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Title: Larval development and population aspects of the reef-building polychaete Phragmatopoma lapidosa from the east coast of Florida.
Creator: Eckelbarger, Kevin J., Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institute
Date Issued: 1976
PURL: http://purl.flvc.org/FCLA/DT/3174429
Subject Headings: Plankton, Larvae, Population, Polychaeta, Reef ecology
Format: Document (PDF)

Title: POPULATION ECOLOGY AND VITAL RATES OF APPLE SNAILS (POMACEA SPP.) IN WETLANDS.
Creator: Barrus, Nathan T., Dorn, Nathan J., Florida Atlantic University, Department of Biological Sciences, Charles E. Schmidt College of Science
Abstract/Description: In this thesis, I explored the abiotic and biotic factors that explain the variation in reproduction, survival, and individual growth of the Florida Apple Snail (Pomacea paludosa), and I combined reproduction, survival, and individual growth to determine the factors limiting Florida Apple Snail populations. First, I examined how the variation in reproduction of the Florida Apple Snail and another non-native congener (P. maculata) can be explained by depth, temperature, photoperiod, and adult...
Show moreIn this thesis, I explored the abiotic and biotic factors that explain the variation in reproduction, survival, and individual growth of the Florida Apple Snail (Pomacea paludosa), and I combined reproduction, survival, and individual growth to determine the factors limiting Florida Apple Snail populations. First, I examined how the variation in reproduction of the Florida Apple Snail and another non-native congener (P. maculata) can be explained by depth, temperature, photoperiod, and adult densities. I also examined how metaphyton total phosphorus (TP) influenced individual growth rates of both species. I found that P. paludosa optimally reproduce in shallower water than P. maculata, that both species respond positively to increased metaphyton TP, and that P. paludosa respond weaker to variation in metaphtyon TP than P. maculata. Then, I examined individual growth across seasons, and examined how size-dependent survival varied across seasons in and out of the presence predators. I also investigated predators that strongly influence survival rates. I found that individual growth was slower in the dry season than the wet season, that survival was not size-dependent nor seasonal when predators were excluded from cages, and that survival was size-dependent in the dry season but not the wet season when in the presence of predators. Greater Sirens and Giant Water Bugs were found to be strong predators of P. paludosa < 10 mm Shell Length (SL), Greater Siren and Giant Water Bugs seasonal abundances were responsible for the differences in size-dependent survival across seasons. Finally, I incorporated differences in ideal hydrological and temperature conditions for reproduction, seasonal differences in individual growth, and changes in survival in and out of the presence of predators onto a zero-population growth isocline. I found that optimal hydrological and temperature conditions, and increased growth in the dry season, could not make up for losses of snails < 10 mm SL by predators which suggested that predators are limiting P. paludosa populations in our study area.
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Date Issued: 2022
PURL: http://purl.flvc.org/fau/fd/FA00013919
Subject Headings: Florida applesnail, Population ecology, Everglades (Fla.)
Format: Document (PDF)

Title: A comparison of the fish populations and habitat in open and closed salt marsh impoundments in east—central Florida.
Creator: Gilmore, R. G., Cooke, D. W., Donohoe, Christopher J., Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institute
Date Issued: 1982
PURL: http://purl.flvc.org/FCLA/DT/3340754
Subject Headings: Salt marshes--Florida, Salt marsh ecology--Florida, Fish populations
Format: Document (PDF)

Title: Holothurians (Echinodermata: Holothuroidea). Memoirs of the hourglass cruises.
Creator: Miller, John E., Pawson, David L., Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institute
Date Issued: 1984
PURL: http://purl.flvc.org/fcla/dt/3362549
Subject Headings: Echinodermata --Mexico, Gulf of., Sea cucumber populations., Sea cucumbers--Ecology., Holothuroidea
Format: Document (PDF)

Title: The comparative structure of two western Atlantic reef-fish assemblages.
Creator: Alevizon, W. S., Brooks, M. G., Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institute
Date Issued: 1975
PURL: http://purl.flvc.org/FCLA/DT/3174428
Subject Headings: Coral reef fishes, Fish populations, Species diversity, Coral reef ecology, Sponges
Format: Document (PDF)

