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The Effects Of White-Nose Syndrome On Cave-Dwelling Bats During Their Pre-Hibernation Season In Eastern Nebraska, Maggie Bockart

Theses/Capstones/Creative Projects

White-nose syndrome (WNS) is currently the leading cause of death to North American bats and was first documented in the United States in 2006 on the East Coast. Infection with the fungus Pseudogymnoascus destructans (Pd) causes bats to arise from hibernation with unnecessary frequency, leading to depletion of fat reserves that are imperative for extended periods of torpor. In October 2014, biologists surveyed the activity levels of bats at Fontenelle Forest in eastern Nebraska using acoustic detectors and determined what species of bats were present and their relative abundance before being exposed to WNS. By returning to the …

The Response Of Lianas To 20 Yr Of Nutrient Addition In A Panamanian Forest, Stefan A. Schnitzer, Sergio Estrada Villegas, S. Joseph Wright

Biological Sciences Faculty Research and Publications

Over the past two decades, liana density and basal area have been increasing in many tropical forests, which has profound consequences for forest diversity and functioning. One hypothesis to explain increasing lianas is elevated nutrient deposition in tropical forests resulting from fossil fuels, agricultural fertilizer, and biomass burning. We tested this hypothesis by surveying all lianas ≥1 cm in diameter (n = 3,967) in 32 plots in a fully factorial nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P), and potassium (K) addition experiment in a mature tropical forest in central Panama. We conducted the nutrient-addition experiment from 1998 until present and we first …

A Guide To Freshwater Aquariums, Noah Savastano

Senior Honors Projects

The objective of this project was to create a complete guide, useful for someone of any aquarium expertise level, describing how to set up and care for an aquarium. This guide explains the science behind processes involved in setting up and maintaining an aquarium. It also educates the reader on how to properly prioritize the safety of the fish. A full text was first created including all relevant information gathered from scholarly texts and online sources. Original photographs were incorporated as a supplement to the text. Fish and aquatic plants were drawn to further illustrate the concepts that were described …

A Two-Clone Approach To Study Signaling Interactions Among Neuronal Cells In A Pre-Clinical Alzheimer’S Disease Model, Catherine J. Yeates, Ankita Sarkar, Prajakta Deshpande, Madhuri Kango-Singh, Amit Singh

Biology Faculty Publications

To understand the progression of Alzheimer's disease, studies often rely on ectopic expression of amyloid-beta 42 (Aβ42) throughout an entire tissue. Uniform ectopic expression of Aβ42 may obscure cell-cell interactions that contribute to the progression of the disease. We developed a two-clone system to study the signaling cross talk between GFP-labeled clones of Aβ42-expressing neurons and wild-type neurons simultaneously generated from the same progenitor cell by a single recombination event. Surprisingly, wild-type clones are reduced in size as compared with Aβ42-producing clones. We found that wild-type cells are eliminated by the induction of cell death. Furthermore, aberrant activation of c-Jun-N-terminal …

Seasonal Patterns In Stable Isotope And Fatty Acid Profiles Of Southern Stingrays (Hypanus Americana) At Stingray City Sandbar, Grand Cayman, Lisa A. Hoopes, Tonya M. Clauss, Nicole E. Browning, Alexa J. Delaune, Bradley M. Wetherbee, Mahmood Shivji, Jessica C. Harvey, Guy C.M. Harvey

Biology Faculty Articles

Ecotourism opportunities in the marine environment often rely heavily on provisioning to ensure the viewing of cryptic species by the public. However, intentional feeding of wildlife can impact numerous aspects of an animals’ behavior and ecology. Southern stingrays (Hypanus americana) provisioned at Stingray City Sandbar (SCS) in Grand Cayman have altered diel activity patterns and decreased measures of health. This study looked at seasonal changes in stable isotope (SI) and fatty acid (FA) profiles of provisioned stingrays at SCS. Plasma δ15N was higher in male stingrays (11.86 ± 1.71‰) compared to females (10.70 ± 1.71‰). Lower values for δ15N in …

