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2020

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Articles 211 - 240 of 13409

Full-Text Articles in Life Sciences

Melanogenesis, Its Regulatory Process, And Insights On Biomedical, Biotechnological, And Pharmacological Potentials Of Melanin As Antiviral Biochemical, Toluwase Hezekiah Fatoki, Omodele Ibraheem, Catherine Joke Adeseko, Boluwatife Lawrence Afolabi, Daniel Uwaremhevho Momodu, David Morakinyo Sanni, Jesupemi Mercy Enibukun, Ibukun Oladejo Ogunyemi, Akinwunmi Oluwaseun Adeoye, Harriet U. Ugboko, Amoge Chidinma Ogu, Abiodun Samuel Oyedele, Adejoju Omodolapo Adedara, Abiodun Joseph Jimoh, Oluwakemi Ruth Ogundana, Oritsetimeyin Eworitse Ebosa Dec 2020

Melanogenesis, Its Regulatory Process, And Insights On Biomedical, Biotechnological, And Pharmacological Potentials Of Melanin As Antiviral Biochemical, Toluwase Hezekiah Fatoki, Omodele Ibraheem, Catherine Joke Adeseko, Boluwatife Lawrence Afolabi, Daniel Uwaremhevho Momodu, David Morakinyo Sanni, Jesupemi Mercy Enibukun, Ibukun Oladejo Ogunyemi, Akinwunmi Oluwaseun Adeoye, Harriet U. Ugboko, Amoge Chidinma Ogu, Abiodun Samuel Oyedele, Adejoju Omodolapo Adedara, Abiodun Joseph Jimoh, Oluwakemi Ruth Ogundana, Oritsetimeyin Eworitse Ebosa

Chemistry Student Research

Melanin is s most widely distributed pigment and is found in bacteria, fungi, plants, and animals. Melanogenesis is under complex regulatory control by multiple agents interacting through pathways activated by hormonal and receptor-dependent and -independent mechanisms. There are about 20 genes that are involved in the biochemical pathway of melanogenesis and its regulation, which include: tyrosinase, microphthalmia-associated transcription factor, melanocortin1 receptor, adenylate cyclase, protein kinase A. Human melanogenesis regulatory proteins such as MAPK1, CREB3, and CREBP, have binary interaction with the protein of herpesvirus, hepatitis C virus, Human immunodeficiency virus type 1, Simian virus 40, and Human adenovirus A and …

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Smokejumper Obituary: Friestad, Dennis J. (Missoula 1965), National Smokejumper Association Dec 2020

Smokejumper Obituary: Friestad, Dennis J. (Missoula 1965), National Smokejumper Association

Smokejumper Obituaries

No abstract provided.

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Genetic Determinants Of Increased Outcrossing In Caenorhabditis Elegans Following Dauer Diapause, Rose Al-Saadi Dec 2020

Genetic Determinants Of Increased Outcrossing In Caenorhabditis Elegans Following Dauer Diapause, Rose Al-Saadi

Theses - ALL

Mating strategies, whether sexual or asexual, confer unique costs and benefits to populations and species that facilitate evolutionary processes. In wild isolates of Caenorhabditis elegans, mating strategies are dependent on developmental history. Outcrossing levels significantly increase when both hermaphrodites and males have transiently passed through the stress-resistant dauer diapause stage (postdauers). However, the molecular mechanisms of how life history can alter mating strategies have not been systematically explored. Mating behaviors of C. elegans can be attributed, in part, to sex-specific responses to ascaroside pheromone components. For example, high concentrations of the pheromone ascr#3 results in a strong avoidance response in …

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Snowpack Reconstruction In North America Using Tree-Rings, Bethany Lynn Coulthard, Kevin J. Anchukaitis, Gregory T. Pederson, Edward Cook, Jeremy Littell, Dan J. Smith Dec 2020

Snowpack Reconstruction In North America Using Tree-Rings, Bethany Lynn Coulthard, Kevin J. Anchukaitis, Gregory T. Pederson, Edward Cook, Jeremy Littell, Dan J. Smith

Geoscience Faculty Research

Climate change has contributed to recent declines in mountain snowpack and earlier runoff, which in turn has intensified hydrological droughts in western North America. Climate model projections suggest that continued and severe snowpack reductions are expected over the 21st century, with profound consequences for ecosystems and human welfare. Yet the current understanding of trends and variability in mountain snowpack is limited by the relatively short and strongly temperature forced observational record. Motivated by the urgent need to better understand snowpack dynamics in a long-term, spatially coherent framework, here we examine snow-growth relationships in western North American tree-ring chronologies. We present …

