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Full-Text Articles in Life Sciences

Euhaplorchis Sp. A Effect On Social Behavior And Familiarity Of Gulf Killifish (Fundulus Grandis), Hannah Bauman Apr 2024

Euhaplorchis Sp. A Effect On Social Behavior And Familiarity Of Gulf Killifish (Fundulus Grandis), Hannah Bauman

All HCAS Student Capstones, Theses, and Dissertations

Trophically transmitted parasites may manipulate their hosts’ phenotype (e.g., behavior, physiology, morphology) to increase the likelihood of transmission to the definitive host. In fishes, stable social groups develop familiarity over time through repeated interactions among individuals, and social preferences are often developed due to familiarity. Consequently, fishes often shoal with familiar fishes, a behavior that is likely to be protective against predation. Parasites may alter fish social dynamics in two ways: by decreasing association with familiar individuals, thereby isolating infected fish and making them more susceptible to predation by definitive hosts; and/or by incentivizing uninfected individuals to avoid infected fish …


Parasites Versus Predation: The Role Of Chronic And Acute Parasite Exposure In Infection Risk And Anti-Predator Behavior, Delaney Farrell Aug 2023

Parasites Versus Predation: The Role Of Chronic And Acute Parasite Exposure In Infection Risk And Anti-Predator Behavior, Delaney Farrell

All HCAS Student Capstones, Theses, and Dissertations

Parasites with complex, multi-host lifecycles often engage in host behavior manipulation to increase transmission between successive hosts. In intermediate fish hosts, previous research has measured increased frequency of conspicuous behaviors, decreased swimming performance, and reduced antipredator behavior, which would collectively increase the fish’s risk of predation. In ecosystems where this type of parasite increased trophic transmission (PITT) occurs, parasites can play a substantial role in food webs. In this study, I investigate how chronic versus acute exposure to the trematode Euhaplorchis sp. A. affects the antipredator behavior of the Gulf killifish Fundulus grandis. Using a fully crossed design, I …


Cytokine Profiles In Peruvian Pinnipeds And Their Relationships With Environmental Stressors, Mykenzee L. Munaco Aug 2023

Cytokine Profiles In Peruvian Pinnipeds And Their Relationships With Environmental Stressors, Mykenzee L. Munaco

All HCAS Student Capstones, Theses, and Dissertations

Large colonies of two vulnerable, sympatric pinniped species, Peruvian fur seals (Arctocephalus australis Peruvian subpopulation; PFS) and South American sea lions (Otaria byronia; SASL), reside and reproduce in Punta San Juan, Peru (PSJ) where they are exposed to stressors such as environmental contaminants and El Niño-Southern Oscillation (ENSO) events. Cytokine concentrations can be indicative of an animal’s health and immune function by allowing for immunoresponse characterization as Th1 or Th2 dominant. Utilizing an archived pinniped plasma collection of samples from 2009-2019 (n=148), 13 cytokines were analyzed in PFS and SASL: GM-CSF, IFN-γ, KC-like, MCP-1, TNF-α, IL-2, IL-6, …


Tunel Apoptotic Cell Detection In Stony Coral Tissue Loss Disease (Sctld): Evaluation Of Potential And Improvements, E. Murphy Mcdonald Dec 2020

Tunel Apoptotic Cell Detection In Stony Coral Tissue Loss Disease (Sctld): Evaluation Of Potential And Improvements, E. Murphy Mcdonald

All HCAS Student Capstones, Theses, and Dissertations

Stony coral tissue loss disease (SCTLD) is a highly lethal coral disease that has caused a dramatic loss of coral tissue along the Florida Reef Tract and throughout the Wider Caribbean. This study seeks to understand whether programmed cell death (apoptosis) is involved in the pathology of the highly virulent SCTLD tissue loss lesion. Tissues from diseased colonies of Pseudodiploria strigosa collected in 2018 and 2020 were stained using the terminal deoxyribonucleotidyltransferase (TdT) mediated dUTP-biotin nick end labeling (TUNEL) assay to visualize areas of programmed cell death. The archived tissue samples collected in 2018 exhibited a significantly higher degree of …


Epidemiology And Pathophysiology Of Common Skin Diseases In West Africa: An Immunodermatological Framework, Osazomon Imarenezor Nov 2020

Epidemiology And Pathophysiology Of Common Skin Diseases In West Africa: An Immunodermatological Framework, Osazomon Imarenezor

All HCAS Student Capstones, Theses, and Dissertations

This capstone reviews the common skin diseases on a global scale. With these dermatoses being further funneled into Africa and then magnified into common West African dermatoses, the meta-analyses of literature available paints a clear picture of the epidemiological & pathological factors and their contribution to the skin disease. Each article analysed in this analysis was taken from a 20-year span of January 2000 to December 2019. The selection of articles was fine-tuned by identifying the distribution of skin disease, revealing the populations affected (age, gender, ethnicity, etc), the main causes, country of origin, the prognosis of disease, and the …


Impact Of An Exercise Program On Stress, Fatigue, And Quality Of Life For Individuals Living With Primary Immunodeficiency Disease, Kerri Sowers Jan 2018

Impact Of An Exercise Program On Stress, Fatigue, And Quality Of Life For Individuals Living With Primary Immunodeficiency Disease, Kerri Sowers

Department of Physical Therapy Student Theses, Dissertations and Capstones

Background: There are over 300 Primary Immunodeficiency diseases (PID) that are a result of a genetic or idiopathic dysfunction of any aspect of the immune system. These conditions result in a higher frequency of infections, autoimmune conditions, or malignancies. Moderate intensity exercise is thought to help the immune system, while high intensity exercise may have a negative impact on immune function. The impact of exercise on individuals with an impaired immune system due to PID is not yet understood. Purpose: The purpose of this study was to investigate whether a low to moderate intensity exercise program would have an effect …