Life Sciences Commons^™

A Comparison Of The Effects Of Burning, Haying And Mowing On Plants And Small Mammals In A Tallgrass Prairie Reconstruction, Ryan Allan Neuhaus

Dissertations and Theses @ UNI

Fire is an effective management tool for reconstructed prairies. However, due to safety concerns, road departments and other prairie managers are sometimes reluctant to use fire. Therefore, alternative techniques to manage reconstructed prairie, such as mowing or haying, need to be considered. The goal of this study is to determine if mowing and/or haying can be used to manage vegetation in lieu of fire for prairie reconstructions. This study examines the effects of four management techniques on plant and small mammal species in a tallgrass prairie reconstruction. No management, mowing, haying, and burning were replicated six times using a split …

Proof-Of-Concept Of Environmental Dna Tools For Atlantic Sturgeon Management, Jameson Hinkle

Theses and Dissertations

Abstract

The Atlantic Sturgeon (Acipenser oxyrinchus oxyrinchus, Mitchell) is an anadromous species that spawns in tidal freshwater rivers from Canada to Florida. Overfishing, river sedimentation and alteration of the river bottom have decreased Atlantic Sturgeon populations, and NOAA lists the species as endangered. Ecologists sometimes find it difficult to locate individuals of a species that is rare, endangered or invasive. The need for methods less invasive that can create more resolution of cryptic species presence is necessary. Environmental DNA (eDNA) is a non-invasive means of detecting rare, endangered, or invasive species by isolating nuclear or mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) from the …

Prothonotary Warbler Nestling Diet And Growth In Response To Variation In Aquatic And Terrestrial Food Availability, Jenna C. Dodson

Theses and Dissertations

Food supply has been suggested as the main determinant of reproductive success in birds. Riparian species can take advantage of seasonal pulses of both terrestrial and aquatic prey, though aquatic resources are often overlooked in studies of diet and reproductive ecology. This study investigates the flux of both aquatic (mayfly) and terrestrial (caterpillar) prey resources and nestling diet of the Prothonotary Warbler throughout the breeding season in two eastern Virginia sites. One site had significantly higher aquatic prey (mayfly) availability. Nestling diet was generally reflective of prey availability, and nestlings grew faster at the site with high aquatic prey availability. …

Effects Of Constant Vs. Fluctuating Temperatures On Performance And Life History Of The Herbivorous Pest Lymantria Dispar (Lepidoptera: Eribidae), Brendan E. Sostak

Theses and Dissertations

The role of temperature variation in organismal performance is understudied, but is critically important for understanding the response of biodiversity to climate change. To address this issue in herbivorous insects, I studied the direct and interactive effects of thermal regime (constant vs. fluctuating temperatures) and nutrition (dietary nitrogen) on gypsy moth (Lymantria dispar) performance under laboratory conditions. Predictions for differences between constant and fluctuating thermal conditions were derived from Jensen’s inequality, and artificial diets of differing nutritional quality were made by modifying nitrogen (casein) content. Larvae were reared in the laboratory under four temperature regimes (22°C constant, 22°C …

Metazoan Parasites Of Antarctic Fishes, Mehmet Cemal Oğuz, Yahya Tepe, Mark C. Belk, Richard A. Heckmann, Burçak Aslan, Meryem Gürgen, Rodney A. Bray, Ülker Akgül

Faculty Publications

To date, there have been nearly 100 papers published on metazoan parasites of Antarctic fishes, but there has not yet been any compilation of a species list of fish parasites for this large geographic area. Herein, we provide a list of all documented occurrences of monogenean, cestode, digenean, acanthocephalan, nematode, and hirudinean parasites of Antarctic fishes. The list includes nearly 250 parasite species found in 142 species of host fishes. It is likely that there are more species of fish parasites, which are yet to be documented from Antarctic waters.

Neurobiology Of Stress, Annaliese K. Beery, Daniela Kaufer

Neuroscience: Faculty Publications

The neurobiology of stress and the neurobiology of social behavior are deeply intertwined. The social environment interacts with stress on almost every front: social interactions can be potent stressors; they can buffer the response to an external stressor; and social behavior often changes in response to stressful life experience. This review explores mechanistic and behavioral links between stress, anxiety, resilience, and social behavior in rodents, with particular attention to different social contexts. We consider variation between several different rodent species and make connections to research on humans and nonhuman primates.

