Life Sciences Commons^™

Identification Of Inhibitors Of The Glutaminyl And Prolyl Trna Synthetases From Pseudomonas Aeruginosa, Yaritza Escamilla

Theses and Dissertations

Antibiotic resistance is a growing global threat and bacterial infections caused by antibiotic resistant bacteria have become increasingly difficult and expensive to treat with most current antibiotics. Pseudomonas aeruginosa is a Gram-negative opportunistic pathogen and a leading cause of nosocomial infections and is the leading cause of mortality in cystic fibrosis patients. Aminoacyl-tRNA synthetases (aaRSs) are a class of enzymes that catalyze the covalent attachment of amino acids to their cognate tRNAs during protein biosynthesis. The glutaminyl- tRNA synthetase from P. aeruginosa was over-expressed, enzymatically characterized and developed into a screening platform for the discovery of chemical compounds that inhibit …

Contributions Of Historical Ecology To Ecological Services Assessments In The Lower Rio Grande Valley Texas, Julianna Katherine Schaefer Kurpis

Theses and Dissertations

Historic and current anthropogenic land-use activities affect ecological functions and ecosystem services quality. The clearing of native Tamaulipan thorn forest and riparian forests for agricultural use and expansion followed by rapid urbanization and population growth resulted in profound ecological impacts to the Lower Rio Grande Valley (LRGV), Texas. The goals of this study are 1) document trends in land use change and vegetation health in the LRGV 2) evaluate and demonstrate the application of the Ecosystem Services Identification & Inventory Tool (ESII Tool) for collecting ecological data and measuring percent ecological performance and 3) use historical ecology indicators to compare …

The Snail Communities Of The Lower Rio Grande Valley, Briante Shevon Lewis Najev

Theses and Dissertations

The lower Rio Grande Valley are three lowest latitudinal counties of south Texas. This unique, subtropical, semi-arid environment has the last remaining Tamaulipan Thornforest in the USA. The Tamaulipan Thornforest of Texas occupies less than 2% of their former range. Before this habitat possibly dwindles even more there has been a comprehensive survey of terrestrial snails in intact, altered, and urban areas of the valley.

We have found a 16397 of snails in intact sites with a high species richness at 17; followed by altered sites with an abundance of 12143 snails and a species richness of 15. There were …

Investigating The Efficacy Of Jak2/Stat3 And Pi3k/Mtor Inhibitory Therapy On Glioblastoma And Basal Breast Cancer Cell Lines, Neftali Vazquez

Theses and Dissertations

The JAK2/STAT3 and PI3K/mTOR pathways are upregulated in cancer cells. STAT3 promotes a positive feedback loop for the stem program whereas PI3K inhibits FOXOs tumor suppressor role and mTOR promotes tumorigenic advancement. Particularly GBM and BBC are aggressive cancers that have a stem cell population that makes them difficult to treat and metastatic. We investigate the effects of a combination therapy that inhibits JAK2/STAT3 and PI3K/mTOR output aiming to lower stem cell expression and promote apoptosis. Our collected data indicates that the dual inhibition induced apoptosis, but it also increased the stem cell signature. The findings pave way for the …

Effects Of Global Warming On Gonadal Functions, Cellular Apoptosis, And Oxidative Stress In The American Oyster, Sarah B. Nash

Theses and Dissertations

Global warming due to climate change is predicted to intensify the heat stress in marine and coastal organisms, affecting their development, growth and reproductive functions. In this study. I analyzed gonadal development, heat shock protein 70 (HSP70), nitrotyrosine protein (NTP), dinitrophenyl (DNP) expressions, cellular apoptosis, and coelomic fluid (CF) conditions in American oyster. Oysters were placed in six aquariums and exposed to control (24°C), medium (28°C), and high (32°C) temperatures for one week. Higher temperature significantly decreased the number of eggs and sperm. CF protein concentrations also declined compared to control. In contrast, CF pH and HSP70 expression in gonad …

Comment On Rojas-Bracho And Colleagues (2019): Unsubstantiated Claims Can Lead To Tragic Conservation Outcomes, Karl W. Flessa, Luis Calderon-Aguilera, Carlos E. Cintra-Buenrostro, David L. Dettman, Gregory P. Dietl, David H. Goodwin, David K. Jacobs, Michal Kowalewski, Steven M. Nelson, Kirsten Rowell, Bernard R. Schone, Jansen A. Smith, Francisco Zamora-Arroyo

School of Earth, Environmental, & Marine Sciences Faculty Publications

The vaquita’s decline is a tragic story indeed. However, the lack of action to prevent the extinction of this species is not due to unsubstantiated claims and scientific uncertainty.

