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Diversification Across A Dynamic Landscape: Phylogeography And Riverscape Genetics Of Speckled Dace (Rhinichthys Osculus) In Western North America, Steven Michael Mussmann

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Evolution occurs at various spatial and temporal scales. For example, speciation may occur in historic time, whereas localized adaptation is more contemporary. Each is required to identify and manage biodiversity. However, the relative abundance of Speckled Dace (Rhinichthys osculus), a small cyprinid fish in western North America (WNA) and the study species for this dissertation, establishes it an atypical conservation target, particularly when contrasted with the profusion of narrowly endemic forms it displays. Yet, the juxtaposition of ubiquity versus endemism provides an ideal model against which to test hypotheses regarding the geomorphic evolution of WNA. More specifically, it also allows …