Life Sciences Commons^™

Interrogating Centrosome Protein Dynamics, Centriolar Satellite Regulation Mechanisms, And Autofluorescence Characterization Of Caenorhabditis Elegans Using Förster Resonance Energy Transfer-Fluorescence Lifetime Imaging Microscopy (Fret-Flim) And Fluorescence Microscopy, Elizabeth A. Cameron

WWU Graduate School Collection

Centrosomes are required for human cells to divide and differentiate into the many different embryonic tissues that form throughout development. Mutations that drastically disrupt centrosomes cause embryonic lethality and cancer. More subtle mutations cause congenital birth defects including blindness, olfactory deficits, and limb, heart, and brain malformations. PCNT is an essential human gene that encodes for the centrosome protein Pericentrin. Pericentrin organizes the structure of the centrosome by serving as a scaffold protein. Pericentrin also interacts with other centrosome proteins, which play a role in centrosome-mediated microtubule formation. Additionally, Pericentrin recruits enzymes that are involved in centrosome duplication and maturation, …

Alga Of My Eye, Determining The Ability Of Palmaria Palmata To Bioaccumulate Metals, Cameron Smith

WWU Honors College Senior Projects

Algae, specifically macroalgae, have rapidly sprung into the spotlight as a valuable natural resource to serve many functions in recent years. Individual community members and foragers have found algae useful for home cooking and garden fertilizer; it can also be used commercially in dietary supplements, cosmetics, pharmaceuticals, and animal feed. P. palmata is a red algal species that grows naturally in Northwestern Europe and Iceland and is commercially grown in Japan, Maine, and recently, California and Washington. This study aimed to investigate the ability of Palmaria palmata to bioaccumulate chromium, cadmium, lead, and zinc at eight different concentrations over 48 …

Measuring Mtdna In Drosophila, Lola Demurger

WWU Honors College Senior Projects

Mitochondria have long been studied in relation to aging as they are critical to cell operation, and their dysfunction is linked to several age-related factors, such as shortened lifespan and increased innate immunity. In this study, we use a mitochondrially targeted nuclease called UL12.5 to artificially induce mitochondrial dysfunction by degrading the mitochondrial genome in Drosophila. Degraded mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) has many downstream effects, including mtDNA depletion, mtDNA leakage into the cytoplasm, chronically upregulated innate immune response, and shortened lifespan. We began the process of developing an assay that measured mtDNA depletion as a result of UL12.5-mediated mtDNA degradation in …

Climate Assemblies: Lessons Learned And Results From Around The World And Washington State, Laura Berry, John Cambalik, Ed Chadd, Michael Chang, Derek Hoshiko, Brandon Letsinger

Salish Sea Ecosystem Conference

Citizens’ assemblies are an increasingly widespread form of democratic engagement and solution-finding. Assemblies convened specifically to address the climate crisis have taken place around the world, including in Australia, Great Britain, Belgium, Poland, and France. France’s recent “Convention Citoyenne Pour Le Climat,” focused on reducing carbon emissions, led President Macron to pledge to adopt and fund 146 out of 149 policy recommendations. The Washington Climate Assembly (WA Climate Assembly) was initiated and funded by a group of volunteers, organized as People’s Voice on Climate. The nation’s first citizens’ assembly on this critical issue, the WA Climate Assembly brought together 77 …

Opening Plenary, Scott Redman, Ginny Broadhurst, Cecilia Gobin, Patti Gobin, Christianne Wilhelmson, Dr. Kathryn L. Sobocinski, Dr. Isobel Pearsall

Salish Sea Ecosystem Conference

Welcome from Conference Organizers Scott Redman, Executive Chair Cecilia Gobin, Program Co-Chair Julie Watson, Program Co-Chair Fran Wilshusen, Program Co-Chair Christianne Wilhelmson, Program Co-Chair Ginny Broadhurst, Salish Sea Institute Coast Salish Welcome Cecilia Gobin, Northwest Indian Fisheries Commission Coast Salish Perspectives on the Last 150 years Patti Gobin, Tulalip Tribes Patti Gobin has over 25 years of Community Development experience with the Tulalip Tribes. Presently, she is with the Natural Resource Treaty Rights office working with state, local and federal agencies regarding those issues that impact the life ways of the Tulalip Tribes. In addition to her years of experience, …

Cannabigerol Causes A Cb1 Receptor-Dependent Reduction In Food Consumption And Weight Gain, Jack Jones, Josh Kaplan

WWU Honors College Senior Projects

Slides describing work leading up to a professional scientific poster, created and presented at psych fest depicting my last two years of work in Dr. Kaplan's BNS lab. I included a reflection paper discussing my time at Western.

