Terrestrial and Aquatic Ecology Commons^™

Factors Affecting Space Use Overlap By White-Tailed Deer In An Urban Landscape, W. David Walter, Jeff Beringer, Lonnie P. Hansen, Justin W. Fischer, Joshua J. Millspaugh, Kurt C. Vercauteren

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Variation in the size and overlap of space use by white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) has broad implications for managing deer–human conflicts and disease spread and transmission in urban landscapes. Understanding which factors affect overlap of home range by various segments (i.e., age, sex) of an urban deer population has implications to direct contact between deer on disease epidemiology. We assessed size of home range and overlap of space use using the volume of intersection index (VI) for deer in an urban landscape by sex, age, season, and time of day. We found mean space use was larger for …

Limnological Assistance For Lake Mead National Recreation Area: Quarterly Report, Period Ending January 31, 2011, Margaret N. Rees

Limnological Studies

Project 1

• Technical assistance with the implementation of the Interagency Monitoring Action Plan (I-MAP) for Quagga Mussels is ongoing. During this quarter, analysis was completed for 21 adult/juvenile samples and analyses of the remaining samples are underway. A manuscript describing the I-MAP and its history, current recommended monitoring, and recommended future monitoring and a separate manuscript describing the I-MAP’s monitoring protocol were accepted for publication in the journal Aquatic Invasions. Two other manuscripts describing other aspects of the I-MAP program were published in Lake and Reservoir Management.

Project 2

• Annual summary sheets are under development for the topics listed within …

Reproduction And Genetic Detection Of Veligers In Changing Dreissena Populations In The Great Lakes, Jeffrey L. Ram, Aos S. Karim, Payel Acharya, Pranav Jagtap, Sonal Purohit, Donna R. Kashian

Environmental Science and Geology Faculty Research Publications

Dreissenid bivalves, Dreissena polymorpha (zebra mussel) and Dreissena bugensis (quagga mussel) are biofouling species that invaded the Great Lakes region of North America from source populations in Europe in the 1980s. Initially, D. polymorpha spread faster and farther; however, D. bugensis have recently displaced D. polymorpha in many areas of the Great Lakes and was the first to be found west of the Continental Divide. Early detection of dreissenids is important in anticipating and preventing potentially high economic impacts. To study population dynamics and to enhance detection methods, we assessed “spawnability” using a serotonin bioassay and developed a new, sensitive, …

Contrasting Effects Of Flow On Adult And Juvenile Ascidian Life History Stages, Including The Global Invasive Didemnum Vexillum, Tren C. Kauzer, C Sarah Cohen

STAR Program Research Presentations

Few studies have quantified a relationship between recruitment, growth, survival and flow with colonial filter feeders. In this study, the growth of D. vex and larval recruitment were evaluated under different local flow conditions in Half Moon Bay, California, USA. Tunicates were subjected to four different flow conditions, three of which included objects to differentially obstruct flow, and growth and recruitment were measured. A direct relationship was seen between increases in flow and adult growth, and an inverse relationship was seen between increases in flow and recruitment. These trends suggest that optimal flow conditions differ for juveniles and adults. The …

The Missing Link: The Ecology Of The Serpentine And The Implications For East And North Ponds [Presentation], Colby Environmental Assessment Team, Colby College, Problems In Environmental Science Course (Biology 493), Colby College

Colby College Watershed Study: East and North Ponds (2011, 1999, 1996, 1991)

No abstract provided.

The Missing Link: The Ecology Of The Serpentine And The Implications For East And North Ponds, Colby Environmental Assessment Team, Colby College, Problems In Environmental Science Course (Biology 493), Colby College

Colby College Watershed Study: East and North Ponds (2011, 1999, 1996, 1991)

During the fall of 2011, the Colby Environmental Assessment Team (CEAT) studied the Serpentine connecting East Pond and North Pond. East and North Ponds are members of the larger seven-lake system known as the Belgrade Lakes, located in central Maine. There are over 5,500 lakes in Maine that contribute $6.7 billion to the economy annually through activities including boating, fishing, swimming etc. Additionally, Maine’s lakes are sources of municipal and agricultural water, act as flood buffers, and host a wide range of plant, animal, and fish life. Lakes in Maine are a crucial part society and should be studied and …

Conservation Cuantitativa De Los Vertebrados, Michael J. Conroy, John P. Carroll, Juan Carlos Senar, Jeffrey J. Thompson

School of Natural Resources: Faculty Publications

Este libro es destinado para el uso por biólogos del campo y otras personas, incluso biólogos de campo en el futuro que podrían estar en un curso de la universidad y trabajando en estudios y conservación de animales. Nuestro objetivo es que los biólogos usen este libro como (haciendo apología a nuestro colega Evan Cooch) una ´´introducción suave´´ al campo de la ecología cuantitativa. Esperamos convencer a los lectores que los métodos y aproximaciones del libro no son solo para los matemáticos, estadísticos y programadores de computadoras, sino que de hecho son herramientas esenciales para practicar la conservación en el …

