Biology Commons^™

Coywolf, Canis Latrans × Lycaon, Pack Density Doubles Following The Death Of A Resident Territorial Male, Eric Strauss

Biology Faculty Works

We studied a subset of four radio-collared individuals that were a part of a larger study documenting Coywolf (Canis latrans × lycaon; Eastern Coyote) ecology in an urbanized landscape (Cape Cod, Massachusetts), and report on the territory of a typical sized pack that was subdivided roughly in half following the death of the breeding male from the original (" Centerville") pack. The original residents lived in a winter pack size (i.e., after pup/juvenile dispersal) of three or four individuals in a 19.66 km territory and a density of 0.15-0.20 individuals/km , as determined by radio-tracking and direct observations, with their …

Do Female Hyaenas Choose Mates Based On Tenure?, Heather E. Watts

Biology Faculty Works

In their investigation into whether female mate-choice drives male dispersal, Höner et al.argue that female spotted hyaenas (Crocuta crocuta) prefer mates whose tenure in the social group is less than the females’ age, to avoid paternal incest, and suggest that male dispersal reflects this preference. However, we are not persuaded that females choose mates on the basis of tenure because Höner et al. overlook the alternative hypothesis that dispersal status itself is important in female mate-choice, such that females prefer immigrants over natal males. Like mate-choice based on tenure, choice based on dispersal status reduces the risk of incest.

Improving The Computer Science In Bioinformatics Through Open Source Pedagogy, John David N. Dionisio, Kam D. Dahlquist

Biology Faculty Works

Bioinformatics relies more than ever on information technologies. This pressures scientists to keep up with software development best practices. However, traditional computer science curricula do not necessarily expose students to collaborative and long-lived software development. Using open source principles, practices, and tools forms an effective pedagogy for software development best practices. This paper reports on a bioinformatics teaching framework implemented through courses introducing computer science students to the field. The courses led to an initial product release consisting of software and an Escherichia coli K12 GenMAPP Gene Database, within a total "incubation time" of six months.

All I Really Needed To Know I Learned During Gastrulation, Scott F. Gilbert

Biology Faculty Works

No abstract provided.

How The Turtle Gets Its Shell, Scott F. Gilbert, J. A. Cebra-Thomas, A. C. Burke

Biology Faculty Works

No abstract provided.

A Hedgehog-And Antennapedia-Dependent Niche Maintains Drosophila Haematopoietic Precursors, Lolitika Mandal, Julian A. Martinez-Agosto, Cory J. Evans, Volker Hartenstein, Utpal Banerjee

Biology Faculty Works

The Drosophila melanogaster lymph gland is a haematopoietic organ1–3 in which pluripotent blood cell progenitors proliferate and mature into differentiated haemocytes. Previous work4 has defined three domains, the medullary zone, the cortical zone and the posterior signalling centre (PSC), within the developing third-instar lymph gland. The medullary zone is populated by a core of undifferentiated, slowly cycling progenitor cells, whereas mature haemocytes comprising plasmatocytes, crystal cells and lamellocytes are peripherally located in the cortical zone. The PSC comprises a third region that was first defined as a small group of cells expressing the Notch ligand Serrate5. Here we show that …

Second To The Right, Straight On Till Morning, Scott F. Gilbert

Biology Faculty Works

A response to Michael Ruse's "Bare-Knuckle Fighting: EvoDevo Versus Natural Selection".

Modeling In Evodevo: How To Integrate Development, Evolution, And Ecology, J. P. Collins, Scott F. Gilbert, M. D. Laubichler, G. B. Müller

Biology Faculty Works

No abstract provided.

Fate Maps, Gene Expression Maps, And The Evidentiary Structure Of Evolutionary Developmental Biology, Scott F. Gilbert

Biology Faculty Works

No abstract provided.

Establishment And Maintenance Of An Asm Student Chapter, Amy Cheng Vollmer

Biology Faculty Works

No abstract provided.

