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Title: Biological impact caused by changes on a tropical reef.
Creator: Jones, Robert S., Randall, R. H., Wilder, M. J., Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institute
Date Issued: 1976
PURL: http://purl.flvc.org/FCLA/DT/3183785
Subject Headings: Coral reef ecology--Guam, Coral reef ecology --Research, Ecology--Research, Effluent (Sewage)
Format: Document (PDF)

Title: Comments on “Trophic structure and productivity of a windward coral reef community on Eniwetok Atoll” [Ecological Monographs 25 (3) (1955) 291–320].
Creator: Barile, Peter J., Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institute
Date Issued: 2004
PURL: http://purl.flvc.org/FCLA/DT/2848322
Subject Headings: Food chains (Ecology), Coral reef ecology, Coral reefs and islands, Coastal ecology, Benthos
Format: Document (PDF)

Title: The Role of Chemical Cues in Locating Pelagic Sargassum by the Associated Fish Stephanolepis hispidus.
Creator: Cox, Derek, Brooks, W. Randy, Florida Atlantic University, Charles E. Schmidt College of Science, Department of Biological Sciences
Abstract/Description: The ecosystem created by pelagic Sargassum is important in the life histories of a number of economically and ecologically important associated organisms. Fishes play a vital role in this food web and nutrient flow within these systems, but it is unknown how they locate these floating habitats. This study examined the role of natural chemical cues from Sargassum patches and the synthetic chemical Dimethylsulfonionpropionate (DMSP) for an associated fish, the planehead filefish (Stephanolepis...
Show moreThe ecosystem created by pelagic Sargassum is important in the life histories of a number of economically and ecologically important associated organisms. Fishes play a vital role in this food web and nutrient flow within these systems, but it is unknown how they locate these floating habitats. This study examined the role of natural chemical cues from Sargassum patches and the synthetic chemical Dimethylsulfonionpropionate (DMSP) for an associated fish, the planehead filefish (Stephanolepis hispidus) and a control fish species not associated with Sargassum, the masked goby (Coryphopterus personatus). Choice trials with a Y-maze apparatus determined that S. hispidus responded significantly to chemical cues from Sargassum while C. personatus did not. DMSP cues did not result in any significant behavioral responses for either fish. Demonstrating that S. hispidus can respond to chemical cues from Sargassum helps further our understanding of this unique floating algal reef and how fishes may locate it.
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Date Issued: 2016
PURL: http://purl.flvc.org/fau/fd/FA00004684, http://purl.flvc.org/fau/fd/FA00004684
Subject Headings: Animal behavior, Habitat (Ecology), Marine algae, Marine chemical ecology, Predation (Biology), Sargassum -- Ecology
Format: Document (PDF)

Title: THE CRITICAL ROLE OF INTERACTIONS BETWEEN ECOLOGICAL FOUNDATION SPECIES IN STRUCTURING A MANGROVE COMMUNITY.
Creator: Aquino-Thomas, Jessene, Brooks, W. Randy, Proffitt, C. Edward, Florida Atlantic University, Department of Biological Sciences, Charles E. Schmidt College of Science
Abstract/Description: The main objective of this research was to analyze how well my proposed Foundation Species Interaction model explained the benthic communities found on red mangrove (Rhizophora mangle) prop roots. This research investigated the connections between the primary foundation species (mangroves), the dominant secondary foundations species (oysters, sponges, and barnacles), and the resulting biodiversity in order to understand the temporal and spatial variability of the ecosystems at different...
Show moreThe main objective of this research was to analyze how well my proposed Foundation Species Interaction model explained the benthic communities found on red mangrove (Rhizophora mangle) prop roots. This research investigated the connections between the primary foundation species (mangroves), the dominant secondary foundations species (oysters, sponges, and barnacles), and the resulting biodiversity in order to understand the temporal and spatial variability of the ecosystems at different community levels. Chapter 1 was dedicated to explaining my change in ecological theory, the Foundation Species Interaction model. The interactions included in the model between the foundations species that were examined were the mutualistic (+, +), commensal (+, 0), and parasitic (+, -) interactions. Chapter 2 focused on exploration of the mangrove ecosystem in Southeast Florida and establishing where the secondary foundation species and prop root epibionts where found along the latitudinal gradient. The survey investigated the connections between mangroves, the dominant secondary foundations species (e.g. oysters, sponges, and barnacles), and the resulting biodiversity to understand the temporal and spatial variability of the ecosystems at different community levels. Chapter 3 was dedicated to testing the Foundation Species Interaction model’s ability to predict the biodiversity along the latitudinal gradient of the survey. The difference in mangrove prop root communities were largely explained by where the communities laid along the latitudinal gradient and by secondary foundation species presence. The shift from one foundation species to another had sizable effects on biodiversity. Chapter 4 combined the Foundation Species Interaction model with the established predation hypothesis and tested their abilities to explain biodiversity along the latitudinal gradient. This allowed for shifts in community structure to be examined for top-down and bottom-up influences. Predation effects changed along the latitudinal gradient, as the predation effects changed so did the effects of each of the individual foundation species.
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Date Issued: 2020
PURL: http://purl.flvc.org/fau/fd/FA00013561
Subject Headings: Mangrove ecology--Florida, Rhizophora mangle, Red mangrove--Ecology, Biodiversity & ecology
Format: Document (PDF)

