Life Sciences Commons^™

Discriminant Analysis Of Some East Tennessee Forest Herb Niches, Linda K. Mann

Masters Theses

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of using discriminant analysis in assessing plant niches. As a preliminary to establishment of the Environmental Research Park Program at Oak Ridge, Tennessee, five sites were inventoried for herbaceous species. From this inventory, four sympatric species of Galium and seventeen co-occurring herbaceous species were selected for discriminant analysis. The four species of Galium were treated as two data sets: one was composed of information collected at one site (a mesic hardwood area) and the other contained data from two cedar sites of shallow soil over lime-stone bedrock. The seventeen herbaceous …

Why Does Spruce Not Invade The High Elevation Beech Forests Of The Great Smoky Mountains?, Robert Dale Fuller

Masters Theses

Above 1,370 m, spruce-fir forests dominated by Picea rubens Sargent and Abies fraseri (Pursh) Poiret from a nearly continuous band across much of the landscape of the Southern Appalachian Mountains. Nearly pure stands of American Beech (Fagus grandifolia Ehrhart) penetrate into the spruce-fir forest on south-facing concave slopes, near the tops of major ridges. Frequently the boundary between these two community types is very abrupt.

Important factors in the maintenance of these so-called "beech gaps" against red spruce invasion were investigated. Soil temperature, soil moisture, and the presence of biotic toxins were studied in the rooting environment of potentially …

The Ecology And Life History Of The Endangered Snail Darter, Percina (Imostoma) Tanasi Etnier, Wayne C. Starnes

Doctoral Dissertations

A 2-year study of the ecology and life history of the snail darter, Percina tanasi, was conducted from 1974 to 1976. The snail darter was found to be a strictly benthic species principally associated with a large river gravel shoal habitat where it feeds and reproduces. Its present range is restricted to the lower Little Tennessee River and a small adjacent portion of the Tennessee River. It is speculated that P. tanasi once occupied a much wider range in the upper Tennessee River drainage which has since been curtailed by impoundments. This species was found to be a short-lived …

The Recovery Of Stream Benthic Insect Communities Following Coal Strip Mining In The Cumberland Mountains Of Tennessee, Anthony Talak Jr.

Masters Theses

The aquatic insect faunas of twenty-three streams in the Cumberland Mountains of Tennessee were investigated. The purpose of the study was to analyze the recovery through time of the aquatic insect faunas of streams polluted by runoff from contour strip mines.

Quantitative determinations of the benthic insect fauna were made using two methods. The first involved removing substrate particles and picking off the insects with forceps. The second was a Surber Sampler type method of placing a screen in the streams and disturbing the substrate upstraem of the screen.

Rather than sample one stream over a period of years, simultaneous …

Numerical Techniques For Classifying Forest Communities In The Tennessee Valley, Dennis Michael Mccarthy

Doctoral Dissertations

The main objectives of this study were:

1. To develop a series of vegetational classification systems based on the floristics of community strata, overstory structural functional features, and environmental parameter of a region typical of the temperate Tennessee Valley;

2. To examine the suitability of these classification systems for the complex forests of the Tennessee Valley;

3. To develop numerical tools for evaluating classification suitability;

4. To use these tools to seek out natural discontinuities in vegetational patterns.

To achieve these goals six multivariate cluster analysis programs were examined. Preliminary tests brought out undesirable properties in four of them, however, …

Comparison Of Fish And Benthic Faunal Compositions In Polluted And Pristine Forks Of A Mountain River, Lynn Betson Starnes

Masters Theses

The little Pigeon River in Sevier County, Tennessee presents a near ideal situation for the study of the effects of domestic sewage on species composition in a mountain river. The little Pigeon system has two principal components, the West and Middle Prongs. The West Prong is polluted by municipal effluent from Gatlinburg and Pigeon Forge, while the Middle Prong remains relatively pristine. Physicgraphically, the two prongs are strikingly similar. The great similarity of natural physical and chemical water quality parameters presents an opportunity to use the pristine prong as a control for the study of changes, probably resulting from pollution, …

Movements And Activities Of The Black Bear (Ursus Americanus) In The Great Smoky Mountains National Park, Alton Louis Eubanks

Masters Theses

This study was conducted on the Tennessee side of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park west of U.S. 441. The region is mountainous, with diverse habitats and considerable variation in temperature and precipitation. The major objectives were to describe bear movements and activities using radioisotopes and radiotelemetry, to determine diel activity patterns, and to evaluate selected radioisotopes as possible feces tags.

In September of 1974, two penned bears were injected with ⁶⁰Co or ¹³⁴Cs. Results of an earlier study using ¹⁰⁹Cd and ¹⁴⁴Ce were evaluated. All isotopes appear unsatisfactory as suitable feces tags.

From June through …

Population Characteristics, Movement, And Activities Of The Black Bear (Ursus Americaus), Larry Eugene Beeman

Doctoral Dissertations

Information on population characteristics, movements, and activities of the black bear (Ursus americanus Pallas) are limited. This is especially true in Southeastern United States where land use practices have eliminated the black bear from much of its former range. The Great Smoky Mountains National Park offers one of the few remaining areas in the Southeast where suitable habitat for the black bear is assured. The present study was conducted to assess various aspects of population ecology of the black bear. Techniques pertaining to collecting information on black bear movements and activities are also limited. Therefore, a large portion of …

Lightning Fires In Southern Appalachian Forests, Lawrence Samuel Barden

Doctoral Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to describe characteristics of lightning fires, including frequency, size, season and severity, and to determine their effects on the composition of pine-hardwood stands in the Appalachian Mountains of Tennessee and North Carolina.

An analysis of fire reports from Great Smoky Mountains National Park and from Cherokee, Nantahala and Pisgah National Forests, an area of 800,000 ha, shows that during 1960-1971 there was an average of six lightning fires per year per 400,000 ha (one million acres). The median size of lightning fires was 0.8 ha and the largest 33 ha. More than 90 percent …

The Allelopathic Influences Of Sassafras Albidum In Old Field Succession In Tennessee, Robert Edward Gant

Masters Theses

The purpose of this investigation was to study the mechanism that allows Sassafras albidum to maintain itself in relatively pure stands through many successional stages. Sassafras albidum is a common woody member of the old field community in Tennessee, invading in the early seral stages and surviving into the mature forest. Compounds known to be inhibitory to plant growth have been isolated from sassafras by other investigators. The presence of these terpenoid compounds in various organs of this plant suggests the existence of a possible allelopathic interference mechanism.

A survey of the internal and external herbaceous ground cover revealed the …

Distribution Of The Fishes Of The Hiwaaee River System-Ecological And Taxonomic Considerations, Robert Knapp Hitch

Masters Theses

This paper summarizes the results of seventy-two collections made by the author along Georgia and Tennessee portions of the Hiwassee River. The more interesting species are listed and possible habitat preferences shown by these species are noted.

A discussion of the distribution of fishes within the various tributaries of the Hiwassee is presented, as are possible reasons for the absence of fishes from certain tributary systems.

The problems associated with the taxonomy of the species of the Genera Cottus and Hypentelium are also examined.

The results of this research indicate some of the possible effects of the isolation of the …