Browsing by Subject "Biodiversity"
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Item An Alternative Shelving Arrangement for Natural History Collection Objects to Optimize Space and Task Efficiency(Allen Press, 2019-09-01) Cohen, Adam; Hendrickson, Dean; Casarez, MelissaA taxonomic and alphabetic arrangement (TAA) of objects on shelves has prevailed in fluid-preserved natural history collections while they were managed by scientists for their own research. Now most collections are databased and internet-accessible to facilitate very different forms of research accomplished remotely by researchers who require less physical access to specimens. The collections staff who make those data available struggle to manage collection growth with limited space and budgets, while demands on them are increasing, necessitating task and space-efficient collection management solutions. We describe an alternative arrangement of objects based on their size and catalog number (OCA) that capitalizes on modern databases. Our partial implementation of this system facilitated pragmatic between-system comparisons of space use and staff time required for routine tasks. Our OCA allows 17% more jars to be stored in a given space than a TAA (not counting spaces left for growth), but adjusting vertical spacing of shelves could increase that to 115%. Ten of 15 staff tasks were more efficiently accomplished in the OCA section of the collection, and we propose ways to improve efficiency for three of the four tasks for which the TAA outperformed the OCA.Item Amazonian Amphibian Diversity Is Primarily Derived from Late Miocene Andean Lineages(Public Library of Science, 2009-03-10) Santos, Juan C; Coloma, Luis A; Summers, Kyle; Caldwell, Janalee P; Ree, Richard; Cannatella, David CThe Neotropics contains half of remaining rainforests and Earth's largest reservoir of amphibian biodiversity. However, determinants of Neotropical biodiversity (i.e., vicariance, dispersals, extinctions, and radiations) earlier than the Quaternary are largely unstudied. Using a novel method of ancestral area reconstruction and relaxed Bayesian clock analyses, we reconstructed the biogeography of the poison frog clade (Dendrobatidae). We rejected an Amazonian center-of-origin in favor of a complex connectivity model expanding over the Neotropics. We inferred 14 dispersals into and 18 out of Amazonia to adjacent regions; the Andes were the major source of dispersals into Amazonia. We found three episodes of lineage dispersal with two interleaved periods of vicariant events between South and Central America. During the late Miocene, Amazonian, and Central American-Chocoan lineages significantly increased their diversity compared to the Andean and Guianan-Venezuelan-Brazilian Shield counterparts. Significant percentage of dendrobatid diversity in Amazonia and Chocó resulted from repeated immigrations, with radiations at <10.0 million years ago (MYA), rather than in situ diversification. In contrast, the Andes, Venezuelan Highlands, and Guiana Shield have undergone extended in situ diversification at near constant rate since the Oligocene. The effects of Miocene paleogeographic events on Neotropical diversification dynamics provided the framework under which Quaternary patterns of endemism evolved.Item Aquatic Ecology: Coleto Creek Project(Central Power and Light Company, 1976-10) Murray, Scott; Jinnette, Scott; Moseley, FrankNo formal abstract in this document. The report includes data from 1975 to 1976 collected from six sites on Coleto Creek in DeWitt, Goliad and Victoria Counties in Texas. Biological data are included in tables and include mostly fish, but also arthropods.Item Assessing Historical Fish Community Composition Using Surveys, Historical Collection Data, and Species Distribution Models(Public Library of Science, 2011-09-22) Labay, Ben J.; Cohen, Adam E.; Sissel, Blake; Hendrickson, Dean A.; Martin, F. Douglas; Sarkar, SahotraAccurate establishment of baseline conditions is critical to successful management and habitat restoration. We demonstrate the ability to robustly estimate historical fish community composition and assess the current status of the urbanized Barton Creek watershed in central Texas, U.S.A. Fish species were surveyed in 2008 and the resulting data compared to three sources of fish occurrence information: (i) historical records from a museum specimen database and literature searches; (ii) a nearly identical survey conducted 15 years earlier; and (iii) a modeled historical community constructed with species distribution models (SDMs). This holistic approach, and especially the application of SDMs, allowed us to discover that the fish community in Barton Creek was more diverse than the historical data and survey methods alone indicated. Sixteen native species with high modeled probability of occurrence within the watershed