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Articles 1 - 5 of 5
Full-Text Articles in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology
Overwintering Diet Quality And Timing Of Initiation Of Breeding In The Deer Mouse (Peromyscus Maniculatus), Lindsey Valliant
Overwintering Diet Quality And Timing Of Initiation Of Breeding In The Deer Mouse (Peromyscus Maniculatus), Lindsey Valliant
Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository
Timing of breeding in seasonal environments is important in population dynamics, but it is not always known what cues animals use to time breeding. In northern deer mice (Peromyscus maniculatus) at Kananaskis, Alberta, Canada, early seasonal births are related to overwinter protein supplementation. It is not however known if natural variation in diet quality has the same effect. I hypothesized that yearly winter arthropod availability would influence yearly spring breeding. I predicted that the mean date of initiation of breeding in the population would be related to overwinter diet quality, indicated by 15N enrichment of hair of …
Carbon In The Peatlands In The Great Lakes Region, Cassandra A. Ott
Carbon In The Peatlands In The Great Lakes Region, Cassandra A. Ott
Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports - Open
Peatlands cover only ~3% of the global land area, but store ~30% of the worlds' soil carbon. There are many different peat types that store different amounts of carbon. Most inventories of carbon storage in northern peatlands have been conducted in the expansive Sphagnum dominated peatlands. Although, northern white cedar peatlands (NW cedar, Thuja occidentalis L.) are also one of the most common peatland types in the Great Lakes Region, occupying more than 2 million hectares. NW cedar swamps are understudied, due in part to the difficulties in collection methods. General lack of rapid and consistent sampling methods has also …
Interactive Controls Of Water Table Position And Plant Functional Types On Peat Porewater Character In Northern Bog Ecosystems: Implications For Carbon Cycling Dynamics, Aleta L. Daniels
Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports - Open
Northern wetlands, and particularly peatlands, have been shown to store around 30% of the world's soil carbon and thus play a significant role in the carbon cycle of our planet. Changes in climate are altering peatland hydrology and vegetation communities. These changes are possibly resulting in declines in the ability of peatlands to sequester carbon because losses through carbon oxidation and mineralization are likely to increase relative to C inputs from net primary production in a warmer, drier climate. However, the consequences of interactive effects of altered hydrology and vegetation on carbon storage are not well understood. This research evaluated …
Using Stable Isotope Analysis Of Zooplankton To Document Trophic And Biogeochemical Changes In The San Francisco Estuary, Steven C. Westbrook, Julien Moderan
Using Stable Isotope Analysis Of Zooplankton To Document Trophic And Biogeochemical Changes In The San Francisco Estuary, Steven C. Westbrook, Julien Moderan
STAR Program Research Presentations
Zooplankton represent a vital link between phytoplankton and fish, like the endangered Delta Smelt. Human interferences (nitrates from waste water, flow alteration, invasive species introduction…) have altered the structure of the San Francisco Estuary (SFE) ecosystem. We use stable isotope analysis to improve our knowledge of the planktonic food web in the SFE and gain insights into its evolution over the past decades. We use the ratios of certain isotopes (Nitrogen, Carbon, Sulfur, etc.) in different species of zooplankton to tell us what it is feeding on as well as the trophic level it feeds in. My research focused on …
Quantifying Carbon Allocation To Mycorrhizal Fungi By Temperate Forest Tree Species Across A Nitrogen Availability Gradient, Shersingh Joseph Tumber-Davila
Quantifying Carbon Allocation To Mycorrhizal Fungi By Temperate Forest Tree Species Across A Nitrogen Availability Gradient, Shersingh Joseph Tumber-Davila
Honors Theses and Capstones
Terrestrial ecosystems make up the largest carbon pool with a major portion of that being forests. With carbon being a major concern due to global climate change, being able to make accurate models is increasingly important. Studies have shown that trees may allocate up to 50% of their photosynthetically fixed carbon underground; however these values haven’t been accurately quantified and underground carbon allocation has been historically overlooked. Mycorrhizal fungi may be a large portion of underground carbon allocation, as they have a symbiotic relationship with trees where they provide the plant with water and nutrients in return for sugars (carbon). …