This Is AuburnElectronic Theses and Dissertations

Browsing by Author "Armbruster, Jonathan"

Now showing items 1-18 of 18

Body shape evolution of African/Asian minnows of the genus Labeo Cuvier 1817 (Cyprinidae, Labeonini) and variations in Labeo parvus 

Liyandja, Tobit (2018-07-30)
Morphological variation or similarities among organisms are not only a result of common evolutionary history but can also emerge because of convergent adaptations to similar habitats. Therefore, an organism’s morphology ...

Descriptions and Phylogenetic Relationships of the Guiana Shield Pencil Catfishes 

Akin, Daniel (2022-07-21)  ETD File Embargoed
The systematics of the catfish genus Trichomycterus Valenciennes 1832 are complicated and unresolved. This genus is paraphyletic, containing all members of the Trichomycterinae that cannot be adequately placed into an ...

Diversity and Conservation of the Southern Cavefish, Typhlichthys subterraneus 

Hart, Pamela (2016-07-29)
The Southern Cavefish, Typhlichthys subterraneus, is one of the most fascinating stygobionts of the Amblyopsidae due to undescribed diversity within it. I investigated aspects of morphological and molecular diversity for ...

Evolution of Miniaturization and Paedomorphism in Fishes of the Order Cypriniformes 

Tan, Milton (2016-08-05)
The order Cypriniformes (carps, minnows and their allies) is a morphologically diverse freshwater fish clade numbering over 4000 species. One species is the model organism zebrafish, Danio rerio. Cypriniform fishes have ...

Evolutionary Ecology of Loricariid Catfishes 

Black, Corinthia (2022-07-25)
How extrinsic (like functional constrains and ecological interactions) and intrinsic (like modularity and integration) interactions drive diversification is a formative area of evolutionary biology. In this dissertation, ...

Gene flow, morphology, and taxonomic revision of cave-obligate Hesperochernes pseudoscorpions 

Stephen, Charles (2022-05-01)
Pseudoscorpions are small predatory arthropods that are found in surface and subterranean habitats. Subterranean habitats such as caves tend to harbor pseudoscorpion species with highly restricted gene flow and high degrees ...

Hydrological link between the Amazon River Basin and the eastern Guiana Shield on the Neotropical ichthyofauna 

Desouza, Lesley (2011-11-30)
The seasonal inundation of the Rupununi savannas in south central Guyana allows for potential faunal exchange between the Takutu and Rupununi Rivers and ultimately between the Essequibo and Amazon Rivers. This hydrological ...

Jaw Morpho-Functional Diversity, Trophic Ecology, and Historical Biogeography of the Neotropical Suckermouth Armored Catfishes (Siluriformes, Loricariidae) 

Lujan, Nathan (2009-05-04)
Tropical South America is renowned for its unparalleled biodiversity. Among vertebrates, fish diversity exceeds that of any other group. Estimates of total Neotropical fish richness range between 5000 and 8000 species, of ...

Minnows and molecules: resolving the broad and fine-scale evolutionary patterns of Cypriniformes 

Stout, Carla (2017-04-21)
Cypriniformes (minnows, carps, loaches, and suckers) is the largest group of freshwater fishes in the world. Despite much attention, previous attempts to elucidate relationships using molecular and morphological characters ...

Molecular Investigations of the Diversity of Freshwater Fishes across Three Continents 

Hayes, Malorie (2020-07-02)
Fishes are the most speciose vertebrates, and incredible diversity can be found within different groups of fish. Due to their physiological limitations, fish are confined to waters, and in freshwater fish, this is restricted ...

Patterns and rates of ecological diversification among Neotropical cichlid fishes 

Burress, Edward (2017-07-25)
The rapid rise of phenotypic diversity and corresponding ecological roles is an emblematic pattern of cichlid evolution, particularly within clades of the East African Great Lakes. Herein, I evaluate the phenotypic and ...

Phylogenetic treatment and taxonomic revision of the tarantula genus Aphonopelma Pocock, 1901 (Araneae, Mygalomorphae, Theraphosidae) within the United States 

Hamilton, Chris A. (2015-07-21)
This systematic study documents the taxonomy, diversity, and distribution of the tarantula spider genus Aphonopelma Pocock, 1901 within the United States. Aphonopelma is a group wherein traditional morphological characters ...

Redescription and Morphometric Analysis of Isorineloricaria (Siluriformes:Loricariidae) 

Ray, Clifton Keith (2010-12-13)
In this study, the genus Isorineloricaria Isbrücker 1980 is resurrected and redescribed. The complex history of the genus is reviewed. Isorineloricaria is diagnosed from Hypostomus by an elongated caudle peduncle, elongate ...

Species Diversity of Hickory-feeding Phylloxerans (Hemiptera: Phylloxeridae) in the U.S. 

Hamilton, Fredericka (2019-07-23)
During the spring months, hickories throughout the Eastern U.S. become adorned with abnormal growths or galls on the leaf or stem tissue. Many of these galls are caused by phylloxerans (Hemiptera: Phylloxeridae: Phylloxera ...

Systematics and evolutionary history of sea catfishes (Siluriformes: Ariidae) 

Betancur-R., Ricardo (2009-04-28)
Ariids or sea catfishes are one of the two otophysan fish families (out of 67 families in four orders) that inhabit primarily marine and brackish waters, although some ariid species occur strictly in fresh waters. The ...

Taxonomic and Phylogenetic Revision of the Family Chiasmodontidae (Perciformes: Acanthomorpha) 

Melo, Marcelo (2009-08-07)
The family Chiasmodontidae, commonly known as swallowers, comprises four genera and 33 species distributed in the meso and bathypelagic regions of the Atlantic, Pacific, Indian and Southern Oceans. The species of Chiasmodon ...

Taxonomy and phylogenetics of fish blood flukes using morphology, life history, and molecular markers 

Orélis-Ribeiro, Raphael (2016-08-05)
Fish blood flukes (Digenea: Aporocotylidae) are of rapidly progressing and emerging interest to ecology and evolutionary biologists because some lineages may have coevolved with the major lineages of non-tetrapod vertebrates ...

Variation in morphology and physiology of introduced populations of the Virile Crayfish, Faxonius virilis Hagen 1870 

Weber, Jennifer (2018-04-23)
Crayfish often show high levels of morphological variation between and within populations. Studies have shown that environmental factors can play a role in determining external morphology. Increased levels of phenotypic ...