Thomas M LuhringWichita State University | WSU · Department of Biological Sciences
Thomas M Luhring
Ph.D. Biological Sciences
About
54
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Introduction
Tom is an assistant professor in the Department of Biological Sciences, Wichita State University. He does research in Ecology, Adaptation of Organisms to Climate Change, and Life History. His personal website can be found at www.TomLuhring.com
Additional affiliations
July 2013 - present
Publications
Publications (54)
Trait evolution in predator-prey systems can feed back to the dynamics of interacting species as well as cascade to impact the dynamics of indirectly linked species (eco-evolutionary trophic cascades; EETCs). A key mediator of trophic cascades is body mass, as it both strongly influences and evolves in response to predator-prey interactions. Here,...
Predicting how organisms respond to climate change requires that we understand the temperature dependence of fitness in relevant ecological contexts (e.g., with or without predation risk). Predation risk often induces changes to life history traits that are themselves temperature dependent. We explore how perceived predation risk and temperature in...
Although life histories are shaped by temperature and predation, their joint influence on the interdependence of life‐history traits is poorly understood. Shifts in one life‐history trait often necessitate shifts in another—structured in some cases by trade‐offs—leading to differing life‐history strategies among environments. The offspring size–num...
Ecosystems are linked through the transfer of materials and energy. Studies examining material fluxes across habitat boundaries frequently quantify unidirectional flows of nutrients and energy. However, material fluxes can be multidirectional, and we lack a conceptual framework to describe how their quantity and stoichiometry influence the net tran...
Life-history trade-offs and the costs of reproduction are central concepts in evolution and ecology. Episodic climatic events such as drought and extreme temperatures provide strong selective pressures that can change the balance of these costs and trade-offs. We used size-structured matrix models parameterized from field and laboratory studies to...
1. Intermittent streams are hydrologically dynamic within and among years, leading to episodic bouts of local extirpations and subsequent recolonisation of vertebrate groups such as fish and larval amphibians. As these aquatic habitats undergo drying and enter states of incomplete recovery, their ecosystem functionality is impacted. We investigated...
Many aquatic organisms are experiencing increasingly severe and frequent droughts and drying events. Simultaneously, drought effects are carrying over to nondrought years as ecosystems remain in incomplete states of recovery. Aquatic organisms are thus faced with fewer sequential years under degraded environmental conditions to prepare for increasi...
Intermittent streams and rivers account for over half of the world's waterways and yet they are still vastly understudied compared to permanent streams and rivers. Wichita State University Biological Field Station: Youngmeyer Ranch presents an opportunity to study intermittent streams and stream pools across 1902 hectares of Flint Hills tall grass...
Fluxes of matter, energy and information over space and time contribute to ecosystems' functioning and stability. The meta‐ecosystem framework addresses the dynamics of ecosystems linked by these fluxes but, to date, has focused solely on energy and matter. Here, we synthesize existing knowledge of information's effects on local and connected ecosy...
Migratory prey experience spatially variable predation across their life cycle. They face unique challenges in navigating this predation landscape, which affects their perception of risk, antipredator responses, and resulting mortality. Variable and unfamiliar predator cues during migration can limit accurate perception of risk and migrants often r...
Fluxes of matter, energy, and information over space and time contribute to ecosystems’ functioning. The meta-ecosystem framework addresses the dynamics of ecosystems linked by these fluxes, however, to date, meta-ecosystem research focused solely on fluxes of energy and matter, neglecting information. This is problematic due to organisms’ varied r...
Widespread interest in the development of environmentally safe management actions has prompted research into the use of sensory cues to manipulate the movements of invasive species. The push–pull approach, for which attractive and repellent semiochemicals operate synergistically to guide individuals toward traps, has proven successful in insect pes...
Abstract The effects of climate change—such as increased temperature variability and novel predators—rarely happen in isolation, but it is unclear how organisms cope with multiple stressors simultaneously. To explore this, we grew replicate Paramecium caudatum populations in either constant or variable temperatures and exposed half to predation. We...
