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Post-Miocene Expansion, Colonization, And Host Switching Drove Speciation Among Extant Nematodes Of The Archaic Genus Trichinella, D. S. Zarlenga, B. M. Rosenthal, G. Larosa, E. Pozio, Eric P. Hoberg May 2006

Post-Miocene Expansion, Colonization, And Host Switching Drove Speciation Among Extant Nematodes Of The Archaic Genus Trichinella, D. S. Zarlenga, B. M. Rosenthal, G. Larosa, E. Pozio, Eric P. Hoberg

Harold W. Manter Laboratory of Parasitology: Faculty and Staff Publications

Parasitic nematodes of the genus Trichinella cause significant food-borne illness and occupy a unique evolutionary position at the base of the phylum Nematoda, unlike the free-living nematode Caenorhabditis elegans. Although the forthcoming genome sequence of Trichinella spiralis can provide invaluable comparative information about nematode biology, a basic framework for understanding the history of the genus Trichinella is needed to maximize its utility. We therefore developed the first robust and comprehensive analysis of the phylogeny and biogeographic history of Trichinella using the variation in three genes (nuclear small-subunit rDNA, and second internal transcribed spacer, mitochondrial large-subunit rDNA, and cytochrome oxidase …


Invasive Insect Abundance Varies Across The Biogeographic Distribution Of A Native Host Plant, Tatyana A. Rand, Svata M. Louda Jan 2006

Invasive Insect Abundance Varies Across The Biogeographic Distribution Of A Native Host Plant, Tatyana A. Rand, Svata M. Louda

School of Biological Sciences: Faculty Publications

Studies of biogeographic variation in species abundances are fundamental to understanding and predicting the impacts of invasive exotic species. We quantified the abundance of the introduced and now invasive biocontrol weevil, Rhinocyllus conicus, on a newly adopted native host plant, Cirsium canescens (Platte thistle), across the plant’s distributional range. We used regression and structural equation analyses to examine variation in weevil abundance at 92–108 sites over three years in relation to variation in abiotic and biotic parameters hypothesized to be important in insect or plant dynamics and distribution. We found that R. conicus now occurs throughout the majority of …


Invasive Insect Abundance Varies Across The Biogeographic Distribution Of A Native Host Plant, Tatyana A. Rand, Svata M. Louda Jan 2006

Invasive Insect Abundance Varies Across The Biogeographic Distribution Of A Native Host Plant, Tatyana A. Rand, Svata M. Louda

Svata M. Louda Publications

Studies of biogeographic variation in species abundances are fundamental to understanding and predicting the impacts of invasive exotic species. We quantified the abundance of the introduced and now invasive biocontrol weevil, Rhinocyllus conicus, on a newly adopted native host plant, Cirsium canescens (Platte thistle), across the plant’s distributional range. We used regression and structural equation analyses to examine variation in weevil abundance at 92–108 sites over three years in relation to variation in abiotic and biotic parameters hypothesized to be important in insect or plant dynamics and distribution. We found that R. conicus now occurs throughout the majority of …


Assembly Of The Eastern North American Herpetofauna: New Evidence From Lizards And Frogs, J. Robert Macy, James A. Schulte Ii, Jared L. Strasburg, Jennifer A. Brisson, Allan Larson, Natalia B. Ananjeva, Yuezhao Wang, James F. Parham, Theodore J. Papenfuss Jan 2006

Assembly Of The Eastern North American Herpetofauna: New Evidence From Lizards And Frogs, J. Robert Macy, James A. Schulte Ii, Jared L. Strasburg, Jennifer A. Brisson, Allan Larson, Natalia B. Ananjeva, Yuezhao Wang, James F. Parham, Theodore J. Papenfuss

School of Biological Sciences: Faculty Publications

Darwin first recognized the importance of episodic intercontinental dispersal in the establishment of worldwide biotic diversity. Faunal exchange across the Bering Land Bridge is a major example of such dispersal. Here, we demonstrate with mitochondrial DNA evidence that three independent dispersal events from Asia to North America are the source for almost all lizard taxa found in continental eastern North America. Two other dispersal events across Beringia account for observed diversity among North American ranid frogs, one of the most species-rich groups of frogs in eastern North America. The contribution of faunal elements from Asia via dispersal across Beringia is …