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Genetic Considerations For The Conservation And Management Of Yellowstone Cutthroat Trout (Oncorhynchus Clarkii Bouvieri) In Yellowstone National Park, David J. Janetski

Theses and Dissertations

A key component to conservation is an accurate understanding of genetic subdivision within a species. Despite their ecological and economic importance, relatively little is understood about the genetic structuring of Yellowstone cutthroat trout in Yellowstone National Park. Here, we use traditional (Fst, Rst, Nm, and AMOVA) and modern (Bayesian assignment tests, coalescent theory, and nested clade analysis) analytical approaches to describe the population genetic subdivision of cutthroat trout spawning populations in Yellowstone Lake and to identify genetically distinct population segments throughout Yellowstone National Park. Evidence for restricted gene flow between spawning populations within Yellowstone Lake was detected using nested clade …

The Influence Of Low Humidity, Pseudacteon Flies, And Competition By Solenopsis Xyloni On Solenopsis Invicta, Ricardo A. Ramirez, D C. Thompson, M D. Remmenga

Biology Faculty Publications

Red imported fire ant, Solenopsis invicta Buren, is a serious pest in the southeastern United States. It has caused economic losses in agricultural products, stings can cause anaphylactic shock, and it has reduced biodiversity. S. invicta has displaced native ant species throughout its range, presumably by competitive exclusion. In 1998, S. invicta populations were confirmed in southern New Mexico, resulting in a quarantine of Doña Ana County. Although large populations of the native southern fire ant, S. xyloniMcCook, are common in the Mesilla Valley, only two small populations of S. invicta have been found since the initial quarantine. It is …

Oxidase-Coupled Amperometric Glucose And Lactate Sensors With Integrated Electrochemical Actuation System, Jongwon Park, Chang-Soo Kim, Minsu Choi

Electrical and Computer Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

Unpredictable baseline drift and sensitivity degradation during continuous use are two of the most significant problems of biosensors including the amperometric glucose and lactate sensors. Therefore, the capability of on-demand in situ calibration/diagnosis of biochemical sensors is indispensable for reliable long-term monitoring with minimum attendance. Another limitation of oxidase enzyme-based biosensors is the dependence of enzyme activity on the background oxygen concentration in sample solution. In order to address these issues, the electrolytic generation of oxygen and hydrogen bubbles were utilized 1) to overcome the background oxygen dependence of glucose and lactate sensors and 2) to demonstrate the feasibility of …

Mbet3p Is Required For Homotypic Copii Vesicle Tethering In Mammalian Cells, Sidney Yu, Ayano Satoh, Marc Pypaert, Karl Mullen, Jesse C. Hay, Susan Ferro-Novick

Biological Sciences Faculty Publications

TRAPPI is a large complex that mediates the tethering of COPII vesicles to the Golgi (heterotypic tethering) in the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae. In mammalian cells, COPII vesicles derived from the transitional endoplasmic reticulum (tER) do not tether directly to the Golgi, instead, they appear to tether to each other ( homotypic tethering) to form vesicular tubular clusters (VTCs). We show that mammalian Bet3p (mBet3p), which is the most highly conserved TRAPP subunit, resides on the tER and adjacent VTCs. The inactivation of mBet3p results in the accumulation of cargo in membranes that colocalize with the COPII coat. Furthermore, using an …

Diversity And Abundance Of Small Mammals In The Serengeti Kopjes, Tanzania, C. D. Timbuka, J. D. Kabigumila

Tanzania Journal of Science

Diversity and abundance of small mammals in the Serengeti kopjes were studied between November 2000 and February 2002. From 22,500 trap-nights and 3,300 bucket-nights, 4,903 small mammals in 18 species, 14 genera, 6 families and 3 orders were recorded. Muridae was the most dominant family with nine species. The highest number of species was recorded in the Maasai (14), Mbuzi Mawe (13) and Seronera (12) kopjes. The least number of species recorded in the Simba, Barafu and Wogakuria kopjes, with eight species each. Species diversity was highest in the Maasai kopjes (H'=2.337) and lowest in the Wogakuria kopjes (H'=1.794), with …