Antibodies To Pseudogymnoascus Destructans Are Not Sufficient For Protection Against White-Nose Syndrome, Joseph S. Johnson, Deeann M. Reeder, Thomas M. Lilley, Ken Field

Faculty Journal Articles

White-nose syndrome (WNS) is a fungal disease caused by Pseudogymnoascus destructans (Pd) that affects bats during hibernation. Although millions of bats have died from WNS in North America, mass mortality has not been observed among European bats infected by the fungus, leading to the suggestion that bats in Europe are immune. We tested the hypothesis that an antibody-mediated immune response can provide protection against WNS by quantifying antibod- ies reactive to Pd in blood samples from seven species of free-ranging bats in North America and two free-ranging species in Europe. We also quantified antibodies in blood samples from little brown …

Mind And Life: Is The Materialist Neo-Darwinian Conception Of Nature False?, Martin Zwick

Complex Systems Faculty Publications and Presentations

A partial review of Thomas Nagel's book, Mind and Cosmos: Why the Materialist NeoDarwinian Conception of Nature Is Almost Certainly False is used to articulate some systems-theoretic ideas about the challenge of understanding subjective experience. The article accepts Nagel' s view that reductionist materialism fails as an approach to this challenge, but argues that seeking an explanation of mind based on emergence is more plausible than one based on panpsychism, which Nagel favors. However, the article proposes something similar to Nagel's neutral monism by positing a hierarchy of information processes that span the domains of matter, life, and mind. As …

Women In Science 2015, Clark Science Center's Summer Research Fellows Program

SURF Abstracts (Women in Science)

Women in Science 2015 summarizes research done by Smith College’s Summer Research Fellowship (SURF) Program participants. Ever since its 1967 start, SURF has been a cornerstone of Smith’s science education. In 2015, 162 students participated in SURF (153 hosted on campus and nearby eld sites), supervised by 60 faculty mentor-advisors drawn from the Clark Science Center and connected to its eighteen science, mathematics, and engineering departments and programs and associated centers and units. At summer’s end, SURF participants were asked to summarize their research experiences for this publication.

The Phytotronist And The Phenotype: Plant Physiology, Big Science, And A Cold War Biology Of The Whole Plant., David Munns

Publications and Research

This paper describes how, from the early twentieth century, and especially in the early Cold War era, the plant physiologists considered their discipline ideally suited among all the plant sciences to study and explain biological functions and processes, and ranked their discipline among the dominant forms of the biological sciences. At their apex in the late-1960s, the plant physiologists laid claim to having discovered nothing less than the “basic laws of physiology.” This paper unwraps that claim, showing that it emerged from the construction of monumental big science laboratories known as phytotrons that gave control over the growing environment. Control …

Induction Of Larval Settlement In The Reef Coral Porites Astreoides By A Cultivated Marine Roseobacter Strain, Koty H. Sharp

Arts & Sciences Faculty Publications

Successful larval settlement and recruitment by corals is critical for the survival of coral reef ecosystems. Several closely related strains of γ-proteobacteria have been identified as cues for coral larval settlement, but the inductive properties of other bacterial taxa naturally occurring in reef ecosystems have not yet been explored. In this study, we assayed bacterial strains representing taxonomic groups consistently detected in corals for their ability to influence larval settlement in the coral Porites astreoides. We identified one α-proteobacterial strain, Roseivivax sp. 46E8, which significantly increased larval settlement in P. astreoides. Logarithmic growth phase (log phase) cell cultures of Roseivivax …

Endurance Exercise Training Programs Intestinal Lipid Metabolism In A Rat Model Of Obesity And Type 2 Diabetes, Yu-Han Hung, Melissa A. Linden, Alicia Gordon, R. Scott Rector, Kimberly K. Buhman

Articles

Endurance exercise has been shown to improve metabolic outcomes in obesity and type 2 diabetes; however, the physiological and molecular mechanisms for these benefits are not completely understood. Although endurance exercise has been shown to decrease lipogenesis, promote fatty acid oxidation (FAO), and increase mitochondrial biosynthesis in adipose tissue, muscle, and liver, its effects on intestinal lipid metabolism remain unknown. The absorptive cells of the small intestine, enterocytes, mediate the highly efficient absorption and processing of nutrients, including dietary fat for delivery throughout the body. We investigated how endurance exercise altered intestinal lipid metabolism in obesity and type 2 diabetes …

Human Appropriation Of Net Primary Production (Hanpp) In An Agriculturally-Dominated Watershed, Southeastern Usa, C. Brannon Andersen, R. Kyle Donovan, John Quinn

