Linkages Between Marsh Fragmentation, Prey Availability, And Blue Crab (Callinectes Sapidus) Abundance And Mortality,
2018
University of Southern Mississippi
Linkages Between Marsh Fragmentation, Prey Availability, And Blue Crab (Callinectes Sapidus) Abundance And Mortality, Lennah Shakeri
Master's Theses
Coastal marshes are important nursery habitats for many commercially important invertebrate species, yet these marshes are being lost worldwide at an unprecedented rate due to subsidence, erosion, climate change, and human activity. As marsh is lost, it creates the opportunity for submerged aquatic vegetation (SAV) colonization and establishment in newly created open water areas. Blue crabs, Callinectes sapidus, use both marsh edge and SAV habitat during the juvenile stages and support one of the largest fisheries in the Gulf of Mexico, worth over $70 million in 2015. This thesis studied the linkages between habitat type, SAV cover, benthic prey …
Spatial Variation In Basal Resources And Trophic Position Of Selected Fishes Of The North-Central Gulf Of Mexico,
2018
University of Southern Mississippi
Spatial Variation In Basal Resources And Trophic Position Of Selected Fishes Of The North-Central Gulf Of Mexico, Christopher Fleming
Master's Theses
The North-central Gulf of Mexico is a complex hydrologic environment with freshwater influx that varies on spatial and temporal scales. Freshwater input exerts influence on the isotope values of organisms living in coastal ecosystems. The objectives of this study were to determine relationships between total length and isotope value, estimate basal resource usage and trophic position of target species from Mississippi Sound, reef, and pelagic environments, and identify differences and similarities in spatial patterns of collection. Muscle tissue samples were collected from October 2014 through September 2015. Stable isotope analysis identified a trophic gradient extending from nearshore to offshore, with …
Ant Predation Of Blow Flies During Decomposition And Its Potential Impact On Pmi Estimations,
2018
CUNY John Jay College
Ant Predation Of Blow Flies During Decomposition And Its Potential Impact On Pmi Estimations, Vincent J. Nappi
Student Theses
When an organism dies, the process of decomposition begins and many insects are attracted to the decomposing remains, or carrion, as a prospective food source for themselves, or their offspring. Blow flies (Family: Calliphoridae), in particular, are one of the first insects to discover and colonize a dead body due to the ability to detect a decomposing resource from large distances. As a result, forensic entomologists take advantage of the behavior and developmental cycles of early colonizers to calculate the post-mortem interval (PMI) in order to determine the time since death. However, along with the insects that are attracted to …
The Influence Of Conservation Tillage And Conventional Tillage On Soil Bacterial Diversity In Southern Illinois,
2018
University of Southern Mississippi
The Influence Of Conservation Tillage And Conventional Tillage On Soil Bacterial Diversity In Southern Illinois, Nasser Syed
Dissertations
Agriculture in the Midwest United States (Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Michigan, Minnesota, Ohio, and Wisconsin) is a critically important component of the United States economy and also for world exports of food grain. This is well reflected in the 2012 Census of Agriculture which showed that these states had a market value of crop and livestock products sold in excess of $80,000,000,000 (USDA, 2012). Within the U.S. the three Midwest states, Illinois, Iowa, and Minnesota are ranked 2nd, 3rd, and 4th for the economic value of crops sold. This economic value of agriculture in the Midwest encompasses not only corn, soybeans, …
Soil Ecology Of The Exotic Dune Grass Leymus Arenarius.,
2018
University of Louisville
Soil Ecology Of The Exotic Dune Grass Leymus Arenarius., Matthew L. Reid
Electronic Theses and Dissertations
Exotic plants can alter the structure and function of native communities both above- and belowground, which is particularly important in primary successional sand dune ecosystems where plant-soil interactions are critical drivers of successional dynamics. In Great Lakes sand dunes, the native foundation grass Ammophila breviligulata dominates early in succession until an accumulation of detrimental soil organisms causes its die-back of the grasses. Die-back of this native foundation species can be slowed by mutualistic interactions between plants and mycorrhizal fungi. Changes to the plant community resulting from invasion, and subsequent effects on the soil community have the potential to disrupt the …
Defending Wild Dogs: Population Dynamics And Disease In Endangered African Wild Dogs,
2018
University of Arkansas, Fayetteville
Defending Wild Dogs: Population Dynamics And Disease In Endangered African Wild Dogs, Elizabeth Claire Arredondo
Graduate Theses and Dissertations
