Biology ETDs
For information about submitting your thesis or dissertation, or its availability here, please see the Overview of Thesis & Dissertation Policies and Procedures or contact the Office of Graduate Studies.
Theses/Dissertations from 2024
THE ROLE OF ELEVATION IN THE MIGRATION, PHYSIOLOGY, AND GENOMIC DIVERSIFICATION OF BIRDS, Jessie L. Williamson
Theses/Dissertations from 2023
ONTOGENY OF SLEEPING BEHAVIOUR IN FOUR SOLITARY SPECIES OF ANOLIS LIZARDS, Joseph C. Barnett and Steven Poe
DIVERSIFICATION BY DISPERSAL OUT OF THE ANDES REVEALED BY A NEWLY DISCOVERED HUMMINGBIRD CLADE, THE ‘TRUE BRILLIANTS’, Marialejandra Castro-Farías
An Investigation of Freshwater Turtle Ecology Using Stable Isotopes, Jonathan Duran
Post-Fire Plant Community Response in Subalpine Mixed Conifer Forest, Sasha Escamilla
Resolving the Paradox of Polyploidy: Underexplored Facets of Polyploid Plants, Benjamin Gerstner
Evidence of Competitive Release Following Overstory Mortality in a Semi-Arid Piñon-Juniper Woodland, Corrie D. Gonzalez
The effect of shrub cover on conifer water-use patterns, growth, and response to climate change in the southern Sierra Nevada, Marissa Goodwin
Ecological Impacts of Invasive Crayfish in a Naïve Riparian System, Gregor L. Hamilton
Phylogeographic history of the leaf-eared mouse, Phyllotis xanthopygus complex, Tabitha R. McFarland
TRANSCRIPTIONAL REGULATION OF STEM CELL FUNCTION IN THE DROSOPHILA CENTRAL NERVOUS SYSTEM, Amalia S. Parra
Investigating the Costs and Benefits of a Nutritional Fungal Endosymbiont, Nolan L. Perryman
Transcriptional silencing of CDK18 and its role in lung carcinogenesis of BRG1-mutant lung cancers, Loryn M. Phillips
THERMOREGULATION IN NOCTURNAL VOLANT ENDOTHERMS OCCUPYING HOT DESERTS, William A. Talbot
Theses/Dissertations from 2022
UNRAVELING THE COMPLEX INTERACTIONS BETWEEN MEMBERS OF THE SCHISTOSOMA HAEMATOBIUM GROUP AND BULINUS SNAILS IN AND AROUND LAKE VICTORIA IN WEST KENYA, Caitlin Raiselle Babbitt
Combining isotopic and genetic analyses to quantify microbial facilitation of recalcitrant resource use by terrestrial and aquatic consumers, Alexi Christina Besser
Improving photosynthetic efficiency in microalgae through the genetic engineering of energy sensors and photoreceptors, Taylor L. Britton
Above- and belowground responses to environmental change in the northern Chihuahuan Desert, Renée F. Brown
PLANT RESPONSES TO DROUGHT IN A SEMIARID GRASSLAND: AN ISOTOPIC APPROACH, Elizabeth V. Fain
SENSITIVITES OF DRYLAND MAMMALS TO MEAN AND VARIANCE IN ARIDITY, Jessica C. Johnson
The consequences of climate change for native bee assemblages, Melanie R. Kazenel
Olfactory detection of viruses shapes brain immunity and behavior, Aurora Kraus
LOW SITE-SPECIFIC GENOMIC VARIABILITY IS CONSISTENT WITH THE HISTORY(S) OF FRAGMENTATION OF THE RIPARIAN BIOTA OF THE ARID SOUTHWEST, Manuela Londono-Gaviria
