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Biogeography And Systematics Of The Nerodia Clarkii/Nerodia Fasciata Clade In Florida, Gregory Territo
Biogeography And Systematics Of The Nerodia Clarkii/Nerodia Fasciata Clade In Florida, Gregory Territo
Electronic Theses and Dissertations
Biogeography provides a window into the evolutionary history of populations, and helps explain the diversity and distribution of life through time. Viewed from a systematic perspective, biogeographic studies generate convincing arguments to explain the relationships among organisms and categorize them into useful taxonomies. When taxonomies do not reflect evolutionary histories, inaccurate representations of biodiversity confound future studies and conservation efforts. Two thamnophiine snakes, Nerodia clarkii and Nerodia fasciata, harbor unique morphological and ecological adaptations that obscured natural groupings, leading to controversial taxonomic delimitations. Additionally, population declines documented in N. clarkii compressicauda and N. clarkii taeniata led managers to list N. …
Conservation And Population Biology: Genetics, Demography And Habitat Requirements Of The Atlantic Coast Beach Mice, Haakon Myklevoll Kalkvik
Conservation And Population Biology: Genetics, Demography And Habitat Requirements Of The Atlantic Coast Beach Mice, Haakon Myklevoll Kalkvik
Electronic Theses and Dissertations
The conservation biology field seeks to preserve biodiversity and the processes shaping that variation. Conservation biology is intimately tied to evolutionary research, in order to identify evolutionary distinct lineages that may be in danger of disappearing. Interestingly, patterns and processes of lineage divergence and persistence change with respect to spatial and temporal scale. I seek to evaluate biodiversity, the factors that have shaped this heterogeneity, and how this variability persists. To accomplish this I used a phylogeographic approach as well as niche and population modeling on the Peromyscus maniculatus species group found widely distributed in North America. My emphasis was …
Biogeography And Diversification In The Neotropics: Testing Macroevolutionary Hypotheses Using Molecular Phylogenetic Data, Juan Manuel Daza Rojas
Biogeography And Diversification In The Neotropics: Testing Macroevolutionary Hypotheses Using Molecular Phylogenetic Data, Juan Manuel Daza Rojas
Electronic Theses and Dissertations
Lineage diversification in the Neotropics is an interesting topic in evolutionary biology and one of the least understood. The complexity of the region precludes generalizations regarding the historical and evolutionary processes responsible for the observed high diversity. Here, I use molecular data to infer evolutionary relationships and test hypotheses of current taxonomy, species boundaries, speciation and biogeographic history in several lineages of Neotropical snakes. I comprehensively sampled a widely distributed Neotropical colubrid snake and Middle American pitvipers and combined my data with published sequences. Within the colubrid genus Leptodeira, mitochondrial and nuclear markers revealed a phylogeograhic structure that disagrees with …
Genetic And Phenotypic Evolution In The Ornate Chorus Frog (Pseudacris Ornata): Testing The Relative Roles Of Natural Selection,, Jacob Degner
Electronic Theses and Dissertations
Understanding how migration, genetic drift, and natural selection interact to maintain the genetic and phenotypic variation we observe in natural populations is a central goal of population genetics. Amphibians provide excellent model organisms for investigating the interplay between these evolutionary forces because amphibians are generally characterized by limited dispersal abilities, high philopatry, and are obligately associated with the areas around suitable habitats (e.g. breeding ponds). Thus, on relatively small geographic scales, the relative effects of all of these evolutionary forces can be studied together. Here, we study the interaction of migration, genetic drift, natural selection, and historical process in the …