Modelling Water Fluxes In Plants: From Tissues To Biosphere, Maurizio Mencuccini, Stefano Manzoni, Bradley O. Christoffersen

School of Earth, Environmental, & Marine Sciences Faculty Publications

Contents Summary 1207 I. Introduction 1207 II. A brief history of modelling plant water fluxes 1208 III. Main components of plant water transport models 1208 IV. Stand-scale water fluxes and coupling to climate and soil 1213 V. Water fluxes in terrestrial biosphere models and feedbacks to community dynamics 1215 VI. Outstanding challenges in modelling water fluxes in the soil-plant-atmosphere continuum 1217 Acknowledgements 1218 References 1218 SUMMARY: Models of plant water fluxes have evolved from studies focussed on understanding the detailed structure and functioning of specific components of the soil-plant-atmosphere (SPA) continuum to architectures often incorporated inside eco-hydrological and terrestrial biosphere …

Investigating Limitations To Nitrogen Fixation By Leguminous Cover Crops In South Texas, Stephanie L. Kasper

Theses and Dissertations

Many farms use leguminous cover crops as a nutrient management strategy to reduce their need for nitrogen fertilizer. Biological nitrogen fixation (BNF) depends on a symbiotic relationship between legumes and nitrogen-fixing rhizobia. Under certain conditions despite inoculation with appropriate rhizobial strains, this symbiosis fails to form. Such failure was observed in a 14-acre winter cover crop trial in the Rio Grande Valley of Texas when three legume species (forage pea, crimson clover, and hairy vetch) produced no signs of nodulation and nitrogen fixation. This study examined nitrogen, phosphorus, moisture, micronutrients and biotic interference as potential causes for the failure and …

Bayesian Inference Of Hydraulic Properties In And Around A White Fir Using A Process-Based Ecohydrologic Model, Elias C. Massoud, A. J. Purdy, Bradley O. Christoffersen, L. S. Santiago, C. Xu

School of Integrative Biological & Chemical Sciences (Formerly Dept. of Biology)

We present a parameter estimation study of the Soil-Tree-Atmosphere Continuum (STAC) model, a process-based model that simulates water flow through an individual tree and its surrounding root zone. Parameters are estimated to optimize the model fit to observations of sap flux, stem water potential, and soil water storage made for a white fir (Abies concolor) in the Sierra Nevada, California. Bayesian inference is applied with a likelihood function that considers temporal correlation of the model errors. Key vegetation properties are estimated, such as the tree's root distribution, tolerance to drought, and hydraulic conductivity and retention functions. We find …

Effects Of Elevated Temperature On Gonadal Functions, Cellular Apoptosis, And Oxidative Stress In Atlantic Sea Urchin (Arbacia Punctulata), Jackson B. Johnstone

Theses and Dissertations

Increasing surface sea water temperatures effect on growth, reproduction and development in marine organisms. Sea urchins are excellent indicator species and ideal model organisms to focus on. In this study, I tested the effect of higher temperatures on reproductive functions, heat shock protein (HSP, a chaperone protein produced by cells in response to heat stress) and nitrotyrosine protein (NTP, an indicator of reactive nitrogen species, RNS) expressions, cellular apoptosis, and ceolomic fluid (CF, a body fluid which regulates important physiological processes) conditions in Atlantic sea urchin at three different temperatures. Ten sea urchins were placed in each of six aquariums …

A Snapshot Of The Age, Growth, And Reproductive Status Of Gray Triggerfish (Balistes Capriscus, Gmelin 1789) On Three Artificial Reefs In The Northwest Gulf Of Mexico, Adam M. Lee

Theses and Dissertations

Age, growth, and reproductive status of gray triggerfish (Balistes capriscus) were identified from 2015-2016 on artificial reefs in the northwest Gulf of Mexico. Individuals ranged from 232-432 mm fork length with and a mean fork length of 319 mm. Individuals from age 0.2 to 5.2 yrs were observed with a weight to length relationship of Wg = 1.1 x -104 x FL2.7 (r2 = 0.94, n = 112), where FL = fork length (mm) and Wg = weight (g). A von Bertalanffy growth equation of Lt = 326(1 - e - 0.9 (t + 1.71)) was calculated irrespective …

