Life Sciences Commons^™

Woody Vegetation At Burgner Acres, East-Central Illinois: Composition And Changes Since 1964, Larry Philip Lehnen Jr.

Masters Theses

A comparative study was undertaken of the changes in woody vegetation of Burgner Acres during the past 18 years. This ten acre woodlot, located in east-central Illinois was surveyed using a method identical to that of a previous study. A literature review describing the composition of three general types of forests in the Grand Prairie Division of Illinois is included.

Twenty-five arborescent species are present on the study site with white ash (Fraxinus americana L.) maintaining its position as first in importance value (I.V. = relative frequency + relative density + relative dominance). Hackberry (Celtis occidentalis L.) has …

A Cytomorphological Study Of Podospora Curvicolla (Winter) Niessl, Stephen F. Tomasino

Masters Theses

A cytomorphological study was performed on Podospora curvicolla, a saprophytic Pyrenomycete. Major emphasis was placed on three important features: (I) ascocarp formation and development, (II) centrum structure and (III) ascus development and structure. A comparison with other studies of Podospora and with a genus generally considered closely related, Sordaria, was made to this present study of P. curvicolla.

Initial perithecial formation in P. curvicolla is indicated by a spherical mass of hyphae which may include filaments from many vegetative hyphae, but no apparent ascogonia or antheridia were observed. As the young perithecium matures in P. curvicolla, …

Inhibitors Affecting Bacterial Action In Reaerated Activated Sludge, Alice M. Dunn

Masters Theses

Inhibition of reaerated activated sludge was assessed using reduction of dissolved oxygen uptake by the microbial population as a criterion. Oxygen uptake is essential to biodegradation of the organic components in the activated sludge process; therefore, a decrease in dissolved oxygen uptake is an indication of reduced efficiency in wastewater treatment.

The irihibitors tested were cadmium, copper, lead, mercury, silver, 2,4-Dichlorophenoxyacetic acid (2,4-D), Terbacil and Zectran. The IIC₅₀, determined by extrapolation of plotted data, for each inhibitor in mg/l was Hg (20), Cu (50), Ag (43), Cd (115), Pb (550), and 2,4-D (430). The IIC₅₀ was determined …

An Overhand Passing Test For Girls Volleyball, Jarielle L. Harner

Masters Theses

The purpose of this study was to construct and validate an overhand passing test for experienced volleyball players. The test designed in this study required each player to pass to two different targets, 90 degrees from each other.

The two targets were three feet from the junction of two unobstructed walls. On each wall a horizontal line was taped three feet long and ten feet above the floor. At the end of each horizontal line, a vertical line was taped, extending three feet above the ten foot line and perpendicular to it.

Sixty-three high school girls at Stewardson-Strasburg High School, …

Spatiotemporal Distribution And Abundance Of Fry Of Bluegill (Lepomis Macrochirus) And Redear Sunfish (Lepomis Microlophus) With Special Reference To The Effect Of Turbidity On Reproduction, William F. Dimond

Masters Theses

Plexiglass fry traps were used to investigate the abundance and spatiotemporal distribution of bluegill and redear sunfish fry in Ringneck Pond, a small pond in Central Illinois. High spring turbidity delayed spawning of both species. Bluegill fry were more abundant than redear sunfish fry. Small bluegill fry (14 mm to 20 mm TL) inhabited open water more commonly than large bluegill fry (20.5 mm to 26.5 mm TL) but densities of both size groups were highest in a sheltered bay at the north end of the pond. Bluegill fry avoided the surface in open water. Catch rates of bluegill and …

A Study Of Habitat Preference For The Aestivation Of The Alfalfa Weevil Hyper Postica (Curculionidae: Coleoftera), Donald D. Myers

Masters Theses

Habitat prefernce for the aestivation of Hyper postica was researched by the sampling of field borders. Sampling methods by the sampling of field borders. Sampling methods included soil and vegetative litter collection, sweeping of borders with an insect net and emergence trapping of wooded and grass habitat. Fields were swept once a week to determine if H. postica returned to the field before the winter season. The methods resulted in the following findings: Weevils do not aestivate litter. Data from sweeping indicated that weevils prefer areas that include alfalfa and grasses. Results of observations implied that there is a direct …

Control Of Eating Behavior: An Evaluation Of The Effects Of Serving Less Preferred Foods Prior To The Meal On Preschoolers' Eating, Paul Joseph Smith Knight

Masters Theses

This study investigated the effects of serving less preferred foods (vegetables) prior to the noon meal on: (1) The amount of vegetables eaten. (2) The variety of different vegetables eaten. (3) The number of servings of vegetables requested by the children. A plate containing 10 grams each of six different vegetables was served under one of two conditions: (1) Alone, 10 minutes prior to the main meal. (2) With the main meal for the first 10 minutes. A third condition allowed for the children to request any one of the six vegetables as an addition to their main meal. The …

