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Ecology and Evolutionary Biology Commons™
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Articles 1 - 30 of 196
Full-Text Articles in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology
Spatial And Hydrologic Effects Of Climate Change And Urbanization On Freshwater Fish Communities In North Georgia Watersheds, Mayuko Mizutani
Spatial And Hydrologic Effects Of Climate Change And Urbanization On Freshwater Fish Communities In North Georgia Watersheds, Mayuko Mizutani
Master's Theses
Urbanization and climate change are altering streamflow and land cover across the southeastern United States, threatening freshwater biodiversity in rivers already burdened by impoundments and habitat loss. I investigated how changes in streamflow and land cover might affect fish community biodiversity in the Etowah River watershed of North Georgia. By combining a dataset of fish collections from 1999 through 2019 with contemporaneous land use and daily streamflow, I was able to model fish community responses to urbanization and climate-driven hydrologic changes and then forecast fish community structure under multiple CMIP6 global climate models and greenhouse gas emissions scenarios (SSP2-4.5 and …
A Genetic Analysis Of The Rare Endemic Astragalus Ripleyi Barneby, Juan Antonio Jaramillo-Chico
A Genetic Analysis Of The Rare Endemic Astragalus Ripleyi Barneby, Juan Antonio Jaramillo-Chico
Master's Theses
Astragalus ripleyi Barneby is a rare endemic species found in the San Luis Valley of the southern portions of the Rocky Mountains in Colorado and New Mexico. Though not federally listed as endangered, the species is on the Bureau of Land Management’s Sensitive Species List, warranting protection and continued management. This study aims to provide information about the genetic health of the species to inform conservation efforts and provide updated management recommendations. A genetic health analysis was conducted investigating the levels of diversity present in the species, how genetic diversity is structured across the known range of the species and …
Determining The Role Of Maumee River Sediments In Microbial Nitrogen Transformations And Net Fluxes, Ashlyn Stanalonis
Determining The Role Of Maumee River Sediments In Microbial Nitrogen Transformations And Net Fluxes, Ashlyn Stanalonis
Master's Theses
The Maumee River watershed is the largest of any river feeding into the Laurentian Great Lakes and is primarily comprised of agricultural land uses. Most cultivated crops require fertilizer applications to sustain growth and productivity. Fertilizer runoff is a major source of nutrient loading to the river, and total nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) inputs contribute to eutrophication and cyanobacterial blooms in the western basin of Lake Erie. This study aimed to characterize Maumee River sediments as net N sinks or sources to the western basin and evaluate N removal efficiency (a valuable ecosystem service) to determine if river sediments …
Movement And Space Use Of Weaned Northern Elephant Seal (Mirounga Angustirostris) Pups During Their First At-Sea Foraging Migration, Katie Saenger
Movement And Space Use Of Weaned Northern Elephant Seal (Mirounga Angustirostris) Pups During Their First At-Sea Foraging Migration, Katie Saenger
Master's Theses
The northern elephant seal (Mirounga angustirostris) is a marine mammal known for engaging in long foraging migrations at sea. Adult male northern elephant seals follow pathways along the western coast of North America towards Alaska and adult female northern elephant seals follow pathways to open ocean in the North Pacific. However, there is little information on weaned northern elephant seal pup foraging behavior during their first foraging migration. This lack of knowledge is significant because northern elephant seals have a mortality rate of >50% in the first year. This project aimed to better understand the at-sea migratory movement …
Structure And Diversity Of Play Behavior In Juvenile Belding's Ground Squirrels, Paul O'Driscoll Ii
Structure And Diversity Of Play Behavior In Juvenile Belding's Ground Squirrels, Paul O'Driscoll Ii
Master's Theses
Play behavior is ubiquitous among juvenile mammals and can promote motor, social, and cognitive development, providing multiple adaptive benefits to young animals in some cases. The structure of play can be linked to the benefits it confers on individuals. I evaluated the structure of play in juvenile Belding’s ground squirrels (Urocitellus beldingi), a species for which multiple adaptive benefits of play have been identified. I compared juvenile play in U. beldingi to adult sexual and aggressive behavior to determine and classify similarities between juvenile play and adult behavior. I evaluated diversity in the behaviors expressed during play interactions and diversity …
