Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®
Other Ecology and Evolutionary Biology Commons™
Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®
- Discipline
-
- Biodiversity (8)
- Terrestrial and Aquatic Ecology (5)
- Animal Sciences (4)
- Evolution (3)
- Physical Sciences and Mathematics (3)
-
- Zoology (3)
- Biology (2)
- Earth Sciences (2)
- Paleobiology (2)
- Plant Sciences (2)
- Biochemistry (1)
- Biochemistry, Biophysics, and Structural Biology (1)
- Bioinformatics (1)
- Botany (1)
- Entomology (1)
- Environmental Microbiology and Microbial Ecology (1)
- Environmental Sciences (1)
- Forest Biology (1)
- Forest Sciences (1)
- Genetics and Genomics (1)
- Genomics (1)
- Immunology and Infectious Disease (1)
- Microbiology (1)
- Molecular Genetics (1)
- Ornithology (1)
- Other Earth Sciences (1)
- Other Life Sciences (1)
- Institution
- Publication Year
- Publication
-
- Doctoral Dissertations (3)
- University of Nebraska State Museum: Mammalogy Papers (2)
- Arshad M. Khan, Ph.D. (1)
- Biological Sciences Undergraduate Honors Theses (1)
- Biology ETDs (1)
-
- Boise State University Theses and Dissertations (1)
- Department of Agronomy and Horticulture: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research (1)
- Department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research (1)
- Electronic Theses and Dissertations (1)
- Harold W. Manter Laboratory of Parasitology: Faculty and Staff Publications (1)
- Neal Woodman (1)
- Scripps Senior Theses (1)
- Publication Type
Articles 1 - 15 of 15
Full-Text Articles in Other Ecology and Evolutionary Biology
Exploring The Relationships Between Mammalian Functional Trait Distributions And Regional Biomes, With Application To Miocene Paleoecology, Devra Hock-Reid
Exploring The Relationships Between Mammalian Functional Trait Distributions And Regional Biomes, With Application To Miocene Paleoecology, Devra Hock-Reid
Department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research
Paleoecology relies on understanding relationships between modern animals and their environment. Animals are adapted to niches in their environments, and those physical adaptations, or functional traits, are utilized as proxies to interpret aspects of paleo-ecosystems. Much is known about individual functional traits in extant mammals and their relationship to the environment. Less is known about how multiple functional traits across a community can be utilized for paleoecological interpretations. I develop models utilizing traits in mammalian communities at the biome level. For Chapter 1, I build a model for North American regional biomes using mammalian trait frequencies. I quantify changes in …
Biogeography Of Special Metabolites Produced By Ant-Associated Bacteria, Katherine Hansen
Biogeography Of Special Metabolites Produced By Ant-Associated Bacteria, Katherine Hansen
Scripps Senior Theses
There is an urgent and growing need for novel antibiotics with the growing prevalence of antibiotic-resistant pathogens. Ecologically-guided discovery is a strategy that focuses on how and where specially evolved metabolites such as antibiotics are used in nature. This strategy reveals unique active molecules with potential for human use. An unexplored niche with great potential for antibiotic discovery exists with Southwestern fungus-farming Trachymyrmex ants and their Actinobacteria symbionts. In exchange for nutrients from the ant, the ants’ bacterial symbiont produces antifungal molecules that protect the ants’ fungal cultivar from invasion by pathogenic microorganisms. They also produce antibacterial molecules to protect …
Examining The Invasion Of A Bush Honeysuckle Using Climate Analysis, Andrew Palmer
Examining The Invasion Of A Bush Honeysuckle Using Climate Analysis, Andrew Palmer
Biological Sciences Undergraduate Honors Theses
Within the study of invasive plants, particular importance is placed on elucidating the mechanisms by which these plants proliferate and dominate within their introduced ranges. Several theories have been advanced to explain these invasions, each with different implications for the predicted range of invasive plants. Recent studies have provided support for the application of several invasion theories to Lonicera maackii, or what is more commonly referred to as bush honeysuckle. This species provides a unique opportunity to examine the efficacy of these theories in explaining the range expansion of invasive plants. L. maackii is endemic to eastern Asia, but …
Dynamics Of Avian Elevational Ranges Reveal Hidden Evolutionary Forces, Chauncey Gadek
Dynamics Of Avian Elevational Ranges Reveal Hidden Evolutionary Forces, Chauncey Gadek
Biology ETDs
The distribution of life across the Andes mountains reflects historical elevational-range contraction and expansion. Whereas contraction implies specialization, expansion requires overcoming hidden barriers. Three eco-evolutionary phenomena may drive patterns in rates of elevational range evolution: (1) The Dobzhansky-MacArthur Phenomenon (DMP) predicts lower rates of upward expansion with harsher physical conditions, while downward expansion increases with lower diversity; (2) the evolutionary tendency toward specialization predicts contraction increases when ranges are broad; and (3) natural selection for respiratory performance could suppress expansion across mid-elevations due to gene-environment mismatch. We modeled elevational range shifts of Neotropical landbirds. Contrary to the DMP, upward expansion …
