Ecology and Evolutionary Biology Commons^™

Experimental Evolution With Caenorhabditis Nematodes, Henrique Teotónio, Suzanne Estes, Patrick C. Phillips, Charles F. Baer

Biology Faculty Publications and Presentations

The hermaphroditic nematode Caenorhabditis elegans has been one of the primary model systems in biology since the 1970s, but only within the last two decades has this nematode also become a useful model for experimental evolution. Here, we outline the goals and major foci of experimental evolution with C. elegans and related species, such as C. briggsae and C. remanei, by discussing the principles of experimental design, and highlighting the strengths and limitations of Caenorhabditis as model systems. We then review three exemplars of Caenorhabditis experimental evolution studies, underlining representative evolution experiments that have addressed the: (1) maintenance of genetic …

Characterizing The Impacts Of Contaminants On Fish Embryogenesis And Revealing An Alternate Molecular Mechanism Of Ahr Mediated Cardiac Defects, Corinna Singleman

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

There is a long history of damage to natural ecosystems from environmental pollution. Many environmental contaminants are man-made and have been released with abandon over the last 100 years including dioxins, 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin (TCDD), and polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs). These chemicals act on similar cellular processes and cause skin lesions, cancer, learning disabilities and reproductive problems in many vertebrates. There are many studies exploring various aspects of TCDD and PCB exposure on model and wild organisms. Few studies however, have compared effects of PCB mixtures on ecosystems to effects of individual PCBs in the lab. The first aim of this thesis is …

A Spiny Water Flea Invasion And Effects On The Zooplankton Community In Southern Green Bay, Lake Michigan, Casey Ann Merkle

Lawrence University Honors Projects

The spiny water flea (Bythotrephes longimanus) is an invertebrate aquatic invasive species (AIS) in the Great Lakes that competes with native fish species for zooplankton, perhaps contributing to a decline of fish populations or changes in zooplankton communities in Lake Michigan. Bythotrephes produce two types of eggs, immediately hatching versus resting eggs which are tolerant to harsh conditions and allow for rapid dispersal. We determined Bythotrephes population density and population dynamics in Green Bay during the summer months of 2015 and 2016. Population dynamics were similar at both sites in Green Bay in each year, with peak population …

Final Report: Status Of The Arizona Toad (Anaxyrus Microscaphus) In New Mexico, Mason J. Ryan, Jacek Tomasz Giermakowski, Ian M. Latella, Howard L. Snell

Biology Faculty & Staff Publications

This report covers the fourth consecutive year (2013-2016) of research on the population dynamics, ecology, and conservation status of the Arizona Toad (Anaxyrus microscaphus) in New Mexico. The year 2016 represented the rare opportunity to study the effects of El Niño, which typically brings above average precipitation to New Mexico, on the breeding behavior and ecology of the Arizona toad. We expected that the El Niño-driven above average precipitation during the winter of 2015 and spring of 2016 would result in increased detection of toads at breeding sites, especially those sites that were dry in 2013, 2014, and …

Oldest Skeleton Of A Plesiadapiform Provides Additional Evidence For An Exclusively Arboreal Radiation Of Stem Primates In The Palaeocene, Stephen B. Chester, Thomas E. Williamson, Jonathan I. Bloch, Mary T. Silcox, Eric J. Sargis

Publications and Research

Palaechthonid plesiadapiforms from the Palaeocene of western North America have long been recognized as among the oldest and most primitive euarchontan mammals, a group that includes extant primates, colugos and treeshrews. Despite their relatively sparse fossil record, palaechthonids have played an important role in discussions surrounding adaptive scenarios for primate origins for nearly a half-century. Likewise, palaechthonids have been considered important for understanding relationships among plesiadapiforms, with members of the group proposed as plausible ancestors of Paromomyidae and Microsyopidae. Here, we describe a dentally associated partial skeleton of Torrejonia wilsoni from the early Palaeocene (approx. 62Ma) of New Mexico, which …

