Master of Science, The Ohio State University, 1960, Graduate School

Committee: Not Provided (Other) Subjects:

Master of Science, The Ohio State University, 2006, Graduate School

Committee: Not Provided (Other) Subjects:

Ph.D., Antioch University, 2024, Antioch New England: Environmental Studies

There is no quiet way to churn water. Noise pollution caused by ships is increasing in the Arctic Ocean as sea ice melts, creating more open channels for vessels. This study provides a glimpse into the sources and balance of sounds in a portion of the Arctic Ocean soundscape surrounding the Norwegian archipelago of Svalbard. Characterization of the soundscape provides essential data as the region quickly transforms. This study also considers human perceptions of underwater ocean noise and its impacts in the region, and it reviews current ocean policy, suggesting mitigation strategies and ways forward. Before the rapid development of industry, prominent sounds in this underwater soundscape came from geological and biological sources. As vessel traffic increases, primary sound sources may be shifting from wind to ship noise. Sea ice extent has decreased in all months and in almost all regions of the Arctic, impacting Arctic marine mammals (AMMs) as their rapidly contracting habitat fills with unfamiliar anthropogenic noise. Noise in the ocean's underwater soundscape degrades acoustic habitat. This study helps fill a gap in knowledge that has limited our understanding of how much underwater noise the eleven AMMs are exposed to and its effects, especially in consideration of the unique hearing and communication capabilities of each species. AMMs spend much of their lives in deep darkness and have evolved to depend on sound as their principal sense. They rely on sensory cues to learn and thrive in their environments. Hydrophones were deployed at 44 locations between 13 °E and 19 °E and 69 °N and 79 °N in April 2023. Wind, waves, and ice (geophony) dominated the soundscape's acoustic signature in remote locations, while human-caused sounds (anthrophony) were significant near Arctic shipping routes, fishing areas, and in fjords. Marine mammal vocalizations were detected near the ice edge, at fjord mouths, and in fjords. Collecting and interpreting data that help explain th (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Dawn Murray PhD (Committee Chair); Beth Brady PhD (Committee Member); Jim Jordan PhD (Committee Member) Subjects: Acoustics; Environmental Studies; Wildlife Conservation

Master of Science (MS), Ohio University, 2022, Biological Sciences (Arts and Sciences)

Bats in North America face many threats to their survival, including heavy metal pollution, a less widely studied and understood contributor to bat mortality. Arsenic, cadmium, and lead are three of eleven heavy metals of highest concern for wildlife due to their damaging effects to health at low levels of exposure. The purpose of this study was to better understand trends in concentrations of these metals in the fur of three bat species so as to manage conservation efforts more effectively. To do so, I examined concentrations of arsenic, cadmium, and lead in the fur of big brown bats (Eptesicus fuscus), little brown myotis (Myotis lucifugus) and eastern red bats (Lasiurus borealis) collected from museum samples and bats submitted for rabies testing. Among samples taken from museum collections, little brown myotis had higher arsenic levels in their fur than big brown and eastern red bats. Among big brown bats submitted for rabies testing, the presence of coal-fired power plants in the counties where bats were collected was associated with higher levels of arsenic in fur. Big brown bats with higher concentrations of lead and arsenic in their stomach contents also had greater concentrations in their fur. These data provide additional evidence that bats acquire heavy metals through their prey and that species accumulate metal differently, possibly due to difference in diet.

Committee: Joseph Johnson (Advisor); Viorel Popescu (Committee Member); Willem Roosenburg (Committee Member) Subjects: Ecology; Environmental Science; Toxicology; Wildlife Conservation

Master of Science, The Ohio State University, 2022, Environment and Natural Resources

