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Using The Spot-Mapping Censusing Technique To Assess Changes In Breeding Bird Communities At Santa Ana National Wildlife Refuge, Alamo, Texas, 1940-1996, Alberto Cantu

Theses and Dissertations - UTB/UTPA

Results of breeding-bird censuses done by Davis in 1940 and by Gehlbach between 1973-1978 at Santa Ana National Wildlife, Alamo Texas, were compared to a 1995-1996 bird survey done in Gehlbach's study area. According to the Wilcoxon rank-sum test, bird densities in 1940 and 1995-1996 were similar, while 1973-1978 densities were lower. The 1995-1996 bird community was 76% similar to both the earlier studies. However, the communities studied in 1940 and 1973-1978 had only a 60% similarity. Negligible differences in bird densities and species composition were found between the 1995 and 1996 communities. Differences are attributed to changes in vegetation …

A Comparison Of Secondary Successional Woody Vegetation In Two Revegetated Fields In South Texas And An Assessment Of Habitat Use By The Olive Sparrow, Arremonops Rufivirgatus, Patrick Grant Wright

Theses and Dissertations - UTB/UTPA

Aspects of plant species composition and structure of two revegetated fields in western Cameron County, Texas, were studied between 1992 and 1995. Avian habitat suitability was assessed using the Olive Sparrow, Arremonops rufivirgatus, as an indicator species. Total vegetation volume at the Longoria Wildlife Management Area (WMA), an area revegetated in 1961, was 0.745 $\rm m\sp3V/m\sp2$ and that of the Anacua WMA, revegetated in 1983-4, was 0.546 $\rm m\sp3V/m\sp2$ in 1992. Secondary woody species at the Longoria and Anacua WMA's had a Shannon's index of diversity of 0.619 and 0.264, respectively. Secondary woody vegetation at the Longoria WMA had a …

Where Language Touches The Earth: Folklore And Ecology In Tohono O'Odham Plant Emergence Narratives, Jennifer L. Hughes

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The historical and ecological relationships between the Tohono O'odham and the Sonoran desert landscape are expressed in the stories they tell. The Tohono O'odham have lived in the deserts of southwestern Arizona and northern Mexico for centuries, interacting with their environment and gaining intimate knowledge of desert botanical communities. Many of these interactions are dramatized in their traditional oral narratives. I have characterized those traditional oral narratives that illustrate and articulate Tohoro O'odham interrelationships with Sonoran desert botanical communities as "plant emergence narratives." These stories embody and express the reciprocal relationship between the Tohono O'odham and the plants they cultivate …

Life History And Reproductive Biology Of The Estuarine Nudibranch Tenellia Adspersa (Nordmann, 1845), Charles Morgan Chester

Doctoral Dissertations

Tenellia adspersa is a small (5-7 mm) estuarine nudibranch. Tenellia lives in a highly variable environment and feeds on many gymnoblastic and calyptoblastic hydroids. I undertook a field study at four sites in the Great Bay Estuary (Durham, New Hampshire) to assess the amount of variability in abiotic and biotic factors. Environmental parameters (temperature and salinity) and the availability of hydroid prey (Cordyolophora lacustris and Obelia spp.) varied within the generation time of Tenellia and could affect its life history.

Laboratory studies compared the growth rate of the hydroid, Cordylophora to the growth rate and predation rate of Tenellia. The …

Ecological Patterns During Ontogeny In The Bicolor Damselfish, Stegastes Partitus, Poey, Richard Stephen Nemeth

Doctoral Dissertations

This dissertation examined the ecological constraints during the early life history of the bicolor damselfish, Stegastes partitus Poey (Perciformes, Pomacentridae). A series of studies, conducted in Teague Bay, St. Croix and Discovery Bay, Jamaica between 1991 and 1996, determined the cause of variation in length of the planktonic larval period, the effect of larval history on settlement success and examined the causes behind the patterns of distribution and population structure seen throughout its geographic range. Variable growth rates in early-stage larvae established a canalized trajectory toward larval competence and provides a mechanism for determining planktonic duration. Using otolith microstructure I …

Competition And Dispersal In The Regulation Of Plant Species Richness On Carex Stricta Tussocks, Leonard Alexander Lord

Doctoral Dissertations

Many wetland plant species can be found growing on Carex stricta Lam. (tussock sedge) tussocks in freshwater marshes. Based on Grime's model of plant species richness, the objectives of this research were to: (1) examine if dispersal characteristics vary among C. stricta marshes in a manner that could potentially influence species richness on individual tussocks, and (2) examine how variation in propagule availability may interact with standing crop and leaf litter to regulate species richness on individual tussocks. All of the research was conducted in southeastern New Hampshire.

