Terrestrial and Aquatic Ecology Commons^™

An Evaluation Of Bird And Bat Mortality At Wind Turbines In The Northeastern United States, Daniel Y. Choi, Thomas W. Wittig, Bryan M. Kluever

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Wind energy offers substantial environmental benefits, but wind facilities can negatively impact wildlife, including birds and bats. Researchers and managers have made major efforts to chronicle bird and bat mortality associated with wind facilities, but few studies have examined the patterns and underlying mechanisms of spatial patterns of fatalities at wind facilities. Understanding the horizontal fall distance between a carcass and the nearest turbine pole is important in designing effective search protocols and estimating total mortality. We explored patterns in taxonomic composition and fall distance of bird and bat carcasses at wind facilities in the Northeastern United States using publicly …

Estimation Of Wildlife Damage From Federal Crop Insurance Data, Sophie Mckee, Stephanie A. Shwiff, Aaron M. Anderson

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

BACKGROUND: Wildlife damage to crops is a persistent and costly problem for many farmers in the USA. Most existing estimates of crop damage have relied on direct assessment methods such as field studies conducted by trained biologists or surveys distributed to farmers. In this paper, we describe a new method of estimating wildlife damage that exploits federal crop insurance data. We focused our study on four crops: corn, soybean, wheat, and cotton, chosen because of their economic importance and their vulnerability to wildlife damage.

RESULTS: We determined crop-raiding hot spots across the USA over the 2015–2019 period and identified the …

Bloom Or Bust: Search For Phytoplankton Community Drivers Using Long-Term Time-Series Observations And Field Measurements In A Model Great Lakes Estuary, Jasmine Mancuso

Masters Theses

As sentinels of climate change and other anthropogenic effects, freshwater lakes are experiencing ecosystem disruptions at every level of the food web, beginning with the phytoplankton. One of the major threats to waterbodies around the world are cyanobacterial harmful algal blooms (HABs) resulting from anthropogenic eutrophication and exacerbated by climate change. Muskegon Lake, a drowned river mouth Great Lakes estuary on the east coast of Lake Michigan, is no exception and was declared an Area of Concern by the EPA in 1987 with nuisance algal blooms cited as a beneficial use impairment. Using long-term data and additional 2019 sampling, we …

Competitive Interactions: Spatial And Temporal Niche Partitioning Between Brook And Brown Trout In Southwest Michigan, Frederick J. Glassen

Masters Theses

Niche diet partitioning between Brook Trout and Brown Trout were studied in two southwestern Michigan, USA streams, one dominated by Brook Trout, the other with both Brook and Brown Trout. Brook Trout are endemic to eastern North America and have been introduced throughout the world for sport fishing. Brown Trout were first introduced to Michigan in 1883 using a genetic strain from Germany. Stomach contents were collected from a population of Brook Trout in the absence of Brown Trout in Frost Creek, while the other population was in potential competition with Brown Trout in Cedar Creek. Absent Brown Trout, Brook …

Impact Of Disturbance Regimes On Community And Landscape Biodiversity In Atlantic Coastal Pine Barren Ecoregion Streams, Sean T. Mccanty

Graduate Doctoral Dissertations

Streams are dynamic systems shaped by geographic location, hydrology, riparian vegetation, and in-stream habitat. Furthermore, ecosystem disturbance plays a major role in structuring stream communities and ecosystem processes. Disturbances include natural occurrences, such as flooding, drought, and fire events and anthropogenic disturbances such as land use changes, damming, and pollution. Agricultural use acts as a press disturbance regime, homogenizing the surrounding landscape and simplifying in-stream habitat, leaving legacy effects after farming ceases. Active restoration is intended to ameliorate these effects by reintroducing variation, with the goal of shifting the ecosystem into a more diverse and natural state. The act of …

Improving Our Ability To Estimate Vital Rates Of Endangered Fishes On The San Juan River Using Novel Applications Of Pit-Tag Technology, J. Benjamin Stout

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Estimating demographic parameters, such as survival and abundance, with accuracy and precision is vital for detecting trends in populations and assessing the effectiveness of management actions. In most cases, a lack of capture data make estimating parameters very challenging. The use of new technologies to increase the amount of remotely collected data is increasing, but brings new limitations and analytical issues to be resolved. One of those new technologies is the use of a mobile floating PIT-tag antenna to detect PIT-tagged fish. The issue that arises with this technology is determination of the status of detected tags (i.e., live fish …

