Biology Commons^™

On The Ecological Status Of The Concept "Boundary Conditions" - A Few Methodological Remarks, Lubomira Burchardt, Krzystof Lastowski, Harold G. Marshall

Biological Sciences Faculty Publications

Plant and animal populations are frequently found in habitats where the environmental conditions are considered extreme or challenging for life form to exist. These conditions may be classified as either: (1) Supreme: a situation characteristic of degradation conditions where only a few species live under stress, and (2) Extra-ordinary: habitats that provide high biodiversity that are under stress conditions. Due to the differences in what we consider extreme conditions, it is necessary to distinguish between these two categories, because they are not comparable. Our presentation will include examples of these two extreme environmental categories.

Effect Of Zooid Spacing On Bryozoan Feeding Success: Is Competition Or Facilitation More Important?, Marney C. Pratt

Biological Sciences: Faculty Publications

Most Recent bryozoan species are encrusting sheets, and many of these colonies have densely packed feeding zooids. In this study, I tested whether tight packing of feeding zooids affects food capture. Colonies of a bryozoan with an encrusting sheet form (Membranipora membranacea) were dissected to produce individuals whose feeding zooids were (1) closely packed, (2) more widely spaced, or (3) isolated. For each type, rates of particle ingestion were measured in still water and in a freestream velocity of 2.7 cm s-1. Ingestion rate increased when zooids were closest together, probably because of reduced refiltration and increased feeding current strength …

Table Of Contents

Journal of the South Carolina Academy of Science

No abstract provided.

President's Message, David J. Stroup

Journal of the South Carolina Academy of Science

No abstract provided.

Scas Officers And Council Members 2004 - 2005

Journal of the South Carolina Academy of Science

No abstract provided.

Bioinformatics: An Undergraduate Research/Teaching Tool., Abhishek Agrawal, Valgene L. Dunham

Journal of the South Carolina Academy of Science

No abstract provided.

Building New Culture Media For Assisted Reproductive Technology., Mary N. Egbuniwe, H. Lee Higdon Iii, William R. Boone

Journal of the South Carolina Academy of Science

No abstract provided.

Characterization Of Microbial Communities In Tce-Contaminated Seep Zone Sediments., Brian A. Nevius, Christopher E. Bagwell, Robin L. Brigmon

Journal of the South Carolina Academy of Science

No abstract provided.

Endocrine-Disrupting Effects Of Cattle Feedlot Effluent On An Aquatic Sentinel Species, The Fathead Minnow, Edward Orlando, Alan Kolok, Gerry Binzcick, Jennifer Gates, Megan Horton, Christy Lambright, L. Earl Gray Jr., Ana M. Soto, Louis J. Guilette

Biology Faculty Publications

Over the last decade, research has examined the endocrine-disrupting action of various environmental pollutants, including hormones, pharmaceuticals, and surfactants, in sewage treatment plant effluent. Responding to the growth of concentrated animal feeding operations (CAFOs) and the pollutants present in their wastewater (e.g., nutrients, pharmaceuticals, and hormones), the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency developed a new rule that tightens the regulation of CAFOs. In this study, we collected wild fathead minnows (Pimephales promelas) exposed to feedlot effluent (FLE) and observed significant alterations in their reproductive biology. Male fish were demasculinized (having lower testicular testosterone synthesis, altered head morphometrics, and smaller …

Reproduction And Seasonal Activity Of Silver-Haired Bats In Western Nebraska, Keith Geluso, Jeffrey J. Huebschman, Jeremy A. White, Michael A. Bogen

Biology Faculty Publications

Silver-haired bats (Lasionycteris noctivagans) were thought only to migrate through Nebraska; however, recent surveys in eastern Nebraska report summer records of females and their young. Our study in western Nebraska also shows that silver-haired bats are summer residents. We discovered the 1st reproductively active L. noctivagans in this part of the state. We caught lactating females and volant young in riparian forests along the North Platte River and in forested areas of the Pine Ridge. Previously, adult males were not known from Nebraska in summer, and only 4 records of L. noctivagans were known from western Nebraska during …

Grassland Diversity And Productivity: The Interplay Of Resource Availability And Propagule Pools, Bryan L. Foster, Timothy L. Dickson

