Browsing Biology by Type"Doctoral Dissertation"
Now showing items 21-40 of 52
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Exploring the roles of horizotnal gene transfer in metazoans
(East Carolina University, 2016-07-20)Horizontal gene transfer (HGT; also known as lateral gene transfer, LGT) refers to the movement of genetic information between distinct species by overcoming normal mating barriers. Historically HGT is only considered to ... -
Fear of Aquatic Predators Cause Prey to Alter Their Phenotype at Multiple Life Stages
(East Carolina University, 2016-07-27)Many organisms can alter their behavior, life history, and morphology in response to their environment. This ability is known as phenotypic plasticity. One of the major environmental cues that triggers a phenotypic plastic ... -
Fishers’ Perceptions of Ciguatoxin Fish Poisoning and Modeling Biomagnification of Ciguatoxin in the Trophic Dynamics of Caribbean Coral Reef Ecosystems
(East Carolina University, 2021-01-15)Ciguatoxin fish poisoning (CFP) is caused by the consumption of tropical and subtropical fishes and other marine species with high levels of ciguatoxin (CTX) in their tissues. CTX is a polycyclic neurotoxin produced by ... -
Fishing For The Evolutionary Bases Of Female Ornamentation
(East Carolina University, 2015)Sexual dimorphism, or phenotypic differentiation of the sexes, is widespread amongst animals. It is understood mainly in the context of sexual selection, i.e. selection on mating success, with such selection typically ... -
Genetic regulation of maize floral development - insights from the transcriptome and translatome
(East Carolina University, 2022-06-24)Flowers are produced by floral meristems, groups of stem cells that give rise to floral organs. In grasses, including the major cereal crops, flowers (florets) are contained in spikelets, which contain one to many florets, ... -
Genetic regulation of maize floral development - insights from the transcriptome and translatome
(East Carolina University, 2022-06-24)Flowers are produced by floral meristems, groups of stem cells that give rise to floral organs. In grasses, including the major cereal crops, flowers (florets) are contained in spikelets, which contain one to many florets, ... -
How do modified nanoclays adversely affect aquatic species relative to natural nanoclay?
(East Carolina University, 2017-07-17)Nanoclays represent a large class of modified nanomaterials (NMs) (i.e. nanoscale particles from 1 to 100 nm) that has received great attention from the scientific and industrial communities. This material has been widely ... -
IDENTIFICATION OF GEOCHEMICAL TRACERS WITHIN BIOMINERALS OF JUVENILE AND LARVAL MERCENARIA MERCENARIA : IMPLICATIONS FOR MODELING LARVAL DISPERSAL
(East Carolina University, 2013)This study was designed to investigate the application of geochemical signals within biominerals to identify site fidelity and natal origin of the commercially valuable bivalve Mercenaria mercenaria. My first study ... -
Impact of Vessel Noise on Oyster Toadfish (Opsanus tau) Behavior and Implications for Underwater Noise Management
(East Carolina University, 2017-05-03)Underwater noise and its impacts on marine life are growing management concerns. This dissertation considers both the ecological and social concerns of underwater noise, using the oyster toadfish (Opsanus tau) as a model ... -
Incorporating Migration and Local Movement Patterns into Management Strategies for Spiny Dogfish (Squalus acanthias)
(East Carolina University, 2015-12-15)The overall purpose of this dissertation is to increase understanding of migration and movement behaviors associated with a highly migratory elasmobranch species. In particular, I seek to determine whether sufficient ... -
Integrative multi-omic analyses identify novel biomarkers for recurrent stroke in participants from the Vitamin Intervention for Stroke Prevention (VISP) clinical trial
(East Carolina University, 2019-05-01)Background: Recurrent strokes are deadlier and more disabling than primary strokes and over 185,000 individuals in the US suffer a recurrent event each year. Current diagnostic and at-risk identification tools are inadequate ... -
MANIPULATION OF FLOODING AND NUTRIENTS INFLUENCES PLANT-MICROBE INTERACTIONS AND WETLAND FUNCTION
(East Carolina University, 2020-06-22)The largest global stocks of organic carbon are in soils, where plants fix atmospheric carbon dioxide into biomass at higher rates than soil organic carbon is lost through decomposition and microbial respiration. Specifically, ... -
Microbial community response to environmental change during the Anthropocene
(East Carolina University, 2021-05-03)Microbial community composition and functional potential can be affected by human-derived environmental changes during the Anthropocene with important consequences for elemental cycling and whole ecosystem processes. This ... -
Molecular evolution of venom proteins in Ctenidae (Order: Araneae) spiders
(East Carolina University, 2021-01-20)Spiders comprise the largest group of venomous animals and are a pivotal component of the global ecosystem with approximately 50,000 species spread across nearly every habitat on Earth. The family Ctenidae Keyserling, 1877 ... -
Multifunctional experimental assessment in a newly established Mediterranean restored marsh : marsh elevation, carbon accumulation and pollutant concentration reduction
(East Carolina University, 2014)The Delta of the Ebro River (Catalonia, Spain) is among the most important marsh areas in the Western Mediterranean Sea, highly valuable both economically and ecologically. Fluvial sediment reduction by dams in a relative ... -
Multiple Factors Influence the Strength of Intraguild Interactions
(East Carolina University, 2011)Species engaged in intraguild predation (IGP) not only compete for the same food resources but can also eat each other. In some cases, a predator species in a higher trophic position (i.e., a top predator) can eat a ... -
Nutrient contributions from septic systems in nutrient-sensitive watersheds: Quantifying nutrient inputs, reduction methods, and economic feasibility
(East Carolina University, 2019-04-30)Eutrophication of surface waters is a global issue threatening aquatic ecosystems and recreational opportunities. Nutrient management strategies exist to reduce nutrient inputs from various sources; however, septic systems ... -
Poison frog warning signals: From the rainforest to the genome and back again
(East Carolina University, 2018-06-18)Signal communication is pervasive in nature and is used to convey information to both conspecifics and heterospecifics. Aposematic species use warning signals (e.g. bright coloration) to alert predators to the presence of ... -
PROLACTIN FUNCTION IN ZEBRAFISH DEVELOPMENT
(East Carolina University, 2010)Extensive studies have implicated a myriad of functional roles for prolactin (PRL) and prolactin receptor (PRLR) across a variety of adult vertebrate species. However, much less is known about the physiological role(s) of ... -
Rectifying Limitations On Species Delineation In Dusky Salamanders : Lineage Detection Using An Ecoregion-Drainage Sampling Regime
(East Carolina University, 2015)The dusky salamanders (Desmognathus) constitute a large, species-rich group, and although a considerable body of literature exists on systematic relationships and adaptive trends, these issues have heretofore been approached ...