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Full-Text Articles in Life Sciences
Not Too Hot, Not Too Cold, But Moderately Variable: The Influence Of Environmental Variability On Coral Thermal Tolerance, Courtney Nicole Klepac
Not Too Hot, Not Too Cold, But Moderately Variable: The Influence Of Environmental Variability On Coral Thermal Tolerance, Courtney Nicole Klepac
Biological Sciences Theses & Dissertations
Anthropogenic climate change is causing an increase in the frequency and severity of marine heat waves, resulting in declining health of coral reef ecosystems worldwide. Coral bleaching events – the breakdown in symbiosis between the coral host and their intracellular photosynthetic algae – are increasingly common in recent years and contribute to widespread losses in coral cover. However, bleaching and heat stress responses vary across spatial scales both within and among coral species. Coral populations native to highly variable environments can have greater bleaching resistance than corals from more stable habitats and corals transplanted into these variable reef sites can …
A Comparison Of Fuel Reduction Methods For Wildfire Risk Management And Climate Change Resiliency In Mixed Conifer Forests In The Sierra Nevada, Heather Navle
Master's Projects and Capstones
Wildfires in the mixed conifer forests of California’s Sierra Nevada have been a common and natural disturbance for thousands of years, historically occurring every 3 to 30 years. The flora and fauna of the mixed conifer forest have evolved to depend on low to moderate severity wildfires for reproduction, foraging, and habitat. However, the Sierra Nevada has experienced dramatic environmental changes over the past ~150 years as a result of three main factors: wildfire suppression, climate change, and habitat loss. Because of the threat wildfires pose to human lives, property and timber harvest, they have been suppressed to an extent …
Sea Level Rise Vulnerability Analysis Of Mangrove Ecosystems Using Gis, Kayla Caldwell
Sea Level Rise Vulnerability Analysis Of Mangrove Ecosystems Using Gis, Kayla Caldwell
HCNSO Student Theses and Dissertations
Climate change is accelerating beyond what is natural due to excessive emissions from human activities. The sea level has been rising for many years and is currently at a rate of 3.6 mm/yr. Mangroves are known to only keep pace with a sea level rate of less than 1.2 mm/yr. Mangroves are particularly vulnerable to rising sea levels if they are not able to keep pace through vertical sediment accretion or inland migration. To test the vulnerability of the south Florida mangrove ecosystems to sea level rise, this study analyzed changes in the mangrove forest coverage of the Oleta River …
Higher Temperatures Have Contrasting Effects On Different Components Of Forage Quality For Caribou In Northern Alaska, Heidi Becker
Higher Temperatures Have Contrasting Effects On Different Components Of Forage Quality For Caribou In Northern Alaska, Heidi Becker
Electronic Theses and Dissertations
Rising temperatures in the Arctic may affect vegetation, which in turn can affect herbivores, such as caribou, that rely on these plants for forage. Several plant traits contribute to forage quality, including digestibility, nitrogen content, and antiherbivory secondary compounds, but the effect of temperature on these traits individually and combined is unclear. I conducted a three-component study on the effect of higher temperatures on the forage quality of graminoids, deciduous shrubs, and evergreen dwarf shrubs on the North Slope of Alaska. The components included: 1) short and long-term experimental warming, 2) natural temperature variation between south and north-facing slopes, and …