Browsing by Subject "Ecology"

Now showing 1 - 20 of 28
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    Application of eBird Abundance Data to Raptorial Phylogenetic and Functional Dispersion
    (2022-01) Barno, Sophie A; Hejmadi, Shanta R; Barker, F. Keith
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    Area Burn Map Series Annotated by Miron Heinselman
    (2014) Heinselman, Miron L.; United States Department of Agriculture; United States Forest Service
    The Area Burn Map Series is a set of United States Forest Service maps annotated by Miron "Bud" Heinselman. Information on the maps was obtained through years of personal field research. The maps were given to the University of Minnesota by the author in 1992. The maps were used by the author for his book, The Boundary Waters Wilderness Ecosystem (University of Minnesota Press, 1996).
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    B3GET: A new computational approach for understanding and exploring ecology, evolution, and behavior
    (2021-12) Crouse, Kristin
    Biological anthropologists seek to understand the origin and evolution of distinctively human traits, including language, cumulative culture, and intensely cooperative societies. To understand the evolution of human behavior, we need a viable theory of socioecology. Studies of our primate relatives provide opportunities to develop and test socioecological models which can in turn help explain the evolution of human behavior. However, it has become increasingly clear that current socioecological models do not fully explain primate social behavior. Among many important limiting factors are the sheer number of variables to track and the difficulty of operationalizing ecological concepts such that they can be measured feasibly in the field. Microscale (i.e., agent-based) models have great potential for advancing the field because they can handle many different variables and incorporate individual variation, stochasticity, and emergent properties. I reviewed the existing literature on microscale models in behavioral ecology to better understand the state-of-the-art for models relevant to primate socioecology. I found that models are often designed for a single species or single area of research, limiting their application to broader questions. Many models also do not consider important biological constraints such as spatial relationships or rules for birth and death that depend on individual characteristics, nor are they often validated for accuracy. As a contribution towards a more complete understanding of primate socioecology, I developed B3GET, a microscale model that incorporates important biological constraints and can track key socioecological variables in simulated primates. These virtual primates possess decision-making rules encoded in simulated diploid chromosomes, which dictate movement, body growth, inclination to mate, eat, and other behaviors. I developed these rules based on primate socioecological data from the literature and my own field observations. The virtual primate environment consists of a landscape of plants that can vary in their quality and distribution. B3GET users can edit the starting genotype and population files to create different virtual populations with different behaviors, and then collect simulation data for hypothesis testing. I simulated four primate species – chimpanzees, geladas, hamadryas baboons, and olive baboons – and showed that these simulated species display typical real-life behaviors in their group composition, dispersal patterns, and mating strategies. I built upon recent model-validation frameworks to analyze B3GET using a series of tests. Some important findings include: Hamilton's rule emerged under some, but not all, simulation conditions; individuals appeared to have the highest fitness in medium-sized groups; and spatial relationships do matter: primates living in aspatial simulations committed infanticide 10 times more frequently than identical primates in spatial simulations. Because B3GET can viably simulate other primate species, it is a promising approach for investigating the origins of distinctively human behaviors.
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    Cloquet Forestry Center Research Papers and Reports 1912-2011
    (Minnesota Agricultural Experiment Station, 2012) Severs, Ronald; Alm, Alvin A; Olson, Rylie
    This listing is an update of a listing published by Avin Alm in 1988 titled: Cloquet Forestry Center Papers and Reports for the 75-Year Period From 1912-1987. This paper provides a listing of reports, theses, and journal articles covering work conducted or materials and services provide at the University of Minnesota, College of Food Agricultural and Natural Resource Sciences, Cloquet Forestry Center. The listing covers the period from 1912-2011. A total of 903 papers are listed. Although considerable effort was made to make the list as complete as possible it may be that there are some omissions. Hopefully, readers of the list will assist in providing any additional citations that can be in a future update. The listing is divided into two sections. Section I is in alphabetical sequence by authors last name. Section II provides a cross reference by subject matter with citation numbers referring to the Section I alphabetical listing. The compilation of early research publications related to the Cloquet Forestry Center is the result of the wisdom of early Directors who saw the value of documenting research activity of the time. A chronological listing from 1912 to 1960 was complied by Dr. Bruce A. Brown, Cloquet Forestry Center Director from 1960-1974 and additional compilations by Dr. Al Hallgren, Cloquet Forestry Center Director from 1975-1987. Their efforts are acknowledged as well as the help and assistance of the various University of Minnesota faculty and staff whom provided additional listings. Since 1947 funding for supporting long term research at the Cloquet Forestry Center has been provided in part by MAES Project No. MIN-40-015: Dynamics, Management and Sustainable Use of Northern Forest Ecosystems.