Artificial light at night (ALAN) is a growing environmental stressor due to human expansion and increased urbanization. ALAN has shown to have significant impacts on a suite of taxa and on multiple levels of biological organization, but most research has focused on individual to population levels of biological organization. Furthermore, there has been a disproportionate research emphasis on terrestrial vs. aquatic ecosystems. In this study, I investigated the impacts of ALAN on riparian mammal space use and food webs along 12 small streams in Columbus, Ohio, USA. Seasonality and time of day were the strongest drivers of mammal community composition along streams, despite the presence of ALAN. Seasonality, sediment size, and other site-level differences, but not ALAN, were associated with total mammal space use and species richness. No species-specific small mammal captures or species/guild-specific camera-trap encounters were impacted by ALAN. In the context of this study, sediment size is likely a proxy for either stream size or urbanization but also a potentially important structural factor related to small-mammal movement across streams. ALAN presence was related to the proportion of energy derived from aquatic vs. terrestrial primary producer pathways in the genus Peromyscus, the only small mammals with sufficient sample size to estimate diet proportions. At illuminated reaches, Peromyscus nutritional subsidies derived from aquatic primary producer pathways (i.e., originating from stream periphyton) were 1.2% lower at lit compared to unlit reaches. Canopy cover was also associated with the proportion of energy derived from the terrestrial primary producer pathway that is indirectly consumed by Peromyscus (i.e., originating from aquatic detritus). Site – as a random effect in linear-mixed models – explained the greatest amount of variation in the proportion of energy derived from different primary producer pathways. Overall, I did not find e (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Mažeika Sullivan (Advisor); Robert Gates (Committee Member); Stanley Gehrt (Committee Member) Subjects: Ecology; Environmental Science; Natural Resource Management; Wildlife Conservation; Wildlife Management

Doctor of Philosophy, The Ohio State University, 2022, Environmental Science

Tropical savannas support globally important biological diversity and provide a variety of cultural and economic ecosystem-services to humans. As mosaic landscapes, they are characterized by the coexistence of woody and grassy habitats which are strongly regulated by abiotic gradients (e.g., soils, climate) and local disturbance regimes (e.g., fire, flooding and grazing). Consequentially, savannas are inherently dynamic over a variety of scales and provide an array of temporal and spatial ecological niches for wildlife. However, tropical savannas and their ecological functions have been widely degraded by intensifying human land-use and are threatened by impending climate change. Unfortunately, our scientific understanding of savanna ecology is currently limited, impeding development of appropriate conservation approaches. This is especially true of Neotropical systems. This dissertation provides new research, carried out within the Beni, a seasonally flooded Neotropical savanna in Bolivia, that aims to address critical knowledge gaps in savanna ecology. This research will contribute to developing sustainable land management and restoration initiatives to secure and protect savanna ecosystems for people and wildlife. The overarching aim was to understand how ecological (flooding) and agricultural (managed fire and cattle grazing) disturbance influences habitats and wildlife in Beni. To achieve this, three specific objectives were identified: 1) understand how restoration, through cessation of long-term cattle grazing impacts (i) regeneration, (ii) understory structure and composition, and (iii) abundance and diversity of large mammals and nocturnal birds, within the regions' naturally patchy gallery forests; 2) examine how compounded disturbance from flooding and fire shapes the distribution of woody plants and habitats across a savanna-grassland mosaic; and 3) determine functional responses of avian biodiversity to livestock removal across a savanna-grassland ec (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: G. Matt Davies (Advisor); Christopher Tonra (Advisor); Stephen Matthews (Committee Member); Kaiguang Zhao (Committee Member) Subjects: Conservation; Ecology; Environmental Science; Range Management; Wildlife Conservation

Master of Science, The Ohio State University, 2021, Animal Sciences

Although animal welfare science has developed into a comprehensive field, there remains a lack of evidence-based assessments for many species. Marine mammals are generally an understudied group of species, and although these animals are regularly transported between zoological facilities, their welfare at all stages of these processes is rarely a research focus. In this study, The Ohio State University's Center for Human-Animal Interactions Research and Education partnered with Columbus Zoo and Aquarium to conduct a long-term welfare assessment of a population of California sea lions (Zalophus californianus) throughout facility relocation. With measurement of animal behavior, as well as both hair and salivary cortisol concentrations, we aimed to assess the effect of transport and relocation to a novel environment on the welfare of this population of sea lions. Data were collected for 24 months prior to relocation (baseline phase) and for 8 months following relocation (acclimation phase) for the longitudinal study, and for 4 days pre-transport and 4 days post-transport for the shorter-term study. We found that the sea lions spent 21.3% more time swimming (P = 0.0022), 30.0% less time resting hauled out of the water (P < 0.0001) and had elevated hair cortisol concentrations during acclimation to their new facility compared to baseline data derived pre-transport. We also found there was no change in salivary cortisol during transport, but a significant elevation occurred post-transport (P < 0.0001). These findings indicate there was some effect of transport and relocation on this population of sea lions' behavior and cortisol concentrations, although additional confounding factors, such as breeding season and influence of medication, may be impacting these results. These findings offer the first documentation of an evaluation of the transport and relocation effects on marine mammal welfare and provide a foundation for future research progressing the field of marine mam (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Kelly George Dr. (Advisor); Kim Cole Dr. (Committee Member); Mark Flint Dr. (Committee Member) Subjects: Animal Sciences; Animals; Behavioral Sciences; Physiology; Welfare; Zoology

