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Full-Text Articles in Behavior and Ethology
The Role Of Teleost Grazers In A Relatively Pristine Seagrass Ecosystem, Cindy Bessey
The Role Of Teleost Grazers In A Relatively Pristine Seagrass Ecosystem, Cindy Bessey
FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations
Trophic downgrading of ecosystems necessitates a functional understanding of trophic cascades. Identifying the presence of cascades, and the mechanisms through which they occur, is particularly important for seagrass meadows, which are among the most threatened ecosystems on Earth. Shark Bay, Western Australia provides a model system to investigate the potential importance of top-down effects in a relatively pristine seagrass ecosystem. The role of megagrazers in the Shark Bay system has been previously investigated, but the role of macrograzers (i.e., teleosts), and their importance relative to megagrazers, remains unknown. The objective of my dissertation was to elucidate the importance of teleost …
Factors Influencing Movements And Foraging Ecology Of American Alligators (Alligator Mississippiensis) In A Dynamic Subtropical Coastal Ecosystem, Adam Rosenblatt
Factors Influencing Movements And Foraging Ecology Of American Alligators (Alligator Mississippiensis) In A Dynamic Subtropical Coastal Ecosystem, Adam Rosenblatt
FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations
Top predators can have large effects on community and population dynamics but we still know relatively little about their roles in ecosystems and which biotic and abiotic factors potentially affect their behavioral patterns. Understanding the roles played by top predators is a pressing issue because many top predator populations around the world are declining rapidly yet we do not fully understand what the consequences of their potential extirpation could be for ecosystem structure and function. In addition, individual behavioral specialization is commonplace across many taxa, but studies of its prevalence, causes, and consequences in top predator populations are lacking. In …