Terrestrial and Aquatic Ecology Commons^™

Living Shoreline Stabilization To Increase Resiliency At De Soto National Memorial, Linda Walters, Melinda Donnelly, Christian Pilato, Suzanne Connor

CEELAB Research Data

De Soto National Memorial (Bradenton, FL) is an important location where both Native Americans and De Soto's army of soldiers once lived. We have been working closely with the National Park Service and the University of Central Florida to understand how to best stabilize this shoreline using living shoreline techniques combined with long-term natural recruitment. Stabilizing De Soto's shoreline is essential to decrease erosion and shoreline loss to protect the Park's cultural and natural resources, especially the numerous historically significant shell middens. Through pre-restoration monitoring, we determined that high-energy boat wakes were limiting natural mangrove recruitment. Lack of retention of …

Legacy Habitat Suitability Of Eastern Oysters (Crassostrea Virginica) In Louisiana: A Prelude To Mississippi River Delta Freshwater Diversions, Tasia Mv Denapolis

LSU New Orleans Theses and Dissertations

The Louisiana oyster industry is greatly impacted by freshwater and sediment diversions that are part of the effort to restore the state’s coastline. A habitat suitability index (HSI) proposes species-habitat relationships that can be instrumental in creating impact assessments and suitability predictions for management as new diversions are implemented. An oyster (Crassostrea virginica) HSI was developed using three variables crucial to oyster sustainability: average annual salinity, minimum monthly salinity, and average salinity during the spawning season. These Legacy HSI visualizations show annual fluctuations in the distribution of zones suitable for oyster cultivation prior to proposed diversions in Pontchartrain …

Changing Land-Use From Pinus Elliottii To Eucalyptus Bentamii In Southwest Louisiana Affects Understory Vegetation Richness, Diversity, And Functional Diversity Patterns, Andrea De Stefano

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

In the Western Gulf region of the United States cold-tolerant eucalyptus have been explored as pulpwood feedstock. However, non-native plantations may alter understory species diversity, modifying environmental conditions and soil characteristics. Few studies have compared eucalyptus plantations with other ecosystems to understand the impacts of converting these land uses on understory vegetation in the United States. Three plantations were selected: (1) slash pine (Pinus elliottii) established in 2008, (2) slash pine established in 2013, and (3) and Camden white gum (Eucalyptus benthamii) established in 2013. The objectives of this study were to: (1) investigate potential changes …

Understory Community Assembly Following Wildfire In Boreal Forests: Shift From Stochasticity To Competitive Exclusion And Environmental Filtering, Bo Liu, Han Y. H. Chen, Jian Yang

Forestry and Natural Resources Faculty Publications

Understory vegetation accounts for the majority of plant species diversity and serves as a driver of overstory succession and nutrient cycling in boreal forest ecosystems. However, investigations of the underlying assembly processes of understory vegetation associated with stand development following a wildfire disturbance are rare, particularly in Eurasian boreal forests. In this study, we measured the phylogenetic and functional diversity and trait dispersions of understory communities and tested how these patterns changed with stand age in the Great Xing'an Mountains of Northeastern China. Contrary to our expectation, we found that understory functional traits were phylogenetically convergent. We found that random …

Implications Of Spatially Variable Costs And Habitat Conversion Risk In Landscape-Scale Conservation Planning, Max Post Van Der Burg, Neil Chartier, Ryan Drum

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

‘‘Strategic habitat conservation’’ refers to a process used by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to develop cost-efficient strategies for conserving wildlife populations and their habitats. Strategic habitat conservation focuses on resolving uncertainties surrounding habitat conservation to meet specific wildlife population objectives (i.e., targets) and developing tools to guide where conservation actions should be focused on the landscape. Although there are examples of using optimization models to highlight where conservation should be delivered, such methods often do not explicitly account for spatial variation in the costs of conservation actions. Furthermore, many planning approaches assume that habitat protection is a preferred …

