Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®
Articles 1 - 2 of 2
Full-Text Articles in Life Sciences
Nutritional Ecology Of Aphaenogaster Ants In Response To Climate Change, Katie A. Miller
Nutritional Ecology Of Aphaenogaster Ants In Response To Climate Change, Katie A. Miller
Graduate College Dissertations and Theses
Climate change is predicted to impact organismal nutritional ecology. Increased temperatures can directly accelerate physiological rate processes, which in turn, impact nutritional requirements. Climate change can also impact organisms indirectly by altering the quality and quantity of nutritional resources, creating the potential for nutritional mismatch between what nutrients are available in the environment and what organisms require. Investigation of organismal stoichiometry, particularly the balance of carbon, nitrogen, and phosphorus content of organisms, can help illuminate the extent to which changes in climate may impact organism nutritional ecology. Ants represent an excellent system to examine stoichiometry because they occur across a …
Evolutionary Innovations In Ants To Thermally Stressful Environments, Andrew D. Nguyen
Evolutionary Innovations In Ants To Thermally Stressful Environments, Andrew D. Nguyen
Graduate College Dissertations and Theses
Temperature is a fundamental environmental force shaping species abundance and distributions through its effects on biochemical reaction rates, metabolism, activity, and reproduction. In light of future climate shifts, mainly driven by temperature increases, how will organisms persist in warmer environments? One molecular mechanism that may play an important role in coping with heat stress is the heat shock response (HSR), which protects against molecular damage. To prevent and repair protein damage specifically, Hsps activate and become up-regulated. However, the functional diversity and relevance of heat shock proteins (Hsps) in extending upper thermal limits in taxonomic groups outside marine and model …