Life Sciences Commons^™

Homoplasy Of Maxillary Orthognathism In Derived Homo, Jared Jordan

Graduate Studies Theses and Dissertations 2026

The evolution of the orthognathic condition in the genus Homo represents a monumental transition toward the facial morphology of modern humans from that of earlier hominins, but the phylogenetic positioning of this transformation remains poorly understood. This study investigated temporal trends in maxillary and mandibular prognathism in the genus Homo, and whether maxillary and mandibular shortening in East Asian H. erectus and later East Asian Middle Pleistocene Homo (e.g., Homo longi) represent independent derivations of orthognathic morphology, thereby making orthognathism a homoplasy in the genus Homo. Using a sample of roughly 109 cranial and mandibular specimens spanning …

Multi-Scale Drivers Of Beetle Biodiversity In A Rapidly Urbanizing Region, Alessandra Pandolfi

Graduate Studies Theses and Dissertations 2026

As cities continue to expand, designing urban landscapes that balance ecological resilience with biodiversity conservation has emerged as a pressing challenge. This dissertation examines urban ecosystems as complex and dynamic environments shaping plant and animal communities, with a particular focus on ground-dwelling beetles as ecologically significant indicators of environmental change. Conducted across the Orlando metropolitan area, one of the fastest-growing regions in the United States, this dissertation integrates experimental and observational approaches. Specifically, it aims to (1) test sustainable landscaping practices, (2) compare the ecological outcomes of conventional and alternative residential landscape designs, and (3) assess how gradients of urbanization …

Investigating Effects Of The Macroalga Caulerpa Prolifera On Restoration Of The Seagrass Halodule Wrightii In The Indian River Lagoon, Florida, Luciana M. Banquero

Graduate Studies Theses and Dissertations 2026

Seagrass restoration efforts have been motivated by global decreases in coverage associated with anthropogenic influences on the environment. In the Indian River Lagoon (IRL), FL, seagrass declined by 75% between 2011 and 2021. During this time, abundance of the macroalga Caulerpa prolifera increased substantially in the IRL. The macroalga is native to this estuary, however C. prolifera abundance has fluctuated widely in the past few decades. Being highly opportunistic, C. prolifera took advantage of areas formerly inhabited by seagrass. It is not known how dense, continuous beds of C. prolifera impact seagrass restoration projects or natural recovery of seagrass. Previous …

High Algal Biomass Is Decoupled From Metabolism In The Gallatin River, Cora Mae Steinbach

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Assessing eutrophication in rivers is difficult compared to lakes and coastal waters, because most algal biomass occurs on the riverbed and flows interact and co-vary with production (Biggs and Close, 1989; Bernhardt et al., 2018). Riverine eutrophication is typically assessed using algal biomass and water column nutrients (U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, 2000), but biomass is highly variable and labor-intensive to measure, while nutrient concentrations often underestimate enrichment due to rapid biological uptake (Dodds and Smith, 2016). Reach-scale river metabolism can help evaluate long-term functional change in rivers recovering from nutrient enrichment (Arroita et al., 2019; Jankowski et al., 2021; Diamond …

Symmetry In Affiliative Interactions Of North American River Otters (Lontra Canadensis) In A Northern California Estuary, Charlotte E. Norman

Cal Poly Humboldt theses and projects

Patterns of participation in affiliative behaviors may reflect underlying social dynamics. Two affiliative behaviors, allogrooming and social play, were assessed for their symmetry, or relative participation of participants, in a wild group of North American river otters. Behavioral observations were conducted over five months at the Little River estuary in northern California using video recordings and all-occurrence sampling. Observations included all-adult groups, a family group consisting of a breeding female and two pups, and an extended family group with one or two helpers, indicative of cooperative breeding. Individuals engaged in allogrooming and social play were classified by their group membership, …

Moth Assemblages Of Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri, Kimberly Anne Steese

Masters Theses

"Moths (Lepidoptera) are ecologically important insects that function as herbivores, pollinators, prey resources, and indicators of ecosystem integrity. Despite their ecological significance, moth communities in the Missouri Ozarks remain poorly documented, particularly within military-managed landscapes. This thesis examined patterns of moth diversity, assemblage structure, and environmental drivers at Fort Leonard Wood (FLW), Missouri, while also assessing the distribution and genetic diversity of species within the genus Papaipema.

