Life Sciences Commons^™

The Effects Of Intranasal Orexin-A On Mk-801-Induced Attentional Deficits: Addressing Cognitive Impairment In An Nmda Receptor Hypofunction Model Of Schizophrenia, Eden Blake-Lea Maness

Dissertations, Theses, and Masters Projects

Schizophrenia (SZ) is a debilitating condition wherein those afflicted experience positive symptoms, including hallucinations and delusions, as well as negative symptoms, including alterations of processing affecting cognition and social interactions. The NMDA receptor hypofunction model of SZ asserts that a reduction in hippocampal NMDA receptor input produces the pathology of this disorder, promoting excessive frontocortical excitatory neurotransmission – particularly overstimulation of basal forebrain cholinergic neurons – that ultimately impairs cognitive and sensorimotor processes. Orexin-A (OxA), a neuropeptide principally involved in wakefulness and appetitive behaviors, has been shown to demonstrate cognitive-enhancing qualities in models of psychiatric and neurodegenerative illness. In the …

Subcellular Localization Dynamics Of Thyroid Hormone Receptor And Mediator Complex Subunit 1, Matthew Robert Femia

Dissertations, Theses, and Masters Projects

Intracellular trafficking of transcription factors is an essential cellular function that has implications in regulating gene expression. For thyroid hormone receptor (TR), nuclear localization is fundamental to its function of mediating gene expression in response to thyroid hormone (T3). Yet, we’ve previously shown that TR contains both nuclear localization signals and nuclear export signals, and shuttles rapidly between the nucleus and cytosol. Mislocalization of TR, and loss of transcriptional control, may lead to negative consequences for growth, development, and metabolism. Here, we explore factors that enhance nuclear retention of TR. Emerging studies suggest that Mediator complex subunit 1 (MED1 or …

Predicting The Impact Of Sea Level Rise On The Distribution Of Phragmites Australis And Spartina Alterniflora And Changes In Community Compositions In Tidal Freshwater Marshes Of James City County, Va, Abbey Humphreys

Dissertations, Theses, and Masters Projects

With ongoing sea level rise (SLR), tidal freshwater marshes (TFMs) eventually will be flooded with more brackish water. The impact of more water and salt on the plant community of TFMs, however, is unknown. With SLR, both the invasive reed Phragmites australis and the native salt marsh grass Spartina alterniflora could become dominant species in TFMs. I am looking at determining how increases in salinity and inundation caused by sea level rise will impact the relative distribution of Phragmites and Spartina in tidal freshwater marshes in Southeastern Virginia. Using GIS, I summarized past expansion patterns by mapping the current and …

Misregulation Of Genomic Imprinting Drives Abnormal Seed Development In Hybrid Monkeyflowers (Mimulus), Taliesin Kinser

Dissertations, Theses, and Masters Projects

Genomic imprinting is the preferential expression of one allele over the other. It is an epigenetic phenomenon that occurs in the placentas of mammals and the endosperm of angiosperms. Endosperm, like placentas, is a nutrient rich tissue that supports the growing embryo within the seed. All grains are predominantly composed of this tissue. It is the product of a second fertilization event, resulting in both maternal and paternal alleles. Some alleles are regulated differentially, resulting in imprinted genes. There are both paternally expressed imprinted genes (PEGs) and maternally expressed imprinted genes (MEGs) in the endosperm. In general PEGs tend to …

Superoxide Dismutase In Songbirds: Effects Of Mercury, Exercise, And Sex On An Enzymatic Antioxidant, Juan Mateo Botero

Dissertations, Theses, and Masters Projects

Anthropogenic activities such as burning of fossil fuels, mining, and industrial processes continue to increase the levels of mercury circulating in the environment. Once methylated, mercury can be incorporated into animal tissues, causing it to biomagnify up the food web. Deleterious fitness impacts are commonly associated with increased mercury content in birds. The mechanistic pathway to those effects on fitness needs further research in order to develop appropriate remediation efforts and predict future harm on bird populations. Oxidative stress is proposed as one of the primary ways though which mercury causes accumulation of cellular damage. Well-documented cases of mercury induced …

