Biology Commons^™

Natal Dispersal Of Beavers In The Embarras River Watershed In Central Illinois, Erin A. Cleere

Masters Theses

Dispersal is an important mechanism influencing the dynamics, genetics, spatial distribution and size of wildlife populations (Gese and Mech 1991). Natal dispersal may afford individuals breeding opportunities and access to resources, while reducing inbreeding and competition with family members. However, dispersal also can be risky if mortality rates are high or if mates or suitable habitat are unavailable. When dispersal costs are high, subadults may be better off remaining in their natal territory.

Although a number of previous studies have investigated natal dispersal in beavers (Castor canadensis), conclusions regarding the percentage of subadults that disperse, timing of dispersal, evidence of …

Size And Reproductive Activity Of A Geographically-Isolated Population Of Ambystoma Jeffersonianum In East-Central Illinois, Sarabeth Klueh

Masters Theses

When utilizing small isolated wetlands, amphibian populations are often small in size, susceptible to stochastic extinction processes, and have little to no contact with other populations. The persistence of such populations can be ascertained only by obtaining data that allow the prediction of the population’s growth, trajectory, and propensity to achieve a sustainable size. The success of a salamander population can be determined by the number of metamorphosing larvae leaving a pond, and thus, the number recruited into the terrestrial adult population. The Jefferson salamander, Ambystoma jeffersonianum, is a state-threatened species, occurring at fewer than 15 ponds within Illinois. In …

Furniture Usage And Activity Budgets Of Captive Black And White Ruffed Lemurs (Varecia Variegata Variegata) And Ring- Tailed Lemurs (Lemur Catta) At Bramble Park Zoo, Watertown, South Dakota, Zarah Hedge

The Journal of Undergraduate Research

A behavioral study was conducted on the black and white ruffed lemurs and ring-tailed lemurs at Bramble Park Zoo in summer 2004 to determine if the furniture in the exhibit was sufficient to enable them to display their natural behaviors. The study was performed using a time sampling method of one minute, and ten hours of data was gathered. Both species of lemur spent a significant portion of the observed time resting, more so than has been found in wild populations of lemurs. The time spent foraging (.33% and 2.5% for the ruffed lemurs and 2.1% for the ring-tails) and …

An Anti-Locust Campaign In Nabokov (And Pushkin), Victor Fet

Biological Sciences Faculty Research

Pushkin’s non-apocryphal anti-locust campaign is reflected in Nabokov’s unpublished sequel to The Gift.

Indole Acetic Acid Production By The Indigenous Isolates Of Azotobacter And Fluorescent Pseudomonas In The Presence And Absence Of Tryptophan, Farah Ahmad, Iqbal Ahmad, Mohammad Saghir Khan

Turkish Journal of Biology

A total of 21 bacterial isolates (Azotobacter sp., 10 and fluorescent Pseudomonas sp., 11) were isolated from different rhizospheric soils in the vicinity of Aligarh city and characterized as per standard methods. These isolates were further tested for the production of indole acetic acid (IAA) in a medium with 0, 1, 2 and 5 mg/ml of tryptophan. A low amount (2.68-10.80 mg/ml) of IAA production was recorded by Azotobacter strains without tryptophan addition. Seven Azotobacter isolates showed high level (7.3 to 32.8 mg/ml) production of IAA at 5 mg/ml of tryptophan while at 1 and 2 mg/ml the production was …

Effect Of Carboxy Methyl Cellulose And Gum Arabic On The Stability Of Frozen Dough For Bakery Products, Ali̇ Asghar, Muhammad Waseem Traig, Faqir Muhammad Anjum, Shahzad Hussain

Turkish Journal of Biology

Extended storage of frozen dough resulted in changes in rheological properties, which cause increasing proofing time and ultimately lower loaf volume of bread. The main causes of these changes are ice crystallization, which damage the gluten network. The major objective of this research was to reduce ice crystallization in frozen dough by incorporation of hydrophilic gums such as carboxymethylcellulose (CMC), and gum arabic at different levels. The doughs were stored frozen up to 8 weeks. Bread characteristics were analyzed after every 15 days for specific loaf volume, external and internal characteristics. Specific loaf volume increased significantly with the addition of …

