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Animal Sciences Commons™

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Old Dominion University

2006

Articles 1 - 9 of 9

Full-Text Articles in Animal Sciences

A Sex-Linked Allele, Autosomal Modifiers And Temperature-Dependence Appear To Regulate Melanism In Male Mosquitofish (Gambusia Holbrooki), Lisa Horth Dec 2006

A Sex-Linked Allele, Autosomal Modifiers And Temperature-Dependence Appear To Regulate Melanism In Male Mosquitofish (Gambusia Holbrooki), Lisa Horth

Biological Sciences Faculty Publications

About 1% of male mosquitofish (Gambusia holbrooki) express melanic (mottled-black) body coloration, which differs dramatically from the wild-type, silvery-gray coloration. Here, I report on the genetic inheritance pattern of melanic coloration, which indicates Y-linkage, and at least one autosomal modifier. Phenotypic expression of melanism is also affected by temperature. Expression is constitutive ( temperature insensitive) in some populations, inducible ( temperature sensitive) in others. Constitutive and inducible expression occur among geographically proximal populations. However, males from any single population demonstrate the same constitutive or inducible expression pattern as one another. The F1 males from inter-population crosses demonstrate temperature-related …

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Year-Round Diet Of The Marsh Rice Rat, Oryzomys Palustris, In Virginia Tidal Marshes, Robert K. Rose, Shannon W. Mcgurk Oct 2006

Year-Round Diet Of The Marsh Rice Rat, Oryzomys Palustris, In Virginia Tidal Marshes, Robert K. Rose, Shannon W. Mcgurk

Virginia Journal of Science

The marsh rice rat, Oryzomys palustris, is the dominant semi-aquatic rodent living in tidal marshes of the Virginia coastal plain. Described as highly carnivorous, this species is known to consume a range of animal foods, including crustaceans, mollusks, fish, and arthropods, as well as some plant foods. Analysis of stomach contents from rice rats collected from Eastern Shore tidal marshes throughout an annual cycle revealed that all 103 stomachs contained dicots, 82 percent had monocots, 61 percent had crabs and insects, and 38 percent had snails. Thirty-eight percent of stomachs contained foods in all five categories, no stomach was …

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A Decade Of Changes For Virginia Freshwater Aquaculture (1993-2003), Scott H. Newton Oct 2006

A Decade Of Changes For Virginia Freshwater Aquaculture (1993-2003), Scott H. Newton

Virginia Journal of Science

Aquaculture surveys were designed and initiated along with the writing of the State Aquaculture Plan during 1993 to 1995. The first Virginia Aquaculture Survey, conducted for the production year 1993, established the status of both freshwater and marine commercial industries. Subsequent surveys were conducted to trace industry developments relevant to production aspects and economic impacts. Survey data from Virginia Agricultural Statistics Service Reports for 1993, 1995, 1997, and 2003 summarize a decade of Virginia freshwater aquaculture information. Significant changes in sales among the principal aquaculture species occurred over the 10-year period. The 1993 freshwater aquaculture value of $2.8 million increased …

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Detection Of Panulirus Argus Virus 1 (Pav1) In The Caribbean Spiny Lobster Using Fluorescence In Situ Hybridization (Fish), Caiwen Li, Jeffrey D. Shields, Hamish J. Small, Kimberly S. Reece, Carmony L. Hartwig, Roland A. Cooper, Robert E. Ratzlaff Oct 2006

Detection Of Panulirus Argus Virus 1 (Pav1) In The Caribbean Spiny Lobster Using Fluorescence In Situ Hybridization (Fish), Caiwen Li, Jeffrey D. Shields, Hamish J. Small, Kimberly S. Reece, Carmony L. Hartwig, Roland A. Cooper, Robert E. Ratzlaff

Biological Sciences Faculty Publications

Panulirus argus Virus 1 (PaV1) is the first virus known to be pathogenic to a wild lobster. It infects the Caribbean spiny lobster P. argus from the Florida Keys, and has a predilection for juveniles. The monitoring of the virus in wild populations and study of its behavior in the laboratory require the development of reliable diagnostic tools. A sensitive and specific fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) assay was developed for detection of PaV1. The lower detection limit using a 110 bp DNA probe in a dot-blot hybridization for PaV1 DNA was 10 pg of cloned template PaV1 DNA and …

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Chemical Evidence For Dietary Toxin Sequestration In The Asian Snake Rhabdophis Tigrinus, Deborah A. Hutchinson Jul 2006

Chemical Evidence For Dietary Toxin Sequestration In The Asian Snake Rhabdophis Tigrinus, Deborah A. Hutchinson

