StFX Scholar (St. Francis Xavier University)
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Heather Ann (MacDougall) Burton
No full textposted: SaltWire, Mar. 30, 2022; funeral arrangements by Dennis Haverstock Funeral Homes; also of South Harbour; stepfather: Frank MacDougal
Cheryl Sandra (MacLeod) Malcolm
No full textposted: SaltWire, Mar. 31, 2022; funeral arrangements by Dennis Haverstock Funeral Home
The biogeographic patterns of rocky intertidal communities along the wave-exposed coast of Nova Scotia, Canada
No full textThis thesis focuses on the biogeography of the rocky intertidal zone of the wave- exposed coast of mainland Nova Scotia, Canada. Nine study locations were established across 415 km of coastline and were used as the geographic range for this thesis. Field surveys were performed at each of these locations once a year for four years from 2014 to 2017 to identify the organisms that make up these communities and their abundances.
This thesis investigates the potential importance of considering subhabitats in a biogeographic analysis of an ecosystem and establishes the subhabitat dependence hypothesis. I performed a biogeographic analysis on the communities of the high intertidal zone of this system to identify the predominant patterns of taxa distribution. Additionally, I compiled existing data from six environmental variables to model what variables (or combination of variables) may be most associated with the biogeographic patterns I identified. This thesis represents a novel investigation of these communities in Nova Scotia as it is the first of its kind to be done in these communities on this coast and looks to address a gap in biogeographic research for this coast.
Biogeographic studies are an effective way to classify and understand a large quantity of ecological information for a given region. However, this practice has not investigated whether biogeographic patterns differentiate between subhabitats across entire ecosystems. A subhabitat can be considered as a portion of a habitat with characteristics unique to its own and not the broader habitat (such as tree canopies in forest habitats). I hypothesized that sampling different subhabitats of the same ecosystem across a region will disclose differences in biogeographic patterns between those subhabitats. In 2017, the mid- and high-intertidal subhabitats were sampled for community composition and abundances at eight of the nine locations. Sea surface temperature (SST) was also sampled in situ at each location from May 2015 to June 2017 prior to the biogeographic sampling. This data was collected to test whether SST was potentially associated with any differentiated biogeographic patterns between subhabitats. I found significant differences in biogeographic patterns between subhabitats. The southernmost location clustered together with all other locations in the high intertidal samples but away from all other locations in the mid intertidal samples. SST significantly correlated with mid-intertidal biogeographic patterns during the spring and summer seasons whereas no such correlation was found with the high intertidal zone. These results suggest SST could potentially be playing a role in the differentiation of these biogeographic patterns at the different subhabitats. Thus, this study demonstrated that differences in biogeographic patterns can exist between different subhabitats of the same system.
I also conducted a biogeographic analysis of the rocky intertidal community patterns along the coast of Nova Scotia. The aim of this study was twofold; first, to document the biogeographic patterns of rocky intertidal communities along the wave- exposed coast of Nova Scotia over four years, something that had yet to be studied. Second, to model what forces were most associated with the biogeographic patterns of this coast. We sampled the lower section of the high rocky intertidal zone for community composition at our nine locations, from 2014 to 2017. We generated a dataset of environmental variables comprised of in situ temperature data collected from our sites, satellite chlorophyll-a and particulate organic carbon concentration data from NASA and archival data on ice scour from the Canadian ice services. Our results found that the biogeographic patterns of Nova Scotia were mainly structured by a distinction between most of the northern locations and the southern locations; the distinction between northern and southern clusters consistently occurred between locations 4 and 5. There was an exception to this pattern seen at location 2 as this location was first found to cluster with the northern locations but subsequently shifted to cluster tightly with the southern locations after the first year of analyses. These biogeographic patterns were mainly structured by six sessile taxa and three mobile taxa that fluctuated minimally in their contributions to these patterns from year to year. A mosaic of environmental and biotic factors appeared as the best potential explanation for the observed biogeographic patterns. The top contributors to this mosaic were maximum daily temperatures, ice scour (when it occurred) and, the abundance patterns of Fucus sp. as it is the dominant canopy forming algae on this coast.
This thesis determined that differences in biogeographic patterns can and do exist between different subhabitats of the same ecosystem. It would be beneficial for future research to test for explicit effects of SST on differentiating the patterns of the mid- and high-intertidal subhabitats. This would complement the existing results from this thesis by investigating the responses of these communities to manipulations of SST, rather than just statistical associations with SST. Expanding the list of potential mechanistic variables to investigate for possible associations or causes of differences in biogeographic patterns between subhabitats of the same system is also recommended as a logical next step from this project. Moreover, this thesis also consisted of a study that conducted the first formal biogeographic analysis of the high rocky intertidal zone of the wave-exposed coast of Nova Scotia. Our models revealed what environmental variables were most associated with the biogeographic patterns we identified and allowed us to map the dynamics that potentially structure these patterns on the coast of Nova Scotia. Future biogeographic studies along the coast of Nova Scotia should focus on explicitly testing for effects of the major variables identified from our modeling analyses. We recommend the priority be put on testing the effects of maximum daily temperatures on the abundance patterns of Fucus sp. as these were the top contributing abiotic and biotic variables found along this coast, respectively. Overall, the findings from this thesis provide novel information to the field of biogeography and for this study system. Having this new base of knowledge on the current dynamics of the Nova Scotian rocky intertidal zone will be invaluable for making informed decisions on current and future conservation efforts that may be implemented along this coast
Glenda Mae Hendsbee
No full textposted: Tribute Archive, Echovita; funeral arrangements by MacIsaac Funeral Home; "Glennie"; formerly of Little Dover, Guysborough; stepfather: James (Jim) Horn
Putting the X in Sex: A Student Assessment of Sexual Health Behaviours and Services at StFX University
No full textUndergraduate students are highly susceptible to sexually transmitted infections and sexual violence. Living away from home, alcohol consumption and mental health issues are all factors that contribute to an elevated risk of sexually transmitted infections and sexual assault that undergraduate students can experience (Steenbeek, 2013). Undergraduate universities such as Saint Francis Xavier University (StFX) have a duty to ensure the safety and satisfaction of their students and create quality health services that are comfortable and equitable. Eighty percent of students at StFX students believe that sexual violence is a problem at StFX (Visible @ X, 2018). It has been reported that young adults aged 20 to 24 attending post-secondary institutions are most at risk of contracting a sexually transmitted infection (STI) (Government of Canada, 2018). This study examined students' needs for sexual health and violence prevention, promotion and education, and the overall atmosphere and risk factors about sexual health on the StFX campus
Sharon Marie MacPherson
No full textposted: SaltWire, Feb. 8, 2022; funeral arrangements by C. L. Curry Funeral Service
Flipping the Sexual Script: University Hookup Culture and its Ongoing Consequences for Women
No full textWhylie Trancy Hendsbee
No full textposted: SaltWire, Mar. 10, 2022; funeral arrangements by G. W. Giffin Funeral Home; "Pups"; formerly of Half Island Cov
Edward Beaton Wallace
No full textposted: SaltWire, Feb. 16, 2022; funeral arrangements by C. L. Curry Funeral Services; "Eddie"
Brian John Lynch
No full textposted: SaltWire, Feb. 4, 2022; funeral arrangements by MacIsaac Funeral Home; co-owner of Lyncharm Potter