Life Sciences Commons^™

Maine Hunger Dialogue And Climate Action Summit Safeguarding Food Systems From A Warming Planet, University Of Maine Cooperative Extension

General University of Maine Publications

Promotional flyer for the Maine Hunger Dialogue and Climate Action Summit. "Join students, faculty, and staff from colleges, community colleges, and high schools across the state for this one-day conference. Participants will have an opportunity to network, discuss food security, and climate change, and find solutions to combat these issues within our own communities."

Collaborative And Engaged Research To Strengthen Equity And Adaptive Governance In Co-Managed Fisheries, Gabrielle V. Hillyer

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Small-scale, co-managed fisheries are found throughout the world and often represent intertwining cultures, societies, communities, economies, institutions, and governments. They face complex issues, derived from ecological and social sources. Solving these issues requires diverse expertise, often developed through engaged methodologies which can facilitate collaborative solution creation between researchers, community members, and others. In this dissertation, I demonstrate the benefits of these engaged methodologies and review how they, when coupled with anticolonial approaches to research, can create more equitable solutions to complex issues. This dissertation focuses on multiple projects within the wild clam fishery in Maine including: (1) the creation of …

Muscle Defects Lead To Skeletal Deformities In A Zebrafish Model Of Distal Arthrogryposis, Emily A. Tomak

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Distal Arthrogryposis Type 1 (DA1) involves mild muscle weakness and limb skeletal abnormalities thought to be caused by paralysis in utero. Why the limbs are particularly affected in DA1 and the degree of paralysis that leads to these skeletal deformities in utero remains unclear. Several muscle genes are known to cause DA1, including MYLPF (myosin light chain phosphorylatable), which encodes a myosin light chain protein that binds close to the force-generating head of myosin heavy chains. The zebrafish mylpfa^-/- mutant displays a phenotype consistent with DA1, including impaired myosin activity, reduced muscle force overall, and complete fin paralysis. I …

Effects Of Large Wood Additions On Basal Resources, Macroinvertebrates, And Ecosystem Processes In The Narraguagus River, Maine, Val Watson

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Ecological restoration is an increasingly common practice across ecosystems, and current practices aim to restore the biological and physical processes underlying ecosystem function, often for the sake of endangered higher-level consumers. Studies of restoration outcomes often report few or inconsistent ecological changes, and monitoring of restoration projects rarely measures ecological processes. Monitoring also usually measures outcomes at a single scale, despite the prevalence of scale- dependent phenomena across ecosystems. My thesis uses measurements of ecological processes to assess restoration response and evaluates responses across multiple scales. I focus here on a long-term large wood addition project on the Narraguagus River …

The Influence Of Framing And Recent Experience On Farmer Choices In Experimental Games Depicting Risk-Reducing Agricultural Technologies, Ana Maria Ospina Tobar

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Climate change is a major threat to food security, particularly in low and middle-income countries that are highly dependent on staple crops for subsistence. The vulnerability of staple crops, like maize, in the face of climate change, is increasing due to the increasing frequency of droughts. This thesis aims to evaluate two mechanisms through which farmers may be more willing to adopt new technologies that increase their resilience to climate change: First, I evaluate the effectiveness of a new virtual maize farming game as a learning tool to teach farmers about the outcomes they could obtain under different weather events …

Genetic Effects Of Anthropogenic Disturbance On Native Charrs, Brad Erdman

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Artificial propagation has been utilized for over a century to offset anthropogenic declines of abundance for many fishes. Complex and poorly documented histories of habitat degradation and stockings have resulted in considerable uncertainty regarding whether contemporary populations are of native, hatchery, or mixed origins. This uncertainty is problematic as it precludes prioritizing the conservation of native populations that are postulated to possess local adaptations and greater evolutionary potential. Population genetics can assess the relative reproductive contributions of previous stocking events and in this dissertation I apply these methods to four empirical studies of native charr (genus Salvelinus) that have …

Endothelial Interleukin-17 Receptor D (Il17rd) Promotes Western Diet-Induced Aortic Myeloid Cell Infiltration, Shivangi Pande

