Department of Biology Graduate Theses
Recent Submissions
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Genetic and Geographic Boundaries in the Spring Peeper (Psuedacris crucifer) with Insights into Mito-Nuclear Discordance, Reticulation, Niche Divergence and Isolation
The reduction of gene flow is often associated with divergence and initial stages of speciation. In the absence of gene flow, sister lineages should diverge genetically from one another in a roughly clock-like fashion even ... -
Do Species with Strong Apical Dominance Incur a Cost in Terms of Suppressed Potential Fecundity or Biomass?
Plants typically allocate axillary meristems to one of three principal fates: growth (G), reproduction (R), or inactivity (I). The latter is commonly enforced by ‘apical dominance’, promoting a growth form that favours ... -
Environmental influences on microbial communities of lake whitefish, cisco, and Arctic char on and surrounding King William Island, Nunavut
Partnered with the Nunavut community of Gjoa Haven on King William Island, a large-scale Genome Canada project, the Towards a Sustainable Fishery for Nunavummiut (TSFN) project endeavoured to integrate Inuit traditional ... -
Investigating low temperature resistance in Brachypodium distachyon, a cold stress and crop model
Low temperature poses one of the most biologically taxing and economically significant stresses for a variety of agricultural crops. To combat cold stress, resilient plants can undergo cold acclimation, a process involving ... -
Assessing long-term changes in chironomid assemblages linked to past fluctuations in Leach’s Storm-Petrel populations on islands in the Western Atlantic Ocean
Nutrient loading is an important factor that can indirectly deplete dissolved oxygen concentrations in lakes. In environments where seabirds nest and breed, guano is a prominent source of nutrients that can eutrophy ... -
Hypoxia and the metabolic phenotype of Daphnia
Environmental hypoxia is a phenomenon in which low oxygen conditions force organisms to respond behaviourally and physiologically to survive in an otherwise lethal habitat. Animals display different mechanisms to cope with ... -
Functional genomics to discover genes responsible for root architecture and heavy metal tolerance in Populus
Anthropogenic activities have led to widespread of heavy metal contaminants such cadmium and arsenic. When left untreated, they pose risk to both human and ecosystem health as well as further reduce arable lands. ... -
Mechanisms underlying anoxic coma and spreading depolarization in Locusta mirgatoria
Spreading depolarization (SD) is neurological phenomenon that results in the depression of neural activity and is found in both vertebrate and invertebrate systems. SD is characterized as a propagating wave of neuronal and ... -
Evaluation and Improvement of the Stoichiometric Homeostasis Model for Understanding and Predicting the Structure and Functioning of a Low Arctic Tundra Plant Community
Arctic tundra vegetation structure profoundly affects ecosystem processes and climatic regulation. Therefore, there is a growing urgency for more accurate biogeochemical models to better understand how tundra vegetation ... -
The effects of increasing chloride concentrations and temperatures on freshwater zooplankton communities
Across the Northern Hemisphere, chloride concentrations in lakes are increasing from decades of road salt use, imperiling aquatic ecosystems. Elevated chloride concentrations threaten aquatic organisms, and zooplankton are ... -
High sensitivity of freshwater zooplankton to low chloride concentrations is unaltered by nutrient level
Driven by decades of road salt use, freshwater salinization is prevalent across North America. Increasing chloride concentrations threaten freshwater species, and zooplankton are particularly sensitive. In Canada, the ... -
Effects of peripherality and hybridization on range-wide genetic structure of the coastal dune plant Abronia umbellata (Nyctaginaceae)
The pattern of genetic variation across a species range may give insight into geographic variation in adaptive capacity and hence, conservation priority. For this reason, determining the factors that may influence range-wide ... -
Understanding sources of variation in advertisement call attributes in spring peepers (Pseudacris crucifer)
The mate recognition system is the foundation of biological speciation in frogs and toads. Sexual selection has been suggested to cause male call evolution, population divergence, and ultimately reproductive isolation. It ... -
Long-term response of sockeye salmon (Oncorhynchus nerka) nursery lakes to climate and watershed management activities in British Columbia (Canada)
Sockeye salmon (Oncorhyncus nerka) are a heavily exploited species. Owing to their large geographical distribution and use of both freshwater and oceanic habitats, sockeye salmon are exposed to various stressors at the ... -
Towards a sustainable Arctic fishery: Population genomics of lake whitefish in a hybrid species complex
Genetic variation is an important predictor of population persistence under changing or stressful environmental conditions. Consequently, efforts to preserve genetic variation by identifying genetically distinct populations ... -
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 ...
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