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Full-Text Articles in Life Sciences

The Influence Of The Invasive Chinese Tallow (Triadica Sebifera) Leaf Litter On Aquatic Chemistry And Microbial Community Composition, Raymond D. Montez Dec 2016

The Influence Of The Invasive Chinese Tallow (Triadica Sebifera) Leaf Litter On Aquatic Chemistry And Microbial Community Composition, Raymond D. Montez

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Global climate change and anthropogenic activity have facilitated the movement and invasive potential of nonnative plants in native environments. These invasions can have negative effects on ecosystem diversity and function. The nonnative and invasive plant, Chinese Tallow (Triadica sebifera), has already invaded much of the south eastern US where it is outcompeting native tree species and changing ecosystem diversity in a variety of habitats. Leaf litter from the Chinese tallow has been shown cause changes in dissolved oxygen and pH in the aquatic environment. Turbidity is also affected when Chinese tallow litter is present in water. A series of …


Natural Establishment Of Earthworms On Reclaimed Lignite Mine Soils, Lacey Russell, Kenneth Farrish, Jerry Leon Young, George Damoff, Brian Oswald Aug 2016

Natural Establishment Of Earthworms On Reclaimed Lignite Mine Soils, Lacey Russell, Kenneth Farrish, Jerry Leon Young, George Damoff, Brian Oswald

Student Publications

This two-year field study surveyed earthworm community characteristics on a chronosequence under afforested pine and hardwood lignite mine soils at the Beckville and Oak Hill lignite coal mines in east Texas. The following were used as indicators of earthworm community characteristics: reclamation type, forest cover type, age since reclamation and physical and chemical soil properties. The Beckville mine was sampled from February 2012 through March 2013; the Oak Hill mine was sampled from April 2013 through March 2014. The study was a 2x2x3 factorial design with reclamation type (mixed overburden vs. haul back), cover-type ((pine plantation (pp) and mixed pine …


Long-Term Overstory Vegetation Responses To Prescribed Fire Management For Longleaf Pine At Big Thicket National Preserve, Deanna M. Boensch Aug 2016

Long-Term Overstory Vegetation Responses To Prescribed Fire Management For Longleaf Pine At Big Thicket National Preserve, Deanna M. Boensch

Student Publications

At the western edge of the longleaf pine (Pinus palustris) range, federal land managers have burned the forests of Big Thicket National Preserve to bring back the structure and diversity of the longleaf pine forest. In the early 1990’s, a four year study was conducted by Rice University, and the National Park Service continued monitoring the study’s fire ecology research plots. After two decades of data collection, ordination was applied to species abundance data to examine changes in vegetation communities from a variety of prescribed fire treatments and controls. The vegetation data was separated by size class to …


Long-Term Overstory Vegetation Responses To Prescribed Fire Management For Longleaf Pine At Big Thicket National Preserve, Deanna M. Boensch Aug 2016

Long-Term Overstory Vegetation Responses To Prescribed Fire Management For Longleaf Pine At Big Thicket National Preserve, Deanna M. Boensch

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

At the western edge of the longleaf pine (Pinus palustris) range, federal land managers have burned the forests of Big Thicket National Preserve to bring back the structure and diversity of the longleaf pine forest. In the early 1990’s, a four year study was conducted by Rice University, and the National Park Service continued monitoring the study’s fire ecology research plots. After two decades of data collection, ordination was applied to species abundance data to examine changes in vegetation communities from a variety of prescribed fire treatments and controls. The vegetation data was separated by size class to include overstory, …


Responses Of Problematic Algae To Copper-Based Algaecide, Aaron Slevin, Clayton Rushing, James Cunningham, Joseph Watkins, Michael Deguenther Mar 2016

Responses Of Problematic Algae To Copper-Based Algaecide, Aaron Slevin, Clayton Rushing, James Cunningham, Joseph Watkins, Michael Deguenther

Undergraduate Research Conference

Eutrophication is the process by which a body of water acquires a high concentration of nutrients, especially phosphates and nitrates. These typically promote excessive growth of algae. As the algae die and decompose, high levels of organic matter and the decomposing organisms deplete the water of available oxygen, causing the death of other organisms, such as fish. Eutrophication is a natural, slow-aging process for a water body, but human activity greatly speeds up the process (USGS.gov). Golf Courses are often fertilized numerous times a year and can be major problem in fertilizer runoff in ponds surrounding the course. In east …


Spatial Distribution Of Earthworms In An East Texas Forest Ecosystem, Melissa A. Bozarth, Kenneth W. Farrish, George A. Damoff, James Van Kley, J. Leon Young Jan 2016

Spatial Distribution Of Earthworms In An East Texas Forest Ecosystem, Melissa A. Bozarth, Kenneth W. Farrish, George A. Damoff, James Van Kley, J. Leon Young

Faculty Publications

Earthworms were collected and identified in different ecological habitats of the Stephen F. Austin Experimental Forest (SFAEF) in the Piney Woods Ecoregion (PWE) of Texas. Earthworm spatial distribution data were collected over four distinct ecological habitats with a range of soil conditions and vegetative cover. A total of 128 sampling plots were surveyed in two different, broadly defined locations (mesic slope = 68 plots, dry-mesic upland = 60 plots). Using multivariate classification/ordination (TWINSPAN) and detrended correspondence analysis (DCA) of overstory vegetation data, these two locations were further divided into four distinct habitats: dry-mesic mixed upland, transitional zone, mesic slope and …


Habitat Use And Avoidance By Foraging Red-Cockaded Woodpeckers In East Texas, John N. Macey, Brent Burt, Daniel Saenz, Richard N. Conner Jan 2016

Habitat Use And Avoidance By Foraging Red-Cockaded Woodpeckers In East Texas, John N. Macey, Brent Burt, Daniel Saenz, Richard N. Conner

Faculty Publications

Picoides borealis (Red-cockaded Woodpecker) is an endangered bird endemic to the Pinus (pine) ecosystems of the southeastern US. Mature pine savannahs with a minimal midstory and lush herbaceous groundcover represent high-quality habitat. This study examines the foraging-habitat patterns of Red-cockaded Woodpeckers in East Texas. We present a logistic regression model that best differentiates between foraged and non-foraged habitat. Increases in hardwood-midstory basal area have the greatest negative impact on the probability of Red-cockaded Woodpeckers selecting a habitat patch for foraging. Five additional variables negatively impact foraging probability: shrub height, diameter at breast height (DBH) of pine midstory, canopy closure, density …