Juvenile Blue Crab (Callinectes Sapidus) Response To Altered Nursery Habitat, Megan Wood

Dissertations, Theses, and Masters Projects

Habitats of Chesapeake Bay have been altered due to anthropogenic impacts and climate change. Due to these human disturbances, seagrasses have been extirpated from many areas in lower Chesapeake Bay and persisting beds face future losses as water temperatures continue to rise. Further loss of seagrass habitat will negatively impact juvenile blue crabs (Callinectes sapidus) that use seagrass beds as nursery grounds. Habitat degradation allows for more successful introductions of exotic species, and the communities formed from the mixing of native and exotic species are known as emerging ecosystems. Gracilaria vermiculophylla, an exotic macroalga, may be an emerging nursery habitat …

Using High-Resolution Glider Data And Biogeochemical Modeling To Investigate Phytoplankton Variability In The Ross Sea, Daniel Edward Kaufman

Dissertations, Theses, and Masters Projects

As Earth’s climate changes, polar environments experience a disproportionate share of extreme shifts. Because the Ross Sea shelf has the highest annual productivity of any Antarctic continental shelf, this region is of particular interest when striving to characterize current and future changes in Antarctic systems. However, understanding of mesoscale variability of biogeochemical patterns in the Ross Sea and how this variability affects assemblage dynamics is incomplete. Furthermore, it is unknown how the Ross Sea may respond to projected warming, reduced summer sea ice concentrations, and shallower mixed layers during the next century. to investigate these dynamics and explore their consequences …

Discovery And Characterization Of Novel Sperm Development Patterns In The Nematode Rhabditis Sp. Sb347, Caitlin M. Mccaig

Dissertations, Theses, and Masters Projects

Studies of gamete production in Caenorhabditis elegans self-fertile hermaphrodites have informed textbook descriptions of nematode reproduction and have significantly contributed to our understanding of fundamental cellular and developmental mechanisms. However, C. elegans is one species within a large phylum of mostly dioecious (male/female) species. Whether the C. elegans pattern of self-fertile hermaphroditism and gamete development is representative of other nematodes remains largely unexplored. In Chapter 1, we describe an alternative pattern of sperm production in the trioecious (male/female/hermaphrodite) nematode Rhabditis sp. SB347 that differs from C. elegans in two striking ways. First, instead of making a one-time switch from sperm …

Spatiotemporal Abundance Patterns And Ecological Drivers Of A Nearshore U.S. Atlantic Fish And Invertebrate Assemblage, Mark A. Stratton

Dissertations, Theses, and Masters Projects

Taking an ecosystem approach to fisheries requires the consideration of relevant ecological processes within research and assessment frameworks. Processes affecting ecosystem productivity can be categorized as biophysical (climate variability, primary production), exploitative (fishing), or trophodynamic (food web interactions). This dissertation incorporates these three governing processes to characterize spatiotemporal diversity and population abundance trends for multiple demersal fish and invertebrate species that inhabit the nearshore zone (15-30 ft. depth) along portions of the U.S. Atlantic east coast.

Two large marine ecosystems (LMEs) encompass the U.S. East coast – the Southeast and Northeast U.S. Continental Shelf LMEs. The level of connectivity within …

Ecosystem Services Of Restored Oyster Reefs In A Chesapeake Bay Tributary: Abundance And Foraging Of Estuarine Fishes, Bruce William Pfirrmann

Dissertations, Theses, and Masters Projects

Oyster reef restoration may enhance the production of ecologically or economically important fish species, an ecosystem service, by providing refuge and foraging habitat. Predicting the effects of oyster habitat restoration on fisheries production in Chesapeake Bay requires a better understanding of fish habitat use, trophic dynamics, and the processes leading to production on a habitat-scale. The objective of this thesis was to evaluate the influence of restored subtidal oyster reefs on the abundance and foraging patterns of mobile estuarine fishes. Specifically, I compared the 1) abundance, 2) stomach fullness, 3) diet composition, and 4) daily consumption rate of fishes collected …

