Life Sciences Commons^™

The Effect Of Thermoradiation On Bacterial Spores In Wet And Dry Systems, Thomas J. David

Biology ETDs

Spores of Bacillus subtilis var. niger and Clostridium sporogenes were exposed to heat and radiation, separately, and in simultaneous combination. The spores were subjected to treatment under two sets of conditions. Wet spores were suspended in water during treatment, while spores in the dry state were treated in air which had a relative humidity of about 30% at room temperature. Treatment with ionizing radiation at room temperature was found to be more effective in the dry than the wet state, in contrast to most theories and some research in that area. Bacillus subtilis var. niger was more resistant to heat …

Life History Consequences Of Natural Selection: Coles Result Revisited', Eric Charnov, William Schaffer

Biology Faculty & Staff Publications

No abstract provided.

Growth Studies On The Shigellae, Margaret Jane Gillespie

Biology ETDs

The growth of 20 strains of Shigella, representing the four species, was evaluated by the inoculation of pure cultures of single strains on Tryptic Soy agar (TSA) and four selective plating media. Colony counts of 18 strains were highest on TSA. While recovery on MacConkey (MAC) and Xylose Lysine Desoxycholate (XLD) agars was intermediate, very low counts occurred on Desoxycholate Citrate (DCA) and Salmonella-Shigella (SS) agars. Six strains plated on MAC and four strains plated on XLD gave colony counts 10% lower than TSA. With DCA and SS 15 and 16 strains, respectively, gave colony counts 50% lower than TSA. …

Temperature And Photoperiod Induction Of Cold-Hardiness In The Scorpion Paruroctonus Aquilonalis., Wayne A. Riddle

Biology ETDs

In order to investigate the nature of cold-hardiness in scorpions, adult Paruroctonus aquilonalis collected in August, 1972 near Albuquerque were exposed to ambient conditions of photoperiod and temperature, or to one of several artificial photoperiod-temperature regimes. Four specific laboratory regimes were established to describe the effect of photoperiod duration and temperature on supercooling point level. Conditions of these regimes were (i) constant photoperiod-constant temperature, (ii) constant photoperiod-decreasing temperature, (iii) decreasing photoperiod-constant temperature and (iv) decreasing photoperiod-decreasing temperature. Experimental conditions were either kept constant, or were decreased in increments from simulated summer conditions (26 C and 13-hr 15-min photoperiod) through the …

Osmoregulatory Adaptations Of The Spiny Softshell Turtle, Trionyx Spiniferus, From Brackish And Fresh Waters, Michael E. Seidel

Biology ETDs

Two geographically separated populations of the Texas spiny softshell turtle, Trionyx spiniferus emoryi, were collected in New Mexico and their osmoregulation and body fluid compositions were studied. One population inhabits fresh water (0.09% saline) and the other inhabits brackish water (0.79% saline). Turtles were maintained in laboratory water analogous to their field environments and then acclimated to tap water or 0.7% saline. Weight changes and urine flow were measured. Blood and urine samples were obtained from turtles in each aqueous environment and analyzed for sodium, potassium, calcium, magnesium, urea, and protein. Osmotic pressure of these samples was also measured.

The …

Intra- And Interspecific Aggression In House Finches And House Sparrows, Ronald L. Kalinoski

Biology ETDs

Aggression in House Finches and House Sparrows was studied at an outdoor feeder in winter and in indoor cages. In the wild, frequencies of encounters conformed to patterns of daily and seasonal feeding activity. House Sparrows of both sexes were dominant to House Finches, especially in cages. House Finches were more aggressive intra- than interspecifically. House Sparrows showed equal proportions of aggression toward finches and each other. House Finches maintained stable peck-right dominance hierarchies. House Sparrows exhibited extreme lability in dominance relationships, with no emergent structure. Interspecific aggression in these species was related to violations of individual distance at common …