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Neuromodulation By Endogenous Interlukin-1Β In Hippocampus Of The Murine Brain: Regulation Of Neuronal Excitation, Spandita Seouli Dutta Dec 2020

Neuromodulation By Endogenous Interlukin-1Β In Hippocampus Of The Murine Brain: Regulation Of Neuronal Excitation, Spandita Seouli Dutta

Dissertations - ALL

The pro-inflammatory cytokine, Interleukin-1β (IL-1β), is well known for its ability to initiate and propagate inflammatory responses at sites of infection and tissue injury. Paradoxically at odds with this classic view, it is now clear that IL-1β signaling modulates a number of physiological functions in the central nervous system. In this regard, IL-1β is involved in sleep and body fluid regulation in the basal forebrain and hypothalamus, respectively, and plasticity changes that underlie cognition in the hippocampus. Evidence from a previous study in my laboratory further suggests that IL-1β regulates the innate seizure threshold, which arguably is a reflection of …

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High-Resolution Sampling Of A Broad Marine Life Size Spectrum Reveals Differing Size- And Composition-Based Associations With Physical Oceanographic Structure, Adam T. Greer, John C. Lehrter, Benjamin M. Binder, Aditya R. Nayak, Ranjoy Barua, Ana E. Rice, Jonathan H. Cohen, Malcolm N. Mcfarland, Alexis Hagemeyer, Nicole D. Stockley, Kevin M. Boswell, Igor Shulman, Sergio Derada, Bradley Penta Dec 2020

High-Resolution Sampling Of A Broad Marine Life Size Spectrum Reveals Differing Size- And Composition-Based Associations With Physical Oceanographic Structure, Adam T. Greer, John C. Lehrter, Benjamin M. Binder, Aditya R. Nayak, Ranjoy Barua, Ana E. Rice, Jonathan H. Cohen, Malcolm N. Mcfarland, Alexis Hagemeyer, Nicole D. Stockley, Kevin M. Boswell, Igor Shulman, Sergio Derada, Bradley Penta

Faculty Publications

Observing multiple size classes of organisms, along with oceanographic properties and water mass origins, can improve our understanding of the drivers of aggregations, yet acquiring these measurements remains a fundamental challenge in biological oceanography. By deploying multiple biological sampling systems, from conventional bottle and net sampling to in situ imaging and acoustics, we describe the spatial patterns of different size classes of marine organisms (several microns to ∼10 cm) in relation to local and regional (m to km) physical oceanographic conditions on the Delaware continental shelf. The imaging and acoustic systems deployed included (in ascending order of target organism size) …

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Identification Of Blda As A Major Regulator Of Virulence In The Sweetpotato Soil Rot Pathogen Streptomyces Ipomoeae And Characterization Of Distinct Clostridium Sweetpotato Soft Rot Isolates, Kuei-Ting Yang Dec 2020

Identification Of Blda As A Major Regulator Of Virulence In The Sweetpotato Soil Rot Pathogen Streptomyces Ipomoeae And Characterization Of Distinct Clostridium Sweetpotato Soft Rot Isolates, Kuei-Ting Yang

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Streptomyces ipomoeae is the causative agent of Streptomyces soil rot on sweetpotato, a disease characterized by extensive necrosis of both adventitious and storage roots. While Streptomyces potato scab pathogens produce a phytotoxin (thaxtomin A), which is induced in the presence of cellobiose and suberin, S. ipomoeae produces a less-modified, phytotoxin (thaxtomin C), whose inducer has not been identified. To investigate transcriptional regulation of thaxtomin C production, we inserted a promoter involved in thaxtomin C synthesis upstream of the gusA reporter in an S. ipomoeae strain. Reporter gene expression was significantly upregulated in the presence of size-fractionated sweetpotato extract (SPE). The …

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Arp2/3-Independent Wave/Scar Pathway And Class Xi Myosin Control Sperm Nuclear Migration In Flowering Plants, Mohammad F. Ali, Umma Fatema, Xiongbo Peng, Samuel W. Hacker, Daisuke Maruyama, Meng-Xiang Sun, Tomokazu Kawashima Dec 2020

