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Full-Text Articles in Life Sciences

Tradeoffs Of Warm Adaptation In Aquatic Ectotherms: Live Fast, Die Young?, A. P. Porreca, E. Martinez, R. E. Colombo, Michael A. Menze Aug 2015

Tradeoffs Of Warm Adaptation In Aquatic Ectotherms: Live Fast, Die Young?, A. P. Porreca, E. Martinez, R. E. Colombo, Michael A. Menze

Faculty Research & Creative Activity

In the face of a changing climate, questions regarding sub-lethal effects of elevated habitat temperature on the physiology of ectotherms remain unanswered. In particular, long-term responses of ectotherms to the warming trend in tropical regions are unknown and significantly understudied due primarily to the difficulties in specimen and community traceability. In freshwater lakes employed as cooling reservoirs for power plants, increased physiological stress from high water temperature can lead to an increase in mortality, reduce growth, and potentially alter the community structure of fishes. Throughout this study, we employ this highly tractable system to assess how elevated thermal regimes can …


Streamwise Vortices Destabilize Swimming Bluegill Sunfish (Lepomis Macrochirus), Anabela Maia, Alex P. Sheltzer, Eric D. Tytell Mar 2015

Streamwise Vortices Destabilize Swimming Bluegill Sunfish (Lepomis Macrochirus), Anabela Maia, Alex P. Sheltzer, Eric D. Tytell

Faculty Research & Creative Activity

In their natural environment, fish must swim stably through unsteady flows and vortices, including vertical vortices, typically shed by posts in a flow, horizontal cross-flow vortices, often produced by a step or a waterfall in a stream, and streamwise vortices, where the axis of rotation is aligned with the direction of the flow. Streamwise vortices are commonly shed by bluff bodies in streams and by ships' propellers and axial turbines, but we know little about their effects on fish. Here, we describe how bluegill sunfish use more energy and are destabilized more often in flow with strong streamwise vorticity. The …


Algal Biomass As A Binding Agent For The Densification Of Miscanthus, Sunil Thapa, Daniel Johnson, Peter Liu, Thomas Canam Feb 2015

Algal Biomass As A Binding Agent For The Densification Of Miscanthus, Sunil Thapa, Daniel Johnson, Peter Liu, Thomas Canam

Faculty Research & Creative Activity

Purpose: Lignocellulosic biomass has been regarded as an important future energy source due to its excessive availability; however, the wide application of this material for many applications is restricted by the high costs associated with densification, transportation, thermo-chemical pretreatment and conversion. In order to increase the density of lignocellulosic biomass, it is typically compressed into pellets or briquettes. This frequently requires the addition of additives, which may negatively impact the economics of the process. Environmentally-friendly binding agents that can be obtained inexpensively are therefore desirable. This study examines the change in physicochemical properties of densified Miscanthus straw where algae were …


Geographic Range Predicts Photosynthetic And Growth Response To Warming In Co-Occurring Tree Species, Peter B. Reich, Kerrie M. Sendall, Karen Rice, Roy L. Rich, Artur Stefanski, Sarah E. Hobbie, Rebecca A. Montgomery Feb 2015

Geographic Range Predicts Photosynthetic And Growth Response To Warming In Co-Occurring Tree Species, Peter B. Reich, Kerrie M. Sendall, Karen Rice, Roy L. Rich, Artur Stefanski, Sarah E. Hobbie, Rebecca A. Montgomery

Faculty Research & Creative Activity

No abstract provided.


Algal Biomass As A Binding Agent For The Densification Of Miscanthus, Sunil Thapa, Daniel B. Johnson, Peter Ping Liu, Thomas Canam Feb 2015

Algal Biomass As A Binding Agent For The Densification Of Miscanthus, Sunil Thapa, Daniel B. Johnson, Peter Ping Liu, Thomas Canam

Faculty Research & Creative Activity

Purpose: Lignocellulosic biomass has been regarded as an important future energy source due to its excessive availability; however, the wide application of this material for many applications is restricted by the high costs associated with densification, transportation, thermo-chemical pretreatment and conversion. In order to increase the density of lignocellulosic biomass, it is typically compressed into pellets or briquettes. This frequently requires the addition of additives, which may negatively impact the economics of the process. Environmentally-friendly binding agents that can be obtained inexpensively are therefore desirable. This study examines the change in physicochemical properties of densified Miscanthus straw where algae were …


Molecular Approaches For Improving Desiccation Tolerance: Insights From The Brine Shrimp Artemia Franciscana, Steven C. Hand, Michael A. Menze Jan 2015

Molecular Approaches For Improving Desiccation Tolerance: Insights From The Brine Shrimp Artemia Franciscana, Steven C. Hand, Michael A. Menze

Faculty Research & Creative Activity

Main conclusion We have evaluated the endogenous expression and molecular properties of selected Group 3 LEA proteins from Artemia franciscana , and the capacity of selected Groups 1 and 3 proteins transfected into various desiccation-sensitive cell lines to improve tolerance to drying. Organisms inhabiting both aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems frequently are confronted with the problem of water loss for multiple reasons—exposure to hypersalinity, evaporative water loss, and restriction of intracellular water due to freezing of extracellular fluids. Seasonal desiccation can become severe and lead to the production of tolerant propagules and entry into the state of anhydrobiosis at various stages …


