Current Search:  Habitat selection (x)

View All Items

  • CSV Spreadsheet
(1 - 10 of 10)
Selection of predator-free settlement sites bylarval ascidians
Title
Selection of predator-free settlement sites bylarval ascidians.
Creator
Young, Craig M., Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institute
Date Issued
1989
PURL
http://purl.flvc.org/fau/fd/FA00007083
Subject Headings
Ascidians, Larvae--Behavior, Habitat selection, Predators
Format
Document (PDF)
Habitat selection among fishes and shrimp in the pelagic Sargassum Community: The role of habitat architecture
Title
Habitat selection among fishes and shrimp in the pelagic Sargassum Community: The role of habitat architecture.
Creator
Bennice, Chelsea, Brooks , W. Randy, Graduate College
Date Issued
2011-04-08
PURL
http://purl.flvc.org/fcla/dt/3164454
Subject Headings
Pelagic fishes, Habitat selection, Sargassum --Sargasso Sea
Format
Document (PDF)
Foraging ecology of wading birds in a sub-tropical intertidal zone
Title
Foraging ecology of wading birds in a sub-tropical intertidal zone.
Creator
Calle, Leonardo, Gawlik, Dale E., Florida Atlantic University, Charles E. Schmidt College of Science, Department of Biological Sciences
Abstract/Description
The first of five chapters describe the study area and study species, including a short description about the impetus for this research. The second chapter describes a unique hydrologic model for application in tidal ecosystems. The second chapter represents new information on the effects of various abiotic and biotic factors on foraging wading birds in this highly dynamic environment. The third chapter identifies important factors affecting the abundance of foraging wading birds in...
Show moreThe first of five chapters describe the study area and study species, including a short description about the impetus for this research. The second chapter describes a unique hydrologic model for application in tidal ecosystems. The second chapter represents new information on the effects of various abiotic and biotic factors on foraging wading birds in this highly dynamic environment. The third chapter identifies important factors affecting the abundance of foraging wading birds in intertidal environments. The fourth chapter presents a study of the foraging habitat preferences of two wading bird species in intertidal environments. The fifth chapter describes a conceptual model of wading bird foraging ecology and a predictive model of foraging habitat in intertidal zones. The conceptual model captures the major drivers and linkages between the abiotic and biotic variables thought to affect wading bird foraging abundance in intertidal habitats. The conceptual model also identifies major knowledge gaps in our understanding of foraging ecology of wading birds in coastal intertidal areas. The predictive model of foraging habitat is meant to be used by resource managers, but its framework may be useful for ecological studies in general. The final and sixth chapter provides a summary of all the major findings. Each chapter has been written so as to be independent of the other chapters. As such, a full background, along with a discussion of the relevance of the chapter's findings is provided for each chapter.
Show less
Date Issued
2014
PURL
http://purl.flvc.org/fau/fd/FA00004087
Subject Headings
Habitat selection, Population biology, Predation (Biology), Water birds -- Geographical distribution, Water birds -- Habitat
Format
Document (PDF)
Selection of canals and ditches as foraging habitat by wood s7374torks (Mycteria americana)
Title
Selection of canals and ditches as foraging habitat by wood s7374torks (Mycteria americana).
Creator
Van Os, Eleanor K., Charles E. Schmidt College of Science, Department of Biological Sciences
Abstract/Description
A challenge to ensure the health of wading bird populations is to have a better understanding of the altered habitats that we must now consider part of their natural history. Throughout their range endangered Wood Storks (Mycteria americana) have been reported to forage in ditches, a disparate category of linear man-made waterways. In a 52-kmP 2 P study area on the east coast of central Florida, the characteristics of hydrologically diverse ditches were quantified, and their use by Wood...