Climatic Range Filling Of North American Trees, Benjamin Seliger
Climatic Range Filling Of North American Trees, Benjamin Seliger
Electronic Theses and Dissertations
Understanding the degree to which species distributions are controlled by climate is crucial for forecasting biodiversity responses to climate change. Climatic equilibrium, when species are found in all places which are climatically suitable, is a fundamental assumption of species distribution models, but there is evidence in support of climate disequilibria in species ranges. Long-lived, sessile organisms such as trees may be especially vulnerable to being outpaced by climate change, and thus prone to disequilibrium. In this dissertation, I tested the degree to which North American trees are in equilibrium with their potential climatic ranges using the ‘range filling’ metric, which …
Cryptic Diversity In Rhampholeon Boulengeri (Sauria: Chamaeleonidae), A Pygmy Chameleon From The Albertine Rift Biodiversity Hotspot, Daniel F. Hughes, Krystal A. Tolley, Mathias Behangana, Wilber Lukwago, Michele Menegon, J. J. Maximilian Dehling, Jan Stipala, Colin R. Tilbury, Arshad M. Khan, Chifundera Kusamba, Eli Greenbaum
Cryptic Diversity In Rhampholeon Boulengeri (Sauria: Chamaeleonidae), A Pygmy Chameleon From The Albertine Rift Biodiversity Hotspot, Daniel F. Hughes, Krystal A. Tolley, Mathias Behangana, Wilber Lukwago, Michele Menegon, J. J. Maximilian Dehling, Jan Stipala, Colin R. Tilbury, Arshad M. Khan, Chifundera Kusamba, Eli Greenbaum
Arshad M. Khan, Ph.D.
No abstract provided.
The Effects Of Anthropogenic Stress On Nitrogen-Cycling Microbial Communities In Temperate And Tropical Soils, George S. Hamaoui Jr.
The Effects Of Anthropogenic Stress On Nitrogen-Cycling Microbial Communities In Temperate And Tropical Soils, George S. Hamaoui Jr.
Doctoral Dissertations
In this dissertation several research studies are discussed that characterize the effects of anthropogenic, or human-induced, stress on both ammonia-oxidizing and total bacterial soil microbial communities. The disturbances of land-use change in tropical, South American rainforests and artificial warming and nitrogen (N) fertilization in temperate, North American forests were investigated as these disturbances represent past and current disturbances caused by human landscape alteration and climate change. Initially, the response of soil ammonia-oxidizing microbial communities to land-use change from primary rainforest to pasture and, finally, back to secondary forest was determined. Next, these analyses of land-use change effects were expanded to …
Systematics, Diversification, And Functional Diversity Of Russulaceae (Russulales), Brian Patrick Looney
Systematics, Diversification, And Functional Diversity Of Russulaceae (Russulales), Brian Patrick Looney
Doctoral Dissertations
The family Russulaceae is an iconic family of mushroom-forming Basidiomycetes both because of their importance as edible mushrooms in many parts of the world and their species richness in both temperate and tropical forested biomes. While much mycological research has been focused on this group, recent systematic and ecological research has failed to develop a comprehensive or cohesive organization by which to understand the evolutionary relationships, patterns of diversification, or functional importance of the group. Recently, interest in ectomycorrhizal fungi (EmF), of which Russulaceae is a key lineage, has greatly increased due to the recognition of the importance of EmF …
Genetic Analysis Of Eurasian Populations Of Taeniatherum Caput-Medusae Subspecies Asperum: Biogeography Of An Invasive, Self-Pollinating, Annual Grass In Its Native Range, Peter Guerdan
Boise State University Theses and Dissertations
Understanding species’ distributions provides a comprehensive biogeographical framework with which to evaluate theoretical and applied ecological and evolutionary questions. To date, few studies have used amplified fragment length polymorphisms (AFLPs) to assess the biogeographical patterns of a broadly distributed grass species, and none that I have found used AFLPs to specifically study biogeographical patterns of an invasive annual grass in its native range. The overall objective of my study was to assess the biogeographic pattern of the invasive, self-pollinating, annual grass Taeniatherum caput-medusae subspecies asperum (medusahead) in its native range in Eurasia using AFLPs. Seventy populations of medusahead from 13 …
Linking Physiology And Biogeography: Disentangling The Constraints On The Distributions Of Ant Species, Lacy Danikas Chick
Linking Physiology And Biogeography: Disentangling The Constraints On The Distributions Of Ant Species, Lacy Danikas Chick
Doctoral Dissertations
