Life Sciences Commons^™

Fire Legacies In Eastern Ponderosa Pine Forests, Caleb P. Roberts, Victoria M. Donovan, Carissa L. Wonkka, Larkin A. Powell, Craig R. Allen, David G. Angeler, David A. Wedin, Dirac L. Twidwell Jr

Department of Agronomy and Horticulture: Faculty Publications

Disturbance legacies structure communities and ecological memory, but due to increasing changes in disturbance regimes, it is becoming more difficult to characterize disturbance legacies or determine how long they persist. We sought to quantify the characteristics and persistence of material legacies (e.g., biotic residuals of disturbance) that arise from variation in fire severity in an eastern ponderosa pine forest in North America. We compared forest stand structure and understory woody plant and bird community composition and species richness across unburned, low‐, moderate‐, and high‐severity burn patches in a 27‐year‐old mixed‐severity wildfire that had received minimal post‐fire management. We identified distinct …

Relationships Between Wildfire Burn Severity, Cavity-Nesting Bird Assemblages, And Habitat In An Eastern Ponderosa Pine Forest, Emma C. Keele, Victoria M. Donovan, Caleb P. Roberts, Sarah M. Nodskov, Carissa L. Wonkka, Craig R. Allen, Larkin A. Powell, David A. Wedin, David G. Angeler, Dirac Twidwell

Department of Agronomy and Horticulture: Faculty Publications

Historically, eastern ponderosa pine (Pinus ponderosa) forests were described as sparse patches of old-growth trees maintained by frequent, low-severity fires; however, in recent decades, there have been a number of large mixed-severity wildfires throughout the range of these forests. Wildlife responses to severe fire disturbance in eastern ponderosa pine forests are not well understood. Our study investigates how cavity-nesting bird species in an eastern ponderosa pine forest are impacted by burn severity. The objectives of our study were to: (1) identify the community composition of cavity-nesting birds in a 27 y old burn of mixed severity, (2) assess …

Spatial Variability Of Soil Properties Under Different Land Use In The Dang District Of Nepal, Dinesh Panday, Roshan Babu Ojha, Devraj Chalise, Saurav Das, Bikesh Twanabasu

Department of Agronomy and Horticulture: Faculty Publications

Increased nutrient mining, soil erosion, and limited nutrient management has led to declines in soil quality and reduced productivity in many parts of Nepal. A study was conducted in the eastern part of the Dang district of Nepal in 2015 to assess the variability of selected soil properties of three different land use types (agricultural, agroforestry, and grassland) and to map their spatial distribution. A total of 120 soil samples were collected from 0–15 cm depth and analyzed for soil fertility parameters: pH, organic matter (OM), nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P), potassium (K), boron (B), and zinc (Zn). Results revealed that …

Cover Crop Mixture Diversity, Biomass Productivity, Weed Suppression, And Stability, A. M. Florence, Leon G. Higley, R. A. Drijber, Charles A. Francis, John L. Lindquist

Department of Agronomy and Horticulture: Faculty Publications

The diversity-productivity, diversity-invasibility, and diversity-stability hypotheses propose that increasing species diversity should lead, respectively, to increased average biomass productivity, invasion resistance, and stability. We tested these three hypotheses in the context of cover crop mixtures, evaluating the effects of increasing cover crop mixture diversity on above ground biomass, weed suppression, and biomass stability. Twenty to forty cover crop treatments were replicated three or four times at eleven sites using eighteen species representing three cover crop species each from six pre-defined functional groups: cool-season grasses, cool-season legumes, cool-season brassicas, warm-season grasses, warm-season legumes, and warm-season broadleaves. Each species was seeded as …

Ponderosa Pine Regeneration,Wildland Fuels Management, And Habitat Conservation: Identifying Trade-Offs Following Wildfire, Victoria M. Donovan, Caleb P. Roberts, Carissa L. Wonkka, David A. Wedin, Dirac L. Twidwell

Department of Agronomy and Horticulture: Faculty Publications

Increasing wildfires in western North American conifer forests have led to debates surrounding the application of post-fire management practices. There is a lack of consensus on whether (and to what extent) post-fire management assists or hinders managers in achieving goals, particularly in under-studied regions like eastern ponderosa pine forests. This makes it difficult for forest managers to balance among competing interests. We contrast structural and community characteristics across unburned ponderosa pine forest, severely burned ponderosa pine forest, and severely burned ponderosa pine forest treated with post-fire management with respect to three management objectives: ponderosa pine regeneration, wildland fuels control, and …

