Evolution Commons^™

Sediment Loss Of Santa Rosa Island Slopes: An Erosional Study, Michael Perez

STAR Program Research Presentations

Ranching began on Santa Rosa Island in the 1840’s, consequently introducing nonnative megafauna that put novel selective grazing pressures on endemic plant species. Their movement patterns also altered sediment integrity as the land was denuded of any stabilizing vegetation. Dense groves of island oak (Q. tomentella) are known to aid in sediment deposition and retention. The groves also function to collect water during periods of intense fog that are common to the island. This experiment sought to quantify the volume of sediment that has been lost on a south facing slope in the middle of the island that …

Ecology And Morphology Of The Late Miocene Musk Deer, Longirostromeryx Wellsi (Artiodactyla: Moschidae: Blastomerycinae), Katheryn Y. C. Chen

Department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Longirostromeryx wellsi, one of the latest surviving members of the extinct clade Blastomerycinae (Artiodactyla: Moschidae), possesses highly derived craniodental morphology that deviates from typical musk deer form. Previous work suggests that the unique anatomy of L. wellsi represents adaptations for occupying open savannas. To test this hypothesis I conduct principal components analysis on five postcranial bones of L. wellsi, comparing them to that of several extant ruminant artiodactyls, which are divided among seven habitat categories. These elements are also compared with the postcrania of other blastomerycines. These analyses indicate that L. wellsi anatomy is most similar to that of other …

Microsatellite Analysis Of Population Structure In The Santa Ana Speckled Dace (Rhinicthys Osculus), Stacey A. Nerkowski

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

Rhinichthys osculus, the Speckled Dace, is one of the most ubiquitous fish in western North America. Within the Southern California region, the local taxon is known as the Santa Ana Speckled Dace. The purpose of this study was to characterize and identify polymorphic microsatellite markers for R. osculus in which twenty-three were identified through Illumina pair-end sequencing. Seven of these loci were then used to examine the patterns of genetic variation and population structure that occurred within and among the watersheds in the Southern California. The study also examined the regional relationships among Southern California, Central California and Owen’s …

Molecular Diversity And Gene Evolution Of The Venom Arsenal Of Terebridae Predatory Marine Snails, Juliette Gorson, Girish Ramrattan, Aida Verdes, Elizabeth M. Wright, Yuri Kantor, Ramakrishnan Rajaram Srinivasan, Raj Musunuri, Daniel Packer, Gabriel Albano, Wei-Gang Qiu, Mandë Holford

Publications and Research

Venom peptides from predatory organisms are a resource for investigating evolutionary processes such as adaptive radiation or diversification, and exemplify promising targets for biomedical drug development. Terebridae are an understudied lineage of conoidean snails,which also includes cone snails and turrids. Characterization of cone snail venompeptides, conotoxins, has revealed a cocktail of bioactive compounds used to investigate physiological cellular function, predator-prey interactions, and to develop novel therapeutics. However, venom diversity of other conoidean snails remains poorly understood. The present research applies a venomics approach to characterize novel terebrid venom peptides, teretoxins, from the venom gland transcriptomes of Triplostephanus anilis and Terebra …

Teaching Evolution: A Students’ Perspective, Abdullah Allaoa, Tyniqua Hinton

Publications and Research

Many may wonder “where do we come from?” Over time, scientists have pondered and tested the concept of evolution. Simply put, evolution is gradual change over time. A major tenet of evolution is natural selection, which includes three principles which are variation in population, differential reproduction due to competition, and heredity. These principles are supported by multiple lines of evidence, including biochemical, geographical, fossil, and anatomical evidence. By providing tangible, real-world examples of evolution, we hope to provide a clear understanding of this long-studied scientific breakthrough, while at the same time showing how animals (including us) are related to each …

Effects Of The Developmental Environment On Oxidative Damage And Antioxidants In Red-Eared Slider Turtle ( Trachemys Scripta Elegans ) Hatchlings, Lisa Allison Treidel

Theses and Dissertations

Developmental environments influence many individual phenotypes. However, currently we have a limited understanding of how the developmental environment influences oxidative stress resistance phenotypes. Oxidative stress is defined as a physiological state during which the production of harmful free radicals exceeds the protective capabilities of antioxidants. Variations among adults in susceptibility to oxidative stress can have important consequences for life history strategies and fitness related traits. Our work was aimed at providing insight in to the role that the developmental environment plays on oxidative stress phenotypes in the model oviparous reptile the red-eared slider turtle (Trachemys scripta elegans). Here, we conducted …

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 …

A Systematic Review Of The Soricimorph Eulipotyphla (Soricidae: Mammalia) From The Gray Fossil Site (Hemphillian), Tennessee, Joshua Doby

