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Full-Text Articles in Biology
Comparing Created And Natural Depressional Wetlands Through Trophic Analysis Of Macroinvertebrates, Shante N. Eisele
Comparing Created And Natural Depressional Wetlands Through Trophic Analysis Of Macroinvertebrates, Shante N. Eisele
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Macroinvertebrates are important contributors to wetland ecosystems due to their role in decomposition, nutrient cycling, and as a food resource for other organisms. Several studies have analyzed the macroinvertebrate communities in created wetlands, but few have evaluated them in the context of trophic structure in both created and natural wetlands. The objective of this study is to better understand benthic macroinvertebrate community composition and trophic structure in created and natural wetlands. My central hypotheses were that macroinvertebrate communities in created wetlands would have (1) differing composition and (2) less complex trophic structure with shorter food-chain length compared to natural wetlands. …
The Missing Metric: An Evaluation Of Microorganism Importance In Wetland Assessments, Aaron John Onufrak
The Missing Metric: An Evaluation Of Microorganism Importance In Wetland Assessments, Aaron John Onufrak
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In the contiguous US, an estimated 50% of original wetland areas have been lost since the late 1700s. In growing recognition of the importance of preserving wetland ecosystem function, federal and state agencies have developed proxy-based functional-assessment procedures to manage and preserve remaining wetland areas. Ohio uses the Ohio Rapid Assessment Method (ORAM) to score wetland quality based on six metrics: wetland size, buffer width and surrounding land use, hydrology, habitat alteration and development, special wetland communities, and vegetation. Currently, the ORAM, and many other wetland scoring systems, do not consider microorganisms when determining wetland quality. This is particularly notable, …
Monitoring Ohio Bat Communities And Populations Using Mobile Acoustics, Molly C. Simonis
Monitoring Ohio Bat Communities And Populations Using Mobile Acoustics, Molly C. Simonis
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The goal of my thesis is to: 1) provide baseline information of where Ohio bats are foraging in Wright State University's (WSU) campus woods in relation to forest age and habitat (Chapter 1), 2) determine potential roost availability for local bats (Chapter 1), and 3) examine changes in state-wide species composition following the introduction of White-nose Syndrome (WNS; Chapter 2). In Chapter 1, I created walking bat acoustic routes and used generalized linear models to determine what forest ages and habitats had the greatest bat activity in the WSU campus woods. I conducted habitat transects throughout all forest ages to …
Lonicera Maackii Alters Decay Dynamics Of Coarse Woody Debris, Michaela J. Woods
Lonicera Maackii Alters Decay Dynamics Of Coarse Woody Debris, Michaela J. Woods
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Since industrialization, anthropogenic carbon emissions have led to excess atmospheric carbon dioxide that may alter the stability of ecosystem processes. Microorganisms are essential in mitigating excess carbon and play a notable role in the breakdown of organic material. This process, decomposition, is essential in forested ecosystems where microorganisms can recycle nutrients and store carbon in soil organic matter or release it through respiration. Fungi participate in decomposition through the release of enzymes responsible for carrying out the chemical reactions that break down plant material. Species introductions have the potential to alter decomposition dynamics. In the Midwestern US, the invasive shrub …