Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®
- Institution
-
- City University of New York (CUNY) (13)
- University of Nebraska - Lincoln (13)
- Virginia Commonwealth University (10)
- Georgia Southern University (7)
- LSU New Orleans (6)
-
- University of Kentucky (6)
- University of Richmond (6)
- California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo (4)
- California State University, San Bernardino (4)
- Illinois State University (4)
- Marshall University (4)
- University of New Mexico (4)
- East Tennessee State University (3)
- Kennesaw State University (3)
- University of Nevada, Las Vegas (3)
- Utah State University (3)
- Central Washington University (2)
- Chapman University (2)
- Colby College (2)
- Dartmouth College (2)
- Duquesne University (2)
- Louisiana State University (2)
- Missouri State University (2)
- The University of San Francisco (2)
- University of Arkansas, Fayetteville (2)
- University of Connecticut (2)
- University of Louisville (2)
- University of Missouri, St. Louis (2)
- University of Tennessee, Knoxville (2)
- University of Texas at Arlington (2)
- Keyword
-
- Evolution (19)
- Population genetics (18)
- Phylogeography (13)
- Conservation (7)
- Ecology (6)
-
- Population Genetics (6)
- Biodiversity (5)
- Biogeography (5)
- Genomics (5)
- Natural selection (5)
- Phylogeny (5)
- Adaptation (4)
- Birds (4)
- Genetics (4)
- Herpetology (4)
- Hybridization (4)
- Life history (4)
- Morphology (4)
- Ornithology (4)
- Biology (3)
- Gene flow (3)
- Introgression (3)
- Microsatellite (3)
- Phylogenetics (3)
- Reproduction (3)
- Systematics (3)
- Allometry (2)
- Behavioral ecology (2)
- Climate change (2)
- Comparative genomics (2)
- Publication Year
- Publication
-
- Biology Faculty Publications (8)
- Electronic Theses and Dissertations (7)
- College of Graduate Studies: Theses & Dissertations (6)
- Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects (6)
- LSU New Orleans Theses and Dissertations (6)
-
- Theses and Dissertations (6)
- Annual Symposium on Biomathematics and Ecology Education and Research (4)
- Biology and Medicine Through Mathematics Conference (4)
- Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations (4)
- Publications and Research (4)
- STAR Program Research Presentations (4)
- Theses, Dissertations and Capstones (4)
- Biology ETDs (3)
- Dissertations (3)
- Honors Theses (3)
- Master's Theses (3)
- Theses and Dissertations--Biology (3)
- Biology Faculty Research (2)
- Biology Theses (2)
- Dartmouth College Ph.D Dissertations (2)
- Department of Agronomy and Horticulture: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research (2)
- EEB Articles (2)
- Graduate Theses and Dissertations (2)
- Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD) (2)
- Graduate Theses/Dissertations (2)
- Human–Wildlife Interactions (2)
- LSU Doctoral Dissertations (2)
- Lawrence G. Harshman Publications (2)
- School of Biological Sciences: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research (2)
- Southeastern Fishes Council Proceedings (2)
- Publication Type
Articles 31 - 60 of 155
Full-Text Articles in Evolution
Testing The Urban Dulling Hypothesis In An Iridescent Passerine Bird, Joanna Gresham
Testing The Urban Dulling Hypothesis In An Iridescent Passerine Bird, Joanna Gresham
Master of Science in Integrative Biology Theses
Urbanization has brought grave consequences that lead to declines in many species; however, some species thrive in urban ecosystems. This allows us the opportunity to study evolution in real time, as species adapt and change in a new setting. Novel urban ecosystems have led to phenotypic divergence between urban and rural populations. There is a rich body of literature on how songbirds are affected by urbanization, however divergent signaling behaviors are less well understood. Urban color homogenization is well-documented in carotenoid-colored species. However, iridescent plumage is understudied in general, and little is understood about how environmental changes shape iridescent plumage. …
Development Of A 16s Reference Library For Edna Metabarcoding The Freshwater Fishes Of Western Ecuador., Hannah M. Willis, Olivia G. Schweikart, Windsor E. Aguirre
Development Of A 16s Reference Library For Edna Metabarcoding The Freshwater Fishes Of Western Ecuador., Hannah M. Willis, Olivia G. Schweikart, Windsor E. Aguirre
DePaul Discoveries
This project examines the use of the 16S locus to amplify neotropical freshwater fishes native to Western Ecuador in a newly created 16S reference library for DNA barcoding and eDNA metabarcoding applications. Among the orders Characiformes, Siluriformes, Cichliformes, Gobiiformes, Cryprinodontiformes, Gymnotiformes, and Perciformes, a compendium of 105 specimens were sequenced, with 43 representing new 16S sequences previously unavailable on Genbank.
