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Transcriptomics Of Learning, Pablo Iturralde

Theses

Learning is a basic and important component of behavior yet we have very little empirical information about the interaction between mechanisms of learning and evolution. In our work, we are testing hypotheses about the neurogenetic mechanisms through which animal learning abilities evolve. We are able to test this directly by using experimentally evolved populations of flies, which differ in learning ability. These populations were previously evolved within the lab by creating worlds with different patterns of change following theoretically predicted effects on which enhanced learning will evolve. How has evolution acted to modulate genes and gene expression in the brain …

Fern Genomes Elucidate Land Plant Evolution And Cyanobacterial Symbioses, Fay-Wei Li, Paul Brouwer, Lorenzo Carretero-Paulet, Shifeng Cheng, Jan De Vries, Pierre-Marc Delaux, Ariana Eily, Nils Koppers, Li-Yaung Kuo, Zheng Li, Mathew Simenc, Ian Small, Eric Wafula, Stephany Angarita, Michael S. Barker, Andrea Bräutigam, Claude Depamphilis, Sven Gould, Prashant S. Hosmani, Yao-Moan Huang, Bruno Huettel, Yoichiro Kato, Xin Liu, Steven Maere, Rose Mcdowell, Lukas A. Mueller, Klaas G. J. Nierop, Stefan A. Rensing, Tanner A. Robison, Carl J. Rothfels, Erin M. Sigel, Yue Song, Prakash R. Timilsena, Yves Van De Peer, Hongli Wang, Per K. I. Wilhelmsson, Paul G. Wolf, Xun Xu, Joshua P. Der, Henriette Schluepmann, Gane K.-S. Wong, Kathleen M. Pryer

Biology Faculty Publications

Ferns are the closest sister group to all seed plants, yet little is known about their genomes other than that they are generally colossal. Here, we report on the genomes of Azolla filiculoides and Salvinia cucullata (Salviniales) and present evidence for episodic whole-genome duplication in ferns—one at the base of ‘core leptosporangiates’ and one specific to Azolla. One fern-specific gene that we identified, recently shown to confer high insect resistance, seems to have been derived from bacteria through horizontal gene transfer. Azolla coexists in a unique symbiosis with N2-fixing cyanobacteria, and we demonstrate a clear pattern of cospeciation between …

Biodiversity And Conservation Study Of Chambers Island, Wisconsin - 2017 Annual Report, Mackenzie Hennes, Mikaela Nowak, Adam L. Brandt

Student Creative and Scholarly Works

Long term biological studies are rare but incredibly valuable for examining natural phenomena. Data collected over many years or decades allows for analyses of trends that would never be apparent in a single season. The research presented here is for the completion of the first field season in a long term study analyzing biodiversity trends on Chambers Island. Using visual searches, live trapping, and trail cameras, the biodiversity and abundance of species was examined. Special emphasis was placed on small mammals, though other species were observed and documented. The goals of this project were to (1) provide preliminary diversity and …

Species Distribution And Conservation Genetics Of The Upland And Midland Chorus Frogs (Pseudacris) In Kentucky, Tucker Cambridge

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

The upland (Pseudacris feriarum) and midland (P. triseriata) chorus frogs are closely related cryptic species that are best distinguished genetically. The distribution of these species within the Commonwealth of Kentucky has previously been defined by only a handful of genetic samples, making delineation of range limits for each species difficult. Accurate understanding of species distributions, and the genetic structure within them, are vitally important for conservation management of amphibian species. In this study, I have collected genetic samples from across the putative ranges of P. triseriata and P. feriarum in Kentucky and used next-generation sequencing technology to generate more fine-scale …

Investigations Of Biotremors In The Veiled Chameleon (Chamaeleo Calyptratus), Kathryn C. Laslie

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

While substrate-borne vibrations are utilized by different reptile species, true conspecific communication via biotremors has not yet been demonstrated in reptiles. This study follows a preliminary report that the veiled chameleon (Chamaeleo calyptratus) could produce biotremors in communicative contexts. I tested chameleon behavioral sensitivity to vibrations by placing them on a dowel attached to a shaker emitting vibrations of 25, 50, 150, 300, and 600 Hz and then measured their changes in velocity before and after the stimulus. I then paired chameleons in various social contexts [anthropogenic disturbance (human disruption of animal); dominance (malemale; female-female C. calyptratus); courtship (male-female C. …

