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Full-Text Articles in Research Methods in Life Sciences

Rcrab: An R Analytics Tool To Visualize And Analyze The Movement Of Horseshoe Crabs In Long Island Sound, Ismael Youssef, Samah Senbel, Jo-Marie Kasinak, Jennifer Mattei Aug 2019

Rcrab: An R Analytics Tool To Visualize And Analyze The Movement Of Horseshoe Crabs In Long Island Sound, Ismael Youssef, Samah Senbel, Jo-Marie Kasinak, Jennifer Mattei

School of Computer Science & Engineering Faculty Publications

Mark-recapture programs are important for studying the ecology and population dynamics of wildlife. An R shiny analytics tool was developed to track the movement of horseshoe crabs in Long Island Sound based on tag and resight data. The crabs were tagged and recaptured by volunteers of Project Limulus, a community-based research program. The dataset contains tag and recapture location information for 14,065 horseshoe crabs over 18 years. The dataset was initially cleaned by removing records with missing, duplicate or incorrect data. A new data structure was developed to save the data and simplify processing: Three dimensions were used, one for …


Deicing Salts Influence Ranavirus Outbreaks In Wood Frog (Lithobates Sylvaticus) Tadpoles, Sarah Jacobson May 2019

Deicing Salts Influence Ranavirus Outbreaks In Wood Frog (Lithobates Sylvaticus) Tadpoles, Sarah Jacobson

Honors Scholar Theses

Ecosystems are increasingly being exposed to anthropogenic stressors that could make animals and thus populations more susceptible to disease. For example, the application of deicing salts to roads is increasing in the northeastern United States. Chronic stress that larval amphibians experience when living in vernal pools with high salinity may alter their susceptibility to ranavirus, a pathogen responsible for mass mortality events worldwide. This project quantifies the effects of road salts and ranavirus exposure on larval wood frog (Lithobates sylvaticus) growth and survival. Using outdoor mesocsoms, we raised wood frog tadpoles in salt treatments and then exposed them …


Presence And Distribution Of Leptodactylus Guianensis Heyer And De Sa, 2011 In Colombia: Comparisons With Other Species In The L. Latrans Group., Mariela Osorno Muñoz, Doris L. Gutiérrez-Lamus, Rafael O. De Sá Apr 2019

Presence And Distribution Of Leptodactylus Guianensis Heyer And De Sa, 2011 In Colombia: Comparisons With Other Species In The L. Latrans Group., Mariela Osorno Muñoz, Doris L. Gutiérrez-Lamus, Rafael O. De Sá

Biology Faculty Publications

Leptodactylus guianensis is reported for the first time for Colombia along with a distributional map of the species. The species is the fifth species of the L. latransspecies group documented in the country. Males possess a single, conical and slightly chisel-shaped thumb spine; only three species in the group have a single thumb spine. In collections, specimens of L. guianensis are misidentified as L. macrosternum, L. latrans or L. bolivianus. We provide morphological, colouration and habitat descriptions for where the species occurs in Colombia.


Lingering Impacts Of Hurricane Hugo On Rhizophora Mangle (Red Mangrove) Population Genetics On St. John, Usvi, Paul Ax Bologna, James J. Campanella, Dena J. Restaino, Zachary A. Fetske, Matthew Lourenco, John V. Smalley Apr 2019

Lingering Impacts Of Hurricane Hugo On Rhizophora Mangle (Red Mangrove) Population Genetics On St. John, Usvi, Paul Ax Bologna, James J. Campanella, Dena J. Restaino, Zachary A. Fetske, Matthew Lourenco, John V. Smalley

Marine Biology and Coastal Sciences Faculty Scholarship and Creative Works

Stochastic events can have catastrophic effects on island populations through a series of genetic stressors from reduced population size. We investigated five populations of red mangrove (Rhizophora mangle) from St. John, USVI, an UNESCO Biosphere Reserve, which were impacted by Hurricane Hugo in 1989. Our goal was to determine diversity and to ascertain potential population bottlenecks two decades after the event. With the lowest observed heterozygosity, highest inbreeding coefficient, and evidence of a major bottleneck, our results demonstrated that the Great Lameshur mangroves, devastated by Hurricane Hugo, were the least diverse stand of trees. The other four populations from St. …


Mammals Of The Northern Andes: An Analysis Of Camera Trap Data And Observation In Angochagua, Ecuador, Risa Berman Apr 2019

Mammals Of The Northern Andes: An Analysis Of Camera Trap Data And Observation In Angochagua, Ecuador, Risa Berman

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

The high Andes of Ecuador are home to a diverse community of mammals, many of which are threatened. These include the Andean bear, Andean fox, puma, and mountain tapir. This study used camera traps, direct observation, and indirect observation over three weeks to monitor the wildlife in the mountains of the Parroquia of Angochagua. The five species observed during this period were Andean bear, Andean fox, dog, mountain paca, and mouse. While this short study did not completely survey the mammalian community of the area, it confirmed the presence, diet, sociality, temporal habits, elevational range, and habitat preferences of the …


Methods For Estimating Mountain Goat Occupancy And Abundance, Molly Mcdevitt Jan 2019

Methods For Estimating Mountain Goat Occupancy And Abundance, Molly Mcdevitt

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Abundance and occupancy are two parameters of central interest to the field of ecology. Furthermore, accurate (both precise and unbiased) estimates are key pieces to the puzzle of effective wildlife management decision-making. While there exist a variety of sampling techniques and statistical models for effectively estimating population parameters for frequently encountered and large mammals, methods for sampling unmarked and rare species are few and far between. The first step to acquiring usable parameter estimates is through the use of sampling theory and incorporation of probabilistic sampling designs to collect count-data and occurrence-data. Often, it is assumed that probabilistic sampling designs …


Population Health Of Spotted Salamanders (Ambystoma Maculatum) In Created Vernal Pools: An Integrative Approach, Alice R. Millikin Jan 2019

Population Health Of Spotted Salamanders (Ambystoma Maculatum) In Created Vernal Pools: An Integrative Approach, Alice R. Millikin

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports

Habitat creation is an important tool for conservation to counteract habitat loss and degradation. Vernal pools are susceptible to destruction due to limited detection, protection, and regulation. These wetlands provide fishless breeding habitat for many amphibian species including spotted salamanders (Ambystoma maculatum) in eastern North America. Determining whether created vernal pool habitat is successful is often determined by demographic data of colonizing populations. I suggest that hormone levels, population genetics, and disease prevalence can improve our understanding of population health in created habitat. The goal of this dissertation was to assess the health of spotted salamander larvae in …