Upland forests in the southeastern United States (U.S.) were once dominated by the pyrogenic longleaf pine (Pinus palustris)-bunchgrass ecosystem that extended south from Virginia to Florida and west to East Texas. Historical land management has reduced the dominance of this ecosystem and today it occupies less than 3% of its original range. Restoration of the longleaf pine-bunchgrass ecosystem in the mesic flatwoods along the Gulf Coastal Plain of the southeastern U.S. has become a common habitat-recovery goal of public land managers, including those responsible for the Apalachicola National Forest (ANF). This research project explores potential techniques to accomplish this goal. There are three objectives: (1) to document changes in the extent of the longleaf pine-bunchgrass ecosystem in transition zones between the pine uplands and the hardwood wetlands of the ANF; (2) to test the importance of canopy retention in the transmission of fire across the landscape during conversion from slash pine (Pinus elliottii) plantations to longleaf pine forest; and (3) to test whether slash pine plantations can be successfully interplanted with longleaf pine seedlings. Overall, the study involved interactions between longleaf pine and fire in the ANF of northern Florida. Without frequent fire, the longleaf ecosystem can enter into what Lindenmayer et al. (2011) call, a "landscape trap," where ecological processes can no longer maintain the original forest type. A comparison of recent and old (1937) aerial photographs reveal that 32,000 hectares [ha] (80,000 acres [ac]) of the wet, grassy flats on the edges of the pine flatwoods have been invaded by shrubs, to become a shrub-dominated community. These shrubs, which are mostly titi (Cyrilla racemiflora and Cliftonia monophylla), have expanded primarily in sites with a greater than three-year fire-return interval. Restoration of the longleaf pine-bunchgrass ecosystem appears to need a <3-year fire-return interval if the processes favoring bunch grasses in the ground cover are to be maintained. For decades, forest managers in the southeastern U.S. have replaced natural longleaf pine communities with high-production slash pine plantations. I contend that restoration of longleaf pine in slash pine plantations will require retention of a fraction of the current slash pine canopy to produce enough needle cast to carry ground fire through the stand. In cooperation with the U.S. Forest Service, I monitored the results of 3 timber treatments in slash pine plantations. These experiments found that removal of the canopy reduces fire transmission. When all canopy trees were experimentally removed, only 12% of the landscape burned; whereas, 80% burned with only 33% canopy reduction. On the forest floor, partial retention of the slash pine canopy contributed ecological attributes similar to a longleaf canopy by promoting frequent low-intensity fires and creating ground cover conditions favoring herbaceous species. Where ground cover was primarily herbaceous, mortality of longleaf seedlings from fire averaged 8%, while in areas dominated by woody-vegetation, the average mortality was 30%. Canopy gaps also affected fire intensity and seedling mortality. In the 33% canopy reduction treatment, 23% of the seedlings were killed by fire, while in the large gaps only 12% were killed. Frequent low-intensity fires thus allow survival of the longleaf seedlings and promote herbaceous ground cover. Land managers generally consider longleaf pine to be a shade-intolerant species; therefore, they design restoration programs to maximize the growth rate of seedlings. In this experiment however, growth occurred in all canopy conditions. In the large gaps, with three years of growth, the seedlings increased their root-collar diameter by 190% to a mean diameter of 26.3 mm, and 96% under the 33% canopy reduction to a mean diameter of 18 mm in the same three years. In sum, while planting under the canopy does not maximize longleaf pine growth, it keeps a canopy, avoids clear-cutting, promotes fire, and allows ground cover restoration. Interplanting in combination with burning is an effective way to restore longleaf pine and avoid the shrubland landscape trap. / A Dissertation submitted to the Department of Biological Science in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. / Summer Semester, 2014. / June 23, 2014. / Fire, Landscape Trap, Longleaf Pine, Slash Pine, Underplanting / Includes bibliographical references. / Walter R. Tschinkel, Professor Directing Dissertation; Tingting Zhao, University Representative; Frances C. James, Committee Member; Thomas E. Miller, Committee Member; Austin R. Mast, Committee Member.

