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- Title
- EFFECTS OF PATCH SIZE AND MATRIX TYPE ON BIRD ASSEMBLAGES WITHIN CENTRAL FLORIDA CYPRESS DOMES.
- Creator
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Noran, Julia, Noss, Reed F., University of Central Florida
- Abstract / Description
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The numerous studies on the effects of patch size on bird assemblages have produced varied results. I studied the effects of patch size and surrounding matrix on bird assemblages within central Florida cypress domes. My null hypothesis was that bird assemblages within cypress domes are unaffected by dome size or development in the matrix around the dome. My alternative hypothesis was that differences in bird assemblages are correlated with size and the degree of development within the matrix....
Show moreThe numerous studies on the effects of patch size on bird assemblages have produced varied results. I studied the effects of patch size and surrounding matrix on bird assemblages within central Florida cypress domes. My null hypothesis was that bird assemblages within cypress domes are unaffected by dome size or development in the matrix around the dome. My alternative hypothesis was that differences in bird assemblages are correlated with size and the degree of development within the matrix. I classified a pool of over a thousand domes according to three size categories and four matrix types. Three representatives for each combination of size and matrix were spot mapped for birds from May through August 2005. I examined the relationship of species richness and bird guilds to patch size and surrounding matrix. I also measured a series of potential covariates for each dome to account for variation among the three size-matrix representatives for each combination. Richness and abundance counts were divided by the number of listening points to standardize the data by effort. I found that the standardized species richness of bird assemblages significantly increased with the patch size of cypress domes; however, matrix and the interaction effect of size and matrix on overall standardized species richness were not significant. Significant covariates included percent of the buffer undeveloped, percent herbaceous cover, and the number of listening points per unit area. A linear regression tested for significant effects of log area and matrix on standardized species richness. Matrix was not significant, but log area did have a significant effect on standardized species richness. The MANOVA tests for guild richness data indicated no significant effects of dome size, matrix, or their interaction effect on diet, foraging, or location guilds. There were no significant main or interaction effects on any individual guilds in the ANOVA output. Individual backward linear regressions done on each guild indicated that matrix did not have significant effects on any guild, but log area had significant effects on ground foragers, lower-canopy foragers, omnivores, herbivores, and edge species. I then investigated the effects of size and matrix on standardized guild abundance. Dome size and matrix significantly effected diet guild abundance, but the size-matrix interaction did not. Dome size significantly affected insectivores, omnivores, and carnivores. Matrix had a significant effect on omnivores, herbivores, and carnivores. The size and matrix interaction had a significant effect on carnivores. Dome size and matrix significantly affected foraging guild abundance, but the size-matrix interaction did not. Dome size significantly affected ground, lower- and upper-canopy foragers. Matrix had a significant effect on ground, water, and upper-canopy foragers. The size and matrix interaction was not significant for any foraging guild. Dome size and matrix significantly effected location guild abundance, but the size-matrix interaction did not. Dome size significantly affected edge and interior species. Matrix had a significant effect on edge and interior species. The size and matrix interaction was not significant for any location guild. The relationship between species richness and habitat area is well-documented, and the results of this study were consistent with the expectation of higher species richness in larger areas. If maintaining high species richness is the sole goal of conservationists, then large habitat fragments would be preferable regardless of surrounding matrix. Nevertheless, species richness alone is not informative of the potential effects of patch size and matrix on the composition of an avian assemblage. Guild analysis gives insight into community structure and should be considered in addition to simple measures of species richness. Patch size and matrix type significantly affected a number of guilds, and several factors could contribute to the observed differences in guilds across patch size categories and matrix types. Different habitats are available to birds in domes of each size class and matrix type. The potential for diverse foraging opportunities increases as domes increase in size and change in relation to their surrounding matrix. A more detailed analysis is needed to determine how differences in vegetation of domes and surrounding matrix affect guilds, members of which may use habitats both within domes and the matrix. Cypress domes in the central Florida area face severe alteration or destruction due to rapid development. Long-term research that focuses on domes before and after development is needed to understand how changes in the matrix or size of the domes affect all resident flora and fauna. A variety of taxa and biogeochemical processes should be researched. Domes are naturally highly variable in size, shape, and structure, and development changes all of these characteristics. Conservation biologists and managers urgently need to determine how development affects cypress domes and what can be done to maintain their characteristic biodiversity.
Show less - Date Issued
- 2006
- Identifier
- CFE0001010, ucf:46842
- Format
- Document (PDF)
- PURL
- http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0001010
- Title
- The effects of urbanization on cypress (Taxodium distichum) in central Florida.