Biology Publications

Human appropriation of net primary production (HANPP) quantifies alteration of the biosphere caused by land use change and biomass harvest. In global and regional scale assessments, the majority of HANPP is associated with agricultural biomass harvest. We adapted these methods to the watershed scale and calculated land cover change and HANPP in an agricultural watershed in 1968 and 2011. Between 1968 and 2011, forest cover remained near 50% of the watershed, but row crop decreased from 26% to 0.4%, pasture increased from 19% to 32%, and residential area increased from 2% to 10%. Total HANPP decreased from 35% of potential …

Sapocribrum Chincoteaguense N. Gen. N. Sp.: A Small, Scale-Bearing Amoebozoan With Flabellinid Affinities, Daniel J.G. Lahr, Jessica Grant, Robert Molestina, Laura A. Katz, O. Roger Anderson

Biological Sciences: Faculty Publications

The isolate American Type Culture Collection (ATCC)^® 50979^™ is a small amoebozoan whose actin gene was previously characterized, but did not allow a stable phylogenetic placement. This isolate was originally mis-identified upon deposition, and subsequently mis-illustrated in a recent publication. Here, we provide both a detailed morphological description as well as additional molecular analyses in order to clarify the isolate's phylogenetic relationships. The amoeba is minute (less than 5 μm), and presents the behavior of staying in a fixed location, while emitting one or two thin pseudopods. Transmission electron microscopy reveals that the cell is covered in a …

Scales Of Resilience: Community Stability, Population Dynamics, And Molecular Ecology Of Brook Trout In A Riverscape After A Large Flood, Erin V. Rodgers

Antioch University Dissertations & Theses

Climate change in the northeastern United States currently and in future decadal predictions is characterized by warmer average temperatures and more frequent and intense storm events. Many aquatic organisms that thrive below a certain temperature threshold, such as brook trout, are being pushed towards their upper thermal limits, ultimately lowering their probability of survival and resilience to disturbance. In late-August and early-September 2011, Hurricane Irene and Tropical Storm Lee created an extended flood in the Delaware Water Gap region of Pennsylvania and New Jersey, as well as much of the northeast. This dissertation examines the effects of this flood on …

Ramapough/Ford The Impact And Survival Of An Indigenous Community In The Shadow Of Ford Motor Company’S Toxic Legacy, Chuck Stead

Antioch University Dissertations & Theses

The purpose of this study was to examine the history of the Ford Motor Company’s impact upon the Ramapo Watershed of New York and New Jersey, as well as upon the Ramapough Munsi Nation, an indigenous population living there. In a 25 year span the automaker produced a record number of vehicles and dumped a massive amount of lead paint, leaving behind a toxic legacy that continues to plaque the area and its residents. The Ramapough people are not unlike many native nations living in the United States who have experienced industrial excess. This study examines the mindset that allows …

Matrix And Edge Effects On The Maintenance Of Ecological Function In An Afromontane Protected Area, Robin M. Martino

Antioch University Dissertations & Theses

Land use type in the human dominated matrix surrounding tropical forest can influence edge effects at the forest-matrix interface. Edge effects can alter ecological processes and impact the function of forest edge ecosystems. A key ecological process that helps maintain tropical forest and is affected by forest disturbance is seed dispersal by large, fruit eating vertebrates (frugivores). This dissertation examines how the type of vegetation in the matrix, the `soft’ edge contrast of pine plantations and the `hard’ edge contrast of tea plantations, affect seed dispersal behavior of large frugivores, and the structure and composition of tree species, in forest …

Weed Women, All Night Vigils, And The Secret Life Of Plants: Negotiated Epistemologies Of Ethnogynecological Plant Knowledge In American History, Claudia Jeanne Ford

Antioch University Dissertations & Theses

This dissertation critiques the discourse of traditional ecological knowledge described as embedded in indigenous peoples' longevity in location, for the purpose of understanding the embodiment of ecological knowledge in culture. The aim of this research is to examine the historical and epistemic complexity of traditional ecological knowledge that may be both established from the length of time people reside in a specific ecosystem and constitutive of negotiations between and among different cultures. I choose the specific case of the negotiation of plant knowledge for women's reproductive health among Native, African, and European groups as those negotiations unfolded on the American …

Editors' Note, Laura B. Regassa, Delena Gatch

Biology: Faculty Publications

Dear colleagues,

The International Journal for the Scholarship of Teaching & Learning is undergoing some major changes.

