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Differential Expression Of Cyb5a In Chinese And European Pig Breeds Due To Genetic Variations In The Promoter Region..Pdf, Ying Bai, Jibin Zhang, Y Xue, Yl Peng, Gang Chen, Meiying Fang

Jibin Zhang

Embryogenesis And Tadpole Description Of Hyperolius Castaneus Ahl, 1931 And H. Jackie Dehling, 2012 (Anura, Hyperoliidae) From Montane Bog Pools

Edgar Lehr

Assessing The Use Of Non-Lethal Tail Clips For Measuring Stable Isotopes Of Plethodontid Salamanders, Joseph Milanovich, John Maerz

Joseph Milanovich

Stable isotopes are increasingly used in ecology to study the diets, trophic position, and migratory patterns of wildlife including herpetofauna. When using stable isotopes, it is important to consider which tissues can or should be sampled, and how selecting tissues may affect the inferences drawn from stable isotope data. Amphibians offer fewer tissues than other larger organisms that can be harvested in sufficient quantity without killing the animal; however, many salamanders have tails that readily autotomize and regenerate. We used three species of plethodontid salamander (Plethodon cinereus, P. metcalfi, and Desmognathus quadramaculatus) to determine whether distal tail tissue had carbon …

Lead-Phase And Red-Stripe Color Morphs Of Red-Backed Salamanders (Plethodon Cinereus) Differ In Hematological Stress Indices: A Consequence Of Differential Predation Pressure?, Andrew Davis, Joseph Milanovich

Joseph Milanovich

Throughout the animal kingdom there are species that have two or more phenotypic forms or ‘morphs’, and many of these are amphibians. In North America, the red-backed salamander Plethodon cinereus can have either a red dorsal stripe or no dorsal stripe (lead-phase form), and evidence to date indicates the lead-phase form incurs a greater number of attacks from predators. In a recent collection of 51 P. cinereus, blood smears of both color morphs (35 red-stripe, 16 lead-phase) were examined to obtain numbers of circulating leukocytes (via light microscopy), which can be used to indirectly estimate levels of stress hormones in …

Projected Loss Of A Salamander Diversity Hotspot As A Consequence Of Projected Global Climate Change, Joseph Milanovich, William Peterman, Nathan Nibbelink, John Maerz

Joseph Milanovich

Significant shifts in climate are considered a threat to plants and animals with significant physiological limitations and limited dispersal abilities. The southern Appalachian Mountains are a global hotspot for plethodontid salamander diversity. Plethodontids are lungless ectotherms, so their ecology is strongly governed by temperature and precipitation. Many plethodontid species in southern Appalachia exist in high elevation habitats that may be at or near their thermal maxima, and may also have limited dispersal abilities across warmer valley bottoms.

National Park Service Nonnative Plant Control In The Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore, Jacob Halpin, Laurie Eberhardt, Laura Thompson

Laurie Eberhardt

Invasive plants have become a growing threat to plant diversity and hydrology in the Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore. Invasive plants compete with native plants for nutrients and sunlight, and certain invasive species have been known to completely take over certain areas of wetlands, nearly destroying entire ecosystems. The Dunes Lakeshore contains over 1,400 plants species and is one of the top ten most diverse national parks in the United States. The mission statement of the National Park Service is to “preserve for the educational, inspirational, and recreational use of the public certain portions of the Indiana Dunes.” In order …

Comparative Phyloclimatic Analysis And Evolution Of Ecological Niches In The Scimitar Babblers (Aves: Timaliidae: Pomatorhinus), Arpad Nyari, Sushma Reddy

Sushma Reddy

We present the first extensive and integrative analysis of niche evolution based on climatic variables and a dated molecular phylogeny of a heterogeneous avian group of Southeast Asian scimitar babblers of the genus Pomatorhinus. The four main clades of scimitar babblers have species that co-occur in similar areas across southern Asia but some have diverged at different timeframes, with the most recently evolved clade harboring the highest number of species. Ecological niche models and analysis of contributing variables within a phylogenetic framework indicate instances of convergent evolution of members of different clades onto similar ecological parameter space, as well …

But What Is It That You Actually Do? (What It's Really Like Working In The Lab), Michael Reagan

Michael S. Reagan

No abstract provided.

