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Conservación De Aves En México, Una Instantánea De 2015, Raúl Ortiz-Pulido, José L. Alcántara-Carbajal, Horacio De La Cueva, Juan Martínez-Gómez, Patricia Escalante Pliego, Sylvia M. De La Parra-Martínez, Teresa Patricia Feria-Arroyo, Steve Albert Dec 2016

Conservación De Aves En México, Una Instantánea De 2015, Raúl Ortiz-Pulido, José L. Alcántara-Carbajal, Horacio De La Cueva, Juan Martínez-Gómez, Patricia Escalante Pliego, Sylvia M. De La Parra-Martínez, Teresa Patricia Feria-Arroyo, Steve Albert

Biology Faculty Publications and Presentations

Más del 26% de las especies de aves que habitan en México está declinando. Los ornitólogos han propuesto diversas acciones para conservar algunas de ellas; sin embargo, se han hecho pocos esfuerzos por difundirlas. En este escrito, tomando en cuenta las nueve pláticas presentadas en un simposio científico realizado en 2015, resumimos la información sobre los esfuerzos de conservación de aves que se están llevando a cabo en el país. Dividimos los estudios en tres categorías: los que analizan cómo se hace la conservación en México, los que hacen conservación práctica y los que constituyen investigación ecológica básica tendiente a …


Effect Of Exotic Invasive Old World Climbing Fern (Lygodium Microphyllum) On Soil Properties, Pushpa G. Soti, Krish Jayachandran Dec 2016

Effect Of Exotic Invasive Old World Climbing Fern (Lygodium Microphyllum) On Soil Properties, Pushpa G. Soti, Krish Jayachandran

Biology Faculty Publications and Presentations

Old World climbing fern (Lygodium microphyllum) has become one of the most serious ecological threats to the integrity of the greater Everglades ecosystem of south Florida. In this study, we analyzed the effects of Old World climbing fern on surfacesoil characteristics at invaded sites in Florida. We compared soil characteristics of six invaded and adjacent uninvaded plots at three different locations. Our results show that the fern can grow and thrive in a wide range of soil types and the impact on the soil was site specific with effects being more prominent in sites with low nutrient status. Additionally, there …


Subspecific And Breeding Status Of The Common Yellowthroat (Geothlypis Trichas) At Santa Ana National Wildlife Refuge, Hidalgo County, Texas, Timothy Brush, Mark H. Conway Dec 2016

Subspecific And Breeding Status Of The Common Yellowthroat (Geothlypis Trichas) At Santa Ana National Wildlife Refuge, Hidalgo County, Texas, Timothy Brush, Mark H. Conway

Biology Faculty Publications and Presentations

ABSTRACT—We confirmed the breeding of the Common Yellowthroat (Geothlypis trichas) during 2008–2015 at Santa Ana National Wildlife Refuge and presented measurement evidence that individuals belong to the Brownsville Common Yellowthroat, Geothlypis trichas insperata. This expands the known breeding distribution for this rare and local subspecies.

RESUMEN—Se confirm´o la reproducci´on de la mascarita com´un (Geothlypis trichas) durante 2008-2015 en Santa Ana National Wildlife Refuge y se presentaron pruebas de medici ´on que indican que los individuos pertenecen a la subespecie de mascarita com´un, Geothlypis trichas insperata. Esta informaci´on expande la distribuci´on de reproducci´on conocida de esta subespecie rara y local.


Peering Below The Diffraction Limit: Robust And Specific Sorting Of Viruses With Flow Cytometry, Shea T. Lance, David J. Sukovich, Kenneth M. Stedman, Adam R. Abate Dec 2016

Peering Below The Diffraction Limit: Robust And Specific Sorting Of Viruses With Flow Cytometry, Shea T. Lance, David J. Sukovich, Kenneth M. Stedman, Adam R. Abate

Biology Faculty Publications and Presentations

Background: Viruses are incredibly diverse organisms and impact all forms of life on Earth; however, individual virions are challenging to study due to their small size and mass, precluding almost all direct imaging or molecular analysis. Moreover, like microbes, the overwhelming majority of viruses cannot be cultured, impeding isolation, replication, and study of interesting new species. Here, we introduce PCR-activated virus sorting, a method to isolate specific viruses from a heterogeneous population. Specific sorting opens new avenues in the study of uncultivable viruses, including recovering the full genomes of viruses based on genetic fragments in metagenomes, or identifying the …


