RSS 1.0Electronic Dissertations and Theses - Biological Sciences
Browse by
This collection contains theses and dissertations by students in the School of Biological Sciences at Washington State University.
Recent Submissions
-
Detecting Hybridization in Hawaiian Cyrtandra Using Genome-Wide Data
(2018-05)Cyrtandra (Gesneriaceae) is a genus of flowering plants with over 800 species distributed throughout Southeast Asia and the Pacific Islands. On the Hawaiian Islands, 60 named species and over 62 putative hybrids exist, ... -
Atmospheric Nitrogen Deposition in the Western United States: Sources, Sinks, and Changes over Time
(2017)Anthropogenic activities have greatly modified the way nitrogen moves through the atmosphere and terrestrial and aquatic environments. Excess reactive nitrogen generated through fossil fuel combustion, industrial fixation, ... -
MECHANISMS OF INVASIVE RANGE EXPANSION: PLASTICITY, GENETIC VARIATION, AND EPIGENETIC VARIATION IN A CLONAL SPECIES
(2017)Adaptation to novel and changing environmental conditions is crucial for the persistence and range expansion of species in the context of biological invasions and climate change. Investigating the mechanisms by which ... -
DISENTANGLING THE GENETICS OF COEVOLUTION IN POTAMOPYRGUS ANTIPODARUM AND MICROPHALLUS SP.
(2016)Theoretical research has consistently demonstrated that host-parasite coevolution is important for many evolutionary transitions such as the evolution of sexual reproduction, ploidy and the evolution of mating systems. In ... -
Applications of Bayesian skyline plots and approximate Bayesian computation for population demography: A case study of Northern Fur Seals (Callorhinus ursinus)
(2016)The demographic history of a population can be reconstructed from its genetic composition, as populations carry signatures of their evolutionary pasts in their genomes. However, the application of population genetics to ... -
Genetic history of Chinook and sockeye salmon analyzed using ancient and contemporary mitochondrial DNA
(2016)Pacific salmon (Oncorhynchus spp.) serve an important social and economic role in western North America. Despite historical abundance, native salmonids are now at risk of extinction throughout much of their native range. ... -
A phylogenetic analysis of the genus Mertensia (Boraginaceae): taxonomy, divergence times, and biogeography
(2013)This study explores the taxonomy, systematics, and biogeography of -
Exploring the life histories of cephalopods using stable isotope analysis of an archival tissue
(2013)Relatively little is known about the life histories of cephalopods compared to many other groups of major marine predators such as fish, marine mammals, and sea birds. Increased importance of cephalopods to global fisheries ... -
Applied Investigations into Grizzly (Ursus arctos) and black bear (U. americanus) ecology and management
(2012)The following dissertation is composed of three stand-alone manuscripts. However all contribute to a working set of knowledge and techniques pertaining to the ecology and management of grizzly (Ursus arctos) and black (U. ... -
Sieve Element Structure and Function
(2012)The distribution of photosynthetically derived assimilates through plants occurs in specialized cells called sieve elements that are connected to each other forming a microfluidic system within the plant. Sieve elements ... -
OVARIAN PHYSIOLOGY IN A NON-DOMESTICATED BIRD: MECHANISMS BEHIND THE ACCUMULATION AND VARIATION OF YOLK ANDROGENS IN HOUSE SPARROWS
(2011)In birds and other oviparous species, the accumulation of maternally-derived yolk androgens may represent an adaptive transgenerational information system. Researchers have found multiple effects of these yolk androgens ... -
Macroevolutionary patterns and processes of diversification in sedges (Cyperaceae), with emphasis on Eleocharis
(2011)This dissertation includes three chapters, the first two of which focus on the genus Eleocharis--an ecologically and economically important group of sedges containing over 250 species, with centers of diversity in seasonally ... -
Niche separation of grizzly (Ursus arctos) and American black bears (Ursus americanus) in Yellowstone National Park
(2011)Three manuscripts constitute the following dissertation. Chapter one studied how sympatric grizzly bears and black bears in Yellowstone National Park relied on different food items to meet their energetic requirements. In ... -
PREDICTING PLANT NATURALIZATIONS IN THE PACIFIC NORTHWEST: THE FATE OF BAMBOOS IN THE UNDERSTORY OF CONIFEROUS FORESTS
(2011)Identifying future plant invaders could drastically reduce the economic costs and environmental damages these species inflict annually. As an addendum to Weed Risk Assessments, I erected and tested a series of pre-introduction ... -
Testing macroevolutionary hypotheses: diversification and phylogenetic implications
(2010)This dissertation research tests macroevolutionary hypotheses in a large vertebrate group (Reptilia: Serpentes), and detects methodological problems of using molecular data to test macroevolutionary hypotheses. The first ...