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Variation In Organismic Rna And Dna Content: Analysis And Application To The Assessment Of Living Planktonic Biomass, Elizabeth Lam Gagneron
Variation In Organismic Rna And Dna Content: Analysis And Application To The Assessment Of Living Planktonic Biomass, Elizabeth Lam Gagneron
Master's Theses
Modern analysis of DNA and RNA nucleic acid sequences has yielded profound changes in our understanding of the genetic biodiversity of planktonic organisms within the microbial food web of aquatic ecosystems. However, the bulk environmental concentrations of DNA and RNA, and their relative ratios, also potentially provide important information on the biomass and metabolic activity of planktonic organisms. Currently, there is a need to quantify the relative living biomass levels of natural water contained in ships’ ballast tanks to regulate the spread of aquatic invasive species (AIS) resulting from ballast water discharge practices within the international shipping industry. Ultraviolet (UV) …
Phylogenetics, Biogeography, And Climate Niche Variation Of South Pacific And Hawaiian Psychotria, Elaine Zhang
Phylogenetics, Biogeography, And Climate Niche Variation Of South Pacific And Hawaiian Psychotria, Elaine Zhang
Master's Theses
Why do some species have broad geographic distributions, while other species are confined to a narrow distribution? Species age, ecological niche, or dispersal traits may help explain why some insular species are abundant and found on many islands, while others are rare and restricted to one island. In this study, I inferred a robust, time-calibrated phylogeny of the Hawaiian Psychotria, using two nuclear and eight chloroplast loci, sampling 67 individuals. I coupled my phylogenetic hypothesis with climatic data, ecological niche modeling, and morphological dispersal characteristics to explain the variation in number of islands occupied by each species. My inferred phylogeny …
Effect Of Fragmentation And Habitat Type On Coastal Nekton In Mississippi, Thomas Bennett Sevick
Effect Of Fragmentation And Habitat Type On Coastal Nekton In Mississippi, Thomas Bennett Sevick
Master's Theses
Coastal wetlands are extremely productive ecosystems that support an abundance of organisms at higher tropic levels. Coastal wetlands also act as important buffers from storms and help protect major cornerstones of coastal economies, such as tourism and fisheries. Despite the clear need for the protection of these habitats, anthropogenic use of coastal wetlands has increased in frequency and intensity, resulting in the fragmentation of once continuous habitats. A central challenge to assessing the impact of marsh fragmentation is the lack of quantitative distribution and abundance data from specific habitat types. This is especially true for species that are not commercially …
Circadian And Circatidal Rhythms Of Protein Abundance In The Intertidal Mussel Mytilus Californianus, Cory Elowe
Circadian And Circatidal Rhythms Of Protein Abundance In The Intertidal Mussel Mytilus Californianus, Cory Elowe
Master's Theses
The intertidal zone is a dynamic environment that fluctuates with the 12.4-h tidal and 24-h light/dark cycle to predictably alter food availability, temperature, air exposure, wave action, oxygen partial pressure, and osmotic conditions. Intertidal sessile bivalves exhibit behavioral or physiological changes to minimize the persistent challenges of fluctuating environmental conditions, such as adjusting gaping behavior and heart rate. At the cellular level, transcriptomic studies on mussels’ baseline circadian and circatidal rhythms have determined that the circadian rhythm is the dominant transcriptional rhythm. However, as proteins reflect the basic molecular phenotype of an organism and their abundance may differ greatly from …
Long-Term Feeding Ecology Of Early-Stage Striped Bass (Morone Saxatilis) And American Shad (Alosa Sapidissima) In The Hudson River Estuary, Michael G. Smircich
Long-Term Feeding Ecology Of Early-Stage Striped Bass (Morone Saxatilis) And American Shad (Alosa Sapidissima) In The Hudson River Estuary, Michael G. Smircich
Master's Theses
No abstract provided.