University of South Florida Scholar Commons Graduate Theses and Dissertations Graduate School January 2012 The cologE ical Role of Rhizophytic Green Algae in Soft-bottom Habitats Laura Bedinger University of South Florida,
[email protected] Follow this and additional works at: http://scholarcommons.usf.edu/etd Part of the American Studies Commons, and the Ecology and Evolutionary Biology Commons Scholar Commons Citation Bedinger, Laura, "The cE ological Role of Rhizophytic Green Algae in Soft-bottom Habitats" (2012). Graduate Theses and Dissertations. http://scholarcommons.usf.edu/etd/3972 This Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by the Graduate School at Scholar Commons. It has been accepted for inclusion in Graduate Theses and Dissertations by an authorized administrator of Scholar Commons. For more information, please contact
[email protected]. The Ecological Role of Rhizophytic Green Algae in Soft-bottom Habitats by Laura Ann Bedinger A dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy Department of Integrative Biology College of Arts and Sciences University of South Florida Major Professor: Susan S. Bell, Ph.D. Clinton J. Dawes, Ph.D. Peter D. Stiling, Ph.D. Kevin S. Beach, Ph.D. Date of Approval: May 3, 2012 Keywords: Bryopsidales, rhizoid, Florida, seagrass bed, biomass, succession, disturbance, vegetative reproduction, regeneration, secondary metabolite, fouling Copyright © 2012, Laura Ann Bedinger DEDICATION This dissertation is dedicated to my amazing husband Matt and my loving parents Gail and Mike. Without their continued support and encouragement this dissertation would not have been possible. It is also dedicated to the ocean and the algae for being a source of inspiration.