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2019

Reproduction

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Articles 1 - 13 of 13

Full-Text Articles in Life Sciences

Phenotypically Plastic Responses To Predation Risk Are Temperature Dependent, Thomas M. Luhring, Janna M. Vavra, Clayton E. Cressler, John Delong Oct 2019

Phenotypically Plastic Responses To Predation Risk Are Temperature Dependent, Thomas M. Luhring, Janna M. Vavra, Clayton E. Cressler, John Delong

School of Biological Sciences: Faculty Publications

Predicting how organisms respond to climate change requires that we understand the temperature dependence of fitness in relevant ecological contexts (e.g., with or without predation risk). Predation risk often induces changes to life history traits that are themselves temperature dependent. We explore how perceived predation risk and temperature interact to determine fitness (indicated by the intrinsic rate of increase, r) through changes to its underlying components (net reproductive rate, generation time, and survival) in Daphnia magna. We exposed Daphnia to predation cues from dragonfly naiads early, late, or throughout their ontogeny. Predation risk increased r differentially across temperatures …


Reproduction And Dispersal Of Biological Soil Crust Organisms, Steven D. Warren, Larry L. St. Clair, Lloyd R. Stark, Louise A. Lewis, Nuttapon Pombubpa, Tania Kurbessoian, Jason E. Stajich, Zachary T. Aanderud Oct 2019

Reproduction And Dispersal Of Biological Soil Crust Organisms, Steven D. Warren, Larry L. St. Clair, Lloyd R. Stark, Louise A. Lewis, Nuttapon Pombubpa, Tania Kurbessoian, Jason E. Stajich, Zachary T. Aanderud

Life Sciences Faculty Research

Biological soil crusts (BSCs) consist of a diverse and highly integrated community of organisms that effectively colonize and collectively stabilize soil surfaces. BSCs vary in terms of soil chemistry and texture as well as the environmental parameters that combine to support unique combinations of organisms—including cyanobacteria dominated, lichen-dominated, and bryophyte-dominated crusts. The list of organismal groups that make up BSC communities in various and unique combinations include—free living, lichenized, and mycorrhizal fungi, chemoheterotrophic bacteria, cyanobacteria, diazotrophic bacteria and archaea, eukaryotic algae, and bryophytes. The various BSC organismal groups demonstrate several common characteristics including—desiccation and extreme temperature tolerance, production of various …


Imatinib Mesylate Effects On Zebrafish Reproductive Success: Gonadal Development, Gamete Quality, Fertility, Embryo-Larvae Viability And Development, And Related Genes, Nader Ahmadi, Seyed-Mohammadreza Samaee, Robert A. Yokel, Aliasghar Tehrani Sep 2019

Imatinib Mesylate Effects On Zebrafish Reproductive Success: Gonadal Development, Gamete Quality, Fertility, Embryo-Larvae Viability And Development, And Related Genes, Nader Ahmadi, Seyed-Mohammadreza Samaee, Robert A. Yokel, Aliasghar Tehrani

Pharmaceutical Sciences Faculty Publications

Imatinib (IM) is a tyrosine kinase (TK) inhibitor (TKI) used to treat chronic myeloid leukemia. Clinical case reports and a few laboratory mammal studies provide inconclusive evidence about its deleterious effects on reproduction. The aim of the current study was to evaluate the potential of zebrafish to characterize IM-induced effects on reproduction and clarify IM effects on reproductive success. To this end, we exposed adult zebrafish to four concentrations of IM for 30 days followed by a 30-day depuration period. IM exposure caused a concentration-dependent, irreversible, suppression of folliculogenesis, reversible decrease in sperm density and motility, decreased fecundity and fertility, …


Spatial And Temporal Variation In Fecundity Of Acropora Spp. In The Northern Great Barrier Reef, Morgan S. Pratchett, Andrew S. Hoey, Chun-Hong Tan, Chao-Yang Kuo, Andrew G. Bauman, Rajani Kumaraswamy, Andrew H. Baird Apr 2019

Spatial And Temporal Variation In Fecundity Of Acropora Spp. In The Northern Great Barrier Reef, Morgan S. Pratchett, Andrew S. Hoey, Chun-Hong Tan, Chao-Yang Kuo, Andrew G. Bauman, Rajani Kumaraswamy, Andrew H. Baird

Marine & Environmental Sciences Faculty Articles

The amount of energy invested in sexual reproduction by scleractinian corals depends on their life history strategies (i.e., allocation of energy between growth, reproduction, and maintenance). However, energy allocated to reproduction will also be affected by the amount of energy acquired and prevailing environmental conditions. Coral fecundity is therefore likely to vary spatially, especially along marked gradients in environmental conditions. One of the foremost gradients in reef structure and environmental conditions occurs with distance from the coast, whereby inner-shelf or near shore reefs are generally subject to higher levels of nutrients, sediments and pollutants, which often adversely affect reef-building corals. …


