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The spatial dimensions of Savanna fire ecology in Kruger National Park, South Africa
(University of Missouri--Columbia, 2015)
Savannas are thought to be bistable with forests potentially occurring above [about]650 mm / yr of Mean Annual Precipitation (MAP) due to the limiting effects of fire on tree cover. This is predicated on two assumptions: ...
Behavioral consequences of polyploidy in hyla chrysoscelis treefrogs : implications for speciation and underlying mechanisms
(University of Missouri--Columbia, 2015)
Polyploidy occurs when organisms have more than the typical two copies chromosome sets. Polyploidy has occurred many times throughout plant and vertebrate evolution, and recently in diverse families of frogs. Male treefrogs ...
The role of myostatin deficiency in the development and biomechanical integrity of offspring bone
(University of Missouri--Columbia, 2015)
Osteogenesis imperfecta (OI) is a genetic bone disorder primarily caused by mutations to the genes for type I collagen, a major structural protein found in bone. There have been over 1,500 different mutations described ...
Molecular dissection of the spore killer elements in NeurosporaMolecular dissection of the spore killer elements in Neurospora
(University of Missouri--Columbia, 2014)
The role of selfish genetic elements in shaping the evolution of genomes (and subsequently species) has been a great subject of scientific interest for much of the last century. These selfish elements act at both the genetic ...
The abundance and diversity of stream salamanders on montane golf courses
(University of Missouri--Columbia, 2012)
Stream salamanders are often the most abundant vertebrates in headwater streams and they play an integral role as both predators and prey in these ecosystems. Because they often use both terrestrial and aquatic habitat and ...
Genetics and functional genomics of abscission
(University of Missouri--Columbia, 2013)
Abscission is the shedding of plant organs as part of development or in response to environmental stresses. In the model plant Arabidopsis thaliana, only the floral organs abscise as part of development. This is controlled ...
Drivers of tree community composition and seed demography in Serengeti National Park - Tanzania
(University of Missouri--Columbia, 2015)
Savannas are spatially diverse, variable and susceptible to high rates of disturbance from fire and herbivory. There is a significant amount of interest in woody species dynamics in relation to disturbance regimes but less ...
It's a jungle out there : myoblasts, matrix, and MMPs.
(University of Missouri--Columbia, 2015)
Extracellular Matrix: Mammalian skeletal muscle is notable for both its highly ordered biophysical structure and its regenerative capacity following trauma. Critical to both of these features is the specialized muscle ...
Phylogeography and population genomics of the American black bear (ursus americanus)
(University of Missouri--Columbia, 2015)
The American black bear (Ursus americanus) is one of the eight living species of Ursidae, and the only one to have speciated in North America (1.8 - 1.2 Mya). This dissertation investigates the contemporary population ...
Integration of methods to study mate choice behavior in treefrogs
(University of Missouri--Columbia, 2014)
My research incorporates results from a variety of methods to understand behavior. In my dissertation, I examined female behavior to novel, complex calls. In the gray treefrog species complex, Hyla versicolor and H. ...
Spatial ecology of Western Ratsnakes (Pantherophis obsoletus) : implications for bird nest predation
(University of Missouri--Columbia, 2014)
[ACCESS RESTRICTED TO THE UNIVERSITY OF MISSOURI AT AUTHOR'S REQUEST.] In fragmented Midwestern forests, many birds face high rates of nest predation, to the point where this region may serve as a population sink for some ...
Examining the role of Gbx1 in spinal cord development and its contribution to mammalian locomotion
(University of Missouri--Columbia, 2015)
Animals explore their environment through locomotion. Motion is largely generated by the activity of neurons in the spinal cord. Genes expressed during embryonic development are essential for the formation of connections ...
Localization mechanisms of small plant-dwelling insects
(University of Missouri--Columbia, 2015)
[ACCESS RESTRICTED TO THE UNIVERSITY OF MISSOURI AT AUTHOR'S REQUEST.] Movement is the basis of animal ecology, and understanding the causes and consequences of animal movement is a major goal of ecological research. ...
Does history repeat itself? : Impact of climate on floral resources for bumble bees then and now
(University of Missouri--Columbia, 2014)
Molecular dissection of a genome defense pathway in Neurospora crassa
(University of Missouri--Columbia, 2015)
[ACCESS RESTRICTED TO THE UNIVERSITY OF MISSOURI AT AUTHOR'S REQUEST.] Meiotic silencing by unpaired DNA (MSUD) is an RNA interference (RNAi) pathway in Neurospora crassa that detects genes without a homologous partner and ...
Unconventional oil and gas extraction as a novel source of endocrine disrupting chemicals to water and the potential for adverse human and animal health outcomes
(University of Missouri--Columbia, 2015)
The proper and unimpeded function of hormones is essential for normal development, maturation, and prevention of chronic diseases. Endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDCs) are exogenous chemicals that have been found to disrupt ...
Association of force plate and body-mounted inertial sensor measures for determination of hind limb lameness in horses
(University of Missouri--Columbia, 2015)
[ACCESS RESTRICTED TO THE UNIVERSITY OF MISSOURI AT REQUEST OF AUTHOR.] The purpose of this study was to investigate the association between inertial sensor and stationary force plate measures of hind limb lameness. 21 ...
Therapeutic and chemopreventive potential of luteolin against growth and metastasis of breast cancer
(University of Missouri--Columbia, 2015)
Breast cancer is the second leading cause of cancer-related death in older women. Many postmenopausal women undergo hormone replacement therapy (HRT) to alleviate the symptoms of menopause. Recent studies implicate the ...
Complex life-histories and biogeochemical cycles : interactions between amphibian life-history strategies and elemental cycling
(University of Missouri--Columbia, 2013)
All life must balance two key currencies: energy and matter. My dissertation focuses on the struggle that animals face in balancing various permutations of the latter currency: elements. The availability of essential ...