Master of Science (MS), Bowling Green State University, 2020, Biological Sciences

The distribution, abundance, and movement of mammals can be heavily influenced by the configuration of the landscape, including boundary effects. Management practices are commonly used by park managers to restore and conserve certain natural habitats (e.g., prairies, savannas), and may produce distinct edges. The challenge is that there can be unintended detrimental consequences to the organisms that depend on these managed habitats and the adjacent areas. Research on the effects of management usually focuses on vegetation or a specific focal species of management, but this research focused on the effects of management on native terrestrial mammals that are not usually the target species for early successional habitat management. My research focused on surveying nonvolant small mammals and bats at the managed and unmanaged level, site level, and landscape level and evaluating the effects of these managed edges on native mammals. I used tracking tubes to survey small mammals and stationary acoustic monitors to survey bats. I focused on prescribed burning as the main form of management for this project since prescribed burns produced the most distinct boundaries compared to herbicide and mechanical vegetation removal. My study took place in the Oak Openings Preserve in northwestern Ohio. My goal was to investigate how prescribed burning impacted wildlife, what structures and characteristics were the most important for organisms, and which could be maintained or created by burning. The results provide guidelines to help managers reach their goals of creating and maintaining viable natural remnants for native biodiversity. My results suggested that both groups of mammals value open areas and certain vegetation characteristics such as sapling and crypto-biotic crust that result from the prescribed burns. My study emphasizes the importance of having an unburned area adjacent to a burned area to allow for dispersal and resource availability, and the importance of studying (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Karen Root Ph. D. (Advisor); Helen Michaels Ph. D. (Committee Member); Shannon Pelini Ph. D. (Committee Member) Subjects: Biology

Master of Science (MS), Bowling Green State University, 2018, Biological Sciences

Karen Root, Advisor Oak savanna and its associated species in the Midwest United States are being depleted and degraded. Oak savanna, a globally rare ecosystem, is dwindling because of hardwood encroachment, agricultural conversion and fire suppression. Disturbance is critical in an oak savanna ecosystem to maintain proper habitat structures for native species. Land management practices like herbicide applications, mechanical vegetation removal, and prescribed fire are all utilized to restore and maintain these early successional and native habitats in Northwest Ohio by subduing tree encroachment. Land management plays a key role in altering the structure of the landscape and subsequently the abundance and diversity of the wildlife in those areas. To examine these relationships we surveyed 15 savannas in two preserves in Lucas County, Northwest Ohio. Point counts were conducted to observe avian and mammalian species day and night, May to October. We also used camera traps to assess larger wildlife within sites. Management data, provided by land managers, was aggregated per site via GIS. Our analysis, including linear mixed effects models and likelihood ratio tests yielded some significant results. Mixed effects models were run first and top fixed effects included in each of those models were analyzed using a likelihood ratio test to obtain a p-value for the relationship between variables. Increasing mechanical management instances and duff depth correlated with and increase in total and avian abundance of observations (Likelihood ratio test, p-values<0.05). Increasing mechanical management instances was also correlated to a decrease in vegetation density (Likelihood ratio test, p-value <0.05) Increased Red-headed woodpecker abundance was correlated with increasing snag density (Likelihood ratio test, p-value <0.05). Increasing mammalian abundance of observations models were best predicted by the amount of coarse woody debris. Increasing mechanical manageme (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Karen Root Ph.D (Advisor); Tim Schetter Ph.D (Committee Member); Kevin McCluney Ph.D (Committee Member) Subjects: Biology; Conservation; Ecology

