Doctor of Philosophy (PhD), Wright State University, 2020, Environmental Sciences PhD

Snow leopards (Panthera uncia) are an enigmatic, high-altitude species whose challenging habitat, low population densities and patchy distribution have presented challenges for scientists studying its biology, population structure, and genetics. To address these important ecological, conservation, and evolutionary questions, scientists are tailoring laboratory and computational methods to better extract the information from non-invasive samples, only available source of DNA for this species. These samples with very low quantity and quality of DNA, present unique methodological challenges. ddRAD-seq, one of next generation sequencing method is used here to develop reference sequence library for snow leopard using five blood samples from Mongolian snow leopards. 697 SNPs are identified through this method. This genetic data from ddRAD-seq will be invaluable for conducting population and landscape scale studies that can inform snow leopard conservation strategies. Then probes are designed for target DNA capture, a widely used method for studying low quality and quantity of DNA from ancient DNA samples, eDNA, and forensics, using developed ddRAD-seq reference sequence library. Non-invasive fecal scats of snow leopards from seven different countries are used for target DNA capture. In addition to target DNA, high number of non-targeted mtDNA of snow leopard and prey species are also obtained. This non-targeted DNA is used to identify prey species in snow leopard scats that are collected from different regions/locations. 3369 bp of snow leopard mtDNA are used to identify 22 parsimony informative sites that can be useful for future mitochondrial gene-based population genetics and structure studies of snow leopards.

Committee: Thomas P. Rooney Ph.D. (Advisor); Jeffrey L. Peters Ph.D. (Committee Member); Fakhar-i- Abbas Ph.D. (Committee Member); Byron Weckworth Ph.D. (Committee Member); Volker Bahn Ph.D. (Committee Member) Subjects: Ecology; Environmental Science; Wildlife Conservation; Wildlife Management

Master of Science, The Ohio State University, 2018, Evolution, Ecology and Organismal Biology

In marine environments, phylogeographic approaches have the power to counteract the difficulties of studying small, highly mobile organisms that live in a fluid environment. These analyses are particularly useful for studying exploited species, as understanding connectivity and processes governing gene flow between populations is essential to sustainable management of fisheries. Among the most vulnerable of exploited species are marine invertebrates collected for the ornamental aquarium trade, as commercial culture techniques are largely not addressed and vital data on larval biology is inadequate or remain unknown. The Caribbean blue-legged hermit crab (Clibanarius tricolor) is heavily collected for its role as an aquarium cleaner; however, despite its economic and ecological importance, little is known about their population structure or genetic diversity. Here, we investigate the phylogeography and genetic diversity of C. tricolor by comparing structure across four well-defined phytogeographic breaks throughout their range in the Caribbean and west Atlantic: the Florida Straits, Mona Passage, Central America, and central Bahamas breaks. We also explore additional factors (e.g. reproductive strategies, life-history traits, habitat preference, demographic history, biogeographic processes) that may influence whether structure is present in marine organisms within this region. Prior to analyzing structure throughout C. tricolor's entire range, a preliminary study was done to determine whether high throughput sequencing approaches (i.e. double digest Restriction-site Associated DNA sequencing) were necessary for detecting phylogeographic patterns in C. tricolor. Findings indicated that Sanger sequencing of traditional loci used in decapod studies (mtDNA: cytochrome c oxidase subunit 1, 16S-rDNA; nuDNA: Histone 3) were sufficient for this study. To infer C. tricolor structure and connectivity, analyses investigating genetic diversity (# segregating sites, # haploty (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Marymegan Daly (Advisor); Bryan Carstens (Committee Member); John Freudenstein (Committee Member) Subjects: Biology; Conservation; Genetics