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The cascading impacts of vegetation on peat soil properties and crayfish survival in the Florida everglades
- Date Issued:
- 2014
- Summary:
- Changes in vegetation may influence the quality and quantity of the underlying organic peat soils and have impacts on faunal populations. My goal was to determine whether shifts from native slough communities to invasive cattail in the Florida Everglades could affect peat characteristics that could cascade to impact the dry season survival of crayfish (Procambarus fallax). I contrasted peat soils from native slough and cattail-invaded sites as alternative dry-season burrowing substrates for crayfish. Cattail peat had higher average bulk density and inorganic content within the first ten centimeters of the soil profile. Crayfish showed marginally greater initial burrowing success in slough peat than in cattail peat but survival was equivalent in both peat soils and high overall. Understanding these indirect linkages between vegetation and crayfish populations in the Everglades can provide insight on the consequences of plant invasion on ecosystem trophic dynamics.
Title: | The cascading impacts of vegetation on peat soil properties and crayfish survival in the Florida everglades. |
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Name(s): |
Chapman, Alexander, author Benscoter, Brian, Thesis advisor Florida Atlantic University, Degree grantor Charles E. Schmidt College of Science Department of Biological Sciences |
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Type of Resource: | text | |
Genre: | Electronic Thesis Or Dissertation | |
Date Created: | 2014 | |
Date Issued: | 2014 | |
Publisher: | Florida Atlantic University | |
Place of Publication: | Boca Raton, Fla. | |
Physical Form: | application/pdf | |
Extent: | 60 p. | |
Language(s): | English | |
Summary: | Changes in vegetation may influence the quality and quantity of the underlying organic peat soils and have impacts on faunal populations. My goal was to determine whether shifts from native slough communities to invasive cattail in the Florida Everglades could affect peat characteristics that could cascade to impact the dry season survival of crayfish (Procambarus fallax). I contrasted peat soils from native slough and cattail-invaded sites as alternative dry-season burrowing substrates for crayfish. Cattail peat had higher average bulk density and inorganic content within the first ten centimeters of the soil profile. Crayfish showed marginally greater initial burrowing success in slough peat than in cattail peat but survival was equivalent in both peat soils and high overall. Understanding these indirect linkages between vegetation and crayfish populations in the Everglades can provide insight on the consequences of plant invasion on ecosystem trophic dynamics. | |
Identifier: | FA00004091 (IID) | |
Degree granted: | Thesis (M.S.)--Florida Atlantic University, 2014. | |
Collection: | FAU Electronic Theses and Dissertations Collection | |
Note(s): | Includes bibliography. | |
Subject(s): |
Crayfish (Ecology) Ecosystem management Everglades National Park (Fla.) Vegetation dynamics -- Florida -- Everglades National Park |
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Held by: | Florida Atlantic University Libraries | |
Sublocation: | Digital Library | |
Links: | http://purl.flvc.org/fau/fd/FA00004091 | |
Persistent Link to This Record: | http://purl.flvc.org/fau/fd/FA00004091 | |
Use and Reproduction: | Copyright © is held by the author, with permission granted to Florida Atlantic University to digitize, archive and distribute this item for non-profit research and educational purposes. Any reuse of this item in excess of fair use or other copyright exemptions requires permission of the copyright holder. | |
Use and Reproduction: | http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/ | |
Host Institution: | FAU | |
Is Part of Series: | Florida Atlantic University Digital Library Collections. |