Thesiss

The Carolina Heelsplitter (Lasmigona decorata) is a federally endangered freshwater mussel endemic to North and South Carolina, USA. The species has experienced dramatic range-wide declines as a result of habitat fragmentation and water quality deterioration, and the remaining p…

Genetics at the population level can illuminate important information about the evolutionary health and history of a population, which can be especially important for threatened or endangered species. The Alabama sturgeon (Scaphirhynchus suttkusi) is the rarest and most endanger…

Detection of environmental DNA (eDNA) has become a commonly used surveillance method for threatened or invasive vertebrates in both aquatic and terrestrial environments. However, use of eDNA methodologies for the detection of aquatic invertebrates (e.g., crayfish and insects) ha…

Identifying population declines and mitigating biodiversity loss require reliable monitoring techniques, but complex life histories and cryptic characteristics of anuran species render conventional monitoring challenging and ineffective. Environmental DNA (eDNA) detection is a h…