How To Assess Your Cure: A Practical Guide For Instructors Of Course-Based Undergraduate Research Experiences, Erin Shortlidge, Sara Brownell Dec 2016

How To Assess Your Cure: A Practical Guide For Instructors Of Course-Based Undergraduate Research Experiences, Erin Shortlidge, Sara Brownell

Biology Faculty Publications and Presentations

Integrating research experiences into undergraduate life sciences curricula in the form of course-based undergraduate research experiences (CUREs) can meet national calls for education reform by giving students the chance to “do science.” In this article, we provide a step-by-step practical guide to help instructors assess their CUREs using best practices in assessment. We recommend that instructors first identify their anticipated CURE learning outcomes, then work to identify an assessment instrument that aligns to those learning outcomes and critically evaluate the results from their course assessment. To aid instructors in becoming aware of what instruments have been developed, we have also …


Linking Hydraulic Traits To Tropical Forest Function In A Size-Structured And Trait-Driven Model (Tfs V.1-Hydro), Bradley O. Christoffersen, Manuel Gloor, Sophie Fauset, Nikolaos M. Fyllas, David R. Galbraith, Timothy R. Baker, Bart Kruij, Lucy Rowland, Rosie A. Fisher, Oliver J. Binks Nov 2016

Linking Hydraulic Traits To Tropical Forest Function In A Size-Structured And Trait-Driven Model (Tfs V.1-Hydro), Bradley O. Christoffersen, Manuel Gloor, Sophie Fauset, Nikolaos M. Fyllas, David R. Galbraith, Timothy R. Baker, Bart Kruij, Lucy Rowland, Rosie A. Fisher, Oliver J. Binks

Biology Faculty Publications and Presentations

Forest ecosystem models based on heuristic water stress functions poorly predict tropical forest response to drought partly because they do not capture the diversity of hydraulic traits (including variation in tree size) observed in tropical forests. We developed a continuous porous media approach to modeling plant hydraulics in which all parameters of the constitutive equations are biologically interpretable and measurable plant hydraulic traits (e.g., turgor loss point πtlp, bulk elastic modulus ε, hydraulic capacitance Cft, xylem hydraulic conductivity ks,max, water potential at 50 % loss of conductivity for both xylem (P50,x) and stomata ( …


One Health Interactions Of Chagas Disease Vectors, Canid Hosts, And Human Residents Along The Texas-Mexico Border, Melissa N. Garcia, Sarah O’Day, Susan P. Fisher-Hoch, Rodion Gorchakov, Ramiro Patino, Teresa Patricia Feria-Arroyo, Susan T. Laing, Joe E. Lopez, Alexandra Ingber, Kathryn M. Jones, Kristy O. Murray Nov 2016

One Health Interactions Of Chagas Disease Vectors, Canid Hosts, And Human Residents Along The Texas-Mexico Border, Melissa N. Garcia, Sarah O’Day, Susan P. Fisher-Hoch, Rodion Gorchakov, Ramiro Patino, Teresa Patricia Feria-Arroyo, Susan T. Laing, Joe E. Lopez, Alexandra Ingber, Kathryn M. Jones, Kristy O. Murray

Biology Faculty Publications and Presentations

Background

Chagas disease (Trypanosoma cruzi infection) is the leading cause of non-ischemic dilated cardiomyopathy in Latin America. Texas, particularly the southern region, has compounding factors that could contribute to T. cruzi transmission; however, epidemiologic studies are lacking. The aim of this study was to ascertain the prevalence of T. cruzi in three different mammalian species (coyotes, stray domestic dogs, and humans) and vectors (Triatoma species) to understand the burden of Chagas disease among sylvatic, peridomestic, and domestic cycles.

