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Full-Text Articles in Life Sciences
Predicting Mountain Lion Resource Selection And Abundance In North America, William Connor O'Malley
Predicting Mountain Lion Resource Selection And Abundance In North America, William Connor O'Malley
Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers
The relationship between habitat quality and density is well documented in lower trophic levels but to what extent it can be extended to higher trophic levels is unknown. I tested the relationship between habitat quality, home-range size and density using a wide-ranging, well-studied, top carnivore, the mountain lion (Puma concolor). First, I created a second-order resource selection function (RSF) for mountain lions in their current North American range using GPS collar data from 476 individuals in 20 study sites and remotely-sensed landscape data. I used the RSF and home range estimates derived from collared animals to quantify mountain …
Individual And Population Responses To Hydrologic Variability In A Headwater Stream Salamander, Madaline Cochrane
Individual And Population Responses To Hydrologic Variability In A Headwater Stream Salamander, Madaline Cochrane
Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers
Understanding how organisms respond to environmental variability is a central goal in ecology – a goal made even more pressing by the herculean challenge global climate change presents to all organisms. Climate change is increasing the frequency and intensity of floods and droughts, which will likely have disproportionate effects on freshwater organisms. Many stream-associated species have multi-stage life histories. However, we lack an empirical understanding of life history and movement responses of these organisms to hydrologic disturbances, and how these responses may influence demographic rates. In my dissertation, I used a combination of growth, developmental, movement, and demographic data to …