Physical Sciences and Mathematics Commons^™

Wild Bees Of Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument: Richness, Abundance, And Spatio-Temporal Beta-Diversity, Olivia Messinger Carril, Terry Griswold, James Haefner, Joseph S. Wilson

All PIRU Publications

Interest in bees has grown dramatically in recent years in light of several studies that have reported widespread declines in bees and other pollinators. Investigating declines in wild bees can be difficult, however, due to the lack of faunal surveys that provide baseline data of bee richness and diversity. Protected lands such as national monuments and national parks can provide unique opportunities to learn about and monitor bee populations dynamics in a natural setting because the opportunity for large-scale changes to the landscape are reduced compared to unprotected lands. Here we report on a 4-year study of bees in Grand …

Developmental Parameters Of A Southern Mountain Pine Beetle (Coleoptera: Curculionidae) Population Reveal Potential Source Of Latitudinal Differences In Generation Time, Anne E. Mcmanis, James A. Powell, Barbara J. Bentz

Mathematics and Statistics Faculty Publications

Mountain pine beetle (Dendroctonus ponderosae, Hopkins) is a major disturbance agent in pine ecosystems of western North America. Adaptation to local climates has resulted in primarily univoltine generation time across a thermally diverse latitudinal gradient. We hypothesized that voltinism patterns have been shaped by selection for slower developmental rates in southern populations inhabiting warmer climates. To investigate traits responsible for latitudinal differences we measured lifestage-specific development of southern mountain pine beetle eggs, larvae and pupae across a range of temperatures. Developmental rate curves were fit using maximum posterior likelihood estimation with a Bayesian prior to improve fit stability. …

Genome-Wide Association Study For Variants That Modulate Relationships Between Cerebrospinal Fluid Amyloid-Beta 42, Tau, And P-Tau Levels, Taylor J. Maxwell, Chris Corcoran, Jorge L. Del-Aguila, John P. Budde, Yuetiva Deming, Carlos Cruchaga, Alison M. Goate, John S. K. Kauwe, Alzheimer's Disease Neuroimaging Initiative

Mathematics and Statistics Faculty Publications

Background: A relationship quantitative trait locus exists when the correlation between multiple traits varies by genotype for that locus. Relationship quantitative trait loci (rQTL) are often involved in gene-by-gene (G×G) interactions or gene-by-environmental interactions, making them a powerful tool for detecting G×G.

Methods: We performed genome-wide association studies to identify rQTL between tau and Aβ42 and ptau and Aβ42 with over 3000 individuals using age, gender, series, APOE ε2, APOE ε4, and two principal components for population structure as covariates. Each significant rQTL was separately screened for interactions with other loci for each trait in the rQTL model. Parametric bootstrapping …

Breeding Season Ecology And Demography Of Lesser Scaup (Aythya Affinis) At Red Rock Lakes National Wildlife Refuge, Jeffrey M. Warren

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

It is hypothesized that individuals make reproductive decisions based on current assessments of their physiological condition and environmental conditions. For female lesser scaup (Aythya affinis), breeding occurs after an energetically costly spring migration. Increasing fat reserves (i.e., ‘body condition’) prior to breeding allows a female to produce a larger clutch of eggs, but time spent gaining body condition is costly in terms of time allowed to raise ducklings before freezing conditions in the fall. In Chapter 2 I explored rate of pre-breeding body condition gain in female lesser scaup, and how that rate influenced clutch size. Spring phenology, …

Gymnosperms On The Edge, Félix Forest, Justin Moat, Elisabeth Baloch, Neil A. Brummitt, Steve P. Bachman, Steffi Ickert-Bond, Peter M. Hollingsworth, Aaron Liston, Damon P. Little, Sarah Mathews, Hardeep Rai, Catarina Rydin, Dennis W. Stevenson, Philip Thomas, Sven Buerki

Wildland Resources Faculty Publications

Driven by limited resources and a sense of urgency, the prioritization of species for conservation has been a persistent concern in conservation science. Gymnosperms (comprising ginkgo, conifers, cycads, and gnetophytes) are one of the most threatened groups of living organisms, with 40% of the species at high risk of extinction, about twice as many as the most recent estimates for all plants (i.e. 21.4%). This high proportion of species facing extinction highlights the urgent action required to secure their future through an objective prioritization approach. The Evolutionary Distinct and Globally Endangered (EDGE) method rapidly ranks species based on their evolutionary …

Transplanting A Bacterial Immune System: Determining The Function Of A Novel Crispr System, Riannon Smith, Melena Garrett

Research on Capitol Hill

CRISPR (Clusters of Regularly Interspaced Short Palindromic Repeats) loci and cas (CRISPR-associated) genes provide adaptive immunity (see panel below) in bacteria and have recently been repurposed for genome editing.

Systems are structurally and functionally diverse.

• 2 classes, 6 types, 33 subtypes
• Very few have been studied experimentally
• None of the Type IV systems have been characterized

Black Bears Recolonizing Historic Ranges: Indiana Human–Bear Interactions, Bradford J. Westrich, Emily B. Mccallen, Geriann Albers

Human–Wildlife Interactions

Over a century after extirpation from Indiana, USA, 2 American black bears (Ursus americanus) were confirmed in the state during the summers of 2015 and 2016. The first bear encountered a public and management agency unaccustomed to living with large carnivores, which resulted in intentional and unintentional feedings, habituation, and ultimately its euthanasia. The Indiana Department of Natural Resources (DNR) attempted to learn from this encounter and began preparing for the next transient black bear. Education materials were created to help minimize human–bear interactions, promote living safely with bears, and inform about what to do when encountering a …