Life Sciences Commons^™

Observations Of Brachygnathia Superior (Underbite) In Wild Ruminates In Western Montana, Usa, J. A. Hoy, G. T. Haas, R. D. Hoy, Pamela Hallock

Marine Science Faculty Publications

Since spring of 1995 developmental malformations have been observed on many species of vertebrates. The most frequently observed of a range of skeletal anomalies is brachygnathia superior, also called mandibular prognathia, resulting from underdevelopment in length and width of the premaxillary bone forward of the upper premolars on ruminant species. To quantify these observations, facial anatomy was examined for bone and dental malformations on 1061 white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) that were accident-killed or died of natural causes between January 1996 and December 2010 in northern Ravalli County in the Bitterroot Valley of west-central, Montana, USA. Observations of brachygnathia …

A Tale Of Two Eddies: Diagnosing Coherent Eddies Through Acoustic Remote Sensing, T. Rossby, C. Flagg, P. Ortner, C. Hu

Marine Science Faculty Publications

A 38 kHz vessel-mounted acoustic Doppler current profiler is used to explore in detail the dynamics of an anticyclonic and a cyclonic eddy during two transits of the cruise vessel Explorer of the Seas from the Caribbean to New Jersey in July 2007. The radial scale of the two eddies is similar, but whereas the cyclone is strongly surface intensified, the anticyclone has its maximum expression with near–solid body rotation between 200 and 800 m depth. The anticyclone has a minimum in relative vorticity very close to −f at 800 m depth and the cyclone has a maximum of about …

Demasculinization And Feminization Of Male Gonads By Atrazine: Consistent Effects Across Vertebrate Classes, Krista A. Mccoy

Integrative Biology Faculty and Staff Publications

Atrazine is the most commonly detected pesticide contaminant of ground water, surface water, and precipitation. Atrazine is also an endocrine disruptor that, among other effects, alters male reproductive tissues when animals are exposed during development. Here, we apply the nine so-called “Hill criteria” (Strength, Consistency, Specificity, Temporality, Biological Gradient, Plausibility, Coherence, Experiment, and Analogy) for establishing cause–effect relationships to examine the evidence for atrazine as an endocrine disruptor that demasculinizes and feminizes the gonads of male vertebrates. We present experimental evidence that the effects of atrazine on male development are consistent across all vertebrate classes examined and we present a …

University Of South Florida St. Petersburg Student Research Journal, Vol. 1, Issue 1, Article 3 : Modeling A Molecular Dynamic Simulation Of The Stat3 Monomer, Jessica Ruekberg, Demetrios Kiriopoulos, Kevin Moore, Deby L. Cassill, Leon Hardy

USF St. Petersburg campus Faculty Publications

STAT3, also known as signal transducer and activator of transcription 3, is a DNA transcription enzyme. In mammals including humans, STAT3 regulates the expression of a variety of genes that play a role in embryonic development. Specifically, STAT3 regulates cell division, cell differentiation and cell death (apoptosis). During embryonic development, STAT3 proteins are phosphorylated in a cell's cytoplasm in response to chemical growth factors. Once phosphorylated, STAT3 proteins pair up to form homodimers that act like pliers. STAT3 homodimers are transferred into the cell nucleus, where they bind to DNA to regulate embryonic development. When mutations of the STAT3 gene …

Exploring The Diversity Of Plant Dna Viruses And Their Satellites Using Vector-Enabled Metagenomics On Whiteflies, Terry Fei Fan Ng, Siobain Duffy, Jane Polston, Elise Bixby, Gary Vallad, Mya Breitbart

Marine Science Faculty Publications

Current knowledge of plant virus diversity is biased towards agents of visible and economically important diseases. Less is known about viruses that have not caused major diseases in crops, or viruses from native vegetation, which are a reservoir of biodiversity that can contribute to viral emergence. Discovery of these plant viruses is hindered by the traditional approach of sampling individual symptomatic plants. Since many damaging plant viruses are transmitted by insect vectors, we have developed “vector-enabled metagenomics” (VEM) to investigate the diversity of plant viruses. VEM involves sampling of insect vectors (in this case, whiteflies) from plants, followed by purification …

Blood-Brain Barrier Impairment In An Animal Model Of Mps Iii B, Svitlana N. Garbuzova-Davis, Michael Louis, Edward M. Haller, Hiranya M. Derasari, Ashley E. Rawls, Paul R. Sanberg

Integrative Biology Faculty and Staff Publications

Background: Sanfilippo syndrome type B (MPS III B) is caused by a deficiency of α-N-acetylglucosaminidase enzyme, leading to accumulation of heparan sulfate within lysosomes and eventual progressive cerebral and systemic multiple organ abnormalities. However, little is known about the competence of the blood-brain barrier (BBB) in MPS III B. BBB dysfunction in this devastating disorder could contribute to neuropathological disease manifestations.