Agricultural Intensification And Urbanization Negatively Impact Soil Nematode Richness And Abundance: A Meta-Analysis, Satyendra K. Pothula, Parwinder Grewal, Robert M. Auge, Arnold M. Saxton, Ernest C. Bernard

School of Earth, Environmental, & Marine Sciences Faculty Publications

Human activity has extensively transformed the land surface by agricultural intensification and urbanization. In soil, nematodes are the most abundant invertebrates. The effect of human interventions was assessed on overall richness, overall abundance, richness and abundance of nematodes of each trophic group and colonizer-persister (c-p) guild by comparing urban, agriculture and disturbed grassland (DGL) with natural grassland (NGL) and forest ecosystems. Meta-analyses were conducted to generate quantitative summaries from 111 published articles that met the inclusion criteria, 91 expressed data in grams and 20 expressed data in cm3. Results from data expressed per 100 g of soil indicated that overall …

Evaluating A New Algorithm For Satellite-Based Evapotranspiration For North American Ecosystems: Model Development And Validation, Bassil El Masri, Abdullah F. Rahman, Danilo Dragoni

School of Earth, Environmental, & Marine Sciences Faculty Publications

Highlights

• We developed an algorithm to estimate evapotranspiration based solely on satellite data.

• Our model is able to track the seasonal changes in the flux tower observations.

• The errors in the model ET output were lower than the MODIS ET product.

• The modeled and observed ET strong relationship implies that our model has the potential to be applied to different ecosystems.

Abstract

We introduce a different operational approach to estimate 8-day average daily evapotranspiration (ET) using both routinely available data and the Penman-Monteith (P-M) equation for canopy transpiration and evaporation of intercepted water and Priestley and Taylor for soil evaporation. …

Vaquita Face Extinction From Bycatch. Comment On Manjarrez-Bringas, N. Et Al., Lessons For Sustainable Development: Marine Mammal Conservation Policies And Its Social And Economic Effects., Karl W. Flessa, Luis Calderon-Aguilera, Carlos E. Cintra-Buenrostro, David L. Dettman, Gregory P. Dietl, David H. Goodwin, David K. Jacobs, Michal Kowalewski, Steven M. Nelson, Kirsten Rowell, Bernard R. Schone, Jansen A. Smith, Francisco Zamora-Arroyo

School of Earth, Environmental, & Marine Sciences Faculty Publications

We are among the scientists who have documented the environmental and ecological changes to the Upper Gulf of California following the reduction in the Colorado River’s flow. We object to any suggestion that our research supports Manjarrez-Bringas et al.’s conclusion that the decline in the Colorado River’s flow is the reason for the decline in the population of the endangered vaquita porpoise (Phocoena sinus). Manjarrez-Bringas et al.’s conclusions are incongruent with their own data, their logic is untenable, their analyses fail to consider current illegal fishing practices, and their recommendations are unjustified and misdirected. Vaquita face extinction because of bycatch, …

Genetic Structure Of The Painted Bunting And Its Implications For Conservation Of Migratory Populations, Andrea Contina, Jose L. Alcantara, Eli S. Bridge, Jeremy D. Ross, William F. Oakley, Jeffrey F. Kelly, Kristen Ruegg

School of Integrative Biological & Chemical Sciences Faculty Publications

The Painted Bunting Passerina ciris is a Neotropical songbird which breeds primarily in the USA during the summer and migrates to Mexico, Central America, southern Florida and the Caribbean over the winter. Male Painted Buntings are brightly coloured, which makes them highly sought after as pets, particularly in Mexico, Central America and Europe. We used short sequence repeats (microsatellite DNA) to investigate the population genetic structure of the Painted Bunting and its implications in conservation management of migratory populations. We found a detectable level of population differentiation as revealed by pairwise FST and RST comparisons and Bayesian clustering …

Phytochemical Investigation Of Magnolia Grandiflora Green Seed Cones: Analytical And Phytoceutical Studies, Bo Garza, Alondra Echeverria, Felipe Gonzalez, Orlando Castillo, Thomas Eubanks, Debasish Bandyopadhyay

School of Integrative Biological & Chemical Sciences (Formerly Dept. of Chemistry)

