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Full-Text Articles in Life Sciences
Spatial And Temporal Variation In The Aquatic Invertebrate Community Structure Of Rock Pools Along The Penobscot River, Maine, Chase R. Gagne
Spatial And Temporal Variation In The Aquatic Invertebrate Community Structure Of Rock Pools Along The Penobscot River, Maine, Chase R. Gagne
Electronic Theses and Dissertations
Pools of water that form in the fissures and depressions of rock outcrops, known as rock pools, are fairly common aquatic habitats that can easily be found along the rocky banks of many of Maine’s major rivers. In general, rock pools and the aquatic invertebrates inhabiting them have received little research attention and, though ubiquitous, have never been studied in Maine. My research addressed this knowledge gap by surveying 40 rock pools at four sites along the Penobscot River in Maine. The rock pools themselves had highly variable environmental characteristics and differed across sites and over time, especially in hydroperiod. …
The Effects Of Habitat And Connectivity On Tropical Ant Ecology And Behavior., Benjamin Jacob Adams
The Effects Of Habitat And Connectivity On Tropical Ant Ecology And Behavior., Benjamin Jacob Adams
Electronic Theses and Dissertations
This dissertation explores the role that physical connections among and within habitats play in determining the local diversity and behaviors of cursorial organisms. Understanding the processes that regulate local community assembly and that contribute to the maintenance of species diversity is a cornerstone of community ecology. Ants are a useful model for studies of local communities because they are abundant and fulfill a variety of ecological roles. Chapter one of the dissertation examines the how lianas (woody vines) function as connective structures among tree crowns and how these connections affect arboreal ant community structure within a tropical forest canopy. Trees …
The Forgotten Cousin In Freshwater Community Ecology: Tidal Freshwater Wetlands, Jack R. Mclachlan
The Forgotten Cousin In Freshwater Community Ecology: Tidal Freshwater Wetlands, Jack R. Mclachlan
Electronic Theses and Dissertations
Tidal freshwaters are unique in their placement in the landscape, forming where freshwater riverine flows are sufficient to overwhelm the saline water of the incoming tide, but not strong enough to suppress tidal water-height fluctuations. Tidal freshwaters and their wetlands have been overlooked by freshwater and marine researchers alike; neither discipline considers tidal freshwaters to fall under their purview. Invertebrate communities in tidal freshwaters are thought to be species depauperate; the consensus is that they support fewer taxa than nearby non-tidal freshwaters, but little is known about how these communities are structured. This study investigated how tidal hydrology, an atypical …