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Functional Analysis Of Grapevine Sts7 And Sts22 Promoters, Lianhua Lianhua Xu Jul 2016

Functional Analysis Of Grapevine Sts7 And Sts22 Promoters, Lianhua Lianhua Xu

Graduate Theses/Dissertations

Stilbenic compounds are a group of phytoalexins that are produced by a limited number of plant species including grapevine to defend against diseases. Stilbene synthase (STS) is the key enzyme that catalyzes the biosynthesis of stilbenic compounds. Previous results indicated a significant increase in the abundance of transcripts of STS7 and STS22 genes in powdery mildew-infected Cabernet Sauvignon leaves. I isolated the promoter sequences of STS7 and STS22 from grapevine Vitis aestivalis "Norton"(Va) and Vitis vinifera "Cabernet Sauvignon"(Vv) and studied their activities in transgenic plants. The results showed high activity of VaSTS7 and VaSTS22 promoters in transgenic plant leaves at …

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Distribution Of Genomic Variation In The Usda Soybean Germplasm Collection And Relationship With Phenotypic Variation, Nonoy Batiller Bandillo Jul 2016

Distribution Of Genomic Variation In The Usda Soybean Germplasm Collection And Relationship With Phenotypic Variation, Nonoy Batiller Bandillo

Department of Agronomy and Horticulture: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

The USDA Soybean Germplasm Collection harbors a large stock of genetic diversity with potential to accelerate soybean cultivar development. The extent and nature of favorable alleles contained in the collection are not well known nor is the distribution of genetic variation and how it relates to phenotypic variation. The genotyping of the entire USDA Soybean Germplasm Collection marked the beginning of a systematic exploration of genetic diversity for genetic research and breeding. In this research, we conducted the first comprehensive analysis of population structure on the collection of ~14,400 soybean accessions [Glycine max (L.) Merr. and G. soja Siebold …

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Endless Symbioses Most Intricate, W. John Hayden Jul 2016

Endless Symbioses Most Intricate, W. John Hayden

Biology Faculty Publications

Orchids, such as our Wildflower of the Year for 2016, Downy Rattlesnake Plantain (Goodyera pubescens) (Fig. 1), exemplify the interconnectedness of life on Earth. As would be the case for many kinds of plants, pollination comes readily to mind as a prominent example of mutualistic symbiosis. Downy Rattlesnake Plantain is pollinated by bumblebees and other native bees. The bees gain nectar and the orchid gets an efficient means to move pollen from one flower to another; each organism gains benefit from the interaction, the very definition of mutualism. Pollination by bees is widespread among the orchids, but there …

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Lof1 And Interacting Transcription Factors In Plant Development And Crop Yield, Zoe Yeoh, Elizabeth Luscher, Patricia Springer Jul 2016

Lof1 And Interacting Transcription Factors In Plant Development And Crop Yield, Zoe Yeoh, Elizabeth Luscher, Patricia Springer

Student Publications

Transcription factors (TFs) help ensure proper gene expression in developing tissues, and thus play a role in plant development and plant architecture. LATERAL ORGAN FUSION1, or LOF1, is a TF expressed in the organ boundaries of Arabidopsis thaliana. lof1 mutants have fused axillary branches and cauline leaves, which indicates importance in boundary development. Because transcription factors are known to act in complexes, we wanted to discover what other proteins interact with LOF1. We executed a yeast-2-hybrid (Y2H) screen that identified several TFs as potential interactors: WHIRLY 3 (WHY3), MYB DOMAIN PROTEIN32 (MYB32), HOMEOBOX-LEUCINE ZIPPER PROTEIN4 (HB4), and LIGHT RESPONSE BTB2 …

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An Indirect Defence Trait Mediated Through Egg-Induced Maize Volatiles From Neighbouring Plants, Daniel M. Mutyambai, Toby J.A. Bruce, Johnnie Van Den Berg, Charles A.O. Midega, John A. Pickett, Zeyaur R. Khan Jul 2016

An Indirect Defence Trait Mediated Through Egg-Induced Maize Volatiles From Neighbouring Plants, Daniel M. Mutyambai, Toby J.A. Bruce, Johnnie Van Den Berg, Charles A.O. Midega, John A. Pickett, Zeyaur R. Khan