White Lies Matter: The Evolution, Persistence, And Impact Of Scientific Racism, Kim Keay

WWU Honors College Senior Projects

A dissection of the origins, history, persistence, and impacts of various threads of scientific racism. This paper traces scientific racism from its roots in evolutionary biology through Social Darwinism and eugenics. By exploring the historical connection between scientific racism and white supremacy, this research aims to reveal some of the ways in which contemporary science, racism, and society at large have been shaped by the past. Tracing these threads will follow scientific racism from its origins to the beginnings of Social Darwinism and eugenics, through American cultivation of eugenics and its connections to Nazi Germany, to ongoing eugenicist policies and …

The Effect Of Polyunsaturated Aldehydes On Zebrafish Larvae Heart Rate And Mortality, Soraya Jessa

WWU Honors College Senior Projects

This research provides insight on the effects that polyunsaturated aldehydes (PUAs) have on model species zebrafish heart rate and mortality. Zebrafish were used as an analog for forage fish, which are of both ecological and economic importance. Forage fish often interact with diatoms, some species of which have been known to emit allelopathic chemicals, PUAs. These chemicals can have a deleterious effect on invertebrates that cohabitate with or consume diatoms, but their effects on vertebrates was unknown. In the lab, zebrafish eggs were exposed to three different concentrations of PUAs plus two controls and observed to determine any effects on …

All Creatures Great And Small: The Impact Of The Covid-19 Pandemic On Veterinary Medicine, Amelia Schlemmer

WWU Honors College Senior Projects

The Covid-19 pandemic has presented many changes and challenges to veterinary medicine during the past two years. These challenges have created barriers to veterinary care that both veterinary professionals and pet owners have had to overcome. The goal of this project is to elucidate the impacts of the pandemic on veterinary medicine through the review of journal and research papers and interviews with veterinary professionals who have worked during the pandemic. The main challenges faced by veterinary professionals throughout the pandemic have been practice shutdowns, short staffing, increased caseloads, decreased work efficiency, and increased burnout as veterinarians work under increased …

Breeding Sweet Corn For Vitamin A, Sam Herr, Dan Pollard

WWU Honors College Senior Projects

Improvement of prediction accuracy in genomic selection models is important to increase the genetic gains in plant breeding. Here we will apply multi-kernel genomic selection models to the prediction of carotenoid levels in sweet corn and compare this type of model to others. As multi-kernel genomic selection techniques require some computational expertise, we have created a tutorial that will walk users through the theory and the code to perform genomic selection.

Pursuing Faith In Good Science: A Neuroscience Student's Argument For Including Science In Spirituality, Savannah A. Hastings

WWU Honors College Senior Projects

Everyone can enhance their sense of spirituality by embracing science. This point is argued by referencing the science of emotions, consciousness, and perceptual learning, as well as the correlation between a strong a sense of meaning and physical health. The way that the brain produces our experience of being human is particularly emphasized. We have electrochemical brains that can do good in the world.

The Secret Life Of Diatoms: An Exploration Of The Fascinating World Of Diatoms Through The Art Of Printmaking, Zofia Danielson

WWU Honors College Senior Projects

Diatoms are a type of microscopic primary producer that fall within the group of phytoplankton. They are named for their two halves: two cell walls made of glass (silica). These glass walls have a variety of forms depending upon the species that allow diatoms to adapt to their marine environments. Diatoms also contribute to productive coastal ecosystems, global oxygen production, and nutrient cycles. This project explored the significance of diatoms to marine ecosystems and their beauty in form through relief linocut printmaking in a workshop setting. The final result of this project is a relief printmaking workshop curriculum about diatoms …

Blood Coagulation Factor Ix: Purification, Isolation, Activation, Alex Macneil

WWU Honors College Senior Projects

This paper attempts to provide an optimized strategy for the purification, activation, and isolation of blood coagulation Factor IX mutants. The goal of this work is to enable future biochemical and structural studies of Factor IX to a gain a better understanding of the structural-functional role this protein plays in the blood coagulation cascade. The orchestration and amplification of the blood coagulation cascade requires the binding of Factor VIII (FVIII) to an activated platelet surface, where it serves as a cofactor to a serine protease, Factor IX (FIX). Factor IX circulates the bloodstream as a catalytically silent multidomain protein1. Like …

