Biology Commons^™

Investigating Heavy Metal Accumulation And Oxidative Stress Tolerance Of Non-Accumulators And Hyperaccumulators In The Brassicaceae Plant Family, Fritzie Joy Into

Theses and Dissertations - UTB/UTPA

Physiological and enzymatic analysis indicated that the non-accumulator A. thaliana showed an oxidative stress response in all assays except for protein carbonylation. Other non-accumulator plant species showed a significant difference in oxidative stress response in the TBARS assay; however, for some assays no stress response was evident. The hyperaccumulator plant species showed no significant difference in oxidative stress as indicated by the all of the assays with the exception of T. montanum var. montanum which showed an oxidative stress response in the SOD assay. Basal catalase enzyme activity was notably higher in the hyperaccumulators T. montanum var. montanum and T. …

Use Of Archive Aerial Photography For Monitoring Black Mangrove Populations, James H. Everitt, C. Yang, Frank W. Judd, Kenneth R. Summy

Biology Faculty Publications and Presentations

A study was conducted on the South Texas Gulf Coast to evaluate archive aerial color-infrared (CIR) photography combined with supervised image analysis techniques to quantify changes in black mangrove [Avicennia germinans (L.) L.] populations over a 26-year period. Archive CIR film from two study sites (sites 1 and 2) was studied. Photographs of site 1 from 1976,1988, and 2002 showed that black mangrove populations made up 16.2%, 21.1%, and 29.4% of the study site, respectively. Photographs of site 2 from 1976 and 2002 showed that black mangrove populations made up 0.4% and 2.7% of the study site, respectively. Over the …

Bronzed Cowbird (Molothrus Aeneus) Habitat Use And Differential Response To Playback Of Host Song, Mary Jennifer Gorton

Theses and Dissertations - UTB/UTPA

During the breeding seasons of 2008 - 2009, 180 fixed-radius point-count surveys and broadcasts of host song were conducted in Santa Ana (SANWR) and Laguna Atascosa (LANWR, 2009 only) National Wildlife Refuges to identify Bronzed Cowbird (Molothrus aeneus) habitat use and test the predictions of the host activity hypothesis. Surveys demonstrated that Bronzed Cowbirds were distributed across all habitat types in both refuges, although there were differences in abundance between the sexes for interior and edge habitats and between habitat types. Bronzed Cowbirds responded differentially to host species playbacks based on suitability and abundance of the host species. The results …

Ethnobotanical History And Seed Oil Chemistry Of The Physic Nut, Jatropha Curcas, Nathan M. Leclear

Theses and Dissertations - UTB/UTPA

Jatropha curcas L., Euphorbiaceae, is a small tree native to the neotropics. Despite renewed economic interests in Physic Nut, mainly for biodiesel production, a comprehensive analysis of the ethnobotanical history of J. curcas is lacking. An account of the pre-Columbian neotropical distribution of this species and its historical uses are presented. Using capillary gas chromatography, studies were conducted to quantify the natural variation in seed oil content and fatty acid composition of the seed oil from several species of Jatropha, including assessment of how these parameters change during seed maturation. Natural variation in seed oil content was detected (F7,93 = …

Does The Manipulation Of Tail Position Facilitate Extinction Of Canine Phobic Behavior?, Rebecca A. Zarate

Theses and Dissertations - UTB/UTPA

The phobic behavior of interest is tail tucking which is indicative of submission. In this study the tail was physically manipulated by the use of a custom made harness to hold the tail up in a dominant position to ideally extinguish phobic behavior through reciprocal inhibition. The harness did not hold the tail up the entire duration of the interventions, although it still held the base of the tail up. The intervention did not appear to have an affect on the two of the five subjects. The three more phobic canines did display some behavioral changes, although the changes noticed …

Do Decapod Crustaceans Have Nociceptors For Extreme Ph?, Sakshi Puri, Zen Faulkes

Biology Faculty Publications and Presentations

Background: Nociception is the physiological detection of noxious stimuli. Because of its obvious importance, nociception is expected to be widespread across animal taxa and to trigger robust behaviours reliably. Nociception in invertebrates, such as crustaceans, is poorly studied.

Methodology/Principal Findings: Three decapod crustacean species were tested for nociceptive behaviour: Louisiana red swamp crayfish (Procambarus clarkii), white shrimp (Litopenaeus setiferus), and grass shrimp (Palaemonetes sp.). Applying sodium hydroxide, hydrochloric acid, or benzocaine to the antennae caused no change in behaviour in the three species compared to controls. Animals did not groom the stimulated antenna, and there was no difference in movement …

Molecular Cloning And Characterization Of Cdnas Encoding Metalloproteinases From Snake Venom Glands, Ying Jia, John C. Perez

Biology Faculty Publications and Presentations

Snake venom metalloproteinases (SVMPs) are a superfamily of zinc-dependent proteases and participate in a number of important biological, physiological and pathophysiological processes. In this work, we simultaneously amplified 9 cDNAs encoding different classes of metalloproteinases from glands of four different snake species (Agkistrodon contortrix laticinctus, Crotalus atrox, Crotalus viridis viridis and Agkistrodon piscivorus leucostoma) by RT-PCR with a pair of primers. Among the encoded metalloproteinases, two enzymes (AclVMP-I and AplVMP-I), three enzymes (CaVMP-II, CvvVMP-II and AplVMP-II) and four enzymes (AclVMP-III, CaVMP-III, CvvVMP-III and AplVMP-III) …

