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Biodiversity

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Full-Text Articles in Terrestrial and Aquatic Ecology

From Pixels To Plants: Remote Sensing Of California Invasive Plants, Kenneth Rangel May 2024

From Pixels To Plants: Remote Sensing Of California Invasive Plants, Kenneth Rangel

Master's Projects and Capstones

Invasive plants cause significant impacts to ecosystems, the economy, and human health. California has experienced significant plant invasions and is well suited to future invasion because of its Mediterranean climate and human disturbance. Eradication or control of invasive plant species requires a detailed understanding of their spatial distribution, which typically involves on the ground surveys that can be expensive or inconsistent. Remote sensing offers a potential alternative or supplement to in-person invasive plant mapping. This study performed a comparative analysis of 41 remote sensing studies that mapped the distribution of California invasive plants. I found that while high spectral resolution …

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Monitoring The Effects Of Poultry Waste On Fishes And Macroinvertebrates In The Sabine River, Karley R. Parker Jul 2023

Monitoring The Effects Of Poultry Waste On Fishes And Macroinvertebrates In The Sabine River, Karley R. Parker

Biology Theses

Freshwater is a vital resource that provides life and sustainability for almost all organisms on Earth. It is important to maintain its health and protect it from emerging pollutants that pose a threat to the organisms that use it. Pollution continues to threaten the well-being of the environment’s freshwater sources all around the world that could lead to damaging effects in the future. The Sabine River is a major freshwater resource in the east Texas and western Louisiana areas that provides a habitat for thousands of organisms as well as other domestic uses for humans. In 2019, a waste discharge …

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Fish Community Responses To Environmental And Anthropogenic Conditions In West Virginia, Katherine A. Adase Jan 2023

Fish Community Responses To Environmental And Anthropogenic Conditions In West Virginia, Katherine A. Adase

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports

While Appalachia is among the oldest region in the world, Central West Virginia watersheds have been impacted by anthropogenic stressors, including extractive mining and timber harvest industries, as well as urban development and agriculture, damns, fracking, mining, and land cover use. This study aims to understand how natural environmental and human altered gradients impact affect diversity of fish communities in streams and rivers throughout Central Appalachia. The first chapter aims to provide insights into the impact of the 2016 low head dam removals on taxonomic and functional fish communities in the West Fork River, West Virginia and the potential benefits …

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Vertebrate Scavenger Diversity And Ecosystem Services Along An Elevational Gradient In Central Nepal, Aishwarya Bhattacharjee Sep 2021

Vertebrate Scavenger Diversity And Ecosystem Services Along An Elevational Gradient In Central Nepal, Aishwarya Bhattacharjee

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

A growing number of studies recognize the ecological significance of vertebrate scavengers, and several species belonging to this diverse, functional guild are of high conservation importance around the globe. Studies on taxonomic and functional components of biodiversity often use elevation gradients to comprehensively examine patterns and drivers across multiple spatial scales. Yet, there are relatively few elevational studies on large vertebrates or multi-taxa guilds, and the related variation of their ecosystem services. In particular, scavenger research has largely focused on local-scale studies or regional/global comparisons of local-scale investigations. Moreover, these studies primarily consider taxonomic community characteristics and the patterns of …

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Characterizing The Relationship Between Species Richness And The Seasonal Phenomenon Of Tropical Fish Dispersal In New England Waters, Michael E. O'Neill May 2021

Characterizing The Relationship Between Species Richness And The Seasonal Phenomenon Of Tropical Fish Dispersal In New England Waters, Michael E. O'Neill

Graduate Masters Theses

The Gulf Stream exerts tremendous influence over oceanographic conditions in the Northwest Atlantic as it transports tropical water to higher latitudes. As the Gulf Stream’s path traverses the east coast of North America, there are implications for the biogeography of marine ecosystems within this range and beyond. While the meandering eddies and warm core rings generated by the Gulf Stream persist year-round, the seasonal warming of New England’s coastal waters afford many tropical species transported by the current temporary residence through the summer and fall. Many aspects that shape this phenomenon and its impact on coastal ecosystems remain a mystery. …

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Of Biodiversity, Boundaries, And Distribution: The Myxomycetes Of The Philippines And Beyond, Sittie Aisha Bustamante Macabago Jan 2021

Of Biodiversity, Boundaries, And Distribution: The Myxomycetes Of The Philippines And Beyond, Sittie Aisha Bustamante Macabago