Investigating Cryptic Diversity In The Hawaiian Endemic Plant, Psychotria Mariniana (Rubiaceae), Uyen Thi Hoang Nguyen
Investigating Cryptic Diversity In The Hawaiian Endemic Plant, Psychotria Mariniana (Rubiaceae), Uyen Thi Hoang Nguyen
Master's Theses
Islands, with their isolation and steep environmental gradients, serve as natural laboratories for studying speciation. Molecular phylogenetic and population genetic methods utilizing Next-Generation Sequencing (NGS) have revolutionized our ability to document patterns of genetic divergence and diversity. Cryptic diversity, genetically distinct populations that were previously unrecognized as unique, and cryptic speciation, where divergent genetic populations may be deserving of status as unique species, have been observed in many taxa. The Hawaiian Islands provide an ideal setting for studying divergence and speciation due to their extreme isolation, known ages, and volcanic origin. Previous work has investigated the evolutionary relationships of the …
Ecological And Nutritional Drivers Of Floral Fidelity In Wild Pollinators, Adelaide Elise Ergastolo
Ecological And Nutritional Drivers Of Floral Fidelity In Wild Pollinators, Adelaide Elise Ergastolo
Master's Theses
Plants must receive pollen from the same species in order to successfully reproduce. For most flowering plants, the transfer of pollen occurs via animal pollinators while they forage on plants to obtain food. Therefore, the fidelity of pollinators to individual plant species during foraging trips is directly related to the amount of conspecific pollen plants receive. Low floral fidelity of pollinators can reduce plant reproductive success, which in turn has the potential to lower food resources for pollinators in the future. While many factors can potentially influence pollinator floral fidelity, several important ones may be the nutritional resources provided by …
Morphological Variation Of Lingual Glands In Wild American Alligator (Alligator Mississippiensis) Populations, Benjamin Angalet
Morphological Variation Of Lingual Glands In Wild American Alligator (Alligator Mississippiensis) Populations, Benjamin Angalet
Master's Theses
American alligators (Alligator mississippiensis) inhabit diverse aquatic ecosystems including freshwater wetlands, swamps, and estuarine rivers. As apex predators, their physiological resilience has implications for ecosystem stability and long-term conservation. With projected sea-level rise and increasing saltwater intrusion into coastal freshwater habitats, understanding the osmoregulatory capacity of alligators is increasingly important. Unlike marine-tolerant crocodilians such as the saltwater crocodile (Crocodylus porosus), which possess specialized salt-secreting lingual glands in addition to renal and cloacal mechanisms, the morphology and physiological significance of lingual glands in wild American alligators remain poorly understood. This study examined lingual gland morphology and plasma …
Birds In Changing Landscapes: Community Diversity And Breeding Phenology, Lindsay Peria
Birds In Changing Landscapes: Community Diversity And Breeding Phenology, Lindsay Peria
Master's Theses
Humans are altering the environment in varied and widespread ways. Increasing urban and agricultural development causes changes to habitat and resource availability as well as changes to the sensory environment via light and noise pollution. Climate change also causes more extreme temperature anomalies, storms, and droughts that challenge birds in a multitude of ways. In this thesis, we assessed these impacts of these changes on a local and continental scale. In the first chapter, we assessed the impact of natural, anthropic, and structural characteristics of viticultural land on both taxonomic and structural avian diversity. Loss of habitat from agriculture is …
Testing For Local Adaptation In Sympatric Monkeyflowers Growing In Serpentine Seeps And Adjacent Rock Outcrops, Avin Niknafs
Testing For Local Adaptation In Sympatric Monkeyflowers Growing In Serpentine Seeps And Adjacent Rock Outcrops, Avin Niknafs
Master's Theses
Divergent selection across heterogeneous environments can drive ecological differentiation and the evolution of locally adapted populations, even when gene flow occurs. We tested for local adaptation between two sympatric monkeyflowers, Erythranthe guttata and E. serpentinicola (formerly Mimulus), which co-occur on the central coast of California. Erythranthe guttata is a perennial species primarily found in moist serpentine seeps, whereas E. serpentinicola is an annual species restricted to adjacent serpentine rock outcrops. Using a reciprocal transplant experiment with second-generation, greenhouse-derived seed, we quantified germination, survival, and reproductive success across contrasting microhabitats. We further evaluated the relative contributions of species, lineage, …
