Little is known about the spatial distribution and abundance of tree holes in New Zealand’s native forests, or the invertebrate communities that they support. I found that tree holes were common on five endemic tree species, belonging to the families Fagaceae and Podocarpaceae in the mixed broadleaf-podocarp rainforest of Orikaka Ecological Area, Buller District, New Zealand. However, tree holes were not uniformly distributed throughout the forest, with more holes found on the three podocarp species, Prumnopitys ferruginea, P. taxifolia and Dacrycarpus dacrydioides, than on Nothofagus fusca or N. menziesii. Nevertheless, Nothofagus fusca had the largest holes of any of the tree species sampled and larger trees generally had larger holes. Large, hole-bearing Nothofagus fusca trees support a specialist hole-dwelling vertebrate fauna in New Zealand and worldwide, tree holes provide habitat for a range of invertebrate species. Using specially-designed emergence traps, I collected invertebrates emerging from naturally-occurring dry tree holes and compared this assemblage with invertebrates inhabiting leaf litter on the forest floor and those dispersing aerially throughout the study area. At the higher taxonomic resolution (i.e., Order or Class), community composition within the tree holes was highly variable, and there was no strong distinction between invertebrates from tree holes, leaf litter or Malaise traps. Moreover, although some beetle species emerging from tree holes were found exclusively in tree holes, most of these were represented by a single individual. Consequently, only minor differences in species composition were detected between beetle assemblages from tree holes, leaf-litter and those aerially dispersing throughout the forest. In contrast, the aquatic invertebrate assemblage within water-filled tree holes was highly distinctive from that in ground-based freshwater ecosystems, with only six aquatic taxa in common between all freshwater habitats. Using experimental water-filled tree-hole microcosms, I found that species richness and community composition within these microcosms were primarily driven by resource concentration, although habitat quality (i.e., water chemistry parameters) was also an important determinant of the identity and composition of colonising species. Overall, my study has shown that tree holes are common in the study area, and are likely to be more abundant in New Zealand’s indigenous forests than previously thought. Moreover, these generally small, discrete forest ecosystems support a diverse array of terrestrial invertebrates as well as a distinctive aquatic invertebrate community that is primarily structured by organic matter resource availability. These findings not only represent an important advance in our knowledge of New Zealand’s freshwater invertebrate biodiversity, but also highlight the need for further investigation into these unique forest canopy habitats which may well be at risk from deforestation and land use change.

Marine sponges interact and coexist with many different organisms. A two-sponge association between Amphimedon erina and Geodia gibberosa commonly occurs in the Florida Keys. Previous studies have only focused on the ecological influence of the association; they did not examine the cellular basis of the association. This association between A. erina and G. gibberosa was used in the development of an in vitro model to further the understanding of the cellular basis of natural sponge-sponge associations. In this study, sponge cells were cultured individually and in co-cultures and their responses related to apoptosis, cell death, and proliferation were monitored using high content imaging. Co-cultured cells of species that form sponge-sponge associations did not have the same cellular responses compared to co-cultured cells of species that do not form sponge-sponge associations. Protein expression analyses demonstrated that the model that was established does not mimic the cellular response of the association in nature, but this model can be used to test in vitro cellular interactions of sponge species that do not form associations in nature. In addition, the protein expression data that were obtained revealed that sponges use similar apoptotic pathways as humans and suggest that sponge cells may shut down cell cycling in order to repair damaged DNA. This research is a small piece to the puzzle that is sponge cell culture research. / Includes bibliography. / Thesis (M.S.)--Florida Atlantic University, 2017. / FAU Electronic Theses and Dissertations Collection

