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Body Mass-Related Changes In Mammal Community Assembly Patterns During The Late Quaternary Of North America, Silvia Pineda-Munoz, Advait M. Jukar, Anikó B. Toth, Danielle Fraser, Andrew Du, W. Andrew Barr, Kathryn L. Amatangelo, Meghan A. Balk, Anna K. Behrensmeyer, Jessica Blois, Matt Davis, Jussi T. Eronen, Nicholas J. Gotelli, Cindy Looy, Joshua H. Miller, Alexandria B. Shupinski, Laura C. Soul, Amelia Villaseñor, Scott Wing, S. Kathleen Lyons

School of Biological Sciences: Faculty Publications

The late Quaternary of North America was marked by prominent ecological changes, including the end-Pleistocene megafaunal extinction, the spread of human settlements and the rise of agriculture. Here we examine the mechanistic reasons for temporal changes in mammal species association and body size during this time period. Building upon the co-occurrence results from Lyons et al. (2016) – wherein each species pair was classified as spatially aggregated, segregated or random – we examined body mass differences (BMD) between each species pair for each association type and time period (Late Pleistocene: 40 000 ¹⁴C–11 700 ¹⁴C ybp, Holocene: 11 …

Our Past Creates Our Present: A Brief Overview Of Racism And Colonialism In Western Paleontology, Pedro M. Monarrez, Joshua B. Zimmt, Annaka M. Clement, William Gearty, John J. Jacisin Iii, Kelsey M. Jenkins, Kristopher Mm. Kusnerik, Carmi Milagros Thompson, Ashley W. Poust, Selina V. Robson, Judith A. Sclafani, Kelsey T. Stilson, Shamindri D. Tennakoon

School of Biological Sciences: Faculty Publications

As practitioners of a historical science, paleontologists and geoscientists are well versed in the idea that the ability to understand and to anticipate the future relies upon our collective knowledge of the past. Despite this understanding, the fundamental role that the history of paleontology and the geosciences plays in shaping the structure and culture of our disciplines is seldom recognized and therefore not acted upon sufficiently. Here, we present a brief review of the history of paleontology and geology in Western countries, with a particular focus on North America since the 1800s. Western paleontology and geology are intertwined with systematic …

Bringing Disciplines And People Together To Characterize The Plastic And Genetic Responses Of Molluscs To Environmental Change, Omera B. Matoo, Maurine Neiman

School of Biological Sciences: Faculty Publications

Molluscs are remarkably diverse and are found across nearly all ecosystems, meaning that members of this ancient animal phylum provide a powerful means to study genomic-phenotype connections in a climate change framework. Recent advances in genomic sequencing technologies and genome assembly approaches finally allow the relatively cheap and tractable assembly of high-quality mollusc genome resources. After a brief review of these issues and advances, we use a case-study approach to provide some concrete examples of phenotypic plasticity and genomic adaptation in molluscs in response to environmental factors expected to be influenced by climate change. Our goal is to use molluscs …

Molecular Identification Of Parasites In An Intestinal Coprolite From A Mummified Religious Dignitary Of The Piraino Mother Church Crypt, Sicily, Amanda Rollins, Krystiana Krupa, Georgia Millward, Dario Piombino-Mascali, Karl Reinhard, Frederika Kaestle

Karl Reinhard Publications

Intestinal contents were sampled from a spontaneously enhanced mummy from the Sepulcher of the Priests of the Piraino Mother Church in the Province of Messina, Sicily. This adult male mummy, Piraino 1, is an unidentified religious dignitary dating from the late-18th to mid-19th centuries. Immunological and molecular diagnostics were used to test for common and clinically significant parasites. A morphological diagnosis of Trichuris trichiura (whipworm) was confirmed genetically. A previously undetected Enterobius vermicularis (pinworm) infection was also identified genetically. These data indicate that the Piraino 1 individual was simultaneously infected with multiple intestinal parasite species indicative of poor hygiene. This …

Serving Refugees In A Pandemic: Insights From Yazidis In The Midwest, Falah N. Rashoka M.S, Megan S. Kelley, Marc A. Garcia

Department of Nutrition and Health Sciences: Faculty Publications

There is a critical need for research to examine factors that hinder or facilitate access to healthcare in the context of COVID-19. The coronavirus pandemic has exacerbated barriers to healthcare for marginalized communities globally, leaving many without access to needed health services. Resettled refugees, in particular, must grapple with added challenges to locating and obtaining culturally appropriate healthcare services.