Arp2/3-Independent Wave/Scar Pathway And Class Xi Myosin Control Sperm Nuclear Migration In Flowering Plants, Mohammad F. Ali, Umma Fatema, Xiongbo Peng, Samuel W. Hacker, Daisuke Maruyama, Meng-Xiang Sun, Tomokazu Kawashima

Plant and Soil Sciences Faculty Publications

After eukaryotic fertilization, gamete nuclei migrate to fuse parental genomes in order to initiate development of the next generation. In most animals, microtubules control female and male pronuclear migration in the zygote. Flowering plants, on the other hand, have evolved actin filament (F-actin)-based sperm nuclear migration systems for karyogamy. Flowering plants have also evolved a unique double-fertilization process: two female gametophytic cells, the egg and central cells, are each fertilized by a sperm cell. The molecular and cellular mechanisms of how flowering plants utilize and control F-actin for double-fertilization events are largely unknown. Using confocal microscopy live-cell imaging with a …

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Fruiting Body Form, Not Nutritional Mode, Is The Major Driver Of Diversification In Mushroom-Forming Fungi, Marisol Sánchez-García, Martin Ryberg, Faheema Kalsoom Khan, Torda Varga, László G. Nagy, David S. Hibbett Dec 2020

Fruiting Body Form, Not Nutritional Mode, Is The Major Driver Of Diversification In Mushroom-Forming Fungi, Marisol Sánchez-García, Martin Ryberg, Faheema Kalsoom Khan, Torda Varga, László G. Nagy, David S. Hibbett

Biology

With ∼36,000 described species, Agaricomycetes are among the most successful groups of Fungi. Agaricomycetes display great diversity in fruiting body forms and nutritional modes. Most have pileate-stipitate fruiting bodies (with a cap and stalk), but the group also contains crust-like resupinate fungi, polypores, coral fungi, and gasteroid forms (e.g., puffballs and stinkhorns). Some Agaricomycetes enter into ectomycorrhizal symbioses with plants, while others are decayers (saprotrophs) or pathogens. We constructed a megaphylogeny of 8,400 species and used it to test the following five hypotheses regarding the evolution of morphological and ecological traits in Agaricomycetes and their impact on diversification: 1) resupinate …

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Providing Clean Energy Solutions To India’S Bottom Of The Pyramid Population, Jill Howard, Fiona Wilson, E. Hachemi Aliouche Dec 2020

Providing Clean Energy Solutions To India’S Bottom Of The Pyramid Population, Jill Howard, Fiona Wilson, E. Hachemi Aliouche

Carsey Publications

Despite a scheme launched by the Indian government in 2017 that has declared achieving close to 100 percent electrification in the country, studies have shown that only 65 percent of rural enterprises in India report having electricity grid connection. While millions of households have been positively impacted by access to electricity, small businesses and smallholder farmers (those with holdings of less than 2 acres) in rural India have been left out of the equation or receive very unreliable power supply. Byproducts of the energy poverty experienced by India’s Bottom of the Pyramid population include an enormous carbon footprint produced by …

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Multi‐Functionality Of Mediterranean Herbaceous Rangelands In Israel: A Comprehensive Pastoral/Grazing System Approach, Zalmen Henkin, S. Y. Landau, Eugene D. Ungar, Avi Perevolotsky, Marcelo Sternberg Dec 2020

Multi‐Functionality Of Mediterranean Herbaceous Rangelands In Israel: A Comprehensive Pastoral/Grazing System Approach, Zalmen Henkin, S. Y. Landau, Eugene D. Ungar, Avi Perevolotsky, Marcelo Sternberg

IGC Proceedings (1977-2023)

No abstract provided.

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Forage‐Based Beef Cattle Production In Red Soils Region Of Southern China, Y. Y. He, Guoqing Xie, Q. H. Shi, S. L. Wen, J. R. Liu, Z. Y. Wu, M. G. Xu, W. J. Zhang, H. X. Li Dec 2020

Forage‐Based Beef Cattle Production In Red Soils Region Of Southern China, Y. Y. He, Guoqing Xie, Q. H. Shi, S. L. Wen, J. R. Liu, Z. Y. Wu, M. G. Xu, W. J. Zhang, H. X. Li

IGC Proceedings (1977-2023)

No abstract provided.

