Population Biology Commons^™

Long-Term Monitoring And Recovery Of A Population Of Alligator Snapping Turtles, Macrochelys Temminckii (Testudines: Chelydridae), From A Northeastern Arkansas Stream, S. E. Trauth, D. S. Siegel, M. L. Mccallum, D. H. Jamieson, A. Holt, J. B. Trauth, H. Hicks, J. W. Stanley, J. Elston, J. J. Kelly, J. D. Konvalina

Journal of the Arkansas Academy of Science

We conducted a mark-recapture study of Alligator Snapping Turtles, Macrochelys temminckii, on Salado Creek (Independence Co., Arkansas) during 10 trapping seasons, which spanned a 20-year period (1995–2015). We trapped a total of 163 Alligator Snapping Turtles during 416 trap nights and recorded a total of 35 recaptures during this study. Both the catch per unit effort (CPUE) and Jolly-Seber approaches demonstrated that this population benefitted from removal of harvest pressure, thus leading to an increase in abundance of Alligator Snapping Turtles in the lower ~5 km of the creek. The CPUE averaged slightly greater than 0.24 (317 trap nights) during …

Gastrointestinal Parasites Of The Northern River Otter, Lontra Canadensis (Carnivora: Mustelidae), From Arkansas, C. T. Mcallister, A. Surf, R. Tumlison, C. R. Bursey, T. J. Fayton

Journal of the Arkansas Academy of Science

No abstract provided.

An Investigation Of Juvenile Alewife (Alosa Pseudoharengus) Habitat Use And Growth Using Natural Markers, Gregory Norman Labonte Ms

All Student Scholarship

This research attempts to connect patterns in growth and migration of an anadromous species. The goal of this research was to understand habitat movements and growth of juvenile alewives (Alosa pseudoharengus) in the Penobscot Estuary and Bay through the use of otolith microchemistry, otolith growth increments, and a laboratory stable isotope turnover study. Understanding the connection between growth and movement of juvenile alewives may lead to more accurate and sophisticated conservation and restoration methods for anadromous species.

Density And Diversity Of Bees In The Midwestern Agricultural Landscape: Influence Of Surrounding Agricultural Land Use And Local Plant Community Characteristics, Andrew J. Ridgway

Dissertations and Theses @ UNI

After over a century of large-scale agricultural development in the Midwestern corn-belt of the United States, many wild bee pollinator populations are in rapid decline or extirpated from their historic range. Large-bodied species, such as Bombus spp. are especially threatened, but are also valuable as efficient natural pollinators that are capable of effectively pollinating many economically important crops. Bees, therefore, have high conservation value, and pollination research has shifted focus from community inventory to population recovery efforts. These efforts include reducing the effects of habitat fragmentation and destruction using ecological restoration as well as integrating conservation strategies into agricultural land …

A Tale Of Two Palmettos: The Foundation Of Ecosystems, Warren G. Abrahamson Ii

Faculty Journal Articles

Fruits of saw palmetto (Serenoa repens) provide crucial, high-quality resources to wildlife while providing a matrix for many southeastern US ecosystems. As a foundation species, saw palmetto plays a major role in structuring fire-maintained plant communities. Often living on nutrient-poor soil conditions, the thick leaves of saw palmetto are long lived, up to 2.8 years in shaded sand pine scrub.

Genome Wide Epigenetic Analyses Of Araptus Attenuatus, A Bark Beetle, Chitra Seshadri

Theses and Dissertations

Phylogeographic studies have relied on surveying neutral genetic variation in natural populations as a way of gaining better insights into the evolutionary processes shaping present day population demography. Recent emphasis on understanding putative adaptive variation have brought to light the role of epigenetic variation in influencing phenotypes and the mechanisms underlying local adaptation. While much is known about how methylation acts at specific loci to influence known phenotypes, there is little information on the spatial genetic structure of genome-wide patterns of methylation and the extent to which it can extend our understanding of both neutral and putatively adaptive processes. This …

Demographics And Parasites Of Spotted Bass In The Wabash River, Evan C. Boone

Masters Theses

Spotted Bass Micropterus punctulatus Rafinesque are a popular sport fish primarily found in the streams and reservoirs of the south. The Wabash River, a large tributary of the Ohio River, contains a naturally reproducing population on the northern boundary of their range. Currently, the lower Wabash River is monitored using two different sampling designs, the Long Term Electrofishing Program monitors community assemblages using stratified random sampling whereas the Illinois Department of Natural Resources uses a fixed sampling design. Due to the wide distribution but low abundance of Spotted Bass throughout this drainage, captures from each design were compared to assess …

Diel And Seasonal Patterns Of Channel Catfish Movement And Habitat Use In The Lower Wabash River, Hanna Gibbs Kruckman