Title: Fishes of Savannas Preserve State Park.
Creator: McKee, Kristy., Harriet L. Wilkes Honors College
Abstract/Description: Freshwater marshes are a harsh wetland ecosystem classified by seasonal water level fluctuation. Dry down periods are common in some marshes, making life difficult for fish and other aquatic organisms. The goal of this study was to compile an updated species list of fishes inhabiting the freshwater marsh system within Savannas Preserve State Park. Twenty-three fish species were collected between August 2005 and May 2007. This survey, along with past collections, and the current species list...
Show moreFreshwater marshes are a harsh wetland ecosystem classified by seasonal water level fluctuation. Dry down periods are common in some marshes, making life difficult for fish and other aquatic organisms. The goal of this study was to compile an updated species list of fishes inhabiting the freshwater marsh system within Savannas Preserve State Park. Twenty-three fish species were collected between August 2005 and May 2007. This survey, along with past collections, and the current species list in the park's management plan were used to make a new proposed species list. Three species of nonnative fishes were observed during the study, the first report of exotic fishes in the park. It is believed that abnormally high water levels for an extended period may have allowed the water in neighboring canals to connect to the marsh system and, as a result, new species were able become introduced in the park.
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Date Issued: 2007
PURL: http://purl.flvc.org/FAU/40970
Subject Headings: Savannas Preserve State Park (Fla.), Ecology, Fishes, Identification, Population biology
Format: Document (PDF)

Title: Charter School Closures in Florida, 2006-2016: A Population Ecology Perspective.
Creator: Jameson, Jorene, Nyhan, Ronald C., Florida Atlantic University, College for Design and Social Inquiry, School of Public Administration
Abstract/Description: As part of the education reforms of the 1990s, charter schools were proposed as a private alternative to public education, offering parents and their children greater choices. Publicly financed but privately operated, charter schools have now grown in numbers and influence. While there are many studies of student outcomes in charter schools demonstrating mixed results, one negative outcome of charter schools has been less examined. Since inception, 23% of charter schools nationally have...
Show moreAs part of the education reforms of the 1990s, charter schools were proposed as a private alternative to public education, offering parents and their children greater choices. Publicly financed but privately operated, charter schools have now grown in numbers and influence. While there are many studies of student outcomes in charter schools demonstrating mixed results, one negative outcome of charter schools has been less examined. Since inception, 23% of charter schools nationally have closed and these closures are disruptive to parents, children, and their school districts. This paper addresses charter school closures from an organizational perspective. Applying theory from population ecology and resource dependency theory, the population of nonprofit charter schools is examined. What are the primary determinants of charter school success and failure? Florida, with the third highest number of charter schools nationally and, at the same time, the highest number of charter school closures in the United States, is a paradox. This study identifies the significant variables that are related to school survival and failure in the state of Florida over the years 2015-16 through 2015-16. Variables tested in this study, using Survival Analysis (SA), include age, management structure, size, school performance, grants, and density. All variables except density at founding were significant in explaining the unique variance in survival rates among charters. Charter schools sub-contracted by for-profit educational management organizations (EMOs) were larger, achieved higher grades, secured more grants and achieved higher survival rates than their counterpart nonprofit, independent, and charter management organization (CMO) led schools. These results contribute to our understanding of charter school survival and failure, thereby informing public policy options to strengthen the charter school population and the nation’s public education system overall.
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Date Issued: 2017
PURL: http://purl.flvc.org/fau/fd/FA00004982, http://purl.flvc.org/fau/fd/FA00004972
Subject Headings: Dissertations, Academic -- Florida Atlantic University, Charter schools--Florida., Population ecology., Public policy.
Format: Document (PDF)