were not found in the 2008 survey, seven of these were not found in either survey or in any of the historical collection records. Our approach allowed us to more rigorously establish the true baseline for the pre-development fish fauna and then to more accurately assess trends and develop hypotheses regarding factors driving current fish community composition to better inform management decisions and future restoration efforts. Smaller, urbanized freshwater systems, like Barton Creek, typically have a relatively poor historical biodiversity inventory coupled with long histories of alteration, and thus there is a propensity for land managers and researchers to apply inaccurate baseline standards. Our methods provide a way around that limitation by using SDMs derived from larger and richer biodiversity databases of a broader geographic scope. Broadly applied, we propose that this technique has potential to overcome limitations of popular bioassessment metrics (e.g., IBI) to become a versatile and robust management tool for determining status of freshwater biotic communities.Item Biogeography of upland bird communities in the Peruvian Amazon(2009-12) Pomara, Lazarus Yates; Young, Kenneth R.; Barth, Robert H.; Dull, Robert A.; Miller, Jennifer A.; Ruokolainen, KalleThe western Amazon is known to be one of the most biologically diverse regions in the world, yet information about the spatial distribution of that biodiversity and the processes governing its distribution remains scarce. An improved understanding of those biogeographic patterns and processes can inform conservation and development planning in areas where anthropogenic landscape change is ongoing. Spatial components of biodiversity are known to be influenced by historical and present-day physical and human geographic processes. There is evidence that major Amazonian rivers form the boundaries of biological regions, at least for birds. Other factors that may influence bird species composition include the dispersal limitations of individual species, forest plant species composition and structure, topography, forest fragmentation, and hunting. Sites where bird species composition was measured in this study represented mature, upland forest on both sides of the Amazon River, and a range of non-flooded forest types, as indicated by soil and plant surveys. Bird species compositional variation was closely correlated with variation in plant species composition, human disturbance associated with forest fragmentation, and position north or south of the Amazon River. The strongest differences were between opposite sides of the river, even though local environments, including plant composition, were not different on the two sides. This strongly suggests that historical biogeographic factors, rather than present-day environmental gradients, are responsible for bioregional boundaries at Amazonian rivers. The difference between plant and bird distributions at this scale underscores the pressing need to re-evaluate general notions of bioregional complexity and pattern in the Amazon basin. Locally, the influence of habitat fragmentation on animal communities, including reduced species richness, was confirmed. The influence of local floristic variation is of particular importance due to its ubiquity across western Amazonia. Thus, understanding the distributions of soils and vegetation is critical for explaining Amazonian animal diversity. The use of these factors to model bird community heterogeneity contradicts assumptions that the processes shaping Amazonian animal community diversity are too complex to measure efficiently, and their use contributes a new understanding of the dimensions of that diversity.Item Checklist and Images Documenting the Biodiversity of Johnston Atoll National Wildlife Refuge(2020-03-21) Rash, RyanIncluded are five pdf files documenting biodiversity on Johnston Atoll National Wildlife Refuge in the Pacific Ocean from June of 2019 through December of 2019. Most images are taken by Ryan Rash, but some were provided to him by others there cohabitating the island at the time. He, and a crew of 4 others were employed to work on the island by the United States Fish and Wildlife Service in an effort to control and document the spread/containment of invasive yellow crazy ants (Anoplolepis gracilipes) and document their effects on native wildlife. The images here were taken by him during his off-time, as a side-project while working on the island. They were compiled and produced into the files provided here in the months after his deployment. The project aimed to record every species of animal and plant, preferably with a photograph sufficient for species determination, but in some cases, as indicated in the included checklist, species were noted without a photograph. In addition to the checklist, images were organized into a collection of four