Life Sciences Commons^™

Functional Diversity Enhances Detection Of Ecosystem Stability And Resolution Of Predator-Prey Interactions Within A Multitrophic Community, Ashley Lorraine Kissick

Open Access Dissertations

Habitat fragmentation and loss are principal factors that contribute to the decline of biodiversity which in turn has a negative impact on ecosystem function. There has been growing interest in understanding diversity’s role in the mechanisms behind ecosystem resilience with much attention focusing on how functional diversity, or the range of species’ ecological roles in a community, impacts ecosystem function. Under the functional insurance hypothesis, stability in ecosystems is maintained by species that perform similar functions but have asynchronous responses to disturbance. There are three proposed stability mechanisms that operate through species’ asynchronous responses: cross-scale resilience, response diversity, and density …

Billbug (Sphenophorus Spp.) Chemical Ecology And Seasonal Biology In Indiana Turfgrass, Alexandra G. Duffy

Open Access Theses

Billbugs (Coleoptera: Curculionoidea: Sphenophorus) are serious pests of managed turfgrass across North America. Damage symptoms are most visible during stressful periods of the growing season and are commonly confused with disease, drought, or nutrient deficiency. Billbugs are frequently a perennial problem and when misdiagnosed, damage often results in seriously degraded stands of turfgrass that are easily encroached by weeds. Presently, management of billbugs relies heavily on chemical insecticides. Even then, the nationwide assemblage of multiple sympatric billbug species and the cryptic nature of the damaging larval stage makes management of these insects challenging. A better understanding of billbug biology …

Survey Of Nasal Mites (Acari: Rhinonyssidae, Ereynetidae, Turbinoptidae) In Birds From Three States In The United States, Alexis Danel Hilario Perez

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Avian nasal mites are obligate endoparasites that spend their entire life in the respiratory system of birds. In North America, bird nasal mites are represented by different unrelated families in three different orders of mites: Rhinonyssidae (Mesostigmata), Ereynetidae (Prostigmata), and the Cytoditidae and Turbinoptidae (Astigmata). The most-diverse and most-abundant family of nasal mites is the Rhinonyssidae, in which mite species may have different levels of host specificity from host orders to families or even species level. Nasal mites in North America have been surveyed in different locations, such as studies ranging from the Gulf Coast of the US to Canada. …

Influence Of Fatty Acids And Their Derivatives On Aphid Resistance In Arabidopsis And Tomato, Jiamei Li

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Fatty acid desaturases (FADs) are enzymes that act in the chloroplast or the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) to incorporate double bonds into the acyl chains of fatty acids, and recent evidence indicates that at least one of these enzymes, FAD7, also influences plant resistance to aphids. FAD7 is an enzyme in the chloroplast that is found throughout the plant kingdom and that desaturates 16- and 18-carbon fatty acids (FAs) with two double bonds (dienoic acids) to generate FAs with three double bonds (trienoic acids). In tomato (Solanum lycopersicum) and the model plant Arabidopsis thaliana, mutants with impaired FAD7 function are more …

Emergence Phenology And Nematode Associates Of The Woodwasp, Sirex Nigricornis F. (Hymenoptera: Siricidae), In Arkansas And Mississippi Forests, Jessica Ann Hartshorn

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Sirex nigricornis F. (Hymenoptera: Siricidae) is a native woodwasp in eastern North America that inhabits dead and dying pine trees during its univoltine development. Sirex noctilio is native to Eurasia and North Africa and was discovered in the northeastern United States in 2004 after a century of accidental introductions across the Southern Hemisphere. Since then, it has spread to seven states and southern Ontario. There is concern about its potential to negatively affect the multi-billion dollar pine timber industry of the southeastern United States. Effective monitoring tools are necessary to track the spread and establishment of S. noctilio. Deladenus siricidicola …

Integrative Taxonomy Of North American Torrent Mites (Parasitengona: Torrenticolidae: Torrenticola), Jon Ray Fisher

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Mites are notorious for being under-studied and incomplete knowledge of distribution, life-history, and morphology are commonplace. They typically gain attention through the relatively few pest species that plague our crops, pets, or bodies. Despite representing a successful radiation with an estimated 3–5 million species, relatively few mite lineages attract research attention from non-acarologists. However, the largest radiation of all mites—Parasitengona—has potential to bridge the gap between specialists and non-specialists. Parasitengona are the butterflies of the mite world. Obvious are the bright red mites searching for pollen on concrete, or the large, furry velvet mites coming out to mate after spring …

