Thesiss

The Southeast Asian lizard genus Acanthosaura is distributed throughout Myanmar, Thailand, Cambodia, Laos, China, Malaysia, and a number of their offshore islands. Here I investigate the phylogenetic relationships of all nine of the currently recognized species of Acanthosaura u…

Blue catfish Ictalurus furcatus is an invasive species of great concern in coastal habitats throughout the eastern United States, inclulding the Chesapeake Bay and its tributaries. In this dissertation, I use field surveys, laboratory experiments and quantitative modeling to pro…

Epigenetic modifications play a critical role in numerous processes throughout the lifetime of an organism by influencing gene regulation. Responsive to both endogenous cues and external stimuli, epigenetic modifications are key mechanisms underlying phenotypic plasticity. Epige…