Digital Commons Network^™

Population Genetic Structure Of A Coral Reef Ecosystem Apex Predator, The Gray Reef Shark (Carcharhinus Amblyrhynchos), Rebekah L. Horn, William Robbins, Douglas Mccauley, Philip Lobel, Mahmood S. Shivji

Marine & Environmental Sciences Faculty Proceedings, Presentations, Speeches, Lectures

Sharks play a major functional role as apex predators in coral reef ecosystems, raising concerns that their ongoing overexploitation will compromise the integrity and sustainability of reefs. The gray reef shark (Carcharhinus amblyrhynchos) is a strongly coral reef associated species whose populations are known to have declined substantially in some regions. There is no information on population structure in this species to aid in their management and conservation. We are assessing genetic structure in this species by using entire mitochondrial control region sequences and 15 nuclear microsatellite loci as markers. 93 gray reef shark samples were obtained from …

The Classic, Summer 2008, Public Relations

The Classic, 2000-2009

Zwemer View: Significant Place; In Box; One-of-a-Kind Minister; Research Fellowship; Space to Study Place; New Administrative Roles; Following a Trend; Mission Mentors; Top Teacher; A Job Well Done; Distinguished Service; Honored Historian; A Summer of Service; Award-Winning Marketing; Hunger Hero; Dorm Deliberations; Of Course: Headstones 'n' Headcounts; Faculty Research; Red Zone; Face Value: Denise Sneller; Decades of Service; Award-winning student supporters Patti Thayer and Dick Van Holland retire; Minding Place: Northwestern cancels classes, closes offices and opens its doors for the college's first Day of Learning in Community; Plains Talk: An interview with Kathleen Norris; Solstice; 1000 Words: Orientation; Summer …

Ultrastructural And Histological Analysis Of Dark Spot Syndrome In Siderastrea Siderea And Agaricia Agaricites, Dorothy-Ellen A. Renegar, Patricia Blackwelder, J. D. Miller, D. J. Gochfeld, Alison L. Moulding

Marine & Environmental Sciences Faculty Proceedings, Presentations, Speeches, Lectures

Dark Spot Syndrome (DSS) typically manifests in scleractinian corals as lesions of varying color, size, shape and location that can result in skeletal changes and tissue death. A causative agent for DSS has not yet been identified. The objective of this study was histological and ultrastructural comparison of the cellular and skeletal characteristics of DSS-affected and healthy Siderastrea siderea and Agaricia agaricites. The greater resolution possible with transmission electron microscopy (TEM) revealed microbial activity and tissue changes not resolvable utilizing histology. DSS-affected tissue had less integrity, with increasing cellular degradation and vacuolization. A high concentration of electron dense inclusions, …

Recovery Of Injured Giant Barrel Sponges, Xestospongia Muta, Offshore Southeast Florida, David S. Gilliam, Brian K. Walker, S. J. Saelens, Daniel P. Fahy, Vladimir N. Kosmynin

Marine & Environmental Sciences Faculty Proceedings, Presentations, Speeches, Lectures

Giant barrel sponges, Xestospongia muta, are abundant and important components of the southeast Florida reef system, and are frequently injured from anthropogenic and natural disturbances. There is limited information on the capacity of X. muta to recover from injury and on methods to reattach X. muta fragments. In late 2002, hundreds of barrel sponges offshore southeast Florida (Broward County) were accidentally injured during an authorized dredging operation. In early 2003, two to three months post-injury, 93% of 656 assessed injured sponges appeared to be recovering. In 2006, three years post-injury, nearly 90% of 114 monitored sponges continued to show …

Protecting Migration Corridors: Challenges And Optimism For Mongolian Saiga, Joel Berger, Julie K. Young, Kim Murray Berger

Biological Sciences Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Effects Of Native Species Diversity And Resource Additions On Invader Impact, John L. Maron, Marilyn Marler