Title: Dietary niche relationships of white ibis, tricolored heron and snowy egret nestlings in the northern Everglades.
Creator: Boyle, Robin A., Charles E. Schmidt College of Science, Department of Biological Sciences
Abstract/Description: Food availability is the primary factor affecting the reproductive success in many species of birds. Diet composition can indicate diet quality, habitat use and niche requirements for breeding birds and may be variable across short and long-term time scales. Identifying primary prey types of nesting wading birds is important for the hydrologic restoration of wetlands. I collected nestling boluses during the 2008 and 2009 nesting seasons from three species of wading birds that nest in the...
Show moreFood availability is the primary factor affecting the reproductive success in many species of birds. Diet composition can indicate diet quality, habitat use and niche requirements for breeding birds and may be variable across short and long-term time scales. Identifying primary prey types of nesting wading birds is important for the hydrologic restoration of wetlands. I collected nestling boluses during the 2008 and 2009 nesting seasons from three species of wading birds that nest in the northern Everglades: White Ibis, Tricolored Herons and Snowy Egrets. White Ibis bolus composition was dominated by crayfish in both years, but exhibited some variation with landscape water depth in 2009; fish use was greatest when the wetland landscape was relatively dry. In contrast, the prey of Tricolored Herons and Snowy Egrets were primarily fish and their respective diets did not differ from one another in either fish species composition or size structure.
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Date Issued: 2010
PURL: http://purl.flvc.org/FAU/2953207
Subject Headings: Wetland ecology, Bird populations, Water birds
Format: Document (PDF)

Title: Constraints of landscape level prey availability on physiological condition and productivity of great egrets and white ibises in the Florida Everglades.
Creator: Herring, Garth, Florida Atlantic University, Charles E. Schmidt College of Science, Department of Biological Sciences
Abstract/Description: Life history strategy suggests long lived bird species will adjust their nesting effort according to current conditions, balancing the costs of reproduction with their long-term needs for survival and future reproduction. The habitat conditions that produce these responses may differ between species, even within the same ecosystem, producing different nesting and population trends. I traced the pathway by which food availability influences the physiological condition of pre-breeding great...
Show moreLife history strategy suggests long lived bird species will adjust their nesting effort according to current conditions, balancing the costs of reproduction with their long-term needs for survival and future reproduction. The habitat conditions that produce these responses may differ between species, even within the same ecosystem, producing different nesting and population trends. I traced the pathway by which food availability influences the physiological condition of pre-breeding great egrets and white ibises through to reproductive measures, and the physiological condition of chicks. I focused on these two species with contrasting foraging strategies, in relation to foraging and habitat conditions to maximize the likelihood of application of these results to other wading bird species. Experimental food supplementation and physiology research on white ibis chicks demonstrated that in years with low prey availability white ibis were food limited, with increased levels of stress protein 60 and fecal corticosterone. This is the first study to demonstrate experimentally the response of stress protein 60 to changing levels of food availability. During a year with low prey availability (2007) white ibis adults and chick physiological condition was lower than that of great egrets. During the same year, fledging success was lower for both species (20% for white ibis versus 27% for great egret) but the magnitude of the decrease was particularly severe for the white ibis (76% decline versus 66% decline for the great egret). Results suggest white ibises modify their clutch size during years with poor habitat in accordance with life history traits of a long-lived species, whereas great egrets maintained their clutch size during years with poor habitat., Increasing recession rates, hydrological reversals, and prey densities influenced white ibis, whereas great egrets were most influenced by prey densities and recession rates, with no effect of hydrological reversal. During the same year, fledging success was lower for both species (20% for white ibis versus 27% for great egret) but the magnitude of the decrease was particularly severe for the white ibis (76% decline versus 66% decline for the great egret). Results suggest white ibises modify their clutch size during years with poor habitat in accordance with life history traits of a long-lived species, whereas great egrets maintained their clutch size during years with poor habitat. Increasing recession rates, hydrological reversals, and prey densities influenced white ibis, whereas great egrets were most influenced by prey densities and recession rates, with no effect of hydrological reversals. This study is the first to make the link between landscape hydrology patterns, prey availability, and responses in wading bird nesting. These linkages provide critical insight into how species' nesting patterns could differ given the same time and spatial constraints and how that may be related to long-term nesting trends. This knowledge could ultimately lead to novel predictions about population and community patterns of wetland birds.
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Date Issued: 2008
PURL: http://purl.flvc.org/FAU/77643
Subject Headings: Bird populations, Water birds, Wetland ecology
Format: Document (PDF)

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.
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Date Issued: 2008
PURL: http://purl.flvc.org/FAU/172667
Subject Headings: Water birds, Habitat, Habitat selection, Bird populations, Wetland ecology
Format: Document (PDF)