Recent focus groups shed light on the experiences of Yazidi refugees in the U.S. Midwest during COVID-19. Yazidis are a historically persecuted religious and ethnic minority group from northern Iraq (Kizilhan, 2017). Many Yazidis migrated to the U.S. on Special Immigrant …

Allometric Regression Of Snake Body Length From Head Image Measurements, Shane R. Siers

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

As in many fields of wildlife research and management, camera devices and photogrammetry have become an integral part of the toolkit for exploring otherwise‐unseen aspects of the biology, behavior, and control of the invasive brown treesnake (Boiga irregularis) on Guam. Because brown treesnakes are cryptic and nocturnal, and nearly all aspects of their ecology are influenced by snake size, methods are needed to estimate snake size from images captured by infrared wildlife cameras. Unfortunately, it is difficult to capture images of an entire snake’s length at a controlled distance from a simple camera setup. Here, I describe the …

Raven Control From A Conservation Biology Perspective, David J. Delehanty

Human–Wildlife Interactions

The common raven (Corvus corax; raven) is a large, highly intelligent passerine songbird with a Holarctic distribution attributable to a high degree of plasticity in its foraging and nesting behavior. Historically, ravens have received special attention in human culture, being either respected or vilified. In the western United States, ravens are exploiting the expanding human enterprise, which provides them with unintended subsidies of food, water, and breeding locations, allowing ravens to expand their range and increase in population density and resulting in raven depredation threatening species of conservation concern. From a conservation biology perspective, increased raven populations present …

Dominance Or Leverage? An Analysis Of Female Power In Captive Varecia, Jessie E. Birckelbaw

Graduate Research Theses & Dissertations

Lemurs are unusual in that, unlike in most other primates, females have more power than males. This is evident by females receiving priority access to foods and preferred spaces, and frequent grooming. Rebecca Lewis provided a framework to analyze the basis of female power that distinguishes between true dominance and leverage. Dominance is defined as the physical ability to overpower an individual, whereas leverage is the ability to influence others based on intangible resources, such as social currency like grooming or the potential for mating. This study aimed to investigate female power in the critically endangered ruffed lemurs (genus Varecia). …

Testing A Global Standard For Quantifying Species Recovery And Assessing Conservation Impact, Molly K. Grace, John Carroll, 201 Other Scholars

School of Biological Sciences: Faculty Publications

Recognizing the imperative to evaluate species recovery and conservation impact, in 2012 the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) called for development of a “Green List of Species” (now the IUCN Green Status of Species). A draft Green Status framework for assessing species’ progress toward recovery, published in 2018, proposed 2 separate but interlinked components: a standardized method (i.e., measurement against benchmarks of species’ viability, functionality, and preimpact distribution) to determine current species recovery status (herein species recovery score) and application of that method to estimate past and potential future impacts of conservation based on 4 metrics ( …

The Evolutionary And Morphological Diversification Of The Subtribe Papionina, Sophie B. Labelle

Master's Theses

Analysis of variation is critical in understanding evolutionary processes. The subtribe Papionina, defined commonly as baboons and their closest relatives, is a highly morphologically diverse group of primates that is useful for the examination of the relationship between variation and evolution. The subtribe is also a valuable behavioral, ecological, and morphological analogy for hominins. This study uses landmark-based cranial geometric morphometric data and multivariate analysis to test whether the pattern of morphological diversification present in Papionina is consistent with genetic drift and/or selection. The study sample consists of six extant genera of Papionin, represented by ~500 individuals collected by Michelle …

Degree Of Genetic Admixture In Hybrid Populations Between Macaca Fascicularis Fascicularis And M. F. Aurea In Association With Stone Tool-Use Behavior, Poompat Phadphon

Chulalongkorn University Theses and Dissertations (Chula ETD)

Burmese long-tailed macaque (Macaca fascicularis aurea) is the only Old World monkey that habitually uses stones as tools to access encased food. The natural range of M. f. aurea closely contacts to the common long-tailed macaque (M. f. fascicularis) in southern Thailand at 8°10'-12°24'N, where the intraspecific hybridization between the two subspecies was reported. While M. f. aurea x M. f. fascicularis hybrids were expressed a stone-tool use behavior, the behavior has never been seen in the wild or captive M. f. fascicularis. It is interesting to understand if the genetic factor plays a role on the emergence of this …