Field surveys were conducted from 2019 through 2021 across prairie, savanna, forest, and restoration habitats at FLW using UV bucket traps, sheet trapping, and targeted larval surveys. Across all sampling efforts, 29,116 individual …

Eastern Fox Squirrel (Sciurus Niger) Occupancy In A Southern Missouri Woodland, Daniel Garten

Graduate Theses/Dissertations

Species occupancy, which relates the probability of presence of a species at a specific place and time, is an important component of conservation and wildlife management. Principally it is used for estimation of a species’ distribution as well as understanding species interactions and quantifying environmental effects. The purpose of this study was to analyze occupancy of the Eastern Fox Squirrel (Sciurus niger) across multiple seasons (2019–2022) at Bull Shoals Field Station (BSFS), and to identify potential covariates associated with detection and colonization. Data were drawn from camera trap surveys from 26 sites during summer and fall seasons. Multi-season occupancy models …

American Elderberry's Next Top Pollinator: Evaluating The Role Of Arthropods In Pollination, Jenny K. Burrow

Graduate Theses/Dissertations

American elderberry (Sambucus nigra subsp. canadensis) is a woody deciduous shrub native to eastern North America. In addition to its long history of use by indigenous peoples, there is renewed interest in cultivating and consuming American elderberry, primarily driven by expanding health supplement markets. Despite recent advances in horticultural development of American elderberry, its pollination ecology remains poorly understood. In this field study, I evaluated the contribution of arthropod visitors to pollination of American elderberry. To do this, I first characterized the identities and abundances of arthropod visitors via timed arthropod collections and floral observations during peak flowering …

Surveillance Of A Novel Vesivirus Discovered In An Urban Mephitis Mephitis Population, Amanda E. Diggins

Honors Theses and Capstones

Caliciviridae is a family of non-enveloped, positive-sense, single stranded RNA viruses, including eleven defined genera that contain important pathogens of humans and animals. Within the Caliciviridae family, the genus Vesiviridae includes feline calicivirus, a leading cause of upper respiratory disease in cats, and vesicular exanthema of swine virus, a historical disease of domestic swine that has now been implicated in several marine mammal vesicular diseases, one of which has been confirmed zoonotic. Urban landscapes create a unique environment for rapid intra- and interspecies transmission of viruses. Clustered resources attract high-density populations of synanthropic wildlife species, increasing spatial overlap and heightening …

Investigating Microbe-Mediated Temperature Tolerance In Lemna Minor, Matthew Thomas Farbaniec

Honors Theses and Capstones

Temperature limits plant growth and survival more than many other environmental variables, and increases in the frequency of extreme hot or cold weather events pose significant challenges for plant growth and crop yields. Previous studies have shown that bacteria, fungi, and other microorganisms associated with plants ( i.e., the plant microbiome) can influence host response to temperature stress. These same microbes have their own temperature tolerances. We investigated whether microbial temperature tolerance correlates with plant resilience using an aquatic plant model, Lemna minor, and isolates derived from its microbiome. Microbial isolates were assessed at −10°C, 4°C, and 32°C for …

Stress And Reward Interactions In Substance Use Disorder: An Evolutionary Mismatch Framework, Nicholas L. Castrucci

Honors Theses and Capstones

Substance use disorder (SUD) is a major public health concern characterized by compulsive substance use despite adverse consequences. While contemporary models emphasize biological, psychological, and environmental contributors, stress- and reward-related systems are often examined in isolation. This review integrates these systems within an evolutionary mismatch framework to examine how chronic stress exposure and repeated substance use increase vulnerability to addiction. Stress and reward systems are evolutionarily conserved but may become chronically dysregulated under modern conditions characterized by persistent psychosocial stressors and highly potent rewarding stimuli. This is associated with converging neuroadaptations across stress and reward circuitry, resulting in altered affective …

