Publications

Predator-prey models with a prey-dependent functional response have the property that the prey equilibrium value is determined only by predator characteristics. However, in observed natural systems (for instance, snail-periphyton interactions in streams) the equilibrium periphyton biomass has been shown experimentally to be influenced by both snail numbers and levels of available...

The dynamics of interacting consumer and resource populations is one of the most thoroughly studied problems of theoretical population biology. Among the key results from the study of simple mathematical models of interacting populations is that the Holling Type 2 functional response tends to be unstable for a wide range of realistic parameters. Functional responses such as Holling Type...

Seasonal ichthyoplankton surveys were made in the lower Laguna Madre, Texas, to compare the relative utilization of various nursery habitats (shoal grass, Halodule wrightii; manatee grass, Syringodium filiforme; and unvegetated sand bottom) for both estuarine and offshore-spawned larvae. The species composition and abundance of fish larvae were determined for each habitat type at six...

Many wetlands undergo seasonal cycles in precipitation and water depth.This environmental seasonality is echoed in patterns of production of fishbiomass, which, in turn, influence the phenology of other components of thefood web, including wading birds. Human activities, such as drainage orother alterations of the hydrology, can exacerbate these natural cycles andresult in detrimental...

Communities of submerged aquatic vegetation (SAY) are important components of many freshwater, brackish, and marine aquatic ecosystems. They prevent erosion by baffling the impacts of waves, especially from storms. These aquatic plant communities remove nutrients and other pollutants from river and runoff inputs to coastal areas, preventing their entry into surrounding waters. They...

Abstract not supplied at this time

We conducted laboratory experiments which demonstrated that three littoral zone fishes differentially selected among three macrophytes when seeking refuge from predation. In the presence of a predator (a juvenile Micropterus salmoides), mosquitofish (Gambusia holbrooki), sailfin mollies (Poecilia latipinna). and dollar sunfish (Lepomis marginatus) displayed ferential use of four tank...

Abstract not supplied at this time

Abstract not supplied at this time

Bottomland hardwood forests in the southcentral United States have been cleared extensively for agriculture, and many of the remaining forests are fragmented and degraded. During the last decade, however, approximately 75,000 ha of land-mainly agricultural fields-have been replanted or contracted for replanting, with many more acres likely to be reforested in the near future. The...

Studies of plant species richness have often emphasized the role of either community biomass (as an indicator of density effects) or abiotic factors. In this article we present a general model that simultaneously examines the relative importance of abiotic and density effects. General and specific models were developed to examine the importance of abiotic conditions, disturbance, and...

Abstract not supplied at this time