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    A Comparison of The Microplastic Burden on the Ecosystems of Four Inland Lakes in Minnesota, USA
    (2022) Conowall, Peter
    Microplastic (plastic particles < 5mm) pollution has potentially detrimental impacts on aquatic and marine ecosystems. Here we examine the extent of microplastic pollution in four small inland lakes in Minnesota, USA (Elk, Peltier, Ten Mile, and White Iron Lakes), which represent a range of human impacts, as well as a variety of watershed and lake characteristics. Surface water particulates, benthic sediments, and filter and visual feeding fish were collected in the summers of 2019 and 2020 to examine the loading of microplastics into these lakes and their distribution within these ecosystems. Results show that catchment area and urban development were the most influential factors on microplastic loading. Surface water microplastic concentrations ranged from 16,000 microplastics km-2 in Elk Lake to 150,000 microplastics km-2 in White Iron Lake, comparable to concentrations from very remote lakes (Lake Hovsgol, Mongolia, 20,264 microplastics km-2) to more anthropogenically influenced lakes (Lake Erie, USA, 105,500 microplastics km-2) (Eriksen et al., 2013; Free et al., 2014). The concentrations in benthic sediments ranged from 14 microplastics kg-1sed in Elk Lake to 190 microplastics kg-1sed in Peltier Lake and were not directly correlated to surface water concentrations. Consumption by filter feeding fish was determined to be dependent on surface water concentrations, while consumption by visual feeding fish was not. These results indicate that differences across small aquatic ecosystems will require dynamic management of microplastic pollution.
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    Ecological and evolutionary perspectives on bacterial resource use
    (2014-08) Weisenhorn, Pamela
    Bacterial metabolism mediates many biochemical transformations important to the stability and health of a diverse range of ecosystem types. In my dissertation, I examine the evolutionary and ecological context of a subset of bacterial metabolic pathways related to energy and metabolic precursor production that are crucial for bacterial growth. Specifically, I examine whether these pathways are conserved across a large, phylogenetically diverse set of organisms, whether related organisms respond similarly to differences in resource inputs, and whether knowledge of these pathways or phylogenetic relatedness can aid in the prediction of bacterial growth rates across a wide range of C substrates. While I found only a weak phylogenetic signal in the presence or absence of these pathways, there was strong evidence that constraints have limited the number of observed combinations of these pathways. Only 265 (6.5%) of the 4096 potential pathway combinations were found in this dataset of 8178 genomes. I propose this may suggest strong environmental selection acting to rapidly change pathway presence or absence, regardless of past evolutionary history. In order for this suggestion to be feasible, organisms must respond to their environment in a phylogeny-independent manner. To address this, I compared taxa response using 16S amplicon libraries from plots with substantial variation in C and N availability resulting from plant species identity in a long-term field experiment. I found an inconsistent response of soil bacteria at higher taxonomic levels to resource variation, in agreement with organisms responding to environment in a phylogeny-independent manner. I then cultured 56 bacterial isolates from these plots to examine the relative strength of phylogeny versus metabolic pathways in explaining growth responses of isolates across a range of substrates. Phylogenetic relatedness and similarities in energy metabolism each explained about 30% of the observed variation in patterns of bacterial growth, with about 50% overlap between the two approaches. Both phylogeny and energy metabolism are important in determining bacterial growth; however, environmental selection may lead to convergence towards a small number of ecotypes within a system despite high levels of phylogenetic diversity. The strength and consequences of such environmental optimization of metabolism warrant further study.
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    Ecological Dynamics in a Senescent Lake
    (1941-02) Lindeman, Raymond L.
