Department of Biological Sciences, UW-Milwaukee, chyang@uwm.edu

About 95-99% of the microbes cannot be isolated with conventional methods. In this study, we used culture-independent methods to isolate and identify microbes in natural environments. We collected soil samples from different locations at the Field Station. The r-DNA of the microbes were sequenced to study bacterial phylogeny and taxonomy. The potential natural compounds produced from the isolated microorganisms were evaluated. The properties of the compounds were examined by High Performance Liquid Chromatography and Mass spectrometry. Funded by the National Science Foundation and T3 Bioscience.

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Department of Biological Sciences, UW-Milwaukee, whitting@uwm.edu, pdunn@uwm.edu

Across taxa, extra-pair mating is widespread among socially monogamous species, but few studies have identified male ornamental traits associated with extra-pair mating success, and even fewer studies have experimentally manipulated male traits to determine if they are related directly to paternity. As a consequence, there is little evidence to support the widespread hypothesis that females choose more ornamented males as extra-pair mates. Here, we conducted an experimental study of the relationship between male plumage color and fertilization success in tree swallows (Tachycineta bicolor), which have one of the highest levels of extra-pair mating in birds. In this study we experimentally dulled the bright blue plumage on the back of males (with non-toxic ink markers) early in the breeding season prior to most mating. Compared with control males, dulled males sired fewer extra-pair young, and, as a result, fewer young overall. Among untreated males, brighter blue males also sired more extra-pair young, and in paired comparisons, extra-pair sires had brighter blue plumage than the within-pair male they cuckolded. These results, together with previous work on tree swallows, suggest that extra-pair mating behavior is driven by benefits to both males and females. This research was supported by funds from the College of Letters and Science, 51ÁÔÆæ.

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Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources, Bureau of Natural Heritage Conservation, John.White@Wisconsin.gov

White-Nose Syndrome (WNS) has spread across 26 states and 5 Canadian provinces. The fungus Psuedogymnoascus destructans (Pd) that causes the syndrome has been found in four other states (MN, MS, NE and OK). This deadly disease has and continues to cause massive bat mortality in eastern North America. Since the winter of 2006–2007, bat population declines ranging from 80–97% have been documented at surveyed hibernacula. Although exact numbers are difficult to determine, biologists estimate that losses may approach 5.7 to 6.7 million bats since 2007. This mortality represents the most precipitous decline of North American wildlife caused by infectious disease in recorded history. Regrettably white-nose syndrome was confirmed in Wisconsin on March 28th, 2014. As of May 14, 2015, 14 sites in eight counties have been confirmed with either the disease-causing fungus or white-nose syndrome. Bats at sites in Grant, Crawford, Richland, Door and Dane county have tested positive for white-nose syndrome, while the fungus known to cause the disease has been confirmed at sites in Iowa, Dodge and Lafayette counties. Monitoring bat populations is crucial in states like Wisconsin that are currently considered unaffected, both for early identification of the disease and to develop pre-WNS baselines in this region. The bat populations of Neda Mine have been inspected for WNS annually for the past five hibernation seasons and continue to be inspected at least annually. Unfortunately, on 4/29/15 bat swab samples that were collected for Pd surveillance from spring emergence trapping at Neda Mine were positive for Pd. No visible fungus or evidence of wing damage were observed on the bats sampled. We have installed a thermal infrared surveillance system at Neda Mine. Thermal infrared surveillance is an effective tool because it can detect the change in a bat’s body temperature as it arouses out of torpor, and because WNS-infected bats arouse more frequently than healthy bats. Baseline information on Neda Mine’s bats will allow the infrared surveillance effort to detect WNS almost immediately if/when the disease arrives in the site. We plan to place four self-powered ultrasound detectors at four entrances to Neda mine. The weatherproof detector will record all winter and we will retrieve the unit in late May after bats have emerged in the spring. The detectors turn on every five minutes and record for 90 seconds. When recording, the echolocation calls of any bat flying near the detector will be recorded and saved. The saved calls can help establish timelines of emergence in spring and whether bats are flying in midwinter. Monitoring bat entrance activity will help us better understand spring emergence behavior prior to and post-WNS infection. Investigating temporal and environmental impacts on bat spring emergence can help better understand timing of management for bats across the state.

