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Spatial Variation In Sexual Size Dimorphism And Mating Associations In The Color Polymorphic Eastern Red-Backed Salamander (Plethodon Cinereus), Maggie M. Hantak, Olivia L. Brooks, Kyle M. Brooks, Carl D. Anthony, Cari-Ann M. Hickerson, Kelly A. Williams, Shawn R. Kuchta

2025 Faculty Bibliography

Sexual selection due to mate preference for certain traits can maintain phenotypic diversity within populations and species. In taxa with discrete phenotypes, such as color polymorphic species, assortative mating may lead to disruptive selection and sympatric divergence, yet how such interactions vary over species' ranges remains poorly understood. To address this shortcoming, we examined spatial patterns of sexual size dimorphism and presumptive male–female mating pairs based on body size and coloration in the color polymorphic Eastern Red-backed Salamander, Plethodon cinereus. This species exhibits two common color morphs, striped and unstriped, that also differ in other elements of their biology, including …

Effects Of Single-Cell Dietary Protein Sources On Feeding, Growth, And Resource Allocation In The Juvenile Sea Urchin Lytechinus Variegatus, Darrien Jamila De Jesus

All ETDs from UAB

An understanding of nutrition can improve culture of sea urchins, whether as a research model or in the production of seafood products. Macronutrients, including dietary protein sources, can affect growth and reproductive profiles and alter resource allocation to somatic and gametic tissues. Although sea urchins in culture can be fed natural products, diet formulations using various ingredients can be developed to reliably produce desired outcomes. Single-cell protein sources represent a potential alternative to current industry standards of animal-derived protein sources such as fish and squid meal, which are becoming increasingly overfished and expensive. In the present study, we evaluated the …

Variation In Maternal Alkaloid Provisioning And Its Effects On Antimicrobial Defense In Tadpoles Of The Poison Frog Oophaga Pumilio, Erica Berent

Masters Theses

No abstract provided.

Genetic Influences On Individual Variability In Western Lowland Gorilla (Gorilla Gorilla Gorilla) Social Behavior, Hadley Mueller-Hill

Master's Theses

While primates are considered highly social animals, the evolutionary origins and mechanisms underlying their social behaviors remain unclear. Not only do they exhibit an extensive range of behaviors, but individuals within the same species can also vary widely in their social interactions. Genetics play a significant role in shaping these individual variations in behavior; multiple genetic variants have been associated with differences in social behavior in mammals. Examples of these include MAOA and OXTR genes, which influence the expression of behaviors associated with antisocial and prosocial temperaments. Genetic polymorphisms affect primate interactions, impacting an individual’s ability to maintain its status …

Effects Of Nitrogen, Phosphorus And The Fungicide Azoxystrobin Additions On Larval And Post-Metamorphic Fitness Of American Toads (Anaxyrus Americanus), Michael Vosburgh

Dissertations

Since European settlement, vast areas of U.S. land have been modified by humans. In the Midwest, an estimated 99% of native grasslands have been replaced by agriculture and urban development. Such alternations have replaced native habitat, redefined hydrology and introduced a wide array of chemicals into aquatic ecosystems. Modern agricultural practices utilize fertilizers and pesticides to maximize crop production. These chemicals frequently runoff into surrounding waters, potentially effecting aquatic organisms. One group of organism thought to be susceptible to agricultural contaminants are amphibians. Amphibians are vulnerable to pollution due, in part, to their permeable skin and biphasic life history. Global …

Food Finding Ability Does Not Predict Annual Survival In Winter Resident Birds, Aidan Hand

Honors Program: Senior Projects (Public)

Small non-migratory birds in temperate locations face many challenges to survive the winter. They must be able to find enough food, which is in decreased supply, to fuel the energetic demands of staying warm. Prior work has demonstrated that birds show individual variation in their foraging behaviors that could contribute to the discovery of new foraging patches, such as novel environment exploration. A better ability to discover new food sources could increase a bird’s chance of surviving the winter by increasing its access to new food patches. To test this hypothesis, we used radio frequency identification (RFID)-enabled bird feeders to …

Squid Paralarvae Turn With High Agility Using Jets Near The Reynolds Number Threshold For Viscous Domination, Ian K. Bartol, Alissa M. Ganley, Paul S. Krueger, Joseph T. Thompson

Biological Sciences Faculty Publications

Turning is critical for survival in the ocean, as marine animals need to maneuver to capture prey, elude predators, and navigate complex environments. While prior research has focused on turning performance of adult swimmers, less is known about early ontogenetic stages that locomote within lower Reynolds number (Re) regimes, especially young jetters. To evaluate squid paralarval turning proficiency and the role of the pulsed jet in maneuvers, recently hatched longfin squid Doryteuthis pealeii swimming in a viewing chamber were studied using digital particle image velocimetry and kinematic motion analyses. Paralarvae exhibited a wide repertoire of turning behaviors, including those performed …

