Life Sciences Commons^™

P-04 Cavan Burren 2015 Project, Rhonda Root, Robin Johnson, Ariel Solis, Abelardo Rivas

Celebration of Research and Creative Scholarship

The Cavan Burren is a plantation forest within the Marble Arch Caves UNESCO Global Geopark overlay along the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland border. The exposure of Cavan Burren’s "relict landscape" resulted from a 2012 partial clear fell. Our multidisciplinary team of researchers in architecture, technology, ecology, fine arts, and archaeology investigated domestic architecture reflected in three stone configurations: circular/semicircular sites, rectangular sites, and tomb structures. We also investigated human action on pedestal boulders (PBs), which had been modified by sculpting, splitting, and cutting away. Our first goal was to show human action on structures by using three-dimensional (3D) …

P-29 Diversity And Species Turnover Of Late Cenozoic Ground Squirrels In The Meade Basin, Ks, H. Thomas Goodwin

Celebration of Research and Creative Scholarship

The Meade Basin of southwestern Kansas preserves one of the richest fossil sequences from the late Cenozoic of North America. An ongoing study has documented a rich record of fossils, especially rodents; established episodes of especially rapid species turnover (when species appear or disappear from the local record); and has attempted to relate these processes to environmental change inferred from stable isotope and other proxies for ancient climate. Here, I report on fossil squirrels from the record. At least 7 genera and 13 species are present in the composite record. Species turnover occurs throughout the record, but an especially high …

Speciation In Western North America: Lomatium As An Example Of Diversification And Convergent Evolution, Edgar M. Sosa, Lauren Polito, Mckayla Stevens, Donald H. Mansfield, James F. Smith (Mentor)

Idaho Conference on Undergraduate Research

Species delimitations and understanding the processes that drive speciation are essential to nearly all aspects of human endeavor. Determining species boundaries traditionally used morphology. Phylogenetic analyses based on DNA sequence data provide a means to resolve species boundaries, as well as test hypotheses regarding the evolutionary processes. Numerous species radiations have occurred in Western North America. Among these are several plant groups such as Astragalus, Artemisia, and Lomatium. Recent phylogenetic analyses of Lomatium and related genera have demonstrated that many of the morphological characters used to delimit taxa have arisen multiple times and that most taxa are para- …

Photosynthetic Capacity Within The Phantom Gas Field Project, Traci L. Olson, Maria Pacioretty, Keith Reinhardt (Mentor)

Idaho Conference on Undergraduate Research

Anthropogenic noise has proven detrimental to organisms like bats, owls, and certain other species whose hunting or navigation success is affected by unnatural sound. However, few studies have quantified the effects of noise pollution across multiple trophic levels. Our study is quantifying the impacts of human noise on insect abundance and herbivory, and plant physiology, using experimental noise stations compared to quiet control sites in the sagebrush steppe southwest of Boise, Idaho. I am measuring variation in leaf chlorophyll fluorescence and Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI). Both of these measurements are indirect measurements of photosynthetic capacity. We hypothesized that shrubs …

Captive Breeding Protocols And Their Impact On Genetic Diversity In White-Footed Mice (Peromyscus Leucopus): Implications For Threatened And Endangered Species, Maureen C. Lamb, Janna R. Willoughby, J. Andrew Dewoody

The Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship (SURF) Symposium

Captive breeding protocols used in zoos often are aimed at increasing population sizes and retaining genetic diversity of endangered species. However, captive breeding causes genetic adaptation to captivity that can lead to an overall decrease in genetic diversity and reduce chances of a successful reintroduction to the wild. In this study, we assess how 3 different breeding protocols—random mating, preferential breeding of individuals with the lowest mean kinship scores, and selection for docility—affect the variability of mitochondrial DNA in white-footed mice (Peromyscus leucopus). We used mice that were captured from the wild but were mated for up to …

Climate Warming Reduces Essential Fatty Acid Production In Algae, Michael T. Arts, Stefanie M. Hixson, Samantha Mercieca

21st International Conference on Environmental Indicators (ICEI 2015)

No abstract provided.

Analysis Of The Diets Of The Northern Spotted Owl And Barred Owl, Valeria Briones

Scholarly and Creative Works Conference (2015 - 2021)

The Northern Spotted Owl, a once thriving species is now a threatened species and on the verge of endangerment. The Barred Owl, a species native to the eastern United States over the past few centuries has expanded its range into that of the Northern Spotted Owl, causing a major threat to the Northern Spotted Owl Populations. This paper is a synthesis of the existing literature of the diets of the Northern Spotted Owl and Barred Owl individually as well as in areas in which they occur sympatrically. With this summary of literature, the reader can gain an understanding of the …

How Does The Exploitation And Degradation Of Finite Natural Resources By Industrial Oil Producers Effect Our Future Planetary Environment?, Zachary J. King Mr.

