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Full-Text Articles in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology
Intra And Interhost Dynamics Shaping Arbovirus Adaptation And Evolution, Alexander T. Ciota
Intra And Interhost Dynamics Shaping Arbovirus Adaptation And Evolution, Alexander T. Ciota
Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)
Arthropod-borne viruses (arboviruses), which are predominately mosquito-borne and almost exclusively RNA viruses, are maintained in nature in complex transmission cycles involving blood sucking invertebrates and vertebrate hosts. Although over 120 arboviruses are human pathogens responsible for causing a significant and expanding global health burden, a detailed understanding of the complex interactions between these pathogens and their hosts, particularly invertebrate hosts, is lacking. Defining these interactions is necessary if we are to understand the selective pressures and, therefore, evolutionary, adaptive, and epidemiological potential of arboviruses. This requires experimental infection and evolution studies, particularly in vivo, with natural hosts. The results presented …
The Importance Of Disease And Behavior In Mammalian Ecology And Behavior, Christopher R. Collins
The Importance Of Disease And Behavior In Mammalian Ecology And Behavior, Christopher R. Collins
Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)
Causes of mortality reflect the evolutionary forces shaping the physiology and behavior of species. To evaluate the relative importance of these in North American Mammals I compared published data from 69 populations across 27 species. Of the known causes, humans are the main cause of mortality (51.8%), followed by natural causes (48.5%), with predation being the largest natural cause. Populations in remote areas experienced higher hunting mortality, and those closer to human populations suffered increased vehicle collision. Predation mortality was negatively correlated with body mass.
Darwin's Other Idea : Sexual Selection, Gender And Violence, Robert Samuel Moschgat
Darwin's Other Idea : Sexual Selection, Gender And Violence, Robert Samuel Moschgat
Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)
This dissertation provides an empirical exploration of Darwin's theory of sexual selection, which views the male propensity to engage in short term mating strategies--sexual promiscuity and violence--as the result of sexual selection. Within an environmental context, biological father and mother household presence are expected to inhibit the initiation of short-term mating strategies and increase parental investment--paternal and maternal attachments, supervision, and protection. Whereas, structural disadvantage--living in poverty and in dangerous neighborhoods--is predicted to increase the initiation of a short-term mating strategies and compromise the parents' ability to protect their children and by weakening paternal and maternal attachments, thereby increasing the …