Genome-Wide Snp Analyses Reveal High Gene Flow Of Endemic Smallscale Croaker (Boesemania Microlepsis) In The Lower Mekong Basin, Quyen Dang Ha Vu, Christopher E. Bird, Oanh Thi Truong, Sang Quang Tran, Ellen E. Biesack, Amanda S. Ackiss, Kent E. Carpenter, Binh Truy Dang

Biological Sciences Faculty Publications

The Smallscale Croaker, Boesemania microlepis, is a valuable fishery resource in the Mekong River basin that lacks clear biological data to understand its basic ecology and conservation management priorities. This species is common in the southernmost floodplain of the Mekong which extends from Tonlé Sap in Cambodia to the Mekong Delta in Vietnam. This floodplain is of particular biodiversity conservation concern because of the many upstream dams that restrict water flow in an ecology that relies heavily on a flood-pulse cycle. The literature regarding the biology B. microlepis in this region contains conflicting ideas that populations are both highly …

Comparing The Development And Viability Of Horseshoe Crab Eggs Laid In Beach And Salt Marsh Habitats, Daniel A. Sasson, Christopher C. Chabot, Jo-Marie Kasinak, Jennifer Mattei Ph.D., Elizabeth U. Scott, Fletcher K. Hall, Michael R. Kendrick

Biology Faculty Publications

The horseshoe crab, Limulus polyphemus, has recently been found to spawn regularly in salt marshes, despite the long-held assumption that salt marsh sediments are not conducive for embryonic development. Here, we tested the prediction that eggs laid in the salt marsh would develop more slowly and be less viable than eggs laid on beaches. We flagged the nests of spawning horseshoe crabs in the marshes and beaches of three states—South Carolina, Connecticut, and New Hampshire—and then excavated those nests one or three weeks later. We staged the excavated embryos to compare developmental progress between marshes and beaches. We found …

Spectral Divergence Prioritizes Key Classes, Genes, And Pathways Shared Between Substance Use Disorders And Cardiovascular Disease, Everest Castaneda, Elissa Chesler, Erich J. Baker

Funded Scholarship

Substance use disorders (SUDs) are heterogeneous diseases with 

overlapping biological mechanisms and often present with co-occurring disease, 

such as cardiovascular disease (CVD). Gene networks associated with SUDs 

also implicate additional biological pathways and may be used to stratify 

disease subtypes. Node and edge arrangements within gene networks impact 

comparisons between classes of disease, and connectivity metrics, such as 

those focused on degrees, betweenness, and centrality, do not yield sufficient 

discernment of disease network classification. Comparatively, the graph 

spectrum’s use of comprehensive information facilitates hypothesis testing 

and inter-disease clustering by using a larger range of graph characteristics. 

By adding a connectivity-based …

Patterns Of Kinship And Sociality In North American River Otters, Whitney E. Vickers

Cal Poly Humboldt theses and projects

Previous studies of river otters (Lontra canadensis) in coastal Humboldt County, California have documented varying social group compositions over the last four decades. It has been assumed that otters travel between coastal wetland sites, but the extent of movement has been unknown. Socially, river otters have been observed alone, in small family groups that consisted of an otter mom and pup(s), in larger helper groups that consisted of an otter mom, pup(s), and at least one additional adult or juvenile (helpers), and in all-adult social groups. Until now it was unknown whether the composition of social groups was …

The Role Of Floodplain Complexity In Wood Turtle Habitat Use, Laura S. Deming

Antioch University Dissertations & Theses

Wood turtles occupy cold, low-gradient riverine habitat throughout the northeastern United State and southeastern Canada. Stream alterations, such as dams, channel straightening, and floodplain development have diminished the natural hydrologic and sedimentation regimes that result in complex channel and floodplain geomorphology. Studies throughout the species’ range have quantified many aspects of their habitat, but none have quantified components of geomorphology of wood turtle sites. The goal of this study was to explore the role of stream channel and floodplain geomorphology in wood turtle habitat use, with specific objectives to (1) quantify components of stream channel and floodplain geomorphic complexity, (2) …

The Effect Of Sars-Cov-2 On Bacterial Diversity And Abundance In Community Wastewater, Joshua Lambert

