Biology Commons^™

Clustering Of Phenotypic Variables And Construction Of An Identification Scheme For Human Isolates Of Haemophilus, Lynne Alice Johnson

Biology ETDs

The taxonomy of the genus Haemophilus has been in a state of confusion for many years. As a result, laboratory identification of haemophili has been difficult, if not impossible. Due to the considerable pathogenicity of some members of the genus, it was felt that an accurate method of identification of those organisms was needed. This study has attempted to create a practical identification scheme for haemophili isolated in the clinical laboratory. A collection of 220 isolates from clinical laboratories was subjected to 35 biochemical and physiological tests and the data posted to a random matrix. The 7700 bits (220 X …

Vertical Banding And Associated Behavioral Responses Evoked By Electrical Stimulation Of The Brain In Anesthetized And Free-Swimming Sunfishes, Lepomis Cyanellus And L. Macrochirus, Diana Hoenke Bauer

Biology ETDs

A pattern of dark vertical bands is a characteristic display by Lepomis cyanellus and L. macrochirus. The rapidity with which this display can appear and disappear indicates that it is neurally controlled. This study was carried out in order to identify regions in the brain involved in the control of this color pattern and to determine other behavior patterns associated with electrical stimulation of these regions. Initially, anesthetized fish which were held in a stereotaxic device were stimulated electrically at various sites in the brain to locate regions where vertical banding could be evoked. In subsequent tests, immovable electrodes were …

PiñOn Pine Cone Assessment By The Clark's Nutcracker, Nicifraga Columbiana, Donna Christine Cole

Biology ETDs

Clark's Nutcrackers (Nucifraga columbiana) rely heavily on seeds of pinon pine (Pinus edulis) as a winter food supply in years of good seed production. During late summer and autumn these birds spend considerable time and energy harvesting seeds from green, unopened cones. I tested abilities of three groups of wild-caught birds to discriminate cone quality: (1) adults, (2) experiences juveniles, and (3) naive juveniles. The birds were given choice tests with two cones, three cones, and cones that had been painted. Under controlled conditions nutcrackers discriminated between cones of differing quality. Adults assessed cones more accurately than did juveniles in …

Inhibition Of Normal Human Eosinophil Chemotaxis By Iga Myeloma Paraproteins, Kathleen J. Reed

Biology ETDs

Previous studies have been shown that IgA paraproteins suppress human neutrophil chemotaxis. This investigation was undertaken to determine the effect of isolated IgA myeloma component (IgA-MC) on eosinophil chemotaxis. The data presented here indicate that IgA myeloma sera inhibit eosinophil chemotaxis, and demonstrate that the IgA-MC is responsible for this chemotactic inhibitory activity (CIA). Chemotactic inhibition was cell directed and was lost following pepsin digestion or dithiothreitol reduction alkylation of the IgA-MC. Polymeric IgA was shown to be the most effective inhibitor of eosinophil chemotaxis as determined by Sephadex G-200 gel filtration chromatography and sucrose density gradient centrifugation. Both isolated …

Physiochemical Studies Of Newly Synthesized Dna During Stable Dna Replication In Escherichia Coli, Mary Sroka-Richardson

Biology ETDs

The DNA synthesized during stable DNA replication (i.e., DNA replication in the absence of protein synthesis following a period of thymine starvation) was found to be alkali or RNase sensitive. Experiments were performed using both alkaline and neutral cell lysis and gradient sedimentation. Initial results under alkaline conditions revealed much smaller size DNA material than would normally be expected. This data was interpreted to show a reduced rate of DNA chain growth. However, under neutral conditions the DNA material was found to be nearly normal in size. The presence of an alkali-sensitive componant (RNA) was suspected and tested for with …

