Terrestrial and Aquatic Ecology Commons^™

Kelp Morphology And Herbivory Are Maintained Across Latitude Despite Geographic Shift In Kelp-Wounding Herbivores, Nicholas P. Burnett, Eric J. Armstrong, Rosemary Romero, Charlotte C. Runzel, Richelle L. Tanner

Biology, Chemistry, and Environmental Sciences Faculty Articles and Research

Herbivores can drastically alter the morphology of macroalgae by directly consuming tissue and by inflicting structural wounds. Wounds can result in large amounts of tissue breaking away from macroalgae, amplifying the damage initially caused by herbivores. Herbivores that commonly wound macroalgae often occur over only a portion of a macroalga’s lifespan or geographic range. However, we know little about the influence of these periodic or regional occurrences of herbivores on the large-scale seasonal and geographical patterns of macroalgal morphology. We used the intertidal kelp Egregia menziesii to investigate how the kelp’s morphology and the prevalence of two prominent kelp-wounding herbivores …

Blue Carbon In South Florida's Mangroves: The Role Of Large Roots And Necromass, Zoë I. Shribman

LSU Master's Theses

Blue carbon sequestration and storage in mangroves largely result from belowground biomass allocation in response to flooded anaerobic soil conditions and nutrient availability. Biomass allocation to belowground roots is a major driver of mangrove soil formation and organic matter accumulation leading to blue carbon storage potential. Belowground biomass sampling in mangroves is labor intensive, limiting data availability on biomass stocks, particularly for large roots (>20 mm diameter) and necromass (dead roots). The mangrove nutrient model (NUMAN) uses mostly literature values to parameterize a soil cohort approach to simulate depth distribution of root mass and organic carbon concentration. We evaluated …

Use Of Soapweed Yucca (Yucca Glauca) By Rodents And Other Vertebrates In Western Nebraska, Michael L. Rohde, Keith Geluso, Carter Kruse, Mary J. Harner

Transactions of the Nebraska Academy of Sciences and Affiliated Societies

Soapweed Yucca (Yucca glauca) is a conspicuous and common shrub in the Great Plains of North America, characterized by tall woody flower stalks, large flowers and seed pods, and dense masses of ground-level evergreen leaves. These plant structures can provide a variety of resources or functions to animals. In general, studies focus on single species associated with Y. glauca. We examined three groups of vertebrates that interacted with Y. glauca and the functions this plant provided for organisms in western Nebraska. We experimentally examined small mammals in areas with and without Y. glauca, and we descriptively …

Center For Grassland Studies, September 2021

Center for Grassland Studies: Newsletters

Contents

Nebraska Grazing Conference Recap by Daren Redfearn

Center for Grassland Studies Policy Advisory Committee

Director's Column by Walt Schacht (Interim Director)

Land Use and Property Taxes by Jordan Johnson

Congratulations August 2021 Graduates

Wildfires are Changing the Future of Nebraska’s Woodland-Grassland Complexes by Amanda Hefner

PGA WORKS Scholarship Recipients Announced by PGA Reach

Grazing Livestock Systems Internships Provide Diverse Experience by Bryan Reiling

Jim Choquette Receives Lifetime Achievement Award

Otoliths Of South-Western Australian Fish: A Photographic Catalogue, Chris Dowling, Kim Smith, Elaine Lek, Joshua Brown

Fisheries Research Reports

Due to the species-specific nature of otoliths and given they are often the only part of the fish preserved when fish die, otolith catalogues can be used in numerous applications, such as diet studies in fish eating animals, including pinnipeds, fish and sea birds; archaeological purposes such as reconstructing indigenous people’s diets from otoliths found in middens or evolutionary history of fish species by comparing fossilized otoliths. Given the unique mixture of subtropical and temperate fish, including many endemic species that occur off the southwest corner of WA having a catalogue for this area is extremely important for people working …

Scaup Depredation On Arkansas Baitfish And Sportfish Aquaculture, Stephen A. Clements, Brian S. Dorr, J. Brian Davis, Luke A. Roy, Carole R. Engle, Katie Hanson-Dorr, Anita M. Kelly

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Lesser scaup (Aythya affinis) and greater scaup (A. marila), hereafter scaup, consume a variety of aquatic invertebrates, plants, and occasionally small fish. Scaup have foraged on commercial aquaculture farms in the southern United States for decades. However, the types, abundance, and rate of fish exploitation by scaup on baitfish and sportfish farms are not well documented. Thus, information is needed to understand how fish and other foods influence scaup use of aquatic resources, and any potential economic effects of depredation of fish. From November–March in winters 2016–2017 and 2017–2018, we conducted 1,458 pond surveys to …

