Life Sciences Commons^™

Minerva 2004, The Honors College

Minerva

This issue of Minerva includes an article on HON 350: An Introduction to Functional Genomics; an article on the creation and inaugural year of HON 180: A Cultural Odyssey; a profile on Honors alumnus, Charles Stanhope and his 2004 Distinguished Honors Graduate Lecture; and interviews with Allison Kelly, Jessica Hudec, and Jennifer Merchant on their experiences as Honors student-athletes.

Behavioral And Physiological Differences In Migratory Strategies Of A Long-Distance Migrant, The Blackpoll Warbler, And A Facultative Short-Distance Migrant, The Yellow-Rumped Warbler, Rebecca L. Holberton

University of Maine Office of Research Administration: Grant Reports

The primary focus of these studies has been to investigate the functional role of corticosterone in the development of migratory condition (i.e. hyperphagia, lipogenesis, and migratory restlessness) and to investigate the underlying endocrine mechanisms of migratory condition in two species that differ dramatically in their strategies for reaching their wintering grounds. The main approach has been to measure and to manipulate the peripheral signal molecule, corticosterone, and look at the resulting patterns of feeding behavior, body mass and fat reserves, migratory activity, and metabolites of energy use (fat deposition and protein use). In the comparative component, the Blackpoll warbler (Dendroica …

European Fire Ants On Mount Desert Island, Maine: Population Structure, Mechanisms Of Competition And Community Impacts Of Myrmica Rubra L. (Hymenoptera: Formicidae), Jeffrey Garnas

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

In the early to mid-201h century, Mvrmica rubra Latreille established in various communities in Maine, mostly along the coast. Since its establishment, the ant has spread both locally via vegetative colony budding and regionally via human commerce to no fewer than 30 Maine communities, including one inland site. Studies were undertaken in the summer of 2002 to address questions of the ants' population structure in its introduced range by testing for intercolony aggression within and between local infestations. Using captive nests maintained in their original nest soil, M. rubra was tested against its close neighbors, neighbors of lorn within the …

Environmental Conservation On Agricultural Working Land: Assessing Policy Alternatives Using A Spatially Heterogeneous Land Allocation Model, Kelly M. Cobourn

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Multifunctionality refers to the ability of agricultural systems to produce an array of non-market goods and services in addition to market commodities. This thesis focuses explicitly on the provision of environmental benefits, through reduced soil erosion and fertilizer applications, by agricultural producers. Soil erosion and nutrient contamination from agricultural production are the foremost contributors to ground and surface water degradation in the United States. Reducing their production implies gains in social welfare, but may generate significant private losses to producers. The objective of this analysis is to quantify the tradeoff between environmental improvements and producer welfare and to examine the …

Wetland And Nest Scale Habitat Use By The Four-Toed Salamander (Hemidactylium Scutatum) In Maine, And A Comparison Of Survey Methods, Rebecca J. Chalmers

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Conserving amphibian populations requires knowledge of a species and its habitat relationships. The four-toed salamander (Hemidactylium scutatum) is listed as Special Concern in Maine and 11 additional states and provinces, Threatened in Illinois, and Endangered in Indiana (Appendix A). Little is known of H. scutatum ecology despite the species' extensive range. Infrequent sightings of H. scutatum throughout its range may indicate either low numbers or that the species' behavior make detection difficult. Records for H. scutatum in Maine existed from only 32 sites before my study, and the total number of occurrences of this species in Maine is …

Lexen: Role Of Atmospheric Trace Gases In Microbial Colonization And Succession On Recent Lava Flows, Gary M. King

University of Maine Office of Research Administration: Grant Reports

Drs. Gary M. King of the University of Maine and Klaus Nusslein of the University of Massachusetts-Amherst have been awarded a grant from the NSF Life in Extreme Environment (LExEn) program to determine the role of atmospheric trace gases in microbial colonization and succession on recent lava flows. Volcanic activity has played an important role in the development of terrestrial ecosystems for much of Earth's history, and continues to shape terrestrial environments at present. Deposition of lava and tephra result in surfaces that over time support complex, highly productive biological communities. However, young or recently extruded lavas represent extreme environments …

Collaborative Research: Developing Methods To Study Age-Related Changes In The Physiology Of Forest Trees, Michael S. Greenwood