Effect Of Macrograzers (Campostoma Spp. And Faxonius Spp.) On Periphyton In Ozark Streams With Considerations Given To Macrograzer Biomass, Phosphorus, And Season: Mensurative And Manipulative Studies, Kayla R. Sayre

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Nutrient and benthic algal biomass relationships can guide numeric nutrient criteria development in lotic systems. However, herbivorous macrograzers may confound this relationship by reducing the slope of the positive relationship between nutrients and periphyton biomass in streams. I conducted a mensurative field study to determine if stoneroller and crayfish abundance related to algal biomass at varying nutrient concentrations and manipulated macrograzer presence with electrical exclosures in streams to examine macrograzer effects on algal biomass and understand whether these effects on periphyton varied with total phosphorus (TP) or season. Macrograzer density was quantified across a TP gradient (n=15 streams; range = …

Importance Of Forests Outside Protected Area Networks For Large-Seeded Tree Species And Their Large-Bodied Avian Frugivores--A Study In Vazhachal Reserve Forest, India, Aditi Achyut Lele

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Western Ghats, the mountain chain running along the west coast of India, is one of eight global hotspots of biodiversity and is particularly notable for its endemic flora and fauna. Yet only 10% of this land enjoys the protected status. Vast forested lands exist outside the protected network of national parks and wildlife sanctuaries in the form of reserve forests, community forests, and private lands. The present study sought to understand the role of such forests in the context of ecological system involving large-seeded tree species that depend on large-bodied avian frugivores for seed dispersal. I conducted a study over …

Evolutionary Dynamics Of Brown Treesnake (Boiga Irregularis) Reproductive Ecology, With Implications For Invasive Species Control, Brenna Aaren Levine

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Invasive species represent major threats to biodiversity, global economies, and human health. Consequently, extensive research has been directed towards improving methods that restrict and contain them. Yet, control measures can also act as agents of selection by significantly impacting the reproductive capacity of invasives (in the context of “eco-evo” dynamics). The end result is that control measures subsequently alter the fitness landscape of an invasive over ecologically-relevant time, and lose their efficacy by so doing. However, adaptive management can be promoted by investigating the relationships between reproductive ecology, strength of selection, and (additive) genetic variation. In short, effective control can …

Safety, Stephen M. Vantassel, Brenda K. Osthus

Wildlife Damage Management Technical Series

Wildlife damage management (WDM) is an exciting field with many opportunities to provide solutions to the complex issues involved in human-wildlife interactions. In addition, WDM wildlife control operators (WCO) face a variety of threats to their physical well-being. Injuries can result from misused (Figure 1), faulty, or poorly maintained equipment, inexperience, mishandled wildlife, harsh weather, and dangerous situations, such as electrical lines. The goals of this publication are to: * Develop an awareness of safety issues and adopt a mindset of “Safety First”, * Review the major safety threats that WCOs face, * Provide basic information for WCOs to protect …

Vegetation Characteristics And Bird Communities Associated With Singing Painted Buntings In Northwest Arkansas, Lauren Kristina Thead

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

It has been shown that bird communities are affected by the species composition and physical structure of plant communities. Within avian communities, the bird species that are the most localized in distribution tend to be the most affected by habitat changes. My research analyzed plant and bird communities found with the Painted Bunting (Passerina ciris Linnaeus), a locally common but declining species throughout much of its range. First, I describe vegetation characteristics associated with singing male Painted Buntings in northwest Arkansas. I categorized field sites with singing male Painted Buntings as either managed for wildlife or unmanaged, based on land-use …

Assessing The Ecological Implications Of The Altered Flow And Sediment Regimes Of The Rio Grande Along The West Texas-Mexico Border, Demitra E. Blythe