Dispersal characteristics were quantified in five wetlands representing a broad range of …

Molecular Identification, Coastal Distribution And Recruitment Of Cucmaria Frondosa Larvae In The Western Gulf Of Maine, Dorothy E. Medeiros-Bergen

Doctoral Dissertations

Understanding of the physical transport of larvae requires information on adult source populations, larval distributions, larval behavior and physical oceanography. Identification of three species (Cucumaria frondosa, Psolus fabricii and Chiridota laevis) of holothurian larvae in the western Gulf of Maine was done with a simple detection protocol, using oligonucleotide probes, for the 16S rRNA portion of the mitochondrial DNA genome. More than 2000 larvae and new recruits were analyzed. This technique revealed that of the three species present in the plankton, Cucumaria larvae dominated the samples comprising $>$90% of the larvae and 95% of new recruits during 1993. Cucumaria …

Factors Controlling The Impacts Of South Louisiana Crude Oil On The Vegetation And Revegetation Of Coastal Wetlands., Qianxin Lin

LSU Historical Dissertations and Theses

The impacts of south Louisiana crude oil on three types of marsh, salt, brackish, and freshwater, dominated by Spartina alterniflora, S. patens, and Sagittaria lancifolia, respectively, were studied in the greenhouse. The influence of a number of factors such as marsh type, plant species, oil dosage, oil coverage, soil composition, leaf surface structure, season and meteorological conditions, on the impact of crude oil to marsh vegetation and revegetation were investigated. Vegetative sensitivity to south Louisiana crude oil increased in the order of S. lancifolia, S. alterniflora, and S. patens. Photosynthetic rates, stem densities, and the regrowth of aboveground biomass for …

Impact Of Insecticides On Predators Of The Soybean Looper, Pseudoplusia Includens (Walker)., Michael Lynn Boyd

LSU Historical Dissertations and Theses

Insecticide toxicity to hemipteran predators (i.e. Geocoris punctipes (Say), Nabis capsiformis Germar, Nabis roseipennis Reuter, and Podisus maculiventris (Say)) was evaluated using three different routes of insecticide exposure (direct contact, indirect insecticide toxicity through consumption of treated prey, and residue uptake). Pirate 3SC$\sp\circler$ (chlorfenapyr) had direct contact toxicity equal to Ambush 2E$\sp\circler$ (permethrin) and Methyl Parathion 4E$\sp\circler$ to most hemipteran predators tested. Exposure to foliage treated with Proclaim 0.16E$\sp\circler$ (emamectin benzoate) usually resulted in lower mortality as compared to Pirate. Condor OF 100F$\sp\circler$ (Bacillus thuringiensis) had the lowest contact toxicity to hemipteran predators of all insecticides tested. Pirate at 0.224 …

Nesting Ecology Of The White-Faced Ibis (Plegadis Chihi) In Southwestern Louisiana., Kathleen Carson Garrett

LSU Historical Dissertations and Theses

I studied the nesting ecology of the White-faced Ibis (Plegadis chihi) during the summers of 1994 and 1995 in three colonies in Lacassine National Wildlife Refuge, southwestern Louisiana. Data were collected on colony-site characteristics, chronology (with abundance) of colony formation, reproductive success, and growth and development of ibis nestlings. Small colonies nested in dense buttonbush (Cephalanthus occidentalis) and water willow (Decodon verticillatus) "islands." The largest colony nested in black willows (Salix nigra) (3.2 ha)--a habitat unique to ibis populations in Louisiana--with nests heights up to 7.5 m. Cattle egrets (Bubulcus ibis) (62%) and ibises (36%) were the most abundant species. …

Biological Control Of Pythiaceous Fungi Causing Death Of Longleaf Pine Seedlings During Cold Storage., Xiaoan Sun

LSU Historical Dissertations and Theses

Pythium dimorphum Hendrix & Campbell and other Pythium species were determined to be pathogenic fungi that cause the death of longleaf pine seedlings during cold storage. Pathogenicity of these Pythium isolates as determined by infecting newly-germinated slash pine seedlings in vitro was confirmed in field evaluations. An in vitro dual culture screening system was effectively used for selecting Trichoderma isolates capable of killing P. dimorphum. Selected Trichoderma isolates and Gliocladium virens produced volatile and/or non-volatile antibiotics on solid media and in liquid cultures, but antibiotic production could be affected by medium type, pH, and culture age, depending on species or …

Seed Colour Variation, Dormancy, And Seed Banks In The Bull Thistle, Cirsium Vulgare (Savi) Ten, Colleen Doucet