Causes And Consequences Of Lasr Mutant Selection In Pseudomonas Aeruginosa Populations, Dallas L. Mould
Causes And Consequences Of Lasr Mutant Selection In Pseudomonas Aeruginosa Populations, Dallas L. Mould
Dartmouth College Ph.D Dissertations
Change is the only constant in life, and these changes, though random in nature, can have consequences. Quorum sensing is heterogeneous in phenotype and prone to negative selection. In P. aeruginosa, the regulator LasR is frequently non-functional in phylogenetically diverse isolates. Through repeated experimental evolution and mathematical modeling, we show that differences in growth enable lasR mutant evolutionary success and this requires a system enabling metabolic choices, known as carbon catabolite repression (or catabolite repression). The differences in catabolite repression between wild type and lasR mutants enable altered metabolite preferences, and the resulting differences in metabolic states enable intraspecies …
Past And Present Patterns Of Neutral And Adaptive Genetic Diversity In Wild Mandrills (Mandrillus Sphinx), Anna Weber
Past And Present Patterns Of Neutral And Adaptive Genetic Diversity In Wild Mandrills (Mandrillus Sphinx), Anna Weber
LSU New Orleans Theses and Dissertations
Although primates have fascinated researchers and the public alike for generations, one species that has remained enigmatic is the mandrill (Mandrillus sphinx), a large Cercopithecine monkey endemic to Central Africa. Mandrills are currently in decline due to bushmeat hunting, urbanization, and habitat loss. Neutral and adaptive genetic diversity are important tools for understanding evolutionary history and future viability, since diversity influences a species’ ability to adapt to a changing environment. However, thus far, minimal genetic information has been available for wild mandrills. Because of the dense vegetation in their tropical forest habitat, studying wild mandrills has proven to …
Sexual Selection, Female Body Size, And Fecundity In Drosophila Melanogaster, Calvin Herrick
Sexual Selection, Female Body Size, And Fecundity In Drosophila Melanogaster, Calvin Herrick
2023 Midwest Ecology & Evolution Conference
In Drosophila melanogaster it is well established that male sexual preference emphasizes high fecundity in females and females with larger body sizes. It is hypothesized that male preference for large females is due to a positive correlation between body size and fecundity. Here, we take advantage of a long-running experiment, where lineages of flies were made significantly larger (L-lineages) and smaller (S-lineages) during 400+ generations of artificial selection. In the first part of this study, we measured female Drosophila fecundity, based only on differences in evolved size and found substantial differences in fecundity. In the second part of this study, …
Biology Of Spodoptera Frugiperda (J.E. Smith) (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) On Rice And Different Corn Varieties, Anthony S. Agravante, Karen B. Alviar, Analiza Henedina M. Ramirez, Sheryl A. Yap
Biology Of Spodoptera Frugiperda (J.E. Smith) (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) On Rice And Different Corn Varieties, Anthony S. Agravante, Karen B. Alviar, Analiza Henedina M. Ramirez, Sheryl A. Yap
The Philippine Agricultural Scientist
Rice and corn are one of the most important crops in the Philippines. Several insect pests contribute to the losses and low yield of these crops. The fall armyworm (FAW), Spodoptera frugiperda (J.E. Smith), was recently reported to cause economic damage to corn. Also, this insect consists of two genetically differentiated strains namely, the corn strain and the rice strain. This study was conducted in a laboratory conditions to evaluate the biological parameters of FAW on rice and corn varieties. Newly hatched larvae were fed such as the open pollinated variety (OPV), traditional variety, Macho F1 (hybrid), NK 6410 (genetically …
A Comparison Of Microsatellites And Single Nucleotide Polymorphisms For The Assessment Of Population Structure In The Amblyomma Maculatum Koch, 1844 Species Complex, Henrey A. Deese
Electronic Theses and Dissertations
The Gulf Coast tick, Amblyomma maculatum Koch, 1844 is widespread throughout North and Central America and is the primary vector for the emerging pathogen Rickettsia parkeri. In the U.S., the population in the Southwest (A. maculatum morphotype III) is morphologically different from the population east of the Rocky Mountains (A. maculatum morphotype II). This research tests the hypothesis that A. maculatum morphotype II and morphotype III represent distinct species through the analysis and comparison of 6 microsatellite loci and suite of 135,221 Single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) generated from ddRADseq. Population genetic analysis of both microsatellites and SNPs …