Masters Theses

Channel catfish Ictalurus punctatus are commonly found throughout the Mississippi River basin and support commercial and recreational fisheries in many large river systems. Understanding population demographics as well as movement patterns and habitat usage can provide a more holistic approach to species management and conservation. Within a 16-km stretch of the lower Wabash River, 27 channel catfish were implanted with acoustic transmitters to monitor fine scale movement and habitat use from September 2014 through April 2016. Channel catfish were located using active tracking during two types of tracking events. Site tracking occurred only during daylight hours and diel tracking monitored …

Host Densities And Parasitism Rates In A Forest Defoliator Across A Rural-Urban Landscape, Abigail J. Nelson

Theses and Dissertations

Fall cankerworm (FCW) outbreaks have recently increased in frequency and intensity in the mid-Atlantic region of the United States, especially around cities of Charlotte, NC and Richmond, VA. This study evaluated the effects of two landscape features associated with urbanization, impervious surface and forest cover, on population patterns of FCW and its parasitoids across eastern Virginia. Forest cover was positively related to parasitism rates while impervious surface was positively related to FCW abundance, suggesting that FCW outbreaks may be amplified in urban areas. FCW abundance declined over the two-year period of this study, but parasitism rate increased at most sites. …

Marine Ecoregion And Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill Affect Recruitment And Population Structure Of A Salt Marsh Snail, Steven C. Pennings, Scott Zengel, Jacob Oehrig, Merryl Alber, T. Dale Bishop, Donald R. Deis, Donna Devlin, A. Randall Hughes, John J. Hutchens, Jr., Whitney M. Kiehn, Caroline R. Mcfarlin, Clay L. Montague, Sean P. Powers, C. Edward Proffitt, Nicholle Rutherford, Camille L. Stagg, Keith Walters

University Faculty and Staff Publications

Marine species with planktonic larvae often have high spatial and temporal variation in recruitment that leads to subsequent variation in the ecology of benthic adults. Using a combination of published and unpublished data, we compared the population structure of the salt marsh snail, Littoraria irrorata, between the South Atlantic Bight and the Gulf Coast of the United States to infer geographic differences in recruitment and to test the hypothesis that the Deepwater Horizon oil spill led to widespread recruitment failure of L. irrorata in Louisiana in 2010. Size-frequency distributions in both ecoregions were bimodal, with troughs in the distributions consistent …

Evaluating Brandt’S Cormorant (Phalacrocorax Penicillatus) Reproductive Success: Effects Of Parental Care Behaviors And Estimating Individual Chick Survival, Shannon Murphy

Cal Poly Humboldt theses and projects

Variation in reproductive success is widely measured in seabird biology in an effort to indicate changes in the marine environment, or understand basic questions about ecology or conservation of seabirds. When variation in seabird reproductive success is suggested to indicate changes in the marine environment without identifying the proximate causes of such variation, inference is limited to association, and the proximate causes themselves could prove more effective as indicators. My study informs this problem by examining and quantifying proximate causes of variation in reproductive success, at the level of nests and individual chicks.

I used video of Brandt’s Cormorant ( …

Molt In Individuals: A Description Of Prealternate Molt Phenology In A Population Of Snowy Plovers In Humboldt County, California, Alexa Dejoannis

Cal Poly Humboldt theses and projects

Molt in birds is an essential physiological process. Intrinsic and extrinsic conditions, such as age, sex, location, or food stress, may cause individual variation in molt phenology. This study describes the timing of prealternate molt in western snowy plovers (Charadrius nivosus nivosus) wintering in Humboldt County, California, USA. Between July 2014 and April 2015, I photographed uniquely marked plovers twice a month and assigned dates of initiation and completion. I modeled sex, age, hatch date, and breeding location as predictors of molt phenology. I observed prealternate molt from October to April, which is earlier than previously described. Males …

The Status Of Fishes In The Missouri River, Nebraska: Selected Ancient Fishes, Kirk D. Steffensen

Transactions of the Nebraska Academy of Sciences and Affiliated Societies

Several ancient fish species have inhabited the Missouri River and its tributaries for thousands of years prior to major mainstem modifications and fragmentation. However post-anthropogenic modifications, populations of these ancient fish species have been highly diminished. Therefore, the objective of this study was to use historic and current ichthyological records to determine the past and present status for Chestnut Lamprey Ichthyomyzon castaneus, Silver Lamprey Ichthyomyzon unicuspis, Bowfin Amia calva, American Eel Anguilla rostrata, and Burbot Lota lota. Currently, these species are rarely captured and perhaps extirpated from Nebraska waters.

