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 20 of 31 for “"evolutionary ecology"”.
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Evolutionary Ecology of the First Animal Ecosystems
… establish the nature of universal ecological and evolutionary rules. Within this thesis I exploit under-accounted-for features of Ediacaran palaeocommunities preserved in Newfoundland to constrain and account for biases in palaeocommunity datasets, and to directly test associations between …
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The evolutionary ecology of methylation-dependent bacterial defense systems
… considerable gaps in our understanding of the evolutionary ecology of MGEs and host defenses. Given the role of MGEs in spreading drug resistance alleles, the current focus on developing bacteriophages as alternative antimicrobials, and the ability for host defenses to interfere with both, it …
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Spatial-temporal patterns in evolutionary ecology and fluid turbulence
… explores the turbulence of ecosystems, and the ecology of turbulence. Ecosystems and turbulent fluids are both highly non-equilibrium and exhibit spatio-temporal complexity during the course of their evolution. It might seem that they are too complicated to extract universal properties, even if …
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Systematics and evolutionary ecology of Osteospermum section Polygalinae DC
… being ambiguous and possibly not representing evolutionary independent units and they are therefore inappropriate for testing evolutionary hypotheses. This study therefore first uses an integrative taxonomic approach to reassess the species-level taxonomy of Osteospermum section Polygalinae DC, …
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THE EVOLUTIONARY ECOLOGY OF HOST-MICROBIOME SYMBIOSIS IN ONTHOPHAGUS DUNG BEETLES
… relationships has potentially long-term evolutionary consequences. Secondly, I then showed that this host-microbiota species specificity can arise over evolutionarily short timespans, including recently divergent, broadly sympatric and often syntopic sister species sharing virtually …
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The Evolutionary Ecology of Arabidopsis Thaliana: Genotypic Diversity, Herbivory, and Elevated Carbon Dioxide
In this study, I evaluated the impact of elevated CO2 and insect herbivory on the genotypic response of Arabidopsis thaliana . I performed greenhouse and field experiments to examine plant ecological traits related to life history, fitness, and resistance and their variation under different abiotic …
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From Genes to Traits and Ecosystems: Evolutionary Ecology of <i>Sphagnum</i> (Peat Moss)
… trait variation in <i>Sphagnum</i> to its evolutionary history.</p> <p>In Chapter 3, a field experiment and phylogenetic comparative methods are used to show that natural selection is responsible for shaping interspecific variation in <i>Sphagnum</i> decomposability and its coevolution with …
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Variation drives response to urbanisation: Evolutionary ecology of two introduced birds within anthropogenic environments : A thesis submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy at Lincoln University
Anthropogenic change causes landscape alteration and fragmentation, which leads to novel challenges for wildlife. Wildlife colonising anthropogenic habitats confront new conditions, such as air and noise pollution, limited space and food resources, higher levels of competition and predator …
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A matter of evolutionary life and death: an ecological model of growth and development in Homo erectus
This thesis investigates the evolutionary ecology of Homo erectus, focussing on the differential impact of the environment on the species' life history strategy. Departing from previous studies in taking an integrated approach, it examines the related factors of age-specific mortality, …
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Ecological and Evolutionary Consequences of Variation in Clutch Size in Asteromyia Carbonifera (o.s.) (Diptera: Cecidomyiidae)
… are examined in light of current theories in evolutionary ecology: (1) the selective pressures that act upon the midge to determine optimal clutch size, (2) patterns of resource utilization among the parasitoid species, particularly as affected by gall developmental progress and midge clutch …
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Local Adaptation for Life-History Traits in Silene Latifolia
A fundamental question in evolutionary ecology is how species adjust post colonization. The plant Silene latifolia was introduced to North America (NA) from Europe (EU) in the 1800s. The goal of this thesis was to test if Silene latifolia has become locally adapted across its range. My first …
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Colouration evo-devo: the developmental basis of intra-specific variation in cichlid pigmentation
… and how organisms diversify is a major goal of evolutionary biology. The fields of evolutionary developmental biology, evolutionary ecology, and population genetics have taken complementary approaches to this task, yet a lack of integration between these fields limits our understanding of the …
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Spatial Learning and Memory, Cognitive Flexibility, and Rule-Learning in Food-Caching Mountain Chickadees (Poecile gambeli) Across an Elevational Gradient
… and unresolved questions in behavioral and evolutionary ecology. Cognitive traits are involved in many critical behaviors, enabling individuals to use past experiences to inform future decisions or to reduce unpredictability in the environment. But most cognitive experiments have been …
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Structure-function relationships in the water-use strategies and ecological diversity of the Bromeliaceae
… emerge as a model system for the study of plant evolutionary ecology and physiology, and major advances have been made in understanding the factors involved in episodes of rapid diversification and adaptive radiation in specific bromeliad lineages. However, despite a long tradition of …
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Biotic and abiotic mechanisms shaping multi-species interactions
… interactions critical for understanding the ecology and evolution of organisms. This dissertation includes four data chapters that examine the biotic and abiotic mechanisms that shape multi-species interactions in both tropical and temperate ecosystems. The first three data chapters (Chapters …
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Proximate Causes of Alternative Reproductive Tactics in Blue Ridge Two-Lined Salamanders (Eurycea cf. wilderae)
… males. Each phenotype has a unique reproductive ecology and associated discrete morphological differences. Another trait that shows discrete variation in <em>E.</em> cf. <em>wilderae</em> is the larval period, which may be one or two years in length. This thesis explores the proximate causes of …
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Avian brood parasitism as a model system for studying multispecies interactions
… entirely new frontier for the examination of the ecology and evolution of multispecies interactions. Through the following two chapters, I demonstrate how brood parasitism can address questions on multispecies interactions which have important implications for our understanding of the natural …
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Systematics and Evolution of the Californian Trapdoor Spider Genus Aptostichus Simon (Araneae: Mygalomorphae: Euctenizidae)
… genus an ideal candidate for the study of the evolutionary ecology of desert arthropods. Chapter Three: Aptostichus simus is a trapdoor spider that is endemic to the coastal dunes of southern California and is recognized as a single species on morphological grounds. Mitochondrial DNA 16S rRNA …
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Interactions between ants and diaspores of flowering plants (myrmecochory) in Sicily (Southern Italy): an important ecosystem function of the Mediterranean basin
… il tema delle interazioni piante formiche The evolutionary ecology of ant plant mutualisms volume in buona parte dedicato alla dispersione dei semi mediante le formiche e HANDEL già autore di diversi articoli sulla mirmecocoria) dichiararono che: I biologi stanno appena cominciando a …
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