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Full-Text Articles in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology
Divergence Of Vertebrate And Insect Specific Toxin Genes Between Three Species Of Widow Spider, Shannon G. Kahn
Divergence Of Vertebrate And Insect Specific Toxin Genes Between Three Species Of Widow Spider, Shannon G. Kahn
Honors College Theses
The Brown widow spider, Latrodectus geometricus, is an introduced species to the southern United States (Brown 2008). The Brown widow is a member of the widow spider genus Latrodectus which includes the southern Black widow (L. mactans) and 29 other venomous species. All species of widow spiders produce venom which is used against both predator and prey. These venoms are composed of several different species-specific toxins, each encoded by a different gene (Graudins 2012). Previous research has shown that positive selection pressures affect the venom of snakes and snails, thus aiding in adaptive potential of the species …
Parasite Infection Mediates Trait Tradeoffs In Fundulus Heteroclitus, Sarah Dunn
Parasite Infection Mediates Trait Tradeoffs In Fundulus Heteroclitus, Sarah Dunn
Honors College Theses
To be successful, an animal must eat, grow, and reproduce. With limited resources, there are tradeoffs between these critical life history parameters but the direction of the tradeoffs is largely unknown in a changing environment. To determine whether environmental context affects life-history tradeoffs, I surveyed and quantified investment into reproduction, growth, and a proxy for immunity (parasitism), in the mummichog, Fundulus heteroclitus, a common inhabitant of salt marshes in Georgia. Three salt marsh sites along coastal Georgia (Shellman Bluff, Skidaway Island, and Tybee Island) were selected using a proxy for anthropogenic disturbance (impervious surface), which also fell along a …