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Articles 1 - 21 of 21
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Effect Of Climate History On The Genetic Structure Of An Antarctic Soil Nematode, Abigail C. Jackson
Effect Of Climate History On The Genetic Structure Of An Antarctic Soil Nematode, Abigail C. Jackson
Theses and Dissertations
Historical climate disturbances such as glacial cycling and fluctuating stream, lake, and sea levels strongly influence the distribution and evolutionary trajectories of Antarctic terrestrial species. Antarctic invertebrates, with limited long-range mobility, including the ubiquitous sentinel nematode species Scottnema lindsayae, are especially sensitive to climate disturbances. We tested hypotheses associated with the historical geographic and population genetic structure of this species as it occurs across the McMurdo Dry Valleys (MDVs) of Antarctica. In order to reconstruct the influence of climate disturbance and ecological conditions on this species, partial mitochondrial COI gene sequences were sequenced and analyzed from individual S. lindsayae collected …
The Development Of A Genomic Toolbox For Studying The Evolutionary Genetics Of Reptilian Lungs Using The Chicken Model, Logan Thomas Edvalson
The Development Of A Genomic Toolbox For Studying The Evolutionary Genetics Of Reptilian Lungs Using The Chicken Model, Logan Thomas Edvalson
Theses and Dissertations
There is a vast diversity in tetrapod lung branching morphology. Phylogenetically, much of the pulmonary diversity among vertebrates appears to arise from the way epithelial tubes branch or form saccular (cyst) structures. Fgf10 activity has been shown to play a critical role in regulating branch versus cyst morphology. We hypothesize that the species-specific differences in lung morphology may be primarily due to species-specific differences in Fgf10 expression. To test this hypothesis, we have performed bioinformatic analyses on the Fgf10 locus and have identified a conserved 11 kb noncoding region that potentially contains the Fgf10 lung enhancer. We are taking a …
Ecology And Evolution Of Social Information Use, Clare T. M. Doherty
Ecology And Evolution Of Social Information Use, Clare T. M. Doherty
Dartmouth College Ph.D Dissertations
Sociality is a strategy many animals employ to cope with their environments, enabling them to survive and reproduce more successfully than would otherwise be possible. When navigating their environments and making decisions, social individuals often use information provided by conspecifics (in the form of social cues and signals), thereby increasing the scope and reliability of the information they can gather. However, social information use may be influenced by many factors, including key differences in context across the physical and social environment. My thesis asks and answers a series of questions regarding the trade-offs in social information use across different contexts, …
Constraints Of The Imagination: How Phenotypes Are Shaped Through Genetics, The Environment, And Development, Michelle Gilbert
Constraints Of The Imagination: How Phenotypes Are Shaped Through Genetics, The Environment, And Development, Michelle Gilbert
Doctoral Dissertations
Phenotypic constraints are ubiquitous throughout nature, being found throughout all stages of life and at multiple different biological levels including cellular, genetic, environmental, behavioral, evolutionary, and developmental. These constraints have shaped, not only the natural world, but the way that we perceive what is possible, or impossible, an observation made clear by François Jacob in his 1977 paper “Evolution and Tinkering”. This is reflected in the literature, repeatedly, by the regular occurrence of densely packed visualization of phenotypic space that seemingly always have large areas that go unoccupied. Despite constrained regions of space being observable across countless taxa, identifying the …
Ecology And Phytochemistry Of The Non-Native Plant Thlaspi Arvense (Brassicaceae) In Subalpine Meadows Of Colorado, Usa, Elsa Cousins
Ecology And Phytochemistry Of The Non-Native Plant Thlaspi Arvense (Brassicaceae) In Subalpine Meadows Of Colorado, Usa, Elsa Cousins
Doctoral Dissertations
Climate change is altering ecosystems at multiple scales. Globally, warming temperatures and increasing irregularity of precipitation will have large scale impacts on species distribution and success. Locally, understanding species response to fine scale microhabitat variation can provide key insights into population adaptation. Non-native plants represent an opportunity to investigate population level response and adaptation to relatively novel combinations of biotic and abiotic environments. Subalpine meadows are at the intersection of biotic and abiotic change, as large-scale climatic shifts alter water and temperature regimes and species range shifts become increasingly common and larger in scale. This dissertation addresses these questions of …
Phylogenetic Relationships Among Fishes In The Order Zeiformes Based On Molecular Data From Three Mitochondrial Loci, Lindsay Scarpitta
Phylogenetic Relationships Among Fishes In The Order Zeiformes Based On Molecular Data From Three Mitochondrial Loci, Lindsay Scarpitta
Master's Theses
