Browsing Biology Faculty Research, Publications and Presentations by Title
Now showing items 94-113 of 185
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Large-Scale Absence of Sharks on Reefs in the Greater-Caribbean: A Footprint of Human Pressures
Background: In recent decades, large pelagic and coastal shark populations have declined dramatically with increased fishing; however, the status of sharks in other systems such as coral reefs remains largely unassessed ... -
Larval cardiorespiratory ontogeny and allometry in Xenopus laevis
Very little is known about the early development of cardiorespiratory regulatory mechanisms in newly hatched amphibian larvae. We tested whether early cardiovascular responses to hypoxia reflect local flow regulation in ... -
Life-history correlates of extinction risk and recovery potential
Extinction risk is inversely associated with maximum per capita population growth rate (r(max)). However, this parameter is not known for most threatened species, underscoring the value in identifying correlates of r(max) ... -
Linking movement, diving, and habitat to foraging success in a large marine predator
Establishing where and when predators forage is essential to understanding trophic interactions, yet foraging behavior remains poorly understood in large marine carnivores. We investigated the factors leading to foraging ... -
Long-term change in a meso-predator community in response to prolonged and heterogeneous human impact
Sharks and rays' abundance can decline considerably with fishing. Community changes, however, are more complex because of species interactions, and variable vulnerability and exposure to fishing. We evaluated long-term ... -
Maintenance of Positive Diversity-Stability Relations along a Gradient of Environmental Stress
Background: Environmental stress is widely considered to be an important factor in regulating whether changes in diversity will affect the functioning and stability of ecological communities. Methodology/Principal Findings: ... -
Male and female pollination success in a deceptive orchid, a selection study
We carried out phenotypic selection analyses to assess the relative importance of several Horal traits, as well as microhabitat, in determining both male and female pollination success in a nonrewarding orchid (Cypripedium ... -
Mechanisms Influencing the Timing and Success of Reproductive Migration in a Capital Breeding Semelparous Fish Species, the Sockeye Salmon
Two populations of homing sockeye salmon (Oncorhynchus nerka; Adams and Chilko) were intercepted in the marine approaches around the northern and southern ends of Vancouver Island (British Columbia, Canada) en route to ... -
A Meta-Analysis of Community Response Predictability to Anthropogenic Disturbances
Disturbances often lead to changes in average values of community properties; however, disturbances can also affect the predictability of a community's response. We performed a meta-analysis to determine how response ... -
A Meta-Analysis of Probiotic Efficacy for Gastrointestinal Diseases
Background: Meta-analyses on the effects of probiotics on specific gastrointestinal diseases have generally shown positive effects on disease prevention and treatment; however, the relative efficacy of probiotic use for ... -
Metabolism of dietary cetoleic acid (22 : 1n-11) in mink (Mustela vison) and gray seals (Halichoerus grypus) studied using radiolabeled fatty acids
Cetoleic acid (22:1n-11) is a good indicator of diet in marine predators and has proven to be an important fatty acid (FA) when using adipose tissue FA composition to study diet in marine mammals and seabirds. Feeding ... -
Methods for selecting fixed-effect models for heterogeneous codon evolution, with comments on their application to gene and genome data
Background: Models of codon evolution have proven useful for investigating the strength and direction of natural selection. In some cases, a priori biological knowledge has been used successfully to model heterogeneous ... -
Microsatellite and allozyme analyses reveal few genetic differences among spatially distinct aggregations of geoduck clams (Panopea abrupta, Conrad 1849)
The genetic population structure of geoduck clams (Panopea abrupta) in inland waters of Washington may affect fishery management and aquacultural practices involving this species. To investigate genetic differentiation ... -
Mitochondrial DNA variation, species limits, and rapid evolution of plumage coloration and size in the Savannah Sparrow
We compared sequences from two mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) genes (ND2, ND3) in Savannah Sparrows (Passerculus sandwichensis; n = 112) sampled from Baja California (five sites), coastal Sonora and the continental range (eight ... -
Mixed evidence for reduced local adaptation in wild salmon resulting from interbreeding with escaped farmed salmon: complexities in hybrid fitness
Interbreeding between artificially-selected and wild organisms can have negative fitness consequences for the latter. In the Northwest Atlantic, farmed Atlantic salmon recurrently escape into the wild and enter rivers where ... -
Mixed evidence for reduced local adaptation in wild salmon resulting from interbreeding with escaped farmed salmon: complexities in hybrid fitness
Interbreeding between artificially-selected and wild organisms can have negative fitness consequences for the latter. In the Northwest Atlantic, farmed Atlantic salmon recurrently escape into the wild and enter rivers ... -
Modelling phase shifts in a rocky subtidal ecosystem
The rocky subtidal ecosystem of the Atlantic coast of Nova Scotia is characterised by 2 community states, kelp beds and urchin barrens that alternate on a decadal time scale. While the shift from barrens to a kelp bed ... -
Modelling phase shifts in a rocky subtidal ecosystem
The rocky subtidal ecosystem of the Atlantic coast of Nova Scotia is characterised by 2 community states, kelp beds and urchin barrens that alternate on a decadal time scale. While the shift from barrens to a kelp bed ... -
Multilocus Genotyping Assays for Single Nucleotide Polymorphism-Based Subtyping of Listeria monocytogenes Isolates
Listeria monocytogenes is responsible for serious invasive illness associated with consumption of contaminated food and places a significant burden on public health and the agricultural economy. We recently developed a ... -
Natural Selection, Variation, Adaptation, and Evolution: a Primer of Interrelated Concepts
Natural selection is an elegantly simple concept but one that can manifest in complex ways. I review how the basic model of single-trait viability selection has been extended to more complex forms of selection on multiple ...
