Student Papers
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This collection of papers written by students at the Itasca Biological Station includes full text papers from 2008-present.
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Item Abundance and Diversity of Small Mammals Found in Forest Habitat Compared with Prairie Habitat(2010-03-10) Blake, Amy; Shaughnessy, Lorraine; Strelow, DesireeMany factors can influence the biodiversity in a particular habitat. In this study, we looked at the biodiversity of small mammals in four forested habitats and four prairie habitats. We predicted that heterogeneous habitats would be more diverse, while disturbed areas would be less diverse. We set up a 5 x 10 trap-grid in each of the eight habitats, using a combination of Sherman, Russian, and Longworth traps. We checked traps in the forest habitats once a day for three consecutive days and traps in the prairie habitats twice a day for three consecutive days. Results indicate that biodiversity of small mammals is greater in most of the forested sites than in prairie sites. We also observed that the red-backed vole and the deer mouse were present in both forest and prairie habitat while other species found were only common in prairie or forest.Item Aggressive behavior and territorial availability in Orconectes rusticus(2013-03-19) Clark, Brandon; McCormack, GrantAggressive behavior is important in resource access and determination of fitness in many species. In the rusty crayfish, Orconectes rusticus, limited availability of shelter leads to aggressive bouts of dominance. We tested the effects of reduced territory on crayfish aggression by examining fights in two habitats of different sizes. We found that aggressive behavior was significantly higher when available territory was reduced.Item Analysis of home range in Northern Pike (Esox lucius)(2011-02-03) Gahr, CarolynNorthern pike (Esox lucius) are a freshwater predator that obtains their prey via ambushing. Studies have found that the activity of pike is correlated to their size such that larger pike move farther and faster (Eklov 1992). However, compared to other predatory fish pike move less frequently and are independent hunters (Eklov 1992). Pike are most commonly found in shallower water and prefer vegetation for cover in order to ambush their prey. In particular, larger pike have been shown to prefer shallower water closer to shore than the smaller pike (Jespen et al. 2001). In addition, pike have been found to be most active in low light conditions, especially around dusk and dawn, although some studies indicated no variation in activity over the 24 hour day (Jespen et al. 2001). This study focused on determining the home range and territory of northern pike in Lake Itasca over a two week time frame. The home range of an animal is the area that is used in the course of normal activities which contains sufficient resources to survive and reproduce. In addition to determining the home range, the territory, or the region which the animal defends, was also measured by looking at where the pike spent the most amount of time. Some factors focused on were the correlation between pike size, area of the home range, and the depth of the water. We hypothesized that larger pike would inhabit shallower water and have a larger home range than smaller pike.Item Biotic Guild Diversity with Varying Stream Parameters(2010-03-16) Rittenhouse, David; Gasteiger, Autumn; Greenfield, Morgan; Thomes, ReggieThe River Continuum Concept is a model that provides a framework for predicting many characteristics of a river or stream based off of its order. We examined three streams, the Mississippi River headwaters, a creek emerging from Mark Lake, and a iron spring that flows into Elk Lake, all with varying characteristics, but all headwaters of a streams found within Itasca State Park, MN. Physical properties of each stream were measured along with an assessment of the stream’s species richness found by looking at the richness of the biotic guilds of anuran, terrestrial invertebrates, benthic invertebrates, aquatic vegetation, emergent vegetation, and riparian vegetation. We found the Mississippi headwaters to have the highest species richness in all guilds but riparian vegetation, leading us to believe it to be a middle-order stream based of the characteristics described in the River Continuum Concept.Item Chemical sensing in recognition and avoidance of novel predator(2010-04-13) Buerkle, NathanChemical cues are important for predator recognition and avoidance in aquatic environments, where visual cues are not always substantial. Learning, rather than instinct, is important to assessing threat levels, generally requiring the pairing of a predator with an alarm cue of a conspecific. Detection of a novel scent often results in predator inspection to determine motives of the organism. Exposing fish in Deming Lake to two treatments of novel leech species, a visual cue and chemical/visual cue, the experiment shows that redbelly dace (phoxinus eos) preferentially inspect the chemical/visual treatment over the control.Item A comparative study of the invertebrate community and its longitudinal diversity(2012-03-05) Benson, Madeline; Kempnich, Michael; Meyers, Paul; Parikh, SanatInputs into riverine ecosystems are highly variable with respect to longitudinal location