Ecology and Evolutionary Biology Commons^™

Analysis Of Relationships Between Water Quality Parameters And Stream Sediment With Fecal Bacteria In Hidden Creek, Rock Hill, Sc, Kaitlin J. Mcculloch

Graduate Theses

Hidden Creek, in Rock Hill, SC is in need of a watershed management program to decrease fecal coliform counts by 19% because currently, water samples measured for fecal bacteria exceed the Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL). One objective of this study was to locate the area/s along Hidden Creek with the highest fecal bacteria counts. The other objectives were to determine whether relationships existed between fecal bacteria and water quality parameters and whether the stream sediment was serving as a reservoir for fecal bacteria. Five sampling sites were established and samples were taken every 1- 2 weeks from June – …

Management Of A Primordial Problem: Redox-Sensitive Transcriptional Regulation In Methanosarcina Acetivorans, Ryan Christopher Sheehan

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The primordial Earth which hosted the first forms of life was an environment free of oxygen. Early organisms utilized metabolisms dependent upon anaerobic conditions and incorporated systems to which oxygen is deleterious. As the content of oxygen in Earth's atmosphere increased, anaerobic organisms had to acquire methods to sense and combat oxygen and reactive oxygen species. Several mechanisms were advantageous to such anaerobic organisms which correlated transcriptional processes with the redox state of the cell so that energy may be conserved and oxygen stress recovery genes activated during periods of oxidative stress. Iron sulfur (Fe-S) cluster cofactors incorporated within RNA …

The Reproductive Ecology Of The Timber Rattlesnake, Crotalus Horridus, In Northwestern Arkansas: Interactions Between Environment, Steroid Hormones, And Life History, Craig Michael Lind

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

In this dissertation I examined the relationship between individual energetic status, hormone production, and life history trait expression in field-active Timber Rattlesnakes, Crotalus horridus. In chapter one I reviewed what is known regarding these relationships in snakes and defined major research goals. In chapter two I described the seasonal profile of testosterone (T) and corticosterone (CORT) in relation to the breeding season and to individual energetic status in males. Results showed that the seasonal pattern of T production in C. horridus was different than other pit viper species with similar mating patterns. Testosterone was elevated in the months leading up …

Non-Adaptive Phentypic Plasticity: Morphology, But Not Swim Speed, Of Spotted Salamander Larvae Is Affected By "Terrestrial" And "Aquatic" Herbicides, Mitchell Schooler

Mahurin Honors College Capstone Experience/Thesis Projects

1. Phenotypic plasticity, although ubiquitous, may not always be advantageous. In cases where individuals expressing an induced phenotype outperform non-induced individuals, the phenotypic plasticity is considered adaptive. Conversely, if the individuals with an induced phenotype underperform relative to non-induced individuals, then the plasticity is maladaptive. A final possibility is that both induced and non-induced individuals perform equally well (or poorly). This would be a case of non-adaptive (i.e. neutral) phenotypic plasticity.
2. We investigated the mode of phenotypic plasticity induced by four glyphosate-based herbicides in larvae of the spotted salamander, Ambystoma maculatum (Shaw, 1802), by determining whether the herbicides induced different morphologies, …

Analysis Of The Diets Of The Northern Spotted Owl And Barred Owl, Valeria Briones

Scholarly and Creative Works Conference (2015 - 2021)

The Northern Spotted Owl, a once thriving species is now a threatened species and on the verge of endangerment. The Barred Owl, a species native to the eastern United States over the past few centuries has expanded its range into that of the Northern Spotted Owl, causing a major threat to the Northern Spotted Owl Populations. This paper is a synthesis of the existing literature of the diets of the Northern Spotted Owl and Barred Owl individually as well as in areas in which they occur sympatrically. With this summary of literature, the reader can gain an understanding of the …

Some Agreement On Kin Selection And Eusociality?, David C. Queller, Stephen Rong, Xiaoyun Liao

Biology Faculty Research

The authors of "Relatedness, Conflict, and the Evolution of Eusociality" respond to objections raised by Martin Nowak and Benjamin Allen.

