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Alfred Russel Wallace Notes 23: The Jersey Devil, And Friends, Charles H. Smith Dec 2022

Alfred Russel Wallace Notes 23: The Jersey Devil, And Friends, Charles H. Smith

Faculty/Staff Personal Papers

For nearly three hundred years reports have surfaced of a purported cryptid form known as the ‘Jersey devil.’ In this work an interpretation of the goals of biogeography is given, and how this field can be related to such alleged phenomena, as well as to some of the ideas of Alfred Russel Wallace (1823-1913) that seem to find their origin in the writings of Benedict de Spinoza (1632-1677).

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Alcohol, Stress, And Sex In The Bed Nucleus Of The Stria Terminalis, Nicholas Burski Dec 2022

Alcohol, Stress, And Sex In The Bed Nucleus Of The Stria Terminalis, Nicholas Burski

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Alcohol use disorder (AUD) costs the U.S. billions of dollars each year and is a leading cause of preventable death. AUD leads to many health complications, and those who suffer from AUD will often have stress and anxiety disorder comorbidities. To better understand this connection between AUD and stress and anxiety disorders, restraint stress (RS) and chronic-intermittent ethanol exposure (CIE) procedures were used on rats to analyze neuroinflammation via ELISA in the infralimbic and prelimbic cortices, and the bed nucleus of the stria terminalis (BNST). Levels of proinflammatory cytokines, TNF-α and IL-1β, were found to be elevated across different tests …

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Biology And Epidemiology Of Dengue Viruses In The El Paso And The Surrounding Usa And Mexico Border Communities, Pedro Miguel Palermo Infante Dec 2022

Biology And Epidemiology Of Dengue Viruses In The El Paso And The Surrounding Usa And Mexico Border Communities, Pedro Miguel Palermo Infante

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Dengue is considered one of the most important human arboviral diseases worldwide. Dengue cases have increased in the last three decades in the Americas, especially along the United States (US)- Mexico (MX) border region, where the main vector of dengue, Aedes aegypti mosquito, is widely distributed. Explosive outbreaks of dengue in northern Mexico have been associated with imported and local transmission of dengue in the US border communities, especially in the Southeast Texas area, also known as Rio Grande Valley. Due to the unknown if dengue virus (DENV) is present in other areas in the US border located west of …

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Survey Of Fleas And Ticks For Rickettsia Rickettsii And Rickettsia Typhi And Surveys Of Humans And Wild Animals For Serological Evidence Of Infection By These Rickettsiae In Rural And Urban Areas Of El Paso, Texas And Other Areas Of Texas, Karen Rocio Valdez Dec 2022

Survey Of Fleas And Ticks For Rickettsia Rickettsii And Rickettsia Typhi And Surveys Of Humans And Wild Animals For Serological Evidence Of Infection By These Rickettsiae In Rural And Urban Areas Of El Paso, Texas And Other Areas Of Texas, Karen Rocio Valdez

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

The ecology and epidemiology of Rocky Mountain Spotted fever and typhus fever pathogens are poorly understood along the United Statesâ??Mexico border, especially in the far Southwestern region of Texas. The objective of this dissertation was to understand the prevalence and distribution of Rickettsia rickettsii and Rickettsia typhi and associated tick and flea species and the prevalence of these Rickettsiae in domestic and feral mammals in urban and rural areas of the El Paso community and other areas of Texas. Also, the goal was to determine if humans are being infected by R. rickettsii and R. typhi in the El Paso …

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Bugs, Bullets And Birds: Factors Affecting The Health And Survival Of Ferruginous Hawk Nestlings In The Intermountain West, Ellis A. Juhlin Dec 2022

Bugs, Bullets And Birds: Factors Affecting The Health And Survival Of Ferruginous Hawk Nestlings In The Intermountain West, Ellis A. Juhlin

