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Climate change

Terrestrial and Aquatic Ecology

University of Massachusetts Amherst

Articles 1 - 6 of 6

Full-Text Articles in Life Sciences

Timing Is Everything: Climate Change Implications For Phenological Events And Reproductive Success In River Herring, Meghna N. Marjadi Aug 2023

Timing Is Everything: Climate Change Implications For Phenological Events And Reproductive Success In River Herring, Meghna N. Marjadi

Doctoral Dissertations

Anadromous river herring (alewife (Alosa pseudoharengus) and blueback herring (Alosa aestivalis)) make annual spring spawning migrations from the ocean to freshwater, where juveniles reside before emigrating to the ocean. Climate change may alter environmental and biological cues that prompt both adult migration and juvenile emigration, with implications for adult spawning success and offspring survival for these imperiled species. Shifts in adult migration have been observed in some rivers, while impacts on reproductive success and juvenile survival remain unknown. Cues for juvenile emigration are poorly understood as they have been explored at limited spatial and temporal scales. …


The Effects Of Anthropogenic Stress On Nitrogen-Cycling Microbial Communities In Temperate And Tropical Soils, George S. Hamaoui Jr. Jul 2017

The Effects Of Anthropogenic Stress On Nitrogen-Cycling Microbial Communities In Temperate And Tropical Soils, George S. Hamaoui Jr.

Doctoral Dissertations

In this dissertation several research studies are discussed that characterize the effects of anthropogenic, or human-induced, stress on both ammonia-oxidizing and total bacterial soil microbial communities. The disturbances of land-use change in tropical, South American rainforests and artificial warming and nitrogen (N) fertilization in temperate, North American forests were investigated as these disturbances represent past and current disturbances caused by human landscape alteration and climate change. Initially, the response of soil ammonia-oxidizing microbial communities to land-use change from primary rainforest to pasture and, finally, back to secondary forest was determined. Next, these analyses of land-use change effects were expanded to …


Methods For Incorporating Ecological Impacts With Climate Uncertainty To Support Robust Flood Management Decision-Making, Caitlin M. Spence Mar 2017

Methods For Incorporating Ecological Impacts With Climate Uncertainty To Support Robust Flood Management Decision-Making, Caitlin M. Spence

Doctoral Dissertations

Modern and historic flood risk management involves accommodating multiple sources of sources of uncertainty and potential impacts across a broad range of interrelated sectors. Sources of uncertainty that affect planning include internal climate variability, anthropogenic changes such as land use and system performance expectations, and more recently changes in climatology that affect the resources supporting the system. Flood management systems potentially impact human settlements within and beyond the systems’ scope of planning, local weather patterns, and associated ecological systems. Federal guidelines across nations have called for greater consideration of uncertainty and impacts of water resources planning projects, but methods for …


Modeling Historical And Future Range Of Variability Scenarios In The Yuba River Watershed, Tahoe National Forest, California, Maritza Mallek Jul 2016

Modeling Historical And Future Range Of Variability Scenarios In The Yuba River Watershed, Tahoe National Forest, California, Maritza Mallek

Masters Theses

In California's northern Sierra Nevada mountains, the fire-dependent processes of forest ecosystems have been interrupted and altered by human land use and fire suppression. U.S. Forest Service policy directs land managers to plan for a future that includes multiple use and the restoration of resilient ecosystems. Planning decisions are to be informed by an analysis of the range of variability of ecological processes at multiple scales. Current climate trends in the northern Sierra are of increasing temperatures, increased precipitation, and earlier snowmelt, as well as changes to the frequency and duration of drought. These climate changes have and continue to …


Ecological And Management Implications Of Climate Change Induced Shifts In The Phenology Of Alewife (Alosa Pseudoharengus), Sam Stettiner, Michelle Staudinger, Adrian Jordaan, John Sheppard Jan 2016

Ecological And Management Implications Of Climate Change Induced Shifts In The Phenology Of Alewife (Alosa Pseudoharengus), Sam Stettiner, Michelle Staudinger, Adrian Jordaan, John Sheppard

Student Showcase

Climate change is causing species to shift their phenology, or the timing of recurring life events such as migration and reproduction, in variable and complex ways. This can potentially result in mismatches or asynchronies in food and habitat resources that negatively impact individual fitness, population dynamics, and ecosystem function. This project seeks to improve our understanding of shifts in the timing of seasonal migration and spawning of adult anadromous alewife, Alosa psuedoherengus in seven natal stream systems within the state of Massachusetts: Acushnet, Agawam, Herring, Jones, Nemasket, Stoney Brook, and Town Brook Rivers. Initial analyses examined if and how the …


Temperature Effects On Growth And Stress Physiology Of Brook Trout: Implications For Climate Change Impacts On An Iconic Cold-Water Fish, Joseph G. Chadwick Jr Jan 2012

Temperature Effects On Growth And Stress Physiology Of Brook Trout: Implications For Climate Change Impacts On An Iconic Cold-Water Fish, Joseph G. Chadwick Jr

Masters Theses 1911 - February 2014

Despite the threat of climate change, the physiological mechanisms by which temperature drives the distribution of species are unclear. Here we used chronic temperature exposures to determine that the upper limit for positive growth in the eastern brook trout (Salvelinus fontinalis) is 23.4 °C. Additionally, brook trout exposed to daily temperature oscillations of 8 °C, around a mean of 21 °C, exhibited growth rates that were 43 and 35% lower by length and weight respectively, than in constant 21 °C controls. Limitations in growth were associated with increases in indicators of the physiological stress response. Individuals exposed to …