taxonomic presentations: (1) Fish; (2) Birds; (3) Plants; and (4) Herps, Inverts, and Mammals. Within each file, species are sorted alphabetically within their higher taxa, which are also sorted alphabetically for easy perusing. Johnston has a lengthy military history beginning in the early 1930s. Nuclear radiation and harmful chemicals like agent orange were stored there and have leaked out into the environment. These have since been remediated, but sometime in the early 2000s after the military left in 2004, yellow crazy ants infiltrated the island via driftwood—or more likely as incidental passengers on personal vessels hopping between the Pacific remote islands. The crazy ants quickly took over the island, proving especially detrimental for the resident red-tailed tropicbirds (Phaethon rubricauda) that nest on the ground. The ants began swarming the nesting tropicbirds and their chicks, spraying them with formic acid expelled through their acidopores. Tropicbirds, after being sprayed repeatedly in the eyes, were blinded and eventually perished only to be consumed by the ants. In 2010, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service researchers visited Johnston and discovered the infestation. They ended up creating a treatment plan later that year and sent out the first Crazy Ant Strike Team (CAST), and ever since there has been a crew of ~5 people on the island at all times (apart from hurricane evacuations). Thankfully, the pesticide treatment worked and yellow crazy ants haven’t been detected since December of 2017, but extensive monitoring has continued in order to be completely sure of their eradication. The last step in deeming the island free from crazy ants is bringing scent dogs out to survey for the formic acid scent trail, as the ants could have possibly taken up residence in underground plumbing and electrical conduit. This will hopefully occur at the end of this year. If everything goes to plan, the dogs won’t find anything and our confidence in eradication will be more well-founded. Johnston Atoll at the time of the infestation was home to the largest red-tailed tropicbird colony in the world with over 5,000 active nests. The entire island was just surveyed a month ago and that number has increased to over 10,800 active nests! It was important to save this atoll from the infestation, as it’s the only landmass for over 800,000 square miles of ocean and is one of the, if not the most, isolated landmasses in the world, and a key nesting/stopover point for many bird species.Item Connecting backyard wildlife habitats in Austin, TX : case study of Wildlife Austin(2009-12) Koone, Emily Anna; Dooling, SarahUrbanization is considered one of the leading threats to biodiversity and wildlife habitat (McKinney 2002; Shochat et al. 2006). Urban environments are humandominated systems, yet they support wildlife habitat and provide meaningful ecological functions. Methods to conserve biodiversity and minimize habitat loss and fragmentation in urban environments include utilizing private residential yards and gardens to enhance habitat connectivity. Private residential yards or gardens designed to attract and support wildlife are known as backyard habitats and wildlife gardens. The City of Austin, Texas initiated Wildlife Austin in 2007. Wildlife Austin coordinates backyard habitats in Austin as a National Wildlife Federation Community Wildlife Habitat [trademark]. My research analyzes the goals of the Wildlife Austin from the perspective of landscape ecology and urban ecology; reviews research related to backyard habitats in order to identify ways of enhancing habitat connectivity for bird communities; and provides recommendations for a more scientifically grounded approach and management in the promotion of backyard wildlife habitat.Item Consequences of habitat fragmentation: connectivity lies in the eye of the beholder(2008-05) Sardinha-Pinto, Naiara, 1979-; Keitt, Timothy H.This dissertation was motivated by the problem of pattern and scale in ecology. All chapters present models that aim at predicting species’ responses to habitat fragmentation. Chapters differ mainly in the nature of the responses being investigated: spatial variation in abundance, or dispersal. In each chapter, I illustrate how current models can be modified to incorporate species’ perception of the landscape. Three sources of bias have been examined here: interspecific variation in (i) ecological neighborhood, (ii) ecological generalization, and (iii) in the response to regional processes. I have deliberately moved away from traditional single-scale, patch-based measures of landscape connectivity. Great emphasis has been placed on the anthropogenic aspect of the landscape, and on the role of the landscape matrix. Habitat fragmentation is a common feature of most (if not all) biodiversity hotspots. I hope the tools