Terrestrial and Aquatic Ecology Commons^™

Site Fidelity Of Bottlenose Dolphins (Tursiops Truncatus) Using Elemental Analyses And Photo-Identification, Lauren R. Clance

Graduate Theses and Dissertations (2019 - present)

The objective of this study was to determine if bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus) in Alabama waters acquire location-specific elemental signatures indicative of site fidelity. I measured trace metal concentrations (Chapter II) and stable isotope ratios (Chapter III) in skin from free-ranging dolphins remotely biopsied in Mobile Bay, the northern Gulf of Mexico (Gulf) and eastern Mississippi Sound (EMSS). Elemental findings were corroborated with photo-identification data. I found that dolphins acquired some location-specific elements indicative of site fidelity, with the greatest differences at geographic extremes, particularly relative to salinity. For trace metals, highest concentrations were found in winter, consistent with higher …

Quantifying The Relationship Between Pond Size And Water Quality, Rebekah Mason

Crop, Soil and Environmental Sciences Undergraduate Honors Theses

The water quality of ponds, streams, and groundwater is at risk due to agricultural and urban development. Implementation of ponds near developmental areas can act as catchment sites to reduce further water pollution (Bichsel et al., 2015). However, maintenance of pond water quality is necessary for continued water supply to livestock and general recreational use. The present study aimed to determine the relationship between pond size (surface area range from 142 to 5336 m²) and water quality. Analysis of water quality parameters, including dissolved oxygen, nitrate, phosphate, and chlorophyll-a, were conducted during the summer of 2021 and winter …

Nutrient Uptake And Water Quality In Great Salt Lake Wetland Impoundments, Rachel L. Buck

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The Great Salt Lake (GSL) is the largest inland body of water on the Pacific flyway, a major pathway for migratory birds in the Americas that extends from Alaska to Patagonia. The lake is surrounded by approximately 360,000 acres of wetlands, providing critical food, shelter, cover, nesting areas, and protection to between 4–6 million birds that visit each year. Impounded wetlands were created as part of the GSL ecosystem to support waterfowl habitat. These large, shallow, submergent wetlands are diked to control water levels to sustain aquatic plants which are an important food source. Besides providing critical habitat, these impoundments …

A New Species Of Celastrina From The Northwestern United States And Southwestern Canada With A Lectotype Designation Of Lycaena Pseudargiolus Var. Nigrescens Fletcher (Lycaenidae: Polyommatinae), Caitlin C. Labar, Jonathan P. Pelham, Norbert G. Kondla

The Taxonomic Report of the International Lepidoptera Survey

A new western azure species, Celastrina asheri, is described from the northwestern United States and southwestern Canada. A lectotype is designated for Lycaena pseudargiolus var. nigrescens Fletcher, 1903 to secure the identity of that name. C. asheri broadly overlaps with the northeastern range of C. echo (W. H. Edwards, 1864) but is usually very distinct from that species. C. lucia (W. Kirby, 1837) is narrowly sympatric with C. asheri in British Columbia, the southwest corner of Alberta and along the Rocky Mountains in Montana. As far as is known, C. asheri uses only red osier dogwood (Cornus sericea …

Drivers Of Macroinvertebrate Community Integrity Within Mixed Urban And Agricultural Dominated Mississippi Tributary Watersheds, Matthew R. Straus, Bethany Mabel Lian Schorr, Kevin Geedey, Michael Reisner, Benjamin Ford

Biology: Student Scholarship & Creative Works

The “urban stream syndrome” refers to a multitude of impacts caused by urbanization including flashier hydrograph, elevated concentrations of nutrients and contaminants, altered channel morphology and stability, reduced biotic richness, with increased dominance of tolerant species, reduced base flow and increased suspended solids. The drivers of these “symptoms” include impervious surfaces, piping in stormwater drainages, habitat and forest loss, water supply and sewer leaking, and direct alterations to channel morphology and flow. The goal of this study was to assess the integrity of the macroinvertebrate community and determine the most significant drivers of such integrity at the catchment, riparian zone, …

Accumulation Of Persistent Organic Pollutants In Marine Mammals: A Case Study On Cetaceans, Pinnipeds, And Sirenians, Alydia Moorhead

All HCAS Student Capstones, Theses, and Dissertations

Persistent organic pollutants (POPs) are lipophilic semi-volatile organic chemicals that present a range of challenges to marine biota, specifically marine mammals that often occupy a high trophic position in the food web. POPs have become a global problem since they have been shown to cause immunologic, teratogenic, carcinogenic, neurological, and reproductive complications in living organisms due to their resistance to biodegradation and their lipophilic nature. Marine mammals can accumulate these toxic substances through direct ingestion, trophic transfer, adsorption, and maternal offloading. They are susceptible to both bioaccumulation and biomagnification of POPs. Accumulation of POPs is affected by many variables, including …

