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Full-Text Articles in Life Sciences
Understanding The Impacts Of Current And Future Environmental Variation On Central African Amphibian Biodiversity, Courtney A. Miller
Understanding The Impacts Of Current And Future Environmental Variation On Central African Amphibian Biodiversity, Courtney A. Miller
University of New Orleans Theses and Dissertations
Global climate change is projected to impact multiple levels of biodiversity by imposing strong selection pressures on existing populations, triggering shifts in species distributions, and reorganizing entire communities. The Lower Guineo-Congolian region in central Africa, a reservoir for amphibian diversity, is predicted to be severely affected by future climate change through rising temperatures and greater variability in rainfall. Geospatial modelling can be used to assess how environmental variation shapes patterns of biological variation – from the genomic to the community level – and use these associations to predict patterns of biological change across space and time. The overall goal of …
Comparative Phylogeography Of Central African Duikers Using Non-Invasive Sampling Methods, Stephan Ntie
Comparative Phylogeography Of Central African Duikers Using Non-Invasive Sampling Methods, Stephan Ntie
University of New Orleans Theses and Dissertations
The present study sets out to assess patterns of evolutionary diversification in central African duikers (subfamily Cephalophinae). The sampling strategy consisted of collecting geo-referenced duiker feces across 43 sites and seven countries. However, several challenges related to the use of non-invasive samples needed to be addressed prior to large scale DNA amplification. First, the best storage method for obtaining DNA from fecal samples needed to be established. Our study revealed that while silica is best for nuclear microsatellite analyses, RNAlater is the best storage medium for maximal mitochondrial amplification. Moreover, extracting DNA as early as possible always provided the …