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Full-Text Articles in Life Sciences

Phylogenetics And Mating System Evolution In The Southern South American Valeriana (Valerianaceae), Lauren A. Gonzalez Aug 2014

Phylogenetics And Mating System Evolution In The Southern South American Valeriana (Valerianaceae), Lauren A. Gonzalez

University of New Orleans Theses and Dissertations

Species of Valerianaceae in South America represent one of the best examples of rapid diversification on a continental scale. The phylogeny of Valerianaceae has received a lot of attention within the last 10 years, but relationships among the South American species are fairly unresolved. Results from previous studies have not been well resolved with traditional genetic markers, most likely due to its recent and rapid radiation. Species in this clade exhibit a variety mating systems and inflorescence types. For the first part of this research I used several traditional plastid markers, and 3 new low copy nuclear markers to better …


Arthropod Abundance And Diversity In Restored Longleaf Pine Savannas At Abita Creek Flatwoods Preserve, Cara B. Nighohossian May 2014

Arthropod Abundance And Diversity In Restored Longleaf Pine Savannas At Abita Creek Flatwoods Preserve, Cara B. Nighohossian

University of New Orleans Theses and Dissertations

The objective of this study is to determine whether changes in arthropod community structure in restored longleaf pine savannas corresponds to differences in vegetation structure often associated with burn frequency. Longleaf pine savannas are fire-maintained ecosystems characteristic of the southeastern United States and have experienced severe declines (around 97%) since European settlement. Changes in fire regime have been instrumental in the declines. Restoration of these ecosystems has involved reinstitution of periodic burnings to promote and maintain vegetative characteristics of the savannas. This study investigates trends in arthropod communities from areas heavily invaded by hardwood shrubs against those dominated by longleaf …


Comparative Biology Of Three Species Of Costa Rican Haeterini, Laura Alexander May 2014

Comparative Biology Of Three Species Of Costa Rican Haeterini, Laura Alexander

University of New Orleans Theses and Dissertations

Documenting life history characteristics of populations, especially of herbivorous insects such as butterflies, is fundamental to the ecological study of tropical rainforests. However, we know relatively little about tropical forest butterflies. Here, I combine information gathered using the mark-release-recapture (MRR) approach with manipulative and observational experiments in a natural environment to explore aspects of the population biology of three closely-related species of Costa Rican fruit-feeding understory butterflies (Cithaerias pireta, Dulcedo polita, and Pierella helvina), specifically: vertical stratification, attraction to and persistence in fruit-baited traps, relative abundance and distribution, movement patterns, probabilities of recapture and daily survival, …