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Conservation and ecology of breeding landbirds in a riparian restoration context
(University of Missouri--Columbia, 2006)
While $14 to $15 billion have been invested in 37,000+ river and stream restoration projects in North America since 1990, only 10% are monitored for biological function. My work examines factors that affect landbird ...
Multi-scale investigations of gray treefrong movements: patterns of migration, dispersal, and gene flow
(University of Missouri--Columbia, 2005)
The movement of individuals within and among populations has been recognized as an important determinant of the persistence of species. Fragmentation of terrestrial landscapes has exacerbated the need to understand the ...
Effects of riparian buffer width on stream salamander populations in the southern Appalachian Mountains
(University of Missouri--Columbia, 2008)
Salamanders in the Appalachian region have been extensively studied, but the majority of research assessing the impacts of logging has focused on terrestrial species that are not dependent on stream habitats for egg ...
Mechanisms of photoreceptor mediated responses in photomorphogenesis and phototropism
(University of Missouri--Columbia, 2018)
Photoreceptor facilitated light perception provides plants with critical environmental information from which they can direct their growth. We investigated the early photomorphogenic responses in Glycine max and Glycine ...
Tales of an 'invisible' life stage : survival and physiology among terrestrial juvenile ambystomatid salamanders
(University of Missouri--Columbia, 2019)
The vital rates (e.g., survival, growth, and reproduction) of distinct life stages within a species are known to influence the growth and persistence of populations. As such, studies describing stage-specific vital rates, ...
A multi-scale investigation of ecologically relevant effects of agricultural runoff on amphibians
(University of Missouri--Columbia, 2008)
Modification of landscapes for agricultural production can introduce agrochemicals into surface waters and degrade aquatic habitats used by many amphibians for breeding and larval development. Although many ecotoxicological ...
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 affects terrestrial...
Conservation genetics of conflict in the Asian elephant, Elephas maximus
(University of Missouri--Columbia, 2021)
The Asian elephant (Elephas maximus) is an endangered species whose distribution spans 13 countries in south, southeast, and insular Asia. The primary threats to the survival of this species include direct conflict, primarily ...
Brassicales to Brassica : integrating phylogenomics and population genomics
(University of Missouri--Columbia, 2020)
to this diverse order. The focus of my dissertation has been to use phylogenomics and population genomics to understand the evolution of the Brassicales, as well as the important crop species Brassica oleracea. Within the Brassicales, the family Brassicaceae...
Centromere function and evolution in maize (Zea mays)
(University of Missouri--Columbia, 2006)
of repetitive elements showing that certain families of retrotransposons are enriched in the heterochromatic regions flanking the centromere. Finally, I describe a novel chromosomal rearrangement, an inversion with a breakpoint in the centromere that splits...
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 ...
Dissecting the genetic basis of learning, memory, and thermal tolerance in a multi-parental population of fruit flies
(University of Missouri--Columbia, 2021)
to rapidly warming temperatures because their body temperature reflects that of their surroundings. Along with physiological mechanisms, these animals have also adapted cognitive practices, such as learning and memory, which help them escape extreme...