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A Comparison Of Floristic Diversity In Old-Growth Versus Mid-Successional Secondary-Growth Hardwood Forests Of The White Mountain National Forest, New Hampshire, United States, Leslie Marie Teeling-Adams

Doctoral Dissertations

There is currently debate over whether managed forests will ever regain the species diversity of old-growth stands. While succession and response to disturbance of tree species has been extensively researched, little similar effort has focused on understory herbaceous communities. This study conducted large-scale, comprehensive botanical inventories of three old-growth and three mid-successional (80--100 year old) secondary forest stands in New Hampshire's White Mountain National Forest (WMNF). Cluster analysis and TWINSPAN grouped the secondary sites within two steps. Old-growth floras were significantly richer in total, total herbaceous, woodland herbaceous, and unique herbaceous species. Abundance distributions of the two treatment groups were …

Transcriptional Elongation Defects Enhance Upstream Poly (A) Site Utilization And Spt5 Affects Mrna Degradation Through Its Physical And Functional Interaction With Ccr4 -Not Complex, Yajun Cui

Doctoral Dissertations

While a number of proteins are involved in elongational processes, the mechanism of action of most of these factors remains unclear primarily because of the lack of suitable in vivo model systems. We have identified in yeast several genes, each of which contain internal poly (A) sites, whose full-length mRNA formation is reduced by mutations in RNA polymerase II subunit RPB2, elongation factor SPT5, or TFIIS. RPB2 and SPT5 defects also promoted the utilization of upstream poly (A) sites for genes that contain multiple 3 ' poly (A) signaling sequences, supporting a role for elongation in differential poly (A) site …

Evaluation Of Bacteriophage And Viral Persistence During Alkaline Stabilization In Sludge And Biosolids Intended For Land Application, Jacqueline Joy Brabants

Doctoral Dissertations

The use of lime to reduce or eliminate pathogen content is a cost-effective treatment method currently being employed in many Class B biosolids production plants in the United States. A bench scale model of lime stabilization was designed to evaluate pathogen persistence. The survivability of poliovirus type 1, fecal coliforms, Salmonella, adenovirus type 5, rotavirus Wa, and the male-specific bacteriophage MS-2 was evaluated under lime stabilization conditions in various matrices. Salmonella and fecal coliforms were evaluated at 28°C and poliovirus and MS-2 were evaluated at both 28°C and 4°C for survivability under lime stabilization conditions in a sludge matrix. All …

Spatial Modeling And Visualization Of Habitat Response To Hydrologic Restoration In New England Salt Marshes, Raymond Anthony Konisky

Doctoral Dissertations

Anthropogenic alterations that restrict tidal flows negatively impact 20% of New England salt marshes, but management attempts to restore tides to these sites can be met with unexpected or less than optimal results. Restoration planners may be hindered by a lack of synthesized information regarding important biotic and abiotic factors that determine the distribution of dominant salt marsh plants and invasive species. An ecosystem model was developed to better predict salt marsh habitat response to hydrologic modification as a synthesis of existing models for biomass production, marsh elevation, tidal hydrology, and plant succession. A field experiment was conducted to provide …

Nuclear And Cytoplasmic Genetic Variation In Picea: Dna Markers For Evaluating Past Migration, Introgression And Evolutionary History, Joselle Germano-Presby

Doctoral Dissertations

Mitochondrial and chloroplast haplotypes were identified in range-wide populations of white (Picea glauca), black (P. mariana ) and red spruce (P. rubens). The chloroplast genome exhibited more intraspecific variation than the mitochondrial genome. Red spruce displayed the most total chloroplast genetic diversity (H T = 0.52). Neighbor-joining analysis arranged the chloroplast haplotypes into three monophyletic groups that were nearly 100% species-specific. These results strongly refute a previously proposed progenitor/derivative relationship of black/red spruce. Red and black spruce were estimated to have diverged from their common ancestor ∼0.6--3.5 million years ago. Mitochondrial diversity detected in black spruce was attributed to interspecific …

Satellite Indices Of Fluvial Influence In Coastal Waters, Joseph E. Salisbury Ii.

Doctoral Dissertations

In this dissertation a suite of satellite, discharge and in-situ measurements is used to explore the spatio-temporal distribution of terrestrial constituents in coastal environments. The covariance between riverine delivery of optically active constituents and the corresponding optical variability in neighboring coastal waters for the Mississippi and Orinoco Rivers is documented. From this work, satellite-based indices of fluvial influence (IFI), are developed which contain information on the spatial extent of riverine constituents in coastal waters. The IFI is defined as the correlation between time series of riverine discharge and an ocean color satellite-derived property in the region proximal to a river's …

Factors Associated With Atlantic White -Cedar Seedling Recruitment On Microtopographic And Landscape Scales, Brown Mill Pond, Rye, New Hampshire, Lara Megdane Gengarelly

Doctoral Dissertations

The decline of Atlantic white-cedar (Chamaecyparis thyoides) throughout its range has motivated researchers to investigate cedar seedling recruitment. In this study, conducted at Brown Mill Pond in Rye, New Hampshire, the distribution pattern of cedar seedlings was studied in order to identify which, if any, biological or physical factors observed at a microtopographic scale were associated with seedling presence. On a landscape scale, five previously identified cedar communities were measured for differences in water table level and soil moisture in order to determine associations between stand dynamics and hydrology.