Harmful Algal Blooms: Dominance In Lakes And Risk For Cyanotoxin Exposure In Food Crops, Austin D. Bartos

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Climate change and human activities are promoting the dominance of a photosynthetic family of aquatic bacteria, cyanobacteria. Blooms of cyanobacteria are not only a visual nuisance but can produce a variety of cyanotoxins than can harm the liver, skin, and nervous system of animals and humans. We analyzed lakes in the contiguous United States and found that between 2007 and 2012, the number of lakes that produced measurable quantities of cyanotoxins increased from 33% to 45%. Nitrogen and phosphorus pollution were the main drivers of cyanobacteria blooms and toxin production between these years. Many of these lakes and reservoirs are …

Improving Aquatic Habitat Representation In Utah Using Large Spatial Scale Environmental Datasets, Gregory C. Goodrum

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Rivers provide habitat for aquatic species, but widespread human water development degrades aquatic habitat, fragments stream networks, and threatens native fish populations. Habitat suitability models are commonly used to identify current instream habitat conditions, but are often species-specific, data-intensive, and rarely suitable to the large spatial scales required in conservation and water resources management. Thus, there is need to develop and validate habitat suitability models that provide ecologically-meaningful estimations of aquatic habitat, but are simple enough to apply at large geographic areas and flexible to incorporate different species. I tested the accuracy of 15 habitat suitability models estimating Bonneville Cutthroat …

Spatial Ecology And Resource Selection Of Bighorn Sheep (Ovis Canadensis) Ewes In A Prairie Badlands Population, Erin Wood

School of Natural Resources: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

The basic spatial ecology and habitat relationships of female bighorn sheep in Nebraska are poorly understood. Establishing seasonal patterns of space use and resource selection for this population at the margin of their historical and current range addresses a key knowledge gap and provides important baseline information for ongoing conservation efforts in Nebraska. We deployed GPS radio-collars on 56 adult ewes in western Nebraska to quantify seasonal space use, movements, and resource selection of ewes. To investigate spatial ecology, we quantified movements of ewes and the factors that influence home range size, seasonal use, and spatial stability across seasons. Home …

Consider The Agent In The Arthropod, Nicolas Delon, Peter Cook, Gordon Bauer, Heidi Harley

Animal Sentience

Whether or not arthropods are sentient, they can have moral standing. Appeals to sentience are not necessary and retard progress in human treatment of other species, including invertebrates. Other increasingly well-documented aspects of invertebrate minds are pertinent to their welfare. Even if arthropods are not sentient, they can be agents whose goals—and therefore interests—can be frustrated. This kind of agency is sufficient for moral status and requires that we consider their welfare.

The Lives, Lore, And Literature Of Cranes: A Catechism For Crane Lovers, Paul A. Johnsgard, Thomas D. Mangelsen

Zea E-Books Collection

This book provides basic information on cranes that should be of interest and importance to crane-loving birders (“craniacs”) as well as to ornithologists and wildlife managers. Primary consideration is given to the sandhill and whooping cranes, but all 13 of the Old World cranes are also discussed. Special consideration is given to the relative abundance and conservation status of all of the world’s species, of which nearly half are declining and a few are in real danger of long-term survival. More than 80 refuges and preserves in the United States and Canada, where the best chances of seeing cranes in …

Effects Of Freshwater Crayfish On Influenza A Virus Persistence In Water, J. Jeffrey Root, Jeremy W. Ellis, Susan A. Shriner

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Several investigations have recently assessed the ability of some aquatic invertebrates to act as tools for avian influenza A virus (IAV) surveillance as well as their potential role(s) in IAV ecology. Because of this, as well as the high IAV seroprevalence rates noted in select mesocarnivores that commonly inhabit aquatic and semi-aquatic habitats, we evaluated the effects that freshwater crayfish have on IAV in water at three dose levels and monitored for the presence of IAV in crayfish tissues (gill and green gland) and haemolymph at multiple time points. At relatively high, medium 432 and low (approximately 10 , 10 …

