Terrestrial and Aquatic Ecology Commons^™

Survey Of Amphibians And Reptiles In Powhatan County, Virginia With Selected Natural History Notes, Jason Daniel Gibson

Theses & Honors Papers

This thesis establishes baseline data on the herpetofauna that exist in Powhatan county. No systematic study of the amphibians and reptiles in Powhatan county has ever been conducted. The methods used in this survey include hand capture, egg mass observations, road kill collections, and frog call surveys. Documentation of each species collected included measurements, photographs, range maps, and tape recordings.

This survey produced 8 species of salamanders, 11 anurans, 6 turtles, 4 lizards, and 14 snakes. Based on records in the Atlas of Amphibians and Reptiles of Virginia (Mitchell & Reay, 1999), 11 new county records were discovered. This brings …

Differences In Bird Communities On The Forest Edge And In The Forest Interior: Are There Forest-Interior Specialists In Japan?, Reiko Kurosawa, Robert A. Askins

Biology Faculty Publications

Most North American bird species that are less successful in small forests than in large forests, are forest-interior specialists that winter in the tropics. These species have declined in small forests because of high rates of nest predation and brood parasitism near the forest edge. To determine whether migratory forest-interior specialists are also important components of bird communities in Japan, we surveyed bird populations on plots at the edge and in the interior of deciduous forests in Hokkaido and Kyoto. Surveys were conducted during the breeding season in forest fragments using the point count method. We calculated edge indices for …

Fall 1999, Nsu Oceanographic Center

Currents

No abstract provided.

Review Of A Classification Of North American Biotic Communities By David E. Brown, Frank Reichenbacher, Susan E. Franson, Robert B. Kaul

Great Plains Research: A Journal of Natural and Social Sciences (through 2013)

This is the latest of many efforts over the past century to classify North America's natural, undisturbed biological communities as they existed in pre-agrarian times and in many places continue to exist today. Its authors' stated objective is to integrate existing works into a hierarchical synthesis that can lead to a standardized system for researchers, land managers, conservation groups, and government agencies. To that end, the authors have modified and expanded David Brown's earlier classification for the Southwest to cover the continent, defined here as the area from the Panama Canal to the Arctic, including Greenland and some of the …

A Study Of The Seasonal Composition And Abundance Of Phytoplankton And Autotrophic Picoplankton In A Brackish Water Lake In Portsmouth Virginia, Jennifer Leigh Wolny

Biological Sciences Theses & Dissertations

The phytoplankton and autotrophic picoplankton populations of Hoffler Lake, a brackish-water lake in Portsmouth, Virginia, were monitored from May 1997 through May 1998, Analyses of the phytoplankton community using the Utennohl method showed a dominance of Chlorophytes (61-88% of the total abundance) throughout the year, including a winter bloom of Chlamydomonas snowii (maximum concentration of 2.5 x 101 cells/L). Subdominants were Cyanobacteria (10-33% of the total abundance) whose composition included several species of Anabaena, Lyngbya, and a fall bloom of Microcoleus sp. Diatoms, dinoflagellates, and cryptophytes played a secondary role in the phytoplankton community of Hoffler Lake. …

The Impact Of Resident And Transient Predators On The Popultation Dynamics Of Juvenile Caribbean Spiny Lobster (Panulirus Argus) In Florida Bay, Florida, Jason Edward Schratwieser

Biological Sciences Theses & Dissertations

There has been a considerable amount of research devoted to exploring the relationship between predators and prey, but many of these studies fail to address how predation can vary over spatial and temporal scales. The tendency of ecologists to model predation as a static entity often masks its capacity for creating distinctive effects in prey populations and communities. Most predation studies also focus on the effect of a single species of predator on a prey population, an unrealistic situation in nature. In the Florida Keys, juvenile spiny lobsters are subjected to two general classes of predators: i) "resident" predators such …

History Of Grassland Birds In Eastern North America, Robert A. Askins

Biology Faculty Publications

Until recently the severe decline in the populations of many species of grassland birds in eastern North America has aroused relatively little concern or conservation action. This response appears to be rooted in the perception that grassland birds invaded the East Coast from western grasslands after European settlers cleared the forest. Detailed historical accounts and analysis of pollen deposits, however, show that open grasslands existed on the East Coast of North America at the time of European settlement. Extensive grasslands resulted from burning and agricultural clearing by Native Americans. Natural disturbances, such as wildfire and beaver (Castor canadensis) activity, produced …

Comparing The Tadpoles Of Hyla Geographica And Hyla Semilineata, Anne D'Heursel, Rafael O. De Sá

