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Full-Text Articles in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology

Past Management Spurs Differential Plant Communities Within A Giant Single-Clone Aspen Forest, Paul C. Rogers, Jan ŠEbesta Dec 2019

Past Management Spurs Differential Plant Communities Within A Giant Single-Clone Aspen Forest, Paul C. Rogers, Jan ŠEbesta

Ecology Center Publications

Sustainable aspen ecosystems hold great promise for global biodiversity conservation. These forests harbor relatively high species diversity, yet are threatened by fire suppression, land development, timber-focused management, extended droughts, and chronic herbivory. “Pando” is a high-profile quaking aspen (Populus tremuloides) forest in Utah, USA which is putatively the ‘largest living organism on earth.’ Pando comprises an estimated 47,000 genetically identical stems, but is threatened by human impacts. Our interest in the present study is whether changes to the giant organism were affecting understorey vegetation and whether discrete zones are displaying divergent community compositions. For instance, recent research has demonstrated strong …


Ecological Responses Of Seascape Heterogeneity, Dinorah H. Chacin Nov 2019

Ecological Responses Of Seascape Heterogeneity, Dinorah H. Chacin

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

A core aim of landscape ecologists as well as conservation and management practices has been to understand how processes that structure communities vary as a function of landscape context. Landscape heterogeneity (i.e. landscape composition, configuration) and fine-scale habitat characteristics can influence ecological interactions across habitat patches at a range of scales. Therefore, the main objective of this work is to apply a landscape ecology perspective to understand how seascape heterogeneity can influence demographic rates, community patterns, and ecological processes. To accomplish this overall goal, I conducted a literature review on oyster reefs from a seascape ecology perspective (Chapter 1) and …


Marine Reserves Shape Seascapes On Scales Visible From Space, Elizabeth M. P. Madin, Alastair R. Harborne, Aaron M. T. Harmer, Osmar J. Luiz, Trisha Brooke Atwood, Brian J. Sullivan, Joshua S. Madin Apr 2019

Marine Reserves Shape Seascapes On Scales Visible From Space, Elizabeth M. P. Madin, Alastair R. Harborne, Aaron M. T. Harmer, Osmar J. Luiz, Trisha Brooke Atwood, Brian J. Sullivan, Joshua S. Madin

Watershed Sciences Faculty Publications

Marine reserves can effectively restore harvested populations, and ‘mega-reserves’ increasingly protect large tracts of ocean. However, no method exists of monitoring ecological responses at this large scale. Herbivory is a key mechanism structuring ecosystems, and this consumer–resource interaction's strength on coral reefs can indicate ecosystem health. We screened 1372, and measured features of 214, reefs throughout Australia's Great Barrier Reef using high-resolution satellite imagery, combined with remote underwater videography and assays on a subset, to quantify the prevalence, size and potential causes of ‘grazing halos’. Halos are known to be seascape-scale footprints of herbivory and other ecological interactions. Here we …


Migratory Goose Arrival Time Plays A Larger Role In Influencing Forage Quality Than Advancing Springs In An Arctic Coastal Wetland, Karen H. Beard, Ryan T. Choi, A. Joshua Leffler, Lindsay G. Carlson, Katharine C. Kelsey, Joel A. Schmutz, Jeffrey M. Welker Mar 2019

Migratory Goose Arrival Time Plays A Larger Role In Influencing Forage Quality Than Advancing Springs In An Arctic Coastal Wetland, Karen H. Beard, Ryan T. Choi, A. Joshua Leffler, Lindsay G. Carlson, Katharine C. Kelsey, Joel A. Schmutz, Jeffrey M. Welker

Ecology Center Publications

With warmer springs, herbivores migrating to Arctic breeding grounds may experience phenological mismatches between their energy demands and the availability of high quality forage. Yet, how the timing of the start of the season and herbivore arrival influences forage quality is often unknown. In coastal western Alaska, approximately one million migratory geese arrive each spring to breed, where foliar %N and C:N ratios are linked to gosling survival and population growth. We conducted a three-year experiment where we manipulated the start of the growing season using warming chambers and grazing times using captive Pacific black brant (Branta bernicla nigricans) to …