Genetics And Inheritance Of Seed Dormancy Inflicted By Seed- Coat Factors In Rice (Oryza Sativa L.), Z. L. Kanyeka

Tanzania Journal of Science

The study was undertaken to investigate the genetic mode of inheritance of dormancy imposed by the hull (seed coat) in rice seeds. Freshly harvested seeds of parents, F1 and F2 populations of a cross between a dormant cultivar Kisegese and non-dormant strain K2004 were used. Germination test of the de-hulled (without seed coat) and un-dehulled (whole or with seed coat) seeds were conducted at 10 days intervals starting at 15 days after harvesting (15DAH) for 65 days. The seeds were sown in petri dishes. Numbers of germinated and un-germinated seeds were recorded at 7 days after sowing. Germination of seeds …

Occurrence Of Metacercariae Of Diplostomum And Tylodelphys Species (Diplostomidae) In Clarias Species (Clariidae) Fishes From Lake Victoria, M. J. Musiba, G. Nkwengulila

Tanzania Journal of Science

The localisation and abundance of the metacercariae of Diplostomum and Tylodelphys species among the clariids of Lake Victoria were investigated between April and December 2001. Four species viz. Clarias gariepinus (271), C. alluaudi (65), C. werneri (50) and C. liocephalus (47) were examined, but only C. gariepinus was infected in the brain case and along the nasal cavity. Prevalence of metacercariae was high (>70%). Prevalence and mean intensity were similar between male and female fish. Mean intensity increased with fish size and declined in larger fish for D. mashonense; but declined with the increase in fish size for Tylodelphys …

Pathogenecity Of Two Strains Of Rice Yellow Mottle Virus On Aromatic Rice Cultivars, Z. L. Kanyeka

Tanzania Journal of Science

Development of rice cultivars with resistance to rice yellow mottle virus (RYMV) requires characterization of pathogenecity of existing strains against susceptible cultivars. The pathogenecity of two RYMV strains; S4 and S“New” identified in Tanzania were assessed against seven local and introduced rice genotypes including cultivars Zambia, ITA173 and TXD 88. The two virus strains showed similar effects on the rice cultivar Zambia killing all the plants at 25d after inoculation. The strains significantly reduced the plant height, panicle length, and number of tillers per pot and total dry matter of all the two cultivars. In another trial, the pathogenecity of …

Biogeography Of Buarremon Brush-Finches (Aves, Emberizinae): Integrating Ecology, Evolution, And Systematics, Carlos Daniel Cadena

Dissertations

Ecological and historical approaches to studying species¿ geographic ranges have yet to be unified. Ideal scenarios for integrating ecology with evolutionary biology in biogeography are those where contemporary ecological interactions may have influenced species¿ distributions historically, driving the evolution of ecological niches. I focused on understanding the origin of elevational distributions of species, and specifically on the role of interspecific competition in the origin of complementary elevational ranges. To test hypotheses about the origin of elevational distributions, I followed a combined approach involving molecular phylogenetics, phylogeography, population genetics, and ecological niche modeling. I focused on Buarremon torquatus and B. brunneinucha …

A Subset Of Arabidopsis Ap2 Transcription Factors Mediates Cytokinin Responses In Concert With A Two-Component Pathway, Aaron M. Rashotte, Michael G. Mason, Claire E. Hutchison, Fernando J. Ferreira, G. Eric Schaller, Joseph J. Kieber

Dartmouth Scholarship

The plant hormone cytokinin regulates numerous growth and developmental processes. A signal transduction pathway for cytokinin has been elucidated that is similar to bacterial two-component phosphorelays. In Arabidopsis, this pathway is comprised of receptors that are similar to sensor histidine kinases, histidine-containing phosphotransfer proteins, and response regulators (ARRs). There are two classes of response regulators, the type-A ARRs, which act as negative regulators of cytokinin responses, and the type-B ARRs, which are transcription factors that play a positive role in mediating cytokinin-regulated gene expression. Here we show that several closely related members of the Arabidopsis AP2 gene family of …

