Biology Commons^™

Tradeoffs Of Warm Adaptation In Aquatic Ectotherms: Live Fast, Die Young?, A. P. Porreca, E. Martinez, R. E. Colombo, Michael A. Menze

Faculty Research & Creative Activity

In the face of a changing climate, questions regarding sub-lethal effects of elevated habitat temperature on the physiology of ectotherms remain unanswered. In particular, long-term responses of ectotherms to the warming trend in tropical regions are unknown and significantly understudied due primarily to the difficulties in specimen and community traceability. In freshwater lakes employed as cooling reservoirs for power plants, increased physiological stress from high water temperature can lead to an increase in mortality, reduce growth, and potentially alter the community structure of fishes. Throughout this study, we employ this highly tractable system to assess how elevated thermal regimes can …

Tradeoffs Of Warm Adaptation In Aquatic Ectotherms : Live Fast, Die Young?, A. Porreca, E. Martinez, R. Colombo, Michael Menze

Faculty Scholarship

In the face of a changing climate, questions regarding sub-lethal effects of elevated habitat temperature on the physiology of ectotherms remain unanswered. In particular, long-term responses of ectotherms to the warming trend in tropical regions are unknown and significantly understudied due primarily to the difficulties in specimen and community traceability. In freshwater lakes employed as cooling reservoirs for power plants, increased physiological stress from high water temperature can lead to an increase in mortality, reduce growth, and potentially alter the community structure of fishes. Throughout this study, we employ this highly tractable system to assess how elevated thermal regimes can …

Comparison Of Creel Survey Data To Traditional Sampling Techniques In Pit-Lake Fisheries Of Muhlenberg County, Kentucky, Derek L. Rupert

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

Populations of largemouth bass, Micropterus salmoides, and bluegill, Lepomis macrochirus, were evaluated from five pit-lakes in Muhlenberg County, Kentucky, to determine if accurate proportional stock density (PSD) data can be obtained from a mandatory creel survey. It was hypothesized that the proportion of stock-to-quality (300-400mm) and quality (+400mm) largemouth bass from four years (2007-2010) of creel survey data would be statistically similar to those generated through on-site sampling in 2011. Fish were collected via a combination of gill netting, seining, hook-and-line fishing, and boat-mounted electro-fishing. In two of the pit-lakes, the sampling-generated length frequency data was not significantly …

Community Responses To Variable Predation: Field Studies With Sunfish And Freshwater Macroinvertebrates, Mark J. Butler Iv

Biological Sciences Faculty Publications

The impact of variable predation by bluegill sunfish on macroinvertebrate prey in a North Florida lake is examined. Variable predation may occur in many systems and may contribute substantially to the spatial heterogeneity, temporal inconstancy and species composition of prey communities.

Patchy, temporally variable predation characterized middepth and deep lake habitats, whereas in the shallow zone predation was relatively constant and homogeneous. Predation varied significantly every 2-4 wk in the mid-depth zone, but varied little between consecutive weeks or days. Caging experiments revealed that variable predation altered prey community composition and increased the mean size and size range of some …