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Ecology & Evolutionary Biology Dissertations and Theses: Recent submissions
Now showing items 321-340 of 349
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Ecological Responses to Hydrogeomorphic Fluctuations in a Sand Bed Prairie River: River Complexity, Habitat Availability, and Benthic Invertebrates
(University of Kansas, 2010-04-02)Rivers with stochastic precipitation have fauna that overcome unique challenges. Organisms surmount these challenges by using refugia. Research was conducted on the sand bed Kansas River (Kaw). I (a) quantified how the ... -
Spatial dynamics of mammals and their pathogens and parasites
(University of Kansas, 2010-04-27)In this dissertation, I explore several aspects of the ecological dynamics of mammals and their pathogens and parasites. I approach this broad topic at various scales, using Ecological Niche Models, field surveys, and ... -
Diversification processes in an island radiation of shrews
(University of Kansas, 2010-04-22)Southeast Asian mammals are known for their remarkable levels of diversity and endemism. However, few explicit tests of the mechanisms that may promote or inhibit speciation have been conducted on regional clades. I use ... -
Ecology of Carex blanda throughout a woodland/grassland ecotone: a small-scale study of a woodland species in heterogeneous environments
(University of Kansas, 2010-04-19)Research on a species' distribution and demography across an ecotone provides a population ecology perspective to the study of ecotones. This study focused on the small-scale distribution of a woodland sedge species (Carex ... -
Population and community responses to anthropogenic environmental changes
(University of Kansas, 2009-04-01)Humans are dramatically altering the planet. I use classic ecological theory, original conceptual models, and a novel analytical tool (Rank Occupancy-Abundance Profiles; ROAPs) to explore the effects anthropogenic changes ... -
Antarctic Glossopterids: Clarifying and Comparing Reproductive Structures
(University of Kansas, 2009-08-20)Glossopterid reproductive structures, both impressions and permineralizations, have been known from Antarctica for decades, but little detailed work has been done on them to date. Impression fossils from the Central ... -
SPECIES RECOGNITION IS DRIVING EVOLUTION OF THE ACOUSTIC MATING SYSTEM OF SHIELD BACK KATYDIDS (ORTHOPTERA: TETTIGONIIDAE: AGLAOTHORAX): BEHAVIORAL AND PHYLOGENETIC EVIDENCE
(University of Kansas, 2009-12-01)Sexual selection and species recognition are two processes that may drive evolution of mating systems and contribute to speciation. Evidence from nature is rare. I asked whether song evolution in shield-back katydids ... -
Mutation, asexual reproduction and genetic load: A study in three parts
(University of Kansas, 2009-08-24)My dissertation addresses mutation and complex mating systems (models of mating systems that include outcrossing, selfing, and asexual reproduction) in three distinct chapters. Chapter 2 discusses the direct estimation of ... -
Biogeography, ecology and conservation of Paradisaeidae: Consequences of environmental and climatic changes
(University of Kansas, 2009-07-21)The Paradisaeidae, or birds of paradise (BOPs), comprises 42 species in 17 genera, although these numbers could change as more molecular studies are conducted. BOPs are distributed from the Moluccan Islands east through ... -
Phylogenetics and Biogeography of Aichryson Inferred from Chloroplast DNA Sequences
(University of Kansas, 2009-07-02)Aichryson (Crassulaceae) is a genus of succulent herbs that are endemic to the islands of Macaronesia. The current study provides the best estimate of maternal phylogeny in Aichryson to date. Multiple accessions of various ... -
Resource Pulses and Spatial Subsidies in Ozark Karst Springs: Effects on Community Structure and Food Webs
(University of Kansas, 2009-06-23)Spatial and temporal patterns of invertebrate community composition, biomass, functional diversity, foodweb dynamics, and foodweb complexity were examined in three Ozarks springs. Also examined was the effect of an ... -
A SURVEY OF THE TAPEWORM FAUNA OF THE COWNOSE RAY, RHINOPTERA BONASUS, FROM THE NORTHERN GULF OF MEXICO WITH COMMENTS ON INTERMEDIATE HOSTS
(University of Kansas, 2007-10-12)This survey determined the cestode diversity parasitizing the spiral intestine of the cownose ray, Rhinoptera bonasus (Mitchill), in the northern Gulf of Mexico. Twelve cownose rays were collected near barrier islands off ... -
Effects of directional epistasis on molecular evolution
(University of Kansas, 2009-04-24)Forward population genetic simulations are used to explore the evolution of a sequence of nucleotide sites subject to reversible mutation under selection, mutation, and drift. Three selection schemes are studied: synergistic, ... -
Ecological applications of remote sensing data in neotropical rainforests
(University of Kansas, 2009-04-24)Understanding species' distributions is a central theme of biodiversity studies. A combination of data derived from moderate and high spectral resolution satellite imagery (vegetation indices and hyperspectral narrow bands, ... -
Redefining Honeybee Foraging Cognition
(University of Kansas, 2009-04-28)The research in this manuscript was designed to investigate all of the facets of current honeybee foraging knowledge. In order to do so, we constructed new methodologies to provide more accurate data for a finer level of ... -
Origin and diversification of Philippine bulbuls
(University of Kansas, 2009-04-28)We examine the origin and diversification of Philippine bulbuls using a phylogenetic framework. We used maximum likelihood and Bayesian methods to construct trees from DNA sequences of two mitochondrial and two nuclear ... -
A Possible Size-Determined Directional Selection in Danaus plexippus (Lepidoptera: Danaidae) with Evidence from Stable Isotope Analysis
(University of Kansas, 2008-08-14)Each fall, the North American population of monarch butterflies engage in one of the most extensive insect migrations of up to 4,800 km to their overwintering areas in central Mexico. Since monarchs make extensive use of ... -
Small mammal faunal stasis in Natural Trap Cave (Pleistocene-Holocene), Bighorn Mountains, Wyoming
(University of Kansas, 2009-01-01)Paleocommunity behavior through time is a topic of fierce debate in paleoecology, one with ramifications for the general study of macroevolution. The predominant viewpoint is that communities are ephemeral objects during ... -
Multiple species of Phoreiobothrium from the blacktip shark, Carcharhinus limbatus, in the Gulf of Mexico
(University of Kansas, 2008-01-01)During a survey of the adult tapeworm fauna of sharks from the Gulf of Mexico, the blacktip shark, Carcharhinus limbatus (Müller and Henle, 1839), was found to host cestodes in the genus Phoreiobothrium. Carcharhinus ... -
Interrelationships of Fishes of the Order Stomiiformes
(University of Kansas, 2008-01-01)The order Stomiiformes (Vertebrata: Actinopterygii) is composed of 417 of deep open ocean fishes, including some of the most abundant vertebrates on earth. The monophyly of the order is well established morphologically, ...