body of water. Other investigators have shown HL water chemistry to have high aluminum to phosphorous and aluminum to iron ratios. These metals bind phosphate …

Mechanical Harvesting Effectively Controls Young Typha Spp. Invasion And Unmanned Aerial Vehicle Data Enhances Post-Treatment Monitoring, Shane Lishawa, Brendan D. Carson, Jodi S. Brandt, Jason M. Tallant, Nicholas J. Reo, Dennis A. Albert, Andrew M. Monks, Joseph M. Lautenbach

School of Environmental Sustainability: Faculty Publications and Other Works

The ecological impacts of invasive plants increase dramatically with time since invasion. Targeting young populations for treatment is therefore an economically and ecologically effective management approach, especially when linked to post-treatment monitoring to evaluate the efficacy of management. However, collecting detailed field-based post-treatment data is prohibitively expensive, typically resulting in inadequate documentation of the ecological effects of invasive plant management. Alternative approaches, such as remote detection with unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV), provide an opportunity to advance the science and practice of restoration ecology. In this study, we sought to determine the plant community response to different mechanical removal treatments to …

Monitoring Anuran Populations In Bosque Protector Candelaria: A Multi-Year Comparison Of Frog Populations In An Ecuadorian Cloud Forest, Mindee Goodrum

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

For many years, amphibian populations around the world have been declining due to climate change, habitat loss or change, and diseases such as Ranavirus or the Chytrid fungus. However, there is still a great lack of information regarding the diversity of frogs, especially in the cloud forests of Ecuador where this study was conducted. This study was conducted in April and May of 2017 in the Ecominga Reserve of Cerro Candelaria in El Placer, Ecuador. The objective was to conduct visual-encounter surveys of several sites in the reserve and compare the results to studies that have been conducted in the …

Abiotic Conditions Of Rare Pitcher's Thistle Attract Selection By An Invasive Weevil, Monica Paniagua Montoya

Lawrence University Honors Projects

Plant associations occur when host selection of a focal plant is reduced or increased by the presence of another plant species. Larinus planus is an invasive weevil whose larvae feed in the flower heads of native and federally threatened Pitcher’s thistle (Cirsium pitcheri). Studies have linked the presence of neighboring plants to increased host selection of Pitcher’s thistle by the weevil, but the factors contributing to host selection remain unknown. In our study, we determined if there were differences among abiotic factors, host selection and weevil behavior at Pitcher’s thistles surrounded by beach grass, sand and at high …

The Role Of Adult Fiddler Crab Environmental Acoustic Cues And Chemical Cues In Stimulating Molting Of Field-Caught Megalopae, Emily E. Waddell, Wendy Dow Piniak, Kathleen A. Reinsel, James M. Welch

Student Publications

In mid-Atlantic estuaries, three fiddler crab species, Uca pugilator, Uca pugnax and Uca minax co-occur, with their adults occupying different habitat types distinguished by salinity and sediment size. Some evidence exists that selective settlement is responsible for this separation but the mechanism is largely unknown. We tested the hypothesis that field-caught megalopae would accelerate metamorphosis in the presence of adult species-specific environmental acoustic cues and conspecific chemical cues. We placed megalopae in seawater with and without adult chemical cues, exposed them to one of three sound treatments for 8 days, and recorded the time each megalopa took to metamorphose. In …

2016 Oyster Reef Restoration Project Funded By The Aquatic Resources Mitigation Program, Raymond E. Grizzle, Krystin M. Ward

PREP Reports & Publications

This report describes the results of the construction and initial monitoring phase of an oyster restoration project conducted in 2016 by the University of New Hampshire (UNH) and The Nature Conservancy (TNC), funded by the New Hampshire Aquatic Resources Mitigation Program. The overall goal of the project was to construct 5 acres of new oyster reef habitat in an area adjacent to a live natural reef northwest of Nannie Island, in the Town of Newington, NH, off Woodman Point. The report is organized according to the four major tasks listed as deliverables in the subaward to UNH from TNC.