Placing The Evolutionary History Of Desmognathus Salamanders In Context: A Phylogeographic Approach, Kara Jones
Placing The Evolutionary History Of Desmognathus Salamanders In Context: A Phylogeographic Approach, Kara Jones
Theses and Dissertations--Biology
Patterns of genetic variation do not arise in a vacuum but are instead shaped by the interplay between evolutionary forces and ecological constraints. Here, I use a phylogeographic approach to examine the role that ecology played in lineage divergence in the Desmognathus quadramaculatus species complex (Family: Plethodontidae), which consists of three nominal species: D. quadramaculatus, D. marmoratus, and D. folkertsi. Previous phylogenetic studies have shown that individuals from these species do not form clades based on phenotype. My approach to reconciling phylogenetic discordance was two-fold, using (1) genome-wide markers to provide insight into the …
Quantitative Song Variety In Relation To Genotype In A Hybridizing Chickadee Population, Shelby Madison Palmer
Quantitative Song Variety In Relation To Genotype In A Hybridizing Chickadee Population, Shelby Madison Palmer
Graduate Theses/Dissertations
The Black-capped chickadee (Poecile atricapillus) and Carolina chickadee (P. carolinensis) are North American songbird species that hybridize in a narrow contact zone stretching latitudinally from New Jersey to Kansas, USA. The association between genetic ancestry and song type in this hybrid zone has been studied independently several times and found to be minimal or absent, likely due to the influence of cultural transmission on learned song in the oscine passerine clade to which the chickadees belong. Despite this, the song of both species remains remarkably distinct in allopatry, suggesting a genetic constraint on certain qualities of …
A Comparison Of Seasonal Reproductive Pattern In Two Sympatric Darters Of The Simoperca Clade, Etheostoma Duryi And Etheostoma Simoterum, Tiffany Bell, Elizabeth Cantrell, Bruce Stallsmith
A Comparison Of Seasonal Reproductive Pattern In Two Sympatric Darters Of The Simoperca Clade, Etheostoma Duryi And Etheostoma Simoterum, Tiffany Bell, Elizabeth Cantrell, Bruce Stallsmith
Southeastern Fishes Council Proceedings
We present results from an examination of the seasonal reproductive patterns of two closely related sympatric darter species of the Simoperca clade, Etheostoma duryi and Etheostoma simoterum. Most members of the genus Etheostoma exhibit striking sexual dimorphism, making reproductive strategy a logical point of study. Monthly collections of specimens over a one-year period were performed at a single site on the Flint River near Huntsville, Alabama. Standard length and gross somatic mass were measured for all individuals. Sex ratio was examined for possible skew. Measures of reproductive effort were monthly means of gonadosomatic index of both sexes, total oocyte count, …
Effects Of Riverine Barriers On Avian Evolution In The Amazon Basin, Andre Eugene Moncrieff
Effects Of Riverine Barriers On Avian Evolution In The Amazon Basin, Andre Eugene Moncrieff
LSU Doctoral Dissertations
The high biodiversity found in the Amazon Basin has long captivated the attention of naturalists and evolutionary biologists seeking to explain its origins. Early observations by Alfred Wallace highlighted the role of rivers in delimiting the geographic ranges of many species; furthermore, where rivers narrow towards their headwaters, he noted that some species cross rivers freely. A major goal of this dissertation is to investigate how these and other observations about riverine barriers might inform our understanding of how speciation unfolds in Amazonia. My approach involved generating genomic data with dense geographic sampling for manakins in the genus Lepidothrix, …
Reproductive Traits And Change In Body Shape Of Neonates In The Oak Forest Skink, Plestiodon Lynxe, Manuel Feria-Ortiz, Uri Omar García-Vázquez, Carlos Joaquín Pavón-Vázquez, Adrián Nieto-Montes De Oca
Reproductive Traits And Change In Body Shape Of Neonates In The Oak Forest Skink, Plestiodon Lynxe, Manuel Feria-Ortiz, Uri Omar García-Vázquez, Carlos Joaquín Pavón-Vázquez, Adrián Nieto-Montes De Oca
Publications and Research
