Life Sciences Commons^™

Comstock Point, Lubec, Maine - A Natural And Photographic History, Willaim H. Schlesinger, Lisa M. Dellwo

Documents from Environmental Organizations

A natural and photographic history of our lands compiled by Lisa Dellwo and Bill Schlesinger, with the help of many friends and neighbors.

Citizen And Community Science Approaches To Understanding Changes In Coastal Habitats Using Anecdata.Org, Alexis Garretson, Cait Bailey, Ashley Taylor, Alexis Dabulewicz, Beth Bisson, Nathan Dorn, K. Kaczor, Mary Ann Nahf, Hannah Webber, Mark Whiting, Jane Disney

Maine Policy Review

Coastal ecosystems are facing increasing threats from human activities and environmental changes. Climate change, in particular, presents challenges for policymaking as it is causing significant changes to the oceans and coastlines, with social, economic, and environmental impacts on coastal communities. However, there is often a lack of data at the appropriate scales to address these concerns. Online tools that support the collection of citizen science and community science data can provide stakeholders and policymakers with a wealth of information and data on ocean-related topics, such as water quality, marine biodiversity, and ocean health. Citizen science platforms, like Anecdata.org, can facilitate …

Behavioral Interactions Between Spotted-Wing Drosophila (Drosophila Suzukii) And It's Parasitoid The Samba Wasp (Ganaspis Brasiliensis), Dominic Crowley

Honors College

Past research has found that female Drosophila generally decrease their reproductive output in response to exposure to predators, including parasitoid wasps. However, no studies on behavioral changes induced by the endoparasitic wasp Ganaspis brasiliensis have been documented in the literature. G. brasiliensis has been identified as a biocontrol agent candidate against D. suzukii, with field trials currently underway across the contiguous United States. In this thesis, two experiments were performed: a behavioral observation assay measuring reproductive behaviors and an oviposition assay, a measure of reproductive activity. Female D. suzukii exposed to G. brasiliensis were observed to have depressed oviposition, producing …

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 …

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 …

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 …

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 …

Comparative Energetics Of Mammalian Thermoregulatory Physiology, Ana M. Breit

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Endothermy allows species to decouple body temperature from environmental
temperatures but does not equate to endothermic species maintaining those constant temperatures. Instead, heterothermy fluctuating body temperatures, both in and outside of torpor is common and allows endotherms to expand the limits of thermoneutrality. Thermolability is likely to be more common in the tropics and subtropics, where species live within or above their thermoneutral zone. My dissertation research focused on the heterothermic-homeothermic continuum, specifically quantifying where on the continuum different species fall at certain times and why those species have evolved to be at those points. I quantified the thermal profile …

The Tricarboxylic Acid Cycle As A Central Regulator Of The Rate Of Aging: Implications For Metabolic Interventions, Jonathan M. Borkum

Psychology Faculty Scholarship

Certain metabolic interventions such as caloric restriction, fasting, exercise, and a ketogenic diet extend lifespan and/or health span. However, their benefits are limited and their connections to the underlying mechanisms of aging are not fully clear. Here, these connections are explored in terms of the tricarboxylic acid (TCA) cycle (Krebs cycle, citric acid cycle) to suggest reasons for the loss of effectiveness and ways of overcoming it. Specifically, the metabolic interventions deplete acetate and likely reduce the conversion of oxaloacetate to aspartate, thereby inhibiting the mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) and upregulating autophagy. Synthesis of glutathione may provide a high-capacity …

A Study Of The Current State Of Providing Fruits And Vegetables In Maine's Middle Schools, Renee Pickard

Honors College

In this research study, I analyzed the nutrition of school lunches in Maine’s public and private middle schools. Proper nutrition is a vital component for not only the physical development but the intellectual and academic performance of children, particularly those entering the early stages of puberty. More specifically, nutrients, such as vitamin C, potassium, and folic acid, provided in fruits and vegetables increase immunity, manage blood pressure, and support cell growth and function (Brown, 2017). I conducted this research to determine if Maine’s schools are currently meeting the state and federal guidelines overseen by the United States Department of Agriculture …

An Examination Of The Social And Ecological Risk Factors For Lyme Disease Exposure Amon High School Students In Penobscot County, Maine, Willow Throckmorton-Hansford

