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Arrival Timing And Seasonal Reproductive Performance In A Long-Distance Migratory Landbird, Robert J. Smith, Frank R. Moore

Faculty Publications

The date when a landbird migrant arrives on its breeding grounds may have reproductive consequences. Generally, early arriving individuals begin breeding earlier and consequently experience greater seasonal reproductive performance. Here, we describe relationships between arrival timing and seasonal reproductive performance in the American redstart (Setophaga ruticilla), a long-distance passerine migrant, arriving at northerly breeding grounds in Michigan’s eastern Upper Peninsula. Evidence suggests that both males and females benefited from early arrival at the breeding grounds. Early males appeared to settle on higher quality territories and hatched nestlings sooner than later arrivals. Early females began their clutches early, produced …

Habitat Selection In Four Sympatric Small Mammal Species And The Effects Of Potential Predators On Peromyscus Leucopus, Adam Daniel Chupp

Theses and Dissertations

I examined the effects of potential predators in relation to habitat selection in Peromyscus leucopus. I also examined habitat selection in three other sympatric species (Blarina brevicauda, Blarina carolinensis, Sorex longirostris). I utilized data fiom 49 sampling sites on National Park Service land; Petersburg National Battlefield Eastern Front Unit (15), Five-Forks Unit (17), Appomattox Court House National Historical Park (15) and Booker T. Washington National Monument (12). Sites were categorized by location (park unit) and habitat type (i.e. bottom-land hardwood), and the microhabitat within each sampling site was characterized by four variables (% cover of grasses, herbs, shrubs, and volume …

Are Leptodactylus Didymus And L. Mystaceus Phylogenetically Sibling Species (Amphibia, Anura, Leptodactylidae)?, Rafael O. De Sá, W. R. Heyer, Arley Camargo

Biology Faculty Publications

The Leptodactylus fuscus species group consists of 25 currently recognized species; within this species group and distributed throughout the Amazon Basin, Atlantic Forests, Gran Chaco, and cerrados is the L. mystaceus species complex. This species complex consists of L. didymus, L. elenae, L. mystaceus, L. notoaktites, and L. spixi. Adult morphologies have been used to distinguish these species from each other except for L. didymus and L. mystaceus (Heyer, 1978; Heyer et al., 1996). Leptodactylus didymus and L. mystaceus are morphologically indistinguishable; the species are recognizable only by the characteristics of their advertisement calls: non-pulsed in L. didymus and pulsed …

Spontaneous Alternating Behavior In Paramecium Caudatum And Paramecium Multimicronucleatum, Nyron K. A. Bovell

College of Graduate Studies: Theses & Dissertations (1964–2006)

Spontaneous alternating behavior (SAB) describes the tendency of an organism to spontaneously select the unfamiliar direction in a two choice situation. Paramecium is the only microscopic genus in which SAB has been studied. The two earlier studies regarding SAB in Paramecium have come to conclusive, but diametrically opposed results. Designing a single new experiment that incorporates the critical differences in the designs of both studies may help to clarify the results from these earlier studies, and provide an excellent opportunity to better understand the factors that influence SAB.

The overall objective of this research project was to determine whether or …

Interspecific Competition For Pollination Lowers Seed Production And Outcrossing In Mimulus Ringens, John M. Bell, Jeffrey D. Karron, Randall J. Mitchell

Biology Faculty Research

Sympatric plant species with similar flowering phenologies and floral morphologies may compete for pollination, and as a consequence potentially influence each other's reproductive success and mating system. Two likely competitors are Mimulus ringens and Lobelia siphilitica, which co-occur in wet meadows of central and eastern North America, produce blue zygomorphic flowers, and share several species of bumble bee pollinators. To test for effects of competition for pollination, we planted experimental arrays of Mimulus ringens, each consisting of genets with unique combinations of homozygous marker genotypes. In two arrays we planted mixtures of Mimulus and Lobelia. and in two additional arrays …