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Large, exotic (those whose headwaters are in distant places) rivers are some of the most unique and diverse ecosystems on earth. Because they often flow through a multitude of biomes and climates, their waters are a vital resource not only for the organisms that inhabit these rivers, but for human societies as well. Thus, large rivers, like the Rio Grande, that flow through arid and agricultural regions are highly regulated and diverted. Regulation and dewatering upset a river’s natural flow regime (e.g., magnitude, duration, timing of large flood events), subsequently impacting the river’s ability to transport its sediment supply, and …

An Evaluation Of Bull Trout Movement Dynamics In The Walla Walla River, Courtney Newlon

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Bull trout are a fish species listed as threatened under the Endangered Species Act. Historically, they ranged from Northern California at the southernmost extent, into Canada at the northern most extent, and east into Nevada and Montana. Bull trout are highly migratory and require large, unfragmented habitats to persist and are thus highly susceptible to human induced land-use practices. The goal of my thesis was to obtain a better understanding of bull trout movement patterns in the Walla Walla River, Washington using complimentary techniques; Passive Integrated Transponder (PIT) technology and otolith microchemistry. PIT tags can be injected into a fish …

Fall Migration And Winter Habitat Use Of Northern Saw-Whet Owls (Aegolius Acadicus) In The Ozark Highlands, Mitchell L. Pruitt

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Studying movement ecology is important not only in understanding the distribution of a species, but in understanding the magnitude of migration through certain regions, as well as explaining regional differences in demographics. The Northern Saw-whet Owl (Aegolius acadicus) is a small, migratory forest owl found throughout much of North America. Despite being captured widely during fall migration, the species’ movement ecology is poorly understood. Exploratory studies outside the saw-whet owl’s normal range have successfully captured the species during fall migration. In the Ozark Highlands ecoregion of the central United States, their status has been considered vagrant during fall and winter. …

Aquatic Invasions: Causes, Consequences, And Solutions, Corey Ackerson, Melissa Carmichael, Olivia Carpenter, Hannah Crull, Jillian Henrichon, Maeve Mcgowan, Allison Mills, Nicholas Paolini, Everett Pierce, Nicole Scherer, Nicole Volosin, Kady Winsor, Markus Frederich

Marine Sciences Student Projects

Invasive species represent a global threat to ecosystems, human health, and the economy. A basic knowledge of invasive species biology is crucial to understand current and future impacts and implications. The purpose of this book is to provide a broad background on invasive species, and also details on specific examples through case studies.

The students in the course Aquatic Invasive Species (MAR 442) at the University of New England in Biddeford, Maine, have researched and reviewed scientific literature to educate readers about these issues. The class, comprised of twelve junior and senior Marine Science, Marine Affairs, Applied Mathematics, and Environmental …

Revision Of The Genus Monatractides (Parasitengona, Torrenticolidae) Of The United States And Canada: New Species, Re-Descriptions, Phylogenetics, And A Key To Species, Whitney Anne Nelson

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The full suite of known Monatractides (Parasitengona, Torrenticolidae) taxa of North America (north of Mexico) are investigated herein using integrative methods. Species hypotheses are supported with morphology, geography, and phylogenetic analysis of the barcoding region of COI for 154 individuals from over 100 localities. Relationships between species are examined with a combined analysis of COI and 28S rDNA for 55 specimens. Previously described species are examined and re-described with color images and updated information, where possible. Our results indicate the need to synonymize two species: M. californica (Marshall, 1943) is a junior synonym of M. geographica (Marshall, 1943). We describe …

Prairie Reconstruction Unpredictability And Complexity: What Is The Rate Of Reconstruction Failures?, Jack E. Norland, Cami Dixon, Diane Larson, Kristine Askerooth, Benjamin A. Geaumont

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

The outcomes of prairie reconstructions are subject to both unpredictability and complexity. Prairie, tallgrass, and mixed grass reconstruction is defined as the planting of a native herbaceous seed mixture composed of multiple prairie species (10 or more) in an area where the land has been heavily cultivated or anthropogenically disturbed. Because of the unpredictability and complexity inherent in reconstructions, some outcomes end up being failures dominated by exotic species. We propose that these failures follow a fat-tailed distribution as found in other complex systems. Fat-tailed distributions follow the Pareto principle, where 80% of the time reconstructions work as expected but …

