Ecology and Evolutionary Biology Commons^™

Sources Of Variability In Agronomic Weed Seed Predation: Time, Space, Habitat, And Hyperpredation, Sonja K. Birthisel

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Weed seed predation is an ecosystem service that benefits farmers by decreasing seedbank inputs, thereby reducing weed pressure in subsequent growing seasons. Seed predation can be considerable, but is highly variable. Sources of variability may include time, space, habitat, and trophic interactions such as hyperpredation. Two experiments were conducted to measure the impacts of these sources of variability on weed seed predation rates in Maine mixed vegetable agroecosystems.

Chapter One of this thesis describes a series of landscape-level field experiments conducted to quantify the effects of time, space, and habitat on seed predation rates. Seed assays, with and without vertebrate …

The Lobster Bulletin, Fall 2013, Lobster Institute, University Of Maine

Lobster Bulletin

The Lobster Bulletin newsletter includes research updates, and information on lobsters and the lobster industry. The Lobster Institute at the University of Maine is dedicated to protecting and conserving the lobster resource, and enhancing lobstering as an industry and a way of life.

Headlines in the Fall 2013 issue include:

• Marine Lobster Panel Releases Report
• Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission Mandated Fall Closure in Long Island Sound
• Research Report: Lobster Research Fleet Pilot Project
• Research Report: Fractions, Models and Resource Regulations Prospects for Lowering the Maine Lobster Trap Limit
• Seabourn Cruis Lines Hosts Lobster College

The Lobster Bulletin, Summer 2013, Lobster Institute, University Of Maine

Lobster Bulletin

The Lobster Bulletin newsletter includes research updates, and information on lobsters and the lobster industry. The Lobster Institute at the University of Maine is dedicated to protecting and conserving the lobster resource, and enhancing lobstering as an industry and a way of life.

Headlines in the Summer 2013 issue include:

• Lobster Intitute & Atlantic Lobster Sutainability Foundation Building a Working Relationship
• Belize Fishermen Visit Maine
• Editorial — More Questions than Answers
• Editor's Notes on Shell Diseased Lobsters
• Research Report: Scientists Share Research Plans and Results at Lobster Science Symposium
• Lobster Grip Study
• Policy Makers Meet and Share Thoughts on Sustainability …

Collaborative Research: Land-Use Practices And Persistence Of Amphibian Populations, Malcolm L. Hunter Jr.

University of Maine Office of Research Administration: Grant Reports

Over the past 200 years, conversion of land for agricultural use, industrial development, and urban sprawl has drastically reduced natural habitat for many species and is considered the most serious threat to biological diversity. Fragmentation divides once continuous natural habitats into smaller pieces that are often separated by areas unsuitable to sustain viable populations. The goal of the proposed research is to understand how important local population and metapopulation processes are altered by fragmentation of natural habitats in a model system of pond-breeding amphibians. The primary objectives of the proposed study are to experimentally compare demographic and behavioral responses of …

Collaborative Research: Land-Use Practices And Persistence Of Amphibian Populations., Malcolm L. Hunter Jr.

University of Maine Office of Research Administration: Grant Reports

Over the past 200 years, conversion of land for agricultural use, industrial development, and urban sprawl has drastically reduced natural habitat for many species and is considered the most serious threat to biological diversity. Fragmentation divides once continuous natural habitats into smaller pieces that are often separated by areas unsuitable to sustain viable populations. The goal of the proposed research is to understand how important local population and metapopulation processes are altered by fragmentation of natural habitats in a model system of pond-breeding amphibians. The primary objectives of the proposed study are to experimentally compare demographic and behavioral responses of …

Diet And Prey Availability Of Sturgeons In The Penobscot River, Maine, Matthew Dzaugis

Honors College

Although vital to the protection and conservation of species listed under the U.S. Endangered Species Act, critical habitat of shortnose sturgeon and Atlantic sturgeon in the Penobscot River, Maine have not yet been described. Critical habitat includes food availability as well as the physical characteristics of foraging habitat. To characterize seasonal availability of benthic prey, a ponar grab was used to collect over 125 benthic samples between 21 May and 8 October 2012. Samples were stratified throughout the river and broadly categorized by sediment type. All organisms within samples were identified to the family level. To characterize diet, stomach contents …

The Phylogeny And Biogeography Of The Monito Del Monte (Dromiciops Gliroides) And Its Relatives, Ariel Berthel

Honors College

Marsupials are a group of mammals that give birth to young that are not fully developed. These offspring must complete the remainder of their development outside of the womb attached to their mother’s teat. Marsupials only occur in South America and Australasia, with one species extending into North America. The marsupial known as the monito del monte, which is Spanish for ‘little monkey of the mountain,’ (Dromiciops gliroides) is a South American marsupial; however, it shares a key morphological feature of ankle bone morphology with Australasian marsupials. This shared, derived trait is what defines the cohort Australidelphia, to which the …

Evolutionary And Molecular Analysis Of Conserved Vertebrate Immunity To Fungi, Erin Carter

Honors College

The innate immune system is highly conserved amongst all multicellular organisms. Yet a constant battle exists between host cells and pathogens due to the rapid evolution of immune system components. Functional genomics and in silico methods can be employed to elucidate the evolutionary patterns of vertebrate immunity to pathogenic fungi such as Candida albicans, an opportunistic fungal pathogen that can cause lethal candidiasis in the immunocompromised. Mammals such as humans and mice possess conserved C-type lectin receptors that recognize the C. albicans cell wall. However, these receptors have not been identified in fish. Here I describe how we identified potential …

The Lobster Bulletin, Spring 2013, Lobster Institute, University Of Maine

Lobster Bulletin

The Lobster Bulletin newsletter includes research updates, and information on lobsters and the lobster industry. The Lobster Institute at the University of Maine is dedicated to protecting and conserving the lobster resource, and enhancing lobstering as an industry and a way of life.

Headlines in the Spring 2013 issue include:

• "Sharing a Common Resource" Theme of Lobster Institute's 2013 Canadian/U.S. Lobstermen's Town Meeting
• Nova Scotia Sets Up Panel to Develop Rules for Fish Farms by End of 2014
• Downeast Maine Fisheries Inspire Online Literary Journal
• Research Report: Wind Farm Sites Tested as Possible Habitat for European Lobsters
• Research Report: Refresher …

The Ocean Economy Of The United States: Measurement, Distribution, & Trends, Charles S. Colgan

Publications

Coastal managers are frequently required to consider the economic implications of their decisions, but economic data needed to support decisions is frequently lacking. This paper discusses the creation of a national data set that measures economic activity related to the oceans and Great Lakes of the U.S. Measures include employment, wages, establishments, and output. The data is derived from existing data maintained by the federal government to assure temporal and spatial consistency of measurement. The data set defines the “ocean economy” through a combination of industry and geographic location features to measure 21 separate industries in 6 sectors, at the …

The Lobster Bulletin, Winter 2013, Lobster Institute, University Of Maine

Lobster Bulletin

The Lobster Bulletin newsletter includes research updates, and information on lobsters and the lobster industry. The Lobster Institute at the University of Maine is dedicated to protecting and conserving the lobster resource, and enhancing lobstering as an industry and a way of life.

Headlines in this edition include:

• Unprecidented Lobster Landings in Maine in 2012
• Endowment Funds Support the Work of the Lobster Institute
• 2012 Friends of the Lobster Institute
• Research Report: Size at Maturity Study Reviewed
• Research Report: Atlantic Lobster Moult & Quality
• Research Report: Temperature Changes
• Fishermen & Scientist Research Society Celebrates 20 Years
• 2013 Canadian/U.S. Lobstermen's Town …