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Fluidity And Inconstancy: Australian Bush Tomatoes As An Exemplar Of Non-Normative Sex Expression, Christopher T. Martine

Faculty Journal Articles

Solanum, a genus of ~1500 global species, is one of the more interesting plant groups in which to study reproductive biology and ecology. Overwhelmingly, species in this group express full cosexuality, where individual plants have flowers containing both fully-functioning “male” (staminate) and “female” (carpellate) organs. However, there have been multiple and widespread evolutionary transitions within the genus to non-normative variations on this ancestral condition. Australian bush tomatoes (ca. 40 species) are especially diverse in this regard, with uncommon variation and combinations of unisexuality and cosexuality -- including, most notably, two sexual systems known as dioecy (unisexual male or female …

Modulatory Effects Of Schreckstoff On The Startle Escape Response Of Goldfish (Carassius Auratus), Denis Shor

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Fish face a variety of stressors in nature, a prominent one being a predatory threat to which they respond with an adaptive behavioral response thus maximizing their chances of survival. A primary anti-predatory behavior is a startle response or C-start. This behavior is controlled by two large reticulospinal neurons, the Mauthner cells (M-cells) which integrate multimodal sensory inputs. Detecting a predator involves various sensory information such as visual and mechanosensory cues but also olfaction. Indeed, following an attack, an injured fish will release an alarm pheromone (Schreckstoff) and thus acutely alert close by conspecifics. However, whether the alarm pheromone in …

Movement Patterns Of Two Bat Species Active During Winter In The Southeastern United States, Reilly T. Jackson, Emma V. Wilcox, Riley F. Bernard

Biological Sciences Faculty Publications and Presentations

During winter in the southeastern United States, cavernicolous bats, many species of which are susceptible to white-nose syndrome, periodically arouse from torpor and occasionally leave hibernacula. We investigated the winter movements and habitat use of two bat species persisting during the white-nose syndrome epizootic: the gray bat Myotis grisescens and the eastern small-footed bat Myotis leibii. We deployed very-high-frequency radio transmitters on individual bats captured outside hibernacula to investigate activity, which may include foraging, during winter. We tracked bats from release at the cave entrance until their transmitter signal was lost or they remained stationary for 15 min or …

Hydric Physiology Of Lizards, Savannah Weaver

Master's Theses

Chapter 1: Animals can respond to extreme climate by behaviorally avoiding it, or by physiologically coping with it. We understand behavioral thermoregulation and physiological thermal tolerances, but water balance has largely been neglected. Climate change includes both global warming and changes in precipitation regimes, so improving our understanding of organismal water balance is increasingly urgent. We assessed the hydric physiology of endangered Blunt-nosed Leopard Lizards (Gambelia sila) by measuring cutaneous evaporative water loss (CEWL), plasma osmolality, body mass, and body condition throughout their active season. On average, G. sila had low CEWL that is likely desert-adaptive, and high …

Assessing The Resilience Of Mycorrhizal Networks Following Central Tree Removal, Deon Lillo

Master's Theses

Mycorrhizal networks (MNs), or the networks of fungal mycelia that connect plants to each other, are vital in contributing to the well-being of ecosystems. They not only assist in the transport of nutrients across an ecosystem, but also help protect an ecosystem from disease and adverse conditions. However, more research into these networks is needed and modelling these networks as graphs can help us achieve this. By applying centrality analysis and performing k-core partitioning on these networks, we are able to identify the trees that are most important and central to a MN and observe the effects of removing these …

A Foundational Population Genetics Investigation Of The Sexual Systems Of Solanum (Solanaceae) In The Australian Monsoon Tropics Suggests Dioecious Taxa May Benefit From Increased Genetic Admixture Via Obligate Outcrossing, Jason T. Cantley, Ingrid E. Jordon-Thaden, Morgan Roche, Daniel S. Hayes, Stephamie Kate, Christopher T. Martine

Faculty Journal Articles

Solanum section Leptostemonum is an ideal lineage to test the theoretical framework regarding proposed evolutionary benefits of outcrossing sexual systems in comparison to cosexuality. Theoretically, non-cosexual taxa should support more genetic diversity within populations, experience less inbreeding, and have less genetic structure due to a restricted ability to self-fertilize. However, many confounding factors present challenges for a confident inference that inherent differences in sexual systems influence observed genetic patterns among populations. This study provides a foundational baseline of the population genetics of several species of different sexual systems with the aim of generating hypotheses of any factor—including sexual system—that influences …

Two New Genera Of Enopliinae, Skelleyus And Divulgoatus (Coleoptera: Cleridae), Weston Opitz

Insecta Mundi

Two new genera, Skelleyus Opitz and Divulgoatus Opitz (Coleoptera: Cleridae: Enopliinae), show unusual antennal development. Funicular antennomeres become shorter as they approach an extensive ca­pitulum. This study involves three taxa, Skelleyus leavengoodi Opitz, new species, Divulgoatus kelleri Opitz, new species, and Divulgoatus discrepans (Gorham).

