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Full-Text Articles in Life Sciences

Synchronization Of Reproduction In Deertoe Mussel (Truncilla Truncata), Kendell R. Loyd Dec 2017

Synchronization Of Reproduction In Deertoe Mussel (Truncilla Truncata), Kendell R. Loyd

MSU Graduate Theses

Freshwater mussels, Order Unionoida, are diverse and widespread in North America but have suffered general decline and many extinctions in recent decades. The reproductive biology of Unionoida is complex and may be vulnerable to human impacts. Male mussels release aggregates of sperm called spermatozeugmata that drift downstream. Females obtain spermatozeugmata from the water and brood the fertilized eggs internally during development. Many aspects of general reproductive biology are poorly understood, including the mechanisms that coordinate spawning and the route by which sperm meet eggs in the female. The present study focuses on reproduction in the Deertoe (Truncilla truncata), …


Elevated Temperature And Co2 Concentrations Affect Carbon Flux In Two Boreal Conifers, Sasha Madhavji Sep 2017

Elevated Temperature And Co2 Concentrations Affect Carbon Flux In Two Boreal Conifers, Sasha Madhavji

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Elevated temperatures and CO2 will alter carbon flux in two dominant boreal tree species Picea mariana (black spruce) and Larix laricina (tamarack). Trees were grown in three temperature treatments (ambient, ambient +4 °C, and ambient +8 °C) at either 400 ppm or 750 ppm CO2, to simulate climate conditions between now and the year 2100. Spruce acclimated to increasing temperature detractively; warming scenarios reduced spruce net carbon gain. Tamarack maintained comparable levels of net photosynthesis (Anet) across warming treatments and both species acclimated respiration (Rdark) with increasing growth temperature. Elevated CO2-grown …


Winter Warming Affects The Onset Of Reproduction But Not Cognition Or The Hippocampus In Black-Capped Chickadees (Poecile Atricapillus), Robert J. Martin Aug 2017

Winter Warming Affects The Onset Of Reproduction But Not Cognition Or The Hippocampus In Black-Capped Chickadees (Poecile Atricapillus), Robert J. Martin

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

The effects of overwinter temperature on behaviour and cognition, hippocampal volume, and reproductive timing were studied in Black-capped chickadees (Poecile atricapillus). I hypothesized that overwinter temperature would have varied effects for Black-capped chickadees that overwinter in northern climates. I found that temperature had no effect on behaviour and cognition, or hippocampal volume, but temperature did influence reproductive timing. Birds that experienced warmer winter conditions had significantly more developed gonads than birds that experienced colder conditions. These results suggest that while birds are clearly sensitive to ambient winter temperature, temperature only modulates some processes and not all. These studies …


Evaluating The Relationship Of Temperature And Growth Of A Larval Colorado River Catostomid, C. Latipinnis, Through Otolith Aging And Stable Isotopes (Δ18o), Adam Lawrence Barkalow Jul 2017

Evaluating The Relationship Of Temperature And Growth Of A Larval Colorado River Catostomid, C. Latipinnis, Through Otolith Aging And Stable Isotopes (Δ18o), Adam Lawrence Barkalow

Biology ETDs

Knowledge of early life history strategies and ecological dynamics of larval fish growth and development is invaluable for effectively managing and conserving common and endangered fish species. Isotopic analysis of otoliths (bony structures of the inner ear) from larval Flannelmouth Suckers Catostomus latipinnis obtained from the Colorado River in Grand Canyon could greatly facilitate understanding of thermally-regulated growth rates, thermal preferences, and ontogenetic habitat use by these fishes. Colorado River water temperatures in the Grand Canyon are highly modified from projected historic water temperatures present before closure Glen Canyon Dam. Cold water as result of Glen Canyon dam and hypolimnetic …


Quorum Sensing Signals Produced By Heterotrophic Bacteria In Black Band Disease (Bbd) Of Corals And Their Potential Role In Bbd Pathogenesis, Chinmayee D. Bhedi Jun 2017

Quorum Sensing Signals Produced By Heterotrophic Bacteria In Black Band Disease (Bbd) Of Corals And Their Potential Role In Bbd Pathogenesis, Chinmayee D. Bhedi

FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Black band disease (BBD) of corals is a temperature dependent, highly virulent, polymicrobial disease affecting reef-building corals globally. The microbial consortium of BBD is primarily comprised of functional physiological groups that include photosynthetic cyanobacteria, sulfate reducers, sulfide oxidizers and a vast repertoire of heterotrophic bacteria. Quorum sensing (QS), the cell-density dependent communication phenomenon in bacteria, is known to induce expression of genes for a variety of virulence factors in diseases worldwide. Microbes capable of QS release signals such as acyl homoserine lactones (AHLs) and autoinducer-2 (AI-2), which coordinate microbial interaction. The focus of the present study was to investigate the …


