Low Ca/Mg ratios (a defining component of serpentine soils) and low water environmental conditions often co-occur in nature and are thought to exert strong selection pressures on natural populations. However, few studies test the individual and combined effects of these environmental factors. We investigated the effects of low Ca/Mg ratio and low water availability on plant leaf, stem, stolon, ...

Transgenerational phenotypic plasticity, whereby environmental cues experienced by parents alter the phenotype of their progeny, has now been documented in diverse organisms. Transmission of environmentally determined responses is known to occur through both maternal and paternal gametes, but the underlying mechanisms have rarely been compared. In addition, the persistence of induction over mul...

Radio-telemetry is often used to track birds, and several investigators have examined the possible effects of radio-transmitters on birds. One approach to this question is to determine if transmitters induce physiological stress. Using hematological indicators of stress (heterophil-lymphocyte [H/L] ratios), studies of captive birds have revealed no evidence that radio-transmitters cause stress....

Endothermy (the metabolic production and retention of heat to warm body temperature above ambient) enhances physiological function, and whole-body endothermy generally sets mammals and birds apart from other animals. Here, we describe a whole-body form of endothermy in a fish, the opah (Lampris guttatus), that produces heat through the constant "flapping" of wing-like pectoral fins and minimize...

Genetics Analysis of Standing Variation for Floral Morphology and Fitness Components in a Natural Population of Mimulus guttatus (common monkeyflower) by Young Wha Lee University Program in Genetics and Genomics Duke University Date:_______________________ Approved: ___________________________ John H. Willis, Supervisor ___________________________ Mark Rausher, Chair ___________________________...