THERMOREGULATION AND SPATIAL DISTRIBUTION OF LIZARDS IN THE SOUTHWESTERN USA: ADAPTATION TO A CHANGING CLIMATE, Caleb Lee Loughran
Sierra Nevada Mixed-Conifer Regeneration Response to Repeated Burning Varies by Species, Carolina J. May
Biodiversity and global change in terrestrial ecosystems, Timothy J. Ohlert
HEAT STRESSED EXERCISE ELICITS SHIFTS IN COOLING STRATEGIES ACROSS BODY MASS IN TROPICAL SONGBIRDS, Kristen Dee Oliver
TRANSCRIPTIONAL ANALYSIS OF MAIZE UNDER DROUGHT STRESS AND THE IMPACT OF PLANT MATURITY, Oliver J. Oviedo
Evaluating Microneedle Impedance for Monitoring Water Potential in Vitis vinifera and Helianthus annuus, Erica G. Pauer
A DIVERSE FLEA (SHIPONAPTERA) ASSEMBLAGE FROM THE SMALL MAMMALS OF CENTRAL NEW MEXICO, Dianne Esther Peterson
Keeping your cool: thermoregulatory performance and plasticity in desert cricetid rodents, Richard W. Ramirez, Eric A. Riddell, Steven R. Beissinger, and Blair W. Wolf
Relating plant community structure to carbon dynamics in semiarid grasslands, Theodore D. Roper
Ontogenetic Niche Shift as a Driver of Community Structure and Diversity in Non-Avian Dinosaurs, Katlin Schroeder
Traits and Functional Diversity of a Hyperdiverse Bee Assemblage Are Linked to Aridity, Benjamin D. Turnley
Theses/Dissertations from 2021
Global population divergence of a cosmopolian desert plant, Victor Ryan Alfaro
HETEROGENEITY IN HOSTS AND ENVIRONMENT: IMPLICATIONS FOR SCHISTOSOMIASIS CONTROL, Larissa C. Anderson
SEX- AND AGE - SPECIFIC MIGRATORY STRATEGIES OF BLUE WHALES IN THE NORTHEAST PACIFIC, Christina Blevins
Into the Neotropics: Perspectives on the evolution of Neotropical Myotis, Carlos Alberto Carrion Mr
Mud Binds Mitotic Kinesins Non-Claret Disjunctional and Pavarotti in D. Melanogaster, Vincent Cutillas
The phylogeography and molecular systematics of woodrats (genus: Neotoma) in the American Southwest, Katrina Derieg
"Climatic Controls of Plant Productivity, Phenology, and Physiology in Drylands, Alesia Hallmark, Scott L. Collins, Marcy E. Litvak, Christopher D. Lippitt, and Andrew D. Richardson
Comparative Phylogeography Across Multiple Scales: Small Mammals, Their Ecology, Pathogens, and Drivers of Diversification, Schuyler W. Liphardt
The role of Toxoplasma gondii dense granule protein GRA24 in signaling and immunity during infection, Heather L. Mercer
QUANTIFICATION OF SOIL MICROBIAL BIOMASS IN THE MCMURDO DRY VALLEYS, ANTARCTICA, Emily Ruth Reynebeau
Breathing can be dangerous: Coccidioides and the diverse community of the lung mycobiome, Paris Salazar-Hamm
RAPID SOURCE TO SINK TRANSITION IN A MIXED-CONIFER FOREST FOLLOWING STAND-REPLACING FIRE, Ryan Matthew Schulze
The Impacts of Disturbance on Submerged Aquatic Macrophytes Populations of the Jemez Mountains, New Mexico, Virginia F. Thompson
What does the future look like? Plant community change at the recruitment life stage, BROOKE E. WAINWRIGHT
Theses/Dissertations from 2020
Spatio-temporal dynamics of fungal communities and their effects on plants, Kel Cook
