{"id":{"repo_id":"uiuc","oai_identifier":"oai:www.ideals.illinois.edu:2142/122022"},"canonical_url":"https://search.dev.ndltd.org/etd/uiuc/oai:www.ideals.illinois.edu:2142/122022","repository":{"repo_id":"uiuc","name":"University of Illinois - Urbana-Champaign","base_url":"https://www.ideals.illinois.edu/oai-pmh"},"display":{"title":"Conservation of a fossorial grassland species (Geomys bursarius) through understanding niche reduction, landscape genetics, and phylogenetics","abstract":"Submission original under an indefinite embargo labeled 'Open Access'. The submission was exported from vireo on 2024-03-01 without embargo terms","abstract_html":"Submission original under an indefinite embargo labeled 'Open Access'. The submission was exported from vireo on 2024-03-01 without embargo terms","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Alexander, Nathan"],"institution":"University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign","degree_name":"Ph.D.","degree_level":"Dissertation","degree_discipline":"Natural Res & Env Sciences","degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":["Schooley, Robert L","Fraterrigo, Jennifer","Larson, Eric","Cosentino, Bradley J"],"advisors":[],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":2023,"date_issued":"2023-12","date_published":"2023-12","updated_at":"2026-07-22T22:25:00Z","subjects":["Geomys Bursarius","Niche Reduction Hypothesis","Landscape Genetics","Isolation By Environment","Mitogenomics","Phylogenetics"],"languages":["en","eng"],"rights":["Copyright 2023 Nathan Alexander"],"rights_urls":[],"identifier_entries":[]},"links":{"outbound_url":"https://hdl.handle.net/2142/122022","outbound_label":"Handle","outbound_source":"dc:identifier"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:contributor","label":"Contributor","values":["Schooley, Robert L","Fraterrigo, Jennifer","Larson, Eric","Cosentino, Bradley J"]},{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Alexander, Nathan"]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"dc:date","label":"Dc Date","values":["2023-12","2023-11-28"]},{"key":"dc:type","label":"Dc Type","values":["text"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_discipline","label":"Discipline","values":["Natural Res & Env Sciences"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_level","label":"Degree Level","values":["Dissertation"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_name","label":"Degree Name","values":["Ph.D."]},{"key":"thesis:institution_name","label":"Thesis Institution Name","values":["University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign"]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["Geomys Bursarius","Niche Reduction Hypothesis","Landscape Genetics","Isolation By Environment","Mitogenomics","Phylogenetics"]}]},{"id":"language_rights","label":"Language and Rights","entries":[{"key":"dc:language","label":"Dc Language","values":["en","eng"]},{"key":"dc:rights","label":"Dc Rights","values":["Copyright 2023 Nathan Alexander"]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier","label":"Identifier","values":["https://hdl.handle.net/2142/122022"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description","label":"Description","values":["Submission original under an indefinite embargo labeled 'Open Access'. The submission was exported from vireo on 2024-03-01 without embargo terms","The student, Nathan Alexander, accepted the attached license on 2023-11-27 at 15:27.","The student, Nathan Alexander, submitted this Dissertation for approval on 2023-11-27 at 15:38.","This Dissertation was approved for publication on 2023-11-28 at 08:43.","DSpace SAF Submission Ingestion Package generated from Vireo submission #20026 on 2024-03-01 at 13:15:06","Considering species conservation through temporal and spatial lenses better identifies threats and can inform management. This is particularly true for grassland species such as the plains pocket gopher (Geomys bursarius) that persist in anthropogenically altered landscapes. Here, I first identified ongoing habitat degradation due to agricultural intensification since the 1950s for G. bursarius in Illinois. I created species distribution models for G. bursarius in Illinois during two eras, the 1950s and the 2010s, and estimated niche shift and niche breadth. Geomys bursarius in Illinois exhibited niche shifts and a decrease in niche breadth, with increased occurrence at lower elevations and in sandier soils. The core of the G. bursarius distribution in Illinois decreased in suitability, a common phenomenon for species under anthropogenic pressures. Second, I identified genetic structure and gene flow patterns for G. bursarius at different spatial scales, and then partitioned gene flow to multiple isolating factors: barriers, distance, and