Life Sciences Commons^™

Production Of Marine Trematode Cercariae: A Potentially Overlooked Path Of Energy Flow In Benthic Systems, David W. Thieltges, Xavier De Montaudouin, Brian L. Fredensborg, K. Thomas Jensen, Janet Koprivnikar, Robert Poulin

Biology Faculty Publications and Presentations

Parasites, in particular trematodes, are unseen but ubiquitous components of marine intertidal ecosystems. Although parasites are known to affect population dynamics and food web structure, their potential function as an unrecognized path of energy flow in these ecosystems is yet to be quantified. We use published data on rates at which trematodes produce free-swimming infective larvae (cercariae) that are released from their gastropod intermediate hosts to investigate patterns in cercarial output as a function of different variables, and to calculate the annual production of cercariae in different marine benthic systems. Across 18 trematode species, cercarial output (no. cercariae shed snail–1 …

Undergraduate Research: A Bridge To Graduate Education In Agricultural Biotechnology For Hispanics, Eliezer S. Louzada, Hilda Sonia De Rio, Allison J. Abell, Gerson Peltz, Michael W. Persans

Biology Faculty Publications and Presentations

Hispanics lag behind all other U.S. ethnic groups in education, and are especially poorly represented in science careers. Undergraduate research is an efficient method to attract undergraduate students to science, and many universities are taking advantage of this; however, much still needs to be done to fully explore its potential. In 2000, Texas A&M University-Kingsville, in collaboration with the University of Texas at Brownsville and the University of Texas Pan-American, initiated a undergraduate research internship program in citrus biotechnology to channel Hispanic undergraduate students into graduate education. To date, 51 internships have been provided, and 20 students have been channeled …

Dune And Vegetation Stability At South Padre Island, Texas, United States Of America, Frank W. Judd, Kenneth R. Summy, Robert I. Lonard, Ruben A. Mazariegos

Biology Faculty Publications and Presentations

Padre Island is the longest of five barrier islands occurring along the Texas Gulf Coast. South Padre Island is separated from the northern two-thirds of the island by the Mansfield Channel. The composition and pattern of vegetation on South Padre Island are relatively well known, but data on the interrelationship of dune and vegetation stability are lacking. We hypothesized that (1) there should be an inverse relationship between elevation change and percent cover on transects across the nearshore dunes of South Padre Island; and (2) percent cover, species composition, and species importance should be most stable where elevation change was …

Complementary Dna Sequencing And Identification Of Mrnas From Venomous Gland Of Agkistrodon Piscivorus Leucostoma, Ying Jia, Bruno A. Cantu, Elda E. Sánchez, John C. Pérez

Biology Faculty Publications and Presentations

To advance our knowledge on the snake venom composition and transcripts expressed in venom gland at the molecular level, we constructed a cDNA library from venom gland of Agkistrodon piscivorus leucostoma for the generation of expressed sequence tags (ESTs) database. From the randomly sequenced 2,112 independent clones, we have obtained ESTs for 1,309 (62%) cDNAs which showed significant deduced amino acid sequence similarity (scores > 80) to previously characterized proteins in NCBI database. Ribosomal proteins make up 47 clones (2%) and the remaining 756 (36%) cDNAs represent either unknown identity or show BLASTX sequence identity scores of < 80 with known GenBank accessions. The most highly expressed gene encoding phospholipase A2 (PLA2) accounting for 35% of A. p. leucostoma venom …

Neptunia Plena (Fabaceae: Mimosoideae) Rediscovered In Texas, Alfred Richardson, Ken King

Biology Faculty Publications and Presentations

On October 17, 1938, Robert Runyon collected a specimen of Neptunia plena from a shallow pond south of Armstrong in Kenedy County, Texas. No subsequent collections from Texas have been reported . It was assumed that it was not a permanent member of our flora. On October 27, 2007, a population of N. plena was found near the same locality.

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El 17 de octubre de 1938, Robert Runyon recogió un espécimen de Neptunia plena de una charca somera de Armstrong en el condado de Kenedy, Tejas. No se ha encontrado ninguna colección posterior de Tejas. Fue asumido que no …

Using Color Infrared Imagery To Detect Sooty Mold And Fungal Pathogens Of Glasshouse-Propagated Plants, Kenneth R. Summy, Christopher R. Little

Biology Faculty Publications and Presentations

Fungi are major biotic constraints for optimum production and quality of glasshouse plants. When plants are infested with sooty mold (Capnodium spp.) or infected with pathogens, the reflected wavelengths of the electromagnetic spectrum are altered. Spectroradiometric measurements and color infrared (CIR) images of control, honeydew- coated, and sooty mold-infested saplings and individual leaves from trifoliate orange (Poncirus trifoliata), sour orange (Citrus aurantium), ‘Valencia’ orange (C. sinensis), and ‘Bo’ tree (Ficus religiosa) were obtained. Grapefruit saplings and individual leaves infected with Mycosphaerella citri (greasy spot) were imaged under glasshouse conditions. Similarly, muskmelon foliage showing low and high levels of powdery mildew …

Failure To Replicate Evidence Of Decapod Crustacean Nociception, Sakshi Puri, Zen Faulkes

Biology Faculty Publications and Presentations

Introduction Here, we attempt to replicate their experiments with two other species of decapod crustaceans that bracket P. elegans phylogenetically: white shrimp (Litopenaeus setiferus) and Louisiana red swamp crayfish (Procambarus clarkii). Litopenaeus setiferus have a similar ecology to prawns. Procambarus clarkii is widely used in the study of neurobiology, and would be an excellent candidate for further neurophysiological studies.

Discussion We found no behavioral evidence of nociception in either L. setiferus or P. clarkii. This outcome contrasts sharply with results that indicated P. elegans had nociception (Barr et al. 2007).

Additions To The Breeding Avifauna Of The Lower Rio Grande Valley Of Texas, Timothy Brush

Biology Faculty Publications and Presentations

The breeding avifauna of the Lower Rio Grande Valley (LRGV) of Texas has experienced many changes during the 20th century, primarily because of declines in native habitats due to land being converted to agriculture and urban habitats. This paper summarizes changes in breeding avifauna from 2003–2007 in the area. Breeding has been confi rmed for Cooper’s Hawk (Accipiter cooperii), Eurasian Collared-Dove (Streptopelia decaocto), and Mangrove Yellow Warbler (Dendroica petechia oraria) for the fi rst time, and for Gray-crowned Yellowthroat (Geothlypis poliocephala) and Ferruginous Pygmy-Owl (Glaucidium brasilianum) after periods of apparent absence. Short-tailed Hawk (Buteo brachyurus) is a possible breeder, based …