Show moreA challenge to ensure the health of wading bird populations is to have a better understanding of the altered habitats that we must now consider part of their natural history. Throughout their range endangered Wood Storks (Mycteria americana) have been reported to forage in ditches, a disparate category of linear man-made waterways. In a 52-kmP 2 P study area on the east coast of central Florida, the characteristics of hydrologically diverse ditches were quantified, and their use by Wood Storks documented during their non-breeding season. Logistic regression analyses were carried out using the ditch characteristics as independent variables and Wood Stork presence/absence as the dependent variable. This study confirms the use of these marginal wetlands, and identifies the significance of emergent vegetation on the foraging habitat selection of Wood Storks in the dry season.
Show less
Date Issued
2008
PURL
http://purl.flvc.org/FAU/166457
Subject Headings
Water birds, Habitat, Florida, Habitat selection, Animal behavior, Wetland ecology
Format
Document (PDF)
Hierarchical resource selection and movement of two wading bird species with divergent foraging strategies in the Everglades
Title
Hierarchical resource selection and movement of two wading bird species with divergent foraging strategies in the Everglades.
Creator
Beerens, James M., Charles E. Schmidt College of Science, Department of Biological Sciences
Abstract/Description
Seasonal variation in food availability is one of the primary limitations to avian populations, particularly during the breeding season. However, the behavioral responses between species may differ based on foraging strategies. I examined the influence of food availability on landscape-level habitat selection, patch-level habitat selection, and movements of two wading bird species with divergent foraging strategies, the Great Egret and White Ibis. On a landscape scale, there appeared to be a...
Show moreSeasonal variation in food availability is one of the primary limitations to avian populations, particularly during the breeding season. However, the behavioral responses between species may differ based on foraging strategies. I examined the influence of food availability on landscape-level habitat selection, patch-level habitat selection, and movements of two wading bird species with divergent foraging strategies, the Great Egret and White Ibis. On a landscape scale, there appeared to be a relationship among resource availability, the temporal scale of the independent variable, and whether the response was similar or different between species. At the patch level, results demonstrated a relationship between resource availability and the spatial scale of the independent variables selected by birds. Species movements were consistent with the differing strategies. This study is the first to make the link between landscape hydrology patterns, prey availability, and responses in wading bird habitat selection at multiple spatial scales.
Show less
Date Issued
2008
PURL
http://purl.flvc.org/FAU/172667
Subject Headings
Water birds, Habitat, Habitat selection, Bird populations, Wetland ecology
Format
Document (PDF)
effects of water depth and vegetation on wading bird foraging habitat selection and foraging succes in the Everglades
Title
The effects of water depth and vegetation on wading bird foraging habitat selection and foraging succes in the Everglades.
Creator
Lantz, Samantha., Charles E. Schmidt College of Science, Department of Biological Sciences
Abstract/Description
Successful foraging by avian predators is influenced largely by prey availability. In a large-scale experiment at the Loxahatchee Impoundment Landscape Assessment project within the Arthur R. Marshall Loxahatchee National Wildlife Refuge, I manipulated two components of prey availability, water depth and vegetation density (submerged aquatic vegetation and emergent vegetation), and quantified the response by wading birds in terms of foraging habitat selection and foraging success. Manly's...
Show moreSuccessful foraging by avian predators is influenced largely by prey availability. In a large-scale experiment at the Loxahatchee Impoundment Landscape Assessment project within the Arthur R. Marshall Loxahatchee National Wildlife Refuge, I manipulated two components of prey availability, water depth and vegetation density (submerged aquatic vegetation and emergent vegetation), and quantified the response by wading birds in terms of foraging habitat selection and foraging success. Manly's standardized selection index showed that birds preferred shallow water and intermediate vegetation densities. However, the treatments had little effect on either individual capture rate or efficiency. This was a consistent pattern seen across multiple experiments. Birds selected for certain habitat features but accrued little benefit in terms of foraging success. I hypothesize that birds selected sites with shallow water and intermediate vegetation densities because they anticipated higher prey densities, but they did not experience it here because I controlled for prey density.