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Effect Of Potato Pulp Silage On Urea Nitrogen Content In Serum And Fecal Nitrogen Excretion By Lactating Cows Grazed On Artificial Temperate Pasture, Masaaki Hanada, Hiroyuki Sasada, Kazutaka Hamabe, Masahito Kawai, Meiji Okamoto Dec 2020

Effect Of Potato Pulp Silage On Urea Nitrogen Content In Serum And Fecal Nitrogen Excretion By Lactating Cows Grazed On Artificial Temperate Pasture, Masaaki Hanada, Hiroyuki Sasada, Kazutaka Hamabe, Masahito Kawai, Meiji Okamoto

IGC Proceedings (1977-2023)

No abstract provided.

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Goat Products, Breeding Objectives And Flock Structure On The Tibetan Plateau, Xusheng Guo, Ruijun Long, Luming Ding, Wolfgang Bayer Dec 2020

Goat Products, Breeding Objectives And Flock Structure On The Tibetan Plateau, Xusheng Guo, Ruijun Long, Luming Ding, Wolfgang Bayer

IGC Proceedings (1977-2023)

No abstract provided.

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Ogre-Faced, Net-Casting Spiders Use Auditory Cues To Detect Airborne Prey, Jay A. Stafstrom, Gil Menda, Eya I. Nitzany, Eileen A. Hebets, Ronald R. Hoy Dec 2020

Ogre-Faced, Net-Casting Spiders Use Auditory Cues To Detect Airborne Prey, Jay A. Stafstrom, Gil Menda, Eya I. Nitzany, Eileen A. Hebets, Ronald R. Hoy

Eileen Hebets Publications

Prey-capture behavior among spiders varies greatly from passive entrapment in webs to running down prey items on foot. Somewhere in the middle are the ogre-faced, net-casting spiders (Deinopidae: Deinopis) that actively capture prey while being suspended within a frame web. Using a net held between their front four legs, these spiders lunge downward to ensnare prey from off the ground beneath them. This “forward strike” is sensorially mediated by a massive pair of hypersensitive, night-vision eyes. Deinopids can also intercept flying insects with a “backward strike,” a ballistically rapid, overhead back-twist, that seems not to rely on visual cues. Past …

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Exploring Behavioral Flexibility, Problem-Solving, And Innovation In Captive Asian Elephants (Elephas Maximus), Amanda Puitiza Dec 2020

Exploring Behavioral Flexibility, Problem-Solving, And Innovation In Captive Asian Elephants (Elephas Maximus), Amanda Puitiza

Theses and Dissertations

Asian elephants encounter and adapt to changing environments by problem-solving and innovating. In this study, we assessed behavioral measures, such as persistence and motivation, to determine potential predictors of problem-solving success. This is the first examination of problem-solving in elephants with a multi-solution puzzle box.

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Variation In Personality Among Semi-Wild Myanmar Timber Elephants, Sateesh Venkatesh Dec 2020

Variation In Personality Among Semi-Wild Myanmar Timber Elephants, Sateesh Venkatesh

Theses and Dissertations

This study examines two personality traits: exploration and neophobia, which could influence human-elephant conflicts. Thirty-one semi-wild elephants were tested over two trials using a custom novel puzzle tube containing three tasks and three rewards. Our studies show that elephants do vary significantly between individuals in both exploration and neophobia.

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Juvenile Leaves Or Adult Leaves: Determinants For Vegetative Phase Change In Flowering Plants, Darren Manuela, Mingli Xu Dec 2020

Juvenile Leaves Or Adult Leaves: Determinants For Vegetative Phase Change In Flowering Plants, Darren Manuela, Mingli Xu

Faculty Publications

Vegetative leaves in Arabidopsis are classified as either juvenile leaves or adult leaves based on their specific traits, such as leaf shape and the presence of abaxial trichomes. The timing of the juvenile-to-adult phase transition during vegetative development, called the vegetative phase change, is a critical decision for plants, as this transition is associated with crop yield, stress responses, and immune responses. Juvenile leaves are characterized by high levels of miR156/157, and adult leaves are characterized by high levels of miR156/157 targets, SQUAMOSA PROMOTER BINDING PROTEIN-LIKE (SPL) transcription factors. The discovery of this miR156/157-SPL module provided a critical tool for …

