Growth and age at maturity of North American tortoises in relation to regional climates

1994 ◽  
Vol 72 (5) ◽  
pp. 918-931 ◽  
Author(s):  
David J. Germano
Keyword(s):  
North American ◽  
Growth Rates ◽  
Environmental Variables ◽  
Mean Annual Precipitation ◽  
Gopherus Agassizii ◽  
Age At Maturity ◽  
Main Determinant ◽  
Gopherus Polyphemus ◽  
Regional Climates ◽  
Richards Growth Model

North American tortoises (Gopherus spp.) are long-lived species that occur in a variety of habitats. I described growth of tortoises using Richards' growth model based on measures of scute annuli. Gopherus flavomarginatus is the largest species and grows the fastest, and Gopherus berlandieri is the smallest species with the slowest growth rates. Gopherus polyphemus and Gopherus agassizii are intermediate in size, with intermediate growth rates. All species grow relatively fast for 18–22 years, after which time growth rates decrease greatly. Estimates of mean age at maturity are 13.3 years for G. berlandieri, 13.9 years for G. flavomarginatus, 14.4 years for G. polyphemus, 13.8 years for Sinaloan G. agassizii, 14.4 years for western Mojave G. agassizii, 15.4 years for eastern Mojave G. agassizii, and 15.7 years for Sonoran G. agassizii. Several measures of growth did not correlate with precipitation among species of Gopherus, although mean yearly growth was negatively correlated with mean annual precipitation in populations of G. agassizii. Also, a matrix of growth variables did not correlate with a matrix of environmental variables. Although other environmental variables should be measured within the ranges of Gopherus spp., preliminary analyses suggest that the environment is not the main determinant of growth rates of North American tortoises.

Population structure, age and growth rates of conifer species and their relation to environmental variables at Malam Jabba, Swat District, Pakistan

2018 ◽  
Vol 31 (2) ◽  
pp. 429-441
Author(s):  
Arsalan ◽  
Muhammad Faheem Siddiqui ◽  
Moinuddin Ahmed ◽  
Syed Shahid Shaukat ◽  
Alamdar Hussain
Keyword(s):  
Population Structure ◽  
Growth Rates ◽  
Environmental Variables ◽  
Age And Growth ◽  
Conifer Species

COMPARATIVE STUDIES OF NORTH AMERICAN AND EUROPEAN CULTURES OF THE ROOT ROT FUNGUS, FOMES ANNOSUS (FR.) COOKE

1955 ◽  
Vol 33 (5) ◽  
pp. 416-428 ◽  
Author(s):  
D. E. Etheridge
Keyword(s):  
Growth Rate ◽  
North American ◽  
Growth Rates ◽  
Root Rot ◽  
Linear Growth ◽  
Morphological Characteristics ◽  
Dry Weight ◽  
Cellulolytic Activity ◽  
Ph Optimum ◽  
Two Cultures

Cultures of Fames annosus originating in Europe could not be distinguished from those originating in North America either by colony appearance, growth rate, pH optimum, or cellulolytic activity. Three growth rate types on 2.5% malt agar were recognized and these are ascribed to individual variation rather than to host or geographical influences. Successive subculturing produced variants that fell into three growth classes. Half of the isolates displayed spontaneous, but reversible, changes in growth rate and colony appearance during subculturing and this is discussed from the standpoint of genetical and environmental influences. Cultures displaying different morphological characteristics and linear-growth rates differed little metabolically; each had a similar pH optimum ranging from 4.6 to 5.5, and each proved capable of altering the initial acidity of the medium to a reaction which was more suitable for growth. Two cultures were characterized by double pH optima at 4.6 and 5.5. Cultures having different linear-growth rates produced about the same dry-weight of mycelium on a cellulose substrate in a semisynthetic nutrient solution. On the basis of a statistical analysis of cellulose utilization by representative isolates it was impossible to distinguish between North American and European cultures.

The Collapse and Recovery of a Small Whitefish Fishery

1956 ◽  
Vol 13 (1) ◽  
pp. 135-146 ◽  
Author(s):  
Richard B. Miller
Keyword(s):  
Growth Rates ◽  
Eutrophic Lake ◽  
Age At Maturity ◽  
Considerable Effort ◽  
Commercial Catch ◽  
Shallow Eutrophic Lake ◽  
Strong Winds ◽  
Egg Destruction ◽  
Catch Statistics

