Digital Commons Network^™

Patterns Of Movement And Orientation During Caching And Recovery By Clark’S Nutcrackers, Nucifraga Columbiana, Alan Kamil, Russell P. Balda, Sally Good

Avian Cognition Papers

Clark’s nutcrackers regularly store large numbers of pine seeds and remember the locations of the cached seeds. Although they are very accurate, they do make some errors during recovery. In an attempt to determine whether any behaviours during caching predicted the occurrence of errors during recovery, we videotaped Clark’s nutcrackers while they cached and recovered seeds under laboratory conditions. We used the videotapes to develop complete, quantitative descriptions of caching and recovery behaviour, with an emphasis on body orientation and directions of movement. During caching, the birds showed the greatest change in their orientation and direction following cache creation. During …

Searching Image In Blue Jays: Facilitation And Interference In Sequential Priming, Alan B. Bond, Alan C. Kamil

Papers in Behavior in Biological Sciences

Repeated exposure to a single target type (sequential priming) during visual search for multiple cryptic targets commonly improves performance on subsequent presentations of that target. It appears to be an attentional phenomenon, a component of the searching image effect. It has been argued, however, that if searching image is an attentional process, sequential priming should also interfere with performance on subsequent nonprimed targets, and such interference has never been unequivocally demonstrated. In blue jays (Cyanocitta cristata) searching in an operant apparatus for targets derived from images of cryptic moths, detection performance was strongly facilitated in the course of …

How Do They, Indeed? A Reply To Biegler Et Al., Alan Kamil, Juli E. Jones

Avian Cognition Papers

We trained Clark’s nutcrackers, Nucifraga columbiana, to search halfway between two landmarks while varying the distance between the landmarks (Kamil & Jones 1997). We found that the birds learned the problem readily and generalized to novel interlandmark distances within the range of distances used during training. Unlike some other studies in which responses to proportional distance were obtained (e.g. O’Keefe & Burgess 1996; Tommasi et al. 1997), the nutcrackers showed very precise search and maintained this precision during the transfer test. The distributions of digging locations around the central position were concentrated within ±1–2 cm of the central location …

A Method For Estimating Marine Habitat Values Based On Fish Guilds, With Comparisons Between Sites In The Southern California Bight, Alan B. Bond, John S. Stephens, Jr., Daniel J. Pondella, Ii, M. James Allen, Mark Helvey

Papers in Behavior in Biological Sciences

Habitat valuation is an essential tool for tracking changes in habitat quality and in adjudicating environmental mitigation. All current methods for estimating habitat values of coastal marine sites rely heavily on the opinion of experts or on data variables that can readily be manipulated to influence the outcome. As a result, unbiased, quantitative comparisons between the values of different marine habitats are generally unavailable. We report here on a robust, objective technique for the valuation of marine habitats that makes use of data that are commonly gathered in surveys of marine fish populations: density, fidelity, and mean size. To insure …

Early And Late Endosomal Compartments Of Entamoeba Histolytica Are Enriched In Cysteine Proteases, Acid Phosphatase And Several Ras-Related Rab Gtpases, Lesly A. Temesvari, Ed Harris, Samuel L. Stanley Jr., James Cardelli

Department of Biochemistry: Faculty Publications

Pure populations of early and late endosomes of Entamoeba histolytica were isolated by magnetic fractionation and characterized. It was shown that these vesicles were enriched in acid phosphatase and cysteine protease activities. An important virulence factor, a 27-kDa cysteine protease, was also enriched in early and late endosomes of E. histolytica. These data suggest that E. histolytica hydrolases reside in compartments that are part of or communicate with the endosomal pathway. To begin to identify the role of Rab GTPases in E. histolytica, an oligonucleotide approach was employed to screen an E. histolytica cDNA library for genes encoding …

Studying Stress In Ecological Systems: Implications For Ecological Risk Assessment And Risk Management, Valery E. Forbes