Title: The role of seed dispersal in mediating competition between two temperate understory plant populations, Cornus florida and Lindera benzoin, in a Pennsylvania state park.
Creator: Vejdani, Vivianne, Florida Atlantic University, Wille, Luc T.
Abstract/Description: This study examines the demographic status of two co-occurring plant populations, Cornus florida and Lindera benzoin, with a stage matrix population projection model, and the potential for a competitive advantage in endozoochorous seed dispersal for L. benzoin in the quantity of seeds dispersed, the quality of seed dispersal, or a combination of the two. A plant pathology analysis indicates that the C. florida population has been impacted by the fungal pathogen Discula destructiva . The...
Show moreThis study examines the demographic status of two co-occurring plant populations, Cornus florida and Lindera benzoin, with a stage matrix population projection model, and the potential for a competitive advantage in endozoochorous seed dispersal for L. benzoin in the quantity of seeds dispersed, the quality of seed dispersal, or a combination of the two. A plant pathology analysis indicates that the C. florida population has been impacted by the fungal pathogen Discula destructiva . The population model predicts a decline in the C. florida population and an increase in the L. benzoin population. Seed removal experiments revealed that significantly more seeds of L. benzoin were removed by insects, presumably ants. This could represent an important advantage for L. benzoin in the quality of seed dispersal. However, L. benzoin is likely also benefiting by the increase in colonization opportunities that are provided as individuals of C. florida succumb to D. destructiva.
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Date Issued: 2006
PURL: http://purl.flvc.org/fcla/dt/13398
Subject Headings: Plant populations--Pennsylvania, Insect-plant relationships--Pennsylvania, Insects--Ecology
Format: Document (PDF)

Title: Anurans of Abacoa.
Creator: Vuong, Wei Mien., Harriet L. Wilkes Honors College
Abstract/Description: The construction of Abacoa included an attempt to conserve the wildlife in a Greenway, a set of habitats separated from the residential and commercial areas. All of the wetlandswith in Abacoa represent artificially constructed ponds, canals, and streams first created from 1998-2004. The present study focuses on the anuran (i.e., frog and toad) populations and looks at the number of different species that have naturally colonized six differnet sites around Abacoa. Each of these sites varies in...
Show moreThe construction of Abacoa included an attempt to conserve the wildlife in a Greenway, a set of habitats separated from the residential and commercial areas. All of the wetlandswith in Abacoa represent artificially constructed ponds, canals, and streams first created from 1998-2004. The present study focuses on the anuran (i.e., frog and toad) populations and looks at the number of different species that have naturally colonized six differnet sites around Abacoa. Each of these sites varies in qualities that may affect the probability of breeding in that section. The quality of water is known to be less ideal as the water flows away from the headwaters and mixes with water from other sources. This study aims to determine which anuran species are found at each of these sites after nearly a decade of colonization, and how both anuran diversity and abundance correlates with water and habitat quality.
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Date Issued: 2012
PURL: http://purl.flvc.org/FAU/3359327
Subject Headings: Wildlife conservation, Amphibian populations, Restoration ecology, Anura, Habitat, Amphibians, Ecology, Amphibians, Conservation
Format: Document (PDF)

Title: Climate change and the molecular ecology of arctic marine mammals.
Creator: O'Corry-Crowe, Gregory
Date Issued: 2008
PURL: http://purl.flvc.org/FCLA/DT/1055929
Subject Headings: Marine mammals --Arctic regions., Wildlife management --Arctic regions., Mammal populations --Arctic regions., Molecular ecology., Climatic changes --Arctic regions.
Format: Document (PDF)

