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Full-Text Articles in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology
Wood Decomposition In A Warmer World, Emily Elizabeth Austin
Wood Decomposition In A Warmer World, Emily Elizabeth Austin
Doctoral Dissertations
Climatic warming is altering species distributions and ecosystem functions across the globe. Wood is an important carbon pool and the fungal communities in wood are relatively simple compared to those in soil. These factors make decomposing wood an ideal system for exploring the influence of decomposer community on the response of decomposition to warming. My research has focused on the effects of warming wood decomposition rates and wood decomposing communities. Using field and lab- based manipulative experiments and field observations I explore the influence of tree species, wood decomposition stage, geography and warming on fungal community structure and activity. In …
Assessing Growth Response To Climate Controls In A Great Basin Artemisia Tridentata Plant Community, Lorenzo F. Apodaca
Assessing Growth Response To Climate Controls In A Great Basin Artemisia Tridentata Plant Community, Lorenzo F. Apodaca
UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones
An assessment of the growth response of key vegetative species to climatic variability is vital to identifying possible local impacts on ecosystems faced with imminent climate change. With current climate projections in Nevada predicting a shift to an even more arid climate with greater year-to-year variability, the imperative exists to identify the effects of specific climatic controls on plant growth and to research methods to assess large-scale vegetative changes, especially in more remote areas where readily available data sets may be lacking. This study utilized annual growth ring indices constructed from big sagebrush (Artemisia tridentatassp.tridentata) stems collected in Spring Valley, …
Modeling The Ecological Niche Of The Nigeria-Cameroon Chimpanzee Under Climate Change, Paul Ryan Sesink Clee
Modeling The Ecological Niche Of The Nigeria-Cameroon Chimpanzee Under Climate Change, Paul Ryan Sesink Clee
Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)
Ecological niche theory states that a set of environmental conditions exists that a species relies upon in order to survive and reproduce. Collectively, these variables define a species' niche, which includes a species' dispersal abilities and its range. Ecological niche modeling predicts the distributions of species by using information from environmental variables across geographic space, making it a valuable tool for studying how environment affects population dynamics. With accurate species presence data and geospatial information that describe its known habitat, ENMs can effectively map a species' realized niche across geographical space, and for closely related taxa, be used to understand …
Ecological Interactions Influencing Avicennia Germinans Propagule Dispersal And Seedling Establishment At Mangrove-Saltmarsh Boundaries, Jennifer Mcclain Peterson
Ecological Interactions Influencing Avicennia Germinans Propagule Dispersal And Seedling Establishment At Mangrove-Saltmarsh Boundaries, Jennifer Mcclain Peterson
USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations
Mangroves and saltmarshes are ecologically important coastal ecosystems; unfortunately, these low-lying coastal ecosystems are vulnerable to global climate change. As sea-levels rise, mangroves are expected to shift their distribution landward towards higher elevation sites that are occupied by other plants, including saltmarsh taxa. Therefore, mangrove recruits at the leading edge of expansion may interact with diverse assemblages of saltmarsh plants, and these interactions could influence the success of mangrove encroachment into higher tidal-elevation areas. The purpose of the research presented here was to investigate empirically the ecological interactions that may influence the recruitment of the black mangrove, Avicennia germinans, …