Unveiling The Impact Of Human Influence On Species Distributions In Vietnam: A Case Study Using Babblers (Aves: Timaliidae), Laurel Yohe, Johnathan Flanders, Hoang Minh Duc, Long Vu, Sushma Reddy

Sushma Reddy

As developing countries give priority to economic growth, the effects of development threaten natural habitats and species distributions. Over the course of two decades, Vietnam has rapidly developed, especially in the expansion of agricultural production. However, no study has quantitatively measured the effects of recent human impact on the effects of past species distributions in Vietnam. We use locality data collected from multiple natural history collections, including several in Vietnam, to infer past species distributions. We assess habitat availability of five common babbler species (Aves: Timaliidae) using distribution models with data prior to rapid development that followed political reform. Overlaying …

An Annotated Bibliography Of References To Historical Distributions Of Pronghorn In Southern And Baja California, David Brown, Jorge Cancino, Kevin Clark, Myrna Smith, Jim Yoakum

David C. Brown

Recent pronghorn (Antilocapra americana) translocations to southern California and the establishment of captive populations of endangered desert pronghorn have revived interest in the historical occurrence of pronghorn in the Californias. Adding to this interest is the recent widespread replacement of coastal sage scrub vegetation in southern California by annual grasslands more favorable to pronghorn. We have searched the scientific and popular literature, as well as museum collections, to locate pronghorn antelope occurrences from below San Francisco Bay southward through the Baja California peninsula. Our results show that pronghorn were widely distributed, and often abundant, on nearly all of the plains …

Invasion By Exotic Earthworms Alters Litter- And Soil-Dwelling Oribatid Mites, Jordan Burke, John Maerz, Joseph Milanovich, Melanie Fisk, Kamal Gandhi

Joseph Milanovich

Exotic earthworms are drivers of biotic communities in invaded North American forest stands. Here we used ecologically important oribatid mite (Arachnida: Acari) communities, as model organisms to study the responses of litter- and soil-dwelling microarthropod communities to exotic earthworm invasion in a northern temperate forest. Litter- and soil-dwelling mites were sampled in 2008–2009 from forest areas: (1) with no earthworms; (2) those with epigeic and endogeic species, including Lumbricus rubellus Hoffmeister; and (3) those with epigeic, endogeic, and anecic earthworms including L. terrestris L. Species richness and diversity of litter- and soil-dwelling (0–2 cm soil depth) oribatid mites was 1–2 …

Macronuclear Genome Sequence Of The Ciliate Tetrahymena Thermophila, A Model Eukaryote, Jonathan Eisen, Robert Coyne, Martin Wu, Dongying Wu, Mathangi Thiagarajan, Jennifer Wortman, Jonathan Badger, Qinghu Ren, Paolo Amedeo, Kristie Jones, Luke Tallon, Arthur Delcher, Steven Salzberg, Joana Silva, Brian Haas, William Majoros, Maryam Farzad, Jane Carlton, Roger Smith, Jyoti Garg, Ronald Pearlman, Kathleen Karrer, Lei Sun, Gerard Manning, Nels Elde, Aaron Turkewitz, David Asai, David Wilkes, Yufeng Wang, Hong Cai, Kathleen Collins, B. Stewart, Suzanne Lee, Katarzyna Wilamowska, Zasha Weinberg, Walter Ruzzo, Dorota Wloga, Jacek Gaertig, Joseph Frankel, Che-Chia Tsao, Martin Gorovsky, Patrick Keeling, Ross Waller, Nicola Patron, J. Cherry, Nicholas Stover, Cynthia Krieger, Christina Del Toro, Hilary Ryder, Sondra Williamson, Rebecca Barbeau, Eileen Hamilton, Eduardo Orias

Jonathan A. Eisen Ph.D.

