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Full-Text Articles in Life Sciences
Distribution And Social Structure Of An Estuarine Bottlenose Dolphin (Tursiops Truncatus) Population In Northern South Carolina, Jamie L. Brusa
Distribution And Social Structure Of An Estuarine Bottlenose Dolphin (Tursiops Truncatus) Population In Northern South Carolina, Jamie L. Brusa
Electronic Theses and Dissertations
Information regarding habitat preference of apex predators may pinpoint areas dense in resources such as prey species. Knowledge of how animals use their habitat can enable the classification and targeted management of important habitat features. This study was conducted to determine the distribution and social structure of an inshore population of bottlenose dolphins within the North Inlet-Winyah Bay estuary in northern South Carolina. Photo-identification surveys were conducted along defined transect routes. Home ranges of individual dolphins were calculated using the minimum convex polygon method and the fixed kernel density method using Geographic Information System (GIS) software. Mean group sizes and …
Assessment Of Land Use And Neotropical Herpetofauna Along Steep Gradients Of Elevation In An Ecuadorian Ramsar Wetland Site #1143, Nicholas K. Henke
Assessment Of Land Use And Neotropical Herpetofauna Along Steep Gradients Of Elevation In An Ecuadorian Ramsar Wetland Site #1143, Nicholas K. Henke
Electronic Theses and Dissertations
Using a comparative ecological approach, over the course of 18 days at the transition from a particularly wet to dry season in 2010, I assessed herpetofaunal assemblages and related abiotic parameters (i.e., photosynthetically active radiation, specific conductance, temperature and coarse woody debris) between contiguous forest and human impacted areas along three paired transects across the steep elevation gradient at Laguna de Cube, Ramsar site # 1143. Visual encounter surveys were used to capture herpetofauna with species being processed (e.g., weight, digit length, photographed) and identified to the lowest taxonomic level possible. After evaluating transect data for pooling (i.e., no significant …
Winter Site Fidelity In Secretive Marsh Sparrows Along The Coast Of South Carolina, Susan M. Shaw
Winter Site Fidelity In Secretive Marsh Sparrows Along The Coast Of South Carolina, Susan M. Shaw
Electronic Theses and Dissertations
Salt marshes, which are threatened by sea level rise and development, provide habitat for a distinctive suite of specialized vertebrates, and knowledge of the life histories of salt marsh specialists may help preserve salt marsh fauna in the face of change. I studied wintering site fidelity of Seaside (Ammodramus maritimus), Saltmarsh (A. caudacutus) and Nelson's (A. nelsoni) Sparrows by mist-netting and banding birds at six sites in two salt marshes in South Carolina. I banded 261 sparrows over two winters, 2009-2010 and 2010-2011, and recaptured 92. Across-year return rates were high, but significantly different across species: 43% for Seaside, 63% …