Biology Faculty Publications

External morphology, internal oral anatomy, and chondrocranial anatomy were examined for tadpoles of Hyla geographica from the Amazon rainforest, Brazil, and Hyla semilineata from the Atlantic rainforest, Brazil. Here, we provide morphological larval data to help diagnose these closely related species. Scanning electron microscopy analysis of buccal morphology showed the most distinctive features between these species: the distance between the lingual papillae in the buccal floor of H. geographica is three times greater than that distance in H. semilineata, and the relative size of the lingual papillae in H. geographica is less than half their size in H. semilineata. Although …

Celastrina Idella (Lycaenidae: Polyommatinae): A New Butterfly Species From The Atlantic Coastal Plain, David M. Wright, Harry Pavulaan

The Taxonomic Report of the International Lepidoptera Survey

A new species of Polyommatinae, Celastrina idella, is described from the sandy Atlantic coastal plain of the eastern United States. It is presently known to occur from southern New Jersey through Georgia. Celastrina idella larvae have been recorded from four species of Ilex (holly). Celastrina idella is distinguished from sympatric C. ladon and C. neglecta by differences in larval host, flight period, pupal diapause, and adult size and wing characters. In the New Jersey pine barrens the butterfly is univoltine and flies in the spring between the flights of its sympatric congeners.

Development Of A Novel Method For Phenol Detection Using High Performance Thin Layer Chromatography, Danette Young Carlton

Theses & Honors Papers

The purpose of this study was to develop a more efficient method to test for phenol in both wastewater and non-wastewater. Phenol is a caustic and toxic contaminant that may be present in our water supplies. Phenol is used in various resins, pharmaceuticals, plastics and disinfectants. Environmental Protection Agency methods are available to test for phenol using gas chromatography along with mass spectrometry or flame ionization detection. Each of these methods can be a long, involved process consisting of extraction, many sample injections, and interference problems. This method developed an easier and less complicated approach of testing for phenol in …

Summer 1999, Nsu Oceanographic Center

Currents

No abstract provided.

Hübner’S Helicta, The Forgotten Neonympha: The Recognition And Elevation Of Neonympha Helicta (Nymphalidae: Satyrinae) To Specific Status, The Designation Of Neotypes For N. Helicta And N. Areolatus, The Subspecific Transfer Of Septentrionalis To Helicta And The Description Of A Third Helicta Subspecies From South Florida, Ronald R. Gatrelle

The Taxonomic Report of the International Lepidoptera Survey

Hübner (1806) based the name Oreas fimbriata helicta on a John Abbot painting of a southeastern United States satyr without a written description. Subsequent lepidopterists have nearly ignored this taxon. Helicta is herein recognized as a valid species–Neonympha helicta. A neotype is designated for helicta from Aiken County, South Carolina and deposited in the Allyn Museum of Entomology Sarasota, Florida. A neotype is also designated for Papilio areolata J.E. Smith, 1797 from Chatham County, Georia and deposited in the Allyn Museum of Entomology. Septentrionalis Davis, 1924 is recognized as the northern United States subspecies of helicta not areolatus …

Estructura Del Condrocráneo Y Esqueleto Visceral De Larvas De Pseudis Minuta (Anura, Pseudidae, E. O. Lavilla, Rafael O. De Sá

Biology Faculty Publications

The chondrocranium and visceral skeleton of Pseudis minuta tadpoles are described, based on a series of five larvae in stages 31 - 35 of Gosner (1960). Among their striking characters are the presence of peculiar articular surfaces between cornua trabeculae and suprarostral cartilage, the incomplete development of the orbital cartilage, the high fenestration of the floor of the cavum cranii, the fusion of posterior foramina, and the fusion of spicules 3 and 4 in the hyobranchial skeleton.

Flea News 58 (June 1999), Robert E. Lewis

Flea News

Obituary: Lindolpho Rocha Guimarães (January 24, 1908-November 7, 1998)

Miscellanea

Siphonaptera literature

The Timing And Pattern Of Myogenesis In Hymenochirus Boettgeri, Matthew T. Smetanick, Rafael O. De Sá, Gary P. Radice

Biology Faculty Publications

Differences in the relative timing of homologous developmental events among closely related species, known as heterochronies, may provide valuable clues in understanding evolutionary relationships (McKinney, 1988; McNamara, 1995). Examining the timing of myogenic events is a relatively easy and effective method for finding heterochronic events. For example, whether muscle proteins and myofibrils appear before or after multinucleation can be determined through histological techniciques (Kielbowna, 1981). Simple observations of live specimens can pinpoint functional landmarks such as first twitch (spontaneous or due to external stimuli) and first heartbeat.