Reproductive traits are critically important for understanding how organisms adapt to their respective environments. In this study, we provide information on relative litter mass (RLM) and other litter and neonate related characters of nine female Plestiodon lynxe captured in the field. We also recorded seven body dimensions in 16 neonates and 15 two-month juveniles, and on the basis of these dimensions we compared the body shape of these two age classes to detect changes in the proportions of body parts. The average litter size (4.55) is larger than that found in other viviparous species of Plestiodon, but smaller than …
The Ecology And Evolution Of Species Rarity In Oaks (Quercus Spp.), Yingtong Wu
The Ecology And Evolution Of Species Rarity In Oaks (Quercus Spp.), Yingtong Wu
Dissertations
Rare species are susceptible to extinction due to ecological and genetic factors. Understanding the distribution, ecology, and evolution of rare species can provide useful information for effective conservation. To investigate species rarity, this dissertation focuses on a species-rich and ecologically diverse genus, Quercus (oaks). In Chapter 1, I aimed to understand how interactions between hosts and soil microbes contribute to habitat restriction in oak species. I performed a soil inoculum experiment on two pairs of sister oak species that show habitat divergence. I found that host-specific soil microbes contribute to habitat divergence and exclusion among sister species of oaks, but …
Chromosome Number Evolution, Phylogeography, And The Effects Of Climate Change On Species Distributions In Polyploid Plant Systems, Courtney H. Babin
Chromosome Number Evolution, Phylogeography, And The Effects Of Climate Change On Species Distributions In Polyploid Plant Systems, Courtney H. Babin
LSU New Orleans Theses and Dissertations
Polyploidy, a term used to describe organisms with cells having more than two paired sets of chromosomes, is a significant driver of diversification among land plants. Over a century of research has advanced our understanding of polyploidization in some taxa, but polyploid organisms remain understudied. In this dissertation, I investigate chromosome number evolution, phylogeographic structure, genetic differentiation, and the effects of climate change on ploidy level distribution using polyploid plant systems. In the first chapter, I inferred a molecular phylogeny of Allium, an economically important genus that includes cultivated crops and ornamentals, to investigate evolutionary transitions in chromosome number …
Maternal Responses In The Face Of Infection Risk, Patricia C. Lopes, Brenna M. G. Gormally, Aubrey Emmi, Delilah Schuerman, Chathuni Liyanage, Ursula K. Beattie, L. Michael Romero
Maternal Responses In The Face Of Infection Risk, Patricia C. Lopes, Brenna M. G. Gormally, Aubrey Emmi, Delilah Schuerman, Chathuni Liyanage, Ursula K. Beattie, L. Michael Romero
Biology, Chemistry, and Environmental Sciences Faculty Articles and Research
When animals are sick, their physiology and behavior change in ways that can impact their offspring. Research is emerging showing that infection risk alone can also modify the physiology and behavior of healthy animals. If physiological responses to environments with high infection risk take place during reproduction, it is possible that they lead to maternal effects. Understanding whether and how high infection risk triggers maternal effects is important to elucidate how the impacts of infectious agents extend beyond infected individuals and how, in this way, they are even stronger evolutionary forces than already considered. Here, to evaluate the effects of …
Genomic Insights Into Mechanisms Of Microbial Evolution And Evolution-Inspired Strategies To Combat Pathogen Diversity, Saymon Akther
Genomic Insights Into Mechanisms Of Microbial Evolution And Evolution-Inspired Strategies To Combat Pathogen Diversity, Saymon Akther
Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects
We live in an era of emerging infectious diseases that are increasingly common, rapidly spreading, and gravely devastating. Lyme disease, caused by bacteria belonging to the genus Borreliella, is rapidly rising in the Northern Hemisphere because of geographic range expansion of both the tick vectors and the pathogens. Evolutionary comparative analysis of Borreliella genomes is a key to understanding the phylogeographic history and mechanisms of their global diversification. Moreover, genomic variations in Borreliella associated with human pathogenicity, e.g., at loci encoding cell-surface antigens interacting with the vertebrate hosts, have not been fully identified. Similarly, the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, caused …
De-Coupling Cell-Autonomous And Non-Cell-Autonomous Fitness Effects Allows Solution Of The Fokker-Planck Equation For The Evolution Of Interacting Populations, Steph J. Owen
Biology and Medicine Through Mathematics Conference
No abstract provided.