All Peer-Reviewed Publications

Attack of plants by herbivorous arthropods may result in considerable changes to the plant's chemical phenotype with respect to emission of herbivore-induced plant volatiles (HIPVs). These HIPVs have been shown to act as repellents to the attacking insects as well as attractants for the insects antagonistic to these herbivores. Plants can also respond to HIPV signals from other plants that warn them of impending attack. Recent investigations have shown that certain maize varieties are able to emit volatiles following stemborer egg deposition. These volatiles attract the herbivore's parasitoids and directly deter further oviposition. However, it was not known whether these …

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From Milpas To The Market: A Study On The Use Of Metal Silos For Safer And Better Storage Of Guatemalan Maize, José Rodrigo Mendoza Jul 2016

From Milpas To The Market: A Study On The Use Of Metal Silos For Safer And Better Storage Of Guatemalan Maize, José Rodrigo Mendoza

Department of Food Science and Technology: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

This project aimed to implement the use of metal silos to improve quality and safety of maize consumed by inhabitants of the highlands of Guatemala. This manuscript includes a literature review of the maize production chain in Guatemala, a survey about agricultural practices used in the region of study, as well as a characterization of the analyzed maize regarding its mycoflora, nutritional composition, and insect infestation. To better understand the current situation regarding agricultural practices and maize consumption, a survey was carried out. Sample consisted of 280 families representing 14 rural communities distributed in the townships of Todos Santos and …

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The Salicylic Acid-Mediated Release Of Plant Volatiles Affects The Host Choice Of Bemisia Tabaci, Xiaobin Shi, Gong Chen, Lixia Tian, Zhengke Peng, Wen Xie, Qingjun Wu, Shaoli Wang, Xuguo Zhou, Youjun Zhang Jun 2016

The Salicylic Acid-Mediated Release Of Plant Volatiles Affects The Host Choice Of Bemisia Tabaci, Xiaobin Shi, Gong Chen, Lixia Tian, Zhengke Peng, Wen Xie, Qingjun Wu, Shaoli Wang, Xuguo Zhou, Youjun Zhang

Entomology Faculty Publications

The whitefly Bemisia tabaci (Gennadius) (Hemiptera: Aleyrodidae) causes serious crop losses worldwide by transmitting viruses. We have previously shown that salicylic acid (SA)-related plant defenses directly affect whiteflies. In this study, we applied exogenous SA to tomato plants in order to investigate the interaction between SA-induced plant volatiles and nonviruliferous B. tabaci B and Q or B- and Q-carrying tomato yellow leaf curl virus (TYLCV). The results showed that exogenous SA caused plants to repel nonviruliferous whiteflies, but the effect was reduced when the SA concentration was low and when the whiteflies were viruliferous. Exogenous SA increased the number and …

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Rna-Seq Based Analysis Of Population Structure Within The Maize Inbred B73, Zhikai Liang, James C. Schnable Jun 2016

Rna-Seq Based Analysis Of Population Structure Within The Maize Inbred B73, Zhikai Liang, James C. Schnable

Center for Plant Science Innovation: Faculty Publications

Recent reports have shown than many identically named genetic lines used in research around the world actually contain large amounts of uncharacterized genetic variation as a result of cross contamination of stocks, unintentional crossing, residual heterozygosity within original stocks, or de novo mutation. 27 public, large scale, RNA-seq datasets from 20 independent research groups around the world were used to assess variation within the maize (Zea mays ssp. mays) inbred B73, a four decade old variety which served as the reference genotype for the original maize genome sequencing project and is widely used in genetic, genomic, and phenotypic research. Several …

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Discovering Potential Protein, Carbohydrate, And Lipid Based Food Ingredients In A Co-Culture Of Microalgae, Chelsea Tyus Jun 2016

Discovering Potential Protein, Carbohydrate, And Lipid Based Food Ingredients In A Co-Culture Of Microalgae, Chelsea Tyus

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Louisiana Native Co-Culture of Microalgae (Chlorella Vulgaris L. and Cyanobacteria Leptolyngbya sp.) (CCA) was studied. CCA is a viable coculture for further investigation as a food component. This research characterized the proteins, carbohydrates, and lipids present in CCA. Algae cultivation parameters were controlled and analyzed. Treatment (Trt) 1 was CCA grown in cultures exposed to average scalar irradiance (ASI) of 1041 ± 269.18 μmol m-2 s-1 PAR and trt 2 was CCA grown in cultures exposed to ASI of 430 ± 96.03 μmol m-2 s-1 PAR. The trt (irradiance exposure) had the desired response on CCA species ratio Trt …

