Graduate Project
 

A novel landscape ecology approach for determining microhabitat correlations and faunal patchiness in extreme environments:pilot study for the Southern East Pacific Rise at 17-18° S

Public Deposited

Downloadable Content

Download PDF
https://ir.library.oregonstate.edu/concern/graduate_projects/jd4731616

Descriptions

Attribute NameValues
Creator
Abstract
  • Since their discovery in 1977, hydrothermal vent communities have offered scientists a unique glimpse into a world that is supported primarily by chemically derived energy rather than direct energy from the sun. Furthermore, studies of hydrothermal vent ecosystems have introduced scientists to amazing animals that have successfully adapted to living in extreme environments. Although much has been learned about the life histories of vent organisms, due to the difficulty and expense of performing large scale (spatial and temporal) studies at deep sea hydrothermal vent sites, our knowledge of vent faunal dynamics is largely based on observational studies that often lack the support of sound statistical analysis. Furthermore, data sets can be discordant in space and time, making it difficult to piece together the potentially complex life histories of vent animals. The main goal of this report is to study the applicability of point pattern analysis, a simple spatial statistical method based on principles of landscape ecology, for characterizing the distributions of organisms at hydrothermal vent sites. The study began as a pilot project, and has focused on an existing high resolution, remotely sensed, data set from the superfast-spreading southern East Pacific Rise at 17-18° South (Figure 1). It was accomplished through an integration of remote sensing technology, landscape ecology principles, and geographic information science.
Resource Type
Date Available
Date Issued
Degree Level
Degree Name
Degree Field
Degree Grantor
Commencement Year
Advisor
Committee Member
Academic Affiliation
Subject
Rights Statement
Publisher
Peer Reviewed
Language
File Format
File Extent
  • 247027 bytes
Replaces

Relationships

Parents:

This work has no parents.

Items

Thumbnail Title Date Uploaded Visibility Actions
file details michelle_final.pdf 2017-10-19 Public Download