Hidden In The Mist: Three New Species Of Salamanders Of The Genus Pseudoeurycea (Amphibia: Plethodontidae) From Oaxaca, Mexico, Eduardo A. Aguilar-Herrera, Salomón Sanabria-Urbán, Dulce L. Flores-Martínez, José David Gómez-Tapia, Misael Seba-Chacha, Leopoldo D. Vázquez-Reyes, Francisco A. Rivera-Ortíz, Patricia Ramírez-Bastida, Bruno Cortés-Ortiz, R. Alejandro Calzada-Arciniega, Etienne U. Avila-Ortega, Dónovan I. Víquez-Vega, Omar Hernández-Ordoñez, Christopher Blair, Víctor H. Jiménez-Arcos

Publications and Research

We describe three new species of lungless salamanders (Plethodontidae) in the genus Pseudoeurycea from Cerro Rabon, located on the eastern slopes of the Sierra Mazateca, Oaxaca, Mexico. This mid-elevation mountain, largely surrounded by warmer lowlands, remains relatively understudied. We present molecular and morphological evidence distinguishing the three new species from their congeners. According to our phylogenetic analysis, one of the new species belongs to the P. leprosa group, while the other two are members of the P. juarezi group. Notably, one of the new species represents the fourth worm salamander known from west of the Isthmus of Tehuantepec, and another …

An Ecological-Evolutionary Investigation Of Phenotypic, Genetic, And Environmental Variation And Correlations Among Reproductive Traits Of Tall Goldenrod (Solidago Altissima), Michael J. Wise, Daniel Lavy, David E. Carr, Warren G. Abrahamson Ii

Faculty Journal Articles

Although fitness-related traits are expected to be under strong selection, traits related to reproduction are often quite variable within plant populations. We used data from two large greenhouse experiments to quantify phenotypic, genetic, and environmental variation, as well as genetic tradeoffs that might help explain the maintenance of withinpopulation variation in four traits related to sexual or vegetative reproduction in tall goldenrod (Solidago altissima). The goldenrod population exhibited high levels of both phenotypic and genetic variation for capitulum (flower head) number and size, seed production, and rhizome growth. Significant negative genetic correlations were present between the number of capitula and …

Ecological And Evolutionary Divergence Of A Shared Sympatric Color Polymorphism In Paracirrhites Hawkfish, Samuel Greaves

Graduate Studies Theses and Dissertations 2026

Color polymorphism provides a tractable window into how selection, gene flow, and ecology interact to maintain phenotypic diversity and initiate divergence. I investigate the ecological and genomic basis of sympatric light and melanistic morphs in two reef hawkfishes, Paracirrhites arcatus and P. hemistictus, across Guam and Hawai‘i. This study aims to determine whether the color morphs of these hawkfishes are a stable polymorphism or have begun the process of ecological speciation. For P. arcatus revealed substantially lower density on Guam (0.086 ind/m²) than reported for Hawai‘i (0.292 ind/m²) and a strong skew away from the melanistic morph on Guam …

A Sensory Ecology Of Fear: Moonlight-Mediated Predation Risk And Foraging Behavior In Neotropical Electric Fish, Chiu Lok Poon

Graduate Studies Theses and Dissertations 2026

Animals must forage to acquire energy for survival and reproduction, yet foraging exposes them to predators. This creates a trade-off between energy intake and safety, wherein the perception of predation risk alone can alter activity patterns. Within this trade-off, risk, energetic needs, and sensory adaptations vary, shifting the balance and favoring different foraging strategies. Using Neotropical electric fish as a study system, I investigated how foraging under predation risk is shaped across biological scales, including environmental dynamics, interspecific sensory differences, activity-timing mechanisms, and intraspecific variations. These nocturnal fish emit continuous electric signals to sense their environment, allowing non-invasive monitoring of …

Viral Dynamics Across Managed And Wild Pollinators: Integrating Immunity, Ecology, And Community Structure, Allison Malay

