Terrestrial and Aquatic Ecology Commons^™

Lobster Attack Induces Sensitization In The Sea Hare, Aplysia Californica, Amanda J. Watkins, Daniel A. Goldstein, Lucy C. Lee, Christina J. Pepino, Scott L. Tillett, Francis E. Ross, Elizabeth M. Wilder, Virginia A. Zachary, William G. Wright

Biology, Chemistry, and Environmental Sciences Faculty Articles and Research

Studies of the neural mechanisms of learning, especially of sensitization, have benefitted from extensive research on the model species, Aplysia californica (hereafter Aplysia). Considering this volume of literature on mechanisms, it is surprising that our understanding of the ecological context of sensitization in Aplysia is completely lacking. Indeed, the widespread use of strong electric shock to induce sensitization (an enhancement of withdrawal reflexes following noxious stimulation) is completely unnatural and leaves unanswered the question of whether this simple form of learning has any ecological relevance. We hypothesized that sublethal attack by a co-occurring predator, the spiny lobster, Panulirus interruptus, might …

Carbon Dynamics In A Phragmites Australis Invaded Riparian Wetland, Steven Walters

School of Natural Resources: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Invasive plant species are widely recognized as a major threat to biodiversity and ecosystem stability. Wetland ecosystems tend to be much more susceptible to invasions because of their location on the landscape where water, nutrients, and the impacts of disturbances accumulate. Invasive plants have the ability to alter ecosystem processes and community/population dynamics. The ability of invasive plants to alter these processes can have profound economic consequences. In the United States, control of invasive wetland species alone costs approximately 155 million dollars annually. The state of Nebraska spends 2 million dollars annually controlling invasive plant species in the Platte River …

Retention, Movement, And The Biotic Response To Large Woody Debris In The Channelized Missouri River, Michael W. Archer

School of Natural Resources: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Large woody debris (LWD) is an important component of a healthy aquatic ecosystem. However, little is known about the dynamics of LWD in a large, channelized river such as the Missouri River. My objectives were to first, assess the abundance of LWD found along the channelized portion of the Missouri River. Second, I documented movement of LWD that entered the river. Lastly, using PRIMER software I analyzed what effect, if any, river segments, bend types, and LWD had on the community composition of the macroinvertebrate and fish that inhabit the river. Abundance of LWD was greater along bends that have …

Promiscuous Mating In Feral Pigs (Sus Scrofa) From Texas, Usa, Johanna Delgado-Acevedo, Angeline Zamorano, Randy W. Deyoung, Tyler A. Campbell, David G. Hewitt, David B. Long

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Context. Feral pigs represent a significant threat to agriculture and ecosystems and are disease reservoirs for pathogens affecting humans, livestock and other wildlife. Information on the behavioural ecology of feral pigs might increase the efficiency and effectiveness of management strategies.

Aims. We assessed the frequency of promiscuous mating in relation to oestrous synchrony in feral pigs from southern Texas, USA, an agroecosystem with a widespread and well established population of feral pigs. An association between multiple paternity of single litters and synchrony of oestrous may indicate alternative mating strategies, such as mateguarding.

Methods. We collected gravid sows at …

Winter 2010, Nsu Oceanographic Center

Currents

No abstract provided.

Migration Of Northern Yellowstone Elk: Implications Of Spatial Structuring, P. J. White, Kelly M. Proffitt, L. David Mech, Shaney B. Evans, Julie A. Cunningham, Kenneth L. Hamlin

United States Geological Survey, Northern Prairie Wildlife Research Center: Publications

Migration can enhance survival and recruitment of mammals by increasing access to higher-quality forage or reducing predation risk, or both. We used telemetry locations collected from 140 adult female elk during 2000– 2003 and 2007–2008 to identify factors influencing the migration of northern Yellowstone elk. Elk wintered in 2 semidistinct herd segments and migrated 10–140 km to at least 12 summer areas in Yellowstone National Park (YNP) and nearby areas of Montana. Spring migrations were delayed after winters with increased snow pack, with earlier migration in years with earlier vegetation green-up. Elk wintering at lower elevations outside YNP migrated an …

Proportion Of Calves And Adult Muskoxen, Ovibos Moschatus Killed By Gray Wolves, Canis Lupus, In July On Ellesmere Island, L. David Mech