• The layout of the journal has been overhauled, giving it a look that better aligns with the quality of the content. As we continue to struggle with SoTL “counting” as scholarship at some institutions, it is important to package our work in a way that reinforces its value. We hope you enjoy the new look!

• Articles are being assigned DOI (digital object identifier) numbers. All articles, past and present, will be tagged and linked to metadata as indexing is completed over the next …

Body Image Self-Discrepancies And Compulsive Exercise: Exploring The Role Of Approach And Avoidance Motivational Selves, Kristin A. Chandler

College of Graduate Studies: Theses & Dissertations

According to Brewer, Davis, Kalmbach, Kaptein, Katzman and Kirsch (1997), problematic exercise occurs in approximately 80% of anorexia nervosa patients and 55% of bulimia nervosa patients. Thus, a comprehensive understanding of unhealthy exercise is necessary for its assessment as well as eating disorder prevention and intervention. One term used to describe unhealthy exercise is compulsive exercise. Although compulsive exercise has been regarded as problematic in the development, treatment, and outcome of eating disorders, little research has investigated the risk factors for this behavior. Given the influence of body image disturbances on disordered eating and the relationship between compulsive exercise and …

Challenges Posed By Tick-Borne Rickettsiae: Eco- Epidemiology And Public Health Implications, Marina E. Eremeeva, Gregory A. Dasch

Environmental Health Sciences: Faculty Publications

Rickettsiae are obligately intracellular bacteria that are transmitted to vertebrates by a variety of arthropod vectors, primarily by fleas and ticks. Once transmitted or experimentally inoculated into susceptible mammals, some rickettsiae may cause febrile illness of different morbidity and mortality, and which can manifest with different types of exhanthems in humans. However, most rickettsiae circulate in diverse sylvatic or peridomestic reservoirs without having obvious impacts on their vertebrate hosts or affecting humans. We have analyzed the key features of tick-borne maintenance of rickettsiae, which may provide a deeper basis for understanding those complex invertebrate interactions and strategies that have permitted …

Determination Of Heavy Metals Concentration In Traditional Herbs Commonly Consumed In The United Arab Emirates, Rania Dghaim, Safa Al Khatib, Husna Rasool, Munawwar Ali Khan

All Works

Copyright © 2015 Rania Dghaim et al. Herbs are extensively consumed in the United Arab Emirates for their flavoring and medicinal properties. This study aimed at determining the concentration of heavy metals in selected traditional herbs consumed in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). A total of 81 samples of seven herbs, parsley (Petroselinumcrispum), basil (Ocimum basilicum), sage (Salvia officinalis), oregano (Origanum vulgare), mint (Mentha spicata), thyme (Thymus vulgaris), and chamomile (Matricaria chamomilla), were purchased from the local market in Dubai and analyzed for their cadmium, lead, copper, iron, and zinc contents. Microwave-assisted digestion was applied for the dissolution of the …

A New Entomopathogenic Nematode Species From Turkey, Steinernema Websteri (Rhabditida: Steinernematidae), And Its Virulence, Ci̇han Gökçe, Zeynep Erbaş, Hüseyi̇n Yilmaz, Zi̇hni̇ Demi̇rbağ, İsmai̇l Demi̇r

Turkish Journal of Biology

Entomopathogenic nematodes were isolated from a population of larvae of the cutworm Agrotis segetum Denis & Schiffermüller, 1775 (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) collected from the Black Sea region of Turkey in 2009 using White traps. The isolated nematodes were identified as Steinernema websteri based on morphological and molecular properties. Steinernema websteri was also found for the first time in Turkey and in A. segetum larvae. The efficacy of isolates was tested on A. segetum larvae in plastic boxes. Different concentrations of nematodes (100, 300, and 500 infective juveniles (IJs) g^{-1} of dry sand) at 23 ± 1 °C were used. The obtained …

Effects Of The Algal Toxin Microcystin On Fishes In The James River, Virginia, Maxwell D. Haase

Theses and Dissertations

With the global rise in frequency of harmful algal blooms in estuarine environments comes an increase in prevalence of toxic metabolites, such as microcystin (MC), that some of the cyanobacteria involved will produce. At high concentrations, MC may accumulate in consumer tissues and have deleterious effects on organisms; however impacts of the toxin on aquatic living resources at ecologically relevant concentrations have not been widely documented. We analyzed the effects of MC on juveniles of five fish species from the James River, Virginia to determine if MC has the potential to impede growth. Using three separate experimental approaches, it was …

