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Articles 151 - 180 of 184
Full-Text Articles in Entire DC Network
Mollusk Species At A Pliocene Shelf Whale Fall (Orciano Pisano, Tuscany), S Danise, S Dominici, U Betocchi
Mollusk Species At A Pliocene Shelf Whale Fall (Orciano Pisano, Tuscany), S Danise, S Dominici, U Betocchi
School of Geography, Earth and Environmental Sciences
The recovery of an intact, 10 m long fossil baleen whale from the Pliocene of Tuscany (Italy) offers the first opportunity to study the paleoecology of a fully developed, natural whale-fall community at outer shelf depth. Quantitative data on mollusk species from the whale fall have been compared with data from the sediments below and around the bones, representing the fauna living in the muddy bottom before and during the sinking of the carcass, but at a distance from it. Although the bulk of the fauna associated with the fossil bones is dominated by the same heterotrophs as found in …
Inter-Continental Patterns In The Fine-Scale Spatial Ecology Of Rain Forest Termites, Olivia Ingrid Scholtz
Inter-Continental Patterns In The Fine-Scale Spatial Ecology Of Rain Forest Termites, Olivia Ingrid Scholtz
Other Faculty of Science and Engineering Theses
In this thesis I describe fine-scale spatial patterns in rain forest termites, from the colony to the assemblage level, sampled from one hectare plots in Central African and South East Asian lowland rain forest. By so doing the ecological interactions that structure this functionally important and abundant soil community were identified. The African termite assemblage, dominated by soil-feeding termites, saturated the upper soil profile (collected from 90% of soil pits). In contrast termites were collected from <50% of soil pits in Asia, with this difference reflecting the lower species densities and abundances of soil-feeding termites in Asian forests. Territoriality and inter-specific competition was shown to be important between colonies of soil-feeding species in the African plot. The termite assemblages were spatially associated with several environmental properties. However these could not explain the spatial patterns in the functional components of the assemblages. Wood-feeding termites were highly patchily distributed, due to the heterogeneous nature of their food material, but also due to possible competitive interactions for this. Humus-feeding termites were homogenously structured, due to the continuous nature of soil as their feeding and nesting material. True soil-feeding termites, unique to the African assemblage, were heterogeneously distributed despite the equally continuous nature of their feeding and nesting material. This structure may arise from facilitative interactions, such as co-operative defence against ant predation which may be intense in African systems, or through the transfer of soil material at different stages of decomposition. Competition for space is apparent in both regions, both at the colony level among soil-feeding genera, and between aggregations of functional groups. Positive and negative biotic interactions, operating at various spatial and functional scales, appear to be important in influencing how assemblage composition is spatially structured. If indeed facilitation is important in maintaining the taxonomic and functional diversity in termite assemblages, it would be valuable to confirm the mechanism(s) that drives this (i.e. predation and/or food transfer), as these may then influence ecosystem stability.
Boldness And Intermittent Locomotion In The Bluegill Sunfish, Lepomis Macrochirus, Alexander D.M. Wilson, Jean Guy J. Godin
Boldness And Intermittent Locomotion In The Bluegill Sunfish, Lepomis Macrochirus, Alexander D.M. Wilson, Jean Guy J. Godin
School of Biological and Marine Sciences
No abstract provided.
Foraging Behaviour And Brain Morphology In Recently Emerged Brook Charr, Salvelinus Fontinalis, Alexander D.M. Wilson, Robert L. Mclaughlin
Foraging Behaviour And Brain Morphology In Recently Emerged Brook Charr, Salvelinus Fontinalis, Alexander D.M. Wilson, Robert L. Mclaughlin
School of Biological and Marine Sciences
No abstract provided.