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Ferruginous Hawks are a bird of prey species that nest in sagebrush steppe and grassland habitat. These birds are threatened by habitat loss and fragmentation from urbanization, rural development, oil and natural gas extraction, habitat treatment projects, and wildfires, and experiencing widespread population declines across their breeding range. Because of this, Ferruginous Hawks (FEHAs) have been deemed a Species of Greatest Conservation Need by state management agencies in Utah, Idaho, Wyoming and Nevada. The health and survival of Ferruginous Hawk (FEHA) nestlings is crucial to long-term population viability. Understanding the threats these birds are facing as nestlings can provide valuable …

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Insecticide Susceptibility And Resistance Detection In Phlebotomus Argentipes Sandflies (Diptera: Psychodidae: Phlebotominae), Shawna M. Hennings Dec 2022

Insecticide Susceptibility And Resistance Detection In Phlebotomus Argentipes Sandflies (Diptera: Psychodidae: Phlebotominae), Shawna M. Hennings

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Leishmaniasis is an understudied disease found predominantly in high heat and humidity areas. The disease is transmitted by sandflies which are blood-feeding, biting insects. There is currently no known vaccine for any form of leishmaniasis and treatment imposes a significant economic impact on already poor and marginalized populations, as well as severe, lingering side effects for afflicted individuals. Annually, there are millions of people around the world afflicted with a form of Leishmaniasis that is transmitted by species of sandflies. The primary sandfly population control method for over half a century has been indoor residual spraying using insecticides. The selective …

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Immunological Tradeoffs And The Impacts Of Urbanization On The Reproductive Ecology And Physiology Of The Side-Blotched Lizard (Uta Stansburiana), Emily E. Virgin Dec 2022

Immunological Tradeoffs And The Impacts Of Urbanization On The Reproductive Ecology And Physiology Of The Side-Blotched Lizard (Uta Stansburiana), Emily E. Virgin

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Investing resources into reproduction can limit energy available to other competing demands, such as fighting off an infection; yet, both processes are necessary for organisms to survive and pass on their genes to the next generation. These strategies often follow patterns associated with lifespan, such that shorter-lived animals are more likely to invest more resources into reproduction over survival, and vice versa in long-lived animals. However, environmental change caused by urbanization can disrupt these relationships, and the within- and transgenerational costs of urbanization on females and offspring are unknown. I address these uncertainties in three research chapters to better understand …

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Conflictos Entre Humanos Y Fauna Silvestre En Una Zona De Amortiguamiento De San Ramón, Costa Rica, Rebeca Solano-Gómez, José Manuel Mora Dec 2022

Conflictos Entre Humanos Y Fauna Silvestre En Una Zona De Amortiguamiento De San Ramón, Costa Rica, Rebeca Solano-Gómez, José Manuel Mora

Biology Faculty Publications and Presentations

“Human-wildlife conflict in a buffer zone in San Ramón, Costa Rica”. Introduction: Currently, biodiversity is mainly managed by protected areas, but proximity with human activities results in conflicts, which are poorly studied in the tropics. Objective: To estimate human-wildlife conflict in the buffer zone of the Alberto Manuel Brenes Biological Reserve, San Ramón, Costa Rica. Methods: We interviewed the owners or managers of 59 farms. Results: We recorded 540 incidents, mostly with mammals (N=479); coyotes (Canis latrans) killed 1 074 animals in 183 attacks at 12 farms. We also recorded conflicts with jaguar, Panthera onca, puma, Puma concolor, ocelot, Leopardus …

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Effects Of Titanium Dioxide Nanoparticle Injections On Tissue Function And Morphology In Goldfish (Carassius Auratus), Bryan Joel Patterson Dec 2022

Effects Of Titanium Dioxide Nanoparticle Injections On Tissue Function And Morphology In Goldfish (Carassius Auratus), Bryan Joel Patterson

Graduate Theses

Fish gills are sensitive to a variety of environmental factors because they regulate the exchange of oxygen and ions between the fish and the external environment. This study examined the effects of polyacrylic acid (PAA) coated titanium dioxide nanoparticle injections (TiO2 NPs) on goldfish (Carassius auratus) over 14 days. Following the experimental period, we examined gill histological samples and looked for signs of an inflammatory response through blood glucose levels and relevant gene expression. TiO2 injected fish developed a more robust ILCM (interlamellar cell mass) compared to the non-injected controls, which remained elevated over 14 days post injection. …