within the system. These inputs help to shape the animal community within the river or stream, and have been hypothesized to be correlated with invertebrate diversity and community composition (Rosi-Marshall and Wallace 2002). In order to test this relationship, we sampled the benthic invertebrate community from three reaches of the Mississippi River near and within Itasca State Park, Minnesota. These samples were used to quantify invertebrate diversity and functional feeding group types (FFG). Significant differences were found between the community composition of each site with the Headwaters site showing the highest levels of invertebrates which feed upon allochthonous material, and the Downstream site showing the highest amount of invertebrates which feed upon autochthonous material (p=1.84*10-12). The Headwaters site also demonstrated the highest levels of community diversity, due to the myriad of niches created by varying river conditions. The results of this study suggest that the invertebrate community composition is dependent on the primary inputs into the system, whether from allochthonous or autochthonous sources.Item Comparison of Diversity of Small Mammals In and Around Itasca State Park Inside Forested and Prairie Areas(2010-03-10) Kraft, TannerIn a series of three trap nights, we collected data from trapped small mammals in a group of eight separate grids in stands of pine, aspen, bog, oak savannah, and burned prairie. The purpose of these trappings was to determine the abundance and diversity of small mammals in each of the eight trapping stations, and then compare these data to determine which, if any, are the more diverse areas in and around Itasca State Park. Many factors could be at play with the distribution and diversity of these small mammals, including edge effect, differential trappability, and most notably, habitat. The main data I used to compare diversity were number of species, total number of mammals, and recapture percentage.Item A comparison of mammal diversity in prairie and forest habitats(2011-02-09) Avendano, JavierIn this study we examined the diversity of small mammals found within various types of forest habitats in comparison to the diversity of mammals caught in prairie habitats. Through an analysis of our results we were able to determine which ecosystem was more diverse. We predicted that the prairie habitats would be more diverse than the mixed forests because the prairie ecosystem can support many more kinds of species.The mixed forests habitats consisted of a burned deciduous area, an unburned deciduous area, a burned red pine area, an unburned red pine area, an aspen area, and finally a bog area. We set a gridline of forty-eight trap nights for the different habitats, forty Sherman traps and eight Longworth traps. The gridlines consisted of four lines of traps with ten traps in each row spaced ten meters apart. Two trap spots in each line had an additional Longworth trap. These trap spots were chosen at random. Sites were checked once a day for three consecutive days. Each mammal captured was identified and individually marked, and the data was recorded and pooled into a single data set. The same method applies for the prairie location, which consisted of rush south, rush north, Coburn east, Coburn west, Waubun wet, and Waubun dry.Item Comparison of Small Mammal Communities within Forested and Prairie Habitats(2011-02-09) Sigler, Holly; Grunzke, Danielle; Rehmann, AndrewHabitat plays a large part in small mammal diversity in any given area. Each species may be habitat selective for many different reasons, some of which are food type or supply, water levels or availability, temperature, and shelter. Each species varies in selectivity which leads to widely varying species diversity in different habitat types. In particular we wanted to look at the variation between the species found in a forested habitat versus a prairie habitat. Previous research would indicate larger species diversity to be found in the forested habitats (Dueser and Shugart 1978). In addition we are also interested in the difference in species diversity between burned and unburned sites of otherwise similar habitat. It has been shown that burned sites will typically yield larger species diversity (Krefting and Ahlgren 1974). Over the course of two weeks we collected specimen data through live-trapping at six forest sites and six prairie sites. The forest sites consisted of varying forest type throughout Itasca State Park in Park Rapids, MN; burned deciduous, unburned deciduous, burned red pine, unburned red pine, aspen, and bog. Two prairie sites were in the Coburn state wildlife management area, two were burned sites in the Rush Lake state wildlife management area, and two sites were on private property in Waubun, MN. One Waubun site was of dry soil type and the other Waubun site was of a wet habitat type.Item A COMPARISON OF SMALL MAMMAL DIVERSITY IN FORESTED HABITATS TO PRAIRIE HABITATS(2011-02-09) Vang, NaThis report, in its attempt to understand diversity, will focus on small mammals found within and close to Itasca State Park, Minnesota. The two types of habitat that were used to collect our data and to conduct our comparison included forested habitats and prairie habitats. Within the forested habitats, we had a variety of smaller biomes: burned deciduous forest, unburned deciduous forest, burned red pine forest, unburned red pine forest, aspen forest, and bog. As for the prairie habitats, it was harder to get an array of smaller biomes; therefore, we divided this habitat type by region, giving us Rush South, Rush North, Coburn East, Coburn West, Waubun Wet, and Waubun Dry. The questions we hoped to answer in this experiment were as followed: 1) Which communities, inside forest sites or the prairie sites, have more species? 