This study doubles the known diversity of nemertean species in one region along the northeast Pacific coast by utilizing the often over-looked larval life-history stage. Prior to this work, the nemertean fauna in this region was believed to be well described; however, previous assessments were based on adult life-history stages only and significantly underestimated the real diversity. With this dissertation, we update what is known about nemertean diversity and expand upon this “life-history” approach to describe new species, identify and describe larval forms, and speculate on the phylogenetic relevance of nemertean larvae. A considerable amount of new diversity takes the form of cryptic species complexes, where existing descriptions include characteristics of several species. Micrura alaskensis, a common intertidal nemertean and an emerging model system for developmental studies, existed as a species complex consisting of five species. In this dissertation we designate a new genus, re-describe M. alaskensis, and describe four new species in this complex. In doing so we make accurate identification possible for future comparative research. The complete development of few nemertean species was known before this project began, thus few species could be identified as larvae. We have identified over 30 nemertean larvae using both embryological and DNA barcoding approaches in this work. Intriguingly, many wild-caught larvae could not be matched to species previously reported from this region and instead contribute to previously unknown diversity. This new diversity includes species previously reported only from distant geographic regions as well as species new to science. The first record of a hubrechtid on the west coast of North America and the identification of two new species in the currently monotypic genus Riserius were revealed in larval assessments. Aside from increasing known species-level diversity, we revealed novel larval types. Barcoding larvae allowed us to place larval morphotypes into a phylogenetic context and identify potentially useful larval synapomorphies for nemertean phylogenies. Our results emphasize the importance of a life-history approach to biodiversity assessments for all species with biphasic life-cycles. This dissertation includes published and unpublished co-authored material.

Mimosa, um dos maiores gêneros de Leguminosae, apresenta uma complexa classificação infraespecífica estruturada em seções incluindo series. Das últimas, M. ser. Pachycarpae, e M. ser. Setosae são endêmicas e diversas no Domínio do Cerrado. Ambas apresentam uma complexa classificação infraespecífica que reflete em parte sua ampla diversidade morfológica. Embora a morfologia dos frutos tenha sido utilizada para diferenciá-las, análises filogenéticas indicam que elas devem ser fundidas. A fim de verificar essas afirmações, realizamos uma análise filogenética incluindo uma vasta amostragem de táxons e baseada em caracteres moleculares e morfológicos. Concluímos que M. ser. Pachycarpae M. ser. Setosae devem, de fato, ser fundidas e que parte das espécies da última é, na verdade, mais relacionada a outra série do gênero. Além disso, evidenciamos que a classificação infraespecífica aplicada às series não é refletida na topologia obtida e, portanto, deve ser aprimorada tanto quanto possível. A diversificação do grupo aparentemente está ligada à aquisição de uma inovação-chave e a processos de recombinação fenotípica. Portanto, a circunscrição de M. ser. Pachycarpae é aqui reorganizada para incluir parte das espécies de M. ser. Setosae, bem como sua classificação infraespecífica. M. ser. Pachycarpae apresenta 72 espécies e seis táxons infraespecíficos, todos, exceto um (M. paludosa), endêmicos ao Domínio do Cerrado, onde ocorrem preferencialmente em áreas montanhosas. Uma circunscrição abrangente de M. ser. Pachycarpae não permite delimitação baseada em um ou poucos caracteres, dada a ampla variação morfológica dos táxons. Entretanto, o fruto do tipo craspédio não-articulado ocorre na maioria das espécies. Atualizações taxonômicas no grupo incluem caracterização diagnóstica, notas morfológicas e taxonômicas, informação sobre distribuição e habitat, bem como uma lista de espécimes selecionados de cada táxon, juntamente com algumas fotos ilustrativas . Um tratamento taxonômico completo do complexo M. setosa é apresentado. Além disso, duas novas espécies são descritas, problemas com tipificação, corrigidos e o reconhecimento problemático de duas espécies, resolvido. Reconhecimento distinto de hierarquia taxonômica em Mimosa pode estar relacionado com a preferência por conceitos de espécie diferentes. É necessário promover o estudo de espécies baseado em conceitos explícitos a fim de produzir circunscrições testáveis, e também sistemas de classificação robustos, informativos e preditivos / Mimosa, one of the largest genera in Leguminosae, has an infrageneric classification arranged in sections with subtended series. Two of the latter, M. ser. Pachycarpae and M. ser. Setosae, are endemic to the Brazilian Cerrado Domain. The current infraspecific classification of both series id complex and reflect in part their large morphological diversity. Although fruit morphology has been used to segregate these two series, previous phylogenetic analyses indicate that they should be merged. Aiming to contribute to a better understanding of that problem, we performed a phylogenetic analysis based on molecular and morphological data of a wide taxa samplig. Our results show that M. ser. Pachycarpae and M. ser. Setosae must be merged and that part of the species belonging to the latter is actually more related to another series. Also, the current infraspecific classification is not corroborated by our tree topology. Diversification of the group may be related to a key innovation and to phenotypic recombination. Hence, M. ser. Pachycarpae> is reorganized to accommodate part of M. ser. Setosae. The infraspecific classification of the series is also updated and replaced as much as possible. M. ser. Pachycarpae presents 72 species and six infraspecific taxa, all but one (M. paludosa) endemic to the Brazilian Cerrado Domain, where they occur chiefly in altitudinal areas. The comprehensive circumscription of M. ser. Pachycarpae avoids delimitation based on a single or few characters, due to its wide morphological diversity, but an unjointed craspedium occurs in most species. Taxonomic updates include diagnostic characterization, notes on morphology and taxonomy, information on distribution and habitats, as well as a list of selected specimens from each taxon, and some illustrative photographs. For the M. setosa complex, a full taxonomic treatment is provided. Also, two new species are described, typification problems are solved and the recognition of two problematic taxa is resolved. Different approaches to rank choice in Mimosa may be related to usage of different species concepts. Efforts are needed to promote species studies based on explicit concepts in order to achieve not only testable species circumscriptions, but also robust, informative and predictive classification systems

