Life Sciences Commons^™

Human-Bear Interactions Among Black Bears In Bryce Canyon National Park, Utah, And Polar Bears On Alaska's North Slope, Wesley G. Larson

Theses and Dissertations

Human-bear interactions are an important consideration of bear biology, as interactions can lead to destruction of property as well as injury or death for both human and bear. Successful analysis of why these interactions occur can lead to appropriate preventative measures and mitigation of further conflict. Bryce Canyon National Park (BRCA) is comprised of relatively poor bear habitat, but a black bear population exists on the Paunsaugunt Plateau, on which the park occupies the eastern edge. Park managers expressed interest in learning more about bear movements and, specifically, bear use of anthropogenic features following a number of human-bear incidents located …

Using Remote Cameras To Estimate The Abundance Of Ungulates, Jace C. Taylor

Theses and Dissertations

Many wildlife populations globally are experiencing unprecedented declines, and without accurate and precise estimates of abundance, we will not be able to conserve these vulnerable species. Remote cameras have rapidly advanced as wildlife monitoring tools and may provide accurate and precise estimates of abundance that improve upon traditional methods. Using remote cameras to estimate abundance may be less expensive, less intrusive, less dangerous, and less time consuming than other methods. While it is apparent that remote cameras have a place in the future of wildlife monitoring, research, and management, many questions remain concerning the proper use of these tools. In …

Assembly, Annotation And Optical Mapping Of The A Subgenome Of Avena, Rebekah Ann Lee

Theses and Dissertations

Common oat (Avena) has held a significant place within the global crop community for centuries; although its cultivation has decreased over the past century, its nutritional benefits have recently garnered increased interest for human consumption. No published reference sequences are available for any of the three oat subgenomes. Here we report a quality sequence assembly, annotation and hybrid optical map of the A-genome diploid Avena atlantica Baum and Fedak. The assembly is composed of a total of 3,417 contigs with an N50 of 11.86 Mb and an estimated completeness of 97.6%. This genome sequence will be a valuable research tool …

Assembly, Annotation And Optical Mapping Of The A Subgenome Of Avena, Rebekah Ann Lee

Theses and Dissertations

Common oat (Avena) has held a significant place within the global crop community for centuries; although its cultivation has decreased over the past century, its nutritional benefits have recently garnered increased interest for human consumption. No published reference sequences are available for any of the three oat subgenomes. Here we report a quality sequence assembly, annotation and hybrid optical map of the A-genome diploid Avena atlantica Baum and Fedak. The assembly is composed of a total of 3,417 contigs with an N50 of 11.86 Mb and an estimated completeness of 97.6%. This genome sequence will be a valuable research tool …

Impacts Of A Mixed Ungulate Community On Aspen Forests: From Landscape To Leaf, Aaron C. Rhodes

Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation explores the differential effects of an ungulate community (cattle, mule deer, and American elk) on aspen (Populus tremuloides) regeneration pre- and post-fire disturbance. It's first chapter examines the differential effects of cattle, mule deer, and American elk on aspen regeneration across variable topography, climate and forest type; aspen dominant to conifer dominant subalpine forests. We found that each ungulate species, if sufficiently numerous, can cause aspen regeneration failure. Also, high elevation, southern aspect and high winter snow pack increase resilience to ungulate herbivory. Chapter two compares the efficacy of four methods of estimating ungulate impact on …

Optimizing Monitoring Efforts Of Kit Fox (Vulpes Macrotis) In Utah, Kelsey Alina Richards

Theses and Dissertations

The kit fox (Vulpes macrotis) is a species of conservation concern in western North America. Recent methods for monitoring populations of kit fox include using lures and remote cameras in an occupancy-modeling framework and habitat modeling to predict areas of occupancy. In chapter one, we tested the optimal lure and movement procedure for scent stations to maximize visits and detection of foxes, thereby improving estimates of occupancy. Between May 2015 and October 2016, we placed remote cameras at 522 random locations throughout nine study areas in the Colorado Plateau, Great Basin Desert, and Mojave Desert. Each location was …

Physiological Effects Of Pathogen And Herbivore Risks Encountered By Quaking Aspen, Anson Clark Call

Theses and Dissertations

Quaking aspen (Populus tremuloides) is the most widely distributed tree in North America (Lindroth and St Clair 2013), and a keystone species in our western montane forests (Worrall et al. 2015). Aspen has become a model organism for studies of genetics and physiology in woody plants (Bradshaw et al. 2000, Taylor 2002). Aspen is also economicallyimportant (Worrall et al. 2015) – wood is harvested for various uses, its scenic beauty helps sustain the tourism economy in many areas, and it has recently been studied as a possible source of biofuel (Sannigrahi et al. 2010). Aspen is also a …

Space Use, Resource Selection, And Survival Of Reintroduced Bighorn Sheep, Rusty Wade Robinson