We also conduct fall and spring trapping of bats with harp traps and mist netting at the Neda Mine entrances. This allows us to gather important data on bats, including baseline weight and WNS wing scoring before and after hibernation as well as collecting tissue for genetic work. When a bat is in the hand of an observer it can be examined for signs of WNS and samples for diagnostics are then easy to acquire. The focal species are Myotis lucifugus, Myotis septentrionalis; Eptesicus fuscus; and Perimyotis subflavus.

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Department of Biological Sciences, UW-Milwaukee, jvizelka@uwm.edu, karron@uwm.edu
Department of Biology, University of Akron, Akron, OH, rjm2@uakron.edu
Department of Plant Biology, University of Georgia, Athens, GA, dorset@uga.edu

Over the last decade there have been startling changes in the relative abundance and diversity of bumble bee populations, including significant decline of many species both in North America and Europe. Several species often coexist within a population and it is not known whether these species provide equivalent pollination services for native flowering plants. To address this question we quantified seed set of Mimulus ringens flowers following individual visits by Bombus fervidus, Bombus impatiens, and Bombus vagans. These three species coexist in native populations and vary considerably in both body size and foraging behavior. In 2012, mean seed number per fruit following single visits by Bombus vagans (X=3131) was significantly higher than mean seed number resulting from visits by B. impatiens (X=2423). In 2013, mean seed number per fruit was significantly different following visits by all three species. Species comparisons of self-pollination rate and mate diversity are currently being analyzed. These results suggest that different bumble bee species may have unequal contributions to native plant reproduction. Therefore local plant reproduction may be affected by changes in pollinator composition as well as by changes in pollinator abundance. In order to address how fluctuations in pollinator composition may affect local plant populations, current research is investigating how the exclusion of different bumble bee species influence local plant reproductive success. PhD dissertation research, Dr. Jeffrey Karron, Major Advisor.

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Oconomowoc, WI, stoutw@hotmail.com

The objectives of this study are to gather baseline data on the reproductive success of Cooper’s hawks (Accipiter cooperii) in the urban metropolitan Milwaukee area, to describe urban nesting habitat, and to compare these data with other Cooper’s hawk studies in Wisconsin. Long-term objectives are to determine Cooper’s hawk nest site fidelity, breeding population mortality and recruitment, population growth trends, immigration and emigration patterns, and natal dispersal patterns for the same urban population. In 2015, Cooper’s hawks at 18 of 32 sites that I monitored laid eggs. Fifteen of these 18 laying pairs produced 54 young to a bandable age (ca. 18 days; 3.00 young/laying pair, 3.60 young/successful pair, 83.3% nesting success). All nestlings (32 males, 22 females) were banded. Fourteen additional occupied sites were monitored but no nesting attempts were found. Eighteen adult (i.e., breeding) Cooper’s hawks (9 males, 9 females) were trapped, banded, measured, colormarked, and processed for additional analyses at 11 different nest sites. All nine males were in adult plumage; seven of the nine females were in adult plumage, and two were in juvenile plumage. Two of the adult males were natal dispersals, and one of the adult females was a natal dispersal. The adult males dispersed 7.34 and 9.48 km from their natal sites, and the female dispersed 12.03 km from her natal site. No nesting attempt was found in Downer woods for either great horned owls or Cooper’s hawks. One juvenile Cooper’s hawk was observed in Downer Woods on 3 May 2015.

