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Full-Text Articles in Life Sciences
Performance Of Floristic Quality Assessment In Massachusetts Forested Wetlands, Carolyn Gorss
Performance Of Floristic Quality Assessment In Massachusetts Forested Wetlands, Carolyn Gorss
Masters Theses
In order to combat the loss of valuable wetland functions and services, federal, state and tribal governments must have the tools to accurately assess and monitor the condition of wetland ecosystems. One particular method of wetland assessment is Floristic Quality Assessment (FQA), which has been growing in popularity throughout the United States since its creation in the 1970s. FQA relies on vegetative indicators of human disturbance to assess the integrity of an ecosystem. FQA calculations are based on Coefficients of Conservatism (C-scores), professionally-assigned scores ranging from 0-10 that denote a local species' tolerance to anthropogenic disturbance. Despite increasing interest in …
Mapping Sandbars In The Connecticut River Watershed Through Aerial Images For Floodplain Conservation, Bogumila Backiel
Mapping Sandbars In The Connecticut River Watershed Through Aerial Images For Floodplain Conservation, Bogumila Backiel
Masters Theses
Active geomorphic features of rivers like sandbars provide habitat for endangered and threatened riparian plant and animal species. However, human development has altered flow and sediment regimes, thus impairing formation of sandbars and islands. Large scale mapping of the fluvial geomorphology in river ecosystems like the Connecticut River is are necessary to understand the dynamics of these features and preserve habitat. Orthophotographs from 2012 from United States Department of Agriculture's Farm Service Agency (FSA), National Agriculture Imagery Program (NAIP) were used to develop a model in ArcGIS Pro to identify fluvial geomorphic features in the Connecticut River and 12 of …
Evaluation Of The Phylogenetic Relationships Of The Marine Rivulariaceae., Jose Alberto Martinez Yerena
Evaluation Of The Phylogenetic Relationships Of The Marine Rivulariaceae., Jose Alberto Martinez Yerena
Masters Theses
Historically, the Rivulariaceae family has grouped all heteropolar, tapered and heterocitous Cyanobacteria, however recent description of multiple cyanobacterial populations with this morphotype using 16S rRNA phylogenies have reported that the populations with this morphotype are polyphyletic, and many new and old tapered and heteropolar genera (Cyanomargarita, Gloeothrichia, Rohoaltiella, etc.) have been classified and reclassified to different families than the Rivulariaceae. This is also the case of the main genera of the family (Rivularia and Calothrix), which have been repeatedly reported as polyphyletic, and whose separation to different families has been called for. In this project I carried out the evaluation …
Evaluation And Demographic Response Of The Shovelnose Sturgeon Commercial Caviar Fishery In The Wabash River, Jessica L. Thornton
Evaluation And Demographic Response Of The Shovelnose Sturgeon Commercial Caviar Fishery In The Wabash River, Jessica L. Thornton
Masters Theses
Shovelnose sturgeon (Scaphirhynchus platorynchus Rafinesque) are considered one of the last commercially viable options for sturgeon roe harvest. Due to the collapse of several marine sturgeon fisheries and the Similarity of Appearances provision which protect shovelnose sturgeon in only a part of their range, the caviar fishery in the Wabash River remains an important point of supply for this lucrative natural resource. In this thesis, I presented an evaluation of the shovelnose sturgeon commercial caviar fishery in the Wabash River. More specifically, I described the demographic response of this population to continued exploitation over a 10-year period. Additionally, I …
The Effects Of Temperature On Batrachochytrium Dendrobatidis Resistance And Heart Rate In The Polymorphic Eastern Red-Backed Salamanders, Plethodon Cinereus, Joseph Alan Demarchi
The Effects Of Temperature On Batrachochytrium Dendrobatidis Resistance And Heart Rate In The Polymorphic Eastern Red-Backed Salamanders, Plethodon Cinereus, Joseph Alan Demarchi
Masters Theses
No abstract provided.
The Effect Of Self-Recognition In The Competition Between Genets Of Solidago Altissima, Charles Jaques
The Effect Of Self-Recognition In The Competition Between Genets Of Solidago Altissima, Charles Jaques
Masters Theses
Competition is a major driving force in the abundance, distribution, and diversity within any biological system. Plants are more likely to suffer reductions in fitness as a consequence of competition, as they typically occur in dense communities. Individuals within these populations must respond to both inter- and intraspecific competition. Recent studies suggest that the ability to distinguish kin from non-kin may play an integral role in the success of individuals within different plant populations and communities. However, a less known interaction is that between individual clones within a genet as they grow, spread, and begin to interact with nearby rival …
Impact Of Giant Miscanthus (Miscanthus X Giganteus) Cultivation On Midwestern Farmland Birds, Matthew Craffey
Impact Of Giant Miscanthus (Miscanthus X Giganteus) Cultivation On Midwestern Farmland Birds, Matthew Craffey
Masters Theses
Giant Miscanthus (Miscanthus x giganteus) is a promising bioenergy feedstock, newly introduced to North America. However, the qualities that make Giant Miscanthus an attractive bioenergy feedstock may pose challenges to local wildlife. To assess the impacts of Giant Miscanthus on Midwestern farmland birds, I conducted point count and vegetation surveys at three sites in east-central Illinois where Giant Miscanthus was being cultivated. I used occupancy modeling to assess the relative influence of Giant Miscanthus on five species relative to other habitat and landscape characteristics. Dickcissel (Spiza Americana), Eastern Meadowlark (Sturnella magna), and Red-Winged Blackbird …
Impact Of Temperature Increase On Freshwater Fish Species: Energetics And Muscle Mechanics Of Two Centrarchids, Israt Jahan
Impact Of Temperature Increase On Freshwater Fish Species: Energetics And Muscle Mechanics Of Two Centrarchids, Israt Jahan
Masters Theses
Fishes have evolved physiologically to live within a specific range of environmental variation and existence outside of that range can be stressful or fatal. These ranges can coincide for fishes that evolved in similar habitats. This study investigates physiological processes limiting thermal tolerance, specifically how changes in water temperature affect the swimming energetics and muscle mechanics in largemouth bass (Micropterus salmoides) and bluegill (Lepomis macrochirus). I focused on the impact of temperature change at the muscle level in these two species and the capacity to adapt to rapid changes in the environment. Fish were housed at …
Effects Of Main-Stem Impoundments On Hydrology And Larval Fish Communities In Major Tributaries Of Two Large Midwestern Rivers, Jordan Pesik
Effects Of Main-Stem Impoundments On Hydrology And Larval Fish Communities In Major Tributaries Of Two Large Midwestern Rivers, Jordan Pesik
Masters Theses
Anthropogenic modifications, like impoundments, have altered natural environmental conditions in most lotic systems and impacted fish ecology in many ways. We examined the effect of large river impoundments on fish reproductive behavior by studying the larval fish communities in tributaries of the impounded Illinois and unimpounded Wabash Rivers. We hypothesized that larval fish communities would be similar between the geographically proximal systems, but temporal structuring would depend largely on flow regimes. Biweekly larval densities were greatest among all taxa in the Wabash system, though overall communities were similar between systems. Of the six tributaries, the four smallest rivers were most …