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- Title
- COMPARISON OF ARNP AND PHYSICIAN MALPRACTICE IN STATES WITH AND WITHOUT CONTROLLED SUBSTANCE PRESCRIBING AUTHORITY.
- Creator
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Chandler, Deborah, Rash, Elizabeth, University of Central Florida
- Abstract / Description
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Florida is one of two states that do not allow ARNPs to prescribe controlled substances. The Florida Legislature has expressed concern regarding the safety of ARNPs prescribing controlled substances. The purpose of this study was to compare malpractice rates of ARNPs and physicians in states with and without controlled substance prescribing. The design was a direct comparison of malpractice rates in states with and without ARNP controlled substance prescriptive authority. Comparison of...
Show moreFlorida is one of two states that do not allow ARNPs to prescribe controlled substances. The Florida Legislature has expressed concern regarding the safety of ARNPs prescribing controlled substances. The purpose of this study was to compare malpractice rates of ARNPs and physicians in states with and without controlled substance prescribing. The design was a direct comparison of malpractice rates in states with and without ARNP controlled substance prescriptive authority. Comparison of malpractice claims was made between physicians (MDs and DOs collectively) and ARNPs in the United States and by state ARNP prescribing authority. Comparison of malpractice claims was also made between Florida and states that were demographically similar. The results showed that ARNPs have significantly less malpractice than physicians in the United States. In addition, there were no significant differences in malpractice, whether or not the ARNP was allowed to prescribe controlled substances. Finally, ARNPs working in states that are demographically similar to Florida, but allowed to prescribe controlled substances had no significant increase in malpractice. This study showed that there is no increase in malpractice rates in states where ARNPs prescribe controlled substances, either fully or partially, supporting the hypothesis.
Show less - Date Issued
- 2010
- Identifier
- CFE0003212, ucf:48588
- Format
- Document (PDF)
- PURL
- http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0003212
- Title
- Disturbance-Based Management and Plant Species Change in Massachusetts Sandplain Heathlands over the Past Two Decades.
- Creator
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Martin, Kirsten, VonHolle, Mary, Quintana-Ascencio, Pedro, Weishampel, John, University of Central Florida
- Abstract / Description
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Massachusetts sandplain heathlands are habitats of conservation concern, harboring many rare plant species and providing habitat for animals that depend on openlands. These heathlands are threatened by human development, shrub encroachment in the absence of disturbance, and potentially increasing soil nutrient levels. Sandplain heathlands are managed with prescribed fire, in order to maintain their open structure and maintain species diversity. In order to assess how past management was...
Show moreMassachusetts sandplain heathlands are habitats of conservation concern, harboring many rare plant species and providing habitat for animals that depend on openlands. These heathlands are threatened by human development, shrub encroachment in the absence of disturbance, and potentially increasing soil nutrient levels. Sandplain heathlands are managed with prescribed fire, in order to maintain their open structure and maintain species diversity. In order to assess how past management was correlated with species change, I used a data set that spanned twenty years from three different heathlands in Massachusetts. I looked for correlations between management and species change. Correlations between species change and prescribed burning were very site, or microsite, specific, indicating that variables such as vegetation type and edaphic characteristics need to be taken into account before management is applied. Prescribed fire was also associated with an increase in ruderal species in one of the sites studied, indicating that there may be undesirable effects of prescribed fire in this system. Species diversity was negatively associated with shrub encroachment, reinforcing the importance of preventing shrubs from encroaching into these heathlands. I also found evidence that burning has not been a successful technique in preventing shrub encroachment in these sites. Lastly, the nitrophilic species Carex pensylvanica increased in all three sites, indicating that future studies should investigate the possibility that sandplain heathlands are currently experiencing nitrogen deposition beyond their critical loads.
Show less - Date Issued
- 2013
- Identifier
- CFE0004886, ucf:49677
- Format
- Document (PDF)
- PURL
- http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0004886
- Title
- RESPONSES OF THE FLORIDA MOUSE (PODOMYS FLORIDANUS) TO HABITAT MANAGEMENT.