University of Maine Office of Research Administration: Grant Reports

Trees continue to increase in size and complexity over life spans that may last many centuries, and each year the growing regions of their shoots produce new foliage and reproductive structures. As they grow older and larger, forest trees appear to grow more slowly, produce thicker foliage and more reproductive structures. These changes are likely to be associated with age-related declines in the growth rates of forest stands, which occur before the mid-point of the lifespan of important timber species. Although similar patterns of age- and size-related change in the morphology and physiology of foliage have been described for numerous …

B850: Representative Farm Budgets And Performance Indicators For Integrated Farming Practices In Maine, Aaron K. Hoshide, Timothy J. Dalton, Stewart N. Smith

Bulletins

This report compares the relative profitability and sustainability of Maine farms integrating crops and livestock with comparable non-integrated or conventional farms. Potato and dairy systems coupled for only two years had greater profitability compared to conventional systems. Profitability increased in the short term in two ways. First, potato farms grew more of their primary cash crop. Second, dairy farms expanded cow numbers, increasing profitability assuming increasing returns to scale. Coupled systems integrated for more than ten years (long term) had more favorable profitability and sustainability measures than short-term couplers since greater manure-nutrient credits were taken for potatoes and silage corn. …

The Dandy Scroll, Fall 2004, University Of Maine Pulp And Paper Foundation

General University of Maine Publications

The Fall 2004 issue of The Dandy Scroll newsletter produced by the University of Maine Pulp and Paper Foundation.

Biology And Ecology Of Larval Lobsters (Homarus Americanus): Implications For Population Connectivity And Larval Transport, Eric R. Annis

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The connectivity of marine populations and the degree to which they are considered open or closed has important implications for the ecology, management, and resilience of commercially harvested species. Larval exchange is a primary determinant of the level of connectivity between populations, and this thesis examines the intrinsic and extrinsic factors influencing larval transport and the distribution of larvae of the American lobster (Homarus americanus). The potential for larval transport is directly proportional to the planktonic larval duration. Our field data suggest development times in situ were up to three times faster than previous laboratory development times, indicating that potential …

Nest Success And Chick Survival Of Black Terns In Maine: Effects Of Predation On Breeding Productivity, Shane R. Heath

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Nest predation is a prominent cause of reproductive failure in wetland-nesting birds, including black terns. As a result, predator avoidance should play an important role in nest site selection. I examined intraspecific variation in nest success to identify factors affecting nest predation of black tern colonies in central Maine. I measured variables related to proximity of wetland features and nest aggregation for 231 successful and 124 depredated black tern nests during the period 1998-2002. I defined candidate models based on logistic regression and selected models with Akaike's Information Criterion adjusted for small sample sizes (AIC_c) to determine the …

Nrage Regulates Life And Death Of Neural Progenitors, Stephen E. Kendall

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The development of the central nervous system requires the orchestration of numerous instructive and permissive cues. These factors are secreted from signaling centers and function in a concentration dependent manner that effects the proliferation, survival and differentiation of neural progenitors (NP) and their differentiated progeny. The family including bone morphogenetic proteins (BMPs) are key regulators of NP expansion and survival. However, once NP become committed to a neuronal fate and begin to differentiate they compete for limited amounts of neurotrophin that facilitate further growth and survival. Here we show that the p75 neurotrophin receptor interacting protein NRAGE is expressed in …

Mechanisms And Integration Of Signal Pathway: A Role For Calpains?, Dorothy E. Croall

University of Maine Office of Research Administration: Grant Reports

In order to survive cells must sense and respond to changes in their environment. Environmental cues trigger a variety of events within cells. The concentration and movements of calcium ions are essential regulators of many of these cellular responses. Proper control of intracellular calcium is essential because at thigh levels calcium can lead to cell damage or death. Calcium accomplishes it effects through binding to specific proteins such as calmodulin and calpain. Calmodulin, named for its ability to bind calcium and to modulate the activity of other cellular components, is an important mediator of calcium signals and its mechanism of …

Why Should We Measure The Optical Backscattering Coefficient?, Emmanuel Boss, Dariusz Stramski, Trisha Bergmann, W. Scott Pegau, Marlon Lewis

Marine Sciences Faculty Scholarship

In recent years commercial sensors for in situ determinations of optical backscattering coefficient, b_b, have become available. The small size and low power requirements of these sensors permit deployment from small sensing platforms such as autonomous underwater vehicles, in addition to standard profiling packages. Given their rapid sampling time (sub second) they can collect data with high temporal and spatial resolution (sub meter).