Individual Trophic Niche Specialization In American Beaver (Castor Canadensis), Jimmy Taylor, Robert Francis, Scott Rush, Bronson Strickland, Guiming Wang

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

The American beaver (Castor canadensis) has been described as a choosy generalist at the species/population scale, yet observational studies have shown little variation in diet among individuals. We compared isotopic values of δ¹³C or δ¹⁵N taken from hair of 32 beaver, representing seven colonies in northern Alabama, USA to determine 1) if colonies of beaver show overlap in isotopic niche width as a result of the similar use of food resources and 2) if individual trophic niche specialization occurs within colonies. Total Trophic Niche Width varied across the wetland with the widest being twice …

Non-Native Coccinellid Beetles And Land Use Abundance Patterns In The Quad Cities Region, Jack Hughes, Tierney Brosius, Michael Reisner

Biology: Student Scholarship & Creative Works

Harmonia axyridis was introduced in 1916. This species of coccinellid beetle is considered a desirable species for agriculture practices because of its ability to control pests. There is increasing evidence that H. axyridis may be outcompeting native species which could be contributing to the decline of some species that are disappearing from the landscape. Harmonia axyridis has a large migration range of 2 Km enabling the species to affect a large area of land. Invasive species often increase in abundance in urban landscapes which may be the case with H. axyridis. During the summer of 2021 we investigated H. axyridis …

Notes On Eastern North American Lepidoptera, Harry Pavulaan, Annette Allor

The Taxonomic Report of the International Lepidoptera Survey

New natural history elements and distribution records of several North American butterflies are reported. While diversity and distribution of butterflies in the eastern United States is commonly believed to be fully known, the findings presented here show that much is yet to be learned of our butterfly fauna.

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Celastrina ladon and C. neglecta (Lycaenidae: Polyommatinae) Are Distinct Species Differentiated Primarily by a Diagnostic Wing Scale Structure, Voltinism, and Host Tolerance of Cornus florida.by Harry Pavulaan (International Lepidoptera Survey)

Abstract. With continued confusion of the two species by naturalists, Celastrina neglecta (W. H. Edwards) is here …

Land Use Effects On Fish Assemblages In Mississippi River Tributaries In Scott County, Ia And Rock Island County, Il, Benjamin Ford, Kevin Geedey

Urban Watershed Project

Fish assemblages are viable indicators of stream quality because they respond predictably to changes in abiotic and biotic factors, such as habitat and water quality, and human exploitation and species additions. In this a study we examined the relationship between fish abundance, diversity, and IBI (Index of Biotic Integrity), and urban and agricultural land use in Scott County, IA and Rock Island County, IL. Fish were sampled during the summer of 2021 within 12 local watersheds, which contain a variety of land use types. We followed a standardized sampling method of a single pass with a backpack electrofishing unit through …

Editorial: Special Issue “Innovative Techniques And Approaches In The Control And Prevention Of Rabies Virus”, Amy T. Gilbert, Ryan M. Wallace, Charles E. Rupprecht

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Rabies is an ancient lethal scourge that has plagued humankind for centuries. Globally, 60,000 human deaths are estimated to occur each year from rabies virus (RABV) transmission in domestic dogs, mostly affecting children. While rabies is recognized as a neglected disease, there is cause for optimism in the context of growing global recognition, collaboration and commitment to advance a tripartite agenda to eliminate human deaths transmitted from rabid dogs by 2030, also known as “Zero By Thirty” (ZBT). Nevertheless, the ZBT goal must also confront competing challenge(s) of tracking and mitigating human morbidity and mortality during a global pandemic caused …

Microbial Diversity And Community Structure In Sediments Associated With The Seagrass (Thallassia Testudinum) In Apalachicola Bay, Florida, Rahma Ahmed, Thomas Mcelroy, Troy Mutchler

Symposium of Student Scholars

Seagrass is an angiosperm which provides many ecosystem services in coastal areas, such as providing food, shelter and nurseries for many species, and decreasing the impact of waves on shorelines. A global assessment reported that 29% of known seagrass meadows are in a state of decline due to the effects of human activity. Seagrass is commonly found in shallow marine waters where they form meadows containing a microbiome that plays an important role in providing nutrients for seagrass growth, though little is known about the microorganisms within the seagrass meadow sediments. Our project collected sediments from seagrass meadows and adjacent …

Aquatic Macroinvertebrates As Sentinels Of Changes In Local Stream Conditions In East Texas, Courtney Plummer, Erin Shepta

Undergraduate Research Conference

Study objective: To use aquatic macroinvertebrates to assess the habitat quality and biological conditions of a stream, La Nana Creek, impacted by different land use.

