Wesner JS, Meyers P, Billman EJ, Belk MC. Habitat selection and consumption across a landscape of multiple predators. Ecology and Evolution. We tested whether egg-laying female insects could detect differences in predator community composition. Because some predators are more lethal than others, the ability to differentiate predator risk when laying eggs can have large fitnessContinue reading “Habitat selection paper published in Ecology and Evolution”
Author Archives: jeffwesner
Second metamorphosis paper accepted to ES&T! UPDATED
Kraus, JM, DM Walters, JS Wesner, CA Stricker, TS Schmidt, and RE Zuellig. In press. Metamorphosis alters contaminant transfer and diet tracers in insects. Environmental Science and Technology (open access) We’re on a roll with metamorphosis at ES&T. Johanna Kraus, a Mendenhall Fellow at the USGS, led the way on this very important paper. It shows differential contaminant lossContinue reading “Second metamorphosis paper accepted to ES&T! UPDATED”
Metamorphosis paper 1 accepted to ES&T
Wesner, JS, JM Kraus, TS Schmidt, DM Watlers and WH Clements. Accepted. Metamorphosis enhances the effects of metal exposure on the mayfly, Centroptilum triangulifer. Environmental Science & Technology This paper shows that metal concentrations that are non-lethal for mayfly larvae can become lethal when those larvae undergo metamorphosis to become winged adults. This points to an intriguingContinue reading “Metamorphosis paper 1 accepted to ES&T”
Northern leatherside chub paper accepted in Ecology of Freshwater Fish
Last week brought great news that our work on the food webs of northern leatherside chub was accepted to Ecology of Freshwater Fish. This study documents a shift in trophic position of common fishes in streams where NLC is absent. The shift is independent of habitat variation, meaning the food webs at these sites may beContinue reading “Northern leatherside chub paper accepted in Ecology of Freshwater Fish”
We got our first grant!
An internal grant from USD will help to establish “Model systems to understand threats to freshwater ecosystems.” That is – we can now hire several undergraduate students and buy equipment to help build 1) a large outdoor artificial stream system, and 2) an indoor culture of the model mayfly Centroptilum triangulifer.
Welcome to Jerry Warmbold!
Jerry will start his M.S. in the Wesner lab in January 2014. He’s interested in fisheries and fish ecology. His project will answer questions related to the influence of fish species loss on linked aquatic-terrestiral ecosystems.
New paper in Freshwater Science
Wesner, JS. 2013. Fish predation alters benthic, but not emerging, insects across whole pools of an intermittent stream. Freshwater Science 32:438-449 Direct predation on developing insects undoubtedly reduces the number of emergers, right? In this paper, the answer is maybe. We blocked off 10 entire pools of a small stream in Oklahoma, and created aContinue reading “New paper in Freshwater Science”
New Paper in Ecology
Wesner, JS, EJ Billman, and MC Belk. 2012. Multiple predators indirectly alter community assembly across ecological boundaries. Ecology 93: 1674-1682. (see Publications for a .pdf). Choosing where to lay eggs is critical to an organism’s fitness. Make the wrong choice, and your offspring are toast. It’s no surprise, then, that variation in habitat quality canContinue reading “New Paper in Ecology”
New Paper in Freshwater Biology
Wesner, JS. 2012. Emerging aquatic insects as predators in terrestrial systems across a gradient of stream temperature in North and South America. Freshwater Biology 57: 2465-2474. For most aquatic insects, emergence to adulthood means two things: sex and death. As a result, emergence is often synchronous (sex requires other individuals, of course), resulting in matingContinue reading “New Paper in Freshwater Biology”
New Paper in Animal Conservation
Wesner, JS and MC Belk. 2012. Habitat relationships among biodiversity indicators and co-occurring species in a freshwater fish community. Animal Conservation 15, 445-456. What if conservation of a single species simultaneously benefited other species in the ecosystem? That is the allure of “indicator species” or “surrogate species”, particularly those that seem to occur in placesContinue reading “New Paper in Animal Conservation”
The Wesner Lab 