Beyond Bird Feed: Proso Millet For Human Health And Environment, Saurav Das, Rituraj Khound, Meenakshi Santra, Dipak K. Santra

Department of Agronomy and Horticulture: Faculty Publications

Domesticated in 8000–10,000 BP in northern China, proso millet (Panicum miliaceum L.) is the best adaptive rotational crop for semiarid central High Plains of the USA, where average annual precipitation is 356–407 mm. Proso millet has multiple benefits when consumed as human food. Proso millet is rich in minerals, dietary fiber, polyphenols, vitamins and proteins. It is gluten-free and therefore, ideal for the gluten intolerant people. Proso millet contains high lecithin which supports the neural health system. It is rich in vitamins (niacin, B-complex vitamins, folic acid), minerals (P, Ca, Zn, Fe) and essential amino acids (methionine and cysteine). …

Flue Gas Desulfurization Gypsum As Soil Amendment, Dinesh Panday, Richard Ferguson, Bijesh Maharjan

Department of Agronomy and Horticulture: Faculty Publications

Flue gas desulfurization (FGD) gypsum is one of the by-products of a coal-fired power generation plant. Coal is the world’s most abundant and widely distributed fossil fuel. After natural gas, coal is the second primary source of energy to generate electricity globally (more than 25%) and remains a key component of the fuel mix for power generation to meet electricity demand in most of the developing countries. The U.S., China and India are the top coal producers and consumers (for production of electricity from coal sources) in the world (OECD/IEA, 2014; IEA, 2016). However, in the U.S., its contribution to …

A Key Variant In The Cis-Regulatory Element Of Flowering Gene Ghd8 Associated With Cold Tolerance In Rice, Peng Wang, Yin Xiong, Rong Gong, Ying Yang, Kai Fan, Sibin Yu

Department of Agronomy and Horticulture: Faculty Publications

Variations in the gene promoter play critical roles in the evolution of important adaptive traits in crops, but direct links of the regulatory mutation to the adaptive change are not well understood. Here, we examine the nucleotide variations in the promoter region of a transcription factor (Ghd8) that control grain number, plant height and heading date in rice. We find that a dominant promoter type of subspecies japonica displayed a high activity for Ghd8 expression in comparison with the one in indica. Transgenic analyses revealed that higher expression levels of Ghd8 delayed heading date and enhanced cold …

Assessing Variation In Us Soybean Seed Composition (Protein And Oil), Yared Assefa, Larry C. Purcell, Montse Salmeron, Seth Naeve, Shaun N. Casteel, Peter Kovacs, Sotirios Archontoulis, Mark Licht, Fred Below, Herman Kandel, Laura E. Lindsey, John Gaska, Shawn Conley, Charles Shapiro, John M. Orlowski, Bobby R. Golden, Gurpreet Kaur, Maninderpal Singh, Kurt Thelen, Randall Laurenz, Dan Davidson, Igancio A. Ciampitti

Department of Agronomy and Horticulture: Faculty Publications

Soybean [Glycine max (L.) Merr.] seed composition and yield are a function of genetics (G), environment (E), and management (M) practices, but contribution of each factor to seed composition and yield are not well understood. The goal of this synthesis-analysis was to identify the main effects of G, E, and M factors on seed composition (protein and oil concentration) and yield. The entire dataset (13,574 data points) consisted of 21 studies conducted across the United States (US) between 2002 and 2017 with varying treatments and all reporting seed yield and composition. Environment (E), defined as site-year, was the dominant …

The Genome Of Broomcorn Millet, Changsong Zou, Leiting Li, Daisuke Miki, Delin Li, Qiming Tang, Lihong Xiao, Santosh Rajput, Ping Deng, Li Peng, Wei Jia, Ru Huang, Meiling Zhang, Yidan Sun, Jiamin Hu, Xing Fu, Patrick S. Schnable, Yuxiao Chang, Feng Li, Hui Zhang, Baili Feng, Xinguang Zhu, Renyi Liu, James C. Schnable, Jian-Kang Zhu, Heng Zhang

Department of Agronomy and Horticulture: Faculty Publications

Broomcorn millet (Panicum miliaceum L.) is the most water-efficient cereal and one of the earliest domesticated plants. Here we report its high-quality, chromosome-scale genome assembly using a combination of short-read sequencing, single-molecule real-time sequencing, Hi-C, and a high-density genetic map. Phylogenetic analyses reveal two sets of homologous chromosomes that may have merged ~5.6 million years ago, both of which exhibit strong synteny with other grass species. Broomcorn millet contains 55,930 proteincoding genes and 339 microRNA genes. We find Paniceae-specific expansion in several subfamilies of the BTB (broad complex/tramtrack/bric-a-brac) subunit of ubiquitin E3 ligases, suggesting enhanced regulation of protein dynamics …

