Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®
Physical Sciences and Mathematics Commons™
Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®
- Keyword
-
- Coral reef (2)
- Extinction risk (2)
- IUCN Red List (2)
- Marine conservation (2)
- Animal physiology (1)
-
- Arabian Gulf (1)
- Avain biology (1)
- Biodiversity (1)
- Carribbean (1)
- Clupeiformes (1)
- Community ecology (1)
- Connectivity (1)
- Conservation (1)
- Conservation ecology (1)
- Conservation genetics (1)
- Coral Triangle (1)
- Coral reef restoration (1)
- Extinction (1)
- Fisheries (1)
- Forage fish (1)
- Forest (1)
- Grazing (1)
- Habitat (1)
- Herbivore (1)
- Herbivory (1)
- IUCN (1)
- Indo-Pacific (1)
- Kernel density (1)
- Key biodiversity areas (1)
- Landbird (1)
Articles 1 - 12 of 12
Full-Text Articles in Physical Sciences and Mathematics
Assessment Of Factors Influencing Migratory Landbird Use Of Forested Stopover Sites Along The Delmarva Peninsula During Autumn Migration, J. Andrew Arnold
Assessment Of Factors Influencing Migratory Landbird Use Of Forested Stopover Sites Along The Delmarva Peninsula During Autumn Migration, J. Andrew Arnold
Biological Sciences Theses & Dissertations
Autumn migration is a time when billions of birds move from breeding grounds in North America to wintering grounds in Central and South America, with many individuals relying on stopover habitats en route for resting and refueling purposes. These stopover sites are critical to the survival of the hundreds of species of migratory landbirds that migrate annually, and thus identifying important stopover sites is a high priority for conserving such taxa. The Delmarva Peninsula; a coastal region of Delaware, Maryland, and Virginia along the mid-Atlantic flyway; consists of forested habitats with ample food and shelter that likely serves as quality …
Global Conservation Status Of Croaker And Drum (Family: Sciaenidae) And Role Of The Maw Trade, Claire E. Gorman
Global Conservation Status Of Croaker And Drum (Family: Sciaenidae) And Role Of The Maw Trade, Claire E. Gorman
Biological Sciences Theses & Dissertations
Understanding threats and drivers of extinction risk is critical to conserving marine biodiversity. Although marine bony fishes are some of the most diverse and abundant vertebrates in the world, overexploitation is the major threat to these taxa. Species in the family Sciaenidae are important marine resources in many parts of the world, supporting small- and large-scale fisheries for consumption and the international maw (dried swimbladder) trade. Sciaenids exhibit a diverse array of life history characteristics, such as high fecundity, large body size, formation of spawning aggregations, and longevity. Some characteristics increase their susceptibility to anthropogenic stressors. Despite being ecologically and …
The Effects Of Hackberry Psyllids On Refueling Migratory Songbirds And Autumnal Seed Rain, Chance H. Hines
The Effects Of Hackberry Psyllids On Refueling Migratory Songbirds And Autumnal Seed Rain, Chance H. Hines
Biological Sciences Theses & Dissertations
Hackberry psyllids (Pachypsylla sp) are a galling insect native to North America’s hackberry trees (Celtis sp). Hackberry leaf-galling psyllids are ephemerally abundant during autumn, a period of time when migratory songbirds are traveling from their breeding areas in temperate North America south to their winter ranges. These migrations are energetically taxing and many songbirds fuel their journey with resources like insects and fruits. I captured birds with mist nets, observed foraging behaviors, and captured avian-dispersed fleshy fruit seeds (hereafter, seed rain) rain during the autumn of 2016 and 2017 to determine how hackberry psyllids, an ephemerally …
Global Conservation Status And Threat Patterns Of The World’S Most Prominent Forage Fishes (Teleostei, Clupeiformes), Tiffany L. Birge
Global Conservation Status And Threat Patterns Of The World’S Most Prominent Forage Fishes (Teleostei, Clupeiformes), Tiffany L. Birge
Biological Sciences Theses & Dissertations
Conserving biodiversity is one of the greatest ethical responsibilities and challenges humans face. Understanding the conservation status of taxonomic groups provides a systematic way to prioritize efforts to combat biodiversity loss. The 405 species within the order Clupeiformes are the herrings, shads, sardines, anchovies, menhadens and relatives that include many of the most important marine forage fishes. These small, schooling fishes are economically, ecologically and culturally significant globally. Despite their contribution to global fisheries and our increasing reliance on these fishes for food and industrial commodities, they are generally poorly known with limited information regarding basic biology and population trends. …
Cryptic Herbivorous Invertebrates Restructure The Composition Of Degraded Coral Reef Communities In The Florida Keys, Florida, Usa, Angelo Jason Spadaro
Cryptic Herbivorous Invertebrates Restructure The Composition Of Degraded Coral Reef Communities In The Florida Keys, Florida, Usa, Angelo Jason Spadaro
Biological Sciences Theses & Dissertations
Coral reefs have been on a trajectory of decline for nearly a century due to a variety of factors that have contributed to the shift in these communities away from dominance by reef-building corals, with commensurate changes on community composition and function. Florida’s reefs are a compelling example of a degraded system that has undergone a phase shift, and thus offered an excellent model system for my study of the effects of grazing by cryptic herbivores on community composition and their potential restoration value. I had four major objectives: (1) determine the suitability of Maguimithrax spinosissimus for manipulating grazing intensity …
Identifying Marine Key Biodiversity Areas In The Greater Caribbean Region, Michael S. Harvey
Identifying Marine Key Biodiversity Areas In The Greater Caribbean Region, Michael S. Harvey
Biological Sciences Theses & Dissertations