The ciliate Tetrahymena thermophila is a model organism for molecular and cellular biology. Like other ciliates, this species has separate germline and soma functions that are embodied by distinct nuclei within a single cell. The germline-like micronucleus (MIC) has its genome held in reserve for sexual reproduction. The soma-like macronucleus (MAC), which possesses a genome processed from that of the MIC, is the center of gene expression and does not directly contribute DNA to sexual progeny. We report here the shotgun sequencing, assembly, and analysis of the MAC genome of T. thermophila, which is approximately 104 Mb in length and …

Effect Of Sugars On Artemisinin Production In Artemisia Annua L.: Transcription And Metabolite Measurements, Patrick Arsenault, Daniel Vail, Kristin Wobbe, Pamela Weathers

Kristin K. Wobbe

The biosynthesis of the valuable sesquiterpene anti-malarial, artemisinin, is known to respond to exogenous sugar concentrations. Here young Artemisia annua L. seedlings (strain YU) were used to measure the transcripts of six key genes in artemisinin biosynthesis in response to growth on sucrose, glucose, or fructose. The measured genes are: from the cytosolic arm of terpene biosynthesis, 3-hydroxy-3-methyl-glutaryl-CoA reductase (HMGR), farnesyl disphosphate (FPS); from the plastid arm of terpene biosynthesis, 1-deoxyxylulose-5-phosphate synthase (DXS), 1-deoxyxylulouse 5-phosphate reductoisomerase (DXR); from the dedicated artemisinin pathway amorpha-4,11-diene synthase (ADS), and the P450, CYP71AV1 (CYP). Changes in intracellular concentrations of artemisinin (AN) and its precursors, …

Distribution And Ecotypic Variation Of The Invasive Annual Barb Goatgrass (Aegiolops Triuncialis) On Serpentine Soil, Kelly G. Lyons, A M. Shapiro, Mark W. Schwartz

Kelly G Lyons

Successful colonization of newly introduced species is driven by a multitude of factors and is highly dependent on the species. It has long been hypothesized that preadaptation and postestablishment natural selection of introduced species can facilitate their invasion; however, to date, limited research has been dedicated to these theories. In addition, although the correlation between establishment of invasive species and disturbance has been noted and widely studied, the susceptibility of undisturbed habitats to invasion remains unclear. In California, serpentine habitats are severe edaphic environments that have been relatively free of anthropogenic disturbance and nonindigenous species invasions. In this study, we …

Distribution And Ecotypic Variation Of The Invasive Annual Barb Goatgrass (Aegiolops Triuncialis) On Serpentine Soil, Kelly G. Lyons, A M. Shapiro, M. W. Schwartz

Kelly G Lyons

Successful colonization of newly introduced species is driven by a multitude of factors and is highly dependent on the species. It has long been hypothesized that preadaptation and postestablishment natural selection of introduced species can facilitate their invasion; however, to date, limited research has been dedicated to these theories. In addition, although the correlation between establishment of invasive species and disturbance has been noted and widely studied, the susceptibility of undisturbed habitats to invasion remains unclear. In California, serpentine habitats are severe edaphic environments that have been relatively free of anthropogenic disturbance and nonindigenous species invasions. In this study, we …

Forecasting Climate Change Impacts On The Distribution Of Wetland Habitat In The Midwestern United States, Heath Garris, Randall Mitchell, Lauchlan Fraser, Linda Barrett

Randall J. Mitchell

Shifting precipitation patterns brought on by climate change threaten to alter the future distribution of wetlands. We developed a set of models to understand the role climate plays in determining wetland formation on a landscape scale and to forecast changes in wetland distribution for the Midwestern United States. These models combined 35 climate variables with 21 geographic and anthropogenic factors thought to encapsulate other major drivers of wetland distribution for the Midwest. All models successfully recreated a majority of the variation in current wetland area within the Midwest, and showed that wetland area was significantly associated with climate, even when …

The Receptor For Activated C Kinase In Plant Signaling: Tale Of A Promiscuous Little Molecule, Tania Islas-Flores, Ahasanur Rahman, Hemayet Ullah, Marco A. Villanueva

Hemayet Ullah

Reef Fish Assemblages And Fisheries In Parque Nacional Del Este, Dominican Republic, Emily Schmitt Lavin, Mark Chiappone, Kathleen Sullivan-Sealey, F. Geraldes, E. Pugibet, Robert Sluka, R. Torres, M. Vega, Y. Rodriguez, J. Alarcon, Y. Lictensztain, G. Bustamante

Emily F Schmitt Lavin

Parque National del Este is the second largest protected area in the Dominican Republic, comprising 110 km2 of terrestrial habitats located in the southeastern Dominican Republic. Established in 1975, the park delineation did not include the adjacent marine area, despite its long history of commercial fisheries. Since 1994, several U.S. and Dominican partner organizations have conducted scientific investigations of the marine resources of the area. This paper provides data on the status of snapper and groupers reef assemblages and finfish fisheriescollected during 1995 1997. Methods used in the study included: 1) visual transects (20 m x 5 m) of predatory …