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The Supercam Instrument Suite On The Nasa Mars 2020 Rover: Body Unit And Combined System Tests, Roger C. Wiens, Sylvestre Maurice, Scott H. Robinson, Anthony E. Nelson, Philippe Cais, Pernelle Bernardi, Raymond T. Newell, Sam Clegg, Shiv K. Sharma, Steven Storms, Jonathan Deming, Darrel Beckman, Ann M. Ollila, Olivier Gasnault, Ryan B. Anderson, Yves André, Stanley M. Angel, Gorka Arana, Elizabeth Auden, Pierre Beck, Et. Al. Dec 2020

The Supercam Instrument Suite On The Nasa Mars 2020 Rover: Body Unit And Combined System Tests, Roger C. Wiens, Sylvestre Maurice, Scott H. Robinson, Anthony E. Nelson, Philippe Cais, Pernelle Bernardi, Raymond T. Newell, Sam Clegg, Shiv K. Sharma, Steven Storms, Jonathan Deming, Darrel Beckman, Ann M. Ollila, Olivier Gasnault, Ryan B. Anderson, Yves André, Stanley M. Angel, Gorka Arana, Elizabeth Auden, Pierre Beck, Et. Al.

Faculty Publications

The SuperCam instrument suite provides the Mars 2020 rover, Perseverance, with a number of versatile remote-sensing techniques that can be used at long distance as well as within the robotic-arm workspace. These include laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy (LIBS), remote time-resolved Raman and luminescence spectroscopies, and visible and infrared (VISIR; separately referred to as VIS and IR) reflectance spectroscopy. A remote micro-imager (RMI) provides high-resolution color context imaging, and a microphone can be used as a stand-alone tool for environmental studies or to determine physical properties of rocks and soils from shock waves of laser-produced plasmas. SuperCam is built in three parts: …

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The State Of Outdoor Recreation In Utah 2020, Jordan Smith, Anna B. Miller Dec 2020

The State Of Outdoor Recreation In Utah 2020, Jordan Smith, Anna B. Miller

All Current Publications

The purpose of this report is to provide a high-level review of the trends that define outdoor recreation within Utah. We do this by distilling data from a variety of sources, focusing on ‘key metrics’ that can be tracked over time, serving as a finger on the pulse on the health of outdoor recreation within Utah. Data on outdoor recreation participation and its benefits and impacts varies considerably across the state depending upon the managing agency collecting the data. This report focuses on statewide data available for outdoor recreation opportunities provided on lands managed by the Bureau of Land Management, …

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A Cophylogenetic Analysis Of Fungus Gardening Ants And Their Symbiotic Fungi, Katherine Beigel Dec 2020

A Cophylogenetic Analysis Of Fungus Gardening Ants And Their Symbiotic Fungi, Katherine Beigel

Biology Theses

Fungus-growing ants (Tribe Attini) and their fungal cultivars share a 50-million-year coevolutionary history. Large scale phylogenetic analyses depict a strong co-phyletic signal among ants and their farmed fungi yet fungus sharing among unrelated ant lineages is somewhat widespread. An overview of sharing has been hampered by a lack of genetic markers that exhibit intraspecific variation and surveys across geographic regions. For example, previous studies have shown similar sequences of the internal transcribed spacer (ITS) region of fungus in different species of Trachymyrmex, suggesting that these ant species are farming the same fungal clone. To examine whether this was a …

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Genomic Adaptations And Evolutionary History Of The Extinct Scimitar-Toothed Cat, Homotherium Latidens, Ross Barnett, Michael V. Westbury, Marcela Sandoval-Velasco, Filipe Garrett Vieira, Sungwon Jeon, Grant Zazula, Michael D. Martin, Simon Y.W. Ho, Niklas Mather, Shyam Gopalakrishnan, Jazmín Ramos-Madrigal, Marc De Manuel, M. Lisandra Zepeda-Mendoza, Agostinho Antunes, Aldo Carmona Baez, Binia De Cahsan, Greger Larson, Stephen J. O'Brien, Eduardo Eizirik, Warren E. Johnson, Klaus Peter Koepfli, Andreas Wilting, Jörns Fickel, Love Dalén, Eline D. Lorenzen, Tomas Marques-Bonet, Anders J. Hansen, Guojie Zhang, Jong Bhak Dec 2020