Fish And Macroinvertebrate Response To Restoration And Conservation Efforts, Madison C. Cogar

Graduate Theses/Dissertations

Fish and macroinvertebrate response to restoration and conservation efforts varies in regards to the size and structure of the system (e.g. headwater streams in WV versus large rivers such as the Mississippi River). This project reviews fish and macroinvertebrate rebound in treated acid mine drainage (AMD) streams in WV as well as macroinvertebrate drift patterns in the Mississippi and Missouri Rivers. AMD is a product of a chemical reaction resulting in an acidic water outflow from mining sites, which may harm aquatic life. As a response, passive AMD treatment systems have been installed. I tested the effectiveness of remediation by …

Discerning Competitive Vs. Facilitative Relationships Of Weeds On Forest Restoration Efforts At La Sal Del Rey, Tx, Mylen A. Arias

Theses and Dissertations

Dryland ecosystems need effective restoration strategies to address severe degradation. It is often assumed that voluntary forb weeds either compete with or have no effect on native seedlings. In contrast, theory and empirical work suggest a potential facilitative role for such forb weeds. We conducted a manipulative weed exclusion experiment at a semi-arid site in South Texas targeted for large scale forest restoration and subsequently dominated by early successional forb weeds to discern the net effect of these weeds on the growth and survival of target thornscrub tree and shrub seedlings. Overall, weed presence did not significantly affect seedling mortality …

Draft Genome Of The Common Snapping Turtle, Chelydra Serpentina, A Model For Phenotypic Plasticity In Reptiles, Debojyoti Das, Sunil Kumar Singh, Jacob Bierstedt, Alyssa Erickson, Gina L. J. Galli, Dane A. Crossley Ii, Turk Rhen

Biology Faculty Publications

Turtles are iconic reptiles that inhabit a range of ecosystems from oceans to deserts and climates from the tropics to northern temperate regions. Yet, we have little understanding of the genetic adaptations that allow turtles to survive and reproduce in such diverse environments. Common snapping turtles, Chelydra serpentina, are an ideal model species for studying adaptation to climate because they are widely distributed from tropical to northern temperate zones in North America. They are also easy to maintain and breed in captivity and produce large clutch sizes, which makes them amenable to quantitative genetic and molecular genetic studies of …

Developing Methods To Survey, Collect, Process, And Screen Endemic Entomopathogenic Fungi Against The Asian Citrus Psyllid In The Lower Rio Grande Valley, Jonathan Cisneros

Theses and Dissertations

The Asian citrus psyllid (ACP), Diaphorina citri Kuwayama (Hemiptera: Liviidae), vectors “Candidatus Liberibacter spp.”, the causative agent of Citrus Greening Disease. Managing ACP is imperative given the continuous increase in HLB positive trees. An aspect of integrated pest management (IPM) is the use of entomopathogenic fungi for the biological control of D. citri.

In order to identify endemic entomopathogenic fungi actively infecting D. citri, ACP were collected from local residential areas, surface sterilized, and plated on a semi-selective agar medium. Collection of over 9,300 samples from 278 sites throughout the LRGV led to the positive identification of …

Interactive Effects Of Heat Stress And Pesticides Co-Exposure On Swimming Behavior, Oxidative Stress, Antioxidant Expression, And Redox Status In Common Goldfish (Carassius Auratus), Brittney Danielle Lacy

Theses and Dissertations

Aquatic ecosystems are inundated by environmental pesticides. This study, observed the dose-dependent effects of pesticides cocktail (metalachlor, linuron, isoproturon, tebucanazole, aclonifen, atrazine, pendimethalin, and azinphos-methyl) and elevated temperature (32 °C for 4-week exposure) on morphology of gills and kidneys, and expression of nitrotyrosine protein (NTP), dinitrophenyl protein (DNP), catalase (CAT), superoxidase dismutase (SOD), Na+/K+-ATPase, renin, and apoptosis in tissues of goldfish. Additionally, the effects on the free-swimming behavior were also observed. Histological analysis showed wide-spread damage in tissues at higher temperature and pesticides co-exposure. Immunohistochemical analysis demonstrated alterations in NTP, DNP, CAT and SOD expressions in tissues at higher temperature …

