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Full-Text Articles in Life Sciences
Reproductive Life History And Signal Evolution In A Multi-Species Assemblage Of Electric Fish, Joseph Waddell
Reproductive Life History And Signal Evolution In A Multi-Species Assemblage Of Electric Fish, Joseph Waddell
Electronic Theses and Dissertations
Animals that co-occur in sympatry with multiple closely-related species use reproductive mate attraction signals not only to assess the quality of a potential conspecific mate (sexual selection), but also to discriminate conspecifics from heterospecifics (species recognition). However, the extent to which sexual selection and species recognition may interact, or even conflict, is poorly known. Neotropical electric fish offer unrivaled opportunities for understanding this problem. They generate simple, stereotyped mate attraction signals that are easy to record and quantify, and that are well-understood from the neurobiological perspective. Additionally, they live in electrically-crowded environments, where multiple congeners live and reproduce in close …
The Role Of The Y-Chromosome In The Evolution Of Autosomally Coded Traits, Ian Kutch
The Role Of The Y-Chromosome In The Evolution Of Autosomally Coded Traits, Ian Kutch
Electronic Theses and Dissertations
Recent work indicates that the Y-chromosome of the fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster can influence gene regulation on the autosomes and X chromosome. This newly discovered function of the Y has the potential to dramatically shape the regulatory evolution of numerous genes that reside throughout the genome; even for genes that code for both male and female traits. Given that the mechanism underlying the Y-linked influence on gene expression in D. melanogaster appears to exist in other independently evolved heterogametic sex chromosomes, the evolutionary implications of Y-linked regulatory variation (YRV) deserves to be explored. These implications include the potential for Y-chromosomes …
Using Molecular Genetic And Demographic Tools To Improve Management Of Ex Situ Avian Populations, Gina Ferrie
Using Molecular Genetic And Demographic Tools To Improve Management Of Ex Situ Avian Populations, Gina Ferrie
Electronic Theses and Dissertations
Small populations, specifically those that are isolated from others, are more prone to extinction than larger inter-connected populations. The risks that these small isolated populations face include loss of genetic diversity due to founder effects and inbreeding due to population bottlenecks, as well as demographic uncertainty due to fluctuating fecundity and mortality rates and impacts of external environmental factors. Ex situ populations, including those managed as conservation breeding programs with species recovery aims, as well as those that do not have reintroduction goals but are managed for long term population sustainability, suffer from the same extinction risks as small and …