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Full-Text Articles in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology

Reproductive Isolation In The Elegans-Group Of Caenorhabditis, Scott Everet Baird, Sara Rose Seibert Mar 2013

Reproductive Isolation In The Elegans-Group Of Caenorhabditis, Scott Everet Baird, Sara Rose Seibert

Biological Sciences Faculty Publications

Reproductive isolation is the basis of the Biological Species Definition and can be a driving force of speciation. Theoretical studies have provided models of how reproductive isolation can arise within individual species. Genetic tests of these models are limited to populations in which reproductive isolation is present but not complete. Here, reproductive isolation in the Elgans-Group of the nematode genus Caenorhabditis is reviewed. Pre-mating barriers, assortative fertilization and post-zygotic barriers all have been observed in this clade. In some combinations of species, fertile F1 hybrids can be obtained. Therefore, the Elegans-Group of Caenorhabditis is poised to become an important experimental …


To 'Die Hel' And Back. Expeditions Of The Phylogeny Of World Tachinidae Project. Part I: Western Cape, South Africa, Pierfilippo Cerretti, James E. O'Hara, John O. Stireman Iii, Isaac S. Winkler, Ashley H. Kirk-Spriggs Jan 2013

To 'Die Hel' And Back. Expeditions Of The Phylogeny Of World Tachinidae Project. Part I: Western Cape, South Africa, Pierfilippo Cerretti, James E. O'Hara, John O. Stireman Iii, Isaac S. Winkler, Ashley H. Kirk-Spriggs

Biological Sciences Faculty Publications

The “Phylogeny of World Tachinidae” project kicked off with an operational meeting in June 2012 at the Canadian National Collection of Insects (CNC) in Ottawa. Goals were discussed, work plans prepared, and of course the destinations and timing of major field expeditions were debated. During our three years of National Science Foundation funding we hope to gather fresh material for molecular analysis from all biogeographic regions of the world.


Progress Towards A Phylogeny Of World Tachinidae. Year 1, John O. Stireman Iii, James E. O'Hara, Michael C. Moulton, Pierfilippo Cerretti, Isaac S. Winkler Jan 2013

Progress Towards A Phylogeny Of World Tachinidae. Year 1, John O. Stireman Iii, James E. O'Hara, Michael C. Moulton, Pierfilippo Cerretti, Isaac S. Winkler

Biological Sciences Faculty Publications

D eveloping a structural phylogenetic framework for the family Tachinidae has been an interest of mine since I first started working on tachinids as a graduate student. It was then that I developed a new phylogenetic perspective with which to view the world, and many of the questions I wanted to ask of tachinids depended on some level of phylogenetic knowledge of them. I was surprised at the time that no one had attempted a broad quantitative phylogenetic analysis of the family, and a publication from my thesis work on the Exoristinae (Stireman 2002) became the first such study that …


Ontogenetic Shifts In Resource Allocation: Colour Change And Allometric Growth Of Defensive And Reproductive Structures In The Caribbean Spiny Lobster Panulirus Argus, Joshua R. Anderson, Angelo J. Spadaro, J. Antonio Baeza, Donald C. Behringer Jan 2013

Ontogenetic Shifts In Resource Allocation: Colour Change And Allometric Growth Of Defensive And Reproductive Structures In The Caribbean Spiny Lobster Panulirus Argus, Joshua R. Anderson, Angelo J. Spadaro, J. Antonio Baeza, Donald C. Behringer

Biological Sciences Faculty Publications

Resource allocation theory predicts a disproportionately large allocation of resources to defensive structures during early ontogeny in organisms that are subject to more intense predation at smaller than at larger body sizes. We tested this prediction on the Caribbean spiny lobster Panulirus argus, which exhibits a negative relationship between predation risk and body size with a high natural mortality of smaller individuals. Independent allometric growth analyses demonstrated that numerous defensive structures (e.g. orbital horns, segments supporting the antenna, the tail fan) display negative allometric growth throughout ontogeny. We interpret these findings as lobsters investing disproportionately more resources to defensive …


Genetic Population Structure Of Us Atlantic Coastal Striped Bass (Morone Saxatilis), David T. Gauthier, Corinne A. Audemard, Jeanette E. L. Carlsson, Tanya L. Darden, Michael R. Denson, Kimberly S. Reece, Jens Carlsson Jan 2013

Genetic Population Structure Of Us Atlantic Coastal Striped Bass (Morone Saxatilis), David T. Gauthier, Corinne A. Audemard, Jeanette E. L. Carlsson, Tanya L. Darden, Michael R. Denson, Kimberly S. Reece, Jens Carlsson

