Life Sciences Commons^™

The Effects Of Copper On Skeletonema Costatum (Greville) Cleve, Susanne Sybille Jackman

Biological Sciences Theses & Dissertations

Copper levels and dominant phytoplankton species composition were examined from six sites in Kings Creek on Virginia's Eastern Shore from March to August 1980. Creek copper levels were determined by an APDCMIBK extraction procedure and ranged from 0.003 to 0.020 mg/1. Diatoms were the dominant phytoplankters with Skeletonema costatum (Greville) Cleve emerging as a major late summer species.

Subsequent laboratory studies involved 96-hour experiments using Skeletonema costatum (clone Skel) grown in enriched natural seawater. The water was collected from Kings Creek and enriched to Guillard and Ryther's (1962) f/2 media levels. Cupric sulfate was added to the experimental culture media …

The Seasonality Of Occurrence Of Larval And Juvenile Sciaenids In A Virginia Seaside Estuary, James Howard Cowan Jr.

Biological Sciences Theses & Dissertations

The seasonality of occurrence and relative abundance of larval and juvenile fishes, particularly members of the family Sciaenidae, from a Virginia seaside estuary were determined from ichthyoplankton and trawl collections made from March 1979 to March 1980.

The larvae of 20 species distributed among 15 families were identified from the ichthyoplankton. Larvae of the bay anchovy, Anchoa mitchilli, and the Atlantic silverside, Menidia menidia, dominated the samples and made up 57 and 34%, respectively, of all larvae collected. Peak occurrence began in May and continued through August. Fish larvae were present in the study area all year.

Twenty-eight …

Breeding Birds Of Two Atlantic White Cedar Stands In The Great Dismal Swamp, Karen Terwilliger

Biological Sciences Theses & Dissertations

Breeding birds were censused during two years in two Atlantic white cedar stands of the Great Dismal Swamp, and a comparison was made with census results of the predominant swamp community, maple-gum. The maple-gum site had a higher bird species diversity than either cedar site but supported only half the density. The century-old cedar site had the highest species richness while the younger cedar site had the highest density.

Cluster analysis placed the avifauna into distinct groups which closely corresponded to the vegetative strata of the stands. Species were ordered along the height gradient using principal coordinate and detrended correspondence …

The Use Of Microscopic Vegetative Characteristics And Leaf Characteristics And Leaf Deterioration Rates In The Formulation Of Keys Of Some Wetland Plants, Bruce Foy Williams

Biological Sciences Theses & Dissertations

Leaves of Spartina alterniflora, Spartina patens, Spartina cynosuroides, Distichlis spicata, Phragmites communis, Juncus roemerianus, Scirpus robustus, Typha latifolia, Iva frutescens, and Baccharis halimifolia were examined microscopically. Characteristics of each species were then used to develop identification keys. In addition, leaf fragments were buried in the marsh substrate to simulate a dredging and/or filling operation. At weekly intervals during each season of the year, a leaf fragment of each species was processed and examined to see if it could be identified.

Decay Rates And Nutrient Dynamics In Confines And Nonconfined Leaf Litter In The Great Dismal Swamp, R. Frederick K. Yates

Biological Sciences Theses & Dissertations

This study was designed to quantitatively compare decay rates and nutrient dynamics by the confined and unconfined litter techniques in a seasonally flooded swamp. In this study both methods indicated the same order of decay rates among sites (cedar>maple-gum>cypress> mixed hardwood), but the unconfined method showed faster decay rates at all sites. As in two years of previous data collection, the stands exhibiting some seasonal flooding showed greater decay rates than the mixed hardwood stand which was not inundated. Nutrient dynamics were not different between litter bag and leaf pack methods.

This study included a preliminary investigation of …