Biology Commons^™

Bahamian Reef Communities: Composition, Recruitment And Change (10 Meters To 250 Meters), William E. Avery

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The composition, recruitment rates and fine-scale spatial dynamics of the sessile benthic community occupying hard substrata off Lee Stocking Island, The Bahamas, was determined through photography and the deployment of artificial substrata from September 1993 to September 1996. The study spanned 10 to 250 meters in depth. The benthic community exhibited a pronounced bathymetric zonation. Filamentous and macroalgae dominated the shallow communities, but were replaced by corals, sponges and endolithic algae with increasing depth. Living cover was high above 100 m, but declined significantly below this depth, being replaced by increasing amounts of bare and sediment-covered rock surfaces. Benthic zonation …

Short-Eared Owl Post-Fledging Survival And Breeding Season Diet, Thomas A. Rivest

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

My research primarily focused on the survival of short-eared owls (Asio flammeus) from leaving the nest until their emigration from their natal territories during 1993 and 1994. I attached tarsal-mounted radio transmitters to nestlings prior to fledging. Of 25 fledgling short-eared owls monitored, 16 (64%) died prior to dispersal and one (4%) died after dispersing. Mammalian predation (5, 29.4%) was the primary cause of mortality followed by starvation (4, 23.5%), exposure (2, 11.8%), auto collision (1, 5.9%), burial (1, 5.9%), and unknown causes (4, 23.5%). Hatch date was found to be negatively correlated with fledgling survival.

A secondary …