Local Scale Comparisons Of Avian And Woody Vegetation Communities Within Four Arkansas State Parks, Bennett P. Grooms, Rachael E. Urbanek

Journal of the Arkansas Academy of Science

Measuring the spatial distribution of biotic communities can provide useful data to wildlife managers on how and why species assemblages differ across a landscape. During 18 May – 7 August 2015, we conducted avian point counts and collected vegetation data in nested subplots at 4 Arkansas state parks. We then used a series of one-way ANOVAs and Kruskal-Wallis tests to examine differences in species richness, Simpson’s evenness, Simpson’s diversity, and Bray-Curtis similarity across the 4 parks. Mount Magazine State Park had the lowest avian evenness (F_3,22 = 9.57 P = 0.003) and diversity (F_3,22 = 17.8 …

Determining The Reproductive Patterns Of The Titan Acorn Barnacle (Megabalanus Coccopoma) In Its Introduced Range, Isabel L. Moran Ms.

Honors College Theses

Invasive species are a significant conservation concern given their contribution to native species decline. The barnacle, Megabalanus coccopoma, is a common invasive species in tropical and subtropical regions of both the Pacific and Atlantic oceans. Little is known about the life history and ecology of M. coccopoma, and data on reproductive biology could provide valuable insight into its propensity to establish introduced populations. Most species of barnacle (including M. coccopoma) are hermaphroditic, but self-fertilization is rare in species studied to date. A recent genetic study of introduced M. coccopoma populations in the southeastern US showed high levels of …

An Analysis Of White-Tailed Deer, Odocoileus Virginianus, Killed In Deer Vehicle Accidents On Bulloch County, Ga Roadways, Mackenzie P. Payne 4003933

Honors College Theses

White-tailed deer, Odocoileus virginianus, are native to Georgia. With over 1.2 million individuals in the state, White-tailed deer have been implicated in a large number of motor vehicle collisions (ca. 1 million) each year. It is unknown, however, if deer are more likely to be killed: 1) if they are of particular ages (or classes), and 2) in areas with specific road characteristics. We addressed these two questions by collecting the remains of 20 White-tailed deer killed in deer vehicle collisions (“deer vehicle accidents” - DVAs) in Bulloch County, GA. When a deer was located, the road characteristics were …

The Hidden History Of Humming Frogs, Rafael O. De Sá

Biology Faculty Publications

In the depths of Brazil’s Atlantic Forest, researchers are battling to identify species before they are lost for good. Dr Rafael O de Sá, Professor of Biology at the University of Richmond, Virginia, USA, specialises in a group known as the ‘narrow-mouthed frogs’ and has already found four species new to science.

The Nebraska Stream Fishery Surveys: Being A Comparison Of The First Statewide Collections Of Raymond Johnson (1939-1941) With A Recent Resurvey (2003-2005), Steven C. Schainost, Edward J. Peters

Nebraska Game and Parks Commission: White Papers, Conference Presentations, and Manuscripts

The first statewide survey of Nebraska fishes was done between 1939 and 1941. This survey was repeated between 2003 and 2005. This document compares and contrasts the results of those two surveys to illustrate what has changed and what hasn't changed over that 60 year period. It is hoped that this document can serve as a resource for future researchers to track changes in Nebraska's fish communities.

Climate Science Special Report: Fourth National Climate Assessment (Nca4), Volume I

National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration: Technical Reports and Related Materials

This report is an authoritative assessment of the science of climate change, with a focus on the United States. It represents the first of two volumes of the Fourth National Climate Assessment, mandated by the Global Change Research Act of 1990.

Credits

Jump to:

• Authors
• Volume Editors
• Lead Agency
• Background Image Credits
• Icon Credits
• Steering Committee
• Subcommittee on Global Change Research
• Report Production Team

Writing Team

Coordinating Lead Authors

• Donald J. Wuebbles National Science Foundation and U.S. Global Change Research Program – University of Illinois
• David W. Fahey NOAA Earth System Research Lab
• Kathy A. Hibbard NASA Headquarters

Lead Authors …

Survey Results: Complexities And Overlaps In Existing Citizen Science Mosquito Projects, Yujia He, Elizabeth Tyson

Patterson School of Diplomacy and International Commerce Faculty Publications

Currently, multiple projects worldwide engage the public in the scientific process of learning about mosquito biodiversity or monitoring mosquitoes that carry diseases like Dengue, Chikungunya, Zika and Malaria. These projects are executed at different invasion-stages and different scenarios of epidemiological risk based on their country of origin. Through surveying 12 international research teams, this brief report illuminates the differences and the overlaps in the protocols and tools used by existing citizen science mosquito monitoring projects. The analysis covers project goals, requirements and support for participants, policy impact, digital tools and data privacy.