Phytochemicals are inevitable part of human civilization. It is impossible to say exactly when menfolk started to take plant portions to cure various diseases. Phytochemical investigation of diethyl ether and ethanol extracts of Magnolia grandiflora green seed cones has been carried out. Extraction, isolation, and identification of the phytochemicals were carried out. Structures were determined by various analytical methods including extensive nuclear magnetic resonance, gas chromatography‐ mass spectroscopy, and X‐ray crystallographic analyses. Structures of the three compounds viz. 5,5′‐diallyl‐[1,1′‐biphenyl]‐2,2′‐diol (I), 3′,5‐diallyl‐[1,1′‐biphenyl]‐2,4′‐ diol (II), and (3S,3aS,8S,9aS,10aR,10bS,E)‐8‐hydroxy‐3,6,9a‐trimethyl‐3a,4,5,8,9,9a, 10a,10b‐octahydrooxireno[2′,3′:9,10]cyclodeca[1,2‐b]furan‐2(3H)‐one (III) were confirmed by X‐ray crystallographic analysis. GS‐MS studies of the isolated oil, eluted …

High-Resolution Melt (Hrm) Analysis For Detection Of Snps Associated With Pyrethroid Resistance In The Southern Cattle Fever Tick, Rhipicephalus (Boophilus) Microplus (Acari: Ixodidae), Guilherme M. Klafke, Robert J. Miller, Jason P. Tidwell, Donald B. Thomas, Daniela Sanchez, Teresa Patricia Feria-Arroyo, Adalberto A. Perez De Leon

School of Integrative Biological & Chemical Sciences (Formerly Dept. of Biology)

The southern cattle fever tick, Rhipicephalus (Boophilus) microplus, is the most economically important ectoparasite of cattle worldwide. A limitation for sustainable control and eradication is the emergence of acaricide resistance among tick populations. Molecular diagnostic tools offer the opportunity to detect resistance rapidly, which can be complemented with confirmatory bioassays with larvae and adult ticks that are more resource and time consuming to generate. Synthetic pyrethroid resistance is one of the most prevalent and well-studied forms of resistance in arthropods, being linked with target site alterations in the sodium ion channel gene. Here, we report …

Individual-Based Modeling Of Amazon Forests Suggests That Climate Controls Productivity While Traits Control Demography, Sophie Fauset, Manuel Gloor, Nikolaos M. Fyllas, Oliver L. Phillips, Gregory P. Asner, Timothy R. Baker, Lisa Patrick Bentley, Roel J. W. Brienen, Bradley O. Christoffersen, John Del Aguila-Pasquel

School of Integrative Biological & Chemical Sciences (Formerly Dept. of Biology)

Climate, species composition, and soils are thought to control carbon cycling and forest structure in Amazonian forests. Here, we add a demographics scheme (tree recruitment, growth, and mortality) to a recently developed non-demographic model—the Trait-based Forest Simulator (TFS)—to explore the roles of climate and plant traits in controlling forest productivity and structure. We compared two sites with differing climates (seasonal vs. aseasonal precipitation) and plant traits. Through an initial validation simulation, we assessed whether the model converges on observed forest properties (productivity, demographic and structural variables) using datasets of functional traits, structure, and climate to model the carbon cycle at …

Inheritance Of Single Copy Nuclear Genes (Scngs) In Artificial Hybrids Of Hesperocyparis Arizonica X H. Macrocarpa: Potential For Utilization In The Detection Of Hybridization In Natural Populations, Robert P. Adams, Sam T. Johnson, Mark Miller, Charles Low, Andrea E. Schwarzbach

Health & Biomedical Sciences Faculty Publications

Analyses were performed on 18 artificial hybrids from a cross of Hesperocyparis arizonica (male parent) x H. macrocarpa (female parent) using 9 single copy nuclear genes (SCNGs). Three SCNG were found to be informative: myb, 4CL and CnAIB2. Gene myb contained 5 variable sites, of which site 89 was homozygous (CC, TT) as was site 261 (GG, AA) and useful for the detection of hybridization. All 18 hybrids were heterozygous (CT and GA) at these 2 sites as predicted in hybrids. 4CL contained 8 variable sites, of which 1 site (591) was homozygous (TT, CC) and all 18 hybrids were …

Molecular Cloning And Characterization Of Two Arnt (Arnt-1 And Arnt-2) Genes In Atlantic Croaker And Their Expression During Coexposure To Hypoxia And Pcb77, Md. Saydur Rahman, Peter Thomas