Methodology/Principal Findings: In the present study, we investigated structural (electron microscope) and functional (vascular leakage) integrity of the BBB in a mouse model of MPS III B at different stages of disease, focusing on brain structures known to experience …

Fertilization Potential Of Volcanic Dust In The Low-Nutrient Low-Chlorophyll Western North Pacific Subtropical Gyre: Satellite Evidence And Laboratory Study, I. -I. Lin, Chuanmin Hu, Yuan-Hui Li, Tung-Yuan Ho, Tobias P. Fischer, George T. F. Wong, Jingfeng Wu, Chih-Wei Huang, D. Allen Chu, Dong S. Ko, Jen-Ping Chen

Marine Science Faculty Publications

In the western North Pacific subtropical ocean, the Anatahan volcano of the Mariana Islands erupted on 10 May 2003 for the first time in recorded history. Based on nine different types of remote sensing data provided by NASA, laboratory experiment of the Anatahan samples, and a 3-D ocean circulation model developed by the U.S. Naval Research Laboratory, the postvolcanic ocean biogeochemical response to the Anatahan eruption was explored. It was observed that soon after the eruption, the aerosol optical depth abruptly increased from the pre-eruption loading of ∼0.1 to ∼2. In the week following the eruption, a “bloom-like” patch was …

Locomotor Loading Mechanics In The Hindlimbs Of Tegu Lizards (Tupinambis Merianae): Comparative And Evolutionary Implications, K. Megan Sheffield, Michael T. Butcher, S. Katharine Shugart, Jennifer C. Gander, Richard W. Blob

Academic Services Faculty and Staff Publications

Skeletal elements are usually able to withstand several times their usual load before they yield, and this ratio is known as the bone’s safety factor. Limited studies on amphibians and non-avian reptiles have shown that they have much higher limb bone safety factors than birds and mammals. It has been hypothesized that this difference is related to the difference in posture between upright birds and mammals and sprawling ectotherms; however, limb bone loading data from a wider range of sprawling species are needed in order to determine whether the higher safety factors seen in amphibians and non-avian reptiles are ancestral …

Loading Mechanics Of The Femur In Tiger Salamanders (Ambystoma Tigrinum) During Terrestrial Locomotion, K. Megan Sheffield, Richard W. Blob

Academic Services Faculty and Staff Publications

Salamanders are often used as representatives of the basal tetrapod body plan in functional studies, but little is known about the loads experienced by their limb bones during locomotion. Although salamanders’ slow walking speeds might lead to low locomotor forces and limb bone stresses similar to those of non-avian reptiles, their highly sprawled posture combined with relatively small limb bones could produce elevated limb bone stresses closer to those of avian and mammalian species. This study evaluates the loads on the femur of the tiger salamander (Ambystoma tigrinum) during terrestrial locomotion using three- dimensional measurements of the ground reaction force …

Disorder Predictors Also Predict Backbone Dynamics For A Family Of Disordered Proteins, Gary W. Daughdrill, Wade M. Borcherds, Hongwei Wu

Molecular Biosciences Faculty Publications

Several algorithms have been developed that use amino acid sequences to predict whether or not a protein or a region of a protein is disordered. These algorithms make accurate predictions for disordered regions that are 30 amino acids or longer, but it is unclear whether the predictions can be directly related to the backbone dynamics of individual amino acid residues. The nuclear Overhauser effect between the amide nitrogen and hydrogen (NHNOE) provides an unambiguous measure of backbone dynamics at single residue resolution and is an excellent tool for characterizing the dynamic behavior of disordered proteins. In this report, we show …

Usgs Science For The Nation’S Changing Coasts: Shoreline Change Research, Cheryl J. Hapke, E. Robert Thieler

Marine Science Faculty Publications

The demands of increasing human population in the coastal zone create competition with coastal habitat preservation and with recreational and commercial uses of the coast and nearshore waters. As climate changes over the coming century, these problems facing coastal communities will likely worsen. Good management and policy decision-making require baseline information on the rates, trends, and scientific understanding of the processes of coastal change on a regional to national scale. To address this need, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) is engaged in a research project of national scope to measure, report, and interpret historical shoreline change along open-ocean coasts of …

National Assessment Of Shoreline Change: Historical Shoreline Change Along The New England And Mid-Atlantic Coasts, Cheryl J. Hapke, Emily A. Himmelstoss, Meredith G. Kratzmann, E. Robert Thieler