Methodology/Principal Findings

To determine prevalence of infection, we tested sera from coyotes, stray domestic dogs housed in public …


Nonmotorized Recreation And Motorized Recreation In Shrub-Steppe Habitats Affects Behavior And Reproduction Of Golden Eagles (Aquila Chrysaetos), Robert J. Spaul, Julie A. Heath Nov 2016

Nonmotorized Recreation And Motorized Recreation In Shrub-Steppe Habitats Affects Behavior And Reproduction Of Golden Eagles (Aquila Chrysaetos), Robert J. Spaul, Julie A. Heath

Biology Faculty Publications and Presentations

Different forms of outdoor recreation have different spatiotemporal activity patterns that may have interactive or cumulative effects on wildlife through human disturbance, physical habitat change, or both. In western North America, shrub-steppe habitats near urban areas are popular sites for motorized recreation and nonmotorized recreation and can provide important habitat for protected species, including golden eagles. Our objective was to determine whether recreation use (i.e., number of recreationists) or recreation features (e.g., trails or campsites) predicted golden eagle territory occupancy, egg-laying, or the probability a breeding attempt resulted in ≥1 offspring (nest survival). We monitored egg-laying, hatching and fledging success, …


A Threshold Of Transmembrane Potential Is Required For Mitochondrial Dynamic Balance Mediated By Drp1 And Oma1, Edith Jones, Norma Gaytan, Iraselia Garcia, Alan Herrera, Manuel Ramos, Divya Agarwala, Maahrose Rana, Wendy Innis-Whitehouse, Erin Schuenzel, Robert Gilkerson Nov 2016

A Threshold Of Transmembrane Potential Is Required For Mitochondrial Dynamic Balance Mediated By Drp1 And Oma1, Edith Jones, Norma Gaytan, Iraselia Garcia, Alan Herrera, Manuel Ramos, Divya Agarwala, Maahrose Rana, Wendy Innis-Whitehouse, Erin Schuenzel, Robert Gilkerson

Biology Faculty Publications and Presentations

As an organellar network, mitochondria dynamically regulate their organization via opposing fusion and fission pathways to maintain bioenergetic homeostasis and contribute to key cellular pathways. This dynamic balance is directly linked to bioenergetic function: loss of transmembrane potential across the inner membrane (Dwm) disrupts mitochondrial fission/fusion balance, causing fragmentation of the network. However, the level of Dwm required for mitochondrial dynamic balance, as well as the relative contributions of fission and fusion pathways, have remained unclear. To explore this, mitochondrial morphology and Dwm were examined via confocal imaging and tetramethyl rhodamine ester (TMRE) flow cytometry, respectively, in cultured 143B osteosarcoma …


Cho Endonuclease Functions During Dna Interstrand Crosslink Repair In Escherichia Coli, Anthonige Vidya Perera, James Brian Mendenhall, Charmain T. Courcelle, Justin Courcelle Nov 2016

Cho Endonuclease Functions During Dna Interstrand Crosslink Repair In Escherichia Coli, Anthonige Vidya Perera, James Brian Mendenhall, Charmain T. Courcelle, Justin Courcelle

Biology Faculty Publications and Presentations

DNA interstrand crosslinks are complex lesions that covalently link both strands of the duplex DNA. Lesion removal is proposed to initiate via the UvrABC nucleotide excision repair complex, however less is known about the subsequent steps of this complex repair pathway. In this study, we characterized the contribution of nucleotide excision repair mutants to survival in the presence of psoralen-induced damage. Unexpectedly, we observed that the nucleotide excision repair mutants exhibit differential sensitivity to psoralen-induced damage, with uvrC mutants being less sensitive than either uvrA or uvrB. We show that Cho, an alternative endonuclease, acts with UvrAB and is …


Variable Effects Of Snow Conditions Across Boreal Mesocarnivore Species, C. B. Pozzanghera, K. J. Sivy, M. S. Lindberg, L. R. Prugh Oct 2016

Variable Effects Of Snow Conditions Across Boreal Mesocarnivore Species, C. B. Pozzanghera, K. J. Sivy, M. S. Lindberg, L. R. Prugh

Biology Faculty Publications and Presentations

Mesocarnivores are increasingly recognized as key drivers of community dynamics, but the effects of bottom-up and abiotic factors on mesocarnivore populations remain poorly understood. We evaluated the effects of snow conditions, prey abundance, and habitat type on the distribution of five sympatric mesocarnivore species in interior Alaska using repeated snow track surveys and occupancy modelling. Snow depth and snow compaction were the best predictors of mesocarnivore occupancy, with differential effects across species. Coyotes (Canis latrans (Say, 1823)) and red foxes (Vulpes vulpes L., 1758) occurred in areas of shallow, compact snow, Canada lynx (Lynx canadensis (Kerr, 1792)) …


