Caenorhabditis elegans is arguably the best understood animal on the planet. Used for over 50 years to study development, we have a vast amount of knowledge of the inner workings of this worm. Our knowledge is incomplete, however, without placing this organism in its evolutionary and ecological context. In this body of work, I focused on examining the evolutionary forces shaping Caenorhabditis nematodes, with a particular emphasis on C. briggsae. In the first part, I examined the evolution of mitochondrial genomes throughout the genus. I tested for signatures of selection and examined the evolution of mitochondrial genome architecture. Through this, I have shown that the mitochondrial genomes of Caenorhabditis nematodes appear to be primarily influenced by purifying selection and that molecular evolutionary inference is greatly limited by mutational saturation. The evolutionary forces acting on mitochondrial genomes have been examined before, however, this study, extensively examining this within a single genus, provides a much better characterization than any of the studies to date. In the second part, I characterized the evolutionary dynamics of mitochondrial pseudogenes in C. briggsae and its closest relatives. I showed that these elements, while they might not evolve under strictly neutral terms, are still quite useful in uncovering cryptic diversity and population structure. I also observed that they appear/disappear in a manner that appears inconsistent with one commonly held model for mitochondrial pseudogene evolution. In the final part, I examined the evolution of C. briggsae in response to a biotic environment. I showed that fitness in a parasite-containing environment incurs a trade-off with fitness in the absence of parasites. Together, the chapters of this dissertation demonstrate the strength of Caenorhabditis, and in particular C. briggsae, for examining evolutionary questions and advances this system as a tool for evolutionary biology research. / Graduation date: 2013

In social and biological evolution, infelicity can operate as a driving motor to force change. In this essay, for life other than human, infelicity is equated with physical unfitness to compete for the resources of a specific niche. For humanity it is defined as the result of an incongruity between a nation's culture and its government. The purpose of this study is to investigate how, for irrational life, unfitness can stimulate the creation of a new species and, for men, how the unhappiness of a nation may enhance its opportunity to enter a new socio-economic order. An evolutionary account about a possible way in which life could have evolved is offered, concentrating mainly on the transition from ape to a less remote ancestor of man, but also taking into consideration other life forms. Then, a parallel to social evolution is established. A study of the rise of capitalism in England, as well as the recent attempts to institute socialism in Latin America, are also explained as consequences of infelicity. / Graduation date: 1994

The evolutionary biology of 14 species of Maniolini (Nymphalidae: Satyrinae) was studied. Electrophoretic analysis of 35 enzyme loci identified a larger number of alleles than an1 levels of polymorphism similar to those found in other Lepidoptera. In Maniola jurtina, some populations exhibited a massive heterozygote deficit and sex associated allele frequency differentiation at the GOT-l locus. Allele frequencies in pre- and post-aestivation jurtina from southern Europe were significantly different. At some loci, significant annual differences in allele frequencies were noted. A significant correlation between geographic and genetic distance in allele frequencies was observed, but no correlation was detected between heterozygosity and land area in insular populations. Cluster analysis and nonmetric multidimensional scaling per~ormed on electrophoretic data from populations of Maniola jurtina revealed a dichotomy between 'Eastern' and 'Western' subspecies groups. The analysis of Manioline species fitted existing taxonomies. Genetic differences between Maniola species were much smaller than those between Pyronia and Hyponephele species. Ultrastructural studies of the Maniola Jullien organs revealed a species-specific tooth pattern on the inner surfaces. It is suggested that these structures may be sound production mechanisms of great evolutionary significance to the species. Maniolini ova were studied and it is suggested that their form and chorionic sculpturing owe much to selection induced by oviposition strategy. Chaetotaxy of first instar larvae was undertaken and morphometric analysis of setal lengths was found to be useful, but not unambiguous. Multivariate analysis of chaetotaxy data showed a significant correlation with electrophoretic data. viii The evolution and zoogeography of Maniola is discussed. It is suggested that disjunction, founder effect, rapid post-glacial colonisation and bottlenecking have played a major roles in effecting rapid speciation. It is further suggested that all Maniola species are very recent, perhaps having evolved within the last 50,000 years, and some species almost certainly have evolved in postglacial times •

