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A Survey Of The Seasonal Population Patterns Of Rotifers: A Comparison Between The Eutrophic Conditions Of Gemini Lake And The "Cleansing" Effects Of The Wetlands, Brian Dingmann

Honors Theses, 1963-2015

A survey was conducted of the population dynamics of rotifers on a lake in Collegeville Township. Also, the following contrasting effects on rotifers of lake pollution and purification from a polluted lake through nearby wetlands was surveyed for a length of four months. This was coupled with an analysis of seasonal physical and chemical parameters of the mentioned aquatic environments. These included water temperature, pH, levels of nitrates and phosphates, and dissolved oxygen content. Further research involved horizontal and vertical distribution of rotifer species in the polluted lake.

The result of the survey was to demonstrate the diversity and succession …

Woody Plants Of Hundred Acres Quarry, Dominic Ackerman

Honors Theses, 1963-2015

A former site of granite quarrying, "Hundred Acres Quarry" contains several distinct and diverse habitats, with diverse botanical characteristics. I made a preliminary study of the woody plants of this new Stearns County park, located in southern Waite Park, Minnesota, to learn what trees, shrubs, and woody vines are found within the park. I assessed their relative abundance and their distribution within the park. Fifty-eight species were identified to a high degree of certainty. In addition, I surveyed the literature and listed various economic and ethnobotanical uses for these species, to form an interpretive guide. This research was conducted using …

Specimen Catalog & Field Notes, Angela L. Adams

Division of Mammals - Field Notes and Catalogs

No abstract provided.

Re-Examining Subfamily Classifications For The Alu Family Of Repeated Dna Sequences, William A. York

Retrospective Theses and Dissertations

The primate Alu family of repetitive elements has been widely characterized. This ubiquitous class of retroposons has been found to occupy some 5% of the human genome. This heterogenous group of Short Interspersed Nucleic add Elements (SINEs) has been theorized to possess an identifiable subfamily structure between and within various taxonomic levels in primates. It has been postulated that humans possess up to 6 Alu subfamilies in their genome; this number, however, has varied according to the method of analysis performed on the data. Quentin (1988) analyzed 127 aligned Alu sequences and found evidence supporting the amplification/fixation theory in 5 …

Role Of The Invertebrate Electrogenic 2na+/H+ Antiporter In Monovalent And Divalent Cation Transport, Gregory A. Ahearn, Jeff Duerr, V. Pennington

Faculty Publications - Department of Biological & Molecular Science

In recent years, an electrogenic 2Na+/1H+ antiporter has been identified in a variety of invertebrate epithelial brush-border membranes of gut, kidney and gill tissues. The antiporter differs significantly in its physiological properties from the electroneutral 1Na+/1H+ antiporter proposed for vertebrate cells. In all invertebrate cells examined, the antiporter displayed a 2:1 transport stoichiometry, responded to an induced transmembrane potential and exhibited a high binding affinity for the divalent cation Ca2+, which acted as a competitive inhibitor of Na+ transport. A monoclonal antibody specific for the crustacean electrogenic antiporter inhibited 2Na+/1H+ exchange, but was without effect on Na+-dependent D-glucose transport. Immunoreactivity …

Field Metabolic Rate And Food Consumption Of Two Sympatric Hummingbird Species In Southeastern Arizona, Donald R. Powers, Timothy M. Conley

Faculty Publications - Department of Biological & Molecular Science

We compared the field metabolic rate (FMR) and behavior around sugar-water feeders of sympatric territorial and non-territorial hummingbirds in the Chiricahua Mountains of southeastern Arizona during July 1987 and 1989. The territorial species was the Blue-throated Hummingbird (Lampornis clemenciae; mean mass 8.77 g) and the non-territorial species the Black-chinned Hummingbird( Archilochusa lexandri; mean mass 3.67 g). FMR (CO2p roduction)a nd watert urnoverw erem easuredu singt he doublyl abeledw ater technique. FMR averaged 81.7 kJ/day (n = 4) in L. clemenciae and 29.1 kJ/day (n = 4) in A. alexandri. Mean mass-specific FMR was higher in L. clemenciae (18.36 ml CO2 …