Museum Collections: Natural History Training Bridges Time, Space, And Digital Platforms., Anna Monfils, Karen Powers, Christopher J. Marshall, James F. Smith, Chris Martine, L. Alan Prather

Faculty Journal Articles

Natural history collections offer a number of unique physical and virtual opportunities to create formal and informal progressive learning environments. Collections provide direct interaction with biodiversity as it changes through time and space. Collections-based experiences lead to an increased understanding and substantive interaction with the living world. Recent studies demonstrate how nature and outdoor experiences can improve learning. We discuss how collections, and the data associated with collections, are a critical component linking nature and scientific inquiry. Partnerships that develop around collections and collections-based science can foster innovative educational and research experiences that are enhanced by access to museum specimens. …

Small Landholders Battle The Leaf Folder: Improving Livelihoods In The Solomon Islands, Dalia Tayseer Najjar

Bard Center for Environmental Policy

Sweet Potato is an important staple food crop grown by subsistence farmers in the Solomon Islands. It plays an important food security role and a major source of nutrition and livelihood in the rural areas as well as urban areas in the country. However, the spread of agricultural pests, in particular, the green leaf folder pest (Psara hipponalis), has significantly increased in recent years leaving many smallholder farmers with reduced yields and food insecurity. In this thesis, I reviewed the literature on the common mechanisms used to evaluate the drivers of pest presence and identified the major factors …

Carbon Stocks In Shade Coffee: Strategies For Enhancing Carbon Storage In Smallholder Systems In Jinotega, Nicaragua, Vanessa Katheryn Kichline

Bard Center for Environmental Policy

Climate change has recently shifted focus to adaptation and mitigation strategies in coffee production. Shade coffee systems, already widely recognized for their contribution to biodiversity and soil conservation, are now drawing attention for their role in carbon storage. Researchers have generally assumed that high carbon storage must come at the expense of reduced crop yields, implying that farmers must choose between sustainability and profit. This study uses field inventories of 70 farms in Jinotega, Nicaragua to estimate this tradeoff in smallholder shade coffee systems. Field inventories were used to develop three typologies representing different shade management strategies in use in …

Resilience Theory In Climate-Based Agriculture Development Projects: Useful Framework Or Popular Buzzword?, Rebecca Ann Chillrud

Bard Center for Environmental Policy

International development organizations are increasingly attempting to improve the resilience of the communities they serve through their projects in these communities. However, these projects often fail to address key concepts from the resilience theory literature, calling into question their ability to effectively promote resilience. This thesis attempts to locate these gaps in understanding by analyzing proposal documents from projects intending to promote agricultural resilience to climate change. A content analysis approach was used to analyze 55 projects from three international development groups—the Global Environment Facility, the World Bank, and the United Nations Development Program—proposed or completed between 2006 and 2016. …

Luminescent Syllid (Odontosyllis Sp.) Courtship Display Densities Vary Across Marine Habitats Around South Water Caye, Belize, Mitchel Mccloskey, Joshua Scheil, Gregory J. Sandland, Gretchen A. Gerrish

Gulf and Caribbean Research

Bright—green luminescent clouds frequently occur at the surface of shallow waters of the Caribbean Sea. These clouds are produced by syllid polychaetes during courtship. Although temporal variation in the occurrence of these courtship displays has been documented throughout the diurnal and lunar cycle, other factors such as habitat type have not been well studied. In this study, we investigated how syllid courtship—display densities varied across 3 substrate types (grassbed, rubble and coral) over a 3 day period. In line with previous studies, we found that syllid courtship displays occurred over seagrass and rubble substrates; however, we also found that display …

Fish Spawning Aggregations: Where Well-Placed Management Actions Can Yield Big Benefits For Fisheries And Conservation, Brad Erisman, William Heyman, Shinichi Kobara, Tal Ezer, Simon Pittman, Octavio Aburto-Oropeza, Richard S. Nemeth

CCPO Publications

Marine ecosystem management has traditionally been divided between fisheries management and biodiversity conservation approaches, and the merging of these disparate agendas has proven difficult. Here, we offer a pathway that can unite fishers, scientists, resource managers and conservationists towards a single vision for some areas of the ocean where small investments in management can offer disproportionately large benefits to fisheries and biodiversity conservation. Specifically, we provide a series of evidenced-based arguments that support an urgent need to recognize fish spawning aggregations (FSAs) as a focal point for fisheries management and conservation on a global scale, with a particular emphasis placed …

Sandhill And Whooping Cranes, Jeb Barzen, Ken Ballinger

Wildlife Damage Management Technical Series

As sandhill crane populations continue to grow in the United States, so too does crop damage, property damage to homeowners, and the risk of crane collisions with aircraft. Whooping crane populations also continue to grow, but with a global population of about 500 individuals (as of 2017), damage is rare and problems often require different solutions due to the species’ endangered status. The behavioral characteristics and habitat needs of sandhill and whooping cranes set the stage for conflict between these birds and people. Recognizing behavioral differences between territorial and non-territorial cranes greatly improves the effectiveness of any management effort.

