<p>Alternative stable states have been, based on theoretical findings, predicted to be common in ecological systems. Empirical data from a number of laboratory and natural studies strongly suggest that alternative stable states also occur in real populations, communities and ecosystems. Potential mechanisms involve population size-structure and food-dependent individual development. These features can lead to ontogenetic niche shifts, juvenile recruitment bottlenecks and emergent Allee effects; phenomena that establish destabilising positive feedbacks in a system and hence create alternative stable states.</p><p>I studied the consequences of population size-structure for community dynamics at different scales of system complexity. I performed laboratory and ecosystem experiments. Small poecilliid fishes and planktonic invertebrates with short generation times and life spans were used as model organisms. This allowed me to assess the long-term dynamics of the populations and communities investigated.</p><p>The main experimental results are: (a) An ontogenetic niche shift in individuals of the phantom midge <i>Chaoborus</i> made the population vulnerable to an indirect competitive recruitment bottleneck imposed by cladoceran mesozooplankton via rotifers. Consequentially the natural zooplankton food web exhibited two alternative attractors. (b) Body size determined the success of <i>Poecilia reticulata</i> invading resident population of <i>Heterandria formosa</i> and thus the type of alternative stable state that established. Small invaders were outcompeted by the residents, whereas large invaders excluded their competitor by predating on its recruits. (c) External juvenile and adult mortality altered the internal feedback structure that regulates a laboratory population of <i>H. formosa</i> in such a way that juvenile biomass increased with mortality. This biomass overcompensation in a prey population can establish alternative stable states with top-predators being either absent or present.</p><p>The major conclusion is that size-structure and individual growth can indeed lead to alternative stable states. The considerations of these ubiquitous features of populations offer hence new insights and deeper understanding of community dynamics. Alternative stable states can have tremendous consequences for human societies that utilise the ecological services provided by an ecological system. Understanding the effects of size-structure on alternative stability is thus crucial for sustainable exploitation or production of food resources.</p>

Alternative stable states have been, based on theoretical findings, predicted to be common in ecological systems. Empirical data from a number of laboratory and natural studies strongly suggest that alternative stable states also occur in real populations, communities and ecosystems. Potential mechanisms involve population size-structure and food-dependent individual development. These features can lead to ontogenetic niche shifts, juvenile recruitment bottlenecks and emergent Allee effects; phenomena that establish destabilising positive feedbacks in a system and hence create alternative stable states. I studied the consequences of population size-structure for community dynamics at different scales of system complexity. I performed laboratory and ecosystem experiments. Small poecilliid fishes and planktonic invertebrates with short generation times and life spans were used as model organisms. This allowed me to assess the long-term dynamics of the populations and communities investigated. The main experimental results are: (a) An ontogenetic niche shift in individuals of the phantom midge Chaoborus made the population vulnerable to an indirect competitive recruitment bottleneck imposed by cladoceran mesozooplankton via rotifers. Consequentially the natural zooplankton food web exhibited two alternative attractors. (b) Body size determined the success of Poecilia reticulata invading resident population of Heterandria formosa and thus the type of alternative stable state that established. Small invaders were outcompeted by the residents, whereas large invaders excluded their competitor by predating on its recruits. (c) External juvenile and adult mortality altered the internal feedback structure that regulates a laboratory population of H. formosa in such a way that juvenile biomass increased with mortality. This biomass overcompensation in a prey population can establish alternative stable states with top-predators being either absent or present. The major conclusion is that size-structure and individual growth can indeed lead to alternative stable states. The considerations of these ubiquitous features of populations offer hence new insights and deeper understanding of community dynamics. Alternative stable states can have tremendous consequences for human societies that utilise the ecological services provided by an ecological system. Understanding the effects of size-structure on alternative stability is thus crucial for sustainable exploitation or production of food resources.

Marine turtle conservation is most successful when it is based on sound data incorporating life history, historical population stability, and gene flow among populations. This research attempts to provide that information through two studies. In chapter I, I identify historical patterns of gene flow, population sizes, and contraction/expansion during major climatic shifts. In chapter II, I reveal a life history characteristic of loggerhead turtles previously undocumented. I identify a pattern of juvenile recruitment to foraging grounds proximal to their natal nesting beach. This pattern results in a predictable recruitment pattern from juvenile foraging ground aggregations to local rookeries. This research will provide crucial information to conservation managers by demonstrating how sensitive marine turtles are to global climate change. In the second component of my research, I demonstrate how threats posed to juvenile foraging grounds will have measurable effects on rookeries proximal to those foraging grounds. The addition of this basic life history information will have dramatic effects on marine turtle conservation in the future, and will serve as the basis for more thorough, forward-looking recovery plans.