Lack Of Interaction Between Erbb2 And Insulin Receptor Substrate Signaling In Breast Cancer, Sarah M. Farabaugh, Bonita T. Chan, Xiaojiang Cui, Robert Dearth, Adrian V. Lee Oct 2016

Lack Of Interaction Between Erbb2 And Insulin Receptor Substrate Signaling In Breast Cancer, Sarah M. Farabaugh, Bonita T. Chan, Xiaojiang Cui, Robert Dearth, Adrian V. Lee

Biology Faculty Publications and Presentations

Background: ErbB2 Receptor Tyrosine Kinase 2 (ErbB2, HER2/Neu) is amplified in breast cancer and associated with poor prognosis. Growing evidence suggests interplay between ErbB2 and insulin-like growth factor (IGF) signaling. For example, ErbB2 inhibitors can block IGF-induced signaling while, conversely, IGF1R inhibitors can inhibit ErbB2 action. ErbB receptors can bind and phosphorylate insulin receptor substrates (IRS) and this may be critical for ErbBmediated anti-estrogen resistance in breast cancer. Herein, we examined crosstalk between ErbB2 and IRSs using cancer cell lines and transgenic mouse models.

Methods: MMTV-ErbB2 and MMTV-IRS2 transgenic mice were crossed to create hemizygous MMTV-ErbB2/MMTVIRS2 bigenic mice. Signaling crosstalk …


A Francisella-Like Endosymbiont In The Gulf Coast Tick Evolved From A Mammalian Pathogen, Jonathan G. Gerhart, Abraham S. Moses, Rahul Raghavan Oct 2016

A Francisella-Like Endosymbiont In The Gulf Coast Tick Evolved From A Mammalian Pathogen, Jonathan G. Gerhart, Abraham S. Moses, Rahul Raghavan

Biology Faculty Publications and Presentations

Ticks (order Ixodida) vector pathogenic bacteria that cause diseases in humans and other mammals. They also contain bacteria that are closely related to pathogens but function as endosymbionts that provide nutrients that are missing from mammalian blood—their sole food source. For instance, mammalian pathogens such as Coxiella burnetii and Francisella tularensis, as well as Coxiella-like and Francisella-like endosymbionts (CLEs and FLEs, respectively) occur in ticks worldwide. However, it is not clear whether the pathogens evolved from symbionts or symbionts from pathogens. Recent studies have indicated that C. burnetii likely originated from a tick-associated ancestor, but the origins …


Partitioning Controls On Amazon Forest Photosynthesis Between Environmental And Biotic Factors At Hourly To Interannual Timescales, Jin Wu, Kaiyu Guan, Matthew Hayek, Natalia Restrepo-Coupe, Kenia T. Wiedemann, Xiangtao Xu, Richard Wehr, Bradley O. Christoffersen, Guofang Miao, Rodrigo Da Silva Sep 2016

Partitioning Controls On Amazon Forest Photosynthesis Between Environmental And Biotic Factors At Hourly To Interannual Timescales, Jin Wu, Kaiyu Guan, Matthew Hayek, Natalia Restrepo-Coupe, Kenia T. Wiedemann, Xiangtao Xu, Richard Wehr, Bradley O. Christoffersen, Guofang Miao, Rodrigo Da Silva

Biology Faculty Publications and Presentations

Gross ecosystem productivity (GEP) in tropical forests varies both with the environment and with biotic changes in photosynthetic infrastructure, but our understanding of the relative effects of these factors across timescales is limited. Here, we used a statistical model to partition the variability of seven years of eddy covariance-derived GEP in a central Amazon evergreen forest into two main causes: variation in environmental drivers (solar radiation, diffuse light fraction, and vapor pressure deficit) that interact with model parameters that govern photosynthesis and biotic variation in canopy photosynthetic light-use efficiency associated with changes in the parameters themselves. Our fitted model was …


A Phylum-Level Phylogenetic Classification Of Zygomycete Fungi Based On Genome-Scale Data, Merlin M. White Sep 2016

A Phylum-Level Phylogenetic Classification Of Zygomycete Fungi Based On Genome-Scale Data, Merlin M. White