Graduate Studies Theses and Dissertations 2026

Managed honey bees (Apis mellifera) are critical agricultural pollinators, yet colonies continue to experience persistently high losses across North America and Europe. These declines are driven by interacting stressors, including parasites, pathogens, nutrition, and landscape context. Viral pathogens are key contributors to colony morbidity and mortality, but the processes governing variation in viral prevalence, load, and host response remain incompletely understood. This dissertation investigates how viral dynamics in honey bees emerge from interactions among host immunity, colony condition, environmental context, and pollinator community structure. By integrating measures of viral prevalence, viral load, and immune gene expression across multiple …

A Note On The Novel Passive Sampling In Environmental Dna (Edna) Collection Technique To Detect Yellow Mud Turtle (Kinosternon Flavescens): Field And Laboratory Approaches In Turtle Edna, Sakib Tahmid Rishan, Richard J. Kline, Md. Saydur Rahman

School of Integrative Biological & Chemical Sciences Faculty Publications

Environmental DNA (eDNA) is a powerful and sensitive method for monitoring aquatic and terrestrial organisms, offering insights into their distribution. Usually, eDNA is collected using a filter membrane through water filtration. However, the passive eDNA method can simplify sampling and broaden its scope, offering new insights for ecological surveillance. This study examined the efficacy of six different membrane filters in detecting the yellow mud turtle (Kinosternon flavescens) through a novel passive eDNA method. After being immersed in water for 12 h, only the mixed cellulose ester (MCE) membrane filter consistently demonstrated specific polymerase chain reaction (PCR) amplification using …

Productivity Of An Iconic Waterbird, The Common Loon, Is Decreasing Across The Southern Portion Of Its Breeding Range, Matthew Fuirst, Mark L. Mallory, Walter H. Piper, Kristin Bianchini, Sethulakshmi Kumbalathuparambil Sajeev, Griffin Archambault, Dan Clark, John H. Cooley Jr., David C. Evers, Tiffany Grade, Eric W. Hanson, Caroline Hughes, Daniel Poleschook Jr., Virginia R. Poleschook, Lucas J. Savoy, Nina Schoch, Hillary Siener, Andrew Vitz, Harry S. Vogel, Jillian Whitney, Douglas C. Tozer

Biology, Chemistry, and Environmental Sciences Faculty Articles and Research

The Common Loon (Gavia immer) is an iconic waterbird of the northern wilderness and an indicator of the health of aquatic ecosystems. We conducted a benchmark comparison of productivity rates and long-term trends in productivity (6-week-old young raised per territorial pair) from 45 591 breeding events across 12 different study populations throughout the southern portion of species’ breeding range in North America. While all regions showed long-term mean productivity rates at or above the threshold considered necessary for population stability (0.48 chicks fledged per territorial pair), we found significant declines in productivity (ranging from −0.17% to −2.8% per year) in …

Green Connectivity In Metropolitan Jabodetabek: Climate Change And The Challenge Of Urban Forest, Safira Maharani Putri, Hendricus Andy Simarmata

CSID Journal of Infrastructure Development

Urban areas in Indonesia, particularly the Greater Jakarta metropolitan region (Jabodetabek), are increasingly experiencing the adverse effects of climate change, such as the Urban Heat Island (UHI) phenomenon. Rapid urbanization has contributed significantly to rising greenhouse gas emissions and deteriorating environmental quality. Urban forests are one of the key solutions to mitigate these impacts; however, their spatial distribution in Jabodetabek remains suboptimal and poorly connected. This study uses NDVI as a proxy for urban forest density, where “urban forest” refers to vegetated areas within cities as defined by Presidential Regulation No. 60/2020. The research addresses the following question: How has …

Change In Community Composition And Structure On Subtidal Rock Walls In The Gulf Of Maine Over Four Decades Of Warming, Breck A. Mccollum

Graduate Doctoral Dissertations

The Gulf of Maine (GOM) has faced many changes over the last 47 years from overfishing of its iconic cod fish stocks to the introduction on non-native species, but no change has been as dramatic as the warming ocean temperatures that began to increase rapidly in the 2010s. This thermal shift is due largely to the northward movement of the Gulf Stream current mixing with Arctic meltwater before entering the GOM. Average summer temperatures jumped by 3.35°C between the periods of 1980-1985 and 2015-2020. This warming trend, combined with an increasing frequency of marine heat wave events, has led to …

