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Seedling Development N Stylisma Pickeringii Var. Pattersonii (Convolvulaceae), An Endangered Illinois Species, Jason B. Cunningham

Masters Theses

Stylisma pickeringii (Torr.) Gray var. pattersonii (Fern. & Schub.) Myint (Convolvulaceae) is listed as an endangered plant species in Illinois and is commonly known as Patterson bindweed or Patterson dawnflower. It is a prostrate vine that occurs in well-drained sand prairies and sandy open woods. High temperature, low moisture holding ability and blowing sand in these prairies create a harsh environment for seedling establishment.

Seedlings of Stylisma pickeringii show a unique pattern of development, which may enhance their ability to become established. Following radicle and cotyledon emergence, an enlarged ring encircling the radicle, referred to as the transition zone, develops. …

Spatial And Temporal Differences In Fish Assemblages In The Sangamon River, Illinois: Methods For Community Comparisons And Documentation Of Species' Range Expansion, Mark J. Fincel

Masters Theses

Anthropogenic disturbance has been recognized as having adverse effects on native flora and fauna in an environment. One such disturbance that has received increasing attention in recent years is the effects of water altering structures such as reservoirs, dams, dykes, and levees. For the past 6 years, Eastern Illinois University has conducted an intensive sampling program in an effort to document spatial and temporal heterogeneity of an 8.5 km reach of the Sangamon River beginning just below Lake Decatur Dam in Decatur, Illinois. My objective has been to characterize stream habitat and to assess differences in stream fish assemblages above …

Role Of Apoe In Regeneration, Maturation And Synaptogenesis Of Olfactory Receptor Neurons In Mice, Salina Gairhe

Masters Theses

Previous studies have shown that apolipoprotein E (apoE), a lipid transporting protein, is involved in the growth and regeneration of injured neurons. apoE is a key molecule involved in lipid transport system associated with compensatory sprouting and synaptic remodeling after neuronal injury. Also, transport of cholesterol and phospholipids in brain is regulated by the coordinated expression of apoE and its main Low Density Lipoprotein (LDL) receptors during the different phases of the neuronal reinnervation processes. The discovery of apolipoprotein E4 genotype, a major risk factor for Alzheimer's disease (AD), is suggestive of involvement of dysfunctional apoE lipid transport system in …

Defining Edge Gradients Using Plant Species Composition In Oak-Hickory Forest Patches, Elise M. Tulloss

Masters Theses

Forest conservation is greatly enhanced with an increased understanding of the transitional nature of edges. Edge characteristics control ecological flows into the forest that may influence its structure and composition. Most forests in east-central Illinois exist as small patches, making the region an ideal location for studying edge effects. The objectives of this study were to identify the mechanisms and processes that determine gradients of plant composition and to develop a predictive model of edge effects using plant species composition as an indicator of edge influence. A data set was gathered to relate understory forest species composition to several environmental …

Expression Of Apoe In The Mouse Olfactory System During Development And Post Injury, Sreenivas Nannapaneni

Masters Theses

Apolipoprotein E (apoE), a prominent player in transporting cholesterol and metabolizing plasma lipoproteins, has emerged as a major risk factor in causing Alzheimer's disease (AD). ApoE, extensively expressed in the primary olfactory pathway, binds to its low-density lipoprotein receptor and related receptors to play a role both in development and in control of the immune system. Previous studies have shown that apoE is expressed at high concentrations in the olfactory nerve (ON) and around the glomeruli of the olfactory bulb (OB) and that the apoE levels in these regions increase substantially following lesioning of the olfactory epithelium (OE). Studies from …

The Effects Of Apoe On Olfactory Neuron Plasticity In Mice, Ikemefuna T. Nwosu

Masters Theses

Apolipoprotein E (apoE), a lipid transporting protein, is a major risk factor for developing Alzheimer's disease (AD). Previous studies have shown that apoE is expressed at high concentrations in the olfactory nerve (ON) and around the glomeruli of the olfactory bulb (OB) and that the apoE levels in these regions increase substantially following lesioning of the source of the olfactory nerves, the olfactory epithelium (OE). However, the mechanism(s) underlying the contribution of apoE to neuronal functioning and developing AD are not clearly understood. To investigate and better clarify the role of apoE in nerve regeneration, I examined the presence and …

The Effects Of Remnant Seed Source Size On Plant Performance In A Prairie Restoration, William L. Stewart

Masters Theses

Tallgrass prairies have been drastically reduced to a few remnant areas that are both small and isolated. As a result, species within these areas may be exposed to a significant level of inbreeding depression and loss in genetic diversity, which can cause an overall loss of fitness in the population, increasing the chance of local extinction. In many cases, prairie restorations rely on seed collections from these small, isolated populations, which may lead to many of the same problems in the restored areas. This study specifically addressed the question: Does the dependence on seed collections from small, isolated remnants lead …