Marine Science Faculty Publications

Beach erosion is a chronic problem along many open-ocean shores of the United States. As coastal populations continue to grow and community infrastructures are threatened by erosion, there is increased demand for accurate information regarding past and present trends and rates of shoreline movement. There is also a need for a comprehensive analysis of shoreline movement that is consistent from one coastal region to another. To meet these national needs, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) is conducting an analysis of historical shoreline changes along open-ocean sandy shores of the conterminous United States and parts of Hawaii, Alaska, and the Great …

Running Head: Foram Assemblages From Three Substrata Comparison Of Foraminiferal Assemblages From Three Kinds Of Substrata, Durney Key, West-Centralflorida, Usa, K. Anderson, Pamela Hallock

Marine Science Faculty Publications

As part of a project that assessed a proposed artificial reef site, this study compared benthic foraminiferal assemblages from three substrata: sediment, natural lime rock and recruitment tiles. The assemblage from sediment samples included 21 foraminiferal species representing 12 genera and was dominated by stress-tolerant taxa, especially Ammonia and Elphidium. Natural lime rock and recruitment tiles yielded 21 foraminiferal species representing 11 genera, which were dominated by miliolids. Intersample variability was characterized by “pulsating patches” as has been previously described forFloridaestuaries. The predominance of stress-tolerant taxa in sediments was consistent with other observations from the site, which indicated that …

Evaluation Of High-Frequency Oceanographic Signal In Grace Data: Implications For De-Aliasing, Jennifer A. Bonin, D. P. Chambers

Marine Science Faculty Publications

[1] The sub-monthly portion of a recent daily-resolution GRACE data set (ITG-Grace2010) is evaluated over the ocean by comparing with the high-frequency component of sea level variability measured by satellite altimetry. The current Atmosphere and Ocean De-aliasing (AOD) model used to remove the high-frequency non-tidal ocean mass variations in GRACE data processing is also assessed. We demonstrate that the OMCT-based AOD model does not adequately represent the true sub-monthly variability in non-tidal ocean mass variability, but that ITG-Grace2010 does. The differences are not small, and indicate that a new model, or a data set derived from sub-monthly GRACE information, should …

An Improved Bathymetry Compilation For The Bellingshausen Sea, Antarctica, To Inform Ice-Sheet And Ocean Models, A. G. C. Graham, F. O. Nitsche, R. D. Larter

Marine Science Faculty Publications

The southern Bellingshausen Sea (SBS) is a rapidly-changing part of West Antarctica, where oceanic and atmospheric warming has led to the recent basal melting and break-up of the Wilkins ice shelf, the dynamic thinning of fringing glaciers, and sea-ice reduction. Accurate sea-floor morphology is vital for understanding the continued effects of each process upon changes within Antarctica's ice sheets. Here we present a new bathymetric grid for the SBS compiled from shipborne multibeam echo-sounder, spot-sounding and sub-ice measurements. The 1-km grid is the most detailed compilation for the SBS to-date, revealing large cross-shelf troughs, shallow banks, and deep inner-shelf basins …

An Empirical Approach To Derive Modis Ocean Color Patterns Under Severe Sun Glint, Chuanmin Hu

Marine Science Faculty Publications

Oil tracking in the Gulf of Mexico in response to the Deepwater Horizon accident requires timely and accurate observations of major circulation patterns such as the Loop Current and LC eddies. When the eastern GOM becomes nearly isothermal at the surface and the use of sea surface temperature imagery is limited, MODIS ocean color data can be used instead. However, frequent and extensive sun glint prevents such an application when glint reflectance, Lg, is >0.01 sr⁻¹. Here, an empirical approach is developed to remove sun glint and clouds based on band ratios between the Rayleigh-corrected reflectance ( …

Broad Surveys Of Dna Viral Diversity Obtained Through Viral Metagenomics Of Mosquitoes, Terry Fei Fan Ng, Dana Willner, Yan Wei Lim, Robert Schmieder, Betty Chau, Christina Nilsson, Simon Anthony, Yijun Ruan, Forest Rohwer, Mya Breitbart

Marine Science Faculty Publications

Viruses are the most abundant and diverse genetic entities on Earth; however, broad surveys of viral diversity are hindered by the lack of a universal assay for viruses and the inability to sample a sufficient number of individual hosts. This study utilized vector-enabled metagenomics (VEM) to provide a snapshot of the diversity of DNA viruses present in three mosquito samples from San Diego, California. The majority of the sequences were novel, suggesting that the viral community in mosquitoes, as well as the animal and plant hosts they feed on, is highly diverse and largely uncharacterized. Each mosquito sample contained a …

Perennial Ponds Are Not An Important Source Of Water Or Dissolved Organic Matter To Groundwaters With High Arsenic Concentrations In West Bengal, India, Saugata Datta, Andrew W. Neal, T. Jade Mohajerin, Troy Ocheltree, Brad E. Rosenheim, Christopher D. White, Karen H. Johannesson

