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Articles 1 - 9 of 9
Full-Text Articles in Life Sciences
Effects Of The Exotic Shrub Lonicera Maackii On The Plant Animal Interactions In The Invaded Habitat, Humberto De Paula Dutra
Effects Of The Exotic Shrub Lonicera Maackii On The Plant Animal Interactions In The Invaded Habitat, Humberto De Paula Dutra
Dissertations
Invasive plants are an economical, political, social, and ecological problem. Some invasive species are a serious concern for society because some of them are diseases, some are agricultural pests, and some become major threats to the ecosystems. Most studies with invasive species are limited because they measure only the impact of the invasion via direct pathways. Unfortunately, the potential for non-native plant species to alter ecosystem functions via indirect pathways mediated by interactions with animals just recently became broadly recognized. This research investigates the interactions of Amur honeysuckle with native fauna and how these interactions indirectly affect other trophic levels …
Role Of Belowground Fungal Mutualisms And Nutrient Cycling Alteration In Invasion Success Of Polygonum Cuspidatum Sieb. & Zucc. (Polygonaceae) In The Eastern United States, Gretchen Addington
Role Of Belowground Fungal Mutualisms And Nutrient Cycling Alteration In Invasion Success Of Polygonum Cuspidatum Sieb. & Zucc. (Polygonaceae) In The Eastern United States, Gretchen Addington
All Theses
Plant species invasion is problematic around the world due to its negative effects on native plant biodiversity, ecosystem function, and ecosystem stability. Understanding the mechanisms of plant species invasion is necessary to predict new invasions and to control current problematic species. Polygonum cuspidatum Sieb. & Zucc. (Polygonaceae, Japanese Knotweed) is an invasive species found in 40 of the 50 United States and listed as a noxious species in nine states. It is known to exclude native plant communities, and its eradication is nearly impossible. The extensive negative effects associated with this species make understanding its mechanism of invasion a prerogative. …
An Invasive Species Reduces Aquatic Insect Flux To Terrestrial Food Webs, Steven S. Merkley
An Invasive Species Reduces Aquatic Insect Flux To Terrestrial Food Webs, Steven S. Merkley
Theses and Dissertations
Although it is well documented how introduced species can negatively affect native species, we only poorly understand how they may alter ecosystem functions. We investigated how an invasive fish affected the flux of aquatic insects to terrestrial food webs using mesocosms in a desert spring ecosystem. We compared aquatic insect emergence between alternative community states with monocultures and polycultures of two native species of fish, least chub (Iotichthys phlegethontis) and Utah chub (Gila atraria) plus, introduced western mosquitofish (Gambusia affinis). We tested three hypotheses: (1) aquatic insect biomass will be greater than terrestrial insect …
Diet, Density, And Distribution Of The Introduced Greenhouse Frog, Eleutherodactylus Planirostris, On The Island Of Hawaii, Christina A. Olson
Diet, Density, And Distribution Of The Introduced Greenhouse Frog, Eleutherodactylus Planirostris, On The Island Of Hawaii, Christina A. Olson
All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023
The greenhouse frog, Eleutherodactylus planirostris, native to Cuba and the Bahamas, was recently introduced to Hawaii. Studies from other invaded habitats suggest that it may impact Hawaiian ecosystems by consuming and potentially reducing endemic invertebrates. However, there have been no studies on the greenhouse frog in Hawaii. The first component of this study was to conduct a diet analysis. We conducted a stomach content analysis of 427 frogs from 10 study sites on the island of Hawaii. At each site, we also collected invertebrates using two different sampling methods: leaf litter collection and sticky traps to characterize available resources. …
Invertebrate Community Changes Along Coqui Invasion Fronts In Hawaii, Ryan T. Choi
Invertebrate Community Changes Along Coqui Invasion Fronts In Hawaii, Ryan T. Choi
All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023
The Puerto Rican coqui frog, Eleutherodactylus coqui, was introduced to Hawaii in the late 1980s via the commercial horticulture trade. Previous research has shown that coquis can change invertebrate communities, but these studies were conducted at small scales using controlled, manipulative experiments. The objective of this research was to determine whether coqui invasions change invertebrate communities at the landscape scale across the island of Hawaii. At each invasion front, we measured environmental variability on either side of the front and removed sites that were too variable across the front to ensure that the impacts we measured were the result …
Usage And Development Of Molecular Markers For Investigation Of The Population And Ecological Genetics Of Bromus Tectorum L., Keith R. Merrill
Usage And Development Of Molecular Markers For Investigation Of The Population And Ecological Genetics Of Bromus Tectorum L., Keith R. Merrill
Theses and Dissertations
This thesis includes two studies: The first examined patterns of neutral genetic diversity within Bromus tectorum L. across the IMW region, and uses patterns of microsatellite (SSR) genotype distribution to make inferences about the respective roles of adaptively significant genetic variation, adaptive phenotypic plasticity, and facultative outcrossing in the ongoing invasion and recent range expansion of B. tectorum. It has been previously demonstrated that, due to extremely low outcrossing rates, it is possible to characterize individual genotypes of this species using four SSR loci. We sampled 20 individuals from each of 96 B. tectorum populations (classified by region and …
The Effects Of Invasion By Reed Canarygrass (Phalaris Arundinacea) On Avian Communities And Nesting Success In Minnesota Wetlands, Emily J. Hutchins
The Effects Of Invasion By Reed Canarygrass (Phalaris Arundinacea) On Avian Communities And Nesting Success In Minnesota Wetlands, Emily J. Hutchins
All Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Other Capstone Projects
Invasive plants are a primary contributor to loss of biodiversity worldwide. In southern Minnesota, many wetlands have been invaded by reed canarygrass (Phalaris arundinacea). The current perception among ecologists and resource managers is that these wetlands are of little value to wildlife, yet little is known about the effects on birds of the widespread conversion of diverse wetlands to apparent monocultures of P. arundinacea. The purpose of this study was to determine the effects of P. arundinaceamediated changes in the wetland plant community on avian communities and nesting success. During 2006 and 2007, I studied four diverse sedge wetlands paired …
Evaluation Of A Biopesticide Against Invasive Species For Native Species Restoration, Denise Ann Mayer
Evaluation Of A Biopesticide Against Invasive Species For Native Species Restoration, Denise Ann Mayer
Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)
Since their introduction in the 1980s, dreissenid mussels (Dreissena polymorpha and D. rostriformis bugensis) rapidly spread throughout North America and have had severe impacts on the ecology of freshwater ecosystems. A project was initiated in the early 1990s at the New York State Museum's Field Research Laboratory to discover and develop natural products to control industrial biofouling by dreissenid mussels. A strain of Pseudomonas fluorescens (Pf-CL145A), isolated from the sediment of a North American river, was found to be effective at killing dreissenids. The strain was patented for this use.
Heterogeneous Stress Response In A Clonal Invader (Imperata Cylindrica): Implications For Management, Sarah Grace Sanford
Heterogeneous Stress Response In A Clonal Invader (Imperata Cylindrica): Implications For Management, Sarah Grace Sanford
USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations
Life history traits such as growth, survival, and clonality can vary within a population. When such variation exists in a population of an invasive species, it can affect population dynamics, and if any part of the variation has a genetic basis the population can evolve in response to control regimes. Evolutionary responses to control efforts may shift the population towards a few more resilient genotypes, or towards different types in different microenvironments, depending on the scale of gene flow with respect to the patchiness of the environment. The purpose of this study is to examine whether the application of stress …