Pathways Of Intracellular Protein Turnover In Cultured Human Fibroblasts, Sarah Olenick

Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Moderate Dehydration Decreases Locomotor Performance Of The Ghost Crab, Ocypode Quadrata, Randi B. Weinstein, Robert J. Full, Anna N. Ahn

All HMC Faculty Publications and Research

The effect of dehydration on the aerobic metabolism and endurance of sustained, terrestrial locomotion was determined for the ghost crab, Ocypode quadrata, The rate of evaporative water loss, measured as the percentage of decrease in body mass per hour, was influenced by ambient temperature (Tₐ), Increasing Tₐ from 24° C to 30° C (40%-50% relative humidity) increased the rate of water loss from 2.3% h­­­­ˉ¹ ± 0.2% h­­­­ˉ¹ to 3.6% h­­­­ˉ¹ ± 0.6% h­­­­ˉ¹. Crabs were divided into three treatment groups to determine the effect of dehydration on aerobic metabolism: hydrated control crabs, slowly dehydrated crabs, and rapidly dehydrated …

Molecular Phylogenetic Studies Of The Genus Brugia, Hong Xie, O. Bain, Steven A. Williams

Biological Sciences: Faculty Publications

This paper is the first molecular phylogenetic study on Brugia para- sites (family Onchocercidae) which includes 6 of the 10 species of this genus : B. beaveri Ash et Little, 1 9 6 4 ; B. buckleyiDissanaike et Paramananthan, 1961 ; B. malayi (Brug,1927) Buckley, 1960 ; B. pohangi, (Buckley et Edeson, 1956) Buckley, 1960; B. patei (Buckley, Nelson etHeisch,1958) Buckley, 1960 and B. limori Partono et al., 1 9 7 7 . Hha I repeat sequences are 322 nucleotides long, highly repeated, tandemly arranged and unique to the nuclear genomes of the genus Brugia. Hha I repeat sequence data …

Penetration Of The Pz-Peptide Through The Various Membranes Of The Gastrointestinal Tract, Jyun "Jay" Nakamura

Whittier Scholars Program

The use of the oral drugs dates back to the beginning of recorded time. Since the modern era, doctors and researchers have found the various physiological pathways by which they operate and function. Within the past fifty years, this research has proceeded to the cellular and molecular levels. Researchers have found that the drugs target specific components of the infected cells. These drugs interact by binding to three different types of target molecules. The chemicals target receptors found on extracellular proteins, macromolecules like enzymes, transport molecules, nucleic acids, and membrane lipids. With these new findings, new techniques and equipment have …

The Chemical Origin Of Life: An Exploration Of Thioesters As Energy In The Prebiotic World, Kimberly Ann Mescall

Presidential Scholars Theses (1990 – 2006)

The origin of life has long been a mystery to scientists due to the absence of preservation of molecular structure from millions of years ago. Many hypotheses have been constructed on this topic. This paper contrasts the hypotheses of Dr. Christian De Duve, known best for his Nobel Prize winning work on the cell and the discovery of lysosomes, and Dr. Ronald Fox, a physics professor at the Georgia Institute of Technology. De Duve believes that thioesters were precursors to pyrophosphate, which in turn produced adenosine-5'-triphosphate, or ATP, a molecule that is used to supply energy for many of life's …

Modeling Daily Production Of Aquatic Macrophytes From Irradiance Measurements: A Comparative Analysis, Richard C. Zimmerman, Alejandro C. Pasini, Randall S. Alberte

OES Faculty Publications

The importance of submerged aquatic macrophytes to coastal ecosystems has generated a need for knowledge of minimum light levels that will support the maintenance and restoration of healthy populations. Our goals were (1) to evaluate the sensitivity to natural, non-sinusoidal fluctuations in irradiance I of analytical integration techniques for calculating daily carbon gain, (2) to evaluate the H_sat (the daily period of I-saturated photosynthesis) model of daily production relative to models based on instantaneous photosynthesis vs irradiance (P vs I) and (3) to provide some guidance for the temporal density of irradiance data required for accurate estimation of …

Sugar Maple Succession In A Central Illinois Forest, Baber Woods, Rodney W. Davis

Masters Theses

No abstract provided.

