Terrestrial and Aquatic Ecology Commons^™

How Do Genetic Relatedness And Spatial Proximity Shape African Swine Fever Infections In Wild Boar?, Tomasz Podgórski, Kim M. Pepin, Anna Radko, Angelika Podbielska, Magdalena Łyjak, Grzegorz Woźniakowski, Tomasz Borowik

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

The importance of social and spatial structuring of wildlife populations for disease spread, though widely recognized, is still poorly understood in many host-pathogen systems. In particular, system-specific kin relationships among hosts can create contact heterogeneities and differential disease transmission rates. Here, we investigate how distance-dependent infection risk is influenced by genetic relatedness in a novel host-pathogen system: wild boar (Sus scrofa) and African swine fever (ASF).We hypothesized that infection risk would correlate positively with proximity and relatedness to ASF-infected individuals but expected those relationships to weaken with the distance between individuals due to decay in contact rates and …

The Aboveground And Belowground Growth Characteristics Of Juvenile Conifers In The Southwestern United States, N. L. Pirtel, R. M. Hubbard, J. B. Bradford, T. E. Kolb, M. E. Litvak, Scott Abella, S. L. Porter, Matthew Petrie

Life Sciences Faculty Research

Juvenile tree survival will play an important role in the persistence of coniferous forests and woodlands in the southwestern United States (SWUS). Vulnerability to climatic and environmental stress declines as trees grow, such that larger, more deeply rooted juveniles are less likely to experience mortality. It is unclear how juvenile conifers partition the aboveground and belowground components of early growth, if growth differs between species and ecosystem types, and what environmental factors influence juvenile carbon allocation above- or belowground. We developed a novel data set for four juvenile conifer groups (junipers, piñon pines, ponderosa pines, firs; 1121 juveniles sampled, 221 …

Effects Of Freshwater Input On Nutrient Loading, Toxic Cyanobacteria Bloom Development And Cyanotoxin Production In Lake Pontchartrain Estuary, Louisiana, Callie L. Snow

LSU Master's Theses

Estuaries in the northern Gulf of Mexico (GoM) are undergoing profound alterations due to changes in climate and implementation of coastal restoration activities and these may lead to the increasing frequency of harmful algal blooms (HABs). The introduction of large volumes of nutrient-rich, fresh Mississippi River water into nutrient-poor Lake Pontchartrain Estuary is known to substantially change the chemistry and ecology of the estuary, and warm temperatures paired with the persistent nutrient loading into the estuary supports the proliferation of potentially toxic cyanobacteria blooms (CyanoHABs). Throughout 2019, a long-term opening of the Bonnet Carré Spillway (BCS), initially from February to …

Who Are We? Highlighting Nuances In Asian American Experiences In Ecology And Evolutionary Biology, K. H. Nguyen, A. K. Akiona, C. C. Chang, V. B. Chaudhary, S. J. Cheng, S. M. Johnson, S. S. Kahanamoku, A. Lee, E. E. Deleon Sanchez, L. M. Segui, Richelle L. Tanner

Biology, Chemistry, and Environmental Sciences Faculty Articles and Research

"As ecologists and evolutionary biologists, it is important to recognize that issues surrounding AAPI do not exist in a vacuum and that these issues affect some of our students and colleagues in and outside of the classroom and lab. Recently, anti-Asian racism has been brought to the forefront of US society. Though media attention has primarily focused on how COVID-19 fears motivated both violent and nonviolent racist incidents against East Asians in 2020 (e.g., Chinese and Taiwanese Americans) (Tessler et al. 2020), attacks on other AAPI groups, such as South and Southeast Asians (e.g., Filipino, Pakistani, and Vietnamese Americans) (Truong …

Center For Grassland Studies, November 2021

Center for Grassland Studies: Newsletters

Contents

Ranchers’ Preferences for Payment for Ecosystem Services Programs in Nebraska by Kyle Martens

Center for Grassland Studies Policy Advisory Committee

Director's Column by Walt Schacht (Interim Director)

Fall Army Worms Reared Their Ugly Heads and Wings in Nebraska in 2021by Roch Gaussoin

Dalbey-Halleck Open House by Margo McKendree

Internships – Let’s Get More Students on the Land! by Shelly Kelly

Jim Gerrish Insightful and Relatable for Grazing Livestock (GLS) Club Members

Wrack Lines Volume 21, Number 2, Fall/Winter 2021-22, Nancy C. Balcom, Judy Benson, Syma A. Ebbin, Kira Goldenberg, Judy Preston, Howard "Mickey" Weiss

