Browsing PhD Dissertations - DO NOT EDIT by Title
Now showing items 58-77 of 132
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The Herpetofauna Of The Virunga Mountains With Emphasis On Two Species of Albertine Rift Endemic Treefrogs Of The Genus Leptopelis.
(Biology, 2010-07-19)I present a short description of the biodiversity crisis, the Albertine Rift as a biodiversity hotspot, and a literature review of the taxonomy of the genus Leptopelis. I then present a list of the reptiles and anurans ... -
How Herbivores Affect Plant Growth, Community Structure And Litter Decomposition In Alaskan Tundra: Implications For Responses To Climate Change
(Biology, 2008-09-17)Increasing atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2) concentrations have caused higher air temperatures in the Arctic. Because arctic organisms are temperature limited, warmer conditions lead to higher decomposition and nutrient ... -
Identifying the Distinct Adaptive and Plastic Gene Expression Patterns and Microbial Indicators that Mediate Coral Disease Resistance
(2022-05-18)Infectious diseases are an increasing threat to coral reefs, resulting in altered community structure and hindering the functional contributions of disease susceptible species. While forecasting disease outbreaks based on ... -
Impacts Of Anthropogenic Disturbances And Drought On Breeding Bird Abundance And Diversity In The Rolling Plains Ecoregion Of Texas
(Biology, 2013-10-22)Bird species, especially grassland species have undergone widespread decline in arid grasslands due to anthropogenic disturbance such as different land use including cattle grazing and agriculture and addition of physical ... -
Impacts of landscape and past climate on patterns of hybridization and genetic diversity in Plestiodon tetragrammus and P. multivirgatus
(2021-03-26)Past hybridization plays an important role in evolution of taxa. We use multiple phylogenetic approaches including single gene sequencing and high-through put sequencing to address the effects of past hybridization in the ... -
Insertion Mechanism of Long Interspersed Elements (LINEs) and the role of the Linker Domain
(2018-08-27)Long Interspersed Elements (LINEs), also known as non-Long Terminal Repeat (non-LTR) retrotransposons are major group of transposable elements ubiquitous in eukaryotic genomes and are known to altogether influence the ... -
Insights into the genomic and metabolic adaptations of Termite Associated Verrucomicrobia strains using functional and comparative genomics
(2016-12-16)The symbiotic gut organisms of termites play an important role in lignocellulose digestion and other related metabolic processes. Previous studies on Diplosphaera colitermitum TAV2, a Verrucomicrobium isolated from the ... -
Insights into the role and regulation of the mitochondrial unfolded protein response during pathogen infection
(2021-11-08)Mitochondria are essential cellular organelles known for their role in energy production, apoptosis, aging, calcium signaling and others. Due to their essential nature, mitochondria are often under attack by numerous ... -
Insights Into The Transmission Of Helitrons And Their Impact On The Genome Architecture Of Myotis Lucifugus, The Little Brown Bat
(Biology, 2011-03-03)Probably the most dynamic proportion of multicellular eukaryotic genomes is composed of teeming populations of parasitic mobile DNA, called transposable elements (TEs). Helitrons are rolling circle TEs that have a limited ... -
Intra-specific Variation Across A Small Temperature Difference In The Spider Rabidosa rabida (Araneae: Lycosidae) From The Mountains In Arkansas
(Biology, 2011-07-14)Temperature affects all levels of biological organization and ultimately affects multiple aspects of ecological performance and fitness. Generalist arthropod predators are ectothermic and are strongly affected by temperature ... -
INVESTIGATING GENE EXPRESSION CHANGES IN DAPHNIA: THE ROLE OF EMS-INDUCED MUTATIONS AND REPRODUCTIVE MODES
(2022-08-03)Gene expression variation is a common source of phenotypic variation between species. Understanding how changes in gene expression are associated with a particular phenotype will aid in understanding the molecular basis ... -
INVESTIGATING THE MICROEVOLUTIONARY PROCESSES THAT PROMOTE AND MAINTAIN BIODIVERSITY AND TRAIT NOVELTY
(2021-08-02)Gene flow, mutation, selection, and genetic drift influence patterns of speciation, adaptation, and biodiversity. In the age of genomics, we have been increasingly able to understand the interplay between these ... -
Investigation of the Evolution and Structural Basis of Caspases: Insights into Conformational Dynamics, Stability and Allostery
(2023-05-01)Caspases, a class of cysteinyl proteases, are well known for their roles in apoptosis or programmed cell death. However, at lower levels of activation in the body, they also play other non-apoptotic roles in cell proliferation, ... -
Learning to Swim: An Exploration of the Terrestrial to Aquatic Transition in Elapids (Squamata: Elapidae)
(2021-12-20)Elapidae is an extremely diverse family of venomous snake that have a nearly global distribution. To conquer such wide swaths of territory the initially fossorial snakes evolved many successful strategies pertaining to ... -
LEVERAGING POPULATION GENOMICS ACROSS TWO TAXONOMICALLY DIVERSE NON-MODEL SYSTEMS TO UNDERSTAND PATTERNS OF DISEASE TRANSMISSION AND CONSEQUENCES OF HYBRIDIZATION
(2023-05-10)**Please note that the full text is embargoed until 05/10/2025** ABSTRACT: The field of population genomics has been mainly applied to questions centered around understanding molecular variation, impacts of evolutionary ... -
Leveraging the dynamic repeat element landscape of squamate reptile genomes to understand broad patterns of Vertebrate genome evolution and transposable element biology
(2019-11-20)Vertebrate genomes are mostly composed of transposable elements (TE), mobile DNA sequences that have shaped genome structure and evolution by promoting positive (e.g., regulatory network rewiring, embryo development) and ... -
Local And Watershed Influences On The Species Composition And Functional Organization Of Stream Diatom Communities In The Acid-impacted Adirondack Region Of New York
(Biology, 2014-03-12)For over 40 years, acid deposition has been recognized as a serious international environmental problem, but efforts to restore acidified streams and biota have had limited success. The need to better understand the effects ... -
Mechanisms Affecting Predation Success In Wolf Spiders
(Biology, 2014-09-17)Predator-prey interactions play a role in community structure through a variety of different mechanisms including direct consumption, density-mediated indirect effects, and trait-mediated indirect effects. Understanding ... -
MECHANISTIC BASIS FOR THE ROLE OF RESISTANCE AND TOLERANCE DETERMINANTS IN ANTIBIOTIC TREATMENT FAILURE
(2022-05-09)Failure of antibiotics in treatment of nosocomial Gram-negative bacterial infections has created a substantial burden for global public health. The β-lactam class of antibiotics includes last resort carbapenems, which are ... -
Mechanistic insights into Gram-negative envelope remodeling for protection against severe outer membrane defects
(2022-05-23)Gram-negative bacteria account for the majority of antibiotic resistant infections. Regulated modifications within the cell envelope can promote resistance to clinically important antibiotics. The increased prevalence of ...