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Antiviral Rna Silencing Suppression Activity Of Tomato Spotted Wilt Virus Nss Protein, Tania Ocampo Ocampo, Sergio M. Gabriel Peralta, Nicole Bacheller, Stella Uiterwaal, Aaron Knapp, Alanna Hennen, Daniel Leobardo Ochoa-Martínez, Hernan Garcia-Ruiz Jun 2016

Antiviral Rna Silencing Suppression Activity Of Tomato Spotted Wilt Virus Nss Protein, Tania Ocampo Ocampo, Sergio M. Gabriel Peralta, Nicole Bacheller, Stella Uiterwaal, Aaron Knapp, Alanna Hennen, Daniel Leobardo Ochoa-Martínez, Hernan Garcia-Ruiz

Department of Plant Pathology: Faculty Publications

In addition to regulating gene expression, RNA silencing is an essential antiviral defense system in plants. Triggered by double-stranded RNA, silencing results in degradation or translational repression of target transcripts. Viruses are inducers and targets of RNA silencing. To condition susceptibility, most plant viruses encode silencing suppressors that interfere with this process, such as the Tomato spotted wilt virus (TSWV) NSs protein. The mechanism by which NSs suppresses RNA silencing and its role in viral infection and movement remain to be determined. We cloned NSs from the Hawaii isolate of TSWV and using two independent assays show for the first …

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Description Of Mesocriconema Ericaceum N. Sp. (Nematoda: Criconematidae) And Notes On Other Nematode Species Discovered In An Ericaceous Heath Bald Community In Great Smoky Mountains National Park, Usa, Thomas O. Powers, Peter Mullin, Rebecca Higgins, Timothy Harris, Kirsten S. Powers Jun 2016

Description Of Mesocriconema Ericaceum N. Sp. (Nematoda: Criconematidae) And Notes On Other Nematode Species Discovered In An Ericaceous Heath Bald Community In Great Smoky Mountains National Park, Usa, Thomas O. Powers, Peter Mullin, Rebecca Higgins, Timothy Harris, Kirsten S. Powers

Department of Plant Pathology: Faculty Publications

A new species of Mesocriconema and a unique assemblage of plant-parasitic nematodes was discovered in a heath bald atop Brushy Mountain in Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Mesocriconema ericaceum n. sp., a species with males, superficially resembles M. xenoplax. DNA barcoding with the mitochondrial COI gene provided evidence of the new species as a distinct lineage. SEM revealed significant variability in arrangement of labial submedian lobes, plates, and anterior and posterior annuli. Three other nematodes in the family Criconematidae were characterized from the heath bald. Ogma seymouri, when analyzed by statistical parsimony, established connections with isolates from north-eastern Atlantic …

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Per Axel Rydberg’S Botanical Collecting Trips To Western Nebraska In 1890 And 1891, Robert B. Kaul, David M. Sutherland Jun 2016

Per Axel Rydberg’S Botanical Collecting Trips To Western Nebraska In 1890 And 1891, Robert B. Kaul, David M. Sutherland

Zea E-Books Collection

In the summer of 1891, Per Axel Rydberg and his assistant, Julius Hjalmar Flodman, collected plants in western Nebraska for the United States Department of Agriculture. They collected many first-records for Nebraska as well as some that became type specimens of Rydberg’s and other botanists’ names. In the following autumn and winter, Rydberg made a detailed, typewritten, carbon copied 35-page Report and 37-page List of specimens from that trip; one carbon copy is in the Bessey Herbarium (NEB) at the University of Nebraska–Lincoln. It is these documents that we present here, extensively annotated with our geographic clarifications, original and updated …

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Exploration Of Chemical And Biological Management Strategies For Diaphorina Citri The Primary Vector Of Candidatus Liberibacter Asiaticus, Gretta Marie Sharp Jun 2016

Exploration Of Chemical And Biological Management Strategies For Diaphorina Citri The Primary Vector Of Candidatus Liberibacter Asiaticus, Gretta Marie Sharp

Biology Theses

Diaphorina citri (Hemipteran: Psyllidae), the Asian citrus psyllid, is a phloem-feeding, invasive species endemic to southern Asia that was first identified in the United States in Florida in 1998. Since introduction, D. citri has spread across the major citrus growing regions of the United States. This is of great concern to the citrus industry because D. citri is the primary vector of Candidatus Liberibacter asiaticus the causal agent of Haunglongbing (HLB). Haunglongbing is the most economically devastating disease of citrus causing an estimated 8.92 billion dollars lost in revenue and 4.62 billion dollars lost in gross domestic product between 2006-2007 …