The Flora Of Mount Sedgwick And Vicinity, Nancy L. Riffle

Biology ETDs

The purpose of this study was to determine the composition of the flora around Mount Sedgwick in the Zuni Mountains, Valencia County, New Mexico. More than 1100 specimens were collected during the spring and summer of 1968 and 1969. These specimens were identified to species or lower taxa, and a total of 353 species in 61 families were represented. The limitations of altitude, and the presence of permanent moisture largely determined the composition of the flora in the various study areas. Habitats studied included a steep dry canyon, ponderosa pine forest, two springs and meadows, a permanent pond and stream, …

Bacteriological Studies Of The Albuquerque Sewage Treatment Plant Effluents, Francisco Medina

Biology ETDs

In order to evaluate the efficiency of Albuquerque sewage treatment plants no. 1 and no. 2 and to determine the amount of enteric bacterial pollution their effluents contribute to the Rio Grande, at­tempts were made to isolate fecal coliform, fecal streptococcus, and Salmonella species from effluent samples between 1000 hr and 1500 hr over a 12-month period.

Membrane filter techniques were used to isolate and count fecal coliforms and fecal streptococcus, and tetrathionate broth followed by brilliant green agar was used to isolate Salmonella organisms.

Plant no. 1 is a heavy contributor of enteric organisms between 1000 hr and 1500 …

Reproductive Biology Of The Band-Tailed Pigeon (Columba Fasciata), Ralph J. GutiéRrez

Biology ETDs

The reproductive biology of the Band-tailed Pigeon (Columba fasciata) was studied from May through September during 1969-1972 in Colorado and during 1972 in New Mexico. Gonads, body weight, percent body fat, and crop activity from 619 male and female pigeons were used in the analyses of gonadal cycles of wild birds. Photoperiodic responses were studied experimentally during 1972-1973 to help explain the unusual reproductive patterns in this bird. The breeding season extends from May through August and two nesting attempts probably occur during this period. This pigeon normally lays one egg per clutch, but up to eight per cent of …

The Effects Of Drought On The Survival And Physiology Of Sporobolus Airoides (Torr.) Torr. Seedlings Of Varying Ages., John A. Mendenhall

Biology ETDs

The effects of increasing water stress on seedlings of Sporobolus airoides (Torr.) Torr. were investigated in the laboratory under controlled growth conditions. Three groups of seedlings were germinated and grown in soil with soil moisture above field capacity for 15, 20 and 25 days. At this time watering ceased and at the end of drought periods of 5, 10, 15 and 20 days some of the seedlings were examined for total carbohydrate content, respiratory activity, and relative shoot water deficits. Other plants were rewatered after each drought period and 20 days later survival was determined visually. The dry weights of …

Ecology Of The Arroyo Hondo Pueblo Site, Nathan Edmund Kelley

Biology ETDs

This ecological study is one part of a major archaeological investigation which began in the summer, 1970. The excavation of the pueblo ruins (Laboratory of Anthropology Site 12) southeast of Santa Fe, New Mexico, is under the supervision of Dr. Douglas Schwartz, Director of the School of American Research, and is supported primarily by a grant from the National Science Foundation (grant no. GS28001X2). The objective of the study was to determine those present environmental qualities which would support or affect in some manner a primitive agricultural society. The environmental factors examined were geology, physiography, soils, climate, hydrology, and vegetation. …

Behavioral Character Displacement:Evidence Of Food Limitation In Insectivorous Bats, Sandra Lynn Husar

Biology ETDs

An earlier study of the food habits of bats of New Mexico (Black, 1972) indicated that Myotis auriculus and Myotis evotis, while extremely similar in morphology, differ in food preferences in the tested area of sympatry, M. auriculus relying heavily on moths, while M. evotis preys largely upon beetles. The resulting question was: Does this difference persist in areas of allopatry, indicating that each species has evolved as a food specialist, or does each species, in the absence of its close competitor, eat both moths and beetles without a strong preference?

If the latter were true, it would suggest that …