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Articles 1 - 10 of 10
Full-Text Articles in Entomology
Landscape Genetics Of The Gulf Coast Tick, Amblyomma Maculatum, Sara Simmons Benham
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 …
Lepidopteran Granivory Reduces Seed Counts In A Rare Species Of Riparian Scour Prairies, Cheyenne Moore, Angela J. Mcdonnell, Scott Schuette, Christopher T. Martine
Lepidopteran Granivory Reduces Seed Counts In A Rare Species Of Riparian Scour Prairies, Cheyenne Moore, Angela J. Mcdonnell, Scott Schuette, Christopher T. Martine
Faculty Journal Articles
In Pennsylvania Baptisia australis var. australis is found along only four waterways: the Allegheny River, Youghiogheny River, Clarion River, and Red Bank Creek. Because of its limited distribution and small number of extant populations, the species is considered state-threatened in Pennsylvania. In addition, the riparian prairie habitat that Pennsylvania Baptisia australis var. australis is restricted to is also in decline and considered vulnerable. Because of these conservation concerns, insights into the natural history of the taxon in the state is valuable and will inform conservation efforts. Field surveys and fruit collections along the Allegheny River and herbarium collections were used …
Phylogeny And Population Genetic Analyses Reveals Cryptic Speciation In The Bombus Fervidus Species Complex (Hymenoptera: Apidae), Jonathan B. Koch, Juanita Rodriguez, James P. Pitts, James P. Strange
Phylogeny And Population Genetic Analyses Reveals Cryptic Speciation In The Bombus Fervidus Species Complex (Hymenoptera: Apidae), Jonathan B. Koch, Juanita Rodriguez, James P. Pitts, James P. Strange
Ecology Center Publications
Bumble bees (Bombus Latrielle) are significant pollinators of flowering plants due to their large body size, abundant setae, and generalist foraging strategies. However, shared setal coloration patterns among closely and distantly related bumble bee species makes identification notoriously difficult. The advent of molecular genetic techniques has increased our understanding of bumble bee evolution and taxonomy, and enables effective conservation policy and management. Individuals belonging to the North American Bombus fervidus species-complex (SC) are homogenous in body structure but exhibit significant body color phenotype variation across their geographic distribution. Given the uncertainty of the genealogical boundaries within the SC, some …
Population Genetics And Bumble Bee Conservation: Saving Species By Thinking Small, Cady Greenslit
Population Genetics And Bumble Bee Conservation: Saving Species By Thinking Small, Cady Greenslit
Lawrence University Honors Projects
Pollinators have experienced a severe decline over the last few decades, and this includes bumble bee populations (g. Bombus). Bumble bees are important native pollinators, and here I investigate the health of local populations with molecular tools. The field of conservation genetics has created useful methodology for investigating the health and informing management strategies of threatened populations. This work investigates and describes the applications of population genetics, which uses span across the board. These applications are then brought back into the context of bumble bee conservation, and how they fit into the experimental plan I originally designed. I designed …
Population Genetics And Ecology Of Regional Malaria Vectors In Amazonian Brazil, Sascha Naomi Mckeon
Population Genetics And Ecology Of Regional Malaria Vectors In Amazonian Brazil, Sascha Naomi Mckeon
Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)
Species complexes are common among anopheline mosquitoes, but only some members of complexes are disease vectors. Research involving overall patterns of divergence, phylogenetic relationships and population structure is partly driven by the operational need to be able to reliably distinguish component taxa that may be involved in malaria transmission. Anopheles triannulatus, An. nuneztovari and An. albitarsis are broadly distributed species complexes that contain local and regionally important malaria vectors, whose genetic diversity has been largely overshadowed by studies involving An. darlingi, the principal vector of Central and South America. I have analyzed the ecological suitability of habitats and geographical ranges …
Population Genetics And Gene Variation In Primary And Secondary Screwworm (Diptera : Calliphoridae), David B. Taylor, Richard D. Peterson Ii
Population Genetics And Gene Variation In Primary And Secondary Screwworm (Diptera : Calliphoridae), David B. Taylor, Richard D. Peterson Ii
David B. Taylor