An Evaluation Of Deterrent Methods Utilized To Prevent Crop Raiding By African Elephants (Loxodonta Africana) In The Kasigau Wildlife Corridor, Kenya, Rebecca Lynn Von Hagen

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

Escalating human elephant conflict (HEC) continues to be a contributing factor

towards elephant decline, and crop raiding is the most common form of negative

human-elephant interactions. For communities that cannot reverse or prevent crop

raiding, it is necessary to contain HEC events through deterrent measures. Few

deterrent measures exist that combine practicality and affordability while also

preventing habituation by elephants. This project focused on comparing the efficacy of

deterrent methods to assess which was the most successful at preventing elephants

from entering crops in the farming community of Sasenyi, Kenya. In this paired-control

study, four deterrent methods were evaluated: acacia …

Biotime: A Database Of Biodiversity Time Series For The Anthropocene, Maria Dornelas, Laura H. Antão, Faye Moyes, Amanda E. Bates, Anne E. Magurran, Dušan Adams, Asem A. Akhmetzhanova, Ward Appeltans, José Manuel Adam, Frank P. Day

Biological Sciences Faculty Publications

Motivation: The BioTIME database contains raw data on species identities and abundances in ecological assemblages through time. These data enable users to calculate temporal trends in biodiversity within and amongst assemblages using a broad range of metrics. BioTIME is being developed as a community-led open-source database of biodiversity time series. Our goal is to accelerate and facilitate quantitative analysis of temporal patterns of biodiversity in the Anthropocene.

Main types of variables included: The database contains 8,777,413 species abundance records, from assemblages consistently sampled for a minimum of 2 years, which need not necessarily be consecutive. In addition, the database contains …

Wildlife Translocation, Michael T. Mengak

Wildlife Damage Management Technical Series

Many people enjoy wildlife. It enriches their lives in many ways. Nationwide, Americans spend over $144 billion annually on fishing, hunting, and wildlife-watching activities. However, wildlife is not always welcome in or near homes, buildings, or other property and can cause significant damage or health and safety issues (Figure 1). In one study, 42% of urban residents reported experiencing a wildlife problem during the previous year and more than half of them said their attempts to resolve the problem were unsuccessful. Many people who experience a wildlife conflict prefer to resolve the issue without harming the offending animal. Of the …

Wildlife Carcass Disposal, Stephen M. Vantassel, Mark A. King

Wildlife Damage Management Technical Series

Many wildlife management situations require the disposal of animal carcasses. These can include the lethal removal of wildlife to resolve damage or conflicts, as well as clean-up after mortalities caused by vehicle collisions, disease, oil spills (Figure 1) or other natural disasters. Carcasses must be disposed of properly to protect public sensitivities, the environment, and public health. Improper disposal of carcasses can result in public outrage, site contamination, injury to animals and people, and the attraction of other animals that may lead to wildlife damage issues. Concern over ground water contamination and disease transmission from improper carcass disposal has resulted …

Plants And Their Uses; How Communities Of Tolipir, Pakistan Get Benefit, Abu Ul Hassan Faiz, Mehboob Ul Hassan, Fida Muhammad Khan, Lariab Zahra Faiz, Hina Farooq

Journal of Bioresource Management

The present study documented ethnobotanical uses of 156 plant species belonged to 93 genera and 51 families listed from five villages of Tolipir landscape (Ali Sojhal, Kanchi Kot, Khori Chana, Kahoo Kot and Noor Kot villages). Study revealed that most of the species were used medicinally, leaves found to be the most frequently used part, for preparation of indigenous recipes and fodder purpose. The current study empirically contributes a huge chunk of ethnobotanical knowledge and depicts its strong connection with indigenous traditions. It is an urgent need to document indigenous uses of plants for future domestication.