The relation between central or mean metallicity and luminosity in elliptical galaxies is a well observed phenomenon. Theoretical explanations proposed for this relation include scenarios in which peak metallicities are determined either by the epoch at which the remaining gas is expelled from the galaxy by supernova-driven winds, or by the efficiency of star formation following a series of mergers by small stellar/gaseous subsystems. These explanations suggest that an investigation of the metallicity-luminosity relation for spiral galaxies might have implications for galaxy formation models and for the origin of SO galaxies. The existing evidence concerning SO's points to a relation between mean metallicity and total luminosity. The problem of measuring metal abundances in the nuclei of spiral galaxies is that the line strength variations due to metallicity changes must be distinguished from those due to a filling in of the lines by the continuum from a young population. This was accomplished by measuring absorption line indices for Mg b and for a CN band at λ3880. Nuclear spectra of twenty ellipticals, obtained with a reticon detector, show these two indices to be well correlated for pure old populations; models including the effects of young stars show a very different trajectory for age effects. A procedure is thus defined for determining the metallicity of the population and the fraction of light coming from the young component, and this procedure is applied to observations of 25 spiral galaxies. A comparison of the results of this analysis with detailed population syntheses for six galaxies confirms the correctness of the procedure. In order to obtain bulge luminosities and bulge-to-disk ratios, photographic plates of twenty-two of the spirals were obtained. This material was digitized and reduced to a series of radial luminosity profiles for each galaxy. A procedure was established for decomposing the profiles into disk and bulge contributions. In addition to the desired gross parameters of the bulge and disk, the inclinations and true bulge flattenings for some of the galaxies are accurately determined. A discussion of the results of this analysis deals with the nature of departures from the exponential fitting function for some disks, a decomposition of the Hubble sequence into quantitative parameters, and the implication of the distribution of true bulge flattenings. The metallicities and luminosities are then combined, and two tests indicate that in spiral galaxies, central metallicity and bulge luminosity follow the same relation seen in ellipticals. The implications of this result are twofold. First, galaxy formation models in which the disk material can affect the processes which determine the central metallicity in the bulge are ruled out. Specifically, it is likely that the disks of spiral galaxies are not undergoing vigorous star formation at the time the bulge ceases forming stars. A picture in which the disk material has not yet accreted on to the galaxy at this time is also quite consistent. A somewhat more straightforward implication comes from a comparison of the results of this study with similar studies of SO galaxies. It is concluded that, aside from the uncertain effects of radial gradients, the evidence is inconsistent with the theory that most SO's were at one time spiral galaxies.

This study describes the structural and depositional evolution in the KH field in West Natuna Basin, Indonesia. Data for the study were acquired by three-dimensional (3D) seismic reflection volume and a complete suite of well logs. The regional basin underwent transtensional, sinistral shear during the rift phase that reactivated during the early to middle Miocene inversion as a traspressional, dextral shear. The study identified four periods of tectonic activity in the area which are extension, quiescence, compression and another period of quiescence. A structural closure developed along a series of north-south trending, normal splay faults defines the area's trap play. Understanding how this structural play fits into the regional tectonic picture may suggest new approaches to hydrocarbon exploration in the area.

Thesis (M.C.S.)--Regent College, 1987. / Abstract. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 168-183).

Thesis (B.D.)--Western Evangelical Seminary, 1955. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves [108]-111).

Thesis (B.D.)--Western Evangelical Seminary, 1955. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves [119]-120).

Thesis (B.D.)--Western Evangelical Seminary, 1955. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves [108]-111).

Thesis (B.D.)--Western Evangelical Seminary, 1955. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves [119]-120).