Wrack Lines

"Discovery, Rediscovery and Rebirth: new eyes, new understanding of familiar places" is the theme for the Fall-Winter 2021-22 issue. The main article package consists of five stories about the lands and waters that will comprise the Connecticut National Estuarine Research Reserve (CT NERR). These are: overview and introduction; Great Island; lower Thames River; Bluff Point State Park; and Haley Farm State Park. Other articles include one on research into the cause of invasive Cladophora seaweed dominating Little Narragansett Bay; and another on the transformation of the Yale Peabody Museum of Natural History.

Type Locality Of Polyommatus Lucia (W. Kirby, 1837) (Lycaenidae: Polyomatinae) With An Inspection Of The Species' Phenotypic Expression, Norbert G. Kondla, Harry Pavulaan, David M. Wright

The Taxonomic Report of the International Lepidoptera Survey

The type locality of Polyommatus lucia was not clearly defined by W. Kirby (1837) and been improperly interpreted as Cumberland House, Saskatchewan, Canada by several authors. The present paper examines the circumstances surrounding the collection of the specimen described and illustrated by William Kirby, and determines the type locality is Fort Carlton Provincial Park, Saskatchewan. The habitat, flora, and phenotypic expression of Celestrina lucia (W. Kirby) near the type locality are presented.

Subspecific Designation Of The U.S.A. Interior Highlands Population Of Argynnis (Speyeria) Diana (Cramer, 1777) (Nymphalidae: Heliconiinae: Argynnini: Argynnina), Harry Pavulaan

The Taxonomic Report of the International Lepidoptera Survey

Subspecific designation is designated for the North American Interior Highlands population of Argynnis diana, based on four factors: mtDNA haplotype differences from nominotypical A. diana of the Appalachian Mountains; wing shape difference in the males between both regions; wing size of the adults; and tendency for females of the Interior Highlands to show tan coloration in the submarginal row of rectangular spots of the subapical region of the dorsal forewings.

Informing Wetland Management With Waterfowl Movement And Sanctuary Use Responses To Human-Induced Disturbance, Fiona Mcduie, Austen A. Lorenz, Robert C. Klinger, Cory T. Overton, Cliff L. Feldheim, Joshua T. Ackerman, Michael L. Casazza

Faculty Research, Scholarly, and Creative Activity

Long-term environmental management to prevent waterfowl population declines is informed by ecology, movement behavior and habitat use patterns. Extrinsic factors, such as human-induced disturbance, can cause behavioral changes which may influence movement and resource needs, driving variation that affects management efficacy. To better understand the relationship between human-based disturbance and animal movement and habitat use, and their potential effects on management, we GPS tracked 15 dabbling ducks in California over ~4-weeks before, during and after the start of a recreational hunting season in October/November 2018. We recorded locations at 2-min intervals across three separate 24-h tracking phases: Phase 1) two …

Rooting Out Genetic Structure Of Invasive Wild Pigs In Texas, Anna M. Mangan, Antoinette J. Piaggio, Michael J. Bodenchuk, Courtney F. Pierce, Timothy J. Smyser

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Invasive wild pigs (Sus scrofa), also called feral swine or wild hogs, are recognized as among the most destructive invasive species in the world. Throughout the United States, invasive wild pigs have expanded rapidly over the past 40 years with populations now established in 38 states. Of the estimated 6.9 million wild pigs distributed throughout the United States, Texas supports approximately 40% of the population and similarly bears disproportionate ecological and economic costs. Genetic analyses are an effective tool for understanding invasion pathways and tracking dispersal of invasive species such as wild pigs and have been used recently …

Wildlife Responses To Livestock Guard Dogs And Domestic Sheep On Open Range, Daniel Kinka, Jeffrey T. Schultz, Julie K. Young

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Domestic sheep (Ovis aries) are an attractant to carnivores; however, sheep are often accompanied by humans and livestock guardian dogs (LGDs; Canis familiaris), which defend sheep from depredation. Sheep also compete directly with wildlife for grazing resources. Although practiced for millennia in much of the world outside North America, the effect that transhumance has on wildlife is poorly understood. To test the effect of sheep bands (sheep, humans, and LGDs) on wildlife, we modeled the detection probability of wild mammals relative to the presence of sheep bands in the Northwestern United States. Sheep band presence was associated …