Theses and Dissertations

Successful management of bighorn sheep depends on understanding the mechanisms responsible for population growth or decline, habitat selection, and utilization distribution after translocations. We studied a declining population of desert bighorn sheep in the North San Rafael Swell, Utah to determine birthdates of neonates, demographics, limiting factors, population size, probable cause of death, production, and survival. We documented 19 mortalities attributed to a variety of causes including cougar predation (n = 10, 53%), bluetongue virus (n = 2, 11%), reproductive complications (n = 2, 11%), hunter harvest (n = 1, 5%), and unknown (n = 4, 21%). Annual survival of …

The Relationship Between Microbiota, Diet, And Energy Production In The Alpaca, Courtney Carroll

Theses and Dissertations

The alpaca is a small South American camelid (SAC) that is an important production animal in Peru, especially among the highly impoverished communities of the high Andes, and raised for its fiber and meat. Alpacas are highly reliant on the microbes within their digestive tracts to digest the plant material they consume; volatile fatty acids (VFAs) are released as a byproduct of this microbial fermentation and used as a major source of energy by the alpaca. To explore optimal parameters for alpaca microbiome analysis, performed 16S rRNA gene surveys on alpaca C1 and fecal samples that had been extracted using …

Unleashing The Power Of Undergraduates To Unravel The Impacts Of Water Relations And Co2 Levels On The Photosynthetic Plasticity Of Agave Sensu Lato Species: A Group Of Desert Succulents Important To Natural And Human Systems, J. Ryan Stewart

Journal of Undergraduate Research

• Evaluation of how well the academic objectives of the proposal were met
• Evaluation of the mentoring environment
• List of students who participated and what academic deliverables they have produced or it is anticipated they will produce
• Description of the results/findings of the project
• Description of how the budget was spent

Mono-Associated Gnotobiotic Animal Meta-Genome Wide Association R Package, Corinne Penrod, John Chaston

Journal of Undergraduate Research

Animal-associated bacteria fundamentally influence the normal function and behavior of their hosts, and understanding the genetic basis for these effects is an ongoing challenge. The traditional approach to understanding phenotypic effects of genes by mutant analysis is to perform a genetic screen. MAGNAMWAR is an R package that provides a simple and effective gene function predicting pipeline to be used as a faster alternative to a genetic screen. It uses meta-genome wide association (MGWA) and bacteria genotype-host phenotype relationships to predict bacterial gene function. Proven to be an effective gene predictor in work done with Drosophila melanogaster, this pipeline …

Velvets: Software For Optimizing Velvet Input, Donald Ford, John Chaston

Journal of Undergraduate Research

Genome assembly is an important tool used to obtain more complete representations of entire genomes. Sequencing techniques, such as shotgun sequencing, are able to generate short pieces of a genome known as reads. Genome assemblers use these reads in order to produce larger genome sequences, known as contigs. This is done by computing how these reads overlap with each other. The ultimate goal is to create a single contig which represents an entire genome, though usually genome assemblers fall short of this goal.

Assessing Phosphorus Sources With A Gis-Based Phosphorus Risk Index In A Mixed-Use, Montane Watershed, Josiah A. Johns

Theses and Dissertations

Elevated phosphorus (P) loading of freshwater lakes and reservoirs often results in poor water quality and negative ecological effects. Critical source areas (CSA) of P in the watershed can be difficult to identify and control. A useful concept for identification of a CSA is the P risk index (P Index) that evaluates the P risk associated with distinct source and transport pathways. The objectives of this study were to create a GIS model that adapts the Minnesota (MN) P Index for use at the watershed scale in a mixed-use, mountain environment, and to evaluate its effectiveness relative to field-based assessment. …

Discovery And Characterization Of Honey Bee Larvae Gut Microbiota, Christopher Fajardo, John Chaston

Journal of Undergraduate Research

Honey bees are currently plagued by an infection known as American Foulbrood (AFB). This disease is caused by the bacterium Paenibacillus larvae. It is carried by adult Honey bees and becomes an active infection once inside the digestive tract of a Honey bee larvae. Current treatment of this disease is a broad-spectrum antibiotic with negative effects on both the Honey bee and the environment. Research is currently being conducted with the hope to introduce a bacteriophage therapy to the market. This approach will be specific to Paenibacillus larvae without the worries of the current treatments. Our focus is to provide …

Hydrophobic Seed Coating, Karlee Humrich, Dr. Matthew Madsen

Journal of Undergraduate Research

The western rangelands are the wide open spaces of American history. They are increasingly used as a recreational resource by millions of visitors each year. Rangelands produce tangible products such as forage, wildlife habitat, water, minerals, energy, plant and animal gene pools, recreational opportunities, and some wood products. There has been a history of rangeland degradation in the U.S. Because of this degradation, native plant species are not as dominant as they once were. Invasive plant species, such as cheat grass, have integrated into the precious rangeland system. These invasive species out compete and take over native plants. The overall …

Are Remote Cameras And Mark-Recapture Estimators A Viable Method To Monitor Mule Deer Populations?, Jacob Fullmer, Dr. Randy Larsen

