Digital Commons Network^™

A Guidebook On Honey Bee Health: Honey Bee Immunity — Pesticides — Pests And Diseases, Joey Caputo

Department of Entomology: Distance Master of Science Projects

Pedigo and Rice (2009) described a concept that some ecologists subscribe to called the “balance of nature” phenomenon. This idea holds that spe-cies in communities achieve certain status in their ecosystem and that this status becomes fixed and resistant to change. On average, individuals are only able to replace themselves. Fluctuations may occur, but ultimately the various species in the community will retain their position and relative population size in the ecosystem. According to these ecologists, when humans alter and reduce the diversity of an ecosystem they are acting counter to this balance. In an attempt to re-turn the altered …

Wpa News 104 (2017), World Pheasant Association

Galliformes Specialist Group and Affiliated Societies: Newsletters

WPA News (Winter 2017), number 104

Published by the World Pheasant Association

Self, Death, And Suicide: Does An Animal Know Of These?, Carolyn A. Ristau

Animal Sentience

Peña-Guzmán makes a strong case, using examples from the media and scientific literature, that many captive animals suffer severely. In examining the possibility of animal suicide, he dismisses the need for “reflective self-subjectivity” and “intent” in suicidal behavior. He claims that at least some animals understand “death,” citing examples of behavior he deems to be death “rituals.” But these can be more simply interpreted. The possibility of animal suicide remains more dubious than Peña-Guzmán suggests.

Paganism, Wesley, And The Means Of Grace, Joseph R. Dongell

The Asbury Journal

No abstract provided.

Book Reviews, Philip Richardson, Shivraj K. Mahendra, Michael Tavey, David Zucker, Logan Patriquin, Philip Richardson, Zachariah S. Motts

The Asbury Journal

No abstract provided.

Analysis Of Changes In Replication Timing And H3k27me3 Localization In Dnmt Mutants, Kelsey Wimbish

Theses & ETDs

Previous studies have shown that DNA methylation directs the localization of H3K27me3, a histone modification in chromatin deposited by the PRC2 protein complex at silenced genes and intergenic regions. Demethylation by knockout of the so called de novo DNA methyltransferase genes, Dnmt3a and Dnmt3b, and the gene for the maintenance DNA methyltransferase, Dnmt1, results in the non-canonical localization of H3K27me3 marks. As these two antagonistic marks are often associated with different types of chromatin (PcG-silenced chromatin as in facultative heterochromatin for H3K27me3 and constitutive heterochromatin for DNA methylation), it was predicted that regions newly devoid of DNA methylation would result …

Don’T Be Salty: Salinity Discrimination In The Florida Manatee (Trichechus Manatus Latirostris), Moriah Deimeke

Theses & ETDs

Chemoreception is common across terrestrial species but remains understudied in the marine mammals. There is behavioral evidence that suggests the Florida manatee (Trichechus manatus latirostris) has the ability to discriminate between differences in salinity, as they seek out freshwater sources. The current study investigated salinity discrimination and water preference in the two adult male Florida manatees. The manatees were offered freshwater and seawater sources, and the frequencies of three interactive behaviors (drinking, near-proximity, and sampling) were recorded. One manatee showed a preference for the seawater hoses when only drinking behaviors were considered. Both manatees showed a preference for seawater hoses …

The Transigent Circle: Exploring Psychospiritual Group Work As An Avenue To Spiritual Wellness And Enculturation Within College Communities, Oliver Robert Goldsmith

Theses & ETDs

The current study investigated the use of the spiritual circle as the basis for a college-community-based spiritual wellness program, specifically by examining the influence participation in a semester-length circle-based academic tutorial had on members’ spiritual well-being, quality of life, sense of community, and anxiety. Members of this tutorial (SW group) completed baseline (N=15) and follow-up (N=10) survey questionnaires containing these four psychological scales. For the purposes of comparison, two control groups consisting of members of a different academic tutorial (NVC group; follow-up N=7) and students not enrolled in either tutorial (control group; baseline N=43, follow-up N=67) who responded to the …

Microplastic Pollution In The Marine Environment: Recommended Sampling Areas And Sampling Protocol For Sarasota County, Rylee R. Twinam

Theses & ETDs

The use of plastics in almost every industry has steadily been increasing since their initial boom in production beginning around World War II. The durability, low cost, and disposability are what make plastics ideal materials for use in manufacturing and consumer goods. However, these factors are also what make plastics some of the most harmful and persistent pollutants on Earth. Disposal of plastics is tricky due to their extremely long residence time in landfills and human health hazards associated with incineration. Recycling bears some of the burden of plastics waste management, but it is not an entirely effective solution for …

