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The Effects Of Land Use Change On Ant Communities In New England, Amelia K.L. Curry, Joseph A. Nelsen, Dale R. Stevens, Kaitlyn A. Mathis

Biology

Urbanisation and agricultural expansion are two of the most prevalent and intense forms of land use change worldwide and can have dramatic consequences on biodiversity and biotic community structure. Ants are extremely widespread, ecologically diverse and small ectotherms that are sensitive to changes from a wide range of environmental factors. Therefore, ants make an ideal study organism to examine the effects of anthropogenic land use change on biotic communities. In this study, we examined differences in ant species richness and community composition between urban parks, farms and forest fragments, and related these differences to environmental factors that vary among each …

Evidence That Aquaporin 11 (Aqp11) In The Spiny Dogfish (Squalus Acanthias) May Represent A Pseudogene, Christopher P. Cutler, Meghan Canicatti, Esosa Omoregie

Biology: Faculty Publications

Various attempts to amplify an AQP11 cDNA from tissues of the spiny dogfish (Squalus acanthias) were made. Two pairs of deoxy-inosine-containing degenerate primers were designed based on conserved amino acid sequences from an AQP11 alignment. These primers yielded some faint bands from gill cDNA that were sequenced. Blast searches with the sequences showed they were not AQP11. An elasmobranch AQP11 nucleotide sequence alignment was produced to identify conserved regions to make further degenerate primers. One primer pair produced a short 148 bp fragment showing particularly strong amplification in gill and intestine. It was sequenced and represented a piece of the …

School Of Biological Sciences News, 2023, School Of Biological Sciences

School of Biological Sciences News

Alumni newsletter of Illinois State University's School of Biological Sciences.

Internal Vertebral Morphology Of Bony Fishes Matches The Mechanical Demands Of Different Environments, Dana Baxter, Karly E. Cohen, Cassandra M. Donatelli, Eric D. Tytell

Engineering Faculty Articles and Research

Fishes have repeatedly evolved characteristic body shapes depending on how close they live to the substrate. Pelagic fishes live in open water and typically have narrow, streamlined body shapes; benthic and demersal fishes live close to the substrate; and demersal fishes often have deeper bodies. These shape differences are often associated with behavioral differences: pelagic fishes swim nearly constantly, demersal fishes tend to maneuver near the substrate, and benthic fishes often lie in wait on the substrate. We hypothesized that these morphological and behavioral differences would be reflected in the mechanical properties of the body, and specifically in vertebral column …

Aquaporin Expression And Cholesterol Content In Eel Swimbladder Tissue, Victoria Drechsel, Gabriel Schneebauer, Birgit Fiechtner, Christopher P. Cutler, Bernd Pelster

Biology: Faculty Publications

Leakiness of the swimbladder wall of teleost fishes must be prevented to avoid diffusional loss of gases out of the swimbladder. Guanine incrustation as well as high concentrations of cholesterol in swimbladder membranes in midwater and deep-sea fish has been connected to a reduced gas permeability of the swimbladder wall. On the contrary, the swimbladder is filled by diffusion of gases, mainly oxygen and CO2, from the blood and the gas gland cells into the swimbladder lumen. In swimbladder tissue of the zebrafish and the Japanese eel, aquaporin mRNA has been detected, and the aquaporin protein has been considered important …

Induction Of Stress-Induced Renal Cellular Senescence In Vitro: Impact Of Mouse Strain Genetic Diversity., Chieh Ming Liao, Vera Christine Wulfmeyer, Maxine Swallow, Christine Susanne Falk, Hermann Haller, Ron Korstanje, Anette Melk, Roland Schmitt

Faculty Research 2021

Cellular senescence, a stress-induced state of irreversible cell cycle arrest, is associated with organ dysfunction and age-related disease. While immortalized cell lines bypass key pathways of senescence, important mechanisms of cellular senescence can be studied in primary cells. Primary tubular epithelial cells (PTEC) derived from mouse kidney are highly susceptible to develop cellular senescence, providing a valuable tool for studying such mechanisms. Here, we tested whether genetic differences between mouse inbred strains have an impact on the development of stress-induced cellular senescence in cultured PTEC. Kidneys from 129S1, B6, NOD, NZO, CAST, and WSB mice were used to isolate PTEC. …