Multiple Opening Closing Net Environmental Sensing System (Mocness) Instrument Data For Cruise Dp05 R/V Point Sur In-Situ Deep Seawater And Associated Fauna, May 1-11, 2017, Viosca Knoll Gom, Gray Lawson, Travis Richards Jun 2017

Multiple Opening Closing Net Environmental Sensing System (Mocness) Instrument Data For Cruise Dp05 R/V Point Sur In-Situ Deep Seawater And Associated Fauna, May 1-11, 2017, Viosca Knoll Gom, Gray Lawson, Travis Richards

DEEPEND Datasets

The Multiple Opening Closing Net and Environmental Sensing System(s) (MOCNESS) deployed during the DEEPEND field program collects data (e.g., pressure, temperature, conductivity, volume filtered, horizontal and vertical velocity, latitude, and longitude) from several sensors while the instrument is in use. These data help characterize the environment and assess the orientation and speed of the MOCNESS. The flow and net angle can be used to calculate the volume of water filtered for each net. The biological data and ship data collected during this cruise are available in GRIIDC datasets R4.x257.226:0005 and R4.x257.226:0014 respectively.


Interacting Stressors And The Potential For Adaptation In A Changing World: Responses Of Populations And Individuals, Gareth R. Hopkins, Susannah S. French, Edmund D. Brodie Jr. Jun 2017

Interacting Stressors And The Potential For Adaptation In A Changing World: Responses Of Populations And Individuals, Gareth R. Hopkins, Susannah S. French, Edmund D. Brodie Jr.

Biology Faculty Publications

To accurately predict the impact of environmental change, it is necessary to assay effects of key interacting stressors on vulnerable organisms, and the potential resiliency of their populations. Yet, for the most part, these critical data are missing. We examined the effects of two common abiotic stressors predicted to interact with climate change, salinity and temperature, on the embryonic survival and development of a model freshwater vertebrate, the rough-skinned newt (Taricha granulosa) from different populations. We found that salinity and temperature significantly interacted to affect newt embryonic survival and development, with the negative effects of salinity most pronounced …


Reduced Mitochondrial Efficiency Explains Mismatched Growth And Metabolic Rate At Supraoptimal Temperatures., Eloy Martinez, Michael A. Menze, Salvatore J. Agosta Mar 2017

Reduced Mitochondrial Efficiency Explains Mismatched Growth And Metabolic Rate At Supraoptimal Temperatures., Eloy Martinez, Michael A. Menze, Salvatore J. Agosta

Faculty Scholarship

The relationship between whole-organism growth and metabolism is generally assumed to be positive and causative; higher metabolic rates support higher growth rates. In Manduca sexta, existing data demonstrate a deviation from this simple prediction: at supraoptimal temperatures for larval growth, metabolic rate keeps increasing while growth rate is decreasing. This mismatch presumably reflects the rising “cost of maintenance” with temperature. Precisely what constitutes this cost is not clear, but we suspect the efficiency with which mitochondria harness oxygen and organic substrates into cellular energy (ATP) is key. We tested this by integrating existing data on M. sexta growth and …


The Effect Of Cold On The Physiology Of Drosophila Larva Heart And On Synaptic Transmission At Crayfish Neuromuscular Junctions, Yuechen Zhu Jan 2017

The Effect Of Cold On The Physiology Of Drosophila Larva Heart And On Synaptic Transmission At Crayfish Neuromuscular Junctions, Yuechen Zhu

Theses and Dissertations--Biology

Ectothermic animals are susceptible to temperature changes such as cold shock with seasons. To survive through a cold shock, ectotherms have developed unique strategies. My interest is focusing on the physiological function of during cold shock and prolonged cold exposure in the fruit fly (Drosophila melanogaster) and crayfish (Procambarus clarkii). I used Drosophila melanogaster as a model system to investigate cardiac function in response to modulators (serotonin, acetylcholine, octopamine, dopamine and a cocktail of modulators) in acute cold shock and chronic cold shock conditions as possible mechanism to regulate heart rate in the cold. To examine if the dampened heart …


The Biological Stress Response In Bluegill Sunfish (Lepomis Macrochirus) To Variations In Environmental Temperature And Dissolved Oxygen Content., Monique Kellman Jan 2017

The Biological Stress Response In Bluegill Sunfish (Lepomis Macrochirus) To Variations In Environmental Temperature And Dissolved Oxygen Content., Monique Kellman

Honors College Theses

With the predicted increase in global water temperature and acute hypoxic episodes, knowledge of the effects these stressors can have on local aquatic life is extremely valuable. This study thereby quantified the change in metabolic rate in Bluegill sunfish, in response to increased temperature and low dissolved oxygen concentration, by utilizing intermittent flow respirometry. Both maximum metabolic rate (MMR) and resting metabolic rate (RMR) were determined in response to variations in dissolved oxygen content, specifically > 95% O2 and 40% O2. Additionally, three temperature treatment groups were established, with temperatures of 20, 25 and 30°C in order to …