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Full-Text Articles in Life Sciences
Impacts Of Anthropogenic Change On Plant Reproduction And Fitness, Alexandra S. Faidiga
Impacts Of Anthropogenic Change On Plant Reproduction And Fitness, Alexandra S. Faidiga
Masters Theses
Humans are altering natural systems around the globe in myriad ways. For plant species, such anthropogenic changes have resulted in increasingly fragmented populations, desynchronized interactions with mutualists, and shifted geographic ranges, among other effects. However, despite numerous examples of human impacts on plant populations, the consequences of these changes on plant reproduction remain poorly understood. In my thesis, I investigate the impacts of two forms of anthropogenic change–habitat disturbance and climate warming–on plant reproduction and fitness. I take two distinct approaches to address questions posed at local and regional scales. In Chapter I, I ask how inbreeding depression varies across …
Host Plant Use, Phenology, And Biological Control Of The Brown Marmorated Stink Bug (Hemiptera: Pentatomidae; Halymorpha Halys) In Northern Utah, Mark Cody Holthouse
Host Plant Use, Phenology, And Biological Control Of The Brown Marmorated Stink Bug (Hemiptera: Pentatomidae; Halymorpha Halys) In Northern Utah, Mark Cody Holthouse
All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023
The invasive brown marmorated stink bug, Halyomorpha halys (Stål), has become a significant agricultural and urban nuisance pest in North America, causing millions of dollars of damage to specialty fruit and vegetable crops over the past two decades. This pest uses over 170 host plant species in North America and is difficult to control with most conventional insecticides. Following the establishment of H. halys in Utah in 2012, this dissertation explores the plant host species, seasonal development, and biological control agents found in the unique climate conditions of the Intermountain West. Chapter II documents important plant species utilized by each …
Autumn Tree Phenology In Northern Wisconsin: Humans Versus Photographs, Trevor Iglinski
Autumn Tree Phenology In Northern Wisconsin: Humans Versus Photographs, Trevor Iglinski
Theses and Dissertations
Ecosystem primary productivity halts when plants go dormant, and so the timing of dormancy as it relates to autumn phenology has been a focus of much interdisciplinary research. While monitoring plant phenology has its roots in directly observing specimens, digital sensors along with modern methods have also become a mainstay in phenology. Results from different methods often vary, so there is still a need to better understand how digital cameras record autumn phenology, especially in comparison with ground-based observations (Keenan et al. 2014). This study compared autumn phenology derived from direct ground observations with upward-facing fisheye photography, in the context …
"Climatic Controls Of Plant Productivity, Phenology, And Physiology In Drylands, Alesia Hallmark, Scott L. Collins, Marcy E. Litvak, Christopher D. Lippitt, Andrew D. Richardson
"Climatic Controls Of Plant Productivity, Phenology, And Physiology In Drylands, Alesia Hallmark, Scott L. Collins, Marcy E. Litvak, Christopher D. Lippitt, Andrew D. Richardson
Biology ETDs
Drylands play a critical role in global carbon dynamics. Anthropogenic climate change is causing these hot and dry regions to become increasingly hotter, drier, and more variable. This is especially concerning as drylands are some of the most sensitive regions to changes in aridity. It is critical to understand how dryland plant species might react to a changing climate. In this dissertation, I explored the relative effects of plant community composition and dominant species abundance on determining ecosystem-wide carbon dynamics. I compared the population stability of 98 dryland plant species and related stability to phenological traits. Lastly, I related branch …
Impact Of The North American Monsoon On Molt Migrant Passerines, Liuqingqing Yang
Impact Of The North American Monsoon On Molt Migrant Passerines, Liuqingqing Yang
Honors Theses
Breeding, molt, and migration place considerable yearly demands on migrating passerines in North America. Due to conflicts in energy allocation, many species have evolved migration strategies that prevent temporal overlap in these processes. However, there is recent evidence that some passerines which breed in western North America migrate to intermediate stopover sites to carry out molt, conflating molt and migration. Factors influencing the evolution of such a strategy are believed to include both aridity on breeding grounds and dependable flushes of late-summer productivity in the southwestern United States and northwestern Mexico. This productivity occurs due to the brisk rainfall of …