Pigeon Lake, Alberta, is a shallow eutrophic lake with a sandy basin, gentle contours and an area of 40 square miles. It contains whitefish, pike, yellow walleye, perch, burbot, white suckers and spottail shiners. The whitefish have been commercially exploited for many years and catch statistics are available from 1918.In 1941 a greatly increased catch of whitefish was permitted. Large annual yields continued until 1946; in 1947, in spite of considerable effort, a very small catch was made. Since this collapse fishing was prohibited in two years and light in two years. The lake now contains a normal whitefish population.Samples of the commercial catch during this period showed that the average age of the fish fell from 5.1 to 2.3 years, then, after collapse, increased to 5.7 years. Growth rates increased greatly, then decreased to the original level. Age at maturity decreased from five to two years.Calculations of the number of fish each year-class contributed to the fishery reveal that the collapse of the fishery was not due to overfishing; the weak year-classes which caused the collapse had parent year-classes of normal abundance. It is suggested that egg destruction by strong winds may have caused the weak year-classes.

Characterization of elasticity patterns of North American freshwater fishes

2006 ◽  
Vol 63 (9) ◽  
pp. 2050-2066 ◽  
Author(s):  
Luis A Vélez-Espino ◽  
Michael G Fox ◽  
Robert L McLaughlin
Keyword(s):  
Population Growth ◽  
North American ◽  
Growth Rates ◽  
Freshwater Fishes ◽  
Adult Survival ◽  
Juvenile Survival ◽  
Vital Rates ◽  
Population Growth Rates ◽  
North American Freshwater ◽  
Trade Offs

We applied elasticity analysis to 88 North American freshwater fishes to assess the relative impacts of changes in the vital rates on asymptotic population growth. Variance in vital rates was summarized for four distinct functional groups: (i) species with population growth rates strongly sensitive to perturbations in adult survival; (ii) species with population growth rates sensitive to perturbations in overall survival; (iii) species with population growth rates most sensitive to perturbations in juvenile survival; and (iv) species with population growth rates sensitive to perturbations in juvenile survival and fecundity. The results of the present study also showed that (a) elasticity patterns cannot be inferred in a straightforward manner from trade-offs between life-history traits, (b) the sensitivity of a population's growth rate to changes in adult survival and fecundity can be predicted empirically from life span and age at maturity, respectively, (c) elasticities are highly conserved among genera within the same taxonomic family, and (d) there are key divergences between elasticity patterns of freshwater fish and other vertebrate taxa.

Trends in North American small mammals found in common barn-owl (Tyto alba) dietary studies

1991 ◽  
Vol 69 (12) ◽  
pp. 3093-3102 ◽  
Author(s):  
Donald R. Clark Jr. ◽  
Christine M. Bunck
Keyword(s):  
North America ◽  
Small Mammals ◽  
North American ◽  
Barn Owl ◽  
Annual Precipitation ◽  
Mean Annual Precipitation ◽  
Tyto Alba ◽  
Geographic Regions ◽  
Rats And Mice

Data on mammals were compiled from published studies of common barn-owl (Tyto alba) pellets. Mammalian composition of pellet samples was analyzed within geographic regions in regard to year, mean annual precipitation, latitude, and number of individual mammals in the sample. Percentages of individuals in pellets that were shrews increased whereas the percentages of rodents decreased with greater mean annual precipitation, especially in northern and western areas of North America. From the 1920s through 1980s, in northern and eastern areas the percentage of species that was shrews decreased, and in northern and central areas the percentage of individuals that was murid rats and mice increased. Human alterations of habitats during these seven decades are postulated to have caused changes in available small mammals, leading to changes in the barn-owl diet.

Variability in size and age at maturity in the marine scavengerBuccinanops globulosus(Gastropoda: Nassariidae) from Patagonia

2015 ◽  
Vol 95 (6) ◽  
pp. 1193-1201 ◽  
Author(s):  
María Soledad Avaca ◽  
Pablo Martín ◽  
Maite Narvarte
Keyword(s):  
Growth Rates ◽  
Fishery Management ◽  
Reproductive Effort ◽  
Reaction Norm ◽  
Logistic Function ◽  
Rate Variation ◽  
Female Size ◽  
Age At Maturity ◽  
Management Actions ◽  
Minimum Landing Size

Growth rates and size-age at maturity are life history traits that combine in different ways to achieve maximal fitness. The marine scavengerBuccinanops globulosuswas used as a model to explore the variation on female size-age at maturity and reproductive effort among three populations characterized by different growth rates (slow, moderate and rapid). This species constitutes the target of an artisanal fishery in North Patagonia. Here, a suite of different estimators of size-age at maturity derived from gonad histological analysis and the study of females carrying egg capsules were obtained. Data were modelled using a logistic function and the maturity patterns were compared among populations. We found that female size and age at maturity were variable and site-specific. The fastest-growing population showed the lowest reproductive effort. Slow and rapid-growing females mature at different sizes but at the same age whereas moderate-growing females mature both at a different size and age (intermediate size and at earlier age). Thus, results obtained here are difficult to reconcile with a single reaction norm for a single genotype in the studied populations. Growth rate variation is not enough to explain the patterns described here. The information provided could be used for the establishment of fishery management actions, such as minimum landing size.

