Biology Commons^™

Habitat Preference Of Western Diamond-Backed Rattlesnakes (Crotalus Atrox) At Bosque Del Apache National Wildlife Refuge, New Mexico: An Analysis At Multiple Scales, Theresa Lorraine Mcinnes

Biology ETDs

Bosque del Apache National Wildlife Refuge is located in central New Mexico in the Chihuahuan desert. Approximately 25% of the refuge spans the Rio Grande floodplain and consists of managed riparian and agriculture areas. The upland areas are dominated by creosote bush (Larrea tridentata), honey mesquite (Prosopis sp.), and four-wing saltbush (Atriplex canescens). Western diamond-backed rattlesnakes (Crotalus atrox) are habitat generalists of dry lowland areas and commonly use dry washes, Larrea and Prosopis desert, rocky slopes, scrub/grassland, man-made structures, and less commonly hydric habitats. A high diversity of vegetation types span the refuge and hydric and upland habitats are often …

Mitochondrial Genome Evolution In Pupillid Land Snails, Jason D. Marquardt

Biology ETDs

Pupillid land snails (Family Pupillidae) are small (< 6mm) snails with a broad geographic distribution and often found in very high density in their habitat. The sequencing of the mitochondrial genome (mt genome) of three pupillid taxa has been undertaken to understand their genome evolution more fully. The Gastrocopta cristata mitochondrial genome is 14,060 bp in length and contains 13 protein coding genes, 2 rRNA genes and 22 tRNA genes. The Pupilla muscorum, and Vertigo pusilla genomes contain all of the same genes but are of differing total sizes, 14,149 bp and 14,078 bp respectively. The AT content of the three genomes is similar at ~71% A+T which is comparable to their closest sequenced relatives. There are no major gene rearrangements among the mt genomes of the three pupillids, but the positions of many tRNA genes differ from those of Albinaria caerulea. There is a genomic sequence region of high concentration of thymine on the leading strand of the mt genome that is shared among all three genomes as well as their relatives.

Systematics Of Longhorned Beetles (Insecta: Coleoptera: Cerambycidae), Eugenio Hernán Nearns

Biology ETDs

The longhorned wood boring beetles (Insecta: Coleoptera: Cerambycidae) are a diverse and economically important group of insects. With an estimated 4,000 genera and more than 35,000 described species, the Cerambycidae comprise one of the largest beetle families. Cerambycid beetles are found on all continents except Antarctica, from sea level to montane sites as high as 4000 m. Cerambycids are among the most serious wood boring pest species globally, affecting many agricultural crops, ornamental trees, and lumber products, causing millions of dollars in damage each year. Despite their economic importance and biological diversity, relatively little is known of cerambycid beetle ecology, …

Energy Development And Conservation Of Sympatric Wildlife: New Approaches To Meet Growing Challenges, William Christian Dunn

Biology ETDs

Conflicts between energy development and conservation of sympatric wildlife are becoming more acute as demand for energy increases. Resolving these conflicts is complex-- solutions must address the role of location, scale, and connectivity in persistence of populations. In Chapter 1, I use the MaxEnt species distribution model and pertinent climate variables to predict the natural distribution of the Lesser Prairie Chicken (LPC) (Tympanuchus pallidicinctus), a prairie grouse adversely affected by habitat loss from energy development. Within the geographic range of LPC, precipitation was strongly associated with its distribution in the north, whereas temperature was strongly associated with its distribution in …

Effects Of Climate Change Upon Birds In The Mojave And Sonoran Deserts, Harinamsimran Kaur Khalsa

Biology ETDs

Climate change has increasingly become an area of concern in relation to ecological communities. In this study, climatic signals were investigated to determine whether bird diversity indices in the Breeding Conservation Region (BCR) of the Mojave and Sonoran Deserts were related (1) to the oceanic/atmospheric systems El Nino Southern Oscillation (ENSO), the Pacific Decadal Oscillation (PDO), and/or the Atlantic Multidecadal Oscillation (AMO); (2) to regional moisture influences determined by the Palmer Drought Severity Index (PDSI); and (3) to local precipitation and temperature. Specifically, an examination was conducted to determine the relationship between climatic variables for thirteen bird species, total abundance …

