Life Sciences Commons^™

Molecular And Morphological Investigations Of Grouper (Serranidae) Biodiversity In Saudi Arabia, Mohammad Saeed Al Jazza Alqahtani

Theses and Dissertations

Chapter 1: The seas surrounding the Arabian Peninsula, which represent the northernmost portion of the Indian Ocean, are considered to have the highest aquatic biodiversity among the worlds marine regions. Seas that surround the Arabian Peninsula include the Red Sea, the Gulf of Aden, the Arabian Sea, the Gulf of Oman, and the Arabian Gulf. In aggregate, this area harbors a large number of endemic and more widespread marine species, including fishes, echinoderms, and corals.

There are unique challenges involved in grouper species identification in the Arabian region including ‘familiar’ Arabic species designations that are not standardized in the Arabic …

Environmental And Adaptive Buffers That Mediate The Response Of Subalpine Ecosystems To Environmental Change, Lafe G. Conner

Theses and Dissertations

This document reports the results of 4 studies of subalpine ecosystem ecology, describing ways that spatial heterogeneity in soils and plant communities mediate ecosystem responses to environmental change. Ecosystem responses to environmental change are also mediated by regional climate patterns and interannual variability in weather. In the first chapter we report the results of an experiment to test for the mediating effects of associational resistance in a forest community that experienced wide-spread beetle kill. We found that Engelmann spruce were more likely to survive a beetle outbreak when growing in low densities (host dilution) and not through other types of …

Small Mammals In Portions Of Great Basin National Park Susceptible To Groundwater Withdrawal: Diversity And Stable Isotope Perspectives, Bryan T. Hamilton

Theses and Dissertations

To support population growth in Las Vegas, Nevada, large scale increases in groundwater pumping are planned across the state. This pumping could affect riparian areas in Great Basin National Park by lowering groundwater levels, reducing stream flows, and xerifying riparian vegetation. Great Basin National Park (GBNP) is mandated to manage its resources unimpaired for future generations. Loss of biodiversity is unacceptable under this mandate. If groundwater levels are reduced beyond a threshold, aquatic and riparian diversity would be lost, but the effects on small mammal communities are less clear. To provide baseline information and to consider the effects of groundwater …