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Full-Text Articles in Life Sciences
Effects Of Wildfires On Rattlesnake (Crotalus Oreganus) Growth And Movement In Washington State, Joseph Chase
Effects Of Wildfires On Rattlesnake (Crotalus Oreganus) Growth And Movement In Washington State, Joseph Chase
All Master's Theses
Fire is a dominant force in the Pacific Northwest that shapes ecosystems and influences wildlife, yet little is known of its effects on local predators. Northern Pacific rattlesnakes (Crotalus oreganus) comprise an excellent model to investigate how fire may influence wildlife because they are important predators that contribute to controlling prey populations, but are also unable to readily escape from wildfires. We developed a novel technique to assess growth rates of rattlesnakes by using digital photography to analyze differences in widths of their rattle segments laid down over time. We compared growth rates of rattlesnakes in habitats that …
Thermal And Behavioral Ecology Of The Mexican Beaded Lizard (Heloderma Horridum), Kerry Holcomb
Thermal And Behavioral Ecology Of The Mexican Beaded Lizard (Heloderma Horridum), Kerry Holcomb
All Master's Theses
Previous investigations in the field of biological thermoregulation have primarily focused on small organisms that inhabit ecosystems that are not as strongly seasonal as the tropical dry forests found along the Pacific Coast of Jalisco, Mexico. Small organisms have little or no appreciable thermal inertia, and thus, reach thermal equilibrium with their immediate surroundings relatively rapidly. In this investigation, we describe the behavioral and thermal ecology of the Mexican beaded lizard (Heloderma horridum), which commonly weighs more than 1kg. This large body size means that this species has significant thermal inertia, which, depending on the characteristics of the …
The Effect Of Arginine Vasotocin On Cryoprotectant Production During Freezing In The Pacific Chorus Frog, Pseudacris Regilla, Ben Ingels
All Master's Theses
Freeze Tolerance is an adaptation seen amongst several species of amphibians as a way of surviving during wintering months. Use of cryoprotectants is seen in all freeze tolerant species (glucose/glycerol). Synthesis and transportation mechanisms that regulate this process are not yet fully understood. Arginine vasotocin is a neurohypophyseal peptide known to have glycogenolytic effects as well as regulate several key processes involved in fluid and solute transportation. Although one prior study suggested that AVT is not involved in responses to freezing, I measured AVT levels during freezing and injected an AVT antagonist to see if it would affect the production …