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The Interleukin-17 (IL17) family is a group of cytokines implicated in the etiology of several inflammatory diseases. Interleukin-17 receptor D (IL17RD), also known as Sef (similar expression to fibroblast growth factor), belonging to the family of IL17 receptors, has been shown to modulate IL17A-associated inflammatory phenotypes. The objective of this study was to test the hypothesis that IL17RD promotes endothelial cell activation and consequent monocyte adhesion. We utilized primary human aortic endothelial cells and demonstrated that RNAi targeting of IL17RD suppressed transcript levels by 83% compared to non-targeted controls. Further, RNAi knockdown of IL17RD decreased the adhesion of THP-1 cells …

Effects Of Wilting Extent On The Phytoestrogen Levels, Nutritional Value, Microbial Populations, And In Vitro Ruminal Methane Emissions Of Red Clover Hay And Silage Across Stages, Diego Zamudio Ayala

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The main objective of this thesis is to improve the understanding and awareness of methodologies to decrease phytoestrogens in conserved legumes without sacrificing forage nutritive value. In chapter 1, we discussed the main factors influencing each stage of hay production and our current understanding of the hay microbiome dynamics. The primary objective of haymaking is to dry forage enough (80-85% DM) to inhibit the growth of undesirable microbes and halt residual plant enzymatic activity that causes nutrient losses. During the field and storage phases of haymaking, the environment, management practices, and other factors influence the extent of DM losses. This …

Integrating Environmental Dna, Traditional Fisheries Techniques, And Species Distribution Modeling To Assess Bridle Shiner Status In Maine, Lara S. Katz

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The bridle shiner (Notropis bifrenatus) is a small minnow species native to the eastern United States and southeastern Canada. The species is declining dramatically throughout most of its native range and has legal protection or concern status in thirteen states and two Canadian provinces. In Maine, the bridle shiner is listed as a Species of Special Concern and considered a Species of Greatest Conservation Need, partially because we lack a basic understanding of their status and distribution within the state. Bridle shiners have historically been found in southern and western Maine in densely vegetated, shallow habitats along the …

Chef Sensory Perspectives And Consumer Acceptance Of Fermented Green Crab Sauce, Bryson J. Mcdonough

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The European green crab (Carcinus maenas) is an invasive species responsible for immense ecological and economic damage along the Northeastern coast of the United States. Despite multiple population control methods explored, intensive indiscriminate trapping has been the only effective approach However, this type of trapping is currently not financially viable because of the low price and demand for hard-shell green crabs due to their small size and difficult-to-extract crabmeat.

To address this issue, researchers have investigated green crab sauce, a fermented condiment inspired by fish sauce. This umami-enhancing condiment has the potential to raise hard-shell green crab value …

Predicting Marine Teleost Responses To Ocean Warming And Pollution, Akila Harishchandra

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Ocean warming and pollution are two detrimental anthropogenic factors causing rapid marine ecosystem degradation recorded in the past decades. These factors alter the marine environment intolerable for many marine species, forcing them to either adapt or shift their contemporary habitat ranges to reduce the extinction risk embedded with environmental degradation. Estimating marine species’ habitat range shifts, and their potential for developing adaptive mechanisms are critical for ecosystem conservation and management, human health risk assessment, and climate change vulnerability assessments. Given that, for the first chapter of this thesis, we focused on developing a species distribution model (SDM) integrating marine species …

A Quantitative Visualization Tool For The Assessment Of Mammographic Risky Dense Tissue Types, Margaret R. Mccarthy

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Breast cancer is the second most occurring cancer type and is ranked fifth in terms of mortality. X-ray mammography is the most common methodology of breast imaging and can show radiographic signs of cancer, such as masses and calcifcations. From these mammograms, radiologists can also assess breast density, which is a known cancer risk factor. However, since not all dense tissue is cancer-prone, we hypothesize that dense tissue can be segregated into healthy vs. risky subtypes. We propose that risky dense tissue is associated with tissue microenvironment disorganization, which can be quantified via a computational characterization of the whole breast …

Climate Interactions Drive Tree Physiology And Growth In A Northeastern Forest Ecotone, Alexandra M. Barry

