Digital Commons Network^™

The Effects Of Urbanization On The Structure, Quality, And Diversity Of Cypress Plant Communities In Central Florida, Courtney Knickerbocker

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The integrity of wetland ecosystems is largely determined by hydrological functionality, degree of connectivity to like ecosystems, and permeability to external influence. Land use changes in upland areas adjacent to wetland ecosystems may influence hydrology and connectivity while introducing novel biotic and abiotic materials. There is an increasing trend toward the use of remote assessment techniques to determine the degree of impact of external influences on adjacent wetlands. Remote assessment and predictive capabilities are provided by indices such as the Landscape Development Intensity Index (LDI) (Brown and Vivas 2005) which may be beneficial in determining site condition, and which have …

Phylogeny, Hybridization And The Evolution Of Fire-Stimulated Flowering Within The Grass-Leaved Goldenasters (Pityopsis, Asteraceae), View-Hune Teoh

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Using Stable Isotopes To Assess Population Structure And Feeding Ecology Of North Pacific Humpback Whales (Megaptera Novaeangliae), Briana Witteveen

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The North Pacific humpback whale (Megaptera novaeangliae) is a wide-ranging baleen whale species with a complex life history and population structure. As seasonal migrants, humpback whales are known to inhabit cooler, high-latitude waters when foraging and low-latitudes for mating and calving. Beyond this general migratory pattern, a number of demographic characteristics including, abundance, distribution, seasonal occurrence, and prey preferences remain unknown or poorly described. A complete understanding of humpback whale ecology is therefore lacking. Many methods used to explore these aspects of cetacean ecology are either prohibitively expensive or limited in the scope of what can be learned from their …

The Isolation And Characterization Of The Microbial Flora In The Alimentary Canal Of Gromphadorhina Portentosa Based On Rdna Sequences., Amy Renee Robertson

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Multicellular organisms are not single individuals but carry a complex natural microflora with them. This complex's diversity and function can be considered a distinct ecosystem. Traditional methods of isolation and identification miss >90% of the actual diversity. This study uses the gut microflora of the Madagascar hissing roach, Gromphadorhina portentosa, as a model to examine this ecosystem. Isolated cultured bacteria were used to establish methods for identifying members of the microflora based on ribosomal RNA sequences. Universal primers for Eubacterial, Archaeal, and Eukaryotic 16s/18s rRNA were then used for PCR amplification of total DNA isolated from gut contents. Sequences …

Social Pathogenic Sources Of Poor Community Health, Hayden Smith

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The United States currently provides a health care system that is neither efficient nor equitable. Despite outspending the world on health care, over three-fourths of developed countries produce better health outcomes (Auerbach et al., 2000). Simultaneously, the "Ecological School of Thought" has documented the large impact that social, economic, and environmental circumstances play in health outcomes. Unfortunately, these 'ecological" studies are frequently conducted without theoretical justification, and rely solely on a cross-sectional research design and a myriad of unrelated variables. This study represents an important step towards the development of a true theory of "ecology". More specifically, we argue that …

Testing Deterrence Theory With Offenders: Assessing The Effects Of Personal And Vicarious Experience With Punishment And Punishm, Alicia Sitren

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Stafford and Warr (1993) reconceptualized general and specific deterrence into a single theory in which individuals' propensities to engage in criminal behavior are based on some combination of personal experiences with being punished and avoiding punishment and vicarious (or indirect) experiences with being punished and avoiding punishment. The researchers make a substantial contribution to the deterrence literature by accounting for the effect of punishment avoidance when assessing deterrence theory. Despite the theoretical appeal of this restatement, few studies have tested its empirical merit. The current study tests the applicability of Stafford and Warr's model but also addresses several key limitations …

Individual Identification Of Polar Bears By Whisker Spot Patterns, Carlos Anderson

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Many types of ecological studies require identification of individual animals. I developed and evaluated an automated identification system for polar bears (Ursus maritimus) based on their whisker spot patterns. First, I measured the reliability of using whisker spot patterns for identification from polar bear photographs taken in western Hudson Bay. This analysis involved estimating the complexity of each whisker spot pattern in terms of its information content. I found that 98% of patterns contained enough information to be reliable, and this result varied little among three different observers. Based on these results, I implemented a computer-aided identification system for polar …

