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Abstract

Understanding the mechanisms behind the maintenance of hybrid zones and the means by which parasitism can either favor or penalize introgression is likely to be crucial for predicting wildlife disease dynamics under both contemporary and future disturbance regimes. In this dissertation, I leverage preserved specimens of two hybridizing Plethodon salamanders to determine if infection with shared parasites is a factor influencing their relative fitness and identify host and environmental factors associated with parasite occurrence. In Chapter 2, I explore how parasite community composition and assembly transform across the hybrid zone between P. teyahalee and P. shermani at the Coweeta Hydrological Station. Chapter 3 investigates how host factors such as body size, degree of introgression, and environmental conditions like rainfall influence the distribution, prevalence, and intensity of individual parasite species among P. teyahalee, hybrids, and P. shermani in the Coweeta Basin. In Chapter 4, I incorporate preserved specimens from field surveys of gravid female Plethodon to estimate the degree to which parasite infections influence host fitness. Lastly, in Chapter 5 I combine insights from trends in parasite community composition and assembly, patterns in host and environmental associations with parasite pressure, and costs of fitness associated with parasite infections to provide commentary on the likely mechanisms influencing the contemporary extent and long-term stability of the hybrid zone between P. teyahalee and P. shermani at Coweeta Hydrological Station.

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