Evaluating The Use Of Roving Diver And Transect Surveys To Assess The Coral Reef Fish Assemblage Off Southeastern Hispaniola, Emily Schmitt Lavin, Robert Sluka, Kathleen Sullivan-Sealey

Emily F Schmitt Lavin

The relatively little-studied fish fauna off southeastern Hispaniola was rapidly assessed using a combination of visual survey techniques including transects and roving diver surveys. It was found that when combined, both methods provided a more complete overall species assessment than either method was able to provide in isolation. Being able to conduct rapid species assessments is becoming increasingly more important as a conservation tool. Data on species composition, sighting frequency, and abundance of all fishes were collected using both methods. Abundance was recorded in four logarithmic-based categories (roving diver method) while the number of fishes were counted within 40-m2 transects …

Comparison Of Grouper Assemblages In Northern Areas Of The Wider Caribbean: A Preliminary Assessment, Emily Schmitt Lavin, Robert Sluka, Kathleen Sullivan-Sealey

Emily F Schmitt Lavin

Groupers (Pisces: Serranidae) are important top-level predators in wider Caribbean, but have experienced significant exploitation, resulting in declines in abundance, size, spawning aggregations, and changes in species composition. Larger groupers are particularly vulnerable to intense fishing because of their longevity, slow growth, delayed reproduction, and aggregate spawning. Marine fishery reserves (MFR), areas permanently closed to consumptive use, offer a viable means to protect grouper resources. This study reports on fishery-independent surveys of groupers in four regions of the tropical western Atlantic during 1995 - 1997: Florida Keys, central Bahamas, southeastern Cuba, and Dominican Republic. The regions surveyed included two national …

Academic Instruction For Students With Asd:Teaching And Adapting Core Academic Content In Science And Math, Emily Schmitt Lavin

Emily F Schmitt Lavin

No abstract provided.

Surveying Coral Reef Fishes : A Manual For Data Collection, Processing, And Interpretation Of Fish Survey Information For The Tropical Northwest Atlantic, Emily Schmitt Lavin, Deena Feeley, Kathleen Sullivan-Sealey

Emily F Schmitt Lavin

In order to utilize the untapped resources of volunteers, REEF and TNC, in active partnership, established the REEF Fish Survey Project. The Project involves the training and mobilization of a large corps of volunteers and is currently the only program with the technical and organizational ability to gather marine biodiversity data in a systematic and reliable manner. Objectives of the project are: 1.) to provide training and education opportunities for SCUBA divers and snorkelers to learn to identify and appreciate marine life 2.) to make data and summary reports readily accessible to the marine science, resource management, and conservation communities …

Complete Genome Sequence Of Spiroplasma Turonicum Strain Tab4ct, A Parasite Of A Horse Fly, Haematopota Sp. (Diptera: Tabanidae)., Robert E. Davis, Jonathan Shao, Yan Zhao, Gail E. Gasparich, Brady J. Gaynor, Nicole Donofrio

Gail Gasparich

Ontogenetic Scaling Of Metabolism, Growth, And Assimilation: Testing Metabolic Scaling Theory With Manduca Sexta Larvae., Andrew Kerkhoff, Harry Itagaki

Harry Itagaki

Metabolism, growth, and the assimilation of energy and materials are essential processes that are intricately related and depend heavily on animal size. However, models that relate the ontogenetic scaling of energy assimilation and metabolism to growth rely on assumptions that have yet to be rigorously tested. Based on detailed daily measurements of metabolism, growth, and assimilation in tobacco hornworms, Manduca sexta, we provide a first experimental test of the core assumptions of a metabolic scaling model of ontogenetic growth. Metabolic scaling parameters changed over development, in violation of the model assumptions. At the same time, the scaling of growth rate …

The Use Of Mock Nsf-Type Grant Proposals And Blind Peer Review As The Capstone Assignment In Upper-Level Neurobiology And Cell Biology Courses., Harry Itagaki