Evaluating The Impact Of Feed Supplementation On Productive And Reproductive Efficiency In Smallholder Dairy Cattle In Arusha, Tanzania, Hayley Hall Apr 2019

Evaluating The Impact Of Feed Supplementation On Productive And Reproductive Efficiency In Smallholder Dairy Cattle In Arusha, Tanzania, Hayley Hall

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

This study was performed to determine if supplementing concentrates and/or minerals significantly affect productive and reproductive efficiency in smallholder dairy cattle in Arusha, Tanzania. The goal was to estimate the necessity and effectiveness of supplementing a forage diet on production and reproduction. Data was collected through interviews of small scale dairy cattle owners in nine regions within and around Arusha. Productive efficiency was measured by milk yield per cow per day. Reproductive efficiency was evaluated by the amount of time to heat resumption after calving and reproductive disease status. This was studied because determining the factors that improve the efficiency …


Status Of The Plains Harvest Mouse (Reithrodontomys Montanus Griseus) In Eastern Nebraska, Keith Geluso, Greg D. Wright Mar 2019

Status Of The Plains Harvest Mouse (Reithrodontomys Montanus Griseus) In Eastern Nebraska, Keith Geluso, Greg D. Wright

Transactions of the Nebraska Academy of Sciences and Affiliated Societies

In eastern Nebraska, current status of the Plains Harvest Mouse (Reithrodontomys montanus griseus) is not well understood. Infrequent captures during the last century have led to a paucity of information regarding this taxon, and some researchers postulate that its distribution has contracted in the state. In 2008, we conducted a field survey for R. m. griseus in eastern Nebraska, amassed prior specimen records, and examined most of the specimens for this subspecies from the state to better understand its distribution, natural history, and subspecific status. In our field efforts, we only captured a single individual despite …


Baseline Corticosterone Does Not Reflect Iridescent Plumage Traits In Female Tree Swallows, Keneth Sarpong, Christine L. Madliger, Christopher M. Harris, Oliver P. Love, Stéphanie M. Doucet, Pierre Paul Bitton Jan 2019

Baseline Corticosterone Does Not Reflect Iridescent Plumage Traits In Female Tree Swallows, Keneth Sarpong, Christine L. Madliger, Christopher M. Harris, Oliver P. Love, Stéphanie M. Doucet, Pierre Paul Bitton

Great Lakes Institute for Environmental Research Publications

The production of high quality secondary sexual traits can be constrained by trade-offs in the allocation of energy and nutrients with other metabolic activities, and is mediated by physiological processes. In birds, the factors influencing male plumage quality have been well studied; however, factors affecting female plumage quality are poorly understood. Furthermore, it remains uncertain which physiological traits mediate the relationship between body condition and ornaments. In this three-year study of after-second-year female tree swallows (Tachycineta bicolor), we investigated (1) the relationship between baseline corticosterone near the end of the brood-rearing period (CORTBR) and feather colour characteristics (hue, saturation, brightness) …


Biotic Potential And Reproductive Parameters Of Spodoptera Frugiperda (J. E. Smith, 1797) (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae), Debora G. Montezano, Alexandre Specht, Embrapa Soja, Daniel R. Sosa-Gomez, Vania F. Roque-Specht, Juaci V. Malaquias, Silvana V. Paula-Moraes, Julie A. Peterson, Thomas E. Hunt Jan 2019

Biotic Potential And Reproductive Parameters Of Spodoptera Frugiperda (J. E. Smith, 1797) (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae), Debora G. Montezano, Alexandre Specht, Embrapa Soja, Daniel R. Sosa-Gomez, Vania F. Roque-Specht, Juaci V. Malaquias, Silvana V. Paula-Moraes, Julie A. Peterson, Thomas E. Hunt

Department of Entomology: Faculty Publications

The fall armyworm, Spodoptera frugiperda (J. E. Smith, 1797) (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae), a native to the Americas and recently reported in Africa, Germany, the Netherlands and India, is a significant pest of many crop species. Although a widespread and important pest, information on its biology and development are incomplete and require detailed study. In this study, the biotic potential and reproductive parameters of S. frugiperda were evaluated under controlled conditions (25±1 °C, 70±10% RH and 14 hour photophase). The longevity, pre-, postand oviposition periods, fecundity, and fertility of 30 pairs were evaluated. The longevity of females (10.87 days) was not significantly …


Temperature Dependent Development Of Sugarcane Aphids Melanaphis Sacchari, (Hemiptera: Aphididae) On Three Different Host Plants With Estimates Of The Lower And Upper Threshold For Fecundity, Michael A. De Souza, J. Scott Armstrong, W. Wyatt Hoback, Phillip G. Mulder, Sulochana Paudyal, John E. Foster, Mark E. Payton, Josephine Akosa Jan 2019