Juvenile Blue Crab Survival In Nursery Habitats: Predator Identification And Predation Impacts In Chesapeake Bay, Amanda Marie Bromilow

Dissertations, Theses, and Masters Projects

Predator populations can have significant impacts on prey recruitment success and prey population dynamics through consumption. Young, inexperienced prey are often most vulnerable to predation due to their small size and limited evasion capabilities. to reduce the risk of predation, new recruits and young juveniles typically settle in structured nursery habitats, such as seagrass beds, which promote higher survival by acting as refuges from predators. Thus, successful recruitment to the adult portion of the population is often dependent on the availability of suitable nursery habitat. In this thesis, I used field tethering experiments and gut content analyses to assess the …

Integrating Empirical Data And Ocean Drift Models To Better Understand Sea Turtle Strandings In Virginia, Bianca Silva Santos

Dissertations, Theses, and Masters Projects

Hundreds of stranded turtles wash up deceased on Virginia’s coastline each year, yet the causes of most stranding events are poorly understood. In this thesis, a carcass drift model was developed for the Chesapeake Bay, Virginia, to predict likely locations of mortality from coastal sea turtle stranding records. First, field studies were carried out to better parameterize the drift characteristics of buoyant sea turtle carcasses, namely, probable oceanic drift times and the impact of direct wind forcing on carcass drift. Based on the duration that tethered, free-floating turtle carcasses were buoyant, we determined that oceanic drift duration of turtle carcasses …

Age, Growth And Reproduction Of Western North Atlantic Butterfly Rays (Myliobatiformes: Gymnuridae), With The Description Of Two New Species, Kristene Teal Parsons

Dissertations, Theses, and Masters Projects

Batoid fishes are among the most threatened and least understood chondrichthyan species worldwide due to their large body size, conservative life-history characteristics, and predominantly coastal distributions where fishing and habitat degradation threaten the stability of populations. A lack of empirical life history data is widespread across batoid taxa — nearly half of all species are considered data deficient, thus hindering species assessments and the development of effective management strategies. Furthermore, many batoid taxa are in need of taxonomic re-examination. Increasing our understanding of life history traits that determine population productivity, such as age and size at maturity, growth rate, and …

The Effects Of Timing Of Mercury-Induced Developmental Stress On Songbird Reproductive Success, Ohad Jonathan Paris

Dissertations, Theses, and Masters Projects

This thesis explored two questions – Does developmental exposure to methyl-mercury affect the later reproductive success of songbirds? Does the timing of such developmental exposure affect the severity of any effects on reproductive success? The second question was formulated to test the Developmental Stress Hypothesis (DSH), which states that early developmental conditions incur later-life fitness consequences. Methyl-mercury (MeHg), a potent environmental toxicant, may induce stress in developing organisms, and have far-reaching negative effects on adult fitness. I tested the DSH by investigating whether the timing of MeHg-induced stress, early vs. late in development, affected later-life reproductive success (a strong measure …

Extensions And Applications Of Mean Length Mortality Estimators For Assessment Of Data-Limited Fisheries, Quang C. Huynh

Dissertations, Theses, and Masters Projects

For data-limited fisheries, length-based mortality estimators are attractive as alternatives to age-structured models due to the simpler data requirements and ease of use of the former. This dissertation develops new extensions of mean length-based mortality estimators and applies them to federally-managed stocks in the southeastern U.S. and U.S. Caribbean.

