Biology Commons^™

Characterization And Regulation Of Skn-Directed Autoimmune Skin Lesions, Pamela Jane Staton

Theses, Dissertations and Capstones

In the Skn model of autoimmunity, pathogenic T cells sensitized to Skn epidermal antigens (Skn-immune spleen cells or SIS cells) elicited disease in the form of skin lesions when adoptively transferred into shaved immunoincompetent syngeneic adult recipients (‘lesion-forming animals’) while concomitant injection of immunoregulatory normal spleen cells at twice the concentration (2 x normal spleen cells or 2XNS cells) of SIS cells significantly lessened lesion development (‘lesion-controlling animals’) by Day 7 post cell transfer. In a time-course RT-PCR cytokine analysis of skin from lesion-forming and lesion-controlling animals, IL-7 mRNA was significantly elevated in lesion-controlling skin on Day 7 while no …

A New Species Of Extinct Oryzomyine Rodent From The Quaternary Of Curaçao, Netherlands Antilles, Donald A. Mcfarlane, Adolphe O. Debrot

WM Keck Science Faculty Papers

An extinct new species of Oryzomyine rodent, known since 1936 from the cave of Grot van Hato on the island of Curaçao, is described from abundant new specimens collected from owl-pellet deposits at three localities on the island.

Apoptosis Of Rat Myoblasts Is Induced In Vitro By Late, But Not Early, Wound Fluids, Raymond E. Sicard, Linh Nguyen, John Menezes

Journal of the Minnesota Academy of Science

Interstitial fluids from late wound repair environments are not "regeneration permissive" as judged by their inability to promote either proliferation or differentiation of myoblasts in vitro. This irwestigation considered whether apoptosis (induced death) was an alternative fate for myoblasts exposed to these interstitial fluids. Myoblast fate was assessed by cell counts, tritiated thymidine release, and propidium iodide staining. Fluids from early wounds increased mean cell counts and induced little thymidine release or propidium iodide labeling. In contrast, fluids from late wounds reduced cell counts and induced both thymidine release and propidium iodide labeling. These data suggest that interstitial fluids from …

Nerve Injury Induces A Rapid Efflux Of Nitric Oxide (No) Detected With A Novel No Microsensor, Shanta M. Kumar, D. M. Porterfield, Kenneth J. Muller, Peter J.S. Smith, Christie L. Sahley

Biological Sciences Faculty Research & Creative Works

An early step in repair of the leech CNS is the appearance of endothelial nitric oxide synthase (eNOS) immunoreactivity and NOS activity, but coincident generation of NO at the lesion after injury has not been shown. This is important because NO can regulate microglial cell motility and axon growth. Indirect measurement of NO with the standard citrulline assay demonstrated that NO was generated within 30 min after nerve cord injury. A polarographic NO-selective self-referencing microelectrode that measures NO flux noninvasively was developed to obtain higher spatial and temporal resolution. With this probe, it was possible to demonstrate that immediately after …

Ethnic Differences In Risk From Mercury Among Savannah River Fishermen, Joanna Burger, Karen F. Gaines, Michael Gochfeld

Faculty Research & Creative Activity

Fishing plays an important role in people's lives and contaminant levels in fish are a public health concern. Many states have issued consumption advisories; South Carolina and Georgia have issued them for the Savannah River based on mercury and radionuclide levels. This study examined ethnic differences in risk from mercury exposure among people consuming fish from the Savannah River, based on site-specific consumption patterns and analysis of mercury in fish. Among fish, there were significant interspecies differences in mercury levels, and there were ethnic differences in consumption patterns. Two methods of examining risk are presented: (1) Hazard Index (HI), and …

An Examination Of The First Sediment Cores From Mountain Lake, Giles County, Virginia, For Diatoms And Pollen, Jon C. Cawley, Bruce C. Parker, Terry L. Hufford