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Severe acute respiratory syndrome corona virus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) enters human respiratory cells through binding of its spike (S) protein to the ACE-2 receptor, which is highly expressed in lung cells, but is also found in over 150 other cell types encompassing major organs including GI enterocytes. SARS-CoV-2 causes gut dysbiosis in infected individuals and patients with COVID-19 and also coincides with lower alpha diversity of the individual’s gut microbiome. Certain gut microbiome-associated genera are lower in abundance in COVID-19 patients including Lachnospira, Prevetolla, Roseburia, Bifidobacterium, and Faecalibacterium while genera such as Bacteroides, Enterococcus and Proteobacteria are increased during a SARS-CoV-2 …

Enhancing Alfalfa Persistence In Rangelands: Evaluating Morphological Traits Of Medicago Sativa Subsp. Falcata Germplasm, Abdulallah Mohammed Alomair

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Rangelands cover nearly half of the Earth’s surface, representing about 54% (79 million km2), and occur in different types and climates worldwide. Alfalfa (Medicago sativa L.) is a major component in rangelands and covers about (320 thousand km2), representing about 0.4% of total global rangeland area. As a critical perennial legume crop, alfalfa can improve soil health by fixing approximately 336 kg/ha/year of nitrogen and sequestering up to 614 kg/ha/year of carbon, while enhancing livestock production due to its high content level of vitamins, magnesium, minerals, fiber, and protein. However, environmental stresses such as drought, freezing, and grazing limit alfalfa …

Molecular Insights Into The Impact Of Bone Marrow Stroma, Cb-6644 Inhibition Of The Ruvbl1/2 Complex, And Cebpβ On Regulating Drug Sensitivity In Multiple Myeloma, Sebastian Adam Dziadowicz

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Multiple myeloma (MM), is a hematological cancer originating in plasma cells. Currently multiple myeloma represents a significant clinical challenge due its incurable nature mainly due to inevitable drug resistance. MM is characterized by abnormal plasma cell proliferation within the bone marrow and production of abnormal immunoglobulin resulting in a plethora of physiological abnormalities. Although a rare malignancy, MM accounts for 1% of all cancers and currently has five-year survival rate of around 50%. Utilizing a combination of laboratory experiments and bioinformatics techniques, this dissertation examines multiple layers of MM physiology in the context of regulating drug resistance or sensitivity. First, …

Using Algal Turf Scrubber Biomass As A Feed Source For Juvenile Eastern Oysters, Taofeek Saka Jimoh

College of Graduate Studies: Theses & Dissertations

Algal turf scrubber (ATS) is an engineered system that promotes natural wastewater treatment processes and improves water quality by passing a shallow stream of nutrient rich water over the surface of a gently sloped flow-way. Algae turf scrubber biomass is a combination of micro and macroalgae, as well as micro-invertebrates, ciliates, bacteria, and more. The overall aim of the study was to reduce the feeding cost of juvenile eastern oysters by replacing the commercial microalgae diet with ATS biomass. The experiment was designed to assess the viability of replacing commercial microalgal diet with ATS biomass at different substitution levels (0, …

Epithelial Responses And Remodeling In The Submandibular Gland Post-Irradiation, Victoria Gellatly

Electronic Theses & Dissertations (2024 - present)

Radiation therapy for head and neck cancer often causes irreversible salivary gland dysfunction, resulting in chronic xerostomia. Understanding the cellular and molecular mechanisms underlying this dysfunction is essential for developing regenerative therapies. Given the cellular complexity of the salivary gland single-cell RNA sequencing (scRNA-seq) provides a powerful approach to investigate cell-type-specific injury responses to ionizing radiation (IR) and uncover transcriptional changes that may be masked in bulk analyses. This study investigates the cellular and molecular responses of the murine submandibular gland (SMG) to irradiation, with a focus on epithelial loss and remodeling, and regenerative failure. In order to effectively use …

Genomic Differences And Parentage In West Virginia's Reintroduced Elk (Cervus Canadensis), Adam A.V. Cook

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Elk (Cervus canadensis) reintroductions have been common in the 20th and 21st centuries, yet 40% have failed to establish self-sustaining elk populations due to a lack of post-reintroduction demographic monitoring. Elk were reintroduced to West Virginia in 2016 following more than a century of absence after the species was extirpated in 1875. Elk were translocated to West Virginia from Land Between the Lakes National Recreation Area (LBL) in eastern Kentucky and from Arizona. The two groups of elk differ in their subspecies, physiology, reintroduction history, connectivity, and habitat. Reintroductions create genetic risks such as the founder effect and …

A Framework For Biomimetic Robot Design Applied To The Development Of A Robotic Model Of Drosophila Melanogaster, Clarissa A. Goldsmith