United States Geological Survey, Northern Prairie Wildlife Research Center: Publications

Generally Gray Wolves (Canis lupus L., 1758) tend to focus predation on young-of-the-year ungulates during summer, and I hypothesized that wolves preying on Muskoxen (Ovibos moschatus Zimmerman, 1780) in summer would follow that trend. Over 23 July periods observing wolves on Ellesmere Island, Nunavut, Canada, I found that packs of 2-12 adult wolves killed seven calves, one yearling, and five adult muskoxen at distances of 2.9 to 32 km from their current dens and pups. Given a possible bias against finding calves because of their fewer remains, these results do not necessarily refute the hypothesis, but they do …

Muellerius Capillaris Dominates The Lungworm Community Of Bighorn Sheep At The National Bison Range, Montana, Vanessa O. Ezenwa, Alicia M. Hines, Elizabeth A. Archie, Eric P. Hoberg, Ingrid M. Asmundsson, John T. Hogg

Harold W. Manter Laboratory of Parasitology: Faculty Publications

Lungworm infections are common among bighorn sheep (Ovis canadensis) in North America, and the predominant species reported are Protostrongylus stilesi and P. rushi. The only records of another lungworm species, Muellerius capillaris, infecting bighorns come from South Dakota, USA. At the National Bison Range (NBR), Montana, USA we found that across six sampling periods, 100% of wild bighorn sheep surveyed were passing first-stage dorsal-spined larvae (DSL) which appeared to be consistent with M. capillaris. By contrast, only 39%or fewer sheep were passing Protostrongylus larvae. Using molecular techniques, we positively identified the DSL from the NBR …

Dopamine Modulates The Lateral Giant Neuron And Serotonergic Facilitation In Crayfish, Joshua Scott Titlow

Theses, Dissertations and Capstones

The lateral giant (LG) neural circuit is a model system used to study the function of individual neurons. The LG circuit is part of a tail flip escape reflex that is a defensive behavior for crayfish. This thesis begins by addressing the effects of dopamine (DA), a neurotransmitter involved in normal and abnormal behaviors of most animals. Here it is shown that dopamine decreases the excitability of the LG neuron, a trigger for the escape reflex. An electrophysiology protocol was used to mimic sensory input to the LG neuron. Stimulating a sensory nerve in the last ganglion with an electrode …

Environmental Effects On Behavior And Physiology In Crayfish, Sonya M. Bierbower

University of Kentucky Doctoral Dissertations

Despite dramatic morphological differences between animals from different taxa, several important features in organization and sensory system processing are similar across animals. Because of this similarity, a number of different organisms including mammals, insects, and decapod crustaceans serve as valuable model systems for understanding general principles of environmental effects. This research examines intrinsic and extrinsic factors by behaviorally and physiologically means to identify the impact of environmental conditions on two distinct crayfish species- Procambarus clarkii (surface) and Orconectes australis packardi (cave).

The research identified behavioral and physiological responses in these two morphological and genetically distinct species. The studies also examined …

Leptodactylus Savagei, W. R. Heyer, Miriam M. Heyer, Rafael O. De Sá

Biology Faculty Publications

Adult Leptodactylus savagei are large, the head is as wide as long or usually wider than long, and the hind limbs are moderate in length (Table 1; Heyer and Thompson (2000) provided definitions of adult size and leg length categories for Leptodactylus). Male vocal sacs are not visible externally. Sexually active males have hypertrophied forearms, usually 1 large black spine on each thumb, rarely with 1 large spine and a prepollical bump, and a pair of black chest spines. A pair of entire dorsolateral folds extend anteriorly from at least one_half to full distance from eye to groin, the …

Fish Assemblage Structure In Natural, Channelized, And Restored Sections Of Nippersink Creek, Mchenry County, Illinois, Sarah Ann Zack

Master's Theses

Degradation of aquatic habitats and loss of biodiversity are growing concerns of natural resource managers and the general public. Channelization, the common historical practice of straightening streams and rivers for agricultural interests, has had profound detrimental effects on the biodiversity of lotic fish assemblages. Nippersink Creek, McHenry County, IL is a twenty-three mile stream that flows through an area valued for its fish, wildlife, and invertebrate biodiversity. Although a portion of the stream was channelized in the 1950's, restoration efforts by the McHenry County Conservation District have recently restored historical meanders. Nevertheless, efforts to restore streams and rivers to their …