Biological Sciences Theses & Dissertations

Rhabdophis tigrinus (Colubridae: Natricinae) is an oviparous, bufophagous (toad-eating) snake from eastern Asia that possesses defensive integumentary glands on the neck known as nuchal glands. These glands are used in antipredator displays and typically contain bufadienolide toxins. Whereas toads are known to synthesize bufadienolide steroids from cholesterol precursors, we found that chemically undefended R. tigrinus must sequester bufadienolides from ingested toads in order to exhibit these compounds in their nuchal glands. Chemically defended females are capable of provisioning their embryos with these toxins so their unfed hatchlings possess defensive bufadienolides prior to consuming toads themselves. All of the hatchling R. …

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Defensin Transcript Distribution In Tissues And Life Stages Of The Ixodid Ticks Amblyomma Americanum And Ixodes Scapularis, Stephanie M. Todd Jul 2006

Defensin Transcript Distribution In Tissues And Life Stages Of The Ixodid Ticks Amblyomma Americanum And Ixodes Scapularis, Stephanie M. Todd

Biological Sciences Theses & Dissertations

A number of bacterial, viral, and protozoan diseases are transmitted to humans via arthropods. Arthropods possess an innate immune system to destroy invading microorganisms. However, arthropods unable to rid their systems of pathogens function as disease vectors. The American dog tick, Dermacentor variabilis, destroys invading Borrelia burgdorferi spirochetes, preventing transmission. In contrast, the black-legged tick, Ixodes scapularis, which is unable to destroy acquired B. burgdorferi, successfully vectors the pathogen. The Lone Star tick, Amblyomma americanum, vectors a similar pathogen called Borrelia lonestari. The distribution of defensin, an antimicrobial peptide of the innate immune system, was examined in A. americanum and/. …

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Substituting Otoliths For Chemical Analyses: Does Sagitta = Lapillus?, Nathan G. Smith, Cynthia M. Jones May 2006

Substituting Otoliths For Chemical Analyses: Does Sagitta = Lapillus?, Nathan G. Smith, Cynthia M. Jones

OES Faculty Publications

Chemical analysis of fish otoliths has become an important technique in fisheries science with widespread applications. Most research up to this point has focused predominantly on sagittal otoliths, but the underlying assumptions may also apply to lapilli. The goal of this study was to determine whether lapilli and sagittae have the same otolith chemistry and whether one can be substituted for the other for solution-based chemical analysis in wild-captured fish. We compared the stable isotope chemistry (δ13C and δ18O) of paired sagittae and lapilli of juvenile spotted seatrout Cynoscion nebulosus collected from Chesapeake Bay seagrass beds in 2002. …

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An Examination Of Seasonal Growth And Survivorship Of Sigmodon Hispidus In Southeastern Virginia, Heather Alyssa Green Jan 2006

An Examination Of Seasonal Growth And Survivorship Of Sigmodon Hispidus In Southeastern Virginia, Heather Alyssa Green

Biological Sciences Theses & Dissertations

A reexamination of specific population dynamic aspects of Sigmodon hispidus, the hispid cotton rat, is necessary in order to gain additional knowledge and perspective on this species in its northernmost distribution on the east coast of the United States. Previous studies of Virginia cotton rats were based on data from necropsies, which do not allow for the determination of certain population characteristics, such as density, growth, and survival. General population trends and rates of growth and survival in males and females throughout the seasons in Virginia will also provide a basis for comparison with populations of cotton rats in …

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The Adaptive Value Of Aggregation Among Juvenile Caribbean Spiny Lobster: An Evaluation Using Individual-Based Modeling, Thomas W. Dolan Iii, Mark J. Butler Iv Jan 2006

The Adaptive Value Of Aggregation Among Juvenile Caribbean Spiny Lobster: An Evaluation Using Individual-Based Modeling, Thomas W. Dolan Iii, Mark J. Butler Iv

Biological Sciences Faculty Publications

Ontogenetic changes in gregariousness by pre-reproductive animals, like that observed in juvenile Caribbean spiny lobsters (Panulirus argus), may be adaptive and reflect size-specific changes in the effectiveness of aggregation in promoting survival. Alternatively, aggregation may simply result from changes in the distribution or availability of suitable habitat structure, or from other behaviors that enhance survival. There are currently two hypotheses explaining the potential benefits of gregarious behavior in juvenile spiny lobsters, both of which focus on increasing survivorship by reducing predation pressure: the group benefit hypothesis and the guide hypothesis. The group benefit hypothesis argues that aggregations of …

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