Life Sciences Commons^™

Investigation Of Possible Autotoxicity In Daucus Carota L., Carole Greer Smith

Masters Theses

Section I

Introduction

Results of recent research indicate the probable existence of plant-produced chemical substances which affect the behavior of other plants. Germination-inhibiting, and growth-inhibiting substances have been found to be widely distributed throughout the Plant Kingdom (Garb, 1960). Although the presence of inhibitors has been demonstrated in laboratory experiments, their ecological significance has not been clearly defined.

A preliminary study by the writer indicated the probability of autotoxicity in Daucus carota L., a biennial common to fields and roadsides in the northeastern United States. This study suggested the following investigation which was undertaken to determine more specifically the effects …

Geographic Variation Of The Pocket Gopher Thomomys Bottae In The Rio Grande Valley Of New Mexico, Thomas H. Follingstad

Biology ETDs

The geographic variation of the pocket gopher Thomomys bottae in the Rio Grande Valley of New Mexico and Conejos County, Colorado were studied. The pocket gophers were collected and prepared as standard museum skins and skulls. Various dimensions of the pocket gophers are measured, treated statistically, and plotted as Dice squares. Four groups of geographically related and like-sized animals were noted. These groups could be associated with four previously described subspecies of T. bottae. It was possible to observe a correlation between the mean size of each sample of gophers and the soil type in which they were found. The …

Studies Of Cs137 Metabolism In Several Mammals During Cold Exposure And Hibernation, Yu-Chong Lin

Biology ETDs

Experiments were conducted to define the extent to which lowered body temperature changes biological half-time and distribution of radiosotopes in tissues.

Metabolism of radioisotopes may be expected to be temperature dependent as the metabolism of many electrolytes has been demonstrated to involve temperature dependent mechanisms such as enzymatic transfer.

The effect of temperature on Cs 137 distribution in the mammalian hibernator, Citellus lateralis (Golden mantled ground squirrels) was studied. Experiments were conducted at the whole body and tissue levels. Radioactivity was measured with a small animal gamma scintillation detector. Whole body counts of animals given a single intraperitoneal injection of …

Phytosociological Study Of The Picuris Grant And Ethnobotanical Study Of The Picuris Indians., John C. Krenetsky

Biology ETDs

The objective of this study was to make a vegetative map and phytosociological study of the Picuris Grant, Taos County, New Mexico, and an ethnobotanical study of the Picuris Indians. The ethnobotanical study consists of a lid of commonly used plants and their uses.

The vegetation of the Grant is divided into five types: pinyon-juniper, ponderosa pine-pinyon-juniper, ponderosa pine, mixed conifer, and domestic. The first four types were subjected to intensive sampling using the line-strip method of Woodin and Lindsey modified to 400-foot elbs. Six elbs per slope exposure in each type were attempted.

Due to more favorable temperature and …

Some Aspects Of Kangaroo Rat Locomotion, Gerald G. Wheeler

Biology ETDs

Two species of kangaroo rats, Dipodomys merriami and D. ordi, were compared as to speed of locomotion in an experimental situation. They were timed as they moved through a hardware cloth tunnel with an electrified floor. Measurements of body parts especially those associated with a salutatory mode of locomotion were made, analyzed statistically, and their relation to the results discussed. The morphological data suggest that D. merriami can be expected to move more rapidly. Under laboratory conditions, however, D. ordi was faster (at the 95% confidence level). Possible reasons are discussed.

The Water-Bath As A Tool In Evaluating Responses Of Small Mammals To Thermal Stress, John T. Yelverton

Biology ETDs

The rate of heat loss from an animal to the environment is dependent upon multiple factors. External or environmental factors include the temperature gradient between the animal end the environment, humidity, and air velocity. With a water-bath technique these variables are eliminated by keeping the skin temperature of the animal nearly equal to that of the water.