The Role Of Small Ruminants On Global Climate Change, Alda Lúcia Gomes Monteiro, Amanda Moser Coelho Da Fonseca Faro, Mylena Taborda Piquera Peres, Rafael Batista, Cesar Henrique Espirito Candal Poli, Juan J. Villalba

Wildland Resources Faculty Publications

Global warming, as a consequence of excessive CO2 production mainly due to anthropogenic actions, is one of the main concerns of society due to the effects it can cause in the survival of humans, plants and animals. Several climatic consequences have already been reported, such as warming the oceans and changing biodiversity in various regions of the planet. One of the greenhouse gases responsible for global warming, which causes a lot of concern, is methane gas from digestion of food by ruminants. Besides that, emissions of greenhouse gases are represented also by waste management, rice cultivation, burning of residues from …

Pollen Evidence Of Medicine From An Embalming Jar Associated With Vittoria Della Rovere, Florence, Italy, Karl Reinhard, Kelsey B. Lynch, Annie Larsen, Braymond Adams, Leon Higley, Marina Milanello Do Amaral, Julia Russ, Donatella Lippi, Johnica J. Morrow, Dario Piombino-Mascali

Karl Reinhard Publications

Various samples of human viscera fragments, sponges, and cloth were collected from embalming jars belonging to members of the Medici family of Florence. One jar was labeled with the name Vittoria della Rovere, who died in March of 1694. This jar contained viscera fragments that were identified as a section of collapsed intestine. The intestine of the Vittoria della Rovere sample contained a large concentration of pollen belonging to the Myrtaceae family. The Myrtaceae pollen was sometimes observed in clusters during analysis, which is indicative of purposeful ingestion of flowers, buds, or a substance derived from floral structures. Thus, the …

Small Mammals Of Family Muridae In Protected Areas Of Pakistan, Fakhra Nazir, Andleeb Batool, Inayat Ullah Malik, Safdar Ali Shah, Sabiha Shamim

Journal of Bioresource Management

Murids to have more than 1300 species globally, forming the largest mammal group. Murids are found nearly everywhere in the world, though many subfamilies have narrower ranges. Murids are not found in Antarctica and many oceanic islands. Five National Parks from Northern areas of Pakistan were physically surveyed. The parks were studied at different times. Dhirkot National Park (DNP) in February 2008, Banjosa National Park (BJNP) from May to June 2009, Pir Lasura National Park (PLNP) from June to July 2009 and Pir Chanasi National Park (PCNP) from April to May 2010. A total of 6 species belonging to the …

Fisheries Bycatch Risk To Marine Megafauna Is Intensified In Lagrangian Coherent Structures, Kylie L. Scales, Elliot L. Hazen, Michael G. Jacox, Frederic Castruccio, Sara M. Maxwell, Rebecca L. Lewison, Steven J. Bograd

Biological Sciences Faculty Publications

Incidental catch of nontarget species (bycatch) is a major barrier to ecological and economic sustainability in marine capture fisheries. Key to mitigating bycatch is an understanding of the habitat requirements of target and nontarget species and the influence of heterogeneity and variability in the dynamic marine environment. While patterns of overlap among marine capture fisheries and habitats of a taxonomically diverse range of marine vertebrates have been reported, a mechanistic understanding of the real-time physical drivers of bycatch events is lacking. Moving from describing patterns toward understanding processes, we apply a Lagrangian analysis to a high-resolution ocean model output to …

Local Adaptation Signatures In Thermal Performance Of The Temperate Coral Astrangia Poculata, Hannah Elise Aichelman

Biological Sciences Theses & Dissertations

The Northern Star Coral (Astrangia poculata) is an understudied temperate scleractinian coral that provides unique opportunities to understand the roles of phenotypic plasticity and local adaptation in coral physiological tolerance limits. Astrangia poculata inhabits hard bottom ecosystems from the northwestern Atlantic to the Gulf of Mexico and withstands an annual temperature range up to 20°C. Additionally, A. poculata is facultatively symbiotic and co-occurs in both symbiotic (“brown”) and aposymbiotic (“white”) states. Here, brown and white A. poculata were collected from Virginia (VA) and Rhode Island (RI), USA and exposed to heat (18-32°C) and cold (18-6°C) temperature assays during …

Potential Interaction Analysis Of Offshore Wind Energy Areas And Breeding Avian Species On The Us Mid-Atlantic Coast, Jeri Lynn Wisman

Biological Sciences Theses & Dissertations

Due to increasing US interest in developing wind energy sites in offshore waters, we synthesized existing data on colonial breeding seabird populations with the potential risk of interacting with lease areas in the mid-Atlantic. Previous efforts by BOEM and NOAA have predicted avian density using at-sea survey data; we seek to complement this work by focusing specifically on birds during the critical and energetically demanding breeding life history stage. We combined colony size and location for each species along the mid-Atlantic coast with buffers around the colonies that correlate with the species’ foraging range. We integrated population size, vulnerability to …