No description available.

Empirical evidence shows that ensembles with adequate levels of pairwise diversity among a set of accurate member algorithms significantly outperform any of the individual algorithms. As a result, several diversity measures have been developed for use in optimizing ensembles. We show that diversity measures that properly combine the diversity space in an additive and multiplicative manner, not only result in ensembles whose accuracy is comparable to the naive ensemble of choosing the most accurate learners, but also results in ensembles that are significantly more efficient than such naive ensembles. In addition to diversity measures found in the literature, we submit two measures of diversity that span the diversity space in unique ways. Each of these measures considers not only the diversity of ratings between a pair of algorithms, but how this diversity relates to the target values.

No description available.

While inclusion has been identified as the key to unlocking the benefits of diversity in organizations, the impact of inclusive leader behaviors on employee perceptions is rarely examined. By demonstrating behaviors that supports employee voice and encourages employee participation, inclusive supervisors may impact employees’ perceptions of organizational resources. The present study examines the mediating roles of trust, justice, and leader-member exchange (LMX) on the relationship between inclusive leadership and employees’ perceptions of organizational resources (general organizational means-efficacy; GOME). A path analysis was used to examine the mediation model, which found that inclusive leadership strongly predicts GOME perceptions. Mixed support was obtained for the proposed mediation model, as informational justice, distributive justice, and interpersonal justice significantly mediated the relationship. While procedural justice and trust were not statistically significant mediators, the combined mediators almost fully mediated the relationship between inclusive leadership and GOME. The results suggest that direct supervisors play a crucial role in enhancing employee justice and trust perceptions, which in turn positively impact GOME perceptions. Implications and directions for future research are discussed.