Doctor of Philosophy, Case Western Reserve University, 2018, Biology

The Neotropics are home to exceptional levels of mammalian diversity, but few fossil-producing sites document the history and paleoenvironments represented by these faunas. Among these are two middle Miocene sites from the Andes of south-central Bolivia, Cerdas (~16 Ma) and Quebrada Honda (~13 Ma), which are relatively well-sampled and temporally well-constrained. Together, they span the end of the Middle Miocene Climactic Optimum (MMCO; Cerdas) and the interval directly following it (Quebrada Honda). Thus, they offer an opportunity to expand limited knowledge of Neotropical paleoenvironments and to investigate habitat changes that may have occurred in parallel with climate change during the MMCO and/or tectonic uplift that occurred during this interval. Paleopedology, ichnology, and an ecological diversity analysis (EDA) were used to reconstruct and compare the paleoenvironments of Cerdas and Quebrada Honda to one another and to several other sites (in the case of Quebrada Honda). Cerdas and Quebrada Honda are reconstructed to have sub-arid to humid climates with differing vegetative cover. The landscapes of Cerdas are interpreted as shrublands and open grassland-like environments, while the landscapes of Quebrada Honda are interpreted as moderately- to densely-vegetated wooded grasslands. The differing paleohabitats of Cerdas and Quebrada Honda primarily result from differences in landscape stability and soil moisture and do not support suggestions of higher paleoelevations at Quebrada Honda relative to Cerdas at their times of deposition. An EDA using a worldwide modern comparative data set of temperate and tropical faunas was used to evaluate the habitats of five middle Cenozoic (Oligocene–Miocene) fossil faunas, including Quebrada Honda. The results indicate that modern faunas from other continents represent better analogues for ancient South American faunas than modern South American faunas. The inferred habitats of Quebrada Honda are compared to that of the (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Darin Croft Ph.D. (Advisor); Beverly Saylor Ph.D. (Committee Member); Scott Simpson Ph.D. (Committee Member); Daniel Hembree Ph.D. (Committee Member); Hillel Chiel Ph.D. (Committee Chair) Subjects: Geology; Paleoclimate Science; Paleoecology; Paleontology

Master of Science (MS), Bowling Green State University, 2017, Biological Sciences

This study took place within the Oak Openings Region, a biodiversity hotspot in northwestern Ohio. The Oak Openings was created during the Cenozoic period, a time where glaciers continuously moved across Ohio, creating valleys and riverbeds. When the Wisconsin glaciers melted back from Ohio around 14,000 years ago, waters were released into multiple lakes with sandy beaches. Overtime, these sandy beaches started to became dunes inundated by rainwater that could not drain past the clayey till and bedrock ground layer. Water that would stand between the clay layer and sandy dunes provided moisture to eventually support oak savanna habitat. Between the sand ridges, rainwater would saturate the land, which created open areas of wet prairie (Higgins, 2003; Grigore, 2004). The combination of oak savanna habitat and open wet prairie gave this region the name of “Oak Openings” (Grigore, 2004). Today, the Oak Openings looks quite different as a result of the economic development and agricultural pursuits along the Toledo-Detroit corridor. This area is highly fragmented by roads, agricultural fields and urban/residential development. Roughly 45% of the Oak Openings Region contains urban and suburban development and roughly a quarter of the region has been converted to areas of agricultural production (Schetter and Root, 2011). However, there are still remnants of wild lands that exist west and south of the city of Toledo. This area is Ohio's largest single surficial sand covering which is 1-12 meters thick and consists of wet lowland and sand ridge terrain with elevations up to 210 meters above sea level. This region is approximately 8 kilometers wide and 32 kilometers long (Higgins, 2003; Figure 1) and contains oak savanna, oak woodland and wet prairie habitats on post glacial beach ridges and swales and covers 478 km2 (The Nature Conservancy, 2001; Grigore, 2004; Schetter and Root, 2011). The Oak Openings Region contains one third of all of Ohio's endangered plant commu (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Karen Root (Advisor); Raymond Larsen (Committee Member); Andrew Gregory (Committee Member) Subjects: Animal Sciences; Animals; Biology; Conservation; Ecology; Environmental Studies; Statistics; Wildlife Conservation; Wildlife Management; Zoology