Novel Quantification And Localization Of Water And Solute Transporters In The Tissues Of The Spiney Dogfish (Squalus Acanthias), Tolulope B. Ojo

College of Graduate Studies: Theses & Dissertations

The dogfish, Squalus acanthias is a marine cartilaginous elasmobranch found in the North Atlantic and Pacific oceans. Dogfish synthesize and excrete urea as a product of nitrogen metabolism. They also convert ammonia into urea and retain this urea, such that their plasma is isosmotic or slightly hyperosmotic to the surrounding seawater. To facilitate the regulation of body fluid and to maintain ionic concentrations and osmotic pressure, Dogfish use ion and solute transporters (e.g., NCC, UT-1) and aquaporin water channel proteins. Studies have identified some of the aquaporin genes in the elasmobranch genome, but their functions are mostly uncharacterized. Recent transcriptomic …

School Of Biological Sciences News, 2020-2021, School Of Biological Sciences

School of Biological Sciences News

Alumni newsletter of Illinois State University's School of Biological Sciences.

Quantification Of Aqp11 Paralog Expression In The Osmoregulatory Organs Of Anguilla Rostrata, Keith C. Kurt

College of Graduate Studies: Theses & Dissertations

Osmoregulation is facilitated by using an assortment of ion and water channels to assist acclimation to changing conditions and to maintain cellular homeostasis. Euryhaline fish can be found in both seawater and freshwater (SW and FW) environments. Expression of ion and water channels have been experimentally demonstrated to change as a fish acclimates to different environmental conditions. Relatively recently, a new group of water channels has been discovered that are primarily intracellular and includes aquaporin 11 (AQP11). Typically, AQPs are located on the cell plasma membrane to allow water to flow in and out of the cell by osmosis to …

Experimental Evidence That The Non-Native European Fire Ant Alters Invertebrate Communities, Madeson C. Goodman

Biology Theses

Successful non-native species can reduce native species richness through both direct and indirect competition. Many invasive ants, such as the European fire ant (Myrmica rubra), are particularly successful invaders due to their ability to form multi-nest, multi-queen “supercolonies” that appear to displace native ant and non-ant invertebrate fauna in invaded regions. Myrmica rubra has invaded the Northeastern United States, including Tifft Nature Preserve in Western New York, but its seemingly negative impacts on local invertebrate communities have only been assessed using correlative studies, making it difficult to determine whether these ants directly displace native ants and invertebrates or …

Early Limb Patterning In The Direct‐Developing Salamander Plethodon Cinereus Revealed By Sox9 And Col2a1, Ryan R. Kerney, James Hanken, David C. Blackburn

Biology Faculty Publications

Direct‐developing amphibians form limbs during early embryonic stages, as opposed to the later, often postembryonic limb formation of metamorphosing species. Limb patterning is dramatically altered in direct‐developing frogs, but little attention has been given to direct‐developing salamanders. We use expression patterns of two genes, sox9and col2a1, to assess skeletal patterning during embryonic limb development in the direct‐developing salamander Plethodon cinereus. Limb patterning in P. cinereus partially resembles that described in other urodele species, with early formation of digit II and a generally anterior‐to‐posterior formation of preaxial digits. Unlike other salamanders described to date, differentiation of preaxial zeugopodial …

Killi-Data News, Tyrone Genade

Killifish Research Review

We have started a new project to aid killifish research and have made some progress towards creating an interactive website to which hobbyists and scientist can contribute data.