Urbanization Increases Isolation Of A Threatened Fish Species In East Texas Streams: A 20-Year Perspective, Zachary Hutchens

Undergraduate Research Conference

We conducted monthly surveys of fish and in-stream habitat conditions from August 2020 to August 2021 in reaches along Banita Creek and La Nana Creek to investigate ecology and population status of the Sabine shiner (Notropis sabinae) within these streams. On average, Banita Creek had shallow water with low flow, more diverse instream habitats, and lower values of salinity, conductivity, and turbidity compared La Nana Creek. The movements of Sabine shiners were tracked monthly using Visual Implant Elastomer tags. Over a year-long survey, we collected 267 Sabine shiners from Banita Creek and 10 individuals from La Nana Creek. Out of …

How Do Site Characteristics Of Arkansas River Sandbars Affect Potential Predators Of Interior Least Tern Nesting Colonies?, Carice N. Godbey, Tom Nupp

ATU Scholars Symposium

Causes of colony failure in interior least terns (Sternula antillarum antillarum) have been a prevalent topic for researchers investigating this previously endangered species. How site features of their Arkansas River sandbar habitats may factor into the frequency or types of tern predators, however, is unknown. I am interested in identifying which characteristics of sandbars may result in higher frequencies of predator encounters for colonies and which predator species are involved. I used a trio of on-foot colony, site characteristic, and trail camera surveys from the summer 2020 and 2021 nesting seasons for my investigation. This exploratory analysis used …

Can We Use Antipredator Behavior Theory To Predict Wildlife Responses To High-Speed Vehicles?, Ryan B. Lunn, Bradley Blackwell, Travis L. Devault, Esteban Fernández-Juricic

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Animals seem to rely on antipredator behavior to avoid vehicle collisions. There is an extensive body of antipredator behavior theory that have been used to predict the distance/time animals should escape from predators. These models have also been used to guide empirical research on escape behavior from vehicles. However, little is known as to whether antipredator behavior models are appropriate to apply to an approaching high-speed vehicle scenario. We addressed this gap by (a) providing an overview of the main hypotheses and predictions of different antipredator behavior models via a literature review, (b) exploring whether these models can generate quantitative …

Movement Patterns Of The Shovelnose Guitarfish (Pseudobatos Productus) And California Bat Ray (Myliobatis Californica) In The Southern California Bight, Annabel Gong

Theses

While the movement patterns of large elasmobranch species have been studied extensively, those of smaller, mesopredatory species remain understudied. The shovelnose guitarfish (Pseudobatos productus) and the California bat ray (Myliobatis californica) are among the least studied elasmobranchs in the Southern California Bight. This study quantified the broad- and fine-scale movement patterns of these species using passive acoustic telemetry. Twelve guitarfish were surgically implanted with coded acoustic transmitters at a known aggregation site off La Jolla (San Diego County), California, USA and tracked for 849.5 days each, on average. Six bat rays were also implanted here and tracked for …

Hot Spot Analysis Of Potential Sanitary Sewer Exfiltration In Crystal Creek Watershed, Adam Schumacher, Michael Reisner, Kevin Geedey

Independent Research Projects

Crystal Creek in Davenport Iowa drains suburban and park areas before draining into Duck Creek, a tributary of the Mississippi River. Contact recreation is a designated use for all the streams. As a pilot project with the city of Davenport, Augustana College’s Upper Mississippi Center assessed this stream in the summer of 2021 to determine if relatively inexpensive monitoring tools could be used to assess possible sewage contamination in that stream. Running through multiple residential areas, sewer lines follow the studied region of the creek, leading to the hotspot focus that was conducted by student researchers. Fecal coliform, optical brighteners, …

Behavioral Choices Of Apple Snails, Pomacea Maculata, Under Varied Chemical Landscapes, Andrea Adams

Theses

Habitat choice is a critical behavior for organisms to successfully survive and reproduce. These choices are dictated by available environmental information about potential predation risks or food patches that form the organism’s sensory landscape. This study specifically focused on the behavioral choices of two invasive apple snail (Pomacea maculata) populations exposed to varying predation threats. We collected snails from Florida and Alabama which were used in laboratory experiments with varied sensory landscapes. Trials consisted of controls with no cues (FL: n = 7, AL: n= 7), an attractive treatment with introduced food cues (FL: n = 4, AL: …