Predator-Induced Hatching Plasticity Of Northeastern Pacific Coast Nudibranchs, Geoffrey Masato Mayhew

WWU Graduate School Collection

Many organisms have complex life cycles that include ontogenetic niche shifts, or changes to morphology, physiology, diet, predators, and habitat. Natural selection favors individuals that choose the optimal time to undergo ontogenetic niche shifts that avoids unnecessary losses to fitness, and niche shift timing is therefore considered a plastic trait. Hatching is a common niche shift within animals, and modifications to hatch timing can mediate the costs and benefits of hatching sooner or later, depending on varying predation risk, resource availability, or habitat conditions. Predator-induced hatching plasticity in particular is well-documented within amphibians as well as other terrestrial vertebrates and …

Microbial Community Dynamics During Key Life History Transitions In The Deep-Sea Chemosymbiotic Mussel, Gigantidas Childressi, Tessa F. Beaver

WWU Graduate School Collection

Marine invertebrates form specific associations with bacterial communities that are different from their environment, change throughout their development, and shape evolutionary and ecological processes. The bathymodiolin (Mytilidae) mussel Gigantidas childressi lives at deep-sea methane seeps and relies on methanotrophic endosymbionts for its nutrition. Its larval life, however, is spent feeding in the water column. Upon metamorphosis at a suitable seep habitat, methanotrophic bacteria rapidly colonize gill cells and the juvenile mussel switches to symbiont-derived energy. To determine if the microbiome of the G. childressi changes during these transitions, the V3/V4 region of the 16S rRNA gene was sequenced to census …

The Effect Of Targeted Acoustic Startle Technology On The Foraging Success Of Individual Harbor Seals, Kathleen Anne Mckeegan

WWU Graduate School Collection

Rebounding pinniped populations have led to conflicts with fisheries over commercially important prey species. Acoustic deterrent devices (ADDs) are used to aid the recovery of depleted fish stocks by mitigating pinniped predation. However, most ADDs use painful sound signals, which can lead to hearing loss and habituation. Alternatively, a new ADD called Targeted Acoustic Startle Technology (TAST) decreases pinniped predation with no evidence of harm or habituation, but effects on the foraging success of individual pinnipeds is unknown. In the Salish Sea, harbor seal (Phoca vitulina) populations have rebounded since the early 1970’s and are suspected of impeding the recovery …

Geographic Variation Of Desiccation Resistance In Rhagoletis Zephyria (Diptera: Tephritidae) In The Pacific Northwest: An Adaptive Response To Local Bioclimate, Nathan Roueche

WWU Graduate School Collection

Species with broad distributions exist in heterogenous landscapes and therefore must be able to maintain key physiological processes under a variety of abiotic conditions. This can lead to localized variation in phenotypes associated with environmental cues. Atmospheric water loss is a major source of physiological stress for terrestrial insects and one which is predicted to have major implications for biodiversity under future climate scenarios. Understanding which species exhibit adaptive variation can provide crucial insights into how individual species and thus ecological communities have evolved to cope with changing climate conditions as well as inform predictions as to how they may …

Characterization Of Phenotypic Traits Related To Loss-Of-Function And Ectopic Expression Of Bhlh093 And Bhlh061 In Arabidopsis Thaliana, Leila Belhadjali

WWU Graduate School Collection

bHLH093 and bHLH061 are members of sub-group IIIb of basic helix-loop-helix (bHLH) Arabidopsis thaliana transcription factors. Although bHLH proteins are the second largest transcription factor family in Arabidopsis, only a small proportion of them have been functionally characterized. Here, we investigated the phenotypic impact of bHLH061 and bHLH093 ectopic overexpression and loss-of-function to confirm previously published results and provide new insight into their role in development. bHLH093 and bHLH061 are homologs of two stomatal development genes, SCREAM1/ICE1 and SCREAM2 and have been shown to dimerize with two master regulators of stomata development, FAMA and MUTE. While no evidence was found …

A Comparison Of Dietary Intake In Female College Volleyball Players Before And During The Covid-19 Pandemic, Justine Nuckols

WWU Graduate School Collection

Context: There is little evidence on the comparison of dietary intake in female college volleyball players before and during the Covid-19 pandemic. Because of the pressures athletes face to perform, it is important to monitor how athletes respond to adversity. Diet is important to consider when analyzing the overall health of athletes.