- Creator
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McCauley, Lisa, Jenkins, David, Quintana-Ascencio, Pedro, Hoffman, Eric, Ewel, Kathy, University of Central Florida
- Abstract / Description
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Urbanization is accelerating in the United States and is contributing to fragmentation of natural habitats, causing changes in species composition and declines in native species. Human population growth in Orlando is typical of growth in the southeastern United States and throughout the range of cypress (Taxodium distichum). Orlando has numerous isolated cypress wetlands, called cypress domes, and many remain among the current urbanized area. This makes Orlando ideal to study the effects of...
Show moreUrbanization is accelerating in the United States and is contributing to fragmentation of natural habitats, causing changes in species composition and declines in native species. Human population growth in Orlando is typical of growth in the southeastern United States and throughout the range of cypress (Taxodium distichum). Orlando has numerous isolated cypress wetlands, called cypress domes, and many remain among the current urbanized area. This makes Orlando ideal to study the effects of urbanization on cypress domes. Specifically, I tested how urbanization and its effects on fragmentation, hydrology, and fire regime) affected (a) the numbers and spatial pattern of cypress domes in central Florida and (b) the recruitment of cypress within cypress domes. Analysis of historical loss found over 3,000 cypress domes identified in images from1984, of which 26% were lost or degraded (i.e., no longer cypress-dominated) by 2004. Due to changed land use, many remaining cypress domes, formerly surrounded by natural lands, have become surrounded by urban lands causing spatial clustering and homogenization. Surprisingly, I found that both natural and urban cypress domes showed lower recruitment than agricultural cypress domes, where the natural fire regime has not been altered. The probability of cypress recruitment in cypress domes urbanized for more than 20 years is very low. Previous to that, cypress tends to recruit on the edge of cypress domes where there is less competition and hydrological conditions are more favorable. I estimate that only ~50% of the current cypress domes are recruiting and the existence of those wetlands are tied to the lifespan of the current adults. By 2104, I estimate that ~89% of the cypress domes currently recruiting will fail to recruit. I believe that reducing urban sprawl and restoring the natural fire regime to natural cypress domes will mitigate the current fate of cypress domes. Without this, cypress in isolated wetlands in central Florida, and providing Orlando urbanization is typical, throughout urbanized areas of the range, could be at risk. Cypress in urban areas will be then relegated to riparian zones and with unknown consequences for the species that utilize the former cypress dome habitat.
Show less - Date Issued
- 2011
- Identifier
- CFE0004136, ucf:49065
- Format
- Document (PDF)
- PURL
- http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0004136
- Title
- SELLING SUNSHINE: HOW CYPRESS GARDENSDEFINED FLORIDA, 1935-2004.
- Creator
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Dinocola, David, Downing, Spencer, University of Central Florida
- Abstract / Description
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This thesis examines the relationship between Cypress Gardens and the state of Florida. Specifically, it focuses on how the creator of the park, Dick Pope, created his park after his own idealized vision of the state, and how he then promoted both his park and Florida as one and the same. The growth and later decline of Cypress Gardens follows trends in Florida's growth patterns and shifts in tourism. This study primarily uses a combination of newspaper sources and promotional pictures...
Show moreThis thesis examines the relationship between Cypress Gardens and the state of Florida. Specifically, it focuses on how the creator of the park, Dick Pope, created his park after his own idealized vision of the state, and how he then promoted both his park and Florida as one and the same. The growth and later decline of Cypress Gardens follows trends in Florida's growth patterns and shifts in tourism. This study primarily uses a combination of newspaper sources and promotional pictures and other media from the park to explain how Pope attempted to make Cypress Gardens synonymous with Florida. In doing so, this paper presents a history of the park during the Pope family ownership (1935-1985), while also looking at the legacy of the park until 2004.
Show less - Date Issued
- 2009
- Identifier
- CFE0002812, ucf:48106
- Format
- Document (PDF)
- PURL
- http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0002812
- Title
- Mucking About: Hydrologic Regime and Soil Carbon Storage in Restored Subtropical Wetlands.
- Creator
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Huber, Alicia, Bohlen, Patrick, Hinkle, Ross, Chambers, Lisa, University of Central Florida
- Abstract / Description
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Wetlands are extremely important ecosystems that have declined drastically worldwide, continue to be lost, and are threatened globally. They perform a number of important ecosystem services such as flood control, provide habitat for many species, and have aesthetic and recreational value. Wetlands are also important to the global carbon (C) cycle. Wetland soils are especially effective C sinks because they have high primary productivity and low decomposition rates due to flooded, anoxic...