Leptodactylus Fragilis (Brocchi): White-Lipped Thin-Toed Frog, Miriam M. Heyer, W. Ronald Heyer, Rafael O. De Sá

Biology Faculty Publications

Adult Leptodactylus fragilis are small. The head is longer than wide, and the hind limbs are moderately long (Table 1; Heyer and Thompson 2000 provided definitions of adult size and leg length categories for Leptodactylus). Male vocal sacs are laterally expanded and range from lightly gray speckled to darkly pigmented. Male snout is spatulate; female snout is rounded. Male forearms are not hypertrophied and males lack asperities on the thumbs and chest. The dorsum is spotted or blotched with dark markings, which are often chevron-shaped and sometimes confluent. The supratympanic fold is dark brown. A pair of dorsolateral folds …

The Amphibian Tree Of Life, Darrel R. Frost, Taran Grant, Julián Faivovich, Raoul H. Bain, Alexander Haas, Célio F.B. Haddad, Rafael O. De Sá

Biology Faculty Publications

The evidentiary basis of the currently accepted classification of living amphibians is discussed and shown not to warrant the degree of authority conferred on it by use and tradition. A new taxonomy of living amphibians is proposed to correct the deficiencies of the old one. This new taxonomy is based on the largest phylogenetic analysis of living Amphibia so far accomplished. We combined the comparative anatomical character evidence of Haas (2003) with DNA sequences from the mitochondrial transcription unit H1 (12S and 16S ribosomal RNA and tRNAValine genes, ø 2,400 bp of mitochondrial sequences) and the nuclear genes histone H3, …

Beaver Home Ranges And Movement Patterns On The Embarras River Watershed In East Central Illinois, Randall P. Havens

Masters Theses

The beaver (Castor canadensis) is an ecologically and economically important species that has been much studied and exploited during its long association with humans (Bradt 1938, Hodgdon 1978, Novak 1987, Muller-Schwartze and Schulte 1999). Beavers have been described as ecosystem engineers and a keystone species because of their ability to physically modify, maintain, or create wetlands thereby controlling resources used by other organisms and altering the physical state of the environment (Jones et al. 1994). They are capable of impacting the local environment through dam construction, selective tree harvest, and den construction. For example, beaver dams impact stream hydrology, nutrient …

A Survey And Developmental Biology Of Iliamna Remota Greene (Malvaceae), An Endangered Species In Illinois, April Lyn Mcdonnell

Masters Theses

Iliamna remota Greene (Malvaceae), or Kankakee mallow, is an endangered species in Illinois that is limited to Langham Island in the Kankakee River, Kankakee County. Plants are herbaceous and perennial with a racemose inflorescence consisting of showy, slightly fragrant flowers ranging in color from almost white to lavender. Leaves are alternate and shallowly palmately lobed and stems and leaves are coarsely pubescent.

In Memoriam: Lauri Saxén (1927-2005), Scott F. Gilbert

Biology Faculty Works

No abstract provided.

The Generation Of Novelty: The Province Of Developmental Biology, Scott F. Gilbert

Biology Faculty Works

A response to Michael Ruse's "Forty Years A Philosopher Of Biology: Why EvoDevo Makes Me Still Excited About My Subject".

Use Of Culture-Independent Methods To Compare Bacterial Assemblages On Feathers Of Crested And Least Auklets (Aethia Cristatella And Aethia Pusilla) With Those Of Passerines, M. D. Shawkey, M. Jawaad Hussain , '09, Aaron Leigh Strong , '06, J. Hagelin, Amy Cheng Vollmer, G. E. Hill

Biology Faculty Works

Despite recent interest in the interactions between birds and feather microbes, little is known about the identity of these microbes, and all studies of feather microbes thus far have focused on passerines living in temperate regions. Comparisons of the microbial groups living on different groups of birds may provide valuable insight into the ecological roles microbes play on feathers. We used culture-independent molecular techniques to identify the assemblages of bacteria found on the feathers of two closely related seabirds (Crested and Least Auklets (Aethia cristatella and A. pusilla)) and, for comparison, domestic Chickens (Gallus gallus). Some isolates were found on …

Investigations Of Rhizobium Biofilm Formation, Nancy Fujishige

Biology Faculty Works

The development of nitrogen-fixing nodules of the Rhizobium-legume symbiosis, especially the early stages of root hair deformation and curling, infection thread formation, and nodule initiation, has been well studied from a genetic standpoint. In contrast, the factors important for the colonization of surfaces by rhizobia, including roots-an important prerequisite for nodule formation-have not been as thoroughly investigated. We developed conditions for analyzing the ability of two fast-growing rhizobia, Sinorhizobium meliloti and Rhizobium leguminosarum bv. viciae, to produce biofilms on abiotic surfaces such as glass, plastic microtiter plates, sand and soil as a prelude to characterizing the genes important for aggregation …

