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Full-Text Articles in Life Sciences
Comparative Thermal Ecology Of Coastal And Inland Pacific Rattlesnakes (Crotalus Oreganus), Hayley Layne Crowell
Comparative Thermal Ecology Of Coastal And Inland Pacific Rattlesnakes (Crotalus Oreganus), Hayley Layne Crowell
Master's Theses
Global biodiversity is declining as a direct result of anthropogenic climate change. Ectothermic species have become focal organisms for studying the ecological effects of altered climates due to the clear relationship between environmental temperatures and ectotherms’ basic physiological functions. Historically, examinations of these effects have focused heavily on heliothermic lizards, and most others have tended to focus on single populations or sympatric species within a single community. Addressing the longterm energetic implications of environmental temperature variation will provide valuable insight into the cascading physiological effects that certain populations or species may experience as a result of altered climates.
In this …
Multi-Stress Proteomics: The Global Protein Response To Multiple Environmental Stressors In The Porcelain Crab Petrolisthes Cinctipes, Michael A. Garland
Multi-Stress Proteomics: The Global Protein Response To Multiple Environmental Stressors In The Porcelain Crab Petrolisthes Cinctipes, Michael A. Garland
Master's Theses
Global climate change is increasing the number of hot days along the California coast as well as increasing the incidence of off-shore upwelling events that lower the pH of intertidal seawater; thus, intertidal organisms are experiencing an increase in more than one stress simultaneously. This study seeks to characterize the global protein response of the eurythermal porcelain crab Petrolisthes cinctipes to changes in thermal, pH, and tidal regime treatments, either combined or individually. The first experiment examined temperature stress alone and sought to determine the effect of chronic temperature acclimation on the acute heat shock response. We compared the proteomic …
Assessing Physiological Thresholds For Eelgrass (Zostera Marina L.) Survival In The Face Of Climate Change, Carolyn Jane Ewers
Assessing Physiological Thresholds For Eelgrass (Zostera Marina L.) Survival In The Face Of Climate Change, Carolyn Jane Ewers
Master's Theses
Seagrasses are well known for the important ecological roles they play in coastal marine waters worldwide. However, the severe rate of decline observed in seagrasses this century is expected to accelerate with climate change. Conservation efforts can be improved by quantifying physiological thresholds of seagrasses and using these estimates in modeling to forecast changes in distribution. This study examines the response of eelgrass (Zostera marina L.) across current temperatures to look for early warning signs of vulnerability and to evaluate the ways we determine critical thresholds for survival. Whole eelgrass ramets, collected from three beds in Morro Bay, California, …
American Pika (Ochotona Princeps): Persistence And Activity Patterns In A Changing Climate, Cody P. Massing
American Pika (Ochotona Princeps): Persistence And Activity Patterns In A Changing Climate, Cody P. Massing
Master's Theses
An increasing amount of evidence suggests that as temperatures increase, montane animals are moving upward in elevation (IPCC 2007, Parmesan and Yohe 2003). As suitable habitats rise in elevation and then disappear altogether, these animals could be pushed to extinction. The American pika, Ochotona princeps, is a montane mammal that lives in western North America, usually at elevations above 1500 m (Smith and Weston 1990). Recent evidence suggests that pika population numbers are dropping in response to rising temperatures (Beever et al. 2010). The pika is a small herbivorous lagomorph, a relative of hares and rabbits. Its habitat is …