Trend Topics In Animal Science: A Bibliometric Analysis Using Citespace, Fatma Yardi̇bi̇, Mehmet Zi̇ya Firat, Emi̇ne Çeti̇n Teke

Turkish Journal of Veterinary & Animal Sciences

The aim of this study was the identification of trends topics in animal science in the last five years using bibliometric analysis. The research data consisted of 6972 studies published between 2015 and 2019 in the top five journals of animal science field, according to the Journal Citation Reports. The journals were analyzed in terms of number and types of publications, author, institution, country productivity, citation analysis, and citation burst. In the study, emerging trends and animal science intellectual structures were visualized with social network analysis. The evidence revealed in this study suggests that `genomic prediction' is the most effective …

Comparative Conservation Genomics Of A Suite Of Imperiled Freshwater Mussels, Scott C. Meyer

College of Graduate Studies: Theses & Dissertations

Maintenance of genetic diversity is a critical component to the management and recovery of imperiled species. By ensuring that a species’ genetic diversity is maintained, issues like inbreeding depression and loss of local adaptation can be prevented. However, the genetic diversity of many species are not well-characterized, and the factors that influence a species’ genetic diversity are often not well understood. In the case of imperiled unionid freshwater mussels, it is important to conduct conservation genetic assessments to aid in their management and preserve genetic diversity. This is the first study to conduct a comparative conservation genomic assessment for eight …

Reconstructability Analysis Of The Predictors Of Physical Functioning Status In Older Americans By Race And Ethnicity, Amanuel Melekin, Martin Zwick

Complex Systems Faculty Publications and Presentations

This paper demonstrates the use of reconstructability analysis to examine race/ethnic differences in physical functioning status among older Americans. Reconstructability analysis is an information theory and graph theory method which has been successfully used in multivariate data modeling. The health and retirement study data from 2004 are used for this demonstration. Out of eighteen independent variables included, seven variables appeared in the best models selected. Uncertainty reductions in physical functioning status were substantial across the models but the magnitudes and predictive variables varied slightly by race/ethnicity. Examination of the model probability distributions indicated that composite independent variable states of overlapping …

Preclassic Cultural Eutrophication Of Lake Petén Itzá, Lowland Guatemala, By The Early Maya Of Nixtun-Ch'ich', Brooke A. Birkett

Masters Theses

"Paleolimnological evidence indicates the ancient Maya transformed lowland terrestrial ecosystems by felling forest vegetation to construct large civic-ceremonial centers and expand agriculture. The effects of prehistoric Maya land alterations on lake trophic status, however, remain poorly understood. We analyzed a 515-cm-long sediment core from Lake Petén Itzá, lowland Guatemala, to infer paleoenvironmental changes resulting from Maya occupation of the riparian archaeological site of Nixtun-Ch'ich'. Substantial increases in charcoal and fecal stanol concentrations indicate Maya occupation of the Candelaria Peninsula by the late Early Preclassic period beginning ca. 1400 cal yr Before the Common Era (hereafter BCE), despite scant archaeological evidence …

Were Late Gomphotheres (Plio-Pleistocene) Of The Siwaliks At More Stress As Compared To Early Gomphotheres (Middle To Late Miocene)?, Muhammad Ameen, Abdul Majid Khan, Muhammad Tahir Waseem, Rana Manzoor Ahmad, Ayesha Iqbal, Amtur Rafeh, Muhammad Imran

Journal of Bioresource Management

Gomphotheres existed in the Siwaliks from the middle Miocene (14.2Ma) to the middle Pleistocene (0.8Ma) and became extinct later on. In this paper, we tried to discuss the reasons of such extinction of gomphotheres in the lower Pleistocene time span by considering Linear Enamel Hypoplasia (LEH) among 114 isolated tooth samples to assess whether ecological changes correlate with the stress factor in gomphotheres. For this purpose, the Siwalik gomphotheres were divided into two Groups viz. early gomphotheres (middle Miocene to late Miocene) and late gomphotheres (Pliocene to middle Pleistocene). We presented the hypothesis, that as the gomphotheres are characterized by …

A Historical Ecology Of Aridland Springs In Desert National Wildlife Refuge, Nuwu/Nuwuvi (Southern Paiute/Chemehuevi) Ancestral Territory, Nevada, Yarrow Sarah Valentine Geggus

Dissertations and Theses

Aridland springs are among the most threatened ecosystems in the world. Vital to desert ecologies and Indigenous cultures, these complex and individualistic ecosystems have layered histories. To inform management in the changing landscape of Desert National Wildlife Refuge, a 1.6 million acre protected area in Southern Nevada, I conducted a historical ecology study of a sample of ten upland springs. Through a six-part interdisciplinary methodology including interviews, archaeological survey, botanical survey, and archival research, I summarize findings into three broad eras: the Nuwu/Nuwuvi pre-Contact Era, the Settler Era, and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Era.