Biochemical And Molecular Nutrition Blocks As Dietary Supplements In Llamas (Lama Glama) In The Last Third Of The Gestation Period Of The Ceac, Janette Illanes Callejas

Theses and Dissertations

The present work consisted in the use of biochemical and molecular nutrition blocks (BMN) in llamas during the last third of the gestation period, at the Agricultural Experiment Center of Condori (CEAC), located 49 km north of the city of Oruro, and 12 km north of the Caracollo population, in the province of Cercado. For this research work, we used 20 pregnant llamas in the last third of their gestation period, between the ages of 2 and 3 years old, 10 of which belonged to the Khara breed, and 10 to the Thampulli breed. Two corrals of 7 x 7 …

Cascading Effects Of Predator Removal On The Ecology Of Sea Turtle Nesting Beaches, Brandon Barton

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Traditional views of food web dynamics have characterized species interactions as linear and direct. However, modern food web theory suggests that interactions can also be nonlinear and indirect, so that disturbance at one trophic level is transmitted throughout the community. Many previous studies have demonstrated that the removal of top predators from terrestrial ecosystems can have broad-scale impacts on community ecology. I examined the direct and indirect effects of raccoon removal from sea turtle nesting beaches in east-central Florida during the summers of 2003 and 2004. Raccoon and ghost crab predation are among the highest causes of egg mortality for …

Confocal Laser Scanning Microscopy As A Tool For The Investigation Of Tetracycline Fluorescence In Archaeologicalhuman Bone, Corey Maggiano

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Fluorochromes such as tetracycline have been used to label bone for histomorphometric analysis, measuring bone formation, growth, maintenance, and pathology. More recently, similar fluorescence has been observed in ancient human bone. Attributed to tetracycline (TC) exposure, this phenomenon could affect various aspects of health during life and/or preservation of remains postmortem. Standard epifluorescence microscopy is the most common tool employed in the analysis of these labels. Though valuable, this technique is limited by its inability to penetrate bone three-dimensionally and its inclusion of out-of-focus light, possibly disrupting accurate analysis. Confocal Laser Scanning Microscopy (CLSM) has been demonstrated as a valuable …

Diet: Charina Bottae, T. J. Devitt, Ryan I. Hill, S. E. Cameron

College of the Pacific Faculty Articles

No abstract provided.

Effects Of Endogenous Steroid Hormone Levels On Annual Survival In Cliff Swallows, Charles R. Brown, Mary Bomberger Brown, Samrrah A. Raouf, Linda C. Smith, John C. Wingfield

School of Biological Sciences: Faculty Publications

The hormone corticosterone is an important part of animals’ response to environmental stress, modulating short-term adaptive changes in behavior and physiology. The hormone testosterone is also critical, especially for males, in regulating the expression of sexual behavior and parental care. These hormones can have costly consequences, however, and within populations individuals show variation in endogenous levels of both corticosterone and testosterone. We studied how annual survival varied as a function of natural levels of these hormones in colonially breeding Cliff swallows (Petrochelidon pyrrhonota) in southwestern Nebraska, USA, in 2000–2003. We sampled hormone levels of birds caught at colonies …

Testosterone And Group Size In Cliff Swallows: Testing The “Challenge Hypothesis” In A Colonial Bird, Linda C. Smith, Samrrah A. Raouf, Mary Bomberger Brown, John C. Wingfield, Charles R. Brown

School of Biological Sciences: Faculty Publications

The “challenge hypothesis” states that increases in testosterone levels of male animals during the breeding season are directly related to the extent of intrasexual competition for resources or mates that they experience. Although often tested in territorial species, the challenge hypothesis has not been evaluated for colonial animals that live in groups of different sizes and that thus experience different intensities of intrasexual competition. We measured circulating testosterone levels of male and female cliff swallows (Petrochelidon pyrrhonota) in southwestern Nebraska, where these birds nest in colonies of widely different sizes. Males had significantly higher testosterone levels than females, …

