Life Sciences Commons^™

Effects Of Non-Consumptive Recreation And Environmental Factors On Arkansas State Park Biodiversity, Bennett P. Grooms

Theses and Dissertations from 2016

State parks serve a dual conservation role by offering protected habitat to many species while also promoting recreational use of natural resources. Non-consumptive recreation activities, however, have long-term negative effects on the behavior, physiology, and reproductive success of state park biotic communities. The purpose of my research was to investigate the possible synergistic effects of non-consumptive trail use, environmental factors, and trail design factors on avian, mesocarnivore, and woody vegetation communities in Arkansas state parks. During 18 May – 7 August 2015, I conducted avian point counts, trail user counts, set camera traps, and sampled vegetation at 227 points on …

Water Loss Rates And Desiccation Tolerances For Spiders And Crickets, Matthew Zach, Kevin E. Mccluney

Honors Projects

Despite the importance of water to living organisms, access varies across the globe with high variability over space and time. Seventy-five percent of the world’s freshwater alone is ice while 99% of unfrozen freshwater is underground (Winter et al. 1998). Understanding how terrestrial species respond to water availability and compensate for water stress can provide insight to their behavior, ecology and physiology. The goal of this research was to examine the differences in the evaporative water loss rates and desiccation tolerances of Hogna carolinensis and Acheta domesticus. First, an experiment was conducted to quantify the rate of evaporative water …

Climate Change Drives Outbreaks Of Emerging Infectious Disease And Phenological Shifts, Jeremy Cohen

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Climate change is expected to impact species by altering infectious disease outcomes, modifying community composition, and causing species to shift their phenology, body sizes and range distributions. However, the outcomes of these impacts are often controversial; for example, scientists have debated whether climate change will exacerbate emerging infectious disease and which species are at greatest risk to advance their phenology. There reason for these controversies may be that climate change is impacting diverse processes across a wide range of ecological scales, as the interplay between fine-scale processes and broad-scale dynamics can often cause unpredictable changes to the biosphere. Therefore, it …

Pollutants And Foraminiferal Assemblages In Torrecillas Lagoon: An Environmental Micropaleontology Approach, Michael Martinez-Colon

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Torrecillas Lagoon in the North Coast of Puerto Rico has experienced extensive anthropogenic influence over the past 400 years. Elevated concentrations of Potential Toxic Elements (PTEs) have been reported in surficial sediments. The main goal of this dissertation was to implement in Puerto Rico the use of benthic foraminifers as a bioindicators of PTEs and to compare the impact of Cu(II) on field samples with results of experimental work using cultures.

Analyses included geochemical assessment for bulk and carbonate- soluble bioavailable concentrations of PTEs in surface, core and pore-water samples, as well as analyses of grain-size, Percent Total Organic Carbon …

Individual Variation In Plant Traits Drives Species Interactions, Ecosystem Functioning, And Responses To Global Change, Quentin Daniel Read

Doctoral Dissertations

Ecologists have long sought to understand the processes that lead to the riotous diversity in communities of organisms that inhabit disparate climates and landscapes. Such a diversity of traits leads to a diversity of interactions among species in natural communities, which in turn generates a diversity of potential responses to ongoing global change. In this dissertation, I do three things: I explore the forces that structure plant communities and the ecosystem functions that they mediate, I describe patterns of variation among communities, species, and individual organisms across environmental contexts, and I disentangle the direct effects of global change from the …

Reef Fish Spatial Distribution And Benthic Habitat Associations On The Southeast Florida Reef Tract, Dana Fisco

HCNSO Student Theses and Dissertations

The Florida Reef Tract (FRT) extends from the tropical Caribbean up the southeast coast of Florida into a temperate environment where tropical reef assemblages diminish with increasing latitude. This study used data from a three-year comprehensive fishery-independent survey to quantify reef fish spatial distribution along the Southeast FRT and define where the assemblage shifts from tropical to temperate. A total of 1,676 reef fish visual census samples were conducted to assess the populations on a stratified-random selection of sites of marine hardbottom habitats between the Miami River and St. Lucie inlet. Multivariate analyses were used to investigate differences in assemblages …

