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Nocturnal Shift In The Antipredator Response To Predator-Diet Cues In Laboratory And Field Trials, Aaron M. Sullivan, Dale M. Madison, John C. Maerz

Faculty Publications - Department of Biological & Molecular Science

No abstract provided.

Field Evidence And Isolation Of An Amphibian Male-Male Sexual Repellent, Jason R. Rohr, Daesik Park, Aaron M. Sullivan, Malachy Mckenna, Catherine R. Propper, Dale M. Madison

Faculty Publications - Department of Biological & Molecular Science

Operational sex ratio (OSR) has been traditionally thought of as a force imposing competition for mates rather than also a cue used to regulate the intrasexual competition individuals encounter. To assess whether eastern red-spotted newts, Notophthalmus viridescens, could appropriately compare OSRs, we quantified field responses to traps containing four males, a sexually receptive female, four males plus a female, or nothing as a control. Early in the breeding season, males from two populations chose competitive mating opportunities over no mating opportunity at all, but generally preferred less competitive mating prospects. Later in the breeding season, as the OSR of …

Condensed Protocol For Competent Cell Preparation And Transformation Of The Methylotrophic Yeast Pichia Pastoris, Joan Lin-Cereghino, William Wong, See Xiong, William Giang, Linda Luong, Jane Vu, Sabrina Johnson, Geoff P. Lin-Cereghino

College of the Pacific Faculty Articles

No abstract provided.

Controls On Nitrogen Cycling In Terrestrial Ecosystems: A Synthetic Analysis Of Literature Data, M. S. Booth, E. Rastetter, John M. Stark

Biology Faculty Publications

Isotope pool dilution studies are increasingly reported in the soils and ecology literature as a means of measuring gross rates of nitrogen (N) mineralization, nitrification, and inorganic N assimilation in soils. We assembled data on soil characteristics and gross rates from 100 studies conducted in forest, shrubland, grassland, and agricultural systems to answer the following questions: What factors appear to be the major drivers for production and consumption of inorganic N as measured by isotope dilution studies? Do rates or the relationships between drivers and rates differ among ecosystem types? Across a wide range of ecosystems, gross N mineralization is …

Molecular Identification, Distribution And Ecology Of Larval Malaria Mosquitoes In Carrasco/Chapare Valleys, Bolivia, Reema Paudel

Masters Theses

The purpose of this study was to address the ecological differentiation of anopheline mosquitoes at the level of breeding sites in an area where species diversity is high, malaria is endemic, and the ecology of the area is complex. Fifty six sampling sites in the Carrasco/Chapare Valleys, Bolivia were sampled in May 2003 for mosquito larvae and pupae, water quality parameters, breeding water habitat type, vegetation, and altitude. Multiplex polymerase chain reaction of up to 50 samples from each collection site identified six species in the subgenus Nyssorhynchus, comprising 62% of all samples (n = 2,708): A. triannulatus (18%), A. …

Cultivation Of Mesophilic Soil Crenarchaeotes In Enrichment Cultures From Plant Roots, Holly M. Simon, Courtney E. Jahn, Luke T. Bergerud, Marek K. Sliwinski, Paul J. Weimer, David K. Willis, Robert M. Goodman

Faculty Work

Because archaea are generally associated with extreme environments, detection of nonthermophilic members belonging to the archaeal division Crenarchaeota over the last decade was unexpected; they are surprisingly ubiquitous and abundant in nonextreme marine and terrestrial habitats. Metabolic characterization of these nonthermophilic crenarchaeotes has been impeded by their intractability toward isolation and growth in culture. From studies employing a combination of cultivation and molecular phylogenetic techniques (PCR– single-strand conformation polymorphism, sequence analysis of 16S rRNA genes, fluorescence in situ hybridization, and real-time PCR), we present evidence here that one of the two dominant phylotypes of Crenarchaeota that colonizes the roots of …

Land-Use Changes And Stream Productivity: Effects On Stream Communities And Food-Chain Length, Christopher A. North

Masters Theses

In recent years stream ecologists have come to realize that in order to better understand the processes that occur within streams it is important to incorporate some knowledge of the surrounding landscape into their studies. Previous work on Hurricane Creek indicated that agricultural activities and the proportion of cropland has an impact on stream water chemistry and community metabolism within Hurricane Creek, Illinois. Thus, this study examined stream community composition and food-chain length to ascertain the effects of water quality differences resulting from agricultural land-use practices. The four sites chosen for this study on Hurricane Creek were sampled four times …