Valery Forbes Publications

In many of the world’s habitats abiotic stress is a key force controlling the distribution and abundance of species. As a result of human activities, the role of abiotic stress appears to be increasing in many areas in the form of habitat alteration or destruction, chemical contamination, and large-scale climatic shifts. An important scientific goal, therefore, is to develop approaches for assessing and predicting damage to ecological systems arising from abiotic stress. Moreover, determining how interactions between human-caused stresses and natural environmental stresses impact biological systems is an active area of research. This Invited Feature highlights some of the main …

Effects Of 4-N-Nonylphenol On Life-History Traits And Population Dynamics Of A Polychaete, Flemming T. Hansen, Valery E. Forbes, Thomas L. Forbes

Valery Forbes Publications

A Life-Table-Response Experiment lasting 78 d was performed to investigate the toxic effects of sediment-associated 4-n-nonylphenol (NP) on growth, reproduction, and survivorship of isolated hermaphrodites of the infaunal polychaete Capitella sp. I. Demographic effects were evaluated using both a fully age-classified and a simple twostage model to estimate population growth rates (λ). Decomposition analysis was performed to explore the contributions of each of the affected life-history traits to the effects observed on l. Elasticity analysis was applied to examine the relative sensitivity of λ to changes in each of the different life-history traits under different exposure levels.

In the lowest …

Grassland Vegetation Changes And Nocturnal Global Warming, Richard D. Alward, James K. Detling, Daniel G. Milchunas

School of Biological Sciences: Faculty Publications

Global minimum temperatures (T_MIN) are increasing faster than maximum temperatures, but the ecological consequences of this are largely unexplored. Long-term data sets from the shortgrass steppe were used to identify correlations between T_MIN and several vegetation variables. This ecosystem is potentially sensitive to increases in T_MIN. Most notably, increased spring T_MIN was correlated with decreased net primary production by the dominant C₄ grass (Bouteloua gracilis) and with increased abundance and production by exotic and native C₃ forbs. Reductions in B. gracilis may make this system more vulnerable to invasion by …

Relationships Between Body Composition, Body Size And Alternative Reproductive Tactics In A Lekking Sandpiper, The Ruff (Philomachus Pugnax), Gwendolyn C. Bachman, F. Widemo

School of Biological Sciences: Faculty Publications

1. The Ruff is a lekking sandpiper in which males have two genetically determined alternative mating strategies: ‘satellite’ or ‘independent’. Satellite males are non-territorial, following groups of females on and off leks. Independent males attempt to establish territories on leks and can be either ‘resident’ territory holders, or non-territorial ‘marginals.’ The time budgets of the three behavioral tactics (resident, marginal and satellite) differ notably in time allocated to foraging, aggression and display activity. These differences have led to the suggestion that the benefits of size and energy stores may vary with mating tactic.

2. In this paper in vivo estimates …

Comparison Of Common Cytotypes Of Andropogon Gerardii (Andropogoneae, Poaceae), Kathleen H. Keeler, Geoffrey A. Davis

School of Biological Sciences: Faculty Publications

Many plant species contain populations with more than one polyploid cytotype, but little is known of the mechanisms maintaining several cytotypes in a population. Andropogon gerardii cytotypes were compared to evaluate different models of autopolyploid cytotype coexistence. The enneaploid (90 chromosome, 9x) cytotype was found to be larger and taller than the hexaploid (60 chromosome, 6x) cytotype. Seed production is significantly more efficient in hexaploids, but seed production per area was not significantly different. The two cytotypes are not exomorphologically separable in the field because of great plasticity in response to environmental variation and wide variation …

Coordinate Transcriptional Control In The Hyperthermophilic Archaeon Sulfolobus Solfataricus, Cynthia Haseltine, Rafael Montalvo-Rodriguez, Elisabetta Bini, Audrey Carl, Paul H. Blum