Genetic Diversity, Local Differentiation, And Adaptive Evolution In Introduced Populations Of The Invasive Plant Isatis Tinctoria L. (Brassicaceae), Heather L. Simpson

Biology ETDs

Populations of invasive species are often characterized as genetically depauperate, an inherent consequence of the colonization process. It has also been suggested that species that are able to avoid these reductions in genetic diversity may be better able to adapt to their introduced range. Evolutionary change can play an important role in the invasion process if novel selective pressures drive adaptive evolution. Species that are able to avoid reductions in genetic diversity associated with colonization may be better able to adapt to their introduced range. To better understand the genetic processes following invasion, introduced populations of the invasive mustard, Isatis …

The Junior Scientist Outreach Program Handbook: A Guide To The Preparation, Execution, And Evaluation Of A Sustainability-Themed Informal Science Education Outreach Program, Martha Josefina Vargas

Biology Faculty & Staff Publications

This handbook is intended to provide the history of and methodology for the preparation, execution and evaluation of an informal science education program that is based in a predominantly Hispanic community in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Because this program, known as The Junior Scientist Outreach Program (JSOP), has already positively impacted the lives of hundreds of students and families, the importance and relevance of its continuation will be highlighted and reiterated throughout the instructions and step-by-step procedures.

Specimen Catalog & Field Notes, Bethany L. Abrahamson

Division of Mammals - Field Notes and Catalogs

No abstract provided.

Identification Of The Wings Apart Transcriptional Unit In Drosophila Melanogaster, Ginny R. Morriss

Biology ETDs

Muscle development is an evolutionarily conserved process. Mechanisms that govern the development of specific muscles in invertebrates can inform our understanding of how vertebrate muscles form. Understanding these processes allows us to translate developmental mechanisms to disease pathogenesis, as similar genes and developmental processes are affected by these diseases. In this dissertation, CG14614 is identified as the gene responsible for the wings apart phenotype in Drosophila melanogaster. This mutation leads to a loss of the adult jump muscle (TDT) in most cases and a greater than 60% reduction in muscle fibers in its least severe form. wap mutants fail to …

Spectral Densities And Coherence Of Nm Hydrology; Nm Decomposition Analysis; Quantifying Science Education, Jennifer L. Tichy

Biology ETDs

Chapter 1: River discharge and montane snowpack play a central role in controlling processes at all levels of ecological organization, so the identification of dominant hydrological periods is an important issue in relating the physical system to the biological system. To quantitatively study the Rio Grande discharge along with the closely related snowpack, we determine the spectral densities as a function of frequency in addition to coherence estimates. This is quality-controlled through a signal to noise ratio, which also allows us to create a transfer function to model the relationship between river discharge and snowpack. By using frequency domain techniques, …

The Role Of Geological History, Topography, And Environmental Heterogeneity In The Diversification Of An Endemic Andean Radiation: The Metallura Hummingbirds, Phred M. Benham

Biology ETDs

A dynamic geological history, complex topography, and high species richness characterize the tropical Andes. Endemic radiations comprise a major component of this high diversity and evaluating the spatial and temporal context in which these radiations diversified provides an informative framework to understand the processes facilitating speciation in the Andes. Metallura hummingbirds are a diverse genus endemic to the Andes that are widely distributed geographically and ecologically making them well suited to investigating Andean speciation. In the first chapter I apply phylogenetic methods to address the relative roles of geological history, physical barriers, and environmental heterogeneity in the Metallura radiation. I …

Historical And Topographic Drivers Of Tropical Insular Diversity: Comparative Phylogeography Of Eleutherodactylus Antillensis And E. Portoricensis, Two Ecologically Distinctive Frogs Of The Puerto Rican Bank, Brittany Suzanne Barker

Biology ETDs

Topographically complex islands present opportunities for in situ (within-island) allopatric speciation because of increased chances for isolation in separate mountain ranges, as well as greater opportunity for fragmentation by high sea levels and climate-driven changes in habitat distribution. Climatic oscillations of the Quaternary (Pleistocene - Holocene; ~2.5 million years ago to the present) may have influenced the severity of vicariant barriers among and within islands, yet how these events influenced evolution of tropical insular biota is not well understood. This dissertation explores the role of topographic complexity and climate-driven range shifts resulting from sea-level changes and habitat suitability in shaping …