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Herbicide Resistantsorghum Mutants, Ismail M. Dweikat Jun 2016

Herbicide Resistantsorghum Mutants, Ismail M. Dweikat

Department of Agronomy and Horticulture: Faculty Publications

This disclosure provides for four different sorghum mutants that exhibit resistance to ALS-inhibiting herbicides. This dis closure also provides for methods of using such Sorghum mutants that exhibit resistance to ALS-inhibiting herbicides in breeding methods to make Sorghum hybrids, varieties, or lines. The Sorghum hybrids, varieties, and lines provided in this disclosure can be used in methods of controlling weeds.

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Expression Of A Constitutively Active Nitrate Reductase Variant In Tobacco Reduces Tobacco-Specific Nitrosamine Accumulation In Cured Leaves And Cigarette Smoke, Jianli Lu, Leichen Zhang, Ramsey S. Lewis, Lucien Bovet, Simon Goepfert, Anne M. Jack, James D. Crutchfield, Huihua Ji, Ralph E. Dewey Jun 2016

Expression Of A Constitutively Active Nitrate Reductase Variant In Tobacco Reduces Tobacco-Specific Nitrosamine Accumulation In Cured Leaves And Cigarette Smoke, Jianli Lu, Leichen Zhang, Ramsey S. Lewis, Lucien Bovet, Simon Goepfert, Anne M. Jack, James D. Crutchfield, Huihua Ji, Ralph E. Dewey

Kentucky Tobacco Research and Development Center Faculty Publications

Burley tobaccos (Nicotiana tabacum) display a nitrogen-use-deficiency phenotype that is associated with the accumulation of high levels of nitrate within the leaf, a trait correlated with production of a class of compounds referred to as tobacco-specific nitrosamines (TSNAs). Two TSNA species, 4-(methylnitrosamino)-1-(3-pyridyl)-1-butanone (NNK) and N-nitrosonornicotine (NNN), have been shown to be strong carcinogens in numerous animal studies. We investigated the potential of molecular genetic strategies to lower nitrate levels in burley tobaccos by overexpressing genes encoding key enzymes of the nitrogen-assimilation pathway. Of the various constructs tested, only the expression of a constitutively active nitrate reductase (NR) …

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Mapping Morels: Predicting The Locations Of Morchella Species Through Environmental Factors Using The Gis System, Emily M. Stanevicius Jun 2016

Mapping Morels: Predicting The Locations Of Morchella Species Through Environmental Factors Using The Gis System, Emily M. Stanevicius

Celebration of Learning

Morel mushrooms, Morechella esculenta and M. deliciosa, are known delicacies across the globe, ranging from exquisite dishes in French cuisine to Eastern palates such as Japanese Matsutake. According to literature, true morels diverged as their own genus about 129 million years, again which has led to the development of more than 177 species and have been part of the human diet since their beginning. However, the elusiveness of morels has contributed to the mushrooms infamy for rarity, and has even been known to sell for more than $40 per pound. This project seeks to aid in the search for morels …

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The Effects Of Two Levels Of Salinity On Wisconsin Fast Plants, Megan M. Janssen, Emily Geison, Tiffany Bertoni, Matthew Zimmerman Jun 2016

The Effects Of Two Levels Of Salinity On Wisconsin Fast Plants, Megan M. Janssen, Emily Geison, Tiffany Bertoni, Matthew Zimmerman

Celebration of Learning

Wisconsin Fast Plant (Brassica rapa, Brassicaceae) seeds were planted in three, six-celled planting containers filled with potting soil and put beneath a continuous grow-lux light. One week after sprouting, one container (E1) was put into a separate tray filled with 0.5% NaCl solution, another container (E2) was put into a separate tray filled with 1.0% NaCl solution, and the third container was left in regular tap water. At seven-day intervals thereafter, the height of all plants was recorded, and the numbers of leaves and flowers were recorded. By week four of recording data, the average height (mm) of the control …

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Effect Of Different Miracle-Gro Concentrations On The Growth Of Wisconsin Fast Plants, Eric D. Shershen, Nicholas M. Orslini, David Channon, Marvin Agyeben Jun 2016