Improving Animal Monitoring Using Small Unmanned Aircraft Systems (Suas) And Deep Learning Networks, Meilun Zhou, Jared A. Elmore, Sathishkumar Samiappan, Kristine O. Evans, Morgan Pfeiffer, Bradley F. Blackwell, Raymond B. Iglay

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

In recent years, small unmanned aircraft systems (sUAS) have been used widely to monitor animals because of their customizability, ease of operating, ability to access difficult to navigate places, and potential to minimize disturbance to animals. Automatic identification and classification of animals through images acquired using a sUAS may solve critical problems such as monitoring large areas with high vehicle traffic for animals to prevent collisions, such as animal-aircraft collisions on airports. In this research we demonstrate automated identification of four animal species using deep learning animal classification models trained on sUAS collected images. We used a sUAS mounted with …

Spatial Variation In Direct And Indirect Contact Rates At The Wildlife-Livestock Interface For Informing Disease Management, Anni Yang, Raoul K. Boughton, Ryan S. Miller, Bethany Wight, Wesley M. Anderson, James C. Beasley, Kurt C. Vercauteren, Kim M. Pepin, George Wittemyer

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Little is known about disease transmission relevant contact rates at the wildlife-livestock interface and the factors shaping them. Indirect contact via shared resources is thought to be important but remains unquantified in most systems, making it challenging to evaluate the impact of livestock management practices on contact networks. Free-ranging wild pigs (Sus scrofa) in North America are an invasive, socially-structured species with an expanding distribution that pose a threat to livestock health given their potential to transmit numerous livestock diseases, such as pseudorabies, brucellosis, trichinellosis, and echinococcosis, among many others. Our objective in this study was to quantify …

Plague Exposure In Mammalian Wildlife Across The Western United States, Sarah N. Bevins, Jeffrey C. Chandler, Nicole Barrett, Brandon S. Schmit, Gerald W. Wiscomb, Susan A. Shriner

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Plague is caused by a bacterial pathogen (Yersinia pestis) that can infect a wide range of mammal species, but its presence in wildlife is often underappreciated. Using a large-scale data set (n = 44,857) that details the extent of Y. pestis exposure in wildlife, we document exposure in 18 wildlife species, including coyotes (Canis latrans), bobcats (Lynx rufus), and black bears (Ursus americanus). Evidence of plague activity is widespread, with seropositive animals detected in every western state in the contiguous United States. Pathogen monitoring systems in wildlife that are both large scale …

Data-Driven Management—A Dynamic Occupancy Approach To Enhanced Rabies Surveillance Prioritization, Amy J. Davis, Jordana D. Kirby, Richard B. Chipman, Kathleen M. Nelson, Amy T. Gilbert

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Rabies lyssavirus (RABV) is enzootic in raccoons across the eastern United States. Intensive management of RABV by oral rabies vaccination (ORV) has prevented its spread westward and shown evidence of local elimination in raccoon populations of the northeastern US. The USDA, Wildlife Services, National Rabies Management Program (NRMP) collaborates with other agencies to implement broad-scale ORV and conducts extensive monitoring to measure the effectiveness of the management. Enhanced Rabies Surveillance (ERS) was initiated during 2005 and updated in 2016 to direct surveillance efforts toward higher-value specimens by assigning points to different methods of encountering specimens for collection (strange-acting, roadkill, surveillance-trapped, …

Vertebrate Scavenger Diversity And Ecosystem Services Along An Elevational Gradient In Central Nepal, Aishwarya Bhattacharjee

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

A growing number of studies recognize the ecological significance of vertebrate scavengers, and several species belonging to this diverse, functional guild are of high conservation importance around the globe. Studies on taxonomic and functional components of biodiversity often use elevation gradients to comprehensively examine patterns and drivers across multiple spatial scales. Yet, there are relatively few elevational studies on large vertebrates or multi-taxa guilds, and the related variation of their ecosystem services. In particular, scavenger research has largely focused on local-scale studies or regional/global comparisons of local-scale investigations. Moreover, these studies primarily consider taxonomic community characteristics and the patterns of …

Connecting Communities To Coastal Resilience: Enhancing Sustainability Through Public Participation In Salt Marsh Management And Restoration In Suffolk County, Ny, Jennifer L. Mcgivern

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Coastal resiliency is becoming significantly more critical to the livelihood of coastal communities as the frequency and intensity of storm events increases and is exacerbated by rising sea levels due to climate change. In October 2012 Superstorm Sandy impacted the New York-New Jersey area costing over $70 billion in storm damages and 147 lives lost, as storm surges surpassed record highs for the region. Protruding more than 100 miles into the Atlantic Ocean with over 1,000 miles of shoreline, Long Island is particularly vulnerable to the increasingly ferocious and numerous storms as well as the rising sea levels that climate …

Initial Assessment Of Potential Relationships Between Plant Communities And The Soil Microbiome In Closed Forest And Longleaf Pine Restoration Sites., Sean Davis, Ian Kennedy

Symposium of Student Scholars

Longleaf pine is an endangered ecosystem characterized by high levels of biodiversity.