A Reexamination The Freshwater Mussels (Family Unionidae) In Lower Big Walnut Creek, Kierra M. Lathrop

Undergraduate Distinction Papers

Freshwater mussels (family Unionidae) have become increasingly rare as the threats to water quality, habitat quality, and other aquatic animals, which the mussels depend on, have increased. The absence of mussels can provide evidence that one of these factors is insufficient. Lower Big Walnut Creek (BWC) is known to support a diverse community of mussels but they are unevenly distributed throughout the creek with abundance, density, and richness being high in the upper section, very low in the midsection, and intermediate in the lower section. It has been suggested water quality nor symbiotic fish host communities are responsible for this …

The North American Whistling-Ducks, Pochards, And Stifftails, Paul A. Johnsgard

Zea E-Books Collection

Although the 12 species representing three waterfowl tribes described in this volume are not closely related, they fortuitously provide an instructive example of adaptive evolutionary radiation within the much larger waterfowl lineage (the family Anatidae), especially as to their divergent morphologies, life histories, and social behaviors.

The whistling-ducks (Dendrocygna), with three known North American species, are notable for their permanent pair-bonds, extended biparental family care, and strong social cohesion. In contrast, males of the five typical pochards of North American diving ducks (Aythya) establish monogamous pair-bonds that are maintained only long enough to assure that the female’s eggs are fertilized. …

Groundcover Community Assembly In High-Diversity Pine Savannas: Seed Arrival And Fire-Generated Environmental Filtering, Kyle E. Harms, Paul R. Gagnon, Heather A. Passmore, Jonathan A. Myers, William J. Platt

Biology Faculty Research

Environmental filtering—abiotic and biotic constraints on the demographic performance of individual organisms—is a widespread mechanism of selection in communities. A given individual is “filtered out” (i.e., selectively removed) when environmental conditions or disturbances like fires preclude its survival and reproduction. Although interactions between these filters and dispersal from the regional species pool are thought to determine much about species composition locally, there have been relatively few studies of dispersal × filtering interactions in species-rich communities and fewer still where fire is also a primary selective agent. We experimentally manipulated dispersal and filtering by fire (pre-fire fuel loads and post-fire ash) …

Blue Sucker Summer Utilization Distributions And Inter-Annual Fidelity To Summering Habitats, J. David Adams, Casey L. Bergthold, Justin D. Haas, Mark A. Pegg, Gerald E. Mestl

Transactions of the Nebraska Academy of Sciences and Affiliated Societies

Blue Sucker Cycleptus elongatus populations in the Missouri River are believed to be declining. The decline is most likely attributable to anthropogenic modifications including channelization and dam construction. We compared 2008 and 2009 summer use distribution (UD) for 21 blue suckers implanted with acoustic tags to better understand how blue suckers use the Missouri River. UDs are used to analyze space-use requirements based on the home range concept. The geometric mean 95% UD range was 1.9 river kilometers (RKM) in 2008 and 0.3 RKM in 2009, and differed statistically by year. The upper bound of the 2008 95% UD accounted …

Soils, Land Use And The Environment Nrs 450/452, Michael Cerbo

Library Impact Statements

No abstract provided.

Patterns Of Morphological And Molecular Evolution In The Antillean Tree Bat, Ardops Nichollsi (Chiroptera: Phyllostomidae), Roxanne J. Larsen, Peter A. Larsen, Caleb D. Phillips, Hugh H. Genoways, Gary G. Kwiecinski, Scott C. Pedersen, Carleton J. Phillips, Robert J. Baker

University of Nebraska State Museum: Mammalogy Papers

Species endemic to oceanic islands offer unique insights into the mechanisms underlying evolution and have served as model systems for decades. Often these species show phenotypic variation that is correlated with the ecosystems in which they occur and such correlations may be a product of genetic drift, natural selection, and/or environmental factors. We explore the morphologic and genetic variation within Ardops nichollsi, a species of phyllostomid bat endemic to the Lesser Antillean islands. Ardops nichollsi is an ideal taxon to investigate the tempo of evolution in Chiroptera, as it: is a recently derived genus in the family Phyllostomidae; contains …

Seagrassnet Monitoring In Great Bay, New Hampshire, 2015, Frederick T. Short

PREP Reports & Publications

SeagrassNet is a global monitoring program begun in 2001 and designed to scientifically detect and document seagrass habitat change (Short et al. 2006a, 2014). Monitoring of eelgrass (Zostera marina L.) in the Great Bay Estuary using SeagrassNet was conducted in Portsmouth Harbor between 2001 and 2009 (Short et al. 2006b, Rivers and Short 2007), and in Great Bay starting in 2007 (Short 2009). Results from SeagrassNet 2015, supported by PREP and conducted in Great Bay, are described in this report.

