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Full-Text Articles in Life Sciences
Conflict, Constraint, And The Evolution Of The Multivariate Performance Phenotype, Ann M. Cespedes Phd
Conflict, Constraint, And The Evolution Of The Multivariate Performance Phenotype, Ann M. Cespedes Phd
University of New Orleans Theses and Dissertations
Performance is key to survival. From day-to-day foraging events, to reproductive activities, to life-or-death crises, how well an organism performs these tasks can determine success or failure. Selection, therefore, both natural and sexual, act upon performance, and performance demands on individuals shape a population’s morphological and physiological trait distributions. While studies of morphological adaptations to ecological pressures implicitly center on the idea that responses to selection improve performance via changes in morphology, the relationships between morphology, performance, and fitness are not always well understood. In this dissertation, I investigate these relationships explicitly, as well as determine the effects that different …
Wing Shape Variation In The Mimetic Butterfly Papilio Dardanus (Papilionidae) And Its Unpalatable Nymphalid Models, Miles Hegedus
Wing Shape Variation In The Mimetic Butterfly Papilio Dardanus (Papilionidae) And Its Unpalatable Nymphalid Models, Miles Hegedus
University of New Orleans Theses and Dissertations
Papilio dardanus displays female-limited polymorphic mimicry of multiple model species. Butterfly wing shape is species-specific and can influence mimetic signaling, but has not been characterized in this species. We used elliptical fourier analysis to investigate whether mimetic P. dardanus female forms have converged on the wing shape of their respective models. Although both models and mimics varied in forewing and hind wing shape, we found no evidence of forewing shape convergence between them. Overall, forewings did not differ in shape between sexes in P. dardanus, nor in four non-mimetic Papilio used for comparison. Similarly, there were no hind wing …
Size-Dependent Patterns Of Reproductive Investment In The North American Invasive Plant Species Triadica Sebifera (L.) Small (Euphorbiaceae), Courtney H. Babin
Size-Dependent Patterns Of Reproductive Investment In The North American Invasive Plant Species Triadica Sebifera (L.) Small (Euphorbiaceae), Courtney H. Babin
University of New Orleans Theses and Dissertations
Knowledge of sex allocation trade-offs with tree growth in insect-pollinated woody plants is limited, particularly in invasive plants. This study examined patterns of growth and reproductive investment in a North American invasive plant species, Triadica sebifera, I hypothesized that the energy limitations of smaller trees may result in the production of more male reproductive structures that are energetically less costly. Diameter at breast height was a significant predictor of seed and catkin mass and regression can describe these relationships across sites. Seed and catkin mass were positively correlated across sites. The relationship between the seed mass:catkin mass ratio and …