Exogenous Application Of Gibberellic Acid Counteracts The Ill Effect Of Sodium Chloride In Mustard, Shaheena Afroz, Firoz Mohammad, Shamsul Hayat, Manzer H. Siddiqui

Turkish Journal of Biology

The response of mustard (Brassica juncea (L.) Czern & Coss cv. Varuna) to presowing seed treatment with sodium chloride (NaCl) was investigated. The plants raised from treated seeds were sprayed with water or 10^{-6} M GA_3 at the 30- day stage. The seeds imbibed in 1 or 10 mM of NaCl resulted in a decrease in dry mass, leaf chlorophyll content, carbonic anhydrase activity (E.C. 4.2.1.1), nitrate reductase activity (E.C. 1.6.6.1) and net photosynthetic rate at the 60-day stage, and pod number and seed yield at harvest. However, spray application of GA_3 neutralized the ill effect of soaking treatment in …

The Vascular Flora Of Powhatan County, Virginia, Michael Austin Terry

Master's Theses

The project was undertaken with three main goals in mind: to provide as current and complete an account as possible of the flora of Powhatan County in the form of an annotated checklist; to integrate the information obtained from the inventory into phytogeographical and ecological generalizations currently being developed for the state of Virginia; and, to report any significant or anomalous discoveries. There is no previous county-wide inventory of plant diversity for Powhatan County. However, Corcoran (1981) published a list of plants from the Jones and Mill Creek watershed located in the Fine Creek Mills area of northeastern Powhatan.

Cytokine Expression By T. Helper Cells Responding To Stress, Dina Zanetti

Master's Theses

Stress causes alterations to the immune system. These alterations have lead to increased susceptibility to antigens. The present study explores shifts in T helper (TH) cell balance (TH1 and TH2), through their cytokine expression. This study was performed in three phases, and focused mainly on animals subjected to a 10 day a chronic unpredictable stress paradigm. Phase one used ELISAs to confirm the cytokine profile produced from TH 1 and TH2 murine cell-lines. Phase two used SDS PAGE and Western Immunoblotting to show that splenocytes from Long Evan's Hooded rats subjected to the stress paradigm, had decreased in intercellular in …

Plant Composition Of Mixed-Grass Prairie Of Cedar Point Biological Research Station, Keith County, Nebraska, David A. Mckenzie

Biology Faculty Publications

This study involved a vegetation analysis of 15 permanent plots established on the short-grass and mixed grass prairie slopes at the Cedar Point Biological Station in Keith County, Nebraska. Ninety-nine species were found in the plots, including members of 75 genera and 31 families. Twenty-one were graminoids, 71 were forbs or succulents, 6 were shrubs and one was a tree. Bouteloua gracilis (19 % cover) and Carex filifolia (15 % cover) were the dominant graminoids at the site, while Yucca glauca (1% cover) and Artemisia frigida (1% cover) were the most frequent forbs. Comparisons of species richness by slope categories …

Effects Of Mercury And Chromium On Peroxidase And Iaa Oxidase Enzymes In The Seedlings Of Phaseolus Vulgaris, Nayna G. Parmar, Sumitra Chanda

Turkish Journal of Biology

Phaseolus seedlings (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) in light conditions were treated with 2 different concentrations of 2 heavy metals, mercury (0.05 mM and 0.4 mM) and chromium (0.5 and 1.0 mM). Mercury was given in the form of HgCl_2 and chromium was given in the form of K_2Cr_2O_7. Peroxidase activity was measured with 4 different hydrogen donors (ferulic acid, caffeic acid, pyrocatechol and pyrogallol). Both mercury and chromium inhibited root and hypocotyl length. The inhibition was about 50%-80%, depending on the concentration of the heavy metal. Peroxidase and IAA oxidase activities showed a clear inverse relation with growth. Seedlings treated with …

Biological Control Of Vector Mosquitoes By Some Common Exotic Fish Predators, A. Ghosh, S. Mandal, I. Bhattacharjee, Goutam Chandra

