Ecology and Evolutionary Biology Commons^™

An Integrative Salt Marsh Conceptual Framework For Global Comparisons, Erik S. Yando, Scott F. Jones, W. Ryan James, Denise D. Colombano, Diana I. Montemayor, Stefanie Nolte, Jacqueline L. Raw, Shelby L. Ziegler, Luzhen Chen, Daniele Daffonchio, Marco Fusi, Kerrylee Rogers, Liudmila Sergienko

Biological Sciences Faculty Publications

Salt marshes occur globally across climatic and coastal settings, providing key linkages between terrestrial and marine ecosystems. However, salt marsh science lacks a unifying conceptual framework; consequently, historically well-studied locations have been used as normative benchmarks. To allow for more effective comparisons across the diversity of salt marshes, we developed an integrative salt marsh conceptual framework. We review ecosystem-relevant drivers from global to local spatial scales, integrate these multi-scale settings into a framework, and provide guidance on applying the framework using specific variables on 11 global examples. Overall, this framework allows for appropriate comparison of study sites by accounting for …

Assessment Of Factors Influencing Migratory Landbird Use Of Forested Stopover Sites Along The Delmarva Peninsula During Autumn Migration, J. Andrew Arnold

Biological Sciences Theses & Dissertations

Autumn migration is a time when billions of birds move from breeding grounds in North America to wintering grounds in Central and South America, with many individuals relying on stopover habitats en route for resting and refueling purposes. These stopover sites are critical to the survival of the hundreds of species of migratory landbirds that migrate annually, and thus identifying important stopover sites is a high priority for conserving such taxa. The Delmarva Peninsula; a coastal region of Delaware, Maryland, and Virginia along the mid-Atlantic flyway; consists of forested habitats with ample food and shelter that likely serves as quality …

The Effects Of Hackberry Psyllids On Refueling Migratory Songbirds And Autumnal Seed Rain, Chance H. Hines

Biological Sciences Theses & Dissertations

Hackberry psyllids (Pachypsylla sp) are a galling insect native to North America’s hackberry trees (Celtis sp). Hackberry leaf-galling psyllids are ephemerally abundant during autumn, a period of time when migratory songbirds are traveling from their breeding areas in temperate North America south to their winter ranges. These migrations are energetically taxing and many songbirds fuel their journey with resources like insects and fruits. I captured birds with mist nets, observed foraging behaviors, and captured avian-dispersed fleshy fruit seeds (hereafter, seed rain) rain during the autumn of 2016 and 2017 to determine how hackberry psyllids, an ephemerally …

Global Conservation Status And Threat Patterns Of The World’S Most Prominent Forage Fishes (Teleostei, Clupeiformes), Tiffany L. Birge

Biological Sciences Theses & Dissertations

Conserving biodiversity is one of the greatest ethical responsibilities and challenges humans face. Understanding the conservation status of taxonomic groups provides a systematic way to prioritize efforts to combat biodiversity loss. The 405 species within the order Clupeiformes are the herrings, shads, sardines, anchovies, menhadens and relatives that include many of the most important marine forage fishes. These small, schooling fishes are economically, ecologically and culturally significant globally. Despite their contribution to global fisheries and our increasing reliance on these fishes for food and industrial commodities, they are generally poorly known with limited information regarding basic biology and population trends. …

Cryptic Herbivorous Invertebrates Restructure The Composition Of Degraded Coral Reef Communities In The Florida Keys, Florida, Usa, Angelo Jason Spadaro

Biological Sciences Theses & Dissertations

Coral reefs have been on a trajectory of decline for nearly a century due to a variety of factors that have contributed to the shift in these communities away from dominance by reef-building corals, with commensurate changes on community composition and function. Florida’s reefs are a compelling example of a degraded system that has undergone a phase shift, and thus offered an excellent model system for my study of the effects of grazing by cryptic herbivores on community composition and their potential restoration value. I had four major objectives: (1) determine the suitability of Maguimithrax spinosissimus for manipulating grazing intensity …

Potential Interaction Analysis Of Offshore Wind Energy Areas And Breeding Avian Species On The Us Mid-Atlantic Coast, Jeri Lynn Wisman

