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Why Do Dolphins Carry Sponges?, Janet Mann, Brooke L. Sargeant, Jana J. Watson-Capps, Quincy A. Gibson, Michael R. Heithaus, Richard C. Connor, Eric Patterson
Why Do Dolphins Carry Sponges?, Janet Mann, Brooke L. Sargeant, Jana J. Watson-Capps, Quincy A. Gibson, Michael R. Heithaus, Richard C. Connor, Eric Patterson
Department of Biological Sciences
Tool use is rare in wild animals, but of widespread interest because of its relationship to animal cognition, social learning and culture. Despite such attention, quantifying the costs and benefits of tool use has been difficult, largely because if tool use occurs, all population members typically exhibit the behavior. In Shark Bay, Australia, only a subset of the bottlenose dolphin population uses marine sponges as tools, providing an opportunity to assess both proximate and ultimate costs and benefits and document patterns of transmission. We compared sponge-carrying (sponger) females to non-spongecarrying (non-sponger) females and show that spongers were more solitary, spent …
Current State Of Conservation Knowledge On Threatened Amphibian Species In Peru, Rudolf Von May, Alessandro Catenazzi, Ariande Angulo, Jason L. Brown, Jorge Carrillo, German Chavez, Jesus H. Cordova, Aleyda Curo, Amanda Delgado, Marco A. Enciso, Roberto Gutierrez, Edgar Lehr, Jorge L. Martinez, Margarita Medina-Muller, Alfonso Miranda, Daniel R. Neira, Jose A. Ochoa, Aaron J. Quiroz, Daniel A. Rodriguez, Lily O. Rodriguez, Antonio W. Salas, Tracie Seimon, Anton Seimon, Karen Siu-Ting, Juana Suarez, Claudia Torres, Evan Twomey
Current State Of Conservation Knowledge On Threatened Amphibian Species In Peru, Rudolf Von May, Alessandro Catenazzi, Ariande Angulo, Jason L. Brown, Jorge Carrillo, German Chavez, Jesus H. Cordova, Aleyda Curo, Amanda Delgado, Marco A. Enciso, Roberto Gutierrez, Edgar Lehr, Jorge L. Martinez, Margarita Medina-Muller, Alfonso Miranda, Daniel R. Neira, Jose A. Ochoa, Aaron J. Quiroz, Daniel A. Rodriguez, Lily O. Rodriguez, Antonio W. Salas, Tracie Seimon, Anton Seimon, Karen Siu-Ting, Juana Suarez, Claudia Torres, Evan Twomey
Department of Biological Sciences
This study documents the current state of conservation knowledge on threatened amphibian species in Peru. Following the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) classification system, we considered species in the following categories: Critically Endangered, Endangered, Vulnerable, and Near Threatened. Even though only the first three categories are regarded as threatened by IUCN, we included the fourth category to make comparisons with the list of threatened species issued by the Peruvian government. We used the Global Amphibian Assessment's database and the list issued in Peru for this comparison. We conducted separate field surveys in 17 regions of Peru to …
Comparison Of Fish Assemblages In Two Littoral Habitats In A Neotropical Morichal Stream In Venezuela, Carmen G. Montaña, Craig A. Layman, Donald C. Taphorn
Comparison Of Fish Assemblages In Two Littoral Habitats In A Neotropical Morichal Stream In Venezuela, Carmen G. Montaña, Craig A. Layman, Donald C. Taphorn
Department of Biological Sciences
Morichales are lowland streams in South American savannas with riparian forest dominated by the moriche palm (Mauritia flexuosa). We sampled littoral habitats from ten flooded vegetated patches (dominated by Mauritiella aculeate) and six sand banks in two months of the dry season (Feb-Mar 2005) in a stream in the savannas of Apure State, Venezuela. We collected samples that compromised 12,407 individual fishes of 107 species. Small-bodied fishes (< 100 mm), representing diverse trophic and life history strategies, were abundant. The most abundant species were in the families Characidae and Cichlidae. Fish assemblages from flooded vegetated patches differed significantly from those on adjacent sand banks. High structural complexity along vegetated shoreline habitats of morichal streams likely contributes to species richness and affects assemblage composition.
