Terrestrial and Aquatic Ecology Commons^™

Salad With Clams: Prey Choice Of An Intentionally Carnivorous Turtle, Kayleigh R. Erazmus, Luca Luiselli, Russell L. Burke

Biology Faculty Publications

Prey choice is the non-random foraging and consumption of prey species by their predators, and is therefore the basis for studies of topics as diverse as quantifying food webs, predator–prey relationships, and optimal-foraging models. Malaclemys terrapin (Diamond-back Terrapin) is a diet generalist with a large geographic distribution: the US Atlantic and Gulf coasts from Massachusetts to Texas. Individual terrapins have relatively small home ranges and feed primarily on local mollusc species. In feeding trials with 1 prey species and 2 prey species, wild-caught terrapins from New York readily consumed Mya arenaria (Soft-shelled Clam) and Geukensia demissa (Atlantic Ribbed Mussel), preferring …

Successional Changes In Carbon Storage Are Sustained In A Temperate Forest Across Different Initiating Disturbances, Cameron Clay

Theses and Dissertations

Managing forests for carbon (C) sequestration requires an understanding of how disturbance history shapes C pools and fluxes over successional time. At the University of Michigan Biological Station, we examined how two stand establishing disturbances influenced C pools and fluxes over 100+ years of succession, comparing these secondary forests with “legacy” late-successional stands encompassing ages and compositions that would be present in the absence of region-wide stand-replacing disturbance. Our work utilized measurements taken between 2014 and 2020 from separate experimental forest chronosequences initiated following clear-cut harvesting only or clear-cut harvesting and fire, along with three >130-yr-old late successional stands comprising …

The Mechanisms And Consequences Of Shrub Encroachment On The Virginia Barrier Islands, Lauren K. Wood

Theses and Dissertations

Shrub encroachment is a global phenomenon driven by direct and indirect anthropogenic influence which alters plant communities and ecosystem function. Many studies have investigated drivers and consequences of woody plant establishment, but mesic landscapes are underrepresented in the literature. My objective was to assess the mechanisms of Morella cerifera encroachment into coastal mesic grassland, the potential for self-reinforcement, and consequences on community composition, nutrients, and landscape productivity. I studied temperature and water microclimate modification by Morella cerifera presence and removal to understand ecosystem engineering and community composition changes. Additionally, I examined the influence of shrubs on surrounding grassland species traits …

A Spatiotemporal Assessment Of Fish Assemblage Response To Land-Use Change And The Evaluation Of Edna Metabarcoding For Describing Diverse Fish Communities, Timothy M. Owen

Theses and Dissertations

Fish assemblages are often assessed as a biological proxy for environmental health. While humans value healthy environments for the ecosystem services and recreational opportunities they provide, it is increasingly evident that such resources can be paradoxically degraded by anthropogenic activities. In this investigation, we studied the relationship between different intensities of anthropogenic land-use change and habitat-driven fish assemblage response across multiple spatiotemporal scales. Secondarily, we explored the efficacy of eDNA metabarcoding against conventional electrofishing techniques for the purpose of describing complete fish communities. This study was conducted in the Tuckahoe Creek basin near Richmond, Virginia. This James River tributary serves …

Journal Of Ecology 2021 Global Rainfall-Seagrass Resilience-Swan River, Chanelle L. Webster, Kathryn M. Mcmahon, Paul S. Lavery, Simone Strydom, Marta Sánchez Alarcón, Kieryn L. Kilminster, Katherine Bennet, Sian Mcnamara

Research Datasets

The excel file contains: summary of daily maximum precipitation from global rainfall analysis, monthly change in seagrass indicators (biomass, leaf density etc); water quality data including salinity, temperature and light data. There are also .nc files containing precipitation data from 1979-2019.

Covid-19: The Spearpoint Of Human–Wildlife Interactions, Terry A. Messmer

Human–Wildlife Interactions

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Spatial Modeling Of Common Raven Density And Occurrence Helps Guide Landscape Management Within Great Basin Sagebrush Ecosystems, Sarah C. Webster, Shawn T. O'Neil, Brianne E. Brussee, Peter S. Coates, Pat J. Jackson, John C. Tull, David J. Delehanty

Human–Wildlife Interactions

Common ravens (Corvus corax; ravens) are a behaviorally flexible nest predator of several avian species, including species of conservation concern. Movement patterns based on life history phases, particularly territoriality of breeding birds and transiency of nonbreeding birds, are thought to influence the frequency and efficacy of nest predation. As such, predicting where on the landscape territorial resident and non-territorial transient birds may be found in relation to the distribution of sensitive prey is of increasing importance to managers and conservationists. From 2007 to 2019, we conducted raven point count surveys between mid-March and mid-September across 43 different field …

