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Evolutionary Morphology Of The Speckled Rattlesnakes (viperidae: Crotalus Mitchellii Group)
(Biology, 2009-09-16)
I examined various facets of morphological variation and evolution in the speckled rattlesnake (Crotalus mitchellii) species group. I performed three separate, but related, studies pertaining to the following topics: body ...
A Sticky Situation: Functional Responses Of Mast Cells To Acidic pH
(Biology, 2008-04-22)
Precise regulation of extracellular pH is critical for proper function of many cellular activities. Minor fluctuations in pH can have profound effects on ion transport, receptor function, and cellular secretions. This work ...
Species Limits And Phylogenetic Systematic Of The Diurnal Geckos Of The Genus Gonatodes (Squamata: Sphaerodactylidae)
(Biology, 2008-09-17)
The genus Gonatodes (family Sphaerodactylidae) is a diverse of group of about 20 species currently recognized of mostly diurnal geckos that are collectively distributed from southern Mexico to Brazil and Bolivia, and also ...
The Evolutionary History And Genomic Impact Of Mammalian Dna Transposons
(Biology, 2009-09-16)
Transposable elements (TEs) are mobile repetitive sequences that make up large fractions of mammalian genomes, including at least 45% of the human genome. Class 2, or DNA intermediate transposons, which make up approximately ...
Comparative Thermal Biology And Associated Niche Differentiation Among the Five-Lined Skinks
(Biology, 2008-09-17)
Three species of five-lined skinks (Plestiodon fasciatus, P. laticeps, and P. inexpectatus) occur in regional sympatry across much of the Southeastern United States. These closely-related species, at one or more levels of ...
Ecological Genetics Of Adaptive Life-history Phenotypes In The Cricket Allonemobius socius
(Biology, 2009-09-16)
As many organisms inhabit unstable environments, the ability to respond to changing environmental conditions is highly adaptive, and results in the evolution of phenotypic plasticity. Thus, identifying the genetic basis ...
Analysis Of Novel Regulatory Region And Function Of A Young Drosophila Retrogene: Dntf-2r
(Biology, 2009-09-16)
Dntf-2r is a young retroposed gene that originated from the nuclear transport gene Dntf-2. Here the function, quality and evolutionary origin of the regulation of this retrogene are explored. In Chapter 1, I introduce the ...
Comparison Of The DNA Methylation Patterns Between Interspecific Xenopus F1 Hybrids And Their Parental Species
(Biology, 2011-07-14)
In this study the main focus is to compare the methylation patterns of interspecific Xenopus F1 hybrids to the parental species using Methyl-Sensitive Amplification Polymorphisms (MSAPs). Genomic DNA was extracted from the ...
Genetic Determinants Of Reproductive Isolation In Xenopus
(Biology, 2007-09-17)
Haldane's rule states that in F1 interspecific hybrids the heterogametic sex (XY or ZW) suffers the most dysfunctional effects of hybridization. Frogs of the genus Xenopus have ZW sex determination yet hybrid males are ...
Rate Of Diversification In Crickets (Orthoptera: Ensifera) And A Possible Role Of F Supergroup Wolbachia In Bush Crickets
(Biology, 2007-09-17)
Part I: Rates of speciation can tell us more than how many species have survived over a period of time. They indicate whether there are some characteristics of organisms or biogeography scenarios facilitate or hinder ...