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation contains a compilation of independently performed studies primarily focusing on the myxomycetes (plasmodial slime molds) from the Philippines and integrating local and worldwide data to demonstrate regional and global trends. The major themes include the following: (I) a review of the diverse group of spore-producing amoeboid protists, including the myxomycetes; (II-IV) diversity assessments in three different groups of islands in the Philippine archipelago; (V) mapping the myxomycetes found in the Philippines for databasing and analyzing the geocoded data; (VI) a study on regional boundaries, including the Philippines, using myxomycete species composition; and, (VII) creating a global species distribution …

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Conservation Of Terrestrial Salamanders Through Hemlock Woolly Adelgid Management In Eastern Hemlock Forests Within Great Smoky Mountains National Park, Jonathan Lawrence Cox Dec 2020

Conservation Of Terrestrial Salamanders Through Hemlock Woolly Adelgid Management In Eastern Hemlock Forests Within Great Smoky Mountains National Park, Jonathan Lawrence Cox

Masters Theses

Hemlock woolly adelgid (Adelges tsugae; HWA), an invasive aphid-like arthropod, was first documented on the east coast of the United States in the 1950s. HWA is an herbivore which primarily feeds at the needle base of hemlock tree species (Pinaceae: Tsuga). With no evolutionary defenses and few biotic controls, the eastern and Carolina hemlock (Tsuga canadensis and Tsuga carolinensis) serve as the primary diet of HWA in eastern North America. The invasive pest began to spread rapidly throughout the hemlock’s range causing defoliation and death of the trees within 4 – 10 years. With the …

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Impact Of Disturbance Regimes On Community And Landscape Biodiversity In Atlantic Coastal Pine Barren Ecoregion Streams, Sean T. Mccanty Aug 2020

Impact Of Disturbance Regimes On Community And Landscape Biodiversity In Atlantic Coastal Pine Barren Ecoregion Streams, Sean T. Mccanty

Graduate Doctoral Dissertations

Streams are dynamic systems shaped by geographic location, hydrology, riparian vegetation, and in-stream habitat. Furthermore, ecosystem disturbance plays a major role in structuring stream communities and ecosystem processes. Disturbances include natural occurrences, such as flooding, drought, and fire events and anthropogenic disturbances such as land use changes, damming, and pollution. Agricultural use acts as a press disturbance regime, homogenizing the surrounding landscape and simplifying in-stream habitat, leaving legacy effects after farming ceases. Active restoration is intended to ameliorate these effects by reintroducing variation, with the goal of shifting the ecosystem into a more diverse and natural state. The act of …

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The Ecological Value Of Spruce Plantations In Massachusetts, Calvin Ritter Jul 2020

The Ecological Value Of Spruce Plantations In Massachusetts, Calvin Ritter

Masters Theses

The establishment of monoculture plantations of exotic tree species is common practice for supplementing native timber stocks. Such plantations typically provide inferior habitat for wildlife compared to native forest, which may result in a net reduction in biodiversity. However, some studies report that plantations may increase net biodiversity at the landscape scale by introducing novel habitats or supplementing existing natural forests. Using point count surveys, I examined six mature Norway spruce (Picea abies) plantations in western Massachusetts in 2016 and 2017 to evaluate bird use of these habitats relative to native forest stands. Count data were analyzed using …

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A Comparative Taxonomic And Diversity Study Of Litter-Associated Fungi In Northwest Arkansas Forests, Rajaa Abdulrazzaq Abbas Al Aanbagi May 2020

A Comparative Taxonomic And Diversity Study Of Litter-Associated Fungi In Northwest Arkansas Forests, Rajaa Abdulrazzaq Abbas Al Aanbagi

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Fungi are taxonomically the most species-rich group of organisms on the earth, ecologically occupy distinctive niches and interact with diverse other organisms throughout their biogeographic distributions and functionally play key roles through their various lifestyles. Plant litter, in particular, is a keystone component in ecosystems and provides heterogeneous microhabitats for the often overlooked litter-decomposing fungi and other organisms on the floor of temperate deciduous forests. Litter fungi involve indirect interactions with the plant, soil and whole food web network. However, the community structure and functions of litter-associated fungi as well as patterns of species richness distributed across various litter microhabitats …

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Diatom Voucher Flora And Comparison Of Collection Methods For Biodiversity Hotspot Upper Three Runs Creek, Katie M. Johnson Mar 2020

Diatom Voucher Flora And Comparison Of Collection Methods For Biodiversity Hotspot Upper Three Runs Creek, Katie M. Johnson