Biology Faculty Publications and Presentations

Zygomycete fungi were classified as a single phylum, Zygomycota, based on sexual reproduction by zygospores, frequent asexual reproduction by sporangia, absence of multicellular sporocarps, and production of coenocytic hyphae, all with some exceptions. Molecular phylogenies based on one or a few genes did not support themonophyly of the phylum, however, and the phylum was subsequently abandoned. Here we present phylogenetic analyses of a genome-scale data set for 46 taxa, including 25 zygomycetes and 192 proteins, and we demonstrate that zygomycetes comprise two major clades that form a paraphyletic grade. A formal phylogenetic classification is proposed herein and includes two phyla, …


Genotypic Diversity Effects On Biomass Production In Native Perennial Bioenergy Cropping Systems, Geoffrey P. Morris, Zhenbin Hu, Paul P. Grabowski, Justin O. Borevitz, Marie-Anne De Graaff, R. Michael Miller, Julie D. Jastrow Sep 2016

Genotypic Diversity Effects On Biomass Production In Native Perennial Bioenergy Cropping Systems, Geoffrey P. Morris, Zhenbin Hu, Paul P. Grabowski, Justin O. Borevitz, Marie-Anne De Graaff, R. Michael Miller, Julie D. Jastrow

Biology Faculty Publications and Presentations

The perennial grass species that are being developed as biomass feedstock crops harbor extensive genotypic diversity, but the effects of this diversity on biomass production are not well understood. We investigated the effects of genotypic diversity in switchgrass (Panicum virgatum) and big bluestem (Andropogon gerardii) on perennial biomass cropping systems in two experiments conducted over 2008–2014 at a 5.4-ha fertile field site in northeastern Illinois, USA. We varied levels of switchgrass and big bluestem genotypic diversity using various local and nonlocal cultivars – under low or high species diversity, with or without nitrogen inputs – and …


Paternal Mitochondrial Transmission In Intra-Species Caenorhabditis Briggsae Hybrids, Joseph A. Ross, Dana K. Howe, Anna Luella Coleman-Hulbert, Dee R. Denver, Suzanne Estes Sep 2016

Paternal Mitochondrial Transmission In Intra-Species Caenorhabditis Briggsae Hybrids, Joseph A. Ross, Dana K. Howe, Anna Luella Coleman-Hulbert, Dee R. Denver, Suzanne Estes

Biology Faculty Publications and Presentations

To study mitochondrial-nuclear genetic interactions in the nematode Caenorhabditis briggsae, our three laboratories independently created 38 intra-species cytoplasmic-nuclear hybrid (cybrid) lines. Although the cross design combines maternal mitotypes with paternal nuclear genotypes, eight lines (21%) unexpectedly contained paternal mitotypes. All eight share in common ancestry of one of two genetically related strains. This unexpected parallel observation of paternal mitochondrial transmission, undesirable given our intent of creating cybrids, provides a serendipitous experimental model and framework to study the molecular and evolutionary basis of uniparental mitochondrial inheritance.


Reproductive Output Of Mosses Under Experimental Warming On Fildes Peninsula, King George Island, Maritime Antarctica, Angélica Casanova-Katny, G. A. Torres-Mellado, Sarah M. Eppley Sep 2016

Reproductive Output Of Mosses Under Experimental Warming On Fildes Peninsula, King George Island, Maritime Antarctica, Angélica Casanova-Katny, G. A. Torres-Mellado, Sarah M. Eppley

Biology Faculty Publications and Presentations

Background: Mosses dominate much of the vegetation in the Antarctic, but the effect of climatic change on moss growth and sexual reproduction has scarcely been studied. In Antarctica, mosses infrequently produce sporophytes; whether this is due to physiological limitation or an adaptive response is unknown. We studied the effect of experimental warming (with Open Top Chambers, OTCs) on sporophyte production on Fildes Peninsula, King George Island for four moss species (Bartramia patens, Hennediella antarctica, Polytrichastrum alpinum, and Sanionia georgicouncinata). To determine whether reducing cold stress increases sexual reproduction as would be predicted if sex is …


Mitochondrial Dna Sequence And Lack Of Response To Anoxia In The Annual Killifish Austrofundulus Limnaeus, Josiah T. Wagner, Florisela H. Chavez, Jason E. Podrabsky Aug 2016