Nasal Absorption Of Dtpa In Rats And Beagle Dogs, Robert E. Dudley

Biology ETDs

The use of nuclear generated power increases the risk that human accidental exposure to radionuclides will occur. Chelation therapy has been used to remove internally deposited radionuclides primarily by intravenous injection of diethylenetriaminepentaacetic acid (DTPA). Recently, inhalation of aerosolized DTPA has been shown to be both a convenient and effective means of treatment. Inhalation of aerosolized OTPA through the nose and mouth results in a significant deposition in the nasopharyngeal region of the respiratory tract. This study was designed to determine the fate of OTPA deposited in the nasopharyngeal region of the respiratory tract of rats and Beagle dogs, particularly …

Environmental Factors Affecting Natural Succession On Coal Mine Spoils, Jens W. Deichmann

Biology ETDs

Strip-mining for coal and other mineral resources in the southwestern United States has produced problems in reclamation entirely different from those encountered in regions of higher or more effective precipitation. It was the intent of this study to look at the essentially random assortment of environmental factors left after the mining process and to determine qualitatively, as well as quantitatively, which of those factors are more likely to lead to the successful germination and establishment of invading plant species. A second objective was to determine what changes in the spoil material are occurring as a result of plant establishment.

Major …

Production Of Canine Macrophage Inhibitory Factor And Its Comparison To Canine Alpha₁-Antitrypsin, Carol Therese Schnizlein

Biology ETDs

Both migration inhibitory factory (MIF) and alpha1-antitrypsin (A1-AT) interact with macrophages. MIF interactions occur during cell-mediated immune responses while A1AT interacts by inhibiting proteolytic enzymes released by macrophages. A comparison of the characteristics of guinea pig MIF and human A1AT in the current literature indicates that both are glycoproteins containing sialic acid with molecular weights of approximately 50,000 daltons. To determine the comparative characteristics of MIF and A1AT, this study partially characterized MIF and A1AT from the dog and evaluated their effect on the in vitro migration of canine pulmonary alveolar macrophages. Canine MIF was produced by stimulating peripheral blood …

Sex Ratio: Adaptive Response To Population Fluctuation In Pandalid Shrimp, Eric Charnov, Daniel Gotshall, Jack Robinson

Biology Faculty & Staff Publications

Pandalus jordani is a protandrus (sequential) hermaphrodite. Populations show large year-to-year variation in age composition. In response to this variation, individuals alter the age at which they change sex. This response is predicted by a genetic model that assumes an individual shrimp maximizes its genetic contribution to the next generation.

Facultative Sex Ratio And Population Dynamics, John Werren, Eric Charnov

Biology Faculty & Staff Publications

No abstract provided.

Evolution Of Eusocial Behavior: Offspring Choice Or Parental Parasitism?, Eric Charnov

Biology Faculty & Staff Publications

Assuming the subsocial route towards eusociality, I show that selection favors worker habits (under haplodiploidy) provided the mutant workers are able to bias the sex ratio towards sisters and/or selectively substitute their sons for brothers. If the original workers are not able to do this, selection does not favor the habit. However, under these conditions, selection is indifferent as to whether an individual rears offspring or sibs. This makes it easy for a mother to enlist her daughters services in rearing other offspring, since the daughter cannot evolve to stop the parental parasitism. These results deal with the origin of …

Sex-Ratio Selection In Eusocial Hymenoptera, Eric Charnov

Biology Faculty & Staff Publications

No abstract provided.

Ecological Comparison Of Sigmodon Hispidus And Sigmodon Fulviventer In The Rio Grande Valley, New Mexico, Karen Petersen

Biology ETDs

This study evaluates the potential for competitive interactions between two species of cotton rat along the Rio Grande valley in New Mexico. Field work was carried out on Sigmodon hispidus and S. fulviventer from April, 1976 to August, 1976, at six study sites. Field data gathered included number of juveniles, number of pregnant females and vegetation diversity. Further studies included morphological analysis of museum specimens and a behavioral study of animals brought back to the laboratory.