The two new genera of Cleridae presented in this work show a most unusual antennal development. The greatly extended antennal capitulum is not found in any other member of the Enopliinae. The complete illustrations of the antennae are depicted in the species descriptions.

Modeling The Population Demographics & Viability Of Imperiled Guzmania Monostachia Populations, Helen Pennington, Pranay Lingareddy, Erin N. Bodine

Spora: A Journal of Biomathematics

Guzmania monostachia is a large, long-lived bromeliad whose leaves grow in a rosette pattern and is native to the Americas, but endangered in Florida due to damage caused by the invasive weevil Metamasius callizona. Each G. monostachia rosette can reproduce sexually via flowers or asexually by producing clonal offshoot rosettes. We model the population dynamics and demographic structure of a G. monostachia population using a Lefkovitch matrix model where each state represents a demographic class of rosettes. Model analysis over a range of uncertain parameters show the conditions under which a G. monostachia population is viable in the absence …

Biodiversity Of Histerid Beetles (Coleoptera: Histeridae) From Brazil. I. Southern Region, Fábio Luiz De Leão Leonel, Fernando Willyan Trevisan Leivas

Insecta Mundi

This contribution adds data to the conservation and distribution of Histeridae species (Coleoptera) in the Neotropical region through a survey of Brazil’s South region. More specifically, it provides: i) a list of local Histeridae species; ii) a list of species that are inside Conservation Units in southern Brazil; iii) biotic (biome, ecoregion and associations/affinities) and abiotic information (altitude and month of occurrence) for each species. In total, 66 genera and 164 histerid beetle species were recorded, distributed in seven subfami­lies and 11 tribes. Among these, one genus and three species are new records for the region. Fifty percent of the …

A New Genus And Sixteen New Species Of False Click Beetles (Coleoptera: Eucnemidae) Described From The Heredia Province Of Costa Rica With Several Additional Records From The Osa Peninsula And Panama, Robert L. Otto, Jyrki Muona, Jim Córdoba-Alfaro

Insecta Mundi

More than 1,300 specimens of Eucnemidae collected from Heredia Province in Costa Rica during the 1990s Arthropods of La Selva (ALAS) survey were studied from 2018 through 2022. One new genus of false click beetle, Absensiugum Otto, Muona and Córdoba-Alfaro, is described. Nematodes teres Horn, from the Ne­arctic and Caribbean regions, is transferred to this new genus to form Absensiugum teres, new combination. Sixteen new species of false click beetle (Coleoptera: Eucnemidae) are described from Costa Rica. These new species are: Adelothyreus brevis, Adelothyreus costaricensis, Adelothyreus totus, Quirsfeldia stethonoides, Lacus pectinatus, Maelodrus costaricensis, Onichodon …

A New Species Of Acmaeodera Eschscholtz, 1829 (Coleoptera: Buprestidae) From Southern Nevada, Usa, Richard L. Westcott

Insecta Mundi

A new species of Acmaeodera Eschscholtz, 1829, A. raschkoi Westcott (Coleoptera: Buprestidae), is described from southern Nevada, USA, and compared to four other species in the genus. Its habitat and means of capture are discussed in detail.

A new species of Acmaeodera Eschscholtz, 1829 from Nevada is described herein and figured. Its habitat and means of capture are described. According to Nelson et al. (2008), there were 145 valid species of Acmaeodera in the USA. Since that time, only one more has been added (MacRae 2014), and one has been synonymized (Hansen and Westcott 2023), leaving 146 species of the …

Silica Concentrations In Dominant Vegetation Species Of Wax Lake Delta, Louisiana, Danielle M. Soileau

LSU Master's Theses

Coastal deltaic wetlands colonize dynamic environments and experience fluctuations of salinity, river connectivity, sediment dredging or deposition, and periods of inundation resulting in unique vegetation and soils. Louisiana’s coastline is experiencing enhanced loss of coastal deltaic wetlands in coastal basins where the Mississippi River no longer is connected to waterways and channels that would normally provide freshwater and sediments representing the abandonment phase of the delta cycle. There is a coastal basin in the central regions of the state, the Atchafalaya Bay, that is still in the active phase of delta cycle resulting in the growth of the Wax Lake, …

Ethical Issues And Standards Of Responsible Research Conduct And Monitoring In An Adventist Institution Of Higher Learning - The Babcock Experience, Kayode O. Ogunwenmo, Godswill N. Anyasor, Grace O. Tayo