The Relationship Between Substrate Composition, Community Structure And Feeding Preferences Of Parrot Fishes (Scaridae) In Anmardub, Guna Yala Coastal Reefs, Caitlin Amman

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Coral reefs are important marine ecosystems, as they support biodiversity and generate buffer zones, yet their abundance is incredibly limited globally. One of the main threats that coral reefs face is excessive macroalgal coverage, which limits sunlight from reaching corals, and thus, limits the energy that can reach them. Parrot fish (Scaridae) are keystone herbivores, as they consume macroalgae growing on corals, which aids in reef survivability. While there is previous research on the abundances, sizes, and feeding habits of Scaridae species in the Caribbean, there is no published research on how community structure and feeding preferences of parrot fishes …

Estimating Fish Diet In Lake Turkana, Kenya, Julia G. Sharapi

Student Publications

Lake Turkana, located in northern Kenya on the Ethiopian border, is the world’s largest permanent desert lake. Over 90% of its flow originates from the Omo River in Ethiopia, which causes the lake to have seasonal rises and falls in water level. The Omo River has been subject to the construction of five dams (the Gilgel Gibe dams) and several irrigation projects. These developments will impact the amount of water entering the lake, with implications for lake chemistry and productivity, littoral habitat availability, and the breeding biology of the lake’s fishes. Though ongoing upstream changes are likely to have serious …

An Assessment Of Burbot Life History In Minnesota With A Focus On Movement Dynamics And Spawning Vulnerability, Tyler Robinson

Biology Graduate Theses

Burbot have a circumpolar range spanning from rivers of Alaska to lentic systems in Minnesota. Although Burbot population dynamics have been studied, their movement dynamics have been rarely investigated. Our objectives were to assess seasonal home range changes of Burbot in a closed-lentic system and quantify the scale of spawning aggregations. Sixty-six Burbot were implanted with acoustic transmitters in Bad Medicine Lake, Minnesota, with 32 surviving the length of the study period between 10 April 2019 to 11 June 2020. The peak spawning date for Burbot in Bad Medicine Lake was estimated to be mid-March, when home range estimates were …

Can Plant Or Lichen Natural Abundance N-15 Ratios Indicate The Influence Of Oil Sands N Emissions On Bogs?, R. Kelman Wieder, Melanie A. Vile, Dale H. Vitt, Kimberli D. Scott, Bin Xu, James C. Quinn, Cara M. Albright

Public Health Sciences Faculty Publications

Study region: The 140,329 km(2 )Athabasca Oil Sands Administrative Area (OSAA), which contains 8982 km(2) of bogs. Since the late 1970s, N emissions from oil sands development in the OSAA have steadily increased, reaching over 80,000 metric tonnes yr(-1) in 2017.& nbsp;Study focus: If oil sands N emissions have distinct stable isotopic signatures, it may be possible to quantify the extent to which these emissions have affected N cycling in surrounding aquatic, wetland, and terrestrial ecosystems. To assess the potential for 15N as a tracer of oil sands N emissions, we measured natural abundance 15N ratios and tissue N concentrations …

Resolving The Drivers Of Algal Nutrient Limitation From Boreal To Arctic Lakes And Streams, Maria Myrstener, Megan Fork, Ann-Kristin Bergstrom, Isolde Callisto Puts, Demian Hauptmann, Peter D. F. Isles, Ryan M. Burrows, Ryan A. Sponseller

Biology Faculty Publications

Nutrient inputs to northern freshwaters are changing, potentially altering aquatic ecosystem functioning through effects on primary producers. Yet, while primary producer growth is sensitive to nutrient supply, it is also constrained by a suite of other factors, including light and temperature, which may play varying roles across stream and lake habitats. Here, we use bioassay results from 89 lakes and streams spanning northern boreal to Arctic Sweden to test for differences in nutrient limitation status of algal biomass along gradients in colored dissolved organic carbon (DOC), water temperature, and nutrient concentrations, and to ask whether there are distinct patterns and …

Economic Consequences Of The Wolf Comeback In The Western United States, Dana Hoag, Stewart W. Breck, Kevin Crooks, Becky Niemiec

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Gray wolves were eradicated from most of the United States in the 1940’s but have made a comeback in parts of their historic range over the last two decades. First reintroduced into the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem and central Idaho in the mid-1990’s, wolves have subsequently dispersed into at least 7 western states. Coloradoans became the latest state to take interest in bolstering wolf populations, as residents passed a ballot initiative in November 2020 to reintroduce a self-sustaining population of gray wolves by the end of 2023. Conflicts between people in rural areas that might incur costs (such as livestock loss) …

Summer Food Habits Of Myotis Leibii In The Central Appalachians Ecoregion And Comparison To Similar Studies, John O. Whitaker Jr., Virgil Brack Jr., James D. Kiser Jr.

