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Articles 1 - 5 of 5
Full-Text Articles in Life Sciences
A Phylogenetic Analysis Of The Population Dynamics Of A Captive Colony Of Diploptera Punctata., Nick Peterson
A Phylogenetic Analysis Of The Population Dynamics Of A Captive Colony Of Diploptera Punctata., Nick Peterson
Theses/Capstones/Creative Projects
The unique milk production of Diploptera punctata makes this species a promising model species in entomology for studying the evolution of milk production and for insect endocrinology. Despite this, the genetic diversity of captive populations of the species is not well studied. To better evaluate the captive diversity and population dynamics of Diploptera punctata at UNO we extracted the DNA of 20 random individuals and amplified their DNA using 4 different primers before cleaning the amplified products and sequencing the genes of the samples for use in both individual and concatenated phylogenetic trees. Our results indicate the UNO colony of …
Juvenile Hormone Mediation In An Insect With Parental Care Behavior, Jessica M. Rodino
Juvenile Hormone Mediation In An Insect With Parental Care Behavior, Jessica M. Rodino
UNO Student Research and Creative Activity Fair
Juvenile hormone (JH) is a well-known catalyst for hormonal processes in insects. However, the role of JH in insects that exhibit parental behavior is unknown. We investigated the influence of JH on parental behavior in the burying beetle (Nicrophorus orbicollis). In the first experiment, we manipulated the JH production of females via the administration of varying doses of fluvastatin sodium immediately following oviposition. We found that with increasing fluvastatin dosage, the total mass of offspring and number of offspring decreased while at the same time less of the food source was consumed. These results suggest a link between …
Effects Of Rangeland Management On Milkweed Grazing And Monarch Conservation, Brittany Poynor
Effects Of Rangeland Management On Milkweed Grazing And Monarch Conservation, Brittany Poynor
UNO Student Research and Creative Activity Fair
Cattle typically avoid consuming milkweed plants that contain high levels of toxic defense compounds, and therefore many people assume cattle avoid all milkweeds. However, common milkweed (Asclepias syriaca) contains only moderate levels of toxic compounds, and observations suggest that cattle regularly consume common milkweed and may even preferentially graze flowers and leaves of this species. These observations directly relate to efforts to add over one billion stems of milkweed to the central USA for monarch butterfly (Danaus plexippus) conservation. If cattle intentionally consume common milkweed and other milkweed species, and if certain management practices can reduce …
Recruitment, Survival, And Parasitism Of Monarchs In Residential Gardens And Conservation Areas, Emily A. Geest
Recruitment, Survival, And Parasitism Of Monarchs In Residential Gardens And Conservation Areas, Emily A. Geest
UNO Student Research and Creative Activity Fair
Monarch butterflies (Danaus plexippus) are suffering from declining populations due to habitat loss. To help offset this habitat loss conservationists have encouraged planting milkweed gardens to increase the availability of host plants for larvae. A tachinid fly (Lespesia archippivora) that causes mortality parasitizes monarchs. Understanding the influence these gardens can have on parasitism rates and monarch recruitment is vital to evaluating their effectiveness. I am quantifying egg/larval abundance and demography at conservation areas and residential gardens. Additionally, I am collecting and rearing monarch larvae to compare parasitism rates in both areas. My preliminary results suggest that …
Nectar-Seeking Visits By Butterflies In A Tallgrass Prairie Remnant In Eastern Nebraska, Tanya Bray
Nectar-Seeking Visits By Butterflies In A Tallgrass Prairie Remnant In Eastern Nebraska, Tanya Bray
Biology Faculty Publications
Stolley Prairie, a tallgrass virgin prairie remnant in eastern Nebraska, was visited 20 times between May 25 and August 14, 1988. Fifty-two species offorbs were observed in bloom during this period. Twenty-seven species of butterflies were observed and 21 species made 262 nectar-seeking visits to 21 plant species. While numbers offorbs in bloom did not strongly correlate with numbers of butterflies present, peaks of butterfly occurrence appeared to follow peaks of blossom abundance. The number of plant species utilized by a species of butterfly ranged from one to nine. Plants with an abundance of nectar such as common milkweed and …