Title: INFLUENCE OF HYDROLOGICAL VARIATION ON WADING BIRD DIETS AND REPRODUCTION IN A LACUSTRINE WETLAND.
Creator: Essian, David A., Gawlik, Dale E., Florida Atlantic University, Department of Biological Sciences, Charles E. Schmidt College of Science
Abstract/Description: Wetlandscape topography creates spatial variation in hydroperiod, which in turn creates spatial variation in biotic communities. Such spatiotemporal variation occurs on a large scale in some of the most productive wetlands in the world, including those of south Florida, U.S.A. Wading birds (Pelicaniformes and Ciconiiformes) are iconic, top-level consumers of such ecosystems. Infrequent drying is necessary to maintain the primary nest substrate (Salix caroliniana), and prey availability is...
Show moreWetlandscape topography creates spatial variation in hydroperiod, which in turn creates spatial variation in biotic communities. Such spatiotemporal variation occurs on a large scale in some of the most productive wetlands in the world, including those of south Florida, U.S.A. Wading birds (Pelicaniformes and Ciconiiformes) are iconic, top-level consumers of such ecosystems. Infrequent drying is necessary to maintain the primary nest substrate (Salix caroliniana), and prey availability is regulated by production of prey biomass in the wet season and the subsequent concentration of prey biomass into shallow pools during the dry season. The goal of this dissertation was to explicitly model wading bird nest abundance and survival as functions of water-level fluctuations, which were spatially nested (i.e., the effects of water-level fluctuations that occurred over a large scale were measured separately from the effects of water-level fluctuations that occurred over a small scale). In Chapter 2, I modeled colony-specific effects of wetlandscape water level fluctuations on wading bird nest abundance. Modeling the response at the colony level allowed the inclusion of important parameters that cannot be measured at the wetlandscape scale. For instance, each colony had its own optimal range of lake stage, which depended on local topography. I used the models to predict cumulative nest abundance under six hydrologic scenarios that were based on potential water management actions at Lake Okeechobee. I found that increasing water levels at the lake would marginally benefit the Great Egret but would substantially reduce long-term Snowy Egret and White Ibis populations. In Chapter 3, I modelled spatiotemporal distributions of fish biomass density in Lake Okeechobee’s littoral zone as a function of hierarchically nested hydrological variables. These models were consistent with the dynamic landscape connectivity model previously described in the literature. I modified the models to predict a binomial response which could then be linked to wading bird foraging threshold. The model predictions were used to estimate the number of available patch days during the breeding season, which was highly correlated with the number of nests for the great egret (Ardea alba), the snowy egret (Egretta thula), and the white ibis (Eudocimus albus). In Chapter 4, I used spatial statistics to better understand how interannual variability in resource wave patterns in the littoral zone influenced wading bird nest abundance. I found that more birds nested in years when the drying edge of the marsh moved further across the landscape. Great egret nest survival increased also, but small heron nest survival decreased. This decrease was likely because small herons continued to nest late into the season in years with longer waves, and, as with most bird species, nests that are initiated later in the season. In Chapter 5, I compiled conventional nestling diet data from 5 wading bird species sampled in 4 wetland types from 2010 to 2020 (not every wetland type was sampled in every year). This chapter provides a comprehensive, broad description of wading bird diets in south Florida, and quantifies interspecies, spatial, and interannual variation in nestling diets. By using a model-based approach to quantify the relative biomass of prey species and prey traits in nestling diets, I provide the first diet analysis that is fully reproducible across the large sympatric range of the wading bird species in the study (great egret, snowy egret, tricolored heron [Egretta tricolor], little blue heron [Egretta caerulea], and wood stork [Mycteria americana]).
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Date Issued: 2022
PURL: http://purl.flvc.org/fau/fd/FA00013908
Subject Headings: Wading birds, Wetland ecology, Okeechobee, Lake (Fla.), Lacustrine ecology, Lake ecology--Florida.
Format: Document (PDF)