Analysis Of Intraguild Predation With A Consideration Of Adaptive Foraging, Toshinori Okuyama

School of Biological Sciences: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Identification of interactive units in food webs is particularly important in population and community ecology. Intraguild predation has gained much attention recently with the recognition of its prevalence in the field, although its significance has not been fully studied. Nature contains much more complex interactions than a simple food chain. Yet, much theory still focuses on the trophic levels connected in a single linear chain. In this thesis, I study intraguild predation including the consideration of animal behavior whose importance is also often neglected in population and community ecology.

First, the concepts of intraguild predation and animal behavior are introduced. …

Adaptive Strategies That Reduce Predation On Caribbean Spiny Lobster Postlarvae During Onshore Transport, Charles A. Acosta, Mark J. Butler Iv

Biological Sciences Faculty Publications

Like many marine species with meroplanktonic larvae, the Caribbean spiny lobster (Panulirus argus) has a postlarval stage that moves from the oceanic plankton to inshore nurseries only under specific environmental conditions (i.e., at night, in the surface water layer, on the flood tide, and during new moon), presumably to avoid predation or to enhance onshore transport. Using held and mesocosm experiments, we compared predation on planktonic postlarvae swimming at night near the surface and bottom over coastal habitats along typical offshore-inshore transport paths and determined whether predation rates differed between lunar periods (new moon vs, full moon) and with prey …

Development Of The Suprarostral Plate Of Pipoid Frogs, Rafael O. De Sá, Charles C. Swart

Biology Faculty Publications

The rostral region of nonpipoid tadpoles has two sets of cartilages, the cornua trabeculae and the suprarostral cartilages, whereas the rostral region in pipoid larvae is occupied by a single and continuous cartilage, the suprarostral plate. The homology of this region in pipoid and nonpipoids tadpoles has been controversial. We examined the early formation and development of the suprarostral plate using serially cross-sectioned specimens of Rhinophrynus, Xenopus, and Hymenochirus. We conclude that the cartilaginous structures present in the rostral area of pipoid and nonpipoid larvae are homologous. Furthermore, we found two different developmental patterns among pipoid larvae. The chondrocranium …

A New Subspecies Of Brephidium Isophthalma (Lycaenidae: Polyommatinae) From Coastal South Carolina, Harry Pavulaan, Ronald R. Gatrelle

The Taxonomic Report of the International Lepidoptera Survey

Brephidium isophthalma pseudofea was described in 1873 from the Florida Keys, United States. The ventral ground color of the wings in topotypical pseudofea is a yellowish brown. The antennal clubs of pseudofea have prominent orange red tips. The ventral surface of the abdomen of pseudofea is broadly white to very light gray and usually extends halfway around the sides of the light to medium brown abdomen. Specimens of B. isophthalma from coastal South Carolina differ greatly from topotypical pseudofea. Accordingly, B. i. insularus is described as a new subspecies from coastal South Carolina. The antennal clubs …

Spring 1999, Nsu Oceanographic Center

Currents

No abstract provided.

Acorn Foraging As A Means To Explore Human Energetics And Forge Connections To Local Forests, Jeffrey J. Gerwing, Pamela Lockwood, Christopher Uhl

Environmental Science and Management Faculty Publications and Presentations

Jeffrey Gerwing, Pamela Lockwood, and Christopher Uhl describe a rather unusual ecology laboratory/field exercise that utilizes abundant oak habitats of central Pennsylvania. For those readers not blessed with an abundant supply of oaks nearby, perhaps other species could be substituted. The exercise is unusual in two ways. It offers a new undergraduate ecology activity, and it offers opportunities for students to relate other disciplines to their science course.

In "the good old days" of higher education each discipline offered its menu of courses and expected students to make appropriate connections among the courses of their major, minor, and general education. …

An Evolutionary Subspecific Assessment Of Deciduphagus Henrici (Lycaenidae) Based On Its Utilization Of Ilex And Non-Ilex Hosts: Description Of A Third Ilex Associated Subspecies; Designation Of A Neotype And Type Locality For Deciduphagus Irus; With Appendix, Ronald R. Gatrelle

The Taxonomic Report of the International Lepidoptera Survey

Deciduphagus henrici subsists as six subspecies which have evolved into two distinct larval host associated groups of three taxa each. Group one is composed of those taxa which utilize primarily Ilex (holly, various species) as their host. They inhabit the non-montane area of the southeastern United States and up the Atlantic coast to at least southern New Jersey. They are: D. h. margaretae (T. L. Deland, Volusia County, Florida) occupying east-coastal to south central Florida; D. h. viridissima (T. L. Nag’s Head, Dare County, North Carolina) occupying the upper Outer Banks area of North Carolina …

Functional Success Of Six Constructed Bottomland Hardwood Forests In Central And Western Kentucky, Ryan W. Mccall

Morehead State Theses and Dissertations

A thesis presented to the faculty of the College of Science and Technology Morehead State University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Degree of Master of Science by Ryan W. McCall on January 25, 1999.