Effect Of Coyotes And Release Site Selection On Survival And Movement Of Translocated Swift Foxes In The Badlands Ecosystem Of South Dakota, Greg M. Schroeder

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Success of different release strategies for swift fox (Vulpes velox) translocation was evaluated in the Badlands Ecosystem in southwestern South Dakota. Release site selection (outside coyote [Canis latrans] core-use areas compared to random release sites) and release method (i.e., hard, semi-hard, and soft) were examined to determine effects on swift fox survival and movements at 50 days post-release. I hypothesized that swift foxes released outside of coyote core-use areas would survive at a higher rate than foxes released at random sites. From 2003-2006, 16 adult coyotes were fitted with Global Positioning System (GPS) radio collars and monitored during the pup …

Stabel Isotope Turnover Rates And Diet-Tissue Discrimination In The Skin Of West Indian Manatees: Implcations For Evaluating Their Feeding Ecology And Habitat Use, Christy Alves

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The West Indian manatee (Trichechus manatus) is an herbivorous marine mammal that occupies freshwater, estuarine, and marine habitats. Despite being considered endangered, relatively little is known about the feeding ecology of either of the two recognized subspecies, the Florida manatee (T.m. latirostris) and Caribbean or Antillean manatee (T.m. manatus). A better understanding of their respective feeding preferences and habitat use is essential to establish criteria on which conservation plans can be based. The present study expands on previous work on manatee feeding ecology by both assessing the application of stable isotope analysis to manatee tissue and providing critical baseline parameters …

Effects Of Isolation On Metapopulation Dynamics In Small-World Networks, Alaina Brooke Bernard

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Simulation models are valuable for making predictions that may be tested in natural systems and for understanding observed patterns. The simulation model developed for this thesis evaluates the effects of spatial network architecture, including organism dispersal patterns and isolation of habitats, on metapopulations. Two fields were merged throughout this project: metapopulation biology and small-world network theory. Small-world networks are characterized in their extremes as scale-free or single-scale. These models potentially simulate the networks of habitats and corridors in which metapopulations operate. Small-world network theory has been used to describe systems as diverse as rivers, the world-wide-web, and protein interactions, but …

Responses Of Small Rodents To Restoration And Management Techniques Of Florida Scrub At Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Florid, Alexis Suazo

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Proper habitat management is essential for the survival and reproduction of species, especially those listed under state or federal laws as endangered, threatened or of special concern, and those with small local populations. Land managers use a combination of mechanical cutting and prescribed burning to manage and restore degraded scrub habitat in east central Florida. This approach improves habitat for the endangered Florida scrub-jay (Aphelocoma coerulescens), but little is known about its effects on other taxa, especially the threatened southeastern beach mouse (Peromyscus polionotus niveiventris). This single species approach may not be beneficial to other taxa, and mechanical cutting and …

Characterization Of Microbial Communities In Karstic Sediments : A Study Of Cave Bacteria In Central Kentucky., Justine Kay Roback 1964-

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Few previous studies have compared microbial communities in subterranean and surface environments. Chemical analyses used to characterize the surface and cave microbial environments indicated limited exchange between surface and subsurface waters. Here, bacterial communities from four distinct cave sediments collected in central Kentucky and adjacent surface streams were compared using a combination of culture and molecular methods. Predictions were that: 1) Cave communities will have unique community structures when compared to those of nearby surface sediments, and 2) Genetic diversity of bacterial communities in cave sediments will be higher than those in nearby surface sediments. Since diversity and community structure …

The Development Of Criteria For The Selection Of Wetland Restoration Sites In The Yazoo Backwater Area, Mississippi, Angela A. Davis

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

No abstract provided.

An Examination Of Soil Biogeochemical Properties And Seed Bank Dynamics Of Timber Harvested Lands In Lafayette And Calhoun Counties, Mississippi, Lisa Chambers-Strong

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

No abstract provided.

