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Articles 1 - 12 of 12
Full-Text Articles in Life Sciences
Effects Of Unpaved Roads On Relative Abundance And Epigenetics Of Early Successional Lizards, David Tevs
Effects Of Unpaved Roads On Relative Abundance And Epigenetics Of Early Successional Lizards, David Tevs
Electronic Theses and Dissertations
Unpaved roads may provide uniform microhabitat characteristics and impart edge effects in the adjacent landscape that mediate environmental pressures acting on small vertebrates. These features may allow species that are associated with recent disturbance to persist in aging forest patches. Further, epigenetic mechanisms such as DNA methylation may provide these species the phenotypic plasticity necessary to occupy multiple habitats with different environmental conditions. To understand how small vertebrates use unpaved roads, the relative abundance and occurrence of Florida scrub lizards (Sceloporus woodi) and six-lined racerunners (Aspidoscelis sexlineata) were quantified using visual encounter surveys along unpaved roads …
Florida Sand Skink And Blue-Tailed Mole Skink: Expanding Geographic Coverage Of Genetic Analysis For Conservation, Emma Simpson
Florida Sand Skink And Blue-Tailed Mole Skink: Expanding Geographic Coverage Of Genetic Analysis For Conservation, Emma Simpson
Electronic Theses and Dissertations
The Lake Wales Ridge is important scrub habitat that has been increasingly altered since the post-Columbian settlement in Florida. This loss of habitat has caused extreme anthropogenic fragmentation within the Lake Wales Ridge resulting in isolation among extant scrub patches. To expand the geographic scope of previous studies and answer questions concerning population connectivity, we characterized genetic diversity and differentiation using cytochrome-b and microsatellite genetic markers for two endemic skink species: the Florida Sand Skink (Plestiodon reynoldsi) and Blue-tailed Mole Skink (Plestiodon egregius lividus). Both species display historical isolation between central and southern Lake Wales Ridge …
The Reproduction And Ecology Of Hypericum Edisonianum: An Endangered Florida Endemic, Warren G. Abrahamson Ii, Sam P. Vander Kloet
The Reproduction And Ecology Of Hypericum Edisonianum: An Endangered Florida Endemic, Warren G. Abrahamson Ii, Sam P. Vander Kloet
Warren G. Abrahamson, II
The reproduction and ecology of the narrow endemic and Florida endangered shrub Hypericum edisonianum (Edison’s St. John's Wort) was investigated through field and greenhouse studies. Hypericum edisonianum exhibits a number of traits common to rare and geographically limited plant species including heavy reliance on clonal propagation to maintain local stands; passive seed dispersal resulting in a near-parent seed shadow; limited numbers of genetically unique individuals in its isolated seasonal-pond habitat; and likely self-incompatibility. In the field study, most flowers were produced by a small subset of the monitored ramets. Indeed, three ramets belonging to a single genetic individual accounted for …
Effects Of Mechanical Habitat Disturbance On The Diversity And Network Structure Of Plant-Bee Interaction Networks In Central Florida, Karlie Carman
Effects Of Mechanical Habitat Disturbance On The Diversity And Network Structure Of Plant-Bee Interaction Networks In Central Florida, Karlie Carman
Electronic Theses and Dissertations
Ecological interactions within a community shape the structure of ecosystems and influence ecosystem function. Plant-pollinator interactions exist as mutualistic exchange networks that may collapse as habitat loss occurs, thereby threatening the overall health of an ecosystem. Understanding the impacts of human-mediated habitat disturbance on ecological interactions is therefore crucial for conservation efforts. Archbold Biological Station (ABS) in Venus, Florida contains over 2000 hectares of protected Florida scrub habitat nested within a human-dominated environment that is threatened by anthropogenic habitat disturbance. In past studies, over 113 bee species and 157 associated host plants, many endemic to the Lake Wales Ridge, have …