Applying Palaeoecology To Conservation: A Long-Term Perspective For Informed Management Of A Fynbos Nature Reserve, James Macpherson
Applying Palaeoecology To Conservation: A Long-Term Perspective For Informed Management Of A Fynbos Nature Reserve, James Macpherson
The Plymouth Student Scientist
This investigation proposes that long-term perspectives are essential in ecological conservation/restoration. Such a perspective is particularly important for fynbos, which has been substantially altered by an unspecified level of anthropogenic disturbance. Fossil pollen and micro-charcoal deposits are used to establish a proxy record for ecosystem state that can be applied to conservation. This is carried out at a nature reserve in the Langeberg Range, Western Cape, South Africa. Modern pollen-vegetation relationships are also examined to reduce inaccuracies in the fossil record. Three distinct phases are identified for the reserve over a period extending up to ~1000 years before present (BP). …
Water Bathing Alters The Speed–Accuracy Trade-Off Of Escape Flights In European Starlings, Bo Brilot, L Asher, M Bateson
Water Bathing Alters The Speed–Accuracy Trade-Off Of Escape Flights In European Starlings, Bo Brilot, L Asher, M Bateson
School of Biological and Marine Sciences
Birds of most species regularly bathe in water, but the function of this behaviour is unknown. We tested the hypothesis that water bathing is important in feather maintenance, and hence should enhance flight performance. We manipulated European starlings', Sturnus vulgaris, access to bathing water in a 2 × 2 design: birds were housed in aviaries either with or without water baths for a minimum of 3 days (long-term access) before being caught and placed in individual cages either with or without water baths for a further 24 h (short-term access). We subsequently assessed the speed and accuracy of escape flights …
Scientific Divers Quantify First Known Outbreaks Of Cold-Water Coral Disease, J Hall-Spencer, C Munn, K Hiscock
Scientific Divers Quantify First Known Outbreaks Of Cold-Water Coral Disease, J Hall-Spencer, C Munn, K Hiscock
School of Biological and Marine Sciences
Coral diseases are widely reported in the tropics but the first incidence of cold-water coral disease was not noted until 2002 when divers recorded an outbreak at 10-28 m depth off Lundy in a NE Atlantic marine protected area. The seafan Eunicella verrucosa exhibited coenchyme necrosis and subsequent diving surveys of >600 colonies at 13 sites since revealed that disease outbreaks were widespread in SW England to depths of 50 m from 2003-2008, possibly caused by infection by Vibrio bacteria at high temperatures.
Physiology And Ecology Of Three Amphipod Species In Uk Estuaries, Colette Suzanne Mesher
Physiology And Ecology Of Three Amphipod Species In Uk Estuaries, Colette Suzanne Mesher
School of Biological and Marine Sciences Theses
The physiology and ecology of three amphipod species, Corophium volutator, Gammarus marinus and G. chevreuxi were examined. The physiology of the amphipods were investigated in two ways. The physiological capacity was measured as the rate of oxygen consumption (MO2 - µ) of oxygen per mg of wet mass per hour), over two time durations, 4 hours (short term) and 5 days (medium term) in a variety of salinities with individuals of all size classes. Overall, larger individuals of all species exhibited lower MO2 by mass. More specifically, C. volutator and G. chevreuxi exhibited lowest rates of respiration at salinities between …
Large-Scale Study Of Calanus In The North Atlantic Ocean: Macroecological Patterns And Potential Impacts Of Climate Change, Pierre Helaouet
Large-Scale Study Of Calanus In The North Atlantic Ocean: Macroecological Patterns And Potential Impacts Of Climate Change, Pierre Helaouet
Other Faculty of Science and Engineering Theses
Marine ecosystems show natural fluctuation throughout a large range of spatial and temporal scales. Despite the large amount of study devoted to the North Atlantic Ocean, drivers of those fluctuations remain unclear. By changing global climate, polluting, introducing exotic species, expanding and intensifying land uses and overharvesting biological resources, human activities have degraded the global ecosystem and drastically accelerated species extinction rates. Consequences of this human forcing become apparent in the progressive degradation of ecosystem that are used by humans (Schroter et al. , 2005), climate change- induced shifts in species distributions toward the poles (Parmesan et al. , 1999) …
Community Structure And Dynamics Of The Azorean Rocky Intertidal: Exploitation Of Keystone Species, Gustavo M. Martins
Community Structure And Dynamics Of The Azorean Rocky Intertidal: Exploitation Of Keystone Species, Gustavo M. Martins
Other Faculty of Science and Engineering Theses
Experimental work has shown the importance of grazing by patellid limpets in structuring intertidal assemblages. Little is known, however, about the effects of a largescale and chronic removal of limpets. Here I investigate the ecology of Patella candei, a seldom-studied limpet endemic to Macaronesia, and how its long-term fishery impacts the Azorean rocky intertidal. The specific aims of this thesis are to: examine the processes that affect the distribution of limpets in the Azores at a range of spatial scales; investigate the role of grazing by P. candei in structuring the Azorean rocky intertidal and if its harvesting has impacted …
Boldness And Behavioral Syndromes In The Bluegill Sunfish, Lepomis Macrochirus, Alexander D.M. Wilson, Jean Guy J. Godin
Boldness And Behavioral Syndromes In The Bluegill Sunfish, Lepomis Macrochirus, Alexander D.M. Wilson, Jean Guy J. Godin
School of Biological and Marine Sciences
No abstract provided.