The sensitivity of metabolic rate to temperature constrains the climate in which ectotherms can function, yet the temperature dependence of metabolic rate may evolve in response to biotic and abiotic factors. We compiled a dataset on the temperature dependence of metabolic rate for heterotrophic ectotherms from studies that show a peak in metabolic...
Age at maturation is a key life history trait influencing individual fitness, population age structure, and ecological interactions. We investigated the evolution of age at maturity through changes in the von Bertalanffy growth constant for organisms with a simple juvenile-adult life history. We used Gillespie eco-evolutionary models to uncover the...
Environmental variation favors the evolution of phenotypic plasticity. For many species, we understand the costs and benefits of different phenotypes, but we lack a broad understanding of how plastic traits evolve across large clades. Using identical experiments conducted across North America, we examined prey responses to predator cues. We quantif...
Synopsis:
The mean and variance of environmental temperature are changing as a consequence of human activities. Ectotherms are sensitive to these temperature changes in the short term, typically displaying a unimodal response of most biological rates to temperature (thermal performance curves; TPCs). Many organisms, however, may acclimate or evolv...
A mechanistic understanding of the response of metabolic rate to temperature is essential for understanding thermal ecology and metabolic adaptation. Although the Arrhenius equation has been used to describe the effects of temperature on reaction rates and metabolic traits, it does not adequately describe two aspects of the thermal performance curv...
Animals make trade-offs between predation risk and pursuit of opportunities such as foraging and reproduction. Trade-offs between antipredator behaviours and foraging are well suited to manipulation in laboratory and field settings and have generated a vast compendium of knowledge. However, much less is known about how animals manage trade-offs bet...
An experimental mesocosm study suggested larval sea lamprey Petromyzon marinus detect and respond to an alarm cue released by dead adult conspecifics. Larvae exhibited a reduced tendency to move downstream when exposed to the cue and were less likely to move under continuous v. pulsed exposure. These findings support the hypothesis that short‐term...
Ectotherms generally demonstrate non-linear changes in performance (e.g., movement speed, individual growth, population growth) as a function of temperature that are characterized by thermal performance curves (TPC). Predation risk elicits phenotypic and behavioral changes that likewise impact performance measures. We tested whether exposure to pre...
Demographic studies often depend on sampling techniques providing representative samples from populations. However, the sequence of events leading up to a successful capture or detection is susceptible to biases introduced through individual-level behaviour or physiology. Passive sampling techniques may be especially prone to sampling bias caused b...
Due to their proclivity for nocturnal endeavors, lampreys likely rely heavily (but not exclusively) on their sense of smell. This sense may be of particular importance during migration when, for example, visual cues may be lacking. The acute nature of this ability allows lampreys to locate suitable spawning habitat by indicating the presence of str...
The sea lamprey Petromyzon marinus is an invasive pest in the Laurentian Great Lakes basin, threatening the persistence of important commercial and recreational fisheries. There is substantial interest in developing effective trapping practices via the application of behavior-modifying semiochemicals (odors). Here we report on the effectiveness of...
Background/Question/Methods
Phenotypic plasticity is a ubiquitous phenomenon in nature. Over the past several decades, researchers have provided a tremendous number of insights regarding the ecology and evolution of plasticity of species across a wide range of taxa. However, we know relatively little about how these responses have evolved within...
Individual variation in physiology and behaviour can have strong effects on ecological and evolutionary processes. Natal habitat, one source of individual variation, can influence individual phenotype, behaviour and fitness through effects on eventual habitat selection. Natal habitat preference induction occurs when individuals match stimuli in the...
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In a system with multiple predators, the threat-sensitive predator avoidance hypothesis predicts that prey respond differently to predators relative to the risks each poses (e.g., degree of dietary specialization). Aquatic animals often rely heavily on detecting predators via chemical cues (kairomones) and respond with a suite of behaviors includin...