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Due in part to the incompleteness of the Cenozoic fossil record in the eastern U.S., the evolution and immigration of shrews (Soricidae) is not well understood. A rich soricid fauna from the Gray Fossil Site (GFS), Washington County, TN, has enabled many new inferences to be made. There are 7 new species in 6 genera: Paenelimnoecus, “Blarinella”, Petenyia, Tregosorex, Crusafontina, and Gen et sp. nov. GFS species of the genera Paenelimnoecus, “Blarinella”, and Petenyia are the first occurrence of each genus in the New World. Tregosorex, Crusafontina, and the N.A. taxon Limnoecus all have their latest documented occurrence at the …

The Evolution Of Body Size In The Order Siluriformes, D Cooper Campbell

Honors Theses

The evolution of body size has long been a topic of interest to biologists due to the close link between size and various aspects of an organism’s biology. Adult body size is influenced by the underlying tradeoff in energy allocation between maintenance, somatic growth and reproduction. I studied the evolution of a large group of globally distributed (primarily freshwater with some marine forms) fishes to test some basic hypotheses about the evolution of adult body size. Catfish (Siluriformes) are an excellent group for this type of research as they represent approximately 11% of fishes and species range in size from …

Two New Euscorpius Species From Central-Western Greece (Scorpiones: Euscorpiidae), Gioele Tropea, Victor Fet

Euscorpius

Two new Euscorpius species are described, based on specimens collected by P.M. Giachino & D. Vailati in central-western Greece in neighboring Aitoloakarnania (Western Greece) and Fokida (Central Greece) regional units. No Euscorpius specimens were previously available from this area. The first new species, Euscorpius giachinoi sp. n., is very similar to a recently described E. birulai Fet et al., 2014 from Euboea Island, and is also characterized by a low trichobothrial count (Pv = 7, et = 5), a low pectinal teeth count (Dp = 7 in males, 6 in females), and long-limbed features. The second species, …

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

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."

Butterfly Biology, Joshua Feingold

Quadrivium: A Journal of Multidisciplinary Scholarship

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

Evolution Of Bat-Trypanosome Associations And The Origins Of Chagas Disease, Christian Miguel Pinto

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Trypanosoma cruzi is a genetically diverse parasite that causes Chagas disease, one of the most important zoonoses in the Americas. This generalist parasite of mammals belongs to a clade mostly comprised of bat parasites, the T. cruzi clade. The origins (i.e., biogeographic history and evolution of hosts associations) of this parasite are far from being understood, and the main areas that need further study are: species limits within T. cruzi sensu lato, further studies on the diversity of T. cruzi clade members and their hosts, and research on adaptations of the hosts to trypanosome infections. In this dissertation I explore …

Integrating Phylogenomics, Biogeography And Systematics To Explore The Taxonomy And The Rise Of The Ratsnakes, Xin Chen

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Understanding the evolutionary processes that create the spectacular diversity of organisms, both in species numbers and form, is a primary goal for biologists. Global ratsnakes are a species-rich assemblage with high morphological and ecological diversity and a distribution that encompasses both the Old World (OW) and the New World (NW). To explore the mechanism leading to the divergence of the ratsnakes, I tested the hypotheses regarding the area of origin and global dispersal, and examined the patterns of diversification and trait evolution. Given adaptive radiation via ecological opportunity, a diversity-dependent diversification pattern and an early burst trait evolutionary pattern are …

An Evolutionary Perspective On Human Cross-Sensitivity To Tree Nut And Seed Allergens, Amanda E. Fisher, Annalise M. Nawrocki

Aliso: A Journal of Systematic and Floristic Botany

Tree nut allergies are some of the most common and serious allergies in the United States. Patients who are sensitive to nuts or to seeds commonly called nuts are advised to avoid consuming a variety of different species, even though these may be distantly related in terms of their evolutionary history. This is because studies in the literature report that patients often display sensitivity to multiple nut species (cross-sensitivity) if they have an existing nut allergy. These reports suggest that cross-sensitivity in patients with nut allergies may be caused by an IgE antibody reacting with epitopes present in the seed …

Phylogeny Of Dyschoriste (Acanthaceae), Noravit Chumchim, Lucinda A. Mcdade, Amanda E. Fisher

Aliso: A Journal of Systematic and Floristic Botany

The pantropical and poorly known genus Dyschoriste (Acanthaceae) is sister to Strobilanthopsis within subtribe Petalidiinae. The present study included 38 accessions of 28 species as sources of DNA data for one nuclear (nrITS) and four chloroplast (intergenic spacers: psbA-trnH, trnS-trnG, ndhF-rpl32, rpl32- trnL^(uag)) regions to provide an estimate of the phylogeny of the genus. We found that Dyschoriste is strongly supported as monophyletic inclusive of Apassalus, Chaetacanthus, and Sautiera. Within Dyschoriste, three geographically cohesive lineages were recovered with moderate to strong support: a mainland African clade, a Caribbean and southeastern United …

