Biology Commons^™

Defensive Behaviour Exhibited By The Yellow-Striped Poison Frog (Dendrobates Truncatus) In Response To Simulated Predation, Nina Savastano, Koary Lutz, Andrew Britton, Ralph Saporito

2020 Faculty Bibliography

No abstract provided.

Use Of Whole-Body Cryosectioning And Desorption Electrosprayionization Mass Spectrometry Imaging To Visualize Alkaloiddistribution In Poison Frogs, Adriana M. Jeckel, Kunihiro Matsumura, Keisuke Nishikawa, Yoshiki Morimoto, Ralph Saporito, Taran Grant, Demian R. Ifa

2020 Faculty Bibliography

Ambient mass spectrometry is useful for analyzing compounds that would beaffected by other chemical procedures. Poison frogs are known to sequester alkaloidsfrom their diet, but the sequestration pathway is unknown. Here, we describemethods for whole-body cryosectioning of frogs and use desorption electrosprayionization mass spectrometry imaging (DESI-MSI) to map the orally administeredalkaloid histrionicotoxin 235A in a whole-body section of the poison frog Den-drobates tinctorius. Our results show that whole-body cryosectioning coupled withhistochemical staining and DESI-MSI is an effective technique to visualize alkaloiddistribution and help elucidate the mechanisms involved in alkaloid sequestration inpoison frogs.

Reptodigitus Chapmanii (Nostocales, Hapalosiphonaceae) Gen. Nov.: A Unique Nostocalean (Cyanobacteria) Genus Based On A Polyphasic Approach1, Dale A. Casamatta, Chelsea D. Villanueva, Alyssa D. Garvey, Holly S. Stocks, Melissa Vaccarino, Petr Dvorak, Petr Hasler, Jeffrey R. Johansen

2020 Faculty Bibliography

The Nostocales is a monophyletic, heterocytous lineage of cyanobacteria capable of akinete production and division in multiple planes, depending upon family‐level clade. While present in a variety of ecosystems, the diversity of the Nostocales has been poorly elucidated. Due to environmentally ‐induced phenotypic plasticity, morphology alone is often insufficient to determine the true phylogenetic placement of these taxa. In order to bridge this gap, taxonomists now employ the polyphasic approach, combining methods such as morphological analysis, phylogenetic analysis based on DNA sequence and genetic identity based on ribosomal genes, and secondary structure of the 16S‐23S ITS and 16S rRNA gene …

Nostoc Oromo Sp. Nov. (Nostocales, Cyanophyceae) From Ethiopia: A New Species Based On Morphological And Molecular Evidence, Melaku Mesfin, Jeffrey R. Johansen, Nicole Pietrasiak, Lauren M. Bardarelli

2020 Faculty Bibliography

In the course of study of the cyanobacterial flora of Ethiopian soil crusts, we isolated a distinctive strain most closely resembling Chroococcidiopsis kashayi, and at first considered it to be a new Chroococcidiopsis species. However, when placed in nitrogen-free medium for an extended time period this strain developed heterocytes, and consequently was placed in the genus Nostoc. It is morphologically distinct from all other Nostoc species due to its consistent formation of microscopic few-celled colonies lacking clear filamentous organization, which release smaller colonies from the mother colony, leaving behind a persistent thin firm sheath that resembles cell wall material in …

Description Of Stenomitos Kolaenensis And S. Hiloensis Sp. Nov. (Leptolyngbyaceae, Cyanobacteria) With An Emendation Of The Genus, Sergei Shalygin, Regina R. Shalygina, Vera V. Redkina, Cory B. Gargas, Jeffrey R. Johansen

2020 Faculty Bibliography

Stenomitos is a recently established cyanobacterial genus, some species of which appear to be cryptic. Here we describe two new species in this genus, Stenomitos kolaensis sp. nov. isolated from the Al-Fe humic podzols of a boreal forest near Nikel town, Murmansk region, Russia and S. hiloensis sp. nov. isolated from a basaltic seep wall on Akeola Road, Hilo, Hawaii, USA. Phylogenetic analyses were conducted on the 16S and 16S-23S ITS rRNA gene regions using Bayesian Inference, and Maximum Likelihood. Phylogenetic analysis of the 16S-23S ITS rRNA region resulted in both S. kolaensis and S. hiloensis forming separate clades from …