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Investigations Into Prg-2 And Its Involvement In Developing Gallus Gallus Retinal Neurons, Jeffrey Parham Dec 2022

Investigations Into Prg-2 And Its Involvement In Developing Gallus Gallus Retinal Neurons, Jeffrey Parham

Graduate Theses

I am interested in the development of the nervous system, especially since during development nerves grow and extend, but in adults, they do not regenerate if damaged. We are specifically interested in the molecules that guide nerves to the correct target during their development. Lysophosphatidic acid (LPA) is a bioactive molecule that has been shown to play a role in neural development. LPA, through repeated studies, has been shown to stop neurons from growing by causing a physical change in a neuron’s growth cone (a structure used for navigation and growth). Recently, a novel set of genes, called PRGs, have …

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Micrornas Contribute To The Host Response To Coxiella Burnetii, Madhur Sachan, Katelynn Brann, Daniel E. Voth, Rahul Raghavan Dec 2022

Micrornas Contribute To The Host Response To Coxiella Burnetii, Madhur Sachan, Katelynn Brann, Daniel E. Voth, Rahul Raghavan

Biology Faculty Publications and Presentations

MicroRNAs (miRNAs), a class of small non-coding RNAs, are critical to gene regulation in eukaryotes. They are involved in modulating a variety of physiological processes, including the host response to intracellular infections. Little is known about miRNA functions during infection by Coxiella burnetii, the causative agent of human Q fever. This bacterial pathogen establishes a large replicative vacuole within macrophages by manipulating host processes such as apoptosis and autophagy. We investigated miRNA expression in C. burnetii-infected macrophages and identified several miRNAs that were down- or up-regulated during infection. We further explored the functions of miR-143-3p, an miRNA whose …

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Riqueza, Abundancia Relativa Y Actividad De Los Mamíferos De Una Reserva En Restauración En Costa Rica, Pablo Pacheco, Lucia López, Alison Vega Cambronero, José Manuel Mora Dec 2022

Riqueza, Abundancia Relativa Y Actividad De Los Mamíferos De Una Reserva En Restauración En Costa Rica, Pablo Pacheco, Lucia López, Alison Vega Cambronero, José Manuel Mora

Biology Faculty Publications and Presentations

“Richness, relative abundance and activity of medium and large mammals of a reserve under restoration in Costa Rica”. Introduction: Private protected areas are a valuable complement to national systems of protected areas. The Sierra Zapote Reserve in Abangares, Costa Rica, established in 2000, protects 70 ha of advanced secondary forest, regenerating secondary forest and primary riparian forest. It is expected to favor faunal communities, like medium and large mammals, which are among the species most threatened by habitat loss and fragmentation; nevertheless; there is a lack of recent faunal assessments at Sierra Zapote. Objective: To assess the richness, relative abundance …

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Temperature Affects Nest Box Occupancy, Nest Success, And Nestling Size In A Southeastern Population Of Eastern Bluebirds (Sialia Sialis), Christopher G. Horacek Nov 2022

Temperature Affects Nest Box Occupancy, Nest Success, And Nestling Size In A Southeastern Population Of Eastern Bluebirds (Sialia Sialis), Christopher G. Horacek

Biology Theses

Given the critical role that temperature plays in avian reproductive biology, rising temperatures as a result of global climate change will likely impact reproductive success of many bird populations. Secondary cavity nesting birds, many of which rely on artificial nest boxes to maintain population levels, may be particularly at risk because increased temperatures inside nest boxes can determine whether nest boxes are selected, reduce nest success, and/or negatively affect the growth and survival of offspring. We examined the effect of nest box color on nest box temperature and the influence of nest box temperature, nest box color, entrance orientation, and …

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Population Demography, Spatial Ecology, And Habitat Use Of The Florida Box Turtle (Terrapene Bauri) On A Barrier Island, Michael D. Mills Nov 2022