Symposium of Student Scholars

Zachary King

Dr. Tu

26 March 2015

GEOG 3700

Abstract

The purpose of this presentation is to communicate content of the reports given by credible institution on the degradation and exploitation of finite natural resources by corporate institutions, for short term financial gain, and how it will effect the future planetary environment. Methods used in obtaining this research range from point source observation directly from oil spills in the Gulf or pipe leaks in the Mid-West, to analytical and numerical data quantifications gathered over a period of two decades. This presentation encompasses a wide scope of information concerning the way …

Plasticity In A Changing World: Phenotypic Variability In Boechera Stricta Across Space And Time, Caroline Daws

EURēCA: Exhibition of Undergraduate Research and Creative Achievement

While some plants are mobile and able to physically distribute to more suitable environments, other plants have limited dispersal ability and must find alternate ways to adjust to changing conditions in situ through adaptation or plasticity. Predicted changes in abiotic pressures, including drought stress and warmer temperatures, may influence the phenotypic expression of traits in plant populations through these mechanisms. In this study, we used a reciprocal transplant approach to investigate the temporal and spatial patterns of plasticity in a native perennial mustard, Boechera stricta, in the Rocky Mountains. Specifically, we explore how a temporal gradient that reflects drought stress …

Monitoring Fish Diversity In Massies Creek, Ohio, Connor J. Gilmour, Jenelle C. Krob, Angela Mccain, Mark A. Gathany

The Research and Scholarship Symposium (2013-2019)

Streams are susceptible to numerous threats to their water quality and biodiversity. In our region of southwest Ohio a major driver of these impacts is associated with current and past agricultural practices. These changes include straightening, embanking, dredging, and removal of large rocks and woody debris, increased erosion, and non-point source pollution. These structural and chemical impacts are known to significantly affect biodiversity in these streams. This means a greater understanding of stream ecology is of utter importance to places such as Greene County, Ohio due to the prevalence of agricultural practices in the landscape. In 2010 a 2.2 mile …

An Individual-Based Model Of Chaparral Vegetation Response To Frequent Wildfire, Timothy Lucas, Dayna Mann, Reanna Dona

Seaver College Research And Scholarly Achievement Symposium

In recent years, the Santa Monica Mountains (SMM) have been plagued by frequent wildfires which threaten the native chaparral species. Nonsprouting chaparral species are completely killed by a fire, but their seeds germinate in response to fire cues. Facultative sprouters both resprout after a wildfire and release seeds that germinate post-fire. This project is based on data collected since 1986 at a biological preserve adjacent to the Malibu campus of Pepperdine University with an average fire return interval of 7.5 years. We present a spatial model that simulates the growth, seed dispersal and resprouting behavior of individual shrubs that compete …

P-19 The Behavior Of Glaucous-Winged Gull Egg Cannibals, Ashley A. Reichert

Honors Scholars & Undergraduate Research Poster Symposium Programs

Cannibalism leads to a variety of behavioral and demographic consequences among numerous taxa. Although multiple studies have linked cannibalism to egg and chick failure in gull populations, few characterizations of gull cannibal behavior exist. During the 2014 breeding season, we observed territories of 16 Glaucous-winged Gull (Larus glaucescens) egg cannibal specialists on Protection Island, Washington, USA. We also monitored cannibal foraging behavior, reproductive success, and colony-wide egg loss. Cannibals employed a variety of foraging behaviors and exhibited significantly lower reproductive success than non-cannibals. Future study of the Protection Island gull colony will monitor trends in cannibalism relative to environmental change.

P-29 Ovulation Synchrony As An Adaptive Response To Egg Cannibalism In A Seabird Colony, Sumiko Weir

Honors Scholars & Undergraduate Research Poster Symposium Programs

Every-other-day egg-laying synchrony has been demonstrated in the Glaucous-winged gull (Larus glaucescens) colony at Protection Island National Wildlife Refuge ,where cannibalism is the predominant cause of egg loss. Here we show that (1) eggs are most likely to be cannibalized within the first 24 hours after they are laid, and (2) the odds that an egg is cannibalized within the first 24 hours decreases with an increase in the number of eggs laid on that day. This suggests that egg-laying synchrony functions as an adaptive response to cannibalism by maximizing an egg’s chance of survival during its most …

The Effects Of Tetracycline And Ibuprofen On Common Duckweed, Lemna Minor, John Von Drasek

2015 Honors Council of Illinois Region Student Symposium

Pharmaceuticals and chemicals are finding their way into drinking water by means of household and industrial sewage. This study explores the effects of two common pharmaceuticals—tetracycline and ibuprofen—on the growth of Common Duckweed, Lemna minor. The number of duckweed per test tube for each treatment was compared after 37 days. Tetracycline was not found to effect clonal growth of duckweed. There was significant difference in duckweed count between the ibuprofen treatment and the control treatment with ibuprofen inhibiting the growth of the duckweed. It is possible that the tetracycline prevented the protein synthesis of any harmful bacteria growing with the …