122 research outputs found
Evaluating the Role of Habitat Complexity in Structuring Seagrass Communities
No full textBiogenic coastal habitats such as salt marshes, seagrasses, and oyster reefs, support diverse faunal communities and can serve as nursery areas by enhancing the abundance, growth, and survival of juvenile fish and crustaceans. The structure and complexity of these biogenic habitats can strongly influence the composition of marine faunal communities and contribute to their roles as nursery areas. It is imperative to understand how nursery areas are defined in the ecological literature as these definitions are applied to nursery area management across the United States. Further, the relative importance of how habitat structural attributes, which are influenced by abiotic and biotic factors, shape faunal communities within these nursery areas is critical to understand these important coastal ecosystems. My dissertation focuses on (1) how nursery frameworks in the ecological literature have evolved and how these frameworks are applied to state management of nursery areas; (2) how abiotic and biotic factors influence the restoration success and complexity of seagrass meadows; and (3) how, in turn, this habitat complexity influences faunal community composition and structure. For my first chapter, I found six overarching frameworks to define and delineate nursery areas in the ecological literature: measures of juvenile abundance and vital rates, habitat characteristics, seascape connectivity, populations fitness and contribution to adult biomass, and persistence. Of the 23 coastal states, only seven explicitly protect nursery areas and of these seven states, the aforementioned frameworks are not equally applied. Gathering and analyzing data necessary to integrate higher-order metrics (e.g., connectivity and biomass contribution) to designate nurseries will require significant research investment and greater collaboration between ecologists and fisheries scientists. My second chapter combines two years of observational seagrass and faunal surveys with a habitat preference experiment to investigate to which degree multiple seagrass complexity metrics influence the composition and abundance of faunal communities in North Carolina seagrass beds. Trawl surveys revealed that taller canopied seagrass beds support higher faunal abundances and species richness than shorter canopied beds, however this was not true across all species. There were species-specific relationships between complexity metrics and abundances, with these relationships shifting between the two years of our study, potentially due to the range of sampling months each year. Pinfish (Lagodon rhomboides), the most common fish found in North Carolina seagrass meadows demonstrated a preference for deep seagrass beds, but only preferred taller canopies when these areas also offered increased blade surface area. In Chapter 3, I conducted field surveys of natural seagrass beds to understand the spatio-temporal distribution and morphology of seagrasses in North Carolina coastal sounds and used these observations to inform a field transplantation experiment of the subtropical seagrass species, Halodule wrightii. Seagrass morphology differed across sampling months but only canopy height differed across depth. Depth was also influential in transplantation success with higher survival of intertidal seagrass transplants compared to subtidal. Considerations of both structural complexity and physical setting of the habitat are therefore imperative for a comprehensive approach in understanding how habitats as well as their faunal communities are responding to future changes across ecosystem settings
Tropical Cyclone Impacts on Seagrass-associated Fishes in a Temperate-Subtropical Estuary
No full textEffects of embryo energy, egg size, and larval food supply on the development of asteroid echinoderms
No full textCoaching early career teachers in urban elementary schools: A mixed method study
No full textCoaching for urban early career teachers (ECTs) offers promise and aligns with features of effective professional development to support the implementation of evidence-based practices. However, the functional components and key elements of coaching and coach supervision are not well specified in the literature. The goal of the current study was to examine adherence and feasibility of a coaching intervention designed to provide urban ECTs with concentrated support in classroom management and engaging learners—two instructional domains that are robust predictors of attrition (Ingersoll and Strong in Rev Educ Res 81:201–233, 2011). Coaches (n = 6) worked with ECTs (n = 15) in three urban, high-poverty elementary schools during the 2-year intervention. A mixed-method design was employed, such that qualitative data (i.e., semi-structured interviews) and quantitative data (i.e., adherence measures) were collected concurrently, remained independent during analyses, and were integrated during interpretation (Creswell and Clark in Designing and conducting mixed methods research. Sage, Thousand Oaks, 2007). Findings revealed that ECTs generally received the intended frequency and duration of coaching but with fewer opportunities for post-conferences. Coach supervision, on average, was delivered with intended frequency, with variability across coaches. Thematic analyses highlighted coach provision of emotional and instrumental support, emphasized consistent coaching as critical, and that time was a significant barrier to ECT participation in coaching. Supervision promoted social support among coaches and provided opportunities to adapt the model to ECT needs.Peer reviewe
Summary table of studies (n = 22) examining change in fish abundance before and after cyclone.