Shifting Avian Spatial Regimes In A Changing Climate, Caleb P. Roberts, Craig R. Allen, David G. Angeler, Dirac Twidwell

Department of Agronomy and Horticulture: Faculty Publications

In the present era of rapid global change, development of early warnings of ecological regime shifts is a major focus in ecology. Identifying and tracking shifts in spatial regimes is a new approach with potential to enhance understanding of ecological responses to global change. Here, we show strong directional non-stationarity of spatial regimes identified by avian community body mass data. We do this by tracking 46 years of avian spatial regime movement in the North American Great Plains. The northernmost spatial regime boundary moved >590 km northward, and the southernmost boundary moved >260 km northward. Tracking spatial regimes affords decadal …

Longitudinal Study Of Humoral Immunity To Bovine Coronavirus, Virus Shedding, And Treatment For Bovine Respiratory Disease In Pre-Weaned Beef Calves, Aspen M. Workman, Larry A. Kuehn, Tara G. Mcdaneld, Michael L. Clawson, John Dustin Loy

Department of Animal Science: Faculty Publications

Background: Bovine coronavirus (BCV) is associated with respiratory infections in cattle of all ages; however, a temporal study to evaluate the effect of BCV immunity on virus shedding and bovine respiratory disease (BRD) incidence in pre-weaned beef calves has not been reported. Thus, we report here a prospective study in three herds of crossbred beef calves (n = 817) with endemic BCV. Serial blood samples for measurement of serum anti-BCV antibody titers and nasal swabs for detection of BCV and other common viral and bacterial BRD pathogens were collected from all calves or subsets of calves at predetermined times …

Comparison Of Different Functions To Describe Growth From Weaning To Maturity In Crossbred Beef Cattle, Madeline J. Zimmermann, Larry A. Kuehn, Matthew L. Spangler, R. Mark Thallman, Warren M. Snelling, Ronald M. Lewis

Department of Animal Science: Faculty Publications

Cow mature weight (MWT) has increased in the past 30 yr. Larger cows cost more to maintain, but their efficiency—and thus profitability— depends on the production environment. Incorporating MWT effectively into selection and mating decisions requires understanding of growth to maturity. The objective of this study was to describe growth to maturity in crossbred beef cattle using Brody, spline, and quadratic functions. Parameter estimates utilized data on crossbred cows from cycle VII and continuous sampling phases of the Germplasm Evaluation Program at the U.S. Meat Animal Research Center. The MWT were estimated at 6 yr from the fitted parameters obtained …

Use Of Indirect Calorimetry To Evaluate Utilization Of Energy In Lactating Jersey Dairy Cattle Consuming Common Coproducts, M. A. Reynolds, T. M. Brown-Brandl, J. V. Judy, K. J. Herrick, K. E. Hales, A. K. Watson, Paul J. Kononoff

Department of Animal Science: Faculty Publications

The use of coproducts as an alternative feed source is a common practice when formulating dairy rations. A study using 12 multiparous (79 ± 16 d in milk; mean ± standard deviation) lactating Jersey cows was conducted over 5 mo to evaluate the effects of dried distillers grains with solubles (DDGS) or canola meal on milk and gas production. A replicated 4 × 4 Latin square design was used to compare 4 dietary treatments. Treatments comprised a control (CON) containing no coproducts, a treatment diet containing 10% (dry matter basis) lowfat DDGS (LFDG), a treatment diet containing 10% high-fat DDGS …

Ractopamine Hcl Improved Cardiac Hypertrophy But Not Poor Growth, Metabolic Inefficiency, Or Greater White Blood Cells Associated With Heat Stress In Concentrate-Fed Lambs, Rebecca M. Swanson, Kristin A. Beede, Micayla D. Freeman, Morgan L. Eggleston, Ty B. Schmidt, Jessica L. Petersen, Dustin T. Yates