Doctor of Philosophy, The Ohio State University, 1975, Graduate School

Committee: Not Provided (Other) Subjects: Biology

Doctor of Philosophy, The Ohio State University, 1968, Graduate School

Committee: Not Provided (Other) Subjects: Biology

Doctor of Philosophy, The Ohio State University, 1961, Graduate School

Committee: Not Provided (Other) Subjects: Biology

Ph.D., Antioch University, 2016, Antioch New England: Environmental Studies

We studied coastal striped skunks (Mephitis mephitis) on the island of Martha's Vineyard, Massachusetts, USA to gather information on the population characteristics of this mesopredator on Atlantic coast beaches with nesting piping plovers (Charadrius melodus). From 2004 – 2008, we captured and marked 138 skunks and fitted 51 adults with VHF radio-collars. Capture rates ranged from 1 – 7 individuals/100 trap nights (TN) in the spring and 4 – 21 individuals/100 TN in the fall. Spring capture rates were highest at Dogfish Bar (DB), a beach with abundant wrack in the intertidal zone in close proximity to low-density housing, where we estimated a spring density of 8-10 skunks/km2. All adult skunks were residents at this site, and most were initially captured in April/May (100% of males and 67% of females). Spring capture rates were too low for a density estimate at Norton Point/Wasque (NPW), a beach with sparse wrack and farther from development. We initially captured 80% of adult males in April/May but only 1 adult female. Most adult females (88%) were captured in June/July, which coincided with the arrival of anthropogenic food on the beach. While all adult females captured at NPW were residents, 50% of males were non-residents. Half (50%) of all radio-collared skunks died from human-related causes while disease killed another 29%. Female site fidelity was high at both sites, with 40% recurring in subsequent years. While male recurrence at DB was high at 36%, no males recurred at NPW. Similarly, no juveniles recurred in subsequent years at the NPW, but 26% of juveniles recurred at DB. The Martha's Vineyard skunk population does not exhibit any distinguishing characteristics from mainland striped skunk populations at this time. Skunks captured exhibited all stripe patterns known for the species, but narrow (45%) and short-striped (37%) patterns were most abundant. Adult skunks weighed a mean of 1.47 ± 0.05 kg between April and July and 2.08 ± 0.09 kg between August and (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Jonathan Atwood Ph.D. (Committee Chair); Stephen DeStefano Ph.D. (Committee Co-Chair); Rachel Thiet Ph.D. (Committee Member) Subjects: Wildlife Conservation; Wildlife Management; Zoology

Master of Science (MS), Ohio University, 2004, Biological Sciences (Arts and Sciences)

Animal populations regularly encounter the challenges of disturbance. Sources of disturbance can be natural or anthropogenic. Anthropogenic disturbance has altered forest composition and structure. One result of this change is an increase in the population of white-tailed deer ( Odocoileus virginianus ). Deer browsing further alters forest characteristics. Forest alterations and management have ramifications on forest animals. However, there has been little emphasis on the consequences of these actions on the community and dynamics of forest mammal species such as the eastern chipmunk ( Tamias striatus ) and Peromyscus species. Small mammal species were censused in Southeast Ohio in 2003. Trapping occurred within four different areas at both Zaleski State Forest and Raccoon Ecological Management Area. Traps were located inside and outside deer exclosures. Small mammals captured inside and outside deer exclosures did not differ in mass, but did differ in reproductive condition. In addition, sex ratios differed inside and outside exclosures.

Committee: Donald Miles (Advisor) Subjects:

Master of Science, Miami University, 2012, Zoology

In recent years, the range of Peromyscus maniculatus gracilis in Michigan's Lower Peninsula (LP) contracted simultaneously with the northward expansion of the closely related Peromyscus leucopus. Recent trapping shows that the range of P. m. gracilis has shrunk to two remaining areas: one in Cheboygan and Otsego Counties and another to the east in Alpena Co. (AP). I used a Geographic Information System habitat analysis to predict where P. m. gracilis would be found across the region, trapped at selected locations, and analyzed 11 microsatellite loci for all individuals. Genetic diversity and bottleneck analyses indicate that LP populations once had good gene flow and were continuous across the area; however, trapping data and assignment tests show that the AP population is in the process of becoming geographically and genetically isolated from all other populations. The AP population is currently genetically viable, but is showing signs of becoming genetically distinct from the western populations.

Committee: Susan M. G. Hoffman (Advisor); Brian Keane (Committee Member); M. H. H. Stevens (Committee Member) Subjects: Biology; Genetics

Doctor of Philosophy, Miami University, 2010, Zoology

Woodland mice of the genus Peromyscus are broadly distributed throughout North America, where they interact with a wide variety of landscape features, climates, and biological communities. Each of the central chapters of this dissertation examines genetic heterogeneity in a species of Peromyscus in relation to landscape features of the Great Lakes region, in order to illuminate the biogeographical constraints facing small mammals in this region. Chapter 1, General introduction Chapter 2, MtDNA genetic structure transcends natural boundaries in Great Lakes populations of deer mice (Peromyscus maniculatus gracilis), examines the genetic structure of deer mice to describe the effect of the Great Lakes on the colonization of northern Michigan from southern refugial sources after the end of the last glacial cycle. Analyses reveal a complex structure indicating occasional migration across Lake Michigan during the 10,000-year history of mouse habitation in the region. Chapter 3, Landscape fragmentation and geographical isolation define microsatellite genetic structure in Great Lakes populations of deer mice (Peromyscus maniculatus gracilis), describes the genetic structure of deer mice using nuclear microsatellite markers. In contrast to Chapter 2, which examines the Great Lakes as barriers to postglacial colonization, Chapter 3 considers the role of the lakes in promoting the differentiation of populations through genetic drift, after expansion from a common source. Chapter 4, Landscape-scale fragmentation and genetic structure in populations of the northern white-footed mouse (Peromyscus leucopus noveboracensis), describes the genetic structure of white-footed mice along a transect from southern Ohio to northern Michigan. Because this transect covers a heterogeneous landscape and climatic gradient, habitat fragmentation and biogeographical range limitation are considered as possible determinants of genetic patterns. Chapter 5, Conclusion