Flower Color Variation And Its Maintenance: Experimental Ecology Of Serpentine-Adapted Leptosiphon Parviflorus Benth. (Polemoniaceae), Magdalene S. Lo
Flower Color Variation And Its Maintenance: Experimental Ecology Of Serpentine-Adapted Leptosiphon Parviflorus Benth. (Polemoniaceae), Magdalene S. Lo
Master's Theses
Environmental heterogeneity can impose fluctuating selection pressures on species across space and time. If variations of a trait provide fitness benefits in certain environmental conditions but not others, these fitness tradeoffs under fluctuating selection could be a means of maintaining intraspecific variation. A common type of intraspecific variation is the production of anthocyanins, pigments responsible for red, pink, and blue colors in plants and that can also provide protection from abiotic stressors, such as water limitation and heavy metals. Leptosiphon parviflorus Benth. (Polemoniaceae, variable linanthus) is an annual wildflower whose individuals produce either pink or white flowers, and both flower …
Why The Long Face? The Distribution And Niche Of The Imperiled Narrow-Faced Kangaroo Rat (Dipodomys Venustus), Garrett L. Gimbel
Why The Long Face? The Distribution And Niche Of The Imperiled Narrow-Faced Kangaroo Rat (Dipodomys Venustus), Garrett L. Gimbel
Master's Theses
Distribution models provide a practical use case of connecting ecological niche theory with species’ occurrence and assemblages. By explicitly linking Hutchinson’s “niche space” with geographic space researchers can gain valuable information on a species’ niche characteristics and interactions, thereby informing conservation and management practices. The narrow-faced kangaroo rat (Dipodomys venustus) is a highly understudied kangaroo rat species endemic to the central coast of California and is an ideal species to explore niche theory in distribution modeling. Three subspecies are currently recognized: The Santa Cruz kangaroo rat (D. v. venustus), the elephant-eared kangaroo rat (D. v. …
Impacts Of Halophila Stipulacea Invasion On Organic Matter Dynamics In Thalassia Testudinum Dominated Seagrass Meadows, Puerto Rico, Jonathan D. Herald
Impacts Of Halophila Stipulacea Invasion On Organic Matter Dynamics In Thalassia Testudinum Dominated Seagrass Meadows, Puerto Rico, Jonathan D. Herald
Master's Theses
Halophila stipulacea (Forsskål & Niebuhr) is a tropical seagrass native to the Red Sea, Persian Gulf, and Indian Ocean. In 2002, invasive populations of H. stipulacea were identified in the Caribbean Sea where it now forms large meadows, displaces native seagrasses, alters invertebrate and fish communities, and potentially affects organic matter dynamics in invaded meadows. This study investigated differences in organic matter dynamics between meadows of H. stipulacea and native Thalassia testudinum within the Jobos Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve (JBNERR) on the southern coast of Puerto Rico. From March 2023-March 2024, sampling was conducted across four sites to investigate …
Effects Of Urbanization On The Population Genetics And Morphology Of The White-Footed Mouse (Peromyscus Leucopus) Across An Urban–Rural Gradient, Sydney A. Morton
Effects Of Urbanization On The Population Genetics And Morphology Of The White-Footed Mouse (Peromyscus Leucopus) Across An Urban–Rural Gradient, Sydney A. Morton
Master's Theses
Urbanization alters landscapes in ways that can reshape wildlife populations by changing habitat connectivity, resource availability, and selective pressures. To investigate how urbanization influences both genetic differentiation and morphology in small mammals, I examined Peromyscus leucopus (PELE) across an urban–rural gradient in northern Georgia. Using RADseq SNP data from PELE individuals across 13 sites, I quantified pairwise genetic differentiation (FST) and tested how various environmental variables, including impervious surface cover, human population density, and tree canopy cover, predict genetic differentiation after accounting for geographic distance. Genetic differentiation increased with geographic distance and, after controlling for isolation by …
Phylogenetic Comparative Vocal Evolution, Casper W. Buchanan
Phylogenetic Comparative Vocal Evolution, Casper W. Buchanan
Master's Theses
