University of Central Florida STARS Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2004-2019 2013 Population Dynamics And Environmental Factors Influencing Herbs In Intact And Degraded Florida Rosemary Scrub Elizabeth Stephens University of Central Florida Part of the Biology Commons Find similar works at: https://stars.library.ucf.edu/etd University of Central Florida Libraries http://library.ucf.edu This Doctoral Dissertation (Open Access) is brought to you for free and open access by STARS. It has been accepted for inclusion in Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2004-2019 by an authorized administrator of STARS. For more information, please contact
[email protected]. STARS Citation Stephens, Elizabeth, "Population Dynamics And Environmental Factors Influencing Herbs In Intact And Degraded Florida Rosemary Scrub" (2013). Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2004-2019. 2822. https://stars.library.ucf.edu/etd/2822 POPULATION DYNAMICS AND ENVIRONMENTAL FACTORS INFLUENCING HERBS IN INTACT AND DEGRADED FLORIDA ROSEMARY SCRUB by ELIZABETH L. STEPHENS M.S. Purdue University, 2005 A dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy of Science in the Department of Biology in the College of Sciences at the University of Central Florida Orlando, Florida Spring Term 2013 Major Professor: Pedro F. Quintana-Ascencio © 2013 Elizabeth L. Stephens ii ABSTRACT Species have complex and contextual relationships with their environment; both the relative contributions of life-history stages to population growth and the effect of environmental factors on each stage can be different among co-existing species. Timing and extent of reproduction, survival, and mortality determine population growth, species distributions, and assemblage patterns. I evaluate the role of habitat (intact, degraded) and microsite (shrub, leaf litter, bare sand) on population dynamics of Florida scrub herbs.