    In contrast to the popular interest and "scientific" discussion of "food-chains", "balance of nature", and "community development", factual data concerning these basic ecological relationships are amazingly scant. The details of aquatic succession are as yet largely unknown. While numerous aquatic ecologists have described qualitative food cycles, practically no attempt has been made to correlate food-cycle analysis and productivity with lake succession. In an attempt to explore some of the quantitative aspects of these basic processes, a series of studies have been initiated on a senescent lake near Minneapolis for the purpose of analysing the contemporary food cycle or metabolism, of the lake in relation to its utilization of nutrient and its disposition of metabolic products. These products, becoming semi-fossilized at the lake bottom, serve as indices for evaluating the lake metabolism during the earlier periods of its development. Since this ambitious project is not yet completed, this dissertation does not cover the entire program; rather, it presents the results thus far obtained on four distinct, though related, aspects of the general problem of ecological dynamics in a senescent lake.
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    The ecology and evolution of an invasive perennial plant (Lythrum salicaria) in the context of biological control by specialist herbivores (Galerucella spp.)
    (2013-09) Quiram, Gina Louise
    The introduction of non-native species to novel ranges has provided biologists the opportunity to study organisms experiencing sudden and sustained shifts in community composition and selection pressure. Management programs for invasive species can result in similar shifts. In classical biological control programs, non-native species are introduced to control invasive species. The short-term impacts of these introductions on invaded communities are often well documented, but the long-term impacts on the ecology and evolution of target invasive species are not well understood. Using a combination of field surveys, common garden techniques, and quantitative genetic models, I examined the effect of biological control by specialist herbivores (Galerucella spp.) on purple loosestrife (Lythrum salicaria L.) in southern Minnesota (MN), USA. Chapter 1 describes field surveys completed to determine the extent to which biological control directly reduces plant vigor, competitive performance, and reproduction. In Chapter 2, I quantify the extent to which population level variation in vigor, competitive performance, herbivore defense, and herbivore tolerance of L. salicaria reflects an evolutionary divergence following the introduction of biological agents. Finally, in Chapter 3 I assess the potential for L. salicaria to evolve in response to continued selection pressure. The results of these studies show that Galerucella spp. biocontrol agents remain established and continue to feed on L. salicaria in southern MN, but do not universally reduce the vigor, competitive performance, or reproduction of the plant in field populations as compared to populations lacking established populations of biocontrol agents. When grown in a common environment, an experimental garden, populations of L. salicaria having experienced herbivory by Galerucella spp. for 16 years are more vigorous, marginally more competitive, and marginally more tolerant of herbivory compared to populations lacking a historical association with the herbivore. In MN, L. salicaria is currently under selection pressure for increased vigor, and the plant has the genetic capacity to adapt in response to this selection pressure. Further evolution of L. salicaria could decrease the effectiveness of biological control by Galerucella spp.
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    Effects of Ancient Climate Change on Population Size of Thylamys Mouse Opossums
    (2012-04-18) Comar, Courtney
    Since the peak of the last ice age, approximately 23,000 years ago, climates have grown increasingly warmer on earth. This climate change has affected the habitats in the extremely biodiverse region of the Andes Mountains in South America. In order to determine the effect of the climate change on the populations of organisms inhabiting this region, I am exploring the changes in effective population sizes of the Thylamys mouse opossum species. Using multiple individual samples, I have focused specifically on the species Thylamys venustus, T. pallidior, and T. sponsorius. I hypothesize that the effective population sizes of Thylamys venustus and T. sponsorius have decreased since the last glacial maximum because their habitats have moved farther up the mountains and decreased in size. Multilocus nuclear genetic data was used to examine the genetic changes occurring in the Thylamys populations. Fifteen unlinked nuclear loci were amplified across multiple individuals for each species. PCR products were sequenced, aligned, and compared using phylogenetic software to examine phylogenetic relationships and effective population size over time. Data confirmed that my hypothesis is supported by a decrease in the effective population size of Thylamys sponsorius in the last 10,000 years. However, an increase in population size was observed for Thylamys pallidior over the last 25,000 years. Thylamys venustus population sizes seem to be relatively unchanged over the last 50,000 years. A possible reason for increased or unchanged population sizes could be expansion of territory of these Thylamys species and movement southward where the climate is colder. This project is significant because few studies have been conducted to examine the effect of past climate fluctuations on the evolutionary patterns of Thylamys. The Tropical Andes is considered a biodiversity hotspot and understanding evolutionary genetic patterns for the Thylamys species could be used to assist conservation tactics for these marsupials. Ultimately, this project arouses the question: what will happen in the future if the climate continues to grow warmer?
