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Full-Text Articles in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology

Landscape Genetics Of The Gulf Coast Tick, Amblyomma Maculatum, Sara Simmons Benham May 2023

Landscape Genetics Of The Gulf Coast Tick, Amblyomma Maculatum, Sara Simmons Benham

Biological Sciences Theses & Dissertations

Connectivity among populations helps to maintain genetic diversity, population stability, and resilience. The Gulf Coast tick, Amblyomma maculatum, is a vector of the pathogen Rickettsia parkeri. Persistence of tick populations with high rates of R. parkeri infection poses health risks to humans and animals. Mitochondrial haplotypes were characterized by sequencing a fragment of the mitochondrial 16S rRNA gene. A comparative study of A. maculatum and Amblyomma americanum was conducted to identify similar and unique patterns between the species within the same region. Next, I compared A. maculatum sites across three different regions of the United States. This work …


Tracing The Genetic Footprints Of The Redbelly Yellowtail Fusilier, Caesio Cuning, Across Multiple Spatial And Evolutionary Scales, Amanda Susanne Ackiss Oct 2017

Tracing The Genetic Footprints Of The Redbelly Yellowtail Fusilier, Caesio Cuning, Across Multiple Spatial And Evolutionary Scales, Amanda Susanne Ackiss

Biological Sciences Theses & Dissertations

Overfishing is one of the most pervasive threats to coral reef ecosystems, and management of these multi-species resources is hampered by limited species-specific population level information. The reefs in the western tropical Pacific Ocean, including the Coral Triangle, are the most bio-diverse in the world. Home to more than 400 million people, this region contains some of the most threatened coral reef ecosystems. Presented here is the first comprehensive analysis of the genetic structure of Caesio cuning, planktivorous fish inhabiting reefs in the Coral Triangle and western Pacific Ocean. Data from both classical Sanger and next-generation sequencing were analyzed …


Population Structure Of Lethrinus Lentjan (Lethrinidae, Percoidei) Across The South China Sea And The Philippines Is Detected With Lane-Affected Radseq Data, Ellen E. Biesack Oct 2017

Population Structure Of Lethrinus Lentjan (Lethrinidae, Percoidei) Across The South China Sea And The Philippines Is Detected With Lane-Affected Radseq Data, Ellen E. Biesack

Biological Sciences Theses & Dissertations

Southeast Asia includes the Coral Triangle, a marine biodiversity hotspot that supports important fishery resources experiencing varied threats. Patterns of speciation and population structure in the Coral Triangle have been examined to test hypotheses relating to the historical geologic processes that may have influenced this biodiversity phenomenon. This study investigates the genetic population structure of the Pink-ear Emperor Snapper, Lethrinus lentjan (Lacepède, 1802), across the Philippines and the South China Sea. The species is fished throughout the Coral Triangle by subsistence and commercial fishers and their landings have been in decline for several years, which could be indicative of depleted …


A Hitchhiker’S Guide To Invasion Biology: Describing The Ecological Mechanisms Underlying The Range Expansions Of Two Ixodid Tick Species, Robyn M. Nadolny Apr 2016

A Hitchhiker’S Guide To Invasion Biology: Describing The Ecological Mechanisms Underlying The Range Expansions Of Two Ixodid Tick Species, Robyn M. Nadolny

Biological Sciences Theses & Dissertations

Increasing incidence of many tick-borne diseases have been linked to recent expansions of tick species distributions. Many tick species are expanding their ranges because of anthropogenic changes in the landscape, shifting climatic variables, and increasing populations of suitable host species and tick habitat. Few empirical studies have been performed, however, investigating the ecological mechanisms underlying these range expansions. Ticks are parasitic organisms that disperse across landscape by hitchhiking on hosts, but must then survive in the environment for long periods of time between bloodmeals. Two species of ixodid tick, Ixodes affinis and Amblyomma maculatum, are simultaneously expanding their ranges throughout …