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Ecology and Evolutionary Biology Commons™
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Articles 1 - 12 of 12
Full-Text Articles in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology
The Genetic Basis Of Two Reproductive Traits In Monkeyflowers: Stigma Closure And Corolla Carotenoids, Rachel Anne Halperin
The Genetic Basis Of Two Reproductive Traits In Monkeyflowers: Stigma Closure And Corolla Carotenoids, Rachel Anne Halperin
Undergraduate Theses, Professional Papers, and Capstone Artifacts
Abstract
The interactions between pollinators and flowers have long been a driving force for the evolution of many physical floral traits. Traits such as flower shape, size, color, and smell are just some of these traits that evolve because of these interactions. This evolution does not only occur in the more obvious morphological floral traits, however, but also in more subtle traits like touch sensitive stigma closure. In hundreds of Lamiales species, the bilobed stigma, the organ that receives pollen from pollinators, closes rapidly upon touch. Theory and experiments show that this novel dynamic reproductive trait increases pollen export and …
Genetic And Environmental Contributions To Wolbachia-Induced Cytoplasmic Incompatibility, Kelley Van Vaerenberghe
Genetic And Environmental Contributions To Wolbachia-Induced Cytoplasmic Incompatibility, Kelley Van Vaerenberghe
Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers
Maternally-transmitted Wolbachia infect the cells of most insect species, but their frequencies in host populations vary. While much of their success can be attributed to their ability to manipulate host reproduction, these manipulations are context-dependent, varying due to several biotic and abiotic factors. Wolbachia’s most common manipulation, cytoplasmic incompatibility (CI), is a conditional sterility phenotype where male-female host compatibility depends on their infection status. Specifically, CI occurs when infected males produce modified sperm that cause increased embryonic lethality unless the female carries a similar infection. Rescuing their eggs from CI increases the relative fitness of infected females, promoting Wolbachia spread …
An Integrative Investigation Of The Synechococcus A/B Clade During Adaptive Radiation At The Upper Thermal Limit Of Phototrophy, Christopher L. Pierpont
An Integrative Investigation Of The Synechococcus A/B Clade During Adaptive Radiation At The Upper Thermal Limit Of Phototrophy, Christopher L. Pierpont
Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers
Thermophilic microorganisms have been scientifically observed since the early nineteenth century and have spurred many questions about the limits of life and the capacity of organisms to survive extreme conditions. Decades of research on thermophile proteins and genomes have yielded several proposed correlates of temperature that may contribute to adaptation of bacteria and archaea to high temperature. However, many of the generalizations reported are drawn from analyses of deeply divergent taxa or from individual case studies in isolation from mesophilic relatives. Members of the Synechococcus A/B (SynAB) group are the only cyanobacteria with members able to grow above 65 °C …
Tiger Monitoring In Bhutan Using Non-Invasive Genetic Tools, Tashi Dhendup
Tiger Monitoring In Bhutan Using Non-Invasive Genetic Tools, Tashi Dhendup
Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers
Large carnivores are one of the most threatened group of animals in the world. They suffer from prey depletion, persecution by humans, and habitat loss and fragmentation which are extensively driven by anthropogenic activities. One such species is the tiger Panthera tigris. Tigers are found in thirteen countries in Asia and are protected across the range; however, tiger numbers have declined as an after effect of habitat loss, prey depletion and poaching. Human-induced changes have reduced the tiger's historical range to about 7% in which a little more than 3900 tigers are found. Most of these individuals currently exist …
Life On The Edge: Risk Of Predation Drives Selection Of Habitat And Survival Of Neonates In Endangered Sierra Nevada Bighorn Sheep, Shannon Forshee
Life On The Edge: Risk Of Predation Drives Selection Of Habitat And Survival Of Neonates In Endangered Sierra Nevada Bighorn Sheep, Shannon Forshee
Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers
Long-term viability of endangered populations requires development of effective management strategies that target the population vital rate with the highest potential to influence population trajectories. When adult survival is high and stable, juvenile recruitment is the vital rate with the greatest potential to improve population trajectories. For my thesis I examined how lactating Sierra Nevada Bighorn sheep (Ovis Canadensis sierra) balance forage and predation risk during the neonatal period. I first identified resource selection strategies employed by lactating females to promote survival of neonates and then determined the primary factors affecting survival of neonates. I found lactating females selected for …
Evolution Of Molt Phenology In Dwarf Hamsters, Zachary Clare-Salzler
Evolution Of Molt Phenology In Dwarf Hamsters, Zachary Clare-Salzler
Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers
Environmental seasonality presents many challenges for survival. In response, organisms from across the tree of life exhibit adaptive phenology, which can facilitate survival from season to season. In particular, many species are white in the winter and brown in the summer where winter snow cover alters the visual environment. There is an extensive body of literature describing the physiological and cellular regulation of this trait in the Siberian dwarf hamster (Phodopus sungorus), but there are major shortcomings in our understanding concerning the evolution and molecular regulation of mammalian skin phenology. Notably, little is known about the genetic basis …