While these are attractive features of any sensor they do not answer the question: why should oceanographers measure b_b?

The short answer is that b_b carries useful information about seawater constituents that …

Mr433: Malting Quality Of Maine-Grown Barley, Iwan Surjawan, Michael P. Dougherty, Mary E. Camire, John J. Jemison

Miscellaneous Reports

Malt barley properties for three cultivars (Harrington, Klagas, and Robust) were evaluated in response to agronomic treatments: cover crops, fungicide, or nitrogen treatments. In the fungicide study, the cultivar significantly influenced protein content, β-glucan, α-amylase activity, kernel weight, and germination energy. In the nitrogen study, all the measured properties were significantly affected by the barley cultivar. The moisture range of all the barley in this study was relatively low and within the acceptable range for malting. The plots not treated with nitrogen had a lower protein content under beans-wheat (b/w) cover crop. These low protein levels suggested an acceptability for …

The Dandy Scroll, Spring 2004, University Of Maine Pulp And Paper Foundation

General University of Maine Publications

The Spring 2004 issue of The Dandy Scroll newsletter produced by the University of Maine Pulp and Paper Foundation.

Accurate Dna Base Caller, Mohamad T. Musavi

University of Maine Office of Research Administration: Grant Reports

The major goal of this project is to develop a new base calling technique that will improve the efficiency of the DNA sequencing process. This will be achieved by increasing the average length of error-free sequencing and enhancing the base identification process at the beginning and end of sequences. This will increase sequencing throughput and reduce the cost of DNA sequencing. Previous work by the PI has demonstrated the ability to extend the error-free read by 30%. This was achieved through work on cross-talk filtering, baseline adjustment, base-spacing prediction and development of a fuzzy base-calling algorithm. Further adaptive capabilities as …

Collaborative Research: A Dynamic Atlas Of The Cricket Cercal Sensory System, Sharon M. Crook

University of Maine Office of Research Administration: Grant Reports

A fundamental question in neuroscience is how natural sensory stimuli are encoded for information handling by the brain. Invertebrate animals often offer systems that are in some ways simpler than those of mammals, and including such features as identifiable single cells in networks of relatively few numbers. This collaborative project exploits a sensory system called the cercal system of the cricket, in which small appendages on the rear of the body contain fine hairs that are used to detect, identify and localize behaviorally relevant air current movements, such as those produced by a predator. The input from roughly 2000 receptor …

The New Age Of Hyperspectral Oceanography, Grace Chang, Kevin Mahoney, Amanda Briggs-Whitmire, David D.R. Kohler, Curtis D. Mobley, Marlon Lewis, Mark A. Moline, Emmanuel Boss, Minsu Kim, William Philpot, Tommy D. Dickey

Marine Sciences Faculty Scholarship

A multispectral optical sensor collects data at select wavebands or channels. An example is the Sea-viewing Wide-Field-of-view Sensor (SeaWiFS) ocean color satellite, which measures eight wavebands between 402 and 885 nm (20-40 nm bandwidth with peaks centered around 412, 443, 490, 510, 555, 670, 765, and 865 nm). Optical oceanographers have been using multispectral sensors since the 1980s with great success.

The Role Of Seawater Constituents In Light Backscattering In The Ocean, Dariusz Stramski, Emmanuel Boss, Darek Bogucki, Kenneth J. Voss

Marine Sciences Faculty Scholarship

The significance of light backscattering in the ocean is wide ranging, especially in optical remote sensing. However, the complexity of natural seawater as an optical medium often obscures the measured optical signals to the point that our present-day interpretation and detailed understanding of major sources of backscattering and its variability in the ocean are uncertain and controversial. Here we review the roles played by various seawater constituents in light backscattering and we address a question of 'missing' backscattering. Historically, this question has resulted from a hypothesis that under non-bloom conditions in the open ocean, phytoplankton make a significantly smaller contribution …

Optical Modeling Of Ocean Waters: Is The Case 1 - Case 2 Classification Still Useful?, Curtis D. Mobley, Dariusz Stramski, W. Paul Bissett, Emmanuel Boss

Marine Sciences Faculty Scholarship

…two extreme cases can be identified and separated. Case 1 is that of a concentration of phytoplankton high compared to other particles…. In contrast, the inorganic particles are dominant in case 2.… In both cases dissolved yellow substance is present in variable amounts.… An ideal case 1 would be a pure culture of phytoplankton and an ideal case 2 a suspension of nonliving material with a zero concentration of pigments.