Biology Faculty Publications

Processes operating at multiple spatial scales govern the structure and functioning of ecological communities. We conducted a resource manipulation and propagule addition experiment in grassland to evaluate the interaction of local resource availability and propagule pools in governing local-scale plant colonization, biodiversity, and above-ground productivity. The availabilities of establishment microsites and water were manipulated in field plots for two years through the application of experimental soil disturbances and irrigation, respectively. Resource manipulations led to increased invasibility of the community, as predicted by the theory of fluctuating resources. Rates of colonization,enhanced by the sowing of 32 grassland species, increased plant diversity …

Morphological Characteristics And Species Separation Of Hawaiian Postlarval Amphidromous Fishes, M. Eric Benbow, Albert J. Burky, Carl M. Way

Biology Faculty Publications

There are five Hawaiian amphidromous fishes (Gobiidae: Lentipes concolor, Awaous guamensis, Sicyopterus stimpsoni, Stenogobius hawaiiensis; Eleotridae: Eleotris sandwicensis). Amphidromous adults deposit eggs on the stream bottom. After hatching, larvae drift to the ocean for growth followed by postlarval migration back into the streams. Postlarvae were collected to construct a dichotomous identification key based on 12 morphological measures and ray counts from four fins. Overall, the presense of fused pelvic fins, standard length (SL), and fin ray numbers were the most useful in species separation. Gobies were separated from the eleotrid by the former having fused …

Long-Lived Worms And Aging, Yuan Luo

Faculty Publications

Several investigators have generated long-lived nematode worms (Caenorhabditis elegans) in the past decade by mutation of genes in the organism in order to study the genetics of aging and longevity. Dozens of longevity assurance genes (LAG) that dramatically increase the longevity of this organism have been identified. All long-lived mutants of C. elegans are also resistant to environmental stress, such as high temperature, reactive oxygen species (ROS), and ultraviolet irradiation. Double mutations of some LAGS further extended life span up to 400%, providing more insight into cellular mechanisms that put limits on the life span of organisms. With …

Isolation And Characterization Of Aerobic Denitrifiers From Agricultural Soil, Ebru Çelen, Mehmet Aki̇f Kiliç

Turkish Journal of Biology

Denitrification is generally considered an anaerobic process. However, in recent years it has been shown that bacteria can also reduce nitrate to nitrite under aerobic conditions. The characterization of biologically available nitrogen forms and their biological cycling mechanisms is important for ecological and agricultural implications. In this study, aerobic nitrate reducers were isolated from greenhouse soil. Using a nitrate reduction assay, it was found that 39 out of 60 isolates can reduce nitrate to nitrite under aerobic conditions. Five of those 39 isolates were selected for further characterization of their aerobic nitrate reduction activity. Four of those 5 isolates were …

Human Genetic Variation And Health: New Assessment Approaches Based On Ethnogenetic Layering, Fatimah Linda Collier Jackson

Department of Biology Faculty Publications

Human genetic variation is often biologically relevant, particularly when it influences (or is influenced by) health outcomes. For example, human genetic variation can modulate disease aetiology as in the case ofhomozygous beta sickle gene (βS/βS or sickle cell) pathology. Conversely, health outcomes, such as the frequency and duration of homozygous sickle cell pathology, can change affected group gene frequencies by selectively targeting and culling specific genotypes in a group, such as clinically more severe βS Bantu/βS Bantu versions of the βS gene, thereby changing future patterns of genetic variation in this gene.

Encounters Between Dynamic Cortical Microtubules Promote Ordering Of The Cortical Array Through Angle-Dependent Modifications Of Microtubule Behavior, Ram Dixit, Richard Cyr

Biology Faculty Research

Ordered cortical microtubule arrays are essential for normal plant morphogenesis, but how these arrays form is unclear. The dynamics of individual cortical microtubules are stochastic and cannot fully account for the observed order; however, using tobacco (Nicotiana tabacum) cells expressing either the MBD-DsRed (microtubule binding domain of the mammalian MAP4 fused to the Discosoma sp red fluorescent protein) or YFP-TUA6 (yellow fluorescent protein fused to the Arabidopsis alpha-tubulin 6 isoform) microtubule markers, we identified intermicrotubule interactions that modify their stochastic behaviors. The intermicrotubule interactions occur when the growing plus-ends of cortical microtubules encounter previously existing cortical microtubules. Importantly, the outcome …

Heterochromatic Silencing And Hp1 Localization In Drosophila Are Dependent On The Rnai Machinery, Manika Pal-Bhadra, Boris Leibovitch, Sumit Gandhi, Madhusudana Rao Chikka, Utpal Bhadra, James Birchler, Sarah C.R. Elgin