Parity-Induced Decrease In Systemic Growth Hormone Alters Mammary Gland Signaling: A Potential Role In Pregnancy Protection From Breast Cancer, Robert K. Dearth, David A. Delgado, Jill K. Hiney, Thushangi Pathiraja, Steffi Oesterreich, Dan Medina, W. Les Dees, Adrian V. Lee

Biology Faculty Publications and Presentations

Early full-term pregnancy is an effective natural protection against breast cancer in both humans and experimental rodents. The protective effect of an early pregnancy is in part linked to changes in circulating hormones that are involved in both normal breast development and breast cancer. For example, a reduction in circulating growth hormone (GH) has been shown to protect rats from carcinogen-induced mammary tumors. We examined the ability of a full-term pregnancy to alter the endocrine GH/IGF-I axis and how this change affected normal mammary gland function in two commonly used rat models (Sprague-Dawley and Wistar-Furth). Circulating GH and IGF-I were …

Are Beaches' Suitability As Sand Crab Habitat Affected By Human Recreation?, Jessica H. Murph, Zen Faulkes

Biology Faculty Publications and Presentations

METHODS We compared the populations of sand crabs (Lepidopa benedicti, family Albuneidae) at two locations on the popular tourist destination South Padre Island: one which is reasonably developed, having many hotels and restaurants and one which is not so developed, at a more northern point on the island. At each site, 10 m transects were dug starting at the top of the swash zone (parallel to the surf). Each shovel of sand were carefully sifted. The carapace length, sex, color, and reproductive status of each sand crab found were recorded on site. Samples were collected regularly from August 2009 to …

Factors Affecting The Spatial Distribution Of Black Mangrove On The Dredged-Material Or “Spoil” Islands In The Lower Laguna Madre Of Texas, Violet Yeager, Kenneth R. Summy, Frank W. Judd, Robert I. Lonard, Ruben A. Mazariegos, James H. Everitt, Michael R. Heep, Thomas Whelan

Biology Faculty Publications and Presentations

Research was conducted to evaluate the spatial distribution of black mangrove (Avicennia germinans) on the dredged-material or “spoil” islands of the Lower Laguna Madre of Texas. Aerial color-infrared (CIR) photographs revealed the presence of black mangrove stands on many of the islands located south of the Arroyo Colorado (a distributary of the Rio Grande which empties into the Laguna Madre), but failed to detect significant mangrove stands on islands located north of the Arroyo. Analysis of CIR photographs and supervised image classifications for individual islands suggested a concentration of black mangrove along western shorelines and relatively low interior areas of …

Detection Of Incipient Pest Infestations On Glasshouse Crops Using Multispectral Imagery And A Common Vegetation Index, Kenneth R. Summy, Christopher R. Little, James H. Everitt, Ruben A. Mazariegos, J. V. French, Mamoudou Setamou, Jesus Mata

Biology Faculty Publications and Presentations

Research was conducted to evaluate the effectiveness of multispectral (conventional color and color infrared) imagery and a common vegetation index (simple ratio) for detecting incipient infestations of spider mites (Tetranychus spp.; Acari: Tetranychidae) and false spider mites (Brevipalpus spp.; Acari: Tenupalpidae) on selected crops under glasshouse conditions. Although damaging infestations of both mite species were associated with intense feeding injury which was readily detectable by visual inspection, subtle levels of foliar damage caused by the two mite species were difficult to detect by visual inspection and were not readily distinguishable from undamaged (healthy) foliage in conventional color (CC) or color …

Common Algogenic Chemicals Do Not Cause Nociceptive Responses In Louisiana Red Swamp Crayfish (Procambarus Clarkii), Sakshi Puri, Zen Faulkes

Biology Faculty Publications and Presentations

Do crustaceans feel pain? This is hard to answer, because pain is complicated. A more tractable question is whether crustaceans have nociceptors: neurons specialized to detect tissue damage.

Algogenic chemicals bind to nociceptors and cause them to fire, often causing pain without tissue damage. For example, capsaicin is the algogenic chemical that makes peppers spicy; isothiocyanate is the chemical that makes wasabi pungent. Both can cause nociceptive responses in some invertebrates (capsaicin: Pastor et al. 1996, Wittenburg & Baumeister 1999, isothiocyanate: Al-Anzi et al. 2006).

The Spread Of The Parthenogenetic Marbled Crayfish, Marmorkrebs (Procambarus Sp.), In The North American Pet Trade, Zen Faulkes

Biology Faculty Publications and Presentations

The parthenogenetic marbled crayfish Marmorkrebs was discovered in the pet trade in Europe in the 1990s. Since then, its distribution through the pet trade has spread from Europe to other continents, including North America. North American pet owners were surveyed online with the aims of trying to track when Marmorkrebs entered the North American pet trade, the ways in which it spread through the pet trade, and how widely distributed Marmorkrebs are throughout the continent. Marmorkrebs have been in the North American pet trade since at least 2004, with the number of people increasing every year. While many Marmorkrebs are …