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    The Effects of Fish Presence and Mixing Patterns on Water Clarity in Lakes: Arco, Deming, and Itasca
    (2010-04-12) Harren, Steven; Kartak, Jacob; Knight, Jonathan; Lehman, Justin
    In the summer of 2009, in Itasca State Park, MN, samples of zooplankton, chlorophyll a concentrations, and Secchi disk readings were studied in three lakes with differing characteristics. Our study sites were Deming Lake (fish, meromictic), Arco Lake (fishless, meromictic), and Lake Itasca (fish, dimictic). Our variables of interest were the presence or absence of fish, and whether the lake was dimictic or meromictic. Our study showed that Arco Lake, a small meromictic fishless lake, had the highest Secchi disk reading. Along with a high level of water clarity there was an abundance of large zooplankton. We contributed this high level of clarity with the absence of fish, and its meromictic stratification. Lake Itasca showed its true dimictic characteristics in our data, showing relatively low fluctuations in temperature and dissolved oxygen levels.
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    Global biogeography and local adaptation of Streptomyces
    (2013-10) Schlatter, Daniel Cameron
    Streptomyces play crucial roles in key ecosystem processes including nutrient and plant disease suppression in natural and agricultural systems. Moreover, Streptomyces are major producers of clinically relevant antibiotic compounds. Despite the importance of Streptomyces in natural, agricultural, and clinical settings, we have a limited understanding of Streptomyces ecology and evolutionary biology in natural habitats. Here we characterize the function diversity and biogeography of Streptomyces to shed light on the roles of local adaptation and coevolution in structuring soil Streptomyces communities. Specifically, this work focuses on patterns of antibiotic inhibition, antibiotic resistance, resource use, and phylogeny among sympatric and allopatric Streptomyces communities from across the globe. This work documents the extensive functional diversity of Streptomyces antibiotic inhibitory, resistance, and resource use phenotypes and provides strong evidence that local adaptation, coevolution, and resource competition are crucial drivers of antibiotic inhibition and resistance among Streptomyces.
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    High plant diversity is needed to maintain ecosystem services
    (Nature Publishing Group, 2011) Isbell, Forest; Calcagno, Vincent; Hector, Andy; Connolly, John; Harpole, W Stanley; Reich, Peter B; Scherer-Lorenzen, Michael; Schmid, Bernhard; Tilman, David; van Ruijven, Jasper; Weigelt, Alexandra; Wilsey, Brian J.; Zavaleta, Erika S.; Loreau, Michel
    Biodiversity is rapidly declining worldwide1, and there is consensus that this can decrease ecosystem functioning and services2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7. It remains unclear, though, whether few8 or many9 of the species in an ecosystem are needed to sustain the provisioning of ecosystem services. It has been hypothesized that most species would promote ecosystem services if many times, places, functions and environmental changes were considered9; however, no previous study has considered all of these factors together. Here we show that 84% of the 147 grassland plant species studied in 17 biodiversity experiments promoted ecosystem functioning at least once. Different species promoted ecosystem functioning during different years, at different places, for different functions and under different environmental change scenarios. Furthermore, the species needed to provide one function during multiple years were not the same as those needed to provide multiple functions within one year. Our results indicate that even more species will be needed to maintain ecosystem functioning and services than previously suggested by studies that have either (1) considered only the number of species needed to promote one function under one set of environmental conditions, or (2) separately considered the importance of biodiversity for providing ecosystem functioning across multiple years10, 11, 12, 13, 14, places15, 16, functions14, 17, 18 or environmental change scenarios12, 19, 20, 21, 22. Therefore, although species may appear functionally redundant when one function is considered under one set of environmental conditions7, many species are needed to maintain multiple functions at multiple times and places in a changing world.
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    Light-mediated Sexual Dimorphism in Opsin Expression During Spawning in Nematostella vectensis
    (2024-04) Wagner, Starla J.; McCulloch, Kyle J.
