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Risk, Reward, And The Role Of Habitat Selection On Community Dynamics In Temporary Ponds, Matthew Robert Pintar
Risk, Reward, And The Role Of Habitat Selection On Community Dynamics In Temporary Ponds, Matthew Robert Pintar
Electronic Theses and Dissertations
The processes that generate patterns of species diversity within and among habitat patches are a fundamental topic of interest in ecology. Traditionally, there was a focus on post-colonization effects such as predation, however, pre-colonization processes, such as habitat selection, are equally important determinants of community structure. In freshwater systems, the lethal effects of dominant predators (particularly fish) are well established, while the transition from permanent to temporary ponds is a defining characteristic. This transition produces distinct communities characterized by organisms with complex life cycles and plastic developmental strategies. This means that many organisms occupying habitat patches arrive there by the …
The Reptile Gut Microbiome: Its Role In Host Evolution And Community Assembly, Timothy Colston Colston
The Reptile Gut Microbiome: Its Role In Host Evolution And Community Assembly, Timothy Colston Colston
Electronic Theses and Dissertations
I characterize the endogenous (gut) microbiome of Squamate reptiles, with a particular focus on the suborder Serpentes, and investigate the influence of the microbiome on host evolution and community assembly using samples I collected across three continents in the New and Old World. I developed novel methods for sampling the microbiomes of reptiles and summarized the current literature on non-mammalian gut microbiomes. In addition to establishing a standardized method of collecting and characterizing reptile microbiomes I made novel contributions to the future direction of the burgeoning field of host-associated microbiome research. Through persistent and rigorous fieldwork I amassed the largest …