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Department of Biological Sciences, UW-Milwaukee, jsservi@uwm.edu

Flowering plants must invest energy and resources to produce floral displays that are attractive to pollinators, but these same displays may also attract detrimental insects. How floral traits are shaped by the preferences of both pollinators and herbivores/ seed predators is not fully understood. Using Helianthus grosseserratus (sawtooth sunflower) as my study species, I investigated these conflicting selective pressures on floral head traits through a 2-year study in a large, unbroken tract of mesic prairie 28 2015 in Wisconsin. In the first season, I followed individual heads over time and recorded insect visitation patterns and phenological changes to floral head traits. I also dissected seed heads at the end of the flowering period and identified all seed predators to order. In the second year, I measured floral head traits (including disc area, ray area, and UV reflectance patterns) on the day when most florets were presenting pollen. I also performed a hand-pollination experiment to determine if the plants were pollenlimited or resource-limited. I recorded the number and percent developed seeds per head as measures of reproductive success and also counted and identified the seed predators in each head. I also measured the number of flowers surrounding the study head as an additional factor that may affect pollinator and herbivore/seed predator preference. Floral heads were visited by a diverse group of insects: 16 species from 7 orders were recorded. Hymenoptera, Coleoptera, and Diptera were the most common visitors. These 3 orders had highest visitation on the second or third day of pollen presentation. Seed head dissection revealed 6 orders of insect, with Thysanoptera and Diptera being the most common. In year 2, I found that pollinators were required for seed set in this system, as heads that were bagged produced negligible seed. Heads in the hand-pollination treatment had fewer developed seeds and a lower percentage of developed seeds than heads that were open-pollinated, although these differences were not significant. These results suggest that the plants were more likely to be resource-limited than pollenlimited. However, hand-pollinated heads did have significantly more seed predators than open-pollinated heads, which likely reduced seed set. Disc area was the most important trait affecting both the number of developed seeds and the number of seed predators, with larger discs having both greater seed production and more seed predators. Disc area did not influence the percentage of developed seeds, suggesting that the effects on seed number reflect the fact that a larger head has more ovules rather than pollinator attraction. The UV patterning on study heads showed significant polymorphism, where some plants had a strong bulls-eye pattern on rays, while others had no clear demarcation (50% of heads in 2013 had no demarcation; 44% in 2014). My results showed there was no relationship between this patterning and number or percentage of developed seeds, but plants with a stronger bulls-eye pattern (likely because of a reduced amount of UVabsorbing defensive pigments) had more seed predators. These results suggest that UV patterning was important for defense against seed predators. In addition, floral heads with a large ray area had fewer seed insects, while those with a short head height and a large number of flowers in surrounding area had higher number and percentage of developed seeds. Such results highlight the complexities involved in the generalist pollination syndrome and the need to consider a multitude of floral head traits when analyzing plant/insect interactions. M.S. Thesis research, Dr. Gretchen Meyer, Major Advisor.

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Department of Geography, UW-Milwaukee, mds@uwm.edu

An exciting new development in phenological science is the use of fixed cameras to provide continuous near-surface remote sensing observations of seasonal development and senescence within small patches of vegetation. The PhenoCam Network is a global project (P.I. Andrew Richardson, Harvard University, sites primarily in North America) that is designed to coordinate this type of data collection. The PhenoCam website is: http://phenocam.sr.unh.edu/webcam/ UW-Milwaukee added two nodes to the PhenoCam network with cameras installed in March 2013 on the Sandburg East Tower (viewing north toward Downer Woods, see http://phenocam.sr.unh.edu/webcam/sites/downerwoods/) and at the UW-Milwaukee Field Station (viewing a small grove of trees north of the main buildings, http://phenocam.sr.unh.edu/webcam/sites/uwmfieldsta/). The cameras record an image once every half-hour during daylight hours in both the visible and near-infrared. These data will be added to the traditional ground-based visual phenology observations and climate data collected at both sites to continue efforts to better understand phenological changes, as well as bridge the spatial and methodological gaps between visual phenology and remote sensing-derived measurements.

