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Full-Text Articles in Life Sciences
The Terroir Of The Finch: How Spatial And Temporal Variation Shapes Phenotypic Traits In Darwin's Finches, Paola L. Carrión, Joost A.M. Raeymaekers, Luis Fernando De León, (...), S. K. Huber, Et Al
The Terroir Of The Finch: How Spatial And Temporal Variation Shapes Phenotypic Traits In Darwin's Finches, Paola L. Carrión, Joost A.M. Raeymaekers, Luis Fernando De León, (...), S. K. Huber, Et Al
VIMS Articles
The term terroir is used in viticulture to emphasize how the biotic and abiotic characteristics of a local site influence grape physiology and thus the properties of wine. In ecology and evolution, such terroir (i.e., the effect of space or “site”) is expected to play an important role in shaping phenotypic traits. Just how important is the pure spatial effect of terroir (e.g., differences between sites that persist across years) in comparison to temporal variation (e.g., differences between years that persist across sites), and the interaction between space and time (e.g., differences between sites change across years)? We answer this …
It’S Raining Sturgeons: A Likely Occurrence Of Avian Predation Or Scavenging Of Atlantic Sturgeon (Acipenser Oxyrinchus Mitchell, 1815), Eric J. Hilton, Patrick E. Mcgrath
It’S Raining Sturgeons: A Likely Occurrence Of Avian Predation Or Scavenging Of Atlantic Sturgeon (Acipenser Oxyrinchus Mitchell, 1815), Eric J. Hilton, Patrick E. Mcgrath
VIMS Articles
Predation on the federally-endangered Atlantic Sturgeon (Acipenser oxyrinchus), and sturgeons generally is understudied. Most predation is presumed to occur on eggs and larvae, and bethe result of interactions with other aquatic organisms, primarily other fishes. Predation on larger juvenile sturgeon by terrestrial and avian predators remains largely unknown. Here we document the recovery of a juvenile Atlantic Sturgeon carcass (512 mm total length) approximately 120 m inland from the shore of the York River in Gloucester County, Virginia. This individual showed signs of predation by a bird of prey, most likely an Osprey (Pandion haliaetus), although a Bald Eagle (Haliaeetus …
Bony-Tongue Fishes (Teleostei: Osteoglossomorpha) From The Eocene Nanjemoy Formation, Virginia, Eric J. Hilton, Jeffrey Carpenter
Bony-Tongue Fishes (Teleostei: Osteoglossomorpha) From The Eocene Nanjemoy Formation, Virginia, Eric J. Hilton, Jeffrey Carpenter
VIMS Articles
Bony-tongue fishes, Osteoglossomorpha, are distributed in North and South America, Africa, Asia, and Australia and are found on all continents except Antarctica in the fossil record. The group includes fishes such as the mooneyes (Hiodontidae), freshwater knifefishes (Notopteridae), elephantfishes (Mormyridae), and the arowanas and pirarucu (Osteoglossidae). Remains identified as belonging to the family Osteoglossidae are known from the Nanjemoy Formation of Maryland and northern Virginia and comprise isolated teeth and fragmentary jaw bones assigned to the now extinct †Brychaetus muelleri. The second author discovereda partial toothed parasphenoid among other isolated and frag-mentary vertebrate microfossils from the Fisher–Sullivan Site of the …
A Conservation Palaeobiological Perspective On Chesapeake Bay Oysters, Rowan Lockwood, Roger L. Mann
A Conservation Palaeobiological Perspective On Chesapeake Bay Oysters, Rowan Lockwood, Roger L. Mann
VIMS Articles
The eastern oyster plays a vital role in estuarine habitats, acting as an ecosystem engineer and improving water quality. Populations of Chesapeake Bay oysters have declined precipitously in recent decades. The fossil record, which preserves 500 000 years of once-thriving reefs, provides a unique opportunity to study pristine reefs to establish a possible baseline for mitigation. For this study, over 900 fossil oysters were examined from three Pleistocene localities in the Chesapeake region. Data on oyster shell lengths, lifespans and population density were assessed. Comparisons to modern Crassostrea virginica, sampled from monitoring surveys of similar environments, reveal that fossil oysters …
Bridging Disciplines To Advance Elasmobranch Conservation: Applications Of Physiological Ecology, K Lyons, Js Bigman, Et Al, Kevin C. Weng, Et Al, Richard Brill, Cn Bedore
Bridging Disciplines To Advance Elasmobranch Conservation: Applications Of Physiological Ecology, K Lyons, Js Bigman, Et Al, Kevin C. Weng, Et Al, Richard Brill, Cn Bedore
VIMS Articles
A strength of physiological ecology is its incorporation of aspects of both species' ecology and physiology; this holistic approach is needed to address current and future anthropogenic stressors affecting elasmobranch fishes that range from overexploitation to the effects of climate change. For example, physiology is one of several key determinants of an organism's ecological niche (along with evolutionary constraints and ecological interactions). The fundamental role of physiology in niche determination led to the development of the field of physiological ecology. This approach considers physiological mechanisms in the context of the environment to understand mechanistic variations that beget ecological trends. Physiological …
Fish Assemblage Change Following The Structural Restoration Of A Degraded Stream, Carl A. Favata, Anabela Maia, Manisha Pant, Vaskar Nepal
Fish Assemblage Change Following The Structural Restoration Of A Degraded Stream, Carl A. Favata, Anabela Maia, Manisha Pant, Vaskar Nepal