The Zeiformes (dories) are mid-water or deep (to 1000 m) marine acanthomorph fishes with a global, circumtropical, and circumtemperate distribution. Some species have a near-worldwide distribution, while others appear to be regional endemics, e.g., near New Zealand. Six families, 16 genera, and 33 species are currently recognized as valid. Relationships among them, however, remain unsettled, especially in light of recent proposals concerning the phylogenetic placement of zeiforms within the Paracanthopterygii rather than allied with beryciforms or percomorphs. The present study uses mtDNA characters to investigate zeiform interrelationships given their revised phylogenetic placement and attendant changes to their close outgroups, carried …
Temperature Effects On The Development Of The Axial Skeleton And Body Shape In Astyanax Mexicanus (Teleostei: Characidae), Joseph David Forberg
Temperature Effects On The Development Of The Axial Skeleton And Body Shape In Astyanax Mexicanus (Teleostei: Characidae), Joseph David Forberg
College of Science and Health Theses and Dissertations
Humans are causing large-scale changes in environmental conditions across the planet including in temperature. Changes in the environmental conditions can lead to phenotypic changes in ectotherms that affect adaptively important traits like body shape and the axial skeleton. Previous studies have shown that temperature changes during development significantly affects body shape and vertebral number in the Mexican tetra Astyanax mexicanus. How these changes arise early in development is not clear. In this study, I examine how changes in developmental temperature affect body shape in larval and juvenile fish, the order of ossification of elements of the axial skeleton, the size …
Acceptance Finds A Way: How To Teach And Use Evolution's Explanatory Power, Daniel George Ferguson
Acceptance Finds A Way: How To Teach And Use Evolution's Explanatory Power, Daniel George Ferguson
Theses and Dissertations
The theory of evolution is the central combing theory that brings together all the tenets of biology that bring about a solid understanding of life. It is also one of the most controversial scientific theories of all time and is widely rejected by about 40% of the general public in the United States. One of the biggest reasons for low evolution acceptance is the perceived conflict between evolution and religious beliefs. Educators and researchers have been working hard to improve how we teach evolution in the classroom; some methods, such as focusing on evolution knowledge, have shown to be mixed. …
Development Of Graphical Models And Statistical Physics Motivated Approaches To Genomic Investigations, Yashwanth Lagisetty
Development Of Graphical Models And Statistical Physics Motivated Approaches To Genomic Investigations, Yashwanth Lagisetty
Dissertations & Theses (Open Access)
Identifying genes involved in disease pathology has been a goal of genomic research since the early days of the field. However, as technology improves and the body of research grows, we are faced with more questions than answers. Among these is the pressing matter of our incomplete understanding of the genetic underpinnings of complex diseases. Many hypotheses offer explanations as to why direct and independent analyses of variants, as done in genome-wide association studies (GWAS), may not fully elucidate disease genetics. These range from pointing out flaws in statistical testing to invoking the complex dynamics of epigenetic processes. In the …
Mixed Method Analysis Of Undergraduate Student Interpretation Of Different Phylogenetic Trees, Faith Frings
Mixed Method Analysis Of Undergraduate Student Interpretation Of Different Phylogenetic Trees, Faith Frings
USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations
Phylogenetic trees are common tools used to visualize evolutionary concepts such as historical patterns of ancestry, divergence of species, and descent of species. However, students have misconceptions when reading these abstract diagrams. The purpose of this study was to compare student performance and evolutionary thinking when using two styles of phylogenetic trees: cladograms and phylograms. The study also assessed the validity of a hierarchal theoretical framework evaluating student phylogenetic tree interpretation. Introductory biology students from two research universities were assigned to two groups, one solely given assessments with phylograms, and one solely given assessments with cladograms. One-on-one student interviews were …
Survivorship Of Columbian Black-Tailed Deer In A Predator-Free Environment, Grace Hope Barthelmess
Survivorship Of Columbian Black-Tailed Deer In A Predator-Free Environment, Grace Hope Barthelmess
Honors Projects
Future management of Columbian black tailed deer (Odocoileus hemionus columbianus) populations requires an understanding of survivorship and potential drivers of mortality. Little is currently known about the survivorship of O. h. columbianus, specifically in a predator-free environment. Analyzing the survivorship of deer in these contexts may be crucial for wildlife conservation efforts throughout the United States, as it could provide insight into how deer populations may be impacted by lack of population control by predation. Here, I present age analysis of O. h. columbianus based on the cementum annuli of the lower first molar in 489 males …
Assessing The Utility Of The Pmm And Mmc Indices Among Extant Hominoid Genera, Julie A. Strain
Assessing The Utility Of The Pmm And Mmc Indices Among Extant Hominoid Genera, Julie A. Strain
Theses and Dissertations
This thesis set out to incorporate extant hominoid genera into an analysis of PMM and MMC to assess utility in phylogeny and predicting known taxonomic groups. Based on previous claims, we expect PMM/pmm and MMC/mmc to perform better than M1/m1 shape and size, our baseline for success, but they do not.
