Ecological Observations of NativeGeocoris pallensandG. punctipesPopulations in the Great Basin Desert of Southwestern Utah

Big-eyed bugs (Geocorisspp. Fallén, Hemiptera: Lygaeidae) are ubiquitous, omnivorous insect predators whose plant feeding behavior raises the question of whether they benefit or harm plants. However, several studies have investigated both the potential ofGeocorisspp. to serve as biological control agents in agriculture and their importance as agents of plant indirect defense in nature. These studies have demonstrated thatGeocorisspp. effectively reduce herbivore populations and increase plant yield. Previous work has also indicated thatGeocorisspp. respond to visual and olfactory cues when foraging and choosing their prey and that associative learning of prey and plant cues informs their foraging strategies. For these reasons,Geocorisspp. have become models for the study of tritrophic plant-herbivore-predator interactions. Here, we present detailed images and ecological observations ofG. pallensStål andG. punctipes(Say) native to the Great Basin Desert of southwestern Utah, including observations of their life histories and color morphs, dynamics of their predatory feeding behavior and prey choice over space and time, and novel aspects ofGeocorisspp.’s relationships to their host plants. These observations open up new areas to be explored regarding the behavior ofGeocorisspp. and their interactions with plant and herbivore populations.

Download Full-text

Geometeorological data collected by the USGS Desert Winds Project at Gold Spring, Great Basin desert, northeastern Arizona, 1979-1992

Open-File Report ◽

10.3133/ofr9578 ◽

1995 ◽

Author(s):

P.J. Helm ◽

C.S. Breed ◽

R.K. Tigges ◽

P.A. Garcia

Keyword(s):

Great Basin ◽

Great Basin Desert

Download Full-text

Subterranean Caching of Domestic Cow (Bos taurus) Carcasses by American Badgers (Taxidea taxus) in the Great Basin Desert, Utah

Western North American Naturalist ◽

10.3398/064.077.0114 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 77 (1) ◽

pp. 124 ◽

Cited By ~ 7

Author(s):

Ethan H. Frehner ◽

Evan R. Buechley ◽

Tara Christensen ◽

Çağan H. Şekercioğlu

Keyword(s):

Great Basin ◽

Bos Taurus ◽

Great Basin Desert ◽

Taxidea Taxus

Download Full-text

Summer Watering Patterns of Mule Deer in the Great Basin Desert, USA: Implications of Differential Use by Individuals and the Sexes for Management of Water Resources

The Scientific World JOURNAL ◽

10.1100/2012/846218 ◽

2012 ◽

Vol 2012 ◽

pp. 1-9 ◽

Cited By ~ 9

Author(s):

Andrew V. Shields ◽

Randy T. Larsen ◽

Jericho C. Whiting

Keyword(s):

Water Resources ◽

Great Basin ◽

Mule Deer ◽

Free Water ◽

Water Sources ◽

Limiting Factor ◽

Mountain Range ◽

Great Basin Desert ◽

Water Developments ◽

Conservation And Management

Changes in the abundance and distribution of free water can negatively influence wildlife in arid regions. Free water is considered a limiting factor for mule deer (Odocoileus hemionus) in the Great Basin Desert. Consequently, a better understanding of differential use of water by individuals and the sexes could influence the conservation and management of mule deer and water resources in their habitats. We deployed remote cameras at all known water sources (13 wildlife water developments and 4 springs) on one mountain range in western Utah, USA, during summer from 2007 to 2011 to document frequency and timing of water use, number of water sources used by males and females, and to estimate population size from individually identified mule deer. Male and female mule deer used different water sources but visited that resource at similar frequencies. Individual mule deer used few water sources and exhibited high fidelity to that resource. Wildlife water developments were frequently used by both sexes. Our results highlight the differing use of water sources by sexes and individual mule deer. This information will help guide managers when siting and reprovisioning wildlife water developments meant to benefit mule deer and will contribute to the conservation and management of this species.

Download Full-text

Growth, ionic and osmotic relations of an Allenrolfea occidentalis population in an inland salt playa of the Great Basin Desert

Journal of Arid Environments ◽

10.1006/jare.2000.0681 ◽

2001 ◽

Vol 48 (4) ◽

pp. 445-460 ◽

Cited By ~ 11

Author(s):

Bilquees Gul ◽

Darrell J. Weber ◽

M. Ajmal Khan

Keyword(s):

Great Basin ◽

Great Basin Desert ◽

Allenrolfea Occidentalis ◽

Salt Playa

Download Full-text

Salty, Alkali-Laced Tales (Mostly True) from the Great Basin Desert, California and Nevada

Advances in Environmental Microbiology - Microbes: The Foundation Stone of the Biosphere ◽

10.1007/978-3-030-63512-1_31 ◽

2021 ◽

pp. 653-685

Author(s):

Ronald S. Oremland

Keyword(s):

Great Basin ◽

Great Basin Desert

Download Full-text

Enemy release from the effects of generalist granivores can facilitate Bromus tectorum invasion in the Great Basin Desert

Ecology and Evolution ◽

10.1002/ece3.5314 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 9 (15) ◽

pp. 8490-8499 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

Jacob E. Lucero ◽

Urs Schaffner ◽

Ghorbanali Asadi ◽

Alireza Bagheri ◽

Toshpulot Rajabov ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Great Basin ◽

