Treesearch

Shelter building caterpillars act as ecosystem engineers by creating and maintaining leaf shelters, which are then colonized by other arthropods. Foliage quality has been shown to influence initial colonization by shelter-building caterpillars. However, the effects of plant quality on the interactions between ecosystem engineers and their communities have yet to be studied at the whole plant level. We examined how leaf tying caterpillars, as ecosystem engineers, impact arthropod communities on Quercus alba (white oak), and the modifying effect of foliage quality on these interactions. We...

Larvae of the alderfly Sialis mohri Ross (Megaloptera: Sialidae) were collected in barrier pitfall traps along the shoreline of Intermediate Lake during a 3-year period (2015– 2017). Two barriers (each 1-m long) were used per trap in 2015 and 2016, being placed on opposite sides of a central collection cup that was about 1 m from the shoreline at time of deployment. In 2015, with two traps monitored at 4- to 18-day intervals from 19 April to 29 June, larvae were collected first during the 19 April–7 May period and last during 16–31 May. In 2016, using the same two trap locations, with...

The adult caddisfly assemblages of Drummond Island, a Michigan island in Lake Huron near the Canadian border, were sampled in 2021–2022 from 3 sites on Lake Huron, 8 inland lakes, 2 vernal pools, and 1 stream. Adult caddisflies from each site were sampled in spring, summer, and autumn using ultraviolet blacklight traps. A total of 89 species representing 37 genera and 12 families was collected, including several not seen in Michigan for 50–70 years and the first confirmation of the rare species Beothukus complicatus (Banks) (Phryganeidae) from the state. A non-metric multidimensional...

The xylophagous scolytine Micracis suturalis LeConte and the cerambycid beetle Sternidius alpha (Say) were reared or collected from trunk sections of prickly-ash, Zanthoxylum americanum Mill., in Ingham County, Michigan during 1986 to 1988. Most M. suturalis gallery systems were initiated by August in host material cut in late May 1987. Micracis suturalis gallery-system density data are presented. No M. suturalis were reared from caged host material one-year after cutting. Sternidius alpha was univoltine, with adults emerging from mid-May to mid-July from host material cut the previous...

Beaver management requires understanding beaver habitat preferences. Despite the American beaver (Castor canadensis Kuhl, 1820) being relatively common in the upper Midwest region of the United States, there are no beaver habitat relationship models based on this area.We used 1735 colonization events from long-term monitoring data generated by the Chequamegon- Nicolet National Forest in northern Wisconsin, USA, to determine what geomorphological and biological factors were selected by beavers colonizing new sites. We developed and evaluated prediction performance for three colonization...

Many degraded ecosystems have altered nutrient dynamics due to invaders’ possessing a suite of traits that allow them to both outcompete native species and alter the environment. In ecosystems where invasive species have increased nutrient turnover rates, it can be difficult to reduce nutrient availability. This study examined whether a functional trait-based restoration approach involving the planting of species with conservative nutrient-use traits could slow rates of nutrient cycling and consequently reduce rates of invasion. We examined a functional trait restoration initiative in a...

The genus Macrochelys (Alligator Snapping Turtles) is the only extant turtle clade whose members possess supramarginal scutes (Joyce 2016). The extinct genera Proganochelys (Ascarrunz and Sánchez-Villagra 2022), Platychelys (Sullivan and Joyce 2017), and Boremys (Joyce and Lyson 2015) also all possessed supramaginal scutes. However, supramarginals in these four genera do not likely represent homologous structures. Platychelys is a stem-pleurodire (Sullivan and Joyce 2017) unlike the cryptodires Macrochelys and Boremys, whereas Proganochelys is an early testudinatan that may represent a...

Family forest owners (FFOs) control a plurality of forestland in the United States, and the decisions these landowners make have a profound impact on the landscape. Most research on FFOs consists of cross-sectional studies, although many of these recognize the importance of capturing long-term trends to understand whether and how FFO attitudes, behaviors, and general characteristics are changing. We use data from the 2006, 2013, and 2018 iterations of the USDA Forest Service, National Woodland Owner Survey (NWOS), with a bootstrapping approach to identify significant changes across these...

Population dynamics of migratory species are influenced by land use and climate patterns experienced across the full annual cycle. Identifying environmental factors influencing productivity, survival, and their relative contributions to abundance and population growth is critical for the recovery and management of at-risk species in the face of continuing global change. The golden-cheeked warbler (Setophaga chrysoparia) is an endangered passerine that breeds exclusively in the mixed Ashe juniper (Juniperus ashei)–oak (Quercus) woodlands of Central Texas, USA, and winters at high elevations...