Global ETD Search
Search theses and dissertations gathered from participating repositories worldwide. Every result links back to the library that holds it. No account is needed.
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Showing 1 to 18 of 18 for “"Evolution (Biology)"”.
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The Evolutionary biology and taxonomic review of Zambian riverine haplochromine cichlids
This study aimed at reconstructing the phylogenetic relationships among Zambian riverine haplochromine cichlids and at reviewing their taxonomic status. The riverine haplochromines used were from the Zambezi River and the Luapula-Congo River systems. The target taxa were from two major groups: the …
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The Phylogeny of Basal Coelurosaurian Theropods (Archosauria: Dinosauria) and Patterns of Morphological Evolution during the Dinosaur-Bird Transition
… Mesozoic taxa. Carnivorous theropods are the evolutionary ancestors of birds, and the evolutionary transition between theropods and birds is a textbook example of a major evolutionary transformation in the history of life. Despite a flurry of research on early birds and their dinosaurian …
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Species-level phylogenetic reconstruction of the African cycad genus Encephalartos (Zamiaceae)
This thesis explores species-level phylogenetic relationships of the African cycad genus Encephalartos, which is one of the eleven genera of cycads. The genus is confined to Africa and comprises approximately 65 species, 38 of which are found naturally in South Africa. The phylogenetic studies on …
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Diversity of Form, Content, and Function in the Vocal Signals of Adult Male Blue Monkeys (Cercopithecus mitis stuhlmanni): An Evolutionary Approach to Understanding a Signal Repertoire
… the various selection factors relating to their evolution and maintenance, therefore provides unique insight into species' behavior, social dynamics, and evolution. Decades of research has greatly improved knowledge of animal signals and how they are used, yet understanding of the mechanisms by …
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An analysis of the evolution of life history traits
The evolution and relationship between life-history traits has been a popular research topic over the past several decades. Previous research has generally focused on a single or small number of species, or a single trait. I utilized multiple trait-based datasets to create a collection of 777 …
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Evolution and phenotypic diversification in serratia marcescens biofilms
The release of cells from a biofilm to the surrounding environment is poorly understood and the importance of this stage of biofilm development has only recently been realized. A key part of this process is the generation of phenotypic variants in the biofilm dispersal population. This thesis …
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Network and Algebraic Topology of Influenza Evolution
Evolution is a force that has molded human existence since its divergence from chimpanzees about 5.4 million years ago. In that same amount of time, an influenza virus, which replicates every six hours, would have undergone an equivalent number of generations over only a hundred years. The fast …
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Probabilistic Reconstruction and Comparative Systems Biology of Microbial Metabolism
… to investigate microbial function, ecology, and evolution on a large scale. In this dissertation I first describe the use of hundreds of in silico models of bacterial metabolic networks to study the long-term the evolution of growth and gene-essentiality phenotypes. The results show that, over …
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Avian Diversification in the Andes: Understanding Endemism Patterns and Historical Biogeography
… can be explained by events such as the tectonic evolution of the Andes--which created canyons and valleys that may have caused the vicariance of continuous populations--as well as by the climatic oscillation of the Pleistocene, which caused altitudinal shifts, expansion, and contraction of the …
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A Critique of the Rejection of Intelligent Design as a Scientific Hypothesis by Elliott Sober from His Book Evidence and Evolution
… in chapter 2 of his 2008 book Evidence and Evolution. Sober's case against intelligent design as science is a philosophical one, emerging from a Bayesian likelihood approach. Sober claims that unlike neo-Darwinian processes, intelligent design cannot supply independent evidence to support …
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Biblical literalism and the acceptance of biological evolution in Christian university students
1 PDF file (vii, 81 pages)
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Systematics of the Endangered Mauremys mutica and Mauremys annamensis
… measures is that very little is known about the evolutionary relationships between populations and species. It is believed that several lineages we are currently calling species could in actuality be a complex of several species. One of these supposed species is the Yellow Pond Turtle, …
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Aggressive mating strategies in young adolescent girls
Adolescence is the time when humans begin utilizing mating strategies (e.g., flirting, fighting or rumor spreading about competitors) to attract and keep mates. Consistent empirical evidence shows that some adolescent boys are on a developmental pathway in which they utilize aggression and risky …
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Transgenerational Plasticity is Sex-dependent and Persistent in Yellow Moneyflower (Mimulus guttatus)
Transgenerational phenotypic plasticity, whereby environmental cues experienced by parents alter the phenotype of their progeny, has now been documented in diverse organisms. Transmission of environmentally determined responses is known to occur through both maternal and paternal gametes, but the …
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Tolstoy and Zola: Trains and Missed Connections
… Zola" juxtaposes the two writers to examine the evolution of the novel during the late nineteenth century. The juxtaposition is justified by the literary critical debates that were taking place in Russian and French journals during the 1870s and 1880s, concerning Tolstoy and Zola. In both France …
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Friends in Low Places: Responses of a Benthic Stream Fish to Intra-Guild Alarm Cues
<p>Many aquatic species produce chemical alarm cues that serve as a warning to nearby conspecifics. In mixed-species aggregations, individuals may also benefit by “eavesdropping” on the chemical alarm cues of other species that are in the same prey-guild. Rainbow Darters (Etheostoma caeruleum) are …