A Framework For Aquatic Invasive Species Surveillance Site Selection And Prioritization In The Us Waters Of The Laurentian Great Lakes, Andrew J. Tucker, W. Lindsay Chadderton, Gust Annis, Alisha D. Davidson, Joel Hoffman, Jon Bossenbroek, Stephen Hensler, Michael Hoff, Erika Jensen, Donna R. Kashian, Sarah Lesage, Timothy Strakosh

Environmental Science and Geology Faculty Research Publications

Risk-based prioritization for early detection monitoring is of utmost importance to prevent and mitigate invasive species impacts and is especially needed for large ecosystems where management resources are not sufficient to survey all locations susceptible to invasion. In this paper we describe a spatially-explicit and quantitative approach for identifying the highest risk sites for aquatic invasive species (AIS) introduction into the United States’ waters of the Laurentian Great Lakes, a vast inland sea with a surface area of 246,049 square km and a shoreline length of 16,431 km. We compiled data from geospatial metrics available across all of the US …

Seasonal Variation Of Bacterial Diversity Along The Marine Particulate Matter Continuum, Mireia Mestre, Juan Höfer, M. Montserrat Sala, Josep M. Gasol

Research outputs 2014 to 2021

© Copyright © 2020 Mestre, Höfer, Sala and Gasol. Seasonal dynamics of ocean prokaryotic communities in the free-living fraction have been widely described, but less is known about the seasonality of prokaryotes inhabiting marine particles. We describe the seasonality of bacterial communities in the particulate matter continuum by sampling monthly over two years in a temperate oligotrophic coastal ecosystem and using a serial filtration (including six size-fractions spanning from 0.2 to 200 μm). We observed that bacterial communities in the particulate matter continuum had annual changes following harmonic seasonal oscillations, where alpha, beta, and gamma diversity increased during the warm …

Brain Complexity, Sentience And Welfare, Donald M. Broom

Animal Sentience

Neither sentience nor moral standing is confined to animals with large or human-like brains. Invertebrates deserve moral consideration. Definition of terms clarifies the relationship between sentience and welfare. All animals have welfare but humans give more protection to sentient animals. Humans should be less human-centred.

Invertebrate Cognition, Sentience And Biology, Georges Chapouthier

Animal Sentience

All animal species have adapted for survival and no species is superior overall. For cognitive capacities and sentience, invertebrates such as the octopus, although quite unlike vertebrates, can achieve similar performance levels. So can other invertebrates with small brains; hence they too, as sentient beings, deserve moral consideration from humans. How are we to identify these species? Only though a detailed analysis of their behavior. The decision, which is a moral judgment, depends on biological knowledge that still needs to be acquired.

Convergent Evolution Of Sentience?, Culum Brown Prof.

Animal Sentience

Mikhalevich & Powell make a compelling case that some invertebrates may be sentient and that our moral obligations in the context of welfare should hence extend to them. Although the case is similar to that made for fishes, there is one obvious difference in that examples of invertebrate sentience probably arose independently from vertebrate sentience. We have unequivocal proof that complex cognition arose multiple times over evolutionary history. Given that cognition is our best tool for indirectly quantifying sentience, it seems highly likely that this multiple polygenesis may also have occurred for sentience. In acknowledging this, we must accept that …

Minds, Morality And Midgies, Brian Key, Deborah Brown

Animal Sentience

Mikhalevich & Powell argue that the exclusion of the vast majority of arthropods from moral standing is unwarranted, particularly given the purported evidence for cognition and sentience in these organisms. The implied association between consciousness and moral standing is questionable and their assumption that rich forms of cognition and flexible behavior are dependent on phenomenal consciousness needs to be reconsidered in light of current neuroscientific evidence. We conclude by proposing a neural algorithmic approach for deciphering whether organisms are capable of subjective experience.