Biology Faculty Research

Genes normally resident in euchromatic domains are silenced when packaged into heterochromatin, as exemplified in Drosophila melanogaster by position effect variegation (PEV). Loss-of-function mutations resulting in suppression of PEV have identified critical components of heterochromatin, including proteins HP1, HP2, and histone H3 lysine 9 methyltransferase. Here, we demonstrate that this silencing is dependent on the RNA interference machinery, using tandem mini-white arrays and white transgenes in heterochromatin to show loss of silencing as a result of mutations in piwi, aubergine, or spindle-E (homeless), which encode RNAi components. These mutations result in reduction of H3 Lys9 methylation and delocalization of HP1 …

The Pot Calling The Kettle Black, Deidré Sanders

The Corinthian

Industrialized countries seem to look condescendingly at African societies that practice female clitorectomy, but the same people line their sons up to be circumcised soon after birth. A clitorectomy, also known as female genital mutilation (FGM), is defined as "a destructive, invasive procedure that is usually performed on girls before they reach puberty that removes part or all of the clitoris". There are many different types of female genital mutilation. The lesser of the three evils is called Sunna circumcision. The tip of the clitoris and/ or its covering, known as the prepuce, is removed. The second type is called …

Effects Of Some Pesticides On Spore Germination And Larvicidal Activity Of Bacillus Thuringiensis Var. Israelensis And Bacillus Sphaericus 2362 Strain, İsmet Berber, Cumhur Çökmüş, Ekrem Atalan

Turkish Journal of Biology

The effects of 9 commercial pesticides used commonly in agriculture on spore germination and larvicidal activity of the mosquito pathogenic B. thuringiensis var. israelensis and B. sphaericus 2362 strain were examined. Six of the pesticides was had an inverse impact on spore germination and growth of the test strains. It was determined that the pesticides with the most adverse effect were copper sulfate, methiocarb, and dalapon on spore germination of the microorganisms. Higher concentrations or MIC values of the pesticides reduced the heat-resistant spore numbers of both bioinsecticides, suppressing spore germination. These results indicated that the spores of the bacteria …

Influence Of Male Surgical Sterilization On The Copulatory Behavior And Reproduction Of Brandt's Vole, Jianjun Zhang, Zhibin Zhang, Lixing Sun

Biology Faculty Scholarship

The influence of sterilized male on the copulatory behavior and reproduction of Brandt′s vole was studied by using the method of surgical sterilization. Male surgical sterilization did not influence the copulatory behavior of Brandt's vole. Mating times with intact mates and litter size of female Brandt′s voles in male sterilized groups decreased compared with the control groups. The results supported the hypothesis of competitively reproductive interference of sterilized males. Thus, sterilization can be a viable method to control voles.

Influence Of Increasing Number Of Mating Partners On Mating Behaviour And Reproduction In Brandt’S Voles, Jianjun Zhang, Zhibin Zhang, Lixing Sun

Biology Faculty Scholarship

The influence of increasing number of mating partners on the copulatory behavior and reproduction in Brandt’s voles (Microtus brandti) was studied. Compared with the control group of 1 ♂ + 1 ♀, our results showed when increasing only female partners, the mating opportunity was increased in males while decreased in female in the treatment group of 1 ♂ + 2 ♀♀; the mating opportunity of male and female were both decreased significantly in the treatment group of 1 ♂ + 3 ♀♀. When increasing only male partners, male mating opportunity in treatment groups 2 ♂♂ + 1 ♀ …

The Edaphic Factor In The Origin Of Plant Species, Nishanta Rajakaruna

Biological Sciences

Although speciation has been a central focus in evolutionary biology for more than a century, there are very few case studies where we have a good understanding of the exact forces that may have acted in the diversification of a group of organisms. In order to examine such forces, botanists have often focused on closely related plants that are found under contrasting soil conditions. The study of such edaphically differentiated plants has provided valuable insight to the role of natural selection in evolution. This paper discusses several key studies that have appeared in the literature in the last half century …

Comparative Population Dynamics Of Freshwater Dinoflagellates Of The Genera Peridinium And Peridiniopsis, Andy Canion

Honors Theses

Freshwater dinoflagellates, like their marine relatives, have the potential to reach large population sizes known as blooms. Though they are not toxic like some marine forms, freshwater blooms may have a large impact in their respective ecosystem. This study investigated the temporal and spatial changes in population density of four Peridinium species (P. deflandrei, P. volzii, P. wisconsinense, and P. limbatum) and one Peridiniopsis species (Peridiniopsis polonicium) in Boondoggle Lake, a shallow lake (4.5 m) in northern Mississippi (Lafayette Co.). On each sampling date, measurements of the abiotic environment were made, including dissolved oxygen, temperature, pH, and turbidity. Also, water …