Melanocytes In The Developing And Adult Atrioventricular Valves Of The Murine Heart, Flavia Carneiro Brito
Melanocytes In The Developing And Adult Atrioventricular Valves Of The Murine Heart, Flavia Carneiro Brito
FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations
The Neural Crest (NC) is a multipotential group of cells that arises from the dorsal aspect of the neural tube early in development. It is well established that a group of NC cells named Cardiac Neural Crest (CNC) migrates to the heart and plays a critical role in the remodeling of the aortic arch arteries and septation of the outflow tract. In this study, using the mouse mutant Pax3sp/sp that has CNC deficits I have identified a putative novel role for the CNC in regulating apoptosis in the atrioventricular (AV) endocardial cushion. The AV endocardial cushion undergoes remodeling to …
Temporal Variation In Dwarf Sperm Whale (Kogia Sima) Habitat Use And Group Size Off Great Abaco Island, The Bahamas, Meagan Mná Dunphy-Daly
Temporal Variation In Dwarf Sperm Whale (Kogia Sima) Habitat Use And Group Size Off Great Abaco Island, The Bahamas, Meagan Mná Dunphy-Daly
FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations
Dwarf sperm whales, Kogia sima, are among the most commonly stranded yet least known pelagic cetaceans. I assessed seasonal and spatial variation in dwarf sperm whale group size and abundance off Great Abaco Island, the Bahamas. After correcting for survey effort and variation in sighting efficiency among sea states, I found that dwarf sperm whale group size and habitat use varied seasonally. In summer, dwarf sperm whale groups were small (median = 2.5, range = 1-8) and were found only in the two deep habitats within the study area (slope 400-900 m, deep 900-1600 in). In winter, group sizes …
Cyanobacterial Toxins As Allelochemicals With Potential Applications As Algaecides, Herbicides And Insecticides, John P. Berry, Miroslav Gantar, Mario H. Perez, Gerald Berry, Fernando G. Noriega
Cyanobacterial Toxins As Allelochemicals With Potential Applications As Algaecides, Herbicides And Insecticides, John P. Berry, Miroslav Gantar, Mario H. Perez, Gerald Berry, Fernando G. Noriega
Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry
Cyanobacteria (“blue-green algae”) from marine and freshwater habitats are known to produce a diverse array of toxic or otherwise bioactive metabolites. However, the functional role of the vast majority of these compounds, particularly in terms of the physiology and ecology of the cyanobacteria that produce them, remains largely unknown. A limited number of studies have suggested that some of the compounds may have ecological roles as allelochemicals, specifically including compounds that may inhibit competing sympatric macrophytes, algae and microbes. These allelochemicals may also play a role in defense against potential predators and grazers, particularly aquatic invertebrates and their larvae. This …
Genetic Diversity And Population Structure Of Non-Indigenous Burmese Pythons (Python Molurus Bivittatus) In Everglades National Park, Florida, Barbara L. Freeman
Genetic Diversity And Population Structure Of Non-Indigenous Burmese Pythons (Python Molurus Bivittatus) In Everglades National Park, Florida, Barbara L. Freeman
FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations
One of the more recent vertebrate introductions to South Florida's Everglades is the Burmese Python, Python molurus bivittatus. These pythons prey on and may compete with native species for habitat and prey. Molecular data including rnitochondrial DNA sequences and microsatellite loci was used to examine the genetic diversity of Burmese pythons sampled from Everglades National Park, determine whether this diversity suggests that the populations are distinct or part of a single large population, and determine if there is genetic evidence for parthenogenetic reproduction in P. m. bivittatus in ENP. Multiple population analyses revealed that the ENP Burmese pythons display …
Anti-Quorum Sensing Agents From South Florida Medicinal Plants And Their Attenuation Of Pseudomonas Aeruginosa Pathogenicity, Allison L. Adonizio
Anti-Quorum Sensing Agents From South Florida Medicinal Plants And Their Attenuation Of Pseudomonas Aeruginosa Pathogenicity, Allison L. Adonizio
FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations
With the difficulty in treating recalcitrant infections and the growing resistance to antibiotics, new therapeutic modalities are becoming increasingly necessary. The interruption of bacterial quorum sensing (QS), or cell-cell communication is known to attenuate virulence, while limiting selective pressure toward resistance. This study initiates an ethnobotanically-directed search for QS inhibiting agents in south Florida medicinal plants. Fifty plants were screened for anti-QS activity using two biomonitor strains, Chromobacterium violaceum and Agrobacterium tumefaciens. Of these plants, six showed QS inhibition: Conocarpus erectus L. (Combretaceae), Chamaecyce hypericifolia (L.) Millsp. (Euphorbiaceae), Callistemon viminalis (Sol.ex Gaertn.) G. Don (Myrtaceae), Bucida burceras L. (Combretaceae), Tetrazygia …
Dermatological Remedies In The Traditional Pharmacopoeia Of Vulture-Alto Bradano, Inland Southern Italy, Cassandra L. Quave, Andrea Pieroni, Bradley C. Bennett
Dermatological Remedies In The Traditional Pharmacopoeia Of Vulture-Alto Bradano, Inland Southern Italy, Cassandra L. Quave, Andrea Pieroni, Bradley C. Bennett
Department of Biological Sciences
Background: Dermatological remedies make up at least one-third of the traditional pharmacopoeia in southern Italy. The identification of folk remedies for the skin is important both for the preservation of traditional medical knowledge and in the search for novel antimicrobial agents in the treatment of skin and soft tissue infection (SSTI). Our goal is to document traditional remedies from botanical, animal, mineral and industrial sources for the topical treatment of skin ailments. In addition to SSTI remedies for humans, we also discuss certain ethnoveterinary applications. Methods: Field research was conducted in ten communities in the Vulture-Alto Bradano area of the …