VIMS Articles
Decades of anthropogenic pressure have harmed riverscapes throughout North America by degrading habitats and water quality and can result in the extirpation of sensitive aquatic taxa. Local stream restoration projects have increased in frequency, but monitoring is still infrequent. In 2010, Kickapoo Creek in East Central Illinois was subjected to a stream restoration project that included implementation of artificial riffles, riprap, scouring keys, and riparian vegetation. We monitored the restoration efforts for 6years after the restoration through annual sampling efforts at restored and reference sites to determine changes in habitat and fish assemblage using standard habitat sampling and electrofishing techniques. …
The Demographic Consequences Of Growing Older And Bigger In Oyster Populations, Jl Moore, Rom Lipcius, B Puckettt, Sj Schrieber
The Demographic Consequences Of Growing Older And Bigger In Oyster Populations, Jl Moore, Rom Lipcius, B Puckettt, Sj Schrieber
VIMS Articles
Structured population models, particularly size-or age-structured, have a long history of informing conservation and natural resource management. While size is often easier to measure than age and is the focus of many management strategies, age-structure can have important effects on population dynamics that are not captured in size-only models. However, relatively few studies have included the simultaneous effects of both age-and size-structure. To better understand how population structure, particularly that of age and size, impacts restoration and management decisions, we developed and compared a size-structured integral projection model (IPM) and an age-and size-structured IPM, using a population of Crassostrea gigas …
Evaluating Ecosystem Response To Oyster Restoration And Nutrient Load Reduction With A Multispecies Bioenergetics Model, Rs Fulford, Dl Brietburg, Mark Luckenbach, Rie Newell
Evaluating Ecosystem Response To Oyster Restoration And Nutrient Load Reduction With A Multispecies Bioenergetics Model, Rs Fulford, Dl Brietburg, Mark Luckenbach, Rie Newell
VIMS Articles
Many of the world's coastal ecosystems are impacted by multiple stressors each of which may be subject to different management strategies that may have overlapping or even conflicting objectives. Consequently, management results may be indirect and difficult to predict or observe. We developed a network simulation model intended specifically to examine ecosystem-level responses to management and applied this model to a comparison of nutrient load reduction and restoration of highly reduced stocks of bivalve suspension feeders (eastern oyster, Crassostrea virginica) in an estuarine ecosystem (Chesapeake Bay, USA). Model results suggest that a 50% reduction in nutrient inputs from the watershed …
Salinity Tolerance Of Larval Rapana Venosa: Implications For Dispersal And Establishment Of An Invading Predatory Gastropod On The North American Atlantic Coast, Roger L. Mann, Juliana M. Harding
Salinity Tolerance Of Larval Rapana Venosa: Implications For Dispersal And Establishment Of An Invading Predatory Gastropod On The North American Atlantic Coast, Roger L. Mann, Juliana M. Harding
VIMS Articles
The lack of quantitative data on the environmental tolerances of the early life-history stages of invading species hinders estimation of their dispersal rates and establishment ranges in receptor environments. We present data on salinity tolerance for all stages of the ontogenetic larval development of the invading predatory gastropod Rapana venosa, and we propose that salinity tolerance is the dominant response controlling the potential dispersal ( = invasion) range of the species into the estuaries of the Atlantic coast of the United States from the current invading epicenter in the southern Chesapeake Bay. All larval stages exhibit 48-h tolerance to salinities …
Actin Gene Family Evolution And The Phylogeny Of Coleoid Cephalopods (Mollusca: Cephalopoda), David B. Carlini, Kimberly S. Reece, John Graves
Actin Gene Family Evolution And The Phylogeny Of Coleoid Cephalopods (Mollusca: Cephalopoda), David B. Carlini, Kimberly S. Reece, John Graves
VIMS Articles
Phylogenetic analysis conducted on a 784-bp fragment of 82 actin gene sequences of 44 coleoid cephalopod taxa, along with results obtained from genomic Southern blot analysis, confirmed the presence of at least three distinct actin loci in coleoids. Actin isoforms were characteri zed through phylogenetic analysis of representative cephalopod sequences from each of the three isoforms, along with translated actin cDNA sequences from a diverse array of metazoan taxa downloaded from GenBank. One of the three isoforms found in cephalopods was closely related to actin sequences expressed in the muscular tissues of other molluscs. A second isoform was most similar …
The Freshwater Medusa, Craspedacusta Sowerbii, In Matoaka Lake, Williamsburg, Virginia, Ernest F. Tresselt
The Freshwater Medusa, Craspedacusta Sowerbii, In Matoaka Lake, Williamsburg, Virginia, Ernest F. Tresselt
VIMS Articles
The freshwater jellyfish, Craspedacusta sowerbii Lankester, has been described from at least 19 of the 48 states (Schmitt, '39). In spite of an apparently widespread distribution it is sufficiently rare that records of its occurrence are noteworthy. Approximately 200 medusae of this species were seen in Matoaka Lake, Williamsburg, Va., on July 18, 1949.