Zoology Commons^™

Sublethal Effects Of Red Imported Fire Ant Envenomation On Hatchlings Of North American Oviparous Snakes, Hannah Warner, Meredith Swartwout

Crop, Soil and Environmental Sciences Undergraduate Honors Theses

Invasive species cause major ecological and economic damage. The Red Imported Fire Ant (RIFA; Solenopsis invicta) has successfully invaded much of the southeastern United States and has caused both widespread economic damage and is suspected to be the driver of enigmatic declines of several oviparous snake species. This study aimed to determine the sublethal effects of RIFA on hatchlings of six species of oviparous snakes (Coluber constrictor, Lampropeltis calligaster, L. holbrooki, Opheodrys aestivus, Pantherophis emoryi, and P. obsoletus) by exposing hatchlings to envenomation by RIFA and then measuring two performance metrics: righting response and …

Population Connectivity Of The Eastern Collared Lizard Crotaphytus Collaris In Arkansas, Whitney Allison Murchison-Kastner

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Habitat reduction and fragmentation can isolate populations and decrease genetic diversity, making them susceptible to local extirpation. Additionally, geographic barriers can further impede dispersal among populations thus reducing gene flow. Field studies suggest these factors may be responsible for the decline in Eastern Collared Lizard (Crotaphytus collaris) populations in Arkansas. To address the impacts of habitat loss and fragmentation on the Eastern Collared Lizard (C. collaris) in Arkansas, I used DNA fragment analysis to examine genetic diversity, population structure and connectivity among C. collaris populations. I do so herein by employing microsatellite data from 138 adults across 11 loci to …

Climate-Driven Impacts On Himalayan Aquatic Biodiversity: A Case Study Involving Snowtrout (Cyprinidae: Schizothorax), Riri Wiyanti Retnaningtyas

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Monitoring biodiversity, to include its relative dispersal and contraction, has become a conservation task of great importance, particularly given the catastrophic and ongoing loss of habitat due to climate change. However, the timing, direction, and magnitude of these rates vary across taxa and ecosystems. Predicting specific impacts of climate change can thus be difficult and this, in turn, hampers management action. Metrics are needed to not only quantify contemporary requirements of species, but also predict potential distributions that fluctuate in lockstep with climate.

Montane ecosystems in the Himalayas are highly impacted by climate change, yet remain largely understudied due to …

Leaders Of The Pack: The Effect Of Companion And Livestock Animal Ownership And/Or Management On Leadership Skills In College Students, Laurel E. Dhority

Animal Science Undergraduate Honors Theses

Having and maintaining good leadership skills should be an important way of life for most college students. As these individuals search for their first jobs and employment outside of the university experience, many businesses and employers will utilize these leadership traits and officer positions within specific clubs and organizations to select who to extend a job offer. Many student associations which place their focus on animals, both agriculturally raised livestock and companion animals, take pride in the skills and proficiencies they teach their members. This study utilized a survey of both multiple choice and Likert Scale styled questions in order …

Vertebrates At The University Of Southern Mississippi: A Wildlife Survey Of The Bear Point Bayou And Surrounding Gulf Park Campus, Hannah Mcduffie

Honors Theses

This project originated through interest in pursuing a field-based research project involving vertebrates. After conducting literature reviews, it was found that the Bear Point Bayou running through the University of Southern Mississippi Gulf Park Campus has never been thoroughly surveyed for species richness (Mohrman et al. 2016). Four sites on the Gulf Park Campus were chosen and vertebrate species were documented and identified through observations, camera trapping, and vocalization recordings. These data, along with species previously recorded on campus, were combined, and compared to data from the Gulf Coast Phenology Trail of which the Gulf Park Campus was recently added …

The Effect Of Agkistrodon Contortrix And Crotalus Horridus Venom Toxicity On Strike Locations With Live Prey., Chase Giese

Honors Program: Senior Projects (Public)

This paper aims to uncover if there is a significant difference in the strike location of snake species that have different values of LD50% venom. It is thought that most snakes strike their prey in the anterior (head) area in order for their venom to work quicker in killing them. Venom toxicity is measured by its LD50% value, which is the amount of venom, in mg/kg, to kill 50% of a test population. The Copperhead has an LD50% value of 10.9 mg/kg, and the Timber Rattlesnake has an LD50% value of 1.64 mg/kg. The hypothesis was that if venom toxicity …

Population Genomics Of Invasive Rodents On Islands: Genetic Consequences Of Colonization And Prospects For Localized Synthetic Gene Drive, Kevin P. Oh, Aaron B. Shiels, Laura Shiels, Dimitri V. Blondel, Karl J. Campbell, J. Royden Saah, Alun L. Lloyd, Paul Q. Thomas, Fred Gould, Zaid Abdo, John R. Godwin, Antoinette J. Piaggio

