Terrestrial and Aquatic Ecology Commons^™

Analyzing Decomposition In A Temperate Lotic System, Trevor J. Rallo

2023 Midwest Ecology & Evolution Conference

Decomposition of allochthonous material (e.g., leaves or woody debris) is an important process in stream ecosystems. Breakdown of this allochthonous matter is dependent on multiple factors, such as species identity or the habitat type (e.g. riffle vs pool). Decomposition rate has received limited attention as a potential metric of stream health, which could be useful for conservation and citizen science groups. In this study, we quantified microbe density and macroinvertebrate diversity, and related these variables back to the decomposer taxa, habitat type and stream health value (quantified as Q-value). Leaf litter bags that varied in mesh size (2.0 and 0.5 …

Pre-Dredging Assessment Of Aquatic Macroinvertebrates From Sharon Lake And Creek, Cincinnati, Ohio, Paige M. Loboschefski, Addyson M. Thomas, Emma J. Weiss

2023 Midwest Ecology & Evolution Conference

Dams can serve a multitude of purposes for humans including water storage and flood control. However, dams can also have negative cascading impacts on the surrounding ecosystem. One impact is sedimentation, where reduced water flow can increase the accumulation of benthic sediment. Nutrients can also accumulate leading to eutrophication, affecting organismal and ecosystem health. In order to improve water and ecosystem quality, dredging can occur to remove benthic sediments. The main objective of this study was to characterize the macroinvertebrate community above and below a dam prior to substrate dredging. This study was conducted in Sharon Lake and Creek near …

Geographic Analysis Of Sex Chromosome Polymorphism In The Virginian Wild Strawberry, Trezalka A. Budinsky

2023 Midwest Ecology & Evolution Conference

The evolution of sex chromosomes is a ubiquitous and essential diversifying mechanism in eukaryotes. Yet early stages of sex-chromosome differentiation are poorly understood. The subdioecious octoploid, Fragaria virginiana, provides a rare opportunity to study the beginnings of sex chromosome evolution due to its young, polymorphic ZW sex system. Females are ZW and males/hermaphrodites are ZZ. F. virginiana has a small sex-determining region (SDR) located on the female W chromosome that has undergone three transposition events between the strawberry's four subgenomes, resulting in three SDR haplotypes: alpha (the result of a first transposition and closest to a pre-sex chromosome ancestral …

Phosphours Trasnport In Soil: Locating And Identifying A Limiting Element, Jeremy Giannone

2023 Midwest Ecology & Evolution Conference

The phosphorus (P) cycle is not well understood. While carbon (C) and nitrogen (N) have gas phases, P does not. Phosphorus runoff in waterways and its shortage are both understood since their causes are due to agricultural demands. Fertilizers increase the rate of phosphorus in the soil leading to greater runoff which then accumulates in the surrounding bodies of water.¹ From an economic perspective the phosphorus availability and food prices have a direct correlation. The instability of phosphate prices may have direct causation to the instability of the food and agriculture markets.²In order to deal with these …

Rapid Assesment Of Aquatic Insect Diversity And Abundance Used To Evaluate The Quality Of Stream Restoration, Kaleb Stephen Kindoll

2023 Midwest Ecology & Evolution Conference

Stream and wetland restoration activities seek to improve the function of aquatic ecosystems. Measurement of the diversity and abundance of aquatic insects are commonly used to evaluate the success of restoration efforts, but these measurements are often very time consuming. In this study, we attempt to construct an efficient method that can be used to rapidly assess the diversity and abundance of aquatic insects as a measure of the quality of stream restoration. We suspended uniform sized pieces of cardboard paper coated with adhesive to trap insects in three different environments: one restored and two unrestored streams with similar characteristics. …

Aquatic Vegetation Seed Bank Status Of Kentucky Lake, Emily A. Freeman

2023 Midwest Ecology & Evolution Conference

Aquatic vegetation is an important biotic component of reservoir ecosystems. Vegetation reduces erosion by acting as a barrier against current and waves from the lake. Aquatic vegetation also helps to oxygenate the water, stabilize nutrients like carbon, nitrogen, and phosphorus, and provides structure for aquatic vertebrates. The absence of vegetation in Kentucky Lake has been influenced by a fluctuating water table (due to winter lake drawdowns), invasive carp, and the use of herbicides for grass management. The objective of this study is to determine the state of the remaining seedbank within nautical mile markers 45 and 52. By using long-term …

An Assessment Of Aquatic Macroinvertebrate Structure And Function Within The Mill Creek Watershed; Cincinnati, Ohio, Erin Linko

