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Full-Text Articles in Biology

Exploration Of Enterococcus Faecalis Bacteriophages Diversity: Comprehensive Phylogenetic Analysis And Discovery Isolation Of Enterococcus Faecalis Phage From A Soil Sample In South Florida, Hailey N. Jauernick Apr 2024

Exploration Of Enterococcus Faecalis Bacteriophages Diversity: Comprehensive Phylogenetic Analysis And Discovery Isolation Of Enterococcus Faecalis Phage From A Soil Sample In South Florida, Hailey N. Jauernick

All HCAS Student Capstones, Theses, and Dissertations

Enterococcus faecalis is a commensal bacterium found in the gastrointestinal tract, oral cavity, and vagina of humans, which can transition to pathogenic states, leading to diverse infections. Many E. faecalis infections are becoming progressively challenging to treat, stemming from the lack of effective antibiotic therapies against its virulence factors, including biofilm formation and antibiotic resistance. Phage therapy emerges as a promising alternative, targeting bacteria with minimal impact on host flora. However, despite phages' ubiquitous presence and potential applications in medicine and biotechnology, their diversity and ecological niches are vastly understudied. Here, we investigated the diversity of sequenced E. faecalis phages …


Psammocora Stellata Distribution At Devil's Crown, Floreana Island, Galápagos Islands, Ecuador, María José Guarderas Sevilla Dec 2023

Psammocora Stellata Distribution At Devil's Crown, Floreana Island, Galápagos Islands, Ecuador, María José Guarderas Sevilla

All HCAS Student Capstones, Theses, and Dissertations

In the Galápagos Archipelago, the free-living nodular coral Psammocora stellata is a common species that does not form reef structures. However, it is a key component of the ecosystem by increasing habitat complexity and, consequently, species diversity. This species experienced a drastic decline in Devil’s Crown channel, Floreana Island, where it disappeared after the 1982-83 El Niño-Southern Oscillation, presumably by displacement of unattached colonies by strong surface waves and currents. This assemblage has now recovered to pre-impact levels. A combination of underwater photoquadrats from 2007 and 2009 and recent (2023) orthomosaics were used to determine changes in coral densities and …


Twenty Years Of Change In A Southeast Florida Acropora Cervicornis Thicket, Daniel Perez Apr 2023

Twenty Years Of Change In A Southeast Florida Acropora Cervicornis Thicket, Daniel Perez

All HCAS Student Capstones, Theses, and Dissertations

Acropora cervicornis is a species of stony coral that can exist in large thickets that provide functionally unique habitat. However, populations have declined by 98% in some areas of the Caribbean. Even in death, the structure from an A. cervicornis thicket provides surface area for the attachment of benthic organisms. Broward County Acropora (BCA) is an A. cervicornis thicket, located off Fort Lauderdale, Florida, which has been monitored since 2003. The objective of this study was to describe the temporal changes in community structure in response to 20 years of disturbances affecting BCA. Data was collected by taking images along …


Caribbean Reef-Building Coral-Symbiodiniaceae Network: Identifying Symbioses Critical For System Stability In A Changing Climate, Shaman Patel Dec 2022

Caribbean Reef-Building Coral-Symbiodiniaceae Network: Identifying Symbioses Critical For System Stability In A Changing Climate, Shaman Patel

All HCAS Student Capstones, Theses, and Dissertations

Increasing global ocean temperatures and frequency of marine heatwaves pose dire consequences for coral reefs. High temperatures often lead to disruptions in coral symbiosis resulting in coral bleaching, increasing the mortality of corals. However, corals can potentially avoid bleaching peril by associating with thermally tolerant symbionts. Here we provide a tool for understanding symbiosis network stability of Caribbean reef-building corals. We created a network of Caribbean hermatypic corals and their associated Symbiodiniaceae phylotypes. A bleaching model was applied to this network to test for resilience and robustness (R50) to thermal stress. It was also layered with trait data for coral …


Summer To Autumn Population Of Wild Eumaeus Atala On The Ft. Lauderdale Campus Of Nova Southeastern University, Alexandra M. Lens Aug 2021

Summer To Autumn Population Of Wild Eumaeus Atala On The Ft. Lauderdale Campus Of Nova Southeastern University, Alexandra M. Lens

Mako: NSU Undergraduate Student Journal

Eumaeus atala is an endangered tropical butterfly native to the Caribbean and some parts of Florida, USA. Following population reductions primarily due to habitat loss, E. atala populations are now increasing due to conservation efforts of its cycad host plants, especially Zamia integrifolia (coontie). The purpose of this study was to observe, document, and measure the population of wild E. atala on the Ft. Lauderdale, Florida campus of Nova Southeastern University where landscaping use of host plants supports a natural population of E. atala. Forty-four host plants located in two different sites were observed for 14 weeks. One site …


Subsistence Strategies In Traditional Societies Distinguish Gut Microbiomes, Alexandra J. Obregon-Tito, Raul Y. Tito, Jessica Metcalf, Krithivasan Sankaranarayanan, Jose C. Clemente, Luke K. Ursell, Zhenjiang Zech Xu, Will Van Treuren, Rob Knight, Patrick M. Gaffney, Paul Spicer, Paul Lawson, Luis Marin-Reyes, Omar Trujillo-Villarroel, Morris Foster, Emilio Guija-Poma, Luzmila Troncoso-Corzo, Christina Warinner, Andrew T. Ozga, Cecil M. Lewis Jr. Mar 2015

Subsistence Strategies In Traditional Societies Distinguish Gut Microbiomes, Alexandra J. Obregon-Tito, Raul Y. Tito, Jessica Metcalf, Krithivasan Sankaranarayanan, Jose C. Clemente, Luke K. Ursell, Zhenjiang Zech Xu, Will Van Treuren, Rob Knight, Patrick M. Gaffney, Paul Spicer, Paul Lawson, Luis Marin-Reyes, Omar Trujillo-Villarroel, Morris Foster, Emilio Guija-Poma, Luzmila Troncoso-Corzo, Christina Warinner, Andrew T. Ozga, Cecil M. Lewis Jr.

Biology Faculty Articles

Recent studies suggest that gut microbiomes of urban-industrialized societies are different from those of traditional peoples. Here we examine the relationship between lifeways and gut microbiota through taxonomic and functional potential characterization of faecal samples from hunter-gatherer and traditional agriculturalist communities in Peru and an urban-industrialized community from the US. We find that in addition to taxonomic and metabolic differences between urban and traditional lifestyles, hunter-gatherers form a distinct sub-group among traditional peoples. As observed in previous studies, we find that Treponema are characteristic of traditional gut microbiomes. Moreover, through genome reconstruction (2.2–2.5 MB, coverage depth × 26–513) and functional …