Theses and Dissertations

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Browsing Theses and Dissertations by Author "Abbot, John"

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    Addressing Insect Declines Via Biodiversity Monitoring, Ecological Restoration, and Population Genetics
    (University of Alabama Libraries, 2023) Franzem, Thomas P.; Ferguson, Paige
    Insects are influential in all terrestrial and freshwater ecosystems and are the most diverse and abundant animal group. Yet there are major knowledge gaps concerning ecology, population genetics, and responses to management practices. Recently reported global declines in insect abundance, biomass, and diversity suggest a pressing need to fill these knowledge gaps. Here, I present work that address these knowledge gaps by exploring ways to generate more insect records for biodiversity datasets, investigating how ecological restoration practices influence beetle occurrence, and defining the population genetics of a habitat-specialist beetle. First, I present a novel biodiversity monitoring approach, the Rapid, Recurring, Structured Survey (RRSS). The RRSS can be flexibly applied to meet diverse objectives and can generate data for different taxonomic groups that can be statistically analyzed. Comparison of an insect and avian dataset generated by the RRSS to an insect and avian dataset generated via a community-science biodiversity survey (bioblitz) shows the RRSS was less taxonomically, spatially, and temporally biased than the bioblitz dataset. Moreover, RRSS data was able to be analyzed in statistical models, while bioblitz data could not be tested appropriately. Next, I investigated how grassland restoration practices and fine-scale habitat characteristics influence occupancy and abundance of beetles in the families Scarabaeidae and Carabidae. Insects are often not included in restoration planning, and elucidating insect responses to restoration can enhance insect conservation. We found restoration practices that increase vegetation diversity and habitat heterogeneity were positively associated with occupancy probability of a variety of species across families. Further, similar levels of family-level abundance were estimated across our study area and there was a negative relationship between Scarabaeidae abundance and basal area of woody plants. Finally, I define the population genetics of Tetraopes texanus by sampling populations across its range. Tetraopes texanus occurs primarily in Texas and Oklahoma, but also occurs in Black Belt prairies of Mississippi and Alabama. Mitochondrial and nuclear DNA analysis identified two distinct population clusters of T. texanus corresponding to the Texas and Oklahoma population and the Mississippi and Alabama population. Further, results indicate ongoing isolation of the two populations and suggest a unique biogeographic history.