Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®

Life Sciences Commons

Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®

Climate change

PDF

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

2013

Articles 1 - 2 of 2

Full-Text Articles in Life Sciences

Soil Freezing Effects On A Grass-Dominated Old Field Ecosystem Under Current And Future Rates Of Atmospheric Nitrogen Deposition, Mat Vankoughnett Nov 2013

Soil Freezing Effects On A Grass-Dominated Old Field Ecosystem Under Current And Future Rates Of Atmospheric Nitrogen Deposition, Mat Vankoughnett

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Climate change is expected to alter the intensity and dynamics of soil freezing as a result of increased air temperatures and reduced snow cover. Soil freezing can influence ecosystem nitrogen (N) cycling by damaging plants and soil microorganisms, but little is known about how soil freezing effects on ecosystem N cycling may combine or interact with increased atmospheric N deposition, which is also expected to exert a strong influence on terrestrial ecosystems in the coming decades. The objective of my thesis was to examine the combined and possibly the interactive effects of climate induced changes in soil freezing and N …


Thermal Adaptation Of Life History Traits In The Drosophila Melanogaster Group, Christopher James Austin Oct 2013

Thermal Adaptation Of Life History Traits In The Drosophila Melanogaster Group, Christopher James Austin

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Thermal adaptation is typically detected by examining the tolerance to extreme temperatures in a few populations within a single life stage. However, the extent to which adaptation occurs among many different populations might depend on the tolerance of multiple life stages and the average temperature range that the population experiences. Here, I examined adaptation to local temperature conditions in four species of fruit flies, including a cosmopolitan species, Drosophila melanogaster, and three species with geographically small-sized ranges, D. nepalensis, D. sechellia, and D. mauritiana. The cosmopolitan species showed adaptation to native temperatures during the larval and adult …