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Full-Text Articles in Life Sciences
Patterns And Drivers Of Wiregrass Gap Longleaf Pine (Pinus Palustris Mill.) Woodland Succession As Part Of Restoration Efforts, Armin Weise
All Theses
Longleaf Pine (Pinus palustris) communities are widespread throughout the Southeastern United States with a dominant understory vegetation of wiregrass (Aristida spp.) in most of its range. A small area in central South Carolina that is naturally free of wiregrass is called the “Wiregrass Gap”. Here, the understory vegetation is dominated by bluestems grasses (Andropogon spp. and Schizachyrium spp.) which drive the disturbance regime of frequent low-intensity fire. The successful establishment of these grasses is key for longleaf pine woodland restoration efforts in this region, but few resources detail the ecological drivers at play that enable successful restoration in these longleaf …
Drivers Of White-Tailed Deer (Odocoileus Virginianus) Behavior, Survival, And Population Growth In The Piedmont Of South Carolina, Michael Muthersbaugh
Drivers Of White-Tailed Deer (Odocoileus Virginianus) Behavior, Survival, And Population Growth In The Piedmont Of South Carolina, Michael Muthersbaugh
All Dissertations
Prey species adjust behaviors in response to various stimuli, responding to both top-down and bottom-up pressures. Large herbivores must attempt to avoid predation either through adjusting behaviors or seeking spatial or temporal refugia, which can scale up to influence individual fitness and ultimately population dynamics. Specifically, predation risk has a great potential to influence ungulate populations by impacting behaviors and survival. Our objective was to quantify ungulate behavioral and population response to a regionally important predator through a case study – white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) responses to coyotes (Canis latrans) on private lands in the Piedmont …
Investigating The Impact Of Novel Iron Oxide Nanoparticles On Legionella Pneumophila Biofilms And Trophic Interactions, Brennen Jenkins
Investigating The Impact Of Novel Iron Oxide Nanoparticles On Legionella Pneumophila Biofilms And Trophic Interactions, Brennen Jenkins
All Theses
Microbial biofilms serve as the base of food webs and are important for nutrient cycling in aquatic ecosystems. Nanoparticles (NPs) that enter into these aquatic systems have the potential to settle and become trapped within biofilms. As NPs become further integrated into consumer products, understanding their fate and effects on aquatic ecosystems is of paramount importance. Previous studies from our lab show that gold NPs induce dispersal of Legionella pneumophila biofilms. NPs with platinum and iron oxide core chemistries also lead to similar dispersal events, however, silver core NPs do not seem to induce these events due to NP aggregation. …
Range Collapse, Genetic Differentiation, And Climate Change: An Ecological History Of The Diana Fritillary, Speyeria Diana And Projections For Its Future, Carrie Wells
All Dissertations
The geographic ranges of most plant and animal species are tied closely to climatic factors, including temperature, precipitation, and soil moisture. For this reason, recent changes in the global climate due to human activities are predicted to have profound effects on natural populations, communities and ecosystems over a relatively short period of time. Combined effects from global warming and other anthropogenic activities such as land-use changes, pollution, and habitat loss/fragmentation, are altering species' distributions faster than they can be documented. Recent climate change has also been shown to alter species' breeding behaviors and alter the synchrony and timing of species' …
Zoos As Experiment Environments: Biology Of Larval And Adult Mosquitoes (Diptera: Culicidae), Holly Tuten
Zoos As Experiment Environments: Biology Of Larval And Adult Mosquitoes (Diptera: Culicidae), Holly Tuten
All Dissertations
Zoos are a unique environment where humans and animals are in close daily contact, potential mosquito habitats exist, exotic plants and animals are introduced regularly, and wild animals roam. Studies of mosquito behaviors in zoos will lead to a better understanding, both within and outside zoos, of disease transmission routes and mosquito biology. To investigate whether the unique assemblage of habitats in zoos affects mosquito behavior, I sampled larvae and adults in the Greenville Zoo and the Riverbanks Zoo, South Carolina, USA, from March 2008 to January 2011. The objectives of my study were to investigate mosquito oviposition behavior, blood-host …
Epigeic Spider (Araneae) Diversity And Habitat Distributions In Kings Mountain National Military Park, South Carolina, Sarah Stellwagen
Epigeic Spider (Araneae) Diversity And Habitat Distributions In Kings Mountain National Military Park, South Carolina, Sarah Stellwagen
All Theses
This study examined the epigeic spider fauna in Kings Mountain National Military Park. The aim of this study is to make this information available to park management for use in the preservation of natural resources. Pitfall trapping was conducted monthly for one year in three distinct habitats: riparian, forest, and ridge-top. The study was conducted from August 2009 to July 2010. One hundred twenty samples were collected in each site. Overall, 289 adult spiders comprising 66 species were collected in the riparian habitat, 345 adult comprising 57 species were found in the forest habitat, and 240 adults comprising 47 species …
The Role Of Behavioral Temperaments On The Ecology Of The Caribbean Reef Octopus, Octopus Briareus, Timothy Jordan
The Role Of Behavioral Temperaments On The Ecology Of The Caribbean Reef Octopus, Octopus Briareus, Timothy Jordan
All Theses
Traditional studies of predator-prey interactions have primarily focused on direct consumption as the most important effect on prey. Recent studies, however, have illustrated that nonlethal, risk effects may have an even greater impact. In this study, I evaluated the role of direct consumption and risk effects of the Caribbean reef octopus, Octopus briareus, on multiple species of crab and spiny lobster prey in Florida Bay, Florida. I conducted 13 monthly censuses of 8 nearshore field sites and observed the density and distribution of octopuses, crabs and lobsters. I found a significant negative correlation between the density of octopus predators and …
Biology And Ecology Of Wild Radish (Raphanus Raphanistrum), Mayank Malik
Biology And Ecology Of Wild Radish (Raphanus Raphanistrum), Mayank Malik
All Dissertations
Wild radish ( L.), a facultative winter annual is a troublesome weed in small grain crops of the Southeastern United States. Besides being a weed, it may also be used as a cover crop for weed management due to its production of glucosinolates. Studies were conducted to evaluate the biology and ecology of wild radish as well as its glucosinolate production and its weed management possibilities.
Wild radish emerging in fall months formed a rosette of leaves which aided its winter survival. Plants emerging from December through March that did not form a rosette had minimal survival. Wild radish life …
Feeding Performance In Hawaiian Stream Goby Fishes: Morphological And Functional Analysis, Takashi Maie
Feeding Performance In Hawaiian Stream Goby Fishes: Morphological And Functional Analysis, Takashi Maie
All Theses
Distributions of Hawaiian stream fishes are typically interrupted by waterfalls that divide streams into lower and upper segments. Larvae hatched upstream are flushed into the ocean, and must climb these waterfalls to reach adult habitats when returning back to freshwater as part of an amphidromous life cycle. Stream surveys and studies of climbing performance show that Lentipes concolor can reach fast-flowing upper stream segments, but that Awaous guamensis reaches only slower, lower stream segments. Gut content analyses for these two species indicate that diet differs between them only by 10% or less dry weight for most major components (mostly green …