Osteological Analysis Of The Killifish Genus Cynolebias (Cyprinodontiformes: Rivulidae), Marcelo Loureiro, Rafael O. De Sá

Biology Faculty Publications

Relationships among the species of the annual fish Cynolebias are unclear. An analysis of the variation and utility of osteological characters for phylogenetic analysis was done using cleared and double-stained specimens representing 21 species of Cynolebias. This analysis showed that some of the characters previously used to diagnose this genus and some of the species are polymorphic. Osteologically, Cynolebias can be diagnosed by the following synapomorphies: (1) triangular-shaped parietal, (2) vomer positioned ventral to the parasphenoid, (3) long ventral process of the dentary, (4) teeth on fourth ceratobranchial, and (5) teeth on first epibranchial. In addition, characters that help …

Fish Utilization Of Restored, Created And Reference Salt-Marsh Habitat In The Gulf Of Maine, Michele Dionne, Frederick T. Short, David M. Burdick

Jackson Estuarine Laboratory

No abstract provided.

Distribution Of The Sucker Family (Pisces: Catostomidae) In The Ohio River, Tara L. Rose

Theses, Dissertations and Capstones

The family Catostomidae represents a major component of the fish fauna in the Ohio River. Because of their abundance, large biomass, and susceptibility to environmentally-induced anomalies, suckers are expected to significantly influence the Ohio River Fish Index (ORFIn), a biological index being developed by the Ohio River Valley Water Sanitation Commission (ORSANCO) for large river systems. To correctly interpret information obtained from ORFIn, the impact of suckers upon the index must be thoroughly understood, including relative importance and uneven spatial distribution of Ohio River suckers. In this study, suckers represented 7.1 percent of the total fish captured and 36.6 percent …

Ecology And Natural History Of Rana Clamitans Melanota In West Virginia, Alison M. Rogers

Theses, Dissertations and Capstones

Fourteen study sites were sampled with aquatic funnel traps and D-frame net sweeps in the plateau and mountain region of West Virginia to determine differences in larval period. Larval stage class abundance and larval total length and mass measurements were recorded from February to December 1997. Larval stage classes 25 and 26, the first free living stages, were absent from the plateau region from February to April, but were present in the mountain region. Pre-transformation larval stages, 40 through 44, were found from May through October, and peaked in July. Significant relationships were found with simple linear regression analysis between …

Occurrence And Reproduction Of The Alabama Shad, Alosa Alabamae Jordan And Evermann, In The Ouachita River System Of Arkansas, Thomas M. Buchanan, Josh Nichols, Don Turman, Colton Dennis, Stuart Woolridge, Brett Hobbs

Journal of the Arkansas Academy of Science

The anadromous Alabama shad, Alosa alabamae, has drastically declined in abundance in recent decades throughout its historic range and has previously been reported in Arkansas from only five localities. Three of those locality records are pre- 1900. Sampling by seine in the Ouachita River drainage system of southern Arkansas in July and August of 1997 and 1998 produced more than 300 juvenile A. alabamae from two localities on the Little Missouri River and four localities on the Ouachita River. One record of an adult Alabama shad, taken on 4 April1997 by an angler below Remmel Dam on the Ouachita River, …

Benthic Biodiversity And Physico-Chemical Parameters Of Acid Mine Drainage, Acid Impacted And Nonimpacted Streams, Stephen D. Greene

Theses, Dissertations and Capstones

South Fork of Sand Lick Creek, Logan County, West Virginia, drains an abandoned coal strip mine which had exploited Pottsville series coalbeds (Pennsylvania strata). These strata outcrop throughout southwestern West Virginia. North Fork watershed is relatively unchanged, save a small roadcut throughout. South Fork benthic community had not recovered although mining activity had ceased about 20 years earlier. Benthic communities were analyzed with detrended correspondence analysis (DCA). Family Chironomidae predominated South Fork benthic community throughout the study. North Fork’s benthic community had as major contributors acid resistant caddisfly family Hydropsychidae, mayfly family Baetidae, and stonefly families Perlodidae and Nemouridae. Family …

Characterization And Improvement Of Eos Land Products Using Measurements At Ameriflux Grassland And Wheat Sites In The Arm/Cart Region: Research Annual Performance Report For Period March 1, 1999- February 29, 2000., E. A. Walter-Shea, S. B. Verma

School of Natural Resources: Documents and Reviews

No abstract provided.