Biodiversity Commons^™

Improving Conservation Efforts Through A Better Understanding Of Forest Elephant Ecology, The Impacts Of Threats On Elephants And Freshwater Fisheries In Northern Congo, Roger Patrick Boundja

Doctoral Dissertations

IMPROVING CONSERVATION EFFORTS THROUGH A BETTER UNDERSTANDING OF FOREST ELEPHANT ECOLOGY, THE IMPACTS OF THREATS ON ELEPHANTS AND FRESHWATER FISHERIES IN NORTHERN SEPTEMBER 2016 ROGER PATRICK BOUNDJA, B.Sc. FORESTRY, MARIEN NGOUABI UNIVERSITY, BRAZZAVILLE MSc. UNIVERSITY OF CAPE TOWN PhD. UNIVERSITY OF MASSACHUSETTS AMHERST Directed by: Professor Curtice R. Griffin Catch data, including fish numbers, length-weight were collected during a multi-mesh Gillnet fisheries-independent survey in 2007-2008, and fisheries-dependent mixed gear surveys in 2009-2010 and 2015 across 400km stretch of the Sangha River located in the Sangha Tri-National. Overall, very high species richness (Chao 2 mean=250, SD=16.15) and diversity index (Simpson Inverse …

Expansion Of And Reclassification Within The Family Lachnospiraceae, Kelly N. Haas

Doctoral Dissertations

Many of the taxa in the family Lachnospiraceae are currently misclassified as Clostridium spp. Here attempt to rectify many of these issues, beginning with an in-depth genomic and physiologic analysis of Clostridium methoxybenzovorans, culminating in the assertion that is a heterotype of Clostridium indolis, followed by reclassification of the broader group in which this organism resides. We propose two novel genera, Lacriformis and Enterocloster, to reclassify this clade, this includes reclassification of Clostridium sphenoides, Clostridium indolis, Clostridium saccharolyticum, Clostridium celerecrescens, Clostridium xylanolyticum, Clostridium algidixylanolyticum, Clostridium aerotolerans, Clostridium amygdalinum, and …

Systematics, Diversity And Evolution Of The Suborder Tricholomatineae (Agaricales), Marisol Sanchez Garcia

Doctoral Dissertations

The suborder Tricholomatineae is one of the several major groups of Agaricales, the largest order of mushroom-forming fungi. This suborder contains three families: Tricholomataceae, Entolomataceae and Lyophyllaceae, as well as many genera of incertae sedis. Members of the Tricholomatineae exhibit variation in nutritional mode, including mycoparasites, saprotrophs, termite-associates, bryophyte parasites, and ectomycorrhizal (ECM) symbionts, which makes the clade ideal for studying trophic evolution in fungi from a phylogenetic perspective.

This dissertation combines taxonomy and evolutionary analyses to contribute to the knowledge of fungal diversity and mycorrhizal evolution. First, I present a systematic revision of the family Tricholomataceae within a …

Individual Variation In Plant Traits Drives Species Interactions, Ecosystem Functioning, And Responses To Global Change, Quentin Daniel Read

Doctoral Dissertations

Ecologists have long sought to understand the processes that lead to the riotous diversity in communities of organisms that inhabit disparate climates and landscapes. Such a diversity of traits leads to a diversity of interactions among species in natural communities, which in turn generates a diversity of potential responses to ongoing global change. In this dissertation, I do three things: I explore the forces that structure plant communities and the ecosystem functions that they mediate, I describe patterns of variation among communities, species, and individual organisms across environmental contexts, and I disentangle the direct effects of global change from the …