Virginia Journal of Science

Mountain Lake, Virginia is a small, unique, oligotrophic, subalpine ecosystem in the southern Appalachians. Its geology, origin, climate, and history have influenced its morphometry, and therefore its sedimentology and algal flora. Radiocarbon dates establish specific Mountain Lake sediment ages at 1800, 4100, and 6100 years BP. Sediment core analysis suggests at least 6 prolonged periods when Mountain Lake probably was nearly dry or very small in size. These individual low-water periods (at approximately 100, 400, 900, 1200, 1800 and 4100 years BP) are evidenced by changes in diatom and pollen content, sedimentary erosion features, and the presence of wood fragments, …

Phylogeny, Biogeography, And Revision Of The Subfamily Dallatorrellinae (Hymenoptera, Liopteridae), Zhiwei Liu

Faculty Research & Creative Activity

A recent cladistic study suggested that the parasitoid wasp subfamily Dallatorrellinae is a monophyletic clade within the cynipoid family Liopteridae. The subfamily currently includes only four known species belonging to two genera, i.e., the monotypic genus Mesocynips Cameron, 1903 and the genus Dallatorrella Kieffer, 1911 . The present study presents a revision of the subfamily, including descriptions of five new species in the genus Dallatorrella: D. maculata, D. maxima, D. pulla, D. ronquisti and D. sinica. A key to the species of the subfamily is provided. Cladistic analysis of the subfamily at species level is undertaken and the biogeographic history …

Status Of The Oak Hybrids Quercus × Leana And Q. × Runcinata In Illinois, Gordon Tucker, John Ebinger

Faculty Research & Creative Activity

No abstract provided.

Genetic Heterogeneity Of White-Tailed Deer: Management Lessons From A Long-Term Study, Michael H. Smith, James M. Novak, J. D. Peles, J. R. Purdue

Faculty Research & Creative Activity

Genetic data from a long-term (16-year) study of white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) on the U.S. Department of Energy's Savannah River Site (SRS) were examined to evaluate spatial and temporal genetic heterogeneity in this species. Based on our analyses of the long-term data set, three major findings emerged, all of which have important implications for management of white-tailed deer: (1) There exists significant spatial genetic heterogeneity in white-tailed deer based on analyses of allozyme frequencies and mtDNA haplotypes. This heterogeneity exists on a much smaller spatial scale than would be expected for such a large and potentially mobile species as 0. …

A Comparison Of Methods To Evaluate Energy Expenditure Of Incubating Wandering Albatrosses, Scott A. Shaffer, D P. Costa, H Weimerskirch

Faculty Publications, Biological Sciences

Measurements of incubation energetics can vary depending on the method used to measure metabolism of an incubating bird. Therefore, we evaluated the energy expenditure of six male and four female wandering albatrosses (Diomedea exulans Linnaeus) using doubly labeled water (DLW), the rate of mass loss, and estimates of metabolic water production derived from water influx rate (WIR). Incubation metabolic rates (IMR) determined with DLW ( 169 ± 21 kJ kg d SD) were significantly lower than estimates derived from mass loss ( 277 ± 46kJ kg d SD) and WIR ( males=289 ± 60 kJ kg d vs. females = …

A Fossil Blue Marlin (Makaira Nigricans Lacépède) From The Middle Facies Of The Trinidad Formation (Upper Miocene To Upper Pliocene), San José Del Cabo Basin, Baja California Sur, México, Harry L. Fierstine, Shelton P. Applegate, Gerardo González-Barba, Tobias Schwennicke, Luis Espinosa-Arrubarrena

Biological Sciences

A large fossil skull and several rostra of Makaira nigricans Lacépède, 1802 (Perciformes: Istiophoridae), as well as some less diagnostic istiophorid remains, have been recovered from the middle facies of the Trinidad Formation near Rancho Algodones, San José del Cabo Basin, Baja California Sur, México. These are the only bill fish specimens known from fossiliferous deposits located between southern California and Panama. Based on published accounts of the presence of nannofossils and planktonic foraminifera, and additional field work, we conclude that the age of the study area is late Miocene to late Pliocene. Based on the habitat preferences of recent …

