Show simple item record

dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/1951/53489
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/11401/71082
dc.description.sponsorshipThis work is sponsored by the Stony Brook University Graduate School in compliance with the requirements for completion of degree.en_US
dc.formatMonograph
dc.format.mediumElectronic Resourceen_US
dc.language.isoen_US
dc.publisherThe Graduate School, Stony Brook University: Stony Brook, NY.
dc.typeThesis
dcterms.abstractUnderstanding how species adapt to spatial climate gradients can provide clues to potential evolutionary responses to climate change. Species distributed across broad environmental gradients, such as those that occur along latitudes or altitudes, often exhibit adaptive genetic variation. However, little attention has been given to how the type of environmental gradient shapes adaptive responses. To provide insight into this, local adaptation is compared in related fish species across two very different environmental gradients: the Atlantic and Pacific coasts of North America. Local adaptation is first examined in the California grunion (Leuresthes tenuis) and then results are compared to previous work on the Atlantic silverside. Common garden experiments and wild fish studies were used to test for local adaptation among several traits (growth capacity, sex determination, and vertebral number) of the California grunion across three latitudinal populations: Monterey, CA (36.6_N), Malibu, CA (34.0_N), and Ensenada, MX (31.9_N). Consistent genetic differences in growth capacity between latitudinal populations were not observed. Wild southern grunion were slightly larger and grew faster than more northern grunion, likely due to environmental effects. Temperature (p<0.001) and photoperiod (p=0.011) were found to significantly affect sex ratios of laboratory reared fish, indicating that grunion have environmental sex determination (ESD); however the level of ESD did not differ among populations. Mean vertebral numbers in wild grunion were nearly identical for all populations. The lack of latitudinal variation in these traits of the grunion is in direct contrast to the Atlantic silverside, which exhibits a high degree of genetic differentiation in all of the above traits. Results also differ from recent work on the topsmelt, another Pacific coast silverside species. Failure to observe latitudinal variation in the grunion unlike its other taxonomic relatives may be due to its oceanic rather than estuarine habitat, which provides a greater opportunity for broad-scale gene flow and results in a more homogenous environment. Implications for climate change are discussed.
dcterms.available2012-05-11T13:35:08Z
dcterms.available2015-04-24T14:45:52Z
dcterms.contributorConover, David O.en_US
dcterms.contributorStephan B. Munchen_US
dcterms.contributorMichael G. Frisk.en_US
dcterms.creatorBrown, Elizabeth Ellen
dcterms.dateAccepted2012-05-11T13:35:08Z
dcterms.dateAccepted2015-04-24T14:45:52Z
dcterms.dateSubmitted2012-05-11T13:35:08Z
dcterms.dateSubmitted2015-04-24T14:45:52Z
dcterms.descriptionDepartment of Marine and Atmospheric Scienceen_US
dcterms.formatMonograph
dcterms.formatApplication/PDFen_US
dcterms.identifierBrown_grad.sunysb_0771M_10366.pdfen_US
dcterms.identifierhttp://hdl.handle.net/1951/53489
dcterms.identifierhttp://hdl.handle.net/11401/71082
dcterms.issued2010-12-01
dcterms.languageen_US
dcterms.provenanceMade available in DSpace on 2012-05-11T13:35:08Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Brown_grad.sunysb_0771M_10366.pdf: 831078 bytes, checksum: 3155b47f2787f8eba45f8d25909a278b (MD5) Previous issue date: 1en
dcterms.provenanceMade available in DSpace on 2015-04-24T14:45:52Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 3 Brown_grad.sunysb_0771M_10366.pdf.jpg: 1894 bytes, checksum: a6009c46e6ec8251b348085684cba80d (MD5) Brown_grad.sunysb_0771M_10366.pdf.txt: 127307 bytes, checksum: cc6e2be73630f3ebf0e7895875dc4665 (MD5) Brown_grad.sunysb_0771M_10366.pdf: 831078 bytes, checksum: 3155b47f2787f8eba45f8d25909a278b (MD5) Previous issue date: 1en
dcterms.publisherThe Graduate School, Stony Brook University: Stony Brook, NY.
dcterms.titleLocal Adaptation along a Latitudinal Gradient in Pacific versus Atlantic-Coast Fishes
dcterms.typeThesis


Files in this item

Thumbnail

This item appears in the following Collection(s)

Show simple item record