For millennia, Nuwu/Nuwuvi drank …

African Land Mammal Ages, John Van Couvering, Eric Delson

Publications and Research

We define 17 African land mammal ages, or AFLMAs, covering the Cenozoic record of the Afro-arabian continent, the planet’s second largest land mass. While fossiliferous deposits are absent on the eroded plateau of the continent’s interior, almost 800 fossil genera from over 350 locations have now been identified in coastal deposits, karst caves, and in the Neogene rift valleys. Given a well-developed geochronologic framework, together with continuing revision to the fossil record—both stimulated by the story of human evolution in Africa—and also to compensate for the variation in fossil ecosystems across such great distances, the AFLMAs are biochronological units defined …

Intersectionality Shapes Adaptation To Social-Ecological Change, Anna Erwin, Zhao Ma, Ruxandra Popovici, Emma Patricia Salas O'Brien, Jonathan Bauchet, Nelly Ramirez Calderón, Glenn Roberto Arce Larrea

Department of Agricultural Economics Faculty Publications

People from across the Caylloma Province of Peru are adapting to social-ecological changes, such as decreasing water supplies and rapidly retreating glaciers, in different and unequal ways. In this study, we show how this inequality is intersectional; identities like gender and age compound and interact with systems of power to shape how people adapt to these changes at the individual, household, and district scales. We draw from 130 semi-structured interviews with agricultural actors and participant observations in district and regional meetings across four districts, to demonstrate how intersectionality shapes adaptation to social-ecological change. Our results show (1) what social-ecological changes …

New Record Of Bacopa Egensis (Plantaginaceae) For The Flora Of Mexico, Daniel Gonzalez-Socoloske, Nicholas P. Tippery, Nelly Del Carmen Jiménez Pérez, Donald H. Les

Faculty Publications

Bacopa egensis is newly reported for the flora of Mexico and an updated key is provided for the Mexican Bacopa species

2020 - The First Annual Fall Symposium Of Student Scholars

Symposium of Student Scholars Program Books

The full program book from the Fall 2020 Symposium of Student Scholars, held on December 3, 2020. Includes abstracts from the presentations and posters.

Socio-Hydrology: An Interplay Of Design And Self-Organization In A Multilevel World, Vicken Hillis

Human-Environment Systems Research Center Faculty Publications and Presentations

The emerging field of socio-hydrology is a special case of social-ecological systems research that focuses on coupled human-water systems, exploring how the hydrologic cycle and human cultural traits coevolve and how such coevolutions lead to phenomena of relevance to water security and sustainability. As such, most problems tackled by socio-hydrology involve some aspects of engineering design, such as large-scale water infrastructure, and self-organization in a broad context, such as cultural change at the population level and the hydrologic shift at the river basin or aquifer level. However, within the field of socio-hydrology, it has been difficult to find general theories …

Study Of Plants Used Against Infections By California Native American Tribes, Maria J. Rojas

Master's Theses

The objectives of this research were to evaluate the antibacterial activity and to determine the chemical composition of a list of medicinal plants used by Native Americans in California. Artemisia californica, Mimulus aurantiacus, Equisetum telmateia, Equisetum hyemale, and Marah fabacea were selected from a list of plants reported as having been used for ailments related to infections by tribes located in California. The extracts obtained through steam distillation from E. telmateia, E. hyemale and M. fabacea were assayed for in vitro antibacterial activity against 16 Gram-negative and 6 Gram-positive bacteria using disk diffusion assays and measuring the diameters of inhibition …

The Promise Of A Multi-Disciplinary, Mixed-Methods Approach To Inform Insect Pest Management: Evidence From Wyoming Alfalfa, Randa Jabbour, Shiri Noy

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Modeling Neurofibromatosis Type Ii In Zebrafish, Hannah Nuszen