Department of Animal Science: Faculty Publications

Heat stress decreases livestock performance and well-being (Hahn, 1999; Nienaber and Hahn, 2007), causes metabolic dysfunction that decreases growth efficiency (O’Brien et al., 2010), and alters cardiovascular function (Crandall et al., 2008). Each year, heat stress costs the livestock industry up to $2.5 billion (St-Pierre et al., 2003). Ractopamine HCl acts as a nutrient repartitioning agent (Beermann, 2002); classified as a β adrenergic agonist (βAA), it shares pharmacological properties with adrenaline (Beermann, 2002). βAA increase muscle mass and decreases fat deposition through unknown mechanisms (Beermann, 2002). In feedlot cattle, they increase growth efficiency and improve carcass yield and merit (Scramlin …

Reducing Methane Production With Corn Oil And Calcium Sulfate: Responses On Whole-Animal Energy And Nitrogen Balance In Dairy Cattle, J. V. Judy, G. C. Bachman, T. M. Brown-Brandl, S. C. Fernando, K. E. Hales, P. S. Miller, R. R. Stowell, P. J. Kononoff

Department of Animal Science: Faculty Publications

The addition of fat and calcium sulfate to diets fed to ruminants has resulted in a reduction in methane production, but the effects on energy balance have not been studied. A study using indirect calorimetry and 16 multiparous (8 Holstein and 8 Jersey; 78 ± 15 d in milk; mean ± standard deviation) lactating dairy cows was conducted to determine how mitigating methane production by adding corn oil or calcium sulfate to diets containing reduced-fat distillers grains affects energy and nitrogen balance. A replicated 4 × 4 Latin square design with 35-d periods (28 d of adaption and 4 d …

Yes-Associated Protein 1 Is Required For Proliferation And Function Of Bovine Granulosa Cells In Vitro, Michele R. Plewes, Xiaoying Hou, Pan Zhang, Aixin Liang, Guohua Hua, Jennifer R. Wood, Andrea S. Cupp, Xiangmin Lv, Cheng Wang, John S. Davis

Department of Animal Science: Faculty Publications

Yes-associated protein 1 (YAP1) is a major component of the Hippo signaling pathway. Although the exact extracellular signals that control the Hippo pathway are currently unknown, increasing evidence supports a critical role for the Hippo pathway in embryonic development, regulation of organ size, and carcinogenesis. Granulosa cells (GCs) within the ovarian follicle proliferate and produce steroids and growth factors, which facilitate the growth of follicle and maturation of the oocyte.We hypothesize that YAP1 plays a role in proliferation and estrogen secretion of GCs. In the current study, we examined the expression of the Hippo signaling pathway in bovine ovaries and …

Adaptation Strategies: Ruminants, John B. Gaughan, Veerasamy Sejian, Terry L. Mader, Frank R. Dunshea

Department of Animal Science: Faculty Publications

• Growing populations and reduced access to arable land mean that animal production systems will either need to intensify and/or produce more from a reducing land and other resource base.

• Variable and unpredictable environmental conditions mean that animal production faces numerous challenges. In add- ition to climate, these challenges include increased disease risk, increased nutritional deficiencies, and lack of capital to support diversification.

• Predicted changes in climate will impose selection pressures on traits important for biological fitness (and production).

• Genetic adaptation is important for the future of livestock systems. Animal adaptation involves trade-offs, which must be considered when selecting animals for …

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Postnatal Β2 Adrenergic Treatment Improves Insulin Sensitivity In Lambs With Iugr But Not Persistent Defects In Pancreatic Islets Or Skeletal Muscle, Dustin T. Yates, Leticia E. Camacho, Amy C. Kelly, Leah V. Steyn, Melissa A. Davis, Andrew T. Antolic, Miranda J. Anderson, Ravi Goyal, Ronald E. Allen, Klearchos K. Papas, William W. Hay Jr, Sean W. Limesand

Department of Animal Science: Faculty Publications

Placental insufficiency causes intrauterine growth restriction (IUGR) and disturbances in glucose homeostasis with associated β adrenergic receptor (ADRβ) desensitization. Our objectives were to measure insulin-sensitive glucose metabolism in neonatal lambs with IUGR and to determine whether daily treatment with ADRβ2 agonist and ADRβ1/β3 antagonists for 1 month normalizes their glucose metabolism. Growth, glucose-stimulated insulin secretion (GSIS) and glucose utilization rates (GURs) were measured in control lambs, IUGR lambs and IUGR lambs treated with adrenergic receptor modifiers: clenbuterol atenolol and SR59230A (IUGR-AR). In IUGR lambs, islet insulin content and GSIS were less than …

