Life Sciences Commons^™

Analysis Of Seasonal Changes In Thermal Stress Resilience And Innate Immunity In The Temperate Coral, Astrangia Poculata, From Future Climate Impacts, Tyler Eugene Harman

Masters Theses

Over the years, global warming has had a devastating effect on coral reef ecosystems. Anthropogenic influences have caused significant increases in greenhouse gases, with a subsequent increase in solar radiation held within Earth’s atmosphere leading to increasing global temperatures. The increasing temperatures from concurrent increases in greenhouse gases impact fragile marine ecosystems such as coral reefs, which require particular environmental parameters such as temperature in order to survive and maintain a diverse ecosystem in which many marine species rely on. These increases in temperature exacerbate phenomena such as bleaching events and coral disease, drastically impacting coral on a global scale …

Hormonal Responses To Seasonal Thermal And Ecological Stressors In Japanese Macaques (Macaca Fuscata), Lilianne Nelson

Masters Theses

Relative to most primate species, Japanese macaques (Macaca fuscata) experience extreme seasonal variation in thermal and ecological stressors that can impact energetic demands. To cope with these environmental changes, levels of metabolic hormones, such as cortisol and triiodothyronine, fluctuate to facilitate energetic adjustments. While previous research in primates has investigated thermal and ecological stressors individually, a combined assessment of these stressors alongside hormone levels can provide a more holistic understanding of the relationship between a primate’s thermoregulation, energetic balance, and stress. The goals of this study were to determine the effects of season, temperature and ecological stress on …

Drivers Of Decadal Vegetation Change In Northern Alaska, Jacob Allen Harris

Masters Theses

The Arctic is experiencing rapid climate change. This research documents vegetation change near Atqasuk and Utqiaġvik, Alaska. At each location, 30 plots distributed in a matrix across the landscape, were sampled annually from 2010 to 2019 using a point frame. For every encounter we recorded the height and classified it into eight broad functional groups (deciduous shrubs, evergreen shrubs, forbs, graminoids, bryophytes, lichens, litter and standing dead vegetation); for vascular plants we also identified the species. We found a consistent increase in plant stature and cover over time which was dramatic at Atqasuk. Graminoid cover and height increased at both …

Great Lakes Snake: Estimating The Occupancy And Detection Probabilities Of The Eastern Massasauga Rattlesnake (Sistrurus Catenatus), Arin June Thacker

Masters Theses

Detailed knowledge of a species’ range and distribution is important for understanding species persistence and developing species management plans. This issue is particularly pronounced in threatened species with wide-spread range and a low detectability in their natural environment, as surveying and successfully encountering this type of species is oftentimes difficult. One such species is the eastern massasauga rattlesnake (Sistrurus catenatus), a smallbodied pit viper with a distribution centered around the Great Lakes region. We used singleseason occupancy modeling in order to reassess the status of historic massasauga occurrences. We evaluated factors affecting eastern massasauga detection probability from a …

The Investigation Of Group 1 Late Embryogenesis Abundant Protein 6 And Its Role In Arabidopsis Thaliana Desiccation Tolerance, Joann Eise Thomson

Masters Theses

Like most seeds, Arabidopsis thaliana seed development is divided into three major phases: morphogenesis, storage deposition, and maturation drying. During maturation drying the seed becomes desiccation tolerant (DT) at some point and the seed rapidly loses water until its moisture level is approximately 10% on a fresh weight basis. The ability of the seeds to withstand this extreme water loss is hypothesized to be due, in part, to the accumulation of late embryogenesis abundant (LEA) proteins. In A. thaliana, there are 51 LEA proteins which are divided into seven groups based on amino acid sequence similarities. Group 1 LEA …

From The Dinner Pot To Smoking Pot; How A Better Understanding Of Cannabidiol In Crayfish Could Alleviate Anxiety And Modulate Hunger, Christopher Michael Timmer

Masters Theses

Anxiety affects approximately 1/3 of the US population and presents in many different forms, ranging from social to panic disorders. It also presents with high comorbidity for other mental disorders. One treatment is Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors (SSRIs) which allow for increased activation of serotonin (5-HT) receptors. SSRIs come with an extensive list of side effects, which can fail to maintain quality of life. Cannabidiol (CBD) is a cannabis derived compound which has been shown to decrease anxiety by activation of multiple subtype 5-HT amine receptors. CBD has few side effects, is not psychoactive, and exhibits anti-psychotic properties. The current …

Carbon Sequestration In A Restored West Michigan Oak Savanna: Implications For Management Practices, Jeffrey A. Heise

