Life Sciences Commons^™

The Effects Of Habitat Isolation On Fine-Scale Genetic And Geographic Structure Of Populations Of Two Threatened Endemic Insects In Southern Nevada, Pseudocotalpa Giulianii And Icaricia Shasta Charlestonensis, Kristen Tovar

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Assessing the role geographic isolation and ecological specialization have on phylogeographic patterns contributes to our understanding of the evolutionary history of a species and the processes that erode genetic diversity. I used mitochondrial and nuclear genomic sequences to assess whether habitat isolation has shaped the fine-scale patterns of present-day genetic structure and diversity in two threatened insect species endemic to southern Nevada. Pseudocotalpa giulianii (Coleoptera; Scarabaeidae) is a dune obligate scarab beetle endemic to only two small, isolated sand dunes in Nye County, Nevada, with a usable habitat of less than 4.2 km sq that is impacted by on-going degradation. …

Inside Insects - Climate Change And Metamorphosis, Cailyn R. Mckay

Undergraduate Student Research Internships Conference

Climate change is causing extreme environmental conditions including an increase in the frequency of heat waves which have the potential to seriously impact insect species, particularly during the sedentary pupal stage. The true armyworm is used here as a model species to evaluate the effects of simulated heat waves on reproductive activity and output later in life. Heat waves had a negative impact on moth reproduction and could be impacting the ecology of the species today and in the future.

Early Embryology In Collembola With An Emphasis On Wing Development, Samantha A. Gonzalez

Theses and Dissertations

The primary objective of this study was to further the understanding of the wing origin in insects. Currently there are several theories which are popular such as the tergum theory, the pleural plate theory, and the dual theory of wing origin. Studies for these theories have been done on crustaceans, the ancestors to modern day insects. By utilizing a pre insect hexapod, it may be possible to better understand the transition to insect wings. Members of the Collembola species Hypogastrurid are one of these pre-insect hexapods which may provide a clue into origins of wing development. During this study, the …

Stable Hydrogen Isotopes Of Aquatic-Emergent Versus Terrestrial Insects In Southern Ontario, Celina Y. Tang

Undergraduate Student Research Internships Conference

Aquatic-emergent insects are vectors of both contaminants and nutrients, linking the aquatic system to the terrestrial system. Aquatic-emergent insects are high in omega-3 fatty acids that benefit terrestrial aerial insectivores, such as bats and birds. With aerial insectivores on a decline, a contributing factor could be a decrease in the quality of insects. We collected insects from lakeshore and inland locations in Southern Ontario. Insects sampled included bees, wasps, ants, beetles, caddisflies, craneflies, dragonflies, marchflies, mayflies, midges, other flies, and true bugs. Insects’ wings and powdered bodies were then analyzed for stable hydrogen isotopes (d²H) in order …

Lepidopteran Granivory Reduces Seed Counts In A Rare Species Of Riparian Scour Prairies, Cheyenne Moore, Angela J. Mcdonnell, Scott Schuette, Christopher T. Martine

Faculty Journal Articles

In Pennsylvania Baptisia australis var. australis is found along only four waterways: the Allegheny River, Youghiogheny River, Clarion River, and Red Bank Creek. Because of its limited distribution and small number of extant populations, the species is considered state-threatened in Pennsylvania. In addition, the riparian prairie habitat that Pennsylvania Baptisia australis var. australis is restricted to is also in decline and considered vulnerable. Because of these conservation concerns, insights into the natural history of the taxon in the state is valuable and will inform conservation efforts. Field surveys and fruit collections along the Allegheny River and herbarium collections were used …

Examining The Efficacy Of Cover Crops As An Integrated Pest Management Tool In Organic Farms In The Lower Rio Grande Valley, Lili M. Martinez

Theses and Dissertations

The Lower Rio Grande Valley (LRGV) consists of a mix in subtropical and costal habitats, a combination that provides a favorable environment for the animals and plants that inhabit it. This is a problem for organic farmers as they refrain from using synthetic chemicals and therefore led them to seek other methods of dealing with insect herbivory. Of the many alternative methods available, we looked specifically at integrated pest management methods (IPM) to determine their efficacy in reducing insect herbivory among cash crops. Chapter II discusses an experiment performed in an organic farm in Edinburg, Texas consisting of a two-year …