Graph-Based Regularization In Machine Learning: Discovering Driver Modules In Biological Networks, Xi Gao

Theses and Dissertations

Curiosity of human nature drives us to explore the origins of what makes each of us different. From ancient legends and mythology, Mendel's law, Punnett square to modern genetic research, we carry on this old but eternal question. Thanks to technological revolution, today's scientists try to answer this question using easily measurable gene expression and other profiling data. However, the exploration can easily get lost in the data of growing volume, dimension, noise and complexity. This dissertation is aimed at developing new machine learning methods that take data from different classes as input, augment them with knowledge of feature relationships, …

Characterization Of Mechanism Of Action Of Hydrogen Sulfide (H2s) In The Regulation Of Smooth Muscle Function, Ancy D. Nalli

Theses and Dissertations

Hydrogen sulfide (H₂S) is receiving increasing interest, as much as nitric oxide (NO) and carbon monoxide have received previously, to understand its physiological functions as it meets all the criteria to define as a third gasotransmitter. Endogenous synthesis from L-cysteine via cystathionine-γ-lyase (CSE) and cystathionine-β-synthase (CBS) and the function of H₂S as an inhibitor of smooth muscle contraction in gastrointestinal tract are known. However, the loci of generation and action of H₂S, and the mechanism of inhibition of contraction are unknown. Hence, my aims in the present study are to: i) identify the expression …

Coarse Woody Debris And The Carbon Balance Of A Moderately Disturbed Forest, Amy V. Schmid

Theses and Dissertations

Landscapes are comprised of multiple ecosystems shaped by disturbances varying in severity and source. Moderate disturbance from weather, pathogens, insects, and age-related senescence, in contrast to severe disturbances that fell trees, may increase standing woody debris and alter the contribution of coarse woody debris (CWD) to total ecosystem respiration (R_E). However, woody debris dynamics are rarely examined following moderate disturbances that substantially increase standing dead wood stocks. We used an experimental manipulation of moderate disturbance in an upper Great Lakes forest to: 1) examine decadal changes in CWD stocks through a moderate disturbance; 2) quantify in situ CWD …

Heterosandwich Assay Of Nicotinic Acetylcholine Receptors, Augustine J. Pagan Iv

Theses and Dissertations

Using the technology afforded by Winschel et al., cyclen-1, a high affinity, strong complexation agent for 8-hydroxypyrene-1,3,6 trisulfonate and derivatives, a new assay has been developed for fluorescently labeling proteins of interest (POIs). Ligation of the endogenous ligand for nicotinic acetylcholine receptors (nAChRs), acetylcholine, using click chemistry afforded the triazole derivative of an alkynyl-acylcholine (compound 1) with 8-azidopyrene-1,3,6 trisulfonate (compound 2). Liposomes encapsulated with Rhodamine B were used to strengthen the initial fluorophore response of compound 2, using an anchored form of cyclen-1 complex. Using a palmitoyl tail as the lipophilic moiety for liposomal amplification, the …

Hif-Independent Responses In Hypoxia, Divya Padmanabha

Theses and Dissertations

The adaptive response to hypoxia is accompanied by widespread transcriptional changes that allow for prolonged survival in low oxygen. Many of these changes are directly regulated by the conserved hypoxia-inducible factor-1 (HIF-1) complex; however, even in its absence, many oxygen-sensitive transcripts in Caenorhabditis elegans are appropriately regulated in hypoxia. To identify mediators of these non-HIF-dependent responses, I established a hif-1 mutant reporter line that expresses GFP in hypoxia or when worms are treated with the hypoxia mimetic cobalt chloride (cobalt chloride). The reporter is selective and HIF-independent, in that it remains insensitive to a number of cellular stresses, but is …

Functional Characterization Of Rai1 In Zebrafish, Joshua S. Beach

Theses and Dissertations

Smith-Magenis Syndrome (SMS; OMIM #182290) is a multiple congenital abnormality and intellectual disability (ID) disorder caused by either an interstitial deletion of the 17p11.2 region containing the retinoic acid induced-1 (RAI1) gene or a mutation of the RAI1 gene. Individuals diagnosed with SMS typically present characteristics such as ID, self-injurious behavior, sleep disturbance, ocular and otolaryngological abnormalities, craniofacial and skeletal abnormalities, neurological and behavioral abnormalities, as well as other systemic defects and manifestations. Previous work by Vyas in 2009 showed temporal expression of rai1 in zebrafish embryos as early as 9 hpf. We hypothesize that there is maternal …