Life Sciences Commons^™

Energetic Tradeoffs, Infection, And Immunity In Wild Chimpanzees Of Uganda And Tanzania, Sarah Renee Phillips

Anthropology ETDs

Infectious disease is a primary source of mortality for most mammal species, but scientists have little understanding of factors driving variation in infection and immunity between individuals, populations, and species in the wild. Life history theory provides an evolutionary framework for delineating distribution of available energy to competing physiological demands, including growth, reproduction, and maintenance. Early life reproduction should be favored over late life survival, but, in long-lived species, reproductive success is strongly tied to survival to old age. Slower pace of reproduction could allow investment in immunity, reducing risk of morbidity and mortality to infectious disease. Additionally, several host …

A Preliminary Investigation Into The Effects Of Lucilia Sericata (Meigen) Blow Fly Larval Feeding On Sharp Force Trauma (Sft) Wound Patterns In Decomposing Bones Of Sus Scrofa Domesticus, Erica L. Klafehn

Student Theses

An important aspect of forensic investigations involves the characterization and analysis of bone related trauma as this can provide valuable information regarding the manner and circumstances of death. Bone trauma can be classified into three main categories, which include Sharp Force Trauma (SFT), Blunt Force Trauma (BFT), and Gunshot Trauma. Previous experiments have explored SFT on flesh and bones, specifically made with knives or saws, coupled with various microscopic analytical methods. Minimal research has been done integrating both a forensic entomology and forensic anthropology approach, so it is imperative to understand previous literature detailing the behaviors of insects (blow flies), …

Canine Microwear In Relation To Diet In Sumatran Primates And African Great Apes, Putu Pujiantari

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This thesis considers canine microwear in relation to diet in five Sumatran primates (Pongo abelii, Hylobates lar, Hylobates agilis, Presbytis thomasi, and Macaca fascicularis) and two African great apes (Pan paniscus and Pan troglodytes schweinfurthii) using both microwear texture analysis and microwear feature analysis techniques. Statistical results for texture analysis show that there are significant differences in scale of maximum and heterogeneity. This indicates that some species have large pits on their canine surfaces, having these dominated by deep features at coarse scale yet have a slight microwear heterogeneity. For feature analysis, all variables show statistically significant variation. Variance in …

How Sweet It Is: Fellowship And Continuity In A Church-Based Fall Prevention Program With African American Elders In The Northeastern United States, Michelle L. Ramirez, Cedric H. Jones Jr., Carol Maritz, Donna Jensen

Humboldt Journal of Social Relations

Deaths from unintentional injuries are the seventh leading cause of death among older adults and falls account for the largest percentage of these deaths, with individuals aged ≥85 particularly vulnerable. Physical activity can reduce frailty and prevent falls; however, many elders are not physically active and women, ethnic minorities, and those with low education levels are the least active. Moreover, experiences of racial discrimination can lead to increased stress and unhealthy adaptive behaviors, and the cumulative effects of age and race related stressors have been shown to negatively impact the physical and mental health of elderly African Americans. Thus, participation …

Wrack Lines Volume 21, Number 2, Fall/Winter 2021-22, Nancy C. Balcom, Judy Benson, Syma A. Ebbin, Kira Goldenberg, Judy Preston, Howard "Mickey" Weiss

Wrack Lines

"Discovery, Rediscovery and Rebirth: new eyes, new understanding of familiar places" is the theme for the Fall-Winter 2021-22 issue. The main article package consists of five stories about the lands and waters that will comprise the Connecticut National Estuarine Research Reserve (CT NERR). These are: overview and introduction; Great Island; lower Thames River; Bluff Point State Park; and Haley Farm State Park. Other articles include one on research into the cause of invasive Cladophora seaweed dominating Little Narragansett Bay; and another on the transformation of the Yale Peabody Museum of Natural History.