Genetically Based Low Oxygen Affinities Of Felid Hemoglobins: Lack Of Biochemical Adaptation To High-Altitude Hypoxia In The Snow Leopard, Jan E. Janecka, Simone S. E. Nielsen, Sidsel D. Andersen, Federico G. Hoffmann, Roy E. Weber, Trevor Anderson, Jay F. Storz, Angela Fago

School of Biological Sciences: Faculty Publications

Genetically based modifications of hemoglobin (Hb) function that increase blood–O₂ affinity are hallmarks of hypoxia adaptation in vertebrates. Among mammals, felid Hbs are unusual in that they have low intrinsic O₂ affinities and reduced sensitivities to the allosteric cofactor 2,3-diphosphoglycerate (DPG). This combination of features compromises the acclimatization capacity of blood–O2 affinity and has led to the hypothesis that felids have a restricted physiological niche breadth relative to other mammals. In seeming defiance of this conjecture, the snow leopard (Panthera uncia) has an extraordinarily broad elevational distribution and occurs at elevations above 6000 m in the Himalayas. Here, …

Similarities And Differences Between Heterosexual And Homosexual Couples Based On Marq Data, Kraig S. Shattuck

Wayne State University Theses

There has been a lack of comparative research on homosexual couples, comparing them to heterosexual couples, which is also grounded in solid theory. In order to remedy this, evolutionary theory is used to make predictions on similarities and differences between heterosexual and homosexual couples within three domains, relationship satisfaction, jealousy, and mate guarding. It was predicted that 1) homosexual couples would not differ from heterosexual couples in relationship satisfaction; 2) some gender differences relating to jealousy would be the same and some would be reversed in homosexual individuals; 3) mate guarding would be present, but lower, in homosexual individuals as …

Developmental Evolution Of The Visual System In The Cave-Adapted Small Carrion Beetle Ptomaphagus Hirtus, Jasmina Kulacic

Wayne State University Theses

Extensive research has been done to date on Drosophila and Tribolium eye development; however, not much is known about the molecular basis of development of extremely reduced and modified eyes in cave insects. Ptomaphagus hirtus represents an emerging model system for studying the changes at the molecular level that occurred during the evolutionary adaptation of the eye to the cave environment. Therefore, I have started exploring the morphology and organization of the reduced P. hirtus eyelet, using immunohistochemistry, laser scanning microscopy, and ultrastructural imaging approaches. My findings demonstrate that the adult eyelet lacks ommatidial subdivision and has a thick, clear …

Evolution Of New Duplicate Genes In Arabidopsis Thaliana, Nicholas Curtis Marowsky

Wayne State University Theses

Abstract

Gene duplication is one of the major mechanisms by which organisms expand their genomes. The material added to the genome can then be acted upon by mutation and natural selection to increase the fitness of the species. By studying these duplicate sequences we can understand the process by which species evolve new functional genes. In a previous paper we identified 100 new duplicate genes through a genome wide comparison between A. thaliana and related species. We selected three of these new duplicate genes and investigated more closely their sequence and expression divergence from their parental gene. The three new …

Development Of Neuroendocrine Components Of The Thyroid Axis In The Direct-Developing Frog Eleutherodactylus Coqui: Formation Of The Median Eminence And Onset Of Pituitary Tsh Production., David H. Jennings, Bryce Evans, James Hanken

SIUE Faculty Research, Scholarship, and Creative Activity

Direct-developing frogs lack, wholly or in part, a wide range of larval features found in metamorphosing species and form adult-specific features precociously, during embryogenesis. Most information on thyroid regulation of direct development relies on hormone manipulations; the ontogeny of many thyroid axis components has not been fully described. This analysis examines differentiation of the median eminence of the hypothalamus and production of thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH) by the pituitary of the direct-developing frog Eleutherodactylus coqui. The median eminence is established two-thirds of the way through embryogenesis. Cells immunoreactive to human TSHb antibodies are first detected during embryogenesis and quantitative changes in …

Target-Directed Biosynthetic Evolution: Redirecting Plant Evolution To Genomically Optimize A Plant’S Pharmacological Profile, Dustin Paul Brown