Effect Of Different Miracle-Gro Concentrations On The Growth Of Wisconsin Fast Plants, Eric D. Shershen, Nicholas M. Orslini, David Channon, Marvin Agyeben

Celebration of Learning

The Wisconsin Fast Plant, Brassica rapa (Brassicaceae) seeds were planted in three, six-celled containers and were filled with standard potting soil under continuous grow-lux lighting. After the first week of plant growth, E1and E2 were placed in a separate trays and given 1.0 and 1.5x the recommended amount of Miracle-Gro formula, respectively. The control was left in tap water and all were kept in 1 cm of solution. Every seven days the plants’ heights were recorded, and the total number of flowers were counted. By the fourth week, the average height of the control plants was 105.7 mm, of the …

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Responses Of Corn Physiology And Yield To Six Agricultural Practices Over Three Years In Middle Tennessee, Chih-Li Yu, Dafeng Hui, Qi Deng, Junming Wang, K. Chandra Reddy, Sam Dennis Jun 2016

Responses Of Corn Physiology And Yield To Six Agricultural Practices Over Three Years In Middle Tennessee, Chih-Li Yu, Dafeng Hui, Qi Deng, Junming Wang, K. Chandra Reddy, Sam Dennis

Agricultural and Environmental Sciences Faculty Research

Different agricultural practices may have substantial impacts on crop physiology and yield. However, it is still not entirely clear how multiple agricultural practices such as tillage, biochar and different nutrient applications could influence corn physiology and yield. We conducted a three-year field experiment to study the responses of corn physiology, yield and soil respiration to six different agricultural practices. The six treatments included conventional tillage (CT) or no tillage (NT), in combination with nitrogen type (URAN or chicken litter) and application method, biochar, or denitrification inhibitor. A randomized complete block design was applied with six replications. Leaf photosynthetic rate, transpiration, …

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A 2-Cys Peroxiredoxin In Response To Oxidative Stress In The Pine Wood Nematode, Bursaphelenchus Xylophilus, Zhen Li, Qingwen Zhang, Xuguo Zhou Jun 2016

A 2-Cys Peroxiredoxin In Response To Oxidative Stress In The Pine Wood Nematode, Bursaphelenchus Xylophilus, Zhen Li, Qingwen Zhang, Xuguo Zhou

Entomology Faculty Publications

The pine wood nematode, Bursaphelenchus xylophilus, is the causal agent of pine wilt disease that has devastated pine forests in Asia. Parasitic nematodes are known to have evolved antioxidant stress responses that defend against host plant defenses. In this study, the infestation of whitebark pine, Pinus bungean, with B. xylophilus led to a significant increase in plant hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) and salicylic acid levels. Correspondingly, the expression of an antioxidative enzyme, 2-Cysteine peroxiredoxin (BxPrx), was elevated in B. xylophilus following the H2O2 treatments. Recombinant BxPrx, a thermal stabile and pH tolerant …

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Long-Term Sandhills Prairie Responses To Precipitation, Temperature, And Cattle Stocking Rate, John A. Guretzky, Cheryl Dunn, Heidi L. Hillhouse Jun 2016

Long-Term Sandhills Prairie Responses To Precipitation, Temperature, And Cattle Stocking Rate, John A. Guretzky, Cheryl Dunn, Heidi L. Hillhouse

Department of Agronomy and Horticulture: Faculty Publications

Understanding of Sandhills prairie, the most expansive sand dune region stabilized by perennial grasses in the Western Hemisphere, is limited by lack of long-term vegetation data. We used a 26-year dataset to evaluate Sandhills prairie responses to yearto- year variation in precipitation, temperature, and cattle stocking rate. Basal cover, a measurement that is constant seasonally and used to detect long-term changes in bunchgrass vegetation, was measured in 38–40 permanent plots positioned along four transects spanning 769 ha from 1979 to 2007. Across this period, total basal cover averaged 2.4 % and was dominated by warm-season grasses (81.1 %). Schizachyrium scoparium …

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Physiological And Molecular Characterisation Of Lucerne (Medicago Sativa L.) Germplasm With Improved Seedling Freezing Tolerance, M. Rokebul Anowar, Anne Fennell, Arvid Boe, Ivan W. Mott, Michael D. Peel, Yajun Wu Jun 2016

