Ecology and Evolutionary Biology Commons^™

Mechanisms For Decisions About The Future, Jeffrey R. Stevens

Jeffrey Stevens Publications

Evolutionary and psychological perspectives on decision making remain largely separate endeavors. The bounded rationality approach integrates these two perspectives by focusing on simple, plausible mechanisms of decision making and the cognitive capacities needed to implement these mechanisms. Decisions about the future provide a class of decisions that lend themselves to a bounded rationality approach. Though many different mechanisms may exist for making decisions about the future, only a subset of these mechanisms actually require a representation of the future. The bounded rationality approach helps focus on the cognitive capacities and decision mechanisms that are necessary for a full understanding of …

Some Laelapine Mites (Acari: Laelapidae) Ectoparasitic On Small Mammals In The Galapagos Islands, Including A New Species Of Gigantolaelaps From Aegialomys Galapagoensis, Donald D. Gettinger, Fernanda Martins-Hatano, Scott Lyell Gardner

Scott L. Gardner Publications

A collection of laelapine mites from small mammals in the Galapagos Islands are identified and their host distributions reviewed. Two species of native rodents, Aegialomys galapagoensis and Nesoryzomys narboroughii, were infested only with species typical of Neotropical oryzomyine rodents; Rattus rattus was infested with Laelaps nuttalli, a host-specific ectoparasite to Old World Rattus. A synopsis of Gigantolaelaps Fonseca is provided and we describe a new laelapine mite, Gigantolaelaps aegialomys n. sp., from the pelage of the rodent A. galapagoensis on Santa Fe Island. The new species has strong morphological affinities with a subgroup of Gigantolaelaps associated …

Geographic Distribution: Osteopilus Septentrionalis (Cuban Treefrog). Usa: Florida: Bradford Co., Linda S. Stevenson, Louis A. Somma

Papers in Herpetology

OSTEOPILUS SEPTENTRIONALIS (Cuban Treefrog). USA: FLORIDA: B IlAI)flOIlD Co.: Starke. 703 South Orange Street (29.940 15"N, 82. 11532S'W; WGS84) . 12 December 2009. Linda S. Sleven son. Verified by Melvin P. Gra.mke. Florida Museum of Natural History. University of Florida. UF 162973. First county record (Meshaka et al. 2004. The Exotic Amphibians and Reptiles of Florida. Krieger Publ. Co., Malabar, Florida; Somma 2009. In Nonindigenous Aq uatic Species. USGS: hI rp: II nas.e r.usgs.gov I q ue ries! FactSheet. asp?specieslD=57). One adult collected from inside a mailbox on wall of a residence. Individ ual O. septentrionalis have been sighted at …

Complex Courtship Displays Facilitate Male Reproductive Success And Plasticity In Signaling Across Variable Environments, Dustin Wilgers, Eileen Hebets

Eileen Hebets Publications

Effective signal transmission is essential for communication. In environments where signal transmission is highly variable, signalers may utilize complex signals, which incorporate multiple components and modalities, to maintain effective communication. Male Rabidosa rabida wolf spiders produce complex courtship signals, consisting of both visual and seismic components. We test the hypothesis that the complex signaling of R. rabida contributes to male reproductive success in variable signaling environments. We first examine the condition-dependence of foreleg ornamentation (a presumed visual signal) and seismic signal components and find that both may provide potentially redundant information on foraging history. Next, we assessed reproductive success across …

The Degree Of Response To Increased Predation Risk Corresponds To Male Secondary Sexual Traits, Kasey Fowler-Finn, Eileen Hebets

Eileen Hebets Publications

Secondary sexual traits are expected to reflect a balance between sexual selection and natural selection. We test the hypothesis that plasticity in sexual advertisement behaviors can influence this trade-off, allowing showier traits than expected for a given level of predation risk. Specifically, we tested whether the degree of behavioral plasticity exhibited in response to chemical cues of a co-occurring predatory wolf spider corresponds to courtship rate and the degree of ornamentation in male wolf spiders. Both ornamented (brush-legged) males and non-ornamented males decreased locomotion, decreased their likelihood to court, and increased their time to initiate courtship in response to predator …