Genomic Adaptations And Evolutionary History Of The Extinct Scimitar-Toothed Cat, Homotherium Latidens, Ross Barnett, Michael V. Westbury, Marcela Sandoval-Velasco, Filipe Garrett Vieira, Sungwon Jeon, Grant Zazula, Michael D. Martin, Simon Y.W. Ho, Niklas Mather, Shyam Gopalakrishnan, Jazmín Ramos-Madrigal, Marc De Manuel, M. Lisandra Zepeda-Mendoza, Agostinho Antunes, Aldo Carmona Baez, Binia De Cahsan, Greger Larson, Stephen J. O'Brien, Eduardo Eizirik, Warren E. Johnson, Klaus Peter Koepfli, Andreas Wilting, Jörns Fickel, Love Dalén, Eline D. Lorenzen, Tomas Marques-Bonet, Anders J. Hansen, Guojie Zhang, Jong Bhak

Biology Faculty Articles

Homotherium was a genus of large-bodied scimitar-toothed cats, morphologically distinct from any extant felid species, that went extinct at the end of the Pleistocene [1–4]. They possessed large, saber-form serrated canine teeth, powerful forelimbs, a sloping back, and an enlarged optic bulb, all of which were key characteristics for predation on Pleistocene megafauna [5]. Previous mitochondrial DNA phylogenies suggested that it was a highly divergent sister lineage to all extant cat species [6–8]. However, mitochondrial phylogenies can be misled by hybridization [9], incomplete lineage sorting (ILS), or sex-biased dispersal patterns [10], which might be especially relevant for Homotherium since widespread …

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State Of Bird Damage Management, George M. Linz Dec 2020

State Of Bird Damage Management, George M. Linz

Human–Wildlife Interactions

This is the letter from George M. Linz, associate editor for the special issue on bird damage management in Human–Wildlife Interactions.

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Movement Behavior Of Radio-Tagged European Starlings In Urban, Rural, And Exurban Landscapes, Page E. Klug, H. Jeffrey Homan Dec 2020

Movement Behavior Of Radio-Tagged European Starlings In Urban, Rural, And Exurban Landscapes, Page E. Klug, H. Jeffrey Homan

Human–Wildlife Interactions

Since their intentional introduction into the United States in the 1800s, European starlings (Sturnus vulgaris) have become the fourth most common bird species and a nuisance bird pest in both urban and rural areas. Managers require better information about starling movement and habit-use patterns to effectively manage starling populations and the damage they cause. Thus, we revisited 6 radio-telemetry studies conducted during fall or winter between 2005 and 2010 to compare starling movements (n = 63 birds) and habitat use in 3 landscapes. Switching of roosting and foraging sites in habitat-sparse rural landscapes caused daytime (0900–1500 hours) …

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One Step Closer To A Better Starling Trap, James R. Thiele Dec 2020

One Step Closer To A Better Starling Trap, James R. Thiele

Human–Wildlife Interactions

European starlings (Sturnus vulgaris) are an invasive species in the United States that damage agriculture, personal property, and threaten human health and safety. The U.S. Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services provides technical support to mitigate damage by controlling starling populations at concentrated animal feeding operations, landfills, utilities, and urban areas. Wildlife Services uses DRC-1339, a registered toxicant, to reduce starling populations. Trapping can also be an effective tool but requires more time at a higher cost than DRC-1339. Trapping starlings, however, may be needed to provide a viable alternative to mitigate damage in areas where toxicant use may …

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Modeling Migratory Nongame Birds: A Plea For Data, George M. Linz Dec 2020

Modeling Migratory Nongame Birds: A Plea For Data, George M. Linz

Human–Wildlife Interactions

The Bird Damage Management Conference held February 10–13, 2020 in Salt Lake City, Utah, USA provided a forum for professionals from across the United States to discuss and share management approaches, research strategies, policy, and messaging regarding the management of blackbirds (Icteridae), starlings (Sturnus vulgaris), corvids (Corvidae), and vultures (Cathartidae). Mathematical models were presented at the conference and subsequently discussed in a special issue of Human–Wildlife Interactions. Rapidly changing landscape variables point to the need for detailed systematic population monitoring programs with specific objectives. Nationwide periodic monitoring would provide data about changes not only in bird populations …

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Tolerance Of Bearded Vultures To Human Activities: Response To Comor Et Al. (2019), Olivier Duriez, Antoni Margalida, Luc Albert, Beatriz Arroyo, Virginie Couanon, Hélène Loustau, Martine Razin, Jean-Baptiste Mihoub Dec 2020