Human-Wildlife …

Wildlife At Airports, Travis L. Devault, Bradley F. Blackwell, Jerrold L. Belant, Michael J. Begier

Wildlife Damage Management Technical Series

Collisions between aircraft and wildlife (wildlife strikes) are common occurrences across the developed world. Wildlife strikes are not only numerous, but also costly. Estimates suggest that wildlife strikes cost the civil aviation industry in the U.S. up to $625 million annually, and nearly 500 people have been killed in wildlife strikes worldwide. Most wildlife strikes occur in the airport environment: 72 percent of all strikes occur when the aircraft is ≤500 ft (152 m) above ground level, and 41 percent of strikes occur when the aircraft is on the ground during landing or takeoff. Thus, management efforts to reduce wildlife …

Sex-Ratio Of Miridae (Hemiptera) Taken Via Uv Light-Traps In Arkansas, Usa., Stephen W. Chordas Iii, Renn Tumlison

Journal of the Arkansas Academy of Science

We determined the sex-ratio of 1,095 plant bugs (Hemiptera: Miridae) taken from 60 individual UV light-trap samples in Clark County, Arkansas over a two year period. We found that of the 21 taxa in which a sex-ratio determination could be made, 61.9% of them (13 of 21) contained a majority (over 50%) of males. Three taxa were exclusively represented by males, while two taxa were exclusively represented by females. Although taxa dependent, our data indicate that male mirids are, in general, more frequently encountered in UV light-traps. However, contrary to the notion that sparked this study (see herein) light-trap content …

Literature Record Checklist Of True Bugs (Hemiptera) For Arkansas, U.S.A., As Of 2018., Stephen W. Chordas Iii

Journal of the Arkansas Academy of Science

No abstract provided.

A Comparison Of Benthic Macroinvertebrate Assemblages Between Perennial And Intermittent Headwater Streams Of The Mattole River In Northern California, Usa, Mason S. London

Cal Poly Humboldt theses and projects

Intermittent streams are common throughout the world and comprise 60% or more of total river lengths in the conterminous United States. Despite their prevalence, intermittent streams are understudied, particularly first-order headwater streams, which are vital for maintaining the function, health and biotic diversity of river networks. In June 2016, I sampled five intermittent and five perennial headwater streams in the Mattole River watershed in northwestern coastal California, USA, to compare benthic macroinvertebrate (BMI) assemblages between intermittent and perennial streams. BMI samples were collected using a 500µm mesh D-net at eight randomly located riffles along a 150-m reach, and then composited, …

Using Remote Site Incubators For Re-Introduction Of Arctic Graylng (Thymallus Arcticus) To The Big Manistee Watershed, Sunflower Wilson

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports

Remote Site Incubators (RSIs) were developed for the incubation of salmonid eggs directly at a field site to enhance success and imprinting of young. These have been employed in the re-establishment of Arctic Grayling in Montana and are being laboratory tested for possible reintroduction of this species in the Big Manistee River, MI. Arctic Grayling, Rainbow and Brook Trout eggs, obtained from state hatcheries, were reared in a laboratory using flow through lake water to assess egg and fry survival using RSIs. Dead eggs and fry were removed daily and observations of developmental stages recorded. Rainbow Trout eggs were evaluated …

Distribution, Diversity, And Den Locations Of Canidae And Hyaenidae Species Across Habitat Type At Enashiva Nature Refuge, Grace Bullington

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Due to the importance of top-trophic level predators have on their environment including regulating prey species and influencing ecosystem biodiversity, it is important to monitor top-trophic level predators to understand how they shape their ecosystem. While top-trophic level predators can benefit the ecosystem, they can also cause problems for surrounding human settlements like predation on livestock. Species in the Canidae and Hyaenidae families occupy the top-trophic level and can influence their ecosystem and cause human-wildlife conflict.

This study looked at the distribution, diversity, and den locations of Canidae and Hyaenidae species at Enashiva Nature Refuge over the course of 21 …