The Paleoecology Of Carbonaceous (Algal) Material In The Middle Devonian Rockport Quarry Limestone Of The Northeastern Portion Of Michegan's Lower Peninsula, Jeffrey Dean Spruit

Masters Theses

The Rockport Quarry Limestone of the Lower Traverse Group represents a sequence of laterally contemporaneous carbonate platform sediments characterized in outcrop by four facies: (l) stromatoporoid biolithite, (2) organic-mud packstone, (3) biolithite-micrite transition, and (4) micrite. In facies (l), (2) and (3) dark brown 4-micron microspheres are found grouped or singly in wispy seams of brown carbonaceous material. Three species of filamentous blue-green algae were discovered in insoluble residues of facies (l) and (2). Numerous lamellar stromatoporoids and solitary corals occur with the carbonaceous-rich sediment in facies (l). Coalescing lenses of crinoid and bryozoan debris occur with the carbonaceous sediment …

The Effect Of Storm Sewer Drainage On An Urban Lake, Jose Ignacio Aizpurua

Masters Theses

The present study was undertaken to evaluate the impact from normal precipitation (ra in , snow) into an urbanized lake during 1978- 1980. Several stations were chosen, and various limnological parameters were investigated. Chemical analyses were used to estimate the annual load of nutrients input into the lake by the storm sewer and surface runoff. Excessive phosphorus and nitrogen loads from these sources were discharged into the lake.

Fecal coliform distribution in the lake before, during, and after several storm events was studied. In general, fecal coliform counts increased after storm events. Peak concentrations decreased markedly with distance of the …

A Key To The Hepaticae Of Coles And Clark Counties, Illinois, Michael J. Klopmeyer

Masters Theses

This study represents a taxonomic survey of the hepaticae of east-central Illinois. The counties included in this study were Coles and Clark, located in the east-central portion of the state, near the Indiana stateline. Of the areas included in this study, two are in Clark county, Rocky Branch and Rocky Hollow, and one in Coles county, Rock's Park.

The influence of the Wisconsin glacier, and its terminal moraine located in southern Coles county, greatly influenced the topography and ultimately the specific habitats for the hepaticae. The majority of the liverworts encountered in these counties are found in the numerous sandstone …

Annual Marks In The Sagittae Otoliths Of The Bluegill And Their Use In Age Determination In A Thermally Perturbed Environment, William D. Kraus

Masters Theses

This investigation was undertaken to determine if annual marks were present in the otoliths of the Bluegill sunfish, Lepomis macrochirus, and to explore their possible use as ageing structures in a thermally perturbed environment.

Two populations were studied; one from a farm pond with marked seasonal changes and the other from Lake Sanchris which serves as a cooling reservoir in central Illinois. Age determinations were made on 53 and 45 fish from the farm pond and Lake Sanchris respectively.

Annual marks were found to occur in the sagittae otoliths of the bluegill. These marks showed bright amber in sectioned …

Gastrointestinal Cestodes And Nematodes Of Coyotes From Southeastern Illinois, Valerie Keener

Masters Theses

Gastrointestinal tracts of 45 coyotes, Canis latrans, from southeastern Illinois were examined for cestodes and nematodes. The following parasites and incidences (%) were observed: Taenia sp. (71.1); Physaloptera sp. (53.3); Ancylostoma sp. (20.0); Ascarididae (11.1); Thelazia sp. (2.2); Trichuris sp. (2.2); Uncinaria sp. (2.2). Ancylostoma sp. occurred significantly more often in juveniles than adults. Parasites averaged low numbers per coyote, and no ulceration or blood in the tracts was seen.

A Redescription Of Spironoura Duyagi From The Stomach Of Malayan Box Turtles (Cuora Amboinensis), Rex A. Kuye

Masters Theses

Two hundred and twenty-six worms taken from the stomachs of three Malayan box turtles (Cuora amboinensis) were studied. The worms were identified as Spironoura spp., and their numerical measurements and morphological details compared to other described species in the genus. The nematodes, generally, conformed to published descriptions of Spironoura duyagi, but varied so widely with regards to presence or absence of key diagnostic features that a complete taxonomic analysis was undertaken.