- Creator
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DePue, Jason, Stout, Jack, University of Central Florida
- Abstract / Description
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The Florida mouse (Podomys floridanus), a species restricted to the Lake Wales Ridge and the Atlantic Coastal Ridge, is recognized by the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission as a species of special concern, highlighting its status as a species that is threatened by habitat loss statewide. Publicly owned lands offer protection for the species, but management is generally focused on protecting biodiversity in general and not a particular species. The response of the Florida mouse...
Show moreThe Florida mouse (Podomys floridanus), a species restricted to the Lake Wales Ridge and the Atlantic Coastal Ridge, is recognized by the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission as a species of special concern, highlighting its status as a species that is threatened by habitat loss statewide. Publicly owned lands offer protection for the species, but management is generally focused on protecting biodiversity in general and not a particular species. The response of the Florida mouse to land management practices such as mechanical treatment and prescribed fires is poorly documented. This research examined the population responses of Florida mice on three public lands in central Florida, namely, Bullfrog Creek Mitigation Park in Hillsborough County, Split Oak Mitigation Park in Orange County, and Chuluota Wilderness in Seminole County. Florida mice numbers increased or recovered to pre-burn levels within six months following prescribed burns in 2003 and 2004 on the Bullfrog Creek site. Florida mice dropped in numbers following a fire on the Split Oak site, but were increasing when the study ended. The steady decrease in numbers of mice at the Chuluota Wilderness site remained unaffected by habitat modification. Management of public lands that support Florida mice should continue to utilize prescribed fire to maintain upland habitats. When possible, prescribed fires should be limited to the spring and early summer months and applied to only a portion of the total available area in any year.
Show less - Date Issued
- 2005
- Identifier
- CFE0000774, ucf:46564
- Format
- Document (PDF)
- PURL
- http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0000774
- Title
- VARIABILITY OF CARBON STOCK IN FLORIDA FLATWOODS ECOSYSTEMS UNDERGOING RESTORATION AND MANAGEMENT.
- Creator
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Becker, Kathryn, Hinkle, C. Ross, University of Central Florida
- Abstract / Description
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The global community is struggling with mitigating the effects of widespread habitat loss and degradation; the effects of which are being further magnified in the face of global climate change. Quality natural habitat is becoming increasingly limited and atmospheric carbon levels continue to rise. Therefore, land managers responsible for multiuse management are often faced with the dilemma of managing ecosystems for biodiversity, as well as optimizing ecosystem services such as carbon storage...
Show moreThe global community is struggling with mitigating the effects of widespread habitat loss and degradation; the effects of which are being further magnified in the face of global climate change. Quality natural habitat is becoming increasingly limited and atmospheric carbon levels continue to rise. Therefore, land managers responsible for multiuse management are often faced with the dilemma of managing ecosystems for biodiversity, as well as optimizing ecosystem services such as carbon storage and sequestration. However, some management techniques used to meet these objectives may yield conflicting results, specifically, the management tool of prescribed fire. Fire is crucial in maintaining species composition and structure in many ecosystems, but also results in high carbon emissions. Thus, it is important for land mangers to achieve the most efficient prescribed fire management regime to both preserve plant and animal communities, and optimize carbon storage. A former ranchland at the Disney Wilderness Preserve, Central Florida, USA is being restored to native ecosystems and managed to preserve biodiversity and increase carbon storage. This study quantified the carbon stocks within the aboveground biomass, litter, and top 90 cm of soil in five ecosystems at the Disney Wilderness Preserve, all of which are managed with prescribed fire every two to three years. These carbon stocks were compared in ecosystems in different stages of restoration: bahia grass pasture, pasture in restoration for longleaf pine flatwoods, and restored longleaf pine flatwoods. The carbon stocks were also compared among three restored flatwoods communities: longleaf pine