Title: Estimating the vulnerability of Everglades peat to combustion.
Creator: Johnson, James., Charles E. Schmidt College of Science, Center for Environmental Studies
Abstract/Description: Fire occurrences in the Everglades have increased since hydrologic alterations began, yet the vulnerability of Everglades peat to combustion during wildfires has yet to be determined. Natural fire regimes help maintain ecosystem functions and services and disruptions of natural disturbance regimes can have detrimental impacts, jeopardizing ecosystem health. Severe peat combustion can destroy native vegetation, alter microtopography, and release large amounts of stored carbon into the...
Show moreFire occurrences in the Everglades have increased since hydrologic alterations began, yet the vulnerability of Everglades peat to combustion during wildfires has yet to be determined. Natural fire regimes help maintain ecosystem functions and services and disruptions of natural disturbance regimes can have detrimental impacts, jeopardizing ecosystem health. Severe peat combustion can destroy native vegetation, alter microtopography, and release large amounts of stored carbon into the atmosphere. To create a better understanding of the mechanistic controls on Everglades ground fires, the soil's physical properties within several sites of Water Conservation Area 3 and how changes in water table affect these physical characteristics were determined. Areas disturbed by hydrologic alterations contain higher mineral content and therefore require lower water content to combust when compared to preserved regions. Changes in water tables have a significant effect on soil moisture and lower water tables drastically increase the vulnerability of a region.
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Date Issued: 2012
PURL: http://purl.flvc.org/FAU/3358594
Subject Headings: Ecological engineering, Conservation of natural resources, Fire ecology, Ecology
Format: Document (PDF)

Title: Microbial Aspects of Plant Invasion: An Analysis of Soil Microbial Communities Associated with the Invasive Plant - (Schinus terebinthifolius) Brazilian Pepper Tree Across South-Eastern Florida.
Creator: Dawkins, Karim, Esiobu, Nwadiuto, Florida Atlantic University, Charles E. Schmidt College of Science, Department of Biological Sciences
Abstract/Description: The Brazilian pepper tree (BP, Schinus terebinthifolius), introduced to the United States in the 1800s, has since become a category one invasive plant in Florida, aggressively spreading to 3000 km2 of prime habitat. There is a serious dearth of knowledge on whether the rhizobiome plays any roles in the displacement of native flora and the range expansion of BP. This thesis discusses the well-established plant invasion mechanisms of the BP and highlights key emerging mechanisms and gaps in (a)...
Show moreThe Brazilian pepper tree (BP, Schinus terebinthifolius), introduced to the United States in the 1800s, has since become a category one invasive plant in Florida, aggressively spreading to 3000 km2 of prime habitat. There is a serious dearth of knowledge on whether the rhizobiome plays any roles in the displacement of native flora and the range expansion of BP. This thesis discusses the well-established plant invasion mechanisms of the BP and highlights key emerging mechanisms and gaps in (a) the current understanding of the molecular, below-ground processes of BP invasion and (b) studies on the potential role of microbial interactions in the success of BP invasion already established for other select invasive species, and the intervention of soil metagenomic studies to elucidate plant invasive mechanisms. These poorly studied mechanisms could further explain the aggressive spread and resilience of BP and contribute significantly to the development of effective and sustainable control measures, enabling appropriate strategies for restoring native plants.
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Date Issued: 2016
PURL: http://purl.flvc.org/fau/fd/FA00004697, http://purl.flvc.org/fau/fd/FA00004697
Subject Headings: Brazilian pepper tree, Ecological risk assessment, Forest ecology, Invasive plants -- Ecology, Nonindigenous pests -- Geographical distribution, Plant invasions
Format: Document (PDF)

Title: Effect of salinity on the growth of Vallisneria americana Michx. from the Caloosahatchee Estuary, Florida.
Creator: Doering, Peter H., Chamberlain, Robert H., Donohue, K. M., Steinman, Alan D., Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institute
Date Issued: 1999
PURL: http://purl.flvc.org/FCLA/DT/3183166
Subject Headings: American wildcelery--Ecology, Estuarine plants, Salinity
Format: Document (PDF)

Title: Survey of water quality, oyster reproduction and oyster health status in the St. Lucie Estuary.
Creator: Wilson, C., Scotto, L. E., Scarpa, John, Volety, A., Laramore, Susan E., Haunert, D.
Date Issued: 2005
PURL: http://purl.flvc.org/FCLA/DT/3174059
Subject Headings: Estuaries, Oysters, Reproduction, Water quality, Watershed ecology
Format: Document (PDF)

