Climate, Biogeography, And Dispersal: A Unifying Framework For Ameri-Caribbean Dry Forests,
2026
Virginia Commonwealth University
Climate, Biogeography, And Dispersal: A Unifying Framework For Ameri-Caribbean Dry Forests, Pablo Lopez Bustamante
Theses and Dissertations
Seed dispersal is a crucial ecological function that enables plants to alter their distributional range, avoid intense competition and natural enemies near the parent plant, and recover from disturbances. These processes shape species and functional composition of forests. Wind has traditionally been considered the dominant dispersal mechanism in Ameri-Caribbean dry forests, yet growing evidence suggests that other dispersal mechanisms also play significant roles in this ecosystem, responding differently to biotic and abiotic conditions. Still, how dispersal syndrome composition influences plant communities, the ecological drivers underlying these patterns, and the effects of climate change on dispersal syndrome dominance remain poorly understood. …
Hybridization And Introgression In Marine Invertebrates: Population Genomics Of Phymactis Papillosa And Asterias Sea Stars,
2026
CUNY City College
Hybridization And Introgression In Marine Invertebrates: Population Genomics Of Phymactis Papillosa And Asterias Sea Stars, Christopher J. Dookie
Dissertations and Theses
Hybridization and introgression are evolutionary significant processes in marine invertebrates (Sanford & Kelly,2011) yet genome-wide investigations of gene flow in these taxa remain limited relative to vertebrate systems (Marchi et al., 2021). This thesis presents genomic analyses of hybridization and introgression in two marine invertebrates occupying contrasting oceanographic settings and characterized by contrasting genomic datasets: restriction-site associated DNA sequencing (RADseq) SNP data for the eastern Pacific sea anemone Phymactis papillosa and whole genome sequencing (WGS) data for the North Atlantic sea stars Asterias rubens and Asterias forbesi. For each system, I applied coalescent-based species tree inference using CASTER (Zhang …
Viral Diversification And Host-Specific Fitness Of Powassan, Heartland, And Bourbon Viruses In New York State,
2026
University at Albany, State University of New York
Viral Diversification And Host-Specific Fitness Of Powassan, Heartland, And Bourbon Viruses In New York State, Rachel E. Lange
Electronic Theses & Dissertations (2024 - present)
This dissertation reports important progress for our understanding of emerging and re-emerging tick-borne viruses circulating in North America including Powassan, Deer Tick, Heartland, and Bourbon viruses. Chapter 2 describes important tools for these viruses including multiplex assays for viral and bacterial pathogens in field-collected ticks and mammals, development of full genome sequencing assays and bioinformatic pipelines for evolutionary analysis, and establishment of tick-specific tools for viral isolation and characterization. Chapter 3 focuses on the disease focality of Deer Tick virus, reporting transovarial transmission in nature in Ixodes scapularis for the first time, further evidence to incriminate shrews as potential Deer …
Compositional And Functional Shifts In Fish Community Structure In Response To Low-Head Dam Removals,
2026
Eastern Illinois University
Compositional And Functional Shifts In Fish Community Structure In Response To Low-Head Dam Removals, Joshua D. Bruegge
Masters Theses
Low-head dams serve as intermittent barriers to aquatic connectivity and directly alter both upstream and downstream habitats and biotic communities. In 2018 and 2019, two low-head dams in the Vermilion River watershed of eastern Illinois were removed, reconnecting over 1,700 kilometers of upstream habitat within the basin. To determine the impacts of these dam removals, fish community surveys were conducted at 12 fixed sites across three reaches in two rivers from 2012-2022. This study assessed reach-specific temporal responses of the fish community and habitat characteristics. I linked trait expressions within the fish community to abiotic variables using the co-inertia RLQ …
Complexity Theory And Environmental Conservation Management: A Case Study With Coyote And Red Wolf Hybridization,
2026
University of Central Florida
Complexity Theory And Environmental Conservation Management: A Case Study With Coyote And Red Wolf Hybridization, Gretchen E. Mahalic
Honors Undergraduate Theses
Conservation biology and invasion biology are value-led scientific disciplines founded on environmental advocacy, operating at the intersection of research and action. Though these disciplines are known for their scientific veracity, unexamined values are often promulgated without scrutiny and drive decisions that work against good ecological outcomes. A case in point is that coyotes migrating into southeastern territory are framed as the greatest threat to the conservation of the endangered red wolf because hybridization is seen as diminishing their species integrity. Applying Val Plumwood’s ecofeminist account of dualistic frameworks, I will use this case to show how the vilification of the …
Sex In Plants: Birth, Death, And Trying To Survive In Changing Climates,
2026
VCU
