Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®
Articles 1 - 2 of 2
Full-Text Articles in Entire DC Network
Constraints On Distributions And Diversity Of Birds And Mammals Over Variable Environments, Trevor S. Fristoe
Constraints On Distributions And Diversity Of Birds And Mammals Over Variable Environments, Trevor S. Fristoe
Biology ETDs
The distributions of species are determined by intrinsic factors such as physiological tolerances as well as extrinsic factors of the environment such as the availability of resources. While physiological tolerances generally change over evolutionary time scales, changes in environmental productivity due to processes such as succession or seasonal progression often occur over ecological times. I address both physiology and resource availability as drivers of the distributions and diversity of endothermic birds and mammals using a macroecological approach and a metabolic perspective. Migratory birds, altering communities over seasonal cycles, provide a unique opportunity to investigate the drivers of distributions and diversity …
Into The Tropics: A Quantitative Study Of Mammals In The Great American Biotic Interchange, Winifred Whiteman-Jennings
Into The Tropics: A Quantitative Study Of Mammals In The Great American Biotic Interchange, Winifred Whiteman-Jennings
Biology ETDs
For almost 100 million years, North and South America were isolated from each other. This long period of geologic separation led to the evolution of strikingly different mammalian faunas: marsupials were prevalent in South America, while ecosystems in North America were composed of placental mammals. Roughly 3 Mya, a land bridge formed between the two continents leading to an accelerated exchange of mammalian fauna. The Great American Biotic Interchange (or GABI, as this has come to be called,) led to the successful colonization of many North American species, but few South American species. The highly asymmetrical nature of the faunal …