Our study took place in the Sheffield Wildlife Management Area located in the Piedmont ecoregion of Georgia in Paulding County. Fifty plots of 10 x 30 m² were setup on south or north facing slopes, some in covered forest, and some in an area actively being restored for the longleaf pine. All trees above 1.37 m were identified and had their diameter measured, and species diversity, relative density, dominance, and frequency were determined. Herbaceous plant cover percentages were recorded in select plots. Soil samples were also collected …

Towards The Identification Of The Soil Fungal Microbiome Community Associated With Longleaf Pine, Joshua Inneh, Grace Krueger, Ian Thomasson, Fletcher Moon, Geoffrey Eger

Symposium of Student Scholars

This project is part of a larger study looking at the restoration of the Longleaf Pine (LLP) ecosystem in certain Wildlife Management Areas (WMA) in Northwest Georgia. Our long-term aim is to look for potential associations between the aboveground and belowground community structures as the complex system of feedback mechanisms between the soil microbiome, the rhizosphere, and the plant communities is not yet understood.

Soil samples were collected from a total of six plots in the Sheffield WMA located in Paulding County. The samples were collected from north or south facing hillside plots except for in the savanna sites (an …

A Reevaluation Of The Phylogeography Of The Chattahoochee Slimy Salamander (Plethodon Chattahoochee) Using Next-Generation Genomic Data, Jadin Cross

Symposium of Student Scholars

The Plethodon glutinosus species complex is a group of large-bodied, lungless salamanders that are widespread across the eastern United States. Species in this group are morphologically cryptic and were originally delimited using allozyme data, but in most cases, the extent of contemporary gene flow between named taxa has not be rigorously evaluated. The Appalachian Mountains of northern Georgia are home to several members of this group—including P. glutinosus, P. teyahalee, P. chlorobryonis, and P. chattahoochee. P. chattahoochee has been found to be especially cryptic both morphologically and genetically as both intraspecific genetic variation and species boundaries within …

The Relationship Between Climate And Nesting Patterns In Two-Lined Salamanders Spanning The Northeast To Southeast United States, Jasmyne Blake-Sinclair

Symposium of Student Scholars

Two-lined salamanders (Eurycea bislineata species complex) are among the most ubiquitous amphibians in the Eastern United States. Because this group is geographically widespread and shows notable life history variation, it provides an opportunity to study the role of phylogeny and environment in shaping these differences. However, records of some important life history traits—such as clutch size and the date of oviposition—are scarce in the scientific literature. In this study, we gathered observations from published research, field notes, and citizen science databases like iNaturalist—a site where anyone can share natural history photographs and pinned geographical locations for other users to …

Representation Justice As A Research Agenda For Socio-Hydrology And Water Governance, Melissa Haeffner, Dana E. Hellman, Alida Cantor, Idowu Ajibade, Vinka Oyanedel-Craver, Maura Kelly, Laura Schifman, Lisa Weasel

Environmental Science and Management Faculty Publications and Presentations

We propose representation justice as a theoretical lens for socio-hydrology and water governance studies. An exploratory survey of 496 water sector employees in the United States revealed that self-identifying females felt more strongly discriminated against due to their gender and other social factors, compared to self-identifying males. Responses unveiled how macro- and microaggressions impede career pathways to leadership positions and, therefore, representation. We identify ways in which socio-hydrology can benefit from a representation justice lens by considering the following: (1) how power and politics shape the composition of the water sector and decision-making processes; (2) how available quantitative data do …

Effects Of Shoreline And Watershed Development On Eastern Lake Michigan Drowned River Mouth Ecology, Megan M. Mader, Carl R. Ruetz Iii

Masters Theses

Lake Michigan’s drowned river mouths (DRM) are hydrologically unique systems with riverine and large-lake influences that create biologically diverse ecosystems. Serving as focal points for human development due to the ecosystem services they provide, DRMs have experienced a history of industrialization, urbanization, and are now moving towards an era of rehabilitation. Today, DRM shorelines have been hardened, their riparian zones have been severely altered, and their watersheds exist on a latitudinal gradient of less to greater anthropogenic stress (agriculture and development). The main goal of this study was to understand the current ecological state of DRMs related to anthropogenic development …