School of Biological Sciences: Faculty Publications

The existence of a global gene regulatory system in the hyperthermophilic archaeon Sulfolobus solfataricus is

described. The system is responsive to carbon source quality and acts at the level of transcription to coordinate

synthesis of three physically unlinked glycosyl hydrolases implicated in carbohydrate utilization. The specific

activities of three enzymes, an a-glucosidase (malA), a b-glycosidase (lacS), and an a-amylase, were reduced

4-, 20-, and 10-fold, respectively, in response to the addition of supplementary carbon sources to a minimal

sucrose medium. Western blot analysis using anti-a-glucosidase and anti-b-glycosidase antibodies indicated

that reduced enzyme activities resulted exclusively from …

Bacterial Growth State Distinguished By Single-Cell Protein Profiling: Does Chlorination Kill Coliforms In Municipal Effluent?, David Rockabrand, Teresa Austin, Robyn Kaiser, Paul H. Blum

School of Biological Sciences: Faculty Publications

Municipal effluent is the largest reservoir of human enteric bacteria. Its public health significance, however,

depends upon the physiological status of the wastewater bacterial community. A novel immunofluorescence

assay was developed and used to examine the bacterial growth state during wastewater disinfection. Quantitative

levels of three highly conserved cytosolic proteins (DnaK, Dps, and Fis) were determined by using

enterobacterium-specific antibody fluorochrome-coupled probes. Enterobacterial Fis homologs were abundant

in growing cells and nearly undetectable in stationary-phase cells. In contrast, enterobacterial Dps homologs

were abundant in stationary-phase cells but virtually undetectable in growing cells. The range of variation in

the abundance of …

Female Responses To Isolated Signals From Multimodal Male Courtship Displays In The Wolf Spider Genus Schizocosa (Araneae: Lycosidae), Eileen Hebets, George W. Uetz

Eileen Hebets Publications

Male wolf spiders within the genus Schizocosa display considerable variation in foreleg ornamentation as well as in courtship communication. Multiple modes of male signaling have evolved in a number of species. Divergence in courtship signals among species within this genus may be directly associated with variation in the sensory sensitivities of conspecific females. We isolated the visual and vibratory courtship cues of four species of Schizocosa and recorded conspecific female receptivity to each isolated cue. We also examined female receptivity to complete multimodal courtship signals. We found that the sensory sensitivities of conspecific females were associated with the predominant modes …

Plant Hybrid Zones And Insect Host Range Expansion, Diana Pilson

Diana Pilson Publications

The hybrid bridge hypothesis suggests that plant hybrids ‘‘bridge’’ the genetic gap between actual and potential host species, and that, for this reason, herbivorous insects are more likely to evolve an expanded host range in the presence of hybrids. While intuitively appealing, the hypothesis has two implicit assumptions: that phenotypic gaps between potential hosts limit host range, and that characters controlling host use are additively inherited in plant hybrids. Evaluation of these assumptions suggests that operation of the hybrid bridge hypothesis is relatively uncommon. In addition, the hypothesis has not been well integrated into existing theoretical and empirical work on …

Cynopterus Sphinx, Jay F. Storz, Thomas H. Kunz

Jay F. Storz Publications

Order Chiroptera, Family Pteropodidae, Subfamily Pteropodinae, Tribe Cynopterini, Subtribe Cynopterina, Genus Cynopterus. Five species are recognized: C. brachyotis, C. horsfieldi, C. nusatenggara, C. sphinx, and C. titthaecheileus (Koopman, 1993). A key to the species is given in Lekagul and McNeely (1977).