In urban areas, residential and community gardens are potential floral resources for pollinators. Pollinator "friendly" gardens are a popular way to support this ecosystem service, but the pollinator plant list recommendations lack empirical evidence to show which plants are most attractive to potential pollinators. This project used a community science survey based on a morpho-species protocol to monitor five community orchards in Portland, Oregon during six months of the growing season in 2017. Overall, orchards with higher floral species richness supported higher richness and abundance of pollinators, but the pollinator communities were not significantly different among the orchard sites. Orchard fruit-set had a variable correlation with pollinator richness and abundance. At the landscape level, the number of miles of street within 500m showed a strong negative correlation with the overall pollinator community richness. Bumble bee abundance showed a strong negative correlation with the percentage of single family residential zoning, and NDVI at 2000 meters. Our community science approach promoted volunteer awareness of pollinator diversity in Portland, but did not increase volunteer intention to conserve pollinators. This research helped build evidence of the dynamics of urban pollinators and the role that community science can play in pollinator biodiversity monitoring.

Considering South Africa’s richness in aquatic species, very little knowledge exists regarding copepods that are symbiotic on hosts ranging from invertebrates to marine mammals. In order to have any indication of the existing biodiversity of this group of organisms in South African waters, a thorough investigation of all possible hosts needs to be conducted, which in turn will most likely increase the number of recorded symbiotic copepods considerably. The current descriptive study was done in an effort to contribute to a larger study of metazoan parasites of elasmobranch hosts along the KwaZulu-Natal coast of South Africa. A total of 40 (31 Mobula kuhlii; two Mobula eregoodootenkee and seven Manta alfredi) mobulids were examined for infection by symbiotic copepods at the KwaZulu-Natal Sharks Board (KZNSB). More than 90% of all examined hosts were infected with different types of symbiotic siphonostomatoids. Collected copepod specimens were fixed and preserved in 70% ethanol and studied with both the stereo- and light microscopes using the wooden slide technique. Some selected specimens were further studied using Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) to elaborate on ill-defined features. A total of 13 different species of the order Siphonostomatoida distributed over five families were identified. The five families include Eudactylinidae (Eudactylina oliveri, Eudactylina diabolophila and Nemesis sp.); Caligidae (Caligus crysophrysi, Pupulina sp. 1, Pupulina sp. 2; Pupulina sp. 3, Unidentified sp. 1, Unidentified sp. 2 and Unidentified sp. 3); Kroyeriidae (Kroeyerina mobulae); Dichelesthiidae (Anthosoma crassum) and Cecropidae (Entepherus laminipes). Two of the 13 species (E. laminipes and A. crassum) are monotypic and were therefore easily identified. Eudactylina oliveri exhibited a prevalence of 75% and 100%; mean intensity of 42 and 130 parasites per host and a mean abundance of 32 and 130 individuals per host while Pupulina sp. 1 exhibited a prevalence of 61.29% and 100%; mean intensity of 41 and 5 individuals per host and a mean abundance of 2 and 5 individuals per host on M. kuhlii and M. eregoodootenkee respectively. Component populations of E. oliveri and Pupulina sp. 1 exhibited an aggregated distribution pattern on their examined hosts. The phylogenetic relationship between nine caligid species (three known Pupulina species, three collected Pupulina species and three Unidentified sp. species as ingroup) with Caligus glandifer as out-group was determined and analysed using a morphological dataset (40 characters) from previous and current descriptions. The ii exhaustive search with PAUP* retained a single most parsimonious tree with a tree length (TL) = 85; consistency index (CI) = 0.7; retention index (RI) = 0.7; homoplasy index (HI) = 0.3 and a rescaled consistency index (RCI) = 0.5. Bootstrap support for the estimated clades was mostly low with values less than 95%. The phylogenetic hypothesis of the 10 caligid species presented in the current study was derived from the phylogenetic analysis of the information for adult females and is therefore not intended to be a definitive theory but should be treated as a testable hypothesis that can be further analysed using more data. The current study provides the first record of C. chrysophrysi, Pupulina sp. 1, Pupulina sp. 2, K. mobulae and E. laminipes on M. kuhlii; E. oliveri, Pupulina sp. 1, Pupulina sp. 2 and Pupulina sp. 3 on M. eregoodootenkee; and E. diabolophila, Nemesis sp., C. chrysophrysi, E laminipes, A. crassum and the three Unidentified species on M. alfredi frequenting the east coast of South Africa and thus contributes to the knowledge of our marine biodiversity. Mobulid hosts were not carefully studied for copepod infection previously and the copepods that were reported from the mobulids were probably found by chance. Therefore future investigation into the symbiotic siphonostomatoids of more mobulid hosts and other host species may result in more reports of symbiotic Copepoda from South African waters. / Thesis (MSc. (Zoology)) -- University of Limpopo, 2013