Does Hunting Affect The Behavior Of Wild Pigs?, Oliver Keuling, Giovanna Massei

Human–Wildlife Interactions

Wild boar and feral swine (Sus scrofa) numbers are growing worldwide. In parallel, their severe ecological and economic impacts are also increasing and include vehicle collisions, damage to crops and amenities, reduction in plant and animal abundance and richness, and transmission of diseases, the latter causing billions of U.S. dollars in losses to the livestock industry each year. Recreational hunters are the main cause of mortality for this species, and hunting has traditionally been the main method to contain populations of wild pigs. Hunting might affect the behavior of the species, which potentially can lead to these animals …

Assessing The Short-Term Effects Of Translocation On Freshwater Mussels: Is Habitat Or Water Quality More Important?, Joshua D. Arnold

Masters Theses

Freshwater mussels (Order: Unionida) are very important to the function of aquatic ecosystems and are typically indicators of good water quality. They provide a valuable link between the water column and the benthic substrate in which they live and are a valuable food resource for many species of animals. However, most species native to North America are currently threatened with extinction, to the point that more than 70% of native freshwater mussels are listed as either threatened or endangered at the state or federal level. The cause of this decline can be attributed to historical over exploitation, habitat alteration, and …

Using Predator Vocalizations To Deter Raccoon Predation On Nests Of Diamondback Terrapins (Malaclemys Terrapin), Colleen Elizabeth Naeger

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Invader Removal Triggers Competitive Release In A Threatened Avian Predator, J. David Wiens, Katie M. Dugger, J. Mark Higley, Damon B. Lesmeister, Alan B. Franklin, Keith A. Hamm, Gary C. White, Krista E. Dilione, David C. Simon, Robin R. Bown, Peter C. Carlson, Charles B. Yackulic, James D. Nichols, James E. Hines, Raymond J. Davis, David W. Lamphear, Christopher Mccafferty, Trent L. Mcdonald, Stan G. Sovern

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Changes in the distribution and abundance of invasive species can have far-reaching ecological consequences. Programs to control invaders are common but gauging the effectiveness of such programs using carefully controlled, large-scale field experiments is rare, especially at higher trophic levels. Experimental manipulations coupled with long-term demographic monitoring can reveal the mechanistic underpinnings of interspecific competition among apex predators and suggest mitigation options for invasive species. We used a large-scale before-after control-impact removal experiment to investigate the effects of an invasive competitor, the barred owl (Strix varia), on the population dynamics of an iconic old-forest native species, the northern spotted owl …

Refining The Coarse Filter Approach: Using Habitat-Based Species Models To Identify Rarity And Vulnerabilities In The Protection Of U.S. Biodiversity, Anne Davidson, Leah Dunn, Kevin Gergely, Alexa Mckerrow, Steven Williams, Mackenzie Case

University Author Recognition Bibliography: 2021

Preserving biodiversity and its many components is a priority of conservation science and how to efficiently allocate resources to preserve healthy populations of as many species, habitats, and ecosystems as possible. We used the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Gap Analysis Project (GAP) species models released in 2018, which identify predicted habitats for terrestrial vertebrates in the conterminous United States, to illustrate hotspots of biodiversity for the major taxonomic groups. This collection represents the first complete compilation of terrestrial vertebrate species models for the conterminous United States (U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), 2018a). We used the species models but not the available …

Host Community Diversity Interacts With Soil Biota And Water Availability To Predict Foliar Pathogen Damage And Diversity On Tallgrass Prairie Plants., Aspen J. Workman

College of Arts & Sciences Senior Theses

The provisioning of ecosystem services in tallgrass prairies is mediated by interactions between the plants, their associated above- and belowground microbiota, and the abiotic environment, but global change alters these interactions through a variety of pathways. This study investigates the interactions between belowground microbiota, foliar pathogens, and their host plants in order to better understand how ecosystem functioning may change in a tallgrass prairie system under an altered watering regime. The project focuses on North American tallgrass prairie ecosystems and asks whether host plant diversity and abundance, soil biota, and water availability interactively affect plant susceptibility to damage by a …

Ichthyofaunal Utilization Of A Man-Made Salt Marsh Creak In Mission Bay, California, 25 Years After Creation, Maria Angst