Pattern And Process In Metabolic Ecology: From Biotic Interactions To Cultural Diversity Gradients, William R. Burnside

Biology ETDs

Many ecological patterns and processes are functions of metabolism (Brown 2004), meaning the acquisition, transformation, and allocation of energy, materials, and information within the bodies of individuals and among members of human and other animal societies. Individual metabolic rate should influence behavior by determining the energy available for action as well as the rate at which the body requires fuel. First, I test a key prediction of the metabolic theory of ecology (MTE), that biotic interaction rates are characteristic functions of temperature. Findings support this prediction and suggest that herbivory, predation, parasitism, parasitoidy, and competition increase exponentially with temperature and …

Diversification In Andean Tit-Tyrants (Aves, Tyrannidae), Shane G. Dubay

Biology ETDs

In my thesis I investigate evolution and diversification of montane birds that inhabit dramatic environmental and latitudinal gradients, specifically within the genus Anairetes (Aves, Tyrannidae). I use phylogenetic, population genetic, and physiological methods to examine patterns of diversification across environmental gradients. In the first chapter, I infer the phylogeny of Anairetes tit-tyrants to provide an essential phylogenetic framework to ask subsequent questions of biogeography and diversification within the group. In the second chapter, I investigated the role of differential adaptation to altitude in promoting diversification and maintaining species limits between A. reguloides and A. nigrocristatus. The phylogeny of the flycatcher …

Pollination Ecology Of Agave Palmeri In New Mexico, And Landscape Use Of Leptonycteris Nivalis In Relation To Agaves, Angela E. England

Biology ETDs

Where animals spend time can provide important clues to their ecological needs, but this information is very difficult to obtain for small volant animals. The research described in Chapter 1 was an attempt to discern how L. nivalis utilize the landscape in relation to the distribution of Agave havardiana in Big Bend National Park, Texas. I found that although the landscape use of Leptonycteris nivalis is centered on habitat with high concentrations of blooming A.havardiana, it is not restricted to those areas, and furthermore adults and juveniles may differ in their behavior. Adult females may remain near food sources in …

The Contribution Of Young-Of-Year Fishes To Aquatic Food Web Dynamics In An Arid-Land River System (Rio Grande, New Mexico), Corey Anne Krabbenhoft

Biology ETDs

1. Larval fishes have a rich history in ichthyological research. However, relatively little attention has been given to the role of young-of-year (YOY) fishes in ecosystem processes. Despite difficulties of sampling and identifying these small fishes, YOY may serve an important role in the dynamics of some aquatic communities. The specific role of YOY fishes in aquatic, desert food webs remains largely uncharacterized.

2. We hypothesize that YOY fishes may control abundance and community composition of lower trophic levels (i.e., aquatic invertebrates) because they are numerically dominant predators during the growing season. The goal of this study is to determine …

Effects Of Global Change On Savanna Grassland Ecosystems, Sally Elizabeth Koerner

Biology ETDs

Humans are altering the environment locally and globally through climate and land use change. Global temperature is increasing, precipitation patterns are becoming more variable, disturbance regimes are being altered, and ecosystems are being simplified as multi-species communities are replaced by monocultures of crops or livestock. Grasslands, which cover approximately a third of the terrestrial lands, are ecologically and economically significant, thus their responses to environmental change will have dramatic consequences for global patterns of productivity, biodiversity, and food production. This dissertation research investigates how the three main drivers of mesic grassland ecosystems — precipitation, grazing, and fire - interact to …

Reproductive Phenology Of Fishes Of The Rio Grande, New Mexico: A Genes-To-Community Approach, Trevor James Krabbenhoft

Biology ETDs

Reproductive phenology is a key life history attribute of long lived organisms that can strongly affect reproductive success and, ultimately, drive community composition. Understanding the ecological causes and consequences and genetic mechanisms shaping reproductive timing is key to predicting the outcome of environmental change (e.g., climate change). The three chapters that comprised this dissertation were focused on elucidating the ecological and genetic underpinnings of reproductive timing in the fish community of an arid-land river, the Rio Grande, New Mexico. In Chapter 1, we assessed reproductive phenology in the Rio Grande fish community with four years of young-of-year sampling data and …