Adaptive Sampling In The Coastal Ocean At The Long Ecosystem Observatory, Mark A. Moline, W. Paul Bissett, Scott Glenn, Dale Haidvogel, Oscar Schofield

Biological Sciences

A multi-platform inter-disciplinary observation network has been operating at the Rutgers University Long-term Ecosystem Observatory (LEO) since 1996, with real-time capabilities beginning in July 1999. The network integrates numerous remote (satellites and shore- based), stationary (surface and subsurface), moveable (ships and AUVs) observation systems. The observation network provides spatially extensive updates of the physics, optics, chemistry and biology on time scales of an hour or less which are communicated in real-time to shipboard scientists and AUV operators. This rapid environmental assessment capability is already changing current paradigms for ocean adaptive sampling strategies. For example, in the well-sampled ocean, where forecast …

Modeling Atmosphere-Ocean Interactions And Primary Productivity, Joe Grzymski, Mark A. Moline, Jay T. Cullen

Biological Sciences

The heat budget, and hence the climate of the Earth, is sensitive to changes in the atmospheric greenhouse gas composition. Next to water vapor, carbon dioxide (CO₂) is the most important atmospheric greenhouse gas affecting the Earth's radiative balance. Greenhouse gases raise the mean temperature of the Earth by absorbing and trapping long-wave radiation from the planet surface that would otherwise be lost to space.

Changes In Phytoplankton Assemblages Along The Antarctic Peninsula And Potential Implications For The Antarctic Food Web, Mark A. Moline, Herve Claustre, Thomas K. Frazer, Joe Grzymski, Maria Vernet

Biological Sciences

The majority of the yearly organic carbon production int he coastal regions of the Southern ocean occurs during summer blooms. Changes in the quantity and quality of the phytoplankton standing crop during this period will likely impact organisms that occupy higher trophic levels within the ecosystem. Here we report a recurrent shift in the dominant phytoplankton taxa during the austral summer in a coastal region along the Antarctic Peninsula. The pattern was observed each year between 1991 and 1996 despite radically different biomass concentrations and meteorological and hydrographic conditions. We show that a repeated dominance of cryptophytes (Cryptophyceae) during the …

Spawning Behavior In Hemitremia Flammea (Actinopterygii: Cyprinidae), Eugene G. Maurakis, Ray Katula, William Roston

Virginia Journal of Science

Spawning behavior in Hemitremia flammea (Flame chub) is described from observations made in the field and laboratory. Spawning in the field occurred over clean gravel (size range=18-25 mm) at water temperatures from 12.8-14.4 C. Spawning in the laboratory occurred over clean gravel (11.3 mm) at water temperatures from 18.3-20 C. Males often pursued females and nudged their vents with their snouts. When the female settled to the substrate, a male moved forward and aligned himself alongside her body. Then the female moved slightly forward accompanied by the male and the pair vibrated their caudal peduncles and tails. The spawn ended …

Pycnothyrium Ultrastructure In Tubakia Dryina [Abstract], Josephine Taylor

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

A Red-Cockaded Woodpecker Group With Two Simultaneous Nest Trees, Richard N. Conner, James R. Mccormick, Richard R. Schaefer, Daniel Saenz, D. Craig Rudolph

Faculty Publications

During a study of Red-cockaded Woodpecker (Picoides borealis) nesting in eastern Texas, we discovered a single breeding pair of woodpeckers with two simultaneous nests in nest trees that were 24 m apart. Incubation of eggs in each nest tree was at least 13 d and may have been as long as 16 d. The breeding male incubated and fed a nestling in one nest tree, and the breeding female incubated and fed a nestling in the other nest tree until the nestlings were >24 d old. Prior to fledging, both the breeding male and female were observed feeding …