Masters Theses

The savanna system is an ecosystem (i.e. a transitional ecosystem) that lies between forest and grassland ecosystems. They occur across the world in various forms, but in the North American Midwest they are specifically oak savannas: systems where the open overstory is dominated by various species of oak (Quercus spp.) and the understory consists of carbon-rich prairie grasses and forbs. This ecosystem is a highly degraded ecosystem and has lost almost 99% of its former range due to agriculture and fire suppression. Since savannas are fire-evolved systems, they are maintained by and require fire as a regular disturbance to …

Competitive Interactions: Spatial And Temporal Niche Partitioning Between Brook And Brown Trout In Southwest Michigan, Frederick J. Glassen

Masters Theses

Niche diet partitioning between Brook Trout and Brown Trout were studied in two southwestern Michigan, USA streams, one dominated by Brook Trout, the other with both Brook and Brown Trout. Brook Trout are endemic to eastern North America and have been introduced throughout the world for sport fishing. Brown Trout were first introduced to Michigan in 1883 using a genetic strain from Germany. Stomach contents were collected from a population of Brook Trout in the absence of Brown Trout in Frost Creek, while the other population was in potential competition with Brown Trout in Cedar Creek. Absent Brown Trout, Brook …

Bloom Or Bust: Search For Phytoplankton Community Drivers Using Long-Term Time-Series Observations And Field Measurements In A Model Great Lakes Estuary, Jasmine Mancuso

Masters Theses

As sentinels of climate change and other anthropogenic effects, freshwater lakes are experiencing ecosystem disruptions at every level of the food web, beginning with the phytoplankton. One of the major threats to waterbodies around the world are cyanobacterial harmful algal blooms (HABs) resulting from anthropogenic eutrophication and exacerbated by climate change. Muskegon Lake, a drowned river mouth Great Lakes estuary on the east coast of Lake Michigan, is no exception and was declared an Area of Concern by the EPA in 1987 with nuisance algal blooms cited as a beneficial use impairment. Using long-term data and additional 2019 sampling, we …

Variation In Tundra Plant Traits Across A Latitudinal Gradient, Katlyn Rose Betway

Masters Theses

High latitude regions are warming faster than most regions. Studies documenting change in plant cover due to warming have reported that graminoids, deciduous shrubs, and evergreen shrubs are increasing in some regions of the Arctic, but not at others. Mixed responses to warming have caused researchers to shift towards an emphasis on functional traits of individual species rather than their growth forms. This thesis focuses on ten measured plant functional traits for twelve arctic species at three regions spanning a latitudinal gradient in northern Alaska (Utqiaġvik, Atqasuk, and Toolik Lake). We compare mean trait values across the three regions for …

Classification Of Bacterial Motility Using Machine Learning, Yue Ma

Masters Theses

Cells can display a diverse set of motility behaviors, and these behaviors may reflect a cell’s functional state. Automated, and accurate cell motility analysis is essential to cell studies where the analysis of motility pattern is required. The results of such analysis can be used for diagnostic or curative decisions. Deep learning area has made astonishing progresses in the past several years. For computer vision tasks, different convolutional neural networks (CNN) and optimizers have been proposed to fix some problems. For time sequence data, recurrent neural networks (RNN) have been widely used.

This project leveraged on these recent advances to …

Changes In Gene Expression Profiles In Müller Glia Following Exposure To An Α7 Nicotinic Acetylcholine Receptor Agonist, Megan L. Stanchfield

Masters Theses

Previous studies from this lab have determined that dedifferentiation of Müller glia (MG) occurs after application of an α7 nicotinic acetylcholine receptor agonist, PNU-282987 (PNU), to retinal pigment epithelial (RPE) cells in adult rodents. This study was designed to explore the role of the HB-EGF/Ascl1/Lin28a signaling pathway in MG dedifferentiation to retinal progenitor cells. RNAseq was performed on MG following contact with RPE-J cells treated with PNU-282987. Up- or down-regulated genes were compared with published literature of MG dedifferentiation that occurs in lower vertebrate regeneration or with transcript profiles during early mammalian development. Between 8-12 hours, up-regulation was observed in …

Detection Probability Of The American Marten (Martes Americana) In Michigan’S Lower Peninsula, Taylor Brian Root

Masters Theses

To accurately manage for the sustainability of wildlife populations, managers must first determine how to locate individuals of a population with great consistency. Determining the efficiency of detection techniques is a challenge, especially when the study species are scarce or elusive. Such is the case with the American marten (Martes americana), a small mustelid found across the Northern United States and Canada. In the lower peninsula of Michigan, marten are considered a species of concern, and the full extent of their range remains unknown. My goal was to test the efficacy of motiontriggered cameras for detecting the presence of American …

Improving Growth And Survival Of Cultured Yellow Lampmussel (Lampsilis Cariosa) For Restoring Populations, Virginia Martell