Physiological And Molecular Characterisation Of Lucerne (Medicago Sativa L.) Germplasm With Improved Seedling Freezing Tolerance, M. Rokebul Anowar, Anne Fennell, Arvid Boe, Ivan W. Mott, Michael D. Peel, Yajun Wu

Agronomy, Horticulture and Plant Science Faculty Publications

We conducted greenhouse experiments to compare 14 lucerne (alfalfa, Medicago sativa L.) germplasms for their survival following freezing. Some are collections adapted to the Grand River National Grasslands in South Dakota. We hypothesised that these collections might have developed a tolerance to survive the frigid growth conditions common there. Two of these collections, River side (RS) and Foster ranch (FR), showed greater freezing tolerance than the other germplasms tested, based on their consistent survival rates with or without cold acclimation. In multiple freezing studies, RS and FR had average survival rates of 74% and 79%, respectively, in contrast to the …

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Enhancing Digestibility And Ethanol Yield Of Populus Wood Via Expression Of An Engineered Monolignol 4-O-Methyltransferase, Yuanheng Cai, Kewei Zhang, Hoon Kim, Guichuan Hou, Xuebin Zhang, Huijun Yang, Huan Feng, Lisa Miller, John Ralph, Chang-Jun Liu Jun 2016

Enhancing Digestibility And Ethanol Yield Of Populus Wood Via Expression Of An Engineered Monolignol 4-O-Methyltransferase, Yuanheng Cai, Kewei Zhang, Hoon Kim, Guichuan Hou, Xuebin Zhang, Huijun Yang, Huan Feng, Lisa Miller, John Ralph, Chang-Jun Liu

Department of Earth and Environmental Studies Faculty Scholarship and Creative Works

Producing cellulosic biofuels and bio-based chemicals from woody biomass is impeded by the presence of lignin polymer in the plant cell wall. Manipulating the monolignol biosynthetic pathway offers a promising approach to improved processability, but often impairs plant growth and development. Here, we show that expressing an engineered 4-O-methyltransferase that chemically modifies the phenolic moiety of lignin monomeric precursors, thus preventing their incorporation into the lignin polymer, substantially alters hybrid aspens’ lignin content and structure. Woody biomass derived from the transgenic aspens shows a 62% increase in the release of simple sugars and up to a 49% increase in the …

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Book Reviews: A Chorus Of Cranes: The Cranes Of North America And The World. Paul A. Johnsgard (With Photographs By Thomas D. Mangelsen, And Drawings And Maps By Paul A. Johnsgard)., John G. Sidle Jun 2016

Book Reviews: A Chorus Of Cranes: The Cranes Of North America And The World. Paul A. Johnsgard (With Photographs By Thomas D. Mangelsen, And Drawings And Maps By Paul A. Johnsgard)., John G. Sidle

The Prairie Naturalist

Once again, naturalist and author Paul A. Johnsgard invites us to dance and chorus with cranes, and to appreciate their beauty and links to another species, Homo sapiens. A Chorus of Cranes is about natural history but also is a plea for conservation, which is a common foreword, prologue, preface, and/or epilogue of many wildlife books. It is vintage Paul Johnsgard text from preface to epilogue, words that emerge after a long wade through countless papers and reports, and a prolonged career of observation and reflection in the field. He has beckoned us before to cherish cranes and the natural …

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Resource Selection By Black-Backed Woodpeckers (Picoides Arcticus) And American Three-Toed Woodpeckers (P. Dorsalis) In South Dakota And Wyoming, Sean R. Mohren, Mark A. Rumble, Chadwick P. Lehman, Stanley H. Anderson Jun 2016

Resource Selection By Black-Backed Woodpeckers (Picoides Arcticus) And American Three-Toed Woodpeckers (P. Dorsalis) In South Dakota And Wyoming, Sean R. Mohren, Mark A. Rumble, Chadwick P. Lehman, Stanley H. Anderson

The Prairie Naturalist

Black-backed woodpeckers (Picoides arcticus, [BBWO]) and American three-toed woodpeckers (P. dorsalis, [ATTW]) are uncommon inhabitants of conifer forests and are sympatric in some areas, including the Black Hills. Both species exhibit genetic characteristics associated with isolated populations, are species of special management concern, and for which data are lacking concerning populations and habitats. We developed resource selection models of forest vegetation within 500 m radius plots (78.5 ha) for BBWOs and ATTWs to provide forest managers with stand-level information to estimate how forest management might affect habitat for these species in the Black Hills. Relative probability of selection by BBWOs …