April Foods And Parasites Of Wild Turkeys In Northcentral Illinois, Kathleen M. Andrews

Masters Theses

Attempts prior to the late 1950's to reintroduce the eastern wild turkey (Meleagris gallopavo silvestris) to much of its original range were through releases of game-farm reared, hybrid turkeys. While most releases throughout the eastern United States were complete failures, a remnant population of hybrid turkeys has survived in Marshall and Putnam Counties, Illinois. In 1981, the Illinois Department of Conservation opened a spring, gobbler-only hunting season in these counties. The purpose of this study was to compare April foods and parasites of the hybrid turkeys with results from studies on truly wild turkeys in southern Illinois. Crops, …

Correlation Of Hook-And-Line Vulnerability Of Largemouth Bass (Micropterus Salmoides) With Selected Physicochemical Parameters At Ridge Lake, Dale P. Burkett

Masters Theses

Fluctuation in kilograms of largemouth bass caught per man-hour of fishing pressure (catch rate) in Ridge Lake (a 6.8ha impoundment located in Fox Ridge State Park, Coles County, Illinois) was positively correlated with dissolved oxygen concentration (r=0.7490), conductivity (r=0.7439), pH (r=0.5965), and alkalinity (r=0.7531). Negative correlations were found between largemouth bass catch rate and turbidity (r=-0.5145), as well as ammonia (r=-0.4694). No significant (p<0.05) correlations were found between catch rate and column water temperature, air temperature, barometric pressure, water level, maximum water temperature, minimum water temperature, maximum air temperature, or minimum air temperature.

Models describing the relationships of the most significant physicochemical parameters to catch rate of largemouth bass were chosen to represent the effects of environment …

Daily Growth Increments In The Otoliths Of Young-Of-The-Year Largemouth Bass, Micropterus Salmoides, Steven J. Miller

Masters Theses

Daily rings were found to occur in the otoliths of laboratory-reared, young-of-the-year largemouth bass, Micropterus salmoides, for at least 151 days after swimup. Ring formation began at hatching but the total complement of prolarval rings was visible for only 10-15 days after swimup. Subdaily rings were visible in the posterior field but were easily distinguished from daily rings. Both high and low contrast tissue was present in otoliths from fish over 45 days old. Sagittal sections were superior to frontal sections for aging bass. The accuracy of the two-sections was similiar but sagittal sections were much easier and faster …

Bryophytes Of Rocky Branch Nature Preserve, Clark County, Illinois, David C. Burnette

Masters Theses

An extensive field survey of the Rocky Branch Nature Preserve in Clark County, Illinois, revealed a total of 52 bryophyte species. Of these, 38 were mosses and 14 were liverworts. Descriptions, habitats and distribution comments, plus a map showing the county distributions for each species in Illinois are included.

As a result of this survey, the liverwort Nardia lescurii (Aust.) Underw. is a new addition to the bryoflora of Illinois. There were also several other bryophytes found that were previously unreported for Clark County or the Rocky Branch Nature Preserve. These include Rhynchostegium pulchellum (Hedw.) Robins var. pulchellum, Isopterygium …

The Distribution And Relative Abundance Of Aquatic Oligochaeta In The Upper Cache River System, Southern Illinois, In Relation To Water Quality, Mark Julian Wetzel

Masters Theses

Species composition, distribution, abundance, and water quality relationships of aquatic oligochaetes occurring in the upper Cache River system, southern Illinois were investigated. Forty-two taxa of oligochaetes including 16 naidids, 22 tubificids and representatives of the families Aeolosomatidae, Branchiobdellidae, Enchytraeidae, and Lumbriculidae were collected. Four species of oligochaetes new to Illinois, Limnodrilus psammophilus Loden, L. rubripenis Loden, Psammoryctides (Spencerius) californianus Brinkhurst, and Haemonais waldvogeli Bretscher were collected during this study. Another species of Limnodrilus new to science is reported here, as yet undescribed. The thesis that aquatic oligochaetes can be used as true water quality indicator organisms is rejected. It is …

A Trophic Analysis Of Three Species Of Elmidae From Polecat And Riley Creeks, Coles County, Ill., Robert D. Davis Jr.

Masters Theses

The food habits of Stenelmis sexlineata, Stenelmis vittipennis, Stenelmis crenata, and larval Stenelmis were studied in Polecat and Riley Creeks, Coles County, Illinois. Rock Scrapings were taken and compared with the gut analyses of the larval and adult beetles. These beetles were found to be scraper/collectors and detritivore/herbivores, generally scraping surfaces of rocks. Detritus, green algae, and diatoms were found to be the major categories present in both the rock scrapings and the gut analyses. The cellular contents of diatoms (chloroplasts and other cytoplasmic inclusions) were digested by the beetles. No conclusions regarding feeding preferences are made, …

A Survey Of Selected Economic Plants, Virgil S. Priebe

Masters Theses

A library research project was done to gain information on the ethnic uses of plants cited in C. B. Arzeni and B. N. McKnight's "Ethnobotany", a workbook used in conjunction with Botany classes 2320 and 5452 offered at Eastern Illinois University at Charleston. The workbook represents a series of exercises on plants and their impact and importance to man. At present, there is no single book that offers explanations and comments on the diversity of plants that appear in this workbook. The purpose of this paper, therefore, is to bring together such information in one work, with the hope that …

Three-Dimensional Home Range Of The Eastern Fox Squirrel, Sciurus Niger, Joi L. Augustin

