Physical Sciences and Mathematics Commons^™

Paleobiological Assessment Of Controls Underlying Long-Term Diversity Dynamics, Andrés L. Cárdenas

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Deciphering the factors underlying both long-term patterns of diversity and taxonomic turnover rates (i.e., extinction, and origination) has been one of Paleobiology's major foci for the past three decades. The importance of documenting these components is that they will expand our ability to interpret and model the evolutionary processes underlying those trends, highlight the evolutionary impact of historical events, and contribute to the formulation of robust predictions about the future of global diversity in response to the current anthropologically driven environmental changes. Accordingly, the first part of this study examines the possible occurrence of global marine evolutionary environmental controls into …

Variability In Hydrology And Ecosystem Properties And Their Role In Regulating Soil Organic Matter Stability In Wetlands Of West-Central Florida, Sharon Jean Feit

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Soil organic matter (SOM) provides many ecosystem services that are necessary for continued ecosystem function. The accumulation of SOM in an ecosystem is a function of its persistence time which can range from days to thousands of years. Ecosystem properties including dominant vegetation type, soil texture, and soil moisture in various habitats can regulate the persistence time of SOM.

Wetlands, because of their associated ecosystem properties, promote SOM accumulation, but little has been done to determine the ecosystem properties that regulate its persistence over time. In west-central Florida, urbanization and increased water demands have suppressed water tables in isolated wetland …

Stable Isotope Analysis Of Busycon Sinistrum To Determine Fort Walton-Period Seasonality At St. Joseph Bay, Northwest Florida, Ryan Michael Harke

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

ABSTRACT

Recent archaeological investigations indicate that coastal Fort Walton cultures in the St. Joseph Bay region of northwest Florida emphasized marine and estuarine foraging. These late prehistoric (A.D. 1000-1500) peoples collected fish, shellfish, and other aquatic resources. At the Richardson's Hammock site (8Gu10), radiocarbon-dated to about A.D. 1300, as at dozens of other shell middens around this salty bay, large gastropods were a major subsistence component. This adaptation is in sharp contrast with that of contemporaneous inland Fort Walton societies, who relied on maize agriculture. It is unknown whether coastal groups represent separate hunter-gatherer-fisher populations or seasonal migrations by inland …

Assessment Of Diver Impact During The Spiny Lobster Sport Season, Florida Keys, Usa, Mark Lewis Hartman

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The Spiny Lobster (Panulirus argus) fishery in Florida is closed during the spawning season (March-July) except for a two-day recreational `miniseason' for sport divers in July, several days prior to the opening of the commercial fishing season. In Monroe County, recreational fishers, who possess a valid Saltwater Fishing License with crawfish stamp, are allowed to harvest six lobsters per day, each with a minimum carapace length of 76.2 mm (3.0 inches). During these two days, approximately 50,000 people attempt to catch lobster, and the number of boats visiting the reef has been estimated to be up to 900 times higher …