Life Sciences Commons^™

Strip Adaptive Cluster Sampling With Application To Cave Crickets, Kurt Lewis Helf

National Cave and Karst Management Symposia

No abstract provided.

The Extirpation Of A Population Of The Endangered Illinois Cave Amphipod (Gammarus Acherondytes) By An Exotic Species: The Wednesday Cave Debacle, Julian J. Lewis, Salisa L. Lewis

National Cave and Karst Management Symposia

No abstract provided.

Karst Wreckage: Subterranean Fauna As Collateral Damage, Julian J. Lewis, Salisa L. Lewis

National Cave and Karst Management Symposia

No abstract provided.

White-Nose Syndrome Response At Mammoth Cave National Park, Rickard S. Toomey

National Cave and Karst Management Symposia

No abstract provided.

Genus-Wide Assessment Of Bactrurus (Amphipoda: Crangonyctidae) Informs Conservation And Management Of Groundwater Habitats, Matthew L. Niemiller, Steven J. Taylor

National Cave and Karst Management Symposia

No abstract provided.

Monitoring In-Cave Resources With Reduced Impact And Increased Quantitative Capacity: Developing Photogrammetry Methodologies For In Cave Environments, Robyn L. Henderek, John R. Wood, Benjamin W. Tobin

National Cave and Karst Management Symposia

No abstract provided.

Managing The Spread Of Pseudogymnoascus Destructans And Conserving Bats Threatened By White-Nose Syndrome In North America, Jeremy Coleman, Jonathan D. Reichard, Richard Geboy, Christopher Servheen, Christina Kocer, Mike Armstrong

National Cave and Karst Management Symposia

No abstract provided.

The Examination Of Enrichment Using Space And Food For African Elephants (Loxodonta Africana) At The San Diego Zoo Safari Park, Charlotte Hacker

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

Concern for elephant welfare in zoological facilities has prompted a number of exhibit and management modifications, including those involving enrichment. Knowledge of how these changes impact measures of health and wellbeing, such as elephant movement and behavior, is crucial as the effects of multiple enrichment types and their interactions are largely understudied. The present study used observations and GPS unit collected data to determine the effects of space and food on the walking distance and behavior of thirteen African elephants, whose dominance structure was ascertained by the handlers at the San Diego Zoo Safari Park (SDZSP). This facility has two …

Functional Characterization Of A Cathepsin L In Drosophila Melanogaster, Qian Dong

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

The Drosophila dorsal Air Sac Primordium (ASP) is a tracheal tube that invasively grows toward and into the wing imaginal disc. The unfolding of Drosophila wing is a process following eclosion with a cuticular bilayer replacing epithelial cells originally packing the wing. We reasoned that protease functions might be needed for the invasion of ASP into the wing imaginal disc as well as the rearrangement of epithelia cells during wing unfolding. Our study is particularly focused on understanding the role of a Cathepsin L like cysteine protease (CP1) in the development of dorsal ASP and wing development of Drosophila melanogaster. …

Applications Of Latin Hypercube Sampling Scheme And Partial Rank Correlation Coefficient Analysis To Mathematical Models On Wound Healing, Hannah M. Pennington

Mahurin Honors College Capstone Experience/Thesis Projects

Latin hypercube sampling and Partial Rank Correlation Coefficient procedure (LHS/PRCC) can be used in combination to perform a sensitivity analysis that assesses a model over a global parameter space. Through this analysis, the uncertainty of the parameters and therefore the variability of the model output in response to this uncertainty can be observed. Latin hypercube sampling divides the parameter space into equiprobable regions and sample without replacement, producing a global, unbiased selection of parameter values. For montonic, non-linear relationships, the correlation between the outputs and parameters can be understood by performing a Partial Rank Correlation Coefficient procedure. This sensitivity analysis …

Analysis Of Seed Preference Trials Of Red Veld Rats And Smith's Bush Squirrels And Trap Effectiveness In The Lowveld Of South Africa, Brooke A. Barber

Mahurin Honors College Capstone Experience/Thesis Projects

Large tree species in South Africa face reproductive decline, especially older trees that provide ecosystem connectivity. Management of Balule Nature Reserve, an extensive private nature reserve in South Africa, wanted to investigate the roles rodents play in the recruitment and survival of select tree species. Two large tree species of concern, marula (Sclerocarya birrea) and knobthorn acacia (Acacia nigrescens) are dominant, habitat providers and red bushwillow (Combretum apiculatum) is a smaller and more common, prolific seed producer. I investigated whether rodents, specifically red veld rats and Smith’s bush squirrels, may play a detrimental role …

The Effects Of New Materials And Teaching Methodologies On Low-Level Biology Courses, Rebecca L. Garrison

