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Bioelectrical Impedance Analysis Methods For Prediction Of Brook Trout Salvelinus Fontinalis Percent Dry Weight, Andrew William Hafs
Bioelectrical Impedance Analysis Methods For Prediction Of Brook Trout Salvelinus Fontinalis Percent Dry Weight, Andrew William Hafs
Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports
Reliable fish condition estimates are valued by fisheries ecologists and managers. Fish condition is used as an indicator of ecosystem health or to assess the population status for a species of interest. In aquaculture, proximate composition estimates are often wanted because of their relationship to fillet quality. Past researchers have used bioelectrical impedance analysis (BIA) to provide nonlethal mass based estimates of proximate composition for fish. Percent dry weight (PDW) of a fish is highly correlated to proximate composition values and energy density, therefore reliable predictions of PDW would eliminate the need for costly and laboratory analyses lethal to the …
Restoration Of Forested Ecosystems On The Monongahela National Forest, West Virginia, Melissa A. Thomas-Van Gundy
Restoration Of Forested Ecosystems On The Monongahela National Forest, West Virginia, Melissa A. Thomas-Van Gundy
Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports
The focus of resource management on National Forests is slowly changing to restoration of ecosystems and habitats. In West Virginia, the revised Land and Resource Management Plan for the Monongahela National Forest (MNF) guides resource management on the MNF. The MNF revised Forest Plan restructured management areas and goals toward restoration of red spruce dominated forests and oak and oak-pine forests in two separate management prescriptions that cover approximately 48% of the MNF. Incorporating ecosystem restoration in forest management may be guided by goals and objectives based on known previous conditions and the range of natural variability of those conditions. …
Nesting Biology Of Osmia Cornifrons: Implications For Population Management, Matthew Mckinney
Nesting Biology Of Osmia Cornifrons: Implications For Population Management, Matthew Mckinney
Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports
The Japanese hornfaced bee, Osmia cornifrons (Hymenoptera: Megachilidae) is a palearctic mason bee managed for the pollination of early season fruit crops such as apple and blueberry. Since its adoption as a managed pollinator in Japan during the 1940s, a large body of literature has amassed with the goal of enhancing O. cornifrons management practices. This research makes important contributions to that literature in two ways. First, the research describes the in-nest relationship of O. cornifrons and the cleptoparasitic mite pest Chaetodactylus krombeini. Distribution of male and female O. cornifrons and of C. krombeini was determined using linear and non-linear …
Avian Assemblages And Red-Eyed Vireo Nest Survival Within Mineland Forest, Jeremy Mizel
Avian Assemblages And Red-Eyed Vireo Nest Survival Within Mineland Forest, Jeremy Mizel
Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports
Since the passage of the Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act (SMCRA) in 1977, mined lands have generally been reclaimed to an environment characterized by severely compacted minesoils, a growth medium comprised largely of unweathered materials, and a predominance of aggressive groundcovers that inhibit native species colonization. Under these conditions, succession is arrested. Within landscapes that are fragmented by traditionally reclaimed surface mines, forest patches are smaller and forest cover on the landscape scale is reduced. As a result, forest songbirds that require large, continuous blocks of forest are negatively affected.;Some pre-SMCRA abandoned minelands contain areas of uncompacted minesoils on …
Edaphic And Land Use Influences On Central Appalachian Fens, Sarah Deacon
Edaphic And Land Use Influences On Central Appalachian Fens, Sarah Deacon
Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports
Local and landscape-scale factors influence peatland floristic assemblages. Our goal in this paper was to assess the interactions between wetland vegetation communities, edaphic factors, and surrounding land cover in central Appalachian peatlands. Specifically we quantified plant community dynamics in relation to edaphic factors and land cover and identified species level responses to human altered landscapes. Cluster analysis on vegetation data identified 3 vegetation groups; an emergent floristic assemblage, a shrub dominated group, and a group with mixed shrub and emergent vegetation. We found that wetlands with emergent vegetation cover were more often associated with natural land cover, higher pH and …
Fish And Aquatic Macroinvertebrate Communities In The Cacapon River, West Virginia, Stephen Selego
Fish And Aquatic Macroinvertebrate Communities In The Cacapon River, West Virginia, Stephen Selego
Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports
Stream restoration, involving both in-stream and riparian techniques, was conducted on an impaired stretch of the Cacapon River, West Virginia. Fish and aquatic macroinvertebrate communities were sampled before, during, and after restoration at the restoration site and four other sites (two impaired, two natural) to determine the success of the restoration project. Overall, bluntnose minnows (Pimephales notatus) were the most abundant fish, and riffle beetles (Stenelmis sp.) were the most abundant macroinvertebrates collected. Both communities were negatively impacted by the restoration efforts in the short-term, but recovered quickly. Fish communities returned roughly to the state observed pre-restoration. Macroinvertebrate communities increased …
Relationships Among Fish Assemblages, Hydroperiods, Drought, And American Alligators Within Palustrine Wetlands Of The Blackjack Peninsula, Aransas National Wildlife Refuge, Texas, Darrin M. Welchert
Relationships Among Fish Assemblages, Hydroperiods, Drought, And American Alligators Within Palustrine Wetlands Of The Blackjack Peninsula, Aransas National Wildlife Refuge, Texas, Darrin M. Welchert
Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports
The following thesis contains two chapters. In Chapter 1, I have reviewed and summarized literature pertaining to fishes and habitats of palustrine wetlands, the influence of hydroperiods on wetland fishes, the impacts of drought on wetland fishes, the importance of American alligators as ecological engineers of fish habitats within wetlands, and fish sampling within wetland habitats. Chapter 2 is a manuscript representing my thesis research. In this study, primary focus is placed on how fish diversity and how fish abundances of palustrine wetlands are influenced by drought conditions within the Blackjack Peninsula of the Aransas National Wildlife Refuge in southwestern …
Evaluating The Effects Of Morrow's Honeysuckle Control On Vertebrate And Vegetation Assemblages, And Small Mammal Foraging Ecology At Fort Necessity National Battlefield, Charnee Lee Rose
Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports
Exotic, Japanese bush honeysuckles (Lonicera spp.; Caprifoliaceae) are tied to a variety of impacts on wildlife and ecosystems. Morrow's honeysuckle (Lonicera morrowii) has become a persistent invader in eastern North America. We organized a restoration initiative at Fort Necessity National Battlefield (FONE), Pennsylvania, USA from 2004--2010. Concurrently, we studied the consumption of Morrow's honeysuckle fruits by small mammals from October--November 2009 and July--August 2010, and determined habitat variables that affected visitation rate to foraging stations. Areas of FONE were invaded by Morrow's honeysuckle after the land had been cleared for agriculture, and routine mowing ceased in the mid-1980s. Our restoration …
Demographic Response Of American Ginseng (Panax Quinquefolius L.) To Climate Change, Sara Souther
Demographic Response Of American Ginseng (Panax Quinquefolius L.) To Climate Change, Sara Souther
Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports
Ecological response to recent climate change has been documented for a multitude of species worldwide. Climate models predict further increases in temperature, as much as 8 times the degree of warming that has already occurred. Given observations of species response to contemporary climate change and the unprecedented degree of warming expected over the next century, climate change will no doubt determine future ecosystem composition and affect global species diversity. In order to prevent loss of biodiversity, it is necessary to understand and accurately project species' response to climate, and to identify species that are vulnerable to climate change driven extinctions. …