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Full-Text Articles in Biodiversity

Lichen Conservation In Eastern North America: Population Genomics, Climate Change, And Translocations, Jessica Allen Jun 2017

Lichen Conservation In Eastern North America: Population Genomics, Climate Change, And Translocations, Jessica Allen

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Conservation biology is a scientific discipline that draws on methods from diverse fields to address specific conservation concerns and inform conservation actions. This field is overwhelmingly focused on charismatic animals and vascular plants, often ignoring other diverse and ecologically important groups. This trend is slowly changing in some ways; for example, increasing number of fungal species are being added to the IUCN Red-List. However, a strong taxonomic bias still exists. Here I contribute four research chapters to further the conservation of lichens, one group of frequently overlooked organisms. I address specific conservation concerns in eastern North America using modern methods. …


Do Novel Weapons That Degrade Mycorrhizal Mutualisms Explain Invasive Species Success?, Philip L. Pinzone Mr. Aug 2016

Do Novel Weapons That Degrade Mycorrhizal Mutualisms Explain Invasive Species Success?, Philip L. Pinzone Mr.

Biology Theses

Invasive plants often dominate novel habitats where they did not co-evolve with local species. Several hypotheses suggest mechanisms that explain increased exotic plant success, including 'novel weapons' and 'degraded mutualisms'. Japanese knotweed (Fallopia japonica) and European buckthorn (Rhamnus cathartica) are widespread plant invaders in North America that can dominate ecosystems. The goal of this study is to test whether these impacts are more consistent with novel weapons or degraded mutualism hypotheses. I examine tree seedling recruitment, (germination and initial survival) growth, (biomass) and mycorrhizal invasion (AMF content) as a function of F. japonica and R. cathartica …