The streptococci, as a group, are gram positive cocci which occur in pairs or chains; they are nonmotile, nonsporing, and catalase negative. Most species are facultative anaerobes, and a few are obligate anaerobes. They are chemorganotrophs producing lactic acid as an end product of glucose metabolism. The G + C (guanine + cytosine) content reported for 15 species is 33-42% (Diebel and Seeley, 1974). The genus Streptococcus includes a large number of saprophytic, pathogenic and non pathogenic species. Many of these bacteria are members of the normal body flora. However, man is very susceptible to the pathogenic members, and no organ in the body is completely immune to streptococcal infections. As a result, streptococci cause a greater variety of clinical manifestations than any other genus of bacteria. As far as it known, no biochemical, physiological, or antibiogram pattern studies have been done on streptococci from Stockton or other parts of California. Therefore it is the purpose of this investigation to biochemically and physiologically characterize primarily extra-respiratory streptococcal isolates, study their antibiogram patterns, and relate these characteristics to each other and to other patterns reported in the United States.

The family Maldanidae is a group of sedentary polychaetes having a cylindrical body with elongate, but relatively few segments. The prostomium has a dorsal pair of nuchal organs and may have eye-spots ventrally; true appendages are absent. The mouth opens ventrally on the peristomium and has an extrusible sacciform proboscis. The pygidium may be plate-shaped, funnel shaped with an internal cone, or simply cone-shaped. All maldanids inhabit tubes of sand or mud, and subject to the limitations and advantages of this habjtat.

The taxa of the Allium obtusum complex were examined morphologically, chromosomally, and with the use of the scanning electron microscope, Additional field studies included ultraviolet photography, caging experiments, and collection of insect visitors. Based on the cumulative information gathered during this investigation, of the 7 taxa previously proposed in this complex, 4 are considered to be valid: A. cratericola, A. obtusum, A. tribracteatum, and A. yosemitense, A new variety of A. obtusum, var, robustum is described. The base chromosome number among all members of the complex is seven, All species are diploid (2n=14), except for one population of A. cratericola which was found to be tetraploid (2n=28). Scanning electron microscope studies demonstrated the usefulness of outer bulb coat reticulation as a taxonomic character in differentiating between the species of the complex. Preliminary data collected during field investigations suggest that the strong absorption of ultraviolet radiation by all members of the complex relative to their reflecting soils may act as a visual cue to insects whose visual spectrum includes UV, Furthermore, in mature flowers the sexual parts of the inflorescence were found to be reflective under UV, perhaps acting as a guide to foraging insects. Caging experiments revealed that all members of the complex are capable of seed set in the absence of insect visitors. It was found, however, that the relative number of seeds produced was significantly higher among control populations. From the cumulative evidence obtained from these various approaches, supported by morphological resemblances, it can be concluded that the Allium obtusum complex represents a distinct and homogeneous assemblage of interrelated species and varieties.

The present study of Rana catesbeinana includes an analysis of the following throughout the course of post-embryonic development: the change in GI tract length and weight; the relative surfactant activity of the bile; the change in major bile pigments. The most rapid and profound morphological and physiological transitions occur during the period of metamorphic climax. Because no information relative to change in anurans is available during this period, particular emphasis is placed upon the examination of individuals during metamorphic climax.

