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Full-Text Articles in Life Sciences
Harmful Algal Blooms: Dominance In Lakes And Risk For Cyanotoxin Exposure In Food Crops, Austin D. Bartos
Harmful Algal Blooms: Dominance In Lakes And Risk For Cyanotoxin Exposure In Food Crops, Austin D. Bartos
All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023
Climate change and human activities are promoting the dominance of a photosynthetic family of aquatic bacteria, cyanobacteria. Blooms of cyanobacteria are not only a visual nuisance but can produce a variety of cyanotoxins than can harm the liver, skin, and nervous system of animals and humans. We analyzed lakes in the contiguous United States and found that between 2007 and 2012, the number of lakes that produced measurable quantities of cyanotoxins increased from 33% to 45%. Nitrogen and phosphorus pollution were the main drivers of cyanobacteria blooms and toxin production between these years. Many of these lakes and reservoirs are …
Steady Heartbeat: Field And Laboratory Studies Indicate Unexpected Resilience To High Temperatures For The Ribbed Mussel Geukensia Demissa, Ashlyn N. Smith Ms.
Steady Heartbeat: Field And Laboratory Studies Indicate Unexpected Resilience To High Temperatures For The Ribbed Mussel Geukensia Demissa, Ashlyn N. Smith Ms.
Honors College Theses
Salt marshes are important ecosystems found along the coast of Georgia. Salt marshes are hosts to diverse organisms that interact with each other to promote many ecosystem services, such as storm buffering and flooding, and absorption of excess nutrients. Among these diverse organisms is the ribbed mussel, Geukensia demissa. Mussels are a foundation species in this intertidal landscape, and without them the whole salt marsh would be negatively affected. The purpose of this investigation was to explore the thermal stress response of G. demissa to rising temperatures. Mussels were collected from three locations that were landlocked, close to a …
Investigating The Effects Of Sea-Level Rise And Increasing Salinity On Procambarus Lunzi Of Sapelo Island, Georgia, Samuel Long
Investigating The Effects Of Sea-Level Rise And Increasing Salinity On Procambarus Lunzi Of Sapelo Island, Georgia, Samuel Long
Biology Theses
Barrier islands have great ecological and economical importance and face a threat from increasing sea-level due to climate change. Erosion of existing freshwater lens and ocean inundation could greatly change freshwater availability on the island. This could have significant impacts on freshwater crayfish like Procambarus lunzi, which are complexly intertwined into the trophic food web of the island. This study’s goal was to investigate the salinity tolerance of this crayfish on Sapelo Island, Georgia, in an attempt to predict the possible effects and response to sea-level rise by this crayfish. Crayfish were wild-caught from the island in March, June, and …
Higher Temperatures Have Contrasting Effects On Different Components Of Forage Quality For Caribou In Northern Alaska, Heidi Becker
Higher Temperatures Have Contrasting Effects On Different Components Of Forage Quality For Caribou In Northern Alaska, Heidi Becker
Electronic Theses and Dissertations
Rising temperatures in the Arctic may affect vegetation, which in turn can affect herbivores, such as caribou, that rely on these plants for forage. Several plant traits contribute to forage quality, including digestibility, nitrogen content, and antiherbivory secondary compounds, but the effect of temperature on these traits individually and combined is unclear. I conducted a three-component study on the effect of higher temperatures on the forage quality of graminoids, deciduous shrubs, and evergreen dwarf shrubs on the North Slope of Alaska. The components included: 1) short and long-term experimental warming, 2) natural temperature variation between south and north-facing slopes, and …