Microbiome Shifts Associated With The Introduction Of Wild Atlantic Horseshoe Crabs (Limulus Polyphemus) Into A Touch-Tank Exhibit, Ariel D. Friel, Sean A. Neiswenter, Cale O. Seymour, Lauren Rose Bali, Ginger Mcnamara, Fabian Leija, Jack Jewell, Brian P. Hedlund

Life Sciences Faculty Research

The Atlantic horseshoe crab (Limulus polyphemus) is a common marine aquarium species and model organism for research. There is potential monetary and conservation value in developing a stable captive population of horseshoe crabs, however, one major impediment to achieving captivity is a lack of knowledge regarding captive diseases. We utilized 16S rRNA gene amplicon sequencing to track changes in the microbiomes of four body locations in three wild-caught (tracked over 14 months in captivity) and three tank-acclimated (>2 years in captivity) adult L. polyphemus in a touch tank at Shark Reef Aquarium at Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas, NV. …

Plant And Soil Responses To Sediment Deposition And Nutrient Enrichment In Healthy, Deteriorating, And Newly Created Coastal Marshes In Barataria Basin, Louisiana: Implications For Mississippi River Sediment Diversions, Gina N. Groseclose

LSU Master's Theses

To offset wetland loss in the Mississippi River Delta, sediment diversions that will re-introduce river water and sediment into wetlands are being planned for the lower Mississippi River. River diversions will also deliver high nutrient loads, which may reduce belowground plant productivity, reducing inputs of organic matter important for marsh accretion to keep pace with sea-level rise. However, belowground productivity responses to the combinatory effects of sediment and nutrients are unknown. To test the hypotheses that nutrient enrichment and sediment deposition interact to influence vegetation structure, belowground plant productivity and decomposition, and surface accretion, a field experiment was implemented in …

Fish Community Composition And Structure Near A Freshwater River Diversion In Southeastern Louisiana, Rachel L. Snider

LSU Master's Theses

Gulf of Mexico estuaries, particularly in Louisiana, are among the world’s most productive, with landings of commercially- and recreationally-important species exceeding all other contiguous US states. Coastal wetlands are disappearing at an alarming rate because they have been impounded from Mississippi River water and sediment. Although controversial, one proposed solution is to re-route the Mississippi River through diversions and siphons to supply the freshwater and sediments necessary to rebuild vanishing wetlands, particularly in Barataria Bay and Breton Sound, LA. This strategy is one approach outlined in the Louisiana Coastal Master Plan. This project aimed to describe the composition and structure …

Floodplain Forest Regeneration Dynamics In The Lower Mississippi River Alluvial Valley, Whitney Anne Kroschel

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Floodplain forest species diversity is driven, in part, by variation in disturbance regime. Flood patterns create heterogeneity in microsite quality from small differences in elevation across a floodplain which, in turn, influence flood timing and duration. Differences in species’ regeneration niches in relation to hydrologic patterns can account for long-term coexistence of various species. In the past century floodplain forests have exhibited a wide range of changes in stand development and species composition as a result of altered hydrology in rivers and floodplains. I evaluated the role of regeneration in floodplain forest systems of the Lower Mississippi River Alluvial Valley …

An Applied Ecology Of Fear Framework: Linking Theory To Conservation Practice, Kaitlyn M. Gaynor, Michael J. Cherry, Sophie L. Gilbert, Michael T. Kohl, Courtney L. Larson, Thomas M. Newsome, Laura R. Prugh, Justin P. Suraci, Julie K. Young, Justine A. Smith

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Research on the ecology of fear has highlighted the importance of perceived risk from predators and humans in shaping animal behavior and physiology, with potential demographic and ecosystem-wide consequences. Despite recent conceptual advances and potential management implications of the ecology of fear, theory and conservation practices have rarely been linked. Many challenges in animal conservation may be alleviated by actively harnessing or compensating for risk perception and risk avoidance behavior in wild animal populations. Integration of the ecology of fear into conservation and management practice can contribute to the recovery of threatened populations, human–wildlife conflict mitigation, invasive species management, maintenance …

Plankton Dynamics In An Urban, Subtropical Lake Prior To Lake Restoration, Jennifer C. Pulsifer

LSU Master's Theses

This research assessed plankton dynamics in two urban, subtropical lakes (University Lake and City Park Lake) shortly before a proposed and approved lake restoration project. Plankton dynamics were determined in University Lake by the dilution method to attempt to quantify growth rates of phytoplankton and grazing rates of zooplankton. Landry and Hassett’s (1982) dilution method has been widely used in marine systems to estimate rates of growth and grazing. In many marine systems, nutrients must be added to prevent nutrient limitation. However, it is assumed, due to the hypereutrophic conditions, that nutrients would not be a limitation in University Lake. …