Morel and Prieur emphasized that these ideal cases are not encountered in nature, and they suggested the use of high or low values of the ratio of pigment concentration to …

Aesthetic Values Of Five Primary Wood Transporting Methods Common To Northern New England, Michael C. Eckley

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Throughout northern New England and across the country, increasing populations and the exurbanization of rural forested landscapes have had a tremendous impact on forest management. As forested areas become more populated, society has become more exposed to the sights and sounds associated with different forest operations. As a result, aesthetics are increasingly driving public reaction to and concern about forestry practices, especially timber harvesting. How people perceive forestry harvesting can be significant in defining the future of forest management, particularly in more populated woodlands. The objective of this study was to better understanding public values as they relate to timber …

Development And Light Response Of Leaves Of Metasequoia And Close Relatives, Xiaochun Li

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Metasequoia glyptostroboides is a useful nearest living relative (NLR) of the Eocene fossil Metasequoia. Research on modern Metasequoia might give us some clues about its fossil counterpart. During this study the leaf anatomy of Metasequoia, Glyptostrobus, Sequoia and Taxodium was investigated with light microscopy and transmission electron microscopy. Metasequoia exhibits several characteristics of typical sciaphilic plants, such as slightly arched outer cell walls in the adaxial epidermal cells, strongly arched outer cell walls in the abaxial epidermal cells, mesophyll composed of spongy cells, chloroplasts with well-developed grana not only in mesophyll cells but in both the adaxial and abaxial epidermis. …

2003 Wild Blueberry Project Reports, Alfred A. Bushway, Rodney J. Bushway, Kristi Crowe, Brian Perkins, Mary Ellen Camire, Kathy Davis-Dentici, Michael Dougherty, Beth Bernier, Darrell Donahue, Frank Drummond, Judith Collins, Floyd Dowell, Dorothy J. Klimis-Zacas, Gordon C. Starr, David E. Yarborough, Constance S. Stubbs, Seanna L. Annis, John M. Smagula, Ilse W. Fastook, Kerry F. Lough

Wild Blueberry Research Reports

The 2003 edition of the Wild Blueberry Project Reports was prepared for the Wild Blueberry Commission of Maine and the Wild Blueberry Advisory Committee by researchers at the University of Maine, Orono. Projects in this report include:

1. Factors Affecting the Microbial and Pesticide Residues Levels on Lowbush Blueberries

2. Effect of Blueberry Products on Oxidation in Ground Beef Patties

3. Infestation Detection using Near-Infrared Spectroscopy

4. Whole Wild Blueberries and Arterial Functional Properties

5. Irrigation Water use in Wild Blueberry Production

7. Control Tactics for Blueberry Pest Insects

8. IPM Strategies

9. Biology and Ecology of Blueberry Pest Insects, …

Leaf Area Index - Relative Density Relationships In Even-Aged Abies Balsamea - Picea Rubens Stands In Maine, Robert Justin Derose

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Relationships between leaf area index (LAI) and relative density (RD) were examined in even-aged stands of Abies balsunzen (L.) Mill. and Piceu rubens Sarg. Twelve sites distributed across the Acadian forest in Maine were used to test conformance to three hypothesized models of LA1 over RD: A) constantly increasing LA1 over increasing RD, B) constant LA1 with increasing RD, or C) decreasing LA1 with increasing RD. Multivariate ordination suggested young, precommercially thinned (PCT), high-siteindex (SI) A. balsamea stands should be analyzed separate from older, unspaced (NOPCT), lower-site P. rubens stands. All-sided A. balsamea LAIs ranged from 6.2 - 14.8 over …

Genetically Modified Food: What Are Mainers Thinking?, Mario F. Teisl, Luke Garner, Brian Roe, Michael E. Vayda

Maine Policy Review

Whether to allow genetically modified (GM) foods in Maine, and if so, under what circumstances, has been hotly debated in recent years. The authors explore one aspect of the issue—Mainers’ attitudes about the labeling of GM foods. They point out that labeling GM foods is more complex than simply whether to label. Policy decisions need to be made about whether labeling should be mandatory, what pieces of information should be on the label, who should be in charge of monitoring compliance, and even what foods should be labeled. The authors discuss the potential benefits of GM food labeling, and conclude …