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Introduced rodent populations pose significant threats worldwide, with particularly severe impacts on islands. Advancements in genome editing have motivated interest in synthetic gene drives that could potentially provide efficient and localized suppression of invasive rodent populations. Application of such technologies will require rigorous population genomic surveys to evaluate population connectivity, taxonomic identification, and to inform design of gene drive localization mechanisms. One proposed approach leverages the predicted shifts in genetic variation that accompany island colonization, wherein founder effects, genetic drift, and island-specific selection are expected to result in locally fixed alleles (LFA) that are variable in neighboring nontarget populations. Engineering …

Role Of Reptile-Invertebrate Interactions In Enigmatic Reptile Declines, Meredith Swartwout

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Reptile populations are declining world-wide and the mechanisms behind many of these declines remain enigmatic. Food web interactions (i.e., reduced prey availability or increased predation) have been implicated behind some reptile declines. However, relatively little is known about predation on lizard and snake eggs, despite egg survival being important for population dynamics of some species. Ants are important predators of squamate reptile eggs in tropical and temperate systems. In Costa Rica, long-term declines in terrestrial anole lizards were linked with reduced leaf litter depth, a factor that could influence egg vulnerability to ant predation. Fire ants (genus Solenopsis) are aggressive …

Spatial Acuity-Sensitivity Trade-Off In The Principal Eyes Of A Jumping Spider: Possible Adaptations To A ‘Blended’ Lifestyle, Ana M. Cerveira, Ximena J. Nelson, Robert R. Jackson

All Peer-Reviewed Publications

Jumping spiders (Salticidae) are diurnal visual predators known for elaborate, vision-mediated behaviour achieved through the coordinated work of four pairs of camera-type eyes. One pair (‘principal’ eyes) is responsible for colour and high spatial acuity vision, while three pairs (‘secondary’ eyes) are mostly responsible for motion detection. Based on its unusual capacity to visually discriminate specific prey in very low, but also under bright light settings, we investigated the structure of the principal and one pair of secondary eyes (antero-lateral eyes) of Cyrba algerina to determine how these eyes achieve the sensitivity, while maintaining spatial acuity, needed to sustain behaviour …

Analysis Of The White-Tailed Deer Population Of Hobbs State Park, Jesse Morrison

Biological and Agricultural Engineering Undergraduate Honors Theses

White Tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) are the only deer species native to Arkansas, playing a crucial role in the ecosystem. Healthy deer populations are important for environmental and human wellbeing, and overpopulation can lead to poor herd health, overgrazing, increased vehicle collisions, and transmission of diseases. Monitoring deer populations through surveys can be a useful tool in managing wildlife and maintaining Arkansas’ natural resources.

This study analyzed trends in Hobbs State Park’s deer population and estimated the current roadside deer population of the park. Data from past surveys was analyzed for trends using a Mann-Kendall Test, and a distance sampling …

Natural Noise Can Influence Bird Foraging And Vigilance Behavior, Kate Antonia Sweet

Boise State University Theses and Dissertations

Natural sounds are an often overlooked, yet important component of an animal’s habitat. The acoustic environment may be especially significant during foraging, because a noisy world can limit auditory surveillance. Here, we investigated how natural noise structures the foraging vigilance trade-off to understand how intense acoustic environments may have shaped antipredator behavior across the evolutionary past, and better inform conservation efforts in the present.

First, in Chapter 1, I directly compared the foraging and vigilance behaviors of captive song sparrows (Melospiza melodia) in anthropogenic and natural noise. We recorded foraging trials in 4 playback conditions (roadway traffic, whitewater …

Influence Of Local- And Landscape-Scale Factors On Avian Assemblage In Fragmented Tallgrass Prairie Landscape, Pooja Panwar

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Agricultural expansion and increasing urbanization are driving rapid landscape modification in the Tallgrass prairies ecosystem and are affecting biodiversity at multiple spatial scales. Thus, the conservation of fragmented grassland and steeply declining grassland avifauna is dependent on the relationship between local- and landscape-scale factors and avian assemblage. We also need to understand how these factors, operating at different spatial scales, drive the occupancy of different guilds in the assemblage. We conducted repeated point count surveys during the breeding season of 2019 at 66 grassland sites across Arkansas and Missouri, USA. We developed a multi-species occupancy model to estimate species richness, …

Influence Of Group Change On Scent Marking In A Wild Population Of Verreaux’S Sifaka (Propithecus Verreauxi), Julia C. Dickerson

Theses and Dissertations

This study analyzed scent marking rates of wild Verreaux’s sifaka during dispersals to investigate the impact of group changes on olfactory communication. Our results indicate that scent marking is affected by changes in group structure, but other methods of communication likely play a larger role in mediating group membership changes.