Plesiosaur Body Shape And Its Impact On Hydrodynamic Properties, Courtney D. Richards

Theses, Dissertations and Capstones

Despite the variability of cross-sectional body shape within Plesiosauria, its impact on plesiosaur buoyancy and stability has never been investigated. This study focused on Tatenectes, Cryptoclidus, and Muraenosaurus due to their variable body morphologies. Reconstructions were created based on measurements and photographs from fossil remains. The ability of computer models, based upon the reconstructions, to reach equilibrium after submersion, sink via lung deflation, and recover from a lateral roll was tested. For the computer models, Muraenosaurus was replaced with Thalassomedon, which had a similar morphology. Cryptoclidus and Thalassomedon recovered from submersion faster than Tatenectes. All models achieved negative buoyancy with …

The Little Coal River Improvement Project, West Virginia: An Initial Study Of Sediment, Bacteria And Benthic Macroinvertebrates, Emily Vargo

Theses, Dissertations and Capstones

The Little Coal River, located in southern West Virginia, has undergone many changes over the last few years in an effort to reverse the negative effects of various point source and non-point source pollutions. Marshall University, in cooperation with the West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection, Army Corp of Engineers, and the Coal River Group, has designed and implemented a plan for rehabilitation known as the Little Coal Improvement Project. Several improvement structures were strategically installed within the Little Coal River during the summer of 2007. The functions of these structures include sediment flushing and overall habitat improvement. Monitoring these …

Phylogenetic Analysis Of Blacknose Dace (Rhinichthys) In West Virginia Streams, Samantha Taylor

Theses, Dissertations and Capstones

Blacknose dace (Rhinichthys) are one of the most common cyprinid fishes in eastern North America. They also have been a topic of debate for over 30 years because morphology-based systematics has failed to clearly define their taxa. Taxonomists classify the complex into two species and one subspecies: the eastern form, R. atratulus atratulus; and the western form R. obtusus obtusus, and southern form R. obtusus meleagris. This research uses the mitochondrial cytochrome b gene and genomic RAG 2 gene in a phylogenetic analysis to help clarify species relations according to differences between each current species. Maps have been created to …

Temperature Increase Effects On Sagebrush Ecosystem Forbs: Exprimental Evidence And Range Manager Perspectives, Hilary Louise Whitcomb

Green Canyon Environmental Research Area, Logan Utah

No abstract provided.

Infectious Diseases In Yellowstone’S Canid Community, Emily S. Almberg, Paul C. Cross, L. David Mech, Doug W. Smith, Jennifer W. Sheldon, Robert L. Crabtree

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

Each summer Yellowstone Wolf Project staff visit den sites to monitor the success of wolf reproduction and pup rearing behavior. For the purposes of wolf monitoring, Yellowstone National Park (YNP) is divided into two study areas, the northern range and the interior, each distinguished by their ecological and physiographical differences. The 1,000 square kilometer northern range, characterized by lower elevations (1,500–2,200 m), serves as prime winter habitat for ungulates and supports a higher density of wolves than the interior (20–99 wolves/1,000 km² versus 2–11 wolves/1,000 km²). The interior of the park encompasses 7,991 square kilometers, is higher …

Environmental Factors Affecting Settlement Of Quagga Mussel (Dreissena Rostriformis Bugensis) Veligers In Lake Mead, Nevada-Arizona, Usa, Dong Chen, Shawn Gerstenberger, Sara Ann Mueting, Wai Hing Wong

Environmental & Global Health Faculty Research

Environmental factors that can affect the settlement rate of quagga mussel veligers include flow velocity, water temperature, pH, dissolved oxygen (DO), conductivity, total organic carbon (TOC), and the surface roughness of monitoring substrates. In the present study, six artificial substrates, Acrylonitrile Butadiene Styrene (ABS) plastic, High Density Polyethylene (HDPE) plastic, Concrete Underlayment Board (CUB), aluminum, stainless steel and fiberglass, were used to monitor the settlement of quagga mussel veligers at different water depths in Lake Mead, Nevada-Arizona, USA. Considering the hierarchical data structure of observed mussel densities, we investigated the relationship between mussel settlement on monitoring substrates and the surrounding …

Quagga Mussels In The Western United States: Monitoring And Management, Wai Hing Wong, Shawn Gerstenberger