Contributions Of Gene Copy Number Variation To Genome Evolution And Local Adaptation Of The Cyanobacterium Acaryochloris, Amy L. Gallagher
Contributions Of Gene Copy Number Variation To Genome Evolution And Local Adaptation Of The Cyanobacterium Acaryochloris, Amy L. Gallagher
Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers
Acaryochloris is a recently discovered genus of cyanobacteria, unique in its use of an uncommon chlorophyll as its major photosynthetic pigment, and in its peculiar genome dynamics. Members of this genus exhibit increased genic copy number variation (CNV), which is thought to be primarily derived from gene duplications and horizontal gene transfer (HGT). Acaryochloris provides an ideal system to explore mechanisms behind maintenance of gene duplicates and the influence of CNV in local adaptation. Here, I propose a mechanism for retention of gene duplicates of the bacterial recombinase, RecA, in Acaryochloris genomes and provide preliminary evidence that these paralogs are …
K-Mer Analysis Pipeline For Classification Of Dna Sequences From Metagenomic Samples, Russell Kaehler
K-Mer Analysis Pipeline For Classification Of Dna Sequences From Metagenomic Samples, Russell Kaehler
Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers
Biological sequence datasets are increasing at a prodigious rate. The volume of data in these datasets surpasses what is observed in many other fields of science. New developments wherein metagenomic DNA from complex bacterial communities is recovered and sequenced are producing a new kind of data known as metagenomic data, which is comprised of DNA fragments from many genomes. Developing a utility to analyze such metagenomic data and predict the sample class from which it originated has many possible implications for ecological and medical applications. Within this document is a description of a series of analytical techniques used to process …
¬Multilocus Phylogeny Of The Lichen Family Megasporaceae, Tim B. Wheeler
¬Multilocus Phylogeny Of The Lichen Family Megasporaceae, Tim B. Wheeler
Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers
The lichen symbiosis is one of the oldest studied mutualisms; in fact, Frank and De Bary coined the term "symbiosis" while studying lichens (Frank, 1877; De Bary 1879). The widespread, stable association between the mycobiont and photobiont in lichens offers an ideal system for the study of co-evolution. The recent application of molecular data to lichens has begun to unveil the complexities involved in these associations (Upreti et al. 2015, Spribille et al. 2016). Lichenized fungi make up a huge fraction of fungal diversity (Nash 2008), yet very little is known of their genetic diversity. Fungal taxonomy is notoriously difficult …
Phenotypic And Genetic Analyses Of Adaptation To Geothermal Soils In Yellow Monkeyflowers Of Yellowstone National Park, Peter Breigenzer
Phenotypic And Genetic Analyses Of Adaptation To Geothermal Soils In Yellow Monkeyflowers Of Yellowstone National Park, Peter Breigenzer
Undergraduate Theses, Professional Papers, and Capstone Artifacts
Microgeographic adaptation, which occurs on a spatial scale smaller than the dispersal distance of the evolving organisms, provides a fertile context for understanding the genetic processes that shape natural variation and contribute to biological diversity. In plants, mosaics of distinct soil conditions can select for microgeographic divergence in the face of gene flow, leading to major life history transitions and novel trait evolution. Mimulus (monkeyflowers) is an emerging model genus for ecological genomics, due to tremendous diversity, experimental tractability, and a wealth of genomic resources. In Yellowstone National Park, Mimulus guttatus occurs in both geothermal soils and nearby nonthermal bogs …
Conservation Genetics On The Frontline, Kenneth W. Rand
Conservation Genetics On The Frontline, Kenneth W. Rand
Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers
Conservation genetics stands out as an effective tool for discovering and monitoring rare, endangered or invasive populations of plants and animals. Particularly when compared to traditional search and capture methods, it provides more holistic studies to preserve the disappearing biodiversity of the American West and the world.
Three stories highlight the work done to preserve biodiversity through the use of conservation genetics:
1. Trout Rescue: A new hope for westslope cutthroat in Montana How to save a disappearing westslope cutthroat trout through genetic rescue by adding genetic diversity to ensuring future survival in increasingly warming waters more harm than good. …
Chromosomal Rearrangements Directly Cause Underdominant F1 Pollen Sterility In Mimulus Lewisii-M. Cardinalis Hybrids, Angela M. Stathos
Chromosomal Rearrangements Directly Cause Underdominant F1 Pollen Sterility In Mimulus Lewisii-M. Cardinalis Hybrids, Angela M. Stathos
Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers
Chromosomal rearrangements can contribute to the evolution of postzygotic reproductive isolation directly, by disrupting meiosis in F1 hybrids, or indirectly, by suppressing recombination among genic incompatibilities. Because direct effects of rearrangements on fertility imply fitness costs during their spread, understanding the mechanism of F1 hybrid sterility is integral to reconstructing the role(s) of rearrangements in speciation. In hybrids between monkeyflowers Mimulus cardinalis and M. lewisii, rearrangements contain all quantitative trait loci (QTLs) for both premating barriers and pollen sterility, suggesting that they may have facilitated speciation in this model system. I used artificial chromosome doubling and …