Adventist Human-Subject Researchers Association

Ethical issues and standards of responsible research conduct involving human participants are important considerations in any institution of higher learning and in particular Adventist institutions. Research conduct and ethics are reviewed and approved before they begin by the Babcock University Health Research Ethics Committee (BUHREC)

A Baseline Assessment Of Migratory And Resident Bird Use Of A Prairie Restoration Site In Eastern Washington, Madilyn J. Odiorne, Brynn A. Richey, Ruby L. Hammond

2023 Symposium

Prairies, and other types of grassland ecosystems, have suffered some of the most profound losses worldwide, due to anthropogenic factors such as fossil fuel extraction, agriculture, and climate change. Likewise, organisms inhabiting grassland ecosystems have become extirpated across much of their historical range, not the least of which has been a 50% decline in grassland birds since the 1960s. In response to losses of intact prairie in eastern Washington, a 120-ac site has been established on the EWU campus to regenerate native prairie and monitor changes in the ecosystem as native plants recolonize and replace non-natives. Because birds are an …

Androctonus Kunti Sp. N. From Iğdır Province, Turkey (Scorpiones: Buthidae), Ersen A. Yağmur

Euscorpius

A new species Androctonus kunti sp. n. is described and illustrated from Iğdır Province of Turkey. This population was first recorded by Birula (1896) as A. crassicauda (Olivier, 1807). A. kunti sp. n. is compared with A. crassicauda as well as A. turkiyensis Yağmur, 2021, which was recently described from Turkey

Practical Solutions To The Invasion Of Lionfish In Utila, Honduras: Science, Education, Food, And Jewelry, Carolyn Corley

Undergraduate Honors Theses

Lionfish (Pterois sp.) are invasive species capable of devastating coral reef ecosystems due to their lack of predators, large appetites, generalist diet, high fecundity, and rapid spawning rates. As lionfish have expanded their distribution across the Caribbean, many conservation groups have taken it upon themselves to systematically remove these predators from environments where they are threatening native species. However, few have involved the community the way I observed while interning with the Whale Shark and Oceanic Research Center in Utila, Honduras. Protecting coral reefs is extremely important, especially in small communities like Utila, where the majority of people’s …

Associative Learning: Unmet Criterion For Plant Sentience, Luigi Baciadonna, Catherine Macri, Martin Giurfa

Animal Sentience

In a thought-provoking target article, Segundo-Ortin & Calvo (S&C) discuss the possibility that plants are sentient, focusing on a series of capacities normally attributed only to human and nonhuman animals. S&C propose learning as a marker for sentience. We review studies reporting associative learning in plants and find that they either lack essential controls or fail to produce replicable results. The capacity to learn has not yet been demonstrated in plants, so it cannot be used to support the hypothesis that plants are sentient. Further studies are needed. But agnosticism about sentience should not deter us from investigating unexpected new …

Feral Swine As Indirect Indicators Of Environmental Anthrax Contamination And Potential Mechanical Vectors Of Infectious Spores, Rachel M. Maison, Maggie R. Priore, Vienna R. Brown, Michael Bodenchuk, Bradley R. Borlee, Richard Bowen, Angela M. Bosco-Lauth

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

U.S. government work

The Effects Of Urban Landscape, Soundscape, And Light Pollution On Avian Diversity And Nesting In South San Antonio, Texas, Alfredo Llamas

Masters Theses (Archived)

As critical habitat continues to dwindle due to the expansion of urbanization, alternative habitat in urban ecosystems becomes a necessary natural resource for the survival of birds. In the last decade, local San Antonio environmental authorities have focused their efforts on restoring the San Antonio Mission Reach. Ecological revitalization of the San Antonio Mission Reach could increase avian, and flora biodiversity with ongoing restoration, yet how birds use restored habitat has not been assessed. Additionally, south of the Reach, two more peri-urban sites have great potential to be high quality habitat for birds but have not been surveyed for nesting …

The Effects Of Anthropogenic Sensory Pollution On Arthropod Diversity And Pollinator Behavior, Sierra Dee Rodriguez, Jennifer N. Phillips Phd

Masters Theses (Archived)

Pollinators provide a key ecological function in terrestrial ecosystems, yet in recent years, they have encountered unprecedented declines, likely due to anthropogenic change. Light and noise pollution, which can interfere with the visual and auditory systems of animals that regulate daily behaviors, are important factors to consider when communities are encroached by human development. While many researchers have looked at how vertebrate species behaviorally react to human caused habitat degradation and sensory pollution, little is known about how invertebrates, including arthropod pollinators, are affected, and whether there is a negative cascading effect on the plants that they pollinate. This research …

