Life Sciences Commons^™

Human-Bat Interactions In A Disease Emergence Hotspot: Implications For Human Health And Bat Conservation, Reilly Tempest Jackson

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Bats are an ecologically important taxon that can host zoonotic pathogens. Globally, many bat species are synanthropic and live closely with humans, often roosting in man-made structures. The spatial overlap between humans and bats creates opportunities for human-bat contact, which can lead to human exposure to bat-borne pathogens and conflicts that cause bat mortality. Despite this risk, little is known about the drivers and characteristics of these human-bat interactions in buildings and work is needed to understand this aspect of the wildlife-urban interface. In Chapter I, I present a literature review that identifies the geographic and taxonomic trends in reported …

Effects Of Landcover On Mesocarnivore Density And Detection Rate Along An Urban To Rural Gradient, Leah E. Mctigue, Brett Degregorio

Biological Sciences Faculty Publications and Presentations

Human development has major implications for wildlife populations. Urban-exploiter species can benefit from human subsidized resources, whereas urban-avoider species can vanish from wildlife communities in highly developed areas. Therefore, understanding how the density of different species varies in response to landcover changes associated with human development can provide important insight into how wildlife communities are likely to change and provide a starting point for predicting the consequences of those changes. Here, we estimated the population density of five common mesocarnivore species (coyote (Canis latrans), bobcat (Lynx rufus), red fox (Vulpes vulpes), raccoon (Procyon …

The Effects Of Landscape And Yard Features On Mammal Diversity In Residential Yards Within Northwest Arkansas, Usa, Emily P. Johansson, Brett A. Degregorio

Biological Sciences Faculty Publications and Presentations

The human footprint is rapidly expanding, and wildlife habitat is continuously being converted to human residential properties. Surviving wildlife that reside in developing areas are displaced to nearby undeveloped areas. However, some animals can co-exist with humans and acquire the necessary resources (food, water, shelter) within the human environment. This ability to coexist may be particularly true when development is low intensity, as in residential suburban yards. Yards are individually managed “greenspaces” that can provide a range of food (e.g., bird feeders, compost, gardens), water (bird baths and garden ponds), and shelter (e.g., brush-piles, outbuildings) resources and are surrounded by …

Guar-Based Injectable Hydrogel For Drug Delivery And In Vitro Bone Cell Growth, Humandra Poudel, Ambar R. Rangumagar, Pooja Singh, Adeolu Oluremi, Nawab Ali, Fumiya Watanabe, Joseph Batta-Mpouma, Jin-Woo Kim, Ahona Ghosh, Anindya Ghosh

Chemistry & Biochemistry Faculty Publications and Presentations

Injectable hydrogels offer numerous advantages in various areas, which include tissue engineering and drug delivery because of their unique properties such as tunability, excellent carrier properties, and biocompatibility. These hydrogels can be administered with minimal invasiveness. In this study, we synthesized an injectable hydrogel by rehydrating lyophilized mixtures of guar adamantane (Guar-ADI) and poly-β-cyclodextrin (p-βCD) in a solution of phosphate-buffered saline (PBS) maintained at pH 7.4. The hydrogel was formed via host-guest interaction between modified guar (Guar-ADI), obtained by reacting guar gum with 1-adamantyl isocyanate (ADI) and p-βCD. Comprehensive characterization of all synthesized materials, including the hydrogel, was performed using …

Effects Of Measurement Methods And Growing Conditions On Phenotypic Expression Of Photosynthesis In Seven Diverse Rice Genotypes, Megan Reavis, Larry C. Purcell, Andy Pereira, Kusum Naithani

Biological Sciences Faculty Publications and Presentations

Introduction: Light response curves are widely used to quantify phenotypic expression of photosynthesis by measuring a single sample and sequentially altering light intensity within a chamber (sequential method) or by measuring different samples that are each acclimated to a different light level (non-sequential method). Both methods are often conducted in controlled environments to achieve steady-state results, and neither method involves equilibrating the entire plant to the specific light level.

Methods: Here, we compare sequential and non-sequential methods in controlled (greenhouse), semi-controlled (plant grown in growth chamber and acclimated to field conditions 2-3 days before measurements), and field environments. We selected …

The Minimal Suf System Is Not Required For Fe–S Cluster Biogenesis In The Methanogenic Archaeon Methanosarcina Acetivorans, Jasleen Saini, Thomas M. Deere, Daniel J. Lessner

Biological Sciences Faculty Publications and Presentations

Iron–sulfur (Fe–S) proteins are essential for the ability of methanogens to carry out methanogenesis and biological nitrogen fixation (diazotrophy). Nonetheless, the factors involved in Fe–S cluster biogenesis in methanogens remain largely unknown. The minimal SUF Fe–S cluster biogenesis system (i.e., SufBC) is postulated to serve as the primary system in methanogens. Here, the role of SufBC in Methanosarcina acetivorans, which contains two sufCB gene clusters, was investigated. The CRISPRi-dCas9 and CRISPR-Cas9 systems were utilized to repress or delete sufC1B1 and sufC2B2, respectively. Neither the dual repression of sufC1B1 and sufC2B2 nor the deletion of both sufC1B1 and sufC2B2 …