Turkish Journal of Biology

Predation experiments using Cyprinus carpio Linnaeus (1758), Ctenopharyngodon idella (Valenciennes 1844), Oreochromis niloticus niloticus (Linnaeus 1758) and Clarias gariepinus (Burchell 1822) were conducted against fourth instar Anopheles stephensi Liston (1901) larvae and pupae at varying prey and predator densities. The relative prey consumption rates of the four fish species for An. stephensi larvae and pupae during 24-hour experiments under laboratory conditions were C. gariepinus > C. idella > C. carpio > O. n. niloticus. Predatory efficacy was positively related with prey density and inversely related with water volume (search area). A significant decrease in larval abundance in dipper samples was observed at 30 …

Efficient Cloning Of The Rare Wheat (Triticum Aestivum L.) Transcripts, Muharrem Di̇lbi̇rli̇ği̇, Mustafa Erayman

Turkish Journal of Biology

Expressed sequence tag (EST) technology has spurred targeting the functional portion of genomes for several organisms. Constructed redundant complementary DNA (cDNA) libraries have targeted a majority of constitutive and over-expressed genes. However, the majority of lowly expressed and un-induced genes have not been able to be easily tagged and cloned. The objective of this study was to clone low and rarely expressed transcripts in wheat. Using a combination of a polyacrylamide gel and a motif-based PCR amplification, we cloned 144 bands containing 189 wheat fragments. Sequence analysis revealed 74 contigs, of which only 22 being present in database. The remaining …

Epipelic And Epilithic Algae Of Küçükgöl Lake (Gümüşhane-Turkey), Bülent Şahi̇n, Bülent Akar

Turkish Journal of Biology

The epipelic and epilithic algae of Küçükgöl Lake were studied between June and September 2002. Fifty-five taxa (26 belonging to Bacillariophyta, 23 to Chlorophyta, 3 to Cyanophyta and 3 to Euglenophyta) were determined. Closterium lunula var. biconvexum, Cosmarium asphaerosporum var. strigosum, C. garrolense, C. rectangulare, Euastrum ansatum var. dideltiforme, E. denticulatum and E. pseudotuddalense are new records for the algal flora of Turkey.

The Effect Of Agricultural Practices On The Spatial Variability Of Arbuscular Mycorrhiza Spores, Ali Akbar Safari Sinegani, Ali Akbar Mahboobi, Farzad Nazarizadeh

Turkish Journal of Biology

The main objective of this paper is to assess the spatial variability of arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) spore numbers in following two contrasting soil uses. Adjacent plots, one irrigated farmland and the other dry farmland, were marked on a transect (300 m long), with 10-m spacing. Soil samples were collected at 0-30 and 30-60 cm depth and were then analyzed for AM spore numbers and some other soil properties. The analytical results were submitted to different kinds of analysis: classical statistical and geostatistical analysis which showed that coefficient of variations (CV's) and standard deviations for spore numbers in both farmlands were …

Characterization Of The Fungal Pathogen, Entomophaga Aulicae (Zygomycetes: Entomophthorales) In Larval Populations Of The Green Cloverworm, Plathypena Scabra (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae), Özlem Kalkar, Gerald R. Carner

Turkish Journal of Biology

Entomophaga aulicae was monitored in populations of noctuid lepidopteran pests of soybean during the 2000, 2001, and 2002 growing seasons in South Carolina and infected only Plathypena scabra larvae. No infection by E. aulicae was detected in 2002. Average infection levels of E. aulicae in P. scabra populations in Blackville were 6.0% and 20.0% in 2000 and 2001, respectively. At Clemson, infection was 15.0% and 23.3% for the two sampling weeks in 2000, and infection reached a high of 50.0% in 2001. Pyriform, multinucleate conidia and spherical to slightly oval resting spores were the primary features of this fungus. When …

The Effect Of Sucrose Starvation And Salt Stress On Atg6 And Atg13 In Arabidopsis, Lindsey Gish

Senior Honors Theses and Projects

Autophagy is a stress reaction process by which eukaryotic cells internalize and degrade cytosol in a vacuole or lysosome and recycle the contents to where they are needed in the cell. The affect on autophagy genes Atg6 and Atg13 were examined in response to sucrose deprivation and increased salt concentration in the plant Arabidopsis thaliana. It was concluded that although these genes are always being expressed, they do not increase in expression in response to these stress conditions.