Where Have All The Plant Foods Gone? The Search For Refined Dietary Reconstruction From Chinchorro Mummies, Karl J. Reinhard, Sara Le-Roy-Toren, Bernardo Arriaza

Karl Reinhard Publications

The Chinchorro cemeteries of northern Chile are the first graveyards of the Andes (Arriaza 1995, Schiappacasse & Niemeyer 1984). The excavation and analysis of Chinchorro mummies reveals the 'true character of the people'. The burials themselves are optimal for preservation of corpses, burial furniture, and aspects of ceremonies associated with the dead. The analysis of corporeal remains gradually clarifies the details of daily activities and status. Therefore, we feel that a holistic approach to mummy studies provides enormously fruitful paths to understanding the character of the ancient Chinchorro society.

Paleoepidemiology Of Intestinal Parasites And Lice In Pre-Columbian South America, Adauto Araujo, Karl Reinhard, Daniela Leles, Luciana Sianto, Alena M. Iñiguez, Martin Fugassa, Bernardo Arriaza, Nancy Orellana, Luis Fernando Ferreira

Karl Reinhard Publications

Some human parasites originated in prehominid ancestors in Africa. Nematode species, such as Enterobius vermicularis (pinworm), hookworms and Trichuris trichiura are shared by humans and other close phylogenetic primates (Pan and Gorilla), showing that they infected a common ancestor to this group. When humans migrated from Africa to other continents they carried these parasites wherever climate conditions allowed parasite transmission from host to host. Other parasites, however, were acquired throughout human biological and social evolutive history when new territories were occupied. Paleoparasitology data is a valuable source to recover emergence and disappearance of parasite infections through analysis of …

Regulated Commercial Harvest To Manage Overabundant White-Tailed Deer: An Idea To Consider?, Kurt C. Vercauteren, Charles W. Anderson, Timothy R. Van Deelen, David Drake, W. David Walter, Stephen Vantassel, Scott E. Hygnstrom

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Declines in hunter recruitment coupled with dramatic growth in numbers of white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) have challenged our ability to manage deer populations through regulated hunting. We review the efficacy of current regulated hunting methods and explain how they are unable to reduce deer numbers sufficiently in some environments. Regulated commercial harvest would provide an additional tool to help state wildlife agencies manage overabundant populations of white-tailed deer. We outline potential means to govern regulated commercial deer harvest and explain how it is compatible with the North American Model of Wildlife Conservation. We identified several benefits, including reduced …

Conservation Status Of Marine Biodiversity In Oceania: An Analysis Of Marine Species On The Iucn Red List Of Threatened Species, Beth A. Polidoro, Cristiane T. Elfes, Jonnell C. Sanciangco, Helen Pippard, Kent E. Carpenter

Biological Sciences Faculty Publications

Given the economic and cultural dependence on the marine environment in Oceania and a rapidly expanding human population, many marine species populations are in decline and may be vulnerable to extinction from a number of local and regional threats. IUCN Red List assessments, a widely used system for quantifying threats to species and assessing species extinction risk, have been completed for 1190 marine species in Oceania to date, including all known species of corals, mangroves, seagrasses, sea snakes, marine mammals, sea birds, sea turtles, sharks, and rays present in Oceania, plus all species in five important perciformfish groups. Many of …

Factors That Contribute To Turbidity On The West Fork Of The White River In Arkansas, Chris Cotton, Brian Haggard

Discovery, The Student Journal of Dale Bumpers College of Agricultural, Food and Life Sciences