Chlorella Virus Pbcv-1 Encodes A Functional Homospermidine Synthase, Annette Kaiser, Michael Vollmert, Dorothea Tholl, Michael V. Graves, James Gurnon, Weimei Xing, Amber D. Lisec, Kenneth Nickerson, James L. Van Etten

Kenneth Nickerson Papers

Sequence analysis of the 330-kb genome of chlorella virus Paramecium bursaria chlorella virus 1 (PBCV-1) revealed an open reading frame, A237R, that encodes a protein with 34% amino acid identity to homospermidine synthase from Rhodopseudomonas viridis. Expression of the a237r gene product in Escherichia coli established that the recombinant enzyme catalyzes the NAD⁺-dependent formation of homospermidine from two molecules of putrescine. The a237r gene is expressed late in PBCV-1 infection. Both uninfected and PBCV-1-infected chlorella, as well as PBCV-1 virions, contain homospermidine, along with the more common polyamines putrescine, spermidine, and cadaverine. The total number of polyamine …

Sociality And Social Learning In Two Species Of Corvids: The Pinyon Jay (Gymnorhinus Cyanocephalus) And The Clark’S Nutcracker (Nucifraga Columbiana), Jennifer J. Templeton, Alan Kamil, Russell P. Balda

Papers in Behavior in Biological Sciences

The hypothesis that social learning is an adaptive specialization for social living predicts that social species should learn better socially than they do individually, but that nonsocial species should not exhibit a similar enhancement of performance under social learning conditions. The authors compared individual and social learning abilities in 2 corvid species: the highly social pinyon jay (Gymnorhinus cyanocephalus) and the less social Clark’s nutcracker (Nucifraga columbiana). The birds were tested on 2 different tasks under individual and social learning conditions. Half learned a motor task individually and a discrimination task socially; the other half learned …

Evolutionary Relationships Among The Protostrongylidae (Nematoda: Metastrongyloidea) As Inferred From Morphological Characters, With Consideration Of Parasite-Host Coevolution, Ramon A. Carreno, Eric P. Hoberg

Harold W. Manter Laboratory of Parasitology: Faculty Publications

The phylogeny of nematodes in the family Protostrongylidae (Nematoda: Metastrongyloidea) was reconstructed by cladistic analysis of 28 binary and multistate characters derived from comparative morphology. Analyses were hierarchical, and examined (1) relationships among genera, including 13 ingroup taxa and Metastrongylidae as an outgroup (single tree, 78 steps, consistency index [CI]=0.705); and (2) relationships among genera and species groups including 21 ingroup taxa and Metastrongylus apri as an outgroup (single tree, 76 steps, CI=0.582). In the species-level tree, Protostrongylidae was divided into 2 major clades, one containing the subfamilies Muelleriinae (including the recently described Umingmakstrongylus pallikuukensis) Elaphostrongylinae, and the Varestrongylinae …

Three New Species Of Nothacrobeles (Nemata: Cephalobidae) From The Mojave Desert, California, I. T. De Ley, P. De Ley, J. G. Baldwin, M. Mundo-Ocampo, Steven A. Nadler

Harold W. Manter Laboratory of Parasitology: Faculty Publications

Three new species of Nothacrobeles are described from localities in the Mojave Desert, southern California. Nothacrobeles triniglarus n. sp. is characterized by the presence of a long post-vulval sac and three tubular adoral projections. Both N. spatulatus n. sp. and N. nanocorpus n. sp. are smaller than any other known species within the genus. Nothacrobeles spatulatus n. sp. has labial probolae that are short and spatulate without a basal ridge, whereas those of N. nanocorpus n. sp. are flattened and plate-like. Furthermore, N. nanocorpus n. sp. is unique by its extremely short esophageal corpus (less than 25 μm long in …

Experimental Infections Of Muskoxen (Ovibos Moschatus) And Domestic Sheep With Umingmakstrongylus Pallikuukensis (Nematoda: Protostrongylidae): Parasite Development, Population Structure, And Pathology, Susan J. Kutz, Eric P. Hoberg, Lydden Polley

