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Sponges Structure Water-Column Characteristics In Shallow Tropical Coastal Ecosystems, Marla M. Valentine, Mark J. Butler Iv
Sponges Structure Water-Column Characteristics In Shallow Tropical Coastal Ecosystems, Marla M. Valentine, Mark J. Butler Iv
Biological Sciences Faculty Publications
Sponges can have powerful effects on ecosystem processes in shallow tropical marine ecosystems. They drive benthic-pelagic coupling by filtering dissolved and particulate organic matter from the water column, alter water chemistry in association with their symbiotic microorganisms, and increase habitat structural complexity. Anthropogenic degradation of coastal waters is widespread and can reduce the density and diversity of foundation species such as sponges, potentially diminishing their contributions to ecosystem processes. We used a novel mesocosm design that minimized artifacts associated with traditional single-species and closed-system filtration experiments to examine the effects of water turnover and sponge biomass on water-column properties. Using …
Population Dynamics Of Oryzomys Palustris And Microtus Pennsylvanicus In Virginia Tidal Marshes, Christopher P. Bloch, Robert K. Rose
Population Dynamics Of Oryzomys Palustris And Microtus Pennsylvanicus In Virginia Tidal Marshes, Christopher P. Bloch, Robert K. Rose
Biological Sciences Faculty Publications
Oryzomys palustris (marsh rice rat) and Microtus pennsylvanicus (meadow vole) cohabit coastal marshes in the mid-Atlantic US. Both were live-trapped for 23 months at two tidal marsh sites in Virginia to assess their demography near the margins of their distributions. In the presence of dense vegetation, population dynamics of the two species were seasonal and positively correlated, with densities declining through the winter. At the more sparsely vegetated site, densities of both species were lower, and densities of M. pennsylvanicus were negatively correlated with those of O. palustris. Patterns of reproduction differed between the species. O. palustris was reproductively …