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Terrestrial and Aquatic Ecology Commons

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Population Biology

University of South Alabama

Theses/Dissertations

Articles 1 - 4 of 4

Full-Text Articles in Terrestrial and Aquatic Ecology

New Insights On Hybridization In Potamogeton Floridanus (The Florida Pondweed)), Kaitlyn R. Sampson Jul 2024

New Insights On Hybridization In Potamogeton Floridanus (The Florida Pondweed)), Kaitlyn R. Sampson

<strong> Theses and Dissertations </strong>

Freshwater ecosystems are some of the most important and highest threatened habitats in the world, and aquatic plants play an important, but often-overlooked, role in maintaining them. Potamogeton is a diverse and ecologically important aquatic plant genus well known for taxonomic difficulty and rampant hybridization. lbis study aimed to 1) test the hypothesis that Potamogeton jloridanus (Florida pondweed) is a hybrid between P. oakesianus and P. pulcher, and 2) to investigate correlations in ecological conditions for the focal species. This study revealed the discovery of a new population of P. jloridanus in Big Coldwater Creek in Santa Rosa Co., FL, …


Survey Of The Bolctes From Fish River Nature Preserve, Noah T. Nelson May 2024

Survey Of The Bolctes From Fish River Nature Preserve, Noah T. Nelson

Honors Theses

Boletes are a special kind of mushroom inside of the Kingdom Fungi that are distinguished from other mushrooms by their uniquely pored hymenium, as opposed to gills. Many boletes are ectomycorrhizal, meaning they are mutualists with vascular plants, and thus beneficial to the overall health of the terrestrial ecosystem. Some are well-known for their edibility and are of economic importance. In the United States 59 genus-level clades comprising 290 operational taxonomic units have been reported. The southeastern US and Gulf Coast regions however are less researched and recorded for their mushroom ecology. In Alabama, only 56 bolete species have been …


Effect Of Temperature On The Microbiome Of A Laboratory-Reared Colony Of Haemaphysalis Longicornis Ticks, Brianna L. Mitchell May 2023

Effect Of Temperature On The Microbiome Of A Laboratory-Reared Colony Of Haemaphysalis Longicornis Ticks, Brianna L. Mitchell

Honors Theses

Haemaphysalis longicornis ticks are invasive to the United States with potential to transmit several tick-borne pathogens that are native to the United States. Based on existing locations of H. longicornis in its native regions in Asia, as well as its invasive populations that are established in the United States, several geographic range prediction models have been produced to help understand future range expansion and distribution of this invasive tick in North America. Unfortunately, these models do not all agree and there is uncertainty associated with the potential geographic range expansion of H. longicornis ticks in North America. Climate can affect …


Site Fidelity Of Bottlenose Dolphins (Tursiops Truncatus) Using Elemental Analyses And Photo-Identification, Lauren R. Clance May 2022

Site Fidelity Of Bottlenose Dolphins (Tursiops Truncatus) Using Elemental Analyses And Photo-Identification, Lauren R. Clance

<strong> Theses and Dissertations </strong>

The objective of this study was to determine if bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus) in Alabama waters acquire location-specific elemental signatures indicative of site fidelity. I measured trace metal concentrations (Chapter II) and stable isotope ratios (Chapter III) in skin from free-ranging dolphins remotely biopsied in Mobile Bay, the northern Gulf of Mexico (Gulf) and eastern Mississippi Sound (EMSS). Elemental findings were corroborated with photo-identification data. I found that dolphins acquired some location-specific elements indicative of site fidelity, with the greatest differences at geographic extremes, particularly relative to salinity. For trace metals, highest concentrations were found in winter, consistent with higher …