Population Structure Of The Lizard Ecpleopus Gaudichaudii Coincides With A Biogeographic Barrier - The Doce River, Alexander J. Garretson
Population Structure Of The Lizard Ecpleopus Gaudichaudii Coincides With A Biogeographic Barrier - The Doce River, Alexander J. Garretson
Dissertations and Theses
Intraspecific genetic variation is an integral component of diversification and the accumulation of biodiversity. The degree to which isolated populations of the same species are genetically structured in geographical space is impacted by a variety of mechanisms. In this study, I document patterns and discuss possible drivers of genetic structure within Ecpleopus gaudichaudii, a lizard species endemic to the Atlantic Forest of Brazil. For that, I assembled ddRadseq sequences from 48 individuals across much of the range of the E. gaudichaudii and analyzed its population structure. I created an intraspecific phylogeny for this group utilizing RAxML and conducted a …
Evaluating Population Genetic Structure And Potential Genomic Signals Of Natural Selection In A Migratory Songbird (Protonotaria Citrea), Tyler A. Hohenstein
Evaluating Population Genetic Structure And Potential Genomic Signals Of Natural Selection In A Migratory Songbird (Protonotaria Citrea), Tyler A. Hohenstein
Theses and Dissertations
In this study I attempted to further resolve the population genetic structure in the Prothonotary Warbler (Protonotaria citrea), and conducted an outlier SNP analysis and exploratory gene ontology analysis to investigate potential ongoing natural selection in the species. This analysis of population structure confirms previous work by DeSaix et al. (2019), where weak population structure was observed between eastern sites along the Atlantic Coastal Plain, and western sites in the Mississippi Alluvial Valley, possibly due to a genetic discontinuity across the Appalachian Mountains. I conducted two forms of outlier SNP analyses, a principal component analysis (PCA)-based approach to identify SNPs …
Population Genomics Of Redbreast Sunfish (Lepomis Auritus): Exploring Gene Flow And Local Adaptation In A Widely Distributed Freshwater Fish, Garret J. Strickland
Population Genomics Of Redbreast Sunfish (Lepomis Auritus): Exploring Gene Flow And Local Adaptation In A Widely Distributed Freshwater Fish, Garret J. Strickland
College of Graduate Studies: Theses & Dissertations
Little information is available concerning the distribution of genetic diversity in non-salmonid, non-imperiled, freshwater fish. In order to fill in this knowledge gap, I conducted a population genomics survey in Redbreast Sunfish (Lepomis auritus; RBS), a widespread, generalist species distributed along the Atlantic slope rivers of eastern North America. I sampled four basins (ACF, Savannah, Roanoke, and James) at eight sites each with a factorial experimental design. Sites were distributed among coastal plain, Piedmont, or mountain ecoregions in order to capture the greatest range of environmental states experienced by RBS, with the intention of finding evidence for local adaptation to …
An Analysis Of The Spatial Genetic Structure Of A Hybrid Zone Between Two Species Of Killifish, Fundulus Heteroclitus And F. Grandis, Andrew Lee Hardy
An Analysis Of The Spatial Genetic Structure Of A Hybrid Zone Between Two Species Of Killifish, Fundulus Heteroclitus And F. Grandis, Andrew Lee Hardy
UNF Graduate Theses and Dissertations
Hybridization offers unique insight into the evolutionary process of speciation and the forces that maintain barriers to reproduction. In northeast Florida, a hybrid zone between two species of killifish, Fundulus heteroclitus and F. grandis, has been identified near Flagler Beach, FL, although the exact boundaries of the hybrid zone remain unknown (Gonzalez et al. 2009). This study aims to determine the fine-scale spatial genetic patterns of the hybrid zone and test the hypothesis that species ranges are influenced by changes in dominant vegetation. Results from an ADMIXTURE analysis and FST data indicated the boundary of the area of …
Comparative Phylogeography Across Multiple Scales: Small Mammals, Their Ecology, Pathogens, And Drivers Of Diversification, Schuyler W. Liphardt
Comparative Phylogeography Across Multiple Scales: Small Mammals, Their Ecology, Pathogens, And Drivers Of Diversification, Schuyler W. Liphardt
