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Articles 1 - 5 of 5
Full-Text Articles in Life Sciences
Dynamics Of Avian Elevational Ranges Reveal Hidden Evolutionary Forces, Chauncey Gadek
Dynamics Of Avian Elevational Ranges Reveal Hidden Evolutionary Forces, Chauncey Gadek
Biology ETDs
The distribution of life across the Andes mountains reflects historical elevational-range contraction and expansion. Whereas contraction implies specialization, expansion requires overcoming hidden barriers. Three eco-evolutionary phenomena may drive patterns in rates of elevational range evolution: (1) The Dobzhansky-MacArthur Phenomenon (DMP) predicts lower rates of upward expansion with harsher physical conditions, while downward expansion increases with lower diversity; (2) the evolutionary tendency toward specialization predicts contraction increases when ranges are broad; and (3) natural selection for respiratory performance could suppress expansion across mid-elevations due to gene-environment mismatch. We modeled elevational range shifts of Neotropical landbirds. Contrary to the DMP, upward expansion …
Eutherian Biogeography During The Puercan North American Land Mammal Age (Paleocene, Earliest Danian): Problems And Potential Solutions, Jason Sterling Silviria
Eutherian Biogeography During The Puercan North American Land Mammal Age (Paleocene, Earliest Danian): Problems And Potential Solutions, Jason Sterling Silviria
Earth and Planetary Sciences ETDs
The Puercan North American Land Mammal Age (NALMA) is the earliest major North American terrestrial biochron of the Cenozoic era, spanning roughly the first one million years of the Paleogene period (Paleocene epoch, Danian stage; ~66.04-65.12 Ma). It is typified by the explosive ecomorphological diversification of the mammalian clade Eutheria (particularly our subclade, Placentalia), following the annihilation of non-avian dinosaurs and “archaic” mammal groups during the Cretaceous/Paleogene (K-Pg) mass extinction event. The spatiotemporal mode and tempo of Puercan eutherian diversification has long been the subject of debate, with disagreements over biogeographic zonation. The traditional model – based largely on well-sampled, …
Fungi In A Hot, Dry, Changing World, Miriam I. Hutchinson
Fungi In A Hot, Dry, Changing World, Miriam I. Hutchinson
Biology ETDs
My doctoral work focused on understanding the reciprocal relationship between fungi and their environment, namely how fungi respond to environmental flux, as well as how fungi can modify and structure their habitats, especially in the context of climate change. As such, I aimed my research on fungi with distinct adaptations to their environmental niches: endophytic fungi that inhabit plant tissue and thermophilic fungi that are capable of growing at the upper temperature limit for eukaryotic life. My research consisted of three studies. First, I investigated the thermophilic species Myceliophthora heterothallica to demonstrate its use as a model organism for efficient …
Biogeographical Implications Of Climate Change For An Alpine Mammal, The American Pika, Marie Louise Westover
Biogeographical Implications Of Climate Change For An Alpine Mammal, The American Pika, Marie Louise Westover
Biology ETDs
Anthropogenic climate change has already impacted a majority of species globally. The aim of this dissertation is to understand how climate and climate change influences animal ecology and evolution across space and time, using the American pika (Ochotona. princeps) as a model system. I investigate how pika body size, diet, and occupancy are influenced by different aspects of climate over space and time. Body size in O. princeps populations best correlates to precipitation and vegetation, rather than temperature. Our findings suggest that pika body size may be more related to vegetation and food availability than the direct effects …
King Of The Hill? How Biotic Interactions Affect Biogeographical Pattern And Species Responses To Climate Change, Joshua Scott Lynn, Jennifer A. Rudgers, Tom E.X. Miller, Stephanie N. Kivlin, Melanie R. Kazenel
King Of The Hill? How Biotic Interactions Affect Biogeographical Pattern And Species Responses To Climate Change, Joshua Scott Lynn, Jennifer A. Rudgers, Tom E.X. Miller, Stephanie N. Kivlin, Melanie R. Kazenel
Biology ETDs
As climate has warmed, many species have moved up mountains as physiological limits to their distributions have ameliorated. These distribution shifts are creating novel communities, begging the question: What happens to species at the tops of mountains as potential antagonists encroach upwards? Theory predicts that upward migrations will cause range contractions for high-elevation species because of novel interactions with encroaching antagonists. My dissertation work is one of the most comprehensive tests of this question to date, using a combination of ecological niche modeling (ENM), experiments, and demographic and trait-based modeling approaches. I created novel ENMs that suggest context-dependency of biotic …