Niche dynamics of the felid guild following the Pleistocene Megafaunal Extinction, Nicholas A. Freymueller
EVOLUTIONARY ECOLOGY OF HOST-PARASITE RELATIONSHIPS: ROLE OF HOST ECOLOGY, PHYLOGENY, AND DEMOGRAPHICS IN SHAPING PARASITE EVOLUTION, Erika Taylor Gendron
Mucosal Immune System of African Lungfish, Ryan D. Heimroth
A NEW SPECIES OF ANT-MIMICKING SAC SPIDER CASTIANEIRA REISKINDI (ARANEAE: CORINNIDAE: CASTIANEIRINAE) FROM NICARAGUA AND A PHYLOGENETIC ANALYSIS OF THE AUSTRALIAN CASTIANEIRINAE., Matthew P. Leister
PLANT LITTER DECOMPOSITION DIFFERS WITH SPECIES AND SOIL RESOURCES IN A CHIHUAHUAN DESERT GRASSLAND, Andrea Lopez
MOLECULAR STUDIES ON THE INTERACTIONS BETWEEN BIOMPHALARIA SNAILS AND SCHISTOSOMA MANSONI, Lijun Lu
Driver of avian haemosporidian diversity and host specificity in the Solomon Islands, Xena Marie Mapel
Inoculum potential of Pinus edulis-associated ectomycorrhizal fungi across a forest extirpation chronosequence, Annie M. Montes
CAN A SEX BIAS BE A GOOD THING: MODELING SPONTANEOUS CLEARANCE AND SEXUAL SUSCEPTIBILITY IN HCV, Tanner K. Shea
Chronic and Acute Respiratory Pathogens: Evolutionary and Epidemiological Characteristics of Tuberculosis, Influenza-like Illness, and COVID-19, Julie A. Spencer
CHARACTERIZATION OF THE OVEREXPRESSION OF THE NATIVE H+-PUMPING PYROPHOSPHATASE IN THE MICROALGA PICOCHLORUM SOLOECISMUS, Kimberly T. Wright
Theses/Dissertations from 2019
ECOPHYSIOLOGY OF PONDEROSA PINE SEEDLINGS AFTER SEVERE FIRE: THE EFFECT OF TREE CANOPY, Lauren M. Bansbach
Diversification and biogeography of an Indo-Pacific bird radiation (Pachycephalidae), Serina Brady
A COMPARISON OF CAVE MICROBIAL COMMUNITIES TO CAVE ROOSTING BAT MICROBIOTA IN EL MALPAIS NATIONAL MONUMENT, USA, Nicole A. Caimi
MIXING IT UP: THE IMPACT OF EPISODIC INTROGRESSION ON THE EVOLUTION OF HIGH-LATITUDE MESOCARNIVORES, Jocelyn P. Colella
FORTY YEARS OF CHANGE IN SOUTHWESTERN BEE ASSEMBLAGES, Catherine Cumberland
Warming up: climate change related shifts of mycorrhizal fungal communities in high latitude ecosystems, Megan Rae DeVan
MECHANISMS OF ORIENTED CELL DIVISION AND THEIR ROLES IN TISSUE DEVELOPMENT, Evan Blake Dewey
RECONSTRUCTING ENERGY FLOW THROUGH MODERN AND HISTORICAL MARINE COMMUNITIES: INSIGHTS FROM AMINO ACID ISOTOPE ANALYSIS, Emma A. Elliott Smith
A LANDSCAPE ON THE THRESHOLD OF CHANGE: PATTERNS OF SOIL MICROBIAL ECOLOGY ALONG DYNAMIC GEOMORPHIC AND HYDROLOGIC FEATURES IN A POLAR DESERT, Kelli L. Feeser, David J. Van Horn, Heather N. Buelow, Daniel R. Colman, Theresa A. McHugh, Jordan G. Okie, Egbert Schwartz, Cristina D. Takacs-Vesbach, Becky A. Ball, Andrew G. Fountain, Michael N. Gooseff, Joseph S. Levy, and Maciej K. Obryk
Dynamics of Avian Elevational Ranges Reveal Hidden Evolutionary Forces, Chauncey Gadek
Fungi in a hot, dry, changing world, Miriam I. Hutchinson
KING OF THE HILL? HOW BIOTIC INTERACTIONS AFFECT BIOGEOGRAPHICAL PATTERN AND SPECIES RESPONSES TO CLIMATE CHANGE, Joshua Scott Lynn, Jennifer A. Rudgers, Tom E.X. Miller, Stephanie N. Kivlin, and Melanie R. Kazenel