Analysis Of Sediment Reveals An Ecological "Regime Change" In Lake Hilary, Toni R. Gohman, Emily K. Kiolbasa

Celebrating Scholarship & Creativity Day (2011-2017)

Lake sediments contain excellent records of both fossils and component minerals that can be used to reconstruct regional ecological history. To complement ongoing studies of Lake Hilary’s pollen and macrofossils, we constructed a high-resolution record of the organic matter, carbonate, and non-carbonate mineral fractions of the lake’s sediment. The organic fraction is a proxy for the biological productivity of the pelagic, littoral, and shoreline of the lake. Non-carbonate minerals can evince erosion and subsequent aerial or fluvial deposition. Carbonate deposition can be related to lake productivity and chemical weathering in the surrounding watershed. We sought to compare our sediment record …

Switching Tactics: Phenotypic Plasticity In The Alternative Mate-Finding Tactics Of Burying Beetles, Theresa Mulrey

Theses and Dissertations

Male Nicrophorus burying beetles utilize two alternative mate-finding tactics, representing an ideal model system to test the influence of environmental cues on the expression of alternative tactics. The "searching" tactic involves flying in search of a carcass on which to mate. This tactic can result in high levels of paternity, but is risky in that carcasses are rare and competition for carcasses is fierce. The "signaling" tactic, which involves emitting pheromone in the absence of a carcass to attract females, is energetically less costly, but a signalling male must mate with multiple females to achieve the same reproductive returns as …

Intestinal Parasite Loads Of Minnows In Eastern Kentucky Streams, Seth H. Bromagen

Morehead State Theses and Dissertations

A Thesis Presented to the Faculty of the College of Science and Technology Morehead State University in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Master of Science by Seth H. Bromagen on April 13, 2015.

Is There Specificity In A Defensive Mutualism Against Soil Versus Lab Nematodes, Dictyostelium Discoideum Farmers And Their Bacteria?, Boahemaa Adu-Oppong,, David C. Queller, Joan E. Strassmann

Biology Faculty Research

Background: The social amoeba Dictyostelium discoideum is a soil-dwelling microbe, which lives most of its life cycle in the vegetative stage as a predator of bacteria and as prey for nematodes. When bacteria are sparse, amoebae aggregate into a multicellular fruiting body. Some clones of D. discoideum have agriculture (Brock et al., 2011). They carry bacteria through the social stage, eat them prudently, and use some bacteria as defence against non-farming D. discoideum competitors. Caenorhabditis elegans preys on D. discoideum in the laboratory but does not encounter it in nature because C. elegans lives on rotten fruit. The nematode …

Hatching Asynchrony In European Starlings ( Sturnus Vulgaris ), Jason Hanser

Theses and Dissertations

Across a wide range of avian taxa, eggs within clutches hatch asynchronously, placing later hatched nestlings at a disadvantage. Here, we explore the proximate and ultimate causes of hatching asynchrony within European starlings, Sturnus vulgaris. Specifically, we investigate the effect of ambient temperature on egg viability and incubation behavior prior to clutch completion. Additionally, we examine the potential for storage time and maternally-deposited yolk testosterone to influence rates of embryonic development and hatching patterns within European starlings.

Isotopic Incorporation Rates And Discrimination Factors In Mantis Shrimp Crustaceans., Maya Devries, Carlos Del Rio, Tate Tunstall, Todd Dawson

Faculty Publications, Biological Sciences

Stable isotope analysis has provided insights into the trophic ecology of a wide diversity of animals. Knowledge about isotopic incorporation rates and isotopic discrimination between the consumer and its diet for different tissue types is essential for interpreting stable isotope data, but these parameters remain understudied in many animal taxa and particularly in aquatic invertebrates. We performed a 292-day diet shift experiment on 92 individuals of the predatory mantis shrimp, Neogonodactylus bredini, to quantify carbon and nitrogen incorporation rates and isotope discrimination factors in muscle and hemolymph tissues. Average isotopic discrimination factors between mantis shrimp muscle and the new diet …