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Climate change is a threat to global forest ecosystems. In the northeastern United States, forest trees are facing rising temperatures and increasingly inconsistent moisture regimes. In addition to long-term changes in climate conditions, there is concern about the potential for more frequent and intense climate extremes, which can have severe and rapid negative effects on tree physiology and growth. Further, climate extremes may co-occur to produce a greater magnitude of effect than the sum of their parts, with a prominent example being hot droughts, which are increasing in occurrence and severity. The impact of these and other extreme climate interactions …

Do Talus Slopes Provide Hibernacula Resources For Bats In Maine? Site Charecteristics Associated With Winter Occupancy And Sampling Design, Christopher C. Heilakka

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

In Maine, the decline of cave dwelling bats has been caused by the fungal disease commonly known as white-nose syndrome discovered in 2006. Northern long-eared bats (Myotis septentrionalis), little brown (Myotis lucifigus) andeastern tricolored bats (Perimyotis subflavus) have experienced 95% or greater population declines, and eastern small-footed (Myotis leibii) and big brown bats (Eptesicus fuscus) have also declined. In Maine, talus slopes, or piles of sloped rocks found at the base of cliffs, are widely distributed and past research has suggested talus as a potentially important, but previously unrecognized, class …

Long-Term Influence Of Commercial Thinning On Spruce-Fir Forests, Bishnu H. Wagle Mr.

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This study investigates long-term influences of pre-commercial thinning (PCT) and commercial thinning (CT) treatments in spruce-fir forests, a key forest type in northeastern North America. Utilizing repeated measurements from replicated experimental research sites (n=15) in Maine, both stand- and tree-level responses to contrasting CT with and without prior PCT (NoPCT) have been quantified. In addition, an in-depth economic analysis, exploring the impact of different thinning treatments, associated costs, merchantability specifications, varying timber and carbon prices, and discount rates, on net present value (NPV) has been carried out using both measured and projected data. Thinning treatments at nine PCT sites combined …

Cellulose Nanocrystals/Polydimethylsiloxane Composite Membranes For Air Dehydration With The Aim Of Energy-Use Reduction In Wood Kiln Drying, Nasim Alikhani

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation project addressed the manufacture and evaluation of a small polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) hollow fiber membrane system in the kiln drying of lumber in an attempt to explore air dehydration and reduced energy usage. Temperature and vacuum pressure exert the most pronounced influence on membrane efficiency. Under optimal conditions, the PDMS membrane module demonstrates a remarkable 66% efficiency in removing water vapor from a moist air stream. Based on the parameters of the lab system and its operational performance, a finite element model was developed to simulate its scaleup for a lab-scale lumber drying kiln to remove moisture from the …

A Small Molecule Screen On Zebrafish Embryos Identifies Pathways Vital To Hypaxial Muscle Precursor Migration, Teresa Easterbrooks

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Hypaxial muscles form through long-range migration of muscle precursor cells (MMPs) from the somites. In zebrafish, the MMPs migrate in three compact streams to generate four muscles - the sternohyoideus muscle, homologous to mammalian neck and tongue; the posterior hypaxial muscle; and the two pectoral fin muscles, homologous to mammalian limbs. Several factors, such as Six1/4, are known to promote this migration; however, many aspects of guidance, pathing, and modulation of these streams are still unknown. To fill this gap, we conducted a small-molecule screen. This pharmacological approach allows us to identify molecules that cause pronounced changes in the normal …

Exploring The Impact Of Pqn-75 And Glh-1/Vasa On Germline Development, Maintenance, And Gsc Reprogramming Using Caenorhabditis Elegans As A Model, Jesse D. Rochester

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This thesis combines research on PQN-75 expression, functional motifs of GLH-1/Vasa, and germ granule components in Caenorhabditis elegans to provide a comprehensive understanding of germline development, maintenance, and reprogramming, while also examining the role of pharyngeal gland cells in stress resistance and thermotolerance. In C. elegans, pharyngeal gland cells secrete mucin-like proteins, such as PQN-75, with similarities to human PRB2. The expression of PQN-75 in gland cells confers stress resistance and thermotolerance but does not affect fertility, instead it plays a role in the organism's ability to adapt to varying environmental conditions. While, GLH-1/Vasa, an ATP-dependent DEAD-box helicase, plays …

The Relationship Between Intuitive Eating And Body Mass Index And Diet Quality In College Students, Ashley A. Reynolds

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Objective

The objective of this research was to explore the influence of intuitive eating (IE) on body mass index (BMI) and diet quality (DQ) among college students.