Past And Ongoing Field-Based Studies Of Myxomycetes, Steven L. Stephenson

Biological Sciences Faculty Publications and Presentations

Evidence from molecular studies indicates that myxomycetes (also called myxogastrids or plasmodial slime molds) have a long evolutionary history, and the oldest known fossil is from the mid-Cretaceous. However, they were not “discovered” until 1654, when a brief description and a woodcut depicting what is almost certainly the common species Lycogala epidendrum was published. First thought to be fungi, myxomycetes were not universally recognized as completely distinct until well into the twentieth century. Biodiversity surveys for the group being carried out over several years are relatively recent, with what is apparently the first example being carried out in the 1930s. …

Understanding The Environmental And Genetic Influence On Fluctuating Asymmetry And Developmental Instability In Primates, Ashly N. Romero

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation explored the impact of environmental factors on the development and perpetuation of fluctuating asymmetry (FA) and sought to understand the role evolution may play in the FA exhibited in two primate populations: the free-ranging Cayo Santiago rhesus macaques (Macaca mulatta) and the Southwest National Primate Research Center olive baboons (Papio hamadryas anubis). Demographic, ontogenetic, secular, external, and genetic factors were examined. Specifically, this dissertation investigated FA over all ontogenetic stages, across decades, between sexes, in association with ecological catastrophes, and with tooth pathology to try and tease apart factors that may influence FA and developmental instability. This dissertation …

The Influence Of Climate And Landscape On Allocapnia Mohri Distribution In Arkansas, Brianna Leigh Annaratone

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Stoneflies are a globally threatened aquatic insect order. In Arkansas, a diverse group of winter stonefly (Capniidae: Allocapnia) have not been surveyed since the 1980s, likely because species-level identification requires the rarely-collected adult form. Allocapnia mohri, a regional endemic, was previously commonly found in mountainous, intermittent streams from the Ouachita Mountains ecoregion north to the Ozark Highlands, but no species distributional models including land use or climate variables exist to our knowledge. We collected adults from 70 stream reaches from the historic Arkansas range from November to April 2020 and 2021. We modeled distributions using random forest (RF) models populated …

Shedding In The Timber Rattlesnake: Natural Patterns, Endocrinological Underpinnings, Temporal And Energetic Effort, And Integration As A Reptilian Life History Trait, Maxwell D. Carnes-Mason

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The semi-frequent replacement of the epidermis (ecdysis) is a characteristic trait of reptiles. Whereas all reptiles regularly engage in some degree of skin shedding, skin morphology in snakes necessitates the synchronous replacement of the entire epidermis and facilitates the subsequent removal of the old layer as a single sheet. To date, the ubiquitous process has garnered little attention from researchers because snakes shed with unpredictable timing and frequency and are exceedingly cryptic during ecdytic cycles; previously impeding detailed physiological or ecological investigations of the process in the clade. Because of the lack of study, ecdysis is often viewed as a …

Modeling The Egyptian Goose (Alopochen Aegyptiaca) Invasion; And Future Concerns, Percival Matzinger Marshall

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

In an increasingly interconnected world, the ecological and financial cost of invasive species is expected to continue to climb through the movement of exotic biota. Understanding the driving forces behind how a species invades, what environments promote their establishment, and what impacts they are likely to have on the invaded environment are all critical for management. Waterfowl, order Anseriformes, are one such category of invasive species of concern due to their popularity of accidental introduction, ease of movement, and propensity to affect both terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems. The Egyptian Goose (Alopochen aegyptiaca) is a native to the African continent that …

Striped Expression Of Leucine-Rich Repeat Proteins Coordinates Cell Intercalation And Compartment Boundary Formation In The Early Drosophila Embryo, Chloe A. Kuebler, Adam C. Pare

Biological Sciences Faculty Publications and Presentations

Planar polarity is a commonly observed phenomenon in which proteins display a consistent asymmetry in their subcellular localization or activity across the plane of a tissue. During animal development, planar polarity is a fundamental mechanism for coordinating the behaviors of groups of cells to achieve anisotropic tissue remodeling, growth, and organization. Therefore, a primary focus of developmental biology research has been to understand the molecular mechanisms underlying planar polarity in a variety of systems to identify conserved principles of tissue organization. In the early Drosophila embryo, the germband neuroectoderm epithelium rapidly doubles in length along the anterior-posterior axis through a …

Effects Of Maternal Disease History On Provisioning, Brooding, And Offspring Outcomes, Sakura Roberts

Biological Sciences Undergraduate Honors Theses

Disease within a population has the ability to shape the development, evolution, and general performance of a species. Pathogen exposure to hosts can influence their physiology and behavioral patterns to further shape offspring immunity. Parental conditions experienced by offspring during early development can benefit survival and fitness (e.g. increasing provisioning rates), as well as help deter against similar diseases experienced by parents. By testing if parental behavior changes can better prepare offspring outcomes for disease exposure, such as disease severity or duration of infection, we can see the beneficial impacts it has on disease dynamics and host-pathogen processes. Incubation temperature, …