Considerations For The Use Of Mycorrhizal Fungi Inoculants In Coal Mine Reclamation And Reforestation In Appalachia: A Guide Of Best Practices And Management Recommendations, Cole Hansen Reistrup

Master's Projects and Capstones

Nearly all terrestrial plants form symbiotic relationships with mycorrhizal fungi. These beneficial soil microbes support plant health by increasing plants’ access to nutrients and water, protecting them from pathogens, improving soil properties, and more. A challenge to restoring forests on coal mined land in Appalachia is that mine soils are often degraded in a number of ways, including lacking mycorrhizal fungi, which makes mine soils difficult for trees to grow upon. Substantial improvements to coal mine reforestation success have been made since the development of the Forestry Reclamation Approach in 2005 that provides guidelines for how to create a suitable …

Disentangling Sentience From Developmental Plasticity, Jonathan Birch

Animal Sentience

Plants, like animals, display remarkable developmental plasticity, inviting the metaphorical use of terms like “decision” and “choice”. In the animal case, this is not taken to be evidence of sentience, because sentience is a complex product of development, not something that guides it. We should apply the same standards when evaluating the evidence in plants. It is hard to overstate the contrast with the case of invertebrates such as octopuses, where pain markers that were originally developed for use in mammals have been clearly demonstrated and plausible neural substrates for sentience have been identified.

Complex Floral Behavior Of An Angiosperm Family, Tilo Henning, Moritz Mittelbach

Animal Sentience

Segundo-Ortin & Calvo provide a comprehensive overview of the many aspects of plant behavior examined to date. In our view, multiple lines of evidence make it difficult to deny plant sentience. We add further evidence to support the conclusion that plants are sentient organisms. As in animals, the behavior of plants can be seen and studied as an evolutionary trait, subject to and a consequence of increasing complexity in the interactions of plants with their environment. Our example is the evolution of floral behavior in Loasaceae, where complex patterns of stamen movement have co-evolved in interaction with specialized pollinators.

A Novel Family Of Chain Binomial Models To Investigate Correlated Vaccination And Infection Rates In Sveirs Epidemic Dynamics, Divine Wanduku

Biology and Medicine Through Mathematics Conference

No abstract provided.

Willow Abundance And Condition Mapping In Rocky Mountain National Park, Eric M. Nielsen

Institute for Natural Resources Publications

Riparian and wetland willow species have undergone serious declines in Rocky Mountain National Park as a consequence of a variety of environmental changes and, most recently, damage resulting from moose overpopulation. To address concerns about the long-term status of willows in the park, we developed remote sensing-based raster maps of riparian and wetland willow species presence, canopy cover percentage, canopy height, and leaf area index. All outputs were produced at 3-meter resolution, and represent willows as they existed in 2021. The mapping was performed via random forests classification and regression models trained on several hundred vegetation plots from a variety …

Mathematics Of Population-Genetics Model For Assessing The Impacts Of Insecticide Resistance And Temperature On Population Abundance Of Malaria Mosquitoes, Jemal Mohammed-Awel

Biology and Medicine Through Mathematics Conference

No abstract provided.

Simulation And Latin Hypercube Sampling Of Mixed-Time Models In A Consumer-Resource Relationship, Boluwatife E. Awoyemi, Amanda N. Laubmeier, Richard L. Rebarber

Biology and Medicine Through Mathematics Conference

No abstract provided.

Pde Model For Protocell Evolution And The Origin Of Chromosomes Via Multilevel Selection, Daniel B. Cooney, Fernando W. Rossine, Dylan H. Morris, Simon A. Levin

Biology and Medicine Through Mathematics Conference

No abstract provided.

Reaction-Diffusion System On Irregular Boundaries Reproduces Multiple Generations Of Petal Spot Patterns In Monkeyflower Hybrids, Emily Simmons

Biology and Medicine Through Mathematics Conference

No abstract provided.

Bura Ura, Kendu Waiyo (Rain Falls, Water Rises): The Tyranny Of Water Insecurity And An Agenda For Abolition In Kodi (Sumba Island, Indonesia), Cynthia Twyford Fowler

Faculty Scholarship

This article explores the dynamic links between transformations in freshwater ecosystems and social changes in the Kodi region of Sumba (Indonesia). Insights into the politics surrounding changing hydrosocial systems are generated by using a feminist anthropology approach together with critical development studies and intersectionality theory. In aligning with fellow feminists whose advocacy sometimes takes the form of scholarship, I lay out a five-prong strategy for collecting empirical evidence from persons who are vulnerable when hydrological systems change and offer eight principles for future development interventions. The argument related to the five-prong toolkit is that by conducting intensive, extensive, opportunistic, and …