In this study Citellus lateralis vas the only animal able to endure hypothermic conditions (25 C water) in either swimming or confined states by increasing metabolic rate. It is apparent that Mesocricetus auratus and Dipodomys ordi are more dependent upon passive temperature regulation …

The Effects Of Cobalt-60 On A Desert Root System, Mary G. Mayes

Biology ETDs

Tribulus terrestris L. (T. terrestris) is a late summer annual inhabiting relatively dry areas of southwestern United States. In the more northern latitudes of the Southwest, seeds do not germinate until about the middle of July when both day and night temperatures are high and the seasonal rains have started. The vinelike plant grows prostrate with a prominent deep penetrating taproot and even-numbered, pinnately compound leaves. The leaflets vary from three to seven pairs, are oblong, entire, folding together along the leaf axis at night or in windy or unusually cool weather. The flowers are usually lemon yellow, solitary, and …

Modern Pollen Rain And Fossil Profiles, Sandia Mountains, New Mexico, James Edward King

Biology ETDs

The modern pollen rain from each forest association on the east slope of the Sandia Mountains, new Mexico was sampled by the means of byrophytic pollsters. These modern pollen spectra were then compared to the diagrams of four fossil pollen profiles collected at 10,000, 8,000, 8,100, and 7,300 feet. It was found that the modern pollen rain of Picea and Abies is limited to the association in which these taxa are found and that down-slope, wind-borne drifting of Picea pollen is less than 400 feet. Since the only Picea found in the Sandia Mountains grow in the spruce-fir association, the …

Plant Distribution Of The Sandia Mountains Area, New Mexico, James N. Naylor

Biology ETDs

The Sandia Mountains are a block-fault range which attained the present height and topography during the Pleistocene epoch. The mountains are located just east of the Rio Grande in north-central New Mexico between 35° 05' N and 35° 18' N and between 106° 22' W and 106° 30' W. The general climate of the area is arid continental but there is much variation between the climate at the foot of the mountains and the climate at the crest ridge. There are four U. S. Weather Bureau weather stations within the area and a comparison is made among the weather records …

Distribution And Ecology Of The Bats Of The Mogollon Mountains Area, Clyde Jones

Biology ETDs

The purpose of this investigation is to record information concerning distribution, ecology, and natural history, and to determine, if possible, the factor or group of factors that may influence distribution and activity of bats in the Mogollon Mountains area of southwestern New Mexico and extreme northwestern Arizona. A total of 1595 specimens of bats were collected on 101 occasions from 44 localities within the study area. Most of the specimens assembled for study were collapsed by mist nets placed over water tanks, over ponds and streams, or over entrances to mines and caves. A few specimens were shot. For nearly …

A Comparative Analysis Of Amino Acids In Tetrahymena Pyriformis Under Feeding And Starvation Conditions, Jeanne Whitaker Clabough

Theses & Honors Papers

No abstract provided.

On The Behavioral Responses Of Free Uinta Ground Squirrels To Trapping, David F. Balph

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Biologists often trap animals to obtain information on them. If trapping is selective toward some animals, the information may be inaccurate. Most mammalogists know or suspect that their trapping techniques (reviewed by Hayne, 1949; and Stickel, 1954) contain sources of bias. Since trapping remains the only feasible way to obtain information on many animals, researchers have tried to discover sources of sampling error and refine their techniques. They have found that one major source of difficulty may lie in the behavior of animals. Individual animals seem to respond differently to trapping, both initially and through learning (Geis, 1955; Crowcroft and …

Canada Goose Production And Population Stability, Ogden Bay Waterfowl Management Area, Utah, Norman H. Dey

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Since the development of Ogden Bay Waterfowl Management Area in 1937, the Canada goose (Branta canadesis moffitti) population increased to a peak in 1949 and then declined slightly. Nelson (1954) noted that the decrease in population was probably due to either a change in habitat or increased hunting pressure. In recent years, direct band returns have indicated a high mortality rate in the population. This project was initiated to determine the relative stability of the Canada goose population and to measure, as closely as possible, the effect of a high mortality rate upon the nesting population.

To estimate …

Production And Waterfowl Utilization Of Sago Pondweed (Potamogeton Pectinatus) On The Marshes Of The Bear River In Northern Utah, Robert Leon Craner

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

According to MCAtee (1918), Mabbott (1920), Martin and Uhler (1939) and other leading waterfowl food habit authorities, sago pondweed (Potamogeton pectinatus) is one of the most important waterfowl food plants in the United States. The seeds, vegetative leaves and stems, and the tubers of this plant are apparently sought by waterfowl.