An Analysis Of Blue Ash (Fraxinus Quadrangulata) Regeneration In Southeastern Michigan In The Presence Of Emerald Ash Borer (Agrilus Planipennis), Benjamin Adam Spei

Wayne State University Theses

Abstract

AN ANALYSIS OF BLUE ASH (FRAXINUS QUADRANGULATA) REGENERATION IN SOUTHEASTERN MICHIGAN IN THE PRESENCE OF EMERALD ASH BORER (AGRILUS PLANIPENNIS)

by

BENJAMIN A. SPEI

May 2016

Advisor: Dr. Daniel M. Kashian

Major: Biological Sciences

Degree: Master of Science

Since the introduction of the invasive bark beetle emerald ash borer (EAB) (Agrilus planipennis Fairmaire) (Coleoptera: Buprestidae) to southeastern Michigan, most native ash species (Fraxinus spp.) such as white ash (F. Americana), black ash (F. nigra), and green ash (F. pensylvanica) have suffered mortality rates exceeding 99% after infestation. This has led to the loss of seed sources resulting in a …

Ecology Of Two Reintroduced Black Bear Populations In The Central Appalachians, Sean Mccarthy Murphy

Theses and Dissertations--Animal and Food Sciences

Reintroduced populations are vulnerable to demographic and environmental stochasticity, deleterious genetic effects, and reduced population fitness, all of which can increase extinction probability. Population viability is principle to determining the status of reintroduced populations and for guiding management decisions. To attempt to reestablish black bear (Ursus americanus) populations in the central Appalachians, two reintroductions using small founder groups occurred during the 1990s in the Big South Fork area along the Kentucky-Tennessee border (BSF) and in the Jefferson National Forest along the Kentucky-Virginia border (KVP). My objectives were to estimate demographic and genetic parameters, and to evaluate long-term viability …

An Examination Of Plant Community Composition In Six Carolina Bays On The Coastal Plain Of South Carolina, Katherine L. Altman-Goff

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Historically high rates of human impact and recent Supreme Court cases, which have affected the regulation of geographically isolated wetlands in the United States, suggest that Carolina bays may be at high risk of human impacts in the future. Conservation efforts should be established based on applied ecological data and, if regulations by state and federal agencies are unable to conserve Carolina bay wetlands, it may be important to prioritize individual bays for preservation on protected lands. I examined plant community composition, diversity, richness, and rarity and soil parameters in six Carolina bays across South Carolina, using a replicated ecological …

Soil Properties Affect Establishment Of Invasive Species, Celastrus Orbiculatus, In A Lower Hudson River Riparian Ecosystem, Shabana Hoosein Hoosein

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

The Hudson River Estuary has been colonized by numerous terrestrial invasive plant species, due in part to its history of anthropogenic and natural disturbance riparian dynamics. This study investigates the spatial patterns of a widespread invasion by Oriental (or Asiatic) bittersweet (Celastrus orbiculatus Thunb.) in Schodack Island State Park, Rensselaer and Columbia Counties. The Park is home to rare species and communities, several of which are threatened by the encroachment of bittersweet. Bittersweet populations were mapped and surveyed on a fixed grid throughout the island, to determine distribution patterns. Stem densities were approximately 50% higher in sites with dredged material …

Activity Patterns, Home Range, And Microhabitat Selection Of A Terrestrial Turtle (Rhinoclemmys Rubida Perixantha) In A Tropical Dry Forest, Taggert G. Butterfield

All Master's Theses

Turtles are in trouble worldwide, with nearly half recognized by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) as needing special protection. The Eurasian pond and Neotropical wood turtles of the family Geoemydidae are the most diverse turtles and comprise ¼ of all turtle species yet basic information on their natural history is lacking. Moreover, seasonal tropical dry forest (SDTF), where many geoemydids exist, is considered the most endangered ecosystem in the world. We investigated the activity patterns, home range size, and microhabitat selection of the Mexican Spotted Wood Turtle (Rhinoclemmys rubida perixantha) in its SDTF habitat by …