Sex In Plants: Birth, Death, And Trying To Survive In Changing Climates, Elena M. Meyer
Theses and Dissertations
Plant mating systems are key determinants of fitness. Angiosperms exhibit a wide variety of reproductive strategies, including self-fertilization (or selfing), outcrossing, and mixed mating. It has been estimated that up to 43% of plant species are capable of selfing, and selfing has been hypothesized to provide reproductive assurance where opportunities for mating may be limited, such as in marginal environments. However, questions regarding the overall distribution of selfing rates across angiosperms, the maintenance of mixed mating in the face of inbreeding depression, and the impact of self-fertilization on diversification rates remain incompletely resolved. Here, we explore the dynamics of self-fertilization …
Nutritional Niche Separation Amongst Sympatric Threatened Lemurs: The Role Of Micronutrients In Food Selection And Implications For Physiological Health,
2026
Northern Illinois University
Nutritional Niche Separation Amongst Sympatric Threatened Lemurs: The Role Of Micronutrients In Food Selection And Implications For Physiological Health, Maire K. O'Malley
Graduate Research Theses & Dissertations
Madagascar’s biodiversity is heavily affected by anthropogenic change and consequently, conservation management plans need to reflect current research to protect biodiversity. Primate nutritional ecology offers valuable insights into ecology, evolution, health, habitat requirements, social behavior, and conservation management strategies. Macronutrients (fat, carbohydrates, and protein) provide consumers with energy whereas micronutrients (vitamins and minerals) are essential to metabolic processes but are frequently overlooked. This study provides a novel examination of dietary niche separation by comparing mineral consumption between three sympatric species differing in feeding strategies: 1) Grey Bamboo lemur (Hapalemur griseus), a bamboo specialist, 2) Diadema sifaka (Propithecus diadema), a folivore, …
Layers Of Biodiversity: Linking Urban Garden Plants And Arthropods,
2026
Dartmouth College
Layers Of Biodiversity: Linking Urban Garden Plants And Arthropods, Chenyang Su
Dartmouth College Ph.D Dissertations
Diverse arthropods play essential roles in urban agriculture, while urban agriculture provides food and habitat that support arthropod biodiversity in fragmented urban landscapes. In urban community gardens, a form of urban agriculture characterized by allotment-style gardens, arthropods interact with plants and green space across multiple spatial scales of management, from individual gardeners' plots to broad urban landscapes. Understanding how plant communities in urban community gardens and urban landscapes shape arthropod biodiversity and interactions across scales can inform both agricultural management and urban biodiversity conservation. In this thesis, I conducted a series of field studies on ecologically and economically important arthropods …
Evaluating Planting Methods For Native Seed Production And Exploring Granivory In The Northern Great Plains,
2026
South Dakota State University
Evaluating Planting Methods For Native Seed Production And Exploring Granivory In The Northern Great Plains, Allison Dollen
Electronic Theses and Dissertations
Temperate grasslands have faced immense losses due to land use change in the last 150 years and less than half of the overall grasslands that once covered North America remain today. A portion of historic and remaining U.S. grasslands are located within the northern Great Plains (NGP) region which is home to over 1,600 species of native plants and provides many ecosystem services and economic benefits. Initiatives to restore grasslands and their ecosystem services are currently underway, but barriers such as limited native seed supply and granivory hinder restoration efforts. My first chapter addresses knowledge gaps in planting methods for …
Non-Native Seagrass, Halophila Stipulacea, Reaches Northern Caribbean,
2026
Florida International University
Non-Native Seagrass, Halophila Stipulacea, Reaches Northern Caribbean, Elizabeth R. Whitman, Elizabeth W. Stoner, Stephanie K. Archer
Gulf and Caribbean Research
Halophila stipulacea, a seagrass native to the western Indian Ocean, has become an established invader throughout the western Atlantic, where it often outcompetes native seagrass species across diverse environmental conditions. Here, we report its presence in the northern Bahamas, ca. 2300 km northwest of the first Caribbean record in Grenada and 304 km northeast of the recent observation in Florida, USA. This range expansion represents the northernmost Caribbean record to date and highlights the species’ capacity for long-distance dispersal and continued spread within the region. Our observation underscores the need for coordinated monitoring efforts to track the trajectory of …
Manatee Dock Sign Distribution And Its Influence On Publicly-Sourced Sighting Reports In Alabama,
2026
Dauphin Island Sea Lab
Manatee Dock Sign Distribution And Its Influence On Publicly-Sourced Sighting Reports In Alabama, Daniela Payán Arias, Sophia C. Corde, Ruth H. Carmichael
Gulf and Caribbean Research
No abstract provided.