Some Effects Of Accumulated Radium On The Productivity Of Algae, Joseph W. Angelovic

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Ionizing radiation from natural occurring radionuclides and cosmic rays has always been a part of man's environment, but at such low levels as to have had virtually no effect. However, with the advent of the atomic age and the advancement of nuclear technology, background activity has measurably increased all over the world. Fallout from nuclear weapons testing, wastes from nuclear reactors, and wastes from the milling of radioactive ores have all contributed to this increase. Due to this increase, many ecosystems and their individual components are now subjected to radiation levels as high as a million times natural background. What …

Canada Goose Production And Population Stability, Ogden Bay Waterfowl Management Area, Utah, Norman H. Dey

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Since the development of Ogden Bay Waterfowl Management Area in 1937, the Canada goose (Branta canadesis moffitti) population increased to a peak in 1949 and then declined slightly. Nelson (1954) noted that the decrease in population was probably due to either a change in habitat or increased hunting pressure. In recent years, direct band returns have indicated a high mortality rate in the population. This project was initiated to determine the relative stability of the Canada goose population and to measure, as closely as possible, the effect of a high mortality rate upon the nesting population.

Geographic Variation In New Mexican Horned Larks, David M. Niles

Biology ETDs

Horned Larks, Eremophila alpestris, were collected from eight stations in New Mexico in order to investigate geographic variation in size of certain skeletal elements and in back coloration of males. Size of many mensural characters appears to increase clinically to the north; but, the effects of latitude (presumably an example of Bergmann’s Role) are often modified by local ecological conditions, notably altitude. Those characters not demonstrating this are, in general, disassociated from the main metabolic mass of the birds. Females seem more affected by the above than males. Back coloration was found to vary in much the same manner as …

Measurements Of Swimming Speeds Of Yellowfin Tuna And Wahoo, Vladimir Walters, Harry L. Fierstine

Biological Sciences

No abstract provided.

Another Pacific Record Of The Black Swift Off Mexico, O. Marcus Buchanan, Harry L. Fierstine

Biological Sciences

No abstract provided.

A Preliminary Survey Of The Algae Of Cheyenne Bottoms In Kansas, Henry J. Mcfarland, Edward A. Brazda, Ben H. Mcfarland

Fort Hays Studies Series

The purpose of this study was to classify and describe some of the algae of Cheyenne Bottoms Wildlife Refuge, Barton County, Kansas. The general geographic location is northeast of Great Bend, Kansas. A natural basin has been converted by dikes into a group of pools. The study was made over a two year period starting in May, 1960.

Dry-Plains Conservation: An Activity Or Experimental Method Of Teaching Soil And Water Conservation In Southwestern Dry-Plains Natural Science Classrooms., David W. Pierson

Fort Hays Studies Series

This paper is an attempt to provide teachers in the dry-plains regions with certain concepts and techniques believed to be of value in assisting students to develop an understanding of the uniqueness of their environment. While most of the activities, experiments, and demonstrations were first organized for a biology class, many of them should be suitable for use in other classes which involve the natural sciences.

Euphthiracaroidea Of California Sequoia Litter: With A Reclassification Of The Families And Genera Of The World (Acarina: Oribatei), Neil A. Walker

Fort Hays Studies Series

The specimens on which this study is based were collected in litter under both the coast redwood, Sequoia sempervirens Endlicher, and Sierra redwood, S. gigantea Decaisne. The results of this study are the taxonomic discrimination of the speicies of each redwood region.

Photoperiodism And Other Factors Affecting The Germination Of Statoblasts Of Lophopodella Carteri (Hyatt), Elizabeth Ann Bergin

Master's Theses

Sample groups of the statoblasts of Lophopodella carteri (Hyatt) were pretreated by drying, cooling, freezing, immersion in water and combinations of these conditions. Then, they were subjected to 24-hour dark and 8, 12, and 24 hour light photoperiods . A control was maintained under natural dark-light (day-night) conditions. The analysis of variance and Newman-Keuls tests were used to analyze the data. The cool wet pretreatment gave the best germination for the statoblasts. For the photoperiods, statoblasts in 8 and 12 hour light periods and the control had the highest germination rate.