Seasonal Movements And Habitat Selection Of Raccoons In A Grassland-Agricultural Landscape, Roberta K. Newbury

Masters Theses

Raccoon (Procyon lotor) populations are very high in Illinois due in part to low pelt value and reduced hunting pressure (Gehrt et al., 2002); furthermore, Illinois' agricultural landscape is conducive to high raccoon densities. Such agricultural areas are known to provide a large, reliable food source for raccoons (Pedlar et al., 1997), and higher predator abundance (e.g. raccoons) at northern latitudes may reflect a greater abundance in cropland (Dijak and Thompson, 2000). Other factors known to increase raccoon numbers are edge effects due to habitat fragmentation and the suppression or eradication of top predators (Soulé et al., 1988; Pedlar et …

Benthic Algal Community Structure And Bioaccumulation Of Mercury In A Coastal Watershed, Lucie Novoveska

Masters Theses

Largemouth bass in the Fish River watershed of coastal Alabama are known to contain relatively high concentrations of mercury (>1 µg g¹). g the source of which is unknown. I used benthic microalgal assemblages in effort to assess spatial distribution of mercury in the Fish River and its tributaries. Artificial substrates were deployed for 3-week exposure periods at 13 sites on 4 separate occasions. When analyzed by cold vapor atomic absorption spectroscopy. mercury concentrations in periphyton ranged from 0.066 µg g (Pensacola Branch) to 0.493 µg g¹ (Barner Branch). Principal component analysis indicated that physical and chemical environments among …

Resilience Of An Amphibian Community Following The Removal Of Introduced Fish, Leroy J. Walston

Masters Theses

Introduced species have become one of the most important anthropogenic impacts in aquatic ecosystems and are implicated in the declines of many native amphibian populations. Despite the effects of introduced species on amphibian populations, there is little information concerning the responses of amphibians following the removal of introduced fish. I conducted a field experiment to assess the amphibian community-level responses to the removal of introduced fish, and determine the effects of fish removal on smallmouth salamander (Ambystoma texanum) larval dynamics. Species diversity of the amphibian community and smallmouth salamander juvenile recruitment improved following the removal of fish. My results indicate …

Natal Dispersal Of Beavers In The Embarras River Watershed In Central Illinois, Erin A. Cleere

Masters Theses

Dispersal is an important mechanism influencing the dynamics, genetics, spatial distribution and size of wildlife populations (Gese and Mech 1991). Natal dispersal may afford individuals breeding opportunities and access to resources, while reducing inbreeding and competition with family members. However, dispersal also can be risky if mortality rates are high or if mates or suitable habitat are unavailable. When dispersal costs are high, subadults may be better off remaining in their natal territory.

Although a number of previous studies have investigated natal dispersal in beavers (Castor canadensis), conclusions regarding the percentage of subadults that disperse, timing of dispersal, evidence of …

Size And Reproductive Activity Of A Geographically-Isolated Population Of Ambystoma Jeffersonianum In East-Central Illinois, Sarabeth Klueh

Masters Theses

When utilizing small isolated wetlands, amphibian populations are often small in size, susceptible to stochastic extinction processes, and have little to no contact with other populations. The persistence of such populations can be ascertained only by obtaining data that allow the prediction of the population’s growth, trajectory, and propensity to achieve a sustainable size. The success of a salamander population can be determined by the number of metamorphosing larvae leaving a pond, and thus, the number recruited into the terrestrial adult population. The Jefferson salamander, Ambystoma jeffersonianum, is a state-threatened species, occurring at fewer than 15 ponds within Illinois. In …

Furniture Usage And Activity Budgets Of Captive Black And White Ruffed Lemurs (Varecia Variegata Variegata) And Ring- Tailed Lemurs (Lemur Catta) At Bramble Park Zoo, Watertown, South Dakota, Zarah Hedge

The Journal of Undergraduate Research

A behavioral study was conducted on the black and white ruffed lemurs and ring-tailed lemurs at Bramble Park Zoo in summer 2004 to determine if the furniture in the exhibit was sufficient to enable them to display their natural behaviors. The study was performed using a time sampling method of one minute, and ten hours of data was gathered. Both species of lemur spent a significant portion of the observed time resting, more so than has been found in wild populations of lemurs. The time spent foraging (.33% and 2.5% for the ruffed lemurs and 2.1% for the ring-tails) and …

An Anti-Locust Campaign In Nabokov (And Pushkin), Victor Fet

Biological Sciences Faculty Research

Pushkin’s non-apocryphal anti-locust campaign is reflected in Nabokov’s unpublished sequel to The Gift.