The Importance Of Keeping The Big Ones: Harvest Slot Limits And Marine Protected Areas For The Management Of The Caribbean Spiny Lobster, Gayathiri Gnanalingam

Biological Sciences Theses & Dissertations

Fishing typically removes the oldest and/or largest individuals from populations undermining stability and reproductive success. Traditional fisheries management tools fail to protect these oldest and/or largest individuals, but two less conventional tools: marine protected areas (MPAs), and harvest slot limits have the potential to do so. Here I tested the possible use of these tools for the Caribbean spiny lobster, Panulirus argus, an iconic and economically valued species. After decades of intense fishing, the largest lobsters have largely been wiped out. The loss of the largest lobsters is significant as large lobsters have considerably greater reproductive potential than their …

Biotime: A Database Of Biodiversity Time Series For The Anthropocene, Maria Dornelas, Laura H. Antão, Faye Moyes, Amanda E. Bates, Anne E. Magurran, Dušan Adam, Asem A. Akhmetzhanova, Ward Appeltans, José Manuel Arcos, Haley Arnold, Narayanan Ayyappan, Gal Badihi, Andrew H. Baird, Miguel Barbosa, Tiago Egydio Barreto, Claus Bässler, Alecia Bellgrove, Jonathan Belmaker, Lisandro Benedetti-Cecchi, Brian J. Bett, Anne D. Bjorkman, Magdalena Błażewicz, Shane A. Blowes, Christopher P. Bloch, Timothy C. Bonebrake, Susan Boyd, Matt Bradford, Andrew J. Brooks, James H. Brown, Helge Bruelheide, Phaedra Budy, Fernando Carvalho, Edward Castañeda-Moya, Chaolun Allen Chen, John F. Chamblee, Tory J. Chase, Laura Siegwart Collier, Sharon K. Collinge, Richard Condit, Elisabeth J. Cooper, J Hans C. Cornelissen, Unai Cotano, Shannan Kyle Crow, Gabriella Damasceno, Claire H. Davies, Robert A. Davis, Frank P. Day, Steven Degraer, Tim S. Doherty, Timothy E. Dunn, Giselda Durigan, J. Emmett Duffy, Dor Edelist, Graham J. Edgar, Robin Elahi, Sarah C. Elmendorf, Anders Enemar, S. K. Morgan Ernest, Rubén Escribano, Marc Estiarte, Brian S. Evans, Tung-Yung Fan, Fabiano Turini Farah, Luiz Loureiro Fernandes, Fábio Z. Farneda, Alessandra Fidelis, Robert Fitt, Anna Maria Fosaa, Geraldo Antonio Daher Correa Franco, Grace E. Frank, William R. Fraser, Hernando García, Roberto Cazzolla Gatti, Or Givan, Elizabeth Gorgone-Barbosa, William A. Gould, Corinna Gries, Gary D. Grossman, Julio R. Gutierréz, Stephen Hale, Mark E. Harmon, John Harte, Gary Haskins, Donald L. Henshaw, Luise Hermanutz, Pamela Hidalgo, Pedro Higuchi, Andrew Hoey, Gert Van Hoey, Annika Hofgaard, Kristen Holeck, Robert D. Hollister, Richard Holmes, Mia Hoogenboom, Chih-Hao Hsieh, Stephen P. Hubbell, Falk Huettmann, Christine L. Huffard, Allen H. Hurlbert, Natália Macedo Ivanauskas, David Janík, Ute Jandt, Anna Jażdżewska, Tore Johannessen, Jill Johnstone, Julia Jones, Faith A. M. Jones, Jungwon Kang, Tasrif Kartawijaya, Erin C. Keeley, Douglas A. Kelt, Rebecca Kinnear, Kari Klanderud, Halvor Knutsen, Christopher C. Koenig, Alessandra R. Kortz, Kamil Král, Linda A. Kuhnz, Chao-Yang Kuo, David J. Kushner, Claire Laguionie-Marchais, Lesley T. Lancaster, Cheol Min