The Impact Of Selective Genotyping On The Response To Selection Using Single-Step Genomic Best Linear Unbiased Prediction, Jeremy T. Howard, Tom A. Rathje, Caitlyn E. Bruns, Danielle F. Wilson-Wells, Stephen D. Kachman, Matthew L. Spangler

Department of Animal Science: Faculty Publications

Across the majority livestock species, routinely collected genomic and pedigree information has been incorporated into evaluations using single-step methods. As a result, strategies that reduce genotyping costs without reducing the response to selection are important as they could have substantial economic impacts on breeding programs. Therefore, the objective of the current study was to investigate the impact of selectively genotyping selection candidates on the selection response using simulation. Populations were simulated to mimic the genome and population structure of a swine and cattle population undergoing selection on an index comprised of the estimated breeding values (EBV) for 2 …

Farm Animals Are Important Biomedical Models, Debora L. Hamernik

Department of Animal Science: Faculty Publications

This issue of Animal Frontiers, “Farm animals are im- portant biomedical models,” describes several examples in which cattle, sheep, pigs, or chickens provide an excellent physiological model for studies related to human health or disease (Figure 1). While previous reports have discussed the use of domestic animals as dual-purpose models that benefit agricultural and biomedical research (Ireland et al., 2008), this issue of Animal Frontiers provides additional and novel examples of the value of farm animals for biomedical re- search. Because farm animals are larger in size than labora- tory species, scientists are able to collect larger volumes and …

Perturbations In Lineage Specification Of Granulosa And Theca Cells May Alter Corpus Luteum Formation And Function, Mohamed A. Abedel-Majed, Sarah M. Romereim, John S. Davis, Andrea S. Cupp

Department of Animal Science: Faculty Publications

Anovulation is a major cause of infertility, and it is the major leading reproductive disorder in mammalian females. Without ovulation, an oocyte is not released from the ovarian follicle to be fertilized and a corpus luteum is not formed. The corpus luteum formed from the luteinized somatic follicular cells following ovulation, vasculature cells, and immune cells is critical for progesterone production and maintenance of pregnancy. Follicular theca cells differentiate into small luteal cells (SLCs) that produce progesterone in response to luteinizing hormone (LH), and granulosa cells luteinize to become large luteal cells (LLCs) that have a high rate of basal …

Radiomic Feature Stability Across 4d Respiratory Phases And Its Impact On Lung Tumor Prognosis Prediction, Qian Du, Michael Baine, Kyle Bavitz, Josiah Mcallister, Xiaoying Liang, Hongfeng Yu, Jeffrey Ryckman, Lina Yu, Hengle Jiang, Sumin Zhou, Sumin Zhou, Chi Zhang, Dandan Zheng

School of Biological Sciences: Faculty Publications

Radiomic analysis has recently demonstrated versatile uses in improving diagnostic and prognostic prediction accuracy for lung cancer. However, since lung tumors are subject to substantial motion due to respiration, the stability of radiomic features over the respiratory cycle of the patient needs to be investigated to better evaluate the robustness of the interpatient feature variability for clinical applications, and its impact in such applications needs to be assessed. A full panel of 841 radiomic features, including tumor intensity, shape, texture, and wavelet features, were extracted from individual phases of a four-dimensional (4D) computed tomography on 20 early-stage non-small-cell lung cancer …

Tools For Change: Measuring Student Conceptual Understanding Across Undergraduate Biology Programs Using Bio-Maps Assessments, Michelle K. Smith, Sara E. Brownell, Alison J. Crowe, N. G. Holmes, Jennifer K. Knight, Katharine Semsar, Mindi M. Summers, Cole Walsh, Christian D. Wright, Brian A. Couch

School of Biological Sciences: Faculty Publications

Assessing learning across a biology major can help departments monitor achievement of broader program-level goals and identify opportunities for curricular improvement. However, biology departments have lacked suitable tools to measure learning at the program scale. To address this need, we developed four freely available assessments—called Biology-Measuring Achievement and Progression in Science or Bio-MAPS—for general biology, molecular biology, ecology/evolution, and physiology programs. When administered at multiple time points in a curriculum, these instruments can provide departments with information on how student conceptual understanding changes across a major and help guide curricular modifications to enhance learning.