Decline In Amphibian Health In Local Stream, Elyse Vetter, Elise Dearment, Colton Russell, Audrey Fontes, Lee Kats

Seaver College Research And Scholarly Achievement Symposium

Many local streams of the Santa Monica Mountains are populated by the native California Newt, Taricha torosa, a species of special concern. Arroyo Sequit is one of these streams, the upper and lower portions of which are split by a culvert and the Mulholland Highway. This stream and the surrounding areas burned during the Woolsey fire of 2018. Since the fire, construction has been ongoing in and around the stream. Two years post-fire (during the summer of 2020) significantly more newts were found in the stream than years prior. A large proportion of these newts were unhealthy in appearance, …

Conspecific Aggression Of Invasive Crayfish, P. Clarkii, In Response To Chemical Cues, Elyse Vetter, Elise Dearment, Audrey Fontes, Gary Bucciarelli, Lee Kats

Seaver College Research And Scholarly Achievement Symposium

Red Swamp Crayfish, Procambarus clarkii, have caused vast damage to the stream ecosystem of the Santa Monica Mountains, following their invasive introduction. Through their extensive eating habits, high levels of aggression, and responsiveness to environmental stimuli, P. clarkii have a tremendous impact on the success of native species in the Santa Monica Mountains. With exposure to chemical cues, crayfish are able to perceive threats and react accordingly. To determine the extent of such chemoreception, pairs of P. clarkii were tested in the laboratory for conspecific aggression in the presence of native newt, native frog, and conspecific alarm cues. The …

The Effects Of Symbiote Ostracods On Invasive Crayfish Behavior, Audrey Fontes, Elyse Vetter, Gary Bucciarelli, Lee Kats

Seaver College Research And Scholarly Achievement Symposium

Invasive crayfish, Procambarus clarkii, are known to negatively impact the biodiversity of Santa Monica Mountain streams. Small symbiotes, ostracods, live on Procambarus clarkii in some local streams. However, their effect on the behaviour of invasive crayfish is unknown. We used an aqueous chlorobutanol solution to remove ostracods from crayfish. We paired control crayfish with those that had ostracods removed and scored aggressive interactions. Crayfish without ostracods were found to be significantly more aggressive towards crayfish with ostracods. When we compared feeding behavior, we found that crayfish without ostracods consumed food more quickly than control crayfish. We again subjected crayfish …

Winter Skate (Leucoraja Ocellata) Neurocranium, Daulton J. Scharf, David W. Kerstetter

All Scans: Kerstetter Fisheries and Avian Ecology 3D Scan Series

Prepared Winter Skate Jaw

Breeding Ecology And Nest- Site Selection Of Turtle Doves (Streptopelia Turtur) In Three New Orchard Habitats, Thilelli Aitouakli, Ettayib Bensaci

Journal of Bioresource Management

The main aim of our work was to investigate the breeding parameters in three orchard types in Algeria (apple, cherry and nectarine) for better conservation of existing species. A total of 149 active Turtle dove nests were monitored in these man–made agro-systems. Egg laying occurred from early May and continued until mid-August. Egg laying started later in cherry trees and stopped earlier in nectarines. Nest density was higher in apple orchards. Nests were located higher in nectarine. Clutch size was similar among orchard types. Northeast was the dominant orientation in all orchards. Breeding success was higher than that recorded in …

Phytochemical Screening, Antimicrobial Activity Of Gemmotherapeutically White Mulberry (Morus Alba) Leaves, Abu Ul Hassan Faiz, Lariab Zahara Faiz

Journal of Bioresource Management

The present study was designed to find out phytochemical analysis and antimicrobial activity of leaves of Mulberry plant. The phytochemical analysis was performed on quantitative and qualitative basis. The qualitative basis indicated the presence of alkaloids, glycosides, flavonoids, steroids, tannins, saponins and Anthraquinone. The quantitative analysis showed alkaloids (40%), glycosides (20.05%), flavonoids (14%), steroids (3.5%), tannins (11.9%) and saponins (11.5%) and anthraquinone (0.5%) presence. Antimicrobial activity against bacteria has been observed in the leaves of Mulberry (Morus alba) and showed zone of inhibition, Escherichia coli (7±3.3) mm, Staphylococcus aurous (8±3.1), Bacillus subtilis (9±2.5), Pasturella multocida (8±3.1) mm.

Winter Skate (Leucoraja Ocellata) Jaw, Krystal Renta, David Kerstetter

All Scans: Kerstetter Fisheries and Avian Ecology 3D Scan Series

Jaw prep from Winter Skate (Leucoraja ocellata)