From Aristotle To Wunderkammer: The Development Of Entomology And Insect Collections, Erica Fischer

Honors Projects

This project aimed to analyze the development of insect classification and the shift from the realm of the amateur naturalist to professional science. It looked to address questions regarding entomology as a developing science and how effectively it reflects larger changes in the field of biology and the development of natural history collections. This work was for a synthesis of time periods from the beginnings of classification in the ancient world through the 20th century, a more general timeline than is typically approached. The research needed for the completion of this paper was based on secondary source research in the …

From Molecules To Whole Organisms: Insect Responses To Climate Change, Emily Elizabeth Mikucki

Graduate College Dissertations and Theses

Global atmospheric temperatures are rising at accelerated rates, exposing organisms to novel and potentially unsuitable changes in their environment. In order to survive changes in their thermal environments, organisms can employ physiological plasticity on short time scales or species can adapt over evolutionary time. Species may utilize one or both of these strategies to ensure survival; however, if they are incapable of responding to change, they may face extinction. Insect species may be some of the most vulnerable organisms experiencing climate change-induced alterations in their thermal environments because, as ectotherms, temperature influences nearly all of their physiological processes. By characterizing …

Thermal Stress Responses Of Sodalis Glossinidius, An Indigenous Bacterial Symbiont Of Hematophagous Tsetse Flies, Jose Santinni Roma, Shaina D’Souza, Patrick J. Somers, Leah F. Cabo, Ruhan Farsin, Serap Aksoy, Laura J. Runyen-Janecky, Brian L. Weiss

Biology Faculty Publications

Tsetse flies (Diptera: Glossinidae) house a taxonomically diverse microbiota that includes environmentally acquired bacteria, maternally transmitted symbiotic bacteria, and pathogenic African trypanosomes. Sodalis glossinidius, which is a facultative symbiont that resides intra and extracellularly within multiple tsetse tissues, has been implicated as a mediator of trypanosome infection establishment in the fly’s gut. Tsetse’s gut-associated population of Sodalis are subjected to marked temperature fluctuations each time their ectothermic fly host imbibes vertebrate blood. The molecular mechanisms that Sodalis employs to deal with this heat stress are unknown. In this study, we examined the thermal tolerance and heat shock response of …

Damselfies Of Vanuatu, Madison Lallatin, Seth Bybee

Journal of Undergraduate Research

Vanuatu is a string of active volcanic islands in Micronesia near Fiji and Australia. The islands undergo regular submersion and emersion from the ocean, and the most recent emergence was 2 million years ago (Hamilton et al. 2010). As a result, all organisms on the islands of Vanuatu have migrated there, likely from other islands, within the past 2 million years. Fiji is one likely candidate for contributing species, being geographically close to Vanuatu and exhibiting similar species. Fourteen of us went to Vanuatu for 6 weeks on a study abroad led by Dr. Seth Bybee to collect and observe …

Checklist Of Zooplanktons In Different Rivers Of Bajwat Area, Zahid Bhatti, Muhammad Asif Gondal, Asad Ghufran, Andleeb Batool

Journal of Bioresource Management

Zooplanktons are important fish and waterfowl food. Limnological studies of Marala Wetlands, a complex created by three rivers, i.e., Jammu Tawi, Chenab and Manawar Tawi, entering Bajwat area located 25 km from North of Sialkot city from state of Jammu and Kashmir, were carried out between October, 2000 to September 2001. This survey was carried out to create a checklist of zooplanktons existing in the study site which would help in future studies relating to aquatic biodiversity and ecological studies of wetlands. A minimum of 25 species of zooplanktons were present in the wetland area, which can be included into …

Mechanisms Underlying Freeze Tolerance In The Spring Field Cricket, Gryllus Veletis, Jantina Toxopeus

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Freeze tolerance has evolved repeatedly across insects, facilitating survival in low temperature environments. Internal ice formation poses several challenges, but the mechanisms that mitigate these challenges in freeze-tolerant insects are not well understood. To better understand how insects survive freezing, I describe a novel laboratory model, the spring field cricket Gryllus veletis (Orthoptera: Gryllidae). Following acclimation to six weeks of decreasing temperature and photoperiod (mimicking autumn), G. veletis juveniles becomes moderately freeze-tolerant, surviving freezing at -8 °C for up to one week, and surviving temperatures as low as -12 °C. Acclimation is associated with increased control of the temperature and …