Title: Factors Affecting Wading Bird Prey Concentrations in the Everglades During the Dry Season.
Creator: P. Brian Garrett, Gawlik, Dale E., Florida Atlantic University
Abstract/Description: One factor that potentially controls the distribution and density of wading bird prey within open-water marsh habitats during seasonal drying events is the amount of available aquatic habitat, which is partly a function of the amount of microtopographic relief at a given location. To determine how microtopographic relief affects prey concentrations during dry-downs a simulation model was developed and run using empirical microtopographic data collected from the Everglades. The simulation...
Show moreOne factor that potentially controls the distribution and density of wading bird prey within open-water marsh habitats during seasonal drying events is the amount of available aquatic habitat, which is partly a function of the amount of microtopographic relief at a given location. To determine how microtopographic relief affects prey concentrations during dry-downs a simulation model was developed and run using empirical microtopographic data collected from the Everglades. The simulation suggests that those locations within the marsh with higher levels of microtopographic relief concentrate prey earlier during the dry-down period and potentially to greater densities overall. In addition, a model selection analysis was performed on field data to determine which set of factors displayed the greatest effects upon prey concentrations during drydown events. When examining the best selected a priori model it appears that the amount of available aquatic habitat, water depth, and macrophyte density have the strongest affects upon concentrations of prey during a seasonal drying event.
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Date Issued: 2007
PURL: http://purl.flvc.org/fau/fd/FA00000769
Subject Headings: Water birds--Florida--Everglades, Wetland ecology--Florida--Everglades, Bird populations--Climatic factors--Florida--Everglades
Format: Document (PDF)

Title: Characteristics Affecting Prey Vulnerability and Avian Habitat Selection in the Florida Everglades.
Creator: Harris, Rachael L., Gawlik, Dale E., Florida Atlantic University
Abstract/Description: The vulnerability of prey to capture plays a fundamental role in determining overall prey availability for wading birds. Structural complexity can act to decrease prey vulnerability and influence foraging habitat selection. To determine how structural complexity can affect habitat selection I conducted a use vs. availability study throughout the Florida Everglades in 2005 and 2006. Results indicated that wading birds chose foraging sites that had less emergent vegetation and a thicker...
Show moreThe vulnerability of prey to capture plays a fundamental role in determining overall prey availability for wading birds. Structural complexity can act to decrease prey vulnerability and influence foraging habitat selection. To determine how structural complexity can affect habitat selection I conducted a use vs. availability study throughout the Florida Everglades in 2005 and 2006. Results indicated that wading birds chose foraging sites that had less emergent vegetation and a thicker flocculent layer relative to random sites. Submerged vegetation, and the height of emergent vegetation did not affect wading bird site selection. A difference in habitat selection between years was evident due to hydrological conditions. Ideal hydrological conditions are probably the most important parameter to wading bird success. Other factors affecting prey vulnerability became increasingly important in years of poor hydrology, probably because the penalty for choosing low quality foraging habitat would be greater than in years of more optimal conditions.
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Date Issued: 2007
PURL: http://purl.flvc.org/fau/fd/FA00000754
Subject Headings: Everglades (Fla), South Florida Water Management District (Fla ), Wildlife management--Florida--Everglades, Bird populations--Florida--Everglades, Water birds--Florida--Everglades, Wetland ecology--Florida--Everglades
Format: Document (PDF)

FAU Theses and Dissertations (8)	+ -
HBOI Faculty Contributions (5)	+ -
Honors Student Theses (2)	+ -

Bird populations (3)	+ -
Water birds (3)	+ -
Wetland ecology (3)	+ -
Ecology (2)	+ -
Fish populations (2)	+ -

Habitat (2)	+ -
Water birds--Florida--Everglades (2)	+ -
Wetland ecology--Florida--Everglades (2)	+ -
Amphibian populations (1)	+ -
Amphibians (1)	+ -
Anura (1)	+ -
Bird populations--Climatic factors--Florida--Everglades (1)	+ -
Bird populations--Florida--Everglades (1)	+ -
Charter schools--Florida. (1)	+ -
Climatic changes --Arctic regions. (1)	+ -
Conservation (1)	+ -
Coral reef ecology (1)	+ -
Coral reef fishes (1)	+ -
Dissertations, Academic -- Florida Atlantic University (1)	+ -
Echinodermata --Mexico, Gulf of. (1)	+ -
Everglades (Fla) (1)	+ -
Everglades (Fla.) (1)	+ -
Fishes (1)	+ -
Florida applesnail (1)	+ -
Habitat selection (1)	+ -
Holothuroidea (1)	+ -
Identification (1)	+ -
Insect-plant relationships--Pennsylvania (1)	+ -
Insects--Ecology (1)	+ -
Larvae (1)	+ -

Florida (5)	+ -
Everglades (3)	+ -
Abacoa (1)	+ -

Electronic Thesis or Dissertation (8)	+ -
article (5)	+ -
thesis (2)	+ -

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