Walker’s Manihot, Manihot walkerae Croizat (Euphorbiaceae), is an endangered plant that is endemic to the Tamaulipan thornscrub ecoregion. Understanding M. walkerae’s geographic distribution, populations, and species interactions can provide essential information for the develop…
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Broad Whitefish (Coregonus nasus) is a critically important subsistence species for Alaska's Indigenous communities, yet little is known about the basic ecology of this species at the individual level. Understanding habitat use by Broad Whitefish is challenging due to their mobi…
Reptile populations are declining world-wide and the mechanisms behind many of these declines remain enigmatic. Food web interactions (i.e., reduced prey availability or increased predation) have been implicated behind some reptile declines. However, relatively little is known a…
Globally many bird populations are declining at a rapid pace due to direct and indirect anthropogenic disturbances. Bird collisions with buildings are one major source of direct mortality. Chapter 1 examined species- and life-history-related variation and correlates of collision…
Human activities play a large role in the threatened persistence of wildlife populations. Overhunting, overharvesting, and habitat loss are primary drivers in declines in abundance for many species. An additional risk comes from decreased connectivity between population fragment…
Madagascar’s lemurs are the most endangered group of mammals in the world, with 94% of species threatened with extinction. Forest loss is one the greatest threat to these arboreal primates, but hunting, habitat degradation, and climate change also threaten their survival. Lemurs…
Genetic factors such as loss of genetic diversity, mutations, and inbreeding depression can increase a populations chances of extinction, therefore it is important to understand how these factors can contribute to populations decline. Among the genetic factors that can contribut…
Rates of emerging infectious diseases are increasing globally. Impacts of emerging diseases on wildlife populations have been identified as major drivers to species declines and extinctions. Species loss due to disease has necessitated prioritizing disease mitigation in wild pop…
Comparative phylogeography is the study of the effects of biogeography and evolutionary history on the spatial distribution of genetic variation of codistributed species. This approach allows investigation of the links between population processes and regional patterns. Here, I …
Aim: Evolutionary divergence may be caused by both biotic and abiotic factors such as landscape features or barriers to dispersal. Using an integration of species distribution modeling and population structure, we can understand how habitat, geography, and evolutionary history c…
Understanding how genetic and demographic factors affect establishment, adaptation, and persistence of small populations in changing environments is a critical question in fundamental and applied ecological and evolutionary research. My dissertation addresses this question using…
Root hemiparasites are green plants that tap into a neighboring plant’s water-filled xylem to acquire inorganic nutrients, which can lead to an accumulation of nutrients in hemiparasite biomass. I performed an observational field study at Nachusa Grasslands and Franklin Creek St…
Biological conservation will benefit from an increased focus on the prevalence and impact of polyploidy (whole genome duplication) in natural Angiosperm (flowering plants) systems. The role of polyploidy in flowering plants has largely been overlooked within the broader context …
Pacific salmon (Oncorhynchus spp.) have great ecological, economic, and cultural importance. Accordingly, understanding the genetic diversity of Pacific salmon populations is critical for their effective management and conservation. Spatial and temporal homing fidelity, a centra…
The question of how native species diversity affects a community’s ability to resist invasive species has inspired decades of research. One of the oldest invasion biology hypotheses is that more species rich ecosystems are less invaded. While there has been strong support for th…
Understanding the mechanisms underlying dynamics of animal populations is critical to planning appropriate management actions for species of concern. Greater Sage-grouse ( Centrocercus urophasianus ; hereafter “sage-grouse”) face many threats across their range in North America.…
Many aspects of the evolution and biogeography of land snails remain unexplored for all but the most well studied families in select few areas of the world. The evolutionary history of land snails is further complicated by their poor fossil record especially in extant centers of…
This study focuses on the Kenyan Amboseli landscape, which comprises the Amboseli National Park and six neighbouring Maasai community Group Ranches, namely Mbirikani, Kuku, Kimana, Eselengei, Ologulului-Ololorashi Ologulului, and Rombo. Over the past five decades, Amboseli has b…
The decrease in number and range of North American large carnivores, has often all owed smaller carnivores ( < 15 kg) to fill the role of the top predator. This has favored some carnivores such as coyotes (<em>Canis latrans</em>), who have expanded their distribut…