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Nectar in nicotiana : pollinator associations, sources of variation, and evolutionary consequences
(University of Missouri--Columbia, 2007)
significant heritable component was detected for nectar volume and energy, as well as corolla tube length, in an experimental population of Nicotiana alata. Although phenotypic correlations were significant for all measured traits, only two correlations had a...
Effects of forest fragmentation on reproductive effort and productivity of Indigo buntings (Passerina cyanea)
(University of Missouri--Columbia, 2005)
and offspring quality, I measured maternal condition and reproductive output of Indigo Buntings breeding in a fragmented and a contiguously forested landscape in Missouri. Renesting females had lower body condition than those that nested once successfully...
The biology of the Florida scrub endemic millipede: Floridobolus penneri
(University of Missouri--Columbia, 2006)
Even though millipedes provide a number of important ecosystem services, the group overall is understudied and nowadays largely ignored in the USA. Most millipedes that are well-studied occur in temperate, mesic environments, yet millipedes can...
Raptor and wading bird migration in Veracruz, Mexico : spatial and temporal dynamics, flight performance, and monitoring applications
(University of Missouri--Columbia, 2007)
This dissertation is organized in four chapters that deal with different aspects of my long-term studies of migratory raptors, vultures, and wading birds, in central Veracruz, Mexico, during the course of three spring and ...
Multi-scale investigations of gray treefrong movements: patterns of migration, dispersal, and gene flow
(University of Missouri--Columbia, 2005)
determining microhabitat use. Further, I have demonstrated the effects of matrix composition on the frequency of inter-pond movements and elucidated historical patterns of gene flow across central Missouri. My data indicate that migration through terrestrial...
Seasonality and elevational migration in an Andean bird community
(University of Missouri--Columbia, 2010)
flock to document the phenology and elevational movements of birds along a 2.7 km elevational gradient in Manu National Park, southeastern Peru. Breeding for most species started with the onset of the rainy season in September and peaked in November...
Behavioral choice and demographic consequences of wood frog habitat selection in response to land use
(University of Missouri--Columbia, 2007)
, Missouri, and South Carolina are determining the effects of timber harvest on the persistence of amphibian populations. The purpose of my dissertation research was to define adult wood frog nonbreeding habitat in continuous oak-hickory forest...
Assessing the effects of anticoagulant rodenticides on non-target fish species
(University of Missouri--Columbia, 2018)
[ACCESS RESTRICTED TO THE UNIVERSITY OF MISSOURI AT AUTHOR'S REQUEST.] Invasive rat species have negatively affected island ecosystems contributing to the decline and extinction of many endemic species. The eradication of rodents on islands can...
Establishing a foundation for large DNA transfer to artificial minichromosomes and B insert platforms in maize
(University of Missouri--Columbia, 2019)
In plants, conventional genetic engineering methods limit the number of available traits that could potentially improve the quality of agriculture. Agrobacterium-mediated transformation and biolistic bombardment are tools used in transferring genes...
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 ...
Tales of an 'invisible' life stage : survival and physiology among terrestrial juvenile ambystomatid salamanders
(University of Missouri--Columbia, 2019)
of the many amphibian species for which stage-specific data are lacking. Next, I reared larvae of five species (A. annulatum, A. maculatum, A. opacum, A. talpoideum, and A. texanum) from populations along an ~200 km latitudinal gradient in Missouri, USA...
The effects of metal contamination on larval white sturgeon in the upper Columbia River
(University of Missouri--Columbia, 2018)
how metals affect larval sturgeon behavior and survival. Of particular concern are reported field observations of large numbers of sturgeon larvae with empty guts at a critical point in their life cycle. By putting all these pieces together, I found...
Tumor-initiating cells in malignant brain tumors
(University of Missouri--Columbia, 2009)
Stem cells have the unique ability to differentiate into the many specialized cells of the body. During adulthood, stem cells remain in the organism and maintain the ability to repair and replenish injured or dead cells ...
Amphibian metamorphosis and juvenile terrestrial performance following chronic cadmium exposure in the aquatic environment
(University of Missouri--Columbia, 2005)
the physiological processes and body condition of amphibians and other taxa. In the first experiment, southern leopard frog and American toad tadpoles were reared separately in cattle tank mesocosms (1325-L volume) that had been dosed once at 0, 5, 18, 60, or 200...
The role of terrrestrial habitat in the population dynamics and conservation of pond-breeding amphibians
(University of Missouri--Columbia, 2007)
populations in Missouri.The results of my dissertation research indicate that the quantity and quality of terrestrial habitat available to pond-breeding amphibians can have substantial population level consequences including increased extinction probabilities...
Characterizing territoriality and the mechanisms that mediate it in female Anolis gundlachi lizards
(University of Missouri--Columbia, 2019)
Territoriality is a suite of behaviors through which animals secure access to particular areas or resources. It is prevalent across animal groups and has the potential to exert substantial influence on fitness by mediating ...
Methodological approaches for sound training in underepresented learners: a case study with american toads (Anaxyrus americanus)
(University of Missouri--Columbia, 2021)
efforts to better understand the minds of animals have been flourishing, with methodological breakthroughs and a remarkable increase in the number of publications dealing with a wide variety of non-model species. The growing interest in species...
Phylogenomics of orchids and their mycorrhizal fungi : trees, diversity, and the pursuit of symbiosis
(University of Missouri--Columbia, 2019)
[ACCESS RESTRICTED TO THE UNIVERSITY OF MISSOURI AT REQUEST OF AUTHOR.] Phylogenetic trees show us how organisms are related and provide frameworks for studying and testing evolutionary hypotheses. To better understand the evolution of orchids...
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 ...
Effects of prescribed fire and timber harvest on terrestrial salamander abundance, behavior, and microhabitat use
(University of Missouri--Columbia, 2014)
surveys for three years and used a statistical modeling approach that accounted for the tendency of terrestrial salamanders to be belowground and unavailable for surveys. I found that terrestrial salamander density at our Missouri Ozark study site ranged...