Bromus Tectorum ◽

Enemy Release ◽

Great Basin Desert

Download Full-text

Comprehensive phylogenomic analyses re-write the evolution of parasitism within cynipoid wasps

BMC Evolutionary Biology ◽

10.1186/s12862-020-01716-2 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 20 (1) ◽

Author(s):

Bonnie B. Blaimer ◽

Dietrich Gotzek ◽

Seán G. Brady ◽

Matthew L. Buffington

Keyword(s):

Life Histories ◽

Sister Group ◽

Dominant Strategy ◽

Comparative Genomic ◽

Life Strategy ◽

Gall Wasp ◽

Data Set ◽

Insect Order ◽

Plant Feeding ◽

Phylogenomic Analyses

Abstract Background Parasitoidism, a specialized life strategy in which a parasite eventually kills its host, is frequently found within the insect order Hymenoptera (wasps, ants and bees). A parasitoid lifestyle is one of two dominant life strategies within the hymenopteran superfamily Cynipoidea, with the other being an unusual plant-feeding behavior known as galling. Less commonly, cynipoid wasps exhibit inquilinism, a strategy where some species have adapted to usurp other species’ galls instead of inducing their own. Using a phylogenomic data set of ultraconserved elements from nearly all lineages of Cynipoidea, we here generate a robust phylogenetic framework and timescale to understand cynipoid systematics and the evolution of these life histories. Results Our reconstructed evolutionary history for Cynipoidea differs considerably from previous hypotheses. Rooting our analyses with non-cynipoid outgroups, the Paraulacini, a group of inquilines, emerged as sister-group to the rest of Cynipoidea, rendering the gall wasp family Cynipidae paraphyletic. The families Ibaliidae and Liopteridae, long considered archaic and early-branching parasitoid lineages, were found nested well within the Cynipoidea as sister-group to the parasitoid Figitidae. Cynipoidea originated in the early Jurassic around 190 Ma. Either inquilinism or parasitoidism is suggested as the ancestral and dominant strategy throughout the early evolution of cynipoids, depending on whether a simple (three states: parasitoidism, inquilinism and galling) or more complex (seven states: parasitoidism, inquilinism and galling split by host use) model is employed. Conclusions Our study has significant impact on understanding cynipoid evolution and highlights the importance of adequate outgroup sampling. We discuss the evolutionary timescale of the superfamily in relation to their insect hosts and host plants, and outline how phytophagous galling behavior may have evolved from entomophagous, parasitoid cynipoids. Our study has established the framework for further physiological and comparative genomic work between gall-making, inquiline and parasitoid lineages, which could also have significant implications for the evolution of diverse life histories in other Hymenoptera.

Download Full-text

The Influence of Food Density, Flock Size, and Disturbance on the Functional Response of Bewick’s Swans (Cygnus columbianus bewickii) in Wintering Habitats

Animals ◽

10.3390/ani9110946 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 9 (11) ◽

pp. 946 ◽

Cited By ~ 4

Author(s):

Chao Yu ◽

Lizhi Zhou ◽

Nazia Mahtab ◽

Shaojun Fan ◽

Yunwei Song

Keyword(s):

Feeding Behavior ◽

Functional Response ◽

Habitat Management ◽

Feeding Rate ◽

Handling Time ◽

Foraging Strategies ◽

Food Density ◽

Flock Size ◽

Functional Responses ◽

Cygnus Columbianus

Perceiving how animals adjust their feeding rate under a variety of environmental conditions and understanding the tradeoffs in their foraging strategies are necessary for conservation. The Holling functional response, which describes the relationship of feeding rate and food density to searching rate and handling time, has been applied to a range of waterbirds, especially with regard to Type II functional responses that describe an increasing feeding rate with food density but at a decelerating rate as the curve approaches the asymptote. However, feeding behavior components (feeding rate, searching rate, and handling time) are influenced by factors besides prey density, such as vigilance and flock size. In this study, we aim to elucidate how Bewick’s swans (Cygnus columbianus bewickii) adopt flexible foraging strategies and vary their feeding behavior components in response to disturbance, flock size, and food density. We collected focal sampling data on the foraging behavior of swans that foraged rice grains, foxnut seeds, and tubers in paddy field, foxnut pond, and lake habitats, respectively, in Shengjin and Huangpi lakes during winter from 2016 to 2018. The observed feeding rate was not correlated with food density and displayed a positive relationship with searching rate but negative relationships with handling time, flock size, overall vigilance time, and disturbance time. Handling time was negatively correlated with food density and flock size, yet it increased with disturbance, overall vigilance time, and normal vigilance time. Searching rate was negatively correlated with food density, flock size, and disturbance time. Feeding rate was affected by the combined effects of handling time and searching rate, as well as food density and searching rate. The shape of the observed functional response could not be fitted to Holling’s disc equation. However, the disc equation of the predicted feeding rate of wintering swans was found to be driven by food density. This provides insight into how wintering waterbirds adopt appropriate foraging strategies in response to complicated environmental factors, which has implications for wildlife conservation and habitat management.

Download Full-text