Lee, Jonathan S. Lefcheck, Esther Lévesque, David Lightfoot, Francisco Lloret, John D. Lloyd, Adrià López-Baucells, Maite Louzao, Joshua S. Madin, Borgþór Magnússon, Shahar Malamud, Iain Matthews, Kent P. Mcfarland, Brian Mcgill, Diane Mcknight, William O. Mclarney, Jason Meador, Peter L. Meserve, Daniel J. Metcalfe, Christoph F. J. Meyer, Anders Michelsen, Nataliya Milchakova, Tom Moens, Even Moland, Jon Moore, Carolina Mathias Moreira, Jörg Müller, Grace Murphy, Isla H. Myers-Smith, Randall W. Myster, Andrew Naumov, Francis Neat, James A. Nelson, Michael Paul Nelson, Stephen F. Newton, Natalia Norden, Jeffrey C. Oliver, Esben M. Olsen, Vladimir G. Onipchenko, Krzysztof Pabis, Robert J. Pabst, Alain Paquette, Sinta Pardede, David M. Paterson, Raphaël Pélissier, Josep Peñuelas, Alejandro Pérez-Matus, Oscar Pizarro, Francesco Pomati, Eric Post, Herbert H. T. Prins, John C. Priscu, Pieter Provoost, Kathleen L. Prudic, Erkki Pulliainen, B. R. Ramesh, Olivia Mendivil Ramos, Andrew Rassweiler, Jose Eduardo Rebelo, Daniel C. Reed, Peter B. Reich, Suzanne M. Remillard, Anthony J. Richardson, J. Paul Richardson, Itai Van Rijn, Ricardo Rocha, Victor H. Rivera-Monroy, Christian Rixen, Kevin P. Robinson, Ricardo Ribeiro Rodrigues, Denise De Cerqueira Rossa-Feres, Lars Rudstam, Henry Ruhl, Catalina S. Ruz, Erica M. Sampaio, Nancy Rybicki, Andrew Rypel, Sofia Sal, Beatriz Salgado, Flavio A. M. Santos, Ana Paula Savassi-Coutinho, Sara Scanga, Jochen Schmidt, Robert Schooley, Fakhrizal Setiawan, Kwang-Tsao Shao, Gaius R. Shaver, Sally Sherman, Thomas W. Sherry, Jacek Siciński, Caya Sievers, Ana Carolina Da Silva, Fernando Rodrigues Da Silva, Fabio L. Silveira, Jasper Slingsby, Tracey Smart, Sara J. Snell, Nadejda A. Soudzilovskaia, Gabriel B. G. Souza, Flaviana Maluf Souza, Vinícius Castro Souza, Christopher D. Stallings, Rowan Stanforth, Emily H. Stanley, José Mauro Sterza, Maarten Stevens, Rick Stuart-Smith, Yzel Rondon Suarez, Sarah Supp, Jorge Yoshio Tamashiro, Sukmaraharja Tarigan, Gary P. Thiede, Simon Thorn, Anne Tolvanen, Maria Teresa Zugliani Toniato, Ørjan Totland, Robert R. Twilley, Gediminas Vaitkus, Nelson Valdivia, Martha Isabel Vallejo, Thomas J. Valone, Carl Van Colen, Jan Vanaverbeke, Fabio Venturoli, Hans M. Verheye, Marcelo Vianna, Rui P. Vieira, Tomáš Vrška, Con Quang Vu, Lien Van Vu, Robert B. Waide, Conor Waldock, Dave Watts, Sara Webb, Tomasz Wesołowski, Ethan P. White, Claire E. Widdicombe, Dustin Wilgers, Richard Williams, Stefan B. Williams, Mark Williamson, Michael R. Willig, Trevor J. Willis, Sonja Wipf, Kerry D. Woods, Eric J. Woehler, Kyle Zawada, Michael L. Zettler

Research outputs 2014 to 2021

Motivation: The BioTIME database contains raw data on species identities and abundances in ecological assemblages through time. These data enable users to calculate temporal trends in biodiversity within and amongst assemblages using a broad range of metrics. BioTIME is being developed as a community-led open-source database of biodiversity time series. Our goal is to accelerate and facilitate quantitative analysis of temporal patterns of biodiversity in the Anthropocene.