Animal Agriculture And American Health: The Search For Sustainable Protein, Britta Brinkmann

Biology: Student Scholarship & Creative Works

This study examines the impact large-scale animal agriculture has on the environment. It links the environment and health. The goal is to find protein sources that are sustainable and nutritious in order to replace typical meat and dairy products. A study is proposed to measure the impact of the typical American diet, a vegan diet, an insect-supplemented diet and a diet heavy in seafood.

Molecular Evolution Of Odonata Opsins, Odonata Phylogenomics And Detection Of False Positive Sequence Homology Using Machine Learning, Anton Suvorov

Theses and Dissertations

My dissertation comprises three related topics of evolutionary and computational biology, which correspond to the three Chapters. Chapter 1 focuses on tempo and mode of evolution in visual genes, namely opsins, via duplication events and subsequent molecular adaptation in Odonata (dragonflies and damselflies). Gene duplication plays a central role in adaptation to novel environments by providing new genetic material for functional divergence and evolution of biological complexity. Odonata have the largest opsin repertoire of any insect currently known. In particular our results suggest that both the blue sensitive (BS) and long-wave sensitive (LWS) opsin classes were subjected to strong positive …

Diet And Activity Patterns Of Five Bat Species In North-Central Kansas, Holly G. Wilson

Master's Theses

My study focuses on six bat species that occur in north-central Kansas. Although each species is widely distributed, information about their diet and activity patterns is lacking, especially within Kansas. Increased knowledge about bat species in Kansas can provide a baseline for future studies and conservation efforts for the species included in my study; big brown bat (Eptesicus fuscus), eastern red bat (Lasiurus borealis), hoary bat (Lasiurus cinereus), northern myotis (Myotis septentrionalis), evening bat (Nycticeius humeralis), and tricolored bats (Perimyotis subflavus) were captured and fecal samples were examined for diet diversity. I captured bats in mist nets in the Kansas …

Anthropogenic Noise Changes Arthropod Abundances, Jessie P. Bunkley, Christopher J.W. Mcclure, Akito Y. Kawahara, Clinton D. Francis, Jesse R. Barber

Biology Faculty Publications and Presentations

Anthropogenic noise is a widespread and growing form of sensory pollution associated with the expansion of human infrastructure. One specific source of constant and intense noise is that produced by compressors used for the extraction and transportation of natural gas. Terrestrial arthropods play a central role in many ecosystems, and given that numerous species rely upon airborne sounds and substrate-borne vibrations in their life histories, we predicted that increased background sound levels or the presence of compressor noise would influence their distributions. In the second largest natural gas field in the United States (San Juan Basin, New Mexico, USA), we …

Black Bugbane & The Blues: Interactions Between Our Wildflower Of The Year And The Insect World, W. John Hayden

Biology Faculty Publications

No, this article has nothing to do with American Roots music. Black Bugbane is one of several common names for the 2017 VNPS Wildflower of the Year, Actaea racemosa. And Blues refers to a subfamily of lycaenid butterflies, commonly referred to as Blues or Azures. The interactions between Black Bugbane, a.k.a., Black Cohosh, Appalachian Azure butterflies (Celastrina neglectamajor), and ants was recently summarized by VNPS charter member and past president Nicky Staunton (2015). In brief, Black Bugbane is the sole food source for caterpillars of Appalachian Azure butterflies, a situation that, superficially, might seem like any other caterpillar and host …

Dynamic Acquisition And Loss Of Dual-Obligate Symbionts In The Plant-Sap-Feeding Adelgidae (Hemiptera: Sternorrhyncha: Aphidoidea), Carol D. Von Dohlen, Usha Spaulding, Kistie B. Patch, Ethan P. White, Robert G. Foottit, Nathan P. Havill, Gaelen R. Burke

