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Full-Text Articles in Life Sciences
Distribution, Abundance, And Population Genetics Of The Alligator Snapping Turtle (Macrochelys Temminckii) In Mississippi, Luke Pearson
Distribution, Abundance, And Population Genetics Of The Alligator Snapping Turtle (Macrochelys Temminckii) In Mississippi, Luke Pearson
Dissertations
The southeastern United States is a freshwater turtle biodiversity hotspot, second only to southeastern Asia, and this region is inhabited by one of the largest freshwater turtles in the world: the alligator snapping turtle (Macrochelys temminckii). This species was heavily harvested from the 1960’s to the 1980’s for the turtle soup industry, apparently contributing to substantial, range-wide population declines. These declines, coupled with anthropogenic impacts on riverine and floodplain habitats, have led to M. temminckii being petitioned for federal listing under the U.S. Endangered Species Act; it is currently under review by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service …
Habitat Selection Of Gulf-Strain Striped Bass, Morone Saxatilis: Relationships To Dynamic Abiotic Environmental Characteristics Within The Biloxi River, Mississippi, Jennifer Lynne Green
Habitat Selection Of Gulf-Strain Striped Bass, Morone Saxatilis: Relationships To Dynamic Abiotic Environmental Characteristics Within The Biloxi River, Mississippi, Jennifer Lynne Green
Master's Theses
The purpose of this project was to provide insights about the short- and long-term patterns of habitat selection of Gulf-strain Striped Bass, Morone saxatilis, based on spatially and seasonally variable abiotic environmental characteristics (water temperature, dissolved oxygen (DO), salinity, specific conductivity, and pH) in the Biloxi River, MS system. Juvenile hatchery-reared and feral adult Gulf-strain Striped Bass were acoustically-tagged and continuously monitored via active and passive telemetry from November 2012 – June 2014. Each month the available abiotic environmental characteristics of 40 random locations within the Biloxi River, along with sub-habitat conditions occupied by acoustically-tagged Gulf-strain Striped Bass, were …
The Delivery, Speciation, And Fate Of Trace Elements In St. Louis Bay, Mississippi, Gopal Bera
The Delivery, Speciation, And Fate Of Trace Elements In St. Louis Bay, Mississippi, Gopal Bera
Dissertations
Estuaries are dynamic regions in which there can be significant modification of the riverine flux of trace elements to the open ocean due to various geochemical, physical, and biological processes. Additionally, estuaries are often subject to anthropogenic inputs of trace elements. The first portion of this study investigated the source, behavior, and sediment interaction of anthropogenic stable cesium (Cs) in St. Louis Bay (SLB), MS. A consistent increase in stable Cs concentration was noticed in sediment cores starting from a period when a titanium dioxide refinery on SLB started operations. Weak correlation between Cs and clay percentage and strong correlations …
Survival, Growth And Reproduction Of Non-Native Nile Tilapia Ii: Fundamental Niche Projections And Invasion Potential In The Northern Gulf Of Mexico, Michael R. Lowe, Wei Wu, Mark S. Peterson, Nancy J. Brown-Peterson, William T. Slack, Pamela J. Schofield
Survival, Growth And Reproduction Of Non-Native Nile Tilapia Ii: Fundamental Niche Projections And Invasion Potential In The Northern Gulf Of Mexico, Michael R. Lowe, Wei Wu, Mark S. Peterson, Nancy J. Brown-Peterson, William T. Slack, Pamela J. Schofield
Faculty Publications
Understanding the fundamental niche of invasive species facilitates our ability to predict both dispersal patterns and invasion success and therefore provides the basis for better-informed conservation and management policies. Here we focus on Nile tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus Linnaeus, 1758), one of the most widely cultured fish worldwide and a species that has escaped local aquaculture facilities to become established in a coastal-draining river in Mississippi (northern Gulf of Mexico). Using empirical physiological data, logistic regression models were developed to predict the probabilities of Nile tilapia survival, growth, and reproduction at different combinations of temperature (14 and 30°C) and salinity …
Conservation And Ecology Of The Yellow-Blotched Sawback (Graptemys Flavmaculata), William Winsyl Selman Ii
Conservation And Ecology Of The Yellow-Blotched Sawback (Graptemys Flavmaculata), William Winsyl Selman Ii
Dissertations
The role of species conservation is becoming increasingly important due to the mounting pressures from humans on habitats and populations of organisms. This is particularly evident in riverine ecosystems throughout the world where the human demand for freshwater resources is increasing, and consequently, the number of imperiled aquatic organisms is also growing. The seven chapters of this dissertation primarily focus on the Yellow-blotched Sawback, Graptemys flavimaculata, an endangered riverine turtle that is endemic to the Pascagoula River system of southeast Mississippi, USA. At the population level, we aimed to study the impacts of Hurricane Katrina on two study populations within …
Factors Influencing The Environmental Quality Of The Bay Of Saint Louis, Mississippi And Implications For Evolving Coastal Management Policies, Pradnya Ankush Sawant
Factors Influencing The Environmental Quality Of The Bay Of Saint Louis, Mississippi And Implications For Evolving Coastal Management Policies, Pradnya Ankush Sawant
Dissertations
The Bay of St. Louis, MS is a small northern Gulf of Mexico estuary that has been identified by the Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality (MDEQ) as an impaired waterbody for its designated uses, mainly due to the presence of pollutant pathogens. A systematic study of this estuary was important to understand the behavior and responses of the bay to several natural and anthropogenic forcing factors. A 14- month long study (bimonthly sampling) to evaluate its environmental quality was undertaken from April 2003 to May 2004. Environmental quality was defined as "the health of an ecosystem characterized in terms of …
Roosting Ecology Of Rafinesque's Big-Eared Bat, Corynorhinus Rafinesquii, In Southeastern Mississippi, Austin Webb Trousdale Iii
Roosting Ecology Of Rafinesque's Big-Eared Bat, Corynorhinus Rafinesquii, In Southeastern Mississippi, Austin Webb Trousdale Iii
Dissertations
Rafinesque's big-eared bat, Corynorhinus rafinesquii, is considered rare and/or declining throughout its range. Concrete bridges are potentially important roosts for C. rafinesquii, especially in the Gulf Coastal Plain where the species' natural roosts (caves and large hollow trees) are inherently scarce. Successful efforts to monitor and conserve this species must account for its movements among multiple roosts and determine the duration of its roost use (including bridges) at different temporal scales. Therefore, I investigated roosting ecology of C. rafinesquii from 2000-2005 within a mixed hardwood-pine (Pinus spp.) system in southeastern Mississippi. I conducted surveys of concrete bridges to determine phenological …