Download or read book Use of Microsatellites to Determine the Effective Population Size of a Local Population of Spotted Salamanders Ambystoma Maculatum written by Caroline G. Letourneau and published by . This book was released on 2011 with total page 100 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The spotted salamander (Ambystoma maculatum) is an aggregate breeding amphibian that is dependent upon vernal pools for its reproductive life cycle. However, as wetland habitats become increasingly fragmented as the result of human activity, populations of A. maculatum may become progressively isolated from one another. Such isolation can impact the genetic variation of a population and thus pose challenges to its long term survival. This study used nine microsatellite loci to determine the levels of heterozygosity and the effective population size (Ne) of a population of spotted salamanders (Ambystoma maculatum) located at Wheaton College in Norton, Massachusetts. The mean observed heterozygosity was calculated as 0.59, which is similar to estimates of other A. maculatum populations, and Ne was estimated between 42 and 60 individuals. These values suggest that the Wheaton College vernal pool population of A. maculatum is genetically stable in the short term.
Download or read book Nuclear Microsatellite Analysis of an Ambystoma Maculatum spotted Salamander Population Inhabiting the Penn State Behrend Campus written by Jeana Ferilla and published by . This book was released on 2003 with total page 54 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Adaptation to Acidification in Spotted Salamanders Ambystoma Maculatum written by Nicholas Gervais and published by . This book was released on 2016 with total page pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "Declines in amphibian populations have been noted since the late 1980's with many of the causes linked to habitat contamination and destruction by natural and anthropogenic sources. Amphibians with bi-phasic life histories have been thought to be particularly vulnerable to negative environmental conditions but there is much evidence of their resilience and capacity to survive in degraded or contaminated environments. Larval amphibians in small permanent or ephemeral ponds may be particularly vulnerable to altered environmental conditions and may face the greatest pressure to adapt. In Chapter 1, I briefly review the evidence of amphibian declines and how populations may adapt to and overcome assorted negative environmental factors. In Chapter 2, I investigated the phenomenon of adaptation in a particular circumstance. I collected Spotted Salamander (Ambystoma maculatum) egg masses from a population breeding in a naturally acidic pond called Bat Lake, as well as four other populations living in lakes closer to pH neutral. To determine if the salamanders were adapted to their particular breeding lakes, I used common garden experiments in the lab where I raised larvae from each of the lakes in the waters from all the other lakes, as well as their own and compared the survival rates, size at metamorphosis and time to metamorphosis. Bat Lake larvae grew larger and survived longer in their acidic native breeding pond water than in the waters of other lakes suggesting they are adapted to their native pond waters. The larvae from the other lake populations showed similar results and fared better in their native waters than in the Bat Lake water. Based on these results, in Chapter 3, I tested if pH, specifically, was causal. I raised larvae from the five populations in waters of different pH (4.0, 5.5, 7.0), reasoning that if the Bat Lake population was more adapted to the high acidity compared to the other populations, the larvae from Bat Lake should demonstrate higher fitness correlates at lower pH than larvae of other populations. In this experiment, the Bat Lake larvae survived longer and grew larger in the highly acidic water than did larvae from the other populations. My results are consistent with natural selection for tolerance of low pH conditions tolerance among Bat Lake Spotted Salamander larvae and indicate that the salamanders from Bat Lake potentially exhibit signs of local adaption to the highly acidic conditions in which they live. This study was unable, however to prove whether this adaptation was due to evolutionary change, phenotypic plasticity, maternal effects or some other unknown factor. " --
Download or read book Terrestrial Habitat Use by Radio implanted Spotted Salamanders Ambystoma Maculatum written by Ashley Lynn Nussbaum and published by . This book was released on 2005 with total page 78 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Regional Population Structure of Spotted Salamanders Ambystoma Maculatum in a Fragmented Landscape written by Jennifer Lyn Purrenhage and published by . This book was released on 2004 with total page 60 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Establishment of Microsatellite Based PCR for Analysis of Spotted Salamander ambystoma Maculatum written by Huihui Huang and published by . This book was released on 2007 with total page 24 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Genetic Structure Due to Variation in Breeding Time in a Salamander Population written by Scott A. Thomas and published by . This book was released on 2013 with total page 28 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The fine-scale genetic structure of populations is traditionally thought to be shaped primarily by geographic barriers to reproduction among local populations. However, other mechanisms of isolation have been recognized, but little has been done to determine their relative roles in shaping genetic variation in natural populations. In this study, I test whether genetic structure within and among breeding ponds of spotted salamanders (Ambystoma maculatum) is influenced by within-pond variation in breeding time. I found significant genetic structure attributable to variation in breeding time within ponds. This temporal structure was not consistent across ponds, indicating it is a local and not a regional effect. However, this temporal structure did not fully resolve strong patterns of inbreeding within ponds, indicating that reproductive barriers operating with in ponds are more effective than either spatial or phenological ones. Together, these findings reveal complex relationships between genetic structure and variation in breeding phenology that would not be uncovered by spatial or temporal analyses alone.