Linking Environment To Ecology In Arid Land Consumers: Two Case Studies, Ian White Murray

Biology ETDs

The physical environment has a profound influence over many aspects of animal ecology, such as governing the pace and timing of phenology and the patterns of activity across space and time. In extreme habitats such as deserts, the most important components of the physical environment are precipitation and temperature. Not only do these vary temporally and spatially, but this variation may influence the life history and ecology of species. My research examines how variance in temperature and precipitation influences the ecology of two species of desert dwelling consumers (desert woodrats and desert tortoises) over differing temporal scales. In Chapter 1, …

Effects Of Translocation And Climatic Events On The Population Genetic Structure Of Black Bears In New Mexico, Frederic S. Winslow

Biology ETDs

Population structure of the American black bear (Ursus americanus) in New Mexico has been shaped by anthropogenic and natural forces. Black bears occur in habitat islands throughout New Mexico with natural movement among islands influenced by periodic drought, resource limitations and dispersal. Both natural movement and human mediated translocations primarily involve male black bears because of their tendency to move farther distances and more frequent conflict with human dominated landscapes than females. Using DNA microsatellite analysis to investigate the degree of differentiation between different population segments (Fst =0.025 across genetic loci, range = 0.018-0.032) we determined that black bear populations …

The Effect Of Increased Growth Temperature On Mid-Day And Mid-Night Co2 Fluxes In Populus Deltoids, Rachel Zulick

Biology ETDs

As global temperatures rise, understanding the effects of increased temperature on daily carbon dioxide fluxes is necessary to predict changes to the global carbon cycle. Using tunable diode laser spectroscopy, I measured CO2 fluxes and changes in isotopic composition of root respiration, leaf respiration and photosynthesis over a 12-hour night to day transition. I found that after a 10°C increase in growth temperature for four weeks, root CO2 fluxes acclimated to the higher temperature (i.e. they were not significantly different from controls). In contrast, both photosynthesis and respiration of leaves were higher at the elevated growth temperature. Though the root …

Variation And Organization In Social Behavior: Infectious Disease And Human Intergroup Conflict And Warfare; And The Organization Of Foraging Behavior In Harvester Ants, Kenneth Letendre

Biology ETDs

Social behavior is an important contributor to the success of widely distributed animal taxa, including such distantly related taxa as humans and ants. There is variation in the features and organization of social systems based on ecological constraints and goals, as these alter the costs and benefits of social behaviors, and select for different optimal behaviors for social groups in different environments. I present two bodies of research: an effort to explain geographic variation in the frequency and intensity of human civil conflict; and an effort to describe and model the foraging behavior of colonies of harvester ants of the …

The Effects Of Precipitation Variability On C4 Photosynthesis, Net Primary Production And Soil Respiration In A Chihuahuan Desert Grassland, Michell L. Thomey

Biology ETDs

Although the Earths climate system has always been inherently variable, the magnitude and rate of anthropogenic climate change is subjecting ecosystems and the populations that they contain to novel environmental conditions. Because water is the most limiting resource, arid-semiarid ecosystems are likely to be highly responsive to future climate variability. The goal of my dissertation is to understand how precipitation variability affects primary productivity and soil respiration in desert grassland ecosystems. Initially, I reviewed the literature to understand how climate change affects net ecosystem exchange (NEE) across the warm deserts of North America (Chapter 2). Next, I examined the effects …

Lymphocyte Evolution And Ontogeny In Non-Eutherian Mammals, Xinxin Wang

Biology ETDs

Based on their different reproductive modes and evolutionary history, extant mammals are divided into three lineages: eutherians, marsupials and monotremes. Marsupials are the closest relatives to eutherians. They are born immune-incompetent. The characteristic that they develop their immune system postnatally makes them unique models to study newborn immune development and maternal immunology. As monotremes comprises the basal lineage of mammals, the study of monotreme immunology will provide unique insights regarding the origin of the mammalian immune system. Unfortunately, compared to our in-depth knowledge of eutherian immunology, especially humans and mice, knowledge of marsupial and monotreme immunology is scarce. The goal …

