Longleaf pine masting, climate variability, and tick-borne disease prevalence in the Southeastern U.S.
- UNCG Author/Contributor (non-UNCG co-authors, if there are any, appear on document)
- Thomas William Patterson (Creator)
- Institution
- The University of North Carolina at Greensboro (UNCG )
- Web Site: http://library.uncg.edu/
- Advisor
- Paul Knapp
Abstract: This dissertation consists of three manuscripts that have been prepared for or accepted by peer-reviewed academic journals. I first examined the relationship between longleaf pine (Pinus palustris Mill.) mast (i.e., cone crop) and radial growth at three locations in North and South Carolina. In this chapter I showed how the reduction of stand density improved annual mast but neutralized mast/ring-width relationships. I then examined the relationship between mast and radial growth at four additional locations (six sites) in more detail. I compared tree-level mast and radial growth data to determine how mast crops of varying sizes influenced radial growth, and how mast data could be integrated with radial growth chronologies when examining relationships with climatological data. Only the largest mast crops significantly modulated radial growth and these data were a minor contribution to regression-based analyses of radial growth and climate. Finally, I explored the relationship between longleaf pine mast and tick-borne diseases throughout the southeastern U.S. Disease ecologists have linked masting cycles of hardwood tree species (e.g. Oak) to tick-borne diseases such as Lyme, yet no research has extensively studied the influence of southeastern U.S. pine mast on diseases of the region. I used correlative analyses that showed the relationship between mast and three tick-borne diseases in humans that were linked via the consumptive behavior of Northern Bobwhite Quail (Colinus virginianus).
Longleaf pine masting, climate variability, and tick-borne disease prevalence in the Southeastern U.S.
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Created on 5/1/2017
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Additional Information
- Publication
- Dissertation
- Language: English
- Date: 2017
- Keywords
- Biogeography, Disease Ecology, Masting, Tick-Borne Illness, Tree-Ring Science
- Subjects
- Longleaf pine $x Climatic factors $z Southern States
- Longleaf pine $x Ecology $z Southern States
- Longleaf pine $z Southern States $x Growth
- Pine cones $z Southern States
- Tick-borne diseases $z Southern States
- Northern bobwhite $z Southern States