Population Demography, Spatial Ecology, And Habitat Use Of The Florida Box Turtle (Terrapene Bauri) On A Barrier Island, Michael D. Mills

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Turtles are one the most threatened vertebrate groups in the world due to anthropogenic threats such as habitat loss and overexploitation. In addition to occupying a range that has been vulnerable to major habitat loss, the Florida box turtle (Terrapene bauri) is particularly at risk of overexploitation due to its popularity in the pet trade. Sanibel Island is a barrier island in southwest Florida that has experienced major habitat loss and is the site of a recent poaching event. In response to these threats, studies of both the population demography and spatial ecology were conducted on Sanibel’s Florida box turtle …

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[Black Margate (Anisotremus Surinamensis)] Neurocranium, Maeve Hunt, Jenna Hill, Breanna Calle, David William Kerstetter Nov 2022

[Black Margate (Anisotremus Surinamensis)] Neurocranium, Maeve Hunt, Jenna Hill, Breanna Calle, David William Kerstetter

All Scans: Kerstetter Fisheries and Avian Ecology 3D Scan Series

Neurocranium from 9.5 cm total length (TL) [Black Margate (Anisotremus surinamensis)]

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Tripletail Lobotes Surinamensis Neurocranium, Briana K. Zaffiro, Anna Johnson, David Kerstetter Nov 2022

Tripletail Lobotes Surinamensis Neurocranium, Briana K. Zaffiro, Anna Johnson, David Kerstetter

All Scans: Kerstetter Fisheries and Avian Ecology 3D Scan Series

Neurocranium from Lobotes surinamensis

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An Updated Nomenclature For Plant Ribosomal Protein Genes, M Regina Scarpin, Michael Busche, Ryan E. Martinez, Lisa C. Harper, Leonore Reiser, Dóra Szakonyi, Catharina Merchante, Ting Lan, Wei Xiong, Beixin Mo, Guiliang Tang, Xuemei Chen, Julia Bailey-Serres, Karen S. Browning, Jacob O. Brunkard Nov 2022

An Updated Nomenclature For Plant Ribosomal Protein Genes, M Regina Scarpin, Michael Busche, Ryan E. Martinez, Lisa C. Harper, Leonore Reiser, Dóra Szakonyi, Catharina Merchante, Ting Lan, Wei Xiong, Beixin Mo, Guiliang Tang, Xuemei Chen, Julia Bailey-Serres, Karen S. Browning, Jacob O. Brunkard

Michigan Tech Publications, Part 1

No abstract provided.

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Habitat Decline Of The Largest Known Indo-Pacific Humpback Dolphin (Sousa Chinensis) Population In Poorly Protected Areas Associated With The Hypoxic Zone, Lang Guo, Dingyu Luo, Riqing Yu, Chen Zeng, Nuoyan Huang, Hongri Wang, Yuping Wu Nov 2022

Habitat Decline Of The Largest Known Indo-Pacific Humpback Dolphin (Sousa Chinensis) Population In Poorly Protected Areas Associated With The Hypoxic Zone, Lang Guo, Dingyu Luo, Riqing Yu, Chen Zeng, Nuoyan Huang, Hongri Wang, Yuping Wu

Biology Faculty Publications and Presentations

Reserve planning based on the investigation of the core habitat distribution of wild cetaceans is a powerful conservation strategy for protecting target species. However, studies on core habitats and their variations at the large-scale distribution of cetaceans are limited. In this study, we conducted a seven years (2015-2021) boat-based field observation surveys with highly applicable and generalized methods to analyze the habitat changes and how these changes influenced the largest known Indo-Pacific humpback dolphin (Sousa chinensis) population in the Pearl River Estuary (PRE), China. Our findings revealed that there is 3204 km2 of dolphin habitat in the PRE, and dolphin …

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Planarian Fragments Behave As Whole Animals, D. Le, Ziad Sabry , '21, A. Chandra, W. B. Kristan Iii, Eva-Maria S. Collins, W. B. Kristan Jr. Nov 2022

Planarian Fragments Behave As Whole Animals, D. Le, Ziad Sabry , '21, A. Chandra, W. B. Kristan Iii, Eva-Maria S. Collins, W. B. Kristan Jr.