Factors Affecting The Spatial Distribution Of Oviposition Sites For Tandem Black Saddlebags Dragonflies (Odonata: Libellulidae), Jessica L. Thornton, Paul V. Switzer Jan 2015

Factors Affecting The Spatial Distribution Of Oviposition Sites For Tandem Black Saddlebags Dragonflies (Odonata: Libellulidae), Jessica L. Thornton, Paul V. Switzer

Faculty Research & Creative Activity

Oviposition site location may be affected by (1) factors influencing the costs and benefits to the offspring (e.g., resource availability, competition, predation risk) and (2) factors influencing the costs and benefits to the female (e.g., predation risk or mate ha- rassment). In cases in which both the male and female are involved in locating a site, costs and benefits may differ for each parent and the resulting oviposition site location may represent the outcome of selection pressures on one or both of them. We studied oviposi- tion behavior in the black saddlebags dragonfly (Tramea lacerata Hagen), a species in which …


Factors Affecting The Spatial Distribution Of Oviposition Sites For Tandem Black Saddlebags Dragonflies (Odonata: Libellulidae), Jessica Thornton, Paul Switzer Jan 2015

Factors Affecting The Spatial Distribution Of Oviposition Sites For Tandem Black Saddlebags Dragonflies (Odonata: Libellulidae), Jessica Thornton, Paul Switzer

Faculty Research & Creative Activity

Oviposition site location may be affected by (1) factors influencing the costs and benefits to the offspring (e.g., resource availability, competition, predation risk) and (2) factors influencing the costs and benefits to the female (e.g., predation risk or mate ha- rassment). In cases in which both the male and female are involved in locating a site, costs and benefits may differ for each parent and the resulting oviposition site location may represent the outcome of selection pressures on one or both of them. We studied oviposi- tion behavior in the black saddlebags dragonfly (Tramea lacerata Hagen), a species in which …


Tradeoffs Of Warm Adaptation In Aquatic Ectotherms: Live Fast, Die Young?, Eloy Martinez, Anthony Porreca, Robert Colombo, Michael Menze Jan 2015

Tradeoffs Of Warm Adaptation In Aquatic Ectotherms: Live Fast, Die Young?, Eloy Martinez, Anthony Porreca, Robert Colombo, Michael Menze

Faculty Research & Creative Activity

In the face of a changing climate, questions regarding sub-lethal effects of elevated habitat temperature on the physiology of ectotherms remain unanswered. In particular, long-term responses of ectotherms to the warming trend in tropical regions are unknown, and understudied due to the difficulties in specimen and community traceability. In freshwater lakes employed as cooling reservoirs for power plants, increased physiological stress from high water temperature can potentially alter the community structure of fishes. We employ this highly tractable system to assess how thermal regimes can alter the physiology and ecology of aquatic species. We documented a significantly reduced lifespan, growth …


Acute Toxicity Assessment Of N,N-Diethyl-M-Toluamide (Deet) On The Photosynthetic Activity Of The Dinoflagellate Gymnodinium Instriatum, Eloy Martinez, Sylvia Velez, Marietta Mayo, Miguel Sastre Jan 2015

Acute Toxicity Assessment Of N,N-Diethyl-M-Toluamide (Deet) On The Photosynthetic Activity Of The Dinoflagellate Gymnodinium Instriatum, Eloy Martinez, Sylvia Velez, Marietta Mayo, Miguel Sastre

Faculty Research & Creative Activity

Despite the ubiquitous occurrence of N, N-diethyl-m-toluamide (DEET) in aquatic systems, assessments evaluating the toxicity of DEET on phytoplankton species are summed to a single study on a unicellular green alga. In particular, the toxicological effects of DEET in dinoflagellates are unknown. In this study, we employed the mixotrophic dinoflagellate Gymnodinium instriatum as a study system to evaluate acute effects of DEET on the oxygen flux of laboratory cultures. This study reports an inhibitory reaction model of DEET described by the equation y = 4.99 x 0.54, where y represents the percent inhibition of oxygen flux and x represents DEET …


Physiological Performance Of Warm-Adapted Marine Ectotherms: Thermal Limits Of Mitochondrial Energy Transduction Efficiency, Eloy Martinez, Eric Hendricks, Michael Menze, Joseph Torres Jan 2015

Physiological Performance Of Warm-Adapted Marine Ectotherms: Thermal Limits Of Mitochondrial Energy Transduction Efficiency, Eloy Martinez, Eric Hendricks, Michael Menze, Joseph Torres

Faculty Research & Creative Activity

Thermal regimes in aquatic systems have profound implications for the physiology of ectotherms. In particular, the effect of elevated temperatures on mitochondrial energy transduction (i.e. energy from carbon substrates to ATP) in tropical and subtropical teleosts may have profound consequences on organismal performance and population viability. Upper and lower whole-organism critical temperatures for teleosts suggest that subtropical and tropical species are not susceptible to the warming trends associated with climate change, but sub-lethal effects on energy transduction efficiency and population dynamics remain unclear. The goal of the present study was to compare the thermal sensitivity of processes associated with mitochondrial …