1. Previous research shows that canopy-associated shifts from an algal to a detritus-based food web can affect anuran tadpoles negatively. This may not be true of salamander larvae, however, because they are predators.
2. To investigate the influence of canopy cover on the survival and growth of salamanders, and on the subsequent export of biomass...
Background/Question/Methods In the Southeastern United States, two families of “giant salamanders” have evolved to live in a variety of aquatic habitats. Amphiumidae and Sirenidae each contain species that diverged in body size and are capable of surviving periodic droughts by aestivating in wetland sediments. Although both families have followed d...
Although the habitats of the Greater Siren (Siren lacertina) and Two-toed Amphiuma (Amphiuma means) have been described on a coarse scale; the microhabitat(s) of these species has not been examined. We trapped from 12 June 2008 to 1 July 2008 in an isolated wetland on the Savannah River Site in South Carolina where these two salamander species occu...
Research on landscape connectivity for amphibians that use isolated wetlands has focused on terrestrial and semiterrestrial species. Although aquatic species are commonly encountered in isolated wetlands, their dispersal capability and mode of dispersal has yet to be conclusively determined. For these salamander species, temporary waterways formed...
(summary of manuscript not actual abstract)
I used PIT-tags to track the efficacy of using toe clips or tail scoops (similar to notching) for marks on greater sirens (Siren lacertina).
PIT tags served as a permanent individual mark that could be used to track the healing of temporary marks often used by biologists in the field (toe clips, tail kno...
Habitat loss is a leading cause of global amphibian declines. Forest removal is a particularly significant threat because an estimated 82% of amphibians rely on forests for part of their lives.
Biphasic amphibians rely on suitable terrestrial habitat to support their post‐metamorphic growth and survival and also to maintain appropriate habitat and...
We developed a new type of passive-sampling minnow trap that enables aquatic sampling at depths of up to 70 cm without drowning obligate air-breathers. The trap demonstrated a heightened ability to capture bottom-dwelling animals that may otherwise be underrepresented by other trapping methodologies. The success rate of this new trap, relative to c...
The greater siren, Siren lacertina, is the heaviest and third longest salamander in the western hemisphere, was described nearly two and a half centuries ago and is abundant in the core of its distribution range. However, there is relatively little information available regarding the natural history and population ecology of this presumed common la...
Altered habitats have been suggested to facilitate red imported fire ant (Solenopsis invicta) colonization and dispersal, possibly compounding effects of habitat alteration on native wildlife. In this study, we compared
colonization intensity of wood cover boards by S. invicta among four forest management treatments in South Carolina, USA: an unhar...
Most bird and small mammal species construct a single type of nest that is specific to that species’ habitat needs. For example,
the old-field mouse, Peromyscus polionotus, constructs a burrow nest where more than one exit connects the nest chamber, whereas the deer mouse, P. maniculatus, constructs a simple chamber at the end of a short burrow (Da...
After more than five decades of intensive research on a wide variety of reptiles and amphibians at the Savannah River Site, the known occurrence of some members of the herpetofauna remains unresolved. One such “problem species,” Pseudacris brimleyi (Brimley's Chorus Frog), was recently found for the first time in over 50 years. The rediscovery of t...
An inventory of the reptiles and amphibians of Boy Scout Camp Linwood-Hayne, Richmond County, Georgia, was compiled over a period of three years (2003-2005). Interpretation of range maps indicated that a total of 102 species could possibly occur on the property. State records indicate that a total of 98 species are documented in Richmond County. Si...
Although salamanders are excellent indicators of environmental health, the ability to catch them efficiently without substantially disrupting their habitat is not always practical or even possible with current techniques. Ripping open logs and raking leaf packs onto shore (Bruce 1972) are examples of such practices that are disruptive but widely us...
Clearcutting and other forest management practices that remove canopy and disturb ground cover may exacerbate the risk of desiccation, particularly for newly metamorphosed amphibians. We examined dehydration rates of juvenile Mole Salamanders (Ambystoma talpoideum) in relation to burrow availability in four experimental forest management treatments...