Allozyme variation in screwworm, Cochliomyia hominivorax (Coquerel), and secondary screwworm, C. macellaria (F.), populations from northwest Costa Rica was examined . Variability was observed in 11 of 13 enzyme loci and the frequency of the most common allele was <0.95 for 5 loci in screwworm . In secondary screwworm, 12 of 13 loci were variable and the frequency of the most common allele was <0.95 for 6 loci . Expected heterozygosities were 0.149 and 0.160 for screwworm and secondary screwworm, respectively. Goodness-of-fit statistics for Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium and Wrights F statistics indicated that both species are panmictic with no evidence of …
Population Genetics And Gene Variation Of Stable Fly Populations (Diptera: Muscidae) In Nebraska, Allen L. Szalanski, David B. Taylor, Richard D. Peterson Ii
Population Genetics And Gene Variation Of Stable Fly Populations (Diptera: Muscidae) In Nebraska, Allen L. Szalanski, David B. Taylor, Richard D. Peterson Ii
David B. Taylor
Genetic variation in stable fly, Stomoxys calcitrans (L.),populations from Nebraska, Canada, and Texas was sampled. Four of 12 allozyme loci were polymorphic, with an average of 1.7 alleles per locus. Observed and expected heterozygosities were 0.086 and 0.070,respectively. Nei's genetic distance between populations averaged 0.001 and ranged from 0.000 to 0.005. Wright's F statistics revealed greater variation within than among populations. Allele frequencies were homogeneous among temporal samples from a single population. Polymerasechain reaction—restriction fragment length polymorphism (PCR—RFLP) analysis of 6.4 kb of the mitochondrial DNA genome with 16 restriction enzymes revealed no variation in stable fly populations from Canada, …
Population Genetics And Gene Variation In Secondary Screwworm (Diptera: Calliphoridae), David Taylor, Richard Peterson Ii
Population Genetics And Gene Variation In Secondary Screwworm (Diptera: Calliphoridae), David Taylor, Richard Peterson Ii
David B. Taylor
Allozyme variation in 4 populations of secondary screwworm, Cochliomyia macellaria (F.), representing North, Central, and South America was examined . Variability was observed in 12 of 13 enzyme loci, and the frequency of the most common allele was <0.95 for 6 loci . Observed and expected heterozygosities were 0.149 and 0.154, respectively. Nei's genetic distances were ≤ 0.001. Goodness-of-fit statistics for Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium and Wright's FIS statistics indicated random mating within populations . Wright's FST statistics and chi-square contingency analyses indicated homogeneous gene frequencies among the populations. These data suggest that C. macellaria is a panmictic species with high levels …
Population Genetics Of The Western Bean Cutworm (Striacosta Albicosta Smith) Across The United States, Erica Lindroth
Population Genetics Of The Western Bean Cutworm (Striacosta Albicosta Smith) Across The United States, Erica Lindroth
Department of Entomology: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research
The western bean cutworm, Striacosta albicosta (Smith), is a secondary pest of maize (Zea mays L.) and dry beans (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) in the western United States. Recently, this insect has undergone a major territory expansion into the eastern US and has become a pest throughout much of the Corn Belt. This study was instigated to examine the population genetics of this pest to facilitate control and resistance management, as well as to shed light on the current habitat expansion. To this end, western bean cutworm individuals were collected from 28 different locations across the traditional and expanded …
Population Genetics And Gene Variation In Screwworm From Brazil (Diptera: Calliphoridae)., David B. Taylor, Richard D. Peterson Ii, Gonzalo E. Moya-Borja
Population Genetics And Gene Variation In Screwworm From Brazil (Diptera: Calliphoridae)., David B. Taylor, Richard D. Peterson Ii, Gonzalo E. Moya-Borja
David B. Taylor
Allozyme variation in New World screwworm, Cochliomyia hominivorax (Coquerel), populations from Brazil was examined. Variability was observed in 8 of 13 enzyme loci and the frequency of the most common allele was <0.95 for seven loci. Observed and expected heterozygosities were 0.159 and 0.165, respectively. Comparisons of the Brazilian populations with previously studied populations from Costa Rica resulted in Nei's genetic distances of between 0.000 and 0.006, with the greatest distance being between populations within Brazil. Comparisons with Mexican populations using only three loci resulted in genetic distances <0.031. Goodness-of-fit statistics for Hardy–Weinberg equilibrium and Wright's F statistics indicated small deviations from expected equilibrium genotype frequencies and low levels of differentiation between populations within Brazil. Differentiation among screwworm populations from Brazil, Costa Rica, and Mexico was minimal.