The Impact Of Conservation On The Status Of The World's Vertebrates, Michael Hoffmann, Craig Hilton-Taylor, Ariadne Angulo, Monika Böhm, Thomas M. Brooks, Stuart H. M. Butchart, Kent E. Carpenter, Janice Chanson, Beth A. Polidoro, Jonnell C. Sanciangco

Biological Sciences Faculty Publications

Using data for 25,780 species categorized on the International Union for Conservation of Nature Red List, we present an assessment of the status of the world's vertebrates. One-fifth of species are classified as Threatened, and we show that this figure is increasing: On average, 52 species of mammals, birds, and amphibians move one category closer to extinction each year. However, this overall pattern conceals the impact of conservation successes, and we show that the rate of deterioration would have been at least one-fifth again as much in the absence of these. Nonetheless, current conservation efforts remain insufficient to offset the …

Snail Grazing Facilitates Growth Of A Bloom-Forming Alga, Michele Guidone, Carol S. Thornber, Emily Field

Biology Faculty Publications

Herbivory often has a negative effect on plants. However, there is a growing number of examples, primarily in terrestrial ecosystems, where herbivory causes an increase in plant size, growth rate, and/or reproductive output. In marine ecosystems, the positive effects of herbivores on macroalgae are not as well studied, although limited evidence exists for herbivore-induced increases in macroalgal growth rates via 2 mechanisms: nutrient addition via grazer defecation, and epiphyte removal. In this study, we examined the effects of grazing by the mud snail Ilyanassa obsoleta on Ulva lactuca, the dominant bloom-forming macroalga in many New England estuaries. We found …

The Ratio Of Gametophytes To Tetrasporophytes Of Intertidal Chondrus Crispus (Gigartinaceae) Across A Salinity Gradient, Michele Guidone, Sean Grace

Biology Faculty Publications

Population studies of the Gigartinaceae (Rhodophyta) have often observed that the ratio of gametophytes to tetrasporophytes varies with the location of the population or the time of sampling. For some species, patterns have emerged that correlate this ratio to one or a few particular environmental variables, such as elevation, wave exposure, or season. Identifying these distributional patterns is an important step towards understanding what (if any) ecological differences exist between the two free-living life history stages.

The purpose of this study was to measure the ratio of gametophytes to tetrasporophytes of intertidal populations of Chondrus crispus across a decreasing salinity …

Reproductive Behavior In Horseshoe Crabs: Does Density Matter?, Jennifer Mattei, Mark Beekey, Adam Rudman, Alyssa Woronik

Biology Faculty Publications

While the four species of horseshoe crabs share many common reproductive traits with respect to their reproductive systems, they do differ with respect to their mating behavior (monogamy vs. polygynandry). Past research has attributed these differences to a number of factors including: spawning densities, operational sex ratios (OSR’s), male condition (or age), environmental and/or genetic factors, or a combination thereof. Mating behaviors in the three Asian horseshoe crab species (Tachypleus gigas , T. tridentatus, and Carcinoscorpius rotundicauda ) with low spawning densities and 1:1 operational sex ratios are typically monogamous. In Limulus polyphemus , mating behavior is more …

Movement Patterns And Population Genetics Of The American Horseshoe Crab In Relation To Long Island Sound Conservation Strategies, Jo-Marie Kasinak, Kirk A. Bartholomew, Mark Beekey, Jennifer Mattei

Biology Faculty Publications

The Connecticut Department of Environmental Protection (CTDEP) established three no-harvest zones for the horseshoe crab (Limulus polyphemus) population as part of a conservation plan for the species. Data from a long-term mark/recapture study of horseshoe crabs in conjunction with a microsatellite-based genetic survey of the population were analyzed to determine if this plan was appropriate to conserve genetic diversity and broaden our knowledge of movement patterns of Limulus in Long Island Sound (LIS). To date, ~53,000 crabs have been tagged over a 10 year period through the Project Limulus program with an annual average recapture rate of 12 …