The West Fork of the White River (WFWR) exceeds the water quality standard for turbidity (10 NTU) set by the Arkansas Department of Environmental Quality and, since 1998, the river has been on Arkansas’s 303 (d) list of impaired water bodies unsuitable for aquatic life because of turbidity exceedances. To understand the factors that could be related to turbidity, total suspended solids (TSS), total inorganic suspended solids (TISS), total volatile suspended solids (TVSS), sestonic chlorophyll-a (Chl-a) concentrations, and turbidity were measured on three sample dates from nine sites on the WFWR. As the site location changed in the downstream direction, …

The Effects Of Invasion By Reed Canarygrass (Phalaris Arundinacea) On Avian Communities And Nesting Success In Minnesota Wetlands, Emily J. Hutchins

All Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Other Capstone Projects

Invasive plants are a primary contributor to loss of biodiversity worldwide. In southern Minnesota, many wetlands have been invaded by reed canarygrass (Phalaris arundinacea). The current perception among ecologists and resource managers is that these wetlands are of little value to wildlife, yet little is known about the effects on birds of the widespread conversion of diverse wetlands to apparent monocultures of P. arundinacea. The purpose of this study was to determine the effects of P. arundinaceamediated changes in the wetland plant community on avian communities and nesting success. During 2006 and 2007, I studied four diverse sedge wetlands paired …

Assessing Data Quality In A Sensor Network For Environmental Monitoring, Gesuri Ramirez

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Assessing the quality of sensor data in environmental monitoring applications is important, as erroneous readings produced by malfunctioning sensors, calibration drift, and problematic climatic conditions, such as icing or dust, are common.Traditional data quality checking and correction is a painstaking manual process, so the development of automatic systems for this task is highly desirable.

This study investigates machine learning methods to identify and clean incorrect data from a real-world environmental sensor network, the Jornada Experimental Range, located in Southern New Mexico. We evaluated several learning algorithms and data replacement schemes, and developed a method to identify the problematic sensor. The …

Cattail (Typha X Glauca) Invasion In Wetlands Of The Great Lakes Region: Are Impacts Time-Dependent?, Mark Edwin Mitchell

Master's Theses

Some species introduced into new regions have the potential to greatly impact native diversity and ecosystem functioning. The invasive hybrid cattail, Typha X glauca, has established in wetlands across the Great Lakes region decreasing native plant diversity and altering soil and microsite characteristics. We utilized 80 years of historical aerial photographs from the Illinois Beach State Park wetland complex to map the spread and determine the age of T. X glauca stands. Floristic, edaphic, and environmental data were collected from plots across an invasion-age gradient to determine the impacts of T. X glauca and time since invasion on environmental variables. …

Community Structure And Secondary Production Of Aquatic Macroinvertebrates In Coastal Wetland Ponds Of The West Copper River Delta, Alaska, Following Tectonic Uplift, Ryan Glen Van Duzor

Master's Theses

The Great Alaska Earthquake of 1964 (magnitude 9.2) greatly altered the coastal landscape in southcentral Alaska and had particularly dramatic effects on the Copper River Delta (CRD), an ecologically and economically important area within the Chugach National Forest. The earthquake caused tectonic uplift (up to 3.5m) of the CRD coastal tidal marsh and transformed it into a perched freshwater marsh. Copper River Delta ponds, which are crucial habitat to a myriad of migrating songbirds, shorebirds, and waterfowl, are of particular interest to wildlife managers in the CRD and along the Pacific coasts of North, Central and South America. This study …

The River Continuum Redux: Aquatic Insect Diets Reveal The Importance Of Autochthonous Resources In The Salmon River, Idaho, Kathryn Vallis

Master's Theses

Along a river network, changes in the physical characteristics of a stream - changes articulated by the River Continuum Concept (RCC) - have been predicted to influence stream food webs, particularly the resources supporting aquatic macroinvertebrates. Although diets of macroinvertebrates can track resource availability along the longitudinal gradient of streams, insect diets were not assessed in the original RCC study; rather, insects were grouped into functional feeding groups (FFGs). In addition, global climate change is increasing the frequency and spatial extent of wildfire and beetle outbreaks throughout the western United States and could affect riparian vegetation and the amount of …