Download or read book Evolutionary Genetics of Range Limits in an Endemic Salamander Ambystoma Barbouri written by Steven James Micheletti and published by . This book was released on 2016 with total page 198 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Despite decades of interest in range limits, the evolutionary and ecological processes that lead to geographic distributions of organisms lack empirical evidence. In this dissertation, I test major abiotic range limit hypotheses in the streamside salamander (Ambystoma barbouri) to provide empirical evidence for abiotic processes that lead to geographic distributions. A. barbouri is an ideal organism for testing range limit hypotheses due to its specialized distribution in the eastern United States that is not defined by any conspicuous barriers. Thus, this dissertation has three objectives which all seek to understand range limits; 1) determine genetic patterns across the distribution of A. barbouri and how they might influence the range, 2) identify resistant habitat across the distribution of A. barbouri which may prevent dispersal beyond the range, and 3) investigate patterns of local adaptation between edge and center populations to determine if edges are adapted to their local environments. In Chapter 1, I provided a test for the central-marginal hypothesis using genetic samples from three broad transects of A. barbouri which show that most edge populations are acting like sinks and may not have the genetic diversity and effective population sizes to adapt beyond the range edge. In Chapter 2, I utilized landscape genetic analyses to determine both regional and range-wide resistant habitat that becomes more common towards the edges of the distribution which can prevent further dispersal of A. barbouri. In Chapter 3, I used population genetic analyses to determine asymmetric gene flow from core populations to edge populations. I additionally performed a reciprocal transplant experiment to show that gene flow can inhibit local adaptation in edge populations. Finally, in Chapter 4, I performed genomic sequencing of populations across the distribution of A. barbouri to determine adaptive loci associated with different regions and identify adaptive genetic patterns from core to edge. Overall, this dissertation provides some of the first tests for abiotic range limit hypotheses in vertebrate systems and serves as a framework for understanding range limits in other organisms.
Download or read book Social Behavior and Kinship in the Four toed Salamander Hemidactylium Scutatum written by and published by . This book was released on 2015 with total page pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book A Multiple scale Analysis of the Effects of Landscape Structure on Populations of Yellow spotted Salamanders Ambystoma Maculatum written by Samara T. Eaton and published by . This book was released on 1999 with total page pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: I examine the effects of landscape structure on the incidence and abundance of yellow-spotted salamanders, Ambystoma maculatum, and use these population level responses as indirect measures of movement. Two surveys of breeding populations in ponds located in a heterogeneous landscape were conducted and effects of landscape structure assessed at multiple spatial scales. Landscape structure was quantified as the proportion of forest and the total length of roads surrounding ponds. Additionally, the movement capabilities of juvenile A. maculatum in different habitat types was explored. Through the first survey I show that the proportion of forest influences incidence and density at a small spatial scale (100 m). I conclude that the breeding and post-breeding migration movements are influenced by the amount of forest and identify 15% forest, within 100 m of the pond, as a threshold amount of forest below which A. maculatum cannot persist at a pond. Results from a second survey, which encompassed a greater number of ponds at broader spatial scales, concur with the previous survey for the small scale effects of the proportion of forest, however, there is a significant effect of the proportion of forest at a broad spatial scale (1000 m). This provides indication that populations are spatially structured and that the amount of forest increases the connectivity of the landscape for A. maculatum. Also, at small spatial scales the total amount of road has a negative effect on incidence and abundance. Experimentally I assess the rates of movement of juveniles in forested and field habitat. Results show that juveniles can move faster in field habitat than forest. Finally, I explore the possibilities of harmonic radar as a new technique for tracking juvenile A. maculatum.
Download or read book The Population Biology of the Spotted Salamander Ambystoma Maculatum Inhabiting Penn State Erie Wetlands written by Pamela Silver and published by . This book was released on 1999 with total page 58 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Index Medicus written by and published by . This book was released on 2004 with total page 2164 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Vols. for 1963- include as pt. 2 of the Jan. issue: Medical subject headings.
Download or read book Microsatellites written by David B. Goldstein and published by Oxford University Press on Demand. This book was released on 1999 with total page 352 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Microsatellites are short stretches of repeated DNA, found in most genomes, that show exceptional variability in humans and most other species. This variability has made microsatellites the genetic marker of choice for most applications, including genetic mapping and studies of the evolutionary connections between species and populations. This book brings together an international group of scientists currently working in microsatellites. Their contributions provide a detailed descriptionof microsatellite biology, focusing on their mutation properties, generation, decay, and possible functional roles. They introduce the theoretical models that underpin the most popular methods for analysing the information that microsatellites can yield, including methods for estimating coalescent times, population divergences, and migration. Finally, the book describes the various ways in which the potential of microsatellites is being harnessed in a range of applications including medical genetics, forensics, genetic mapping, the analysis of human evolution, and conservation genetics.