Intercontinental Variation In Population Genetics And Life-History Traits In Native And Invasive Populations Of The Aquatic Plants Myriophyllum Spicatum And Myriophyllum Sibiricum, Anastasia V. Mozharova

Graduate Doctoral Dissertations

Biological invasions pose significant threats to freshwater ecosystems worldwide, and understanding their evolutionary, genetic, and biogeographic drivers is essential for effective management. My dissertation integrates microsatellite and ITS rDNA data to examine the dynamics of both invasive and native populations of two closely related aquatic plant species, Myriophyllum spicatum (Eurasian watermilfoil) and M. sibiricum (Northern watermilfoil).

Myriophyllum spicatum is native to Eurasia, where it inhabits a variety of freshwater aquatic habitats. Since its introduction to North America in the mid-20th century, it has become highly invasive, forming dense underwater mats that outcompete native vegetation, reduce biodiversity, and degrade water quality. …

Comparisons Of Zooplankton Communities Before And After Chemical Renovation In Lake Ogallala, Nebraska, Theo Huber, Melissa Wuellner, Alexandria Keiler-Klein, Alexander D. Engel, Keith D. Koupal

Transactions of the Nebraska Academy of Sciences and Affiliated Societies

Rotenone is commonly used to remove undesirable fish species and support recreational fisheries. Lake Ogallala, a 263-ha tailwater reservoir located in western Nebraska, has had a history with rotenone use dating back to 1969. While past renovations of the reservoir have documented impacts on water quality, aquatic vegetation establishment, and benthic invertebrate and fish communities, zooplankton responses had not been studied. To evaluate potential effects, we compared zooplankton densities and community composition before and after the most recent renovation. Monthly samples were collected from April – September in 2023 (pre-renovation) and 2024 (post-renovation) using an 80-μm circular plankton net at …

Terrestrial Gartersnake (Thamnophis Elegans) Consuming A Western Meadow Vole (Microtus Drummondii) In The Sangre De Cristo Mountains Of New Mexico, Joseph W. Paysen, Peggy M. Huss, Jacob C. Cooper, Lance J. Bernal, Carter Kruse, Keith Geluso

Transactions of the Nebraska Academy of Sciences and Affiliated Societies

The Terrestrial Gartersnake (Thamnophis elegans) is a dietary generalist occurring in the western half of the United States, southwestern Canada, and northern Mexico. Terrestrial Gartersnakes are known to consume a variety of small mammals, including voles (Microtus). Herein we report on an observation of the Terrestrial Gartersnake consuming a Western Meadow Vole (Microtus drummondii). On 27 June 2025, we captured a large adult Terrestrial Gartersnake underneath a log just upstream of a North American Beaver (Castor canadensis) dam on the Vermejo River, Colfax County, New Mexico that regurgitated a partially digested adult …

A New Dioecious Bush Tomato, Solanum Nectarifolium (Solanaceae), From The Northern Tanami Desert, Northern Territory, Australia, With Reassessment Of S. Ossicruentum And A Change In The Circumscription Of S. Dioicum, Christopher T. Martine, Kym Brennan, Jason T. Cantley, Aiden Webb, Geoffrey Newton

Faculty Journal Articles

A new species of functionally dioecious bush tomato from the “Solanum dioicum + S. echinatum group” of Solanum subgenus Leptostemonum is described. Solanum nectarifolium Martine & Brennan, sp. nov., is a member of the taxonomically challenging Solanum dioicum W.Fitzg. species complex in Australia and differs from other species in the group by the presence of prominent and conspicuous extrafloral nectaries on the abaxial leaf surfaces, a tinge of purple on the new growth and young fruiting calyces, and curved prickles on young stems. Although fairly well represented in herbarium collections, this new taxon has historically been treated as a …

