ii To my parents for their infinite love, support, and understanding iii Do not go where the path may lead, go instead where there is no path and leave a trail Ralph Waldo Emerson iv ACKNOWLEDGMENTS First and foremost, I want to extend my deepest thanks to my advisor Dr. Patrick Schlievert for his exceptional mentoring and guidance. Pat is a true mentor in every sense of the word. Pat does not ...

Abstract The subterranean realm of the Cantabrian-Pyrenean region northern Spain harbours a rich diversity Zospeum . Due to their tiny size and difficulty finding them alive, scarce animal material has been available for scientific investigation. Recent investigations shells have provided valuable, but limited insights towards our understanding evolutionary processes occurring within this taxon...

The deep-sea malacofauna of temperate Australia remains comparatively poorly known. However, a recent influx DNA-suitable material obtained from series cruises has facilitated integrative taxonomic study on the Conoidea (Caenogastropoda:Neogastropoda). Building molecular phylogeny conoidean family Raphitomidae, this focussed genera Gladiobela and Pagodibela (both Criscione, Hallan, Puillandre &...

In many test and measurement applications, the analogue-to-digital converter (ADC) is the limiting component. Using post-correction methods can improve the performance of the component as well as the over all measurement system. In this paper an ADC is characterised by a Kautz-Volterra (KV) model, which utilises a model-based post-correction of the ADC with general properties and a reasonable n...

Voluta musica is considered an endangered species in Venezuela for two main reasons: collectors appreciate shells and its incidental catch in fishery of Arca zebra. Population and ecological parameters including abundance, distribution, reproduction, length-frequency distributions, color pattern of shells and influence of biotic and abiotic factors on density were estimated through observations...