Impaired Glutamate Transport In A Mouse Model Of Tau Pathology In Astrocytes, Deepa V. Dabir

Biology Faculty Works

Filamentous tau inclusions in neurons and glia are neuropathological hallmarks of tauopathies. The discovery of microtubule-associated protein tau gene mutations that are pathogenic for a heterogenous group of neurodegenerative disorders, called frontotemporal dementia and parkinsonism linked to chromosome-17 (FTDP-17), directly implicate tau abnormalities in the onset/progression of disease. Although the role of tau pathology in neurons in disease pathogenesis is well accepted, the contribution of glial pathology is essentially unknown. We recently generated a transgenic (Tg) mouse model of tau pathology in astrocytes by expressing the human tau protein under the control of the glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP) promoter. …

Feather Mites Are Positively Associated With Daily Survival In Cliff Swallows, Charles R. Brown, Kathleen R. Brazeal, Stephanie A. Strickler, Mary Bomberger Brown

School of Biological Sciences: Faculty Publications

Feather mites (Acari: Astigmata) have been reported to be parasitic, commensal, and even mutualis-tic on the birds that serve as their hosts. We investigated whether there was a relationship between number of feather mites (Pteronyssoides obscurus (Berlese, 1885)) on the wing and daily survival of cliff swallows (Petrochelidon pyrrhonota (Vieillot, 1817)) during the breeding season at 12 nesting colonies in Nebraska in 2005. Survival of birds with known mite loads was monitored by mark–recapture, and survival models with and without a linear effect of mites were compared with the program MARK. For adult swallows, mites were positively associated …

Taxonomy And Biogeography Of The Freshwater Crabs Of Tanzania, East Africa, Sadie K. Reed, Neil Cumberlidge

Journal Articles

No abstract provided.

"Evolution Of Afrotropical Freshwater Crab Lineages Obscured By Morphological Convergence" , Savel R. Daniels, Neil Cumberlidge, Marcos Pérez-Losada, Saskia Ae Marijnissen, Keith A. Crandall

Journal Articles

No abstract provided.

Intra-Guild Compensation Regulates Species Richness In Desert Rodents: Reply, J. R. Goheen, Ethan P. White, S.K. Morgan Ernest, J. H. Brown

Biology Faculty Publications

Null models have had a long and contentious history in community ecology (Connor and Simberloff 1979, Harvey et al. 1983, Gotelli and Graves 1996, Graves and Rahbek 2005). Much of this debate has arisen because multiple strategies for null models can be used to address a particular question of interest, and the present exchange is no exception. To assess constancy in species richness through time in a desert rodent community, Nichols et al. (2006) have proposed a Markov Chain model as an alternative to the random-walk model we developed (Goheen et al. 2005). While both null models simulate stochastic local …

A Comparison Of The Species-Time Relationship Across Ecosystems And Taxonomic Groups, Ethan P. White, P. B. Adler, W. K. Lauenroth, R. A. Gill, D. Greenberg, D. M. Kaufman, A. Rassweiler, J. A. Rusak, M. D. Smith, J. R. Steinbeck, R. B. Waide, J. Yao

Biology Faculty Publications

The species-time relationship (STR) describes how the species richness of a community increases with the time span over which the community is observed. This pattern has numerous implications for both theory and conservation in much the same way as the speciesarea relationship (SAR). However, the STR has received much less attention and to date only a handful of papers have been published on the pattern. Here we gather together 984 community time-series, representing 15 study areas and 9 taxonomic groups, and evaluate their STRs in order to assess the generality of the STR, its consistency across ecosystems and taxonomic groups, …

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

Biology Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

The Offspring/Clutch Size Tradeoff In Mammals, E. L. Charnov, S.K. Morgan Ernest

Biology Faculty Publications

The Smith‐Fretwell model for optimal offspring size assumes the existence of an inverse proportional relationship (i.e., trade‐off) between the number of offspring and the amount of resources invested in an individual offspring; virtually all of the many models derived from theirs make the same trade‐off assumption. Over the last 30 years it has become apparent that the predicted proportionality is often not observed when evaluated across species. We develop a general allometric approach to correct for size‐related differences in the resources available for reproduction. Using data on mammals, we demonstrate that the predicted inverse proportional relationship between number of offspring …

Loss Of Escape-Related Giant Neurons In A Spiny Lobster, Panulirus Argus, Sandra Y. Espinoza, Lana Breen, Nisha Varghese, Zen Faulkes

School of Integrative Biological & Chemical Sciences (Formerly Dept. of Biology)