Development Of A Computational Model To Investigate Pathways And The Effects Of Treatment In Fanconi Anemia, Sabrina Kellett

Biological Sciences Undergraduate Honors Theses

Fanconi Anemia (FA) is a rare type of anemia that is not easily studied and can have very detrimental effects. This disease compromises the bone marrow, resulting in decreased hemopoiesis. Symptoms of FA also include abnormalities in the brain and spinal cord, incorrect formation of the kidneys, abnormal formation of the heart and lungs, and a dramatically increased risk of developing cancer. FA can be caused by various mutations in any of the 22 genes that encode for proteins involved in what is called the FA DNA repair pathway. In healthy individuals, this pathway specifically repairs interstrand cross-links (ICLs) recognized …

Computational Modeling Of The Fanconi Anemia Gene Network And Its Connection To Cancer, Alyssa Warren-Belford

Biological Sciences Undergraduate Honors Theses

Fanconi anemia (FA) is a rare genetic condition in which the cell’s DNA repair machinery is dysregulated, significantly increasing the chances of tumorigenesis. Further research is being done in order to improve patient outcomes and incidences of cancer. Our group created a computational model of the FA DNA repair gene network, which removes interstrand crosslinks found in damaged DNA and repairs it so DNA synthesis can continue. Computer simulations show the number of DNA damage indicators decreased as the pathway continued. This was expected as the FA pathway repairs DNA damage. The goal of this project was to provide further …

An Overview Of Serial Depletions Of Global Marine Fisheries 1950 To 2019, Alison Follmer

Biological Sciences Undergraduate Honors Theses

Overfishing is a global issue that poses a significant risk to the entire ocean ecosystem in diminishing biodiversity and ecosystem function. This thesis examined the pattern and pace of fisheries depletions due to commercial fishing during the past 70 years. The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) Division of Fisheries and Aquaculture maintains a database of global hauls of marine taxa (reported in metric tonnes) from 1950 – 2019. These data were queried to determine the total number and sequence of fisheries depletions documented by the historic record. Analysis of this database showed progressive, linearly-increasing exploitation of …

Involvement Of Chromosome Remodeling Complexes On Chromosome Segregation, Adelle Warford

Biological Sciences Undergraduate Honors Theses

Errors in chromosome segregation during cell replication are detrimental to the health of living cells. These errors cause aneuploidy: daughter cells with an incorrect number of chromosomes, as well as polyploidy: the complete duplication of a genome. In humans, these segregation errors are responsible for many harmful diseases and disorders. Using the model organism S. cerevisiae, a double mutant was created by removing two key chromosome remodeling complexes, SWR1 and INO80, both known to independently cause aneuploidy, decreased fitness, and damages the sensitivity of a cell's DNA (Andalis et al. 2004). By creating a double mutant strain, genetic cell …

Sequence Analysis Of Herbicide Target Genes In Herbicide-Tolerant Rice, Jonathan Kearney, Nilda R. Burgos, Gulab D. Rangani

Biological Sciences Undergraduate Honors Theses

The tolerance of mutagenized rice (Oryza sativa) lines to selector herbicides was investigated and the sequence of ALS gene was analyzed in plants that survived treatment with 4x the label rate of imazethapyr herbicide. This was done to determine if insensitivity to imazethapyr is due to mutation(s) in the herbicide binding site. Seedlots previously treated with ethyl-methyl sulfonate were planted in the field and 3-leaf seedlings were treated with various herbicides to screen for herbicide-tolerant mutants. Seeds from survivors composed the rice lines tested in the current research. Seeds were planted in the greenhouse and 3-leaf seedlings were …

Nutritional Ecology Of The Western Cottonmouth (Agkistrodon Piscivorus Leucostoma), Jason Ortega

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Nutritional ecology aims to understand the factors that shape the diets of animals, how these ingested meals are processed, and how the assimilated nutrients are used to shape an organism’s interactions with its environment. As environmental parameters are altered due to anthropogenic changes, the availability and quality of prey may be altered. The alteration of the nutritional landscape can be devastating to nutritional specialists, yet generalist predators may be able to cope with these changes. The western cottonmouth (Agkistrodon piscivorus leucostoma) is a unique semiaquatic pitviper that can both forage along the land-water interface and in upland habitat when faced …

Effects Of Habitat Management On Rodent Diversity, Abundance, And Virus Infection Dynamics, Nathaniel Mull, Amy Schexnayder, Abigail Stolt, Tarja Sironen, Kristian M. Forbes

Biological Sciences Faculty Publications and Presentations

As anthropogenic factors continue to degrade natural areas, habitat management is needed to restore and maintain biodiversity. However, the impacts of different habitat management regimes on ecosystems have largely focused on vegetation analyses, with limited evaluation of downstream effects on wildlife. We compared the effects of grassland management regimes (prescribed burning, cutting/haying, or no active management) on rodent communities and the viruses they hosted. Rodents were trapped in 13 existing grassland sites in Northwest Arkansas, USA during 2020 and 2021. Rodent blood samples were screened for antibodies against three common rodent-borne virus groups: orthohantaviruses, arenaviruses, and orthopoxviruses. We captured 616 …