environment. Rangewide, major rivers functioned as barriers, but in Illinois, distance predominantly explained genetic variance. At both spatial scales, soil sand percentage and soil color explained a small proportion of genetic variance. Finally, I inferred a phylogenetic tree for subspecies of G. bursarius with a focus on whether G. b. illinoensis was monophyletic using mitochondrial genomes (mitogenomes). I found that G. b. illinoensis was monophyletic and genetically unique from the other G. bursarius subspecies, and that additional subspecies (e.g., G. b. wisconsinensis) were genetically unique as well. Geomys bursarius illinoensis demonstrated admixture from G. jugossicularis and G. b. missouriensis, likely due to retaining ancestral mitogenomes. Overall, G. b. illinoensis should be considered an Evolutionary Significant Unit currently facing niche reduction and niche shifts, and management should focus on increasing connectivity and occupancy in regions where G. bursarius occurred in the 1950s."]},{"key":"dc:format","label":"Dc Format","values":["application/pdf"]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["Conservation of a fossorial grassland species (Geomys bursarius) through understanding niche reduction, landscape genetics, and phylogenetics"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:contributor":["Schooley, Robert L","Fraterrigo, Jennifer","Larson, Eric","Cosentino, Bradley J"],"dc:creator":["Alexander, Nathan"],"dc:date":["2023-12","2023-11-28"],"dc:description":["Submission original under an indefinite embargo labeled 'Open Access'. The submission was exported from vireo on 2024-03-01 without embargo terms","The student, Nathan Alexander, accepted the attached license on 2023-11-27 at 15:27.","The student, Nathan Alexander, submitted this Dissertation for approval on 2023-11-27 at 15:38.","This Dissertation was approved for publication on 2023-11-28 at 08:43.","DSpace SAF Submission Ingestion Package generated from Vireo submission #20026 on 2024-03-01 at 13:15:06","Considering species conservation through temporal and spatial lenses better identifies threats and can inform management. This is particularly true for grassland species such as the plains pocket gopher (Geomys bursarius) that persist in anthropogenically altered landscapes. Here, I first identified ongoing habitat degradation due to agricultural intensification since the 1950s for G. bursarius in Illinois. I created species distribution models for G. bursarius in Illinois during two eras, the 1950s and the 2010s, and estimated niche shift and niche breadth. Geomys bursarius in Illinois exhibited niche shifts and a decrease in niche breadth, with increased occurrence at lower elevations and in sandier soils. The core of the G. bursarius distribution in Illinois decreased in suitability, a common phenomenon for species under anthropogenic pressures. Second, I identified genetic structure and gene flow patterns for G. bursarius at different spatial scales, and then partitioned gene flow to multiple isolating factors: barriers, distance, and environment. Rangewide, major rivers functioned as barriers, but in Illinois, distance predominantly explained genetic variance. At both spatial scales, soil sand percentage and soil color explained a small proportion of genetic variance. Finally, I inferred a phylogenetic tree for subspecies of G. bursarius with a focus on whether G. b. illinoensis was monophyletic using mitochondrial genomes (mitogenomes). I found that G. b. illinoensis was monophyletic and genetically unique from the other G. bursarius subspecies, and that additional subspecies (e.g., G. b. wisconsinensis) were genetically unique as well. Geomys bursarius illinoensis demonstrated admixture from G. jugossicularis and G. b. missouriensis, likely due to retaining ancestral mitogenomes. Overall, G. b. illinoensis should be considered an Evolutionary Significant Unit currently facing niche reduction and niche shifts, and management should focus on increasing connectivity and occupancy in regions where G. bursarius occurred in the 1950s."],"dc:format":["application/pdf"],"dc:identifier":["https://hdl.handle.net/2142/122022"],"dc:language":["en","eng"],"dc:rights":["Copyright 2023 Nathan Alexander"],"dc:subject":["Geomys Bursarius","Niche Reduction Hypothesis","Landscape Genetics","Isolation By Environment","Mitogenomics","Phylogenetics"],"dc:title":["Conservation of a fossorial grassland species (Geomys bursarius) through understanding niche reduction, landscape genetics, and phylogenetics"],"dc:type":["text"],"thesis:degree_discipline":["Natural Res & Env Sciences"],"thesis:degree_level":["Dissertation"],"thesis:degree_name":["Ph.D."],"thesis:institution_name":["University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign"]},"updated_at":"2026-07-22T22:25:00Z"}