Diversity And Evolution Of Human Eccrine Sweat Gland Density, Andrew W. Best

Doctoral Dissertations

Human eccrine density is highly derived. However, little is known about contemporary variation in this trait, what shapes it, and how it influences heat dissipation. This project explores 3 questions: 1) Is variation in functional eccrine density (FED) explained by childhood climate? 2) Is this variation patterned by geographic ancestry? 3) Is variation in FED associated with differences in heat dissipation capacity? We measured FED and sweat production in 6 body areas via pharmacological stimulation and impressions of sweating skin in 72 participants. Childhood climate variables were taken from the WorldClim database and geographic ancestry was estimated with 23andMe tests. …

Man V.S. Wild: An Analysis Of Language Used Regarding Human-Wildlife Conflict In The Kibale National Park Community, Western Region, Uganda, Sophie Perfetto

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

If humans are to live sustainably and in harmony with wildlife in the vicinity of Protected Areas, policy makers, and government authorities need to make informed decisions with consideration to the needs of local communities. For this to happen, policy makers must understand the perceptions of local communities and take local perspectives into account. As language is at the root of perception, language was studied in the context of its role in shaping local perceptions of human-wildlife conflict and consequential conflict mitigation strategies. Six communities around the Northern region of Kibale National Park, Uganda, were studied, with sites located in …

Public Perception Of Forest And Fire Management Policy In Portugal, Jensen Rocha

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

The impacts of forest fires are growing as climate change creates more frequent ideal temperature conditions for extreme wildfires. With the devastating fires it experienced in 2017, Portugal stands as an example of the impacts of dangerous wildfires and is working on developing a plan to protect its country from this rising threat. Important in the plan development is the opinion of the many stakeholders involved and the public whom the fires impact. Using an interview and survey approach, this study gathers public and stakeholder opinion on the forest and fire management policy in Portugal to understand what issues in …

An Assessment Of The Traditional Botanical Usage Of The Indigeneous People Of The Bugungu Sub-Region Of Western Uganda, Elena Kilber

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

The questions that this study aimed to answer were: how are indigenous plants used for medicine, and spiritual practices by the indigenous Bagungu communities? What effect has colonization and globalization had on the knowledge of plants held by indigenous Bagungu communities? And how is the knowledge the Bagungu people hold of traditional plant use preserved through the generations? The methods used to answer these questions were key informant interviews with five herbalists and seven clan custodians from the Bagungu community, and questionnaires administered to 31 Bagungu community members between the ages of 27 and 83. Data were analyzed using qualitative …

Soil Not Oil: An Assessment Of The Role Of Earth Jurisprudence In Restoring Biodiversity Conservation In The Indigenous Bagungu Community, In Uganda, Joslyn Primicias

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

An Earth-centered way of living is essential in Western Uganda, along with many more repressed regions affected by giant corporate evils. The purpose of this study was to assess the contribution of Earth Jurisprudence in the restoration of conservation in the Indigenous Bagungu community. More specifically, this study examines the customary laws and rituals used by the Bagungu, the strategies used to decolonize their culture, and their perspectives on foreign influence and globalization. Key-informant interviews were conducted with seven custodians and questionnaire-led interviews were administered to thirty-one clan members from the districts of Buliisa and Hoima. The study sample size …

The Gap Between Policy And The People: A Case Study Of The Buikwe Fishing Communities, Capri Gutiérrez

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

To examine the implementation of Local Government development planning in periphery and hard to reach communities in Uganda, the fishing villages of the Buikwe District were used as a case study. The objective of the study was to explore how Local Government development planning is implemented in the fishing villages to identify gaps. Implementation was broken down into three areas: consultations, needs and services, and service delivery.

The study mimicked the bottom-up approach to decentralized development planning in Uganda, beginning with seven focus group discussions in five fishing villages of Buikwe. Eleven key informant interviews were then conducted with Local …

Factors Influencing Primate Hair Microbiome Diversity, Catherine Kitrinos

Masters Theses

Primate hair is both a substrate upon which essential social interactions occur and an important host-pathogen interface. As commensal microbes provide important immune functions for their hosts, understanding the microbial diversity in primate hair could provide insight into primate immunity and disease transmission. While studies of human hair and skin microbiomes show differences in microbial communities across body regions, little is known about the nonhuman primate hair microbiome. In this study, we collected hair samples (n=159) from 8 body regions across 12 nonhuman primate species housed at 3 US institutions to examine 1) the diversity and composition of the primate …