scholarly journals Relationships between radial growth rates and lifespan within North American tree species

Ecoscience ◽  
2008 ◽  
Vol 15 (3) ◽  
pp. 349-357 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bryan A. Black ◽  
Jim J. Colbert ◽  
Neil Pederson
Keyword(s):  
North American ◽  
Growth Rates ◽  
Tree Species ◽  
Radial Growth

Factors affecting the growth and condition of lake whitefish (Coregonus clupeaformis)

2009 ◽  
Vol 66 (12) ◽  
pp. 2096-2108 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael D. Rennie ◽  
W. Gary Sprules ◽  
Timothy B. Johnson
Keyword(s):  
Growth Rates ◽  
Environmental Variables ◽  
Comprehensive Evaluation ◽  
Early Growth ◽  
Coregonus Clupeaformis ◽  
Lake Whitefish ◽  
Catch Per Unit Effort ◽  
Factors Affecting ◽  
Biological Variables ◽  
Alternative Hypotheses

Though declines in the growth and condition of Great Lakes lake whitefish ( Coregonus clupeaformis ) have been largely attributed to food web disruptions caused by invasive dreissenid mussels, a comprehensive evaluation of alternative hypotheses is currently lacking. Using various statistical approaches, we evaluated 69 years of data from the inner basin of South Bay, Lake Huron, considering the role of biological variables (food availability as Diporeia abundance and lake whitefish relative abundance as catch per unit effort, CPUE) versus environmental variables (climate change as growing degree days >5 °C and productive habitat capacity as percent epilimnetic volume, EV) on the condition and early growth rates of resident lake whitefish. Consistently, biological variables (Diporeia abundance, CPUE) best explained changes in lake whitefish growth and condition, respectively, in years when Diporeia data were available. In their absence, environmental variables (EV) best explained early growth rates of lake whitefish, whereas CPUE again best explained lake whitefish condition. Our analysis revealed that environmental change contributed significantly but alone was not sufficient to explain declines in lake whitefish growth after dreissenid establishment, whereas biological variables considered here could account for the majority of growth and condition changes observed in this population.

scholarly journals Spatial-Temporal Changes in Soil Organic Carbon and pH in the Liaoning Province of China: A Modeling Analysis Based on Observational Data

2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (13) ◽  
pp. 3569 ◽  
Author(s):  
Li Qi ◽  
Shuai Wang ◽  
Qianlai Zhuang ◽  
Zijiao Yang ◽  
Shubin Bai ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Land Use ◽  
Organic Carbon ◽  
Soil Organic Carbon ◽  
Environmental Variables ◽  
Spatial Variations ◽  
Liaoning Province ◽  
Mean Annual Precipitation ◽  
Topographic Wetness Index ◽  
Infrared Band ◽  
Wetness Index

Quantification of soil organic carbon (SOC) and pH, and their spatial variations at regional scales, is a foundation to adequately assess agriculture, pollution control, or environmental health and ecosystem functioning, so as to establish better practices for land use and land management. In this study, we used the random forest (RF) model to map the distribution of SOC and pH in the topsoil (0–20 cm) and estimate SOC and pH changes from 1982 to 2012 in Liaoning Province, Northeast China. A total of 10 covariates (elevation, slope gradient, topographic wetness index (TWI), mean annual temperature (MAT), mean annual precipitation (MAP), visible-red band 3 (B3), near-infrared band 4 (B4), short-wave infrared band 5 (B5), normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI), and land-use data) and a set of 806 (in 1982) and 973 (in 2012) soil samples were selected. Cross-validation technology was used to test the performance and uncertainty of the RF model. We found that the prediction R2 of SOC and pH was 0.69 and 0.54 for 1982, and 0.63 and 0.48 for 2012, respectively. Elevation, NDVI, and land use are the main environmental variables affecting the spatial variability of SOC in both periods. Correspondingly, the topographic wetness index and mean annual precipitation were the two most critical environmental variables affecting the spatial variation of pH. The mean SOC and pH decreased from 18.6 to 16.9 kg−1 and 6.9 to 6.6, respectively, over a 30-year period. SOC distribution generated using the RF model showed a decreasing SOC trend from east to west across the city in the two periods. In contrast, the spatial distribution of pH showed an opposite trend in both periods. This study provided important information of spatial variations in SOC and pH to agencies and communities in this region, to evaluate soil quality and make decisions on remediation and prevention of soil acidification and salinization.

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