Journal of Undergraduate Research

Current methods for estimating mule deer populations are costly and difficult to complete with accuracy. Biologists traditionally use ground or aerial surveys, model-based simulations, or a combination of these two methods to estimate population sizes. Remote cameras may provide a more efficient method to reliably and precisely estimate populations. A recent BYU study successfully used remote cameras to accurately estimate a low-density mule deer population, but the applicability of this method to higher-density populations remains unclear. We wanted to apply this new method in a high-density area to determine the practicality of using remote cameras to estimate mule deer populations …

The Effect Of Gut Microbiota On Cancer Metastasis In Model Organism D. Melanogaster: Establishing An Abnormal Genetic Line Of D. Melanogaster, Andrew Bratsman, John Chaston

Journal of Undergraduate Research

As early as the beginning of the 20th century, Metchnikoff proposed that putrefactive bacteria living in the digestive tracts of hosts contribute to various disease processes and that modification of microbiota composition through consumption of viable microbes might help to improve health and longevity. This theory of longevity was the basis for the relatively recent trend of probiotic foods, the idea being that “healthy” bacteria could be ingested to produce a positive phenotypic result. The probiotic approach to treatment has been limited to large processes such as digestion or correcting large deficiencies in humans, but as evidence continues to mount …

Nitrogen And Water Interactions In Drought Stressed Kentucky Bluegrass Conserving Our Vital Resource, Kerri Russell, Bryan G. Hopkins

Journal of Undergraduate Research

Turfgrass is the irrigated crop of greatest acreage in the United States. As urban and suburban developments are growing at an unprecedented rate, the demand for turfgrass is in high demand. Its ecosystem services are valuable and include groundwater protection, erosion control, soil health, and air purification. It also provides high utility to residential and public lands. Despite its environmental benefits, turfgrass has been brought under scrutiny due to natural resource consumption and pollution, particularly in arid and semi-arid regions of the western US. Turfgrass requires a significant amount of irrigation water, a resource that is scarce in the arid …

Assessing Phosphorus Sources With Synoptic Sampling In The Surface Waters Of A Mixed-Use, Montane Watershed, Austin Willis Pearce

Theses and Dissertations

Few elements in surface waters are monitored as closely as phosphorus (P) due to its role in the eutrophication and degradation of surface waters. Limiting P mobilization from source areas is, therefore, a central goal of water quality protection plans. But the work of locating sources in mixed-use watersheds is challenged by the spatial and temporal variability of critical source areas (CSAs) of P. Synoptic sampling is a proven method for capturing the spatial variation of water quality parameters in surface waters, though it's not often used to track temporal dynamics across the same study area. Phosphorus fractionation is an …

Genetic Mapping Of A Bitter Saponin Gene In Quinoa, Ryan Rupper, P Jeff Maughan, Eric N. Jellen

Library/Life Sciences Undergraduate Poster Competition 2017

Chenopodium quinoa (quinoa) is a high protein grain crop originating in the Andes. Quinoa’s ability to grow in drought and high salt conditions and its protein profile make it a highly sought after crop for world food security. Varieties of quinoa may be bitter or sweet, depending on the whether the variety produces saponins or not. Saponins are soap-like molecules that are believed to protect the plant from birds, fungi and other micro-organisms. The anti-nutritional effects of saponins[1] on human means that they must be removed prior to human consumption. The process of desaponization is time consuming and requires specialized …

Ecological And Genetic Variation Among Populations Of Boechera Caeruleamontana Sp. Nov. (Brassicaceae) From Blue Mountain And Dinosaur National Monumentin Eastern Utah And Western Colorado, Melissa Snyder

Theses and Dissertations

Boechera is a large genus of flowering plants whose taxa are found primarily in North America. Boechera vivariensis (S.L. Welsh) W.A. Weber (the Park rockcress) is restricted to the Uintah Basin on Weber sandstone substrates in the vicinity of Dinosaur National Monument and Blue Mountain. The nomenclature of Park rockcress is significantly impacted by the discovery that the type collections of the taxon represent a rare, apomictic diploid resulting from the hybridization between B. thompsonii and an undescribed sexual diploid (to be called Boechera caeruleamontana sp. nov. Allphin and Windham). As a result, greater information is needed regarding how B. …

Secondary Metabolite Production In A Newly Discovered Endophyte Species Of Veratrum Californicum, Ashton Densley, Dr. Bradley Geary

Journal of Undergraduate Research

Veratrum californicum, a montane perennial of Western America, is known to produce several bioactive alkaloids with teratogenic, antibiotic and antiproliferative propertiesi; the most notable is the anticancer compound cyclopamine.ii A synthetic derivative of cyclopamine had shown promise in clinical trials before the increasing production costs became prohibitory, effectively halting research.iii V. californicum’s unsuitability for agriculturalization, low cylopamine production (0.24% of roots), and the subsequent ineffective chemical synthesis steps (1% yield) have limited supplies.3,iv However, research has overlooked the potential for similar analog production by endophytes. Endophyte production represents a solution to the limited supply and troublesome growth characteristics of V. …