Drivers Of Rickettsial Pathogen Transmission And Spillover In Local Tick Populations In Southeastern Virginia, Alexandra Cumbie

Biomedical Sciences Theses & Dissertations

Cases of spotted fever group rickettsiosis are becoming more prevalent in the United States. In Virginia, there are three human-biting ticks which are largely responsible for the spread of rickettsial pathogens and the increase in disease cases. These species include Dermacentor variabilis, Amblyomma americanum, and Amblyomma maculatum; all of which are vectors of rickettsial agents to vertebrate hosts. These species are sympatric as adults and have the potential to share large and small mammal hosts. Their interactions on and off host and their associated rickettsiae were the focus of this dissertation work. Amblyomma americanum is the vector …

On The Straight And Narrow: How Cultural Beliefs About Sex/Gender Manifest In College Biology Learning Environments., Katherine Ray Kng

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation focused on the ways that social beliefs about sex/gender and sexuality manifest in biology classrooms. Especially for health science students, classes include topics like sex, sexuality, sexual behaviors, or sex determination that forms the foundation of their understanding of human forms and behaviors. If the information they receive does not include the LGBTQIA+ community, their education will fail to adequately prepare them for the reality of healthcare practice where they will be expected to treat all patients with dignity and respect. There are three chapters in this dissertation. In chapter one, I asked what beliefs about and conceptions …

The Modular Expression Patterns Of Three Pigmentation Genes Prefigure Unique Abdominal Morphologies Seen Among Three Drosophila Species, William A. Dion, Mujeeb O. Shittu, Tessa Steenwinkel, Komal K.B. Raja, Prajakta P. Kokate, Thomas Werner

Michigan Tech Publications, Part 1

To understand how novel animal body colorations emerged, one needs to ask how the development of color patterns differs among closely related species. Here we examine three species of fruit flies – Drosophila guttifera (D. guttifera), D. palustris, and D. subpalustris – displaying a varying number of abdominal spot rows. Through in situ hybridization experiments, we examine the mRNA expression patterns for the pigmentation genes Dopa decarboxylase (Ddc), tan (t), and yellow (y) during pupal development. Our results show that Ddc, t, and y are co-expressed in modular, identical patterns, each foreshadowing the adult abdominal spots in D. guttifera, D. …

Assessment Of Genetic Diversity In Largetooth Sawfish, Pristis Pristis, Populations Over The 20th Century, Ann Fearing

Master's Theses

The Critically Endangered Largetooth Sawfish, Pristis pristis, experienced global declines in range and abundance over the past century and Australia is now their last stronghold. This research aimed to understand whether these declines have been accompanied by a reduction in levels of genetic diversity. Using P. pristis tissue samples sourced from natural history specimens, three fragments (616-bp, 386-bp, 141-bp) in the mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) control region were PCR-amplified. At each fragment, significant genetic structure was found in P. pristis overall (Φ_ST=0.946, N=9; 0.813, N=54; 0.771, N=99). The Indo-West Pacific and Atlantic/Eastern Pacific each harbor genetically distinct lineages of …

Sine Oculis Homeobox Homolog 1 (Six1) Plays A Critical Role In The Progression Of Pulmonary Fibrosis., Cory Wilson

Dissertations and Theses (Open Access)

Idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) is the most common idiopathic interstitial pneumonia with a median survival time of 2-4 years after diagnosis. The alarming mortality rate is due to the lack of effective treatments. IPF is a chronic disease that is characterized by alveolar destruction due to increasing extracellular matrix deposition that leads to poor lung compliance, impaired gas exchange, and ultimately respiratory failure. Repetitive alveolar epithelial injury is a central process to the underlying pathology with injury to the type II alveolar epithelial cells (AT2) specifically being a key player in the pathogenesis of IPF. Recent studies have shown that …

Fibroblast Heterogeneity In Pancreatic Cancer Immunity, Josephine Darpolor

Dissertations and Theses (Open Access)

Fibroblasts are a unique cell type defined by their mesenchymal phenotype and exclusion from epithelial, immune, and endothelial cell subsets. Although well studied in wound healing, cancer associated fibroblasts (CAFs) are incredibly heterogeneous, leading to contradictions as to the roles CAFs play in the tumor microenvironment (TME). CAFs were thought to be a barrier to treatment of pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC). However, general stromal targeting strategies have largely failed in the clinic likely due to the heterogeneity of CAFs in the TME. Therefore, our groups and others have worked to unravel the heterogeneity of CAFs in PDAC. In the works …

Editor's Choice: Aldo Leopold Conservation Award, Luis A. Ruedas

Biology Faculty Publications and Presentations

Every year since 2003, the American Society of Mammalogists confers during its annual meeting the Aldo Leopold Conservation Award on a highly deserving individual. A consequence of the award for the awardee is the responsibility to write a feature article in the pages of this journal. Aldo Leopold, the namesake of the award, is considered by an overwhelming majority of biologists to be the father of contemporary conservation biology. Born in Burlington, Iowa, Leopold graduated with a Master’s degree from the Yale Forest School, which had been endowed in 1902 by the Pinchot family and was one of the first …

Promoting The Sustainability Of The Gulf Of Maine Recreational Groundfish Fishery Through Discard Mortality Estimation, Mitigation, And Outreach, Connor W. Capizzano

Graduate Doctoral Dissertations

Recreational fishing (i.e., angling), a popular leisure activity that provides socio-economic benefits to human societies around the world, can represent a significant source of fishing mortality and impact fish populations and marine ecosystems. Although fish are often released by recreational anglers to reduce fishing mortality rates, the efficacy of discarding fish is often criticized given that fish can die from the factors experienced during the capture, handling, and release process (i.e., discard mortality). Despite this recognition, the rate at which fish suffer discard mortality in specific commercial and recreational fisheries is often unknown and difficult to obtain due to logistical …

The Design And Validation Of A Qpcr-Based Approach To Cell Quantification Of Fungal-Algal Symbioses, Isabelle Katherine Garlotte

Honors Theses

Symbiotic relationships are extremely common in virtually all species. These relationships between organisms, particularly mutualistic symbioses, can have an incredibly large impact and can greatly affect the evolution of the species involved. Of particular interest is the suspected mutualistic relationship between green algae and fungi that may hold key evidence of how terrestrial plants evolved. In this experiment we established a method of quantifying the cells of each species involved in these symbioses through qPCR analysis to determine if the relationships are truly mutualistic. We developed a system for using DNA copies as a proxy for cell count in co-cultures …

Pathology Findings And Correlation With Body Condition Index In Stranded Killer Whales (Orcinus Orca) In The Northeastern Pacific And Hawaii From 2004 To 2013, Stephen A. Raverty, Judy St. Leger, Dawn P. Noren, Kathy Burek Huntington, David S. Rotstein, Francis M.D. Gulland,, Deborah A. Duffield, Multiple Additional Authors

Biology Faculty Publications and Presentations

Understanding health and mortality in killer whales (Orcinus orca) is crucial for management and conservation actions. We reviewed pathology reports from 53 animals that stranded in the eastern Pacific Ocean and Hawaii between 2004 and 2013 and used data from 35 animals that stranded from 2001 to 2017 to assess association with morphometrics, blubber thickness, body condition and cause of death. Of the 53 cases, cause of death was determined for 22 (42%) and nine additional animals demonstrated findings of significant importance for population health. Causes of calf mortalities included infectious disease, nutritional, and congenital malformations. Mortalities in sub-adults were …