Biology Theses

Surface freshwater is a scarce resource. Due to the scarcity and necessity of this resource, it is imperative that its quality is routinely monitored. One way of monitoring water quality is through biological assessments, which include examining algal assemblages. Regionally, little remains known of algal taxa in the southeastern United States. In the past, the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia (ANSP) conducted biological assessments along the Savannah River finding Gomphonema parvulum (Kützing) Kützing 1849 to be a dominant taxon rendering assessments inconclusive. Recent studies have provided evidence that species complexes and semi-cryptic taxa have been identified within the Gomphonema …

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Protecting Biodiversity On National Forests: The Evolution And Implementation Of Forest Planning Regulations, Anna Wearn Jan 2020

Protecting Biodiversity On National Forests: The Evolution And Implementation Of Forest Planning Regulations, Anna Wearn

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

In 2012, the U.S. Forest Service (USFS) promulgated new forest planning regulations that significantly altered national forest management. One of the most controversial and important advancements was the inclusion of what were meant to be stronger biodiversity protections. An analysis of USFS’s rationale in revising the biodiversity regulations provides insights into how to interpret the substantively and procedurally new ecosystem and species protections. Examining this regulatory history reveals three key changes to the manner in which national forests are required to manage and monitor biodiversity: 1) a greater reliance on science to inform planning, 2) a new emphasis on ecological …

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Mammal Species Inventory Using Various Trapping Methods In Zone 4 Of Billy Barquedier National Park, Belize During Rainy Season, Mersady Redding Dec 2019

Mammal Species Inventory Using Various Trapping Methods In Zone 4 Of Billy Barquedier National Park, Belize During Rainy Season, Mersady Redding

Animal Science Undergraduate Honors Theses

Belize is a small country, but it is extremely ecologically diverse. Based on the few studies conducted in Belize, the abundance of mammals is low but diversity is high. Particular findings note the number and identity of species differed between four sites in the Maya Mountains of Belize, indicating that a data set from a single site is not representative of the Neotropical region. Insufficient data is available to estimate current species richness of many areas in Belize, including Billy Barquedier National Park (BBNP). The objective of this study was to explore trapping and documentation methods of terrestrial mammals in …

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Where Birds Chill: An Assessment Of The Habitat Preferences Of Birds Overwintering In Hudson Valley Forests, Elizabeth Claire Axley Jan 2019

Where Birds Chill: An Assessment Of The Habitat Preferences Of Birds Overwintering In Hudson Valley Forests, Elizabeth Claire Axley

Senior Projects Spring 2019

Many avian species overwinter in eastern North America; however, studies on bird populations are rarely undertaken during this critical survival time, and little is known as to their habitat preferences and foraging behavior. In this observational study, we performed a survey of birds overwintering in the Hudson Valley’s temperate, primarily-deciduous forests, assessing avian populations’ habitat preferences through the vegetative structural variables surrounding overwintering birds as they forage. Our results suggest that high canopy cover is critically important to predicting overwintering bird occupancy on a microhabitat scale. Moreover, overwintering birds preferentially occupy forest plots not dominated by sugar maples, in spite …

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Changing Land-Use From Pinus Elliottii To Eucalyptus Bentamii In Southwest Louisiana Affects Understory Vegetation Richness, Diversity, And Functional Diversity Patterns, Andrea De Stefano Dec 2018

Changing Land-Use From Pinus Elliottii To Eucalyptus Bentamii In Southwest Louisiana Affects Understory Vegetation Richness, Diversity, And Functional Diversity Patterns, Andrea De Stefano

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

In the Western Gulf region of the United States cold-tolerant eucalyptus have been explored as pulpwood feedstock. However, non-native plantations may alter understory species diversity, modifying environmental conditions and soil characteristics. Few studies have compared eucalyptus plantations with other ecosystems to understand the impacts of converting these land uses on understory vegetation in the United States. Three plantations were selected: (1) slash pine (Pinus elliottii) established in 2008, (2) slash pine established in 2013, and (3) and Camden white gum (Eucalyptus benthamii) established in 2013. The objectives of this study were to: (1) investigate potential changes …

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Fungi Of Forests: Examining The Diversity Of Root-Associated Fungi And Their Responses To Acid Deposition, Donald Jay Nelsen Dec 2017

Fungi Of Forests: Examining The Diversity Of Root-Associated Fungi And Their Responses To Acid Deposition, Donald Jay Nelsen