2) Are there any common species to both locations? and 3) To what attributes can we see similarities or differences?Item Comparison of species diversity of small mammals in forest and prairie habitats(2010-03-10) Kurpiewski, Andrew; Marklevits, Katrina; Treiber, ErinThis study was conducted to compare the small mammal species diversity within forest and prairie habitats. Data were collected over three days at each habitat and at four separate grid locations within those habitats. Overall, eight different species were found with Peromyscus spp. being the most abundant in the forest habitat and Spermophilus tridecemlineatus the most abundant in the prairie habitat. Seven distinct species were found in the forest habitat, whereas five distinct species were found in the prairie habitat. The data were not sufficient to conclude that the forest habitat had greater species diversity and amount of captured small mammals than the prairie habitat.Item Comparison of Two Small Streams in Itasca State Park with the River Continuum Concept(2010-03-11) Petitti, James; Jewett, Erin; Reddy, Priyanka; Shimp, AdamThe river continuum concept (RCC) first proposed by Vannote et al. (1980) has widely been accepted as the general template for characterizing the ecology of streams and rivers as water travels from the headwaters to much larger bodies of water. We tested the RCC on two small streams, Mary Creek and Chambers Creek in Itasca State Park. The streams chosen were both small with lentic sources, however physically the streams differ greatly in the variables we examined. We examined variables including substrate type, flow, canopy coverage, depth, width, pH and macro-invertebrate functional feeding groups to test if the two streams would fit the concept of low order streams. We found that the two streams are significantly different from each other and that Chambers varies somewhat from the RCC. Mary Creek fits the characteristics of a low order stream while Chambers Creek fits the physical characteristics of a mid order stream with some of the community composition of a low order stream. Mary Creek’s characteristics that classify it as a low order stream are the almost complete canopy coverage, narrow average width of 2.5m, shallow depth of 19cm, and substrate of rock and sand. Whereas, the characteristics that make Chambers Creek a mid order stream are little to no canopy coverage, mid size width averaging 10m, depth of 70cm, and a substrate of silt and sand. The organic matter at each location also differs, Mary Creek is comprised of coarse particulate organic matter (CPOM) and Chambers Creek is comprised of mostly fine particulate organic matter (FPOM). This organic matter is the primary nutrient source for different functional feeding groups.Item Composition, Vegetation and Invertebrate Differences within the Iron Springs Bog(2011-02-01) Xiong, Melissa; Ly, Tongeu; Chai, Yi WenOur area of focus was on the Iron Springs Bog, which is unique because it is made up of two types of wetlands: fens and bogs. Therefore, the questions we investigated for this study concentrates on the water composition, vegetation and invertebrate differences between fens and bogs. We hypothesized that there would be a higher diversity of vegetation, invertebrates and higher levels of nutrients near the spring than a further distance away from the spring. Our reasoning is that if the spring within the Iron Spring Bog were to have similar characteristics like fens; then the soil should contain more nutrients and the water would be less acidic. To analyze the vegetation differences, plot sampling and transects lines were used. To examine the invertebrate differences, water samples were collected and analyzed in lab. Water compositions were investigated by using portable pH meters, portable conductivity probes, and nitrate and phosphate test kits. Based on our results, vegetation diversity was greater in the bog compared to the spring and the invertebrates were found to be more prevalent around the spring than the bog. Our hypothesis was not supported by these results, but we were able to learn more about the functions of Iron Springs Bog.Item Conditioned Alarm Behavior in Fathead Minnows (Pimephales promelas) and Test Their Ability of Differentiate Between Different Visual Stimulus (i.e. Red Light, Green Light and Blue Light)(2012-04-11) Al-Shamisi, MeeraFathead minnows (Pimephales promelas) were tested for their ability to associate predation risk with novel visual stimuli after visual stimulus was presented simultaneously with chemical alarm cues. Minnows gave a fright response when exposed to skin extract (chemical alarm cue) and an artificial visual light stimulus. When they were retested with light stimulus alone, the minnows that had previously been conditioned with alarm cues and light exhibited anti-predator behavior in response to the visual cue. To carry out