Digital Commons Network^™

Influence Of Habitat And Number Of Nestlings On Partial Brood Loss In Red-Cockaded Woodpeckers, James R. Mccormick, Richard N. Conner, D. Brent Burt, Daniel Saenz

Faculty Publications

Partial brood loss in red-cockaded woodpeckers (Picoides borealis) was studied during 2 breeding seasons in eastern Texas. The timing of partial brood loss, group size, number of initial nestlings, number of birds fledged, and habitat characteristics of the group's cavity-tree cluster were examined for 37 woodpecker groups in loblolly- (Pinus taeda) shortleaf (P. echinata) pine habitat and 14 groups in longleaf (P palustris) pine habitat. Partial brood loss occurred slightly more in the loblolly-shortleaf pine habitat than in the longleaf pine habitat, largely because nests in loblolly-shortleaf habitat initially contained more nestlings. …

Demographics And The Ecological Role Of The Channel Catfish (Ictalurus Punctatus) In Commercially Exploited And Unexploited Reaches Of The Wabash River With Implications For The Flathead Catfish (Pylodictis Olivaris), Robert E. Colombo

Faculty Research & Creative Activity

Catfish are a major component of the Wabash River fish assemblage and are commercially fished below river kilometer (Rkm) 500. From Rkm 322 through 499 the commercial fishery is subjected only to Indiana fishing regulations. In this reach of river, there is a 254-mm minimum total length limit on both sport and commercially harvested catfish. Below RM 322, the Wabash River forms the state boundary of Indiana and Illinois. In this region of river there are two different length limits on commercially harvested catfish with Indiana having a 254-mm length limit and Illinois having a 381-mm length limit. There is …

High Levels Of Fluctuating Asymmetry In Populations Of Apodemus Flavicollis From The Most Contaminated Areas In Chornobyl, Taras K. Oleksyk, James M. Novak, James R. Purdue, Sergiy P. Gashchak, Michael H. Smith

Faculty Research & Creative Activity

Random deviations from the perfect symmetry of normally bilaterally symmetrical characters for an individual with a given genotype occur during individual development due to the influence of multiple environmental factors. Fluctuating asymmetry (FA) is often used as a measure of developmental instability, and can be estimated as the variance of the distribution of differences between the left and right sides. We addressed the question of whether levels of FA were elevated in radioactively contaminated populations living around Chornobyl compared to those in reference populations of the yellow-necked mouse (Apodemus flavicollis). In addition, we studied amounts of directional asymmetry (DA) when …

Respiratory And Reproductive Characteristics Of Eastern Mosquitofish (Gambusia Holbrooki) Inhabiting A Coal Ash Settling Basin, B. P. Staub, W. A. Hopkins, James Novak, J. D. Congdon

Faculty Research & Creative Activity

No abstract provided.

Seasonal Steroid Hormone Levels And Their Relation To Reproduction In The Western Diamond-Backed Rattlesnake, Crotalus Atrox (Serpentes: Viperidae), Emily N. Taylor, Dale F. Denardo, David H. Jennings

Biological Sciences

We report seasonal variation in steroid hormone levels in blood samples from free-ranging Western Diamond-backed Rattlesnakes (Crotalus atrox), and the relationship between these hormones and events in the reproductive cycle. At a field site in the Sonoran Desert of south-central Arizona, we collected monthly blood samples over the course of two active seasons from 17 radiotelemetered females, and over three active seasons from 103 randomly encountered males. We used radioimmunoassay to measure plasma levels of 17β-estradiol, progesterone, corticosterone, and testosterone in samples from females, and corticosterone and testosterone in samples from males. Non-reproductive females have consistently low levels …

Sex–Specific Effects Of Carotenoid Intake On The Immunological Response To Allografts In Guppies (Poecilia Reticulata), Gregory F. Grether, Shinji Kasahara, Gita R. Kolluru, Edwin L. Cooper

