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Articles 1 - 14 of 14
Full-Text Articles in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology
Modeling The Abundance And Distribution Of Terrestrial Plants Through Space And Time, Caroline Curtis
Modeling The Abundance And Distribution Of Terrestrial Plants Through Space And Time, Caroline Curtis
Doctoral Dissertations
Anthropogenically-driven changes threaten ecosystems and species over regional to global scales. I addressed several questions related to how species ranges will respond to these changes over large spatial and temporal extents to better understand what determines where a species occurs. First, I modeled presence and abundance of two widespread invasive plants in the southwest U.S. under current and projected future climatic conditions, from which I inferred impact risk. These results provide more insight than presence modeling alone and highlight the possibility of increased invasion pressure in the future. Second, I tested the assumption that expert-based climatic tolerance data will better …
An Integrative Approach To Understanding Morphological Novelties: Anatomy, Development, Genetics, And Evolution Of An Extreme Craniofacial Trait In East African Cichlids, Moira R. Conith
Doctoral Dissertations
Phenotypic novelties are an important but poorly understood category of morphological diversity that are often associated with elevated rates of diversification and/or ecological success. The aim of this dissertation is to explore a phenotypic novelty at many levels to contribute to our understanding of how these unique traits can arise (e.g., genetically, developmentally, and evolutionarily) as well as their ecological consequences (e.g., trait function). The extreme snout of the Lake Malawi cichlid fish Labeotropheus is used as a case study. The first chapter establishes the Labeotropheus snout as a model of phenotypic novelty by characterizing the gross morphology, genetic architecture, …
Not Gone With The Wind: Addressing Effects Of Offshore Wind Development On Bat Species In The Northeastern United States, Zara Rae Dowling
Not Gone With The Wind: Addressing Effects Of Offshore Wind Development On Bat Species In The Northeastern United States, Zara Rae Dowling
Doctoral Dissertations
Development of coastal and offshore wind energy resources has the potential to add considerable renewable electricity capacity to the United States electrical grid, but could have detrimental impacts on wildlife. Land-based wind energy facilities are estimated to kill hundreds of thousands of bats every year in the United States, and could threaten population viability of some species. Little is known about the potential impacts of offshore wind development on bat populations along the North Atlantic coast, but a number of species are known to frequent marine islands or fly over the ocean during migration. This dissertation helps to characterize risks …
Cumulative Adverse Effects Of Offshore Wind Energy Development On Wildlife, Morgan Goodale
Cumulative Adverse Effects Of Offshore Wind Energy Development On Wildlife, Morgan Goodale
Doctoral Dissertations
Offshore wind energy development is being pursued as a critical component in achieving a low-carbon energy economy. While the adverse effects of one wind farm on a particular wildlife population may be negligible, the aggregate effect of multiple wind farms through space and time could cause wildlife population declines. The risk of cumulative adverse effects (CAE) of offshore wind farms on wildlife is poorly researched and assessment processes are underdeveloped. Assessments of CAE must first calculate the cumulative exposure of a wildlife population to a hazard and then estimate how the exposure will affect the population. Our research responds to …
Variation And Evolution Of Fruit Ripening Traits In Tomato Species, Ian M. Gillis
Variation And Evolution Of Fruit Ripening Traits In Tomato Species, Ian M. Gillis
Doctoral Dissertations
As angiosperm seeds mature within their ovaries, ovary tissue tends to grow and transform itself into fruit, which aids the success of the seeds. Fruits that are fleshy provide numerous ways to aid in the protection and the dispersal of seeds. First, they keep seeds hidden, encased in hard walls, surrounded by poisons and unpalatable compounds, and second, they undergo developmental changes that facilitate seeds’ release. Tomatoes, a model fleshy fruit, have all these protective traits, and over the course of ripening they become the familiar fruit that is a staple crop around the world. The wild relatives of cultivated …