Harry Itagaki

Although the use of grant proposals and blind peer review are standard in the natural sciences, their use as a pedagogical tool is rarely mentioned in the literature. As a consequence of dissatisfaction with term papers and literature reviews as the capstone writing experience in 300-level undergraduate biology courses, I have been experimenting with mock NSF-type grant proposals followed by blind peer review as the major assignment in my junior/senior-level classes. The improvement in educational outcomes and competencies due to this assignment appears to be substantial and worth the additional effort on both the students' and instructor's parts. Here, I …

Peripheral And Central Structures Involved In Insect Gustation., Harry Itagaki

Harry Itagaki

Studies in insect gustation have a long history in general physiology, particularly with work on fly labellar and tarsal sensilla and in the general field of insect-plant interactions, where work on immature Lepidoptera and chrysomelid beetles has been prominent. Much more emphasis has been placed on the physiological characteristics of the sensory cells than on the central cellular mechanisms of taste processing. This is due to the fairly direct access for physiological experimentation presented by many taste sensilla and to the obvious importance of tastants in insect feeding and oviposition behaviour. In some of the insect models used for gustatory …

The Olfactory Responses Of The Antenna And Maxillary Palp Of The Fleshfly, Neobellieria Bullata (Diptera: Sarcophagidae), And Their Sensitivity To Blockage Of Nitric Oxide Synthase, Harry Itagaki

Harry Itagaki

The relative sensitivities of the olfactory receptors in the antenna and maxillary palp of the fleshfly,Neobellieria bullata, were assessed using simultaneous electroantennograms (EAGs) and electropalpograms (EPGs). In general, the antennae and maxillary palps were more sensitive to odors related to animals (blood extract and saturated carboxylic acid) than to odors that were plant-derived (citral, hexenol, hexenal). In addition, the maxillary palps were relatively less sensitive to plant-derived odorants than the antennae, perhaps related to their anatomical position. Scanning electron microscopy was also used to assess the types of sensilla found on the two organs. In addition, NADPH-diaphorase histochemistry …

The Cation-Chloride Cotransporter, Masbsc, Is Widely Expressed In Manduca Sexta Tissues., Haruhiko Itagaki, Christopher Gillen, Kathy Gillen

Harry Itagaki

Cation-chloride cotransporters, including the Na-K-Cl cotransporter, play an important role in epithelial ion transport in insects. We have determined the tissue distribution of Manduca sexta bumetanide sensitive cotransporter (masBSC), a putative Na-K-Cl cotransporter that was originally cloned from M. sexta Malpighian tubules. We developed a polyclonal antibody (M6) against a C-terminal fragment of masBSC. masBSC protein was detected by M6 at an apparent molecular mass of approximately 220kDa in M. sexta foregut, midgut, hindgut, Malpighian tubule, salivary gland, fat body, trachea, and nerve cord. Higher expression was observed in the foregut than in other tissues. M6 stained the apical membrane …

Arabidopsisearly-Flowering Mutants Reveal Multiple Levels Of Regulation In The Vegetative-To-Floral Transition, Karen Hicks

Karen Hicks

The isolation and characterization of flowering time mutants should further the understanding of the developmental pathways that regulate the transition to reproductive development. Because plant development is a sequential and continuous process, the genetic analysis of floral initiation is likely to benefit from the analysis of mutations that cause pleiotropic phenotypes. This review focus on early-flowering mutants ofArabidopsisthat display additional phenotypes in either inflorescence development or light perception, and discusses the possibility that genes controlling early flower development are regulated by environmentally responsive genetic pathways.

The Arabidopsis Elf3 Gene Regulates Vegetative Photomorphogenesis And The Photoperiodic Induction Of Flowering., Karen Hicks

Karen Hicks

Flowering in Arabidopsis thaliana is promoted by longday (LD) photoperiods such that plants grown in LD flower earlier, and after the production of fewer leaves, than plants grown in short-day (SD) photoperiods. The early-flowering 3 (elf3) mutant of Arabidopsis, which is insensitive to photoperiod with regard to floral initiation has been characterized elf3 mutants are also altered in several aspects of vegetative photomorphogenesis, including hypocotyl elongation. When inhibition of hypocotyl elongation was measured, elf3 mutant seedlings were less responsive than wild-type to all wavelengths of light, and most notably defective in blue and green light-mediated inhibition. When analyzed for the …