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Missing The Point, Christopher N. Jacques Jun 2016

Missing The Point, Christopher N. Jacques

The Prairie Naturalist

Greetings GPNSS members! I hope summer finds you well and enjoying the Great Plains in some way, whether that be getting your hands dirty with field work, a reprieve from the office, anxiously awaiting the crappie bite at your favorite lake, or taking a much needed vacation. For those who enjoy cooler temperatures, summer heat and humidity are challenging and even the most seasoned field biologists among us are tested when fighting the conditions doing what we are passionate about. I personally prefer the fall and winter seasons, though also look forward to summer because it offers me a break …

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The Science Of Open Spaces: Theory And Practice For Conserving Large, Complex Systems. Charles G. Curtin., Michelle L. Hellman, Caleb P. Roberts, Hannah Birge, Zachary Warren, Craig R. Allen Jun 2016

The Science Of Open Spaces: Theory And Practice For Conserving Large, Complex Systems. Charles G. Curtin., Michelle L. Hellman, Caleb P. Roberts, Hannah Birge, Zachary Warren, Craig R. Allen

The Prairie Naturalist

The phrase “open spaces,” may bring to mind expansive tracts of prairie, rangeland, or even desert, stretching lonely and unchanged to the horizon. Open spaces also could conjure open oceans or interstitial rural lands between urbanized hubs, dotted with farms, fields, and woodlands. In an abstract sense, open spaces could represent gaps in human understanding or blank spaces on a map. In his book The Science of Open Spaces, landscape ecologist Charles Curtin combines all these perspectives, expanding the definition of “open spaces” to multi-layered and multi-scaled complex systems that are “greater than the sum of their parts.” He populates …

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Book Review: Better Birding: Tips, Tools, And Concepts For The Field. George L. Armistead And Brian L. Sullivan., Stephen J. Dinsmore Jun 2016

Book Review: Better Birding: Tips, Tools, And Concepts For The Field. George L. Armistead And Brian L. Sullivan., Stephen J. Dinsmore

The Prairie Naturalist

George Armistead and Brian Sullivan have written a book whose aim is to provide birders with a solid foundation upon which to develop better birding skills. They advocate a more holistic approach to bird identification than simply looking at a set of predetermined field marks. To that end, their approach combines traditional field identification approaches with behavioral and habitat cues, as well as natural history, to broaden bird identification skills. This is not the first book to make a case for looking at bird identification more broadly, although their specific approach seems unique. The authors offer constructive criticism of “traditional” …

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Mink Predation Of Brown Trout In A Black Hills Stream, Jake Davis, Jerry W. Wilhite, Steven R. Chipps Jun 2016

Mink Predation Of Brown Trout In A Black Hills Stream, Jake Davis, Jerry W. Wilhite, Steven R. Chipps

The Prairie Naturalist

In the early 2000’s, declines in the brown trout (Salmo trutta) fishery in Rapid Creek, South Dakota, caused concern for anglers and fisheries managers. We conducted a radio telemetry study in 2010 and 2011 to identify predation mortality associated with mink, using hatchery-reared (2010) or wild (2011) brown trout. Estimated predation rates by mink (Mustela vison) on radio-tagged brown trout were 30% for hatchery fish and 32% for wild fish. Size frequency analysis revealed that the size distribution of brown trout lost to predation was similar to that of other, radio-tagged brown trout. In both years, a higher proportion of …

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Genes Encoding Flower- And Root-Specific Functions Are More Resistant To Fractionation Than Globally Expressed Genes In Brassica Rapa, Naiyerah F. Kolkailah Jun 2016

Genes Encoding Flower- And Root-Specific Functions Are More Resistant To Fractionation Than Globally Expressed Genes In Brassica Rapa, Naiyerah F. Kolkailah

Master's Theses

Like many angiosperms, Brassica rapa underwent several rounds of whole genome duplication during its evolutionary history. Brassica rapa is particularly valuable for studying genome evolution because it also experienced whole genome triplication shortly after it diverged from the common ancestor it shares with Arabidopsis thaliana about 17-20 million years ago. While many B. rapa genes appear resistant to paralog retention, close to 50% of B. rapa genes have retained multiple, paralogous loci for millions of years and appear to be multi-copy tolerant. Based on previous studies, gene function may contribute to the selective pressure driving certain genes back to singleton …

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