Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®

Life Sciences Commons

Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®

Articles 1 - 3 of 3

Full-Text Articles in Life Sciences

Survivorship Of Ploidy-Variable Unisexual Ambystoma Aalamanders Across Developmental Stages, Christina Marie Casto Nov 2013

Survivorship Of Ploidy-Variable Unisexual Ambystoma Aalamanders Across Developmental Stages, Christina Marie Casto

Master's Theses and Doctoral Dissertations

Unisexual Ambystoma produce ploidy-variable offspring that differ in survivorship to adulthood. These populations reproduce through kleptogenesis, persisting by stealing genetic material from males of compatible bisexual Ambystoma species (e.g., Jefferson's Salamander A. jeffersonianum, and the Blue-Spotted Salamander A. laterale). Kleptogenesis can result in ploidy-variable embryos within an egg mass because the female may or may not incorporate the male ambystomatid genome. Little is known about the survivorship of ploidy-variable individuals. In previous studies, triploid individuals are the most abundant class, suggesting a greater mortality in high-ploidy (tetraploid and pentaploid) individuals. We assessed the frequency of ploidy levels (determined …


Population Demographics And Genetics Of Spix's Disk-Winged Bat: Insights Regarding Survival, Mate Choice, Gene Flow And Effective Population Size, Michael Buchalski Aug 2013

Population Demographics And Genetics Of Spix's Disk-Winged Bat: Insights Regarding Survival, Mate Choice, Gene Flow And Effective Population Size, Michael Buchalski

Dissertations

Simultaneous study of the demographics and genetics of populations are relatively rare within the literature, despite insights their combined use offers regarding the life history, ecology, and evolution of species. Here I take a comprehensive approach, using capture-recapture data, polymorphic microsatellite markers, and various modeling techniques to examine the demographics and genetics of multiple local populations of Spix’s disk-winged bat (Thyroptera tricolor) in southwestern Costa Rica. T. tricolor is a highly gregarious, neotropical bat species known to form kin-based social groups with high retention of offspring of both sexes. The implications of this highly unusual social structure for …


Occurrence, Survival, And Persistence Of The Fecal Indicator Bacterium, Enterococcus Mundtii, In Soils Of A Contaminated Watershed, Marc Carpenter May 2013

Occurrence, Survival, And Persistence Of The Fecal Indicator Bacterium, Enterococcus Mundtii, In Soils Of A Contaminated Watershed, Marc Carpenter

Masters Theses, 2010-2019

The Clean Water Act of 1972 raised awareness of the extent of the pollution in U.S. waters and the need for monitoring and identifying sources of contamination. Surface water quality is routinely evaluated using fecal indicators, such as Enterococcus spp. Recent studies in a south Texas watershed showed that fecal bacteria were being transported to water via agricultural land runoff following rainfall, suggesting that soil may be a source of these bacteria. In this study, soils from fields under different crop covers were sampled to determine seasonal levels of enterococci and species of enterococci were identified using the BIOLOG™ Microbial …