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Department of Biological Sciences, UW-Milwaukee, rafa@uwm.edu,
current address: Univ. of Cambridge, dr451@cam.ac.uk,
current address: St. Louis Univ., fowlerfinn@slu.edu

We are testing the hypothesis that social and ecological environments influence the expression of mating signals and mate preferences. Using members of the Enchenopa binotata treehopper species complex (Hemiptera: Membracidae), we are testing the interaction between social and host plant environments. We are examining how Annual Report 27 social groupings and host plants influence variation in male signals and female mate preferences, which have played an important role in speciation in these treehoppers. We are using a sample of treehopper full-sib families to estimate direct genetic variation, and we are using a sample of host plant clones to estimate indirect genetic variation. This captures the interaction between direct and indirect genetic components of variation. These patterns can then be compared with the magnitude of variation in signals and mate preferences among species in the complex. Our results point to considerable variation due to social and biotic environments, with interesting consequences for how speciation may begin. Funded by the National Science Foundation.

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Department of Forest and Wildlife Ecology, University of Wisconsin-Madison, jnpauli@wisc.edu, bzuckerberg@wisc.edu
Department of Zoology, University of Wisconsin-Madison, wpporter@wisc.edu
Operation Fresh Start, Madison, Wisconsin, bmcmahon@operationfreshstart.org

Many plants and animals use the stable environment underneath the snowpack, called the subnivium, as a refuge from harsh winter weather. The depth, density, and duration of the snowpack determine the climatic conditions of the subnivium, which are typically much milder due to the insulation provided by the snow. As climate change produces warmer mean temperatures, however, the subnivium becomes colder and more thermally variable. These changing conditions can have significant effects on the physiology, survival, and distribution of species that are dependent on this habitat. Using micro-greenhouses that are automated to maintain set temperature gradients and allow winter precipitation to fall inside, we will assess how changing snow conditions affect the temperature and stability of the subnivium microclimate. In the fall of 2015, we deployed 27 greenhouses to nine sites representing conifer forests, deciduous forests, and open prairies. At the 51ÁÔÆæ Field Station, we have set up three microgreenhouses in a conifer stand. While we are still in the early stages of our research, we have begun to collect data on the climate conditions within and outside each greenhouse and will be continuing this research through the winter of 2017. Funded by the National Science Foundation.

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Department of Biological Sciences, Conservation and Environmental Science Program, UW-Milwaukee, pastirik@uwm.edu, mwersel@uwm.edu

Can green roofs help pollinators thrive alongside urbanization? While our cities continue to grow and green space becomes sparse, it is imperative that we supply pollinators with a resource-rich natural habitat. By analyzing pollinator use, insect diversity, floral abundance, and floral diversity, we sought to discover if green roofs can provide crucial habitat for pollinating insects. In the first year of a long-term study, we monitored Annual Report 25 pollinator visitation at two different green roofs on the 51ÁÔÆæ campus, in comparison to a ground-level prairie planting, while developing a protocol for further monitoring.

Observations were made each week, including the identification and counting of all insects that came in contact with flowers inside of a 0.25 m2 quadrat, identification of all plant species in bloom at each of the three observation sites, and abundance rank of all blooming species. In addition, a flower count within each quadrat was made during each observation day. Contrary to our expectations, we found that all three sites were similar in visitation rates, with a dropoff in visitation on the green roofs near the end of the season. We also found that the ground-level prairie planting had the lowest amount of variability between observations but had fewer overall visits compared to the standard Sedum-rich green roof. Our results show that green roofs do play a critical role in providing pollinator habitat and are therefore important in an urban environment. However, the drop-off of visitation to the green roofs shows supplemental plantings are also vital, as the green roofs we studied only provided a short blooming period for local pollinator communities. Undergraduate research project, Dr. Gretchen Meyer and Dr. Mai Phillips, advisors.

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