Genmapp 2: New Features And Resources For Pathway Analysis, Nathan Salomonis, Kristina Hanspers, Alexander C. Zambon, Karen Vranizan, Steven C. Lawlor, Kam D. Dahlquist, Scott W. Doniger, Josh Stuart, Bruce R. Conklin, Alexander R. Pico

Biology Faculty Works

Background: Microarray technologies have evolved rapidly, enabling biologists to quantify genome-wide levels of gene expression, alternative splicing, and sequence variations for a variety of species. Analyzing and displaying these data present a significant challenge. Pathway-based approaches for analyzing microarray data have proven useful for presenting data and for generating
testable hypotheses.

Results: To address the growing needs of the microarray community we have released version 2 of Gene Map Annotator and Pathway Profiler (GenMAPP), a new GenMAPP database schema, and integrated resources for pathway analysis. We have redesigned the GenMAPP database to support multiple gene annotations and species as well …

Hyena Societies, Heather E. Watts

Biology Faculty Works

No abstract provided.

Enod40 Gene Expression And Cytokinin Responses In The Nonnodulating, Nonmycorrhizal (Nod-Myc-) Mutant, Masym3, Of Melilotus Alba Desr., Michelle Lum

Biology Faculty Works

Several nonnodulating, nonmycorrhizal (Nod-Myc-) mutants of Melilotus alba Desr. (white sweetclover) have been described. However, the details of their responses to Sinorhizobium meliloti have not been fully elucidated. We investigated rhizobial entry and colonization using Confocal Scanning Laser Microscopy on the Masym1-5 mutants and isolated an early nodulin (ENOD40) gene from wild-type M. alba. We focused on Masym3, the least responsive of the mutants to S. meliloti and VA-fungi, to determine its response to cytokinin. Cytokinin appears to be a downstream signal in the nodule developmental pathway based not only on our previous observations whereby Nod-Myc- alfalfa roots treated with …

Heterozygosity And Fitness In A California Population Of The Labyrinth Spider Metepeira Ventura (Araneae, Araneidae)., Martina G. Ramirez, Sarah S. Eiman, Melissa M. Wetkowski, Miranda K. Mooers, Luningning A. Ocampo

Biology Faculty Works

The relationship between individual heterozygosity and characteristics likely to be associated with fitness was investigated in the labyrinth spider Metepeira ventura. Adult females and their egg sacs were collected at a coastal site in southern California, and three measures of bodily condition (carapace width, weight, residual index) and six measures of reproductive output (number of egg sacs, variation in egg number among sacs [coefficient of variation], total number of eggs, mean eggs/sac, mean eggs/sac divided by carapace width, mean eggs/sac divided by weight) were determined for each spider. The sample was polymorphic at three allozyme loci that were in Hardy-Weinberg …

Review Of "Plant Exploration For Longwood Gardens" By T. Aniśko, Nicholas J. Kaplinsky

Biology Faculty Works

No abstract provided.

A Feeling For The Micro-Organism: Structure On A Small Scale. Biofilms On Plant Roots, Nancy Fujishige

Biology Faculty Works

Biofilms are structured communities of bacterial cells enclosed in a self-produced polymeric matrix and adherent to an inert or living surface; they have clinical, industrial and environmental impacts. Biofilms that are established by bacteria on plants are found on the surfaces of roots, leaves, seeds and internal vascular tissues where the microbes live in commensal, mutualistic or parasitic/pathogenic associations with their host. The study of the structure of plant-associated biofilms has been considerably helped by the development of techniques using fluorescent markers coupled with confocal scanning laser microscopy as well as scanning electron microscopy. We review several of these techniques …

Standard And Routine Metabolic Rates Of Juvenile Sandbar Sharks (Carcharhinus Plumbeus), Including The Effects Of Body Mass And Acute Temperature Change, W. Wesley Dowd, Richard W. Brill, Peter G. Bushnell, John A. Musick

