Browsing by Author "Rachootin, Stan"
Now showing items 1-20 of 27
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Analysis Of The Crested And Gargoyle Geckos' Locomotion And Toepad Activity On Horizontal And Vertical Poles Of Varying Thickness
Saraf, Maria (2016-07-01)Various morphological traits and behaviors have evolved to facilitate a gecko's ability to climb vertically. The gecko relies on the structural elements of its toepads to maximize adhesive force and enable easy release ... -
Assessing the potential use of microtraces of gastropod predation as a diagnostic for predator-prey interactions in the fossil record
Lapic, Whitney (2018-05-17)Predatory gastropods have left signs of boring predation in the fossil record as early as the Cambrian (McMenamin and Schulte McMenamin, 1990; putative Proterozoic examples [e.g., Bengtson and Zhao, 1992] remain controversial). ... -
The bony lung of the coelacanth Macropoma
Hartley, Melissa (2011-05-13)In 1833, Louis Agassiz described a large flask-shaped structure inside the body of the Cretaceous coelacanth Macropoma. Its microscopic structure was analyzed by W.C. Williamson in 1849. Coelacanths have been ... -
Comparative anatomy of wings and antennae in Trichoptera and Lepidoptera: all dressed up but inordinately indifferent?
Lewis, Alice Kelsey (2011-02-16)Trichoptera (caddisflies) are an order of small insects that are closely related to the Lepidoptera (moths and butterflies). Trichoptera and Lepidoptera together comprise the superorder Amphiesmenoptera. Lepidoptera may ... -
Comparison of Vulpes lagopus and Vulpes vulpes Skulls from Sympatric and Allopatric Populations
Jones, Hannah (2016-06-30)Vulpes vulpes, the red fox, and Vulpes lagopus, the arctic fox, have tumultuous taxonomic histories. V. vulpes boasts cosmopolitan distribution, in part due to artificial introduction. In all areas, its specialization as ... -
Convergent Evolution Between the Mouthparts of Eurypterus lacustris and Procambarus clarkii
Fearon, Julia (2019-07-02)Eurypterus lacustris has been reconstructed as a mid-sized detrivore and carnivore that was preserved in hypersaline shallow water environments (Nudds, 2008). Today, Red Swamp Crayfish (Procambarus clarkii) are about the ... -
Crabs, Flies, Yeast, Drip: A Maggot's Take on Evolution and Adaptation
Asch, Ruth (2011-05-18)In 1974, geneticist Bruce Wallace heard an address delivered by Hampton Carson describing three species of Drosophila that had independently adapted to live as obligate commensals of land crabs, spending at least the larval ... -
D. Dwight Davis’s Legacy: A Morphological Examination of the Evolutionary Synthesis
Weir, Brianna (2017-06-05)D. Dwight Davis was a morphologist who worked at the Field Museum of Natural History in Chicago, publishing between 1932 and 1964. Best-known for an authoritative monograph on the comparative anatomy of the giant panda, ... -
DENTAL ARCHAEOLOGY OF THREE POPULATIONS OF CHRISTIANS AND NON-MUSLIMS IN POLLENTIA, MALLORCA
de Paula, Bennett (2017-06-30)The diet, health, nutrition, and genetics of an individual leave unique and identifiable markers on dental remains. Those markers can be used to understand the diet and health of an ancient population. This study presents ... -
Dynamic directionality of cell states in Boolean gene regulatory networks; a model of structural constraints in cell development.
Deni, Ioanna (2019-05-08)This project studies the dynamics of three Boolean gene regulatory networks for B and T cell differentiation and proposes an original gene regulatory network for larval fat body remodeling in Drosophila. The difference ... -
The Effect of Speed on Hindlimb Muscle Recruitment during Swimming in the Toad, Bufo marinus
Gunaratne, Rashmi (2011-02-16)Animals must vary their locomotor behavior to successfully maneuver in their environments, and one parameter that varies widely within the locomotor repertoire of many animals is speed. Changing speed depends on the ... -
The Effects of Caudal Autotomy on the Kinematics of Anolis carolinensis Running on an Arboreal-Like Substrate
Maynard, Eleanor (2014-06-02)Caudal autotomy is a well-researched predation-escape mechanism used by Anolis lizards. This ‘self-sacrifice’ involves a neuromuscular event in which the tail is severed along an intravertebral fracture plane proximal to ... -
EOCENE SELACHIAN FAUNA FROM NEARSHORE MARINE DEPOSITS, AMPAZONY, NORTHWESTERN MADAGASCAR
Wallett, Lane (2011-02-16)A new fossil-bearing locality near the northwestern Malagasy town of Ampazony yielded fossils of several selachian genera during the summer field seasons of 2001 and 2003. The sedimentology of the site and the temporal ... -
Exploring the Link Between Rescue Behavior and Experience in the Pavement Ant, Tetramorium sp. E
Kriete, Alexis (2014-05-28)Rescue behavior, a specific form of altruism, has been recorded in diverse animal species. Pavement ants (Tetramorium sp. E) are capable of freeing nestmates trapped by antlions (Myrmeleontidae spp.), a common predator of ... -
Failure to Launch: Characterization of a Flightless Strain of Drosophila hydei
Peterson, Lenna (2011-02-16)Drosophila hydei is a fruit fly that last shared a common ancestor with the model organism D. melanogaster 60 million years ago. A domesticated strain, flightless D. hydei, is a feeder fly for amphibians, and breeders ... -
Feather Characteristics in Extinct Stem Birds and Extant Species
Tang, Ho Kwan (2016-05-19)Flight requires a coherent surface that generates lift. In birds, surface integrity of a feather depends on the locking mechanism of barbs and barbules that preserves the integrity of the feather surface by resisting ... -
Investigations into Carnivoran Premolar Morphology and Evolution
Reuter, Dana (2015-06-30)Carnivoran tooth evolution has been studied extensively because of the diversity within the order and their role in ecosystems. The large number of phylogenetic and functional morphological studies makes canivorans ... -
Jumping behavior and the effects of caudal autotomy on performance in Anolis carolinensis
Bonvini, Lauren (2011-02-16)Maximal locomotor performance in Anolis lizards has been studied extensively within and across species. Hindlimb length is correlated with jump distances in a number of species of anoles, and differences in the structural ... -
The Kindness of Strangers: Genetic Diversity Within Social Insect Colonies
Bespalova, Ioulia (2011-05-20)It is generally believed that high relatedness between sisters, a characteristic of the hymenopteran method of sex determination, is what allows this insect order to build harmonious social organizations. However, at least ... -
A Matter of Medical Faith: The Anti-Vaccination Debate from 1880 to 1910
Hartman, Elaine (2018-06-25)The History Department thesis “A Matter of Medical Faith: The Anti-Vaccination Debate from 1880 to 1910,” explores the first anti-vaccination movement in the United States, and its eventual culmination in the 1905 Supreme ...