Early Successional Microhabitats Allow The Persistence Of Endangered Plants In Coastal Sand Dunes, Eleanor A. Pardini, Kyle E. Vickstrom, Tiffany M. Knight

Biology Faculty Research

Many species are adapted to disturbance and occur within dynamic, mosaic landscapes that contain early and late successional microhabitats. Human modification of disturbance regimes alters the availability of microhabitats and may affect the viability of species in these ecosystems. Because restoring historical disturbance regimes is typically expensive and requires action at large spatial scales, such restoration projects must be justified by linking the persistence of species with successional microhabitats. Coastal sand dune ecosystems worldwide are characterized by their endemic biodiversity and frequent disturbance. Dune-stabilizing invasive plants alter successional dynamics and may threaten species in these ecosystems. We examined the distribution …

Ficus Sp. Y La Frugivoría: Una Investigación Sobre Un Recurso Importante Para Las Aves En El Bosque Nublado Occidental Del Ecuador, Hilary Niles

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Ocho plantas fructíferas de Ficus sp. (Moraceae) fueron monitoreadas durante 16 días en la reserva La Hesperia en el bosque nublado al oeste del Ecuador; esto con el objetivo de entender mejor los patrones de la frugivoría aviar y la relación entre las aves y el género Ficus. Se observaron aves durante el 70.8% de las visitas de observación, en las que se registraron 326 individuos, 28 especies, y 7 familias comiendo la fruta de las plantas de Ficus. La mayoría (74.5%) de las aves observadas perteneció a la familia Thraupidae, siendo las dos especies predominantes Tangara gyrola …

Fisheries Management Paper No.273 - Blue Swimmer Crab Resource Of The Peel-Harvey Estuary Harvest Strategy, 2015-2020. Version 1.0, Department Of Fisheries, Western Australia

Fisheries Management Papers

Harvest strategies for aquatic resources managed by the Western Australian Department of Fisheries (the Department) are formal documents prepared to support the decision-making processes required to ensure the management of these resources are consistent with the principles of Ecologically Sustainable Development (ESD). The objectives of ESD are reflected in the objects of the Fish Resources Management Act 1994 (FRMA), Section 3, and the draft Aquatic Resources Management Bill 2013 (ARMB), Clause 9, which will replace the FRMA once enacted.

The publication of these strategies is intended to make the decision-making considerations and processes for the management of specified aquatic resources …

Plant-Soil Relations On Gypsum And Non-Gypsum Soils Of The Chihuahuan Desert, Clare Muller

Senior Honors Projects

No abstract provided.

Evolution And Biodiversity, Timothy Henkel, Emily Croteau, Matthew Waters

Biological Sciences Grants Collections

This Grants Collection for Evolution and Biodiversity was created under a Round Four ALG Textbook Transformation Grant.

Affordable Learning Georgia Grants Collections are intended to provide faculty with the frameworks to quickly implement or revise the same materials as a Textbook Transformation Grants team, along with the aims and lessons learned from project teams during the implementation process.

Documents are in .pdf format, with a separate .docx (Word) version available for download. Each collection contains the following materials:

• Linked Syllabus
• Initial Proposal
• Final Report

Concurrent Coevolution Of Intra-Organismal Cheaters And Resisters, S R. Levin, D A. Brock, David C. Queller, Joan E. Strassmann

Biology Faculty Research

The evolution of multicellularity is a major transition that is not yet fully understood. Specifically, we do not know whether there are any mechanisms by which multicellularity can be maintained without a single-cell bottleneck or other relatedness-enhancing mechanisms. Under low relatedness, cheaters can evolve that benefit from the altruistic behaviour of others without themselves sacrificing. If these are obligate cheaters, incapable of cooperating, their spread can lead to the demise of multicellularity. One possibility, however, is that cooperators can evolve resistance to cheaters. We tested this idea in a facultatively multicellular social amoeba, Dictyostelium discoideum. This amoeba usually exists as …

Blue Carbon In Coastal Freshwater/Brackish Marshes On The Barrier Islands Of Virginia: Belowground Carbon Dynamics, Nathan M. Sedghi