Title: Deep-water rhodolith distribution, productivity, and growth history at sites of formation and subsequent degradation.
Creator: Littler, Mark M., Littler, Diane S., Hanisak, M. Dennis
Date Issued: 1991
PURL: http://purl.flvc.org/FCLA/DT/3353866
Subject Headings: Red algae, Algae--Ecology, Benthos
Format: Document (PDF)

Title: Growth of Florida fighting conch, Strombus alatus, in recirculating systems.
Creator: Shawl, Amber L., Jenkins, Dave, Davis, Megan, Main, Kevan L.
Date Issued: 2005
PURL: http://purl.flvc.org/FCLA/DT/2100807
Subject Headings: Aquaculture, Queen conch, Marine ecology --Caribbean Area
Format: Document (PDF)

Title: Larval ecology of marine invertebrates: a sesquicentennial history.
Creator: Young, Craig M., Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institute
Date Issued: 1990
PURL: http://purl.flvc.org/FCLA/DT/3352925
Subject Headings: Larvae--Ecology, Marine invertebrates, History
Format: Document (PDF)

Title: Embryology of vestimentiferan tube worms from deep-sea methane/sulfide seeps.
Creator: Young, Craig M., Metaxas, Anna, Tyler, Paul A., Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institute
Date Issued: 1996
PURL: http://purl.flvc.org/FCLA/DT/3183792
Subject Headings: Vestimentiferans, Hydrothermal vent ecology, Embryology, Tube worms
Format: Document (PDF)

Title: Interactions between light and temperature on the physiological ecology of Gracilaria tikvahiae (Gigartinales: Rhodophyta) II. Nitrate uptake and levels of pigments and chemical constituents.
Creator: Lapointe, Brian E., Dawes, Clinton J., Tenore, K. R.
Date Issued: 1984
PURL: http://purl.flvc.org/FCLA/DT/3176749
Subject Headings: Rhodophyta, Gigartinales, Red algae, Physiological ecology
Format: Document (PDF)

Title: The influence of hydrologic variations onphosphorus cycling and retention in a swamp stream ecosystem.
Creator: Yarbro, Laura A., Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institute
Date Issued: 1983
PURL: http://purl.flvc.org/fau/fd/FA00007431
Subject Headings: Swamp ecology, Phosphorus cycle (Biogeochemistry), Wetland hydrology
Format: Document (PDF)

Title: Bryozoan-algal associations in coastal and continental shelf waters of eastern Florida.
Creator: Winston, Judith E., Eiseman, N. J., Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institute
Date Issued: 1980
PURL: http://purl.flvc.org/FCLA/DT/3183151
Subject Headings: Algae, Bryozoa, Algae Ecology, Bryozoa--Morphology
Format: Document (PDF)

Title: Depth regulation in parenchymella larvae of a demosponge: relative roles of skeletogenesis, biochemical changes and behavior.
Creator: Maldonado, Manuel, George, Sophie B., Young, Craig M., Vaquerizo, Isabel, Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institute
Date Issued: 1997
PURL: http://purl.flvc.org/FCLA/DT/3350880
Subject Headings: Larvae--Behavior, Demospongiae, Larvae--Ecology
Format: Document (PDF)

Title: Limits on the bathymetric distribution ofkeratose sponges: a field test in deep water.
Creator: Maldonado, Manuel, Young, Craig M., Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institute
Date Issued: 1998
PURL: http://purl.flvc.org/fau/fd/FA00007237
Subject Headings: Sponges, Sponges--Ecology, Symbiosis, Demospongiae
Format: Document (PDF)

Title: Effects of dietary calcium and substrate on growth and survival of juvenile queen conch (Strombus gigas) cultured for stock enhancement.
Creator: Shawl, Amber L., Davis, Megan
Date Issued: 2006
PURL: http://purl.flvc.org/FCLA/DT/2144514
Subject Headings: Queen conch, Aquaculture, Marine ecology --Caribbean Area
Format: Document (PDF)

Title: Abundance, reproductive seasonality and habitat preferences of amphipod crustaceans in seagrass meadows of Apalachee Bay, Florida.
Creator: Stoner, Allan W., Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institute
Date Issued: 1980
PURL: http://purl.flvc.org/fau/fd/FA00007068
Subject Headings: Amphipoda--Florida, Seagrasses, Reproduction, Habitat (Ecology)
Format: Document (PDF)

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