Phenotypic Plasticity In Marine Intertidal Gastropods, Ahmed Mohammed Al-Mazrouai
Phenotypic Plasticity In Marine Intertidal Gastropods, Ahmed Mohammed Al-Mazrouai
School of Biological and Marine Sciences Theses
Phenotypic plasticity, the differential phenotypic expression of the same genotype in response to different environmental conditions, is a paradigm central of the study of evolution and ecology and is at the core of the "nature versus nurture" debate. Here, the marine gastropod Littorina littorea was used as a model to further our understanding of the potential role of phenotypic plasticity in intertidal systems. In the first study L. littorea was included in an investigation of induced defences across six species of intertidal marine gastropods in the families Littorinidae and Trochidae. Species differed in the magnitude and type of plastic response, …
Predation By Crabs On Rocky Shores In North-East Atlantic, Ana Catarina Ferreira Da Silva
Predation By Crabs On Rocky Shores In North-East Atlantic, Ana Catarina Ferreira Da Silva
Other Faculty of Science and Engineering Theses
Highly mobile predators are known to have an important influence on shallow-water habitats. There is, however, little information about the role of crabs on the ecology of rocky shores. Here I examine the extent and consequences of predation by crabs on shores in the North-East Atlantic. The specific aims of this thesis are to: investigate spatial variation in use of the intertidal by crabs along a horizontal gradient of exposure to wave action and a vertical gradient of tidal elevation; assess their use of the intertidal as a feeding area by examining stomach content composition; examine the extent of connectivity …
Predation By Crabs On Rocky Shores In North-East Atlantic, Ana Catarina Ferreirada Silva
Predation By Crabs On Rocky Shores In North-East Atlantic, Ana Catarina Ferreirada Silva
School of Biological and Marine Sciences Theses
Highly mobile predators are known to have an important influence on shallow-water habitats. There is, however, little information about the role of crabs on the ecology of rocky shores. Here I examine the extent and consequences of predation by crabs on shores in the North-East Atlantic. The specific aims of this thesis are to: investigate spatial variation in use of the intertidal by crabs along a horizontal gradient of exposure to wave action and a vertical gradient of tidal elevation; assess their use of the intertidal as a feeding area by examining stomach content composition; examine the extent of connectivity …
Species Interactions During Succession In Rockpools: Role Of Herbivores And Physical Factors, Laure Marie-Louise Jeanne Noel
Species Interactions During Succession In Rockpools: Role Of Herbivores And Physical Factors, Laure Marie-Louise Jeanne Noel
School of Biological and Marine Sciences Theses
Positive interactions are increasingly recognised to be important as community structure processes. Bertness and Callaway's model predicts positive interactions to be important under high consumer pressure or high environmental stress. Associational defences between organisms, when palatable algae take advantage of living with less palatable ones, will be the dominant structuring forces under high consumer pressure and low physical stress. Habitat ameliorations become more important under harsh physical conditions and low consumer pressure. This model was tested at Wembury Bay, Devon, Southwest England, using rockpools and emergent rock habitats distributed over the vertical height of the shore to generate gradients of …
Behavioural Syndromes In Brook Charr, Salvelinus Fontinalis: Prey-Search In The Field Corresponds With Space Use In Novel Laboratory Situations, Alexander D.M. Wilson, Robert L. Mclaughlin
Behavioural Syndromes In Brook Charr, Salvelinus Fontinalis: Prey-Search In The Field Corresponds With Space Use In Novel Laboratory Situations, Alexander D.M. Wilson, Robert L. Mclaughlin
School of Biological and Marine Sciences
No abstract provided.
