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Full-Text Articles in Life Sciences

An Inordinate Fondness For Beetles: A Study Of Insect Species Diversity And Abundance In Mazumbai Forest Reserve Versus Nearby Agricultural Areas, Emma Weisner Apr 2018

An Inordinate Fondness For Beetles: A Study Of Insect Species Diversity And Abundance In Mazumbai Forest Reserve Versus Nearby Agricultural Areas, Emma Weisner

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

This study investigates how human disturbance of ecosystems alters insect diversity and abundance, specifically exploring how insect communities inside Mazumbai Forest Reserve in Tanzania differ from insect communities in agricultural areas near the reserve. Following methods of previous studies on the effect of disturbance on insect populations (Bellamy et al. 2018; McLaughlin & Mineau 1995; Perry et al. 2016), this research utilizes pitfall traps and yellow bowl traps in multiple locations throughout the two study areas to catch insects, which are then identified to their specific order. The collected data support the hypothesis that insect order diversity and abundance vary …


Olfactory Learning Capabilities Of Paraphrynus Laevifrons, John Perez Mar 2018

Olfactory Learning Capabilities Of Paraphrynus Laevifrons, John Perez

Honors Theses

Amblypygids, a species of nocturnal arachnids from the tropics and subtropics are incredibly intelligent and are able to not only navigate through difficult tropical terrain but also, it is believed, possess olfactory learning capabilities that aid in navigation and recollection of environments. It is hypothesized that through sensitive olfactory receptors on their antenniform legs and highly developed mushroom bodies, Amblypygi can not only learn smells but also learn to associate smells with certain stimuli such as a crevice to take refuge in. To test this hypothesis, Paraphrynus laevifrons, a species of amplypygid was subjected to four different learning treatment groups …


Arthropod Diets In Chihuahuan Desert Snakes, Victor Manuel Parga Jan 2018

Arthropod Diets In Chihuahuan Desert Snakes, Victor Manuel Parga

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Over the past century, studies in herpetology regarding snake diets have been commonly focused on those species that feed or specialize in vertebrate prey items. For those that feed primarily on invertebrates however, little work has been done in determining diet specializations and comparing diets within a community of species. This Thesis focuses on small species of snakes that feed primarily on arthropods in a Chihuahuan Desert community, and will investigate if these are diet generalists or specialists. To this end, stomach contents were examined from preserved specimens of the following species: Rena humilis and Rena dissecta (Leptotyphlopidae), Gyalopion canum …


Molecular Candidates For Blocking The Transmission Of Vector-Borne Diseases, Ashish Naresh Vora Jan 2018

Molecular Candidates For Blocking The Transmission Of Vector-Borne Diseases, Ashish Naresh Vora

Biological Sciences Theses & Dissertations

Vector-borne diseases (VBDs) require urgent attention as they have a high mortality rate, with 700,000 people dying in a year as of 2017. So far, extremely few reliable vaccination strategies and solutions have emerged. Transmission blocking vaccines are one among many solutions available to manage the control of VBDs. These require identification of both vector and pathogen molecules that play important roles in the transmission, dissemination and establishment of VBDs. Our strategy is to characterize these candidates that play important roles in vector-host-pathogen interactions. This manuscript presents two such studies identifying the participation of two arthropod molecules in vector-host-pathogen interactions. …