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Ecology and Evolutionary Biology

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An Integrative Approach To Managing A Species Of Conservation Concern: Resource Selection, Spatial Ecology, And Population Genetics Of The Green Salamander (Aneides Aeneus), Megan Novak Dec 2023

An Integrative Approach To Managing A Species Of Conservation Concern: Resource Selection, Spatial Ecology, And Population Genetics Of The Green Salamander (Aneides Aeneus), Megan Novak

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The relationship between wildlife and the environment they inhabit is dependent on both spatial and temporal scales. It is therefore crucial that biological investigations account for ecological scale when analyzing patterns and processes established, particularly when such investigations inform conservation management plans. This dissertation provides extensive insight into the conservation biology of the green salamander (Aneides aeneus), a critically imperiled species in South Carolina. The green salamander is a species that exists in a patchy network of rock outcrops within mountainous forest landscapes, and most studies on habitat suitability for green salamanders have been conducted on the macrohabitat, …


Behavioral Ecology Of The American Alligator (Alligator Mississippiensis) In Human-Dominated Landscapes Of Coastal South Carolina, Anjelika Kidd-Weaver Dec 2022

Behavioral Ecology Of The American Alligator (Alligator Mississippiensis) In Human-Dominated Landscapes Of Coastal South Carolina, Anjelika Kidd-Weaver

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When wildlife habitat is developed to accommodate growing human populations, wildlife are forced to move to undisturbed landscapes or to acclimate to a novel, anthropogenic environment. In this dissertation, we investigated the behavior and ecology of the American alligator (Alligator mississippiensis) in coastal, residential resort communities with an overarching goal of identifying behavioral patterns of alligators that can inform risk management strategies. In Chapter One, we compared the space use of male and female alligators in primarily wetland versus residential landscapes across three seasons to determine if and how space use behaviors of alligators differ. We found that …