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The micro-ecology of stream biofilm dynamics: environmental drivers, successional processes, and forensic applications

Lang, Jennifer M.
http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=dayton1438084044

Abstract Details

2015, Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.), University of Dayton, Biology.
Microbial activity has an essential role in ecosystem processes, and in stream ecosystems, biofilms are the base of the food web that is fueled by photosynthesis and they are integral to nutrient processing. Stream biofilms are microbial communities of algae, bacteria, fungi, and protozoa encased in an extracellular polymeric substance (EPS) (molecules secreted by the microbes) that are attached to a substrate (e.g. rocks, leaves) in an aqueous environment. The substrate categorizes the biofilm, and organic matter like leaves and carrion such as salmon carcasses are important substrates for nutrient dynamics. In special instances, human remains may be deposited into streams and colonized by biofilms; therefore, assessing these biofilms can have direct application to the forensic sciences. Stream ecologists have extensively investigated how environmental factors influence algal community composition, while environmental microbiologists have focused on the role of bacterial communities in nutrient dynamics. My dissertation marries these two approaches by considering biofilm communities as a functioning ecosystem and uses ecological theory as a framework to understand the dynamics of this micro-ecosystem. This framework uses aspects from landscape ecology within a larger context of community ecology to explain how the development of biofilm communities is altered by environmental factors. In addition, this framework was used to investigate biofilm development on carrion (dead animal) in a forensic science context.
Ryan McEwan (Advisor)
M. Eric Benbow (Advisor)
Robert Kearns (Committee Member)
Thomas Williams (Committee Member)
Heather Jordan (Committee Member)
205 p.
Biology; Ecology; Microbiology
epilithic; epinecrotic; succession; grazing; autumn; biofilm

Recommended Citations

Citations

  • Lang, J. M. (2015). The micro-ecology of stream biofilm dynamics: environmental drivers, successional processes, and forensic applications [Doctoral dissertation, University of Dayton]. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=dayton1438084044

    APA Style (7th edition)

  • Lang, Jennifer. The micro-ecology of stream biofilm dynamics: environmental drivers, successional processes, and forensic applications. 2015. University of Dayton, Doctoral dissertation. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center, http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=dayton1438084044.

    MLA Style (8th edition)

  • Lang, Jennifer. "The micro-ecology of stream biofilm dynamics: environmental drivers, successional processes, and forensic applications." Doctoral dissertation, University of Dayton, 2015. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=dayton1438084044

    Chicago Manual of Style (17th edition)

dayton1438084044
673
© 2015, all rights reserved.
This open access ETD is published by University of Dayton and OhioLINK.