Demonstration Of Toxicity To Fish And To Mammalian Cells By Pfiesteria Species: Comparison Of Assay Methods And Strains, Joann M. Burkholder, Andrew S. Gordon, Peter D. Moeller, J. Mac Law, Kathryn J. Coyne, Alan J. Lewitus, John S. Ramsdell, Harold G. Marshall, Nora J. Deamer, S. Craig Cary, Jason W. Kempton, Steven L. Morton, Parke A. Rublee

Biological Sciences Faculty Publications

Toxicity and its detection in the dinoflagellate fish predators Pfiesteria piscicida and Pfiesteria shumwayae depend on the strain and the use of reliable assays. Two assays, standardized fish bioassays (SFBs) with juvenile fish and fish microassays (FMAs) with larval fish, were compared for their utility to detect toxic Pfiesteria. The comparison included strains with confirmed toxicity, negative controls (noninducible Pfiesteria strains and a related nontoxic cryptoperidiniopsoid dinoflagellate), and P. shumwayae strain CCMP2089, which previously had been reported as nontoxic. SFBs, standardized by using toxic Pfiesteria (coupled with tests confirming Pfiesteria toxin) and conditions conducive to toxicity expression, reliably detected …

Vertebrate Gld2 Poly(A) Polymerases In The Germline And The Brain, Labib Rouhana, Liaoteng Wang, Natascha Buter, Jae Eun Kwak, Craig A. Schiltz, Tania Gonzalez, Ann E. Kelley, Charles F. Landry, Marvin Wickens

Biological Sciences Faculty Publications

Cytoplasmic polyadenylation is important in the control of mRNA stability and translation, and for early animal development and synaptic plasticity. Here, we focus on vertebrate poly(A) polymerases that are members of the recently described GLD2 family. We identify and characterize two closely related GLD2 proteins in Xenopus oocytes, and show that they possess PAP activity in vivo and in vitro and that they bind known polyadenylation factors and mRNAs known to receive poly(A) during development. We propose that at least two distinct polyadenylation complexes exist in Xenopus oocytes, one of which contains GLD2; the other, maskin and Pumilio. GLD2 protein …

Rich Mesic Forests: Edaphic And Physiographic Drivers Of Community Variation In Western Massachusetts, J. Bellemare, G. Motzkin, D. R. Foster

Biological Sciences: Faculty Publications

Rich Mesic Forest, a Northeastern variant of the species-rich Mixed Mesophytic Forest association of eastern North America, is an Acer saccharum-dominated forest type typically associated with calcareous bedrock and nutrient-rich, mull soils. Rich Mesic Forest (RMF) is a priority for conservation in the Northeast due to its limited areal extent, high plant species richness, and numerous rare taxa, yet the community characteristics and environmental correlates of this forest type are incompletely understood. This study undertook a quantitative classification of RMF of the northeastern edge of the Berkshire Plateau in western Massachusetts. Cluster analysis of data from ten sites identified two …

A Survey Of Herpetofaunal Diversity In A Longleaf Pine Forest Ecosystem, Jeffrey D. Camper

Journal of the South Carolina Academy of Science

No abstract provided.

Punishment And Rehabilitation Views Of Social Work Majors And Non-Social Work Students: An Exploratory Study, Eric G. Lambert, Sudershan Pasupuleti, Reva I. Allen

Journal of the South Carolina Academy of Science

No abstract provided.

Design And Cloning Of A Hammerhead Ribozyme Targeted Tohiv-1p7fmrna, Katherine L. Anderson, William H. Jackson

Journal of the South Carolina Academy of Science

No abstract provided.

