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Articles 1 - 19 of 19
Full-Text Articles in Life Sciences
Composition Of The Community Of Small Mammals In The Great Basin Desert, Samantha Elizabeth Phillips
Composition Of The Community Of Small Mammals In The Great Basin Desert, Samantha Elizabeth Phillips
Theses and Dissertations
Small mammals are a keystone guild in arid ecosystems; often exhibiting top-down control of the diversity and structure of plant communities. However, changing climate, shifting fire regimes, and the invasion of exotic plants are modifying the structure of arid systems. Environmental changes in these arid systems are likely altering small mammal communities, and therefore, their ecological role. We examined two aspects of the community composition of small mammals in the Great Basin: changes in community composition since large scale sampling of the region began in 1930, and the current population of a sensitive species of small mammal, the dark kangaroo …
An Ecological And Distributional Analysis Of Great Basin Bristlecone Pine (Pinus Longaeva), Gregory Watson Taylor
An Ecological And Distributional Analysis Of Great Basin Bristlecone Pine (Pinus Longaeva), Gregory Watson Taylor
Theses and Dissertations
Understanding the impacts of climate change is critical for improving the conservation and management of ecosystems worldwide. Ecosystems vary along a precipitation and temperature gradient, ranging from tropical jungles to arid deserts. The Great Basin is a semi-arid eco-region that is found within the western United States. Plant communities within the Great Basin range from sagebrush valleys to sub-alpine conifer forests found at high elevation areas. It is predicted that the Great Basin will experience prolonged periods of drought, more intense fires, and greater variability in average annual and monthly precipitation, all in response to changes in climate patterns. At …
Chamaecrista Fasciculata In Tallgrass And Sand Prairies: The Potential For Differential Responses, Robert W. Philips
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 …
Exploration Of The Gossypium Raimondii Genome Using Bionano Genomics Physical Mapping Technology, Christopher Jon Hanson
Exploration Of The Gossypium Raimondii Genome Using Bionano Genomics Physical Mapping Technology, Christopher Jon Hanson
Theses and Dissertations
Cotton is a crop with a large global economic impact as well as a large, complex genome. Most industrial cotton production is from two tetraploid species (Gossypium hirsutum L. and Gossypium barbadense L.) which contain two subgenomes, specifically the AT and DT subgenomes. The DT subgenome is nearly half the size of the AT subgenome in tetraploid cotton and is closely related to an extant D-genome Gossypium species, G. raimondii Ulbr. Characterization of the structural variants present in diploid D-genome should provide greater insight into the evolution of the DT subgenome in the tetraploid cotton. Bionano (BNG) optical mapping uses …
Characterizing The Spatial Variation Of Crop Water Productivity For Variable-Rate Irrigation Management, Jeffrey David Svedin
Characterizing The Spatial Variation Of Crop Water Productivity For Variable-Rate Irrigation Management, Jeffrey David Svedin
Theses and Dissertations
Irrigated agriculture is the primary consumer of limited worldwide freshwater resources. Drought, growing world populations, and environmental demands compete with irrigation for freshwater resources"”threatening sustainable global food, fuel, and fiber production. This escalating global crisis demands that agriculture produce more food using less water. Traditional irrigation management has used technology to apply uniform irrigation rates across landscapes"”ignoring natural environmental variation. This provides inherent inefficiencies of over- or under- irrigation within individual fields. Variable-rate irrigation (VRI) is modern technology that employs global positioning systems and geographic information systems to match irrigation to spatially variable crop water demands within a field. Although …
Plane Of Energy Nutrition On Blood Metabolites, Milk Production And Lamb Growth In Friesian Sheep, Rebekah Paige Jensen
Plane Of Energy Nutrition On Blood Metabolites, Milk Production And Lamb Growth In Friesian Sheep, Rebekah Paige Jensen
Theses and Dissertations
Small ruminant species are utilized for their diverse products including meat, dairy products, and wool. Effective and humane management are essential to maintain high production rates and comfortable animals. To attain this objective, managers needs to have an extensive knowledge of husbandry techniques, understanding of physiological processes, and familiarity with nutritional requirements. We examined the effects of varying feed components on two different ruminal species. In Chapter 1, we conducted a study to evaluate"¯the effects"¯of a low metabolizable energy (LME) and high metabolizable energy (HME) diet on twenty-two Friesian/Lacuane"¯cross ewes and lamb nutritional status."¯Effects on milk production during early lactation …
The Heart Of The Madder: An Important Prehistoric Pigment And Its Botanical And Cultural Roots, Michelle Laberge
The Heart Of The Madder: An Important Prehistoric Pigment And Its Botanical And Cultural Roots, Michelle Laberge
Theses and Dissertations