Quantifying Inhabitation, Feeding And Connectivity Between Adjacent Estuarine And Coastal Regions For Three Commercially Important Marine Fishes, Christopher Douglas Bazett Leakey
Quantifying Inhabitation, Feeding And Connectivity Between Adjacent Estuarine And Coastal Regions For Three Commercially Important Marine Fishes, Christopher Douglas Bazett Leakey
School of Biological and Marine Sciences Theses
1. Estuaries are regarded as valuable nursery habitats for many commercially important marine fishes. Recruitment of fish from estuarine nursery habitats to adult marine populations is considered important for maintenance of fishable stocks, but most evidence for this is qualitative. Effective and timely implementation of estuarine conservation and fisheries management plans may be aided by quantitative assessment of this habitat connectivity. 2. This thesis reports upon the quantification of inhabitation, feeding and connectivity between adjacent estuarine and coastal regions for Common sole (Solea solea), European sea bass (Dicentrarchus labrax) and Whiting (Merlangius merlangus). Sample collection was focused in the Thames …
Monitoring Peatland Damage And Restoration Using Testate Amoebae As Indicator Organisms, Emma Jane Vickery
Monitoring Peatland Damage And Restoration Using Testate Amoebae As Indicator Organisms, Emma Jane Vickery
School of Geography, Earth and Environmental Sciences Theses
This thesis has examined the response of testate amoebae communities to restoration at three peatland sites in the UK. It builds upon the use of testate amoebae analysis as a palaeoenvironmental tool by exploring the hypothesis that testate amoebae respond to hydrological conditions in restored mires. Previous research has found that testate amoebae act as good proxies for hydrological condition of intact mires and past conditions but little has been done on their reaction to conditions at damaged sites in the UK. The research aimed to further the understanding of testate amoebae ecology including seasonal variability of communities, a poorly …
Molecular Resolution Of Marine Nematodes For Improved Assessment Of Biodiversity, Punyasloke Bhadury
Molecular Resolution Of Marine Nematodes For Improved Assessment Of Biodiversity, Punyasloke Bhadury
School of Biological and Marine Sciences Theses
Free-living nematodes are abundant in all marine habitats, highly diverse and can be important ecological indicators for monitoring anthropogenic impacts on the environment. Despite such attributes, nematode diagnostics has traditionally relied on detailed comparison of morphological characters which is often difficult and laborious, and as a result there is an increasing 'black hole' in faunal inventories where the biodiversity of groups such as nematodes is typically underestimated. Molecular methods offer a potentially efficient alternative approach to studying the biodiversity of marine nematode communities, and the main focus of this thesis was to apply molecular ecological tools for improved understanding of …
Consistency In Context‐Specific Measures Of Shyness And Boldness In Rainbow Trout, Oncorhynchus Mykiss, Alexander D.M. Wilson, E. D. Stevens
Consistency In Context‐Specific Measures Of Shyness And Boldness In Rainbow Trout, Oncorhynchus Mykiss, Alexander D.M. Wilson, E. D. Stevens
School of Biological and Marine Sciences
