Biology ETDs
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Theses/Dissertations from 2026
IF THE SHREW FITS, SEQUENCE IT: THE HISTORICAL BIOGEOGRAPHY OF EURASIAN SHREWS, Danielle M. Land
Theses/Dissertations from 2025
SYNTENY TO SNPS: COMPARATIVE AND POPULATION GENOMICS OF ENDEMIC GILA RIVER FISHES, Alexander C. Cameron
Theses/Dissertations from 2024
The descent of Anolis: assemblages, convergence, and ecomorphological evolution, Christopher Anderson
CONNECTING CLIMATE AND GEOGRAPHY WITH DIVERSIFICATION AND CONSERVATION OF A WESTERN NORTH AMERICAN ENDEMIC MAMMAL, SOREX MONTICOLA, Antonia Androski
Ponderosa Pine Plant Community Response to High-Severity Wildfire in the Jemez Mountains, Samantha Brodley
VARIABILITY IN LARGE MAMMAL ACTIVITY PATTERNS WHEN VISITING WATER IN NEW MEXICO, Juan E. Camacho
Conservation Genomic Investigation of a Threatened Trout Species Endemic to the Gila River, David Camak
New Insights into T Lymphocyte-Mediated Immunity to Toxoplasma gondii, Claire Marie Doherty
Patterns of Stand Structure and Species Composition Through Time and Space in a Piñon- Juniper Woodland in the Southwestern US, Kyle Gonterman
Crossing the ocean: the importance of gene flow in island evolution, Ethan F. Gyllenhaal
Host-Microbiome Interactions in the Teleost Brain, Amir Mani Varnoosfaderani
Unraveling the Paradox of the 'Great Speciators': Evolutionary Dynamics of a Geographic Radiation of Island Kingfishers (Todiramphus), Jenna Merle McCullough
Support for Climate Shaping the Mitochondrial DNA Contact Zone in the Audubon's Warbler, Kyana Nina Montoya
METAGENOMIC ANALYSIS OF ANTARCTIC MICROBIAL COMMUNITIES, David M. Robinson
THE ROLE OF ELEVATION IN THE MIGRATION, PHYSIOLOGY, AND GENOMIC DIVERSIFICATION OF BIRDS, Jessie L. Williamson
Increasing bacterial tolerance and metabolism of the biofuel, n-butanol using community-level evolution and functional genomics, Kayley T. You Mak
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
Quantifying the influences of Abiotic and Biotic factors on Post-Fire Vegetation in the Southwestern US, Joseph Lafayette Crockett
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
Recruitment dynamics and landscape genomics in a dominant, climate-change vulnerable tree species, the piñon pine, Diana S. Macias
Phylogeographic history of the leaf-eared mouse, Phyllotis xanthopygus complex, Tabitha R. McFarland
Phenological Activities of Desert Bees Track Rainfall More Than Temperature and Predict Temporal Abundance Trends Over 16 Years, Jade Elijah McLaughlin and Jade McLaughlin
The Third Domain of T Cells in the Evolution of Novel Immune Cell Types, Kimberly Anne Morrissey
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
Mimicking biofilms: Photosynthetic assessments of C. reinhardtii in 3 physical forms, John Michael Roesgen
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