The Impact Of Anthropocentrism On Christian Environmentalism, Alexis Grasse

Dialogue & Nexus

This paper will discuss the effects of anthropocentrism in Christian theology, doctrine, and environmentalism. The development and history of Christian environmentalism will be examined, with emphasis on the time since the 1960s, when environmentalism came to the forefront in the Western world. Alternative interpretations and worldviews, mainly ecocentrism and biocentrism, will be considered and compared to the prevalent anthropocentric view. I will close with a presentation of two possible means for developing a Christian ecological theology without anthropocentrism. An environmental position most coherent with Christian principles will be left open to the reader; my purpose is to examine the impact …

Human Evolution And Divine Agency, Alexandra Rakestraw

Dialogue & Nexus

Modern Christians often find themselves at a crossroads when confronted with the two predominant understandings of human and universal origins. Plain sense readings of Genesis lead many to believe in a historical six-day creation that occurred in the past ten thousand years while proponents on the other side of the spectrum use current scientific understanding to support a creation that occurs through evolutionary means. How one views human origins has a profound impact on one’s concept of how God works in the cosmos. In this paper, I will lay out a background to better understand the characters of Adam and …

Moral Awareness, Original Sin And The Atonement, Tanner Gregory

Dialogue & Nexus

I will explore how evolution impacts the Christian notion of The Fall of man, and, ultimately, the atonement. Various theories of atonement in the Christian tradition generally assume universal and individual sinfulness in humanity. In some cases, this sinfulness is thought to be the result of a distinct moment of rebellion against God, and is transmitted to all of the descendants of Adam. Here, atonement involves Christ’s sacrifice as the means liberate humanity from the bondage of our sinful nature. Evolution collides with these traditional models. Instead of a creation originally void of death and later corrupted by sin, evolution …

Race Relations: A Dialogue Between Science And Theology On The Basis Of Race, Shanice Latham

Dialogue & Nexus

When the topic of race is breached the emotions expressed can range from extreme feelings of guilt to extreme feelings of anger. Why is a word that is, today, commonly associated with a person’s skin color and other physical characteristics responsible for such strong emotional reactions? Much of the violence, poverty, injustice, and hurt in the world has been and is caused by racial division. With the continued use of such an arbitrary system as race these issues will continue to persist and deteriorate. This paper will explore the origin, as well as scientific and theological perspectives of race and …

“Bone Of My Bones And Flesh Of My Flesh”: A Feminist Analysis Of Christianity, Evolutionary Theory, And The Provenance Of Patriarchy, Heather Bishop

Dialogue & Nexus

While perceived by many as conflicting in nearly every sphere, science and religion both play an important role in the promotion of patriarchal ideologies. My research has found that neither Christianity nor evolutionary theory are inherently patriarchal, neither do they justify patriarchy. Instead, it is the misinterpretation and misuse of these subjects that contribute to the justification of patriarchy for the deep-seated goal of reproductive power. I will show this by analyzing theological themes present throughout the Christian scriptures, as well as investigating findings of evolutionary psychology and hominid ancestry. The implication of this study is that there is no …

Volume 3 Editorial, Daniel Brannan

Dialogue & Nexus

No abstract provided.

Sexual Selection, Speciation And Constraints On Geographical Range Overlap In Birds, Christopher Cooney, Joseph A. Tobias, Jason T. Weir, Carlos A. Botero, Nathalie Seddon

Biology Faculty Research

The role of sexual selection as a driver of speciation remains unresolved, not least because we lack a clear empirical understanding of its influence on different phases of the speciation process. Here, using data from 1306 recent avian speciation events, we show that plumage dichromatism (a proxy for sexual selection) does not predict diversification rates, but instead explains the rate at which young lineages achieve geographical range overlap. Importantly, this effect is only significant when range overlap is narrow (< 20%). These findings are consistent with a ‘differential fusion’ model wherein sexual selection reduces rates of fusion among lineages undergoing secondary contact, facilitating parapatry or limited co-existence, whereas more extensive sympatry is contingent on additional factors such as ecological differentiation. Our results provide a more mechanistic explanation for why sexual selection appears to drive early stages of speciation while playing a seemingly limited role in determining broad-scale patterns of diversification.

