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Interactions Between Feather-Degrading Bacteria And Feather Coloration, Alexander Rahn Gunderson
Interactions Between Feather-Degrading Bacteria And Feather Coloration, Alexander Rahn Gunderson
Dissertations, Theses, and Masters Projects
No abstract provided.
Effects Of Adaptive Foragers On The Diversity And Functioning Of Assembled Model Communities, William J. Tarantino
Effects Of Adaptive Foragers On The Diversity And Functioning Of Assembled Model Communities, William J. Tarantino
Dissertations, Theses, and Masters Projects
Previous research suggests that prey-switching behavior by consumers (adaptive foraging) contributes to the stability of food web networks and may help explain the apparent contradiction between the complexity of natural ecosystems and theory that suggests such complex systems should be unstable. However, no previous study has explored the consequences of adaptive foraging behavior on ecosystem processes (or `functioning'). I assembled communities from regional pools while varying searching efficiency, connectance, and the fraction of adaptive foragers in order to observe the effects these properties have on the diversity and functioning of the resultant communities. In general, pools with increased connectance, a …
Status, Distribution And Reproductive Rates Of American Oystercatchers In Virginia, Alexandra Lee Wilke
Status, Distribution And Reproductive Rates Of American Oystercatchers In Virginia, Alexandra Lee Wilke
Dissertations, Theses, and Masters Projects
No abstract provided.
Impacts Of Gelatinous Zooplankton On Dissolved Organic Matter Cycling And Bacterioplankton Communities In The York River Estuary, Robert Howard Condon
Impacts Of Gelatinous Zooplankton On Dissolved Organic Matter Cycling And Bacterioplankton Communities In The York River Estuary, Robert Howard Condon
Dissertations, Theses, and Masters Projects
Large gelatinous zooplankton (GZ) blooms of lobate ctenophores, Mnemiopsis leidyi, and scyphomedusae, Chrysaora quinquecirrha , occur throughout Chesapeake Bay and its tributaries. The mechanisms of GZ bloom formation, and the roles GZ blooms play in dissolved organic matter (DOM) and carbon (C) cycling are not fully understood. During 2003--2006, I conducted laboratory experiments and field surveys in the lower York River to determine factors controlling timing and magnitude of GZ blooms, and to evaluate their effects on C cycling. Highest biomass of M. leidyi occurred in early summer (May-June) and in late winter. Peaks in ctenophore biomass in the mesohaline …
Community Dynamics In Submersed Aquatic Vegetation: Intermediate Consumers As Mediators Of Environmental Change, James G. Douglass
Community Dynamics In Submersed Aquatic Vegetation: Intermediate Consumers As Mediators Of Environmental Change, James G. Douglass
Dissertations, Theses, and Masters Projects
Natural ecosystems are strongly affected by changes in resource supply (bottom-up forces) and by changes in upper trophic levels (top-down forces). The extent to which these processes impact a system depends largely on the responses of organisms at middle trophic levels. In seagrass beds, a group of mid-level consumers known as mesograzers form a critical link in the chain of impact, connecting seagrass and epiphytic algae with predatory fishes and crustaceans. I observed dramatic seasonal and interannual changes in mesograzer abundance and species composition in eelgrass (Zostera marina) beds of lower Chesapeake Bay, Virginia, and endeavored to explain the top-down …
A Molecular Phylogeny Of The Genus Bonamia Based On Sequence Data Of The Ribosomal Rna (Rrna) Gene Complex, Delonna M. White
A Molecular Phylogeny Of The Genus Bonamia Based On Sequence Data Of The Ribosomal Rna (Rrna) Gene Complex, Delonna M. White
Dissertations, Theses, and Masters Projects
No abstract provided.
Effects Of Urban Development On Breeding Bird Diversity: The Role Of Diet And Migration, Elise Anne Larsen
Effects Of Urban Development On Breeding Bird Diversity: The Role Of Diet And Migration, Elise Anne Larsen
Dissertations, Theses, and Masters Projects
No abstract provided.