Environmental & Global Health Faculty Research

Dreissenid mussels including zebra mussel (Dreissena polymorpha Pallas, 1771), originating from the Ponto-Caspian area, and quagga mussel (Dreissena rostriformis bugensis Andrusov, 1897), originating from the mouths of the Rivers Southern Bug and Dnieper are both species native to Eastern Europe, which were accidently introduced into the Laurentian Great Lakes in North America in the 1980s in ballast water (Carlton 2008; Van der Velde et al 2010). Dreissenid mussels have created severe ecological, recreational and economic impacts on many systems because they are biofoulers and efficient ecological engineers that filter large quantities of water. Examples of these wide-ranging impacts are discussed …

A Virtual Phytosaur Endocast And Its Implications For Sensory System Evolution In Archosaurs, Waymon Holloway

Theses, Dissertations and Capstones

Due to the overall morphological similarities between the Triassic archosaurs of the order Phytosauria and extant crocodilians, most studies have assumed that the two shared similar lifestyles. Many studies involving phytosaurs have focused on the external cranial morphology of various taxa. Internal cranial anatomy has received relatively little attention. As a result, comparative morphology studies of the braincases interior, or endocast, of phytosaurs are an area of potential exploration. Just as modern medical Xray computed tomography (CT) can be used to create three-dimensional images of internal structures of living subjects, such technology offers a non-invasive means of studying the internal …

The Invasive Asian Shore Crab, A Dominant Species On Southeastern Massachusetts Beaches: A Cause For Concern, Kimberly Westgate

Undergraduate Review

The non-native Asian shore is becoming a dominant species in southeastern Massachusetts beaches. A study was conducted to test whether environmental conditions across beaches in southeastern Massachusetts had an effect on the crab species inhabiting those areas. Although this was the main focus, it was found that the invasive Asian shore crab has had an ecological impact on the native crab populations. Six southeastern Massachusetts beaches (Scituate Beach, Plymouth Beach, Mass Trust Estuary, Ellisville Harbor, Gooseberry Island, and Sandwich Marsh) were visited and crab species were counted in measured sites, generally two sites pe r beach. Crab species found were …

State Of The Climate In 2010, Jessica Blunden, Derek S. Arndt, Molly O. Baringer

United States Department of Commerce: Staff Publications

Several large-scale climate patterns influenced climate conditions and weather patterns across the globe during 2010. The transition from a warm El Niño phase at the beginning of the year to a cool La Niña phase by July contributed to many notable events, ranging from record wetness across much of Australia to historically low Eastern Pacific basin and near-record high North Atlantic basin hurricane activity. The remaining five main hurricane basins experienced below- to well-below-normal tropical cyclone activity. The negative phase of the Arctic Oscillation was a major driver of Northern Hemisphere temperature patterns during 2009/10 winter and again in late …

Summer 2011, Nova Southeastern University

Currents

No abstract provided.

Pituophis Catenifer Deserticola (Great Basin Gophersnake) Predation, Steven J. Wamback, Richard M. Engeman

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

A variety of taxa have been observed to· prey upon Pituophis catenifer, including mammals, birds-of prey, and other snakes. Here, we describe an unusual two-day observation of predation on a mature Great Basin gophersnake by a brown trout (Salmo trutta).

The observation took place in Jones Canyon, Utah, USA, on the grounds of the Jones Hole National Fish Hatchery (JHNFH). Jones Creek' emanates from springs at the head of Jones Canyon on hatchery grounds, and flows north to south 6.4 km to the Green River, approximately paralleling the Utah-Colorado border. The stream runs for about 0.3 km …

Gordon Natural Area Tour - Guide, Kendra Mcmillin, Gerard Hertel

Gordon Natural Area-related Curricula Documents

No abstract provided.

Buffernomics: Assessing Willingness To Pay For Lake Conservation On North Pond And East Pond, Sophie D. Sarkar

Honors Theses

Hedonic property valuations in Maine have estimated that a one-meter decrease in water clarity can reduce shoreline property values by 4 to 16%. To avoid a loss on their lakefront investment, shoreline property owners have a particularly large incentive to conserve lake water quality. Nevertheless, while some shoreline residents voluntarily install vegetated buffers and actively participate in lake stewardship, others continue to ignore shoreline zoning laws at the expense of lake health. In this thesis, I examine the dichotomy of active and indifferent shoreline residents by analyzing the motivations that distinguish residents who are willing to pay (WTP) for and …

Zooplankton Of The Belgrade Lakes: The Influence Of Top-Down And Bottom-Up Forces In Family Abundance, Kimberly M. Bittler

Honors Theses

The purpose of this study was to assess the abundance and family diversity of zooplankton communities in the Belgrade Lakes, and to identify the broad scale and local variables that structure zooplankton communities in this region. The local effects of shoreline development and the presence of macrophyte patches were compared to larger scale variables, such as watershed wide residential development. Zooplankton are an intermediate link in the freshwater food web, and communities respond both to predation pressures as well as nutrient inputs. Shoreline development was expected to influence zooplankton densities by the increased nutrient inputs via erosion off developed sites …