Theses and Dissertations--Neuroscience

The dissertation describes a novel method for plant drug discovery based on mutation and selection of plant cells. Despite the industry focus on chemical synthesis, plants remain a source of potent and complex bioactive metabolites. Many of these have evolved as defensive compounds targeted on key proteins in the CNS of herbivorous insects, for example the insect dopamine transporter (DAT). Because of homology with the human DAT protein some of these metabolites have high abuse potential, but others may be valuable in treating drug dependence. This dissertation redirects the evolution of a native Lobelia species toward metabolites with greater activity …

The Evolution Of Sex Determination And The Dmrt1 Gene In The Japanese Gecko (Gekko Japonicus), Lisa-Marie Mullen

All Master's Theses

There are different sex-determining mechanisms in our environment, which are separated into two groups known as genotypic sex determination (GSD) and environmental sex determination. The most well-known mechanism in the ESD group is temperature-dependent sex determination (TSD). In this study, the presence of the Doublesex and mab-3-related Transcription Factor (Dmrt1) gene was observed during embryonic development in geckos with a TSD mechanism. To do this, I observed the rate of transcription of the Dmrt1 gene in the Gecko species Gekko japonicus. Pregnant geckos were caught around Nanjing, China. Once the females laid their eggs, the eggs were …

Unraveling The Genetic Mechanisms Involved In The Evolution And Development Of The Thoracic Appendages In Insects, Victor Medved

Wayne State University Dissertations

Insects display the greatest amount of structural and functional variation among animal groups, particularly in regard to their appendage morphology. These differences can range from the diverse pigmentation patterns between fore- and hindwings to changes in the size and shape of legs. The greatly enlarged jumping hind leg in crickets and grasshoppers is one of the best known illustrations of such diversity, representing a unique feature for the entire order of these insects (Orthoptera). Previous work from our lab has shown that the homeotic gene Ultrabithorax (Ubx) plays a key role in the enlargement of hind legs not only in …

Multimodal Signalling In The North American Barn Swallow: A Phenotype Network Approach, Daizaburo Shizuka, Matthew R. Wilkins, Maxwell Joseph, Joanna K. Hubbard, Rebecca Safran

Papers in Behavior in Biological Sciences

Complex signals, involving multiple components within and across modal- ities, are common in animal communication. However, decomposing complex signals into traits and their interactions remains a fundamental challenge for studies of phenotype evolution. We apply a novel phenotype network approach for studying complex signal evolution in the North American barn swallow (Hirundo rustica erythrogaster). We integrate model testing with correlation-based phenotype networks to infer the contributions of female mate choice and male–male competition to the evolution of barn swallow communication. Overall, the best predictors of mate choice were distinct from those for competition, while moderate functional overlap suggests …

Speed And Resolution In The Age Of Technological Reproducibility, Shawn Taylor

Theses and Dissertations

The rate of acceleration of the biologic and synthetic world has for a while now, been in the process of exponentially speeding up, maxing out servers and landfills, merging with each other, destroying each other. The last prehistoric relics on Earth are absorbing the same oxygen, carbon dioxide and electronic waves in our biosphere as us. A degraded .jpeg enlarged to full screen on a Samsung 4K UHD HU8550 Series Smart TV - 85” Class (84.5” diag.). Within this composite ecology, the ancient limestone of the grand canyon competes with the iMax movie of itself, the production of Mac pros, …

Nonstructural Carbohydrate Concentrations Of Pine Trees As A Function Of Evolutionary History, Joshua T. Mims

College of Graduate Studies: Theses & Dissertations

Nonstructural carbohydrates (NSC) can supply substrate during periods when current photosynthate is unavailable or inadequate to meet metabolic demands. I hypothesized that natural selection has favored higher nonstructural carbohydrate concentrations ([NSC]) in species that have an evolutionary history of frequent disturbance and tested this using three southern pine species that have evolved under a continuum of disturbance frequencies (evolutionary history of fire ~ longleaf > slash > loblolly). Stem and root samples were collected from 12 similar-sized individual trees of each species during time periods that reflect the annual minimum and maximum [NSC]. A modified colorimetric method was performed on the samples …

Behavioral Responses Of Male Parasitic Wasps To Plant Cues: A Comparison Of Two Host-Plant Complex Sources Of Cotesia Congregata (Say), Megan Ayers

Theses and Dissertations

Prior exposure to plants cues can enhance assortative mating in insects. We hypothesized that, as previously reported for females, males of Cotesia congregata would display inherent responses to plant cues that could be modified by postemergence experience and further, that males originating from two different host-plant complexes (HPCs) would display different behavioral responses to these HPCs. In no-choice contact assays with a non-host plant, searching responses of males and females increased sharply at Day 2 and remained stable through Day 4. In no-choice assays with potential host plants, males searched longer on catalpa than tobacco; responses were not modified by …