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Full-Text Articles in Life Sciences
Effects Of Large Wood Additions On Basal Resources, Macroinvertebrates, And Ecosystem Processes In The Narraguagus River, Maine, Val Watson
Electronic Theses and Dissertations
Ecological restoration is an increasingly common practice across ecosystems, and current practices aim to restore the biological and physical processes underlying ecosystem function, often for the sake of endangered higher-level consumers. Studies of restoration outcomes often report few or inconsistent ecological changes, and monitoring of restoration projects rarely measures ecological processes. Monitoring also usually measures outcomes at a single scale, despite the prevalence of scale- dependent phenomena across ecosystems. My thesis uses measurements of ecological processes to assess restoration response and evaluates responses across multiple scales. I focus here on a long-term large wood addition project on the Narraguagus River …
An Elevational Gradient In Thermal Tolerance Among Daphnia From Western Maine Lakes, Wheeler Lowell
An Elevational Gradient In Thermal Tolerance Among Daphnia From Western Maine Lakes, Wheeler Lowell
HON 499 Honors Thesis or Creative Project
With climate change threatening biodiversity worldwide, it is important to understand species’ physiological responses to changing thermal environments. This study examined whether thermal tolerance (measured as time to immobilization, Timm) in the zooplankton Daphnia catawba and D. schødleri varied along an elevational gradient in Western Maine. Specimens collected from five lakes were subjected to heat stress trials to look for inter-population variation. Thermal tolerance was strongly correlated with several elevation-driven lake temperature variables, with the percent of variation explained ranging from 13-37%. Daphnia from cooler, high-elevation lakes were more sensitive to elevated temperatures. While latitudinal gradients have been examined extensively, …
Marine Aquaculture In Maine: Understanding Diverse Perspectives And Interactions At Multiple Scales, Melissa L. Britsch
Marine Aquaculture In Maine: Understanding Diverse Perspectives And Interactions At Multiple Scales, Melissa L. Britsch
Electronic Theses and Dissertations
Coastal oceans are changing and experiencing increased use. The social and ecological benefits of healthy coastal oceans are well documented and include habitats for marine species, storm protection, and recreational opportunities (MEA, 2005). As the impacts of human activities are recognized, questions about how ocean spaces should be used are becoming more common. These questions are complex and involve many tradeoffs. Understanding the values people hold about uses, and how activities and ecosystems overlap, is critical for weighing tradeoffs and improving future management. I use the northeastern U.S. state of Maine to study human interactions with coastal oceans. Maine is …
Using Stable Isotopes And Diet Analysis To Assess The Potential For Competition And Coexistence Among Coyotes (Canis Latransl, Red Foxes (Vulpes Vulpes), And Gray Foxes (Urocyon Cinereoargenteus) In Maine, Henry M. Masters
Student Scholarship
When two species compete for food, one species typically outcompetes the other. Subordinate species can alleviate costs of competition by reducing diet overlap, promoting coexistence. Non-native coyotes (Canis latrans) and historically native gray foxes (Urocyon cineroargenteus) have expanded their range in Maine and may compete with native red foxes (Vulpes vulpes). To investigate competition, I analyzed stable isotopes and stomach contents to determine if coyotes, red foxes, and gray foxes differed in use of anthropogenic foods and trophic position. I predicted that coyotes utilize anthropogenic foods the least (lowest δ13C), and red foxes utilize …
Density Of Hemigrapsus Sanguineus And Carcinus Maenas In Kettle Cove, Cape Elizabeth, Maine, Valerie Huston, Teresa Martel, Zimzim Mohamed
Density Of Hemigrapsus Sanguineus And Carcinus Maenas In Kettle Cove, Cape Elizabeth, Maine, Valerie Huston, Teresa Martel, Zimzim Mohamed
Thinking Matters Symposium Archive
Our focus for this project is to determine how the population densities of Hemigrapsus sanguineus, Asian shore crab and Carcinus maenas, European green crabs have shifted over a brief period of time. We are comparing data collected on September 17, 2018, to data collected on October 22, 2018. The location where the two sets of data were collected from is Kettle Cove, Cape Elizabeth, Maine. The GPS coordinance was 43°.33.55N70°.13.40N. We discuss what affects the influences of environmental factors such as temperature, salinity, high intertidal versus low intertidal, and percent ascophyllum cover affect have on the population densities of these …