Virginia Journal of Science

Food habits of Myotis leibii, Eastern Small-footed Myotis, were studied during summer in the Central Appalachians Ecoregion. Moths were 70.0% of the diet by volume and were in 97.7% of samples (percent frequency). Beetles, flies, and spiders comprised much of the remaining diet. Percent volume and percent frequency metrics produce similar results. These data and past studies indicate this bat eats a relatively low-diversity diet centered on terrestrial-based arthropod prey across a broad geographical area, irrespective of season, sex, or age. The presence of spiders in the diet may indicate gleaning.

Larval Fish Abundance In The Benthic And Surface Drift Of The Missouri River, Ryan L. Ruskamp

Department of Agricultural Leadership, Education, and Communication: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Knowledge of the larval fish community of the Missouri River is one of the biggest gaps in fisheries research. The Nebraska Game and Parks Commission has sampled the drift of the Missouri River for many years (1983-2015), but these data have not been compiled into a unified assessment. Therefore, the objectives of this study were to: 1) quantify temporal and spatial aspects of larval fish community composition (richness) and structure (abundance) of the surface drift, 2) quantify associations of larval fish communities of the drift to different discharges of the Missouri River, 3) quantify the larval benthic drift community, and …

Understanding Continent-Wide Variation In Vulture Ranging Behavior To Assess Feasibility Of Vulture Safe Zones In Africa: Challenges And Possibilities, Adam Kane, Ara Monadjem, H. K.Ortwin Aschenborn, Keith Bildstein, André Botha, Claire Bracebridge, Evan R. Buechley, Ralph Buij, John P. Davies, Maria Diekmann, Colleen T. Downs, Nina Farwig, Toby Galligan, Gregory Kaltenecker, Chris Kelly, Ryno Kemp, Holger Kolberg, Monique L. Mackenzie, John Mendelsohn, Msafiri Mgumba, Ran Nathan, Aaron Nicholas, Darcy Ogada, Morgan Pfeiffer, W. Louis Phipps, Matteuns D. Pretorius, Sascha Rösner, Dana G. Schabo, Gabriel Lita Shatumbu, Orr Spiegel, Lindy J. Thompson, Jan A. Venter, Munir Virani, Kerri Wolter, Corinne J. Kendall

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Protected areas are intended as tools in reducing threats to wildlife and preserving habitat for their long-term population persistence. Studies on ranging behavior provide insight into the utility of protected areas. Vultures are one of the fastest declining groups of birds globally and are popular subjects for telemetry studies, but continent-wide studies are lacking. To address how vultures use space and identify the areas and location of possible vulture safe zones, we assess home range size and their overlap with protected areas by species, age, breeding status, season, and region using a large continent-wide telemetry datasets that includes 163 individuals …

European Starling Use Of Nest Boxes Relative To Human Disturbance, Bradley Blackwell, Bruce N. Buckingham, Morgan B. Pfeiffer

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

gars and to engine and flight surfaces of moored aircraft. We questioned whether consistent removal of nest material would negatively affect use of a nest site, measured by a reduction in material accumulation. We conducted our study on a 2,200-ha site in Erie County, Ohio, USA (41° 22’ N, 82° 41’ W), from April 15 through June 2, 2020. We used 120 wooden nest boxes on utility poles, protected by an aluminum predator guard below the box. Our treatments included (1) twice weekly, repeated nest material removal (RMR; n = 40 nest boxes); (2) complete nest removal, but only after …

Environmental And Habitat Preferences Of The Algerian Hedgehog Atelerix Algirus(Lereboullet, 1842) In El Kala National Park (North-East Algeria), Sakraoui Rym, Boukheroufa Mehdi, Dadci Walid, Abdallah Khadidjawissal, Senaoui Charafeddine, Sakraoui Feriel, Benyacoub Slim

Journal of Bioresource Management

We conducted this study to identify the preferred habitat of Atelerix algirus in the National Park of El Kala (PNEK), through the analysis of the catches rates of the species combined to an ethno zoological survey carried out among the residents. The study was conducted between January 2010 and December 2011, in five localities of the Park, different by their useful areas (forests and agricultural land) and their degree of urbanization: Raml Souk, El Aioun, Berrihane, El Kala and Bougous. We also surveyed 57 residents of Berrihane locality. Our results identified the locality of Berrihane as the preferred area of …