Physiological And Genomic Evidence That Selection On The Transcription Factor Epas1 Has Altered Cardiovascular Function In Highaltitude Deer Mice, Rena M. Schweizer, Jonathan P. Velotta, Catherine M. Ivy, Matthew R. Jones, Sarah M. Muir, Gideon S. Bradburd, Jay F. Storz, Graham R. Scott, Zachary A. Cheviron

School of Biological Sciences: Faculty Publications

Evolutionary adaptation to extreme environments often requires coordinated changes in multiple intersecting physiological pathways, but how such multi-trait adaptation occurs remains unresolved. Transcription factors, which regulate the expression of many genes and can simultaneously alter multiple phenotypes, may be common targets of selection if the benefits of induced changes outweigh the costs of negative pleiotropic effects. We combined complimentary population genetic analyses and physiological experiments in North American deer mice (Peromyscus maniculatus) to examine links between genetic variation in transcription factors that coordinate physiological responses to hypoxia (hypoxia-inducible factors, HIFs) and multiple physiological traits that potentially contribute to …

Life Ascending: Mechanism And Process In Physiological Adaptation To High-Altitude Hypoxia, Jay F. Storz, Graham R. Scott

School of Biological Sciences: Faculty Publications

To cope with the reduced availability of O2 at high altitude, air-breathing vertebrates have evolved myriad adjustments in the cardiorespiratory system to match tissue O2 delivery with metabolic O2 demand. We explain how changes at interacting steps of the O2 transport pathway contribute to plastic and evolved changes in whole-animal aerobic performance under hypoxia. In vertebrates native to high altitude, enhancements of aerobic performance under hypoxia are attributable to a combination of environ- mentally induced and evolved changes in multiple steps of the pathway. Additionally, evidence suggests that many high-altitude natives have evolved mechanisms for attenuating maladaptive acclimatization responses to …

Testing The Competition-Colonization Trade-Off And Its Correlations With Functional Trait Variations Among Subtropical Tree Species, Yue Bin, Guojun Lin, Sabrina E. Russo, Zhongliang Huang, Yong Shen, Honglin Cao, Juyu Lian, Wanhui Ye

School of Biological Sciences: Faculty Publications

The competition-colonization trade-off, by which species can partition spatial niches, is a potentially important mechanism allowing the maintenance of species diversity in plant communities. We examined whether there was evidence for this trade-off among tree species in a subtropical forest and how it correlated with eight functional traits. We developed and estimated a metric for colonization ability that incorporates both fecundity and seed dispersal based on seed trap data and the sizes and distributions of adult trees. Competitive ability was estimated as survival probability under high crowding conditions based on neighborhood models. Although we found no significant relationship between colonization …

Gravid Tetragnathid Spiders Show An Increased Functional Response, Mary E. Boswell, John P. Delong

School of Biological Sciences: Faculty Publications

Spiders in the genus Tetragnatha feed on emerging aquatic insects, including mosquitoes and midges, but there is little known about the foraging behavior of these spiders. We hypothesized that female spiders actively developing egg sacs would increase food consumption to provide more energy to produce and provision their eggs. We tested this hypothesis by measuring foraging rates of Tetragnatha spiders kept in jars and provisioned with different levels of midges. We then tested for a difference in the functional response of spiders that did or did not lay egg sacs in their jars. Egg-laying and non-egg-laying spiders showed significantly different …

Body Condition Helps To Explain Metabolic Rate Variation In Wolf Spiders, Stella F. Uiterwaal, John P. Delong

School of Biological Sciences: Faculty Publications

1. Metabolism is the fundamental process that powers life. Understanding what drives metabolism is therefore critical to our understanding of the ecology and behavior of organisms in nature.

2. Metabolic rate generally scales with body size according to a power law. However, considerable unexplained variation in metabolic rate remains after accounting for body mass with scaling functions.

3. We measured resting metabolic rates (oxygen consumption) of 227 field-caught wolf spiders. Then, we tested for effects of body mass, species, and body condition on metabolic rate.

4. Metabolic rate scales with body mass to the 0.85 power in these wolf spiders, …

Modeling Genomes To Phenomes To Populations In A Changing Climate: The Need For Collaborative Networks, Nika Galic, Allyson G. Hindle, John P. Delong, Karen Watanabe, Valery Forbes, C. Loren Buck

School of Biological Sciences: Faculty Publications

Condensed Abstract

Climate is changing globally and its impacts can arise at different levels of biological organization; yet, cross-level consequences of climate change are still poorly understood. Designing effective environmental management and adaptation plans requires implementation of mechanistic models that span the biological hierarchy. Because biological systems are inherently complex and dynamic in nature, dealing with complexities efficiently necessitates simplification of systems or approximation of relevant processes, but there is little consensus on mathematical approaches to scale from genes to populations. Here we present an effort that aims to bring together groups that often do not interact, but that are …