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Full-Text Articles in Life Sciences
Patterns And Potential Mechanisms Of Phenotypic Changes In Urban Small Mammals, Leslie Lopez
Patterns And Potential Mechanisms Of Phenotypic Changes In Urban Small Mammals, Leslie Lopez
Master's Theses
Urbanization is an example of human induced rapid environmental change that can have wide-reaching ecological effects, including habitat destruction, fragmentation, and alteration of local climates. Effects of urbanization have been shown to impact wildlife, as disturbances resulting from urbanization can create novel environments and selective pressures that could lead to changes in morphology, physiology, or both. Small mammals such as rodents are an ecologically important set of wildlife species because they are a key prey item for several predators, hold strong influence over plants as a primary consumer, and some species carry and transmit major human and animal diseases. Previous …
Physiological Costs Of Total Cholesterol In European Starlings Across An Urban To Rural Gradient, Courtney Linkous
Physiological Costs Of Total Cholesterol In European Starlings Across An Urban To Rural Gradient, Courtney Linkous
Master of Science in Integrative Biology Theses
Urban areas—characterized by high human densities and associated buildings and impermeable surfaces—are increasing globally and represents a leading threat to wildlife that is drastically altering the natural resources they are accustomed to. Prior studies suggest that living in urban habitats can cause wildlife to show increased cholesterol levels; in biomedical research, elevated cholesterol is linked to disease, but the consequence of elevated cholesterol in wildlife remains unclear. We measured total cholesterol in European starlings (Sturnus vulgaris)—an urban adapted species—across an urban and a rural site. We ask: (1) do urban starlings have elevated cholesterol, (2) does elevated cholesterol …