Bats are the only mammals capable of powered flight and have correspondingly specialized body plans, apparent in the limbs. These specialized morphologies are thought to be the result of adaptations for the demands of flight; the skeletal elements of the bat forelimbs are elongated in order to support flight membranes and increase aerodynamic efficiency, whereas bat hind limbs are relatively short and specialized for hanging and catching prey in flight. Due to a deficient fossil record, the evolution of bat flight is still not fully understood but is hypothesized to be the result of an ancestral transition from gliding to flying. This hypothesis is plausible considering the morphological similarities between bat and glider forelimbs (both elongated) and the contrast between bat and glider hind limbs (shorter versus elongated). In this study, I collected linear measurements of the forelimb and hind limb skeletal elements of bats to add to a dataset of gliding, arboreal, and terrestrial mammals. I then fit evolutionary models to the data to test the hypothesis that A) selective pressures for flight drove the evolution of bat forelimb skeletal elements from glider-like forelimbs and that B) bat hind limbs evolved to become morphologically distinct from those of other mammals. Based on this hypothesis, I predict that A) bat and glider forelimb trait optima will fall progressively farther from arborealist optima and B) bat hind limb trait optima will be located in a unique region of morphospace. Preliminary results show that forelimb long bone lengths have evolved to be progressively longer from arborealists to gliders to flyers, supporting my hypothesis. This research helps address the longstanding question of how bats may have evolved flight from ancestral gliding mammals.

Bioindicators, such as bats and frogs, are animals with high sensitivity to environmental conditions. Monitoring the collective behavior of these animals is critical in understanding the health of the environment. Monitoring strategies target a shared behavioral trait to observe an animal groups’ presence or absence. To monitor bats, the trait that is most useful is their ability to echolocate. Bats use echolocation to navigate their surroundings and hunt insects by producing high frequency calls and listening for their echoes. This allows them to be acoustically monitored using microphones to capture their activity in the form of echolocation calls. These large volumes of acoustic data can be extremely useful in studying individual and collective behaviors. This is where the field of acoustics and computation can be merged to develop efficient and scalable monitoring methods for discerning bat behavioral patterns. In this work, I collected passive acoustic monitoring data in the Union Bay Natural Area during Fall 2021 and evaluated the performance of multiple automatic detection algorithms. I plan to present preliminary results from applying different algorithms and discuss future data collection and analysis efforts.

Body shape varies drastically across vertebrates, making it an effective trait to study when trying to understand macroevolutionary patterns of phenotypic variation. Body shape has been quantified in many ectothermic clades, but rarely in mammals. The goal of our research is to quantify body elongation in the family Sciuridae, as this area has been understudied thus far. Squirrels (Sciuridae) can be sorted into three distinct ecotypes based on life history and locomotion: ground, tree, and gliding. This leads to questions regarding differences in body shape between ecotypes in their respective environmental niches, and how differences in elongation correlate to different types of locomotion. We hypothesize that tree squirrels will be the most elongate, followed by ground squirrels, then gliding squirrels due to ecological and functional adaptations. To determine the potential differences in elongation between ecotypes, we will calculate the head-body elongation ratio (hbER) from skeletons held at natural history museums. We will use phylogenetic comparative methods to compare hbER between the three ecotypes. Thus far, our preliminary data shows both gliding and ground squirrels to have a statistically significant difference in hbER from tree squirrels. Tree squirrels are the most elongate, followed by ground, then gliding squirrels. We hope to further test differences between the hbER of ground and gliding squirrels with an increased sample size. Research on correlations between robustness and bone density in this clade is already underway, which will complement our results on elongation ratios between ecotypes.

In vertebrates, differences in limb morphology are often the result of adaptions to locomotion. While previous researchers have examined the external shape of skeletal elements, there have been relatively fewer studies examining internal bone structure despite its potential significance to locomotor biomechanics. This study aims to help fill this gap by quantifying internal differences in forelimb skeletal morphology of squirrels (Sciuridae) across three locomotor ecologies: ground, tree, and gliding. We test the hypothesis that forelimb internal bone structure reflects adaptations to these ecotypes. To test our hypothesis, we micro-CT scanned the humeri of 61 species of squirrels and conducted bone structure analyses in the open-source software 3D Slicer. We assessed cortical bone composition by measuring material properties including global compactness (bone density), diaphysis (shaft) elongation, and second moment of area (bending ability). Based on biomechanical demands,we predict that A) gliders will have relatively less compact long bones with more elongated diaphyses due to the gravitational/aerodynamic constraints of gliding and B) ground squirrels will exhibit highly compact long bones with more robust diaphyses to gain more force while digging burrows​​. Preliminary results support our prediction that larger ground squirrels exhibit relatively more compact, robust, and bend-resistant humeri in accordance with their digging locomotion. This research furthers the understanding of diversity in forelimb morphology across mammals and the connection between forelimb morphology and locomotion. This study also lays the groundwork for future biomechanical and behavioral work to examine the evolutionary ties between form and function.

