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Full-Text Articles in Life Sciences
Carbon Storage Of Restored Mangrove Forests In Biscayne Bay, Florida, Daniel Chomin-Virden
Carbon Storage Of Restored Mangrove Forests In Biscayne Bay, Florida, Daniel Chomin-Virden
FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations
Space-for-time substitution was used to evaluate the rate of carbon storage in three carbon pools (aboveground, belowground, and soil organic carbon) across four restored mangrove forests in Biscayne Bay, Florida, USA. The restored forests ranged in age from 8 to 20 years. Diameter at breast height was used to estimate aboveground biomass. Belowground biomass and soil carbon were determined using 15 cm soil cores. Time to equivalence was calculated for the sites by reference to geographically proximate natural mangrove forests. Time to equivalence in aboveground and belowground biomass were 50.4 and 13.6 years, respectively. Soil organic carbon and total carbon …
Top-Down And Bottom-Up Approaches To Understanding The Fate Of The Federally Endangered Schaus’ Swallowtail Butterfly (Heraclides Aristodemus Ponceanus), Jaeson T. Clayborn
Top-Down And Bottom-Up Approaches To Understanding The Fate Of The Federally Endangered Schaus’ Swallowtail Butterfly (Heraclides Aristodemus Ponceanus), Jaeson T. Clayborn
FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations
The federally endangered Schaus’ swallowtail butterfly (Heraclides aristodemus ponceanus) populations have declined precipitously over the years. Despite tremendous efforts to augment the numbers of this butterfly through captive-bred releases and habitat enhancements, it remains imperiled and federally endangered. The dissertation’s objectives were: 1) to restore dry forest habitat in Biscayne National Park (BNP) for Schaus’ swallowtails; 2) to assess host plant (torchwood and wild lime) survivorship and growth in the restoration sites (BNP) and project dry forest habitat loss because of imminent sea level rise (SLR); 3) to quantify ant activity and record predator-prey interactions against Heraclides caterpillars …
A Morphological, Functional, And Genetic Investigation Of The Male Compound Eye Phenotype Of Chrysomya Megacephala (Diptera: Calliphoridae)), Joshua Smith
FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations
A very unique compound eye in dipterans is found in males of the forensically important blow fly, Chrysomya megacephala (Diptera: Calliphoridae). This compound eye is characterized by an area of enlarged dorsal facets that, unlike almost all other regional changes in dipteran ommatidia size, is not accompanied by a change in resolution. This region is believed to play a role in mate tracking and allow for increased light capture, though no behavioral studies have tested these claims. An initial goal of the dissertation was to examine the function of this compound eye. Using allometric measurements coupled with behavioral tests, I …
Controls On Benthic Microbial Community Structure And Assembly In A Karstic Coastal Wetland, Nicholas O. Schulte
Controls On Benthic Microbial Community Structure And Assembly In A Karstic Coastal Wetland, Nicholas O. Schulte
FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations
The assembly mechanisms underlying microbial community abundance, biotic interactions, and diversity over space and time are unresolved, particularly in benthic microbial mats distributed along environmental gradients. Experimental enrichment of nutrient-limited microbial mats from the Florida Everglades along a nutrient subsidy-salinity stress gradient stimulated autotrophic and heterotrophic metabolism, growth, and diversity independent of autotroph-heterotroph interactions across treatments and space. These results suggest spatial segregation of autotrophic and heterotrophic components within mats. Considering only the diatom component of Everglades mats over space and time, the subsidy-stress gradient controlled diatom compositional turnover at broad spatial scales while environmental and dispersal-based processes structured diatom …
Factors Affecting Current And Future Treeline Locations And Dynamics In The Peruvian Andes, Evan Rehm
Factors Affecting Current And Future Treeline Locations And Dynamics In The Peruvian Andes, Evan Rehm
FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations
The elevational distributions of tropical treelines are thought to be determined by temperature, and are predicted to shift upslope in response to global warming. In contrast to this hypothesis, global-scale studies have shown that only half of all studied treelines are shifting upslope. Understanding how treelines will respond to climate change has important implications for global biodiversity, especially in the tropics, because tropical treelines generally represent the upper-elevation distribution limit of the hyper-diverse cloudforest ecosystem. In Chapter 1, I introduce the idea that grasslands found above tropical treelines may represent a potential grass ceiling which forest species cannot cross or …
Mechanisms Of Diatom Assembly In A Hydrologically-Managed Subtropical Wetland, Sylvia S. Lee
Mechanisms Of Diatom Assembly In A Hydrologically-Managed Subtropical Wetland, Sylvia S. Lee
FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations
Diatoms are useful indicators of ecological conditions but the mechanisms driving assemblage distribution are not clearly defined. Understanding the mechanisms underlying assemblage distribution is necessary to make accurate predictions about the effects of environmental change, such as hydrologic management, restoration, and climate change. The examination of diatom distribution and key drivers across a large wetland over several years can provide a resolved spatio-temporal framework for determining the relative importance of environmental and spatial factors influencing assemblage patterns. I examined a 6-year record of diatom distribution across the Everglades, a large hydrologically-managed subtropical wetland. Successful restoration of this ecosystem depends on …
Real-Time Qpcr Assay Development For Detection Of Bacillus Thuringiensis And Serratia Marcescens Dna And The Influence Of Complex Microbial Community Dna On Assay Sensitivity, Jonathan Segal
FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations
Real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction (real-time qPCR) assays are an effective technique to detect biological warfare agents and surrogate organisms. In my study, primers were designed to detect chromosomal DNA of biological warfare agent surrogates B. thuringiensis and S. marcescens (representing B. anthracis and Y. pestis, respectively) via real-time qPCR. Species-level specificity of the primers was demonstrated through comparisons with a bacterial strain panel and corroborated by qPCR data. Additionally, the primer efficacy was tested when template DNA was spiked into metagenomic DNA extracted from clinical lung microbiome samples. The results showed that while detection of B. thuringiensis or …