Population Dynamics And Environmental Factors Influencing Herbs In Intact And Degraded Florida Rosemary Scrub, Elizabeth Stephens
Population Dynamics And Environmental Factors Influencing Herbs In Intact And Degraded Florida Rosemary Scrub, Elizabeth Stephens
Electronic Theses and Dissertations
Species have complex and contextual relationships with their environment; both the relative contributions of life-history stages to population growth and the effect of environmental factors on each stage can be different among co-existing species. Timing and extent of reproduction, survival, and mortality determine population growth, species distributions, and assemblage patterns. I evaluate the role of habitat (intact, degraded) and microsite (shrub, leaf litter, bare sand) on population dynamics of Florida scrub herbs. Isolated overgrown shrubs and extensive bare sand areas in degraded scrub were expected to decrease seed predation, reduce competition of herbs with shrubs, and provide larger habitat for …
Fire, Hurricane And Carbon Dioxide: Effects On Net Primary Production Of A Subtropical Woodland, Bruce A. Hungate, Frank P. Day, Paul Dijkstra, Benjamin D. Duval, C. Ross Hinkle, J. Adam Langley
Fire, Hurricane And Carbon Dioxide: Effects On Net Primary Production Of A Subtropical Woodland, Bruce A. Hungate, Frank P. Day, Paul Dijkstra, Benjamin D. Duval, C. Ross Hinkle, J. Adam Langley
Biological Sciences Faculty Publications
Disturbance affects most terrestrial ecosystems and has the potential to shape their responses to chronic environmental change. Scrub-oak vegetation regenerating from fire disturbance in subtropical Florida was exposed to experimentally elevated carbon dioxide (CO2) concentration (+350ll-1) using open-top chambers for 11yr, punctuated by hurricane disturbance in year 8. Here, we report the effects of elevated CO2 on aboveground and belowground net primary productivity (NPP) and nitrogen (N) cycling during this experiment. The stimulation of NPP and N uptake by elevated CO2 peaked within 2yr after disturbance by fire and hurricane, when soil nutrient availability was …
Conservation Implications Of Genetic Variation In Three Rare Species Endemic To Florida Rosemary Scrub, Rebecca W. Dolan, Rebecca Yahr, Eric S. Menges, Matthew Halfhill
Conservation Implications Of Genetic Variation In Three Rare Species Endemic To Florida Rosemary Scrub, Rebecca W. Dolan, Rebecca Yahr, Eric S. Menges, Matthew Halfhill
Rebecca W. Dolan
Habitat conversion and fire suppression during the last 50 yr have greatly reduced and altered Florida scrub vegetation, resulting in threats to the persistence of its unique flora. As part of a larger conservation project, we investigated patterns of isozyme variation in three rare perennial scrub plants with overlapping ranges endemic to Florida rosemary scrub on the Lake Wales Ridge. All three species have low levels of genetic variation, comparable to or lower than those generally reported for rare plants with restricted geographic ranges. Liatris ohlingerae has more than twice the expected heterozygosity of the other two species, with little …
Conservation Implications Of Genetic Variation In Three Rare Species Endemic To Florida Rosemary Scrub, Rebecca W. Dolan, Rebecca Yahr, Eric S. Menges, Matthew Halfhill
Conservation Implications Of Genetic Variation In Three Rare Species Endemic To Florida Rosemary Scrub, Rebecca W. Dolan, Rebecca Yahr, Eric S. Menges, Matthew Halfhill
Rebecca W. Dolan
Habitat conversion and fire suppression during the last 50 yr have greatly reduced and altered Florida scrub vegetation, resulting in threats to the persistence of its unique flora. As part of a larger conservation project, we investigated patterns of isozyme variation in three rare perennial scrub plants with overlapping ranges endemic to Florida rosemary scrub on the Lake Wales Ridge. All three species have low levels of genetic variation, comparable to or lower than those generally reported for rare plants with restricted geographic ranges. Liatris ohlingerae has more than twice the expected heterozygosity of the other two species, with little …