Infectious Disease And The Worldwide Distribution Of Iq, Christopher Guiles Eppig

Biology ETDs

We show that infectious disease is a major contributor to the worldwide distribution of human cognitive ability, as measured by psychometric IQ. In areas where infectious disease is high, average human intelligence tends to be lower, and in areas where infectious disease is low, average human intelligence tends to be higher. In separate studies, we tested this across world nations (chapter 2) and across states of the USA (chapter 3). In efforts to disseminate our research to wider audiences, I reviewed the findings contained in chapters 2 and 3 using language that is accessible to non-biologists (chapter 4). Although it …

Lateralization Of The Developing Rat Hippocampal Formation, Amanda Lynn Gross

Biology ETDs

Differences between the left and right hemisphere of the brain have been observed in humans and rodents (Broca, 1861; Wernicke, 1881), including the hippocampal formation, a region of the brain that is necessary for some forms of learning and memory (Olton and Samuelson, 1976; deToledo-Morrell et al., 1988; Bernasconi-Guastalla et al., 1994; Tabibnia et al., 1994; Poe et al., 2000; Lister et al., 2006; Hanlon et al., 2005; Sommer et al., 2005; Moskal et al., 2006; Thompson et al., 2008; Klur et al., 2009). Although lateralization of the hippocampal formation has been studied in the adult, few have sought to …

Substratum Interfacial Energetic Effects On The Attachment Of Marine Bacteria, Linnea Kathryn Ista

Biology ETDs

Biofilms represent an ancient, ubiquitous and influential form of life on earth. They are interesting both scientifically and because of their impacts on our environment, health and technology. Biofilm formation is initiated by attachment of bacterial cells from an aqueous suspension onto a suitable attachment substratum. While in certain, well studied cases initial attachment and subsequent biofilm formation is mediated by specific ligand-receptor pairs on the bacteria and attachment substratum, in the open environment, including the ocean, it is assumed to be non-specific and mediated by processes similar to those that drive adsorption of colloids at the water-solid interface. Colloidal …

Transcriptional Analysis Of Schistosoma Mansoni Treated With Sub-Lethal Doses Of The Anthelmintic Drug Praziquantel, Jarrett Hines-Kay

Biology ETDs

Schistosoma mansoni is one of the most common etiological agents responsible for the disease schistosomiasis. More than 200 million people suffer from this disease making it the most severe tropical disease after malaria in terms of morbidity. Praziquantel (PZQ) is the treatment of choice for schistosomiasis and has been used almost exclusively to treat the disease since the 1970s. However, while the drug is lethal for sexually mature schistosomes, it is ineffective against juveniles. Thus, while morbidity can be eased, a cure is difficult to achieve. As a result there is an urgent need to develop a new generation of …

Mammalian Diversification Across The Holarctic: Spatiotemporal Evolution In Response To Environmental Change, Andrew G. Hope

Biology ETDs

The primary focus in this dissertation is on the processes of environmental change that drive evolution. We are currently witnessing unparalleled changes in climate and associated changes in biotic communities. With a growing understanding that climate and habitat change, coupled with natural variability, will have an increased influence on biota into the future, it is our responsibility to learn how best to manage and conserve the Earths natural resources. Among other things, this will require a firmer understanding of biodiversity, life histories, evolutionary relationships among species, and community dynamics over multiple species. One method of understanding how species will respond …

Allometric Scaling And Metabolic Ecology Of Microorganisms And Major Evolutionary Transitions, Jordan G. Okie

Biology ETDs

My dissertation centers around investigating big-picture questions related to understanding the consequences of metabolism and energetics on the evolution, ecology, and physiology of life. The evolutionary transitions from prokaryotes to unicellular eukaryotes to multicellular organisms were accompanied by major innovations in metabolic design. In my first chapter, I show that the scaling of metabolic rate, population growth rate, and production efficiency with body size have changed across these transitions. Metabolic rate scales with body mass superlinearly in prokaryotes, linearly in protists, and sublinearly in metazoans, so Kleibers 3/4 power scaling law does not apply universally across organisms. This means that …