Female Salamanders Experience Higher Parasitism Compared To Males: A Cost Of Female Reproduction?, Matthew D. Venesky, Joseph Alan Demarchi, Rachel Marbach, Keva Periyar, Cari-Ann M. Hickerson, Carl D. Anthony

2020 Faculty Bibliography

Males tend to experience higher rates of parasitism compared to females, a phenomenon associated with ecological factors, the fact that males engage in risky behaviors, and because testosterone is known to be immunosuppressive. However, females could experience higher rates of parasitism if energy is allocated from costly immune responses towards producing eggs. We used pooled data sets from laboratory experiments to investigate sex-specific differences in salamander (Plethodon cinereus) resistance to the emerging fungal pathogen Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis (‘‘Bd’’). Contrary to our predictions, we found that female salamanders had a higher prevalence of infection (~56%) and carried a higher Bd infection burden …

Ecological Features Of Cyanobacteria And Algae Communities Of The Littoral Of The Meromictic Lake Shira (Khakassia Republic, Russia), Lira Gaysina, A I. Fazlutdinova, O N. Mukhina, L F. Akhmadeyeva, D Yu Rogozin, A O. Bul’Khin, N V. Sukhanova, Jeffrey R. Johansen

2020 Faculty Bibliography

During the study of cyanobacteria and algae from littoral of the meromictic Lake Shira (Republic of Khakas- sia, Russia) forty-eight taxa were identified: Cyanobacteria – 7, Chlorophyta – 5, and Bacillariophyta – 36 species. Cyanobacteria were represented by cosmopolitan taxa Leptolyngbya voronichiniana, cf. Trichocoleus hospitus and widely distributed in the freshwater ecosystems species Phormidium cf. paulsenianum, Pseudophormidium cf. golenkinianum, P. pauciramosum, Leptolyngbya perforans, and L. subtilissima. Among green algae typical freshwater taxa Chloroidium saccharophilum, Desmodesmus abundans, Oocystis lacustris, Chlorella sp., Stigeoclonium sp. were detected. Among Bacillariophyta the most frequent species were Amphora ovalis, Cymbella affinis, Encyonema silesiacum, Eunotia fallax, Gomphonella …

Gosodesmine, A 7-Substituted Hexahydroindolizine From The Millipede Gosodesmus Claremontus, Madeline F. Hassler, Daniel P. Harrison, Tappey H. Jones, Casey H. Richart, Ralph Saporito

2020 Faculty Bibliography

Millipedes (Diplopoda) are well known for their toxic or repellent defensive secretions. Here we describe gosodesmine (1), 7-(4-methylpent-3-en-1-yl)-1,2,3,5,8,8a-hexahydroindolizine, a unique alkaloid with some terpene character found in the chemical defense secretions of the millipede Gosodesmus claremontus Chamberlin (Colobognatha, Platydesmida, Andrognathidae). The structure of 1 was suggested by its mass spectra and GC-FTIR spectra and established from its 1H, 13C, and 2D NMR spectra and 1D NOE studies. The 7-substituted indolizidine carbon skeleton of 1 was confirmed by unambiguous synthesis. This is the first report of an alkaloid from a platydesmid millipede and the first report of a 7-substituted indolizidine from …

Support For The Habitat Amount Hypothesis From A Global Synthesis Of Species Density Studies, James I. Watling, Rebecca Fang

2020 Faculty Bibliography

Decades of research suggest that species richness depends on spatial characteristics of habitat patches, especially their size and isolation. In contrast, the habitat amount hypothesis predicts that (1) species richness in plots of fixed size (species density) is more strongly and positively related to the amount of habitat around the plot than to patch size or isolation; (2) habitat amount better predicts species density than patch size and isolation combined, (3) there is no effect of habitat fragmentation per se on species density and (4) patch size and isolation effects do not become stronger with declining habitat amount. Data on …

Seed Source Regions Drive Fitness Differences In Invasive Macrophytes, Morgane B. Gillard, Rebecca E. Drenovsky, Gabrielle Thiébaut, Michèle Tarayre, Caryn J. Futrell, Brenda J. Grewell