A Novel 3d Imaging Approach To Study Evolutionary Innovations In Solanaceae Inflorescences,
2026
Virginia Commonwealth University
A Novel 3d Imaging Approach To Study Evolutionary Innovations In Solanaceae Inflorescences, Devin L. Jackson, Joonseog Kim, Wenheng Zhang Dr.
UROP Posters
Understanding the relatedness of angiosperms and the evolution of their inflorescence remains challenging, as these structures are highly modified and prone to convergent evolution. The current research describing inflorescence architecture, whether genetically or morphologically focused, typically relies on text based explanations, 2D images, or 3D based models created with CAD modeling software. This creates a disparity in the reader's understanding of these models since descriptions rely heavily on the author's interpretation of the inflorescence. The goal of our study is to bridge this disconnection by producing anatomically and color-correct 3D inflorescence models using Solanaceae flowers that readers can explore directly, …
Comparative Analysis Of Six New Chloroplast Genomes In Platanthera (Orchidaceae) Enhances Understanding Of Its Diversification,
2026
Old Dominion University
Comparative Analysis Of Six New Chloroplast Genomes In Platanthera (Orchidaceae) Enhances Understanding Of Its Diversification, Lisa E. Wallace, Martin I. Batalla, Matthew Maisonave
Biological Sciences Faculty Publications
Platanthera is among the most diverse genera of orchids in north temperate regions, with high species diversity in Asia and North America. Despite many ecological studies in this group, little is known about its genomic diversity. Here, we report the newly annotated chloroplast genomes from six species in subgenus Limnorchis from North America and compare them with plastomes published for Platanthera species from Asia and Europe. We found that the plastomes of species in subg. Limnorchis are among the smallest reported for Platanthera thus far. While major structural differences were not detected in the newly sequenced species, ndh genes were …
From Theory To Ecosystems: Exploring Biodiversity And Ecosystem-Function In Pitcher Plant (Darlingtonia Californica) Microbial Communities,
2026
Humboldt State University
From Theory To Ecosystems: Exploring Biodiversity And Ecosystem-Function In Pitcher Plant (Darlingtonia Californica) Microbial Communities, Gavin Sutter
Cal Poly Humboldt theses and projects
The relationship between biodiversity and ecosystem-function (BEF) has been a central focus of ecological research for the last three decades, yet the role of space in shaping BEF relationships remains relatively unknown. Research has shown that community diversity and composition can strongly influence productivity, nutrient cycling, and decomposition, but much of this work treats communities as spatially isolated, leaving open how dispersal and other spatial processes shape BEF at broader scales. To begin addressing this gap, I used microbial communities inhabiting Darlingtonia californica pitcher plant leaves to evaluate how spatial organization and successional change shape biodiversity and ecosystem-functioning. I quantified …
End-To-End Modeling For The Ross Sea Region Marine Protected Area: A Review Of Available Tools For Conservation Objectives,
2026
University of Wyoming
End-To-End Modeling For The Ross Sea Region Marine Protected Area: A Review Of Available Tools For Conservation Objectives, James R. Lovvorn, Cara Nissen, Alexis A. Bahl, Erik Behrens, Cassandra M. Brooks, Katy Christensen, Michael S. Dinniman, Lilian A. Dove, Alice K. Duvivier, Eileen E. Hofmann, Hayley Kwasniewski, Young Shin Kwon, Sharon E. Stammerjohn, Lei Xing
CCPO Publications
The challenge of protecting marine ecosystems, including biodiversity and manifold interactions in changing environments, has encouraged development of end-to-end models linking physical drivers through entire food webs to upper-level predators. Ideally such models should have temporal and spatial resolution adequate to capture important small-scale processes, while including scales large enough to encompass local food webs and movements of wide-ranging consumers. The need for component submodels to be manipulated and upgraded independently by scientists from different disciplines, and used selectively depending on questions addressed, favors modular structure allowing linkage of different submodels with varying strengths and weaknesses. As an example, this …
Ecological Feedbacks In The Earth System,
2026
British Antarctic Survey