AbstractShyness and boldness has been considered a fundamental axis of human behavioural variation. At the extreme ends of this behavioural continuum subjects vary from being bold and assertive to shy and timid. Analogous patterns of individual variation have been noted in a number of species including fish. There has been debate on the nature of this continuum as to whether it depends on context. That is, whether it is domain‐general (as in humans), or context‐specific. The purpose of our study was to test if shyness and boldness depends on context in rainbow trout, Oncorhynchus mykiss and to this end we …
The Ecological Causes And Consequences Of Prey Choice And Ontogenetic Niche Shifts In The Common Goby, Angus Charles Jackson
The Ecological Causes And Consequences Of Prey Choice And Ontogenetic Niche Shifts In The Common Goby, Angus Charles Jackson
School of Biological and Marine Sciences Theses
Foraging behaviour of the common goby, Pomatoschistus microps was investigated in both the United Kingdom and Sweden, with the aim of establishing causes and consequences of prey choice and ontogenetic shifts in diet. Goby life-cycle could be clearly divided into two stages, where prey choice changed abruptly from meio- to macrofauna at a standard length of 30 mm. This diet-shift maximised net energy intake rates, as illustrated by a quantitatively validated optimal foraging model. Intrinsic mechanisms were of greater importance than extrinsic factors in driving this shift. Metabolism, the primary prey choice determinant, revealed canalised and predictable diet shifts in …
Ecology And Behaviour Of Postlarvae And Juveniles Of The Velvet Swimming Crab Necora Puber (L.), James Tony Lee
Ecology And Behaviour Of Postlarvae And Juveniles Of The Velvet Swimming Crab Necora Puber (L.), James Tony Lee
School of Biological and Marine Sciences Theses
Ecological studies of early benthic stages of brachyurans are rare for most of the species, leaving a gap in the understanding of processes regulating the recruitment to adult populations. The velvet swimming crab Necora puber (L. ) is a valuable commercial species where most of studies have been focused on the adult population. Little is known about the supply-side ecology and the post-settlement processes that affect the dynamics of the adult populations. The aims of the present study were to investigate the physical processes affecting the supply of recruits to the nearshore, to examine the processes associated with habitat selection …
Influence Of Natural And Anthropogenic Disturbance On The Soft Bottom Macrobenthic Community Of The Campeche Bank, Mexico, Hector Abuid Hernandez-Arana
Influence Of Natural And Anthropogenic Disturbance On The Soft Bottom Macrobenthic Community Of The Campeche Bank, Mexico, Hector Abuid Hernandez-Arana
School of Biological and Marine Sciences Theses
The structure of macrobenthic communities was investigated in carbonate and transitional carbonate-terrigenous sediments of the Southern Gulf of Mexico (Campeche Bank). The aim was to assess the influence of natural disturbance represented by winter storms and river runoff and the putative influence of oil-related activities using a regional approach. At a scale of > 100 km community composition of benthic macroinfauna was characterised as distinct assemblages within the carbonate and transitional sedimentary provinces controlled by natural disturbance. The carbonate assemblage was numerous and diverse influenced by a heterogeneous substratum. Winter storms had a severe impact with mortality probably resulting from abrasion …
The First Ecological Study Of A Red Sea Maerl Bed., G Brownlie, Jm Hall-Spencer, A Hamid, C Henderson, A Kinchington, R Linklater-Mclennan, H Mokhtar
The First Ecological Study Of A Red Sea Maerl Bed., G Brownlie, Jm Hall-Spencer, A Hamid, C Henderson, A Kinchington, R Linklater-Mclennan, H Mokhtar
School of Biological and Marine Sciences
No abstract provided.