Impact Of Native Natural Enemies On Populations Of The Invasive Winter Moth (Operophtera Brumata L) In The Northeast United States, Hannah J. Broadley
Impact Of Native Natural Enemies On Populations Of The Invasive Winter Moth (Operophtera Brumata L) In The Northeast United States, Hannah J. Broadley
Doctoral Dissertations
Invasive insects increasingly affect forested landscapes and have important ecological and economic impacts. My dissertation focuses on population dynamics of winter moth (Operophtera brumata L.), an invasive pest in the northeastern United States. Native to Europe, this is the species’ fourth accidental introduction to North America. The Elkinton lab established the biological control agent Cyzenis albicans across the range of winter moth in the northeastern U.S. Prior research indicates that C. albicans’ ability to control winter moth likely depends on additional mortality from native natural enemies. My dissertation research evaluates the identity and role of natural enemies already …
Gynodioecy And Biotic Interactions: Plant Traits, Insect Preferences, And Population-Level Consequences, Laura A. D. Doubleday
Gynodioecy And Biotic Interactions: Plant Traits, Insect Preferences, And Population-Level Consequences, Laura A. D. Doubleday
Doctoral Dissertations
In species with distinct sexes, differences between the sexes often affect interspecific interactions. In gynodioecious flowering plants, where individuals are female or hermaphrodite, both pollinators and herbivores tend to prefer hermaphrodites. Because pollinators and herbivores affect plant fitness, their preferences have consequences for plant mating patterns, natural selection on mating-related traits, and plant breeding system evolution. Being sessile, the spatial arrangement of females and hermaphrodites in gynodioecious plant populations alters conspecific density and sex ratio locally, which can also have important fitness effects. My dissertation combines observational studies in natural Silene vulgaris populations and simulation modeling to address questions about …
Using Stable Isotopes To Examine Carry-Over Effects During The Full Annual Cycle Of A Migratory Bird, The Prairie Warbler, Michael E. Akresh
Using Stable Isotopes To Examine Carry-Over Effects During The Full Annual Cycle Of A Migratory Bird, The Prairie Warbler, Michael E. Akresh
Doctoral Dissertations
To better conserve threatened species, conservationists need to understand the processes that affect species during their entire life cycle, including ‘carry-over effects’ which can occur if individuals’ previous experience influences their current or future performance. We studied prairie warblers (Setophaga discolor) to examine carry-over effects in a Nearctic-Neotropical migratory bird. Using carbon isotopes in birds’ blood as a measure of habitat moisture, we first assessed the effects of rainfall and habitat on the condition of prairie warblers wintering in The Bahamas. Annual variation in rainfall and spatial moisture interacted to influence birds’ condition: during a winter with less …
Performance Of Floristic Quality Assessment In Massachusetts Forested Wetlands, Carolyn Gorss
Performance Of Floristic Quality Assessment In Massachusetts Forested Wetlands, Carolyn Gorss
Masters Theses
In order to combat the loss of valuable wetland functions and services, federal, state and tribal governments must have the tools to accurately assess and monitor the condition of wetland ecosystems. One particular method of wetland assessment is Floristic Quality Assessment (FQA), which has been growing in popularity throughout the United States since its creation in the 1970s. FQA relies on vegetative indicators of human disturbance to assess the integrity of an ecosystem. FQA calculations are based on Coefficients of Conservatism (C-scores), professionally-assigned scores ranging from 0-10 that denote a local species' tolerance to anthropogenic disturbance. Despite increasing interest in …
Effects Of Floral Phytochemicals On Growth And Evolution Of A Parasite Of Bumble Bees, Evan Palmer-Young
Effects Of Floral Phytochemicals On Growth And Evolution Of A Parasite Of Bumble Bees, Evan Palmer-Young
Doctoral Dissertations