Characterization Of Shallow Subsurface Hydrology In Large Fine-Grained Floodplains, Mary Grace Lemon

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Floodplains are hydrologically dynamic, receiving water from overbank events, hyporheic flows, local precipitation, and regional groundwater sources. These sources are variously important contributors to the heterogeneous floodplain water pool that includes matrix water in soil micropores, mobile water in soil macropores, groundwater below the rooting zone, ephemeral to seasonal surface storage, and permanent surface water features such as oxbow lakes, sloughs, and other secondary channels. All sources may be ecologically relevant for floodplain vegetation, but the exact roles of each source in both controlling soil water and shallow groundwater recharge and in controlling floodplain water drainage are not well understood, …

Environmental Influences On Tree-Driven Karst Bedrock Physical Weathering, Cole Robert Jimerson

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The role of tree roots as stressors that contribute to physical weathering processes and thus soil generation remains an open question in critical zone science. While evidence suggests roots may be able to damage rock by accessing pre-existing fractures, where they can expand due to water uptake or generate forces on rock in response to wind gusts, these processes have not been investigated in temperate karst regions until now. I monitored forces at the root-rock interface for an American elm and Hackberry tree between September 2019 and May 2020. I used piezoelectric force sensors to determine if differences in species, …

The Conservation And Population Ecology Of The Imperiled Crawfish Frog (Lithobates Areolatus) In Human-Altered Landscapes, Chelsea Shannon Kross

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The Crawfish Frog (Lithobates areolatus) is an imperiled amphibian currently experiencing severe declines across its range. As a species with unique habitat requirements that is threatened by habitat loss, understanding their status across the landscape and how they respond to environmental stressors is key to developing effective conservation strategies that maintain and expand viable populations. We used a combination of observational, experimental, and theoretical approaches to understand the status of Crawfish Frog populations in Northwest Arkansas (NWA), their individual and population-level response to human-induced changes in vegetation surrounding breeding wetlands, and the effects of fire management on larval development within …

Using Soil Geospatial Properties And Environments To Explore Microbial Diversity, Sharon Faye Smith

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Soil microorganisms help maintain nutrient cycling, control carbon sequestration, impact plant productivity, and influence several soil chemical and physical properties; yet, the processes that control the microbial composition of soil and how environmental changes may affect the composition and activity of these organisms at different scales remains a difficult and intriguing puzzle for soil scientists, ecologists, and modelers. Wetlands are endangered and important ecosystems that provide several services, which are directly linked to soil function. However, few wetland assessments consider the soil environment and microbial ecology. Linking soil microbial community composition and distribution patterns to soil physio-chemical properties would provide …

A Macroevolutionary View On Extinction In Aves, Chiroptera, And Odonata, Peter Hasik

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

A central goal of conservation biology is to identify and understand the factors that lead to extinction. The Earth is currently undergoing a 6th mass extinction event, in large part because of human activity. In the last century, rates of extinction have increased anywhere from 8-100 times the background rate of 2 extinctions per 10,000 species every 100 years. However, there remains a debate over whether certain species are predisposed to a higher extinction risk. In particular, it is not known if the macroevolutionary history of a lineage is a major contributor to the probability of extinction, nor is it …

Frontal Vehicle Illumination Via Rear-Facing Lighting Reduces Potential For Collisions With White-Tailed Deer, Travis L. Devault, Thomas W. Seamans, Bradley Blackwell

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

nimal–vehicle collisions cause many millions of animal deaths each year worldwide and present a substantial safety risk to people. In the United States and Canada, deer (Odocoileus spp.) are involved in most animal–vehicle collisions associated with human injuries. We evaluated a vehicle-based collision mitigation method designed to decrease the likelihood of deer–vehicle collisions during low-light conditions, when most collisions occur. Specifically, we investigated whether the use of a rear-facing light, providing more complete frontal vehicle illumination than standard headlights alone, enhanced vehicle avoidance behaviors of white-tailed deer (O. virginianus). We quantified flight initiation distance (FID), the likelihood …