Life Sciences Commons^™

Recruitment Facilitation And Spatial Pattern Formation In Soft-Bottom Mussel Beds, John A. Commito, Ann E. Commito, Rutherford V. Platt, Benjamin M. Grupe, Wendy Dow Piniak, Natasha J. Gownaris, Kyle A. Reeves, Allison M. Vissichelli

Environmental Studies Faculty Publications

Mussels (Mytilus edulis) build massive, spatially complex, biogenic structures that alter the biotic and abiotic environment and provide a variety of ecosystem services. Unlike rocky shores, where mussels can attach to the primary substrate, soft sediments are unsuitable for mussel attachment. We used a simple lattice model, field sampling, and field and laboratory experiments to examine facilitation of recruitment (i.e., preferential larval, juvenile, and adult attachment to mussel biogenic structure) and its role in the development of power-law spatial patterns observed in Maine, USA, soft-bottom mussel beds. The model demonstrated that recruitment facilitation produces power-law spatial structure similar …

Fearless Friday: Sean Pethybridge, Christina L. Bassler

SURGE

Talking with Sean Pethybridge ’15, one could easily assume his interest in agriculture and food justice developed at a very young age. Sean confesses that he had very limited knowledge prior to attending Gettysburg. “My grandpa had a garden and the most experience I had with that was picking green beans during the summer time when I was younger,” he jokes. [excerpt]

Freeing Nemo, Stephanie K. Adamczak

SURGE

Floating on the surface of the water, I observe the life teeming below me. The waves were carrying my body further and further into the beautiful reef; but all I was conscious of was the cleaner wrasse below bouncing from fish to fish, the parrotfish scraping algae from the coral, and the anemone protecting the ornate clownfish living within. [excerpt]

Phylogenetic Analysis Of Algal Symbionts Associated With Four North American Amphibian Egg Masses, Eunsoo Kim, Yuan Lin, Ryan R. Kerney, Lili Blumenberg, Cory Bishop

Biology Faculty Publications

Egg masses of the yellow-spotted salamander Ambystoma maculatum form an association with the green alga “Oophila amblystomatis” (Lambert ex Wille), which, in addition to growing within individual egg capsules, has recently been reported to invade embryonic tissues and cells. The binomial O. amblystomatis refers to the algae that occur in A. maculatum egg capsules, but it is unknown whether this population of symbionts constitutes one or several different algal taxa. Moreover, it is unknown whether egg masses across the geographic range of A. maculatum, or other amphibians, associate with one or multiple algal taxa. To address these …

Cross-Disciplinary Sciences At Gettysburg College: Second Annual Poster Presentation, X-Sig

Student Publications

This booklet includes Biology student presentations by: Taylor Bury, Abigail Dworkin-Brodsky, Mary Pearce, Jasper Leavitt, Morgan Panzer, Ellen Petley, Kalli Qutub, Taylor Randell, Samantha Eck, Lana McDowell, Jenn Soroka, Celina Harris, Natalie Tanke, Alexandra Turano, and Caroline Garliss.

This booklet includes Biochemistry & Molecular Biology student presentations by: Matthew Dunworth, Andrew Sydenstricker, Brianne Tomko, Albert Vill, Warren Campbell, David Van Doren, Kevin Mrugalski, Stacey Heaver, Alecia Achimovich, and Katherine Boas.

This booklet includes Chemistry student presentations by: Kristen Baker, Laura Lee, Kathryn Fodale, Daniel Ruff, Michael Counihan, Ida DiMucci, Joshua Sgroi, Celina Harris, and Natalie Tanke.

This booklet include Health …

Regulation Of Peripheral Molecular Clocks In Mammalian Tissues And In Vitro Skeletal Muscle Activation Of Amp-Activated Protein Kinase Via Aicar, Alex C. Lupolt, Daniel P. Moorhead, Josef Brandauer

Student Publications

Most organisms possess a common molecular machinery that governs cellular and tissue circadian rhythmicity through a roughly 24-hour transcription-translation feedback loop. It is estimated that up to 15 percent of human genes are influenced by the core clock machinery. It is likely, however, that the metabolic networks affected by the molecular clock differ according to body tissue.