2023 Midwest Ecology & Evolution Conference

The Mill Creek Watershed is an urbanized network of streams that drains through the city of Cincinnati, Ohio. This watershed has had a long history of habitat destruction and pollution due to a variety of anthropogenic factors, namely Cincinnati’s combined sewage overflow (CSO) sanitation system. Through an ongoing biomonitoring project at Xavier University, nine sites along the mainstem Mill Creek and three of its tributaries have been studied since 2014. Through habitat assessments, fecal coliform testing, and aquatic macroinvertebrate sampling, the ecological health of this watershed can be tracked over time. The main objective of this research project was to …

Examining The Reproductive Ecology Of Terrapene Ornata In Western Nebraska, Katie Brighton, Keetan Munsell

2023 Midwest Ecology & Evolution Conference

Understanding the reproductive ecology of any species is vital for determining intraspecific variation in individual fitness, modeling population growth or persistence potential, and developing effective conservation strategies. The reproductive ecology of many species has been extensively studied (particularly in mammals); however, other taxonomic groups including many ectotherms has not been well documented. One such ectotherm is the ornate box turtle (Terrapene ornata), which, to our knowledge, has never had its reproductive ecology extensively examined, especially in the field. In this study, we examined the reproductive ecology of ornate box turtles over a six-week period in a mixed shortgrass prairie in …

Where The Wild Mushrooms Are: Species And Secondary Metabolite Diversity In Fungal Species On The Saint Mary’S College Campus, Lex K. Gilman

2023 Midwest Ecology & Evolution Conference

Secondary metabolites in fungi have three main ecological functions: protection against predation, communication with other mushrooms, and assistance in pathogenic interactions. These compounds have also led to the common use of mushrooms as food and in traditional Chinese or other medicinal applications. However, there are currently few good resources for identifying mushroom species in North-Central Indiana. In addition, limited research exists on secondary metabolites in mushrooms. The objective of this research was to create a preliminary database of mushroom species at Saint Mary’s College and conduct preliminary research on the secondary metabolites of these local species. Fungal specimens were identified …

Understory Epiphyte Hydrology: Analyzing Water Storage Capacity Of Epiphytes Along An Elevational Gradient In Western Ecuadorian Cloud Forest, Angelina Dodge

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Epiphytes are defined as plants that grow on a host, often another plant, and acquire their nutrients and water from the atmosphere. As such is true, epiphyte composition is largely dependent upon atmospheric and thus climactic conditions. Due to high levels of atmospheric water availability that results from the frequent presence of mist, clouds, and high humidity, epiphytic plants grow and thus store water within the above ground region of the Andean cloud forest at levels higher than in any other ecosystem found in Ecuador. This study was done in hopes of revealing any trends of epiphytic water storage capacity …

Is Lineage C A Distinct Species?, Shiza Khan

Honors Theses

No abstract provided.

Groundwater-Stream Connections Shape The Spatial Pattern And Rates Of Aquatic Metabolism, Anna Lupon, Lluís Gomez-Gener, Megan Fork, Hjalmar Laudon, Eugènia Martí, William Lidberg, Ryan A. Sponseller

Biology Faculty Publications

A longstanding challenge in stream ecology is to understand how landscape configuration organizes spatial patterns of ecosystem function via lateral groundwater connections. We combined laboratory bioassays and field additions of a metabolic tracer (resazurin) to test how groundwater-stream confluences, or "discrete riparian inflow points " (DRIPs), regulate heterotrophic microbial activity along a boreal stream. We hypothesized that DRIPs shape spatial patterns and rates of aquatic heterotrophic microbial activity by supplying labile dissolved organic matter (DOM) to streams. Laboratory bioassays showed that the potential influence of DRIPs on heterotrophic activity varied spatially and temporally, and was related to their DOM content …

Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza A(H5n1) Virus Outbreak In New England Seals, United States, Wendy Puryear, Kaitlin Sawatzki, Nichola Hill, Alexa Foss, Jonathon J. Stone, Lynda Doughty, Dominique Walk, Katie Gilbert, Maureen Murray, Elena Cox, Priya Patel, Zak Mertz, Stephanie Ellis, Jennifer Taylor, Deborah Fauquier, Ainsley Smith, Robert A. Digiovanni, Adriana Van De Guchte, Ana Silvia Gonzalez-Reiche, Zain Khalil, Harm Van Bakel, Mia K. Torchetti, Kristina Lantz, Julianna B. Lenoch, Jonathan Runstadler

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

We report the spillover of highly pathogenic avian influenza A(H5N1) into marine mammals in the northeastern United States, coincident with H5N1 in sympatric wild birds. Our data indicate monitoring both wild coastal birds and marine mammals will be critical to determine pandemic potential of influenza A viruses.