A Gis Approach To Evaluation Of Environmental Conditions Affecting Seeps And Springs Of Holly Springs National Forest, Mississippi, Michael Dean Hodson

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Converting Nature : People, Environment, And Production In The Antebellum Mississippi Delta / By Albert Glover Way, Albert Glover Way

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Movement Patterns Of Fishes In Two Ouachita Highlands Streams : A Test Of The Restricted Movement Paradigm / By Elizabeth B. Smithson, Elizabeth B. Smithson

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Jack Burden's Children : Out Of History Into History, Joe Beck Hairston

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Raptor Use Of The Idaho National Engineering Laboratory, Richard Wayne Hansen

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Raptors are high trophic-level predators, and thus sensitive to environmental change. I conducted a basic ecological study of raptors using the Idaho National Environmental Laboratory (INEL), in southeastern Idaho, between 1991 and 1993 to assess effects of human activity on the site. Results were compared to previous raptor studies conducted on the INEL from 1974-1976 and in 1982, as well as with studies of rough-legged hawks, long-eared owls, and burrowing owls conducted during the late 1970’s and early 1980’s. Road-side raptor surveys were conducted from January through May in 1992 and 1993. Principle species recorded were rough-legged hawks, red-tailed hawks, …

Population Status And Characteristics Of Macrhybopsis Gelida, Platygobio Gracilis And Rhinichthys Cataractae In The Missouri River Basin, Selena J. Werdon

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Few sturgeon chub (Macrhybopsis gelida: Cyprinidae) have been collected in the last decade, therefore their status, habitat selection and morphology were investigated at 172 previous collection sites. Data on two ecologically similar species, Platygobio gracilis and Rhinichthys cataractae, were also collected. Macrhvbopsis gelida were collected at 28 sites on the Powder River (n = 158) in Wyoming and Montana, and at one site on the Yellowstone River (n = 1) in Montana. Age-I, Age-II and Age-III M. gelida were collected. Specimens were 37 to 95 mm in total length. Macrhvbopsis gelida were ripe in mid-June, at water temperatures of 18.3-22. …

A Study Of The Diet And Condition Of Gizzard Shad (Dorosoma Cepedianum) In Sardis Reservoir, 1990-1992, Joanne Marie Cline

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

No abstract provided.

The Best Of All Breathing: Hunting And Environmental Change In Mississippi 1900-1980, Wiley C. Prewitt Jr.

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This thesis examines hunting in Mississippi with regard to the changing relationship between humans and their environment. Hunting is the basic human interaction with nature. It is timeless activity, yet at the same time an activity deeply impacted by the human relation to the land.

In approaching the change in hunting this thesis examined human population change by reviewing the demographic consequences of the rural exodus in addition to the response of animal populations to the human exodus and to the restocking efforts of wildlife biologists. At the same time that people were leaving the farms, organized game conservation was …

The Best Of All Breathing : Hunting And Environmental Change In Mississippi 1900-1980, Wiley Charles Prewitt

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Effects Of Intraspecific Competition And Predation Pressure On Ahabitat Change In The Wolf Spider Gladicosa Pulchra (Keysorling), Micky Darold Eubanks

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

No abstract provided.

An Ecological Study Of Mourning Doves In A Cold Desert Ecosystem On The Idaho National Engineering Laboratory, Frank P. Howe

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Mourning dove (Zenaida macroura) use of and movements around man-made ponds, as well as dove nesting ecology, were studied from 1983 through 1985 on the Idaho National Engineering Laboratory (INEL). Relative dove use was higher (P < 0.01) on some ponds than others, and multiple regression revealed a positive association (R 2 = 0.49) between relative use and the geographic isolation of ponds. Two peaks in diurnal pond use were exhibited by doves on the INEL: the mourning peak began around 0800 and lasted until approximately 1300, and the evening peak began at about 2030 and ended by 2150. Seasonal pond use fluctuated slightly through the summer then dropped rapidly in early September. Average and average maximum movements indicated that the 41 mourning doves trapped and fitted with radio-transmitters at the Test Reactor Area (TRA) and the Naval Research Facility (NRF) did not move off of the INEL on a regular basis. The average distance from mourning dove locations to TRA and NRF was <2.0 km, and the average maximum dove location was <3.5 km from either facility. Average (<2.0 km) and average maximum (<3.5 km) distances were also measured from dove locations to watering sites. Doves captured at both TRA and NRF moved, on average, 1.5 km from their nests; the average maximum distance from a dove's location to its nest was 2.8 and 5.4 km for doves caught at TRA and NRF. The average maximum distance between any 2 locations (for the same individual) at both TRA and NRF was <4.0 km. Mourning doves on the INEL are primarily ground nesters. Nesting success averaged 68% per year, with 1.8 fledglings produced per successful nest. Nesting densities averaged 0.02 nests/ha during the study. Three peaks in hatching occurred on the INEL: 1 during the fourth week of June, another during the third week of July, and a third during the first and second weeks of August. Annual production estimates for the INEL ranged from 11,300 to 17,000 doves, based on a model using 2 and 3 nesting attempts per summer. No differences (P > 0.05) were indicated in the percent coverage of shrubs, grasses, forbs, and bare ground, as measured with the line-intercept method, in the 5-m area surrounding dove nests and paired random sites. However, a difference in the percentage of grass cover and bare ground, as measured with a point-frame, was indicated in the 1-m2 (microhabitat) centered on the nest or random site; nest sites contained …