Investigation Of Different Patterns Of Induction Of Amylases In Different Cultivars Of Rice, Oryza Sativa L., Angela M. Mosley

Master's Theses

This study investigated whether rice exhibits exceptions to the accepted model, in cereals, for the induction of a and P-amylase in the embryo and endosperm during germination. We also tried to establish whether different patterns of induction were cultivar specific, or due to the influence of ripening temperature, or a component of the incubation medium. An isoelectric focusing technique was used to monitor a- and P-amylase activities, a spectrophotometric assay was used to quantify the activity of a-amylase, and two cDNA clones, RAmy3D and RAmylA, were used to measure a-amylase RNA accumulation by Northern analysis. Distinct patterns of induction of …

Nectar-Seeking Visits By Butterflies In A Tallgrass Prairie Remnant In Eastern Nebraska, Tanya Bray

Biology Faculty Publications

Stolley Prairie, a tallgrass virgin prairie remnant in eastern Nebraska, was visited 20 times between May 25 and August 14, 1988. Fifty-two species offorbs were observed in bloom during this period. Twenty-seven species of butterflies were observed and 21 species made 262 nectar-seeking visits to 21 plant species. While numbers offorbs in bloom did not strongly correlate with numbers of butterflies present, peaks of butterfly occurrence appeared to follow peaks of blossom abundance. The number of plant species utilized by a species of butterfly ranged from one to nine. Plants with an abundance of nectar such as common milkweed and …

Using Random Sequence Primers In The Polymerase Chain Reaction To Identify Gender-Specific Genetic Markers In House Wrens, Jeremy J. Kirchman '94

Honors Projects

In order to fully understand the biology of asexually reproducing organism, it is essential that one is able to distinguish the males from the females. In determining the gender of monomorphic birds, standard techniques including visual identification, surgery, and karyotyping are impossible or impractical for large-scale studies. A reliable gender identification method that uses genetic markers identified within the DNA would be an asset to the researcher because it would require only a minimal blood sample which could be collected in the field without harming the bird and stored easily for long periods of time. Griffiths and Tiwari (1993) described …

Toward An Understanding Of Alzheimer's Disease: The Effects Of B-Amyloid(1-42) And Ibotenic Acid On The Retention Of A Spatial Learning Task In Rats F:Ollowing Multiple Injections Into The Hippocampus, Jason Pequette '94

Honors Projects

Neuropathologically, Alzheimer's disease (AD) is characterized by neuritic plaques and neurofibrillary tangles. Evidence has suggested that a protein called B-amyloid (BA) is a major component of the neuritic plaques and may playa role in the neurodegeneration seen in AD. The cellular mechanisms by which BA induces neurotoxicity, however, are still unclear. Recent evidence suggests that the aggregational state of BA may be relevant to its neurotoxicity. Whether portions of the BA protein or the entire sequence produces neurotoxicity in neurons, however, remains a controversy. Still another controversy is whether BA is directly neurotoxic to neurons or whether it increases the …

Homosexual Copulations By Male Tree Swallows, Michael P. Lombardo, Ruth M. Bosman, Christine A. Faro, Stephen G. Houtteman, Timothy S. Kluisza