Indole Acetic Acid Production By The Indigenous Isolates Of Azotobacter And Fluorescent Pseudomonas In The Presence And Absence Of Tryptophan, Farah Ahmad, Iqbal Ahmad, Mohammad Saghir Khan

Turkish Journal of Biology

A total of 21 bacterial isolates (Azotobacter sp., 10 and fluorescent Pseudomonas sp., 11) were isolated from different rhizospheric soils in the vicinity of Aligarh city and characterized as per standard methods. These isolates were further tested for the production of indole acetic acid (IAA) in a medium with 0, 1, 2 and 5 mg/ml of tryptophan. A low amount (2.68-10.80 mg/ml) of IAA production was recorded by Azotobacter strains without tryptophan addition. Seven Azotobacter isolates showed high level (7.3 to 32.8 mg/ml) production of IAA at 5 mg/ml of tryptophan while at 1 and 2 mg/ml the production was …

Effect Of Carboxy Methyl Cellulose And Gum Arabic On The Stability Of Frozen Dough For Bakery Products, Ali̇ Asghar, Muhammad Waseem Traig, Faqir Muhammad Anjum, Shahzad Hussain

Turkish Journal of Biology

Extended storage of frozen dough resulted in changes in rheological properties, which cause increasing proofing time and ultimately lower loaf volume of bread. The main causes of these changes are ice crystallization, which damage the gluten network. The major objective of this research was to reduce ice crystallization in frozen dough by incorporation of hydrophilic gums such as carboxymethylcellulose (CMC), and gum arabic at different levels. The doughs were stored frozen up to 8 weeks. Bread characteristics were analyzed after every 15 days for specific loaf volume, external and internal characteristics. Specific loaf volume increased significantly with the addition of …

Exogenous Application Of Gibberellic Acid Counteracts The Ill Effect Of Sodium Chloride In Mustard, Shaheena Afroz, Firoz Mohammad, Shamsul Hayat, Manzer H. Siddiqui

Turkish Journal of Biology

The response of mustard (Brassica juncea (L.) Czern & Coss cv. Varuna) to presowing seed treatment with sodium chloride (NaCl) was investigated. The plants raised from treated seeds were sprayed with water or 10^{-6} M GA_3 at the 30- day stage. The seeds imbibed in 1 or 10 mM of NaCl resulted in a decrease in dry mass, leaf chlorophyll content, carbonic anhydrase activity (E.C. 4.2.1.1), nitrate reductase activity (E.C. 1.6.6.1) and net photosynthetic rate at the 60-day stage, and pod number and seed yield at harvest. However, spray application of GA_3 neutralized the ill effect of soaking treatment in …

The Vascular Flora Of Powhatan County, Virginia, Michael Austin Terry

Master's Theses

The project was undertaken with three main goals in mind: to provide as current and complete an account as possible of the flora of Powhatan County in the form of an annotated checklist; to integrate the information obtained from the inventory into phytogeographical and ecological generalizations currently being developed for the state of Virginia; and, to report any significant or anomalous discoveries. There is no previous county-wide inventory of plant diversity for Powhatan County. However, Corcoran (1981) published a list of plants from the Jones and Mill Creek watershed located in the Fine Creek Mills area of northeastern Powhatan.

Cytokine Expression By T. Helper Cells Responding To Stress, Dina Zanetti

Master's Theses

Stress causes alterations to the immune system. These alterations have lead to increased susceptibility to antigens. The present study explores shifts in T helper (TH) cell balance (TH1 and TH2), through their cytokine expression. This study was performed in three phases, and focused mainly on animals subjected to a 10 day a chronic unpredictable stress paradigm. Phase one used ELISAs to confirm the cytokine profile produced from TH 1 and TH2 murine cell-lines. Phase two used SDS PAGE and Western Immunoblotting to show that splenocytes from Long Evan's Hooded rats subjected to the stress paradigm, had decreased in intercellular in …

Plant Composition Of Mixed-Grass Prairie Of Cedar Point Biological Research Station, Keith County, Nebraska, David A. Mckenzie

Biology Faculty Publications

This study involved a vegetation analysis of 15 permanent plots established on the short-grass and mixed grass prairie slopes at the Cedar Point Biological Station in Keith County, Nebraska. Ninety-nine species were found in the plots, including members of 75 genera and 31 families. Twenty-one were graminoids, 71 were forbs or succulents, 6 were shrubs and one was a tree. Bouteloua gracilis (19 % cover) and Carex filifolia (15 % cover) were the dominant graminoids at the site, while Yucca glauca (1% cover) and Artemisia frigida (1% cover) were the most frequent forbs. Comparisons of species richness by slope categories …