An Unusually Large Number Of Eggs Laid By A Breeding Red-Cockaded Woodpecker Female, Richard N. Conner, Daniel Saenz, James R. Mccormick

Faculty Publications

The Red-cockaded Woodpecker (Picoides borealis) is a cooperatively breeding species that typically uses a single cavity for nesting (Ligon 1970, Walters et al. 1988). A single tree, or aggregation of cavity trees, termed the cluster, is inhabited by a group of woodpeckers that includes a single breeding pair and up to several helpers, which are typically male offspring of previous breeding seasons (Ligon 1970, Lennartz et al. 1987). Each group of Red-cockaded Woodpeckers usually produces one nest per breeding season, but will often nest again during the same breeding season if the first nest fails. Double clutching and …

Delayed Reproduction Of Translocated Red-Cockaded Woodpeckers., Brent Burt, James R. Mccormick, Richard N. Conner, Daniel Saenz

Faculty Publications

Twelve pairs of Red-cockaded Woodpeckers were translocated to the Angelina National Forest. Five breeding pairs produced eggs/nestlings within the first breeding season after translocation. Clutch initiation dates for all five pairs were later than those of resident breeders. The observed delay in reporductive timing by translocated woodpeckers may have resulted from a variety of factors.

Amaranthus Rudis And A. Tuberculatus, One Species Or Two? [Abstract], Donald B. Pratt, Lynn G. Clark

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Radiocesium In Fish From The Savannah River And Steel Creek: Potential Food Chain Exposure To The Public, Joanna Burger, Karen F. Gaines, J. D. Peles, W. L. Stephens Jr., C. Shane Boring, I. Lehr Brisbin Jr., J. Snodgrass, A. L. Bryan Jr., M. H. Smith, M. Gochfeld

Faculty Research & Creative Activity

This study examined radiocesium (137Cs) levels in fish from the vicinity of the Department of Energy's Savannah River Site (SRS), a former nuclear weapons production facility in South Carolina. Fish from the Savannah River were sampled above (upstream), along, and below (downstream) the SRS, and from Steel Creek, a tributary that runs through the SRS. There was some off-site contamination of 137Cs in the Savannah River watershed due to low-level releases from past nuclear production on the SRS. The null hypotheses tested were that there would be no differences in 137Cs levels as a function of location along the river, …

Status Of The Oak Hybrids Quercus × Leana And Q. × Runcinata In Illinois, Gordon C. Tucker, John E. Ebinger

Faculty Research & Creative Activity

No abstract provided.

Phylogeny, Biogeography, And Revision Of The Subfamily Dallatorrellinae (Hymenoptera, Liopteridae), Zhiwei Liu

Faculty Research & Creative Activity

A recent cladistic study suggested that the parasitoid wasp subfamily Dallatorrellinae is a monophyletic clade within the cynipoid family Liopteridae. The subfamily currently includes only four known species belonging to two genera, i.e., the monotypic genus Mesocynips Cameron, 1903 and the genus Dallatorrella Kieffer, 1911 . The present study presents a revision of the subfamily, including descriptions of five new species in the genus Dallatorrella: D. maculata, D. maxima, D. pulla, D. ronquisti and D. sinica. A key to the species of the subfamily is provided. Cladistic analysis of the subfamily at species level is undertaken and the biogeographic history …

Optical Remote Sensing Techniques In Biological Oceanography, W. Paul Bissett, Oscar Schofield, Curtis D. Mobley, Michael F. Crowley, Mark A. Moline

Biological Sciences

No abstract provided.

Impact Of Dynamic Light And Nutrient Environments On Phytoplankton Communities In The Coastal Ocean, Mark A. Moline, Oscar Schofield, Joe Grzymski

Biological Sciences

Phytoplankton represent the base of the food web in marine ecosystems. Changes in the structure and composition of these phytoplankton communities will, therefore, have a direct effect on the amount of carbon available to higher trophic levels. In the absence of significant grazing, light and nutrients are the primary factors regulating phytoplankton photosynthesis and productivity in marine environments. As the requirements for light and nutrients differ between species, phytoplankton community structure is also sensitive to dynamic optical and chemical conditions in the water column.

