Digital Commons Network^™

An Epigenetically Driven Relationship Between Parental Ptsd And Inflammatory Disease In Offspring: A Proposal, Emma Griffith, Kevin P. Kaut

Journal of Neuropsychology and Behavioral Processes

Could a combat veteran's horrific experiences in early-2000s Afghanistan have a direct, biological impact on his or her now-adult daughter's risk of a heart attack later in her life? This concept would have been unapologetically mocked a mere twenty years ago, and it has only been in the past decade that the new field of epigenetics has revealed a distinct possibility for this event to actually take place—for parents' experiences to profoundly influence the biology of their children. The major objective of this research project is to argue for the legitimacy of this theoretical phenomenon by discussing the latest data …

Phototaxis In The Terrestrial Isopod: A Mechanism For Investigating Invertebrate Learning And Memory, Christopher Buzzelli, Jessica Kent, Chelsea Pawlak, Kevin P. Kaut

Journal of Neuropsychology and Behavioral Processes

Isopods readily explore new environments and typically prefer contexts with lower levels of illumination (i.e., negative phototaxis). In the first of two behavioral experiments reported here, the ability of isopods to discriminate between light and dark nesting regions was confirmed, although evidence suggests an initial ‘instinctive’ draw toward a darker context. Extending these findings to experiment 2, isopods were trained against their negatively phototaxic tendency and had to exit a darkened start chamber in order to locate nesting material in a brighter chamber. Within-session improvements in latency to enter the nesting region were noted across training trials, coupled with evidence …

Zebrafish Electroretinogram Responses, Brooke Campbell

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

The goal of this project is to be able to streamline a protocol for conducting ERGs on zebrafish from mice ERG protocol already present in Dr. Renna’s lab. The objective is to create a protocol specifically for zebrafish and to eliminate any issues that occur when transiting from a mice ERG protocol to a zebrafish ERG protocol and to obtain a light response from zebrafish retinae in differing light intensities. Dr. Renna’s lab has designed an Ex Vivo ERG system with less electrical interference creating defined electrical responses from mouse retina. The setup allows for continual perfusion of the retinal …

Tropical Fish Study In Tahiti, French Polynesia, Miranda Brainard, Caitlyn Swango, Paityn Houglan, Richard Londraville

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

In May of 2023, I embarked on an exciting research journey to Moorea, French Polynesia, alongside fellow students and faculty members from the University of Akron and Syracuse University. This expedition was part of the university-sponsored Tropical Vertebrate Biology course, where we delved into the exploration of various tropical species inhabiting the island, including sea urchins, geckos, and my primary focus, the blackspotted rockskipper.

My research team, composed of my co-authors and me, was particularly intrigued by the unique refuge-seeking behavior displayed by blackspotted rockskippers. These amphibious fish are renowned for their remarkable ability to inhabit tide pools and rocky …

A Review Of Transposable Elements In Crustaceans, Alexander Salem

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

This project centers around transposable elements (TEs), specifically those found in crustacean species. While transposable elements have been a growing area of interest in the scientific community for some time, the information surrounding the present state of TEs in the field of crustacean biology is limited. This project seeks to shed light on this area of study. It will focus on the relationship between TEs and crustacean evolution, and TE prevalence in crustaceans. TE studies will be categorized by these general themes as well as crustacean taxa. It will seek to answer the research question: What is known about the …

Ribbon Synapses' Role In Synaptic Identification, Lauren Nguyen

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

Understanding the impact of presynaptic and postsynaptic structures on synaptic strength, neurotransmission speed, and morphology is crucial. When cone photoreceptors transmit light-driven signals to cone bipolar cells, various presynaptic structural arrangements can be observed, featuring different numbers of synaptic ribbons. These ribbons facilitate faster initial excitation and sustained transmitter release as vesicles dock at ribbon synapses.

To investigate these structures, I will use the WEBKNOSSOS program to trace dendrites in vertebrate retinal images, determining the number of ribbon synapses and neuron types. This research, building upon the work of Dr. Wan-Qing Yu and Swanstrom, is expected to take about a …

Gait Kinematics In Sled Dog Fitness, Ashley Maio

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

The sport of sled dog racing has become popular in recent years, where teams of dogs navigate Arctic conditions anywhere from a few hundred to a thousand miles, usually within 10 days. To prepare for these competitions, dogs are subjected to rigorous training months prior to the race that results in significant changes to the physiology of their bones and muscles. This study aims to determine differences in gait kinetics between female and male sled dogs. Ten dogs, five females and five males, were recorded trotting from a lateral view for three weightbased trials to simulate different amounts of weight …

Maximum Entropy Species Distribution Modeling For The Spring Ephemeral Herb Bloodroot (Sanguinaria Canadensis) In Eastern North America, Velan Manivannan

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

The spring ephemeral plant Bloodroot (Sanguinaria canadensis) has a widespread native range in North America, spanning much of the eastern United States and Canada. While its current NatureServe conservation status is designated as ‘secure’ (NatureServe, 2023), its status as a spring ephemeral places it at a heightened risk for climate change-induced phenological mismatch with advancing forest canopy closure. Additionally, under continued anthropogenic climate change, Bloodroot may also experience range shifts or contractions as the edges of its present range warm past physiological thresholds. To determine the potential for range shifts and contractions under future warming, I generated a …

The Effects Of Ethanol Exposure On Glucose And Lactate Levels In Crayfish, Mackenzie Kirwan

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

The goal of the project is to investigate and determine the effects of sunlight exposure and hormone levels. The circadian rhyth, which is heavily influenced by sunlight, not only affects the amount of sleep someone achieves, but is also related to behavior and mood, and heavily relies on the body’s hormones for proper regulation. The hormones that are prevelant to the circadian rhythm, and which will be studied in this experiment are cortisol, serotonin and melatonin. In this experiment, these three hormones will be extracted prior to alterations of light exposure. Animal test subjects will then undergo treatment of light …

Compliance And Roughness In Relation To Gecko Locomotion, Brooklynn Campbell

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

Geckos move efficiently through a variety of substrates, from swaying branches to wooden fences to the sides of structures. Previous studies have studied locomotion and adhesion on manmade and rough substrates; however, the work is limited when discussing locomotion and adhesion as a relationship of compliance and roughness. Ease of movement was quantified by speed, under the assumption that the faster a gecko moves, the easier it is for the gecko to cross the substrate. Gehyra oceanica geckos from Moorea, French Polynesia were tested on substrates varying in compliance and roughness with four different treatments in total. Compliance, roughness, and …

Restoration For The Small And Slimy: How Pond-Breeding Amphibians Utilize Natural, Restored, And Created Wetlands, Miranda Florent

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

This research project for the Williams Honors College sought to examine how local pond-breeding amphibians utilized natural, restored, and created wetlands. Presence/absence data was gathered from field surveys, historical records, and iNaturalist data for the six study sites. It was predicted that created and restored wetlands may support less sensitive species with lower coefficient of conservatism scores, based on past surveys of a similar nature. No statistically significant results were found in this survey, but that could be due to low sample sizes and limited data sets, among other considerations. Therefore, more in-depth studies should still be undertaken to examine …