Author Type

Graduate Student

Date of Award

2021

Document Type

Thesis

Publication Status

Version of Record

Submission Date

October 2026

Thesis/Dissertation Advisor [Chair]

Dorn, Nathan J.

Abstract

Distribution and abundance of water impacts population dynamics and habitat structure within a wetland ecosystem. It is known that drought can interfere with trophic dynamics and temporarily free crayfish from the threat of predation by population limiting fish predators in seasonal freshwater wetlands. Less is known about wet season water depths, and their effect on predator prey interactions. In order to address this, I conducted a two-and-a-half-year study in which I experimentally manipulated the wet season water depth in four 8 ha replicate wetlands of the central Everglades, allowing two wetlands to be flooded as natural rainfall patterns would allow (unconstrained hydro-pattern) and two wetlands to experience a constrained hydro-pattern in which the maximum depths to which they were flooded was limited. I discovered that crayfish, small marsh fish, and large bodied predatory fish populations were unaffected by the water depth difference between the hydro-pattern treatments. Unlike fauna, flora did respond to the hydro-pattern treatments with stem densities increasing in the wetlands under the constrained hydro-pattern treatment.

Extent

111p.

Comments

Includes bibliography.|Thesis (MS)--Florida Atlantic University, 2021.|FAU Electronic Theses and Dissertations Collection|Includes bibliography.

Identifier

FA00013738

Format

pdf

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