Biological Sciences Faculty Publications

Genetic population structure of anadromous striped bass along the US Atlantic coast was analyzed using 14 neutral nuclear DNA microsatellites. Young-of-the-year and adult striped bass (n = 1114) were sampled from Hudson River, Delaware River, Chesapeake Bay, North Carolina, and South Carolina. Analyses indicated clear population structure with significant genetic differentiation between all regions. Global multilocus F-ST was estimated at 0.028 (P < 0.001). Population structure followed an isolation-by-distance model and temporal sampling indicated a stable population structure more than 2 years at all locations. Significant structure was absent within Hudson River, whereas weak but significant genetic differences were observed between northern and southern samples in Chesapeake Bay. The largest and smallest effective striped bass population sizes were found in Chesapeake Bay and South Carolina, respectively. Coalescence analysis indicated that the highest historical gene flow has been between Chesapeake Bay and Hudson River populations, and that exchange has not been unidirectional. Bayesian analysis of contemporary migration indicated that Chesapeake Bay serves as a major source of migrants for Atlantic coastal regions from Albemarle Sound northward. In addition to examining population genetic structure, the data acquired during this project were capable of serving as a baseline for assigning fish with unknown origin to source region.


Conus: First Comprehensive Conservation Red List Assessment Of A Marine Gastropod Mollusc Genus, Howard Peters, Bethan C. O'Leary, Julie P. Hawkins, Kent E. Carpenter, Callum M. Roberts Jan 2013

Conus: First Comprehensive Conservation Red List Assessment Of A Marine Gastropod Mollusc Genus, Howard Peters, Bethan C. O'Leary, Julie P. Hawkins, Kent E. Carpenter, Callum M. Roberts

Biological Sciences Faculty Publications

Marine molluscs represent an estimated 23% of all extant marine taxa, but research into their conservation status has so far failed to reflect this importance, with minimal inclusion on the authoritative Red List of the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN). We assessed the status of all 632 valid species of the tropical marine gastropod mollusc, Conus (cone snails), using Red List standards and procedures to lay the groundwork for future decadal monitoring, one of the first fully comprehensive global assessments of a marine taxon. Three-quarters (75.6%) of species were not currently considered at risk of extinction owing …


Habitat Availability And Heterogeneity And The Indo-Pacific Warm Pool As Predictors Of Marine Species Richness In The Tropical Indo-Pacific, Jonnell C. Sanciangco, Kent E. Carpenter, Peter J. Etnoyer, Fabio Moretzsohn Jan 2013

Habitat Availability And Heterogeneity And The Indo-Pacific Warm Pool As Predictors Of Marine Species Richness In The Tropical Indo-Pacific, Jonnell C. Sanciangco, Kent E. Carpenter, Peter J. Etnoyer, Fabio Moretzsohn

Biological Sciences Faculty Publications

Range overlap patterns were observed in a dataset of 10,446 expert-derived marine species distribution maps, including 8,295 coastal fishes, 1,212 invertebrates (crustaceans and molluscs), 820 reef-building corals, 50 seagrasses, and 69 mangroves. Distributions of tropical Indo-Pacific shore fishes revealed a concentration of species richness in the northern apex and central region of the Coral Triangle epicenter of marine biodiversity. This pattern was supported by distributions of invertebrates and habitat-forming primary producers. Habitat availability, heterogeneity, and sea surface temperatures were highly correlated with species richness across spatial grains ranging from 23,000 to 5,100,000 km(2) with and without correction for autocorrelation. The …


Heritable Melanism And Parasitic Infection Both Result In Black-Spotted Mosquitofish, Lisa Horth, David Gauthier, Wolfgang Vogelbein Jan 2013

Heritable Melanism And Parasitic Infection Both Result In Black-Spotted Mosquitofish, Lisa Horth, David Gauthier, Wolfgang Vogelbein

Biological Sciences Faculty Publications

Male Gamhusia holhrooki (Eastern Mosquitofish) express a heritable pigmentation polymorphism approximate to 99% of males are silver, and only approximate to 1% have a melanic, black-spotted pattern. Sex-linkage, an autosomal modifier, and temperature control the expression of this heritable melanism. In many teleosts, melanin also accumulates around the site of parasitic invasion. We have identified black-spot disease in wild mosquitofish from their native habitat. Here, we demonstrate convergence upon the black-pigmented phenotype through two means: 1) heritable melanism, and 2) melanic spotting on the silver genotype that results from infection with immature encysted trematodes. Females are silver and express greater …


Does Pitcher Plant Morphology Affect Spider Residency?, Marc A. Milne, Deborah A. Waller Jan 2013

Does Pitcher Plant Morphology Affect Spider Residency?, Marc A. Milne, Deborah A. Waller

Biological Sciences Faculty Publications

Spiders are often found as residents in association with Sarracenia purpurea ( Purple Pitcher Plant). Many spiders choose web locations based on environmental cues such as vegetation structure and composition, prey density, temperature, and humidity. To determine if spiders use cues from the Purple Pitcher Plant to build their webs, we conducted a field study using variants of the plant that separated various morphological features: nectar, pigment, and the presence of prey. There was no difference in spider residency across all treatments and no difference in male/female or mature/immature residency. Linyphiids were the most common residents, possibly due to pitcher …