Biological Sciences Theses & Dissertations

Due to increasing US interest in developing wind energy sites in offshore waters, we synthesized existing data on colonial breeding seabird populations with the potential risk of interacting with lease areas in the mid-Atlantic. Previous efforts by BOEM and NOAA have predicted avian density using at-sea survey data; we seek to complement this work by focusing specifically on birds during the critical and energetically demanding breeding life history stage. We combined colony size and location for each species along the mid-Atlantic coast with buffers around the colonies that correlate with the species’ foraging range. We integrated population size, vulnerability to …

Assessing Trade-Offs In Large Marine Protected Areas, Tammy E. Davies, Graham Epstein, Stacy E. Aguilera, Cassandra M. Brooks, Michael Cox, Louisa S. Evans, Sara M. Maxwell, Mateja Nenadovic, Natalie C. Ban

Biological Sciences Faculty Publications

Large marine protected areas (LMPAs) are increasingly being established and have a high profile in marine conservation. LMPAs are expected to achieve multiple objectives, and because of their size are postulated to avoid trade-offs that are common in smaller MPAs. However, evaluations across multiple outcomes are lacking. We used a systematic approach to code several social and ecological outcomes of 12 LMPAs. We found evidence of three types of trade-offs: trade-offs between different ecological resources (supply trade-offs); trade-offs between ecological resource conditions and the well-being of resource users (supply-demand trade-offs); and trade-offs between the well-being outcomes of different resource users …

A Dynamic Ocean Management Tool To Reduce Bycatch And Support Sustainable Fisheries, Elliot L. Hazen, Kylie L. Scales, Sara M. Maxwell, Dana K. Briscoe, Heather Welch, Steven J. Bograd, Helen Bailey, Scott R. Benson, Tomo Eguchi, Heidi Dewar

Biological Sciences Faculty Publications

Seafood is anessential sourceofprotein formore than3billionpeopleworldwide, yet bycatchof threatened species in capture fisheries remains a major impediment to fisheries sustainability. Management measures designed to reduce bycatch often result in significant economic losses and even fisheries closures. Static spatial management approaches can also be rendered ineffective by environmental variability and climate change, as productive habitats shift and introduce new interactions between human activities and protected species. We introduce a new multispecies and dynamic approach that uses daily satellite data to track ocean features and aligns scales of management, species movement, and fisheries. To accomplish this, we create species distribution models for …

Population Structure Of Lethrinus Lentjan (Lethrinidae, Percoidei) Across The South China Sea And The Philippines Is Detected With Lane-Affected Radseq Data, Ellen E. Biesack

Biological Sciences Theses & Dissertations

Southeast Asia includes the Coral Triangle, a marine biodiversity hotspot that supports important fishery resources experiencing varied threats. Patterns of speciation and population structure in the Coral Triangle have been examined to test hypotheses relating to the historical geologic processes that may have influenced this biodiversity phenomenon. This study investigates the genetic population structure of the Pink-ear Emperor Snapper, Lethrinus lentjan (Lacepède, 1802), across the Philippines and the South China Sea. The species is fished throughout the Coral Triangle by subsistence and commercial fishers and their landings have been in decline for several years, which could be indicative of depleted …

Marine Reserves Promote Coral Reef Resilience By Mitigating Human Impacts Through The Restoration Of Parrotfish Populations, Increasing Their Reproductive Output And Seeding Neighboring Overfished Reefs, Brian L. Stockwell

Biological Sciences Theses & Dissertations

Coral reefs are some of the most productive ecosystems on the planet, providing fisheries resources for over a billion people with billions of dollars in revenue from tourism for developing nations. Coral reefs are under threat from overfishing and water pollution, resulting in less productive algae dominated reefs. Marine reserves are widely expected to promote the resilience of reefs by protecting and increasing the abundance of herbivorous fishes that can graze on algae, therefore directly or indirectly preventing coral to algal phase shifts. However, the ability of marine reserves to mitigate human impacts, restore herbivorous fish populations and seed nearby …

Assessing The Cost Of Global Biodiversity And Conservation Knowledge, Diego Juffe-Bignoli, Thomas M. Brooks, Stuart H. M. Butchart, Richard B. Jenkins, Kaia Boe, Michael Hoffman, Ariadne Angulo, Steve Bachman, Monica Böhm, Neil Brummitt, Kent E. Carpenter