A Multiscale Linkage Between Riverscape And Fish Community Coevolution, Loren W. Stearman

Dissertations

Sediment dynamics are foundational to stream and watershed morphology. Yet aquatic ecologists have relied on an oversimplified model of sediment dynamics characterizing sediments as agents of stream bed burial, and which fails to describe many types of aquatic habitat evolution. In this dissertation I employ both fluvial geomorphic and ecological frameworks to gain a deeper understanding of how sediment dynamics shape stream morphology and fish community evolution at multiple scales. Using a paired historic and contemporary approach, I analyzed geomorphic evolution and fish community change in the Bayou Pierre, Mississippi, from the 1980s to recent. Patterns of erosion due to …

Cell Volume As A Determinant Of Virus-Mediated Population Growth In Ciliates, Jace Miller, John Paul Delong Phd

Honors Program: Senior Projects (Public)

Many protists and other small aquatic organisms consume virus particles, a behavior known as virovory. Some species of protists, such as the ciliate Halteria grandinella, can grow and divide using viruses as their sole food source. Other ciliate species have previously been shown to consume large quantities of viral particles, but it is unclear if they are able to support population growth with viruses alone. Because large ciliates have a higher energy demand, we hypothesize that they will be unable to support population growth on a virus-only diet. We fed nine ciliate species a diet of chloroviruses and found …

Assessment Of Largemouth Bass (Micropterus Salmoides) Condition Using Liver Histopathology, Health Parameters And Water Quality Of The Central Chattahoochee River Watershed, Kari Carmack Goodwin

Theses and Dissertations

The health of Largemouth bass from west-central Georgia was assessed using liver histopathology and the degree of tissue change index (DTC), hepatosomatic indices (HSI), relative weight, condition factors, and intersex. These health parameters as well as water chemistry data were compared across four bodies of water, three within the Chattahoochee watershed, and one pseudo-control located in the Flint watershed. Fish from Lake Oliver, Lake Harding, and West Point Lake had severely impacted liver health compared to Warm Springs National Fish Hatchery, with DTC rankings over 100 for the three lakes within the Chattahoochee watershed, demonstrating severely damaged livers. There was …

Center For Grassland Studies, March 2023

Center for Grassland Studies: Newsletters

Contents

New Assistant Director for The Center for Grassland Studies, David Wedin

Center for Grassland Studies Policy Advisory Committee

Director's Column by Jerry Volesky (Interim Director)

Congratulations December 2022 Graduates

New Grazing Lands Ecologist for Grassland Studies, Nic McMillan

New Administrative Associate for Grassland Studies, Ashley Branting

Apply Now for CGS Scholarships and Assistantship, https://grassland.unl.edu/grassland-systems/grazing-livestock-scholarships

New Guidelines for Reducing Eastern Redcedar in Grasslands by Dillon Fogarty

Year One Barta Brothers Ranch Collaborative Adaptive Management Update by Craig Allen

Nebraska Grazing Conference, August 8-9, 2023 by Daren Redfearn

Forty Years Reflection on Grassland Fire Weather by David Wedin

Nebraska Youth Range …

Lichens Of Ultramafic Rocks: A Multidisciplinary Approach To Understanding The Ecology Of An Understudied Organism In A Well-Studied System, Michael Mulroy

Master's Theses

Lichens are among the most prominent and successful life forms of metal-rich habitats, including ultramafic rocks and soils; however, research on lichens of ultramafic habitats is limited, especially on the North American continent. A review of the published literature on lichens of ultramafic substrates in North America yielded a total of 437 lichen species reported from ultramafic rocks and soils. Lichen assemblages of ultramafic substrates vary in composition and are dominated by acidophytic (low pH preferring) taxa with a minor, but consistent, basiphytic (high pH preferring) component. Species lists from ultramafic habitats in different geographic regions varied widely, suggesting that …

Remembering Paul Johnsgard, Linda R, Brown, Josef Kren

Zea E-Books Collection

Paul A. Johnsgard (1931–2021) was a friend of many, an artist, prolific author, teacher, and humble admirer of all living creatures. It was impossible to find someone at Nebraska Audubon Society or Nebraska Ornithologists’ Union meetings who did not know Paul Johnsgard. His more than 100 published books made him known not just in a community of ornithologists, birdwatchers, and bird lovers in the United States but also abroad. He was a world-renowned ornithologist and naturalist who remained deeply embedded in his local culture and its prairie environment.

We invited about 75 people to write a short memory of Paul. …

Prairie Dogs, Gary Witmer, Jon Grant, Kendra Cross

Wildlife Damage Management Technical Series

Prairie dogs (Cynomys spp.) occur throughout the prairie states of middle North America from Mexico northward into Canada. They occupy a variety of habitats from prairies to high mountain valleys and sage brush-dominated deserts. The most common species is the black-tailed prairie dog (Cynomys ludovicianus; Figure 1). Prairie dogs are considered a “keystone species.” They provide habitat for many other native, grassland species. Prairie dogs live in colonies or “towns” that can span hundreds to thousands of acres. Depending on the species, their presence is evident by their burrow system. Despite the many ecosystem benefits prairie dogs provide by modifying …