    Across animals, opsins are the primary protein responsible for light detection. Currently, there is a large gap in knowledge in the evolutionary history of opsin function and how it correlates with other biological responses like spawning. Cnidarians (jellyfish and anemones) are prime candidates for closing this gap. They are a sister taxon to bilaterally symmetric animals like flies and humans, and so studying their opsin function and expression in non-visual contexts allows for further understanding of how light sensing may have evolved to form modern visual systems. In this experiment, qPCR analysis on the Cnidarian, Nematostella vectensis (the starlet sea anemone), was used to determine the effect of certain wavelengths of light that an animal was exposed to during spawning had on opsin expression levels. The impact of sex and tissue type on these expression levels was an additional area of interest. The data showed that certain wavelengths like blue light were correlated with larger amounts of opsin expression in female mesenteries and tentacles/skin tissue than in male tissue types. This indicates that opsin expression is sexually dimorphic which implies there is a relationship between opsin expression and spawning, something that was previously unknown. Future experiments using RNA-seq will allow for a deeper understanding of this relationship and the proteins involved.
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    Logging History Maps Annotated by Miron Heinselman
    (2014) Heinselman, Miron L.; Trygg, J. W.; United States Department of Agriculture; United States Forest Service
    The Logging History Maps are maps annotated by Miron "Bud" Heinselman and J.W. "Bill" Trygg. The maps were given to the University of Minnesota by the author in 1992. The maps were used by the author for his book, The Boundary Waters Wilderness Ecosystem (University of Minnesota Press, 1996).
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    Multilocus assessment of population differentiation in Baja California birds: implications for community assembly and conservation
    (2014-08) Vazquez Miranda, Hernan
    This dissertation is an assessment of biological diversification at the community, species, and population levels from large continental scales in the Americas to small regions between Mexico and the U.S. using birds as a study system. In Chapter 1, I calculate when the avian community of the Baja California peninsula diverged from the mainland using mitochondrial and nuclear DNA sequences. I discovered that even though birds fly and could have arrived to the peninsula in independent dispersal waves, genetic estimates correspond to few events of diversification that correspond to historical barriers to gene flow and more recent ecologic scenarios. Additionally, I find evidence for recognizing four peninsular lineages as valid species, doubling the number of endemic birds in Baja California. Chapter 2 is a collaboration with Keith Barker. In it, we explore the continental diversification of wrens in the genus Campylorhynchus solving all evolutionary relationships by sequencing 23 genes and multiple individuals per lineage, developing a new metric for comparing all sorts of phylogenetic trees, and clarifying biogeographic and behavioral evolution aspects in the Neotropics. In Chapter 3, me and collaborators Kelly Barr, Craig Farquhar, and Robert Zink merge historic fire ecology and population genetics to understand how and when the black-capped vireo (Vireo atricapilla), went from being a historically common bird to being considered currently as endangered in its breeding grounds in the oak savannas of Oklahoma, Texas and northern Mexico. Five online supplementary files (OSFs) accompany this dissertation: the first file includes voucher numbers, geographic information, substitution models, used primers, and full likelihood values in Chapter 1 (OSF 1); the second file contains Bayesian trees ivand taxon pair distributions in Chapter 1 (OSF 2); the third file includes voucher numbers, evolutionary models, recombination tests, and primers used in Chapter 2 (OSF 3); the fourth file includes the randomization design in Chapter 2 (OSF 4); and the fifth file includes geographic information for all samples, primers, and multilocus phylogeny of vireos used in Chapter 3 (OSF 5).
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    A natural laboratory, a National Monument: carving out a place for science in Glacier Bay, Alaska, 1879-1959.