shown here can serve as general approaches to study how species are differentially affected by habitat fragmentation, and to ultimately understand how disturbed landscapes can “filter” natural communities.Item Coral Fluorescent Proteins as Antioxidants(Public Library of Science, 2009-10-06) Palmer, Caroline V.; Modi, Chintan K.; Mydlarz, Laura D.Background -- A wide array of fluorescent proteins (FP) is present in anthozoans, although their biochemical characteristics and function in host tissue remain to be determined. Upregulation of FP's frequently occurs in injured or compromised coral tissue, suggesting a potential role of coral FPs in host stress responses. Methodology/Principal Findings -- The presence of FPs was determined and quantified for a subsample of seven healthy Caribbean coral species using spectral emission analysis of tissue extracts. FP concentration was correlated with the in vivo antioxidant potential of the tissue extracts by quantifying the hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) scavenging rates. FPs of the seven species varied in both type and abundance and demonstrated a positive correlation between H2O2 scavenging rate and FP concentration. To validate this data, the H2O2 scavenging rates of four pure scleractinian FPs, cyan (CFP), green (GFP), red (RFP) and chromoprotein (CP), and their mutant counterparts (without chromophores), were investigated. In vitro, each FP scavenged H2O2 with the most efficient being CP followed by equivalent activity of CFP and RFP. Scavenging was significantly higher in all mutant counterparts. Conclusions/Significance -- Both naturally occurring and pure coral FPs have significant H2O2 scavenging activity. The higher scavenging rate of RFP and the CP in vitro is consistent with observed increases of these specific FPs in areas of compromised coral tissue. However, the greater scavenging ability of the mutant counterparts suggests additional roles of scleractinian FPs, potentially pertaining to their color. This study documents H2O2 scavenging of scleractinian FPs, a novel biochemical characteristic, both in vivo across multiple species and in vitro with purified proteins. These data support a role for FPs in coral stress and immune responses and highlights the multi-functionality of these conspicuous proteins.Item Environmental Barcoding Reveals Massive Dinoflagellate Diversity in Marine Environments(Public Library of Science, 2010-11-15) Stern, Rowena F.; Horak, Ales; Andrew, Rose L.; Coffroth, Mary-Alice; Andersen, Robert A.; Küpper, Frithjof C.; Jameson, Ian; Hoppenrath, Mona; Véron, Benoît; Kasai, Fumai; Brand, Jerry; James, Erick R.; Keeling, Patrick J.Background -- Dinoflagellates are an ecologically important group of protists with important functions as primary producers, coral symbionts and in toxic red tides. Although widely studied, the natural diversity of dinoflagellates is not well known. DNA barcoding has been utilized successfully for many protist groups. We used this approach to systematically sample known “species”, as a reference to measure the natural diversity in three marine environments. Methodology/Principal Findings -- In this study, we assembled a large cytochrome c oxidase 1 (COI) barcode database from 8 public algal culture collections plus 3 private collections worldwide resulting in 336 individual barcodes linked to specific cultures. We demonstrate that COI can identify to the species level in 15 dinoflagellate genera, generally in agreement with existing species names. Exceptions were found in species belonging to genera that were generally already known to be taxonomically challenging, such as Alexandrium or Symbiodinium. Using this barcode database as a baseline for cultured dinoflagellate diversity, we investigated the natural diversity in three diverse marine environments (Northeast Pacific, Northwest Atlantic, and Caribbean), including an evaluation of single-cell barcoding to identify uncultivated groups. From all three environments, the great majority of barcodes were not represented by any known cultured dinoflagellate, and we also observed an explosion in the diversity of genera that previously contained a modest number of known species, belonging to Kareniaceae. In total, 91.5% of non-identical environmental barcodes represent distinct species, but only 51 out of 603 unique environmental barcodes could be linked to cultured species using a conservative cut-off based on distances between cultured species. Conclusions/Significance -- COI barcoding was successful in identifying species from 70% of cultured genera. When applied to environmental samples, it revealed a massive amount of natural diversity in dinoflagellates. This highlights the extent to which we underestimate microbial diversity in the environment.Item Estudios Sociales: Revista de Investigación Científica, Número 40, Julio-Diciembre 