The purpose of this study is to examine mitochondrial DNA variation in the Southwest Pacific and determine what factors contribute to the degree and patterning of the observed variation. Population variation is known to be influenced by factors including demographic history, natural selection, climate, isolation, island area/complexity, and population age, as older populations are generally more diverse. The groups compared are from three regions in the Southwest Pacific; (a) northeast New Guinea, (b) Manus in northern Island Melanesia and (c) Easter Island in eastern Polynesia. MtDNA surveys have revealed highly significant differences in molecular variance across these populations. According to traditional biogeographical theory, the likely determinants of these differences are (a) length of time since initial settlement, (b) the comparative isolation of particular islands or regions since settlement, and (c) the size and complexity of settlement areas. Evidence from archaeology and linguistics provides the necessary framework for the study. Detailed archaeological surveys for several of the study regions provides evidence for settlement dates as well as evidence for isolation and/or frequent contact with other areas, usually in the form of trade and translocation of animals and artifacts. Linguistics, though not as informative as archaeology for settlement dates, provides detailed evidence for isolation and/or contact in the form of language isolates, language families, borrowing and linguistic divergence. The mtDNA haplogroups found in this study belong to several documented haplogroups, some of Melanesian origin, and some of Southeast Asian origin. The distribution of mtDNA variants and the pattern and degree of variation was examined using Analysis of Molecular Variance, standard diversity measures and partial Mantel matrix correlations. There were strong positive correlations between insular area, isolation and degree of variation. There were also measurable differences between inland and coastal populations on the larger islands where diversity in the isolated inland populations was greater than diversity in the coastal population. While there was some confounding of the variables, the results of our analysis indicate that insular area/complexity and isolation influence the pattern of variance more than length of settlement time. / Anthropology

Cyprinodon variegatus is a pupfish that inhabits the Atlantic coast of North America, nearly continuously, from Massachusetts to Belize. This research attempts to resolve the phlylogeography of C. variegatus by investigating the genetic sequence structure of the mitochondrial control region (D-loop, non-coding origin of replication) and cytochrome-b gene for evidence of northern and southern subspecies within the Atlantic Coast of the eastern United States. Additionally, it will be may be possible to determine if secondary hybrid zones developed as a result of the last retreat of ice from North America during the Pleistocene, about 17,000 years ago. A definitive monophyletic northern clade was found using parsimony, distance, and maximum likelihood phylogenetic methods to analyze the control region data. The cytochrome-b sequence data supported this monophyletic northern clade, although their utility for this analysis is marginal. Little evidence was found for the existence of a hybrid zone. More thorough sampling will be needed to make more accurate determinations regarding the existence of such a zone. / Master of Science

A Filogeografia é um dos campos mais multidisciplinares da Biologia, e agrega diferentes áreas como sistemática filogenética, genética de populações, geologia, modelos paleogeográficos e paleoclimáticos, demografia e conservação. Assim, além da Filogeografia comparada, apresento resultados importantes para a conservação das espécies estudadas e a descrição de uma espécie críptica. Bombus morio e B. pauloensis são espécies simpátricas que ocupam uma grande área em dois importantes biomas brasileiros, Mata Atlântica e Cerrado. Exceto pelas diferenças na dispersão, maior em B. morio, possuem comportamento e nicho ecológico semelhantes. Os resultados gerados a partir de marcadores moleculares e modelagem de distribuição sugerem que as alterações climáticas do final do Pleistoceno influenciaram a estrutura populacional das duas espécies, e que a maior capacidade de dispersão foi responsável pela ausência de estruturação em B. morio. O leste do estado de São Paulo, no qual foram encontradas diferentes quebras filogeográficas para vários organismos, mostrou-se mais uma vez complexo e com mais um diferente cenário filogeográfico. Além disso, essa região por ser o centro da diversidade genética em B. pauloensis e ter sido estável ao longo da mudanças climáticas para ambas espécies, é prioritária para a conservação das mesmas / Phylogeography is one of the most multidisciplinary fields in Biology and joins different areas such as phylogenetic systematics, population genetics, geology, paleogeographic and paleoclimatic models, demography, and conservation. Thus, besides comparative Phylogeography, I also present important results concerning the conservation of the species studied and the description of a cryptic species. Bombus morio and B. pauloensis are sympatric species, occupying a large area in two important Brazilian biomes, Atlantic forest and Brazilian savanna. Except for differences in dispersal, which is greater in B. morio, both species have similar behavior and ecological niches. The results obtained by molecular data and distribution models suggest that climatic oscillations in the late Pleistocene influenced the population structure of both species, and that a greater dispersal capacity was responsible for the absence of genetic structure in B. morio. Eastern São Paulo state, in which different phylogeographic breaks have been found for many organisms, seems to be complex and to have a new phylogeographic scenario. Furthermore, this region, because it is the center of genetic diversity for B. pauloensis and it was stable throughout periods of climatic change for both species, is a priority for their conservation

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Florida, 2006. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 97-106). Also available via the World Wide Web: http://etd.fcla.edu/UF/UFE0017365/morris_a.pdf.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Tartu, 2004. / Includes reprint of 5 previously published articles. Includes bibliographical references.