Mitigating The Conflict Between Pitfall-Trap Sampling And Conservation Of Terrestrial Subterranean Communities In Caves, Peter Kozel, Tanja Pipan, Nina Šajna, Slavko Polak, Tone Novak

International Journal of Speleology

Subterranean habitats are known for their rich endemic fauna and high vulnerability to disturbance. Many methods and techniques are used to sample the biodiversity of terrestrial invertebrate fauna in caves, among which pitfall trapping remains one of the most frequently used and effective ones. However, this method has turned out to be harmful to subterranean communities if applied inappropriately. Traditionally, pitfall traps have been placed in caves solely on the ground. Here we present an optimized technique of pitfall trapping to achieve a balance between sampling completeness and minimal disturbance of the fauna in the cave. Monthly we placed traps …

Precipitation Patterns And Fungal Community Succession In A Seasonally Dry Secondary Tropical Savanna, Sara R. López-Rodríguez

Biology ETDs

In the northwestern part of South America, seasonally dry forests have undergone extensive conversion to savannas to support ranching and agriculture. The combination of fire and vegetation removal employed for clearing, together with extensive agricultural practices, often lead to loss of soil fertility. This results in land that is no longer useful for agriculture and on which historical forests are unable to regenerate. This study examined the effects of common agricultural practices on soil fungal communities by simulating the effects of fire followed by plant removal. The goal was to determine whether common practices have rapid effects on soil communities, …

Immunology Of The Gray Short-Tailed Opossum During Pregnancy And Prenatal Development, Victoria L. Hansen

Biology ETDs

Vertebrate species that bear live young have overcome the evolutionary challenge of maintaining both a functional adaptive immune system and viviparous life cycle. In normal pregnancy, viviparous mothers are able sustain and nourish a fetus that is genetically half non-self without mounting an immunological attack. In 1953 Sir Peter Medawar brought attention to the “enigma of the fetal graft” and immunologists have been puzzling out the intricacies of fetal tolerance ever since. Although viviparity has evolved in all jawed vertebrate lineages aside from Aves, the vast majority of reproductive immunology research has been limited to eutherian mammals. There are insights …

Bacterial Diversity At An Abandoned Coal Mine In Southeast Kansas, Rachel Bechtold

Electronic Theses & Dissertations

Bacterial Diversity at an Abandoned Coal Mine in

Southeast Kansas

An Abstract of the Thesis by

Rachel Bechtold

Acid mine drainage (AMD) is found in areas of abandoned coal mines in southeast Kansas as a result of mine waste rocks and tailings create problems for the local environment. Soil bacterial population acts as a reliable indicator of ecosystem health in these human-perturbed areas. The goals of the present study were to assess the bacterial diversity of an AMD site over a two-year period and to isolate acid-tolerant bacterial species for bioremediation purpose.

In fall (2015) and summer (2016), soil samples …

Scaling Of Anatomically Derived Maximal Bite Force In Primates, Ashley Deutsch

Senior Theses

Bite force analysis is important the examination of the evolutionary factors that have shaped the masticatory apparatus. Unfortunately, in primates, empirically measured bite force is largely unavailable because of the invasive nature of the procedure. Because of this, we have estimated bite force in a large sample across the primate order at three different realistic bite points along the tooth row: the first maxillary incisor, the maxillary canine, and the paracone of the first maxillary molar. Here, we model bite force by combining measured physiological crosssectional area of the jaw adductors from Hartstone-Rose and colleagues (2017) with osteological measurements from …

Anti-Predator Behavior And Discriminative Abilities: Playback Experiments With Free-Ranging Equatorial Saki Monkeys (Pithecia Aequatorialis) In The Peruvian Amazon, Candace Stenzel

Graduate Theses

Anti-predator behaviors of free-ranging groups of equatorial saki monkeys (Pithecia aequatorialis) were recorded in the Área de Conservación Regional Comunal Tamshiyacu Tahuayo in the Peruvian Amazon to determine whether individuals responded in predator-specific ways to calls of aerial and terrestrial predators. Previous studies have shown that several species of Old World monkeys possess these discriminative abilities, but few have explored this question in New World monkeys. The ability to recognize predators and to respond appropriately is important for survival. Thus, we predicted that equatorial saki monkeys should respond in predator-specific ways, both vocally and behaviorally, to aerial and terrestrial predators. …