When attacked, many decapod crustaceans perform tailflips, which are triggered by a neural circuit that includes lateral giant interneurons, medial giant interneurons, and fast flexor motor giant neurons (MoGs). Slipper lobsters (Scyllaridae) lack these giant neurons, and it has been hypothesized that behavioral (e.g., digging) and morphological (e.g., flattening and armor) specializations in this group caused the loss of escape-related giant neurons. To test this hypothesis, we examined a species of spiny lobster, Panulirus argus. Spiny lobsters belong to the sister taxon of the scyllarids, but they have a more crayfish-like morphology than scyllarids and were predicted to have escape-related …

Roles Of Intra-Fruit Oxygen And Carbon Dioxide In Controlling Pepper (Capsicum Annuum L.) Seed Development And Storage Reserve Deposition, J. Blasiak, Anxiu Kuang, Chakavak S. Farghangi, M. E. Musgrave

School of Integrative Biological & Chemical Sciences (Formerly Dept. of Biology)

Seeds developing within a locular space inside hollow fruit experience chronic exposure to a unique gaseous environment. Using two pepper cultivars, `Triton' (sweet) and `PI 140367' (hot), we investigated how the development of seeds is affected by the gases surrounding them. The atmospheric composition of the seed environment was characterized during development by analysis of samples withdrawn from the fruit locule with a gas-tight syringe. As seed weight plateaued during development, the seed environment reached its lowest O2 concentration (19%) and highest CO2 concentration (3%). We experimentally manipulated the seed environment by passing different humidified gas mixtures through the fruit …

Vomeronasal Sensory Neurons From Sternotherus Odoratus (Stinkpot/Musk Turtle) Respond To Chemosignals Via The Phospholipase C System, Jessica H. Brann, Debra A. Fadool

Biology: Faculty Publications and Other Works

The mammalian signal transduction apparatus utilized by vomeronasal sensory neurons (VSNs) in the vomeronasal organ (VNO) has been richly explored, while that of reptiles, and in particular, the stinkpot or musk turtle Sternotherus odoratus, is less understood. Given that the turtle's well-known reproductive and mating behaviors are governed by chemical communication, 247 patch-clamp recordings were made from male and female S. odoratus VSNs to study the chemosignal-activated properties as well as the second-messenger system underlying the receptor potential. Of the total neurons tested, 88 (35%) were responsive to at least one of five complex natural chemicals, some of which demonstrated …

A Switch From Polyandry To Serial Monogamy: Results From A Three Year Tagging Study Of Horseshoe Crabs In Long Island Sound, Jennifer Mattei Ph.D., Paul Goodell, Christine Depierro, Meghann Burke

Biology Faculty Publications

Part of an ongoing population study of the North American Horseshoe Crab, Limulus polyphemus, in Long Island Sound was completed during the 2003 – 2005 spawning seasons at Milford Point, in Milford, CT. Horseshoe crabs range more widely throughout Long Island Sound than expected and exhibit weak site fidelity. Animals originally tagged in Milford were found as far west as Stamford and as far east as Clinton, CT. during the 3 year study. Out of 522 female horseshoe crabs tagged in 2004 only 4 came back to spawn again at Milford Pt. in 2005. The sex ratios of tagged and …

Response Of Plethodon Cinereus To Chemical Cues From Different Numbers Of Conspecifics, Loren M. Hurst, Geoffrey R. Smith

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Modulation Of The Serotonin Reuptake Transporter In Raw264.7 Macrophages, Sienna Marie Arenas Malubay

Theses and Dissertations

Serotonin (5-HT) plays an important role as both a neurotransmitter and animmune modulator. The serotonin reuptake transporter (SERT) clears the extracellular space of 5-HT, which decreases the effects of 5-HT on target cells. This study demonstrated that the RAW264.7 macrophage cell line expresses SERT function, measured by assays of 3H-5HT uptake. The 5-HT uptake in RAW264.7 macrophages was more than 10-fold that of peritoneal macrophages, indicating that these cells are an excellent model for studying regulation of the SERT. Activation of macrophages with lipopolysaccharide (LPS) increased SERT activity in a time- and concentration-dependent manner and Western blots indicate that the …

Genetic Variation Among Geographically Disparate Yellow Perch Broodstock Populations, Chandler Brooke Givens

Theses and Dissertations

As a prelude to strain selection for domestication and future marker assisted selection, genetic variation revealed by microsatellite DNA was evaluated in yellow perch, Perca flavescens, from four wild North American populations collected in 2003-2004 (Maine, ME; New York, NY; North Carolina, NC; and Pennsylvania, PA), and two captive populations (Michigan, MI; Ohio, OH). For the loci examined, levels of heterozygosity ranged from He = 0.04 to 0.88, genetic differentiation was highly significant among all population pairs, and effective migration ranged from low (Nem = 0.3) to high (Nem = 4.5). Deviation from Hardy-Weinberg 1equilibrium was regularly observed indicating significant …