Eelgrass Distribution In The Great Bay Estuary And Piscataqua River For 2016, Seth Barker

PREP Reports & Publications

Eelgrass distribution in Great Bay, Little Bay, and the Piscataqua River Estuary were mapped from aerial photography acquired on August 5, 2016. The total area of eelgrass beds with 10% or greater cover and a polygon area equal to or greater than 100 square meters was 683.42 hectares or 1688.71 acres. Eelgrass polygons were coded for Assessment Zone location and the results reported in Table 1.The largest concentration of eelgrass was found in Great Bay with lesser amounts in the vicinity of Portsmouth Harbor. The total area of eelgrass was nearly identical to that mapped in 2013 though there were …

Landscape Features That Predict The Occurrence Of Shorebirds In Agriculture Fields During Migration In The Rainwater Basin, Nebraska, Lindsay Ann Brown

UNO Student Research and Creative Activity Fair

Some upland shorebird species are undergoing population declines. During their northward migration, these species primarily stop and use agricultural landscapes. This behavior is concerning because these landscapes are typically lower in resources, which could compromise energy demands during migration. There is a lack of information on what landscape features influence where species stop and on how the species use agricultural habitats. To close the gap, I compared landscape features between site where species-present and where were species-absent sites and developed models to predict migratory stopping sites. I focused on three uplands species: American Golden-Plovers, Buff-breasted Sandpipers, and Upland Sandpipers. Each …

Enhancing The Citizen Scientist Experience Through Responsive Web Design, Sydney Lintner, Douglas Stahlnecker

UNO Student Research and Creative Activity Fair

Citizen science is currently employed in a variety of fields and has been enabling the collection of large swaths of data that would otherwise go uncollected. The Nebraska Watershed Network (NWN) utilizes citizen scientists to perform water tests, and currently, the results are written on postcards and then mailed to the NWN. We believe that using the proper technological tools will enhance the citizen scientist experience and the data collection process. We have developed a database and web application for the NWN that will allow citizen scientists to use their smartphones to enter their results immediately upon completing the tests …

Estimating Seasonal Variation In Condition Of Yellow Perch, Emily Anne Powers

Biology Graduate Theses

Research has shown that Yellow Perch Perca flavescens, found throughout lakes and streams of North America, are good indicators of environmental health. Due to the correlation between fish condition and ecosystem health it is essential to reliably estimate condition to better manage our fisheries. Therefore, the study objectives were to measure the seasonal changes in adult Yellow Perch percent dry weight (PDW), and compare the reliability of bioelectrical impedance analysis (BIA) and morphometric-based estimates of condition. The seasonal fluctuations in average monthly PDW were measured over a two- year period and were sinusoidal in shape with peaks in August 2015 …

Plasma Metabolites Reveal Changes In Physiological State Of Eared Grebes (Podiceps Nigricollis) During Three Non-Migratory Periods, Allison A. Yoshida

Theses

Energy storage and use during the annual cycle of migratory birds is dynamic especially during migration. However, considerable amounts of the annual cycle are spent not migrating, and the physiological state of birds during these non-migratory periods is not well understood. We compared plasma metabolites (TRIG, BUTY, URIC, GLY) in Eared Grebes (Podiceps nigricollis) residing at three important areas when they are not migrating: fall staging (postbreeding at Mono Lake, California), spring staging (pre-breeding at Great Salt Lake, Utah), and an extended stopover prior to spring staging (Salton Sea, California). Plasma metabolites were also measured in resting and active grebes …

Beavers, Jimmy D. Taylor, Greg K. Yarrow, James E. Miller

Wildlife Damage Management Technical Series

The American beaver (Castor canadensis) (Figure 1) is known as an “ecosystem engineer” because of the benefits their dams provide to biological diversity and ecosystem function. It also is considered a “keystone species” because of its ability to transform its environment, creating new habitats upon which other species depend. Despite the many positive benefits beavers provide through foraging and dam building, beavers also create conflict with people when their activities cause damage. The authors of this publication acknowledge and appreciate the many positive benefits that beavers provide; however, the focus of this publication is to provide basic information on beaver …

Testing Of Great Bay Oysters For Two Protozoan Pathogens, Douglas E. Grout

PREP Reports & Publications

Two protozoan pathogens, Haplosporidium nelsoni (MSX) and Perkinsus marinus (Dermo) are known to be present in Great Bay oysters. With funds provided by the Piscataqua Region Estuaries Partnership (PREP), the Marine Fisheries Division of the New Hampshire Fish and Game Department (NHFG) continues to assess the presence and intensity of both of these disease conditions in oysters from the major natural beds within the Great Bay estuarine system. Histological examinations of Great Bay oysters have also revealed other endoparasites