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Full-Text Articles in Life Sciences
Granite Rock Outcrops: An Extreme Environment For Soil Nematodes?, Erin Austin, Katharine Semmens, Charles Parsons, Amy M. Treonis
Granite Rock Outcrops: An Extreme Environment For Soil Nematodes?, Erin Austin, Katharine Semmens, Charles Parsons, Amy M. Treonis
Biology Faculty Publications
We studied soil nematode communities from the surface of granite flatrock outcrops in the eastern Piedmont region of the United States. The thin soils that develop here experience high light intensity and extreme fluctuations in temperature and moisture and host unique plant communities. We collected soils from outcrop microsites in Virginia (VA) and North Carolina (NC) in various stages of succession (Primitive, Minimal, and Mature) and compared soil properties and nematode communities to those of adjacent forest soils. Nematodes were present in most outcrop soils, with densities comparable to forest soils (P > 0.05). Nematode communities in Mature and Minimal soils …
Evaluation Of Pre-Spawning Movements Of Anadromous Alewives In The Ipswich River Using Radiotelemetry, Holly J. Frank
Evaluation Of Pre-Spawning Movements Of Anadromous Alewives In The Ipswich River Using Radiotelemetry, Holly J. Frank
Masters Theses 1911 - February 2014
Conserving and restoring anadromous fish populations is an important research and management priority. For conservation to be effective, researchers must understand the behavior of the fish they seek to restore. Telemetry has allowed researchers to understand the upstream migrations of these fish in freshwater, how migration patterns vary, and if there is a relationship between behavior and environmental variables. In the northeastern United States, alewife (Alosa pseudoharengus), one of two species collectively referred to as river herring, has historically been an important component of coastal rivers. However, populations of these fish have experienced recent declines, and a commonly used method …
Conservation Implications Of A Marbled Salamander, Ambystoma Opacum, Metapopulation Model, Ethan B. Plunkett
Conservation Implications Of A Marbled Salamander, Ambystoma Opacum, Metapopulation Model, Ethan B. Plunkett
Masters Theses 1911 - February 2014
Amphibians are in decline globally and a significantly greater percentage of ambystomatid salamander species are in decline relative to other species; habitat loss contributes significantly to this decline. The goals of this thesis is to better understand extinction risk in a marbled salamander (ambystoma opacum) population and how forestry effects extinction risk. To achieve this goal we first estimated an important life history parameter (Chapter 1) then used a metapopulation model to estimate population viability and determine what aspects of their life history put them most at risk (Chapter 2) and finally predicted extinction risk in response to hypothetical forestry …