Mechanical Properties Of The Integument Of The Common Gartersnake, Thamnophis Sirtalis (Serpentes: Colubridae), Gabriel Rivera, Alan H. Savitzky, Jeffrey A. Hinkley

Biological Sciences Faculty Publications

The evolution of the ophidian feeding mechanism has involved substantial morphological restructuring associated with the ability to ingest relatively large prey. Previous studies examining the morphological consequences of macrophagy have concentrated on modifications of the skull and cephalic musculature. Although it is evident that macrophagy requires highly compliant skin, the mechanical properties of the ophidian integument have received limited attention, particularly in the context of feeding. We examined mechanical properties of skin along the body axis in Thamnophis sirtalis (Colubridae). Data were collected from tensile tests and were analyzed using a multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA) and post-hoc multiple comparison …

A Defensin-Like Gene Expressed In The Black-Legged Tick, Ixodes Scapularis (Acari: Ixodidae), Wayne L. Hynes, S. M. Ceraul, S. M. Todd, K. C. Seguin, Daniel E. Sonenshine

Biological Sciences Faculty Publications

The black-legged tick Ixodes scapularis linnaeus (Acari: Ixodidae) is an important vector of microbial pathogens. Knowledge of the tick's innate immune response, particularly defensin and other antimicrobial peptides, is important for understanding how microbes survive in this tick. A defensin gene (slnA) from I. scapularis was obtained by reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) using mRNA extracted from tissues of female ticks. RT-PCR indicated the gene was expressed in the midgut, haemocytes, and fat-body, although no evidence of a peptide was found. Sequencing a cloned cDNA fragment revealed a 225 bp open reading frame encoding a 74 amino acid pre-prodefensin, including …

Molecular Identification Of Anopheles Spp. (Diptera: Culicidae) In The Chapare/Carrasco Valleys, Cochabamba, Bolivia, Corey Brelsfoard

Masters Theses

Studies on malaria in our "backyard," the Neotropics, have been hampered by the lack of an accurate means of species identification for mosquito vectors of the human malaria parasite (i.e. Plasmodium spp). Mosquitoes in the genus Anopheles are the principle malaria vectors in the Neotropics and are often composed of closely related morphologically similar species complexes. This thesis describes three polymerase chain reaction (PCR) protocols to aid in identifying four anopheline mosquitoes for any life stage, of which three have been incriminated as vectors of human malaria in several locations throughout S. America and might be potential vectors of human …

An Evaluation Of Beaver Habitat Models For Illinois Rivers, Daniel R. Cox

Masters Theses

Beavers (Castor canadensis) are agents of landscape change, altering the structure and species composition of vegetative communities through herbivory and water impoundment. To better manage beavers in Illinois, improved methods of monitoring riverine populations of this species are needed. The objectives of the study were to (1) locate, map and quantify the spatial distribution of beaver colonies along the Embarras River, (2) test the efficacy of 2 existing beaver habitat models, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's Habitat Suitability Index (HSI) model and Missouri's beaver habitat model, for predicting the relative density of beavers and (3) develop a new multiple …

Copulatory Behaviors Of Male Caribbean Fruit Flies (Anastrepha Suspensa) And Female Sperm Storage Patterns, Holly J. Wallace

Masters Theses

Countless numbers of insects have copulatory behaviors performed while in copulation. Copulatory behaviors or copulatory courtship performed by males may be a means to influence female sperm storage patterns. Sexual selection in regards to female processes that influence male reproductive success are termed "cryptic female choice." In my thesis I examined copulatory behaviors performed by mass-reared male Anastrepha suspensa and sperm storage patterns in relation to male behavioral performance in females. I videotaped copulating virgin males and females of different ages and recorded mating duration, size of both sexes, male proboscis extensions, male probing of the females' head, thorax and …

Common Names For The Frog Genus Leptodactylus (Amphibia, Anura, Leptodactylidae), Ulisses Caramaschi, Rafael O. De Sá, W. Ronald Heyer