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Global importance of forests is difficult to overestimate, given their role in oxygen production, ecological roles in nutrient cycling and supporting numerous living species, and economic value for industry and as recreational zones. Fitness of the forest-forming trees strongly depends on microbial communities associated with tree roots. In particular, fungi impact tree fitness: mycorrhizal species provide water and nutrients for the trees in exchange for C, endophytic fungi play key roles in host defense against pathogenic organisms, and saprotrophic fungi decompose dead organic matter and facilitate nutrient cycling. In addition, pathogenic fungal species strongly affect forest fitness. Despite their importance, …

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Biogeography And Conservation Of Tidal Marsh Bird Communities Across A Changing Landscape, Maureen D. Correll Dec 2015

Biogeography And Conservation Of Tidal Marsh Bird Communities Across A Changing Landscape, Maureen D. Correll

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Given the current mass extinction crisis and continued fragmentation of resources worldwide, the outlook is dire for global biodiversity. Rising global temperature, sea levels, and storm frequency all create environmental conditions that can drive change in species abundance and distribution across a landscape. Those species reliant upon a single type of habitat and resource for survival, termed “specialists”, are particularly vulnerable to change due to their inability to utilize a variety of resources well. As a result, specialism is now considered one of the dominant factors determining extinction of species. In this dissertation I explore the effects of disturbance on …

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Turning Up The Heat On The Little Things That Run The World: Evaluating The Impacts Of Climate Change On Ant Biodiversity In The Temperate Forest Communities Of The Northeastern United States, Israel Del Toro Nov 2014

Turning Up The Heat On The Little Things That Run The World: Evaluating The Impacts Of Climate Change On Ant Biodiversity In The Temperate Forest Communities Of The Northeastern United States, Israel Del Toro

Doctoral Dissertations

Climatic change threatens biodiversity worldwide. In the forests of the northeastern United States, climate change is expected to increase mean annual temperatures by up to 4.5˚C and change precipitation seasonality. These changes in climate are likely to have impacts on the biodiversity of the region. In order to better understand the impacts of climate change on biodiversity, I used ants, an indicator taxonomic group, to predict how ant communities and ant-mediated ecosystem processes change as the climate warms. In the first chapter of this dissertation, I review the major ecosystem processes and services mediated by ants using the Millennium Ecosystem …

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Applying The Principles Of Spatial Modelling To The Management Of Biodiversity In The Fragmented Landscapes Of South-Western Australia, Shaun Molloy Jan 2013

Applying The Principles Of Spatial Modelling To The Management Of Biodiversity In The Fragmented Landscapes Of South-Western Australia, Shaun Molloy

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

Biodiversity conservation throughout the world is challenged by the impacts of a changing climate on fragmented landscapes. To mitigate these threats, conservation managers require models which can demonstrate the consequences of both negative impacts and management actions. This need can be addressed through spatial modelling applications. Unfortunately, throughout much of the world, spatial modelling is forgone, being seen as requiring skills and resources beyond the means of many conservation planners and managers. This thesis seeks to address this dilemma by delivering criteria for a successful modelling application and by providing case studies which demonstrate how appropriate modelling can be undertaken …

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Forest Regeneration On The Osa Peninsula, Costa Rica, Manette E. Sandor Dec 2012

Forest Regeneration On The Osa Peninsula, Costa Rica, Manette E. Sandor

Master's Theses

Woody species diversity of secondary forest has the potential to converge with that found in old growth forest. This study is the first to examine multiple aspects of species and reproductive trait diversity, and their relationship to each other, across a successional chronosequence. Species richness and species diversity increases with increasing age of forest. Diaspore size and diversity as well as fruit size generally increased with increasing age of forest, but fruit size diversity did not. Abundance of animal-dispersed species increased whereas wind-dispersed species decreased in abundance over succession. Insect-pollinated individuals were most abundant overall. Diaspore diversity, pollination diversity, and …

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Swamp : Walking The Wetlands Of The Swan Coastal Plain ; And With The Exegesis, A Walk In The Anthropocene: Homesickness And The Walker-Writer, Anandashila Saraswati Jan 2012

Swamp : Walking The Wetlands Of The Swan Coastal Plain ; And With The Exegesis, A Walk In The Anthropocene: Homesickness And The Walker-Writer, Anandashila Saraswati

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

This project is comprised of a creative work and accompanying exegesis. The creative work is a collection of poetry which examines the history and ecology of the wetlands and river systems of the Swan Coastal Plain, and which utilises the practice of walking as a research methodology. For the creative practitioner walking reintroduces the body as a fundamental definer of experience, placing the investigation centrally in the corporeal self, using the physical senses as investigative tools of enquiry. As Rebecca Solnit comments in her history of walking, ‘exploring the world is one of the best ways of exploring the mind, …

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