School of Earth, Environmental, & Marine Sciences Faculty Publications

Aryl hydrocarbon receptor nuclear translocator (ARNT) is an important transcriptions factor that binds/coactivates drug-metabolizing genes in vertebrates. In this study, we report the cloning and characterization of two ARNT (ARNT-1 and ARNT-2) genes and their mRNA and protein expression in liver tissues of Atlantic croaker after co-exposure to hypoxia and 3,3',4,4'-tetrachlorobiphenyl (PCB77). The full-length croaker ARNT-1 and ARNT-2 genes encode proteins of 537 and 530 amino acids, respectively, and are highly homologous to ARNT-1 and ARNT-2 genes of other vertebrates. ARNT mRNAs are ubiquitously expressed in all tissues. Hypoxia (dissolved oxygen: 1.7 mg/L) exposure (1-4 weeks) did not affect hepatic …

Ocean Robots Uncover Microbial Secrets, Susan Evans, Jim Birch, John A. Breier, Michael V. Jakuba, Mak A. Saito, Julie Robidart

School of Earth, Environmental, & Marine Sciences Faculty Publications

Life on Earth began in the sea, and the oceans continue to support life on our planet. Of particular importance is the ability of marine microbes to exist in a complex web of relationships where substances are continually transformed and exchanged.

A Heuristic Classification Of Woody Plants Based On Contrasting Shade And Drought Strategies, Liang Wei, Chonggang Xu, Steven Jansen, Hang Zhou, Bradley O. Christoffersen, William T. Pockman, Richard S. Middleton, John D. Marshall, Nate G. Mcdowell

School of Earth, Environmental, & Marine Sciences Faculty Publications

Woody plants vary in their adaptations to drought and shade. For a better prediction of vegetation responses to drought and shade within dynamic global vegetation models, it is critical to group species into functional types with similar adaptations. One of the key challenges is that the adaptations are generally determined by a large number of plant traits that may not be available for a large number of species. In this study, we present two heuristic woody plant groups that were separated using cluster analysis in a three-dimensional trait–environment space based on three key metrics for each species: mean xylem embolism …

Effect Of Hot Water Treatment Of In-Shell Pecans On Physicochemical Properties And Consumer Acceptability Of Roasted Pecan Kernels, Karuna Kharel, Witoon Prinyawiwatkul, Veerachandra K. Yemmireddy, Charles J. Graham, Achyut Adhikari

School of Earth, Environmental, & Marine Sciences Faculty Publications

The effect of hot water pre-treatment of in-shell pecans on physicochemical properties, consumer acceptance and purchase intent of dehulled and roasted kernels was evaluated. In-shell pecans were first subjected to hot water at 70, 80 and 90 °C for 8.6, 6.6 and 4.6 min respectively and kernels were later dry roasted at 160 °C for 10 min. The physicochemical properties of hot water treated and untreated nuts, before and after roasting were determined. Furthermore, consumer acceptance and purchase intent of the roasted kernels were determined. Hot water treatment, alone and subsequent roasting had minimal effect on pecans’ physicochemical properties. Consumers …

Attachment Strength And On-Farm Die-Off Rate Of Escherichia Coli On Watermelon Surfaces, Vijay Singh Chhetri, Kathryn Fontenot, Ronald Strahan, Veerachandra K. Yemmireddy, Cameron Cason, Karuna Kharel, Achyut Adhikari

School of Earth, Environmental, & Marine Sciences Faculty Publications

Pre-harvest contamination of produce has been a major food safety focus. Insight into the behavior of enteric pathogens on produce in pre-harvest conditions will aid in developing pre-harvest and post-harvest risk management strategies. In this study, the attachment strength (SR) and die-off rate of E. coli on the surface of watermelon fruits and the efficacy of aqueous chlorine treatment against strongly attached E. coli population were investigated. Watermelon seedlings were transplanted into eighteen plots. Prior to harvesting, a cocktail of generic E. coli (ATCC 23716, 25922 and 11775) was inoculated on the surface of the watermelon fruits …

Innovative Use Of Alkalis In The Ancient Americas, Robert C. Bradley

School of Art & Design Faculty Publications

Nixtamalization, from the Náhuatl nixtamalli, is a process in which maize is soaked in a vessel containing an alkali solution. The alkali processing of maize is essential in preparing corn for human consumption because it releases lysine and tryptophan and, most importantly, niacin. Without these, when the primary dietary staple is unprocessed maize, the result is malnutrition and disease, pellagra. Nixtamalization originated in pre-Columbian Mesoamerica but there was a paucity of corn processing in pre-Hispanic South America, even though corn was ubiquitous in both regions at a very early date. However, coca was similarly soaked in an alkali solution, …