Biology Faculty Publications

Most species of the frog genus Leptodactylus lack common names. Common names are those names used by different human cultures and societies for the species of animals and plants where humans and biota reside together. Often times common names are lacking for Neotropical frogs or are broad in scope. For example, indigenous people may have a single name for frogs that occur on the ground and another name for frogs that occur in shrubs and trees, even though there are many species of ground frogs called by the same name as well as for the tree frogs. Sometimes colonists have …

Common Names For The Frog Genus Leptodactylus (Amphibia, Anura, Leptodactylidae), Ulisses Caramaschi, Rafael O. De Sá, W. Ronald Heyer

Biology Faculty Publications

Most species of the frog genus Leptodactylus lack common names. Common names are those names used by different human cultures and societies for the species of animals and plants where humans and biota reside together. Often times common names are lacking for Neotropical frogs or are broad in scope. For example, indigenous people may have a single name for frogs that occur on the ground and another name for frogs that occur in shrubs and trees, even though there are many species of ground frogs called by the same name as well as for the tree frogs. Sometimes colonists have …

Are Leptodactylus Didymus And L. Mystaceus Phylogenetically Sibling Species (Amphibia, Anura, Leptodactylidae)?, Rafael O. De Sá, W. R. Heyer, A. Camargo

Biology Faculty Publications

The Leptodactylus fuscus species group consists of 25 currently recognized species; within this species group and distributed throughout the Amazon Basin, Atlantic Forests, Gran Chaco, and cerrados is the L. mystaceus species complex. This species complex consists of L. didymus, L. elenae, L. mystaceus, L. notoaktites, and L. spixi. Adult morphologies have been used to distinguish these species from each other except for L. didymus and L. mystaceus (Heyer, 1978; Heyer et al., 1996). Leptodactylus didymus and L. mystaceus are morphologically indistinguishable; the species are recognizable only by the characteristics of their advertisement calls: non-pulsed in L. didymus and pulsed …

The Drosophila Lymph Gland As A Developmental Model Of Hematopoiesis, Seung Hye Jung, Cory J. Evans, Christine Uemura, Utpal Banerjee

Biology Faculty Works

Drosophila hematopoiesis occurs in a specialized organ called the lymph gland. In this systematic analysis of lymph gland structure and gene expression, we define the developmental steps in the maturation of blood cells (hemocytes) from their precursors. In particular, distinct zones of hemocyte maturation, signaling and proliferation in the lymph gland during hematopoietic progression are described. Different stages of hemocyte development have been classified according to marker expression and placed within developmental niches: a medullary zone for quiescent prohemocytes, a cortical zone for maturing hemocytes and a zone called the posterior signaling center for specialized signaling hemocytes. This establishes a …

Transgenic Mouse Model Of Tau Pathology In Astrocytes Leading To Nervous System Degeneration, Deepa V. Dabir

Biology Faculty Works

Filamentous tau inclusions in neurons and glia are neuropathological hallmarks of sporadic and familial tauopathies. Because tau gene mutations are pathogenic for the autosomal dominant tauopathy "frontotemporal dementia and parkinsonism linked to chromosome 17," tau abnormalities are implicated directly in the onset and/or progression of disease. Although filamentous tau aggregates are acknowledged to play roles in degenerative mechanisms resulting in neuron loss, the contributions of glial tau pathology to neurodegeneration remain essentially unexplored. To begin to elucidate the role of glial pathology in tauopathies, we generated a transgenic (Tg) mouse model of astrocytic tau pathology by expressing the human tau …

Between-Group Transmission Dynamics Of The Swallow Bug, Oeciacus Vicarius, Charles R. Brown, Mary Bomberger Brown