2012(Centro de Investigación en Alimentación y Desarrollo, 2012-07) Centro de Investigación en Alimentación y DesarrolloItem Exploring new varieties and applications of trophic cascades using pond species interaction experiments and theory(2023-05-01) Rakowski, Chase J.; Leibold, Mathew A.; Farrior, Caroline E.; Manning, Schonna R; Jha, Shalene; Theriot, Edward CGlobal change is altering the diversity, composition, and interactions of predator species even more rapidly than those of lower trophic levels. While many of the most important ecosystem functions and services such as primary production are provided by bottom trophic levels, we know from the classic trophic cascade concept that these ecosystem properties can be strongly impacted by predators via chains of species interactions. However, the relationships between changing attributes of predator communities and these key ecosystem properties at the base of the food web remain unclear. I identify three ways that the trophic cascade concept can be expanded to help fill this knowledge gap. First, ecologists can assess cascading consequences of changes in predator diversity or interactions rather than the less realistic addition or removal of entire top trophic levels. Second, trophic cascade research can move away from an equilibrium approach to incorporate the food web dynamics that determine ecosystem stability. Third, there is understudied potential for the application of trophic cascade theory to improving environmental technologies involving the cultivation of microalgae. In Chapter One I experimentally test the effects of insect predator diversity on the central tendency and variability of pond plankton biomass. I find that the insect species better suppress their collective zooplankton prey when together, leading to less variable phytoplankton biomass. In Chapter Two I analyze a food web model to explore the influence of the degree of intraguild predation on the variability of biomass of lower trophic levels. I show that stronger intraguild predation is associated with biomass fluctuations throughout the food web. Finally, in Chapter Three I experimentally show that fish can provide effective biological control in wastewater algal raceway ponds, increasing algal biomass though not necessarily improving nutrient removal from the wastewater. Overall, the present dissertation describes two novel varieties of trophic cascades and expands upon a new application. These links between the top and bottom ends of food webs predict consequential effects of changes in predator communities, and they also suggest strategies for ecosystem management in pursuit of reliable ecosystem services.Item The Fishes of Texas Project: Government-University Collaboration to Improve Science and Conservation Management(YouTube, 2021-06-24) Hendrickson, Dean; Cohen, Adam; Casarez, Melissa; Garrett, Gary; Birdsong, Timothy; Robertson, Sarah; Curtis, Stephen; Mayes, Kevin; Bean, MeganSince 2006, the Fishes of Texas Project at University of Texas Austin has sought to improve freshwater fish occurrence data for the state of Texas and make it openly accessible to facilitate research and improve aquatic resource management. Seven federal and state sponsors have contributed funding, but 73% of the total $2.7 million has come from US Fish and Wildlife Service’s State Wildlife Grant Program via Texas Parks and Wildlife Department. Initially the Project focused on data digitization and compilation of strictly specimen-vouchered data, followed by georeferencing and development of an interactive website/database (http://www.fishesoftexas.org). More recently, non-vouchered citizen science, angler-based, and agency datasets have been added, thereby increasing both geographic and temporal density of records, and a selected subset of data fields for all records is now published to GBIF and iDigBio.Item Fishes of Texas Project: Government-University Collaboration to Improve Science and Conservation Management(The Society for the Preservation of Natural History Collections and the American Institute for Conservation, 2021-06-21) Hendrickson, Dean; Cohen, Adam; Casarez, Melissa; Garrett, Gary; Birdsong, Timothy; Robertson, Sarah; Curtis, Stephen; Mayes, Kevin; Bean, MeganSince 2006 the Fishes of Texas (FoTX) Project at University of Texas Austin (UT) has sought to improve freshwater fish occurrence data for the state of Texas and make it openly accessible to facilitate research and improve aquatic resource management. Seven federal and state sponsors have contributed funding, but 73% of the total $2.7 million has come from US Fish and Wildlife Service’s State Wildlife Grant Program via Texas Parks and Wildlife Department (TPWD). Initially the Project focused on data digitization and compilation of strictly specimen-vouchered data, followed by georeferencing and development of an