Objective: To investigate the effects of a global pandemic on kilocalorie intake and macronutrient consumption in collegiate female volleyball players.

Design: Subjects were invited to provide two diet health questionnaires about dietary intake before and during the pandemic. The questionnaires were the same.

Setting: An internet link to …

Primary Cilia Display A Non-Uniform Response To Intracellular Calcium Release, Hannah R. Fisher

WWU Graduate School Collection

Cilia are microtubule-based organelles that project from the surface of individual cells. When cilia are formed, they are nucleated from centrioles that are known as basal bodies. Microtubules elongating from the basal body give rise to the axoneme of the cilium, which gives cilia their rod-like structure. The axoneme is surrounded by a specialized plasma membrane that is unique, but continuous with the plasma membrane that surrounds the rest of the cell. The ciliary membrane is enriched with ion channels and membrane-bound proteins that are essential for cilia function. Interestingly, the cilium maintains a distinct environment from the rest of …

A State-Of-The-Art Review On The Underlying Mechanisms Of Running Economy, Paul Allen Sage

WWU Graduate School Collection

Running economy is determined by multiple physiological, biomechanical, and neuromuscular variables. Lower extremity stiffness has been identified as a primary factor in the determination of running economy due to its role in the utilization of elastic energy. Recent research exploring fascia has uncovered new insights into the underlying mechanisms driving the storage and utilization of elastic energy during running. New insights coupled with improvements in musculoskeletal modeling techniques and in instrumentation, allowing for accurate non-invasive quantification of passive stiffness, has opened the door for further exploration of running economy. The intention of this state-of-the-art review is to summarize the established …

Foraging Ecology Of Sexually-Dimorphic Marine Generalist Predators: Describing Stellar Sea Lion Diet Along The Northern Washington Coast, Zöe Kathryn Lewis

WWU Graduate School Collection

Understanding generalist predator impact on prey populations requires an understanding of predator diet composition, foraging ecology and specialization, all of which may vary over spatial and temporal scales. Steller sea lions (Eumetopias jubatus) are large, sexually dimorphic, generalist predators that may have different roles in the ecosystem based on sex. However, the variation between individuals within a population, or intrapopulation feeding diversity of Steller sea lions has not been examined. In this study, I describe the diet of Steller sea lions along the northern coast of Washington between December 2020-August 2021 using DNA metabarcoding, hard parts analysis, and qPCR sex …

Promoting Pinto Abalone (Haliotis Kamtschatkana) Recovery In The Salish Sea: The Effects Of Fluctuating Temperature And Elevated Co2 On Survival, Growth, And Radula Morphology, Elizabeth Janie Diehl

WWU Graduate School Collection

Overharvesting of pinto abalone (Haliotis kamtschatkana) in the Salish Sea between 1959 and 1994 caused severe population declines. This led to the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife classifying pinto abalone as a “species of concern.” The Puget Sound Restoration Fund (PSRF) is committed to help pinto abalone recover by outplanting juveniles at specific sites around the Salish Sea. Survival of outplanted individuals is different at each site, but it is not clear why. Differences in water chemistry parameters, such as temperature and pH, could explain the differences in survival, either through differences in the mean conditions or through short …

The Heritability Of Mandible Length In The Zebrafish (Danio Rerio), Danielle K. Ringo

WWU Graduate School Collection

Jaw shape often plays a significant role in determining feeding niche. Changes to jaw development can alter feeding mechanics and affect an organism’s ability to acquire and/or process food. Derived patterns of jaw morphogenesis are therefore frequently associated with evolutionary shifts in trophic ecology. Changes in thyroid hormone signaling can have strong developmental effects on many aspects of vertebrate anatomy including the shape of the lower jaws. Zebrafish mutants (opallus^b1071) are hyperthyroid and typically undergo excessive mandible elongation. However, hyperthyroid opallus do not always develop elongated lower jaws. This mutant line was maintained at separate universities for …