The Effects Of Nutrient Limitation On Toxin Production For The Harmful Algal Bloom Species, Pseudo-Nitzschia, In The Gulf Of Maine, Julia M. Park

Honors Theses

Pseudo-nitzschia is a pennate marine diatom that produces the neurotoxin domoic acid (DA). Domoic acid accumulates in the digestive tract of filter feeders and becomes concentrated at higher trophic levels. When DA concentrations reach critical levels, consumption of toxic shellfish can induce a condition known as Amnesic Shellfish Poisoning (ASP), which has been responsible for the deaths of marine mammals, seabirds and humans. This study worked to respond to a toxic Pseudo-nitzschia bloom in the Gulf of Maine during the fall of 2016, with the goal of quantifying and identifying Pseudo-nitzschia spp. in the bloom region and to determine the …

Terricolous Spiders (Araneae) Of Insecticide-Treated Spruce-Fir Forests In West-Central Maine, Daniel J. Hilburn, Daniel T. Jennings

The Great Lakes Entomologist

Spiders of 12 families, 42 genera, and at least 62 species were captured in linear-pitfall traps placed in insecticide-treated (Sevin-4-Oil®, Dipel 4L ®, Thuricide 16B®) and untreated spruce-fIr forests of west-central Maine. Species richness per family ranged from 1 (Theridiidae, Araneidae, Salticidae) to 19 (Erigonidae). Most trapped species were web-spinners (67.2%); most trapped individuals were hunters (75.2%). Lycosidae accounted for 66.1 % of all (n = 887) captured spiders. Total trapped spiders varied among insecticide treatments, sampling dates, and study sites. However, comparison of mean prespray and postspray trap catches indicated no significant reduction (ANOVA, ANCOVA, P 0.05) in terricolous …

Big Data: Computational Biology Opens A New Window On The World's Challenges For Colby Scientists, Kate Carlisle

Colby Magazine

"What makes us 'us' and not a plant? Not a bacteria, or a virus," asks Andrea Tilden, the J. Warren Merrill Associate Professor of Biology and a genomics expert. "Any one genome has six thousand novels worth of information. Computational biology is the tool we use to read them."

United States Records Of Williamsonia Fletcheri (Odonata: Corduliidae), G. H. Beatty, A. F. Beatty

The Great Lakes Entomologist

Excerpt: Foley (1966) reported specimens of Williamsonia fletcheri Williamson from rand Traverse County, Michigan as the first record of the species from the lower peninsula and "the second for the United States." However. two other records for the United States were overlooked and this was actually the fourth

A Pictoral Key And Annotated List Of Michigan Pseudoscorpions (Arachnida: Pseudoscorpionida), Gary V. Manley

The Great Lakes Entomologist

Excerpt: Berlese or Tullgren funnel methods of extraction of forest litter fauna often produce minute arthropods called pseudoscorpions. These are relatively common but have received little attention. Because of the author's involvement with the Michigan State University soil zoology research project the potential significance of these animals has become a matter of interest. The Pictorial Key (Figs. 1 and 2) has been designed to assist in the identification of Michigan pseudoscorpions, and will be a useful starting point for further study of our species. Because pseudoscorpions are predaceous on many soil arthropods (Hoff, 1949), they are important in soil arthropod …

Annotation Of The Nuclear Receptors In An Estuarine Fish Species, Fundulus Heteroclitus, William S. Baldwin

Publications

The nuclear receptors (NRs) are ligand-dependent transcription factors that respond to various internal as well as external cues such as nutrients, pheromones, and steroid hormones that play crucial roles in regulation and maintenance of homeostasis and orchestrating the physiological and stress responses of an organism. We annotated the Fundulus heteroclitus (mummichog; Atlantic killifish) nuclear receptors. Mummichog are a non-migratory, estuarine fish with a limited home range often used in environmental research as a field model for studying ecological and evolutionary responses to variable environmental conditions such as salinity, oxygen, temperature, pH, and toxic compounds because of their hardiness. F. heteroclitus …

Dna Barcoding Reveals A New Morphotype Of The Sugar Kelp, Saccharina Latissima, Dallin Brimley, Zakery Ford, Travis Gould, Brandon Guerra, Emily Haggett, Ian Jones, Elyse Johnson, Ken Peterson, Matthew Prout

Thinking Matters Symposium Archive

Phytoplankton blooms follow predictable annual cycles in the Gulf of Maine, characterized by a large spring bloom and a smaller bloom in the fall. Marine phytoplankton form the foundation of primary production in Gulf of Maine waters, and thus community changes in composition, and abundance could have cascading effects on our coastal ecosystems.