Masters Theses

Standard procedures for presenting home range data for species such as the fox squirrel on a single plane do not adequately represent the space they occupy. Comparisons of techniques for presenting the home range of this species on a three-dimensional basis were made using data obtained by direct observations of color marked squirrels. Three-dimensional ellipsoid models of their range varied from 9,154 m³ to 63,811 m³ and were assumed to be more accurate when observation points approached 50 in number. Rectangular parallelepipeds for the same data ranged from 9,784 m³ to 56,836 m³ and resulted in …

A Factor Analysis Of Physical Fitness Components For Seventh Grade Chinese Students, Chen-Hsing Huang

Masters Theses

The main purpose of this study is to explore the basic elements of physical fitness, which can serve as a source for the construction of a physical fitness test for Chinese students. The subjects of this study are 100 male seventh grade students of junior high school in Kaohsiung City, Republic of China.

A physical fitness test consisting of 29 subtests was devised and used as the basis for the investigation. Data collected from tests were analyzed by means of factor analysis and resulting in the following:

I. Seven basic elements that account for physical fitness were found. They were …

Description And Taxonomic Importance Of Penial Morphology In The Cryptodiran Turtles Of Malaysia, Lynn D. Wike

Masters Theses

This paper investigates the use of penial structure to study the relationships among the turtles of peninsular Malaysia. The penial morphology of Malaysian turtles, mainly batagurines, has not been previously described. Herein penes of 12 Malaysian species are described and compared to three Nearctic species. Each was coded for 22 penial characters which were used for numerical analysis by the NT-SYS numerical taxonomy system of multivariate statistical proceedures. The analysis failed to distinguish groups below the family level when the 15 species were tested. The test also failed to distinguish the complexes within the Batagurinae when they were analyzed separately. …

Moss Sensitivity To Sulfur Dioxide, John W. Wilcut

Masters Theses

Extensive research regarding the effects of sulfur dioxide (SO₂) on vascular and nonvascular plants has been reported. Sulfur dioxide has been shown to interrupt normal metabolism, to interrupt normal reproduction, and to alter the plant's morphology.

One hypothesis regarding the lack of bryophytes in urban areas is that the life cycle is being interrupted. It has been shown that moss protonemata are sensitive to SO₂ concentrations in urban areas. Several authors noted that sexual reproduction is blocked among many species which do occur in urban environments. Observations on protonemal sensitivity are probably more important than the observations …

Physical Properties Of Dna From Synchronously Grown Mesophilic And Thermophilic Bacteria, Carol A. Cox

Masters Theses

No abstract provided.

The Effect Of Lead On Developing Rat Brain Lipids, Larry J. Stegink

Masters Theses

The objective of this study was to determine the effect of lead on the brain lipids of developing rats.

Lead acetate was added to the drinking water of two pregnant rats. A' control dam was maintained on the same diet without the lead. Following birth and weaning the lead concentration was reduced and an equal number of pups from each litter were sacrificed on days 19, 22, 26, 30, and 35 after birth. The brain lipids were isolated and fatty acid distribution analyzed by gas-liquid chromatography.

Variations in fatty acid distribution between the control and experimental pups were noted for …

Studies On The Scorpions Of Libya, Nuri Milad Barbash

Masters Theses

No abstract provided.

Fetal Alcohol Effects: A Review Of The Current Literature And A Proposed Study Of The Possible Additive Effects Of Marihuana And Alcohol On The Fetus, Shirley Lange Kamp

Masters Theses

The purpose of this paper was to review the current state of knowledge regarding the effects of alcohol ingestion during pregnancy, to determine the specific issues that remain under speculation, and to develop a theoretical research design which might aid in determining the role, if any, of marihuana in compounding fetal alcohol effects.

The literature reviewed indicated that alcohol creates a continuum of fetal effects from mild abnormalities to the full fetal alcohol syndrome; current marihuana studies suggest possible adverse effects on the fetus. The research model was based on this evidence, the well documented usage of both drugs by …

The Possible Influence Of Nestbox Size On Nesting Behavior And Reproductive Success In The House Wren (Troglodytes Aedon), Mary Anne Sydlik

Masters Theses

Recent studies (Lohrl 1973i Karlsson and Nilsson 1977) have shown that there may be a relationship between nestbox size and clutch size in several passerine species. The present study was designed to determine whether nestbox size influences the clutch size and reproductive success of House Wrens (Troglodytes aedon) and to test possible cues a female might utilize to assess the size of a given nestbox. Four types of nestboxes were used in the study; they varied in floor surface from 3 inches by 3 inches to 8 inches by 8 inches. No statistically significant differences in clutch size or reproductive …

An Analysis Of Salt Eating In Birds, Kathryn Julia Herson

Masters Theses

No abstract provided.