Vocal learning is a trait unique to humans, bats, cetaceans, primates, and birds (Jarvis & Nottebohm, 1997; McComb & Semple, 2005; Wilbrecht & Nottebohm, 2003). Although there has been extensive research on vocal learning in songbirds, parrots are an even closer proxy to human learning, as they are social, intelligent, and lifelong learners, with some having repertoires of over 300 sounds (Benedict et al., 2022; Péron et al., 2011; Thomsen et al., 2019; Toft & Wright, 2015). Elevated vocal learning can be attributed to the need for parrots to have strong communication skills through the sharing of information over foraging, …
Gene Expression Of Anthocyanin Pigments In The California Native Plant Leptosiphon Parviflorus: Interactions Between Flower Color Morphology And Abiotic Stressors, Weston Gonor
Master's Theses
For plants to survive in harsh conditions imposed by abiotic stressors, they must develop mechanisms of adaptation. One of the common types of adaptation seen in plants is the production of anthocyanin pigments, which have been shown to protect plants from UV radiation, metabolic stress, and drought. In this study, we used the flower color polymorphic species Leptosiphon parviflorus to investigate the role of anthocyanin pigments in protecting plants from abiotic stress. To accomplish this, RNA samples were taken from flower, leaf and root tissue of different flower color morphs of Leptosiphon parviflorus (Polemoniaceae) grown in high magnesium and water …
Alpine Plants And Climate Change: Tracking Community Shifts In Yosemite National, Brooke L. Wallasch
Alpine Plants And Climate Change: Tracking Community Shifts In Yosemite National, Brooke L. Wallasch
Master's Theses
As climate change progresses, alpine plant communities are predicted to shift upslope as they track temperature over time. Relative to lowland environments, alpine areas are experiencing a faster rate of temperature change due to a phenomenon referred to as elevation-dependent warming. A common approach for tracking plant communities shifts over time, is to conduct resurveys of the same area at several time points, as the Global Observational Research Initiative in Alpine Environments (GLORIA) has done on mountain summits around the world since 2001. In 2011-2013, GLORIA developed a supplemental survey method whereby belt transects were established downslope of summits in …
Using Livestreaming Technology To Answer Novel Questions About The Behavior And Physiological Ecology Of The Prairie Rattlesnake (Crotalus Viridis), Max C. Roberts
Master's Theses
Recent advances in remote monitoring technology are opening up new opportunities for developing innovative natural history and biological research methodologies. In particular, the emergence of livestreaming camera technology has made recording remote video of wild and secretive animals much easier and made it possible to collect data at extremely fine temporal resolutions. In 2024, Project RattleCam launched a livestreaming camera at a Prairie Rattlesnake (Crotalus viridis) den in Colorado. The goal of this work was to study Prairie Rattlesnake behavior 24-7 throughout the species’ active season with minimal human disturbance. Additionally, I used this system to study the …
Investigating Rattlesnake Social Networks And Improving Their Public Image Through Unobtrusive Technologies And Community Science, Owen M. Bachhuber
Investigating Rattlesnake Social Networks And Improving Their Public Image Through Unobtrusive Technologies And Community Science, Owen M. Bachhuber
Master's Theses
While technology is often blamed for humans’ increasing disconnect with nature, it can also serve as a tool to facilitate empathy and conservation action for wildlife. Snakes are among the most feared animals on the planet, though their understudied social interactions provide opportunities to make scientific discoveries and change public perceptions. Project RattleCam was founded as a camera trap project in 2021 and launched the first off-grid livestream on a den of wild Prairie Rattlesnakes (Crotalus viridis) in 2024. Both camera types captured hundreds of Prairie Rattlesnakes gathering in the summer as they prepared to give birth to pups before …
Coyote (Canis Latrans) And Non-Target Wildlife Responses To Livestock Guardian Dogs At Sheep Grazing Sites On The California Central Coast, Tricia T. Nguyen
Coyote (Canis Latrans) And Non-Target Wildlife Responses To Livestock Guardian Dogs At Sheep Grazing Sites On The California Central Coast, Tricia T. Nguyen
Master's Theses
Livestock depredation is one of the oldest and most widespread forms of human-wildlife conflict. The coyote (Canis latrans), a midsized canid, represents a significant proportion of domestic sheep depredations in the United States, costing livestock producers an estimated 24.6 million dollars annually. Management strategies for coyote-sheep depredation vary widely in their effectiveness and in their level of public support. Identifying appropriate strategies for farms, ranches, and other sheep grazing sites remains a pressing need due to the potentially negative consequences for surrounding ecosystems and socioeconomic outcomes for sheep producers. The livestock guardian dog (LGD) is a nonlethal control …
