UNT Theses and Dissertations - 15 Matching Results

Search Results

Results: 1 - 15

A Test of the Female Mimicry Hypothesis in Painted Buntings (Passerina ciris)

Description: While female mimicry and lower status signaling hypotheses of delayed plumage maturation have received much discussion in the literature, the experimental tests of these hypotheses have been infrequent. Those experimental tests often use a simulated intruder method with artificial model intruders rather than using live conspecific birds as intruders. Subadult male painted buntings (Passerina ciris) possess delayed plumage maturation where they appear visually identical to adult females during t… more
Date: May 2021
Creator: Gurley, Christine E
Item Type: Refine your search to only Thesis or Dissertation
Partner: UNT Libraries

A Genetic Assessment of the Mating System of a Suburban Red-Shouldered Hawk Population in Southwest Ohio

Description: Considering the high reproductive investment of the social male and the cost to the female of losing this benefit by soliciting copulations outside the social pair bond, it is expected that most raptor populations would exhibit low to no occurrence of extra-pair paternity (EPP). This holds true for the majority of raptor species studied to date with only one exception of an urban Cooper's hawk (Accipiter cooperii) study which reported an unexpectedly high extra-pair young frequency of 19.29%. I… more
Date: May 2021
Creator: Wrona, Anna Maria
Item Type: Refine your search to only Thesis or Dissertation
Partner: UNT Libraries

Probabilistic Modeling for Whole Metagenome Profiling

Description: To address the shortcomings in existing Markov model implementations in handling large amount of metagenomic data with comparable or better accuracy in classification, we developed a new algorithm based on pseudo-count supplemented standard Markov model (SMM), which leverages the power of higher order models to more robustly classify reads at different taxonomic levels. Assessment on simulated metagenomic datasets demonstrated that overall SMM was more accurate in classifying reads to their res… more
Date: May 2021
Creator: Burks, David
Item Type: Refine your search to only Thesis or Dissertation
Partner: UNT Libraries
open access

Breeding Ecology and Migratory Connectivity of Passerines in the World's Southernmost Forests

Description: In the extensive and remote sub-Antarctic forests of South America, birds are the dominant terrestrial vertebrates. Despite considerable efforts to understand the ecology of birds breeding in these forests, our current knowledge for many species is still incomplete. During three breeding seasons (2014 – 2017), I studied the breeding ecology of the five most abundant open-cup forest-dwelling passerines in the sub-Antarctic forest of Navarino Island, Chile (55°04′S, 67°40′W). There were differenc… more
Date: May 2021
Creator: Jara Millar, Rocio Fernanda
Item Type: Refine your search to only Thesis or Dissertation
Partner: UNT Libraries

Benefits of Probiotics on Mortality, Growth Performance, Physiological Condition and Gut Histomophology of Juvenile Red Drum (Sciaenops ocellatus)

Description: Results from the present study found for the first time that the use of bacterial strains of Lactobacillus acidophilus, Lactobacillus casei, Bifidobacterium thermophilum, and Enterococcus faecium from the commercial product PrimaLac® had the potential to act as a possible probiotic for juvenile red drum. The addition of PrimaLac® probiotics [whether as a water-soluble probiotic (WSP) or in a probiotic enhanced starter feed (PESF)] reduced mortality (%M), enhanced growth rates (MW, LT, SGR, and … more
Date: May 2021
Creator: Busby, Wren Adell
Item Type: Refine your search to only Thesis or Dissertation
Partner: UNT Libraries
open access

Sociality in Harris's Hawks Revisited: Patterns of Reproductive Output and Delayed Dispersal

Description: In the lower Rio Grande Valley of south Texas, more than half the nesting groups of Harris's hawks (Parabuteo unicinctus) include at least one auxiliary group member in addition to a breeding pair. To provide further insight into cooperatively breeding raptors, I evaluated sociality in Harris's hawks through the dual benefits framework. I explored the formation, structure, and stability of cooperative group formation across a spatially variable study area, which includes high levels of urbaniza… more
Date: August 2021
Creator: Gibbons, Andrea L
Item Type: Refine your search to only Thesis or Dissertation
Partner: UNT Libraries

Analysis of Multipartite Bacterial Genomes Using Alignment-Free and Alignment-Based Pipelines

Description: In this work, we have performed comparative evolutionary analysis, functional genomics analysis, and machine learning analysis to identify the molecular factors that discriminate between multipartite and unipartite bacteria, with the goal to decipher taxon-specific factors and those that are prevalent across the taxa underlying the these traits. We assessed the roles of evolutionary mechanisms, namely, horizontal gene transfer and gene gain, in driving the divergence of bacteria with single and… more
Date: August 2021
Creator: Almalki, Fatemah
Item Type: Refine your search to only Thesis or Dissertation
Partner: UNT Libraries
open access

Analysis of the Accumulation, Toxic Effects, and Risk of Persistent Organic Pollutants in Pinnipeds

Description: The present studies determine the accumulation of persistent organic pollutants (POPs) in three pinniped species, evaluate the relationship with relevant biomarkers of exposure, and calculate toxic effect thresholds. Stranded harp and hooded seals were found to be accumulating PBDEs at levels which could pose a based on threshold levels determined in this study. Northern fur seals are accumulating all three classes of POPs (PCBs, PBDEs, and OCPs) with significant relationships being seen with b… more
Date: August 2021
Creator: Soulen, Brianne K
Item Type: Refine your search to only Thesis or Dissertation
Partner: UNT Libraries
open access