Biological Sciences Theses & Dissertations

Some coastal ecosystems sequester substantially more carbon (blue carbon) than land locked systems due to high net primary production and deposition associated with oceanic influences. Most blue carbon research has focused on mangroves, seagrass beds, and salt marshes. Studies on blue carbon potential of coastal freshwater marshes are less common. Barrier islands frequently flood, with seawater reaching interior ecosystems. I examined brackish/freshwater marshes on Virginia barrier islands for possible roles as blue carbon systems. I studied four interior marshes on Hog Island, which varied in proximity to a direct overwash path and protection by a trail berm that divides northern …

Blue Carbon In Freshwater / Brackish Marshes On The Barrier Islands Of Virginia Aboveground Net Primary Productivity And Carbon Pools, Emily Caitlin Adams

Biological Sciences Theses & Dissertations

"Blue carbon" is a relatively new concept describing carbon distributed tidally and sequestered via net production within coastal ecosystems, including seagrass beds, mangrove forests, and salt-water marshes. These systems sequester carbon at least 10 times faster than terrestrial systems. Fresh to brackish wetlands that receive irregular tidal influence due to overwash and storm events have not been typically studied as blue carbon systems. My objective was to quantify carbon pools within four interdunal fresh to brackish marshes on Hog Island, Virginia to determine their blue carbon potential. Marshes 1 and 2 were farthest from the ocean, below and above a …

Elevational Gradients In Β-Diversity Reflect Variation In The Strength Of Local Community Assembly Mechanisms Across Spatial Scales, J Sebastián Tello, Jonathan A. Myers, Manuel J. Macia, Alfredo F. Fuentes, Leslie Cayola, Gabriel Arellano, M Isabel Loza, Vania Torrez, Maritza Cornejo, Tatiana B. Miranda, Peter M. Jørgensen

Biology Faculty Research

Despite long-standing interest in elevational-diversity gradients, little is known about the processes that cause changes in the compositional variation of communities (β-diversity) across elevations. Recent studies have suggested that β-diversity gradients are driven by variation in species pools, rather than by variation in the strength of local community assembly mechanisms such as dispersal limitation, environmental filtering, or local biotic interactions. However, tests of this hypothesis have been limited to very small spatial scales that limit inferences about how the relative importance of assembly mechanisms may change across spatial scales. Here, we test the hypothesis that scale-dependent community assembly mechanisms shape …

Relatedness, Conflict, And The Evolution Of Eusociality, Xiaoyun Liao, Stephen Rong, David C. Queller

Biology Faculty Research

The evolution of sterile worker castes in eusocial insects was a major problem in evolutionary theory until Hamilton developed a method called inclusive fitness. He used it to show that sterile castes could evolve via kin selection, in which a gene for altruistic sterility is favored when the altruism sufficiently benefits relatives carrying the gene. Inclusive fitness theory is well supported empirically and has been applied to many other areas, but a recent paper argued that the general method of inclusive fitness was wrong and advocated an alternative population genetic method. The claim of these authors was bolstered by a …

Low Mitochondrial Dna Diversity In An Ancient Population From China: Insight, Yu Dong, Chunxiang Li, Fengshi Luan, Zhenguang Li, Hongjie Li, Yinqiu Cui, Hui Zhou, Ripan S. Malhi

Human Biology Open Access Pre-Prints

To gain insight into the social organization of a population associated with the Dawenkou period, ancient DNA analysis of 18 individuals from human remains from Fujia site, Shandong Province, China was completed. Directly radiocarbon dated to 4800–4500 cal BP, the Fujia site is assumed to be associated with a transitional phase from matrilineal clans to patrilineal monogamous families. Our results reveal a low mitochondrial DNA diversity from the site and population. Combined with Y-chromosome data, the pattern observed at the Fujia site is most consistent with a matrilineal community. The patterns also suggest that the bond of marriage were de-emphasized …

Environmental Impacts On Life History In Container Breeding Mosquitoes, Kathleen May Westby

