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Articles 1 - 9 of 9
Full-Text Articles in Life Sciences
Diet And Nutrition Of Lemurs In The Lean Season, Santiago Cassalett
Diet And Nutrition Of Lemurs In The Lean Season, Santiago Cassalett
Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects
Animals must navigate complex food and nutrient environments that are constantly in flux to obtain the macro and micronutrients necessary for their growth, reproduction, and survival. The nutritional needs of animals also vary over the life course, further complicating the search for adequate foods and the nutrients within them. The hypervariable and unpredictable environment of Madagascar creates a complex nutrient landscape for lemurs in particular because they are subject to large fluctuations in food availability. These fluctuations are thought to create extreme periods of nutritional stress during the dry season (known as the lean season) for lemurs. In response, lemurs …
Conservation, Comparative Genomics And Species Delimitation Of The Reindeer Lichens (Cladonia), Jordan R. Hoffman
Conservation, Comparative Genomics And Species Delimitation Of The Reindeer Lichens (Cladonia), Jordan R. Hoffman
Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects
The genus Cladonia represents one of the most speciose genera of lichenized fungi, with more than 500 known species encompassing a diverse array of morphologies and habits. These lichens form keystone species in many habitats, serving a variety of ecological roles. However, despite being among of the more well studied lichens, there is much still unknown or under-studied about them. As is the case with most lichen study systems, phylogenetic study has been limited to a small number of partial loci, while adoption of next-generation sequence methods has been slow. As a consequence, there are still knowledge gaps in Cladonia …
Vertebrate Scavenger Diversity And Ecosystem Services Along An Elevational Gradient In Central Nepal, Aishwarya Bhattacharjee
Vertebrate Scavenger Diversity And Ecosystem Services Along An Elevational Gradient In Central Nepal, Aishwarya Bhattacharjee
Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects
A growing number of studies recognize the ecological significance of vertebrate scavengers, and several species belonging to this diverse, functional guild are of high conservation importance around the globe. Studies on taxonomic and functional components of biodiversity often use elevation gradients to comprehensively examine patterns and drivers across multiple spatial scales. Yet, there are relatively few elevational studies on large vertebrates or multi-taxa guilds, and the related variation of their ecosystem services. In particular, scavenger research has largely focused on local-scale studies or regional/global comparisons of local-scale investigations. Moreover, these studies primarily consider taxonomic community characteristics and the patterns of …
Understanding And Predicting The Distribution Of Biodiversity In The Atlantic Forest, Andrea Paz Velez
Understanding And Predicting The Distribution Of Biodiversity In The Atlantic Forest, Andrea Paz Velez
Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects
Understanding how biodiversity is distributed in geography is essential for conservation. This requires an understanding of the multiple dimensions of biodiversity: species, their ecological functions, and their evolutionary history. For my Ph.D. dissertation, I devised a study to explore the environmental drivers of biodiversity patterns in Neotropical species. I first investigated broad macroecological patterns in the Brazilian Atlantic Forest, combining occurrence data and phylogenetic information from multiple clades of animals and plants (Chapter 1). I discovered that one can accurately predict the accumulation of species richness and phylogenetic diversity based on current climatic descriptors – particularly precipitation – but not …
Dietary Development And Nutritional Ontogeny In Gorilla Beringei : A Multi-Layered, -Omics Approach, Emma C. Cancelliere
Dietary Development And Nutritional Ontogeny In Gorilla Beringei : A Multi-Layered, -Omics Approach, Emma C. Cancelliere
Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects
In species who consume folivorous diets, immature individuals must contend with the challenges of extracting nutrients from fibrous foods before dietary adaptations and strategies are fully developed. Additionally, immatures have distinct nutritional needs to support their stage-specific metabolic and biophysiological requirements. To meet these stage-specific needs, while constrained by underdeveloped feeding strategies and digestive capacities, immatures may adopt distinct diets better suited to their specific developmental context. However, where dietary modification is constrained by low dietary diversity or landscape homogeneity, it is unclear how immature individuals compensate through alternative strategies. In turn, little is known about the nutritional and life …
The Evolution Of Spinosad Resistance In Colorado Potato Beetles (Leptinotarsa Decemlineata), Coby Michael Klein
The Evolution Of Spinosad Resistance In Colorado Potato Beetles (Leptinotarsa Decemlineata), Coby Michael Klein
Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects
Colorado potato beetles (Leptinotarsa decemlineata) are a major pest of cultivated potato plants worldwide. They are well-known for their ability to rapidly evolve resistance to all major classes of pesticides. Defoliation of potato plants by L. decemlineata can reduce potato yields by a considerable margin. The damage done by resistant beetles is steep and much research is focused on developing new chemical controls, especially those derived from naturally occurring compounds. Spinosad is a relatively new natural product insecticide, introduced approximately a decade ago, suitable for use in organic farming. Potato beetles on Long Island, NY developed very strong …
A Contribution Toward A Global Monograph Of Gyroporus: Taxonomy, Phylogeny, Biogeography, Naveed Davoodian
A Contribution Toward A Global Monograph Of Gyroporus: Taxonomy, Phylogeny, Biogeography, Naveed Davoodian
Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects
Gyroporus (Sclerodermatineae, Boletales, Agaricomycetes, Basidiomycota, Fungi) is a genus of ectomycorrhizal mushroom-forming fungi distributed throughout the world in suitable habitats. Previous attempts to untangle the diversity of this genus proved difficult due to the presence of semi-cryptic species and equivocal results from phylogenetic analysis of ribosomal RNA markers. To overcome these obstacles, a combined taxonomic and phylogenetic (emphasizing protein-coding genes) approach is used here to delimit species and elucidate geographic and evolutionary patterns of Gyroporus. Careful study of relevant literature and herbarium specimens was augmented by field work in North America, Australia, and East Asia for observation and collection …
Ecology, Evolution, And Sexual Selection In The Invasive, Globally Distributed Small Indian Mongoose (Urva Auropunctata), M. Aaron Owen
Ecology, Evolution, And Sexual Selection In The Invasive, Globally Distributed Small Indian Mongoose (Urva Auropunctata), M. Aaron Owen
Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects
Introduced species provide rare opportunities to test evolutionary hypotheses in situ by creating so-called natural experiments. Natural experiments are situations in nature that resemble laboratory studies by allowing for comparisons of a “control” group (i.e., a species’ native range) with “experimental” groups (i.e., a species’ introduced range). In particular, introduced animals allow us to investigate evolutionary dynamics in complex, long-lived organisms in ways that would otherwise be impossible in a laboratory setting. One such introduced animal is the small Indian mongoose (Urva auropunctata, formerly Herpestes auropunctatus). Native to South Asia, the small Indian mongoose’s introduction to more …
The Role Of Individual Cognitive And Behavioral Ontogeny In Organization And Evolution Of Social Systems, Andrew G. Fulmer
The Role Of Individual Cognitive And Behavioral Ontogeny In Organization And Evolution Of Social Systems, Andrew G. Fulmer
Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects
Exploration and explanation of the relationship between individual variation in behavior and the composition and adaptive success of social groups or populations are crucial problems in the fields of behavioral ecology, ethology, and comparative psychology. These questions have been the subject of a longstanding discussion at both the proximate and ultimate levels of inquiry. Adaptive mechanisms explaining social decision making, both in terms of affiliative and competitive partner choices, are at the center of such discussions. Inclusive fitness, kin-selection, handicap or prestige, risk seeking and risk avoiding strategies, pay-to-stay/reward principles, as well as other theories have been proposed and supported …