Background: Nectar and pollen are rich in phytochemicals, some of which can reduce disease in pollinators, including agriculturally important honey and bumble bees. Floral phytochemicals could influence the ecological and evolutionary relationships between plants, their pollinators, and parasites that cause pollinator disease. Antiparasitic effects of phytochemicals could be exploited to ameliorate pollinator disease and decline, and thereby sustain pollinator-dependent agricultural production. However, prior studies showed variable effects of phytochemicals on infection in live bees, where differences in bee genotype, abiotic conditions, and parasite strain could influence results. Approach: I used cell cultures of the intestinal trypanosome parasite of bumble bees, …
Impacts Of Genome And Nuclear Architecture On Molecular Evolution In Eukaryotes, Xyrus Maurer-Alcalá
Impacts Of Genome And Nuclear Architecture On Molecular Evolution In Eukaryotes, Xyrus Maurer-Alcalá
Doctoral Dissertations
The traditional view of genomes suggests that they are static entities changing slowly in sequence and structure through time (e.g. evolving over geological time-scales). This outdated view has been challenged as our understanding of the dynamic nature of genomes has increased. Changes in DNA content (i.e. polyploidy) are common to specific life-cycle stages in a variety of eukaryotes, as are changes in genome content itself. These dramatic genomic changes include chromosomal deletions (i.e. paternal chromosome deletion in insects; Goday and Esteban 2001; Ross, et al. 2010), developmentally regulated genome rearrangements (e.g. the V(D)J system in adaptive immunity in mammals; Schatz …
Tracking Migratory Bird Movements In The Gulf Of Maine With Automated Radio Telemetry And Stable Hydrogen Isotope Markers, Jennifer Smetzer
Tracking Migratory Bird Movements In The Gulf Of Maine With Automated Radio Telemetry And Stable Hydrogen Isotope Markers, Jennifer Smetzer
Doctoral Dissertations
Coastal and offshore areas of the eastern United States provide valuable resources for both migratory songbirds and breeding seabirds, but face some of the most drastic rates of habitat alteration and urbanization. Coastal development can result in loss of significant habitats, and in proliferation of collision hazards that can pose a grave threat to birds. Conserving birds that use these coastal and offshore areas requires better information on how coastal stopover habitats are used, what breeding populations visit these regions during migration, how birds move through these landscapes, and how development can be most sensibly and responsibly directed to minimize …
Mapping Sandbars In The Connecticut River Watershed Through Aerial Images For Floodplain Conservation, Bogumila Backiel
Mapping Sandbars In The Connecticut River Watershed Through Aerial Images For Floodplain Conservation, Bogumila Backiel
Masters Theses
Active geomorphic features of rivers like sandbars provide habitat for endangered and threatened riparian plant and animal species. However, human development has altered flow and sediment regimes, thus impairing formation of sandbars and islands. Large scale mapping of the fluvial geomorphology in river ecosystems like the Connecticut River is are necessary to understand the dynamics of these features and preserve habitat. Orthophotographs from 2012 from United States Department of Agriculture's Farm Service Agency (FSA), National Agriculture Imagery Program (NAIP) were used to develop a model in ArcGIS Pro to identify fluvial geomorphic features in the Connecticut River and 12 of …
Effects Of The Floral Phytochemical Eugenol On Parasite Evolution And Bumble Bee Infection And Preference, Evan C. Palmer-Young, Austin C. Calhoun, Anastasiya Mirzayeva, Benn M. Sadd
Effects Of The Floral Phytochemical Eugenol On Parasite Evolution And Bumble Bee Infection And Preference, Evan C. Palmer-Young, Austin C. Calhoun, Anastasiya Mirzayeva, Benn M. Sadd
Organismic and Evolutionary Biology Graduate Student Publication Series
Ecological and evolutionary pressures on hosts and parasites jointly determine infection success. In pollinators, parasite exposure to floral phytochemicals may influence between-host transmission and within-host replication. In the bumble bee parasite Crithidia bombi, strains vary in phytochemical resistance, and resistance increases under in vitro selection, implying that resistance/infectivity trade-offs could maintain intraspecific variation in resistance. We assessed costs and benefits of in vitro selection for resistance to the floral phytochemical eugenol on C. bombi infection in Bombus impatiens fed eugenol-rich and eugenol-free diets. We also assessed infection-induced changes in host preferences for eugenol. In vitro, eugenol-exposed cells initially …