Flow-Recruitment Relationships of Smallmouth Buffalo (Ictiobus bubalus) in Three Texas River Basins

Description: This project focused on the relationship between instream flows and smallmouth buffalo (Ictiobus bubalus) recruitment in the Gulf Coastal Plain of Texas. The flow regime is the dominant factor in lotic systems and, consequently, the relationship between instream flows, including impacts to natural flow regimes, and life-history is a subject of growing interest. Smallmouth buffalo is a good model to investigate the relationship between river flows and variable interannual recruitment success of … more
Date: August 2021
Creator: Reeves, Cole Griffin
Item Type: Refine your search to only Thesis or Dissertation
Partner: UNT Libraries

Multiple Dimensions of Fish Functional Traits, Trait Relationships, and Associations with Community Structure and Dynamics

Description: Trait-based approaches are useful in ecological research because of their potential ability to predict species responses from patterns present in the community and to infer mechanisms driving community assembly. Current approaches for fishes are lacking traits across all five fundamental niche dimensions (i.e. habitat, life history, trophic, metabolic and defense). This study quantified a broad range of fish functional traits across all five niche dimensions (commonly used traits and novel trai… more
Date: December 2021
Creator: Harried, Brittany Lee
Item Type: Refine your search to only Thesis or Dissertation
Partner: UNT Libraries

Investigating the Effects of Inhaled Diesel Exhaust Particles on Gut Microbiome, Intestinal Integrity, Systemic Inflammation, and Biomarkers of Cardiovascular Disease in Wildtype Mice

Description: We investigated the hypothesis that exposure to inhaled diesel exhaust PM can alter the gut microbiome and intestinal integrity, thereby promoting systemic inflammatory response and early CVD risk, which are exacerbated by HF diet. Furthermore, we investigated whether the observed exposure and diet-mediated outcomes could be mitigated through probiotic treatment. We performed an exposure study on C57Bl/6 male mice, placed on either a low fat (LF) diet or a high-fat (HF) diet, and exposed via or… more
Date: December 2021
Creator: Phillippi, Danielle T.
Item Type: Refine your search to only Thesis or Dissertation
Partner: UNT Libraries
open access

CO2 Transport and Acid-Base Status during Fluctuations in Metabolic Status in Reptiles

Description: Reptiles can often experience perturbations that greatly influence their metabolic status (e.g., temperature, exercise, digestion, and ontogeny). The most common cause of fluctuations in metabolic status in post-embryonic reptiles is arguably digestion and physical activity (which will be further referred to as exercise). The objective of this thesis is to determine the mechanisms involved in CO2 transport during digestion, determine the mechanisms that allow for the maintenance of acid-base ho… more
Date: December 2021
Creator: Conner, Justin Lawrence
Item Type: Refine your search to only Thesis or Dissertation
Partner: UNT Libraries

Reduced Visceral Fat and Biological Indices of Inflammation Following Combined Prebiotic/Probiotic Supplementation in Free Living Adults

Description: Probiotics/prebiotic supplementation represents a viable option for addressing systemic inflammation and chronic disease risk resulting from excessive body weight. The purpose of this feasibility study was to determine if 90-d of supplementation with prebiotic and probiotic could alter mRNA responsible for inflammation and subsequently metabolic health in weight stable overweight adults. Participants were advised to not change their diet or exercise habits during the study. All protocols were a… more
Date: December 2021
Creator: Tanner, Elizabeth A.
Item Type: Refine your search to only Thesis or Dissertation
Partner: UNT Libraries

Production and Optimization of Para-Hydroxybenzoic Acid (pHBA) in Algae Using Metabolic Engineering and Genomics Approaches

Description: Microalgae being photosynthetic and having quick growth cycles can prove to be excellent candidates as biofactories for the production of aromatic compounds like para-hydroxybenzoic acid (pHBA) that act as a monomer in liquid crystal polymers. We developed transgenic lines of the model alga Chlamydomonas reinhardtii by performing nuclear transformation using electroporation. The transgenic cell lines expressed the ubiC gene that utilized chorismate from the shikimate pathway as a substrate to p… more
Date: December 2021
Creator: Saxena, Garima Girish
Item Type: Refine your search to only Thesis or Dissertation
Partner: UNT Libraries

Influence of Hypoxia on Acute Lead Toxicity and Calcium Homeostasis in Early Life Stage Zebrafish (Danio rerio)

Description: The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of Pb and hypoxia co-exposure on Pb toxicity and Ca homeostasis in early life stage (ELS) zebrafish (Danio rerio). Previous evidence indicates that exposure of ELS zebrafish to hypoxia (~20% air saturation) reduces Ca uptake, likely through down-regulation of the apical epithelial Ca channel (ECaC). Considering that Pb and Ca are known antagonists and compete for uptake pathways, it was hypothesized that co-exposure of Pb with hypoxia wou… more
Date: December 2021
Creator: Moghimi, Mehrnaz
Item Type: Refine your search to only Thesis or Dissertation
Partner: UNT Libraries
Back to Top of Screen