Life Sciences Commons^™

Overcompensation In Aedes Mosquitoes Populations: Field Tests On Likelihood And An Agent-Based Model To Investigate The Influence Of Cohort Structure, Katherine G. Evans

Theses and Dissertations

The number of individuals in a competitive environment can affect the growth rate, survival, size, and fecundity of those individuals, which is known as density-dependent effects. Overcompensation may occur if few juveniles survive to adulthood in a high-density environment. Overcompensation arises when density dependent survival interacts with extrinsic sources of mortality, such that more juveniles survive to adulthood than if no extrinsic mortality had occurred.

I tested the hypothesis that density dependent effects are common and strong in the field for three mosquito species: Aedes aegypti, Aedes albopictus, and Aedes triseriatus. I surveyed naturally occurring densities in novel and established …

A Male-Female Genotype-By-Genotype Interaction Mediates The Effect Of Mating On Female Immunity In Decorated Crickets, Kylie J. Hampton

Theses and Dissertations

Sexually antagonistic coevolution should lead to the rapid divergence of male and female genotypes related to the effects of ejaculatory substances on female physiology. Hence, the outcome of mating should depend on an interaction between male and female genotypes. Although mating has been shown to influence female immune responses in diverse insect taxa, a male-female genotype-by-genotype effect on female immunity post-mating remains largely unexplored. Here, we investigate both the effects of mating on female immunity and the potential for a male-by-female genotype interaction on the form and magnitude of this response in decorated crickets. Females from three distinct genotypic backgrounds …

Regulation Of The Microtubule Cytoskeleton And Cell Wall Development In Arabidopsis Thaliana, Christy J. Fornero

Theses and Dissertations

Regulation of the cortical microtubule cytoskeleton is critical for organized plant cell division. Arabidopsis ton1 and ton2 mutants display random cell division plane placement and lack the plant-specific cortical microtubule array that encircles the nucleus prior to mitosis. In wild type plants, this preprophase band (PPB) of cortical microtubules precisely marks the future division plane. The specific roles of TON1 and TON2 in PPB formation are not yet known. It is suspected that TON1 Recruiting Motif (TRM) proteins may be involved in TON1 and TON2 recruitment to the PPB. Here we describe results for the targeted disruption of a group …

Connecting The Dots: Exploring The Relationship Between Avian Eggshell Pigmentation And Paternal Provisioning Effort, Kara E. Hodges

Theses and Dissertations

In a number of bird species, eggs laid by females breeding in the same population can vary extensively in the extent of their eggshell pigmentation, but the adaptive significance of this intraspecific variation remains unknown. One hypothesis posits that shell pigmentation is an honest signal of female quality that reflects her level of oxidative stress, one that is used by males to inform their subsequent paternal investment. We employed a reciprocal clutch cross-fostering design to test whether provisioning by male house wrens (Troglodytes aedon) responds to the clutch pigmentation of their mates. In experimental replicates, dark clutches were swapped with …

Effects Of Electrical Stimulation On Glioma Cells In Vitro With Implications For Treating Chronic Pain: Development Of A Model System, David C. Platt

Theses and Dissertations

Glial cells comprise over 70% of the central nervous system cells and exhibit diverse functions including regulation of synaptic transmission, neuron protection/repair, maintenance of neuronal metabolism, and are implicated in the development of persistent neuropathic pain. In addition, a perturbation in the concentration of intracellular reactive oxygen species (ROS) and reactive nitrogen species (RNS) has likewise been associated with the development of a chronic pain state. This perturbation in ROS/RNS creates an environment of oxidative stress. However, the mechanism by which the pain signal transmission is modulated, and the roles ROS play in the perpetuation of the pain state are …