Show less
Date Issued
2008
PURL
http://purl.flvc.org/FAU/2788592
Subject Headings
Water birds, Habitat, Wetland ecology, Habitat selection, Avian ecology, Wildlife management
Format
Document (PDF)
Foraging Habitat Modeling and Nesting Ecology of Wood Storks in Everglades National Park
Title
Foraging Habitat Modeling and Nesting Ecology of Wood Storks in Everglades National Park.
Creator
Herring, Heidi K., Gawlik, Dale E., Florida Atlantic University
Abstract/Description
Understanding the foraging and nesting ecology of Wood Storks will play an important role in Everglades restoration because this species has specific resource requirements during the breeding season which ultimately affect nest success. I conducted a foraging habitat use and selection study, which indicated that Wood Storks from coastal colonies, Paurotis Pond and Rodgers River Bay, require a narrow range of water depths in the mangrove-saltwater marsh ecotone near their colonies as well in...
Show moreUnderstanding the foraging and nesting ecology of Wood Storks will play an important role in Everglades restoration because this species has specific resource requirements during the breeding season which ultimately affect nest success. I conducted a foraging habitat use and selection study, which indicated that Wood Storks from coastal colonies, Paurotis Pond and Rodgers River Bay, require a narrow range of water depths in the mangrove-saltwater marsh ecotone near their colonies as well in the freshwater marsh habitats of the inland Everglades. Wood Storks nesting at the inland colony, Tamiarni West, relied heavily upon nearby freshwater marsh habitat and selected foraging sites associated with shrub swamp habitat as well as optimal water depths. The observational nesting ecology study of Wood Storks showed marked differences in parental nest attendance and food delivery rates between the two years of study, 2005 and 2006, which had different hydrological patterns.
Show less
Date Issued
2007
PURL
http://purl.flvc.org/fau/fd/FA00000761
Subject Headings
Habitat selection, Animal behavior, Wood stork--Habitat, Bird populations--Florida--Everglades National Park, Everglades National Park (Fla )
Format
Document (PDF)
Utilization distribution as a predictor in modeling black rhino (Diceros bicornis) habitat in Africa's southern Rift Valley
Title
Utilization distribution as a predictor in modeling black rhino (Diceros bicornis) habitat in Africa's southern Rift Valley.
Creator
van der Heiden, Craig., Florida Atlantic University, Volin, John C.
Abstract/Description
An innovative technique of evaluating resource selection for black rhino (Diceros bicornis) was used to assess the population utilization distribution (PUD) within a rhino sanctuary in Liwonde National Park, Malawi. The PUD enabled an evaluation of responses to habitat variables over a spatial gradient of resource selection. A Geographic Information System (GIS) was constructed using vegetation, browse availability, roads, rivers, water holes and satellite imagery. Linear models were...
Show moreAn innovative technique of evaluating resource selection for black rhino (Diceros bicornis) was used to assess the population utilization distribution (PUD) within a rhino sanctuary in Liwonde National Park, Malawi. The PUD enabled an evaluation of responses to habitat variables over a spatial gradient of resource selection. A Geographic Information System (GIS) was constructed using vegetation, browse availability, roads, rivers, water holes and satellite imagery. Linear models were developed to quantify habitat variables within the black rhino sanctuary and park. The sanctuary model was calibrated within a known core area (R^2=0.42, P<0.001), validated in a second area (R^2=0.56, P<0.001) within the sanctuary and, subsequently, used to predict potential black rhino habitat within the remaining sanctuary boundaries. The model for the entire Liwonde National Park predicted additional black rhino habitat (R^2=0.25, P<0.05). Population utilization distribution was found to be a powerful conservation tool for determining suitable black rhino habitat.