Laryngeal Vocals In Old World Locals: Air Sacs Usage In Bonobos, Chelsea Trenbeath

Symposium of Student Scholars

Except for humans, extant great apes have evolutionarily conserved lateral ventricular air sacs extending from laryngeal saccules. Humans are the only species of Hominidae that lack this anatomical feature attached to the primary vocal apparatus. As we are the only species that produces spoken language, this association has led to hypothesis that the loss of lateral ventricular air sacs was necessary for the evolution of spoken language. However, why these sacs are conserved in all other hominids remains unclear. Computer modeling has indicated that air sacs may increase resonance properties, but there are no data from great apes indicating which …

The Evolution Of Sex Differences In Mandrills (Mandrillus Sphinx): Micro- And Macroevolution, Jerred Klint Schafer

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

Primates show diverse patterns of adaptive color and body size dimorphism produced by inter- and intrasexual selection. However, the specific microevolutionary processes that produce variation in secondary sexual characteristics remain largely unexplored in primates. Furthermore, sexual conflict theory predicts that female and male secondary sexual traits can coevolve in an antagonistic manner and promote speciation. This dissertation explores the microevolution of secondary sexual characteristics in mandrills (Mandrillus sphinx) and the macroevolution of these characters in anthropoid primates. I address the microevolution of mandrill facial coloration and body mass by estimating the heritability, phenotypic selection, and genetic evolution of these traits …

Case 3847 – Simopithecus Oswaldi Andrews, 1916 (Currently Theropithecus Oswaldi; Mammalia, Primates, Cercopithecidae), Proposed Conservation By Reversal Of Precedence With Cynocephalus Atlanticus Thomas, 1884., Eric Delson, David M. Alba, Stephen R. Frost, Dagmawit Abebe Getahun, Christopher C. Gilbert

Publications and Research

The purpose of this application, under Articles 23.9.3 and 81.1 of the Code, is to conserve the usage of the species-group name Simopithecus oswaldi Andrews, 1916 by giving it precedence over its senior subjective synonym Cynocephalus atlanticus Thomas, 1884. Theropithecus is a common to dominant member of the extinct primate community across Africa after 4 million years ago (Jablonski & Frost, 2010) and often co-occurred with extinct humans (Hominini); fossils are also known rarely across Eurasia (Roberts et al., 2014). Most fossil samples are currently included in Theropithecus oswaldi (Andrews, 1916), which is often divided into chrono-geographic subspecies. Cynocephalus atlanticus …

Environmental Perception In Colombia's Páramo Protected Areas, Juliana Delgado

LSU Master's Theses

This thesis analyzes the gap between farmers' environmental perceptions in Téquita, a small village in Colombia, and the definition of protected areas has led to a conflict for the use of natural resources. I examine if the protected area's policies have dealt with the social and ecological issues in the páramos and recognized the social construction of the landscape, farmers' identities, and their interpretations about work and land. The case study focuses on Güina High Mountain in the Guantiva-La Rusia páramo complex, which recently the Colombian government declared as a protected area. In light of anthropologist Tim Ingold's meaning of …

Black And White Health Disparities: Racial Bias In American Healthcare, Yasmeen Almomani

Bridges: An Undergraduate Journal of Contemporary Connections

This paper explores the historical implications of race in American society that have led to implicit racism in the healthcare system. Racial bias in healthcare against Black people is a factor in the health disparities between Black and white people in America, such as the gap in life expectancy, infant death, and maternal mortality. Black people are more likely to report racial discrimination from healthcare providers, which is a reason for the decreased quality of care received. The past justifications of slavery, the Tuskegee syphilis study, and the medical experimentations on Black women are horrifying but were considered acceptable in …

Patterns Of Recent Natural Selection On Genetic Loci Associated With Sexually Differentiated Human Body Size And Shape Phenotypes, Audrey M. Arner, Kathleen E. Grogan, Mark Grabowski, Hugo Reyes-Centeno, George H. Perry

