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Full-Text Articles in Comparative and Evolutionary Physiology

Ecological Correlates Of Alligator Snapping Turtle Bite Performance, Ashley Herrin Gagnon Aug 2021

Ecological Correlates Of Alligator Snapping Turtle Bite Performance, Ashley Herrin Gagnon

MSU Graduate Theses

The Alligator Snapping Turtle (Macrochelys temminckii) is one of many turtle species facing conservation challenges. Nearly extirpated in the 1980s, it is currently the subject of a head-start initiative, of which, any lasting behavioral or physiological effects were—until now—unknown! To evaluate the ability of captive-reared individuals to excel in natural habitats, and to foresee any future research or conservation challenges regarding this animal, I explored a suite of variables that influence bite performance and behaviors including captive or free-ranging status, and environmental conditions including body temperature and season. My results indicated that free-ranging M. temminckii outperform those residing …


Creating A Georgia Southern Spider Collection: Can Dna Barcoding Help?, Guy B. Hobbs Jan 2021

Creating A Georgia Southern Spider Collection: Can Dna Barcoding Help?, Guy B. Hobbs

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

With over 280 spider (Araneae) species recorded within the State of Georgia, USA, the need for a well-documented natural history collection with a usable voucher system is critical to continually assess spider diversity and their future ecological impact in this region. Spider identification can be daunting for the inexperienced taxonomist; it is time consuming and sometimes requires destructive procedures. Previous works have successfully used an alternative method, DNA barcoding, to correctly identify spider species while preserving their morphology. This study set forth to create the core of a well-documented spider collection within Georgia Southern University’s Institute for Coastal Plain Science …