Harold W. Manter Laboratory of Parasitology: Faculty Publications

Three captive muskoxen (Ovibos moschatus) were successfully infected with third-stage larvae of Umingmakstrongylus pallikuukensis digested or emerged from the slugs Deroceras reticulatum and D. laeve, for the first time completing the life cycle of this parasite under experimental conditions. The course of parasite development and patency was followed for 26 months post infection (p.i.) using fecal examinations and radiography. The prepatent periods in two of the muskoxen were 91 and 95 days and the patent period in one extended for 23 months. Larval production peaked 13–14 months p.i. On postmortem of two of the muskoxen at months …

Acanthocephala Of Cichlids (Pisces) In Lake Malawi, Africa, With A Description Of Acanthogyrus (Acanthosentis} Malawiensis Sp. N. (Quadrigyridae) From Labeo Cylindricus Peters, 1852 (Cyprinidae), Omar M. Amin, Sherman S. Hendrix

Harold W. Manter Laboratory of Parasitology: Faculty Publications

Two species of acanthocephalans are reported from fishes collected during the summer of 1996 in the southeast arm of Lake Malawi (Lake Nyasa), East Africa. The common Acanthogyrus (Acanthosentis) tilapiae (Baylis, 1948) had infected 18 cichlid and 1 bagrid host species (all new host records) netted by divers wearing scuba gear around Harbor Island or caught by hook and line in deep water. The specimens of this parasite were some of the smallest ever reported for that species. Two males of a new species, Acanthogyrus (Acanthosentis) malawiensis, are described from 2 male Labeo cylindricus (Cyprinidae). This is the fifth …

Despite Increases, Women And Minorities Still Underrepresented In Undergraduate And Graduate S&E Education, Kristen M. Olson

Department of Sociology: Faculty Publications

Participation of women and minorities1 in science and engineering (S&E) higher education continues to rise, but this involvement is not yet equivalent to their representation in the U.S. population of 18- to 30-year-olds. In 1995, women were 50 percent of U.S. residents between the ages of 18 and 30; blacks were 14 percent; Hispanics, 13 percent; and American Indians, 0.8 percent. 2 However, in the same year, 46 percent of S&E bachelor’s degrees were earned by women, 7 percent by blacks, 6 percent by Hispanics, and 0.6 percent to American Indians. The proportions of S&E doctorates earned by these groups …

Capillary Electrophoresis/Tandem Mass Spectrometry With Array Detection, L.J. Deterding, K.B. Tomer, J.M.Y. Wellemans, Ronald Cerny, M.L. Gross

Ronald Cerny Publications

Mixtures of standard compounds of biological interest were analyzed by capillary electrophoresis in conjunction with tandem four sector mass spectrometry (MS/MS) using an array detector. Capillary electrophoresis offers extremely high separation efficiencies while array detection allows for the simultaneous acquisition of a large fraction of a tandem mass spectrum and high utilization of the sample ions produced. Consequently, improvements in sensitivity and structural information were observed for the combined techniques in comparison to similar measurements with a four-sector and a single-point detector. Coaxial continuous-flow fast atom bombardment was used to create (M + H) precursor ions of the separated analyses …

Affinity Chromatography: A Review Of Clinical Applications, David S. Hage

David Hage Publications

Affinity chromatography is a type of liquid chromatography that makes use of biological-like interactions for the separation and specific analysis of sample components. This review describes the basic principles of affinity chromatography and examines its use in the testing of clinical samples, with an emphasis on HPLCbased methods. Some traditional applications of this approach include the use of boronate, lectin, protein A or protein G, and immunoaffinity supports for the direct quantification of solutes. Newer techniques that use antibody-based columns for on- or off-line sample extraction are examined in detail, as are methods that use affinity chromatography in combination with …

Scienceworks: A University-Based Science Outreach Group, Rochelle Payne Ondracek, Diandra Leslie-Pelecky