Biology Faculty Works

Behavioral responses of freshwater planarians have been studied for over a century. In recent decades, behavior has been used as a readout to study planarian development and regeneration, wound healing, molecular evolution, neurotoxicology, and learning and memory. The planarian nervous system is among the simplest of the bilaterally symmetric animals, with an anterior brain attached to two ventral nerve cords interconnected by multiple commissures. We found that, in response to mechanical and near-UV stimulation, head stimulation produces turning, tail stimulation produces contraction, and trunk stimulation produces midbody elongation in the planarian Dugesia japonica. When cut into two or three pieces, …

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Lionfish (Pterois Volitans) Neurocranium, Vincenzo Ledonne, David William Kerstetter Nov 2022

Lionfish (Pterois Volitans) Neurocranium, Vincenzo Ledonne, David William Kerstetter

All Scans: Kerstetter Fisheries and Avian Ecology 3D Scan Series

Neurocranium from 7.3025 cm total length (TL) [Lionfish (Pterois volitans)]

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Monitoring The Recruitment And Fusion Of Autophagosomes To Phagosomes During The Clearance Of Apoptotic Cells In The Nematode Caenorhabditis Elegans, Omar Peña-Ramos, Zheng Zhou Nov 2022

Monitoring The Recruitment And Fusion Of Autophagosomes To Phagosomes During The Clearance Of Apoptotic Cells In The Nematode Caenorhabditis Elegans, Omar Peña-Ramos, Zheng Zhou

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

During an animal's development, a large number of cells undergo apoptosis, a suicidal form of death. These cells are promptly phagocytosed by other cells and degraded inside phagosomes. The recognition, engulfment, and degradation of apoptotic cells is an evolutionarily conserved process occurring in all metazoans. Recently, we discovered a novel event in the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans: the double-membrane autophagosomes are recruited to the surface of phagosomes; subsequently, the outer membrane of an autophagosome fuses with the phagosomal membrane, allowing the inner vesicle to enter the phagosomal lumen and accumulate there over time. This event facilitates the degradation of the apoptotic …

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Stormwater Bioretention Through The Establishment Of Native Wetland Flora, Spencer Thomas, Davis Taylor, Elise Berry Nov 2022

Stormwater Bioretention Through The Establishment Of Native Wetland Flora, Spencer Thomas, Davis Taylor, Elise Berry

Runkle Woods Symposia

Students Elise Berry and Spencer Thomas presents a proposed conservation plan through the establishment of wetlands.

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The Parasitic Relationship Between The Woods And Wright State, Aubrey Garman Nov 2022

The Parasitic Relationship Between The Woods And Wright State, Aubrey Garman

Runkle Woods Symposia

English Literature student Aubrey Garman discusses the recent history and relationship between Wright State University and the Woods the institution stewards.

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Bat Conservation In The Wright State Woods, Heather Wilson, Morgan Hill, Riley Patrick, Rebecca Sanders Nov 2022

Bat Conservation In The Wright State Woods, Heather Wilson, Morgan Hill, Riley Patrick, Rebecca Sanders

Runkle Woods Symposia

A presentation by students from the Conservation Biology class presenting on their variety of proposals for the conservation of bat species int the Wright State University Woods.

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Biodiversity Done The Right Way, Brad Kerry Nov 2022

Biodiversity Done The Right Way, Brad Kerry

Runkle Woods Symposia

Economics graduate student Brad Kerry discusses biodiversity through the lens of resource allocation.

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Discussion About Conserving The Woods, Volker Bahn Nov 2022

Discussion About Conserving The Woods, Volker Bahn

Runkle Woods Symposia

Dr. Volker Bahn discusses the work being done at Wright State to help conserve the Wright State Woods. His discussion introduces subjects later student presentations will cover including Bat Conservation in the Wright State Woods, The Threat of Plant Invaders and the Plan to Reduce Their Impact in the Wright State Woods, Stormwater Bioretention through the Establishment of Native Wetland Flora, and Pollution and Littering: Land and Water Pollution Control in the Wright State Woods.