In recent years, an interest in natural botanical dye sources has prompted new research into the cultivation and processing of prehistoric dye plants. Advances in chemical analyses of ancient European textiles have provided more information about dye plants such as woad (Isatis tinctoria) weld (Reseda luteola) and madder (Rubia tinctorum), which were important sources of color in early textile production. Evidence of madder dye has been reported in the archaeological record of the European Bronze and Iron Ages in textiles preserved in the Hallstatt salt mines, Scandinavian bog sites and other elite European burials but the picture of madder usage …
Disentangling The Subalpine Marshmarigold Species Complex: The Cytogeography, Phylogeography, And Systematics Of Caltha Biflora Dc., C. Chionophila Greene, And C. Leptosepala Dc. (Ranunculaceae), Keir Wefferling
Theses and Dissertations
Subalpine marshmarigolds (Caltha biflora DC., C. chionophila DC., and C. leptosepala Greene, Ranunculaceae) are herbaceous perennials that grow in western North American mountainous and subarctic regions, from Alaska and Yukon in the north to California, Arizona, and New Mexico in the south. Variation in morphology across the range has generally led to recognition of a single species, though some have described up to nine species in the complex. In this dissertation, I describe our approaches to disentangling reticulate evolution across the geographical range of the subalpine marshmarigold complex, including chromosome counts (Chapter II), genome size estimates (Chapter III), morphology (Chapters …
Microbial And Co2 Responses To Water Stresses Show Decreased Productivity And Diversity Through Time, David Michael Robinson
Microbial And Co2 Responses To Water Stresses Show Decreased Productivity And Diversity Through Time, David Michael Robinson
Theses and Dissertations
Some bacterial taxa when stimulated by water additions will break dormancy, grow, and become dominant members of the community and contribute significant pulses of CO2 associated with the rewetting event. These pulses of activity are associated with high levels of bacterial productivity in soils. (Aanderud et al. 2011) We examined the bacterial taxa that resuscitate and become metabolically active following two forms of water stress (soil drying-rewetting and freeze-thaw cycles) and we captured and measured the CO2 emanating from those soils. Specifically, We used target metagenomics, which uses a specific gene pool within bacteria that is associated with …
Progress And Potential Of Two Biological Control Agents Of The Invasive Giant Reed (Arundo Donax L.), Madeline Marshall
Progress And Potential Of Two Biological Control Agents Of The Invasive Giant Reed (Arundo Donax L.), Madeline Marshall
Theses and Dissertations
Biological control, or the use of natural enemies for pest management, may the best long-term option for managing the invasive Arundo donax , a noxious weed dominating riparian habitats globally and along the Rio Grande River. This work reports on the progress and potential of two arundo biological control agents permitted for release in Texas and Mexico. The arundo wasp, Tetramesa romana, released in 2009, is having significant impacts as reported from various field locations around the world, described here using standard exit hole counts. The highest density levels were found in Texas (introduced range) compared to relatively low …
Survival Of Neonate Mule Deer Fawns In Southern Utah: Effects Of Coyote Removal And Synchrony Of Parturition, Jacob Tyler Hall
Survival Of Neonate Mule Deer Fawns In Southern Utah: Effects Of Coyote Removal And Synchrony Of Parturition, Jacob Tyler Hall
Theses and Dissertations
Mule deer (Odocoileus hemionus) are an iconic species of wildlife, and populations of mule deer across much of the western U.S. have experienced recent fluctuations in size. Factors that affect the survival and subsequent recruitment of juveniles may be the preeminent cause of population fluctuations for mule deer in many areas. Many factors, including habitat loss, extreme weather, intense predation, timing and synchrony of parturition, and competition with other species may be influencing these changes. We studied two potential factors that can influence the survival of neonate mule deer in southern Utah. To better understand how predation affects …
The Genome Sequence Of Gossypium Herbaceum (A1), A Domesticated Diploid Cotton, Alex J. Freeman
The Genome Sequence Of Gossypium Herbaceum (A1), A Domesticated Diploid Cotton, Alex J. Freeman
Theses and Dissertations
Gossypium herbaceum is a species of cotton native to Africa and Asia. As part of a larger effort to investigate structural variation in assorted diploid and polyploid cotton genomes we have sequenced and assembled the genome of G. herbaceum. Cultivated G. herbaceum is an A1-genome diploid from the Old World (Africa) with a genome size of approximately 1.7 Gb. Long range information is essential in constructing a high-quality assembly, especially when the genome is expected to be highly repetitive. Here we present a quality draft genome of G. herbaceum (cv. Wagad) using a multi-platform sequencing strategy (PacBio RS II, Dovetail …
Microbial Community Response To Fumigation In Potato Soils, Trevor Blake Smart
Microbial Community Response To Fumigation In Potato Soils, Trevor Blake Smart
Theses and Dissertations
Soil microorganisms have a variety of beneficial and deleterious effects on plants, impacting such processes as plant growth, soil nutrient cycling, crop yield, disease resistance and tolerance to an array of biotic and abiotic stressors. The disruption of soil microbial community structures, particularly when beneficial soil biota are altered, has been shown to reduce crop yield and leave plants susceptible to disease. Long-term disruption of microbial communities may occur with repeated fumigation, being the application of gaseous pesticides, in agricultural soils. For this reason, we characterized bacterial, fungal, oomycete and nematode populations in paired fumigated and nonfumigated potato fields located …
