Browsing Auburn Theses and Dissertations by Department "Biological Sciences"
Now showing items 221-240 of 301
Phylogeography and biodiversity of ophiuroids in the Southern Ocean
(2017-06-28)
The Southern Ocean surrounding Antarctica is home to a highly endemic benthic fauna, often attributed to the strong oceanic barrier, the Antarctic Polar front. The Antarctic Polar Front and Antarctic Circumpolar Current ...
Phylogeography and population structure of Antarctic ophiuroids: effects of life history, oceanography and paleoclimatology
(2009-07-01)
The Antarctic landmass and surrounding continental shelf have been isolated for over 24 million years. Geographic and thermal isolation have resulted in a highly endemic, diverse benthic marine fauna. This fauna has been ...
Physiological and behavioral effects of photosynthetically-active radiation on rosetip sea anemones Condylactis gigantea: Tolerance limits and growth
(2018-07-24)
Irradiance is an abiotic factor that strongly affects the metabolism of endosymbiotic Symbiodinium within photosynthetic cnidarians such as rose tip sea anemones Condylactis gigantea. Fluctuations in the intensity of ...
Physiological Correlates of Bat Rabies Pathogenesis and Epizootiology
(2014-07-24)
Rabies virus (RABV) is one model pathogen to consider for studying the dynamics of emerging infectious diseases under both laboratory and field conditions. The evolutionary history of RABV is characterized by regularly ...
Physiological costs of reproduction in female mice
(2020-02-07)
The hypothesis that the large demand of reproduction negatively impacts future reproduction and/or survival has become a major topic in many fields within biology. Although many assume negative linear correlations between ...
The Physiological Effects of Bright Plumage Coloration
(2008-08-15)
Songbirds with extensive, carotenoid-based plumage tend to maintain high levels of circulating carotenoids in plasma, which could represent a potential tradeoff between maintaining brightness at the expense of carotenoid-related ...
Physiological effects of chytridiomycosis, a cause of amphibian population declines
(2012-05-01)
Emerging infectious diseases (EIDs) of wildlife can have devastating impacts on biodiversity. The fungal disease, chytridiomycosis, caused by Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis (Bd) is implicated with amphibian population ...
The Physiological Effects of Relocation on Gopher Tortoises (Gopherus polyphemus)
(2006-12-15)
As a result of habitat destruction throughout the southeastern United States, gopher tortoises (Gopherus polyphemus) have experienced an 80% decrease in their populations in the past 100 years. To protect the remaining ...
Placement and recovery of seed caches by a solitary rodent, Ord's kangaroo rat (Dipodomys ordii)
(2008-08-15)
Seed caching is a common behavior that has important ecological consequences for seed-hoarding animals, granivorous competitors, and plants whose seeds are harvested and stored. Despite the significance of this behavior, ...
Plasticity of a coral reef fish, Abudefduf saxatilis, to thermal stress and habitat degradation
(2023-07-11)
Sea surface temperatures are rising at unprecedented rates due to anthropogenic activities. Warm conditions have the potential to push marine species beyond their physiological limits, which can lead to challenges on the ...
Plumage coloration and morphology in Chiroxiphia manakins: interacting effects of natural and sexual selection
(2006-05-15)
I examined how natural and sexual selection may have influenced the morphology and coloration of Chiroxiphia manakins (Aves: Pipridae). In the first chapter, I investigated age and sexrelated patterns of plumage coloration ...
Polyketide Synthase Pathway Discovery from Soil Metagenomic Libraries
(2009-07-21)
Polyketides are structurally diverse bacterial secondary metabolites, many of which have antibiotic or anti-cancer activity. Modular polyketide synthase (PKS) enzymatic complexes contain conserved ketoacyl synthase (KS) ...
Population Dynamic Modeling of the Corkscrew Sea Anemone Bartholomea Annulata on Caribbean Coral Reefs
(2008-12-15)
The corkscrew anemone Bartholomea annulata is a large, common sea anemone on Caribbean coral reefs. The holobiont of B. annulata, endosymbiotic microalgae (zooxanthellae), and ectosymbiotic cleaner shrimps may have positive ...
Population dynamics of clownfish sea anemones: Patterns of decline, symbiosis with anemonefish, and management for sustainability
(2015-12-10)
Giant sea anemones on Indo-Pacific coral reefs are important ecologically as hosts to obligate clownfish (anemonefish) and cleanershrimp symbionts, and also economically as major components of the global trade in reef ...
Population Regulation of Frogs and Lizards in a Lowland Wet Neotropical Forest: Integrating Alternative Hypotheses
(2017-07-26)
Populations can be regulated in space and time from the “bottom-up” by resources (e.g., food), from the “top-down” by predation, or from parallel factors, such as interactions with conspecifics or heterospecifics. Amphibians ...
Population Status and Reproductive Biology of Clematis Morefieldii, a Federally Endangered Plant
(2013-12-16)
Clematis morefieldii is a federally endangered, perennial climbing vine. It inhabits limestone drains and outcrops on the Cumberland Plateau escarpments of northeast Alabama and south-central Tennessee. The NatureServe ...
Potential Mechanisms in the Pathogenesis of Virulent Aeromonas hydrophila in Channel Catfish, Ictalurus punctatus
(2020-04-16)
Aeromonas hydrophila are Gram-negative bacteria ubiquitous in freshwater ecosystems. A. hydrophila are opportunistic pathogens with a broad host range that includes mammals, fish, reptiles, amphibians, and invertebrates. ...
Prevention of disease due to hypervirulent Aeromonas hydrophila (vAh) and a global survey of vAh in farmed fish
(2023-04-13)
This dissertation documents research focusing on hypervirulent Aeromonas hydrophila (vAh) regarding its geographical distribution, potential transmission among freshwater fish species, vaccine control, and probiotic control. ...
Pyridoxine (Pyridoxamine) 5'-phosphate Oxidase in Arabidopsis Thaliana
(2008-12-15)
Vitamin B6 is the collective term for a group of three related compounds, pyridoxine (PN), pyridoxal (PL) and pyridoxamine (PM), and their phosphorylated derivatives, pyridoxine 5'-phosphate (PNP), pyridoxal 5'-phosphate ...
Range Expansion Dynamics and Interspecific Interactions of the Invasive Cuban Treefrog in Florida
(2017-11-20)
Biological invasions simultaneously represent a threat to native biota and provide an opportunity to test ecological and evolutionary ideas. Increased interest in the field of invasion ecology has greatly improved our ...