Biology, Department of

The Genetic Structure of Species' Geographic Ranges: An Evaluation Using the Coastal Dune Endemic Camissoniopsis Cheiranthifolia (Onagraceae)

Lopez Villalobos, Adriana

The development of molecular techniques has spurred thousands of population genetic studies on a wide variety of plant and animal species. Particularly important, but still relatively rare, are studies that properly test ...

Characterization and Knockdown of a Family of Ice-Binding Proteins from Freeze-Tolerant Grasses

Bredow, Melissa

Exposure to sub-zero temperatures puts plants at risk of freeze-induced damage associated with ice crystal formation causing cellular dehydration, plasma membrane rupture and cell death. Some freeze-tolerant plants induce ...

The Feeding Mechanism of the Freshwater Gastropod (Bellamya Aeruginosa) – Realizing its Potential in Controlling Cyanobacterial Harmful Algal Blooms

Qu, Mingzhi

Cyanobacterial harmful algal blooms (CHABs) caused by eutrophication seriously impact aquatic ecosystems and human health. Biomanipulation using foraging organisms to regulate and eradicate harmful algal growth has been ...

Spawning Black Bass and the Invasive Round Goby in Lake Ontario and the St. Lawrence River

McCarthy, Dan

This thesis examined the relationships between the invasive Round Goby (Neogobius melanostomus) and the economically important recreational fish species, Smallmouth Bass (Micropterus dolomieu) and Largemouth Bass (Micropterus ...

Functional Genomics Indicates a Minor Role for the Purple Acid Phosphatase Isozyme AtPAP17 in Arabidopsis Thaliana Phosphorus Metabolism

Stigter, Kyla

Phosphorus (P) is a crucial plant macronutrient, as it is a constituent of essential biomolecules involved in nearly all major metabolic processes. However, soluble orthophosphate (Pi), the only form of P that roots directly ...

¬FISH DISTRIBUTIONS IN LAKE ONTARIO’S EASTERN BASIN AND THE UPPER ST. LAWRENCE RIVER: AN ANALYSIS USING GIS AND OCCUPANCY MODELLING TECHNIQUES

Taylor, Eric

Predictive models of species distributions are important tools for fisheries management. Unfortunately, these predictive models can be difficult to perform on large waterbodies where fish are difficult to detect and ...

FROM GENES TO GENOMES: LOCAL ADAPTATION AND ADAPTIVE POTENTIAL IN TWO ARCTIC SEABIRDS

Tigano, Anna

By investigating the mechanisms underlying the evolution and the maintenance of local adaptations we can help predict how species will adapt to future environmental change. In this thesis I investigate local adaptation and ...

Cold acclimation of chill coma mechanisms in the locust CNS

Srithiphaphirom, Phinyaphat

Temperature has profound effects on the neural function and behaviour of insects. When exposed to low temperature, migratory locusts (Locusta migratoria) enter chill coma (neuromuscular paralysis) and can resume normal ...

Genetic architecture and sexual conflict in the life history of Drosophila

Duguay, Catherine

Because males and females of a species express many homologous traits, sex-specific selection on these traits can shift the opposite sex away from its phenotypic optimum. This mode of sexually antagonistic selection, known ...

Lolium perenne antifreeze protein, part of a freeze-tolerance strategy

Lauersen, Kyle J. (2016-11-02)

Antifreeze proteins (AFPs) are a novel class of ice-binding stress response proteins produced by organisms which experience freezing at some point within their respective life histories. These proteins are structurally and ...

The effects of the non-native invertebrate predator Bythotrephes longimanus and declining aqueous calcium on crustacean zooplankton communities in Canadian Shield lakes

Azan, Shakira (2016-10-14)

Over the last several decades, human activities have resulted in environmental changes that have increased the number of stressors that can act on a single environment. In Canadian Shield lakes, two recent stressors, the ...

Changes in the Ecology and Abundance of Smallmouth Bass in Lake Ontario: 1958-2014

Hanley, Mary (2016-10-04)

Understanding the reasons for long-term population change in a species requires an evaluation of ecological variables that may account for the observed dynamics. In this study, long-term changes in indices of Smallmouth ...

Unraveling the function of bacterial-type phosphoenolpyruvate carboxylase in vascular plants

Ting, Michael (2016-10-03)

Two distinct phosphoenolpyruvate carboxylase (PEPC) isozymes occur in vascular plants and green algae: plant-type PEPC (PTPC) and bacterial-type PEPC (BTPC). PTPC polypeptides typically form a tightly regulated cytosolic ...

The roles of EFN-1 and seam cell V2 in the transmission of a stop cue for the posterior lateral microtubule in Caenorhabditis elegans

Popiel, Evelyn (2016-09-30)

A functional nervous system requires the precise arrangement of all nerve cells and their neurites. To achieve this correct assembly, a myriad of molecular guidance cues works together to direct the outgrowth of neurites ...

Biological Impacts and Uses of Black Bass Competitive Fishing Tournaments on Large Lake Systems

Hornsby, Rachael (2016-09-29)

Recreational fisheries in North America are valued between $47.3 billion and $56.8 billion. Fisheries managers must make strategic decisions based on sound science and knowledge of population ecology, to effectively conserve ...

Genomic consequences of mating system evolution in the Pacific coastal dune endemic, Abronia umbellata (Nyctaginaceae)

Greer, Stephanie (2016-09-06)

The advent of next-generation sequencing has significantly reduced the cost of obtaining large-scale genetic resources, opening the door for genomic studies of non-model but ecologically interesting species. The shift in ...

WARMING AND CHRONIC HIGH NUTRIENT MANIPULATIONS YIELD DIFFERING LEGACY EFECTS ON THE SOIL MICROBIAL COMMUNITY AND NUTRIENT POOLS IN THE LOW ARCTIC

Wright, Veronika (2016-08-05)

Climate warming is predicted to increase summer air temperatures in the Arctic, warming soils and enhancing microbial decomposition of soil organic matter. Given the size of the soil carbon stores in the Arctic, even a ...