Progeny Of Germ Line Knockouts Of Asi2, A Gene Encoding A Putative Signal Transduction Receptor In Tetrahymena Thermophila, Fail To Make The Transition From Sexual Reproduction To Vegetative Growth, Shuqiang Li, Lihui Yin, Eric S. Cole, Rupa A. Udani, Kathleen M. Karrer

Biological Sciences Faculty Research and Publications

The ciliated protozoan Tetrahymena has two nuclei: a germ line micronucleus and a somatic macronucleus. The transcriptionally active macronucleus has about 50 copies of each chromosome. At sexual reproduction (conjugation), the parental macronucleus is degraded and new macronucleus develops from a mitotic product of the zygotic micronucleus. Development of the macronucleus involves massive genome remodeling, including deletion of about 6000 specific internal eliminated sequences (IES) and multiple rounds of DNA replication. A gene encoding a putative signal transduction receptor, ASI2, (anlagen stage induced 2) is up-regulated during development of the new macronuclei (anlagen). Macronuclear ASI2 is nonessential for vegetative …

Phylogeographic Analyses Of Obligate And Facultative Cave Crayfish Species On The Cumberland Plateau Of The Southern Appalachians, Jennifer Elizabeth Buhay

Theses and Dissertations

Cave systems and their unique biota are widely viewed as highly endangered, yet very little is known about basic life history, ecology, distributions, habitat requirements, and evolutionary relationships of subterranean species. The crux of the problem in cave studies is the assumption that traditionally defined morpho-species represent distinct evolutionary lineages. Convergence is exhibited in the morphologies of many animal groups, vertebrate and invertebrate, which leads to confusion in diagnosing species' boundaries, geographic distributions, gene flow routes, and imperilment. This dissertation research includes phylogeographic analyses of freshwater cave-dwelling crayfishes in the Southern Appalachians, a global hotspot of subterranean biodiversity. By examining …

Development Of An In Vitro Protocol To Study The Effect Of Estrogen On Osteoblast Activity, Sourik Ganguly

Morehead State Theses and Dissertations

A thesis presented to the faculty of the College of Science & Technology at Morehead State University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Degree of Master of Science by Sourik Ganguly on July 7, 2006.

Evaluating Sedimentary Geochemical Lake-Level Tracers In Walker Lake, Nevada, Over The Last 200 Years, Fasong Yuan, Braddock K. Linsley, Stephen S. Howe

Biological, Geological, and Environmental Faculty Publications

Walker Lake, a hydrologically closed, saline, alkaline lake located along the western margin of the Great Basin of western United States, has experienced a 77% reduction in volume and commitment drop in lake level as a result of anthropogenic perturbations and climatic fluctuations over the last century. The history of lake-level change in Walker Lake has been recorded instrumentally since 1860. A high-resolution multi-proxy sediment core record from Walker Lake has been generated through analysis of total inorganic carbon (TIC), total organic carbon (TOC), and oxygen and carbon isotope ratios (δ¹⁸O and δ¹³ C) of both downcore …

Identification Of Anopheles (Nyssorhynchus) Marajoara (Diptera: Culicidae) In Bolivia Using Polymerase Chain Reaction And A Restriction Endonuclease, Gary Fritz, C. Brelsfoard, R. Rodriguez

Faculty Research & Creative Activity

Anopheles (Nyssorhynchus) marajoara Galvão & Damasceno (Diptera: Culicidae) is a member of the Albitarsis cryptic species complex and is a primary vector of human Plasmodium in parts of Brazil. We report the first record of An. marajoara in the department of Cochabamba and confirm its presence in the department of Santa Cruz, Bolivia. We also describe a PCR protocol producing a single amplicon (≈340 bp) of a section of the internal transcribed spacer 2 specific for members of the Albitarsis species complex; the polymerase chain reaction protocol did not amplify the DNA of 17 other species in the subgenus Nyssorhynchus. …