No description available.

A Filogeografia é um dos campos mais multidisciplinares da Biologia, e agrega diferentes áreas como sistemática filogenética, genética de populações, geologia, modelos paleogeográficos e paleoclimáticos, demografia e conservação. Assim, além da Filogeografia comparada, apresento resultados importantes para a conservação das espécies estudadas e a descrição de uma espécie críptica. Bombus morio e B. pauloensis são espécies simpátricas que ocupam uma grande área em dois importantes biomas brasileiros, Mata Atlântica e Cerrado. Exceto pelas diferenças na dispersão, maior em B. morio, possuem comportamento e nicho ecológico semelhantes. Os resultados gerados a partir de marcadores moleculares e modelagem de distribuição sugerem que as alterações climáticas do final do Pleistoceno influenciaram a estrutura populacional das duas espécies, e que a maior capacidade de dispersão foi responsável pela ausência de estruturação em B. morio. O leste do estado de São Paulo, no qual foram encontradas diferentes quebras filogeográficas para vários organismos, mostrou-se mais uma vez complexo e com mais um diferente cenário filogeográfico. Além disso, essa região por ser o centro da diversidade genética em B. pauloensis e ter sido estável ao longo da mudanças climáticas para ambas espécies, é prioritária para a conservação das mesmas / Phylogeography is one of the most multidisciplinary fields in Biology and joins different areas such as phylogenetic systematics, population genetics, geology, paleogeographic and paleoclimatic models, demography, and conservation. Thus, besides comparative Phylogeography, I also present important results concerning the conservation of the species studied and the description of a cryptic species. Bombus morio and B. pauloensis are sympatric species, occupying a large area in two important Brazilian biomes, Atlantic forest and Brazilian savanna. Except for differences in dispersal, which is greater in B. morio, both species have similar behavior and ecological niches. The results obtained by molecular data and distribution models suggest that climatic oscillations in the late Pleistocene influenced the population structure of both species, and that a greater dispersal capacity was responsible for the absence of genetic structure in B. morio. Eastern São Paulo state, in which different phylogeographic breaks have been found for many organisms, seems to be complex and to have a new phylogeographic scenario. Furthermore, this region, because it is the center of genetic diversity for B. pauloensis and it was stable throughout periods of climatic change for both species, is a priority for their conservation

<p>This dissertation is an investigation of the systematics, phylogeography, and ecology of a globally distributed fungal family, the Elaphomycetaceae. In Chapter 1, we assess the literature on fungal phylogeography, reviewing large-scale phylogenetics studies and performing a meta-data analysis of fungal population genetics. In particular, we examined the possible effects of asexuality, trophic niche, dispersal method, and ocean barriers on population structure. In Chapter 2, we examine the systematics and phylogeography of the Elaphomycetaceae, a family consisting of the truffle genus Elaphomyces and the stalked genus Pseudotulostoma, hypothesizing that the mammal-dispersed truffle would show evidence of dispersal limitation. Using DNA sequence data, we determined that Pseudotulostoma is derived from a lineage of Elaphomyces, indicating that Elaphomyces as currently defined is paraphyletic. The distribution of each subgenus of Elaphomyces is nearly global; representative species have been found on every continent save Africa and Antarctica. This biogeographic pattern does not follow the pattern expected by a scenario of continental vicariance. Dating analysis in BEAST confirmed that broadly distributed clades are, in most cases, too young for this pattern to be explained by continental vicariance, indicating that occasional long-distance dispersal has been a significant component in the biogeographic history of the Elaphomycetaceae. This finding contradicts our initial hypothesis that the mammal-dispersed truffles would be dispersal- limited. In Chapter 3, we investigate the role of Elaphomyces as a host for the fungal parasite Elaphocordyceps, a parasite derived from insect pathogens that attacks both insect larvae and Elaphomyces, its only fungal host. We examined the biogeography of Elaphocordyceps isolated from Elaphomyces specimens in order to test whether it, like its host, showed recent connections between the Southern and Northern Hemispheres. We also evaluated the pathogenicity of infection as determined by a visual rubric for the truffle gleba, the phylogenetic distribution of Elaphocordyceps species on its host, testing for seasonal, climate, and host-parasite effects. In Chapter 4, based on the phylogeographic pattern seen in Elaphomyces that resembles that of some air-dispersed fungi, we used theoretical and experimental methods to test whether Elaphomyces could be dispersed by air. We tested the capacity for air dispersal with an experimental test of passive air dispersal on the powdery spores of Elaphomyces morettii and found that these large spores could disperse over a short distance (10 m) in comparable numbers with the spores of the giant puffball Calvatia cyathiformis, which is known to be air-dispersed. The major findings of this thesis are that 1) fungi in general show high dispersal ability, but that trophic niche and dispersal mode may affect population structure, 2) that Pseudotulostoma, a stalked genus, is derived from the truffle Elaphomyces, 3) that the Elaphomycetaceae have experienced frequent long-distance dispersal despite 4) that the fitness of Elaphomyces as indicated by glebal development varies with host-parasite interactions based on species identity, but not with climate or season, and that 5) Elaphomyces spores, should they be released into the air, can remain in the air long enough to be dispersed long distances by the wind. The overall conclusion of this thesis is that, while Elaphomyces is clearly reliant on animal vectors for excavation and dispersal, its past history of long-distance dispersal and current spore trajectories indicate it can be passively air-dispersed as well.</p> / Dissertation