Mahurin Honors College Capstone Experience/Thesis Projects

A new generation has entered higher education that learns differently from generations before. To meet the changing needs of this generation, Western Kentucky University’s Biology Department introduced e-textbooks and e-materials from McGraw Hill™ publishing in the fall of 2013 to most low-level classes. A foreseen product of this shift was a change in the way that some faculty taught and assessed their classes. This study assesses the changes in pedagogical techniques among professors of 100- and 200-level biology classes due to the new e-text and e-materials. Syllabi were collected from these classes pre- and post-implementation and common characteristics were inductively …

Seed Preference Trials Of Namaqua Rock Mice And Rodent Density In The Lowveld Savanna Of South Africa, Whitney L. Walker

Mahurin Honors College Capstone Experience/Thesis Projects

Large trees important in the South African savanna are in decline. Initially, climate change and elephants were thought to be the cause. However, all reasons for the decline are unknown. I investigated how Namaqua rock mice potentially affect recruitment of tree seedlings through seed predation in South Africa. I used live traps to capture rodents during the dry season of June-August on Balule Nature Reserve (BNR). I exposed the mice to seed preference trials in enclosures to determine if they would eat seeds of three target tree species; marula (Sclerocarya birrea), knobthorn acacia (Acacia nigrescens), and …

Dietary Overlap Of Native White Bass And Introduced Yellow Bass In Barren River, Micaela L. Montgomery

Mahurin Honors College Capstone Experience/Thesis Projects

In the Barren River Lake of south central Kentucky, native white bass, Morone chrysops, has experienced a decline in population after the introduction of yellow bass, Morone mississippiensis. These species are competing for resources due to an overlapping diet, likely contributing to the decline of the white bass. To explore this hypothesis, I examined the stomach contents and otoliths of white and yellow bass caught during their spawning time in spring 2012. There were 40 yellow bass and 128 white bass collected in Barren River upstream of Barren River Lake. Analysis of stomach contents revealed that both white and …

Trypanosoma Cruzi Prevalence In The Domestic Canine Population In Central And Eastern Kentucky, Katelyn Cox

Mahurin Honors College Capstone Experience/Thesis Projects

Domestic canines are regarded as natural sentinelsfor the transmission of vector-borne pathogens since infection in an owner’s dog suggests the presence of the vector in or around the household. In collaboration with the University of Kentucky’s Veterinary Diagnostic Lab in Lexington, Kentucky, we have investigated the prevalence of Trypanosoma cruzi (the causative agent of Chagas disease) in canines from central and eastern Kentucky via a serological test, polymerase chain reaction (PCR), and DNA sequencing. In addition, Canine SNAP 4Dx plus tests (Idexx Laboratories, Inc.) were used to determine the prevalence of four other vector-borne pathogens: Ehrlichia canis/ewingii, Borrelia burgdorferi, Anaplasma …

Habituation To Auditory Stimuli By Captive African Elephants (Loxodonta Africana), Sarah Elizabeth Goodyear

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

Elephants are cognitive species that exhibit many types of learning. Associative, social, and insight learning have been investigated with elephants, but one of the simplest forms, habituation, has not. As an individual learns that a stimulus is neither harmful nor beneficial, it will decrease its response to the stimulus through the process of habituation. Elephants possess a well-developed sensory system and may habituate to stimuli that could be used for enrichment and/or management. The aim of this study was to examine the habituation process of elephants in response to repeated presentations of two auditory stimuli –buzzing by a disturbed beehive …

Epiphytic Diatom Community Structure In A Karst Riverine System, Gregory John Barren

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

The goal of this study was to assess the epiphytic diatom community structure of two host species along a karst gradient in the upper Green River, Kentucky to a gain a better understanding of the role of diatoms in the food web. The host species studied were Podostemum ceratophyllum and Cladophora. Percent cover of P. ceratophyllum and Cladophora were quantified in the four study reaches. The host species were sampled near-shore and mid-channel in each reach in September and October of 2013. After diatoms were extracted from the host and enumerated the density and diversity were quantified. Twelve genera were …

Phylogeography Of Darlingtonea Kentuckensis And Molecular Systematics Of Kentucky Cave Trechines, Olivia Frances Boyd

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

The monotypic cave carabid genus Darlingtonea is widely distributed along the eastern band of the Mississippian/Pennyroyal plateau in Kentucky and northern Tennessee. DNA sequence data from the mitochondrial gene cytochrome oxidase subunit I (COI) was collected from one to four individuals from 27 populations, and patterns of phylogeography and population structure were inferred from COI haplotypes. A hierarchical analysis of molecular variance found low nucleotide diversity within populations and statistically significant variation among geographically-defined groups tested based on two a priori hypotheses of structure. Population structure among five distinct genetic clusters identifies approximate locations of barriers to gene flow among …

Acute Sleep Fragmentation Induces Tissue-Specific Changes In Cytokine Gene Expression And Increases Serum Corticosterone Concentration, Jennifer Dumaine