Tolerance Of Bearded Vultures To Human Activities: Response To Comor Et Al. (2019), Olivier Duriez, Antoni Margalida, Luc Albert, Beatriz Arroyo, Virginie Couanon, Hélène Loustau, Martine Razin, Jean-Baptiste Mihoub

Human–Wildlife Interactions

The bearded vulture (Gypaetus barbatus) is listed as vulnerable in Europe on the International Union for Conservation of Nature Red List because of population declines over multiple generations. Vulture population declines have been attributed to shooting, use of toxicants, and changes in land use, which have resulted in habitat degradation and increased anthropogenic disturbances. Concomitantly, conservation authorities have restricted practices deemed harmful to the species and have established protection buffers around occupied vulture breeding sites to mitigate the impacts of anthropogenic disturbances on breeding success. Comor et al. (2019) compared bearded vulture breeding success over 6 years within …

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A Molecular Toolset For The In Vivo Detection Of A Sulfolobus Islandicus Leucyl Trna Synthetase Paralog, Nicholas Michael Bretz Dec 2020

A Molecular Toolset For The In Vivo Detection Of A Sulfolobus Islandicus Leucyl Trna Synthetase Paralog, Nicholas Michael Bretz

Theses and Dissertations

An ancient and ubiquitous set of enzymes known as the aminoacyl-tRNA synthetases are required for the viability of all organisms. The aminoacyl-tRNA synthetases catalyze the attachment of amino acids onto tRNA molecules. The aminoacylated, or charged, tRNA is then transported and utilized at the ribosome for the synthesis of proteins. The genome of the hyperthermophilic microorganism Sulfolobus islandicus (S. islandicus) harbors a unique leucyl-tRNA synthetase paralog, LeuRS-I, of unknown function. While its duplicate, LeuRS-F, carries out all the classical functions of LeuRS-family enzymes, LeuRS-I fails to charge leucine onto tRNALeu, despite its ability to activate this amino acid and bind …

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Nd2 As An Additional Genetic Marker To Improve Identification Of Diving Ducks Involved In Bird Strikes, Sarah A. M. Luttrell, Sergei Drovetski, Nor Faridah Dahlan, Damani Eubanks, Carla J. Dove Dec 2020

Nd2 As An Additional Genetic Marker To Improve Identification Of Diving Ducks Involved In Bird Strikes, Sarah A. M. Luttrell, Sergei Drovetski, Nor Faridah Dahlan, Damani Eubanks, Carla J. Dove

Human–Wildlife Interactions

Knowing the exact species of birds involved in damaging collisions with aircraft (bird strikes) is paramount to managing and preventing these types of human–wildlife conflicts. While a standard genetic marker, or DNA barcode (mitochondrial DNA gene cytochrome-c oxidase 1, or CO1), can reliably identify most avian species, this marker cannot distinguish among some closely related species. Diving ducks within the genus Aythya are an example of congeneric waterfowl involved in bird strikes where several species pairs cannot be reliably identified with the standard DNA barcode. Here, we describe methods for using an additional genetic marker (mitochondrial DNA gene NADH …

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Black Vulture Conflict And Management In The United States: Damage Trends, Management Overview, And Research Needs, Bryan M. Kluever, Morgan B. Pfeiffer, Scott C. Barras, Brett G. Dunlap, Lee A. Humberg Dec 2020

Black Vulture Conflict And Management In The United States: Damage Trends, Management Overview, And Research Needs, Bryan M. Kluever, Morgan B. Pfeiffer, Scott C. Barras, Brett G. Dunlap, Lee A. Humberg

Human–Wildlife Interactions

Contrary to rapid declines of many vulture (Accipitridae, Cathartidea) species worldwide, black vulture (Coragyps atratus) populations are increasing and expanding their range in North America. Vultures exhibit complex behaviors and can adapt to any human-dominated landscape or land use. These traits, combined with population growth and range expansion, have contributed to increased human–vulture conflicts. Our goal was to summarize the current status and trends in human–black vulture conflicts (hereafter human–vulture conflicts), review available management strategies, identify knowledge gaps, and provide recommendations to enhance management and understanding of this species and the associated conflicts. We found human–vulture conflicts are …

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