Honors College

The intertwining effects of biological and social factors recently have led to a dramatic increase in Lyme disease cases in Maine. These factors include environmental exposure to ticks, a lack of knowledge of prevention measures against ticks, and an increasing population of blacklegged ticks throughout the state. High school students have seldom been used as a group of interest involving Lyme disease prevention research, yet they may be exposed to ticks while engaging in extracurricular activities, outdoor recreation, and in-class lessons that occur outdoors. In addition, social and ecological factors contributing to this issue have never been investigated in tandem …

I Ain't Afraid Of No Crab: Intertidal Gastropod Littorina Littorea Behavioral Response To Predation Risk By Carcinus Maenas, Isabelle Erin Smy

Honors College

Littorina littorea is an intertidal, invasive gastropod species common in the Gulf of Maine. In this paper, I studied the avoidance and risk-reducing behavioral responses of L. littorea to predation risk by invasive crustacean species Carcinus maenas. Avoidance and risk-reducing behavior in this study are defined by the tendency to move towards the edge and out of a simulated tide pool and the tendency to reduce feeding. The goal of this study was to determine whether the exposure to chemical cues of predators resulted in an increase in avoidance behavior, risk-reducing behavior, and a reduction in the time before the …

Lethal And Sublethal Effects Of Beauveria Bassiana On Maine Ticks Across Soil Ph, Alexander Mahar

Honors College

Ticks are obligate parasite arthropods that are becoming increasingly common in northern regions of the United States. Ticks such as the black-legged tick (Ixodes scapularis) and the American dog tick (Dermacentor variabilis) are vectors for pathogens that cause a wide range of diseases, and as these ticks increase their exposure to humans, the diseases they transmit become more prevalent. This upward trend in cases of tick-borne illnesses has necessitated the pursuit of tick control methods that can be used across the diverse environments that are present in tick habitat ranges. One such control method is the fungal biological control, Beauveria …

Comprehensive Overview Of Causative Agents Of Alzheimer's Disease: Tau Protein And Amyloid Betas With Their Biochemical Pathways And Proposed Treatments Including Cost Analysis, Ethan Johnson

Honors College

Alzheimer’s is a neurodegenerative disease found within the brain, interfering with neuron function, eventually leading to widespread atrophy. The disease effects millions of Americans with neurofibrillary tangles and amyloid beta plaques, both protein deposits with unclear causes. The goal for this thesis was not only to understand how these proteins form but how to safely interfere with their production. This was completed by a comprehensive overview of the form of the buildups and their precursors, tau proteins and amyloid beta precursor protein, respectively. An emphasis was put on the molecular biology and genetic causes of the amyloids rather than the …

Genetic Characterization Of Centromere-Mediated Uniparental Genome Elimination In Arabidopsis, Diana Spencer

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The production of haploids through crossing was first discovered from instances of interspecies crosses in Nicotiana spp. in 1924. Since then, haploid induction crosses has been used to improve plant breeding programs and commercially utilized in a number of crop industries. The generation of doubled haploid instantaneously creates a pure homozygous line, therefore eliminating the need for several generations of inbreeding. There are several pathways to induce haploids in plants: of these methods, centromere-mediated genome elimination pathway engenders the highest haploid induction rate (HIR) with up to 45% in Arabidopsis compared to 15% through phospholipase-mediated haploid induction in maize. Centromere-mediated …

Quantifying Spatial Heterogeneity Of Wild Blueberries And Crop Water Stress Monitoring Using Remote Sensing Technologies, Kallol Barai

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The wild blueberry is one of the major crops of Maine, with significant economic value and potential health benefits. Due to global climate change, drought impacts have been increasing significantly in recent years in the northeast region of the USA, causing significant economic losses in the agricultural sectors. It has been predicted to increase further in the future. Changing patterns of the elevated atmospheric temperatures, increased rainfall variabilities, and more frequent drought events have made the wild blueberry industry of Maine vulnerable, suggesting the adoption of novel approaches to mitigate the negative impacts of global climate changes. Also, wild blueberry …

Human Cryptosporidiosis: A Review And Staining Method, Amatullah Ahmad

Honors College

Cryptosporidiosis is increasingly emerging as the most significant cause of infectious diarrhea in humans and livestock. In humans, studies show that Cryptosporidiosis disease is more prevalent in the immunocompromised and young ones. However, outbreaks from contaminated water sources have caused disease in healthy adults, too. Two main species of the protozoan causative agent,Cryptosporidium parvum and Cryptosporidium hominis are responsible for most human infections. Cattle, pets, mice, and other livestock can transmit theCryptosporidiumparvumvariantsto humans through fecal transmission. Other species of Cryptosporidium can infect domestic animals, but their host range is narrow; therefore, they are not of significant concern to human health. …