Effects Of Mercury And Chromium On Peroxidase And Iaa Oxidase Enzymes In The Seedlings Of Phaseolus Vulgaris, Nayna G. Parmar, Sumitra Chanda

Turkish Journal of Biology

Phaseolus seedlings (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) in light conditions were treated with 2 different concentrations of 2 heavy metals, mercury (0.05 mM and 0.4 mM) and chromium (0.5 and 1.0 mM). Mercury was given in the form of HgCl_2 and chromium was given in the form of K_2Cr_2O_7. Peroxidase activity was measured with 4 different hydrogen donors (ferulic acid, caffeic acid, pyrocatechol and pyrogallol). Both mercury and chromium inhibited root and hypocotyl length. The inhibition was about 50%-80%, depending on the concentration of the heavy metal. Peroxidase and IAA oxidase activities showed a clear inverse relation with growth. Seedlings treated with …

Biological Control Of Vector Mosquitoes By Some Common Exotic Fish Predators, A. Ghosh, S. Mandal, I. Bhattacharjee, Goutam Chandra

Turkish Journal of Biology

Predation experiments using Cyprinus carpio Linnaeus (1758), Ctenopharyngodon idella (Valenciennes 1844), Oreochromis niloticus niloticus (Linnaeus 1758) and Clarias gariepinus (Burchell 1822) were conducted against fourth instar Anopheles stephensi Liston (1901) larvae and pupae at varying prey and predator densities. The relative prey consumption rates of the four fish species for An. stephensi larvae and pupae during 24-hour experiments under laboratory conditions were C. gariepinus > C. idella > C. carpio > O. n. niloticus. Predatory efficacy was positively related with prey density and inversely related with water volume (search area). A significant decrease in larval abundance in dipper samples was observed at 30 …

Efficient Cloning Of The Rare Wheat (Triticum Aestivum L.) Transcripts, Muharrem Di̇lbi̇rli̇ği̇, Mustafa Erayman

Turkish Journal of Biology

Expressed sequence tag (EST) technology has spurred targeting the functional portion of genomes for several organisms. Constructed redundant complementary DNA (cDNA) libraries have targeted a majority of constitutive and over-expressed genes. However, the majority of lowly expressed and un-induced genes have not been able to be easily tagged and cloned. The objective of this study was to clone low and rarely expressed transcripts in wheat. Using a combination of a polyacrylamide gel and a motif-based PCR amplification, we cloned 144 bands containing 189 wheat fragments. Sequence analysis revealed 74 contigs, of which only 22 being present in database. The remaining …

Epipelic And Epilithic Algae Of Küçükgöl Lake (Gümüşhane-Turkey), Bülent Şahi̇n, Bülent Akar

Turkish Journal of Biology

The epipelic and epilithic algae of Küçükgöl Lake were studied between June and September 2002. Fifty-five taxa (26 belonging to Bacillariophyta, 23 to Chlorophyta, 3 to Cyanophyta and 3 to Euglenophyta) were determined. Closterium lunula var. biconvexum, Cosmarium asphaerosporum var. strigosum, C. garrolense, C. rectangulare, Euastrum ansatum var. dideltiforme, E. denticulatum and E. pseudotuddalense are new records for the algal flora of Turkey.

Comparison Of Antibacterial Activities Of Selected Species Of Zingiberaceae Family And Some Synthetic Compounds, H. Chandarana, S. Baluja, Sumitra Chanda

Turkish Journal of Biology

This study describes the antibacterial activity of ginger (G), mangoginger (M) and turmeric (T) and mixtures thereof i.e. ginger and mangoginger (GM), ginger and turmeric (GT), turmeric and mangoginger (TM), and a mixture of peels (P) and 4 synthetic compounds (HC-1, HC-2, HC-3 and HC-4). Extracts of these compounds were studied on Escherichia coli, Bacillus subtilis and Staphylococcus aureus. Both aqueous (heated and unheated extracts) and organic solvents, 1, 4-Dioxan, N,N,dimethylformamide (DMF), were used for antibacterial assay. Growth inhibition was evaluated by the disc diffusion and agar ditch methods. The antibacterial activity of heated extracts was greater than that of …

