RSS 1.0Fisheries and Wildlife Sciences electronic theses and dissertations (MU)
The items in this collection are the theses and dissertations written by students of the Department of Fisheries and Wildlife Sciences. Some items may be viewed only by members of the University of Missouri System and/or University of Missouri-Columbia. Click on one of the browse buttons above for a complete listing of the works.
Items in MOspace are protected by copyright, with all rights reserved, unless otherwise indicated.
Recent Submissions
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Understanding bacterial zoonotic disease infection and its severity on wildlife populations
(University of Missouri--Columbia, 2022)[EMBARGOED UNTIL 12/1/2023] Emerging infectious diseases have significantly increased in recent years; approximately 60 percent of these emerging diseases are of zoonotic origin, and of those, around 70 percent were ... -
Identifying patterns of chronic wasting disease prevalence in Missouri's Odocoileus virginianus population
(University of Missouri--Columbia, 2022)[EMBARGOED UNTIL 12/1/2023] Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD) is a deadly and infectious neurodegenerative disease caused by a normal host protein, the cellular prion protein (PrPC), that takes on an abnormal complexity and ... -
Environmental drivers of Northern bobwhite fall and winter survival and resource selection in Southwest Missouri
(University of Missouri--Columbia, 2020)Northern bobwhite (Colinus virginianus) populations have declined over the last 50 years throughout the majority of their historical range, primarily due to habitat loss and degradation caused by modern farming practices, ... -
Estimating at-vessel mortality rates of shortfin mako sharks caught in the US pelagic longline fishery and examining environmental drivers of their depth use in the North Atlantic Ocean
(University of Missouri--Columbia, 2022)Shortfin mako sharks, Isurus oxyrinchus, have historically been a small part of recreational and commercial fisheries in the United States (U.S.). Recent stock assessments have identified declines in mako shark stocks that ... -
Ecology of mid-continent migratory shorebirds, performance of tracking devices, and modelling animal social structure and demography
(University of Missouri--Columbia, 2022)[EMBARGOED UNTIL 5/31/2023] Migratory birds are threatened by landscape and climate change, and shorebirds are particularly imperiled. Shorebirds undertake some of the most impressive migrations in the world, but in every ... -
Factors influencing the space use of a nonhunted population of eastern wild turkeys
(University of Missouri--Columbia, 2022)Wild turkeys (Meleagris gallopavo) have been an economically and culturally important game species in North America for many decades. Recent declines in abundance and productivity in several populations of wild turkeys, ... -
The demography of Atlantic brant (Branta bernicla hrota)
(University of Missouri--Columbia, 2022)Animal population dynamics are driven by variation in survival and productivity. Long-lived species such as Arctic-nesting geese often are characterized by high adult survival and low but highly variable annual reproductive ... -
Spatiotemporal variation in Lake Sturgeon movement and habitat selection in Missouri river tributaries : implications for the management and recovery of populations at range margins
(University of Missouri--Columbia, 2021)Lake Sturgeon were nearly extirpated from Missouri by the 1970s leading the Missouri Department of Conservation (MDC) to list the species as endangered within the state. Recovery efforts commenced with the publication of ... -
Maternity roost selection of Indiana bats (myotis sodalis) and occupancy of two threatened myotine bat species on national wildlife refuges in northern Missouri
(University of Missouri--Columbia, 2020)North American bat species face a range of environmental stressors which have negatively impacted recovery of the endangered Indiana bat (Myotis sodalis) and led to inclusion of the northern long-eared bat (Myotis ... -
Habitat selection and movements of diploid and triploid grass carp in a large reservoir
(University of Missouri--Columbia, 2020)Grass Carp, an herbivorous fish introduced in North America to control aquatic vegetation, has become an increasing ecological threat to aquatic ecosystems they invade. Grass Carp have the potential to cause declines and ... -
Decision-making and demography of greater white-fronted geese
(University of Missouri--Columbia, 2019)[ACCESS RESTRICTED TO THE UNIVERSITY OF MISSOURI--COLUMBIA AT REQUEST OF AUTHOR.] Greater white-fronted geese (Anser albifrons) are Arctic-nesting waterfowl with breeding ranges distributed throughout the Arctic. Due to ... -
Linking wetland management decisions to secretive marsh bird habitat use during spring migration and summer breeding on public wetlands in Missouri
(University of Missouri--Columbia, 2015)Dynamic occupancy modeling was used to determine how SMB occupancy and colonization and extinction probabilities were influenced by wetland management practices, including the duration and initiation date of spring water-level ... -
Spatial and disease ecology of the plains spotted skunk
(University of Missouri--Columbia, 2019)The eastern spotted skunk (Spilogale putorius) is a species of conservation concern across much of its range in the eastern U.S. due to a range-wide population decline that began in the 1940s. The reason for the decline ... -
Habitat associations and distributions of endemic crayfish in the Meramec River drainage
(University of Missouri--Columbia, 2019)[ACCESS RESTRICTED TO THE UNIVERSITY OF MISSOURI AT REQUEST OF AUTHOR.] Freshwater crayfish are one of the most threatened taxa in the world. They are considered keystone or dominant species in freshwater ecosystems for ... -
Conservation biogeography of lotic fishes in the Missouri and Colorado River basins
(University of Missouri--Columbia, 2019)To improve our understanding of lotic fish ecology and improve conservation efforts, I 1) identified potentially ecologically important tributaries (PEITs) and evaluated their effects on fish assemble structure, 2) evaluated ... -
An investigation of urban bat ecology in Baltimore, Maryland
(University of Missouri--Columbia, 2019)In North America, bats are a taxon of concern that play an important role in insect control, and their response to urbanization varies. I wanted to discover if evaluating environmental and socioeconomic variables present ... -
Habitat selection and movement by spotted bass and shorthead redhorse downstream of a hydropeaking dam in Missouri
(University of Missouri--Columbia, 2018)Flow alteration caused by hydropeaking dams may disrupt the natural flow regime and impact physical habitat and biological community, thus threatening the health of freshwater ecosystems. Life history strategies of fish ... -
Linking wetland management decisions to secretive marsh bird habitat use during spring migration and summer breeding on public wetlands in Missouri
(University of Missouri--Columbia, 2015)[ACCESS RESTRICTED TO THE UNIVERSITY OF MISSOURI AT REQUEST OF AUTHOR.] The extent to which secretive marsh birds rely on wetlands in Missouri during spring migration is relatively unknown. My objective for chapter one was ... -
Development and validation of standardized sampling protocols for assessing freshwater mussel populations in Missouri
(University of Missouri--Columbia, 2017)Freshwater mussels are among the most threatened aquatic fauna in North America. Given the need for continued monitoring of threatened mussel species, an evaluation of the effectiveness of metrics from visually-based ... -
Evaluating sampling methods and investigating distribution and richness of fish and amphibians in Missouri wetlands
(University of Missouri--Columbia, 2017)[ACCESS RESTRICTED TO THE UNIVERSITY OF MISSOURI AT REQUEST OF AUTHOR.] Freshwater wetlands are some of the most imperiled ecosystems on the planet, meaning species that depend on them are at great risk. In Missouri, wetland ...