ASU Electronic Theses and Dissertations
This collection includes most of the ASU Theses and Dissertations from 2011 to present. ASU Theses and Dissertations are available in downloadable PDF format; however, a small percentage of items are under embargo. Information about the dissertations/theses includes degree information, committee members, an abstract, supporting data or media.
In addition to the electronic theses found in the ASU Digital Repository, ASU Theses and Dissertations can be found in the ASU Library Catalog.
Dissertations and Theses granted by Arizona State University are archived and made available through a joint effort of the ASU Graduate College and the ASU Libraries. For more information or questions about this collection contact or visit the Digital Repository ETD Library Guide or contact the ASU Graduate College at gradformat@asu.edu.
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Description
Cancer is a disease of multicellularity, with deep evolutionary origins. As such, the forces of both evolution and natural selection operate on multiple scales to govern tumor dynamics. As multicellular organisms increase in complexity, cellular-level fitness must be controlled in order to maintain organismal-level fitness. Mutations that might provide a benefit at the cellular level by allowing for rapid proliferation are subject to the same forces that function on the organismal level, wherein cancer suppression is a benefit – especially as organisms increase their body size and lifespan. In order to maintain these large cellular bodies and long lifespans, organisms must increase their means of cancer suppression, and it is likely that these two phenomena co-evolved together. On a smaller scale, the cooperative dynamics of circulating tumor cell (CTC) clusters engage in cooperation to form networks of connected single cells that provide protection, stability, and cooperative sharing of resources to enhance their survival as they detach from a primary tumor and metastasize at secondary sites. This work seeks to explore the phenomenon of multi-level selection in neoplastic disease by examining A) the mechanisms of cancer suppression at multiple scales, B) the ecological resilience and stability of cooperating cellular clusters and C) a large-scale dataset on cancer prevalence across mammals, sauropsids (birds and reptiles), and amphibians, illuminating the evolutionary life history characteristics that explain the tradeoffs between cancer suppression and overall organism fitness. By taking an ecological and evolutionary approach to understanding cancer, novel strategies of cancer treatment may be discovered alongside fundamental discoveries about the fundamental forces of selection that govern evolutionary dynamics from the cellular to the organismal scale.
ContributorsHarris, Valerie (Author) / Maley, Carlo C. (Thesis advisor) / Aktipis, Athena (Committee member) / Boddy, Amy M. (Committee member) / Compton, Carolyn (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2022
Description
Throughout the Southwest, complex geology and physiography concomitant with climatic variability contribute to diverse stream hydrogeomorphologies. Many riparian plant species store their seeds in soil seed banks, and germinate in response to moisture pulses, but the climatic controls of this response are poorly understood. To better understand the ecological implications of a changing climate on riparian plant communities, I investigated seed bank responses to seasonal temperature patterns and to stream hydrogeomorphic type. I asked the following questions: Are there distinct suites of warm and cool temperature germinating species associated with Southwestern streams; how do they differ between riparian and terrestrial zones, and between ephemeral and perennial streams? How does alpha diversity of the soil seed bank differ between streams with ephemeral, intermittent, and perennial flow, and between montane and basin streams? Do streams with greater elevational change have higher riparian zone seed bank beta-diversity? Does nestedness or turnover contribute more to within stream beta-diversity?
I collected soil samples from the riparian and terrestrial zones of 21 sites, placing them in growth chambers at one of two temperature regimes, and monitoring emergence of seedlings for 12 weeks. Results showed an approximately equal number of warm and cool specialists in both riparian and terrestrials zones; generalists also were abundant, particularly in the riparian zone. The number of temperature specialists and generalists in the riparian zones did not differ significantly between perennial headwater and ephemeral stream types. In montane streams, alpha diversity of the soil seed bank was highest for ephemeral reaches; in basin streams the intermittent and perennial reaches had higher diversity. Spatial turnover was primarily responsible for within stream beta-diversity—reaches had different species assemblages. The large portion of temperature specialists found in riparian seed banks indicates that even with available moisture riparian zone plant community composition will likely be impacted by changing temperatures. However, the presence of so many temperature generalists in the riparian zones suggests that some component of the seed bank is adapted to variable conditions and might offer resilience in a changing climate. Study results confirm the importance of conserving multiple hydrogeomorphic reach types because they support unique species assemblages.
