Global ETD Search
Search theses and dissertations gathered from participating repositories worldwide. Every result links back to the library that holds it. No account is needed.
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Showing 1 to 20 of 29 for “"species traits"”.
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CLIMATE DRIVEN RANGE SHIFTS OF NORTH AMERICAN SMALL MAMMALS: SPECIES’ TRAITS AND PHYLOGENETIC INFLUENCES
… at an unprecedented rate. In response, species’ ranges may shift, tracking optimal climatic conditions. Species-specific differences may produce predictable differences in the extent of range shifts. I evaluated if patterns of predicted responses to climate change were strongly related …
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Temporal trends in stream-fish distributions, and species traits as invasiveness drivers in New River (USA) tributaries
… strategies require knowledge of which introduced species are present and of spatiotemporal trends in the distribution of natives and invaders. In Chapter 2 we developed a quantitative framework to identify spreaders and decliners and estimate invasion chronologies based on a historical fish …
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The legacy of macroevolution: understanding and predicting evolutionary responses to novel environments
Understanding how species will respond to global change is a major challenge for biologists. Two factors that play an important role are evolutionary constraints and contingencies. Evolutionary constraints are limitations on how species can adapt and change imposed by past evolutionary history, …
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From genes to species: Characterizing spatial and temporal variation in frog and toad multidimensional biodiversity
… of anuran life history diversity using species traits. Traits are the measurable attributes of species, and a suite of species traits is used to distinguish ecological strategies found among species. I collated trait data from 411 primary and secondary sources for 106 anuran species …
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Seed predation along an elevational gradient in the Tropical Andes, Peru
The study of plant species response to climate change is primarily a study of plant distributions along environmental gradients, on which biotic interactions exert a large impact. Post-dispersal seed predation is a plant animal interaction that affects the population dynamics, community structure, …
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Effects of Sampling Sufficiency and Model Selection on Predicting the Occurrence of Stream Fish Species at Large Spatial Extents
Knowledge of species occurrence is a prerequisite for efficient and effective conservation and management. Unfortunately, knowledge of species occurrence is usually insufficient, so models that use environmental predictors and species occurrence records are used to predict species occurrence. …
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The Causes and Consequences of Community Disassembly in Human Modified Tropical Forest: Scarabaeine Dung Beetles as a Model System
… of ecological indicator assemblages - suites of species whose presence and abundance in a given area provide a useful gauge for measuring and interpreting changing environmental conditions. This thesis aims to improve our understanding of the patterns, causes and consequences of community …
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Trait-based modeling of larval dispersal in the Gulf of Maine
… dynamics of marine ecosystems. For many marine species, population connectivity is driven by dispersal during a planktonic larval phase. The ability to obtain accurate, affordable, and meaningful estimates of larval dispersal patterns is therefore a key aspect of understanding marine ecosystems. …
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Trait-based modeling of larval dispersal in the Gulf of Maine
… dynamics of marine ecosystems. For many marine species, population connectivity is driven by dispersal during a planktonic larval phase. The ability to obtain accurate, affordable, and meaningful estimates of larval dispersal patterns is therefore a key aspect of understanding marine ecosystems. …
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THE ROBOTFALCON: A NEW METHODOLOGY TO STUDY PREY-PREDATOR INTERACTION AND AN INNOVATIVE BIRD DETERRENCE TOOL
… interactions are among the key processes shaping species traits and the functioning of ecosystems. Predators can influence prey through both lethal and non-lethal effects. The latter are less straightforward and therefore less explored than the former, yet they are expected to be of comparable, if …
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Regional Rarity: Consequences of Dispersal Limitation and Strategies for Reintroduction
<p>Understanding factors that limit species distributions within restored habitats has been a longstanding goal of restoration ecology, particularly with respect to differences between rare and widespread species. Numerous mechanisms have been proposed to contribute to rarity, including species …
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Connections between individual dispersal behavior and the multi-scale distribution of a saproxylic beetle
Species incidence results from a complex interaction among species traits (e.g., mobility and behavior), intra- and inter-specific interactions, quality and configuration of the landscape, and historical events. Determining which factors are most important to incidence is difficult because the …
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Forecasted Afrotropical Forest Responses to Climate Change Diverge from Neotropical Predictions with Consequences for Biodiversity Conservation and Carbon Storage
… and disturbance, I employ diverse data including species inventories, seed rain, species traits, remotely sensed historic climatic data, future climate predictions, and soil nutrient data collected from 134 1-ha plots arrayed in two large-scale observational experiments spanning the central …
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Prescribed Fire Effects on Tree Grades and Wounds on the Monongahela National Forest, WV
Species traits, including but not exclusive to bark thickness and texture, sprouting ability, and litter bulk density and chemistry, may be related to a stem's potential to withstand potential heating from wildland fire. Trees exhibiting similarities for these properties and others may be …
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Freshwater fishes and microplastics in an era of multiple stressors
… are somewhat predictable based on the ecological traits of fishes while knowledge gaps remained around the ecological impacts of microplastic exposure and the potential interactive effects with other stressors. Field studies established baseline microplastic loadings in relation to the …
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Vegetation structure and inferred patterns of functional group attrition in a shrub encroached old field and tallgrass prairie mosaic
… endangered ecosystem and encroachment by woody species threatens many remnants. Insights are needed into the differences in diversity and species and functional group composition along a gradient of woody encroachment to help gauge restoration potential and gain insights into patterns of …
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Impacts of flood-mediated disturbance on species of High Nature Value farmland
… raising concerns about the conservation of species associated with it. One argument is that such HNV species are better described as being dependent on disturbance, and that management practices on HNVf mimics the effects of natural disturbance processes such as herbivory, fire, severe …
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Defining rarity and determining the mechanisms of rarity for North American freshwater fishes
Conserving rare species and protecting biodiversity depends on sound information on the nature of rarity. Rarity is multidimensional, presenting the need for a quantitative classification scheme by which to label species as rare or common. I defined rarity for freshwater fishes based on the range …
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Forest Mortality in Lake Tahoe Basin from 1985-2010: Influences of Forest Type, Stand Density, Topography and Climate
… need for further study into the relative role of species traits, stand characteristics, insect herbivory, and climate for influencing forest mortality at both stand and landscape scales. Variable response to both climate and stand density means that scientists should be cautious about generalizing …
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Plant community assembly and biodiversity: a spatio-temporal perspective
… grassland succession. Both grassland plant species richness and functional trait diversity in grassland sites were to a large extent explained by the land use history of the sites and the availability of grassland habitat in the surrounding historical landscape. It appears that not only is …
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