Biology Faculty Publications

Sap-sucking insects typically engage in obligate relationships with symbiotic bacteria that play nutritional roles in synthesizing nutrients unavailable or in scarce supply from the plant-sap diets of their hosts. Adelgids are sap-sucking insects with complex life cycles that involve alternation between conifer tree species. While all adelgid species feed on spruce during the sexual phase of their life cycle, each adelgid species belongs to a major lineage that feeds on a distinct genus of conifers as their alternate host. Previous work on adelgid symbionts had discovered pairs of symbionts within each host species, and unusual diversity across the insect family, …

Proteomics Comparison Of Aspartic Protease Enzyme In Insects, Samin Seddigh, Maryam Darabi

Turkish Journal of Biology

Aspartic proteases (APs; EC: 3.4.23) are a catalytic type of protease enzymes that use an activated water molecule, bound to one or more aspartate residues, for catalysis of their peptide substrates. In this study, bioinformatic analyses of APs enzymes were performed on insect protein sequences, including nineteen species of eleven different families. According to the conserved motifs obtained with MEME and MAST tools, three motifs were common to all insects. The structural and functional analyses of five selected insects from different orders were performed with ProtParam, SOPMA, SignalP 4.1, TMHMM 2.0, and ProDom tools in the ExPASy database. The tertiary …

Evolutionary Escalation: The Bat–Moth Arms Race, John M. Ratcliffe

Dartmouth Scholarship

Echolocation in bats and high-frequency hearing in their insect prey make bats and insects an ideal system for studying the sensory ecology and neuroethology of predator–prey interactions. Here, we review the evolutionary history of bats and eared insects, focusing on the insect order Lepidoptera, and consider the evidence for antipredator adaptations and predator counter-adaptations. Ears evolved in a remarkable number of body locations across insects, with the original selection pressure for ears differing between groups. Although cause and effect are difficult to determine, correlations between hearing and life history strategies in moths provide evidence for how these two variables influence …

The Biology Of Metamorphosis Insectorum Surinamensium, Kay Etheridge

Biology Faculty Publications

Book Description: This facsimile of one of the most beautiful books of natural history ever created contains sixty magnificent illustrations showing exotic insects, with the original descriptions. The reissue is the same size as the original and is enriched with an illustrated introduction about the life, work and significance of Maria Sibylla Merian, and a new scientific description of all the insects, animals and plants.

The life and work of this German woman who moved to the Netherlands has been the subject of international research by botanists, entomologists and historians concerned with the history of science, art, religion and economics. …

Floral Scent Mimicry And Vector-Pathogen Associations In A Pseudoflower-Inducing Plant Pathogen System, Scott H. Mcart, Timothy D. Miles, Cesar Rodriguez-Saona, Annemiek Schilder, Lynn S. Adler, Matthew J. Grieshop

Biology Department Faculty Publication Series

Several fungal plant pathogens induce ‘pseudoflowers’ on their hosts to facilitate insect-mediated transmission of gametes and spores. When spores must be transmitted to host flowers to complete the fungal life cycle, we predict that pseudoflowers should evolve traits that mimic flowers and attract the most effective vectors in the flower-visiting community. We quantified insect visitation to flowers, healthy leaves and leaves infected with Monilinia vaccinii-corymbosi (Mvc), the causative agent of mummy berry disease of blueberry. We developed a nested PCR assay for detecting Mvc spores on bees, flies and other potential insect vectors. We also collected volatiles from …

Linking Energetics And Overwintering In Temperate Insects., Brent J Sinclair

Biology Publications

Overwintering insects cannot feed, and energy they take into winter must therefore fuel energy demands during autumn, overwintering, warm periods prior to resumption of development in spring, and subsequent activity. Insects primarily consume lipids during winter, but may also use carbohydrate and proteins as fuel. Because they are ectotherms, the metabolic rate of insects is temperature-dependent, and the curvilinear nature of the metabolic rate-temperature relationship means that warm temperatures are disproportionately important to overwinter energy use. This energy use may be reduced physiologically, by reducing the slope or elevation of the metabolic rate-temperature relationship, or because of threshold changes, such …

An Invitation To Measure Insect Cold Tolerance: Methods, Approaches, And Workflow., Brent J Sinclair, Litza E Coello Alvarado, Laura V Ferguson

Biology Publications

Insect performance is limited by the temperature of the environment, and in temperate, polar, and alpine regions, the majority of insects must face the challenge of exposure to low temperatures. The physiological response to cold exposure shapes the ability of insects to survive and thrive in these environments, and can be measured, without great technical difficulty, for both basic and applied research. For example, understanding insect cold tolerance allows us to predict the establishment and spread of insect pests and biological control agents. Additionally, the discipline provides the tools for drawing physiological comparisons among groups in wider studies that may …

Some Agreement On Kin Selection And Eusociality?, David C. Queller, Stephen Rong, Xiaoyun Liao

Biology Faculty Publications & Presentations

The authors of "Relatedness, Conflict, and the Evolution of Eusociality" respond to objections raised by Martin Nowak and Benjamin Allen.

