Biology Commons^™

White-Tailed Deer (Odocoileus Virginianus) Positively Affect The Growth Of Mature Northern Red Oak (Quercus Rubra) Trees., R W. Lucas, R Salguero-Gomez, D B. Cobb, Bonnie G. Waring, F Anderson, W J. Mcshea, B B. Casper

Biology Faculty Publications

Understanding and predicting the effects of deer (Cervidae) on forest ecosystems present significant challenges in ecosystem ecology. Deer herbivory can cause large changes in the biomass and species composition of forest understory plant communities, including early life-cycle trees (i.e., seedlings and saplings). Such changes can impact juvenile to adult transitions and the future age structure and species composition of mature forests. Changes to understory vegetation also impact flow of energy and nutrients in forest ecosystems. Studies examining the influence of deer on mature trees, however, are rare and rely on extrapolating effects from early life cycle stages of trees. We …

The Distribution Of Fruit And Seed Toxicity During Development For Eleven Neotropical Trees And Vines, Noelle G. Beckman

Biology Faculty Publications

Secondary compounds in fruit mediate interactions with natural enemies and seed dispersers, influencing plant survival and species distributions. The functions of secondary metabolites in plant defenses have been well-studied in green tissues, but not in reproductive structures of plants. In this study, the distribution of toxicity within plants was quantified and its influence on seed survival was determined in Central Panama. To investigate patterns of allocation to chemical defenses and shifts in allocation with fruit development, I quantified variation in toxicity between immature and mature fruit and between the seed and pericarp for eleven species. Toxicity of seed and pericarp …

Climate Change And Plant Demography In The Sagebrush Steppe, Aldo Compagnoni

Green Canyon Environmental Research Area, Logan Utah

No abstract provided.

Development Of A Genetic Marker To Differentiate Between Pulex Irritans And Pulex Simulans, Colby Russell Kearl

Undergraduate Honors Capstone Projects

Pulex irritans and Pulex simulans are zoonotic flea vectors of plague and other infectious diseases. P. irritans have historically been known to use carnivores as a host, while P. simulans primarily parasitizes omnivores. To fully understand arthropod-borne infectious disease transmissibility and potential for geographical spread, it is important to differentiate between these two flea species. Traditional taxonomy uses the flea's male morphological features to distinguish species. There are no observable morphological differences between the female P. irritans and P. simulans. Molecular markers of the internal transcribed spacer regions (ITS) have been successfully used in other insect organisms to differentiate …

Spectrum Noise Exposures - Analysis And Control Implementation, Kyle Lynn Naylor

Undergraduate Honors Capstone Projects

The Dee Glen Smith spectrum at Utah State University has a reputation of having one of the loudest student sections in the nation. For years, students have taken pride in creating a home court advantage by creating an extremely rowdy and loud atmosphere. Many would agree that this is what makes USU basketball so special.

Elevated noise levels, however, have the potential of creating a health hazard to both employees and spectators. Elevated noise levels can cause negative acute effects such as headache, dizziness, nausea, and tinnitus (ringing in the ears). The most likely acute affects that students, employees, and …

Modulation Of Neuronal R-Type Ca2+ Channels (Cav2.3) By G Protein-Coupled Receptors, Lauren S. Page

Undergraduate Honors Capstone Projects

Neuronal R-type Ca²⁺ channels (Ca_v2.3) are expressed at high concentrations within the cortex, hippocampus and striatal regions of the brain, where they participate in neuronal excitability and synaptic signaling. This pattern of expression may signify a connection between Ca_v2.3 channel function and neurological disorders such as Parkinson's Disease (PD) and Huntington's Disease (HD). Both of these disorders are caused by inadequate secretion of the neurotransmitter dopamine within the striatum. The first step in characterizing the potential importance of Ca_v2.3 in PD and HD is to examine its modulation by G-protein-coupled dopamine receptors. Specifically, …

Thermal Microhabitat Preference Of The Common Side-Blotched Lizard, Uta Stansburiana, Maria Goller

Undergraduate Honors Capstone Projects

Ectotherms are especially susceptible to changing temperature conditions within their environment. To limit temperature fluctuations they must behaviorally regulate body temperature by moving between microhabitats of different ambient temperatures. By actively selecting specific substrate temperatures within a heterogeneous thermal environment, an individual could attain preferred body temperature and approach internal thermal homeostasis for periods of time. Ambient temperature dependence should thus force an individual to select those microhabitats that present optimal thermal conditions. Because dynamic thermal microhabitat structure is difficult to assess, the extent to which lizards employ behavioral thermoregulation is not well understood. Therefore, there is a need to …

Study Of Genes Relating To Degradation Of Aromatic Compounds And Carbon Metabolism In Mycobacterium Sp. Strain Kms, Chun Zhang

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons are produced from incomplete combustion of organic materials by human or natural activities. These polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons are classified as pollutants because of their toxic, mutagenic, and carcinogenic characteristics. Mycobacterium sp. strain KMS, isolated from a contaminated soil, grows on the model polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon, pyrene, with its degradation to water and carbon dioxide. This study locates genes on the chromosome and plasmids of isolate KMS relating to pyrene degradation, elucidates the influence of other carbon sources available in the habitats of isolate KMS on degradation of pyrene, and deduces possible metabolic pathways used by isolate …