flatwoods, slash pine flatwoods, and scrubby flatwoods. To determine the effects of the current prescribed fire management, carbon stocks were quantified and compared in recently burned areas (burned 4 months prior) and areas burned two to three years prior, in all ecosystems. Soil carbon properties were assessed using 13C isotope analysis. Aboveground biomass and litter carbon stocks were found to increase with higher stage of restoration, and were significantly less in areas with recent fire management. The results of this study did not provide evidence that soil carbon stock was significantly different in different stages of restoration or at different times since fire, but soil carbon stock was found to be significantly different among the flatwoods communities. In un-restored pasture and pasture in restoration sites, the soil was found to be increasingly depleted in 13C with increasing soil depth. This pattern indicated that carbon in the upper, more labile soil carbon pool had been derived from current C4 pasture or native grasses, while carbon in the deeper, more stable carbon pool is a legacy of the historical C3 forest vegetation that existed prior to conversion to pasture. Additionally, a pattern of less depletion in 13C with increasing time since deforestation was noted, indicating an increasing loss of historic forest carbon with increasing pasture age. As the pastures in restoration for longleaf pine flatwoods mature, the isotopic composition of the soil profile in the restored longleaf pine flatwoods may serve as a reference value for the soil profiles of these sites. Overall, the mean carbon stock in the aboveground biomass, litter and top 90 cm of soil in the un-restored pasture was ~13.3 kg C/m2, the carbon stock in the pasture in restoration was ~12.7 kg C/m2, the longleaf pine flatwoods had the highest carbon stock at ~17.7 kg C/m2, the scrubby flatwoods had the smallest carbon stock at ~7.7 kg C/m2, and the slash pine flatwoods had a carbon stock of ~15.8 kg C/m2.
Show less - Date Issued
- 2011
- Identifier
- CFE0003603, ucf:48870
- Format
- Document (PDF)
- PURL
- http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0003603
- Title
- Species and habitat interactions of the gopher tortoise: A keystone species?.
- Creator
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Catano, Christopher, Hinkle, Charles, Stout, I, Jenkins, David, University of Central Florida
- Abstract / Description
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Species-species and species-habitat interactions have been demonstrated to be important in influencing diversity across a variety of ecosystems. Despite generalities in the importance of these interactions, appropriate mechanisms to explain them are absent in many systems. In sandhill systems of the southeast U.S., gopher tortoises have been hypothesized to be a crucial species in the maintenance of diversity and function. However, the mechanisms and magnitude in which they influence their...
Show moreSpecies-species and species-habitat interactions have been demonstrated to be important in influencing diversity across a variety of ecosystems. Despite generalities in the importance of these interactions, appropriate mechanisms to explain them are absent in many systems. In sandhill systems of the southeast U.S., gopher tortoises have been hypothesized to be a crucial species in the maintenance of diversity and function. However, the mechanisms and magnitude in which they influence their communities and habitats have rarely been empirically quantified. I examined how habitat structure influences tortoise abandonment of burrows and how tortoise densities influence non-volant vertebrate community diversity. Tortoise burrow abandonment is directly influenced by canopy closure, with each percent increase in canopy cover relating to a ~2% increase in the probability of burrow abandonment. In addition, tortoise burrow density was positively correlated with diversity and evenness, but not species richness. This influence was directly proportional to burrow density, supporting a dominance role for this species and rejecting the commonly asserted keystone species mechanism. I also quantified the influence of tortoises in influencing diversity relative to other environmental and habitat variables. Through this research, I have demonstrated that disturbance and habitat structure are important, but diversity responds most to density of burrows in the habitat. These findings demonstrate the intricate relationships interacting to maintaining diversity in sandhill systems. In particular, habitat change leading to declines of gopher tortoises may have drastic negative impacts on vertebrate species diversity.
Show less - Date Issued
- 2012
- Identifier
- CFE0004526, ucf:49246
- Format
- Document (PDF)
- PURL
- http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0004526