Anthropology Faculty Publications

Levels of sex differences for human body size and shape phenotypes are hypothesized to have adaptively reduced following the agricultural transition as part of an evolutionary response to relatively more equal divisions of labor and new technology adoption. In this study, we tested this hypothesis by studying genetic variants associated with five sexually differentiated human phenotypes: height, body mass, hip circumference, body fat percentage, and waist circumference. We first analyzed genome-wide association (GWAS) results for UK Biobank individuals (~194,000 females and ~167,000 males) to identify a total of 114,199 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) significantly associated with at least one of …

Long-Term Gene–Culture Coevolution And The Human Evolutionary Transition, Timothy M. Waring, Zachary T. Wood

School of Economics Faculty Scholarship

It has been suggested that the human species may be undergoing an evolutionary transition in individuality (ETI). But there is disagreement about how to apply the ETI framework to our species, and whether culture is implicated as either cause or consequence. Long-term gene–culture coevolution (GCC) is also poorly understood. Some have argued that culture steers human evolution, while others proposed that genes hold culture on a leash. We review the literature and evidence on long-term GCC in humans and find a set of common themes. First, culture appears to hold greater adaptive potential than genetic inheritance and is probably driving …

Empathy And Fairness In Nonhuman Primates: Evolutionary Bases Of Human Morality, Colt Halter

Intuition: The BYU Undergraduate Journal of Psychology

Darwin offered an evolutionary perspective on the origins of human morality, suggesting that humans share a biological foundation with nonhuman primates. This paper reviews the current literature on moral and prosocial behaviors of nonhuman primates, specifically examining whether nonhuman primates exhibit behaviors that are typical of empathy and fairness. The literature documents that nonhuman primates exhibit empathetic behaviors regarding emotional contagion and sympathetic concern. There is also evidence that nonhuman primates have a sense of fairness, seen in their reciprocal behaviors and aversion to inequity. Taken together, this suggests that there are evolutionary roots of morality, lending empirical support to …

Contemporary Brazilian Catholicism And Healing Practices: Notes On Environmentalism And Medicalization, Juliano F. Almeida

Journal of Global Catholicism

Anthropological studies on Brazilian Catholicism traditionally focused on popular variants of this religious practice and their relationship with the official Catholicism. Encouraged by recent anthropological perspectives, which highlight the relevance of devoting researches not only on the margins, but also on the center of social practices, this paper analyzes contemporary practices of Brazilian Catholic friars and priests on health promotion. The analysis of their publications (books that include practices and tips on health and that became best sellers etc.), as well as interviews, allows us to perceive a process of environmentalization on the contemporary Brazilian Catholicism. This process seems to …

Editor's Introduction, Marc Roscoe Loustau

Journal of Global Catholicism

No abstract provided.

Detecting Bacterial Species From Ancient Human Skeletal Samples, Ariel Owens, Daisy Mcgrath, Tsai-Tien Tseng

Symposium of Student Scholars

This paleopathological study aims to identify Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex (MTBC), Mycobacterium avium complex (MAC) and other Mycobacterium species in silico from skeletal samples that belonged to 28 Polish individuals in the Neolithic period under PRJNA422903 from the Sequence Read Archive (SRA). After next-generation sequencing (NGS), bioinformatics methods are heavily relied upon for identification of pathogens from complex samples. We implemented a bioinformatics pipeline, with custom-built databases, utilizing the following software tools: Trim Galore! and Kraken2. After adapter trimming, Kraken2 was used for taxonomic classifications. We have found that Mycobacterium is present in all 28 individuals. The average percentage of MAC …

Effects Of Environmental Change On Ancestral Pueblo Fishing In The Middle Rio Grande, Jonathan W. Dombrosky Dr.