Pressure Field Estimation From 2d-Piv Measurements: A Case Study Of Fish Suction-Feeding, Jensine C. Coggin, Duvall Dickerson-Evans, Erin E. Hackett, Roi Gurka

Physics and Engineering Science

Particle image velocimetry (PIV) flow measurements are common practice in laboratory settings in a wide variety of fields involving fluid dynamics, including biology, physics, engineering, and medicine. Dynamic fluid pressure is a notoriously difficult property to measure non-intrusively, yet its variation is a driving flow force and critical to model correctly. Techniques have been developed to estimate the pressure from velocity and velocity gradient measurements. Here, we highlight a novel application of boundary conditions when applying such pressure estimation techniques based on two-dimensional PIV data; the novel method is especially relevant to problems with complex boundary conditions. As such, it …

Some New Ecological Aspects Of The Lesser Sunda Endemic Drepanosticta Berlandi (Odonata: Zygoptera: Platystictidae), Muhammad Zulhariadi, Muhammad Setyo Nugroho, Nurul Hidayani

Makara Journal of Science

Drepanosticta berlandi is an endemic damselfly in the Lesser Sunda region of Indonesia, which was first recorded on Lombok Island in the 19th century. Albeit recognized for a century, information on its ecology is still lacking; hence, this study aims to reveal its distribution and habitat preferences. The research was conducted at the Tibu Ijo Waterfall tourist area in West Lombok Regency using line transects combined with field survey in the Kekait River and on footpaths on both sides of the river. Vegetation density, topography, and land survey temperature (LST) were measured at the sampling area using ArcGIS 10.4.1 software. …

Developing A Tool To Measure Resistance To Sustainable Food Choices: A Pilot Study In Ireland And The Netherlands, Kate Flanagan, Bart Sinteur, Patricia J. Bulsing, John M. Kearney

SURE Journal: Science Undergraduate Research Experience Journal

Consumer uptake of a sustainable diet is critical for addressing environmental challenges and promoting public health. Understanding why consumers resist adopting sustainable eating habits can inform targeted interventions and policies. This pilot study examines whether a newly developed scale can effectively detect consumer resistance to a sustainable diet. Currently, there is a lack of research on a tool to measure consumer resistance to a sustainable diet, highlighting the need for a reliable instrument.

The aim of this study is to develop a scale, based on existing literature, to measure consumer resistance to a sustainable diet. Additionally, the study aims to …

Editorial-Sure Journal Volume 7, Issue 2, Geraldine M. Dowling, Eva Campion, Sinead Loughran, Ariane Perez-Gavilan, Josephine Treacy

SURE Journal: Science Undergraduate Research Experience Journal

No abstract provided.

Just "Beet" It? A Comparison Of Road Salt Effects On The Life History Of Daphnia Magna, Koby Sellner

The Journal of Purdue Undergraduate Research

In areas that experience snow and ice, deicing reagents such as road salts are often used on roads to promote safer driving conditions. However, road salts run off into local vegetation, soil systems, and (my focus) freshwater systems. The impacts of excess salt and chloride in freshwater have been studied extensively on a broad diversity of organisms under different conditions, but previous studies have rarely used different types of road salts. Zooplankton are primary consumers in many freshwater systems, feeding on phytoplankton and serving as prey for predator species higher in the trophic chain. These animals generally are impacted negatively …

Function Of Drosophila Melanogaster Domesticated Transposable Element Protein Dplg3 In Oogenesis And Total Fitness, Aron Herrera

2025 Fall Honors Capstones Projects - Archive

Transposable elements (TEs) are selfish DNA segments capable of self-replication and reinsertion within genomes, often harming hosts. Rarely, host genomes can adopt TEs and use their proteins for new cellular functions through molecular domestication. One example primarily expressed in Drosophila melanogaster ovaries is DPLG3. Previous Betrán Lab students generated DPLG3 loss-of-function flies and found that their ovaries misregulated one primordial and 14 testis-specific genes, leading to variable ovarian malformations. However, it is unclear when during oogenesis these misexpressions occur. We will extract RNA from non-rudimentary ovaries at early and late stages to generate cDNA for qRT-PCR analysis of three …