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

Sleep fragmentation induces acute inflammation and increases glucocorticosteroids in vertebrates. Obesity and sleep fragmentation are often concurrent pro-inflammatory conditions in patients with obstructive sleep apnea. Despite the association between the two, their simultaneous effects on immune and endocrine profiles have not been explored. In the first experiment, we investigated changes in proinflammatory (IL-1β, TNF-α) and anti-inflammatory (TGF-β1) cytokine gene expression in the periphery (liver, spleen, fat, and heart) and brain (hypothalamus, prefrontal cortex, and hippocampus) in mice exposed to various intervals of sleep fragmentation. Serum corticosterone concentration was also assessed. Sleep was disrupted in male C57BL/6J mice using an automated …

Hearing Sensitivity And The Effect Of Sound Exposure On The Axolotl (Ambystoma Mexicanum), Amy K. Fehrenbach

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

The axolotl (Ambystoma mexicanum) has been used as a model organism for studying development, genetics, and regeneration. Although the sensory hair cells of the lateral line of this species have been shown to be able to regenerate, it is not known whether this also occurs in the inner ear. In fact, little is known about the hearing capabilities of the axolotl or other salamander species. I recorded auditory evoked potentials (AEPs) of six axolotls at eleven frequencies (0.1, 0.25, 0.4, 0.6, 0.8, 1, 1.5, 2, 3, 4, and 6 kHz) in order to produce baseline audiograms of underwater pressure sensitivity. …

Heterologous Expression Of Arabidopsis Thaliana Purple Acid Phosphatase Gene (Atpap15) In Crops For Phytoremediation Of Sites Contaminated With Excess Phosphorus, Jane Jeruto Bartonjo

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

AtPAP15 is one of the purple acid phosphatases expressed by Arabidopsis thaliana that has been extensively studied. Purified AtPAP15 has been shown to exhibit both phytase and phosphomonoesterase activities in acidic pH with maximal activity at pH 4.5. AtPAP15 is a phosphorus starvation inducible (PSI) gene that is expressed highly during phosphorus deficient conditions. In the current study, AtPAP15 was overexpressed in Nicotiana tabaccum under cauliflower mosaic virus (CaMV35S) constitutive promoter. After PCR confirmation of the gene, plants were transferred to the greenhouse and allowed to grow in pots. The pots contained Sta-Green potting mix (Lowe’s Inc., Mooresville, North Carolina,U.S.). …

Non-Adaptive Phentypic Plasticity: Morphology, But Not Swim Speed, Of Spotted Salamander Larvae Is Affected By "Terrestrial" And "Aquatic" Herbicides, Mitchell Schooler

Mahurin Honors College Capstone Experience/Thesis Projects

1. Phenotypic plasticity, although ubiquitous, may not always be advantageous. In cases where individuals expressing an induced phenotype outperform non-induced individuals, the phenotypic plasticity is considered adaptive. Conversely, if the individuals with an induced phenotype underperform relative to non-induced individuals, then the plasticity is maladaptive. A final possibility is that both induced and non-induced individuals perform equally well (or poorly). This would be a case of non-adaptive (i.e. neutral) phenotypic plasticity.
2. We investigated the mode of phenotypic plasticity induced by four glyphosate-based herbicides in larvae of the spotted salamander, Ambystoma maculatum (Shaw, 1802), by determining whether the herbicides induced different morphologies, …

Habituation To Auditory Stimuli By Captive African Elephants (Loxodonta Africana), Sarah Elizabeth Goodyear, Bruce A. Schulte

Biology Faculty Publications

Habituation is a major concern for the development of effective, long-term human-wildlife conflict mitigation and zoo enrichment programs. Elephants are cognitive species that exhibit many types of learning, such as associative, social, and insight learning. However, no study has examined the habituation process in elephants. Elephants possess a well-developed sensory system and may habituate to stimuli that could be used for enrichment and/or management. The aim of this study was to examine their habituation process in response to repeated presentations of two auditory stimuli: buzzing by a disturbed beehive and the sound created by banging on pots and pans, and …

Corbicula Fluminea Food Web Ecology: An Experimental Transplant Approach In A Karst Riverine System, Autumn Smith

Mahurin Honors College Capstone Experience/Thesis Projects

The Asiatic clam Corbicula fluminea is a filter-feeding habitat generalist. Carbon isotopic composition (δ13C) of C. fluminea body tissue was compared between reaches of Kentucky’s upper Green River that differed in Cladophora growth. Corbicula fluminea from an upstream reach with little Cladophora was translocated to a downstream reach with high Cladophora levels. Individuals from both reaches were placed in mussel silos in the same downstream reach in autumn 2012 and again in 2013 for 77 and 119 days, respectively. Flow during 2012 consisted of no high flow events until late autumn. Flow patterns in 2013 were consistently higher and more …

Ua94/6/15 Student / Alumni Personal Papers Wku Dorris Hutchinson, Wku Archives

WKU Archives Collection Inventories

Correspondence and publications created by and about the Dorris Hutchison during her time at Sloan-Kettering Institute.