Understanding the factors that limit the distribution of species is at the core of ecological and biogeographical research, and is critical if we are to predict the responses of key ecosystem components to ongoing climatic changes. My doctoral research seeks to provide an understanding of how thermal physiology influences species’ distributions and better define the mechanisms underlying geographic variation in biodiversity. By using natural temperature gradients (both elevational and latitudinal) and coupling controlled laboratory experiments with field observations and null modeling approaches, I was able to document the role of inter-specific variation in thermal physiology and, more interesting, inter-population variation …
Discovery And Delimitation: Criconematid Nematodes Of North American Grasslands, Magdalena Jean Olson
Discovery And Delimitation: Criconematid Nematodes Of North American Grasslands, Magdalena Jean Olson
Department of Agronomy and Horticulture: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research
Approximately 200 years ago, North American landscapes were dominated by vast expanses of grassland. The Great Plains, an ecologically complex and diverse ecoregion, extended from Canada to the Gulf of Mexico, and from the Rocky Mountains to the border of the eastern hardwood forest in Indiana. Now the original tallgrass prairie exists in small widely dispersed remnant patches surrounded by agroecosystems. This study is an effort to characterize soil nematode diversity and population structure within those remnant patches. The plant parasitic nematode family Criconematidae serves as our indicator for nematode diversity, due to its global distribution, high abundance in natural …
New Records Of Merriam’S Shrew (Sorex Merriami) From Western North Dakota, Michael J. Shaughnessy Jr., Neal Woodman
New Records Of Merriam’S Shrew (Sorex Merriami) From Western North Dakota, Michael J. Shaughnessy Jr., Neal Woodman
Neal Woodman
Despite having a broad geographic distribution, Merriam’s Shrew (Sorex merriami Dobson 1890) is known from a relatively few, widely-scattered localities. In North Dakota, the species was known from only a single poorly-preserved specimen collected in 1913 near Medora. We recently collected two new specimens of Merriam’s Shrew from Billings and McKenzie counties in the western quarter of the state. These specimens confirm the presence of S. merriami in North Dakota and better define the northeastern edge of the species’ distribution.
Eastward Ho: Phylogeographical Perspectives On Colonization Of Hosts And Parasites Across The Beringian Nexus [Guest Editorial], Eric Waltari, Eric P. Hoberg, Enrique P. Lessa, Joseph A. Cook
Eastward Ho: Phylogeographical Perspectives On Colonization Of Hosts And Parasites Across The Beringian Nexus [Guest Editorial], Eric Waltari, Eric P. Hoberg, Enrique P. Lessa, Joseph A. Cook
Harold W. Manter Laboratory of Parasitology: Faculty and Staff Publications
The response of Arctic organisms and their parasites to dramatic fluctuations in climate during the Pleistocene has direct implications for predicting the impact of current climate change in the North. An increasing number of phylogeographical studies in the Arctic have laid a framework for testing hypotheses concerning the impact of shifting environmental conditions on transcontinental movement. We review 35 phylogeographical studies of trans-Beringian terrestrial and freshwater taxa, both hosts and parasites, to identify generalized patterns regarding the number, direction and timing of trans-continental colonizations. We found that colonization across Beringia was primarily from Asia to North America, with many events …
Mammals Of The Cosigüina Peninsula Of Nicaragua, Hugh H. Genoways, Robert M. Timm
Mammals Of The Cosigüina Peninsula Of Nicaragua, Hugh H. Genoways, Robert M. Timm
University of Nebraska State Museum: Mammalogy Papers
Nicaragua’s Cosigüina Peninsula, located at the northwestern tip of the country, is one of the most poorly studied biotic regions in Central America. The peninsula has been occupied for millennia because the climate of the region supported human habitation and because of its strategic position along the rich Pacific coast. The combination of long-term occupancy by humans and the cataclysmic eruptions of Volcán Cosigüina have produced a heavily impacted landscape. During the 1960s, the University of Kansas conducted multiyear field surveys of the terrestrial mammals on the peninsula and the adjacent mainland to quantify species diversity, relationships, abundances, habitat use, …
Bats Of Nevis, Northern Lesser Antilles, Scott C. Pedersen, Hugh H. Genoways, Matthew N. Morton, James W. Johnson, Siân E. Courts
Bats Of Nevis, Northern Lesser Antilles, Scott C. Pedersen, Hugh H. Genoways, Matthew N. Morton, James W. Johnson, Siân E. Courts
University of Nebraska State Museum: Mammalogy Papers
Only one species of bat, Molossus molossus, previously has been documented as occurring on the northern Lesser Antillean island of Nevis. Field research and reviews of existing museum collections have provided documentation based on voucher specimens for an additional seven species occurring on the island — Noctilio leporinus, Brachyphylla cavernarum, Monophyllus plethodon, Ardops nichollsi, Artibeus jamaicensis, Natalus stramineus, and Tadarida brasiliensis. The biological diversity of the chiropteran fauna on Nevis is similar to that found on other islands in the northern Lesser Antilles. Ecologically, this is a simple chiropteran fauna, including one …