Exploring Fisheries Species Distribution Shifts In Response To Freshwater Inflow Through The Bonnet Carré Spillway Using Species Distribution Models, David T. May
Master's Theses
The Bonnet Carre Spillway (BCS) is a flood control structure on the Mississippi River (MR) ~52 km upstream of New Orleans. The BCS protects downstream communities from MR flooding by diverting floodwaters into Lake Pontchartrain when the MR exceeds 5.18m flood stage. Diverted waters flow east into the Mississippi Sound (MSS), introducing turbid, nutrient rich freshwater to the estuary before draining into the Gulf of Mexico. BCS openings have become much more frequent in the last decade, though little work has been done to explore the impact of the BCS on nektonic fisheries species. Here, a series of seasonal Maximum …
Subalpine And Alpine Plant Community Turnover In Yosemite National Park Following 30 Years Of Climate Warming, Rachel Friesen
Subalpine And Alpine Plant Community Turnover In Yosemite National Park Following 30 Years Of Climate Warming, Rachel Friesen
Master's Theses
Subalpine and alpine regions in California are warming more rapidly than lower elevations. In response, high-elevation plants may acclimate or adapt to the new climate, move to higher elevations or latitudes, persist in refugia, or go extinct. While models predict substantial declines in subalpine and alpine plant communities due to discontinuous population distributions and lack of upslope area, actual responses may vary due to lags in dispersal, establishment, and extinction. Although shifts in high-elevation plant communities have been documented in other regions of the world, such changes have not yet been studied in Yosemite National Park. To assess high-elevation plant …
When Trees Disappear: Understory Successional Implications Of Sudden Oak Death And High-Severity Wildfire In Big Sur, California, Sam J. Balthazard
When Trees Disappear: Understory Successional Implications Of Sudden Oak Death And High-Severity Wildfire In Big Sur, California, Sam J. Balthazard
Master's Theses
The rapidly emerging disease sudden oak death, caused by the non-native pathogen Phytophthora ramorum, is transforming coastal California forests by driving extensive mortality of tanoak (Notholithocarpus densiflorus) and increasing fire severity. As a novel disturbance, sudden oak death and its interaction with wildfire may catalyze unexpected shifts in successional trajectories and reconfigure forest understory communities. Furthermore, how tanoak influences the forest understory and how its decline might reshape understory dynamics remain poorly understood. We hypothesize that disease alone and the compounding disturbances of disease and wildfire alter successional dynamics, and that the potential functional extinction of N. …
Pollinator Plant Communities Within Restored Montane Longleaf Pine Ecosystems, Hanen Van Rossem
Pollinator Plant Communities Within Restored Montane Longleaf Pine Ecosystems, Hanen Van Rossem
Master's Theses
Historically the fire-dependent and biodiverse longleaf pine (Pinus palustris) ecosystem was the dominant ecosystem of the Southeastern US. This ecosystem’s range was massively reduced due to land conversion and fire exclusion, causing the decline of many native species. Efforts to restore and protect longleaf pine stands are now ongoing with the goal of expanding habitat and refuge for threatened species. Differences in restoration practices and prior land use may influence the extent to which restored habitat patches can support pollinators and their plants. This study compared pollinator plant biodiversity between restored neighboring montane longleaf pine stands that differed in …
Population Estimates, Demography, And Habitat Assessment Of The Pearl River Map Turtle (Graptemys Pearlensis) In The Pearl River Drainage Of Mississippi, Noah Devros
Master's Theses
The Pearl River map turtle (Graptemys pearlensis) is a highly riverine Emydid endemic to the Pearl River drainage of central and southern Mississippi and southern Louisiana. First described in 2010, G. pearlensis was listed as federally Threatened in 2024. . Due to its relative novelty as a species, no rigorous site-specific population estimates of G. pearlensis in Mississippi have been conducted. The primary goal of this study was to implement a replicable method of assessing the population of G. pearlensis throughout the Pearl River drainage system of Mississippi. A secondary goal was to describe habitat associated with G. …
