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Seasonality and elevational migration in an Andean bird community
(University of Missouri--Columbia, 2010)
Life history strategies of many birds in the Neotropics remain poorly known. In particular, details on the seasonal movements of individuals and populations within the Neotropics remain largely unknown, including short-distance ...
Collective offspring-parent signaling in a social treehopper : mechanisms, patterns and function
(University of Missouri--Columbia, 2010)
[ACCESS RESTRICTED TO THE UNIVERSITY OF MISSOURI AT REQUEST OF AUTHOR.] I investigated the properties of collective behavior in a group-living insect, including the patterns of group behavior, the function of group level ...
Bat avoidance in the katydid genus Neoconocephalus
(University of Missouri--Columbia, 2010)
The hearing system of the katydid genus Neoconocephalus has two functions: intraspecific communication and predator (bat) avoidance. Male calls and bat cries differ spectrally and temporally. Katydids must recognize and ...
The impacts of partner abundance on benefits from facultative pollination mutualism
(University of Missouri--Columbia, 2010)
Partner abundance affects costs and benefits in obligate mutualisms, but its role in facultative partnerships is less clear. I investigated this topic in a small alpine pollination web in the Colorado Rocky Mountains ...
Reinforcement signaling in Drosophila
(University of Missouri--Columbia, 2010)
Memory performance levels can reliably match the intensity / amount/ probability of reinforcement. Interestingly, experience with a reinforcer unpaired from any predictors can enhance or impair later associative learning. ...
Genetic variation and population structure in the endangered Houston toad in contrast to its common sympatric relative, the coastal plain toad
(University of Missouri--Columbia, 2010)
I determined the number of populations, the levels of genetic diversity within and among populations, and migration/movement rates at the landscape and fine scales in the endangered Houston toad, Bufo houstonensis (Anura: ...
Meiotic silencing by unpaired DNA : elucidation of a new gene silencing pathway
(University of Missouri--Columbia, 2011)
Meiotic silencing by unpaired DNA is an RNAi-mediated pathway that functions to silence unpaired genes during the sexual phase of Neurospora crassa. The presence of a gene insertion or deletion causes an unpairing event ...
Building better wetlands for amphibians : investigating the roles of engineered wetland features and mosquitofish (Gambusia affinis) on amphibian abundance and reproductive success
(University of Missouri--Columbia, 2011)
Compensatory wetland mitigation efforts have been broadly criticized for failing to replace lost ecological functions, even with net gains in wetland area. Of particular concern is the suitability of constructed wetlands ...
The eco-physiology of PHOT1/phot1[delta]PKD, insights into a phototropically enhanced mutant.
(University of Missouri--Columbia, 2011)
[ACCESS RESTRICTED TO THE UNIVERSITY OF MISSOURI AT REQUEST OF AUTHOR.] The phototropin class of blue light photoreceptors in Arabidopsis is critical to how plants response to light cues. Here, I study how the photo-perception ...
Coordinated communication: an analysis of signal and preference phenotypes in the genus Hyla
(University of Missouri--Columbia, 2014)
Eph/Ephrin signalling in skeletal muscle development and regeneration
(University of Missouri--Columbia, 2014)
[ACCESS RESTRICTED TO THE UNIVERSITY OF MISSOURI AT AUTHOR'S REQUEST.] Skeletal muscle can be isolated into 642 individual muscles and makes up to one third to one half of the mass of the human body. Each of these muscles ...
Occurrence and implicatons of biological network evolution following polyploidy
(University of Missouri--Columbia, 2014)
The mapping and comparison of biological networks allows for analysis to understand forces of evolution. Here, we synthesize information about polyploidy, or whole genome duplication, and its effects on network rewiring. ...
The role of RNAi genes in Neurospora crassa post-transcriptional gene silencing
(University of Missouri--Columbia, 2014)
Meiotic silencing was first identified in the bread mold Neurospora crassa (by our group and others) and has since been discovered in worms, mice, and humans. Neurospora is an excellent model organism in that it is ...
Effects of prescribed fire and timber harvest on terrestrial salamander abundance, behavior, and microhabitat use
(University of Missouri--Columbia, 2014)
The goal of my dissertation was to assess how terrestrial salamanders respond to two common forest management practices -- prescribed fire and timber harvest. Previous studies have reported that timber harvest adversely ...
Intrinsic, extrinsic and environmental regulation of muscle satellite cell motility
(University of Missouri--Columbia, 2011)
[ACCESS RESTRICTED TO THE UNIVERSITY OF MISSOURI AT REQUEST OF AUTHOR.] Skeletal muscle repair and regeneration requires the activity of satellite cells, a population of myogenic stem cells. Previously, little data existed ...
Genetic and neuronal systems that are critical for high temperature avoidance in reflexive and learned behaviors
(University of Missouri--Columbia, 2014)
Effects of spatial subsidies and canopy cover on pond communities and multiple life stages in amphibians
(University of Missouri--Columbia, 2012)
Spatial subsidies are resources that move from one ecosystem to another. In aquatic systems, canopy cover determines both light availability and subsidy input in the form of senescing leaves. This phenomenon has been well ...
Hellbender (Cryptobranchus alleganiensis) gene flow within rivers of the Missouri Ozark highlands
(University of Missouri--Columbia, 2013)
For species of conservation concern, effective management includes maintaining robust population sizes while monitoring and promoting genetic variability. For hellbenders (Cryptobranchus alleganiensis), an aquatic salamander ...
Investigating an adaptive radiation in temperate Neoconocephalus
(University of Missouri--Columbia, 2013)
Evolution of communication system is seemingly complex requiring coevolution between sender and receiver mechanisms. Studying acoustic communication in the katydid genus Neoconocephalus (coneheaded katydids), I compare ...
Grazing lawns across Africa : a case study comparison between Kruger National Park and Serengati [sic] National Park
(University of Missouri--Columbia, 2012)
Grazing lawns are highly-utilized grassland patches that represent key resource areas for large herbivores in savanna ecosystems. Two parallel studies were conducted in Kruger National Park (KNP), South Africa and Serengeti ...