Chapter 1 presents a review of length-based methods from the literature. Common themes regarding the methodology, assumptions, and diagnostics in these length-based methods are discussed. In Chapter 2, a simulation study evaluates the performance of the length-converted catch curve (LCCC), Beverton-Holt equation (BHE), and Length Based-Spawner Potential Ratio (LB-SPR) over a …

Impact Of The Parasitic Nematode Anguillicoloides Crassus On American Eels (Anguilla Rostrata) In Chesapeake Bay, Zoemma Taudel Warshafsky

Dissertations, Theses, and Masters Projects

American eels are infected by the introduced parasitic nematode, Anguillicoloides crassus, which can cause significant damage to their swimbladders. Despite the high prevalence and severe damage caused by A. crassus, the population level effects on American eels are not well understood. The prevalence and swimbladder damage in young glass eels and elvers are relatively unstudied, despite the potential for this parasite to cause tissue damage. Additionally, the effects of environmental, temporal, and spatial variables have been debated in previous studies without consensus. Also, the potential for eels to recover from infection and tissue damage has been speculated but not definitively …

Reconstructing Coastal Forest Retreat And Marsh Migration Response To Historical Sea Level Rise, Nathalie Schieder

Dissertations, Theses, and Masters Projects

Climate change assessments predict that rates of relative sea level rise will increase in the future, leading to enhanced inundation of low-lying coastal regions and a 20 – 50 % decline in salt marsh area by 2100. Global sea level rise began accelerating in the late 19th to early 20th century, and local rates along the U.S. mid-Atlantic coast are twice as fast as global estimates. Frequent flooding and salt stress associated with sea level rise lead to coastal transgression, and the survival of ecosystems depends on their ability to migrate inland faster than they erode and submerge. Here, I …

Nitrogen Isotope Fractionation And Toxin Production During The Uptake Of Micromolar Concentrations Of Nitrate, Ammonium, And Urea By A Marine Dinoflagellate, Christen Taylor Armstrong

Dissertations, Theses, and Masters Projects

Despite an increased global interest in harmful algal bloom (HAB) species and eutrophication, the relationship between nutrient sources and changes in species composition or toxicity remains unclear. Stable isotopes are routinely used to identify and track nitrogen (N) sources to water bodies, as sources can be differentiated based on stable isotope values. While literature is available describing N fractionation by diatoms and coccolithophores, data are greatly lacking regarding isotope fractionation by dinoflagellates. Here we investigate the fractionation of nitrogen isotopes by saxitoxin-producing Alexandrium fundyense, to validate the use of the δ15N of particulate organic matter and identify the nitrogen source …

Integration Of Undulatory Swimming Kinematics And Ram Suspension Feeding In A Model American Paddlefish, Grant Emerson Haines

Dissertations, Theses, and Masters Projects

Ram suspension-feeding fishes are a taxonomically diverse group that is both economically and ecologically important. However, many questions remain pertaining to how they feed, including the types of prey they are capable of capturing, the metabolic costs associated with feeding, and the process of manipulating and transporting food around the oral cavity. Recent research has shown that the American paddlefish (Polyodon spathula) employs vortical cross-step filtration, which includes crossflow filtration processes that are organized into a spatial structure across the gill rakers by the formation of vortices behind the branchial arches. Potential temporal organization of filtration mechanisms in ram suspension-feeding …

Functional Analysis Of Chinmo, A Presumed Transcriptional Regulator Of Cell Fate And Behavior In Drosophila., Leanna Rinehart

Dissertations, Theses, and Masters Projects

Sex determination, the assignment of sex along a male or female fate, is essential for a species to retain sexual dimorphism and the ability to reproduce sexually. In many organisms, sex-specific transcriptional programs must also be maintained throughout an organism’s lifetime. For instance, if sex of stem cells is not continually reinforced, then entire organs could undergo a sex transformation (Zarkower, 2014). Chronologically inappropriate morphogenesis (Chinmo) is a putative transcription factor found in Drosophila that regulates cell fate and behavior. Specifically, it is essential for maintenance of male stem cell sex in the adult testis (Ma et al., 2014). Goals …