Biological Sciences Faculty Publications

Theory and empirical work have demonstrated that diverse communities can inhibit invasion. Yet, it is unclear how diversity influences invader impact, how impact varies among exotics, and what the relative importance of diversity is versus extrinsic factors that themselves can influence invasion. To address these issues, we established plant assemblages that varied in native species and functional richness and crossed this gradient in diversity with resource (water) addition. Identical assemblages were either uninvaded or invaded with one of three exotic forbs: spotted knapweed (Centaurea maculosa), dalmatian toadflax (Linaria dalmatica), or sulfur cinquefoil (Potentilla recta). To determine impacts, we measured the …

Is The Effect Of Forest Structure On Bird Diversity Modified By Forest Productivity?, Jacob P. Verschuyl, Andrew J. Hansen, David B. Mcwethy, Rex Sallabanks, Richard L. Hutto

Biological Sciences Faculty Publications

Currently, the most common strategy when managing forests for biodiversity at the landscape scale is to maintain structural complexity within stands and provide a variety of seral stages across landscapes. Advances in ecological theory reveal that biodiversity at continental scales is strongly influenced by available energy (i.e., climate factors relating to heat and light and primary productivity). This paper explores how available energy and forest structural complexity may interact to drive biodiversity at a regional scale.

We hypothesized that bird species richness exhibits a hump-shaped relationship with energy at the regional scale of the northwestern United States. As a result, …

Increased Clusterin Expression In Fuchs’ Endothelial Dystrophy, Ula V. Jurkunas, Maya Bitar, Ian Rawe, Deshea L. Harris, Kathryn Colby, Nancy C. Joyce

Ophthalmology

Purpose: To compare the relative expression of peroxiredoxin (Prx) proteins in normal human corneal endothelium with endothelium in corneas affected by Fuchs’ endothelial dystrophy (FED) and between normal human endothelium and epithelial/stromal tissue.

Methods: Human corneal endothelial cell-Descemet’s membrane (HCEC-DM) complexes from normal and FED corneal buttons were dissected from the epithelium/stroma. For proteomic analysis, HCEC-DM protein extracts were separated by using two-dimensional gel electrophoresis. Relative differences in protein spot density was analyzed. Proteins of interest, including Prx isoforms, were identified by MALDI-TOF (matrix-assisted desorption ionization-time of flight) mass spectrometry. Western blot analysis compared the relative expression of Prx isoforms …

Insider Vol. 9 No. 3 Summer 2008, College Of Arts & Sciences

College of Arts and Sciences news

A Publication for Friends of the College of Arts and Sciences

Probing The Functional Tolerance Of The B Subunit Of Escherichia Coli Atp Synthase For Sequence Manipulation Through A Chimera Approach., Yumin Bi, Joel C Watts, Pamela Krauss Bamford, Lee-Ann K Briere, Stanley D Dunn

Biochemistry Publications

A dimer of 156-residue b subunits forms the peripheral stator stalk of eubacterial ATP synthase. Dimerization is mediated by a sequence with an unusual 11-residue (hendecad) repeat pattern, implying a right-handed coiled coil structure. We investigated the potential for producing functional chimeras in the b subunit of Escherichia coli ATP synthase by replacing parts of its sequence with corresponding regions of the b subunits from other eubacteria, sequences from other polypeptides having similar hendecad patterns, and sequences forming left-handed coiled coils. Replacement of positions 55-110 with corresponding sequences from Bacillus subtilis and Thermotoga maritima b subunits resulted in fully functional …

Incidence And Timing Of Low Dissolved Oxygen Events In The Squamscott River: 2005-07, Stephen H. Jones

PREP Reports & Publications

The Squamscott River has had extended episodes of low dissolved oxygen (DO) that have been recorded at a site near its mouth during the past few years. These episodes were recorded as a result of temporally intensive monitoring by a datasonde deployed through most of each year. Whereas low DO events can occur during April-November, events during the colder months are typically less frequent and are often caused by unusual natural or severe weather conditions. Low DO events occur most frequently during July-September when elevated levels of nutrients are most likely to contribute to their cause, and are thus of …