Biology ETDs
Comparative phylogeography has historically been defined as the study of how genetic variation of co-distributed species has been shaped by biogeographical history. This is a mature field of study out of which several techniques have been developed directed at identifying the role ecology and geography in diversification patterns across time. I employ the tools developed in classical comparative phylogeography across multiple taxonomic scales and across regions that historically have been understudied. My first two chapters study the complex history of host-switching, codiversification, and reassortment of hantaviruses in their mammal hosts across North America. By taking a host-centric comparative phylogeographic approach …
A Reevaluation Of The Phylogeography Of The Chattahoochee Slimy Salamander (Plethodon Chattahoochee) Using Next-Generation Genomic Data, Jadin Cross
Symposium of Student Scholars
The Plethodon glutinosus species complex is a group of large-bodied, lungless salamanders that are widespread across the eastern United States. Species in this group are morphologically cryptic and were originally delimited using allozyme data, but in most cases, the extent of contemporary gene flow between named taxa has not be rigorously evaluated. The Appalachian Mountains of northern Georgia are home to several members of this group—including P. glutinosus, P. teyahalee, P. chlorobryonis, and P. chattahoochee. P. chattahoochee has been found to be especially cryptic both morphologically and genetically as both intraspecific genetic variation and species boundaries within …
The Effects Of Climate And Demographic History In Shaping Genomic Variation Across Populations Of The Desert Horned Lizard (Phrynosoma Platyrhinos), Keaka Farleigh, Sarah A. Vladimirova, Christopher Blair, Jason T. Bracken, Nazila Koochekian, Drew R. Schield, Daren C. Card, Nicholas Finger, Jonathan Henault, Adam D. Leaché, Todd A. Castoe, Tereza Jezkova
The Effects Of Climate And Demographic History In Shaping Genomic Variation Across Populations Of The Desert Horned Lizard (Phrynosoma Platyrhinos), Keaka Farleigh, Sarah A. Vladimirova, Christopher Blair, Jason T. Bracken, Nazila Koochekian, Drew R. Schield, Daren C. Card, Nicholas Finger, Jonathan Henault, Adam D. Leaché, Todd A. Castoe, Tereza Jezkova
Publications and Research
Species often experience spatial environmental heterogeneity across their range, and populations may exhibit signatures of adaptation to local environmental characteristics. Other population genetic processes, such as migration and genetic drift, can impede the effects of local adaptation. Genetic drift in particular can have a pronounced effect on population genetic structure during large-scale geographic expansions, where a series of founder effects leads to decreases in genetic variation in the direction of the expansion. Here, we explore the genetic diversity of a desert lizard that occupies a wide range of environmental conditions and that has experienced post-glacial expansion northwards along two colonization …
Genomic And Ecological Dimensions Of Malagasy Reptile And Amphibian Biodiversity, Arianna L. Kuhn
Genomic And Ecological Dimensions Of Malagasy Reptile And Amphibian Biodiversity, Arianna L. Kuhn
Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects
A long history of isolation coupled with complex topographic and ecological landscapes makes Madagascar ideal for exploring the historical factors that have shaped patterns of population diversity and endemism. Many species-level studies have suggested Late Quaternary climate change may have influenced population dynamics in the tropics, but Madagascar’s ecologically unique biomes or individual species properties may have driven idiosyncratic responses to these shifts. Using community-scale population genetic data I implement a hierarchical approximate Bayesian computation (hABC) approach to evaluate the degree of synchronous population expansion during glacial cycles across herpetofaunal assemblages both within and across discrete biomes and taxonomic groups. …
Testing The Climatic Variability Hypothesis With Coastal And Inland Populations Of Mimulus Guttatus And Implications For These Populations Under Climate Change, Alec Chiono
Master's Theses