African wild dogs (Lycaon pictus) are endangered carnivores whose population is decreasing from habitat loss and fragmentation, interspecific competition, and disease. Survival rates are especially low in Kruger National Park (KNP), though it is unclear why. I estimated the abundance in KNP and survival rates over different time spans, six years and nine months, using public photographic survey data. In 2015, there were 298 (SE=12.1) individuals. Using a mark-recapture analysis in program R, I found that the survival rate between 2009-2015 was only 3.2%, and within the 9-month survey period (September 2014 – June 2015), monthly survival rates for the …
The Relationship Between Measures Of Annual Livestock Disturbance In Western Riparian Areas And Stream Conditions Important To Trout, Salmon, And Char,
2018
Utah State University
The Relationship Between Measures Of Annual Livestock Disturbance In Western Riparian Areas And Stream Conditions Important To Trout, Salmon, And Char, Lindsey M. Goss, Brett B. Roper
Watershed Sciences Faculty Publications
Managing livestock disturbance in riparian zones in a manner that provides economic returns to ranchers while protecting streams is an important aspect of rangeland management on public lands in the western United States. Attempts to balance economic and ecologic outcomes have been made more difficult due to the presence of several salmonid species that are protected under the Endangered Species Act. One approach to proper management of livestock use near streams has been to define the allowable limits of disturbance using 2 metrics, streambank alteration and stubble height. We evaluated 153 stream reaches within the Interior Columbia Basin to determine …
Advancing The Understanding Of Environmental Transformations, Bioavailability And Effects Of Nanomaterials, An International Us Environmental Protection Agency—Uk Environmental Nanoscience Initiative Joint Program,
2018
US Environmental Protection Agency
Advancing The Understanding Of Environmental Transformations, Bioavailability And Effects Of Nanomaterials, An International Us Environmental Protection Agency—Uk Environmental Nanoscience Initiative Joint Program, Mitch M. Lasat, Kian Fan Chung, Jamie Lead, Steve Mcgrath, Richard J. Owen, Sophie Rocks, Jason M. Unrine, Junfeng Zhang
Plant and Soil Sciences Faculty Publications
Nanotechnology has significant economic, health, and environmental benefits, including renewable energy and innovative environmental solutions. Manufactured nanoparticles have been incorporated into new materials and products because of their novel or enhanced properties. These very same properties also have prompted concerns about the potential environmental and human health hazard and risk posed by the manufactured nanomaterials. Appropriate risk management responses require the development of models capable of predicting the environmental and human health effects of the nanomaterials. Development of predictive models has been hampered by a lack of information concerning the environmental fate, behavior and effects of manufactured nanoparticles. The United …
Comparison Of Habitat And Water Quality In The Blue River's South And Salem Forks In Southern Indiana To Support Watershed Management,
2018
Bellarmine University
Comparison Of Habitat And Water Quality In The Blue River's South And Salem Forks In Southern Indiana To Support Watershed Management, Erin Crone
Undergraduate Theses
A stream’s habitat and water quality are heavily influenced by land use and geology within its watershed. Pollutants and sediment loading from watershed drainage can make streams less habitable for certain species, reducing biodiversity. Watershed management strategies, such as the promotion of best management practices in agriculture, can help to combat stream degradation from watershed inputs. The upper Blue River in southern Indiana is a biodiversity hotspot but is experiencing degradation and biodiversity loss due to watershed inputs. This is exemplified by the disappearance of the eastern hellbender salamander, an indicator species, from this area. Fine sediment loading is particularly …
Energetic Tradeoffs Control The Size Distribution Of Aquatic Mammals,
2018
University of Nebraska - Lincoln
Energetic Tradeoffs Control The Size Distribution Of Aquatic Mammals, William Gearty, Craig R. Mcclain, Jonathan Payne
School of Biological Sciences: Faculty Publications
Four extant lineages of mammals have invaded and diversified in the water: Sirenia, Cetacea, Pinnipedia, and Lutrinae. Most of these aquatic clades are larger bodied, on average, than their closest land-dwelling relatives, but the extent to which potential ecological, biomechanical, and physiological controls contributed to this pattern remains untested quantitatively. Here, we use previously published data on the body masses of 3,859 living and 2,999 fossil mammal species to examine the evolutionary trajectories of body size in aquatic mammals through both comparative phylogenetic analysis and examination of the fossil record. Both methods indicate that the evolution of an aquatic lifestyle …