Main types of variables included: The database contains 8,777,413 species abundance records, from assemblages consistently sampled for a minimum of 2 years, which need not necessarily be consecutive. In addition, the database contains …

Review Of Microbuthus With Description Of M. Satyrus Sp. N. (Scorpiones, Buthidae) From Oman And Yemen, Graeme Lowe, František Kovařík, Mark Stockmann, František Šťáhlavský

Euscorpius

The taxonomy of the genus Microbuthus is reviewed, and a new species from Oman and Yemen, M. satyrus sp. n., is described and fully illustrated with color photographs of live and preserved specimens, as well as of its habitat. It is compared to the closely similar species M. litoralis, which we also illustrate. Synonymy of the type species M. pusillus Kraepelin, 1898 with M. litoralis (Pavesi, 1885) is confirmed, and the species is recorded for the first time from Yemen. Hemispermatophores of M. satyrus sp. n., M. gardneri Lowe, 2010, and …

Determining The Drivers Of Anti-Tropical Distributions Across The Fish Tree Of Life, William Benton Ludt

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Anti-tropical distributions are those where populations of a single species, or multiple closely related taxa, are distributed outside of, and on opposing sides of, the tropics. These latitudinally disjunct distributions have been noted for over a century. Despite this long history of interest, little has been concluded regarding the actual mechanisms that drive this pattern, with several prominent hypotheses competing with one another in the literature. Here I review the proposed drivers of anti-tropicality, and subsequently test them using fishes with a variety of life history and taxonomic differences. This includes (1) a temperately restricted family with anti-tropical distributions – …

Impact Of Temperature, Plant Species, And Sorghum Cultivar On The Population Dynamics Of Melanaphis Sacchari, Monique Ferreira De Souza

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Sugarcane aphid, Melanaphis sacchari Zehner, is now widely established in sorghum, Sorghum bicolor L., production areas of the United States and is an important economic pest. However, detailed studies of temperature, host range and plant resistance effects on the biology and population parameters of the M. sacchari biotype responsible for the sorghum outbreak in the United States have not been performed previously. Therefore, the present study aimed to investigate: 1) How temperatures affect M. sacchari 2) M. sacchari interaction with host plants 3) M. sacchari interaction with sorghum genotypes. The response of M. sacchari to six different constant temperatures (15, …

Study Of The Visual Adaptation Mechanism In Marine Species With The Change Of Habitation Depth., Demid Osipov, Daniil Moshnikov

The International Student Science Fair 2018

The goal of our work was to determine the principal mechanisms that provide the difference in visual perception of two marine species that live on different depths: T. Pacificus and O. Vulgaris. In nature, visual perception of species that live deeper is shifted towards the blue region. This is related to the fact that red, orange and yellow light is absorbed more strongly by water than the blue light. On the other hand, the visual perception spectrum of an animal is determined by the absorption spectrum of the "light sensor" located in rods and cones of its eye retina. These …

Forest Drought Resistance Distinguished By Canopy Height, Wei Fang, Peipei Xu, Tao Zhou, George Hendrey, Xiang Zhao

Publications and Research

How are the survival and growth of trees under severe drought affected by their size? While some studies have shown that large trees are more vulnerable to drought than smaller trees, others found that small trees are the more vulnerable. We explored the potential relationships between canopy height and forest responses to drought indicated by tree mortality, tree ring width index (RWI), and normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) in the southwestern United States (SWUS) in 2002. In that year many trees had zero tree ring growth due to mortality and dieback, presumably related to drought-stress. With RWI data from a …

Harvesting Invasive Plants To Reduce Nutrient Loads And Produce Bioenergy: An Assessment Of Great Lakes Coastal Wetlands, Brendan D. Carson, Shane C. Lishawa, Nancy C. Tuchman, Andrew M. Monks, Beth A. Lawrence, Dennis A. Albert

School of Environmental Sustainability: Faculty Publications and Other Works

In Laurentian Great Lakes coastal wetlands (GLCWs), dominant emergent invasive plants are expanding their ranges and compromising the unique habitat and ecosystem service values that these ecosystems provide. Herbiciding and burning to control invasive plants have not been effective in part because neither strategy addresses the most common root cause of invasion, nutrient enrichment. Mechanical harvesting is an alternative approach that removes tissue‐bound phosphorus and nitrogen and can increase wetland plant diversity and aquatic connectivity between wetland and lacustrine systems. In this study, we used data from three years of Great Lakes‐wide wetland plant surveys, published literature, and bioenergy analyses …