Identification Of Anopheles (Nyssorhynchus) Marajoara (Diptera: Culicidae) In Bolivia Using Polymerase Chain Reaction And A Restriction Endonuclease, Gary Fritz, C. L. Brelsfoard, R. Rodriguez

Faculty Research & Creative Activity

Anopheles (Nyssorhynchus) marajoara Galvão & Damasceno (Diptera: Culicidae) is a member of the Albitarsis cryptic species complex and is a primary vector of human Plasmodium in parts of Brazil. We report the first record of An. marajoara in the department of Cochabamba and confirm its presence in the department of Santa Cruz, Bolivia. We also describe a PCR protocol producing a single amplicon (≈340 bp) of a section of the internal transcribed spacer 2 specific for members of the Albitarsis species complex; the polymerase chain reaction protocol did not amplify the DNA of 17 other species in the subgenus Nyssorhynchus. …

Soil Microbial Community Composition As Affected By Restoration Practices In California Grassland, Rebecca E. Drenovsky, Martin Pothoff, Kerri L. Steenwerth, Louise E. Jackson, Rainer G. Joergensen, Kate M. Scow

Biology

Agricultural practices have strong impacts on soil microbes including both the indices related to biomass and activity as well as those related to community composition. In a grassland restoration project in California, where native perennial bunchgrasses were introduced into non-native annual grassland after a period of intensive tillage, weeding, and herbicide use to reduce the annual seed bank, microbial community composition was investigated. Three treatments were compared: annual grassland, bare soil fallow, and restored perennial grassland. Soil profiles down to 80cm in depth were investigated in four separate layers (0–15, 15–30, 30–60, and 60–80cm) using both phospholipid ester-linked fatty acid …

Anti-Viral Capacity Of Quillaja Saponaria Molina Extract Against Vaccinia And Herpes Simplex Virus-1, Matthew Sean Spinks

Biology Theses - Archive

It is well known that Quillaja saponins have the ability to elicit a strong immune response when used as an adjuvant in an ISCOM matrix. However, to date, the antiviral capability of Quillaja saponins has not been documented. Using extracts from the Chilean Soap Bark Tree (Quillaja Saponaria Molina) we document the anti-viral capacities of Quillaja saponins against HSV-1 and Vaccinia. The saponin was ineffective against Vaccinia Virus, however neutralized HSV-1 in a time and temperature dependent manner. In addition, Quillaja Saponins were determined capable of preventing cell-to-cell spread when introduced in solution to cell monolayers.

Ecological Fitting As A Determinant Of The Community Structure Of Platyhelminth Parasites Of Anurans, Daniel R. Brooks, Virginia León-Règagnon, Deborah Mclennan, Derek Zelmer

Faculty Publications

Host–parasite associations are assumed to be ecologically specialized, tightly coevolved systems driven by mutual modification in which host switching is a rare phenomenon. Ecological fitting, however, increases the probability of host switching, creating incongruences between host and parasite phylogenies, when (1) specialization on a particular host resource is a shared characteristic of distantly related parasites, and (2) the resource being tracked by the parasite is widespread among many host species. We investigated the effect of ecological fitting on structuring the platyhelminth communities of anurans from a temperate forest and grassland in the United States and tropical dry and wet forests …

Aintegumenta Contributes To Organ Polarity And Regulates Growth Of Lateral Organs In Combination With Yabby Genes, Staci Nole-Wilson, Beth A. Krizek

Faculty Publications

Lateral organs in flowering plants display polarity along their adaxial-abaxial axis with distinct cell types forming at different positions along this axis. Members of three classes of transcription factors in Arabidopsis (Arabidopsis thaliana; the Class III homeodomain/leucine zipper [HD-ZIP] proteins, KANADI proteins, and YABBY proteins) are expressed in either the adaxial or abaxial domain of organ primordia where they confer these respective identities. Little is known about the factors that act upstream of these polarity-determining genes to regulate their expression. We have investigated the relationship between AINTEGUMENTA (ANT), a gene that promotes initiation and growth of lateral …