Population parameters were compared across the study sites for the cotton rats. Neither species has a sex ratio significantly different from 50:50, but the …

Factors Affecting Mating Duration In The Walkingstick Diapheromera Velii (Walsh) (Phasmatodea: Heteronemiidae), John M. Sivinski

Biology ETDs

Mating durations have only recently become the object of detailed research. The stick insect Diapheromera velii mates from 3 to 136 hours, during which time the genitalia are often not inserted, and contact is maintained by a male clasping organ. Prolonged attachment of male D. velii in the absence of copulation is best explained as guarding that assures the efficiency of previously transferred ejaculates by avoiding sperm competition. Oviposition patterns in D. velii are relatively continuous when compared to those of many insects. The result is that female value to males is comparatively constant as well. The amount of time …

The Effects Of Salts And Metals On Germination And Emergence Of Atriplex Canescens (Pursh.) Nutt. And Sporobolus Airoides Torr, Robert L. Edgar

Biology ETDs

Laboratory studies were conducted to determine effects of salts, metals, and their interactions on the germination and emergence of fourwing saltbush [Atriplex canescens (Pursh.) Nutt.] and alkali sacaton (Sporobolus airoides Torr.). These studies, coupled with soil evaluations, should allow one to predict and possibly alleviate germination and emergence inhibition of these two species due to excessive soil salts and metals. Fourwing saltbush germination and emergence is significantly greater with osmotic stress < -3 bars imposed by inorganic salts (NaCl, Na₂SO₄, MgCl₂, MgSO₄, or CaCl₂) than by polyethylene glycol (PEG) (P < .05). Alkali sacaton germination and emergence is significantly better with osmotic stress < -3 bars imposed by NaCl, Na₂SO₄, or CaCl₂ than by …

Application Of The Nutrient Loading Concept To Lake Powell, The Effects Of Nutrient Perturbations On Phytoplankton Productivity, And Levels Of Nitrogen And Phosphorus In The Reservoir, Steven Paul Gloss

Biology ETDs

Levels, sources, and biological influence of nitrogen and phosphorus in Lake Powell, Utah-Arizona were examined. The reservoir, one of the three largest in the United States, is a mainstream impoundment on the Colorado River and is classified as a warm monomictic with meromixis exhibited in deeper waters.

Nutrient concentrations in the reservoir were characteristic of a mesotrophic lake. Mean total phosphorus concentration was 17 mg m^-3 during the study, while total nitrogen averaged 531 mg m^-3. Nitrate was the dominant form of nitrogen. Distribution of both nutrients exhibited patterns previously described for lakes to some extent, but …

A Flora Of The San Andres National Wildlife Refuge, Dona Ana County, New Mexico, James Duwayne Von Loh

Biology ETDs

The San Andres Mountains are a unique range. Their narrowness and relatively small mass create environmental conditions that allow elements of the Chihuahuan Desert flora, Upper Sonoran Desert flora, and representatives of the southern Rocky Mountain flora to intermingle, forming an extremely diverse, mosaic pattern of dispersal. San Andres National Wildlife Refuge was studied floristically during the 1975 growing season. It is represented by 923 known species of vascular plants from four distinct topographical areas that span a 4000 to 8200 foot elevational range. The study resulted in 1422 collections from the San Andres Mountains. Specimens from the Refuge area …

The Germination Requirements Of Certain Species Of Arid Land Plants, David George Sabo

Biology ETDs

The species of shrubs and nine species of grasses were proposed as candidates for investigations for their germination parameters and suitability in stripmine recovery by the US Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Forest and Range Experiment Station. Species which were considered as possible candidates for stripmine recovery area: Artemisia frigida, estafiata; Artemisia tridentate, big sagebrush; Atriplex confertifolia, shadscale; Cercocarpus montanus, true mountain mahogany; Chrysothamnus nauseosus ssp. Biglovii and C. nauseousus ssp. Consimilis, rubber rabbit brush; Cowania stansburiana, cliffrose; Fallugia paradoxa, apache plume; Menodora scabra, rough menodora; Sarcobatus vermiculitus, greasewood; Sphaeralcea incana, globe mallow; Agropyron smithii, desert wheatgrass; Andropogon scoparius, little bluestem; …