Show moreWetlands are extremely important ecosystems that have declined drastically worldwide, continue to be lost, and are threatened globally. They perform a number of important ecosystem services such as flood control, provide habitat for many species, and have aesthetic and recreational value. Wetlands are also important to the global carbon (C) cycle. Wetland soils are especially effective C sinks because they have high primary productivity and low decomposition rates due to flooded, anoxic conditions. Increased recognition of wetlands' value has led to more ecological and hydrological restoration of degraded wetlands to mitigate the effects of wetland destruction. Hydrological restoration, which attempts to recreate natural hydroperiod and water levels in wetlands, is expected to increase soil C storage. Many studies have estimated the C stock in different wetland ecosystems across biomes, but few have examined hydrological drivers of soil C variation across wetland types. This study investigated the relationship between hydrologic variables (hydroperiod and average water depth) and soil C storage in three types of hydrologically restored wetlands (marsh, bay swamp, and cypress swamp) at the Disney Wilderness Preserve (DWP) in central Florida, USA. I collected 150 50-cm soil cores along existing monitoring transects in sampled wetlands where water elevation data had been collected since 1995 to examine the relationship between hydrologic variable and soil C storage. I analyzed a combination of generalized linear mixed models (glmm), evaluated using AICc. Mean water depth was a better predictor than hydroperiod of soil C concentration and stock. Mean water depth had a significant positive relationship with soil C concentration in bay swamps and marshes and soil C stock in marshes. However, this effect was small and often outweighed by other factors such as differences in vegetative community, soil depth, or local site conditions. Water depth had no significant relationship with soil C concentration in cypress swamps or upland communities or on soil C stock in bay swamps, cypress swamps, or uplands. Wetland community type had a strong influence on soil C variation, with bay swamp soils having the highest mean soil C concentration followed by cypress swamp, marsh, and upland soils, respectively. Soil C concentration generally decreased with soil depth. Bay swamps also had the highest soil C stock, followed by cypress swamp, marsh, and upland soils, respectively. Together, the sampled wetland communities cover approximately 22% of the sampled communities at DWP, yet store an estimated 47% of the total soil C to a 90 cm depth. The results of this study affirm the importance of inundation for soil C storage in wetlands, but also highlight that there are a number of other complex variables affecting soil C in different types of wetlands such as differences in litter quality and decomposition rates.
Show less - Date Issued
- 2017
- Identifier
- CFE0007122, ucf:51930
- Format
- Document (PDF)
- PURL
- http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0007122
- Title
- THE EFFECTS OF URBANIZATION ON THE STRUCTURE, QUALITY, AND DIVERSITY OF CYPRESS PLANT COMMUNITIES IN CENTRAL FLORIDA.
- Creator
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Knickerbocker, Courtney, Quigley, Martin, University of Central Florida
- Abstract / Description
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The integrity of wetland ecosystems is largely determined by hydrological functionality, degree of connectivity to like ecosystems, and permeability to external influence. Land use changes in upland areas adjacent to wetland ecosystems may influence hydrology and connectivity while introducing novel biotic and abiotic materials. There is an increasing trend toward the use of remote assessment techniques to determine the degree of impact of external influences on adjacent wetlands. Remote...
Show moreThe integrity of wetland ecosystems is largely determined by hydrological functionality, degree of connectivity to like ecosystems, and permeability to external influence. Land use changes in upland areas adjacent to wetland ecosystems may influence hydrology and connectivity while introducing novel biotic and abiotic materials. There is an increasing trend toward the use of remote assessment techniques to determine the degree of impact of external influences on adjacent wetlands. Remote assessment and predictive capabilities are provided by indices such as the Landscape Development Intensity Index (LDI) (Brown and Vivas 2005) which may be beneficial in determining site condition, and which have the added benefit of providing a quantitative gradient of human impact. This study assessed the predictive ability of the LDI in cypress ecosystems, by testing its correlations with plant community metrics including an index of floral quality calculated using coefficients of conservatism (CC)(Cohen et al. 2004), plant species diversity, and fluctuation in community composition assessed by changes in the wetland status and native status of component plant species. LDI was also compared against an independent measure of disturbance which was used to construct an a priori disturbance gradient. Overall, diversity measures showed little correlation with any of the disturbance indices, while CC scores were significantly correlated. Models were constructed in an attempt to explain each of the variables of plant community response to development in the surrounding landscape. The length of time since the development of the land adjacent to the cypress domes was a predictor of plant community response only when included in models with other variables. LDI was the strongest predictor in all models except where increases in land use associated with hydrological changes helped predict or better predicted proportions of exotic and upland species.
Show less - Date Issued
- 2009
- Identifier
- CFE0002576, ucf:48280
- Format
- Document (PDF)
- PURL
- http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0002576