Anthropocene biodiversity extinction rates are increasing, suggesting a possible sixth global mass extinction event. Biological conservation planners are consequently seeking ways to more effectively protect species at national, regional and global scales. In 2010, the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) issued a number of conservation goals (Aichi Targets), including the establishment of protected areas (PA) in terrestrial, freshwater and marine areas of eminent conservation concern by 2020 to reduce and eventually eliminate species’ extinctions, as well as preserve hotspots of biodiversity and dynamic ecosystems. While well-established, adequately enforced PAs increase the likelihood of preserving species and habitats most at risk …
Potential Interaction Analysis Of Offshore Wind Energy Areas And Breeding Avian Species On The Us Mid-Atlantic Coast, Jeri Lynn Wisman
Potential Interaction Analysis Of Offshore Wind Energy Areas And Breeding Avian Species On The Us Mid-Atlantic Coast, Jeri Lynn Wisman
Biological Sciences Theses & Dissertations
Due to increasing US interest in developing wind energy sites in offshore waters, we synthesized existing data on colonial breeding seabird populations with the potential risk of interacting with lease areas in the mid-Atlantic. Previous efforts by BOEM and NOAA have predicted avian density using at-sea survey data; we seek to complement this work by focusing specifically on birds during the critical and energetically demanding breeding life history stage. We combined colony size and location for each species along the mid-Atlantic coast with buffers around the colonies that correlate with the species’ foraging range. We integrated population size, vulnerability to …
Population Structure Of Lethrinus Lentjan (Lethrinidae, Percoidei) Across The South China Sea And The Philippines Is Detected With Lane-Affected Radseq Data, Ellen E. Biesack
Population Structure Of Lethrinus Lentjan (Lethrinidae, Percoidei) Across The South China Sea And The Philippines Is Detected With Lane-Affected Radseq Data, Ellen E. Biesack
Biological Sciences Theses & Dissertations
Southeast Asia includes the Coral Triangle, a marine biodiversity hotspot that supports important fishery resources experiencing varied threats. Patterns of speciation and population structure in the Coral Triangle have been examined to test hypotheses relating to the historical geologic processes that may have influenced this biodiversity phenomenon. This study investigates the genetic population structure of the Pink-ear Emperor Snapper, Lethrinus lentjan (Lacepède, 1802), across the Philippines and the South China Sea. The species is fished throughout the Coral Triangle by subsistence and commercial fishers and their landings have been in decline for several years, which could be indicative of depleted …
Marine Reserves Promote Coral Reef Resilience By Mitigating Human Impacts Through The Restoration Of Parrotfish Populations, Increasing Their Reproductive Output And Seeding Neighboring Overfished Reefs, Brian L. Stockwell
Biological Sciences Theses & Dissertations
Coral reefs are some of the most productive ecosystems on the planet, providing fisheries resources for over a billion people with billions of dollars in revenue from tourism for developing nations. Coral reefs are under threat from overfishing and water pollution, resulting in less productive algae dominated reefs. Marine reserves are widely expected to promote the resilience of reefs by protecting and increasing the abundance of herbivorous fishes that can graze on algae, therefore directly or indirectly preventing coral to algal phase shifts. However, the ability of marine reserves to mitigate human impacts, restore herbivorous fish populations and seed nearby …
Regional Extinction Risk And Conservation Priorities For Persian Gulf Marine Bony Fishes, Jack Ryan Buchanan
Regional Extinction Risk And Conservation Priorities For Persian Gulf Marine Bony Fishes, Jack Ryan Buchanan
Biological Sciences Theses & Dissertations
Around the world, protected areas are the primary conservation measure used to combat biodiversity loss; however, these are often established without comprehensive species-specific information, leading to placement in areas that often do not address the processes that threaten biodiversity. To address this, International Union for Conservation of Nature Red List assessments are being utilized to determine species-specific threats and population status at the global and sub-global levels. This study examines the regional extinction risk for all known marine bony fishes of the Persian Gulf. About 8.3% of the 471 marine bony fishes assessed are at elevated risk of regional extinction. …
A Test Of The Area Of Refuge Hypothesis In Indo-Pacific Marine Biogeography, Jonnell C. Sanciangco
A Test Of The Area Of Refuge Hypothesis In Indo-Pacific Marine Biogeography, Jonnell C. Sanciangco
Biological Sciences Theses & Dissertations
Many hypotheses have been proposed to explain the marine biogeographic patterns of species richness of the Indo-Pacific. One of these hypotheses suggests that available habitat area is the main predictor of species richness. This is the basis for the area of refuge hypothesis that attempts to explain the global maxima of species richness found in the Coral Triangle, the area encompassing mostly the Philippines, Indonesia, and Malaysia. This species-area effect also has habitat heterogeneity as a potential component. The purpose of this study is to test the effects of habitat availability predictors, such as shallow water area and coastline length …
Ecological And Genetic Status Of The Purple Pitcher Plant, Sarracenia Purpurea L., In Maryland And Virginia, Philip M. Sheridan
Ecological And Genetic Status Of The Purple Pitcher Plant, Sarracenia Purpurea L., In Maryland And Virginia, Philip M. Sheridan
Biological Sciences Theses & Dissertations
Sarracenia purpurea is a rare wetland plant in Virginia and a threatened species in Maryland, with two potential subspecies in the region. I utilized restriction fragments from the intron of the chalcone synthase gene to compare S. purpurea populations and determine whether the subspecies concept was supported. I performed a census of existing populations, compiled all known historical data on the species, and investigated the reasons for the species demise and predicted dates of extinction. Bloom phenology was examined to see if climate change may have influenced bloom period. Soil, vegetation, and climatic information was obtained to determine if taxonomic …