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Life Sciences

City University of New York (CUNY)

Theses/Dissertations

2007

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Pldb, A Putative Phospholipase D Homologue, Mediates Quorum Sensing In Dictyostelium Discoideum Development, Yi Chen Jan 2007

Pldb, A Putative Phospholipase D Homologue, Mediates Quorum Sensing In Dictyostelium Discoideum Development, Yi Chen

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Quorum sensing, the ability to measure the local cell density, is required for animal cells to achieve proper cell growth, differentiation and development. However, because of the genetic intractability of mammalian cells, we study quorum sensing in the genetically pliable unicellular eukaryote Dictyostelium discoideum. D. discoideum cells live as individual cells under vegetative conditions. Starvation sets off development to a multicellular organism. But cells won't develop unless enough cells are under starvation conditions. Approximately 105 cells are needed to form a fruiting body, the final stage of the development. When starved, cells are able to calculate the concentration …


Foraging Ecology Of Black-Crowned Night-Herons (Nycticorax Nycticorax) In The New York City Area, Andrew James Bernick Jan 2007

Foraging Ecology Of Black-Crowned Night-Herons (Nycticorax Nycticorax) In The New York City Area, Andrew James Bernick

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Over 1,700 pairs of colonial wading birds (i.e., herons, egrets, and ibis) breed and forage in the industrialized ecosystem of metropolitan New York City (NYC). Wading bird colonies are located on 7 islands that lie between western Staten Island and Long Island Sound. The Black-crowned Night-Heron (BCNH), a mainly nocturnal forager, is the numerically dominant breeding heron in these colonies, and has been undergoing population declines both locally and region-wide since the mid-1990s. My objective was to determine how BCNHs forage in NYC's urban estuarine, freshwater, and terrestrial environments. From March-September 2002-2004, I conducted weekly night surveys on Staten Island, …