Life Sciences Commons^™

Climate-Driven Impacts On Himalayan Aquatic Biodiversity: A Case Study Involving Snowtrout (Cyprinidae: Schizothorax), Riri Wiyanti Retnaningtyas

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Monitoring biodiversity, to include its relative dispersal and contraction, has become a conservation task of great importance, particularly given the catastrophic and ongoing loss of habitat due to climate change. However, the timing, direction, and magnitude of these rates vary across taxa and ecosystems. Predicting specific impacts of climate change can thus be difficult and this, in turn, hampers management action. Metrics are needed to not only quantify contemporary requirements of species, but also predict potential distributions that fluctuate in lockstep with climate.

Montane ecosystems in the Himalayas are highly impacted by climate change, yet remain largely understudied due to …

How Acetylation Regulates Metabolic Enzyme Function During Environmental Shifts, Jared Canonigo

Biological Sciences Undergraduate Honors Theses

Organisms such as Saccharomyces cerevisiae can regulate the mechanisms of proteins through post-translational modification. These modifications play a vital role in functional proteomic activity because they can regulate protein activity, localization, and interaction with other cellular molecules. Such modifications include phosphorylation, methylation, and acetylation. The metabolic mechanisms of yeast became of keen interest to our lab because our lab noticed many stress defense proteins were being acetylated during stress heat shock. Notably, Adh1p and Adh2p showed both an increase and a decrease in acetylation at two lysine residues (K315 and K314) overtime during heat shock respectively, though the exact function …

Temperature-Dependent Macrophage Activity In Rainbow Trout, Danica Mcgrevey

Biological Sciences Undergraduate Honors Theses

Fever is an essential component of the immune response. Fever enhances immune responses as well as creates an environment in which the body has advantages over pathogens. Macrophages are often the first cells that come in contact with pathogens, as they reside in tissues. They are important for their engulfment of pathogens that results in the digestion of the pathogen, but they also produce nitric oxide and cytokines that contribute to immune response in a variety of ways, including initiating adaptive immunity and directing the production and activity of other immune cells. We were curious about macrophages from other temperature …

Involvement Of The Ino80 Chromatin Remodeling Complex In Cell Division And Genomic Stability, Ethan Chen

Biomedical Engineering Undergraduate Honors Theses

Cell division is a vital biological process for growth and development in both single and multi-cellular organisms—whereby the cell must duplicate its organelles and genome in entirety and appropriately distribute the copied contents to the daughter cells. Cells undergo a cycle of two distinct phases: interphase and mitosis. During interphase, the cell replicates its genomic DNA (in the form of chromosomes) located within the nucleus. DNA replication is carried out in a euchromatin state, where the chromosome structure is loose and easily accessible by DNA polymerase and other replication enzymes. Upon the completion of replication, chromatin is condensed into highly …

Of Biodiversity, Boundaries, And Distribution: The Myxomycetes Of The Philippines And Beyond, Sittie Aisha Bustamante Macabago

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation contains a compilation of independently performed studies primarily focusing on the myxomycetes (plasmodial slime molds) from the Philippines and integrating local and worldwide data to demonstrate regional and global trends. The major themes include the following: (I) a review of the diverse group of spore-producing amoeboid protists, including the myxomycetes; (II-IV) diversity assessments in three different groups of islands in the Philippine archipelago; (V) mapping the myxomycetes found in the Philippines for databasing and analyzing the geocoded data; (VI) a study on regional boundaries, including the Philippines, using myxomycete species composition; and, (VII) creating a global species distribution …

New Distributional Records For Ectoparasites (Acari: Laelapidae, Myocoptidae) Of The Woodland Vole, Microtus Pinetorum (Rodentia: Cricetidae) From Polk County, Arkansas, Chris T. Mcallister, Lance A, Durden

Journal of the Arkansas Academy of Science

The woodland vole, Microtus pinetorum is a common Arkansas rodent found statewide. To our knowledge, it has been surveyed only once in the state for ectoparasites. Here, a single specimen was examined and found to be infested with 3 species of mites, including Androlaelaps fahrenholzi, Laelaps alaskensis, and Myocoptes japonensis. This is the first time L. alaskensis and M. japonensis have been reported from Arkansas.

Eimeria Lancasterensis (Apicomplexa: Eimeriidae), Three Nematodes (Heligmosomoidea: Boehmiellidae, Heligmonellidae), And A Flea (Siphonaptera: Ceratophyllidae) From The Eastern Fox Squirrel, Sciurus Niger (Rodentia: Sciuridae) In Arkansas, Chris T. Mcallister, John A. Hnida, Henry W. Robison, Lance A, Durden, Christopher Whipps

Journal of the Arkansas Academy of Science

In Arkansas, the eastern fox squirrel (Sciurus niger) is a common inhabitant of the state. Although information is available on ectoparasites of this host in Arkansas, little is known about the endoparasites of this squirrel. A single specimen from Montgomery County was examined and found to harbor the following: a coccidian (Eimeria lancasterensis), three nematodes, Boehmiella wilsoni, Citellinema bifurcatum, and Sciurodendrium hassalli, and a flea, Orchopeas howardi. We document these nematodes from an Arkansas S. niger for the first time, and add mensural and molecular information on E. lancasterensis from this host.

Selected Helminth Parasites (Cestoda, Nematoda) Of Bobcat, Lynx Rufus (Carnivora: Felidae), In Northeastern Arkansas, Chris T. Mcallister, Henry W. Robison, Ethan T. Woodyard, Thomas Graham Rosser

Journal of the Arkansas Academy of Science

The bobcat, Lynx rufus is a relatively common Arkansas carnivore that ranges statewide. Although there is a great deal of information on the natural history of this species in the state, there have been few studies where parasites have been documented in Arkansas bobcats. Here, a single specimen was examined and found to be infected with a tapeworm, Taenia rileyi and 2 nematodes, Toxoascaris leonina and Toxocara cati. We document the first record of T. rileyi from Arkansas and the first report of T. leonina from a bobcat in the state.

Spatial And Temporal Variation In Aedes Albopictus Prevalence Across Arkansas, Alyssa N. Jones, Eric C. Lovely, Douglas G. Barron

Journal of the Arkansas Academy of Science

Aedes albopictus is a well-known vector species of mosquito that is responsible for the transmission of many arboviruses such as Zika, chikungunya, and dengue. The objective of this study was to quantify spatial and temporal variation of Ae. albopictus prevalence in Arkansas. We used egg abundance as a proxy for mosquito prevalence. Across 2 years, we worked with the Arkansas Department of Health to collect mosquito eggs using oviposition traps. Eggs were desiccated, counted, and later rehydrated in rearing chambers and raised through adulthood for species determination (>99% Ae. albopictus). We determined mean egg abundance by month, year, …

Novel Reproductive Data On Pealip Redhorse, Moxostoma Pisolabrum (Cypriniformes: Catostomidae), From Northeastern Arkansas, Chris T. Mcallister, Henry W. Robison, Ethan T. Woodyard, Thomas Graham Rosser, Thomas J. Fayton

Journal of the Arkansas Academy of Science

Little is known about the natural history of the Pealip Redhorse (Moxostoma pisolabrum), particularly on its reproductive biology in Arkansas. We examined 11 female M. pisolabrum collected in late February 2020 and 2021 from the Black River, Lawrence County. Egg mass (g) represented 9‒14% of the total weight of these gravid females. This is the first time information on female reproduction in this species has been reported from any population of M. pisolabrum in the state.