Mitochondrial Dna Sequence And Lack Of Response To Anoxia In The Annual Killifish Austrofundulus Limnaeus, Josiah T. Wagner, Florisela H. Chavez, Jason E. Podrabsky

Biology Faculty Publications and Presentations

The annual killifish Austrofundulus limnaeus inhabits ephemeral ponds in regions of Venezuela, South America. Permanent populations of A. limnaeus are maintained by production of stress-tolerant embryos that are able to persist in the desiccated sediment. Previous work has demonstrated that A. limnaeus have a remarkable ability to tolerate extended periods of anoxia and desiccating conditions. After considering temperature, A. limnaeus embryos have the highest known tolerance to anoxia when compared to any other vertebrate yet studied. Oxygen is completely essential for the process of oxidative phosphorylation by mitochondria, the intracellular organelle responsible for the majority of adenosine triphosphate production. Thus, …


Selective Foraging By Pogonomyrmex Salinus (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) In Semiarid Grassland: Implications For A Rare Plant, Matthew S. Schmasow, Ian C. Robertson Aug 2016

Selective Foraging By Pogonomyrmex Salinus (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) In Semiarid Grassland: Implications For A Rare Plant, Matthew S. Schmasow, Ian C. Robertson

Biology Faculty Publications and Presentations

Selective foraging by granivores can have important consequences for the structure and composition of plant communities, and potentially severe consequences for rare plant species. To understand how granivore foraging behavior affects common and rare plant species, diet selection should be viewed relative to the availability of alternative seed options, and with consideration of the individual attributes of those seeds (e.g., morphology, nutrient content). We examined the foraging decisions of Owyhee harvester ants, Pogonomyrmex salinus [Olsen], in semiarid grassland dominated by two species of grass, Poa secunda and Bromus tectorum, and two species of mustard, Sisymbrium altissimum and Lepidium papilliferum …


Manganese-Reducing Bacterial Communities From A Hypersaline Estuary In South Texas Under Conditions Of Changing Salinity, Omar R. Elizondo, Rebecca Vasquez Villarreal, Sonia Y. Del Rio, Kristine L. Lowe Aug 2016

Manganese-Reducing Bacterial Communities From A Hypersaline Estuary In South Texas Under Conditions Of Changing Salinity, Omar R. Elizondo, Rebecca Vasquez Villarreal, Sonia Y. Del Rio, Kristine L. Lowe

Biology Faculty Publications and Presentations

Manganese reducing bacteria were quantified and enriched from sediments at two sites (ABC and LMT050) in the Laguna Madre of South Texas. Bacteria were tested for Mn(IV) reduction under different salinities. Denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (DGGE) was used to profile bacterial communities from Mn(IV) saline enrichments. Results showed that the density of manganese reducing bacteria at ABC was 30X greater than LMT050. The ABC bacteria were able to reduce Mn(IV) at similar rates at different salinities; however, at LMT050, Mn(IV) reduction rates decreased at higher salinities. Three population genotypes were observed by DGGE. All were present and similarly abundant in …


Coevolution Of Cyanogenic Bamboos And Bamboo Lemurs On Madagascar, Daniel J. Ballhorn, Fanny Patrika Rakotoarivelo, Stefanie Kautz Aug 2016

Coevolution Of Cyanogenic Bamboos And Bamboo Lemurs On Madagascar, Daniel J. Ballhorn, Fanny Patrika Rakotoarivelo, Stefanie Kautz

Biology Faculty Publications and Presentations

Feeding strategies of specialist herbivores often originate from the coevolutionary arms race of plant defenses and counter-adaptations of herbivores. The interaction between bamboo lemurs and cyanogenic bamboos on Madagascar represents a unique system to study diffuse coevolutionary processes between mammalian herbivores and plant defenses. Bamboo lemurs have different degrees of dietary specialization while bamboos show different levels of chemical defense. In this study, we found variation in cyanogenic potential (HCNp) and nutritive characteristics among five sympatric bamboo species in the Ranomafana area, southeastern Madagascar. The HCNp ranged from 209±72 μmol cyanide* g-1 dwt in Cathariostachys madagascariensis to no cyanide …