Masters Theses

In North America 72% of freshwater mussel species are endangered, threatened, or of special concern due to factors such as habitat loss and degradation, biological invasion, and land use change. Propagation of freshwater mussels has been considered a necessary conservation strategy for population restoration where threats have been mitigated but small population sizes limit population viability. Yellow lampmussel is a species of freshwater mussel that is endangered, threatened, or imperiled throughout its range; therefore, I evaluated laboratory techniques (probiotic supplements and secondary rearing designs) to improve culture of yellow lampmussel for population restoration. Several aquaculture facilities commonly use probiotics; thus, …

Variation In The Maternal Provisioning Of Alkaloids In The Strawberry Poison Frog Oophaga Pumilio: The Relationship Between Mothers And Their Tadpole Offspring, Olivia L. Brooks

Masters Theses

Within and among populations, alkaloid defenses of strawberry poison frogs (Oophaga pumilio) vary spatially, temporally, and with life history stage. Natural variation in defense has been implicated as a critical factor in determining the level of protection afforded to an individual from predators and pathogens. Oophaga pumilio tadpoles sequester defenses from nutritive eggs and are thus entirely dependent on their mothers for their alkaloids. However, it remains unclear how the alkaloid composition of a tadpole relates to that of its mother and if maternally provisioned defenses are effective against predators. Here, I demonstrate that natural variation in the alkaloid composition …

Diatom Community Responses To Development And Climate Change In Lake George, An Oligotrophic Lake In The Adirondack Mountains, Adam T. Ruka

Masters Theses

Lake George is a highly monitored, oligotrophic lake that experiences widespread tourism in the summer months. The southern basin is more developed than the northern basin, suggesting a north-south gradient of anthropogenic impairment. This study aimed to assess differences in nearshore diatom communities regarding gradients of water chemistry and watershed development throughout the lake. Using Redundancy analyses, water chemistry was found to explain more variation within diatom assemblages than watershed variables. Weighted averaging optima and tolerances specified taxa of concern, F. gracilis and A. formosa, that indicate increased phosphorus (μg/L) and conductivity (μS/cm), respectively. Two hypotheses related to the effect …

Aquatic Plants And Their Application To Successful Floating Treatment Wetlands, Katherine May Mazanec

Masters Theses

“This research aims to mitigate eutrophication of freshwater habitats affected by urban stormwater runoff. Two highly impacted urban ponds near the Missouri S&T campus in Rolla were the focus of this research on the application of floating treatment wetlands (FTWs). An FTW consists of a man-made floating mat that is planted with emergent or floating macrophytes. The plants grow on the mat and their roots extend into the water column below the mat. Plant tissues, especially roots in direct contact with the water, take up nutrients, act as biofilm growth sites, and may facilitate precipitation of nutrients. With urbanization, ponds …

Geographic Variation In Agonistic And Territorial Behavior By Genetically Distinct Groups Of The Eastern Red-Backed Salamander (Plethodon Cinereus), Jessica Ryan

Masters Theses

Geographic variation in agonistic and territorial behavior is largely unknown in terrestrial plethodontid salamanders, even though territoriality is widespread throughout this group. Using the color polymorphic Eastern Red-backed Salamander (Plethodon cinereus), I compared the aggressive and submissive behaviors of two genetically distinct groups in northern Ohio using male and female salamanders from six populations. As in other populations of P. cinereus studied, I expected to find agonistic and territorial behavior present in the populations in this study. Additionally, I predicted that the genetic group that is monomorphic for the striped morph would exhibit a higher degree of agonistic and territorial …

Evaluation Of The Symbiotic Relation Between Endophyte And Poplar Trees Exposed To Landfill Leachate, Catalina Vega Hurtado

Masters Theses

“The contamination of soil and groundwater from leachate leakage from landfill has turned, nowadays, into a global public issue. One of the main concerns about this pollutant is the potential threat to human and ecosystem health. The current research studied endophyte bacteria in association with poplar trees (Populus sp.), as a method of bioremediation of landfill leachates. The objective of the project was to identify treatment strategies that may improve plant performance (survival rates, plant fitness, and degradation efficacy) with the purpose of being implemented in phytoremediation plots, aimed to intercept and treat landfill leachate, before the contamination of watershed. …

Link Between Energy Investment In Biosynthesis And Cellular Resistance To Oxidative Insult: Test The Cost-Quality Hypothesis In Insects, Taiwo Bolanle Iromini

Masters Theses

“The metabolic cost of growth is the amount of energy invested to fuel the anabolic biochemical reactions of biosynthesis. It has been implicated in the efficiency of farm animals and fishes, thus, increased economic profit. The metabolic cost of growth in the cockroach nymph was reported to be 20-fold higher than that of the painted lady butterfly caterpillar. The cost-quality hypothesis was proposed to explain the extremely low biosynthesis energy cost in painted lady caterpillar when physiological and ecological processes the metabolic growth cost was attributed to could not. In this study, the cost-quality hypothesis was tested.