Thesis (MSc. (Zoology)) -- University of Limpopo, 2014 / One of the 11 families of the siphonostomatoids found parasitic on elasmobranchs is the Kroyeriidae which has three accepted genera namely Kroyeria, Kroeyerina and Prokroyeria. Parasites from this family are found living on the gills (Kroyeria spp. and Prokroyeria sp.) or in the nasal fossae (Kroeyerina spp.) of Chondrichthyes. There are currently 21 nominal species in the genus Kroyeria. Kroyeria specimens were collected from the gill filaments of their elasmobranch hosts which were caught: (1) in the nets of the KwaZulu-Natal Sharks Board (KZNSB) installed along the east coast of South Africa, (2) by commercial fishermen off the west coast at Gansbaai as well as (3) during the demersal trawls of Department of Agriculture, Forestry and Fishery (DAFF) off the south and west coasts. Collected specimens were fixed and preserved in 70% ethanol. Morphological features were drawn where necessary to illustrate differences from previously described features. Host-parasite relationships of the different species were determined by calculating prevalence, mean abundance and mean intensity on their hosts as well as estimating the pattern of dispersion by calculating the coefficient of dispersion. DNA was extracted from selected identified samples. A partial fragment of the COI gene was amplified via PCR using the forward and reverse universal primers LCO 1490 and HCO 2198, or those with additional M13 tails, LCO 1490_t1 and HCO 2198_t1. Additionally, the complete 18S rDNA gene of some species was amplified using the forward and reverse primers as follows: 18Sf and 1282r for the first fragment, 554f and 614r for the second fragment and 1150f and 18sr for the third fragment. Phylogenetic relationships among different Kroyeria species were estimated by employing neighbor joining (NJ), parsimony (MP) and maximum likelihood (ML) in PAUP*. The use of real-time PCR and melt curve analysis to distinguish among different Kroyeria species based on their different melt temperatures of a part of the COI gene was also attempted. Eleven Kroyeria species were found on the gill filaments of elasmobranchs belonging to the families Carcharhinidae, Sphyrnidae and Triakidae off the coasts of South Africa. These include K. carchariaeglauci from C. leucas; K. decepta from C. obscurus; K. deetsi from C. brevipinna; K. dispar from G. cuvier; K. elongata from R. acutus; K. lineata from M. palumbes; K. longicauda from C. limbatus; K. papillipes viii from G. cuvier; K. procerobscena from both C. leucas and C. amboinensis; K. sphyrnae from both Sphyna lewini and S. zygaena and a new Kroyeria sp. from G. galeus. This is the first record of K. lineata from the south coast of South Africa and is also as a new host record for Mustelus palumbes. Three Kroyeria species have previously been reported from G. galeus, namely K. brasiliense, K. lineata and K. rhophemophaga. The new Kroyeria sp. is most similar to K. rhophemophaga which in turn shares morphological features with K. triakos. However, the Kroyeria sp. can be distinguished from both K. rhophemophaga and K. triakos in the armature of the legs. Most Kroyeria species are relatively host specific, infecting a single host or related group of host species. During this study two species, K. dispar and K. papillipes were collected from G. cuvier, while K. procerobscena and K. sphyrnae were each collected from two host species. Kroyeria sp. and K. dispar displayed very high prevalence values, 95.7% and 94.1% respectively, in contrast to the other Kroyeria species which have lower values (6.3–68.6%). Additionally, when compared to other siphonostomatoid species such as Nemesis lamna, Kroyeria species have relatively low prevalence values. Kroyeria species generally have low parasite loads (between 4 and 33 copepods per infected host), except for K. dispar which has a high mean intensity of 74 copepods per infected host. The mean abundance of Kroyeria species is also generally low (between 0 and 23 per examined host), with K. dispar (69 individuals per examined host) being an exception. Furthermore Kroyeria species generally display an aggregative pattern of distribution which is common in most copepod species indicating that individuals have social interactions. A preliminary estimation of the phylogenetic relationships among seven Kroyeria species revealed topologies with unresolved polytomies. The 18S rDNA gene did not make any significant changes on the topology, except that it produced very minimal resolution in one of the groupings. Therefore, COI is found to be a gene of choice that can be used in estimating molecular phylogenetics and population genetics of siphonostomatoids as it provides useful sequence divergence within individuals of the same species as well as among congeneric species due to its fast evolving rate. However, in this study, single species did not form monophyletic groupings. ix The 18S rDNA gene is found to be very conservative, providing no sequence divergence within individuals of the same species and very little divergence among conspecifics due to its low mutation rate and is therefore more useful at genus and family levels. With polytomies in the estimated phylogenetic relationships, haplotype networks were used to compare the distribution of different haplotypes among the different species. Haplotype sharing did occur between species e.g. for COI, H1 is shared by K. lineata, Kroyeria sp. and K. sphyrnae. This haplotype sharing by different species is unexpected and could be due to specimen misidentification before DNA extraction. Specimen misidentification is common for Kroyeria species because some of them are not easy to identify. The haplotype network results confirmed the relationships shown by the phylogenetic trees, dividing Kroyeria species into three different groupings. Real-time PCR and melt curve analysis have the potential to distinguish among Kroyeria species. However, the quality of the extracted DNA is an important factor in producing successful amplifications and determining the Tm. Therefore it is necessary to ensure that the extracted DNA has the ideal concentration of 50 ng/μl and is free of Taq polymerase inhibitors such as phenol, RNA and guanine residuals from the extraction process.