Marine Science Faculty Publications

[1] Arsenic (As) concentrations and stable hydrogen (δ²H) and oxygen (δ¹⁸O) isotope ratios of surface and groundwaters from a representative site in West Bengal, India, are reported. Shallow groundwaters (≤35 m) from the study site have among the highest As concentrations measured in the entire Bengal Basin, reaching values in excess of 4600 μg kg⁻¹. Stable isotope ratios of waters from constructed, perennial ponds indicate the ponds are chiefly recharged during the summer monsoon, and subsequently undergo extensive evaporation during the dry (winter) season. In contrast, groundwaters with high As concentrations …

Enso-Correlated Fluctuations In Ocean Bottom Pressure And Wind-Stress Curl In The North Pacific, D. P. Chambers

Marine Science Faculty Publications

We examine the output of an ocean model forced by ECMWF winds to study the theoretical relationship between wind-induced changes in ocean bottom pressure in the North Pacific between 1992 until 2010 and ENSO. Our analysis indicates that while there are significant fluctuations correlated with some El Niño and La Niña events, the correlation is still relatively low. Moreover, the ENSO-correlated variability explains only 50 % of the non-seasonal, low-frequency variance. There are significant residual fluctuations in both wind-stress curl and ocean bottom pressure in the region with periods of 4-years and longer. One such fluctuation began in late 2002 …

Sea Surface Temperature Variability In The Florida Keys And Its Relationship To Coral Cover, I. M. Soto, Frank E. Muller-Karger, Pamela Hallock, C. Hu

Marine Science Faculty Publications

The hypothesis that moderate variability in Sea Surface Temperature (SST) is associated with higher coral cover and slower rates of decline of coral cover within the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary (FKNMS) was examined. Synoptic SST time series covering the period 1994–2008 were constructed for the FKNMS with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer satellite sensors. The SST data were compared with coral-cover time-series data from 36 sites monitored by the Coral Reef and Evaluation Monitoring Program. Sites that experienced moderately high SST variability relative to other sites showed a trend toward higher percentage coral …

Phage Encoded H-Ns: A Potential Achilles Heel In The Bacterial Defence System, Connor Skennerton, Florent Angly, Mya Breitbart, Lauren Bragg, Shaomei He, Katherine Mcmahon, Philip Hugenholtz, Gene Tyson

Marine Science Faculty Publications

The relationship between phage and their microbial hosts is difficult to elucidate in complex natural ecosystems. Engineered systems performing enhanced biological phosphorus removal (EBPR), offer stable, lower complexity communities for studying phage-host interactions. Here, metagenomic data from an EBPR reactor dominated by Candidatus Accumulibacter phosphatis (CAP), led to the recovery of three complete and six partial phage genomes. Heat-stable nucleoid structuring (H-NS) protein, a global transcriptional repressor in bacteria, was identified in one of the complete phage genomes (EPV1), and was most similar to a homolog in CAP. We infer that EPV1 is a CAP-specific phage and has the potential …

Multibeam Investigation Of An Artificial Reef Settlement In The Adriatic Sea (Italy) 33 Years After Its Deployment, Sarine Manoukian, Gianna Fabi, David F. Naar

Marine Science Faculty Publications

Artificial reefs (ARs) are becoming a popular biological and management component in shallow water environments characterized by soft seabed, representing both important marine habitats and tools to manage coastal fisheries and resources. Because of the unstable nature of sediments, they require a detailed and systematic investigation that acoustic systems can provide. An AR into the marine environment acts as an open system with exchange of material and energy, altering the physical and biological characteristics of the surrounding area. The AR stability will depend on the balance of scour, settlement, and burial resulting from ocean conditions over time. The acoustic systems …

The Martian Atmospheric Boundary Layer, A. Petrosyan, B. Galperin, S. E. Larsen, S. R. Lewis, A. Määttänen, P. L. Read, N. Renno, L. P. Rogberg, H. Savijärvi, T. Siili, A. Spiga, A. Toigo, L. Vázquez

Marine Science Faculty Publications

The planetary boundary layer (PBL) represents the part of the atmosphere that is strongly influenced by the presence of the underlying surface and mediates the key interactions between the atmosphere and the surface. On Mars, this represents the lowest 10 km of the atmosphere during the daytime. This portion of the atmosphere is extremely important, both scientifically and operationally, because it is the region within which surface lander spacecraft must operate and also determines exchanges of heat, momentum, dust, water, and other tracers between surface and subsurface reservoirs and the free atmosphere. To date, this region of the atmosphere has …