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Full-Text Articles in Life Sciences
Adaptive Plasticity Of Coloration In Response To Environmental Change, Karissa Coffield
Adaptive Plasticity Of Coloration In Response To Environmental Change, Karissa Coffield
Scholars Week
When rapid environmental changes occur, different selective forces can create phenotypic trade-offs in which a trait can provide fitness benefits or costs under different environmental conditions. Amphibians are particularly vulnerable to environmental change, and previous research has revealed that some species will plastically respond to variation in temperature and ultra-violet radiation (UVR) by altering their coloration. Divergent selection on coloration may change with elevation and climate induced shifts in temperature because high temperatures are likely to result in lighter color morphs but as elevation increases, UVR exposure increases leading to the prediction that darker color morphs will be more common. …
Using Modeling To Investigate Factors Driving Avian Diversity In Urban Ecosystems, Clay Bliznick
Using Modeling To Investigate Factors Driving Avian Diversity In Urban Ecosystems, Clay Bliznick
Scholars Week
Anthropogenic influences have altered global landscapes considerably throughout the past two centuries, resulting in the decline of natural land cover types. Conversely, land cover types such as cropland and urban areas that are derived from human activities have experienced vast expansion. This landscape transition has serious implications for ecosystem services. To mitigate the loss of these services, it is necessary to maintain ecological integrity within these anthropogenically-influenced systems. Being able to support high biodiversity is an indicator of well-functioning ecosystems, thus quantifying biodiversity and assessing its contributing factors can be useful for developing management strategies in artificial environments. Our objective …
The Reconstruction Of Hatchery Creek: Effects On Macroinvertebrate And Fish Community Dynamics, Patrick Vrablik
The Reconstruction Of Hatchery Creek: Effects On Macroinvertebrate And Fish Community Dynamics, Patrick Vrablik
Murray State Theses and Dissertations
Hatchery Creek is a restored stream in Jamestown, KY that drains Wolf Creek National Fish Hatchery. The previous degraded channel of Hatchery Creek caused large sediment plumes in the Lower Cumberland River and was restored to decrease sediment loss and provide the opportunity for a self-sustaining trout population. I predicted that the increased amount of habitat would increase taxa richness, abundance and biomass of macroinvertebrates. Macroinvertebrates were monitored in three periods; the degraded period, a one-year recovery period, and a restored period using surber and kicknet samples in order to determine biomass, abundance, diversity, taxa richness, and macroinvertebrate biotic index. …