Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®

Other Ecology and Evolutionary Biology Commons

Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®

Articles 1 - 5 of 5

Full-Text Articles in Other Ecology and Evolutionary Biology

Shrews, Rats, And A Polecat In "The Pardoner's Tale", Sandy Feinstein, Neal Woodman Oct 2012

Shrews, Rats, And A Polecat In "The Pardoner's Tale", Sandy Feinstein, Neal Woodman

Neal Woodman

No abstract provided.


Developing Monitoring Methods For Leptasterias Spp. As Sentinel Species In Detecting Local Environmental Changes, Zachary Sturbaum, Kathryn Nuessly, Riley J. Smith, C. Sarah Cohen Aug 2012

Developing Monitoring Methods For Leptasterias Spp. As Sentinel Species In Detecting Local Environmental Changes, Zachary Sturbaum, Kathryn Nuessly, Riley J. Smith, C. Sarah Cohen

STAR Program Research Presentations

Leptasterias spp., a six-rayed sea star, is found in rocky intertidal habitats ranging from Alaska to central California. Leptasterias spp. can be monitored on a broad scale throughout their range by a variety of means using timed counts and random plot censusing in order to detect both large-scale and local-level changes in the environment due to climate change, land-based human activity, or other environmental events. Leptasterias brood their young externally until the embryos grow into fully developed juveniles. These juveniles disperse by crawling away, limiting their dispersal potential. This localized dispersal provides an opportunity to use Leptasterias spp …


Mating System Biology Of The Florida Native Plant: Illicium Parviflorum, Nicholas Earl Buckley Aug 2012

Mating System Biology Of The Florida Native Plant: Illicium Parviflorum, Nicholas Earl Buckley

Masters Theses

Self-incompatibility is thought to have played a profound role in the evolution of the angiosperms. However, there is little evidence of self-incompatibility systems in early diverging lineages of flowering plants. Illicium parviflorum, one such early-divergent angiosperm, is an evergreen perennial species endemic to central Florida, particularly within the Ocala National Forest. Although locally abundant, I. parviflorum is currently listed as endangered at the state level due to being under constant threat of habitat disturbance and over-harvesting. Notably, this species had been described as self-incompatible due to its low seed-set. However, low seed set may also be a result of …


Natural Selection: A Concept In Need Of Some Evolution?, Charles H. Smith Jan 2012

Natural Selection: A Concept In Need Of Some Evolution?, Charles H. Smith

DLPS Faculty Publications

In some respects natural selection is a quite simple theory, arrived at through the logical integration of three propositions (the presence of variation within natural populations, an absolutely limited resources base, and procreation capacities exceeding mere replacement numbers) whose individual truths can hardly be denied. Its relation to the larger subject of evolution, however, remains problematic. It is suggested here that a scaling-down of the meaning of natural selection to “the elimination of the unfit,” as originally intended by Alfred Russel Wallace (1823-1913), might ultimately prove a more effective means of relating it to larger-scale, longer-term, evolutionary processes.


This Shrew Is A Jumping Mouse (Mammalia, Dipodidae): Sorex Dichrurus Rafinesque, 1833 Is A Synonym Of Zapus Hudsonius (Zimmermann, 1780), Neal Woodman Dec 2011

This Shrew Is A Jumping Mouse (Mammalia, Dipodidae): Sorex Dichrurus Rafinesque, 1833 Is A Synonym Of Zapus Hudsonius (Zimmermann, 1780), Neal Woodman

Neal Woodman

Constantine S. Rafinesque described Sorex dichrurus as a shrew in 1833, based on a specimen he found in a proprietary museum near Niagara Falls on the New York/Ontario border. The name subsequently has been ignored by the scientific community. By describing this specimen as a shrew and ascribing it to the genus Sorex, Rafinesque clearly indicated that his species should be considered a member of the taxonomic family now recognized as the Soricidae (Mammalia, Eulipotyphla). Yet, the description of the animal, and its comparison to ‘‘Gerbillus,’’ clearly identify it as a dipodid rodent, specifically Zapus hudsonius (Zimmermann, 1780); S. dichrurus …