The Evil Genius Of The Brassica Genus: An Investigation Of The Chemical Cross-Talk Between Aspergillus Nidulans And Non-Host Seeds, Emma Smith

WWU Honors College Senior Projects

Aspergillus is a widespread saprophytic fungus that contaminates important grain and seed crops postharvest. Many different plants within the Brassicaceae family, and within the Brassica genus more specifically, are known to produce a variety of antimicrobial volatile defense chemicals. Three Brassica plants- Arabidopsis thaliana, Novantina (cultivar of Brassica rapa), and Tatsoi (cultivar of Brassica rapa)- were incubated with Aspergillus nidulans spores in an experimental test chamber. The test chambers were created by fitting together two GMM agar plates and sealing them with microporous surgical tape, so headspace gases were shared between the plates but gaseous exchange with the ambient environment …

Cupid’S Arrow: A Tale Of A Complex And Dynamic Protein, Nadine Tietz

WWU Honors College Senior Projects

My capstone project sought to investigate the degree to which ARO4 gene expression is influenced by local vs distant genetic variants. This involved engineering allele-swap strains of ARO4 tagged with a co-expressing fluorescent protein. I then compared protein expression between each strain's genotype which provided an estimate of the proportion of the overall phenotypic variation that can be explained by genetic variation between the underlying genomes.

From my experiment I was able to conclude that ARO4 protein expression was complex and dynamic as both strain background and allele had genetic influences on ARO4 protein expression. In addition, not only did …

Technical Memo: Incorporating Mixture Toxicity Into Bayesian Networks To Calculate Risk To Pesticides In The Upper San Francisco Estuary., Eric J. Lawrence, Skyler R. Elmstrom, Emma E. Sharpe, Wayne G. Landis

Institute of Environmental Toxicology & Chemistry Publications

This memo presents the methods we have developed to calculate risk of mixtures of pesticides for the Upper San Francisco Estuary (USFE). We used curve fitting to estimate the exposure-response curves for each individual chemical and then the mixture. For the mixture the models were normalized for specific ECx values. In that way the curve fitting was optimized for effects that are similar to most threshold values. A Bayesian network was then built that incorporated four different pesticides and a specific mode of action. The input distributions of the pesticides were measured amounts from each of the six risk regions. …

Snow Algae Of Mt. Watson, Fiona Mcbride

WWU Honors College Senior Projects

The taxonomy and life history of all the organisms that belong to the category of “snow algae” is complicated and contentious. Though scientists publish studies every year investigating these questions, many gaps remain in our collective knowledge. We conducted a study over two years to investigate a newly described genus, Sanguina, in a subglacial habitat system on Mt. Watson. Using size and morphologic data we found yearly occurrences of cysts of both species and can conjecture about their life cycle changes according to microhabitat. Additional work will be done in sequencing and reviewing data before submission for publication.

Submission is …

Large Extrusion Bodies In Piwi Family Protein Knockout Strains In Tetrahymena Thermophila, Jason Sasser

WWU Honors College Senior Projects

The ciliate Tetrahymena thermophila encodes twelve distinct proteins of the PIWI family of small RNA binding proteins. Three of these Tetrahymena PIWI proteins (Twis) have previously been shown to be expressed in vegetative growth and bind predominantly to ~23-24 nucleotide (nt) small RNAs (sRNAs) (Couvillion et al., 2009). One of ~23-24 nt sRNA binding proteins, Twi2, is encoded by DNA sequence that has high sequence similarity to four other predicted Twi genes (Twis 3-6) which are normally not highly expressed. Using fluorescent microscopy imaging techniques, we examined mutant strains TWI8, TWI2-6Δ, TWI7Δ, TWI2-6/8Δ, and TWI7/8Δ for accumulation of large extrusion …

Urban Forestry Management Plan: Canopy And Forest Structure Analysis Summary Report, Diamond Head Consulting

Sehome Hill Arboretum

The City of Bellingham is a community of more than 90,000 residents that stretches over 28 square miles, with an additional 8 square miles of Urban Growth Area (UGA). The City manages an expansive urban forest which includes several thousands of acres of forest and thousands of street trees. Bellingham’s urban forest is a valued asset within the community, as recognized in the City’s Comprehensive Plan vision and its Tree City USA status.

In this context, the City is creating an Urban Forestry Management Plan (UFMP) as a strategic plan to help maintain a healthy and desirable urban forest through …