Much of ecological theory describes species interactions. These interactions often play an important theoretical role in facilitating coexistence. In particular, rarity in ecological communities, though often observed, provides a significant challenge to theoretical and empirical ecologists alike. I use a plant community model to simulate the effect of stronger negative frequency dependence on the long-term persistence of the rare species in a simulated community. This strong self-limitation produces long persistence times for the rare competitor, which otherwise succumb quickly to stochastic extinction. The results suggest that the mechanism causing species to be rare in this case is the same mechanism allowing those species to persist. To determine if ecological communities generally show the theoretical pattern, I estimate the strength of frequency-dependent population dynamics using species abundance data from 90 communities across a broad range of environments and taxonomic groups. In approximately half of the analyzed communities, rare species showed disproportionately strong negative frequency dependence. In particular, a pattern of increasing frequency dependence with decreasing relative abundance was seen in these communities, signaling the importance of this mechanism for rare species specifically. Insight into the special population dynamics of rare species will inform conservation efforts in response to climate change and other disturbance. Further difficulties in the detection of theoretical patterns in ecological data may be a result of the ecological currency used. Though ecologists typically use abundance data to test theories, energy use is another ecological currency that may be more relevant in some cases. In particular when detecting patterns that are a result of species interactions, the currency used should be the one in which those interactions actually operate. I compare the results of using abundance and energy use to detect two processes with well-defined expectations. The first is a description of population dynamics, the above described relationship between relative abundance and self-limitation. The second, compensatory dynamics, is a description of community-level dynamics. I find that the currency used alters the results, and thus the species-level implications. It does not, however, alter the overall pattern that would have theoretical implications. Results in both currencies support the pattern of strong self-limitation for persistent rare species.