Biological Sciences

Rarely are the evolutionary origins of mate preferences known, but, recently, the preference of female guppies (Poecilia reticulata) for males with carotenoid‐based sexual coloration has been linked to a sensory bias that may have originally evolved for detecting carotenoid‐rich fruits. If carotenoids enhance the immune systems of these fishes, as has been suggested for other species, this could explain the origin of the attraction to orange fruits as well as the maintenance of the female preference for orange males. We used the classic immunological technique of tissue grafting to assay a component of the immune response of guppies …

Individual Colour Patches As Multicomponent Signals, Gregory F. Grether, Gita R. Kolluru, Karen Nersissian

Biological Sciences

Colour patches are complex traits, the components of which may evolve independently through a variety of mechanisms. Although usually treated as simple, two-dimensional characters and classified as either structural or pigmentary, in reality colour patches are complicated, three-dimensional structures that often contain multiple pigment types and structural features. The basic dermal chromatophore unit of fishes, reptiles and amphibians consists of three contiguous cell layers. Xanthophores and erythrophores in the outermost layer contain carotenoid and pteridine pigments that absorb short-wave light; iridophores in the middle layer contain crystalline platelets that reflect light back through the xanthophores; and melanophores in the basal …

Serpentine: A Model Habitat For Botanical Research In Sri Lanka, Nishanta Rajakaruna, Alan J. M. Baker

Biological Sciences

Serpentine (ultramafic) outcrops are found in most parts of the world and for many years have attracted the attention of soil scientists and plant biologists alike due to the unusual nature of both the substrate and the life forms they harbour. In this paper, we introduce serpentine outcrops as a model habitat for botanical studies and review preliminary findings of a recently conducted soil and floristic survey of four of the five known serpentine outcrops in Sri Lanka. We hope that this paper will stimulate much-needed studies, both exploratory and experimental, and point to the immediate need for conservation of …

Epidemiology, Pathogenesis, And Prevention Of Foodbome Vibrio Parahaemolyticus Infections, P.S. Marie Yeung, Kathryn J. Boor

Biological Sciences

Since its discovery about 50 years ago, Vibrio parahaemolyticus has been implicated as a major cause of foodborne illness around the globe. V. parahaemolyticus is a natural inhabitant of marine waters. Human infections are most commonly associated with the consumption of raw, undercooked or contaminated shellfish. A few individual V. parahaemolyticus virulence factors, including the thermostable direct hemolysin (TDH) and TDH-related hemolysin (TRH), have been investigated in depth, yet a comprehensive understanding of this organism's ability to cause disease remains unclear. Since 1996, serotype 03:K6 strains have been associated with an increased incidence of gastroenteritis in India and in Southeast …

Recruitment Of The Puf3 Protein To Its Mrna Target For Regulation Of Mrna Decay In Yeast, Wendy Olivas, J. Jackson, S. Houshmandi, Leban Lopez

Biology Department Faculty Works

The Puf family of RNA-binding proteins regulates mRNA translation and decay via interactions with 3' untranslated regions (3' UTRs) of target mRNAs. In yeast, Puf3p binds the 3' UTR of COX17 mRNA and promotes rapid deadenylation and decay. We have investigated the sequences required for Puf3p recruitment to this 3' UTR and have identified two separate binding sites. These sites are specific for Puf3p, as they cannot bind another Puf protein, Puf5p. Both sites use a conserved UGUANAUA sequence, whereas one site contains additional sequences that enhance binding affinity. In vivo, presence of either site partially stimulates COX17 mRNA decay, …

Changes In Gdnf Protein Content Of Skeletal Muscle Following Involuntary Exercise Are Long Lived, Kyle R. Kinnell, Monica J. Czarnopys, John Spitsbergen

Biological Sciences Faculty and Graduate Student Research

Glial-cell line derived neurotrophic factor (GDNF) is a neurotrophic factor produced by skeletal muscle. GDNF has been shown to be potent survival factor for motor neurons. We have previously shown that GDNF content in skeletal muscle is altered following exercise and GDNF levels 24 hours after the last bout of exercise are significantly different than those measured immediately after exercise. We sought to determine how long after exercise do GDNF protein levels remain altered. We removed extensor digitorum longus (EDL) and Soleus (SOL), 24 hr, 72 hr and 1 week following the last bout of involuntary exercise. Muscles were processed …

