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Full-Text Articles in Marine 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, …
Natural Variation And Evolutionary Responses To Climate Change Stressors In Marine Invertebrates, Joanna Sarah Griffiths
Natural Variation And Evolutionary Responses To Climate Change Stressors In Marine Invertebrates, Joanna Sarah Griffiths
LSU Doctoral Dissertations
Our rapidly changing climate is putting many species at risk of extinction and there is an urgent need to understand how species will respond to these changes. In this dissertation, I evaluate how three species of marine invertebrates (corals, oysters, and copepods) respond to stressful conditions in their current environments and how plasticity and evolutionary adaptation could alter their response to future climate change stressors. I first employed a space for time study to elucidate population differences in the response of cold-water corals, Balanophyllia elegans, to future ocean acidification. I found evidence that upwelling history (natural low pH exposure) influences …