University Honors Program Senior Projects

Neurofibromatosis Type 2 (NF2) is a rare genetic disorder, classified as a neurocutaneous syndrome inherited through an autosomal dominant genetic mutation or deletion of the NF2 gene in humans. The tumor suppressor gene NF2 encodes the cytoskeletal protein MERLIN to promote apoptosis and inhibit abnormal cellular proliferation. Mutations in NF2 lead to a deficiency of functional MERLIN in humans and can result in hearing loss, disability, and premature death. These symptoms are due to uncontrollable growth of schwann cells generating bilateral benign tumors (schwannomas) within the nerve sheath of cranial nerve VIII. Here we seek to understand the function of …

Hormonal Responses To Seasonal Thermal And Ecological Stressors In Japanese Macaques (Macaca Fuscata), Lilianne Nelson

Masters Theses

Relative to most primate species, Japanese macaques (Macaca fuscata) experience extreme seasonal variation in thermal and ecological stressors that can impact energetic demands. To cope with these environmental changes, levels of metabolic hormones, such as cortisol and triiodothyronine, fluctuate to facilitate energetic adjustments. While previous research in primates has investigated thermal and ecological stressors individually, a combined assessment of these stressors alongside hormone levels can provide a more holistic understanding of the relationship between a primate’s thermoregulation, energetic balance, and stress. The goals of this study were to determine the effects of season, temperature and ecological stress on …

Biomechanical Properties Of Land Based And Shallow Water Wait: A Comparative Review Of Literature, Mostafa Yaghoubi, Philip Fink, Wyatt H. Page, Sarah P. Shultz

International Journal of Aquatic Research and Education

Aquatic locomotion exercises are frequently used in rehabilitation and cross-training for land-based athletes. Hydrostatic pressure, thermal conductivity and drag force affect a person's ability to move; therefore, it is important to understand differences of biomechanical gait in water vs land. This review investigated biomechanical differences between shallow water and land-based exercises. PubMed, Google Scholar, SPORTDiscus and Scopus were searched; 33 studies included walking forward (27), backward (6) and running (6). Electromyographic amplitude was similar or less in submaximal intensity during aquatic gait, in comparison to on land. At maximal intensities, however, the amplitude was similar (n=5) or higher (n=4) in …

Herding History: Law And The Transformation Of Collective Subjectivities In The Dairyspheres Of Ukraine, Monica Eppinger

Journal of Food Law & Policy

In response to the limitations of socialism and capitalism in meeting basic needs, this article explores the alternative version of modernity offered in post-Soviet Ukraine and its agriculture. Tracing a century of fundamental transformations through the story of milk, it finds a history that troubles universalized framings of indigeneity and colonialism. This article argues that under socialism milk became a product of collectivized effort and a reservoir of household resilience; and then, with post-Soviet disintegration of some forms of collective life and emergence of others, that milk has come to delineate spheres of both collective action and individual striving. This …

Implementation Fidelity Of Nutritional Counselling, Iron And Folic Acid Supplementation Guidelines And Associated Challenges In Rural Uasin Gishu County Kenya, Roselyter Riang’A, Anne Nangulu, Jacqueline Broerse

Population Health, East Africa

Background: Implementation fidelity which is defined as the degree to which programmes are implemented as intended is one of the factors that affect programme outcome, thus requiring careful examination. This study aims to acquire insight into the degree to which nutritional counselling and Iron and Folic Acid supplementation (IFAs) policy guidelines during pregnancy have been implemented as intended and the challenges to implementation fidelity.

Methods: Data were collected in rural Uasin Gishu County in the western part of Kenya through document analysis, questionnaires among intervention recipients (n = 188) and semi-structured interviews with programme implementers (n = 6). …

Cultural And Religious Belief Approaches Of A Tuberculosis Program For Hard-To-Reach Populations In Mentawai And Solok West Sumatera, Indonesia, Rizanda Machmud, Irvan Medison, Finny Fitry Yani

Kesmas

Tuberculosis (TB) is a leading public health concern in Indonesia. It ranks second on the list of high-burden TB countries. In West Sumatra, 47% of TB cases are undetected, late diagnosed, and received incomplete treatment because of low-level awareness and knowledge and stigma, especially among the hardest to reach populations. The study aims to identify the best communication channel to reach those who live in vulnerable and remote areas. This study was a qualitative study applying in-depth interviews to the informal leaders, health officers, cultural artists, and religious leaders across districts in Mentawai and Solok Districts, which are remote and …