No full textSummary table of studies (n = 22) examining change in fish abundance before and after cyclone.</p
Development of the resolution theory for electrophoretic exclusion
No full textElectrophoretic exclusion, a technique that differentiates species in bulk solution near a channel entrance, has been demonstrated on benchtop and microdevice designs. In these systems, separation occurs when the electrophoretic velocity of one species is greater than the opposing hydrodynamic flow, while the velocity of the other species is less than that flow. Although exclusion has been demonstrated in multiple systems for a range of analytes, a theoretical assessment of resolution has not been addressed. To compare the results of these calculations to traditional techniques, the performance is expressed in terms of smallest difference in electrophoretic mobilities that can be completely separated (R = 1.5). The calculations indicate that closest resolvable species (Δμ[subscript min]) differ by approximately 10[superscript −13] m[superscript 2]/Vs and peak capacity (n[subscript c]) is 1000. Published experimental data were compared to these calculated results.This is the peer reviewed version of the article, which has been published in final form at http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/elps.20130057
Tropical Cyclone Impacts on Seagrass-associated Fishes in a Temperate-Subtropical Estuary
No full textRe-Designing Community Mental Health Services for Urban Children: Supporting Schooling to Promote Mental Health
No full textObjective: This study examined a school- and home-based mental health service model, Links to Learning, focused on empirical predictors of learning as primary goals for services in high-poverty urban communities. Method: Teacher key opinion leaders were identified through sociometric surveys and trained, with mental health providers and parent advocates, on evidence-based practices to enhance children’s learning. Teacher key opinion leaders and mental health providers cofacilitated professional development sessions for classroom teachers to disseminate 2 universal (Good Behavior Game, peer-assisted learning) and 2 targeted (Good News Notes, Daily Report Card) interventions. Group-based and home-based family education and support were delivered by mental health providers and parent advocates for children in kindergarten through 4th grade diagnosed with 1 or more disruptive behavior disorders. Services were Medicaid-funded through 4 social service agencies (N = 17 providers) in 7 schools (N = 136 teachers, 171 children) in a 2 (Links to Learning vs. services as usual) × 6 (pre- and posttests for 3 years) longitudinal design with random assignment of schools to conditions. Services as usual consisted of supported referral to a nearby social service agency. Results: Mixed effects regression models indicated significant positive effects of Links to Learning on mental health service use, classroom observations of academic engagement, teacher report of academic competence and social skills, and parent report of social skills. Nonsignificant between-groups effects were found on teacher and parent report of problem behaviors, daily hassles, and curriculum-based measures. Effects were strongest for young children, girls, and children with fewer symptoms. Conclusion: Community mental health services targeting empirical predictors of learning can improve school and home behavior for children living in high-poverty urban communitiesPeer reviewe
Analysis of Hendra Virus Fusion Protein N-Terminal Transmembrane Residues
No full textHendra virus (HeV) is a zoonotic enveloped member of the family Paramyoxviridae. To successfully infect a host cell, HeV utilizes two surface glycoproteins: the attachment (G) protein to bind, and the trimeric fusion (F) protein to merge the viral envelope with the membrane of the host cell. The transmembrane (TM) region of HeV F has been shown to have roles in F protein stability and the overall trimeric association of F. Previously, alanine scanning mutagenesis has been performed on the C-terminal end of the protein, revealing the importance of β-branched residues in this region. Additionally, residues S490 and Y498 have been demonstrated to be important for F protein endocytosis, needed for the proteolytic processing of F required for fusion. To complete the analysis of the HeV F TM, we performed alanine scanning mutagenesis to explore the residues in the N-terminus of this region (residues 487–506). In addition to confirming the critical roles for S490 and Y498, we demonstrate that mutations at residues M491 and L492 alter F protein function, suggesting a role for these residues in the fusion process
Description and shell repair rate of experimentally damaged young Gaper clams (Tresus capax)
No full textTitle from PDF caption (viewed on November 28, 2018).This archived document is maintained by the State Library of Oregon as part of the Oregon Documents Depository Program. It is for informational purposes and may not be suitable for legal purposes.This project was funded by Recreational Shellfish Licenses.Mode of access: Internet from the Oregon Government Publications Collection.Text in English
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