Download or read book The Teeth of Non Mammalian Vertebrates written by Barry Berkovitz and published by Academic Press. This book was released on 2016-10-14 with total page 356 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Teeth of Non-Mammalian Vertebrates is the first comprehensive publication devoted to the teeth and dentitions of living fishes, amphibians and reptiles. The book presents a comprehensive survey of the amazing variety of tooth forms among non-mammalian vertebrates, based on descriptions of approximately 400 species belonging to about 160 families. The text is lavishly illustrated with more than 600 high-quality color and monochrome photographs of specimens gathered from top museums and research workers from around the world, supplemented by radiographs and micro-CT images. This stimulating work discusses the functional morphology of feeding, the attachment of teeth, and the relationship of tooth form to function, with each chapter accompanied by a comprehensive, up-to-date reference list. Following the descriptions of the teeth and dentitions in each class, four chapters review current topics with considerable research activity: tooth development; tooth replacement; and the structure, formation and evolution of the dental hard tissues. This timely book, authored by internationally recognized teachers and researchers in the field, also reflects the resurgence of interest in the dentitions of non-mammalian vertebrates as experimental systems to help understand genetic changes in evolution of teeth and jaws. Features more than 600 images, including numerous high-quality photographs from internationally-recognized researchers and world class collections Offers guidance on tooth morphology for classification and evolution of vertebrates Provides detailed coverage of the dentition of all living groups of non-mammalian vertebrates
Download or read book Scientific and Standard English Names of Amphibians and Reptiles of North America North of Mexico written by Society for the Study of Amphibians and Reptiles. Committee on Standard English and Scientific Names and published by . This book was released on 2001 with total page 104 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Landscape Genetics written by Niko Balkenhol and published by John Wiley & Sons. This book was released on 2015-11-09 with total page 298 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: LANDSCAPE GENETICS: CONCEPTS, METHODS, APPLICATIONS LANDSCAPE GENETICS: CONCEPTS, METHODS, APPLICATIONS Edited by Niko Balkenhol, Samuel A. Cushman, Andrew T. Storfer, Lisette P. Waits Landscape genetics is an exciting and rapidly growing field, melding methods and theory from landscape ecology and population genetics to address some of the most challenging and urgent ecological and evolutionary topics of our time. Landscape genetic approaches now enable researchers to study in detail how environmental complexity in space and time affect gene flow, genetic drift, and local adaptation. However, learning about the concepts and methods underlying the field remains challenging due to the highly interdisciplinary nature of the field, which relies on topics that have traditionally been treated separately in classes and textbooks. In this edited volume, some of the leading experts in landscape genetics provide the first comprehensive introduction to underlying concepts, commonly used methods, and current and future applications of landscape genetics. Consistent with the interdisciplinary nature of the field, the book includes textbook-like chapters that synthesize fundamental concepts and methods underlying landscape genetics (Part 1), chapters on advanced topics that deserve a more in-depth treatment (Part 2), and chapters illustrating the use of concepts and methods in empirical applications (Part 3). Aimed at beginning landscape geneticists and experienced researchers alike, this book will be helpful for all scientists and practitioners interested in learning, teaching, and applying landscape genetics.
Download or read book Reticulate Evolution written by Nathalie Gontier and published by Springer. This book was released on 2015-07-09 with total page 345 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Written for non-experts, this volume introduces the mechanisms that underlie reticulate evolution. Chapters are either accompanied with glossaries that explain new terminology or timelines that position pioneering scholars and their major discoveries in their historical contexts. The contributing authors outline the history and original context of discovery of symbiosis, symbiogenesis, lateral gene transfer, hybridization or divergence with gene flow and infectious heredity. By applying key insights from the areas of molecular (phylo)genetics, microbiology, virology, ecology, systematics, immunology, epidemiology and computational science, they demonstrate how reticulate evolution impacts successful survival, fitness and speciation. Reticulate evolution brings forth a challenge to the standard Neo-Darwinian framework, which defines life as the outcome of bifurcation and ramification patterns brought forth by the vertical mechanism of natural selection. Reticulate evolution puts forward a pattern in the tree of life that is characterized by horizontal mergings and lineage crossings induced by symbiosis, symbiogenesis, lateral gene transfer, hybridization or divergence with gene flow and infective heredity, making the “tree of life” look more like a “web of life.” On an epistemological level, the various means by which hereditary material can be transferred horizontally challenges our classic notions of units and levels of evolution, fitness, modes of transmission, linearity, communities and biological individuality. The case studies presented examine topics including the origin of the eukaryotic cell and its organelles through symbiogenesis; the origin of algae through primary and secondary symbiosis and dinoflagellates through tertiary symbiosis; the superorganism and holobiont as units of evolution; how endosymbiosis induces speciation in multicellular life forms; transferrable and non-transferrable plasmids and how they symbiotically interact with their host; the means by which pro- and eukaryotic organisms transfer genes laterally (bacterial transformation, transduction and conjugation as well as transposons and other mobile genetic elements); hybridization and divergence with gene flow in sexually-reproducing individuals; current (human) microbiome and viriome studies that impact our knowledge concerning the evolution of organismal health and acquired immunity; and how symbiosis and symbiogenesis can be modelled in computational evolution.