interactive website/database (http://www.fishesoftexas.org). More recently, non-vouchered citizen science, angler-based, and agency datasets have been added, thereby increasing both geographic and temporal density of records, and a selected subset of data fields for all records is now published to GBIF and iDigBio. The project’s comprehensive data aggregation (44 contributing collections), digitization, normalization, accessibility and high data quality (based, in part on extensive taxonomic determination verification via specimen examination), enabled significant advances in detection and awareness of statewide faunal trends that led to implementation of diverse management advances. Examples include improved field guides and documentation of species’ ranges, expansions and contractions, community composition shifts, improved species conservation status assessments, and documentation of both long-term expansions of invasive species and new introductions. Relatively new to the Project are statewide aquatic bioassessments - intensive fieldwork planned using tools available in our website that facilitate exploration of geographic and temporal sampling histories and reveal under-sampled areas. Consequently, gaps in knowledge of regional faunas have been steadily decreasing. The website and database are widely used; 90% of presentations on related topics at last year’s statewide fisheries meeting utilized FoTX products. This now long-term, consistent funding created a productive partnership between UT and TPWD. With the Project’s bioassessments generating specimens, and TPWD’s independent routine fish sampling increasingly depositing specimens, our collection (TNHCi - https://www.gbif.org/dataset/6080b6cc-1c24-41ff-ad7f-0ebe7b56f311) has nearly doubled in size over the last decade. Last year, TPWD’s list of Species of Greatest Conservation Need was updated, with major changes based on the improved knowledge provided by FoTX. TPWD now funds a full-time Assistant Collection Manager position focusing on bioassessments, but also doing basic collection management and supervision of student and volunteer help. Another grant-funded position, a liaison between the collection and TPWD staff, spawned the ongoing statewide Texas Native Fish Conservation Areas program that coordinates funding and actions of diverse stakeholders for watershed-scale conservation. Both externally funded UT positions participate in diverse collections-based research and outreach endeavors for both UT and TPWD. The FoTX website was developed in large part by staff in UT’s science database group in the Texas Advanced Computing Center (TACC) - a collaboration that blossomed into long-term technical support for collection database management and data publication that has since expanded to support all other collections in UT’s Biodiversity Center.Item Forest diversity and conservation in the western Amazon based on tree inventory and remote sensing data(2011-12) Wang, Yung-ho Ophelia; Young, Kenneth R.; Crews, Kelley A.; Miller, Jennifer A.; Sarkar, Sahotra; Pitman, Nigel C.This dissertation contributes to debates in conservation biogeography by examining the spatial heterogeneity of local and regional tree diversity feature using ground and remotely sensed data, and by taking approaches to design a spatially explicit landscape zonation map for future conservation planning in western Amazon, one of the most biodiverse regions on Earth. Fine scale tree diversity and conservation-related studies took place in tropical rainforests in southeastern Ecuador, whereas coarse scale tree diversity research was conducted using data from eastern Ecuador and northern Peru. The lack of species assemblages within three 1-ha tree inventory plots in southeastern Ecuador and the weak correlations with biophysical environment implied that neutral processes may contribute to species diversity. In contrast, differences in species assemblages between plots corresponded to relative geographic locations of the plots, indicating that geographic distance or dispersal limitation may play an important role influencing diversity patterns at a regional scale. Species of high local abundance was found in 1-ha tree inventory plots in western Amazon. Changes in density of locally abundant species between western and eastern plots indicated that some species may have limited distributions. Shifts in species dominance and the significant relationship between floristic variation and geographic distances between plots implied dispersal limitation. Variation in rainfall showed significant relationship with species composition. Therefore, dispersal limitation and precipitation seasonality are potentially the most significant factors that contribute to spatial differences in tree diversity in western Amazon. Characteristics of canopy shadows and palm stem density based on fine-resolution