Evidence For Absence Of Latch-Bridge Formation In Muscular Saphenous Arteries, Shaojie Han, John E. Speich, Thomas J. Eddinger, Krystina M. Berg, Amy S. Miner, Chris Call, Paul H. Ratz

Biological Sciences Faculty Research and Publications

Large-diameter elastic arteries can produce strong contractions indefinitely at a high-energy economy by the formation of latch bridges. Whether ownstream blood vessels also use latch bridges remains unknown. The zero-pressure medial thickness and lumen diameter of rabbit saphenous artery (SA), a muscular branch of the elastic femoral artery (FA), were, respectively, approximately twofold and half-fold that of the FA. In isolated FA and SA rings, KCl rapidly (s) caused strong increases in isometric stress (1.2 x 10⁵ N/m²) and intracellular Ca²⁺ concentration ([Ca²⁺]_i; 250 nM). By 10 min, [Ca²⁺]i declined …

Stress Responses In Tropical Sparrows: Comparing Tropical And Temperate Zonotrichia, Haruka Wada, Ignacio T. Moore, Creagh W. Breuner, John C. Wingfield

Biological Sciences Faculty Publications

Seasonal modulation of the adrenocortical response appears to be ubiquitous in mid- to high- latitude vertebrates but has not been investigated in tropical vertebrates. Previous studies demonstrate that temperate passerines show seasonality in corticosterone secretion and corticosteroid binding globulin capacities. We examined seasonal and sex differences in the stress response in an equatorial population of Zonotrichia capensis, the only Zonotrichia that breeds in the tropics, and compared the results with those of northern Zonotrichia. Seasonal differences in tropical Zonotrichia would presumably be independent of photoperiod and thus directly related to such activities as reproduction and feather molt. In addition, we …

Linking Scales In Stream Ecology, Winsor H. Lowe, Gene E. Likens, Mary E. Power

Biological Sciences Faculty Publications

The hierarchical structure of natural systems can be useful in designing ecological studies that are informative at multiple spatial scales. Although stream systems have long been recognized as having a hierarchical spatial structure, there is a need for more empirical research that exploits this structure to generate an understanding of population biology, community ecology, and species-ecosystem linkages across spatial scales. We review studies that link pattern and process across multiple scales of stream-habitat organization, highlighting the insight derived from this multiscale approach and the role that mechanistic hypotheses play in its successful application. We also describe afrontier in stream research …

Facilitation By Pinus Flexilis During Succession: A Hierarchy Of Mechanisms Benefits Other Plant Species, Dayna Baumeister, Ragan M. Callaway

Biological Sciences Faculty Publications

Studies of facilitation have primarily been limited to single mechanisms, species, or environments. We examined interacting mechanisms governing the facilitative effects of Pinus flexilis on two later successional understory species, Pseudotsuga menziesii and Ribes cereum, in different microhabitats and seasons at the ecotone between the Rocky Mountain forests and Great Plains grasslands in Montana, USA. In field surveys, 69% of Pseudotsuga and 91% of Ribes were located beneath P. flexilis even though P. flexilis subcrowns accounted for a small proportion of available habitat. For three years, we monitored the survival of Pseudotsuga and Ribes seedlings experimentally planted beneath …

Estimating Detection Probablities Of River Birds Using Double Surveys, Robert J. Fletcher Jr., Richard L. Hutto

Biological Sciences Faculty Publications

We describe a method for surveying birds in river habitats that allows for rapid assessment across broad spatial scales and estimation of detection probabilities. Our river survey approach incorporates a double-survey technique, whereby observers in two canoes simultaneously survey birds along a river reach. Data are in the form of a two-sample mark-recapture history, and covariates suspected of influencing detection probabilities can be included in the modeling process and evaluated using information-theoretic approaches. We provide an example using the method along the Madison and upper Missouri rivers in Montana. Overall, detection probabilities for each observer ranged from 57% to 89%, …

