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Full-Text Articles in Other Ecology and Evolutionary Biology

A Comparison Of Community Composition Analyses For The Assessment Of Responses To Wood-Ash Soil Amendment By Free-Living Nematodes, Paul B.L. George Dec 2014

A Comparison Of Community Composition Analyses For The Assessment Of Responses To Wood-Ash Soil Amendment By Free-Living Nematodes, Paul B.L. George

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Land-use changes can have far-reaching consequences for resident communities and ecosystem functioning. Developing appropriate assessment methods to observe and quantify this change is an important application of community ecology. Here I compare four methods of community assessment for free-living soil nematodes under forest harvesting disturbance and wood ash application. Neither morphological assessment (richness, abundance, diversity) nor molecular assessment (morpho-richness using T-RFLP) was responsive to experimental treatments. Trait-based approaches (Maturity Index (MI) and Body Size Spectra (BSS)) were more sensitive to forest harvest and wood-ash amendment treatments. The efficacy of these methods was also qualitatively compared. Of all methods, the BSS …


Application Of Otolith Increment Analysis To The Study Of Maturation Timing In Female Kokanee Salmon, Yelin Xu Dec 2014

Application Of Otolith Increment Analysis To The Study Of Maturation Timing In Female Kokanee Salmon, Yelin Xu

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

I investigated the influence of growth history on the expression of female reproductive tactics in kokanee salmon (Oncorhynchus nerka) from Meadow Creek Spawning Channel, British Columbia, Canada. Female kokanee either arrive at the spawning area with red nuptial coloration, or less commonly, sexually immature with silver coloration. Silver- and red-arriving females may reflect different reproductive strategies in the population. I used otolith increment measurements to determine fish growth. In contrast to earlier studies, silver- and red-arriving females in 2013 did not differ in age at maturity (mostly were age 3+) or size at maturity (length from eye to …


Environmental Factors Influencing Spring Migration Chronology Of Lesser Scaup (Aythya Affinis), Taylor A. Finger Jan 2014

Environmental Factors Influencing Spring Migration Chronology Of Lesser Scaup (Aythya Affinis), Taylor A. Finger

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Weather likely affects the timing and rate of migration by waterfowl to their breeding grounds. I hypothesized that timing of migration by lesser scaup during spring is affected by annual variation in temperature, precipitation and ice cover. I used satellite telemetry data, waterfowl survey data and corresponding weather data to evaluate competing models that explained variation in timing and rate of migration by lesser scaup. Timing of spring migration occurred earlier and faster when lesser scaup encountered warmer temperatures and greater precipitation, both of which are known to influence thermoregulation and habitat availability for waterfowl. Migration chronology of lesser scaup …