Relatedness, Conflict, And The Evolution Of Eusociality, Xiaoyun Liao, Stephen Rong, David C. Queller

Biology Faculty Publications & Presentations

The evolution of sterile worker castes in eusocial insects was a major problem in evolutionary theory until Hamilton developed a method called inclusive fitness. He used it to show that sterile castes could evolve via kin selection, in which a gene for altruistic sterility is favored when the altruism sufficiently benefits relatives carrying the gene. Inclusive fitness theory is well supported empirically and has been applied to many other areas, but a recent paper argued that the general method of inclusive fitness was wrong and advocated an alternative population genetic method. The claim of these authors was bolstered by a …

Insects In Fluctuating Thermal Environments., Hervé Colinet, Brent J Sinclair, Philippe Vernon, David Renault

Biology Publications

All climate change scenarios predict an increase in both global temperature means and the magnitude of seasonal and diel temperature variation. The nonlinear relationship between temperature and biological processes means that fluctuating temperatures lead to physiological, life history, and ecological consequences for ectothermic insects that diverge from those predicted from constant temperatures. Fluctuating temperatures that remain within permissive temperature ranges generally improve performance. By contrast, those which extend to stressful temperatures may have either positive impacts, allowing repair of damage accrued during exposure to thermal extremes, or negative impacts from cumulative damage during successive exposures. We discuss the mechanisms underlying …

Differential Expression Of Snmps And Their Underlying Transcriptional Regulation In Chemosensory Pathways Of Drosophila, Richard A. Fandino

Theses and Dissertations

Insects possess complex and diverse chemosensory pathways which have specific phenotypes determined by the regulated expression of specific combinations of genes. While many of these genes (e.g. ORs and GRs) have very narrow expression patterns, associating with only a limited number of chemosensory sensilla, SNMPs show a very broad expression pattern. In Drosophila, SNMP1 and SNMP2 associate with the majority of olfactory and gustatory sensilla, but express in different cell types. In olfactory sensilla, SNMP1 and SNMP2 associate with trichoid or coeloconic neurons respectively, and both additionally express in a variety of sensilla support cells; in gustatory sensilla, SNMP2 expresses …

Wonders Of Wisconsin: A Study On Insect Macrophotography, Brenna L. Decker

Lawrence University Honors Projects

This past year I have been honing my skills as an entomologist and as a photographer. My solo exhibition “Wonders of Wisconsin: A Study on Insect Macrophotography” not only presents my personal progress, but also represents an overarching theme of a liberal arts education: connectivity. Everything we see or learn on campus and throughout life is connected. This audience-engaging exhibition has provided a visual for the connections between the fields of science and studio art, the art movements of New Objectivity and Relational Aesthetics, and between human and insect life.

The final exhibition opening on May 1^st at 5:30pm …

Divergent Transcriptional Responses To Low Temperature Among Populations Of Alpine And Lowland Species Of New Zealand Stick Insects (Micrarchus)., Luke T Dunning, Alice B Dennis, Brent J Sinclair, Richard D Newcomb, Thomas R Buckley

Biology Publications

In widespread and genetically structured populations, temperature variation may lead to among-population differentiation of thermal biology. The New Zealand stick insect genus Micrarchus contains four species that inhabit different thermal environments, two of which are geographically widespread. RNA-Seq and quantitative PCR were used to investigate the transcriptional responses to cold shock among lowland and alpine species to identify cold-responsive transcripts that differ between the species and to determine whether there is intraspecific geographical variation in gene expression. We also used mitochondrial DNA, nuclear 28S ribosomal DNA and transcriptome-wide SNPs to determine phylogeographic structure and the potential for differences in genetic …