The Androscoggin Bioblitz: A Citizen Science Biological Survey In New Auburn, Maine, Sam H. Matey
The Androscoggin Bioblitz: A Citizen Science Biological Survey In New Auburn, Maine, Sam H. Matey
Thinking Matters Symposium Archive
After several weeks of planning, the Androscoggin Citizen Biological Survey, or “BioBlitz,” took place on August 11th, 2018 in New Auburn, near the confluence of the Little Androscoggin and Androscoggin Rivers. The BioBlitz was a joint project of Maine Conservation Voters and the Androscoggin Land Trust and was conceived of an organized by a USM Environmental Science student interning with Maine Conservation Voters. In this BioBlitz, participants used the citizen science app iNaturalist to photograph wildlife of the river shoreline and add their observations to the app’s database. The Androscoggin BioBlitz project established on the iNaturalist website collected all of …
Movement Patterns And Feeding Behavior Of The Limpet Tectura Testudinalis (Müller) Along The Mid-Maine Coast, Joshua Lord
Movement Patterns And Feeding Behavior Of The Limpet Tectura Testudinalis (Müller) Along The Mid-Maine Coast, Joshua Lord
Honors Theses
Tectura testudinalis is a limpet that lives in the mid-intertidal zone along the coast of Maine and grazes on a variety of encrusting algae. A previous study asserted that T. testudinalis preferred to feed and rest on the encrusting alga Clathromorphum circumscriptum and that this species of limpet displayed homing behavior. However, I show that T. testudinalis does not home or return to any specific substrate while resting. Conclusive evidence was found for nocturnal movement. I show that C. circumscriptum was the preferred food source for this limpet, closely followed by Hildenbrandia rubra, another encrusting alga. Field and lab experiments …
Microhabitat Selection By The Tortoiseshell Limpet, Tectura Testudinalis (Müller), In Tide Pools On The Mid-Maine Coast, Emily R. Lyczkowski
Microhabitat Selection By The Tortoiseshell Limpet, Tectura Testudinalis (Müller), In Tide Pools On The Mid-Maine Coast, Emily R. Lyczkowski
Honors Theses
Microhabitat selection of the limpet Tectura testudinalis, an important grazer along the rocky Maine coast is examined using both mensurative and manipulative experiments. T. testudinalis substrate selection is essential to its survival in the unpredictable and harsh regime of the intertidal zone. At three sites studied in the Gulf of Maine, T. testudinalis selectively inhabits tidal pools and vertically oriented substrates. Both of these microhabitats reduce the degree of environmental stress (desiccation, extreme temperature, and hypersaline conditions) and predation experienced by individuals. Differences among sites are common, indicating the importance of varying environmental factors in regulating and influencing habitat selection …
Post-Glacial Vegetational History Of The Great Bog, Belgrade, Maine, John Dawson
Post-Glacial Vegetational History Of The Great Bog, Belgrade, Maine, John Dawson
Senior Scholar Papers
A 6-m vibracore taken from the Great Bog in Belgrade, Maine, was sampled for pollen analysis at 10-cm intervals. Samples were processed in the laboratory using standard techniques developed by Faegri and Iversen. The sediment in the sample was reduced to a residue of pollen which was mounted on microscope slides. A minimum of 300 pollen grains was identified and counted at each level using a compound microscope at 400x magnification. Five radiocarbon dates were taken from the core at stratigraphic boundaries. Lastly, pollen concentration and pollen accumulation rates were calculated. The uppermost 3.8 m of the core is fine …
The Fresh-Water Fishes Of Maine, Flavia Lucile Richardson
The Fresh-Water Fishes Of Maine, Flavia Lucile Richardson
Electronic Theses and Dissertations
The purpose of this investigation is to determine the present status of the fish fauna of Maine. Data assembled during the course of this study includes descriptions of native and introduced species, records concerning their present distribution, and the extent of the official introduction of non-indigenous species. From this material may be derived conclusions respecting the survival of the introduced species and the probable capacity of the native species to successfully compete with them. Through the use of descriptive material assembled during the investigation of species it has been possible to construct a key as an aid in identifying any …