Hepatitis C virus (HCV) causes severe illness in millions of people worldwide, but the epidemic strains responsible for most infections arose within the past hundred years and represent only a small part of total HCV diversity. In this thesis I combine laboratory and computational methods to study HCV in Africa. I aim to characterize its current genetic diversity and its historical transmission prior to the global HCV epidemic. In Chapter 2 I begin by screening samples from the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) for HCV and the related human pegivirus. I find high HCV sequence diversity, including a putative new subtype, and find significantly higher HCV prevalence in those born before 1950. Chapter 3 continues this screening, and combines the sequences obtained with those from online databases. Using molcular clock methods I estimate that genotype 4 originated in central Africa around 1733, and that multiple lineages, including subtype 4a which dominates the HCV epidemic in Egypt, have moved to north Africa since ~1850. In Chapter 4 I analyse sequences sampled from an elderly population in Kinshasa to estimate HCV’s transmission history there during the 20th century. The results indicate a rapid increase in HCV transmission between 1950 and 1970 in multiple independent lineages. Possible causes of this increase are discussed. This study population also exhibits high HCV genetic diversity, including the second genotype 7 sample discovered to date. Finally, Chapter 5 uses a range of sequencing techniques, including RNAseq, to characterise two putative HCV recombinants from Cameroon. I confirm that both sequences are recombinants, and generate a full genome sequence for one. I also develop new tools to distinguish between dual infection and recombination in next-generation sequencing data, and discuss how recombination might affect HCV diversity and treatment.

Recent advances in sequencing technologies have provided an unprecedented window in the unseen biological world. Accompanying this revolution is a growing appreciation for the ubiquity and diversity of beneficial interactions between animals and the microbes they carry. Given the symbiotic roles of microbes in host nutrition, immunity, behavior, development, and nearly every other facet of host biology, it is becoming increasingly clear that any understanding of hosts and their evolution would be incomplete without also considering the microbial dimension. Yet despite the growing body of evidence that many of these partnerships are rooted deep in evolutionary time, the majority of studies have tended to focus on how the composition of the present-day microbiome is shaped by present-day factors. In order to place the microbiome in the larger context of host biology, a more complete understanding of the evolutionary interplay between hosts and their microbial associates is needed. Here, I use Odontotaenius disjunctus, a large xylophagous beetle found throughout eastern North America, to explore how its present-day gut microbiome has both shaped and been shaped by evolutionary processes that have acted on the host. First, I show that recent evolution in O. disjunctus reflects the influence of Pleistocene glaciation on the host’s demographic history. Next, I show that the present-day gut microbiome of O. disjunctus reflects both the influence of this recent host evolution and the more ancient influence of natural selection that has acted on the host to maintain these beneficial partnerships over a much longer timescale. Finally, I show that the persistence of certain members of the gut microbiome over evolutionary time may be explained by their role in host lignocellulose digestion. My findings demonstrate that, much like host genomes, the microbiome has been, is being, and will continue to be shaped simultaneously by forces of selection and neutrality along the arc of evolutionary history shared by these intimate partners.