Exposure Of Nervous System Cells To Polychlorinated Biphenyls (Pcbs), Results In Alterations Of Neurotrophic Factor Expression, Gordon H. Gurley

Dissertations

Toxic insult by PCBs results in learning and memory deficits in humans. Alterations in expression of neurotrophic factors (NF) and/or their receptors have been linked to changes in learning and memory. How PCBs affect cognition is not known. We suggest that PCBs affect cognition by altering NF expression.

We exposed cultured C6 rat glioblastoma cells (an astrocyte cell-line) to medium containing PCB (Aroclor 1254 (10ppm)). Control cells were treated with dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO) or regular medium. Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays (ELISA) were used to determine glial cell-line derived neurotrophic factor(GDNF) and nerve growth factor (NGF) concentrations in all samples. We also …

Molecular Analysis Of The Effects Of Atrazine On Xenopus Laevis Frogs, Ronald Edward Celestine

Dissertations

Atrazine, the most commonly used herbicide in the U.S., has been implicated as one of the factors that may be causing the worldwide decline of amphibians. First, I examined effects of atrazine on laboratory raised Xenopus laevis tadpoles, treated from 5 days post fertilization to NF stage 65/66 with a concentrationof 25 ppb of atrazine. This study showed no significant difference in body weight, length and metamorphic rate.

Second, I used DNA microarrays to examine mRNA expression levels of genes in atrazine treated and control Xenopus laevis tadpoles. I found significant changes in gene expression levels of 18 genes. These …

Where Has All The Leaf Litter Gone?...., Charlotte Buehler, Chad Byers, Summer Drake

Annual Student Research Poster Session

What Affects the Amount of Leaf Litter in a Forest?
Decomposition rates of leaf litter?
Abiotic soil conditions (pH, calcium content, other nutrients)?
Abundance of earthworms?
Abundance of millipedes?
Abundance of macroinvertebrates (beetles, crickets, spiders)?
Forest composition (maples, oaks, elms)?
Other abiotic factors (microclimate, microtopography, moisture)?
Leaf chemistry (tannin content, lability, recalcitrance)?
Other biotic factors (bacteria, fungi, mycorrhizae)?

Transport Of Galectin-3 Between The Nucleus And Cytoplasm. I. Conditions And Signals For Nuclear Import, Peter J. Davidson, Su Yin Li, Andrew G. Lohse, Rianna Vandergaast

University Faculty Publications and Creative Works

Galectin-3, a factor involved in the splicing of pre-mRNA, shuttles between the nucleus and the cytoplasm. We have engineered a vector that expresses the fusion protein containing the following: (a) green fluorescent protein as a reporter of localization, (b) bacterial maltose-binding protein to increase the size of the reporter polypeptide, and (c) galectin-3, whose sequence we wished to dissect in search of amino acid residues vital for nuclear localization. In mouse 3T3 fibroblasts transfected with this expression construct, the full-length galectin-3 (residues 1-263) fusion protein was localized predominantly in the nucleus. Mutants of this construct, containing truncations of the galectin-3 …

The Effect Of Male Competition On Female Choice In Brandt’S Vole, Lasiopodomys Brandti, Jianjun Zhang, Dazhao Shi, Lixing Sun

All Faculty Scholarship for the College of the Sciences

The effect of male competition on female choice in the Brandt’s vole (Lasiopodomys brandti) was studied in the laboratory. Using a two-way choice test, we showed that when males did not compete, estrous females preferred and mated with the dominant males, but non-estrous females preferred subordinate males. However, when males competed, all dominant males gained the priority to mate, and the amicable behaviour between males, regardless of their dominant status, and between non-estrous females increased, compared with the behaviour between males and the estrous females. These results showed that interactions among Brandt’s voles were not only influenced by …