Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®
Articles 1 - 3 of 3
Full-Text Articles in Life Sciences
Steady Heartbeat: Field And Laboratory Studies Indicate Unexpected Resilience To High Temperatures For The Ribbed Mussel Geukensia Demissa, Ashlyn N. Smith Ms.
Steady Heartbeat: Field And Laboratory Studies Indicate Unexpected Resilience To High Temperatures For The Ribbed Mussel Geukensia Demissa, Ashlyn N. Smith Ms.
Honors College Theses
Salt marshes are important ecosystems found along the coast of Georgia. Salt marshes are hosts to diverse organisms that interact with each other to promote many ecosystem services, such as storm buffering and flooding, and absorption of excess nutrients. Among these diverse organisms is the ribbed mussel, Geukensia demissa. Mussels are a foundation species in this intertidal landscape, and without them the whole salt marsh would be negatively affected. The purpose of this investigation was to explore the thermal stress response of G. demissa to rising temperatures. Mussels were collected from three locations that were landlocked, close to a …
The Role Of Reactive Oxygen Species In The Gut Immune Response Of Cat Fleas (Ctenocephalides Felis), Clark Hall
The Role Of Reactive Oxygen Species In The Gut Immune Response Of Cat Fleas (Ctenocephalides Felis), Clark Hall
Honors College Theses
Fleas transmit numerous deadly and debilitating diseases, including the causative agents of murine typhus and plague. Because initial entry of these infectious agents occurs while blood feeding, the immune response in the flea gut is considered to be the first line of defense against invading microbes. However, relatively few studies have identified the flea immune molecules that effectively resist or limit infection in the gut. In other hematophagous insects, an immediate immune response to imbibed pathogens is the generation of reactive oxygen species (ROS). In this study, we utilized cat fleas (Ctenocephalides felis) to investigate whether natural infections …
Plasticity And The Impact Of Increasing Temperature On A Tropical Ectotherm, Adam A. Rosso
Plasticity And The Impact Of Increasing Temperature On A Tropical Ectotherm, Adam A. Rosso
Electronic Theses and Dissertations
Organisms may respond to climate change through behavior, genetic adaptation, and/or phenotypic plasticity. Tropical ectotherms are thought to be especially vulnerable to climate change because most have a narrow range of thermal tolerance while living close to their upper thermal tolerance limits. Additionally, many tropical species live in closed-canopy forests, which provide homogenous thermal landscapes that prevent behavioral compensation for stressfully warm temperatures. Finally, tropical ectotherms are thought to have decreased capacity for phenotypic plasticity because they have evolved in thermally stable environments. We tested gene expression patterns and phenotypic plasticity in the Panamanian slender anole by a) measuring changes …