Biology Faculty Works

Standard and routine metabolic rates (SMRs and RMRs, respectively) of juvenile sandbar sharks (Carcharhinus plumbeus) were measured over a range of body sizes (n=34) and temperatures normally associated with western Atlantic coastal nursery areas. The mean SMR Q10 (increase in metabolic rate with temperature) was 2.9 ±0.2. Heart rate decreased with increasing body mass but increased with temperature at a Q10 of 1.8−2.2. Self-paired measures of SMR and RMR were obtained for 15 individuals. Routine metabolic rate averaged 1.8 ±0.1 times the SMR and was not correlated with body mass. Assuming the maximum metabolic rate of sandbar sharks is 1.8−2.75 …

Estimating Consumption Rates Of Juvenile Sandbar Sharks (Carcharhinus Plumbeus) In Chesapeake Bay, Virginia, Using A Bioenergetics Model, W. Wesley Dowd, Richard W. Brill, Peter G. Bushnell, John A. Musick

Biology Faculty Works

Using a bioenergetics model, we estimated daily ration and seasonal prey consumption rates for six age classes of juvenile sandbar sharks (Carcharhinus plumbeus) in the lower Chesapeake Bay summer nursery area. The model, incorporating habitat and species-specific data on growth rates, metabolic rate, diet composition, water temperature (range 16.8−27.9°C), and population structure, predicted mean daily rations between 2.17 ±0.03 (age-0) and 1.30 ±0.02 (age-5) % body mass/day. These daily rations are higher than earlier predictions for sandbar sharks but are comparable to those for ecologically similar shark species. The total nursery population of sandbar sharks was predicted to consume ~124,000 …

Comparison Of Geometric Morphometric Outline Methods In The Discrimination Of Age-Related Differences In Feather Shape, Kristen M. Covino

Biology Faculty Works

Background: Geometric morphometric methods of capturing information about curves or outlines of organismal structures may be used in conjunction with canonical variates analysis (CVA) to assign specimens to groups or populations based on their shapes. This methodological paper examines approaches to optimizing the classification of specimens based on their outlines. This study examines the performance of four approaches to the mathematical representation of outlines and two different approaches to curve measurement as applied to a collection of feather outlines. A new approach to the dimension reduction necessary to carry out a CVA on this type of outline data with modest …

An Ethogram Developed On Captive Eastern Coyotes Canis Latrans, Eric Strauss

Biology Faculty Works

We studied capture Eastern Coyotes (Canis latrans) from 27-585 days of age and compiled an ethogram on them. A total of 72247 15-sec samples were taken, amounting to 301 h of field time varying between 59.4-61.3 h per Coyote. A total of 540 behavioral patterns was observed amongst the 16 behaviour categories ranging from 9 (miscellaneous) to 72 (explore/investigate) action patterns per parent category. The 16 parent categories that we believed best described and appropriately sorted the behavioural actions were resting, sitting, sitting1, sitting2, standing, traveling, explore/investigating, hunting, feeding, infantile, greeting, self play, play initiating, playing, agonistic, and miscellaneous. Exploring …

Rat Poison Kills A Pack Of Eastern Coyotes, Canis Latrans, In An Urban Area, Eric Strauss

Biology Faculty Works

We document the death of a pack of Eastern Coyotes (Canis latrans) from high levels of brodifacoum, a second generation poison that is the active ingredient in some forms of rat poison (e.g., d-Con®). The Coyotes died within a week of each other during late March/early April 2005. This incident indicates the vulnerability of wild animals to commercial over-the-counter rodenticides.

In Memoriam: Lauri Saxén (1927-2005), Scott F. Gilbert

Biology Faculty Works

No abstract provided.

The Generation Of Novelty: The Province Of Developmental Biology, Scott F. Gilbert

Biology Faculty Works

A response to Michael Ruse's "Forty Years A Philosopher Of Biology: Why EvoDevo Makes Me Still Excited About My Subject".