Novel Aminoglycosides: Bioactive Properties And Mechanism Of Action, Sanjib K. Shrestha

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

More than 90% of crop diseases are due to fungal infections, which globally cause enormous economic losses. Fungal infections in humans and animals have also become a serious concern, especially in immunocompromised individuals. However, only a few new fungicides have been introduced since the mid-1980s, and concerns with inconsistent and declining effectiveness due to resistance, environmental impacts, animal and human toxicity, and costs continue to challenge the use of available fungicides. There is a serious and persistent need for new antifungal agents that are more effective, eco-friendly, less toxic, and available at reasonable cost.

This study reveals two novel aminoglycosides, …

Preservation Effects On Common Macroinvertebrates Of The Intermountain West, Megan Paxton

Undergraduate Honors Capstone Projects

Dry mass/wet mass ratios are essential for estimating energy flow through ecosystems, determining energy budgets, and studying energy allocation in organisms. Preserving specimens by freezing or storing them in ethanol has known effects on the wet mass measurements. These storage methods are used regardless of their effects - altering the wet mass and thereby changing the mass ratio for the organism. We evaluated the effects of ethanol storage and freezing on six different taxa from the Interrnountain West: Hesperoperla, lsoperla, Rhithrogena, Drunella, Arctopsyche, and Rhyacophila. All the taxa studied except Hesperoperla and Rhyacophila showed a significant loss in …

Local And Regional Drivers Of Biodiversity: From Life-History Traits To System-Level Properties, Sarah R. Supp

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Biodiversity research includes the study of where species occur, the commonness and rarity of species, the number of species, and the diversity of life-history traits that occur in a single location, or community. Research is increasingly recognizing that a combination of local and regional scale processes influence community dynamics over ecological and evolutionary time-scales. However, ecologists currently lack a comprehensive understanding of the mechanisms driving biodiversity in different systems and at different spatial scales. This presents a critical problem because without understanding the important mechanisms that determine and maintain biodiversity, it is difficult to accurately predict community response to environmental …

A Data-Intensive Assessment Of The Species Abundance Distribution, Elita Baldridge

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

One of the most commonly observed patterns in ecology is the fact that at most locations there are a large number of relatively rare species, composed of only a few individuals per species, and a small number of relatively common species. This pattern of commonness and rarity is quantified by the species abundance distribution. As one of the most commonly observed patterns in ecology, it has been studied intensively for over 100 years.

A major emphasis of this research has been developing models to try to understand the forces that generate such a general pattern. As a result, there are …

Kisspeptins - Expression, Purification, And Biological Assays, Mathew Puthayathu Kurian

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Kisspeptins are hormones involved in the onset of puberty in adolescents and maintenance of reproductive function in adults. Defects in kisspeptin signaling are associated with many reproductive disorders. Kisspeptins were originally discovered as metastasis suppressors and have been found to suppress the metastasis of certain cancers. Unfortunately, many aspects of kisspeptin action at a cellular level remain unknown. Kisspeptins, therefore, are attractive candidates for large-scale production for use as research and therapeutic reagents. We developed a simple and cost effective method to express and purify kisspeptins in large quantities. We also tested the biological activity of kisspeptins on cells expressing …

Winter Ecology Of Waterfowl On The Great Salt Lake, Utah, Josh L. Vest

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

I designed a suite of studies in coordination with Utah Division of Wildlife Resources (UDWR) to evaluate waterfowl use of the GSL in winter and ecological aspects associated with GSL use. These studies provided insight into key information gaps previously identified by UDWR regarding management of GSL resources. Population surveys indicated total duck abundance was low when GSL surface elevations were low and wetland resources diminished because of persistent drought in the system. Also, ducks appear to use hypersaline parts of GSL more when freshwater habitats are limited from either drought or ice conditions. Common goldeneye, northern shoveler, and green-winged …

Evaluating Eriogonum Corymbosum Tolerance To Frequent Irrigation And Evaluating Its Significant Morphological Variations For Potential Cultivars, Graham C. Hunter

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Eriogonum corymbosum (Lacy Buckwheat) is an attractive subshrub species native to low rainfall areas of the Colorado Plateau and suitable for low water landscapes in the Intermountain West (IMW). Low water use landscapes can contribute to water conservation in arid climates; developing a palette of plants that are both attractive and drought tolerant can promote the acceptance of low water use landscapes as an alternative to the traditional bluegrass landscapes of the IMW. In 2007 a strip plot design containing four repetitions with four randomly assigned plants each of Eriogonum corymbosum, Eriogonum thompsoniae, and the control species Cornus …

An Environmental History Of The Bear River Range, 1860-1910, Bradley Paul Hansen

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The study of environmental history suggests that nature and culture change all the time, but that the rate and scale of such change can vary enormously. During the late 19th and early 20th centuries, Anglo settlement in the American West transformed landscapes and ecologies, creating new and complex environmental problems. This transformation was particularly impressive in Cache Valley, Utah's Bear River Range. From 1860 to 1910, Mormon settlers overused or misused the Bear River Range's lumber, grazing forage, wild game, and water resources and introduced invasive plant and animal species throughout the area.

