Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®
Articles 1 - 3 of 3
Full-Text Articles in Life Sciences
A Sky Island Perspective: New England Alpine Plant Distributions Across The Region, Andrea Tirrell
A Sky Island Perspective: New England Alpine Plant Distributions Across The Region, Andrea Tirrell
Electronic Theses and Dissertations
Alpine ecosystems around the globe are at risk due to climate change, human disturbance, and habitat loss. New England alpine zones are small and fragmented, which could make them vulnerable to global change. However, the persistence of tundra relics throughout the Holocene suggests the persistence of these communities in microclimate refugia. Assessing the near-term vulnerability of alpine plant communities is challenged by a lack of standardized, repeat surveys and long-term monitoring data, which presents a challenge for the many agencies monitoring New England’s alpine zones. Island biogeography theory predicts that alpine species richness is a function of area, but this …
Chromosome Number Evolution, Phylogeography, And The Effects Of Climate Change On Species Distributions In Polyploid Plant Systems, Courtney H. Babin
Chromosome Number Evolution, Phylogeography, And The Effects Of Climate Change On Species Distributions In Polyploid Plant Systems, Courtney H. Babin
University of New Orleans Theses and Dissertations
Polyploidy, a term used to describe organisms with cells having more than two paired sets of chromosomes, is a significant driver of diversification among land plants. Over a century of research has advanced our understanding of polyploidization in some taxa, but polyploid organisms remain understudied. In this dissertation, I investigate chromosome number evolution, phylogeographic structure, genetic differentiation, and the effects of climate change on ploidy level distribution using polyploid plant systems. In the first chapter, I inferred a molecular phylogeny of Allium, an economically important genus that includes cultivated crops and ornamentals, to investigate evolutionary transitions in chromosome number …
Evaluating Current And Future Potential Distribution Of Epiphytic Orchids In The Congo Basin With Ecological Niche Models, Michael L. Ngoh
Evaluating Current And Future Potential Distribution Of Epiphytic Orchids In The Congo Basin With Ecological Niche Models, Michael L. Ngoh
Masters Theses
The Congo Basin Forest harbors a rich diversity of epiphytic communities, with the Orchidaceae alone making up more than 50% of all epiphytes in the region. Despite the huge diversity of epiphytes, many species, including epiphytic orchids, are at risk to a diverse array of threats. Climate change for instance poses severe threats to epiphytic orchids due to elevated temperatures, prolonged periods of droughts, as well as reduced rainfall across the Congo Basin Forest. In this study, we used ecological niche modeling and GIS techniques to identify spatial patterns of species richness, potential future climate refugia, and novel climatic suitability …