Age, Growth, Foraging, And Trophic Ecology Of Bigeye (Thunnus Obesus) And Yellowfin (Thunnus Albacares) Tuna In Continental Shelf And Slope Regions Of The Northeast U.S., Riley S. Austin

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Traditional stock assessments require, in part, accurate knowledge of growth relationships to estimate a variety of aspects involved in population conservation management of exploited species. In addition, the local distribution and condition of top pelagic predators is driven by detection of abundant forage aggregations and along with traditional stock assessments, should be considered for effective management of marine populations. Empirical analyses of these data are severely lacking for bigeye (Thunnus obesus) and yellowfin (Thunnus albacares) tuna in the Atlantic Ocean, especially for the former. Given historical studies’ observations of these two top predators use as biological samplers due to their …

The Role Of Foxd1 In Clear Cell Renal Cell Carcinoma, Kyle H. Bond

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Renal cell carcinoma (RCC) is the 8^th most common cancer in the United States, with the clear cell variant (ccRCC) being the most prevalent. Over 14,000 people die every year to RCC, with rates continuing to increase with an aging general population. Patients suffering from metastatic RCC (mRCC) have extremely poor prognoses, with a 5-year survival of only 11.2%. Current treatment options include resection of primary lesions, tyrosine kinase inhibition (Sunitinib, Pazopanib), mTOR inhibition (Temsirolimus, Everolimus), and immune checkpoint inhibition (Nivolumab, Atezolizumab). Recent attention has been drawn to inhibition of transcription factors like HIF2α (Belzutifan). There is a need …

Leveraging The Transparent Zebrafish To Test For Conserved Gene Function Between Mammals And Fish, Lena Stasiak

Honors College

Throughout the United States and Europe, Candida albicans remains the most clinically significant fungus. While fungi account for thousands of deaths annually, the most clinically significant bloodstream infection in ICU patients, causing as high as 50% mortality, is disseminated candidemia. This systemic infection occurs when the normally commensal and harmless fungi, Candida albicans, becomes pathogenic in immunocompromised individuals. Many factors of the immune system can be paralleled between humans and zebrafish, which can be a useful model host to understand the cellular immune responses to infection. One particular gene known as myeloid differentiation factor 88 (myd88) has been previously found …

Variations In Plumage Wear In Three Closely Related Tidal Marsh Sparrow Species, Maeve Studholme

Honors College

Tidal marsh sparrow species like Saltmarsh Sparrows (Ammospiza caudacuta), Nelson’s Sparrows (Ammospiza nelsoni) and Seaside Sparrows (Ammospiza maritima) are particularly vulnerable to the environmental stressors related to climate change and human activity like sea-level rise, warming temperatures, and increased coastal development, as they nest in the grasses of tidal marsh ecosystems where the principal mode of nest mortality is flooding. With increased sea-level rise, these species may not be equipped to adapt to changing tidal cycles, and thus have reduced fitness and population sizes. Saltmarsh Sparrows are experiencing sharp declines in population, so it is more vital than ever to …

Optical Illusions To Schizophrenic Delusions: How Your Brain Can Alter Reality, Kathryn Stanislaski

Honors College

Widely misunderstood, stigmatized and understudied, schizophrenia is often misdiagnosed and incorrectly treated. While people diagnosed with schizophrenia are often thought to misinterpret reality, they may be more adept at processing visual sensory information and perceive reality better than those without schizophrenia. Studies involving patients with schizophrenia have shown consistent and extensive insusceptibility of these patients to a variety of optical illusions. In this paper, I propose that when processing visual information, people with schizophrenia rely greater upon the dorsal stream and areas in the brain associated with bottom-up processing, as opposed to those without schizophrenia that utilize the ventral stream …

Influence Of The Covid-19 Pandemic On Amphibian Road Mortality, Gregory Leclair, Matthew H. Chatfield, Zachary Wood, Jeffrey Parmelee, Cheryle A. Frederick

Teaching, Learning & Research Documents

The COVID-19 pandemic and its related human activity shutdowns provide unique opportunities for biodiversity monitoring through what has been termed the “anthropause” or the “great human confinement experiment.” The pandemic caused immense disruption to human activity in the northeastern United States in the spring of 2020, with notable reductions in traffic levels. These shutdowns coincided with the seasonal migration of adult amphibians, which are typically subject to intense vehicle-impact mortality. Using data collected as part of an annual community science monitoring program in Maine from 2018 to 2021, we examined how amphibian mortality probabilities responded to reductions in traffic during …