Midgut cells were …

Monitoring Temporal Trends In Catostomidae Larvae In Large Sized River Tributaries, Kellie Nicole Hanser

Masters Theses

Large river ecosystems can support a complex network of tributaries that provide optimal habitat for fish reproduction. Anthropogenic alteration of rivers and tributaries has been shown to have adverse effects on river fish communities, but few studies have focused on the effects river regulation may have on the reproduction of native suckers (Family Catostomidae). In this study, I evaluated differences in biotic and abiotic factors associated with catostomid reproduction between tributaries of an altered and free-flowing river. I conducted ichthyoplankton sampling using drift nets and larval push nets in tributaries of the Illinois River, which is regulated for navigation, and …

Reprograming Neuronal Cells By Overexpression Of Fibroblast-Specific Transcription Factors, Abdulmohsen Alanazi

Masters Theses

In mammals, a complex system of regulatory signals distinguishes tissues, structures and functions. Combinations of transcription factors and co-factors regulate activation and repression of genes that result in cellular differentiation. Whole genome arrays allow the monitoring of genomic expression in specific tissues. Fibroblast microarray studies have shown candidate genes that may be involved in fibroblast identification, including genes that express transcription factors Prrx1, Snai2 and Twist1. A previous study showed that the Prrx1 and Snai2 could reactivate a fibroblast phenotype in hybrid cells that had lost fibroblast identity. Furthermore, overexpression of these factors in liver-derived cells strongly repressed liver gene …

Comparison Of The Effects Of Growing-Season Burns And Dormant-Season Burns On Vegetation Structure And Grassland Bird Diversity In East-Central Illinois Prairies, Joseph Lee Boise

Masters Theses

For managed grasslands, prescribed burns are a method to manage species composition by preventing crowding by bunch grasses and woody encroachment. While dormant-season (spring) burns are routinely performed, managers have recently introduced growing-season (late summer/fall) burns to prairies in east-central Illinois. The purpose of this study was to compare the effects of dormant-season and growingseason burns on vegetation structure and associated avian diversity. Specifically, objectives were to determine if: (1) Growing-season burns increase bird diversity or density of rare/declining species relative to dormant season burns; (2) Growing-season burns cause more bare ground to open and reduce litter and woody species …

Bigheaded Carp Spatial Reproductive Dynamics And Population Genetics In Large River Tributaries, Samuel J. Schaick

Masters Theses

Fisheries managers are devoting considerable effort, time, and funding towards limiting the spread of invasive Bighead and Silver (bigheaded) Carp. A better understanding of factors that influence spatial patterns of bigheaded carp reproduction can help fisheries managers prevent their spread. To examine factors that influence spatial patterns of reproduction, we sampled ichthyoplankton using drift nets and larval push nets in three tributaries of the Illinois and Wabash Rivers March-September 2016-2018. We compared relative abundances of bigheaded carp eggs and larvae among tributaries using catch per unit effort (CPUE). Abiotic data were analyzed from individual study tributaries and pooled among tributaries …

Dam Effects On Freshwater Mussel Growth And Recruitment In A Midwestern Stream, Taylor Lyndon Fagin

Masters Theses

There have been many studies that examine the negative impact of dams on freshwater mussel populations. However, recent studies suggest that some dams may create more suitable growing conditions immediately below some dams. This study’s main objectives were to 1) document where faster growth of mussels is found in relation to the Charleston Dam, 2) determine if sites with faster growth have higher recruitment and 3) investigate which water quality variable(s) could be correlated with faster growth. Live Corbicula sp. were set in cages in multiple sites at varying distances from the dam and shells of two native mussel species …

Seasonal Variation In Mitochondrial Bioenergetics Of The Bluegill Sunfish, Lepomis Macrochirus, From A Shallow Midwest River, Derick Isaac Lamptey

Masters Theses

As average global temperature increase, the frequency and magnitude of extreme temperatures in shallow aquatic ecosystems are more ubiquitous. In order to understand how these changing thermal regimes affect aquatic ectotherms, it is essential to develop studies evaluating the response of ectotherms to seasonal fluctuating thermal regimes. Previous studies on fluctuating temperature regimes have reported an increased physiological stress leading to morphological, behavioral and biochemical adaptations. From the latter, the adaptive capacity and seasonal performance associated with optimal function of the oxidative phosphorylation system (OXPHOS) are key for species persistence. However, studies on this matter are scarce. This study explores …