Tolerance As A Novel Mechanism Of Hessian Fly Control On Wheat, Kirsten E. Roe

Open Access Theses

The effects of Hessian fly (Mayetiola destructor Say) infestation on the putative tolerant wheat line Pioneer ®brand variety 25R78 were investigated at the seedling stage. Measurements, including leaf and tiller number, leaf growth rate, and total leaf lengths were recorded for two time intervals, 16 and 32 days post infestation (dpi). At 16 dpi, total leaf length changes and leaf growth rates were significantly lower for infested tolerant plants versus uninfested plants. No permanent growth effects occurred in the 32-day set. There were no significant differences in change in leaf length and leaf growth rate in infested tolerant plants …

Advances In Solid Phase Microextraction For The Analysis Of Volatile Compounds In Explosives, Tire Treatments, And Entomological Specimens, William D. Kranz

Open Access Dissertations

Solid phase microextraction is a powerful and versatile technique, well-suited to the analysis of numerous samples of forensic interest. The exceptional sensitivity of the SPME platform, combined with its adaptability to traditional GC-MS systems and its ability to extract samples with minimal work-up, make it appropriate to applications in forensic laboratories.

In a series of research projects, solid phase microextraction was employed for the analysis of explosives, commercial tire treatments, and entomological specimens. In the first project, the volatile organic compounds emanating from two brands of pseudo-explosive training aids for use in detector dog imprinting were determined by SPME-GC-MS, and …

Nestmate Recognition In Odorous House Ants (Tapinoma Sessile): Effects Of Social Plasticity, Urbanization, And Laboratory Maintenance, Timothy J. Luttermoser

Open Access Theses

Odorous house ants (Tapinoma sessile) are a widespread North American ant species and common nuisance pest. In addition to their pest status, odorous house ants are of interest as a model system for understanding the factors that lead to variable queen number and nesting strategy across ants, as well as possible insight into common traits of exotic invasive (or “tramp”) ant species. While T. sessile is native to North America, in urban environments it forms large supercolonies with many queens and nest sites connected by trails, similar to a variety of exotic invasive ants, most of which are …

Investigating Physiological Collaborations Between A Lower Termite And Its Symbionts, Brittany F. Peterson

Open Access Dissertations

This project was completed in an effort to better understand the contributions of symbiotic microbes to the biology of Reticulitermes flavipes, the eastern subterranean termite. Lower-termites, like R. flavipes, house symbionts from all three domains of life within their hindgut paunch. This intimate association is reflected in nearly every aspect of termite biology. Here, I investigate these physiological collaborations as they relate to digestion and immunity. My efforts focused on 1) quantifying the role of bacteria in wood digestion within the termite gut, 2) evaluating the role of symbionts in protection against pathogens, and 3) identifying gene products that bacterial …

Unique Features Of A Global Human Ectoparasite Identified Through Sequencing Of The Bed Bug Genome, Joshua B. Benoit, Zach N. Adelman, Klaus Reinhardt, Amanda Dolan, Monica Poelchau, Emily C. Jennings, Elise M. Szuter, Richard W. Hagan, Hemant Gujar, Jayendra Nath Shukla, Fang Zhu, M. Mohan, David R. Nelson, Andrew J. Rosendale, Christian Derst, Valentina Resnik, Sebastian Wernig, Pamela Menegazzi, Christian Wegener, Nicolai Peschel, Jacob M. Hendershot, Wolfgang Blenau, Reinhard Predel, Paul R. Johnston, Panagiotis Ioannidis, Robert M. Waterhouse, Ralf Nauen, Corinna Schorn, Mark-Christoph Ott, Frank Maiwald, Subba R. Palli

Entomology Faculty Publications

The bed bug, Cimex lectularius, has re-established itself as a ubiquitous human ectoparasite throughout much of the world during the past two decades. This global resurgence is likely linked to increased international travel and commerce in addition to widespread insecticide resistance. Analyses of the C. lectularius sequenced genome (650 Mb) and 14,220 predicted protein-coding genes provide a comprehensive representation of genes that are linked to traumatic insemination, a reduced chemosensory repertoire of genes related to obligate hematophagy, host-symbiont interactions, and several mechanisms of insecticide resistance. In addition, we document the presence of multiple putative lateral gene transfer events. Genome …