Monograph Reduced Box Price: Managing Human–Deer Conflicts

Human–Wildlife Interactions

Order form for HWI monograph, Methods for Managing Human–Deer Conflicts in Urban, Suburban, and Exurban Areas. This monograph identifies challenges and benefits associated with many human–deer conflict mitigation actions as well as methods to monitor the response of deer populations to management actions. Deer exploit urban, suburban, and exurban areas where human populations provide anthropogenic attractants, either intentionally or inadvertently, which often leads to human–deer conflicts. Mitigating actions have varying degrees of efficacy and may not be effective or accepted in every situation. Wildlife and municipal managers must work together to seek methods to reduce attractants, mitigate conflicts, and perpetuate …

In The News, Ike Ionel, Jessica Tegt

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The Relative Contribution Of The Blue Crab (Callinectes Sapidus) To Periwinkle Snail (Littoraria Irrorata) Predation Mortality In The Lower Salt Marsh Intertidal Of Northeast Florida, Amanda Paige Small

UNF Graduate Theses and Dissertations

In top-down regulation of ecological communities, predation of grazers is critical for maintaining the presence and growth of essential vegetation. The periwinkle snail (Littoraria irrorata) is a ubiquitous grazer in Atlantic salt marshes that can defoliate patches of Spartina alterniflora when populations are extremely dense. On the east coast of Florida, multiple predators could contribute to periwinkle population control maintaining this critical habitat. This study aimed to determine if the blue crab (Callinectes sapidus) is the primary predator of periwinkle snails in the salt marsh lower intertidal. Tethering was utilized to assess if periwinkle mortality is …

Life History And Microbiome Analysis Of Freshwater Fingernail Clams (Sphaeriidae) Exposed To Trace Metal Pollution, Dechen D. Edwards

EWU Masters Thesis Collection

Aquatic habitats impacted by anthropogenic activities such as mining can contain metal mixtures of nonessential and essential trace metals. The consequences of chronic exposure to metal mixtures on the life history of benthic organisms are unclear, as are the potential effects on host-associated microbial communities. I use an energy-budget based methodology to ask whether exposure to metal mixtures influences the life histories of freshwater fingernail clams (Sphaeriidae) and if fingernail clams are selecting a different microbial community if chronically exposed to metal mixtures than if in a site that is not impacted by metal pollution. Fingernail clams are small, cosmopolitan, …

Effects Of Beaver Dam Analogs On Stream Ecosystem Function Of Crab Creek, Washington State, Nicholas D. Broderius

EWU Masters Thesis Collection

This study documents the effects of beaver dam analogs (BDAs) on nutrient transport, fish community composition, macroinvertebrate drift, and benthic macroinvertebrate communities of Crab Creek, WA, USA. In 2019, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS), and Natural Resource Conservation Service (NRCS) placed 25 BDAs in Crab Creek on a section of private land near Harrington, WA. Beaver dam analogs are structures placed in streams to mimic the ecosystem effects of beaver activity and are increasingly used as a stream restoration technique. The primary goals of placing these BDAs in the stream was to impound sediment and create a new …

Review Of The Speyeria Egleis Complex In Montana, With The Description Of Two New Subspecies (Lepidoptera: Nymphalidae: Heliconiinae), Steve Kohler

The Taxonomic Report of the International Lepidoptera Survey

Four phenotypically and geographically distinct sets of populations of Speyeria egleis are identified in Montana. Two new subspecies are named from northwestern and northcentral Montana. Two existing names are recognized (S. e. macdunnoughi from southwestern Montana, southeastern Idaho, and northwestern Wyoming, and S. e. albrighti from central Montana. S. e. near macdunnoughi from Oregon and Washington is discussed.

Core Commitments For Field Trials Of Gene Drive Organisms, Kanya C. Long, Luke Alphey, George J. Annas, Cinnamon S. Bloss, Karl J. Campbell, Jackson Champer, Chun-Hong Chen, Amit Choudhary, George M. Church, James P. Collins, Kimberly L. Cooper, Jason A. Delborne, Owain R. Edwards, Claudia I. Emerson, Kevin Esvelt, Sam Weiss Evans, Robert M. Friedman, Valentino M. Gantz, Fred Gould, Sarah Hartley, Elizabeth Heitman, Janet Hemingway, Hirotaka Kanuka, Jennifer Kuzma, James V. Lavery, Yoosook Lee, Marce Lorenzen, Jeantine E. Lunshof, John M. Marshall, Philipp W. Messer, Craig Montell, Kenneth A. Oye, Megan J. Palmer, Philippos Aris Papathanos, Prasad N. Paradkar, Antoinette J. Piaggio, Jason L. Rasgon, Gordana Rašić, Larisa Rudenko, J. Royden Saah, Maxwell J. Scott, Jolene T. Sutton, Adam E, Vorsino, Omar S. Akbari

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

We must ensure that trials are scientifically, politically, and socially robust, publicly accountable, and widely transparent.

Gene drive organisms (GDOs), whose genomes have been genetically engineered to spread a desired allele through a population, have the potential to transform the way societies address a wide range of daunting public health and environmental challenges. The development, testing, and release of GDOs, however, are complex and often controversial. A key challenge is to clarify the appropriate roles of developers and others actively engaged in work with GDOs in decision-making processes, and, in particular, how to establish partnerships with relevant authorities and other …