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

For decades, the field of biologically inspired robotics has leveraged insights from animal locomotion to improve the walking ability of legged robots. Recently, “biomimetic” robots have been developed to model how specific animals walk. By prioritizing biological accuracy to the target organism rather than the application of general principles from biology, these robots can be used to develop detailed biological hypotheses for animal experiments, ultimately improving our understanding of the biological control of legs while improving technical solutions. Much of this work involves biologically inspired walking controllers informed by the morphology and dynamics of the insect nervous system, which necessitate …

Molecular Characterization Of Fungus-Arthropod Associations, Angie M. Martin

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Arthropods, or phylum Arthropoda, are the largest group of animals, accounting for over three quarters of all animal records on NCBI Taxonomy. And yet, only 40% of all deposited sequences on NCBI Nucleotide come from arthropods. Clearly, arthropods are an understudied group of animals: they are small, often drab, and lead lives very alien to our own. Arthropods have chitinous exoskeletons, segmented bodies, and jointed appendages, and include crabs, barnacles, insects, spiders, and millipedes. Since the era of DNA based studies took off in the 1980s, DNA and other small molecules have been integral to our understanding of the Earth …

Investigating The Physiological, Metabolomic, And Transcriptomic Changes In Response To Telomerase Deletion In Saccharomyces Cerevisiae, Taizina Momtareen

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Telomerase is an enzyme found in rapidly dividing cells that maintains chromosome ends and prevents the loss of genetic information during cell division. When telomerase is inactive, cells gradually lose their telomeres and eventually stop dividing. In yeast, a rare subset of cells can bypass this growth arrest by switching to a recombination-based mechanism to maintain telomeres. Therefore, yeast provides a powerful system to study this adaptation, as telomerase-deficient strains can generate 'survivors' that mimic the Alternative Lengthening of Telomeres (ALT) pathway observed in some human tumors. In this work, my goal was to examine how a telomerase-null (TLC1 …

Evaluation And Identification Of Novel Viruses In Wild Fishes Using Varied Molecular Biology Techniques, Clayton Douglas Raines

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Viruses are among the most abundant biological entities on Earth, yet their diversity and ecological roles in aquatic vertebrates, particularly fishes, remain poorly characterized. This dissertation advances fish virology through integrative approaches that combine historical context, molecular diagnostics, and genomic discovery. A novel hepadnavirus (ApHBV) was identified in asymptomatic Alosa pseudoharengus, emphasizing the prevalence of subclinical infections in migratory forage species. In Catostomus commersonii, transcriptomic profiling revealed sexually dimorphic immune responses to hepatitis B and C-like viruses, highlighting complex host-pathogen dynamics. In Micropterus nigricans, next-generation sequencing uncovered a novel nackednavirus and multiple adomaviruses within hyperpigmented lesions, expanding …

Bio-Inspired Airfoil Design Based On The Aerodynamic Analysis Of A Bird Feather Microstructure, Jack C. Ihm

College of Graduate Studies: Theses & Dissertations

This study investigates the aerodynamic effects of a bio-inspired airfoil design based on the microstructure of a secondary feather from a female wood duck. The research hypothesized that incorporating barbs and barbules into an airfoil design would modify boundary layer behavior by introducing localized flow disturbances. To test this, a bio-inspired airfoil was developed by integrating the microstructure into a NACA 0012 airfoil and analyzed using computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulations at angles of attack of 0°, 5°, 10°, and 15°. The results showed that the bio-inspired airfoil influenced boundary layer behavior, producing localized flow disturbances near x/c = 0.7 …

Survey And Identification Of Entomopathogenic Fungi In Millipede Species In Coastal Georgia, Kristin L. Campbell Bailey

College of Graduate Studies: Theses & Dissertations

Entomopathogenic fungi are well-known, species-specific pathogens of a wide diversity of insects that infect, manipulate, and kill their insect hosts to complete their life cycle. Recently in Savannah, Georgia, millipedes belonging to the genus Eurymerodesmus were observed exhibiting pre-death climbing behaviors associated with pathogenic fungal infection. Dying millipedes summited vegetation and subsequently died in elevated positions along edge habitat transitioning a recreational field and forest. Upon inspection, fungal structures found emerging from dead millipedes anatomically resembled Arthrophaga myriapodina, which is the first documented entomophthoralean fungus to infect millipedes. The goal of this research was to obtain species-level identification of the …

Disposal Of Nanoplastics By The Brain: Plastic Persistence And Upregulation Of A Putative Plastic-Degrading Enzyme After Exposure To Polystyrene-Infused Food, Callie C. Mauersberg