Show less
Date Issued
2005
PURL
http://purl.flvc.org/fcla/dt/13296
Subject Headings
Habitat selection--Statistical methods, Liwonde National Park (Malawi), Rift Valley Province (Kenya), Wildlife conservation--Africa, Habitat (Ecology)
Format
Document (PDF)
Population distribution, habitat selection, and life history of the slough crayfish (Procambarus fallax) in the ridge-slough landscape of the central Everglades
Title
Population distribution, habitat selection, and life history of the slough crayfish (Procambarus fallax) in the ridge-slough landscape of the central Everglades.
Creator
Van der Heiden, Craig., Charles E. Schmidt College of Science, Department of Biological Sciences
Abstract/Description
Understanding where and why organisms are distributed in the environment are central themes in ecology. Animals live in environments in which they are subject to competing demands, such as the need to forage, to find mates, to reproduce, and to avoid predation. Optimal habitats for these various activities are usually distributed heterogeneously in the landscape and may vary both spatially and temporally, causing animals to adjust their locations in space and time to balance these conflicting...
Show moreUnderstanding where and why organisms are distributed in the environment are central themes in ecology. Animals live in environments in which they are subject to competing demands, such as the need to forage, to find mates, to reproduce, and to avoid predation. Optimal habitats for these various activities are usually distributed heterogeneously in the landscape and may vary both spatially and temporally, causing animals to adjust their locations in space and time to balance these conflicting demands. In this dissertation, I outline three studies of Procambarus fallax in the ridge-slough landscape of Water conservation Area 3A (WCS-3A). The first section outlines an observational sampling study of crayfish population distribution in a four hectare plot, where I statistically model the density distribution at two spatial scales. ... Secondly, I use radio telemetry to study individual adult crayfish movements at two study sites and evaluate habitat selection using Resource Selection Functions. In the third section, I test the habitat selection theory, ideal free distribution, by assessing performance measures (growth and mortality) of crayfish in the two major vegetation types in a late wet season (November 2007) and early wet season (August 2009).
Show less
Date Issued
2012
PURL
http://purl.flvc.org/FAU/3356890
Subject Headings
Habitat selection, Statistical methods, Fish habitat improvement, Crayfish, Life cycles, Wetland ecology, Habitat (Ecology)
Format
Document (PDF)
Consumptive effects of predatory fish reduce wetland crayfish (Procambarus spp.) recruitment and drive species turnover
Title
Consumptive effects of predatory fish reduce wetland crayfish (Procambarus spp.) recruitment and drive species turnover.
Creator
Kellogg, Christopher M., Charles E. Schmidt College of Science, Department of Biological Sciences
Abstract/Description
Trade-offs in traits conferring success in permanent and ephemeral habitats are often at odds with few species being able to persist in both types of environments. I examined the effect of sunfish predators on two species of south Florida crayfish to establish the mechanism that limits one species, Procambarus alleni, to short-hydroperiod environments. The crayfish assemblage response to a gradient of sunfish predators and the effect of predation on P. fallax alone was examined. I also...
Show moreTrade-offs in traits conferring success in permanent and ephemeral habitats are often at odds with few species being able to persist in both types of environments. I examined the effect of sunfish predators on two species of south Florida crayfish to establish the mechanism that limits one species, Procambarus alleni, to short-hydroperiod environments. The crayfish assemblage response to a gradient of sunfish predators and the effect of predation on P. fallax alone was examined. I also examined the effects of sunfish on crayfish growth and quantified activity levels and risky behaviors of both crayfish species. P. alleni dominated at low sunfish densities but dominance shifted with increasing sunfish density. P. alleni was more active and likely to initiate risky behaviors, suggesting that sunfish predators remove the more active P. alleni, reducing their numbers disproportionally to those of P. fallax and allowing P. fallax to dominate crayfish assemblages in long-hydroperiod wetlands.
Show less
Date Issued
2011
PURL
http://purl.flvc.org/FAU/3171400
Subject Headings
Wetland ecology, Habitat selection, Marine ecosystem management, Predatory marine animals, Ecology
Format
Document (PDF)