ROLE OF HOST CELL B-CATENIN DURING TOXOPLASMA GONDII INFECTION, Cameron Ranken
GENOMICS BASED APPROACHES TO FUNGAL EVOLUTION, Aaron J. Robinson and Donald O. Natvig
Riparian vegetation in the face of environmental variability, Kelly A. Steinberg
Ecological and morphological response of rodents to environmental change over the late Quaternary, Catalina Tome
Biogeographical implications of climate change for an alpine mammal, the American pika, Marie Louise Westover
Theses/Dissertations from 2018
Schistosomiasis in the Wild: A Transcriptomics Perspective on Field-Derived Biomphalaria pfeifferi and Schistosoma mansoni, and their Interactions, Sarah K. Buddenborg
Investigations on the Role of the Immune System In Mammary Development And Maternal Immunity In the Marsupial, Monodelphis domestica, Bethaney Fehrenkamp
Prevalence of Artemisinin Resistance Associated Single Nucleotide Polymorphisms in Kenyan Isolates, Elizabeth M. Glenn
Understanding patterns of diversity and evolution in mainland Anolis lizards, Levi Gray
Rodent Responses To Drought In The Southwestern United States: Resource Utilization Strategies And Effects To Keystone Resources, Charles L. Hayes IV
REVEALING BIOTIC DIVERSITY: HOW DO COMPLEX ENVIRONMENTS INFLUENCE HUMAN SCHISTOSOMIASIS IN A HYPERENDEMIC AREA, Martina R. Laidemitt
Linking Climate Change and Mortality in Piñon-Juniper Woodlands, from Leaf to Ecosystem, Amanda I. Liebrecht
Systematics and Diversification of the Pantropical Avian Order Coraciiformes, Jenna Merle McCullough
SHEDDING LIGHT ON THE ROLE OF OPAQUE1 IN ASYMMETRIC CELL DIVISION IN MAIZE, Janette Y. Mendoza
USING d13C, d15N, and d2H TO BETTER UNDERSTAND THE ECOLOGY OF GREEN SEA TURTLES, Laura Pagès Barceló
Intraspecific floral color variation as perceived by pollinators and non-pollinators: evidence for pollinator-imposed constraints?, Kellen Cedar Paine
Seasonal Shifts in C3 and C4 Resource Use by a Small Mammal Community Under Changing Precipitation Regimes, Alaina D. Pershall
EVALUATING THE EFFECTS OF CATASTROPHIC WILDFIRE ON WATER QUALITY, WHOLE-STREAM METABOLISM AND FISH COMMUNITIES, Justin K. Reale
Soil properties explain changes in soil microbial enzyme activity with depth in a piñon-juniper woodland, Amanda B. Sacks
TOWARDS A BETTER UNDERSTANDING OF THE EFFECTS OF PRAZIQUANTEL ON THE INTERACTION BETWEEN THE HELMINTH PARASITE SCHISTOSOMA MANSONI AND ITS MURINE HOST, Melissa C. Sanchez
PHYSELLA ACUTA, COMPARATIVE IMMUNOLOGY AND EVOLUTIONARY ASPECTS OF GASTROPOD IMMUNE FUNCTION, Jonathan H. Schultz
From olfaction to immunity: Characterization of nasal immunity in bony fish, Ali Sepahi
The fate of xylem-transported CO2 in plants, Samantha S. Stutz and David T. Hanson
GENOMIC SIGNATURES OF ADAPTIVE EVOLUTION, Jessica Weber
THE EVOLUTION OF DIET BREADTH IN MELISSODES BEES (APIDAE: EUCERINI), Karen W. Wright