Impacts Of Ammonia And Temperature On Freshwater Snail Behavior And Physiology., Megan Christine Dewhatley

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Gastropods are one of the most imperiled groups of animals in North America, yet there are major gaps in the literature pertaining to pollutants and climate change, and especially sublethal impacts. This dissertation assesses the effects of climate warming and unionized ammonia (NH₃), one of the most abundant water pollutants, on the behavior and physiology of two caenogastropod snails: fine-ridged elimia (Elimia semicarinata) and Shawnee rocksnails (Lithasia obovata) (Gastropoda: Neotaenioglossa: Pleuroceridae). Righting behavior, or the movement used by snails to turn themselves right-side-up, was used as the main endpoint; delays in this behavior compromise …

Temperature And Polyunsaturated Fatty Acid’S Effect On Daphnia Magna Reproduction, Mark Albright

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Organisms adapt to their environments by adjusting their biochemistry and physiology; such adaptation is limited by resource availability and physiological constraints. The freshwater crustacean Daphnia magna inhabits a wide range of environments and must survive and reproduce within a range of temperatures. One limit to low-temperature adaptation is thought to be the availability of unsaturated fatty acids necessary to maintain proper fluidity of cellular membranes. D. magna maintained at 10 ºC on a diet poor in unsaturated fatty acids have been observed to produce clutches that fail to develop. However, this has not been observed on a diet rich in …

The Abiotic And Biotic Controls Of Arctic Lake Food Webs: A Multifaceted Approach To Quantifying Trophic Structure And Function, Stephen L. Klobucar

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The Arctic is warming faster than any other region of the globe. To conserve and manage many thousands of lakes across arctic landscapes, scientists need to understand historic and present conditions within these lakes to predict how the lakes, and the organisms that inhabit them, may respond to a changing climate. The goal of my research was to improve our understanding of what physical, chemical, and biological factors contribute to: 1) how lake food webs are assembled; and, 2) how these food webs may change in the future. First, I used long-term observations and lab experiments to determine how fish …

High Phenolic Content Fails To Deter Mesograzer Consumption Of Myriophyllum Spicatum (Eurasian Watermilfoil) In New England, Latina Steele, Courtney Ray, Michele Guidone

Biology Faculty Publications

Eurasian watermilfoil (Myriophyllum spicatum) is often considered one of the most aggressive macrophyte invaders in freshwater habitats throughout the United States. However, conditions leading to successful milfoil invasions are not well understood. This study sought to illuminate the role of 4 herbivores in determining milfoil invasion success via either enemy release or biotic resistance. We determined feeding preferences of three herbivores native to the northeastern United States and measured milfoil phenolic content, which may act as an herbivore feeding deterrent. We found that phenolic content in milfoil was two times higher than in two of the most abundant native macrophytes …

Aspects Of The Reproductive Biology And Growth Of The Mississippi Silvery Minnow, Hybognathus Nuchalis (Agassiz, 1855) (Teleostei: Cyprinidae) From The Pearl River, Louisiana., Arely Ramírez-García, Kyle R. Piller

Southeastern Fishes Council Proceedings

The reproductive biology and growth of the Mississippi Silvery Minnow, Hybognathus nuchalis, is described from multiple sites in the Pearl River, Louisiana. Individuals were collected from August 2011 to August 2012. Ovarian weights, expressed as a percentage of body weights, peaked in December. Size structure ranged from 29.0 to 60.0 mm SL for females and 25.0 to 56.0 mm SL for males. Mature ova were found from November to January. Females reached first maturity (L50) at 37.0 mm SL and L50 for males is at 41.0 mm SL. Sex ratio (females:males) is biased towards females (X²= 18.57 p …