Entering The World Of Bottlenose Dolphins (Tursiops Truncatus) Through Sensory-Oriented Methods, Kaylin Hagopian

Theses & ETDs

The Earth is like a machine, its ecosystems like components, and its species like gears; to maintain a healthy Earth, we should look to the gears to promote the Earth’s wellbeing. Here we focus on one species, the bottlenose dolphin (Tursiops truncatus). The central question is: how can we use what we know about dolphins’ sensory systems to develop methods to further explore the dolphin Umwelt? First, a review of the current literature on dolphin sensory systems provides biological and behavioral information pertaining to individual and cross-modally integrated dolphin auditory, visual, somatosensory, vestibular, chemoreceptive, and magnetoreceptive systems. A four-step procedure …

Ethnobotanical And Ethnomedicinal Uses Of Callicarpa Americana And Dioscorea Bulbifera, Olivia Mealor

Theses & ETDs

Prior to standardized healthcare, preventative and curative medicine consisted of remedies made from local medicinal plants based upon trial and error over many years. Two such potentially useful plants that can be found in Sarasota are Callicarpa americana, commonly known as the American beautyberry, and Dioscorea bulbifera, the air potato. C. americana is indigenous to the region, while D. bulbifera is extremely invasive and has proven to be very difficult to remove permanently. C. americana has an extensive history of usage in the Americas by indigenous peoples. All parts of the plant were considered medicinally valuable and were used for …

An Existential-Phenomenological Response To Problematic Conceptions Of Abnormality, Kourtney Eskins

Theses & ETDs

This thesis takes as its primary concern the conceptualization of mental abnormality and its impacts on self-understanding. While modern views favor the medical model, this investigation questions the utility, claims to truth, and ethical implications of such a view for the understanding of human suffering in a therapeutic context. By examining the history of the concept of madness, and philosophical work that has been done in relation to that concept, the author highlights the contextualized nature of any definition of abnormality. Therapeutic practice requires engagement with questions of self and the nature of being; the author explicates the views of …

Plasticity And Stereotypy Of The Prey Capture Behavior Of The Pike Killifish, Belonesox Belizanus, In Response To Visual Deprivation, Kaitlin Metz

Theses & ETDs

Fish can use a variety of sensory information to detect, locate, and capture prey. Numerous studies have looked at the effects of sensory deprivation on prey capture behavior, but few have looked at the effects of sensory deprivation on the kinematics of jaw movements during prey capture. The largemouth bass, a species with a fusiform body shape, suitable for ram feeding, and a laterally-occluded mouth, suitable for suction feeding, can modulate between ram and suction in response to changes in the sensory information used to locate prey. The ability to modulate is expected to be limited in species that are …

The Interaction Of Moringa (Moringa Oleifera Lam.) Seed Extracts And Microbes, Tam Huynh

Theses & ETDs

Plants interact with the environment through chemicals known as secondary metabolites. With the advent of modern chemical technologies, mankind learned to extract these secondary metabolites and use them for developing new drugs. Through an investigation of the interaction between plant extracts and bacteria using Moringa oleifera seed extracts and the bacteria Staphylococcus epidermis, Escherichia coli and Bacillus cereus as a representative model, we not only increase our understanding of plant-bacteria relationships, but also potentially lay a foundation for the development of new drugs. The results showed that the Moringa extracts have an idiosyncratic interaction for each species of bacteria: inhibitive …

Mentality Nail Polish: Misbranding And Confusion, Sarah Oberlin

Theses & ETDs

Forty people were reported to have had negative reactions, i.e. onycholysis and other symptoms of contact dermatitis, to certain (affected) nail polishes sold by the nail polish brand Mentality Cosmetics. The objective of my thesis was to determine if a significant difference in chemical ingredients could be found between the affected and unaffected nail polishes. Background information was given on the listed ingredients of the Mentality nail polishes, the mechanisms of irritant and allergic contact dermatitis, and potential harmful nail polish ingredients. Using LC-MS and MS/MS, only one match between the experimentally determined molecular weights and the listed ingredients of …

The Effects Of Substrate Texture On The Rheotactic Behavior Of The Blind Mexican Cave Fish (Astyanax Mexicanus), Alexander Witter

Theses & ETDs

The present study investigated the effects of tactile cues on rheotaxis in the blind Mexican cave fish, Astyanax mexicanus. It was hypothesized that an increase in substrate roughness would increase orientation ability when the lateral line or vision were ablated. Reversible lateral line ablations were performed with a treatment of 0.1mmol/L cobalt chloride in calcium free water for 24 hours prior to testing fish. Test fish were analyzed in groups of ten and evaluated for their ability to orient on a smooth or rough substrate, with and without their lateral line system, and in light and dark conditions. Rheotaxis, for …