Diandra Leslie-Pelecky Publications

ScienceWorks is a science and engineering outreach group at the University of Nebraska- Lincoln, comprised of faculty, graduate students, undergraduates and community volunteers. We are brought together by one goal - to make science fun and accessible for everyone. ScienceWorks has developed over 30 modules that emphasize a range of scientific and engineering topics and guide the participants in discovery-based learning. Modules cover a wide variety of topics, including pressure, materials, electromagnetism, archaeology, DNA, optics and fracture. Most ScienceWorks modules involve hands-on activities. In Electromagnetism for example, students are asked to use a length of wire and a nail to …

Ontogenetic Shifts In Canion Attractiveness To Brown Tree Snakes (Boiga Irregularis), John A. Shivik, Larry Clark

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

The brown tree snake (Boiga irregularis) is a nocturnal, primarily arboreal, rear-fanged colubrid native to parts of Australasia (Savidge, 1987; Greene, 1989). Throughout their range, brown tree snakes eat a variety of prey including lizards, rats, and birds (Greene, 1989; Shine, 1991; Rodda, 1992; Rodda et al., in press). Brown tree snakes on Guam have a wide diet consisting mainly of lizards and lizard eggs, but a variety of other items were found in snake stomachs, including odd items such as cooked spareribs (Savidge, 1988). Savidge (1988) noted an ontogenetic shift in Guam brown tree snake diets; small …

Trapping Considerations For The Fossorial Pocket Gopher, Gary W. Witmer, Rex Marsh, George Matschke

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Fossorial mammals such as the pocket gopher (Thomomys spp.) are well adapted to life in an underground closed burrow system. These animals can have considerable influence on ecosystems and can cause significant damage to agricultural crops, forest resources, and field machinery. The research and management of pocket gopher populations poses many challenges to land managers and research biologists. Both live-trapping for research purposes and kill trapping for control purposes are important tools for working with pocket gophers. Trapping can be an effective and efficient tool if the proper traps are used and trappers are trained to place traps properly …

Effective Of Preventive Coyote Hunting On Sheep Losses To Coyote Predation, Kimberly Wagner, Michael Conover

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Aerial hunting is commonly used by agriculture agencies in the Intermountain West to reduce coyote (Canis latrans) predation on domestic sheep. We assessed the effect of aerial hunting of coyotes on sheep losses to coyotes, and the need for corrective predation management (hours of work, device nights) on the same pastures when sheep arrived for the subsequent summer grazing season (3-6 months after aerial hunting). Comparisons were made between paired pastures with (treated) and without (untreated) winter aerial hunting from helicopters. Average (x ± SE) pasture size was 45.2 ± 14.1 km² (n = 21) for treated …

Potential Associations Among Genetic Markers In The Serotonergic System And The Antisocial Alcoholism Subtype, E. M. Hill, S. F. Stoltenberg, M. Burmeister, M. Closser, R. A. Zucker

Department of Psychology: Faculty Publications

Alcoholism is transmitted in families. The complexity and heterogeneity of this disorder has made it difficult to identify specific genetic correlates. One design with the potential to do so is the family-based association study, in which the frequencies of genetic polymorphisms are compared between affected and nonaffected members. Reduced central serotonin neurotransmission is associated with features of an antisocial subtype of alcoholism, although a primary deficit has not been traced to a particular component. Genetic markers related to the serotonergic system have been identified, located, and cloned. If associations can be discovered, the development process for pharmacotherapy could be facilitated. …

A Memorial For William V. Sliter, Robert G. Douglas, Jere H. Lipps, James C. Ingle Jr., John Barron

United States Geological Survey: Staff Publications

William V. (Bill) Sliter, an internationally known micropaleontologist and research geologist for the U.S. Geological Survey, passed away suddenly, October, 1997, while talking to a colleague in his office. In his honor, B. Huber, T. Bralower, and M. Leckie organized a keynote symposium ‘‘Paleoecological and Geochemical Signatures of Cretaceous Anoxic Events’’ at the 1998 annual meeting of the Geological Society of America in Toronto, Canada. This theme issue of the Journal of Foraminiferal Research contains the published papers from the symposium and is dedicated to his memory.