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Climate-Driven Insect Herbivory In Mixed Coast Live Oak Woodlands Within The Mt. Hamilton Range, Santa Clara County, Michelle Domocol

Master's Theses

Climate change is expected to dramatically alter and destabilize critical functions of oak woodlands (Quercus spp.) in California. Oak woodlands support hundreds of vertebrate species and thousands of native insect species. Climate-driven changes in annual temperature, annual rainfall, and spatial climatic variability may increase insect herbivore pressures on mixed coast live oak (Quercus agrifolia) woodlands. The Mt. Hamilton Range of Santa Clara County, California offers a unique matrix to study oak-insect herbivore relationship using elevation as a proxy for climate change. This thesis research assessed the relationship between lepidopteran herbivory and coast live oak with insect surveys and the laboratory …

Floral Preformation In The Warming Boreal Forest: The Effects Of Temperature On The Development Of Vaccinium Vitis-Idaea, Eileen Schaub

Master's Theses

The boreal forest is experiencing climate change at twice the rate of other regions. Although changes in flowering phenology are a known consequence of warming temperatures, much is unknown about the effects of temperature anomalies on floral development. Boreal angiosperms preform flowers a year or more in advance and are consequently subject to varied environmental conditions across that time. My thesis examines the effects of temperature on floral development in order to understand how boreal taxa will respond to climate change.

Collection of Vaccinium vitis-idaeafrom natural populations in Fairbanks, Alaska was carried out over the growing seasons of 2017 …