School of Biological Sciences: Faculty Publications

The parasitic cimicid swallow bug, Oeciacus vicarius, is the principal invertebrate vector for Buggy Creek virus (BCRV) and has also been associated with Venezuelan equine encephalitis virus. To help understand the spread of this vector, we experimentally measured the transmission of O. vicarius between groups (colonies) of its main host, the cliff swallow (Petrochelidon pyrrhonota), in the field. Transmission of bugs between colonies varied significantly with year, size of the colony, and week within the season. Bug immigration into sites tended to peak in mid-summer. Swallow nests in larger colonies had more consistent rates of bug introduction than …

"Tree-Climbing Crabs From Phytotemic Microhabitats In Rainforest Canopy In Madagascar" , Neil Cumberlidge, Dante B. Fenolio, Mark E. Walvoord, Jim Stout

Journal Articles

No abstract provided.

Allosteric Models For Multimeric Proteins : Oxygen-Linked Effector Binding In Hemocyanin., Michael Menze, Nadja Hellman, Heinz Decker, Manfred Grieshaber

Faculty and Staff Scholarship

In many crustaceans, changing concentrations of several low molecular weight compounds modulates hemocyanin oxygen binding, resulting in lower or higher oxygen affinities of the pigment. The nonphysiological effector caffeine and the physiological modulator urate, the latter accumulating in the hemolymph of the lobster Homarus Vulgaris during hypoxia, increase hemocyanin oxygen affinity and decrease cooperativity of oxygen binding. To derive a model that describes the mechanism of allosteric interaction between hemocyanin and oxygen in the presence of urate or caffeine, studies of oxygen, urate, and caffeine binding to hemocyanin were performed. Exposure of lobster hemocyanin to various pH values between 7.25 …

North American Watersnakes: A Natural History, Alan H. Savitzky

Biology Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Evidence For A General Species Time Arearelationship, P. B. Adler, Ethan P. White, W. K. Lauenroth, D. M. Kaufman, A. Rassweiler, J. A. Rusak

Biology Faculty Publications

The species-area relationship (SAR) plays a central role in biodiversity research, and recent work has increased awareness of its temporal analog, the species-time relationship (STR). Here we provide evidence for a general species-time-area-relationship (STAR), in which species number is a function of the area and time span of sampling, as well as their interaction. For eight assemblages ranging from lake zooplankton to desert rodents, this model outperformed a sampling-based model and two simpler models in which area and time had independent effects. In every case the interaction term was negative, meaning that rates of species accumulation in space decreased with …

Body Size, Energy Use, And Community Structure Of Small Mammals, S.K. Morgan Ernest

Biology Faculty Publications

Body size has long been hypothesized to play a major role in community structure and dynamics. Two general hypotheses exist for how resources are distributed among body sizes: (1) resources are equally available and uniformly utilized across body sizes and (2) resources are differentially available to organisms of different body sizes, resulting in a nonuniform or modal distribution. It has also been predicted that the distri-bution of body sizes of species in a community should reflect the underlying availability of resources, with the emergence of aggregations of species around specific body sizes. I examined the relationship between energy utilization, body …

Intra-Guild Compensation Regulatesspecies Richness In Desert Rodents, J. Goheen, Ethan P. White, S.K. Morgan Ernest, J. H. Brown

Biology Faculty Publications

Evidence from numerous studies suggests that species richness is an emergent property of local communities. The maintenance of species richness, despite changes in species composition and environmental conditions, requires compensatory colonization and extinction events with species coming from a regional pool. Using long-term data from a rodent community in the Chihuahuan Desert, we use randomization methods to test the null hypothesis that changes in species richness occur randomly. We find that the dynamics of species richness differ significantly from a random process, and that these nonrandom dynamics occur largely within the most speciose guild. Finally, we propose a general framework …

An Experimental Study Of Substrate Selection In American Toad (Bufo Americanus) Metamorphs, Geoffrey R. Smith

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Survivorship Of Xenosaurus Newmanorum (Sauria: Xenosauridae) From A Seasonal Tropical Environment In Mexico, J. A. Lemos-Espinal, Geoffrey R. Smith, R. E. Ballinger

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.