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Full-Text Articles in Life Sciences
A Morphological, Functional, And Genetic Investigation Of The Male Compound Eye Phenotype Of Chrysomya Megacephala (Diptera: Calliphoridae)), Joshua Smith
FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations
A very unique compound eye in dipterans is found in males of the forensically important blow fly, Chrysomya megacephala (Diptera: Calliphoridae). This compound eye is characterized by an area of enlarged dorsal facets that, unlike almost all other regional changes in dipteran ommatidia size, is not accompanied by a change in resolution. This region is believed to play a role in mate tracking and allow for increased light capture, though no behavioral studies have tested these claims. An initial goal of the dissertation was to examine the function of this compound eye. Using allometric measurements coupled with behavioral tests, I …
Controls On Benthic Microbial Community Structure And Assembly In A Karstic Coastal Wetland, Nicholas O. Schulte
Controls On Benthic Microbial Community Structure And Assembly In A Karstic Coastal Wetland, Nicholas O. Schulte
FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations
The assembly mechanisms underlying microbial community abundance, biotic interactions, and diversity over space and time are unresolved, particularly in benthic microbial mats distributed along environmental gradients. Experimental enrichment of nutrient-limited microbial mats from the Florida Everglades along a nutrient subsidy-salinity stress gradient stimulated autotrophic and heterotrophic metabolism, growth, and diversity independent of autotroph-heterotroph interactions across treatments and space. These results suggest spatial segregation of autotrophic and heterotrophic components within mats. Considering only the diatom component of Everglades mats over space and time, the subsidy-stress gradient controlled diatom compositional turnover at broad spatial scales while environmental and dispersal-based processes structured diatom …