A field survey showed that cedar seedlings were (1) absent from …

Investigations Into The Digestive System Proteases Of Argiope Aurantia (Araneae: Araneidae), Hemolytic Agents Of Spider Venoms, And The Role Of Both In Necrotic Arachnidism, Matthew Joseph Foradori

Doctoral Dissertations

Necrotic arachnidism, or tissue necrosis following spider bites is a widespread problem. Knowledge of the exact mechanism that produces such lesions is still incomplete. Here I have examined spider digestive fluid proteases and spider venom enzymes (e.g., sphingomyelinase D and phospholipase A2) for their potential to cause necrotic lesions, as both are thought to be primary agents.

The digestive fluid of Argiope aurantia was examined for its ability to cleave a variety of extra-cellular matrix proteins, including collagen, elastin, and fibronectin. Having confirmed that the fluid has collagenases, the digestive fluid was injected into the skin of rabbits to observe …

Assessment Of The Fate Of Cryptosporidium Parvum, Giardia Lamblia And Ascaris Lumbricoides In Class A Composting And Class B Lime Stabilization Biosolids Treatment Processes, Christine L. Bean

Doctoral Dissertations

The management of biosolids in the United States has become an issue of public health concern in regard to disposal. Congress created the Clean Water Act in 1972 to protect waters in the United States and as a result, no longer can human waste be dumped into oceans or rivers. Means of disposal of biosolids are focused on land application today. The practice of land application takes into consideration the classification of the biosolids material and management practices to control access to and growth of crops on the land. Biosolids are classified as either Class A or Class B depending …

Calcium -Dependent Protein Kinases Are Myristoylated And Associated With Different Membranes In Arabidopsis Thaliana, Sheen Xun Lu

Doctoral Dissertations

In plants, calcium-dependent protein kinases (CDPKs) are the predominant calcium-stimulated kinases and are known to be involved in many cellular processes. CDPK enzymatic activity previously has been detected in many locations in plant cells, including the membrane fraction. However, little is known about the subcellular locations of individual CDPKs or the mechanisms involved in targeting them to those locations. Arabidopsis contains 34 genes that are predicted to encode CDPKs and 28 of the predicted CDPK proteins have potential myristoylation motifs at their amino termini. Myristate is a 14-carbon saturated fatty acid that is attached co-translationally to the amino-terminal glycine of …

Age, Growth, And Reproductive Biology, Of The Winter Skate, Leucoraja Ocellata, In The Western Gulf Of Maine, James Antoni Sulikowski

Doctoral Dissertations

This study describes the age, growth and reproductive biology of the winter skate, Leucoraja ocellata, in the Western Gulf of Maine. Age was estimated by enumerating annular bands within the vertebral centra. Precision of the age estimates was evaluated using the Index of Average Percent Error and the annual nature of growth band formation was documented using marginal increment analyses. Growth was assessed with the use of the von Bertalanffy growth equation. Age and size at maturity was estimated by measuring morphological and histological changes in the reproductive tract and circulating steroid hormone concentrations. Maturity ogives for males predict that …

Factors Affecting Plant Community Composition And Dynamics In The Ossipee Pine Barrens, New Hampshire, Lauren Fredrick Howard

Doctoral Dissertations

Forty-one 0.25 ha sites were sampled in the Ossipee Pine Barrens to identify and describe tree community types and investigate factors controlling forest composition and dynamics. Every site had three site-time assemblages (STA's) representing past, present, and future trees. Past (1952) vegetation was calculated based on reverse growth estimates of current stems and stumps. Future (2052) vegetation was predicted by current sapling (<10 cm dbh and ≥1 m tall) relative densities.

Cluster analysis produced three community types from 121 STA's: pitch pine, mixed pine-hardwoods, and red maple. Pitch pine communities comprised 63% of sites in 1952, but declined since. Mixed pine-hardwoods peaked at 58% in 2002, but were …

Characterization Of Prokaryotic Diversity In A Chlorinated Solvent-Contaminated Bedrock Aquifer Using Denaturing Gradient Gel Electrophoresis, Ribosomal Dna Sequencing, And Real Time Pcr, Walid Naser

Doctoral Dissertations

A culture-independent molecular phylogenetic approach was implemented to investigate spatial and temporal variations in microbial diversity and abundance in a chlorinated solvent-contaminated bedrock aquifer. Core and groundwater samples were collected from several boreholes and included the following samples: (1) groundwater that was associated with the core, (2) open fractures and (3) partially mineralized sealed fractures (PMSF) exposed by striking the core with a surface-sterilized geology hammer. DNA representing the attached and unattached microbial communities was extracted from these samples, and the 16S rRNA gene was amplified with primers specific for Bacteria, Archaea, sulfate reducers, Geobacteraceae family, Dehalorespirers (Dehalococcoides sp. and …