Scale‐Dependent Effects Of Host Patch Traits On Species Composition In A Stickleback Parasite Metacommunity, Daniel I. Bolnick, Emlyn J. Resetarits, Kimberly Ballare, Yoel E. Stuart, William E. Stutz

Biology: Faculty Publications and Other Works

A core goal of ecology is to understand the abiotic and biotic variables that regulate species distributions and community composition. A major obstacle is that the rules governing species distributions can change with spatial scale. Here, we illustrate this point using data from a spatially nested metacommunity of parasites infecting a metapopulation of threespine stickleback fish from 34 lakes on Vancouver Island, British Columbia. Like most parasite metacommunities, the composition of stickleback parasites differs among host individuals within each host population, and differs between host populations. The distribution of each parasite taxon depends, to varying degrees, on individual host traits …

Lianas Maintain Insectivorous Bird Abundance And Diversity In A Neotropical Forest, Stefan A. Schnitzer, Nicole L. Michel, Jennifer S. Powers, W. Douglas Robinson

Biological Sciences Faculty Research and Publications

The spatial habitat heterogeneity hypothesis posits that habitat complexity increases the abundance and diversity of species. In tropical forests, lianas add substantial habitat heterogeneity and complexity throughout the vertical forest profile, which may maintain animal abundance and diversity. The effects of lianas on tropical animal communities, however, remain poorly understood. We propose that lianas have a positive effect on animals by enhancing habitat complexity. Lianas may have a particularly strong influence on the forest bird community, providing nesting substrate, protection from predators, and nutrition (food). Understory insectivorous birds, which forage for insects that specialize on lianas, may particularly benefit. Alternatively, …

Assessing The Effects Of Cold Storage Regimes Of North American Bombus Queens: Long Live The Humble Queen, Thuy - Tien Thai Lindsay

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Bumble bees (Bombus) provide critical pollination services for wild plants and crops. They are generalist pollinators, and do not depend on one singular floral type. Native bumble bees are adapted to pollinating many native plants, such as blueberries, squash, and tomatoes. A critical component of bumble bee pollination in the greenhouse tomato industry is the domestication of commercially bred colonies. However, the domestication of Bombus is pretty early in its development, and not all aspects of the bumble bee life cycle is fully understood. This thesis addresses one of the major obstacles in domestication, which is successful mimicking …

The Role Of The Recently Deorphanized G-Protein Coupled Receptor, Gpr171, In Morphine Tolerance And Withdrawal, Leela Afrose

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Opioid analgesics, such as morphine, represent the gold standard pain killer and the most frequently used drugs for the treatment of moderate to severe pain. Despite being a potent analgesic, morphine has unwanted and dangerous side effects with repeated use, such as tolerance and withdrawal. Tolerance is a state when a person no longer responds to a drug and a higher dose is required to achieve the same initial pain relief. Withdrawal is a set of undesirable psychological and physiological symptoms that occur after someone stops taking a drug or reduces the dose. Morphine tolerance and withdrawal play a vital …

Tissue-Specific Responses From A Global Developmental Signal: A Detailed Subcellular Analysis Of The 20e And Rab Signaling Pathways Controlling Exocrine Secretion During Drosophila Development, Nichalas Nelson

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

During metamorphosis, the steroid hormone 20-hydroxecydysone (20E) triggers a plethora of tissue-specific responses in the common fruit fly, Drosophila melanogaster. The salivary glands are exocrine organs that respond to a large pulse of 20E to secrete a massive cargo of stored glycoproteins called glue. Because the glands are amenable to ex vivo-organ culture and powerful genetic manipulations, they are an excellent model for studying the conserved developmental and physiological signaling pathways that regulate the general function of these specialized secretory tissues. Our lab has generated transgenic animals in which the secreted glue molecules are tagged with fluorescent proteins. I have …