Evaluating The Effects Of Catastrophic Wildfire On Water Quality, Whole-Stream Metabolism And Fish Communities,
2018
Biology
Evaluating The Effects Of Catastrophic Wildfire On Water Quality, Whole-Stream Metabolism And Fish Communities, Justin Kevin Reale
Biology ETDs
This dissertation investigated the initial and multi-year effects of a catastrophic wildfire (Las Conchas fire in 2011) on adjacent and downstream aquatic ecosystems in comparison to pre-fire conditions. Specifically, the research looked at 1) multi-year water quality responses along the river continuum using data collected before, immediately after and for multiple years post-fire, 2) differential water quality and whole-stream metabolism responses of paired headwater catchments over multiple years after disturbance, and 3) fish communities at two sites on a larger river downstream of the extensive region impacted by the catastrophic wildfire.Overall, the research in this dissertation highlights the importance of …
Bifurcated Response Of A Regional Forest To Drought,
2018
CUNY Queens College
Bifurcated Response Of A Regional Forest To Drought, Wei Fang, Chuixiang Yi, Guangwei Mu, George Hendrey, Sergio M. Vicente-Serrano, Tao Zhou, Shan Gao, Peipei Xu
Publications and Research
Several lines of evidence suggest that forest growth in many regions is declining as a consequence of changing climate. To predict the fate of forests in the future, a quantitative understanding of how the key climate variables (insolation, precipitation and temperature) interact with forests to cause the decline is a pressing need. Here we use a regionally-averaged tree-ring width index (RWIr ) to quantify forest growth in the Southwest United States (SWUS). We show that over a period of 100 years, SWUS RWIr bifurcated into forest stands with enhanced (healthy) and reduced (declining) branches when regressed on shortwave-radiation and temperature, …
Examining The Relationship Between Climate And Seasonal Stream Thermal Regimes In A High Desert Ecosystem,
2018
Murray State University
Examining The Relationship Between Climate And Seasonal Stream Thermal Regimes In A High Desert Ecosystem, Hannah Moore, Melody Feden
Scholars Week
Climate change is negatively affecting ecosystems around the world, and in the coming years, scientists predict that these changes will only intensify and accelerate. In the western mountains of North America, climate change projections predict elevated temperatures, reduced snowpack, and earlier snowmelt. Elevated air temperatures have the propensity to affect water temperatures in sensitive freshwater ecosystems. Temperature increases may cause streams to reach the upper thermal limit for many aquatic organisms, such as aquatic invertebrates and fish, and result in death or dispersal for these organisms. This makes the availability of cold-water refugia in streams that much more important for …
Can Omnivores Mediate The Effects Of Degradation?,
2018
Murray State University
Can Omnivores Mediate The Effects Of Degradation?, Hannah Moore
Scholars Week
Omnivores feed at multiple trophic levels and have large effects on community structuring and stability. The magnitude and direction of such effects, whether omnivores stabilize or destabilize communities, remains unresolved. Shifts in omnivore diet and trophic position may be of particular importance to community stability in degraded habitats, where resources are sparse. For example, omnivores may reduce the severity and duration of community responses to degradationby dampening the effects of any disturbance-mediated trophic cascade. The relatively simple food webs of freshwater systems are ideal for studying trophic ecology, and in the western U.S., streams are heavily degraded by overgrazing, beaver …
Determining The Physiological And Behavioral Methods Of Salinity Tolerance In Corbicula Fluminea,
2018
East Tennessee State University
Determining The Physiological And Behavioral Methods Of Salinity Tolerance In Corbicula Fluminea, John Warren Roden Iii
Appalachian Student Research Forum
While a significant degree of salinity tolerance has been observed in the bivalve mollusk species Corbicula fluminea, the physiological and behavioral responses to changes in salinity by these organisms are not completely understood. It was hypothesized that Corbicula would initially avoid any salinity stress behaviorally through valve closure, but would eventually have to open to dispel anaerobic waste products and deal with the salinity. To explore this, Corbicula were collected and put through a series of experiments at salinity exposures of 0, 2.5, and 5.0ppt, with tissue water content and hemolymph osmolality being measured. After an initial 96-hour exposure …
Analysis Of Submerged Aquatic Vegetation Resources Across The Northern Gulf Of Mexico: Communities And Biomass,