Deer Droppings As A Diverse Invertebrate Habitat, Allison Furr, Dr. Kevin Geedey

Celebration of Learning

This project was performed at Augustana's Green Wing Environmental Laboratory and studied the richness and diversity of soil invertebrates in two conditions, deer poop enriched and surrounding soil. Soil invertebrates play an important role in soil quality which greatly affects ecosystems. The hypothesis of this study was that the diversity and richness would be the higher in the poop enriched soil samples. Soil samples were collected, Burlese funnels were used to collect the invertebrates, the invertebrates were examined under the microscope, and were assigned to taxa. The number of taxa (richness) and the number of individuals in each taxa (Simpson's …

Vegetative Rapid Assessment And Habitat Quality Analysis Of Steidtmann Woods, Sarah Mae Bail

Honors Projects

Due to invasive species and the assumption of an unhealthy ecosystem, Steidtmann Woods is an underutilized piece of land owned by Bowling Green State University. However, the property had never been analyzed. The proposed hypothesis was that Steidtmann was indeed in destress and its ecosystem could benefit from intervention—removal of invasive species and supplementation of natives. Through a rapid vegetative analysis, data was collected in several regions of the woods to identify what navies and non-natives were present as well as to identify their proportions. With that data, the species evenness, richness, and diversity was calculated; first, with raw field …

Converting Chemical Signatures In Vaterite Otoliths To Aragonite Otoliths In Steelhead Trout: Developing A Partition Coefficient, Jamie Justice

Honors Projects

Otoliths are small bones near the brain of teleost fish that aid in hearing and balance. Otoliths are typically composed of a polymorph of calcium carbonate called aragonite; however, when stressed, fish may transition to producing a less dense polymorph called vaterite. Otoliths are typically used in studies of fish natal origin or migration patterns because 1) otoliths grow concentrically around an origin (birth point), 2) the material in the otolith is not replaced over time, and 3) microelements (Sr and Ba) can be incorporated into the otoliths in proportion to elemental ratios in the water (i.e., when fish move …

Range-Wide Prevalence And Impacts Of Pseudocercosporella Inconspicua On Lilium Grayi And An Assessment Of L. Superbum And L. Michauxii As Reservoirs, Cindy L. Barrett

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Lilium grayi (Gray’s Lily), a southern Appalachian endemic species, is threatened by a Lilium-specific fungal pathogen, Pseudocercosporella inconspicua. The disease is characterized by tan lesions that can cause early senescence, while also lowering seed production and viability. This project tested for P. inconspicua conidia and accessed health at nine locations. The disease was present and ubiquitous across the range of L. grayi. Through identification of P. inconspicua conidia in the field, L. superbum (Turk’s Cap Lily) was identified as an additional host, while L. michauxii (Michaux’s Lily) was disease-free. However, infection was inducible in both species. With …

Assessment Of The Calling Detection Probability Throughout The Day Of Two Invasive Populations Of Bullfrog (Lithobates Catesbeianus) In Uruguay, Gabriel Laufer, Noelia Gobel, Alvaro Soutullo, Claudio Martinez-Debat, Rafael O. De Sá

Biology Faculty Publications

Bullfrog invasion is a major conservation concern in South America, so there is an urgent need to detect and monitor its many invasion foci. Amphibian sampling methods commonly use calling display, specifically the nuptial calls of males. With the aim of obtaining the better day period to sample and monitor Lithobates catesbeianus presence, we recorded its calls at three ponds in two invaded localities in Uruguay (Aceguá, Cerro Largo, and San Carlos, Maldonado) during the reproductive season. Then, we studied the records, obtaining a subsample of calling intensity at the first 5 minutes for each hour. We detected that vocalization …

Behavioral Plasticity Across Non-Social Contexts In Female Green Swordtails, Xiphophorus Helleri, Lindsey M. Coit