Effects Of Towed Demersal Fishing Gear On Biogenic Sediments: A 5-Year-Study, Jm Hall-Spencer
Effects Of Towed Demersal Fishing Gear On Biogenic Sediments: A 5-Year-Study, Jm Hall-Spencer
School of Biological and Marine Sciences
Experimental scallop fishing was carried out using towed commercial dredges on sediments deposited by unattached coralline algae in order to quantify their sensitivity to damage from current fishing practices. These biogenic sediments are patchily distributed in European coastal waters (to -30 m depth around the UK and to -120 m in the Mediterranean) and are of international conservation importance. This paper describes the short and long-term effects of scallop dredging on previously unfished and fished areas of biogenic algal sediment in SW Scotland. Sediment cores taken biannually from 1994-99 were used to assess live coralline abundance on marked test and …
A Hydrological Investigation Of Three Devon Sand Dune Systems; Braunton Burrows, Northam Burrows And Dawlish Warren, Rachel Jane Burden
A Hydrological Investigation Of Three Devon Sand Dune Systems; Braunton Burrows, Northam Burrows And Dawlish Warren, Rachel Jane Burden
School of Geography, Earth and Environmental Sciences Theses
In 1993 concerns were expressed by English Nature that Devon's three largest sand dune systems Braunton Burrows, Northam Burrows and Dawlish Warren were drying out to the detriment of the dune habitat flora and fauna. Research was therefore required to understand how these systems functioned hydrologically, to determine whether they were drying out and if so to recommend sustainable management options aimed at reinstating former water levels, or preventing any further lowering of the water tables. At Braunton water table elevations have been monitored on a monthly basis by the Nature Conservancy, the Nature Conservancy Council and English Nature since …
The Influence Of Nitrification In Determining The Supply, Distribution And Fate Of Nitrogen In Grassland Soils, David John Hatch
The Influence Of Nitrification In Determining The Supply, Distribution And Fate Of Nitrogen In Grassland Soils, David John Hatch
Other Faculty of Science and Engineering Theses
The microbiology of nitrification has been extensively studied, but the ecology and environmental impact of the process has received less attention. The reason for this has more to do with the difficulties of conducting field experiments to examine the links with other processes which cause losses of nitrogen, than a failure to appreciate its importance in agricultural systems. This project was designed to overcome some of the limitations of existing field techniques to enable simultaneous measurements of nitrification and the major processes of N supply (mineralization) and N loss (denitrification and leaching) to be examined. The study proceeded in three …
Community Ecology And Genetics Of Macroinvertebrates In Permanent Macaronesian Streams., Lucy Claire Kelly
Community Ecology And Genetics Of Macroinvertebrates In Permanent Macaronesian Streams., Lucy Claire Kelly
School of Biological and Marine Sciences Theses
Extensive community-based sampling and single-species genetic analysis were used to study factors driving stream invertebrate community assembly on islands. Macroinvertebrates and physicochemistry were surveyed in forty-two streams on La Palma, La Gomera, Tenerife and Madeira (Macaronesia). Island faunal relationships and the role of the stream and catchment environment in determining community composition were investigated with multivariate analyses; assemblage nestedness and species richness, occupancy and abundance were also examined. The relationship between genetic differentiation and range size was tested using allozyme variation in selected species. Island species pools differed in community composition and species richness (total, and endemic), broadly as predicted …
The Conservation And Ecology Of The Heath Lobelia, Lobelia Urens L., Janet Mary Dinsdale
The Conservation And Ecology Of The Heath Lobelia, Lobelia Urens L., Janet Mary Dinsdale
School of Biological and Marine Sciences Theses
This programme of research examines the ecology of the threatened perennial Lobelia urens L. (the heath lobelia) which reaches the northern limit of its distribution in the southern coastal counties of England. A survey of the historical evidence of the distribution of the species in England is presented. Restricted to such a small area, L. urens has always been rare in Britain. The six remaining populations were surveyed to describe the phytosociology of communities containing L. urens and the variability of the environmental factors controlling its distribution. L. urens is shown to be a member of rough grass-heath communities dominated …
The Spatial Characterisation Of Transitional Areas Between Plant Communities: A Case Study From Upland Britain, Wendy Jane Gill
The Spatial Characterisation Of Transitional Areas Between Plant Communities: A Case Study From Upland Britain, Wendy Jane Gill
School of Geography, Earth and Environmental Sciences Theses
The concept of the ecotone was formalised by Clements (1 905) as a boundary zone between plant communities. Little research exists on the ecological importance or the geographical variability of these zones. Two types of boundaries are acknowledged: the ecotone and the ecocline. The ecotone is a sharp boundary; the ecocline a gradual boundary. The term 'transitional area' is proposed here to more accurately describe these areas as this research demonstrates that a complex continuum exists between the two end points. Additionally, mosaics often complicate the nature of the transition and may form a boundary type in their own right. …