African Genetic Diversity: Implications For Human Demographic History, Modern Human Origins, And Complex Disease Mapping, Michael Campbell, Sarah Tishkoff

Department of Biology Faculty Publications

Comparative studies of ethnically diverse human populations, particularly in Africa, are important for reconstructing human evolutionary history and for understanding the genetic basis of phenotypic adaptation and complex disease. African populations are characterized by greater levels of genetic diversity, extensive population substructure, and less linkage disequilibrium (LD) among loci compared to non-African populations. Africans also possess a number of genetic adaptations that have evolved in response to diverse climates and diets, as well as exposure to infectious disease. This review summarizes patterns and the evolutionary origins of genetic diversity present in African populations, as well as their implications for the …

Unm Pathology Pathfinder Summer 2008, Unm Department Of Pathology

Newsletters

No abstract provided.

Migratory Bird Hunting Activity And Harvest During The 2006 And 2007 Hunting Seasons: Preliminary Estimates, Kenneth D. Richkus, Khristi Wilkins, Robert V. Raftovich, Sheri S. Williams, Howard L. Spriggs

United States Fish and Wildlife Service: Publications

Table of Contents

Abstract ..........................................................................................1

Introduction .......................................................................................1

Design and Methods.........................................................2
Survey Results......................................................................................3
Acknowledgements ..................................................................................................5
References ..........................................................................6
Waterfowl harvest estimates Species, state, flyway ...............................8
Special seasons........................................................................29
Canada harvest .........................................................................33
Long-term trend graphs............................................35
Waterfowl age and sex ratios ...........................................................37
Long-term trend graphs....................................................................49
Dove and pigeon estimates..................................................................53
Woodcock estimates........................................................................55
Snipe, coot, gallinule, and rail estimates. .................................................56
Species-specific rail estimates....................................................................62

Climate Models: An Assessment Of Strengths And Limitations, David Bader, Curt Covey, William Gutowski, Isaac Held, Kenneth Kunkel, Ronald Miller, Robin Tokmakian, Minghua Zhang

United States Department of Energy: Publications

Scientists extensively use mathematical models of Earth’s climate, executed on the most powerful computers available, to examine hypotheses about past and present-day climates. Development of climate models is fully consistent with approaches being taken in many other fields of science dealing with very complex systems. These climate simulations provide a framework within which enhanced understanding of climate-relevant processes, along with improved observations, are merged into coherent projections of future climate change. This report describes the models and their ability to simulate current climate.
The science of climate modeling has matured through finer spatial resolution, the inclusion of a greater number …

Integrated Science Assessment For Oxides Of Nitrogen — Health Criteria, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency

United States Environmental Protection Agency: Publications

National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) are promulgated by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to meet requirements set forth in Sections 108 and 109 of the Clean Air Act (CAA). These sections require the EPA Administrator (1) to list widespread air pollutants that reasonably may be expected to endanger public health or welfare; (2) to issue air quality criteria that assess the latest available scientific information on the nature and effects of ambient exposure to the criteria pollutants; (3) to set “primary” NAAQS to protect human health with adequate margin of safety and to set “secondary” NAAQS to protect …

Diel Variation In Beaked Whale Diving Behavior, Robin Baird, Daniel Webster, Gregory Schorr, Daniel Mcsweeney, Jay Barlow

United States Department of Commerce: Staff Publications

We investigate diel variation in beaked whale diving behavior using data from time–depth recorders deployed on six Blainville’s (Mesoplodon densirostris) (255 h) and two Cuvier’s (Ziphius cavirostris) (34 h) beaked whales. Deep foraging dives (>800 m) occurred at similar rates during the day and night for Blainville’s beaked whales, and there were no significant diel differences in ascent rates, descent rates, or mean or maximum depths or durations for deep dives. Dive to mid-water depths (100–600 m) occurred significantly more often during the day (mean = 1.59 h−1) than at night (mean = 0.26 h−1). …

