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Full-Text Articles in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology

Timing Is Everything: Climate Change Implications For Phenological Events And Reproductive Success In River Herring, Meghna N. Marjadi Aug 2023

Timing Is Everything: Climate Change Implications For Phenological Events And Reproductive Success In River Herring, Meghna N. Marjadi

Doctoral Dissertations

Anadromous river herring (alewife (Alosa pseudoharengus) and blueback herring (Alosa aestivalis)) make annual spring spawning migrations from the ocean to freshwater, where juveniles reside before emigrating to the ocean. Climate change may alter environmental and biological cues that prompt both adult migration and juvenile emigration, with implications for adult spawning success and offspring survival for these imperiled species. Shifts in adult migration have been observed in some rivers, while impacts on reproductive success and juvenile survival remain unknown. Cues for juvenile emigration are poorly understood as they have been explored at limited spatial and temporal scales. …


Drivers And Direct Impacts Of Lean Mass Dynamics On The Stopover Ecology And Migratory Pace Of Nearctic-Neotropical Migrant Songbirds In Spring, Mariamar Gutierrez Ramirez Mar 2022

Drivers And Direct Impacts Of Lean Mass Dynamics On The Stopover Ecology And Migratory Pace Of Nearctic-Neotropical Migrant Songbirds In Spring, Mariamar Gutierrez Ramirez

Doctoral Dissertations

Annual migration in songbirds is one of the most demanding life-history stages. It represents a period of high mortality, yet there is still much unknown about the ecological correlates that influence its successful completion. After long non-stop migratory flights, birds require a stopover period to rest and replenish depleted energy reserves. Birds use fat as the primary fuel to power long-distance flights. However, birds also burn lean tissue, which results in significant reductions in muscle and organ masses. The discovery and quantification of lean mass catabolism represented a paradigm shift in migration ecology because non-fat components were thought to remain …


Don't Delay: The Effects Of Tide Gates And Road-Stream Crossing Culverts On River Herring (Alosa Spp.) Spawning Migrations, Derrick J. Alcott Dec 2020

Don't Delay: The Effects Of Tide Gates And Road-Stream Crossing Culverts On River Herring (Alosa Spp.) Spawning Migrations, Derrick J. Alcott

Doctoral Dissertations

River herring (Alosa spp.) are anadromous fish that spawn in freshwater rivers and lakes in North America from Florida to Nova Scotia, CA. They have been listed as a species of conservation concern due to dramatic stock declines observed in the 1970’s. Stocks have failed to show significant signs of recovery despite over a decade of harvest restrictions throughout their range. Bycatch in commercial fisheries and reduced access to spawning habitat due to anthropogenic barriers to migration, such as dams and tide gates, have been identified as major causes of the decline in herring populations. Physical barriers to …


Not Gone With The Wind: Addressing Effects Of Offshore Wind Development On Bat Species In The Northeastern United States, Zara Rae Dowling Nov 2018

Not Gone With The Wind: Addressing Effects Of Offshore Wind Development On Bat Species In The Northeastern United States, Zara Rae Dowling

Doctoral Dissertations

Development of coastal and offshore wind energy resources has the potential to add considerable renewable electricity capacity to the United States electrical grid, but could have detrimental impacts on wildlife. Land-based wind energy facilities are estimated to kill hundreds of thousands of bats every year in the United States, and could threaten population viability of some species. Little is known about the potential impacts of offshore wind development on bat populations along the North Atlantic coast, but a number of species are known to frequent marine islands or fly over the ocean during migration. This dissertation helps to characterize risks …


Tracking Migratory Bird Movements In The Gulf Of Maine With Automated Radio Telemetry And Stable Hydrogen Isotope Markers, Jennifer Smetzer Mar 2018

Tracking Migratory Bird Movements In The Gulf Of Maine With Automated Radio Telemetry And Stable Hydrogen Isotope Markers, Jennifer Smetzer

Doctoral Dissertations

Coastal and offshore areas of the eastern United States provide valuable resources for both migratory songbirds and breeding seabirds, but face some of the most drastic rates of habitat alteration and urbanization. Coastal development can result in loss of significant habitats, and in proliferation of collision hazards that can pose a grave threat to birds. Conserving birds that use these coastal and offshore areas requires better information on how coastal stopover habitats are used, what breeding populations visit these regions during migration, how birds move through these landscapes, and how development can be most sensibly and responsibly directed to minimize …