Although nearshore macroinvertebrates are integral members of high mountain lentic systems, knowledge of ecological factors influencing their distributions is limited. Factors affecting distributions of nearshore macroinvertebrates were investigated, including microhabitat use and vertebrate predation, in the oligotrophic lakes of North Cascades National Park Service Complex, Washington, USA, and the conformity of distribution with a lake classification system was assessed (Lomnicky, unpublished manuscript; Liss et al. 1991). Forty-one lakes were assigned to six classification categories based on vegetation zone (forest, subalpine, alpine), elevation, and position relative to the west or east side of the crest of the Cascade Range. These classification variables represented fundamental characteristics of the terrestrial environment that indirectly reflected geology and climate. This geoclimatic perspective provided a broad, integrative framework for expressing the physical environment of lakes. Habitat conditions and macroinvertebrate distributions in study lakes were studied from 1989 through 1991. Distributions varied according to vegetation zone, elevation, and crest position, and reflected the concordance between habitat conditions and organism life history requirements. Habitat parameters affecting distributions included water temperature, the kinds of substrates in benthic microhabitats, water chemistry, and, to a limited extent, the presence of vertebrate predators. The number of taxa per lake was positively correlated with maximum temperature and negatively correlated with elevation. Forest zone lakes tended to have the highest number of taxa and alpine lakes the lowest. Substrates in nearshore microhabitats varied with vegetation zone. Organic substrates were more predominant than inorganic substrates in forest zone lakes. Organic substrates declined and inorganic substrates increased in the subalpine zone. There were virtually no organic substrates in alpine lakes. Taxa were placed into groups based on substrate preference. Ordinations indicated that the proportion of taxa in inorganic and organic-based substrate preference groups paralleled vegetation zone-substrate relationships. Lake water hardness and pH, as well as the presence of vertebrate predators affected the distribution of several taxa. Gastropods were limited to three forest lakes by their water hardness and pH requirements, and the dytiscid beetle, Potamonectes qriseostriatus appeared to be absent from forest lakes due, in part, to the pH requirements of this taxon. The distribution of three taxa (Taenionema, Ameletus, Desmona) appeared to be affected by the presence of vertebrate predators (salamanders and trout). Discriminant analysis was used to test the reliability of lake classification based on terrestrial characteristics. Discriminant analysis assigned lakes to categories based on similarities in kinds of substrates, substrate preference groups, and taxa. Strong concordance between both methods of lake classification supported the interconnection between terrestrial characteristics and processes and the abiotic and biotic conditions in lakes. / Graduation date: 1994

Little is known about the spatial distribution and abundance of tree holes in New Zealand’s native forests, or the invertebrate communities that they support. I found that tree holes were common on five endemic tree species, belonging to the families Fagaceae and Podocarpaceae in the mixed broadleaf-podocarp rainforest of Orikaka Ecological Area, Buller District, New Zealand. However, tree holes were not uniformly distributed throughout the forest, with more holes found on the three podocarp species, Prumnopitys ferruginea, P. taxifolia and Dacrycarpus dacrydioides, than on Nothofagus fusca or N. menziesii. Nevertheless, Nothofagus fusca had the largest holes of any of the tree species sampled and larger trees generally had larger holes. Large, hole-bearing Nothofagus fusca trees support a specialist hole-dwelling vertebrate fauna in New Zealand and worldwide, tree holes provide habitat for a range of invertebrate species. Using specially-designed emergence traps, I collected invertebrates emerging from naturally-occurring dry tree holes and compared this assemblage with invertebrates inhabiting leaf litter on the forest floor and those dispersing aerially throughout the study area. At the higher taxonomic resolution (i.e., Order or Class), community composition within the tree holes was highly variable, and there was no strong distinction between invertebrates from tree holes, leaf litter or Malaise traps. Moreover, although some beetle species emerging from tree holes were found exclusively in tree holes, most of these were represented by a single individual. Consequently, only minor differences in species composition were detected between beetle assemblages from tree holes, leaf-litter and those aerially dispersing throughout the forest. In contrast, the aquatic invertebrate assemblage within water-filled tree holes was highly distinctive from that in ground-based freshwater ecosystems, with only six aquatic taxa in common between all freshwater habitats. Using experimental water-filled tree-hole microcosms, I found that species richness and community composition within these microcosms were primarily driven by resource concentration, although habitat quality (i.e., water chemistry parameters) was also an important determinant of the identity and composition of colonising species. Overall, my study has shown that tree holes are common in the study area, and are likely to be more abundant in New Zealand’s indigenous forests than previously thought. Moreover, these generally small, discrete forest ecosystems support a diverse array of terrestrial invertebrates as well as a distinctive aquatic invertebrate community that is primarily structured by organic matter resource availability. These findings not only represent an important advance in our knowledge of New Zealand’s freshwater invertebrate biodiversity, but also highlight the need for further investigation into these unique forest canopy habitats which may well be at risk from deforestation and land use change.

Thesis (M. Phil.)--University of Hong Kong, 2009. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 100-125) Also available in print.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Washington, 1990. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves [215]-237).

Thesis (M.S.)--Oregon State University, 2005. / Printout. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 51-55). Also available on the World Wide Web.

Thesis (M.S.)--Louisiana State University. / Vita. Bibliography: leaves 55-56.

Thesis (M.S.)--Michigan State University. Dept. of Fisheries and Wildlife, 2008. / Title from PDF t.p. (viewed on Aug. 10, 2009) Includes bibliographical references (p. 64-68). Also issued in print.

Thesis (M.A.)--State University of New York College at Oneonta, 2005. / Typescript. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 46-49).