The recent realization that coagulase-negative staphylococci are of medical importance led to a number of studies which attempt to characterize them more adequately. These studies have shown that the coagulase-negative staphylococci represent a “complex” of several species. Kloos and Schleifer, who are credited with the major effort to characterize the group, list (1975b) nine species: S. epidermidis, S. saprophyticus, S. capitis, S. cohnii, S. haemolyticus, S. hominis, S. simulans, S. wylosus, and S. warneri. Hajek (1976) added a new one, S. intermedius, isolated from animals; Kloos et al. (1976b) described S. sciuri, and Deviese et al. (1978) transferred Micrococcus hyicus to the genus Staphylococcus, for a total of 12 species. Kloos and Schleifer (1975b) introduced a simplified scheme in the form of a flow chart (Figure 1) for routine identification of nine of these staphylococci. In OCtober of 1980 I began a study of this group with the purpose of conducting biochemical tests on clinical isolates from Stockton, California and, hopefully, expanding and updating the system that was introduced by Kloos and Schleifer. My system, henceforth referred to as the L-K Scheme, utilizes biochemical tests already available in clinical laboratories. Its purpose was to determine if the isolates used in this study can be placed in homogeneous groups.

Pygospio elegans Claparede (1863) is a relatively small, inconspicuous intertidal Spionid polychaete (10 to 15 mm in length) having approximately 50 to 60 body segments. The species occurs in high intertidal sand flats along the central California coast. Pygospio elegans is one of three species of the genus Pygospio, with the other being, P. california Hartman (1936) which is found only along the central California coast and P. dubia Munro (1930), from Antarctic seas. P. elegans is the most cosmopolitan of the three species (Clay, 1967; Light, 1978). The species has been recorded from both sides of the Atlantic Ocean; in the western part from Nova Scotia to Massachusetts and in Europe from the Mediterranean to the Baltic, Norwegian Archipelago and Barents Sea. It has been cited from South Africa, in the North Pacific Ocean, from the Sea of Okhotsk and Prudhoe Bay, Alaska. As a successful cosmopolitan species, P. elegans has demonstrated its ability to accomplish two objectives: (1) it has colonized new habitats and (2) it has been to withstand perturbations of its local habitat and become, in some cases numerically dominant. The purpose of this study was to investigate the ways and means by which P. elegans has been able to accomplish these objectives.

Phenylbutazone was first synthesized in 1946 by H. Stenzyl during his investigation on pyrazole and pyrazoline derivatives. Although these compounds had been studied during the previous fifty years, the pharmacological properties were only recently recognized. It has been used clinically since 1952. Two other pharmaceutical agents of the pyrazole group are phenazone and amidopyrine; these were used as early as the nineteenth century. While phenazone and aminopyrine have basic properties, phenylbutazone exhibits distinctly acidic ones and is capable of forming salts with organic and inorganic bases. In order to achieve a more basic understanding of how phenylbutazone produces effects, the following brief survey of the work that has been done with this compound is presented.

Diadema antillarum (Philippi) is a common echinoid grazer in Caribbean reef areas. Field observations in st . Croix, u.s.v.r. an.d Disc. overy Bay, Jamaica and laboratory experiments demonstrate that these urchins have a strong feeding preference for algal turf. Seasonal variation in the abundance of this preferred food item results in increased incidences of live coral predation. Experimental manipulations demonstrate that over the short term food availability is more important than urchin density in determining prey item choice. Size and abundance data show an inverse relationship between urchin density and mean individual urchin size. There is also an inverse relationship between urchin density and algal turf abundance. This relationship is also shown experimentally as well as the effects of urchin grazing intensity on algal primary productivity and the numbers of algal species surviving. Tagging experiments demonstrate that homing behavior exists for these urchins. A simple model is presented to summarize factors regulating Diadema populations and their effects on the benthic algal community.

Aspects of the Pisaster-Tegula interaction are re-examined. Reproductive portions of T. funebrallis populations are shown to be immune to seastar predation through a combination of predator preference for larger snails and a withdrawal behavior that favors the escape of smaller snails after capture by a seastar . Experimental addition of p. ochraaceus in winter causes changes in the intertidal distribution of T. funebralis similar to those observed during the summer increase in seastar numbers. It is suggested that these results supplant the hypothesis that lowered prereproductive mortality influences formation and maintenance of vertical size gradients in the lower intertidal .