this experiment, we hypothesized that fathead minnows would learn to associate predator risk stimulus with visual stimulus, and they would be capable to differentiate between the three different colors by showing associate response to the red color and no response to the green and blue lights. The results of this experiment have far-reaching implications because they provide important information on the role of visual stimuli in the ecological environment of fishes.Item Contrasting Response to Predator and Brood Parasite Signals in the Song Sparrow (melospiza melodia)(2010-11-29) Campillo, Luke; Claus, AaronThe Song Sparrow is a widespread north American songbird that is preyed upon by the Cooper’s Hawk and is subject to nest parasitism by the Brown-Headed Cowbird. This study uses the response of twelve Song Sparrows, located around Itasca State Park, in terms of the frequencies of alarm call and song to investigate which threat is greater to this species in late June. The results show that the Song Sparrows do not consider the cowbird as a threat, but they certainly do consider the Cooper’s Hawk a threat with greatly suppressed song frequency.Item Differences in Animal Species between Forested Habitats and Prairie Habitats(2010-12-06) Sevdy, KimUnderstanding the type of habitats that certain species need is critical to understanding how they interact with their environments. Some species prefer prairie habitats rather than forested habitats. This could be attributed to their daily diet, where they like to live, or even how their bodies are built to move in the environment. By using the Lincoln-Peterson method, we are able to identify some of the species that prefer either the forest or the prairie. Our study began with the class dividing up into six different groups and each taking a certain habitat type. We set 55 traps at each site; 45 of those traps were Shermans, five were Longworths, and five were Russians. There were 5 lines with 10 markers in each line. Nine shermans were set in each line with one marker containing a longworth and a russian. Either a select few from the class or the entire class checked these traps in the morning for three days. Data was recorded from the different animals that were found within the traps for further analysis.Item Diversity of Habitats within Itasca State Park(2011-02-09) Hekrdle, Winonna M.Small mammals are found throughout Minnesota in various habitats. The six different habitat sites used for data collection within Itasca State Park includes: burned deciduous, unburned deciduous, burned red pine, unburned red pine, aspen, and bog. At each habitat site 40 Sherman traps and eight Longworth traps were used. They were set up as a 4 x 10 grid with each column having ten Sherman traps and two randomly placed Longworth traps. The Longworth worth traps were set close to a Sherman trap at a particular point. Traps were checked for three mornings in a row.Item Diversity of small mammal communities across forest and prairie habitats in and near Itasca State Park, MN(2010-12-01) Kalmoe, MollyMammal community dynamics are determined by local geography, climate, vegetation and other fauna. The state of mammal populations can also actively exert effects on the changing state of species interactions in terrestrial ecosystems (Tyliankis, et al., 2008). Understanding mammal diversity is an important step towards realizing the complexity of ecosystem ecology as well as informing wildlife managers and conservationists. In this study, we examine twelve sites in and near Itasca State Park, Minnesota to analyze the richness and species composition of each. Expecting higher diversity among prairie (rather than forest) and burned (rather than unburned) sites, we used standard small mammal trapping techniques, to survey each site for three consecutive nights, then identified, marked and released all captured mammals. A higher number of small mammals were trapped in forest sites, but the prairie grids demonstrated greater total species richness. Species diversity is distributed differently across the two site types, but both habitats produced the same mean species diversity. Most species were unique to either forest or prairie habitat, but overlap did occur with two species known to inhabit various landscapes: Blarina brevicauda and Peromyscus spp.. We conclude that habitat is a major determinant of small mammal populations in and around Itasca State Park, MN.Item Diversity of small mammal communities in northern Minnesota(2010-03-01) Sinton, Christopher J.In examining the various communities of small mammals in the state of Minnesota, questions of the diversity of these communities and the habitat preferences of the constituent animals are often of the most concern. Such a question is the basis of this research. In an attempt to assess the impact of habitat on the diversity of small mammal communities in northern Minnesota, multiple habitats were compared and the diversity of the two sites compared.Item Diversity of Small Mammals Between Itasca State Park and Agaissez Sand Dunes(2010-03-10) Spohr, BillSmall mammal diversity can vary over different habitats. In this study, data collected from forest and prairie sites was used to determine diversity between the two. The results show that small mammal diversity in a forest setting is greater than that of a prairie setting.