A Floristic Analysis Of The Sevilleta Wildlife Refuge And The Ladron Mountains, G. Thomas Manthey

Biology ETDs

The Sevilleta Wildlife Refuge and Ladron Mountains of westcentral New Mexico were selected for a floristic inventory and analysis because of a lack of previous study in this unique area. A key and annotated checklist of the vascular flora of the study area were compiled. The 1140 taxa representing this floristically diverse area were documented by either (i) specimens in the University of New Mexico Herbarium or (ii) specimens collected during 1975 and 1976. Twelve floristic communities are recognized. These are based upon descriptive field notes, species lists from collection sites, and photographs taken during collection trips. The communities are …

Leaf Tissue Production In Relation To Succession In The Spruce-Fir Forests Of Northern New Mexico, Craig F. Eberhart

Biology ETDs

Leaf tissue production was studied to determine possible successional trends. The study area was in the spruce-fir zone of the southern Rocky Mountains 15 kilometers northeast of Santa Fe, New Mexico. In this area quaking aspen (Populus tremuloides) is a successional species that is slowly replaced by Engelmann spruce (Picea engelmannii) and corkbark fir (Abies lasiocarpa var. arizonica) as succession proceeds towards the classical spruce-fir climax. Five study plots were subjectively selected to represent a successional sequence of forest stands with similar physical characteristics. The plots were arranged in a successional series by using the increase in coniferous basal area …

Effects Of Water Stress And Temperature-Photoperiod Preconditioning On Responses Of Atriplex Canescens (Pursh) Nutt. Seedlings To Drought, Barbara Gail Hjelle

Biology ETDs

Fourwing saltbush [Atriplex canescens (Pursh) Nutt.] seedlings were subjected to water stress treatments and temperature-photoperiod regulation to determine if these treatments might induce greater hardiness to subsequent drought stress. Seedlings ages 2, 4, and 8 weeks after emergence were allowed to wilt before rewatering or kept at minimum soil moisture stress. Seedlings aged 2 weeks after emergence were subjected to four regimes of hot and cold temperatures and long and short photoperiods in growth chambers. Treatments were applied for four weeks. Height, fresh weight and dry weight of shoots, and dry weight of roots were reduced by water stress and …

An Evaluation Of Reproductive Isolation And The Possibility Of Hybridization Between The Rattlesnakes Crotalus Atrox And Crotalus Scutulatus, James S. Jacob

Biology ETDs

The possibility that Crotalus atrox and C. scutulatus might hybridize in southeastern Arizona-southwestern New Mexico or in the Big Bend region of Texas was analyzed morphometrically and electrophoretically. Interbreeding of captive Crotalus, and intraspecific variation and interspecific overlap in key morphological characters has led to the incorrect assumption that these species hybridize. Even though they are syntopic primarily in an unstable desert-grassland ecotone where habitat differences are not evident, C. atrox and C. scutulatus are morphologically and biochemically distinct. The apparent lack of geographic, mechanical, and ecological premating isolating mechanisms in syntopic populations off C. atrox and C. scutulatus suggests …

Optimal Foraging: A Selective Review Of Theory And Tests, G.H. Pyke, H.R. Pulliam, Eric Charnov

Biology Faculty & Staff Publications

Beginning with Emlen (1966) and MacArthur and Pianka (1966) and extending through the last ten years, several authors have sought to predict the foraging behavior of animals by menas of mathematical models. These models are very similar, in that they all assume that the fitness of a foraging animal is a function of the efficiency of foraging measured in terms of some "currency" (Schoener, 1971) - usually energy - and that natural selection has resulted in animals that forage so as to maximize this fitness. As a result of these similarities, the models have become known as "optimal foraging models"; …

Relation Of Flotation Analysis To Archeological Excavations, Chaco Canyon, New Mexico, Mary B. Struever