Surrealist Subversions Of Patriarchal Ideology In The Works Of Leonora Carrington And Dorothea Tanning, Jade Sheinwald

Theses & ETDs

This thesis examines how two women, Leonora Carrington and Dorothea Tanning, negotiated power for themselves as authors and artists while involved with the patriarchal artistic movement of Surrealism. I argue that Carrington and Tanning reclaimed power through their artwork and writings by establishing their own highly specific and individual imagery. The first chapter demonstrates how Carrington resisted the patriarchy by employing animals as symbolic figures in her art and literature. The second chapter explores how Tanning subverted domestic spaces to reject domesticity as her social role and challenged the Surrealist trope of the femme-enfant by creating young, magical females. The …

Florivore And Pollinator Interactions: Survival Strategies Of Annuals And Perennials Facing Attack, Liana Greenberg

Theses & ETDs

The contrast between annual and perennial plants’ life histories results in disparities in their investments towards reproduction and defense following florivore attack. Florivores, insect herbivores that target angiosperms’ reproductive tissues, induce a variety of direct and indirect chemical and physical responses. These include changes in floral traits and in herbivore induced volatiles that alter community interactions, such as pollinator behavior. Through literature review and participation in field experiments at Wageningen University, I analyze how annuals and perennials respond to attack with different patterns of changes in flowering phenology and pollinator attraction. Floral traits in each lifestyle differed in the number …

Automated Spectroscopic Analysis Using The Particle Swarm Optimization Algorithm: Implementing A Guided Search Algorithm To Autofit, Katherine Ervin

Theses & ETDs

There is a bottleneck in the field of spectroscopy between data collection and analysis, which can be addressed by the fast, automated assignment of spectral data. The AUTOFIT program[1] was designed to serve that need by quickly matching rotational constants to spectra with little user input and supervision, but can be improved by incorporating an optimization algorithm in the search for a solution. The Particle Swarm Optimization Algorithm (PSO)[2] was chosen as a robust algorithm to implement. PSO is part of a family of optimization algorithms called heuristic algorithms, which seeks approximately the best answer[3]. This is ideal for spectroscopic …

Planning Seed Collections For Ecological Restoration, Dylan F. Ricke

Theses & ETDs

Ongoing declines of plant biodiversity demand integrated conservation planning, including a range of in situ and ex situ methods. Here, I review the literature on collecting and utilizing seed for ecological restoration. I hypothesized that collectors must account for species-specific traits, like life history traits and reproductive strategies, to optimize genetic diversity and the extent of local adaptation in their collections. Of speciesspecific traits, I found that collectors must account for seed set, seeding phenology, species’ distributions, mating system, and population size. Population size and mating system can help infer distributions of genetic diversity and the population genetic structure within …

The Utility Of Interoception: Testing Game-Based Biofeedback On Anxiety Levels In Adults, Olivia L. Short

Theses & ETDs

Anxiety disorders are among the most common mental illnesses faced by Americans, and traditional therapies are not always accessible or effective. Recently, video games with biofeedback mechanisms that measure physiological reactions to stress have been tested as treatment options for mood and behavioral disorders. Bodily responses to anxiety and stress are well documented and support the use of biofeedback mechanisms in treatment. To address the rising numbers of anxious individuals, the current study investigated biofeedback video gaming as a treatment method for various forms of anxiety in adults. Participants were 18 college students, ages 18-24 years, who completed questionnaires assessing …

Presence Of Mind: Mindful Awareness And Acceptance By Relationship With Nature And Spirituality, Jessica Lee

Theses & ETDs

This study examined the intercorrelation of mindfulness with individual relationship with nature and spirituality. Eighty-nine college students filled out measures assessing their closeness with nature, spiritual practices, and daily levels of mindfulness, as well as measures targeting mindful awareness and acceptance specifically. Data analysis found mindful awareness to be significantly correlated with closer reported relationship with nature, while mindful acceptance was found to be significantly correlated with closer reported relationship with nature. The motivational mechanisms underlying these relationships are discussed.