Using Stable Isotope Analysis To Investigate The Trophic Ecology Of Aquatic Insects, Shelby Ann Medlock
Using Stable Isotope Analysis To Investigate The Trophic Ecology Of Aquatic Insects, Shelby Ann Medlock
Master's Theses
Despite their abundance on the landscape, ponds and associated macroinvertebrate assemblages have largely been underrepresented in scientific studies, which usually focus on lakes or streams. Similar to other waterbodies, ponds can harbor high levels of invertebrate biodiversity, which is important as aquatic insects are experiencing declines due to habitat destruction, pollution, climate change, and invasive species introductions. To evaluate how these threats impact pond insects and the ecosystem services they may provide, a thorough understanding of their ecology is essential. However, significant knowledge gaps remain, especially regarding trophic levels and species-specific diets. To address these knowledge gaps, I used carbon …
Behavioral Ecology And Physiology Of Spotted Turtles (Clemmys Guttata) In A Fragmented And Polluted Landscape, Jessica Rojas Lindberg
Behavioral Ecology And Physiology Of Spotted Turtles (Clemmys Guttata) In A Fragmented And Polluted Landscape, Jessica Rojas Lindberg
Master's Theses
Turtles are one of the most threatened groups of animals across the globe. This is especially true for freshwater turtles that rely on multiple habitats to fulfill their life history requirements. Wetlands are a crucial habitat type for many freshwater turtle species, and this ecosystem has been susceptible to conversion, fragmentation, and pollution. In turn, these hazards to wetland habitats threaten already declining freshwater turtle populations. The spotted turtle (Clemmys guttata) is a species of freshwater turtle that is particularly at-risk due to life history traits as well as habitat fragmentation and pollution. This study aims to investigate the effects …
Endocrine Responses To Two Distinct Foraging Contexts In The Bonobo (Pan Paniscus), Lauren Mitchell
Endocrine Responses To Two Distinct Foraging Contexts In The Bonobo (Pan Paniscus), Lauren Mitchell
Master's Theses
In gregarious animals, a social structure characterized by female dominance is relatively rare. However, bonobos (Pan paniscus), one of the two species most closely related to humans, are characterized by partial female dominance, with females forming close social bonds. In contrast, chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes), a close relative of the bonobo, are characterized by strong male-male bonding and social dominance with female chimpanzees lacking close social bonds. There is a lack of consensus concerning the reasons for these behavioral differences in Pan, specifically, the physiological processes responsible for female dominance in bonobos. The role of hormones …
Tricolored Bat (Perimyotis Subflavus) Population Genetic Structure In The Southeastern United States, Laura Henderson
Tricolored Bat (Perimyotis Subflavus) Population Genetic Structure In The Southeastern United States, Laura Henderson
Master's Theses
Tricolored bats (Perimyotis subflavus) have experienced substantial population losses from white-nose syndrome (WNS), a disease caused by the pathogenic fungus Pseudogymnoascus destructans (Pd) which infects hibernating bats. Determining population genetic structure helps assess genetic diversity and the impacts of wildlife threats to populations. Pre-WNS data shows weak-to-negligible structure and panmictic P. subflavus populations at core portions of their range. However, current genetic data from their southeastern U.S. range is lacking. I sought to determine whether recent genetic data help resolve genetic structure among southeastern populations and assess genetic differences at two stages of impact: post-WNS and …
Investigating Nekton Response To Changing Salinities In The Mississippi Sound: An Experimental And Statistical Approach, Adam Murray
Master's Theses
The Mississippi Sound provides nursery habitats for many coastal species and is recognized for its commercial fisheries. Previous freshening events linked to the Bonnet Carré Spillway, a Mississippi River flood diversion structure, proved catastrophic for oyster populations in the Mississippi Sound, but effects on mobile fish and shellfish species are not well-defined. The planned Mid-Breton Sediment Diversion (MBSD), an initiative to combat wetland loss, is also forecasted to lower salinities in the region, increasing the need to better understand responses of commercially and ecologically important species to freshening events. The objective of this study was to characterize effects of salinity …