Biology ETDs

Flotation analysis (the examination of small-scale botanical remains recovered by a simple water separation technique) was undertaken at site 29SJ627, a small pueblo in Chaco Canyon, New Mexico. Altogether 69 samples were examined, yielding 5208 seeds from approximately 30 plant taxa. All plant taxa encountered in flotation samples are growing in Chaco today, with the exception of the domesticates corn and squash, and the riparian Scirpus (bulrush). The assemblage of seed types recovered by flotation indicates that the prehistoric plant community was essentially similar to today's, with increased emphasis on arboreal and riparian species and that weedy types were more …

Relation Of Pollen Analysis To Archeological Excavations, Chaco Canyon, Anne C. Cully

Biology ETDs

This study was begun in the summer of 1975 at site 29SJ627, In Marcia's Rincon, Chaco Canyon, New Mexico. Dates of the occupation of the site were from ca. 800 A.D. to 1050 A.D. The primary purposes of the study were to identify pollen; investigate factors affecting variability, including temporal, functional, and spatial factors; investigate sampling techniques to obtain adequate representation of variability; comparison of pollen and flotation samples. A total of 83 samples were processed and 34 taxa were identified. Within site 29SJ627 a block of rooms was chosen for extensive sampling. Within the rooms a grid system was …

Laboratory Diagnosis Of Genital Infections Associated With Chlamydia Trachomatis: Cell Culture And Serological Methods, Linda L. Cole

Biology ETDs

Recent investigations have revealed the widespread involvement of Chlamydia trachomatis in nongonococcal genital infections in man. In an effort to develop the necessary methodology for isolating this agent, several different cell culture techniques were evaluated.

Additionally, a fluorescent antibody technique and neutralization test were developed for possible diagnostic use.

Quantitation of Chlamydia in cell culture was accomplished using inclusion counts which showed linear dose response curves. Inclusions were stained by the PAS, iodine, and Giemsa methods, and these stains were found to be equal in their sensitivity in detecting chlamydia inclusions. Using inclusion counts as a quantitative assay, a variety …

A Multivariate Study Of The Family Molossidae (Mammalia, Chiroptera): Morphology, Ecology, Evolution, Patricia Waring Freeman

Biology ETDs

The Molossidae is a worldwide, mostly tropical family of bats. This analysis examines what phenetically similar groups occur within the family; what ecological role species of molossids may have; and, finally, what kind of evolutionary relationships exist among phenetically similar species.

Seventy-six characters were taken on each of eighty species of molossids and analyzed by principal components, distance (size-in and size-out), and correlation analyses from the NT-SYS package of multivariate statistical programs. Phenetically similar bats are grouped and described morphologically. Morphological trends which are revealed by the principal components analysis are used to make ecological predictions about the bats' feeding …

Floristic Affinities Of Animas Mountain, Southwestern New Mexico, Warren L. Wagner

Biology ETDs

Animas Mountain of southwestern New Mexico was selected for a floristic inventory and analysis because of the lack of previous study in this unique portion of the Southwest.

An annotated checklist of the vascular flora of the study area was compiled. A species-rich flora represented by 718 taxa (ca. 20% of the known flora of New Mexico) was documented by either (i) herbarium specimens from the University of New Mexico, or New Mexico State University herbaria, or (ii) specimens collected during the 1975 and 1976 growing seasons.

Floristic assemblages were recognized based upon descriptive field notes, species lists from collection …

Community Structure Of Ten Southwestern Rodent Faunas, Terrence Morgan May

Biology ETDs

Thirty morphological characters were measured for each of 63 rodent species. All characters were standardized to a mean of zero (O) and standard deviation equal to one (1). From this assemblage, subsets were chosen to represent ten (10) naturally occurring rodent communities of New Mexico and Arizona. Numerical taxonomy techniques of distance, correlation and principal components analysis were used to analyze the data.

Results reveal three distinct community 'types'. The presence or absence of morphologically divergent species is responsible for these differences. The appearance of Castor canadensis (the most morpho-logically divergent species) is dependent upon the addition of a new …

When Is Sex Environmentally Determined?, Eric Charnov, James Bull

Biology Faculty & Staff Publications

No abstract provided.