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Selection Of Benthic Habitat By Yellow-Phase American Eels (Anguilla Rostrata), Melissa A. Braham
Selection Of Benthic Habitat By Yellow-Phase American Eels (Anguilla Rostrata), Melissa A. Braham
Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports
This thesis examines habitat preference of yellow-phase American eels (Anguilla rostrata) and relationships between age and length with that preference. The thesis is comprised of two chapters: (1) an introduction and literature review on American eel life history, their habitat selection, and the study of resource selection, and (2) an experimental study of yellow-phase American eel habitat preference and relationships between preference and age and length. Given widespread habitat alteration of North American rivers, an understanding of the use and selection of habitat is important to conservation and management of the American eel. Yellow-phase American eels are often considered as …
Dna-Based Population Estimation, Harvest Vulnerability, And Home Range Dynamics Of Black Bears In Western Maryland, Michael D. Jones
Dna-Based Population Estimation, Harvest Vulnerability, And Home Range Dynamics Of Black Bears In Western Maryland, Michael D. Jones
Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports
After nearly being extirpated from the state, black bears in Maryland have rebounded to a point where recreational harvest has now become an important management tool. Having a better understanding of bear population parameters, movements, and harvest vulnerability allows managers to implement hunting more effectively and responsibly. To estimate demographics of the Maryland bear population, we implemented noninvasive genetic sampling of bear hair during summer 2011. We used a model-based sampling design that allowed us to collect samples more efficiently. We used presence-only maximum entropy (Maxent) modeling to classify the study area based on predicted probability of bear occurrence, and …
Stream Restoration: Project Evaluation And Site Selection In The Cacapon River Watershed, West Virginia, Jonathan L. Pitchford
Stream Restoration: Project Evaluation And Site Selection In The Cacapon River Watershed, West Virginia, Jonathan L. Pitchford
Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports
Stream restoration is being conducted throughout the world at unprecedented rates to address stream channel degradation and water quality concerns. Natural Channel Design (NCD) is a common method used for restoration and has received governmental endorsement; however, the effects of NCD on channel stability and ecosystem functioning are poorly studied. We examined the effects of a reach-scale NCD project on channel stability, riparian vegetation, and water quality along the Cacapon River, West Virginia using a before-after-control-impact design and determined that restoration increased the abundance and diversity of woody vegetation, but had minimal effects on streambank stability and water quality. Increased …
Cliff Ecology: Extent, Biota, And Recreation Of Cliff Environments In The New River Gorge, Wv, Peter W. Clark
Cliff Ecology: Extent, Biota, And Recreation Of Cliff Environments In The New River Gorge, Wv, Peter W. Clark
Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports
The New River Gorge National River (NERI) contains an extensive network of exposed cliff-forming sandstone units, the most extensive in West Virginia and possibly within the entire Appalachian range. These cliff resources are critical to NERI's national significance, and contain specialized and potentially rare plant communities (Vanderhorst 2001; Mahan 2004; Vanderhorst, Jeuck, and Gawler 2007). This project investigates the spatial distribution of cliffs, associated plant (vascular and non-vascular) and lichen communities, and the impacts to cliff environments caused by recreational rock climbing.;Using LiDAR in a GIS, we mapped all cliffs in the northern extent of NERI, from Keeney's Creek to …
Investigating Changes In Productivity Of An Old Growth Juniperus Stand: A Physiological And Isotopic Approach, Scott E. Spal
Investigating Changes In Productivity Of An Old Growth Juniperus Stand: A Physiological And Isotopic Approach, Scott E. Spal
Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports
Forest ecosystems play a central role in the global carbon cycle and are a major part of the terrestrial carbon sink. For more accurate predictions of terrestrial C sequestration models require a mechanistic understanding of how carbon cycling in trees and forests responds to atmospheric CO 2, temperature, and precipitation. With this comes a need for a greater understanding of the physiological mechanisms involved with changes in forest productivity as trees and forests age. This research used an old growth stand of Juniperus virginiana (Eastern red cedar) in the Central Appalachian Mountains of West Virginia to examine how carbon assimilation …
Habitat Selection Of Male Eastern Wild Turkey (Meleagris Gallopavo Silvestris) In West Virginia, Jesse L. De La Cruz
Habitat Selection Of Male Eastern Wild Turkey (Meleagris Gallopavo Silvestris) In West Virginia, Jesse L. De La Cruz
Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports
Eastern wild turkeys (Meleagris gallopavo silvestris) have been the focus of widespread research throughout their range, but research on male wild turkey home range size and habitat resource selection is limited in West Virginia. To address this lack of knowledge, I proposed the quantification of home range within a region (second-order) and core home range within a periphery (third-order) resource selection. Home ranges estimates and regional vector sampling grids were modeled against anthropomorphic land use and landscape cover features, land fragmentation, slope, and aspect raster data within the Geospatial Modeling Environment (GME) to derive proportional resource use and availability data.;West …
Ecological Effects Of And Recovery Following Surface Mining And Pasture Reclamation, Michael Levy
Ecological Effects Of And Recovery Following Surface Mining And Pasture Reclamation, Michael Levy
Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports
Surface mining with concurrent reclamation to pasture is a major driver of land use and cover change in Appalachia and constitutes a massive disturbance. Prior research suggests that some aspects of recovery are either slow or incomplete. We examined ecosystem structure---including soil physical and chemical properties, arbuscular mycorrhizal fungal (AMF) infectivity and community, and plant diversity and community composition---on a chronosequence of pasture-reclaimed surface mines and an unmined pasture in northern West Virginia. We also examined the effect of inoculating red clover, grown with high or low phosphorus, with AMF communities from old and young pasture-reclaimed surface mines and an …
Habitat Use By Northern Dusky Salamanders In Riparian Corridors Of Southwestern Pennsylvania, Robert Joseph Michalow
Habitat Use By Northern Dusky Salamanders In Riparian Corridors Of Southwestern Pennsylvania, Robert Joseph Michalow
Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports
Amphibian populations have decreased in many parts of the world and the rate of decline has increased over the past 25 years. Much of the population decline can be attributed to habitat fragmentation, thus, possibly forming metapopulations. The semi-aquatic northern dusky salamander belongs to the family Plethodontidae and the genus Desmognathus. Amphibians, such as salamanders, may occupy undisturbed forest floors with biomass equal to, or exceeding, the biomass of other vertebrate groups and they can achieve their highest densities in ancient or undisturbed forests. Salamander densities can be estimated using cover items and this method has become a more common …