Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®

Life Sciences Commons

Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®

Articles 1 - 2 of 2

Full-Text Articles in Life Sciences

Sea Level Rise May Increase Extinction Risk Of A Saltmarsh Ontogenetic Habitat Specialist, David S. Johnson, Bethany L. Williams Aug 2017

Sea Level Rise May Increase Extinction Risk Of A Saltmarsh Ontogenetic Habitat Specialist, David S. Johnson, Bethany L. Williams

VIMS Articles

Specialist species are more vulnerable to environmental change than generalist species. For species with ontogenetic niche shifts, specialization may occur at a particular life stage making those stages more susceptible to environmental change. In the salt marshes in the northeast U.S., accelerated sea level rise is shifting vegetation patterns from flood-intolerant species such as Spartina patens to the flood-tolerant Spartina alterniflora. We tested the potential impact of this change on the coffee bean snail, Melampus bidentatus, a numerically dominant benthic invertebrate with an ontogenetic niche shift. From a survey of eight marshes throughout the northeast U.S., small snails …


Climate Change Impacts On Southern Ross Sea Phytoplankton Composition, Productivity, And Export, Daniel E. Kaufman, Marjorie A. M. Friedrichs, Walker O. Smith Jr., Eileen E. Hofmann, Michael S. Dinniman, John C. P. Hemmings Mar 2017

Climate Change Impacts On Southern Ross Sea Phytoplankton Composition, Productivity, And Export, Daniel E. Kaufman, Marjorie A. M. Friedrichs, Walker O. Smith Jr., Eileen E. Hofmann, Michael S. Dinniman, John C. P. Hemmings

VIMS Articles

The Ross Sea, a highly productive region of the Southern Ocean, is expected to experience warming during the next century along with reduced summer sea ice concentrations and shallower mixed layers. This study investigates how these climatic changes may alter phytoplankton assemblage composition, primary productivity, and export. Glider measurements are used to force a one-dimensional biogeochemical model, which includes diatoms and both solitary and colonial forms of Phaeocystis antarctica. Model performance is evaluated with glider observations, and experiments are conducted using projections of physical drivers for mid-21st and late-21st century. These scenarios reveal a 5% increase in primary productivity …