Peer Reviewed Publications

Homosexual courtship behavior in non-human animals is well known (Ford and Beach 1980) and occurs in a wide variety of taxa. However, homosexual copulations, especially between males, are less well known. In birds, males mounting other males have been observed in the colonially breeding Cattle Egret (Bubulcus ibis) (Fujioka and Yamagishi 1981) and Common Murre (Uria aalge) (Birkhead et al. 1985, Hatchwell 1988). Neither Fujioka and Yamagishi (1981) nor Birkhead et al. (1985) and Hatchwell (1988) reported whether cloacal contact occurred during their observations of male-male mountings. Here we describe homosexual copulations by male Tree Swallows …

Movement Of Axoplasmic Organelles On Actin Filaments From Skeletal Muscle, George M. Langford, Sergie A. Kuznetsov, Dale Johnson, Darien L. Cohen, Dieter G. Weiss

Biology - All Scholarship

It was recently shown that, in addition to the well-established microtubule-dependent mechanism, fast transport of organelles in squid giant axons also occurs in the presence of actin filaments [Kuznetsov et al., 1992, Nature 356:722-725]. The objectives of this study were to obtain direct evidence of axoplasmic organelle movement on actin filaments and to demonstrate that these organelles are able to move on skeletal muscle actin filaments. Organelles and actin filaments were visualized by video-enhanced contrast differential interference contrast (AVEC-DIC) microscopy and by video intensified fluorescence microscopy. Actin filaments, prepared by polymerization of monomeric actin purified from rabbit skeletal muscle, were …

Energy Conservation By Formation Swimming - Metabolic Evidence From Ducklings, Frank E. Fish

Biology Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

The Effect Of Food Availability On Time And Energy Expenditures Of Territorial And Non-Territorial Hummingbirds, Donald R. Powers, Todd Mckee

Faculty Publications - Department of Biological & Molecular Science

We studied the time and energy allocations related to territorial behavior in male Blue-throated Hummingbirds (Lampornis clemenciae; about 8.3 g) under conditions of unlimited and restricted food availability. When food was unlimited. territorial males avoided inter-specific aggression, chasing only 11% of the inter-specific intruders (Black-chinned Hummingbirds, Archilochus alexandri; about 3.5 g). Thus, when food was unlimited, inter-specific intruders were able to forage efficiently, meeting their estimated daily energy requirement with ease (27 kJ/day). Conversely, 81% of intraspecific intruders were chased, and intra-specific intruders were able to feed at territorial feeders only when the territorial male was away. Chases of …

" Louisea, A New Genus Of Fresh-Water Crab Globonautes Macropus Edeaensis Bott, 1969 From Cameroon" , Neil Cumberlidge

Journal Articles

No abstract provided.

" Identification Of Sudanonautes Aubryi From West And Central Africa" , Neil Cumberlidge

Journal Articles

No abstract provided.

A Comparison Of Insulin/Igf 1 And Progesterone-Induced Meiotic Maturation Of Xenopus Laevis Oocytes, Kevin T. Coleman

Master's Theses

No abstract provided.

Cloning And Characterization Of A New Human Collagen Locus, Sheryl A. Cammarata

Master's Theses

No abstract provided.

An Evaluation Of Factors Affecting The Estrous Cycle Of The Djungarian Hamster, Phodopus Sungorus, Roberta W. Ellington

Master's Theses

No abstract provided.

A Physical Map Of The Short Arm/Centromere Region Of Human Chromosome 21, Jennifer A. Doll

Master's Theses

No abstract provided.

Circulating Plasma Lipoproteins And Hepatic Ultrastructure In The Hibernating Thirteen-Lined Ground Squirrel, Spermophilus Tridecemlineatus, David G. Grecek

Master's Theses

No abstract provided.

Photoacclimation Of Achnanthes Rostrata To Reduced Illumination, Jeffrey R. Panella

Master's Theses

No abstract provided.

Modulation Of Ascending Electrosensory Information By Descending Pathway Stimulation In The Channel Catfish, Lizabeth Scoma

Master's Theses

No abstract provided.