How climate shapes the niche of a species is a core interest in evolution and ecology. Research on the evolution of climatic niches can inform us on the historical relationship between organisms and their climate, and, in an era of great environmental change, what that relationship may look like in the future. In this study, I tested an essential idea in the history of climate niche research, the Climatic Variability Hypothesis, by comparing the thermal niche breadth of coastal and inland populations of Mimulus guttatus. Using thermal performance results from this experiment, I also forecasted how the suitability of …
Dynamics Of Hybrid Zones At A Continental Scale, Bradley T. Martin
Dynamics Of Hybrid Zones At A Continental Scale, Bradley T. Martin
Graduate Theses and Dissertations
Hybridization has traditionally been viewed as a happenstance that negatively impacts populations, but is now recognized as an important evolutionary mechanism that can substantially impact the evolutionary trajectories of gene pools, influence adaptive capacity, and contravene or reinforce divergence. Physiographic processes are important drivers of dispersal, alternately funneling populations into isolation, promoting divergence, or facilitating secondary contact of diverged populations, increasing the potential for hybridization. In North America, glacial-interglacial cycles and geomorphological changes have provided a dynamic backdrop over the last two million years that promoted such oscillations of population contraction and expansion. These biogeographic processes have resulted in regional …
Using Audio Recording Devices And Multiseason Occupancy Modelling To Evaluate Clark's Nutcracker (Nucifraga Columbiana) Occurrence In Whitebark Pine Habitats Of Washington's Cascade Mountains, Lauren Taracka
Undergraduate Honors Theses
The Clark’s nutcracker (Nucifraga columbiana) and whitebark pine (Pinus albicaulis), both native to the harsh subalpine habitats of Washington’s Cascade Mountains, are being negatively impacted by white pine blister rust (Cronartium ribicola), the mountain pine beetle (Dendroctonus ponderosae), and climate change. As temperatures continue to warm, while many species at lower elevations can move upward in elevation to suit their temperature needs, subalpine species do not have that option. Whitebark pine is a keystone tree species - numerous animals consume its high fat, high energy seeds; it’s a nurse tree, providing shelter …
Comparative Conservation Genomics Of A Suite Of Imperiled Freshwater Mussels, Scott C. Meyer
Comparative Conservation Genomics Of A Suite Of Imperiled Freshwater Mussels, Scott C. Meyer
College of Graduate Studies: Theses & Dissertations
Maintenance of genetic diversity is a critical component to the management and recovery of imperiled species. By ensuring that a species’ genetic diversity is maintained, issues like inbreeding depression and loss of local adaptation can be prevented. However, the genetic diversity of many species are not well-characterized, and the factors that influence a species’ genetic diversity are often not well understood. In the case of imperiled unionid freshwater mussels, it is important to conduct conservation genetic assessments to aid in their management and preserve genetic diversity. This is the first study to conduct a comparative conservation genomic assessment for eight …
Lepidopteran Granivory Reduces Seed Counts In A Rare Species Of Riparian Scour Prairies, Cheyenne Moore, Angela J. Mcdonnell, Scott Schuette, Christopher T. Martine
Lepidopteran Granivory Reduces Seed Counts In A Rare Species Of Riparian Scour Prairies, Cheyenne Moore, Angela J. Mcdonnell, Scott Schuette, Christopher T. Martine
Faculty Journal Articles
In Pennsylvania Baptisia australis var. australis is found along only four waterways: the Allegheny River, Youghiogheny River, Clarion River, and Red Bank Creek. Because of its limited distribution and small number of extant populations, the species is considered state-threatened in Pennsylvania. In addition, the riparian prairie habitat that Pennsylvania Baptisia australis var. australis is restricted to is also in decline and considered vulnerable. Because of these conservation concerns, insights into the natural history of the taxon in the state is valuable and will inform conservation efforts. Field surveys and fruit collections along the Allegheny River and herbarium collections were used …