Department of Biology Graduate Theses
Recent Submissions
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Habitat Associations of Coexisting Carrion Beetles (Subfamilies Nicrophorinae and Silphinae) in Southeastern Ontario
The coexistence of closely related species is thought to play an important role in shaping and maintaining local diversity and community organization. However, competition for shared limiting resources can inhibit coexistence ... -
Investigating NLR-mediated immunity and Pseudomonas syringae effector interactions with two MACPF domain proteins in Arabidopsis thaliana.
To disarm plant defenses, successful pathogens secrete an arsenal of diverse virulence factors, termed effectors, into the host cell to shut down key components of the plant immune signaling pathway. To protect against ... -
Arabidopsis Mitogen-Activated Protein Kinase Kinase Kinase Family Members and Their Possible Role in Innate Immunity
From an early developmental stage, plants are exposed to both beneficial and pathogenic microbes. Upon pathogen detection, receptor complexes on the cell surface can detect conserved microbial molecules, such as bacterial ... -
Investigating Suberin Biosynthesis in Poplar: Candidate Genes and Chemical Composition
For plants, lipid barriers represent a critical adaptation to terrestrial life, providing a first line of defense against biotic and abiotic stressors. Among these lipid barriers, suberized cell walls protect both internal ... -
Bioremediation of arsenic and cadmium in a Populus tremula x Populus alba mutant
The use of plants to remediate contaminated lands is of growing interest to the scientific community because of its ease of implementation, cost effectiveness and ability to stabilize contaminated soils. A novel Populus ... -
Can genomic tools aid conservation of an arctic seabird, the northern fulmar (Fulmarus glacialis)?
Human activities and climate change threaten Arctic ecosystems. Population genetics and genomics may help conservationists appropriately manage threatened species both by (1) determining the population genetic structure ... -
Assessing the use of Viviparus georgianus snails as a means for biomanipulation of cyanobacterial species Microcystis aeruginosa
Cyanobacterial blooms can produce toxins which can be fatal to organisms, including humans. Biomanipulation of cyanobacterial harmful algal blooms (CHABs) aims to proactively prevent their formation by maintaining continuous ... -
Using Population Genomics to Disentangle the Evolutionary History and Aid Conservation of the Leach’s Storm-Petrel Species Complex (Hydrobates spp.)
Despite their ability to overcome most geographic barriers to dispersal and to fly long distances, many seabird species exhibit strong population genetic structure. For this project, I quantify population differentiation ... -
Stochastic and adaptive processes affect rapid evolution of two invasive plants in North America
Evolution can occur rapidly on timescales of years to decades. In addition to adaptive responses to natural selection, stochastic processes such as gene flow and genetic drift may influence rapid evolution in many species. ... -
Vocal behaviour of Song and Swamp sparrows upon arrival on shared breeding grounds
Closely related species interact often, typically competitively, aggressively, and asymmetrically, with a consistent dominance hierarchy among species. Competition for resources appears to be a rate-limiting step in ... -
The maternal effects of haemosporidian infection in red-winged blackbirds
Vector borne diseases present a substantial selective pressure to many animals, as they can impose direct fitness costs and intensify trade-offs between immune function and other life history traits, like reproduction. ... -
Partitioning resources through the seasons: a test of the competitive ability – cold tolerance trade-off hypothesis in seasonally breeding beetles
Understanding the factors that maintain and constrain biodiversity and species coexistence is a major goal in ecology. Closely related species that use similar resources often differ in their seasonal patterns of activity, ... -
An Exploration of the Intestinal Bacteria of Two Anadromous Arctic Salmonids
In teleost fish, the microbiome plays a variety of roles in host physiology and adaptability to different environments. Anadromous fish (migrating to sea after maturation and returning to freshwater to spawn) are reported ... -
Getting One's Ducks in a Row: Conservation Units of Common Eiders (Somateria mollissima) Throughout North America
Anthropogenic climate change is resulting in a variety of consequences for ecosystems and biodiversity. Collectively these changes are negatively impacting species survival and are increasing rates of extinction. Species ... -
Diversity and function of the soil microbiome in a North American forest in response to Alliaria petiolata (garlic mustard) invasion.
The disruption of soil microbial communities is thought to be a major contributor to the expansion of invasive plants. Previous research has focused on identifying how invasive plants change soil microbial diversity and ... -
Evolutionary Constraints: Phenology and elevational range limits in an annual plant
All species have limits to their geographic distributions and many range limits are stable over centuries, indicating a failure to adapt to conditions beyond the range edge. This simple observation contradicts copious ... -
Daphnia vertical position and implications for the impact of the invasive zooplankton predator, Bythotrephes longimanus, on plankton communities in south-central Ontario
Species diversity and identity play an important role in determining community structure and regulating ecosystem processes. However, species interactions are often characterized by the mean effect or response, often ... -
Assessing long-term environmental trends in Ontario lakes that support Lake Trout (Salvelinus namaycush)
Oxygenated habitats for Lake Trout (Salvelinus namaycush) are projected to deteriorate with climate warming. However, a paucity of long-term limnological monitoring data impedes the ability to determine if concentrations ... -
Screening Assessments for Aquatic Invasive Species Using Species Distribution Models
Invasive species are a major cause of biodiversity loss in North American freshwaters. Once established, aquatic invasive species (AIS) can restructure food webs and change the abiotic or physical conditions of a water ... -
Coping with Thermal Challenges: Reaction Norms of Life History Traits of a Burying Beetles with Biparental Care
To succeed and thrive in different environments, individuals can express plastic phenotypes, including life history traits, to ensure some level of fitness across conditions. As such, the plasticity of traits is central ...
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