Radical Science Education Through Pedagogical Content Knowing, Olivia Talton

Theses & ETDs

Closing existing gaps in science understanding among children and adults is a multi-faceted problem. One approach is changing science education. This thesis seeks to provide evidence that through Radical Pedagogy and Pedagogical Content Knowing (PCKg) science education can be more effectively taught to all students. In this thesis I review existing literature on Radical Pedagogy, constructivism, and science education, I discuss implementing a Radical Pedagogy through PCKg in a science classroom, I review existing disparities in science, and I provide sample materials for implementing these techniques in science classrooms today. Teacher education in the sciences needs to be informed by …

Less Is More: An Integrated Approach To Teaching High School Mathematics Beyond The Common Core, Morgen Coe

Theses & ETDs

This thesis examines the deficiencies in U.S. math education relating to high school mathematics. Most public schools require a series of subject-specific math courses (Algebra I, Geometry, Algebra II, and Pre-Calculus—forming the traditional pathway) that diminishes the connections between these fields and decreases a student’s ability to master the material. An alternative is to reorganize the curriculum in an integrated fashion so as to illustrate the connections between Algebra and Geometry. With this geometrical-algebraic relationship as a core focus, I explore how to produce a holistic, integrated curriculum for high school mathematics presented in ways that promote comprehension and understanding …

Physician Bias And Its Contribution To Infant Mortality Rates Of Black African American Infants, Edline Francois

Theses & ETDs

The United Stated is has a high infant mortality rate (IMR) when compared to other developed countries. Within the U.S., Black infants are more likely to pass in their first year of life when compared to their Hispanic or white counterparts. In this thesis, I explored different factors that could contribute to this health disparity. Black IMR has been associated with chronic stress. Chronic stress is due to a multitude of factors such as environmental/economical injustice, negative controlling images of Black women, and systemic oppression. Lack of prenatal care is also a contributing factor to IMR as it monitors the …

Elucidating Data Gaps For Five Imperiled Butterflies In The Southwestern United States: Implications For Conservation, Reed Barry

Theses & ETDs

Imperiled butterflies face a variety of threats including habitat loss, invasion by non-native species, and a rapidly changing climate. A severe lack of data on most species makes it difficult to determine which conservation actions will be most effective. I attempted to fill some of these data gaps by assembling life history profiles and recounting current conservation efforts for five imperiled butterflies and skippers in the Southwestern United States. I performed climate change vulnerability indices (CCVIs) for each species and found that all are expected to significantly decrease in abundance or range by 2050. I also performed an ecological niche …

Cancer Immunosurveillance Evasion: Its Comprehensive Historical Context And Correlations With Outcome, Hannah Carlo

Theses & ETDs

Stimulatory and inhibitory immunological checkpoint pathways are carefully balanced to control and determine the function of cells of the innate and adaptive immune system, to both promote immunity and maintain tolerance. Human cancers have shown remarkable ability to modify and evade stimulatory pathways and co-opt inhibitory checkpoints to avoid detection and destruction by the immune system. Acquisition of these capabilities are known to promote tumor progression. However, this dynamic relationship between the immune system and cancer is still not well understood. A study was established to test the significance of key gene mutations corresponding to immune function and other hallmark …

Adipose Derived Mesenchymal Stem Cell Therapy For The Treatment Of Osteoarthritis: Qualitative Meta-Analysis And Literature Review, James D. Montgomery

Theses & ETDs

Osteoarthritis is an end-stage joint condition caused by biomechanical stress to cartilage tissue. Progression of the condition can be attributed to a loss of homeostasis, both in concentrations of anabolic and catabolic mediators in the joint, and in the structure of the joint. Treatment options for osteoarthritis address primary symptoms of pain and loss of function by slowing the progression of the condition through behavioral changes, or replacement of the joint with a prosthetic. Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) are a multipotent stem cell found in a number of adult tissues and have demonstrated the ability to differentiate into chondrocytes. Use …

Characterization Of Legionella Pneumophila Effector Protein Lpg1496, Taylor Cassidy Toro

Theses & ETDs

Research dating back over twenty years demonstrated the bacterium, Legionella pneumophila, when co-cultured with natural host amoebae, Acanthamoeba castellanii, was rendered significantly hypervirulent to macrophages in cell culture when compared to L. pneumophila cultured in laboratory media alone. Therefore, it was hypothesized that the most significant virulence factors were not produced in L. pneumophila cultured in artificial media, but instead were upregulated and secreted by a distinct Dot/Icm type IV secretion system following intracellular growth in A. castellanii. Work in the Cambronne laboratory validated this argument with the description of the SidGV effector complex (Drennan et al., submitted), which was …

Three- Dimensional Shape Discrimination In The Little Skate, Leucoraja Erinacea, Rachel J. Zimmerman

Theses & ETDs

Research on the memory and cognitive abilities of skates is generally lackluster and not much is known about the abilities of these animals. Little skates, Leucoraja erinacea, were trained to associate either a cylinder, cube, or a pyramid with a food reward. After training, the skates were then tasked with selecting the shape they had been trained to against another, unfamiliar shape in the challenge phase. The successful animals (those achieving a success rate of 70% or higher in the challenge phase) then moved on to the dark testing phase, where the animals were challenged to select their correct shape …