When sodium hypochlorite was used to surface-sterilize the stato­ …

Histological And Cytological Changes In The Small Intestine Of Hyla Versicolor Le Conte During Metamorphosis, Henry B. Robinson

Master's Theses

The object or the present study was to determine the histological and cytological changes that occur, during metamorphosis, in the small intestine of versicolor Le Conte. It was felt that such a study would clarify and amplify earlier observations.

Yanchep National Park, Clee Francis Howard Jenkins

Journal of the Department of Agriculture, Western Australia, Series 4

YANCHEP National Park lies just over 30 miles north of Perth, and was gazetted as an A Class Reserve in 1905.

It covers more than 6,000 acres.

An Analysis Of Cytological Screening For Cervical Cancer (A 7 Year Survey), Phoebe E. Rutherford

Masters Theses

Introduction

It is the purpose of this study to review the cervical cancers, stained by Papanicolaou (1956:3-6) method, at Borgess Hospital, Kalamazoo, Michigan, from September, 1956 to September 1963.

A previous analysis of the cytological screening at Borgess Hospital to ascertain the per coat accuracy in cervical diagnoses, was made by the investigator in June, 1961. This study, covering a four year period, draw attention to the fact that the patients with invasive carcinoma were in a much older age group than any other reported series studies. This fact plus the rapid recognition, by physicians and patients, of the value …

Using Sordaria Fimicola For Teaching Genetic Segregation, Crossing Over, And Probability, Roger Green Isaacson

Dissertations and Theses @ UNI

Since the late 1950's, American education has been undergoing a critical evaluation and review. This review has brought about some changes in emphasis and an upgrading in science curricula. The American Institute of Biological Sciences, supported by the National Science Foundation, accepted major responsibility for the field of biology and established the Biological Science Curriculum Study (BSCS). H. Bentley Glass., Chairman of BSCS, states: "The aim of the Biological Science Curriculum Study is to place biological knowledge in its fullest modem perspective. To accomplish this aim, a program of research, writing, testing, and evaluation was inaugurated.

Respiration Studies Of Rattus Rattus And Citellus Lateralis Brain Tissue Slices At 20 And 37 C, Sonja Hyduke

Biology ETDs

The purpose of this study is to investigate the extent of temperature and substrate dependence of brain tissue metabolism in hibernating animals. Possible cellular adaptations to low temperatures may indicate mechanisms possessed by the hibernator to maintain neural functions at low temperature. Oxygen consumption of brain tissue slices from homeothermic rats and active and hibernating ground squirrels (Citellus lateralis) was to describe the effect of temperature on rates of utilization of several substrates.

Ecology Of Summer Aquatic Invertebrate Populations In A Marsh Area Of Utah Lake, David A. White

Theses and Dissertations

Mud Lake marsh lies east of Utah Lake between the cities of Provo and Springville in Utah County. Since 1936 it has become a polluted, odiferous, silted area. A study was conducted on the aquatic invertebrates during the summer of 1962 (June 19 to September 20). An .01 meter2 bottom sampler was used at 30 random stations. Each station was sampled once a week. Water depth, mud, water and air temperatures were taken at each station. Dissolved oxygen (Winkler method) and ion resistance (Wheatstone bridge) were taken each day. The aquatic invertebrate community consisted of benthic (Diptera, Oligochaeta, Nematoda), interphashic …

Microenvironmental Conditions Of The Day Resting Places Of Cottontail Rabbits, Orin Gelderloos

Masters Theses

This investigation was concerned with the microenvironment of the daytime resting places of cottontail rabbits (Sylvilagus floridanus) in southwestern Michigan. Many studies have been made of the habitat (Friley, 1955), cover (Hendrickson, 1938; Leopold, 1942; Linduska, 1947), food (Trippensee, 1938; Dice, 1945), and home ranges (Haugen, 1942) of cottontail rabbits. The purpose of this investigation was to search for possible correlations between various physical factors and the daytime activity and resting places of cottontails.