Tale of three toxins: How butterflies respond to anthropogenic change
2019-09
Loading...
View/Download File
Persistent link to this item
Statistics
View StatisticsJournal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Title
Tale of three toxins: How butterflies respond to anthropogenic change
Authors
Published Date
2019-09
Publisher
Type
Thesis or Dissertation
Abstract
Why do some animals persist while others perish when challenged with new and rapidly changing environments? This question is central not only for preserving the diversity of life in a world increasingly impacted by humans, but also for understanding how organisms survived, diversified, or went extinct in the past. The main goal of my dissertation was to combine ecotoxicological and evolutionary approaches to understand why some animals survive (and others do not) when challenged with novel anthropogenic pollutants. To do so, I examined how butterflies vary in response to pollution over many scales of genetic variation, from differences between individuals, to differences between populations within a species, to comparing species. I also evaluated how plastic traits are in their response to toxic environments. I chose three pollutants – an insecticide, a heavy metal, and road salt – to answer specific questions about the interaction between genetic variation and plasticity. Throughout, I assessed if and how butterflies’ survival and life histories are affected by toxin exposure. Overall, I found appreciable amounts of genetic and plastic variation in response to the three toxins, suggesting that butterfly populations may be resilient to low levels of toxic threats in the short term.
Keywords
Description
University of Minnesota Ph.D. dissertation. September 2019. Major: Ecology, Evolution and Behavior. Advisor: Emilie Snell-Rood. 1 computer file (PDF); v, 109 pages.
Related to
Replaces
License
Collections
Series/Report Number
Funding information
Isbn identifier
Doi identifier
Previously Published Citation
Other identifiers
Suggested citation
Kobiela, Megan. (2019). Tale of three toxins: How butterflies respond to anthropogenic change. Retrieved from the University Digital Conservancy, https://hdl.handle.net/11299/225113.
Content distributed via the University Digital Conservancy may be subject to additional license and use restrictions applied by the depositor. By using these files, users agree to the Terms of Use. Materials in the UDC may contain content that is disturbing and/or harmful. For more information, please see our statement on harmful content in digital repositories.