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Tree holes as habitat for aquatic and terrestrial invertebrates in mixed broadleaf-podocarp rainforest, New ZealandBlakely, Tanya Jillaine January 2008 (has links)
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.
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Cellular Basis of Sponge-Sponge AssociationsUnknown Date (has links)
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
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Distribution of nearshore macroinvertebrates in lakes of the northern Cascade Mountains, Washington, USAHoffman, Robert L. 02 March 1994 (has links)
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
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Tree holes as habitat for aquatic and terrestrial invertebrates in mixed broadleaf-podocarp rainforest, New ZealandBlakely, Tanya Jillaine January 2008 (has links)
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.
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Spatial and seasonal variations of freshwater macroinvertebrates, odonata and waterbirds in Luk Keng marshland, Hong KongCheung, Ka-wing, January 2008 (has links)
Thesis (M. Phil.)--University of Hong Kong, 2009. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 100-125) Also available in print.
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The infaunal trophic index, a functional approach to benthic community analyses /Word, Jack Q. January 1990 (has links)
Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Washington, 1990. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves [215]-237).
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Aquatic invertebrate-habitat relationships and stream channel cross section area change in response to streamside management zones in North Central Mississippi /Luecker, Terry A. January 2004 (has links)
Thesis (M.S.)--Oregon State University, 2005. / Printout. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 51-55). Also available on the World Wide Web.
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Effects of the herbicide silvex (PGBEE) on farm pond fishes and invertebratesPrice, Keith Clayton, January 1967 (has links)
Thesis (M.S.)--Louisiana State University. / Vita. Bibliography: leaves 55-56.
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Long-term implications of dam removal for mesohabitat and macroinvertebrate communities in Michigan and Wisconsin riversHansen, Jonathan Ford. January 2008 (has links)
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.
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The benthic macroinvertebrate survey of Butternut Creek, Otsego County, New York /Stensland, Michael F. January 2005 (has links) (PDF)
Thesis (M.A.)--State University of New York College at Oneonta, 2005. / Typescript. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 46-49).
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