Genetic Change Following Fire In Populations Of A Seed-Banking Perennial Plant, Rebecca W. Dolan, Pedro F. Quintana-Ascencio, Eric S. Menges
Genetic Change Following Fire In Populations Of A Seed-Banking Perennial Plant, Rebecca W. Dolan, Pedro F. Quintana-Ascencio, Eric S. Menges
Rebecca W. Dolan
Disturbances such as fire have the potential to remove genetic variation, but seed banks may counter this loss by restoring alleles through a reservoir effect. We used allozyme analysis to characterize genetic change in two populations of the perennial Hypericum cumulicola, an endemic of the fire-prone Florida scrub. We assessed genetic variation before and 1, 2, and 3 years after fire that killed nearly all aboveground plants. Populations increased in size following fire, with most seedlings likely recruited from a persistent seed bank. Four of five loci were variable. Most alleles were present in low frequencies, but our large sample …
Life In The Slow Lane: Palmetto Seedlings Exhibit Remarkable Survival But Slow Growth In Florida's Nutrient-Poor Uplands, W. G. Abrahamson, C. R. Abrahamson
Life In The Slow Lane: Palmetto Seedlings Exhibit Remarkable Survival But Slow Growth In Florida's Nutrient-Poor Uplands, W. G. Abrahamson, C. R. Abrahamson
Warren G. Abrahamson, II
The palmettos Serenoa repens and Sabal etonia are crucial foundation species in many peninsular Florida vegetative associations. We monitored the survival and growth of individual palmetto seedlings using two cohorts found in different vegetative associations. Seedling cohorts containing both S. repens and S. etonia were individually tagged in 1989 and have been monitored until 2008, a period of 19 years. One cohort (N = 100 seedlings) occurs in a xeric, “inopina-phase” scrubby flatwoods and a second cohort (N =78 seedlings) lives in a well-drained, “wiregrass-phase” flatwoods. The soils at both sites are very nutrient-poor Entisols that show rapid permeability, low …
Genetic Change Following Fire In Populations Of A Seed-Banking Perennial Plant, Rebecca W. Dolan, Pedro F. Quintana-Ascencio, Eric S. Menges
Genetic Change Following Fire In Populations Of A Seed-Banking Perennial Plant, Rebecca W. Dolan, Pedro F. Quintana-Ascencio, Eric S. Menges
Scholarship and Professional Work - LAS
Disturbances such as fire have the potential to remove genetic variation, but seed banks may counter this loss by restoring alleles through a reservoir effect. We used allozyme analysis to characterize genetic change in two populations of the perennial Hypericum cumulicola, an endemic of the fire-prone Florida scrub. We assessed genetic variation before and 1, 2, and 3 years after fire that killed nearly all aboveground plants. Populations increased in size following fire, with most seedlings likely recruited from a persistent seed bank. Four of five loci were variable. Most alleles were present in low frequencies, but our large sample …
Conservation Implications Of Genetic Variation In Three Rare Species Endemic To Florida Rosemary Scrub, Rebecca W. Dolan, Rebecca Yahr, Eric S. Menges, Matthew Halfhill
Conservation Implications Of Genetic Variation In Three Rare Species Endemic To Florida Rosemary Scrub, Rebecca W. Dolan, Rebecca Yahr, Eric S. Menges, Matthew Halfhill
Scholarship and Professional Work - LAS
Habitat conversion and fire suppression during the last 50 yr have greatly reduced and altered Florida scrub vegetation, resulting in threats to the persistence of its unique flora. As part of a larger conservation project, we investigated patterns of isozyme variation in three rare perennial scrub plants with overlapping ranges endemic to Florida rosemary scrub on the Lake Wales Ridge. All three species have low levels of genetic variation, comparable to or lower than those generally reported for rare plants with restricted geographic ranges. Liatris ohlingerae has more than twice the expected heterozygosity of the other two species, with little …