aerial photographs were characterized as exploratory analyses to extract alpha and beta diversity features using remotely sensed data. A zonation map design using multispectral habitat classification and other remote sensing data performed well in its spatial arrangement when potential indigenous land use was integrated. Based on the results of analyses for conservation biogeography, this dissertation concludes that local and regional tree diversity may be influenced by dispersal limitation and seasonality, and that the application of remote sensing for biodiversity conservation is feasible in very species-rich forests.Item Global Conservation Significance of Ecuador's Yasuní National Park(Public Library of Science, 2010-01-19) Bass, Margot S.; Finer, Matt; Jenkins, Clinton N.; Kreft, Holger; Cisneros-Heredia, Diego F.; McCracken, Shawn F.; Pitman, Nigel C. A.; English, Peter H.; Swing, Kelly; Villa, Gorky; Di Fiore, Anthony; Voigt, Christian C.; Kunz, Thomas H.Background -- The threats facing Ecuador's Yasuní National Park are emblematic of those confronting the greater western Amazon, one of the world's last high-biodiversity wilderness areas. Notably, the country's second largest untapped oil reserves—called “ITT”—lie beneath an intact, remote section of the park. The conservation significance of Yasuní may weigh heavily in upcoming state-level and international decisions, including whether to develop the oil or invest in alternatives. Methodology/Principal Findings -- We conducted the first comprehensive synthesis of biodiversity data for Yasuní. Mapping amphibian, bird, mammal, and plant distributions, we found eastern Ecuador and northern Peru to be the only regions in South America where species richness centers for all four taxonomic groups overlap. This quadruple richness center has only one viable strict protected area (IUCN levels I–IV): Yasuní. The park covers just 14% of the quadruple richness center's area, whereas active or proposed oil concessions cover 79%. Using field inventory data, we compared Yasuní's local (alpha) and landscape (gamma) diversity to other sites, in the western Amazon and globally. These analyses further suggest that Yasuní is among the most biodiverse places on Earth, with apparent world richness records for amphibians, reptiles, bats, and trees. Yasuní also protects a considerable number of threatened species and regional endemics. Conclusions/Significance -- Yasuní has outstanding global conservation significance due to its extraordinary biodiversity and potential to sustain this biodiversity in the long term because of its 1) large size and wilderness character, 2) intact large-vertebrate assemblage, 3) IUCN level-II protection status in a region lacking other strict protected areas, and 4) likelihood of maintaining wet, rainforest conditions while anticipated climate change-induced drought intensifies in the eastern Amazon. However, further oil development in Yasuní jeopardizes its conservation values. These findings form the scientific basis for policy recommendations, including stopping any new oil activities and road construction in Yasuní and creating areas off-limits to large-scale development in adjacent northern Peru.Item Group Decisions in Biodiversity Conservation: Implications from Game Theory(Public Library of Science, 2010-05-27) Frank, David M.; Sarkar, SahotraBackground -- Decision analysis and game theory [1], [2] have proved useful tools in various biodiversity conservation planning and modeling contexts [3]–[5]. This paper shows how game theory may be used to inform group decisions in biodiversity conservation scenarios by modeling conflicts between stakeholders to identify Pareto–inefficient Nash equilibria. These are cases in which each agent pursuing individual self–interest leads to a worse outcome for all, relative to other feasible outcomes. Three case studies from biodiversity conservation contexts showing this feature are modeled to demonstrate how game–theoretical representation can inform group decision-making. Methodology and Principal Findings -- The mathematical theory of games is used to model three biodiversity conservation scenarios with Pareto–inefficient Nash equilibria: (i) a two–agent case involving wild dogs in South Africa; (ii) a three–agent raptor and grouse conservation scenario from the United Kingdom; and (iii) an n–agent fish and coral conservation scenario from the Philippines. In each case there is reason to believe that traditional mechanism–design solutions that appeal to material incentives may be inadequate, and the game–theoretical analysis recommends a resumption of further deliberation between agents and the initiation of trust—and confidence—building measures. Conclusions and Significance -- Game theory can and should be used as a normative tool in biodiversity conservation contexts: identifying scenarios