Digitized Theses

The bull thistle, Cirsium vulgare (Savi) Ten. is listed as a noxious weed in Ontario and in Australia. It is widespread and found in many disturbed habitats such as roadsides, quarries, construction sites and pastures. Successful weeds are considered to demonstrate, among others, the following features: the production of a large number of small seeds, long-lived seeds, the presence of an efficient dispersal mechanism, and self-compatibility. Although seed production is substantial and Cirsium vulgare is self-compatible, the species has several characteristics that should constrain its demographic success. Seed dispersal is limited and in past studies, this species had been dismissed …

Male Reproductive Success And The Mating System Of Bushy-Tailed Woodrats, Michael Graham Topping

Digitized Theses

Bushy-tailed woodrats are nocturnal cricetid rodents distributed throughout the mountainous regions of western North America. Despite a number of studies on the population ecology of this species, little is known about the behaviour of males during the breeding season.;I investigated the reproductive behaviour of male bushy-tailed woodrats in three ways. First, I examined the spatial distribution of individuals within a breeding population, using radiotelemetry and mark-recapture livetrapping. Both males and females exhibited considerable overlap with animals of both sexes, mean intersexual and intrasexual overlap values for each sex did not differ in two of the three years of study. This …

Testing For Mate Choice And Competition In Convict Cichlids Using Ecologically Relevant Contexts, Diane Kathleen Urban

Digitized Theses

Mate choice and intrasexual competition in convict cichlids, Cichlasoma nigrofasciatum, was investigated in the laboratory, during courtship, nest building, guarding eggs, and guarding fry. During courtship, females were expected to use male body size to indicate quality and to compete for large males. Females and newly introduced males were tested under two conditions: Treatment1--the males were similar in body length; and Treatment 2--one male was larger than the other two. No significant difference was found between treatments in the frequency of female proximity to males or in the frequency of female-female aggressive behaviour. However, the large male of Treatment 2 …

Comparative Reproductive Ecology Of Female Buffleheads (Bucephala Albeola) And Barrow's Goldeneyes (Bucephala Islandica) In Central British Columbia, Jonathan Edward Thompson

Digitized Theses

Waterfowl (Anseriformes) generally have high energetic costs for reproduction because they lay large, energy-rich eggs. Consequently, many temperate nesting ducks (Anatinae) occupy seasonally productive environments to meet nutritional requirements for egg production. However, ducks in the genus Bucephala often breed in unproductive boreal and montane regions. This study was conducted to investigate nutritional aspects of reproduction in female Buffleheads (Bucephala albeola) and Barrow's Goldeneyes (Bucephala islandica) breeding in central British Columbia.;Diet composition of breeding female Buffleheads and Barrow's Goldeneyes, which consisted primarily of benthic insects, was similar, providing support for the food defense hypothesis as an explanation for evolution of …

Population Dynamics, Production And Resource Allocation In The Zebra Mussel, Dreissena Polymorpha, From The Lower Great Lakes, Canada, Margo Elizabeth Chase

Digitized Theses

Five populations of Dreissena polymorpha from three lakes (Lake St. Clair, Lake Erie and Lake Ontario) were examined to determine the population dynamics, reproductive cycle, secondary production and the allocation of resources to somatic tissue and shell, and gamete production.;Variation in life history characteristics, such as lifespan, age at first reproduction, maximum size and fecundity were observed both within and among sites, although the among-site variation was greater. The lifespan of D. polymorpha ranged from 2 to {dollar}>{dollar}4 years depending on the lake. The onset of sexual maturity was related to size, not age. Individuals became sexually mature between …

Rain Forest Curriculum For Upper Elementary And Middle Grades, Nancy Jane Brinkley

Theses Digitization Project

No abstract provided.

Identification As A Motivator Of Environmentally Responsible Tourist Behaviour, Steve Sertis

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

This study examined the use of information in motivating environmentally responsible behaviour. In light of the ineffectiveness of traditional educational methods that have focussed upon affecting behaviour by changing attitudes through the manipulation of cognitive variables, an attempt was made to produce a sense of identification with the Rottnest Island Quokka using the tripartite model of motivational bases of attitudes developed by Hills (1993 ). This model used to determine whether different kinds of information would produce changes in environmental behaviour. Three groups of tourists were given either no information; factual information, consistent with current educational techniques used to influence …

Nature Among The Mormons: An Ecocritical Approach To Mormon Literature, Gail D. Ballard

Theses and Dissertations

Increasingly, environmentalists have focused on Judeo-Christian tradition as the cause of Western culture's ecological crisis. It is the purpose of this paper to examine the charges against Judeo-Christian tradition and to show how the revealed doctrines of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints provide possible solutions to environmental challenges. The resulting Latter-day Saint environmental paradigm will be superimposed on selected Mormon literature to determine how effectively the doctrines taught by Church authorities filtered into popular Mormon culture.

Despite the inspired teachings of Latter-day Saint prophets, Mormons remain unimpressive in their environmental practices. My research will show that while …