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The Effects Of Floral And Social Information On Bumblebee Forager Learning And Memory, Avery Hume Baker Nov 2022

The Effects Of Floral And Social Information On Bumblebee Forager Learning And Memory, Avery Hume Baker

Theses

Bumblebees rely on information gathered from their environment to make the best choices they can when foraging for pollen and nectar. The type of information gathered should influence how a bee learns and remembers it, but other factors such as the size of the bee’s brain may also play a role in the learning and remembering process. While social information learned from other organisms and information gathered directly from flowers can each be used alone to improve both the efficiency with which a bee learns to forage from a flower and how accurately and how long the bee remembers these …

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Internal Vertebral Morphology Of Bony Fishes Matches The Mechanical Demands Of Different Environments, Dana Baxter, Karly E. Cohen, Cassandra M. Donatelli, Eric D. Tytell Nov 2022

Internal Vertebral Morphology Of Bony Fishes Matches The Mechanical Demands Of Different Environments, Dana Baxter, Karly E. Cohen, Cassandra M. Donatelli, Eric D. Tytell

Engineering Faculty Articles and Research

Fishes have repeatedly evolved characteristic body shapes depending on how close they live to the substrate. Pelagic fishes live in open water and typically have narrow, streamlined body shapes; benthic and demersal fishes live close to the substrate; and demersal fishes often have deeper bodies. These shape differences are often associated with behavioral differences: pelagic fishes swim nearly constantly, demersal fishes tend to maneuver near the substrate, and benthic fishes often lie in wait on the substrate. We hypothesized that these morphological and behavioral differences would be reflected in the mechanical properties of the body, and specifically in vertebral column …

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In Silico Analysis Of Tetrodotoxin Binding In Voltage-Gated Sodium Ion Channels From Toxin-Resistant Animal Lineages, Shana L. Geffeney, Jennie Ann Cordingley, Kenyon Mitchell, Charles T. Hanifin Nov 2022

In Silico Analysis Of Tetrodotoxin Binding In Voltage-Gated Sodium Ion Channels From Toxin-Resistant Animal Lineages, Shana L. Geffeney, Jennie Ann Cordingley, Kenyon Mitchell, Charles T. Hanifin

Biology Faculty Publications

Multiple animal species have evolved resistance to the neurotoxin tetrodotoxin (TTX) through changes in voltage-gated sodium ion channels (VGSCs). Amino acid substitutions in TTX-resistant lineages appear to be positionally convergent with changes in homologous residues associated with reductions in TTX block. We used homology modeling coupled with docking simulations to test whether positionally convergent substitutions generate functional convergence at the level of TTX–channel interactions. We found little evidence that amino acids at convergent positions generated similar patterns among TTX-resistant animal lineages across several metrics, including number of polar contacts, polar contact position, and estimates of binding energy. Though binding energy …

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Combining Isotopic And Genetic Analyses To Quantify Microbial Facilitation Of Recalcitrant Resource Use By Terrestrial And Aquatic Consumers, Alexi Christina Besser Nov 2022

Combining Isotopic And Genetic Analyses To Quantify Microbial Facilitation Of Recalcitrant Resource Use By Terrestrial And Aquatic Consumers, Alexi Christina Besser

Biology ETDs

Quantifying the flow of energy and nutrients through food webs is foundational to understanding the structure and function of ecosystems. Here, I utilize the stable carbon and nitrogen isotope analysis of individual amino acids to trace the movement of essential amino acids through terrestrial and freshwater food webs in New Mexico, USA. I first explore isotopic patterns among co-occurring terrestrial plants and aquatic algae. I then combine this molecular isotopic approach with 16S and 18S rRNA sequencing to demonstrate the importance of gut microbiota as sources of essential amino acids to wild mammalian hosts. Next, I explore the roles of …

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