No Ordinary Fish Tale: Working Toward A Transnational Solution To The Cod Crisis In The Gulf Of Maine, Michael Ruderman

Indiana Law Journal

In response to a National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) survey that showed “record-low levels of abundance” of groundfish in the Gulf of Maine (“Gulf”), local fisherman Brian Pearce asserted: “It concerns [me] that what [NOAA is] saying and what we [the local fishermen] are seeing is such a contrast . . . . Who sees more fish in the ocean than the fishermen?” Despite Mr. Pearce’s skepticism, the state of the cod fishery in the Gulf of Maine—home to “critical” and “legendary" fishing grounds in Canadian and American territories—is, in fact, dire. According to the NOAA survey, conducted in …

Longevity Of Mineral Supplements Within The Soil And Associated Use By White-Tailed Deer, Brian C. Peterson, Keith D. Koupal, Andrew K. Schissel, Cody M. Siegel

Transactions of the Nebraska Academy of Sciences and Affiliated Societies

Humans have baited wildlife such as white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) for generations with the primary purpose of increasing hunting harvest success. Baiting regulation changes are often considered by state management agencies as they pertain to hunting opportunity, fair chase, and disease risk. Cervids require a variety of minerals to supplement biological processes, especially sodium (Na), calcium (Ca), and phosphorus (P). We developed artificial mineral supplement sites set in front of trail cameras to monitor deer use. Pooled soil samples were collected at mineral sites and compared to the surrounding area to determine the longevity of elevated minerals levels …

The Biology Of Eastern Kingbirds At Malheur National Wildlife Refuge: Survival, Reproduction, And Testosterone Secretion, Lucas J. Redmond

Dissertations and Theses

This dissertation presents the results of a study that I undertook to better understand the breeding biology of Eastern Kingbirds (hereafter, kingbirds) at Malheur National Wildlife Refuge in southeastern Oregon from 2003 to 2009. Kingbirds are long-distance migratory songbirds that breed across much of North America. This species is socially monogamous but, via frequent extra-pair copulations, is genetically polygamous. Kingbirds exhibit relatively high breeding site fidelity, often returning to the same tree to nest in subsequent years. Both members of a pair provide parental care, but there are often specific duties performed by both male and female kingbirds. For example, …

Influence Of Rock-Pool Characteristics On The Distribution And Abundance Of Inter-Tidal Fishes, Gemma E. White, Grant C. Hose, Culum Brown

Ecology Collection

Rock pools can be found in inter-tidal marine environments worldwide; however, there have been few studies exploring what drives their, fish species composition, especially in Australia. The rock-pool environment is highly dynamic and offers a unique natural laboratory to study the habitat choices, physiological limitations and adaptations of inter-tidal fish species. In this study rock pools of the Sydney region were sampled to determine how the physical (volume, depth, rock cover and vertical position) and biological (algal cover and predator presence) parameters of pools influence fish distribution and abundance. A total of 27 fish species representing 14 families was observed …

Impact Of Urban Factors And Invasive Species On White-Footed Mouse (Peromyscus Leucopus) Habitat Use And Foraging Behavior In An Urban Forest Park., William Persons

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

White-footed mice (Peromyscus leucopus) select for areas of greater canopy cover at the macro scale, and for areas with more CWD at the micro-scale. White-footed mice potentially avoid habitats with higher invasive species richness. White-footed mice preferentially foraged under the honeysuckle canopy in response to changes in temperature and humidity. This study suggests that the interaction between P. leucopus and ground layer invasive species is complex, and that the effect of moonlight may be diminished in this urban park. Urban ecosystems demonstrate high levels of anthropogenic land-use change, modification of abiotic inputs, and altered disturbance regimes. These changes result …

Demography And Disease Of The Rare Shrub Buckleya Distichophylla (Santalaceae) In Northeastern Tennessee, William Seth Ratliff

Undergraduate Honors Theses

Piratebush (Buckleya distichophylla (Nutt.) Torr.) is a rare, hemiparasitic shrub with the only extant populations in western North Carolina, northeastern Tennessee, and southwestern Virginia. The preferred natural hosts of piratebush, Carolina and eastern hemlocks, have seen sharp declines over the last decade due to the invasive hemlock woolly adelgid. Virginia pine, another important host of piratebush, is also susceptible to disease, specifically Cronartium appalachianum, a rust fungus for which piratebush is the secondary host. This study described and analyzed current demographic parameters of three Tennessee piratebush populations. Additionally, spatial patterns of disease and demographic characters were analyzed. These …

Macrobenthic Communities In The Northern Gulf Of Mexico Hypoxic Zone: Testing The Pearson-Rosenberg Model, Shivakumar Shivarudrappa

Dissertations

The Pearson and Rosenberg (P-R) conceptual model of macrobenthic succession was used to assess the impact of hypoxia (dissolved oxygen [DO] ≤ 2 mg/L) on the macrobenthic community on the continental shelf of northern Gulf of Mexico for the first time. The model uses a stress-response relationship between environmental parameters and the macrobenthic community to determine the ecological condition of the benthic habitat. The ecological significance of dissolved oxygen in a benthic habitat is well understood. In addition, the annual recurrence of bottom-water hypoxia on the Louisiana/Texas shelf during summer months is well documented.

The P-R model illustrates the decreasing …