Life Sciences Commons^™

Extreme Physiological Plasticity In A Hibernating Basoendothermic Mammal, Tenrec Ecaudatus, Michael D. Treat, Lori Scholer, Brandon Barrett, Artur Khachatryan, Austin J. Mckenna, Tabitha Reyes, Alhan Rezazadeh, Charles F. Ronkon, Dan Samora, Jeremy F. Santamaria, Claudia Silva Rubio, Evan Sutherland, Jeffrey Richardson, John R. B. Lighton, Frank Van Breukelen

Life Sciences Faculty Research

Physiological plasticity allows organisms to respond to diverse conditions. However, can being too plastic actually be detrimental? Malagasy common tenrecs, Tenrec ecaudatus, have many plesiomorphic traits and may represent a basal placental mammal. We established a laboratory population of T. ecaudatus and found extreme plasticity in thermoregulation and metabolism, a novel hibernation form, variable annual timing, and remarkable growth and reproductive biology. For instance, tenrec body temperature (Tb) may approximate ambient temperature to as low as 12°C even when tenrecs are fully active. Conversely, tenrecs can hibernate with Tb of 28°C. During the active season, oxygen consumption may vary 25-fold …

Effect Of Larval Starvation On Lipid Content Of Drosophila Melanogaster Over 15 Days, Fabian Leija, Allen Gibbs

LSAMP Poster Presentations

Starvation-resistant Drosophila melanogaster, common fruit flies, deriving from 121 generations of starvation selection, have resulted in genetically, behaviorally, and physiologically different individuals compared to non-resistant counterparts. Starvation-resistant Drosophila are more obese, containing twice as much lipids as control flies.This is a result of starvation-resistant fly larva feeding for 5 days and then entering the pupa stage while non-resistant flies only feed for 4 days.

In this experiment, we hope to answer the question of whether the starvation-resistant flies are genetically predisposed to be substantially more obese than wild populations or if it is a result of this alternate behavior …

Systematic Review On The Effects Of Climate On Auditory Bullae Size In Geographically Overlapping Perognathus Species, Sirima Lavangnananda, Sean Neiswenter

LSAMP Poster Presentations

The purpose of our summer research is to compile results and trends observed in previous studies to better understand the function of auditory bullae, the variations in size and shape throughout the overlapping geographic distribution of Perognathus species, and the relationship between bullar size and climatic patterns. Our research found that there is a negative correlation between auditory bullae size and the amount of moisture in the habitat. Large and inflated auditory bullae are observed in arid and open habitats. Although there are conflicting evidence on whether or not auditory bullae inflation is directly driven by the lack of precipitation, …