Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®
Articles 1 - 2 of 2
Full-Text Articles in Life Sciences
Climate-Driven Selection Results In Powerful Geographic Framework For Predicting Phenotype, Alexandra Neild
Climate-Driven Selection Results In Powerful Geographic Framework For Predicting Phenotype, Alexandra Neild
Masters Theses
Our ability to prepare for and mitigate the likely ecological and evolutionary impacts of climate change largely depends upon our ability to predict the phenotypic responses of organisms that allow them to persist, adapt, and migrate along environmental stress gradients. Using fifteen populations of cottonwoods, a dominant riparian forest tree, that are distributed along elevation gradients and represent three genetic provenances, we hypothesized and show that: 1) populations within a provenance demonstrate parallel evolutionary responses to climatic gradients associated with elevation; and 2) the evolutionary effects of elevation on bud-break phenology varied by provenance. Across all populations, we find strong …
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 …