Mongooses (Urva Auropunctata) As Reservoir Hosts Of Leptospira Species In The United States Virgin Islands, 2019–2020, Hannah M. Cranford, A. Springer Browne, Karen Lecount, Tammy Anderson, Camila Hamond, Linda Schlater, Tod Stuber, Valicia J. Burke-France, Marissa Taylor, Cosme J. Harrison, Katia Y. Matias, Alexandra Medley, John Rossow, Nicholas Wiese, Leanne Jankelunas, Leah De Wilde, Michelle Mehalick, Gerard L. Blanchard, Keith R. Garcia, Alan S. Mckinley, Claudia D. Lombard, Nicole F. Angeli, David Horner, Thomas Kelley, David J. Worthington, Jennifer Valiulis, Bethany Bradford, Are Berentsen, Johanna S. Salzer, Renee Galloway, Ilana J. Schafer, Kristine Bisgard, Joseph Roth, Brett R. Ellis, Esther M. Ellis, Jarlath E. Nally

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

During 2019–2020, the Virgin Islands Department of Health investigated potential animal reservoirs of Leptospira spp., the bacteria that cause leptospirosis. In this cross-sectional study, we investigated Leptospira spp. exposure and carriage in the small Indian mongoose (Urva auropunctata, syn: Herpestes auropunctatus), an invasive animal species. This study was conducted across the three main islands of the U.S. Virgin Islands (USVI), which are St. Croix, St. Thomas, and St. John. We used the microscopic agglutination test (MAT), fluorescent antibody test (FAT), real-time polymerase chain reaction (lipl32 rt-PCR), and bacterial culture to evaluate serum and kidney specimens and compared the …

Two New Species Of Hermeuptychia From North America And Three Neotype Designations (Nymphalidae: Satyrinae), Qian Cong, Eduardo P. Barbosa, Mario A. Marín, André V. L. Freitas, Gerardo Lamas, Nick V. Grishin

The Taxonomic Report of the International Lepidoptera Survey

Abstract

Two new species of Hermeuptychia Forster, 1964 are described. Hermeuptychia sinuosa Grishin, sp. n. (type locality Guatemala: El Progreso, Morazán) is an isolated member of the genus that does not readily fit into known species groups, as suggested by its distinct male and female genitalia and COI DNA barcode sequences. It is distinguished from its congeners by prominently wavy submarginal lines, rounder wings and distinctive genitalia, and can typically be identified by a white dot, instead of an eyespot, near the ventral hindwing apex. Hermeuptychia occidentalis Grishin, sp. n. (type locality Mexico: Guerrero, Acapulco) belongs to the Hermeuptychia sosybius …

Characterization Of Cdom In The Elkhorn Slough Estuary Using Eem Spectroscopy And Its Potential For Macrophyte Monitoring, María Vila Duplá

Faculty Research, Scholarly, and Creative Activity

The Elkhorn Slough estuary is an upwelling-influenced system located in Monterey Bay, California. It is of great ecological importance, as it provides essential habitat to over 750 species, and is one of the largest estuaries in California. The sources and distribution of chromophoric dissolved organic matter (cDOM) in Elkhorn Slough are strongly influenced by geochemical processes linked to the transition between sea and continent, and to anthropogenic activity from adjacent lands. In 2016, water samples were collected from across the Elkhorn Slough estuary to assess the sources and spatial dynamics of cDOM and its components throughout the system. Using EEM …

Thirty Critical Research Needs For Managing An Ecologically And Culturally Unique Remote Marine Environment: The Kimberley Region Of Western Australia, C. Cvitanovic, M. Mackay, R. Kelly, S. K. Wilson, K. Waples, K. L. Nash, E. I. Van Putten, S. Field, T. Botterill-James, B. J. Austin, L. E. Beckley, F. Boschetti, M. Depczynski, R. J. Dobbs, R. D. Evans, M. Feng, R. K. Goater, A. R. Halford, A. Kendrick, G. A. Kendrick, G. D. B. Lincoln, L. J. Ludgerus, R. J. Lowe, Kathryn Mcmahon, J. K. Munro, S. J. Newman, C. Nutt, L. Pearson, M. J. O'Leary, Z. T. Richards, W. D. Robbins, D. I. Rogers, Chandra P. Salgado Kent, V. Schoepf, M. J. Travers, M. Thums, A. D. Tucker, J. N. Underwood, S. Whiting, D. Matthews, Dambimangari Aboriginal Corporation