The Ecology Of Disturbances And Global Change In The Montane Grasslands Of The Nilgiris, South India, Madhusudan P. Srinivasan

University of Kentucky Doctoral Dissertations

Biodiversity rich regions worldwide face threats from various global change agents. This research quantifies environmental influences on vegetation, and the impacts of exotic woody plant invasion and anthropogenic nitrogen (N) deposition in a global biodiversity hotspot. The study was conducted in the montane grasslands of the Nilgiris, Western Ghats, and outlines potential management options for this region. Specifically, I examined (1) the role of environmental factors in influencing native plant distribution and ecosystem properties, (2) the status and impact of exotic shrub (Scotch broom, henceforth broom) invasion, (3) the role of disturbances in the success of broom, (4) the role …

Pituophis Catenifer Deserticola (Great Basin Gophersnake) Predation, Steven J. Wamback, Richard M. Engeman

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

A variety of taxa have been observed to· prey upon Pituophis catenifer, including mammals, birds-of prey, and other snakes. Here, we describe an unusual two-day observation of predation on a mature Great Basin gophersnake by a brown trout (Salmo trutta).

The observation took place in Jones Canyon, Utah, USA, on the grounds of the Jones Hole National Fish Hatchery (JHNFH). Jones Creek' emanates from springs at the head of Jones Canyon on hatchery grounds, and flows north to south 6.4 km to the Green River, approximately paralleling the Utah-Colorado border. The stream runs for about 0.3 km …

Rodents And Other Vertebrate Invaders In The United States, Michael W. Fall, Michael L. Avery, Tyler A. Campbell, Peter J. Egan, Richard M. Engeman, David Pimentel, William C. Pitt, Stephanie A. Shwiff, Gary W. Witmer

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Contents

Introduction

Assessing impacts of rodents and other vertebrate invaders

Accounts of some important vertebrate invaders
Norway rat (Rattus norvegicus)
Roof rat (Rattus rattus)
Polynesian rat (Rattus exulans)
House mouse (Mus Musculus)
Nutria (Myocastor coypus)
Gambian giant pouched rat (Cricetomys gambianus)
Feral swine (Sus scofa)
Small Indian Mongoose (Herpestes javanicus)
Rock pigeon (Columba livia)
House sparrow (Passer domesticus)
European starling (Sturnus vulgaris)
Monk parakeet (Myiopsitta monachus)
Brown tree snake (Boiga irregularis)
Burmese python (Python …

A Comparison Of Prairie Vole Audible And Ultrasonic Pup Calls And Attraction To Them By Adults Of Each Sex, Thomas A. Terleph

Biology Faculty Publications

Rodent pups of many species emit both ultrasonic vocalizations (USVs) and calls spanning into a lower frequency range, audible to humans (AUDs), yet there has been little systematic comparison of these different call types, or analyses of how they might differ in signal function. Here the spectral and temporal characteristics of USV and AUD pup calls are described for the prairie vole (Microtus ochrogaster), a model used in studies of monogamous mating and biparental care, and a species with an unusually large functional and anatomical representation of auditory cortex. Findings provide a detailed description of each call type, …

Estimation Of Short-Term Tag-Induced Mortality In Horseshoe Crabs Limulus Polyphemus, Jennifer Mattei, Mark Beekey, H. R. Potter, C. S. Bond, Alyssa Woronik, J. A. Roberts, K. A. Smith

Biology Faculty Publications

Horseshoe crabs Limulus Polyphemus range along the East Coast of the United States and over 150,000 of them have been marked with U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service disk tags. It has been assumed that the tags do not harm the animals and are similar to common epibionts often found on the shells of the horseshoe crabs. We investigated whether newlv tagged adult female horseshoe crabs would exhibit higher short-term mortality rates than untagged adult females. All crabs were collected from a beach in Connecticut and then were transported to a laboratory for the experiment. Tagging involved drilling a small hole …