By the turn of the 20th century, …

Fatty Acid Induced Insulin Resistance In The Brain, Hyoung Il Oh

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The prevalence of obesity is rapidly increasing; it is now one of the most serious public health problems worldwide. Obesity is thought to reflect the interaction between genetics and modern life style. In particular, high fat diets (HFD) are considered as a major contributing factor to the development of obesity and type 2 diabetes as well as other metabolic disorders such as cardiovascular disease, Alzheimer’s disease and some types of cancer. Recently, it has been suggested that insulin actions in the brain are important in the regulation of energy homeostasis and peripheral metabolism.

With the support of USTAR (The Utah …

Reproductive Biology And Impacts Of Energy Development On Physaria Congesta And Physaria Obcordata (Brassicaceae), Two Rare And Threatened Plants In The Piceance Basin, Colorado, Sarah Lynn Clark

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Oil and gas development has increased profoundly over the last 20 years in the United States. A large underground deposit of natural gas has been found in the Piceance Basin, which is located in the northwestern part of the state of Colorado. This deposit occurs in an area inhabited by two rare mustard species commonly named the Dudley Bluffs bladderpod and the Dudley Bluffs twinpod. These two plant species are also listed as threatened by the US Fish and Wildlife Service. Concerns about gas development effects on these rare plants have motivated research that quantifies these potential impacts. Through funding …

Apoptotic And Epigenetic Induction Of Embryo Failure Following Somatic Cell Nuclear Transfer, Aaron Patrick Davis

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The cloning of domestic species has tremendous potential, as the technology can be used in selective breeding, conservation, and the production of transgenic animals. The technique of cloning involves the transplant of DNA from a cell to a recipient gamete. Following transfer to a surrogate, the cloned embryo may successfully complete development to a live offspring. Despite intensive research, the success rate of cloning remains prohibitively low, and the potential benefits of cloning have not yet been realized. Embryos produced from cloning suffer from high rates of embryo degradation, implantation failure, and abortion. The goal of this dissertation research project …

Opposing Mechanisms Drive Richness Patterns Of Core And Transient Bird Species, Jessica R. Coyle, Allen H. Hurlbert, Ethan P. White

Biology Faculty Publications

Studies of biodiversity typically assume that all species are equivalent. However, some species in a community maintain viable populations in the study area, while others occur only occasionally as transient individuals. Here we show that North American bird communities can reliably be divided into core and transient species groups and that the richness of each group is driven by different processes. The richness of core species is influenced primarily by local environmental conditions, while the richness of transient species is influenced primarily by the heterogeneity of the surrounding landscape. This demonstrates that the well-known effects of the local environment and …

A Novel Sodium Channel In The Mammalian Taste System, Melissa N. Fillmore

Biology Posters

Salty taste, one of the five taste qualities recognized in the mammalian peripheral gustatory system is thought to be mediated by an ion channel receptor. The epithelial sodium channel, ENaC, is thought to be the channel for salt taste transduction. ENaC is crucial in regulating salt reabsorption, helps control overall salt and water homeostasis in an organism, and contributes to blood pressure. While ENaC plays an important role in salt taste perception, it is responsible for only part of the total sodium transduction pathway in humans, suggesting that there may be another component in the salt transduction mechanism. We have …

Comparison Between The Effects Of Size And Color In Mate Choice Among Guppies, Makda Gebre

Biology Posters

No abstract provided.

Bird Husbandry Procedures At Willow Park Zoo, Jennica Blasi

Biology Posters

No abstract provided.

One Fish, Two Fish, Orange Fish, Blue Fish Environmental Manipulation And Supernormal Stimuli Effects In Mate Preference In Guppies (Poecilia Reticulata), Erin Brennan, Cynthia Curtis, Meghan Kershner, Sophia Ochoa, Micah Parrish

Biology Posters

No abstract provided.

Comparison Of Column Chromatography Techniques For The Purification Of Influenza A/Nws/33 (H1n1) Virus, Jorgen Peter Madsen

Biology Posters

No abstract provided.

Kids, Zoo Animals, And Education, Michelle Shook

Biology Posters

No abstract provided.

The Effects Of Music On Subjects With Alzheimer And Dementia Disease In Cache Valley, Landon Frost

Biology Posters

No abstract provided.

Teaching The Teachers: Creating Learning Modules For Presentations At The Willow Park Zoo, Erica Littledike

Biology Posters

No abstract provided.

Effects Of Glutamine Synthetase On Indigoidine Production In Escherichia Coli, David Gage, Fuchao Xu, Dayu Yu, Jixun Zhan

Biology Posters

No abstract provided.

Temperature Effects On Cutaneous Healing In Rough-Skinned Newts (Taricha Granulosa), Sydney Greenfield, Geoff Smith, Lori Neuman-Lee, Susannah French

Biology Posters

No abstract provided.