with Pareto–inefficient Nash equilibria enables constructive action in order to achieve (closer to) optimal conservation outcomes, whether by policy solutions based on mechanism design or otherwise. However, there is mounting evidence [6] that formal mechanism–design solutions may backfire in certain cases. Such scenarios demand a return to group deliberation and the creation of reciprocal relationships of trust.Item Hello Neighbor : cultivating relationships with your bioregion through neighborhood plants(2022-05-07) Graham, Kristen Janaye; Gorman, CarmaMost people notice and care about plants only when they are at their showiest and most colorful: covered in spring blossoms, in full fruit in late summer, or aglow with fall colors. The rest of the time—especially in the wintertime—plants fade into the background for most people. Western scientists Elizabeth Schussler and James Wandersee coined a term for this phenomenon: plant blindness (Allen 2003, 926). It refers to the fact that humans tend to not notice plants that are not actively serving human interests. This blindness has created an obsession with constant perfection and production from plants ranging from manicured, green lawns to having certain produce like berries available year-round. My thesis builds on the work of Dr. Robin Kimmerer and other Indigenous scientists, who argue for the importance of seeing plants in ways that are not agricultural or exploitative, but symbiotic, even neighborly. Community, in my mind, goes beyond a single species and includes all the species that live in an area: a community is an ecosystem that includes every level of life from humans, to birds, to snails, to plants that grow between the cracks in the concrete, and even to the insects and fungi that break down organic matter. The book I wrote, designed, and bound for my thesis project, Hello Neighbor: cultivating relationships with your bioregion through neighborhood plants, shows plants during a stage of their life cycle that is usually ignored and overlooked in field guides and books about botanical illustration. It emphasizes the ecological benefits of leaving dormant plants in place, and suggests what less exploitative and more “neighborly” and symbiotic relationships with plants might look like.Item Impacts of climate-mediated vegetation shifts and regional climate change on coastal avian community dynamics across the Gulf of Mexico(2019-12-05) Keyser, Spencer Ryan; Yeager, Lauren A.Climate change is considered to be a major threat to extant biodiversity. In addition to direct impacts of changing climatic conditions, poleward shifts in foundation species associated with warming temperatures may exacerbate impacts on higher trophic level species by altering habitat structure and resource availability. Across the Gulf of Mexico (GoM) reductions in severity and duration of winter freezes have facilitated the expansion of mangroves into previously salt marsh dominated habitat. Using birds as model taxa, I investigated the impacts of climate-mediated shifts in foundational species on multiple facets of avian biodiversity. I paired a long-term, standardized avian monitoring dataset (e.g. U.S. Geological Survey Breeding Bird Count) with environmental variables to investigate drivers of avian biodiversity change along coastal sites throughout the GoM and eastern portion of Florida from 1980-2017. Specifically, I was interested in testing whether expansion of mangrove-dominated wetlands and changes in regional climate change (i.e. temperature and precipitation) drive shifts in bird species richness (α-diversity) or elevated rates of bird community turnover through time (temporal β-diversity). I documented changes in α-diversity and temporal β-diversity in both total and wetland bird communities across the GoM. Increases in mangrove cover at fine-spatial scales predicted changes in α-diversity and temporal β-diversity, whereas, coarse-scale changes in temporal β-diversity were predicted by climate. Increasing prevalence of southerly species were associated with faster rates of warming and increased temporal β-diversity, indicating potential poleward shifts in species ranges may be one factor underlying biodiversity change. Modifications in microclimate, biotic interactions, and resource availability associated with mangrove expansion may underlie observed shifts in bird biodiversity. My findings suggest that climate-mediated shifts in foundation species are likely impacting biodiversity of higher trophic level species and may exacerbate biodiversity change driven by the direct impacts of altered temperature and precipitation regimes. As mangrove habitats are predicted to continue to expand across the GoM, integrating data on in foundation species will be crucial for future assessments and adaptive management of climate-mediated changes in avian biodiversityItem