We set out to monitor the community composition, diversity, and abundance of the spring micro-phytoplankton bloom, at a Friends of Casco Bay water quality monitoring site, in South Portland, Maine. The Gulf of Maine is experiencing accelerated warming rates, and this type of monitoring can aid in …

The Maine Chance: Private-Public Partnership And The Katahdin Woods And Waters National Monument, Char Miller

Pomona Faculty Publications and Research

The claim of a federal “land grab” in response to the creation of Katahdin Woods and Waters National Monument in Maine revealed a lack of historical awareness by critics of how two other cherished parks were established there: through private-public partnerships and the donation of land by private citizens.

The Landscape Of Extreme Genomic Variation In The Highly Adaptable Atlantic Killifish, Noah M. Reid, Craig E. Jackson, Don Gilbert, Patrick Minx, Michael J. Montague, Thomas H. Hampton, Lily W. Helfrich, Benjamin L. King, Diane E. Nacci, Neel Aluru

Dartmouth Scholarship

Understanding and predicting the fate of populations in changing environments require knowledge about the mechanisms that support phenotypic plasticity and the adaptive value and evolutionary fate of genetic variation within populations. Atlantic killifish (Fundulus heteroclitus) exhibit extensive phenotypic plasticity that supports large population sizes in highly fluctuating estuarine environments. Populations have also evolved diverse local adaptations. To yield insights into the genomic variation that supports their adaptability, we sequenced a reference genome and 48 additional whole genomes from a wild population. Evolution of genes associated with cell cycle regulation and apoptosis is accelerated along the killifish lineage, which …

A Comparative Study Of The Flora And Soils Of Great Duck And Little Duck Islands, Maine, Usa, Luka Negoita, Matthew Dickinson, Glen H. Mittlehauser, N. Rajakaruna

Biological Sciences

Strong environmental gradients and varied land-use practices have generated a mosaic of habitats harboring distinct plant communities on islands on the coast of Maine. Botanical studies of Maine’s islands, however, are generally limited in number and scope. Baseline studies of Maine’s islands are necessary for assessing vegetation dynamics and changes in habitat conditions in relation to environmental impacts imposed by climate change, rising sea levels, invasive species, pests and pathogens, introduced herbivores, and human disturbance. We conducted a survey of the vascular plants and soils of forest, field, and ocean-side communities of Great Duck and Little Duck Islands, ME. These …

A Comparative Study Of The Flora And Soils Of Great Duck And Little Duck Islands, Maine, Usa, Luka Negoita, Matthew Dickinson, Glen Mittelhauser, Nishanta Rajakaruna

Faculty Publications, Biological Sciences

Strong environmental gradients and varied land-use practices have generated a mosaic of habitats harboring distinct plant communities on islands on the coast of Maine. Botanical studies of Maine's islands, however, are generally limited in number and scope. Baseline studies of Maine's islands are necessary for assessing vegetation dynamics and changes in habitat conditions in relation to environmental impacts imposed by climate change, rising sea levels, invasive species, pests and pathogens, introduced herbivores, and human disturbance. We conducted a survey of the vascular plants and soils of forest, field, and ocean-side communities of Great Duck and Little Duck Islands, ME. These …

The Interrelationships Of Placental Mammals And The Limits Of Phylogenetic Inference, James E. Tarver, Mario Dos Reis, Siavash Mirarab, Raymond J. J. Moran, Sean Parker, Joseph E. O'Reilly, Benjamin L. King, Mary J. O'Connell, Robert J. Asher, Tandy Warnow, Kevin J. Peterson, Philip C.J. Donoghue, Davide Pisani

