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Full-Text Articles in Animal Experimentation and Research

Lycosidae Abundance And Diversity Across Lawn And Leaf Litter Substrate, Sage O. Lockett, Dan Albrecht-Mallinger Jan 2024

Lycosidae Abundance And Diversity Across Lawn And Leaf Litter Substrate, Sage O. Lockett, Dan Albrecht-Mallinger

Undergraduate Research Posters

Significant knowledge gaps exist in how land-cover impacts ground-hunting spider populations. To fill these gaps, this study investigates a common family of ground-hunting spiders, Lycosidae, to determine differences in their abundance and diversity in deciduous leaf litter and managed turfgrass (lawn). The study was conducted within a forested ecosystem at Virginia Commonwealth University's Rice Rivers Center in Charles City County, Virginia. I placed 10 belt transects (1m x 20m) on lawn substrate and 10 identical transects in deciduous forest leaf litter substrate. I performed repeated visual census via eyeshine and manual capture of up to three individuals per transect …


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 …