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Full-Text Articles in Life Sciences

Understanding The Impacts Of Current And Future Environmental Variation On Central African Amphibian Biodiversity, Courtney A. Miller Dec 2018

Understanding The Impacts Of Current And Future Environmental Variation On Central African Amphibian Biodiversity, Courtney A. Miller

University of New Orleans Theses and Dissertations

Global climate change is projected to impact multiple levels of biodiversity by imposing strong selection pressures on existing populations, triggering shifts in species distributions, and reorganizing entire communities. The Lower Guineo-Congolian region in central Africa, a reservoir for amphibian diversity, is predicted to be severely affected by future climate change through rising temperatures and greater variability in rainfall. Geospatial modelling can be used to assess how environmental variation shapes patterns of biological variation – from the genomic to the community level – and use these associations to predict patterns of biological change across space and time. The overall goal of …


A Common Genetic Mechanism Underlies Morphological Diversity In Fruits And Other Plant Organs, Shan Wu, Biyao Zhang, Neda Keyhaninejad, Gustavo R. Rodríguez, Hyun Jung Kim, Manohar Chakrabarti, Eudald Illa-Berenguer, Nathan K. Taitano, M. J. Gonzalo, Aurora Díaz, Yupeng Pan, Courtney P. Leisner, Dennis Halterman, C. Robin Buell, Yiqun Weng, Shelley H. Jansky, Herman Van Eck, Johan Willemsen, Antonio J Monforte, Tea Meulia, Esther Van Der Knaap Nov 2018

A Common Genetic Mechanism Underlies Morphological Diversity In Fruits And Other Plant Organs, Shan Wu, Biyao Zhang, Neda Keyhaninejad, Gustavo R. Rodríguez, Hyun Jung Kim, Manohar Chakrabarti, Eudald Illa-Berenguer, Nathan K. Taitano, M. J. Gonzalo, Aurora Díaz, Yupeng Pan, Courtney P. Leisner, Dennis Halterman, C. Robin Buell, Yiqun Weng, Shelley H. Jansky, Herman Van Eck, Johan Willemsen, Antonio J Monforte, Tea Meulia, Esther Van Der Knaap

Plant and Soil Sciences Faculty Publications

Shapes of edible plant organs vary dramatically among and within crop plants. To explain and ultimately employ this variation towards crop improvement, we determined the genetic, molecular and cellular bases of fruit shape diversity in tomato. Through positional cloning, protein interaction studies, and genome editing, we report that OVATE Family Proteins and TONNEAU1 Recruiting Motif proteins regulate cell division patterns in ovary development to alter final fruit shape. The physical interactions between the members of these two families are necessary for dynamic relocalization of the protein complexes to different cellular compartments when expressed in tobacco leaf cells. Together with data …


How Behavior Of Nontarget Species Affects Perceived Accuracy Of Scat Detection Dog Surveys, Karen E. Dematteo, Linsey W. Blake, Julie K. Young, Barbara Davenport Sep 2018

How Behavior Of Nontarget Species Affects Perceived Accuracy Of Scat Detection Dog Surveys, Karen E. Dematteo, Linsey W. Blake, Julie K. Young, Barbara Davenport

Wildland Resources Faculty Publications

Detection dogs, specially trained domestic dogs (Canis familiaris), have become a valuable, noninvasive, conservation tool because they remove the dependence of attracting species to a particular location. Further, detection dogs locate samples independent of appearance, composition, or visibility allowing researchers to collect large sets of unbiased samples that can be used in complex ecological queries. One question not fully addressed is why samples from nontarget species are inadvertently collected during detection dog surveys. While a common explanation has been incomplete handler or dog training, our study aimed to explore alternative explanations. Our trials demonstrate that a scat’s genetic …


Eight-Legged Encounters—Arachnids, Volunteers, And Art Help To Bridge The Gap Between Informal And Formal Science Learning, Eileen Hebets, Melissa Welch-Lazoritz, Pawl Tisdale, Patricia Wonch Hill Feb 2018

Eight-Legged Encounters—Arachnids, Volunteers, And Art Help To Bridge The Gap Between Informal And Formal Science Learning, Eileen Hebets, Melissa Welch-Lazoritz, Pawl Tisdale, Patricia Wonch Hill

Eileen Hebets Publications

Increased integration and synergy between formal and informal learning environments is proposed to provide multiple benefits to science learners. In an effort to better bridge these two learning contexts, we developed an educational model that employs the charismatic nature of arachnids to engage the public of all ages in science learning; learning that aligns with the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS Disciplinary Core Ideas associated with Biodiversity and Evolution). We created, implemented, and evaluated a family-focused, interactive science event—Eight-Legged Encounters (ELE)—which encompasses more than twenty modular activities. Volunteers facilitated participant involvement at each activity station and original …