School of Biological Sciences: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Phenotypic plasticity is the ability of an individual to alter its phenotype in response to environmental change. Individuals that express plasticity in behavior can quickly respond to changes that occur in the environment. Therefore, individuals that exhibit behavioral plasticity can alter their behavioral expression to best match current environmental conditions. The degree and direction of behavioral plasticity may be influenced by variation in individual characteristics. Understanding how variation in individual traits affects behavioral plasticity, and, whether patterns of behavioral plasticity are consistent across behavioral contexts are important topics to explore as we try to better understand how plasticity evolves and …

Plant-Microbial Interactions Are Strong Determinants Of Plant Population And Community Dynamics, Yan-Yi Anny Chung 9485698

Biology ETDs

Plant-microbial interactions are ubiquitous and yet the consequences of these interactions on plant population and community dynamics are relatively unknown. Here, we used two different classes of plant-microbial interactions to examine their effects on key plant population and community characteristics such as commonness and rarity, competition and coexistence, as well as community stability.

Vertically-transmitted endophytes had stage-dependent effects on the population growth of two grass species Poa sylvestris and Poa alsodes, and generally increased host population growth rates. However, it was the intrinsic demographic advantage of P. sylvestris that allowed its population to grow at a much faster rate …

Salting Our Freshwater Lakes, Hilary A. Dugan, Sarah L. Bartlett, Samantha M. Burke, Jonathan P. Doubek, Flora Krivak-Tetley

Dartmouth Scholarship

The highest densities of lakes on Earth are in north temperate ecosystems, where increasing urbanization and associated chloride runoff can salinize freshwaters and threaten lake water quality and the many ecosystem services lakes provide. However, the extent to which lake salinity may be changing at broad spatial scales remains unknown, leading us to first identify spatial patterns and then investigate the drivers of these patterns. Significant decadal trends in lake salinization were identified using a dataset of long-term chloride concentrations from 371 North American lakes. Landscape and climate metrics calculated for each site demonstrated that impervious land cover was a …

Gregariousness Does Not Vary With Geography, Developmental Stage, Or Group Relatedness In Feeding Redheaded Pine Sawfly Larvae, John W. Terbot Ii, Ryan L. Gaynor, Catherine R. Linnen

Biology Faculty Publications

Aggregations are widespread across the animal kingdom, yet the underlying proximate and ultimate causes are still largely unknown. An ideal system to investigate this simple, social behavior is the pine sawfly genus Neodiprion, which is experimentally tractable and exhibits interspecific variation in larval gregariousness. To assess intraspecific variation in this trait, we characterized aggregative tendency within a single widespread species, the redheaded pine sawfly (N. lecontei). To do so, we developed a quantitative assay in which we measured interindividual distances over a 90-min video. This assay revealed minimal behavioral differences: (1) between early-feeding and late-feeding larval instars, …

Time Lags Associated With Effects Of Oceanic Conditions On Seabird Breeding In The Salish Sea Region Of The Northern California Current System, Rashida S. Smith, Lynelle M. Weldon, James L. Hayward, Shandelle M. Henson

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Pattern And Process In The Radiation Of Ground-Dwelling Squirrels, Bryan Stephen Mclean

Biology ETDs

What causes biological diversity to be unevenly apportioned across the Tree of Life? The pattern is widespread and well-characterized; but our understanding of processes underlying the taxonomic, phenotypic, and ecological disparities of clades remains incomplete. At least some of this disparity is due to clade-specific differences in the ability to respond to ecological opportunity, whereby access to, and exploitation of, different resources in ecological time drives evolutionary divergence and adaptive radiation. However, not all clades respond equivalently to ecological opportunity, and considerable heterogeneity therefore exists in diversification patterns across radiations.

This dissertation focuses on patterns and processes of diversification in …

The Epistemic Status Of Moral Conceptual Truths, Kara D. Boschert

Theses

Evolutionary debunking arguments assume that morality could, conceptually speaking, be about anything. A response to this contention is that there are some moral conceptual truths which counter assertions that we could be in error about basic moral truths. According to proponents of moral conceptual truths, some things, by definition, cannot count as moral. Putative moral conceptual truths, such as “stealing is wrong,” are thought to enjoy a privileged epistemic status because anyone who denies them forfeits their ability to engage in competent moral reasoning. This paper explores whether moral conceptual truths can offer a satisfactory response to the debunkers’ premise …