College of Graduate Studies: Theses & Dissertations

Plastic is a ubiquitous material used in many domestic and commercial applications. Widespread use of plastic has led to environmental accumulation of plastic waste, and microplastics have inundated human food and water sources. Once consumed, it is well established that microplastics translocate from the gut to other tissues, including the brain, via the circulatory system. However, it is unknown if nanoplastics persist permanently in the brain. Additionally, it is not known if microplastics can be enzymatically degraded by phagocytic cells in the CNS, such as microglia and astrocytes. Alkane monooxygenase-homolog 7 (Alkbh7) is a mitochondrial enzyme that may …

Are Blow Flies (Diptera: Calliphoridae) Active Nocturnally In South Georgia?, Breana R. Manning

Honors College Theses

Medicolegal forensic entomology uses insect colonization of remains to estimate minimum post-mortem intervals (mPMI). Blow flies (Diptera: Calliphoridae) are among the earliest colonizers, yet their nocturnal activity remains poorly understood. This study aimed to determine whether blow flies are active at night and whether artificial light influences their behavior. Using baited bottle traps in both artificially lit and unlit environments near Georgia Southern University, flies were collected over two trials in fall 2024. Of the 1,843 blow flies collected, only six were captured at night (0.003%), suggesting minimal nocturnal activity. Lucilia coeruleiviridis preferred unlit environments. In contrast, Cochliomyia macellaria was …

Dictyostelids: The Second Major Group Of Slime Molds, P. Liu, Z.J. Zhang, J.H. Ge, Y. Zou, Z. Li, S. Li, Y. Li, S.L. Stephenson

Biological Sciences Faculty Publications and Presentations

The dictyostelids (also called cellular slime molds or social amoebae) are among the more abundant and widespread groups of microorganisms in terrestrial ecosystems. Despite this fact, they are totally unknown to most people, who sometimes confuse the dictyostelids with myxomycetes (or plasmodial slime molds). The first dictyostelid (Dictyostelium mucoroides) was described by the German Oskar Brefeld in 1869. More than 180 species are now known, and these organisms have been recorded from the high arctic to the subantarctic. The primary microhabitat for dictyostelids is the soil/humus layer on a forest floor, but they also occur in a number of other …

Identification Of Salt Tolerance And Stress Response In Us Department Of Agriculture Tomato Germplasm At The Seedling Stage, Ibtisam Alatawi, Haizheng Xiong, Kenani Chiwina, Hanan Alkabkabi, Qun Luo, Neelendra K. Joshi, Xiaolun Sun, Xuan Zhuang, Kai-Shi Ling, Ainong Shi

Horticulture Faculty Publications and Presentations

Soil salinity is a significant abiotic factor that impedes sustainable crop production in key agricultural regions worldwide. Saline cultivation adversely affects soil quality, whereas the use of saline water for irrigation disrupts the physiological and biochemical processes of plants. Continuous irrigation with high salt concentrations leads to a gradual buildup of soil salinity, thus hindering optimal plant growth and development. Consequently, there is a growing emphasis on breeding salinity-tolerant cultivars of various crops. In this study, 71 tomato accessions sourced from 20 countries and provided by the US Department of Agriculture were evaluated under controlled greenhouse conditions and subjected to …

Modeling Functional Connectivity With Learning And Memory In A Mouse Model Of Alzheimer’S Disease, Lindsay Fadel, Elizabeth Hipskind, Steen E Pedersen, Jonathan Romero, Caitlyn Ortiz, Eric Shin, Md Abul Hassan Samee, Robia G Pautler

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

Introduction: Functional connectivity (FC) is a metric of how different brain regions interact with each other. Although there have been some studies correlating learning and memory with FC, there have not yet been, to date, studies that use machine learning (ML) to explain how FC changes can be used to explain behavior not only in healthy mice, but also in mouse models of Alzheimer's Disease (AD). Here, we investigated changes in FC and their relationship to learning and memory in a mouse model of AD across disease progression.

Methods: We assessed the APP/PS1 mouse model of AD and wild-type controls …

The Prize Biter Of Modernity? Investigating Killer Whale Bite Mechanics, Daniel Hong

West Chester University Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Final Projects

Although the killer whale (Orcinus orca) is a cosmopolitan apex predator, very little work has been done on its feeding biomechanics. Here I use finite element analysis to investigate the mandibular stiffness of a juvenile male Bigg’s killer whale, and compare it to that of the false killer whale (Pseudorca crassidens) and the saltwater crocodile (Crocodylus porosus). Full mandibles and left and right halves of mandibles are simulated under FEA. I also estimate the total jaw muscle force produced by the Bigg’s killer whale using the dry skull method. The killer whale lacks an …