Anthropology ETDs

It has long been assumed that fishes were unimportant in the diet of past Pueblo people in the U.S. Southwest. Yet, small numbers of fish remains are consistently recovered from Late pre-Hispanic/Early Historic archaeological sites in the Middle Rio Grande of New Mexico. The end of drought conditions may have impacted food choice and fishing decisions during this time. I use behavioral ecology to understand how fishing could have been an optimal food-getting strategy for Ancestral Pueblo farmers. Stable isotope analysis offers a way to account for environmental change. I provide a refined ¹³C Suess correction model to support …

Intangible Cultural Heritage: A Benefit To Climate-Displaced And Host Communities, Gül Aktürk, Martha B. Lerski

Publications and Research

Climate change is borderless, and its impacts are not shared equally by all communities. It causes an imbalance between people by creating a more desirable living environment for some societies while erasing settlements and shelters of some others. Due to floods, sea level rise, destructive storms, drought, and slow-onset factors such as salinization of water and soil, people lose their lands, homes, and natural resources. Catastrophic events force people to move voluntarily or involuntarily. The relocation of communities is a debatable climate adaptation measure which requires utmost care with human rights, ethics, and psychological well-being of individuals upon the issues …

Dietary Change Among Canis Familiaris During The Late Ceramic Period On The Maine-Maritime Peninsula: A Case Study From The Holmes Point West Site (Me 62-8), Machias Bay, Maine, Abby E. Mann

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Archaeological study of Indigenous pasts has been characterized by a focus on objects over people. This study attempts to humanize the past by illuminating human agency in the human-dog relationship through a case study of dog health and diet during the Late Ceramic period (ca. 950 – 450 BP) in the Maine-Maritime Peninsula region. To circumvent the cycle of western knowledge building and marginalization of Indigenous communities, past Wabanaki people and their relationships with dogs are positioned at the center of research questions presented here. Few studies in the Northeast have analyzed dog remains from the Ceramic period (ca. 3050 …

Intergenerational Embodiment Of Stress : How The Broader Sociocultural Environment Can Shape Child Growth And Development, Elizabeth A. Holdsworth

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

Childhood growth has been a means of identifying systemic, material inequalities within populations. The plasticity of growth is responsive to multiple environmental factors, most notably adequate nutrition, but also psychosocial stress. Psychosocial stress can be a function of the social and political economic ecology, reinforcing power hierarchies within societies. This dissertation proposes that childhood growth can also reflect inequality in the distribution of psychosocial stress exposure through mothers’ feelings of a chronically stressful environment conveyed through maternal-infant interactions.

The Genetic Links Between Archaic And Modern Humans, Maria J. Orellana Rosales

Thinking Matters Symposium

Our modern physiology is the mixture of many archaic humans that once roamed our planet. The evidence of these archaic humans is still present in our DNA. This poster reviews how our understanding of ancient human genetics has drastically changed due to advances in molecular genetics. Neanderthal and Denisovan remains have been sequenced for nuclear and mitochondrial DNA. Neanderthal and Denisovan genetic ancestry have been identified by genomic studies in modern human populations across Eurasia and Pacific Island regions. Studies have shown a gene flow of 4±1% from Neanderthals to present-day Eurasians. Whereas, Papuan and Melanesian individuals share 4±0.7% more …

Bacteria, Guano And Soot: Source Assessment Of Organic Matter Preserved In Black Laminae In Stalagmites From Caves Of The Sierra De Atapuerca (N Spain), Joeri Kaal, Virginia Martínez-Pillado, Antonio Martínez Cortizas, Jorge Sanjurjo Sánchez, Arantza Aranburu, Juan-Luis Arsuaga, Eneko Iriarte

International Journal of Speleology

Speleothems are a recognized source of paleoclimatic information, but their value as a source of signals from human activities in caves with an archaeological record has rarely been explored. Previous studies of speleothems in the Sierra de Atapuerca karst system (Burgos, northern Spain) revealed an important human fossil record, provided information about human activities in and around these caves, and the impacts on their natural environment. The present study reports the results of molecular characterization of dark-colored laminae from the stalagmites Ilargi (Galería de las Estatuas) and GS1, GS2, and GS3 (Galería del Silo), by pyrolysis-GC-MS (Py-GC-MS) and …

The Phoenix, Fernanda Perez-Alvarez

Montserrat Annual Writing Prize

This article uses a mythical creature, the phoenix, to examine and illustrate the biological principles for generation of an adult body plan from a single cell. Using the study of developmental biology, it explores the cellular and molecular biology that underpins the massive complexity of creating an adult body plan. It also explores the similarities and differences between different embryos, and how nature and evolution have shaped the biology of those embryos to create different body plans.