An Isotopic Examination Of Cave, Spring And Epigean Trophic Structures In Mammoth Cave National Park, Zacchaeus Greg Compson

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

AN ISOTOPIC EXAMINATION OF CAVE, SPRING AND EPIGEAN TROPHIC STRUCTURES IN MAMMOTH CAVE NATIONAL PARK

Name: Zacchaeus Greg Compson Date: October 15, 2004 Pages: 56

Directed by: Philip Lienesch, Doug McElroy, Michael Stokes and Richard Bowker

Department of Biology Western Kentucky University

Abstract

High-water events in the Green River result in flow-reversals which flush native and introduced fishes into Mammoth Cave, posing threats to indigenous cave fauna. However, little is known about the trophic interactions between cave and epigean aquatic systems or their connectivity via natural springs. The purpose of this study was to use stable isotopes of C and …

Use Of An Artificial Pond And Marshes By Amphibians And Reptiles In West Virginia, Vanessa A. Dozeman

Theses, Dissertations and Capstones

A farm pond approximately 40 years old located in Wayne County, West Virginia was studied to determine the ingress and egress of amphibians and reptiles. In addition to the pond, 2 small marshes were also examined. The study extended from February 2003 to November 2003. The pond is approximately 36 m long and 38 m wide and is located on a south-facing hillside at 202 m in elevation. A drift fence composed of landscaping cloth was constructed to completely encircle the site. At every 5.15 m, funnel traps were positioned on both sides of the fence. Traps were checked daily …

Calming John Bartram's Passion: Sweden's Scientific Certification Of Philadelphia's Botanist, Robert E. Savage

Biology Faculty Works

No abstract provided.

The Ecology Of Drift Algae In The Indian River Lagoon, Florida, Julie Lynnae Liss

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

To gain an understanding of the ecology of drift algae in the Indian River Lagoon system along the east coast of central Florida, four questions were addressed: 1) What is the composition and rate of accumulation of drift? 2) How much movement and turnover occurs within drift accumulations? 3) Do growth rates differ for drift versus attached algae? 4) Is there a difference in photosynthetic performance in drift versus attached algal species? Manipulative field and laboratory experiments were conducted to address these questions with the green macroalga Codium decorticatum and the red macroalga Gracilaria tikvahiae. Changes in pigment concentration and …

Foreword, Scott F. Gilbert

Biology Faculty Works

No abstract provided.

Heritability Of Kinship Pheromone In The Beaver: How Is Information About Relatedness Coded?, Lixing Sun, Dietland Muller-Schwarze

Biology Faculty Scholarship

We attempted to estimate the narrow-sense heritability of single compounds and whole profile of the anal gland secretion (AGS) with the regression method using several sets of relatives in the beaver (Castor canadensis). We used GC (gas chromatography) and GC-MS (mass spectrometry) to characterize and quantify chemical compounds in beaver AGS. We found that the heritability of single compounds seemed to be low, whereas the heritability of AGS profile appeared to be moderate. We conclude that many compounds might be involved in the coding of genetic relatedness, which was through a combination of analog and digital coding using …

Take-Off Mechanics In Hummingbirds (Trochilidae), Bret W. Tobalske, Douglas L. Altshuler, Donald R. Powers

Faculty Publications - Department of Biological & Molecular Science

Initiating flight is challenging, and considerable effort has focused on understanding the energetics and aerodynamics of take-off for both machines and animals. For animal flight, the available evidence suggests that birds maximize their initial flight velocity using leg thrust rather than wing flapping. The smallest birds, hummingbirds (Order Apodiformes), are unique in their ability to perform sustained hovering but have proportionally small hindlimbs that could hinder generation of high leg thrust. Understanding the take-off flight of hummingbirds can provide novel insight into the take-off mechanics that will be required for micro-air vehicles. During take-off by hummingbirds, we measured hindlimb forces …