Mendel's Legacy: The Origin Of Classical Genetics, Michael Dietrich

Dartmouth Scholarship

Review of Mendel's Legacy: The Origin of Classical Genetics by Elof Axel Carlson, 2004

Shaping Science With Rhetoric: The Cases Of Dobzhansky, Schrdinger, And Wilson, Michael Dietrich

Dartmouth Scholarship

A review of Shaping Science with Rhetoric: The Cases of Dobzhansky, Schrödinger, and Wilson by Leah Ceccarelli.

Size And Temperature In The Evolution Of Fish Life Histories, Eric Charnov, James Gillooly

Biology Faculty & Staff Publications

Body size and temperature are the two most important variables affecting nearly all biological rates and times, especially individual growth or production rates. By favoring an optimal maturation age and reproductive allocation, natural selection links individual growth to the mortality schedule. A recent model for evolution of life histories for species with indeterminate growth, which includes most fish, successfully predicts the numeric values of two key dimensionless numbers and the allometry of the average reproductive allocation versus maturation size across species. Here we use this new model to predict the relationships of age-at-maturity, adult mortality and reproductive effort to environmental …

Land Use Effects On Lake Water Quality In Central Florida, Jonathan Seiler

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Land use affects the water quality of lakes. Different land use types yield different effects due to varying amounts and constituents of runoff. In this study, the effects of surrounding land use on the water quality of 50 lakes in Seminole County, Florida was assessed. Using GIS, I placed buffers of 100 and 500 m around each lake. The percentages of land use type were calculated within these buffers for 1990 and 1995. An ordination of lakes was done using Canonical Correspondence Analysis (CCA) to determine if the surrounding land use patterns were adequate to describe the trophic status of …

Expression Of Mslec1 Transgenes In Alfalfa Plants Causes Symbiotic Abnormalities, Nancy Fujishige

Biology Faculty Works

Legume lectins have been proposed to have important symbiotic roles during Rhizobium-legume symbioses. To test this hypothesis, the symbiotic responses of transgenic alfalfa plants that express a portion of the putative alfalfa lectin gene MsLEC1 or MsLEC2 in either the antisense or sense orientation were analyzed following inoculation with wild-type Sinorhizobium meliloti 1021. MsLEC1-antisense (LEC1AS) plants were stunted, exhibited hypernodulation, and developed not only abnormally large nodules but also numerous small nodules, both of which senesced prematurely. MsLEC2-antisense plants were intermediate in growth and nodule number compared with LEC1AS and vector control plants. The symbiotic abnormalities of MsLEC1-sense transgene plants …

Mercury Inactivates Transcription And The Generalized Transcription Factor Tfb In The Archaeon Sulfolobus Solfataricus, Vidula Dixit, Elisabetta Bini, Melissa Drozda, Paul H. Blum

School of Biological Sciences: Faculty Publications

Mercury has a long history as an antimicrobial agent effective against eukaryotic and prokaryotic organisms.

Despite its prolonged use, the basis for mercury toxicity in prokaryotes is not well understood. Archaea, like

bacteria, are prokaryotes but they use a simplified version of the eukaryotic transcription apparatus. This

study examined the mechanism of mercury toxicity to the archaeal prokaryote Sulfolobus solfataricus. In vivo

challenge with mercuric chloride instantaneously blocked cell division, eliciting a cytostatic response at

submicromolar concentrations and a cytocidal response at micromolar concentrations. The cytostatic response

was accompanied by a 70% reduction in bulk RNA synthesis and elevated …

Landscape Vs. Local Habitat Scale Influences To Insect Communities From Tallgrass Prairie Remnants, Kristal J.L. Stoner, Anthony Joern

School of Biological Sciences: Faculty Publications

Habitat loss and fragmentation currently threaten ecosystems worldwide, yet remain difficult to quantify because within-fragment habitat and landscape-scale influences often interact in unique ways. Although individual species respond to fragmentation differently, large-scale conservation planning must unavoidably target multiple species. Although information on a population’s response to fragmentation is critical, and measurements of species richness provide useful insights, exclusive reliance on these responses may mask important information about the taxonomic composition of assemblages in response to fragmentation. The North American tallgrass prairie ecosystem is one of the most threatened and fragmented ecosystems in the world, and insects are significant contributors to …