    (2009-08) Rumore, Gina Maria
    Beginning with John Muir's "discovery" in 1879, Glacier Bay has become a place constructed in the American imagination. In this construction of place, no single group played a more important role than scientists. While other national parks--e.g. Yellowstone and Yosemite--were greatly the products of commercial lobbies and political maneuverings, Glacier Bay National Monument (later National Park) grew out of a grass roots lobbying effort by the Ecological Society of America (ESA). Since 1879, Glacier Bay has an unbroken history of scientific study: from 1879 forward its glaciers have been regularly mapped, and from 1916 its ecological patterns have been persistently studied. Because of this long, continuous history of scientific study, Glacier Bay serves as an ideal case for the study of the interaction between place and the field sciences. This study analyzes the role played by Glacier Bay in shaping scientific practice and theory in ecology and glaciology between 1879 and 1959. At the same time, it also analyzes the impact scientists and scientific theory had on the place - defined both by physical location and by constructed social spaces. Within the overarching argument about the agency of place in shaping scientific theory, practice, and community, this dissertation makes several arguments that challenge and enhance the standing historiography on American ecology and glaciology: (1) It problematizes and challenges the standard story of the history of ecology in America told over the past quarter century, offering a more continuous view of ecological theory and practice. (2) It works toward a better understanding of field practices and how scientists defined their goals and successes in the early years of ecology and glaciology in the American context. (3) It explores the role of scientists as activists and argues that, over the period under consideration, ecologists' understanding of their role as activists was closely tied to how they thought ecology should be studied. (4) It analyzes how ecologists and glaciologists working in Glacier Bay understood the placedness of their work and how changes in their understanding of place interacted with their understanding of local versus universal knowledge.
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    Neutral Theory, Biased World
    (2016-12) Bausman, William
    The ecologist today finds scarce ground safe from controversy. Decisions must be made about what combination of data, goals, methods, and theories offers them the foundations and tools they need to construct and defend their research. When push comes to shove, ecologists often turn to philosophy to justify why it is their approach that is scientific. Karl Popper’s image of science as bold conjectures and heroic refutations is routinely enlisted to justify testing hypotheses over merely confirming them. One of the most controversial theories in contemporary science is the Neutral Theory of Ecology. Its chief developer and proponent, Stephen Hubbell, presents the neutral theory as a bold conjecture that has so far escaped refutation. Critics of the neutral theory claim that it already stands refuted, despite what the dogmatic neutralists say. We see the controversy through a Popperian lens. But Popper’s is an impoverished philosophy of science that distorts contemporary ecology. The controversy surrounding the neutral theory actually rests on a methodological fault. There is a strong but messy historical link between the concepts of being neutral and being null in biology, and Hubbell perpetuates this when he claims that the neutral theory is supplies the appropriate null for testing alternative theories. What method is being followed here? There are three contenders: Null hypothesis testing tests for whether a there is a pattern to be explained. Null modeling tests for whether a process is causally relevant to a pattern. Baseline modeling apportions relative responsibility to multiple processes each relevant to a pattern. Whether the neutral theory supplies an appropriate “null” depends upon whether null hypothesis, null modeling, or baseline model is intended. These methods prescribe distinct inference patterns. If they are null hypothesis testing or null modeling, the neutralists’s reasoning is invalid. If they are baseline modeling, the justification of a crucial assumption remains opaque. Either way, the neutral-null connection is being exploited rhetorically to privilege the neutral theory over its rivals. Clarifying the reasoning immunizes us against the rhetoric and foregrounds the underlying virtues of the neutralist approach to ecology. The Popperian lens distorts theoretical development as dogmatism. Lakatos’s view of science as the development of research programmes clarifies the epistemology of the neutral theory. Focusing philosophical attention on the neutralist research programme illuminates (1) the synchronic uses of the neutral theory to make predictions and give descriptions and explanations; (2) its diachronic development in response to theoretical innovation and confrontation with data; (3) its complex relationships to alternative theories. For example, baseline modeling is now seen to be its primary explanatory heuristic. The justification for baseline modeling with the neutral theory, previously hidden from view, is seen in the logic of in the neutralist research programme.
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    Partnerships for Sustainability: Eco-collaboration between Higher Education and Ecovillages
    (2014-03-03) Gladman, Kiernan
    Higher Education Institutions are hierarchical organizational systems which implement sustainability initiatives on- and off-campus, some of which could benefit from forming ecological sustainability-oriented partnerships, or eco-collaborations. Eco-collaborations could be formed between their organizations and intentional communities, also called ecovillages. The systemic and complementary differences between ecovillages and Higher Education Institutions create opportunities for several types of partnerships. Mutual goals and missions may be used as a basis for an eco-collaboration for educational, research, or community engagement activities between Higher Education and ecovillages.