2020 Faculty Bibliography

Premise Worldwide, ecosystems are threatened by global changes, including biological invasions. Invasive species arriving in novel environments experience new climatic conditions that can affect their successful establishment. Determining the response of functional traits and fitness components of invasive populations from contrasting environments can provide a useful framework to assess species responses to climate change and the variability of these responses among source populations. Much research on macrophytes has focused on establishment from clonal fragments; however, colonization from sexual propagules has rarely been studied. Our objective was to compare trait responses of plants generated from sexual propagules sourced from three climatic …

A Method For Removing Eggs Or Embryos From Preserved, Gravid Snakes That Minimizes Damage To Museum Specimens, Christopher Sheil, Luke J. Welton

2020 Faculty Bibliography

No abstract provided.

Robert Gordon Jaeger, Caitlin R. Gabor, Carl D. Anthony

2020 Faculty Bibliography

No abstract provided.

A Spatiotemporal Assessment Of Dietary Partitioning Between Color Morphs Of A Terrestrial Salamander, Maggie M. Hantak, Kyle M. Brooks, Cari-Ann M. Hickerson, Carl D. Anthony, Shawn R. Kuchta

2020 Faculty Bibliography

When color pattern variation is co-adapted with other biological features, distinct color morphs may be separated along divergent niche axes, and data on niche partitioning can provide insight into how distinct color morphs are maintained over spatiotemporal scales. The Eastern Red-backed Salamander, Plethodon cinereus, contains two common color morphs (striped and unstriped) that differ along several trait axes in addition to coloration. Previous studies from a single population have suggested that dietary composition represents an important axis of ecological differentiation between morphs of P. cinereus. To determine if morphs partition prey resources over space and time, we collected stomach contents …

Phylogeny And Taxonomy Of Synechococcus–Like Cyanobacteria, Jiri Komarek, Jeffrey R. Johansen, Jan Smarda, Otakar Strunecký

2020 Faculty Bibliography

Unicellular cyanobacteria constitute a substantial, ecologically important part of freshwater and marine microflora. Solitary, elongated cyanobacterial cells without apparent slime envelopes and dividing in a single plane perpendicular to the longitudinal axis were traditionally classified into the genus Synechococcus. The type species originates from a freshwater benthic habitat while a number of other Synechococcus–like species were described from diverse environments. Morphologically similar, unicellular populations of “Synechococcus” belong to the most abundant oxygen evolving prokaryotes inhabiting freshwater and oceanic picoplanktic communities. Other species from extreme thermal habitats were described from temperatures over 70 °C. Recent molecular analyses, particularly the 16S rRNA …

Two New Oculatella (Oculatellaceae, Cyanobacteria) Species In Soil Crusts From Tropical Semi–Arid Uplands Of México, Itzel Becerra–Absalón, Jeffrey R. Johansen, Karina Osorio–Santos, Gustavo Montejavo

2020 Faculty Bibliography

Two isolates of Oculatella from biological soil crusts in the arid and semi–arid tropical upland region of México were characterized using a polyphasic approach which included morphology, ecology, 16S rRNA and 16S–23S ITS phylogenetic analysis, percent identity of 16S rRNA gene sequence, percent dissimilarity of 16S–23S ITS sequence, and secondary structure of conserved ITS domains. The two species shared the generic synapomorphy of a reddish granule at the tip of mature apical cells, and possessed a single ribosomal

operon with both tRNA genes (tRNAIle and tRNAAla) based upon our analysis and the analysis of the other spe- cies in the …

Chemical Defenses Shift With The Seasonal Vertical Migration Of A Panamanian Poison Frog, Edmund W. Basham, Ralph Saporito, Marcario González-Pinzón, Angel Romero-Marcucci, Brett R. Sheffers

2020 Faculty Bibliography

Dendrobatid poison frogs sequester lipophilic alkaloids from their arthropod prey to use as a form of chemical defense. Some dendrobatid frogs seasonally migrate between the leaf litter of the forest floor in the dry season to the canopy in the wet season, which may yield differences in prey (arthropods) and therefore alkaloid availability over space and time. Here, we document a seasonal vertical migration of Andinobates fulguritus (the yellow-bellied poison frog) from ground to canopy between dry and wet seasons. We observed turnover in alkaloid composition between seasons and found that dry season frogs contained a lower relative quantity of …