Use Of Culture-Independent Methods To Compare Bacterial Assemblages On Feathers Of Crested And Least Auklets (Aethia Cristatella And Aethia Pusilla) With Those Of Passerines, M. D. Shawkey, M. Jawaad Hussain , '09, Aaron Leigh Strong , '06, J. Hagelin, Amy Cheng Vollmer, G. E. Hill

Biology Faculty Works

Despite recent interest in the interactions between birds and feather microbes, little is known about the identity of these microbes, and all studies of feather microbes thus far have focused on passerines living in temperate regions. Comparisons of the microbial groups living on different groups of birds may provide valuable insight into the ecological roles microbes play on feathers. We used culture-independent molecular techniques to identify the assemblages of bacteria found on the feathers of two closely related seabirds (Crested and Least Auklets (Aethia cristatella and A. pusilla)) and, for comparison, domestic Chickens (Gallus gallus). Some isolates were found on …

Investigations Of Rhizobium Biofilm Formation, Nancy Fujishige

Biology Faculty Works

The development of nitrogen-fixing nodules of the Rhizobium-legume symbiosis, especially the early stages of root hair deformation and curling, infection thread formation, and nodule initiation, has been well studied from a genetic standpoint. In contrast, the factors important for the colonization of surfaces by rhizobia, including roots-an important prerequisite for nodule formation-have not been as thoroughly investigated. We developed conditions for analyzing the ability of two fast-growing rhizobia, Sinorhizobium meliloti and Rhizobium leguminosarum bv. viciae, to produce biofilms on abiotic surfaces such as glass, plastic microtiter plates, sand and soil as a prelude to characterizing the genes important for aggregation …

Impaired Glutamate Transport In A Mouse Model Of Tau Pathology In Astrocytes, Deepa V. Dabir

Biology Faculty Works

Filamentous tau inclusions in neurons and glia are neuropathological hallmarks of tauopathies. The discovery of microtubule-associated protein tau gene mutations that are pathogenic for a heterogenous group of neurodegenerative disorders, called frontotemporal dementia and parkinsonism linked to chromosome-17 (FTDP-17), directly implicate tau abnormalities in the onset/progression of disease. Although the role of tau pathology in neurons in disease pathogenesis is well accepted, the contribution of glial pathology is essentially unknown. We recently generated a transgenic (Tg) mouse model of tau pathology in astrocytes by expressing the human tau protein under the control of the glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP) promoter. …

The Role Of Cuticular Pheromones In Courtship Conditioning Of Drosophila Males, Kathleen King Siwicki, Paul Nicholas Riccio , '05, Lisa Ladewski , '02, F. Marcillac, L. Dartevelle, Stephanie Alexis Cross , '04, J.-F. Ferveur

Biology Faculty Works

Courtship conditioning is an associative learning paradigm in Drosophila melanogaster, wherein male courtship behavior is modified by experience with unreceptive, previously mated females. While the training experience with mated females involves multiple sensory and behavioral interactions, we hypothesized that female cuticular hydrocarbons function as a specific chemosensory conditioned stimulus in this learning paradigm. The effects of training with mated females were determined in courtship tests with either wild-type virgin females as courtship targets, or with target flies of different genotypes that express distinct Cuticular hydrocarbon (CH) profiles. Results of tests with female targets that lacked the normal CH profile, and …

Review Of "The Microbial Models Of Molecular Biology: From Genes To Genomes" By R. H. Davis, Amy Cheng Vollmer, S. J. Vollmer

Biology Faculty Works

No abstract provided.

Fitness Correlates Of Song Repertoire Size In Free-Living Song Sparrows (Melospiza Melodia), J. M. Reid, P. Arcese, A. L. E. V. Cassidy, Sara Hiebert Burch, J. N.M. Smith, P. K. Stoddard, A. B. Marr, L. F. Keller

Biology Faculty Works

Models of sexual selection propose that exaggerated secondary sexual ornaments indicate a male's own fitness and the fitness of his offspring. These hypotheses have rarely been thoroughly tested in free-living individuals because overall fitness, as opposed to fitness components, is difficult to measure. We used 20 years of data from song sparrows ( Melospiza melodia) inhabiting Mandarte Island, British Columbia, Canada, to test whether a male's song repertoire size, a secondary sexual trait, predicted overall measures of male or offspring fitness. Males with larger song repertoires contributed more independent and recruited offspring, and independent and recruited grandoffspring, to Mandarte's population. …

Connecting Branches To Student Activities, Amy Cheng Vollmer

Biology Faculty Works

No abstract provided.