http://hdl.handle.net/10315/6340 2013-05-26T04:39:23Z http://hdl.handle.net/10315/20677 Wind driven horizontal distributions of zooplankton in a small meromictic lake Goral, Melanie B 2013-02-14T00:00:00Z http://hdl.handle.net/10315/20676 DOES CONSIDERATION OF THE WIND FIELD IMPROVE PREDICTIONS OF ZOOPLANKTON ABUNDANCE IN HARP LAKE, ONTARIO? Goral, Melanie B The predictability of zooplankton abundance under wind-driven currents has rarely been explored and further study can help improve the understanding of zooplankton communities in aquatic ecosystems. In this study, we sought relationships between the wind field and fortnightly abundances of 8 zooplankton species at a mid-lake station in Harp Lake, Ontario from 1980 to 2004. Over the study period, average wind speed has declined by 25%, while direction has shifted 21 degrees towards the north. Multiple linear regressions were generated to predict seasonal and interannual changes in daily zooplankton abundance combining year, Julian day, chemistry and, finally, wind speed and direction. The wind field was successfully loaded into these models for 6 of the 8 species, although improvements in predictive power were modest. We suspect that the decrease in wind speed has contributed to a change in zooplankton heterogeneity in the lake, and thus a change in bias of lake-wide abundance estimates derived from a single station. Zooplankton are patchily distributed, but most long-term monitoring programs sample only at one station. Our work suggests that we may well be able to correct for any bias emanating from a changing wind field and improve the predictability of abundance. 2013-02-14T00:00:00Z http://hdl.handle.net/10315/19378 Publishing in the Sciences Bazely, Dawn Students and faculty discuss the long and arduous process of converting theses and dissertations to manuscripts ready for submission to journals or book publishers. They share tips, lessons learned, and best practices. In particular, they discuss the importance of good mentoring and need for ruthless editing. The opening sequence should be read while humming aloud the theme to the first Star Wars movie! This video was made by Professor Dawn Bazely for the panel Publishing Articles in Scholarly Journals in the Sciences, organized by York University's Faculty of Graduate Studies on March 23, 2011 (10 a.m. to 12 p.m.). 2012-11-24T00:00:00Z http://hdl.handle.net/10315/18114 Using a data synthesis approach to generate novel results for ecosystem recovery in deer-affected forests Tanentzap, Tracy Overgrazing by white-tailed deer (O. virginianus) has been an ongoing problem in Rondeau Provincial Park since the turn of the century. Since the recent reintroduction of annual culls by park officials, deer densities have declined but the extent to which this control has been effective in restoring plant communities remains to be seen. Such research may only be conducted by synthesizing long-term data sets, dating back to the establishment of artificial exclosures in the park and commencement of culls, and producing novel information. It was determined that T. grandiflorum populations within the park are still in the process of recovery, even following eighteen years of experimental exclosures. Thus, recovery from recently reduced deer populations is still underway and occurring at a slow rate. It is also believed that high deer herbivory aids in the spread of invasive species, however this was not found to be the case in Rondeau. Spread of invasive A. petiolata is diminishing in intensity and was found to have little effect on species richness in affected areas. These results illustrate the utility of data synthesis principles and practices in long-term ecological studies and stress the importance of process metadata and digital data repositories in furthering such a field. Winner of Dean's Award, Biology Honours Undergraduate Thesis, York University 2011-04-01T00:00:00Z