Thesis (doctoral)--Ruhr-Universität Bochum, 1985.

Thesis (M. Ed.)--Kutztown University of Pennsylvania, 1997. / Source: Masters Abstracts International, Volume: 45-06, page: 3033. Abstract precedes thesis as 1 preliminary leaf. Typescript. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 57-60).

Thesis--Wisconsin. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Duke University, 2007. / Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (M.S.)--Miami University, Dept. of Botany, 2003. / Title from first page of PDF document. Document formatted into pages; contains vii, 83 p. : ill. Includes bibliographical references (p. 79-82).

No description available.

Leptosporangiate ferns, with more than 9000 extant species, are truly exceptional among the non-flowering lineages of vascular plants. However, this rather remarkable diversity was not simply a consequence of being able to "hold on" as flowering plants rose to dominance. Instead, it appears to be the result of an ecological opportunistic response to the establishment of more complex, angiosperm-dominated ecosystems. The proliferation of flowering plants across the landscape undoubtedly resulted in the formation of a plethora of new niches into which leptosporangiate ferns could diversify. Many of these were evidently on shady forest floors, but many others were actually within the new angiosperm-dominated canopies. Today, almost one third of leptosporangiate species grow as epiphytes on angiosperm trees. My dissertation aims to demystify the evolution and diversification of epiphytic ferns in order to more fully understand the leptosporangiate success story. By assembling and analyzing the most inclusive molecular dataset for leptosporangiate ferns to date, I provide unprecedented insight into overall fern relationships and a solid and balanced phylogenetic framework within which the evolution of epiphytism can be examined. By employing this phylogeny and numerous constraints from the fern fossil record, I uncover the timing of epiphytic fern diversification and examine the origin of the modern tropical rain forest biome in which these ferns reside. / Dissertation

No description available.

No description available.

Thesis (M.S.)--University of Missouri-Columbia, 2006. / The entire dissertation/thesis text is included in the research.pdf file; the official abstract appears in the short.pdf file (which also appears in the research.pdf); a non-technical general description, or public abstract, appears in the public.pdf file. Title from title screen of research.pdf file viewed on (February 8, 2007) Includes bibliographical references.