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Exploring Red-Tailed Hawk Migration Using Stable Isotope Analysis And Dna Sexing Techniques, Kara Clare Donohue

Boise State University Theses and Dissertations

Understanding the movements of migratory birds and connecting the different stages of their annual cycle is necessary for the conservation and management of migratory bird species. Stable isotope technology has the potential to shed light on the movements of migratory species and to help us better understand their population dynamics. Several studies use stable hydrogen isotopes in particular to predict origins of birds sampled during migration or in winter. However, recent work on stable hydrogen isotopes in feathers (δD_f) draws into question the utility of this technology in estimating origins of migrants. My objective was to determine whether …

Restoration Of A. Fasciculatum At Rocky Canyon Granite Quarry, San Luis Obispo, Ca, Catherine L. Roy

Master's Theses

The objective of this study was to assess the above-ground factors affecting the establishment and recovery of the dominant chaparral shrub Adenostoma fasciculatum (chamise) on the Rocky Canyon granite mine.

Attempts to restore the California chaparral have been challenging and few successful efforts have been documented. However, the California chaparral can fully recover from fire in as little as 10-15 years. Factors affecting chamise seedling establishment were tested by planting chamise seed in forty eight 1square meter plots managed to test the effects of interspecific competition with native postfire vegetation, post-mining volunteer vegetation, and intraspecific only competition. Plots were managed …

Purple Martin, Progne Subis, In San Luis Obispo County Riparian Habitat: Presence, Persistence, Nesting, Brooding And Reproductive Success, Shannon Eileen Murphy

Biological Sciences

The State of California, as of 2002, identified the Purple Martin as a bird species of Special Concern (Airola et al., 2003). These migrants were historically found in a unique habitat in Central California; nesting in natural cavities of Western Sycamores within Riparian Habitats. I am proposing that Purple Martins still successfully nest and brood young in this unique habitat in San Luis Obispo County. The primary study site is in Atascadero where Highway 41 meets San Gabriel Road and San Gabriel Road crosses Atascadero creek. The secondary site is Highway 58 in Santa Margarita where the highway crosses the …

The Geographic Distribution Of Polyploidy In A Pacific Northwest Plant, Megan A. Larson

Honors Capstone Projects - All

Polyploidy is an important evolutionary mechanism of speciation in plants. Because polyploids may evolve cryptically, there can be several levels of ploidy in a species. The distribution of polyploid species is the first step in understanding the role of polyploidy in plant speciation. I examined the geographic distribution of polyploidy in Heuchera cylindrica (Saxifragaceae) by using flow cytometry to determine the ploidy level of 595 individuals from 39 populations spread across the geographic range of the species. Only single cytotype populations of diploids or tetraploids were found, and no triploids were observed. In contrast to other studies of polyploid distribution, …

Tidal Influences On Bacterial And Phytoplankton Abundances And The Resulting Effects On Patterns Of Dissolved Oxygen In The Skidaway River Estuary, Casey Colleen Brazell

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Two studies were conducted to investigate the physical and biological processes contributing to the dissolved oxygen (DO) availability in the Skidaway River Estuary (SRE), Savannah, GA during the summer of 2005. A temporal study looked at changes in DO concentrations, Chlorophyll a concentrations, bacterial abundance, water depth, and salinity, every hour, for 26 hours, over both a neap and a spring tide. A spatial study looked at changes in the above variables at 5 sites along the SRE while following the tide inland during a neap high and low tide, and a spring high and low tide. DO concentrations varied …

Effects Of Habitat Quality On Reproduction In Two Georgia Populations Of Gopherus Polyphemus, Jaqueline W. Entz

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Author's Abstract: The purpose of this study was to examine differences in maternal investment by examining variation in the habitat structure and reproductive parameters for two populations of Gopherus polyphemus in Southeast GA. Both habitat structure and reproductive parameters for these populations are known from a previous study, thus this study expands upon the previous one and addresses four main questions. (1) Has habitat quality changed in the past ten years within and between population sites? (2) Could a change of habitat have affected female morphology or female reproductive parameters within or between populations? (3) Is female body size shaping …