Rodent Dental Microwear Texture Analysis As A Proxy For Fine-Scale Paleoenvironment Reconstruction, Jenny H. E. Burgman
Rodent Dental Microwear Texture Analysis As A Proxy For Fine-Scale Paleoenvironment Reconstruction, Jenny H. E. Burgman
Graduate Theses and Dissertations
Dental microwear texture analysis (DMTA) of fossil fauna has become a valuable tool for dietary inference and paleoenvironment reconstruction. Most of this work has utilized larger taxa with larger home ranges. These studies may result in broader-scale habitat inferences that could mask the details of complex mosaic habitats. Rodent DMTA offers an opportunity to work at finer spatial scales because most species have smaller home ranges. Rodents are also keystone species within their ecosystems, abundant, ubiquitous, and found in many fossil deposits. These attributes make them excellent proxies for environmental reconstructions. However, the application of DMTA to rodents remains relatively …
Evolution Of Floral Microbes And The Resulting Effects On Pollinator Preference, Hailey Hatch
Evolution Of Floral Microbes And The Resulting Effects On Pollinator Preference, Hailey Hatch
Undergraduate Honors Capstone Projects
Floral microbes are an overlooked aspect of the extended floral phenotype. Through altering floral nectar chemistry, they can mediate interactions between flowers, pollinators, and other floral microbes, with significant implications for plant and pollinator health. Interactions between floral microbes and pollinators are critically important to understand, as pollinators provide important ecosystem services in both natural and agriculture systems. Here, I explored how floral nectar traits affected both evolution and competition within the floral yeast Metschnikowia reukaufii, the floral bacterium Bacillus subtilis, and other microbes isolated from Brassica rapa nectar, an important plant model system and oilseed crop. To …
Comparative Sequence Analysis Elucidates The Evolutionary Patterns Of Yersinia Pestis In New Mexico Over Thirty-Two Years, M. Elizabeth Warren
Comparative Sequence Analysis Elucidates The Evolutionary Patterns Of Yersinia Pestis In New Mexico Over Thirty-Two Years, M. Elizabeth Warren
Theses and Dissertations
Yersinia pestis, a gram-negative bacterium, is the causative agent of plague. Y. pestis is a zoonotic pathogen that occasionally infects humans, and is endemic in the western United States. History gives evidence of three main plague pandemics. The first, originating in Egypt in 541AD, is known as the Justinian plague. The second, perhaps most well-known, is thought to have emerged in 1347AD in China, and is called the Black Death. The third, and current plague pandemic, also emerged in China in 1855. In 1899, Y. pestis was established in California, and the plague in other parts of America evolved from …
Geographic Range Size As A Predictor Of Dispersal-Dependent Behavioral Traits In Two Clades Of A Terrestrial Salamander, Teah Evers
Masters Theses
Animal movement has the potential to affect diverse processes within ecology and evolution including range expansion, gene flow, adaptation, and speciation. Two aspects of animal personality that are germane to dispersal are exploratory and aggressive behavior. These behavioral categories may represent a trade-off such that energy invested in territorial defense leaves little energy for movement and dispersal. The Eastern Red-backed Salamander (Plethodon cinereus) is a wide ranging, dispersal limited, terrestrial salamander with well documented phylogeographic divisions. I examined dispersal-relevant behavioral traits within two clades of P. cinereus with disparate geographic ranges. The Northern Clade (NC) has a range extending from …
Drought Tolerance In Native And Invasive Populations Of The Centaurea Jacea Hybrid Complex, Zoe Portlas
Drought Tolerance In Native And Invasive Populations Of The Centaurea Jacea Hybrid Complex, Zoe Portlas
Graduate College Dissertations and Theses
