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Lauren S. Mullineaux. Strasser, Carly Ann Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution. Joint Program in Biological Oceanography. Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Biology 2008-12-11T18:32:50Z 2008-12-11T18:32:50Z 2008 2008 http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/43818 262616416 Thesis (Ph. D.)--Joint Program in Biological Oceanography (Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Biology; and the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution), 2008. Includes bibliographical references. In this dissertation, I explored metapopulation dynamics and population connectivity, with a focus on the softshell clam, Mya arenaria. I first worked towards developing a method for using elemental signatures retained in the larval shell as a tag of natal habitat. I designed and implemented an experiment to determine whether existing methods commonly used for fishes would be applicable to bivalves. I found that the instrumentation and setup I used were not able to isolate and measure the first larval shell of M. arenaria. In concert with developing this method for bivalves, I reared larval M. arenaria in the laboratory under controlled conditions to understand the environmental and biological factors that may influence elemental signatures in shell. My results show that growth rate and age have significant effects on juvenile shell composition, and that temperature and salinity affect larval and juvenile shell composition in variable ways depending on the element evaluated. I also examined the regional patterns of diversity over the current distribution of M. arenaria using the mitochondrial gene, cytochrome oxidase I (COI). I found minimal variability across all populations sampled, suggesting a recent population expansion in the Northwest Atlantic. Finally, I employed theoretical approaches to understand patch dynamics in a two-patch metapopulation when one patch is of high quality and the other low quality. I developed a matrix metapopulation model and compared growth rate elasticity to patch parameters under variable migration scenarios. I then expanded the model to include stochastic disturbance. I found that in many cases, the spatial distribution of individuals within the metapopulation affects whether growth rate is most elastic to parameters in the good or bad patch. by Carly A. Strasser. Ph.D. 138 p. eng Massachusetts Institute of Technology M.I.T. theses are protected by copyright. They may be viewed from this source for any purpose, but reproduction or distribution in any format is prohibited without written permission. See provided URL for inquiries about permission. http://dspace.mit.edu/handle/1721.1/7582 Joint Program in Biological Oceanography. Biology. Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution. Mya arenaria Animal ecology Metapopulation dynamics of the softshell clam, Mya arenaria Thesis application/pdf Publication unknown unknown <Publication xmlns="https://www.openaire.eu/cerif-profile/1.1/" id="9afc6ddc-650e-4031-b1ae-dbf0c20bbd05"> <Type xmlns="https://www.openaire.eu/cerif-profile/vocab/COAR_Publication_Types">http://purl.org/coar/resource_type/c_1843</Type> <Language>eng</Language> <Title>Metapopulation dynamics of the softshell clam, Mya arenaria</Title> <PublishedIn> <Publication> </Publication> </PublishedIn> <PublicationDate>2008</PublicationDate> <Authors> <Author> <DisplayName>Strasser, Carly Ann</DisplayName> <Affiliation> <OrgUnit> </OrgUnit> </Affiliation> </Author> </Authors> <Editors> </Editors> <Publishers> <Publisher> <DisplayName>Massachusetts Institute of Technology</DisplayName> <OrgUnit /> </Publisher> </Publishers> <License>http://dspace.mit.edu/handle/1721.1/7582</License> <Keyword>Joint Program in Biological Oceanography.</Keyword> <Keyword>Biology.</Keyword> <Keyword>Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution.</Keyword> <Abstract>In this dissertation, I explored metapopulation dynamics and population connectivity, with a focus on the softshell clam, Mya arenaria. I first worked towards developing a method for using elemental signatures retained in the larval shell as a tag of natal habitat. I designed and implemented an experiment to determine whether existing methods commonly used for fishes would be applicable to bivalves. I found that the instrumentation and setup I used were not able to isolate and measure the first larval shell of M. arenaria. In concert with developing this method for bivalves, I reared larval M. arenaria in the laboratory under controlled conditions to understand the environmental and biological factors that may influence elemental signatures in shell. My results show that growth rate and age have significant effects on juvenile shell composition, and that temperature and salinity affect larval and juvenile shell composition in variable ways depending on the element evaluated. I also examined the regional patterns of diversity over the current distribution of M. arenaria using the mitochondrial gene, cytochrome oxidase I (COI). I found minimal variability across all populations sampled, suggesting a recent population expansion in the Northwest Atlantic. Finally, I employed theoretical approaches to understand patch dynamics in a two-patch metapopulation when one patch is of high quality and the other low quality. I developed a matrix metapopulation model and compared growth rate elasticity to patch parameters under variable migration scenarios. I then expanded the model to include stochastic disturbance. I found that in many cases, the spatial distribution of individuals within the metapopulation affects whether growth rate is most elastic to parameters in the good or bad patch.</Abstract> <Access xmlns="http://purl.org/coar/access_right" > </Access> </Publication>