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Ecosystem health and environmental influences on innate immune function in the loggerhead (Caretta caretta) and green (Chelonia mydas) sea turtle
Title
Ecosystem health and environmental influences on innate immune function in the loggerhead (Caretta caretta) and green (Chelonia mydas) sea turtle.
Creator
Sposato, Patricia L., Milton, Sarah L., Florida Atlantic University, Charles E. Schmidt College of Science, Department of Biological Sciences
Abstract/Description
Loggerhead (Caretta caretta) and green (Chelonia mydas) turtles recruit to nearshore environments as juveniles. These often degraded habitats are associated with emerging diseases such as green turtle fibropapillomatosis (GTFP), however there are few studies on immune function in sea turtles. The objective of this research was to quantify phagocytosis of the innate immune system by flow cytometry and compare levels between animals from a degraded habitat (the Indian River Lagoon, FL) to a...
Show moreLoggerhead (Caretta caretta) and green (Chelonia mydas) turtles recruit to nearshore environments as juveniles. These often degraded habitats are associated with emerging diseases such as green turtle fibropapillomatosis (GTFP), however there are few studies on immune function in sea turtles. The objective of this research was to quantify phagocytosis of the innate immune system by flow cytometry and compare levels between animals from a degraded habitat (the Indian River Lagoon, FL) to a more pristine environment (the Trident Basin, Port Canaveral, FL), and across a range of temperatures. While in vitro temperatures did not alter rates of phagocytosis, it was higher in samples obtained in the summer than winter. Rates of phagocytosis in sea turtles with GTFP and from degraded environments with increased prevalence of GTFP were low compared to animals from the more pristine environment, suggesting that the environment can alter innate immunological function and thus contribute to the development of disease.
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Date Issued
2014
PURL
http://purl.flvc.org/fau/fd/FA00004333, http://purl.flvc.org/fau/fd/FA00004333
Subject Headings
Developmental biology, Ecosystem management -- Florida, Loggerhead turtle -- Habitat -- Environmental aspects, Marine biodiversity conservation, Sea turtles -- Immunology
Format
Document (PDF)
Mangrove Morphological Change Across an Environmental Gradients: Implications for Competitive Ability in a Changing Climate
Title
Mangrove Morphological Change Across an Environmental Gradients: Implications for Competitive Ability in a Changing Climate.
Creator
Standish, Hilary, Proffitt, C. Edward, Florida Atlantic University, Charles E. Schmidt College of Science, Department of Biological Sciences
Abstract/Description
In Florida, mangroves have responded to climate change by slowly migrating northward into traditional salt marsh habitat. However, little is understood about the relationships among mangrove growth form plasticity and environmental conditions. In addition, the effects of the mangrove northward expansion on pre-existing salt marsh communities are unknown, especially any influences of differences in tree morphology. The size, canopy structure, and root structure of the three mangrove species...
Show moreIn Florida, mangroves have responded to climate change by slowly migrating northward into traditional salt marsh habitat. However, little is understood about the relationships among mangrove growth form plasticity and environmental conditions. In addition, the effects of the mangrove northward expansion on pre-existing salt marsh communities are unknown, especially any influences of differences in tree morphology. The size, canopy structure, and root structure of the three mangrove species Rhizophora mangle, Avicennia germinans, and Laguncularia racemosa were measured at six sites along the east coast of Florida. Structural equation modeling was used to evaluate the multivariate relationships between environmental and biotic variables. Mangrove growth form varied widely with environmental variables. The results of this study suggest that R. mangle expansion into salt marsh may rely on interactions with salt marsh and shading as well as on climatic variables, which has implications for future mangrove expansion northward in Florida.
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Date Issued
2016
PURL
http://purl.flvc.org/fau/fd/FA00004759, http://purl.flvc.org/fau/fd/FA00004759
Subject Headings
Mangrove forests--Florida., Mangrove management., Mangrove ecology., Mangrove conservation., Marine ecosystem management--Florida., Coastal zone management--Florida., Forest ecology., Climatic changes--Florida.
Format
Document (PDF)
Generating space-time hypotheses in complex social-ecological systems
Title
Generating space-time hypotheses in complex social-ecological systems.
Creator
Forbes, Dolores J., Xie, Zhixiao, Florida Atlantic University, Charles E. Schmidt College of Science, Department of Geosciences
Abstract/Description
As ecosystems degrade globally, ecosystem services that support life are increasingly threatened. Indications of degradation are occurring in the Northern Indian River Lagoon (IRL) estuary in east central Florida. Factors associated with ecosystem degradation are complex, including climate and land use change. Ecosystem research needs identified by the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment (MA) include the need to: consider the social with the physical; account for dynamism and change; account for...
Show moreAs ecosystems degrade globally, ecosystem services that support life are increasingly threatened. Indications of degradation are occurring in the Northern Indian River Lagoon (IRL) estuary in east central Florida. Factors associated with ecosystem degradation are complex, including climate and land use change. Ecosystem research needs identified by the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment (MA) include the need to: consider the social with the physical; account for dynamism and change; account for complexity; address issues of scale; and focus on ecosystem structure and process. Ecosystems are complex, self-organizing, multi-equilibrial, non-linear, middle-number systems that exist in multiple stable states. Results found are relative to the observation and the frame of analysis, requiring multi-scaled analytical techniques. This study addresses the identified ecosystem research needs and the complexity of the associated factors given these additional constraints. Relativity is addressed through univariate analysis of dissolved oxygen as a measure of the general health of the Northern IRL. Multiple spatial levels are employed to associate social process scales with physical process scales as basin, sub-basins, and watersheds. Scan statistics return extreme value clusters in space-time. Wavelet transforms decompose time-scales of cyclical data using varying window sizes to locate change in process scales in space over time. Wavelet transform comparative methods cluster temporal process scales across space. Combined these methods describe the space-time structure of process scales in a complex ecosystem relative to the variable examined, where the highly localized results allow for connection to unexamined variables.
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Date Issued
2014
PURL
http://purl.flvc.org/fau/fd/FA00004284
Subject Headings
Environmental sciences -- Mathematical models, Indian River (Fla. : Lagoon) -- Environmental aspects, Marine ecosystem management -- Florida -- Indian River (Lagoon), Sustainable development, Wavelets (Mathematics)
Format
Document (PDF)