Introduced plants face many ecological and evolutionary challenges when establishing in a new range, such as strong abiotic stressors and potentially novel selective environments. One such abiotic stress is water availability, which is a strong selective force shaping physiological and phenological traits that enable plants to tolerate or avoid drought stress. Despite the challenges of establishing in a new range, thousands of species have become invasive in recent centuries. Two hypotheses that may explain how a species is able to withstand stress in its introduced range are preadaptation, which posits that species are adapted to similar environments in their native …
Nutrient Scarcity And Cellular Cooperation In A Clonal Hydroid, Weam S. El Rahmany
Nutrient Scarcity And Cellular Cooperation In A Clonal Hydroid, Weam S. El Rahmany
Graduate Research Theses & Dissertations
Biological complexity forms when lower-level units (e.g., genes, cells, organisms) cooperatively band together. This complexity may be exemplified by multicellularity, the cooperation between the cells of the same species, or symbiosis, cooperation between the cells of different species. This cooperation is under continual threat, as defection, the opposite of cooperation, is favored by default by lower-level units (i.e., cells). Animal cancers may be the most well-known phenomena that exemplify the concept of cellular defection. Cancer cells have been shown to feature morphological and metabolic traits, developed through differential gene expression or mutations, that favor their growth at the cost of …
Evolution Of Life-History Characteristics In Gadoidei, Joshua Hittie
Evolution Of Life-History Characteristics In Gadoidei, Joshua Hittie
Master's Theses
Life-history characteristics (e.g., age and growth) have been used extensively to understand the temporal population dynamics of fish species, but less so within a phylogenetic framework. This study investigates life-history characteristics within the suborder Gadoidei (order: Gadiformes) and to test the extent of phylogenetic signal for those characteristics. To accomplish this, a phylogeny of Gadoidei was first constructed based on both mitochondrial and nuclear genes. Within this phylogenetic framework, life-history traits, including growth rate, age at maturity, and longevity, as well as ecological data, such as water depth and diet type, were mapped to the phylogeny using parsimony analysis to …
Population Genomics Of Redbreast Sunfish (Lepomis Auritus): Exploring Gene Flow And Local Adaptation In A Widely Distributed Freshwater Fish, Garret J. Strickland
Population Genomics Of Redbreast Sunfish (Lepomis Auritus): Exploring Gene Flow And Local Adaptation In A Widely Distributed Freshwater Fish, Garret J. Strickland
Electronic Theses and Dissertations
Little information is available concerning the distribution of genetic diversity in non-salmonid, non-imperiled, freshwater fish. In order to fill in this knowledge gap, I conducted a population genomics survey in Redbreast Sunfish (Lepomis auritus; RBS), a widespread, generalist species distributed along the Atlantic slope rivers of eastern North America. I sampled four basins (ACF, Savannah, Roanoke, and James) at eight sites each with a factorial experimental design. Sites were distributed among coastal plain, Piedmont, or mountain ecoregions in order to capture the greatest range of environmental states experienced by RBS, with the intention of finding evidence for local adaptation to …
Evaluating Population Genetic Structure And Potential Genomic Signals Of Natural Selection In A Migratory Songbird (Protonotaria Citrea), Tyler A. Hohenstein
Evaluating Population Genetic Structure And Potential Genomic Signals Of Natural Selection In A Migratory Songbird (Protonotaria Citrea), Tyler A. Hohenstein
Theses and Dissertations
In this study I attempted to further resolve the population genetic structure in the Prothonotary Warbler (Protonotaria citrea), and conducted an outlier SNP analysis and exploratory gene ontology analysis to investigate potential ongoing natural selection in the species. This analysis of population structure confirms previous work by DeSaix et al. (2019), where weak population structure was observed between eastern sites along the Atlantic Coastal Plain, and western sites in the Mississippi Alluvial Valley, possibly due to a genetic discontinuity across the Appalachian Mountains. I conducted two forms of outlier SNP analyses, a principal component analysis (PCA)-based approach to identify SNPs …