Illuminating Corneal Nerve Injury: Analysis Of Neuronal Phenotypes Following Acute And Chronic Corneal Nerve Injury, Cara Sullivan

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The cornea is uniquely avascular, transparent, and densely innervated with a highly complex and rapidly adapting sensory system. Combined with the tear film coating its surface, it is the first line of protection for the visual system. Clear vision provides tremendous survival advantage and thus uses long evolved and highly conserved mechanisms within the corneal protective barrier to preserve its function. Corneal nerves have a critical role in maintaining corneal homeostasis, initiating blinking, and tearing circuits to block potentially damaging environmental insults, and for engaging rapid-response regeneration programs. Many of these critical molecular mechanisms have been broadly characterized over the …

Lexicographic Sensitivity Functions For Nonsmooth Models In Mathematical Biology, Matthew D. Ackley

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Systems of ordinary differential equations (ODEs) may be used to model a wide variety of real-world phenomena in biology and engineering. Classical sensitivity theory is well-established and concerns itself with quantifying the responsiveness of such models to changes in parameter values. By performing a sensitivity analysis, a variety of insights can be gained into a model (and hence, the real-world system that it represents); in particular, the information gained can uncover a system's most important aspects, for use in design, control or optimization of the system. However, while the results of such analysis are desirable, the approach that classical theory …

Marine Aquaculture In Maine: Understanding Diverse Perspectives And Interactions At Multiple Scales, Melissa L. Britsch

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Coastal oceans are changing and experiencing increased use. The social and ecological benefits of healthy coastal oceans are well documented and include habitats for marine species, storm protection, and recreational opportunities (MEA, 2005). As the impacts of human activities are recognized, questions about how ocean spaces should be used are becoming more common. These questions are complex and involve many tradeoffs. Understanding the values people hold about uses, and how activities and ecosystems overlap, is critical for weighing tradeoffs and improving future management. I use the northeastern U.S. state of Maine to study human interactions with coastal oceans. Maine is …

Scientific Knowledge Shaping Perceptions Of Bioengineered Food Among Undergraduate Students, Kathleen Tims

Honors College

While commonplace in our grocery stores, GMO-foods have persevered through years of controversy. As the availability of bioengineered(BE) commodities grows and biotechnical industries make strides, studies have shown that the average consumers’ knowledge concerning biotechnology has not. In addition to widely held misconceptions and the general lack of knowledge regarding bioengineered commodities reported by young adults, especially students, the recent United States Department of Agriculture mandate for BE product labeling prompts further research into the consumer perspective on bioengineered products. This research looked to expand upon prior work regarding students’ individual perspective towards topics such as GMOs, knowledge of BE …

Qualities Of Successful Invasions: Examples From The Great American Biotic Interchange, Emily Jackson

Honors College

A good understanding of the past can shed light on the patterns observed and mechanisms at work in the present day.As the climate continues to change in the present, we can look to the past to help determine how organisms might react to large scale habitat shifts. The Great American Biotic Interchange (GABI) is a past biotic interchange that can offer a unique perspective on dispersal.It occurred roughly 3 million years ago (MYA) when the continents of North and South America were first joined by the formation of the Isthmus of Panama. By looking at the body masses and diet …

Covid-19_Umaine News_Biology Lecturer Adapts Teaching To Pandemic With Outdoor Lab Fostering Independent Inquiry, University Of Maine Division Of Marketing And Communications

Division of Marketing & Communications

Screenshot of Maine News release regarding biology lecturer Julia McGuire adapting her teaching to COVID-19 with outdoor lab fostering independent inquiry.

Biophysical And Stable Isotopic Profiles Of The Salmon Louse Lepeophtheirus Salmonis (Krøyer, 1837), Emma Taccardi

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The salmon louse Lepeophtheirus salmonis is a parasitic copepod that infects wild and farmed salmonids throughout the northern hemisphere. L. salmonis represents the largest economic hurdle of the Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar) industry, with an estimated annual cost of nearly $1 billion globally due to production losses and anti-parasitic control measures. Salmon farming in Maine has existed for decades and is a critical economic driver, yet the region is underrepresented in global sea lice research. The aim of this work was to examine parasites in the context of animal trophic transfer and characterize physiological condition by quantifying the …