Shoreline Characterization In The Northern Indian River Lagoon, Melinda Donnelly, Michelle Shaffer, Suzanne Connor, Linda Walters

CEELAB Research Data

The purpose of this project was to evaluate current conditions of estuarine shorelines in the northern section of the Indian River Lagoon system, including Mosquito Lagoon, north Indian River, and Banana River. From January 2016 through June 2018, we evaluated structural and functional characteristics of 374 miles of shoreline, from Ponce Inlet in Volusia County to Sebastian Inlet in Brevard County (11,000+ data points). Hard-armoring accounted for approximately 50% of total shoreline, evenly divided between shoreline with bulkheads (25%) and hardened slopes (25%). Forty-five percent of shoreline without hard-armoring had anthropogenic alterations (i.e. mosquito impoundments, railroads and roadways, residential and …

Ncer Assistance Agreement Annual Progress Report For Grant #83582401 - Assessment Of Stormwater Harvesting Via Manage Aquifer Recharge (Mar) To Develop New Water Supplies In The Arid West: The Salt Lake Valley Example, Ryan Dupont, Joan E. Mclean, Richard C. Peralta, Sarah E. Null, Douglas B. Jackson-Smith

Civil and Environmental Engineering Faculty Publications

The goals of the original proposed project remain the same, that is, to test the hypothesis that Managed Aquifer Recharge (MAR) for stormwater harvesting is a technically feasible, socially and environmentally acceptable, economically viable, and legally feasible option for developing new water supplies for arid Western urban ecosystems experiencing increasing population, and climate change pressures on existing water resources. The project is being carried out via three distinct but integrated components that include: 1) Monitoring of existing distributed MAR harvesting schemes involving a growing number of demonstration Green Infrastructure (GI) test sites; 2) Integrated stormwater/vadose zone/groundwater/ ecosystem services modeling; and …

Multi-Metric Conservation Assessment For The Imperiled Clinch Dace, Michael James Moore, Donald J. Orth, Eric M. Hallerman

Southeastern Fishes Council Proceedings

Planning frameworks allow managers to spatially prioritize actions to promote species conservation. Traditional aquatic conservation planning frameworks are often organized at the ecological community or ecosystem level, which often neglect imperiled taxa occupying species-poor assemblages. In this study, we develop a multi-metric conservation assessment for the 15 geographically distinct candidate conservation areas (CCAs) occupied by the imperiled Clinch Dace (Chrosomus sp. cf. saylori). Clinch Dace habitat is threatened by anthropogenic landscape alterations, especially for coal mining and timber harvest. Our framework used four metrics to assess the conservation value of each subpopulation of Clinch Dace namely: “habitat …

Local Adaptation In Mainland Anole Lizards: Integrating Population History And Genome–Environment Associations, Ivan Prates, Anna Penna, Miguel Trefaut Rodrigues, Ana Carolina Carnaval

Publications and Research

Environmental gradients constrain physiological performance and thus species’ ranges, suggesting that species occurrence in diverse environments may be associated with local adaptation. Genome–environment association analyses (GEAA) have become central for studies of local adaptation, yet they are sensitive to the spatial orientation of historical range expansions relative to landscape gradients. To test whether potentially adaptive genotypes occur in varied climates in wide‐ranged species, we implemented GEAA on the basis of genomewide data from the anole lizards Anolis ortonii and Anolis punctatus, which expanded from Amazonia, presently dominated by warm and wet settings, into the cooler and less rainy Atlantic …

Stable Isotopes Reveal Opportunistic Foraging In A Spatiotemporally Heterogeneous Environment: Bird Assemblages In Mangrove Forests, Christina Buelow, April Reside, Ronald Baker, Marcus Sheaves