Committee: Susan Hoffman PhD (Advisor); David Berg PhD (Committee Member); Brian Keane PhD (Committee Member); Douglas Meikle PhD (Committee Member); Emily Murphree PhD (Committee Member) Subjects: Biology; Ecology; Genetics; Zoology

Master of Science, University of Akron, 2011, Biology

In mammals, the degree to which the maternal environment shapes developmental trajectories of fetuses is largely unknown. This study examined such characteristics in utero in the nine-banded armadillo (Dasypus novemcinctus). In addition, little is known about the energetics of reproduction in D. novemcinctus. This study is the first to examine the impacts of gestation and lactation on the energy budget of armadillos. Armadillos have a unique reproductive physiology in that they are the only known mammals to exhibit obligate polyembryony, with each pregnancy producing a set of genetically identical quadruplets. Because genetic variation is negligible, the maternal environment produces the majority of variation measured during development. It has been established that physiological variation exists within and between litters of D. novemcinctus as early as day four post-parturition. The first aim of this study was to determine if and when developmental differences arise in utero in the armadillo. Skull size and heart rate were not significantly different between fetuses of the same litter. There were, however, significant differences in some skull measurements between whole litters. There was also a significant negative correlation between maternal mass and fetal skull size. Maternal and fetal heart rates were significantly correlated. In addition to a unique reproductive physiology, D. novemcinctus has an unusually low body temperature (~34.5°C) and basal metabolic rate (BMR) (~50% lower per g) when compared to other mammals. There is a trend in other mammals for the non-mass-specific BMR to increase significantly during pregnancy and lactation. The second aim of this study was to investigate the metabolic costs of pregnancy and lactation in armadillos by calculating BMR in pregnant, lactating, and non-pregnant individuals using flow-through respirometry. Comparison of BMR within pregnant and post-pregnant animals indicated that reproduction resulted in a 39.7% inc (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Brian Bagatto Dr. (Advisor); Francisco Moore Dr. (Committee Member); Rolando Ramirez Dr. (Committee Member) Subjects: Biology; Developmental Biology; Physiology

Doctor of Philosophy in Regulatory Biology, Cleveland State University, 2013, College of Sciences and Health Professions

Browsing by white-tailed deer has alters plant species diversity of the forest understory across much of North America. A reduced understory may lead to the simplification of the forest-floor microhabitat, causing broad scale shifts in the community composition and abundance of litter-dwelling arthropods and small mammals. The objectives of this study were to 1) document changes in the forest-floor microhabitat as a result of over-browsing by deer and 2) determine if differential browsing pressures indirectly affect faunal biodiversity (litter-dwelling arthropods and small mammals) of forest ecosystems. I predicted that browsing within the understory will reduce structural complexity of the forest-floor microhabitat, and its dependent community. A combination of comparative (high vs. low deer impact) and exclosure studies were used to document the effects of herbivory on forest ecosystems. Fewer seedlings and less herbaceous and canopy cover occurred in areas outside exclosures and in areas heavily impacted by deer in contrast to those impacted less, and as percent herbaceous cover correlated strongly with leaf litter biomass and depth, browsing reduces structural complexity of the forest-floor microhabitat. More mesofauna, Coleoptera and Araneae, were present inside than outside deer exclosures. Non-native species (i.e., centipedes, gastropods, isopods and millipedes) were more abundant in areas of high deer impact compared to areas of lower impact. No differences in small mammal abundance were detected in response to the indirect effects of browsing; however, areas of low impact were more speciose and supported significantly more insectivorous small mammals (Soricidae). Soricids require moist habitats with adequate cover and ample invertebrate prey. Capture rates of the Masked Shrew, Sorex cinereus, were positively correlated with litter depth and invertebrate abundance of the preceding year. These findings suggest that even where total soricid and arthrop (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: B.Michael Walton (Advisor) Subjects: Ecology