Evaluation Of Structure And Growth Of Bluegills And Black Bullheads Stocked With Largemouth Bass In South Dakota Farm Ponds, Charles E. Morris

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

A two-year study estimated standing stock, growth, condition, survival rates, and population structure of bluegills (Lepomis macrochirus) and black bullheads (Ictalurus melas) stocked in South Dakota farm ponds with largemouth bass (Micropterus salmoides). Bluegills and black bullheads reproduced during the second growing seasons and by the end of the study three year-classes of fishes were present in most ponds. Mean back-calculated bluegill total lengths at annuli 1-3 were 58, 125, and 153 mm, respectively. Mean back-calculated black bullhead total lengths at annuli 1-3 were 82, 182, and 240 mm, respectively. A significant north vs south difference (P≤0.05) in third-year bullhead …

An Ecological Study Of The Vegetation Of The Grand River/Cedar River, Sioux, And Ashland Districts Of The Custer National Forest, Paul Luther Hansen

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

A land-classification system based on potential natural vegetation is presented for the Grand River/Cedar River, Sioux, and Ashland Districts of the Custer National Forest. The districts are located in northwestern South Dakota, southwestern North Dakota, and southeastern Montana. The vegetation was characterized according to habitat type based on concepts and methods developed by Daubenmire. A total of 169 stands were intensively sampled over a four-year period. Twenty-six habitat types were described including eight steppe, nine shrub-steppe, four woodland, and five forested habitat types. In addition, two shrub-steppe community types were identified. A diagnostic key is provided for field identification of …

Response Of Five Spring Wheat Cultivars To Drought, Gregory Keith Hess

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Response of plants to water stress are numerous and interrelated. Morphological traits and growth patterns have been studied and reviewed extensively. Root growth patterns, leaf area and thickness, presence of cuticle hair and waxes, leaf movement, and wilting are only a few traits studied. Metabolic functions and how water stress affects these processes through stomatal behavior, transpiration rates and carbon dioxide exchange rates have also been reviewed. Plant breeders are continually searching for traits which aid in selecting for high yielding genotypes in any one environment. Moisture is often limiting in South Dakota's environment, leading to relatively low grain yields …

Vertical And Lateral Variations Of Foraminiferal Populations In A Series Of Subsurface Cores From The Recent Sediments Of Mississippi Sound And The Adjacent Gulf Of Mexico, Robin Gail Cranton

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Dispersal And Harvest Of Sage Grouse Utilizing The Test Reactor Area Of The Idaho National Engineering Laboratory, Howard W. Browers, Jr.

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

A radio telemetry study of sage grouse (Centrocercus urophasianus) summering at the Test Reactor Area (TRA) on the Idaho National Engineering Laboratory (INEL) in southeastern Idaho was initiated in July 1980. Objectives included determination of habitat use, home range, brood breakup, fall movements, and harvest of sage grouse using the TRA. Supplemental habitat data and fall movement data were collected from sage grouse summering at the Central Facilities Area (CFA) on the INEL in 1982. Seasonal precipitation appeared to influence the period of use of the TRA by sage grouse. Grouse arrived later and left earlier in the wet year …