Rapidly Expanding Nuclear Arsenals In Pakistan And India Portend Regional And Global Catastrophe, Owen B. Toon, Charles G. Bardeen, Alan Robock, Lili Xia, Hans Kristensen, Matthew Mckinzie, R. J. Peterson, Cheryl S. Harrison, Nicole S. Lovenduski, Richard P. Turco

School of Earth, Environmental, & Marine Sciences Faculty Publications

Pakistan and India may have 400 to 500 nuclear weapons by 2025 with yields from tested 12- to 45-kt values to a few hundred kilotons. If India uses 100 strategic weapons to attack urban centers and Pakistan uses 150, fatalities could reach 50 to 125 million people, and nuclear-ignited fires could release 16 to 36 Tg of black carbon in smoke, depending on yield. The smoke will rise into the upper troposphere, be self-lofted into the stratosphere, and spread globally within weeks. Surface sunlight will decline by 20 to 35%, cooling the global surface by 2° to 5°C and reducing …

Past, Present, And Future Perspectives Of Environmental Dna (Edna) Metabarcoding: A Systematic Review In Methods, Monitoring, And Applications Of Global Edna, Krista M. Ruppert, Richard J. Kline, Md. Saydur Rahman

School of Earth, Environmental, & Marine Sciences Faculty Publications

Environmental DNA (eDNA) metabarcoding is a novel method of assessing biodiversity wherein samples are taken from the environment via water, sediment or air from which DNA is extracted, and then amplified using general or universal primers in polymerase chain reaction and sequenced using next-generation sequencing to generate thousands to millions of reads. From this data, species presence can be determined, and overall biodiversity assessed. It is an interdisciplinary method that brings together traditional fieldbased ecology with in-depth molecular methods and advanced computational tools. As an emerging monitoring method, there are many pitfalls and roadblocks to be considered and avoided, but …

Complete Mitochondrial Genome Of Callogorgia Cf. Gracilis (Octocorallia: Calcaxonia: Primnoidae), Erin E. Easton, David Hicks

School of Earth, Environmental, & Marine Sciences Faculty Publications

We report the first complete mitochondrial genome of Callogorgia. Callogorgia cf. gracilis isolate DFH32_518B was collected by a remotely operated vehicle at 98 m on McGrail Bank (27.9840725°N, 92.604242°W). The complete mitogenome is 18,937 bp (27.8% A, 18.3% C, 19.8% G, and 34.1% T) and has the ancestral octocoral gene order for its 14 protein-coding genes, two rRNA genes, and one tRNA gene. It is sister to and ∼96.6% similar (uncorrected) to Narella hawaiiensis, the only other complete mitogenome reported for Primnoidae. The cox1 + igr1 + mtMutS region differs by two base pairs (0.12%) from the only reported …

A High-Latitude, Mesophotic Cycloseris Field At 85 M Depth Off Rapa Nui (Easter Island), Bert W. Hoeksema, Javier Sellanes, Erin E. Easton

School of Earth, Environmental, & Marine Sciences Faculty Publications

Published records of mesophotic zooxanthellate corals from Rapa Nui (Easter Island) are rare and so far based only on dredged specimens and observations during scuba dives (Wells 1972, Glynn et al. 2003, 2007). During recent remotely operated vehicle (ROV) surveys off Rapa Nui (March 2016), a large and dense aggregation of zooxanthellate Cycloseris corals (Scleractinia: Fungiidae) with a density of approximately 500 ind m−2 was discovered (27°08΄55˝S, 109°26΄46˝W) on black sand in a depth range of approximately 79–85 m (Panels A, B). A few corals were overturned, exposing their white (azooxanthellate) undersides and sutures along which self-fragmentation took place (Panel …

Continued Eastward Range Expansion Of Black Phoebes (Sayornis Nigricans) In Southernmost Texas, Samuel G. Ortiz, Christopher A. Gabler, Timothy Brush

School of Earth, Environmental, & Marine Sciences Faculty Publications

ABSTRACT—We observed black phoebe (Sayornis nigricans) nests, breeding pairs, and juveniles in Cameron County, Texas, in 2017. Our first confirmed nesting records in Cameron County document a continued eastward range expansion by black phoebes.

RESUMEN—En el 2017, observamos nidos, parejas reproductoras y juveniles del pajaro mosquero negro (Sayornis nigricans) en el condado de Cameron, Texas. Los primeros registros confirmados de reproducci ´on en el condado de Cameron son evidencia de una continua expansion hacia el este de la distribuci ´on geogr´afica del mosquero negro.