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Full-Text Articles in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology
The Evolution Of Bivalve Shell Matrix Proteins, Mark Ira Duhon Ii
The Evolution Of Bivalve Shell Matrix Proteins, Mark Ira Duhon Ii
LSU Doctoral Dissertations
This dissertation focuses on the molecular underpinnings surrounding the evolution of the biomineralized shells of marine bivalves. Bivalve molluscs synthesize remarkably complex shells from calcium carbonate and an organic matrix of proteins secreted from the dorsal edge of the mantle. Molecular analyses of shell matrix proteins (SMPs) have suggested high rates of gene turnover despite the conserved nature of the shell itself. Here, I used proteomic and transcriptomic data to identify the SMPs and other biomineralization proteins from seven bivalve species that diverged 3-513 Mya. Contrary to previous studies that identified only a few shared biomineralization transcripts across the Bivalvia, …
Phylogeny And Evolution Of Swallows (Hirundinidae) With A Transcriptomic Perspective On Seasonal Migration, Clare Elisabeth Brown
Phylogeny And Evolution Of Swallows (Hirundinidae) With A Transcriptomic Perspective On Seasonal Migration, Clare Elisabeth Brown
LSU Doctoral Dissertations
Evolutionary biology seeks to understand the forces that have generated and shaped patterns of diversity. In this dissertation, I investigated phylogenetic relationships and the evolution of three traits—migration, nest-type, and geographic distribution—in the swallow family (Hirundinidae), a globally distributed group of about 85 species of aerial insectivorous birds. I first applied a dataset of several thousand ultraconserved element (UCE) loci to reconstructing the phylogeny of the New World genus Tachycineta. Three methods of phylogenetic inference produced topologically discordant trees, but post-inference analyses provided evidence that the tree produced by maximum likelihood analysis of a concatenated data matrix is the most …
Speciation And Hybridization In Jamaican-Endemic Streamertail Hummingbirds (Trochilus Polytmus And T. Scitulus), Caroline D. Judy
Speciation And Hybridization In Jamaican-Endemic Streamertail Hummingbirds (Trochilus Polytmus And T. Scitulus), Caroline D. Judy
LSU Doctoral Dissertations
Streamertails hummingbirds (Trochilus polytmus and T. scitulus) are recently diverged sister taxa that appear to have speciated in situ on the island of Jamaica. They are distinguished by male bill color, a secondary sexual trait that is coral red in T. polytmus and jet black in T. scitulus. They hybridize in a narrow zone where their ranges meet in eastern Jamaica. In Chapter 2, I performed a formal population survey of T. scitulus to determine the size of the population, which was unknown. I determined that the total population contains well over 100,000 individuals despite its limited …