Dartmouth Scholarship

Placental mammals comprise three principal clades: Afrotheria (e.g., elephants and tenrecs), Xenarthra (e.g., armadillos and sloths), and Boreoeutheria (all other placental mammals), the relationships among which are the subject of controversy and a touchstone for debate on the limits of phylogenetic inference. Previous analyses have found support for all three hypotheses, leading some to conclude that this phylogenetic problem might be impossible to resolve due to the compounded effects of incomplete lineage sorting (ILS) and a rapid radiation. Here we show, using a genome scale nucleotide data set, microRNAs, and the reanalysis of the three largest previously published amino acid …

World-Class Research: Biomedical Science Beyond Experimentation

Colby Magazine

Faculty and relationships with Maine’s big-three research labs propel Colby’s opportunities in biomedical science

Could childhood nutrition set late-life brain function?

Hitting the lab running

Ahmad wins grant for study of neurodegenerative disease

E Pluribus Unum: What Individual Whales Can Tell Us About Enigmatic Species Distribution And Social Organization, Tanya Marie Lubansky

Dissertations

Large whales have historically been difficult to study and many aspects of their ecology remain unknown especially at the long -term population level. The ability to identify individual whales based on natural markings provides the opportunity to track individuals over time and space; this data may offer more insight into the ecology of whales than previously imagined. This study demonstrates use of photo-identification data to model both social structure and habitat selection, minimizing the need for invasive research and greatly increasing the sample size used in such endeavors. A conditional logistic model is written for a 20-year sightings dataset on …

The Zooplankton Composition Of Lake Ladik (Samsun, Turkey), Meral Apaydin Yağci, Savaş Yilmaz, Okan Yazicioğlu, Nazmi̇ Polat

Turkish Journal of Zoology

The zooplankton composition of Lake Ladik, located in Samsun Province in northern Turkey, was investigated monthly between November 2009 and October 2010. Some physicochemical parameters such as temperature of surface water, pH, dissolved oxygen, salinity, conductivity, and total dissolved solids were also evaluated. A total of 29 zooplankton species were identified. These species were represented by three main groups: Rotifera (59%), Cladocera (24%), and Copepoda (17%). The maximum and minimum numbers of species were found in July and October, respectively. Bosmina longirostris, Keratella quadrata, Asplanchna priodonta, Cyclops abyssorum, Polyarthra dolichoptera, Brachionus calyciflorus, Keratella cochlearis, Brachionus angularis, and Chydorus sphaericus were …

The Lineage-Specific Evolution Of Aquaporin Gene Clusters Facilitated Tetrapod Terrestrial Adaptation, Roderick Nigel Finn, François Chauvigné, Jón Baldur Hlidberg, Christopher P. Cutler, Joan Cerdà

Biology: Faculty Publications

A major physiological barrier for aquatic organisms adapting to terrestrial life is dessication in the aerial environment. This barrier was nevertheless overcome by the Devonian ancestors of extant Tetrapoda, but the origin of specific molecular mechanisms that solved this water problem remains largely unknown. Here we show that an ancient aquaporin gene cluster evolved specifically in the sarcopterygian lineage, and subsequently diverged into paralogous forms of AQP2, -5, or -6 to mediate water conservation in extant Tetrapoda. To determine the origin of these apomorphic genomic traits, we combined aquaporin sequencing from jawless and jawed vertebrates with broad taxon assembly of …

Molecular Characterization Of Hemoglobin Protein In Larvae Of 4th Instar Chironomidae For Evaluating Environmental Quality, Jun Taek Oh

Seton Hall University Dissertations and Theses (ETDs)

Studying environmental quality is a challenging task. It is a complicated exercise since the environment is constantly influenced by numerous variables such as climate change, anthropogenic activities, and unexpected natural disasters. Traditionally, exposure to chemical pollutants depended on chemical and physical analysis of environmental media. Unfortunately, this approach has not taken into consideration bioavailability of the chemical(s) of interest to exposed organisms and/or modification of the chemical (bioactivation/detoxification) by the organism. Benthic macroinvertebrates (BMIs) have been chosen as bioindicators for numerous environmental biomonitoring programs geared towards the assessment of aquatic ecosystems. Biomonitoring requires a more subtle measure – a biomarker …