Theses and Dissertations

In this dissertation I explore different ways that the environment impacts life history in mosquitoes in ways that may alter vectorial capacity. In chapter I, I tested if short-term sugar deprivation experienced after exposure to La Crosse virus altered infection rates in Aedes albopictus and if sugar treatment and virus infection status altered blood feeding behavior and fecundity. I found no evidence that sugar deprivation impacted infection rates or fecundity. Sugar deprivation did increase blood feeding. There was no effect of infection status on blood feeding or fecundity. In chapter II, I tested for effects of seasonal cues (temperature and …

Fighting Microbial Drug Resistance: A Primer On The Role Of Evolutionary Biology In Public Health, Gabriel Perron, R. Inglis, Pleuni Pennings, Sarah Cobey

Biology Department Faculty Works

Although microbes have been evolving resistance to antimicrobials for millennia, the spread of resistance in pathogen populations calls for the development of new drugs and treatment strategies. We propose that successful, long-term resistance management requires a better understanding of how resistance evolves in the first place. This is an opportunity for evolutionary biologists to engage in public health, a collaboration that has substantial precedent. Resistance evolution has been an important tool for developing and testing evolutionary theory, especially theory related to the genetic basis of new traits and constraints on adaptation. The present era is no exception. The articles in …

Addressing Misconceptions About Evolution, Sarah O'Leary-Driscoll, Don Dosch

Evolution

"Leave with effective ways to identify and address misconceptions about evolution, with a particular focus on supporting explanations with evidence."

Temporal Patterns Of Nutrition Dependence In Secondary Sexual Traits And Their Varying Impacts On Male Mating Success, Malcolm F. Rosenthal, Eileen A. Hebets

Eileen Hebets Publications

Variation in the quantity of nutrients ingested over an individual’s lifetime is likely to differentially affect distinct male secondary sexual traits and courtship signals, potentially providing females with information about a male’s past and present foraging history. We hypothesize that female choice is thus influenced by a male’s lifetime foraging history. To test this, we manipulated the quantity of nutrients (i.e. prey items) available to male wolf spiders, Schizocosa stridulans, using a fully crossed 2 × 2 design with low versus high prey quantity across juvenile and adult life stages, and assessed the impact of these diet treatments on male …

Identification Of Saccharina Groenlandica (Phaeophyceae) Around The Svalbard Archipelago: Dna Barcoding Using Cytochrome C Oxidase Subunit 1 (Coi), Anniken Lydon

Master's Theses

In the Arctic, brown algae (kelps) and seaweeds are ecologically important: providing habitat, protection, and nutrients for invertebrate and vertebrate species living in nearshore environments. Migrations of biota between the North Pacific and North Atlantic Oceans have occurred periodically during Earth’s history leading to colonization of the Arctic Ocean. Around 3.5 Mya the “Great Trans-Arctic Biotic Interchange” occurred and the Laminariales order of kelp, thought to be of North Pacific origin, underwent a massive radiation and speciation event around the Arctic Ocean. Phylogenetic analysis performed on “Laminaria-like” specimens collected from six sampling locations around the Svalbard Archipelago identified …

Predicting Invasion Rates For Phragmites Australis, Rachel Nydegger, Jacob Duncan, James A. Powell

Browse All Undergraduate research

In wetlands of Utah and southern Idaho as well as estuaries of the east coast, the ten-foot tall invasive grass Phragmites australis can be found near waterways, where it outcompetes native plants and degrades wildlife habitat. Phragmites australis is an obligate out-crossing plant that can spread sexually through seed disper- sal, or asexually via stolons and rhi- zomes (Kettenring and Mock 2012). Small patches are usually a single genetic individual, spreading vegetatively (and slowly) via runners; when patches become genetically diverse viable seeds are produced and invasion rates can be increase by an order of magnitude (Kettenring et al. 2011)

Butterfly Biology, Joshua Feingold

Quadrivium: A Journal of Multidisciplinary Scholarship

A photographic exploration of butterflies from larvae to adults in Davie, Florida.