McNair Summer Research Program

Southern California’s wetlands are drastically declining due to human activities. Increasingly, marsh restoration and creation are being used to mitigate such losses. This study used minnow traps to resample the ichthyofauna of a created marsh (Crown Point Mitigation Site; CPMS) and an adjacent natural marsh (Kendall Frost) in Mission Bay, California, 26 years following the marsh creation. These data were compared to data collected from 1995-1998, immediately after marsh creation. Fishes trapped included Fundulus parvipinnis, Gillichthys mirabilis, Ctenogobius sagittula, Atherinops affinis, and Mugil cephalus. Species richness and dominance measures were higher in the natural relative to the created marsh. The …

Community Structure And Dynamics Of Benthic Macroinvertebrates In A Recreated Headwater Stream System On A Valley Fill In A Retrofitted Watershed Located In The Appalachian Coalfields Of Southeastern Kentucky (U.S.A.), Steven W. Bailey

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The extraction of coal from steep-gradient surface mining sites such as in the Appalachian Coalfields of the U.S. produces excess debris that is often placed in adjacent valleys resulting in the creation of valley fills. Not only are headwater streams buried in the process, but watershed functions are either destroyed outright, or become fragmented and disconnected from adjacent ecosystems resulting in adverse effects to downstream biological communities. In this dissertation, the dynamics of stream macroinvertebrate community structure, composition, diversity, and biotic integrity are assessed at a “proof of concept” stream system recreated on a retrofitted valley fill. For comparison, two …

Nematode Biodiversity In Lincoln, Nebraska's Tallgrass Prairie Corridor, Abigail Borgmeier

Department of Plant Pathology: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

The tallgrass prairie was once one of the most diverse grasslands on the planet, however over 95% has been converted to agriculture in the past 150 years. The remaining prairie is still host to a wide variety of plants, insects, mammals, and soil-dwelling microorganisms, creating an incredibly complex ecosystem. The first aim of this study is to compare three approaches for the measurement of nematode diversity within a 10-mile-long protected prairie habitat corridor near Lincoln, Nebraska. The methods are 1) a traditional morphological analysis of 150 nematodes per study site, 2) a metabarcoding analysis using the 18S genetic marker of …

Nicarbazin As An Oral Contraceptive In Eared Doves, Lourdes Olivera, Silvia Pereyra, Georgget Banchero, Guillermo Tellechea, Jorge Sawchik, Michael L. Avery, Ethel Rodríguez

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Eared doves (Zenaida auriculata) are responsible for substantial losses in cereal and oil crops as well as in dairy and feedlot production in the southern cone of South America. Various strategies have been shown to be effective in reducing damage at the farm scale, but in some scenarios, it is necessary to also incorporate population control methods due to excessive bird population size. An alternative approach to reduce pest bird populations is the use of contraceptive methods, minimizing the impact on the environment and non-target populations. Nicarbazin is registered in the United States as a contraceptive for Branta …

Avian Influenza A Virus Susceptibility, Infection, Transmission, And Antibody Kinetics In European Starlings, Jeremy W. Ellis, J. Jeffrey Root, Loredana M. Mccurdy, Kevin T. Bentler, Nicole L. Barrett, Kaci K. Vandalen, Katherine L. Dirsmith, Susan A. Shriner

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Avian influenza A viruses (IAVs) pose risks to public, agricultural, and wildlife health. Bridge hosts are spillover hosts that share habitat with both maintenance hosts (e.g., mallards) and target hosts (e.g., poultry). We conducted a comprehensive assessment of European starlings (Sturnus vulgaris), a common visitor to both urban and agricultural environments, to assess whether this species might act as a potential maintenance or bridge host for IAVs. First, we experimentally inoculated starlings with a wild bird IAV to investigate susceptibility and replication kinetics. Next, we evaluated whether IAV might spill over to starlings from sharing resources with a …

Mesopredator Frugivory Has No Effect On Seed Viability And Emergence Under Experimental Conditions, John P. Draper, Trisha B. Atwood, Noelle G. Beckman, Karin M. Kettenring, Julie K. Young

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Members of the order Carnivora are a unique and important seed disperser who consume and deposit undamaged seeds while providing regular long-distance seed dispersal opportunities. Some members of Carnivora, such as coyotes (Canis latrans), are undergoing range expansions which may help the plant species they consume colonize new locations or replace dispersal services provided by recently extirpated species. In this study, we evaluated aspects of the seed dispersal effectiveness of coyotes and gut passage time to determine the potential dispersal distances for three commonly consumed and commonly occurring plant species (Amelanchier alnifolia, Celtis ehrenbergiana, and Juniperus osteosperma). We also investigated …