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Full-Text Articles in Life Sciences

Behavioral Choices Of Apple Snails, Pomacea Maculata, Under Varied Chemical Landscapes, Andrea Adams Apr 2022

Behavioral Choices Of Apple Snails, Pomacea Maculata, Under Varied Chemical Landscapes, Andrea Adams

Theses

Habitat choice is a critical behavior for organisms to successfully survive and reproduce. These choices are dictated by available environmental information about potential predation risks or food patches that form the organism’s sensory landscape. This study specifically focused on the behavioral choices of two invasive apple snail (Pomacea maculata) populations exposed to varying predation threats. We collected snails from Florida and Alabama which were used in laboratory experiments with varied sensory landscapes. Trials consisted of controls with no cues (FL: n = 7, AL: n= 7), an attractive treatment with introduced food cues (FL: n = 4, AL: …


Can Providing Positive Interactions With Snakes Change A Person’S Perception Of Dangerous Wildlife Interactions?, Bethany Walker Oct 2021

Can Providing Positive Interactions With Snakes Change A Person’S Perception Of Dangerous Wildlife Interactions?, Bethany Walker

Theses

Due to a long co-evolutionary history between placental mammals and reptiles, primates demonstrate aversive responses to snakes. In humans, this can result in ophidiophobia, or the fear of snakes which can arise due to cultural backgrounds, traumatic experiences, or fear instilled by others. However, these reptiles fill essential roles in ecosystems. Conservation and outreach efforts are important to help our population understand snakes’ role in our lives and the state’s broader biodiversity. Negative experiences or preconceptions about snakes can make this message hard to share with the public. Educators can help prevent intentional harm to some of these organisms through …


Population Structure And Relative Abundance Of Elasmobranch Species Utilizing Inshore Waters Of Abu Dhabi, Shamsa Mohamed Al Hameli Jun 2021

Population Structure And Relative Abundance Of Elasmobranch Species Utilizing Inshore Waters Of Abu Dhabi, Shamsa Mohamed Al Hameli

Theses

The diversity, abundance, and distribution of elasmobranchs is poorly documented along the Arabian Gulf coast of the United Arab Emirates, with only a handful of publications focusing on elasmobranchs with the majority of data are collected through landing site and market surveys lacking site and species-specific data that are crucial for conservation management plans. The main objectives of this research were to determine the occurrence and utilization; quantify the relative abundance across different seasons; and describe the demographic structure of elasmobranch species that occurs in shallow waters around mangroves in Khor Al Saadiyat and adjacent islands, northeast of Abu Dhabi, …


Conservation Grazing With Native Irish Cattle In High Nature Value Environments, Kilian Kelly Jan 2020

Conservation Grazing With Native Irish Cattle In High Nature Value Environments, Kilian Kelly

Theses

Marrying conservation objectives with farming practices is a challenging necessity in the current era of anthropogenically-driven biodiversity loss. Upland habitats created by traditional farming are havens for wildlife but face multiple threats, including overgrazing and abandonment. Extensive cattle farming in the uplands has been mooted as a useful conservation measure, but Irish evidence supporting this approach is lacking. This thesis examines home range, habitat preferences and activity budgets for Dexter cattle in an extensive upland setting in southwest Ireland. It investigates the effects of the grazing regime on EU-protected habitats and ground beetles. Free-ranging cattle grazed the site over three …


An Evaluation Of The Use Of Technical Conservation Measures Within The Inshore Mixed Fishery Of Dingle Bay, Co. Kerry, Ireland., Tony Holmes Jun 2004

An Evaluation Of The Use Of Technical Conservation Measures Within The Inshore Mixed Fishery Of Dingle Bay, Co. Kerry, Ireland., Tony Holmes

Theses

Discarding has been identified as a global problem in fisheries. ICES, the EU and national governments have prioritised studying discarding as an area of research. In conjunction with Bord Iascaigh Mhara (BIM), the Marine Institute, Institute of Technology, Tralee and the Dingle Bay Inshore Management Development committee a study of the impacts of incorporating technical conservation measures (TCM’s) into trawls was undertaken. TCM’s under investigation included 80mm and 90mm square mesh panels inserted in the top-sheet before the cod-end, 100mm codends and a separator trawl. It was found that boats using 100mm cod-ends produced less discards than when towing standard …