Antimicrobial Effects Of Verbascum Georgicum Bentham Extract, Meryem Şengül, Hati̇ce Öğütçü, Ahmet Adigüzel, Fi̇kretti̇n Şahi̇n, Ayşe Aydan Kara, İsa Karaman, Medi̇ne Güllüce

Turkish Journal of Biology

The methanol extract of Verbascum georgicum Bentham (Scrophulariaceae) was investigated for its in-vitro antimicrobial properties. A total of 143 microorganisms belonging to 56 bacteria and 4 fungi and a yeast species were studied using the disk-diffusion method and microdilution assays. The results indicated that the methanol extract of V. geopgicum had an inhibitory effect on the growth of all Candida albicans isolates and 17 strains in 10 different species of bacteria, namely Bacillus amyloliquefaciens, B. subtilis, B. cereus, B. pumilus, B. megaterium, B. lentimorbus, B. licheniformis, Pseudomonas putida, P. syringae and Escherichia coli, at different concentrations ranging from 37.5 to …

Incompatibility Alleles Expressed In Pollen Of Turkish Hazelnut Cultivars, Veli̇ Erdoğan, Shawn A. Mehlenbacher, A. İlhami̇ Köksal, Haydar Kurt

Turkish Journal of Biology

Sphorophytic pollen-stigma incompatibility is a characteristic of the genus Corylus. Incompatibility alleles expressed in the pollen of Turkish hazelnut cultivars were identified. Cultivars were selected from the field collection at Giresun, and were used as the pollen parents. Tester plants, whose S-alleles were known, were located in Ankara and Corvallis. Compatible crosses produced masses of long and parallel tubes while incompatible crosses produced very short tubes that often curved or ended with a pronounced bulb. The incompatibility alleles S_2, S_5, S_8, S_{10}, S_{12}, S_{21} and S_{24} were identified in the pollen of Turkish cultivars. Pollen of Palaz and Yuvarlak Badem …

Effect Of Salinity On Growth Chemical Composition And Antioxidative Enzyme Activity Of Two Malting Barley (Hordeum Vulgare L.) Cultivars, Mehmet Ali̇ Demi̇ral, Mehmet Aydin, Alper Yorulmaz

Turkish Journal of Biology

The effects of salinity on the growth, chemical composition and superoxide dismutase (SOD) and peroxidase (POX) activities of 2 malting barley (Hordeum vulgare L.) cultivars (Kaya and Scarlet) were studied. In 10-day-old seedlings, salinity stress was initiated by applying an appropriate amount of NaCl to water, and it lasted for 30 days. Salinity decreased growth of the cultivars significantly. Scarlet restricted entry of Na^+ and Cl^- into root and translocation to leaves more efficiently than did Kaya. As a whole Scarlet produced a higher amount total chlorophyll under salinity than did Kaya. POX activity of the cultivars decreased with salinity …

The Effect Of Agricultural Practices On The Spatial Variability Of Arbuscular Mycorrhiza Spores, Ali Akbar Safari Sinegani, Ali Akbar Mahboobi, Farzad Nazarizadeh

Turkish Journal of Biology

The main objective of this paper is to assess the spatial variability of arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) spore numbers in following two contrasting soil uses. Adjacent plots, one irrigated farmland and the other dry farmland, were marked on a transect (300 m long), with 10-m spacing. Soil samples were collected at 0-30 and 30-60 cm depth and were then analyzed for AM spore numbers and some other soil properties. The analytical results were submitted to different kinds of analysis: classical statistical and geostatistical analysis which showed that coefficient of variations (CV's) and standard deviations for spore numbers in both farmlands were …

Characterization Of The Fungal Pathogen, Entomophaga Aulicae (Zygomycetes: Entomophthorales) In Larval Populations Of The Green Cloverworm, Plathypena Scabra (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae), Özlem Kalkar, Gerald R. Carner

Turkish Journal of Biology

Entomophaga aulicae was monitored in populations of noctuid lepidopteran pests of soybean during the 2000, 2001, and 2002 growing seasons in South Carolina and infected only Plathypena scabra larvae. No infection by E. aulicae was detected in 2002. Average infection levels of E. aulicae in P. scabra populations in Blackville were 6.0% and 20.0% in 2000 and 2001, respectively. At Clemson, infection was 15.0% and 23.3% for the two sampling weeks in 2000, and infection reached a high of 50.0% in 2001. Pyriform, multinucleate conidia and spherical to slightly oval resting spores were the primary features of this fungus. When …