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Full-Text Articles in Life Sciences

An Investigation Of The Practical Challenges To Using Molecular Genetic Techniques To Identify The Parasite Burdens Of Vertebrate Animals From Non-Invasive Sampling, Keely Ann Cox May 2020

An Investigation Of The Practical Challenges To Using Molecular Genetic Techniques To Identify The Parasite Burdens Of Vertebrate Animals From Non-Invasive Sampling, Keely Ann Cox

Honors Theses

Molecular genetic techniques have become popular methods in ecology and wildlife conservation research. Advances in molecular genetic methods, particularly PCR (polymerase chain reaction), make it possible to amplify the numbers of specific DNA sequences from a sample with only a few original copies. Theoretically, the specificity of this approach should make it possible for wildlife biologists to identify and quantify the parasite and disease burden of endangered animals without being limited by the rarity of collaborators with expertise in the taxonomy of obscure parasite taxa. Because PCR requires just a small amount of DNA, the added benefit of a molecular …


Insect (Arthropoda: Insecta) Composition In The Diet Of Ornate Box Turtles (Terrapene Ornata Ornata) In Two Western Illinois Sand Prairies, With A New State Record For Cyclocephala (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae), Reese J. Worthington, E. R. Sievers, D. B. Ligon, P. K. Lago Feb 2018

Insect (Arthropoda: Insecta) Composition In The Diet Of Ornate Box Turtles (Terrapene Ornata Ornata) In Two Western Illinois Sand Prairies, With A New State Record For Cyclocephala (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae), Reese J. Worthington, E. R. Sievers, D. B. Ligon, P. K. Lago

The Great Lakes Entomologist

A study of fecal samples collected over a two-year period from juvenile ornate box turtles (Terrapene ornata ornata Agassiz) revealed diets consisting of six orders of insects representing 19 families. Turtles were reared in captivity from eggs harvested from local, wild populations, and released at two remnant prairies. Identifiable insect fragments were found in 94% of samples in 2013 (n=33) and 96% in 2014 (n=25). Frequency of occurrence of insects in turtle feces is similar to results reported in previous studies of midwestern Terrapene species. A comparison of insect composition presented no significant difference between release sites. There is …


Fecal Ciliate Composition Of Cypriot Domestic Horses (Equus Caballus Linnaeus, 1758), Bayram Göçmen, Gözde Gürelli̇, Burk A. Dehority Jan 2012

Fecal Ciliate Composition Of Cypriot Domestic Horses (Equus Caballus Linnaeus, 1758), Bayram Göçmen, Gözde Gürelli̇, Burk A. Dehority

Turkish Journal of Zoology

The species composition and distribution of large intestinal ciliates was investigated in feces from 5 Cypriot domestic horses living in Northern Cyprus. We identified 9 ciliate genera and 11 species. This is the first report on intestinal ciliates in Cypriot domestic horses, and no endemic species were observed. The genera Cycloposthium, Spirodinium, and Paraisotricha occurred in all animals. The mean number of ciliates was (5.5 ± 4.4) × 10^4 cells mL^-^1 of feces and the mean number of ciliate species per host was 7.2 ± 1.5. The characteristics of the domestic horse ciliates were almost identical to those reported in …