A New Wildlife Sighting Reporting And Database System For Lassen Volcanic National Park, John D. Perrine, Jonathan F. Arnold

Biological Sciences

Visitors and employees in national parks may observe species of interest to wildlife biologists and resource managers. These sightings are useful to researchers and managers only if the data can be efficiently acquired, stored and retrieved for analysis.· We identified several problems in the wildlife sightings reporting system at Lassen Volcanic National Park, including a confusing array of reporting forms; incomplete contact information for the reporter; insufficient reporting of the animal's description, behavior and location; and a cumbersome data entry and retrieval system. We developed a new system to correct these problems. A single reporting form corrects the aforementioned data …

Terminal Restriction Fragment Patterns: A Tool For Comparing Microbial Communities And Assessing Community Dynamics, Christopher L. Kitts

Biological Sciences

Terminal Restriction Fragment (TRF) patterns, also known as Terminal Restriction Fragment Length Polymorphisms (T-RFLP), are a recently introduced PCR-based tool for studying microbial community structure and dynamics. Since the first review of TRF methodology (Marsh, 1999. Curr. Op. Microbiol. 2: 323-7), at least 35 new research articles were published that include this powerful tool in some part of their reports. This review covers some of the applications that TRF patterns were used for and provides a discussion of how to create and analyze TRF pattern data. This data has the advantage of being simply and rapidly produced using standard DNA …

The Intein Of The Thermoplasma A-Atpase A Subunit: Structure, Evolution And Expression In E. Coli, Ali Senejani, Elena Hilario, J. Peter Gogarten

Biology and Environmental Science Faculty Publications

Inteins are selfish genetic elements that excise themselves from the host protein during post translational processing, and religate the host protein with a peptide bond. In addition to this splicing activity, most reported inteins also contain an endonuclease domain that is important in intein propagation. Results

The gene encoding the Thermoplasma acidophilum A-ATPase catalytic subunit A is the only one in the entire T. acidophilum genome that has been identified to contain an intein. This intein is inserted in the same position as the inteins found in the ATPase A-subunits encoding gene in Pyrococcus abyssi, P. furiosus and P. horikoshii …

Effects Of Collection, Transport, And Redeployment Methods On Natural Mortality Of Rangia Cuneata (Mactridae) Used In Biomonitoring Studies, Eugene G. Maurakis, David V. Grimes, William C. Gretes

Virginia Journal of Science

Sporadic, high mortality in test populations of wedge clams (Rangia cuneata) has limited the potential for using this otherwise desirable test organism in biomonitoring studies. To determine whether high mortality was due to ontogenic or experimental variables, a two-phased study was conducted. In phase I, mortality of collected and re-deployed wedge clams, subjected to varying transport conditions, was determined at 7, 14, 21 and 60 days re-deployment. The use of three transport times (1, 2, 3 hr.), two vehicle conditions (open, closed) and three transport treatments (open, closed, iced containers) yielded 18 test groups. Individual test group mortalities …

Development Of Microsatellite Multiplexes For Wild Goats Using Primers Designed From Domestic Bovidae, Celia Maudet, Gordon Luikart, Pierre Taberlet

Biological Sciences Faculty Publications

Many wild goat taxa (Capra spp.) are endangered and would benefit from the availability of molecular tools that are useful for population management and conservation. We developed microsatellite DNA markers useful in all wild goat species, by using a cross-species amplification approach. Seventy-five microsatellite primer pairs designed from domestic cattle (Bos taurus), sheep (Ovis aries) and goat (Capra hircus) were tested oil three distantly related Capra species: C. ibex ibex, C. [i.] sibirica, and C. pyrenaica. On average, 90% of the domestic ungulate primers amplified a microsatellite PCR product in the …