The Intervening Sequence Of Coxiella Burnetii: Characterization And Evolution, Indu Warrier, Mathias C. Walter, Dimitrios Frangoulidis, Rahul Raghavan, Linda D. Hicks, Michael F. Minnick Aug 2016

The Intervening Sequence Of Coxiella Burnetii: Characterization And Evolution, Indu Warrier, Mathias C. Walter, Dimitrios Frangoulidis, Rahul Raghavan, Linda D. Hicks, Michael F. Minnick

Biology Faculty Publications and Presentations

The intervening sequence (IVS) of Coxiella burnetii, the agent of Q fever, is a 428-nt selfish genetic element located in helix 45 of the precursor 23S rRNA. The IVS element, in turn, contains an ORF that encodes a hypothetical ribosomal S23 protein (S23p). Although S23p can be synthesized in vitro in the presence of an engineered E. coli promoter and ribosome binding site, results suggest that the protein is not synthesized in vivo. In spite of a high degree of IVS conservation among different strains of C. burnetii, the region immediately upstream of the S23p start codon …


Bioturbation By The Fungus-Gardening Ant, Trachymyrmex Septentrionalis, Walter R. Tschinkel, Jon N. Seal Jul 2016

Bioturbation By The Fungus-Gardening Ant, Trachymyrmex Septentrionalis, Walter R. Tschinkel, Jon N. Seal

Biology Faculty Publications and Presentations

Soil invertebrates such as ants are thought to be important manipulators of soils in temperate and tropical ecosystems. The fungus gardening ant, Trachymyrmex septentrionalis, is an important agent of biomantling, that is, of depositing soil excavated from below onto the surface, and has been suggested as an agent of bioturbation (moving soil below ground) as well. The amount of bioturbation by this ant was quantified by planting queenright colonies in sand columns consisting of 5 layers of different colored sand. The amount of each color of sand deposited on the surface was determined from April to November 2015. In November, …


Genomics-Informed Isolation And Characterization Of A Symbiotic Nanoarchaeota System From A Terrestrial Geothermal Environment, Louie Wurch, Richard J. Giannone, Bernard S. Belisle, Carolyn Swift, Sagar Utturkar, Robert L. Hettich, Anna-Louise Reysenbach, Mircea Podar Jul 2016

Genomics-Informed Isolation And Characterization Of A Symbiotic Nanoarchaeota System From A Terrestrial Geothermal Environment, Louie Wurch, Richard J. Giannone, Bernard S. Belisle, Carolyn Swift, Sagar Utturkar, Robert L. Hettich, Anna-Louise Reysenbach, Mircea Podar

Biology Faculty Publications and Presentations

Biological features can be inferred, based on genomic data, for many microbial lineages that remain uncultured. However, cultivation is important for characterizing an organism’s physiology and testing its genome-encoded potential. Here we use single-cell genomics to infer cultivation conditions for the isolation of an ectosymbiotic Nanoarchaeota (‘Nanopusillus acidilobi’) and its host (Acidilobus, a crenarchaeote) from a terrestrial geothermal environment. The cells of ‘Nanopusillus’ are among the smallest known cellular organisms (100–300 nm). They appear to have a complete genetic information processing machinery, but lack almost all primary biosynthetic functions as well as respiration and …


Understanding Tradeoffs Between Food And Predation Risks In A Specialist Mammalian Herbivore, Jamie L. Utz, Lisa A. Shipley, Janet L. Rachlow, Tamara Johnstone-Yellin, Meghan Camp, Jennifer Sorenson Forbey Jul 2016

Understanding Tradeoffs Between Food And Predation Risks In A Specialist Mammalian Herbivore, Jamie L. Utz, Lisa A. Shipley, Janet L. Rachlow, Tamara Johnstone-Yellin, Meghan Camp, Jennifer Sorenson Forbey

Biology Faculty Publications and Presentations

Understanding habitat use by animals requires understanding the simultaneous tradeoffs between food and predation risk within a landscape. Quantifying the synergy between patches that provide quality food and those that are safe from predators at a scale relevant to a foraging animal could better reveal the parameters that influence habitat selection. To understand more thoroughly how animals select habitat components, we investigated tradeoffs between diet quality and predation risk in a species endemic to sagebrush Artemisia spp. communities in North America, the pygmy rabbitBrachylagus idahoensis. This species is a rare example of a specialist herbivore that relies almost entirely …


