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Browsing by Author "Aubry, Lise M., committee member"

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    Effect of fear and representations of great white sharks on great white shark conservation behavior
    (Colorado State University. Libraries, 2024) Montgomery, Emily, author; Tham, Samuel M., advisor; Champ, Joseph, committee member; Aubry, Lise M., committee member
    Great white sharks are listed as a vulnerable species under the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) red list. This study uses the theory of planned behavior (TPB) to test how different factors such as attitudes, subjective norms, perceived behavioral control along with representations and fear of great white sharks affect great white shark conservation behavior intentions. This study (n= 218) used a 2 (fear) x2 (representations) between-subjects experimental design. The main findings from this study found that participants had higher positive attitudes toward great white sharks when exposed to the stimuli featuring the presence of fear image compared to the absence of fear image; however, there was no significant difference in great white shark conservation behavior intention based on the four conditions participants were assigned to. All other results in this study analyzing factors of TPB and great white shark fear and representation were expected and supported by TPB and previous research.
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    The genomics of habitat-linked microgeographic adaptation in an island endemic bird
    (Colorado State University. Libraries, 2024) Cheek, Rebecca G., author; Ghalambor, Cameron K., advisor; Funk, W. Chris, advisor; Sillett, T. Scott, committee member; Aubry, Lise M., committee member
    A fundamental goal of evolutionary biology is to understand the mechanisms that maintain adaptive diversity. This dissertation focuses on the interplay of two key evolutionary mechanisms - natural selection and gene flow. While natural selection is often portrayed as a driving force of adaptive evolution, gene flow is assumed to disrupt selection by introducing maladapted alleles into locally adapted populations. Yet this paradigm is beginning to shift as a growing appreciation for the role gene flow may play in concert with natural selection to facilitate adaptative divergence. I explore this interaction of selection and gene flow in island scrub-jays (Aphelocoma insularis), a highly mobile bird experiencing local adaptation at a microgeographic scale. First, I demonstrated that observed differences in bill morphology between pine-oak ecotones are likely genetically based despite overall limited population genetic structure. Second, I found that the genetic underpinnings of divergent bill morphologies are highly parallel at higher genetic levels, which is indicative of selection acting on shared, but highly polygenic, molecular pathways. Finally, I tested alternate dispersal mechanisms potentially impacting patterns of limited gene flow and found evidence for sex-biased natal habitat preference shaping limited dispersal. Collectively, these results show how gene flow can enhance adaptive divergence at microgeographic scales.