University Faculty and Staff Publications

Environmental heterogeneity can foster opportunistic foraging by mobile species, resulting in generalized resource and habitat use. Determining species’ food web roles is important to fully understand how ecosystems function, and stable isotopes can provide insight into the foraging ecology of bird assemblages. We investigated flexibility of food choice in mangrove bird assemblages of northeast Australia by determining whether species’ carbon and nitrogen isotopic values corresponded to foraging group classification described in the literature, such as groups of species that are omnivorous or insectivorous. Subsequently, we evaluated foraging group isotopic niche size, overlap, degree of individual specialization, and the probable proportions …

13 Terrestrial Wetlands, Randall Kolka, Carl T Trettin

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

The objective of this chapter is to characterize the distribution of carbon stocks and fluxes in terrestrial wetlands within North America. The approach was to synthesize available literature from field measurements with analyses of resource inventory data to estimate wetland area, carbon stocks, and net ecosystem exchange (NEE) of carbon and methane (CH4) fluxes of terrestrial wetlands (see Appendices 13A, p. 547, and 13B, p. 557, for details1). Then, the findings employed from large-scale simulation studies provided additional context, with consideration given to the effects of disturbance regimes, restoration and creation of terrestrial wetlands, and the application of modeling tools …

Museum Metabarcoding: A Novel Method Revealing Gut Helminth Communities Of Small Mammals Across Space And Time, Stephen E. Greiman, Joseph A. Cook, Vasyl V. Tkach, Eric P. Hoberg, Damian M. Menning, Andrew G. Hope, Sarah A. Sonsthagen, Sandra L. Talbot

Harold W. Manter Laboratory of Parasitology: Faculty Publications

Natural history collections spanning multiple decades provide fundamental historical baselines to measure and understand changing biodiversity. New technologies such as next generation DNA sequencing have considerably increased the potential of museum specimens to address significant questions regarding the impact of environmental changes on host and parasite/pathogen dynamics. We developed a new technique to identify intestinal helminth parasites and applied it to shrews (Eulipotyphla: Soricidae) because they are ubiquitous, occupy diverse habitats, and host a diverse and abundant parasite fauna. Notably, we included museum specimens preserved in various ways to explore the efficacy of using metabarcoding analyses that may enable identification …

Landscape Genetics Reveal Broad And Fine‐Scale Population Structure Due To Landscape Features And Climate History In The Northern Leopard Frog (Rana Pipiens) In North Dakota, Justin M. Waraniak, Justin D. L. Fisher, Kevin Purcell, David M. Mushet, Craig A. Stockwell

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

Prehistoric climate and landscape features play large roles structuring wildlife populations. The amphibians of the northern Great Plains of North America present an opportunity to investigate how these factors affect colonization, migration, and current population genetic structure. This study used 11 microsatellite loci to genotype 1,230 northern leopard frogs (Rana pipiens) from 41 wetlands (30 samples/wetland) across North Dakota. Genetic structure of the sampled frogs was evaluated using Bayesian and multivariate clustering methods. All analyses produced concordant results, identifying a major east–west split between two R. pipiens population clusters separated by the Missouri River. Substructuring within the two major identified …

Landscape Genetics Reveal Broad And Fine‐Scale Population Structure Due To Landscape Features And Climate History In The Northern Leopard Frog (Rana Pipiens) In North Dakota, Justin M. Waraniak, Justin D.L. Fisher, Kevin Purcell, David M. Mushet, Craig A. Stockwell

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

Prehistoric climate and landscape features play large roles structuring wildlife populations. The amphibians of the northern Great Plains of North America present an opportunity to investigate how these factors affect colonization, migration, and current population genetic structure. This study used 11 microsatellite loci to genotype 1,230 northern leopard frogs (Rana pipiens) from 41 wetlands (30 samples/wetland) across North Dakota. Genetic structure of the sampled frogs was evaluated using Bayesian and multivariate clustering methods. All analyses produced concordant results, identifying a major east–west split between two R. pipiens population clusters separated by the Missouri River. Substructuring within the two major identified …