Microbe-Mineral Interactions During Exceptional Fossil Preservation, Stromatolite Formation, And Desert Varnish Growth, Michael Strange

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

The Ediacaran to Cambrian Deep Spring Formation consists of mixed carbonate-siliciclastic strata which contain an increasingly complex and biogeographically important biota. Past investigations of the Deep Spring Formation at Mt. Dunfee, Nevada, explored the highly diverse microbialite reefs consisting of a wide range of stromatolite morphologies which exerted significant control on local sedimentation and topography. Early investigations also documented the biomineralizing metazoan Cloudina (an Ediacaran index fossil). However, recent exploration of the area has resulted in the discovery of several new metazoan fossil communities consisting of a diverse assemblage of Ediacaran soft-tissue tubicolous vermiforms (tube fossils) similar to Cloudina. The …

Role Of Herbivore Associated Elicitors In Plant Defense Signaling, Akanksha Gandhi

Theses and Dissertations

Chapter 2: In this chapter, I have provided an update on recent developments and advances on early signaling events in plant-herbivore interactions, with a particular emphasis on the membrane potential changes (Vm), calcium (Ca2+), reactive oxygen species (ROS) and plant ion channels involvement in early signaling events initiation and propagation of defense signaling cascade.

Chapter 3: In this chapter, we show that tobacco hornworm (Manduca sexta) caterpillar oral secretion (OS) induces ROS in tomato (Solanum lycopersicum) protoplasts. By using a dye-based ROS imaging approach, our study showed that the application of Plant-Fed (PF) M. sexta OS …

The Effects Of Multiple Stressors On Stream Communities: The Convergence Of Drought, Nutrient Pollution, And Invasive Species, Robert Joseph Fournier Iii

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Freshwater systems experience multi-faceted degradation from a variety of ecological and environmental stressors. Three common stressors in these systems, drought, nutrient pollution, and invasive species, have wide-ranging effects on stream population- community- and ecosystem dynamics. We have a broad understanding of how each of these stressors works to influence stream systems independently. However, we still know relatively little about if, and how, these stressors might interact when they co-occur. Though drought is a natural part of many stream systems, all three of these stressors can be exacerbated or facilitated by anthropogenic actions. Accordingly, as human population and resource use continue …

Neogene And Quaternary Events Shaped Diversification And Speciation In Bhutanese Rheophilic Fishes Of The Family Nemacheilidae (Cypriniformes) And Sisoridae (Siluriformes), Karma Wangchuk

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Biogeography of the Himalayan region [to include the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau (QTP)] evolved over a ~30M year span, catalyzed by the collision of the Indian and Eurasian plates. The resulting uplift produced major ecological and climatic effects, that in turn drove the diversification of biodiversity. As a result, the QTP is designated as a global biodiversity hotspot particularly vulnerable to cumulative climatic effects, including shrinking distributions, declining numbers, and local extinctions. Understanding how the biodiversity within the Himalaya/ QTP was established and maintained is a necessary first step in prioritizing conservation efforts.

Fishes in global montane regions, such as the Himalaya, …

Effects Of Long-Term Variation In Temperature On Reproductive Phenology In A Population Of Eastern Bluebirds (Sialia Sialis), Paul Pleiman

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This study investigates the relationship between multiple temperature variables, to include annual and pre-lay date temperatures with first-egg and mean first-egg lay dates of the eastern bluebird at the Warner Parks in Nashville, Tennessee, USA. Data is collected by citizen scientists for the Eastern Bluebird Nesting Box Project while visiting artificial nest boxes throughout the park and recording observations made during the breeding season. Temperature data is retrieved from the Northwest Alliance for Computational Science and Engineering’s Parameter-elevation Regressions on Independent Slopes Model (PRISM) Climate Group, based at Oregon State University. The analyses showed no correlation between annual or pre-lay …