Ecological Feedbacks In The Earth System, Eugene J. Murphy, Jessica J. Williams, Isla H. Myers-Smith, Vivienne P. Groner, David M. P. Jacoby, Lester Kwiatkowski, Jess Melbourne-Thomas, Emma Ransome, Cristina Banks-Leite, Laurent Bopp, Marion Gehlen, Eileen E. Hofmann, Babette Hoogakker, Nadine M. Johnston, Yadvinder Malhi, Emma L. Cavan
CCPO Publications
Ecological feedbacks are fundamental features of the Earth system, affecting physical processes and chemical cycles. Our understanding of the interactions underlying these feedbacks at different spatial and temporal scales and the extent to which feedbacks affect Earth system functioning remains limited. Climate change and other anthropogenic pressures are already negatively affecting ecological processes in marine, freshwater, and terrestrial ecosystems. These will most likely be amplified in the coming decades under our current warming and socioeconomic pathways. The knock-on impacts on ecological feedbacks have the potential to cause rapid perturbations to the Earth system, and may significantly impact the structure and …
Geographic Distribution: Pseudacris Sierra (Sierran Treefrog). Usa: Florida: Escambia Co.,
2026
University of Nebraska - Lincoln
Geographic Distribution: Pseudacris Sierra (Sierran Treefrog). Usa: Florida: Escambia Co., Justin A. Anto, Logan P. Cutts, Jakira A. Davis, Dyrana N. Russell, Renee M. Shiska, Kayla L. O. Walker, Louis A. Somma
Papers in Herpetology
No abstract provided.
Chesapeake Bay Water Clarity: Challenges And Successes,
2026
Old Dominion University
Chesapeake Bay Water Clarity: Challenges And Successes, Jessica S. Turner, Carl T. Friedrichs, David B. Parrish, Kelsey A. Fall
OES Faculty Publications
The Chesapeake Bay is a large estuarine system spanning multiple jurisdictions and serves as a model for estuarine health worldwide. Historically, nutrient loading degraded water quality, prompting the need for regulation. Water clarity, one component of water quality, is vital for benthic communities and serves as a key indicator of overall ecosystem health. Here, physical resuspension and salinity gradients, nutrient and sediment inputs, production of organic detritus by phytoplankton, and benthic communities all interact to drive clarity patterns, with high spatial variability. Trends over the last 50 years show improvement, though with a temporary increase in organic detritus in response …
Microbial Mats In Dinosaur Ichnocoenoses,
2026
Old Dominion University
Microbial Mats In Dinosaur Ichnocoenoses, Nora Noffke, Paul C. Murphy, Roger C. Buntin, Martin G. Lockley
OES Faculty Publications
Until now, the significance of microbial mats in preservation of dinosaur tracks and in reconstructing the palaeoenvironment in which dinosaurs roamed was rarely studied. Dinosaur tracks are commonly found close to ancient aquatic bodies where moist sediment had once allowed footstep registration. At such sites, epibenthic or endobenthic microbial mats may have developed as well and may have led to exquisite track preservation. Microbial mats in coastal, lacustrine or flood plain environments cause 'microbially induced sedimentary structures—MISS', which are micobialites found in sandy or evaporitic settings. The microbial structures record environmental parameters including meteorological conditions that existed at the time …
Modeling Upper Ocean Ecosystem Dynamics In Response To Interannual Sea-Ice Variability In The Western Antarctic Peninsula,
2026
University of Virginia
Modeling Upper Ocean Ecosystem Dynamics In Response To Interannual Sea-Ice Variability In The Western Antarctic Peninsula, Catherine R. Czajka, Jessica S. Turner, Sharon Stammerjohn, Heather H. Kim, Oscar Schofield, Benjamin T. Saenz, Scott C. Doney
OES Faculty Publications
In the Western Antarctic Peninsula (WAP), marine plankton dynamics are tightly linked to the interannual variability in environmental conditions, including phenological shifts in sea-ice seasonality. To explore these linkages, we use a 1-dimensional vertical ocean-ice-ecosystem model (KPP-Eco-Ice, or KEI) that simulates physical and ecosystem conditions at a continental shelf mooring location in the Palmer Long Term Ecological Research program sampling grid. KEI allows for year-round examination of the ecosystem in a region where in situ observations on the shelf are limited to January. Comparisons are made between seasonal sea-ice retreat, mixed layer depth, primary productivity, and phytoplankton relative abundance, grazing, …