Temperature Dependent Development Of Sugarcane Aphids Melanaphis Sacchari, (Hemiptera: Aphididae) On Three Different Host Plants With Estimates Of The Lower And Upper Threshold For Fecundity, Michael A. De Souza, J. Scott Armstrong, W. Wyatt Hoback, Phillip G. Mulder, Sulochana Paudyal, John E. Foster, Mark E. Payton, Josephine Akosa

Department of Entomology: Faculty Publications

The sugarcane aphid, Melanaphis sacchari (Zehntner) is a serious economic threat to grain sorghum across the U.S. sorghum belt. It can develop on multiple grass hosts but only appears to survive winter temperatures in Texas near the Mexican border, Florida and Louisiana. Because survival and reproduction of aphids is dependent on access to appropriate nutrition and temperatures at which metabolic processes are maintained, we evaluated the growth, reproduction and survival of sugarcane aphids at constant temperatures (5°C,10°C,15°C,20°C,25°C,30°C,35°C) on three known hosts, sorghum, Johnsongrass, and Columbus grass. Longevity, fecundity, number of female nymphs/d, reproductive period in d, and intrinsic rate of …


The Impact Of Heat Load On Cattle, Angela M. Lees, Veerasamy Sejian, Andrea L. Wallage, Cameron C. Steel, Terry L. Mader, Jarrod C. Lees, John B. Gaughan Jan 2019

The Impact Of Heat Load On Cattle, Angela M. Lees, Veerasamy Sejian, Andrea L. Wallage, Cameron C. Steel, Terry L. Mader, Jarrod C. Lees, John B. Gaughan

Department of Animal Science: Faculty Publications

Heat stress and cold stress have a negative influence on cattle welfare and productivity. There have been some studies investigating the influence of cold stress on cattle, however the emphasis within this review is the influence of heat stress on cattle. The impact of hot weather on cattle is of increasing importance due to the changing global environment. Heat stress is a worldwide phenomenon that is associated with reduced animal productivity and welfare, particularly during the summer months. Animal responses to their thermal environment are extremely varied, however, it is clear that the thermal environment influences the health, productivity, and …


Developmental And Reproductive Characteristics Of Beef Heifers Classified By Number Of Estrous Cycles Experienced By Start Of First Breeding, Andy Roberts, Jaclyn N. Ketchum, Richard N. Funston Jan 2019

Developmental And Reproductive Characteristics Of Beef Heifers Classified By Number Of Estrous Cycles Experienced By Start Of First Breeding, Andy Roberts, Jaclyn N. Ketchum, Richard N. Funston

West Central Research and Extension Center, North Platte

A retrospective analysis was conducted to evaluate the effect of number of estrous cycles exhibited before breeding on growth and reproductive performance of replacement beef heifers fed ad-libitum or restricted by 20% less than ad-libitum during postweaning development over a 9-yr period. Progesterone concentration in blood samples collected at 9- to 11-d intervals were used to assign heifers into groups by number of estrous cycles exhibited before the start of breeding: 0 (nonpubertal; n = 395), 1 (n = 205), 2 (n = 211), 3 (n = 116), or >3 (n = 249). Heifers (P …


Extracellular Matrix In Development And Disease, Julia Thom Oxford, Jonathon C. Reeck, Makenna J. Hardy Jan 2019

Extracellular Matrix In Development And Disease, Julia Thom Oxford, Jonathon C. Reeck, Makenna J. Hardy

Biomolecular Research Center Publications and Presentations

The evolution of multicellular metazoan organisms was marked by the inclusion of an extracellular matrix (ECM), a multicomponent, proteinaceous network between cells that contributes to the spatial arrangement of cells and the resulting tissue organization. The development of an ECM that provides support in larger organisms may have represented an advantage in the face of selection pressure for the evolution of the ECM.


Vitellogenin Receptor As A Target For Tick Control: A Mini-Review, Robert D. Mitchell Iii, Daniel E. Sonenshine, Adalberto A. Pérez De León Jan 2019

Vitellogenin Receptor As A Target For Tick Control: A Mini-Review, Robert D. Mitchell Iii, Daniel E. Sonenshine, Adalberto A. Pérez De León

Biological Sciences Faculty Publications

While much effort has been put into understanding vitellogenesis in insects and other organisms, much less is known of this process in ticks. There are several steps that facilitate yolk formation in developing oocytes of which the vitellogenin receptor (VgR) is a key component. The tick VgR binds vitellogenin (Vg) circulating in the hemolymph to initiate receptor-mediated endocytosis and its transformation into vitellin (Vn). The conversion of Vg into Vn, the final form of the yolk protein, occurs inside oocytes of the female tick ovary. Vn is critical to tick embryos since it serves as the nutritional source for their …