Biological Sciences Faculty Publications

Knowledge products comprise assessments of authoritative information supported by standards, governance, quality control, data, tools, and capacity building mechanisms. Considerable resources are dedicated to developing and maintaining knowledge products for biodiversity conservation, and they are widely used to inform policy and advise decision makers and practitioners. However, the financial cost of delivering this information is largely undocumented. We evaluated the costs and funding sources for developing and maintaining four global biodiversity and conservation knowledge products: The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species, the IUCN Red List of Ecosystems, Protected Planet, and the World Database of Key Biodiversity Areas. These are …

Predictors Patterns And Processes Of Extinction Risk In Porgies And Seabreams (Family: Sparidae), Mia Theresa B. Conteros

Biological Sciences Theses & Dissertations

A variety of human-induced changes are having profound impacts on the marine environment, and no area on the planet remains unaffected by the detrimental effects of our activities. These stressors can potentially lead to synergistic effects, causing accelerated biodiversity loss and diminished ecosystem functioning. Identification and understanding of the factors that drive species to heightened risk of extinction are important goals in conservation.

The Sparidae are commercially important and ecologically complex marine fishes; global extinction risk assessments using the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species methodology show that 9% (13 species) have increased vulnerability to population declines from intense fishing …

Concordance Between Phylogeographic And Biogeographic Boundaries In The Coral Triangle: Conservation Implications Based On Comparative Analyses Of Multiple Giant Clam Species, Timery S. Deboer, Maria Rio Abdon Naguit, Mark V. Erdmann, Maria Carmen A. Ablan-Lagman, Ambariyanto, Kent E. Carpenter, Abdul Hamid A. Toha, Paul H. Barber

Biological Sciences Faculty Publications

Marine habitats are in decline worldwide, precipitating a strong interest in marine conservation. The use of biogeographic data to designate ecoregions has had significant impacts on terrestrial conservation efforts. However, classification of marine environments into ecoregions has only become available in the last several years, based on biogeographic data supplemented by geomorphology, ocean currents, and water temperatures. Here we use a comparative phylogeographic approach to test for concordant phylogeographic patterns in three closely related species of Tridacna giant clams across the Coral Triangle, the most biodiverse marine region in the world and one of the most threatened. Data from a …

A Test Of The Area Of Refuge Hypothesis In Indo-Pacific Marine Biogeography, Jonnell C. Sanciangco

Biological Sciences Theses & Dissertations

Many hypotheses have been proposed to explain the marine biogeographic patterns of species richness of the Indo-Pacific. One of these hypotheses suggests that available habitat area is the main predictor of species richness. This is the basis for the area of refuge hypothesis that attempts to explain the global maxima of species richness found in the Coral Triangle, the area encompassing mostly the Philippines, Indonesia, and Malaysia. This species-area effect also has habitat heterogeneity as a potential component. The purpose of this study is to test the effects of habitat availability predictors, such as shallow water area and coastline length …

The Impact Of Conservation On The Status Of The World's Vertebrates, Michael Hoffmann, Craig Hilton-Taylor, Ariadne Angulo, Monika Böhm, Thomas M. Brooks, Stuart H. M. Butchart, Kent E. Carpenter, Janice Chanson, Beth A. Polidoro, Jonnell C. Sanciangco

Biological Sciences Faculty Publications

Using data for 25,780 species categorized on the International Union for Conservation of Nature Red List, we present an assessment of the status of the world's vertebrates. One-fifth of species are classified as Threatened, and we show that this figure is increasing: On average, 52 species of mammals, birds, and amphibians move one category closer to extinction each year. However, this overall pattern conceals the impact of conservation successes, and we show that the rate of deterioration would have been at least one-fifth again as much in the absence of these. Nonetheless, current conservation efforts remain insufficient to offset the …

Effects Of Human Disturbances On The Behavior Of Wintering Ducks, Melissa L. Pease, Robert K. Rose, Mark J. Butler

Biological Sciences Faculty Publications

Human activity causes wintering waterfowl to expend energy to avoid humans at a time in their annual cycle when energy conservation is important to survival, migration, and breeding reserves. Understanding the effects of recreational activities on waterfowl is important to managing natural resource areas where migratory birds depend on wetland habitat for resting and feeding. We investigated responses of 7 species of dabbling ducks to 5 different experimental human activities, (a pedestrian, a bicyclist, a truck traveling at 2 different speeds, and an electric passenger tram). Responses of ducks depended on type of disturbance, species, and distance from disturbances. Most …