False Killer Whales (Pseudorca Crassidens) Around The Main Hawaiian Islands: Long-Term Site Fidelity, Inter-Island Movements, And Association Patterns, Robin Baird, Antoinette Gorgone, Daniel Mcsweeney, Daniel Webster, Dan Salden, Mark Deakos, Allan Ligon, Gregory Schorr, Jay Barlow, Sabre Mahaffy

United States Department of Commerce: Staff Publications

Despite their world-wide distribution throughout the tropics and subtropics, false killer whales (Pseudorca crassidens) are one of the lesser-known large odontocetes. Genetic evidence indicates a demographically isolated population around the main Hawaiian Islands. We examine site fidelity, movements and association patterns in this population using data from directed surveys and opportunistic photographs from 1986 to 2007. This species was only infrequently encountered, and while found in depths from 38 to 4,331 m, sighting rates were greatest in depths>3,000 m. We photo-identified 152 distinctive individuals. Resighting rates were high, with an average of 76.8% of distinctive individuals within …

Center For Grassland Studies Newsletter, Summer 2008, Volume 14, No. 3

Center for Grassland Studies: Newsletters

Contents:
Are the Sandhills Fragile? by James Stubbendieck and Susan J. Tunnell, Department of Agronomy and Horticulture, UNL

Forage Triticale (X Triticosecale Wittmack) Genotypes for the Northern Great Plains by Lekgari Lekgari and P. Stephen Baenziger, Department of Agronomy and Horticulture, UNL

Progress Being Made in Implementing the Nebraska Natural Legacy Plan

Soil and Water Conservation Conference: Farming with Grass

August 1 is Pre-registration Deadline for Nebraska Grazing Conference

We’ve Moved!

Bilayer Interactions Of Phlip, A Peptide That Can Deliver Drugs And Target Tumors, Manuela Zoonens, Yana K. Reshetnyak, Donald M. Engelman

Physics Faculty Publications

The pH-dependent insertion of pHLIP across membranes is proving to be a useful property for targeting acidic tissues or tumors and delivering drugs attached to its C-terminus. It also serves as a model peptide for studies of protein insertion into membranes, so further elucidation of the insertion mechanism of pHLIP and its features is desirable. We examine how the peptide perturbs a model phosphatidylcholine membrane and how it associates with the lipid bilayer using an array of fluorescence techniques, including fluorescence anisotropy measurements of TMA-DPH anchored in bilayers, quenching of pHLIP fluorescence by brominated lipids and acrylamide, and measurements of …

The Elephant In The Classroom: A Proposed Framework For Applying Viewpoint Neutrality To Student Speech In The Secondary School Setting, Alexis Zouhary

Notre Dame Law Review

No abstract provided.

Matlab Report, Nancy Hale

Cornerstone 3 Reports : Interdisciplinary Informatics

The objective of this effort is to create a multidisciplinary approach to problem solving using technology. Through Thinkfinity, the Seidenberg School of Computer Science and Information Systems is collaborating with the science and quantitative faculty to create lessons that can be used by high school and first -year college students to work interactively with data to solve problems. MatLab is the tool of choice. It gives the user the ability to create visual models of large data sets and is used in the science and finance areas.

The key features of MatLab:

• Interactive tools for iterative exploration, design, and …

Joint Force Quarterly 50 (3rd Quarter, July 2008), National Defense University Press

Joint Force Quarterly ARCHIVES

No abstract provided.

An Assessment Of The Science And Technology Predictions In The Army’S Star21 Report, John W. Lyons, Richard Chait, Jordan Willcox

Defense and Technology Papers

This paper reviews the technology forecast assessments of the Strategic Technologies for the Army of the Twenty-First Century (STAR21) study conducted for the Army by the National Research Council in the early 1990s.

