Life Sciences Commons^™

Dietary Development And Nutritional Ontogeny In Gorilla Beringei : A Multi-Layered, -Omics Approach, Emma C. Cancelliere

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

In species who consume folivorous diets, immature individuals must contend with the challenges of extracting nutrients from fibrous foods before dietary adaptations and strategies are fully developed. Additionally, immatures have distinct nutritional needs to support their stage-specific metabolic and biophysiological requirements. To meet these stage-specific needs, while constrained by underdeveloped feeding strategies and digestive capacities, immatures may adopt distinct diets better suited to their specific developmental context. However, where dietary modification is constrained by low dietary diversity or landscape homogeneity, it is unclear how immature individuals compensate through alternative strategies. In turn, little is known about the nutritional and life …

Effects Of Leaf Litter On Organ Size Plasticity And Microbiome Composition In The Larval Gray Tree Frog, Hyla Versicolor, Delaney Lyons

Undergraduate Distinction Papers

Abstract

Leaf litter can influence growth and development of amphibians by providing nutrients, structural support, and chemical leachates to the water. The purpose of this research was to determine the effects of Red Maple, Acer rubrum, and Pin Oak, Quercus palustris, leaf litter on organ size plasticity and microbiome composition in larval gray treefrogs, Hyla versicolor. Larvae were raised in outdoor mesocosms each containing 20 tadpoles. The treatments included: no leaf litter, maple litter, and oak litter. There were also treatments in which leaves were soaked in advance to remove leachates. This separated leaf structure from chemical make-up. Each treatment …