Samantha Tracy's Qualifying Exam

Samantha Tracy will stand for the Qualifying Examination for acceptance into candidacy for the Ph.D. degree on Monday, November 11 at 9:00 a.m. in Yale Peabody Museum, room 425. All faculty (only faculty) are welcome and invited to attend. Copies of Samantha’s dissertation prospectus and qualifying exam questions and answers can be obtained from the Doctoral Program Office (contact: elisabeth.barsa@yale.edu).
Committee members:
• Prof. David Skelly (Chair)
• Prof. James Saiers
• Prof. Richard Bribiescas (Yale Anthropology)
• Prof. Jessica Hua (Univ. Wisconsin-Madison)
Question 1) Referring to Chapter 1: Microgeographic Variation in Hormonal Stress Response
Describe how environmental, metabolic, temporal, and genetic factors alone and in combination might interact to influence hormonal stress responses in tadpoles
o …during the course of a stress response (from response through recovery),
o …over 24 hours (consider diel patterns)
o …over a frog’s lifetime (i.e. consider responses across developmental from free swimming tadpole Gosner 25 to metamorphosis Gosner 46)
o …over multiple generations
For each of these temporal scales, please (1) describe potential ecological and evolutionary consequences of these hormonal variations for tadpole fitness and survival and (2) make a case for what temporal scale you think might best inform conservation strategies for amphibian populations in suburbanizing landscapes?

Question 2) Consider the concept of plasticity.
o How does it evolve?
o How is it constrained?
o How is plasticity related to induction?
o What is a reaction norm?
o When designing an experiment to estimate plasticity and to differentiate it from other forms of trait variation, what are the key factors to consider?
Finally, have past studies of plasticity considered physiological mechanisms? What have they found and how do they inform the design of your research?

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