Methods

A cross-sectional convenience sample of college students completed an online survey consisting of the short-Healthy Eating Index (SHEI) and the Intuitive Eating Scale-2 (23 items). Body mass index was calculated using self-reported height and weight. Descriptive statistics were used to assess group characteristics. A linear regression was used to test if IE scores significantly predicted BMI. An independent t-test was used to compare BMIs of students with IE scores above and below …

The Role Food Security, Financial Literacy, And Nutrition Literacy Play On The Diet Quality Of College Students, Amelia Sullivan

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This research aimed to explore the roles of food security status (FSS), financial literacy (FL), and nutrition literacy (NL) on the diet quality (DQ) of college students at the University of Maine. This research additionally sought to understand mediational relationships among these factors that could impact DQ.

A cross-sectional convenience sample of college students completed an online questionnaire assessing sociodemographic factors, short healthy eating index (sHEI)-score, FSS, FL, and NL. Participants' continuous data were analyzed using a Pearson correlation. Differences between interactive NL and sHEI-score while controlling for gender and meal plan differences were analyzed using a MANCOVA. Additionally, differences …

Save Maine Lobstermen Website, June 2023, Maine Lobstermen's Association, Sutherland Weston

History of Maine Fisheries

Screen capture of the #SaveMaineLobstermen website created on June 2, 2023. The screen capture includes the web pages: "The Issue," "The Solution," "Join the Fight," "In Court," "Shop to Support," and "Contact." The website was created in reaction to the 2021 call by the National Marine Fisheries Services (NMFS) "ten-year whale plan that requires the Maine lobster fishery to reduce its already minimal risk to right whales by 98 percent."

This document includes all material available through the website on June 2, 2023, regarding the September 2021 lawsuit filed by the Maine Lobstermen's Association (MLA) challenging the 10-year whale plan. …

Conceptualization And Perceptions Of Student Preparedness In Quantitative Reasoning Among Introductory Biology Faculty, Ann Cleveland

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Quantitative reasoning (QR) is a crucial competency as undergraduate biology students complete their academic program and enter a workforce increasingly reliant on analyses of vast and complex data sets. The need to prepare biology majors for the 21^st century workforce was cited in Vision and Change: a Call to Action (American Association for the Advancement of Science [AAAS], 2011). The Vision and Change document also advocated for curriculum reform to incorporate QR instruction in undergraduate biology programs. Biology education researchers answered this call with a wealth of research examining undergraduate QR competencies, barriers and challenges to QR learning in …

Optimizing Strategies To Hydraulically Plant Atlantic Salmon Eggs Based On Fry Dispersal Patterns, Ernest J. Atkinson

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The Gulf of Maine Distinct Population Segment of Atlantic Salmon has suffered from habitat loss and exploitation over the last century. Hatchery supplementation has prevented the extirpation of the species, but stocking methods represent tradeoffs between survival, domestication, and logistics. Egg planting, the use of eyed embryos, maximizes natural rearing opportunities which can be important for adaptation. This method, however, is logistically demanding and requires significant labor over large spatial, but short temporal, scales dictated by the ontogeny of the fish. However, the survival and dispersal behavior of Atlantic Salmon fry immediately after emergence from eggs planted in artificial nests …

Climate Change And An Evolving Fishery: Do Declining Maternal Size And Planktonic Foods Affect Lobster Larval Survival In The Gulf Of Maine?, Alexander J. Ascher

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Many marine organisms exhibit bipartite life-cycles whereby reproductive adults dwell on the benthos while the larvae are pelagic. The pelagic stage is subject to mortality rates which far exceed those experienced by the organism during its benthic existence. The larval phase therefore represents an important bottleneck to larval recruitment. Small changes to survivorship in the plankton can have large consequences for subsequent year-class strength. Understanding the factors influencing successful larval recruitment is an important step towards predicting future stock abundances and maintaining healthy fisheries. The American lobster (Homarus americanus) is a large benthic crustacean which is economically and culturally important …