2018
Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College
Analysis Of Submerged Aquatic Vegetation Resources Across The Northern Gulf Of Mexico: Communities And Biomass, Eva R. Hillmann
LSU Doctoral Dissertations
Submerged aquatic vegetation (SAV) provides many critical ecosystem services, yet we lack basic information on SAV assemblages, biomass and diversity across expansive coasts such as the northern Gulf of Mexico (nGoM). This research investigated SAV along the nGoM from 2013-2015 examining (1) inter-annual variation in SAV assemblages and biomass across salinity zones and gulf coast eco-regions (Texas Mid-Coast, Texas/LA Chenier Plain, Louisiana Delta, MS/AL), (2) intra-annual variation in SAV assemblages and biomass across salinity zones, (3) response of two species, Ruppia maritima and Myriophyllum spicatum, to salinity and light regimes, and (4) estimated organic carbon stock and storage of …
Legacies Of War: How The Commercialization Of Plastics In The United States Contribute To Cycles Of Violence,
2018
SIT Graduate Institute
Legacies Of War: How The Commercialization Of Plastics In The United States Contribute To Cycles Of Violence, Karis Johnston
Capstone Collection
Plastic manufacturing practices developed and justified during World War II transitioned into the commercial space, entered our homes, and became part of everyday life. This proliferation was due in large part to the consolidation of manufacturing processes organized and subsidized by government contracts and the plastics industry leaders’ marketing dynamism. Plastics are in the cars we drive, the way we package our food, and are invaluable throughout the medical field. Moreover, the use of plastics has tangible environmental and health ramifications. The plastics industry and consumption patterns in the United States contribute significantly to hydrocarbon emissions, ecological violence, and the …
Bird Population Changes Following The Establishment Of A Diverse Stand Of Woody Plants In A Former Crop Field In North Dakota, 1975– 2015,
2018
Iowa State University & US Geological Survey
Bird Population Changes Following The Establishment Of A Diverse Stand Of Woody Plants In A Former Crop Field In North Dakota, 1975– 2015, Lawrence D. Igl, Harold A. Kantrud, Wesley Newton
United States Geological Survey, Northern Prairie Wildlife Research Center: Publications
Changes in the coverage of trees and shrubs on the North Dakota landscape since Euro- American settlement have likely had a pronounced impact on bird species that favor woody vegetation. Long- term data sets on breeding bird populations in wooded habitats in North Dakota or in the Great Plains are scarce. In 1975 a wildlife habitat plot was established in a 10.5 ha cropland field with a long history of small- grain production. Th e objective of this article is to evaluate the successional changes in bird populations as the habitat at this site became more biologically and structurally complex …
Influence Of Black Mangrove Expansion On Salt Marsh Faunal Communities Of Eastern Coastal Louisiana,
2018
Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College
Influence Of Black Mangrove Expansion On Salt Marsh Faunal Communities Of Eastern Coastal Louisiana, Christina Powell
LSU Master's Theses
The salt marshes along the Gulf of Mexico provide a critical habitat for many species, but their spatial distribution is changing, because Avicennia germinans (black mangroves) are expanding due to warmer winters. Currently, little is known about how A. germinans are used as habitat providing food and refuge for aquatic fauna. Therefore, the overall goal of this study was to determine how A.germinans expansion into the Spartina alterniflora (smooth cordgrass) marshes of Louisiana’s Mississippi River delta plain affects salt marsh-dependent organisms. This study analyzed three habitat types: Spartina-dominated, Avicennia-dominated, and a mix of the two, focusing on habitat use and …
Sediment And Plant Dynamics In A Degrading Coastal Louisiana Landscape,
2018
Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College
Sediment And Plant Dynamics In A Degrading Coastal Louisiana Landscape, Glenn Michael. Suir
LSU Doctoral Dissertations
Alterations to Louisiana’s river systems and local hydrology have resulted in reduced freshwater, sediment, and nutrient inputs into wetland landscapes, causing significant negative impacts on marsh productivity and stability. To combat these losses many restoration projects have been constructed or planned throughout coastal Louisiana. Typical goals of wetland restoration efforts are to conserve, create, or enhance wetland form, and to achieve wetland function that approaches natural conditions. Failure to adequately maintain wetland elevation and hydrology can have serious implications on sedimentation and vegetation processes, which significantly reduces the likelihood of reaching structural and functional targets. Measures of wetland condition have …
