Biology Commons^™

Host-Microbe Interactions In Non-Native Estuarine Anemones: Biogeography And Temperature, Parker K. Lund

Cal Poly Humboldt theses and projects

Non-native species are increasing in prevalence around the world, resulting in negative economic and ecological impacts. However, the broad distributions of non-native species also offer a system for investigating the response of host-associated microbial communities to environmental factors across a range of ecological scales. At the broadest scale, I investigated the geography of microbial communities in the non-native estuarine anemone Diadumene lineata on the west coast of the United States of America. Across latitudes, microbial community composition was very similar and displayed a high percentage of Klebsiella spp. at all sites. However, the communities in California tended to exhibit higher …

Factors Influencing Primate Hair Microbiome Diversity, Catherine Kitrinos

Masters Theses

Primate hair is both a substrate upon which essential social interactions occur and an important host-pathogen interface. As commensal microbes provide important immune functions for their hosts, understanding the microbial diversity in primate hair could provide insight into primate immunity and disease transmission. While studies of human hair and skin microbiomes show differences in microbial communities across body regions, little is known about the nonhuman primate hair microbiome. In this study, we collected hair samples (n=159) from 8 body regions across 12 nonhuman primate species housed at 3 US institutions to examine 1) the diversity and composition of the primate …

Testing Protocols For Surveying Captive Limulus Polyphemus Microbiomes, Fabian Leija, Sean A. Neiswenter Dr.

LSAMP Poster Presentations

Limulus polyphemus, the Atlantic horseshoe crab, is a marine arthropod that primarily resides in the shallow intertidal zone of brackish water, water where high salinity seawater meets fresh water. The ecological niche that horseshoe crabs reside in makes them an ideal animal to be placed in an aquarium touch-tank, only needing a shallow pool of water to live comfortably as well as having a tough chitin carapace that won’t be easily damaged by visitors touching them. However, the implications of these human-animal interactions are severely unexplored with limited research being conducted regarding touch-tanks. In contrast, the consequences and hygienic practices …

Midguts, Microbes, And Mosquitoes: An Analysis Of The Microbiomes Of Aedes Aegypti And Aedes Albopictus, Flor Alicia Martinez

Theses and Dissertations

Experiment 1: Mosquito microbiomes are influenced by the environment and diets of mosquitoes. There is great variability within and among mosquito populations with few microbe inhabitants being well established among mosquitoes of similar species and environments. By understanding the potential variation in midgut microbiomes in lab and wild populations, we may assess the effect that microbiomes have on vector competency.

Experiment 2: Mosquito midgut microbes are essential for development and may influence the vector competency. Native and non-native strains of the midgut inhabitant, Cedecea, were introduced to laboratory colonies of Aedes aegypti and Aedes albopictus mosquitoes to help elucidate …

Is There A Link Between Aging And Microbiome Diversity In Exceptional Mammalian Longevity?, Graham M. Hughes, John Leech, Sebastien J. Puechmaille, Jose V. Lopez, Emma C. Teeling

Biology Faculty Articles

A changing microbiome has been linked to biological aging in mice and humans, suggesting a possible role of gut flora in pathogenic aging phenotypes. Many bat species have exceptional longevity given their body size and some can live up to ten times longer than expected with little signs of aging. This study explores the anal microbiome of the exceptionally long-lived Myotis myotis bat, investigating bacterial composition in both adult and juvenile bats to determine if the microbiome changes with age in a wild, long-lived non-model organism, using non-lethal sampling. The anal microbiome was sequenced using metabarcoding in more than 50 …

Physiology And Genetics Shape The Microbiome Of A Seabird Species (Oceanodroma Leucorhoa) More Than Environmental And Social Factors, Douglas Steven Pearce

Masters Theses

The microbiome provides multiple benefits to animal hosts that can profoundly impact health and behavior. Microbiomes are well-characterized in humans and animals in controlled settings, yet assessments of wild bird microbial communities remain vastly understudied. This study examines the multiple factors that affect the microbiome of a burrow-nesting Procellariiform bird species, Leach’s storm-petrel. 16S rRNA-based Illumina Mi-Seq analyses are used to assess the composition and structure of bird and burrow-associated bacterial communities. Results indicate that sex and skin site contribute to bird-associated bacterial community variation, and MHC heterozygosity impacts these bacterial assemblages in a sex and site-specific manner, potentially having …