Biophysical Factors Impacting Sea Lice Settlement And Survival, Eleanor R. Glahn

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar L.) aquaculture production in Maine is a valuable contributor to the economy, the expansion of which has been challenged by the parasitic salmon louse Lepeophtheirus salmonis. As planktonic organisms, the life of the salmon louse is primarily dictated by the physical conditions of the environment: the temperature for development time, salinity for survival, and current velocity for transport. Salmon lice are obligate parasites for whom the successful infection of a suitable host is critical to completion of their life cycle. However, little is understood about the effects of current velocity on infection success. Hydrodynamic …

Browntail Moth (Euproctis Chrysorrhoea) Integrated Pest Management Program: Evaluation Of Monitoring Traps And Biopesticides, Sadia Crosby

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Browntail Moth (BTM; Euproctis chrysorrhoea) is a non-native species currently outbreaking in Maine. BTM are polyphagous folivores and feed on a variety of woody plant species, including many economically and ecologically important ornamental and forest trees such as oaks and apples. Human health is also a concern as BTM larvae produce urticating hairs that can cause severe dermatitis in people. New monitoring and management programs are urgently needed, with the current population densities reaching a 100-year high.

The Maine Forest Service monitors BTM populations by visually assessing winter nest densities and defoliation patterns, both time and labor intensive. This …

Ontogeny Of Size-Specific Prey Selection And Handling Behavior Of Larval Lobster (Homarus Americanus), Evelyn M. Layland

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The American lobster (Homarus americanus) plays an integral role in the coastal Northwest Atlantic as a benthic consumer and the target of the most valuable single-species fishery in North America. In the past decade, benthic recruitment of juvenile lobster has declined, even as egg production has increased, suggesting heightening levels of larval mortality. Recent correlative studies in the Gulf of Maine further suggest early stage larval survival may be related to the supply and composition of planktonic foods. Despite these correlative studies and the economic importance of the species, relatively little is yet known about how larval lobster …

Rab27a As A Regulator Of Thoracic Aorta Reactivity And Exosome Signaling, Ashley Soucy

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is a leading cause of mortality globally. Metabolic diseases, such as obesity, are major risk factors for CVD development. Obesity changes adipose tissue physiology, thereby contributing to the establishment and progression of CVD. The perivascular adipose tissue (PVAT) is a unique depot that surrounds the vasculature. During obesity, PVAT secretes factors that induce vascular inflammation and contraction. Recent work has indicated a role for adipose-derived exosomes in regulating disease pathology. However, very little is known about the importance of PVAT-derived exosomes in modulating vascular health. Therefore, to study the importance of communication within the vascular microenvironment, Rab27a …

Post-Harvest Treatment Effects On Physicochemical Quality Attributes Of North Atlantic Squid Doryteuthis Pealeii And Illex Illecebrosus, Caitlin M. Hillery

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Doryteuthis pealeii (longfin inshore squid) and Illex illecebrosus (Northern shortfin squid) are the two most commercially important species of squid harvested in the United States. They are also the only two species of squid in the world certified sustainable by the Marine Stewardship Council. Despite their pivotal role in the U.S. seafood industry, very little research has been performed on their quality in decades. Two common methods of freezing and secondary processing applied to squid in the U.S. industry are blast-freezing either at sea or on land; and leaving the squid whole, or fully cleaning and then brining them. To …

Investigating The Impact Of Prophages On Bacterial Fitness Of Streptococcus Agalactiae, Caitlin Wiafe-Kwakye

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Streptococcus agalactiae (Group B Streptococcus or GBS) is a common bacterium found in pregnant women that can cause severe infections in neonates. Although detecting maternal colonization and administering antibiotics during labor can prevent early-onset GBS disease in neonates, antibiotics negatively affect newborns' microbiota, leading to complications like gastrointestinal disorders and immune system dysregulation. Therefore, alternative therapeutic measures are necessary to improve maternal and neonatal outcomes. Understanding GBS disease pathology and developing effective preventive measures and treatments is essential. GBS evolves from a commensal bacterium to an invasive disease-causing pathogen using various mechanisms, such as adapting to the host immune response, …