The hydrothermal vent environment, in its extreme spatial and temporal variability, offers the opportunity to study habitats that are naturally fragmented and unstable. The vestimentiferan tubeworm Ridgeia piscesae is a foundation species inhabiting hydrothermal vent habitat in the Northeast Pacific Ocean. R. piscesae is a phenotypically plastic species and is arranged in a metapopulation spatial structure, with each local population displaying one of a range of morphotypes. Ridgeia piscesae participates in an obligate symbiosis that is dependent on hydrogen sulphide in the hydrothermal vent fluid that supplies each local population. Hydrothermal fluid flow is highly variable in the hydrothermal vent environment and hydrogen sulphide flux is a limiting nutrient for R. piscesae; this variability may create differences in habitat quality. The objective of this study is to determine whether local populations of R. piscesae centered on high and low flux hydrothermal fluid outputs are similar in body condition, reproductive condition, and juvenile recruitment. Using the submersibles ROPOS and Alvin, I collected high flux and low flux sample pairs from within meters of each other at multiple sample sites on Axial Seamount and the Endeavour segment of the Juan de Fuca Ridge. I used morphological measurements, histology and lipid analysis to assess physiological and reproductive condition. I also determined the relative abundances of new and older recruits in high and low flux local populations. I found that low flux habitat was inferior in its ability to support Ridgeia piscesae at all stages in the tubeworm’s life cycle. In terms of body condition, local populations in low flux habitat had lower body weight, greater body length, smaller anterior tube diameter, lower trophosome volume, lower total lipid volume, and lower branchial plume condition. With respect to reproductive condition, local populations in low flux habitat had lower proportions of reproductive individuals, less sperm transfer, lower gonad volume, and fewer mature oocytes; there was no difference in sperm development stages between high and low flux habitat. From the perspective of the individual, low flux tubeworms live longer, and lifetime reproductive output may be comparable to high flux tubeworms. However, turnover is higher in the high flux habitat, so reproductive output of high flux populations is greater than that of low flux populations. Juvenile recruitment was biased toward high flux habitat, although this trend was not significant and recruitment to low flux habitat was still notable. The differences between reproductive output and juvenile recruitment between these habitats support a source-sink model of population dynamics. From the perspective of the metapopulation, low flux habitat is inferior in its ability to support Ridgeia piscesae at all stages in the tubeworm’s life cycle. This distribution of relative contributions to the overall population of a key species in a Marine Protected Area (MPA) should factor into management decisions affecting MPA boundaries and use. / Graduate

No description available.

Genetic variation was examined in two endangered mussel species, Epioblasma brevidens and E. capsaeformis, and a common species Lampsilis fasciola, in the Clinch River, TN, by screening mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) sequences and nuclear DNA microsatellites. These species use fish hosts with varying dispersal capabilities, ranging from low, moderate, and high, respectively. Patterns of mtDNA polymorphism exhibited different trends for long-term population sizes for each species during the Holocene (~10,000 ya to present); namely, E. brevidens has declined over time, E. capsaeformis has remained stable, and L. fasciola has expanded. Long-term effective population size (Ne) was smallest in E. brevidens, intermediate in E. capsaeformis, and highest in L. fasciola. Moderately diverged mtDNA lineages, perhaps indicative of secondary contact, were observed in E. brevidens and E. capsaeformis. High levels of gene flow (Nm) were estimated among demes of L. fasciola using traditional F-statistics and likelihood estimates of Nm, whereas such metrics were lower in E. brevidens and E. capsaeformis. Data are consistent with population dynamics and life history traits of each species and their fish hosts. Age, shell growth, and population demography of Epioblasma brevidens, E. capsaeformis, and Lampsilis fasciola were studied from 2004-2007 in a 32-km reach of the Clinch River, TN. Observed maximum age and length of E. brevidens was 28 y and 71.5 mm for males and 11 y and 56.6 mm for females; of E. capsaeformis, 12 y and 54.6 mm for males and 9 y and 48.6 mm for females; and of L. fasciola, 45 y and 91.3 mm for males and 13 y and 62.6 mm for females. For all three species, observed maximum age and length was greater among males than females. Estimated population size in this river reach was approximately 43,000 individuals for E. brevidens, 579,000 individuals for E. capsaeformis, and 30,000 individuals for L. fasciola. Mean recruitment y-1 of 1 y-old E. brevidens ranged from 7.1% to 20%, of E. capsaeformis from 4.0% to 32.4%, and of L. fasciola from 5.8% to 25.6%. Population growth rate y-1 was 24.9% for E. brevidens, 34.6% for E. capsaeformis, and -22.4% for L. fasciola. Mortality rates of females were higher than for males of E. capsaeformis and L. fasciola, but not E. brevidens. Juvenile mussels were collected but temporally and spatially variable in occurrence, and a significant component of the age-class structure of all three species. Recruitment was very high during 2006-2007 for E. capsaeformis and other species, likely due to low river discharges in the spring-summer of 2005-2007. Surplus individuals of E. brevidens and E. capsaeformis are currently available to conduct translocations for restoration purposes. Population modeling of Epioblasma brevidens and E. capsaeformis in the Clinch River was conducted to determine suitable harvest levels for translocation of sub-adults and adults, and to determine quantitative criteria for evaluating performance and recovery of extant and reintroduced populations. For both species, the recommended annual harvest was <1% of local population size to minimize risk of decline. Reintroduction modeling indicated that size of the initial population created during a 5 y build-up phase greatly affected final population size at 25 y, being similar to size at the end of the build-up phase, especially when expected growth rate was low, (e.g., 1-2%). Excluding age-0 individuals, age-1 juveniles or recruits on average comprised approximately 11% and 15% of a stable population of each species, respectively. The age-class distribution of a stable or growing population was characterized by multiple cohorts, to include juvenile recruits, sub-adults, and adults. Molecular genetic and demographic data indicated that the ratio of Ne/Nc was ~5% for both species. Based on this ratio and predicted declines of genetic variation at different population sizes, target sizes for reintroduced or recovered populations of each species should be ≥5,000 individuals (Ne=250) and ≥10,000 individuals (Ne=500), respectively, and should be comprised of multiple smaller demes spread throughout a river. Populations of both species are currently large enough to sustain harvest for translocation and reintroduction purposes, offering an effective species recovery strategy. / Ph. D.