Variation In The Antipredator Responses Of Three Sympatric Plethodontid Salamanders To Predator-Diet Cues, Aaron M. Sullivan, Dale M. Madison, Jason R. Rohr

Faculty Publications - Department of Biological & Molecular Science

Organisms may reduce the risk of predation by responding to chemical cues from predators. Recent research shows that many species vary their antipredator response depending on the diet of the predator. We examined the responses of three plethodontid species of salamander (Plethodon cinereus, Eurycea bislineata, and Desmognathus ochrophaeus) to chemical cues from a shared snake predator (Thamnophis sirtalis). At the time of the study, Eurycea bislineata showed overlap in habitat with Plethodon cinereus and Desmognathus ochrophaeus, but Plethodon cinereus and Desmognathus ochrophaeus showed no overlap with one another. Each salamander species was presented with chemical cues from snakes fed Desmognathus …

Temperature-Dependent Oxygen Limitation In Insect Eggs, H. Arthur Woods, Ryan I. Hill

College of the Pacific Faculty Articles

Most terrestrial insect embryos support metabolism with oxygen from the environment by diffusion across the eggshell. Because metabolism is more temperature sensitive than diffusion, embryos should be relatively oxygen-limited at high temperatures. We tested whether survival, development time and metabolism of eggs of a moth, Manduca sexta, were sensitive to experimentally imposed variation in atmospheric oxygen availability (5–50 kPa; normoxia at sea level is 21 kPa) across a range of biologically realistic temperatures. Temperature–oxygen interactions were apparent in most experiments. Hypoxia affected survival more strongly at warmer temperatures. Metabolic rates, measured as rates of CO₂ emission, were virtually insensitive …

Hatching Asynchrony, Survival, And The Fitness Of Alternative Adult Morphs In Ambystoma Talpoideum, Travis J. Ryan

Scholarship and Professional Work - LAS

The mole salamander, Ambystoma talpoideum, exhibits both aquatic (gilled) and terrestrial (metamorphosed) adult morphologies. Previous studies have shown the existence of body-size advantages associated with the terrestrial morph in A. talpoideum and other polymorphic salamanders (e.g., A. tigrinum). However, aquatic adult A. talpoideum mature at a younger age and often breed earlier than terrestrial adults. We tested the hypothesis that early maturation and reproduction in aquatic adults increase fitness (irrespective of body size). We reared larval A. talpoideum in mesocosms and varied the timing of hatching, with early-hatching larvae representing the offspring from early-breeding aquatic adults, and late-hatching larvae representing …

Similarity Of Mammalian Body Size Acrossthe Taxonomic Hierarchy And Across Space And Time, F. A. Smith, J. H. Brown, J. P. Haskell, S. K. Lyons, J. Alroy, E. L. Charnov, T. Dayan, B. J. Enquist, S.K. Morgan Ernest, E. A. Hadly, K. E. Jones, D. M. Kaufman, P. A. Marquet, B. A. Maurer, K. J. Niklas, W. P. Porter, B. Tiffney, M. R. Willig

Biology Faculty Publications

Although it is commonly assumed that closely related animals are similar in body size, the degree of similarity has not been examined across the taxonomic hierarchy. Moreover, little is known about the variation or consistency of body size patterns across geographic space or evolutionary time. Here, we draw from a data set of terrestrial, nonvolant mammals to quantify and compare patterns across the body size spectrum, the taxonomic hierarchy, continental space, and evolutionary time. We employ a variety of statistical techniques including “sib-sib” regression, phylogenetic autocorrelation, and nested ANOVA. We find an extremely high resemblance (heritability) of size among congeneric …

Physiological Performance Of Thamnophis Hammondii Is Not Affected After Eating The Toxic Frog Xenopus Laevis, C. Drew Foster

Masters Theses

No abstract provided.