Interferon Resistance And Efficiency Of Hcv Replicon Establishment In Huh7 Cells Expressing Simian Virus 5 V Protein, Nicole E. Wagner

Seton Hall University Dissertations and Theses (ETDs)

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To Avoid Or Not To Avoid? Factors Influencing The Discrimination Or Predator Diet Cues By A Terrestrial Salamander, Aaron M. Sullivan, Amy L. Picard, Dale M. Madison

Faculty Publications - Department of Biological & Molecular Science

Many prey species use chemical cues deposited by predators to assess predation risk, and some prey are capable of discriminating among predator chemical traces based on the predator’s recent diet. Here we test the influence of genetic relatedness (degree of genetic similarity between prey) and ecological relatedness (degree of refuge and trophic overlap between syntopic prey) on the evolution of predator-diet discrimination by red-backed salamanders, Plethodon cinereus. In experiment 1, we examined whether red-backed salamanders from Binghamton University (Binghamton, New York, U.S.A.) would differentially respond to chemical traces from garter snakes (Thamnophis sirtalis) fed conspecific P. cinereus from four populations …

Arrival Timing And Seasonal Reproductive Performance In A Long-Distance Migratory Landbird, Robert J. Smith, Frank R. Moore

Faculty Publications

The date when a landbird migrant arrives on its breeding grounds may have reproductive consequences. Generally, early arriving individuals begin breeding earlier and consequently experience greater seasonal reproductive performance. Here, we describe relationships between arrival timing and seasonal reproductive performance in the American redstart (Setophaga ruticilla), a long-distance passerine migrant, arriving at northerly breeding grounds in Michigan’s eastern Upper Peninsula. Evidence suggests that both males and females benefited from early arrival at the breeding grounds. Early males appeared to settle on higher quality territories and hatched nestlings sooner than later arrivals. Early females began their clutches early, produced …

Phytoplankton Biomass And Species Composition Of Lake Gölbaşı (Hatay-Turkey), Mehmet Naz, Mustafa Türkmen

Turkish Journal of Biology

Seasonal distributions of phytoplanktonic organisms in Lake Gölbaşı were investigated in samples collected from 2 stations between May, 2001, and April, 2002. At each station, monthly sampling was performed from the surface water. The flora consisted of 41 taxa belonging to Bacillariophyta (24), Chlorophyta (12), Pyrrophyta (2), Cyanophyta (2) and Chrysophyta (1). During the 1-year study period, the most dominant group was Chrysophyta followed by Bacillariophyta, Chlorophyta, Cyanophyta and Pyrrophyta. The highest numbers of Chrysophyta were observed in both stations in May, 2001, January, 2002 and April, 2002. Bacillariophyta had the highest biomass in both stations, followed by Chrysophyta, Pyrrophyta, …

Interspecific Competition For Pollination Lowers Seed Production And Outcrossing In Mimulus Ringens, John M. Bell, Jeffrey D. Karron, Randall J. Mitchell

Biology Faculty Research

Sympatric plant species with similar flowering phenologies and floral morphologies may compete for pollination, and as a consequence potentially influence each other's reproductive success and mating system. Two likely competitors are Mimulus ringens and Lobelia siphilitica, which co-occur in wet meadows of central and eastern North America, produce blue zygomorphic flowers, and share several species of bumble bee pollinators. To test for effects of competition for pollination, we planted experimental arrays of Mimulus ringens, each consisting of genets with unique combinations of homozygous marker genotypes. In two arrays we planted mixtures of Mimulus and Lobelia. and in two additional arrays …

Biochemical And Molecular Nutrition Blocks As Dietary Supplements In Llamas (Lama Glama) In The Last Third Of The Gestation Period Of The Ceac, Janette Illanes Callejas

Theses and Dissertations

The present work consisted in the use of biochemical and molecular nutrition blocks (BMN) in llamas during the last third of the gestation period, at the Agricultural Experiment Center of Condori (CEAC), located 49 km north of the city of Oruro, and 12 km north of the Caracollo population, in the province of Cercado. For this research work, we used 20 pregnant llamas in the last third of their gestation period, between the ages of 2 and 3 years old, 10 of which belonged to the Khara breed, and 10 to the Thampulli breed. Two corrals of 7 x 7 …

" Revised Distribution Of The African Freshwater Crab Genus Deckenia Hilgendorf, 1868" , Saskia Ae Marijnissen, Sven Lange, Neil Cumberlidge

Journal Articles

No abstract provided.