Intraspecific Variation In The Recruitment Dynamics Of A Transgressing Avicennia Germinans Population, Shannon Victoria Grogan

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Survival and establishment of mangrove propagules at higher tidal elevations beyond the landward margin of their distribution is a requirement for the continued existence of mangrove populations in response to rising sea-level. Despite the growing body of literature that discusses mangrove recruitment patterns, few studies have empirically examined establishment and post-establishment growth success of propagules at the higher intertidal positions into witch mangrove populations are migrating. Using an experimental field approach, this study compares establishment and post-establishment growth success of propagules at three positions across a tidal elevation gradient within a landward-transgressing mangrove population of SW Florida (USA). I observed …

Computational Analysis Of Papionini Evolution Using Alu Insertions, Vallmer Edward Jordan Ii

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Alu elements are primate specific retrotransposons that have remained active throughout the course of primate evolution. As a result of this sustained mobilization. Alu elements are present in greater copy number in primate genomes than any other transposable element. An average of over one million Alu elements has been identified in every sequenced haplorrhine genome to date. These characteristics qualify Alu elements as ideal characters for studying evolutionary relationship among primates.

The increasing availability of whole genome sequencing data presents novel challenges and opportunities for comparative genomic analyses. Genomic data is now publicly available for most primate species. Such an …

Chamaecrista Fasciculata In Tallgrass And Sand Prairies: The Potential For Differential Responses, Robert W. Philips

Theses and Dissertations

Successful establishment of a diversity of native species has become an important goal for restoration site managers to achieve, however as seed sources for a species may occur in habitats with different abiotic and biotic characteristics. Consequently, seeds from different sources may vary in their success in a restoration. Chamaecrista fasciculata, a native prairie species, occurs in two divergent prairie types - tallgrass and sand prairies. Tallgrass prairies have a moist soil with dense vegetation; in contrast, sand prairies have a well-drained sandy soil with sparse vegetation. I propose differential selection acting on populations in these prairie types would affect …

When Does Less Equal More? Assessing The Mechanisms Driving Compensatory Mortality And The Hydra Effect, Joseph T. Neale

Theses and Dissertations

Many populations across taxa are regulated by negative density-dependence, wherein increased population sizes lead to decreased birth rates and/or increased mortality. By releasing such populations from some level of these density-dependent effects, extrinsic mortality can lead to counter-intuitive results, such as no change in population size (compensation), or an increase in population size (overcompensation). These results have been documented experimentally, but there currently exists a dearth of empirical studies exploring the mechanisms behind the phenomenon. We tested the relationship between extrinsic mortality level and (over)compensation in four mosquito species – Aedes aegypti, A. albopictus, A. triseriatus, and Culex pipiens – …

Ecology Of Pilgrimage: Building Socio-Ecological Community On The Way, Peggy L. Eppig

International Journal of Religious Tourism and Pilgrimage

A developed sense of interdependence with the socio-ecological landscapes of pilgrimage can serve as a path for accepting and reducing the impact we have in our sacred travels. Developing ecological habits of mind allows the pilgrim to draw deeper meanings from and thus greater affinity with the natural world. Raising awareness of environmental issues and appreciating the interaction of humans and the natural world helps modern pilgrims play an important role in conservation and restoration of pilgrimage landscapes.

Competition And Coexistence In Plant Communities: Intraspecific Competition Is Stronger Than Interspecific Competition, Peter B. Adler, Danielle Smull, Karen H. Beard, Ryan T. Choi, Tucker J. Furniss, Andrew Kulmatiski, Joan M. Meiners, Andrew T. Tredennick, Kari E. Veblen

Ecology Center Publications

Theory predicts that intraspecific competition should be stronger than interspecific competition for any pair of stably coexisting species, yet previous literature reviews found little support for this pattern. We screened over 5400 publications and identified 39 studies that quantified phenomenological intraspecific and interspecific interactions in terrestrial plant communities. Of the 67% of species pairs in which both intra‐ and interspecific effects were negative (competitive), intraspecific competition was, on average, four to five‐fold stronger than interspecific competition. Of the remaining pairs, 93% featured intraspecific competition and interspecific facilitation, a situation that stabilises coexistence. The difference between intra‐ and interspecific effects tended …