Chemical Defenses In Garlic Mustard (Alliaria Petiolata) And Their Potential Role In Species Interactions In Forest Understories, Don Cipollini

Biological Sciences Faculty Publications

Garlic mustard [Alliaria petiolata [(M. Bieb) Cavara & Grande; Brassicaceae] is a European native biennial herb, first recorded on Long Island, NY in the 1860s, and is expanding rapidly in northeastern and midwestern forests in the U.S. and in southern Canada. Garlic mustard flourishes in moist woodlands with moderate exposure to light, but it can grow in a diversity of other habitats. It is found in natural areas, woodlots, and along edges of agricultural fields and lawns throughout North America. Several life history traits likely contribute to the invasiveness of this species. It has a high inbreeding rate and can …

Survey Of Salamanders In Mississippi Limestone Caves, John G. Himes, David C. Beckett, Austin W. Trousdale

Faculty Publications

During 2000-2002 we surveyed for salamanders in the larger limestone caves of Mississippi, all within the Vicksburg Group rock unit. We found four species: Plethodon mississippi was the most abundant, followed by Eurycea guttolineata, Eurycea cirrigera, and Desmognathus conanti. We did not find Pseudotriton montanus in any of the caves, and question the validity of an investigator's statement made nearly 45 years ago that, "it is one of the most numerous salamanders in Mississippi. limestone caves." The salamander fauna we found is similar to that of the only other comprehensive survey of salamanders in Mississippi caves, conducted almost thirty years …

Summer 2004, Nova Southeastern University

Currents

No abstract provided.

The Status Of Leptodactylus Validus As A Single Taxon And Its Relationship To Letptodactylus Pallidirostris, Kenneth Christopher Yanek

Master's Theses

Leptodactylus validus exhibits an unusual distribution inhabiting Trinidad, Tobago, and the Lesser Antilles, but not the mainland of South America. This distribution is inconsistent with other distribution patterns observed for these islands. Although slight variation in adult morphology has been observed among the island populations, call data suggest the presence of a single species. Calls of Leptodactylus pallidirostris from Venezuela suggested that this taxon might be conspecific with L. validus. Herein sequence data from the 12S and 16S mt rRNA genes were collected and analyzed in order to address: 1.) whether more than one species is represented within L. validus, …

Least Shrew (Cryptotis Parva ) In Extreme West-Central Nebraska, Keith Geluso, Jeremy A. White, Michael A. Bogen

Biology Faculty Publications

During the past 35 years, the least shrew (Cryptotis parva) has expanded its distribution along riverine and other mesic corridors in western parts of its distribution, although some recently discovered populations in the West might represent relicts of a previous Pleistocene distribution. In Nebraska, the least shrew originally was known only from eastern and central parts of the state, but recent records are now available from extreme west-central Nebraska and the northwestern corner of the state. Our record from west-central Nebraska probably represents recent westward expansion of C. parua along the North Platte River. This capture in Scotts …

Dynamics Of Rodent Assemblages Inhabiting Abandoned Petroleum Landfarms In Oklahoma, James Wilson, R. L. Lochmiller, D. M. Janz

Biology Faculty Publications

Studies on the effects of anthropogenic contamination on wildlife have largely been focused at the individual level. Biomarkers have been used to monitor changes in the health of individuals exposed to contaminants; however, little attention has been given to the effects of chronic exposure at the population or community levels. We studied rodent assemblages from uncontaminated (reference) sites (n 5 5) and abandoned petrochemical landfarms (n 5 5) in Oklahoma to investigate potential alterations in community structure and composition. Rodent assemblages inhabiting landfarms had lower species diversity, lower richness, and a more even distribution of individuals across species. Reference sites …

The Cortical Microtubule Array: From Dynamics To Organization, Ram Dixit, Richard Cyr

Biology Faculty Research

Cortical microtubules (CMTs) are essential for normal plant morphogenesis because they affect the axes of cell elongation and predict the placement of cell division planes. The function of the CMTs is intimately linked to their organizational state, which is subject to spatial and temporal modifications by developmental and environmental cues. CMT assembly dynamics govern when, where, and how microtubules appear in a cell's cortex, and the regulation of these properties affects their organization. However, the principles that link microtubule assembly dynamics to cortical array organization and reconfiguration are not well understood. This essay focuses on recent advances in the understanding …