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The Ecology And Evolution Of Species Rarity In Oaks (Quercus Spp.), Yingtong Wu
The Ecology And Evolution Of Species Rarity In Oaks (Quercus Spp.), Yingtong Wu
Dissertations
Rare species are susceptible to extinction due to ecological and genetic factors. Understanding the distribution, ecology, and evolution of rare species can provide useful information for effective conservation. To investigate species rarity, this dissertation focuses on a species-rich and ecologically diverse genus, Quercus (oaks). In Chapter 1, I aimed to understand how interactions between hosts and soil microbes contribute to habitat restriction in oak species. I performed a soil inoculum experiment on two pairs of sister oak species that show habitat divergence. I found that host-specific soil microbes contribute to habitat divergence and exclusion among sister species of oaks, but …
Conservation, Comparative Genomics And Species Delimitation Of The Reindeer Lichens (Cladonia), Jordan R. Hoffman
Conservation, Comparative Genomics And Species Delimitation Of The Reindeer Lichens (Cladonia), Jordan R. Hoffman
Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects
The genus Cladonia represents one of the most speciose genera of lichenized fungi, with more than 500 known species encompassing a diverse array of morphologies and habits. These lichens form keystone species in many habitats, serving a variety of ecological roles. However, despite being among of the more well studied lichens, there is much still unknown or under-studied about them. As is the case with most lichen study systems, phylogenetic study has been limited to a small number of partial loci, while adoption of next-generation sequence methods has been slow. As a consequence, there are still knowledge gaps in Cladonia …