Imsa360: Summer 2008, Imsa Fund

IMSA Fund Reports

Often when I speak to parents, students and educators, I share one of my core beliefs: there is no ceiling on human potential. Though perhaps a bit overstated, as I fully realize my limited singing ability elicits monumental groans and sends animals scurrying for cover, it is true that often when we think an individual has reached his or her “potential,” we are astounded by a new accomplishment. As I look back on my first year as IMSA’s second president, I am humbled and amazed by IMSA’s truly unlimited potential for advancing the human condition and living into our aspiration …

Don’T Call Me “Hawaiian-At-Heart”: Self-Determination And Identity Theft, Kelly Rae Kraemer

Peace Studies Faculty Publications

This paper presents a major lesson I learned from my research on the roles of non-natives in the Kanaka Maoli (Native Hawaiian) sovereignty movement, one that should prove instructive for activists in other movements: when the federal and state governments, immigrants and settlers, and the Kānaka Maoli people compete to define Hawaiian identity and control access to Hawaiian people, land, and culture, who counts as “Native Hawaiian” matters. Yet, with so much at stake, even when common sense tells nonnatives we know what “native” means and it is not us, many forces collude to encourage nonnative appropriation of Hawaiian identity—identity …

Eastern Temperate North Pacific Offshore Killer Whales (Orcinus Orca): Occurrence, Movements, And Insights Into Feeding Ecology, Marilyn Dalheim, Alisa Schulman-Janiger, Nancy Black, Richard Ternullo, Dave Ellifrit, Kenneth Balcomb Iii

United States Department of Commerce: Staff Publications

Beginning in the late 1980s, large groups of previously unidentified killer whales (Orcinus orca) were sighted off the west coast of Vancouver Island and in the Queen Charlotte Islands, British Columbia. Scientists working in this region produced two killer whale photo-identification catalogues that included both transient (mammal-eating) whales and 65 individual whales that investigators believed represented a distinct killer whale community (Ford et al. 1992, Heise et al. 1993). It was thought that these killer whales maintained a generally offshore distribution and were provisionally termed “offshores”; a term that has since been used as a population identifier for …

A Microcosm Of The Biomedical Research Experience For Upper-Level Undergraduates, Daryl D. Hurd

Biology Faculty/Staff Publications

The skill set required of biomedical researchers continues to grow and evolve as biology matures as a natural science. Science necessitates creative yet critical thinking, persuasive communication skills, purposeful use of time, and adeptness at the laboratory bench. Teaching these skills can be effectively accomplished in an inquiry-based, active-learning environment at a primarily undergraduate institution. Cell Biology Techniques, an upper-level cell biology laboratory course at St. John Fisher College, features two independent projects that take advantage of the biology of the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans, a premier yet simple model organism. First, students perform a miniature epigenetic screen for novel phenotypes …

A Pooled Analysis Of Two Placebo-Controlled Trials Of Desvenlafaxine In Major Depressive Disorder., Daniel Z Lieberman, Stuart A Montgomery, Karen A Tourian, Claudine Brisard, Gregory Rosas, Krishna Padmanabhan, Jean-Michel Germain, Bruno Pitrosky

Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences Faculty Publications

The efficacy, safety, and tolerability of desvenlafaxine (administered as desvenlafaxine succinate) were evaluated in two similarly designed, phase 3, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, venlafaxine-extended-release-referenced, flexible-dose studies of outpatients with a primary diagnosis of major depressive disorder. Owing to a high placebo response, the individual studies were underpowered. Therefore, a post-hoc pooled analysis was performed (desvenlafaxine and placebo data were pooled; venlafaxine extended release data were not, owing to different flexible-dose regimens in the two studies). The primary outcome measure was the change from baseline on the 17-item Hamilton Rating Scale for Depression; the Clinical Global Impressions-Improvement item score was a secondary …

Ciência, Respeito À Natureza E Bem-Estar Humano, Hugh Lacey

Philosophy Faculty Works

The central question addressed is: How should scientific research be conducted so as to ensure that nature is respected, its regenerative powers not further undermined and wherever possible restored, and the well being of everyone everywhere enhanced? Then, after pointing to the importance of methodological pluralism for an acceptable answer, and the obstacles posed by identifying science with technoscience that are reinforced by what I call 'the commercial-scientific ethos', two additional questions are considered: How might research, conducted in this way, have impact on - and depend on - strengthening democratic values and practices? And, what is thereby implied for …