I collected soil samples from the riparian and terrestrial zones of 21 sites, placing them in growth chambers at one of two temperature regimes, and monitoring emergence of seedlings for 12 weeks. Results showed an approximately equal number of warm and cool specialists in both riparian and terrestrials zones; generalists also were abundant, particularly in the riparian zone. The number of temperature specialists and generalists in the riparian zones did not differ significantly between perennial headwater and ephemeral stream types. In montane streams, alpha diversity of the soil seed bank was highest for ephemeral reaches; in basin streams the intermittent and perennial reaches had higher diversity. Spatial turnover was primarily responsible for within stream beta-diversity—reaches had different species assemblages. The large portion of temperature specialists found in riparian seed banks indicates that even with available moisture riparian zone plant community composition will likely be impacted by changing temperatures. However, the presence of so many temperature generalists in the riparian zones suggests that some component of the seed bank is adapted to variable conditions and might offer resilience in a changing climate. Study results confirm the importance of conserving multiple hydrogeomorphic reach types because they support unique species assemblages.
ContributorsSetaro, Danika (Author) / Stromberg, Juliet (Thesis advisor) / Franklin, Janet (Committee member) / Makings, Elizabeth (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2016
Description
Bouteloua eriopoda (Torr.) Torr., also known as black grama, is a perennial bunchgrass native to arid and semiarid ecosystems in the southwestern region of North America. As a result of anthropogenic climate change, this region is predicted to increase in aridity and experience more frequent extreme drought and extreme wet years. This change in precipitation will no doubt affect black grama; however, few studies have investigated how the specific structural components of this grass will respond. The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of years since start of treatment and annual precipitation amount on tiller and stolon densities, and to test for interaction between the two predictor variables. Additionally, the effects of annual precipitation on ramets and axillary buds were investigated. By using 36 experimental plots that have been receiving drought, irrigated, or control treatments since 2007, tiller density was the most responsive component to both annual precipitation amount and years since start of treatment. Years since start of treatment and annual precipitation amount also had a statistically significant interaction, meaning the effect of precipitation amount on tiller density differs depending on how many years have passed since treatments began. Stolon density was the second-most responsive component; the predictor variables were found to have no statistically significant interaction, meaning their effects on stolon density are independent of one another. Ramet density, ramets per stolon, and axillary bud metabolic activity and density were found to be independent of annual precipitation amount for 2021. The results indicate that multiple-year extreme wet and multiple-year extreme dry conditions in the Southwest will both likely reduce tiller and stolon densities in black grama patches. Prolonged drought conditions reduced tiller and stolon production in black grama because of negative legacies from previous years. Reduced production during prolonged wet conditions could be due to increased competition between adjacent plants.
ContributorsSutter, Bryce Madison (Author) / Sala, Osvaldo E (Thesis advisor) / Makings, Elizabeth (Committee member) / Wojciechowski, Martin F (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2022
Description
Evolutionary theory provides a rich framework for understanding cancer dynamics across scales of biological organization. The field of cancer evolution has largely been divided into two domains, comparative oncology - the study of cancer across the tree of life, and tumor evolution. This work provides a theoretical framework to unify these subfields with the intent that an understanding of the evolutionary dynamics driving cancer risk at one scale can inform the understanding of the dynamics on another scale. The evolution of multicellular life and the unique vulnerabilities in the cellular mechanisms that underpin it explain the ubiquity of cancer prevalence across the tree of life. The breakdown in cellular cooperation and communication that were required for multicellular life define the hallmarks of cancer. As divergent life histories drove speciation events, it similarly drove divergences in fundamental cancer risk across species. An understanding of the impact that species’ life history theory has on the underlying network of multicellular cooperation and somatic evolution allows for robust predictions on cross-species cancer risk. A large-scale veterinary cancer database is utilized to validate many of the predictions on cancer risk made from life history evolution. Changing scales to the cellular level, it lays predictions on the fate of somatic mutations and the fitness benefits they confer to neoplastic cells compared to their healthy counterparts. The cancer hallmarks, far more than just a way to unify the many seemingly unique pathologies defined as cancer, is a powerful toolset to understand how specific mutations may change the fitness of somatic cells throughout carcinogenesis and tumor progression. Alongside highlighting the significant advances in evolutionary approaches to cancer across scales, this work provides a lucid confirmation that an understanding of both scales provides the most complete portrait of evolutionary cancer dynamics.
ContributorsCompton, Zachary Taylor (Author) / Maley, Carlo C. (Thesis advisor) / Aktipis, Athena (Committee member) / Buetow, Kenneth (Committee member) / Nedelcu, Aurora (Committee member) / Compton, Carolyn (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2023