Bayesian Methods For Comparing Species Physiological And Ecological Response Curves, Michael B. Ashcroft, Angélica Casanova-Katny, Kerrie Mengersen, Todd N. Rosenstiel, Johanna D. Turnbull, Jane Wasley, Melinda J. Waterman, Gustavo E. Zúñiga, Sharon A. Robinson Jul 2016

Bayesian Methods For Comparing Species Physiological And Ecological Response Curves, Michael B. Ashcroft, Angélica Casanova-Katny, Kerrie Mengersen, Todd N. Rosenstiel, Johanna D. Turnbull, Jane Wasley, Melinda J. Waterman, Gustavo E. Zúñiga, Sharon A. Robinson

Biology Faculty Publications and Presentations

Many ecological questions require information on species' optimal conditions or critical limits along environmental gradients. These attributes can be compared to answer questions on niche partitioning, species coexistence and niche conservatism. However, these comparisons are unconvincing when existing methods do not quantify the uncertainty in the attributes or rely on assumptions about the shape of species' responses to the environmental gradient. The aim of this study was to develop a model to quantify the uncertainty in the attributes of species response curves and allow them to be tested for substantive differences without making assumptions about the shape of the responses. …


Walking Behavior Of Zoo Elephants: Associations Between Gps-Measured Daily Walking Distances And Environmental Factors, Social Factors, And Welfare Indicators, Matthew Robert Holdgate, Cheryl L. Meehan, Jennifer N. Hogan, Lance J. Miller, Josesph Soltis, Jeff Andrews, David J. Shepherdson Jul 2016

Walking Behavior Of Zoo Elephants: Associations Between Gps-Measured Daily Walking Distances And Environmental Factors, Social Factors, And Welfare Indicators, Matthew Robert Holdgate, Cheryl L. Meehan, Jennifer N. Hogan, Lance J. Miller, Josesph Soltis, Jeff Andrews, David J. Shepherdson

Biology Faculty Publications and Presentations

Research with humans and other animals suggests that walking benefits physical health. Perhaps because these links have been demonstrated in other species, it has been suggested that walking is important to elephant welfare, and that zoo elephant exhibits should be designed to allow for more walking. Our study is the first to address this suggestion empirically by measuring the mean daily walking distance of elephants in North American zoos, determining the factors that are associated with variations in walking distance, and testing for associations between walking and welfare indicators. We used anklets equipped with GPS data loggers to measure outdoor …


Recumbence Behavior In Zoo Elephants: Determination Of Patterns And Frequency Of Recumbent Rest And Associated Environmental And Social Factors, Matthew Robert Holdgate, Cheryl L. Meehan, Jennifer N. Hogan, Lance J. Miller, Jeff Rushen, Anne-Marie De Passillé, Josesph Soltis, Jeff Andrews, David J. Shepherdson Jul 2016

Recumbence Behavior In Zoo Elephants: Determination Of Patterns And Frequency Of Recumbent Rest And Associated Environmental And Social Factors, Matthew Robert Holdgate, Cheryl L. Meehan, Jennifer N. Hogan, Lance J. Miller, Jeff Rushen, Anne-Marie De Passillé, Josesph Soltis, Jeff Andrews, David J. Shepherdson

Biology Faculty Publications and Presentations

Resting behaviors are an essential component of animal welfare but have received little attention in zoological research. African savanna elephant (Loxodonta africana) and Asian elephant (Elephas maximus) rest includes recumbent postures, but no large-scale investigation of African and Asian zoo elephant recumbence has been previously conducted. We used anklets equipped with accelerometers to measure recumbence in 72 adult female African (n = 44) and Asian (n = 28)elephants housed in 40 North American zoos. We collected 344 days of data and determined associations between recumbence and social, housing, management, and demographic factors. African elephants were recumbent less (2.1 hours/day, S.D. …


Early-Onset Alzheimer’S: Should You Worry?, Troy Rohn Jun 2016

Early-Onset Alzheimer’S: Should You Worry?, Troy Rohn

Biology Faculty Publications and Presentations

You have forgotten where you put your car keys, or you can’t seem to remember the name of your colleague you saw in the grocery store the other day. You fear the worst, that maybe these are signs of Alzheimer’s disease.