Abundance Of Eukaryotic Microbes In The Deep Subtropical North Atlantic, Danielle Morgan-Smith, Gerhard J. Herndl, Hendrik M. Van Aken, Alexander B. Bochdansky

OES Faculty Publications

The meso- and bathypelagic ocean comprises the largest habitat on earth, yet we know very little about the distribution and activity of protists in this environment. These small eukaryotes are responsible for controlling bacterial abundance in the surface ocean and are major players in the material and energy transfer of pelagic food webs. In this paper, we quantify microbial eukaryotes in the deep North Atlantic, as well as provide a basic characterization of eukaryote community changes through the water column. To this end, we counted organisms using 2 different approaches: (1) catalyzed reporter deposition fluorescence in situ hybridization (CARD-FISH, also …

Structuring Expert Input For A Knowledge-Based Approach To Watershed Condition Assessment For The Northwest Forest Plan, Usa, Sean N. Gordon, Kirsten Gallo

Institute for Sustainable Solutions Publications and Presentations

Assessments of watershed condition for aquatic and riparian species often have to rely on expert opinion because of the complexity of establishing statistical relationships among the many factors involved. Such expert-based assessments can be difficult to document and apply consistently over time and space. We describe and reflect on the process of developing a computer-based decision support application from expert judgments for assessing aquatic and riparian conditions over the 100,000 km2 managed by the US federal government under the Northwest Forest Plan. The decision support system helped structure and document the assessment process and provided consistency and transparency to the …

Spring 2011, Nsu Oceanographic Center

Currents

No abstract provided.

Biology Department Newsletter, No.1, Sacred Heart University

Biology Newsletter

No abstract provided.

Floristic And Environmental Characteristics Of Sub-Boreal Peatlands Of Minnesota And Western Wisconsin, Kevin Douglas Clement

All Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Other Capstone Projects

Peatland communities in the sub-boreal region of Minnesota and western Wisconsin were characterized by floristic composition, structure and environmental characteristics to determine the natural variation among peatland communities in the region and their shared associations with the boreal and temperate peatlands of North America. Floristic classification revealed five, distinct peatland community types, identified as Sphagnum Bogs, Herbaceous Fens, Forested Fens, Rich/Calcareous Fens and Phalaris anrundinacea dominated peatlands. Differences among sub-boreal peatlands largely reflected changes in the significant indicator and dominant plant species identified, which were found to exhibit high fidelities to a particular peatland community type. Floristic variations among sub-boreal …

Wolves, Canis Lupus, Carry And Cache The Collars Of Radio-Collared White-Tailed Deer, Odocoileus Virginianus, They Killed, Michael E. Nelson, L. David Mech

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

Wolves (Canis lupus) in northeastern Minnesota cached six radio-collars (four in winter, two in spring-summer) of 202 radio-collared White-tailed Deer (Odocoileus virginianus) they killed or consumed from 1975 to 2010. A Wolf bedded on top of one collar cached in snow. We found one collar each at a Wolf den and Wolf rendezvous site, 2.5 km and 0.5 km respectively, from each deer’s previous locations.

The 100th Meridian Initiative At The Lake Mead National Recreation Area, Nv, Usa: Differences Between Boater Behaviors Before And After A Quagga Mussel, Driessena Rostiformis Bugensis, Invasion, Sara Ann Mueting, Shawn Gerstenberger

Environmental & Global Health Faculty Research

The 100th Meridian Initiative was developed to help prevent the spread of aquatic nuisance species (ANS) through boater education and research on boater movement patterns and behaviors. Surveys employing these elements were conducted at Lake Mead National Recreation Area (LMNRA) in 2002-2003 before the discovery of the quagga mussel (Dreissena rostiformis bugensis Andrusov 1897) and in 2007-2008 after an established population of quagga mussels was found in the Lake. Boaters were asked questions in a personal interview or a mail-in survey regarding what body of water they had previously launched their watercraft in, where they were planning to launch next, …

Interagency Monitoring Action Plan (I-Map) For Quagga Mussels In Lake Mead, Nevada-Arizona, Usa, Kent Turner, Wai Hing Wong, Shawn Gerstenberger, Jennell M. Miller

Environmental & Global Health Faculty Research

Following the discovery of quagga mussels in Lake Mead, Nevada-Arizona, USA, a variety of federal, state and regional agencies set up monitoring programs to evaluate and gain information to help minimize the impacts, or potential impacts, of quagga mussels to their facilities and lake ecology. While the agencies have worked closely and shared monitoring data and findings from the beginning of the infestation, there has been no documented comprehensive monitoring program to describe and record the various quagga mussel-related monitoring needs. Ad hoc interagency quagga mussel meeting representatives established an Interagency Monitoring Action Plan (I-MAP), which outlines agency objectives related …