Research outputs 2014 to 2021

The Kimberley marine environment in Western Australia is widely recognised for its outstanding natural features, vast and remote sea and landscapes, and Indigenous cultural significance. To ensure that adequate baseline information is available to understand, monitor and manage this remote and relatively understudied region, scientific exploration was undertaken between 2012 and 2018 as part of the Kimberley Marine Research Program (KMRP). Whilst this program generated significant amounts of new knowledge about the region, important research gaps remain, that if answered, should improve the capacity of managers to conserve the region's values more effectively. Here, we apply established participatory horizon scanning …

Algal Biodiversity Survey Of The Middle Chattahoochee River Using Dna Metabarcoding, Amanda Howell

Theses and Dissertations

Aquatic plants play vital roles in water systems by providing ecological services, and one group that is understudied is algae. Algae play a crucial role in water systems as bioindicators and primary producers. They can be challenging to identify with the naked eye, so researchers have been using DNA metabarcoding, where DNA belonging to specific taxa can be isolated and identified from water samples. The objective of this study was to conduct an algal biodiversity survey on the middle Chattahoochee River system in Georgia. Water samples (1L) were filtered and sent to RTL Genomics for sequencing and processing; the data …

The Sandhill Crane State: A Naturalist’S Guide To Nebraska, Paul Johnsgard

Zea E-Books Collection

This book includes the locations, descriptions, and points of biological, historical, geological, or paleontological interest of nearly 350 sites in Nebraska, most of which are free to access. Its 53,000 words include accounts of 9 state historical parks, 8 state parks, 2 national forests, 2 national monuments, and 7 national wildlife refuges as well as 181 wildlife management areas, 56 waterfowl production areas, and 54 state recreation areas. It also includes 48 state and county maps, 18 drawings, 33 photographs, and nearly 200 literature citations.

doi: 10.32873/unl.dc.zea.1305

Egg Plastron Of The Bog Copper Butterfly Tharsalea (Epidemia) Epixanthe (Bsd. & Le C. [1835]) (Lycaenidae: Lycaeninae), David M. Wright

The Taxonomic Report of the International Lepidoptera Survey

The egg of the Bog Copper butterfly, Tharsalea (Epidemia) epixanthe, has a prominent highly-sculptured chorionic surface. Trapped within the chorion is a labyrinth of air spaces which has been proposed as a plastron for gas exchange while the egg is submerged in water. Data derived from scanning electron microscopy (SEM) confirms the plastron should function as predicted. Furthermore, the insulating air spaces should prevent water loss of the diapausing first instar larvae while overwintering.

Assessing The Dispersal And Recruitment Of Stocked Walleye Fry In A Northern Minnesota Chain Of Lakes, Joseph W. Amundson

Biology Graduate Theses

As part of Minnesota's Walleye Sander vitreus egg take practice, 10% of eggs taken for hatchery purposes are stocked back into the donor lake. For Andrusia, part of the Cass Lake Chain of Lakes (Chain), this practice can result in elevated fry densities (mean: 17,000 fry/littoral hectare). However, if fry are able to disperse and use all available littoral hectares throughout the Chain, fry densities would be intermediate to typical stocking densities for Minnesota lakes (1,200 - 2,400 fry/littoral hectare). In 2016-2018, 3-3.5 million fry were mass-marked by immersion in oxytetracycline (OTC) prior to stocking into Andrusia to allow differentiation …

A Ladder Of Endemicity: A Pioneering Study Of Anuran Communities Along An Elevational Gradient In The Eastern Andean Cloud Forests, Ecuador, Ella Halbert

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Per unit of area, Ecuador is home to the most herpetofauna of any region on Earth, yet many ecosystems are under researched. Positioned between the Eastern Andes and the Amazon rainforest, the Río Pastaza Basin of Ecuador has been the recent focus of anuran biodiversity surveys and is home to many endemic species. This study aimed to determine how the anuran community composition of a vertical transect in the Llanganates National Park varied between elevations. A 7-day expedition was conducted along a new trail up Abitagua Range spanning 1,050 m in elevation. Each night, visual encounter surveys were employed to …