Accurate information on species identities and distributions is critical for informing state land use and conservation policies. However, it can often be difficult to determine species identity using morphological data alone. Using phylogenetic methods, we determined the identity of Sceloporus lizards occupying the Laramie Mountains of Wyoming, between known ranges for Sceloporus tristichus and Sceloporus consobrinus. The ND1 mitochondrial gene was sequenced for 10 individuals from the Laramie Mountains and analyzed using maximum likelihood with 23 other samples of S. tristichus and S. consobrinus from throughout their ranges. The mtDNA gene tree places the Laramie Mountains populations within a clade of Sceloporus consobrinus that includes the Rocky Mountains in Colorado. Given the prevalence of mtDNA introgression in Sceloporus, we also conducted phylogenetic analyses using 4 nuclear loci (RAG-1, R35, BDNF, and PNN) for a subset of samples. Species tree analysis of the nuclear data further verified that the Laramie Mountains population belongs to S. consobrinus. Given the very limited data available on the range, prevalence, and ecology of S. consobrinus in Wyoming, as well its designation as a Species of Greatest Conservation Need in Wyoming, more research must be done to ensure protection of this population.

Studying mesocarnivore interactions is vital to understanding ecosystem function, particularly in the absence of apex predators. Competition and niche partitioning between bobcats (Lynx rufus) and coyotes (Canis latrans), two abundant mesocarnivores, is poorly understood but may have significant impacts on prey dynamics and ecosystem structure. Understanding how bobcats and coyotes coexist will provide insights into the context and occurrence of intraguild exploitative competition. This study aims to determine if exploitative competition between bobcats and coyotes is occurring in the Eastern Cascades of Washington state by analyzing the diet and habitat use of sympatric and allopatric bobcat and coyote populations. I hypothesize that sympatric bobcat and coyote populations will occupy smaller niche spaces than allopatric bobcat and coyote populations due to the niche partitioning of shared resources. To test this hypothesis, I will compare the frequency of occurrence of food items in bobcat and coyote scats using DNA metabarcoding and Next-Generation sequencing. Using microsatellite analysis, I will genotype a subset of coyote and bobcat scat samples to determine the number of individuals and their home range size. I will also determine the habitat type of the georeferenced scat using geographic information systems. This will be the first study comparing allopatric and sympatric bobcat and coyote populations and will clarify the conflicting literature on the occurrence of exploitative competition between bobcats and coyotes.

Monitoring is a key component of any successful ecological restoration project. Being able to see how an ecosystem responds to restoration treatments is not only vital for planning out future restoration work, but also for more fully understanding how an ecosystem functions. The aim of this study was to examine the relationship between two culvert removals done in Carpenter Creek, a tidal creek feeding an estuarine wetland in North Kitsap, WA and the texture of the alluvial sediments bedded by the creek. The R programming language was used to analyze and visualize sediment texture data collected by Stillwaters Environmental Center, an environmental monitoring non-profit operating out of the local area. Generated data visualizations suggest that the first culvert removal, done near the mouth of the creek in 2012, resulted in a change in overall texture and an increase in fine sediments, while in 2014 and 2016 sediment texture drifted back towards the base state seen in 2011. In 2018, when the second culvert, this time located upstream near the marsh, was removed, a greater change in texture and increase in fine sediment was observed. These results suggest that an increased level of stream connectivity has been achieved, thereby allowing a freer and more natural sediment transportation regime. This increased understanding of Carpenter Creek’s evolution was made possible through a long-term monitoring effort. Understanding how estuarine wetlands respond to restoration treatments is key for successfully planning out future restoration work, as both adaptive management in existing projects and new restoration projects rely upon past experiences to inform management decisions.