Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®
- Keyword
-
- Assemblage (1)
- Barrier island (1)
- CDOM (1)
- Carbon cycle (1)
- Carbon sequestration (1)
-
- DIC (1)
- DOC (1)
- Disturbance (1)
- EDNA (1)
- Early-successional habitat (1)
- Estuary (1)
- Fisheries (1)
- Forests (1)
- GAM (1)
- Golden-winged Warbler (1)
- Habitat selection (1)
- James (1)
- Kd (1)
- Land management (1)
- Land-use (1)
- Landscape ecology (1)
- Light attenuation (1)
- Light scattering (1)
- Mattaponi (1)
- Metabarcoding (1)
- Net ecosystem production (1)
- Nutrient enrichment (1)
- Occupancy models (1)
- Old forests (1)
- Pamunkey (1)
Articles 1 - 7 of 7
Full-Text Articles in Life Sciences
The Mechanisms And Consequences Of Shrub Encroachment On The Virginia Barrier Islands, Lauren K. Wood
The Mechanisms And Consequences Of Shrub Encroachment On The Virginia Barrier Islands, Lauren K. Wood
Theses and Dissertations
Shrub encroachment is a global phenomenon driven by direct and indirect anthropogenic influence which alters plant communities and ecosystem function. Many studies have investigated drivers and consequences of woody plant establishment, but mesic landscapes are underrepresented in the literature. My objective was to assess the mechanisms of Morella cerifera encroachment into coastal mesic grassland, the potential for self-reinforcement, and consequences on community composition, nutrients, and landscape productivity. I studied temperature and water microclimate modification by Morella cerifera presence and removal to understand ecosystem engineering and community composition changes. Additionally, I examined the influence of shrubs on surrounding grassland species traits …
Water Clarity At The River-Estuary Transition Zone: A Comparative Study Of The James, Mattaponi, And Pamunkey Sub-Estuaries, Rachel Henderson
Water Clarity At The River-Estuary Transition Zone: A Comparative Study Of The James, Mattaponi, And Pamunkey Sub-Estuaries, Rachel Henderson
Theses and Dissertations
Water clarity is a key parameter for monitoring water quality and often used to assess habitat suitability for submerged aquatic vegetation (SAV). Light attenuation, a measure of water clarity, is impacted by colored dissolved organic matter (CDOM), and by suspended particulates which include living and non-living components. We anticipated that the relative importance of these factors in regulating light attenuation would vary among the upper portions of three sub-estuaries differing in morphometry, hydrology, and degree of human influence. The James is characterized by eutrophic conditions and high algal abundance, whereas the Mattaponi and Pamunkey exhibit lower phytoplankton production. The Mattaponi …
Phenotypic Characterization Of Table Mountain (Pinus Pungens) And Pitch Pine (Pinus Rigida) Hybrids Along An Elevational Gradient In The Blue Ridge Mountains, Virginia, Alexander L. Brown
Phenotypic Characterization Of Table Mountain (Pinus Pungens) And Pitch Pine (Pinus Rigida) Hybrids Along An Elevational Gradient In The Blue Ridge Mountains, Virginia, Alexander L. Brown
Theses and Dissertations
Hybridization has played a long-standing role in the evolution of both plant and animal species and allows for the sharing of genetic information between lineages. Here, potential hybridization of a species endemic to the Appalachian Mountains, Table Mountain pine (Pinus pungens), and pitch pine (Pinus rigida) was investigated along an elevational gradient, through the use of phenotypic measurements: cone length, cone width, and needle length. Phenotypes were used to identify hybrids in a three-tiered elevational sampling method at two sites in Shenandoah National Park with the use of linear discriminant analysis. It was found that hybridization …
Searching For Gold: Using A Novel Land Cover Classification To Identify Multiscale Drivers Of Site Occupancy By A Flagship Species For Early-Successional Habitat Conservation, Baron Lin
Theses and Dissertations
Understanding habitat selection at multiple scales is an important step in guiding conservation programs and reversing species declines. This, however, is difficult for species that occupy early-successional habitats (ESH) due to a lack of accurate representation of shrub cover in publicly available land cover data. The Golden-winged Warbler (Vermivora chrysoptera; GWWA) is a threatened species of conservation concern and a flagship for ESH conservation. We used a novel, LIDAR-derived land cover classification that accurately identifies shrubs at a fine resolution (1m) to investigate how habitat composition and configuration influence GWWA site occupancy. We aggregated this same land cover …
Plant Communities In Dynamic Systems: How Disturbance Influences Coastal Plant Community Structure And Function, Joseph K. Brown
Plant Communities In Dynamic Systems: How Disturbance Influences Coastal Plant Community Structure And Function, Joseph K. Brown
Theses and Dissertations
As the climate continues to change it is difficult to predict how barrier island function will respond to global change drivers accompanying predicted climate change. Disturbance frequency and nutrient enrichment in coastal regions are drivers of plant community change that increase with climate change. Plant communities on barrier islands are not only tightly connected to barrier island function but are also some of the first communities affected by environmental change, making them a critical piece in understanding how current drivers of global change will impact the future of barrier islands. The objective of my dissertation was to observe and manipulate …
Successional Changes In Carbon Storage Are Sustained In A Temperate Forest Across Different Initiating Disturbances, Cameron Clay
Successional Changes In Carbon Storage Are Sustained In A Temperate Forest Across Different Initiating Disturbances, Cameron Clay
Theses and Dissertations
Managing forests for carbon (C) sequestration requires an understanding of how disturbance history shapes C pools and fluxes over successional time. At the University of Michigan Biological Station, we examined how two stand establishing disturbances influenced C pools and fluxes over 100+ years of succession, comparing these secondary forests with “legacy” late-successional stands encompassing ages and compositions that would be present in the absence of region-wide stand-replacing disturbance. Our work utilized measurements taken between 2014 and 2020 from separate experimental forest chronosequences initiated following clear-cut harvesting only or clear-cut harvesting and fire, along with three >130-yr-old late successional stands comprising …
A Spatiotemporal Assessment Of Fish Assemblage Response To Land-Use Change And The Evaluation Of Edna Metabarcoding For Describing Diverse Fish Communities, Timothy M. Owen
Theses and Dissertations
Fish assemblages are often assessed as a biological proxy for environmental health. While humans value healthy environments for the ecosystem services and recreational opportunities they provide, it is increasingly evident that such resources can be paradoxically degraded by anthropogenic activities. In this investigation, we studied the relationship between different intensities of anthropogenic land-use change and habitat-driven fish assemblage response across multiple spatiotemporal scales. Secondarily, we explored the efficacy of eDNA metabarcoding against conventional electrofishing techniques for the purpose of describing complete fish communities. This study was conducted in the Tuckahoe Creek basin near Richmond, Virginia. This James River tributary serves …