Improving Post-Wildfire Seeding Success Using Germination Modeling And Seed Enhancement Technologies, William Charles Richardson
Improving Post-Wildfire Seeding Success Using Germination Modeling And Seed Enhancement Technologies, William Charles Richardson
Theses and Dissertations
Arid and semi-arid rangelands are important ecosystems that are consistently degraded through disturbances such as wildfires. After such disturbances, the invasion and dominance of annual grasses, like cheatgrass (Bromus tectorum L.), can lead to an overall loss of ecosystem productivity and an increase in fire frequency. To reduce weed dominance, native and introduced perennials species are typically be seeded in the fall. High mortality is seen from these seeded plant communities due to germinated seed being exposed to freezing, drought, fungal pathogens, and other biotic and abiotic stressors during winter months. We utilized wet-thermal accumulation models to first further …
Emerging Seed Enhancements To Reduce The Risk Of Sagebrush Post-Fire Seeding Failure, Ryan Scott Call
Emerging Seed Enhancements To Reduce The Risk Of Sagebrush Post-Fire Seeding Failure, Ryan Scott Call
Theses and Dissertations
The sagebrush (Artemisia spp.) steppe is undergoing rapid ecological change. The degradation of sagebrush steppe rangelands has resulted in the listing of more than 350 animals and plants as species of conservation concern. In addition, there has been a decrease in recreational values, reduced forage production, degraded water resources, and an increase in fire frequency. In the sagebrush steppe, success rates for seeding sagebrush after wildfire are notoriously low. Not only are sagebrush seeds hard to sow due to their small size and associated flower parts, but seedlings are exposed to numerous stresses that lowers their survivability. To improve …
Effects Of Foliar Applied Titanium ( Ti ) On Quality And Nutrient Uptake Of Creeping Bentgrass ( Agrostis Stolonifera ) On Professional Golf Course Greens, Caleb Wepprecht
Theses and Dissertations
Golf course putting greens typically consist of creeping bentgrass on sandy soils. Creeping bentgrass is mowed at extremely short heights, limiting root growth and making it vulnerable to different pests. Sandy profiles make it difficult for creeping bentgrass to take up nutrients and water. Tytanit combines sulfur, magnesium, and titanium-ascorbate as a biostimulant to increase chlorophyll content within the plant, increase yields, and assist in fighting biotic and abiotic diseases such as diseases and drought. Previous studies have shown benefits in plant growth, but results have been inconsistent. No previously reported studies have been performed on turfgrass using Tytanit. Therefore, …
Floral Symmetry Genes Elucidate The Development And Evolution Of Oil-Bee Pollinated Flowers Of Malpighiaceae And Krameriaceae, Farahnoz N. Khojayori
Floral Symmetry Genes Elucidate The Development And Evolution Of Oil-Bee Pollinated Flowers Of Malpighiaceae And Krameriaceae, Farahnoz N. Khojayori
Theses and Dissertations
Specialization on insect and animal pollinators is thought to be the driving force for the evolution of floral traits. Specifically in the New World (NW), the oil-bee pollination syndrome has led to the convergence of floral characters in two distantly related families of core eudicots, Malpighiaceae and Krameriaceae. Both families display a flag-like structure that establishes a zygomorphic flower and floral oil rewards in epithelial elaiophores. These traits work concomitantly to attract and reward female oil-bees that help fertilize these flowers and in return receive oils. The underlying genetics of floral zygomorphy were studied in several clades of core eudicots, …
Quantitative And Molecular Analysis Of Habituation At The Maize R1 Locus, Robert C. Lindsay
Quantitative And Molecular Analysis Of Habituation At The Maize R1 Locus, Robert C. Lindsay
Theses and Dissertations
Epigenetics is the study of heritable changes in phenotypes that are not the result of changes in DNA sequence. Examples of epigenetic affecters include methylation changes, chromatin modifications, transcription factors, and RNA-based changes. The molecular mechanisms behind epigenetic changes are not fully understood. Canalization is the buffering of gene expression against environmental changes over time, while habituation is semi-stable expression change over time due to selection. This work characterized the molecular changes associated with the kernel color changes of the R-sc:86-17pale allele at the maize red color1 (r1) locus to determine if the changes are epigenetic in nature. …
Natural And Anthropogenic Drivers Of Tree Evolutionary Dynamics, Brandon M. Lind
Natural And Anthropogenic Drivers Of Tree Evolutionary Dynamics, Brandon M. Lind
Theses and Dissertations
Species of trees inhabit diverse and heterogeneous environments, and often play important ecological roles in such communities. As a result of their vast ecological breadth, trees have become adapted to various environmental pressures. In this dissertation I examine various environmental factors that drive evolutionary dynamics in threePinusspecies in California and Nevada, USA. In chapter two, I assess the role of management influence of thinning, fire, and their interaction on fine-scale gene flow within fire-suppressed populations of Pinus lambertiana, a historically dominant and ecologically important member of mixed-conifer forests of the Sierra Nevada, California. Here, I find evidence …