Recent evidence suggests that peripheral molecular clocks are governed to a greater extent by energy availability than by light and dark cycles. AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK) acts as a cellular fuel gauge within the cell and is activated in response to exercise and …

Mindful Eating: Trait And State Mindfulness Predict Healthier Eating Behavior, Christian H. Jordan, Wan Wang, Linda R. Donatoni, Brian P. Meier

Psychology Faculty Publications

Obesity and excess weight are significant societal problems. Mindfulness may encourage healthier weight and eating habits. Across four studies, we found a positive relation between mindfulness and healthier eating. Trait mindfulness was associated with less impulsive eating, reduced calorie consumption, and healthier snack choices. In addition, we found a causal effect of mindfulness on healthier eating. An experimental manipulation of state mindfulness led participants to consume fewer calories in a spontaneous eating task. We also found preliminary evidence that mindfulness affects eating behavior by encouraging attitudinal preferences for healthier foods. Taken together, these results provide strong evidence that mindfulness encourages …

Sex, Light, And Sound: Location And Combination Of Multiple Attractants Affect Probability Of Cane Toad (Rhinella Marina) Capture, Alyse Yeager, John A. Commito, Andrew M. Wilson, Deborah Bower, Lin Schwarzkopf

Student Publications

Invasive species management is a critical issue worldwide, but mitigation strategies are slow to develop, and invader populations often expand too rapidly for eradication to be feasible. Thus, reduction in numbers of individuals is the most heavily used management strategy for invasive pests. While long-term biocontrol agents may take years or decades to develop, simple trap modifications can increase capture of targeted demographic groups, such as ovigerous females. The present study identifies the effectiveness of trap modification and use of multiple attractants to capture the invasive cane toad (Rhinella marina). Cane toad traps typically use lights to attract insect prey. …

The State Of The Upper Bay Of Panama Wetlands: Ecological Significance, Environmental Policy, Urbanization, And Social Justice, Madeline A. Price

Celebration

I conducted this research while studying abroad with SIT Panama: Tropical Ecology, Marine Ecosystems, and Biodiversity Conservation. This is a multidisciplinary investigation of the Upper Bay of Panama wetlands, a 49,000 hectare region east of Panama City that features mangrove, intertidal mudflat, and grassland habitat internationally recognized as a stopover site for two million shorebirds every migration season. However, with economic pressure to increase urban development in the area, this land’s protected status under the Ramsar convention was suspended for a year in April 2012. By compiling scientific studies, news articles, photographs, and interviews with local conservationists and community members, …

Fearless: Anastasia Maisel, Anastasia M. Maisel

SURGE

Working to create a meaningful, respectful, and community-minded Day of Service in honor of Gettysburg College student Emily Silverstein ’11, and continually involved in different farming and food initiatives in the Gettysburg area to promote food justice and environmentally friendly farming practices, Anastasia Maisel ’14 fearlessly gives her time, energy, and passion to promoting social justice on and off campus. [excerpt]

Baltimore And The Cherry Hill Urban Garden: Tearing Down And Building Up The Physical And Imaginative Spaces Of Post-Industrial Urban Food Systems, Rebecca L. Croog

Student Publications

The tide is changing in food research and food movements. Both academic thought and grassroots mobilization have demonstrated a shift beyond merely the problems of industrial food, and toward an emphasis on issues of justice and equity within food systems (Sloccum, 2006; Alkon & Agyeman, 2011; Sbicca, 2012; Agyeman & McEntee, 2013). In examining the contemporary case of the Farm Alliance of Baltimore City, which is “a network of producers working to increase the viability of urban farming and improve access to urban grown foods, united by practices and principles that are socially, economically, and environmentally just” (Farm Alliance website, …

Cluster M Mycobacteriophages Bongo, Pegleg, And Rey With Unusually Large Repertoires Of Trna Isotopes, Welkin H. Pope, Kirk R. Anders, Madison Baird, Charles A. Bowman, Michelle M. Boyle, Gregory W. Broussard, Tiffany Chow, Kari L. Clase, Shannon Cooper, Kathleen A. Cornely, Randall J. Dejong, Veronique A. Delesalle, Lisa Deng, David Dunbar, Nicholas P. Edgington, Christina M. Ferreira, Kathleen Weston Hafer, Grant A. Hartzog, J. Robert Hatherill, Lee E. Hughes, Khristina Ipapo, Gregory P. Krukonis, Christopher G. Meier, Denise L. Monti, Matthew R. Olm, Shallee T. Page, Craig L. Peebles, Claire A. Rinehart, Michael R. Rubin, Daniel A. Russell, Erin R. Sanders, Morgan Schoer, Christopher D. Shaffer, James Wherley, Edwin Vazquez, Han Yuan, Daiyuan Zhang, Steven G. Cresawn, Deborah Jacobs-Sera, Roger W. Hendrix, Graham F. Hatfull

Biology Faculty Publications

Genomic analysis of a large set of phages infecting the common hostMycobacterium smegmatis mc²155 shows that they span considerable genetic diversity. There are more than 20 distinct types that lack nucleotide similarity with each other, and there is considerable diversity within most of the groups. Three newly isolated temperate mycobacteriophages, Bongo, PegLeg, and Rey, constitute a new group (cluster M), with the closely related phages Bongo and PegLeg forming subcluster M1 and the more distantly related Rey forming subcluster M2. The cluster M mycobacteriophages have siphoviral morphologies with unusually long tails, are homoimmune, and have larger than average …